It's been a while since I've written any deathshipping, but I got the idea out of nowhere for this, and I just had to write it. I don't often work with AUs though it seemed like a fun thing to write, so I gave it a shot. I'm going to do my best to keep the character realistically written, but there may be some OOC moments as this is a completely different world they are in.

Warning, this is rated Mature for several reasons! Character deaths, sexual situations, blood and violence, and a lot more macabre and gruesome reasons. If this offends you or you are a bit squeamish, I wouldn't suggest reading it. However, if you do enjoy that kind of thing, I believe this will be perfect for you and I certainly hope you enjoy it.

I do not in anyway own the anime or manga Yu-Gi-Oh, it belonging to Kazuki Takahashi and I would assume the publishing companies that produced it. In no way did I gain monetary value from it, nor do I expect it. This is simply done as a tribute, written by one fan and presented to many.

Chapter 1: An Offer

It was a silent night, as quiet as the grave, though unfortunately not as dead. There was an unusual warmth that hung in the air, stifling and almost to the point where it could choke a person. With fog long since rolled in and the almost boiling heat, Mariku was not enjoying his last night alive. He supposed it should have been too much to ask for, just a single moment of tranquility before the end, and it seemed even that was being denied to him. If the gods above were punishing him somehow, it had to be for a sick reason, some final twisted joke. His life hadn't been spat on enough, he supposed. Maybe in this one last nightmare of an evening, he would finally have a moment of realization, why this had all fucking happened, and why he was here... but somehow he doubted it.

After all, he'd long since given up hope of the world ever trying to be fucking fair to him.

He stared up from his cell window, level with the cobble streets that were moist from the low hanging fog, though there wasn't much to look at. He wasn't going to sleep though, that was for sure. He would have liked to see the stars though, one last time. One last reminder of what a small world he lived on, and that there was something else out there, perhaps a little bit better than this place. Were there really gods out there? Were they watching now? Were they laughing or pitying him?

He considered it and decided if they'd made this place, anywhere else couldn't be much better, and wishing for it was just a waste of time.
Resting his forehead on his arms, crossed over the rock of his cell, the bars were cool against his tight skin despite the temperate. It was his only relief, and he took it gratefully. His ears perked up a little when he heard soft footsteps, but he didn't look out again. He couldn't imagine why anyone would be out at this time of night, but it didn't matter to much to him. It was only when the sound suddenly stopped right in front of him did he get curious enough to lift his head and gaze up.

"Hello, Mariku Ishtar," a soft voice sounded, timber and gentle, but with a clear and calm tone to it. The voice belonged to a young looking man, his skin pale, but not as much as the white of his hair. Was it the fog making him look like that, or was the convict starting to fall to the sway of tiredness, his determination to stay awake and experience every second before his death finally starting to affect his senses? It didn't help that the mysterious man was dressed in a deep black suit, the combination of the cloth and dark night making him probably look as white as a corpse in comparison. "Do you know who I am?"

"Should I?" Mariku snorted, peering up at him. He was sure he would remember someone like that, but no bells rang in his head. The man looking down at him though seemed to expect an answer more to the affirmative, but he couldn't really give one.

"My name is Ryou Bakura," the man supplied. "I'm a private detective. I was called in to handle the case of your deceased father, and I wanted to ask you a few more questions. Do you have the time?"

Mariku thought for a brief second that this had to be a joke, and it was a bad one at that. It was probably why he laughed so hard, the irony of the question just too funny to him and shattering the silence around him with his throaty, almost howl of his guffawing.

"Time? Well, I'm limited on that," he admitted. "So piss off. I'm not in the mood."

"Did you kill him?" Ryou asked, as if he hadn't heard the insults. "I've been informed you never confessed, and I need to know the truth before your execution tomorrow. It is important to me."

Mariku didn't say anything, glaring up at him a little and seeming like he wished the investigator nothing but ill will.

"Your silence isn't a confession," he pressed.

"The police seemed to think it was," Mariku replied scathingly.

"The police's opinion matters little in this questioning," he informed him. "This is more an issue of curiosity for me. I would like to know the truth, because if you answer me in a truthful manner, I may be able to save your life."

"You want to hear I didn't kill him, so you can try to get me out?" Mariku asked disbelievingly, his eyes narrowing in distrust. "Why?"

"I don't want to hear that you didn't kill him," Ryou stated, shaking his head. "I want to hear the truth. Nothing more, nothing less. How you answer will determine your fate, but I wouldn't suggest guessing what I want to hear. Just tell me if you committed the action you have been charged with or not."

For a moment the man didn't answer. He had kept his silence for so long, refusing to confess even as he'd been beaten and threatened into it, and finally just found guilty in the court systems anyway. He was dead tomorrow, set to hang until his feet stopped twitching.

It hadn't been out of any innocence to be honest, or any noble reasons either. He just had refused to give the officers what they wanted, mostly out of spite. Of course, knowing the man in front of him had been the one to collect the evidence pointing to him as the killer didn't exactly warm him up to the investigator. Would he still fight for him if he thought he wasn't the one guilty, try and convince the others not to execute him? It was a waste of time though.

"I did it," he whispered softly, his voice a low hiss, almost threatening as he gripped the bars and looked up at one of the men who had doomed him, but had seemed to be nowhere when his family had needed help. "I pinned him to a god be damned wall and I stabbed him until he stopped moving, and then a few times more for good measure. I'm fucking happy I did. That monster deserved it, every second of it!"

Mariku expected the man to sigh, shake his head and walk away, but instead he only smiled softly and knelt down a bit, resting his weight on the balls of his feet and wrapping his arms around his legs to get a closer look at the prisoner.

"How did he deserve it?" he asked, and something seemed to change about his demeanor. While before he was calm and reserved, there was a wild gleam in his eyes now, like a slightly crazed genius or something sort of fanatic. It both made Mariku pause and wonder if he was trustworthy and also somehow... know he could trust him, even as the paradox made no sense to him at all. "What did he do to you?"

"Not to me. To my little brother," he whispered. "My father was... a beast. He hated me, more than anything in the world. I never did obey like I was told I should. He was a religious zealot and a crazed man. He believed I was the son of devils for the deeds I did, smoking, drinking and gambling, all since I was young. I stayed in the house, because I hated him just as much and I revealed in making him angry, even as the beatings and cursing fits got worse. When... when my little brother was born, he was determined to make sure he would be a better son. Even gave him a name almost identical to mine, as if he were a replacement. My brother though, he was curious about the world. He wanted to see everything."

He looked down at the floor of his prison, wondering just why all of this was slipping from him so easily. Was this his last confession, as if the angels of the Christian lord had come to try to save him? Mariku had never knew just if believed in any of the gods or not honestly, and he had no idea why such a salvation would come to him now of all times.

After a moment he continued, looking back up at the one who was patiently waiting to hear more.

"My father quickly became just as disappointed with my little brother as he was with me. One day my brother broke out of the house, wishing to see the city. My father had insisted he always be home, in order to keep him from the 'evils' of the world. My sister found him and brought him back... only for my father to go crazy when they returned. He strapped him to a table and dug out a knife, and my sister was too afraid to stop him."

"Did you stop him?" Ryou asked softly. "Is that why you killed him, in defense of your little brother?"

"Hmph. No," he replied with a shake of his head. "I wasn't there at the time. I was at... I was away."

"Where?"

"What the fuck does it matter?!" he snapped suddenly, grabbing the bars. "Would it matter if I was in some opium den, or if I was in church giving away my money to a god who won't help anyone yet demands everything of us, or if I had been fucking trying to find a job in this city that never gave a damn about my family?! It doesn't matter! I WASN'T THERE TO PROTECT HIM!"

In the distance a single dog began to bark and howl, and Ryou titled his head up to listen for a moment. It was the only sign anything had heard his yelling in the middle of the night and after a couple of minutes, seeming satisfied no one was coming to investigate, he merely shrugged and turned his attention back to the one he was questioning.

"You found about it then?" he inquired. "Your brother's mutilation. This was discovered by you later on."

"As soon as I got back home," Mariku replied. "It was late... or early really. The sun was just starting to rise. My brother was in our room, crying with my sister holding him close. When I asked what had happened and she sobbingly informed me of everything, I went into his room, and I woke him up. I started to hit him, over and over again. And when he was broken on the floor, I grabbed the knife that still had little Marik's blood on it, and I drove it into his heart, once for every fucking cut on my brother's back."

"I see," Ryou stated, and that was it. He stayed quiet for several moments before he finally stood up and ran a hand through his long locks and smiled softly.

"So you did it for revenge? For your little brother?"

"If you mean to ask if I killed him for myself, if I had wanted to kill him for my own sake, I would have a long time ago," Mariku replied with a grin. "And I could have. That old man was feeble and weak, and he liked to think himself strong by bullying those smaller than him, and ones that couldn't or wouldn't try to defend themselves. So yes, Mr. Bakura, I am every bit a murderer that you thought of me when you first got here. Now that I've settled your curiosity, you can feel free to run along to your home now."

"Oh, on the contrary, I planned on doing no such thing. At least not yet," he assured him with a chuckle. "I told you depending on how you answered, I would see what I could do. I don't plan on letting you have to serve out your punishment now that I know the truth. You see, I have a vested interest in revenge myself, and when I saw your case, I had a feeling it wasn't just a straight murder. When the body of Mr. Ishtar was discovered in the river, and we came across your family weeks later, I was sure there was more to this than met the eye."

"And what gave you that impression?"

The detective chuckled and pressed a finger to his lips as if to signify a secret.

"Maybe I'll tell you later," he promised. "Let's just say I have ways of getting corpses to tell me what I want to know. But I had to confirm my suspicions, that you had done it for a just reason. Knowing that you did it for your family, it eases my doubts considerably."

"What doubts?" he asked.

Ryou smiled a bit and cocked his head to the side.

"I can help you," he said softly, and from how pleased he sounded, this was clearly the part he was most eager to talk about, the reason why he was here in the middle of a foggy, hot night. "I can save you from this death you face, if you help me. I want to give you a job as my assistant. Of course, what I'm offering isn't entirely legal. If you agree, you'll be leaving this place forever, your family will think you're dead, and you can not tell them otherwise. It would only complicate things. We'll both leave this place and never come back. If that sits well with you, I could use someone like you to help me with my own revenge. If not, you can accept your fate and go along with your execution."

"Who are you trying to get revenge against?" Mariku asked him, feeling curious.

"A killer," he responded. "Someone who slaughtered my family, leaving only me alive. I'm trying to track him down, but he's proving resilient. When I do find him, I want someone who can help me make sure he pays for what he does. A man like you suits the bill perfectly."

"So I either help you track down a killer and take care of him for you, or I die," Mariku muttered. His lips tugged into a twisted grin and he practically hissed in pleasure. "Sounds good. Get me out of here."

"Soon enough," Ryou replied, standing and dusting himself off. "I don't plan to break you out now. It's why we both have to leave once you're with me. I don't plan to become a fugitive myself, after all. Now, your 'execution' will take place on schedule, and I'll make arrangements to smuggle you out afterward."

"Now wait a second," Mariku growled. "How the bloody hell do I know I can trust you?"

"I give you my word, I will not let you be harmed," the young man assured him. "However, I can't afford to have half the force chasing after you, and because of you, me. Just place your trust in me, and you will see many more sun rises, I assure you. Besides, do you have much choice in the matter? Right now, the offer is me or a very cold and solid box in the ground. In reality, it's not such a bad deal. I think you might even enjoy the work I have for you. So, do we have an accord?"

Mariku honestly thought about it for several minutes, weighing his options. This man calling himself Ryou Bakura was right. He didn't have many options. His family had already given their tearful goodbyes to him, unable to keep him from prison or save his life. He had nothing left in this city, and if he agreed he at least wouldn't be hanging from a rope at the end of tomorrow. On the other hand, this character was suspicious in every way, and he could tell he wasn't being told something.

He wasn't the brightest man in the world, but he wasn't an idiot either. Something wasn't right about this deal, as if Ryou had far from told him everything. Though... was anything he had in store for him worse than death?

He couldn't think of any off the top of his head; that could be said without a doubt.

"I don't trust you," Mariku said.

"I didn't expect you to."

"And I know you're not telling me the whole story."

"There isn't really time for it. I've overstayed my welcome here as it is."

"You really expect me to just blindly trust and follow you, when you won't even tell me exactly how you're going to get me out of this?"

"Expect you to? No. But I will admit I will be sorely disappointed if you chose not to."

The damn brat was cheeky, Mariku would give him that much at the very least. He found himself chuckling before he gave a full out laugh, the sound carrying for several minutes before he finally calmed down enough to actually reconsider the offer. Telling the man to go to hell would accomplish nothing, and he would still be waiting in this dismal little cell to await a punishment he didn't feel he really deserved. Or he could gamble with fate and take the lifeline he'd been thrown, maybe by one of the gods and try for something better.

It seemed stupid to trust him, but it seemed even more stupid not to.

"Fine," he said. "You have got a deal. I'll do whatever you want me to, as long as I get to leave this place in one piece."

"Well, I think I can arrange that," Ryou assured him, curling an arm to his waist and bowing a bit to the convict. "For now, I'll depart. I suggest you rest for now. You're going to need it, and I will see you again very soon."

Mariku watched him leave for as long as he could, pressing his face against the bars of his little window until the fog had completely swallowed up the mysterious young man from his sight. He still had an odd feeling about this, but it was too late now. It had been too late when he saw his little brother, curled up and in pain, more scared out of his mind than he had ever been before. It was at that moment Mariku's life had ended, all purpose other than to save his flesh and blood leaving him in an instant.

They would be better off thinking he was dead, and moving on to live a happy life without the horrors their father had put them all through. Maybe even without the last bit of horror he'd put them all through. In the end, he could make his peace with his fate, even if it seemed to be unknown for now. Considering it had been very bleak when he had known what it would entail, even this strange mystery would be a pleasant change.

End of Chapter 1

Relatively short, I know. The next chapter will be longer, no worries, but I wanted to get the setting and mood of the story properly done up. Let me know what you think in the reviews, please. I certainly hope it was enough to wet your appetite.

Thanks to Ria and Thooruchan for helping me by betaing this chapter for me. It's very much appreciated.