A/N: Decided to write something a little dark, while also trying out a new shipping. This one's Towershipping (Dark Malik / Mariku x Seto x Jounouchi), a pairing I think should have more attention that it currently receives.

Please note that this fic includes some AU aspects, set after the Virtual World Arc.

Warning: Contains some blood, though none too graphic. Also has a few yaoi elements.

Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh or any of its characters. Written for entertainment purposes only.

Enjoy~

Jounouchi didn't know why he was up. Perhaps it was nerves. The weight of the importance of this next duel resting on his shoulders. The fact that they were still on a flying blimp, thousands of miles in the air, with a psycho.

It was probably all of them.

Something creaked in a hallway behind him. Startled and already on edge, the blond spun on his heel to look for the cause of the what he thought was equivalent to a bomb compared to the silence of the blimp. Nothing was there, but his eyes played tricks with the shadows.

Growling in frustration, a sound mostly made to futilely ground out some of the tension that seemed stuck on his shoulders, Jounouchi slowly turned back to his original course of nowhere in particular.

Everyone was asleep, as far as he knew. It hadn't even been a day since they were trapped in the virtual world that a dead kid had created for a certain rich brunette (who's also an ass, Jounouchi added sourly just for the sake of it). His friends were most likely trying to rest from the stressful excursion.

But, of course, there were a couple people who hadn't joined them in the adventure. Ishizu, Rishid, Ryou and Mai - but how could they anyway? - Isono, the other KaibaCorp guards, that one doctor, and…

He wouldn't finish that thought. He had done so before in the safety of his room, and even there it caused him to freeze temporarily with inadmissible fear.

Jounouchi didn't ever want to admit that he was scared. He saw himself as the rock in his group of friends, the one who would stand tall no matter the circumstance. And yet, when he thought of wild sandy hair, dull lavender eyes, a malicious smirk that perhaps even the devil would never fully be able to copy, that rock corroded and bent like a rubber band, for it never really was a rock in the first place, was it?

Cursing himself a million times over, he headed to the only place he could think of to clear his head.

The night air was clipped and ran through his hair harshly. They were going at an increased speed so they would arrive at wherever Kaiba Seto was leading them, which meant the wind almost knocked him off of his feet several times. Mr. Hotshot must've mentioned their destination before they were steered off course, but Jounouchi was hardly paying attention to the droning at that time.

His lightly tanned hands gripped the ice railing as his mind went pleasantly blank. He was still dressed in his regular outfit that now smelled a little off from him wearing it for so long, though really it was only noticeable from close distances. The faintest of smiles came to his lips as he thought of what his younger sister Shizuka would say if she caught whiff of him. If she was still the neatfreak she was when their parents divorced, then he knew the reaction would be bad.

Something flickered off the edge of his vision and he tensed visibly. His knuckles went white from their harsh grip on the railing and it seemed as though the unkind metal was draining the color right out of him. His breathing became both irregular and silent, which made his heart pump faster in retaliation.

A light, airy sound, barely heard above the wind, came from somewhere behind. Still frozen, Jounouchi could only stand and listen as the faint noise came closer and closer, revealing itself more with each second. It sounded like bells, the soft metal on metal sound that normally soothed ears into a calm lull.

This, however, was different. It pierced his eardrums and wound up his muscles. It sounded eerily, as if he was stuck in a horror movie, about to be attacked by the-

Jounouchi gasped as a large weight suddenly bore itself onto his back, forcing his body to be pressed against the railing in a way that forced the breath right out of him. Scalding breath misted over his neck as the person pinning him down chuckled into his ear. A sleek, cool metal object was now at his throat, the sharp, golden point glistening in the dim moonlight.

Almost right away did he know this was Mariku. There was no one else who had the strength to easily hold him with such quell. No one who laughed so maniacally. No one who made him squirm so violently.

And certainly no one else who held the Sennen Rod.

A surprisingly dull nail - for what villain had dull nails? - dragged itself across Jounouchi's cheek, stopping just below the cheekbone where it dug possessively into the skin. The rest of the hand copied the digit's movements so that, much to the pale blond's horror, he was unable to move his face without injury.

"Tsk, tsk…" whispered the warped voice against his opposite cheek, "Didn't anybody tell you that it's dangerousto be out past curfew, Jounouchi?" The bitter irony in that sentence stung and he unwillingly shuddered in fear. This only caused Mariku to pressed closer, another roll of laughter flinging itself into his ears.

"Now, now-" The tanned maniac shifted his legs so they were flush against the other's while his lips enveloped his earlobe for a half second. "No need for that. I'm just going to…" the Sennen Rod's tip pressed precariously close to his neck, "see how you look in red."

Jounouchi whimpered, his eyes slowly sliding shut. Time seemed to still as the cool metal began to slide across his esophagus, the knife sharp point cutting the vulnerable skin until one scarlet drop swelled upon the corner. The rod paused as the thick, warm liquid broke its deformed sphere to trail down to the nape of his neck, his head having been tilted back sometime during the exchange. He felt Mariku slide down Jounouchi's body before a slimy, wet appendage was placed on the still travelling red ribbon, lapping up the trail with a sickeningly slow pace. A satisfied hum vibrated, sending more racks down Jounouchi's spine.

One moment, Mariku was practically molesting him. One moment, he was carving into his neck. One moment, he felt so sure he was going to die, die before he could even begin to help aid in the battle to free Mai from her prison in Hell or to rid the world of this upcoming darkness. One moment, he knew he had failed.

The next, he was free. There was nothing restricting him from moving. No Sennen Rod at his neck, no tongue making its way up to his chin, aiming for somewhere very unwelcome.

There was no Mariku.

And he could breathe again.

Seto sighed, carefully placing the small bandaid on the recently cleaned wound. His dark sea blue eyes were troubled, filled with images he didn't want to recall. Namely the ones where Jounouchi was pressed against the railing of the blimp, a certain blond demon holding him, touching him, licking him-

Then came those dull lavender eyes, amusedly staring at Seto under the glow of the Eye of Horus imprinted upon Mariku's forehead. The way he sauntered over, letting Jounouchi fall unconscious to the ground. How he curled a finger under his chin and gave one, rough kiss that froze the CEO in his tracks from the unexpectancy of it.

The words then next hissed into his ear, "Go tend to your pup, Seto."

His lips still burned.

Jounouchi shifted, brows slightly furrowing under the intensity of whatever dream he was experiencing. Thinking back to the recent events, Seto knew it couldn't be a good one.

Lightly wetting a cloth, the brunette dabbed the forehead of the blond laying in his bed. Of course he had people who could do this for him, but for whatever reason - perhaps the same one that made him follow the mutt after seeing him aimlessly pass his room - Seto could not bring himself to let anyone else know of this. He had locked the door, ordering over the phone that no one should disturb him or anyone else inside. By anyone, he was sure Isono thought Mokuba had crawled into his room again, like every other night he allowed himself rest rather than work.

After a moment, Jounouchi relaxed under the welcomed coolness, his breathing becoming more steady as the tension left.

The mutt would stay in his room for the night, Seto had long since decided. He himself wouldn't sleep, even though he hadn't had a good night's rest since this whole tournament started. No, he would finish up some last minute research and leave before the blond woke up, leaving him to figure out just what happened.

Because there was no way in hell he would tell.

Glancing up from his laptop, of which he had dug through his stack of paperwork on his desk to find, Seto watched a small trail of saliva drip from the corner of Jounouchi's mouth.

He would later deny to himself that he ever felt his lips twitch in a fond, gentle smile.