Title: Price To Pay
Characters: Ryou, Neo Aqua Madoor, Snoww, Brron||Pair: N/A
Words: 1,500||Chapters: 1/1
Genre: Drama||Rated: PG
Challenges: Diversity Writing Challenge: Hell's Ice: C25, pre-canon; One Character Boot Camp, #5, gainful
Notes: This takes place in my Hell's Ice universe, where Ryou, not Fubuki, was taken by Amnael and Kagemaru and now possesses power over ice, snow, and cold. This takes place roughly in the year before Juudai & Shou's first year, when Ryou is learning to control his powers in Dark World. It does contain death but not graphically described.
Summary: Living in Dark World isn't easy. Life and death balance on the turn of a card: or on the blade of a knife.

Ryou saw the attack coming not because of any odd feelings or even his connection to the existence of ice and snow. No, something much simpler warned him: the way that the people in front of him looked momentarily excited.

Seriously, Madoor? He couldn't help but feel briefly insulted at this, before he reached behind himself and caught the dagger before it would have buried itself in the small of his back.

He brought it around to give it a look. Sharp, recently forged so it still gave off heat, and with runes of fire magic etched into it. All but designed to kill an ice-wielder – like himself – practically on impact, no matter where it hit.

Of course, it would have had to hit to do that. Since it hadn't, he had nothing to fear. He closed his fingers tighter over the hilt and raw cold surged through him, overpowering the fire magic, quenching the low level flames.

He would have to work on it to remake it into a proper blade of ice, but he could do that later. It would be a good exercise in the use of his powers and Snoww always insisted that he take whatever chance that he could to improve his skills.

Now he looked behind himself. He knew who'd done it; there weren't many people here in Brron's fortress who would dare to attack him in the first place, and fewer still who would try to do so with a blade like this.

"Neo Aqua Madoor." Ryou tossed the blade up and down before he slid it into his jacket. "You should have tried something different."

A few of the Dark World monsters stepped aside, revealing the ice magician. He glared at them for a second or two before he drew himself up.

"I have no idea of what you're talking about. Are you accusing me of throwing that at you?" He even managed to sound offended.

Ryou allowed a brief smile to play over his lips. He hadn't smiled very often since he'd found himself in this strange world of shadows, with the power of ice and snow at his fingertips. Moments that stirred it were rare indeed.

"Yes." Why beat around the bush? "Is there anyone else here who would like to claim that they did it?"

He cast a glance toward them all, one eyebrow raised. Very few of them chose to meet his eyes. He wasn't surprised to see both Brron and Snoww watching. Snoww always made certain she turned up for anything that involved his powers – she probably knew that Neo Aqua Madoor wanted to attack him long before Madoor even tried to make the knife. Brron enjoyed watching his minions battle one another in any way that they wanted. Sometimes the victor was promoted.

Ryou hated the idea of being anyone's minion, but that was the price of living here and learning how to control his powers: he needed to obey Snoww and Snoww obeyed Brron and ordered that he do the same.

"It doesn't seem that they do," Ryou said after a few long minutes, the silence broken only by the soft murmurs of those who wagered on which of them would come out on top. "Which means unless you can prove that you didn't, I have every right to do anything that I want to you."

Neo Aqua Madoor drew himself up even higher. At least he tried to; he wasn't very successful at it. He stared at Ryou, doing his best to freeze him with a look.

I froze months ago. And he knows that. Ryou didn't bat an eyelash. He waited only for Madoor to look away for the briefest of moments, enough to qualify as a confession.

"Why should I be ashamed to admit that I did it?" Madoor snapped. "You don't belong here. You're just a human." He glared as hard as he could. "Whatever you think you can do to me, remember I'm even more of an ice mage than you are. You can't do anything that I can't undo."

Ryou almost wanted to laugh. He did smile, though. Or at least the corners of his mouth turned up ever so faintly. He wasn't sure if Fubuki would have called it a smile.

"I don't have to do anything to you. You attempted murder and failed. I could challenge you to a duel. I could freeze you where you stand, or I could use this knife on you. Any of those is within my right. But I have something else in mind."

He raised his eyes to where Brron stood, green teeth gleaming in the comet's sapphire light. "What I want is for Neo Aqua Madoor to be banished: forever."

I don't need to kill him. Not when I can do something worse.

Neo Aqua Madoor's fists clenched, the temperature in the area dropping downward. To some it would have been painful. Ryou found it refreshing.

"You won't even face me in battle? Risking your own life?"

That got another smile, a twist of his lips that betokened more amusement. Today was an interesting day indeed.

"Why? We both know that I would win."

Neo Aqua Madoor wasn't a good duelist. His talents in Brron's forces centered around his skills in ice and water magic: skills Ryou knew he surpassed.

What was better, Brron knew it as well. The Mad King stepped forward, laughing with every movement.

"So be it, then! Depart this place and never return, Neo Aqua Madoor!" He turned his gaze now onto Ryou. "But in return for this, you'll duel for me."

Ryou bent his head. He'd expected as much when he'd chosen banishment in the first place. "I will, Brron-sama." He hated using that honorific, but in this place, he had little choice.

A tidal wave of ice-cold water rose up over him, guided by Neo Aqua Madoor's hands. Ryou breathed out a moment of a sigh before he thrust one hand into the water and with that touch turned it from water to ice. With another clench of his fingers, the ice collapsed, shattering into tiny shards all around them.

"Banishment or death. I don't think it's my choice anymore." Ryou did not take his gaze off of Brron. With Madoor's second attack, he'd given himself up to whatever mercies Brron chose to extend.

Brron wasn't a merciful king at all. That terrifying smile told everything as he moved forward.

"He attacked you when you were generous enough to let him live," Brron said. "He could have survived to strike you another day."

Ryou wasn't going to argue about that. He only nodded in agreement. Brron stood before him now and pointed one claw towards the hapless sorcerer.

"End him, Ice Kaiser. End him now and forever. That is my judgment."

Ryou did not hesitate. With a flex of his power, the ice shards gathered themselves up and flew towards Madoor, pinning him in half a dozen places, some through his clothes, others through his body. With every hit the scent of ice grew stronger and stronger.

Madoor shrieked. Madoor struggled. Furious rage babbled out broken words, all of which Ryou ignored as he pulled the blade from within his coat.

A blade made to kill an ice-mage. Cold now, but still hot enough to do the job.

As the shrieks faded away to silence, Ryou watched as Neo Aqua Madoor's body shattered and dissolved. He wiped the blade clean before putting it back.

It wasn't the first time he'd killed. It wouldn't even be close to the last. Those were the demands of living in Brron's castle: kill to protect yourself. Kill to protect that which you care about. Kill at his command.

"Very well done," Brron praised, one clawed hand resting on his shoulder. "You may be worthy of being my champion."

A position that few had filled since his arrival here. Ryou said nothing at all. It wasn't one that he looked forward to having, but Brron's orders could not be denied. Not while he was here.

I want to go home. This place wasn't his world. It wasn't where he belonged. And yet he could not go back, not until he could control his power to the absolute finest edge.

At least he wasn't far away from that. And if at all possible, he would leave Brron's fortress a frozen, lifeless ruin when he did leave.

"Go and rest," Snoww said. "Your duels for Brron-sama will begin after that."

Ryou nodded briefly before he stepped away, heading towards his chamber. He could see various people exchanging goods and coins as he passed: the winners and losers of the wager on who would come out triumphant between him and Madoor.

He had to survive. He had to win at any cost. Because only then could he return home, to see his brother and his friends again.

And I will. Nothing they can do will stop me.

He would find his home.

The End

Notes: I have so many fun ideas for Ryou's time in Dark World!