A/N: This was written for ygodrabble, a contest on LiveJournal. And, it won first place! :D

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! DM.

Warnings: Pre-canon, references to child abuse, and no mentions of Malik.


Trapped
By: Nuit Songeur


Rishid was afraid, but he was always afraid, wasn't he? Every day it seemed, an exhausting rise and fall of fear coupled with that brief moment of security. Always, he'd end up cowering in some forgotten corner, making friends with the scarabs and rats. Until, that is, his safe haven was discovered. The new child, a baby girl they called Ishizu, began crawling. And she always crawled after Rishid. He never understood why though; Rishid always made a point to have nothing to do with the infant.

Nevertheless, she followed him once and Patriarch (Rishid was never allowed to call him "Father") found out about his hiding place. Patriarch went into such a fury, and the next time Rishid tried seeking safety, the small tunnel had been blocked off. Every time he attempted to find a new one, Ishizu would always come crawling after him, giggling and shrieking. She couldn't do that around Patriarch; he would always yell for silence and threaten to beat the baby before their mother took her away. Rishid supposed that was why the girl followed him.

The trend continued into her toddler years and became such an annoying habit that Rishid would do everything he could to lose the girl always trailing behind him. Even if that meant stepping into unstable corridors filled with snakes. Even if the snakes were poisonous. But, Rishid had long since learned how to hold his breath and remain absolutely still until the snakes slithered away, so the snakes never bothered him much.

One day, though, Rishid was exploring a new passageway and felt the floor collapse from under him. There was a great shudder within the ancient tomb and pockets of sand began sifting from the ceiling. Rishid felt himself slip, his arm hit the floor, hard, and a small thud on his head as his chest suddenly became tight, making it difficult to breathe. After blinking a few moments, Rishid saw that he was trapped beneath piles of rubble and crumbling stone. He wiggled his toes, feeling the sting of open wounds scraping against rock and dust. He struggled, using his upper body strength to try to push himself free. Unfortunately, it was futile and his arms fell, limp and shaking.

Rishid bit down on his tongue, suppressing the instinct to call for help. There was no help for him. Patriarch would hear and then forbid any one else from helping him.

"I'll help," volunteered a small voice from above him. Rishid wiped the grit from his eyes and saw the dirty robe and the black hair of his younger sister, now six years old.

"I don't need your help," he sniffed. But the fear was audible to both of them. She held out a small hand, bony with the skin stretched taut. Rishid didn't bother to bring up the fact that if he wasn't strong enough, she certainly wouldn't be. Without a word, Rishid took her hand and watched her trying to pull him free.

"I should go get Baba," she said, letting go of his hand and looking around anxiously. Rishid's eyes widened.

"No! Don't do that! Stay with me, please." Ishizu turned her eyes, blue like her mother's, onto him, wide and curious. But, she stayed and worked to set him free, the laborious way, by painstakingly taking the time to remove each stone and handful of sand. One by one.

After that, Rishid never protested to her following him around all the time.


There you are! I hope you enjoyed! Please review!

-NuitSongeur