Warnings: Rated M for violence. This chapter contains the description murder and slight torture.

Disclaimer: I do not own YuGiOh or its' characters.


Muffled cries flooded the room. A girl sat against the grimy wall, feeling the concrete biting into her skin. Her back dug into her hands tied behind her back with barbed wire. It hurt to move them, and she was afraid to let the wire cut into them any more than they already had. The old rag tied around her mouth felt slimy with her saliva and her nose ran from her tears. It tasted slightly of gasoline. She tried to call out, but the sound wouldn't carry very far. To have woken up to this was a true nightmare, but what was to become of her made her stomach drop and her body feel numb with dread.

"Rain, rain go away" footsteps echoed in the empty building. Or so she assumed. The cloth around her eyes was so dark that she couldn't see through it. Her eyebrows furrowed and she was sprayed with something. A scream was attached to the spray, and it smelled like copper. Realization struck her harder than a physical blow to the face. It was blood. She started to scream, backing into the wall further, feeling the wire cut into her wrists.

"Come again another day," sickening hacking sounds could be heard. It was as though a body was being cut to pieces, wet, sharp sounds penetrating the room. That voice was mocking her. He sang so gently, putting little effort into his voice. That sick perverted freak was getting his thrill off of this and she could tell. And now she was left to regret all the things that she wished she hadn't done. This morning she yelled at her mother and left without saying 'I love you' because she was in a bad mood. Her grades weren't anything to remember because she would rather spend time with her friends than spend it on homework. And she was going to be forgotten as a selfish girl who cared only for herself.

"Little Johnny wants to play," he chuckled, and she heard the sound of something hard hitting the floor with a crack. If she could see right now, she would have seen the skull splitting open on the concrete floor. She felt bile rise in her throat at his words. Panic was filling her veins with useless adrenaline. The only thing it was doing was making her sick as she began to hyperventilate.

"Rain, rain go to Spain," the voice was getting closer, and the footsteps echoed in her ears. The sound was so loud that it hurt the inside of her head. Her senses were on hyper-drive and she choked on her breath, shrinking against the wall. She shook her head from side to side deliriously, just wanting everything to stop. She wanted to wake up in her bed and pretend this was all just a bad dream.

"Never show your face again!" he cheered, kneeling in front of her. She felt wet hands touch her face, and she realized that they were concealed with gloves. They untied the black ribbon from her face and she was met with strange, purple eyes. His hair was concealed under a black mask, and the rest of his body was protected with some sort of suit. "Little Johnny didn't want to play for very long. He's being so rude, ignoring me…" he chuckled again, and her line of vision trailed over to the decapitated head on the floor. She screamed again, fresh tears spilling from her eyes.

"Shh, quiet…" he cooed, stroking her cheek gently, the blood of his last victim over his gloved hand. "Don't cry, don't cry. You're messing up your pretty makeup," he spoke kind words, but left the gag in, not letting her say her own. She was begging him to leave her alone. She wouldn't tell anyone, just let her go home. But he stood up and walked over to a table. The floor was splattered with red, and she knew it was coating her. He must've done it right by her. Her eyes widened when she saw him pick up a rather large knife, and she nearly fainted.

"Little Johnny fell asleep so quickly. Do you think you can stay awake?" he asked sweetly, walking over to her. He grinned and pressed the blade to her neck. "It's alright if you need to take a nap, I understand that you've played hard today…" he was mocking her. It was driving her insane. Almost as if he had picked up on her thoughts, he grinned again, through the mask. "Insanity is a funny thing…the truly insane don't know they're crazy…they think everyone else is…" the blade caressed her cheek, allowing a bubble of red to slowly come to the surface. "As for me…I know full well what I'm doing here," his voice was dark and sensual, and he grabbed her chin, forcing her to look into his eyes. "You see, I'm just like a nursery rhyme. I appear normal, and make people happy…but my origin and true meaning is considerably darker. Most people just don't take the time to do research." Again, he was laughing to himself.

The sound made her crazy; she wanted to make it stop. She grunted into her gag and kicked him as hard as she could. The laughter stopped altogether then, and he stared at her with an icy gaze that made her blood run cold. "You don't play very nice, do you?" he said, his voice flat of emotion. Those eyes were calculating her, narrowed in a thoughtful manner. "What makes you tick?" he asked, standing up before her.

He stood there for a moment, lost in thought before he began to walk casually in front of her. He bent down and picked up the head of her classmate. "There was a little girl," he began. He was starting another story. This time, it was obviously hers. He swallowed thick, her throat suddenly dry despite the saliva built in her throat.

He slicked his finger with the blood and set it down again, kneeling before her. She dared not move this time, not when he was so calm like this. His fingers reached out to her hair, and twisted a small lock with the wet fingers. "Who had a little curl…" he grinned, releasing her hair. He stood again, confusing her.

He didn't make sense to her, but her eyes were glued to him carefully, not wanting to let him out of her sight. It wasn't like she could do anything about it, but it was still comforting that there would be no surprises. She saw him pick up a rusty looking nail, the knife still in his hand. And once more, he was in front of her. "Right in the middle of her forehead..." He placed the nail through the little curl, and with the hilt of the knife, thrust the nail into her skin. She screeched beneath him, thrashing her head to the side. He had hit it hard enough that it stayed in place, but it wasn't enough. He grabbed her chin once more, keeping her in place while he pounded the nail into her skull.

She was sobbing now; the feeling of the blood running down her face was twisting her stomach into knots. The pain was unbearable, and she thought it should have killed her. But she was still there, and what's worse, she hadn't passed out from the shock.

"And when she was good…" he started again, stroking the rest of her hair. He smiled sweetly as though none of this was happening. He didn't have a psychotic grin that she was expecting; he wasn't cackling manically and spouting off nonsensical things. He was acting like they were having a picnic in the park on a date, and not killing her slowly.

"She was very, very good…" at this point in time, she wished she had known more about nursery rhymes. She didn't know how this one ended; she didn't want to know how it ended. He moved the mask a little to reveal his mouth more. He pressed his lips against her cheek gently, pulling his mask back down. He could taste her blood on his mouth. Her eyes were wide, and she stared at his blurry form.

"But when she was bad…" the abrupt change made her cringe. He slapped her across the face, relishing in the loud sound that echoed off the halls. Why was this happening to her? Weren't murders and kidnappers supposed to do these things at night, or in the middle of nowhere? She knew where they were. The building may have been empty, but there were still businesses around it. Hadn't they noticed them coming into the building? Hadn't they seen their kidnapper dragging them into this dingy place? She couldn't remember how he had gotten them in the place that was soon to be her tomb. Her head hurt and her mind was starting to get fuzzy.

"She was horrid," he finished the rhyme. She could tell it how his voice cut off in a deadly tone. He struck the knife into her neck, and then everything went black. She couldn't feel a thing as her whole body went into shock. When she collapsed forward, her murderer stepped out of the way. Humming to himself, he wrote one nursery rhyme on the wall, behind the girl. The other one he wrote on the floor, next to the fallen head and the bloody spray that tied into the story. When he was finished, we walked over and picked up the girl's bag, rummaging through it until he found her cell phone. He snorted, glancing at the cute little charms that dangled from it. She wouldn't be needing it anymore. He dialed the police station and waited for them to pick up. "Hello? Yes, I have an emergency situation…" he feigned panic in his voice, though his face was as stoic as usual. "I'm at the old Haven Restaurant…I heard some screaming come from inside and so I peered in the windows. I think somebody was killed in there," he ended with a choked sob and shut off the phone, tossing it onto the dead girl's body carelessly.

Before he left, he poured bleach over their bodies and went outside, climbed into his rental car, then drove away.

Sirens were the first thing that Ryou heard as he stirred from his sleep. He rolled over and looked at his alarm clock. It was noon. He sighed and swung his feet over the side of his bed, yawning loudly. "I really need to start getting up early. I feel so lazy," he laughed to himself, dragging his body out of bed and into the shower.

The water was warm on his skin and he hummed to himself, washing out his hair. He never really used any products, they would ruin his hair. Though it was a bit abnormal to have hair as white as his at such a young age. It ran in his family though. His stories did reflect his life a little in that aspect. He didn't like to talk about families.

When he was done washing his body, he dried off and wrapped a towel around his body. Walking out into the kitchen, he passed by the living room and turned the TV onto the news before heading to the fridge. As he poured a glass of orange juice, he saw a news reporter reporting live from an abandoned building on the outskirts of Domino City. He raised an eyebrow and leaned against the doorframe, trying to catch what he had missed.

"We're here at the old Haven Restaurant where two murders have just been reported. The state of the bodies has been asked not to be released by the public, and police are trying to identify the bodies. What we can say is that they were students from Domino high given their school uniforms and messenger bags. The only clue that has been left behind is a nursery rhyme written on the wall behind the female victim, and another on the floor. If you have any clues relating to this story, please contact…"

Ryou tuned out, letting the information sink in. He felt bad for the two victims, he really did. It was a shame that two people so young would fall to a fate like that. He sighed and sat on the couch, staring at the wall. Nursery rhymes? He wondered which ones were written. It was definitely interesting to leave a clue like that. He could only imagine what it would be like to have a murderer spouting off a children's nursery rhyme to you while hacking off your limbs. He shuddered at the thought, a thrill shooting down his spine.

It wasn't that he enjoyed news like this, but it made his mind work. It gave him inspiration for his material. He would never right out copy somebody's murder in his books. It would look suspicious, but he would take ideas from them and integrate them into his stories. He smiled to himself, sipping on his juice. He would keep an eye on this case to see what came of it.

Speaking of books, he needed to start writing a new one soon enough. It took a while to get all his thoughts together before writing a new story. He had a meeting later that day as well.

Picking up the phone on the coffee table, he dialed Otogi's number. "Otogi-kun? Yes it's Ryou. Can I come over for a few?"

It didn't take long for Ryou to get to Kaiba's place again. He put on some casual clothes before leaving the house and made sure to lock everything up. He rang the doorbell and waited outside. It was Otogi who came to the door this time, throwing his arms around the white haired man like he did the night before. It was a regular greeting between the two of them. "Thanks for letting me come over on such short notice…"

"Nonsense, you're my best friend, what am I going to do? Turn you away?" he teased, stepping aside to let him in. It was always just the right temperature in that mansion. His heating and cooling bills had to be astounding. When he walked inside, Otogi lead them both to the living room where they sat on a plush, black leather couch. "So, what brings you here today?" he questioned, noting the distant look on his friend's face.

The two had been friends since high school. They had a large circle of friends, but they didn't really pay that much attention to Ryou. He was often forgotten. Half the time it made him wonder if he was really there at all. That's why this new life of his threw him off balance a lot of the time. He wasn't used to so much attention. Positive attention at that.

"I have a meeting today with Marik…" he said. He was in such a hurry to start, that he didn't realize it would come so soon. He was nervous to see him again. Something about the man sent shivers down his spine. He hadn't felt like this since this for a long time. Not since his crush on Otogi back when they first met. But when he realized his friend was head over heal for Seto, he had backed off and allowed him his happiness. After time, the feelings of love had died off, but he still felt a deep connection with his friend. He was the only one he would go to when he needed to talk.

"Aah, I see…" Otogi grinned, laying one of his arms over the back of the couch. "You like him, don't you?" He was teasing Ryou, but the man blushed lightly anyway and averted his gaze. "Careful or you'll get taken advantage of. You're coming on really strong."

Ryou sighed and shook his head, glancing back to the green eyed gossiper. "I'm that obvious, huh? Figures…I feel like a character in my book just waiting to get swept away," he spouted poetically. He wasn't serious. It wasn't like him to be so submissive. Sure, he wasn't exactly the dominant type, but that didn't mean he was a push-over. He would take action where he saw fit.

"So what time are you meeting with tall dark and handsome?" With that, Ryou snorted and covered his mouth with his hand to keep from chuckling. He always found that line to be exceptionally corny. And to hear it come from a man who was usually so elegant with words made him laugh. The other just grinned lazily and flipped a lock of hair out of his face.

"We're meeting at 5 tonight for coffee. It's a business meeting, just to go over the details and make sure it's something that I'm interested in. Only a complete fool would agree to something without knowing the details. So we settled on having a private meeting in a casual setting. It draws less attention that way…" he explained, though the cock in the other's eyebrow led him to believe he was thinking otherwise.

"Sounds like a date if you ask me." The thought made Ryou's heart jump a little and he cleared his throat needlessly. "But it could be strictly for business too. It's not that abnormal after all. I'll be keeping my eyes on you though," he placed two fingers on his eyes then faced them to Ryou in a silly gesture.

"Alright, alright. I don't need a babysitter. But the I'm glad the sentiment is there," he chuckled, helping himself to a chocolate biscuit that was sitting on the coffee table in front of the couch. "So how did the rest of the party go last night?"

Otogi picked up a vanilla biscuit and grinned, "Oh same old story. Nothing really exciting happened. I did hear a bit of news about some crime happening lately. Remember the talk about a gang forming in Domino that had the cops on edge? Well they've got a new leader. He's the one who supposedly was the brains behind the old one before he decided to 'take out the trash' and leave him in a dumpster outside the police office. It didn't make the news because they're worried it will start a panic."

Ryou's eyes widened at that news and he sank back into his seat. "This city just isn't safe anymore. There was a murder this morning on the news. They aren't disclosing much information though." His friend nodded in acknowledgement that he had also seen it.

"Yeah, it's not the first one like it either. He's nicknamed the Fairy Tale murderer. Sounds pleasant right? Well not with some of the things he comes up with. This one is pretty mild in comparison. He's pretty into mythology so he's got a lot of material to work with…" he grimaced slightly just thinking about it.

While it disturbed him a great deal, he couldn't help but think of what was going through this man's head to even think about doing something like that. It intrigued him, and he wanted to do research on this personality. 'I think I just found material for my newest book…'