Summary: Post YGOTAS Timeline; Ryou has been sent to a faraway boarding school, only to find that the entire school is being experimented on by some government group. Just as he's about to give into despair that his life is ruined, he makes an unlikely partnership with the last person he ever expected to see.

WARNING: This story is rated M for mature themes involving scientific experimentation, sexual themes, attempted rape, violence, adventure, suspense, humor, plot development, and steamy lemons. Not all at once, and not over the top, but definitely in there. (Spoiler for those that need it: Rape does not actually occur in this story, not even once. However, this chapter does contain an attempt.) Please read with discretion.

Disclaimer: Yu-Gi-Oh! and all of its characters © Kazuki Takahashi. This is a fan fiction, and no money is being made off of this story. Please support the original artist.

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Chapter Two

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It was a new day, alright, but things had not gone exactly as Ryou had wanted them to. No one seemed to want to be friends at all. The teachers treated him with indifference, and classmates seemed to already have their cliques that they stuck to and weren't interested in inviting him in. None of the cliques were very stereotypical either, so he wasn't even sure why each group stuck together. The only thing they all had in common was that they seemed to have no interest in befriending him.

Each class he went to, he met other students. And each class teased him or shunned him. The teasing was always about how he looked. "You sure you're a boy?" "And here I thought albinos didn't exist." "Wow, sure like to tap that ass. If he's even got one!" But it was the cold, calculating stares that he received from the students that ignored him, that were somehow more disturbing. It was like they were ranking him in their mind, looking at him like an object that could be used.

As for the meals themselves, there wasn't much variety. The school served what they served, and one either ate it, or they didn't. Mealtimes were loud, Ryou got pushed around a lot, and it was hard to find a place where anybody would let him sit down. He managed to find a place close to the trash bins, the others seemed to avoid that table because of the smell, but it would work for now. At least he didn't have to stand while eating.

I never thought I'd miss a school with girls, he thought wryly, when the day was over and he was heading back to his room. But if there were girls here, they'd probably fawn all over me instead of treating me like I'm a walking plague.

As for experiments, nothing happened that day. It was just like going to a regular school. And that, at least, was comforting.

It would be almost three days later, as the students were gearing up for their first scheduled quizzes, that the first experiment happened.

-o-

Classes were out for the day, and Ryou had found a window near the end of the hall where he could sit and study in peace while the rest of the students did as they liked. The only reason he knew that an experiment was happening at all was when the bell started to ring out a simple five note melody, an occurrence strange enough to make him lift his head and look around.

He noticed the students both outside and inside had all stopped what they were doing, and was quite certain that some of them had an expression of dread on their faces. Ryou swallowed, shifting his position and pressing his back against the wall for reassurance. That can't be good…

When the melody stopped ringing, silence stretched over the school, none of the students moving. Then, one by one, they all went back to what they were doing before. It was… eerie, and yet harmless at the same time.

Ryou frowned, holding his book a little closer to himself. Was that it? An announcement that the experiment started? Maybe it was something that wouldn't noticeably affect them. If that was the case, that was fine by him. He went back to reading, feeling hopeful. After all, he had a fairly important quiz to study for, worth 10% of his grade, and he needed to do well on it.

Minutes ticked by, and Ryou found himself growing steadily more uncomfortable as they did. He couldn't sit in the same position for very long without having to change, couldn't concentrate on the words he was reading, and was finding it harder and harder to think. He finally gave up trying, stuffing the book in his bag with an irritated groan. "What the bugger is wrong with me?" he complained, standing up and beginning to pace back and forth.

It was like feeling feverish. There was an anxious sort of restlessness in his skin, a distinctly unsatisfied sensation building in his stomach and spreading to each of his limbs in turn. His heart was beating too fast.

"I don't like it," he mumbled. He grabbed his bag and threw it over his shoulder, marching down the hallway toward his room.

Each step seemed to accentuate the frustration, beating a rhythm like a drum that shot up his legs into his spine, up his back, through his skull, down to his groin…

He was halfway back to his room when it finally hit him what feeling he was experiencing, and by then he was panting, leaning against the wall beside him with a weak urgency swirling through his nerves. "B-bloody hell," he breathed, hating how it came out more like a frustrated moan than anything else. "What have they done to me?"

Heat, need, racing pulse… his body raged with hormones and drive, in a way that he had never felt before. It seemed forced, unnatural, and not what he wanted. I don't want to be turned on, but that's what they've done. They've bloody turned me on and I feel like I can't even walk! I have to… make it to my room. I'll have privacy there. Bloody buggering scientists and their bloody buggering experiments….

Ryou hurried on, his breath and his legs weak as he tried to focus on not getting lost. The school was larger than it looked, and its corridors were often confusing to him. He turned a corner and saw a group of students waiting in the hall, leaning against the walls with serious faces.

One of them saw him, and a grin spread over his face. His eyes were dark with a look that Ryou recognized… and feared. "This one's part of Group B," he said, pointing at Ryou with one hand. He and the other three started moving toward Ryou as one. "We lucked out this time, he's a lot prettier than the last one."

"W-what's going on here?" Ryou asked, hating the way his voice broke, the way he felt sapped of energy. I need to get back to my room. I don't like the way they're looking at me…

"It's an experiment," another student said, grabbing Ryou by the arm and hoisting him upright. He pushed him against the wall, pinning his arm above his head, while a second grabbed the other arm to do the same. "You'll get used to it, eventually."

"They like to fuck with us, see?" the one who had pointed Ryou out came forward, grabbing him by the shirt and leaning in close to his face. He licked Ryou's cheek, laughing when Ryou groaned and tried to kick at him. "Ooh, this one's feisty!"

"He's new. Probably doesn't even know what's going on."

"Damn, just his luck to be Group B…" First Boy snickered. He pushed Ryou's shirt upward, nodding to the other two boys to help him take it off. "If he'd been in Group A like us, he could have made it to his room."

"STOP!" Ryou yelled, kicking again and sagging against the wall as it sapped most of his strength. His shirt was taken from him, and while the first three students held him in place against the wall, the fourth pinned his legs and started to undo his pants. This can't be happened! What are they even saying? This is… is this? Is this rape? No way!

"Don't worry about it," one of them mocked. He started kissing sloppily at Ryou's ear, snickering when it made him flinch. "You'll be a mess till you cum anyway, that's the way they've set it up. Group B gets their latest and greatest aphrodisiac they're trying to perfect, and Group A gets a placebo. You won't have the strength to go anywhere the way you are right now. We're just trying to help."

"This isn't… stop it! ...helping!" Ryou wiggled a leg free and kicked the fourth guy back, the corner of his mouth turning up in satisfaction when he managed to get him in the balls. Take that, bugger. "If you got a placebo, why are you doing this anyway? Leave me alone!"

"Not gonna happen," the first grabbed his face by covering his mouth with his palm, pinning his head against the wall and glaring into his face. "This is an all boy's school where they constantly mess with our hormones. Nobody cares who we are or what happens to us out here, and some of us are just dying for a break. Experiments are the one time we can do something to let out our frustrations without getting punished, and we're gonna fucking take all the chances we get. So just shut up, and take it, you little bitch."

Ryou bit down hard on his hand, his grim smirk widening when the boy yelped and jumped back. The satisfaction may be short lived, but it was worth it. "Back off," he growled, trying his hardest to sound intimidating.

It was laughable though, how weak he actually felt. If the two on either side of him were not holding him up, he'd be on the ground, panting and whimpering as he tried to ignore the heat and desire rushing through his body. He'd probably be crawling to his room, with no guarantee he'd make it.

But even that was better than this.

"You shouldn't have done that," the guy he'd bitten came at him once more, grabbing him by the throat and forcibly kissing him. The others continued trying to strip Ryou of his jeans, still holding him in place, and all he could do was squirm and moan out a furious plea to leave him alone.

I feel dizzy. I'm going to faint. No… this can't be happening! Please… someone….. hel….

A loud voice rang out down the hall, sarcastic, commanding, and fearless. All at once the students attacking Ryou halted what they were doing, and Ryou gasped in a breath of air in relief. His head swam, but he turned to try and make out who was speaking. What had they said?

Someone stood at the end of the hall, arms outstretched to either side. There was a grin on his face, and his eyes glinted with a dangerous glow. "I saaaaaid…. Who wants a hug?" he asked, his tone dripping with sarcasm.

Suddenly Ryou found himself slumping to the ground. The four students who attacked him took off in the other direction as fast as their legs could carry them, swearing loudly. Each of them carried expressions of terror, as if they'd just seen their death right before their eyes. Blinking in a heated haze of confusion, Ryou watched as the newcomer walked up to him, sauntered, really, and grinned down at him like a cat that had cornered a mouse.

He leaned over him, chuckling. "How about you, cupcake?" he sneered. "Would you like a hug?"

Ryou blinked again, then again, over and over as if he thought the vision would disappear. But no, each time he opened his eyes, he was still there. It couldn't be…. Couldn't be the same guy… could it? It looks just like him. Like Melvin… Marik's evil split personality! He looks a lot like him, but there's no glowy thing on his head, and his voice doesn't sound two-toned. Everything is the same though… it has to be him! But how… how is it possible?

It didn't matter. Standing over him was his rescuer, a beacon of hope from a time past where Ryou had not been forgotten and left behind. Tears filled his eyes, and with a burst of energy he threw his arms around the Melvin lookalike's torso, hugging him and sagging weakly against him. "You're…. An angel," he cried out.

As if that action alone had taken all of his energy, Ryou passed out, his arms still clasped tight around his rescuer's waist.

-o-

To the person I told they would have to wait a long time to hear Melvin ask Ryou for a hug...

lol... I lied.

To be continued...