Warning: Yaoi, yaoi, yaoi! Er, somewhere! And THANK YOOOOUUU the reviewers who give us so much inspiration to work with! Take a bow! Don't worry, we're most certainly NOT abandoning this fic. We're just taking a while. ^^; Unfortunately, Yuki gets sick a lot (;_;!!!) and so that slows down the editing process... however, we're trying to get kicked in to gear again!

We don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! or any of the characters! We're not making money off of this, either.

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOUUUU so much to Amy Blue for Beta Reading!

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Yu-Gi-Oh!: Fallen Star

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Neon Tiger (Mouko) and Yuki Ryu

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Chapter Seven

"Ooooooowwww..."

"Serves you right," Mai sniffed, disdainfully.

Jonouchi scowled. "Awww shut up."

"We don't need you saying 'I told you so', Mai," Honda complained as he rubbed his sore shoulder.

Jonouchi and Honda's attempts to break the doors down had less than stellar results as whatever was keeping the doors sealed shut was far more powerful than the combined might of the two boys.

Searching the room didn't yield much better results, as every conceivable opening was sealed completely. Attempting to break one of the windows was out as well, as when a chair was thrown at one it had shattered before the glass was even marred in the slightest. At a loss for anything else to do, the group decided to just sit in the middle of the room and rest for a bit while planning their next move.

A sense of unease hung in the air from the forced confinement and the illogical happenings, creating growing tension in everyone. There was also a feeling that something lurked in the shadows of the room, which seemed to have even more than there was supposed to be, watching their every move.

Mai glared at Honda icily, then snorted and looked at Seto. "Kaiba, if this is a joke, it's a good time to DROP IT NOW," she growled.

"How many times do I have to tell you that I'm not responsible?" Seto snapped.

"Niisama is not a liar!" Mokuba frowned irritably at Mai.

Anzu glanced at the Kaiba brothers and Mai before glancing at Yugi and sighing. "I'm at a loss... and it's starting to get dark out... what should we do?"

Yugi looked back at Anzu before sighing as well. "I guess we'll all just have to spend the night in here..." he said as he shook his head slightly.

"... Can we tell ghost stories?" Jonouchi offered, suddenly.

"Wha?" Yugi blinked at Jonouchi.

"Sounds like a good idea to me," Honda nodded in agreement. "We've got nothing else to do to pass the time. And it's not as if we're going to be getting any sleep tonight."

Jonouchi got a shifty-eyed look, smirking at Honda. "Betcha can't tell a story so scary you make Kaiba soil himself."

Seto's jaw clenched.

"You're on!" Honda grinned back at Jonouchi.

"Hey, that's not funny!" Mokuba protested on his brother's behalf.

Anzu sighed and massaged her forehead, her head starting to pound at the constant back-and-forth bickering. She was surprised at how almost cheerful the atmosphere was; was that some people's way of dealing with stress and fear? She knew at the very least that she was absolutely terrified. She could feel her heartbeat pounding in her ears, almost drowning out the sound of the other's voices. She surmised that the others must have felt the same way. The blue eyed girl knew she had to at least try to remain calm, if not for her sake then for at least for everyone else. Nothing could be accomplished by panic.

"I... I'm afraid of ghost stories...," Ryou squeaked. He didn't know about the others but he was downright terrified. His entire body shook slightly, though he tried to hide it. The silver hared boy didn't want the others to see how frightened he was; they might think he was a coward. However, he felt so frightened and on edge that he could barely breathe.

"We're going to be pretty tense tonight as it is, you guys...," Yugi commented with a soft sigh. He couldn't help but feel that telling ghost stories while they were practically in the middle of a real one would only make things tenser. Things were already scary enough without any one of them purposely trying to make it worse. "Maybe we should just try something else?"

"What?" Jonouchi blinked 'innocently'. "Afraid you're going to soil YOURSELF, Yug'?"

"... I am not," Yugi responded defensively, straightening up slightly, as he suddenly felt the need to show that he wasn't a child. Sometimes, or rather most times, he regretted being so small and having such a youthful appearance; no one ever really believed that he was in high school when they first saw him.

"Riiiight," Honda grinned as he winked and nudged Jonouchi. "Sure you're not."

"... Oh lovely, a testosterone match," Mai rolled her eyes.

Seto sighed and got comfortable, lying on the ground while propping his head up with his arms. It was going to be a long night, he knew.

And indeed it was.

Time passed slowly as Jonouchi and Honda tried to scare Seto with their ghost stories, ranging from spooky haunted houses to axe murderers. However, Seto was a force to be reckoned with. In the end, Jonouchi and Honda had only succeeded in terrorizing Ryou, putting everyone else on edge, and making Seto almost fall asleep with boredom.

"I told you that you can't scare my Niisama," Mokuba grinned smugly despite a slight tremor. The stories did scare him, although the fear as not so much from the stories themselves, but in making the lurking fear of what was changing his home into a prison that much stronger. Thankfully the fear was controllable because of his brother's unshakable calm.

"Doesn't ANYTHING scare that guy?" Jonouchi muttered to Honda.

"Nothing I've ever seen," Honda muttered back.

"I was scared," Ryou offered, apologetically. His teeth chattered slightly as he rocked slightly, glancing around the room nervously.

"Hmmmmm," Mai grinned as she suddenly scooted closer to Jonouchi, smirking. "I know what scares him."

Seto arched an eyebrow.

"Eh?" Jonouchi blinked, then snorted. "What, you?" Honda chuckled.

Mai's cheek twitched but she decided to ignore that. "No, moron. Relationships! FRIENDSHIP!"

Seto's expression darkened.

"Why would anyone be afraid of that?" Anzu wondered, to herself.

"Niisama isn't afraid of anything!" Mokuba protested. "Especially not of something like that."

"Oh really?" Mai grinned, then looked at Honda and Jonouchi. "I'll bet that if someone OTHER than Mokuba tried to hug him, he'd scream like Bakura did at your stories!"

Jonouchi blinked at that.

"Feh," Seto snorted, rolling over on his back and getting comfortable. He knew he couldn't just storm off, what with the doors all being locked, but he could definitely go to sleep and ignore them.

"She might have a point," Honda muttered.

"Yeah," Jonouchi grinned in response, then leaned over to nudge Honda in the side. "Why dontcha you try it?"

"No way, man, YOU do it," Honda nudged back at Jonouchi.

"Nuh uh!" Jonouchi nudged Honda again. "I ain't touchin' KAIBA!"

"Well I'm not!" Honda nudged Jonouchi back again a little harder.

"What, SCARED?" Jonouchi shoved Honda a little roughly.

"Guys, cut it out," Yugi protested, trying to cut off what was most likely going to deteriorate into another boyish brawl.

"Yeah, besides," Mai glanced at Jonouchi and wrapped an arm around his neck, tugging him closer. "He fell asleep!"

"E-eh?" Jonouchi blinked at the sudden closeness, then turned to stare at Seto. Apparently, during his attempts to feign sleep, his exhaustion from staying up all night due to his dreams decided to take hold until he truly fell asleep.

Yugi sighed and shook his head. "Look, guys, maybe we should try sleeping too," he commented. "We're all tense from what's happening here."

"I guess," Jonouchi glowered, a bit aggravated at having failed at terrorizing the rich CEO.

"Yeah," Honda rubbed the back of his head.

"Sounds good!" Mai inched over away from Jonouchi before curling up and lying on her side. "Keep your hands to yourself, boys. If I find anyone trying to cop a feel, you'll find me scarier than whatever's in the shadows."

Anzu giggled at that and curled up on her side as well.

"We should try and figure out who stands watch and what order," Yugi suggested. "We don't want to all be asleep in case that shadow comes back."

"Good thinkin', Yugi," Honda nodded, glancing at Jonouchi before looking back at Yugi. "I'll take the first watch."

"Heh," Jonouchi smirked. "If it gets too scary, gimme a holler."

"HAH!" Honda snorted.

"Okay, Honda," Yugi nodded. "I'll take second watch then." With that he yawned, stretched, and then curled up to go to sleep.

Mokuba just yawned and snuggled up next to his brother before promptly passing out.

Ryou glanced around, then sighed and curled on the floor as well, using his arms as a pillow.

Honda sighed and made himself somewhat comfortable propped up against the wall. He crossed his arms and glanced around at all of his friends and acquaintances sleeping. His gaze came to a stop on Jonouchi, who slept curled up almost in a ball. Honda sighed again as he watched his best friend for a moment, before he kept an eye out for any suspicious shadows.

Silence reigned, as everyone got comfortable and slowly drifted to sleep. Even Honda started to doze off, having forgotten to wake Yugi up to take his turn. Minutes ticked away as the group of teenagers and Mokuba slept, exhausted in spite of the unknown terror that loomed within the shadows of the house. The room was perfectly still, save for the occasional creak of the house or tick of a clock.

As hours passed, the darkness within the room seemed to grow more and more intimidating. Soon, enough, the only light seemed to be directly around the group. The shadows themselves hovered just out of reach, forming an unnatural circle around the teenagers and Mokuba.

As moments continued to pass, Seto's shadow began to grow abnormally large again. A blood red glow started to form within the shadow, seemingly forming into a pair of piercing eyes that peered about dangerously, pausing first to glance around warily before looking at Seto intently.

Once the shadow was satisfied that no one was awake, a pair of claws slithered forward to slowly take hold of Seto's body.

Seto tensed and his eyes fluttered open with a grunt. He paused and blinked before letting out a strangled scream as he was yanked in to the shadow by the claws. His scream ended abruptly as he disappeared in to the darkness.

"Wha-?! Niisama!?" Mokuba started as he heard his brother scream, instantly waking up and whipping his head about franticly.

"Kaiba?" Anzu sat up and rubbed her eyes, then stared. "He... HE'S GONE!"

"NIISAMA'S GONE?!" Mokuba repeated, his voice bordering hysterics. He had been right next to Seto, and close enough that his brother's body heat was still on his skin. Franticly the young Kaiba looked around for his brother as his hands went to the spot Seto was to support himself. Almost immediately he jerked back, as the floor felt surprisingly icy cold.

"What's everyone yelling about...?" Mai muttered as she slowly woke up, stretching and yawning.

"Hey... where'd Kaiba go?" Jonouchi blinked and sat up.

"What?" Yugi gasped as he looked around as well, not seeing any sign of Seto. "Oh no, the shadow must have got him!"

"Oh man... sorry guys," Honda apologized, looking down. "I guess I must've fallen asleep..."

Mokuba quickly got to his feet. "Don't just stand there!" he yelled, growing more hysterical by the moment. "We have to find Niisama!"

"Where should we look-?" Anzu began before breaking off with a scream, a pair of claws lunging from her shadow, grabbing her hips, and yanking her backwards.

"ANZU!" Yugi yelled, horrified, and quickly scrambled to grab Anzu.

"YUGI-!" Anzu screamed as she reached out to grab his hand.

"Hang on!" Mokuba cried as he reacted quickly and grabbed Anzu's hand just before the shadow yanked her within itself. Unfortunately, the young boy wasn't strong enough to stop it, and was quickly yanked in after her.

"ANZU! MOKUBA!" Jonouchi yelped as he scrambled to his feet and looked around wildly. "What happened-!?"

"T-this is...," Mai gasped. "Where did they go-!?"

"NO!" Yugi cried as he franticly felt the floor where they had disappeared through. "It must've taken then wherever Kaiba is!"

"Oh great," Honda tensed. "What do we do now?!"

"ACK!"

Jonouchi yowled and struggled as a pair of claws had a firm hold around his waist. He tried to pry the claws free but couldn't due to their iron grip, dragging him towards his shadow.

"Wha-!?" Honda whirled towards Jonouchi then quickly lunged to grab the blonde boy. "Jonouchi!"

"Jonouchi!" Mai lunged as well, grabbing one of the claws and trying to pry it free.

"H-HELP!" Jonouchi yelped before the claws suddenly yanked him backwards in to the shadow, dragging Mai and Honda with the blonde.

"NO! Jonouchi! Honda! MAI!" Yugi cried in horror, too late in reacting to save any of them. "... No..."

"O-oh... oh my...," Ryou looked around wildly, more than a little panicked, as he scooted way from the shadows and let out a whimper. "We... we're all that's left..."

"That means... we're next...," Yugi said as he moved closer to Ryou, his head whipping about franticly for any sign of the shadow. His entire body felt tense as adrenaline flowed through his veins, his heartbeat and breathing rapid, so that he would be ready to spring when the shadow would inevitably strike again.

"I... I..." Ryou shivered before swallowing hard. His heart was racing as he gasped for breath, practically hyperventilating. "Y-Yugi, what do we do...?"

"I don't know...," Yugi admitted as he continued to look around. "But keep close." There were too many dark shadows in the room, and the radius of light that illuminated them seemed to be growing smaller by the second, creating even more darkness to be used to trap them.

"... Y-Yugi?" Ryou squeaked.

"Yes?" Yugi glanced at Ryou, tense.

"Is that your hand on my butt?" Ryou whispered. "Don't get me wrong... but please tell me that's your hand on my butt..."

Yugi paled and held up his hands. "No... RUN!"

Ryou glanced down to see the claws grabbing his butt, then screamed and tried to lunge away, flailing about. "No-! NO!"

"BAKURA!" Yugi cried and quickly grabbed Ryou's hand, trying to pull him away from the groping claws. "LET GO OF HIM!"

Ryou whimpered as he clung to Yugi's hands, trying to kick at the claws. "Y-YUGI-!"

"Hang on!" Yugi grunted as he dug his heels into the ground, trying desperately to pull Ryou away from the evil shadow.

"I... I'm trying-!" Ryou practically sobbed before letting out a cry as he was yanked backwards rather roughly in to the shadow.

Yugi yelped and quickly found himself yanked along with Ryou, the two teens disappearing into the darkness.

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"Aaaaaiiiyaaah..."

Ryou moaned softly as he sat up, his body aching all over. His pants looked slightly ripped, particularly on his rear, as a large bruise started to form on his cheek. "O-ow..."

Yugi groaned, lying on his side next to Ryou, and blinked his eyes open slowly as consciousness returned to him.

"Y-Yugi?" Ryou glanced at the smaller boy next to him, and then looked around. "We're... alive!"

"Bakura...?" Yugi blinked before sitting up. He tensed as he remembered what happened before he went unconscious and looked over Ryou and himself for any obvious injuries. "Yeah... Are you okay, Bakura?"

"Y-yes, I'm fine," Ryou nodded, then grimaced slightly. "Those claws tore my clothes... but I suppose I'm lucky if all I have to complain about are a few aches and torn pants..."

"Yeah," Yugi nodded, relieved that his friend was all right, but still couldn't relax as the shadow might still be around. He looked around warily for any sign of it as he tried to look for any sign of his other friends. "... I don't see it anywhere... or the others either!"

"Where... are we?" Ryou glanced around as well, and then paled.

The two were in what appeared to be the living room of the mansion. However, the shadows and darkness made it appear very frightening and demonic.

"I guess... the living room," Yugi muttered as he slowly stood up. "But it doesn't matter anyway since everything's been changed around."

"Everything... it's so scary looking..." Ryou stood up, chewing on his lower lip. "What do you suppose is happening...?"

"I'm not sure...," Yugi admitted, a worried expression on his face. "But we won't find out anything staying here. Come on, let's look for the others."

Ryou was about to respond when he was suddenly thrown backwards with a scream, crashing in to the couch and causing it to flip.

"BAKURA!" Yugi cried, whirling about before his eyes widened at the sight before him.

Rising from a shadow on the ground, wrapped almost completely in a tattered cloak that seemed to be made of darkness itself, was a tall humanoid creature with claws and a pair of bright glowing eyes. Overtop the cloak was a necklace of cards and a large, wicked looking scythe rested in one of its gnarled claws.

"The Reaper of the Cards!" Yugi gasped as he took an involuntary step back, instantly recognizing the creature before him as being an infamous Duel Monster.

"You know me," the Reaper hissed softly, and then turned to look at the couch as a soft moan signaled that Ryou wasn't seriously injured. "You should not have come," the Reaper said as he slowly glanced back at Yugi. "This is none of your business."

"What do you mean?" Yugi asked, tensing as he tried not to show any fear. "Are you the one behind all this?!"

The Reaper paused before turning around to face Yugi, his glowing eyes narrowing. "I am simply a servant."

"Who sent you here?" Yugi demanded, holding his ground in the face of the fearsome monster.

"It does not matter, you cannot stop this," the Reaper floated towards the boy, chuckling quietly. "He simply wants his apprentice back."

"What?" Yugi paused then gasped as it all suddenly clicked into place. "Kaiba!"

"... You are a curious one," the Reaper paused to stare at Yugi with his glowing eyes. "I cannot touch his mind... or the mind of the silver haired one. It is as if... there were something in the way," he mused, to himself.

Yugi wasn't sure exactly what the Reaper was talking about, but was relieved nonetheless. He had enough mind games when facing off against Pegasus. "Give us back our friends right now!"

"No," the Reaper floated back a bit. "They should not have interfered. They will die." The Duel Monster paused then gestured at Yugi. "Leave now and I will spare you."

"No!" Yugi glared. "I won't leave until you give us back all our friends!"

"You are a fool!" the Reaper hissed, flexing his claws in Yugi's face. "How can you expect to make such demands?"

Yugi barely suppressed the urge to flinch backwards. "... I don't care what you can do!" he said in his strongest voice. "I'm not leaving unless I have all my friends with me!"

"Then die!" the Reaper drew closer, a deep growl rumbling forth.

However, the Reaper paused suddenly as a couch pillow hit him in the side of the head.

"L-leave him alone!" Ryou stammered as he held another couch pillow over his head, ready to throw it. "I... I won't let you hurt him!"

The Reaper's cheek would have twitched if he had one.

"Bakura!" Yugi gasped, both glad that Ryou was all right and afraid that his friend was going to get attacked by the Reaper.

Within the Millennium Ring, Bakura watched tensely. While he was privately impressed at his hikari's courage, he knew that the Reaper was likely going to try to slice Ryou in half now. As much as he disliked the idea of revealing himself, the safety of his host took precedence over stealth.

The Reaper slowly turned towards Ryou, his eyes glowing even more intently.

WHOMP.

The Reaper twitched as a second pillow smacked him in the face before collapsing to the ground with a thump.

"Y-you... you just stop right there!" Ryou cried as he grabbed another pillow, holding it threateningly. "And... and give us back our friends!"

"You don't understand the situation you are in," the Reaper said, tensely. "Surely you value your lives more than-"

WHACK.

The Reaper twitched visibly as a third pillow hit him in the face, interrupting him.

"I've got plenty more pillows!" Ryou cried, shaking as he grabbed another pillow off of the couch. "So... so just give up!"

"... You...," the Reaper twitched violently before he turned to face Ryu fully, the pillow in his claws. The shadows quivered about him before the Duel Monster's eyes blazed like an inferno. He let out an inhuman roar as he dug his claws in to the pillow before ripping it apart, sending fluff and stuffing everywhere like a snow flurry. He huffed, practically shaking with anger as the tension grew thick with agitation. "YOU WILL DIE!"

"Look out, Bakura!" Yugi cried as he quickly darted over to his friend, trying to get there before the Reaper.

"Yugi!" Yami cried in alarm as his light ran into the path of the Reaper. "Be careful!"

The Reaper drew back with a sharp hiss as Yugi cut him off, his glowing blood red eyes narrowing in a dangerous glare directed at the two boys. The shadows about him quivered, bristling dangerously, as if they were part of the Duel Monster's body, which trembled with a rage so terrible that it was palpable.

"I'm not going to let you hurt Bakura or any of our friends!" Yugi stated as he stood protectively in front of Ryou. "Just give our friends back and leave us alone!"

The Reaper huffed, slowly regaining control of himself, before he returned to glaring at Yugi and Ryou. He drew himself up tall, the shadows condensing around him protectively, before he fixed the spiky haired boy with a poisonous gaze.

Yugi glared at the Reaper with unwavering courage. He would not falter with the safety of his friends on the line. An image of Yami glaring even more intensely with a golden eye glowing on his forehead seemed to overlap Yugi's for a moment.

"I... I'm not afraid!" Ryou stood behind Yugi, trying to look as determined as his friend. "I won't... I won't let you hurt Yugi!" For a moment his continence became more sinister, as Bakura made his threatening presence known as well.

The Reaper hissed, as if wounded, and backed away slowly.

"Give us back our friends right now!" Yugi demanded.

"... You'll never see them again," the Reaper backed away, drifting inconspicuously towards the shadows.

"No! Give them back!" Yugi cried as he started to pursue the Reaper.

"... Keep back!" the Reaper hissed, swinging his scythe in a warning slash at Yugi. "You will not give me any orders!"

Yugi instantly stopped, jumping back with a cry as he avoided the slash reflexively, even though the blow wouldn't have impacted even if he had stood still. Yami growled lowly from within Yugi. That was close; if the Reaper had been aiming for his light, chances are that Yugi would be dead now.

"Yugi!" Ryou darted over to his friend's side.

"... Their blood will run," the Reaper narrowed his eyes. "And my master will reclaim his apprentice. You should have escaped!"

With that, the Reaper whirled and lunged in to the shadows, disappearing from sight, as the shadows seemed to shimmer like a puddle before finally going still.

"NO!" Yugi cried, but it was too late as the monster had already left. He looked around for any sign of it as he clenched his fist.

"Y-Yugi," Ryou glanced at Yugi, and then glanced at the shadows. "... Did he leave?"

"... I think so..." Yugi turned to look at Ryou. "We have to find the others quickly!"

Ryou nodded. "They... they have to be in the house somewhere."

"Yeah...," Yugi nodded. "Come on, we better hurry and find them before it does."