Wilted Rose

Summary: (Sequel to ALFoR) After selling his soul to save Marik, a mute Malik is slowly dying with Seto finding himself powerless to help. Meanwhile, Bakura tries to reason with a reckless Marik as Ryou searches for a way to save both demon and human. (MxM, BxR)

Rated: T

Genre: Supernatural/Romance

Author's Note: I'M SO SORRY FOR THE HUGE GAP BETWEEN THIS CHAPTER AND THE LAST ONE! Seto and Jou are back, back, BACK! Also, MARIK IS CUTE (but Malik is even cuter).Oh, Ryou's in here. A lot. Is my dislike for him starting to waver? Hell no. But I wouldn't want to be unfair. And the reason this chapter is so late is because I rewrote Malik and Touzoku's scene like five times. AND IT TOOK SO LONG I JUST SCRAPPED IT FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER. Seriously.

Disclaimer: It's still not mine…bleh!


7 – The Last Resort

Ryou walked tiredly through the now familiar path to the Ivory bar, white wings drooping slightly. He didn't have enough energy to hold his head up high, as was protocol when any angel visited Hell. To look proud and noble, kind, yet with an air of disdain, proper and righteous…none of it really mattered to him at this point. Having spent so much time with Malik and his group of mismatched companions, he had realized something; angels and demons, demons and angels…they were just labels. The surge of emotions he had felt when he thought Bakura was in danger were the same as anyone would have felt. All this time he had thought Malik was just being a selfish little brat, when he himself wasn't immune to the consuming power of fear and passion. He ignored the suspicious glances and whispers following him through the streets, staring determinedly at his sandaled feet, untouched by the filth of Hell.

It was a shame really…if he had been paying attention, he would've seen the retreating figures of Amelda and Varon.

The angel stopped on the doorstep of the bar, looking up at its weathered sign. After a soft chuckle, he allowed a small smile to slide onto his pale face.

"After all is said and done…we're all just bodiless souls…aren't we?"

He noticed a new addition to the building, which wouldn't be odd in any other circumstance, but Seto seemed like the kind of person who disliked change. Mahogany eyes gazed confusedly at the swinging attachment to the usually open doors.

"'Closed?'" Ryou blinked. "At this time? Impossible! This place is never…" Concern pierced into the angel's mind as he hurried over to the locked entrance, tripping over his robes in the process. He rapped urgently on the wooden frame. "Hello? Kaiba! Jounouchi! It's Ryou, let me in!"

He pressed an ear to the door and heard a hushed argument taking place on the other side.

"Fuck, now he's here? Did you call him?"

"How and why would I do that?"

"Because I wouldn't have!"

"Maybe he came here on his own, ever think of that?"

"So what do we do?"

"We tell him to leave."

"But…what if he can fix-?"

"He still hasn't fixed Malik, and it's been six months!"

"Malik's a lost cause…"

"You'll be a lost cause if you don't keep your mouth shut Katsuya!"

"Fuck it, I'm letting him in."

"No you aren't!"

"What are you gonna do? GLARE at me?"

Ryou rolled his eyes and continued to bang mercilessly at the door. Those two hadn't changed a bit since he was last there. Though Seto portrayed himself to be the brooding, dark, and in Malik's case, over protective parent-type, around the honey-eyed demon he was reduced to the straight man of a bickering couple. And Jounouchi was…well he was shot in the head, so you had to give the guy a break.

Just when Ryou was starting to consider the use of heavenly judgment upon the foul door, there was a light shuffling and rattles of chains from inside. Wincing as the heavy lock fell, the angel straightened his robes and set a confident expression on his face. Just because he had discovered the cruel similarities between angels and demons didn't mean they had to.

'Although,' he thought suddenly, façade crumbling, 'considering their age they probably already…'

The twin doors burst open and Ryou was more than alarmed to see not Jounouchi, but Seto standing in front of him, panting and looking more disheveled than Ryou had ever seen him. Leering almost evilly behind him was Jounouchi, nose wrinkled in disgust. This odd presentation was made even more awkward when he was lifted off the ground and hugged tightly by the tall demon, who was spouting some nonsense about thanking 'God, Buddha, and whoever the hell else!' The horror on his face must have been evident, as Jounouchi uncharacteristically grabbed his lover by the ear and brought him down to his level, amber eyes blazing. This forced the over zealous brunette to release Ryou from his binding, however the angel still managed to fall rather ungracefully to the floor.

"Who do you think you are?" The blonde hissed, tugging the lobe viciously.

"Well, up until now, I'm pretty sure I was you," the other sneered.

"Meaning what exactly?"

"Katsuya Jounouchi!"

"I AM NOT…YOU!"

"Dears, I know it's a bit much to ask, but…" Ryou forced a smile on his face. "What in heaven's name is going on?"

"Why don't you ask that guy," Seto pouted (so frightening).

"I refuse to say anything to that angel," Jounouchi sniffed, looking away.

"Hard ass; ah well, then I guess I'll have to tell you."

"Uh…please do Kaiba?"

At this simple statement, the shorter demon broke into a manic series of stutters and scoffs.

"N-NO! NO NO NO! I WON'T STAND FOR THIS! I'M SETO KAIBA!"

Ryou blinked. Maybe these demons were a little bit farther off the deep end than he thought. "Um…no Jounouchi…you're…well, Jounouchi."

"I am not Jounouchi, HE is Jounouchi!" The blonde spat, pointing at an exasperated Seto. "Our minds were switched!"

"What?" The angel gaped.

"Five nights ago I woke up next to myself!"

"And I woke up tall," Seto…err, Jounouchi said proudly.

"H-How did…?" He couldn't even grasp the thought. A sudden thought wriggled into his mind. "Five nights ago you said? That's when Malik got his voice back!"

"Malik's got his voice back?" Both said in surprise (though 'Seto' had an air of exasperation).

"So then you can fix this," 'Jounouchi' insisted, glaring into the cherub's widened eyes. "Our problem must be less troublesome, just a simple extraction and transplant! No one's lives are at stake, right?"

"Actually…I haven't…really…'fixed' Malik…yet…" Ryou muttered sheepishly.

"But you said he got his voice back, right?" The taller demon asked, crossing his arms. "Doesn't that mean it's over?"

"His voice is back, but the eye is still red, meaning the curse is still there. I spoke with him recently…he doesn't seem too phased, but Touzoku thinks that maybe–"

"I don't want to hear that bastard's name under this roof ever again," the blonde scowled.

Ryou sighed. "Fine. HE thinks that maybe Dartz knows of my involvement and is trying to get something else from Malik. However, the contract might have been modified to include all those who care about…or, know at least," he added, seeing 'Seto's' disgusted expression, "what's been happening to him. In fact, one of Marik's eyes has been cursed, the one opposite of Malik's. And now…seeing that you two are the way you are…"

"Damn it, I should've known the kid had something to do with this," Jounouchi growled, wings falling. "Even when we've gotten rid of him, all the shit he gets into still trickles back to us."

"I can't say I totally agree with what Malik's done, but you can't place ALL the blame on him…not that I'm saying any of you had direct involvement with this, but…" Ryou faltered. What was he trying to say again? "Well…I mean…it is…kind of…"

"Even he agrees that it's the brat's fault!"

"Well now it's our problem again," Seto growled, taking Jounouchi's voice to the pitch he never knew it could reach. "I think it's safe to assume that once Malik's situation is solved, everything will go back the way it was, correct?"

"That would be the idea." Ryou nodded.

"Are you guys still backwards?" a new, yet familiar voice chimed. Three sets of eyes watched as the aqua haired Noa walked lazily down the stairs, stifling a yawn and scratching his bare chest without much shame. "Oh…hey, you're that angel from before. Heh, pretty crazy stuff, right?"

"To be honest, I'm actually starting to get used to all of this," he said blankly. "So, you weren't affected in any way?"

"Hell yeah I was affected! Ever since these two crows closed the place down, I've had nothing but free time! No more dishes to clean, food to cook, flies to swat, nothing! A guy could get used to this."

"Lazy good for nothing…" Jounouchi muttered.

"You weren't getting paid anyway, so I don't know why you're still hanging around here," Seto snapped, woefully aware that he no longer held the same power of intimidation he had before. "Go home!"

"My house may be tons better than this shack, but you guys have got tons of food! It'd be a shame to let it all go to waste," he said, smirking.

"Food doesn't spoil here!"

"Yeah, but with all this weird stuff happening left and right, who's to say what can and can't happen? As far as I'm concerned, all the rules can go fuck themselves."

"Oh! That's right," Ryou said in a relatively calm manner, bringing out a scroll. "The reason I came down here is to ask if you two would mind housing a few guests."

"What kind of guests?" Jounouchi said suspiciously.

"…Guests you've met before?"

"There ain't no way I'm letting more freeloaders into our home," the once-blonde demon whined. "We let Malik in and all of a sudden all the weirdoes and mental patients in existence come onto our doorstep! You should spend less time on whatever relocation project you have in mind and FIX US!"

"It's not a relocation project!" Ryou huffed. "I went to my superiors earlier and told them everything that had happened to Marik! It was impossible to keep a problem that now negatively affected humans contained any longer, so they took it to the council suggested that the best possible solution was to bring the two of them down here to try and renegotiate the contract!" He blushed. "Bakura apparently has to come too because there has to be a non-partisan witness involved, which is completely insane considering all the times Dartz probably redid the contract on his own volition, but now that we angels are involved there needs to be a strict code of conduct that has to be followed exactly, or else nothing can be accomplished and we'll all be screwed!"

"How the hell is Bakura non-partisan? He likes you!"

"The council doesn't know that and I don't intend for them to," the angel whispered. "And unless you two want to remain the way you are, I suggest you keep it to yourself!"

"What's this? Mr. Righteous asking us lowly demons to lie for him? Maybe the rules really have been fucked," Jounouchi smirked.

"If only it had been this way when the pearls were still involved," Seto said bitterly.

"I don't know what you want from me! I already admitted I made a mistake, and I'm sorry! But brooding over it for the rest of your sad existence isn't going to change anything!"

"Neither will offering empty excuses!"

"To be honest, I'm really fed up with dealing with all of you, so if you could just agree to house those two, I'll get out of your hair and go bother them instead, alright?"

"Leave it to the angels to have a distorted system of operations!"

"Oh yes, because we have rules to prevent all of this soul swapping, voice taking, guardian switching nonsense we're the ones who have the distorted system!"

The once brunette demon grabbed the scroll, looked over it disdainfully and scribbled his signature on the bottom, annoyed for the first time that Jounouchi was left handed.

"You didn't even read it!" Ryou protested.

"The signer of this agreement is to house the listed humans until the appointment has been met, I am not allowed to harm them in any way, shape, or form, they shall not be put to work under my orders, and I am liable to any injuries they may suffer. If at any time, it is felt that I am being unfair and/or abusive, they will be removed immediately and I will accept punishment befitting to the crime." Seto said uninterestedly, scratching his chin with a newly polished claw. "Same old, same old, all of the angel documents are basically the same things restated ninety different ways." He tossed the agreement back to the indignant cherub and shrugged. "I've been here for a long time."

"Pen," Ryou prompted.

"Excuse me?"

"You have my pen," he repeated shrilly, snatching it from the other being. "Oh…and Kaiba…!"

There was a collective gasp as the pale angel raised a pristine palm and gave Malik's former keeper a well-deserved smack. The harsh sound lingered in the room long after the action took place, as did the look of shock on the faces of all the demons, though 'Jounouchi's' expression was clearly that of speechlessness.

Clearing his throat and blushing a bright pink, Ryou bowed and muttered a quick apology before striding out of the bar, blue robes trailing behind him. He paused however as he crossed 'Seto's' path and said in a semi-hysterical whisper:

"I've been meaning to do that for some time, but he's just so tall!"


"Marik, what's with the eye patch?"

"I decided this school needed an uprooting of social norms," the blonde replied seriously, closing his other eye. "This morning I considered coming to class wearing nothing but a thoughtfully placed flower pot, but decided against it as I'm sure this close minded campus wouldn't have understood my ingenious motives. So I decided to start small," he concluded blandly, pointing at the covering over his cursed eye.

"Uh…huh," Otogi said dully. "That's funny, because I heard that you had a sudden outbreak of pinkeye a few days ago."

"That too," Marik coughed.

"Ugh, remind me not to sit next to you in class today," the other man cringed. "I'd like to keep my eyes green."

"When have you ever sat next to any of us in any of your classes?" Bakura interrupted, waving his binder irritably. "In fact, why are you even talking to him? Marik? What is the meaning of this?"

"I just found out that Otogi and I were partnered for a project in intermediate psychology," Marik stated distastefully. "We were just discussing the best way to finish without having to physically talk to each other. Ever."

"Have you figured it out?"

"E-mail," the two said in unison.

"The answer to everything. That is, if the replies are sent within a month," Bakura muttered rather callously. "Anyway, Marik and I are going downtown later today to check out that new takoyaki bar across from the library."

"The one that uses the local octopus caught off the pier?"

"The freshest ones you can get." Marik nodded.

"I've been meaning to go there ever since it opened! Are…you inviting me?" Otogi said hopefully.

"No. We were just rubbing it in your face," Bakura smiled.

As the two left the insulted Otogi to stew in his own annoyance, Marik shot Bakura a suspicious look.

"What new takoyaki bar?"

"Beats me, apparently there is one though," the other shrugged. "I just wanted to give him an excuse as to why we won't be here later tonight."

"Why won't we be here later tonight?" Marik blinked, completely in the dark.

"Because Ryou's coming over."

"…Why is Ryou coming over?"

"Because he's the only one with the power to take us to Hell to save Malik."

"…I'm confused."

"Tell me something I don't know," Bakura snickered, stepping over a new puddle with a worried expression. "While you were out last night making up the lab, Ryou stopped over and said that he went over the whole red eye thing with some other angels. Apparently, you're gonna have to go to Hell to meet with the guy who wrote the contract and try to renegotiate. How the hell you're going to manage that is beyond me, but if you have Malik's caretakers and a couple angels on your side, I guess it's doable."

"So then why are you coming?"

"Non-partisan witness," he said proudly. "Isn't it sweet? Ryou's willing to lie for me!"

"Cavity inducing," Marik said stoically. "Did he say anything about Malik's status?"

"Nothing really except that he's becoming more difficult for Akefia to handle."

"That's my Malik," the blonde sighed dreamily, "give 'em hell and show that douche who you really love!"

"Ugh…"

"Also, I don't think you should call him by his real name," Marik continued in a much more subdued tone. "Ryou said that he doesn't remember anything from when he was human."

"So what? That doesn't mean he's not my brother anymore!" Bakura snapped defensively.

"Think about it; a person's identity is shaped by their memories and experiences. So if he doesn't have any memory of being…Akefia (what kind of name is that? Loser.), then he's just Touzoku, a completely different person." Marik smirked.

"Personality isn't completely dependant on what you've been through; a naturally optimistic person would view a forest fire as a chance for a new generation of trees to grow while a pessimistic person would see it as the destruction of the past. It wouldn't matter if Akefia doesn't remember anything; he'd still be the same person he was before!"

"There's no such thing as naturally optimistic or naturally pessimistic," the blonde sneered. "From the moment we're born it's out parents who influence how we perceive things and what to make of situations. The only way to see a person's 'natural' anything is to throw the kid in a box as soon as it's separated from the mother and poke food and water through a hole. Then let him out in eighteen years and give him a personality quiz." A sheepish laugh. "Sorry, I just came out of Psych."

Bakura scoffed in response, but couldn't help but feel a little rattled by his friend's comment. His relationship with Akefia didn't exactly end on a good note…so maybe it was better that the demon known as Touzoku didn't have any recollection of ever having a little brother. After all, if Bakura was the source of his unhappiness, wouldn't it only be fair to be known as no more than a stranger in his next life?

'But still,' a persistent thought tugged at his mind, 'it wasn't like it was always bad…'

"Incoming."

The white haired medical student failed to look up in time to avoid greeting a tall metal pole with his face. Deathly pale skin burned red as the merciless cackles of his fellow student.

"You're a fucktard," Bakura growled embarrassedly.

"Yeah, you're the one who walks into the fifty foot post and I'm the fucktard," Marik snorted, rolling his single plum-colored eye. "So what're you packing for hell?"

"Well I'm not sure, it's been such a long time since my last visit," the other drawled sarcastically.

"I bet it's dirty."

"Then my entire supply of hand sanitizer and a skin rock. You?"

"Maybe a change of clothes and a toothbrush," the blonde said thoughtfully.

"No toothpaste?"

"Overrated."

"…I can't believe we're talking about this like we're going on a weekend vacation."

"Well it's not like we're dying," Marik reasoned. "We're just going down there to redo whatever Malik signed, right? And we're having some angels as escorts, the chances of us doing something stupid should be next to nothing."

"Y-Yeah…"

"Don't sound so nervous Mr. Non-Partisan. It's not like it's your ass is on the line."

"Heh…" Bakura laughed nervously, thoughts drifting back to what Ryou had said.

'To be honest, I don't know if Marik will survive the contract renegotiation. Marik's living on Malik's sacrifice, it's borrowed time. If the contract was never written, Marik's suicide would have succeeded on it's first attempt…he'd be in the same boat as your brother. But if that were to happen, he'd have no memory, and I doubt Malik would be too happy… Ooh, this is all just so confusing! We have to be very careful when it's being rewritten; of course the best outcome possible is to save Malik and keep Marik alive. But if worse comes to worse…And then there's you…if any members of the Higher Council found out what I've been doing with you…what rules I've broken for you…'

"Marik, do you still want to die?"

"Awkward question…" Marik frowned. "Not to mention personal."

"R-Right…forget it then."

"Does it seem like it?"

"Um…I don't…know?"

The blonde had an odd expression on his face, a mixture of disgruntled insult and thoughtful curiosity. Finally, he shrugged and continued to lead the way to the dorms, past the rose garden where they had had their first very abrupt and awkward meeting.

'I wonder,' Bakura mused, remembering the then tall blonde reading a long letter written in lilac ink, 'was that the last letter Malik had written…?'


Malik drew another odd shape in the margin of his letter, adding two dots and an upside down 'v' to make it into a sort of angry potato. He sighed, tapping the pen where he had left off, wondering if he should even bother burdening Marik with his problems anymore. Sure he'd care (or at least, Malik hope he'd care), but it's not like he could do anything about it. Being millions of miles away in a different country was a tad difficult for Malik to deal with. He knew English well enough, but his odd looks made him just as much a target in America as it did in Japan. And he was finding it harder to cope without anyone to talk to. There was always Isis, but she was a fan of the, 'You'll get over it eventually,' approach, which didn't do him any good.

'It's not like he'll take the next flight here,' the blonde reasoned, lilac eyes slightly teary. 'So…it couldn't hurt lying…just a little…'

School's been great; kinda redundant though, since I learned most of it during my last year in Japan. The teachers seem nice enough, though I feel that they kinda put me under a spotlight sometimes, seeing as how I'm so foreign and everything. As if my looks didn't give it away, right? The first day was the worse; I had to introduce myself to the whole class and I could just feel everyone looking at me. I hope it won't be as bad as it was in grade school. Hee, I just remembered that one time you punched some kid after he'd been picking on me. Your mom was so angry! I haven't really made any friends yet, mostly because the homework's been a bitch…

He paused, heart pounding. Maybe he should just avoid talking about his dismal social life, it was better than lying about it.

'But I don't want to mess up the paper…'

So, in a moment of shallowness, he continued to scrawl out excuses for his lack of friends, even commenting that a few non-existent people had asked him if he wanted to grab something after class. The more he wrote, the more outlandish the lie became, so much so that by the end of the damn thing he had become angry at himself for being so pathetic. He looked over his neatly written characters with a sullen air and added a quick, 'I miss you' under his signature, complete with a sad face. He thought about drawing a small heart before his name, but decided against it out of fear that he'd be compelled to write a small paragraph about the non-romantic implications behind it.

"I am such a girl," he whined aloud, beginning to fold the paper into a random shape. He placed it into an envelope, licked it shut and attached a few stamps on it, remembering to write the address in both English and Japanese. After tidying up a little (it was Saturday and he hadn't really bothered fixing himself up), he threw on a light jacket and walked nonchalantly down the stairs, keeping his gaze firmly upon the cream-colored carpet.

Isis looked up from her cutting board as the young blonde strode through the living room, looking as indifferent as ever.

"Where are you off to?" She asked concernedly, wiping the tomato juice off her hands.

Her younger brother remained silent as he exited the house, slamming the door angrily. Isis sighed and bit her lip ashamedly. Malik had proven he could be difficult before, but she never imagined it would escalate to this level. He hadn't spoken more than a few words to her in almost two weeks. She was sure it had everything to do with their abrupt relocation, but the proud woman stood by her choice to move away.

She didn't like Marik. She couldn't understand how someone as intelligent and driven as her brother could. Isis realized that stashing incoming letters from the aggressive blonde might have been pushing it more than necessary, but she refused to give in. The man's presence had a harmful impact on her naïve brother, and if she would have to hurt him to help him, then so be it. A change of scenery was something she desperately needed, and Hasina had agreed with her, though with a tinge of sadness.

After a growl of frustration, she turned up the flame on the stove and dumped the chopped vegetables into the bubbling pot, unaware that her elbow was dangerously close to a flask of olive oil.


I tried really really hard, and I'm going to try even harder! I have Fridays off this semester, which hopefully means more time to write…

The scrapped Touzoku and Malik scene (well, one of them) will take place in the next chapter, along with some DRAMA!

PLEASE REVIEW so I can know that people are still reading this story! This is extremely important to me, because I really want to finish this before beginning anymore chaptered fics, but if this story doesn't get enough traffic or reviews, the updates will continue to be this disjointed. So, if you want to read more of this, YOU MUST REVIEW!