Busy, busy, busy, but here's another update!

To my most splendid, excellent reviewers!

Marimarz- Thank you again for telling me that my story was in bold, I don't know that happened but I'm a ditz, lol. He'll get a break.. just not this chapter.. maybe not the next one either… One day, lol, glad you liked it.

KrazynKuki – Ahhh! Yeah, another update! And don't worry I don't scare easy, lol. I'm real glad you love my story, I understand you couldn't review last time, thank you for supporting me J

ilovemanicures – I am very tempted to have Marik "cuddle" Ryou, very tempted, but that is not in the storyline.. for now *insert evil laugh here*. I feel super sad when stories I like just suddenly stop, I know the sorrow, so I could never abandon my readers, though I sometimes take some time to update. I can understand the sappy writers, sometimes it's so hard to torture Ryou and I just want someone to cuddle him cutely.

-Bakura is a douche in the last chapter, my poor Ryou L Hope you like the update.

DarkAnubisAngel – I'm glad you loved the story, hope you enjoy the update.

Nearcreature – Yeah, I'm too mean to little Ryou, hope you like the new chapter.

randomismyname13 – Don't worry, in this chapter is his great escape! Well.. or he's let out.. either way he's free.

FormerV – Yeah I used to refer to Malik as Marik and his dark side as Yami Marik, but when you see everyone using Malik it kinda grows on you. Yeah, the first part was pretty hard for me to write, so I'm glad that you liked it. Yeah I got the idea of how he ate by the video of eating a steak, if you haven't seen that you should look it up, lol. Hope you like this chapter.

Darth Mudkip – He's a super mean dragon, one day I will get him back for all the mean things he's done to Ryou.. that I wrote, but that's beside the point! Yeah, I'm good at moving a story along without it actually moving.. I'm not sure if that is a talent or a curse, anyways hop you like the new chapter.

Silver Scales

Ryou is listless when he is finally let out of the closet, squinting at the bright light attacking his sensitive retinas, every part of him aches painfully being squashed into a space that couldn't be more than three by three foot with two stacked boxes taking up most that room, but that isn't what makes the room a new fear of his, Ryou found out within the first hour that claustrophobia is a learned condition.

"Nice night?" The dragon taunts while leaning casually against the wall, the cruelty makes the teen's heart drop, there is no way the false human didn't hear his cries and desperate pounding in attempts to escape, it had made his voice hoarse and hands throb. "Go cook something."

Dully the teen does as he's ordered without a word or the energy to even imagine up a sarcastic remark to himself, it's as if he's working blindly, just doing what's needed to be done without even really knowing what he's doing, where he's doing it, or how, he doesn't even notice how the world seems so blurry around him or how his head feels as if it's full of helium. When had his world turned dark again?

Bakura groans in annoyance, the only thing his tamer seems good at is fainting, he begrudgingly goes to gather the boy from the counter he fell asleep against, surprisingly staying upright with his top half sprawled across the ledge. He can't help but notice that the child has grown even lighter, it seems dangerous for such a small, fragile thing, though he can't recall the last time food passed those pale lips. He dumps the brat on the couch.

When the dragon gets back to the kitchen he looks at the stove with distaste and the pork chops beside it, cooking is a human chore that he usually wouldn't dirty his hands with, but with a weak host he doesn't seem to have much of a choice.

His last tamer had been a worrier, a man with strength and pride, Bakura had fun breaking him in, because it wasn't simple. The man was as cunning as a fox with a cruelty that rivaled that of his own, a thief that was a king at his sport. Those were good times in a land where he was treated as a god and he had good sport, a place where he needn't worry about hunters, but that is also where he met Atem, that is enough to turn a good memory sour. Times have truly changed and weak mortals seem to be the norm, but in its own way that is good, this tamer will never trick him like the last.

When the meat is done i.e. burned on the outside and raw on the inside he throws one on a plate before ripping into another, his nose crinkles in disgust, but he swallows it anyways and continues to eat. After he finishes his meal the man returns to the living room tossing the plate onto the coffee table, it clacks loudly against the wood.

"Wake up," He orders the slumbering child, it shouldn't come to a surprise the boy doesn't budge, so he gives him a shove. "Wake up," with another shove Ryou jerks awake, though his first reaction is to try to shy away from the bright light, shoving his face into the back of the couch with a low groan. "Get up and eat."

At the mention of consuming Ryou redirects his attention, turning back over and blinking sluggishly to help adjust his eyes to the glaring lights, but one look at the "food" and he regrets his decision to stir. What sits on the plate could not be edible, hell he might have had better luck eating that coal eggs from a few days ago and yet slit eyes look down at him expectedly. Biding his time the teen slowly adjusts himself into a sitting position, but there is no fighting the imminent and soon he is reaching forward to grab the meat with his hands for there is no utensils. Taking a bite the meat gives easily to teeth, the back of his hand stops the boy from spitting the food out, no meat is supposed to crunch like that and the juice is so thick and disgusting, that's when he looks down at what he just took a bite out of, the completely charred meat is completely pink on the inside.

"Swallow it," The dragon orders before he can spit it out and he can't help but look up at the other in shock, is the beast trying to kill him? Sadly, the look on the other's face gives him no room to argue. With much force and trepidation the meat slides down his throat and into his stomach, because he can't handle another night in the closet, physically can't bear it. The torture is not over, Bakura makes him eat every last bite of the meal, with his turning stomach he is surprised he doesn't throw up, "if you don't like how I cook then you better do it yourself, I will not let you starve."

Starve? Wasn't it the dragon that refused him something to eat last night? Then again, before that it felt forever since his last meal, a girl shared some cookies with him in class yesterday (because his stomach growled embarrassingly loud), but his lunch was taken up by talking to Yugi, Thursday was spent mostly sleeping, so it was Wednesday, he had lunch on Wednesday before Yugi came over and before he had been attacked. It had been three days since he's had a decent meal, how didn't he notice that?

Living with the dragon is slowly but surely killing him, necessary things like sleeping and eating are being thrown out of control, his stress levels are at an all time high, and the bodily harm is taking its effect. Isn't it how it's supposed to be, though? The dragon is just here to suck him dry and move on, his being here is Ryou's timely death, and there is nothing he can do about it but bear with it.

"I'm glad you know your place."

"Yeah," Ryou quietly agrees, his heart sinking into his stomach, it's good to know ones place. "I- I'm tired," He's a lot more than tired, but he doesn't mention that, only that he's tired.

"Do what you like."

…..

Crash! Ryou flinches, not expecting such a loud noise when he tossed the can in the shopping cart, but he continues on. His eyes roam the aisles as he pushes the squeaking cart along, he thinks up meal ideas, but really it doesn't matter, all the dragon eats is meat- mostly raw meat. Weeks have passed and life is.. surprisingly normal. Ryou's daily life includes school, coming home to cook, and then sleeping; he stays out of the dragon's way and the dragon leaves him to his own devices, like shopping as he's doing right now.

"Hello," The boy looks up when someone steps in his way.

"H-hi?" He answers unsurely, the dark male before him unrecognizable, he shamefully wonders if the boy is someone from his class.. but with those looks it would be completely impossible not to notice him, with pale hair styled into impossible spikes and skin of bronze.

"You're looking a lot better today," the man before him draws casually, mauve eyes roam over what's in the boy's cart uninterestedly, before coming up to meet those chocolate ones, a smirk on his lips, Ryou breaks eye contact nervously. For the life of him he can't recall this man, though it seems they have met.

"Tha-"

~Home, now.~ The dragon's voice rips through his skull, the piercing pain so much worse than the usual headache that it makes him jolt, hand going up to sooth an invisible wound, never had the dragon ever been so short with him either, always a calm but cruel glide of words echoing in his mind usually.

"Is he talking to you, now?" It's obviously a rhetorical question, because when Ryou looks up the man before him he holds the gaze of certainty. "You'll get used to the pain after a while, but for now you should act a bit normal, people are starting to stare."

Slowly, cautiously, the boy lowers his hand from his forehead, his eyes not leaving the person before him as if he's waiting for him to attack and to the teen's knowledge, he might.

"-One last thing: don't act suspicious, there are dragon hunters and if they find you they will complete the spell and ultimately kill you,-" The boy is gravely serious, "-Dragons are nearly indestructible, so they will not bat an eye at your demise, they will only see it as a necessary sacrifice.-"

The man before him has to be a hunter, how else would he know? If that is truly the case then he has to get out of here, fast.

"Come, let us continue shopping," the unknown man –hunter?- inclines, making his way around the cart to stand next to the pale teen, it takes a moment for Ryou to regain his voice.

"I-I must go, excu-" A strong hand wraps around his delicate wrist before he can retreat, he looks up at the man with large, frightened eyes.

"What did he tell you? Did he tell you to run?" Ryou looks around, but no one is paying any attention to the two males, not anymore than they usually would slyly glancing, but it's not as if the other shoppers understand what they are saying, not while they're speaking English. "Don't be so afraid, I won't hurt you," Those words are not comforting, not the way they are said.

"If you d-don't let me go, I'll- I'll cry out!" The teen warns daringly, giving a small yank to his captured arm, the grip stays firm. "I-I will."

That smirk doesn't leave the stranger's handsome face, if anything it grows.

"What a cheeky, little tamer. I can understand why Bakura is so cruel to you," the boy nibbles nervously on his bottom lip, trying to take in all the new information, this person knows Bakura. The man's words lower in volume, grow a more serious edge, "Do you really think these people could help you?"

The teen would like to think they could, wishes they could with all his will, yet deep down he knows they can't, it is mainly elderly women roaming about them, so Ryou has to admit to himself that he doesn't have any help, then –not with any intention- he admits it to the stranger as well, "no." Ryou flinches at his own week voice, it sounds as if he had given up his very soul with that one dreaded word.

"Don't look so upset," A hand goes to pet downy, white hair, which the boy cringes away from, " I'm not here for you, not yet, I just need to speak to Bakura."

Ryou is dragged along like a mischievous child with one hand, while the stranger pushes the cart along with his other hand: It must have been a sight to see, because everyone is staring almost openly at the pretty males.

"You're dragon should be here soon, so relax," the tan male assures when the smaller male looks as if he's still on the urge of crying, "though you should take this as a lesson not to stray too far from him again."

"I-it's closer to the school a-and the sales are best here," Ryou finds himself answering, the man before him stops dead.

"That's too cute, just like a little housewife," The man spins back around to look at the smaller male suddenly, his face too close for Ryou's liken though he frozen stiff, yet the stranger leans in even further till their lips almost touch, hot breath caresses his lips with each word, "why don't you become my housewife instead?"

"I thought this was already resolved," For all the terror Bakura put him through he makes up by saving him, this is the third time he is rescued, third time that he praises his meeting with the dragon.

"You have the habit of butting in at the most disagreeable time," The tan male pouts before backing away from the tamer in his grasp, and even letting him go. "Though you know, I could have eaten him before you showed up, you shouldn't roam so far away."

"You really know how to get on my nerves," Bakura growls back.

"So testy, I didn't do it," a smirk is back on the other's lips, "Though if you waited just a bit longer, who knows?"

The silver dragon tenses with rage, you can see with every fiber of his being that he wants to rip the smirk off the other dragon's face, it takes excellent control to hold it in.

"That isn't why I'm here though, my last deal didn't grab your interest, so I've got a new one for you."

"I'm not interested in any deal you have," Bakura tells him before stalking even closer and grabbing Ryou's upper arm, the boy has yet to move from his spot since the whole ordeal had started, confused on what to do and what he's listening too.

"Don't be so hasty, Bakura," The gold saunters forward with a confidence out of this world, "I assure you this is a deal worth hearing."

"I doubt you have anything that will catch my interest."

"Come to my home and I'll show you."

"And if it is a waste of my time?"

"If you have no interest in my offer than I will leave you and your tamer alone, indefinitely." With that Marik starts his journey out of the market were they defiantly made a spectacle and after a moment Bakura follows, Ryou in tow.

…..

Too much dialog! I suck at dialog, I make it so cheesy.