Yay, another chapter! Warning: things don't get much happier for a long while, okay? Ch10 coming soon... also, shameless plug: for those who like Tendershipping [Ryou x Bakura], I have a short little oneshot up... naughty little oneshot... implied yaoi, shonenai, etc. Late At Night is the name; read if you like that kinda stuff.

Double disclaimer [forgot last chapter!]: the day I own YGO, it will be re-rated R, and Bakura and Ryou will get much more onscreen time... ^_^ So would Seto.


The file was similar to Valon's in formatting and font; he looked at the document, but didn't read it. The words were just symbols, with no meaning or importance.

Raven giggled childishly from her spot on the mattress. 'I shee faeriesh!'

Seto glanced at the ceiling. He'd had a fair amount of absinthe, but not quite enough to hallucinate yet. He was a lightweight—compared to her, everyone was—and knew he'd regret it tomorrow. But god, he needed to be drunk tonight. It'd be the only way he'd get some sleep.

'Sheto, do you shee them?'

'I shee them Raven…' he let his sentence trail off. She's Ravana, remember?

No! She can't be. He argued with himself.

Read the file and find out…

'Sheto, why are your eyesh leaking?' A soft hand ran itself over his cheek and he jumped. He hadn't even noticed he was… crying?

'Becaushe I jusht found out shomething I didn't want to hear,' he said, not really talking to her. He was crying, over what? He didn't cry! Then again, normally he could pronounce his words clearly, and had a grasp of basic grammar.

He hastily wiped his eyes and turned to the file. Almost against his own will, he began reading.

*RECORD START*

Name: Raven Astarte

DOB: August 1992. Date unknown.

Prisoner Number: F-298349027

2008: Age 16, returned to custody by U.S. Department of Immigrations in early July. Suspect had illegally entered country. Arrested in U.S. for grand theft auto [four counts], break and enter [three counts], assault [five counts], manslaughter [two counts], resisting arrest and grievously wounding an officer. Also charged with one count of murder one [victim, by own confession: Ravana Moto].

Seto caught his breath. Raven had—had—killed Ravana. No. It was impossible.

He cursed under his breath. How many times had he used that phrase in the last hour? He consoled himself with the knowledge that Valon obviously hadn't escaped with Raven the first time round; he'd been rearrested in April, she in July.

She couldn't be Ravana. Raven was a murder, convicted criminal—Ravana wasn't. Ravana was dead. Killed by Raven. If this was true, though, why was Mokuba saying she was Raven?

Suspect sentenced to eighteen years in U.S. Sent to CCMJDC on recommendation of Hon. J. Mido.

CCMJDC—the boy's centre. Why was she there? Why hadn't she been sent to a girl's centre?

In late July, suspect was convicted of a second charge of murder one. Victim was prisoner M-83952005 [Hada Mido]. Sentence extended to twenty-three years, additionally sentenced to six months in solitary.

2009: Age 17, escaped CCMJDC with prisoner M-83025731 [Valon Mubarak] early March.

Note: Unsure of validity of suspect's name. Suspect insisted this was correct information. Refused to give a DOB or any supporting information. No records found to prove either true or false.

*RECORD END*

With shaking hands, Seto opened the second file.

*RECORD START*

Name: Ravana Moto

DOB: June 16th, 1992

His breath caught in his throat. June 16th was Yugi's birthday. 1992 would make her 17 this year, the same as Yugi—the same as Ravana would be if she were still alive. But Ravana didn't have a record… at least… not one anyone knew about…and she was dead.

Prisoner Number: F-039485729

2000: Age 8, arrested for theft. Sentenced to six months. Released CCFJDC [Cairo City Female's Juvenile Detention Centre] December.

2001: Age 9, arrested for assault and battery in February. Sentenced to one year. Served eleven months.

2002: Age 9, arrested in March for break and enter and theft. Sentenced to eighteen months.

That couldn't be Ravana. It couldn't be. She was sweet, gentle, kind—

2003: Age 11, released July. Arrested September for grand theft auto, drug possession, and resisting arrest. Sentenced to one year in CCMJDC at recommendation of Hon. J. Mido due to aggressive nature and repeated offences.

2004: Age 12, released CCMJDC June. Arrested two weeks later for grand theft auto, manslaughter, aggravated assault and resisting arrest. Sentenced to two years, again to be served in CCMJDC.

2006: Age 14, released CCMJDC in July. Arrested September for grand theft auto [two counts], drug possession with intent to sell, aggravated assault [three counts] and theft. Sentenced to four years to be served in CCMJDC.

2007: Age 14, escaped CCMJDC in January. Reported sightings in Cairo, Suez, Ismailia, Port Said, Damietta and Alexandria. Reported offences: three counts grand theft auto, four counts aggravated assault, two counts assault and battery, fifteen counts theft, eight counts break and enter and one count resisting arrest.

2008: Age 16, reported sighting in Domino, U.S.A.; investigated. No trace of suspect. Brother and grandfather claim that suspect was killed. Domino police force claim that Raven Astarte is the killer; Astarte supports their story, willingly confessing to the murder. Body never found.

*RECORD END*

Seto leant back, shaking. He was breathing much, much faster than normal; whether it was a reaction to whatever drugs were in the absinthe or whether it was a reaction to Ravana's record, he didn't know and he didn't care. His memory of Ravana was shattering.

He saw it now. Ravana had been on the run. She'd been found, but in order to keep her past hidden from her family, she changed her appearance and invented another lie: Raven Astarte. Ravana was dead, killed by Raven's hand; the metaphor had been lost on all. Until now, that was.

Ravana had been a lie from the beginning. Raven was who she truly was.

'Whatsh wrong, Sheto?' Raven's hand sat warmly on his cheek. 'You'sh shaking.'

He threw her hand off roughly. Tears began to form in her eyes and he sighed before taking her hand in his. He'd dealt with crying kids before; he'd raised Mokuba on his own, hadn't he? 'I not shaking… just thinking.'

Did he just say "I not shaking"? What was he, five?

Raven giggled, tears vanishing. 'You'sh drunk, Sheto!'

For the first time in his life, he was and he wanted to be. Ravana had been revealed as a lie; Raven had been revealed as Ravana. It said she'd killed Ravana—god, how true that was. Raven had destroyed every last remnant of Ravana. They were the same person, same body… yet completely different people, and the one he liked was never coming back. His memory of the perfect girl had been destroyed. He didn't want to be drunk, he wanted to be smashed.

Suddenly feeling far too sober, he grabbed the bottle and gulped down the green liquid. 'Yeah, I—I'm drunk. Whatcha going to do 'bout it?'

God, he sounded like one of the nerds. Whatever had happened to proper grammar? Ah, fuck it. One night wouldn't matter.

He took another swig.

'Give that here, Sheto,' she slurred, reaching for the bottle.

He passed it to her. What was wrong with him? This was Ravana, the Ravana who'd lied to him, the girl of his dreams who'd turned out to be nothing but a dream… and he was still being nice to her.

Suddenly he was aware of a weight on his thigh. It wasn't very heavy, but it was squeezing him.

'What do you think you're doing?'

'I don't know,' she said.

'Why are you shqueezing my thigh?'

'That'sh your thigh?' She squeezed it again, making him jump. 'I didn't know that.'

'I think you did.'

'Sho what if I did?' She looked up at him with a mischievous glint in her eye. 'Whatcha gonna do about it?'

'Ravana—'

'What chu call me?' she demanded, suddenly alert.

Seto's mouth felt dry. 'Nothing.'

'You called me Ravana.'

'No I didn't.'

'Yesh, yesh you did,' she slurred. The tears returned, and she withdrew her hand. 'You called me Ravana.'

'Sho what if I did?'

'Why did you call me Ravana?'

Oh, god. He couldn't think straight; he couldn't even see straight. 'Becaushe that'sh your name.' He couldn't even speak properly.

Seto felt his head spinning and his stomach wobbling. Raven was speaking, but he couldn't understand a word she was saying. He tried to listen to her. He couldn't focus.

Slowly, he felt himself sliding into the dark.

*

He blinked open his eyes. He could see a blurred glass of water, brown wood… he groaned as his head started pounding. It felt like someone had taken a crowbar, pried off his scalp and beaten his brain with a baseball bat. His mouth tasted disgusting.

Groaning, he raised himself off the ground, closing his eyes to stop the world spinning. What happened to me?

He glanced around, wincing in the light. A thin, lumpy mattress lay beside him—lay under him; someone slept next to him on it, faced away from him. Jesus Christ.

Something thumped in the house, and he curled into a ball, groaning. Every last sound sent vibrations through his already-aching head. His stomach was bubbling and twisting. He felt like he was going to throw up.

The body beside him stirred, then groaned. 'Jesus fucking Christ.' The voice was female. It was Raven's—

And with the thought of her name, the previous night's memories came back in startling clarity. Raven being Ravana, drinking the absinthe…

'Who's there?' she grumbled, holding her head.

'Seto,' he replied without thinking.

'Seto?' she repeated, groaning. 'The fuck you doing in my bed?'

He buried his aching head in the pillow. 'No fucking idea.'

'You were both drinking,' a third voice said. Seto flinched; the voice was loud and sharp.

He felt Raven roll over next to him. 'I had fucking good reason to, Valon.'

'Yeah, but he didn't,' Valon growled, and Seto felt something kick his back. 'The both of you need to get up; we're going to the warehouse today.'

'Fuck that,' Raven said. 'I'm not going anywhere.'

'Let me rephrase that. You're both getting up, you're getting up now, and you're coming with us whether you like it or not. And you and I need to have a talk, Kaiba.'

Seto didn't answer. If he opened his mouth, he'd throw up, and that wouldn't end well. He felt something around his waist. My trousers? What the hell had happened last night? He remembered drinking, reading her record, then a lot of drinking, then—

Oh, Christ.

Raven squeezing his thigh, then her crying at his use of her real name, then… then… what?

Heavy footsteps pounded the ground, reverberating through his head; Valon had left the room.

His head pounded every time he moved it, but he had to look up. He had to see.

Raven lay beside him on the mattress, looking just as dishevelled as he supposed he did. Her hair was out of her trademark ponytail. Her necklace was skewed to the right, and her choker was twisted. But—and he had never been as grateful as he was right then—she still wore her clothes. Her singlet, at least; from her waist down she was covered by a blanket.

She turned to face him, keeping her head on the pillow. 'I'll repeat the question. What the fuck are you doing in my bed?'

'You tell me,' he snapped. Stealthily, he tried to return his trousers to his waist.

'Tell me you're not doing what I think you're doing,' Raven's voice groaned.

'What do you think I'm doing?'

'Pulling your trousers up.'

He blushed. 'Maybe.'

'Fuck,' she groaned. Suddenly worried, she yanked up the quilt, then sighed in relief.

'We're good?'

'We're good,' she confirmed. 'Still doesn't explain why your pants are round your ankles.'

'No idea,' he lied; he didn't know what had happened, but there was a gob of sticky-looking whiteness near her pillow on the mattress, and it didn't take a genius to put two and two together.

It explained his lack of morning wood, though. It's either that or the hangover.

'Bullshit,' she said. 'Tell me what you know, Kaiba. Now.'

Her voice was growing louder, aggravating his headache, and he felt his stomach pushing last night's dinner up to his mouth. Ignoring the taste of bile in his mouth, he forced himself to swallow. 'I don't know anything, so shut up already.'

Apparently she felt as bad as he did, and instead of arguing, she slumped back down. 'If you say so, Kaiba.'

His headache was growing, and it wasn't restrained to his head; in the corner of the room, he could just make out a black bra. Ordinarily, he would have been quite happy. He'd spent the night with a girl and alcohol. The girl in question was a thought-to-be-dead crush. The alcohol was strong. But this time, he wasn't happy, not at all. Ravana's still dead to me. All he'd done was drag up past memories again.

Luckily for him, Raven groaned and rose unsteadily to her feet. 'Alright, I played nice. Now get out of my room and—and—' she covered her mouth and sprinted to the bathroom. A few seconds later, Seto heard retching.

God in heaven. He closed his eyes. What do I do now?

*

About an hour later, when both he and Raven had finished throwing up, they made their way slowly out to the kitchen. Valon had evidently told them what had happened.

'Kaiba! Yo, Kaiba!' Joey prodded him repeatedly, his voice as loud as possible. 'Feeling any better?'

'I swear to god, Wheeler, I'll have you killed,' Seto snarled, holding his head in his hands. He didn't have the energy or the strength to push the hand away.

'Why?' His voice rose a few decibels; a fact that wasn't lost on anyone.

'Because we're both hungover and you're being too fucking loud!' Raven snapped. She'd already had three coffees, and was cradling the fourth in her hands; it was half empty.

'Whose fault is that?'

She groaned and laid her head on the table. 'Shut up, Valon.'

Ignoring her, he slammed down a pile of pancakes on the table. 'Eat up.'

Joey and Tristan immediately grabbed as many of the steaming pancakes as they could and began covering them in maple syrup. The rest of the group ate a bit more politely; Raven refused point blank to eat any of them. She poured herself another coffee.

Seto poked his pancake grudgingly; he wasn't hungry, but he knew he needed food. So he unhappily began eating. 'Don't you have any painkillers?'

Valon shook his head, but Raven piped up, 'Yeah.'

'How the hell did you get them?' Valon demanded.

She shrugged. 'Don't remember. They're in my bathroom. Go fetch.'

'I'm not the one who needs them.'

'You will be if you don't get them,' she growled. 'Go fetch.' It wasn't a request this time.

Sighing, Valon obeyed her.

Seto resisted the urge to laugh. At first he'd wondered why Valon put up with her insolence, but after seeing her strength for himself, he understood. Even with a hangover, he was prepared to bet that she could still kick the asses of everyone in the room.

'Which ones?' Valon called.

'Strongest you can find.'

Valon returned with a nondescript, unlabelled white bottle. Scratchy black hieroglyphs had been scribbled on the lid. 'Here. Knock yourself out.'

'Fully intend to,' she replied, removing four of the tablets and tossing two to Seto.

'Excuse me for not trusting you fully. What are these?'

'Codeine.'

'How the fuck did you get codeine?' The last time he'd checked, it was a prescription-only medicine, and it didn't seem likely Raven would get prescribed anything.

'No idea.' She happily swallowed the white tablets. 'Just take them.'

Uncertainly, he did. The effect was almost immediate; his head stopped pounding and the pain began to lessen. 'Thankyou.'

A nod of the head was all she sent in return, and something inside him twitched. Couldn't she at least say "you're welcome"?

He shook his head. She's Raven, not Ravana. Keep your mind on the present.

'Alright. I don't think either of you two were sober enough to hear the plan for today, so listen up,' Valon announced. 'We're making for the warehouse again. The general idea is to sneak in, find what we can, destroy what we can, and see where we end up. Got it?'

Raven nodded. 'Shotgun destruction duty.'

'We'll go with teams of two or three,' Valon continued. 'I'll go with miss drunken disaster here. Wheeler, Taylor, one of you gets Kaiba.'

'Why us?' Tristan pouted.

'Because you're the only ones strong enough to fight back if he goes nuts,' Valon said. 'You can both go if you want.'

'Deal,' Joey said.

Seto groaned inwardly. Great. A hangover and two losers to contend with.

'Moto, Tea, Ryou—you three together, alright?'

'Sure,' Yugi said. He looked happy at the arrangements.

'We'll keep in touch with these.' He pulled out three walkie-talkies. 'They can't be interrupted, and the batteries are fresh. One per team.'

Seto grabbed the nearest handset. No way he was going to let either of his two 'teammates' have it. Ryou took the second, and Raven took the last one.

'As per yesterday, Raven will be riding and I'll be driving.'

'Didn't even have to argue with you this time,' Raven said idly.

'I'm not cruel enough to inflict a hungover bitch on them today,' he replied.

She shrugged. 'Works for me.'

After the last of the pancakes had been eaten, the eight made their way to the garage; the companions quickly settled themselves into the limo, and Raven mounted her bike, snickering under her breath.

'Yeah, I know, I know,' Valon muttered.

One side of the limousine—the side that had slammed into the barricades the day before—was heavily dented and the paint was scratched. With the torn-off roof, it looked like something from a junkyard.

With a roar of her engine, Raven was off down the street. Kicking the battered car into gear, Valon roared off after her, leaving skid marks on the tarmac.

Seto sat with his head in his hands. His head didn't hurt anymore; the codeine had done its job. The screeching and the noise of the engine wasn't what bothered him. No. What hurt now was his heart. And what bothered him was the choice he now had to make.

Lose Ravana for good by revealing who she really was, or lose his own self in the lie he wanted her to be.


Poor Seto. What's he going to choose?

Again, ch10 up soon... RnR, hope you liked, yada yada yada... til the next chapter.