A/N: I'd say enjoy, but… yeah.

The back of Ryou's head hurt. A lot. He opened his eyes slowly, realizing that he was sitting on a hard, cold surface with no memory of how he'd got there. His bottom had gone numb, and his legs tingled painfully when he tried to move. When he tried to lift his head the room spun, and it took almost a full minute before he felt oriented enough to open his eyes again. Concussion, he thought automatically, blinking rapidly. That would explain the blurred vision and the fact that he was finding it difficult to focus. He took a deep breath, let it out slowly, and then made a second attempt, moving a lot slower. This time he was able to raise his head a few inches, just enough to get a good look at what was going on.

Bandit Keith was standing in the middle of the room, holding a gun. Yuugi was sitting in front of him, hands and feet bound. For the first time, Ryou realized that his own hands and feet were tied as well. There was no sign of Bakura, Miho or Honda. He must have made some sort of sound at the realization because Bandit Keith turned around and glanced at him. "Well, well, look who's awake," he said with a smirk. "I have to say, I was surprised to see you hanging around. I thought you would've learned your lesson after Duelist Kingdom. But I guess not." He casually cocked the gun in his hand. "Do you see the consequences that you have to pay when you start snooping around?"

"Let me go," Ryou said hoarsely, wincing slightly. His throat was painfully dry, and talking hurt. "When you get caught, you're going to be in so much trouble you can't even begin to imagine. Don't make it any harder on yourself than it already is."

He started laughing. It was a chilling sound. "Oh come on, kid, you got to do better than that. Do you think I don't know who this kid is?" He waved the gun behind him in Yuugi's general direction. "Not only is he the little brat who beat Pegasus, but he's the one the prince has been dating. I know perfectly well what kind of "trouble" I would be in." He made air quotes with his fingers as he spoke. "But that's the thing. I'm never going to have to face up, and do you know why? Because I'm smart."

"Could have fooled me," Ryou said without thinking, and then shrank backwards when Bandit Keith surged towards him.

"Think you're funny, do you? I got a comedian on my hands?" he hissed, gripping a handful of Ryou's hair and yanking it brutally as he dragged Ryou closer. "Listen to me, you little bitch. Your boyfriend is dead. I put the bullet in him myself. And once I kill you and that other little brat, I'm out of here. I've got plans set up. I don't need Vivian's help to get out of the country. All I needed her for was to get my hands on that punk, and she did that. I got what I wanted, and I don't need her anymore."

If Ryou had thought he was feeling ill before, it was nothing compared to how he was feeling now. He couldn't stop looking at the gun in Bandit Keith's hand. Had he really used that weapon to kill Bakura? Was he going to do the same now to him and Yuugi? Would it hurt? He tried not to show his fear, but it was hard. "I still don't think you'll get away with this. Vivian is with Atemu right now. There's no way he's going to just let her walk away after what she's done, you know. And if she goes down, there's no doubt in my mind that she's going to take you with her. Vivian's not the kind of person who would cover for you, believe me."

"I'll be so far away by then that it won't even matter," Bandit Keith replied, smirking. "I told you I got a plan in place, and it's a good one." He started to lift the gun, pointing it at Ryou. "I think I'll let you chose whether or not you go first."

There was a knock on the door. Ryou could have cried with relief as it opened and a tall, husky man with hair standing up in spikes poked his head in. "Hey, Boss. There's a few more people just entered the house through the bathroom window downstairs. What do you want us to do with them?"

"Who is it, Satake?" demanded Bandit Keith.

"I think it's Kaiba with a couple of the kid's friends. You want we should take care of them? I thought you might want to handle it yourself."

"It would be good to be able to take care of the whole bunch at once. Then my revenge would really be complete." He smirked at Ryou. "You take care of Kaiba. I'm going to deal with the other two. And you, little lamb," he leaned down and pressed the cold barrel of the gun against Ryou's face, grinning when Ryou flinched backwards, "you wait here. I'll be right back."

The door swung shut behind the two of them. For a couple of minutes, Ryou didn't move. He felt like he couldn't breathe. The chill on his cheek continued to burn even though the gun was no longer pressed against him, and he shivered hard. "God, what have we gotten ourselves into this time?" he muttered, looking across the room at his friend. The whole time Bandit Keith had been talking, Yuugi hadn't moved. He knew Yuugi wasn't dead, but he didn't look well either. How long had he been unconscious for?

Grimly, Ryou began to examine his bonds. He was tied up with coarse rope which was already chafing painfully against the delicate flesh of his wrist and ankles. The knots were tight, and no amount of squirming loosened them even a little. It only caused his skin to become rubbed raw. Frustrated, he stopped and sank back against the wall, breathing heavily. There had to be a better way to get free, but what? The room they were in appeared to be some sort of storage space, but it was literally empty of everything except for Ryou and Yuugi. There wasn't even any furniture, much less something sharp he could use to cut himself free with.

Now that he was no longer moving, thoughts of Bakura flooded his mind. Ryou closed his eyes against the wave of burning tears threatening him. It couldn't be true. Bakura couldn't be dead. He had to believe that Bandit Keith was lying and find some way to warn his friends about what was coming. If it really was Seto, then that most likely meant that Jou and Malik were with him - it was unlikely that Atemu and Mariku would have been finished at the restaurant so quickly. God he hoped that three of them were more careful than he and Bakura had been. If only there was some way to warn them… but how? Ryou looked around again. The only thing he had to work with was his body, and really that was obvious enough. He lifted his legs and let them fall against the floor with a dull, heavy thump.

It was hard work to keep lifting his legs without any support, and before long his thighs were burning from the exertion. He allowed them to fall one last time and then paused, straining his ears for any hint of sound within the house. All was, frustratingly enough, quiet. He couldn't tell if he was helping or not, and he was too tired to keep it up. He looked over at Yuugi, half-hoping that his friend would have stirred at the sounds, but Yuugi's eyes were still shut and his breathing was deep and slow. That was worrying. He'd been making enough of a racket for the neighbours to file a noise complaint.

"God damn it," Ryou muttered, bracing his shoulders against the wall. He managed to awkwardly twist his lower half around until he was on his knees and could shuffle across to Yuugi's side. He bent over his friend, noting the fresh, livid bruising around Yuugi's neck and face, and performed the best examination that he could with his hands tied behind his back. It didn't seem like there was any extensive damage - no hits on the head that Ryou could see. Surely Yuugi wasn't just sleeping?

"Yuugi, Yuugi, can you hear me?" he asked urgently.

At the sound of his voice, Yuugi stirred a little. His nose twitched when Ryou's hair brushed over his cheek, and he sluggishly turned his head away. That allowed Ryou to see the splotch of blood on the back of his head and yeah, okay, a doctor was definitely in order as soon as possible… if Bandit Keith didn't kill them both first, of course. He sighed and glanced back down at his friend's body, noting that Yuugi's hands were also tied behind his back. It would be awkward to attempt to untie him, but if he did and Yuugi woke up then they'd have a chance at getting out. Ryou twisted around and set to work.

YY

The three of them were not alone. Seto was not wholly sure how he knew that, but he did. The knowledge sat cold and hard in his stomach, and he threw out an arm to stop Malik and Jou from walking any further down the hall. They had been wrong to come here without a weapon, without back-up. He knew that as surely as he knew that someone was lying in wait for them. He regretted not having called in some of his personal men no matter how much longer it would've taken, because there were few things worse than knowing that they were willingly walking into a trap.

Jou's fingers touched his arm, a silent query, and Seto glanced over his shoulder. He did not need to put a finger to his mouth to get his point across, but he did it anyway: a warning to not voice a single word. Malik swallowed and Jou nodded sombrely, muscles tensing in preparation. Seto took a deep, nearly inaudible breath and tried to decide what the best course of action would be. His original plan had been to search for Bakura, Ryou and Yuugi, but now that would have to be temporarily put aside. He wasn't stupid enough to think that they would be getting out of here without a fight of some kind.

In spite of that, the muffled retort of a gunshot was still unexpected. Seto froze, staring at the spot on the frame of the door just in front of him that was now missing a sizeable chunk of wood. Beyond that, coming from the next room, he heard laughter. "You might as well come out. We know you're there."

"Takaido," Jou hissed, stiffening behind him. "I'd recognize that loser's voice anywhere."

"If he's here, I bet Satake and Ghost are with him," Malik muttered. He looked as annoyed as Jou. "And Bandit Keith too, they never go anywhere without him."

"I assume they're not friends of yours," said Seto, keeping a close eye on the door.

"Hardly. Bandit Keith had three friends to do his dirty work while we were at Duelist Kingdom. He was determined to keep Yuugi from reaching the castle and did everything he could to try and stop us," Jou explained in a rapid, quiet whisper. "They were just regular duellists, not very good at the game, but they're physically strong and stupid."

"Get out here!" Takaido yelled again. "I swear if you don't come out here in the next five minutes I'm coming in to get you, and someone's going to get shot if I have to."

There was something about the way Jou spoke that set off warning bells in Seto's mind. He tensed slightly, realizing that there was more to this history than he was being told. Later, when they were not in danger of being shot, he would sit Jou down and get the full story from him. For now, he cautiously edged his way forward. He was prepared for the possibility that he might be shot as soon as he stepped into view, but surprisingly it didn't happen. He found himself facing two men. One was tall, with messy brown hair and small glasses, the other surprisingly short and extremely pale: it was easy to see where he'd earned the nickname "Ghost".

"Stand over there," Ghost ordered, indicating the far wall. He was also holding a gun, though it looked too big for his small hands. He seemed to know how to wield it, though. Seto did as he was told and was relieved to see that Jou and Malik also obeyed the command without protest.

"Well, well, if it isn't Katsuya," Takaido said with a broad smirk, relaxing once the three were gathered near the wall. "I was wondering when we'd have the chance to see your face again. Maybe this time I'll get to put a hole in it." He held up the gun and clicked the safety on and off. "I bet it would go a long way towards improving your features."

"You're one to talk," Jou replied. "It's a sad day when Ghost is actually more attractive than you are."

Takaido's grin tightened and he let out a short breath. "You little -"

"Takaido, don't." The voice was male and deep and followed by two sets of footsteps. Seto recognized him from the pictures as soon as Bandit Keith walked into the room. He was followed by another man with a gun, which meant that it was four against three. Not the kind of odds that Seto was fond of. Bandit Keith came halfway into the room, paused, and looked them up and down. Evidently he liked what he saw because his mouth split into a smirk and he let out a low laugh.

"What shall we do with them, then?" Takaido asked. It was obvious that that he was dying to deal out a little pain, regardless of whether it was done with his fists or his gun.

"Those two are mine," Bandit Keith said with a sharp nod towards Jou and Malik. "I've been waiting for the opportunity to get a little of my own back ever since you losers fucked everything up for me last time. I'm going to take you all upstairs and make you watch while I kill you off one by one. You three can do whatever you want with Kaiba as long as you make sure that it's painful." His eyes were shining with a sick sense of excitement. "Satake, get some more rope."

Satake smirked and moved to do just that, tucking his gun into the waistband of his jeans. Seto had to bite back the urge to call him an idiot for being so careless and hoped that he tripped: it would be just as well if he did and ended up shooting his own leg off. It would save them the trouble. He watched as the man returned with rope and passed some of it off to Ghost, who went over to Malik and roughly jerked Malik's arms behind his back. Satake went to Jou and, after studying Jou's clenched jaw, punched the blond in the stomach. Jou doubled over with a pained gasp and Satake gripped his wrists.

Seto controlled the instinctive jerk towards Jou, knowing that it would do him no good when both Bandit Keith and Takaido were pointing guns at them. "You know that the pharaoh will have you hung for this," he said instead, relishing the idea.

"He's got to find me first," said Bandit Keith. "I've got plane tickets out of here."

"They won't do you much good," Seto muttered, his eyes sweeping the space behind Bandit Keith and Takaido. From overhead there was a sudden loud thumping, and both Bandit Keith and Takaido jumped. The split second that they were off guard was opportunity enough. Seto leapt forward and tackled Bandit Keith. He lost track of what was happening with the others after that, as Bandit Keith proved to be much stronger than Seto had given him credit for.

He rolled as they hit the ground, trying to get on top, fighting for possession of the weapon. Bandit Keith snarled and punched him in the face with his left hand, clutching the gun even more tightly with his right. But because the punch had come from his less dominant hand it was noticeably weaker, and Seto was able to shake it off after a moment's daze. He brought one of his knees up and slammed it into Bandit Keith's stomach, fully enjoying the choked off gasp that resulted. It allowed him to get a hand around the gun and he tugged, trying to pry it free.

"Fuck off, you bastard!" Bandit Keith wheezed. It was probably meant to sound far more threatening than it did, but he was too breathless to be able to put any real malice behind the statement.

"Give me the gun!" Seto retorted, gritting his teeth when Bandit Keith punched him for a second time in the ribs. It hurt, but he was able to ignore the pain. He strained, trying to get a better grip. Bandit Keith's fingers were close to the trigger - too close, he thought, easily seeing a future wherein the gun went off accidentally. Grunting with effort, he twisted his hand and stopped trying to hold on, and he could feel the moment when Bandit Keith overcompensated and jerked too hard, sending the gun spinning across the floor.

Jou picked it up and, in one smooth movement, brought it around to point directly at Bandit Keith. "Enough!" he said, his voice shaking. "Or I swear to god I'll shoot you."

A/N: As you may have guessed, Satake, Takaido and "Ghost" Kotsuzuka are the three idiots who were Bandit Keith's groupies in Duelist Kingdom. Their dubbed names were Zygor, Sid and "Ghost" Bonz respectively.

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