A Revenge

By Aier

A/N: All right, here's the next chapter. First and foremost, I wanna thank all the people who reviewed my story. The reviews helped a lot in writing the next chapter, and I hope that it suits your liking. I was so happy to hear from you! ^_^

Okay, so to answer some people.

Hiso-chan - I'll try to explain a little more, but that comes in this and the next chapter, which I'll try to get out soon. Sorry if you're still confused after this one, let me know okay (Please?)?

Sparky16 - you don't want Yaoi? All right then, I'll keep this as Yaoi-free as I can (which I don't think will be too hard, I've never written Yaoi before). Keep in mind that this will still be angst, and abuse is also present, so if those don't bother you then read on!

juvi - too short? ^_^; sorry! I made this one longer, see?

Solitaire (and Xpyne who was at school) - Yugi/Bakura? Nope, no Yaoi on this fic it seems. ^_~

Neko Oni and Slyhterinette - Thanks so much for reviewing! Relationships will eventually be cleared up, promise, and hope you like it!

Warnings: Abuse (beatings) and overall angst, KEEP IN MIND RATING PLEASE.

Disclaimer: Yu-gi-oh and its characters don't belong to me, only this story.

'~~~~~' divides scenes, ie what other people are doing at the time that the story is happening.

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It was the law of Insanity to be unlawful.

He wondered of this, as he drifted between wakefulness and dreams. Occasionally black shifted into his mind, or flashes of white and red that shrieked purple. There was a general feeling of discomfort that hovered so close to him, but he could not tell from where. He seemed to be disembodied.

Many things, many things...

A stray thought formed the face of a white devil, outlined in maroon, and was lost as soon to a shadow with red eyes, which was also quickly overcome.

A pain appeared somewhere in his centre, gradually, steadily growing and gnawing at his insides. There was a beast inside of him, it wanted to get out, and it would do anything to get what it wanted.

He tried to find his strength, tried to find an arm to move and feel with. He tried to find a mouth to speak, to scream when the pain he felt reached its peak. He felt it would, and somehow it was not his first concern here.

A haze parted before his eyes, and he found a door which glowed black. Having found something he could relatively focus on he was able to find a hand, and summon the force needed to put his hand on the knob and curl his fingers around it. There was a hesitance he noted, a growing feeling that he did not want to join the world he would find through this passageway. He did not want to set foot outside this vastness he was in. It was lonely...but that emptiness seemed better than what he would find on the other side of the black door.

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What had he been reduced to? He didn't care, because there was no one outside this haven, this holy place of calm and serenity. Everything changed, the white haired boy thought ecstatically. Black...it wasn't so terrifying. And that horrible red was calming, soothing his insecurities and fears. How could it change so completely?

Never had the stoic darkness been the comforting blanket it was now, and Ryou...he never wanted to let go of it ever again. He could not believe the infinite and unsurpassed understanding he saw within the spirit that spell had given him, having always believed a Yami to be a true darkness. Maybe he'd have to redefine his definition of that, for Yami was a true darkness. He was just not Bakura...and Ryou had never been so elated. Bakura had disappeared to somewhere, but Ryou didn't care and would not let go of his first true friend...because he...oh, he wasn't alone anymore, not with Yami...

Just as long as he was happy...and he was happy with the other spirit far, far away from him...

It was merely heaven, Ryou thought with a smile.

Nothing else seemed to matter anymore.

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There was a place between waking and dreams that Yugi had found. It was secret, was hidden, was a mystery he was too tired to solve anymore. How had he found it then? Who pushed him to the deep recess of his mind, to find this, to feel this, to breathe within the stale life he had been given? Maybe it was when he was just too weak to concentrate and his vision was hazy, but too full of pain and horrible discomfort to be able to rest. There was a place where maybe, it wasn't so bad. He searched for it, and searched for something he thought that perhaps he'd find within. What was it? Who danced through his heart, and refused to be known to the rest of him?

There was someone there always. He was...well, he was just there. Yugi had the feeling he knew him.

Who was it that looked back at him through the mirror?

There is a place in himself that he loathed, but craved for the simple fact that it was familiar and knew him at his worst, at his best, in every which way. Where is the being in a person that defines what that person is? It seemed to be a different part of himself. Now, how would that work...

It was there. That thought was there, and many others, but they had been so disorganised lately that he could not recognise them for what they were most of the time. Every thought was part of a jigsaw puzzle, and it was unmade and littered carelessly on every corner. That was because he was always left...cracked. He never broke, Yugi managed to be strong that way. The only way he'd ever been strong...and that was slowly...disappearing...

This world of thought and shaded memory suddenly exploded, broke and shattered, an ominous crash ringing in his ears with a deep sense of foreboding. His brain suddenly connected with the plane of consciousness, and he...

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Honda grinned and encouraged Tea as loudly as he could, proudly watching from the sides as she danced superbly before an increasing audience. The dance recital had gone well enough, and after her first disheartening performance she'd been able to control her nerves. Honda had been there for her every step of the way, along with Jou and when he could, Ryou. As for himself, he was doing good. He had not gotten into any sort of trouble for a long time, and people were starting to notice him as a possible friend...and boyfriend. He an Jou had met new people whom, despite their past differences, were really quite the same as them.

They had so many opportunities, Honda thought ecstatically. School had never made more sense, he was doing much better than before. There was no way he'd ever be as dedicated as Tea, but he wasn't barely hanging on anymore. He felt like he might grow up to be someone important after all this was done. Confidence in himself, that's what had changed. It wasn't just that he was stronger - it was that he had the drive should he find an interest. He was already saving up, having taken Jou's example.

What better time to prepare for their future than the present?

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And he awoke. White lights flashed through his vision, and a shadow became a form. The form...of...

Yugi froze, then screamed. And cried.

And screamed.

He started, and found he could not stop. There was maniacal laughter and fire in the air, licking at his bruised skin. He recognised the cold floor beneath him, recognised the broken vase beside him. That vase, the crash that had awoken him...cracked to a thousand little pieces...

'Oh God...Oh...God, no! NO! PLEASE NO! NOO!

But it was, and it was done. The vase that had held the remains of his dear grandfather, lost to a heart attack only months before, there on the floor. He reached and trembling hand to it, seeing only a blur of grey, eyes sore and cheeks stinging with the tears that ran down his face. He sobbed desperately, and shrieked when his hand was suddenly hit with a scalding liquid. He snatched it back, and looked in horror at the ashes, a small puddle consuming everything it reached.

"A pathetic man deserves such a fate. He was no better than you. Spineless human boy, did you really think I would forget about him?" A smirk covered his face, slipping on with such ease it gave Yugi a chill, "What do you think he feels like, now that you've let me do that to all that was left in this plane? The dead carry out their revenges in very interesting ways, boy."

The scalding water burned his hand, soaked the ashes. Bakura stood over him with a steaming mug held in his wicked hands, and every word rang true. Yugi's fault...

" Why do you think that they've forgotten you, brat? Ryou - he's glad. I can still sense it. He doesn't care for what happens to you; you let it happen to him. You let him deteriorate...day..."

He knelt and threw the rest of the water on the ashes, listening to Yugi's shocked yells, feeling his feeble hands grasp his wrists long after the damage was done. With a scoff, he shook him off and watched the ashes be slowly consumed by the water so nothing was left, as though he were calmly watching a fire burn out.

"...after day..."

He turned and focused his eyes on Yugi's, letting the younger of the two see the intensity of his words. Yugi was lost in pools of brown, darkening like a hunter after its caught its prey, becoming his whole world as spiteful words washed over him in gentle waves. They prodded inside, like always, and this time his defence was so much weaker...

"...after day..."

He didn't want to believe it, he shouldn't. He knew what Bakura specialized in, knew that he was trying to get under his skin to do...

But I never did anything to help him...I just stood by...knowing...and I never did...anything...

The tender skin of the back of his hand scratched painfully against his rough clothes, and he bent over and held himself, his head lowering to the floor. There he tried to calm himself, to stop his rapid breathing and control the violent swivels of his mind.

There was no noise, the world a blank disc, muted gasps that speedily grew in hysteria, he was no longer aware of the spirit beside him...the dispersing liquid that contained so much more...

His heart beat wildly in his chest, as though it would jump out and bleed itself dry.

He wished for oblivion.

As was in the nature of the act, Bakura would not leave him. Not a moment of peace, and his head was kicked to the side. His boneless body did nothing to defend itself, all will having left him as he landed in the puddle. He flinched violently, convulsing as his hair was grabbed and thrust in the liquid. The back of his throat prickled, an acid taste rose to his mouth an he gagged. He screamed, hot water suddenly thrown across the skin of his neck, just enough to cause pain but a relatively small amount otherwise. Both his arms were grabbed in a vice grip, and pulled back with a resounding crack.

He thrashed, his vision filled with black patches, body shaking and unbearably hot. He could not find a sense of balance, and knew he was never on the ground for long, never still for long as he was beaten with malicious glee. Pain exploded in bursts all over his body, his voice lost amongst the roar...

crashes...

breaking glass...

...the mass destruction within the household...

Finally he was left lying with his back arched painfully, resting on a piece of furniture that dug into the small of his back. Blood rushed to his face, he coughed and shuddered as he tried to regain his breath instinctively rather than by choice. His arms lay spread, hanging over his head, feet barely resting on the ground.

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Grinning, Jou looked at the money held proudly in his hand. He thought of his sister, whom he'd always earned the money for, and her eyes. Her beautiful eyes...healed. She could see. It was the greatest feeling in the world, knowing he had done something for her for which she was so thankful of. He, for the first time in his whole life, felt that he had rightfully earned an honest and highly honoured title; that of a brother. He would remain devoted to her as always, and with that stressful time behind them, he could now concentrate on the little things he had given up for her before. He could save money again, and look to the future, or he could pay back all the free lunches his friends had given him...

Jou looked ahead and laughed in his loud, forceful way. Nothing could go wrong this time. Everything was perfect, so perfect he could hardly believe the pure fantastical feeling these joyous days gave him. He could clean his slate of all debts, big and small, and start anew. He felt he owed himself that much, owed life that much, because the way he saw it...

...life was good.

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'It...It's not so bad...It's not...'

His feverish brain flashed words, comforts, desperation. His eyes were dilated, rolled back in his head so that one could almost not see the lavender gaze of the boy. That was how Yugi remained, until the next moment of wakefulness that sought him on the hell that had become his life.


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