Difinity: A new chapter! Yay!

Otogi: Why aren't I thrilled?

Difinity: I don't know. Maybe you don't like my stories!

Otogi: If I say, right, you're gonna start to cry aren't you?

Difinity: Yes, so keep your mouth shut and say the disclaimer

Otogi: Fine. Difinity doesn't own YuGiOh! She just owns the storyline and the plot.

Difinity: Thanks Otogi

Otogi: Yeah yeah, no problem.

Summary: Yugi is about to go to bed, when a demonic shadow appears in his room. He becomes terrified at the sight. The shadow creeps closer, petrifying whatever it touched. In a hurry, Yugi ran out of his room. The shadow followed, but once it touched the light in the hallway, it disappeared. Yugi went outside and Yami consoled his aibou. Later that night, Yami let Yugi sleep in his room for the night. Yami vowed to not let anything happen to Yugi. The next day, Ryou was exhausted and Yugi noticed this. After school, Yugi caught up with Ryou, wanting to know what was wrong. Ryou panicked and tried to get away. Yugi caught Ryou by the wrist, revealing the scars of Ryou's abusive yami. Yugi finally revealed the question " Is someone abusing you?"

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Dark Rose Maiden

By: Difinity

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Ryou stared at Yugi with tear-filled eyes. Yugi held his grip on Ryou's wrist. Both boys stood in silence, the fall wind briskly blowing by, sending eerie chills up Ryou's spine. The silence was crushing yet neither boy would make a sound, or dare to move.

" Ryou..," Yugi trailed. "…I-Is someone hurting you Ryou?" Ryou's eyes shone bright with tears as he knew that Yugi had accidentally stumbled upon his horrible secret. Should he tell him about Bakura's repeated abuse to him? Ryou thought against that idea. Bakura would kill him if he ever told a soul about what really went on. Against his will, Ryou felt his tears slip down his cheeks. Yugi's eyes widened at this and he gently tugged on Ryou's writs.

" I…I see," Yugi said quietly. " Come on Ryou. I'm taking you to my house so you can explain this to me." Yugi began to walk while still holding onto Ryou. Knowing he was beaten, Ryou followed Yugi, hoping that he could think of a lie to tell him.

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Once they arrived at Yugi's home, Yugi took Ryou into his room. Ryou sat nervously on Yugi's desk chair, while Yugi sat on his bed. Ryou glanced nervously at his surroundings. In a flash, Yami appeared by Yugi's side. Ryou's eyes widened at the site of Yami.

" You didn't tell me he was going to be here!" Ryou blurted out. Yami looked surprised, as did Yugi. Ryou shifted in his chair and he looked at the ground nervously. Yugi looked up at his dark with sad eyes. Yami raised an eyebrow.

/ Ryou has some really bad marks on his arms. They don't look like they were made by accident./ Yugi told Yami through their telepathic link.

// You think someone is abusing Ryou?// Yami asked skeptically.

Yugi didn't answer. " Ryou, please, tell me: What's going on?"

Ryou avoided Yugi's concerned eyes. His hands trembled and his eyes continued to pool with tears of frustration, sadness and despair. The afternoon sun gave no warmth to Ryou. His insides felt cold, like a sharp, blade. A lump clogged his throat and he tried to swallow it, but it remained. No one said a word, not daring to disturb the silence that filled the room that fateful afternoon.

" Ryou, we know something is wrong. Please tell us. We promise we won't tell anyone," Yami asked gently. Ryou still refused to say anything. Yami was now growing frustrated. " Ryou, if you don't tell us, you know I can always-"

" He'll know if I tell you," Ryou said softly. Yugi's raised an eyebrow in a similar fashion as his dark. Yami stepped forward.

" Who will know? The person who is doing this to you? Who is it Ryou!?" Yami said firmly. Ryou looked slightly mortified.

" B-Bakura," Ryou whispered with fear in his voice. " It's Bakura." Yami and his light's eyes widened, but Yami wasn't surprised. He punched the wall, almost making a hole. Yugi and Ryou jumped slightly. He looked angry, but not shocked by the news.

" That rotten tomb robber!" Yami exclaimed. " I knew he had something to do with this. Maybe even with those damn shadows too.."

" What shadows?" Ryou asked suddenly. Yami gave him an odd look.

" There are these strange shadows that keep appearing. Last night, one of them scared Yugi half out of his head," Yami explained. Yugi glared at Yami while blushing in embarrassment. Ryou gave Yami a sad look with his big innocent brown eyes.

" Those shadows aren't caused by Bakura," Ryou said softly in defense of his yami. " I saw one too. I saw it the day before yesterday. It scared me as well, and Bakura came to help me. I know it isn't him that's responsible for these supernatural happenings." Yami looked a bit surprised at the fact that Bakura would come and help his hikari.

" Besides all of that, Bakura is the one causing you all of these bruises, burns and scars, right?" Yugi asked. Ryou nodded in response while touching his right arm self-consciously. Yugi's violet amethyst filled with concern. Ryou looked deep into Yugi's eyes. Their gazes locked.

'Poor Ryou..,' Yugi thought.

" But Bakura isn't all that bad, Yami," Ryou pleaded. " He…He beat me the other night, but, when I woke up, I was in bed, and my cuts and bruises had been treated. He's not all that bad. Please don't take him away from me." Ryou's brown eyes filled with tears. Yami gave the boy a sympathetic look.

'How could he be defending that scum?' Yami thought. (A/N: Just a note: I don't hate Bakura! I just like making him evil. J ) Yugi gazed up at his darker half and knew what he was thinking.

/ It's because Ryou loves Bakura, Yami./ Yugi told him. Yami gave Yugi a shocked look. Yami had no comment.

" G-Guys, I appreaciate what you're doing for me, but…I-I can handle this. Really," Ryou said as he stood. Yugi stood as well.

" Ryou! We need to stop Bakura from doing this to you!" Yugi exclaimed. " This isn't right! Yami would never do anything like that to me!"

" Well maybe Bakura isn't like Yami! Bakura wasn't a Pharaoh, and he didn't live in the lap of luxury! He grew up in a world of hate! That's why he acts the way he does! It isn't his fault!" Ryou shouted. " He's just like Kaiba! Kaiba is so cold to everyone because he was abused as a child! So was Bakura!" Yugi froze. The statement lingered in the air, Ryou's words, echoing in his mind. Silence filled the room. No one spoke, no one even dared to breathe. Ryou sniffed, while wiping away his tears with his sleeve.

" I'm leaving," Ryou said softly. The boy walked quickly out of the room, leaving Yami and Yugi alone with their shock. Yami almost fell back on Yugi's bed as he continued to go over Ryou's outburst. Yugi remained standing, his mind was clouded over with thoughts. Yami tugged on his aibou's shirt, hoping to wake him from his trance. Yugi blinked and looked into Yami's worried eyes. He blinked again.

" Are you all right Yugi?" Yami asked. Yugi nodded.

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Ryou opened the door of his home and silently stepped inside. After removing his shoes, he stepped into the quiet living room. He set his book bag down and sighed in relief. Obviously he was alone today; His father was still on his archeological dig in Egypt and Bakura wasn't home. His mother was probably out shopping, or at a bookstore like always. (A/N: I have no clue if Ryou's mom is even alive, since they never mention her in the anime. Let's just say she is, okay? J ) Ryou sat down on his sofa and sighed deeply, still trying to recover from the afternoon's events.

'I can't believe they found out,' Ryou thought worriedly. What would Bakura say or DO if he knew that Yugi and Yami knew about his abusive behavior towards Ryou? Especially, since they now knew about Bakura's tragic past. Ryou bit his bottom lip nervously.

" Found out what?" Bakura growled. Ryou jumped back, obviously startled by his yami's sudden appearance. The nervous boy hunched back and shut his eyes, ready to receive his daily beatings. Surprisingly, all Bakura did was smirk at his aibou's action. Ryou held his ground, preparing himself for the hard knocks and blows that he usually received once he got home. Bakura sighed heavily and Ryou opened one eye, only to see Bakura standing with his arms crossed, staring at him with an odd look on his face.

" B-Bakura…wha-?" Ryou trailed in disbelief. Bakura shook his head.

" I'm not going to beat you today," Bakura announced. " Unless you want me to." Ryou quickly shook his head and Bakura chuckled. " Fine then. I won't." Ryou sighed in relief. He stood quickly and walked to the door, hoping that he could escape from answering Bakura's previous question.

" Where are you going?" Bakura asked, almost crossly. Ryou froze. He had to think of a lie, or at least come up with somewhere to go!

" I-I'm going over to Yugi's house. We…We're going to have a duel today!" Ryou said quickly. Bakura shrugged and walked off into the kitchen. Ryou slipped on his shoes and bolted out the door. He ran down until he got to the park. Once there, he stood leaning on the railing of a bridge which overlooked a lake. The afternoon sun made the water shimmer and glisten in it's magnificent light. Ryou breathed in and enjoyed the scenery.

" Ryou? Is that you?" a voice called from behind him. He whipped around to see Yugi standing a few feet away from him. Ryou calmed down, feeling glad that it was just Yugi.

" Hi Yugi," Ryou greeted his friend. He looked around for Yugi's darker half and noticed that he wasn't there. It was odd, since Yami and Yugi were inseperateable. " Where's Yami?" Ryou asked.

Yugi smiled sheepishly. " I sent him on a date with Joey's sister," Yugi confessed. Ryou looked surprised.

" Serenity? You sent Yami on a date with Serenity?" Ryou asked. Yugi laughed at the expression on his friend's face. Yugi nodded.

" Yami's had a crush on her for a LONG time now, and Joey told me that he caught Serenity mumbling Yami's name in her sleep," Yugi snickered. Ryou joined in and the two began walking around the park. Ryou began to talk about the funny things that Yami does when Yugi noticed a dark figure walking around the park. He squinted his eyes and saw that it was someone wrapped in a black cloak. Yugi noticed it was coming towards them and Ryou wasn't paying attention. Yugi blinked and instantly, the figure was right in front of them. It was tall and cold. It loomed over them like a skyscraper. The person removed the hood to reveal the face of a young girl. Her face was as white as milk and her lips her black. Her hair was long, thick and was soft. It too, was completely black. Her eyes were dark and seemed to have a dark fire burning within them. They were black orbs that stared back at Yugi's amethyst eyes. No one spoke and suddenly, the young girl smiled and evil smile. She pulled two dark roses from underneath her cloak.

" Would you like to have a flower?" she asked.

Difinity: *keels over*

Otogi: Isn't this that flower person!?

Difinity: Ding ding! We have a winner!

Otogi: ^_^;

Difinity: *gasp* The flower girl! She's trying to give them dark roses! Will they accept??

Otogi: I thought there was only supposed to be only one ros-oof!

Difinity: I'll explain that later! Anywho, hope you read and review! ^_______^