Disclaimer:  We do not own Yu-Gi-Oh, and hence do not own any of the characters, save Skunkzilla, since after being sprayed by him, we feel a certain proprietary claim over him.

Authors' Notes:  Hello, minna!  Yes, where, oh where, has this fic been?  It's been rotting on Neph's computer, unfortunately.  PM and I have both been swamped, but at last, someone was kind enough to tell me to update this (thank you, Nalan-san!).  Hopefully after Thanksgiving, things will remotely calm down and we can update again soon.  Hope you enjoy the chapter!

ONLYhaunted:  So glad you lurved it!  And we've tortured Ryou enough, don't you think?  The house destruction, etc.  Had to spare him something!  XD  We will continue, hopefully sometime soon!

Kami Beverly:  Hee!  So glad we're amusing you!

Impish Pixie:  We do love hearing from you!  Thank you so much!  And poor Ryou, indeed!  That's what comes from living with Malik and Yami no Bakura.

Ninetails:  How ever did you guess?  Though, I have fun with that pairing, too.  More Seto/Ryuuji to come!  ::hug::  So glad you like this!  Lol… and the Malik/Bakura pairing might have had a wee bit of input from me… so happy that you're enjoying it!  More fun with Yami no Malik in a few chappies!  We'll keep it up whenever PM and I are actually on the computer at the same time again!

Haru-chan:  Thank you so much!  We pity Ryou, ourselves!  And you'll probably feel sorrier for Ryuuji after this chapter!  ::giggles:: Enjoy!

Yami Krissy:  Ah, Yami no Malik is not known for his compliance.  Just wait and see what happens…  Enjoy the fun with Ryuuji in the upcoming chapter!

Wolfeh:  So glad we could rejuvenate you!  Thank you so much for the compliments! 

Chapter 6

Baiting the Trap

Otogi Ryuuji, in the meantime, was having a very lovely day that was completely psycho-free and more importantly, skunk-free. He had only moments before said good-bye to his koi before waltzing off into his home that was located above the main part of his game shop. Of course, before turning to go, he had made sure that his raven-black hair shimmered lovingly in the gentle caress of the moonlight, the silky locks washing down his back in a cascade of....

Well, it didn't really matter. Seto hadn't been looking anyway, as he was already in his car and driving back to the mansion. Which basically meant that all of Ryuuji's attempts at seductive beauty were wasted.

Nothing new though.

So, feeling slightly depressed that his scheme didn't work, Ryuuji turned to enter the game shop, still adrift in pleasant thoughts and memories. And, for the convenience of two rather evil anonymous kidnappers, he was so caught up in the before-mentioned activity that he didn't notice the dark presence of other people in his private space before it was too late.

Well, it was really too late for him starting from when the two had started planning. Or really Malik, since he was the one who had picked Ryuuji as the victim of his evil scheme to get clean, get a Sennen Item, and get further revenge on his Yami by using the fabric-softener... err, floral-scented shampoo over and over again until Yami no Malik smelled like a flower.

It truly was fortunate that Ryuuji was in something of a dreamy state at the present. After all, the only thing Malik could do about his skunky odor was attempt to obscure it with other, more pleasant odors... and this had resulted in him smelling like a bed of roses... well, no. A bed of rotting roses, perhaps. In other words, there was just no smell available to him that was going to successfully overcome the skunk. For this reason, the tight-fitting black clothing Malik was wearing served several purposes. It contained the foul odor to some extent, made him dissolve in the darkness of the shadows that he and Yami no Bakura were currently lurking in, and made him look damn sexy, if he did say so himself. Well, he wasn't the only one who said so. The rather frustrated growling sounds made by Yami no Bakura when Malik had first donned the outfit certainly indicated as much--suggesting that Malik would most certainly be pinned on the bed in the same position he had been earlier if he still didn't reek of skunk.

In any case, the point was that neither Yami no Bakura nor Malik were smelt nor heard until the proper moment. Not that it would have mattered particularly if he had. Otogi Ryuuji was really no match for Yami no Bakura and Malik working in concert, to say nothing of the Sennen Ring. And to say nothing of just how motivated the two of them currently were. All it took was a silent exchange of looks with Yami no Bakura when the grating sound of a doorknob being turned filled the dark room and things were set in motion.

Malik slipped along the wall beside the door, waiting until it was open just long enough for him to catch a glimpse of those green eyes and confirm that it was indeed Ryuuji coming in. Then he quickly doused a cloth with some chloroform from the bottle in his hand (one might wonder how they just happened to have chloroform on hand, but then, Otogi Ryuuji was hardly the first person that either one of them had considered abducting) and slammed the door shut behind Ryuuji the second he came into the room. Then Malik leapt forward, grabbing the other with one arm and pressing the chloroform-soaked cloth over his nose and mouth with the other.

Ryuuji's nose twitched just slightly at the scent that it encountered within, but his only warning that something was amiss came, alas!, far too late. The moment he was through the door, someone slammed it shut behind him, causing the raven-haired male to emit a startled gasp. Seconds later, he made a rather shrill sound of surprise as strong arms caught him up and pressed a damp cloth against his nose and mouth. It was then that the room began to blur a bit...

Any struggles would have been, by this point, useless... but logic was never one of Ryuuji's fortes. If it had been, he would have installed a security system on the door to protect himself from psychotic Egyptians and spirits. Not that he ever had any reason to believe this type of thing would happen... nooo, Ryuuji had been naive and believed that neither Malik nor Yami no Bakura even knew he existed. Which he was correct to a point... they didn't know he existed. Until they happened to remember him when it came to their evil schemes.

So the green-eyed teen struggled, although it was relatively pointless as Malik had a strong grip on him. Not that he knew it was Malik (yet), but that didn't matter. Ryuuji was intelligent enough to know when he was being drugged and most likely abducted, and it didn't matter who was doing it.

Once upon a time, he might have thought it was Seto doing this as a practical joke. Unfortunately, he had learned by this point that Seto didn't have much of a sense of humor (actually, he didn't have a sense of humor period) when his company was going through rough times.

Luckily for him, Ryuuji was spared of wondering who was trying to kidnap him when a pair of eerie red eyes stared down at him. He nearly started shrieking at the sight of the psychotic thief, and he would have started fighting harder if the chloroform wasn't already taking over his system.

"That was easier than expected," Yami no Bakura muttered as he smirked at Ryuuji.

"I told you so," Malik's voice sounded oddly triumphant... as if he had just won a huge prize or something of the sort. Which he had, somewhat. As soon as Yami no Malik got a look at THIS eye-candy, he would be sure to be jumping into the tomato juice bath within seconds. And once he did that, it would only be a matter of seconds before Malik could steal the Sennen Rod and once again reign supreme over the entire world!!

Well... as long as Yami no Bakura didn't steal the Sennen Rod from him... which he was pretty liable to do.

But for now, the two had other things to worry about. Like what to do with the now happily unconscious game inventor, for example.

~ * ~

Malik smirked in self-satisfied fashion as they finished chaining Ryuuji in place. It had been quite simple to transport the unconscious male back to Ryou's house, since no one typically had any interest in stopping what clearly had to be two psychopaths on a motorcycle, since given the way Malik drove, no one would mistake them for anything less.

So, they were now the proud owners of one naked Otogi Ryuuji who was currently chained down to a table in Ryou's basement. Malik had admittedly done a most artful job in arranging the raven-haired male, if he did say so himself, limbs spayed in most vulnerable and inviting fashion, silvery chains laced around his limbs, tinkling now as the other slowly regained consciousness and his arms and legs began twitching.

Perhaps the most incongruous part of this scene that was clearly ripe for sadistic
indulgence was the large vat of tomato juice that hung on a ledge precariously over Ryuuji's head, hidden from view by the low basement ceiling until one was right where the raven-haired male happened to be. It was just perfect. One pull of a chain, and whoever happened to be lying in that spot would be doused with the thick, red liquid. And since the thick, red liquid wasn't blood Malik could easily imagine just how well his Yami would like that. The thought made him snicker and turn towards Bakura, eyes alight with dark amusement.

"So, what do you think? Is my other character going to be able to resist this for a second? Would you be able to resist this, Bakura...?" Malik purred, gazing at the other from the other side of the table and arching a brow.

For a moment, there was no response, as Yami no Bakura had indeed been taking a moment--well, maybe more than just a moment--to indulge in a few little fantasies of just what might happen to Otogi Ryuuji were Malik not present at that moment and if they hadn't needed him for Yami no Malik baiting purposes. Still, in answer to Malik's question, he grinned darkly.

"I don't think we have anything at all to worry about, Malik..." All of this was giving him quite a few ideas of just what he'd like to do with Malik once they got the skunk smell off of him. He was truly fond of the way his koi's mind worked.

"Perfect. Then we'll just leave Otogi like this overnight, and come tomorrow--"

Malik's words were interrupted as their captive decided to emit a rather indignant shriek. "Leave me like this overnight?! What exactly are you two planning to do with me tomorrow?!" Perhaps it was because he wasn't quite fully aware yet, or perhaps it was simply because Ryuuji didn't see how he could possibly make his situation much worse, but for that one moment after his emerald eyes had snapped open, he was too angry about finding himself like this to hold back his urge to at least force his kidnappers to deal with his questions.

A long silence followed his question, and for a moment, Ryuuji really did have to wonder if he had somehow made the situation worse. Considering who he was speaking to, it was a definite possibility and the thought made him a little more than nervous. Which most likely wasn't saying much considering how nervous he already was.

And of course, he should have been nervous. After all, he had just woken up to discover that he was not only chained up, but a bit in the nude as well. Never mind, of course, that Seto had already done this to him before… and what an experience that had been….

"We're not planning to do anything to you tomorrow," Malik replied simply, glancing at his white-haired psychopathic koi for agreement. Unfortunately, Yami no Bakura's eyes were having a little trouble focusing as his imagination began to do cartwheels about what he could do to Malik as soon as they went upstairs. He didn't even seem to notice that Malik was speaking to him, or that Ryuuji was awake, or that there were two sets of eyes staring at him and he was starting to make rather strange little sounds which were convincing the onlookers of his rapidly declining sanity.

Giving up, Malik rolled his eyes as he turned back towards Ryuuji, "It's more of a matter of what my Yami is going to do to you."

"Nanda?!" Ryuuji shrieked. And he could really shriek. To put it simply, if Skunkzilla had still been there, let's just say that two more people would be washing themselves in tomato juice that day. "What on earth are you talking about?!?!"

Still, Ryuuji happened to have a really good reason for shrieking. Any one of Yuugi's friends would have been doing the same thing if they were in his position, especially with the impression that they had gotten from the insane worshipper of darkness during Battle City.

But it was only to be expected. After all, Yami no Malik had tried to kill about half of the participants in the final rounds of Battle City on the blimp and Alcatraz tower, and if he had succeeded, he would have probably moved on to kill the other half.

"It's not that difficult a concept to understand, Otogi-kun," Malik replied, his voice mockingly sweet as he shoved Yami no Bakura up the steps. Yami no Bakura went obediently but like a zombie, due to the fact that he was still having some rather hentai-ish daydreams that involved Malik, a set of chains, several whips, and that 'special' thing he had just bought off of E-bay with Ryou's credit card.

He was quite annoyed that they had not been able to open the package yet because of this whole skunk mess.

"You can't just leave me here!" Ryuuji screamed in desperation.

"Yes, we can," was the bright reply. Malik had to keep a tight rein on his emotions to make sure that he didn't start dancing as he climbed the steps himself. After all, he was so close to accomplishing all his goals! Getting rid of the smell, getting his Sennen Rod back… making Yami no Malik smell like Rishid's fabric softener for the rest of his life!!! "Ja ne!"

"Matte~!"

The door to the basement slammed shut.