Lavvy: Oh… so you think Bakura's out of the ditch… Psshaw, like I'd make it that easy. It's human nature to stick with the old. Ryou… oh my dear, sweet Ryou… he is in a VERY DEEP, DEEP HOLE! MUAHA!
Daisuke: She's evil… I swear. Anyways, she doesn't own Yu-Gi-Oh or anything else 'cept this fic. o.o Read on!
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Warning: Shonen-ai, implied mutilation, language.
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"I don't want to. Please, it hurts."
"Listen, you little demon child. I don't know how the bloody hell you got these powers of yours, but you are mine, and you will learn to use them on command, IS THAT PERFECTLY CLEAR!?"
"It hurts… it hurts…"
Smack.
"Ahh! Please!"
"Leave… him… be."
"W-what the hell are you!?!"
"The first and certainly not the last demon you will ever see. But then again, don't you see a demon when you look in the mirror?"
A pair of sharp fangs ripping apart pale flesh, blood spilling from a neck ripped open as the screams died. The body hit the black tile floor with a disgusting thud and a splat.
"No more crying, child." That shadow embraced him. And the crying stopped.
.
"I just don't know why, Jou. Godammit." Ryou ran a hand through his hair and heaved a sigh, looking to his friend for a little advice, insight, anything. The blonde was currently modeling for a nonexistent audience that supposedly resided in his mirror.
"Purple or black…"
"JOUNOUCHI!"
"WHAT!?"
Ryou stopped and sighed. "Both."
Jou turned around, holding up two silk, short sleeved shirts to his form. "Ok, welp, purple shirt, black jeans? Or purple jeans, black shirt?"
Ryou blinked several times and opened up a random magazine that he spotted lying on the floor, "They make purple jeans in men's sizes?"
"Reality check, Ry."
"Gee, I suppose you could find practically any article of clothing you wanted with the right connections."
The blonde stuck his tongue out as his outfit took flight, and moved out of his reach every time he would jump for it. "Not… fucking… funny."
"I think it's hysterical. Come on, Jou! Work for it!"
(Lavvy: Ye-up. Everybody is utterly drowning in their own OOCness…)
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"Can't you just smell it?"
"I smell two things. Cheap cologne and sweat." Ryou smiled as they entered the club, earning a large frown from Seto. "Money!" He exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air and stalking off, leaving a laughing Jou and Ryou behind.
"Ryou… guess what?" Jou put his arm around his friend's shoulders and led him farther in.
"What?" He questioned, blinking in the direction of his blonde friend. Jou's grin had been cemented to his lips ever since they had been in, and now, it suddenly grew wider. He pointed in the direction of the stage, murmuring a soft, "Look."
On the side was perched a very content looking Bakura, legs dangling off the side. And much to Ryou's distress, his look-a-like's eyes were an offset PINK! How could that be!? He stood there gaping until a low 'Ahem' broke his concentration.
"Don't just stand there," Jou started, directing a slap to Ryou's butt, sending him a step forward, "he's waitin'!" He caught the tinge of red on Ryou's face and chuckled before strutting off.
Bakura smiled as the young man joined him on the stage, strange pink eyes holding amusement.
"Hello again, Ryou." He nodded in acknowledgment.
"Hi, Bakura." He replied, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion at the fact that he couldn't decide whether or not Bakura was wearing contacts.
"Is something wrong?"
He shook his head quickly, brushing off his confusion for a soft smile. "Nope, nothing. Except… I kinda wanted to ask you something." Bakura blinked and nodded, "Ask away."
"Why… were you so upset the other night?" Silence. He immediately felt, with every second that passed, that he was digging his grave. Deeper… and deeper…
Until Bakura hopped off the stage and grabbed his hand, "I'll tell you, if you're willing to listen." He quickly agreed with a solemn 'ok' and was led off.
Jou smiled contently, spinning around in Seto's office chair, "They'd make an interesting couple."
Seto propped himself against the glass wall of his lounge, folding his arms to his chest. "You think?"
"I don't think, I know!"
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He was led into one of the back rooms. Hell, he had been here plenty of times before, they were excellent places to catch a quick nap. Of course, that's not really what they were intended on being used for. Seto had made them specifically for his friends and people he trusted.
This particular room was probably the size of a medium sized hotel room. Blue light flooded down from ceiling lights, enough to blind a person if they were to stare long enough. A canopy bed was placed in the center of the room, baby blue silk sheets covering it. Well, somebody obviously had blue in mind. The scent of alcohol and stale air had long since dwindled, leaving a fresh and much needed environment. Ryou resisted the urge to gasp and drink it in, happy to be able to breath without the impulse to purge his stomach of it's contents.
"I'm happy to be out of there too."
He stopped and looked at Bakura. Too? What did he mean by that? A sudden wave of sickness washed over him, clearing his mind of everything else but the need to run for the nearest bathroom. He felt severely dehydrated and a little out of touch with reality. When the hell did he give his body permission to suddenly turn on him? He snarled at the thought and gave Bakura a despairing look.
"You look a bit green," he said with a soft smirk. "The blue offsets it nicely."
"I can imagine," Ryou murmured in reply, eyes unhappily half-lidded. "You know what, excuse me." He said, Bakura releasing him from his grasp.
"By all means. I'm sure Seto Kaiba would be unhappy with me if you got sick suddenly because of me."
Ryou frowned, nodded, and trudged off to the bathroom.
Not to much longer after Bakura had taken a seat in an armchair, he heard the dissatisfying sound of vomiting. Obviously, Ryou felt a bit sicker than he had originally thought, as he heard the sound twice more. "Oh Ryou…"
Said young man flushed the toilet, went to the sink to rinse his mouth out, and opened the door to hear his name. "You rang?" He asked, eyes drooping and face looking pale as if he was going to be sick again. Bakura's face dropped at the sight. "I'll be fine," Ryou assured at the silent question, waving it off.
A silence was met between the two, before one felt a pair of arms lock around his waist. Ryou was on the verge of panicking. Hell, he was ready to go manic, but that warm feeling was back… He couldn't remember ever feeling it this strong before…
Years of deep, sickening pain and loneliness. He had even considered cutting and burning the pain away. He was too timid. And until now, he was silently terrified of death. It was a phobia.
"You'll be ok."
How had Bakura gotten across the room so fast? Ryou didn't remember him standing up…
"I believe there were questions you wanted answers too?" He asked, ushering the unbalanced Ryou to the bed and sitting him down.
"Which one of you do I ask?" Ryou asked, trying desperately to rid himself of the bothersome double vision.
He shook his head softly to meet a pair of concerned looking blue eyes. HUH?! 'They're… blue! Good Lord, I need a shrink…'
"I tried contacts once, found them awfully uncomfortable, too." Bakura said randomly, nose wrinkling in disgust. "Then what the hell's up with your eyes?" Ryou blurted out.
Bakura winced. "Why do my eyes reflect my mood?"
"Whaaat…?" Ryou's eyes looked wide enough to falls out of the sockets and roll away. Of course, mind you, he's seen some weird stuff. Why did this effect him like that?
"Mood eyes, then."
"Yeah, I guess, if you want to call it that."
A pair of distressed looking eyes fell upon him. "What did you mean the other night? You said 'You know nothing of insanity' and stalked off," silence for a short while, "you owe me an answer, you know."
"I owe you an answer? Well sure, Ryou. You want your answer?" Bakura scowled and turned around so his back was facing Ryou, making it look like he didn't have the will or desire to look in his direction. And then, that theory was proven wrong as he slowly and carefully pulled off his shirt.
"Dear God…"
"Pretty, isn't it?"
A large expanse of scars. X's and crosses marked deep within the flesh. The skin was horribly scarred, some still mangled and certain places scabbing over in efforts to heal itself. Disgusting looking bruises were made apparent as Bakura shifted slightly in discomfort. Certain cuts were very long and made a small crevice that had a dull brown substance crusted in it. Others were short and deep, skin an unhealthy shade of what looked to be a dull yellow. A few scars looked remarkably like teeth marks, and a chosen few were that of nails.
Ryou stared in awe. And suddenly felt the need to rid himself of the bile that was pushing it's way into his throat, probably the only thing left to throw up.
He touched one softly, only to have Bakura gasp sharply is displeasure. The wound so unceremoniously touched then began to sullenly ooze blood, looking quite depressing.
"Bakura… what happened?"
"You happened. Roughly 61,320 hours ago, you happened."
"What do you mean?"
He gave shaky sigh of irritation. It was telling him to stop… That voice resounded within the confines of his mind, preying on the minor amount of sanity that resided there. The kind you save just by knowing you're alive. Everything was coming back. Gnawing away at his uneasy mind.
He let out a shrill cry as Ryou traced a raw cut with his finger. "Do I need a sign that says 'Don't touch, IT HURTS!'?!" Bakura jerked away from a wide-eyed Ryou. He immediately regretted it. "Look, I'm here because you wanted questions answered, right?"
A soft nod.
"Right. I will answer any question you may have from this point forward." It was a stunning resolution on his part.
Ryou smiled as Bakura sat back down, seemingly finding the blue walls befittingly interesting. He smiled. He felt eyes on him and his uncovered upper half. And he also felt what emotions came with that gaze. Curiosity, and something very near desire. He would make Ryou remember.
"Stop fooling yourself."
Bakura blinked and directed his gaze towards Ryou. That voice did not belong to his love. It belonged to…
"Stop it."
"I saved this boy. I PROTECT this boy. Who are you to order me around, Bakura?"
His fingers curled into fists, nails digging into the skin. He waited so long… He waited YEARS; and now this was happening.
Ryou's figure rolled over the sheets of the bed carefully, the mattress not giving a single betraying squeak for the ears to hear.
"What do you think you're doing?" He gritted his teeth, preparing to restrain the young man if necessary.
"You left me all alone." That voice was Ryou's… Bakura winced at how strained and hateful it sounded.
"No… I was keeping you safe, Ryou. Please…"
"Save the apologies."
"You mean to tell me you remember? Everything?"
"Bakura…"
A dull thud, and the sight of Bakura jogging towards him were the last thing he saw, before darkness claimed his mind and sight. (Rhys: FYI, he's unconscious now.)
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"Get the hell out of my club!"
He hissed in Seto's direction, deep blue eyes forming into pools of anger. "Listen, Mortal. I've got no bone to pick with you. Now get OUT OF MY WAY!"
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Lavender: You have no idea how sorry I am… I swear, I'll work extra long and hard on the next chapter. I'm going to my Dad's for two weeks and I don't think he has a computer! I'll just have to write it all down by hand! Shit… that'll be fun. There'll be a plot next chapter. Please, don't kill me.
Rhys: Expect a LONG chapter once she gets back. She will work her tail off and write day and night to make up for this chapter.
Daisuke: Right. So, review, and this time I SUGGEST flaming and throwing poisonous mushrooms. SHE DESERVES IT FOR WRITING SUCH A SHORT CHAPTER!!!
Lavender: Bye for now, ya'll… -sigh-