Disclaimer: Mikage does not own Yugioh, if she did, there would be considerately more leather and yaoi.=3 Yugioh is the rightful property of Kazuki Takahashi and others. The authoress does not make any profit off of this piece of fiction.
Warning: Shounen Ai. Slight language.
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Cell number 23, Solitary Confinement, Third floor of John C. Miller Youth Correctional Facility
Darkness. It is everywhere. Suffocating him, choking him every time he opened his mouth to gasp in a ragged breath. Filling his lungs, poisoning him with its soft, all enveloping miasma. The darkness is so thick that it felt like a physical presence, as if he could just reach out, and touch its inky blackness. It's as if he could cut through it with a knife, but he couldn't. And he felt the absence, the absence of everything, in the bitter taste of fear in his mouth, in the first cautious stirrings of terror in his heart.
Bakura hated it. He hated the dark, hated the utter absence of light, and most of all, hated that helpless feeling that being in the dark gave him every time. Something about seeing nothing, no matter how hard he strained his eye for a glimpse of anything, anything at all, unnerved him. Reminded him of being in a coffin that is nailed shut, with no way to escape.
In the encompassing darkness, there is nothing to do but think.
And think.
And think.
Bakura Yashiro scoffed to himself and turned on his thread-bare bed to face the wall. In the kind of life he and others like him lead, there's no room for thinking.
A rat scurried across the stone floor, its terrified high squeaking and its small, sharp claws clicking against the ground the only sound breaking the unnaturally still silence in the cell. Bakura heaved a sigh and played with the silver dagger the guards failed to find and confiscate, his mind, having found nothing else to entertain it with, begin to drift off into the blessedly unconscious land of sleep.
Footsteps.
Bakura immediately snapped into consciousness, years of life on the streets and numerous incidents of sudden gang attacks causing his wry body to tense reflexively, ready to spring up at a moment's notice.
The steel door opened and light flooded the room, inadequately blocked by the guard, his figure blurred at the edges by rays of harsh artificial light. Several roaches scattered away from the blinding rays as fast as their tiny little legs can manage.
"Get up," the voice, long ago made hoarse from shouting at unruly inmates, barked. "You're meeting with the new counselor now."
Smirking sadistically, as was his usual wont, the teen delinquent agilely flipped down onto the ground, heedless of the handcuffs that locked and bit into his wrists. "Lead the way," he said to the waiting guard, who glared at him for his impertinence but did nothing else for lack of anything more discriminating.
Humming merrily underneath his breath now, Bakura marched smartly out of Solitary and down the dimly lit hall with his surly guard in tow, his mood much improved by his remembrance of the last counselor that had held the unfortunate and undesired position. Who knew she would object so strongly to a few threats and one or two measly knife slashes?
Stopping in front of a white-washed door, the guard-yet still un-named, poor guy- searched him, again missing the hidden dagger, and pushed him in roughly, apparently tired of his self-satisfied attitude, closing the door behind him. Through the small steel enforced glass window in the door, Bakura could see the guard taking up his post just outside.
He turned, ready to deliver a scathing and, hopefully, cutting remark, when he was stopped dead by his first glance at the immaculately groomed man sitting behind a simple wooden desk. The man looks just like himself! Except.... Different. Frozen in shock, he let his eyes travel to the new counselor's face once more, this time much slower than the original cursory glance, his gaze unconsciously lingering on the porcelain skin, silver locks-different from his own spiky strands- that gleamed as if spun from moonlight, and soft eyes the color of melted chocolate.
Gods, the man was
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Beautiful, Ryou realized, letting out a breath he hasn't realized he was holding.
Then he immediately checked himself. Where did that come from? As far as he knows, he is not gay, has never been attracted to those of his own gender, so why now? And why towards someone who by all rights could have passed for himself? Isn't that a bit too narcissistic? But it is hard not to notice the unruly silver hair, only a shade darker than his own snowy tresses, his bangs that stood wildly in all directions, his piercing, crimson tinged brown eyes, his golden tanned skin....
Whoa. Let's just stop that train of thought before it goes any further, shall we?
His conscience, which up until that point had been silent, now screamed at him, backed up by warning bells in his head. You are the psychiatric counselor, how professional it would look to have fantasies about your patient, of all people? It reminded him.
Ryou blinked, and, realizing that he was expected to say something, blushed and then immediately cursed his misfortune of being born with naturally pale skin.
He looked up and opened his mouth, prepared to initiate a conversation, to comment on the startling and disturbing similarities between them, or at the very least, say something to break the uncomfortable silence, but was cut off by the nonchalant voice of the teen in front of him.
"Aren't you a little too young to be a shrink?"
He blinked again and stood up, pushing his chair away from his desk. Conjuring up his most authoritative and haughty expression, he swept Bakura a look of patient exasperation, as if he had gotten this attitude many times before-oh wait, he had. He frowned, "I assure you, I am fully qualified for this position, the issue of my age is insignificant compared to my suitability and knowledge required for this job."
"I don't care about whether you think you are suitable for this or not, within a month, you won't be." Came the flippant reply and an insolent stare.
Ryou's spine stiffened, and he straightened, staring back at those brown eyes-so much like his!-without fear. "Is that a threat?"
Bakura Yashiro smirked.
"Consider it a promise."
Ryou narrowed his eyes, having a hard time containing his disbelief at what is occurring. This is not turning out to be a good first session. Or a good first impression either, for that matter. The boy's confidence is... unnerving, to say the least. Add the obvious similarity of their appearance, and this whole interview is proving to be quite a fiasco. "And what makes you promise that?"
A dismissive flick of his hand.
"After I'm done with them, the previous counselors couldn't wait to leave this hell hole. And just how old are you anyway?"
Refusing to back down from what he knows is a test, Ryou leaned forward, putting both his hands on the table in front of him, never breaking eye contact with Bakura, "Twenty two. And I can promise you, that when this month is over, you'll hardly be seeing the last of me."
Striding forward a few paces, the teen grabbed the lapels of his shirt, regardless of the handcuffs that still held both his hands together, and crushed his lips to the stunned psychiatrist's, bruising Ryou's lips with its force.
Ryou's mouth dropped open in shock. Which might or might not be regarded as a good thing, because then Bakura, taking advantage of his conveniently open mouth, slipped his tongue inside and oh my... Blood rushed to Ryou's head, making him dizzy with the effort of standing.
At that moment, the guard rushed in and pulled Bakura away from him. Breathing heavily, Ryou stared at the smirking teen, who looked like the proverbial cat who ate the canary. Eyes smoldering, he whispered,
"I'll look forward to it."
Before being dragged off by the guard, who, before leaving, shot Ryou a look that said quite clearly, "That was pathetic" and marched out with an unresisting and openly grinning Bakura.
Ryou slumped back into his chair, stunned.
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Hey everyone! Yes, I'm back, hope you haven't dismissed me as a lost cause already. ;;; I'm really sorry it took so long, and believe me, no one is sorrier than me, but life's been evil, and inspiration hard to come by. –sigh- Anyway, hope you all enjoyed this chapter, however short it is. ;;;
Once again, this chapter is dedicated to YueLian, my imouto(aka Rosie), b/c of her unwavering dedication and enthusiasm. =3 Hope u liked it, imouto-chan!
Hugs and kisses goes out to all 13 of u who reviewed(Yue-chan reviewed twice....), I couldn't have made it through all the times when I felt like deleting the crappy first chapter without all of you. Keep reviewing, and I'll keep going.
Ai Baka-chan Austra: Thank you, I'm glad you didn't think the intro was too long-winded. =3
Bluediamond: Wow....I don't know what to say. Thank you so much! It did help a lot. I'm glad you agree with my perception of Ryou, that he is actually very strong mentally. Thank you for pointing out my grammar mistakes, I make them on a regular basis(my eng teacher hates me for it;;). That said, if you are still interested in being my beta reader, I would be honored to accept. And don't worry, you didn't insult me or anything.
DojomistressAmbyChan: I'm currently debating on whether or not to add the other characters later on. I most probably will, but I want to concentrate on the Ryou/Bakura development.
Crimson Nightmare: Thank you. I like to think that this plot was my original idea, but I guess someone else already took it. I haven't read the fic you are talking about, but I assure you I didn't plagiarize from her or any other authors out there. I hope mine will be very different from hers.;;; Wow.. a lot of ppl grasped how I wanted Ryou to be portrayed, I'm pleased. =3
Katia-chan: Thanks. Wow..you even used quotes from the story in your review! o-o –feels loved- =3 yes, my grammar leaves much to be desired, and if you want to be my beta(along with Bluediamond, wow.. two ppl), I would appreciated it very much. email me if you get the chance!
Yue Lian: -shakes head- Imouto-chan... wat am I going to do with you? You're so adorable... cute that you reviewed twice, but not necessary in the future. just write me a really long one and we'll call it even. Glad you liked the picture I drew for you. =3 talk to you soon, sweetie!
Everyone, thank you so much for your support! Hope you enjoyed reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it, and please bear with me(and my mistakes) in the future!
Keep reviewing!!
Miki