Disclaimer: I own a rather nice collection of Yu-GI-Oh cards, a poster and
the first manga of Yu-Gi-Oh. I do not, however, own the actual thing, as
much as I wish I did. I also do not own the idea of a Mokoba/Ryou
relationship, nor do I own the idea of Seto in a chicken suit. They belong
to Jay and my sister, respectively. I don't own myself either. I belong to
Jay. So basically, don't sue.
Pairings: Seto/Jou, Bakura/Ryou, Yami/Yugi, Marik/Malik, one sided Mokoba/Ryou
A.N: Again, I apologize for the lack of updates. I had it done, really! I just...hadn't typed it up. Yes, I know I'm lazy. And the net distracted me. And...I'll stop. Thank you time! Thanks to:
Ladyschumon- Yes, I'm thanking you this time!
Alostblackcat- Thank you! I love you!
Ranma Higurashi- I love you two!
Dell- *laughs* Thanks for the ideas! Much appreciated, even if they -are- a little kooky.
Also, thank you to Katri, my sister. She beta read this chapter for me. I love her too, in a sisterly sort of way.
Now, On with the show!
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'Speech'
"Thoughts"
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I don't believe it. Alright I do, this room and my headache prove it well enough. Probably more accurate to say: I don't want to believe it. I thought I'd left -him- behind. How long has it been now, three years? Not quite.I was seventeen. What an age to get into a serious relationship. And be serious, I mean seriously wrong. Who knew that such a 'nice' guy could be so violent? Was there something he wanted from me that I didn't give? I don't' think so, he would have just taken it anyway.
So what did he want from me? I still don't know, not sure I want to either. Three years of me hiding sure won't have improved his mood and I'm sure I'll be hit with the full brunt of that soon enough. I only hope I can still protect Mokoba.
The strangest thing about this though? I still love him.
Damn you Bakura.
~Ryou
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A black cordless phone lay precariously close to the edge of a cream kitchen bench, edging closer to its doom with each shrill ring it emitted. Just as it teetered and toppled over however, a tanned hand snatched it up, giving it a twirl before pressing the receive button.
'Ya?'
'Marik? Would you put Malik on the line?' Marik let loose and insane giggle, tempted to just hang up. He never really liked Yami anyway.
'Ya didn't say please.' He drawled, flopping onto the sofa and sprawling out. Tormenting his boss had to be one of his favorite pastimes, he knew full well that Yami wouldn't sack him. Fire him, and they'd lose Malik as well.
'Marik, I don't have time for this!' Yami snapped, clearly impatient. 'We have an emergency and-'
'Say please and I might let ya speak to him.' There was some angry, incoherent mumblings from the other end of the line before Yami replied.
'Please may I speak to Malik, Marik.'
'Better!' Marik crowed, jumping off the sofa with vigor. 'See Yami? All ya had to do was ask!' the Egyptian cackled at Yami's colorful swearing while he flounced over to his lover's bedroom.
Malik was still asleep, sprawled out across the entire double bed the couple shared, and was snoring lightly. Marik grinned at this, creeping over to where one of Malik's tanned feet was protruding from underneath the covers. Pulling out a feather he saved for just such occasions, the insane Egyptian began delicately running the said feather gently across the sole of Malik's foot. The result, needless to say, was incredibly pleasing. Something that sounded like a mixture of a yell and a howl passed through Malik's lips and the blonde jumped three feet in the air, all the while managing to hit Marik over the head with the nearest inanimate object, a pillow in this case.
'Marik you little shit!' Malik yelled, lavender eyes flashing dangerously. 'If I had a gun I would-' he stopped short as Marik shoved the phone in this face.
'Phone for you.' This calmed the smaller man down considerably.
'Oh.' He took the receiver, still muttering death threats under his breath. 'Moshi moshi?'
'I don't think I wanna know what was going on over there.' Came the amused voice of Yami from the other end of the line.
'Yamiester!' Malik reclined back onto his bed, booting Marik in the face as the spiky haired man tried to resume his tickle torture. 'What can I do for ya? Need the remedy for arse cramp yet?'
'Far from it.' Yami's tone was dry. Catching the hint, Malik sobered immediately. 'Ya really need help this time eh? Sup?' he listened intently as Yami explained the situation, twirling Marik's now confiscated feather in his fingers. As Yami summed up, Malik let out a low whistle.
'Looks like you got way more then expected this time, hey Yami?' he ignored the other's growl. 'Well I suppose I'll get over there pronto and in the meantime, look up everything I can on this Pegasus guy.' Pausing a moment, he glanced over to where Marik was sulking in the corner. 'Ya want Marik along too?' There was a moment of silence from the other end.
'Yes.' came the halting reply. 'I think we'll need him. Just make sure he doesn't terrorize the poor people at airport again.'
'Will do. I'll see ya this evening then.' Malik hung up, chucking the phone into Marik's lap before sauntering over to his computer and flicking it on. They were going to need every bit of information on Pegasus by the sounds of it, and Malik planned to dredge up everything he could before they left. After all, things must be pretty serious if Yami was willing to have Marik along.
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Jou was walking down the busy streets of Paris, dodging children and generally enjoying the chilly winter day. His nose, for once, wasn't freezing off and he could still feel all of his fingers and toes. In fact, it was an incredibly pleasant temperature for a change, not that Jou was complaining. He smiled as a group of children ran past happily throwing snowballs and squealing. Normally children annoyed the hell out of him but today it was.......nice to have them around. The crowd around him increased as he walked into an open street market, the sounds and smells embracing him as he wandered deeper into the throng. Turning into a less crowded street Jou meandered, gazing at all the hand made goods. For the first time in awhile he felt...content. It was nice, as if his world had suddenly corrected itself. Lost in his internal musings, the blond didn't notice he had left the marked behind him until a cold wind picked up, whistling harshly though his winter coat. Shivering whilst pulling the thick fabric closer to his body, brown eyes blinked in confusions at the deserted street.
'A puppy shouldn't be out without it's master, especially in this weather.' The mocking voice from behind him caused Jou to jump a foot in the air before whirling around, anger coloring his face.
'I thought I told-' his anger abruptly fizzled out as he stared at his employer. His glare had been met with the familiar posture and ice blue eyes but the outfit...Jou couldn't help himself, laughter burst out from him before he could hold it back. 'Kaiba? Why the hell are you wearing a -chicken- suit?' Seto's eyes narrowed in anger at the blonde's continued mirth.
'I wouldn't laugh at your employer, mutt.' The anger melted into a cruel smirk and he gestured with his right...wing. 'It could have...unwanted results.' Leaving Jou with this, Chicken Seto strode purposefully from the street but not before giving the blond a last smirk. 'You always have time to redeem yourself Pup.'
Jou stared after the brunette as he waddled off, before scratching the back of his head in confusion.
'What da? Well that was weird.' A strange, evil sounding clucking noise came from the house next to him, distracting him from his musing. Turning his head to the side out of curiosity he was met with the sight of a large, evil looking chicken, not that Jou was sure it was possible for a chicken to look evil. The chicken took a few menacing steps forward, causing Jou to back up a few steps only to fall over another evil looking chicken who glared maliciously down at him. The blond sat up quickly, shuffling backwards with a startled yelp. His escape was foiled, however, by the sudden appearance of more evil chickens. Jou shakily got to his feet, now seeing that he was surrounded by the possessed fowl, and let out a deep breath. He could get out of this, they were only chickens...right? As if hearing his thoughts the chickens attacked, flying at him and peaking at him with a vengeance. Jou squeaked at the sudden onslaught, throwing his hands over his face in a vain attempt to protect it from the furious pecking.
Almost as soon as it began though, the pecks stopped. Gingerly, Jou removed his bleeding hands from his face to find himself lying on Seto's lap. The CEO smiled smirked down at him, running a hand through Jou's sandy locks.
'Give up yet?'
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Honey eyes snapped open, blinking once, twice and a third time just for good measure. Jou sat up abruptly, pale cream sheets pooling at his wait, before running a hand through sleep tussled hair. It was just a dream. A very strange, twisted dream.
'Stupid tablets.' He muttered angrily before glancing at the glaring red numbers of his clock then flopping back onto the bed with a groan. He was late. Again. Making a mental note to actually set the alarm later he swung his legs over the edge of the bed and stood. Funny, he didn't remember getting in...
'Definitely too many tablets.'
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Yami hung up the phone with a groan, sitting down with a thud next to Yugi who promptly wrapped his arms around his older lover's waist.
'Are they really that annoying to you?' Amethyst eyes blinked up at Yami and he felt the sudden urge to pick up his koi and snuggle him.
'Not really.' He restrained himself, sighing and stretching instead. 'They just worry me.'
'As they do everyone. That's their job.' Yugi giggled at the face the older man pulled, tapping Yami on the nose. 'The wind will change and you'll be stuck that way.'
'Now wouldn't that be a shame.' Yami quickly grabbed Yugi's wrists and trapped the younger man beneath him. 'Wouldn't want such a handsome face as mine to go to waste like that would we now?' A soft cough from the doorway caused the two to jerk away from each other, before they both glared at a slightly amused looking Seto.
'I hate to pull you two away from your fun like that.' Seto walked gracefully across to the chair at the opposite side of the room. 'But I think we have more important things to discuss then Yami's facial expressions.' Yugi blushed at this while Yami merely smirked. Looking hurriedly for a way to change the subject, Yugi scanned the room for a topic of discussion. He frowned when he found on, or rather a lack of one.
'Where's Jou?' he asked suddenly, breaking the silence that had enveloped them.
'Still sleeping.' The CEO's tone softened slightly at the mention of the brown eyed blond. 'He looked to peaceful to wake really.' Yami shot Yugi a knowing grin.
'Told you.' He muttered. Yugi just stuck his tongue out at his lover.
'That was nice of you, to let him sleep I mean.' The shorter man continued. Seto just nodded wearily. For the first time Yugi noticed the first visible signs of stress showing on the other man, his eyes were slightly sunken with lack of sleep and he had slight wrinkles forming across this brow. The CEO unknowingly confirmed his suspicions by yawning softly, though the amethyst eyed boy had no more time to think about it as Seto finally asked the question they'd been waiting for.
'Now, what do you propose we do about my brother?'
Yami pulled a small envelope from his jacket and tossed it across the table to Seto, who scanned it and nodded.
'It's what we expected.' Yami began, getting comfortable. 'Your typical ransom note "Hand over the program or we'll hurt your brother" in short.'
'It's from Pegasus.' Yami nodded at Seto's comment. 'You can tell by the rabbit.'
'Rabbit?' Yugi hadn't looked at the note yet, so Seto handed it over.
'Funny Bunny, Pegasus' personal favorite. It's a well known fact he loves cartoons.' The brunette leaned back, rubbing his temples. 'We can't use that to pin it on him though, Funny Bunny's a popular cartoon around here, anyone could use it.'
'But it is Pegasus though.' Yugi went over the note again.
'Nobody else calls me Kaiba-boy, trust me.'
'True.' Yugi handed the note back to Yami with a small frown before crossing his legs. 'So what can we do to prove it?'
'Nothing until we get Mokoba and Ryou back.' Yami was also frowning, deeper then Yugi. 'I won't risk them being hurt by going to the authorities.' This caused the CEO to scowl.
'Then what do we do?' Yami looked at him passively.
'We bust in and get them ourselves.'
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A shaft of sunlight slid slowly across the room, illuminating a slight, pale hand that was sprawled across the narrow white bed in the corner. Ryou smiled slightly as the rays warmed his skin.
"How nice." He thought bitterly. "They gave me a cell with a window." Having woken at least an hour ago, they'd taken his watch so he couldn't be sure, Ryou had found himself draped across this bed, all valuables stripped from his possession and his head pounding.
"They just had to go drug me too." He unconsciously rubbed the back of his neck. "As if what Bakura did wasn't effective." And Ryou knew just how effective if could be. It had been Bakura's main 'subduing' maneuver, something he practiced when needing to get Ryou out of the way of somewhere the white haired man did not want to be. He should have known it would be coming.
Actually, things hadn't gone too badly, considering Bakura had been involved. True, Bakura had thrown Mokoba across an alley and knocked them both out but he hadn't used his knives. That was always a good thing, you knew Bakura was pissed when he whipped out a knife.
Ryou was awoken from his internal musings as the sounds of locks being unbolted drifted through the door. He didn't bother moving, just re-closed his eyes. There was a pause after the door opened, as if the invader was hesitating, before the slapping of rubber against lino made its way over to the bed.
'I know you're awake.' Ryou cracked open an eye, meeting the annoyed face of Bakura who was above him.
'You always do.' Bakura hadn't changed clothes since last night, with the exception of a black leather jacket being thrown over his shirt, so Ryou guessed the older man hadn't slept. His pistol, hidden before, was now strapped to his side though his knives remained invisible, most likely hidden up his sleeves. The thought of those didn't calm Ryou one bit.
Bakura, oblivious to Ryou's unease, was taking the opportunity to study his prize without it running away. Just looking at the white haired man reminded Bakura why he had wanted him in the first place. His opposite. They were bi-polar in nearly every way. Where Bakura was tough as nails, Ryou was cream puff soft. Ryou was nice to nearly everyone he met, where Bakura was, well, less then civil to those he didn't like. That was why Bakura wanted Ryou, to possess what he wasn't and could never be. To own what he couldn't do. Not to mention that Ryou was the most beautiful being the grey haired man had laid eyes on. Unfortunately, Ryou had run away before Bakura could claim him completely, something Bakura meant to remedy and quickly. Even if it involved force. But that could wait for later.
'Pegasus wants to see you.' He said casually, breaking the heave silence.
'Good for him.' Ryou replied shortly, re-closing his eyes and turning to face the wall. Narrowing his eyes at the small show of defiance, Bakura had to resist his primal urge to knock the boy out again. Pegasus wanted to talk -now-, and Bakura didn't really feel like arguing with him. Instead he hooked his right arm underneath the younger man's waist, easily lifting Ryou clean off the bed. Balancing his bundle over his left shoulder, Bakura ignored Ryou's futile struggles to escape and proceeded in carrying the younger man down the corridor. Several minutes and many strange stares later, Bakura deposited Ryou outside an ornate, though rather gaudy, wooden door.
'I'd rather you didn't make this difficult.' He snapped, silently enjoying Ryou's involuntary wince. 'Don't give me a reason to hurt you.' Ryou just closed his eyes momentarily before giving Bakura a sad, humorless smile.
'You ever needed a reason?' He didn't have time to avoid, or even block, the oncoming blow, letting out a soft squeak as Bakura fist connected with the soft flesh of his lower abdomen. Dropping to his knees, thoroughly winded and numb from the amount of raw pain lancing through his stomach, Ryou was painfully aware of Bakura's cold glare boring into the top of his bowed head. He coughed raggedly, trying to assess the damage. From the feel of things, Bakura had added another broken rib to Ryou's record.
'Remember where you stand.' The grey haired man ground out, turning to face the aforementioned wooden door. It was unnecessary, being keeled over as Ryou was the younger man couldn't see the regret flickering quickly across Bakura's face.
'Get up already, weakling.' Bakura busied himself with opening the door. 'I can't be bothered dealing with an angry Pegasus right now so step!' Still clutching his side, Ryou decided to go along with it, he didn't need another cracked rib and Pegasus wasn't about to beat him. Hopefully.
Bakura watched his obsession walk warily past him, smirking slightly at Pegasus' personal room. Surprisingly it wasn't pink, but a rather eye pleasing set of maroon shades. Bakura personally found it to be one of the more pleasant rooms in Pegasus' possession, though it would be more so if it weren't so often inhabited by the silver haired man who was currently seated in the center of it, a young boy snuggled up in his lap. Curling his nose in disgust at the sight, Bakura gave Ryou a little push towards the center of the room.
'Ryou.' came Pegasus' purr. 'How nice of you to Join me.' The silver haired man finally looked up at the newcomers, eyes widening slightly when they settled on Ryou. Standing, he shooed the boy away before walking over to the doe eyes man, hooking his pointer finger under Ryou's chin and tilting the pale face up.
'My, my. You -are- a pretty one, aren't you?' he cooed giving Ryou's check a pinch that made the younger man blush. Pegasus chuckled at this before noticing the firm clutch Ryou had on his side.
Bakura frowned as Pegasus knelt at Ryou's side, lifting the pale boy's shirt and jumper to expose the bruised flesh underneath. It was all he could do to withhold his growl as Pegasus ran light fingers over Ryou's skin, causing the white haired man to whimper softly in pain. Pegasus tutted softly, standing and letting Ryou's shirt fall before re-seating himself and gently pulling Ryou onto his lap. This was the last straw for Bakura.
'Get off him Pegasus.' Pegasus hardly graced Bakura with a glance, he was too busy playing with Ryou's hair.
'Hmm, Bakura?' he finally looked up, smirking at his employee. 'You wanted something?' This time Bakura really did growl.
'You heard me. Get off him.'
'I don't see why I should.' Pegasus drawled, wrapping his arms around Ryou's waist. 'You obviously don't care about him, so I think I'll give him the attention he deserves. These words and actions caused Ryou to give a little sqeak.
'A...attention I deserve?' this made Pegasus smirk as he smelt Ryou's hair deeply.
'But of course. Trusting you in Bakura's care would be like giving a crystal vase to an ape.' The silver haired man shot another triumphant smirk at his glowering employee. 'And anyway,' he continued. 'I always take good care of my crystal.' Again Bakura snapped, this time more violently. He strode over to where Pegasus was sitting, forcefully wrenching Ryou off his lap as he whipped a long, curved blade out from his back jacket pocket. Positioning his foot on one of Pegasus' legs for support he thrust the blade just under the still smirking man's neck. Leaning in, Bakura lowered his voice to a deadly whisper.
'Don't you -ever- even -think- about my Ryou that way again, you pedophilic freak show.' He growled, pressing down the dagger slightly and drawing a thin line of liquid red from the pale neck. Pegasus didn't even look concerned, merely smirking up at his aggressor.
'Of course not, Bakura.' The silver haired man gently moved the dagger from it's lethal position Glancing at the shocked Ryou who was still sprawled on the ground, Pegasus lowered his voice to a conspiring whisper.
'But I suggest you take better care of your things or they may just shatter.' Bakura growled again, an angry rumble in the back of his thought but letting the man go none the less. He positioned himself protectively in front of -his- Ryou.
'Just stay away from him, or next time it won't just be a scratch I give you.' He sneered, his dagger disappearing to where it came from. Shooting one last glare at Pegasus, only to be smiled back at, he hauled Ryou none to gently to his feet and dragged the younger man from the room. Pegasus just chuckled, refilling his wine glass.
'Well that was fun.'
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A.N: Well wasn't that fun! Not quite sure what I think of this chapter, not much happened. Well, as always, feed back is appreciated as are ideas. Little ideas I can just slip in here and there are loved! They make the story have little bits of humor! Ja now!
Pairings: Seto/Jou, Bakura/Ryou, Yami/Yugi, Marik/Malik, one sided Mokoba/Ryou
A.N: Again, I apologize for the lack of updates. I had it done, really! I just...hadn't typed it up. Yes, I know I'm lazy. And the net distracted me. And...I'll stop. Thank you time! Thanks to:
Ladyschumon- Yes, I'm thanking you this time!
Alostblackcat- Thank you! I love you!
Ranma Higurashi- I love you two!
Dell- *laughs* Thanks for the ideas! Much appreciated, even if they -are- a little kooky.
Also, thank you to Katri, my sister. She beta read this chapter for me. I love her too, in a sisterly sort of way.
Now, On with the show!
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'Speech'
"Thoughts"
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I don't believe it. Alright I do, this room and my headache prove it well enough. Probably more accurate to say: I don't want to believe it. I thought I'd left -him- behind. How long has it been now, three years? Not quite.I was seventeen. What an age to get into a serious relationship. And be serious, I mean seriously wrong. Who knew that such a 'nice' guy could be so violent? Was there something he wanted from me that I didn't give? I don't' think so, he would have just taken it anyway.
So what did he want from me? I still don't know, not sure I want to either. Three years of me hiding sure won't have improved his mood and I'm sure I'll be hit with the full brunt of that soon enough. I only hope I can still protect Mokoba.
The strangest thing about this though? I still love him.
Damn you Bakura.
~Ryou
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A black cordless phone lay precariously close to the edge of a cream kitchen bench, edging closer to its doom with each shrill ring it emitted. Just as it teetered and toppled over however, a tanned hand snatched it up, giving it a twirl before pressing the receive button.
'Ya?'
'Marik? Would you put Malik on the line?' Marik let loose and insane giggle, tempted to just hang up. He never really liked Yami anyway.
'Ya didn't say please.' He drawled, flopping onto the sofa and sprawling out. Tormenting his boss had to be one of his favorite pastimes, he knew full well that Yami wouldn't sack him. Fire him, and they'd lose Malik as well.
'Marik, I don't have time for this!' Yami snapped, clearly impatient. 'We have an emergency and-'
'Say please and I might let ya speak to him.' There was some angry, incoherent mumblings from the other end of the line before Yami replied.
'Please may I speak to Malik, Marik.'
'Better!' Marik crowed, jumping off the sofa with vigor. 'See Yami? All ya had to do was ask!' the Egyptian cackled at Yami's colorful swearing while he flounced over to his lover's bedroom.
Malik was still asleep, sprawled out across the entire double bed the couple shared, and was snoring lightly. Marik grinned at this, creeping over to where one of Malik's tanned feet was protruding from underneath the covers. Pulling out a feather he saved for just such occasions, the insane Egyptian began delicately running the said feather gently across the sole of Malik's foot. The result, needless to say, was incredibly pleasing. Something that sounded like a mixture of a yell and a howl passed through Malik's lips and the blonde jumped three feet in the air, all the while managing to hit Marik over the head with the nearest inanimate object, a pillow in this case.
'Marik you little shit!' Malik yelled, lavender eyes flashing dangerously. 'If I had a gun I would-' he stopped short as Marik shoved the phone in this face.
'Phone for you.' This calmed the smaller man down considerably.
'Oh.' He took the receiver, still muttering death threats under his breath. 'Moshi moshi?'
'I don't think I wanna know what was going on over there.' Came the amused voice of Yami from the other end of the line.
'Yamiester!' Malik reclined back onto his bed, booting Marik in the face as the spiky haired man tried to resume his tickle torture. 'What can I do for ya? Need the remedy for arse cramp yet?'
'Far from it.' Yami's tone was dry. Catching the hint, Malik sobered immediately. 'Ya really need help this time eh? Sup?' he listened intently as Yami explained the situation, twirling Marik's now confiscated feather in his fingers. As Yami summed up, Malik let out a low whistle.
'Looks like you got way more then expected this time, hey Yami?' he ignored the other's growl. 'Well I suppose I'll get over there pronto and in the meantime, look up everything I can on this Pegasus guy.' Pausing a moment, he glanced over to where Marik was sulking in the corner. 'Ya want Marik along too?' There was a moment of silence from the other end.
'Yes.' came the halting reply. 'I think we'll need him. Just make sure he doesn't terrorize the poor people at airport again.'
'Will do. I'll see ya this evening then.' Malik hung up, chucking the phone into Marik's lap before sauntering over to his computer and flicking it on. They were going to need every bit of information on Pegasus by the sounds of it, and Malik planned to dredge up everything he could before they left. After all, things must be pretty serious if Yami was willing to have Marik along.
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Jou was walking down the busy streets of Paris, dodging children and generally enjoying the chilly winter day. His nose, for once, wasn't freezing off and he could still feel all of his fingers and toes. In fact, it was an incredibly pleasant temperature for a change, not that Jou was complaining. He smiled as a group of children ran past happily throwing snowballs and squealing. Normally children annoyed the hell out of him but today it was.......nice to have them around. The crowd around him increased as he walked into an open street market, the sounds and smells embracing him as he wandered deeper into the throng. Turning into a less crowded street Jou meandered, gazing at all the hand made goods. For the first time in awhile he felt...content. It was nice, as if his world had suddenly corrected itself. Lost in his internal musings, the blond didn't notice he had left the marked behind him until a cold wind picked up, whistling harshly though his winter coat. Shivering whilst pulling the thick fabric closer to his body, brown eyes blinked in confusions at the deserted street.
'A puppy shouldn't be out without it's master, especially in this weather.' The mocking voice from behind him caused Jou to jump a foot in the air before whirling around, anger coloring his face.
'I thought I told-' his anger abruptly fizzled out as he stared at his employer. His glare had been met with the familiar posture and ice blue eyes but the outfit...Jou couldn't help himself, laughter burst out from him before he could hold it back. 'Kaiba? Why the hell are you wearing a -chicken- suit?' Seto's eyes narrowed in anger at the blonde's continued mirth.
'I wouldn't laugh at your employer, mutt.' The anger melted into a cruel smirk and he gestured with his right...wing. 'It could have...unwanted results.' Leaving Jou with this, Chicken Seto strode purposefully from the street but not before giving the blond a last smirk. 'You always have time to redeem yourself Pup.'
Jou stared after the brunette as he waddled off, before scratching the back of his head in confusion.
'What da? Well that was weird.' A strange, evil sounding clucking noise came from the house next to him, distracting him from his musing. Turning his head to the side out of curiosity he was met with the sight of a large, evil looking chicken, not that Jou was sure it was possible for a chicken to look evil. The chicken took a few menacing steps forward, causing Jou to back up a few steps only to fall over another evil looking chicken who glared maliciously down at him. The blond sat up quickly, shuffling backwards with a startled yelp. His escape was foiled, however, by the sudden appearance of more evil chickens. Jou shakily got to his feet, now seeing that he was surrounded by the possessed fowl, and let out a deep breath. He could get out of this, they were only chickens...right? As if hearing his thoughts the chickens attacked, flying at him and peaking at him with a vengeance. Jou squeaked at the sudden onslaught, throwing his hands over his face in a vain attempt to protect it from the furious pecking.
Almost as soon as it began though, the pecks stopped. Gingerly, Jou removed his bleeding hands from his face to find himself lying on Seto's lap. The CEO smiled smirked down at him, running a hand through Jou's sandy locks.
'Give up yet?'
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Honey eyes snapped open, blinking once, twice and a third time just for good measure. Jou sat up abruptly, pale cream sheets pooling at his wait, before running a hand through sleep tussled hair. It was just a dream. A very strange, twisted dream.
'Stupid tablets.' He muttered angrily before glancing at the glaring red numbers of his clock then flopping back onto the bed with a groan. He was late. Again. Making a mental note to actually set the alarm later he swung his legs over the edge of the bed and stood. Funny, he didn't remember getting in...
'Definitely too many tablets.'
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Yami hung up the phone with a groan, sitting down with a thud next to Yugi who promptly wrapped his arms around his older lover's waist.
'Are they really that annoying to you?' Amethyst eyes blinked up at Yami and he felt the sudden urge to pick up his koi and snuggle him.
'Not really.' He restrained himself, sighing and stretching instead. 'They just worry me.'
'As they do everyone. That's their job.' Yugi giggled at the face the older man pulled, tapping Yami on the nose. 'The wind will change and you'll be stuck that way.'
'Now wouldn't that be a shame.' Yami quickly grabbed Yugi's wrists and trapped the younger man beneath him. 'Wouldn't want such a handsome face as mine to go to waste like that would we now?' A soft cough from the doorway caused the two to jerk away from each other, before they both glared at a slightly amused looking Seto.
'I hate to pull you two away from your fun like that.' Seto walked gracefully across to the chair at the opposite side of the room. 'But I think we have more important things to discuss then Yami's facial expressions.' Yugi blushed at this while Yami merely smirked. Looking hurriedly for a way to change the subject, Yugi scanned the room for a topic of discussion. He frowned when he found on, or rather a lack of one.
'Where's Jou?' he asked suddenly, breaking the silence that had enveloped them.
'Still sleeping.' The CEO's tone softened slightly at the mention of the brown eyed blond. 'He looked to peaceful to wake really.' Yami shot Yugi a knowing grin.
'Told you.' He muttered. Yugi just stuck his tongue out at his lover.
'That was nice of you, to let him sleep I mean.' The shorter man continued. Seto just nodded wearily. For the first time Yugi noticed the first visible signs of stress showing on the other man, his eyes were slightly sunken with lack of sleep and he had slight wrinkles forming across this brow. The CEO unknowingly confirmed his suspicions by yawning softly, though the amethyst eyed boy had no more time to think about it as Seto finally asked the question they'd been waiting for.
'Now, what do you propose we do about my brother?'
Yami pulled a small envelope from his jacket and tossed it across the table to Seto, who scanned it and nodded.
'It's what we expected.' Yami began, getting comfortable. 'Your typical ransom note "Hand over the program or we'll hurt your brother" in short.'
'It's from Pegasus.' Yami nodded at Seto's comment. 'You can tell by the rabbit.'
'Rabbit?' Yugi hadn't looked at the note yet, so Seto handed it over.
'Funny Bunny, Pegasus' personal favorite. It's a well known fact he loves cartoons.' The brunette leaned back, rubbing his temples. 'We can't use that to pin it on him though, Funny Bunny's a popular cartoon around here, anyone could use it.'
'But it is Pegasus though.' Yugi went over the note again.
'Nobody else calls me Kaiba-boy, trust me.'
'True.' Yugi handed the note back to Yami with a small frown before crossing his legs. 'So what can we do to prove it?'
'Nothing until we get Mokoba and Ryou back.' Yami was also frowning, deeper then Yugi. 'I won't risk them being hurt by going to the authorities.' This caused the CEO to scowl.
'Then what do we do?' Yami looked at him passively.
'We bust in and get them ourselves.'
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A shaft of sunlight slid slowly across the room, illuminating a slight, pale hand that was sprawled across the narrow white bed in the corner. Ryou smiled slightly as the rays warmed his skin.
"How nice." He thought bitterly. "They gave me a cell with a window." Having woken at least an hour ago, they'd taken his watch so he couldn't be sure, Ryou had found himself draped across this bed, all valuables stripped from his possession and his head pounding.
"They just had to go drug me too." He unconsciously rubbed the back of his neck. "As if what Bakura did wasn't effective." And Ryou knew just how effective if could be. It had been Bakura's main 'subduing' maneuver, something he practiced when needing to get Ryou out of the way of somewhere the white haired man did not want to be. He should have known it would be coming.
Actually, things hadn't gone too badly, considering Bakura had been involved. True, Bakura had thrown Mokoba across an alley and knocked them both out but he hadn't used his knives. That was always a good thing, you knew Bakura was pissed when he whipped out a knife.
Ryou was awoken from his internal musings as the sounds of locks being unbolted drifted through the door. He didn't bother moving, just re-closed his eyes. There was a pause after the door opened, as if the invader was hesitating, before the slapping of rubber against lino made its way over to the bed.
'I know you're awake.' Ryou cracked open an eye, meeting the annoyed face of Bakura who was above him.
'You always do.' Bakura hadn't changed clothes since last night, with the exception of a black leather jacket being thrown over his shirt, so Ryou guessed the older man hadn't slept. His pistol, hidden before, was now strapped to his side though his knives remained invisible, most likely hidden up his sleeves. The thought of those didn't calm Ryou one bit.
Bakura, oblivious to Ryou's unease, was taking the opportunity to study his prize without it running away. Just looking at the white haired man reminded Bakura why he had wanted him in the first place. His opposite. They were bi-polar in nearly every way. Where Bakura was tough as nails, Ryou was cream puff soft. Ryou was nice to nearly everyone he met, where Bakura was, well, less then civil to those he didn't like. That was why Bakura wanted Ryou, to possess what he wasn't and could never be. To own what he couldn't do. Not to mention that Ryou was the most beautiful being the grey haired man had laid eyes on. Unfortunately, Ryou had run away before Bakura could claim him completely, something Bakura meant to remedy and quickly. Even if it involved force. But that could wait for later.
'Pegasus wants to see you.' He said casually, breaking the heave silence.
'Good for him.' Ryou replied shortly, re-closing his eyes and turning to face the wall. Narrowing his eyes at the small show of defiance, Bakura had to resist his primal urge to knock the boy out again. Pegasus wanted to talk -now-, and Bakura didn't really feel like arguing with him. Instead he hooked his right arm underneath the younger man's waist, easily lifting Ryou clean off the bed. Balancing his bundle over his left shoulder, Bakura ignored Ryou's futile struggles to escape and proceeded in carrying the younger man down the corridor. Several minutes and many strange stares later, Bakura deposited Ryou outside an ornate, though rather gaudy, wooden door.
'I'd rather you didn't make this difficult.' He snapped, silently enjoying Ryou's involuntary wince. 'Don't give me a reason to hurt you.' Ryou just closed his eyes momentarily before giving Bakura a sad, humorless smile.
'You ever needed a reason?' He didn't have time to avoid, or even block, the oncoming blow, letting out a soft squeak as Bakura fist connected with the soft flesh of his lower abdomen. Dropping to his knees, thoroughly winded and numb from the amount of raw pain lancing through his stomach, Ryou was painfully aware of Bakura's cold glare boring into the top of his bowed head. He coughed raggedly, trying to assess the damage. From the feel of things, Bakura had added another broken rib to Ryou's record.
'Remember where you stand.' The grey haired man ground out, turning to face the aforementioned wooden door. It was unnecessary, being keeled over as Ryou was the younger man couldn't see the regret flickering quickly across Bakura's face.
'Get up already, weakling.' Bakura busied himself with opening the door. 'I can't be bothered dealing with an angry Pegasus right now so step!' Still clutching his side, Ryou decided to go along with it, he didn't need another cracked rib and Pegasus wasn't about to beat him. Hopefully.
Bakura watched his obsession walk warily past him, smirking slightly at Pegasus' personal room. Surprisingly it wasn't pink, but a rather eye pleasing set of maroon shades. Bakura personally found it to be one of the more pleasant rooms in Pegasus' possession, though it would be more so if it weren't so often inhabited by the silver haired man who was currently seated in the center of it, a young boy snuggled up in his lap. Curling his nose in disgust at the sight, Bakura gave Ryou a little push towards the center of the room.
'Ryou.' came Pegasus' purr. 'How nice of you to Join me.' The silver haired man finally looked up at the newcomers, eyes widening slightly when they settled on Ryou. Standing, he shooed the boy away before walking over to the doe eyes man, hooking his pointer finger under Ryou's chin and tilting the pale face up.
'My, my. You -are- a pretty one, aren't you?' he cooed giving Ryou's check a pinch that made the younger man blush. Pegasus chuckled at this before noticing the firm clutch Ryou had on his side.
Bakura frowned as Pegasus knelt at Ryou's side, lifting the pale boy's shirt and jumper to expose the bruised flesh underneath. It was all he could do to withhold his growl as Pegasus ran light fingers over Ryou's skin, causing the white haired man to whimper softly in pain. Pegasus tutted softly, standing and letting Ryou's shirt fall before re-seating himself and gently pulling Ryou onto his lap. This was the last straw for Bakura.
'Get off him Pegasus.' Pegasus hardly graced Bakura with a glance, he was too busy playing with Ryou's hair.
'Hmm, Bakura?' he finally looked up, smirking at his employee. 'You wanted something?' This time Bakura really did growl.
'You heard me. Get off him.'
'I don't see why I should.' Pegasus drawled, wrapping his arms around Ryou's waist. 'You obviously don't care about him, so I think I'll give him the attention he deserves. These words and actions caused Ryou to give a little sqeak.
'A...attention I deserve?' this made Pegasus smirk as he smelt Ryou's hair deeply.
'But of course. Trusting you in Bakura's care would be like giving a crystal vase to an ape.' The silver haired man shot another triumphant smirk at his glowering employee. 'And anyway,' he continued. 'I always take good care of my crystal.' Again Bakura snapped, this time more violently. He strode over to where Pegasus was sitting, forcefully wrenching Ryou off his lap as he whipped a long, curved blade out from his back jacket pocket. Positioning his foot on one of Pegasus' legs for support he thrust the blade just under the still smirking man's neck. Leaning in, Bakura lowered his voice to a deadly whisper.
'Don't you -ever- even -think- about my Ryou that way again, you pedophilic freak show.' He growled, pressing down the dagger slightly and drawing a thin line of liquid red from the pale neck. Pegasus didn't even look concerned, merely smirking up at his aggressor.
'Of course not, Bakura.' The silver haired man gently moved the dagger from it's lethal position Glancing at the shocked Ryou who was still sprawled on the ground, Pegasus lowered his voice to a conspiring whisper.
'But I suggest you take better care of your things or they may just shatter.' Bakura growled again, an angry rumble in the back of his thought but letting the man go none the less. He positioned himself protectively in front of -his- Ryou.
'Just stay away from him, or next time it won't just be a scratch I give you.' He sneered, his dagger disappearing to where it came from. Shooting one last glare at Pegasus, only to be smiled back at, he hauled Ryou none to gently to his feet and dragged the younger man from the room. Pegasus just chuckled, refilling his wine glass.
'Well that was fun.'
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A.N: Well wasn't that fun! Not quite sure what I think of this chapter, not much happened. Well, as always, feed back is appreciated as are ideas. Little ideas I can just slip in here and there are loved! They make the story have little bits of humor! Ja now!