Fate: This one's...pretty fast-paced. Keep with it. I've been dyyyyyyyyying to write this chapter too, so I just went flying through it. Was fun. Sorry about the long wait!
Disclaimer: ...what?
::chapter ten::in which Mokuba makes a mistake::
Meanwhile on the roof, Bakura abruptly turned deathly pale.
Mokuba's head snapped up. "Are you...translucent?"
"Motherfuc – " was as far as Bakura got before he vanished.
Mokuba stared. "Well, shit." The implications of what had to be going on sunk in about five seconds later. "Well, shit!" He promptly vaulted the game board, grabbed the edge of the roof, and climbed in through his window. "Where's my brother?" he yelled at his computer.
"Mezzanine," the computer replied. "What on earth – ?"
Slam.
Mokuba grabbed the nearest banister by his room door and went sailing down it, then vaulted the next set of stairs entirely. Landing elegantly, he paused a moment to get his bearings, then raced off along the mezzanine. It was oddly quiet. Much, much too oddly quiet. Things usually weren't oddly quiet in the Kaiba mansion. Monique usually fell over something loud and vengeful at least twice a day, Seto usually had some kind of rowdy company, Mokuba himself was usually playing loud music, and their chauffeur was usually chanting mantras in his room and pretending he didn't work where he did.
In case you hadn't noticed, oddly quiet very bad.
"Hvwaaah!" Mokuba squeaked, tripping over something and falling face-first into a pillar. "Owwww..." Rubbing his forehead irritably, he searched for the object which had tripped him, wishing all the while that he'd thought to bring his gun as well so he could shoot it. A lot.
"Wait a minute," he breathed, holding up the aforementioned object. "This is..."
It looked a hell of a lot like a long piece of cord. A long piece of cord which happened to smell like old metal, sand, and blood.
Mokuba's gaze travelled from the closed door next to the pillar to the cord in his hand to the railing on his left.
"Well hell," he decided aloud, and launched himself over it.
Ryou had both hands clasped to his throat and was staring at Seto Kaiba like he was some sort of arrogant teenage boy with a death wish. Which, not unsurprisingly, he probably was.
"These talks so far have been very unsuccessful," Seto said after a long pause, examining his fingernails as he did so.
"Yeah," Ryou agreed. "They have."
"You were in search of a phone, yes?"
"Yeah," Ryou repeated. "This has been fun, but I want to go home now. Pay me to do tricks from there."
"I don't want you to," Seto said simply. "You intrigue me."
"Look, I can't possibly be the only Item holder around," Ryou said waspishly. "I've also got a rather deranged yami. You might want to try that tactic on someone with a sane darker half."
"I don't care about him, you know," Seto mused. "I really don't. I don't even see why he has to have a body."
Ryou took a step back. "Kaiba-sama, now you're getting even creepier."
"I want you," Seto replied. "Tell me that's not creepy too."
Ryou stared at him for a long, long moment. "I am in love," he said finally. "I love my yami. And he's mine and I'm his, and you are not allowed to do anything to break that."
"I cut off the Ring," Seto said with an easy shrug.
Ryou sighed. "I could like you, you know," he said after a long moment. "So could yami. Hell, he might even go in for a menage a trois or some such thing. He's kinky enough to try it. But you...you thinking that you can have me...you're going to have to learn to get over that."
"Or what?" Seto demanded.
Ryou smiled, slow and mirthless and beautiful. "Or I'll murder you barehanded right now."
Mokuba strung the Ring onto its cord and stared at it, swinging it idly in front of his eyes. So much power...so much love...so much...everything! Everything I could ever want is in this necklace. Everything. It looks so harmless...
I wonder...
I wonder if I could wear it?
A small, mocking smile spread over his face. Now that would just fuck with everyone's minds.
He knotted the cord together decisively, then slipped the Ring over his head.
The world turned upside down.
"You'll kill me?" Seto inquired, one eyebrow raised.
Ryou shrugged. "Why not?"
"Why would you? It seems a bit harsh, for what you're talking about," Seto replied.
Ryou looked unimpressed. "You don't understand, priest-boy. You don't have the memories, you don't have the split soul, you don't have the need. No one is ever going to look at you like you're the only thing that matters in the world forever, every day, all the time. No one's going to love you and hate you all at once. No one's going to be in your mind and all over your skin and in your body every second of the day for the rest of your immortal life. You're not one of us any more."
"What did you call me?" Seto demanded, confusion creasing his face.
Ryou shrugged. "Priest-boy. Now listen. We can all have a sit-down and talk things over, all four of us. Or..."
"Or you'll kill me?" Seto mocked.
"Or..." Suddenly Ryou went abruptly pale. He dropped to his knees, both hands clutched to his heart, eyes squeezed shut.
"Bakura-san!"
Seto was about to kneel down to see what was wrong when Ryou whispered, "He's...he's wearing the Ring..."
"Who?" Seto demanded.
"Your...brother..." Ryou collapsed to the ground with a soft, pained whimper.
Seto was already out the door and sprinting down the stairs.
Wh...what the hell?
You're not...you're...
WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING WEARING MY RING?!
Mokuba whimpered and curled up tighter inside his mind, hands over his ears. "Where...where...what...?"
You idiot! Take it off right now, you stupid little shit! Are you even fucking listening to me? TAKE IT OFF!
"Ba...Bakura...san?"
Who the hell else? Take it off! You keep it on, you're going to die!
"...n...no..."
All right, idiot, you can just fucking cark it if you're so goddamn inclined! Now give me back!
"It...doesn't hurt so much..."
"Mokuba!"
Mokuba blinked hazily and struggled to his feet, grabbing at the wall for stability. "Seto...niisama..." He smiled weakly, wondering why there were bits of white streaking across his vision. "'hayou..."
"Mokuba?" Seto stopped dead at the end of the stairwell, staring at him. "Is...is that you?"
"...'course it's me," Mokuba said, leaning heavily on the wall. "Where's...where's Ryou-san?"
"Mokuba..." Seto looked thoroughly frightened now. "Mokuba, you've got to take that thing off."
"N...no...I like it," Mokuba said, struggling a little more upright. "'s all dark inside...'s nice..."
"Mokuba, you've got to take it off." Seto looked almost hysterical.
I never thought I'd agree with that fucktard, but he's got a point. I should know, I'm fucking in your mind and it hurts! Goddammit, you're not supposed to have your ass in the Shadow Realm! Now fucking take the Ring off and give it to the nice man and go fucking collapse before it kills you! Bakura railed in the back of his mind. Are you listening to me, brat? TAKE IT OFF!
"Nnn...like it..." Mokuba whispered.
Something snapped in the back of his mind. Fine then. You like it so much, then have a taste of the fucking Shadow Realm!
Everything went suddenly dark.
"Oi," Mokuba said, reaching up to the cord knotted around his neck. "Priest-boy."
Seto looked up. "You're..."
"Not the kid," 'Mokuba' said tiredly. "I can't move. Go get Ryou."
"Wh-why?" Seto asked.
"Do you want...do you want him to die?" 'Mokuba' said jaggedly, coughing.
"Bakura-san?" Seto replied, confused.
"Huh? What? Oh," 'Mokuba' said with another cough-laugh. "I meant the kid. You've got to get me out of here."
"Can't you just go back into the Ring?" Seto asked desperately.
Mokuba glared at him with red eyes. White streaks of hair were growing into his black locks, and his teeth were slowly becoming pointed. "You...you stupid fuck, you took the Ring off Ryou...Ryou's the key..." He coughed again, spat blood, and then continued. "Ryou's got to be wearing it..." He slowly slid down to collapse on the floor, leaning against the wall. "I can return...but only to my other self..." He inhaled again, slowly and painfully. "You cut my link...and Ryou's link...and your brother's going to die for your stupidity if you don't get my hikari now."
Seto held out one hand. "Give me the Ring, I'll take it."
Mokuba laughed with Bakura's cadences. "Like fuck. Do you want to stand here arguing much longer while he wastes away inside?" He tugged fitfully at the Ring's cord. "Even...even if I hadn't pushed him aside...he wouldn't have the strength to be talking now. People...they just explode when they put it on, if they're not strong...aren't meant for it. He's resisting, but..."
"Then how are you talking?" Seto demanded sharply.
"I'm older than your country's civilization and I'm already dead," Mokuba-Bakura hissed. "Go. Get. Ryou! Now, before the kid fucking carks it! Do you still want him to die?" His face turned dark and mocking. "It's all in here, you know...what you did to him. Tried to kill him, didn't you? Considered trading him for all kinds of things. He loves you with all his mortal heart," he continued. "And you've used it and used it and used it." Smirk. "Ku. 'Least I haven't..." Cough blood up again. "'Least I can fuck my host senseless, but you? You're just standing there, watching him die..." Bakura stared at him with Mokuba's eyes. "Se-to-nii-sa-ma," he dragged out.
Seto jerked like he'd been slapped, stepping back and fumbling for the stairs. Once he hit them, he whirled and flew up them. A door slammed, and he returned with a comatose Ryou in his arms. "Here you go!" he screamed, skidding to a halt in front of Mokuba-Bakura. "Here's your fucking precious host!" Deep breath. "Now get the hell out of my brother, damn you!"
"Ku," Bakura managed, sounding oddly like Mokuba. He tugged fitfully at the string around his neck, then wrenched the Ring off and threw it at Ryou.
Seto was already holding Mokuba and screaming for Monique to call a doctor before the Ring even hit Ryou's chest.
"Ya...yami...you're..."
Bakura was clinging desperately to Ryou's torso, the cordless Ring crushed between them. One hand blindly found Ryou's mouth and covered it.
"Mokuba! Dammit, Mokuba, talk to me!"
"Mokuba-san! Seto-sama, I called the doctor, he'll be right along. Mokuba-san!"
"We could leave now," Ryou whispered against Bakura's fingers.
"No," Bakura replied, just as softly. "We can't."
"...is he going to be all right?"
Bakura exhaled slowly. "Don't know. You," he said simply, turning his head to face Seto and Monique. "Stop shaking him. He'll wake up when he can. If he survived your wibbling about the Ring, he's probably strong enough to recover."
"I'm going to kill you," Seto said simply. "I am going to kill you if he dies. I don't care if you're dead already. I will kill you."
Ryou's fingers laced into Bakura's hair. "Touch him and you die."
Monique sat back on her heels, one hand on Mokuba's forehead. "Enough of this talk about death," she said softly. "I don't care who's going to kill who. Mokuba-san is not going to die and that is final."
There was a long, long silence.
"...niisama?"
Everyone stared at Mokuba, who was stirring fitfully.
"Yes?" Seto replied instantly.
"...don't move. Need to punch you." Mokuba made a feeble gesture in the general direction of Seto's face.
"I told you. I told you!" Monique squealed as Seto promptly grabbed Mokuba up and hoofed it for the elevator as gently as he could move, Mokuba cursing the air as blue as he could in his semi-unconscious state. The colour was actually closer to a pale aquamarine. Monique scrambled to her feet, smoothed her skirt down, and chased after the two disappearing Kaibas.
"I am going to chain this fucking Ring to your neck with a fucking padlock," Bakura finally grated, turning his face back into Ryou's hair. "And weld it shut with lots of fire. See how people try and snatch it off you then. And put it on. Fucking stupid kid."
"He's got guts," Ryou said softly.
"Who, the CEO?" Bakura demanded.
"No. Mokuba-san. He probably knew what was going to happen to him, you know." Ryou sighed.
"Then why the hell did he put it on?" Bakura asked plaintively.
"...maybe he likes you?"
"Maybe he's touched in the head," Bakura answered crossly.
"Maybe." Ryou's fingers twisted tighter into Bakura's hair. "Don't ever leave me like that again."
"I'm telling you, I'm padlocking that Ring to your neck," Bakura said sleepily, a headache beginning to pound behind his eyes.
"That's...well, that's really kinky, yami."
"Mmmf. Even better." Bakura smiled into Ryou's neck. "...thought I'd lost you there for a bit, you know."
"Never." Ryou breathed. "Never and never and never. You'll never be alone again."
Fingers trailed slowly across Ryou's face. "I know..."
"Yami?"
"Mmm?"
"We're in really deep shit now, aren't we?"
Bakura considered it. "Yes. Yes, we are."
"...well, fuck."
Thank you, Ryou.
Fluffy: Yes. So this was a touch darker than usually found in LDJ. Sorry-sorry! But...well...it's angst-comedy. Fun, yes? Whee.
Wildcard: Ack! Apologies. I got my info from a fellow floofy-hair-complainer, who blamed it on her Sri Lankan-ness. Mine I got from a long line of yellow-skinned, slanty-eyed Mediterranean females. Very sorry, and ENVY for tameable hair! (has been changed. sorrysorry!)
O.o The Yu-Gi-Oh Freak o.: Well, Mokuba nearly snuffed it...does that count?
Kitten: Isn't he just? XD
lilmatchgirl007: Mokuba is my :3 character. Yes-yes.
Sir Mocha: I think I can grant that wish, I can...::contemplates::
DJ Silence Yuy: Fear the maid's outfit. Bwahaha. And yes, the Ring so stalks Ryou. ::is amused by mental image of Ring creeping about whilst Ryou isn't looking XD::
Inuko Metallium: Bakura and Mokuba are so much fun to play off each other. I saw no last remark. Really. Dun kill me. ::looks virtuous::
SweetMisery: Only in America, he would be.
Chaotic Demon: I think you just about summed it up. ;;
Liviania: I think overall Seto did a Very Stupid Thing, but it definitely gets cataclysmic points.
YamiKatie: ::blush:: Thank you!
Saturn Imp: But he didn't. Muahaha.
Higashikaze: Mental stability will be reported upon...next chapter? ::innocent look::
viva rose: ::evil, evil grin::
QueenOfGames: Seto owns their mortgage company. They leave having nowhere to go. And Ryou's still polite. And they did just kind of almost kill Mokuba.
R Amythest: Woot for YGO!
Kerei Kitsune: Meep! Are you okay? Don't die!
Duel: ...you lot seem to be pretty good at this. Go you. Keep it up.