Line of Pain: Chapter Four

Ryou nervously approached the door to the Kame Game Shop, and duffel bag slung carelessly over his shoulder. Judging by how injured Yugi had been, and that was probably for something unimportant, Yami most likely wouldn't be in an exceptionally good mood, especially after Ryou told him about the agreement that had been made without the spirit's consent. But he thought of how Bakura would act if he were here, and it certainly wouldn't be like a coward. Carefully, he pushed open the door, hearing the characteristic jingle as it slammed closed, and stepped further into the shop.

"Oh, Ryou, hello!" said Sugoroku Mutou, though he frowned slightly when he saw it wasn't a customer. "Yami's asleep upstairs. Would you like anything to eat?"

"No, thank you, but I already had breakfast. I'll just go upstairs now if it's all right."

Sugoroku nodded once and showed Ryou to where the stairwell was, as the boy had never been here before; Ryou thanked him again and started slowly up the stairs, wondering what would happen if he woke Yami up. He knew Bakura was always pissed off if he got woken up early, and Bakura loved Ryou. But his thoughts of awakening the sleeping spirit were dashed when he got to the room; Yami was sleeping sprawled on his back with the bed sheet only covering half of his body. As Ryou stared, he felt something still in his heart that shouldn't have, but it was enough to keep him from waking the spirit. The real shock happened when he tore his gaze off the slumbering body.

There was blood everywhere! It covered the floor, the walls, even the ceiling! No wonder Yugi had looked so sickly when he'd crawled to his apartment for help. Glancing back at Yami, Ryou saw that the spirit still held a bloody blade in his hand, somehow not falling to the floor out of his loose grip. The boy shivered slightly as set his bag down, then pulled out a chair to face to bed and sat down to wait.

Yami stirred lazily and opened his eyes a crack, frowning slightly at the amount of light in the room. Squeezing his eyes shut, he growled, "Brat, shut the damn blinds!" He almost smiled as the blinds clanked shut, please that the boy was finally getting it, and opened his eyes. Through the now dim light filtering into the room, he rolled his head to the side and saw–

"Ryou!" Yami sat straight up, his eyes almost as big as Yugi's in his surprise. "Wh-what are you doing here?"

Ryou smiled, got to his feet, and bowed slightly. "Yugi and I decided too swap yamis. I'll be your hikari for the next week."

"You'll what?!" Yami was on his feet in an instant, looking the poster image of extreme rage. "That…that little urchin…how dare he suggest–"

"Actually, Yami, it was my idea to–" An abrupt kick in the stomach sent Ryou flying into the wall behind him. He smiled and jerkily pushed himself to his feet, wincing slightly at the movement and yet keeping that smile on his face. "I had expected you to be mad."

"You're not….didn't that hurt?" Yami asked, bewilderment evident in both his voice and his expression.

Ryou shrugged and stepped forward a bit. "Yeah, but I've had worse from Bakura. Use to it by now, you know? And I know you're probably angry at Yugi, but if you would just listen–"

"There's nothing to know!" Yami exclaimed, sending Ryou into the wall again. But this time, not only did tears fall from the boy's eyes, but he also laughed cheerfully as he struggled to his feet.

"Why are you laughing?" the pharaoh demanded angrily. He'd never expected anyone to like torture so much, and frankly, it was annoying his sadistic half. "I could have broken every fucking bone in your damn body!"

"Go on then," Ryou answered, smiling slightly at the complete shock that appeared on Yami's face. "I'm your hikari for the week. Feel free to treat me as such."

Yami stared calculatingly at him for a moment, then rapidly smirked and stepped closer. "You're going to regret that."

Ryou gasped as the pharaoh unexpectedly kissed him and forced his tongue in, tasting what his new plaything had to offer. He traced the tip of his knife over the boy's chest, pressing just hard enough to penetrate the cloth. Then, pulling back, he glanced down and asked quietly, "Where did all these scars come from?"

"Bakura," Ryou said simply as he pulled up one of his sleeves to reveal a myriad of other scars the cover his inner arm. "And me."

"Turn around, Ryou."

Yami sliced through the back of Ryou's shirt and smirked at the lines that covered his skin. "So, Bakura really puts you through your paces at home, does he?"

"He…did."

"This one is new," Yami said, trailing his finger over a fresh cut, causing Ryou to wince.

"That's from last night," the hikari whispered, shivering slightly at Yami's touch, though more from the cold of wearing a tattered shirt. The yami smirked at him again and walked back to the bed.

"Well, if you're going to be my hikari, you're going to have to act like it," he stated. Ryou nodded slowly, and Yami continued, "First, any time I enter a room and we're the only ones in it, you're to get on your hands and knees and stay on the floor until I say otherwise." He casually gestured at the floor with one hand, and, taking the hint, Ryou dropped to his knees to demonstrate what he'd just been told.

I never had to do this for Bakura, he thought with a scowl.

"Second," Yami continued, smirking slightly at Ryou's obedience, "to you, my name is not Yami. You are to call me Pharaoh, lord, master; you know, things like that."

"Yes, my Pharaoh," Ryou said, making a disgusted face that Yami couldn't see.

"Third, I am allowed to punish you anytime I want, even if you don't deserve it. Punishment can be anything from a beating to sex. It all depends on my mood that day. Got it?"

"Yes, lord."

"And you are not to tell anyone about your punishments–"

"Excuse my interruption, lord, but both Bakura and Yugi's grandfather know about this now."

"Have you done this before?" Yami asked curiously. "You're quite good at it. Much better than that brat."

Ryou screwed up his face in annoyance, trying to remember what he'd have said to Bakura long ago. "Thank you for saying so, my Pharaoh. I had to do things like this when I first met Bakura."

"And yet now you two are dating," Yami remarked, shaking his head sadly. "I just can't understand how you can like each other. Oh–" he gazed down at Ryou as if he'd just noticed the boy was on the floor– "you can stand up now if you want."

Ryou was instantly on his feet and immediately regretted doing it as he was slammed against the wall again; tendrils of shadow circled around him and pressed him against the wall so hard that he thought his ribs would implode. But he still looked like he was having the time of his life.

"Gods above, what are you?!" Yami exclaimed. With a wave of his hand, he sent Ryou flying into a different wall, but it only made the boy laugh again. "Damnit, are you actually enjoying this?!"

"You want the truth? Yes, I am enjoying this. Bakura never hits me this hard unless I ask–"

"Ask? You ask to be beaten up?" Yami stared at him incredulously, as if this all might be a trick.

"Yeah, though it's usually only when we're…well, never mind. I have a pretty good collection of torture devices at home, anyway."

Yami smirked and released his 'shadow' hold on the boy. Ryou stretched and glanced up to find the spirit the floor so close that they were almost touching.

"Well then, I think I'll 'punish' you right now," Yami suggested, tracing abstract designs on his charge's chest. Ryou felt himself heat as the spirit began kissing his neck, though the kisses were rougher than anything he'd experienced before, and he suddenly realize what this "punishment" was going to be. Yami's lips moved down his chest, tongue slowly tracing over each scar again and again, while his fingers played carefully with the hikari's pants. Ryou gasped as he felt skin quickly brush against his inner thigh, but his protests were silenced by Yami's lips.

"Shhh, let me punish you," Yami ordered, staring up at Ryou with lustful eyes. "And you will have fun."