Mally-chan and Hato Chiisai
Disclaimer: We own nothing within this fic.
YAOI WARNING
Pegasus/Ryou, Marik/Ryou, Bakura/Malik, Seto/Yami
Chapter 2
Pegasus sighed as the door was opened to him... for the last time. He walked in, seeing Ryou's head pop up from among the blankets, his ear perked up. The boy would be getting his sight and smell back very soon, and Pegasus could not let himself be identified. For the last week, Ryou had been trying to feel him with his hands, try to see what he looked like, and Pegasus was often having to put a halt to that. He walked across the room and sat down, petting Ryou.
"Hello." Ryou said once again trying to feel to identify Pegasus. "I'm glad you are here..." he said softly, ears laying serenely back against his hair. "I wish you would speak to me, I wish I could see you..." he mumbled pouting as Pegasus yet again stopped him from feeling him.
"...I wish I could know you, I owe so much to you... can you take me away from here? I... want to go home. I don't belong here. I need to go home, my friends need me." he breathed looking down at the floor, gently tugging at the cloth over his eyes.
Pegasus pulled Ryou's hands away from the cloth and pet him, gently, before offering him a slice of watermelon, having only brought the boy's favorite treats today as a parting gift, and an oatmeal raisin cookie for an extra special treat.
Ryou smiled and nibbled at the watermelon. "Mmm... it reminds me of summer... I bet the weather is just wonderful outside..." he said softly, finishing the slice slowly, cherishing the taste. "You always know just what I want..."
Pegasus smiled and pet him gently, giving him a strawberry. Ryou had become very affectionate to him, and still referred to him as 'hands' which he found to be just adorable.
He looked down and flicked at Ryou's fluffy tail, amused by it.
Ryou wrinkled his nose and scooted away a bit. "stop that.." he mumbled around the strawberry. "I don't flick your behind." he said, still oblivious to the changes he'd undergone, despite the soft flick of his tail in irritation.
Pegasus snorted loudly, trying not to laugh, but it was quite obvious that he WAS laughing, just not in a vocal way... more in a nasal-snort-like-a-pig kind of way, and Ryou did NOT appreciate it when Pegasus gave his little tail an affectionate tug.
"it's not funny!" he huffed, crossing his arms, ears flicking in annoyance. "I should goose you and see how you like it!"
This time Pegasus had to smack his own hand over his mouth and he shook violently, he was laughing so hard. Finally, he shoved Ryou out of his lap and ran from the room. He slammed the door and burst out laughing; Ryou was TOO funny! Of course, his sudden departure had Ryou near frantic, so Pegasus regained his composure and returned, petting Ryou all over and kissing his forehead as a way to apologize, and he offered Ryou a little cheese cube again.
Ryou accepted it eagerly and chewed in silence for a moment. "Thank you for coming back... I'm sorry..." he mumbled softly. "I didn't mean to upset you." he added, his ears drooping into his face a bit. "I hate it when you leave..." he added, nuzzling into Pegasus' arms and curling up in his lap.
Pegasus smiled and rocked him gently, kissing his cheek to let him know he wasn't angry. He pet Ryou's hair and back, and fed him little bits of fruit, then pulled another treat out of the basket; a bottle of the fruit smoothie like the first one he had ever given Ryou. He pressed the rubber nipple against his lips, encouraging him to take it.
Ryou blushed a bit. "Bottles?" he submitted however and drank it slowly, appreciating every taste. "mmm... just like the very first thing you ever fed me... thank you hands. Why such special treats today? Is it a special day?" he asked softly.
Pegasus let out a deep sigh and pet Ryou, nodding to himself. When Ryou had finished the bottle, he tapped him gently on the nose, and got out the last treat; the oatmeal raisin cookie. He held it up to Ryou's mouth after giving him a little kiss on the top of his head between his ears.
Ryou munched the cookie happily and grinned broadly. "Ohh oatmeal, I bet you give these to all the lost naked boys." he said giggling in delight at the rare treat. After finishing the cookie, he raised a hand to once again try to feel Pegasus. "Please? Can't I have a small peek? Its only fair you let me know you... you've known me since I've been here... taken care of me. Oh please...?"
Pegasus quirked an eyebrow at the comment about 'lost naked boys', but smiled at Ryou's pleas to let him touch him. He hugged him strongly, then took Ryou's hand in his and lifted it, kissing the top gently, then placed Ryou back into his nest, standing and walking towards the door.
Ryou sat up and shook his head. "P-please don't leave! I... I won't try to touch you anymore! Please stay!" he pleaded softly, ears drooping. "Please? Don't go... we can sit and enjoy each other's company a bit longer! Oh please don't leave, I'll do anything you want!" he begged, sniffling, the cloth over his eyes dampening with tears.
Pegasus winced, but he knew if he didn't leave now, he wouldn't have the heart to. He opened the door and stepped out, closing it behind him. He blinked at the geneticist before him.
"What's to be done with him now?" He asked, wondering how long it might be before he could finally take his sweet little bunny home.
"Well, once his vision and sense of smell returns, we will take him to the pet shop. If you so desire, you can visit him if you wish, just don't let him know that you ordered him. He'll be trained there, and once his training is complete, you can take home your pet." The man said calmly. smiling. "He'll be an obedient little bunny."
Pegasus nodded. "Excellent." He said, and left.
As he walked by, he stopped and looked into Yami's room, curious as to his progression.
The man smirked a bit. "Still curious on your little pain? His senses are coming back differently than the others, most unpredictable, he can see and hear, but neither speak nor smell." he said calmly. "His wings are fully formed, and as you can see, he's just sprouted his pinfeathers. He's very irritable."
Pegasus chuckled. "I'll bet he's LOVING that..." And he turned and went on his way.
Ryou stared at the window in his cell, smiling. "I can get away..." he said softly, hopping up to perch dangerously in the window, struggling to open it.
"I'll go home, I'll tell the police what's happening here. I'll stop that lunatic." he said gasping in delight as he opened the window and began crawling out into the warm sunshine. "Freedom!" he chirped.
Suddenly, the door behind him opened. The geneticist blinked, then snorted.
"Well... there's something I don't see every day." He said, staring at Ryou's fluffy tailed backside in the window. He walked over and wrapped an arm around his waist, heaving him back inside. Ryou let out a cry of dismay. "No! Bad bunny! Bad!" The man scolded, and carried Ryou from the room.
Ryou glared. "I'm NOT a bunny! Put me down this instant!" he squirmed and struggled. "I need to go home now!" he said dismayed. "I need to let the proper authorities know what you people are doing here!" he yelled loudly as he was stuffed into a crate. The man carried the crate and it's furious contents outside and placed it into a van. He drove about fifteen minutes, trying to ignore Ryou's howls, and finally stopped at a building with a sign over it reading 'HYBRID PETS'. He pulled around to the back, unloaded the crate and took it inside. In the hall he opened it and caught Ryou as he made a break for it.
"PUT ME DOWN!" Ryou shouted. "I'm not a bunny!"
The man chuckled as he entered a room. "Rem! Got a new one for you!" He called to a woman in the room, and then looked down at the boy under his arm. "Of course you're a bunny! Don't be silly. Now behave like a good bunny." He said, putting Ryou down on a metal table.
Ryou glared. "I'm a human you monster, now I demand that you let me LEAVE!" he said starting to get off of the table to leave.
The man sighed and looked at Rem. "Only days ago he was the most timid little thing. But I think you have your work cut out for you, my dear." And he reached out and snatched Ryou's bunny ears. "I said behave." He ordered.
Ryou yelped and bit him harshly on the arm, faster than a blink. "You horrid wretched monster!" he hissed around the man's arm. "How dare you!" he said pulling away and rubbing his head, still oblivious to the changes he'd undergone. "I should pull your hair you horrible monstrous kidnapping beast!" he added angrily. "I'm a human being and I have a name, and I want to leave NOW."
The man leapt back and snarled, inspecting his arm. "BAD!" He roared, and gave Ryou a sharp smack on the ass. "NO! NO BITING! BAD BAD BUNNY!"
Rem giggled softly. "Now Dai, you know that teaches them nothing. You don't punish bunnies the same way you punish a dog or cat." she said amusedly watching the two fight.
Ryou glared. "For the final time, I am NOT a bunny! I'm a HUMAN being! My name is Ryou Bakura and I need to go home!" he said getting up and starting to walk past the man defiantly.
Rem giggled softly at all the trouble Daisuke had to deal with. "He's such a cutie."
Dai rolled his eyes and grabbed Ryou. "Yeah, yeah, cutie, whatever..." He growled, then looked at Ryou. "You are NOT human. Humans don't have rabbit ears and furry tails." And he plopped Ryou back down on the table.
Ryou glared. "I don't!" he squirmed off the table once more. "Now let me leave!" he said, his ears quivering at the sides of his head, in anger. "I don't know who you think you are, kidnapping me and holding me prisoner, but now that I can see and speak again, I'm going straight to the police!"
Dai sighed and dragged Ryou across the room to a mirror and spun him around. "LOOK you stubborn little Jack Rabbit! Look at your nice little FURRY ass!"
Ryou gasped, ears shooting into the air. "...W-what have you done to me?" he said backing away from the mirror, turning to face it. His eyes were bright crimson, he had big floppy ears... and a tail. "What have you done to me? I'm human!" he shouted shaking his head in disbelief.
"No. You're not. You are a genetically created animal/human hybrid created to be the companion pet of whoever buys you." Dai said, folding his arms. "Once you're properly trained, that is."
Ryou glared at him. "How... you liar! You kidnapped me! You kidnapped me off the streets and made me into this! I'm HUMAN!" Ryou felt tears welling in his eyes from frustration.
Rem petted his hair softly. "Come now, we know you want to be human... but you're not, you could never go out without a master and expect to survive." She said soothingly.
Ryou pulled away and shook his head. "I'm human! I'm HUMAN! Why can't you believe me! I, I have a past! I have a home!"
"Yes. This is your home for now, but soon you will get a much better one where you will be loved and taken care of. But if you want that, you must be a good bunny." Dai said, and looked to Rem. "Rem here will help you become a good bunny. Rem, go ahead and start." And he sat back to watch.
Rem smiled and petted Ryou's hair and hefted him up like he was nothing, causing him to squeak. "Put me down!" he wailed squirming as she tossed him into a pre-prepared bath and beginning to wash him quickly, yet thoroughly.
"Bunnies with such pretty white fur need to be squeaky clean." She said as he sputtered and squirmed to get away.
"Stop i-AHH!" he yelped as she dumped water over him, rinsing him clean of the suds.
"Come now." She said, plucking him from the water and drying him quickly with a towel, making him look like a drowned rat. Ryou squirmed to get away, and catching sight of a door, decided to make a bolt for it, if he could just make it past Daisuke...
Daiskue however had no intention of letting Ryou by, and caught him quickly by the ears, lifting him up. "No!" He snapped, and carried the squealing bunny by the ears back over to Rem. "You be good!" He dropped Ryou down on the table where Rem was waiting to groom him.
Ryou winced and let his ears fall limply back against his hair. "Let me leave..." he pouted, as Rem began combing through his hair, blow drying it.
"Now Ryou..." she said softly "You'll like it here, there are lots of other animals for you to talk to." She said, stepping away to gather some things for him to wear.
Ryou hopped up and made a second attempt at the door, zipping past Daisuke with unthinkable speed.
Daisuke howled as he leapt in Ryou's way only to get bowled over. "FUCKING RABBIT!" He roared, and grabbed Ryou's ankle, jerking him back and being none too gentle about it. He gave Ryou several harsh smacks to the behind before picking him up and slamming him down on the table again. "Do NOT try that again or I'll be making a lucky keychain out of your FOOT!" He seethed.
Ryou winced and bit his lip. "I'm human." he hissed, the fur on his ears prickling up. "And once I get out of here you will be in a world of trouble." he said firmly.
Rem calmly fastened a metal band around his throat, followed by a powder blue ribbon, tied in a ridiculously large bow. "Aww see? You pretty up nicely." She said, puffing out the bow and admiring the small puffballs that dangled down from the untied ends. "Now for the last touches."
Ryou wrinkled his nose and began untying the ribbon. "I don't want it."
Dai frowned. "Do you want another spanking, Bugs?" He growled, and slowly, Ryou lowered his hands from the bow. Dai walked over and pet him. "Good Bunny... See? You can be good..."
Ryou bit him sharply and glared. "I'm human." he huffed, as Rem straightened his ribbon.
"Dai, don't provoke him, he's unsettled enough." Rem said softly, fastening a small pin to the center of the ribbon which pictured a vertical carrot, on a powder blue background, which read 'pet' in the greens of the carrot and 'bunny' in the root.
Ryou wrinkled his nose. "I'm human." He said firmly glaring at Daisuke still.
Dai grunted and backed away. "You'll have to cure that biting of his." He growled. Ryou glared and Dai snorted.
Rem shrugged softly. "Bite him back if he bothers you that much." she said picking him up. "Thank you Dai, I'm going to put him on display now, as always, another fine pet you've made human." She smiled and ruffled Ryou's hair softly, making him huff and fix it.
"I look forward to the next." She added, walking out into the pet shop, and Ryou stared amazed at all the animals they were passing along the way.
"...how can you live with yourself? All these people..." he breathed, shaking his head, eyes wide.
Ryou gulped when a leering face appeared from the darkness of a small cave inside one of the enclosures. "I smell food..." The throaty voice snarled, and a boy with brown hair with a gray tuft in the front appeared, showing long sharp teeth, canine ears and a bushy tail. The label on his enclosure read 'Coyote (canis latrans) "REX".' He chuckled darkly at Ryou, licking his lips. "Is it dinner time, Rem?"
Rem smiled and shook her head. "Sorry Rex, this one isn't food." She smiled at the slight grunt of disapproval from him.
Ryou gripped onto Rem, a bit unnerved at the idea of being someone's lunch. "I...I would like t-to leave now..." he whimpered, staring at Rex.
As Rem walked, they came to another enclosure, full of rocks and sand, and sand was actually flying back from under a rock in fountains. The label read 'Chinchilla (chinchilla lanigera) "WEEVIL".' A moment later a head with little gray ears and narrow eyes appeared and watched Ryou pass. Weevil glared at Ryou, then turned and went back to his digging, his tail poking up out of the hole. The next enclosure had the label 'Ring Tailed Lemur (lemur catta) "ESPA".' It was filled with leaves and branches, and a moment later Ryou spotted the large eyed occupant, staring at him from where he had paused in his grooming. He said nothing, like Weevil, and just went back to his activities once they had passed. The next enclosure was empty, but the one after it said 'Striped Skunk (mephitis mephitis) "BAKURA".' Ryou peered in, curiously, but saw nothing.
The next label read 'Rabbit (oryctolagus cuniculus) "RYOU".'
Rem placed Ryou in the enclosure and smiled. "Make yourself at home." She said softly, patting him on the head before locking him inside.
Ryou blinked a few times. "H-hey! W-wait! You can't leave me like this!" he shouted after her. He frowned when she continued on, seemingly ignoring him.
He looked around, noticing his surroundings, the typical rabbit cage including wood shaving floor, water bottle hanging from the wall, food dish, salt lick, chew toys, litter box, and a large half log to hide in. He quickly crawled under the large log and curled up miserably. "What am I supposed to do now? I need to get out of here..."
The place was dark and quiet. But a few moments later, a deep chuckling was heard. "It's night time." Came a growl from nearby. "You're supposed to sleep. Unfortunately, many of us, including you, are now nocturnal..." Ryou jumped and looked for the source of the voice, and we met with a pair of glowing yellow eyes in the darkness, staring at him. "You can't hide forever, Fluffy. C'mon out... meet your neighbors... Hey Bakura! Come meet the newbie!"
"Fuck off!" Came another voice from the other direction.
Ryou stared at the bright eyes. "Leave me alone!" he said, unthinkingly beginning to bury himself in wood shavings. The eyes frightened him, there was something very unnatural about them, he looked where the other voice came from, his soft ears plastered back against his head in fear.
"Wh-who are you?" he asked fearfully. Buried now up to his nose in wood shavings and shaking like a leaf. He'd never been so frightened before in his life.
The eyes seemed to rise in the air and come closer, and a large figure appeared in the moonlight that came in through the skylight of the pet shop.
"Lion, panthera leo, Marik, or so my name tag says." The figure said, smirking and showing off very large, very sharp teeth. "And stinky over there--"
"FUCK YOU!"
"Doesn't like to be bothered." Marik finished, looking past Ryou at the eyes that glared from in the darkness of Bakura's cage.
Ryou shrank down and focused his eyes on Bakura's rather than Marik's intimidating teeth. "S-stinky?" he asked softly, confused by the insult. "W-why stinky?"
"BECAUSE I'M A FUCKIN SKUNK YOU RETARDED RODENT!" Came a furious shriek from the darkness, and several other voices were heard, telling Bakura to shut up. Bakura growled to himself and Marik rolled over onto his back, laughing, making Ryou notice his VERY obvious nudity.
Ryou squeaked and looked away. "I...I'm j-just going to try to sleep." He whimpered, still trembling from Bakura's outburst. He couldn't help but peer out from under the shavings at Marik though. His tanned skin...the way his hair fell against his bare shoulders and that slender tail...Ryou blushed and forced himself to close his eyes. He couldn't possibly be thinking that! There wasn't anything attractive about him! They were both monsters now...
Ryou awoke to an awful scraping noise. His ear twitched and he made a grimace before opening his eyes and looking up. Judging by the light coming in through the skylight, the sun had just come up. Ryou looked for the source of the noise. It was coming from his neighbor. Ryou caught his first sight of Marik in full light. He was standing up in front of a wooden column pretending to be a tree, and was sharpening his claws, digging them into the wood and dragging them down, his tail twitching side to side. After a bit, he stopped and flung himself back into the sand on the bottom of his cage, wiggled around a bit then rolled lazily onto his side, looking around. He eyes fell on Ryou, who was peeking up over the edge of the wood shaving nest he had made under his little half log. Marik smirked.
"Well well... good morning, Thumper." He said with a smirk, showing off his large incisors. "Sleep well?"
Ryou ducked down, his crimson eyes just barely visible over the shavings and nodded quickly, still quite intimidated by Marik. "M-must you smile like that?" He asked softly, peering just barely over the shavings. "It's... not very friendly." he mumbled softly, forcing himself not to stare at Marik's nudity. "Aren't you ashamed of yourself?"
Marik blinked. "Huh?" He asked, baffled, then noticed where Ryou was staring. He grinned. "No! Why should I be? The human, or, whatever we are, body is a beautiful thing! There's nothing wrong with showing off your natural beauty."
"Heh... that's what Rem told you when you were fussing about being naked, moron." Bakura was heard from his enclosure, though Ryou still was unable to see him as he was hiding in his own hidey place; a large hollow tree stump.
"Bite me, Bakura. At least I have the guts to let others see me, unlike you!" Marik shot back, and Bakura growled from his hiding place. "I understand how you might not want to be seen considering you're two cages down from me and your body PALES in comparison to mine... pun intended."
"FUCK YOU!" Bakura screeched. Marik chuckled and looked at Ryou, amused.
Ryou turned slightly and looked at the stump. "A-are you always this grouchy?" he asked softly, ears flat against his skull, obviously frightened as it was. "S-surely you can't be that bad..."
Ryou was glad to change the subject from Marik's body, to anything but Marik's body. Even if it meant Bakura's body.
Marik rolled onto his back, roaring with laughter. Bakura, however, was livid, and slowly emerged from his stump, eyes glittering in fury.
"Not that bad!" He hissed. "Look, Cotton-Tail... I don't know who you think you are..." Ryou let out a little 'eep!' as Bakura emerged. He had spiky white hair falling down to his waist with a black stripe down the center, and a huge bushy white tail with the black stripe. He was a skunk with a backwards color scheme, little black skunk ears, claws, and a VERY angry expression on his face. "But if you even THINK that--"
"Don't listen to him, Thumper." Marik interrupted. "Bakura's all talk. He can't even spray you if he even wanted."
"Marik, you--"
"He's been deoderized." Marik finished, and Bakura glared, furious, blushing.
"No one asked you!" He spat, and Marik grinned.
"Bakura's just jealous because I got to be a cool animal and he got to be... stinky to the point of needing an extra surgery." Bakura growled.
Ryou blinked. "You don't look that bad..." Ryou said softly, peering more over the wood shavings at Bakura. "You don't even have to be naked, you can hide behind your big tail." He added, hoping to comfort the angry skunk. "B-besides, all the spiky hair makes you look much more ferocious than Marik." he said softly, hoping that Bakura would calm down and be civil to him. "I don't think you stink."
"That's because there's a wall between you." Marik said. "And he doesn't look ferocious, he looks pissy." Bakura glared.
"You can't talk about ferocious Marik... you're over there napping on your back like an oversized house cat!" Bakura snapped.
"A house cat is more frightening than you, Pepe LePew." Marik said, and Bakura twitched in anger, then stormed across his enclosure, muttering to himself as he drank from his little water pond. Marik chuckled and continued to relax on his back.
"Ignore him, Thumper. He just likes to be intimidating." He said.
Ryou looked back at Marik. "You aren't very nice to him... it's not a wonder he acts like that." he said curling back up in his nest. "I feel badly for him..." he said softly. "I think he's very original." He added, still trying to make somewhat peaceful grounds with the skunk.
Ryou sighed softly. "How can you live so... contently like this?" He asked suddenly. "Doesn't it bother you...that you're not human anymore?"
Marik snorted. "Kid, I'm treated more like a human in here than I ever was out THERE!" He rolled onto his side and looked Ryou straight in the eyes. "Here, I have a good place to sleep, good meals, I'm kept clean... I'm safe. Out there I was on the streets, freezing at night with no where to sleep, literally starving to death, and was at the mercy of others who were in my position and happened to be stronger than me. Kid, to me, THIS is paradise!"
Ryou blinked and shook his head. "But at what cost? You aren't treated human here...you're kept in a glass cage day in and day out, completely nude and lord only knows what else!" Ryou said shaking his head. "I want to go home..."
He sniffled softly and tugged his own ears. "Look what they've done to you, you're not human, you're not animal! We're all monsters!" he said shaking his head in misery. "How can you be satisfied with that?"
Marik growled. "Because I'm grateful for what I have in here." He hissed. "It's more than I had out there. Maybe you don't get the point kid. If they hadn't picked me up and done this to me, I would have starved to death long ago. I'm no more an animal in here than I was out there. The only difference between this life and the one I had was that now, I'm healthy, comfortable, happy, and I have the added bonus of claws." He smirked. "But you wouldn't understand. You were obviously a little pampered brat. So don't tell me that this is worse that the life I had before, because it's NOT." And he stalked across his cage and into his dark cave. Bakura chuckled.
"Bravo, Cotton-Tail. You've pissed off Simba." He teased, but froze at a deafening roar from Marik. His tail was straight up in the air and puffed up, and he stared at Marik's cave with wide eyes, then relaxed and chuckled.
"Can you two ever SHUT UP!" screamed the coyote from the night before.
"Bite me, Rex." Bakura snapped.
Ryou bit his lip and sniffled, absolutely terrified.. He hadn't meant to upset Marik...and to make matters worse that roar had sent his heart into his throat. He felt utterly sick.
"I...I..." he felt hot tears working trails down his cheeks. "I..." He couldn't even bring himself to speak. Was that the image that Marik perceived him as? He shrank down into the shavings and began burying himself. Marik may have thought this a blessing, a way to survive, but for him, it was still a curse. He couldn't even look at a set of claws as a perk, he only gained big unhide-able floppy ears, and a cotton-tail.
Ryou sobbed softly beneath the wood shavings out of fright, and regret he'd ever said anything at all.
Marik blinked and lifted his head, twitching an ear as he heard Ryou crying. He winced, and after a moment he emerged from his cave and moved right over to the glass wall between himself and Ryou.
"Hey, Thumper..." He called, gently. "I didn't mean to lose my temper like that. I'm sorry. I know you're just scared and shocked. Everyone was when they first came in... me included." He ignored Bakura's laughing snort. "I thought it was awful as well when I first came. But you have to look at the bright side, right? Well, this just happened to be an improvement in the quality of my life, but I'm sure it's far from that for you. I'm sure you had a life, friends, family... everything I didn't have. And it must hurt to be taken from that. But this is your life now, and you have to make the best of it. What do you say? C'mon out from under there and meet me face to face. After all, we ARE neighbors." Marik smiled. "And tell me your name while you're at it, unless you prefer Thumper."
Ryou sniffled and shook his head from under the shavings, still shaking violently from the scare. "j-just... j-just leave me alone..." he hiccupped from under the soft shavings, the only bit of him even visible was a soft furry ear that was barely visible. "I'm not a rabbit.." He sniffled, choking back a loud sob. "I'm human... I'm human and I want to go home..." he hugged himself under the wood and sniffled. "I-I'm sorry I upset you..." He breathed softly from under the shavings, still refusing to emerge from his safe haven of slowly soaking wood. "I...I'm glad you find s-such joy living like this..." he added hiccupping again and becoming silent, aside from occasional hiccups, and the still visible trembling.
Ryou missed his life dearly, and didn't want to accept this as living. "I'm no one's little... pet..." he sniffled softly, still hiccupping, though his trembling had slowly died down.
"Yes you are." Bakura said, suddenly. "I heard Rem talking about it. You already belong to someone, you're just on display as a living advertisement while you get trained."
"Bakura! Hush up! He's upset enough as it is!" Marik snapped. "Look, Thumper... You're lucky. You have a home waiting for you. You'll be taken care of. I don't know how long I'll be here. Now, please come out of there. It's almost breakfast time!" He seemed very eager at this announcement.
Ryou wailed miserably. "Someone had this done to me! What kind of sick person would do this to another!" He sobbed louder and kicked up some shavings. "That's not luck! I would rather DIE, I'd rather die in the streets, or alone in a gutter somewhere! I don't WANT to be owned, I don't WANT to be some mutated creature made for someone ELSE'S amusement!" He wailed, frustrated.
"I was kidnapped! I was kidnapped and changed against my will for some SICKO'S amusement! I don't want this, I want my friends! My family!" He calmed down and sniffled. "I'm not coming out, I'd rather starve." he said stubbornly. "There's nothing I want to eat anyway."
Marik glared. "Don't ask to die starving in the streets. Been there, done that, and I can tell you that NOTHING is as bad as that. But fine. Hide under your log like a coward. You'll learn soon enough that it won't help anything." And Marik turned and padded across his enclosure, got a drink, and started sharpening his claws again. Bakura chuckled, darkly.
Rem yawned softly, pushing a large cart through the many aisles of cages, stopping at each one to provide exactly what each creature needed. "Don't eat it all at once now, it has to last until lunch!" she called softly, before opening Marik's cage and coming in bravely, as though he were a meek pussycat. "Mariiiiik" She called, making soft kissey noises, which only made Ryou's ears twitch in annoyance. "I have a special treat for youuuuu." She said in a singsong voice.
She walked back towards the door and grinned. "Alright here you go!" she said, placing a pair of bunnies on the floor and closing the door.
Marik turned, and he perked up. "Hey... FRESH meat!" He gasped, leaping to his feet. Bakura was laughing hysterically.
"Oh, this is gonna be GREAT!" He cackled, looking at Ryou, eagerly. Marik got to his feet and launched himself at the rabbits with a roar. Both froze and their ears shot up, then they ran, leaving Marik slamming face first into the wall. He yelped and fell back, rubbed his forehead, then looked around for his breakfast. He grinned as he saw one huddled in the corner, and began stalking it on all fours.
Ryou jumped, at the sudden loud thump and looked in Marik's cage and gasped in horror. He stared wide-eyed at Marik and shook his head, absolutely stunned he was considering eating something live, let alone...
He wailed and buried himself more under the shavings and shook violently.
"MONSTER!" he shouted in utter horror and fright.
Rem carefully poured a bucket of alfalfa pellets and sunflower seeds, mixed with bits of bean sprouts into his dish and checked his water. "Alright you can eat." She said peering under the log. Rem shook her head a bit. "Still scared? It's alright..." she said, leaving Ryou's cage quietly.
Bakura was watching Marik chase the rabbit around his cage, and paid no attention when a bowl of fruit, vegetables and a few insects was placed in his cage. Suddenly there was a horrible squealing sound from Marik's cage, and Ryou jerked his head up to find one of the most horrible sights in his life. Marik had finally caught a rabbit and had it in his jaws, and the rabbit was screaming.
Ryou shrieked in horror and shook his head. "PUT IT DOWN!" he wailed tears rolling down his cheeks. "HOW COULD YOU!" he sobbed, wide crimson eyes staring straight at Marik. "You horrible...h-horrible..." Ryou trembled and shook his head, unable to pull his eyes from the rabbit in Marik's mouth, unable to stop the tears that rolled freely down his cheeks.
His ears fell into his face and he sobbed loudly, shaking like a leaf and still staring at Marik with wide hurt eyes.
Marik, who had looked quite proud of himself, suddenly looked shocked. He looked at Ryou, then down at the rabbit thrashing in his mouth, and his heart sunk into the tip of his tail. He quickly dropped the rabbit, feeling horribly guilty. Poor Ryou had just come in the night before, was scared to death, and then he had to go and hunt a live animal in front of him... a RABBIT no less! He backed away from the struggling rabbit that was bleeding all over the sand.
"R-R-REM!" He roared, his voice thundering through the entire pet shop.
Rem hurried back and opened the cage door. "Marik what's all the fuss?" She asked, noticing the rabbit in the sand. "I thought you loved rabbits." she said, carefully picking it up and examining it's wounds. "What's wrong?" She said, carefully tending to the rabbit's wounds as the poor creature sat still, merely twitching occasionally, still frightened and weakened from the blood loss.
Marik rolled his eyes and sat on his haunches, flicking his tail. "What a wonderful thing to give me on Thumper's first day..." He drawled, looking pointedly at Ryou.
Rem laughed softly and began bandaging the injured rabbit. "Oh, I didn't realize you'd have a problem with it." She said softly, picking up the other frightened bunny and smiling. "I'm afraid though, this is all I had for you until lunch, the shipment for the carnivores doesn't come until after two." She said calmly, ushering the rabbits into Ryou's cage, after she was sure the injured rabbit would survive.
"I'll leave them with your neighbor until your lunch comes." Rem added, shaking her head. "Are you sure? You don't have anything until lunch if you don't want it."
Marik frowned and stared hard at Ryou; he was starving, and live rabbits was one of his favorite treats.
"I'm sure..." He managed to growl out between clenched teeth. "SHUT UP, BAKURA!" Bakura didn't stop laughing about the 'big fuzzy kitty'. Marik snarled and stalked over to a large fallen log, jumped up on top of it and stretched out across it, sighing in a depressed fashion as he watched the rabbits who were huddling in the wood shavings in the middle of Ryou's cage.
Ryou crawled out slowly, gently ushering the bunnies under the log and clinging to them, staring at Marik with wide, still frightened eyes. He slowly backed into the log, clutching the soft animals in his arms and remained staring at him for some time.
"...I...I'm sorry..." he said after a few moments, the injured rabbit curled up in his lap, sleeping soundly at this point, feeling safe and secure in the lap of another of it's kind. "B-but...you were...you were...you were going to..." he shivered and his ears drooped. "You looked so PROUD..." Ryou felt new tears roll down his cheeks. "You can have my breakfast...I'm not hungry..." he offered softly. Ryou winced when he heard Bakura laugh louder and eat quite smugly.
Marik had just given up eating until two that afternoon, just because he'd seen...
"Marik...I..."
Marik sighed and shook his head. "No, don't be sorry. You're scared enough and I had to go and try to eat, umm... well... yeah... I didn't think about how it might upset you. I'm sorry. And besides, going without a meal is nothing new to me, I'll be fine... umm... will your little... friend be okay?" Bakura completely fell over this time he was laughing so hard. Marik's eyes narrowed and he growled loudly, glaring at Bakura. "Damn you Bakura, can't you EVER shut up and be even SEMI nice!"
"Well look at YOU!" Bakura giggled in a high pitched voice. "You normally would have ripped that little rodent to shreds by now and would be playing with the pieces! But no, he's sitting the next cage over being cuddled by Flopsy! You've gotten soft, Simba!" And this time, even Marik's furious roar didn't shut him up.
Ryou whimpered and shrank down in his enclosure. "Please stop fighting..." He whispered so softly he hardly heard himself. "H-here, I'll give you my food, i-its better than nothing." He said softly, inching out of the log, cowering in fear and shakily lifting some of the pellets, seeds and greens and tossing them over the glass for Marik to eat if he wanted.
"P-please don't do that anymore..." he added, backing towards his log again, clearly unnerved. He turned to look at Bakura and frowned as the skunk ate gluttonously, smirking proudly at his unlost meal, clearly rubbing it in the face of Marik, who was grouchy and hungry without any meal.
Of course, Bakura also had to make Ryou uncomfortable and stared his naked body up and down, and Marik did as well, though not for the same reasons as Bakura.
"Um, thanks for the thought, Thumper, but I don't eat seeds and plants. You should have kept that for yourself. But it's good to see you come out from under your log." He smiled, trying not to show his teeth.
Ryou blushed darkly and hunched down, burying himself a bit into his shavings and tugging his ears lightly. "Please don't stare..." he said, the blush easily notable over his pale cheeks. "Don't look at me like that..." he mumbled forcing himself to study the interesting wood pattern on the wood shavings.
Ryou trembled every so often, seemingly unable to stop the soft jolts of fear that wracked his body. "M-my name is Ryou..." He whispered, biting his lip. "But...I...suppose it doesn't matter does it?" He asked softly.
Marik blinked. "Of course it matters! It's your name. That's the one thing we keep." He smiled and hopped off of his log and approached the glass divider. "And don't bother hiding your nudity. You're very attractive, and they demand that we show off our assets. You can't hide under that log for the rest of your life." Of course, this didn't help Ryou to calm down. Suddenly, Bakura decided to add in his two cents.
"Look Flopsy, the only advice we can give you is to adapt to this life, and do it quickly. Because you can never go back to your old one. You're not human anymore. You can never see your friends or family again. All you are now is a Missing Child poster in the drug store window, destined to be another unsolved case. Those are the facts, live with 'em." And with that, he crammed more fruit into his mouth.
Ryou's eyes filled with deep hurt and sorrow. "I'm not just a poster...I'll get home...j-just you wait!" He backed back into his log and hugged the rabbits sniffling and shaking his head. "AND I'M GONNA HIDE UNDER HERE UNTIL I DO!" he shouted suddenly, sniffling and beginning to dig a deeper nest amongst the wood shavings.
Why couldn't they let him hope? Why did everyone around him have to shoot down his every dream of getting home. His friends would accept him for who he was, no matter how he looked...His family would accept him. If he could just get away, he could at least go home, even if he never breathed a word of the geneticist to anyone.
Marik glared at Bakura, who was rolling his eyes as he groomed his big bushy tail. Marik sighed and plopped himself down again. "Ryou, we just don't want you to cling to impossible hopes." He said, then checked the sunlight. "Uh oh... it's almost opening time..."
Ryou pouted and peered out of his nest. "Uh oh? Why uh oh?" He dreaded the answer. As if he hadn't been through enough, the last thing he needed was more awful things to happen to him.
"And my hopes aren't impossible...one day I'll get home, and when I do, my family and friends will be right there...It'll be just like it was before I was ever kidnapped..." he breathed softly, nuzzling one of the other rabbits and letting his ears flop down into the soft shavings.
"You keep thinkin that, Thumper." Bakura said, deciding to adopt Marik's nickname for Ryou. "And 'uh oh' for you cuz the people are sure to LOVE bunnies and they're gonna wanna stare at your naked furry ass."
Ryou turned a dark red, his face nearly matching his eyes. "Please don't say that...I just want to be left alone..." He said softly, pouting. "I'm tired...and I miss my family..." He added, blowing a woodchip out of his face and watching it fall to the ground nearby.
He looked at Marik and sighed softly, trying to force a smile, but not really succeeding. Marik was trying so hard to cheer him up...he just couldn't see the upside to this. He forced a weak smile at best and sighed once more, looking dully at the false wood of the small log he was hiding under and flicking his ears a bit.
Marik sighed and opened his mouth to offer more comfort, but he jerked his head up as he heard a familiar boom; the doors had opened. And moments later people were drifting in to see the selection that the "Pet Shop" was offering.
"Ah... our adoring public..." Bakura drawled sarcastically, and slunk into his stump.