Chapter Ten: Il Muto

Ryou POV

I was…so tired. Ever since I had angered my Angel, I had kept to myself, locked myself in the room where he always taught me. He didn't bother to come and see me. I would curl up by the door, my back against its wooden frame, listening to his organ in the middle of the mist. He would often play for hours at a time, every key and note striking memories in my heart. Somehow, he had found out every song my father had sang, every melody my father had played, and every opera my father had brought me to. Hearing each note panged my heart, and yet somehow, drew me deeper into his spell.

The streak of his scar left a bright, white image in my mind. His right cheek had been struck with such a terrible, frightening wound that I could no longer find myself to touch him as I used to. Although his scar left no other disfigurement…it was the way he had snarled at me, scowled at me, yelled at me that made his scar seem all the more evil. It trickled from his right eye, scrunching it up, darkening the whites of his eyes and intensifying the red. If I had been in my right mind and if he had not looked at me so evilly, my Angel would have been very handsome.

I was not sure what had come over me. I couldn't get the image of his eyes out of my head…his bright, red, crimson eyes, the color of bright red blood…they had been such a beautiful shade of brown at some point; a deep, chocolate brown. But now they were glinted in red…pinpricks of crimson that twinkled with lust and anger and spite. My heart sank.

No matter how hard I knew I should fight him…fear him…leave him…every word he sang and every music he played just drew me deeper into his fog of misconcepted love. I couldn't bear to draw away from him. To leave him.

And for every moment I remained in his trance, my body grew weaker. It seemed to slag on it's own, as though my very strength was seeping away from me, even though I had never truly considered fighting against him. When I heard the last note of his organ, I bit my lip and closed my eyes, before dragging myself away from the door and towards the recliner.

He opened the door shortly after I had laid myself down on the recliner. His mask was once more in place, though his eyes were still that terrifying shade of deep, brown-red. He stalked towards me, before stopping by the side of the recliner. He stared down at me, his eyes locked on mine.

He didn't bother to touch me. He merely stared at me, unblinking, his face cold. His gloved fingers were still.

"Your friends are certainly insubordinate people," he hissed at me suddenly. I jostled and looked at him, fear dwelling in the bottom pit of my weakened heart.

"My-…my friends?"

He scowled at me, his cheek twitching. "Yes. Your pathetic friends. I have work to do, and yet they have stood in my way." He finally raised his hand, and brought it towards my face. "Perhaps I should teach them a lesson, as I've done you…"

At the glanced of his fingers trembling towards me, I whimpered fearfully and shut my eyes. He gave me a quick slap on the cheek for my show of weakness, before grabbing my chin and forcing me to look at him again. I dreaded to look into those vengeful eyes again.

"Look at me," he hissed. "How many times have I taught you not to show weakness?"

I whimpered and opened my eyes, nodding my head weakly. He growled and pulled me up from my chin, holding me steady from my chin as my body fought to remain stable. His eyes flickered over my body before drilling back into my eyes.

"You are weak," he said simply. I nodded, averting my eyes away from his, hoping that he would buy this as a show of respect, and not of fear. "Foolish child…" He then released his tight grip on my chin, and beckoned me after him. "Follow me."

I raised my head and watched as he strutted towards the longer end of the carpeted room. Though swaying slightly, I managed to catch up to him, tottering after him obediently as he neared a cloaked portion of the room. He grabbed my hand in one, while the other grabbed the golden rope that hung from the curtains.

"You are afraid of me, are you not?" he asked wickedly, his cold face gleaming into a twisted smile. I quelled my need for a whimper, and merely nodded my head, averting his eyes. I heard him snort. "If you are afraid of me, then why do you not fight back after all I've taught you?"

I merely hung my head, having unsure of that question myself. "…Forgive me, Angel," I said quietly. "…I don't know."

He snorted again, this time derisively. "You mortal humans…such a weak heart. Have I already told you not to succumb to the idea of love? It is that that drives pathetic humans to their end."

I lowered my head again and stared at my feet. "Sorry, Angel…" I whispered.

He took a step towards me. I stiffened, prepared for another slap for showing weakness. However, his hand had found its way around my neck and jaw, and was beginning to caress it with cunning gentleness.

"Shh…" he hushed, his fingers slipping over my jaw softly and brushing back my hair. "It is alright. I suppose you wouldn't fight me…I am, of course, your precious Angel." He slowly maneuvered around me, an arm wrapping around my waist as he breathed sensually against my neck. "As you are mine, Angel."

He gently slid a hand underneath my shirt, grazing over my belly and up to my ribs. "You've been such a good angel to me, haven't you, Little Ryou? It's no good to leave me worried about you and your health…" Here, he rubbed his fingers against my ribcage, indicating how weak I was at that moment. "…isn't that right, Little Ryou?"

I shook my head, body too tired and too much in his daze to fight at all. He slid the hand from my wrist up my arm, following to my shoulder, before beginning to massage my neck and caress my whole body fondly.

"Shh…" he hushed into my ear, his breath washing over my neck. "Sweet little Ryou. You have given yourself to me, haven't you? Despite my monstrosity, do you still admire me? I am, after all, your precious Thief King whom you always pitied…" At this, the hand on my shoulder grabbed my hair and jerked it back roughly. "But I don't want to be pitied, Little Ryou. Forgive me for my little breakdown outside a few days ago…I do have a bit of a temper."

I nodded weakly, my breathing turned slightly harsher against the strain on my hair. "You are…forgiven, Angel," I whispered softly. He chuckled in my ear.

"No need to be shy with me, Little Ryou," he whispered tenderly. "What happened to that beautiful smile of yours? What happened to all your little needs for my touch?"

I swallowed softly and unsurely, gripped the soft cloth of his pants. "I still need you…Angel."

He chuckled again and nuzzled my throat. "Forgive me for my rude behavior. Normally I do have a temper, but I shall not leave you as much as you will not leave me. I am devoted to you, my little Ryou…yes indeed." He gave me a kiss on the cheek. "From the day you received my Ring, I have been drawn to you. Ask, and you shall receive, Little Ryou."

I bit my lip and nodded my head. As fond as those words of endearment were, I still had not regained my full trust for him entirely.

He smirked against me and softly kissed my neck. "Really now. I am surprised. I would've thought that since you have now seen me in my monstrous face, you would be terrified of me."

"I…am a little scared," I admitted. "But…it's alright."

He shook his head and began to lick up the length of my neck. "But are you afraid enough to leave me, Little Ryou?"

I forced back a whimper and shook my head, hesitantly running my hands up and down the length of his black-clothed thighs to ease my nervousness. He moaned softly against my throat and kissed me possessively against my neck again.

"Are you?"

"N-No…Angel." I stuttered. What else was I supposed to say?

He gripped me hard around the waist, as though he could tell my hesitance. With a small, suggestive nip against my skin, he urged me forwards towards the curtains. The hand around my waist reached for the rope once more.

"Good, child," he breathed. "Then if you have no more objections for being mine and mine alone…let me ask you this." With that, he jerked the rope from the curtain, and the curtain swept away to the side. I gasped.

Before me stood what was a frighteningly identical statue of myself. Its eyes, although hauntingly beautiful, were staring at me with such intensity I thought it was real. The dress that clothed it was none other than a splendid wedding dress, although the inclination of what my Angel was asking me was too great for me to appreciate the dress's beauty. I began to shake, unsure of how to take this new situation.

He gripped me tight and prevented me from fainting on my knees. The hand once stroking my hair returned to my chin, and forced me to look straight at the statue's seemingly empty eyes. I whimpered fearfully, but he would not let go.

"This is my question, Little Ryou," he hissed in my ear. "For all this time, I have yearned you to be mine. I have protected you. I have cared for you. I have been there for you whenever you needed me. I have been the closet thing of the human weakness of love you seek. Answer me." He gripped my chin hard and brought his lips within an inch above my ear. "Will you marry me?"

Against my will, I had begun to panic. Although for the longest time, I had wished desperately to be anything of my Angel's. However, after seeing the horrors behind him and the menace he held in his heart, I was terrified. I wasn't ready. As much as I loved him, I couldn't do this. Not yet!

I whimpered loudly in distress, trying to signal that I was not comfortable whatsoever. But he did not relinquish his hold on me and licked me again, trying to calm me down. I gripped his pants, trying to stifle my trembles.

"A-Angel…" I whined. "I…I'm not..I'm not ready for such things yet…"

"Not ready?" he repeated incredulously. "Surely you are ready. Do you not care for me, little Ryou?"

"Yes…yes I do," I replied hastily. "But I…I'm too young. I'm not ready for such a thing yet. I…"

My Angel's voice grew deep. "You are not ready for a life long eternity bond, but you were ready for a night of rather…enticing intercourse?"

"I…" I stuttered weakly, closing my eyes. "I…I just…I just needed you…badly that night. But this…such a thing…I…I'm not ready yet…"

He growled lightly in my ear and tightened his hold against me. "Are you deceiving me, my vessel? Do you still harbor feelings for that pathetic mortal, Marik?"

My eyes shot wide open. "N-No!" Marik! Oh Lord…how had I forgotten him? Was he looking for me? Wondering where I was? Oh no…coffee night!

My Angel growled again and turned me away from the statue, and forced me towards the recliner again. Regaining my ground, I stuttered to coherent another excuse.

"I…I am not ready yet," I repeated hastily. "Please Angel…I am still devoted to you! If there is any other way I can prove it, let me do it! Please…"

My Angel said nothing, but I could feel him scowling behind me. More roughly than usual, he pushed me down against the recliner, and before I could regain my bearings, promptly saddled me across my hips. My heart gave a frantic leap through my weakened haze.

"Well…I suppose there is something…" he breathed thoughtfully. He leaned down upon me, smiling slightly when he saw me blush. "…I am glad you have freed me from my confinements. For a while now, I have been using your body for my own usage. You see…I have plans of my own I have to create, but unfortunately, I don't want to strain your precious body…" He bent down and kissed me softly on the lips. "So I ask you this. When the time is right, I shall ask again for your hand. However, until then, you can prove your loyalty to me by giving me my own body."

"Your own body?" I stuttered incredulously, squeaking when I felt his hips press against mine. "B-but…how…?"

He smirked at me and kissed me on the forehead. "No need to fear, Little Ryou. I am merely asking for some of your energy to share…You see, I have no body of my own. But with enough energy, I can use my powers within my Ring and create an illusionary body of my own. If the magic is strong enough, and the sacrifice is big enough, I can make my body solid."

"Sacrifice?" I squeaked fearfully. He burst out into laughter and kissed me on the nose.

"Of course not you, sweet little Angel," he smirked. "The sacrifice is only needed to make my body absolutely solid after my time of illusionary body. Think of it as a free trial. I get my own body for a few days, and if I can pay it with a large enough sacrifice, I get to keep it. But in order to get that free trial first…" He pressed a finger against my nose mockingly. "I'll need someone to give me the energy to create it. So what do you say, little Angel? Will you prove your devotion to me by giving me what I wish?"

I whimpered fearfully, but nodded my head. As much as he scared me, there was no point in denying that my Angel had still placed somewhere special in my heart. At least I didn't have to give him my answer right away…

My fingers shaking, I slowly ran my fingers through his hair. He moaned in content, bending down once more to kiss me tenderly on the lips.

"Yes Angel…" I whispered. "I will…give you my energy."

Yami POV

This was unsettling. I couldn't help but feel the increasing inkling that something terrible is about to happen. My Puzzle felt extremely agitated for one reason or another, which I voiced to Yugi. He also felt extremely worried, but told me to shake it off.

It was indecisive and extremely reckless of Kaiba to do what he had done. I had warned him that something terrible was going to come out of the misplacement of Ryou. However, he had not given me a second glance, since he could not stand incompetent people who always appeared late, like Ryou. I had bristled at that. Ryou was extremely reliable, which was why I urged Kaiba to not play Il Muto.

Yugi went up to visit Ryou today. I'm not sure how I should've reacted if I had seen him. I was too worried that something had happened…something terrible.

Yugi had to tell Ryou he was not playing the lead role.

Ryou POV

I woke up sometime in my room. My entire body felt so tired. My arms felt weak, my legs were jelly, and my backside was aching most terribly. I groaned and raised a hand to my puffy lips, smiling slightly. Angel…despite how terrifying he was, he was still my Angel. And a pretty amazing one too…

I gave him all the energy I could. It was a painful experience. I had blacked out soon after my attempt to impress him, and now that I was awake, I could feel no longer the presence of him in my Ring.

Wrong. I could still feel a lingering remnant of his soul somewhere in the back of my mind, but it was not as prominent as it had been before. Despite my fear, I wanted to cry. Was he going to leave me, now that I had proven to be too afraid to accept his proposal? I wiped my eyes and fought to remain strong. The Ring was still with me…hopefully tonight, I would still hear his voice.

But did I want to?

There was a knock on my door. And then another one. One of them was more hesitant and softer, and lower, while the other was higher and more aggravated. I whimpered and shut my eyes, pretending to sleep.

Regardless, Yugi opened the door. He entered tentatively, and at seeing me asleep, he turned around to hush whoever was with him.

"I don't care that he's sleeping!" a familiar, harsh voice retorted. "I do not care! I am going in!"

"Marik---" Yugi ushered urgently. "No…!"
Too late. Marik had burst his way in. At the sight of me flinching though, he remained the door.

"Sorry," I heard him say. "Did I wake you?"

He knew he had awakened me. He knew I was awake. And I knew not to anger Marik when he was already rather peeved with me.

I slowly opened my eyes and gave him a weak smile. "Hi Marik…"

He looked at me carefully, his amethyst eyes narrowed and calculating. I prayed that he would not interrogate me and release his temper on me. I had by far seen what he could do when he was temperamental, and I certainly did not want to go through that experience.

But, his facial features softened slightly, and I breathed a sigh of relief. I should've known I had always been his soft spot.

"Are you tired?" he asked. I nodded and even added in a fake cough.

"Y-Yeah," I said weakly. "Too much…singing," I lied lamely.

"Were you feeling ill when I had asked you for dinner?" asked Marik promptly. I wasn't sure if he was accusing me or not, so I nodded my head.

"I didn't feel well…I…fainted after you left," I lied. I hated lying, but there was nothing I could do. I could already feel the warning anger of my Angel in the back of my head. "Um..I'm still…very tired," I explained weakly. "Please…could I…sleep…"

"I'll get you some cough medicine," Marik said shortly, folding his arms and analyzing me. I smiled unsurely and cleared my throat awkwardly. He looked…very handsome today. His legs were dressed in straight, clean-cut black dress pants, and his button-up white shirt hugged his developed torso tenderly.

"Um…Ryou?" Yugi piped up timidly. I winced and turned to Yugi, wondering why he looked so afraid of me. "I just…wanted to tell you…they're playing Il Muto tonight and you….you have the silent role."

I blinked, my eyes wide open. "The silent role?" I repeated, my voice edged with a tint of hurt. Marik watched me carefully.

"I suppose it would do you good," he said. "You are, after all, sick aren't you?"
I quickly regained myself, but I was still disappointed. "…Oh…yeah…sick," I echoed faintly. I lowered my head and rested my head against the pillow, suddenly very depressed. "Yeah…sick," I repeated faintly.

Marik was still watching me. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him turn to Yugi, gesturing discreetly to Yugi for some quiet time. Yugi, naturally intimidated by Marik already, left without much protest. Awkwardly, Yugi waved me goodbye, and shut the door.

As soon as the door had closed, Marik made his way to my bed. Without asking permission, he sat down on the side and raised a hand to forehead. I flinched away.

"You don't seem to have a fever," he muttered, though I couldn't tell if he was upset or just curious. "Are you sure you want to still play tonight?"

I closed my eyes sadly. "Why not?" I said quietly. "It's only the silent role."

Marik paused in his fever reading and looked at me. "…Don't be so sad," he commented. "Where have you been lately? If you come to practices more often, I'll make sure you get the lead role again. Madame Giry has been worried sick over you."

I winced and shook my head. "I'll be fine…" I whispered. "Don't worry about me."

Marik shook his head, and rested his hand against my hair. "You know I will."

Resting hands on my hair and stroking my strands were not normal fever-indicating procedures. Nevertheless, I closed my eyes and welcomed his touch. It felt good to be near him again, after all this time. A twinge of fear in my heart reminded me that if I were to show affection to him, my Angel would surely punish him.

Sacrifice…

I bit my lip in fear. Oh no. Oh god no. Please not Marik…

He rested his hand on my shoulder, and began to stroke my back the way he had always comforted me as a child.

"Ryou…is something the matter?"

I wanted to cry, I wanted to whimper, but I couldn't. I couldn't tell Marik that his life was in grave danger because of me. I couldn't tell him that I liked him still. I couldn't tell him that I missed him.

I couldn't do it.

So I cried.

Malik POV

I hated living there. In the darkness, suppressed. I was the only one who knew what he was planning, what was his sick game. I had to stop him. But I couldn't. I couldn't let him hurt Ryou any more. I couldn't let him hurt me anymore. It was just like that time in Egypt. That time so long ago.

The dancer boy was arrogant. Tall, handsome, but arrogant. He was hitting on me. Trying to bed me. I got mad, and I knew he had overheard.

Because next day I knew, when the boy was supposed to perform for my birthday, he was hanging on a noose, by his throat. His eyes were glazed, his tongue hanging out, his face purple. I remembered looking towards my side in horror, and seeing his dead eyes. The seriousness of his face as he turned towards me.

"I heard he upset you," he had said to me. So calmly. So coldly. But I knew behind those red-brown eyes, there was rage roaring in his heart. He had been angry. He had been furious at the injustice I had been subjected to. Just like the same injustice he had been subjected to when he was a kid.

I wasn't sure why I didn't just hate him then. Maybe it was because I still didn't hate him now. There was something about himself that I could not resist. But regardless, I had to stop him now. At least somehow.

I remembered the name of the play the dancer boy was supposed to perform.

Il Muto.

Ryou POV

It's showtime, and I'm hardly excited. Marik had comforted me until I had cried no more tears. I chalked it all up to just stress, just the fact that my father had recently died, and he understood. But I was certain that he knew more than what he was letting on. After all, I had seen the Rod poking from his belt. I knew he knew there was more than just my father's death that was bothering me.

We had a small argument, which ended in him storming away. I had cried a lot after that too. But now, as I prepared myself for my silent role, I saw him in the audience. I smiled weakly. He glanced at me and gave an apologetic smile. I nearly wanted to cry again.

"He seems to love you so much," Yugi commented shyly next to me. "He's been worried about you for the longest time."

I shifted awkward and withdrew my gaze. "Yeah…" I said distantly. "Love…"

Above me, Madame Giry clapped her hands. I readied myself. The play was about to start.

A/N So, I did this because I wanted to update quick, and because I thought one whole chapter of music was better than one half. So next chapter: Apollo's Lyre / All I Ask of You. The next chapter will have the scene of Il Muto, Bakura's sacrifice, and of course, "Why Have You Brought Us Here?"

I hope you enjoyed this plot chapter! Lots of sining next chapter! R/R!