Disclaimer: YuGiOh and its characters do not, never have, and never will belong to me. The only things I own are the setting for this story and the OCs. Which there won't be many of.

Oh, and watch out for shounen-ai hints.

Enjoy.

PS. Since this is my first story, it's most likely gonna suck, but I'd still like reviews.

And pairings, if there are any, will eventually include YY, MM, RB, possibly JS. Mebbe more, but none that I can think of right now. In fact, if I don't get enough reviews, I won't even continue this story.

SO REVIEW:-)

Thank You to all of you who reviewed chapter 2! Responses are at the bottom again. I'm glad the four of you like the story. I wish there were some new faces though…

Also, I'm accepting ideas if anyone's got any. All I have is a rough sketch of the story; I haven't done a detailed outline yet, except of the next chapter. It was supposed to be part of this one, but I decided a probably 20 pg chapter was too long. So now the story is 12-13 chapters rather then 11-12

Please check out my other new story, the link's in my profile.

Freedom Through Inferno:

As the four settled own to sleep, Ryou tied by his father's feet, none of them knew what the journey would bring.

Because it would certainly be one none of them would ever forget.

Chapter 3: The Journey: Day 1

"AGH! A snake!"

"Would you shut up? It's a tree branch!"

Ryou glared dolefully at the two of them from the back of their little party. The four of them had set off only three hours ago and he was already getting tired. And their antics weren't helping. So far, Marik had balked ten times: at a tree, a stump, two fallen tree limbs, a squirrel, and various strangely shaped rocks. Every single time, Bakura had insulted him and continued without stopping. He was still in a foul mood from the Doctor's 'demonstration' of Ryou's abilities the night before.

Speaking of Father, Ryou turned his eyes towards the older man in concern. He wasn't very young and was having a much worse time then Ryou in keeping up. Even so, he had managed to keep the leash in a vice like grip the whole time.

Funny, he's acting like his life depends on it (Ryou had no idea that the man's well being really DID hinge on keeping his only asset close, especially while Bakura was around.) Anyways, Ryou turned his attention away from his father and back towards the two arsonists up front. He had been studying them for quite a while and hadn't learned much, seeing as they didn't seem eager to divulge too much about themselves in front of his father.

Let's see… so far, I know that the white one (he classifies by hair color) is called Bakura and the other is Marik. They are the ones that destroyed Home and they're taking me and Dad to their company for some reason. Both of them don't act very nice with Father, but are friendly with each other. Oh, and Dad doesn't like them very mu- "Ulp!"

"We're stopping." The Doctor froze in the middle of the path and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Uh, no, we're not." Bakura didn't even break his stride as he continued.

"Fine, then, continue without me."

"Oh, no you don't." This time, he turned and reached for the man, anger from the night before still fresh in his eyes.

"Don't you dare." The hand froze a millimeter from the other's wrist and Bakura's eyes narrowed viciously. "What was that?"

Scrambling backward, the Doc sought to get away. As an afterthought, he shoved Ryou into Bakura's path by way of the leash.

"Ulp!" the boy's slight cough at the rough treatment went unnoticed by the others.

Dammit! Bakura's murderous thoughts were clear through his expression. What I wouldn't give to…

"Ryou…"

"Fine!" he snapped. "We stop for ten minutes! Thanks to your stunt last night, we have a good four day journey ahead of us. Three if we're lucky." Practically steaming with hatred, he returned to Marik. (who had been ignoring the entire conversation in favor of cowering away from a tree that looked, to him, like an attacking bear.)

The older man smirked victoriously, sitting down on a large rock off the side of the path to 'rest'. Ryou flopped down on the ground next to him. The youngling knew his Father was just flaunting him in an attempt to make himself look superior, but he was still coughing from the earlier jerk on his neck and ten minutes to rest in the cool grass was a welcome reprieve from tramping through the forest.

"Yes!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"No!"

"We sleep here!"

"No! We move on!"

"Wow, role reversal." Marik grumbled unhappily. He had finally gotten over his fear of everything having to do with nature and was currently watching his companion fight with their 'captive' over a campsite. It was very boring.

What to do…what to do… "Hmmm…" Glancing around, his eyes lit up. The mad-scientist-guy had finally left the little cat-boy alone! It hadn't done anything vicious today; maybe last night was a fluke? Marik was still sulking over the loss of his car, but the loss of his sanity due to boredom was a more immediate threat. Grinning, he slid off his perch and began to slink in the direction of the creature nicknamed 'Ryou'. After all, he still hadn't gotten to touch those soft looking little ears…

Ryou was even more tired then before. If the first half of the day had been bad, the second half had been torture. Father had taken to mumbling not-so-quiet insults behind Bakura's back and had kept Ryou close to him to stave off the murderous looks being received. Unfortunately, this meant Ryou was dragged along, walking on all fours mostly, on a leash about three feet long, getting his paws trampled on and banging into his Father's legs all day. Not to mention the fact that the only strenuous activity he had ever previously done included a few hours, at most, running obstacles in the training room.

Needless to say, he was exhausted by the end of the day and his paws (hands and feet) ached even worse then when they had been burnt.

Oh well, at least I can't blister. Ryou thought, glaring at one of his hands in annoyance. Then he closed his eyes and leaned back against the trunk of the tree he had been tied to. (Apparently Father wanted both hands free to argue with for some reason.) Curling up and backing his ears until they were buried in his hair, the boy attempted to cut out the sound of arguing. In doing so, he was struck by a memory of the last time he had been in the same position; the blisters had been burns and he had been in great pain…

Carried away in his memory, Ryou once again didn't notice the aura of another until it was too late.

Closer….cloooseeeeeeer… Marik leaned down, grinning like a little boy. Neither of the others had realized what he was doing and the creature seemed to be asleep. Maybe he could do this without waking it up? Five….four…..once again, he began the countdown….three….two…one….! Just as his hand made contact, green eyes shot open wide and the small form underneath him went rigid.

Shit. Marik swallowed, not daring to move. The other two had moved further away, there was no one to help him this time. And the cat-thing looked angry. Swallowing again, Marik stayed frozen, forcing himself to remain relaxed, like everyone said you should with wild animals. 'They're more scared of you then you are of them…' Yeah, right. At least it's worth a shot. Even if this isn't really a wild animal…

"Easy, boy. I don't want to hurt ya. Easy now, no need to get angry…"

To his surprise, the creature began to relax!

"Good boy. Easy…" barely restraining a victorious smirk, Marik began to stroke its head, feeling the ears he had so wanted to touch ever since he saw the little thing.

"Easy boy…" he mentally gasped. It's …so soft! Like silk. It feels like a kitten or a baby bird. And not just the ears, the hair is so soft….like satin…

A sudden noise broke him from his thoughts. It was growling. Figures Marik swallowed through a suddenly dry throat, attempting to keep from trembling at the thought of those sharp little fangs less then six inches from his hand. It just figures that it would be trained to be hostile when touched. He was amazed when his voice didn't tremble. "Well, shit. Easy boy, no need to get violent…"

"Mrrrh?" Marik blinked. He had expected to be mauled. Sharp claws ripping through his flesh with teeth sunk in his throat… but the creature looked, if anything, happy. He began to stroke again, tentatively, only to have Its eyes close and a rumbling vibration emerge from It….no, HIS. HIS throat. An uncharacteristically soft smile crossed his face as he realized what was happening. The little being was purring.

"You like that little leopard?" he murmured soothingly, fighting back a giggle when the cat-boy purred and snuggled closer. Just like a little kitten…

"Mmmm..." it mumbled blissfully, leaning into the touch.

What? Did it just… answer me?

"Marik, ya idiot, where are you!"

The creature jumped, instantly shying away.

"Aw, come on kitty…" he reached out to coax it back, only…

"Marik!"

"Dammit!" he snarled, standing up and gazing at the once again untouchable specimen. "Sorry pussycat, Kura's calling. Seeya later."

Ryou watched him leave, confused. What was that? It had felt so good…

Reaching up, he lightly touched the top of his head, smoothing the ruffled hair, then gazing after Marik in confusion.

What's happening to me? I'm only supposed to like Dad's touches… right? But he's never done that before…

"Ryou. Come."

Yet another person had snuck up on him. With a sigh of resignation, he let go of his confusion and followed the other over to a patch of soft grass where the scientist spread out his coat, ate an energy bar, and went to sleep; tying Ryou to a rock nearby and leaving him to get comfortable on his own, still in the thin and tattered garments he had been wearing since the fire. His fur was too short to provide much protection.

"Dammit!"

"What is it this time?" Marik was heating some of their scanty travel supplies while watching Bakura pace, glower, and grit his teeth.

"It's that stupid scientist and his pet cat! Oh…I just wanna…" clenching his fists, he glared at them, imagining them around the throat of a certain mad doctor.

"What did the cat do?"

Bakura glared across the small clearing at Ryou, seeming to ignore the question for a minute. "It exists. That's enough. It gives the scientist leverage," here, he resumed pacing, "and I hate it! He's…"

"You're ranting."

"Too bad. But to cut to the chase, I think we need to get rid of that Thing."

Marik nearly choked on his ration. "What!"

"You heard me. I don't know how, but something has to be done."

"Kura…" Marik didn't know what to say. All he could picture was the look of childish happiness on the boy's face from earlier. "That's not a good idea."

"Oh? Why?"

"Cuz isn't HE what the company wants?"

"Maybe. But they never told us about IT." He stressed the pronoun," so it won't be our problem if we claim we never found It. We can't get rid of the Doc because they specifically told us he had to be alive, but they never said anything about his specimens."

"Still…"

"Fine!" he snarled, jumping up and grabbing his ration, moving away. "I don't need your help! I'll take care of it on my own!"

Stupid Marik, he ate his food perched on a rock in the middle of the small clearing, unwittingly getting closer to the hated scientist while attempting to get further from his friend. He doesn't' understand. That stupid scientist is driving me nuts and I can't do anything about it while that stupid creature is there! If I get rid of it, I get rid of his life's work and accomplish my revenge. But how can I carry it out? I don't know what poisons affect It…I guess I could 'accidentally' push It off a cliff or into a stream, or just set It free in the forest, but I'm betting that won't work. And, of course, for any of this to work, I'm going to hafta separate It from the Idiot Scientist and get close without losing any limbs. But I will get rid of It. I will have my revenge.

Satisfied; Bakura leapt down, turning to walk back to Marik, before remembering their fight.

He stalked over to his accomplice and, scowling, grabbed their mutual backpack, eliciting a yelp from the other (seeing as it was still on Marik's back when Bakura grabbed it.) Returning to the rock, he laid out his jacket and survival blanket to go to sleep, not realizing he was sleeping on the opposite side of the same rock as the doctor and that Ryou was tied to said rock. Basking in his dreams of revenge, it took Bakura very little time to fall into slumber.

Marik gazed upwards at the stars. He was used to his friend's violent attitudes, but even so, it had hurt him a little. He would get his supplies from the pack when Bakura was asleep. Meanwhile…

He let his mind drift back to earlier, when he had touched the cat-boy. It had been so soft….but that was not what had caught his attention the most.

The creature had responded to his question. It my have just been a fluke, but it sure hadn't sounded like it.

But the Doc said it wasn't smart, that it was like a dog. And he should know, with the tests and all, but still… Oh well, it was probably just a coincidence. I mean, the little beast follows at his…its…master's heel on a leash and obeys his every command. It's just an animal.

For some reason, this answer was remarkably unsatisfying. But Marik just shook it off, going to the other side of the clearing and removing his own blanket from the bag Bakura had left open. He settled down to sleep close to his friend on the clearing side; near enough to feel his body heat, but far enough away so that they weren't sleeping together. He dozed off to sleep feeling vaguely dissatisfied and wondering what he was missing in the whole equation.

Ryou lay, shivering, near his father. The grass that had seemed so cool and soft during the day now felt prickly and freezing, not to mention wet. It almost made him nostalgic for his cage back at home. Shivering pathetically, Ryou stumbled upwards and shuffled around the rock his leash was tied to, moving on two legs and keeping a hand out to balance himself.

To the surprise of his sleep-fogged mind, he tripped over something pleasantly warm before he'd made it even half way around. Without ever truly waking up, Ryou curled up next to the warmth and yawned contentedly before burrowing closer and drifting off into peaceful slumber.

He didn't even notice that the warmth moved to accommodate him obliviously sometime during the night.

TBC.

End Chapter three.

Heheheh….someone's gonna get the shock of their life when they wake up.

Kwahahah! I think I'm a ditz cuz it's so late. But this chapter's my favorite so far… It'll probably look a lot worse in the morning…

Thank you to everyone who reviewed, I love your input!

I would really like some new people to review, too. I got NO new people this time!

Sniff--

Oh, and please check out my other story, 'Confined Anomalies'. It's a very … interesting … AU. Fantasy rather then sci-fi.

Thank you.

Review!

Responses-

Ilikeyaoi: Glad you like it enough to review twice. And you'll see what happens… Although I actually can't decide what I want to happen to his 'Dad'. Also, Ryou doesn't really hate being chained up. It's what he's used to. Bakura and Marik might not like it so well, though, considering what happens in chapter 4… Thanx for your review.

Thunderstorm101: Glad you like. Whahahahahah! You do not learn of the DNA for…ummm…. I don't know how long. Heehee. Hope you liked this chapter. Thanx for the review.

Sarah the Slayer: I'm glad you like this chapter. However, I don't think I'm gonna keep with the shape shifting idea. That would be another twist to the story and would be hard to work in. However, it will be in my other story, 'Confined Anomalies', if I finish it. (So far I only have one review and I need five to continue). The link is in my profile if you'd like to read it. In that one, the 'anomalies' are the hikaris while the 'agents' in the summary are Bakura and Yami. Marik would come in soon, if I finished it. Thanks for your input.

Ayamari: Glad you like. Thanks for your review.