The Polaroid Effect
Disclaimer: Forgot about these things, ya? Oh well, I do not own it, and nobody gives me money for writing this stuff…
A/N: There are mentions of MarikxRyou in this chapter.
Well! It's certainly been awhile hasn't it? Yes, yes it has… and to think, beyond Yugi's reflections at the start, I wrote this all in one night. Go figure. This chapter isn't as long as I'd like it to be, but at least it's not as short at the first few, eh? My main worry is that I've been gone so long from this that I've forgotten the characterizations of people! So if something seems off to you, please report it!
And just because I feel like a little self-advertising… for anyone who likes my writing, you might want to check out the original stories that I worked on instead of writing this! (Hey, I had school motivation behind those as well as my personal muses XD) I have the links up in my profile if you're interested.
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Please be reviewing! Now on to fic!
Chapter 6:
The first time was two nights after I got out of the hospital. I didn't have to pretend to be happy anymore, because with my newfound shadow I was once again whole. I was new and strong and complete. And I was also restless. I couldn't stop thinking about that man who had attacked me.
It wasn't revenge I wanted, not really. It was… closure. I wanted to know who, I wanted to know why, and most of all I wanted to know if the same thing that happened to me would keep happening to other people. No, that's not right. I wanted to make it so that he would never do to another person what he did to me.
So late one night, when I should have been asleep, I snuck out to look for him. I knew that I probably wouldn't find him, one criminal in a city of thousands, and I never did. But I did find something that night amidst my aimless wanderings.
That woman. She smiled at me as she walked by and said, "You shouldn't be out this late, little boy. It's dangerous." And I looked at her and it wasn't quite a glare and answered, "Same to you." And she just smirked at me and gave me a peek at the pepper spray in her purse, then walked on. Since I had nothing better to do I decided to follow her.
Maybe it was some sort of precognition that made me choose that women of all people to follow, I mean crimes aren't that common in Domino. But it just happened that she was the one who met up with the trio of drunken men, and that the little can in her purse did her little good. But I was there.
I wasn't sure what to do at first, so I just stood and yelled at them. They forgot her for a moment and it didn't take the woman long to slip from their inebriated grasp and run. She cast me a sad grin, full of fear, as she left. I didn't know what to do as they swore and threatened and then came after me.
But then I remembered who I was, what I was, what I had. I was the bearer of the powers of the Shadow Realm. The darkness had chosen me as their vessel. And with that power I could be Judge. I could weigh the souls of humans and deal them their punishment as appropriate. And that's what I did.
And having done it once, I knew that I had to do it again.
"There'll be a private plane arriving in an hour to take you home," Seto said, taking a place at the table he'd reserved in the hotel's dining room. "You should be ready to go in no more than half an hour if you want to make it."
Ryou blinked and looked up from his breakfast. "Take me home…?" he questioned, confusing lacing his voice.
Eyes narrowing Seto replied, "You said you wanted to go."
The white-haired man's express remained blank for a moment before his memory finally served him. "Oh! Yes, yes I did say that, didn't I? Well, I won't need that plane anymore. I'm staying."
"You're… staying," the brunette CEO deadpanned. "After everything you said you just up and changed your mind?"
"Exactly!" Ryou confirmed, smiling sweetly. He then returned to shovelling a surprising amount of food into his slim frame.
Seto may have pursued the topic further had a certain blond miscreant not chosen that moment to sit down at the table with flourish, practically becoming liquid as he draped himself over the chair. "How are all my lovely companions today?" he called, looking over the array of food at the table.
Ryou offered him a smile and a 'good-morning' mumbled from around a mouthful of food. The only response from Seto was a noncommittal grunt. Marik grinned devilishly before wrinkling his nose at a plate of bacon. After piling his plate with food less offensive to his vegetarian palate, the Egyptian spoke, "So, I think I might have an idea on how to find Yugi, now that our dear Ryou has decided to stay around…"
The other occupants of the table turned their attention to the dark-skinned man, even as Ryou continued to stuff his face. "After what happened last time, I think it would be a bad idea to try searching for him directly again." The white-haired man nodded enthusiastically at this. "Instead, I was thinking that maybe you," he nodded at Ryou, "Could just search for the barest impression of his presence and focus on the direction you can feel it from."
Swallowing a mouthful of food, the white-haired man clarified, "Like a compass, you mean." He paused a moment to think. "Yes, I… think I might be able to manage that. With the help of that spell again."
"Good!" the Egyptian gave a toothy grin. "And I might just have something that can stop you from getting your mind dragged out again."
Another sweet smile graced Ryou's face. "Whatever you want Marik. I trust you."
Seto eyed them strangely, polishing off the food on his plate. "When you're done, come up to my room and we'll get started. I'll go wake up the mutt."
Ryou watched at the tall brunette strode off before placing his fork down next to his plate. His gaze lingered for a moment on his now empty plate then rose to meet his companion's lavender eyes. The dark skinned man quirked a gold brow in askance. A blush tinted pale skin as Ryou began to speak, "Ah… Marik, did… did something… happen last night? I mean… between us?"
Marik tilted his head, and replied, "Not that I know of. Why, what did you think happened?"
The blush deepened. "Oh nothing. It's just- It's nothing." Uncomfortable silenced stretched, and the white-haired man's hands twisted nervously in his napkin. He was sure that he remember something, that maybe they had- But no. Marik said nothing had happened, and he trusted Marik, therefore nothing had happened. And yet- he trusted Marik. But-! Ryou's hands tightened suddenly around the napkin and a tremor washed over his body. Then the tension was gone and his body relaxed. He did trust Marik, he really did.
At the back of his mind Thief snorted, Idiot.
Are you that keen on going back to the Shadow Realm?
The voice fell silent. That's better, Ryou thought at him.
"Well, I think I'll go up to Kaiba's room," the white-haired man said. "I'll see you in a bit."
Long after the kind-hearted man had left, Marik stayed staring sullenly into his breakfast. There was that guilty feeling again. Why had he lied to his friend again, anyway? It wouldn't have been the end of the world if he had let Ryou know they'd had sex… but then, thinking about them having sex might have led him to thinking about why they'd had sex… and the spell he'd cast wasn't as strong as he'd like it to be. For a moment there, when Ryou had tensed up, he had thought that the compulsion might crack but thankfully it had held.
Don't worry buddy, the Egyptian thought to himself, I'll keep you safe, and just as soon as this is over with I'll let you go and be on with your life. Then you'll be safe, even from mind-tampering men like me.
"What exactly are we gonna do with him when we find him anyway?" Joey Wheeler asked as the group strolled down the sidewalk. Ryou was caught up in following the ghostly trace of Yugi in his mind, and Kaiba appeared to ignore him. Only his fellow blond seemed to be paying attention.
"Don't worry, babe," Marik said, one of his devilish grins gracing his face, "I've got it covered."
"Oh yeah?" Joey asked. "How? I mean, Yugi's got the whole Shadow Realm behind him right? What the hell are we supposed to do against that?"
"Getting cold feet, mutt?" Kaiba put in.
"No way!" the tall blonde answered, affronted. "I'm gonna make that nut face justice no matter what! I'm just wondering, is all."
The brunette snorted, and Joey glared darkly at him. Marik merely grinned wider and waved his notepad at them. "Don't worry about it. Like I said, I've got it covered."
Joey looked sceptical for a moment then sighed. "Well alright. I'm still not sure about all this new magic though. If anything happens to me I'm coming back as a spirit to beat you up."
"Gotcha!" the Egyptian responded, before skipping ahead to walk beside Ryou. "So you're sure he's still in the city?"
"As sure as I can be," the white-haired man answered, sounding preoccupied. "And if not, he's not far out of it."
"I wonder why he stuck around, even after meeting up with Bakura?" Joey pondered allowed. "Does he think we'd be frightened enough to leave him alone, or something?"
"It's what any sane person would have done," Kaiba said, earning another glare.
"That," Ryou began, voice seeming far away, "Or maybe we aren't enough of a threat for him to care."
He was sitting on the edge of the road enjoying a sandwich – well, perhaps not enjoying. He had bought the thing from a gas station and it tasted rather like lightly flavoured cardboard… however, he was consuming it all the same – when he felt it wrap around him. The power curled about his waist, passing over his wrists and ankles, and dragged him into the air, holding him suspended and immobile. Violet eyes examined the invisible bonds curiously then turned to scan the horizon.
The city was still visible, though it was little more than a few ragged silhouettes against the sky. In front of that, barely within range of his vision were four figures making their way toward him. Ah, so that's why he hadn't sensed them. They were far enough off that distracted as he was by his abysmal sandwich his awareness hadn't reached them.
It made him sad that they had done this, when he realized who the four figures were. He really wished they had left well enough alone. They would have been fine if they had just left him alone.
Oh well, he had warned them and they had brought this upon themselves.
"Hello everyone," Yugi greeted as the group reached him, suspended in midair by the spell Marik had cast as soon as he came into sight. "Interesting trick you picked up, Marik."
"It's a great hit at parties," the Egyptian replied, though there was little playfulness in his voice. His companions remained silent, Joey glaring fiercely, Seto gazing impassively at his old rival, Ryou staring fixedly at the ground between his feet.
Yugi's attention turned from the dark-skinned man, falling on the rest of the group. "Why do you think you're here? Do you think you're pursuing the path of Truth and Justice, hunting me down, trapping me here?"
"Yeah," Joey said, voice trembling. "That's exactly why we're here. To see you get what you deserve. You killed people, Yugi! You killed- You used to be my friend, but that person is gone now, and all that's left is a monster, and- and I'm gonna make sure you can't hurt anyone else."
Violet eyes danced with amusement and flicked to Seto, "Is that what you think to Kaiba?"
"Something like that," the brunette responded gruffly.
The black-haired man's head tilted back as a deep laughed bubbled up from his chest. Laughter dieing down to a chuckle, Yugi spoke again, "Oh I expected this level of gullibility from Joey, but you Kaiba? And to think you were my rival once. So I ask, why are you here? Literally I mean."
Joey stared at the man who was once his friend, confusion written across his face. "What the hell are you talking about? Bakura led us here."
"Yes," Yugi said, voice dropping, "Bakura…"
Ryou shuddered, goosebumps rising on his arms.
"But that's not what I'm talking about," the small man continued. "Now, I know why you're all here, but do you?"
Joey's confusion deepened, but Seto's eyes widened a fraction before narrowing and darting over to Marik. The Egyptian's face was drawing down into a frown. "I'm going to knock him out now," the dark-skinned man stated, flipping through the pages of his notebook.
"Marik, Marik, Marik," Yugi chided, shaking his head. "How much did they pay you?"
The Egyptian was outright scowling now, Seto's glance turned into a suspicious glare. Ryou's head had shot up, eyes wide in shock. Joey continued to glower at his ex-friend, though an element of uncertainty had crept into it, and he asked, "Marik, what is he talking about?"
The dark-skinned blond didn't answering, instead beginning to belt out words that made the air thrum. Yugi tilted his head to one side, a look of consideration on his face. Then one corner of his mouth twitched upward and he was no longer suspended in the air.
There was an impression of something lashing through the air and Ryou fell to his knees screaming. The group barely had time to swear before another lash was felt, and then Ryou was no longer screaming and his eyes rolled back into his skull and he was falling limply to the dirt.
Marik had frozen when he felt the bonds on Yugi break, but his friend's screaming had thrown him into action. Reaching into his pocket with one hand, he snagged Ryou's collar as the boy fell. Bowling into his other two companions, his free hand drew out a piece of paper, dark symbols painted on both sides. He raised it to his mouth, making sure he was touching everyone, and tore it in half with his teeth.
Violet eyes watched, annoyed, as light flashed and his pursuers disappeared.
Everyone was in a panic as they reappeared in Seto's apartment. Joey was flailing and screaming obscenities, Kaiba resting in shock for a moment before shouting at the blond to shut the hell up. Marik only had eyes for the pale-haired man in his arms, who he was shaking wildly.
"Ryou! Ryou are you okay?" he yelled, "Ryou! Say something!"
The remaining members of the group fell silent, their attention turning to the lifeless man Marik was holding. For a moment no one breathed, waiting. Then a pale finger twitched, and dark brown eyes split open.
The tension in the room split, and an audible sigh was released… and then pale lips curled into an uncharacteristically wicked smile. The white-haired man sat up slowly, little sanity lurking behind his eyes.
"No, I'm sorry," he said. "Ryou isn't home right now."
Thankies to my reviewers:
Shinigami
Alaskantiger
AzzieAz: Marik preformed some sort of spell-thing forcing Ryou to trust him. Was I too vague again? I seem to do that a lot…
A lilmatchgirl
Spidy007
LeDiz
SoulDreamer
Citrus luver: His fragmented soul hitched a ride back during Ryou's debacle with the Shadow Realm.
Silvershadowfire
Batbabe1
Much love and cybercookies to you all!