Othello apologizes for lack of updateness! . She has been absurdly busy with school. Now that it is out updates should be less problematic. Had lots 'o' writer's block too. And I've been trapped in the idea of writing a book. Decided to stop being lazy though and write something for you wonderful people that put up with me.

Faceless Abuser

"A million times I've asked you and then, I ask you over again. You only answer, 'perhaps, perhaps, perhaps…'"

-Cake-

White hair bobbed down the street. Ryou walked softly but quickly which was rather hard to do in Otogi's uniform. They were close to the same size but Otogi still had a bit more height to his credit. Last night Ryou had spent the night at Otogi's, during which time the platinum blonde has his hair straightened and learned how to put eyeliner on. Honestly, Otogi scared Ryou just a bit sometimes.

Otogi meandered along next to him complaining about something or other. The wind tussled Ryou's hair and he stared up into the sky.

"Hey, Otogi," the teen called to his friend.

"Hm?" Otogi mumbled whiled turning to face his friend.

"Do you ever wish you could live in the sky?"

"Eh? Ryou, what are you talking about? I prefer the earth any day. What makes you ask?"

"Dunno really. Just wish I could live up there, where you have no problems and can be free of pain. I wish I could live there, where I would not hate myself as I do. In fact, I'll go there one day. I live where no mortal pain can touch me again," Ryou chocolate brown eyes fell from their gaze on the sky to his friend. Otogi was staring at his friend with fascination and disbelief.

"Ryou, you are not gonna commit suicide, are you?" Otogi took a tentative step towards his friend.

"hm? Don't be silly Otogi! Why would I do such a silly thing? I'm not that desperate," Ryou smiled at his friend. Not yet anyway, Ryou added in his mind.

"This coming from the fool who runs away from home and cuts his wrists? Don't believe a word of it Otogi," a rough voice barked out behind Ryou. Spinning on his heels, Ryou caught sight of platinum blonde hair. Bakura stood there smoking a cigarette. He gave a little mocking smile to Ryou when he finished his pivot turn.

"Ah, Bakura! W-what are you doing here?" Ryou tried desperately to change the subject. He really hoped Otogi would not try to bring up Bakura's comment. But, Otogi being the man he is, gaped at Ryou before yelling.

"You what? What the hell Ryou! Are you really that crazy and desperate?" Otogi's voice echoed down the street and other bystanders began to slow their pace and stare at the three men.

"Ah, Otogi? Do you think you could not yell? We are in the middle of a crowded street…" the smaller man gazed at his friend desperately. People had begun to whisper and point at them. Bakura blinked and began to laugh. Ryou gaped at his yami before becoming angry.

"What the hell is so funny?" Ryou demanded of Bakura. The older man just kept laughing at his double.

"Ah, Ryou. I hope you never change. Looks like it is too late for that though." The taller man ran a hand through the hikari's recently straightened hair. Ryou snorted and swatted the hand away.

"Don't presume that it is okay to touch me," he snapped at his yami. Giving a final look at Otogi, the teen took off at a run. Don't follow me. Ra, please don't let them follow me. Especially Bakura. He'll make an even bigger scene.

Ryou reached the school shortly thereafter. He skipped his morning "hellos" to Yuugi and the others as Otogi was standing there with them. By the looks of it, he had been telling about the morning's activities as well.

"Damn," Ryou muttered under his breath. "There will be no way to avoid them in class either…maybe I should just go home. That could be the safer thing to do. But what if Bakura is there? He'll totally flip out on me for being rude to him."

The options of escape were fast becoming limited and the young man began to feel trapped. It never bothered him as much before, but after that incident with the ancient spirit, feelings of being trapped were occurring more and more often. It scared Ryou, almost as much as the thought of that night frightened him.

"I'll just leave then. Walk around town for a while. Maybe go back to that shop where I purchased that knife. I bet he has some new stock in," Ryou leaned against the wall, trying to calm down. His breath had become shallow and his hands had begun to shake. Taking in several deep breaths, holding them for a few seconds, then releasing it helped but did not knock out the effect completely. He actually longed for the feel of a warm touch to soothe the fear away.

"Ryou? What are you doing hiding here?" a familiar voice questioned. Turning, Ryou saw the muscular form of Malik. The tanned man took another few steps closer to the platinum blonde, his boots making a clunking sound on the cement ground.

"Ah, hah, Malik. What are you doing here?"

"You know, Ryou, I just heard something rather disturbing," Malik stopped his advance to glare slightly at the other.

"Oh? What did you hear?" Ryou asked with false innocence.

"I heard that you have been cutting yourself," Malik's eye twitched as he increased his glare on the light.

"Is that so? Well, you have nothing to worry about because it isn't true," the frightened teen flashed his friend an unconvincing smile.

"Let me see your arms then."

"Huh? Why? I told you that it was not true."

"Ryou, while the others may be dumb enough to believe that shit, I am not. Or have you forgotten whom you are talking to? Now, let me see you goddamn arms," Malik growled and snapped out his arm, clasping Ryou's.

"No! Malik! Stop! That hurts!" Ryou cried, pulling against his friend's grip.

"It would hurt less if you would stop pulling. You must know that the chances of getting your arm free of me are slim to none. Now, stop struggling or it will just get worse. It does not help your story that the cuts are lies either," Malik replied smoothly while still pulling up the other's uniform sleeve.

"No cuts, eh? Then what the hell are these?" Malik growled as he peered at Ryou's marred arm. Cuts littered his forearm, some random, some made designs and the ones that appeared to be the freshest spelled out words.

"Gods, Ryou…why would you do this? What could be so horrible about life?" Malik mumbled softly. He pulled the weaker man's arm to his face and ran his lips over the cuts.

"Eh, Malik, please let go. It hurts," Ryou whimpered. He tired to pull his arm away again but the other only gripped the arm tighter.

"Not until you tell me why you did it."

"It was a lot of things," Ryou replied. "There. I told you. Now let my arm go."

"What the hell sort of reason is that? What sort of things?"

"Just things. Personal things! Now let me go!"

"No! What sort of 'personal things'?" Malik kept prying.

"Things that are none of your damn business! Those sort of personal things!" Ryou screamed before using his free hand to slap Malik hard across the face.

"Now let me go!" Ryou screeched. He was trying desperately to hold back the tears that threatened to spill over. Malik still did not let go which made Ryou even more frustrated and frightened. He knew that while Malik had his good points, he was also very much like Bakura. His heart began to beat wildly while thoughts of what the stronger man would do him for slapping him.

Ryou started to struggle even more, becoming quite frantic. Malik growled in anger and grabbed Ryou's other hand, which he had been using to get free by pushing against Malik's shoulder. Now Ryou was powerless to get free except by trying to pull away. This, obviously, was not going too well. In an effort to get free, Ryou resorted to using his legs to make Malik lose his balance.

The platinum headed man began kicking at Malik's legs, aiming for his ankles mostly. His plan was no working out too well, so Ryou aimed a kick at Malik's knees. The back of his knees to be precise. This time Malik's legs gave way, causing him to fall back. The only hitch was, he hadn't let go of Ryou. The smaller man fell after the Egyptian, landing on top of the other but still tilted slightly to the side.

Malik had let go of one of Ryou's hand and for this, the other was grateful. He pushed himself up and tried to get away, but no such luck. Malik's grip on the other wrist was quite tight, not allowing the frightened man to get away.

"Why you…"Malik threatened as he pulled down the shaking teen, flipping them over so that Ryou was stuck underneath the other. Obviously, this did not do much for the quaking boy. Flashbacks of the night Bakura raped him flew through his mind. He saw when Bakura had trapped him down to the bed, similarly to the situation he was in now. He felt Bakura's hands running down his sides and the yami's panting breath against his face and chest.

"God, no…" Ryou choked out as the tears broke out and slid down his face. "God, please. Not again…please, no."

Ryou began to sob, not even seeing Malik anymore. He was a prisoner in his own mind and he was frightened. It kept playing there like a broken record. He was stuck in his own private hell, and it was not like Dante had described it. Not at all.

"Ryou? Ryou, are you all right? Ryou!" Malik gave the smaller teen a shake. Ryou did not even seem to be able to see him. It was like he was trapped within his own mind. He watched in shock as tears began to flow from his eyes and he whispered out something Malik could not understand. He sat up and pulled the brown-eyed teen with him.

"Ryou? Ryou, talk to me, dammit. Ryou!" Malik yelled at his companion. Chocolate orbs turned to Malik, tears still flowing down pale cheeks.

"Malik…"Ryou sobbed before reaching out his hands and wrapping them around the taller's neck. Malik randomly kneeled there, not exactly understanding what the hell was going on. He did not hold the other teen, just let Ryou cling to him and sob on his shoulder.

"You will protect me right? You won't abandon me too, will you?" Ryou soft voice asked through Malik's shirt. Malik raised an eyebrow before gently wrapping his arms around the sobbing mass in his arms.

"No, I suppose I won't," Malik whispered in Ryou's ear, making him shiver. Ryou continued to cry into the warm shoulder.

Malik had helped Ryou to their class that morning, as he doubted the platinum blonde could do it on his own. In fact, he was pretty sure that, had he not aided Ryou to the classroom, he would have just skipped school entirely. Of course, Yuugi and all the others had tried to talk to Ryou and find out if Otogi had been telling the truth. None of them were as direct as Malik had been, but he supposed that was a good thing. Ryou might just snap totally if they tried to.

Not that it did them much good. Ryou did not even acknowledge that someone was there. He simply kept staring ahead at the whiteboard. Malik watched with mild curiosity at the poor teen. He looked as though the shit had been kicked out of him. It confused him. He knew living with an abusive yami could be tough but was Bakura really that harsh with him. Something kept gnawing at to back of his mind, too.

Ryou's reaction to being pinned was unsettling. The brown-eyed man hardly ever lost his calm and when he did, it was nothing like that. Malik had never seen Ryou in that state before. It almost seemed that simple physical contact scared Ryou into hysteria. The young man had never been big on physical contact, but it did not bother him the way it had earlier.

Did Bakura do something traumatizing? Ryou almost seemed to be acting like he had been raped or something, Malik thought to himself. That's silly, he thought. Bakura may be evil but I cannot imagine him doing something like that to Ryou. He is not that cruel…is he? Malik's eyebrows knitted together in concentration when he felt the sun be blocked.

"Can I help you, Katsuya?" Malik peered up at the blonde with irritation.

"Yeah, I think you can. What the hell is up with Ryou? Why will he not talk to any of us?" the teen slammed his palms down on the desk.

"No need to get violent," Malik snorted. "And it sounds as though you are accusing me of harming poor, little Ryou."

"Well, did you?" the amber-eyed man accused. "He has been acting weird ever since you brought him in to the class this morning. He refuses to talk, hell, he refuses to even acknowledge out presence."

"No, Katsuya, I did not do anything to him. He was like that when I found him this morning," Malik snapped pointedly. He hated to be blamed for things that were not his fault.

"Have you ever considered that maybe he just wants to be left alone?" Malik sneered his classmate but made sure it was loud enough for the others to hear him. Ryou turned to look at Malik with shadowed eyes, then smiled. Getting up, he moved over to sit by Malik. Well, "sit by" is not exactly the right term to use. It was more like Ryou plopped himself down in Malik's lap and snuggled his head into the confused other's chest.

"Wha-what the hell?" Malik peered down at Ryou as the platinum blonde drifted slowly to sleep in his lap.

"Mmmm, warm…" Ryou murmured and cuddled closer. What the hell is with this kid? First he flips out when I touch him, then he cuddles up in my lap? He really needs to figure out which he is. Is he afraid or is he overly affectionate? Malik grumbled in his thoughts as he wrapped an arm around the unconscious hikari in his lap. The others, except for Anzu, thought it was confusing and awkward.

"Malik," Anzu chirped happily, "You should have told us you and Ryou were dating!" Everyone gaped at her and Malik just about had a heart attack.

"We're what!"

"Dating! It's so cute how you two look together," Anzu continued to smile brightly.

"We. Are. Not. Dating," Malik growled. "He apparently thinks I make a good pillow and decided to test the theory. That's all!"

"Oh, come on now! You do not have to be ashamed of who you love," Anzu insisted. The blonde Egyptian could not believe this! He had never been ashamed of anything in his life, and he was not about to start now. If he said he and the sleeping lump in his arms were not dating, then they weren't!

"We are not dating! Dammit, Manzaki, don't you give me that look!"

"I have no clue as to what you are talking about," Anzu replied innocently.

"The hell you don't!" Malik screeched while still holding on to Ryou. His hand had even traveled to Ryou's exposed ear to cover it from all the noise. Anzu noticed and pointed it out to everyone, which pissed Malik off even more. He moved to get up but Ryou groaned and clung tightly to Malik's uniform shirt.

"Mmmmm, too loud," Ryou mumbled before turning and cuddling his face deeper into Malik's chest. After humming something, he drifted off to sleep again.

"Best not to wake him again," Anzu giggled.

"Damn you, Manzaki. Damn you," Malik growled. He swore to himself to make that wretched girl pay someday.

The bell for class rang and students poured into the classroom. Many stopped to stare at Ryou and Malik, before quickly turning away to their seats as Malik was giving them the 'comment and I will teach you the true meaning of pain' look. The teacher waltzed in, not even noticing the two teens before she turned to address the class.

"Alright then class! Shall we get started with filling your useless craniums with knowledge? Not like many of you will actually use my teachings to make the world better. In fact, you all will probably become psychotic killers and murder people in their beds," the teacher announced cheerfully. How she got this job, Malik never knew. She did not seem to be one of those people you want to hire on account of the fact that they are incredibly unstable.

"Well then! Let us be on our way to…Malik, why is Ryou sleeping in your lap?"

"Ma'am, it is because they are dating," Anzu replied before Malik could even open his mouth.

"I am going to maim you so badly, your own parents will not recognize you, Manzaki! For the last fucking time, I am NOT dating him!" Malik screeched across the room.

"Then, why is he on your lap?" The teacher asked once again.

"Because he's a nut case and decided I would make a wonderful pillow," Malik snapped, still glaring at Anzu.

"Well, just wake him up and tell him to go back to his proper seat," the teacher reasoned irritably.

"You wake him then," Malik griped. "I have not the heart to do it."

"And why would that be?" The teacher really was getting annoyed now. How hard was it to wake someone up. She walked over and stretched out her hand to rouse the sleeping boy, but then looked at his face. He looked so innocent a pure in his sleep. He was a whole other person. His face appeared younger as well. Now the teacher understood why Malik did not have the heart to wake the petite teen.

"I see what you mean," the teacher moved away but had a faint blush gracing here cheeks.

"Do you now? So, what am I to do then? Just get up and dump him in his seat?"

"Ah, no. That would just be cruel. Take him to the infirmary and have them let him rest there.

"That would be wonderful, but the only way for that to work is if I take off my shirt. He seems to have become attached to it," Malik pointed to where Ryou had his clothing in a death grip. The teacher sighed in frustration. Why did it always have to be her? She never did anything to deserve this.

"Fine, fine. He'll just have to stay on your lap until he wakes up," the solution slipped out of the teacher's mouth easily. They did not need to wait long either. A few minutes later, Ryou's eyelids fluttered open and he yawned. Turning to Malik, he smiled and thanked him for being a most wonderful pillow.

"Well, now that we have that squared away, I have an announcement to make to you all," the teacher smiled cheerily at her students. "The school has decided that they have worked the hell out of you enough for now and are throwing a dance for all the juniors!"

Ryou smiled as though the thought made him happy, but inside he was squirming. All his friends would want him to go and he could hardly say no, but would he have to go alone? Everyone else would manage to find a date to go with, but Ryou had no real interest in anyone right now. Well, no one from the school anyways and he had the sneaking suspicion that the person he would want to ask would say no…

Wheeee….bit of a longer chapter to make up for not updating in so bloody long. I hope you all enjoyed it and no, this is not going to turn out to be Ryou/Malik. Just had to stir that into to confusion. I expect to be able to post up the next chapter soon as well. I have it all planned out in my head already. And if you've ever seen Queer as Folk, you'll get a kick out of one of the scenes at the dance.

I love you all so much. I, again, apologize for my tardiness. :whacks self with a bat: Forgive meeee!