AN: Hey, I got a bunch of reviews!! Hehe, that really made my day. Well, here's the next chapter! Please continue to leave a review. Even a few words really make a difference. The next chapter will be up by Friday.

PLEASE NOTE: This story is not a yaoi. Nothing against it, just that this one's only got brotherly love.

Thanks to…

dragonlady222: I completely agree that Ammet devour his soul. I don't think anyone will ever like him…However, Ryou on the other hand… Lol. Enough said, huh? Thanks for the review!

Britni: Why thank you! I hope you continue to read and review.  Thanks!

HanChan: I was going to update yesterday, but I added some more at the end and in the middle, so I hope you don't mind. And yeah, as much as I despise Nyq, I don't want Ryou to get in trouble for what happened to him. Thanks for the review! It's nice to hear from you again.

The Vampire Prince: Hehe, thanks. Sorry about updating a day late. I was going to do it earlier, but I added some more stuff in. Thanks for the review!

Anime WarriorSkye: Erk! I never did get the picture! Geez, it's sooo hard to get email addresses through this thing, huh? If you want to try again, I'll be glad to try again. I'm happy you like the story so far! Please read on, and thanks for the review!

Shamise: Thanks. I added some more to the middle and the end of this chapter right before I updated, so I hope you enjoy it. Thanks for the review!

Thank you to everyone for all the support! I hope you like the next chapter…though I have a feeling you'll like six better.

Chapter Five: I Want To Cry

It was stifling. The heat, the anger, the agony. It was getting hard to breathe. He had never felt like this before. His mind yearned for air, fresh air. But somewhere else inside of him, there was a darkness that screamed to be let out. He felt mesmerized by its lull for power and thirst for blood.

"It was a tribute to you, little brother," Nyq said, somewhat smugly. "Isn't it a nice touch? The bastard certainly obeyed me with much more conviction after I did that to him!" Nyq chuckled, his shoulders shaking. Slowly, it grew into a cackle as he threw back his head, looking like a crazed maniac on the floor. Soon he grimaced and coughed, his side bleeding profusively, his eyes glazed over with pain as he cried for his father.

A tribute? Ryou felt so lost. Is this…my fault? A venomous snarl rippled through the child's mental realm. No. The darkness inside of him contracted, sending a chilling sensation throughout his body. His breathing stopped momentarily as the shade wrapped its arms around his shoulders. Hatred had wedged itself into the child's heart. Then came the command, Kill him.

Slowly, a small hand gripped the handle of the sword that had been driven into the Crown Prince earlier. Its tip was still red, not cooled yet.The sensitive chocolate eyes of the small prince were no longer the tinge of brown. It held a bloody shade that glowered as the sword rose in the air.

"My prince!"

The child snapped to attention, his hold on the sword released as his eyes shot back to the color brown. Fear of what he was going to do nearly made him cry. Did I…was I going to?… His grip on the thief tightened as footsteps came closer. "Don't touch him!" he said, his voice shrill. Scared of what he had almost done, and of what others would see him as, Ryou shoved the thought of taking a life out of his mind as he pulled his thief closer. Somehow, this gesture brought a little comfort to his mind, which was in shambles.

When Ryou looked up, he found himself glaring at a taken aback Marik. The child grunted in surprise, looking behind the crouched captain to find Nyq being carried out by two of his father's personal guards. The Pharaoh himself was pale, but he did not move to comfort either of his sons, or to see if the teen in the little prince's arms was still alive.

Marik knelt down, frowning and quite concerned with Ryou's odd behavior. "Prince Nyq is gone. We've taken him away, my prince. Let us see the slave." When there was no reaction from Ryou, the Captain tried again. "It's okay now. No one is going to hurt him anymore." He reached for Bakura, saying, "Let me see his wounds."

"Don't touch him," Ryou demanded again, his voice much lighter than the shadowy tone he had used before. It heard a weariness that made him sound much older than his years. His eyes dared Marik to disobey.

"My prince, if you don't let me see him, he is going to rot in your arms," a cold voice hissed.

Ryou glanced up in shock, meeting the frozen azure eyes of Seto Kaiba, High Priest of Egypt.

"He's still alive," Kaiba said frankly. "And he's in pain. I can ease that, but not if you refuse to let anyone touch him."

The little prince bit his lower lip. The ragged breathing of the thief in his arms was stabbing his conscience each time, as if to prove that he couldn't do anything. Ryou loosen his grip as he looked away.

"Please…be careful," Ryou murmured, allowing Kaiba to take the limp body of his thief. "Could you…treat him in my room?" At the prince's odd request, Kaiba raised an eyebrow. "I don't want Nyq getting near him again."

"I will, my prince," the brunette priest promised, nodding in understanding as he quickly turned away. "I will." He hurried out, his robes fluttering behind him as he barked orders to his subordinates.

Ryou was on the edge of a mental breakdown. Everything was so messed up, so confusing, and he was terrified. Terrified of what he had nearly been pushed to do.

"Ryou," the Pharaoh's voice said. His eyes were direct as he made his way toward his youngest son.

Ryou quickly straightened, forcing the hysteria in his mind down. Despite his efforts though, he still looked quite disheveled.

There was a slap as the Pharaoh backhanded the little prince.

Stunned, Ryou slowly looked back at his father, tears rimming his eyes. It had hurt, and right now, he really wanted to just cry. This is too much.

"Choosing a slave over your older brother!" the Pharaoh seethed.

Ryou winced, backing away. I can't take this…stop it! Stop it! Someone pulled him away from his father's oncoming form.

"Forgive me, Pharaoh, but I fear for the prince's condition." Ryou gripped Marik's hand hard as he hid behind the captain, softly crying. There were no words that could express his thanks in his friend's bold comment. "If I may get him checked for any wounds?"

As silence hung in midair, Ryou begged the gods to bend his father's stubborn will just this once. He couldn't afford to breakdown in front of his father. There was no way he would get away with just a lecture about how royalty must not falter or lose face in front of their subjects.

"Take him away. I don't want to see him again today," the Pharaoh growled. "I don't want to see anyone."

Marik humbly bowed as he pulled the prince out of the blacksmith's forge urgently. As soon as fresh air hit the child's face, a wave of just everything washed over him.

The Captain caught Ryou as he fainted.

--Ryou's Room--

Seto Kaiba's brow was furrowed in concentration as he tried to stop the bleeding around the metal that seemed to consume the thief's entire left shoulder. It wouldn't clot, and blood loss would lead to death if he didn't do something quickly.

"Idiotic people like you make me grow old," Kaiba growled, applying a balm onto the border of the plate. It would work for now, but it would have to be washed off and reapplied every hour or so, until it clotted properly.

Next, the priest saw the to burns in his patient's midsection. Most of them weren't too bad, and shouldn't leave scars, but they were going to hurt a heck of a lot whenever he took a bath.

When Kaiba turned the thief onto his stomach, he clenched his teeth. "Why the hell couldn't you just bow down…" Kaiba murmured, wincing as he tried to sew up one of the lacerations on Bakura's back. The lashes from a brutal flogging riddled the teen's back, including the back of his legs and his buttocks. That was definitely going to hurt to sit on.

The High Priest turned the thief back over onto his back after he had applied more balm and bandaged the worst cases of the whipping (always avoiding taping over the metallic shoulder, though) before he took a moment to take a drink of water.

Someone knocked, and Kaiba called for them to come in.

A servant bowed as she said, "The Pharaoh demands your presence at the Crown Prince's side, High Priest."

Kaiba scowled. "Tell the Pharaoh that I will be there in five minutes." He tossed the girl a silver coin as he turned back to his current patient.

There was another knock, and Kaiba irately called, "Come in."

This time, the snow-haired prince shyly came in. "Is…is he alright?"

Kaiba studied the depressed little prince before nodding. "He'll be fine. Don't touch his shoulder." He got up, getting ready to leave. "I have to tend the Crown Prince right now. I'll be back within the hour. Don't wake him."

Ryou settled himself next to the bed, mute, as Kaiba left. The priest threw back a worried glance once before he closed the door behind him. The child looked the thief over, taking in the damage. As his eyes fell on the four hieroglyphic letters, the child broke down crying.

AN: I was going to put it up on Wednesday, but I expanded a little on it. I hope that makes up for the lateness. (Though I'm only a day off…) I wonder if Ryou's mental condition is too much…But I promise it gets happier! I'll update by Friday, or sooner. Thanks so much for all the reviews! Please review again. Thanks.