A/N: I have SPNMIC back! A HUMONGOUS THANK YOU TO:
Chibi B-channieRagna01
Tara.B Amy
Sansi
Akira S.
This is your cue to go stalk them. Aside from that, I just want to thank you five most wonderful people for backing up SPNMIC. You saved me from a lot of heartache and, in turn, made me very, very happy and grateful. I never knew I could have such great readers.
If there is anything that I can do for you four, just let me know. I can do requests for fics (or chapters) or art, but I warn you – I'm not very good at writing or drawing… but whatever it is, just ask!
I can't believe how much genuine sympathy I received, and it really helped me get back to writing (seeing as I was absolutely paranoid to write something new). Thank you, thank you, thank you. I couldn't possible ask for more. (I force-wrote chapter 4 of my Vegas story, but I got over the block, at least. XD)
I love you guys.
I decided I would keep that Bakura x Ryou scene as is, and have chosen it to start chapter four. Time for things to start rolling. This chapter is also very edited.
Sweet Perfected Naivety Meets Its Counterpart
Chapter 4: Why Does It Hurt?
By LilPurplFlwr
Agitation never settled well with Bakura. No, he always left the worrying to Yami, who had grown so accustomed to fretting beneath a weakening façade. When Bakura was concerned about something, the feeling bothered him so much he would end up steaming with anger; anger toward the said object of anxiety, anger toward life, and mostly, anger toward himself.
Of course, Bakura never was very good at controlling his anger.
He tried frequently to work with his sensible side, but failed. He knew he was careless when upset, and that was another problem. There was no need to clarify. He already had established that he was full of problems.
So, the gang decided to split up on the quest to recover Malik. They all knew Bakura needed space, and a lot of it. Yami had taken to the quarantined street of the last fight, hoping to reconnoiter the area for any clues. Jou had left for the dark alleys leading to the dirtier downtown areas. Mai headed for the main street for business, markets, and shops.
Bakura?
He chose to survey the rich, a conveniently larger area for burning off his suppressed anger.
For years, he and Malik lived so close to the 'nice civilization.' It would be unnatural if they did not know the area like they knew the backs of their hands. Plus, it was a great way to play with expensive security technology.
The only annoying thing about the rich was the size of their houses.
It took forever for the two to get on a rooftop. Early attempts were fun memories, if not a little embarrassing.
But tonight, he needed to be up high. As high as possible, without breaking a leg or setting off an alarm.
About a good half mile down the street, Bakura spotted a dark house, save for one light in an upstairs room. Scrutinizing the house, he felt it was possible to scale, if he could avoid any outdoor lights or security cameras. Glancing around him, Bakura slowly took in his settings. The great thing about the rich was that the houses were so big that neighbors were a good distance away. Perfect.
He hefted a few small stones from the bordering garden and heaved them in different directions, instantly triggering the automatic lights. The lights nearly blinded him, but stopped short of where he was standing. As a matter of fact, one light looked like it had burnt out. Quirking an eyebrow at the carelessness of the owner, Bakura gave a mental shrug and slipped into the shadows alongside the house. Holding still until his eyes adjusted, he was dumbstruck when he found himself standing next to a ladder.
The house was just looking for a burglary, but that was the last thing on Bakura's agenda.
Warily, he followed the ladder with his eyes until it ended, right at the edge of the roof. If this night was as lucky as it was beginning to look, Bakura was sure his best friend was perfectly intact. Not like Bakura was assuming anything.
Bakura narrowed his eyes, and with a second glance around him, he scaled the ladder swiftly until he was able to pull himself up across the tilted edge. A dull scraping sound followed this action. He froze.
After a tense half minute, Bakura excruciatingly pulled himself higher up, trying to make as little movement as possible. His luck just ran out.
The curtains in the lit window he barely noticed on his way up were pulled aside, and Bakura could see the light falling on the grass below on the ground. The window was pushed open tentatively by what Bakura depicted from listening.
He was about ready to pretend he was a cat when he heard the softest tone waver.
"… Is someone out here…?"
Balanced precariously along the edge, Bakura leaned as far as he could allow himself to glance curiously at the lone figure shadowed within light on the grass below.
So it's just a kid, Bakura thought with a triumphant grin. Good, he could get to scanning the entire area from the rooftop.
However, even the bird's eye view of a very good portion of the streets gave Bakura nothing to work with. Although, Bakura could not help but think that when Malik did get back, he would have to show his friend this great place for sightseeing.
With much disappointment, Bakura slowly climbed back down the ladder when he made sure the figure below in the upstairs room was away from the window. Strangely, the curtains were still drawn away, letting the light continue to shed in a beam from the glass window.
Curiosity killed the cat and all, but for Bakura, satisfaction always brought it back.
Cautiously, he twisted his head to glance through the window at the person who had opened the window before, though now closed.
First, there was a neatly made bed. On the bed was a stack of textbooks and an open backpack. But there, sitting at the desk with an open binder, book and calculator in front of him, was a teenager anxiously twirling a pencil between pale, slim fingers. At first glance, Bakura mistook the slender figure as a girl, but there were obviously a lack of breasts. Another glance caught sight of the school jacket and slacks hung neatly on the doorknob of the bedroom. It was the long white tresses that brushed the other's lower back that had told Bakura otherwise, but he himself should know better that long hair never designated only a female anymore.
As the soft-looking boy on the other side of the glass seemed to heave a sigh and write something across lined paper, Bakura pulled away from the window and began to climb down the ladder, absently thinking of the blank, tired brown eyes he had been staring at. Thoughts quickly turned from the eyes to the smooth curve of the other's cheek and mouth that had been worrying its bottom lip.
And Bakura slipped.
Years of experience had taught Bakura to catch himself, allowing him to totter off the ladder the last few steps in an ungraceful manner, but when he landed on the ground, Bakura stopped to gratefully catch his breath.
That was until the shadow again appeared in the window. Bakura flattened himself against the wall right below the window, which, this time, did not dare open. His heartbeat pounded in his ears.
The curtains were replaced, cutting off the light source. The yard plunged into darkness, and Bakura quickly took his leave.
-
And as Ryou settled back down to do his chemistry homework so late at night, he could not help but wonder if his eyes were playing tricks on him. But he dismissed it as too many missed hours of sleep from school.
Mai had returned early and had anxiously waited for nearly an hour until Jou had entered through their back door.
"Didn't find him either, huh?
Mai pushed herself off the couch, shaking her head. She checked the clock for the umpteenth time.
It was nearly midnight.
"I never could see Malik window-shopping at this hour," Mai said quietly to Jou, "But… where could he be?" She finally yelled, letting loose her tension.
She wretched open their front door and began to pace angrily outside on the street. Two minutes later, Jou stepped outside with a glass of water in hand. With his free hand, he held Mai immobile in mid-step via her shoulder and passed her the cup. Shakily, she took a few gulps before giving it back.
Jou sat down, setting the glass next to him, and Mai finally joined him with an audible 'hmph'.
"Bakura'll find him," Jou finally said, breaking the silence, "If it's any of us that could do it… it's Bakura."
"I suppose-"
"Don't count on it," came the brusque voice of Bakura.
Bakura would have laughed seeing both their expressions drop had he not felt the same disappointment. However, it still did not stop him from taking out a little anger.
"What are you two doing, letting your guard down? Are you even paying any attention to what's going on? I could have killed you both in about fifteen seconds. If they got Malik, they could easily get you too!"
In the process of his rant, he had taken out Malik's dropped knife and thrown it at Jou's head. The teen barely flinched, and the blade ended up pinned to the front door, about two inches above Jou's blonde head.
"They?" Mai asked, with an eyebrow raised.
"Other groups, obviously," Bakura answered with a rolling of his eyes, "Have you decided to become brain-dead?"
"We just sort of thought you would bring back Malik," Jou replied quietly, pulling at the sharp instrument from the door.
"Where's ever-brilliant Yami?" Bakura snarled bitterly, pointedly ignoring Jou's comment, which, in truth, he should have been able to do. "He's supposed to be the first one back."
Mai straightened with an alarmed look on her pretty face, "That true. Where is he?"
Jou fiddled with the knife, "My god. Are they kidnapping all the pretty ones first?"
"You idiot."
"Not funny," Mai added.
"No, I'm not worried about Yami," Jou stated firmly, getting to his feet, tossing the knife back to Bakura. When Mai moved to get up as well, a panicked look in her violet eyes, Jou patted her gently on the shoulder, motioning her to keep seated. "I'll go check up on him. If I'm not back in half an hour, send in a rescue team."
"Literally?"
"No. I meant, send in Bakura."
Yuugi approached Yami cautiously, half of him wanting to turn tail and run and the other half wanting to know what in the world was going on. Yami narrowed his eyes when Yuugi reached him, "Is that really you?" he asked suspiciously.
"It's me," Yuugi voice quavered, confirming the other's question.
"What are you doing here?" Yami hissed, trying his best to mask his emotions, in fear of the man he was holding hostage to sense any weaknesses.
"I saw something and came over to investigate," Yuugi answered, studying the scene before him and peering fearfully at the man pressed against the wall.
Unknown to Yami, who had his attention on Yuugi, the man's balance began to shift onto one leg. At first, Yuugi had thought it was from the excruciating pain from his useless arms, but Yuugi soon realized what he was planning before Yami could even blink.
"WATCH OUT!" Yuugi cried out suddenly, trying to alert Yami.
Without a second thought, Yuugi pushed Yami as hard as he could, making the older teenager swing off balanced to one side. Unfortunately, Yuugi took Yami's place when he shoved him, and the man lashed out at Yuugi, landing a kick one the petite boy's side. Yuugi cried out in pain, thrown back from the force, and skidded on the floor, stopping only when he hit the base of a dark streetlight.
"What the-!" Yami's bewildered voice sounded quite a distance away, along with footsteps running from the scene.
Breathing painfully, Yuugi lay curled on the ground, bracing himself as stabbing pain on the left side of his body rendered him near senseless and nauseous. Squeezing his eyes shut, hot tears escaped and slid down his face as he tried to relax and bear the pain. He wanted to gasp for air, but it hurt too much. He would die than risk moving from his current position.
A tentative touch on his shoulder, then, "Yuugi… are you okay?"
Yuugi wanted to shake his head, he really did, but did not find the strength to. He was afraid he would lose his stomach if he opened his mouth. Sure, he was used to bruises now and then, but never have the rich bullies broken anything and risk being sued for all they owned.
"I'm sorry," Yami apologized awkwardly, unsure what to do, "It was my fault. I should have known he would try that."
Not particularly listening, Yuugi felt the initial wave pass, and he took a few shallow inhales of air, wincing at the stab of intense pain when he breathed too deeply.
"… D-do…" Yuugi winced, "Is… broken?" he managed to say, cringing at the incoherency.
"Most likely," Yami said softly, trying to sort out their options, "He probably thought he would break my ribs, not yours."
Yami pulled Yuugi away from the streetlight, as gently as he could. Cradling the teen with one arm, Yami propped him up against himself, supporting Yuugi as comfortably as possible. Feeling excessively like he was violating the other's space, Yami slid his hand beneath Yuugi's shirt, tracing his backbone, which turned out to be bruised at the base from hitting the streetlight, due to Yuugi's suppressed groan.
"Sorry about this," Yami murmured, shifting so he could work Yuugi's shirt upwards.
"… U-uh…" Yuugi's heartbeat was speeding up, and it was not helping with his breathing problem.
Running his hand down Yuugi's side, Yami frowned when he felt a distinctly swollen area, "Fuck. Damn him."
"It's oka-"
"This is going to hurt. I'm not going to tell you it won't," Yami said quickly, his fingers still brushing lightly against Yuugi's side.
Of course, the first thing that came to Yuugi's mind was 'What are you going to do!' but he was not in the condition to voice his concerns. Yami began to apply harder pressure. Yuugi cried out in pain, violently flinching against Yami's warm body. The older teen immediately stopped.
"It's broken. I'm really sorry," Yami finally stated, trying to replace Yuugi's shirt back in place without jostling him. He hugged Yuugi a little closer, feeling guilty for the other's labored breathing.
"S'okay…" Yuugi slurred before going limp.
Oh my god, I killed him? Yami thought with extreme horror. Then, thinking logically (though it was rather difficult), he figured Yuugi must have passed out from the pain.
Light steps stopped in front of the two, and Yami lifted his head to see Jou crouch next to Yuugi's motionless body. "Couldn't resist copping a feel, huh?"
Yami scowled, not in the mood for jokes, "Shut up."
"Okay, okay," Jou said, holding up his hands in defeat, "But we have to get back 'cause Mai's going to have kittens soon from stress."
Yami picked up Yuugi with care, positioning Yuugi's head against his shoulder to prevent him from waking up with a cramped neck. He was worried, yet grateful that Yuugi was unconscious, and therefore, could not feel the pain anymore.
"How's the kid?" Jou finally asked as they walked down the dark street.
"Broken ribs," Yami replied, his grip tightening. He had to will himself to relax, lest ending up bruising Yuugi in additional places. "Is Malik back?"
Jou shook his head and ran a hand through his messy blond hair.
"What a mess," Yami said quietly, shaking his head, "If Malik is… killed…"
"Don't talk about it," Jou warned, as Mai caught sight of them and ran over.
"YOU!" Malik hissed hatefully, pulling harder at the bonds around his wrists, "You fucking bastard! UGH!" He struggled before collapsing back against the soft mattress with a frustrated groan. Apparently, he still could not sit up without vertigo. That, however, did not stop his mouth, "You, you… why the fuck would you want me here?"
"'You'? Is that all I get?" his captor asked amusedly, taking a seat on the edge of the bed.
Malik was not entertained, "You mother fucker, let me go!"
"My name, if you please."
A grimace of displeasure marred Malik's usually attractive features. With a burning glare, he carefully enunciated, "Ma-ri-ku."
The other grinned.
"Okay, bitch! Let me go!" Malik attempted to sit up after the very-much threatening command, but ended up losing his sight as a wave of dizziness hit him. He was getting sick and tired of this helplessness. Again, he ended up on his back, only to have his wrists held above his head.
Familiar position, if not a little intimidating.
"That was nearly convincing. It would have worked if you didn't look completely defenseless," Mariku's eyes gleamed triumphantly, one hand holding Malik's wrists against the sheets and the other tracing the soft curve of Malik's cheek.
"What? Going to torture me because you couldn't at the last fight?" Malik breathed, paying no attention to the caress along his face. "Nice touch with the bondage whatnot. Pity we don't fuck."
"Not a mutual decision."
"Excuse me?" Malik raised an eyebrow, "I don't remember you having an opinion in this matter."
"Stop it," Mariku snapped, irritation finally manifesting with the darkening his indigo eyes, "You suck shit at pretending."
Pure fury exploded within Malik, his lavender orbs blazed and he nearly broke his wrists from pulling so hard, "I stop it? I stop? Look whose talking, asshole! You're the one who ended up on the other team. You're the one who was pretending to be someone else. You're the one who tricked me. You're… you're…"
Lips pressed against Malik's heatedly, successfully cutting off the rest of the outburst. However, Malik made a noise of restlessness from the back of his throat and turned his head, thus forcing separation. Averting his gaze to the wall, Malik closed his eyes and inhaled slowly, gathering his thoughts. Silence infused the room.
"I really liked you," Malik grudgingly admitted a moment later, lowering his eyes, "But this is over. Let me go."
Mariku narrowed his eyes, "Don't do this." Still, he worked to undo the cloth around Malik's wrists.
Once free, Malik gingerly sat up, rubbing his head and quietly bent down to undo the strap around his left ankle.
"No," came Mariku's stubborn response to Malik's silence.
Malik sighed as he felt the Mariku's hand tilt his chin up, locking their eyes. For that reason, Malik closed his eyes. Mariku kissed him again, though slowly this time, as if trying to convince Malik that he was wrong. When Malik felt the other's tongue brushing across the seam of his closed lips, he pulled away.
"We're enemies. You have your gang, and I have… I have my family, okay?" Malik stated, beginning to feel the foolish need to take a moment to cry in a closet.
"Not okay," Mariku replied, pushing Malik back onto the bed firmly before taking a recognizable position above him. From there, Mariku bent forward and began to suck on a highly sensitive area on Malik's neck, previously discovered.
"Mariku, no…" Malik's resolve, unfortunately, was dissolving rapidly as the other licked the shell of his ear.
"I want you." A nibble on his earlobe accentuated the tacit request. "Don't fight me."
That was when Malik realized one of his ankles was still restricted.
"Ideas, Yami?" Mai asked, after Yuugi was deposited on the couch, still in a comatose state.
"I don't know where he lives," Yami replied, with a shake of his head.
As if on cue, a clear ring was emitted from Yuugi's pocket. All four teenagers jumped. The cell phone continued to sound. It wasn't until two rings that Bakura had acted, snatching the phone from the pocket and answering it with an ever-so lovely "What do you want?"
Yes, Bakura never bothered much with good manners.
There was a pause as the other line paid no mind and responded with something that took a great deal of time. The other three look curiously at Bakura's confused expression.
With a skeptical look on his face, Bakura turned to the others and said, "He says he completely forgot to call me and finished his chemistry homework before realizing it. And he got home safely. Oh, and if I was mad that he called this late."
"… Who?" Jou finally managed to ask.
"Hmm… now that you ask, I don't know," Bakura looked thoughtful and returned his attention to the phone, "Hey, I don't know who you are."
/…/ The other line was silent, and then /Where is Yuugi?/
"Oh, the shrimp," Bakura nodded to himself, getting himself strange looks from the others, suddenly finding this situation rather amusing among the grave problem at hand, "He's over here. Broke a few things, yes, but you didn't ask that, did you?"
/Y-you kidnapped him?/
Strangely, Bakura found the voice similar to one he heard in the past. It was beginning to bother him, thus initiated an angry demeanor. "Don't fucking accuse me! I wouldn't want to do anything with him anyway!"
By now, Yami had the sense to wrestle the phone from Bakura's possession.
"I'm sorry, but Yuugi got hurt trying to help me. I'm Yami, and I don't know where I could possibly take him for help. He has broken ribs."
/… He lives at the game shop on First Street./
"We'll be there," Yami promised, giving Bakura a hard stare. The person on the other line had all the right to be suspicious after talking to Bakura. However, it was lucky that the high school student was also very kind.
/…I'm warning you, I'm going over there right now and we'll have the police on speed dial if you try anything…/
"I'd have an ambulance on speed dial, in all honesty," Yami replied, "But… thank you."
Unexpectedly, Bakura came up behind Yami and snatched the phone away from the shorter teen, "Hey, who are you, you brat?"
/… You need anger management./
There was an audible click, and Bakura glared daggers at the phone. The kid hung up on him!
Though, now was not the time to let something like that get to him. Yami shook his head when Jou went to pick up Yuugi. With the same care as before, Yami lifted the motionless body.
"Where to?" Jou asked, holding the door open. "Should we come?"
Yami shook his head, "It's fine, he lives right there. Game shop," Yami jerked his head toward the general direction of First Street, the lighted end of their dark street.
Jou gaped soundlessly. Mai blinked. Bakura scoffed – he was sick and tired of rich folk at the moment.
"He's that rich?" Jou choked out.
"Wow, I would have never guessed," Mai murmured, tilting her head as she studied Yuugi's face, which twitched.
Yami shifted, instinctively holding Yuugi more tightly against himself. It would naturally be a little scary to wake up in pain without someone near you, of course. With a shake of his head, he turned and walked away.
"I'm learning new things every day," Jou laughed sheepishly, "I never would have taken little guy as loaded. You know… rich people have that flair, with the tailored clothes and limos."
"Like Seto Kaiba, right Jou?" Bakura slyly inputted as nonchalantly as possible, trying to hide a malicious smirk.
"Exactly," Jou replied resolutely, before he realized he fell into another one of Bakura's traps.
Mai smiled sweetly, "Is this Kaiba guy cute, Jou?"
"… Nice try, guys."
The two sighed.
"Wait…" Bakura looked up, "Speaking of stalking –"
"I do not stalk Seto Kaiba!"
Mai shot Jou a doubtful look, "Bakura never said you did."
"What if…" Bakura ignored Jou's slipup, seeing as he had an idea, "Someone is stalking Malik?"
"It's possible," Mai responded, "But I haven't seen any new or old suspicious faces around."
"Still, I wouldn't rule it out…"
When Malik had finally abandoned reasoning, the next couple of hours flew by in a messy blur. He was getting so tired, he could barely remember how many times they had sex. In fact, Mariku was still in him, pressed against his back, as they lay together on the bed trying to catch their breaths.
Malik half-heartedly stopped Mariku's hand that began to inch down from his waist.
"Shit," Malik groaned, his fingers lacing with Mariku's, "We… have to… stop. Fuck it."
"Tired already?" Marik smirked, "Low stamina, I guess."
"Fuck you," Malik shot back, "How many times do you have to take me to be satisfied?"
"I'll let you know." This time, Mariku's fingers managed to find their way between Malik's legs.
"Stop it!"
"Why?" Mariku asked in a sickeningly innocent tone. His hand brushed against Malik's inner thigh, pausing as if waiting for Malik's answer.
"Because ..." Malik was having a tough time breathing again, "There is - stop it, that tickles - more to a relationship – touch me again and I'll break your hand off - than just hot, passionate - fuck you, stop distracting me - screwing like rabbits." Malik wriggled against Marik's tight possessive grasp around him, but gave up the fight easily.
As soon as he finished, Mariku's hand disappeared, returning to its rightful place above the Malik's waist.
"Thank you," Malik whispered, the exhaustion kicking in and sleep pulled seductively. He closed his eyes, almost asleep that second until…
"You said relationship," Mariku whispered into Malik's ear, "We'll be together, you know."
"Mm…"
"Promise."
A tired sigh, and Malik turned in Mariku's embrace. He drowsily pressed a kiss on the other's shoulder, which was what he was now resting on. He then promptly fell into a deep sleep.
Pulling Malik's sleeping form against him, Mariku closed his eyes as well. The question was, however, if Malik would wake up and regret this.
A/N: Oh my… 4200 words… Well, I am all written out, as you can tell with the crappy ending.
If it hasn't become apparent, I'm trying to deepen the relationships and plot… XD
Please give me your opinion about the new changes.
Please review!