AN: Uh... sorry for the long wait. I've been getting so much writer's block lately. It's no fun at all... and this chapter is probably too short and filled with spelling errors, you'll just have to deal with that, I guess. I'm trying, really!

Anyhow, this chapter has been posted thanks to Lost And Torn it was supposed to be around for her birthday... in February... but my compy died. Yeah... uhm... happy extremely late birthday! XD

Ok, so have fun reading!

Treachery

Chapter Eight: Not a Friend

I became nervous rather quickly; I was alone with Marik and it was obvious that he had some sort of feelings for me. What I was worried about the most was the way he would express these feelings. He had already proven that he wouldn't be violent towards me, but all his anger was directed toward Bakura. It was apparent that Marik wasn't about to let my relationship with Bakura stand in his way of courting me; he was possessive, just as Bakura, and they were willing to fight each other to claim me.

I'm hardly sure of my own feelings as well. I love Bakura, there's no doubt about my feelings for him; but my feelings for Marik are another matter. I do love him, but as a savior, friend, and nothing more; but sometimes when I look at him and remember all he's done for me I feel a little stronger about him. Perhaps it's only a need for his comfort and protection, and adoration for what he's done; but why is it that during those times I'm not as enthralled with Bakura?

"Ryou." I was startled from my thoughts by Marik's deep, and demanding voice; hesitantly I lifted my gaze and whispered an acknowledgement, "You… love Bakura, right?" I bit my lip and looked away after hearing the growled question. I feared what Marik might end up doing to Bakura, but I gave a slight affirmation, "What would you do for him, Ryou? Do you love Bakura enough to die for him, to give your very soul to the darkness?"

"What?" I froze in shock for a few seconds, and then I settled into contemplation. For a few moments we walked down the sidewalk in silence; but I finally spoke up an answer, "Of course I do. I love Bakura more that anything, and enough to do anything for him." The questions, I assumed, were a test of my love for Bakura; if my love were deemed weak would Marik try to take me completely from my lover?

"What about Yami? Would you give yourself to him for your love?" I cringed at the mention of the Puzzle's spirit; my steps alongside Marik halted and began to retreat.

This time I stuttered out in fear and disbelief, "W-Why are you asking me such a thing?" Marik stopped as well and he turned to look back at me.

He seemed to have decided on an answer himself and he posed another question, "How about your friends, what would you do if your friends' lives are in danger?"

Again I cringed at his questioning and I backed away a few more steps, all which Marik followed, "W-What friends, Marik? Y-You know that they all… you know what they did."

"Oh? So you have no friends? Then what am I, Ryou? If not a friend then what am I?" He didn't seem to be thinking out his questions, he was simply spurting whatever question that came to mind. I wondered if I even needed to say a word; would he go on an angry rant if I remained silent?

I chose to interrupt Marik, "I—Y-You're not a friend to me, Marik, you're my savior. You're—"

"Is that it, then?" Marik snarled finally and he closed the distance between us slightly; his growling increased as he neared, yet he seemed to realize his anger and refrain from further aggression, "So then, I'm just being used for my strength? You only want to keep me around for some debt you think I'm owed or to protect you from Yami. That's it then. You don't really think much of me."

"That's not it, Marik!" I protested frantically. His increasing closeness and the continuous accusations were quickly destroying any composure I had; all I could do was protest weakly and stutter out my own thoughts, which were drowned under his booming voice, "Y-You're not a friend! Y-You're not, but you're—"

I was now backing away from him for ever step he took; I couldn't seem to pull my thoughts together, and my stumbling protests only seemed to aggravate him further; I knew that I was only strengthening his thoughts against me, "I'm just being used." He snarled, "That's it! I should have just let Malik rape you! I should have let him take you from Bakura. I should have let Malik humiliate you in front of your lover!"

"No!" I protested again, my thoughts once more trailed into a jumbled: 'Not a friend! Y-You're—Marik, you're—' and Marik continued his angry ranting; he stripped down all the things he had done for me and called them nothing more than pointless rubbish that should never have happened.

Eventually he backed me right into a building and I collected my senses enough to halt my babbling. Marik was breathing heavily in attempts to control his anger, at some point his hands had slammed into the brick on either side of my head. He was trembling with rage his eyes were flashing to show this, "Maybe all you are…"

Suddenly my thoughts fell into place and I blurted out what I had meant to say before Marik went on his rant, "Marik, you mean much more to me than a friend!"

But at the same time Marik's own thoughts were finished, "…is a whore."

We both froze. I couldn't know what Marik was thinking as we stared down at each other, but I was filled with shock and sadness. If even someone who was so important to me thought I was a whore then it must be true. I was raped only a few days ago, and no sooner was the issue resolved I go and sleep with Bakura. How long would it be before I found someone else to sleep with?

"I really am a whore." My quiet admission broke the silence and I cast my gaze away from the Egyptian spirit above me and to the concrete walkway beneath us, "I slept with Yami, I slept with Malik, I slept with Bakura, and Yugi and Joey had their fun with me too. I was still for a moment before turning and fixing my gaze on the hard violet orbs or Marik, "Maybe I should just sleep with you too."

I acted the labeled part with no care for my boyfriend; I lifted my arms and circled them around Marik's neck and then I lifted my legs to fasten about his waist. Marik backed up, as if doing so would allow him to escape from me. We were both in a sort of daze that was brought on by the confusing emotions that had surface since the start of Marik's questioning, and in that daze we shared a kiss.

It was impossible to tell who had made the move to do so, but in no time Marik had taken control; I was pressed against the brick once again, but this time no fear or anger passed between us. I shut my eyes and moved my lips against his and, eventually, I opened my mouth to accept his tongue inside. Our slippery muscles entwined together and I couldn't help but let a tiny moan escape my throat.

Marik's arms encircled my lower back; he pulled me closer as we broke apart, "You're not a whore, Ryou." I could tell, it was his way of apologizing, but at the moment, I really believed otherwise. If I weren't a whore such and accusation would lead to the kiss the both of us just shared. If I weren't a whore I would have loved Bakura enough to keep away from Marik when I know how he feels about me. If I weren't a whore I would have stayed home with my love, even if he was in the middle of a brawl with Malik.

"If I weren't a whore, Marik," I spat bitterly, "I'd be a virgin right now." Finally I pulled away from Marik and I stumbled back to the ground. Instead of going off to Malik's house, as planned, I made my way back home. For a moment Marik hesitated, but then, I could hear his steps padding quickly to catch up with me; nothing more was said between us.

Bakura and Malik were gone by the time we reached home again. I could only assume they were out at Malik's, but at the moment I couldn't really bring myself to care. I left Marik in the doorway and trudged up to my room. I completed my earlier forgotten homework, but only as a distraction from all of the day's events.

It was working quite well, until I heard an argument brewing below, "Where the fuck did you go? What did you do to Ryou?" Naturally, that statement was made by my enraged boyfriend and directed to the other Yami in the house. I couldn't hear Marik's response, he was much calmer than my other, but Bakura's reaction wasn't left unheard.

"What do you mean: 'Not really'? What did you do to him?" However, whatever reply Marik might have made was ignored; for soon after I heard furious stomping coming closer. I only had time to set aside my work before Bakura burst into the room

For a moment he stood in the door studying me, his eyes roamed over my body quickly before he stepped into the room and approached me, "Ryou, are you ok?" The anger he had displayed upon arrival to our home seemed gone for the moment, but there was no telling what he would act like when he found out what had happened.

Before he could continue to question me, I spoke up, "I'm a whore." I mumbled. My eyes had been cast down the moment the question fell from his lips; as true as the spoken fact was, I really didn't want to tell Bakura but there was no way I'd let him be with a whore like me.

"What?" Bakura snapped. He spent a few seconds seething in rage before his anger continued to reach me, "So, that's what he did—" A sharp and pained cry came from the main floor and a loud stream of angry curses followed.

"Damn you, Malik, you fucking little shit! I'll kill you, I swear to Ra, I fucking will!" I stood suddenly and pushed Bakura aside, my steps carried me quickly toward the increasing cries of pain.

"F-Fuck you, Marik!" Malik responded back, which was followed shortly by another distressed cry, "I'll call him w-whatever I damn well want to—" Malik's word were suddenly cut short, but I knew they were fighting over me.

When I got into the living room I found Marik hovering over Malik, his hands were wrapped tightly around his lighter side's throat and he was still screaming curses at the twisting, clawing form of Malik.

I rushed forward immediately, "Marik, stop it!" I shouted while trying to pry Marik's hands away and free Malik. By all rights my presences shouldn't have changed much, but Marik relented at my touch. Malik squirmed and gasped for breath, he tried to pull free, but his oxygen deprived body could only really lay there beneath Marik's weight on his stomach.

"He called you a whore." Marik hissed in defense, "I can't let him do that! He's useless; really, I should just kill him and put an end to his suffering and ours."

I hung my head and pulled away from Marik, "You shouldn't punish him for that; I am a whore, you know that. So please, just leave Malik alone." My words caused Marik to flinch. He moved away from Malik entirely. I was about to return to my room, when Bakura spoke up from the door I had entered moments before.

"You!" once more my lover's voice was full of rage, "What the fuck were you thinking, treating Ryou like that?" Bakura stalked over to Marik, who stood to meet the furious, nearly red, gaze, "I should kill YOU for ever think you could do it! Do you know what you've done to him?"

"I was pissed off." Marik hissed, "I didn't mean it, I just say things like that when I'm angry." Marik turned away from Bakura, and crouched next to me on the floor, "You're not a whore, Ryou. The things that happened to you, you didn't ask fro them; those stupid fuckers took you against your will," here Marik broke off to throw Malik a hate filled glare, "You had no control over that."

"But he liked it." Malik put in. With a lazy grin he continued, "From Yami's cock and my ass he came, and he knows it; if he weren't a whore he wouldn't have liked it."

Both Bakura's and Marik's faces turned red with furry, Marik reached out and took hold of Malik's shirt, "You'd better shut up, Malik, I wasn't kidding when I tried to kill you. You're more of a nuisance than the good little slave you should be… you're hanging to life by a thin thread and I'm the one holding the scissors."

"How lame can you get?" Malik hissed. Marik's grip on the fabric tightened and he was about to continue his earlier assault on Malik, but I took the time to speak up once more.

"Besides," I began to feel sick as I spoke, but I knew the words needed to be said, "If I weren't a whore I wouldn't have kissed you like that." I averted my eyes, but the following silence was enough to show the tension and hate filled glares between the two yami; Malik would have been forgotten if it weren't for the sudden laughter that left him.

"Oh Ra!" Malik managed to roll away from Marik, "This is better than a fucking movie."

Marik didn't spare a second to hit Malik; he simply kept a cold glare focused on the silver haired thief across from him, one that was vehemently returned. Finally Bakura was able to growl something out, which brought a halt to Malik's laughter, "What the fuck?" He snarled.

I wondered why Bakura's anger always directed itself toward Marik, it wasn't Marik's fault I was too sluttish to keep my mouth to myself; but still Marik fought back, as if my actions were solely his responsibility, "You have to deal with it Bakura; this is the problem: he cares for us both."

"He does not! You need to keep your hands off of MY Ryou!" Bakura's fists were clenched, he looked about ready to throw himself at Marik and start another brawl; however, Marik was the one who acted first.

I watched in shock as Marik shot across the room and threw himself on top of Bakura; his larger form easily pinned down my startled other. One hand was used to hold down Bakura's arms and the other clamped over Bakura's mouth, "Listen here, Bakura, whether he likes us both or not, the thing is: I'm not leaving. I'm doing you such a favor by letting Ryou stay with you. He is mine, Bakura, don't forget that; any day I wanted to I could take him and leave, but I'm keeping him happy by letting him be with you. The least you could do is return the favor to me."

Bakura snarled from beneath the hand, and now that Marik was done speaking he let Bakura voice his thoughts, "Oh yeah, that's going to make him feel better." Bakura hissed, "We'll just pass him around between us, that'll work wonders, genius!"

Marik grinned down at Bakura, it was an eerie sort of grin; "I never said we'd be passing him around." I went ridged as it happened, Marik descended quickly and covered Bakura's lips with his own; and Bakura seemed to be in such a shock that he laid there, eyes wide, and mouth open for Marik to do as he pleased.

Soon after Bakura's hollering filled the house and Marik's body was, somehow, shoved roughly off, "What the bloody hell?" he snarled and stalked over to me, "Come on, Ryou, we need to talk."

I nodded and followed after Bakura; Malik's laughter broke out once more and I had to see what he was doing. However, my eyes didn't land on the Egyptian Hikari, my gaze settled on the wide smirk plastered all over Marik's face before he vanished from my view.