"Well that went better than usual. You two really did out do yourselves"
Higuchi sat down at his desk, still rubbing his fingers together, remembering the feel of the boys' skin.
"However, now we need to discuss your little mix up. You might want to tell me from the beginning how you managed to make such a mistake."
One of the two men stepped forward. "We really didn't know who it was. We were watching the group for the last few weeks, and the kid seemed to show up a good bit. So we just counted him as part of the group as a whole. They always seemed to meet together in that shop, and after we heard over the bugs that they were all meeting today, we thought we could save a lot of time by getting them all at once, instead of collecting each person on their own like usual. We were going to just take the boys and leave anyone else hit by it. But once they'd got hit by our trap, there was one more boy than we thought there would be. And at the same time, we kinda assumed you'd not want a free one wasted, so we dragged him into the van too."
"You really must be quite clueless about the business world. Perhaps I have you spending too much time bird watching. So you had an extra boy, and brought him along, but not at any point did you recognize him?"
"No, we really didn't. We don't exactly keep track of the news."
"Well, thanks to that blunder, I've now got Seto Kaiba chained up in one of my cells. And I knew I'd seen the kid before, he's Kaiba's little brother Mokuba. This means I can't simply let Kaiba go just like that, before he knows anything about us, because he'll want to find us again to get his brother back. So you've landed us in a right shit pit, haven't you?"
He rose, walking across the room to the window.
"The whole idea is to only take nobodies from the street; people will notice Kaiba is missing. He's too well known to use with the others, and he's going to cause a lot of unwanted attention just by being here. This will take quite a lot of thinking. You're lucky you brought in such a stellar group, otherwise you'd be saying goodbye to several of your toes and fingers right now."
He returned to his seat, pouring out a glass of whiskey from a crystal bottle on his desk.
"For now, keep Kaiba separate from the others, until I figure out what to do with him. We'll head back down to the waterfront in the morning, to get started on the new "recruits". That'll be all, dismissed"
The two men departed, shutting the door behind them, while Higuchi pulled out the photos of the boys he had been poring over for the last few days. Now he had the real thing, ready to be used as he liked. Once the event next week was over, he'd be free to indulge himself fully. Sighing happily, he leaned back; despite the setback of Kaiba being brought in, this was still a truly great day for him.
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"Rise and shine, boys!"
Yami opened his eyes, to see a now familiar, but still unwelcome sight; Higuchi and his two thugs standing in the morning sunlight. He merely stared at the three, for he had no energy to even move.
They had been here for five days, not counting their first evening, and they had been denied any food, merely a single drink of water a day. The last Yami had eaten was Monday afternoon, and now it was Sunday morning.
Every inch of Yami's body ached, his bones creaking from dehydration, his skin red raw from the wire bonds and the rough concrete floor, and his legs bruised from the beatings they had received daily.
Every day had been spent slumped against the wall, being told their "rules" over and over, before each evening being shown the most minimum consequences they would face should they break those rules, that of a baton to the legs repeatedly. The starvation was apparently part of this "warning", as Higuchi called it, that they would only receive food with good behaviour. They hadn't even been allowed to clean themselves.
The rules required them to be effectively slaves, obedient at all times, only speaking if asked to, and to cater to their "boss's" every whim.
However, by now, Yami simply had lost much of the will to care. The only thing keeping him alive was the thought of getting his Aibou and his friends out of this nightmare. He had had the thought that they might have a chance to escape during the move to their "main facility" that Higuchi had mentioned on their first night, but it was weakening in his mind, just as his body was.
"Come on now, we've quite a busy day today, wake up!"
Higuchi. Though he'd known the man less than a week, Yami was already sure he'd never despised someone quite as much, not even during his life as the Pharaoh. The way he was so casual about the punishments he was inflicting, as though he were simply carrying on a conversation about the weather, even as he starved them, had them beaten, had them chained up, treated them as simple objects, Yami had never known such a callous man in his life.
Beyond all the bruises, the cuts, the aches, the worst sensation for Yami still originated from Higuchi. The feeling of filth all over his body, where the man had eagerly touched with his greedy fingers, was unbearable. He hadn't touched them since that first night, but just from that, Yami didn't think he'd ever feel truly clean again.
"God damn it, get them up!"
The pair moved along, shaking each of the boys roughly. Yami wondered why it had not occurred to them that the group was simply too weak to move.
"All through tonight we have our little initiation event, so today will be spent preparing for it. I trust by now you've learned the rules well enough to behave? Excellent."
He moved to the door, opening it and beckoning to someone. Yami was surprised to be another group of people enter, the first people he had seen other than Higuchi and his thugs. Unfortunately, these looked much the same as the pair, large, scruffy and distinctly unfriendly. There were at least six of them, and as soon as they had entered they crossed the room, and began to untie the members of the group.
Yami felt himself lifted up to his feet by one of them, but unable to support his own weight, the man half carried, half dragged him along. He realised they were being taken out of the room, and before he knew it, they were being hauled down a narrow, grimy corridor.
Yami knew he had just been presented with a chance to make a break for it, he was not bound, and the man's grip on him was only to stop him falling to the ground, it was not tight. Unfortunately, as much as he wanted to try, he simply couldn't muster the energy.
The group entered a new room, and Yami's heart leapt at the sight inside. Food.
A large table lay in the centre of the otherwise empty room, piled high with loaves of bread and bottles of water. Two benches ran up either side, and he found himself dropped unceremoniously onto one. The others soon joined him. He managed to give Yuugi a small smile, the first in days, who returned it weakly, but warmly nonetheless.
Higuchi stood at the end of the table. "You may eat and drink to your fill, if you are up to it"
Despite his lack of energy, he managed to reach out a hand and grasp one of the small loaves, desperately trying to get it close to his mouth. The feeling of relief as his teeth sunk into the bread was truly heavenly. He ate frantically, tearing into as many loaves as he could, while the others behaved similarly, save for Mokuba, who seemed to not even have enough strength to feed himself. Instead, Jounouchi was lifting the food to his mouth, only eating every second loaf, concentrating on feeding the boy instead.
Yami gulped down several of the bottles of water on top of his ravenous assault on the bread, feeling slightly more energetic already, enough to sit and eat comfortably at least. He could even ignore the presence of Higuchi and the other men.
A full half hour passed, by which time they had nearly exhausted the huge supply of food and drink, so utterly starving they were. Higuchi said nothing , merely stood and watched.
The last loaf had been seized by Bakura, who hesitated, a strange look on his face, before he handed it to Ryou instead. A grateful Ryou tore it into eight pieces, one for each of them, almost like a sort of ritual.
"I think that's enough for now, you should have enough strength for the day"
The table now devoid of food, they were again grabbed and escorted curtly out of the room by the men. Moving into another room, they were greeted, for the second time that morning, indeed that week, with a welcome sight.
The room was tiled, far cleaner than the rest of the building, and the walls were lined with showers. Yami had become desensitized to his own nudity over the past five days, but the sight of the showers strangely brought back the knowledge that he was indeed naked, in front of a large group of men, complete strangers. He hoped they would be allowed to shower alone.
"Now be quick, you've only a few minutes here as preparation for the main cleaning. Wash all the dirt off yourselves, then shampoo and condition your hair, got all that? Perfect. Now move."
They wasted no time, crossing to the shower heads, hoping they would have warm water. Yami could hear the men filing out, much to his relief, as he reached for the knob. A spray of warm, refreshing water hit him in the face. For a moment, he could forget where he was, why he was here, what was going to happen to him, and just enjoy the feel of the cleansing water running down his body.
"Boy, hurry it up!"
Yami turned, to see Higuchi glaring at him from the doorway, still with his ever present pair of thugs.
"You can relax away shortly, get to work now!"
Yami complied, attempting to rub as much of the grime off him with his hands as he could, under the hot stream. He looked around, seeing two bottles at the foot of each shower head, one of shampoo, the other of conditioner. The others were already working away dejectedly.
Five minutes later, he was finished, and moved to the centre of the room where the others were. Despite being sopping wet, he felt a great deal better. Higuchi was walking in front of them, apparently inspecting how clean they were.
"That should be fine, on we go"
The other men re-entered, once again taking a hold of the boys, though by now they had enough energy to forgo the need to be dragged, and simply walked, with the men's hands clamped firmly on their shoulders. They journeyed further down the corridor, much further away from their original room. Yami shivered as they walked, the air felt almost stinging now that he was wet. He wished they would give him something to cover his feet, the concrete floor was horribly coarse against his bare soles.
They reached a pair of double doors, and passing through them, Yami found himself surprised at the room beyond. Rather than the stark, grim, and grey rooms of before, the space before them could almost be called decorated. The walls were painted a dark, muted red, the numerous windows covered with blinds, giving the room subdued, dim lighting. The floor was tiled, and bare, except for the large pit in the centre of the room.
Being moved closer, Yami saw that it was a huge, square bath, perhaps three feet deep, but wide and long enough to accommodate at least ten people. A number of differently coloured glass bottles were arranged in a row along one side, along with a pile of small cloths and towel, and it was immaculately clean, the colour a pristine white.
The two thugs moved around to the other side of it, turning on the large, silver tap, and picking up two of the bottles. The bath slowly filled up, steam rising in a vast cloud towards the ceiling, as the two poured generous amounts of the contents of the two bottles in. From the effect on the water, and the smell, Yami guess one was for foam, the other some kind of bath oil or water perfume.
Once the bath was prepared, the group found themselves released.
"Hop in please"
They gladly complied, stepping into the soothing waters. Yami sat down, immersing himself in the waves, Yuugi to his right, Malik to his left. Realising they were finally reunited after being unable to reach each other while in their bindings, Yami slipped his hand over, under the water, and took his Aibou's hand in his. Yuugi smiled, gripping Yami's hand tightly.
"You may relax for a little while"
The other men left the room, leaving just the usual three. Higuchi said nothing further, he merely watched them.
Any feelings, any knowledge of the situation, were allowed to disappear, following the steam into the air. Some part of Yami still realised this peace was temporary, but he disregarded it, for this could be the last peace he experienced in this place. His mind was filled not with shame, hatred or misery, but harmony, content in the motion of the water, and the feel of his Aibou's tiny hand in his. He could be home again, for all he knew.
This bliss showed no signs of stopping, much to Yami's relief, and he rested his head back, his eyes closed. A lifetime seemed to pass, nay, an entire age, in which he knew nothing but his Aibou's fingers interlocked with his own. He had never said the full extent of his feelings for Yuugi out loud, or even thought it when they had been of shared minds, but now, it seemed must appropriate to try to communicate these feelings to him. Through their touch, Yami tried to express the vast love he held for him, simply through the delicate, yet firm grasp on his hand. He had no idea whether such a thing could work, but he truly hoped Yuugi could receive the message, since he doubted he would get many private moments to confess his feelings out loud from now on.
"That's twenty minutes of lazing time, more than enough. Now, I think you can get to work, but don't worry; it ought to be quite enjoyable. You see, I'm going to do things slightly different than normal, as I did with you on your first night"
He worked around to the far side of the bath, where everyone could see him, and indicated to the bottles and cloths.
"Clean yourselves with these supplies. They're in order, so ignore the first two. First you'll be using the scrub, then the gel, then the lotion, in that order. Understood? Wonderful."
He moved back around, his footsteps halting directly behind Yami.
"You will be extremely thorough, also, every single bit of you is to be meticulously cleaned. Now, normally, you'd just do it yourself, but after seeing how much fun you had performing your little stripteases on each other the other day, I think it might be more...interesting, if you were to wash each other. Now get to it. Same pairs as before"
Yami looked to his left, his own violet eyes staring directly into Malik's lavender irises. The Egyptian wore a resigned, almost tired expression, his eyes carrying a distinct look that said "Let's just get on with it". Retrieving a cloth, then soaking it in the thick liquid from the third bottle and working up a similarly thick lather, Yami leaned over Malik, who stretched himself out, raising as much of his torso above the water as he could.
Yami glanced over at Yuugi, who was determinedly scrubbing over Otogi's shoulders, being quite clinical about it. His gaze moved around the bath, stopping on Ryou and Bakura. He was rather surprised to see Bakura sliding the cloth over Ryou's pale chest quite softly, almost tenderly, their eyes regularly lifting up to meet, exchanging unknown feelings.
There was no such cherishing in how Mokuba and Jounouchi were going about it, however. As before, Jounouchi wore a pitiable expression of deep shame over having such close contact with the preteen, and Mokuba looked less embarrassed than he did horrified. He had most likely never been remotely close to being touched by someone in this manner before all this happened, his reaction was quite expected. Jounouchi moved quickly, rubbing the foaming cloth over the boy's skin without looking at what he was doing. Instead his eyes were fixed on Mokuba's, seemingly attempting to reassure him that everything was alright.
Yami turned his attention back to the matter at hand. Malik gave a weak sort of smile, encouraging Yami to begin. Taking up Malik's arm by the wrist, he started to scrub away along his forearm. He was surprised to find he wasn't hugely uncomfortable, the knowledge that Higuchi was likely watching them intently seemed to have vanished from his mind, and he relaxed as he worked away.
Having finished both arms, he moved across Malik's shoulders and his upper chest. His tanned skin was incredibly soft, and Yami, feeling an unexpected urge, moved his right hand over, sliding it down Malik's chest. The skin was silk underneath his fingers, and he heard a slightly sharp exhaling of breath. Glancing up, he saw that Malik's eyes were closed, his lips slightly parted, apparently enjoying Yami's hand running down his torso. Suddenly his eyes snapped open, and a vague blush appeared in his cheeks; he looked quite embarrassed. Yami felt his own cheeks burning, and quickly returned to using the cloth.
His thoughts began to come together as he worked, coming to a realisation; he had never noticed before, but Malik was astonishingly attractive. His forced close contact with the teen had obliged him to become aware of his velvet skin, his soft, golden hair, his thin, supple physique, and his beautiful, slender face.
Yami did not think of himself as a sexual creature, indeed, he never even thought about any of that, with a male or a female. His only feelings in that regard were for his Aibou, yet now he found himself quite plainly, strongly attracted to his Egyptian friend.
What are you doing? The realisation flashed through his mind. Yami guessed the thoughts were a result of the hot, comforting waters, and the fact that, through it, he felt safe and secure for the first time since their abduction. In any case, they were highly inappropriate in such a situation.
Trying to shake these thoughts from his mind, he continued on, finishing with the first bottle's contents, and moving on to the second. It worked into a smoother, lighter lather, and to his discomfort, Yami found himself once again having to explore every part of Malik's body. After finishing with this, and having used the third bottle, which was a very light lather, in fact it was more a cream than a lather, he lay back, dreading Malik returning the favour, for more reasons than one.
The obvious indignation at his body being touched against his will, even if it were, this time, by a friend, and not Higuchi, still rang clearly in his mind, but a more recently discovered reason also existed. He simply had no idea if he could control himself in such a situation, and the last thing in the world he wanted to happen at the moment would be to "rise" to the occasion, not with Malik touching him at the same time. It was already humiliating enough for Malik, he didn't need to add to it.
He lay back, feeling Malik begin to wash him, and tried to cast his mind elsewhere. He tried to pretend it was Yuugi rather than Malik, but quickly realised that was quite stupid; he was quite likely to have the same reaction to Yuugi touching him as Malik, indeed even more of a reaction. Attempting to find something else to think about, he shut his eyes, blocking out as much of reality as he could.
His thoughts turned to Anzu, Shizuka and Kaiba. He had no idea where they were or what had happened to them. Was it possible they had been left behind? From what he'd observed so far, the men here had little interest in females, and surely Kaiba would bring a lot of attention to them, being so prominent in the business world. But then, why take his brother? Anyone who knew the slightest thing about Seto Kaiba knew that nothing, not his company, nor his career, nothing, was more important to him than Mokuba. The worst part about this speculation was that Yami knew there would be no way to confirm any of it.
He was truly stuck here, along with his friends, and what's more, he knew by now it was only a matter of time before things got a lot worse. He knew Higuchi's interest in them was sexual, and while he'd touched them once so far, Yami knew that sooner or later, things would be taken to the next level. Perhaps that's this was all for, getting them ready for his benefit. The idea sent a horrible chill throughout his body.
Several minutes later, Malik had finished with all three bottles, and Yami sat back up, looking around. The others all seemed to be finished.
Yuugi and Otogi were sitting back, looking rather awkward, while Jounouchi and Mokuba were huddled closely; Jounouchi seemed to be speaking into the boy's ear very quietly, and while his words couldn't be made out, his tone was one of reassurance, probably trying to keep Mokuba's spirit up.
To Yami's surprise, Bakura and Ryou were lying very close together, in fact, they were fully shoulder to shoulder, their heads leaning against each other, both their eyes closed. This, combined with the image of Bakura carefully and tenderly washing Ryou before, created the thought in Yami's head that he had perhaps misjudged at least one aspect of Bakura, assuming he had no caring side, when these displays strongly suggested otherwise.
"Quite an impressive display, boys"
Higuchi circled the bath slowly, his eyes travelling over them carefully.
"You all look quite alluring like this, you know, it's such a shame we've work to be doing", a slight smirk accompanied his words.
He signalled to his two men, who crossed the room, opening the door, and letting in the rest of Higuchi's thugs. They each clutched a towel.
"Out we go, please. As before, you're receiving special privileges, so rather than this being done by my men, you can do it yourselves. Dry each other off as best you can."
Yami grudgingly took the towel from the man offering it to him, and began to dry off Malik. His own eyes moved over the scars on Malik's back as he worked. The intricate design seemed, at a first glance, to be a positive addition to his appearance, but up close, seeing and feeling each line of scar tissue, Yami could only think of the design as marring Malik's form, an unwarranted blemish on his otherwise perfect body. The knowledge that, however distantly, he had caused it to happen, was not a comfort.
When all had finished, the group were led out, being given socks to prevent their newly cleaned feet from being dirtied by the concrete floor. They found themselves brought into another room, where a number of irritable and seedy looking men began to, for lack of a better phrase, "dress them up". Their hair was dried and carefully arranged, sweet smelling oils were rubbed into their skin (the men still holding them ensured they could not resist this touch, as much as they tried) and eyeliner was applied to their faces. While Yami, Yuugi, Malik and Otogi, who wore it as part of their everyday attire often, had no added humiliation from this last addition, Jounouchi and Mokuba seemed to be greatly embarrassed about wearing it. Ryou and Bakura seemed indifferent to the application.
To each captive's vast relief, they were given clothing, a light dressing robe that covered them right from the neck to their feet. Following this they found themselves taken to a small room, containing a number of wooden chairs. Each of them sat down nervously, wondering what else the day could entail.
"Well, it's now the early evening, so you'll be waiting here for the next few hours. At midnight, we'll have our initiation event, which probably will take the whole night, then tomorrow morning we'll be moving to our main facility, and then you'll really start your new roles. Everyone clear? Good, now I'm going to confess I'm not pleased about this event, even though it will be very profitable for me. I don't expect you to enjoy it either, at least for tonight, but over the next few months, I hope you'll change your minds. I suggest you do, in any case, since it'll be happening regardless, so you might as well accept it and enjoy it's merits"
Higuchi said nothing further. He left the room, shutting the steel door behind him, leaving the group of men leaning against the wall, watching the captives closely.
Yami reached out and put an arm around Yuugi, relishing the chance to touch him freely again, unrestricted by chains. He felt a deep sense of apprehension throughout his mind; this "initiation event" was likely to be the worst thing they had experienced yet in their abduction. He held his Aibou close, a deep fear settling into his very soul.
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A/N:
Long one again, though I think it's more of a transitional chapter.
Better warn in advance, the next chapter is going to be pretty unpleasant, maybe even a bit graphic, Yami's assertion about the initiation event is dead on.
As always, please point out any spelling/grammar errors, and thanks for reading : )