"It's alright...it's alright...you're ok now"

It was so pointless to say these words, over and over, knowing all the time they were worthless. Just under twenty six days ago, he had said the same sort of comforting words, and perhaps then he had believed them. Eighteen days ago he'd said them again, and he'd had small doubts. Seven days ago he'd still clung to their generic comfort, all the while losing faith in them rapidly. And now, twenty six days after he'd first used them to comfort a friend, in this place, he was using them again. He did not believe that it was or would be "alright", and he now knew Malik was not "ok", nor would he ever be. They were trapped here now, and that was that.

Yami wondered when exactly he had lost the last of the optimism he once had, and replaced it with resignation. It had certainly not lasted very long, in any case. Twenty six days was less than a month, a fairly pathetically swift decay, indeed.

Nevertheless, despite his disbelief in his own words of comfort, he still whispered them, hoping Malik might have, by some miracle, retained some capacity for hope.

"You're safe, Malik...don't worry"

It was their fourth Saturday since their abduction, and their third in this mansion. Blain had left less than five minutes ago, having taken what he wanted from Malik for the fourth time now. This time he'd slammed him face first against the wall, and kept him there while he brutalized him. A dull bruise was already beginning to show all over Malik's left cheek. Such injuries didn't matter, not one of the men in this placed cared. So long as the injury did not impact their "performances", there was no injury at all, in the view of the guards.

To his inherent disgust, this time of the day, comforting Malik after he'd been raped in front of them once again, was the most they had to look forward to. At this time, there would be no further assaults for twelve hours. In the meantime, they were free to huddle together, trying to escape into dreams. More often than not, they were nightmares, but the possibility of a good dream was all they had to keep going by now.

Yami, Yuugi and Malik lay in a familiar position, grouped together on Yami's mattress, clinging to one another. Yami was holding Malik tightly against him, still whispering his attempts at comfort, whilst receiving similar efforts at comfort himself from Yuugi's arms around his shoulders. It was as good a situation as they could hope for in this place.

Malik was quiet, almost still. Yami could still feel tears dripping from his eyes onto his own skin, but Malik was not sobbing now. He raised his head, his face ending up an inch from Yami's. He leaned further in and lightly pressed his lips to Yami's, before moving back and resting his head on Yami's shoulder once more.

Yami still felt instinct telling him to recoil every time Malik did this. He felt shame at what the three of them had been driven to in the last few weeks, and he suspected both of the others felt the same way. Such mutual closeness and intimacy should be something to be cherished and celebrated, but here, it felt wrong. They had been forced to adapt this "relationship", out of a desperate need for comfort from all the abuse they suffered. It was not the way such a union should come about. Yami thought of Malik only as a friend, and he believed, or perhaps, he hoped, that Malik felt the same way.

Not one of them had ever spoken a word about what exactly there "was" between the three of them. It seemed to go without saying that it was just something they all needed as long as they were imprisoned here. And of course, they weren't going to ever leave this place, so it looked like this would be a permanent arrangement.

The ugly routine of this place had truly set in by now. Every day was going through the motions. Let yourself be lead through hallways calmly, scrub carefully, eat quickly, get on your knees promptly, swallow cleanly. It was hell, but the schedule was setting in so heavily that the motions were quickly becoming desensitized to them. It was a horrible, draining feeling, to know that they were "switching off", letting themselves be subjected to such treatment without the slightest bit of resistance. Adding to the misery was the knowledge that this abuse would go on for as long as they lived, and that it would ultimately become their new lifestyle.

However, burning through all this, still exempt from any kind of routine forming in their minds, was the weekly visits of Blain.

Yami felt a new sting of anger, in spite of the dull, monotonous depression surrounding him. That man was evil, no less. Sadistic, twisted, amoral, he was truly from hell itself. No matter how shielded they might become from the effects of Higuchi and his client's sessions with them, by sheer desensitization, Blain's visits brought every feeling back in full force. The repulsive sense of uselessness both Yami and Yuugi felt, forced to sit there and watch as Malik was abused, the revulsion, the despair, the horrible look of terror in Malik's eyes as Blain approached him, everything remained real, and would always remain real. The fear and disgust was so raw, so penetrating, that they were unable to block anything out. The slamming, the tears, the screams, the sneers, the blood. Blood...

The sight of red snapped Yami from his grim musings. Even after nearly a month, after so many assaults from different men, Blain was still able to tear Malik open. Fresh blood was slightly seeping through Malik's clothing. The dark red stain sent waves of pity washing over Yami, fully breaking through his newly hardened exterior.

Why should Malik be the one to be given an additional punishment, and one far more brutal than any other they received no less? It was truly vile. He had done nothing, nothing to deserve it, nothing to warrant the violent attacks. And the thug had made it clear that he'd been doing to boys here for years, all escaping notice. Blain deserved to die for such atrocities.

But what could he do? If they were to stay here indefinitely, their only chance at survival, even if it was a reprehensible one, was the continued desensitization and "conditioning". This would never happen as long as Blain continued his traumatizing weekly visits. Yami had already run through the possibilities of what could happen if he told Higuchi just what one of his men was doing, and none of them ended non-violently for them. He knew he had to help Malik, but how could he do that? How?

It was all so utterly hopeless, Malik seemed doomed to this fate, and along with him, Yami's conscience .

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Morning.

The warm sunlight filling the room ought to have been a welcome sight, the promise of a bright new day, but here, it was a promise of yet more pain and humiliation. Yami hated it now.

Yuugi and Malik were both draped over him, hindering his breathing quite spectacularly. As both were still asleep, and he had no wish to remove them from their potentially pleasant dreams, he did nothing, and endured the discomfort. No point in shortening their only period of relief.

Today was Sunday, meaning that while there would be no clients this evening, there was a high percentage chance Higuchi would take at least one of them to indulge his desires. He hadn't brought Yami out since Thursday, meaning it was most likely that it'd be his turn today. He didn't really care, it was all the same now, the same routine of sleep, food, bath, waiting, sex, more waiting, then back to sleep again. Motions were predefined, autonomous. It was better that way, as hollow and devoid of life an existence it was, its sensations were at least dulled, not piercing, as full attention would bring.

But, as he'd been deeply troubled over the previous night, in spite of his growing detachment, he still knew that this veneer that had formed for all of them was still being broken through every week. Malik would never be desensitized and immune to Blain's weekly assaults, and this would ultimately destroy him. The knowledge that he alone was being broken down further while everyone else had put up a successful, and unchallenged, wall in their minds, would tear down Malik's psyche, leaving nothing behind. And there was nothing Yami could do to help him, without putting him at a terrible risk.

But what was better, to put Malik's, Yuugi's and his own life at stake, in an attempt to stop Blain's visits, or keep them all safe from any lethal assault, but have Malik break apart slowly? He'd run through the possibilities of what might happen if he informed Higuchi of Blain was, and had been doing for years, under his nose. None of them seemed to end with the three of them safe, most ended with them either dead or in perpetual fear of retribution. That seemed to automatically seal any thought of actually telling him.

He knew he had to do something, but he could not do anything. A truly cruel outcome for all of them.

The door opened abruptly, and in came the usual thugs, signalling the true start of the day. The noise immediately jolted Yuugi and Malik into consciousness, albeit a still muddled and slurred one.

For the first time in several weeks, the thought of just who these men really were entered Yami's mind, as they were taken from the room promptly. He'd wondered how these low level thugs had ended up working in such a place, doing such ultimately despicable jobs. They spent their days hauling around innocent boys, preparing them to be molested by their bosses and "social betters". Just how does someone wind up here? Of course, some of them, just like Blain, were no doubt attracted to their prisoners, or rather, as with Blain, more attracted to the idea of hurting their prisoners, but none of these men were allowed to touch them, so that couldn't be the only reason. A means to an end? Unlikely, there were far less morally bankrupt places to work at instead of this one.

Yami, for now, concluded that he'd most likely never properly find out, which was perhaps a blessing, in that he would not know what exactly caused someone let themselves fall so low. Whatever the true reason, it could not be pleasant.

Throughout all of these restless thoughts, the morning routine continued, unhindered, as clinical and efficient as always. Within an hour they found themselves alone in their room once more, ready to "face the day".

The dangerous dilemma of Malik's weekly visitor had unfortunately smashed its way through Yami's normally solid veneer, and he was not content to sit here as he did usually, blocking out everything he could as the others did. There would be no such peace today for Yami, he could sense it.

Sure enough, after a long period of silence, the door opened once again, and the same thugs removed Yami, alone, from the room.

He didn't care, in fact, he almost was pleased it was his turn, simply because it would spare someone else the experience for one evening.

As he was led down the now familiar corridor, he couldn't believe that the first time he'd gone down here, less than a month ago, he'd been fully alert, searching for "escape routes" of all things, as though he would really find any. Where, before, his eyes darted about, desperately taking in as much information as they could, they now passed over everything slowly, taking in nothing, indeed, almost seeing nothing at all. What might it be in a month's time? A year? Would he even be able to realize when he was conscious by then, after spending so much time in "autopilot"? Would he even be human by then, or just some kind of still breathing husk, cruelly decorated to look like a teenage boy?

They passed the landing overlooking the mansion's main hall, and Yami felt another twinge, this time of something strange, almost like a sort of nostalgia. Was it just a melancholy feeling brought on by the sight of distant roads and forests through the glass, a thought of "freedom"? But what did it really matter? He would remain here no matter what he thought, whatever he remembered, whatever he hoped for. He was trapped, along with everyone else.

Finally, they reached Higuchi's ornate bedroom door. Higuchi, the man he hated more than anyone, with the sole exception of Blain. Despite his desensitization to any of this daily molestation, Yami was still truly tired of being used as a personal toy by Higuchi. Even if it meant promising to willingly stay here, with it's disgusting clientele, he wanted retribution, to pay back this hateful , balding man for all that he'd done, orchestrated, and planned, and remained horribly smug about.

All the anxiety from Malik's situation was truly taking its toll now, Yami's veneer had crumbled completely, for the moment; he was going to feel every little touch this evening.

A few moments later, he found himself face down on Higuchi's bed, his hands handcuffed behind him, listening to the bastard chat away to several of the thugs about something, over by the door somewhere. This was all so utterly unfair. Everything, everything that had happened, none of them had deserved it, and none of them deserved the continuing treatment, and especially no extra treatment from sadistic thugs. Something had to be done.

"How are we today, boy?"

He felt a heavy weight descend onto the bed, by his feet, and soon could feel hands groping at his behind.

"I do love your body, so very much, boy, it might just be my favourite from all of you"

The weight shifted, Higuchi seemed to be leaning over him further.

"I hope you're proud of that, it's quite an achievement, I have the highest of standards of course-"

"Blain, your child snatcher thug, he's been raping Malik, my Egyptian friend, every week since we were brought to this place"

The weight shift ceased immediately.

"What?"

"Every Saturday night, he comes into our room and rapes Malik, and says that he'll kill the three of us if any of us tell you what he's doing. He said he's been doing it to groups you've kept here for years, and you've never noticed anything"

Blood was pounding in Yami's ears, he could feel his heart racing rapidly.

"...I see"

The weight slowly moved back, and lifted off the bed.

"Come here"

Footsteps moved from the door, closer to the bed.

"How many men are in right now?"

"Five, sir"

"Just five? That's unfortunate. I have a very important task for you and the other four. First, you can take this boy back to his room, and then get the rest of the men, then find Blain, and bring him to me. And take away any weapons he might have on him"

"Yes, sir"

Yami felt himself being pulled to the side, off the bed. He dropped onto his feet, and before he was jerked along by the guard, he turned to Higuchi, the sight before him startling him severely.

"Thank you for telling me this information, boy"

Higuchi's voice was stilted, and shaking slightly. His face was oddly calm, but his eyes betrayed his true emotions; they burned and shimmered with a fiery, frenzied rage. They gave his otherwise still face a frightening appearance.

"Go on, hurry up and take him back. Then get me Blain, fast"

Yami had never intended to tell him, he wasn't going to risk their lives, but it had slipped out, somehow. He could feel panic setting in already, as he was steered out the door, into the hall. He could only hope he had done the right thing now, for there was no turning back from this.

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Not a day went by that he didn't wonder whether it would have been better if he was dead. Not only was his presence the reason this had all happened, but his very existence seemed rather pointless and hollow as it was. Was it further punishment for his wrongdoings in life that he was forced through all this? Most likely, but then, why were the rest of them here too? None of them, to his knowledge, had committed many crimes, what could they need punishing for?

Or was it all a part of his own punishment? That not only must he suffer, but everyone around him, must also? That seemed excessive. Certainly, his crimes had been great, and had spanned quite a long time, but most of these people were not even his friends, far from it. Indeed only one could be called any sort of a friend, and that was only out of sheer optimism. He would never understand exactly how fate decided these things.

He could, however unfortunately, understand why the person beside was being punished along with him. They'd gone beyond optimism, and done their best to truly give him life again. They might have fully succeeded, too if this hadn't happened. Maybe that was the point, to lure him into a false sense of security, make him think it was all going to work out, and then rip it all away, and hand him and his partner this instead.

He looked down, brown eyes moving slowly over his partner's sleeping form. White hair, nearly identical to his, the peaceful, even serene face, more content in sleep than he could ever be awake, in this prison. Ryou Bakura, the only person who seemed to be interested in keeping him alive.

His own name...Bakura? That was what they called him, including Ryou. Ryou's own family name, made his first name? He didn't quite understand that, but he did think he might have been called Bakura before, in his earliest, original life. That was unfortunately, a blur.

His name for so long had been Zorc, or Bakura, whichever it was, he wasn't sure anymore. No, he was never Zorc, but Zorc was him? He didn't know, the last three thousand years of being one with Zorc seemed like a dream, a dream that he had woken from, and the memory of which was dissipating fast. It left him feeling so empty, if he was not the Thief King of so many millennia ago, nor was he Zorc, what was he? A void, a lifeless shell, some scattered piece of a being that was dead and buried. A person without any meaning to his existence.

This nihilistic thought came to him daily, whenever he was alone, or the only one awake. It was inevitable, that he would be unable to justify his fragmented survival, the few remaining pieces of whatever "Yami no Bakura" had been, stuck back together and told to make a new life. It left him incomplete, in his mind and in his soul. He still could recall old feelings, but not what had caused them, nor could he feel the passion behind them, just as though they were shadows. The same happened to memories, the ones of the long life he'd had before these last few months, they were feeling more and more like the memories of some other person.

However, as much as he found himself dwelling on his uncertain and disjointed life, there were times when he did feel alive. These nearly always had stemmed directly from Ryou. He'd technically known Ryou for many year now, residing in his Millennium Ring, but that was distorted by two things, the fact that he'd not really interacted with him during his sojourn the Ring, and of course, the fact that the person who'd resided in the Ring was not him. That had been the so called "Yami Bakura", the fragments of whom composed him now. So truly, if he was a "pieced together" new person, then these last few months were his first real interactions with Ryou.

He was a beautiful person, thoughtful, gentle and kind. He'd taken Bakura in without a second thought, even though he could sense Ryou was both uneasy and possibly slightly afraid of him. He didn't blame him; his "previous self" would seem to have been quite a monster. Despite this, he'd taken him in, and seemingly dedicated his time to making sure Bakura adjusted to life in this world, and buried any remnant of the past. Quite selfless, indeed, and it made Bakura proud to be partnered with such a human being.

He guessed Ryou was glad to have him there, despite his obvious wariness. Ryou had been alone for a long time before he met Yuugi and his other friends, and even then, he'd lived alone. Now he had company, even if it was not very warm company. If it helped Ryou, Bakura was glad to be there.

He knew he didn't make it easy, he constantly became irritated with seemingly everything, and was rude to all of Ryou's friends, occasionally even Yuugi, who'd been quite as ready as Ryou to help him. By now, he felt guilty for this, not necessarily out of fondness for the others, for they treated him with the same hostility, but because he was flying in the face of Ryou' attempts to help him adjust. He couldn't help his animosity with the others, he still felt ancient feelings of hatred at the back of his mind, though he could not recall where they came from, but while their fire had long since gone out, they still manifested as bickering and petty squabbles with Ryou and Yuugi's friends.

Still, he didn't really have any force behind them, it felt like he was going through the motions, motions that he had apparently been born with (counting his "resurrection" as a new birth of sorts). In fact, while he always felt alive with Ryou, alongside his continued optimism and enthusiasm, there had been one other occasion that had broken through his brooding thoughts on his existence. Just before this whole situation had happened, when they'd been grouped in Yuugi's home, for a few seconds, it seemed as though their hostilities might actually be solved after all. With a lot of time and effort of course, but solved nonetheless. The thought that he could be living with no enemies, and even perhaps be accepted into a circle of friends, had momentarily given him some optimism of his own, some hope for his own future, that he might actually have a life in this world after all.

Of course, then they'd been abducted, so that hope had been dashed quickly. And now he spent his time in this empty, blank room with Ryou, save for an hour in the morning and in the evenings, for "preparation" and "work", respectively. He didn't much care about being forced to perform all these acts for filthy men, he could block it all out his mind, but Ryou...

He loved Ryou, he was sure of that. He wished only to repay the kindness Ryou had shown him, this second chance he was attempting to give him, and ensure Ryou was happy and content in his own life. He owed him that. Indeed, he felt, for the first time, that there was some meaning in his life, a purpose. This purpose was to reward Ryou for the selflessness and benevolence he'd shown throughout his life, despite all the tragedy and loneliness that had beset him. He deserved a good life, and Bakura now felt it was his purpose to give it to him.

This? This place was hell, the polar opposite of what Ryou deserved. And even if this was extra punishment for what he'd done in his former life, he would not stand for Ryou being forced into being a participant. All for trying to help a lost person find their way? Bullshit.

He couldn't stand for this much longer. They'd been trapped nearly a full month now, at least twenty six days. Every day Ryou was handed away to someone else, taking pieces of him away every time. There would be nothing left of the person he loved eventually, and for what? Nothing, and only because he was sitting here, letting it happen, instead of rescuing him.

He knew of no way that he could get Ryou away from this place, but that gave him no excuse, he should still be trying. If only the group had not been separated, together, they might have some small chance. Surely any animosity would be buried between them all in this situation? Perhaps he could trust in them to help, somehow. He was certain they'd be trying to work on getting out too, and with a great deal of luck, they might be able to create a small opening. If they did, he'd immediately smash it into a much wider one, and push Ryou through it. He'd let the others get out first, too, it was his fault they were here, after all. Once they were out, he'd take revenge for Ryou.

Higuchi, the two that had abducted them, nay, everyone here, they were all guilty, and they deserved retribution. Only then would he think of escaping himself. If necessary, he would die to save Ryou from this. He deserved freedom, and Bakura would pay any price to see him regain it.

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"Blain! Are you here?"

"Yeah, what?"

"Fuck it, Blain, you'd best get out of here now!"

Blain stood up from the bar stool, thoroughly confused. He'd simply been sitting in the lounge, minding his own business, while he waited before his departure back to Domino that night. Now Carter stood before him, looking quite frantic.

"Huh? Why?"

"They squealed, that's why! One of the little shits told the boss you've been screwing the Arab kid, and he his men are looking for you. I just met two of them outside your room, they told me to help them look. The boss is gonna kill you for this, man, you'd best get out of here now, before they find you. They're probably coming here already, they know you come here a lot."

"Ah"

Blain processed this sudden onslaught of information remarkably quickly. He'd always been quite level-headed in such stressful situations, and it was certainly not going away now.

"Well, thanks for the advice, but I'm not leaving right away. I told those bitches I'd kill them if they told, and I'm not going while they're alive"

"Fuck it, forget about that, you don't even have your gun, and you won't have time to get it from the van and come back in here before they realise where you are. Just go, unless you want to get killed"

"No, I don't break a promise, that's a rule, they're getting it for this. I don't need a gun, I've got enough on me to do it, and there can't be any more than four or five guys looking for me, I can dodge them long enough to get up there and back"

Blain would not be swayed, he'd told those three what would happen if they ratted him out, and they wouldn't get away with it. This place was huge, there was more than enough stairwells to sneak up. Of course, going to the top floor ran the risk of running straight into the boss, who'd most certainly shoot him on sight, but this was a matter of principle, he'd take that risk.

"Well, I think you're being stupid, but there's no time for fucking about, if you're gonna do it, you'd best go now, and fast"

"Absolutely. Thanks for the tip-off"

"Goes without saying. Try not to die"

Blain quickly slipped out into a side corridor, heading for one of the lesser used staircases, while reaching into a back pocket, before smirking. That would do as a murder weapon. Higuchi's "guards" were just idiot thugs, he'd have no trouble swerving around them.

Those three were going to regret this dearly. Lucky for them, they wouldn't have long to dwell on it, he'd make sure of that.

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Sincerest apologies this is a day late, I got totally swept under with work this week, and I wasn't able to finished it on time. Better late than never, I suppose

This is certainly a "two parter", since the next chapter well pick up directly where this one left off, and finish out this subplot.

I have a few days off this week, so it should be on time as normal.

As always, feel free to concrit, it's always helpful, and thanks very much for reading.