A/N: Hello! Well, I had an answer time yesterday. I love looking a pictures and seeing my huge hair in the background. Back to the story, Rio gets a little bit that will be important, pay attention people, and then there's Kaito and Shark. Things are about ready to burst with those two. And Arclights. Little bit more Arclights. Now, thanks for your reviews (I'll start replying to them again now I'm not panicking) and keep them up and enjoy.


Rio opened her eyes slowly and glanced around. It was the fairy garden again. She frowned and sat up slowly. Had they knocked her out and dumped her back here? There was a soft laugh and she lifted her head, turning to gaze at a young redheaded woman sitting on the bench. She frowned slightly. The woman from the picture. The Tsukikage matriarch.

"Would you be one of those fairies Miki used to see?"

"Umm…" She frowned and glanced around. She looked so young but was in black clothes and a veil had been pulled back from her face. "I don't think I'm a fairy. I'm just a girl. My name's Kamishiro Rio."

"It's nice to meet you, Rio," she replied, offering a hand to help her up. "Tsukikage Grace."

"You're… Mother Grace?"

"Mother…?" Grace laughed softly and shook her head. "I suppose I am a mother. Three-" She paused and frowned. "Two beautiful children." Rio frowned. The third must have been Miki. Then… Grace thought she was dead? Grace stood slowly and tucked a bit of hair from Rio's face behind her ear. "You look like her. Those eyes. Leo thinks he can bring her back. You can't bring back the dead."

"Then… how does he think he can save her?"

"Sometimes, I think I see her," she said sadly "In the lake."

"I'm so sorry."

"My beautiful baby girl is crying for her mother," she whispered, tears filling her eyes. "And I can't save her. I couldn't save her. I tried. I couldn't help her."

"I'm sure she loved you. I'm sure she knew you tried."

"Do you know a deck reflects its owner's heart?" she murmured, taking out a deck. "Those cards show you exactly what's in someone's heart. That's why you choose them."

"I'd heard," Rio said quietly, sitting with her. Grace smiled weakly and fanned them out. A cute deck, full of princesses and animals. "Were they hers?"

Grace nodded. "She was a naïve little princess. She couldn't really duel. She just wanted to play with her sister. Hibiki can duel. She's incredible. She'll be a champion one day, I can feel it. And Hiro… he's strong but he's too slow, he'd rather drag it out than win when he has the chance. But no matter how much they helped her, she just didn't quite grasp it. She tries- tried, bless her, but she just couldn't."

"Some people just take a little longer," she replied gently. "It's a complicated game for kids."

"Perhaps."

"So… what does it mean when a girl suddenly switches from her normal deck to a deck made of hideous sea monster and rushes in recklessly, sacrificing life points to summon them?"

Grace frowned and shook her head. "Her soul must be trapped in the abyss, surrounded by monsters she can't escape. She'd slowly losing herself and may have given up trying to fight. Perhaps she wants to go down fighting. She's waiting for someone strong enough to slay her demons."

Rio's eyes snapped open and she gasp, struggling for breath and water filling her lungs. Her wrists were still tied down and she couldn't struggle but she screamed into the water. And finally it began to drain away and she coughed and spluttered, staring up at the faces above her.

"Well?" Pride snapped.

"Give her time," Hiro replied. "She needs rest now or it could ruin everything."

"If past experience if anything to go by it won't matter," Envy purred.

Rio groaned, almost asking what was going on but the world went black.


"Let go!" Ryoga yelled, trying to shove Kaito off. "I need to find Rio!"

"You think I'm not doing my best to find her for you?" Kaito snapped back. His arms tightened around his waist and he tugged him back into the tower. Haruto was watching them, glaring with folded arms and Akina had her hands on her hips next to him. "Ryoga, if you run off now you're going to end up doing something stupid. You don't even know where she is. You'll be running around in circles! Stay with me again tonight and I'll let you know the second I have something."

"I'm not just going to sit here and let you play games with me!" he snapped.

Kaito gave a frustrated sigh and Ryoga lowered his head. Kaito wasn't going to let him go. That was obvious. And Ryoga's experience so far with that once Kaito had him he wasn't going to get away. He sighed and gave in, closing his eyes and letting Kaito for what he wanted.

"Thank you," Kaito said softly, guiding him into the elevator.

Haruto watched them silently still until they reached his floor and Kaito insisted he let them talk alone. Haruto was surprisingly compliant and left silently, flashing a smirk and tugging Akina along behind him. Kaito smiled watching them and Ryoga frowned. He supposed Kaito was just glad Ryoga had a friend his own age.

The second the elevator doors closed again, the air changed. Ryoga's breath caught as Kaito turned to him and he found himself backing against the wall, praying the journey up the next few floors would be over with quickly before too much happened.

The elevator's power shut off suddenly and Ryoga gulped as the lights dimmed to emergency power only. After a few moments of silence, glaring silently at each other, Kaito stalked forwards.

"Don't you trust me to find her?"

"I-"

He frowned and bit his lip. He'd never had to trust anyone with Rio before. Rio was his responsibility, he had to look after her for his parents. It was his job as big brother. Would Kaito trust anyone else with Haruto? Of course not! He'd go after him himself. So why should Ryoga trust anyone else?

"I would trust you with Haruto, Ryoga," Kaito said, as if reading his mind. Ryoga's head snapped up at he found Kaito right in front of him. "I swear, Ryoga, I won't stop until she is returned safely to you. But you have to trust me." His hands slid up to Ryoga's cheeks and he tilted his head up gently, their lips brushing softly as he spoke. "You have to trust me, Ryoga."

"I do, it's just- Rio."

"I know. And after everything that's happened recently I know it's hard to trust anyone, especially with the most precious thing in your life. But I need you to give me a little trust. Just a little. Even if you can't bring yourself to trust me completely, give me this."

"Kaito-"

Whatever he was about to say, it was forgotten when Kaito pressed their lips together roughly. He pushed his hands against Kaito's shoulder but he was quickly pinned to the wall. This wasn't the answer. Kaito couldn't just kiss him and expect him to give in!

Although Kaito seemed to enjoy his squirming and fighting and pushed the kiss deeper, his hands abandoning Ryoga's wrists and his fingers ghosting over his sides as they slid downwards under his purple shirt. Ryoga instantly returned to attempting to shove him off. Until Kaito's hands reached his hips and squeezed slightly, slamming him back against the wall and making him gasp and moan into his mouth.

This wasn't right. This was so so wrong. It wasn't the same. It wasn't like with Ken and he didn't know if this was ok. And it was all so confusing and Kaito wouldn't give him time to think. He kept pushing him and cornering him and Rygoa didn't know how to react to any of this. And when Kaito slid his thigh between his legs Ryoga just gave in. He stopped fighting it and let Kaito take control.

And as always, when Ryoga stopped fighting, Kaito released him.

He didn't know what he was supposed to do. Was he supposed to fight? Why did Kaito want him to fight him all the time? Wasn't this kind of thing supposed to be soft and romantic? Was Kaito even capable of romance or care? Ryoga might not have wanted all of that all the time but every now and again maybe a little tenderness would be nice. Like how Ken was…

"Ryoga?" Kaito murmured, pecking his lips. "What's wrong?"

"I can't stay with you tonight," Ryoga muttered, turning away. "I have school tomorrow." Kaito scowled, gently taking his chin between his fingers and turning him back. Obviously he wasn't buying it and Ryoga didn't blame him. He wasn't known for caring about school. "If I miss many more lessons they're going to talk to my parents. If I get kicked out… Rio's starting to settle, she's got friends, I don't want to be the reason we have to change schools. Again."

Kaito stepped back and Ryoga turned away. The power came back on and the elevator began to move again. His heart was pounding and his stomach churning and he wanted to bring Kaito back and melt into his hold but it wasn't the same. Nothing felt like Ken… like Honour. And he hated that, he hated being so pathetic and doing this to Kaito but what did it matter. There was nothing there. It wasn't like they were ever going to be confessing their love for each other. What did it matter if they used each other to vent their frustrations? And that was all it was, wasn't it? If it was something more, wouldn't Kaito be gentle and soft? Wasn't that how relationships and emotional stuff like that worked?

The elevator doors opened and Kaito stepped aside. "I need to have a word with my father. I'll be back down soon. Don't go anywhere until I'm back."

"Don't tell me what to do," Ryoga snapped, stepping out. He frowned slightly, noticing Kaito now following him. "You were going to see your father?"

"I just wanted to make sure you're alright."

"I can sit on a couch without supervision."

"I know." There was a heavy awkward pause and Ryoga threw himself down on the settee. "Ryoga… is something wrong?"

"Other than the obvious?" he snapped.

Why did he keep doing that? He didn't really mean to snap at Kaito. It was just his natural response and he couldn't stop it. It came out before he even had time to think. And it wasn't like Kaito didn't bite back just as often. It was just how they were and that was why their kisses and touches were so rough and heated. It didn't matter though, did it? If there was any chance of anything more, perhaps it was worth softening up but there wasn't. Right?

"Of course," Kaito muttered, turning away. "I'll work on finding her once I've spoken to my father."

"You can't expect me to just sit here," Ryoga snapped.

"Remember what I said about trust, Ryoga?" he said quietly. "Just relax for a bit. You need it."

Ryoga frowned and turned away as Kaito left. Relax? How was he supposed to relax without Rio? He sighed and leant curled up, closing his eyes trying to not to think about him anymore. Whatever was happening with Kaito, he needed to stop worrying. It wouldn't make any difference.

After a while, there was a call on the main screen. Ryoga frowned and opened one eye. Chris. It was V? Why was Kaito still in touch with V? Something in his chest tugged and his frown deepened. It was like when he thought about Ken and what had been happened between them.

"Ryoga?" Chris said, blinking in mild surprise when Ryoga answered the call. "Is Kaito not with you?"

"He's talking to Dr Faker," Ryoga muttered and Chris visibly suppressed a flinch. Ryoga frowned and glanced at his hands, debating for a second before lifting his head. "V… Chris. If I asked you for advice, would you help me?"

"Ryoga, after all my family has done to you and your family, I think advice is the least I can offer you," he replied gently. Ryoga nodded weakly. "Tell me how I can help you."

"I'm… I'm not very…" He paused and shook his head. "I don't really know much about being close to people." Chris nodded. "And I'm confused. Since Ken showed up, Kaito's been acting weird and now… we're apart, Kaito keeps…"

"He cares about you, Ryoga," he said.

"I'm not sure why."

Chris smiled slightly. "Of course you're not. People rarely are."

"The thing is, he's only been interested in me since Ken showed up," Ryoga said. Chris frowned. "And at first I thought it was just because Rio's gone and because I needed someone to be there through this but it's only been two days and things are getting serious and I don't know how to handle this."

"How serious is it?"

"I don't know." He sighed and clenched his fists. "He barely lets me out of my of his sight and whenever he start arguing he refuses to let me walk away and actually calm down. He pins me down and keeps pushing my temper until it goes too far and he just kisses me and doesn't let me go until I stop fighting him."

"And this bothers you?"

"A bit."

"Then if you want to break away from the constant fighting, perhaps the answer is to stop fighting," Chris said quietly.

"Not that easy," called a familiar voice off screen. Thomas appeared over his shoulder and Ryoga scowled. "You can't just switch it off. If you can Kaito are constantly in the loop, my guess is there is more going on."

"More?" Ryoga said quietly.

He wasn't exactly pleased to have Thomas in on this but he certainly seemed to have a little more insight into Ryoga's mind. They were annoyingly similar. Much as he hated to admit it, he and Thomas were two far too similar and that was why they drove each other crazy.

"Well, I dunno, but it sounds like Kaito has had feeling for you for a while," Thomas said. "Like it's always been there but he's never realised it before, not until you were suddenly out of reach and he couldn't have you." Actually… that sort of made sense. Which was rather surprising given this was Thomas they were talking about. "And that when you and Ken broke up he thought this was his chance and he had to take it before he lost you again." He glanced at his older brother. "You probably didn't help that."

Chris scowled and pushed Thomas away. "What happened between Kaito and I was-"

"I know about you and Kaito," Ryoga hissed, fists clenching against his thighs.

"Ryoga…" He sighed and played absently with his hair. "Ryoga, what are your feelings for Kaito? And what about this other boy?"

"I don't know," he replied quietly, lowering his gaze again. He hated being so confused by this all. He wished he had a little more experience or at least a little of a normal life over the past couple of years, he might have known what to do. Or at least had a better idea. "I've never met anyone like Ken and when I'm with him it's incredible. It's like nothing I've ever felt before and I want to make things better with him sometimes."

"But he doesn't want you?"

"I don't even know if it's that. He said it was because Kaito and he had been arguing and something Kaito had to tell me would push me away anyway but I don't care about what Kaito said, I understood and I didn't care."

"Then why not return to him? If you don't care for Kaito and only want Ken, it's unfair to continue with whatever this is."

Ryoga knew that. Of course he knew that. That was why he tried to stop it. Because it wasn't fair. It could ruin things between them. But Kaito wouldn't let him and he liked being with Kaito, he kind of enjoyed when they had but it didn't feel like it did with Ken. That was so stupid though. His feelings had been manipulated.

"There's a hunter, Honour, who wants to hurt me," Ryoga explained quietly. "He wants to destroy me in every way he can. And apparently that's what Ken wanted too but he changed his mind, so Honour is going to make me suffer. He can control my emotions. He twists everything inside me and can make me feel whatever he wants. And now it feels more and more like Ken is Honour and is just playing with me." He sighed and closed his eyes. "I don't know what's real anymore. If Ken really did care, if I really cared for him and if we can ever have something without Honour's control."

Chris nodded hesitantly. "You said he's been keeping you pinned down and forcing you to face your anger?" Ryoga nodded and Chris frowned. "Thomas, give us some time."

"What?" Thomas snapped.

"Marie is getting worked up," Chris snapped. Ryoga frowned. Who was Marie? "Take her for a walk with Michael."

"Fine, I'll walk the brat," he huffed. "Come on, girl." A fluffy dog ran across the background and pounced on Thomas, who guided her away. "You have fun remembering what you gave up, Chris."

There was silence until Chris was sure Thomas was gone. And that just made Ryoga more nervous. What was so important not even Thomas could hear? Chris sighed and ran his hands through his hair.

"How much did Kaito tell you about my relationship with him?"

"That when you figured out he liked you, you started using it to teach him," Ryoga said. "He said it wasn't a relationship really. He just called it a thing."

"Of course he would," Chris sighed. Ryoga frowned. "Ryoga, what Kaito and I had was rather serious and intense." He nodded slightly and Chris smiled. "It started quickly after I first met him. Our fathers introduced us. Kaito was thirteen at the time and I had just turned fifteen and was to begin working part time with our fathers. Kaito was dedicated to Haruto and had never been to school. Everything happened at home with him. So he'd never really interacted with other people. I was new to him."

Ryoga nodded. He understood that. Rio had been worrying about how she'd fit in after so long in hospital. And his lack of social skills came from isolating himself all the time. And he could only imagine what Chris must have seemed like to a home schooled, antisocial and isolated thirteen year old. He was pretty stunning to people these days, but him being your first experience of people from the outside?

"He was quite shy back then, but he had a temper. He was almost a spoilt brat back then," Chris continued. "Dr Faker would give him anything he wanted just to keep him from distracting him from his work. Father was never too keen on that, and told me I should watch him. So I did. When he lost his temper and demanded stuff of me, I'd hold him, keep him pinned down until his tantrum faded and as a reward, I'd give him a kiss sometimes. You should have seen his face the first time we kissed. He was so lost and confused and tried so hard to figure out how to react."

Ryoga smirked. "I can't imagine Kaito cute and scared."

"Yes, but he learnt quickly. Soon it was an all-out affair behind our father's backs. And it carried on like that for a while and we would spend time together for hours, just exploring and experimenting with each other."

Ryoga nodded again. He'd never though Chris and Kaito had been so close. He knew there was history and they were close and after Kaito's confession he'd known about their relationship but this… He hadn't known their connection was so deep.

"When I lost my father, and had to leave my brothers, I turned to Kaito for comfort. It was probably morally wrong, and cruel, but at the time I cared about him, I wanted to have him there when I needed him. And he was. He gave me everything I could ask for just to make me feel better. It was incredible and he just gave so much to try and please me."

Ryoga smiled bitterly. Chris looked so sad talking about it. It sounded like they'd been absolutely in love. The kind of crazy young love people said was blind and that never really faded. First love cut deepest, that's what people told him. It didn't make him feel any better about Ken.

"The point is, Ryoga," he said quietly. "If Kaito is doing the opposite to what I did to him, there has to be a reason. Have you two actually sat down together and spoken about it with each other?"

"No," Ryoga replied. "I can't spend five minutes with him without just arguing."

Chris nodded, frowning slightly. "Then perhaps you should just tell him how you feel about the situation." Ryoga opened his mouth to argue that he didn't know how he felt but Chris spoke over him. "Even if you don't understand, explain everything to him. Just put a bit of distance between you and explain it to him calmly as you can. If he tries to silence you, be firm with him. Tell him you need to talk and need him to hear it."

Ryoga nodded slowly. It made sense he supposed. Kaito might have been pushing him but he wouldn't do anything to him by force, would he? If Ryoga honestly said he didn't want it, Kaito would back off. He believed that with all his heart. Kaito would never force him to do something he didn't want to. Their kisses might have been rough and heated and somewhat pounced about him, Ryoga knew how to get him to stop and knew if he said for Kaito to stop, he would.

"Thank you, Chris," Ryoga muttered.

"It's quite alright, Ryoga," Chris replied. "As I said, it's the least I can do for you. However, I would ask that if you do feel the need to return to this other boy, please, do not lead him on. If you allow him to think there's something more when there isn't, it will tear him apart."

"I won't," he said quietly. "I just need space to figure things out."

"I'm glad. Should you end up hurting him, I will be forced to send Thomas after you."

Chris was smiling slightly but Ryoga wasn't sure it was a joke. The idea of Thomas coming after him for revenge for him hurting Kaito was a scary one.


Kaito was unusually tense as he went back down towards the sitting room. His mind kept replaying the events from earlier. Things had been going well. He and Ryoga were together, enjoying themselves together and things had been moving quickly and despite Ryoga still pushing against his shoulders, every other reaction was positive, he kissed back fiercely and shivered at his touch and then… Then everything had just stopped.

And Ryoga's words. Maybe he was thinking over it too much but the Ryoga had said he couldn't stay with him. Him. Not that he couldn't stay here or that he couldn't stay out. Just that he couldn't stay with Kaito. It was frustrating. He hoped he was over thinking, who really thought about just words that much though? It was stupid.

The doors opened and Kaito stepped out only to nearly walk straight into Ryoga on the other side of the doors. After a moment of silence, staring at each other until Ryoga pushed Kaito back inside. Kaito frowned slightly as the doors shut.

"Ryoga," he murmured.

Perhaps things weren't going as badly as he feared. Perhaps Ryoga was just stressed. He smiled slightly, drawing Ryoga up and kissed him softly only to be pushed off. He frowned and went to catch Ryoga's wrists as always but Ryoga backed out of reach.

"No," Ryoga said, glaring at him. "Stop that."

"Alright." He held up his hands in an offering of peace and Ryoga scowled, glaring at him and pushing the power out button as Kaito had earlier. They were plunged into the dim light once more and Kaito frowned. "Alright, Ryoga, what's going on?"

"We need to talk," Ryoga replied.

Kaito nodded again and Ryoga moved forwards. What was going to happen now? Ryoga had been unpredictable since their argument earlier, since the pain he'd felt from Rio. And he could easily subdue Ryoga if needs be. He wanted Ryoga so badly he could let him take control for the moment. There was still a wildness in Ryoga's eyes that told him Ryoga hadn't had time to calm down fully. He could still get that passion and fire out of him.

There was silence once more and Ryoga pushed him back against the wall, the handrail digging awkwardly into his back making Kaito hiss as he was forced back. Ryoga knew the handrail was there, he'd pushed him back on purpose. At least Kaito had been kind enough to push him up against the back wall where there was nothing digging into his back.

Ryoga smiled caught his wrist, forcing it back against the hand rail and smirked as Kaito hissed again. He could let Ryoga have control but this was getting ridiculous. And it only got worse when Ryoga's hand slid up his sleeve, activating his Duel Anchor and wrapping it around the rail. And Kaito realised he was going to be stuck here if he didn't act soon. So he went to force Ryoga away and take control of the situation but Ryoga caught his hand and wrapped the other end of the Anchor around his wrist. The Anchor looked into place and Kaito clenched his jaw.

He was stuck.

Ryoga smiled and walked away slowly, leaning on the wall opposite. Kaito sighed and gave in. Was this really what Ryoga wanted? Was this pay back for his control and roughness?

"Alright, Ryoga," Kaito said. "What do you want?"

"I need you to slow down," Ryoga replied. Kaito frowned and Ryoga offered a small smile. "It's not that I don't want to be with you, I think, it's just that it's only been two days and this is all really confusing for me."

Kaito frowned slightly. He should have thought about that really. Ken had been Ryoga's first relationship, his first real kiss came from him. It hadn't crossed his mind that just because at Ryoga's age he'd already been fully engaged in a passionate meaningful relationship didn't mean Ryoga had been. He had no idea just how far Ken and Ryoga had been in their two weeks together. He'd been pushing Ryoga with no idea how far he could go before this was all completely new to him.

"Alright," Kaito said, nodding slightly. It was a fair enough point, he supposed. Perhaps earlier he'd taken things a bit further than Ryoga could handle. And Ryoga was admitting that and telling him. That had to be a step in the right direction. "Is that it?"

"I need to know that I'm not sure how I feel about Ken." Kaito's heart wrenched. Ken. Always Ken with Ryoga. Why wouldn't Ryoga listen when he warned him? If he was Honour, he was trying to hurt him and if not their relationship had still been manipulated. "Or you." Kaito started slightly, tugging at his wrists even though he knew there was no chance of getting loose. "And tomorrow I'll see him at school and we'll talk like we agreed and I'll figure out what I want."

He walked up slowly and Ryoga gazed up at him for a moment before kissing him gently. Kaito struggled with that Anchor again, wishing he could wrap his arms around him and hold him close. Finally, he gave up and just settled for kissing back.

"Just know that I have a lot of thinking to do, Kaito," Ryoga said quietly. "And if I decide I want to carry on with you, we have to slow down and take it easy, got it?" Kaito nodded and Ryoga smirked. "I'm glad we understand each other."

He nodded and leant down in an attempt to capture his lips once more but Ryoga was already walking away from him to turn back on the power.

"Ryoga," he called. Ryoga glanced back. "Come back here."

Ryoga frowned and tilted his head. "Why? What do you want from me, Kaito? This is nothing more than a game, right? So you can wait, right?"

"You think this is a game?" Kaito snapped.

"Isn't it?" Ryoga said tilting his head. "Aren't we just using each other to get over someone else?"

Kaito scowled at the look in Ryoga's eyes. "Are you… You're talking about Chris? Ryoga, what happened between me and Chris was nothing."

"That's not how he tells it."

"You… you spoke to Chris?" For some reason that hurt more than anything so far. Ryoga had been speaking to Chris about them? And Ryoga thought he was trying to use him to get over Chris like he let Ryoga use him to get over Ken? "I'm not using you, Ryoga."

"It doesn't matter, does it?"

The power came back on and Kaito twisted his wrists. He had until they reached the ground floor to convince Ryoga his feelings were genuine or the next time he saw Ryoga he'd have spoken to Ken and there would nothing left to do but accept his decision.

"This isn't a game, Ryoga," Kaito said softly. Ryoga glanced at him and Kaito sighed. "I'm not using you and this isn't a game." Clicking his tongue in annoyance, Ryoga glanced away again. He didn't really care about admitting it now. He just needed to convince Ryoga he was going to be there for him. "I want you, Ryoga. Just you. This isn't anything to do with anyone else. I want you." Ryoga didn't even glance at him and Kaito clenched his fists. "When I saw how much Ken hurt you I realised I had to act, Ryoga, I couldn't let anyone hurt you like that again and I never would. I don't know how else to make you understand but I need you to realise that this is more than a game to me."

Ryoga still didn't look at him and Kaito didn't know what else to say. What else could he say to convince Ryoga to listen? And then the doors opened and Ryoga strode out, leaving Kaito tied with his own Duel Anchor.

"Ryoga?!" he yelled. "Ryoga! You're not just going to leave me here! Ryoga!"

But Ryoga was already gone. And it was obvious he was stuck like this. He sighed and twisted painfully, struggling to reach the Anchor. And finally, his fingers brushed it and the red tie vanished, letting his drop to the ground, rubbing his wrists. There was nothing left to do but wait now. Whatever Ryoga decided, he'd done all he could. He just hoped wasn't a part of this, that he really was innocent and Ryoga wasn't going to get himself hurt.


In the Next Chapter: Ryoga has to go back to school and face Ken, Yuma and the gang take Akina go searching for hunters and Kaito finds one.

Envy's Kiss