[ Nightare Incarnated ]
Eons ago, before dark magic was forgotten, criminals and crooks were sent to a world full of darkness: the Shadow Realm. The Shadow Realm was an endless void full of the many things humans feared; loneliness, constant anxiety, angst, and much more. Being cast into this world of darkness was considered the cruelest of punishment. Most went crazy. Some people, however, retained sanity, among them Tomb Robber. He had even escaped the dreaded place countless times, each time stronger and more confident.
But now as he lay facedown in the sand he thought of how stupid the Egyptians had been, wasting their energy. Thought of how stupid he had been, thinking he’d walk the earth forever.
Death was horrible. Of course, it wasn’t dying that caused the pain, but burning in the deep recesses of hell, where your only companion was the devil.
That’s where he was… hell. And it wasn’t anything like Tomb Robber would have expected. If you had asked him what hell was he’d have said something along the lines of ‘a giant furnace.’ But Tomb Robber found hell was much like a soul room, different for every person. At least that’s what could assume from his surroundings. He had a desert, and he lay there with the remains of his old village not to far away. That village was where he had lost any innocent thought in his head. He had been 14 and the Pharaoh had burned his home down in search of a Millennium Item, one that had been made in the tiny village. The boy had fallen unconscious when his house collapsed on him, and when he awoke, he lay on the remains of a town, and on the burned bits and pieces of people he had known. He had gone mad, mad with anger at the Pharaoh. And not too much time later, he could be recognized all over Egypt as Tomb Robber.
The white-haired man narrowed his eyes in concentration at his last thought. It seemed so vague, that memory… Perhaps he was losing his memory. He had lost everything else in this hellhole… His confidence, his dignity, and he would have lost his mind had it not been so complex and always at work. All Tomb Robber ever did now was think about things, really, regret things. What else could he do? He had an eternity here, and no hope of escaping.
Tomb Robber was concentrating on the memory of losing his village when he heard a rustle in the sand near his feet. It was the only other thing that could think in this place, and Tomb Robber didn’t want it around.
The devil.
[ Chapter 2: Conflict ] Tomb Robber rolled onto his back and sat up, glaring at his feet. He was surprised to see nothing there. He then felt something light touch against his back. Tomb Robber turned his head sharply to see, cricking his neck in the process. The man cursed at what he saw.
“Hello pet.” Said the form that resembled the cause of Tomb Robber’s hatred, the Pharaoh that had served before Yami Yugi, the bastard who had ruined the white-haired man’s life.
Tomb Robber cursed again. How was it that the shape-shifting devil always knew the last person he wanted to see?
“Go away!” Tomb Robber yelled. The devil chuckled, amused at how stupid one of his favorite toys was being. Would the King of the Damned leave a demented man alone just because he asked?
“I meant it! I don’t want to put up with anymore of your shit!” Tomb Robber tried again to get devil to leave, but he only laughed outright.
“You do the same thing every time I visit, and each time I leave you with a piece of your soul missing! Don’t try fighting me!” The devil leered. Tomb Robber only continued to glare more, but finally turned his head away, causing the demon to laugh again.
“May I sit down?” the shape-shifter asked after collecting himself. Tomb Robber only kept looking out towards nowhere, so the devil seated himself on the man’s lap, leaning his back against Tomb Robber’s chest. The man grit his teeth, disgusted that the… thing… sitting on him. And he was disgusted that it looked like an old, wrinkled man. The devil took notice of the _expression on Tomb Robber’s face, and slowly changed his appearance.
“Is this better?” The shape-shifter purred, tickling Tomb Robber’s chin with his soft, spiked hair. Tomb Robber dared a glance, and was sickened to find Pharaoh Atemu (or Yami as he got used to calling him near the end of his life) sitting there. Pharaoh Atemu was who Tomb Robber had sworn vengeance on after the former Pharaoh had passed away of old age.
Tomb Robber pushed the thing out of his lap, and it responded by punching him hard in the face. The man fell to his side yelping. Pain here in hell always turned out worse than it was supposed to be. It felt like something had lodged itself in his jaw. Tomb Robber whimpered as he was pulled to his feet by the devil.
“Want me to kiss the hurt away?” cooed the shape-shifter, slamming his mouth hard onto the former thief’s lips. Tomb Robber yelped again, and tried to pull away. That plan only failed, and he was only left the option of resisting as best as he could. The thing latched onto him was desperate to give him more attention, and it fought to force his lips apart. Tomb Robber kept his mouth shut, and the devil pulled away in annoyance. The devil could easily manipulate the man into more intimate contact, but where would the fun be in taking down a haughty man like Tomb Robber when he wasn’t afraid of him? The devil preferred to break his victims down emotionally, and then play non-stop all over their luscious bodies. But nothing had destroyed the tomb robber’s soul yet! Nothing! The devil could only make the man regret failure in his past life, but had never moved farther than that.
The devil growled when he saw a small smirk form on Tomb Robber’s face, but knew he had the right to sneer. He was proving himself a match to the devil’s strength.
“I just haven’t pressed the right buttons yet is all,” The devil hissed. “You’ll fall before me soon.” Tomb Robber laughed a little, pulling himself out of the devil’s grasp. Tomb Robber walked a little while away, sitting in the sand a few feet from where the demon stood. Tomb Robber crossed his arms ad folded his legs, showing the devil he was bored and could go away now.
“You think I came here just to play with your body?” hissed the devil. “You’re wrong. I know what you’ve been thinking about, and wanted to discuss it with you.” The Tomb Robber remained silent, so he continued.
“ Your village was destroyed, wasn’t it? You vowed revenge on Pharaoh Atemu. Well you never achieved it. You even lost sight of this goal on the course of your life.” The devil knew Tomb Robber was listening now, and went on with what he had to say. “Your first year of tomb robbing, you found the resting place of an old priest with the story of the Sennan Items carved onto the walls. You read that the power of all seven Items would allow you to dominate the world. You planned to use this immense power to avenge your village, but after obtaining the Sennan Ring you forgot this objective and pushed your loved ones from your mind. The power of the Item drove you to be selfish-“
“That’s not true!” Tomb Robber stood up, glaring at the vermin that stood before him. But something he could feel inside of him was debating whether what he was saying was fact or not.
“Then what did you plan to do to Atemu when you finally owned all seven Sennan Items?” The devil asked, the violet eyes of Yami narrowed.
“To kill him of course!” Tomb Robber yelled.
“For what reason? Only to prove your absolute power to others! Not to avenge your village like you swore you would!” The devil roared. The former thief stood dumbstruck at what was being said to him. But before guilt could take hold in him he quickly convinced himself that he had been happier trying to attain unmatchable power, and that he had felt miserable and alone when he had been planning to kill the Pharaoh for the village’s gain. Tomb Robber took on the belief that the selfishness he felt was not a crime, because no one else had proved of use to him in the world anyway.
The devil couldn’t believe what was going on in the man’s head. The village and his feelings towards Atemu had been weak spots just a minute ago, and he had just strengthened himself. He was just about to comment on the abrupt change in attitude when Tomb Robber began talking.
“ You can’t break me down.” He started. “ You want to but you can’t. You’re too weak!” A smirk was forming on his lips now. “So why bother with me anymore?”
The devil stood there with his face set straight, quietly contemplating his response.
“Well?” Tomb Robber asked, his voice a few notes higher with triumph, the triumph he had been waiting for ever since he was thrown here, the victory he lusted for when the devil first rubbed his face in all his failures. He had won finally! He devil had run out of ideas! He was just standing there!
The devil looked up and smiled slyly. He then threw his arms up into the air.
“You’re right, Great King Baku! You’re so strong! I was a fool to believe I could break destroy something as rock-hard as your spirit! You’ve fared so much better in this place than others have!” The devil’s evil smile grew wide now, stretching fro ear to ear, and Tomb Robber felt some of the triumph in him slowly trickle away as he watched the devil. It seemed he hadn’t won yet; the devil had one more card to play. It seemed like forever waiting for the demon to finish speaking. But the words finally came.
“You should see what state Ryou is in right now!”
[ Chapter 3: Recollection ] Tomb Robber gawked at what Satan had just said.
You should see what state Ryou is in right now!
So Ryou was in hell? What the fuck had that faggot done to deserve this?
“I’ll let you think about it,” the devil smirked. Tomb Robber blinked in confusion, and then realized the shape shifter had been reading his thoughts.
“I don’t like you in my head, you bastard!” Tomb Robber picked a rock up off the ground and chucked it at the devil, but the target disappeared into thin air before it could be hit.
Tomb Robber stood silently in the sand with his fists and teeth clenched.
“That asshole!” Tomb Robber shouted with his teeth still tightly shut. Tomb Robber sighed in frustration and fell backwards onto the ground, hitting it with a loud thud and sending up dust. He brought his hand up and ran it through his hair, all the while thinking of his and Satan’s conversation.
-see what state Ryou is in now… -let you think about it…
“The pisshead’s looking for a weak spot.” Tomb Robber mumbled. He would have smirked if he had heard this during his life. He believed he had no weak spot. He actually thought he himself was the devil… But Tomb Robber had his weak spots. And he was afraid the devil would find them.
Think about it.
“That’s what you want me to do,” Tomb Robber mumbled again. But…
What did Ryou do to deserve being in hell? And whatever he did, shouldn’t all his good deeds make up for any sins he had committed? It just didn’t make sense that someone as calm as Ryou deserved to rot in this place.
Tomb Robber racked his brains for an answer to his questions. It was a while before anything came to him. Or it could have been just a few seconds. There was no sense of time here. But the fact is something did come to him. A memory of his life.
*~*~*
Ryou Bakura walked into his bedroom after a hard day of school and co-curricular activities. Wanting to take a nap before getting his dinner ready, he yawned while stretching out his arms and fell back, but landed on the floor instead of on his bed.
“Shit!” Ryou yelled as his head collided with something on the floor. Ryou turned over grumbling and picked up whatever he had hit, and found it was a canister of lubricant.
What the hell was that doing out? Ryou usually kept it hidden in his closet under some extra sheets, but here it was on the floor in plain view. Someone had been snooping around in his stuff.
“Dad?” Ryou called out nervously. Maybe his father had gotten home early from his trip to Egypt, and was wondering what his son had been up to lately. But why would he suspect that Ryou was doing anything wrong? Well… Ryou didn’t talk to his father too much, even when he was home. Ryou’s father really had no assurance that Ryou was being a good kid, either…
And in fact, Ryou wasn’t being a good kid. Not really…
Ryou’s call received no reply from inside of the house. Ryou went to the window and looked out, searching for his father’s car in the driveway. Nothing was there save Ryou’s own car.
Ryou bit his lip and kept looking around outside, and was startled when a voice sounded off in his head.
“I was going through your stuff, Ryou,” the voice said.
“Huh?” Ryou whispered. “You, Koe?”
“That’s what I said,” the voice sounded slightly annoyed.
Ryou relaxed a bit. Good… His father still didn’t know about his secret. But the panic creeped back as Ryou realized who did know his secret.
“You may be able to keep some things from me, Ryou. But you should’ve known I’d find out about something as big as this,” the other Ryou said, or rather thought. He didn’t have to voice anything aloud. He was inside the boy’s head after all.
Ryou bit his lip, both in anger and anxiety. The spirit went on.
“Who’s this slut you’ve been fooling around with?” Dark Bakura demanded.
“None of your business!” Ryou shouted, forgetting he didn’t need to talk out loud. He moved away from the window and fell back onto the bed, not missing this time. He picked up his pillow and was smothering his face with it when his other self continued.
“It is my business if you’re fucking around with someone. This is <I>our</I> body after all.” Dark Bakura hissed.
“Our body?” Ryou growled. “This is my body!”
“Don’t go off topic.” Dark Bakura commanded. “Now… Who have you been sleeping with? Or is it more than one person?”
“Just because I have lubricant doesn’t mean I’m having sex!” Ryou shouted. “Did it ever occur to you that I’m just being smart? You know. Prepared in case something happens?”
“Well it would appear plenty of things have been happening, judging on how many times your friends call asking where the hail you are.” Dark Bakura sneered.
Ryou’s eyes widened before closing tightly. He tried to get to sleep- and he did- but that didn’t help too much. Dark Bakura was waiting right there on the landscape of Ryou’s mind.
“Leave me alone.” Ryou muttered, sounding a bit defenseless, but at the same time sounding arrogant.
I’m not taking any shit from you. Ryou thought to himself.
Ryou turned his back on Bakura and started walking away. He didn’t have to worry about stopping because the hall in which he stood never ended. Ryou thought the hallway symbolized his and his other self’s endless problems, but he was never sure. Maybe it just symbolized Dark Bakura’s endless life…
“Stop, Ryou.” Dark Bakura ordered, but Ryou kept walking on. Dark Bakura growled and talked on. “Ryou! Who is it?”
“LEAVE ME ALONE!” Ryou shouted, not turning to look at Dark Bakura, but the spirit could still imagine the glare on the young boy’s face.
Dark Bakura grimaced, and then ran down the hallway towards Ryou. When he reached him he grabbed Ryou by the arm and rammed him into the wall. Ryou gasped as Dark Bakura put all his weight on him to hold him down.
“Get off!” Ryou demanded, though if was doubtful Dark Bakura would listen. But he did loosen his grip, but only so that he wouldn’t hurt Ryou. He might not hurt him physically doing this, but there was no definite line between real life and this subliminal one.
“Ryou, listen to me.” Dark Bakura started, making Ryou growl.” Ryou, I only want to help.”
“Bull shit!” Ryou yelled, and Dark Bakura was sure he saw tears building up in Ryou’s eyes.
“You should respect yourself, Ryou.” Dark Bakura whispered, startling Ryou with his soft tone. Ryou stopped struggling against Dark Bakura’s body and looked up into his other self’s eyes dark brown eyes, seeing concern.
Ryou groaned. He was going to be forced to tell Koe everything… Where he had been going to every other night for the last three weeks, what he was doing, and with whom. Tears spilled out of Ryou’s eyes, though the boy didn’t let any sound escape his mouth.
Dark Bakura widened his eyes at the sight of Ryou crying, but composed himself and embraced Ryou, pulling the two closer together. Ryou didn’t pull back, but he stayed stiff.
“Please, Ryou.” Dark Bakura’s breath tickled Ryou’s neck. “I want to know. I want to make sure no one’s hurting you.”
“You don’t care.” Ryou mumbled, nearly incoherently. “The only thing you’re worried about is my physical health.” More tears spilled from his eyes. Bakura tried to pull Ryou closer, but he found it was quite impossible.
“Ryo-“ but Dark Bakura was cut off when Ryou angrily pushed him away.
“I’m tired of your damn mood swings!” Ryou shouted. “At first you were just being an ass and now you’re trying to comfort me! Make up your mind!”
“Okay.” Dark Bakura murmured, moving back towards Ryou. “I want to comfort you.” Dark Bakura lightly touched Ryou’s face, and moved to run his fingers through his hair, but Ryou sprinted off before he could.
“I don’t want you interrogating me!” Ryou shouted. As Dark Bakura watched, the running figure that was Ryou began to disappear.
Ryou woke up alone in his bed, and he wasn’t surprised to find tears streaming down his face. He jumped up and ran out of his room, through the house, and out into the pitch-black night. He got into his car and backed out of the driveway, thankful that there was no traffic at this time of night.
Ryou sped down the road, above the speed limit, but luckily no authorities pulled him over. It was only a few minutes before he reached his destination and stopped his car in front of the fence guarding a mansion. He hastily climbed out of his vehicle and, leaving the car door open, jumped the gate. Without too much trouble he made his way to the ground on the other side of the fence and ran for the front door. Upon reaching it Ryou reached into his pocket grabbing some keys, and found the one that unlocked the gigantic door.
The lock clicked and Ryou pushed the door open, running inside. He made his way up the staircase, bumping into a couple people in the way. One of them Mokuba Kaiba.
“Ryou? What are you doing here?” Mokuba shouted up after the teen speeding away, but Ryou was too concerned about everything else to answer Mokuba’s question. When Ryou reached the top of the staircase he looked around for Seto Kaiba’s room, and rushed in.
“Agh! Ryou!” Seto Kaiba’s eyes widened as they say a white-haired boy run into the room and throw himself into Seto’s arms. Ryou’s knees buckled under him, and Seto only held him up.
Seto, still quite shocked, dragged Ryou to the bed in the center of the room. He dropped Ryou onto it, and saw streams of what looked like tears staining Ryou’s pale flesh before Ryou’s arms came up and wrapped around Seto’s neck, pulling him down onto the bed.
Seto felt kisses, wet and sloppy; cover the area above his chest. Seto felt his breath hitch and his heart beat to speed up.
“Make everything go away for a while, Seto.” A weak and desperate voice pleaded into Seto’s ear. “You don’t have to pay me this time.”
“Ryou…” Seto started, but couldn’t continue as Ryou slipped his hands under his shirt. He started panting slightly, and couldn’t get the rest of what he wanted to say out.
Ryou cried silently as he let Seto manipulate his body, wondering how his day had gone from good to suddenly terrible in such a short time.
As Ryou wondered this, Dark Bakura watched the world through Ryou’s eyes. He couldn’t believe this… Ryou had been sleeping with Seto for money…
*~*~*
“Prostitution.” Tomb Robber gasped.
Damn. Was that really bad enough to get you sent to hell? But… But Ryou… Tomb Robber was sure Ryou didn’t do it for money, not just that anyway. Tomb Robber was convinced he did it for a much more personal reason. After that little incident, Ryou never told his dark counterpart what he had been thinking through the whole thing.
“Ah, fuck it!” Tomb Robber exclaimed. He jumped up onto his feet and started running- where he didn’t know. All that was on his mind was that Ryou was innocent. Ryou was just confused at the time. Ryou had good character. At times he was brave, at all times he was loyal to his friends. Tomb Robber didn’t like to think that that one phase Ryou had gone through was cause enough to get him sent to hell.
Tomb Robber had to find Ryou and get him out of this place, somehow.
As Tomb Robber ran on he thought about the memories he had just relived. Hadn’t they come just a little too easily? The picture was perfectly clear, it seemed he had remembered everything.
Maybe this was a trap set up by the devil?
Tomb Robber forgot all this however as something amazing happened. His desert… It was disappearing! He was escaping it. When Tomb Robber escaped the desert void completely he stopped, and saw a room had replaced it. He turned around and gasped.
[ Chapter 4:Reunion ] If Seto had actually cared, he would’ve controlled himself. He would’ve picked himself up off of the smaller boy. He would’ve comforted him. But he didn’t do any of these things. Ryou was just his slut… Why should he care?
Ryou’s eyes opened slowly, and he found himself in Seto’s bed. Looking across the room he spotted some dirty manga on Seto’s desk. That would explain the horny mood Seto had been in last night… Ryou wondered… If Seto hadn’t been reading the comic before he came, would he have stopped Ryou before he was pulled onto the bed and asked what was wrong?
Something told Ryou, “No.” Seto hadn’t even worried himself about staying home until Ryou woke up, and Ryou was sure it never occurred to Seto to wake him up if he was in such a hurry to leave.
But Ryou shouldn’t complain, should he? He was the one who had come and asked Seto to sleep with him… It was his fault he was here…
Ryou’s gaze fell from the desk and onto the floor, to the spot where his jeans had ended up. Ryou was sickened to find money poking out of the back pocket, money that hadn’t been there before last night.
“I said you didn’t have to pay me.” Ryou muttered. Tears welled up in his eyes, but they didn’t fall. Instead Ryou got out of bed, ignoring the soreness in his legs, and got dressed. He pulled the money out of his pocket, and made to put it on the desk- to leave it. But he knew Seto would force him to take it… Ryou sniffed and put the dollar bill back in his pocket. All well… He could use some of it for breakfast out, and have plenty left over. He had to admit… this dirty business did have advantage… along with too many disadvantages.
Ryou sighed, or sobbed rather, and walked out of Seto’s room, making his way back down the staircase. When he reached the bottom of the flight of steps, a golden retriever jumped on Ryou, causing him to fall backward and hit his back on the steps.
“Jonouchi! No!” Mokuba’s voice called from somewhere out of Ryou’s sight range. Ryou gasped as the weight of the large dog was pulled off of him. He looked up and saw Mokuba pushing on the dog’s back, pleading, “Sit!”
“Sit, boy.” Ryou said. The dog stopped jumping all over Mokuba and sat.
“Thanks.” Mokuba said. “And sorry…” Mokuba turned away from his dog and pulled Ryou onto his feet. “I guess this is the reason Seto wouldn’t let me have a dog before.”
“You just need to learn to handle Jonouchi better.” Ryou smiled slightly, he was still amused that the dog was named after his friend…
“You leaned to handle him the first time you saw him.” Mokuba pouted, he was obviously jealous. Ryou had to smile at the _expression on the boy’s face. No wonder he was the only person Seto really cared about.
“Don’t worry, Mokuba.” Ryou tried not to look too tired and show he was thinking about Seto. “You’ll learn. Well I’ve got to go.” Ryou reached out and ruffled Mokuba’s hair, something he’d always felt comfortable doing. Ryou then patted Jonouchi, the dog, on the head and made his way to the front door.
“Hey wait!” Mokuba called as Ryou reached the giant door. “You… Want to go with me to Kaiba Land? It’s Saturday and I have nothing to do… so…” Mokuba was actually a little embarrassed about asking. Ryou was in high school and probably had better things to do. But to the boy’s delight Ryou smiled.
“Sure, Mokuba. Go grab your Duel Monsters deck. I’ll be waiting in my car.” Ryou said, and Mokuba ran quickly up the steps to grab his cards. Ryou sighed, but not the way he had up in the bedroom. It was a more relaxed sigh. Ryou loved Mokuba; and the idea of spending a day with him wasn’t a bad one.
*~*~*
“You shouldn’t leave your car door open,” Mokuba said as he got into the passenger’s side of Ryou’s Mustang.
“I was in a hurry to see your brother.” Ryou put simply. Ryou closed the door behind Mokuba and made his way around, getting into the car and strapping on his seat belt. Mokuba fidgeted in his seat as he remembered last night. Ryou had been crying…
“Ahm…” Mokuba voiced aloud, causing Ryou to look at him.
“What is it?” Ryou asked. But Ryou already sort of knew. Mokuba was probably going to ask what Ryou had been doing last night with Seto. It sure wasn’t math homework, as Seto and Ryou had been telling the young boy for the past three weeks.
Mokuba stiffened a bit, and finally said, “I hope we have fun today!” He threw on a giant smile that almost made Ryou laugh, even though it was a fake smile.
“I hope so, too.” Ryou smiled. “Now… What was it you really wanted to talk about?” Ryou wondered what he was doing, pushing the subject he had wanted to avoid. Maybe he just needed to talk about it… Younger kids were best for this sort of thing, after all.
“Um…” Mokuba was surprised by the question. “I… ahm… You were crying…” Mokuba finished in a voice hardly above a whisper.
“Ah. That.” Ryou said as he started his car and moved it out of the giant driveway. “Well… There was a lot of stuff on my mind. I was feeling really stressed. And that’s why I needed to see your brother.”
“To talk to him.” Mokuba finished for him.
Ryou stared at Mokuba for a bit, while trying to keep his eyes on the road at the same time. “Yeah… Let’s go with that.”
Mokuba turned and gave Ryou a strange look. What was that supposed to mean? Great… Something else to nag at him. But what Mokuba was really curious about was…
“Hey Ryou…” Mokuba started suddenly, causing Ryou and the car to jolt. “Sorry… Um… Seto.”
“What about him?” Ryou asked gently, of course he could strangle Mokuba. He hated being interrupted suddenly when driving. He had killed too many cats that way…
“It’s just…” Mokuba looked for the right words. “Seto hasn’t been the same since you two started hanging around together more. He seems more stressed now. I don’t want to make it sound like I’m accusing you of making things hard on my brother!” Mokuba assured Ryou. “It’s just that… What have you two really been doing together?”
Ryou was silent for a while. Actually for a little too long. Mokuba pouted slightly and said, “I know what sex is.”
Now that caused Ryou to nearly crash into the car in the next lane. Ryou composed himself and drove, fast, into the parking lot of a fast food restaurant where he nearly ran over a cat. He then turned around and stared at Mokuba.
“Now where did you get the idea that I was having sex with Seto? On second thought… How do you know what sex is?” Ryou’s face was extremely red, and Mokuba would’ve smiled if the situation had been less serious.
“ I steal Seto’s manga.” Mokuba said, blushing.
“Shame on you.” Ryou said, but was more interested in what Mokuba’s answer to his first question would be.
“And… Seto talks sometimes to his friends about his tramp.” Mokuba said, hoping he hadn’t insulted or hurt Ryou too badly. He was just telling the truth.
Ryou’s eyes widened as he gasped. His breathing became more strained.
“TRAMP?” Ryou suddenly shouted.
“That’s what he said, Ryou.” A voice inside Ryou’s head said, but Ryou didn’t listen, or notice. He was too concerned with what Mokuba had to say.
“I’m sorry, Ryou.” Mokuba looked away, using his hair to hide his eyes. Something that reminded Ryou of himself. “ I just thought you should know.”
They sat there in silence for a while. Ryou finally broke the silence when he asked, “What about your brother being stressed?”
“He feels like he needs to impress his friends.” Mokuba stated. “Or bug you and your friends more. I don’t know which. It’s still wrong. Seto shouldn’t lie and say that you sleep with him for money.”
That last sentence nearly made Ryou cry. But he didn’t. Not in front of Mokuba anyway. His mind was screaming, and Dark Bakura wished he could make it stop. He wanted to comfort Ryou, like he had said last night. He didn’t want anyone hurting Ryou.
Ryou looked at Mokuba with sad eyes. Mokuba was so innocent, even if he did look at Seto’s perverted comics. The boy would never guess that what Seto told his friends wasn’t a lie.
“All this… Hasn’t been pulling you and Seto apart has it?” Ryou asked, concerned. He didn’t want to make things bad for Mokuba. He knew how special his and Seto’s bond was.
“Oh! No!” Mokuba looked surprised. “I know my brother’s not perfect. But I’ll always care about him.” Mokuba smiled, and said, “ I think you need to talk to him.”
“Yeah.” Ryou smiled. Now knowing that Mokuba was all right he paid attention to his own problems. “Thanks, Mokuba.”
They sat in the parking lot for a while, just watching the restaurant door as people walked in and out. Finally they pulled out and headed for Kaiba Land.
*~*~*
“You’re nearly as good as your brother, Mokuba.” Ryou smiled as Mokuba knocked Ryou’s life points down by another 400.
“That means I’m good enough to whip your ass!” Mokuba laughed.
“You’re a pervert and you swear?” Ryou asked in disbelief.
“Don’t tell Seto!” Mokuba smiled, knowing Ryou wouldn’t.
“I won’t.” Ryou smiled. Ryou and his friends were like Mokuba at his age, and it was easy to excuse Mokuba’s rudeness.
“Mokuba! Bakura!” Both boys whipped around as their names were called. They looked to the left side of the dueling arena to see Seto Kaiba standing there.
Ryou suddenly changed his posture, showing he had gotten nervous. Ryou bit his lip. Seto wouldn’t even use his first name…
Mokuba noticed the change in Ryou, and decided he’d be the first to talk to his older brother. “Seto!” Mokuba ran to Seto’s side and looked up into his blue eyes. “Why are you here?”
“ I heard there was a problem with the computers here, so I had to come.” Seto answered, then turned to look at Ryou. “And what are you doing with my brother, Bakura?”
“I asked him to come here with me.” Mokuba said. “And…”
Both Ryou and Seto looked at Mokuba, waiting for him to finish.
“I think Ryou wants to talk to you about something.” Mokuba mumbled, turning his head. He hoped Ryou wouldn’t be mad at him.
“That’s right.” Mokuba heard Ryou say. “Can we talk privately, Seto?”
Seto looked at the white-haired boy. Seto then realized it must be about last night. ‘Damn it!’ Seto thought. What did he care if Ryou was having problems?
Ryou was walking away from his place in the dueling arena, and walked out of the giant room, grabbing Seto’s arm and dragging him along. Mokuba hoped nothing bad would happen, and ran to Ryou’s side of the arena. He looked at Ryou’s deck to see what cards would be drawn next, so he’d have an advantage when the duel was taken up again.
‘I can’t help but think this is cheating…’ Mokuba thought to himself.
*~*~*
“I guess I have to thank you for being nice to my brother. He got into an argument with one of his friends and hasn’t been doing much of anything for a bit.” Seto said as he and Ryou stepped into a deserted hallway, the one in front of the bathrooms on the third floor- the ones no one used.
“It’s no problem.” Ryou said. He would’ve dwelled on Mokuba’s problems a bit more, but what he needed to tell Seto was really important.
The two stood in the hallway and stayed silent for a while. It was Seto who broke the silence.
“I’m busy with work, Ryou.” Seto said somewhat coldly. “I’d like for you to hurry up and say what you have to say.”
“I’m tired,” Ryou said, shrugging.
“Well if you hadn’t visited last night you would’ve gotten more sleep.” Seto said.
“No! I didn’t mean physically.” Ryou somewhat hated Seto’s attitude. Would it kill him to be kind to someone other than Mokuba for once? “I meant about us… Sleeping together. I’m tired of that.”
Seto just stared at Ryou, waiting for him to continue. When Ryou saw he didn’t want to talk he went on.
“I talked to Mo- some people, and I heard you’ve been more stressed than usual,” Ryou didn’t want Seto to know he had talked to Mokuba about this. “The same with me, Seto. Let’s just… end this relationship. Please?”
“I’m tired, but not because of you. Why do you think I have you? I just need an escape every once in a while.” Seto said casually, causing Ryou to look at him. “And I don’t exactly want to call off this… relationship.”
Ryou gaped in disbelief. “But Seto. I said this was hard on me-“
“You’re getting paid aren’t you?” Seto cut Ryou off. “Don’t make me sound bad! You were up to this before as well.”
“But not anymore!” Ryou yelled. “I… I don’t want to disrespect myself anymore. And speaking of disrespect…” He glared at Seto. “You didn’t have to tell your friends about us. I didn’t tell any of mine.”
“You should’ve said you didn’t want anyone to know.”
“I was hoping you were smart enough to realize that!”
“Look, Bakura! I didn’t ask you to do this. As I recall you were the one that came on to me. It was your decision to do this, so you can put up with the shit yourself!”
“Seto!” Ryou bit his lip and cast his eyes downward. He had never needed to respond to one of Seto’s outbursts…
Seto just stared down at the boy. “You stink.”
“What?” Ryou looked up.
“I said you stink.” Seto wrinkled his nose. “You didn’t even bother to shower when you got up.”
“Well I didn’t want you to yell at me for using your shampoo, like you did last time.” Ryou muttered.
“Well if you were going somewhere with Mokuba you could’ve at least rinsed yourself off!” Seto was starting to get pissed.
“Speaking of Mokuba...” Ryou started.
“What about him?” Seto growled.
“This is a bad influence on him.” Ryou decided he’d have to tell Seto about his and Mokuba’s conversation if he wanted to get out of this. “He knows what we’ve been doing, and I think it’s pressuring him.”
“You told him, you idiot?” Seto practically roared. “God damn it, Ryou!”
“ He was suspecting it all along.” Ryou said. “You should be careful about where you leave your manga.”
Seto sputtered, something completely out of character for him. He then clenched his teeth and started walking away. “I’ll call you later,” he shouted over his shoulder.
Ryou stood looking after him, hoping he had convinced Seto. He didn’t want to do this anymore… He really didn’t.
Ryou started walking back towards the dueling arena and back to Mokuba.
*~*~*
Ryou walked into his bedroom and stretching his arms, turned and fell back. He cursed when his back hit the floor instead of his bed, and his head hit the canister of lubrication. Ryou picked it up and bit his lip, wondering if he’d ever need it again. Well… Wondering if he’d ever need to use it with Seto again. You know he had forgotten in yesterday? His ass was still sore.
A phone ringing startled Ryou, causing him to yelp. He calmed down and heard the ringing again, coming from the living room. Ryou opened his bedroom door and went to answer it. He checked the caller ID and saw it was Seto… Ryou took a deep breath and answered.
“Hi Seto.” Ryou said so quietly he wasn’t sure Seto heard. He was about to repeat himself when Seto started talking.
“Yeah, hi,” he said, somewhat rushed. “Listen…”
“I’m listening.” Ryou gripped the phone tighter.
“I want you to come over tonight.” Seto said casually.
“WHAT?” Ryou screamed.
“I’m kidding! I’m kidding…” Seto laughed.
“Bastard… You’re not funny.” Ryou wasn’t at all amused. But… “So… You don’t want me coming over tonight… What about every night after this one?”
“When you told me about Mokuba…” Seto started. “You’re right, Ryou. This was stupid.”
Ryou was a bit surprised when Seto used his first name… It made him feel… more cheerful.
“Anyway… Let’s call this relationship off.” Seto said.
A large smile graced Ryou’s face, and he was silent for a while.
“Ryou? Did you hear me? I said-“
“ I heard you, Seto.” Ryou almost whispered. “And thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” Seto said just as quietly. But Ryou didn’t want to end the conversation there.
“I missed out on the mile run in gym class today.” Ryou said quickly before Seto could hang up. “Want to help me make it up tomorrow?”
“Ahm… Sure. If you trust me enough to let me out on the track with you alone.”
“I do.” Ryou chuckled. “And thanks. Bye.” Ryou was putting down the phone when he heard Seto say, “You know it’s hard to believe I was humping you last night?” Ryou blushed as the phone clicked.
“Ryou?” a voice said. Ryou picked up the phone and said, “What is it, Seto?”
“Dumb ass.” Dark Bakura mumbled.
“Oh… It’s you.” Ryou blushed a little more and hung up the phone again. “What is it?”
“I’m proud of you, dumb ass.” Dark Bakura smiled, although Ryou couldn’t see. “Go to sleep. I want to see you.”
Ryou thought to himself, and made his way back to his room. He settled himself on the bed instead of falling back, because he knew he’d miss again. But before he tried forcing himself to sleep he rolled over and picked the lubrication off the ground and chucked it into the wastebasket next to his desk. He then lay flat on his back, and forced himself to go to sleep, a useful talent.
He appeared in the long brick hallway, where Dark Bakura was. The spirit smiled lightly and pulled Ryou into his arms, gently. And this time, Ryou didn’t hesitate to relax into the warm body.
“You are… stronger than you think.” Dark Bakura nuzzled his light counterpart’s hair.
Ryou smiled, and closed his eyes, content with just leaning against Dark Bakura.
Things had gone from bad to so much better.
*~*~*
Ryou had redeemed himself. He didn’t deserve this.
“Get off of him!” Tomb Robber jumped on the bed in the center of room that had replaced his desert hell. He made to strangle the man in bed with Ryou, but found himself confused. There were two of them… Tomb Robber gasped when the second Ryou was, in fact, a copy of himself, a copy of what he had looked like when living in Ryou’s body.
“Damn shape shifter!” Tomb Robber’s head felt like it would burst, but he calmed the pain down a bit by punching the imposter across the face, causing the young boy next to them to cry out.
“Ryou.” Tomb Robber was distracted, and looked at the boy. His eyes widened.
Ryou had changed so much in appearance. The boy had always been scrawny, but more so now… The hair looked dead and limp. The eyes… The eyes made Tomb Robber want to cry. Ryou’s eyes, if you could see them through the dark, purple circles, looked lifeless.
“Ryou!” Tomb Robber sobbed, not noticing the man he punched disappear into nothing. “Ryou!” Tomb Robber grabbed Ryou around the shoulders, pulling him close the way he had so long ago. Oh, the boy’s body felt so good, despite the obvious changes. Familiar warmth dazzled his senses.
“Ryou.” Tomb Robber said, yet again.
A whimpered cry escaped Ryou’s mouth, causing Tomb Robber to look down at the boy in his arms. He heaved a strained breath when he saw fear immediately flow into those brown orbs.
Another whimper, and then, “Get away!” Ryou squirmed to free himself, but he was hardly strong enough work himself out of Tomb Robber’s grip.
“Ryou!” Tomb Robber embraced Ryou tightly, bringing his hand up and running it through Ryou’s oily hair. “It’s okay, Ryou. It’s me… Koe…”
“Koe.” Ryou sobbed.
“That’s right. Koe…” Tomb Robber rested his forehead on Ryou’s shoulders. “It’s okay. He’s not going to hurt you anymore.”
“Lucifer?” Ryou said into Tomb Robber’s hair. “Gone?”
Tomb Robber forced himself to smile at the weak, defenseless boy. “Yes… Gone.”
“Not true!” Ryou sobbed, struggling, and this time pulling himself free of Tomb Robber’s grasp. He fell off the bed and scrambled toward the wall where he curled up into a ball. Tomb Robber jumped after him and grabbed Ryou again. He forced Ryou to look at him.
“Even if he isn’t gone. I’ll protect you.” Tomb Robber stared fiercely into Ryou’s eyes, wanting him to hear everything. “I’ll get you out of here.”
“Out of here?” Ryou sputtered. “No way out.” Big tears spilled out of Ryou’s eyes. Ryou sobbed, and started to cry uncontrollably.
Tomb Robber looked around the room. It was so small and cramped. Ryou had less freedom here than he had in his desert… At least where he was, Tomb Robber could run around, even if the effort to escape was vain.
But he had to find a way to escape this room. He held Ryou closer, and glanced around, searching for any sign of an exit.
“How do I know… that you’re really Koe?” Tomb Robber heard Ryou say, very quietly. “How do I know? Maybe you’re him… Just breaking me down more.” The boy started sobbing again. “Just rape me now! Don’t hurt me anymore! Don’t drag out the pain!”
Ryou started sobbing again, so very loudly.
“Would it be proof if I said I love you? That I’m proud of the person you are?” Tomb Robber shouted, not in a harsh voice but so Ryou could hear him.
Ryou’s hysterical screaming stopped abruptly… Ryou hadn’t heard the words ‘love’… ‘Proud’… in so long. Maybe… maybe… No. It wasn’t possible.
Ryou broke out in shouts again, making Tomb Robber want to cry just as loudly.
“What happened to the strong Ryou?” Tomb Robber yelled. “Where’d he go? The boy I love?”
“You destroyed him!” Ryou shrieked.
“Ryou! I-“ but Tomb Robber stopped when he heard something creak. It sounded like… hinges on a door, a door swinging open. Tomb Robber whipped around to look, and found a door… Hanging wide open. Damn… It looked too much like the fgghin’ mouth of a crocodile! But… It was an escape from the room. From the room at least! That was a start! And probably a trap… But he was Tomb Robber. He’d get Ryou out of here…
“Door!” Ryou’s eyes, still blurry from crying, looked in shock and amazement at the new door. But then the look faltered. “Trick.” Ryou cast his eyes downward. “Stop now.” Ryou pleaded, looking at Tomb Robber.
“I didn’t do that! And it may be a trick…” Tomb Robber looked at Ryou. “But I swear it wasn’t me, and I’m not… Lucifer.” Tomb Robber had never called him ‘Lucifer’…
“Tell you what?” Tomb Robber spoke gently. “I can help you survive beyond that door.” He kissed Ryou’s forehead slightly, making the boy shiver. “But you have to believe in me… Do you trust me, Ryou?”
Ryou looked with those sad, sad eyes from his Koe to the door and back again. After many moments of silent debate…
“Okay…” Ryou mumbled. ‘I’ll go along with this,’ Ryou thought to himself. ‘Just hurry and make it quick.’
“Good.” Tomb Robber threw on a large smile, not being able to read Ryou’s mind, and embraced Ryou. “Good choice.” He then stood up and pulled a stunned, and probably overwhelmed, Ryou to his feeble feet.
“Let’s go.”
The two faced the open door, and wondered what lie what beyond it. Tomb Robber took a deep breath and, strongly grasping Ryou’s arm, walked through the door.
Into the mouth of the crocodile. [ To be continued... ] [ back ]
|