Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Club 0013 ❯ Game Over ( Chapter 1 )
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
By: Chibizoo 
Anime/Manga: Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Supernatural | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 01.12.2003 | Pages: 7 | Words: 4.3K | Visits: 248 | Status: Completed
Anime/Manga: Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Supernatural | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 01.12.2003 | Pages: 7 | Words: 4.3K | Visits: 248 | Status: Completed
*****
Author's notes: (sorry they're so long...)
Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! or Sailor Moon
This is going to be mostly a Yu-Gi-Oh! centered fic, with a bit from
Sailor Moon, since I write too much about the latter ;P This story
contains a bit of shonen-ai (boy-boy love) and suggestions of rape.
Yu-Gi-Oh (commonly written as "Yami") does not exist (yet) because
this story takes place in an ALTERNATE UNIVERSE, with some loyalties
to the Yu-Gi-Oh! plot line (second season), such as the appearance
of Duel Monsters. Anything Sailor Moon-based will be introduced later
on and in small amounts, so to keep the Yu-Gi-Oh readers happy ^_^.
*******
~ Dream sequences~
**********
Chapter 1: Game Over
~Angels are said to have wings. Beautiful, brilliant wings of
purest white, soft and downy to the touch, glittering like virgin snow.
They are said to have a golden radiance and bring with their gaze a
sense of perfect serenity.
If this was true, then Mutou Yuugi had just seen an angel.
She came to him, walking silently on feet that never touched
the ground; her light, fragile body borne by large wings a swan
would envy. Long golden hair fluttered like twin streaks behind her,
tied from the top in equally symmetrical buns. A single crescent
moon glittered on her forehead, and her eyes were the purest of
sapphire.
Yet, it was not her beauty nor angelic peace that enraptured
Yuugi so much. There was something about her, something ageless,
almost priceless. For a moment, she held her gaze towards Yuugi,
looking at him with eyes that pierced his deepest thoughts. A tingle
ran through the young boy's body as she continued to gaze into him,
and he squirmed, writhing uncomfortably under her inspection. It
was as if she was ruthlessly rendering his every memory and action,
eyes leaving nothing behind as she judged his soul. And then, as fast
as it came, it was over.
Yuugi gasped, gulping in heavy breaths of air as he dared
himself to breathe again. His large violet eyes stared in both awe and
fear at this angel.
And the angel smiled.
:You have passed.: ~
*****************
Mutou Yuugi was a kind and considerate boy, one rather
short to claim to be 14 years of age. He was not overly special or
adept in any manner, other than having an unnatural kindness and
happiness wherever he went. Some would say that was a sign of
innocence while others a sign of naïveté. Even there, some would
claim him to be more...
The object of such scrutiny had just finished dressing,
having gotten up in the morning at a grand hour of ten o'clock. It was
a beautiful Sunday morning, made more beautiful by the fact that
usually, there was no school on Sundays. Oh no, Sundays were
reserved for something more challenging than school.
Yuugi covered his mouth as he yawned, opening the door
and peeking into the grand wonders of whatever lurked outside his
bedroom. Taking a few tentative steps, he eventually got the hang of
walking even in his half-awake state, politely closing the door to his
room behind him. The boy quickly paced into the washroom,
combing his untidy hair, which was a wonder all in itself, with its
golden bangs and spiky dark-red tendrils of hair. It was therefore no
wonder when the boy sighed a bit, tossing a can into the garbage. He
had run out of hairspray.
*********
By the time Yuugi had managed to leave the house, having
been fretted over by his mother and grandfather until his gentle
nature was thoroughly exercised, the said character met up with his
friends, at the local arcade.
"Yo Yuugi, what's up?" Asked a tall teenage blonde, on of
Yuugi's best friends, also known as Jounochi.
Yuugi shrugged. "Nothing much. Not unless you count the
fact that I set my alarm clock to the wrong time."
Another boy on the side, this one with a strange failure-of-a-
mohawk styled brown hair, Honda , could only scoff in reply. "You
mean, you kept us all waiting about two hours due to an alarm clock
failure?"
The only girl in the small group, Anzu, with clean trimmed
shoulder-level brown hair, the only person who had a successful
hairstyle, shrugged. "Oh well. Two hours isn't that bad, especially
since I beat Jounochi at Duel Monsters about 10 times in a row."
At that comment, Jounochi began sulking. "I swear, she
cheated! There's no way anyone could win 10 times in a row!"
"Not unless you happen to be dueling you, Jounochi."
Anzu retorted, folding her arms and rolling her eyes.
Yuugi laughed, smiling gently. "You guys really like Duel
Monsters, if you could play that game for two hours straight."
Jounochi only pouted in response. "I wouldn't have lost 10
times to a cheating Anzu if it weren't for you being late."
"WHAT was that?" Anzu glared at the taller boy angrily.
But wisely, Jounochi had already left the arcade, leaving the girl
realizing that she was actually talking to herself.
**************
"So, how has it been going, Yuugi?" Honda asked, as the
quartet made their way into a park, having nothing else to do.
Yuugi shrugged. "The same thing, I guess." He sighed.
"Life's so boring these days, that you wonder if its all an illusion,
that there is actually a true reality out there that we can't even grasp
at."
Jounochi had question marks in his eyes. "Huh? Man,
Yuugi, speak normally will you?"
"Mmm." Yuugi failed to make a comment further than that.
Every time he had brought this conversation up, he had gotten the
same result - and not just by his friends. Everyone he met, everyone
he questioned, seemed stuck in a utopian dream of their own, with
their own futures and goals and idyllic personal desires. Nothing
more than that. But Yuugi, Mutou Yuugi, began to wonder - was
there anything that life offered that wasn't predictable?
It was too easy. All the good people were congratulated and
rewarded and eventually got to be famous or get good high-paying
jobs. All the people who were bad were punished and severely
disciplined. Some of them were never heard about again, but that was
fine, since it didn't affect his life, or the lives of anyone else. Oh no,
for when a person disappeared, they were simply not talked about.
One could almost call it a taboo.
Secretly, Yuugi wondered what it would be like to have a
society where the people who lived in it made the rules, not the
restrictive and secretive Authority. He had read stories in the past of
strong races of men, who had built their kingdoms on the belief of
equality and individuality. There was nothing like this here. The
main goal here was to conform, and accept the Authority, bow down
the Authority's power, kiss the Authority's feet and bend to its will.
It was sick enough even for a kind soul like Yuugi's to snivel in
disdain.
Yet, that wasn't the most piteous part. No, it wasn't even
close to the most piteous part. The worse part was... no one cared.
They simply did not care whether or not there were governed or the
fact that their every actions were consistently monitored and judged.
Those who failed were the Untalked about. Yuugi's father had
disappeared that way. And because talking about his father was
simply unmentioned, Yuugi was forced forever to dwell on his secret
in silence. It hurt the poor boy, but he knew he had to do it. To
prevent himself from getting into the same situation.
"We're all being duped. Our Authority is doing a great job
turning us into mindless zombies." Yuugi finally concluded, only
realizing too late that he had said it aloud.
Jounochi, Honda, and Anzu gaped at him, each of them
putting a hand over the younger boy's mouth.
"You want to be caught?" Anzu hissed, her angry voice
hiding her fear. "Look, I know what they did to your dad, but if you
don't wise up, then you're next."
"Please, Yuugi, take it easy and act cool." Jounochi looked
at the younger boy with sad eyes. "You have to, not just for your
sake, but for our sake, as a friend."
Yuugi swallowed hard. He hadn't meant to say such things,
and he definitely didn't want to get his friends in trouble. Pushing
away such horrific thoughts, he nodded, trying to understand.
For a moment, the quartet looked around, as if expecting to
be hanged or suddenly captured and sentence at that moment. All that
happened was several seconds passing, followed by the warm
sunshine and cool spring breeze.
Suddenly, a glint of white hair caught Yuugi's eyes, and he
looked up to see a friendly face walking his direction. Another friend
of his, although a bit more distant, named Ryou Bakura, was making
his way towards them. Despite the warm spring weather, the white-
haired boy had a sweater on, wearing on his face an even warmer
smile.
"Hey guys!" Bakura greeted, cheerfully ignorant of what
had just previously taken place between Yuugi and the others. "How
is it going?"
Yuugi chose his words carefully. "Fine." He grinned back,
although the emotion felt mechanically plastered. "Just fine."
Honda, Jounochi, and Anzu gave similar shows of
agreement.
For a split second, as Yuugi looked at Bakura, the white-
haired boy's expression seemed to drop, from a pleasant smile to a
silent plea for help. Yuugi could have sworn he saw the other boy's
lips curl a bit in contempt before everything flipped back to normal
and Bakura was just Bakura, smiling as always. The sun shone
warmly overhead.
Yuugi blinked. He wasn't seeing things was he? Although
sometimes a dreamer and an idealist, Yuugi wasn't known to live on
surreality. And yet, the thought of Bakura snarling or even for a
moment dropping that guile face of his was simply impossible. In
fact, Yuugi could hardly imagine the white-haired boy squishing a
fly, needless to say snarling or plotting revenge behind someone's
back. Even with all his confirmations, Yuugi was still dubious.
Appearance was the strongest form of deception.
The young boy followed his friends as they laughed and
soaked up the sunshine, teasing each other or simply frolicking and
letting their body gestures describe their joyful actions. Intimate
actions weren't rare among them, since they were meant only to be
pure and innocent. _Meant_
Yuugi panted as he lay down on the grass, letting the cool
fragrance waft its scent, his hair slightly damp from the mid-morning
dew. He watched with amusement as he picked a blade of grass with
one hand, ripping the fragile material into one-half and again and
again, until it was no more than a stain on his finger. Such a simple
and delicate strand the blade of grass was, so unaware of everything
around it. Yuugi sighed, trying to clear his head of that sudden
intrusion. Why was he thinking such strange thoughts anyway? Why
couldn't he just act normal, act _happy_?
Soon, Bakura fell onto the grass with a soft "thump"
laughing rather exhaustedly. The white-haired boy, whose hair was
amusedly stained slightly green due to the grass, turned to face
Yuugi. Anzu, Jounochi, and Honda were still gleefully chasing each
other, the girl screaming rather shrilly while the other two simply
laughed and chuckled away her teasing threats.
For a moment, Bakura looked at the antics of the trio before
turning to face Yuugi.
Yuugi, although he wasn't looking at Bakura, felt the other
boy's eyes on him like a set of hot coals. He shuddered under the
gaze, turning towards the white-haired boy.
Slowly, Bakura crept under the shadows, his pale face
suddenly darkened and hallowed without the luminescence of the
sun's rays. He opened his mouth to speak, but suddenly shut it,
afraid. Twice he did this, before finally mustering enough courage to
try. "Yuugi," he voiced, his tone carrying a quiet but serious
implication. "I've come here to warn you."
Yuugi blinked. For a moment, he thought that Bakura was
joking, and was about to laugh a retort when he realized that Bakura,
although often cheerful, hardly ever joked. The young boy
swallowed, his golden bangs falling a bit over his face, as they often
did when he bowed his head in surprise. "Warn me of what?" A dry
tongue rang along suddenly dry lips.
Bakura sighed, leaning his back against the tree trunk, who
was currently providing the white-haired boy the wanted shade.
"They..." His voice, which was quiet already, suddenly dropped
even lower. "Yuugi. They're after you."
"After...me?" The last word Yuugi repeated was
emphasized incredulously. "What for?"
For a seemingly kind and gentle boy, Bakura surely
provided plenty of surprises. This one came in the guise of a flat
look. "You know why Yuugi. They know about you. They know that
you are aware."
"Aware?" Yuugi protested. "Aware of what? I haven't done
anything!"
Bakura's eyes looked sadly into Yuugi's light-violet ones.
"Exactly. You haven't done anything... yet." Looking at Yuugi's
startled expression, the white-haired boy continued. "That's the
problem. All of them, those who choose so or not, never knew so at
the beginning. You're not the first, Yuugi. But you have been offered
it now, and so you must choose."
Yuugi's expression was one of bewilderment and confusion.
"Choose what?"
Bakura plodded on, face expressionless. "There are two
sides to this.. ah.. lets call it a game. Yes, a 'game' will do. The side
you know of, the one with your sunshine and utopia-desiring
Authority is one... player of this game. Of course, most games
require at least two players. Or, rather, one player, and one
opponent."
Yuugi didn't like where this conversation was carrying, but
hid his surprise. "So.. who's the opponent?"
Bakura's face turned away, as if he didn't want to talk
anymore. The white-haired boy's figure seemed to cling to the
shadows, the very fabric of his body rejecting light. "In the end, does
it really matter? What matters the most is the Game. Play the Game,
Yuugi. You have to play. If you don't... then, you'll be lost forever.
Just like your father."
"My father?" Yuugi's eyes widened. "What happened to my
father? Do you know?" His voice grew in intensity at the end, angry
and threatening.
Face still turned away from Yuugi, Bakura shook his head,
silvery-white hair flying in momentary disarray. "He was one of the
few who choose not to play."
Yuugi clenched a fist angrily. "If my father didn't choose,
why should I?"
Bakura turned his head, and gave Yuugi a long, hard stare.
"If you don't, the price is much worse. Much, much worse."
*****************
Yuugi turned on the shower, setting the water to the hottest
level, and spraying the liquid across his bare body despite the
awesome heat. His mind was somewhere else, lost in the
conversation with Bakura. What was happening? Why was his life
suddenly beginning to flaw? It must have been some joke. It was just
too ... stupid... to be anything else. Yes, a joke, Yuugi reasoned,
blissfully unaware of the water falling on his back, stinging his skin
with an intense heat until it sweltered a reddish hue. He would wake
up tomorrow morning, go to school, and everything would be just
like how it was. Yuugi nodded as he came to that conclusion, turning
off the shower with a satisfied smile. Yet, if he was indeed satisfied,
what was that strange tugging feeling in his heart?
Yuugi tossed in his bed for the umpteenth time, his large
eyes peering blindly at the dark-covered ceiling of his room. The
spiky-haired boy checked his alarm clock, watching the flashing red
symbols illuminate their significance. 2:00 am. Definitely too early -
or too late, depending on how one looked at it. After trying countless
methods of trying to back to sleep, Yuugi finally concluded that his
mind simply wouldn't cooperate. The boy sighed. What he really
needed now was some fresh air, away from the confinements of his
room. Taking safety for granted as he had always done before, Yuugi
grabbed a jacket, deciding last-minute to bring a wallet in case he
wandered too far and needed a taxi or bus home, assuming they had
taxis and busses at this hour.
Silently, Yuugi slipped out of his bedroom and out the front
door, thankfully waking neither of the two other residents of the
household. He sighed in relief as he walked out the front door, taking
a few breaths of fresh nighttime air to clear his thoughts and perhaps
reflect on them.
Yuugi had noted that Bakura had never answered who the
opponent to this "Game" the white-haired boy had make an allusion
to was. What disturbed him deeply was the fact that he had been
unaware and so blissfully ignorant of these clashing forces. But...
why? Again, Yuugi thought about the two forces of the "Game". One
of them was the society he lived in, the Authority. The other, a
mysterious unknown and most likely shadowy power. And neither of
them fascinated the small boy.
A cold wind blew past Yuugi and he shivered, pulling his
thin blue jacket closer to him. Overhead, the moon rose, its crescent
shape reflecting like an alluring smile. Nighttime in his
neighbourhood was a silent and sacred ritual, one that most tended to
ignore as they lost themselves to the endless daytime of their dreams.
The darkness and foreboding atmosphere of the night was a force to
fear, and curious children were often discouraged with tales of
lurking monsters not to even peek past their doorway after the
sundown. Therefore, the streets were completely isolated, illuminated
only faintly by flickering lamplights that shone dubiously under the
dense darkness.
"This really sucks." Yuugi muttered out loud, kicking his
foot angrily against a metal staircase. Big mistake. As his foot made
impact, a loud hollow sound rang out, screaming like a million tin
bells.
The boy jumped back in surprise, freezing in stance while
wishing fervently that the sound would simply disappear. He
definitely didn't want to wake anyone up, and even in a
neighbourhood as sheltered and protected as his, there was always
the chance that....
"Well now, what did we pick up here?"
The spiky-haired boy's eyes widened as he realized that he
was no longer by himself. He stared blindly at the shadows, looking
for the source of the voice.
"Awww... it's a cute little boy." The same voice declared,
rather obnoxiously, with an air of both contempt and superiority.
"Should we kill him, or have some fun with him first?"
Yuugi gasped as suddenly, an arm grabbed him from
behind, a powerful hand wrenching his shoulder so that the small boy
was face to face with a cloaked figure. Panic rang out in his mind,
and he flailed his limbs madly in an attempt to escape. The figure
only laughed, harshly tightening his grip on Yuugi's shoulder until
Yuugi realized that his feet were no longer touching the ground.
More cloaked figures began to assemble around Yuugi, as
the boy's breath caught in his chest, paralyzed with fear. They
seemed almost inhuman as they circled Yuugi, smelling and gazing
at him like a pack of hungry wolves.
"Wait a moment..." The main leader of the group, the figure
that was holding Yuugi, loosened his hold on the boy. "I know you."
Another pause. "Yes, I know you indeed."
"S-sorry." Yuugi muttered, stuttering in his fear. "I - I think
you have the w-wrong person."
The figure's other hand went to the clasp on his cloak,
removing the hanging material to reveal a tall youth, with dark
burning eyes and unruly hair, the colour indistinguishable in the
darkness. And Yuugi realized, with a heart that both sank and rose at
the same time, that he indeed knew who the cloaked leader was.
"Bakura." Yuugi stated. He took in another breath to steady
himself while his eyes looked pleadingly at his friend. "What are you
doing here?"
Bakura, Yuugi's friend from school, only sneered, one that
flashed in Yuugi's mind as a sudden déjà vu. "Sorry Yuugi. I'm not
the Bakura you know."
Despite all his fear and shock, Yuugi still had his deep sense
of puzzlement. "What do you mean?"
Bakura dropped his hold on Yuugi, watching the small boy
fall to the ground like a sack of potatoes. Still sneering, the white-
haired boy walked up to Yuugi until his face was only inches away
from the smaller boy's. Yuugi tried to back away from the menacing
figure, only to realize that he had already reached the wall. Spacing
himself as far away from this not-Bakura as possible, Yuugi took a
good look as his friend. This Bakura was indeed different, his slanted
eyes and face contorted maniacally, hair splayed out in a demonic
fashion. Fake-Bakura smiled, and Yuugi almost fainted then and
there as he realized what lay under those dark lips. They glinted like
the purest of snow and gleamed like dull ivory. Bakura had _fangs_.
"Something wrong, Yuugi?" Bakura smiled as he saw
Yuugi's violet eyes widen even larger, obviously enjoying the fear.
The white-haired youth then brought his face closer to Yuugi, one
hand holding the smaller boy down to prevent him from escaping
while the other slid under Yuugi's chin grabbing the small boy's face
and forcing him to tilt his head upwards.
"Bakura, stop it." Yuugi's voice choked in his throat, wide
eyes pleading as he struggled with his free hand to remove himself
from the demonic boy's grasp. His struggles proved useless as
Bakura moved lifted Yuugi's head even higher to force Yuugi to
stare straight into the taller boy's eyes.
"Remember what I said, Yuugi? How you had to choose?"
Bakura's voice rang out even within the chaos of Yuugi's mind,
surprisingly mild and calm. "This is it. Choose now. Even better..."
Bakura was now close enough to Yuugi's face that they could feel
each other's breaths rise and fall from their mouths. "I'll Choose for
you."
At that moment, the logical, reasoning part of Yuugi's mind
took over, as did panic. Adrenaline rushed into the younger boy's
body as he screamed at the top of his lungs, crying, calling, pleading
for help while tears brimmed in his eyes, blurring his vision.
Oddly enough, Bakura let the smaller boy scream,
watching with flickering amused eyes as he effortlessly pinned
Yuugi down even with all the renewed ferocity. "Sorry Yuugi." His
lips curved into a lopsided smirk, revealing a single fang. "Game
over."
Yuugi's eyes widened as he felt his screaming cut off, and
reacted by choking, his lungs protesting from the sudden lack of
oxygen. Even the function of breathing became vague as Yuugi
realized exactly _what_ Bakura was doing. The taller boy's lips were
firm and warm to the touch, hard pressed against Yuugi's own lips,
forcing them to do Bakura's bidding. Tears fell down like droplets of
ice from Yuugi's wide eyes, soaking their contact, as Bakura held
Yuugi in a forceful embrace of lust. For a moment, Yuugi felt a
strange desire to push back, to force his own lips harder against the
taller boy's. That desire faded as fast as it came, leaving only a blind,
mindless stupor in his wake.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Bakura pulled
away, his face glistening a bit from Yuugi's own tearstains. There
was a pause as Yuugi's mind began to restart itself, blindly trying to
release the shock and bewilderment. And then, bile rose in the
smaller boy's throat as he realized what exactly had happened. Ryou
Bakura had kissed him. Not just a nice friendly kiss, but a deep,
forceful kiss. Bakurahadkissedhim. HehadkissedBakura.
Oh.
My.
God.
Unfortu nately, Bakura seemed to have plans other than just
a simple kiss, as Yuugi felt his shirt collar being ripped open by
powerful hands. Yuugi's small bare chest was revealed as Bakura
yanked even harder, scattering the buttons like pieces of candy on the
ground.
Yuugi was beyond the point of struggling, even beyond the
point of reacting as his mind fell into a state of complete stupor,
refusing to seek and understand. The only thing that shone from the
small boy's mask of shock were streams of glistening tears.
"Hmm... you look absolutely...." Here, Bakura paused, his
one hand still cupping Yuugi's jaw with his thumb and index finger.
The white-haired boy eyes Yuugi's neck, almost appreciatively. "...
Delicious."
With only that warning, Bakura brought his face into a
semi-snarl, revealing the full length of his savage ivory-white fangs.
And with as much grace as the previous kiss, the taller boy tilted his
own head until it touched Yuugi's prone neck, a rough tongue licking
the surface. Abruptly, his tongue stopped at a corollary vein running
along the smaller boy's neck, and he viciously clamped his jaws
down exactly where his tongue had pinpointed. Yuugi let out a
muffled cry as he felt a pair of sharp daggers suddenly pierce his
neck, burrowing deep into his soft flesh. And Bakura ignored the cry
as fresh crimson blood dribbled down his chin, his head never
moving from their position as he drank hungrily.
Yuugi convulsed in agony as Bakura greedily consumed the
smaller boy's vital fluid. The agony grew until Yuugi could feel only
the pain. His body was on fire, and his head light and dizzy from the
loss of so much blood. Gratefully, Yuugi fell into the darkness, not
caring if he ever woke again.
**************************
Author's notes: (sorry they're so long...)
Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! or Sailor Moon
This is going to be mostly a Yu-Gi-Oh! centered fic, with a bit from
Sailor Moon, since I write too much about the latter ;P This story
contains a bit of shonen-ai (boy-boy love) and suggestions of rape.
Yu-Gi-Oh (commonly written as "Yami") does not exist (yet) because
this story takes place in an ALTERNATE UNIVERSE, with some loyalties
to the Yu-Gi-Oh! plot line (second season), such as the appearance
of Duel Monsters. Anything Sailor Moon-based will be introduced later
on and in small amounts, so to keep the Yu-Gi-Oh readers happy ^_^.
*******
~ Dream sequences~
**********
Chapter 1: Game Over
~Angels are said to have wings. Beautiful, brilliant wings of
purest white, soft and downy to the touch, glittering like virgin snow.
They are said to have a golden radiance and bring with their gaze a
sense of perfect serenity.
If this was true, then Mutou Yuugi had just seen an angel.
She came to him, walking silently on feet that never touched
the ground; her light, fragile body borne by large wings a swan
would envy. Long golden hair fluttered like twin streaks behind her,
tied from the top in equally symmetrical buns. A single crescent
moon glittered on her forehead, and her eyes were the purest of
sapphire.
Yet, it was not her beauty nor angelic peace that enraptured
Yuugi so much. There was something about her, something ageless,
almost priceless. For a moment, she held her gaze towards Yuugi,
looking at him with eyes that pierced his deepest thoughts. A tingle
ran through the young boy's body as she continued to gaze into him,
and he squirmed, writhing uncomfortably under her inspection. It
was as if she was ruthlessly rendering his every memory and action,
eyes leaving nothing behind as she judged his soul. And then, as fast
as it came, it was over.
Yuugi gasped, gulping in heavy breaths of air as he dared
himself to breathe again. His large violet eyes stared in both awe and
fear at this angel.
And the angel smiled.
:You have passed.: ~
*****************
Mutou Yuugi was a kind and considerate boy, one rather
short to claim to be 14 years of age. He was not overly special or
adept in any manner, other than having an unnatural kindness and
happiness wherever he went. Some would say that was a sign of
innocence while others a sign of naïveté. Even there, some would
claim him to be more...
The object of such scrutiny had just finished dressing,
having gotten up in the morning at a grand hour of ten o'clock. It was
a beautiful Sunday morning, made more beautiful by the fact that
usually, there was no school on Sundays. Oh no, Sundays were
reserved for something more challenging than school.
Yuugi covered his mouth as he yawned, opening the door
and peeking into the grand wonders of whatever lurked outside his
bedroom. Taking a few tentative steps, he eventually got the hang of
walking even in his half-awake state, politely closing the door to his
room behind him. The boy quickly paced into the washroom,
combing his untidy hair, which was a wonder all in itself, with its
golden bangs and spiky dark-red tendrils of hair. It was therefore no
wonder when the boy sighed a bit, tossing a can into the garbage. He
had run out of hairspray.
*********
By the time Yuugi had managed to leave the house, having
been fretted over by his mother and grandfather until his gentle
nature was thoroughly exercised, the said character met up with his
friends, at the local arcade.
"Yo Yuugi, what's up?" Asked a tall teenage blonde, on of
Yuugi's best friends, also known as Jounochi.
Yuugi shrugged. "Nothing much. Not unless you count the
fact that I set my alarm clock to the wrong time."
Another boy on the side, this one with a strange failure-of-a-
mohawk styled brown hair, Honda , could only scoff in reply. "You
mean, you kept us all waiting about two hours due to an alarm clock
failure?"
The only girl in the small group, Anzu, with clean trimmed
shoulder-level brown hair, the only person who had a successful
hairstyle, shrugged. "Oh well. Two hours isn't that bad, especially
since I beat Jounochi at Duel Monsters about 10 times in a row."
At that comment, Jounochi began sulking. "I swear, she
cheated! There's no way anyone could win 10 times in a row!"
"Not unless you happen to be dueling you, Jounochi."
Anzu retorted, folding her arms and rolling her eyes.
Yuugi laughed, smiling gently. "You guys really like Duel
Monsters, if you could play that game for two hours straight."
Jounochi only pouted in response. "I wouldn't have lost 10
times to a cheating Anzu if it weren't for you being late."
"WHAT was that?" Anzu glared at the taller boy angrily.
But wisely, Jounochi had already left the arcade, leaving the girl
realizing that she was actually talking to herself.
**************
"So, how has it been going, Yuugi?" Honda asked, as the
quartet made their way into a park, having nothing else to do.
Yuugi shrugged. "The same thing, I guess." He sighed.
"Life's so boring these days, that you wonder if its all an illusion,
that there is actually a true reality out there that we can't even grasp
at."
Jounochi had question marks in his eyes. "Huh? Man,
Yuugi, speak normally will you?"
"Mmm." Yuugi failed to make a comment further than that.
Every time he had brought this conversation up, he had gotten the
same result - and not just by his friends. Everyone he met, everyone
he questioned, seemed stuck in a utopian dream of their own, with
their own futures and goals and idyllic personal desires. Nothing
more than that. But Yuugi, Mutou Yuugi, began to wonder - was
there anything that life offered that wasn't predictable?
It was too easy. All the good people were congratulated and
rewarded and eventually got to be famous or get good high-paying
jobs. All the people who were bad were punished and severely
disciplined. Some of them were never heard about again, but that was
fine, since it didn't affect his life, or the lives of anyone else. Oh no,
for when a person disappeared, they were simply not talked about.
One could almost call it a taboo.
Secretly, Yuugi wondered what it would be like to have a
society where the people who lived in it made the rules, not the
restrictive and secretive Authority. He had read stories in the past of
strong races of men, who had built their kingdoms on the belief of
equality and individuality. There was nothing like this here. The
main goal here was to conform, and accept the Authority, bow down
the Authority's power, kiss the Authority's feet and bend to its will.
It was sick enough even for a kind soul like Yuugi's to snivel in
disdain.
Yet, that wasn't the most piteous part. No, it wasn't even
close to the most piteous part. The worse part was... no one cared.
They simply did not care whether or not there were governed or the
fact that their every actions were consistently monitored and judged.
Those who failed were the Untalked about. Yuugi's father had
disappeared that way. And because talking about his father was
simply unmentioned, Yuugi was forced forever to dwell on his secret
in silence. It hurt the poor boy, but he knew he had to do it. To
prevent himself from getting into the same situation.
"We're all being duped. Our Authority is doing a great job
turning us into mindless zombies." Yuugi finally concluded, only
realizing too late that he had said it aloud.
Jounochi, Honda, and Anzu gaped at him, each of them
putting a hand over the younger boy's mouth.
"You want to be caught?" Anzu hissed, her angry voice
hiding her fear. "Look, I know what they did to your dad, but if you
don't wise up, then you're next."
"Please, Yuugi, take it easy and act cool." Jounochi looked
at the younger boy with sad eyes. "You have to, not just for your
sake, but for our sake, as a friend."
Yuugi swallowed hard. He hadn't meant to say such things,
and he definitely didn't want to get his friends in trouble. Pushing
away such horrific thoughts, he nodded, trying to understand.
For a moment, the quartet looked around, as if expecting to
be hanged or suddenly captured and sentence at that moment. All that
happened was several seconds passing, followed by the warm
sunshine and cool spring breeze.
Suddenly, a glint of white hair caught Yuugi's eyes, and he
looked up to see a friendly face walking his direction. Another friend
of his, although a bit more distant, named Ryou Bakura, was making
his way towards them. Despite the warm spring weather, the white-
haired boy had a sweater on, wearing on his face an even warmer
smile.
"Hey guys!" Bakura greeted, cheerfully ignorant of what
had just previously taken place between Yuugi and the others. "How
is it going?"
Yuugi chose his words carefully. "Fine." He grinned back,
although the emotion felt mechanically plastered. "Just fine."
Honda, Jounochi, and Anzu gave similar shows of
agreement.
For a split second, as Yuugi looked at Bakura, the white-
haired boy's expression seemed to drop, from a pleasant smile to a
silent plea for help. Yuugi could have sworn he saw the other boy's
lips curl a bit in contempt before everything flipped back to normal
and Bakura was just Bakura, smiling as always. The sun shone
warmly overhead.
Yuugi blinked. He wasn't seeing things was he? Although
sometimes a dreamer and an idealist, Yuugi wasn't known to live on
surreality. And yet, the thought of Bakura snarling or even for a
moment dropping that guile face of his was simply impossible. In
fact, Yuugi could hardly imagine the white-haired boy squishing a
fly, needless to say snarling or plotting revenge behind someone's
back. Even with all his confirmations, Yuugi was still dubious.
Appearance was the strongest form of deception.
The young boy followed his friends as they laughed and
soaked up the sunshine, teasing each other or simply frolicking and
letting their body gestures describe their joyful actions. Intimate
actions weren't rare among them, since they were meant only to be
pure and innocent. _Meant_
Yuugi panted as he lay down on the grass, letting the cool
fragrance waft its scent, his hair slightly damp from the mid-morning
dew. He watched with amusement as he picked a blade of grass with
one hand, ripping the fragile material into one-half and again and
again, until it was no more than a stain on his finger. Such a simple
and delicate strand the blade of grass was, so unaware of everything
around it. Yuugi sighed, trying to clear his head of that sudden
intrusion. Why was he thinking such strange thoughts anyway? Why
couldn't he just act normal, act _happy_?
Soon, Bakura fell onto the grass with a soft "thump"
laughing rather exhaustedly. The white-haired boy, whose hair was
amusedly stained slightly green due to the grass, turned to face
Yuugi. Anzu, Jounochi, and Honda were still gleefully chasing each
other, the girl screaming rather shrilly while the other two simply
laughed and chuckled away her teasing threats.
For a moment, Bakura looked at the antics of the trio before
turning to face Yuugi.
Yuugi, although he wasn't looking at Bakura, felt the other
boy's eyes on him like a set of hot coals. He shuddered under the
gaze, turning towards the white-haired boy.
Slowly, Bakura crept under the shadows, his pale face
suddenly darkened and hallowed without the luminescence of the
sun's rays. He opened his mouth to speak, but suddenly shut it,
afraid. Twice he did this, before finally mustering enough courage to
try. "Yuugi," he voiced, his tone carrying a quiet but serious
implication. "I've come here to warn you."
Yuugi blinked. For a moment, he thought that Bakura was
joking, and was about to laugh a retort when he realized that Bakura,
although often cheerful, hardly ever joked. The young boy
swallowed, his golden bangs falling a bit over his face, as they often
did when he bowed his head in surprise. "Warn me of what?" A dry
tongue rang along suddenly dry lips.
Bakura sighed, leaning his back against the tree trunk, who
was currently providing the white-haired boy the wanted shade.
"They..." His voice, which was quiet already, suddenly dropped
even lower. "Yuugi. They're after you."
"After...me?" The last word Yuugi repeated was
emphasized incredulously. "What for?"
For a seemingly kind and gentle boy, Bakura surely
provided plenty of surprises. This one came in the guise of a flat
look. "You know why Yuugi. They know about you. They know that
you are aware."
"Aware?" Yuugi protested. "Aware of what? I haven't done
anything!"
Bakura's eyes looked sadly into Yuugi's light-violet ones.
"Exactly. You haven't done anything... yet." Looking at Yuugi's
startled expression, the white-haired boy continued. "That's the
problem. All of them, those who choose so or not, never knew so at
the beginning. You're not the first, Yuugi. But you have been offered
it now, and so you must choose."
Yuugi's expression was one of bewilderment and confusion.
"Choose what?"
Bakura plodded on, face expressionless. "There are two
sides to this.. ah.. lets call it a game. Yes, a 'game' will do. The side
you know of, the one with your sunshine and utopia-desiring
Authority is one... player of this game. Of course, most games
require at least two players. Or, rather, one player, and one
opponent."
Yuugi didn't like where this conversation was carrying, but
hid his surprise. "So.. who's the opponent?"
Bakura's face turned away, as if he didn't want to talk
anymore. The white-haired boy's figure seemed to cling to the
shadows, the very fabric of his body rejecting light. "In the end, does
it really matter? What matters the most is the Game. Play the Game,
Yuugi. You have to play. If you don't... then, you'll be lost forever.
Just like your father."
"My father?" Yuugi's eyes widened. "What happened to my
father? Do you know?" His voice grew in intensity at the end, angry
and threatening.
Face still turned away from Yuugi, Bakura shook his head,
silvery-white hair flying in momentary disarray. "He was one of the
few who choose not to play."
Yuugi clenched a fist angrily. "If my father didn't choose,
why should I?"
Bakura turned his head, and gave Yuugi a long, hard stare.
"If you don't, the price is much worse. Much, much worse."
*****************
Yuugi turned on the shower, setting the water to the hottest
level, and spraying the liquid across his bare body despite the
awesome heat. His mind was somewhere else, lost in the
conversation with Bakura. What was happening? Why was his life
suddenly beginning to flaw? It must have been some joke. It was just
too ... stupid... to be anything else. Yes, a joke, Yuugi reasoned,
blissfully unaware of the water falling on his back, stinging his skin
with an intense heat until it sweltered a reddish hue. He would wake
up tomorrow morning, go to school, and everything would be just
like how it was. Yuugi nodded as he came to that conclusion, turning
off the shower with a satisfied smile. Yet, if he was indeed satisfied,
what was that strange tugging feeling in his heart?
Yuugi tossed in his bed for the umpteenth time, his large
eyes peering blindly at the dark-covered ceiling of his room. The
spiky-haired boy checked his alarm clock, watching the flashing red
symbols illuminate their significance. 2:00 am. Definitely too early -
or too late, depending on how one looked at it. After trying countless
methods of trying to back to sleep, Yuugi finally concluded that his
mind simply wouldn't cooperate. The boy sighed. What he really
needed now was some fresh air, away from the confinements of his
room. Taking safety for granted as he had always done before, Yuugi
grabbed a jacket, deciding last-minute to bring a wallet in case he
wandered too far and needed a taxi or bus home, assuming they had
taxis and busses at this hour.
Silently, Yuugi slipped out of his bedroom and out the front
door, thankfully waking neither of the two other residents of the
household. He sighed in relief as he walked out the front door, taking
a few breaths of fresh nighttime air to clear his thoughts and perhaps
reflect on them.
Yuugi had noted that Bakura had never answered who the
opponent to this "Game" the white-haired boy had make an allusion
to was. What disturbed him deeply was the fact that he had been
unaware and so blissfully ignorant of these clashing forces. But...
why? Again, Yuugi thought about the two forces of the "Game". One
of them was the society he lived in, the Authority. The other, a
mysterious unknown and most likely shadowy power. And neither of
them fascinated the small boy.
A cold wind blew past Yuugi and he shivered, pulling his
thin blue jacket closer to him. Overhead, the moon rose, its crescent
shape reflecting like an alluring smile. Nighttime in his
neighbourhood was a silent and sacred ritual, one that most tended to
ignore as they lost themselves to the endless daytime of their dreams.
The darkness and foreboding atmosphere of the night was a force to
fear, and curious children were often discouraged with tales of
lurking monsters not to even peek past their doorway after the
sundown. Therefore, the streets were completely isolated, illuminated
only faintly by flickering lamplights that shone dubiously under the
dense darkness.
"This really sucks." Yuugi muttered out loud, kicking his
foot angrily against a metal staircase. Big mistake. As his foot made
impact, a loud hollow sound rang out, screaming like a million tin
bells.
The boy jumped back in surprise, freezing in stance while
wishing fervently that the sound would simply disappear. He
definitely didn't want to wake anyone up, and even in a
neighbourhood as sheltered and protected as his, there was always
the chance that....
"Well now, what did we pick up here?"
The spiky-haired boy's eyes widened as he realized that he
was no longer by himself. He stared blindly at the shadows, looking
for the source of the voice.
"Awww... it's a cute little boy." The same voice declared,
rather obnoxiously, with an air of both contempt and superiority.
"Should we kill him, or have some fun with him first?"
Yuugi gasped as suddenly, an arm grabbed him from
behind, a powerful hand wrenching his shoulder so that the small boy
was face to face with a cloaked figure. Panic rang out in his mind,
and he flailed his limbs madly in an attempt to escape. The figure
only laughed, harshly tightening his grip on Yuugi's shoulder until
Yuugi realized that his feet were no longer touching the ground.
More cloaked figures began to assemble around Yuugi, as
the boy's breath caught in his chest, paralyzed with fear. They
seemed almost inhuman as they circled Yuugi, smelling and gazing
at him like a pack of hungry wolves.
"Wait a moment..." The main leader of the group, the figure
that was holding Yuugi, loosened his hold on the boy. "I know you."
Another pause. "Yes, I know you indeed."
"S-sorry." Yuugi muttered, stuttering in his fear. "I - I think
you have the w-wrong person."
The figure's other hand went to the clasp on his cloak,
removing the hanging material to reveal a tall youth, with dark
burning eyes and unruly hair, the colour indistinguishable in the
darkness. And Yuugi realized, with a heart that both sank and rose at
the same time, that he indeed knew who the cloaked leader was.
"Bakura." Yuugi stated. He took in another breath to steady
himself while his eyes looked pleadingly at his friend. "What are you
doing here?"
Bakura, Yuugi's friend from school, only sneered, one that
flashed in Yuugi's mind as a sudden déjà vu. "Sorry Yuugi. I'm not
the Bakura you know."
Despite all his fear and shock, Yuugi still had his deep sense
of puzzlement. "What do you mean?"
Bakura dropped his hold on Yuugi, watching the small boy
fall to the ground like a sack of potatoes. Still sneering, the white-
haired boy walked up to Yuugi until his face was only inches away
from the smaller boy's. Yuugi tried to back away from the menacing
figure, only to realize that he had already reached the wall. Spacing
himself as far away from this not-Bakura as possible, Yuugi took a
good look as his friend. This Bakura was indeed different, his slanted
eyes and face contorted maniacally, hair splayed out in a demonic
fashion. Fake-Bakura smiled, and Yuugi almost fainted then and
there as he realized what lay under those dark lips. They glinted like
the purest of snow and gleamed like dull ivory. Bakura had _fangs_.
"Something wrong, Yuugi?" Bakura smiled as he saw
Yuugi's violet eyes widen even larger, obviously enjoying the fear.
The white-haired youth then brought his face closer to Yuugi, one
hand holding the smaller boy down to prevent him from escaping
while the other slid under Yuugi's chin grabbing the small boy's face
and forcing him to tilt his head upwards.
"Bakura, stop it." Yuugi's voice choked in his throat, wide
eyes pleading as he struggled with his free hand to remove himself
from the demonic boy's grasp. His struggles proved useless as
Bakura moved lifted Yuugi's head even higher to force Yuugi to
stare straight into the taller boy's eyes.
"Remember what I said, Yuugi? How you had to choose?"
Bakura's voice rang out even within the chaos of Yuugi's mind,
surprisingly mild and calm. "This is it. Choose now. Even better..."
Bakura was now close enough to Yuugi's face that they could feel
each other's breaths rise and fall from their mouths. "I'll Choose for
you."
At that moment, the logical, reasoning part of Yuugi's mind
took over, as did panic. Adrenaline rushed into the younger boy's
body as he screamed at the top of his lungs, crying, calling, pleading
for help while tears brimmed in his eyes, blurring his vision.
Oddly enough, Bakura let the smaller boy scream,
watching with flickering amused eyes as he effortlessly pinned
Yuugi down even with all the renewed ferocity. "Sorry Yuugi." His
lips curved into a lopsided smirk, revealing a single fang. "Game
over."
Yuugi's eyes widened as he felt his screaming cut off, and
reacted by choking, his lungs protesting from the sudden lack of
oxygen. Even the function of breathing became vague as Yuugi
realized exactly _what_ Bakura was doing. The taller boy's lips were
firm and warm to the touch, hard pressed against Yuugi's own lips,
forcing them to do Bakura's bidding. Tears fell down like droplets of
ice from Yuugi's wide eyes, soaking their contact, as Bakura held
Yuugi in a forceful embrace of lust. For a moment, Yuugi felt a
strange desire to push back, to force his own lips harder against the
taller boy's. That desire faded as fast as it came, leaving only a blind,
mindless stupor in his wake.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Bakura pulled
away, his face glistening a bit from Yuugi's own tearstains. There
was a pause as Yuugi's mind began to restart itself, blindly trying to
release the shock and bewilderment. And then, bile rose in the
smaller boy's throat as he realized what exactly had happened. Ryou
Bakura had kissed him. Not just a nice friendly kiss, but a deep,
forceful kiss. Bakurahadkissedhim. HehadkissedBakura.
Oh.
My.
God.
Unfortu nately, Bakura seemed to have plans other than just
a simple kiss, as Yuugi felt his shirt collar being ripped open by
powerful hands. Yuugi's small bare chest was revealed as Bakura
yanked even harder, scattering the buttons like pieces of candy on the
ground.
Yuugi was beyond the point of struggling, even beyond the
point of reacting as his mind fell into a state of complete stupor,
refusing to seek and understand. The only thing that shone from the
small boy's mask of shock were streams of glistening tears.
"Hmm... you look absolutely...." Here, Bakura paused, his
one hand still cupping Yuugi's jaw with his thumb and index finger.
The white-haired boy eyes Yuugi's neck, almost appreciatively. "...
Delicious."
With only that warning, Bakura brought his face into a
semi-snarl, revealing the full length of his savage ivory-white fangs.
And with as much grace as the previous kiss, the taller boy tilted his
own head until it touched Yuugi's prone neck, a rough tongue licking
the surface. Abruptly, his tongue stopped at a corollary vein running
along the smaller boy's neck, and he viciously clamped his jaws
down exactly where his tongue had pinpointed. Yuugi let out a
muffled cry as he felt a pair of sharp daggers suddenly pierce his
neck, burrowing deep into his soft flesh. And Bakura ignored the cry
as fresh crimson blood dribbled down his chin, his head never
moving from their position as he drank hungrily.
Yuugi convulsed in agony as Bakura greedily consumed the
smaller boy's vital fluid. The agony grew until Yuugi could feel only
the pain. His body was on fire, and his head light and dizzy from the
loss of so much blood. Gratefully, Yuugi fell into the darkness, not
caring if he ever woke again.
**************************