Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Firemoth ❯ Chapter 2 ( Chapter 2 )

Xpyne: Sorry for the mega slowness of updating! I was trying to wait until I'd finished making a web page with illustrations by me of the characters in this story in their slayer/vampire/etc outfits. Sailor Comet was telling me she was having a hard time picturing Bakura's outfit...So I've been drawing him!

Yuugi: But her web skills are lacking at best, and she hasn't actually finished any of her drawings yet, so I've convinced her to update already! Hopefully she'll have a link ready by the next chapter.

Xpyne: Merci mille fois, to all y'all who reviewed! You've made me soo happy! ::cries:: Oh, and it appears I need to reassure everyone. This is Xpyne: Of course this is going to eventually become Yuugi x Yami x Seto!! They're the best threesome ever, yay! And I must do my part to flood ff.net with y/yy/s.

WARNING: This fic is yaoi, aka boy-boy lovin', rated R, has really bad language, adult themes and situations, a lot of blood and violence, and lots of sexy sexy hints. No lemon yet. C'mon, they're not even dating yet, hehe. Please don't hate on the first amendment!

Yuugi: ^^;; Xpyne and Solitaire don't own YGO or any of Xpyne's inspirations mentioned in chapter one. Plus I think Xpy-chan steals a lot of jargon....

Xpyne: I do not!! ........steal "a lot", just, um, okay yeah. -__-;; A lot. But I make up a lot, too. Like 'Nyctomortem' [night death] is mine, and I used some Latin words, which will be explained as the story progresses, so please be patient. And please keep reviewing!

Firemoth

Chapter 2

By Xpyne

___________________________

"What do you mean, 'he got away'!?!?! Do you know what I'm going to do to you if he's hurt, or worse yet, drawn?? Shut up!! Get out and start looking for him!! You had better--" A muffled sort of thudding in the ceiling distracted the silver haired club owner. "I'll call you back." He hung up disgustedly, golden brown eye following the curious sound making its way above his head. His hand sought his pistol, eye remaining trained on the air vent, racket increasing. To his surprise, just the cute little teen he was looking for tumbled out of the duct in a cloud of dust. Yuugi sat up coughing, attempting to shake the dirt out of his wild hair.

"Yuugi-boy! You're alive!" The tall man was utterly relieved.

"Yeah, no thanks to the jerks you sent to harass me," Yugi muttered, standing up and brushing himself off. He looked up, piercing the silver haired man with a scathing glare that, due to dirt smudges on his nose and the round quality of his cheeks, ended up looking more like a kawaii pout. "You have no idea how many weirdos are after me right now! What am I supposed to do?"

The man was at Yuugi's side, helping to brush him off. His long, slender fingers curled around the shoulders he'd been dusting. He leaned in close to the diminutive boy, a curtain of his long, silky hair hanging over his missing eye. "You know, Yuugi-boy, you could always enter my personal protection." His voice was a husky, hurried whisper. "No one would dare touch my--"

"That's okay," Yugi grumbled sarcastically, shrugging off the older creep's spider-like grasp. Pegasus laughed, a full, throaty sound that just made Yuugi grimace. Flipping silver locks behind his shoulder, he assumed a more business-like tone.

"So are you working tonight?" The question caught Yuugi off guard, as he hadn't thought work would even be an option right now.

"Is-is it safe to?"

"Of course, Yuugi-boy. I would never endanger you." Something about the silky smooth answer made him nervous.

"The men you sent--?"

"Just a precaution."

"What's a 'Darkness'?" Yuugi demanded, hand absently reaching up to touch his neck. He had a pretty good idea what a Darkness was, but he wanted Pegasus's definition rather than his own mind's unhelpful "sexy as hell."

The one eyed vampire faltered. "....A rumor." Yuugi opened his mouth to protest, but shut it just as quickly. He didn't exactly want to advertise his...."encounter," especially not to Pegasus. The silver haired vampire plucked an imaginary piece of lint off his immaculate magenta suit. "You don't have to work, but I don't want you leaving the premises tonight." Yuugi nodded, preoccupied with his thoughts. "Good." And with that, he swept out of his office, leaving Yuugi alone.

Yuugi sighed, plopping down onto a plush couch. What was bothering him wasn't so much that he had been attacked; he was used to that by now. No, what was bothering him was that tonight was the first time he'd actually enjoyed a vampire's touch. He could still feel the whisper soft kiss on his lips, the gentle embrace, the heat pooling in his groin. Yuugi's eyes flew open, cheeks going pink. [Okay, enough of that.]

He worried his lower lip, feeling dirty somehow. How could his body want--that?! He gingerly pressed down on the bulge in his pants. His jii-chan was killed by vampires! His mother was betrayed by them! His father--his father was one. His darkest secret: Yuugi was a dunpeal: half human, half vampire. No one knew, not Pegasus, not even the ancient one. It was the only secret he'd ever guarded with his life. Well, the only one until half an hour ago. Now Yuugi had a second secret: he was in love with Darkness.

v * v * v * v * v * v * v * v * v

Thunderous, pounding music somewhere between techo and death metal pulsated throughout the packed club, filtering out the guarded entrance. Kaiba walked purposefully to the front of the long line outside, Bakura a stride behind him. He came to a stop in front the bouncer, stepping close enough to force the guard to crane his neck up. The man, while tall by normal standards, was at least a head shorter than Kaiba, and about half as well armed.

"My friend and I have business here tonight," Kaiba stated coldly, peering down his nose at the other. The guard crossed his arms.

"We don't want any trouble."

Kaiba shifted, allowing his cloak to fall open, revealing a portion of his deadly arsenal. "There won't be any trouble--unless you continue to stand there like a moron, wasting my time." The bouncer's gaze flickered to his weapons belt and the sword strapped to his back before returning to disdainful cobalt eyes. After a moment's deliberation, he stepped aside, murmuring into a small communication device. Kaiba stalked past him, Bakura following.

The throbbing music reflected the raucous crowd, dancing, if it could be called that, in a wild, blatantly sexual manner. Kaiba strode through the teeming dance floor, rudely shoving patrons out of his way as he made for the bar. A particularly rough looking vamp choked on his drink as the blue eyed teen bumped past him.

"What the fuck??" he sputtered, corded arm reaching out to clutch Kaiba's cloak front. A broad, pale hand immediately ensnared the thick wrist.

"Cool it," Bakura muttered to his partner.

"You're skinny ass is about to get on its knees and beg for the honor of buying me another drink, or I'm gonna snap you in two!" the vamp growled, veins bulging in his alcohol soaked neck. Bakura slid between the two taller men, arms wrapping sensually around the bulky vampire and his slender form pressing coyly against the enraged leech.

"Hey, sexy, do you like it hot and fast?" he asked huskily, rubbing his vinyl clad body suggestively against the taller man. The slit of his black kimono revealed a shapely black-clad leg as he hooked it around the vamp's waist.

"The fuck you talkin' about, man?!?" he asked uncertainly, confusion distracting his anger momentarily. Bakura quirked his eyebrows, touching a concealed button on the inside of one wrist cuff. A grid of golden lights flared to life over his entire bodysuit.

"Cause all I do is--touch myself and this suit will let off a hot solar flash so fast your dick won't know what hit it 'till your foreskin melts," he purred.

It took all of Kaiba's stoic powers to not make a face at that one. The vampire dropped Kaiba's cloak front and shoved the crazy white haired boy off of him, backing away as fast as possible.

"Fuckin' psycho! Christ in hell, the shit you tryin' ta pull!? Damn--!" The pair of slayers left him to his frightened, crude musings, drowned out by the blaring music. Bakura hit his switch again and the grid of lights flicked off, leaving him clothed in shiny, inky black once more.

Kaiba finally reached the far end of the bar, where some disturbance and yells caught his attention. Several vamps, male and female, were harassing a bored looking girl lying on her stomach behind the safety of a silver plated metal screen. It was then Kaiba and Bakura noticed the bar actually stayed level back to the wall, the area for the bartender fenced off with small holes for drinks to slide through. [That's odd...] The girl on her stomach was apparently serving drinks lack-lusterly from the raised partition. Kaiba sat down at the end of the bar, throwing a small pouch full of heavy coins down on the counter in front of one of the drink holes, causing the female to jump. She rolled up onto one elbow, eyeing the money.

"What you want, honey?" she inquired sweetly, pointedly ignoring all other customers who'd been annoying her moments earlier.

"Pegasus." Her drawn on brows arched.

"That's a first; usually all these bums want to know is when Yuugi-kun is gonna be here. Girl can hardly make a living," she said saucily, giving him a wink. Before an appropriate response could form itself in Kaiba's stunned mind, a metallic device beeped on the girl's waist. She sat up, pressing a button on it.

"Sorry boys, shift change. Keep your money. No one gets to Pegasus unless he wants them to, and the main attraction's coming out....You're gonna need that for tips!" Before either teen could question her further, she was up and striding down the runway of a bar, exiting through a door of sorts on the wall. After a brief moment, a familiar petite form walked out onto the caged bar top, greeted by an uproar of catcalls and jeers. Bakura and Kaiba just stared. The platinum haired boy nudged his partner.

"What the hell??"

v * v * v * v * v * v * v * v * v

Must have, ...god forsaken, need, oh need, can't.....oh need....can't have--just once--NO!

Yuugi panted, unable to control the urges churning through him. He shuddered, wave after wave of bloodlust nauseating him. Everything he'd been through this evening was crashing down on him and he didn't have the energy to control himself. Yuugi was very good at suppressing his...his bloodlust. It made him ill to even think about the fact he had that part of him...the vampire in him that would never go away. Whenever Yuugi was really, truly distressed, when he lost control of more than his emotions, the lust crept upon him: piercing his mind--his gut--his groin--but never his heart. He never wanted the blood...he just...needed it. Right now was--

Sweet, intoxicating, please, just--please--! Need it--so....much...........BLOOD.........

Right now was one of those times. Between the vampires and the slayers and...and the Darkness swallowing his heart, Yuugi couldn't keep his filthy urges at bay. He wiped at his cheek, searching for any droplets he might have missed when he cleaned off Akiko's blood from his face. A few burgundy smudges came off on his small hand from under his jaw. His tongue darted out to steal a taste of the stale blood. He made a face. It was old, and lacked any sort of flavor. It only made him want the real thing that much more.

Tears streamed from his dark violet eyes as he unstrapped one wrist cuff. He stared at his wrist for a long time, occasionally hiccupping from the tears he was trying to subdue. The skin was pale, like the rest of him--dunpeals can survive in the sunlight, of course, but the vampire in them never feels too well after long exposure--but slightly sweaty from being under the cuff. The fine, hardly noticeable hairs on his arm rose, flesh goosebumping in the chill air of Pegasus's office. A delicate, racing heartbeat strummed through the hidden veins beneath his skin, the human blood in him tingled, waiting to be tasted. He couldn't be turned; his dual nature kept him at a permanent balance--neither human nor vampire...just a sad, lonely boy who would never belong in either world. He could practically see the veins throbbing in his arm, their spidery pattern burned blood red into his mind by the supernatural sense he liked to pretend he didn't have, begging him to taste them, suck them, drink his fill of his own sweet, human side. His breath came in gasping pants, he had to control himself--or else--or else it would get easier and easier to justify his urges until one day, he drew off a human, and then it would all be over.

His little fangs slipped out unbidden, about as controllable as his loins right now. His arm rose shakily, against his will....he could smell how good it would be....he could see the scar on his wrist from the only time he'd ever actually gone through with it....but he'd used a knife then. The blood had poured forth, for him to lap up hungrily. It had been after the night he met the ancient one, the only time he felt he deserved to have what every vampire seemed to want from him, the only night he'd ever been so desperate.

Abruptly, Yuugi ran into the bathroom, slamming the door shut behind him. The Darkness's eyes burned fiery in his mind, smooth voice sliding over him like a lover's caress. Yuugi sunk his fangs into his own wrist, a muffled sob escaping his mouth. The blood rushed into him, his senses lighting on fire. [Oh god...!]

He'd never experienced his own venom before, his own poisonous fangs. The blood that wasn't flowing heatedly out of his wrist was flowing heatedly to another desire Yuugi often pretended he didn't have. He groaned, breath hitching; his erection was near painful in his tight black pants. With his free hand, he unfastened them, freeing his arousal and gripping it tightly. He didn't stroke himself, though, or even attempt to alleviate the gut clenching passion rising in him; he couldn't move. He was paralyzed by the numbing agent in his own vampire venom. Lust darkened eyes rolled back into his head; he couldn't stop the flow of blood, even if he wanted to, his body frozen in a torrent of self-gratification--his human half was paralyzed, seduced, and unable to produce a decent blood clot, his vampire half was aroused, hungry, and unable to stop sucking greedily. There was something strange about the metallic, sugary taste in his mouth--like part of him could orgasm on the flavor alone and part of him was going to vomit if the disgusting coppery liquid didn't get off his tongue. Finally, with a desperate moan, Yuugi jerked his head away, eyes squeezing shut and fangs receding.

He panted and stumbled to his feet, unaware of when he'd ended up on the floor, and dragged himself to the sink, where he mournfully washed away the staunching flow of precious blood, applying pressure delicately to his shallow puncture wounds. He bit his lower lip hard, fighting back tears. He could control it now; he was in control now; Yuugi was controlled now. He let out a shaky sigh. He couldn't go home, and he did not wish to be by himself right now...he wasn't exactly sure he could trust himself now that he knew what it was like to be under a vampire's spell.

He drew in a sharp breath, stroking himself with disgust. Just to get rid of it. He came quickly, dropping to his knees, splashing water and blood all over the tiled floor in the process. Yuugi knelt for a long while until he managed to get up, turn off the faucet, clean up the bathroom and himself. When he finally emerged, reclasping his protector onto his left wrist, the only evidence of his previous activities were the slightly puffy look his large amethyst eyes had to them from crying and the light sheen of sweat on his exposed flesh.

[I...I don't want to be alone...I guess I'll work tonight.] he decided. Fingers still shaking, he put in the call from Pegasus's office, informing the girl covering his shift he'd be out shortly and she could go home. He ran a hand through his unruly spikes and nervously made sure all his vital protectors were secure as he exited the silver haired man's office and headed for the door that led to the partitioned bar. The teenaged girl covering for him was slipping out the heavy doorway as he approached and held it open for him.

"They're all yours," she announced sarcastically, grinning. Yuugi mumbled his thanks, clamored up the steep stairway and went through the back entrance to his specially built platform behind the bar. The customers came half the time to see Yuugi, so he was supposed to serve drinks from where they could see--and smell--him: a runway of sorts behind a silver-plated titanium cage. He hated it--it was so degrading--but as he knew, he was out of options. Sliding out into the club, the girl closed the door behind him, sealing his self-imposed fate. Yuugi sighed. Time to work.

v * v * v * v * v * v * v * v * v

Kaiba's jaw uncharacteristically went slack, giving his serious face a boyish look of confusion. He quickly recovered and smacked Bakura curtly on his arm for persisting in his annoying rib jabbing, as if Kaiba hadn't noticed the drink serving Tracker yet. Like that was possible.

The crowd around the bar was instantly swarming, and the small, still slightly frightened looking teen was standing behind the metal grate appearing overwhelmed. Closing big, violet eyes, he let out a poof of air and opened them again, leaning down to take an order from a gang of women covered in fishnets, leather, and chains. When he turned around, pulling bottles off shelves and mixing drinks on a mirrored counter on the wall, he froze.

In the 20-foot long mirror behind him, reflecting the neopunk/Salvador Dali-goth decorated club were three figures: himself, and two obviously human slayers sitting at the end of the bar. He whirled around, large eyes scanning the uncontrollable crowd until he spotted them, face going pale. Shaking so hard it was a wonder he didn't spill them, Yuugi bent over and delivered the drinks he'd just made, receiving a torrent of pleased laughter and leers for unavoidably putting his tightly clad butt on display. One of the women he'd served was pressing herself against the barrier, tongue poking lewdly through the metal links from full, black painted lips, trying to get his attention again, while her friends jeered, enjoying themselves. Yuugi ignored the many raised arms calling out orders and hurried to the other side of the bar, expression near panicked.

"Who are you?? How'd you get in here?--I--I'm not--" he broke off, worrying his lower lip. "Leave. Please--just get out of here!" Bakura's face split into a devious grin.

"What's the matter, kid? Don't you serve your own kind?" he propped his elbows up on the bar and narrowed his eyes. "I'll take a vodka--" Yuugi backed up a step, looking mortified. "--from the bottom shelf, mind you." He added, smirking.

"I'm not your kind," he stated in monotone. Assuming he'd meant he was no slayer, Bakura continued smoothly.

"And while you're at it, I--"

"Shut up, 'Kura." Kaiba stood, hand going for his laser sharpened katana; it could cut through just about anything. "Cover me."

Bakura whipped out a pair of automatic pistols and stood with his back against Kaiba's, arms extended and a hard glint in his dark green eyes. Some vampires screamed, others ran for it, and a few charged at Bakura, as Kaiba drew his sword. Yuugi cried out, throwing himself against the side of the cage, as Kaiba swung his lengthy sword straight for where he'd previously stood. Bakura was currently blanketing the semi-circle around them with a hail of silver bullets, driving back those foolish enough to try and interfere.

Near hyper-ventilating, Yuugi cowered against the silver laced cage, arms thrown over his head, as Kaiba jerked his sword out of the twisted metal and drew back for a second hack. Yuugi squeezed his eyes shut, trying to drown out the sounds of club patrons screaming in eerie chorus to the pounding music and machine guns riddling the air. He was cornered, and the white cloaked slayer was slicing through his protective barrier like it was cardboard. He cried out in surprise when a large hand grabbed his ankle and gave a hard yank, sliding him across the broken shards of mirror glass and metal. The slayer's other hand was re-sheathing his deadly blade until it reached down rapidly, snatching Yuugi's upper arm. Grip on arm and ankle, Kaiba heaved the smaller boy out of the slashed metal and over his shoulder, grasp shifting to hold his legs securely. Security vampires were swooping in the now near-evacuated club, the shriek of accompanying bats hardly audible over the blaring music and wailing guns. Yuugi bucked upward, struggling.

"Let's go!" Bakura demanded, shouting over his shoulder. "I can't hold them back all night!!" As if on cue, a black swarm of cloak streaked into him, knocking one HK-5 from his hand, where it spun dangerously across the room, still firing. A white clawed hand dug into his scalp, jerking his head back and exposing his tan neck.

"Fuck--you--!" Bakura spat, his ebony kimono erupting in a cross-grid of light. Yuugi froze, reared up in Kaiba's arms. A blinding flash filled the club, punctuated by the audible sizzle of melting flesh and moans. Yuugi went limp in Kaiba's arms, unconscious. Kaiba threw Yuugi back over his shoulder and reached down, grabbing his glowing partner's arm and helping him to his feet. They ran, bursting out into the cold night, several night stalkers on their tails.

They sprinted down the street and dodged down an alley, the howling of several vampires taking flight after them.

"So--any--uh--bright ideas?" Bakura panted, a few steps ahead of Kaiba. "We're--too far--from the--Vamp Van..." They were swiftly racing down one dark street after another, but the outraged inhuman cries were getting closer.

"We'll make it." A vampiress tore out of the shadows, wild, blackened hair flowing like snakes around her pale, angular face. She hissed, swinging a sword at Bakura's head. He ducked, throwing his leg out in a roundhouse, but she leapt up again, her cape dissolving partially into a swarm of vampire bats. The bats attacked the white haired assassin, and he threw up his arms to shield his face. Kaiba whipped out his four foot long sword, growling. He whirled around, more vampires, and more bats, were surrounding them. Bakura was shooting bat after bat, but seemed to be having little effect on the whole. He leapt to his feet, pressing his back to Kaiba's, brandishing his own gleaming katana. The vampires, at least a dozen of them, pounced.

The air was filled with their supernatural screams, higher and more terrible than any noise a human could make. A vampire curled his long, black nails in the small unconscious teen's hair as he swooped over head, insubstantial, shadowy body whisked along by vicious bats. Yuugi's slender body jerked, caught between the two enemies grasping him. Bakura sliced off the vampire's arm, letting it fall limply to the ground. Yuugi moaned, starting to wake. Kaiba, meanwhile, was trying to fight off a multitude of flying mammals. They were closing in, pulling at his cloak and his captive. It was useless to keep attacking the bats; he had to strike down their masters. Kaiba abruptly dropped Yuugi on the street, stepped forward so his legs were planted protectively on either side of the boy, and swung his sword around with a fierce cry, slicing four vampires in half. Yuugi's eyes flew open to be greeted with the lifeless stare of a decapitated head.

"Ah!" he rolled away from it, only to bump into a pair of shapely, severed legs. Horrified, he rolled onto his hands and knees and tried to scramble away from the murderous battle.

"Bakura, use a--!" Kaiba began.

"Already did. Three seconds!" Kaiba sheathed his katana and dove forward, his long arms wrapping around Yuugi's escaping waist as he rolled. He was on his feet and running, Yuugi in his arms, before the vampires could react. A small, many faceted black cube was beeping.

Yuugi threw his arms around Kaiba's neck and buried his face in his cloak as a burst of UV light illuminated the street. Bakura was running at his partner's side again in a second. As the pair of slayers raced towards their vehicle once more, Yuugi's sobs were the only sound beside their labored breathing. Four vampires were still left, chasing furiously.

They were closer now, only about two blocks away. Yuugi clung to Kaiba as he cried, his sobs catching as he was jarred by the much larger teen's running.

"Hey, come on; I'm not going to hurt you," Kaiba managed to sound calm and in control despite his heavy breathing and precarious situation. He tightened his grip on the slender boy in his arms, wishing the kid would stop crying like that. It was staring to make him feel guilty. The tri-color haired boy unclenched his watery eyes, trying to think. If they wanted to kill him, they could have already. Maybe they wanted ransom or something... Regardless, he was out of the club...out of his practical enslavement... Suddenly his sobs stopped with a terrified sort of gasp. Kaiba felt him let go of his neck and reach for something.

[Shit, what's he doing--?] A vampire's enraged scream pierced the air as Yuugi shot off his ret gun over Kaiba's shoulder. [Oh.]

A ret gun blasts a low level of concentrated sunlight, strong enough to burn the more sensitive skin of a vampire, but not enough to kill. It is called a ret gun because ideally, you shoot a ret gun at a vampire's face, where it will burn his retinas through his thin eyelids and blind him for about 2 hours before he grows new ones.

A second vampire caught the one that fell back clutching his eyes and pushed him into the relative safety of a darkened alley before tearing after the slayers and Tracker. He snarled, making to shoot Kaiba in the back, but Bakura was faster. Whipping out his illegally altered ret gun, he let off a shot that's recoil made him stumble forward a few steps as he ran. Instead of a square foot patch of low level sunlight, his gun emitted a fair sunspot, blasting the head off the tracking vamp. Of the two vampires left in pursuit, one male, one female, the male took flight in a cloud of bats overhead and the female melted into the shadows, laughing murderously.

Her pale, glowing eyes opened again in the heavy shadows behind a dilapidated building, her body sliding out of the darkness with a whispered flutter of her black cloak. She flung her long red hair over a shoulder and touched a small, upside down silver cross on her high collar.

"Pegasus..." she purred.

"\Hello?? What's going on?! Have you got Yuugi? Where are you?\" came the angry, panicked response.

"He's not coming back..." she murmured. "Pity, really."

"\What the hell are you talking about!? GET HIM BACK. He's probably crying his eyes out, waiting for you to rescue him--\"

"He shot Teketo with his ret gun."

"\....In self defense, or fear, I'm sure.\"

"No."

"\Adrienne, I don't find your disobedience amusing. I order you to retrieve Yuugi! You--\" She touched the glowing little cross once more, effectively ending the conversation. Pegasus was in no position to order her around. She had only stopped by that night as a guest at the Drip Crell, and had found herself dragged into an interesting fight. And if he was so worried about Yuugi, that was his problem. The ancient one was going to be extremely pissed at him. Adrienne, however, had a different agenda to answer to: one that didn't include dying at the hands of two well-armed slayers. She stalked off down the street, wondering what Malik would think of all this.

v * v * v * v * v * v * v * v * v

Bakura hit the unlock on his keychain and threw open the back of their armored van. The blue eyed teen threw Yuugi into it and crossed to the driver's side door. The last vampire was lunging towards Bakura with fangs barred and semi-automatic firing. Bakura leapt into the van next to Yuugi as the engine roared to life. The tires squealed as the van lurched forward, Bakura hanging onto one flapping back door for cover. He took aim and fired his ret gun, grunting as the kick threw him back into the vehicle, swearing, doors slamming shut behind him. Kaiba pealed out onto the street, swerving on two tires, a cloud of smoke and a dead vampire the only trace left behind.

"So," Bakura straightened from his sprawled position and began amiably. "You're Mutou Yuugi, Tracker-boy Exraordinaire?" Yuugi regarded him with a wide, fearful gaze.

"I--I'm Yuugi," he barely whispered, curling his arms around his knees protectively, keeping his amethyst orbs trained on the vinyl kimono wearing, gun-toting, white haired teen. "What d'you want with me?"

"Well, Yuugi, I'm Bakura Kazuma, crypt raider, assassin-for-hire, and world class Vispilio at your service. My horribly driving partner here is Kaiba Seto, a--"

"Slayer." His cold tone inferred that was all he wanted Bakura to say. The green eyed boy's gaze flickered uncertainly to Kaiba before returning to Yuugi, smiling confidently.

"--a big jerk. But don't worry; we're here to help you, and millions of others in the process. Have you ever heard of Nyctomortem, kiddo?" Yuugi blinked, slowly turning his gaze to stare at the back of Kaiba's head.

"Yes, Bakura-san," he paused, still looking strangely at the tall, handsome driver. "They're the organization dedicated to murdering vampires and dunpeals," he whispered. Bakura frowned.

"I wouldn't exactly call it murder, but yeah, basically. You're a Tracker, which makes you imperative to the furthering of the Cause."

"The--the Cause?" he asked with trepidation. Bakura clung to a large piece of equipment as Kaiba swerved around something, sticking out a hand to stop Yuugi from being thrown across the back of the van.

"The Cause: to wipe out all blood suckers and their bastard children, like you said." Yuugi swallowed.

"I--I don't want..." He trailed off wordlessly, hanging his head. "Where are we going?" he inquired in a small voice.

"To a safehouse. Where you can't be found." Yuugi didn't ask any more questions, and as he soon had his head buried in his knees, shoulders shaking, Bakura didn't say anything else, either. He slipped into the front seat next to Kaiba, casting a dubious look back at the small teen.

"Kid's acting like we're kidnappers or something," Bakura complained in a low voice, so only Kaiba would hear him. Keeping his eyes firmly on the road, Kaiba answered.

"We are. He obviously did not want to come with us." Bakura rolled his eyes, pushing pale bangs out of his face.

"We're going to have to un-brainwash him, then."

"Hunh," he grunted noncommittally, choosing not to dignify Bakura's assessment with an answer. Silence reigned for several minutes until finally, Kaiba crinkled up his nose. "What the hell is wrong with you anyway? What you said was the foulest thing I've ever heard, and that's saying something!" It took Bakura a moment to realize Kaiba was referring to his foreskin comment at the club. He snickered.

"Gotta keep myself entertained somehow..."

Kaiba pulled off the freeway after several hours of driving and careened down a rural road, heading for a dark speck on the horizon. He'd had a long duration of silence to think of what he would say to Mutou Yuugi when it became necessary for him to do so. And still, all he could envision was the teen's large, watery eyes, and the way he'd looked at him in horror after he'd blown away that vampiress...

[What do I care if he's afraid of me? It'll probably just make things easier in the end...I could terrorize him into helping us...Christ, I don't want to do that...] He wondered if it had been such a good idea to just bust up the club and take Yuugi...if perhaps they ought to have waited and visited him at daybreak. Kaiba recalled the way the vampire scum had leered at the beautiful boy, and the deadened look that had appeared in his expressive eyes. His grip tightened on the steering wheel. [Yes, that was the right thing to do.] he thought determinedly. No one was going to torment Yuugi anymore, especially not in a sexual manner. Kaiba would make sure of it.

v * v * v * v * v * v * v * v * v

Xpyne: Buwahahahaha! I love torturing all my characters!! Heheehe, and I have major torture planned for Kaiba-kun, hehehe....::runs off cackling::

Yuugi: ::sweatdrop:: Um, well, please review--they encourage her! Uh, which I think is a good thing... she's a bit obsessed with blood lately. Oh well.