Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Opal ❯ Mission ( Chapter 9 )

Ryou stood under the cascade of hot water, allowing it to caress and warm his pale skin. Leaning his head back, he felt his wet hair slide against his back and the splash of the water against his throat. Sighing and lowering his head, he reached for the soap to begin the mundane task of washing himself.

 

He couldn't understand it. Why did he kiss Bakura? Why had he even wanted to in the first place? He desperately wanted to hate Bakura and the rest of the Kaitsunes for causing him so much pain and grief, yet no matter how much he told himself he should he couldn't bring himself to do so.

 

Kaitsune or not, Bakura was a good person. Yes, he had his quirks, but so did everyone else in the universe. The others were kind as well. Yami, Yugi, Malik, hell, even Marik had started to grow on him. It was strange how losing his father and being taken onto an alien ship had brought him so much more in life than he ever expected. He felt guilty about this, but it was true.

 

He smiled sadly. `I'm sorry, father. I hope you're not too disappointed in your son.'

 

He watched the water swirl into the drain below his feet and closed his eyes. If he didn't hate Bakura, how did he feel about him? He enjoyed the other's company and his strength and will to survive. He enjoyed the way Bakura had given him so many new things to discover and study, concepts to think through, and had protected him against all those who thought of him as worthless and expendable. Ryou's eyelids fluttered open. In fact, he had grown fond of Bakura over the past few days. Some might say too fond.

 

Ryou chuckled humorlessly, the sound drowned out by the pounding of the water against the bathroom tiles. He couldn't believe this. Part of him was glad his father wasn't alive to see him now. He didn't even want to imagine what the elder Kio would say if he were to know his one and only son had fallen in love with a Kaitsune. A male Kaitsune, no less.

 

“I'm such a fool.” he whispered, brokenly.

 

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After towel drying his hair, Ryou threw on the white button down shirt and black pants Bakura had given him earlier. Appraising himself in the mirror, he flicked a few loose hairs out of his eyes and left the bathroom, spotting Bakura near the door already dressed and ready to leave.

 

He thought it odd the other hadn't showered, but then remembered Kaitsunes didn't require daily washing. It would probably be another day or two before it became apparent Bakura hadn't showered, and even then he wouldn't smell that bad. Not like some humans, who smelled worse than a garbage dump after only one day.

 

Bakura stepped to the side, allowing Ryou to walk through the door first before following. The two made their way to the Morhir's port at a sedate pace, neither looking forward to what Ryou was expected to do. Once they reached the port, they were to meet with Malik, Marik, Yami and Yugi and also locate the ship Ryou was to use to travel to Mars.

 

Still tired and nervous, Ryou kept his eyes lowered. The clinking of their steps was soon drowned out by the din of voices and scraping claws that filled the port. The Morhir's port differed greatly from The Opal's. The room was larger, with several ships docked around the circular border and there were hardly any windows decorating the walls, leaving it dark and giving it a morbid atmosphere.

 

Raising his head, Ryou searched the crowded room for his friends, spotting them next to a small, oval shaped vessel near the very back of the area. He was thankful for this, seeing as how there was less noise and people bustling around there.

 

Jogging to keep up with Bakura's long strides, he gave a small smile as he stopped in front of the four Kaitsunes. “Hey, guys.”

 

Yugi came forward, looking just as worried as Ryou felt. “Hey, Ryou. How are you feeling?”

 

Ryou shrugged half-heartedly. “Not too bad, I guess. I'm just worried I'll mess something up.”

 

“Don't worry, Ryou.” Marik said, leaning down and putting himself eye to eye with the human. “You've been trained by the best. You'll do well, I know it.” Ryou felt his nerves lessen slightly. If his friends had such confidence in him, maybe he had gained more skills than he first thought. “Thank you, Marik. I appreciate that.”

 

Yami coughed, catching everyone's attention. “Shall we show him how to work his ship?” Bakura nodded, leading Ryou and the others into the Kaitsune ship docked nearby. The boy couldn't help but murmur his approval as they reached the control room.

 

There was a large panel to the front filled with buttons, levers, and various other controls to the ship. The monitor looming above it was tiny compared to those in the viewing rooms of the Morhir, but it would still serve Ryou's purpose. In front of the panel were two comfy and overly stuffed chairs, bolted to the floor tiles to keep them steady.

 

To his right, there was a hallway leading back to a meager bathroom, kitchen, and bedroom. Not much, but he wasn't expecting to be using this ship for very long. It was only to take him to Mars and back, nothing more.

 

“So,” Malik piped up, laying an arm heavily against Ryou's shoulders. “You like it?”

 

Ryou turned his head, grinning. “Yes, it's very nice. I'm thankful to get such a ship. I don't mean to sound rude, but I was thinking I'd be getting something much less…accommodating.”

 

“The council may be hard on you, Ryou, but they're still going to send you off with the proper equipment to finish your mission.” Yami said, moving over to the panel and typing in the coordinates to Mars. “I'll get you all set up so you won't have to worry with anything else except the details of what you're going to do.”

 

“You mean of how I'm going to get to Nibori without being seen?”

 

“Well, that, and how you're going to bring the necessary evidence back here with you and dispose of the body.”

 

The human pushed Malik's arm from his shoulders, eying Yami cautiously. “What evidence?”

 

The Kaitsunes seemed uncomfortable with his question. “You mean,” Yugi spoke up, “You don't know about having to bring certain.items back with you to prove you've completed your task?” Ryou shook his head and Yugi shifted, his gaze falling on anything except the other boy's face. `That's a bad sign.' Ryou thought, worried.

 

Yami saved his mate the agony of explaining. “Well, as Yugi said, you have to bring back specific evidence to show you've done what you were sent to do. In this case, a murder mission, you must bring back the heart of your victim. Can't get much more proof than that, can you?”

 

Ryou paled visibly. “H-his heart?! You mean I not only have to kill Nibori, but bring back one of his organs??” The tri-color haired Kaitsune nodded and Ryou felt sick to his stomach. `Oh God, I don't think I can do this.'

 

Malik patted the boy on the back, trying to sooth him. “Don't worry, Ryou. It won't be that bad. Like Yami said, the council has made sure you have everything you need for this, including a laser scalpel. It will make it much easier, and cleaner, to retrieve Nibori's heart.” He pointed to a bag near one of the chairs that Ryou hadn't noticed earlier. That must have been where his tools were located.

 

Still pale, Ryou thanked him shakily. `This mission just keeps getting worse.' he groaned inwardly. Wanting to find something normal his mind could latch onto for the moment, he turned toward Bakura, who had been reserved for the past few minutes. The white haired Kaitsune seemed lost in thought, his eyes glossy and unfocused.

 

Forgetting his gruesome assignment for the time being, he cocked his head to the side and closed the short distance between them, putting a hand to Bakura's arm.

 

The Kaitsune stiffened, but as his eyes focused once again on the human he relaxed visibly. “What is it, Ryou?” he asked, swishing his tail idly.

 

Righting his head and craning his neck to look up into Bakura's face, he released the man's arm from his thin fingers and dropped his arm back to his side. “I was just wondering what your mind was so consumed with. You've been strangely quiet since we left your room.”

 

At Ryou's observation, Marik studied his fellow Kaitsune. “Hmm, he's right, Bakura. It's not like you to keep your mouth shut for such a long time. What's wrong?”

 

Bakura growled at the blonde, slashing at him with his claws. Marik sidestepped the attack, laughing obnoxiously which only made Bakura angrier. Ryou decided to step in when the white haired Kaitsune prepared to lunge. “Can you two quit bickering? At least until I'm on my way.”

 

Ryou's reproach took the men by surprise, but it did the trick. Marik retreated back to his mate's side while Bakura stepped away into the shadows, a glum look on his face.

 

Yugi watched all of this with interest, whispering conspiratorially in Yami's ear. The taller Kaitsune nodded, a half smirk appearing on his lips. Malik caught this display out of the corner of his eye, and couldn't help a low chuckle. `So, Yami and Yugi have noticed it as well?'

 

Malik clapped his hands loudly, catching the attention of all in the room. “Alright, everyone! I think it's time we left Ryou to his mission. Remember, he needs to get there before Nibori has a chance to speak with Mar's government officials.” He turned to leave, elbowing Marik roughly in the ribs and sending him a look as he made his way out.

 

“Ouch, ouch, ouch.” Marik breathed, rubbing his side and joining Ryou. Keeping one hand pressed against his bruised ribs, he reached into his pants pocket with the other, pulling out a small bag and pushing it into the boy's hands. He winked. “For when you meet up with Nibori.”

 

Marik left the ship, followed by Yami and Yugi. Now, Ryou was alone, except for the dark figure dwelling in the shadows. He faced Bakura, tilting his head and looking into his crimson eyes. Ryou was silent as Bakura's claws raked dully against the tiled floor and he came within a few inches of the human.

 

The Kaitsune warred with himself for a moment, his face blank. Should he? No one else was around to see…

 

Ryou jumped, startled, when Bakura's clawed hand grasped his chin, tilting it up gently and his eyes widened as he felt the other's lips come in contact with his for the second time that morning. His eyelids closed on their own accord, but before he could start to enjoy the kiss Bakura drew back.

 

It had merely been a slight brush of Bakura's mouth against his, completely chaste and though he didn't understand why, part of him was disappointed.

 

A dark blush dusting his cheeks, Bakura whispered a quick “Good luck.” into Ryou's ear then he, too, left the ship, the doors shutting smoothly behind him.

 

Ryou blushed hotly. He hadn't imagined Bakura would do something like that. None the less, it hadn't been a bad surprise. Smiling, he went to the control panel, plopping down heavily into one of the plush seats and prepared to start his journey to Mars.

 

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During the trip, Ryou alternated between sleeping and planning out the details of his mission. Time wasn't really an issue right now, seeing as how the Kaitsune ship was nimble and could jump between hyperspace portals with ease. He should reach Mars soon enough to kill Nibori and dump his body somewhere before The Government missed him.

 

Stretching, Ryou arched his back from the chair, moaning appreciatively as his bones popped. With a sigh he slouched back into the leather, running a hand through his soft white hair. `Mmm…I need to figure out who I'm going to pin this murder on.'

 

He had already decided he would find some group to shift the blame to for Nibori's death. He certainly didn't want to be suspected (he was thought dead and wished to keep it that way) and the idea of The Government going after the Kaitsunes for this made him slightly sick with nerves. No, one of the Pro-Kaitsune radical groups would be best. Not only would they be plausible suspects, but they would also be happy to take responsibility for such an act.

 

Content with the scheme, he researched the different radical groups using the Kaitsune's superb technological hacking systems. (He was blocked from using such programs on other Kaitsune technology, of course) A few minutes of searching and he found a decent enough crowd who were known as `The Kaitsune Liberation Front.'

 

He rolled his eyes at the title. `There's just no creativity anymore.' He chose the KLF for two main reasons: one, they were all completely out of their minds. They were involved in countless fights, mobs, shootings, etc, all in the name of Kaitsune rights. Two, they owned an easily recognizable symbol, which resembled an eye. `Yes, they'll do.' Saving the information for later reference, he then turned to the bag of tools he had been provided and the small bag Marik had given him earlier.

 

Unzipping the larger of the two first, he emptied the contents, which consisted of lock picks (computerized hand-held hacking devices), the laser scalpel Malik had told him about, what appeared to be a human janitor's suit, a pair of sneakers (a tad too big), an oversized garbage bag, and a cleansing rag. He raised an eyebrow at a few of the items, but supposed they had their separate uses.

 

Now, he came to Marik's bag. This, too, he unzipped, and was a bit taken aback by what he found. He didn't really know what he was expecting; a bomb or perhaps a weapon of some sort. Instead, it was just a simple injection needle along with a small vial of liquid.

 

Examining the bottle, he couldn't help but grin darkly at Marik's gift. `Sodium Hypochlorite.' He shook his head. `For when I meet up with Nibori, eh, Marik?' One thing was for sure, he'd never wish to be on the blonde Kaitsune's enemy list.

 

Replacing the items in their respective bags, he prepared the ship for yet another hyperspace jump. “I should be getting to Mars, soon.” he said, glancing up at the monitor showing his location. “Hrm, I need to do a bit more research before I get there. I need to find what hotel Nibori is staying in.”

 

Cracking his knuckles loudly, he leaned over the control panel and typed `Umo Nibori' into the search engine.

 

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