Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Seraph ❯ Chapter 14

Warning: Tendershipping with Ryou seme

 

This is AU, seriously so

 

:blah: = hikari to yami telepathy

 

-blah- = yami to hikari telepathy

 

Note: Bakura's flashback in this chapter was inspired by Cheysuli-Night's Plot Bunny number 835

 

Ryou watched as Shadow ran through the katas he'd told him to use, questioning him on the history they'd been studying recently, and on poisons, or on how assassinations might have been employed usefully then as a distracter. It was good that Shadow obeyed him, and used the katas he recommended, but Ryou couldn't help but think he should have been able to come up with his own katas to work on the weaknesses Ryou had pointed out for him. No one had told Ryou how to train after he reached gamma standard after all, and by now Shadow had more experience in training than Ryou had at that point. He shook his head, remembering how he'd made very sure that Shadow understood he was far less than Ryou was, breaking him, and then training him to be Ryou's devoted slave, half unconsciously. It had produced effects he wasn't sure he liked now, such as stifling Shadow's initiative in some areas, making sure that he wouldn't do anything he hadn't been told to do unless it was in an area Ryou had shown himself indifferent to, or something that would make life easier for Ryou while emphasising Shadow's lesser position. Then, when Shadow had finished he turned to Ryou for instructions, and Ryou smiled as an idea came to him for how to help deal with the weakness his Consort was displaying.

 

“I think it's time to add a few more katas to the ones you do at the moment, and possibly drop one or two of your current katas. Tell me, what do you feel are the weaknesses in your fighting that most need to be addressed at the moment?”

 

Shadow went pale at the question, Ryou couldn't quite blame him, this was the first time he'd actually asked Shadow his opinion on anything to do with fighting. “I...I'm really n-not th-hat sure. Umm...These katas were to w-work on my balance right? Err...I don't do well in suddenly increasing power?” That wasn't what Ryou saw as Shadow's biggest weakness, but if it was what he'd spotted Ryou would indulge him.

 

“Then tell me what kata would work best to help you improve on that area. I've taught you enough katas that there should be one you know will help you with that.” But he hadn't really named them, not even to give them numbers, and describing a kata was harder than actually demonstrating it. “No, on second thought, don't tell me what kata you think you should add to your training, show it to me. You have half an hour to decide which kata to use.” And in the meantime Ryou worked on his own katas, summoning Red Archer Girl to shoot at him as well, giving him something to dodge, and an unpredictable element to incorporate into his kata. It was in Ryou's opinion the ability to adapt to unpredictable elements that was Shadow's greatest weakness, but the only way to improve that was to perform katas while there was some unpredictable element to contend with, and Shadow probably wouldn't be too comfortable with Ryou's own techniques. He needed to build an obstacle course Ryou mused as he dodged one arrow, then twisted and caught another in his hand before throwing it back at Red Archer Girl, albeit rather inaccurately. They owned the forest next to their house, even if his father hadn't known that, Ryou had made sure of that, just as he'd surreptitiously paid for the house itself, letting his father think he lived in the apartment he'd rented at first.

 

“You're dismissed.” Shadow had been given all the time he'd been promised, and Ryou turned to watch which kata he'd chosen. “Show me which kata you've decided to add to your daily practice.” Ryou himself had a list of just three of the katas he'd taught Shadow which would be best for what he wanted, followed by seven that would work, but not as well, and he'd accept any of those, but none of the others. So he was pleasantly surprised when Shadow started a `new' kata made up of elements from two of the katas he'd decided would work best, and three of the ones which would be acceptable, elements focused on the swift building of power. Shadow's movements were sometimes slightly awkward as he switched between elements from different katas, but it was still enough to impress Ryou.

 

“Well done. You can add that kata to your daily practice, as well as all the katas you took elements from. I've got one more kata to add to your daily practice, and you can drop the...second, third and fifth of your current daily practice katas.”

 

“Yes Seraph-sama.” Once he'd shown Shadow the last of the katas he'd considered the best for Shadow's suggested purposes they went into sparring.

 

--0--

 

For the past week Shadow had been turning up with bruises all over his body, and it worried Yami, despite the way they both claimed it was just from training. If he'd been injured in training wouldn't Seraph have healed him after all? The assassin hadn't been embarrassed to declare that it was one of his abilities, to heal people, which had made his choice of avatars in Monster World seem even more appropriate in retrospect, although it hadn't fitted in with his skills as an assassin. But even though it worried Yami, to see the other spirit hurt so badly it was also a relief, to know that the others were finally noticing the disturbing aspects of Shadow's relationship with Seraph. Even if they were only bothering to recognise that there was a problem when they saw the most obvious signs, of the most minor part of how Shadow had been abused - although he was sure that was because they didn't understand the darkness in human hearts well enough to see anything but physical pain as abuse. He didn't like Kaiba, but he had to admit that the CEO alone among Yugi's circle would understand how Shadow had been abused; emotionally, mentally, physically and sexually. And he'd done his best to make sure he recognised that Shadow couldn't be blamed for stealing the things he'd returned to his rival the last time they'd met. He wasn't sure how well his efforts had worked, but he'd tried, and there'd been some understand in the CEO's eyes, even as he'd questioned whether he could be certain what Yami was returning to him was all that had been taken. All he'd been able to say to that question was that it was everything he'd been given to return.

 

-Aibou, do you think there is anything we can do to help Shadow?- He wasn't entirely happy about asking Yugi for help, since he'd been so reluctant to acknowledge there was anything wrong, and Yami had even felt him envying Seraph once or twice for how compliant and submissive Shadow was, but...-You did agree that he might be having problems with Seraph.- For all that the way he'd expressed his concern was more about his learning how to fight.

 

:I know that, and I'm still worried, but I can't think of anything we can do to help him. He still seems to think that Ryou is in the right, has the right to beat him for whatever reason he comes up with. You know that, remember when we first met Rukaiya? They acted as if it was perfectly normal for Ryou to hit Bakura, or worse because he was startled by Ryou at school.: And yet everyone had dismissed it at the time, no one had tried to take it further, Yami hadn't dared when Yugi made it clear that he didn't see a reason to worry.

 

-Perhaps the first step would be to convince Shadow that the way Seraph treats him is wrong?- Because Yami didn't see how they could help Shadow if he was going to be fighting their efforts at every turn. And he would fight their efforts to help him unless he could be convinced that he needed the help they were offering, Yami knew that, even without trying once.

 

:I don't think we could do that alone, do you?: It was good to have Yugi agreeing with him, and supporting him in his efforts to help Shadow at last, and if helping Shadow cost Yami the chance to ask Seraph to give him a body of his own then it didn't matter, it was worth it.

 

-He'll defer to you I think, part of the way Seraph taught him that all yamis are inferior to all hikaris, but that won't be enough to overcome his conditioned submission to Seraph. And he'll probably disregard anything I say, and tell me I can't possibly understand. We need more people to help us, but we can't risk getting any adults involved.-

 

:They'd never believe us if we said that Ryou was abusing Bakura anyway, it's hard to believe how strong he is.: Yami couldn't argue with that, even though Yugi was smaller than Seraph the assassin was still pretty small, and looked somewhat fragile in many ways. But he did have an idea about what they should do to help Shadow.

 

-I think you should recruit Honda, Jou, and Anzu, to help talk with Shadow, and convince him that he's being abused, as well as find out more about how he's being abused. I know that it includes sexual abuse, even if he wouldn't call it that.-

 

:I'll do that then mou hitori no boku.: Yami settled back into Yugi's mind as he began putting thought into action.

 

--0--

 

Bakura fully intended to go home and spend the rest of the day cooking and sleeping now that he'd finished working with Yugi and done his own katas, the only thing he needed to do since today was his recovery day. He hadn't expected Yugi's friends to ambush them as they left the building.

 

“Here, we'll help you get everything back to Yugi's.”

 

“We wanted to talk to you anyway Bakura-kun.” He was pretty sure this was bad news, but he didn't protest as Jou and Honda took the bulky and awkward punching bag from him and Yugi. Seraph had told him to `play nicely with the children', and he wasn't going to risk angering his master over this. He wasn't eager to find out what they wanted to talk about, but he still followed them obediently, waiting for them to explain in their own time.

 

“Go away Solar.” Yugi cut the assassin off without giving him a chance to say anything, and Bakura decided he didn't want to know what his bondservant had done to merit that anger. He waited until Yugi had settled them all in his bedroom to speak.

 

“Why did you bring me here?”

 

“We're worried about you Bakura-kun. You've shown up with new bruises every day for over a week, and Seraph never has any bruises.” So that was why Anzu had doubted him when he told her he'd got the bruises from sparring with Seraph. “If your bruises came from training why doesn't he have bruises as well?”

 

“Because he heals faster than I do,” Since he had so much more ki and could use it better, “and because he's harder to hurt than I am, I bruise far more easily that Seraph-sama does.” Bakura hadn't figured out how to use his ki to keep from getting hurt yet, and Seraph insisted that he needed to work that particular trick out for himself or he wouldn't be able to use it properly.

 

“But...he can heal people. Why wouldn't he heal you?” Yugi's voice was almost a whine, and Bakura clenched his teeth to avoid snapping at him immediately. He only spoke when he was sure he could be polite about it.

 

“Seraph-sama did heal me, he just left the bruises on the basis that they would encourage me to learn faster. I understand that he didn't even get this much in the way of healing when he was first training, since he didn't know how to use his healing magic, and Delphi doesn't have an angelic designation.” This was beginning to feel like some sort of intervention, and Bakura needed help. -Seraph-sama, Yugi-dono and his friends dragged me back to his home, and now they're asking me questions about you!- He let his panic seep through their link as well as the message, in the hope it would add urgency.

 

:Answer their questions, but stall when you can, I'll come for you.:

 

“Angelic designation?” Jou sounded confused and Bakura seized on that to divert their attention for a while.

 

“All the Adepts who can heal people are given a name among the Children of the Eldest, Fairest and Fallen that has some angelic connotations, such as Seraph, or Tenshi.” Bakura shrugged, that seemed simple enough to him.

 

“But...we know it isn't just when you're training that Ryou hurts you.” Bakura wanted to roll his eyes at Honda's obtuseness, but restrained himself.

 

“No, but he only punishes me when I deserve it, and often it's for things like being careless, with information or with my safety, or for disobeying him. And I know precisely what Seraph-sama will punish me for, it isn't as if he keeps changing the rules on me the way some Adepts do with their households.”

 

“Did Solar do that?” It was interesting that Yugi would assume he was referring to Solar, and Bakura blinked slowly, wondering just what his bondservant had done to merit such distrust.

 

“I don't know, Seraph-sama would never have allowed me to socialise with his rival's concubines, all I know about how other Adepts treat their households comes from gossip. And I will not ask Rukaiya, but...I have the feeling that Solar was not a good master.”

 

“Does Ryou hurt you in bed Bakura-kun?” Anzu was blushing as she asked the question. “It's just...he's seemed a bit sadistic at times.”

 

“Only once, that was the first time he took me, and losing your virginity always hurts.” Bakura blushed as he remembered what had happened then. “He didn't realise that he was hurting me either, it was his first time taking anyone.”

 

--0--

 

Bakura frowned at the print outs left lying on Seraph's desk. He knew precisely why his hikari would have been doing research on how to safely fuck a man and he was torn between relief that his master would at least know in theory how not to hurt him, and a nagging fear that at twelve they were still too young. It had hurt him to lose his virginity at the same age last time, even with the oil. But...that time it had been with a full grown man and Seraph was smaller than that, he knew that from using his hands and mouth on him. And Seraph had already been wonderfully considerate, he'd always taken care of Bakura too, either by returning the favour, or by opening their link wide enough that Bakura felt what he was doing to his hikari.

 

He shrugged to himself, dismissing those thoughts and stripped, curling up in the huge bed piled with cushions and blankets that was the only thing that had stayed the same in the room since he'd first been given a body. The luxury had flattered him at first, even if it was the sort given to the dead, but then it had began to scare and unnerve him. He hadn't dared say anything to Seraph, certainly not while he'd been training to become Seraph's Consort, but shortly after testing Seraph had dragged him to a `DIY store' and had him choose new colours for his room at the compound.

 

He'd only realised the gamble Seraph had taken with him at the party held to celebrate afterwards. He'd been left with the older Consorts, and the concubines, and they'd been nice enough to him, even if they treated him like a child. It had annoyed him, especially since the Adepts were treating Seraph, more than 5000 years his junior, as a peer, but he took it once he worked out that as far as the `adults' were concerned he was damn near invisible. And he overheard one of them, Tenshi he learned later, marvel that Seraph had been able to train him well enough in five months that he hadn't gotten them both killed during testing. Up until that moment he'd thought the things they'd been fighting could just hurt them, not actually kill them.

 

“Expecting something my pet?” He'd fallen so deeply into his musings that Seraph's voice surprised him.

 

“No,” he shook his head, “just waiting for you, Seraph-sama. And...in Egypt I learned to take any chance I could to rest, if not sleep.” Seraph probably wouldn't have woken him up if he'd been asleep.

 

“Waiting for me, hmm. Why not undress me then?”

 

“As you wish Seraph-sama.” Bakura got to his hands and knees and crawled over to Seraph where he was standing beside the bed. Glancing down he could see that his hikari was already barefoot, so he started with the jacket and shirt. He could pick the clothes up later so he just let them drop by the bed. Then he started on the trousers, they were loose enough that he could just let them drop to the floor once he'd gotten the fly open, and he nuzzled carefully at Seraph's crotch through the briefs. He already knew that Consorts weren't meant to initiate sex, even if Seraph was a lot more lenient than most Adepts.

 

Seraph laughed at that, and took hold of his shoulders, pulling him up and then climbing on the bed with him, and pushing him back until he was lying down with Seraph crouched predatorily over him. He leaned down for a kiss, hard, dominating, but not painful, and Bakura responded submissively, the way he'd been taught. Seraph was nearly his whole world by now, pleasing him the most important thing in his life, or he wouldn't be working so hard to learn how to apply his skills as a thief in this time, improve his fighting abilities and master everything a child born in this time would know by now.

 

“Shadow, I want to be inside you tonight.” And that meant he would take Bakura now, but...

 

“Can you at least be facing me when you take me?” None of the men who'd demanded he spread his legs to keep from being handed over to be mutilated had taken him any way but from behind.

 

“That's supposed to hurt more you realise?”

 

“I...I don't care.” The idea of Seraph hurting him more than the first man who'd taken him scared him, but...he wanted this to be different from the other times. He wanted to be able to pretend Seraph cared about him as more than a convenient body.

 

Seraph was a bit awkward in preparing and taking him, it hurt a bit, but still less than he'd expected, and he didn't let it show. And he only felt himself tear once, near the end, not enough to keep him from climaxing too.

 

Then Seraph pulled out of him, and started to get up. Only one thought was running through Bakura's mind, if Seraph left him here, like this, it meant he was nothing more than a body to the assassin, something to use, not someone to care about.

 

“Please, stay with me.” He clutched at Seraph's arms desperately. Seraph had always been stronger than he was, the margin of difference had only increased over the last five years, if he wanted to Seraph could make him let go.

 

“I was just going to turn off the lights.” Seraph laughed, but when Bakura kept clinging to him he sighed, settled back down in the bed and waved a hand, using his own sort of magic to dim them. “But let's not sleep on the wet spot.” And he moved them both to another part of the huge bed.

 

--0--

 

-Seraph-sama, Yugi-dono and his friends dragged me back to his home, and now they're asking me questions about you!- Ryou stumbled and landed badly, skinning his knee and hands when Shadow contacted him, panic and shock echoing through their bond. There was only one thing he could think of doing and he hated finding himself in this position.

 

:Answer their questions, but stall when you can, I'll come for you.: He'd been doing his katas in street clothes, so he didn't need to worry about being inappropriately dressed, and the blood from his knee wouldn't show on his black trousers, especially after he used a quick spell to repair them, or at least hide the hole with an illusion. Ryou jumped to the roof of his house, and then from there to the next roof, making his way to the Game Shop. He smiled at Yugi's mother, and flirted with her just enough for her to let him pass before he went to find his Adept Consort.

 

“He didn't realise that he was hurting me either, it was his first time taking anyone.” Ryou heard Shadow's shaking voice through Yugi's door, and he could feel his lover's distress at what he was remembering, so he didn't bother with subtlety, kicking the door open instead and moving swiftly to Shadow's side, scooping him up in his arms.

 

“You are upsetting my Consort. I will hurt anyone who brings this sort of thing up to him again, he's been hurt enough.” Shadow shivered, and pressed his face into Ryou's shoulder, submissively showing his pain and discomfort. Anzu was the only one who looked as if she felt even the slightest bit guilty.

 

“Yeah, by you.” Jou sounded offended, and Ryou resisted the urge to hit him, considering how weak normal people were and how angry he was at the moment he'd probably cripple the blond, without really intending to.

 

“By a lot of people, starting with the bastard who ordered the genocide of his people.” And the pieces of filth who'd raped him, although Ryou wasn't going to mention that to anyone, especially since Shadow had never said anything about that to him. “And when I hurt him it's always for a reason.”

 

“Ryou, mou hitori no boku, thinks that you're raping Bakura, and he did say that you hurt him the first time.” Yugi sounded worried, but he was still being polite...

 

“And he hurt me the first time I let him take me, that's how first times work. I really don't care what you children think, Shadow is mine, mine to treasure, mine to punish and mine to protect. And your assumptions don't really matter. You'll stay out of this if you want to continue with those lessons you've been getting Yugi.” Since that was enough to shut him up Yugi couldn't have been that concerned about Shadow, and Ryou left carrying his Consort.

 

“Y-you don't have to keep carrying me.” Shadow only spoke after they'd got far enough away that none of the idiots who'd upset him could hear him, and so Ryou was inclined to indulge him. He set Shadow down onto his feet and kissed his Consort gently.

 

“Do you want to tell me what that was about?” Ryou made sure that his voice didn't sound angry, or accusing, he knew that what he'd interrupted had not been Shadow's idea, but he wasn't sure just who he should blame.

 

“I...they were asking me about the bruises I get from sparring first, and Yugi asked why you didn't heal me. I think it shocked them even more when I said that you healed everything but the bruises.” Shadow looked almost guilty over that for some reason. “I told them that your training is far harsher than mine, or at least I think I did. But...I don't think they believed me. Even though they should have seen that you didn't waste magic on your skinned palms.”

 

“They didn't see me for long enough or well enough to notice that, and I wouldn't expect them to have noticed either. What stalling tactics did you use?”

 

“I didn't manage to use many. We diverted a little into how Adepts with healing magic are all given angelic names, then I pointed out how much better it is to know what will earn punishment, rather than facing punishment on a whim. Yugi asked if solar had been like that, and I had to admit I didn't know...but then they asked me about sex...”

 

And that had reminded Shadow of the first time Ryou had taken him. It had been the morning after that had stuck in Ryou's mind, not the event itself.

 

--0--