Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Silver ❯ Chapter 3

Seto was glad to see that Mokuba hadn't tried to stay awake to meet him when he got home from Kaiba Corp, it was nearing midnight by then and he was in a foul mood. Another `emergency' had come up, something that no one else could solve, they claimed. Seto was beginning to think it was more that no one else was willing to put their ass on the line and try to actually do something when they had a problem. It had been a simple enough glitch in the program, just time consuming to deal with, and then he'd had to go back to his office and deal with everything he'd dropped to solve R&D's problem for them.

 

“What the fuck are you doing here?” Unaccustomed vulgarity ripped from his lips at the sight of Sil-Bakura lying curled and sleeping on the rug by his bed. He'd have been less surprised if it had been Silver; he knew that version of Bakura better and Silver was far more trusting. The spirit woke up swiftly, but without making any sudden movements that might betray his position, and Seto knew he was seeing a behaviour learned early when he lived in constant fear of his life. Seto had a few similar behaviour patterns, but not quite as extreme he mused as he watched Bakura assess his surroundings and decide whether it was safer to `wake up' or to pretend to still be asleep. He stretched ostentatiously as he sat up to answer Seto's question.

 

“Yadonushi-sama sent me. We've...he's come up with a way to prevent what happened to you yesterday from happening again.” Bakura was acting a bit more submissively than he usually would unless he was merged with Silver, but his collar was always showing when he was merged with Silver, wasn't it? Still, he only used the term `Yadonushi-sama' with the respect Seto could hear in his voice when he was merged with Silver, otherwise it always sounded either mocking or affectionate.

 

“Tell me about it.” He wanted to know what this would involve before he agreed. It would probably have something to do with his Shadow Magic, and he didn't really care about that, but he needed to understand it, at least as well as he could. Still, if it would keep what had happened last night from happening again...Mokuba had been worried that he'd come home so much earlier than he'd expected, even though he'd been mostly recovered from the effects of what Wraith had done by then. He'd still had a headache, and Mokuba tended to pay almost obsessive attention to him ever since he'd first lost to Yami, so he hadn't been able to hide his headache from his brother the way he'd hidden it from Ryou and Bakura. Seto began undressing as Bakura sat up and started to speak, without even thinking about it, he only realised what he was doing as Bakura stumbled over the first part of his explanation.

 

“First you need to understand the way Yadonushi-sama set things up so he could use your Shadow Magic. He...I'm not sure what analogy'd work best...ummm, bear with me...ahh!” Then he seemed to recover and collect his thoughts. “Right. Computing would be the best analogy. I'm not very good with those things, but you can make a program either through software, coding, or by hardwiring it into the computer, right?”

 

“That's true.” But Seto didn't see what that had to do with the problems they'd had before, still, a slight bit of explanation might help Bakura settle down a bit as he put his pyjamas on. “Software is far more flexible and powerful of course, but more vulnerable to tampering. Hardwired coding limits a program to what it was originally designed for, any modification is almost impossible, but it requires physical access and so is much more secure.”

 

“Right, well the problem was Yadonushi-sama coded it into you for your Shadow Magic to flow in certain ways from your reserves when he draws on it, but when he isn't actively drawing on it your Shadow Magic goes back to flowing in other ways, the way it has to for you to be able to use it.” Bakura shook his head then, obviously rethinking. “Perhaps a better analogy would be a river, the way your Shadow Magic is normally channelled for your use is the natural watercourse, the way it's channelled for Yadonushi-sama to use is like a diversion that's been dug without any sort of retaining walls and such.

 

“Either way, after Yadonushi-sama used our Shadow Magic to bind Marik from saying anything about what he saw it started to return to flowing in its normal channels. Normally there's enough time between his separate uses of Shadow Magic for our Shadow Magic to return to flowing purely in the natural channels, that or he doesn't release his grasp on our Shadow Magic, so it stays channelled for his use. For instance Yadonushi-sama used our Shadow Magic to transport us to Velvet Glove then he released his grip on it long enough before he had to deal with Marik for our Shadow Magic to return to normal pathways. And while he was dealing with Marik he drew from our power continuously, so there wasn't any problem there. But then he `let go' of our Shadow Magic while he was unlocking that cage and helping us up. As a result our Shadow Magic had started to return to flowing in the natural channels, and it was suddenly wrenched back to the channels created to make it available for Yadonushi-sama's use. That did the equivalent of `flood damage' to our minds, luckily it was only a minor flood, and we recovered without needing intervention.” Bakura's explanation made a degree of sense, and he'd been careful in his analogies, even if Seto knew they couldn't be exact. Ryou and Bakura'd probably put a lot of thought into their proposed solution, Seto would have preferred to hear it with all their reasoning, but he knew he didn't have the background to understand this, and it was a totally foreign discipline to him. Meaning he'd be in the position of a computer programmer trying to understand how a doctor intend to solve a rare problem in neurochemistry. And he really didn't need to understand it, only to be confident that Ryou and Bakura were both competent in working with Shadow Magic, which he was, especially after seeing how easily Ryou dealt with Marik.

“So, what's the solution? And what are the risks involved?” He had to know the risks before he could make an informed decision. If they only related to his Shadow Magic...well, he didn't use it, so he could live without it, but if there were other risks...

 

“Basically hardwiring your mind so that Shadow Magic can only flow in two ways, either for your use, or when he needs it, for Yadonushi-sama's. Or, to use the water metaphor, building two canals, reinforced with concrete, one following the natural path and one following the path required so that Yadonushi-sama can use your Shadow Magic. But Yadonushi-sama will have control of how your Shadow Magic flows, either for his use, or for yours. We think we can set it up so that it fails to your use, that is, if Yadonushi-sama cannot control the switching your Shadow Magic, and mine, reverts to the flow pattern we can use, but we might be wrong.”

 

“So, worst case, I lose all ability to use Shadow Magic? It won't hurt me like yesterday, or damage my intelligence?”

 

“No, neither of those things will happen. And possibly we can set up another way to...basically remove the effects of this alteration, but that will have to come later. We just don't know how to do that at the moment.”

 

“I don't care about being able to use my Shadow Magic, unless you think it will affect my ability to manage Kaiba Corp?”

 

“No, it won't do that.” Bakura laughed gently. “But it might reduce your ability to duel. However it won't affect your brains, or your ability to invent things.” And the latter two were more important than his ability to duel now. Immediately after Gozaburo `committed suicide' when Kaiba Corp had been changing from a weapons manufacturer into a games company he'd had to be the best duellist in the world because that was the only thing they had that made them stand out from other companies. But now they had a near monopoly on all the top duelling equipment, and other unique games and he didn't need to act as a living advertisement anymore. If he lost his ability to duel then it wouldn't matter now. Besides, he wasn't the best duellist in the world anymore, he was third or fourth ranked, behind Yugi and Yami, and sometimes behind Jounouchi since he didn't have time to duel as much as he used to.

 

“So when can we do this, implement your solution?”

 

“The next time you come to visit. Yadonushi-sama possesses the skill to draw on another's Shadow Magic safely, and rewire the mental pathways permanently, I do not. Nor does the Pharaoh in fact.” Seto hadn't expected that, he thought of Yami as the master of all this Shadow Magic, and to learn that he wasn't...

 

“Is he waiting for you to get back?” It was a bit late now for Bakura to get home without risking himself, and something about his behaviour made Seto think he was vulnerable tonight, and he'd be waking Ryou when he got back, when Ryou had to tutor Malik tomorrow. “If he isn't you can stay here for the night.”

 

“In your bed?” The way Bakura tilted his head made Seto all too aware that he'd shifted to kneel beside his bed, something he only did when he was Silver, or at least merged with Silver.

 

“If you want. Is this a new aspect or something?” Seto got into bed as he finished speaking, glancing away from Bakura to let him know he didn't have to answer.

 

“I didn't expect you to notice. It's a new merging. My normal behaviour works out about half and half Touzokuou and my core self. With Ryou and you it's about two thirds Silver, one third my core self, and this is...oh a quarter Silver, three quarters my core self.” Bakura climbed into bed with Seto, shocking the teen by snuggling up against him. He'd expected Bakura to be as non-tactile as he was.

 

-o-()-o-

 

Bakura's eyes snapped open when the almost inaudible sound of the door to Seto's bedroom opening. He tensed, ready to protect his lover if Seto needed it, but it was only the brat, Seto's brother...Mokuba wasn't it? So he reluctantly let go of Seto, easy enough since he didn't seem to want to hold on to Bakura the way Bakura was holding him, and half sat up to look at the boy over his lover's body.

 

“Hush. Let him sleep a bit longer, please.” Before he spoke, or Mokuba had the chance to Bakura wove a Shadow Magic spell to keep the sound of his voice from Seto's ears. He didn't even think about merging with Touzokuou, instead letting the boy see his core self unadulterated.

 

“Niisama doesn't sleep enough. You're one of his boyfriends aren't you? Which one?” He had to ask? Bakura realised that his hair was falling to cover his scar. But he hadn't thought that the scar was the only difference between him and Ryou.

 

“Bakura.” He carefully climbed out of the bed, and walked around it to meet Mokuba. He'd slept in his clothes, and he'd chosen clothes that would be comfortable enough to sleep in deliberately, black velvet pants and a black velvet tunic, reminiscent of what he wore when he visited the clubs with Lord Wraith. “If you want to talk with me I'd prefer it was somewhere else, so I can drop the spell keeping Seto from hearing us. I'd feel more comfortable knowing he was aware of his surroundings, or that I wasn't distracted.”

 

“Do you really think he's in danger? We've got security you know.” But he still led me out of the room and down the corridor.

 

“I managed to get past it easily enough last night.” His head snapped around so he could stare at me and he came to a halt at that.

 

“You mean you didn't come in with Niisama? What time did he get in last night?”

 

“Almost midnight.” It was Sunday anyway, so...but he was a workaholic after all, obsessed with securing a future for his brother where Mokuba never had to grow up as fast as he had, or want for anything. “I think it might have been one by the time we got to sleep.” And it was only about six now, Mokuba had to be used to getting up at this time, so even without an alarm he woke up anyway. Bakura glanced back towards Seto's bedroom, then nodded at Mokuba to keep moving.

 

“Were you fucking then?” Bakura flushed, and refused to answer, until Mokuba began to start moving again. He was half surprised that Mokuba'd picked up on that, but it figured that the kid'd be perceptive in non-verbal communication, even if Bakura wasn't his adored `niisama'.

 

“No. There was something I needed to tell him, he needed the warning before the next time he came to see us. You don't need to know that much about your brother's sex life.”

 

“No, I just need to know you aren't hurting him. Niisama might have got rid of those assassins' addresses, but I've still got them. and if you two break his heart...” He let the threat trail off as they reached the kitchen.

 

“Do you think we could?” Bakura was surprised at what Mokuba had implied. Seto didn't love them, it was just sex, and perhaps a degree of friendship and trust. He glanced at the boy as he began getting some bacon and eggs out, checking to see what Mokuba was going to eat...one of those sugary breakfast cereals he noted absently.

 

“Niisama trusts you two. He doesn't do that, not easily.”

 

“I trust him too.” Even if that trust had started from necessity, and been reinforced by Shadow Magic compulsions Bakura had to trust Seto by now, or he wouldn't be willing to show his core self to Mokuba, who hadn't earned that trust by anything but being someone Seto trusted. “But it won't damage that trust if we stop having sex.” Sex was just the ultimate expression of that trust for Bakura, and probably for Seto as well, even if he'd decided to trust them that way, before they did anything. But it wasn't the same for Ryou, it wasn't as much an expression of trust, Bakura was sure of that. It was more a token of affection for him, affection, and a sign of protection for them when Ryou was acting like Wraith. -Yadonushi-sama, Mokuba is asking me questions, about our relationship with Seto. How much should I tell him?-

 

:As much as you want Bakura. As much as you think he can handle. Have you told Seto about what I promised you? That I won't expect you to dominate him at all, and that I'll just dominate both of you myself?:

 

-Tell him? I...you...didn't give me permission or instructions to convey that message. Your orders were clear.- And Bakura could quote them verbatim. -”Tell Seto about my plan to make sure I don't damage the channels for your Shadow Magic when I draw on it in circumstances like last night. Use whatever terminology you think he'll understand best.” You said nothing about informing him of a change in our relationship.- That was Ryou's right and duty, or Wraith's, not his. He turned the bacon in the frying pan mechanically, focused on his link with his master...even when he wasn't merged with Silver at all Ryou was his master and Bakura'd finally got comfortable enough with that fact to admit it, even if only to himself.

 

:I didn't think I'd need to. But if you want I'm happy to tell him myself.: Ryou wanted Bakura to decide who told Seto about the change in their relationship?

 

-I...it is your choice, but if you wish me to give Bro-Seto that information you must order me to do so.-

 

:Never mind.: Ryou broke off their connection, leaving a feeling of disappointment behind. Bakura wished he hadn't disappointed Ryou, but he couldn't lie to him. He forced himself to push that away and turned his attention to Mokuba.

 

“What would you have done if it had just been Seto in bed this morning?” At least Mokuba had focused on his breakfast while Bakura was cooking his own, that or he knew enough not to interrupt when someone was cooking. “Would you have woken him up?”

 

“No! I'd have got into bed with him, until he woke up by himself.” And that would wake Seto up, but if Mokuba didn't realise that... “Unless he was having a nightmare like he had after Yami beat him the first time.”

 

“From whatever torture method he decided to use in his `Penalty Game'. Everyone forgets about the things he's done to people for the most trivial of reasons sometimes...”

 

“But never about what the rest of us have done, unless Yugi decides it doesn't matter anymore.” Mokuba sounded unhappy about that, and Bakura made a vaguely encouraging noise in his throat. “No one remembers that I wanted to cut Yugi's finger off if I won when I challenged him to the first game of Capsule Monster Chess, or that I meant for him to die before Niisama had the chance to force him through Death-T. But everyone remembers that he tore up the last Blue Eyes White Dragon and tried to kill Yugi, and they don't understand what he did for me.”

 

“He made himself the sacrifice to buy you a better life, right?” That seemed obvious, but perhaps too obvious?

 

“Not just a better life. A life at all. I'm not as brilliant as he is, but I'm still smart.” And he'd grown up too quickly as well, it was obvious, although he'd retained more of his childhood than Seto had. “He could have been adopted at any time, if he hadn't insisted that I came with him. I was born with a damaged heart, there was no way I'd live to be an adult unless I got operations, and time was running out when he challenged Gozaburo. No one wanted to take on a damaged kid, not and have to pay for the operations, even if it would give them a genius in the bargain.” There was just a hint of bitterness in his voice, but it wasn't something Yugi or his friends would notice.

 

There wasn't really anything Bakura could say about that, and he took his plate to the sink in an effort to break away from the conversation gracefully. Then there was another distraction as Seto came into the kitchen.

 

“I hadn't expected to wake up alone.” Bakura wasn't sure if that was directed at him or Mokuba, so he let the kid deal with it.

 

“Your boyfriend asked me to let you sleep.” There was the merest hint of a childish whine in Mokuba's voice, something that had to have been put there for Seto's benefit.

 

“You needed the rest. And you didn't seem to like it that I held you as we slept. If you'd wanted company you'd have held on better.” He didn't really need to defend himself, even if Lord Wraith wasn't going to insist that Silver dominate Bronze anymore Bakura didn't submit to Seto, he barely submitted to Ryou. But it was amusing, to see how he reacted to the banter, to see how both the Kaibas reacted. It was good; Mokuba looked almost on the verge of pouting at his brother, and Seto was smiling at the two of them - for him that was the equivalent of full out laughter.

 

“Playing the housewife are you, Bakura?” That was a good way to tease him back, and Bakura grinned at his lover wolfishly.

 

“What do you think?”

 

“I think you should cook me some of that bacon and eggs I woke up smelling.” Bakura laughed at that, but he did owe Seto something for eating his food. It was easy enough to start the bacon he'd asked for, and it was something he did for Ryou more than people'd expect.

 

“How do you want them?” His capitulation had both brothers gaping at him for a moment, and he decided it was worth the small blow to his pride to catch them off-guard like that.

 

-o-()-o-

 

Ryou frowned at the sight of Yami duelling with Marik while he and Yugi tried to get Malik up to speed to join them at school at the beginning of the next school year. The Egyptian had wanted to avoid drawing too much attention to himself by joining at the beginning at the year, and he'd asked Yugi to help him get up to the same level as him. And Yugi'd asked Ryou to help him teach Malik, while Yami distracted Marik. None of the spirits had shown any interest in going to school with them, and Ryou wasn't entirely sure he approved. It didn't matter for Bakura, since Ryou had a huge trust fund anyway, a trust fund that had been surreptitiously increased with the profits from Bakura's thefts, and Yami'd turned professional duellist, but Ryou had no idea how Marik would support himself, or if he relied on Malik and his family. He knew that the spirit wasn't going to have any chance to say anything about what had happened last night, but he still resented him for cutting his fun short, even if it had resulted in Ryou learning more about his lover.

 

“I'm sorry Ryou. You need to explain this again for me. I just don't understand it.” It didn't help that Malik could barely read anything but hieroglyphics, more specifically the hieroglyphics used five thousand years ago. Or mostly the ones used five thousand years ago anyway, there had been some linguistic drift. He could speak Japanese fine, aside from a slight accent, but he found it hard to read kanji, not surprising really, since he'd only started learning Japanese to be able to steal more rare cards.

 

“Would it help if you had more notes written in hieroglyphics instead of kanji?” Ryou wasn't sure whether to be impressed, or disturbed by Malik's insistence on working in kanji and hiragana when he found them so hard to read.

 

“I'd be able to learn better, I think, but you and Yugi wouldn't be able to read my work, and that would keep you from checking over it for me. And besides my teachers will require me to work in Japanese, won't they?” Where'd Malik gotten the idea that Yugi and he wouldn't be able to read hieroglyphs? There was only one person who could have given him that idea.

 

“You mean you can't share your yami's knowledge of languages Yu-oh, of course, you wouldn't. Your other self can't remember anything from when he lived, let alone something as complex as how to read hieroglyphs. Malik, I know how to read hieroglyphs every bit as well as Bakura-sama can, and he had a lot more education than you'd expect a `peasant' to have.” Ryou reached through their link, checking that he did have access to his lover's knowledge of how to read hieroglyphics. “It might help a bit that my father's an Egyptologist, he taught me a bit even before I had Bakura, made it a game.” One of the few things he ever did with Ryou.

 

“Thank you for the offer, but I'd rather keep on working in kanji, that way I improve my skills with that at the same time. Don't you think that would be best?”

 

“I suppose so, but I thought it might help.”

 

“Ryou, if Bakura knows about his past, could he tell Yami about his history?”

 

“He could, but he won't.” Ryou made the declaration with all the confidence he made decisions for Silver, only then realising what he'd done. :Bakura-sama, Yugi's only just figure out that you could tell Yami about his past. I've informed him that while you could, you won't. Is that a problem?: Then he turned his attention to the smaller teen, letting scorn fill his voice as he expanded on his statement. “Why should he bother giving anything to someone who makes it very clear that he despises him, and is hypocrite enough to ignore his own failings even as he condemns Bakura-sama for doing precisely the same thing?” He paused, and smiled Wraith's cruel smile before continuing. “Not that anyone cared to call him on his wrongdoings or shortcomings, preferring to adore him as you all do.”

 

Yugi flinched at that, too shocked to say anything for a moment and Bakura responded to Ryou's question then.

 

-Of course not Yadonushi-sama, why would it be?- There was an air of confusion in Bakura's answer, it wasn't just that he trusted Ryou to know his oft-expressed opinion on that subject, but what else was it?

 

“We don't...Yami isn't...”

 

“You do, all of you ignore his failings and forget about the evil things he did, but never about anyone else's errors - unless you decide they're your friend, then you pretend they've never done anything wrong.” Ryou shook his head angrily. “Forget about it. You won't believe the truth, you'd rather live in your world of self-deception. Let's just focus on getting Malik up to speed. Where were we Malik?”

 

Malik seemed hesitant, looking from Ryou to Yugi for a moment, before he pointed to the physics question he was getting stuck on. Yugi looked offended enough that he went off to join his precious Yami, looking over his shoulders to see how he was doing without interfering in the duel.

 

“You're right, they do pretend that anyone Yugi likes has never done anything wrong, but they remember the things the people he doesn't like have done forever.” Malik's voice was quiet, and Ryou quickly cast the Shadow Magic spell he should have used the night before last, when confronting `Aku' at Velvet Glove.

 

“You don't need to whisper, I've just cast a spell to make sure they don't overhear what we're speaking about. You'd rather not risk losing Yugi's friendship because of what you're going to say I take it?”

 

“You can do that?” Ryou thought that Malik's disbelief was more because he was claiming that skill, rather than because of the spell itself.

 

“I'm better with applications of Shadow Magic that require precise control than at things that are all raw power. And this falls into the first category.”

 

“Oh. Not much good in a fight then, your Shadow Magic?” Ryou wasn't sure how to answer that, it would be a lie to agree, but he didn't really want to explain how he could use his Shadow Magic in combat. Luckily he didn't have to, Malik continued speaking, and Ryou had the feeling he was approaching the subject he'd wanted to speak about. “After I created Marik by accident he took most of my Shadow Magic. I used to have more power than he does, but now I've only got about half what he has. It gives him a huge advantage. Isis has a lot of power too, my family always has been powerful in Shadow Magic because of all the controlled breeding we've practised, but her power's almost all tied up with her ability to see the future, it has been ever since she got the Millennium Tauk.”

 

“So, Marik can take advantage of the Shadow Magic he stole from you, and Isis' limited access to her own Shadow Magic to dominate your family?”

 

“Mostly, yes. But I'm not the victim they all seem to think I am. It was my idea to create a criminal organisation to steal rare cards and use them to gain power. Marik was just there to do the killing and torturing I was too squeamish to do myself.”

 

“In other words you used him, for the most part. And now he's using you and your kin, right? I take it the reason he was created is partly why he's into the BDSM scene, and you aren't?”

 

“I didn't consciously create him, it was an accident when my father was abusing me, and his first act was to kill the bastard. But I guess that might be it. I don't know and I don't care what he does.” That was a bit surprising, especially considering...

 

“I thought you were involved with Marik. You didn't disagree when Witch made that assumption when we were at The Foxhole. Or is it an open relationship or something?”

 

“More like fuck buddies. We have sex sometimes, but not often. I couldn't believe he started laughing at being assigned to play sub, he's usually really dominant.”

 

“Well, he's not well-known in the BDSM scene, or he'd have been recognised. Or at least he isn't well-known in the respectable part of the scene.”

 

“Are you sure he'd have been recognised when he was playing sub?”

 

“Point, still he didn't look different enough from normal for that to be the case. Not unless he normally wears a mask when he's playing. And I doubt that.” Ryou didn't bother to explain why he doubted that, and he noted that Malik seemed to accept his words.

 

“I've never seen him wearing a mask, no. You said the respectable part of the scene. Is it respectable anywhere?”

 

Ryou would not let Malik see how much he'd just insulted him, however inadvertently. To calm himself before answering he tapped into his link with Bakura, sharing his lover's enjoyment of the time he was spending with their other lover and his little brother.

 

“Yes. It is. It might not be the sort of thing you or society at large considers normal, but the larger part of the scene is acceptable. In the respectable part of the scene it is in truth the submissive partner who has the true power, as a proper dom will not go beyond the limits set, and there is a safeword to keep the top from going too far. In fact there is a set of widely used safewords that are often required to be used as standard in some clubs. That makes it easier for the monitors to make sure nothing goes wrong. The other side is slavery, literally, and serious abuse. Marik might be part of that circle, Kitsune bans anyone he knows to travel in those circles regularly from his club.”

 

“Oh. I didn't realise that.” Ryou shrugged and took his spell down, things seemed to have moved past the point of requiring privacy.

 

“You didn't have any reason to. Yugi, I thought you were supposed to be helping Malik as well?”

 

-o-()-o-