Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ White Shadows ❯ A New Game ( Chapter 2 )

Note: Blame it on my sense of equality, but I think that Ryou would have the same ability to use the Ring that Bakura would - he just isn't as practised. After all, Yugi can use the Puzzle, right?

Disclaimer - No character used in this piece of fiction is mine. I'm just borrowing them for the entertainment of myself and a few other people, for no monetary compensation whatsoever. So please don't sue - I don't have anything worth it anyhow. Thank you, Takahashi-sensei. {low bow of gratitude.}

Just for a change of pace, this is in Ryou's POV.

White Shadows - Chapter 1 - A New Game

Two months later.

I woke to the familiar sound of demented laughter. For a moment I thought it merely the remnants of a nightmare, until I opened my eyes to find the nightmare had become reality. My yami stood over me, knife in hand, manic laughter bubbling from his throat. I panicked for a moment, thrashing limbs entangling myself in my bedcoverings.

"Hello, landlord." Bakura grinned. "Have a nice sleep?"

"What the hell are you doing in my room?" I demanded, unwinding the sheets from around myself and rolling from the bed, unconcerned with my nakedness. I had other things on my mind. I reached for the Ring which normally hung around my neck waking and sleeping.

"Looking for this?"

I swore as Bakura pulled the Ring out from under his shirt. Then I gulped as a cold shiver of fear ran down my spine. This was so not good.

"Now we shall see who is in charge, hikari." His tone made mock of the last word as he lunged for me, knife extended. I dodged, trying to keep the bed between us, but I knew that would be a losing proposition. I had to get out of the room - he was faster and stronger than I, so he would catch me eventually. "Hold still, brat." he hissed at me. "Its about time I teach you your place."

"No." I decided to take the last course he would expect, and lunged right at him. He dodged by reflex, holding his weapon up. I hissed as the blade tasted the flesh of my arm, drawing blood. Then I was past him, running for my life. He would have no compunctions about hurting me very badly.

I cursed myself as I ran for dropping my guard, just because he had seemed to have forgotten the fight we had, and had even been nice to me - okay, as nice as he ever got. I should have known better - I did know better. He had a long memory for slights, and a longer one for embarrassment.

I reached the front door and jerked at the locks, cursing and pleading under my breath, listening to the footsteps behind me getting closer and closer.

I had opened the last one when a strong hand grabbed my hair, jerking my head back painfully. Cool steel touched my neck and I froze.

Oh God help me, he's going to kill me…

"Now, landlord, are you going somewhere?" he murmured in my ear while I fought off panic with all of my will. He jerked my hair again and I gasped, the pain bringing tears to my eyes.

"Well, Ryou?"

I hissed with pain, but I wouldn't give him the satisfaction either an annswer or of knowing how scared I really was. He smiled and licked the tears now flowing silently down my cheeks.

"Trying to be tough, are we, landlord? Let us see what we can do about that." He levered me around; the knife at my neck goaded me, drawing slivers of blood if I didn't move fast enough. My arm had begun to throb as well - warm rivulets trickled from my fingertips. He led us to his bedroom, throwing me to his bed. He knelt to get something out from under it; his first mistake. He took his eyes off me and I ran, not daring to think of what he might do to me.

He caught me at the bedroom door, grabbing my shoulder and spinning me around. I went ballistic; hitting, clawing, biting, the terror of a trapped animal flowing through me as I attacked.

Then red pain washed through me and I knew nothing more.

……………………&h ellip;………............................................. ..................

I woke again, this time in pain. My arms, my head - all ached as though the very bones were bruised. A groan escaped me before I could contain it.

When I managed to get my eyes open, I found myself chained to Bakura's bed, still naked. I had a small range of movement, but not enough to reach off the bed. My legs were free, so I could scooch up until I was sitting on the pillows, which gave me a bit more slack to play with.

The windows were shuttered, but the bit of light through the cracks told me that the sun was still up. I had to get out of here - now. I really didn't want to be here when Bakura got back from wherever he had gone.

Luckily, having spent several years with the 'King of Thieves' in my head, I had picked up a few tricks - though I doubt Bakura realized it. He was pretty good at blocking me out, but not perfect. Not that I had ever told him that.

Being delicate was another advantage. I squeezed the bones of my left hand - the smaller one - as tight as they would go and started working it through the handcuff. Blood leaked as I tore the skin against the metal, but I ignored the pain and kept pulling. The blood lubricated my skin, making it slide through the opening a little easier.

The pain was still immense.

When that hand was free, I stopped to gather my will and my breath, trying to block out the pain of the maltreated limb. Then I reached for Bakura's nightstand. Please, please be in there, I thought as I managed to open the drawer, blood spotting the wood.

Inside where several bits of this and that - not his lock picks, damnit. But he did have another long, pointy objected - his jackknife. I picked it up and managed to wiggle the smaller of the blades out, using that to pick the lock of the other handcuff.

As it clicked free, I heard footsteps approaching down the hallway. Leaping as quietly as I could from the bed, I grabbed the first heavy object I could from the dresser - which turned out to be some obscure statue - and hid behind the door.

Not a moment too soon. I held my breath as the door opened, and the footsteps paused. I shoulder-blocked the door, slamming it into him. Bakura turned to look at me in utter shock as I brought the statue down with all my strength. He dropped like a boned fished at my feet.

I gasped for air; now that the immediate danger was past, my hand was really beginning to hurt. But I couldn't leave him there - I didn't dare.

I glance over at the bed and nodded to myself. That would work.

Unlike Bakura, I didn't make the mistake of underestimating my other self. He was sneaky, underhanded, cunning and clever - I would have to think like that.

So after I dragged his prone form to the bed, I handcuffed him to the headboard as he had me, but I wrapped the chains tighter so he had no slack. I took the Millennium Ring from around his neck and placed it back around mine. Then I went downstairs.

A moment later I came back with the rest of the supplies I would need. A small bit of builder's putty went into the keyholes of the handcuffs, and I tied his legs to the footboard so that he lay spreadeagled on the sheets. It wasn't the most comfortable of positions, but under the circumstances I couldn't find all that much sympathy for him.

Having hopefully secured him, I tended to my own wounds. Despite the blood and the pain, it was nothing serious - but it hurt to have most of the skin scraped off my hand. I popped a couple of Advil to help me deal with that and went back into the bedroom to check on my 'prisoner'.

He must have the constitution of a horse, because he was awake and glaring at me, albeit blearily, when I walked in.

"Well, well. I'm impressed, landlord." he growled, his tone all too calm. "You managed to turn the tables on me again. You going to make good your threat now?"

No fear; there was not sign of fear in his voice, only resignation overlaid by rage, as though he had merely lost a game. Maybe to him it was all a game, but not to me. I wanted to know why he did this. Why he insisted on treating me like dogshit when all I wanted was to be his partner and friend.

"Maybe." I answered, caressing the Ring. "You want to give me a good reason why I shouldn't?"

"No."

"Then give me a bad reason." I sat on the edge of the bed.

"Will you get on with it?" he demanded. "Or have you decided to truss me up for another reason? Gonna rape me now?"

"No."

"Why not? If our positions were reversed, I would. In fact, I was going to."

I blinked. If he was trying to shock me, it was working. "I don't float that way, Bakura. The thought of such a thing is repugnant." He wasn't that good looking - and even if he was, and I was gay, I would never take someone by force.

"Baka." His tone surprised me - contempt. "Rape has nothing to do with sex, and everything to do with power. It's a way to break someone to your will - to dominate them."

"Why?" I asked, honestly confused. "Do you really feel like you have to break and dominate me, yami?"

"Yes." he hissed. "I will have you begging me to stop, pleading, promising anything if I will only stop." He smiled, coldly. "Not that I would, of course - that's part of it. I would only stop when I want to - when I have you utterly helpless under me. And in that moment when your body betrays you and reacts to what I'm doing, then…" He didn't finish the sentence. I shuddered as my imagination filled in the rest. Which is exactly what he wanted, the bastard.

I rose and walked to the bottom of the bed. Idly checking the knots, I played for time as I marshalled my thoughts. "If I did rape you," I asked carefully, "would you really respond like that? Somehow I can't see you rolling over for someone because of that."

"I'm stronger than you, hikari." I looked up as he spoke, catching his narrow brown eyes with my wider ones; caught the glimpse of fear and self-loathing in the back of his gaze. I suddenly knew that he had been raped, sometime in the far past. Raped and broken, a child with no hope and no life until he gave himself to the darkness…

I turned away, unwilling to look any further into those depths.

"I'm not going to send you to the Shadows, Bakura." I said at last, still not looking at him.

"Are you going to let me go instead? You know what will happen if you do."

"Yes, I know - I'm not stupid, my yami." Now I turned to face him. "No, Bakura. Here is what's going to happen - you are going to stay right there for a month. Don't worry, I'll take good care of you. And after that time, I will let you go and you can do what you want to me." I felt the Ring flare with power and smiled to myself.

Let the Shadow Game begin.