Shadow Rising

D’Ceandre: Another round of chaos and confusion.

Trouble: Are you talking about yourself again.

D’Ceandre: Tch.

Ayachan: Thanks. Yami’s not really being an ass. He’s just reverting to his past attitude. As Pharaoh, everyone obeyed him, and he’s kind of remembering that he’s used to that. But yeah, he does need a good talking to.

And I always thought those sudden complete emotional turn-arounds Bakura does in other stories were a little unbelievable. Realising that he’ll miss Ryou if he’s gone probably isn’t going to automatically make him a nice person. It’ll just make him a bit more careful and protective. At least it does here. As you’ll see in this chapter, Bakura is letting more things pass, but he’s still capable of being nasty when he decides to be.

And there’s nothing wrong with being a romantic.

Demi: What about Set.

D’Ceandre: Hmm? Oh yeah, I’ll try to fit that in somewhere. I want to see it too. :)

******

“So, Shrimp. Did you have fun Friday night?” Bakura asked with a leer. Yugi flushed.

“Bakura.” Ryou protested.

“N-nothing happened.” Yugi stammered.

“I remember my first time.” Marik interjected, coming up from behind him. Bakura and Ryou turned to look at him and Malik. Ryou was obviously trying very hard not to laugh and Bakura just broke up.

“Oh, very funny.” Malik said, glaring. The black dye hadn’t completely washed out of his hair, and now it was a dull grey. Marik just grinned. He took a step closer to Ryou, and though the white-haired boy watched him cautiously, he didn’t move away. At least, not until Marik grabbed him around the waist. Then he quickly disappeared, reappearing beside Yugi.

“What about you, Bakura?” Marik asked, when the laughing had stopped.

“I kind of wish I didn’t.”

“Remember your first time, or mine?”

“Both. I couldn’t move after the damned slave-trader got done with me, and you screamed so loud I was sure the Pharaoh’s guards were going to find us.”

“You’re lucky they didn’t, or neither of you would have had to worry about being sealed into the millennium items.” Yami said, coming out from the puzzle. “I had that set of sheets burned.”

“What about you, Ryou?”

“I’d rather not think about it.” He answered softly, rubbing at one wrist.

“I did warn you.” Bakura pointed out. “It’s not my fault you kept on struggling.”

“I had to talk Father out of phoning the cops to find out who had beat me up.” Ryou answered, a slight tinge of anger in his voice.

“Well, I needed some relief. You try spending 5000 years with only your hand and end up not being horny when you find someone else. Besides, you liked it once you got done screaming.”

“Yeah, I think I passed out from the pain about then.” The anger was more apparent. Yugi glanced at Yami, worried by his scowl.

“Only you would be proud over how much you could hurt someone during sex.” Kaiba said, before the Pharaoh had a chance to do anything.

“Oh grand. Rich-boy has decided to grace us with his presence. Where’s your keeper?”

“Go fuck yourself, Thief.”

“Oh, there he is.”

The whole group stared at the way Kaiba’s face suddenly went pale, as he whipped his head around, searching for the priest.

“Maybe I should have a talk with Set. He always was a bit too domineering.” Yami mused. Kaiba fixed him with a cold glare.

“I don’t need your help. Keep your nose out of my business. I’m sure there’s some make-believe plot to take over the world somewhere for you to uncover.” With that last shot, he stalked off.

“He looks like he’s expecting someone to attack him any minute.” Bakura commented, serious for once. “Damn Priest’s worse then I was.”

“Nobody’s worse then you, Bakura.” Yami snapped.

“Oh, I can name a few people. At least I never destroyed an entire village to make a few gold trinkets.”

“I don’t see you complaining when you use that ‘trinket’ around your neck.”

“Yami!” Yugi protested, on top of Ryou’s own shout.

“Bakura!”

Fortunately the bell rang right then, breaking up the argument. Yami faded back into Yugi, just as Jounouchi and Honda ran up. Malik disappeared a moment later, as did Ryou.

“Hey, Yug.” Jounouchi said, obviously out of breath. Tristan only offered a wave.

“Hi guys.” The short duelist hesitated. “Umm, Bakura. Why are you taking control?”

“Ryou can’t wear his earrings in school, and they need time to heal before he can go all day without them.”

“Besides, it’s a great way to cause trouble.” The two strolled off.

“Oops. We’re gonna be late. Come on.” Honda exclaimed.

“Say, has anybody seen that boy that was at Kaiba’s party since then?” Yugi wondered aloud, but was dragged off by Jounouchi and quickly forgot about it.

******

“To think, it was so close. Obviously moved here by some collector who didn’t know it’s true worth.” Nui snorted in amusement. The dark-haired boy was back in the basement of Kaiba’s mansion. He had been staying down there since he had found the tablet buried away with a bunch of other knickknacks that hadn’t seen daylight in years. A few blankets pilfered from a seldom-used linen closet would never be noticed, nor would a few meals stolen from the kitchen while no one was looking. He hadn’t always been a pharaoh, and so didn’t see the thievery as being beneath him. In fact, he was rather good at stealing. Kidnapping too, which brought him to the other part of his plan.

The tablet needed a lot of power to activate it, and a virgin’s blood. He wasn’t sure about the virgin part, but those pretty accessories those kids had been carrying around would provide more then enough power. He just had to get them.

And he’d need slaves when he became Pharaoh again. So he planned to kidnap the wielders of the Items and break them, thus getting his slaves and the power to activate the tablet in one shot.

Just a few more things, and he could begin.

******

Kaiba stalked out of his last class, not even bothering to head to his locker. Maybe if he was lucky, he could leave that damned spirit behind.

“You’d be in even more trouble if you tried.” Set murmured. Kaiba froze, staring at the priest. It no longer surprised him that no one else commented on the look-alike. Set had already explained that no one but the other yami and hikari could see him, in spirit-form.

The shorter brunet was leaning against the wall, his arms crossed. The smug posture annoyed Kaiba even more, and he strode away with a scowl.

If he had hoped to lose the other teen in the crowded halls, it didn’t work, because Set was still at his shoulder when they reached the limo.

“You left the rod unattended.”

“It was safe.” Kaiba protested, hating the way his voice sounded so petulant. He climbed into the limo, not waiting for the other boy to climb in before he closed it. It didn’t effect Set; he just phased through, though the glimmer in his eyes promised retribution.

Sure enough, as soon as he made sure the partition between them and the driver was up, he changed to physical form, quickly pinning Kaiba back against the seat by a hand around his throat. Kaiba reached up to break the hold and Set moved his other hand to reach for a hidden button, a secret drawer opened, revealing the rod. Kaiba licked his lips, suddenly feeling just the slightest bit nervous.

“I don’t want to hurt you, Little Dragon.” The Priest said, calmly, as if they were having a normal conversation. “But I will not tolerate this foolishness.”

Kaiba forced the fear back, calming himself. This was no different from a business deal, right? Set laughed.

“Think of it that way if you will, but remember that you are a lesser partner in this deal.”

“I’m not going to give in to you.” Kaiba retorted. He had decided to play along with the spirit, but found that he had grown too used to being in control of himself to fall back into that role again. The grip on his throat tightened and Set’s eyes could have broken rock.

“Then I will break you.” The spirit answered. “I’ve broken stronger spirits then yours.” He leaned forward suddenly, planting a forceful kiss on the thin lips.

Kaiba jerked back automatically, lifted his hands to push the other boy away and discovered that he suddenly couldn’t move.

Correction, he couldn’t move anything below his neck. He could feel everything, including the pressure of the spirit’s hand on his thigh, far too close for his comfort.

“Marik’s control over the rod was rudimentary at best. But he did discover its most powerful application.” He paused, setting the rod down. The paralysis held.

“I could do anything with you right now, and you wouldn’t be able to do anything to stop me. I could kill you, rape you.” His hand stroked closer and Kaiba shut his eyes, stifling a whimper. Kaiba Seto did not whimper.

“I could even force you to take Mokuba.” Blue eyes shot open again in shock.

“No!” He struggled a moment, futilely. “Leave him out of this.”

“I see I got the point across finally.”

“Just don’t touch him.”

“Reduced to begging?” Set laughed again. “You needn’t worry anyway. That’s an amateur trick. I don’t need to use the boy, nor would I. I’m not a complete monster.”

“Master Kaiba. We’re here.” The driver said over the intercom. Set shifted back to spirit form, and the spell released Kaiba. He climbed from the limo, making sure to remember the Millennium Rod.

Mokuba ran to meet him as he got to the door, going on about something that had happened at school. Kaiba nodded and made comments in the appropriate places, and Mokuba pretended to be fooled. He let Kaiba’s excuse of work slide and watched as his big brother walked up the stairs to the second floor. He was worried, but knew Kaiba would just brush him off if he voiced his concerns. Sighing, he headed for his own room.

******

Nui paused just out of sight, watching the younger Kaiba brother. He would have preferred to get one of the Item Holders first, but he did need an innocent as well, and it didn’t matter which order he captured them in.

He waited until they were in an empty hall before he made his move, hurrying up and pinning the boy’s arms with one arm while his other clamped over the mouth. Mokuba let out a muffled shriek, and began struggling, until the simple spell Nui cast rendered him unconscious. Tying and gagging him carefully, the Egyptian carried his first captive back down to his basement hideaway.

******

D’Ceandre: Look! A plot.

Trouble: Really? Where?”

Hime: Where’s Sagira?

Trouble: I sent her to Greenland.

D’Ceandre: Where did you get the money for the plane?

Trouble: Who said anything about a plane?

Hime: Ship?

Trouble: Well, I suppose you could call it that.

D’Ceandre: Oh dear.