The Path of Vengeance

I'd like to post this chapter and the three that will follow in the memory of the library where I used to go to write when I was fifteen. I revisted the old haunt this past week and the nostalgia kicked in, providing my muse with endless energy - and rendering me a slave to my keyboard, where I spent the entire time. Here's to the ol' think hole:

Yugi sat stiffly in his hospital bed, his lower half shifting periodically in an attempt to avoid putting extended pressure on any one part of his mutilated skin. Dr. Ibaraki, the hospital psychiatrist, had been very non-threatening and had actually aided in drawing the teen from the cloud of hopelessness that his Sigmoidoscopy had bestowed upon him. She had given him a lot of insight to ponder over as well as some techniques to try to combat the hallucinations when they occurred.

Knowing that he would be going home in the morning did wonders to elevate his mood as well. He was looking forward to lounging on the sofa and watching television or playing video games. Things any normal teenager should be concerned with. In truth, he just wanted to forget that the past few days had ever happened.

That however was just a pipe dream. Just the fact that he couldn’t sit comfortably was enough to squelch that idea. Not to mention the weekly therapy sessions that Dr. Ibaraki had arranged for him with one of her colleagues. Everywhere he turned there was something else to remind him that his life had taken a drastic turn for the worst and would never be like it was before. In the course of two days he’d lost both Yami and himself.

With a heavy sigh he set aside the papers left to him by the doctor and carefully eased back onto the raised head of the mattress, pulling the blankets with him. One thing he couldn’t wait for was the privilege to wear his own clothes again. The hospital gown left him feeling entirely too vulnerable. It was not a comforting sensation in the slightest.

His eyes came to rest on the stereo that Joey had brought and he frowned. There was no way he was going to try to get across the room to turn it on. If he didn’t know better he’d have thought that the staff didn’t want him to leave the bed at all due to its height. It was a good three foot drop over the side if he could even find the energy to attempt it.

It was an odd sensation to wish for company to break the solitude but not want anyone near him at the same time. He was eternally grateful for both Yami and Ryou’s presence though he couldn’t help but feel smothered by them. He knew that they both meant well but having constant company offering sympathy for something he was trying not to think about was starting to get under his skin.

His feelings toward Ryou were another issue entirely. He found himself trusting the pale haired teen unequivocally and that scared him. To place so much trust and faith in the person who wore the same face as the man that haunted your every waking moment was, to say the least, unsettling. Not to mention the unbreakable bond that Ryou shared with his dark. Yugi couldn’t hold that against him however because he knew firsthand what it was like to share a soul with another being.

As much as he didn’t want to dwell on it, he was morbidly curious to know what Bakura had put Ryou through in the years that they lived alone in Ryou’s house while Mr. Bakura was away on his digs. He couldn’t understand how Ryou could keep such a brave and positive attitude. Yugi fell into the hands of the thief once and he was scarred for life. Figuratively and literally alike.

Visiting hours were ending soon. Ryou and Yami would be returning any minute. The small duelist sighed. He couldn’t wait to go home.



The first thing he noticed when he woke up was a muffled ringing in his ear. Quick to follow was the fact that he couldn’t open his right eye and his left was so swollen it barely opened either. Finally the pain set in. A low moan escaped his mouth as he brought his hands to his face, startled to find it half-covered in bandages. His mind fought to catch up and when it did he wished it hadn’t.

Flashes of the morning’s occurrence washed in and he bit his lip, trying to retain what was left of his composure. He had no idea who knew what at this point. Hell, he barely recalled the incident and he was its orchestrater.

Emotional pain rivaling that of the physical was next in the series of character-killing onslaughts. So much for composure. Tears slipped from his left eye to land on the pillow while the droplets from the right eye soaked into the bandage. The more he tried to hold them in, the more his head began to ache. Reaching out blindly, he made a move to sit up but was stopped by warm hands on his chest.

“Relax, Seto. It’s two in the morning. Don’t try to get up.””

He forced his left eye to open. “Tristan?” he questioned, hope dancing across his features.

Tristan took hold of his hand. “I’m here, baby.”

The millionaire’s free hand shot out, coming to rest at the base of Tristan’s neck, pulling him down and into a desperate embrace. “Tristan,” he said again. “I’m so sorry.”

Hearing the despondency in Kaiba’s voice was almost enough to crumble the teen’s resolve. Almost. “What are you sorry for?” he asked.

Even in his depleted state Kaiba knew that his future with the brunette lay somewhere within his response. “Lying to you,” he whimpered. “Being part to Yugi’s abduction.”

Tristan held fast to the shaking teen. “Seto, what the fuck were you thinking trying to shoot yourself?”

Kaiba’s tremors increased. He tightened his grip on Tristan’s neck. “I don’t want to live without you,” he stated sincerely. “I can’t go back to the way I was before us. I can’t live like that again.”

“Seto I think you may have overreacted just a bit. I never said I was leaving you.”

Kaiba shook his head, hissing in pain when the bandage rubbed against his blistered skin. “I fucked everything up,” he said brokenly.

Tristan shook his head. “Seto don’t tell me how I feel or what I’m doing. Yes, I am angry with you. To be honest I don’t think I’ve ever been more pissed off in my life. But that doesn’t mean I don’t love you.”

“I love you,” Kaiba repeated.

Tristan took a deep breath. “I’ll be honest, baby. I don’t trust you. I love you but I don’t trust you. If you want my trust you’re going to have to work really hard to earn it back.”

“Just tell me what to do.”

“I want answers,” Tristan said simply. “And I want you to understand exactly what you did today.”

“I know,” Kaiba said softly.

Tristan pulled back so he could look at his boyfriend’s face. “I don’t think you do,” he said, traces of anger present in his voice. “I watched the entire thing on the security tape,” he revealed. “Do you realize how close you were to shooting Mokuba?”

Kaiba gasped. “I didn’t…”

“No, you didn’t. But you could have. You fired a gun less than six inches from your brother’s head, Seto.”

Another flash of memory played behind the blue eyes. “Mokuba…he stopped me…He saw…oh, god Tristan.” He struggled against Tristan’s grasp, trying to get out of the bed.

“Baby, stop. Lay down.”

“I have to see him,” Kaiba pleaded.

Tristan shook his head. “He’s finally fallen asleep,” he explained gently. “Let him rest. He needs it.”

Kaiba ceased his attempt at escape. “I’m sorry,” he said again.

Tristan leaned down and kissed the CEO softly. “I’m glad.” He sat up again and rearranged the blankets. “Try to sleep,” he suggested. “We’ll talk more later.”

“But Mokuba…”

“I’ll be here,” Tristan soothed. “I’ll take care of you, baby. Both of you.”

Kaiba’s lower lip began to quiver. He’d never felt so awful in all his life. “Thank you,” he whispered gratefully.

Tristan smiled sadly. “Go to sleep, Seto. I’ll be here when you wake up.”



Marik stretched lazily in the oversized tub, watching with fascination as the water slowly began to turn pink as the scarlet result of the pair’s fierce coupling detached from his skin to float freely. His back burned where the eight bloody scratches were invaded by the liquid warmth of the bath. He could feel fresh bruises forming on his hips from Bakura’s deadly grasp.

He sank into the water up to his neck and sighed contentedly, unable to remember a time when he had been so satiated. It had been quite awhile since he had been taken with such brutal determination. He’d forgotten how much it turned him on.

/Are you done yet?/

Marik’s eyes popped open. //Yeah.//

/Well listen, Yugi’s going home from the hospital in the morning./

//It is morning.//

He could feel Malik’s mental sigh. /It’s morning there dumbass, not here./

//Ugh, don’t start with that time travel thing. I’ve had enough of that bullshit.//

Amusement filtered through the link. /Having a hard time out there?/

Marik grinned. //Actually I’m having the time of my life. Bakura sure knows how to treat a man.//

/Shut up, dick./ Malik retorted.

//Oh come on hikari. Don’t be like that.//

/Sorry./

//So what else do I need to know?//

/Yami and Ryou are official now./

Marik almost choked on a mouthful of water. //The Pharaoh and Ryou? Are you serious?//

/Yeah. Joey and Tristan are really pissed off at both of them. Ryou because he won’t help them find Bakura and Yami for being with Ryou./

//Oh that’s too good.//

/I thought so too./

//How are you doing? They don’t suspect anything do they?//

/No way. They’re all to worried about Yugi to question my sudden interest./

//Good. If that changes you let me know.//

Malik laughed. /If that changes I’m out of here./

//Heh. Good point.//

/I’m going to go to bed. I’ve got to be up early for Yugi’s fucking welcome home party. You owe me so big, you know./

//I know. Good night, hikari.//

/Night, yami.//

Marik felt his light drift off and leaned back, his head resting against the wall. He had to laugh at the thought of Yami and Ryou as a couple. He wisely decided however to keep that bit of information from his ill-tempered companion. If Ryou wanted to tell him, it was the kid’s own fault when his yami went homicidal. Marik wasn’t one to poke a sleeping beast.



Yugi awoke with a muted scream, pulled from the depths of yet another violent nightmare. With a sigh of determination he decided to give up trying to sleep. It just wasn’t worth it to him. The world that existed behind his closed eyelids offered nothing more than gut-wrenching terror.

“Yugi?”

He looked over to see Ryou blinking at him sleepily. “Hi, Ryou.”

The pale teen yawned quietly. “Are you alright?”

Yugi shook his head. “Not really.”

Ryou carefully crawled out of Yami’s embrace in their floor pallet and climbed next to Yugi on the bed. “Want to talk about it?”

Yugi leaned his head on Ryou’s shoulder. “Dreams,” he stated.

Ryou nodded. “They suck, don’t they?”

“Yeah.”

Ryou leaned over and grasped his pillow, pulling it up. “Scoot over, you’re hogging the bed,” he said with a smile.

Yugi smiled back, grateful for the teen’s presence. He shifted over carefully and waited for Ryou to settle in. “Thanks.”

“Sure,” Ryou replied. “The floor was hurting my back anyway.”

They lay in silence for about five minutes before Yugi spoke again. “Are you asleep?”

“Not yet,” Ryou replied.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Of course.”

“Why didn’t you ever tell anyone about Bakura? What he did to you I mean.”

Ryou sighed. “There was nothing anyone could do,” he said. “Bakura isn’t like Yami or even Marik. He wouldn’t have listened to anyone anyway.”

“But what about you? Don’t you think you deserve better?”

“It wasn’t all bad,” Ryou admitted. “We look out for each other. In his own way Bakura does care about me. He wouldn’t tolerate anyone else hitting me.”

Yugi just couldn’t grasp the concept. “Don’t you hear how you sound? You’re defending him.”

“I’m not defending what he did to you, Yugi. I don’t ever want you to think that.”

The small duelist grasped Ryou’s hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. “I don’t,” he said honestly. “But we aren’t talking about me.”

Ryou was quiet for a moment. “I can’t bring myself to hate him, Yugi. This is as angry as I have ever been and still I can’t hate him.”

Yugi could sense Ryou’s upset. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I’m just worried about you.”

The pale teen laughed quietly. “At a time like this you worry about me? I should be the last thing on your mind.”

“I can’t help it,” Yugi stated. “I always worry about my friends.”

“I know,” Ryou replied. “I just don’t want you getting upset over me.”

Yugi smiled in the darkness. “Don’t worry so much.”

Ryou laughed. “That was a joke right?”

“Sure.”

Silence fell upon them again, each lost in their own thoughts. Eventually they drifted off to sleep, Yugi clinging tightly to Ryou’s hand as if the teen was enough of a formidable entity to stop the nightmares.


Yami sat in a chair near the doorway keeping a protective watch over the pair asleep in the bed. He had panicked when he awoke alone on the floor but the feeling was quickly squelched when he set eyes upon Yugi and Ryou curled around each other like sleeping kittens. For the first time it appeared that both were resting peacefully and the pharaoh’s station at the door would ensure that it remained that way.

Words couldn’t start to describe how grateful he was that Yugi didn’t share Joey and Tristan’s skepticism where Ryou was concerned. Then again he’d be more concerned about Yugi if he did harbor mistrust for the teen. Ryou would never hurt anyone intentionally. Yugi’s excellent intuition knew that.

He was also looking forward to going home. There was so much activity in the hospital, even at night, that he had been unable to sleep for more than forty minutes at a time without being woken up by one thing or another. It would be a great relief to sleep in his own bed.

As much as he didn’t want to dwell on it, there was yet another major obstacle that needed to be crossed. Mr. Mutou would eventually need to know what had happened to his beloved grandson. Yami was worried that the kind old man would be angry with him for not protecting Yugi like he’d promised. And frankly he’d have to agree.

A small moan snapped him from his reverie. Yugi was awakening. “Good morning, Aibou.”

Yugi turned sleepy eyes on him. “Morning, Yami.” He yawned and moved to pull the blankets tighter around him but caught sight of Ryou’s snowy hair. His eyes grew wide and he screamed, scrambling back, the guardrail preventing what would have been a painful tumble onto the tile floor.

The shout jerked Ryou from a dead sleep. “What’s wrong?” he asked, shooting into a sitting position.

Yami had his arms wrapped gently around his shaking light. “Shh, Yugi, it’s only Ryou,” he soothed.

Tears pricked at Ryou’s eyes and he placed a tentative arm on Yugi’s shoulder. “I’m sorry I scared you,” he said gently.

Yugi forced himself to take several deep breaths. He pulled away from Yami and shook his head. “No, I’m sorry. I just wasn’t expecting….I mean I didn’t think…”

“It’s okay, Yugi,” Yami spoke up. “We’re not upset with you.”

“Not at all,” Ryou confirmed. “Yami, what time is it?”

“Just before six.”

Ryou grinned at his bedmate. “Breakfast is at seven,” he said. “Then you get to go home!”

Yugi returned the smile though he felt awful. He knew that his reaction had hurt Ryou’s feelings. “I can’t wait,” he said with forced enthusiasm.

“I’ve still got to go fill your prescriptions,” Yami stated. “I was waiting for you to wake up before I left.”

“Let me do it,” Ryou volunteered. “You need to be here in case the doctor has any more instructions or anything.”

“You wouldn’t mind?” Yami questioned.

“Not at all,” Ryou replied, climbing out of the bed. He picked up the prescriptions from the bedside table and shoved them into the pocket of his pants.

“Here’s his insurance card,” Yami said, extending it to Ryou.

Ryou took the card and finished getting ready. He said goodbye to the pair and left the room, now a man on a mission.



Serenity, Tea, Mai, and Isis assembled at the front door of the game shop, gifts, streamers and deflated balloons in tow. Isis opened the door with the key Yami had given her and they went inside, locking it behind them.

“It’s so quiet,” Tea remarked as the climbed the stairs to the apartment above the store.

Serenity nodded in agreement. “It is.”

“Come on, girls,” Mai said as they entered the living room. “Don’t lose it now. We’ve got just under an hour to get this done.”

“She’s right,” Tea agreed. She placed her packages and bags on the recliner seat and pulled out a roll of dark blue streamers. “Who brought the tape?”

“I did,” Isis spoke up. She rifled through one of the bags she’d been carrying and pulled out a fresh roll, handing it to the brunette.

“Thanks,” Tea replied. She stepped onto the arm of the sofa and taped one end of the streamer in the corner of the wall, just below the ceiling.

“Be careful,” Serenity warned, standing below her, ready to catch her if she slipped.

Mai opened a package of purple balloons and handed several to Isis. “You got experience in blowing?” she asked with a laugh.

Isis cringed, pushing the balloons back to Mai. “No,” she grinned. “I definitely do not.”

Serenity chuckled. “Mai, you’re so gross.”

“Oh come on,” Mai retorted. “We’re all girls here. No harm in indulging in some girl talk before the barbarians arrive.”

Tea’s laughter almost caused her to fall from her perch on the back of the sofa. “I have absolutely nothing to add,” she stated. “The guy I want bats for the barbarians.”

The blonde snickered. “Seems like every male around this place bats for that side. We’re all out of luck.”

“Can’t say that I mind,” the Egyptian beauty declared.

Serenity pulled off another piece of tape and passed it to Tea. “I can’t believe you have absolutely no interest in guys, Isis,” she said.

Isis shrugged and sat down on the floor, several rolls of wrapping paper and a pile of gifts for Yugi in her arms. “It’s not that I have no interest,” she corrected. “I just find girls a lot more…interesting. Besides, when you live with my brother your faith in men tends to deteriorate rapidly.”

“He’s not that bad,” Mai remarked. “I can tell he loves you a lot.”

Isis smiled. “We understand each other,” she said. “Serenity, you know what I mean.”

“Definitely. But at least Malik has the decency to avoid practically screwing his boyfriend in mixed company.”

“Hah. That’s only because he isn’t seeing anyone right now.”

“Ugh, I don’t want to know,” Tea said, jumping onto the floor.

“Okay I’ve got a question,” Mai spoke up. “If you absolutely had to choose one of the guys to sleep with, no strings attached, who would it be?”

It was a game they often played. One of them would come up with a question that the entire group would answer in a round robin style.

“Yami,” Tea replied. The question wasn’t hard for her at all. Everyone knew that. “How about you, Serenity?”

Serenity blushed. “I don’t know…”

“I think you do,” Mai said with a laugh.

“Come on, who is it?” Tea pressed.

Serenity looked down. “…Marik.”

Three jaws dropped.

“Marik? Are you serious?” Isis asked.

Mai blinked. “Holy shit, girl.”

“Wow,” Tea said. “I wouldn’t have expected that from you.”

Serenity shook her head. “Hey, you said if I HAD to choose.”

Mai nodded. “I did. But I do have to wonder how many nights he is the material for a Serenity jill-fest.”

Serenity blanched. “What about you, Mai?” the she asked, eager to shift the attention away from herself.

The blonde tied off the balloon she’d been inflating and tapped it toward the center of the room. “Devlin,” she revealed.

Serenity stuck out her tongue. “He’s a pig,” she stated.

“All the better in my opinion,” Mai countered. “I said sleep with, not date. The sleazier they are the better they are in the sack.”

Isis laughed and Serenity blanched. “God, I don’t want to think about Duke and sex. It makes me think of my brother.” She made a gagging sound.

Tea chuckled. “Joey feels like a brother to me too,” she said. “I know how you feel.”

“And that just leaves you, Isis,” Mai noted.

Isis took a deep breath. “Seto Kaiba,” she complied.

Serenity nodded. “He IS cute.”

“Yeah, if you think asshole is cute,” Mai said with a laugh. “You’d probably have to fill out a resume and make an appointment before he’d even consider sex.”

“Oh lord, I can just imagine what the cover letter would say,” Tea joked. “’Dear Mr. Kaiba. Thank you for taking the time to review my application for the position of Personal Whore.’”

Peals of laughter followed as they continued to work. It was only natural that the four of them become friends as the only women in their clique. Since each had been dubbed a loner at one point in their lives their friendship meant that much more to all of them.

Especially in times like these. Though no one mentioned Yugi’s abduction each knew that it was in the front of the others’ minds. But certain things remain unspoken between friends. Particularly when the truth is so very painful.


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Things were sorta slow in this chapter, I know. Bear with me folks, I'm one of those writers who has to delve into the minds of the characters in order to portray the emotion I feel while writing them. Thank you to all who've given me the words of encouragement that have kept this fire going.