The Path of Vengeance

Joey sat against the wall outside his homeroom class, unobserved by the administration, waiting for the bell to ring so he could catch both Tristan and Duke before they went to lunch. His mind shuffled wildly between worry for Yugi and anger toward Ryou for his reluctance to aid in finding the bastard tomb robber.

Truthfully, he was so angry he could barely contain himself. Though his conscious mind told him that he’d stand no chance against Bakura his heart knew he’d die trying to avenge Yugi. He just couldn’t understand it. Sure he knew the thief hated Yami but damn. There are other ways to get back at people. Many of which were scrolling through the blonde’s head at that very moment.

He thought back to his first meeting with Yugi. The small duelist would do anything for anyone. Joey hated to even think about what the teen was going to be like once he got out of the hospital.

“FUCKING SON OF A BITCH!” Joey screamed, jumping to his feet, his anger at an all-time high. Thankfully the bell had chosen to ring at that exact moment, preserving his anonymity. He ran a shaky hand through his hair as students began to pour out of the classroom.

Duke spotted him immediately. “Where you been, baby?” he asked, holding out his hand toward the blonde. He took in Joey’s appearance, his eyes widening. “Oh god, what happened?”

Joey shook his head. “Not here.” He took Duke’s hand and scanned the crowd again. “Tristan!” he called.

Tristan smiled. “Normally you don’t come back on school property when you ditch half of it, Joey.”

“I didn’t ditch,” Joey snapped.

“Sheesh man, take a pill. I’ve got to go meet Seto.” He tried to step past Joey to find his boyfriend but the blonde caught his collar, pulling him back.

“You can’t go,” he said seriously. “I need to talk to you. Where’s Tea?”

Tristan raised an eyebrow. “In the cafeteria most likely. What’s going on?”

“Come on,” Joey said, barely able to contain the tears filling his honey eyes. He barreled through half of the student body, nearly pulling Duke’s arm out of its socket. After a quick search he saw Tea sitting at their usual table checking her subtle makeup in a hand mirror. “Tea!” he called.

The girl looked up. She saw the source of the voice and smiled. “Hi Joey!”

Joey waved her over. “Come here.”

Tea put her purse over her shoulder and jogged over to the trio. “What’s up?” she asked.

“We’re leaving,” Joey stated grimly, addressing all three of them.

“Baby, what the hell is going on?” Duke questioned, growing more worried with every tremor he could feel emanating from his boyfriend.

Joey didn’t respond. He instead led the way out of the building and into the parking lot where Mr. Mutou’s car sat waiting. Where Yugi’s blood lay drying on the back seat.


Bakura rolled over in the bed he shared with Marik, mulling over the conversation he had with Ryou. I'm not a fucking coward, he thought bitterly. That Ra-damned Pharaoh will never recover from this blow. I’d say I'm…creative. He began to laugh at that thought.

“What the fuck is so funny?” Marik asked sleepily.

“I am,” Bakura replied cryptically. A moment passed. “Marik?”

“Hmm?”

“Where do you want to go?”

Marik turned to face him. “I take it I'm awake now?”

“That’d be an accurate assumption. Ryou woke me up.”

The blonde raised an eyebrow. “What did he have to say?”

Bakura sighed. “A lot.”

“Just give me the punch line.”

“He told Yami that he wouldn’t be any help in finding me.”

“Whoa, really?”

“That’s what he said.”

Marik shivered, noting that Bakura had taken the blankets sometime during their nap. “Damn thief,” he muttered, curling up next to his companion. “I talked to Malik while you were asleep.”

Bakura put an arm around the spirit. “Oh? How’d that go?”

“Pretty good considering. Wheeler had called him and snitched on you.”

Bakura groaned. “Is he pissed at me too?”

Marik grinned. “Actually, no. He was more worried that you were okay than anything. He’s going with Isis to the hospital this afternoon to see what he can find out. I expect to hear from him tonight.”

“He’s gonna spy for us?”

The blonde chuckled. “Looks that way.”

“I knew I liked that kid for a reason.” He yawned loudly.

“Go back to sleep,” Marik insisted. “We’re going to be up all night again.”

Bakura nodded and pulled the Egyptian closer, enjoying the feel of Marik’s arms encircling his waist. The pair drifted off into quiet slumber.


Yugi pulled himself from the realm of sleep to find Yami passed out in an armchair next to his bed. Much to his surprise, he felt a good deal better. His body was still in severe pain but he wasn’t able to focus on it long enough to care. Whatever they have me on must be working, he thought. He was unable to sit up but turned his head, taking in the room.

It was pretty good sized with off-white wallpaper and light blue trim. There were several more chairs like the one Yami was sleeping in lining the back wall to his left. There were two doors, both open. He could see members of the hospital’s staff walking beyond the first and the corner of a bathroom sink beyond the other.

Mixed images flowed through his mind, carried in a river of his medicinal stupor. He was grateful for it actually in that he was unable to keep his mind on why he was here in the first place.

His throat was dry. As much as he hated to do it, he spoke. “Yami?”

The former pharaoh’s bloodshot eyes immediately snapped open. “Yugi? What is it? What do you need?”

“Water, please.”

Yami nodded and poured a small amount from the blue plastic pitcher on the rollaway table. He handed the cup to Yugi, who took a small sip before handing it back. “Can I get you anything else?”

Yugi shook his head. “No thank you.”

“How do you feel?”

“Tired,” Yugi replied. He was finding it hard to keep his eyes open. “What time is it?”

Yami looked at the clock. “It’s almost four,” he replied.

Judging from the light visible beneath the closed blinds, Yugi realized that it was four pm, not four in the morning. “Have you been sitting here this whole time?”

Yami nodded. “Of course I have.”

Yugi yawned loudly. “You don’t have to…”

“Nonsense. I’ll be here as long as you are.”

His eyes refused to stay open. “Thank you, Yami,” he managed before drifting off again.

Yami sighed and stood up, stretching the muscles in his back. He pulled the blankets up to Yugi’s chin and ran a hand down his pale cheek. “I'm so sorry, Yugi,” he whispered. “And I swear to you that I will not rest until you are avenged.” His knuckles were white against the guardrail, straining under the force of his grip.

“Yami?”

The spirit turned around. “Ryou. When did you get here?”

Ryou lowered his eyes. “A few minutes ago. I'm sorry. I didn’t mean to eavesdrop.”

Yami extended his hand to the teen who took it shyly. “I'm sorry you had to hear that,” he whispered, trying not to wake his sleeping light.

Ryou shook his head. “Don’t be,” he said quickly. “I understand.” He pulled a small bundle from the bag he was carrying. “I brought both you and Yugi a change of clothes.”

Yami looked down at his bloodstained shirt. “Thank you, little one,” he said gratefully. He took the offering and moved into the bathroom. “I’ll just be a minute.”

Ryou nodded and turned to the bed. “Yugi,” he whispered brokenly. “Please forgive me. I just can’t choose between them.” He opened the bag and pulled out a Dark Magician plushie, placing it under the covers with his fallen friend.

Yami returned to see Ryou staring at Yugi, tears dropping from his pale cheeks onto the bedspread. “Ryou,” he said gently. The teen looked up. “Come here.” He held out his arms and Ryou rushed into them, sobbing heavily.

“I'm sorry, Yami,” he whimpered.

Yami pulled him closer. “Don’t be. I understand the situation you are in. Honestly, I don’t know how you’ve managed to hold together so well. Its no secret how Bakura treated you.”

“It wasn’t all bad,” Ryou defended weakly.

Yami shook his head. “I know your need to protect him is great. I feel the same for Yugi right now. However, I don’t want us to get pitted against each other in this. Let’s just agree to keep silent about our feelings on the tomb robber.” Ryou nodded. “Good,” Yami went on. He heaved a sigh. “I’ve missed you,” he admitted.

Ryou smiled through his tears. “I’ve missed you too.”

Yami again took his place in the chair next to Yugi’s bed, Ryou in his lap, grateful for the teen’s presence. The albino boy had a calming effect on him, something that he desperately needed at that point.


Joey leaned against the hood of the car, the other three staring at him expectantly. “You guys have no idea how much I don’t want to be the one to tell you this,” he began.

“Just say it, Joey. Whatever it is we’ll deal,” Tristan said.

Joey looked at each of his friends and his boyfriend in turn. This is it, he thought grimly. I'm going to tell them about Yugi and this will all be over. Our friendship, our relationships, none of it will ever be the same again. Suddenly he wished for the old days where he and Tristan were little eight year-old street punks without a shred of responsibility. He wanted to go back to the time when the scariest thing in the world was to get caught with a dirty magazine or stealing a candy bar from the corner market. When the monster under your bed could be chased away by the flick of a light switch. The past twenty four hours had shown him how naive he had truly been. The monster had been among them all along. And the more light that was shed, the worse the fiend appeared.

“It’s Yugi,” he began in a broken whisper. “He’s in the hospital.”

Tea brought her hand to her mouth. “Oh my god.”

“What happened?” Duke questioned. Tristan just stared at him, waiting for the inevitable explanation.

Joey took a deep breath. “Yami and I drove him there this morning and he went right into surgery. They say he’s going to recover…”

“But…” Duke prompted.

“He-he was attacked-“ Joey was beginning to lose it.

“By who?” Tristan asked gravely.

“By Bakura. He kidnapped him yesterday morning and spent the entire day torturing him-“ His breath hitched. “He cut him up pretty good…” His stomach began to churn.

“Baby, come on, breathe,” Duke said, running a soothing hand down Joey’s back.

Joey paid him no mind. He was caught in an emotional torrent of hate, sorrow, and anger. “He raped Yugi…made Yami listen to it.”

Tea’s eyes grew large. “Joey…oh god…Yugi…” She broke into sobs, covering her face in her hands.

Joey suddenly doubled over and began to retch onto the concrete. It was all too much for him to handle.

Tristan stood rooted to the spot. He had hated Bakura from the start. Ever since Duelist Kingdom. When he had split from Ryou the brunette had a feeling something bad was going to happen. And happen it had. To one of his two best friends. “Joey,” he said evenly. “Where is Bakura now?”

Joey coughed and stood up, turning his head away from the filth. “According to Ryou he took off. If you were to believe what he said, he doesn’t know where Bakura is.”

Tristan raised an eyebrow. “And you don’t believe that, do you?”

Joey shook his head. “Not for a second.”

“Wait guys. Ryou isn’t the type to lie,” Tea spoke up.

“I have to agree with her,” Duke said gently. “He’s never been anything but honest with any of us.”

Joey very nearly growled. “Look guys, I know it sounds a bit off but think about it. How many times have you seen Yugi snap to attention and watch the doorway five minutes before Yami walked through it? They’ve got that weird connection going on.”

Tea smartly intervened. “Can we see Yugi?”

“I don’t know,” Joey said, forcing himself to calm down some. “But let’s go to the hospital. Maybe there’s more news.”

“I’ll take my car,” Duke put in. “That way Yami can have Mr. Mutou’s in case he needs it.”

“Tea, why don’t you ride with Duke?” Tristan said quickly.

“Sure,” Tea replied. She gave Joey a quick hug. “He’ll be okay,” she whispered.

Joey nodded. “I know.” He accepted the kiss from Duke before sliding into the car with Tristan and starting the engine. “Ready?” Tristan nodded. He put the car into gear and sped out of the parking lot.

“So what are we going to do about it?” Tristan asked after a few moments.

Joey shook his head. “I don’t know,” he replied. “What can we do?”

“We can find that fucker Bakura, that’s what.”

“Come on Tris. We’re talking about a guy who spent his whole life hiding from people. What chance do we have of finding him?”

“We can’t,” Tristan replied. “But you and I both know who can.”

Joey glanced at his friend. “He’s not talking,” Joey replied. “He flat out refused to help.”

“Fine,” Tristan spat out. “But don’t think I'm just going to sit around while that sick freak of nature runs free.”


Bakura opened his eyes to see Marik sitting at the small table beneath the window, dozens of pamphlets laid out before him. He smiled appreciatively to note that the spirit was clad only in a pair of boxer shorts. “Morning,” he mumbled, stretching out his sore limbs.

Marik looked back and grinned. “It’s about time you woke up. Pizza is on the way.” He held up a brochure. “Ever been to America?”

Bakura rolled his eyes. “It’s my home away from home,” he replied sarcastically.

Marik flipped him the finger. “I'm serious. Check this out.” He crawled onto the bed next to the thief. “There’s a place called Las Vegas that has bars open twenty-four hours a day. They say it’s the ‘Money Capital of the World’.”

Bakura swore he could feel heat radiating off of the other yami. He took the leaflet and skimmed it over. “Fine with me,” he said. “I’ll go wherever.”

Marik grinned. “I’ll just have to make a few phone calls to round up the rest of the money we’ll need and boom, we’re back on easy street. Did you sleep well?”

“Better than I have in a long time.” His lips twisted into a wry smile. “Hey, could you hand me my cigarettes? They’re in the inside pocket of your coat.”

“Since when do you smoke?” Marik asked, getting up. He picked up the jacket and crammed his hand into the pocket. “What the…” He pulled out a stack of cash. And another. And another. “Where the fuck did you get this?” he asked, astounded. Seven stacks in all.

“Never mind that,” Bakura said with a smile. “Just rest easy on the whole money thing. That should last us awhile. Oh, and no, I don’t smoke.”

Marik blinked, trying to catch up. “Damn, Bakura, you never cease to amaze me, you know that?”

“Yeah, I'm pretty amazing.” His gaze traveled the length of Marik’s body, admiring the vast expanse of bare flesh. He could feel himself beginning to grow hard within the confines of his jeans.

Marik tossed the cash onto the table and make quite a show about hanging the coat back on the chair before looking up at Bakura, a look of admiration in his eye. “Is there anything else I should know?”

Bakura raised his eyebrows. “Well, now that you mention it…”

“What?”

The thief climbed out of the bed and walked right up to the Egyptian, never breaking his gaze, causing Marik to either walk backward or get bowled over. The blonde collided with the door, ending his retreat. Bakura kept going, pressing himself into the other until he could go no further. “You should really keep covered up unless you want me to hurl you down onto the bed and fuck you till you bleed.”

Marik blinked. “What?”

Bakura brought a hand up and tugged at the hem of Marik’s shorts. For the first time in this afterlife his mind was not clouded by hatred. In its stead was rapidly increasing arousal, set off by his bronze companion. “Come off it, Ishtar. I know I'm not the only one who’s been feeling the sexual tension between us.”

“Well no,” Marik admitted. He scanned the tomb robber’s eyes, looking for any trace of apprehension. Finding none, he brought his lips down on Bakura’s, plundering the other’s mouth.

A deep growl escaped Bakura’s throat and his hands traveled up to tangle in the Egyptian’s hair. He couldn’t get enough of the blonde’s taste. Marik wrapped one arm around the thief’s waist and held out the other, using it to guide them through the room and to the bed where he tightened his grip on his soon-to-be lover and collapsed upon it, capturing the other below him.

The weight of the Egyptian covering him, the feel of his half-hard erection pressing against his own, both were competing with one another to see which would arouse the thief more. Bakura lifted his hips upward, eager for more contact. “Gods, Ishtar,” he moaned as Marik broke the kiss and sank his teeth into the pale flesh of his neck.

“You like that?” the blonde asked huskily.

“Oh fuck yes…”

Marik pulled himself up just enough to be able to peel the t-shirt from his partner’s body. He tossed it aside and again crushed his lips down onto the thief’s, his hands exploring the taut skin across the chest of the body beneath him. Bakura’s obscene whimpers and steady writhing did a lot to further arouse him and he ground his erection into the other, cursing the fabric that prevented direct contact.

Bakura planted one foot on the bed and flipped them over, his tongue thoroughly pillaging the warm cavern of Marik’s mouth, battling with the spirit’s tongue, each trying to assert their dominance though neither really caring who won so long as the moment was not lost. He rolled onto his side next to the other, unbuttoning his jeans and pulling them down before tossing them aside.

Marik gazed appreciatively at Bakura’s naked form as he too stripped to his skin. He took his own erection into his hand and began to stroke it slowly, meeting the albino’s lust clouded gaze. “You’re so fucking hot…” he purred.

Bakura pushed him onto his back and climbed over him, pressing their groins together. “You want this, Marik?” he asked, thrusting gently.

Marik nodded, his body crying out for further stimulation. “Oh fuck yeah,” he rasped.

Bakura kissed him again before slowly sliding down the Egyptian’s body and grasping him gently. He winked at the man before opening his mouth and taking the entire length into his throat, sucking gently.

“Bakura…fuck…” Marik’s hips jerked involuntarily, drawing a subtle choking sound from the thief.

“Hold still,” Bakura demanded, coming up for air.

“Sorry,” Marik amended. “It’s been awhile.”

Bakura face wore an actual smile. “No worries,” he replied. He returned to the task at hand, relishing in the flavor of his partner, trying with all of his might to draw the blonde into his own body via his mouth, unwilling to let even the smallest inch of him escape.

Marik fought against the urge to outright fuck the thief’s mouth as the immense buildup of pleasure shot through him. He closed his eyes in surrender, unable to resist the waves of passion rising from deep within. The feelings being caused by Bakura's ministrations rocketed through his body, rendering conscious thought useless. “Bakura,” he whispered hoarsely. Bakura moaned in question, unwilling to stop his tender assault. He shifted position, slightly altering the pace of his torment, causing a new round of sensations to rage through Marik’s body. “Ahh, shit,” the blonde whispered as the sudden rush of adrenaline threatened to overtake his entire being.

Bakura released the man’s erection and again climbed his body so they were face to face. “Sweet Isis, I want you,” he said in a low voice. Marik nodded rapidly in assent, wrapping his legs around the tomb robber’s waist. Bakura brought himself to the Egyptian’s entrance and paused, bringing his mouth to Marik’s to muffle the blonde’s scream as he embedded himself fully within the tight warmth.

After several tense moments, Marik grew accustomed to the invasion and let his hands travel upward to settle at the heated base of Bakura’s neck. The thief began to thrust into him and his hips moved of their own volition, drawing the man’s erection even further within. His mind went completely blank, the physical sensations outmaneuvering the mental. His head fell back onto the bed and his eyes closed, permitting him to concentrate solely on the intense pleasure coursing through him.

Bakura increased the speed and power of his thrusts, driving into the supple body beneath him, relishing in the experience that he had denied himself for so long. “So…fucking…tight…” he ground out, pounding ever harder.

“Gods, Bakura,” Marik replied. “I can’t…I'm gonna…”

“Do it,” Bakura responded. “Come for me, Marik.”

Marik’s body tensed for a moment before the spasms overtook him, his release shooting forth to coat both his stomach and the disheveled bedspread. The accompanying howl that he had let go served well to aid in Bakura’s completion, which he embedded deep within the Egyptian, crying out his name as holding on for dear life.

An awkward moment followed, neither knowing how to react to such intimacy that passed between them. Bakura rolled off of the blonde, both breathing heavily. In the end, it was Marik who broke the ice.

“You have no idea how long I’ve wanted that.”

A shit-eating grin broke out on Bakura’s face. “Then I take it you wouldn’t be opposed to a second round?”

Marik returned the smile. “Not at all,” he replied, rolling onto his side with a visible wince. “But I'm taking you.”

Bakura raised an eyebrow. “We’ll see,” he chuckled, pulling the blonde close.

A loud knock on the door caused them both to groan. “Pizza,” Marik concluded. He dragged himself off of the bed and opened the door, exposing himself to the unsuspecting teenager.

“Um…that’ll be $11.81,” the poor kid stuttered.

Marik handed him a twenty. “Keep the change,” he replied, taking the steaming box. He sat it down on the table and closed the door.

Bakura stood up and wrapped his arms around the blonde. “That will have to wait,” he purred seductively. “I'm not through with you yet…”


______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Thank you guys SO much for your reviews! I now know just how much they aid in fueling the authors drive to write more. I definitely want to hear your input on where you think the story should go and how you would like to see the characters develop! Thanks again!
~z