The Left Side of the Tracks

The Left Side of the Tracks
Authoress: Plot and edited by Illusionary Black Magician (done as RP with Shushi)
Rating: NC-17
Genre: Alternate Universe Yu-gi-oh!
Pairing: Bakura / Ryou
Disclaimer: Neither of us own Yu-gi-oh! We just like dabbling in Takahashi-sensei's brainchild :x

Authoress's Note: Don't ask where this came from. I'm a 'plot as you go' type writer so this RP just continued to spawn from the first paragraph. I for one, am pleased and love this RP. Much love to my friend and RP buddy Sushi for RPing this with me. ^^ Enjoy and R&C :3 We authors love R&C ^_~


Chapter One

It was dark out in the slums of Domino City, not surprising to Bakura. It seemed he only ever came out in the dark anymore, the light bringing too much recalled pain and suffering before he managed to scrape a job as a lackey for a drug lord. The only light he ever saw now mostly came from the one street light that flickered fading light over a dangerous intersection. It was odd that the intersection was considered dangerous since it almost never saw any traffic and any traffic it saw were just drunk and horny men looking for a good screw. Bakura occupied this intersection now though he knew not why he was here. Something just seemed to be drawing him here and as he stood there, Bakura took a pack of cigarettes from the hidden pocket of his black leather jacket and slid one out before replacing them in the pocket from which they had come. He then put the cigarette in his mouth and lit it, closing his eyes and taking a long drag, not noticing anything around him as he gazed up towards the black night sky, the stars peaking out one by one as time passed on.

Ryou laid under the drawbridge. He had started to take up residence there since he had been kicked out of his own home. His small frame shivered under the cold of the night, realizing he wouldn't be getting any sleep. Sighing deeply, Ryou crawled from his hiding place to find a young man standing nearby. He merely shrugged it off, wrapping his arms around himself to try to keep warm. He stood up walking to the railing and leaned back. Maybe some guy would pick him up and he could at least shower and get warmed up before coming back to his cold new home.

When he had smoked his cigarette down to the filter, Bakura looked down to the pavement of the street, letting out a heavy sigh before throwing the cigarette butt down onto the road, walking down towards the bridge for no real reason at all. Once there, he took out, and lit, another cigarette and stood on the abandoned drawbridge. This part of the city had long since been abandoned by those of wealth and stature. Only the poor ever lived in these slums now, despite all the trouble with crime, drugs and a various number of other trades that lowlifes, like him, could earn a living from. He was what they called a 'Good for Nothing' after all. It was only after he held his breath a moment that he heard a rustle of branches beneath him.

Letting the breath go, Bakura ventured below the bridge to find a youth shivering in the cold. Shaking his mane of wild silver hair, Bakura removed his jacket and threw it at the kid. "You better get out of here," Bakura warned him. "You're easy prey for predators this side of the river." Bakura was talking about himself of course, but for some reason, he felt a need to protect this young teen that he had found from the dangers that laid within the shadows all around them.

Ryou just stared at the other boy. He held the jacket, debating on whether or not putting it on was a good idea. However, he didn't need charity either. He had been living there under the drawbridge for six months and had learned how to run when the time called for it. "Thanks, but I can look out for myself.” Ryou explained, still holding the jacket. He stood up and looked down the road to see if there was anyone coming. He wished for someone to take him in, even if it was for but an hour’s worth of warmth. Ryou simply wondered what he would have to give in order to obtain it.

Bakura regarded the teen, surprised that his offer had been rejected. Rarely would anyone in the kid’s position turn something, like the jacket, down. After a few seconds thought, he shook it off before he spoke again. "You've got guts kid, but soon your luck will run out and then you'll find you wish you'd never come here." Bakura only said this because it was exactly what had happened to him when he had come a few years before. Now he found himself stuck in a world of sex, drugs, and crime of which he could not escape.

Ryou gave Bakura a glare, angered that a complete stranger would order him to leave, not even knowing his circumstance. "It's not exactly like I ASKED for this," he spat out before he threw Bakura's jacket back at him. "Here, take it, I don't want it." Ryou had turned defensive since living under the drawbridge. If no one is close to him, he can't get attached. He pulled himself up onto one of the rails, waiting until an oncoming car came by. When he saw one, he jumped down and stood next to the curb, hoping they would stop.

Bakura figured he deserved what he got, but he wasn't about to let this kid get raped and then abused. Not like he had, not if he could help it. "So why are you here then?" He called out, wondering why such a beautiful boy would be in the worst part of town.

Ryou glared at Bakura. "Why do you care?" he asked simply. He went back to watching the road, shivering under the night air. "It doesn't matter anyway. I'm here and I can’t leave." Another car drove by and this time, Ryou raised his shirt a little, to try to get the attention of the driver.

"I don't know why I do," Bakura replied, his heart beginning to race as he saw the car slow down. "But I won’t let you make the same mistake I did..."

Ryou looked over his shoulder. "I have no where else to go. What the hell am I suppose to do? I have no choice," he said. The car stopped by him and he leaned over, leaning on the car door to start making a deal.

"..." Bakura remained silent a moment, noting that the car driver had looked him over also, before he walked over to the car, leaning against the door before speaking. "I'm sorry, but the kid's with me." With that, he took the kid by the hand and led him away from the car and down the street towards the intersection that Bakura had occupied not long before. "If you want to be drugged and screwed, I suggest next time you do it while I'm not around." Bakura didn't let the kid go until the had returned to what he had called 'home' for the last couple of years, not far from the drawbridge that laid over the river. Leading the kid inside, Bakura tossed his jacket aside on to a tattered couch near the door before walking off to the kitchen a few feet away.

Ryou was visibly angry. Bakura had stopped him from taking a shower, being warm AND making any sort of money. "What the hell is wrong with you? I'm not your responsibility." Ryou was still shaking, some of it happening because he didn’t know what this man wanted with him. "So, what? Are you to force me to fuck you or something now because I don't that stuff for free."

"Unlike the majority of the scum this side of the river, I'm not that desperate." Bakura faced the kid he dragged home with him before he tossed a cola at him before cracking open a beer for himself. "Shower's first door on the left, spare room second door on the right." Bakura gestured down the hallway before retreating to the couch where his jacket lay.

Ryou was extremely confused. And even a little hurt. "You're saying that I'm not worth money?" he asked in a soft voice. He turned, putting the soda down and walking to where Bakura said there was a shower. He took from Bakura's offer that he looked as bad as he felt.

"I'm not saying that at all. I just meant that I'm not going to take advantage of you." Bakura replied after the other as he walked down the hallway towards the bathroom, knowing his words had barely reached the other.

Ryou dismissed the other's words and walked into the bathroom, shedding his clothes and stepping into the shower. He turned it on hot to get clean. He didn't know when the next time he would get the chance, so he wanted to make it count, even if he would get into dirty clothes again.

Bakura sipped his beer as he waited for the other. "He's just like me..." He whisered. After a short time passed, Bakura had heard the shower turn off and it was then that Bakura moved from the couch and headed to his own room to get the kid some clean clothes. Lord knows what the other had been through since he came to this god forsaken place, and if he had been selling himself, Bakura would want to burn those clothes.

Ryou finished his shower and got out, drying himself off. He sighed looking at his clothes, but put them on quickly. When he exited he walked to the spare room that Bakura had offered him. He didn't understand why this boy was doing this. He didn't even know his name, but something eased him just a little.

Bakura stepped out of his room and placed the clean clothes by the spare room door and moved to take a shower himself, knowing that the other would find the clothes at some point. However, despite his need for taking care of the kid, Bakura wasn't used to having someone else with him in his own home so he had a habit of leaving the bathroom door open when he showered.

Ryou had heard someone by the door and opened the door to find the clothes. He bent down and picked them up. He went back in to change, holding his old clothes. Ryou left the bedroom in search for the other boy. He heard someone in the bathroom and opened it, not realizing that Bakura might be naked. "Can I wash th..." Ryou trailed off, blinking at the sight before him.

It took Bakura a moment to realize that he wasn't alone, but even when he did notice, he didn't shout or scold or tell him to look the other way. Bakura guessed that it had to do with the fact that at one time, he used to be sired by other men so having Ryou looking upon his naked form didn't bother him.

Ryou did look away though. He was use to seeing naked men, but this seemed different. "Uhm.. I'm sorry. I just wanted to know where I might be able to rise these out?"

"There's a washer and dryer next to the kitchen." Bakura replied, turning the water off and stepping outside the shower, grabbing his towel to dry off his hair.

"Thanks," he said quickly before leaving quickly to give Bakura his privacy. Ryou's cheeks felt hot as he put his clothes in the washer. He didn't understand why he would be embarrassed, but for some reason he felt really shy. Like he use to be.

Bakura finished drying off before he wrapped his towel around his waist, dragging his own clothes to the room where the washer was and tossing them into a hamper near the door. He figured he could do his stuff later. He stood in the doorway to the room, watching the other closely. "So kid, do you have a name you go by?"

Ryou jumped a little. "Uhm... Ryou," he said softly, having almost forgotten his name. "What about you?" Why the hell was Ryou feeling nervous?

"I don't know my real name, but I've gone by Bakura for quite some time now." Bakura replied after a moment, shrugging, not saying why that was.

"Why are you doing this for me, Bakura. I don't understand. I have somewhere to sleep. I know I needed a shower and all, but a John would have let me do that too."

"That's exactly WHY I'm doing it." Bakura sighed, running his fingers through his platinum tresses, not wanting to dig up the past he'd managed to finally put behind him and bury six feet under. "Let's just say that I see a lot of myself in you..."

"I thank you for everything, but I don't need anyone. Everyone's abandoned me, and you would too, so there's no use pretending," Ryou said without even thinking. "I have no friends or family and I never will."

"Here," After a short awkward silence, Bakura tossed Ryou a keychain that had a key and a lucky rabbit's foot attached to it. "I can't force you to stay here and out of trouble, but if you need a place to go, you're welcome here.” Bakura then retired to the kitchen next door to make up some food for the both of them before Ryou could protest. He wanted to prove the boy wrong, that there was someone that cared for him, even if that person was a complete stranger to him, but Bakura knew that it would take time.

Ryou stared at the key. What the hell was wrong with this Bakura? Why was he acting like he cared? Why would he care about someone like him? His family surely didn't. He was at a loss at what he should do. "Why do you want me here? I still don't understand?" he asked, although he hadn't moved.

"Because...." Bakura replied just as tipped a can of soup into a black pot before he turned on the stove, placing the can on the counter on the left before he placed his hands on either side of the stove.

"Why?" Ryou asked, frustrated that Bakura wouldn't answer him. "Why do you care? You don't know me! I'm nobody. No, I'm less than nobody."

"Why not?" Bakura countered. "Not everyone in the world is bad... I learned that the hard way..."

Ryou was starting to shake. This guy had to have a reason. "Yes, they are. If my parents don't even love me. If they kicked me out, what the hell is stopping you from doing it?" Ryou shouted before he turned and ran into the spare room, upset. He wasn't use to anyone being decent to him, and it was scaring him.

Bakura sighed as Ryou ran to his room. He should have expected it really. Being without love and your body being used... how could he have reacted any other way? Bakura finished getting the food ready and setting it out on a tray before he walked to the room where Ryou stayed. He knocked on the door three times and waited, unsure how Ryou would react to him again.

"Come in," Ryou said. He had found himself on the bed curled up. He wanted to be alone, but when Bakura showed up and knocked on his door, somehow he couldn't deny the other. He even liked the other's presence.

Bakura opened the door slowly and came in, watching Ryou as he placed the tray of food on the table next to the bed. "I thought you might be hungry." Not knowing whether or not the boy wanted him to stay, Bakura turned to leave.

"I don't understand you," Ryou whispered. "If you asked something back of me. Something like sex, I would be able to understand you better, but you don't. It feels weird," he explained.

Bakura stopped just before the open door. To ask why of what Ryou had just said would have been pointless because Bakura knew the answer. "Is that bad of me to not ask?" Bakura asked curiously instead.

"I don't know. It's all anyone wants of me. It's the only thing I'm even a little good at. And it confuses me. You confuse me. I mean, a while ago, I was sleeping under the drawbridge and now you're asking me to stay here with nothing in return," Ryou explained in a whisper.

"I suppose I'm more human than the rest of the scum you've encountered..." Bakura shrugged, turning to face Ryou after having done so, seeing the look of hope in the other's eyes amidst the fear that layed there too.

"I guess," was Ryou's only reply. "But I don't understand what I'm supposed to do. I can't just live here and do nothing. I have to make money somehow, and seeing as I'm underage, that isn't going to be easy."

The thought of what Ryou was thinking of doing pained Bakura. He didn't understand why he cared so much for a complete stranger. He knew that he had been like Ryou so much when he was that age, but knew also that surviving out there was tough. Bakura had gone through hell until he got landed in the job which he had now. He didn't want Ryou to be continually degraded by his circumstance - not a beautiful angel like himself. "If you stay here, you won't have to worry about that. Let me take care of you..." Bakura had said the words without thinking, but true as they were, he knew that he had just scared the kid off again. Before he could even hear Ryou's response he turned from him and left the room, only to retire to his own though not to be alone for long.

Bakura's words did scare Ryou. And Bakura's hasty retreat scared him even more. He was shaking again, this time, not because of cold, but fear. He stood up and walked over to where Bakura's room was. He walked through the door that stayed open. "I.. I'm sorry. I can't take you up on your offer. I appreciate the shower and the bed for an hour, but I really should be getting back." Ryou laid the key on Bakura's dresser. "I'll return your clothes tomorrow and pick up my own," he whispered before he ran out of the house.

Bakura turned and eyed the key as Ryou ran from the room. He could hear the front door slam shut and as he looked out his bedroom window, he could see the kid disappear into the darkness. "You idiot..." Bakura wasn't talking about Ryou however. He hated himself that he couldn't even muster his own strength to go after the kid now. Laying back upon his own hard, cold bed, the towel fell from Bakura's waist as he rested his right arm over his eyes trying to fall asleep and to forget about the kid he knew that he would have to find the next day. "He's exactly like you."

End Chapter One