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Rulers and Rogues	By : Khat Category: Yu-Gi-Oh > AU - Alternate Universe Views: 10587 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own YuGiOh!, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 11
- 12
- 13
The mice get themselves into trouble. ^^
It has been a very long time since I updated this story… Actually, it’s been a fairly long time since I did any writing on any of my fanfics. But fear not, this one, at least, has not been abandoned. I just really haven’t been in the mood. But now, it seems, I am again, for a few chapters at least.
******
“Thank Ra that’s over.” Yami growled as he climbed out of the car that had brought them from the city where they had met the Canadian Ambassador. Malik and Marik had already gone their separate ways, which was fine with him. Spending too much time with the deranged Egyptian always left him wondering what plot he was currently working on, despite his own reminders to himself that Marik couldn’t cause much trouble with the necklace. “They really thought we were going to agree to an alliance?”
“They’re desperate.” Kaiba answered, sounding far calmer than he felt. He had received word a few days ago that the mutt was sick, had apparently been stupid enough to stay out in the rain instead of taking shelter. Only a little over a week since he had left, and the annoying blond had already gotten himself into trouble. “They think they might win against you, but they don’t want to waste the resources if they can find some way around it.”
Yami just huffed. He had been too far away for the mindlink to work, and he was impatient to check on Yugi. He reached out through the link now, and was surprised when Yugi immediately replied, pure panic, mingled with relief, flowing down the line. He figured it out in a moment, smiling regretfully. He hadn’t told his hikari where he was going, and Yugi had assumed he had been abandoned. Yami hadn’t thought of that possibility. Apparently, his light wasn’t quite so self-confident as he seemed, after all.
He didn’t notice when Kaiba turned away, heading up the stairs to their rooms, instead moving toward his own office, ordering a servant, in passing, to have Yugi brought to him.
As he had expected, a fair amount of paperwork had piled up in his absence. He sighed, sitting down and beginning to read through documents. One would have been surprised to find that the life of a king was far less glamorous than it seemed. Once the conquering was over, there were taxes to oversee, and criminals to sentence, and bills to be paid, and a thousand other little things. He’d have people to do it, in time, and already had some, but one had to be careful in times like these. Who knew who would be waiting to topple the house of cards, to coin one of the new phrases.
He looked up as the door opened, a guard ushering Yugi in, then retreating again with a bow. The spirit studied his slave a moment, noting the oh-so-obvious changes. There was no rebellion there now, but that was little comfort. Yugi looked wasted, like one of the refugees he had seen so often. Dark marks under his eyes spoke of a lack of sleep, and the violet depth were filled with fear and pain.
“Aibou.” Yami murmured, and Yugi fairly flew around the desk, cuddling close to him, shaking slightly. Yami sighed softly, pulling him up to sit on his lap.
The plan had seemed good, in theory. Yugi was a people person, despite the years he had spent mostly alone. The games were secondary, always had been. Yami had denied him both things, had made sure he was the only one his hikari had seen or spoken to, and even then, only in the soul room. The aim had been to force Yugi to seek him out himself, instead of Yami always having to pull him close. It had started working, and Yami had thought that the time apart would have encouraged the behaviour. What was that old saying? Absence makes the heart go fonder. He smiled. It had certainly worked in this case.
The smile faded though, as he heard the murmured curses, felt the tears that were soaking through his shirt. There was another saying he had heard: The end justifies the means. At the time, he had thought it a rather wise proverb, but, at the moment, it seemed entirely wrong.
“It’s all right, Aibou. I wouldn’t leave you. You’re my soulmate.”
Yugi only shuddered and clung tighter.
******
If time had seemed difficult to tell before, it had become impossible once the Pharaoh disappeared. At first, it had seemed a blessing. Prince guessed that the Spirit must have given up. He had tired of trying to force Prince to his ways.
But after a few days, or what Prince guessed to be a few days, he had started worrying. The meals continued to come, still drugged, and he was looked after, but he began to worry that he had been forgotten, left to remain in the dark room until he wasted away. He lost what little appetite he had had, spending most of his time in a light doze that brought no rest, barely noticing when the servants came to clean or to replace the uneaten food. He had roused himself enough, once, to whisper a plea to one girl, but she only cast him a sympathetic look, and murmured an apology before she left again. He hadn’t tried again, instead turning his attention toward trying to contact the pharaoh, sending apologies and pleas for him to stop ignoring him. Had he tried that sooner, he might have been aware enough to notice the distance, but he was so sure that his dark simply wasn’t listening that he never noticed. Finally, he gave up those attempts, as well.
Then, suddenly, the mindlink was open. The part of him that was still Prince was faintly ashamed at the eagerness he showed as he rushed to respond to the call, the way he didn’t bother hiding his emotions at all. But the part of him that had reverted to the gentle, insecure boy he had been when he was younger didn’t care at all, just glad to have his protector back. Let the spirit do what he wanted, so long as he didn’t go away again.
The servants who came for him seemed quite intent on making sure that he was well cleaned before he was brought to the pharaoh, bathing and dressing him in fresh clothing, making sure that his hair was neatly cut and any unwanted hair was shaved away, since there wasn’t time for the usual approach, though there was next to none to be dealt with anyway. Prince let them do as they wished complacently, not wanting to invite any thoughts of further punishment. Not of that type, at least. He’d much rather have gone back to Bakura’s room than go back down to the cell.
Finally, he was led through the halls towards Yami’s rooms, his uncertainty and fear growing as they got closer. He froze when the servant handed him off to the guards that stood outside the Pharaoh’s office, unable to take another step, and the man had to physically haul him into the outer room. His feet started working again, then, but it was more a reaction to keep himself from falling than any real conscious thought.
Then, he stood inside the office, and Yami spoke, and he couldn’t have stopped himself from running to the spirit had he even wanted to. The strong arms around him, promising protection, and the soft deep voice started to ease his fear, though that only left room for other emotions, mainly betrayal, to surge up. This wasn’t the way it was supposed to be, he remembered. Yami was supposed to protect him, was supposed to help him when he was needed, and in response, Yugi would do the same for him. They weren’t supposed to be fighting each other like this, and he was at the point where he wasn’t even sure which of them was in the right.
“I wouldn’t leave you.” The words calmed him a little, but only slightly. It wasn’t the fact that the Pharaoh had left, exactly. After all, he had managed well enough without him for a year. It was more the way the spirit had done it, and the fact that he had known, to at least some amount, what that would cause.
“I hate you.” The Hikari murmured into the tear-soaked material. It wasn’t true, not exactly, but he was more inclined to be hurtful than truthful at the moment.
But if Yami heard the words, he either didn’t believe them or chose not to be affected, since he only continued to murmur soothingly, holding him close until Yugi finally fell into an exhausted sleep.
******
“Where is he.” Kaiba didn’t wait for an answer from the maid who had hurried to meet him at the door to his rooms, striding past her even as he spoke the words. It wasn’t really even a question, honestly, merely a statement that indicated where his current priorities lay. The maid, one he didn’t recognize, babbled something that he ignored as he moved further into the room, to the still form that lay on the cot near the heater.
Twila looked up as he approached, dropping into a quick curtsy before waving at the other maid, dismissing her. Kaiba cast the redheaded girl a sharp look, silently demanding an explanation, and she dropped her gaze.
“It was my day off, and I left one of the new girls in charge while I went to visit family.” It wasn’t an excuse, he know, only an explanation. Twila always accepted responsibility for her actions, one of the reasons he had taken her as his primary servant. But it wasn’t her fault anyway, nor the other girl’s, despite his current urge to find out who it had been and make sure she never stepped foot on the property again. Neither of them really knew the blond, after all, nor how stubborn he could be.
“He’ll be all right?” He asked, reaching to brush a hand over the too pale face. Jounouchi groaned and shifted slightly at the touch, his face slipping into a pained expression before the brown eyes opened, looking hazily up at him.
“He’s recovering. The fever broke this morning. All he needs now is rest.”
“Thought I got rid of you.” Jounouchi muttered hoarsely, and Kaiba had to resist the urge to snap off a witty reply. Now was not the time to get into an argument with his slave. Later, when he was stronger, then he could berate him for his foolishness.
He tried to sit up then, and the brunet gently pushed him back down, a little concerned with how easily he gave up. But, if Twila was to be believed, he’d regain his strength quickly enough, and, most likely, his attitude as well. He’d have to be more careful with him, though. Honestly, it hadn’t even occurred to him that the mutt would be so stupid-stubborn as to spend the night outside in a rainstorm just to save his pride, though it certainly would have been something he would have caught on to before it had caused this, had he been here.
“Go back to sleep, Jou.” Kaiba answered, watching as the brown eyes widened slightly in surprise. Not that he could really blame him. It was a far cry from what he usually titled the other boy. If he was going to manage to mindlink them, though, the CEO was going to have to get Jounouchi acting more comfortable around him. Actually, now, while he was still weak from the fever, was probably the best time to do it, before he had the strength to fight back. Kaiba let out a mental sigh, not looking forward to the night ahead.
******
“Tenshi?” Fox turned his head slightly as Bakura came out onto the balcony where he sat, but, deciding he wasn’t expected to reply, turned his attention back to trying to charm the cardinal that sat on the guardrail into coming to take the seeds he held out to it. The spirit watched a moment, before moving back inside, pausing to scoop up one of the kittens that had wandered out and closing the door behind him.
Just checking up on him, as usual. Though, where Bakura thought he was going to go, Fox wasn’t sure. Not that he would have let an opportunity pass him by, but even had the balcony been close enough to the ground, or in a suitable position, for him to attempt an escape, the light chain attached to his collar would have prevented that. And dressed as he was, in a simple robe and barefoot, he wouldn’t have managed to get very far anyway.
Sighing, Fox stood, dropping the seeds into a neat pile and moving to the other side of the balcony, as far as the chain would allow. A glance back showed the cardinal happily gobbling down the abandoned food, joined, after a moment, by a few other birds, but he wasn’t all that interested any more. The building seemed more active today than it had been since he had arrived. That probably meant that Kaiba and Yami were back, as well as Malik and Marik. The later he wasn’t really all that concerned about, though it would be nice to see Malik again, but he had been wanting to check on Wolf and Prince all week, even daring to pester Bakura nearly to the point where he had earned himself another beating. All he knew was what his yami had told him, that Wolf was sick and Prince was fine but was being kept locked up for the time being. That meant any escape attempts would have had to wait for, at least, Wolf’s recovery, and who knew what condition Prince was in. Bakura’s opinion of ‘fine’ was chancy at the best of times.
“Ryou.” Bakura called again, opening the door, obviously expecting him to come. Fox remained where he stood a moment, ignoring him, gauging carefully, finally moving to obey when the spirit’s anger began to flare. It wasn’t much, really, but he was rebelling, in his own little ways, pushing just far enough to irritate Bakura without actually earning himself a punishment. It was becoming like a game, to see how far he could bend the rules before the yami snapped. And he was getting rather good at it. Though, not this time, it seemed, a sharp slap on his backside hurrying him the last few steps through the door as the chain was released from his collar. He resisted the urge to shoot a glare at his tormentor, knowing it would only cause more trouble, but the feeling of annoyance coming through the mindlink showed that Bakura hadn’t missed the brief flash of anger. Nor was he fooled by the little game.
“Get changed. We’re going out for a Hunt with Marik and Malik.” Fox stopped dead, casting Bakura a disbelieving look, though he might as well have saved the effort, for all the attention it gained him. Unlike Prince and Wolf, he had actually seen a Hunt, once, and it hadn’t taken him long to decide that he didn’t like the display. The Hunts were just what they sounded like, akin to the fox hunts that his own British ancestors had loved so much. A slave was turned loose, and then the hunters would follow after, complete with horses and hunting dogs. He had tried to help the man escape, that one time, but had failed, almost ending up as the dogs’ prey himself.
“I won’t.” Bakura actually stopped at that, turning to blink at his lighter half. The tone, the feeling behind it… That wasn’t Ryou, or at least not the Ryou he remembered. Even the stance the hikari took now, confident, firm, yet with an air of being ready to move into action immediately. Yes, he had certainly noticed the boy’s small rebellions, but he had thought he had beaten the Fox out of him. Apparently not.
“What?” The tone was frigid, the warning in it clear. Fox shivered, but ignored it. He was making his stand, on this subject, at least. He might not be able to stop the Hunts, but he was not going to participate in them.
Bakura’s eyes narrowed at the refusal to back down. He stepped forward quickly, reaching to grab Ryou’s arm and pull him further into the room. The hikari responded to the movement, though, twisting his arm up and around in a classic escape move, following through with an open handed thrust at the face. The movement was entirely reactive, Fox not really realising what he had done until it was too late to stop. Bakura managed to avoid the attack, but it did nothing for his temper.
“That was a very bad idea, Ryou.” He growled, moving closer. Ryou’s eyes widened and he stepped back with a squeak, his confidence fled, replaced by simple terror. Never, despite all Bakura had done, had he ever dared to try and fight back, quite sure that the consequences would be, if not deadly, certainly close to it.
“K-Kura… I’m sorry… I didn’t mean…”
“Shut. Up.” Ryou cowered back against the wall, flinching as his arm was grabbed again, in a grip tight enough to bruise this time. He was dragged, unresisting this time, over to the bed, and left there a moment while Bakura went to the wardrobe, returning with a sturdy yet flexible switch and a length of cord.
“Strip.” He ordered coldly, and Ryou quickly obeyed, not wanting to draw any more punishment. He soon found himself facedown on the bed, arms tied behind his back, wrist to elbow. Most likely to make sure they were kept out of the way, the tiny part of him that wasn’t paralysed with fear thought.
Then the switch fell, again and again, until Ryou was reduced to tears and whimpers, pain heating all the way from his lower back to his upper thighs. He was so well beaten that it actually took him a moment to realise that Bakura had stopped.
He started to relax, a little, thinking that maybe the punishment was over, and reflecting that it really hadn’t been all that bad, when the switch fell again, this time on the soles of his feet. Ryou squealed at the unexpected pain, jerking away, only to have his ankle pinned by the yami’s strong hand, the abuse continuing. After a few moments, the other foot was treated to a similar punishment, and then he was finally released, allowed to curl up, sobbing pitifully. He had never really thought of his feet as being particularly sensitive, but, though they had not suffered as many strikes as his back and bottom, they were already throbbing far worse.
“Now, get dressed.” Bakura snapped, releasing his arms and gesturing toward the outfit that hung over a chair back. Ryou moved to obey, wincing to the pain, then gasped and fell as soon as he put his weight onto his beaten feet. Still crying softly, he looked up at the thief, silently pleading for mercy, but there was no pity in the dark gaze. Ryou dropped his eyes, forcing himself to his feet and stumbling over to the clothing, which consisted of a pair of loose pale blue pants and a matching shirt. No shoes, again, an extra insurance that he wouldn’t run. Though, at the moment, even had he had shoes, it wouldn’t have made any difference.
“Move it. Marik and Malik are probably wondering where we are.” Bakura growled as Ryou finished dressing, clipping a leash to his collar and dragging the unfortunate hikari out of the room.
******
The pair were, indeed, waiting for them with the hunting party, Marik impatient to be off, satisfying himself, for the moment, by teasing the dogs. The animals were massive, chosen for their size and bloodthirst, and, of course, intelligence. They knew who their prey was, already snarling and lunging toward the gate through which the unfortunate man had been sent, a half-hour ago. Malik was paying more attention to the building, and so noted the pair’s approach before his yami. He frowned as he noted the way Ryou was walking, light quick steps, the touch of the cold stone obviously painful to his feet. It was clear that the other Light had been recently punished from the tear tracks down the pale face, but that still didn’t explain why his feet were hurting. Then, as soon as Bakura stopped, Ryou settled down to his knees, for what relief it would offer, and Malik noticed the bruised soles, realising what had been done. He had never experienced it himself, but he had heard that the feet were actually one of the most sensitive parts of the body, and were a good place if one wanted to cause a lot of pain without doing serious damage. Ryou must have really done something to upset the thief this time.
But, though he felt sorry for him, it was really none of his business. Malik had enough troubles of his own, without taking on others as well. Marik was becoming increasingly violent lately, ordering hunts more and more often. Whatever the Pharaoh had done to calm his murderous rampage was obviously starting to wear off. There were days when Malik was wondering if he shouldn’t just murder his darker counterpart himself, and be done with it. That would be the best way. But, truthfully, he was too frightened to, despite the unwanted visions the necklace occasionally gave him. That was the real reason he stayed near. The punishment he had gotten for his attempted escape had been harsh, yes, but no harsher than others he had had. Certainly not worse than the tombkeeper’s initiation. No, it was the knowledge of what Marik would do, without his light around to temper him, that kept Malik close. If the other three lights thought that the world was a fucked up place at the moment, they had no idea what it would be like if Marik were allowed to go his own way. It would have put all the historical tyrants, Caligula, Hitler, Stalin, whoever else, together, to shame.
“Hurry up, Malik.” The blond looked up, realising that Marik was waiting impatiently at the door, riding his favourite palomino stallion. The Egyptian moved over to his own horse, a chestnut gelding, and quickly mounted. Ryou, he noted, had been placed on one of the gentler horses in the stable, a black mare with white markings, and Bakura, holding the mare’s lead, was mounted on his own favourite, an ill-tempered piebald stallion. Malik wasn’t sure why the spirit liked the creature so much, but he did have to admit that he handled him easily enough, a feat that nobody else had been able to manage.
“This is cruel.” Ryou muttered as they started off, Malik choosing to ride beside the other hikari. Bakura didn’t even bother to glance back. He knew that there was no danger of Malik helping Ryou to escape.
“It’s no crueller than the crimes he has committed.” The blond answered, looking over at his friend. He had picked out this one himself, had chosen the worst from the cells. “He’s a pedophile, and a sadist. I saw some of the remains of his victims, and believe me, he has deserved anything that he gets today, and more.” But Ryou merely shook his head, shifting slightly to encourage the mare to speed up a bit. He drew up alongside Bakura, who cast a sharp warning glance at him just before the piebald turned, ears laid back, to take a snap at the mare. The black responded quite predictably, squealing and rearing up slightly, a manoeuvre that surprised Ryou, the slave losing his balance, resorting to clinging tightly to his horse’s neck. The piebald wasn’t done yet, though, ignoring its rider’s commands and turning on the mare. She twisted quickly to avoid him, but the movement made the hikari lose the precarious hold he had maintained, and he toppled off, curling up as he fell to avoid the dancing hooves around him. Cursing, Bakura dropped the lead, pulling the piebald away sharply and finally forcing it to let off the attack. Malik caught the dropped reins, leading the mare away from her would-be victim.
“Tenshi?” The thief climbed down from his horse, dropping the reins, not caring at the moment if the animal tried to run. Ryou started to uncurl as he realised that the danger had passed, shivering and moving to cling to his Dark. Bakura pulled him upright, checking him over for injuries. The clothing, it seemed, had protected him, mostly, from the rough pavement, though his palms were scraped up a bit, and it looked like he might have a black eye, later. Nothing more permanent, fortunately.
Ryou though, had had enough. He had been beaten and hauled out on this horrid hunt, then had been thrown and nearly trampled. No matter that the mare hadn’t intended to cause any trouble. So, the silver-haired hikari turned to his best, and, truthfully, most underhanded tactic. Clinging to his dark tightly, he let out a quiet unhappy whimper, opening his mind to him to let him feel his miserableness and pain. It wasn’t something he did a lot, since it always made him feel a little guilty, afterwards, and it was as likely to piss the spirit off further as it was to gain his sympathy.
Bakura fell still, watching him a moment before sighing softly. Ryou thought, for a moment, that he had succeeded, but Bakura just lead him over to the piebald and remounted, reaching to pull his lookalike up then, settling him crosswise in front of him. One arm wrapped around his waist, holding him close, while the other gathered up the reins.
“Let one of the servants lead the mare, Malik.” Bakura ordered, moving to catch up to Marik, who was still following the dogs. The animals had lost the prisoner’s scent, and were currently sniffing here and there, trying to find it again. The Egyptian glanced over at them when Bakura pulled abreast of them.
“Getting upset already? You need to toughen him up, Thief.” Ryou just cuddled closer to his yami, keeping his eyes down and trying to ignore how much he hurt. Bakura snorted at the comment.
“He’s apparently tough enough to try going his own way, which is annoying enough. Probably picked it up from hanging around those other two.” Marik was no longer paying attention though, as one of the dogs caught the scent again, howling loudly and taking off. The others were right behind it, and so was the malicious blond.
:Sadistic bastard: Bakura sent, as he turned the horse to race after Marik’s, the rest of the hunting party close behind. Ryou wasn’t sure he was meant to hear, until the yami continued. :Like I would want you to behave like the tombkeeper. You’re far easier to look after, even if you are occasionally a wimp. Hikari are supposed to be that way.: Ryou looked up hesitantly, but Bakura’s attention was, apparently, on the dogs ahead.
It was something Ryou had thought about before, at times when Bakura had been distracted. Was he the way he was because Bakura thought he should be that way? Well, that was probably true, at least. But, if that was the case, then was the reverse true as well. Perhaps, deep inside himself, somewhere, he wanted someone who dominated him so easily. Certainly, at times over the past year, he had missed the yami’s tendency to take away the choices, to make his decisions for him. Maybe it was wrong for him to be condemning the spirit for being the way he was, if it was Ryou himself who had made him that way. And what about Yugi and his Yami? Certainly they weren’t fitting together nearly as well as they once had.
He didn’t realise that his thoughts were being overheard until Bakura snorted in derision.
:You are the way I wish you to be, but I was who I am long before you were around. The reason the spirit has trouble with his light now is because he was not properly trained at the beginning, as you were.: The explanation was simple and matter-of-fact, dismissing his own thoughts on the matter. The way it always was.
:But, before, Akeifa…:
:You are mine. That is all you need concern yourself with. You really have been picking up too many traits from those two. Obviously, it’s not good for you to be around them.: And that was the end of it, Ryou sensed. It wasn’t Wolf’s fever, or Prince’s punishment that kept the spirit from allowing him to see them. It was the fact that Bakura thought that they were a bad influence on his light. Which meant, of course, that he wouldn’t be seeing them again anytime soon.
******
A good enough place to stop as any, else I might have rambled on for another three pages. ^^
I’m not sure if any of the people who left reviews will still be paying attention, but I’ll answer anyway.
Chloe – Ryou’s not totally beaten down, yet. He’s just smart enough to choose his battles, usually. As Bakura finds out in this chapter, push hard enough and he’ll push back, even if he does regret it after.
J Chan – Well, first I would like to say I completely agree with your first statement. None of these relationships are healthy, and I would encourage anyone in a similar relationship to get out as soon as possible. And, well, actually, you’re right about all of it. They’re treating the hikari more as sex slaves than partners. Yami’s realised his mistake in this chapter, though, and Kaiba… Well, he’s been screwed over since he was a kid, so it’s going to take him a fair while to reach anything approaching being normal. And Malik’s not quite so much of a puppet as he acts.
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Rulers and Rogues