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At The Bottom, Being On Top	By : Higuchimon Category: Yu-Gi-Oh > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 576 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- 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
- 1-At The Bottom, Being On Top
- 1
Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh

Title: At The Bottom, Being On Top

Romance: Haga x Ryuuzaki

Rated: R

Summary: Haga's down on his luck. In his case, that means he's winning duels and has just rekindled his relationship with Ryuuzaki. Can't something go right for him?

Notes: This was written for the ninth round of the Yu-Gi-Oh Pairings Challenge and takes place about six years after the Ceremonial Duel.

�Fine. I didn�t want to be in your stupid tournament anyway.� Haga muttered as he huffed his way down the hallway and away from the tournament officials who had just denied him entry. Cheaters, it appeared, were not allowed, and with what he�d done to Jounouchi in Battle City, no one wanted him in their tournaments anymore.
Not that he wanted to be in them, really. They weren�t big tournaments. Not like Duelist Kingdom or Battle City. He�d been lowering himself to even try to sign up. They wouldn�t have any duelists who were worth beating even if he�d been allowed in. Something that small wouldn�t have any of the really great duelists.
But it would have been perfect to make his comeback. If he�d wanted to do it the easy way. His perfect insect deck was too good to waste on them. But it still would�ve been easy�he wouldn�t have even had to cheat�
He threw himself down on a bench and stared up at the sky petulantly. He could see people passing by him on their way into the building, most likely to get registered. Most of them had duel disks, too. Once or twice someone stopped as if they were going to say something to him, but a quick and nasty glare warned them all off. He didn�t want to talk to anyone.
Why couldn�t people just let that go? So he�d made a couple of mistakes. It wasn�t as if he�d even benefited by them. Jounouchi had beaten him�and didn�t that hurt to think, that he, the one-time regional champion of Japan, had been beaten by some punk kid who hadn�t even been able to remember the rules of the game half of the time!
�Isn�t that Insector Haga?� he heard someone whispering not that far away. He probably shouldn�t have bothered to stay so close. If anyone who had followed his glory dueling days came by�as they obviously just had�
�Nah, I think it�s just some bum.� That voice�no way, he could not be hearing that voice. �You go on in and register, I�ll wait for you.�
Haga froze where he was, hearing a familiar footstep coming closer. He didn�t get up, though. Maybe if he just laid there, he�d go away. That was what he wanted suddenly, just to be ignored and to fade away. What had he even been thinking, trying to come out and do this?
�Move over, insect idiot,� Dinosaur Ryuuzaki said, pushing at Haga with his knee. The other had shot up a couple of inches from the last time Haga had seen him, so even with Haga�s own growth, he was still taller. People had compared the two of them to their decks before, with Ryuuzaki being a tall, strong dinosaur, and Haga being a shrimpy little insect. Haga did his best to ignore the order and kept on laying where he was. He�d never listened to Ryuuzaki before, and he didn�t see a reason to start now.
�Go away.� Haga shot a glare at him, and Ryuuzaki paid no attention to it. He never had. It was times like this that Haga wished he could just poison him with a bite or a sting. If he had something like his Ultimate Great Moth or Insect Queen for real�
Ryuuzaki pushed him out of the way some more and sat down in the cleared spot. �So what are you doing here?� Almost as soon as he asked the question, he spied the Duel Disk on Haga�s arm and laughed. �Trying to get into the tournament?�
�So what if I was?� Haga snapped back, sitting up and glaring at the other. He couldn�t imagine hating anyone any more than he hated Ryuuzaki. Unless it was Yuugi or Jounouchi or someone like that. But Ryuuzaki was pretty high on his list of people that he hated right now, even if it hadn�t always been that way. �Something wrong with that?�
Ryuuzaki laughed briefly, a smug little smile flirting on the edges of his lips. �When they�re not letting you in, maybe.� He stretched himself out a little. Haga noticed that he was dressed pretty nicely, as opposed to his own threadbare wardrobe, and added another reason for his hate. �Whereas I�m not even going to bother. I�ve moved on to bigger and better things.�
�Such as telling other people to go register?� Haga snorted at the very idea. What did Ryuuzaki think he was, some kind of a manager or something now? He�d heard that some of the recent duelists in the Pro Leagues had started doing that. He didn�t care, though. He didn�t need any help. Especially since they won�t even let you duel in them. Yeah. He�d been barred from those, too. Lousy bastards.
�Actually, I was just bringing my cousin here. I�m in college.� There was an unmistakable smug smirk there. �I�m going to be an archeologist.�
Haga rolled his eyes. �Wow. Big surprise there.� He could�ve pegged Ryuuzaki for that about three years earlier, if not sooner. He wouldn�t have been surprised if anyone asking thought he wanted to be an entomologist. Not that that wasn�t a bad job, now that he thought about it. But he didn�t have the money for college.
Come to think of it, he hardly had the money for his own rent. That was one of the reasons he�s been trying to get into the tournament. If he could at least get to the finals, that would�ve been enough to keep him flush for a few months.
�So what are you doing these days, when you�re not lazing around not getting into tournaments?� Ryuuzaki asked. �Anything worth hearing about?�
�Oh, you�ll be hearing about me!� Haga declared, glaring at the other. �Just you wait and see!�
�I�ve heard that one before.� Ryuuzaki shrugged and smirked. �So I guess you�re not doing anything. Want to go for some coffee?�
Well. Okay. That wasn�t what Haga had been expecting. �Say what?�
�Coffee. Do you want some?� Ryuuzaki looked at him curiously, and Haga blinked a few more times. He couldn�t have heard it wrong twice. �Yes or no?�
He snorted his trademark snort. �You�re buying.� He would have to. Haga didn�t have a single yen on him that he didn�t need to save for something else at the moment. And he probably still wouldn�t have enough for everything he needed, like food. Dueling was the only thing he really knew how to do, and it wasn�t enough to pay for everything anymore.
�Was going to anyway.� Ryuuzaki smirked at him yet again. �You look like you could use the help.�
Haga seriously thought about smacking him instead of letting him get the coffee. �What makes you say that?� he wanted to know instead. Ryuuzaki knew him too well. That was yet another reason that he hated him so much. No one should know him that well. He wasn�t the kind of person that other people got to know. He was creepy and crawly and disgusting, and he didn�t care.
�Because you look like you do.� Ryuuzaki had that smug smile on again, the same one that he�d had when they�d been on the ship to Duelist Kingdom, and he�d told Haga all about that night he�d spent with Kujaku Mai. Haga had never quite believed everything that the dinosaur duelist had said about that night, but the smile was the same no matter what.
He just shrugged. What did it matter? He got some coffee out of the deal, and maybe he could squeeze Ryuuzaki for a loan or something to tide him over. There were other tournaments he could get into that would pay him enough money, though he didn�t like the idea of who he�d have to talk to. He had a little pride left. Not much. But some. And those tournaments didn�t care if you�d cheated before. They didn�t care about anything, as long as you put on a good enough show.
�Fine. Whenever you want to go.� Haga shrugged as he stretched out again. He didn�t want to look too eager, after all.
�Whenever we�re done here.� Ryuuzaki waved a hand up towards where the duelists were registering. �Should be done soon, then we can go.�
Haga snorted again. �Never knew you even had a cousin.� Not like he�d ever cared about what Ryuuzaki had or didn�t have. It didn�t make a difference to him. Never had. Never would.
�He�s my second cousin, to be honest. Just a little shrimp, really. Ten years old, thinks dinosaurs are the coolest thing ever.� Ryuuzaki grinned mischievously. �I taught him well.�
Oh, like the world needed another dino-brained idiot. �Should�ve brought him to me. I would�ve shown him how to be a real duelist.� Haga gloated. Not that he really would have wanted to bother with teaching some brat how to duel. But there were some things that needed to be said no matter what.
Ryuuzaki didn�t have a chance to say anything else, since a kid came bounding out of the building towards them. Haga turned his attention at once to the sky above, not wanting to even look at the little bratling. He barely heard Haga telling him to go on home and he�d see him later that night. The kid was just an annoyance, someone that had to be dealt with before they could go have some coffee and he could get to work on getting that loan of his.
�All right, he�s gone.� Ryuuzaki punched him in the arm. �Let�s go, I know a really great place.�
�It better not be selling any of those stone age drinks I know you like.� Haga snapped. It felt good, in an odd way, to be bantering with Ryuuzaki like this. He�d missed it, even if admitting that to himself made his stomach churn a little. To be honest, that churning was not only familiar, but it was oddly pleasant.
Ryuuzaki laughed as he got to his feet. �It�s got plenty of sweet drinks for you. Good thing you never went up against a plant duelist. You�d fall into some kind of Venus flytrap trap.�
�That wasn�t funny.� Haga snorted at the very thought. �There aren�t any trap cards like that.� He hated being teased about his sweet tooth. He just liked things that were sugary. Was that so wrong?
�Not yet, but there�s going to be some new cards released next month, and I hear there�s an emphasis on plants this time. You never know what could show up.� Ryuuzaki shrugged, walking down the street. Haga had to hurry a bit to keep up with him, but he was used to that. There had been a few tournaments they�d went to together, in between Duelist Kingdom and Battle City, and after Battle City as well, where he�d had to work to keep up.
Yeah, this was something else he�d missed. And there was another thing, something he hadn�t thought about in a while, something he�d made himself forget after he and Ryuuzaki had slowly drifted apart. It was yet another reason that he hated him so much. Perhaps even a reason why he kept on dueling even when it was like pulling teeth to find an opponent who would take him seriously.
He didn�t want to talk about it. Ryuuzaki had probably forgotten even more quickly than he had.
�I didn�t think you dueled anymore,� he said, trying to keep the conversation on that sort of subject. There he felt safe. It was like coffee. Something that he didn�t have to think about a lot, just something that would get him what he wanted or what he needed. And if he had to bring up that part of the past to get his loan, he�d do it.
�I never said that.� Ryuuzaki shrugged briefly, shooting a sly glance over at him. �I said that I wasn�t doing tournaments anymore. I still duel, though. I keep up with what�s going on.�
Haga knew that look. He�d seen it more times than he could count just a few short years ago. Had it really been only a few? Sometimes it seemed longer, and other times it seemed as if it had only been a few days earlier. He didn�t want to think that he was getting older. His twenty-first birthday had only been a few months earlier.
At any rate, the look on Ryuuzaki�s face hadn�t changed a bit from those days. Anticipatory. Almost predatory. Haga�s attention flickered a bit ahead of them, and he noticed what looked like an alleyway not too far ahead. He had a feeling that they weren�t actually going to make it to get that coffee. Or at least not as fast as he might�ve expected otherwise.
Indeed, as soon as they got up there, Ryuuzaki grabbed his shoulder and shoved him down it without another word. Haga smirked; if this had been the old days they probably would�ve been there a lot faster. But he thought he could still keep up with his past.
�Want to relive the good old days, huh?� he asked, snorting in amusement. Despite the decreasing amount of light, he found he could still see Ryuuzaki clearly. He still had those familiar gray-blue locks of hair in front, in such a sharp contrast to the rest of his dark brown hair. Haga couldn�t remember how he�d gotten those, though he thought Ryuuzaki had told him at some point in time. There was a lot that had been forgotten, most of it on purpose.
�Maybe. Maybe this is a shortcut.� Ryuuzaki taunted, as he had in the past. Haga didn�t believe a word of it. He�d seen that gleam and he knew what it meant. That, after all, was one thing that he couldn�t have forgotten, and he had certainly tried.
�Shortcut to somewhere, maybe.� A little excitement was the kind of shortcut he expected, and not the kind one normally found in a coffeehouse. But as soon as they were out of sight of the average passer-by, Haga grabbed Ryuuzaki�s own arm and shoved him against the wall. Sure, he was shorter than the other man, but that didn�t matter at the moment. He took hold of Ryuuzaki�s shirt, yanked it hard to bring him down, and fastened his lips even harder onto the other�s.
Ryuuzaki didn�t protest at all, not that Haga had expected him to. They�d generally taken turns taking the lead, basing it off of whoever had lost the last duel between the two of them. Haga couldn�t remember who that had been now, and he didn�t think it mattered anymore. Both of them were washed-up, even if Ryuuzaki didn�t want to admit it. He intended to come back, one way or the other, of course. This was just the beginning of something new, even if it only lasted for a few hours today.
He couldn�t deny how good it felt to kiss Ryuuzaki again, either. There�d been other people over the last few years, especially since he�d done his best to forget they�d ever had anything between them in the first place. There hadn�t been many, and at least two of them had been better at this than Ryuuzaki. But there was still something about him that made it more�interesting than with anyone else. Maybe it was the fact that Ryuuzaki didn�t expect him to be anyone or anything other than what he was. One of the girls had tried her best to wean him away from his love of bugs. That hadn�t lasted too long. Even though she had been good in bed. She hadn�t been that good.
Ryuuzaki was kissing back, too, just as Haga had expected. One hand slid under Haga�s shirt, dancing across in a familiar pattern, before the caress was brought downwards to touch the top of the younger duelist�s pants. Haga stepped back before that could happen, though, and grinned lewdly at his past and future bedmate.
�Coffee first. There�s no way I�m getting laid without you buying me at least a cup of coffee first.�
�You�re getting cheap in your old age,� Ryuuzaki told him, grinning a little back at him. �That�s all you want?�
This, too, was a part of everything from the past. �No. Actually, I want a loan too. But the coffee can come first.� Haga was blunt in his demands. He�d probably have sex with Ryuuzaki whether or not he got the loan, now that he thought about it some. But there wasn�t any need to tell him that, now was there?
Ryuuzaki just rolled his eyes and pulled him closer for another kiss before they both broke apart and straightened their clothes out. �That�s what I figured you had in mind. We�ll talk about a loan. Later.�
That was one of the things Haga really wanted to hear. �Right. Later. Coffee, then sex.�
�You�re also getting a one-track mind.� Ryuuzaki rolled his eyes. �Guess it comes with having a brain as small as a fly�s.�
�At least I only need one of them.� Haga retorted. The two of them were already heading out of the alleyway and back on the way to the coffee shop. No one even gave them a second glance coming out of there. That was the way it was in Domino City. You could do almost anything and not get noticed for it, as long as you knew where to do it at. Or had the right connections. Since Haga didn�t have connections, he�d made a point of knowing the right places to do things. All things considered, he loved this town. He was glad he�d moved here.
There was something of a problem when they reached the coffeehouse, unfortunately: it was crowded. Very crowded. Haga took one look at it and curled his lip. �You expect me to go in there? I�m surprised they can all keep on breathing.�
�Yeah, it doesn�t look like there�s enough space even for a larva like you,� Ryuuzaki told him. Haga didn�t even bother to roll his eyes at that. He�d heard it more than enough times. �I know a place where we can get something a little stronger than coffee, though. It�s a bit early, but I know the owner, and she�ll let us in.�
�Friend of yours?� Haga sneered in amusement, even as he started to follow the other down the street. �A close friend, I bet.�
�So what if she is? It�s not like we�ve got anything special, Haga,� Ryuuzaki reminded him. �Even if you�re still a halfway decent kisser. Haven�t gotten a lot of practice lately, have you?�
Haga didn�t bother to dignify that with a response, either. Most of what Ryuuzaki said didn�t deserve an answer. �Whatever. I just need something wet to put in my mouth.� Oh, that got him a look for certain. Haga leered up at the other, who leered right back at him.
The little bar that Ryuuzaki had spoken of was about four streets away, a little hole in the wall kind of establishment that Haga suspected almost no one who classified themselves as a classy kind of drinker would have been dead going near. It was just as well that he didn�t call himself one of those. There was a bouncer, but no one so much as asked for an I.D. card. Haga approved of that. Not that he wasn�t old enough to drink, but he still preferred not having to drag it out of his pocket, especially to have supercilious people stare at it and at him as if they were trying to find some reason to turn it down.
Before very long, both of them were seated in a private little room that contained a table, two chairs, and a long cushioned bench with one raised end. Haga had a feeling he knew exactly what this room was used for, and that was fine by him. His dingy little apartment wasn�t the best place for a good long make out or more session, and he didn�t really want to see what kind of place Ryuuzaki was living in now anyway. This was a reasonable compromise.
He knocked back his first drink and filled the glass again from the bottle that the lady in charge had left there. Of course, calling her a �lady� was using the term pretty loosely. At any rate, the beer was there, and it wasn�t a bad tasting beer, either. All of the skin appeared to still be on his tongue, and he couldn�t always say that about some of what he�d had to drink, both before and after turning legal.
Ryuuzaki drank some as well, then set his glass down on the table. �So, you need money and you want sex. How much and in what order?�
�As much as you can spare me, and I�m not that particular,� Haga replied bluntly. The two of them knew each other too well to bother with dancing about the way other people might have. �I�ve got a line on something that could get me into those Pro Leagues, or at least give me the cash to cover what I need for a while, so it�s not like I need you that much anyway.�
�Right.� Ryuuzaki leaned forward, his dark eyes staring directly at him. �And if that doesn�t work out, what are you going to do?�
Haga had to admit that not only had he not thought about it, he didn�t want to think about it. But he was sure he could make it in those underground tournaments. He�d heard that they had started making people wear shock collars, so when you lost life points, you were jolted with electricity. That was the kind of thing he could get into. Just imagining the sight of his opponents shaking and jumping around when one of his insects took a bite out of them�oh, yeah, that was going to be good. All he had to do was get in touch with Saruyama and want to know more, and he�d have what he needed. The other hadn�t been very specific about his offer, but Haga knew slime when he saw it. Like called to like.
�Doesn�t matter. I�ll figure out something.� He brushed all of that off with a wave, though. He would think of a way to get by. If even the dark underbelly of dueling didn�t work out for him, then he would go even lower. There were some stores he knew that weren�t always that well guarded. Whatever he had to do. Survival came above everything else.
Ryuuzaki made a sort of noncommittal noise, and as much as Haga enjoyed being around him, he found that he also wanted to strangle him. He was just too damned perfect now. Going to college, not needing to struggle to survive, he probably had a job, too, especially if he were offering a loan, no matter how small, to Haga, without even mentioning how or if he would be paid back. Haga realized in the back of his mind that one reason he wanted to have rough, hot, dirty sex with him was to make Ryuuzaki even dirtier than he was.
�So, how much can you give me?� he asked, once more as bluntly as he could manage. �I�ve got bills and rent to cover, and I don�t know when I�m going to get into the new line of work.�
Ryuuzaki shrugged a little and named a figure that would have covered what Haga owed twice over. Haga decided that not only would they have the sex, but he�d do his best to keep Ryuuzaki around for as long as possible. Just to get him even dirtier. Maybe even get him in the papers if he could. Who knew what kind of fun he could have with this.
�So when do you want it back?� Haga wanted that settled before he accepted it. Not that he didn�t intend to accept it, no matter what. Rent day was coming up a lot more quickly than he would have wanted it to, and his landlord had already given him problems about how late it had been the month before. Too many more times, maybe even only once more, and he�d be looking for a new place again. He�d done that enough times over the last year or two.
�Take your time. I don�t need it for anything.� Ryuuzaki told him, leaning back in the chair and eyeing him over the rim of his glass. Haga shifted in his seat, not because he was nervous, but because he was beginning to have trouble resisting the notion of just leaping over there and ravaging Ryuuzaki as hard as he could, of making him as filthy as he could in as many different ways as he could as often and as quickly as he could manage.
He did manage to keep his seat, though. �Fine. You�ve got yourself a deal.� If it came down to it, he could always make a repayment in sex. He knew Ryuuzaki and he knew he�d accept that, even now when he was apparently so high and mighty he could throw thousands of yen around like nothing. It didn�t bother him to effectively use his body for money. What else was it good for? It wasn�t as if dueling was any different. The difference was just what he actually did with himself.
�I�ll write you a check later, then,� Ryuuzaki said as he got up and started over towards Haga. The shorter duelist didn�t give him time to do anything else. He was on his feet a second or two later and pushed Ryuuzaki towards the bench, getting him down flat on there before he climbed on top of him. From here, he could see that there was also something he�d missed before in his cursory inventory of the room: a small ornamental box. He suspected that he knew what he�d find in there, once he got around to checking. Not just yet, though.
�Feel like being on top today, I see,� Ryuuzaki grinned, not complaining a bit as he ran his hands up under Haga�s shirt. �Probably better for you.�
�Shut up.� Haga ordered. And just to make certain that Ryuuzaki obeyed the order, he leaned forward and crushed his lips down on the other�s. He could feel the brunet smiling underneath his assault and kept it up, tearing at Ryuuzaki�s shirt until he could get to the flesh underneath it. If he could hand out loans of that amount and not expect to be paid back, then he could certainly afford a new shirt. And possibly any medical bills, depending on how rough Haga actually felt like being.
To be honest, he actually felt like being very rough. And he�d be damned if he�d stop until he was satisfied.

Haga had to admit, to himself if nothing else, that he was more than a little nervous about what was about to happen. The shock collar around his neck and the ones around his arms were heavy and uncomfortable. But he was certain that he was ready for what was going to be happening.
�Your opponent�s ready,� Saruyama murmured from where he stood. Haga still hadn�t quite gotten used to the way his new manager always appeared to be lurking in the shadows near him. Frankly, Saruyama made him nervous, with that smug little smirk of his. But Haga could deal with being nervous, as long as he got something out of it.
�Good. Let�s do this.� Haga shuffled his deck and looked over to see who it was. No one he knew, and he wasn�t sure if he was relieved or not for that. It wasn�t as if he were burdened with so many friends that he would expect to see one there, especially since none of them would be doing something like this in the first place.
And what would you do if it were Ryuuzaki there? Some part of his mind whispered to him. He tried not to pay any attention to it. If Ryuuzaki showed up, then he would do what he was about to do to this duelist: beat him. As badly as possible.
�So it�s the washed up bug guy!� His opponent smirked over at him, and a sudden dark anger surged through Haga. Someone who had known him. Someone who was going to taunt him. Oh, yeah, this was gonna hurt. �You know, I used to think you were really great. Then you just got sloppy and stupid.�
�Are you going to duel or are you going to stand there and run your mouth all night?� Haga snapped, slamming his deck into the duel disk. He already had some ideas on what he could do to really make this punk pay for what he said.
The other duelist laughed. �You�re new at this. I can tell. I�m not. I�ve been dueling like this for a year now. You don�t stand a chance.�
�I�ve been beaten by the best before, kid.� Haga told him as he drew his first cards. �Hope you can at least give me a fight.�
�Draw!� That was the only answer he got, and the only answer that he really wanted.
The other guy was good, Haga had to give him that much. He wondered, just a little, about why he was in the underground circuit instead of being legitimate. But he didn�t think about it too much. It wasn�t his business. He was just there to beat the hell out of this guy.
Which he did, rather nastily too. Haga took only minimal damage to his life points during the duel, though the shocks were something he knew he�d still have to get used to. On the other hand, he wound up dealing massive amounts of pain to his opponent, whose warrior deck couldn�t really do a great deal against Haga�s insects, especially not once Haga managed to get Parasite Paracide out and the special effect went into play. After that, it was child�s play to finish him off.
After the duel, he settled into the dingy little room that would be a �dressing room� if this situation held any more class to it, and stared down at the cell phone in his hand. Ryuuzaki�s number was the only one that he had saved there, other than Saruyama�s. You suck, you know. Your life is that empty. That pathetic.
Oh, well. At least it was his life. He wouldn�t want to live anyone else�s.
He dialed up Ryuuzaki and leaned back in the thinly cushioned chair. �Hey, dino-jerk,� he said as soon as the call was answered. �Where do you want to meet? I�ve got some celebrating to do and I decided you�re the lucky person I�m going to celebrate with.�
�Oh, really?� Ryuuzaki laughed a little. �What if I�ve already got plans, hm?�
�Do I sound like I care?� Haga snorted at the very thought. �Cancel them.� He wanted what he wanted, and if he wanted Ryuuzaki, then he was damned well going to have him, and if Ryuuzaki had other plans he could change them. If this relationship was going to go anywhere, then the other had to understand that, and quickly, too.
Ryuuzaki snorted himself, and Haga had a feeling that eyes were also being rolled. �You�re just lucky that I don�t have anything planned. Don�t get used to me being around when you want me, though.�
�Why not? Do you have something against me wanting you around?� Haga retorted, getting up to start getting ready to go. This arena didn�t stay open for too long once the last matches were done, and there hadn�t been too many scheduled after his. He wanted to be out of here before much longer. It stank around here.
�Careful, someone might start to think you actually like me or something.� Ryuuzaki teased. Haga knew he rolled his own eyes right there.
�Only if they�re idiots. What do you have that I�d like?� The answer he got from Ryuuzaki on that elicited one and only one response. �If you think I like that, then you�ve got an over inflated opinion of yourself.�
�If I think you like that and I�m wrong, then you�d better have a really good explanation for the way you were screaming my name when I did it last time.� Ryuuzaki retorted. �But if you want to do something, I�m not going to be ready if you don�t hang up and let me get ready.�
He had a point of some kind there. �Fine. Like I said, where do you want to meet?� Once all of that had been straightened out, he closed the cell phone and finished the last few things he needed to do before heading out. Saruyama was nowhere in sight, and he was just as happy about that. They could argue over what he�d done and what he�d do in future matches some other time.
And there was going to be future ones. Haga was absolutely certain of it.

�Underground dueling.� Ryuuzaki had one arm around Haga and was toying lightly with his hair. Haga tolerated it, for right now, both the arm and the toying. �Sounds dangerous.�
Haga just shrugged. �So?� He didn�t care about the danger. What he cared about was the money and the chance to bring other people pain. He remembered the look of agony on that kid�s face when he�d made his first powerful attack. It had been delicious, knowing that he was the reason for it, and hearing the approving cheers of the crowd. He could really, really get into that.
He was also quite glad that Ryuuzaki didn�t ask something stupid like �what are you going to do if you get arrested�. He was a bug, an insect, one who didn�t even have a good reputation to lose. If someone tried to arrest him, he could find a way to squeeze through the cracks. That was what he did, after all.
�Planning on calling me up every time you win a match?� Ryuuzaki asked, his hand starting to go lower on Haga. Haga permitted that, especially once he saw what the other had in mind. He could use a little pleasure right now. He hadn�t taken too much damage, but it had still been enough to hurt.
�So what if I do? Why are you asking all of these questions?� That wasn�t what he�d arranged this meeting with Ryuuzaki for. He�d wanted to tell him about the duel and how good he was, and that was it. And have some sex, of course. Now that they�d started that again, he�d begun to forget why they�d stopped in the first place.
Oh, right, he�d wanted to duel more, and Ryuuzaki had been interested in other things. Well, now that they had all of that out of the way, the sex was good again. Great, sometimes, even. Maybe they�d just needed some time away from each other to make things better than they�d been before. Not that this was really a relationship, not like other people had. Haga didn�t want anything to do with something like that. It was repulsive just to think about, and he knew, or hoped, that Ryuuzaki felt the same way.
Normal people had happy, fluffy relationships with rainbows and sparkles and everything else that could be found in your average bad shoujo manga. Haga wanted filth and to degrade Ryuuzaki just by his touch on him. He wouldn�t have objected if he�d seen some kind of newspaper headline about the promising student caught in an affair with a low-grade underground duelist. He�d probably clip it out and hang it up somewhere in his apartment if that happened.
Everything Haga wanted, he found in Ryuuzaki, and that meant he wasn�t going to be giving him up any time soon, if ever. And if he did find someone who suited him better, he wouldn�t even bother to let Ryuuzaki know about it. He�d just stop talking to him. It wasn�t as if the dinosaur duelist deserved that kind of consideration. It would probably be the ultimate in humiliation as well. Haga liked that kind of thing.
Right around then, Ryuuzaki started to do something else that Haga found he liked a great deal, and any further philosophical thought, or thought of any kind had to be put on the shelf until he was in a better mental condition to deal with it. Right now, there was sex to be had, and the more attention he paid to that, then the better he�d feel when it was all over with.
When it was over with, both of them lay against each other, cooling off. Haga was quite pleased with how the day had turned out. He�d had a very enjoyable duel against someone, making them scream in agony, had thus earned a sizable amount of cash, and had enjoyed himself a great deal with Ryuuzaki. There wasn�t much else that he could think of which would make the day any better.
�I can�t stay all that much longer,� Ryuuzaki said at last. Haga decided he could think of something which could make the day a little worse, however. He wasn�t ready for his plaything to leave just yet.
�What have you got to do?� he accused, eyes narrowing. There was no excuse for any of this to end until he wanted it to. Didn�t Ryuuzaki get that?
�I�ve got to study. I have a test soon.� The other told him blandly. Haga ground his fingers into the other man�s chest, mutely expressing his dissatisfaction with that. As much as he wanted to just use Ryuuzaki for his own enjoyment, he knew the other couldn�t really be kept against his will. Fine. He could think of a thousand other things that he could do that didn�t involve Ryuuzaki. Let him go hit the books.
�Don�t let me stop you.� Haga grumped, getting to his feet. This little hotel room was of better quality than some of the ones he�d been in before, so there was an available shower. Hot water was what he wanted right now, to get that filthy feel off of himself, at least until the next time he wanted to be dirty and hot and sweaty again.
He didn�t listen to anything that Ryuuzaki might have tried to say, and he didn�t care about the few sensible words that he did manage to hear. This was supposed to be his fun time, and Ryuuzaki had to go and spoil it by wanting to do something else. Well, let him. He didn�t care. If the books were that much of a replacement for him, then so be it.
Haga didn�t bother waiting around for Ryuuzaki to take his own shower and leave. As soon as he was dressed again, he headed out the door and downstairs so he could call a cab and get back home. Somewhere in the washing off, he�d realized that he was really tired and he wanted to get some sleep. It was way too late, anyway. Who knew, maybe he�d be too busy to see Ryuuzaki the next time.
Yeah. That sounded good. Teach him a lesson. Haga curled up with the thought once he was home and lulled himself to sleep with lovely images of Ryuuzaki wanting his attentions, and he himself being far too busy dueling or counting his winnings or just doing anything other than spend time with him.
And when those images turned into dreams of all the fantastic things Ryuuzaki knew how to do in bed, Haga refused to believe he�d dreamed them at all.

Haga adjusted the shock collar until he was comfortable with it and stretched out a little. This was going to be his tenth duel like this, and he was getting more and more used to it. Getting shocked when he lost life points still hurt, but he could deal with it. Especially since every time he saw it turned back on his opponent, he enjoyed the sight more and more. There were times when he couldn�t get the screams of those whom he dueled out of his head. There had been more than one night when he�d enjoyed himself to those screams as well. Those were usually the nights that he spent without Ryuuzaki, though.
He honestly wasn�t certain if he were thankful or not that those were relatively few. After that last time, Ryuuzaki always showed up whenever Haga wanted, and hadn�t yet mentioned that he had to study any other time. Haga approved of that, so kept the fact and the possibility that he could withhold his favors in reserve, for now.
�Are you ready?� Saruyama stepped up beside him, a faint predatory gleam in his eyes. Haga grinned back at him and nodded. �Your opponent tonight is going to be interesting, Haga. I look forward to seeing what you do.�
Well, he hadn�t said anything like that before, not even when Haga had dueled some of the more infamous of the underground duelists. He�d even went up against one or two who had once been legitimate duelists like himself, only to fall out due to too many duels lost or having lost their sponsors for some reason or another. He�d mowed them all down. Well, most of them. He wasn�t entirely undefeated here. But he had a good record, more wins than losses. And the money was still good.
But now, Haga started to look forward to this duel himself, more than he had expected he would. Normally he heard a little something about his opponent beforehand, but not this time. Not until now. �Who is it?� He wondered if it was someone he knew. He knew it couldn�t be someone that he really wanted to duel, like Yuugi or Jounouchi, much less Kaiba. None of them would ever sink this low. They were too good. And they all had real jobs. And no sponsor would ever stop sponsoring them.
But there were other people that he wouldn�t mind seeing on the other side of the dueling arena, like Mai. He would love to see her screaming in pain when one of his insects tore into her life points and the collars tore into her flesh. The stuck up little bitch would deserve it for the way she�d treated Ryuuzaki all those years ago at Duelist Kingdom. Not that Ryuuzaki appeared to care anymore, but Haga could hang on to a grudge, even if it wasn�t one that was against him.
All those pleasant musings still didn�t tell him who he was going to be dueling, though. He glanced at the manager, wanting some kind of an answer, and was met by those gleaming reflective lights of Saruyama�s glasses. He suspected the other wore them on purpose, just to enhance his own personal creepiness. Haga could relate to that. �Come on, tell me!�
�You�ll see.� Saruyama smirked briefly, then gestured for him to turn as his opponent stepped out into the arena. Haga glanced over, and stared for a few moments in abject shock. Of all the people that he had ever imagined being there, it had never once crossed his mind that it would be him.
Ryuuzaki stood there, calmly getting his own shock collars adjusted on his body, then held his arm out to have the Duel Disk affixed to his arm. �Hey there, Haga,� he said, grinning in that way that made Haga want to kiss him, just to get rid of the sight of those lips like that. �Nice to see you at work. Even though you never come see me at school.�
�What�s that got to do with anything?� Haga snapped back at once. Sure, he usually called up Ryuuzaki once he�d finished a duel, and they had some kind of sex and a meal, not necessarily in that order, and once they�d just stayed at Haga�s apartment and watched movies and not bothered about the sex. So what in the world was he doing here, in this place that was Haga�s?
�Nothing. Just thought it sounded good to say.� Ryuuzaki shrugged briefly. He looked so out of place here, Haga thought, in this wretched little arena that paid you well but took your soul and your pride at the same time. It was a good thing he hadn�t had either for a long, long time. That was probably why he loved it so much here. They couldn�t take anything from him.
�So what are you doing here?� Haga wanted to know. They couldn�t wait too long before they started the duel, but a couple of questions were generally allowed before the crowd started to get antsy. Haga could get a little more leeway than most of the duelists here could too, given his growing reputation here.
�Dueling. Perhaps you noticed the deck and the duel disk?� Ryuuzaki grinned, and Haga made a note to smack him as soon as he got the chance. He might even smack him before he got a chance, just to be doing it.
�Real funny. So, what are you doing here?� Haga insisted on a real answer. Ryuuzaki had never been banned from dueling in actual tournaments like he had, which meant the usual reasons couldn�t apply to him. And he was so damned proud of being in college, and that cut out most of the other reasons.
�Dueling you. I�m sure you noticed that part, too.� Okay, Ryuuzaki was just getting to be too much of a pain. Haga decided he�d worry about what he was doing there later and he�d just beat him now. Maybe then he�d be inclined to answer him honestly
Ryuuzaki glanced briefly at the masked people who were waiting to see them get started. �They�re going to want a really good show, you know that. Not like back in the regionals that time.�
Haga rolled his eyes and snorted. �Those were the kiddie days, Ryuuzaki. I�ve gotten better. Even if you haven�t. Are you ready for this?�
�As soon as you are.� Ryuuzaki replied, shuffling his deck with a casual sort of ease that put Haga in mind of several other things the talented duelist could do with his hands, and with several other body parts, both Haga�s and his own. �If not sooner.�
Haga shoved those enticing thoughts out of his mind, got his own deck shuffled, and took the first turn in order get his thoughts where they belonged: on beating Ryuuzaki. A good selection of cards awaited him, and he set up one of his favorite combos, ready for whatever Ryuuzaki tried back on him. He was almost certain he could figure out the other�s current style from his first few cards. The thought of Ryuuzaki�s face being twisted in spasms of pain greatly appealed to him, too. It was almost as attractive as seeing it contorted in a haze of filthy pleasure.
Ryuuzaki took his turn, and Haga wasn�t surprised at all to see he was still playing his dinosaur deck. It had been upgraded some, but for all intents and purposes, his style was much as it had been back in the old days. The other struck forward in a heavy stomping attack, and Haga turned it back on him with one of his favorite trap cards, obliterating the dinosaur and ripping off a nice chunk of Ryuuzaki�s life points at the same time. Ah, sweet bliss, to hear the other�s voice crying out in pain. If Ryuuzaki were going to play on his field, then he was going to play by his rules, which meant Haga wasn�t going to hold back in the slightest.
On his own turn, he sacrificed the monster he�d played in the first turn for something more powerful, and struck towards Ryuuzaki�s life points again, eating a few of them. Once again, Ryuuzaki�s voice rose in pain, and Haga began to wonder if they�d need to find a hotel room once this was done.
Back and forth the plays went, and Haga had to bite back a few screams of his own on those occasions when Ryuuzaki managed to get through his defenses and nibble at his life points. It was a fairly even game, both of them having improved over the years. The crowd watched and laughed and cheered whenever one of them took a great deal of damage.
�I think this game�s just about over with,� Haga said at last, ready to make his final strike on Ryuuzaki�s life points. �When this is over, what are you doing?�
�Probably you, if that look on your face is any indication,� Ryuuzaki retorted quickly, grinning a bit. He was handling the shocks better than Haga had really expected. Not like one of his other opponents, who had shrieked and flailed and in general acted like he was surprised that pain hurt. Beating her had scarcely been worth it. He didn�t even remember her name. Not that he remembered the names of any of them.
Ryuuzaki would be an exception, if only because of the fact they were sharing a bed now and then.
�You�re paying this time,� Haga told him, hearing the low, dark, and amused laughter of the crowd at their banter. It wasn�t like his usual conversation with his opponents, and he couldn�t be sure if they liked it or not. What did it matter, anyway? They just wanted to see him bring the big dinosaur boy down. Well, he could oblige. And he would.
�Fine with me. It was my turn anyway. Your move.� Ryuuzaki had one dinosaur on the field, but it wasn�t one of the more powerful ones, and it didn�t have a very worthwhile special effect, at least not in Haga�s opinion. Something about something that would happen when the dinosaur was sent to the graveyard. It wouldn�t matter; there was enough difference in its attack points, the attack points of his lovely Insect Queen, and Ryuuzaki�s life points so Ryuuzaki would lose once the attack went through, and the effect would never come into play. There was also one face down card on the field, but he wasn�t too worried about that.
�Insect Queen, take him out!� Haga ordered, looking forward to the screams when the pain of the shocks hit. Fantasizing about them made him want to jump over and finish the attack personally, so to speak. But not just yet. That sort of assault would have to wait until later. And not that much later at that.
The giant creature started to leap over, but even as she did, Ryuuzaki pointed to his face down card, activating the effect. �I activate my trap! By discarding one card from my hand, your Battle Phase ends: and we both take a thousand points of damage to our life points.�
Haga stared. A suicide defense, that was what it was. In fact, that was what the trap card itself was called. Ryuuzaki had only had eight hundred life points himself, while Haga�Haga realized suddenly as the pain of the electric shocks coursed through him, he�d only had a thousand even himself! They�d both lost�and they�d lost on Ryuuzaki�s terms.
Intense shocks jolted Haga all over, and he didn�t bother to hold back the screams of pain. It had been a while since he�d lost by that much, and the agony was enough to kill some people. He�d heard rumors of people being sent insane by the shocks as well, though he hadn�t ever seen it happen himself.
When the pain finally ceased, Haga drew in several deep breaths and looked over to see Ryuuzaki doing the same thing as he got to his feet. There was another of those grins on his face. Haga was really going to have to get rid of that. Ryuuzaki would look better with the evidence of a rough kiss or ten on his lips anyway.
He noticed that about half of the crowd appeared to be cheering, while half of it was obviously displeased that there hadn�t been a specific victor. Haga ignored it all as he shook off the collars into the hands of the assistants who came to take them away. He could hear Saruyama talking to someone who appeared from behind Ryuuzaki and guessed they were arranging some kind of a rematch or something. That didn�t matter. He had never wanted to be alone with Ryuuzaki so much as he did right now. Hell, he might not even wait for them to be alone before he went for him, not with this much adrenaline coursing through his veins.
�You don�t have to do this, you know,� Ryuuzaki said as they both left the arena and headed outside. �There�s other ways you can get money. Me, for instance.�
�Is that an offer?� Haga asked, his hands already twitching as he held them back from ravishing Ryuuzaki. There was a cab waiting, and he pushed the other into it, all but falling on top of him. Someone had to tell the cab where to go, but he was a little occupied as he tried to get to Ryuuzaki�s lips.
�Might be. Are you accepting it?� Ryuuzaki turned his head to the side after that and gave the instructions to head to their favorite hotel. Haga pushed his head back around and kissed him long and thoroughly, ripping at his clothes again. He made it a habit to do that as often as he could. It was fun to see how many different shirts he could tear to shreds and in how may different ways.
His answer was the one he�d had in mind if this question was ever asked. �No. I like doing this.� His answer could have covered both the underground dueling and what he was doing to Ryuuzaki. �But I still want to know what you were doing there tonight.�
Ryuuzaki kissed him back, his own hands moving to get rid of Haga�s shirt. �I came to duel you.� Haga was about to say something when Ryuuzaki put a finger on his lips quickly. �I�m not too good to duel there if I want to. I went because I wanted to and I�ll go again if I want to, and I�ll duel you any time that I want to there.� He leaned up closer to Haga�s ear and whispered softly, �I�m just as dirty as you. I just hide it better.�
Haga looked down at him, brain spinning briefly. Then everything solidified and he smiled a little. It wasn�t the kind of smile that some people have had. It was twisted and revolting and it found it�s twin on Ryuuzaki�s face as they came closer together for yet another kiss.
�You�re repulsive,� Haga murmured, moving just a little back so he could actually speak. �We�re repulsive.�
�Does it matter?� Ryuuzaki�s words were a little muffled as he moved forward to close the distance again, nipping somewhat at Haga�s lips. �We like being this way. You�re happy. I�m happy. That�s what matters.�
Even as Ryuuzaki said the words, Haga knew they were true. It wasn�t just the illegal dueling or the thrill of hurting and being hurt. It was knowing that there was someone who was as much into all of this as he was, and who didn�t care what he was doing, because they did the same things themselves. Not a perfect match, because neither of them were perfect and didn�t want that for themselves or each other. Mismatched and wrong and revolting and everything that he�d ever wanted. His life was finally going the way he wanted, and Haga couldn�t have been happier.
He grinned even as he got to work, licking and caressing down Ryuuzaki�s chest. He had to be the only person he knew who was able to be deliriously happy when they were breaking the law and having a torrid, tawdry affair with someone who would probably buy him the newspaper that any revealing headlines about their relationship and their illegal activities would be in.
Life just didn�t get any better than this. And if it did, he didn�t want anything to do with it. He liked being at the bottom of life, and on top of Ryuuzaki.
The End
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