Dedication: this whole fic has been for Koneko Shido. Beware the Pear. And Timmy.

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Gi Oh! any more now than I did twenty-four hours ago when I wrote the last disclaimer. However, in the past twenty-four hours I have acquired a number of interesting YGO cards in a package from Koneko, because she is a wonderful, wonderful Hikari/person. I have no idea what I'll do with them, but damn, they're pretty. And one of them is from Bakura's deck!!! happy dance

Warnings: You still here? You still reading? Great. Now I must cast one final warning. THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS FULL-FLEDGED SADO-MASOCHISM. Translation: Bishi's with sharp-edged objects having bloody-goodness. Don't like? Don't read. And don't say I didn't warn you. If you get traumatized, my cause does not cover therapy charges. Enjoy, kiddies. This is the big one.

Notes: Heheh. I got Zolac no Miko to swear at me. Muhahah. waves at ZNM don't worry, dear. I'm having lots of fun over here in the Naughty Closet. dodges implements of Hikari-Doom I'd like to thank everyone who's reviewed so far- the ego boosting rocks. And for those of you who haven't, well go on, then. It isn't that hard. I promise. See that little "leave review" button down there? Yeah. That one. Click it. Now write in the little box and press "leave review". It isn't painful. I promise. And even if it were, anyone still reading this fic has gotta have a good sado-masochistic streak in em. No excuses, people. =.=

Ryou arrived just as he had said, in half an hour. Jou made sure Otogi's door was locked before doing his best to make sure the bruises and abrasions on his face were properly covered. Then he walked down the drive and got into Ryou's car; careful not to make eye-contact with the other boy.

Ryou for his turn said nothing about Jou's appearance. He just smiled in greeting and pulled away from the curb.

After about three minutes of driving in silence, the white-haired boy glanced upwards out of the windshield. "It looks like it may storm later."

Jou looked out the window. The air was utterly still; not a leaf moved on any of the trees they passed. The air blowing in through the crack at the top of his window was chilly, but nothing like the past week; it had definitely gotten warmer, and humidity hung in the air. Overhead, dark clouds built, one above the other, creating an ominous gloom, even as early as it still was. "Yeah, you're probably right." He waited a beat, watching scenery pass. "Ryou, I"-

"It's alright, Jou. You can wait till we get back to my place. I'll be able to give you my full attention, then."

Jou nodded. "Alright. Thanks."

The rode in silence for a few more minutes before Jou began to get twitchy. "So, how's Yami Bakura? I haven't seen him since he got his own body."

Ryou looked thoughtful a moment. "He's alright. He's doing about as well as you can expect a malevolent spirit to be after being locked up for five thousand years, and having been a tomb-robber before that. He's... finding his own ways to adjust."

Jou quirked an eyebrow. "Should I be worried?"

Ryou smiled his distant smile, still watching the road over the steering wheel. "Mm. Maybe; but he doesn't leave the apartment too much. I think the modernization is kind of a shock to him,"

"Yeah, I understand why," Jou nodded. "Must be quite a change from ancient Egypt."

Ryou gazed ahead at the road. "I feel sorry for him," His voice was quieter than usual. "There just isn't really anything I can do for him. He's got to figure things out for himself." He paused a second. "That, and he isn't exactly forthcoming when it comes to asking assistance with anything."

Jou rolled his eyes "Yeah that sounds like him."

"Well, anyway, we're here." Ryou pulled up alongside the curb in front of a row of neatly aligned apartments.

They both got out and Ryou locked the doors, and then led Jou up the walk to the door, which he held open. They took the elevator to the seventh floor and Ryou produced the key and let them in, calling as he did, "Bakura? I'm back. Jou's here."

Jou looked around. "Brilliant." A raspy voice called from an adjoining room. Jou couldn't tell if it had been sarcastic, or simply a statement.

Ryou sighed. "I'm sorry. He must be in one of his worse moods. Anyway, would you like some tea or something? We can go sit in the living room. It's just through there." He motioned to where the voice had issued from.

"Um, no tea, thanks." Jou followed Ryou into the living room.

The living room was dark, but Jou could just make out Bakura, draped over the sofa watching television with the sound off. Every couple of seconds he would change the channel, so the pictures flashed by in unrecognizable succession. Once in awhile he would pause on one channel for slightly longer, stare unblinkingly, the pictures reflecting in his eyes, and then flip the channel. He looked up for a second when they entered, and then back to the television.

"What do you want, Hikari?" Bakura's sounded bored; he didn't avert his eyes from the flashing screen.

"I'd like to sit in here, Bakura. You can use the television in my room, if you like." Ryou's voice was quiet, as usual, but Jou could tell that he was used to this sort of occasion.

Quicker than Jou could follow, Bakura stood up, tossing Ryou the remote in a fluid motion, and stretching catlike before walking past them and out of the room. As he left, Jou thought he caught a reflective gleam in the Yami's eye, like a cat's eyes at night. Jou shivered.

"Man... Your Yami has always given me the willies, Ryou." He followed Ryou into the room, perching on an overstuffed chair opposite the couch where Ryou sat.

Ryou switched off the TV and looked back at the doorway that Bakura had left from. "He used to make me nervous as well, until I realized that back in Egypt, even if it was five-thousand years ago, he was still human, and still is, at least to some degree. He just uses the advantage created by his run-in with the Sennen Ring to his advantage by letting it intimidate people. But this is beside the point. I believe there was something you wanted to talk to me about, Jou."

Jou was caught slightly off his guard. He took a deep breath. "Um... yeah. I guess, I just thought you deserved to know that for the past few months me and Seto've been kinda... screwing around, I guess. I know you probably guessed something was up, so I thought I should just tell you. You're a good friend, you deserve it."

Ryou smiled faintly, but the smile faded quickly, and he said, "And the bruises?"

Jou looked away. He just couldn't face Ryou's eyes when he was talking about this. "They're from Seto. So are the cuts on my face. And on my back, but you can't see those."

Something like anger flickered over Ryou's placid face, but only a distant sadness remained. "I see. I suspected it was something like that, but I didn't want to pry. I figured you would overcome it in your own time and my getting involve would only aggravate things. Am I right?"

Jou smiled reassuringly at his friend. "Yeah, Ryou. You're probably right. It would have been dangerous to get between me and Seto. And yes, I did deal with it on my own. Thanks."

From the hallway beyond the living room, Bakura listened. He remembered who Seto Kaiba was from the duels awhile back, when he had still been living in Ryou's body. Kaiba had always... intrigued him.

He sat down on the floor next to the living room door and leaned his head back, listening to Jou tell Ryou the details of the past few months. He decided that he thought Jounouchi was weak; this bothered him slightly, but he didn't dwell on it.

After about an hour, he heard the two boys get up and start toward the door. He quietly got up and headed down the hall to Ryou's room, flipping on the TV and setting it on mute.

Ryou and Jou were in the kitchen when the door bell rang. Ryou pushed the buzzer. "Who is it?"

"Otogi. Can I come up?"

Ryou pushed a button next to the buzzer. "Yeah, sure. You know the place, right?"

"Yup. Thanks."

A minute or two later the door opened and Otogi walked in. He stood in the doorway a moment before Jou walked over to him, slipped an arm around his waist, and kissed him deeply.

Jou heard a squeak and turned around momentarily; Ryou was smiling one of his rare, genuine smiles, but he was also beet red. Then he turned back to Otogi to murmur against his cheek.

"I told him everything."

Otogi smiled at Ryou over Jou's shoulder. "I kinda figured that. Now do you have any other business here, or can I take you home where there are less people to blush at what I plan on doing to you?"

Ryou blushed redder and turned away, busying himself with filling a kettle and putting some water on to boil for tea.

Jou snickered. "Yeah, sure. Lets go back to your place." He kissed Otogi on the cheek, twining his fingers together with the taller boy's. "Hey, Ryou, I think we're gonna take off. That okay with you?" He grinned at the white-haired boy's fumbling with a tea mug.

"Alright, then." Ryou said, seemingly having regained control over his blushing mechanism. "I'll see you later then, Jou. Will you two be at school tomorrow? Yugi and everyone asked about you today."

Jou thought for a second. "Yeah, I should be. I'll just tell them I got into another fight or something. Shit, that's getting old, isn't it? Oh well. I'll see you, then." He turned to leave.

"Jou." Ryou's voice was quiet, but serious. Jou turned around. "Thanks for telling me everything. I'm glad you'll trust me."

Jou let go of Otogi's hand and walked back to Ryou, pulling him into a fast, awkward hug. "I'm glad I can too. See you tomorrow, Ryou."

As soon as the elevator doors had closed behind them, Otogi pulled Jou to him, burying a hand in the blond hair and kissing him hard. Jou moaned, rising on tip-toe to kiss Otogi back, his hands traveling up the back of the taller boy's shirt.

The elevator dinged.

Otogi and Jou turned to the opening doors and were faced with an elderly couple, both wearing shocked expressions. They jumped to one side as the two boys exited the elevator, Otogi's hand in Jou's back pocket, both of them trying desperately not to burst into hysterical laughter.

They made it back to Otogi's apartment after two near-crashes, both brought on by Jou practically climbing into Otogi's lap while he was driving.

Once they were inside, with the door shut and locked behind them, Jou jumped on Otogi, wrapping his legs around his waist. After a brief moment of Otogi regaining his balance, Jou felt arms around him, supporting him, as their kisses deepened.

They fumbled their way to Otogi's bedroom, bumping into walls and doorframes, and knocking over a lamp on the way. Then they collapsed on the bed, Jou moaning into Otogi's mouth as Otogi straddled him, letting the bits of their nether-regions still constricted by jeans brush against each other.

Jou lifted his head, nibbling at Otogi's neck as his fingers toyed with the buttons on Otogi's shirt, undoing them slowly, one by one. Otogi sighed and shifted his head aside, giving Jou more access and allowing his shirt to be slid off his shoulders and discarded on the floor.

"Hikari; I'm going out."

Ryou nearly dropped the mug he was holding. Jou and Otogi had left about three minutes earlier, and he had just poured the hot water. "Bakura! I didn't hear you come in. You're going out? Where are you going?"

"That's no concern of yours, Hikari." Bakura spared Ryou a glance on his way to the door. "Don't wait up."

The door slammed shut behind him and Ryou stood, just watching it for a second before turning back to his tea, retrieving the sugar from a cabinet.

Bakura strode quickly down the sidewalk. If "strode" was the right word. He tended to move like he was stalking something; probably a trait carried over from his life five-thousand years before.

He knew this part of town pretty well, and he knew where the building was that he was looking for. It was conveniently located about a mile and a half away, and he got there in forty minutes.

He walked right in the front entrance, going up to the reception desk where the receptionist sat, filing her nails and staring vacantly at the computer screen before her.

"Where is Seto Kaiba's office?" Bakura leaned forward against the desk, giving the receptionist his most penetrating stare from six inches. The woman paled.

"I'm sorry, sir, but that information is privileged. Do you have an appointment?" The woman was a professional. She had to fight to keep her voice level, but managed nonetheless.

Bakura straitened, toying with something buckled to the back of his belt. "No, I don't have an appointment, but I think you'll find that I create my own privileges." He smiled, showing her his teeth, which were unnervingly pointed and gleaming white. His eyes flashed deep mahogany that almost resembled red, if in the right light. He had the knack of making any light the right light.

"Fifth floor, suite 176."

"Good girl." Bakura gave her a cordial nod. "And don't bother calling security. I'm not an assassin. Or a salesman." He added the last bit on afterthought.

With that he turned, and brushed by the desk and to the elevators, selecting the button with "5" on it. When the elevator opened, he walked down the long corridor, counting down the numbers. He stopped in front of the door marked "176" and turned the handle without hesitation, letting himself into the dim interior.

Kaiba was sitting at his computer desk when Bakura entered, and he looked up sharply at the intrusion. A flicker of surprise flashed through his eyes, but he suppressed it just as quickly. "Bakura. What do you want?"

Bakura smiled lazily. "Oh, I don't know. I was just sitting at home watching television, and all of a sudden I got the idea that you might feel like some company."

Kaiba stared unblinkingly back into the red-brown gaze. "Did you."

Bakura gave him his most feral grin, and then slunk over to where the CEO was sitting in his black leather desk chair. Kaiba crossed his arms over his chest and maintained unwavering eye-contact with the grinning yami.

Bakura leaned down, bending forward so his whole body was stretched catlike over the CEO, but staying just out of contact. He placed a pale hand on the back of Kaiba's chair, next to his head, and slowly turned the chair so Kaiba was faced away from the desk. He then slid one leg downwards through one armrest, following suit with the other and ending up straddling Kaiba.

He kept both hands gripping the back of Kaiba's chair on either side of his head, still watching the azure eyes for any sign of discomfort. Every so often a flicker of something that felt like fear to Bakura would show itself there, and he would relish it; basking in the refection of himself in those eyes and the hints of fear given off by the powerful CEO of KaibaCorp.

He sat back, resting on Kaiba's lap and leaning upwards to make a trail with his tongue leading from just under the boy's ear to where his shoulder met the base of his neck. He felt the muscles tense beneath his mouth, and then smiled against the other's pale skin as he felt hands grasping his rear, pulling him closer. He moved his groin over Kaiba's, feeling the tense and release of the nerves against his lips.

"Ah, ah; not that easy, pet." He murmured into Kaiba's neck, reaching around to the back of his tight black jeans and flipping a strap aside to produce his silver dagger. It had been buckled to his belt, carried on the inside of the back of his jeans. Now he drew it out and pulled away from Kaiba's neck, watching the response in the boy's eyes.

"You're going to kill me." Kaiba's voice was level, but there was a tremor of apprehension that made Bakura grind his hips down into Kaiba's as reward for. Kaiba's eyes went half-lidded for a moment as his own body responded, meeting Bakura's and letting the collective warmth pass between them.

Bakura smiled. "Oh no, pet. Why would I want to do that when I have so many other amusing things I'd like to do with you?"

"I'm not your 'pet'", Kaiba growled, reaching for the fabric of Bakura's shirt and trying to pull him closer.

Bakura obliged by leaning forward so his warm breath played against Kaiba's lips without touching. "That's what you think," he whispered, flicking out his tongue to run it along Kaiba's bottom lip.

Kaiba's mouth opened slightly, his hands tightening on Bakura's waist.

In turn, Bakura's hand moved quickly; the dagger rose and darted, slashing down across the boy's cerulean silk shirt. A long slash opened to mark the trail of the silver blade, the edges stained deep red where he blood was welling up in a fine line across Kaiba's smooth chest. The CEO gasped in spite of himself.

"I think you'll find," Bakura whispered, leaning in to dart his tongue up to edge of Kaiba's ear, blowing a warm breath there, "that there are many, many more fun things to do with a good knife than just killing someone."

He bent his head down, licking a slow trail up Kaiba's chest, lapping up the cooling red droplets.

Outside, the storm broke.

Winter thunder crashed outside. Rain began to fall in sheets.

Jou kissed a trail down Otogi's neck and onwards down his chest. He swirled his tongue around Otogi's nipples, grazing them with his teeth and feeling the other boy's back arch upwards beneath him.

He pulled off his own shirt before letting Otogi pull him down again for a searing kiss, electric shivers traveling the length of his spine. With clumsy fingertips he undid Otogi's jeans, breaking the kiss to slide his body down, running his lips the length of Otogi's abdomen. He paused just above the denim waistband, breathing warmth onto the sensitive skin. Then he pulled them down, running his tongue up and down Otogi's length, taking his time and closing his eyes; enjoying their mutual happiness.

Otogi arched his hips upward, thrusting himself into Jou's mouth. Jou obliged for a moment, sucking hard, and flicking his tongue over the tip. Otogi gasped softly, his hands playing in the fine gold strands of Jou's hair.

Then Jou straitened, kneeling on either side of Otogi's hips, and bent to kiss him softly before unbuttoning the fly on his own jeans and twisting out of them. Otogi smiled faintly and reached a hand out to run a finger along Jou's warmth. Then he reached behind him to the nightstand and withdrew a tube of lubricant. Squeezing a little onto his fingers, he smoothed it over Jou, smiling wider at the look of surprise this instigated.

"I like it better this way," he muttered. "But don't you dare go telling anyone I said that or there'll be hell to pay." And then he groaned as Jou pushed a finger into him, adding another and the scissoring them. A third was soon added, and then they were all removed leaving Otogi with an empty feeling.

Jou snickered, bending low to kiss Otogi's bellybutton and pull the other boy's pants the rest of the way down, flipping them to the floor with an elegant flick of his wrist. "Don't worry, I won't. Besides, if it ever comes up in conversation, we can just say that it was your caring nature taking over and saving me the trouble of having sex lying on my back full of cuts." He flipped his hair teasingly and pulled Otogi to sit in his lap, positioning, and then sliding into him, waiting a moment for Otogi to adjust before giving the first push upward.

Otogi's head fell forward onto Jou's shoulder, the curve of his neck against Jou's lips. Jou closed his eyes and nuzzled the soft skin, settling into a rhythm and enjoying the gasps and moans that issued from Otogi's parted lips, warm against his bare shoulder.

Outside, the sky grew darker and the rain fell harder.

The lightning flickered outside Kaiba's office window and Kaiba saw it reflect in the blade Bakura held, poised over him. Bakura ground their hips together, making Kaiba breath faster and clutch at his waist. He felt Kaiba's fingers exploring the waist of his low-cut jeans and let the dagger glide again, this time across Kaiba's collarbone. He bent his head, lapping like a kitten and then raising his it so his own eyes met Kaiba's. His tongue flicked out, licking a trace of blood from the corner of his mouth but purposefully leaving a smear across his lips. He bent and kissed Kaiba, pressing their rigid bodies together and letting the boy taste his own blood on the yami's lips before their tongues entwined.

Below their hungry mouths, Bakura slashed again with the dagger; the gleaming silk fell to ribbons beneath its caress, new red accenting the frayed edges. Kaiba moaned into the kiss; half in pain, half in demand for more.

Bakura pulled back, slowly running his tongue along both bottom and top lips, savoring both the mingled tastes of blood and Kaiba's kiss and the need he had created in the boy, as well as his pain-turned-pleasure. Then he slowly stood, bringing first one leg and then the other back through the arm rests of Kaiba's chair.

Standing before the CEO he slowly pulled off his shirt; then he unbuckled the clasp on his belt, keeping Kaiba's eyes on his own as he discarded it on the floor. His slender fingers unbuttoned the jeans one button at a time and then those, too slid to the floor. Kaiba's lips parted and his eyes grew heavy-lidded as he watched Bakura move. The Tomb Robber's hips swayed as the pulled off the jeans, and the curves of his body moved with the grace of a snake.

He bent and hooked a finger inside Kaiba's collar, pulling him upwards. The knife had been long-since dropped to the floor, and Bakura had both hands free to tear through the remaining buttons on the tall boy's tattered shirt.

Kaiba's hands set to work exploring all the curves of Bakura's body, toying with his hair and running his nails down the yami's back and over all the bare skin below.

Bakura moved gracefully beneath the probing touch, unzipping Kaiba's pants and slipping both hands inside, pushing the fabric downwards and following it to the floor.

He took Kaiba into his mouth once, and then stood to face him, twitching an eyebrow upwards before pushing him roughly to the floor. Kaiba gasped, the wind momentarily knocked out of him. Then his whole body arched upwards as Bakura entered him, pressing hard and listening to the groan of pain.

"You ass," Kaiba managed to gasp out.

Bakura smiled darkly, giving Kaiba a flash of fang. "You know you like it. Now, shut up and scream for me." And with that, he thrust into Kaiba hard; making the boy's back arch, a strangled cry issuing from his throat.

"Harder, dammit!" Kaiba twisted beneath the Tomb Robber, trying to get him to hit the sweet spot inside him.

"I hardly think you're in any position to be making demands," Bakura rasped, thrusting again, harder this time, and making Kaiba scream. He decided he like that effect, and repeated the action, making Kaiba claw at the carpet; the wounds on his chest re-opening from the strain and pearling thick red droplets along the fine criss-crossed lines. Bakura bent and licked them up again, hungrily, his head falling back as he continued to push into Kaiba.

A rumble of thunder harmonized with Kaiba's cries as the wind whipped around the building, rain driving in torrents against the tinted glass.

Jou began to see stars dance across his vision and he gasped into Otogi's hair. He let one hand stray down to grasp the other boy firmly, and began to move his hand in a gliding rhythm made easier by the slickness he found there.

Otogi buried his face in Jou's shoulder as he cried out in release, collapsing against the warm skin of Jou's chest as the final thrusts brought a warmth spilling out within him.

Jou allowed himself to collapse back on the bed, gasping and shaking a Otogi slid away and then came to lie beside him, their sweat mingling along with their breaths as Jou lifted his head to kiss Otogi softly.

Otogi responded to the kiss, brushing unruly bangs from Jou's face with slender fingers and breathing a trail of tiny kisses away from his mouth, up the curve of his cheek before lying back down, taking the smaller boy into his arms and pulling the blanket over them both.

Bakura grasped Kaiba's heat, moving his hand up and down in a jerking motion. Kaiba arched up against him and Bakura rewarded him with a hard kiss, tugging at the boy's lips with tapered canines. He moved his hand faster, enjoying the cries of pleasure as he continued his pattern of rough thrusts, feeling his own climax nearing.

He grasped the knife handle where it lay nearby and drew the razor edge along his own collarbone. He pressed harder than he had when using the blade on the boy, and the blood welled up quicker and redder. It trickled down his chest in tiny rivulets and he bent, letting Kaiba lap them up before kissing him again and tasting his own blood on the boy's lips and tongue.

It was amazing; exhilarating, to be able to taste his blood after five thousand bodiless years trapped in that confining trinket. After so long being bored and disoriented and overwhelmed with the dizzying changes the world had gone through, it made him feel... almost human.

He rasped out a throaty chuckle into Kaiba's ear before giving one final thrust with both hips and hand and letting his warmth spill out into the boy beneath him at the same time as Kaiba's own spilled over Bakura's hand.

The black sky outside showed flash after flash of lightning, followed by claps of thunder that grew ever softer as the storm passed over them until only the rain was left; falling in a steady silver curtain from the unseen clouds.

At last, when both their breathing had slowed, Bakura slid out of Kaiba. Ignoring the hand that groped for his arm, he stood, making slow work of locating and then pulling on his jeans, watching his own hands at their work, and knowing Kaiba's eyes were following his every move.

He picked up his dagger, slipping it back into its sheath and then depositing this once more into the back of his jeans, fastening it with a strap on his belt. He reached down and retrieved his shirt, slinging it over one shoulder and finally looking Kaiba in the eye.

"I take it your employees will have left for the evening?"

Kaiba nodded, sitting up and reaching for his pants.

"Good." Bakura turned to the door, pausing on the way to appreciate the flash of lightning that lit the city beyond the window. "I'll show myself out, then."

He walked to the door and pulled it open, letting himself out without a backward glance. Behind him, Kaiba watched him go before turning back to the button on his jeans.

Outside the wind was howling and the thunder rumbled like a giant cat's purr. Bakura stood a moment, feeling the icy water hit his bare skin and drench his hair. It washed away what was left of the blood encrusted around the cut on his collarbone and cooled the heat still left from Kaiba's body against his.

Then he turned, casting a backward glance upward at the glass sides of the building that now looked like a static waterfall. The cold lightning cut split-second jagged slashes across the smooth surface. Then, as the thunder rumbled its way into the distance and out of the city, he followed it.

It can come from out of nowhere,

hit you when you're safe and warm.

Take it easy, my star your time is gonna come,

your time is gonna come.

Yeah, you got those crazy blue eyes.

You got those crazy blues.

All those pretty smiles,

I can see them laughing at you.

Your time is gonna come, your time is gonna come.

I don't wanna be your punching bag,

your complacent little princess all tragic and sad.

I'm not gonna let you overwhelm me anymore.

Yeah, you say you got this bad thing, you say you've got it bad.

You have broken every heart of every friend you've ever had.

Yeah, the time is gonna come when all your friends just go away.

I wonder why you stick around, sometimes I wish you would leave.

You say you love me forever, then you spit on me.

Your time is gonna come,

I swear your time is gonna come.

I don't want to be your whipping boy.

Yes, your happy little loser, someone you can ignore.

I'm not gonna let you overwhelm me anymore.

I'm not gonna let you hurt me anymore.

I'm not gonna let you hit me anymore.

No, I will not let you kick me anymore.

I will not let you overwhelm me anymore.

It can come from out of nowhere.

I don't want to be your simple saving grace,

just another little victim with a happy face.

Someday, someday soon, somebody's gonna come,

I hope they do this to you.

I'm not gonna let you overwhelm me.

I will not let you hurt me anymore.

No, I will not let you hit me anymore.

I will not let you twist me anymore.

No, I will not let you turn me inside out.

owari THE END. owari