A/N: Alas, here it is, my long anticipated Deathshipping fic! I'm trying out a different style for this one; less descriptive and more simplistic. I'm also hoping to put more dialogue than thoughts and details, unlike most of the things I write. It's also a lot more light-hearted, so… Yeah, I'm nervous about the writing.

I'm not sure how many chapters this is going to be, but I'm estimating there to be at least ten minimum. I would also like to bring up the topic of One in the Same. No, that story will not be discontinued. It's on a temporary hiatus; when inspiration for this story sprung up, I lost my motivation to continue OITS. I will, however, go back to it once some of Plastic! is out of the way.

Alright, there are side pairings. Alongside Deathshipping, there will be Thiefshipping, Chaseshipping, Puppyshipping, and hinted others (but those are a secret~!).

I worked really hard for months on planning this, so please try to enjoy. Feedback is much appreciated!

Plastic!

By Gewlface

予測不可能な嵐

the light is dimming, flickering, dying;

when will the storm end?

It stormed during the night.

The wind howled and raced, whistling its arrhythmic tune against the windows. Raindrops pelted the rooftops, drumming erratically to the off-beating thunder claps and bright flashes of lightning. It was surely enough to keep up the entire neighbourhood, the ruckus that storm created.

His brother complained of his own personal tempest, yelling over the obnoxious noise that blasted from his stereo; oddly enough, the thunder seemed to blend in with the snare drum. Four beers down and the complaints turned into a pitiful display of poorly suppressed sobs and attempted advice giving.

"Never date a blonde," Bakura hiccupped, blinking slowly and tilting his head back to take a long gulp of his poison. It was always the same advice.

The night passed with Ryou doodling on the walls and pretending to listen.

It stormed until four in the morning, and it wasn't until then that he slept. Reeking of alcohol and Bakura's body odor, the room fell into silence.

Come eight o'clock, as the bedside alarm blared its shrill screech, the sunlight had managed to weave its way in front of the passing stormclouds enough to stream through the windows. Ryou roused with the satisfaction of knowing the light would welcome Bakura's hangover nicely. Slipping soundlessly from his brother's bed, the fourteen year old maneuvered himself around scattered items and clothes and headed to his own room.

It was only after he was dressed and packed for the next week that he came face to face with Bakura, who had just managed to catch the fifth alarm.

"Morning," he greeted, eyeing the dark circles beneath his brother's eyes.

Bakura let out a yawn, his features falling back into a casual scowl. For a moment he remained silent, staring back placidly, before nudging past Ryou with a grumbled "yeah, whatever". He disappeared into the bathroom.

Fifteen minutes dragged along as Ryou fixed himself breakfast, putting on tea for himself and coffee for Bakura. His brother emerged from the bathroom just as the black liquid finished brewing, his white hair falling in wet strands to his shoulders; it used to be long like Ryou's, which fell to about mid-back, until Bakura had one of his fits a few months back and chopped it off. He poured himself a cup of coffee, glancing to Ryou blankly as the younger sipped at his milky tea.

"You packed?" He asked, voice raspy and cutting through the silence.

"Yeah."

Bakura nodded. "We're sharing a room."

"Okay."

Silence fell again, and both brothers lingered in the kitchen for a few short minutes. Ryou deposited his teacup into the sink as his brother popped an aspirin, the two grabbing their duffle bags and leaving their small top-floor apartment. He could tell that Bakura wanted to say something, though the other never spoke.

Sometimes he wished that they conversed more often than they typically do. Preferably when the oldest wasn't drunk.

The walk to school was filled with silence, Bakura having plugged his ears with his earbuds. Ryou kicked at puddles along the way, thoroughly drenching his sneakers and, by extent, the socks beneath.

He wondered if Yuugi would mind that he was staying with his brother instead of their friends. The plan had been for the entire group to band into Science Lab 01 in the High School division; it was one of the few chances they'd have to all be together before Mai, Ishizu, and Mahado graduated in the early Spring. The annual school Lock-In was an event that only students in their second year of Junior High and up could participate in. It was Ryou and a few others' first time this year, only serving to make the event that much more special.

But now that Bakura's relationship with Malik Ishtar had hit yet another break up, he was stuck sharing a room with his grumpy seventeen year old brother for the next week until the school's cultural festival.

Bakura and Malik had been dating for about two years. It was an on-off sort of thing, the type where they argue often and split about once a week only to get back together again the next day. Ryou had always believed that their relationship was purely physical, that it would never go anywhere.

He wasn't exactly wrong.

It was all about sex to Bakura. All he wanted was a way to let out all his anger that wouldn't get him arrested, and Malik was said way. On the other hand, Ryou had a sneaking suspicion that Malik simply enjoyed the attention that Bakura paid him despite the fact that he annoyed him to no end.

And even though their bond wasn't exactly healthy, Ryou prefered when they were together. It kept both of them relatively happy and kept his brother off his back. Bakura wasn't exactly the best company; he was rude and violent, impulsive and brutally honest. When he and Malik were together, it kept Bakura occupied and under control.

What Malik liked about Bakura, Ryou didn't know. Maybe he was some sort of mental masochist. It was obvious that he disliked the younger of the two brothers - he made that blatantly clear - and based on their endless cycle of break-ups he didn't like Bakura much either. It confused him why Malik hung around their apartment so much, but he never dared ask.

His eyes met the side of Bakura's head as they passed through the school gates. Bakura noticed this and shot him a glance, tugging one of his earbuds from his ear and allowing it to slip down to his waist.

"What?"

Ryou's fingers clenched around the strap of his bag. "Should I try to find you after the assembly?"

"No," the older grunted. "Just meet me in Art 02." He paused, yanking the front door open.

Nodding, Ryou turned to the right, heading for his shoe locker by the Elementary division. His eyes caught sight of Jounouchi and Yuugi along the way, and he quickly veered down their aisle.

"Good morning, Ryou-kun," the shorter greeted, smiling widely. He placed his worn sneakers into his open locker and slammed the door shut, shouldering his bag. "We were just about to head to the assembly."

Jounouchi nodded in agreement, oddly quiet for the fourth day in a row. Choosing not to comment, Ryou focussed his attentions on Yuugi.

"I haven't switched shoes yet. Care to wait?"

Grinning, Yuugi linked arms with his friend and dragged him along to his own locker, Jounouchi following behind. "I'm so excited for this week," he chirped, the bounce in his step backing up that statement. "I know Atem is too, even though he's sad that it'll be Mahado's last time. We stayed up late last night packing and he looked so happy! I just know he's planning to make this next week the best!"

The whitette listened on silently, offering a nod or smile here and there. Yuugi and his brother had an almost scary bond and, frankly, it was kind of painful to listen to stories about it. He quickly traded his wet, muddy sneakers out for his pristine indoor shoes and turned back to his friends, watching on idly as Anzu approached from down their aisle.

"Hey guys," she greeted bubbly. "You all excited?"

Yuugi then proceeded to bombard her in happy chattering.

There was a beat of silence on Ryou's end before Jounouchi spoke up, rubbing at his nose all the while.

"You wanna head out," he asked, "or wait for those two?"

The answer seemed obvious.

Leaving Anzu and Yuugi behind, the two made their way from the locker hall and into the auditorium, grabbing seats beside Honda and Otogi who, conveniently, happened to be seated behind Atem and Mahado. Ryou offered a murmured "hello", Jounouchi merely nodding from beside him, and slumped down against his chair.

The group was eventually joined by Mai and Shizuka, quickly followed by Yuugi and Anzu. Minutes later the assembly began, principal Pegasus J. Crawford stepping onto the stage in an ever-flamboyant red suit.

"Helloooo~!" He cooed into a microphone, smiling brilliantly and flicking his long silver hair over his shoulder. "Welcome, boys and girls, to Domino Joint School's annual Lock-In Festival! Starting today, classes will be cancelled for a mere six days, of which students in their second year of Junior High through their third year of High School will spend inside the building to prepare for bunkasai*. Of course, the event is not all about work, work, work! It's also a time to bond with other students of different divisions and grades!

All classrooms will be available to students, though if a classroom needs to be used for bunkasai then you'll need to find somewhere else to board up for the week. Keep in mind that behavior is not to get out of control; alcohol, tobacco, drugs, violence, destruction of property, sexual conduct, and dress code rules still apply! You are allowed to leave school grounds, of course, but you'll need to check out with your student ID to open the gate. If you do not have your ID on you currently, the front office will be open during normal school hours in which you can get yours replaced.

Any further questions, concerns, etcetera, may be taken up with office personnel. Now, without further ado, let the Lock-In Festival commence~!"

A/N: bunkasai* - an annual school festival common in Japanese middle and high schools. typically takes place over two to three days in october or november, in which students, families, and regular townspeople can tour the school to see the attractions set up by students (ex. haunted houses, restaurants, minigames, etc.)

"Why do you play with dead things? You wanna die?"

"No."

"Well that's what's gonna happen."

"I doubt it."

Rolling his eyes and apparently giving up, Mokuba turned his attentions away from Ryou and resumed slapping paint on a reluctant Bakura.

Mokuba was the younger brother of Kaiba Seto, child prodigy, heir to Kaiba Corporation, and also self-appointed rival of Yuugi and Jounouchi. His father was one of the most wealthy men in all of Japan, sitting at the very top of an internationally successful company as CEO. Each of Mokuba's siblings had their own talents and about a hundred trophies to prove them.

The youngest Kaiba at twelve years old, Mokuba was the reigning arcade champion in the country.

And for some reason, the bratty rich kid seemed to get along swimmingly with Bakura; thus the reason he was currently loitering Art 02.

"I should dye your hair," he chirped, smirking deviously. "I bet you'd make a hot brunette."

Ryou raised an eyebrow.

Seeming to dislike the idea, Bakura jumped straight into threats.

"You mess up my hair and I'll make sure you'll never be able to grow any for the rest of your life - anywhere."

The elementary schooler waved it off, shoving a blue palm against the older male's face. "Yeah, yeah, sure. Whatever you say, Bitchkura."

A growl was his only response.

Sighing in exasperation, Ryou shoved his ouija board away and hoisted himself to his feet. He spared the others a glance, taking a brief moment to appreciate Bakura covered in every colour of the rainbow before grabbing his journal and leaving the room.

"Well goodbye to you too!"

The whitette chose to ignore Mokuba's irritated shouting.

Why did everyone around him have to be so bitter?

Holding back a pout, Ryou made his way to the High School division where Science Lab 01 was located, hoping to find Yuugi and the others. He passed clumps of students along the way, blatantly ignoring Nosaka Miho's excited beckoning, and eventually the lab door came into view.

As he passed the appliance closet, he heard an arrangement of crashing and curses.

"Fuck you!"

Moments later Malik Ishtar emerged, a large cut on his cheek and bruises forming along his face. His eyes landed on Ryou, who hadn't realised he'd stopped walking, and he ran his tongue over his split lip before speaking.

"'The hell are you doing, standing out here?"

Ryou furrowed his brows, peering around the Egyptian to get a look inside the closet.

"Did you get into a fight?"

Malik crossed his arms over his chest. "I was attacked; it was purely self defense."

"Attacked?"

"Look," the older huffed, lavender eyes narrowed, "Why don't you scamper along and summon some spirits or something. Stay out of my goddamn business, okay?"

Malik had never really liked Ryou, a feat that he made blindingly obvious whenever they spoke to each other. The only time Bakura's boyfriend was even relatively kind to him was when he was drunk, and even then he spent most of their conversations poking fun at his occult interests.

It didn't necessarily bother Ryou that Malik disliked him. Hell, he wasn't very fond of him either. What bothered him was the occult jokes. So what, he played with ouija boards and believed in spirits. Big fucking deal.

All he wanted was a chance to see them again… Was that so wrong?

"Maybe you should get back with Bakura," he suggested, turning away from Malik with a slight scowl. "You could afford to lose that stick halfway up your arse, and I'm sure he wouldn't mind assisting you on that."

Before he could bring himself more than five feet away, Malik had pinned him against the wall. Pressing his arm against Ryou's throat, he narrowed his eyes into slits. "Shut the fuck up. I've put up with your shit for years but don't think I won't hurt you simply because I fucked your brother."

Ryou clenched his jaw. Breathe, he told himself, just breathe.

"What," Malik scoffed, "lose your confidence?"

Just as the younger opened his mouth to spew a come-back, Malik groaned and squeezed his eyes shut for a split second. A headache, Ryou assumed, from his fight. After all, his tanned face was turning ugly shades of green and purple in some places.

"Go rest." Pushing the weakened Egyptian away as gently as possible, he turned and headed towards the lab. "You can threaten me some other time, preferably when there isn't a possibility that you'll faint on me."

Malik sneered at his back but made no verbal protest.

As Ryou entered Yuugi and the others' room, he failed to notice Malik stumbling down the hall a little ways before slumping to the floor.

予測不可能な嵐

electricity sparks along calm waters

you think it's over but-

the storm has only just begun