Disclaimer: I do not, nor ever will, own Yu-Gi-Oh, it belongs to Kazuki
Takahashi. Sorry to disappoint you all, but reality bites. I do not own the
lyrics to 'A current obsession' either. That belongs to Lacuna Coil.
Warnings: Yaoi (male/male relationship), minor cussing, manipulation of a Greek myth.
Pairings: Bakura/Ryou (main), mentions of Yami/Yugi and possibly Seto/Jou
The original story: For those of you who don't know, Persephone (pur SEF oh ne) was the daughter of the Greek goddess Demeter. Hades, god of the underworld and the dead, fell in love with Persephone and kidnapped her away to the underworld to be his queen. Demeter, needless to say, was pretty upset and cheesed off by this and, in her grief, neglected her duties. As Demeter was the goddess of harvest, this caused the crops and plants to die and the world to become icy. Zeus, the king of gods and lord of the sky, saw mankind suffering from the failure of the crops, and ordered that unless Persephone had eaten food from the underworld she was to be returned to her mother. Persephone, also consumed with grief from the separation from her mother, had not eaten, but on the day she was to be returned Hades convinced her to eat six pomegranate seeds from his garden. Because of this, Persephone was required to spend six months of the year with her mother on earth and six months with Hades in the underworld. This myth was used by the ancient Greeks to explain the seasons. Spring and summer was when Persephone was with her mother, autumn and winter when she was in the underworld.
Character list: Ryou- Persephone
Bakura- Hades
Malik- Demeter (acting as Ryou's older brother instead of mother)
Yami- Zeus
Yugi- Ganymede (cupbearer of the gods and one of Zeus' lovers)
Anzu- Hera
Jou- Ares (god of war)
Seto- Poseidon (god of the sea and earthquakes)
Marik- Cerberus (The three headed dog that guards the underworld ^^;)
Honda- Charon (the ferryman who takes dead people's souls over the
river
to the Underworld)
Mai- Aphrodite (Goddess of love)
Relation: Zeus, Poseidon and Hades (brothers)
Zeus, Hera (married)
Demeter, Persephone (mother and daughter, respectively)
A.N: And finally I get around to writing a new story! Apologising now for the length of this chapter, it's horrendously short I know. But as it's a first chapter, I can be forgiven that, right? Right...anyway. Sit back and enjoy. Oh! And this chapter is only half betaed, so sorry for any spelling/grammatical errors!
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Persephone –written by Osiris-Lee
"Ouch!" A feminine, albino boy snatched his hand away from the dresser, holding it to his slightly built form. An ornate brooch lay open on his worn dresser, the offending pin gleaming in the soft candlelight of the room. The boy glared at it and, sucking on his wounded finger to stop the bleeding, scooped it up in the palm of his hand and fastened it single- handedly to the shoulder of his green, ankle length cloak. He was re- arranging the folds of his tunic for the hundredth time when his brother waltzed into the room, his blonde, shoulder-length hair bouncing in time to his jovial strides.
"Ready yet, brother?" The boy's lavender eyes seemed to dance with mirth. "I'd begun to think you had turned into a girl, spending hours looking in the mirror like that."
His younger brother pouted, sticking his tongue out childishly. "No longer than you - you've been staring at yourself all day!"
The blonde gave him a light punch on the arm, grinning. "True, you're alert as always it seems." The lavender eyed boy sobered a little. "But seriously Ryou, are you really ready for your first trip to Mt. Olympus?"
"Malik, I'll be fine." Ryou turned to his dresser mirror in mild frustration, picking up his battered hair brush. Malik had been insisting that he had a new one crafted for years, having a battered brush just wasn't god like. But Ryou had persisted - no other brush could tame his locks. His brother wasn't pleased but eventually relented, as he could never argue with Ryou for very long.
Seeing the look of worry still on Malik's face, Ryou cast his eyes heavenward with a small smile gracing his lips.
"I'll be fine." He repeated, turning to put a comforting hand on the taller blonde's shoulder. "You've run me through the rules a thousand times. Be polite, be courteous and don't piss anyone off, to put it in your words exactly."
Malik's cheer returned in full force. "And to think I thought you weren't listening."
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Unlike the rough, unpaved paths home on earth, the roads connecting Mt. Olympus were of a smooth and slightly squishy substance, shimmering with an ethereal glow as if the very light itself was emitted from it. And in a way, it was. No crude, flame lit torches lit the pathway towards the palace, only the pale, eerie light cast down from the spreading of stars and the moon above.
Ryou drank up the sight greedily. He'd visited grand cities before, Athens, Corinth, but his grand visions of these were but pale reflections of this city. The palace of the gods stood towering before him; it's pure, white marble columns seeming to stretch on forever into the night sky. The buildings surrounding it were of similar style, but none could come close to the beauty of the god's reside, its vast sloped roof and hundreds of perfectly cut stairs. The albino would have been content to stare in wonder for hours on end, but was rudely interrupted by Malik's running ahead of him and spoiling the scene.
"Are you going stay outside all night?" he goaded, lavender eyes flashing. "The light makes you look angelic, yes, but there's no need to rub it in!"
"Oh quiet you!" Ryou gave his brother a mock glare before suddenly attacking in a flurry of tickles, making the older boy howl in delight before twisting out of the brown eyed boys grip and bolting. The two ran helter skelter down the path towards a vast courtyard where the party was already in full swing. Ryou was almost bowled over by another hyperactive blonde no sooner then they had entered.
"Ryou!" the honey-eyed blonde thumped the smaller boy on the back in a friendly manner. Ryou stumbled a little, though managed to shoot the other a warm grin.
"Hello to you too, Jou." The younger boy freed himself from his friend's iron grip, turning to look at the other face on.
Jou was a tallish boy, but not so to the point of lankiness, and a stock of blonde hair along with his honey eyes gave him a sunny appearance. As the god of war, Jou was dressed in full battle getup for the occasion, a short, white linen tunic covered by his intricately decorated bronze armour. A shining, bronze helmet was perched over his wild locks, the violently red plumes matching his cloak and nodding erratically with every move he made. His wide, bright grin was still firmly in place as he grabbed Ryou's wrist.
"Don't worry Malik." He said cheerfully, smiling at Ryou's brother. "I'll take care of him, show him around."
'Somehow, I think that's a good reason –to- worry." replied the other. He was also grinning. Jou pulled a face at him before launching himself back into the crowd, Ryou trailing behind him.
"What we should do is go say hello to Yami." The god of war was explaining, taking a sip of wine from a goblet he got from who knows where. Ryou nodded. This was all very new to him and though he'd met Yami, King of the gods, a few times he was still unsure of the formalities. He explained this to Jou, a touch of embarrassment in his tone.
"Don't worry about it!" The blonde had led them to a less crowded area where they could talk without having to raise their voices. They settled on a bench near the side wall. "I said we –should- go say hello." He continued, removing his helmet. "Not that we would right away. Now, would you like a drink?"
Unbeknownst to the happily talking duo, they were being closely watched from the other side of the courtyard. Bakura, the god of the Underworld, was leaning casually against a marble pillar, wine goblet in hand. He sipped at it occasionally, keeping his eyes closely glued to the pale boy across the room. Bakura had never met the boy formally, despite his occasional visit to Malik, but had watched him from afar as he worked. Through years of hidden watching, Malik would have his hide if he so much as looked at the boy the wrong way, Bakura had slowly become obsessed with the boy, neglecting his duties more and more often to watch him work.
"You'd better not be looking at my Jou." A cool voice from his right made him break his gaze long enough to glare at the brunet beside him. Seto was a tall man, possibly the tallest of the gods, and often used this asset to his advantage. His ocean blue eyes flashed dangerously when he was angered, and the trident he held at his side at all times was proof enough he had the means to back up whatever threat he presented. Presently he looked clam enough, also turning his attention to the duo across the room. Bakura allowed himself to snort at the ocean God's over protective comment.
"And why, dear brother, would I even consider looking at your war hound that way?" he asked casually, discarding his goblet to a passing servant. "True, he is appealing to the eye, but far too...noisy for my liking." Seto smirked at this
"Yes, you wouldn't be able to last a day with him." He chuckled, leaning on his trident and staring at his lover. "But you don't have to worry about that, do you?" Bakura simply shook his head. There was no point in annoying the god of the sea when he was in a protective mood. Seto had turned to him in his silence, raising a brown brow.
"No comment? That's unlike you." Bakura shrugged off the comment, indicating to the duo.
"Who's the white haired one?"
Seto turned to have a better look, waving his hand slightly as Jou caught his eyes and waved happily at him. He returned his gaze to his brother.
"You don't know him? Malik's brother, Ryou." He indicated with his trident to where Malik stood in the crowd. "I would have thought you knew. You're friends with Malik aren't you?" The grey haired god of the dead nodded silently. He'd never had the chance to ask the boy's name.
"I could ask Jou to introduce you." The brunet continued, straightening. Bakura glanced at him uncomprehendingly for a moment, before straightening also.
"That would be...helpful." Seto just shot him a smirk.
"I thought so. But remember, you owe me."
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"He's looking at you." Ryou looked up as his blonde companion sat down, his waving done for the minute. The albino blinked, not understanding.
"Who?"
"Bakura." Jou arranged himself casually on the bench. "The grey haired one."
Ryou looked over in the direction the honey eyed boy was nodding. True to his word, a grey haired god stood leaning against a pillar, his stance casual as he talked to the brunet at his side. Recognising one of Malik's good friends, Ryou had seen him during his trips to their home, the brown eyed boy gave the man a small smile, only for it to drop when the other looked swiftly away.
Bakura had always come across as rather cold to the young boy, never acknowledging the albino when the young boy greeted him. The older man's eyes may have had something to do with it, they were a deep, murky brown that seemed to absorb light rather the reflect it. Hair that was a similar cut to Ryou's, only much wilder, hung loose to the middle of the man's back and was a slight shade of grey, the sort of grey that the sky was in the early morning before the sun fully rose. The similarities between them had always made Ryou a little uneasy, but despite this he was always polite to the man - no use getting a god angry if it could be avoided.
Ryou turned back to Jou.
"I don't know why." He said, lowering his voice even though the other man had no chance of hearing him over the din of the party. "I don't think I've done anything to annoy him." He started and Jou began laughing raucously.
"You don't –have- to do anything to annoy –him-." He laughed, slapping his knee in mirth. "He's just naturally angry. I guess hanging 'round the dead all eternity can do that to you -' he cut off with a soft squeak as a strong, pale arm encircled his waist and a familiar chuckle sounded in his ear.
"Hello, my little war hound." Jou tilted his head up slightly to meet deep blue eyes, and blushed slightly at his usually stoic lover's public display of affection. He stood on tip toe and gently pecked Seto's lips with his own, his blush deepening as Ryou started giggling behind his hand.
"Ahh..." he looked about quickly for something to take the albino's attention off him, his eyes finally resting on Bakura, who had also made his way over. "Bakura! I don't believe you and Ryou have met..."
Bakura smirked slightly, moving his eyes away from the couple to study the object of his obsession. Ryou looked absolutely ravishing, in his opinion. His slightly childish face was framed beautifully by his snowy white bangs, the heavy hair falling gracefully down his back like a waterfall. Large, clear brown eyes blinked up at him, shining with an innocence that Bakura had lost a long time ago. It took all the Bakura had to stop himself from running a finger down the boy's smooth, white cheek, his pale arms, everywhere. He barely restrained himself, settling with extending his hand in greeting instead.
"Pleased to meet you."
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Whoo! *applauds herself* There's the first chapter! I hope my setting out isn't –too- confusing. I also apologise for the usage of –these-, I can't figure out how to get italics on ff.net. If anybody out there knows, please tell me! And yes, feedback is appreciated. Constructive criticism is also appreciated. Thank you for your time.
Warnings: Yaoi (male/male relationship), minor cussing, manipulation of a Greek myth.
Pairings: Bakura/Ryou (main), mentions of Yami/Yugi and possibly Seto/Jou
The original story: For those of you who don't know, Persephone (pur SEF oh ne) was the daughter of the Greek goddess Demeter. Hades, god of the underworld and the dead, fell in love with Persephone and kidnapped her away to the underworld to be his queen. Demeter, needless to say, was pretty upset and cheesed off by this and, in her grief, neglected her duties. As Demeter was the goddess of harvest, this caused the crops and plants to die and the world to become icy. Zeus, the king of gods and lord of the sky, saw mankind suffering from the failure of the crops, and ordered that unless Persephone had eaten food from the underworld she was to be returned to her mother. Persephone, also consumed with grief from the separation from her mother, had not eaten, but on the day she was to be returned Hades convinced her to eat six pomegranate seeds from his garden. Because of this, Persephone was required to spend six months of the year with her mother on earth and six months with Hades in the underworld. This myth was used by the ancient Greeks to explain the seasons. Spring and summer was when Persephone was with her mother, autumn and winter when she was in the underworld.
Character list: Ryou- Persephone
Bakura- Hades
Malik- Demeter (acting as Ryou's older brother instead of mother)
Yami- Zeus
Yugi- Ganymede (cupbearer of the gods and one of Zeus' lovers)
Anzu- Hera
Jou- Ares (god of war)
Seto- Poseidon (god of the sea and earthquakes)
Marik- Cerberus (The three headed dog that guards the underworld ^^;)
Honda- Charon (the ferryman who takes dead people's souls over the
river
to the Underworld)
Mai- Aphrodite (Goddess of love)
Relation: Zeus, Poseidon and Hades (brothers)
Zeus, Hera (married)
Demeter, Persephone (mother and daughter, respectively)
A.N: And finally I get around to writing a new story! Apologising now for the length of this chapter, it's horrendously short I know. But as it's a first chapter, I can be forgiven that, right? Right...anyway. Sit back and enjoy. Oh! And this chapter is only half betaed, so sorry for any spelling/grammatical errors!
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Persephone –written by Osiris-Lee
"Ouch!" A feminine, albino boy snatched his hand away from the dresser, holding it to his slightly built form. An ornate brooch lay open on his worn dresser, the offending pin gleaming in the soft candlelight of the room. The boy glared at it and, sucking on his wounded finger to stop the bleeding, scooped it up in the palm of his hand and fastened it single- handedly to the shoulder of his green, ankle length cloak. He was re- arranging the folds of his tunic for the hundredth time when his brother waltzed into the room, his blonde, shoulder-length hair bouncing in time to his jovial strides.
"Ready yet, brother?" The boy's lavender eyes seemed to dance with mirth. "I'd begun to think you had turned into a girl, spending hours looking in the mirror like that."
His younger brother pouted, sticking his tongue out childishly. "No longer than you - you've been staring at yourself all day!"
The blonde gave him a light punch on the arm, grinning. "True, you're alert as always it seems." The lavender eyed boy sobered a little. "But seriously Ryou, are you really ready for your first trip to Mt. Olympus?"
"Malik, I'll be fine." Ryou turned to his dresser mirror in mild frustration, picking up his battered hair brush. Malik had been insisting that he had a new one crafted for years, having a battered brush just wasn't god like. But Ryou had persisted - no other brush could tame his locks. His brother wasn't pleased but eventually relented, as he could never argue with Ryou for very long.
Seeing the look of worry still on Malik's face, Ryou cast his eyes heavenward with a small smile gracing his lips.
"I'll be fine." He repeated, turning to put a comforting hand on the taller blonde's shoulder. "You've run me through the rules a thousand times. Be polite, be courteous and don't piss anyone off, to put it in your words exactly."
Malik's cheer returned in full force. "And to think I thought you weren't listening."
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Unlike the rough, unpaved paths home on earth, the roads connecting Mt. Olympus were of a smooth and slightly squishy substance, shimmering with an ethereal glow as if the very light itself was emitted from it. And in a way, it was. No crude, flame lit torches lit the pathway towards the palace, only the pale, eerie light cast down from the spreading of stars and the moon above.
Ryou drank up the sight greedily. He'd visited grand cities before, Athens, Corinth, but his grand visions of these were but pale reflections of this city. The palace of the gods stood towering before him; it's pure, white marble columns seeming to stretch on forever into the night sky. The buildings surrounding it were of similar style, but none could come close to the beauty of the god's reside, its vast sloped roof and hundreds of perfectly cut stairs. The albino would have been content to stare in wonder for hours on end, but was rudely interrupted by Malik's running ahead of him and spoiling the scene.
"Are you going stay outside all night?" he goaded, lavender eyes flashing. "The light makes you look angelic, yes, but there's no need to rub it in!"
"Oh quiet you!" Ryou gave his brother a mock glare before suddenly attacking in a flurry of tickles, making the older boy howl in delight before twisting out of the brown eyed boys grip and bolting. The two ran helter skelter down the path towards a vast courtyard where the party was already in full swing. Ryou was almost bowled over by another hyperactive blonde no sooner then they had entered.
"Ryou!" the honey-eyed blonde thumped the smaller boy on the back in a friendly manner. Ryou stumbled a little, though managed to shoot the other a warm grin.
"Hello to you too, Jou." The younger boy freed himself from his friend's iron grip, turning to look at the other face on.
Jou was a tallish boy, but not so to the point of lankiness, and a stock of blonde hair along with his honey eyes gave him a sunny appearance. As the god of war, Jou was dressed in full battle getup for the occasion, a short, white linen tunic covered by his intricately decorated bronze armour. A shining, bronze helmet was perched over his wild locks, the violently red plumes matching his cloak and nodding erratically with every move he made. His wide, bright grin was still firmly in place as he grabbed Ryou's wrist.
"Don't worry Malik." He said cheerfully, smiling at Ryou's brother. "I'll take care of him, show him around."
'Somehow, I think that's a good reason –to- worry." replied the other. He was also grinning. Jou pulled a face at him before launching himself back into the crowd, Ryou trailing behind him.
"What we should do is go say hello to Yami." The god of war was explaining, taking a sip of wine from a goblet he got from who knows where. Ryou nodded. This was all very new to him and though he'd met Yami, King of the gods, a few times he was still unsure of the formalities. He explained this to Jou, a touch of embarrassment in his tone.
"Don't worry about it!" The blonde had led them to a less crowded area where they could talk without having to raise their voices. They settled on a bench near the side wall. "I said we –should- go say hello." He continued, removing his helmet. "Not that we would right away. Now, would you like a drink?"
Unbeknownst to the happily talking duo, they were being closely watched from the other side of the courtyard. Bakura, the god of the Underworld, was leaning casually against a marble pillar, wine goblet in hand. He sipped at it occasionally, keeping his eyes closely glued to the pale boy across the room. Bakura had never met the boy formally, despite his occasional visit to Malik, but had watched him from afar as he worked. Through years of hidden watching, Malik would have his hide if he so much as looked at the boy the wrong way, Bakura had slowly become obsessed with the boy, neglecting his duties more and more often to watch him work.
"You'd better not be looking at my Jou." A cool voice from his right made him break his gaze long enough to glare at the brunet beside him. Seto was a tall man, possibly the tallest of the gods, and often used this asset to his advantage. His ocean blue eyes flashed dangerously when he was angered, and the trident he held at his side at all times was proof enough he had the means to back up whatever threat he presented. Presently he looked clam enough, also turning his attention to the duo across the room. Bakura allowed himself to snort at the ocean God's over protective comment.
"And why, dear brother, would I even consider looking at your war hound that way?" he asked casually, discarding his goblet to a passing servant. "True, he is appealing to the eye, but far too...noisy for my liking." Seto smirked at this
"Yes, you wouldn't be able to last a day with him." He chuckled, leaning on his trident and staring at his lover. "But you don't have to worry about that, do you?" Bakura simply shook his head. There was no point in annoying the god of the sea when he was in a protective mood. Seto had turned to him in his silence, raising a brown brow.
"No comment? That's unlike you." Bakura shrugged off the comment, indicating to the duo.
"Who's the white haired one?"
Seto turned to have a better look, waving his hand slightly as Jou caught his eyes and waved happily at him. He returned his gaze to his brother.
"You don't know him? Malik's brother, Ryou." He indicated with his trident to where Malik stood in the crowd. "I would have thought you knew. You're friends with Malik aren't you?" The grey haired god of the dead nodded silently. He'd never had the chance to ask the boy's name.
"I could ask Jou to introduce you." The brunet continued, straightening. Bakura glanced at him uncomprehendingly for a moment, before straightening also.
"That would be...helpful." Seto just shot him a smirk.
"I thought so. But remember, you owe me."
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"He's looking at you." Ryou looked up as his blonde companion sat down, his waving done for the minute. The albino blinked, not understanding.
"Who?"
"Bakura." Jou arranged himself casually on the bench. "The grey haired one."
Ryou looked over in the direction the honey eyed boy was nodding. True to his word, a grey haired god stood leaning against a pillar, his stance casual as he talked to the brunet at his side. Recognising one of Malik's good friends, Ryou had seen him during his trips to their home, the brown eyed boy gave the man a small smile, only for it to drop when the other looked swiftly away.
Bakura had always come across as rather cold to the young boy, never acknowledging the albino when the young boy greeted him. The older man's eyes may have had something to do with it, they were a deep, murky brown that seemed to absorb light rather the reflect it. Hair that was a similar cut to Ryou's, only much wilder, hung loose to the middle of the man's back and was a slight shade of grey, the sort of grey that the sky was in the early morning before the sun fully rose. The similarities between them had always made Ryou a little uneasy, but despite this he was always polite to the man - no use getting a god angry if it could be avoided.
Ryou turned back to Jou.
"I don't know why." He said, lowering his voice even though the other man had no chance of hearing him over the din of the party. "I don't think I've done anything to annoy him." He started and Jou began laughing raucously.
"You don't –have- to do anything to annoy –him-." He laughed, slapping his knee in mirth. "He's just naturally angry. I guess hanging 'round the dead all eternity can do that to you -' he cut off with a soft squeak as a strong, pale arm encircled his waist and a familiar chuckle sounded in his ear.
"Hello, my little war hound." Jou tilted his head up slightly to meet deep blue eyes, and blushed slightly at his usually stoic lover's public display of affection. He stood on tip toe and gently pecked Seto's lips with his own, his blush deepening as Ryou started giggling behind his hand.
"Ahh..." he looked about quickly for something to take the albino's attention off him, his eyes finally resting on Bakura, who had also made his way over. "Bakura! I don't believe you and Ryou have met..."
Bakura smirked slightly, moving his eyes away from the couple to study the object of his obsession. Ryou looked absolutely ravishing, in his opinion. His slightly childish face was framed beautifully by his snowy white bangs, the heavy hair falling gracefully down his back like a waterfall. Large, clear brown eyes blinked up at him, shining with an innocence that Bakura had lost a long time ago. It took all the Bakura had to stop himself from running a finger down the boy's smooth, white cheek, his pale arms, everywhere. He barely restrained himself, settling with extending his hand in greeting instead.
"Pleased to meet you."
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Whoo! *applauds herself* There's the first chapter! I hope my setting out isn't –too- confusing. I also apologise for the usage of –these-, I can't figure out how to get italics on ff.net. If anybody out there knows, please tell me! And yes, feedback is appreciated. Constructive criticism is also appreciated. Thank you for your time.