Disclaimer: I own nothing involved in this story unless I invented it myself. This is written for fun, not for profit.
Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh Duel Monsters
Title: Plaything
Romance: Yami no Bakura x Honda
Word Count: 6,203||Status: Complete
Genre: Romance||Rated: R
Challenge: Yu-Gi-Oh Pairings 9 & 3/4: Easy Round: Yami no Bakura x Honda
Notes: Dubious consent involved here. It's also set in the manga canon, with light references to the Monster World game played there.
Feedback: All forms eagerly accepted. Concrit is loved the most, but everything is welcome.
Summary: Bakura likes games. Especially ones with just one other player, and when there's no way he can lose.

He rolled the small figurine over in his hands, debating on what to do. The tines of the Millennium Ring clinked softly against one another, reacting to the threads of magic still woven around the item.

There's enough there. The dark spirit of the Millennium Ring could feel the power that pulsed there. It wasn't a strong pulse, but it was there all the same. One of the strongest forms of magic was image magic, after all, and when one combined that with the power of the Ring, it stood to reason a bond still existed between these figures and those whom they represented.

He glanced at the others, considering. Toying with Yuugi would be a very bad idea; the other spirit tended to far more protectiveness than he wanted to deal with at the moment. Anzu or Jounouchi might be interesting, but at a later date. His gaze returned to the one in his hand: Honda Hiroto.

A faint smile thinned the spirit's stolen lips. Soon he would have to move into position, to get the final round of this game between himself and the Spirit of the Puzzle going. For the moment, however, he had free time. And now, he knew what he wanted to do with it.

He closed his hand more tightly over the figure and concentrated. He didn't want to pull Honda's soul into it, and he didn't think it even was possible to do that. The ties weren't that strong. But to call the other here, to play with him just a little, to sate certain desires he hadn't indulged himself in for some time...yes, he could do that.

Come. Come here. Come to me.The call spun out on the winds of the night, and Bakura waited. He wouldn't need much to enjoy himself, and after all that he'd had to do over the last week or so, he thought he deserved a little recreation.

His host still slept, and deeply at that, and would likely never even know this happened. Bakura liked his host asleep and did his best to keep him that way whenever possible. At times he wondered what it would be like to have a willing host, one who would be more inclined to actually help him instead of complaining about everything.

If all of this turns out as well as I hope, I won't need a host for much longer.He would deal with that soon enough, however. Tonight he would enjoy himself with a fresh, unused toy.

He didn't bother watching the clock, but he knew it wasn't much later when a bit of a hesitant knock sounded. It only took a heartbeat for him to soften his features. It wouldn't do for the new toy to realize who he was too soon.

"Uh...hi, Bakura?" Honda raised one hand in greeting as the other opened the door a fraction and peered out. "Would you believe I have no idea why I'm here?"

Bakura blinked in confusion as well, even as he unchained the door and opened it. "You don't?" Oh, too easy. Far too easy.

"Nope. I just had this really weird desire to come over here." Honda shrugged as he came inside. Bakura closed the door behind them both, locking it silently. The figurine rested in his pocket out of sight, but he didn't need to touch it to weave his power around it. The closer it was to him, the easier it would be.

"Well, now that you're here, would you like a cup of tea?" Bakura moved toward the kitchen; he wasn't as skilled in cooking as his host was, but he had picked up a few things in the course of surfing through bodies over the centuries. One of those was how to make a decent cup of tea.

Honda nodded, settling down in one of the chairs as he did. He glanced around a little, nervousness visible in the tightness of his eyes and the way his hands gripped around the chair arms. Bakura kept a smile to himself. Honda didn't even know what 'nervous' meant. Not yet.

"How have things been with you?" Honda asked, obviously trying to make himself more comfortable and not doing it very well. "No problems?"

Bakura carefully made the tea, taking his time to get it done right. Most of his reasoning behind that was because he wanted to give the very best impression of being his host that he could. The rest of it was because if he actually faced Honda, he'd probably burst out into laughter at how innocent he was. "None at all."

He spoke the absolute truth of course. He wasn't having any problems and neither was his host. At least not by his own interpretation of 'problem'. Honda might have a different opinion, but Bakura wasn't all that concerned with Honda's opinion at the moment.

"Good to hear." Honda tilted his head toward the kitchen. "I can't say I'm going to miss the ...you know, the other."

Bakura's fingers tightened on the tea cups for a moment. He fought to regain control of himself; of course Honda wouldn't want to see him around. "I suppose not."

Perhaps some trace of untoward emotion flavored his tone, since Honda leaned forward a little more. "You don't miss him, do you?"

"Of course not." You couldn't miss what wasn't gone, after all. "Why would you think I might?"

"Not sure. You just sounded a little weird." Honda shrugged and leaned back in the chair. Bakura breathed a little deeply and concentrated on getting the tea done.

He carried the tea tray in there, steam rising in curls from each cup, and settled it on the table before the chairs. Honda reached for one cup, hesitating only for a heartbeat as he gave Bakura a quick, hard look.

He wants to know if this is 'me'. Bakura tried not to laugh and did his best to simply return the look with all of the innocence he could manage as he sat down and reached for his own cup. He didn't really like tea all that much, though his host did, but he could pretend for a short time.

Finally Honda started to sip his drink, a fraction of the tension fading from his shoulders. Bakura had never been good at small talk, and was quite grateful his host wasn't either, since it meant he didn't have to put up with any right now. All that he had to do was wait for all of Honda's barriers to slip away.

He'd chosen chamomile tea just for that, renowned for its re laxative properties. Honda wouldn't suspect a thing.

"This is really good." Honda murmured, glancing into the cup. "I'm not much of a tea-drinker."

"It's an acquired taste." Bakura took a few sips of his own, carefully weaving more of his magic as he did. Not too much, not enough for anyone to notice, especially not Honda, but a twitch here, a flick there.

Honda set the cup down once he'd emptied it. "I probably shouldn't stay all that long." Bakura didn't want to hear something like that.

"Why not? Is there something you need to do somewhere else?" Bakura kept most of his overt attention on his own cup. Other words hovered behind his lips but he kept them sealed up for now. Time enough for that shortly.

"Well, like I said, I don't know why I came over here anyway. You were probably doing something, weren't you?"

Bakura shook his head. "Just going over some old notes, that's all." True enough; he'd found the diorama his host had made of the figurines while making other plans, and that sparked all the rest of this. He gestured to where the others lay, his trap spun out carefully.

Honda glanced over at the motion, not paying much attention at first. Bakura could almost see the thoughts circulating through his mind as he counted each of the figurines there, and the one that wasn't there.

"Where's mine?" He wanted to sound tense, Bakura thought, but with the tea and the spell, he just couldn't quite make it.

Bakura slid it from his pocket, twirling it between his fingers, letting his eyes and lips sharpen as he did. "Quite safe. I don't plan to let any harm come to it."

Honda made a gainful effort to sound worried. "I thought...you..."

Bakura tightened his grip for a moment, twitching the spell, and Honda fell silent. "I would say it's good to see you again, but I don't think you'd agree, would you?" He toyed with the figurine a little more. "Don't worry. I don't intend to hurt you."

"You expect me to believe that?" Honda managed something of a snort at that and Bakura had to admire his strength. Not everyone could fend off one of his spells, even with effort.

"If you like. But you don't have to." It was the truth, but whether Honda believed it didn't matter to him. "If I wanted to, you'd already be dead. What could you do to stop me?"

Honda breathed just a little faster, fingers tightening on the chair arms. Bakura indulged himself in watching for a few heartbeats, wondering just how far the other could, or would, fight. He wasn't surprised when Honda sank back down, a trickle of sweat going down the side of his face.

"What did you do?"

"Nothing that will hurt you." Bakura rose to his feet, a languid grace in his movements that his host could never share. "You're going to enjoy all of this, I promise you."

Honda didn't look even remotely convinced. Bakura didn't care; he had plenty of time in which to convince him. He set the figurine on the table and took the few steps necessary to stand beside him and looked down, a thousand thoughts flickering through his mind.

"I could say that you owe me a favor. I did get you out of Pegasus's dungeon that night. And I believe you pride yourself on returning favors." A hint of a smile tilted his lips upward as he traced one hand across Honda's shoulders.

"So what do you want?" Honda bit the words off, his relaxation not quite as thorough as Bakura wanted. Still, he wasn't trying to jump up and head for the door, so that was something. The longer Honda stayed, the less he'd want to leave, especially once Bakura really got to work on 'relaxing' him.

He smiled, fingers moving across those broad shoulders, enjoying the feel of warm skin. "I want to play. That's all. A little game of my own devising." He leaned in to breathe across Honda's ear. "And the only game piece I need is you."

He wasn't at all surprised to hear Honda's breath catch in his throat. The game had already begun; it had started the moment he'd called the other here. And so far as Bakura cared, he'd already won.

"What are the rules?" Excellent. He enjoyed a co-operative partner more than he did something forced. Or at least one who would pretend to co-operate.

"I think you can guess." Bakura moved his hand down to catch on the bottom of Honda's shirt. "Or do I need to spell it out?" Just in case he did, he moved his lips to the back of Honda's neck and traced his tongue teasingly here and there. Once again Honda's breath caught and Bakura chuckled. "I suppose I don't."

He raised Honda's shirt, wriggling it off him before tossing it to the side, and stole a moment to admire the other's muscled back. He didn't know how Honda spent his spare time, but whatever he did, it certainly did a body good. He ran the tips of his fingers down it, enjoying the way Honda shivered under his touch.

"Have you ever done this with anyone?" He deliberately left it vague on what he meant by 'this'. There were so many ways that the question could be answered, and he wasn't surprised at all when Honda shook his head no. "Good." That much less for him to unlearn when he didn't have any bad habits.

Bakura leaned closer, taking in a deep breath of the aroma that spoke clearly of Honda to him, of a faint hint of sweat and fear, with a strong lacing of anger and worry. He brushed his lips over that spot again, this time brushing his hands down Honda's sides at the same moment, and quite enjoyed how Honda jumped at that.

"Uh...is this a good place?" He could tell Honda only wanted a few minutes to try to get his thoughts in order, probably marshalling some form of defense against the decadent pleasures being offered here. "Shouldn't we...I dunno, the bedroom?"

Was Honda blushing? Yes, Bakura quite thought he was. He'd certainly never seen that before. How cute.

He moved closer, hands going up and down Honda's sides and across his back and chest in a quick, darting rhythm. "I think we're fine right where we are." He had no intentions of giving Honda even a few moments to think about what was going on. Not that he thought the other could in any way escape the snare that wrapped around him, but thinking about things too much lessened the pleasure of them. He wanted Honda to experience the full pleasures he had in mind.

Quicker than most humans could react to, he moved closer to Honda, seizing his chin in one hand and pulling his head around. He had to watch himself; he didn't want to snap the boy's neck, after all. But he knew how to judge his strength and before Honda could so much as blink in confusion, he pressed their lips together, sucking on them for a few moments before he began to kiss farther downward.

He hadn't forgotten Honda still had his pants on; he had something already in mind to deal with those. From one pocket he slipped out a slender knife, and glanced up just to see the other's reaction to it.

What pleased him the most was that Honda didn't seem scared. Disturbed, angry on some level, probably quite a few other emotions that Bakura didn't really care about, but scared wasn't one of them. Good. Excellent, in fact. All the more fun for him if he didn't have to worry about the other passing out in fear.

I could probably just get him to take these off, but where would the fun be in that? He set to work cutting them off, deliberately taking his time and making them a shredded mess as soon as possible.

"What am I supposed to wear out of here now?" Honda grated the words out and Bakura only smiled, running his free hand down one long muscled leg and enjoying the way Honda bit back a quick, unexpected sigh of pleasure.

"I don't think you need to worry about leaving here just yet." There were so many other far more interesting things they could do before then. Why look to the future when the present was so much more delightful?

Getting rid of the tattered pants and what lay beneath them, Bakura paused after setting the knife down, just long enough to take a very good look at everything that lay before him. Not perfect, not by any means, but he saw very little to complain about.

"What about you?" Honda managed to gather the sense to ask as Bakura began to rain teasing little kisses and touches down on every part of him he could reach. "Don't you..." His words broke off into a moan and Bakura smiled. All in good time.

Over the eons he'd flitted from host to host in the Millennium Ring, the dark spirit picked up several tricks, some connected to thievery, some not. In his endless search for the Millennium Items, he'd found he needed the use of several kinds of weaponry as well. Sex was just one tool in his arsenal, and one he didn't often have reason to use.

Tonight was different. Though he knew he wouldn't get any of the Items from this, he could use the release, and the enjoyment that came from playing with someone else's mind and body.

Now, he traced his tongue over Honda's thighs and flicked between them, keeping his hands braced on the chair. He thoroughly enjoyed how much power this gave him, knowing that Honda's pleasure was held in his hands.

Well, perhaps not his hands. But in his control, nevertheless.

Honda's head tilted backward, an incoherent noise rising from his lips. Bakura knew he couldn't last much longer; he'd seen that kind of look before on people about to peak for the very first time.

So it was with a thrill of pure deviltry that he pulled his head back and stood up, taking a quick step back. Honda blinked a few times, confusion writ large all over his features, and looked toward him. "Huh?"

Ah, the intelligence of those pulled back from the brink of pleasure.

"Hm?" Bakura brushed himself off, looking for all the world as if he had no intentions whatsoever of finishing what he'd started. "Was there something?"

Honda shook his head, trying to get his brains put back together, and not doing a very good job of it. "You were...I mean..."

"Did you want me to finish?" Bakura settled back into his chair and lifted the forgotten tea cup. Cold now, but he didn't really care one way or the other. The game moved into its second round now.

Silence rang between them. Honda's fists clenched and unclenched. He was more than bright enough to see the trap he lay in, especially when Bakura picked up the figurine and toyed with it once again. Then the dark spirit set it back down and passed a hand over it.

He didn't need to, of course. But he knew enough about people to know they preferred their magic with flashy gestures more than anything else.

"What..." Honda's eyes narrowed, more comprehension coming back into them. "What did you do?"

"Ended what I did before, of course." Bakura relaxed, taking his time. He admired the play of the light on Honda's flushed flesh as the taller man tried to figure out what was going on. "You can leave if you like. I'll even lend you some clothes." Offhand, he wasn't even certain if his host had anything that could fit Honda. He didn't expect to need to.

Honda said nothing, only kept staring at him. "I thought you'd want..." He made a gesture with one hand, trying to avoid saying what they both knew he meant. "Isn't that what you said?"

"I said nothing of the sort. If I choose to call the favor repaid, I can." Bakura set the cup down and met Honda's eyes firmly. "However, if you want to do something more, perhaps we can discuss it?"

Red crept up Honda's features for a few heartbeats, not quite a blush, but the first cousin to one. "Discuss?"

"That's right." Bakura didn't let the other look away. "If you want to carry on from where we were, then you're going to have to make it worth my while." He could only imagine everything that tumbled through Honda's mind right now. He almost wished he could use the power of the Millennium Eye and find out for himself. Unfortunately, that wasn't an option.

"What did you have in mind?" Honda fidgeted as he spoke. Bakura's smile dripped confidence. He'd expected nothing less. Just because he'd said he felt the debt taken care of didn't mean that Honda felt that way. Or trusted that he really did himself. Better to have everything done to the fullest instead.

"Guess." Bakura took a long, lingering look at Honda, who still sat sans clothing in the chair. He didn't look comfortable by any means, of course, though Bakura didn't think there was anyone who could in that situation.

The dark-haired teen swallowed once or twice. "All right." He might not have known everything he agreed to, but he agreed to it anyway. "But when this is done, it's over, right? Nothing else between us. No debt."

"Agreed." Bakura rose to his feet and once more crossed over there. "This will clear you entirely." He settled himself on the chair arm, tugging Honda to one side so he could get himself comfortable. "In several ways."

Where before he'd worked with his lips and tongue, now he brought his hands to bear. He'd stolen many precious treasures over the eons, but there was always a special thrill to stealing someone's first time, even when they more or less offered it to him. Working past their defenses was no more a problem than slipping past guards or a security system.

Honda's hands clenched on the chair arms once more and his breathing sped up yet again. Bakura liked to work with his hands here; it offered him the chance to watch Honda's face. There was such a thrill to all of this.

This time he let it go all the way, and Honda's cry of pleasure bounced back from the walls. Just as well this place has good soundproofing.He didn't want any of his host's neighbors trying to find out what the noise was about.

It took a few minutes for Honda to recover enough to say anything else and while he did, Bakura took the chance to divest himself of his own clothing, putting it all neatly to one side. There were other tools he needed to bring all of this to completion and he'd already set them in arm's reach underneath the table. He didn't need them quite yet, but they were there.

Of course, once Honda could say something, Bakura didn't give him time to do so. He hadn't started all of this to hear meaningless chitchat. Instead, he fastened his lips once more on Honda's, kissing long and slow and thoroughly, enjoying every single second of it. Honda didn't quite return it, but he wasn't trying to pull away either, which suited Bakura right down to the ground.

Once he'd satisfied himself there, he reached underneath the table and dug into the box, finding the tube he wanted. When Honda caught sight of it, his eyes widened a fraction, but he made no move to protest. Bakura approved; this was the last stage of the game, after all. The peak, one might say.

He hadn't done this very often with this particular host; he'd been too busy with more important matters. But he still remembered how it was done, which he proved swiftly as he slid one finger within Honda, enjoying the warmth and the pressure as he did.

A quick peek at Honda's face showed just what he'd expected: strong startlement and a little hint or two of pleasure, pleasure that increased when Bakura slowly slipped the second finger in there.

"What..." The word managed to fall from Honda's lips, wrapped in echoes of confusion and pleasure, even as Bakura worked his fingers a little, carefully getting Honda ready for the next step.

"It's called preparing you." He should've known that Honda wouldn't have any idea of what two men had to do with one another. It had probably never even crossed his mind. He didn't bother to give any lectures on why; all that needed knowing at the moment was that it was necessary.

One more finger and a little more work, during which Honda's hips arced upward and his breath came quicker. He wasn't quite yet on the verge of another orgasm, but as Bakura's fingers brushed a part of himself he'd barely known existed, much less how good something could feel touching that, it would take very little effort.

Bakura pulled his fingers out, enjoying the slightly displeased expression on Honda's face at that, and then carefully set himself, ready to take the final step. With exquisite timing, he leaned forward and murmured, "Are you certain you want this?"

"Stop stalling!" Honda hissed, eyes flashing at that. Bakura chuckled; just as he'd expected. He doubted it would take much effort to get Honda to do almost anything he wanted and not think hard about the consequences.

But that could be for another day. For now, he did what hewanted to do, sliding within Honda inch by careful inch. Tight muscles clenched and Bakura breathed out a pleased groan of his own. He almost wished his host were awake, so he could share this with him.

Best that he wasn't, though. Bakura Ryou could be so picky about what was done with his body. As if it existed for some other purpose than fulfilling the dark spirit's own needs.

He decided those thoughts were best saved for another time and focused all of his attention on what was happening now. It didn't take long at all for him to get settled into a firm rhythm, the sound of flesh against flesh loud and clear in his ears, Honda's grunts and groans of pleasure just as clear. For someone with no experience, Honda certainly took to this like a duck to water.

For a timeless time, nothing at all mattered to either of them but the slowly rising tides of pleasure between them. Bakura licked and nipped at Honda's shoulders and chest, leaving little marks here and there. Marks he knew no one else would ever see, but hewould know they were there, and that was all that mattered. That and the fact Honda would know they were there as well.

Honda tried to return the kisses as best that he could, but given their positions, it was much more difficult for him, especially with how much Bakura moved and how overwhelming all of this was for him in the first place. Still, he tried, and Bakura gave him credit for that much. He didn't want any marks on his own skin; his host would have enough questions about how much his body would ache anyway.

Again Honda reached the heights of pleasure first, his cry even louder than the one before. Bakura didn't last a great deal longer; while his mind held much more experience, his current body was as inexperienced as Honda's. He should've thought about that, he realized, as the white light of orgasm tore through him. Oh, well, too late now.

Covered in sweat and other fluids, both of them lay tangled around one another in the chair afterward. Bakura cracked one eye to look at the other. "Satisfied?"

"Shouldn't I ask you that?" Honda managed to form more of a sentence than Bakura would've thought, given how good he himself felt. He only shrugged, though. He wasn't entirely sated yet, but he knew he'd need to rest some before anything else happened.

Honda said nothing else for a few moments, his eyes half-closed, breathing softly. Bakura watched him, wondering what thoughts wandered their way through his mind. Watching Honda was something he had a lot of experience with. He'd called him here tonight for multiple reasons, the least of which was the attraction the quiet teenager held for him.

Perhaps it's because we're both outsiders of a type.That hadn't ever bothered him, and it still didn't now. But it gave him something to think about even as he unwound himself and rose to his feet, holding a hand out for Honda to take.

"Shower." He hauled Honda to his feet as well when the other took his hand and headed for the bathroom, hoping the hot water would ease at least some of the aches. The less his host pestered and fretted about what he'd done, the better.

One of the amenities of this apartment was a shower actually big enough for two people, unlike some of the Japanese apartments Bakura knew of. His host's father paid a good price for this place, and it was worth it. Especially tonight, as the two of them cleaned up together.

Bakura took the time to enjoy the sight of the water cascading down Honda's chest and legs, as well as soaking into his hair, sending the trademark spike drooping. He reached over to run his hand through the wet strands.

"You'll have to stay until this dries." The weather was pleasant enough, but he didn't want to send his new plaything out there in ill-fitting clothes and wet hair. If anyone, such as Yuugi or Jounouchi, saw him like that, it wouldn't be a great jump to figure out at least something of what was going on. And Bakura didn't consider it any of their business.

Honda didn't argue, only eyed Bakura, thoughtfulness in his dark eyes. Bakura prided himself on being swift, but even he was taken slightly aback when Honda leaned over and started to kiss down him. He fumbled behind himself until he could brace his back against the wall, figuring out what Honda had in mind and not complaining. If anything, he approved incredibly.

Just as he thought, Honda's kisses led downward, until they caressed his stomach and thighs. While not as skilled or talented as Bakura himself, there was something one could say for enthusiasm, as Honda displayed right now. He turned out a quick study as well, putting his mouth to work to bring Bakura as much enjoyment as Bakura had him not that long ago.

Bakura wished he had something more to hold on to, but the shower had an amazing lack of such grips. The curtain rod would probably have been suitable, but he didn't entirely trust it to hold up given what he knew was coming. So he steadied himself on the wall with one hand and braced himself against Honda with the other.

Hot water still cascaded over the both of them as Honda worked, sending tendrils of pleasure through Bakura as he found the most sensitive places on Bakura's body. The thief wondered if his host would find them just as enjoyable. Perhaps he'd have a chance to find out one day. But for now, this pleasure remained strictly his.

His hips bumped against the wall as Honda continued, the one hand winding through Honda's wet hair, getting a good grip, groaning as he did. This wasn't his first time, but it had been quite a while since he'd had anyone pleasuring him like this. He could get used to it happening in the future, too.

A third time a cry of intense passion echoed all around them, Bakura arching his head and back against the wall. He slumped just for a moment, breathing in deeply. Only the vague, questioning sense of his host's mind, stirred by the strength of the orgasm, pulled him out of that blissful haze. He muttered a few harsh words under his breath before sending Bakura Ryou back into a deep sleep. He couldn't exactly control the other's mind, but a subtle suggestion that this was all a very realistic dream would probably keep things quiet for the rest of the night.

Honda glanced at him, head tilted to the side, and Bakura shook his head. "Nothing you need to worry about."

The hot water'd finally begun to run out by the time they finished cleaning up and left the bathroom. Bakura tossed Honda a spare robe and settled back into the chair after wrapping himself in his host's favorite. All of his thoughts seemed coated with a rich golden haze, the aftermath of good sex.

"So what now?" Honda asked after several minutes of silence. Bakura glanced at him, one eyebrow going up.

"You wait until your hair dries and I see if there's anything you can wear home, then you go home." He'd thought that would've been obvious. Honda looked a little perturbed by the whole idea.

"I mean, is there going ...is this all there is to it?"

Bakura couldn't decide if he felt sorry for any of Honda's future lovers or not. "What more did you want? This is to clear the debt, remember." That wasn't entirely trust, at least not on his part, since he'd never actually said he was doing this for the debt's cause. He'd let Honda think that, but he really didn't care one way or the other about it.

It did amuse him that here Honda sat offering himself to Bakura practically of his own free will, though.

"Oh." Honda fidgeted, staring down at his hands. Bakura tried not to laugh; he was indeed attracted to the idiot, but at the moment, he had too much else that he wanted to do, that he needed to do. There wasn't any way he could carry on anything with someone else when he might not exist in another few days.

At least not like this, anyway. Win or lose (and he would win), everything would change.

"Let's leave our options open." He wasn't certain of why he said it like that. Only that the thought of cutting Honda off entirely left a hint of wrongness in his mind. Sure, Honda supported his enemy, and it was likely only because of his own sense of honor for paying back that so-called debt that he wouldn't reveal the other's presence here anyway, but some things even Bakura couldn't deny.

Honda nodded, reaching for the towel he'd brought with him to work on his hair a little more. Bakura watched him, letting his own drip dry. His host could deal with the tangles in the morning.

"I wouldn't have thought you'd want to cash in the debt like this," Honda said, voice only a little muffled behind the towel. "I didn't think you'd even care."

"You'd be surprised at what I care about." Bakura told him. "I have my reasons." Reasons he had no intentions of sharing. He might not have intended for matters to end like this when he'd found the figurine, but now that they had, he wasn't entirely displeased with it all. It could even prove useful during the upcoming game. Perhaps, or perhaps not.

Silence fell again, and once more Honda broke it. "Are you going to tell Bakura? The other one...the real one?"

Bakura bristled; he was as much Bakura as his host was. But now wasn't quite the time to get into this argument. "No. And you won't either. He doesn't need to know."

"It's his body." Honda pointed out with what he probably thought was relentless logic. Bakura only shrugged.

"So? I haven't hurt it. I don't tell him everything I do." Because if he did, the child would probably lose what sanity he had left. Bakura kept it a secret for Bakura's own good.

Hair finally dried to his satisfaction (though it would take some hair gel for him to get his spike back into proper condition), Honda got up and searched around for what remained of his clothes. Bakura didn't move, preferring just to watch him, flipping the figurine around in his hands as he did. Honda turned to look at him.

"How much of this was because of that?" He asked it bleakly, as if almost not wanting to know the answer. Bakura smiled. He thought he would like this.

"All it did was bring you here and get you relaxed a little. Everything else was pure you." His lips tipped upward to a smirk. "And me." If Honda held any illusions about blaming the figurine or Bakura's magic for what happened, Bakura liked the notion of shattering them.

Honda's jaw set for a moment, his eyes still on the figurine, then shifting up to Bakura himself. "I want it."

"No." Bakura held it loosely between his fingers. "It belongs to me." Bakura didn't give up any of his playthings easily, or at all. He stood up and meandered into the bedroom, coming out a few moments later with a pair of jeans. "Here." He thought they'd fit, at least well enough to get him home. It was already late enough that most people would likely not give him a second look.

He could still see questions written in Honda's expression, but he wasn't interested in answering them. Perhaps there would be more experiences in the future, perhaps not. He'd sated himself with what they had tonight, and the rest would work itself out.

Honda said nothing more, just got the pants on and finished getting himself together. Whatever he might've thought his first experience with sex would be like, Bakura didn't think this was it. So be it, though.

"You know something, Bakura?" Honda turned toward the door, then looked back over his shoulder.

"More than you can possibly imagine. Whatever petty insult you have in mind, I've heard it before." Bakura lounged back in the chair, stretching. "Good night, Honda." A sudden glint of mischief lit his eyes. "I'll see you tomorrow night. Same time." He let just a moment pass in silence. "Bring an extra pair of pants."

The door closed behind Honda. But not before Bakura spied the slight nod of agreement, and smiled. He so enjoyed a good game.

I win, Honda.

The End