Warning: This fic contains rape/non-con/whatever you want to call it. If you don't want to read that for whatever reason, this fic is probably not for you.

Disclaimer: Statements made by the characters in this fic are their own and do not necessarily reflect the author's opinions.

Yuugi found himself in his room, staring at his reflection in the mirror, with no memory of what he had been doing. He allowed himself to sag against it, dropping his gaze to the floor and wondering how this had happened. A glance out the window told him that it was already dark outside, and probably had been for quite some time, even though the last thing he could remember was talking to Anzu after school. These weird gaps in his memory had been happening to Yuugi increasingly often recently, and they were beginning to scare him.

Don't be afraid, a voice that Yuugi didn't think he had ever heard before—but that somehow sounded familiar all the same—said from behind his shoulder.

Yuugi's head snapped back up to look at the mirror again, searching in it for the person who had spoken, but he could see nothing out of the ordinary. He began to think that maybe the strange voice had only been his imagination, though he turned around to get a better look anyways. But it was not, and as he turned he came face to face with another boy, one who should have shown up in the mirror. At least, he sort of did; although Yuugi could see the other boy, the boy seemed almost transparent, and Yuugi could also see faint outlines of the things in his room behind the boy, as if he were looking at a ghost.

When Yuugi got over his initial shock at seeing someone there, though, he realised with another shock that he had seen the boy in the mirror, in a manner of speaking: the boy looked exactly the same as Yuugi did. His body, his hair, his height, even his face, all were Yuugi's—except Yuugi was sure his eyes had never been that cold, and his smile had never been that cruel. Yuugi was feeling far more frightened of this strange boy, despite what the boy had just said, than he had ever been of his lapses in memory.

The other boy laid a hand on Yuugi's shoulder, and it felt solid, despite the boy's appearance. Yuugi might have tried to push it off if he wasn't worried about what the other boy might do if he did. Don't be afraid, the boy repeated, in a voice that was probably meant to be comforting. I would never hurt you.

Those words did not make Yuugi feel much better, but something told him that the boy was telling the truth, so he turned his mind to the one question that was bothering him. "Who—who are you?"

I am me, the boy said, as though that explained things. I am you? he added after a moment's thought. He sounded unsure of himself this time, and Yuugi got the impression that this was not a question he had ever expected to be asked.

"Another me?" Yuugi asked, not sure that he liked this development. "But why are you here? I mean, why are you with me at all?"

I protect you, little one. In other circumstances, Yuugi might have objected to being called "little" by the other boy—after all, they were exactly the same height—but he was too curious right now to care (not to mention that despite the other's reassurances, he was still rather scared). You remember all the people who hurt you, who made you angry? I was the one who punished them, the one who made sure they would never touch you again. The other Yuugi looked at Yuugi and grinned wildly—and yet Yuugi couldn't help noticing that the other Yuugi sounded almost hopeful about something.

After a moment Yuugi realised he was expected to respond, so he nodded, unable to find his voice. The other Yuugi seemed disappointed, something Yuugi felt more than saw. He had probably been expecting Yuugi to thank him, or praise him, or something, but Yuugi couldn't do that. He believed that everyone, even the worst bullies, had good in them somewhere; they didn't deserve to be hurt just because they made some bad choices.

The other Yuugi's disappointment didn't last long, though; only a moment later, he moved to stand directly in front of Yuugi, smiling once again. If Yuugi had been paying attention, he would have noticed that this smile was a little softer—almost gentle, at least in comparison to the one the boy had been wearing earlier. Even if he had noticed, though, it would not have made him any less surprised when the other boy leaned forward and kissed him straight on the lips.

If Yuugi had had the presence of mind, or the inclination, to kiss back, he might have found that the other Yuugi was not a bad kisser. But, of course, the fact that a boy who looked exactly like him had suddenly kissed him was enough to keep Yuugi from doing anything but stand stock still in shock (never mind that Yuugi had always been more interested in girls, anyways). The only thing that could really be said about the kiss, then, was that it wasn't long.

"W-what was that?" was all Yuugi managed to stammer out when the other boy pulled away.

I love you. I would do anything for you.

"Would you leave, then?" Yuugi asked, his mind completely unable to process the bizarre revelation. It was probably not the best thing to say, but Yuugi was feeling a little frightened and wanted the other boy to go away.

The other Yuugi did not answer, but he did nod, and then he was gone. He did not leave exactly, because that would have implied that he left to somewhere, and this boy just seemed to fade out of existence without moving at all.

In the days that followed Yuugi managed to convince himself that the encounter was just a dream, a nightmare caused by worry about his memory lapses. The kiss at the end was a little harder to explain—sexual frustration, maybe? Or maybe it was just strange dream logic.

Whichever it may have been, Yuugi thought it would probably be best if he didn't dwell on it. In the following days he played games and hung out with his friends and pushed the dream into the back of his mind, like all his other worries. It worked pretty well; even after his next (admittedly short) lapse in memory the dream didn't bother him. The one after that, though, was a different story.

It was the truth when he told the people with the ambulance that he didn't know how the man was poisoned. But his mind went back to that dream (or was it a dream?) with the other Yuugi who said he punished people who hurt Yuugi, and he thought that, well, if it had been real, he might have a pretty good idea who was behind it. "I wish you wouldn't do this," he whispered as he left, just in case that other Yuugi was there and listening.

Bu the hurt your friend and made you angry. He deserved it, said a voice which sounded at the same time much too innocent and much too happy for someone who had just admitted to poisoning another person. It made Yuugi jump; he hadn't been expecting anyone to really be there to answer him.

"Nobody deserves that," Yuugi whispered back.

You are not happy? The voice, asked, sounding hurt.

"No, I'm not happy," Yuugi replied, his voice still quiet, but stronger and more confident than it had been before. It seemed to be the right thing to say, because the voice went away after that. When Yuugi reunited with his friends, he didn't mention the voice to them, or the minutes he had lost before he found the shopkeeper.

When the voice didn't come back for a few hours, Yuugi began to hope that it had gone away for a while, maybe until his next lapse in memory. It was only natural, then, that when Yuugi sat down to do his homework (trying not to be too distracted by the thought of the tapes Jounouchi had lent him) he was not expecting in any way to have a continuation of his earlier conversation.

You didn't like what I did today. The voice shocked Yuugi into dropping his pencil, and caused him to look around for the speaker. He found him—the other Yuugi—standing behind him, wearing an expression that was almost apologetic, but not quite. Yuugi didn't answer, not trusting himself to speak, and the other boy grabbed his arm. Yuugi found it more than a little strange to be held in such a firm grip by a hand he could see through.

The boy pulled Yuugi up to standing, so that they were eye to eye (a somewhat unusual experience for Yuugi, who was used to having to look up at other people). That man deserved to be punished. He hurt you and stole from your friend, and that was unforgivable. He sounded completely unrepentant.

"He didn't deserve that!" Yuugi all but shouted, temporarily forgetting that the other people in the house wouldn't know who he was talking to. "You should have called the police if you wanted to stop him. They could have done something."

He had his chance. If his heart was pure, he could have won our game. Yuugi had no idea what the boy was talking about, and right now, he wasn't even sure he wanted to. But I can see this is making you unhappy. Come with me, and I will distract you for a little.

Yuugi opened his mouth to protest, or maybe to ask a question—come where? Distract with what?—but before he could say anything Yuugi was gone, and the hand had left his arm.

Yuugi opened his eyes, which he must have closed at some point, only to see his room again. He sighed in relief; he had almost been convinced that the other Yuugi was going to do something horrible to him. He picked up one of the many toys scattered on the floor: it was a 3D puzzle, like one he had wanted badly when he was younger but never gotten. That was strange, now that he thought about it; how did something that he had never owned come to be in his room? Which, when he took a closer look, wasn't really his room at all: the ceiling didn't slope, and the walls were the wrong color, and many of the toys and games were ones that he had gotten rid of, or never owned at all. On the other hand, Yuugi got the distinct feeling that the room was his, even if it wasn't hisroom, and it was hard to get worked up about being in a place like that. Even when a knock on his door reminded him again of who had brought him there, he didn't feel too worried.

When Yuugi pulled open the door it was, as he expected, the other Yuugi who was standing in the hallway on the other side. "I believe I promised you a distraction," he said, smiling an affectionate smile that did not quite reach his eyes.

"This room? It's very nice," Yuugi replied, feeling a bit less sure of himself now that the other boy was staring at him.

"Not this. Something better," the boy said, his smile turning into a smirk as he grabbed Yuugi's arm and began to pull him down the corridor, towards another door which Yuugi hadn't noticed before. It had an eye on it, and Yuugi got the sudden feeling that he really didn't want to see what was behind it. But when the other Yuugi pulled him in, he went, and found himself in a vast maze of stairways and doors.

Yuugi was lost almost as soon as he stepped through the door, but the other Yuugi seemed to know where he was going. Yuugi followed him closely; he wouldn't want to run off and get stuck in here. It seemed like a dangerous place.

Therefore, it was something of a relief to Yuugi when they stopped and the other boy pushed him down to sit on a raised platform. He wasn't sure exactly what was going on, but at least they weren't wandering around any more. And there were worse places to sit than this platform, he thought, leaning back against the wall behind him. The boy in front of him was fidgeting a little bit—it was the first time Yuugi had seen the other look anything even resembling nervous—and then he leaned down and kissed Yuugi for the second time.

Yuugi didn't want this. He tried to pull away, but the other Yuugi was pressing him into the wall that he had so stupidly been leaning against, preventing him from moving. He cursed mentally at being trapped, but, on the other hand, this was only his second ever kiss, and even if it had been forced on him, he might as well try to enjoy it at least a little bit. It wasn't as if he could stop it, anyways.

Yuugi was preoccupied enough with the kiss the other Yuugi was giving him that he didn't notice the other Yuugi's hand fumbling at the waistband of his pants until the boy stuck it inside them. Yuugi did break the kiss then, gasping out "No, stop."

The other boy looked surprised, but his hand continued moving, stroking and caressing. Yuugi hated it, and he could hear himself muttering "No, no," like a mantra, but the other Yuugi didn't seem to be listening to him.

"Don't be afraid," the other boy said, his voice oddly soothing. "I am only trying to make you feel good." He glanced downward. "I don't seem to have been completely unsuccessful." And Yuugi realised with some horror that he was growing hard under the boy's ministrations.

"That should be enough," the other Yuugi murmured; Yuugi thought he wasn't meant to hear it. He felt a wave of relief wash over him that this was done, but it didn't last long, because then the boy moved his hands onto Yuugi's hips and pulled Yuugi's pants down and lowered his head and then his mouth was around Yuugi and Yuugi had fantasized something like this happening before but in his fantasies he had never imagined himself hating it so much. He was too afraid to push the boy away; there were teeth down there and he knew the other boy was capable of hurting people and he didn't want it to be him. And, well, if he admitted it to himself, it did feel good. If the circumstances had been different, he might even have been happy about this. That was maybe the worst part, knowing that on some level he enjoyed this situation. He didn't bother to try fighting the tears that had begun to drip from his eyes, testaments to his fear and anger and helplessness.

Yuugi's orgasm took him by surprise, but it was with relief that he watched the other Yuugi pull his head up and swallow, wiping off some of the white liquid that had dribbled out of the corner of his mouth with one hand. Maybe, finally, this whole thing would be over.

"Can I leave now?" Yuugi asked. The other boy nodded, but did nothing. "Um, I don't know the way..."

"Oh. Of course," the other boy said, and he grabbed Yuugi's hand. Yuugi followed without protest; even if his guide had to be this boy, he didn't want to be stuck in this nightmarish labyrinth. Fortunately, the trip out seemed to be shorter than the one in, and soon enough Yuugi was at the door to the room he had arrived in, asking his companion to leave and for once the boy was listening to him, thank goodness.

The second time such a thing happened, Yuugi didn't leave the room he appeared in, hoping it would protect him. The third time, he didn't open the door for the other boy. The fourth time, he barricaded the door, after finding out it had no lock. The fifth time, he didn't even bother trying to stop it. What could he do against someone who apparently lived in his head?

School was boring that day, just as it always was, and Yuugi was trying to pass the time until lunch by solving puzzles in his head. Everything was fairly normal.

"I now have your quizzes from last week to hand back to you. The class did very poorly, so I expect you to study harder next time." Yuugi groaned inwardly; he hadn't felt prepared at all for that quiz. He hoped desperately that he had passed, but when he got his paper back his hopes were proved to be in vain: not only had he failed, but he had barely gotten a single point. He wasn't usually a terrible student, even if he wasn't great, and he wasn't looking forward to explaining this one to his mother.

You are feeling upset? a voice Yuugi had come to know all too well asked. I can distract you; let me. Part of Yuugi's mind noted that the voice sounded all too happy with that prospect, but the rest was more concerned with the phantom arms that embraced him, their hands moving down his body towards—

"Not here, not here, not here," Yuugi whispered, repeating it over and over like a mantra. The hands stopped.

I shall wait until you are finished with class, then, the boy said, and Yuugi was happy. It was only a small victory, but sometimes the other Yuugi hadn't given him even that much.

The rest of the class passed in a blur; instead of moving too slowly time was now moving far too fast. Yuugi had to excuse himself from finding a spot to eat with his friends by claiming that he had to use the toilet and promising to meet them there.

Yuugi thought he could hear his friends talking about him as he left, but he could also feel the other Yuugi's impatience, so he didn't stop to listen. He already knew they thought he had been acting weird recently.

Instead, he rushed into the restroom and locked himself in a stall, arranging himself in such a way that he wouldn't fall if he passed out. He was getting far too good at this lately.

The other Yuugi must have been waiting for him to be finished, because almost immediately Yuugi found himself pulled into that room. That room, with all those toys and those games, that he just couldn't bring himself to hate despite all the bad memories, since it was all just so very Yuugi. Even now, he found it hard to believe that he could be dreading anything that would happen in here.

But he was, and there was that mysterious other Yuugi sliding through the door. Yuugi looked up at him, and he smiled in a way that might almost have been called pleasant, except that it was a little too wide, a little too—something.

The boy knelt down at a partially-completed puzzle on the floor, slotting another piece into place. He turned to Yuugi. "Join me?"

Yuugi walked wordlessly over to the other boy, hoping that maybe today would be different. He added a couple more pieces to the puzzle. And to think, this wouldn't even be happening if it weren't for that stupid quiz. He was still dreading trying to explain that to his mother.

The other Yuugi looked over at him. "You shouldn't worry. Let me help." And then his hands were on Yuugi, and his mouth was on his neck, and Yuugi found himself being pushed to the floor. But maybe this wasn't all that bad, he thought, as the other Yuugi began to push his pants down. After all, the other boy had never hurt him—quite the contrary, in fact; he had always been quite attentive to Yuugi's pleasure. Even when Yuugi hated it the most, it had felt good.

Like now. "What would you like me to do?" the other Yuugi asked, as he stroked Yuugi to hardness. It was nice to be asked, but right now, Yuugi didn't care too much.

"Just make it fast," he said. The sooner he could get this over with, the sooner he could go back to his friends.

The other boy's hands momentarily stopped their stroking as he looked down at them and licked his lips. "No. I want to do this properly," he said after a moment, getting up to retrieve a jar of—of something slippery; Yuugi had never bothered to find out what exactly it was—that he always seemed to have nearby.

"Please, I just want it to be done soon," Yuugi whispered, even though he didn't think the other boy would hear him.

The other Yuugi glanced over at him from where he was trying to wriggle out of his pants. "But I know this feels best for you," he said, sounding puzzled. So he had heard Yuugi after all. "I won't take too long."

If he propped himself up on his elbows, Yuugi could see the other boy preparing himself with an expression on his face so serious as to almost be comical. But Yuugi knew what was coming, so he didn't laugh. He just watched nervously until the time came for the other to slick him up, and he couldn't help but respond.

As the other Yuugi slid down onto Yuugi, he leaned back again, although he didn't stop looking at the other boy. Not that he could without closing his eyes, really, with the other leaning over him like that. And the other Yuugi had been right, it did feel good, but Yuugi still wished he wasn't here.

The pace the other boy picked was fast, which Yuugi could only interpret as the other listening to his desire for this to be finished quickly, something he was thankful for. As for himself, Yuugi just lay there and waited for it to be over. There wasn't really much else he could do, anyways. At least he didn't cry about it anymore.

When Yuugi finished, despite his previous wish to leave, he did not get up. The other Yuugi was still leaning over him, preventing him from moving much, but he did not even bother to ask, even though the other seemed to be listening to him today. He just lay there, watching the other's strangely contented face above him and thinking. "Why do you do this to me?" he asked at last. It was, he realised, a question he had not asked once since this whole thing had started.

The other boy looked surprised. "Because I love you," he said, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world, and reached up to run his fingers over Yuugi's face. "You rescued me when I was in darkness. I don't want to see anyone make you upset."

The words "I love you" echoed around Yuugi's brain. The other Yuugi had said them before, the first time he and Yuugi had met—the first time he and Yuugi had kissed. So this was love, then? Protecting Yuugi, even against his will—was that what love meant? That hadn't been Yuugi's impression from the movies he had watched in the past, but then, movies were wrong about a lot of things. And, though Yuugi was sure he didn't love the other Yuugi back, maybe he could accept the love the other was giving him. Maybe things would be better that way.