Submission

By Borath

Disclaimer; I don't own them. Never have and if the universe stays as it is I never will either.

Right, I wanted to stretch my angst muscles as it's been a while so expect some character-whumping here. If rape squicks you, leave now. If not, welcome to the fic! I don't write any major details, in fact I leave quite a lot of stuff out, so it should be alright to read comfortably.

I'm going with everyone's Japanese name except for Jounouchi because my spell-checker hates it and it's so damn long. During the course of this fic he will hence-forth be known as Joey. Some Yami/Joey friendship-iness here. Nothing yaio there.

****

They'd taken him straight off the streets without him even knowing until Yugi cried out to him through their link, a wave of panic flooding through until he was obviously knocked unconscious. Then they had phoned him at the Game Shop, demanded that he come to the address they gave if he didn't want any harm to come to his Aibou. And so Yami had went, in the early hours of the evening as instructed, not even hesitating at the gates to the large house.

Security was immense which stole away any hope he had had of simply taking Yugi out of the fortress. Instead he was lead to a small office-type room at the very end of a long corridor, the door locked behind him after he was told to take a seat on one of the chairs.

He had barely been in the room a minute when a man entered, at least twice his size with muscles rippling down his bare arms. Dressed in black jeans and a tank-top, he had sat opposite the former-pharaoh with his elbows on his knees, dark eyes raking across his body in a way that made him want to squirm.

"I challenge you to a duel; if I win, I take Yugi away with me and you don't bother us again. If I lose, I'll stay in his place," Yami stated immediately wanting to leave this place as soon as possible. He didn't want his Light around this creature any longer than possible.

The man who seemed only a few years his senior, physically at least, smiled at that as if he'd been expecting it. "No, I will not duel you, but I will make you a deal."

"And what might that be?"

"I've been watching you for quite a long time, Yami, and I must admit that I've never hungered for anything more. If you submit yourself willingly to me five times then I shall let both you and your counterpart leave. If you refuse, I will keep Yugi here with me."

Yami thought about that for only a second before nodding his head firmly. He was Yugi's guardian; his soul purpose was to protect his Light half. He couldn't let his personal feelings interfere with that. He wouldn't.

Smiling at that and standing smoothly, a large had was outstretched to him, one which Yami ignored as he stood without any assistance. The other didn't show any signs of disapproval at that, walking to the door on the opposite side of the office to the one Yami had come in through, stepping through it and leaving Yami to follow.

"My name is Kresha by the way, should you feel the urge to cry out," he said with a smirk, coming around behind Yami and closing the door. Yami focussed his eyes on the large bed infront of him trying desperately not to think about what was going to happen next.

The Game King shivered slightly despite himself as those hands traced up and down his spine, exploring the hidden muscles there before moving lower. Turning him to face him, Kresha set about unbuckling his shirt, a task that proved to be fairly difficult with his broad fingers. "Remove your cloths," he instructed after a few fruitless minutes, stepping back and doing the same.

Apparently Kresha wasn't too patient for Yami had barely removed his second foot from his pants when he was pounced on, pure force used to drive him back onto the mattress. His mouth was forced open by the other's tongue, the feeling making him want to retch but he responded still. He had to get Yugi out of here and if this was the price for that then so be it.

He lost courage in his thoughts when Kresha reached past him to the cabinet next to the bed, producing a bottle of sweet-smelling oil with one hand whilst caressing his inner thigh with the other. He pushed him off of him when he opened the cap, shoving himself up the bed and sitting against the wall behind him, eyes wide but determined and a hand raised against him.

"No. I won't submit to this," he panted, feeling internally disgusted with himself at his own arousal.

Kresha sat on his heels still holding the bottle, pouring a little into his palms and rubbing it into the flesh idly. He didn't look up at Yami but there was still a smile on his face. "If you don't then I'll take out my, frustration, on your little one. But I'm sure you'd want to protect something as precious as his innocence so I think it would be a good idea for you to come back here and lie down."

'His innocence? Ra no, I can't let him do that. Yugi would be destroyed spiritually not to mention severely hurt physically.' Clenching his eyes shut at those thoughts, Yami shifted forward slightly and laid himself on his back, holding his breath against what Kresha was doing.

'It's me or him' was a mantra in his head, giving him some measure of strength to cling to. Still, he hoped that he would come through this well enough to get to Yugi and take him home.

****

Anzu, Honda and Joey were all at the house when they finally got home in the morning, all worried to death and almost in tears as they embraced Yugi once he was through the door. They had all come over and let themselves in after Yami told them that Yugi had been taken, having slept in the living-room all night should they return.

Yami was limping heavily as he entered but thankfully no-one noticed, their attention focussed so much on Yugi. Once the commotion had settled they had all sat down, save for Yami who chose to stand behind the chair Yugi was sitting in, his hands braced on the back of it for support.

"So what happened?" Anzu asked, her voice still thick from crying over her friend's safe return.

"I don't really know to be honest," Yugi shrugged slightly. "I came round with a headache an hour or so before Yami came in to get me. He said that he'd dueled Kresha to let me go and he'd won. He's hurt though because Kresha wasn't too happy that he lost and attacked him."

Yami nodded when all eyes turned to him, Anzu's tearing up as she saw for herself how puffy the skin was under his eyes. Yugi had believed the entire story without question, something that had made him ache; Yugi's total trust in him even though he was lying. But he couldn't let him know what had really happened. It was too much for even him to think about right now.

"You should sit down if he hurt you, Yami," Honda said, already standing to leave his seat empty and coming up behind the shorter boy. The movement was so similar Yami froze and offered no resistance as he was led to the free seat and set down. Biting his lower lip hard to stop himself screaming as pain laced up his spine when he sat, Yami composed his face to hide it, absently tonguing the blood the was welling in his mouth.

They were asking Yugi more questions now, checking that he was alright and the such. Yami couldn't hear them though, a faint roaring building up in his ears as he went cold inside. Trying to remain conscious was becoming quite difficult and the pain made him want to retch despite not having eaten since yesterday. Knowing that he was going to do something spectacular that would lead to a lot of questions if he didn't move soon, he quietly yet quickly excused himself and moved into the kitchen as fast as the searing pain would allow.

Once inside he kicked the door shut before moving to the sink, bracing his hands against the sides as his stomach rebelled. Most of it was bile, the acid burning his mouth and throat as it passed, but there was something else mixed in with the lime colored liquid, something which only served to make him feel impossibly worse.

On the verge of hyperventilating now, Yami backed away from the sink and froze in shock when he bumped into something warm, a pair of hands coming up to his shoulders and holding him steady as he shook. Not wanting physical contact of any description, not to mention the trapped feeling he was experiencing, he moved away abruptly and turned to face the intruder.

Joey watched him seemingly at a loss as to what to do, his hands still raised from where he had placed them on the other boy's shoulders. Yami stared at him for a few long moments before his legs gave out sending, him to his knees on the hard floor. Yami placed a hand against the cabinets beneath the sink to support himself on his knees, not wanting to sit back well aware of the further pain that it would cause.

Approaching as if he would a scared wild animal, Joey stepped towards him with his hands raised non-threateningly, his eyes flickering to the contents of the sink without conscious thought. His throat clenching at the sight, he reached out a hand numbly and flicked on the faucet, leaving it running as he knelt down before Yami.

"Kresha didn't just hit ya, did he?" he asked softly his eyes fixed on Yami's. He may not be the most intelligent among the group but he knew enough to put two and two together given the evidence. When Yami had bolted he had come out with the feeling that Yami knew more than he was letting on, telling the others to stay with Yugi as he checked that Yami was alright.

Yami felt torn. He shouldn't have needed to allow anyone else to know what had transpired, and he refused to let that information ever reach Yugi. But he felt so dirty and sick, he knew he needed help. Joey was loyal and a good friend; he wouldn't say anything if he told him not to.

Shaking his head at the question, Yami tried to stand only to find that his legs wouldn't support his weight let alone let him move. Seeing this Joey slowly moved his hands beneath his arms, keeping eye contact as he steadily lifted him to his feet, keeping his hands where they were until Yami had regained his balance, using the counter for support to remain standing.

"Do you want ta get outta here? Talk?" Joey offered gently as he tried to keep his voice low. He knew that Yami was in no condition to be shouted at or interrogated right now; he still hadn't stopped shaking.

Yami nodded slightly, relieved that Joey was being so good to him. He had been afraid that they would shun him if they found out; he still felt dirty, a thick grime covering all his skin, slowly clogging his pores and choking him.

"Alright. Stay here and I'll be right back, okay?"

He froze when he felt a hand on his wrist, the grip strong enough to cut of the circulation to his hand. Not moving to remove the iron-grip, Joey faced Yami trying to look as reassuring as possible. "I won't tell them. I've just gotta say that we're going out."

"Thank you," he murmured as he released him, returning his hand to the counter for support.

Moving back into the living room, Joey brought a hand up into his unruly hair as he faced the group, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. "Um, I'm gonna take Yami over to my place for a couple of hours. My pa's out all week so it's alright."

Yugi frowned at that, standing and staring up at Joey with concerned eyes. "Why? What's wrong? Is he okay? I know Kresha hurt him but-"

"Nah, it's alright. He's just upset, you know, you having been taken when he should've been able to protect you an' all. He's just feeling guilty. We're gonna just go and talk for a bit, alright?"

Not waiting for a response and not sure how long he would be able to hold out under those innocent eyes, Joey headed back into the kitchen and was pleased to find that Yami was still standing, eyes wide as he watched him approach. He couldn't understand how Yami had been able to lie about something this important to Yugi, not with such a deep bond between them and the levels of trust they had in each other.

"Come on, we'll head over to my place. It isn't too far but I'll help you," Joey assured already reaching out a hand to him, a look of sadness coming over his features when he saw Yami cringe at the motion. Keeping his hands palm up this time, he reached out more slowly to him with solid eye contact, smiling when Yami lifted his arm slightly so that he could reach his elbow.

Knowing that there was enough trust between them then to allow more contact, Joey stepped to his side and wrapped an arm slowly about his waist, Yami's hand coming up to his shoulder when he let go of the counter and, as a result, lost his stability.

"I'm gonna take care of you for a bit. You've helped us all at some time or another and now it's my turn to help you," Joey said as they headed out of the back door. In the living room they had left the others with such a feeling of worry and confusion that it hung like a cloud and could be cut like a knife

****

"Feel better?" Joey asked as Yami reemerged from the bathroom, a towel tied about his waist and his hair hanging damply about his shoulders. The tanned skin was pink from where it had been scrubbed almost raw, the flesh mottled from the extreme heat he had obviously used.

They had only been at the house for twenty minutes, Yami in the shower for most of that seemingly trying to take his skin off whilst Joey brought his room into some semblance of tidiness. He also chucked the Game King's clothes into the wash and dug out something for him to wear until they were dry.

"Much. Thank you Joey," Yami said sincerely, the smallest trace of a smile on his face as he spoke the words.

"Hey no problem. Your clothes are in the machine and should be dry in a few hours. I've dug out some shorts for you to wear, and a t-shirt if you want," the blond offered, motioning behind him to the clothes that had been piled on the bed in his room.

As Yami walked somewhat stiffly past him into his room, Joey had the chance to examine the damaged done to his back. He had seen small bruises on his ribs and an obviously sore red mark on the juncture between neck and shoulder when Yami had faced him, but the markings on the smooth skin of his back was far worse.

There were far more bruises here where large, blunt fingers had obviously driven into his flash, scratches running down his shoulder-blades deep and angry. He also caught a closer look at Yami's wrists, a deep red mark showing that he had been bound at one point, the skin bruised from where the cord had been so tight.

Waiting outside until Yami had changed, Joey sat facing him on the bed as the shorter boy leant against the clothes' drawers, his chest bare having chose to only wear the shorts.

"So do you want to talk about it?"

"Not now. It's uh, too soon. Right now I just want to sleep."

"Okay, but you should tell me soon. It's better if you tell someone and since ya don't wanna tell Yugi..."

Sighing, Yami brought his arms up and wrapped them around his waist, eyes cast to the floor. "I know. Just, please let me sleep for now and I'll tell you what I can later. I don't think you should hear a lot of it..." he trailed off, still looking at the floor.

Nodding slightly, Joey moved off of the bed and pulled the covers back, motioning for Yami to get in.

"I can take care of myself, Joey."

"I know that. Just let me help you for once."

It wasn't long before Yami was sound asleep, exhaustion winning out over depression and fear. Joey stayed at the end of the bed until he heard his breathing even out before leaving to grab a spare pillow and blanket for himself. Setting himself up on the floor beside the former-pharaoh, Joey yawned from lack of sleep the previous night and tried to fall asleep. It didn't come as quickly as it did for Yami, leaving his mind spiraling with thoughts for some hours before it too shut down.

**TBC**

Right, I'm not entirely sure where I'm going with this so bear with me in terms of updates. An opinion on this would be nothing short of well-received.