Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Come Clean ❯ Chapter 1

A/N: So, Hayashiba-chan was laying in bed listening to the radio, hating the thought of having to get up, when a song came on the radio! XD

…no, that is, songs usually ALWAYS come on radios, but let Hayashiba-chan explain…

…ANYWAY the particular song was called "Come Clean" and it was by Hilary Duff! ^_^ woo, if Hayashiba-chan wasn't a fan before, she is now! get listen to the song---request it on your radio, or find a 24-hour-download, or better yet, buy the CD---it's just a wonderful song! Listen to it! LISTEN TO IT, DARNIT!!!

Disclaimer: Hayashiba-chan doesn't own YGO, never DID own YGO, and never will own YGO. No profit is being made from this, and anyway, fan fiction is perfectly legal. By reading past this note you are hereby swearing with your right hand on the Bible that you won't sue or press charges of any kind.

Then again, there's nothing wrong with a polite, CORRECTLY SPELLED, Cease and Desist eMail.

Summary: Ryou's family is seriously struggling, especially after the death of his parents. With his older brother off in America trying to send money over, Ryou spends a night at a night club "performing" in order to support his little sister, if even only for a night.

[ song lyrics ]

`thoughts'

"speech"

~*~

"Come Clean"

01/01

~*~

- Third Person POV -

[ let's go back

back to the beginning

back to when the earth, the sun, the stars all aligned ]

He hated it. Every time he had to put on that God-awful costume (which would be stripped off anyway), step onto that stage, sing that song… he hated it. But Amane needed it. She was sick; pale, always sleeping, never eating, and Ryou needed to get her more food, some medicine, anything… and if… performing at the local strip club was the only way to do that, by God, he was going to do it.

The song wasn't any problem, truthfully. Ryou tended to write music a lot, and had had fun with that particular song. But all of those people, eyes glued to him, the degrading knowledge of just HOW FAR he'd stooped to get money, his baby sister's tiny, weak voice saying that, no, she wasn't hungry, even though she hadn't eaten for several days before.

And it was the fear. The fear of failure, of being alone, of dying a… a performer.

[ `Cause perfect

didn't feel so perfect

trying to fit a square into a circle was no lie

I defy ]

And the bar-manager was there, telling him he was on in five, eyes roving possessively over his body. Ryou hated him. Ryou told him he'd be ready in half a moment. The manager left, and Ryou sighed. `For Amane,' he thought, standing and checking the ties on his boots. He walked down a short hallway and back onto the edge of a stage. A couple of girls dressed just as skimpily as he was were walking off stage, giggling happily about how tonight's catch was the best they'd had yet.

That should have made Ryou smile. It meant a lot of money tossed on stage. But it also meant a lot more eyes, eyes piercing his skin, hungrily watching his every movement. `God, please,' Ryou thought, closing his eyes tightly for a minute. He heard his song start up, and quickly darted on stage. He hated this… God, he hated it…

[ let the rain fall down

and wake my dreams

let it wash away

my sanity

`cause I wanna feel the thunder

I wanna scream

Let the rain fall down

I'm coming clean, I'm coming clean ]

They were watching him, all of them… watching him… Ryou closed his eyes, forcing himself not to watch them right back, pushing himself back mentally until all that mattered or existed were the steps to the dance, and the music, and the lyrics.

But still, he had to lift his eyelashes every now and then, despite having done this so many times before at home he easily had it memorized. And every time, he saw them, watching him, laughing, jeering, smiling, sneering, and watching…

Ryou closed his eyes again.

[ I'm shedding

shedding every color

trying to find a pigment of truth beneath my skin

oh ]

Halfway over, he was halfway done. It still stretched out into eternity---Ryou hated being watched.

He hated being stared at.

`Almost done…'

[ `cause different

doesn't feel so different

and going out is better

than always staying in

feel the wind ]

Repeat the chorus, move downwards, almost completely bared to those probing, laughing, watching eyes…

[ let the rain fall down

and wake my dreams

let it wash away my sanity

`cause I wanna feel the thunder

I wanna scream

Let the rain fall down

I'm coming clean, I'm coming clean ]

For Amane… only for Amane…

Almost finished, now…

Watching…

"I'm coming clean, let the rain fall… let the rain fall… I'm coming…"

[ let the rain fall down

and wake my dreams

let it wash away

my sanity

`cause I wanna feel the thunder

I wanna scream

Let the rain fall down

I'm coming clean… ]

"Oh, I'm coming clean… coming clean… let the rain fall, let the rain fall, let the rain fall… let the rain fall down… oh…"

Not a minute more, not a minute more…!

"Let's go back, back to the beginning…"

And he was done.