Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ YGO Blade Runner ❯ Chapter 5 ( Chapter 5 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Atem started to make his way back to his apartment when a flash of white mint green caught his eye. He turned to see Noa standing on the other side of the street, his blue eyes watching him intently. The Blade Runner began to push his way across the busy street only to find that the replicant had vanished. He looked around frantically, failing to notice the tall blond come over to him, hate and anger blazing in his honey colored eyes.
The shorter man jerked when he felt someone tap his shoulder. Spinning around, he came face to face with one of the replicants he was supposed to be hunting. “Jounouchi,” he said, surprised that one of his targets had willingly approached him.
The blond glared at his friend’s murderer a few moments before speaking, “How’d ya find Malik so quick?” he demanded.
Atem couldn’t help smirking. It was a stupid and dangerous thing to do when facing an irate and murderous being that could crush you with its bare hands, but the spiky haired man just couldn’t help feeling superior to the not so bright replicant. “I had pictures,” he replied. “I asked around someone recognized him.”
The blond let out an angry growl before asking his next question. “That so? How old am I?”
Atem seeing that he wasn’t going to get away so easily, he did the first thing that came to mind. He punched the blond. Jounouchi’s head went back with the force of the blow, but he showed not a single bit of pain, in fact there wasn’t even a single blemish on his rather handsome face. “I don’t know,” the Blade Runner said, after shaking his throbbing hand.
Jounouchi’s eyes hardened into pieces of dark amber. He then promptly grabbed Atem’s jacket with both hands and forcefully slammed him into the side of a parked garbage truck. “My birthday’s January 25, 2017,” the blond spat, “How long have I got?”
“F-Four years,” the Blade Runner replied, gasping from having the wind knocked out of him.
The taller replicant’s grip tightened further and he proceeded to spin the shorter man around a few times, slamming him against the several trucks nearby each time. By that time, Atem had managed to pull out his gun, only to have it knocked out of his hand by the blond. “That’s more than what ya’ve got!” Jounouchi shouted, raising a fist. The clenched hand flew through the air and punched a hole through a tanker truck as if it were made of cheap recycled paper. The Blade Runner had ducked just in time before his head had been turned into a huge pile of Jell-o.
“Hurts ta live in fear don’t it?” the bond spat, grabbing onto the spiky haired man once again, a murderous smirk on his face. He threw the Blade Runner clear across the street and he landed onto the hood of a parked car, shattering the windshield with his fall. Jounouchi leapt to the other side where Atem lay gasping and groaning. “Ya know, there’s nothing worse than havin’ an itch ya can’t eva scratch,” he said, grinning like a madman.
“I-I agree,” Atem gasped out.
Jounouchi grabbed him by the throat and hefted him up, making him dangle several feet off the ground. The replicant then proceeded to backhand the Blade Runner’s face several times. “Wake up,” he called in a singsong voice, “Time ta die!” He raised two fingers, aiming them at the shorter man’s eyes. Atem flinched, waiting for the replicant’s deathblow.
However, it never came. Looking up in utter shock, there was an enormous crater on the blond’s forehead, artificial blood oozing out from the wound. Atem let out a choked gasp and suddenly found himself crashing to the ground, the blond falling with him to land on top of him. Jounouchi was dead.
Standing several feet away with the Blade Runner’s gun in his hand was the last person he’d expected to come to his rescue, Noa. The smaller replicant stood there shaking terribly, a look of utter shock and horror on his otherwise stoic face.

The spiky haired man sighed before taking a swig from his glass. He didn’t remember making it to his apartment let alone buying another bottle of vodka after the first one broke during his fight with the blond replicant. Everything had happened so fast that all he had done blurred together. Now here he was back in his home with a runaway replicant, and a rather cute one at that.
“Got the shakes?” he asked sympathetically, noticing the still horrified Noa rubbing his arms. “Me too,” he said after receiving an almost imperceptible nod from the boy. He looked at Noa in sympathy. He may have been a hardened killer by now, but there were still the rare occasions where a replicant or two had almost ‘retired’ him, like Jounouchi had that night. Noa looked at him, not knowing what to make of the man at the moment. “I still get them, bad. It’s part of the business.” He poured another shot of vodka and took a swig.
“I am the business,” Noa said bitterly, refusing to come out of the shadows of Atem’s apartment. The Blade Runner stared back at him, not knowing what to say for once. “I’m the damned business!” the boy shouted again before breaking down into sobs.
Not knowing how to handle a sobbing replicant, Atem put down his drink and went to the bathroom. Removing his jacket and shirt, he proceeded to take care of the teeth that Jounouchi had so graciously knocked from their homes.
“What if I go north?” the boy asked a few minutes later, coming into the bathroom and causing the Blade Runner to look up. “Disappear. Would you come after me? Kill me?”
“No,” Atem replied, genuinely sympathetic to the replicant’s plight. It wasn’t everyday you wake up to find out you’re actually an artificial human with fake memories after all. “I wouldn’t,” he said, drying his face and hair. “I owe you one.”
He walked past him, stopping to place a hand on the boy’s shoulder. “But someone else would,” he said, heading to his bedroom. Noa stood there, his mind going over everything that’s happened to him since he’d met this man.
“Motou?” Noa called from somewhere else as the spiky haired man went about searching for a set of cleaner clothes. “About those files on me, my incept date, the longevity, did you see them?”
“They’re classified,” he said putting on his robe.
“You work for the police,” Noa protested, standing at the doorway. “You could have…”
“I didn’t see them,” came the man’s curt reply.
“That Voight-Kampff test of yours, did you ever take it yourself?”several moments passed without a reply, the replicant decided to be bold and entered the bedroom. “Motou?” he called softly. Again no answer, upon further inspection, he saw that the spiky haired man was lying flat on his back on the bed, his drink in his hands and resting on his exposed chest. His crimson eyes were closed and it appeared that he had fallen asleep. Not one to disturb a sleeping person, Noa silently left the bedroom and decided to do a bit of exploring.
Coming upon the piano, he paused and looked at the various photos lined neatly on top of it. Seeing that some sheet music rested on the piano’s music stand, he removed his suit jacket and sat down on the bench. Thinking that he’d nothing better to do, Noa began to play the tune. It was a soft, gentle piece almost like a lullaby and his small hands danced upon the imitation ivory keys with the touch and precision of the finest virtuoso.
Atem awoke at the barely stifled sob, unintentionally spilling his drink. Noa’s ears picked up the sound of movement and splashing liquid and quickly rubbed his eyes, hurriedly blinking away the tears he’d been shedding. The slightly taller man groggily approached the piano and sat next to the boy. He glanced up at the sheet music.
“I dreamt music,” he spoke, trying to ease the awkward tension that had been building between the two.
“I didn’t know if I could play,” the mint green haired replicant said ruefully, resuming his impromptu performance. “I remember having lessons, I don’t know if it’s really me or Kaiba’s brother.”
“You’re wonderful,” the Blade Runner said, causing Noa to blush slightly.
There was another awkward silence that seemed to last for eternity. Noa continued to play as Atem sat and watched. Eventually, the Blade Runner lost the battle raging inside him and shyly leant closer to the boy and placed a hesitant kiss on his baby soft cheek. Noa froze, uncertain as to what to do. In his hormone induced daze, Atem made no move to break away and began kissing the replicant along the jaw line. Noa suddenly realized what was happening and shifted away slightly. The spiky haired man moved to kiss the boy on the lips when it suddenly hit him what he was about to do. He stared at the silent boy bewilderedly.
The mint haired boy was at war with himself, unable to determine what it was he should do. A few moments later, Noa shoved Atem back and bolted straight up. Grabbing his jacket and overcoat, he ran for apartment door. He fumbled with the knob and attempted to open it only to have it slammed shut again by the Blade Runner’s fist. The boy stared at him, his blue eyes wide in apprehension. In a bout of frustration, Atem forcibly pushed the boy against his nearby desk, knocking several glasses, bottles and papers to the floor.
Noa started to tremble again and the older man held up a hand in apology before carefully approaching him. “Will you kiss me?” he asks.
“I-I can’t…” Noa stumbled.
“Say ‘Kiss me,’” the taller one commanded.
“K-Kiss me,” Noa stammered demurely, still unsure of what to do.
Atem did just that, causing the replicant to let out a tiny moan. The kiss lasted for another minute before either broke away for air. “I want you,” the Blade Runner prodded again.
“I-I want you,” Noa parroted.
“Again,” came the demand.
“I want you,” the boy said, slightly breathless and a bit more confident this time. “Touch me.”
That was all the encouragement he needed. The spiky haired Blade Runner wrapped an arm around Noa’s trim waist and yanked him forward until he was flush against the man’s chest. He smashed his lips against the boy’s, grabbing a fistful of mint colored silk.

Elsewhere in Domino…
Yugi had woken up early and seeing that his host hadn’t risen yet, he went about exploring the rather large apartment. After wandering through the dimly lit dwelling, he came upon a strange room littered with various types of machinery. Being the curious replicant that he was, the spiky haired boy crept inside silently. He snuck over to a large leather office chair and stifled a chuckle. It appeared that his host had fallen asleep while working on his ‘friends.’ Sitting on the long table before the albino was the little half demon, half angel doll from earlier. He spotted an interesting machine that looked like some kind of microscope or viewer. He leant forward and was about to peek inside when he heard…
“Watcha doing?” Ryou asked sleepily, slightly startling the shorter replicant.
“Oh! Sorry, just being nosy,” Yugi replied sheepishly, blushing slightly. “So, um, how do I look?” he asked. He had taken a shower a while ago and washed his clothes while showering.
“Better,” the albino replied shyly.
“Just better?” the boy pouted.
“P-Perfect,” Ryou stammered, making his guest smile broadly.
“Thanks, Ryou-kun. So um, how old are you?” he asked, trying to make small talk. He was bored and really didn’t know what to do now that he was separated from his friends.
“Twenty-five,” Ryou replied, starting to work on the doll.
Yugi blinked in surprise, his host actually looked much older. “So how come you keep the lights down real low?”
“I have to,” the bio-engineer replied grimly, “I have XP, Xeroderma Pigmentosum.”(1)
“What’s that?” Yugi chirped, his amethyst eyes sparkling with child like curiosity.
“It’s a real rare genetic defect. It makes it so your skin burns real easily and real bad too. You can’t go out in daylight. Even some light bulbs can burn you if you have a really bad case like me.”
“So that’s where you’re still here huh?”
“You guessed it,” Ryou said, smiling ruefully. “I failed the physical because of the XP. I couldn’t leave now even if I could afford to. I don’t mind though, it’s not so bad here.” He gave the doll a loving pat on the head. Yugi smiled, remembering the times when his former master would do that before he tossed him out with the garbage.
“Well I think you’re perfect just the way you are,” Yugi said, making Ryou drop his tool and blush. “Hello ‘Kura!”
Ryou jumped out of his seat as he heard footsteps approach them. He eeped when he saw a slightly taller copy of himself standing in the doorway. The taller man smirked, his chocolate eyes gazing at them in amusement, curiosity, and a hint of jealousy.
“Those are some toys you’ve got there,” Bakura said, eyeing the machines with interest and awe. The broken dolls lying about weren’t bad pieces of work either.
“This is one of the friends I told you about,” the spiky haired replicant said going over to the taller albino and placing a peck on his cheek. Bakura smirked and wrapped an arm around Yugi’s waist. “This is my new friend Ryou Bakura,” the shorter replicant said introducing his host.
“I like a guy who knows when to stay put,” the taller replicant said, eyeing Ryou cautiously. “Live here by yourself?”
“Y-Yes,” Ryou stammered, feeling a tiny bit intimidated by the taller man. The taller albino’s smirk grew. He then titled Yugi’s head back, giving the smaller boy a quick kiss on the lips. The bio-engineer went beet red then stood up again.
“W-Would you l-like some breakfast? I’m a good cook,” he said as he made a hasty retreat.
“Well?” Yugi queried in a more mature tone now that they were alone and able to talk in private.
“Jou…” Bakura growled, unable to finish.
“What is it? Bakura what happened to Jou?!” the smaller of the two demanded.
“There’s only two of us now,” Bakura replied, fighting against the anger, hate, and tears fighting to burst out.
“So we’ll die after all, huh?” Yugi said after remaining silent for a few moments. He knew he should be sad, upset or angry even at the loss of his fellow replicants. The two blonds were his best friends. Jounouchi was even like an older brother to him. But he couldn’t feel a thing, all he felt was… numb.
Bakura sighed then put on his best knee weakening smile. “No we won’t,” he said, placing a reassuring hand on the little one’s cheek.

After a somewhat strained and restrained breakfast, Yugi took Bakura on a tour of Ryou’s apartment. The smaller replicant would stop occasionally to point out an interesting piece of machinery or his favorite toy.
Tucked amongst the litter was a small gaming table with an obviously in progress game of chess on top. The albino replicant glanced at it, studying the locations of the pieces while running several moves through his electronic brain. Upon deciding a course of action, he moved one of the pieces.
“No,” Ryou corrected, he’d come in to see the man staring at his game. “Knight takes Queen, that won’t do.”
Bakura stared at the other albino, impressed at his intelligence. He stared at the board again after moving the opposite side’s Knight and removing the Queen he moved. “What’s so interesting about us?” he asked while going over more moves.
Ryou blushed at being caught staring at the two replicants for several minutes. “Well, b-because you two are different, p-perfect.”
The two gave each other a clandestine and conspiratorial smirk. “Is that so?” Bakura asked.
“I hope you don’t mind me asking,” Ryou began, “but what generation are you?”
“Nexus 6,” came the taller replicant’s proud reply.
“I knew it!” their host crowed, “I could tell. I do genetic design work for Kaiba. There’s a bit of me in you,” he said beaming at Bakura. “Show me something,” he ordered like a child with a new toy.
“Like what?” asked an amused Bakura.
“Well, um, anything!”
“With computers or physical?” the taller albino asked leering at his smaller original.
Getting into a mischievous mood, Yugi stretched his arms and languidly rose from his seat next to Bakura. “I think, Ryou…” he purred, wrapping an arm around the taller boy’s shoulders and making him blush, “Therefore I am.”
“Well done, Yugi,” praised Bakura, “Care to show him why?” Giggling, the spiky haired replicant released their blushing host and did a backwards flip. He then went over to the eggs that were boiling on a hot plate and yanked one out of the beaker containing them. He let out another mischievous giggle and tossed it at the shorter albino. Ryou gasped and caught it, only to yelp at heat it gave off and drop the egg.
“You know,” Bakura said after snickering at his smaller companion’s antics. “We have a lot in common.”
“Oh what would that be?” Ryou asked, pouring cold water over his hands.
“Bad genetics,” Yugi piped up.
“I’m sorry that I can’t help you, Bakura,” Ryou said sadly, “I really don’t know that much about genetics otherwise, I’d done something about my own condition.”
Chocolate colored orbs narrowed into dark pools of ice. Quick as a viper, Bakura’s hand latched onto Ryou’s pale arm and jerked him forward. The shorter albino let out a mewl of pain at the sudden rough treatment. “If we don’t do something soon,” Bakura hissed so that only the two albinos could hear, “Yugi will die. He hasn’t got much longer to live and I won’t allow that.”
Ryou gave a sympathetic nod to show that he understood. “I really can’t help, Bakura, honest,” he whispered back, “I’m so sorry.”
Bakura nodded then released him. Ryou winced at the rapidly forming bruise on his extremely delicate skin. “Is he good?” the taller albino asked.
“P-Pardon?”
“Your opponent,” Bakura replied, indicating the chess game.
“Oh you mean Dr. Kaiba! He’s really good, though I did beat him once. It was just a fluke really. I hadn’t been able to beat him since. I swear the man’s a genius. Then again, he did design you two.”
“Ah, then maybe he can help,” Bakura suggested, inwardly thanking every deity he’d ever heard of.
“Well, maybe I could ask him about it,” Ryou said eagerly, starting to search for his misplaced vidphone.
“No,” the taller replicant said, stopping him, “I think it’d be better if I talk to him, in person.” Ryou started to protest, but the much stronger man maneuvered him to where Yugi was sitting on the littered pool table, eating a bowl of chips.
“I hear he’s a very hard to see man,” Bakura said, smirking as Yugi nonchalantly wrapped his petite legs around the shorter albino.
“Y-Yes very,” Ryou squeaked at the tight hold he now found himself in.
“So will you help us?” Yugi asked sweetly, wrapping his arms around him.
“I-I can’t.”
“Oh pretty please?” the smallest of the three pleaded as cutely as he could, pouring on the charm that had been programmed into him. “We need you, Ry-chan! You’re our bestest and only friend!”
Ryou sighed, unable to resist the little lost puppy act the replicant was putting on. Smirking triumphantly, Bakura reached over to a pile of kipple, a.k.a. junk, and held up an old pair of toy glasses with googly eyes, covering his own. “We’re glad you found us.”
Yugi and Ryou laughed, the previous tension broken finally. “I don’t think there’s any other human out there who’d help us,” Yugi said after catching his breath and placing a kiss on Ryou’s cheek.
Ryou knew when he was beat. He resignedly waited for Bakura to explain what exactly he had in mind.


(1) No I didn’t just pull this out of my hat! There really is a disorder called that. It was even mentioned a bit in the movie, The Others.


Sakura: Whoo-hoo!!!! Finally some hot action!!!

Yami: I hope you were referring to the fight with Jou.

Sakura: Not even close, Yam-chan.

Yami: I knew I shouldn’t have asked.

Bakura: Ha! Serves you right, pharaoh.

Yami: Shut it raider!

Bakura: Make me!

Sakura: Yeesh guys not in the house! Anyhoo, I think you all know what to do, ne? Jya ne!!