ORaR: Devious

Tonya's heart felt like it was going to burst out of her chest as she called out frantically for her little brother, worry and despair setting in more and more as her brother, Thomas, failed to respond. "Oh man... my parents are going to kill me..."

"I'm sorry, Miss?" a British accented voice inquired, followed by a tap on her shoulder.

The panicked teenager turned around to see a pale person with long white hair and very large, brown eyes. She wouldn't have been able to guess the gender by looks alone, but the voice indicated that he was male. Behind him stood a taller, darker skinned guy with wild, spiked blond hair. He looked a bit odd, especially since he had a glowing eye shaped marking on his forehead and wore a cape that hid most of his body from view, but she had to admit that he was also sort of cute. They both were, but in different ways.

"Is something wrong? Can we help?" the white haired guy asked, snapping her out of her daze.

Panic once again set in as Tonya was forced to remember why she had been so upset. "Yeah, I can't find my little brother, Thomas. He wondered off somewhere, have you seen him? He's four years old with blond hair and brown eyes."

The effeminate one shook his head. "I'm sorry, I can't say that I have," he said in a British accent, his voice sounding concerned. He looked back at his friend. "What about you?"

"Nope," the taller male replied in a strange, duo toned voice. He shook his head to indicate a no.

"Damn. I hope I can find him soon. Mom and Dad are gonna kill me if they find out I lost track of him," Tonya lamented, running a hand through her hair in frustration.

"I hope you can find him too," the British boy spoke up, putting a sympathetic hand on her shoulder. "There are way too many missing children posters as it is. And with all those horrible stories they show on the news... it's just so upsetting."

"W-what?"

"Yeah," the tanned male added, nodding his head solemnly. "Hell, I saw one just this morning where this guy hacked the kid's body up and stuffed it in a suitcase. They only found it because someone complained about the smell."

"Oh my, how awful!"

Tonya felt like she was going to be sick. "I-I never really thought of that... Of God, what if he's been kidnapped? I'd never be able to live with myself! THOMAS!"

The blond guy with the spiky hair nodded. "Yeah, there are a lot of weird people out there. Some psycho could have him right now for all we know."

"Oh God! Thomas!" the girl cried out, tears now streaming down her face.

The British boy patted her shoulder, trying to calm her down a little. "Look, we don't know. He could just be wondering around somewhere, but he could also very well have been taken away. Just... just please, promise me that if you find him, you won't let this happen again, alright?"

Tonya nodded, sniffling pathetically as her imagination ran wild and her heart threatened to give out. "I promise! I'll never take my eyes off him again if I can just find him safe and sound. Oh, Thomas!"

The white haired boy smiled, confusing the girl, before turning to his friend and nodding.

The darker male smirked and threw open his cape, revealing her little brother, smiling and safe, being held in the man's right arm.

"Here I am, sister! Don't cry. See? I'm fine!" he said with a giggle as the taller male set him down. He ran to his sister and held his arms out for a hug.

"T-Thomas?" the girl stammered, at a loss for words as she stooped down to pick up her brother.

Thomas simply giggled again and hugged the teenager, reassuring her that he was perfectly safe and sound.

The white haired boy smiled and gave the boy a pat on the head. "Well, we'll be going now, Thomas. Be a good boy and make sure your sister keeps her promise for me, alright?"

"Yes, little guy. I don't want to be seeing you on any milk cartons, got it?" the cape wearing guy added in with a smirk, ruffling the kid's hair before following after his white haired friend, who had already begun to walk away. "Bye bye!" he called, waving to the kid as he departed.

"Bye bye guys!" Thomas called back, waving cheerfully as he watched them go. He smiled as he stopped waving, turning back to his dumbstruck sister. "Hey Tonya, do you think I'd be pretty too if I let MY hair grow out like that?"

-000-

"I had no idea you could be so devious," Melvin said with a chuckle as they turned the corner, truly impressed with the level of villainy that Ryou's plan had achieved. He was still convinced that the boy himself was practically an angel, but he realized that angels probably had a lot of fight in them from years combating demons, explaining the white haired male's spunk.

"Yes, well, it was for a good cause," the Brit replied, folding his arms. "I know what it feels like to lose a sibling, so I couldn't help but be angry that she could just allow a chance for that to happen so easily."

The Egyptian nodded, noting again that even when fighting, it was for good. He pondered if, being nearly a demon himself, they would ever have to battle. He remembered something and smirked, reaching into the pocket on the leg of his pants. "Speaking of demons..."

"We were speaking of demons?"

"...Long story. Anyway, what do you think?" the villain inquired, still smirking, as he fished a bright red rubber ducky with devil horns from his pocket, presenting it with pride. "It's not your present, by the way. I just thought it was pretty badass for a bath toy. Besides, I'm pretty devilish myself, so it's a perfect fit."

Ryou's eyes lit up regardless, picking it up the toy for himself to get a better look at it. "It's so cute!" he nearly gushed, giving it a little squeeze to make it squeak. He giggled. "It's just too bad they don't make ones that quack demonically."

Melvin grinned and ruffled the Brit's hair affectionately. "You're so adorably disturbed," he said, earning a giggle from the boy. "If you want one there are more in the toy aisle."

Ryou shook the Egyptian's hand from his head, still giggling from the term used to describe him. "No, I'll just wait until next time."

"Saving your money, huh?"

"Yup."

"Anything specific in mind?"

The white haired boy beamed. "Yes, actually. They have this bin of five dollar movies back in the entertainment section. They have these ones that have four horror films on every DVD. I know they probably aren't all that good, but you can't beat the price and they're probably bloody entertaining at the least."

Melvin frowned. "But, you have twenty dollars, don't you? Twenty's divisible by five, right?"

"Yes, twenty is divisible by five," Ryou agreed with a giggle. "But you're forgetting about tax."

"Tax?"

"Yes, it odds another dollar or so into the cost. I know it's stupid, but I'd rather spend the whole twenty than break it, so I was going to wait for change."

Melvin chuckled. "A dollar? Hell, just go and get them. I'll cover the tax. Those DVDs are going to pretty much be half mine anyway. I love cheap horror movies. They tend to have a lot of blood and guts," he said, his grin turning to one of psychotic glee at the thought of blood soaked internal organs and severed limbs. Oh, he'd love to just grab someone right there and give them the 'hug' of their lives, see the gore for real, but he knew he'd only wind up locked back into solitary confinement. Horror films would have to do... at least for the time being.

"Really?" Ryou inquired, once again brimming with glee upon recieving a nod from the psychopath. "Oh, thank you, Melvin! We'll watch them together as soon as we get home, alright? I'll be right back! Thanks again!" he called, running off back in the direction of the entertainment section to retrieve his precious horror films.

Melvin rolled his eyes, but grinned affectionately despite himself. He had to admit, he found such a display of gratitude over something as miniscule as a dollar to be completely adorable. He chuckled. "He's such a spaz. A cute, mentally disturbed, British spaz." Then, something on a stand nearby caught his attention. He grinned as he walked over and picked the object up, looking it over approvingly. "I think this will do quite nicely."

-000-

"Hey, Bakura, which do you think is better for you, Japanese cherry blossoms or jasmine? I tend to like jasmine, lilac and lavender myself. Japanese cherry blossoms smell nice and all, but they just aren't ME, you know?"

The thief groaned, not really caring much for the issue of which shampoo to buy. However, his parnter in crime seemed to have invested himself in it. "Neither really, but can you please just bloody pick one so we can go? Odion's been done for a while now and Ryou just texted to let me know that they're about ready to head home as well."

Marik pouted, placing both bottles back on their shelves as he puzzled over what scent suited Bakura best. He turned and scanned the white haired villain over, not realizing how this simple action caused the man in question's heart rate to speed up. "Hmm, long white hair, brown eyes, slender physique but with a slight hint on muscle..."

Bakura flushed, trying his best to maintain his cold, calm facade as he mentally flinched under the scrutiny. His heart was pounding just from feeling Marik's eyes on him. He cursed himself for being so weak as to react in such a way.

The Egyptian grinned and snapped his fingers as he finally concluded on a scent, turning back to the shelves to scan for the one he had in mind. He located it on the top shelf, making him stretch his body a little to reach it, unknowingly providing his pale partner with a nice show of his muscles moving beneath his tanned skin from this action. He seized his prize and turned back around, presenting it proudly to the thief.

"Coconut?"

Marik grinned his own trademark grin, one filled with childish glee as opposed to his counterpart's psychotic. "Yes! Coconut! It's PERFECT for you, Bakura! White and brown, exotic but earthy. They have a hard outer shell, but they can be fun if given to the right person. It's totally you!"

Bakura had to admit, it did make sense. He half expected the world to end. "Alright, you have my approval. Now, throw the bloody shampoo in the cart and let's go."

"But we haven't chosen a shampoo for Melvin yet."

The thief nearly facepalmed, his patience wearing thin. "Something cheap, considering that bloody hair of his."

"You and Ryou have a lot of hair too, you know."

"Yes, Marik, I know."

"...Do they make blood scented shampoo?"

"If they did, I would have gotten it," Bakura replied with a chuckle. "Besides, you're the hair care expert, you tell me."

The Egyptian sighed at his partner's indifference before going back to trying to figure out what kind to get. No matter how little a matter it seemed to the thief, it mattered to him. "I'm just gonna go with the passion fruit smoothie for him. It reminds me of the pinkish color the foam gets when you accidentally get your gums bleeding while brushing your teeth. Besides, it's kinda wild like him, so it works better than strawberry."

"Yeah, sure. Why not? Now just throw the bloody shampoo in the cart so we can bloody go already."

Marik scoffed, but tossed the shampoo he had chosen into the cart as asked. "Fine, let's go... friggin party pooper..."

-000-

"I know you don't want me to see, but is the blindfold really necessary?" Ryou inquired, feeling a bit sheepish with the other male's cape tied around his eyes, connecting them and effectively blinding him at the same time. He couldn't see them, but he could feel the looks that other people were giving them.

"Yes, it is," Melvin replied with a smirk, placing their things on the conveyer belt as the cashier gave them a suspicious look. The Egyptian chuckled when a single intimidating glare overpowered the poor man. He watched in fascination as each item was scanned; the DVDs Ryou had picked, the evil bath toy that he had fallen in love at first sight with, the baby doll that he had decided to keep as a memento, a few candy bars and lastly, the item he had chosen as the Brit's birthday gift. He waited as the cashier rung everything up, proudly making his first purchase as soon as the price was stated. He accepted the receipt, not quite sure whether he should eat it or frame it.

"Can I please take this off now?"

"No!" the villain replied dramatically, pocketing the receipt and leading the smaller boy to a nearby bench to sit as they waited for the others to finish going through the checkout counters. He reached into his bad, digging out the item he was searching with a grin. He grabbed the pale boy's hand and placed the item in his palm before reaching up to untie the cape that was covering his eyes.

Ryou blinked as his large, brown eyes were once again exposed to the light. After a moment of adjustment he looked down at the object in his hand and beamed. It was a yin and yang necklace set. The two halves separated, each half constituting its own necklace. It was the type of thing that close friends or couples got all the time. One for each person. "Which half do you want?" he inquired, looking up at the Egyptian with a smile.

"Half?"

"Yeah, didn't you know? With necklaces like this, one person generally wears one half while someone else wears the other."

"Heh, I kinda thought it was one of those fashion things where someone wears two necklaces at once that make one whole. It'd look kinda cool."

The Brit smiled. "Well, I guess it could be worn like that, but I'd like it for us to each take half. After all, it's part of your first purchase and you helped with the DVDs."

"It was a f***ing dollar, creampuff. You do realize that, right?"

"Well yes, but I still appreciate it," the Brit replied with a laugh. "You don't have to take half if you don't want to though..."

Melvin rolled his eyes, but smiled, looking down at the two halves. One half was white with a speck of black, connected to the chain at the top so that the tip pointed down like a claw and the other was black with a white speck, connected at the pointed end, forming a bit of a teardrop shape. He took the white half. He liked its overall design. Besides, the black half would have blended into the background against his black tank top.

Ryou smiled and curled his fingers around the black half, allowing himself to feel the metal against his palm before allowing the pendant to fall from his hand, fastening the chain around his neck, under his hair. He giggled as he watched Melvin attempt to do the same, giving him some help after a few awkward moments of trying. He giggled again as he watched the villain try to decide whether to wear it over or under his cape.

Melvin eventually decided on wearing the pendant under it to avoid getting any crap about it from Marik, who was still on the lookout for yaoi clues regarding them. He didn't need to be blamed if the idiot gave the limey boy a nervous breakdown. It was his birthday afterall. If the kid was going to have a nervous breakdown, it would be tomorrow. Melvin chuckled at that thought.

"Hey guys!" Marik called out in a singsong voice, waving frantically as if they wouldn't be able to pick him out of the crowd, which was ridiculous. Especially considering that he had Bakura and Odion with him, who didn't exactly blend into the crowd either. The effeminate Egyptian grinned as he neared them, carrying a couple bags but making his brother carry the majority of them. "So, what did you guys get?" he asked, spotting the bag they carried. He also glanced at Ryou, spotting the black teardrop pendent hanging around his neck. "Oh, nice necklace."

"Thank you," the Brit replied simply, smiling happily at the comment. He left it at that, remembering his promise to Bakura not to mention his birthday to Marik. He just hoped Melvin remembered to stay quiet. He glanced at him, praying he would.

The Egyptian hadn't really noticed, digging through his bag to show them what he'd gotten. "We got some DVDs that the cream-puff thought would be entertaining, you know, gory stuff."

Bakura smirked, obviously in approval, while Marik raised an eyebrow.

"That still confuses me. I mean, he just doesn't seem like he would enjoy those types of movies..."

"Well, I do," Ryou spoke up with a giggle, again finding it amusing that his hobby seemed so odd to others. It made perfect sense to him. After all, he tried to communicate with his dead sister through letters and liked to believe his mother was still with him.

Melvin chuckled as well, not finding it as odd as he had before, but still amusing. He continued to dig through the bag. "I got some candy, this evil rubber ducky and this baby doll."

"Childish, childish and gay," Bakura commented, followed by a smirk. "Heh, maybe you're more like Marik than I gave you credit for."

"Hey! I am NOT gay! ...Or childish!"

"Oh, yes you are," Melvin cackled.

Bakura smirked despite himself, cracking up into laughter as Marik growled and leapt at the wild haired man, himself cackling with laughter, as the poor Brit tried frantically to remind them both that Melvin was injured. "Ah, it's at times like this that I actually don't mind being surrounded by a bunch of twits..." he said almost fondly as his host gave a cry of pain from a stray elbow to his ribs. "I just hope they don't kill each other."