FicWad

A/N: [Insert obligatory first fic message here]

Bōryokudan: the police's name for the Yakuza (Japanese mafia). Literally means “violence group”.
Oyabun: Literally “Foster parent”. Head of the family
Kobun: Literally “Foster child”. The collective family, excluding the oyabun
Shatei: “Little brothers”
Kyodai: “Big brothers”



All I can feel is pain. It rages through my body, merciless. Barely seconds after the thick blindfold is removed, I crumple to the floor, clutching my neck and choking on the savage shockwaves ripping fire through my nerves. I am pulled to my feet, still violently shaking, and roughly pushed forward. Knees buckling, my legs start to give out under me, but I am pushed forward again by a vice-like grip, and I stumble forward blindly until I crash into something solid.
“You didn't take that too well did you?” I turn in the direction of the voice and see a blurred figure leaning against what looks like a door. His hair grabs my attention first: bleach blonde bangs clashing with black hair, gelled into vicious spikes and fading into purple at the ends. I manage to shake my head, and focus on standing up. The pain haze is ebbing at my consciousness now, but my neck still burns, making it difficult to breathe. My sight has cleared enough to see the cruel smirk playing across the man’s sharp, pointed features. I shudder and steal a glance around the room. It is long, ceiling hung low and looming, barely a few feet above my own head, with gnarled wooden floorboards layered with dust, giving it the chilling feel of being inside a crypt. At the end of the room is a vast arch cocooning a roaring furnace, it’s heat pulsing through the tight space as I hiss and arch my back against the sharp prickling still shooting down my spine.
“Do you like it? The Don's own personal design.” The deep voice shatters my thoughts, and my ears prick at the gentle tap of footsteps behind me. I start to turn, but the man has shifted once more – I slam into him. At such horrifically close proximity, I can see the murderous glare in his eyes, and that smirk looks even more terrifying.
“Y-y-yes.” His laughter echoes around the room
“Are you scared of me, Blondie?” He smirks again, leaning forward, lowering himself so that his face is only a few centimetres from mine. When he speaks, I feel his breath escape his lips and whisper against my own; I draw a sharp breath, gulping in a lungful of his expensive smelling aftershave. His skin smells sweet and warm, the scent mingling with the sharp tang of my own singed flesh. My heart pounds loudly, hammering against my ribcage, and my mind is going crazy with fear. Finally, he backs away, and his smirk drops.
“I'd love to play games with you, Blondie, but we haven't finished with the initiation. Kneel down and repeat after me.” His voice coos the command, soft and sinister. He waits until I am kneeling before calmly pulling a pistol from a holster concealed beneath his jacket. My eyes widen as I hear the click of the barrel against my temple. As I tense, I feel the damp space between my shoulder blades twitch, and I try in vain to calm myself. When he utters his next words, his voice is low and gravelly, barely audible above the surging rush of blood in my ears, my short, shallow hiccups and convulsing of my own heart.
“I, Marik Ishtar, swear sole allegiance to the Kaiba family”
“I-I-I, Marik Ishtar, swear sole allegiance to the Kaiba family”
“My life is the Don's to use as he sees fit”
“My life is the Don's to use as he sees fit”
“May Obelisk crush my bones to dust, Slifer dismember my body, and Ra burn my soul if ever I betray him”
“M-m-ay Obelisk crush my bones to dust, Slifer dismember my body, and Ra burn my soul if ever I betray him”
“Long live the noble house of Kaiba”
“Long live the noble house of Kaiba”
He holds out his hand in front of me, and I see the ring on his finger. It's bright, untarnished gold that seems to emanate it’s own light, a striking eye welded into the metal, glinting attractively in the flickering firelight.
“Kiss it”
I obey the order without a second thought. The cold metal is pressed to my lips for a second before I draw away and dare to raise my head to the formidable figure. I see that the smirk is back on the man's face, but softer this time. I breathe a shaky sigh of relief.
“My name is Atem, though most call me Yami. Welcome to the family, Blondie.”

Chapter 1

When I joined the White Dragons, the most ruthless bōryokudan in Japan, I expected many things on my first night. What I didn't expect was to be drunk in the oyabun's mansion, intoxicated by loud music and heat from bodies in a similar haze. The usually calm and serene grand ballroom was plunged in darkness that was only occasionally broken by sharp light from the spotlights on the ceiling. The sound was so loud it drowned out every attempt at conversation, but that didn't stop people getting to know each other pretty intimately. My back was currently pressed against a tall American boy who was slightly more drunk than the rest of us. He pushed me out of the mass of people and I collapsed against the bar, trying to get my breath back after the intense dancing. Hearing light, almost girly laughter behind me, I turned to look at tonight's acting bartender. His appearance was deceptively innocent, with large, soft brown eyes and long white hair, currently pulled in a low ponytail. But I knew better than to trust the innocent appearance. Ryō Bakura was one of the three most dangerous kobun in the family, and would kill me without a second thought if he ever got a reason. Luckily, tonight was a party to welcome me and the other 2 new shatei. Although, that was mostly just an excuse to get drunk and laid. There were only 2 women in the family, and both must have been born and raised in a freezer, because they were frosty as hell (sadly, many bollocks had to be sacrificed before this fact was discovered) so Kaiba-sama had allowed for women outside the family to be invited to the party. So obviously, most men were busy fighting over the girls. Or in most cases, just ganging up on them together...
“Hey, Ryō, gimme another beer will ya.”
“Do you have no manners Jōunouchi-kun?”
“I told ya, it's Joey. Jōunouchi sounds so pretentious”
“Tch, Americans”
“Hey Snowy, don't get all high and mighty on me!”
The older boy laughed and shook his head, then put the glass of beer on the counter in front of the teenager.
“I don't know how you drink that. I'd choose sake over beer any day.”
“Tch. What are you having Marik?”
I blushed slightly after realising that I'd been staring at them the whole time. I was still reeling from the drinking competition I had been dragged into by Yami and Joey a few hours ago, even though I had stopped after 2 shots, inspiring plenty of teasing about how I couldn't take my drink. It was true though. Sighing, I ordered a cup of sake and leaned back against the counter.
The music had turned slightly less heavy, and people were beginning to gravitate back towards the bar. I saw Yami walking towards us, with a girl on his arm. As he came closer, I saw the tattoo on her neck, showing that she was one of the family. How the hell Yami had ever managed to hook up with one of the frosty bitches I had no idea, but I definitely wanted an explanation. Finishing my sake, I found a stool and sat down next to Joey, who was now arguing with his friend Tristan about which type of weapon was best to use in hand-to-hand combat.
“Joey, it's nearly impossible to use a gun in close combat properly. Just use a knife and ya can't loose!”
“Well if I shoot 'em before they get too close, I won't need to bother!”
I rolled my eyes and looked round at Yami, who was now standing next to me at the bar.
“Hey Bakura-san. Whiskey for me, White Russian for the lady.”
“Ooh, going for the cocktails are we Mazaki-san?”
“So what if I am, Bakura?”
Bakura smirked and turned away to make the drinks, while the woman walked away to her equally frosty friend, leaving me alone with Yami.
The man still scared me, even though he had laughed off what happened in the initiation chamber as soon as I was back to normal. After the oath, we had left the chamber, and entered a small dining room where 3 others already sat. One of them was the oyabun, Seto Kaiba, who sat at the head of the table, and I remember Ryō being one of the others, but the whole initiation was still a haze, so I couldn't remember the others. Yami sat me down and stood behind me. I was vaguely aware of a cup of sake being handed round, starting with Kaiba-sama, and ending up in front of me. After that, I was led away to my room where I fell asleep until about 6 pm, when Yami woke me loudly and nearly dragged me to the party. And 5 hours later, here I was, gradually getting hammered, and listening to Yami and Ryō tease the two women, who had come back over to get their drinks.
“So Ryō-san, where is that lovely brother of yours?”
“Nī-sama? He's around here somewhere. But you know parties aren't his thing. He prefers a more...sophisticated setting”
“That snob. He's probably stealing from Kaiba-sama's wine cellar again.”
“Yeah, he's lucky Kaiba-sama and Moku-chan left before the party, or he would be in big trouble for that.”
“The boss doesn't like people stealing his expensive Western wines, does he? Remember that guy who was forced to drink acid after he was caught? Rumour is, Kaiba-sama oversaw the punishment personally.”
As they started to recount old stories about unfortunate people who got on the wrong side of the oyabun, I slowly stood up and slipped out of the ballroom. The alcohol and loud music was taking its toll on my head, and I stumbled through the corridors, trying to remember where the kitchen had been when Yami had given me a tour of the mansion. Finally, I found the small unassuming door, and stumbled through, immediately making my way to the large fridge. I found several bottles of water lined up on the middle shelf, and I greedily drank one dry. I was about to reach for another, when a deep voice stopped me in my tracks. Slowly, I turned to find a pair of cold chocolate brown eyes staring into mine.
“What are you doing here?”
“I-I-I...uh...”
“You shouldn't be wandering around the oyabun's house alone...” the mysterious man leaned closer to me, still captivating me with his cold eyes.
“You never know what might happen” his voice had dropped to a gruff whisper, and I became too aware of how I was crushed against the fridge door, with his lips dangerously close to mine. With the speed and agility of a viper, he shot forward and bit the newly branded symbol in the hollow of my neck. My eyes widened and I gasped in shock, but before I could move, he was gone.
Shaking, I stood up, suddenly very, very sober, and ran out of the mansion, and across the neat lawn, to a large house opposite, where living quarters for all the kobun were. After a frustrating fight with the door, I walked into my room, and collapsed on the bed, desperately trying to think of a way to cover the large red bruise that would be on my neck tomorrow morning.

Chibi: So that was the relatively short first chapter, but I promise it gets better, and less awkward, with longer chapters... Second chapter already in the works. See you next time :D