#[slams hands on desk] spectre should've gotten a therapy duel as well!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[merryfortune]

A Monster in the Shape of a Child

Year of the OTP: January

Prompts: First Kiss | Mission Fic |  Fake Dating | “Whenever I look at you…” | Snow | Historical AU

Title: A Monster in the Shape of a Child

Ship: Respectfulshipping | Ryoken/Spectre

Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh! Vrains

Rating: T

Word Count: 1,083

Tags: Pre-Canon, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Happy Ending

   When he looked at him, Ryoken felt a very deep fear.

   It rattled the bones in his tiny, pudgy hands. It stole the breath from his mouth. It made his heart race faster but through all these reactions, he steeled himself. He forced himself to smile.

   This child… needed help. Just not the help that Ryoken was expecting.

   That moment in the rain, outside of the facility that the Hanoi Project had taken place, they could both agree it was magical. It had been a beautiful stroke of luck that Ryoken had been there, to come and ‘collect’ Spectre back. He had been there for his own, selfish reasons. He thought that there might be a clue or hint as to how to get his Father back. His sudden sickness, how he wouldn’t wake up, it was all very worrisome and Ryoken was certain it was connected to the Hanoi Project. Meeting Spectre there… That was just a coincidence.

   A good one, though, a lucky one. Any longer and his fate may actually have turned out worse for wear. He was starving, he was dirty and wet and cold and he needed a home. Ryoken took him home and he was so excited. They both were. It seemed like a good sign but when Spectre opened his mouth, Ryoken learned things about him that he would never have guessed.

   He had seen Spectre, of course, inside the containment unit that he was placed inside after his kidnapping. He had duelled gallantly, and was definitely the most resilient of the children. He never seemed to tire or outwardly complain about his circumstances. Always smiling, laughing, getting up after a loss with a wicked expression, a hunger to win.

   Ryoken never would have imagined why. Spectre had wanted to be there. He liked being there. He could innately sense the magnitude of the experiment, why it would be worth violating such precious ethics like not kidnapping and torturing children in the name of science and progression. And he wanted more. He wanted to go back.

   How blithely he spoke about the Incident, it sent a shiver down Ryoken’s spine and very quickly, he became afraid of the child standing next to him. The child who was now living with him, sharing meals and toys with him. He didn’t know how to handle this monster. Especially a monster who loved him.

   In the few days that Ryoken had become afraid of Spectre, Spectre had just as quickly become enamoured with Ryoken. He was all smiles around Ryoken, incredibly thankful for being severed from the orphanage that neglected him and of course thankful for being chosen for the experiment. He all but worshipped the ground that Ryoken walked on in his gratitude.

   That scared Ryoken most of all, truth be told. He did not want the twisted affections that Spectre had unto him.

   He could never tell this bright-eyed monster in the shape of a malnourished child that he was the whistleblower. That his laughter terrified him, made him break out in a cold sweat and made his hands tremble because he couldn’t imagine how a human child would enjoy the Incident. Ryoken had been witness to the suffering of all of them. It was Spectre’s minority which twisted his guts in an all new way compared to when he thought of the agony the other five children went through.

   But Ryoken decided, at the grand age of eight years old, he could not live like this. In terror of the young boy who bounced along behind him, talking about his favourite Duel Monsters and what the scientific names for the trees and flowers in the backyard were. However, fortunately, there was a common ground and a place where even Ryoken could tame dragons and slay beasts.

   That game of cards that had been the method in which the children of the Incident were tested and in which the Ignis were inspired by.

   “Ah.” Spectre said, blinking. “I lost. Your really good, Ryoken-sama.” 

   “Thank you.” Ryoken replied in a small voice.

   Spectre was… a good loser. His grace when lethal had been achieved on Ryoken’s side… That surprised Ryoken somewhat. However, there was a lack of sincerity to his expression. He had wanted to win. Or maybe he was hurt more by what had transpired over the course of the duel beyond what cards were played.

   Ryoken had laid it all out and he had encouraged Spectre to do the same. The pretty pieces, the ugly pieces, all the pieces of what made them both individuals. Ryoken had revealed how Spectre scared him by coming on too strong and Spectre had revealed just how human he was when it came to love and lost. How it gave him joy, how it broke him. The ultimate as well, came to light: Ryoken’s place as the ender of the Incident, the one who had made the phone call to authorities, had even come to light. 

   And Spectre, in turn, revealed that it hadn’t all been fun and games. He had missed his Mother sorely. How he had cried, homesick for her tree branches and her roots, the feeling of grass underfoot and the gentle caress of her foliage on his face instead of the white chrome of the containment unit. No hugs, no nature, no love to nurture him better.

   But Spectre could still play the game he liked best. He could still mean something, because that’s what he wanted above all, Ryoken worked out. So, Ryoken wanted him to mean something to him. His best friend, his future second-in-command, his right hand man, his crush.

   “Do you want to go best of three?” Ryoken asked, already picking up his cards from the duel board so he could place them back into his Extra Deck or shuffle them in his Main Deck.

   “I would like that.” Spectre replied, happy, smiling, more genuine this time.

   Ryoken smiled as well. Spectre was still a monster in his view, because a normal human wouldn’t be like that, considering a tree to be a parent or so needy that pain and torture was preferable to being ignored. That’s what Ryoken thought, at least, about his companion that he now looked forward to standing beside, eating meals with and sharing toys with. Ryoken felt more confident now. 

   So now, when he looked at Spectre, he didn’t feel fear or undue admiration, but he did see someone very important to him and that was likewise.