Though Shadow hated going into houses again and again, which made him grateful that he was finished with the Ishtar and Bakura residence, the home of the Schraider's was another matter. It was much bigger and he had yet to get a complete look around. Using great care he crossed the large yard and entered in through a window. Before going to find his young prey he went around to rooms he had missed on his previous visits.

Leon held an old tattered book in his arms, and though he was trying to read, for some reason he found that his head was just not clear enough to do that. His thoughts were so cluttered these days, and currently he couldn't stop thinking of the issues with his brother, and his recent visit with Amane. It had opened up an array of ideas for him, but he didn't quite know how to put them all to use. He sighed and turned over on his bed, facing the open door rather blankly, expecting it to be nothing but the whiteness of the wall.

Shadow had filled his bag full of goodies and was currently trying to find where the younger Schraider was. He spotted a light from an open door up ahead. Figuring it must be the young boy's room, he creeped up to it and peered inside. In lay Leon, reading a book. The dear boy. Shadow smiled as he slipped a long dress out of the bag and slipped it on over his dark attire. After that he put on a wig, one glass slipper, and a feathered masquerade mask. With a nod of his head he entered the doorway. "Oh dear, oh dear!" He frantically exclaimed in a voice a pitch higher then his normal voice.

If Leon had any inclination to use foul language, now would have been the perfect time to say something like "What the fuck?" Instead, he stared, petrified. When he regained the ability to use his voice, he was able to stutter out, "Wh-who are you? What are you doing in my room?" He scooted over to the edge of his bed clutching the book as if it were a shield.

"I'm Cinderella, and I've lost a glass slipper!" Shadow pulled up the dress to show that only one slipper was on his foot, the left one missing. "I have no idea where it is." He made his way towards the Leon, placing his hands on either side of Leon's head. "You don't think it's in here, do you?

Leon simply stared, having no idea what to say. This was beyond absurd.....this was a twisted parody of something he loved. He flinched at the touch, and tried to get out of it. "Stop it....what are you doing here?" He looked around for an escape frantically. "You're...you can't be Shadow....are you?" The fear was so evident in both his eyes and his voice.

Shadow shook his head, blonde hair falling around his face. "I don't know what you're talking about. I'm Cinderella." He climbed onto Leon, his dress bunching around him. That look in those eyes made his insides heat up. His hair begged to be touched, and Shadow let one of his hands leave Leon's shoulder and run through it.

"No you're not! S..stop it!" Oh God, why this now? He couldn't handle this...not after everything...tears welled up in his eyes as he tried to get away, realizing it was futile and he wasn't going anywhere. "Get off of me!" he yelled louder this time, but really it was no use. He was alone now.

"Don't you want to help Cinderella? I've always been there for you, Leon." Shadow liked it when he tried to get away. He always liked when they tried to get away. It made that look in their eye that much better when they realized it was no use. With a gentle touch he pushed Leon down onto the bed and nuzzled the side of his face. "It's not fair if you aren't there for me."

"But you're not her! You're just making fun of me aren't you?" He bit his lip to keep from sobbing. "It was all I ever had...please don't make fun of it." He writhed a bit, still useless. The fact that Shadow was nuzzling him was a bit odd too, but he was too afraid to realize it bothered him. "Can't you just leave me be? Please go...please..."

It seemed as if Leon wasn't buying his act, but that didn't mean he would stop. He rather liked acting as Cinderella. And if it bothered the boy so much, he wasn't one to stop the fun. Shadow sat himself up and pulled out his knife from under the dress. He turned it for effect before sliding the tip on the mask by his lips, cutting through the many layers, until his lips were finally exposed. He stabbed the knife down in the bed by Leon's head, staring at him the whole time.

His very blood ran cold the instant the knife was drawn. That was for him wasn't it? His eyes followed it down into his pillow, where it was to stay apparently for the next few minutes. "What are you going to do to me? What did I do to deserve...this?" A sob did escape from him this time, muffled as quickly as it came. The tears wouldn't stop either, and that made it even harder.

"You were born, Leon. You've lived in this life and I've been stuck in between the pages. While you can put the book away, I'm stuck inside. That isn't fair." Shadow leaned down until their noses touched. Being Cinderella was something he never thought he would enjoy, but he hadn't had this much fun playing in so long. "Help me be a real girl." Those lips were his for the taking, and he devoured them with his own.

If he tried to scream, it never came out. There was nothing he could do but sit there and take this torture. Shadow was right...how terrible it must be. Leon did have the ability to live. All his "friends" couldn't do that. They were stuck in their worlds, but they didn't know he was stuck too! Oh it wasn't fair...he closed his eyes, hoping this was all a sick dream, but of course it wasn't. A warmth was spreading throughout him, in contrast to the cold fear he'd felt moments before. Why, why, why?

Shadow pulled back and looked at the young face in front of him. He slipped his hand over that smooth face again. "Leon, open your eyes. Look at your Cinderella." To show he meant business, Shadow yanked his hair. "Tell me what you're thinking about." So I can see what type of thoughts plague your mind and use them to my advantage.

"I...I'm sorry. For everything." What was he apologizing for? The words just tumbled out, between sobs and tears. "You're right. I can't do anything about it...and I'm sorry....I don't have anyone...I'm all alone...I can't even have real friends...and my brother...." he closed his eyes again, wishing he could melt through the floor.

"Cinderella's here right in front of you. Don't you like me, Leon?" Shadow moved his body, the skirt ruffling against them both. "I wore my best dress for you. The blue one."

"But you're not her....you're not." Something told him that maybe he should have just gone with it, acted along. He was almost beginning to believe that it was really just Cinderella, not Shadow. "She's not real....I wish I wasn't real either."

His hands ran through his hair and down to hold both cheeks. "Then let's not be real together." Shadow leaned down and kissed him again. He wondered if maybe he could get Leon to leave the mark. If he pushed a little further maybe, just maybe, it would be possible. What a wonderful first that would be.

Was this the feeling Mr. Bakura had told him about? Leon’s mind was in turmoil. This person--Cinderella—wait but was it Cinderella, or was it someone else? The lines between reality and his imagination began to smear, and all he could do was sit there helplessly, letting his lips be mauled by her…him…what did it matter. It wasn’t so bad, this feeling. It was warm and nice. Lightly, he kissed back and his hand reached up into the tangles of blonde hair. As he felt its coarseness, he knew immediately it was no Cinderella...this wasn’t even human hair. It was fake, like everything else he loved. His eyes widened and he broke away. “You aren’t her! You’re Shadow! You’re the one who hurt my brother…and Mr. Other Siegfried! That was bad! You hurt my friends too! Why are you doing this? Why are you here? Leave me alone; everyone else will eventually! I’m not worth your time! If I was, you would’ve hurt me by now…but you’re just making fun of me! Stop it stop it stop it!” He clutched at his head desperately.

Don't you like your precious little Cinderella anymore?" Shadow growled, wrapping his hands around Leon's throat. His hands tightened enough to restrict some air, but not completely cut it off. He had felt him kiss back, little boy lips eager for something. There was something about this game, different then the pretend he had played Scarecrow, because Leon had pretended back. "Cinderella has given you so many things. Don't you think Cinderella should take something back, Märchen?"

Leon's hands instinctively tried to wretch off the hands around his neck. He could still breathe, but not nearly as much as he would have liked, and his vision was beginning to blur, not just from the tears. "I do...but you're not her. You aren't. What do you want from me? I'm just...me. I don't have anything for you." His voice was strangled and it took a while to stutter out. "Just go...leave me alone, please..."

"If you want me to go, you'll have to do something for me." Shadow took his hands from around the small throat and pushed himself up. His little Märchen was trying to put up a fight, but it was useless, pinned beneath him. The knife reflected in his eyes, and he reached out and pulled it up from the bed. "You'll have to leave the mark on yourself."

Leon stared, petrified. "The mark? But...I can't."

That was most displeasing to hear. Shadow had hoped for it, but now he was going to have to do it himself. The shirt felt thin under his gloved hands as he pushed it up to his Märchen's neck. For once he hated having his hands covered, but it wouldn't do to leave fingerprints. That didn't stop his rogue hands from covering every inch of him before finding his left side. "Now be a good boy and scream loudly for me." His voice was silky as he brought the knife and put his mark on the young flesh.

Shivering from the feel of the gloved hands on his bare stomach, he tried to avoid the knife but he couldn't. It sunk in halfway, and Leon couldn't hold in the scream that tore through his throat. It hurt, it really really hurt. Blood gushed down the sheets as the knife was removed. He clutched his side, the crimson liquid tainting his hands as he sobbed harder. "Why...you were my friend..."

"I can still be your friend.”Shadow's head was resting on his stomach now. The clock had struck twelve and the beauty was gone, leaving nothing but a stream of red the fell and drenched everything in sight. "I like fairytales, too, Märchen. But you kept saying I wasn't Cinderella. You were being mean to me." His gloved fingers poked around the wound.

"Oh no don't touch it....oooh..." his voice was almost raw from screaming and crying so much. "I didn't mean to be mean...I'm sorry. I guess I'm really the bad person after all." His breathing was getting heavier and heavier and coming in shorter spasms. "But you can't be my friend. You hurt me. Please don't do it again." He was incoherent now, and the sound of his own voice was distant and strange, and Shadow's was almost like an ethereal spirit talking in his head.

The voice was music to his ears. Why screams and burnt-throat voices were not on the radio everyday...it was a horror! There had to be the perfect accompaniment to the perfect sight. "You are a bad person. A no-good nobody who isn't even nice to his fairy-tale friends. Who doesn't even like us. Poor glass slipper. Poor Wolf." Shadow sat up, shaking his head, and scooted his body down, down, until he was sitting on Märchen's ankles. The wound looked different from here. There was a pumpkin shape forming beneath him.

"I'm sorry...oh I'm sorry you're right. I do like you...give me another chance I promise I an be nicer!" He tried to sit up, and let out a hoarse cry. It was so painful, both the words and the wound. He extended his hand to Shadow. "I'm sorry. Forgive me?" A voice in his head told him to stop apologizing to this person, for he was the terrible one, but the other voice condemned him as well. You're just a snot-nosed kid, no one cares about you not your brother not your friends not your fairytales you're nothingnothingnothing.

"Forgive you? I don't know." Shadow rolled himself off and let himself fall back on the bed next to his Märchen, ignoring the outstretched hand. The dress wrapped around his legs and he had to kick himself free from the frilly confines. If he forgave him, wouldn't that make him happy? He couldn't have that. But what was he willing to do for that forgiveness? That uncertainty was too tempting to leave unanswered. Shadow turned his head to face him, fake blonde hair framing his masked face, the edges of his feather mask crushed against the bed, and said in the most Cinderella voice he could muster, "Make me forgive you."

Very slowly, with several grunts and sniffles in between, he dragged himself over to Shadow and rested his head next to him. "What do you want...? I promise I'll be nicer this time. What can I do?" He extended the hand again, but he didn't have the strength to keep it up and thus it fell limply on Shadow.

The hand fell on his stomach and he big back curse. He hoped his wounds would stay closed this night and not dirty another set of bandages. "Give Cinderella a kiss and," Shadow trailed his hand beside Leon, lifting up to rest across the front of his pants, "do what Cinderella's hand does." He gave the front of his Märchen's pants a little pat.

He leaned up and planted a soft kiss on the masked cheek. "Follow your hand? What is it going to do?" The hand felt odd, but not unpleasant, causing him to gasp slightly. He squeezed his eyes shut, not sure of what to do. What harm could his hand really do after all? So he did the same thing Cinderella's hand did.

Shadow's hand rubbed Leon through his pants. He watched his face, noticing the facial movements. A face could never lie. One could try and hold it in place but there were reflexes and twitches that will-power could never deny. "It isn't nice to keep secrets from a friend. Tell Cinderella what you're feeling."

Leon was almost ready to pass out, and everything blacked out for a few moments. But then he felt it, and heard the voice. Oh that was very nice. A contrast to the terrible pain he was feeling. Why had he never felt anything like this before? "Okay I guess I can tell you..." everything was fading in and out, but that one feeling kept him suspended in between. It was because it was a good feeling, not bad like the wound in his side. That was not good at all. "It doesn't hurt like the other thing. It's not bad...it's very nice. What are doing to me?" he asked genuinely. If only Mr. Bakura were here to explain things again....

"A good feeling?" Shadow leaned up, his hand squeezing tightly around his Märchen. He brought his other hand up and slapped the boy beneath him across the face. "You naughty boy! It isn't supposed to feel good!" Trying not to trip over his ruffles, he slid off the bed and stood up, hands on his hips, his flat Cinderella chest puffed out. "Good boys don't do that. Good boys don't make their Cinderella and other fairytales friends do that! You're evil. A vile little Märchen, that's what you are." Shadow hoped what he said was getting through. He had seen those eyes glaze over and almost lose their conscious luster.

Well THAT certainly woke him up. He tried to move the hand but he could barely lift his arm up anymore. It was a huge effort to even speak. "I don't want to be bad, please forgive me. I'm sorry, I won't do it again! But I couldn't help it...it was nice...and I'm sorry. I don't want to be bad. I'm not..." If he could have, he'd have gotten off the bed and attempted a half hearted hug. Instead, he collapsed on the ground, dripping blood on the previously clean white carpeting.

Whoopsie Daisy! It was always a Kodak moment when they fell to the ground, and here he was, without his camera. There just were no pockets on this dress. Shadow kneeled down beside him, leaning his head down. The feather mask fluttered to the floor, revealing the opening of his mask where his eyes were, which glittered with fun and excitement. "Cinderella doesn't know if she can forgive you. Will you ever do that again? Cinderella doesn't want to come back and be mean to her Märchen, but she will if she has to."

"No I promise I won't do it again. Please don't be mean to me...I don't know if I could take that..." Leon ached everywhere, his side, his head, and his eyes fluttered. Someting down there ached too...but he didn't know what it was that made it be that way. He didn't want to make Cinderella mad by asking her about it. That would make him bad again, and he didn't want to be bad ever.

"Good. Only Cinderella can do anything to you." He turned around, trying to figure out what he had done with all this things. His knife was still on the bed and he went and got it, hiking up his skirt to put it back in its holder. The bag was by the door, his treat for when he left. "Cinderella has to go now. Her little bad Märchen better be good." He began limping towards the door, though turned finally kicking off the lone glass slipper out of irritation at Märchen's head.

"I will, I promise..." His eyes wouldn't open this time. He heard something shatter very close to his face, and he realized it must have been the shoe. It was broken, just like he was there on the ground. He was alone again, and the thought of "Cinderella"'s visit didn't even make him happy. Somewhere, very deep in the back of his tumultuous thoughts, he knew everything that had happened tonight was wrong and evil. It hurt, it was twisted and nothing like the stories he loved. Maybe it was time to give up those stories for something more real. "Goodbye..." he said to nothing in particular. And then, everything went white.