Till Death Do Us Part

Warnings: Infrequent cussing; eventual yaoi/slash/BL

Pairings: Kaiba/Jounouchi

Disclaimer: Nothing in the Yu-gi-oh universe belongs to me - I'm just borrowing the characters for some fun!

Chapter 1: Jounouchi's Shadows

Katsuya's breath rose in frozen puffs as grey as the world around him. The sun was hidden by a film of low, dark clouds, and what little light managed break through was weak and gave no hint of warmth. Shadows filled the empty street, flitting here and there and causing a chill to creep along his spine.

Where am I?

His gaze swept warily over the lifeless street and buildings, recognition sparking at the sight of familiar shops and carefully tended yards. He hadn't seen this place since the day he and his father had moved away, shortly after being abandoned by his mother and sister. Now here he was, back where there were so many bittersweet memories, and he could not for the life of him figure out how or why. Goosebumps prickled his skin as he turned his head and realized that he had yet to spot so much as a stray cat or pigeon, much less another human being. It was surreal, but when he pinched himself, the smarting pain told him that he wasn't dreaming. He took a hesitant step forward. The crunch of gravel under his shoe was almost painfully loud against the quiet of the seemingly deserted city.

"H-hello?" he called out tentatively. When no answer came, he bit his lip in concern.

Domino had always been a bustling city and he could not recall a time when he'd been alone on the streets. There had always been someone in sight going about their business. Katsuya tried to remember what had happened before this moment. He was startled to find no recollection whatsoever of travelling to this spot, or even what he'd been doing before he had arrived. Frowning with concentration, he tried desperately to work it out, but there was only a gaping black hole in his memories, as though a hand had reached into his head and torn out a large chunk of the recent past. Things from weeks ago remained clear – hanging out with his friends; the stupid arguments he'd had with his dad when he visited to check on him; the seemingly endless hours of work at his three part-time jobs – but everything that had happened within the last few days was just… gone. A sliver of panic began to worm its way into his emotions, so he focused harder. He mentally fought to grasp something – anything—that could explain how he'd ended up on his own like this.

"Ah…!" Katsuya gasped and doubled over, one hand going to clutch his throbbing forehead. All he'd received for his efforts was a terrible, overwhelming pain that left him feeling as though he'd just physically smashed into a brick wall. Spitting out a few choice expletives, he pushed aside the sudden pounding in his head.

"What the hell is goin' on?" he shouted in desperation. "Hello? Somebody'd better fuckin' answer me!" Katsuya spun around, searching frantically for some sign that he was not utterly alone. There was nothing. No one, and no sound but his own unnerved gasps for air. "Answer me!"

''er me… 'er me…' his echo taunted back, the only reply to his frustrated shriek.

"Dammit," he whispered, rubbing his arm briskly against the chill. He was at a complete loss.

'-ser me… answer me… answer me!'

Katsuya twitched, the hairs on the back of his neck rising as the same echo, instead of fading as it ought to have, only grew louder and clearer.

'Answer me! Answer me!'

"What the-?" Taking a nervous step back, Katsuya attempted to locate the source of the eerie noise, but it seemed to be all around him. Growing more alarmed by the second, he continued to walk backward with small steps until he felt a solid wall press up against his back. The rough bricks dug sharply into his skin, but he felt slightly better knowing nothing could sneak up behind him now.

'ANSWER ME! ANSWER ME!' The echoing, hollow voice had become thunderous. The very air seemed to vibrate with the words, and Katsuya whined a little in distress. 'ANSWER ME! ANSWER ME! ANSWER ME! ANS-'

"Shut up! Just stop it already!" The shout of panic ripped its way out of Katsuya's throat before he could help it and immediately, as though a switch had been flicked, the echo cut off into blessed silence. Gasping and shivering, he tried to slow down his racing heart. What the hell was that? It couldn't have been normal. It was just downright freaky.

For a while, he continued to huddle against the side of the building, his imagination running wild with thoughts of ghosts and demons; however, when all remained still, he cautiously stepped out onto the street again. Looking left and right, he muttered to himself, "Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore." At least Dorothy had had her yappy dog with her. What he wouldn't give to have someone with him right now – a human, a dog, even a freaking bunny rabbit would be a comfort.

Katsuya puffed a sigh and wondered what to do next. Somehow, he hoped that Yugi and the others were working to fix this mess. Past experiences with unexplainable, weird events had nearly always been connected with Yugi's puzzle and the other Sennen items in one way or another. Of course, normally he was with his friends during those times, fighting or solving the mystery together. To be on his own now gave Katsuya the uneasy sense that his current predicament was of an entirely different nature. Besides, all of the spooky, magical stuff was supposed to have ended once Atemu had crossed over.

A shadow suddenly flickered at the very edge of his periphery. Katsuya whipped around in that direction but saw nothing different. Anxiously he opened his mouth but thought better of shouting out as he remembered The Echo. Instead, he turned on his heel and began to walk briskly in the opposite direction. He'd seen enough horror movies in his time to know that one should never go over to investigate strange noises or disturbances. That was always what screwed over the characters. Anyway, he couldn't very well stay in this neighbourhood forever. There was a chance that he would find people elsewhere and that it was only this area that was affected by… well, whatever was going on.

But nothing changed while he continued down the street. The houses and other buildings appeared vacant and not a single vehicle passed by. It was like walking through a ghost town, which only served to creep him out more. Every so often, another flash of shadowy movement, always from the corner of his eye, caused him to veer away in another direction. After awhile of this, he began to get the uncomfortable notion that the shadows were herding him someplace – or trying to distract him from his path – but he tried to shake it off as paranoia.

He wasn't sure how long he'd walked for, but he was just starting to question the logic of this aimless wandering when a large, decrepit building emerged out of the gloom ahead of him. It was two stories high and surrounded by a black iron fence. Katsuya slowed as he neared the structure. It seemed like some sort of small school, and although he was not immediately familiar with it, he nevertheless felt drawn to the entrance. There was something about the place…

Upon reaching the rusted gate, he spotted a grimy, bronze plaque to the side. Curious, he leaned in to read it. The lettering was faded but after wiping away some of the grime, he was able to make out the last word: Orphanage. He glanced past the sign, over the gate, to take another look at the place. Well, it did look the part – although, the faded clapboard siding and the leafless trees in a weedy front yard showed that it was abandoned, and had been for awhile. Katsuya frowned, wondering why the place struck a chord with him.

Pondering the mystery, he passed through the entrance without thinking and meandered towards the corner of the orphanage where the visible edge of a teeter-totter hinted at a playground. When he rounded the corner, he raised his gaze from the ground, only to stop short. In shock, he rubbed at his eyes and gaped at the unexpected figure sitting idly on a swing set.

"Kai… Kaiba?" Katsuya yelped, instantly forgetting to keep his voice down. Fortunately, The Echo remained dormant for the time being.

The brown-haired man in question looked up and familiar, icy blue eyes fixed on Katsuya. "Oh. It's you."

"What do you mean by that, huh?" he griped, but at the same time excitedly ran over to join the other. Sure, it was Kaiba Seto – the stuck-up moneybags – but he was also the first sign of life Katsuya had come across in the past hour or so. And besides, no matter what Katsuya thought of him otherwise, if anyone had the brains to solve the 'Mystery of the Disappearing Citizens' it would be Kaiba, and Katsuya intended to be with him when he did.

He'd never pegged Kaiba as the type to hang out in children's playgrounds, though. Falling onto the second of the pair of swings, Katsuya kicked off and grinned as he swung back and forth, causing the old contraption to squeal noisily in protest. "Hey, I haven't been on one of these things in years! You were in an orphanage as a kid, weren't ya? Is this the one? If you're here, then Yug' and Honda and the rest must be around, right? I'll bet Yugi'll have us out of here in no time. Ya think we're in the Shadow Realm? It's a lot different than I remember, but s'pretty spooky, don'cha think?" He tended to ramble when nervous, but it didn't take him long to realize that Kaiba was not paying any mind. Great… he was being ignored.

Dragging his feet on the ground to brake the movement, Katsuya finally peered closely at Kaiba. The taller man was staring straight ahead, his expression impossible to read; but there was an almost haunted quality to his eyes. Unsure, Katsuya prompted, "Kaiba?"

He was actually startled when Kaiba spoke without looking at him. "This place…"

"Er, yeah. Freaky, ain't it? Once we find Yug', though, I'm sure everything will be sorted out." Strangely enough, he seemed to be trying to reassure Kaiba, although he couldn't quite fathom why that would be.

Kaiba's gaze flickered to the side so that their eyes met. "How did you find me here?"

"Oh, uh…" Good question. "I, er, followed the yellow brick road?"

One thin, brown eyebrow twitched up in a 'what the hell are you talking about' kind of way. Maybe Kaiba had never watched that old movie, which seemed a little sad. Katsuya sighed and peered down at the red sand at his feet. "Dunno. I just wandered here. I didn't even know this place existed 'til I stumbled across it. 'Just a coincidence."

"There are no coincidences," Kaiba said darkly and stood up from the swing, stepping away. Without so much as a glance back, he started toward the front gate, leaving a surprised Katsuya gawking at his back.

"H-hey! Wait!" Katsuya shouted, scrambling from his seat and jogging after the other's retreating form. "We should stick together," he said as he caught up at the corner of the building. "Something strange is going on."

"Nervous, mutt?" Kaiba smirked.

Katsuya gave him a sidelong glance. "You're not?" Considering everything he'd experienced since finding himself inexplicably in his old neighbourhood – the empty city, The Echo, freaky shadows – Katsuya thought it was only natural not to be feeling completely self-assured at the moment. In fact, it was a wonder he wasn't having some kind of nervous breakdown yet.

Kaiba ignored the question and continued walking, his long strides making it a bit difficult for Katsuya to comfortably keep up; but, as they were going in the direction of Kame Gameshop, he didn't find it worth complaining about. The echo of their footsteps on the pavement was the only sound, and even that was strangely muffled in the heavy, grey air. Uninhabited homes and small stores bleakly lined both sides of the streets like ghostly mourners at a cemetery.

Every few minutes or so, Katsuya again sensed the swift, darting motions of shadows at the edge of his sight, but no matter how quickly he turned his head he was unable to catch their source. Unnerved, he quickened his pace and drew closer to Kaiba even though he knew better than to rely on the unsympathetic CEO for support. In an attempt to distract himself, he endeavoured to initiate a conversation. "So, I woke up on the street where I used to live as a kid. Well, I dunno if 'woke up' is quite right… I kinda just found myself standing there. It's crazy 'cause I can't understand what I was doing there of all places. Was it the same for you? Is that why you were at your old orphanage?"

"I do not recall how I came to be there, but I'm sure there is some logical explanation," Kaiba muttered, glaring straight ahead in a manner that suggested he, too, was trying to ignore the creepy shadows on either side.

"Sleepwalking?" Katsuya helpfully suggested.

"No, it would be too much of a coincidence that we were both sleepwalking at the same time, and as I said before – "

"There are no coincidences. Yeah, yeah."

Kaiba didn't respond, probably miffed by the interruption, but Katsuya was not about to give up. "Hey, do you, uh… remember anything?"

They were nearing the game shop, only a few more blocks away, but Kaiba slowed his frantic march a little to look sideways at Katsuya. His closed expression relented somewhat into a small frown. "You can't…?"

"No. Nothing recent anyway. It's like there's this giant gap where everything used to be, and when I try to remember, it hurts like hell, so I can't… uh…" Katsuya grimaced in frustration, unable to clearly describe what he was going through. He was worried that there was something wrong with him. A loss of memory meant something bad had happened, some kind of trauma, but he had no idea what. If Kaiba wasn't experiencing the same thing, then…

"About equal to being hit by a Burst Stream of Destruction." Kaiba nodded sharply with a considering look. "Whatever happened, it has affected our minds."

Katsuya let out a discrete sigh of relief. Thank goodness he wasn't alone in this.

"There it is," Kaiba pointed out as the game shop came in to view. "But judging by what we've seen so far, I think it's highly unlikely there will be anybody there."

"Yugi'll be there," Katsuya stated faithfully. "And Gramps. They'll help us."

With a sceptical hum, Kaiba led them to the shop door, which they found locked and hung with a 'closed' sign. Kaiba raised an almost smug eyebrow at Katsuya, who shrugged and headed for the rear entrance that connected to the house instead. With the CEO standing stiffly behind him, Katsuya pressed the doorbell and waited. There were none of the familiar sounds of someone rushing to the door or shouting that they'd be right there. It seemed as though Kaiba might be right.

He rang the bell again and folded his arms in a perturbed manner. "Er… Maybe he's in the shower?"

He heard Kaiba snort and begin to say something, but then the door swung open without warning to reveal not Yugi, but Yugi's darker half, Atemu. It was a shock, to say the least. The last time Katsuya had seen the Pharaoh was as he'd disappeared through the gates of the spirit world, his final resting place. He was not supposed to be here. He couldn't be here. And yet the shorter man in front of him with memorable spiky hair, narrow ruby-red eyes and decidedly proud stance was most definitely not Yugi.

"Ah, hello Jounouchi!" Atemu greeted him with a confident grin, as though he was expecting the visit.

Katsuya was at a loss for words, too overwhelmed to know how to react. The Pharaoh, one of his best friends, had returned, even though they'd been told so many times by Ishizu that it would never be possible to see him again in this life. Ever.

"What is going on?" Kaiba snapped from behind.

Atemu did not seem to hear him, however, or was skilfully ignoring him. "Come in. Yugi's upstairs waiting for you."

"H-he… he is?" Katsuya finally managed to choke out. Impossible-impossible-impossible, his mind kept repeating. "But… why…?

"Come in," he said again, this time taking Katsuya by the wrist. Startled, Katsuya jumped a little at the smooth, cool touch, but didn't pull away. "Yugi is in his room. He would like to speak with you. Will you follow me?"

I must be dreaming, Katsuya thought faintly as he nodded and stepped across the threshold. He barely took notice of Kaiba following close behind and Atemu had yet to mention the other's presence. It really did feel like a dream, and yet at the same time it was so real that Katsuya wanted to pull Atemu to him and cry.

"Something is not right here," he heard Kaiba mutter, but Katsuya was too focused on his old friend's smile to care.

"A-are you really Atemu?" he asked, completely enthralled as the shorter man tugged him up the stairs.

The ancient Pharaoh cocked his head and laughed lightly like Katsuya had just said something deeply amusing. "Of course, Jou. Who else would I be? Now hurry up. You don't want to keep Yugi waiting any longer, do you?"

"Waiting? But…" He stumbled on the last step and barely managed to keep his feet under him while Atemu pulled him towards the door Katsuya knew opened into Yugi's bedroom. He'd been here many times and knew the place like it was his own, but still he was not prepared for the sight that met him when they walked in. While Yugi loved games and toys and owned a large collection of them, he'd always kept his room painstakingly neat and tidy with everything organized properly on shelves. Now, it was as though a toy factory had exploded inside. Hundreds of games, stuffed toys, action figures and other things littered the floor and bed, leaving no space uncovered. They were piled high and left the room unrecognizable. Katsuya could only gape from the doorway, too stunned to immediately notice the room's sole occupant.

"Jounouchi-kun?" the soft voice called from among the piles upon piles of toys.

"Yug'?" Katsuya finally spotted the brightly coloured hair poking up in the center of the room. "This… What the heck happened here? Where'd all this come from?"

"What are you talking about? Don't just stand there, come play with me!" Even though Yugi smiled widely and his bright, amethyst eyes sparkled, there seemed to be something off about him. It gave Katsuya a pause.

Trying to figure out what was different, aside from the messy room, he asked, "Are you okay?"

"What's the matter? I thought you came all this way to see me." Yugi blinked, his smile wavering ever so slightly. "You're not going to leave already, are you?"

"Wha-? No, I…" Hopelessly bewildered but not wanting to show it and make his friend upset, Katsuya slowly walked into the room and began to make his way forward through the clutter. It was nearly impossible to avoid stepping on things, but he did his best to clear a small space with his foot each time before putting it down. Halfway, he hesitated and glanced back to see if Kaiba was following; however, the other man was not behind him anymore, nor in the doorway. Disconcerted, Katsuya turned back to find Yugi still watching him with that strange smile.

"Jou-kun?"

"Oh, uh, coming. It's just difficult to… Why's your room such a mess?" He took care to step over some kind of brightly painted wooden puzzle he couldn't recall Yugi ever owning.

"Mess?" The smiling teenager, who looked more of a young boy than ever right now, glanced around. "My toys?"

"Duh," Katsuya grunted, taking the last leap across a small wall of plushies. Shaking his head, he crouched down in front of Yugi, praying that his friend would have some answers for them. "Look, Yug', maybe you haven't noticed, but there's something weird going on and I was hoping you could help. I just came from my old street, but I can't remember how I got there. There's nobody around, and I mean nobody. Everyone's disappeared! Then there's…"

"I'm sorry."

Halted in mid-sentence, Katsuya needed a moment to register the apology. He blinked, opened his mouth again to ask why, and then couldn't when he caught the expression on his friend's face. The smile had vanished and his large eyes had filled with so much sorrow that Katsuya felt his own heart clench.

"I'm sorry," he repeated, reaching out to take one of Katsuya's hands in his. "I can't help you."

"Wh-what do you mean?" Katsuya gulped. He needed his best friend to be with him right now but Yugi was acting so unlike himself. "Why can't you?"

"Well, it's impossible for me to know anything more than you do. But Jou-kun, even if you haven't acknowledged it yet, you know something is searching for you and Kaiba-kun. It's going to find you and take you away for good if you're not careful."

Katsuya frowned, trying to make sense of this. He felt it was important, especially because it came from Yugi, whom he would trust with his life. "I don't get it. What's searching for us?"

"I can't tell you that, either. But please remember to trust your heart, not your eyes. And never give up hope. If you can do that until the end, I think you will be okay. And stay with Kaiba-kun. If you become separated, you'll be lost for sure. It'll take both of you to get through this." Yugi raised their joined hands and placed Katsuya's knuckles against his cheek. "I miss you."

"But…"

"I miss you. I miss you. I –" Yugi's tearful eyes suddenly widened and then quickly darkened.

In horror, Katsuya watched the life rapidly drain from them. A glittering, silver knife point, stained crimson, stuck out from between the boy's ribs. In slow motion, he registered the knife and the blank look and then allowed his gaze to drift up to meet the ruby-red eyes of the Pharaoh who stood behind Yugi, his hand still resting on the hilt of the weapon.

"Y-Y-Yug… Wh-wh…" Words stuck in Katsuya's throat.

The spirit of the Pharaoh stared unblinkingly for a long moment and then nodded once before disappearing back to wherever he'd come from. Numb with shock and unable to fully comprehend what had just happened, Katsuya looked back down at the body in his arms. The knife was still there and Yugi was undeniably dead.

"N-no…" Katsuya moaned lowly. Hot sticky warmth flowed over his hands. "Oh shit, oh… Y-Yugi, no…"

Shaking, he could do nothing but kneel there and watch the blood seep out of the wound. It felt real. Too real. The bright red stain grew and grew, dripping down to the floor where it began to pool. There was nothing he could do. He couldn't save Yugi. There was nothing…

"Jou-ge-a-now-Jouno-!" A noise penetrated his frantic thoughts, but at first it was like the buzzing of a fly. He was too busy falling apart to care.

"Yug'. Yugi. Sorry, oh god, so sorry. I c-can't… Yugi…"

The blood kept coming. It never stopped and never slowed. Katsuya, too caught up in shock and grief, hardly noticed as it pooled around him. Only vaguely could he feel the warmth of it soaking through his clothes and washing against his skin.

"Jounouchi! Jounouchi, listen to me! Get out!"

The faint yelling finally caught some of his attention. Sniffing and still hugging the body tightly, Katsuya turned his head to stare blankly at the doorway where a figure stood with raised fists.

"You have to get out! You idiot, look! The blood!"

"K-Kaiba?"

Blood. Katsuya didn't want to look, but his eyes were drawn downward against his will. There was so much of it – a sea of red that kept rising. It was up to his waist, the hot wetness having completely enveloped his folded legs. Seeing this, the shock subsided somewhat to be replaced by terror and revulsion. He gasped and tried to stand, but the viscosity of the fluid was oddly high and stubbornly held him in place.

"I can't move! I can't! H-help me!" Panicking, he let go of Yugi and flailed desperately in Kaiba's direction.

"I am unable to enter. I've tried. You have to come to me. Just calm down and…"

"Calm down?" Katsuya screeched, nearly hyperventilating. "I'm gonna fuckin' drown in… in… this! I… Help!"

Kaiba shook his head and placed one hand flat against what appeared to be an invisible wall. "It is not far, Jounouchi. You can make it. Just breathe and slow down. Fighting it won't help."

Terrified, he let Kaiba's calm, confident voice wash over him and tried his best to follow the instructions.

Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in…

Trying not to let the panic take control, he slowly pushed himself to his feet. The horrible stuff was frighteningly difficult to pull out from, but eventually he found himself standing upright.

"Okay. Good. Now walk towards me. You're not that far." Kaiba continued to speak in soothing tones that Katsuya had never heard from him before. In fact, it sounded nothing like the cold-hearted jerk that Kaiba usually acted. Now it was as though Kaiba cared enough to try to save him from this nightmare. Katsuya grasped onto this one thought and used it as a lifeline to maintain his sanity.

Just have to make it to Kaiba and I'll be okay.

Taking one painfully slow step at a time, his feet being sucked under with a disgusting squelch each time he put them down, Katsuya nevertheless began to cross the room. His mind was blank. He refused to think about what had happened and whose blood this was.

"Do not look around. Keep your eyes on me. You're almost there, Jounouchi."

He was nearly up to his thighs in the stuff. How the hell could there be so much of it? Surely it couldn't all be…

Don't think about it. Don't think. Kaiba. Gotta get to Kaiba.

And then, finally, he managed to struggle the last few inches so that he could reach out through the open door. The moment his hand broke through, Kaiba grabbed it and jerked him the rest of the way in. Shivering, gasping, Katsuya fell against the other and clung desperately. "Y-Yug… he… b-blood…" Choking on sudden tears, he felt the taller man's arms come around to help hold him up.

"Get out! Listen to me—"

"No, I'm not leaving you!"

"You idiot! Shit, just get out of here before—"

"No. NO!"

The short fragment of memory slammed into him unexpectedly. Above him, he heard an echoing gasp and Kaiba's arms tensed. Even more shaken and with pain exploding in his head, Katsuya began sobbing. "Yugi! Yugi, I'm s-sorry! Y-Yugi! C-come back, Yug'!" On the verge of hysteria, he whimpered his best friend's name over and over. Atemu and the knife and the blood… It was too much, just too much for him to handle. His mind shut down and a pair of slim but solid arms was the only thing that supported him as he lost consciousness.

To be continued...

A/N: Hey there! I think it's about time I posted another story, don't you? I've been working on an off (mostly off...) on this for a long while, so it's pretty much finished except for some of the epilogue - which means you won't have to wait for months at a time between chapters. Great, huh? I am editing each chapter before posting, though, so expect the next one up in a week or so. I don't think this story will be quite as long as 'Inescapable You', but it's still fairly lengthy. Yeah, it's another Jounouchi and Kaiba "stuck" together type story (I guess I just like to focus on those two haha), but this one is a bit more of a... Mystery? Suspense? Something like that. It's a strange start, but bear with me and let me know what you think! I always love to hear your opinions.

Also, to avoid confusion with names: The first name of the POV character is used in the main narration ('Katsuya' in this chapter, and 'Seto' next), while the last name of the non-POV character is used ('Kaiba' in this chapter, 'Jounouchi' in the next). Why did I choose to do it this way? Mostly because I feel they would refer to themselves by their first name, and other people by their last names (unless they're closer friends). Hopefully I've remained consistent.