Flashforward
Kaiba's boots scraped the cement as he backed away from Joey, the headlights of the traffic that roared beside them illuminating his face for seconds at a time, carving gaunt shadows into his chiseled features with each passing vehicle.
Tremors racked his long legs, and with his towering height he took on the appearance of a skyscraper seconds from caving in on itself.
Joey's eyes traced him, and confused thoughts cluttered his head as he took the sight in.
Kaiba was curling up, hunkering down as though preparing himself for an attack. He gripped his bloodstained coat like a lifeline and tugged it around his body.
He had always been tall and slender, but with the way he held himself, his physical properties had never affected Joey's view of his strength or power. Now he was hunched, shrinking under Joey's gaze. With a simple change of posture, every slender, gangly aspect of his teenage figure was on display, and Joey's intimidating rival had suddenly become so frail. Such small changes, but with them, he was a ghost of the man he was days ago.
"What's going on? Is…is this a test?" his voice sounded so clear and acquitted, so absolutely opposite to Kaiba's brimming-with-bravado rasp that Joey found himself frozen on the spot
"Test…what are you-?"
"Where am I?" his eyes shimmered in the passing lights, widening with alarm.
"Who are you?"
Joey lost control of his jaw and it dropped open. After a few seconds he gasped out an uneasy laugh as his brain struggled to formulate words.
"What, don't remember this ugly mug?" he forced out another laugh and watched Kaiba's eyebrows draw together, eyes wide and lips quivering. He looked like a child on the verge of tears.
'What the hell?' Joey thought as he found himself grasping for words.
"Hey, you know me!" He tried to keep his tone light and joking, but his voice grew louder with each word as panic wrapped its icy fingers around his throat.
"Ya know, Joey Wheeler, the amateur, the...mmmh…" he gulped down his pride. "…The monkey, the dog! All names you gave me, pal!"
Kaiba's usually pristine hair shone with grease and sweat in the passing lights. He sent it flying as he shook his head violently like a child shaking a snow globe. Like his memories had detached and drifted to the bottom of his skull, and if he tossed his head enough he could churn them up from the depths.
Joey felt short of breath. It seemed as though the traffic was speeding up, spinning around them in a sickening blend of painted metal and blurred light. The attackers on their tail, his and Kaiba's injuries, everything seemed to drift away as he struggled to process just what was going on.
"We've known each other for years! You've gone on adventures with me and Yug', and Tristan and-hey, you remember Yugi, right? 'King of Games', your greatest rival!"
Eyes fluttered, lips quivered, and then he sent his hair flying again with another frantic shake. "I don't know who you're talking about. I've never met you in my life."
'What the HELL?'
Kaiba's eyes glittered with moisture, and the tremors had spread to his hands. A man with a child in his eyes, he looked genuinely terrified.
Joey's knees began shaking as well, and he realized that Kaiba had been inching away like a scared animal the whole time, and he was about five steps away from stumbling into the churning mess of cars.
"Hey, stop! You'll-" Kaiba darted back suddenly as what Joey intended to be a quiet warning was amplified into a shout by his alarm.
"Kaiba, wait! The cars-"
"Why are you calling me that?"
Joey blinked. "Huh?"
"That's not my name, don't call me that!"
'I'm talking to a stranger.' Joey realized.
The traffic flew around them faster than ever and Joey couldn't tell if his sudden, sharp nausea was the result of motion sickness, his injuries, or the shock of the situation. He was so absorbed in his confusion, he didn't notice Kaiba's body tensing in preparation to run, and wasn't fast enough to stop him as he fled, hurtling his frail body into the oncoming traffic.
Updated 9/7/16
Minor changes in sentence structure and spelling.
cover photo
Pixiv ID: 16799118
Member: 乙んご
Source: member_ ?mode=medium&illust_id=16799118
