Authors Note: Final chapter! Longer than the last. Enjoy.
Disclaimer: All characters are the brain children of Kazuki Takahashi, they do not belong to me!
Warnings: Swearing.
Chapter Three
The Contamination of Seto
Seto bundled into the front of the limo next to Roland.
'That was quick, sir –'
'We didn't talk,' Seto snapped. 'Yuugi's not there. He ran off when he found his grandfather dead.'
Roland gasped. 'Wh–why didn't you call, sir? You left him in there?'
Seto turned to Roland, staring at him hard, but seemingly focused on another thought. For a moment Roland thought his master was angry with him; he had the same mad look in his eye and flared nostrils as when he was about to explode into a fit of passionate rage. Seto's thin lips were pursed.
'I'm going to go and find Yuugi.'
Roland ogled at him.
'Sir? His grandfather just died, I don't think he'll be in a state to think about accepting a rematch –'
'For heaven's sake I'm not going to ask him now! I'm just going to prove to the Other Yuugi that I'm better than him –'
'The Other Yuugi, sir…?'
Seto glanced at Roland quickly through the corner of his eye, realising his slip. He turned away to glare out of the dark window, only to be met with his reflection in the glass. He stared into his own eyes and for one heart-flipping moment he thought he saw a glint of red looking back at him. He snapped his eyelids tightly shut and took a deep breath, but the faint tinkling of the Puzzle would not leave his ears.
'I'm going to search on foot for Yuugi,' Seto said sharply as he turned back to Roland. 'He left his house in a panicked hurry, he can't have gone far. There's a park around here somewhere, I'm going to look there first. Be ready for a call.'
Before Roland had time to give the affirmative, Seto had left the vehicle and was striding purposefully into the night, hair glinting strangely under the orange streetlamps.
Yuugi had blundered unseeingly from the building. He was now soaring along the dark street like a feral cat, panting wildly. No sooner had the pads of his small fingers brushed along the rope-like veins of his grandfather's hand he had felt his ribcage shrinking in upon his heart and his breath. Yami had called out, but the sound had been a fuzzy rush to Yuugi's ears. He had flown well beyond the shop door before he had even realised that he had begun to move.
The Pharaoh had fallen silent or perhaps the roaring waves of blood and adrenaline in his ears was drowning him out; Yuugi couldn't be sure, he certainly wasn't going to stop until his kneecaps cracked and his muscles fell away from his broken bones.
He had dashed through several well-known shortcuts until he had reached a mild suburban area. The houses were low and the pathways were wide. Trees loomed in an ominous orange-grey under the streetlights. Yuugi knew full well where he was and instead of carrying along at breakneck speed along the path that ran beside the road he darted across it, disappearing into a network of paths that spidered behind the garden fences of docile houses.
He moved like a low shadow over a dark expanse of green, nearly ploughing into a tall hedge before exploding onto another street where a collection of small necessities shops were huddled on the corner. He ran around the corner and found himself on a tiny playing field that rolled down through the darkness, the curve of the ground hiding the small play park at the end. He skidded to a halt through the riled mud that earlier downpours had caused. He felt the damp climbing up his trousers to his shaking knees.
Now standing stock-still in the middle of the playing field Yuugi strained his ears to hear whether there was anyone at the park. At first the thunder of his heart interrupted his listening, but eventually he trained it down to a languid thud, a feat that seemed to take decade. Now only his rasping disturbed the night air around him. He felt certain there was no one at the park and that it was safe to descend upon the comfort of the bark chips and battered swings.
'Yami…' he wheezed. He heard no reply, nor felt a single stirring in the Puzzle. He suddenly felt cold and naked. 'Yami…?'
Seto saw a small row of shops at the end of the road. He strode past them, casting a watchful eye all around him, picking out every bench, checking for a sharp shock of purple hair. Seeing nothing he carried on around the corner towards a large grassy slope. He walked down the path at its perimeter, the topmost pole of the swings coming into view.
He picked his way around a spattering of small puddles before venturing onto the sodden bark chips, his step feeling springy. He saw the glowing cherries of a few cigarettes hovering in the dark by the swings and a faint murmuring of voices. Seto squinted at them, but the light of the streetlamps didn't reach so far as the core of the play park. His back became rigid and his jaw set.
'Yuugi?'
The murmuring ceased and the cigarette lights became still.
'Nah man,' came a dull, heavy accent through the dark.
Seto blinked.
'Have you seen a short kid with spiky hair come by?'
'Yer, he came and sat on the swings. Don't think he noticed us at first. Fucked off pretty sharpish when he realised we were here –'
'Which way did he go?' Seto's voice was harsh and blunt. There was a pause before the voice answered.
'That way,' the cherry of his smoker wiggled in the direction of a pathway on the other side of the playing field. 'Went fast though, dunno if you'd be able to catch up with him.'
Seto was about to march off towards the path, when he realised he didn't know where he would be going at all. This area of Domino had no more to offer than over-priced houses and spawnings from the shallow end of the IQ pool.
'What's down there? '
'Nothing much,' said a different voice. 'Just a load of houses. The streets all come out on the main road if you go pretty much straight forwards. Then you got open fields of livestock and a load of abandoned bus stops –'
Without so much as a second glance or a thank-you Seto had disappeared into the darkness.
Yuugi had found an out of service bus stop on the corner of a street that opened out onto the larger road. He sat and leant against the cold breeze blocks, gazing idly at the crude graffiti, eyes wandering over every now and then to a small gathering of black cows in the field opposite. The concrete floor of the stop made his backside numb, but he didn't dare to sit on the small, wooden bench inside for fear of various bodily fluids and creepy crawlies. A hint of urine and vomit was present. Yuugi pointed his face into the flow of fresh air rushing around in the open until he caught the whiff of cattle. He then buried his nose into the crook of his crossed arms and squeezed his eyes shut. He whimpered, then sobbed as his flesh became corpse cold.
Yuugi wasn't sure how long he had been huddling in the bus stop before he heard the clipping of smart shoes coming up the pavement in his direction. He ignored it for a passerby and kept his face planted firmly in his arms. He tears had long since dried up.
Still he didn't look up as the footfalls came closer, but when they came to a halt directly in front of him he felt the sick, pulsating throbs of panic underneath his tongue. His thoughts darted around from one hopeful thought to another.
Is it Jounouchi? Or Honda? Anzu?
He peered up cautiously though the wispy blonde of his fringe. He was met with slabs of calculating slate and he gasped, diving back into the safety of his arms, not daring to look up into those eyes again.
Seto huffed and shifted his weight onto one tired foot. He had gone up and down several streets, had peered into more than a few bus stops and was now at the end of an incredibly short tether. It felt as though a silent decade was slipping by and still Yuugi would not unfold and face him. Seto stared intently at Yuugi. He was wearing nothing more than simple trousers, a tank top and cotton socks, which were now stained and sopping from the mud of the playing field. His little body was visibly quaking, whether from cold or fear or heartbreak Seto couldn't be sure. His eyebrow tweaked.
'Yuugi, time actually does equal money in my world. I can't stand here all night waiting for you to thaw.'
Yuugi's great head of wild hair shivered as he shook his head, still not looking up.
'Look at me, Yuugi.'
He shook his head again, more frantically than before.
'Yuugi! Look. At. Me.'
As he began to shake his head once more Seto snarled and in a single fluid movement had taken Yuugi's upper arm in a painful grip, squeezing hard. Seto's long fingers wrapped around the skinny limb completely, fingers meeting thumb. Seto fought the urge to gasp at the thinness and let go.
'Yuugi! For fuck's sake, I've been tramping all over the fucking place looking for you!'
Yuugi had slumped into the powerful grip of Seto's large hand, which was all but holding him upright. He felt an overwhelming desire to relinquish control of his body, to let himself be dragged across the floor, through the tall wet grass of the fields and then left in a ditch, choking on stinging nettles and dandelion clocks.
Seto examined Yuugi. He was frowning slightly, looking at nothing. His round face was half cast in the buttery glow of the streetlamps, the other half lost in the darkness. His cheeks gleamed with tears. He felt the little body becoming a dead weight and moved quickly to grab the other arm, shifting his grasp to the underarms, now holding Yuugi an inch off the floor, staring crossly into his deep-set eye sockets.
'Your mother will be going spare, you absolute bollard. I sometimes wonder if your mediocre dog of a friend has more brain cells than you, Yuugi.'
The small mouth quivered and a fresh wave of tears fell. A quiet whine escaped his lips before he reached up and grasped the wrists that held him up. Seto wasn't sure if the tight grip was a request to let him go or if Yuugi just wanted to hold onto something. His frown deepened before he returned the boy to the ground.
'K-Kaiba-kun, what are-are you doing h-here?'
Seto's eyes flickered exasperatedly to the dark shapes of the cattle across the road.
'I came to the shop to propose a rematch; I'm still convinced you cheated the last time we battled.'
Yuugi ogled his rival, but said nothing.
'The shop door was open, so I let myself in. I found your grandfather, and your imaginary friend's house. You left it lying on the floor.'
Seto let his words sink in before carrying on in an icy tone.
'If that's how you treat your best friends, I'm glad I never gave two thoughts to accepting your numerous offers of companionship.'
Yuugi sobbed at Seto's words, pushing the heels of his wrists into his eyes. He hunched over and let his head fall against Seto's body. He cried out all the more loudly before slinging his short arms around the comparably vast waist of his rival and clung like a limpet. Seto scowled, feeling indignant at the invasion of his space, his body stiff with discomfort, though he made no move to peel the boy off.
With Yuugi still clinging onto him, he fished around in the deep pocket of his coat. He produced an expensive mobile phone, which slid open, its minuscule buttons glowing blue. He rapidly dialled a number and held the device to his ear.
'Roland. I found him. Come to the corners of the streets that lead onto the main road, look for black cattle. Be quick.'
Ten minutes later Seto was sitting in the back of his limo, constantly having to push Yuugi off his side with a sharp elbow. Yuugi grumbled, obviously exhausted.
'Wanna sleep…where's Yami…'
Seto sighed, rubbing a throbbing temple.
'Ten more minutes, Yuugi, and you'll be with your mother and your imaginary pharaoh friend. Just stop using me for a pillow.'
'S'warm though…'
'Urgh –'
Seto gave up and let Yuugi's head flop against his arm. A few sharp turns around corners and Yuugi was nestled in his lap. Seto just scowled; his arms and legs crossed, his hard gaze fixed on the opposite seat. Several moments passed before he finally looked down at Yuugi, startling a little when he saw the deep violet eyes staring at him, the same way Mutou Sugoroku's dead eyes had been fixed on the television screen.
Yuugi's brow puckered. For a fleeting moment he was certain he saw the warm, crimson glow of the Pharaoh in Seto's eyes, which were otherwise blank and cold. The Pharaoh's affectionate comfort seemed present in the vehicle, as though Yuugi had merely taken the Puzzle off and tucked it under the seat, or as if a member of his company was wearing the item instead.
'Kaiba-kun…'
'What.'
'Did you touch the Puzzle on when you found it?'
Seto faltered, feeling incredibly uneasy all of a sudden.
'No. Why?'
Yuugi's scowl deepened before fading away completely, leaving a peaceful face in its wake. He rolled over and nuzzled Seto's knee, trying to get comfortable.
'Oh, it just sort of feels like the Pharaoh is here.'
Seto shuddered and desperately tried to ignore the mad tinkling in his ears.
A few more turns and the limo had rolled up to the Kame Game Shop. All the lights were on in both the house and the shop. Yuugi's mother was standing at the door, her face pale and worried. She held Yuugi's Puzzle in her hands.
Roland swept around the side of the limousine and opened his master's door. Yuugi stepped out and ran to his mother, who enveloped him in an embrace before placing the Puzzle around his neck. She turned away to head back into the shop, Yuugi following her with a discreetly gleaming item of jewellery around his neck.
As the K4IBA2 pulled away, Seto clawed his forehead, the merry jingling of the Puzzle growing into the clamourous din of cathedral bells.
Author's Note:FIN. I didn't really know what I was doing here. I hope you liked it.
Review! Or the Pharaoh will contaminate your soul!
