Chapter Eight:
--One Hour Earlier--
Yugi closed the door to his and Seto's room, smiling at his lover. Seto was beginning to undress for the night, his trench coat off and his shirt half-pulled up as he paused to look at him.
"Oh, don't stop on my account."
Seto smirked and lifted his shirt up and off the rest of the way. Yugi let his eyes drift over Seto's chisled chest and stomach, purring. He stepped over and wrapped his arms around his waist, pressing a kiss to his skin. Seto wound his arms around him and looked back down at him.
"What?"
"Nothing."
"Hn." Seto suddenly grabbed him under the arms and lifted him up, tossing him lightly on the bed before going back to undressing.
Yugi sat up, watching, smiling as Seto pretended to ignore him. He started undressing himself, working off his pants and taking off his shirt. Seto was putting his clothes away in his suitcase. Yugi threw his shirt at him where it landed over his head. Giggling, Yugi scooted backwards, pretending to be afraid as Seto pulled the shirt off his head and spun around. He came after Yugi, crawling up onto the bed and grabbing him, making him squeal as he dragged him down the mattress.
Seto eased his grip and leaned down, kissing him. Yugi kissed him back, moaning as Seto pushed his tongue into his mouth. He curled his own around it, sighing as Seto let go of his arms so that he could wrap his around his neck. Seto coaxed Yugi's tongue back into his own mouth and he eagerly accepted the chance to explore his mouth.
Seto broke the kiss and lifted himself up onto his arms, leaning over him. Yugi looked up at him, anticipating some intimacy. He tilted his head and smiled up at him.
"Yes?"
Seto bent and kissed his forehead before sliding away and off. He looked at Yugi thoughtfully for a moment before smiling and making a 'come-here' gesture.
"Let's go check out one of the showers."
Yugi's eyes widened and a stab of arousal pulsed through him. Joey was right in his teasing; he and Seto did have a thing for semi-public sex. He immediately got off the bed, pausing just long enough to grab his pajamas while Seto got his as well as the tube of lubricant. To keep from being found running around in their boxers in case someone was up late, they put on those pajamas and headed for the closest bathroom, which was right next door to Yami and Joey's room across the hall.
Yugi glanced at the closed door, then went on to the bathroom, slipping in behind Seto. They shut the door, Yugi taking a quick look around. It was a modern bathroom with porcelain fixtures, a tub with a sliding plastic door. It was large and very clean.
Placing the lube on the sink counter, Seto cupped Yugi's chin, pushing him back against the door and kissing him. Yugi groaned, reaching up to begin undoing the buttons to Seto's pajama top, pressing his palms flat against his chest and applying pressure to his nipples. Seto growled against his mouth, breaking the kiss to begin marking Yugi's neck after removing the collar he'd bought for him. He set it carefully on the edge of the sink as Yugi took off his cuffs and set them with it.
Seto turned away to begin warming the water while Yugi stripped himself. As Seto was leaning over to mess with the taps, Yugi got a nice look at his ass. He walked over and shoved down Seto's pajama pants and boxers down to his ankles. He bent and licked up the seam, making Seto jerk slightly.
"Yugi."
Yugi grinned, nipping at the base of his spine. "Don't move."
Seto growled softly, but remained bent forward over the edge of the tub, bracing himself against the wall. Yugi knelt behind him, pressing kisses along his back, his butt, sliding his hands along his legs. He leaned forward and licked up the seam again, before pushing his tongue into him.
"Ngh! Yugi!"
Yugi had done this a couple times before, pleased to get this sort of reaction out of him. He'd never been dominant, didn't really care to be since he loved to have Seto inside of him, but he liked that Seto let him do this. He teased him with his tongue, wriggling it inside of him, pulling it out and licking around the edge, before pushing it back inside of him. Seto trembled slightly as Yugi withdrew his tongue and replaced it with his fingers, slowly pushing two into him, pumping them in and out of him, massaging his prostate. Seto groaned, his hips moving slowly against his fingers. Yugi moved his other arm around him, sliding his fingers slowly up his hard erection, smiling as he felt it twitch.
He pressed kisses to his spine as he continued to fondle him, listening to his soft moans. Wrapping his fingers fully around his cock, Yugi began to stroke him, urging him towards a climax, his fingers pumping slowly in and out of him before he pushed them in all the way and constantly prodded his sweet spot.
"Oh, gods," Seto muttered lowly.
Yugi grinned, licking up his spine, laying kisses along his skin, feeling him shaking as he came towards his end. Yugi shoved his fingers hard while pulling up on his erection and Seto came. His muscles clamped on his fingers and Yugi continued to stroke him until he was spent. Removing his fingers, he stepped back and watched as Seto turned around, sitting down on the lid of the toilet to catch his breath. Yugi smiled, raising his left hand and sticking his fingers into his mouth, sucking his release off.
Seto watched him do it with dark eyes. Yugi licked his lips and smiled. He reached down and toyed with the waistband of his pajama pants, leaning forward until his face was an inch from Seto's. He groaned when Seto grabbed his face in his hands and devoured him. Yugi kissed him back, resting his hands on his shoulders and shivering when his hands dropped, gliding along his body as they took down his pajama pants.
Yugi broke the kiss and stepped out of them, maneuvering to step into the shower. He hissed in pleasure as the hot water strummed down on his skin. Tilting his head back slightly, his bangs sticking to his cheeks, he smiled as Seto came into the shower with him, shutting the plastic sliding-door. He tilted his head up to meet his kiss, wrapping his arms around Seto's shoulders to bare his body to his hands. Fingers against his skin beneath the hot water had him so excited, especially after getting his lover off.
Seto suddenly pulled back, mouth sliding down his body as he slid to his knees, his hands going to brace his hips. Yugi looked down at him, sliding his fingers through his wet hair and waiting. Sure enough, Seto moved forward and ran his tongue slowly up the underside of his erection. He shuddered in pleasure, sliding his hands down to rest on Seto's shoulders.
Seto pulled him into his mouth, drawing a sharp moan from his throat. He held completely still, shivering with the effort to ignore his body's instincts, closing his eyes to focus on sensation. The hot water against his skin drummed continuously, seeming to only heighten his arousal while Seto's mouth and tongue on him was driving him crazy.
"Oh, Seto. Gods, that feels good."
Yugi cried out when Seto purred around his erection, bobbing his head quickly and deep-throating him. He dug his fingers into his shoulders, panting harshly in the steamy air, every rub of Seto's tongue, movement of his throat, pulling him closer to the edge. He came with a groan of his lover's name, legs shaking as his seed was swallowed. Seto stood, bracing him against collapsing; Yugi leaned against him, catching his breath.
"Wow."
Seto smirked, pushing his bangs back and kissing him softly. Yugi smiled and turned around, bracing himself against the tiled wall, resting his forearms against it and wriggling his ass. He jumped when Seto suddenly slapped him hard.
"Ow!"
Seto's smirk widened and he reached down, caressing Yugi's thighs while at the same time urging his legs further apart. He opened the door a little and picked up the tube, shutting the door again. He slicked his fingers and stretched Yugi's entrance, causing him to shove back against his fingers wantonly.
"Seto!"
Seto removed his fingers and smoothed lube over his cock, turning Yugi around to face him. He pulled one of his legs up against his hip, entering him. Yugi groaned, wrapping his arms around his shoulders again to brace himself, lifting up onto the toes of his other foot. Seto grabbed his other leg and lifted him up all the way, holding onto his thighs as he began to thrust. Yugi cried out, the cold tile stinging his back while the hot water pounded against his front.
"Harder, Seto, please."
Seto did as he asked and Yugi screamed, arching his back. He kissed Seto breathlessly, squeezing his thighs against his hips, attempting to move against him.
Seto mouth moved against his cheek to his ear. "Touch yourself."
Yugi groaned softly, resting his head back against the wall as he did so, reaching down to begin rubbing his renewed erection, gasping for breath. Seto growled against the side of his jaw, his thrusts increasing. Yugi whined as he felt Seto come, the heat of his seed warming his insides. Rubbing himself desperately, he joined him, crying out over the roar of the spray before digging his teeth into Seto's shoulder.
Seto withdrew from his body, but kept him pinned against the shower wall, resting his cheek against his shoulder. Releasing his bite, Yugi kissed his temple before resting his head against the side of his.
"We should go," Seto said finally.
Yugi reluctantly let him set him down, reaching over to turn off the water as Seto got out, getting their towels. They dried off, Yugi sneaking some feels before Seto finally shoved him against the door again, kissing the breath out of him. When he was released, Seto threw his pajama top over his head.
Laughing, Yugi took it off and got dressed. They made sure to gather up all they had brought and headed back to their room. Suddenly tired, Yugi yawned as he returned the lubricant to his bag. They got into bed, Seto turning off the light. Yugi curled up with him, already drifting off.
--Present--
Yugi snapped awake, sitting up with a start as a terrible scream sounded from outside. Seto sat up, too, cursing as he automatically turned on the light, the scream dying away.
"What the hell?" Seto demanded.
Yugi scrambled out of bed. "Someone must be hurt."
Seto followed him as Yugi hurried across the room and opened the door. Across the hall, Joey and Yami were coming out as well, Joey pulling on a T-shirt. Yami, already dressed, hurried forward down the hall as the other doors opened, the other guests pouring out into the hall. Mr. Johnston glanced at them, then up the hall.
"What's going on?"
Mr. and Mrs. Nadrendra were running down the hall from their room, Mrs. Narendra whimpering and saying something in a rapid foreign language, probably whatever her native Phillipino language was. Both looked terrified.
"What is the matter?" Abigail asked as she and Oscar came hurrying down the third-floor stairs.
"A ghost, a ghost!" Mr. Narendra chanted wildly.
"Really?" Mr. Johnston asked eagerly. "You actually saw one?"
"Yeah, right," Mr. Maxwell said as he and his wife joined them. He walked back a few paces and shoved the Narendras door opened further. "There's nothing in here."
"He left," Mrs. Narendra said, clutching Mr. Narendra like a life preserver. "He's gone, he went through the wall."
"He?" Abigail asked. "Was it one of the children?"
"A man," Mr. Narendra said as Mr. Maxwell joined them again. "A man with half his face missing!"
"Missing?" Abigail repeated.
"Like...like blown off. Horrible."
"He was just staring," Mrs. Narendra whispered, holding onto her husband even more tightly. "Just staring at us."
"That sounds like a gunshot wound," Oscar said.
"Yes. Horace Carter? He was one of the owners of the house, perhaps 1924, if I remember correctly. He and his wife had one little girl, Deborah, who disappeared earlier that year. They say Horace was so distruaght that he ate his gun a few months after she was gone. Perhaps you were seeing him."
"Nice trick," Mr. Maxwell said, peering into the room again. "Getting him out of there like he was going through the wall."
"Getting who out, Mr. Maxwell?" Abigail asked.
"Honey, stop it. Don't ruin it for everyone."
"Will you stay?" Abigail suddenly asked the Narendras. "If not, I will call for transportation."
"I-I..." Mrs. Narendra looked up at her husband. "They can't hurt us...right?"
"The disappearances are quite real," Oscar said. "The suicides. We never guaranteed your safety."
"Oh, don't go running off," Mr. Maxwell said. "Even if it is real, it's just spooks. They're dead and so what?"
Yugi frowned at him. He was a real jerk. Mr. and Mrs. Narendra, whether wrong or right about what they saw, seemed really afraid, and he was just making fun of the whole situation. Why had he even come anyway? Some people just tried to ruin everything.
"I-I think we can stay," Mr. Narendra said. "Do you think the ghost will come again?"
"There is no way to tell," Abigail said. "Sometimes we have many sightings, sometimes a few, sometimes none. Would you like a different room?"
"Yeah, put us in there," Mr. Maxwell said. "Get us out of that frilly pink room and into where the ghosts are. I'm not scared."
Abigail turned and contemplated him for a few moments. "Mrs. Maxwell, is this acceptable?"
The woman looked at her husband and sighed resignedly. "Yes, that's fine."
The entire group stood in the hallway while the switch was quickly made. Mrs. Narendra looked around the room and gave a tremulous smile. "I feel better in here. This is a lovely room, a little girl's room. There can be no evil here."
"Come on, head off," Mr. Maxwell said. "Let's all get quiet again so that ghost'll show up."
Abigail frowned at him and shared a look with Oscar. Yugi watched them both, wondering. If it was fake, maybe they were getting tired of Mr. Maxwell's mouth and were thinking of stepping up the frights so as to scare him away. It would serve him right.
"Let's go back to bed, Yugi," Seto said. "That asshole is getting on my nerves."
Since he spoke in Japanese, Mr. Maxwell had no idea what he'd said, which was just as well. Yugi would rather there be no more fighting tonight. From the look on Maxwell's face, he wasn't too keen on the fact that they were foreign. He seemed to be a jerk all around.
Disgusted, Yugi turned away with his lover and friends. They returned to their bedroom, but Yami and Joey followed them in.
"What, are you going to need to stay in here tonight?" Seto demanded, sitting down on the edge of the bed. "Fine, but dogs stay at the foot."
"Of course we are not staying in here," Yami said. "But we should discuss this."
"Do you think the ghost was real then?" Yugi asked.
"I have lived long enough to never make assumptions."
"Ghosts don't exist," Seto said. "At least not this way. Okay, so you were real, but you had an anchor, didn't you? And you weren't a traditional ghost. These people are saying that some guy that blew his brains out is still walking around this house on another plane. Bull."
"Okay, just say that it was real, a real ghost," Joey said. "What do we do about it then?"
"Nothing, I suppose," Yami said thoughtfully. "It gave the Narendras a fright, but it didn't hurt them."
"We're going to some of the sites where people died tomorrow," Joey said. "I guess we could wait and see whether we see our own ghosts. Fake or not, this is kinda cool."
Seto looked dismissive, but Yugi nodded. "Yeah, it is. And the Narendras were scared, but not enough to have to leave, so it can't be that bad."
"Yeah. See ya guys at breakfast."
Yami nodded in agreement and stood up. His eyes met Yugi's. //Aibou, if you see anything at all, don't hesitate to call for me.//
Yugi smiled at Yami's continued protectiveness. /I promise and you do the same. Goodnight, Mou Hitori no Boku./
Yugi sighed and crawled back into bed with Seto. He groaned when he saw the clock read 3:42. "Man. We're going to be so tired tomorrow. Breakfast is at seven-thirty."
"We don't have to stick to any schedule," Seto said, pulling Yugi back into his arms after turning the light off again.
"Yeah, but I want to see the graveyard. You can stay in bed if you want."
"I appreciate you attempting to let me out of any obligations on this trip, Yugi, but I'm here and I'm going to do what you do."
Yugi smiled and closed his eyes. Soon he was out, hoping the rest of the night would pass smoothly.
******
It did and he woke to the alarm screeching seven o'clock. Groaning, he rolled over and smacked it silent. Yugi yawned hugely, stretching himself out before sitting up. He scrubbed his face and looked down at his lover. Seto was awake, scowling at the alarm clock. With a smile, Yugi climbed out of bed.
"Glaring it to death doesn't help, it's still seven." Yugi yawned and stretched again.
Seto got out of bed and grabbed some clothes. "You go say good morning while I get cleaned up."
Yugi nodded and headed out with him. While Seto went down to the bathroom, Yugi knocked lightly on the red-bedroom door. /Hey, Yami, are you naked?/
Yugi felt Yami's amusement a few seconds before the door opened. Yami was wearing a pair of black jeans and a scarlet-red T-shirt with black buckles attached to random areas. His buckle and cuffs were solid black. Behind him, Joey was in a tawny shirt and blue jeans, sitting down at the table while he pulled on his shoes.
"No. Good morning, Aibou."
"Morning, Yami. Morning, Joey."
"Hiya, Yug'. Ready to get haunted?"
"Nearly. Seto's in the bathroom right now."
"Is he coming?" When Yugi nodded, Joey made a surprised face before finishing tying his laces and straightening up.
"'Kay. We got up about fifteen minutes ago, thanks to energy-junkie here. Guess we'll meet ya downstairs."
"Okay."
Yugi stepped back into the hallway, passing Seto as he came out of the bathroom, fully dressed and washed up. Yami and Joey headed downstairs while Yugi took his turn in the bathroom. He couldn't help it, even though it was morning, he felt creeped-out while in there. Now that someone had really had a ghostly experience, he constantly felt like one would pop out at him.
He wasn't sure whether he wanted that or not.
Yugi made quick work of his washing up and headed back into the bedroom to get dressed. When he had, he and Seto headed downstairs. In the dining room, a pair of women Yugi had not seen the night before were putting breakfast on the table. It was as lavish as the dinner before: plates of eggs, bacon, sausage, fried ham, grits, home fries, oatmeal, biscuits, gravy, jam, fresh fruit, pancakes, syrup, and toast.
/Yami, I think it's a good thing we only stay here three days. If we ate like this every meal, we'd be fat in a month./
Yami chuckled mentally as they sat down at the table with the Narendras and the Johnstons. Oscar walked in, thanked the women, and sat down. A minute later, Abigail entered the room. She was wearing a maroon velvet dressed with a black shawl, her hair up in an elegant bun.
"I'm afraid the Maxwells will not be joining us today," she said. "Mrs. Maxwell has come down with a migraine and her husband will stay with her. So let us get our breakfast and head out for our plans."
Yugi glanced up at Yami and saw that his dark was eyeing Abigail discreetly as she sat down and began to serve herself.
/Yami, is there a problem? Did you sense something?/
//No. But doesn't it seem odd that Mrs. Maxwell would become sick after changing rooms with the Narendras?//
/Well, I guess not, if that room's haunted. I've seen a TV special saying that ghosts can make people sick with their auras./
He turned to Abigail and brought this up. She swallowed her mouthful and took a drink, looking considering. "It's possible. Granted that Giselle's room is not the only haunted room in this house, you're right that it doesn't seem coincidence. I will have Mary check in on them while we are out, get Mrs. Maxwell out into fresh air and see if that helps. If it does, I will have their room switched again with one of the others. But don't let that ruin your day, Mr. Moto."
Yugi smiled to himself. Ruin a day of checking out the resting places and suicide site of poor children. He dismissed the Maxwells from his mind and concentrated on an excellent, if unhealthy, breakfast.
They actually visited the site of Henri's suicide first, as it was further out. Nothing happened and the site itself was inconspicuous except for a small bronze plaque drilled into the pass of the plateau, indicating it was the death site of Henri Jacques DeVere, age 14, born 1839 and died 1853. There was no other information and though they stayed there an hour, there was no activity. Finally Mr. Johnston complained and they left.
"Hopefully the graveyard will be more enjoyable," Abigail said as they rode in the small tour bus owned by the Marvell House Operation.
"So far we haven't had much of a haunting," Seto muttered with his arms folded as they trundled down the private road.
"No, but it's still been fun," Yugi said patiently. "If we don't have any personal experiences by tomorrow morning, why don't we cut out early and head back to Vegas?"
He suggested that only because he knew Seto wouldn't think twice about the money wasted. He wasn't frivolous with his money, but he didn't lose sleep over losing what was, to him, a tiny amount. Seto glanced down at him, then shrugged.
"If that's what you want."
They arrived at the graveyard and piled out. It was in the middle of a thicket of trees, which surprised Yugi as the majority of what they had seen so far was fairly barren landscape. Mrs. Johnston noticed the same thing.
"Ah," Oscar said. "We're in the Great Basin Desert. It is largely barren but there are trees and bushes, particularly on this side of the plateaus. The graveyard was placed here in the hopes that the vegetation would help curb the effects of the weather on the stones.
They crossed through an open black cast-iron gate in a fence that surrounded the entire graveyard. It was not large, maybe a hundred yards square, filled with five tombstones lined up in a row, all facing a center statue of five children with angels' wings, reaching for the sky, looking as if they were taking off from their pedastal. The rest of the graveyard was grass and flowers, almost a small garden, dotted here and there with small, twisted trees. On the other side of the statue were more gravestones, interspersed more randomly. Everything was in excellent order, clearly well cared for.
"There they are," Abigail said softly. "Angelien, Annabelle, Henri, Frederick, and Giselle. Some of the other families whose members' bodies were found are also buried here, while others transported their dead to familial plots back East."
The group split up, walking through the graveyard. As Yugi was passing a tombstone that read: Lilith Baxter, b. 1940 and d. 1955, an eerie feeling stole over him. He paused in mid-step and lifted his head, focusing on a tree a yard away. A shock ran through him, making his heart pound and his temperature drop a degree as he saw a young girl looking at him from around the tree. Her golden hair was parted in two lovely braids and her large brown eyes peered at him solemnly. One small hand rested against the bark as she peered around the tree at him, looking shy.
Though she had color and was 3-D, she was transparent like Yami had been when he'd been a Spirit of the Puzzle. The sunlight poured through her as if she was not there, dappled with a small amount of dust and there was no shadow on the ground. Yugi just stared at her, watching her watch him.
/Y-Yami.../
//Aibou? What's wrong?//
Yugi didn't take his eyes off the girl, not sure where Yami was, but knowing he was coming. The girl suddenly ducked shyly and stepped back around the tree. Yugi broke into a run, hurrying around the tree.
She was gone.
