Tempest's Wake Chapter 10

Yay! Another chapter up so quickly! Thanks to my amazing beta, Skippyscatt!

Hope you all enjoy, and there are some author's notes following the story! Thanks!

Onto the fic!

Tempest's Wake 10 -A Seed is Sown

"I've lost everything."

The mysterious voice caused Ronan to look about his surroundings,

"Who's there?" Ronan called as he wandered down the corridor. Judging from the metal interfacing and the way the floor rocked beneath him, he guessed he was on a ship of some sort. However, the rocking wasn't quite the same as the rocking he usually experienced on the boat. Walking further down the hall, Ronan chanced a glance out of a nearby window.

Clouds and the night sky. He was flying.

"Where am I?" he wondered aloud.

"…in hell…" A despondent voice growled.

Ronan turned from the window to see a figure sitting in front of a large computer panel.

"Pardon?" Ronan asked.

"I am in hell…." The figure repeated.

"Why?" asked Ronan.

"I …lost…I can't believe I lost." The figure mumbled.

"Hello?" Ronan called; the figure ignored him.

Ronan approached the teen, who was now slumped against the computer panel, cursing his existence.

"Excuse me?" Ronan called again, as he leaned closer in to catch a glimpse of the distraught youth. The figure, Ronan noticed, had the same color hair as his but is was shorter and more well kept. He also seemed to be the same height and build as Ronan, but he lacked the muscle tone that Ronan possessed.

"I promised you a good life, Mokuba…"

Ronan swung the chair, so that the teen was facing him, "Hey. You're that kid…the one that was running from his father."

The figure turned the seat back to its previous position, as he mumbled something about the chair malfunctioning.

"Hey!" Ronan shouted, but the boy paid him no mind. Ronan sighed in frustration; normally, when he dreamed he could usually interact with the people he came into contact.

Ronan paused, "I am dreaming…well this makes a lot more sense...I think."

The door behind Ronan opened with a metallic hiss. The figure that stepped through the door caused Ronan to jump backwards as far away from the door as he could. Ronan was surprised that he hadn't screamed when he had seen the boy with the star-shaped hair. The same boy who had attacked him the coliseum.

As Ronan backed away, he stumbled and fell. He never hit the ground; instead he kept falling, through the cold floors of the ship until he was falling through the night sky.

As watched the airship drift farther and farther away from him, Ronan screamed.

"Nii-san!"

Ronan woke with a start. Above him he could see the bright blue sky and his brother's concerned face inches above his own.

"You, ok? Did you have a nightmare, Ronan?"

Ronan sat up, as he attempted to re-orient himself. He was on the beach in Hawaii with Mako. The tournament had been postponed so that the duelist who had been beaten by Weevil could return to the tournament as the fourth finalist, now that the insect duelist had been disqualified. He and Mako had decided to take a break and relax on their day off, before returning back to planning Mako's duel strategies.

"Ronan?"

"I am fine." Ronan said distractedly. He waved at the couple who were sitting on the towel near them staring at Ronan with concerned expressions. When they noticed that Ronan had seen them, they quickly went back to whatever they had been doing before.

"I screamed, didn't I?" Ronan asked.

"Yea you did. What happened?"

"Not sure." The blue-eyed teen responded.

"You're not sure," Mako asked "Was it a memory?
Ronan shrugged his shoulders, "Again, not sure. It was and it wasn't…I think."

Mako sighed and stood up, "You really scared me."

"Sorry," Ronan said softly.

"No, no. Don't worry about it, you probably got too much sun. You want something from the bar?"

Ronan nodded as he lay back down on side, facing away from his brother, "I'll have whatever you're getting."

Mako nodded and began to walk away towards the cabaña, when Ronan spoke again.

"Nii-san? Didn't you say that the second half of battle city took place on an airship of some sort?"

Mako stopped dead in his tracks. A feeling of dread was beginning to come over him for some reason, "Yeah it did…but I didn't tell you that."

Ronan shrugged, "You didn't? Hmm… maybe I read about it in one of the Duelist magazines you bought for me."

Mako nodded, "Yea, maybe that's it." The uneasy feeling had now settled in the pit of his stomach. As he walked towards the cabaña bar, where the other hotel guests were laughing and dancing to the band on the stage, Mako wracked his brain to remember the articles in the magazines Ronan spoke of. He had read all the magazines cover to cover, and Mako knew that there hadn't been a single article about that tournament. Not many reported on Battle City nowadays, especially after the way the tournament ended with Kaiba Corps CEO going crazy and disappearing.

It was funny though, Mako thought, how rare the story was now considering the media circus that had surrounded Kaiba Corp's infamous CEO. It had been a month after Battle City had ended, when a public statement from Seto Kaiba had been released to the media. Along with the news that Seto Kaiba would be stepping down as CEO from KC, there was also the shocking announcement that KC would be pulling out of the gaming industry all together. The announcement had reporters flocking to Domino, where they set up camp on the Kaiba Corporation grounds and around the Kaiba mansion, all hoping to catch a glimpse of the elusive teen for an interview.

However, there was no sighting of Seto Kaiba. He had disappeared; fallen off the face of the planet. No one in the office had seen him since the end of the tournament, and his staff at the mansion had not seen him or Mokuba since the start of Battle City.

The three days after Kaiba's announcement the story broke that Mokuba Kaiba had been disinherited and disowned from the Kaiba family. Publicly dismissed by the Kaiba Corp board and apparently Seto Kaiba as well.

Mako remembered the shock and outrage he had felt when he heard about the fate of the younger Kaiba. Many duelists shared Mako's feelings as well, Kaiba's love for his sibling was legendary; and was Kaiba's only saving grace that kept people from totally despising the cold teen. The news sent the reporters in droves to the streets of Domino to interview people on their thoughts of the latest chapter of the Kaiba Scandal. Many duelists were more than happy to voice their vehement criticisms about Kaiba.

Soon a month had gone by, and still no one had seen Kaiba or his brother. Then a second. Little by little, the story began to wane, but still it managed to slip in here or there. From the most respected magazines to the cheapest of rag sheets, rumors and discussion of the Kaiba drama continued to crop up.

Then, finally, on the third-month anniversary, Yugi Mutoh had come forward with a statement. Apparently the King of Games had grown tired of the reporters constantly badgering him for an interview about his infamous rival.

The interview was short, asking that the media leave Domino and to respect Kaiba's reasons for leaving. Yugi denied that what had happened to Mokuba was Seto's doing and that he suspected foul play in Seto's disappearance. He closed the statement saying that he still respected Kaiba, and was awaiting his return so that they could duel without the interference of extraneous circumstances.

Mako remembered feeling a bit annoyed at Yugi for standing up for such a bastard, but then again, that was the kind of person Yugi was; kind, gentle and unable to find fault in anyone…even assholes like Kaiba.

After Yugi's statement, all the media attention seemed to dry up. Whether people had felt ashamed for making such a big deal out of Kaiba's disappearance or that the story had run cold, there were no further mentions about Kaiba or Battle City...at least in the media.

Tournaments resumed, except Yugi would not take part in them. In fact, the only times Yugi did duel, were to defend his title. Otherwise, he was basically retired.

Duel Monsters still flourished, and newer companies had taken advantage of the game now that Kaiba Corp was out of the gaming industry and had become a weapons manufacturer. As for Kaiba himself, the dragon duelist had become the "Elvis" of the dueling world as some duelists claimed to have sighted him lurking in the crowds at matches and tournaments.

But how would Ronan have known about the ship? Mako asked himself as he entered the café. Perhaps Weevil and Rex had said something to Ronan…yes that was it…there was no other explanation as to why Ronan would know about Battle City. Those two dorks had probably started talking to Ronan about the tournament, after they had mistaken Ronan for Kaiba. Mako snickered, Weevil and Rex were the next idiots to fall for a "Kaiba-sighting". Why couldn't some people just accept the fact that Kaiba was gone for good?

And good riddance, Mako added.

And so Mako ignored the seed of doubt that would soon begin to fester, as he stepped up to the festive cabaña bar, "Waiter?"

An hour later, Ronan found himself watching a volleyball match between the boy and girl who had been sitting near Mako and Ronan. The mai-tai that Mako had brought back for him sat finished in the sand. Ronan had downed the fruity-rum concoction a little too fast, and the effects of the alcohol and the sun were now taking their toll on him. While, Ronan didn't care much for alcohol, he was glad his brother had the foresight to order the mai-tai for him. After the dream her had seen, Ronan had needed a drink with a kick.

Ronan groaned as he felt the oncoming headache. He was definitely buzzed. Mako, who apparently had a higher tolerance than he did, and had left Ronan go wave jumping.

Ronan yawned, feeling tired and woozy. He shifted himself on the towel and redoubled his efforts in keeping his concentration on the game.

At first, Ronan had thought they were a couple, but on second glance it was now obvious that they were brother and sister.

They were both blonde with tanned skin. The girl, was undeniably pretty with long legs and curves in all the right places….but it was her brother that had all of Ronan's attention.

He was tall, with washboard abs and a 100-watt smile. The youth was loud, boisterous and had a goofy personality. And all the while that Ronan, watched he couldn't help but feel that the boy reminded him of someone.

Ronan was so engrossed in watching the boy, who was now joking loudly with a group of girls who had gathered on the sidelines, that he jumped when Mako flopped down besides him.

"Whatcha looking at?" Mako said with a teasing smile.

Ronan gave a garbled response, half due to surprise and half due to the fact that he had been busted for leering.

Mako looked ahead and saw the volley ball match. He grinned and shoved his brother good naturedly, "Awww…you're so cute Ro-ro!"

"Ro-ro!" Ronan laughed.

"My new nickname for you."

Ronan snorted, "Oh and 'Grand strategist and mascot' weren't enough?"

Mako wagged his eyebrows, "Ah, but those are titles dear brother, completely different from nicknames."

"Whatever."

Mako cleared his throat, "There's no shame in a little spying, I mean after all we're hot-blooded guys, and she is pretty cute."

Ronan nodded as his eyes focused again on the blonde boy, "Yeah," he said with a yawn, "cute."

He opened his eyes to see a cold metal ceiling. From his position he knew he was reclining.

"Are you ok?"

A blonde head appeared in his line of sight. The blonde, although featureless, was male, he could tell that from the tone of his voice and from the bare chest that hovered above him.

"I'm …fine." He responded.

The blonde snorted, "You don't have ta be a macho jerk and pretend that this whole thing isn't bothering you."

"Look who's talking, pup."

The blonde sighed as he laid atop of the form beneath him, "Yeah, yeah… 'tou-te'..or however the hell you pronounce it…"

"'Touché'?"

"Yeah, that's it."

The figure beneath the blonde chuckled, "I swear, I don't know how you pass in school."

The blonde playfully hit the warm chest that he was reclined against, "Shhh…stop making fun of me."

"You like it."

The blonde smiled, he didn't know how he could figure this, but for some reason he knew the blonde was smiling.

"I do…and I guess that's why I love you…arrogance and all."

"You love me?" Suddenly he was feeling sad…all the sadness and despair that the blonde had help forget about for a few hours was slowly returning.

"I do."

"You shouldn't…I am not wor-"

A finger brushed against his lips, "shhh…," The blonde whispered, "Don't say that…I love you."

"Who knows how long-?"

"I'll wait." The blonde said firmly.

"Are you sure?"

A nod, "I'll wait for you…for however long it takes you."

A hand gently caressed the side of the blonde's smooth cheek. He could feel the blonde's face twitching to hold back the tears.

"When," he began, "When I come back. We'll tell everyone. Tell them about us. I promise."

The blonde looked up, almost in shock, "Really? You mean it?"

"Yea. I've decided to play nice with the dork squad…after all, Yugi has agreed to help me… he's a funny guy, Yugi. I've been a bastard to you all, and yet Yugi has always come to my aid…you too, pup."

The blonde boy chuckled, "You know, there was a time not too long ago, that I treated Yugi like dirt, and all Yugi ever did was just smile and try to be my friend. It used to piss me off sometimes to see him be so forgiving…."

"And?" the brunette asked as he began to run fingers through the blonde locks.

The blonde sighed and snuggled against the pale warm flesh he was lying against,

"And…after awhile, I decided to pull my head out of my ass and accept his help and friendship."

The brunette snorted, as he reached to readjust his locket that was currently being pressed into his flesh by Joey's affectionate nuzzling, "I see. Well, I guess you guys won…I'm converted. When do I get my smiley-face tattoo?"

Joey laughed, "Y'know… keep up the sarcasm, and I will make sure that we have an initiation ceremony just for you."

"Just as long as you all don't make me 'run the gauntlet'."

"Naw," Joey said with a grin, "I was thinking about making you go up to people at school and hug them."

"Jerk."

"Bastard." Joey said with a smirk.

"Ohh…puppy's talking back to his master…I might have to get you a muzzle."

"Do it and I'll sue, moneybags," The blonde said with a laugh, and leaned forward.

He could feel the blonde's warm lips upon his own as they chastely kissed.

"I am going to miss you," the blonde murmured...

Ronan opened his eyes, his lips were tingling. He ran a finger over the chapped flesh and then for some reason he whispered three words to the sky above him, "I miss you."

Yay! Chapter 10 is done, finally I am getting a sense of how many more chapters its going to be! Thanks again to everyone who has stuck with this fic! Your reviews and interest have been wonderful inspiration! As for the next chapter I will try to get that up soon, because it will explain the dream in the begining and may possibly bring to light what fate has befallen dear Mokuba. Don't worry its not as awful as many have speculated ;) And now for some notes: First of all, yes I know Mako should have brought water for Ronan since he had been kinda laying out in the sun for awhile (Ronan really doesn't like swimming all that much...can you blame him?) but I figured, two guys on a beach resort with a bar...booze...deffinately booze. Perhaps Mako wanted to help take the edge off Ronan's nightmare trauma witha Mai-tai. Yes and I acknowledge that mai-tais are a bit girlie to drink, but hey...they are in Hawaii, so eh...frilly beach drink for Ro-ro :) And yes I realize that they are both underage, but you know what? Mako was lucky and didn't get carded :P hehehe...okies thats about it for now! As always please leave a review! Thanks!