NOTES
1. This is the clean version for The Quarterfinal's End. For the full version with the full lime, it us under tge same title on AO3.
2. This chapter is posted only days after my last update. If you haven't already, please check if you've read my previous update!
3. The plot of this chapter is very loose; moreso than the ptrevious ones
4. Warning: implication of sexual contact between two underaged males
THE QUARTERFINAL'S END
You'd see a number of behavior in the small gathering hall, first floor of The Millenia, where the final announcement for Duelist Kingdom's quarterfinal will be made. Among the forty quarterfinalists – or at least the thirty something that had arrived on the venue, some were forcing their widest smile while floating from a person to the other saying, "Hey! I know I'm not going to make it to the semifinal; but I'm doingfine!Just fine! Not sad. Notsadat all!" Some didn't have the time to join in the ongoing chatter of the private hall in exchange to watch their scores on the live feed of the scoring board. This type was the most desperate; they were hoping that somehow they could still make it to the next round.
And of course there were the hopeless ones; the ones who were absolute they wouldn't make it. These were the ones who knew they were lucky to even be in the quarterfinals. They were currently sitting a distance away from the crowd; either trying to distract their selves or thinking hard to see what they could do to improve their performances.
Then came the people who were confident they will make it. These are the familiar faces in the dueling community. And among them was a myriad of reactions.
Some of them mingled with the other duelists while speaking louder than usual; absolutely loving to shove their victory to others. Some of them were acting friendly – happy – but chill enough to come off as an asshole. And then the very few were worried and observant as they waited for the rest of the ongoing duels to finish. Doma being in the last category as they wait for Alister to finish his duel.
Alister was, after all, facing Seto Kaiba.
Valon could be seen biting the tip of his thumb as he watched the ongoing duels live scores on the board while Rafael was in a serious discussion with their manager, Dartz. Everyone else was also speaking about that exact duel. Alister one-sided rivalry with Kaiba was rather known in the community.
But aside from all that, there was the walking wonder himself – the type who was the talk of the competition. This was the person who would have whispers and stares following after them; the type who peaked everyone's interest once they enter the room. While most of the time this person was Seto Kaiba; this year, it was Yami Mutou.
He could be seen laughing along with a group of duelists as they point out his infamous intimidating presence on the arena. Kajiki was making exaggerated hand movements to Mutou, "Have you seen this guy dueling? When he looks at you, he's glaring! Like,glaringyou down. At that moment I thought for sure this guy hates my guts!"
Everyone in the group laughed; one of them adding, "And he's good at his bluff!" like it was an inside joke. Mutou laughed along despite the accusations. Because everybody knew Mutou, though scary on the battleground, is actually friendly. Everywhere he went people would call him left and right to get a look at his infamous kindness. But he was not the center of everyone's attention for just that. Mutou had been the only newcomer to make it to the quarterfinal that year. Not only that, he had just defeated Rafael, last year's fourth top duelist, with the margin of 10 LP – which was a duel where Rafael was seen to use his fullest potential.
Yami had yet to lose a duel at this point. The only other person to ever accomplish all that was Seto Kaiba himself.
The laughter from the crowd surrounding Mutou was disrupted when one of the double doors leading to the hall was opened with a loud bam. Everyone turned their necks to see Alister entering the room with a grim look. Concerned whispers were quick to spread through the room. "Kaiba won!" They said as the Doma duelist sat with his colleague with his head bent to the floor. Valon could be seen patting his back encouragingly and Dartz crossed his arms in silence.
Kaiba entered the hall from the opposite direction not long after; billowing white coat, tailing assistant and all that. He could be seen having a serious exchange with the tournament's official committee and Mokuba before he and his assistant took the seat slightly away from the rest of the crowd.
The announcement was given to everyone after that. Kaiba won the duel against Alister, 150-0. Surprisingly, there was a low rumble of applause given in honor to the last duel of that day. But most of all, it was a form of encouragement given to Alister. Bandit Keith could be heard hollering from the back row, saying something about not giving up and moving forward.
If only everyone squinted harder, they would catch Mutou hesitating between clapping along with everyone and sending looks to Kaiba.
Mokuba Kaiba then took the stand to announce the sixteen names of the tournament's semifinalists in no particular order. The press were prepared and the rest of the duelists grew silent. Some mentioned names sent everybody to rounds of applause and dramatic screams. The familiar ones; such as Kaiba's and Ishtar's; were accepted with moderate reaction.
When Mutou was mentioned, however; everyone stood up to celebrate – which was strange, because even the most liked duelist would have a couple of opponents who would hate to have them moving forward. Mutou was something else altogether. He had everyone hitting his back (in celebration) till his back hurts (in a good way). Even Mai, who was known to keep her space, threw herself at him in excitement.
The next announcement was the matchup for the next round. Everyone was tense and the media was excited to hear the most interesting face-off. The first one was enough to get everyone on their toes; it was Alister vs Valon.
The other interesting matchup being Seto Kaiba vs Rafael. But then came the mention of Mutou's name that got everyone arching their necks to see the person he's going against.
"Yami Mutou will be going against…," Mokuba Kaiba paused a moment to fix his mic.
…, "Malik Ishtar".
Alister entered the deserted elevator in hope of catching the ride alone. The door was about to shut when it opened again to reveal Mutou by the door. Fine then, Alister thought. He was not in the mood to see anyone, but if he should anyway, he wouldn't mind having Mutou.
As though realizing Alister's desire to be alone, Mutou entered the elevator with a slight nod. He went into the right corner in the back without a word; knowing that he's going to the same floor as Alister.
"Mutou, hold the door!"
This time Valon entered half running; all smile and laughter when he saw Mutou. Maybe he caught the nerve-stricken face Mutou was pulling or it was something else; but he turned his head to his left to see Alister's flat smile directed at him from where the buttons were. Valon's happy face deflated to that of an awkward one. He feigned a cough before stepping aside to the opposite side to Alister. It was always tense between opponents of a future match; even when they're from the same management.
The door finally closed and the elevator made its way from the ground floor to the seventh. Alister couldn't wait for this elevator ride to be done for. Someone out there didn't seem to agree as the elevator made a stop at the second floor. Lo and behold, the person waiting beyond them was Malik Ishtar.
He eyed both Doma duelists with a bored look before finding Mutou in the corner of his sight. Malik's stare sparked with interest; a slight smirk formed as he got into the elevator and picked the spot next to Mutou. If he had anything to say to Mutou, he ended up not saying it. And the tense elevator ride went on.
The second the elevator made it's low ding heard at the third floor, Alister felt like kicking something. He wished they'd get to the seventh floor already. Then he saw Seto Kaiba standing idly beyond the opened elevator door.
Great.
The brown haired guy obviously shared the same sentiment as he gave a look of distaste once taking notes of almost everybody inside, even making it obvious he decided not to board the elevator after all. That was, until he recognized someone at the last second. You could hear the muffled "Wait!" a moment before the elevator door closed. The door opened again, of course; to a slightly bewildered Kaiba. The expression looked so weird on his face that Alister got the sense of finally seeing the guy as a kid; and not the adult in youth's clothing he's known to be.
No one was happy Kaiba joined them inside the elevator. He was probably the last person everyone (or at least, almost everyone) wanted to see at the moment. Not that Kaiba cared, obviously. He brushed past Valon and Alister as though they were never there; going straight to the back. Alister didn't need to check behind to knowwhoKaiba was going for. But he did anyway.
Something stupid – crazy – happened then, and Alister watched it all in slow motion; from the way Kaiba confidently walked up to Mutou to the moment he tangled his two hands with Mutou's. For a split second there, Alister thought the contact was innocent. The elevator announced its departure with a ding and that was when Kaiba pushed Mutou quite roughly to the elevator wall before going in for the kill.
Kaiba kissed Mutou on the lips.
They all happened to be watching, of course. Who wouldn't try peeking after finding out Kaiba and Mutou's not-so-secret room arrangement. But this was absolutely out of their expectations. Ishtar was gawking uncharacteristically. Valon was speechless.
Alister turned away when he noticed those two doing a full-blown make out session. Valon was quick on his feet (or hands) enough that he punched the button to the fifth floor in a flash, right before the floor was going to pass by. He fled as soon as the elevator arrived at the fifth floor; followed closely by Ishtar. Honestly, Alister should follow their example; but he was far too nervous when he heard Mutou mutteringBlue Eyesin a raspy voice that shouldn't be heard outside of the privacy of their room. Kaiba responded with an encouraging hum that made Alister incredibly uncomfortable. Walking away at that moment would be too obvious, Alister noted. So he watched the door closes with a heavy heart – and he swore the worst for both Ishtar and Valon.
The ride from the fifth to seventh floor never felt so long. Alister was half-running out of the elevator once he was on his floor. The last he saw them, Mutou and Kaiba were still in a lip-lock. They had their hands around one another in a tight embrace as Kaiba expertly pinned Mutou to the wall. If anything beyond that ever took place in that damned elevator, Alister had no idea and would rather not have the idea. He met Rafael on the way to his room and hurriedly told him to use the elevator on the other wing.
"Why? What's wrong?" Rafael looked confused.
"That elevator…," he paused; thumb still pointing at the hallway leading to the elevator Kaiba and Mutou were in, "That… it's broken".
Rafael didn't seem to buy it.
"Trust me. You'd want to listen to me on this one," Alister added before going to his room.
Meanwhile in Seto Kaiba's room was a chase between said teen and his boy lover. They were rolling on the bed; wrestling to get the other under them. Yami, Seto realized, was not one to submit and let himself be led into submission. That is, unless he had no idea what to do. Yami is no girl – or unlike the girls Seto had been with. When Seto pushed him down, it wouldn't be without a fight. And being a guy, Yami would have the strength and the desire to fight back.
Seto enjoyed it, of course. It took a while, but thanks to that first intimate contact before the quarterfinals, Yami was hooked like babies to candy. He would initiate heated kisses and was acting more cuddly. That last time they made out on the couch he even sulked at Seto for not licking the inside of his mouth well enough.
He had also pushed Seto down in the middle of the dawn and tried to suck on his neck. It was scary, if you add to the fact that Yami has always been so gentle to Seto; yet cute. Seto decided then, if he had somehow woken up the lust within Yami, then he should be the one to tame and contain it. He would like to own both Yami's softer side and ruthless side. All of Yami, he desires.
That boy was currently giggling between the pillows as Seto pinned him down and kissed the back of his ear like a pro. Seto almost thought he had him –almost– until he turned them around and be the one on top. Seto caught the glint behind his eyes. It was the look of a kid who just stole the cookie out of the jar.
Yami bent down. As expected, he went to Seto's neck for revenge. The first lick was quite unnerving; Seto gave him that. If this keep on going, it would be hard for Seto – quite literally.
So Seto gathered his strength and pushed their position around again. However, this time he made sure they were lying on their sides so they could gaze on each other's eyes. After all, if there was a weakness of Yami he could use, it would be his soft spot for tender moments.
True enough, Yami's hungry glint depleted to a serene longing and his tight grip on Seto's shoulders weakened. Seto had long recognized Yami's tendency to treat him like a treasure. As childish as it sounds, Seto ended up craving for the delicate attention. He liked it when Yami treats him like he was made of glass; as long as he became the sole person to have reached such importance in Yami's life.
Yami leaned to Seto's face. The latter was expecting a kiss, but Yami aimed for Seto's nose instead and nuzzled it with his own nose. Fuck, if this was ever someone else, Seto would have been disgusted. But with Yami, the action tugged on his heart with such force that his knees trembled.
Seto felt a soft touch on the front of his pants. Looking down, he saw Yami playing with the zipper of his pants using the back of his fingers. It was a rather innocent touch though; too gentle and shy to cause anything.
"Open it," Seto murmured. Yami's eyes widened like he didn't expect to get caught. Seto caressed the inside of Yami's outreached arm, "It's fine. Go get it".
Yami looked down only slightly to see the zipper he's trying to open. Seto felt the tug on the zip before it was dragged down slowly. Yami actually unbuttoned the pants at the end.
And the rest was history.
After his climax, Seto draped himself over Yami. It felt strange, with the wetness between them and having their sensitive parts meeting right after their orgasm. The contact made both of them flinch in surprise; causing Seto's head to bump against Yami's.
They both spurted to laughter. Yami circled his arms around Seto's neck. Seto noted Yami was in the mood for cuddles and pillow talk. Both his legs and arms clamped on Seto tightly as he murmured sweet nothings to the brunette. One of his fingers was twirling itself in Seto's brown locks. Meanwhile, Seto slowly gnawed on Yami's neck.
Thus there they were; just two half naked boys making a mess on the bed.
It was only the start of the evening. The sun had yet to fully set. Everyone outside must be buzzing about the semifinals (even though half of said semifinalists had retired to their respective suites). In the back of his mind, something reminded Seto of the arrangement for the night.
Actually, both he and Yami had something to do for the night.
As if on cue, the bell to their suite beeped at that exact moment and came the voice of Seto's assistant from the speaker. "Seto, you there? I've been looking allover for you and Yami! You didn't pick up your phone".
Yami was the first to perk up from the bed as he remembered his plan for the night. Seto pushed him down and covered Yami's mouth with his hand. When Yami looked up at him in bewilderment, Seto smirked and shook his head.
Everyone can wait for us, he tried telling the boy, stay with me a little longer.
"Is Yami there? Mokuba is looking forward for that play date with him".
Seto shook his head again, calmly.
"Okay, I'm worried. I'm coming in".
Now Seto was the one to be alert. Amy owned a copy of their suite's key (thanks to Pegasus). As a quick measure, Seto made a grab at the blanket under Yami, then he rolled the two of them along with the blanket to the other side of the bed. They ended being rolled together under the thick material, then dropped to the floor with a loud thump (and a muffled 'Ouch!' from Yami). It was at that exact moment Amy appeared from the separate living area. She halted by the entrance to the bedroom, and observed the innocent roll of blanket with a calculating look.
The assistant sighed and turned her head toward the direction where she came from. "Mokuba, you stay there. You wouldn't want to see this".
Seto's eyes widened at Yami. Mokuba was there.
"'Kaaay," you could hear the younger Kaiba from afar. From the lazy answer, you'd imagine him slouching on the hallway by the door, probably playing with KC's latest handheld console. Seto sighed in relief for not having his brother viewing this scene.
But Mokuba didn't stop there, "Wait – what do you mean?"
Amy kept on looking at that direction, possibly to where Mokuba was standing beyond the partition of the bedroom and the living area. "What do you mean 'what do you mean'?"
"What do you mean I wont like it?" Mokuba asked silently. When Amy didn't answer, the boy continued, "… are they… fucking?"
"No they're not," Amy answered curtly, "At least they aren't, currently".
"Oh my God. They are fucking!" Mokuba sounded horrified, "My brother is in the middle of fucking Yami, isn't he?"
Everyone could heard Yami's offended 'Hey!'; which they decided to ignore. Amy clucked her tongue, "Look, Mokuba –"
"We. Are. Not. Fucking!" Seto insisted from under the blanket, "And we weren't. Not yet!"
Amy blinked lazily then turned to the silly mess Seto got himself into. From the way she's seeing it, it looked like a giant spring roll made of blanket landed itself next to Seto's disorganized bed. But the bare legs and the messy hair protruding from each ends of the blanket told her a lot of what was going on. "Too late. He bolted out of the room already," she told Seto.
"FUCK," Seto's muffled curse was heard, "And who taught Mokuba all those details? He's underaged, for fuck's sake. He needs to associate himself with better people".
Silence.
"The irony was thick on that one". And that was Yami.
TBC