Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! I only own Sayuriame Hoshizora and Mizuhara
Gengetsu.
Notes: Yes, the characters are portrayed out-of-character. Do I care? Yes, every chapter has an image song. I made them try to fit the mood. Yes, I'm messing around with the continuity and rewriting parts of the story, but oh well. If you don't like it, DON'T READ IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Timeline Reference: This Prologue is set A.U, July, 2 months post-Duelist Kingdom. (Nothing else happened after D.K, just life going back to normal)
Song Info: Hanabi, Ayumi Hamasaki
Angel's Tears
Prologue: Anniversary of a loss
The fiery ball of the sun was setting, casting a lurid red tint on the sparkling sea. The sky was a beautiful medley of passionate reds and vibrant oranges, deep purples, and light pinks. It was a awe-inspiring vista, a perfect end to the day. But the brilliance was tempered by the dark clouds of the storm that was amassing on the horizon.
A brilliant flash of lightning occurred, so bright that anyone watching had spots floating in front of their eyes. This flash had struck a tree, cleaving it down the middle, splintering half to unrecognizable pieces, and lighting the rest on fire. This fire spread to a neighboring house, which held up about as well as paper holds up to a blowtorch... Not at all, that is. Then the storm hit.
Within seconds the sky was covered by ominous clouds. White spears of lightning flashed, lighting briefly the dark grey clouds. Cracks of thunder reverberated loudly. The wind gusted, strong and cold, icy particles stinging the skin of any creature insane enough to be out in this weather. And six-foot-plus waves struck the base of the cliff, crashing on the rocks, the larger waves sending up clouds of spray that reached the top of the cliff, soaking the grass and the solitary figure posed there.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The well-lit house was behind and to the right now, its soft glow a compelling promise of warmth and human companionship to any other, yet this person resisted its lure.
The solitary figure silhouetted on the cliff appeared small and insignificant between the power of Nature. The sky was turbulent, with dark clouds, and violent flashes of lightning. The sea raged, large waves crashing violently. The chill wind gusted, blowing the fine pieces of debris of the ancient shrine into the small marble headstone. The flaming house had collapsed into the sea, and the pieces still on fire formed a conflagration far out to sea.
Seto Kaiba was seriously contemplating jumping as he stood alone on the cliff. *Who would care if I died? I'm alone, no friends, no family but Mokuba.* He took a tentative step forward.
*What would Yugi think if he saw me like this?* Kaiba shook off the train of thought. He was surprised he actually had bothered thinking about Yugi.
*What would people think, seeing me about to jump? Would anyone care?* "Would they be glad to be rid of me?" Kaiba murmured aloud, preparing to jump.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Of course not." A gentle voice said from behind him. "You would be sorely missed."
Kaiba assumed it was just one of the myriad voices he occasionally heard. He was tempted merely to tell it to go to hell and complete his jump, but, out of sheer curiosity, turned to look at the direction from whence it came. He gasped in shock.
"Who the hell are you? Or, perhaps more precisely, what the hell are you?"
"Intriguing you should use that particular expression, since you do not believe in hell." She paused, and then added, almost as an afterthought, "Or anything else, for that matter."
"Would you shut up?" he growled. He took a good look at her. Her face was very thin, fine-boned to the extreme. Her nose was small, her lips delicate. She was pale, so pale he could see through her. Her ears were pointed. She had wings!
Her hair was a red that somehow, inexplicably, appeared to be liquid fire, even though it was translucent like the rest of her. Her eyes were grey, like wisps of smoke, but clouded over. On her forehead was a black mark, one crescent moon facing right, somewhat thick; another facing left, slightly below the other and thinner.
She appeared so familiar to him; he felt he should know her. He felt like she was a friend whose name he couldn't quite recall, nor where he knew her from. *Like a memory I've partially forgot...*
"What are you?" he repeated, quieter, more subdued. "Who are you?"
"I feel so loved, Seto. You seem to have forgotten your old fiancee's name." she said tolerantly, with amusement in her tone.
"My...fiancee?" he asked in shock. He couldn't remember any of it, anything at all. "I...don't remember."
"I do not suppose you would wish to remember...I suppose it is best that you not..."
"Can you help?" he asked. Whether it was for help with life itself, or to recall his memories, or just comfort, even he didn't know.
She nodded, trailed a finger along the line of his chin. She gently cupped his chin, brought his face to hers. She kissed him lightly, then the specter faded away, leaving only the words. "Live, Seto Kaiba..."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
He sighed. The specter's kiss had returned memories to him, memories of the months leading up to that fateful day. The day when he had woken up in a hospital bed, semi-paralyzed and not sure if he would ever walk again; with no memories of the preceding three months, only scars covering his body, only with a burning desire to be strong, not to let it happen ever again.
"Would they be glad to be rid of me, since they hate me?" he murmured again. He poised to jump. "Yuri-chan... I don't know even now if I love you for your kindnesses or hate you for the pain you've inflicted. I would rather die, have a hope of seeing you, even if just to hit you, but I can't live in this harsh, painful world all alone anymore. All alone, no friends, no one who cares about me... "
"Kaiba!"
He turned, expecting it to be Yuri's ghost, not sure if he loved her still or hated her. But what he saw, the person who was standing there, was not who he expected.
"Yugi?!?!" he breathed, shocked. Yugi's coat was whipping around him in the high winds, and tears were streaking down his face as he offered Kaiba a hand.
"I don't hate you, Kaiba. I don't want you to die! I heard what you said. You might have suffered a loss, but it's not the end of the world!"
"Why do you care?" Kaiba asked bitterly. "Why do you care if your rival lives or dies?"
"I don't know what you think of me Kaiba, but I look up to you. I respect you! Please don't kill yourself..." Yugi begged.
"Why do you care?"
"Because I want to be your friend. I don't know why you want to do this. Please tell me." Yugi said, trying another tack.
"No one else knows this story. Why would I tell you?" Kaiba asked scornfully.
"Let's go back to your house, and tell me why you want to do this."
"Why?" Kaiba asked. *Why is Yugi being so nice? Does he actually care? Have I misjudged him?*
"Because maybe if you tell someone, get this off your chest... Maybe telling someone will help you reason it all out. Maybe it'll help you decide you want to live. And afterwards..." Yugi stopped, then added quietly "Then, if you still want to kill yourself, I won't stop you."
Kaiba looked at him for a long second. *He's serious...* "All right." he said quietly. "I'll go with you." He took a step forward, off the cliff's brink, but slipped on a wet patch of rock and slid to the edge, knocking his head.
"Kaiba!" Yugi cried, rushing forward and grabbing his hand. Yugi tried desperately to pull him up, but wasn't succeeding. It wasn't that Kaiba was heavy; actually, he was much lighter than he looked. It was just that he was so far off already.
Kaiba was wet, which was making him heavy, and Yugi wasn't that strong to begin with. He wasn't helping at all, which scared Yugi. *Is he trying to die, and pull me with him?* Yugi wondered in a panic. But then he looked down to see Kaiba's eyes closed. *It would help if he was conscious...* he thought grimly.
Finally Yugi gave a large yank and pulled Kaiba up. Kaiba sprawled on top of Yugi. Yugi rolled out from under Kaiba, stood up, and looked at him. "Daijobu?" he asked. Kaiba didn't respond.
*He didn't hit that hard!* Yugi thought. *He can't be... dead...* He wasn't going to believe that all the work he had done, pulling Kaiba up, was for nothing. He bent down, touched Kaiba's neck, searching for a pulse. Just then, Kaiba coughed.
"Daijobu?" Yugi asked again. It wasn't just a polite 'all right?' that was usually used, it was a very sincere question, filled with concern and a growing panic.
Kaiba rolled onto his side and vomited, then looked up. "My head hurts like he- Sorry, Yugi." he apologized.
"Anything else?" Yugi asked, worried. *Why did he apologize? He's never been afraid to curse around me. He's actually called me names. Now he's kinder, considerate! It's like it's not the same Kaiba...*
"No, I think I'm all right."
"That's good to know."
Kaiba stood up and brushed himself off. They started walking back towards the house in silence. They reached a back door. Kaiba slipped a key-card in, let a small beam of light scan his eye, and opened the door. He gestured for Yugi to enter first, and they stood in the kitchen in silence.
"I want to thank you for saving me." Kaiba said quietly, reaching over to the counter, opening a drawer, and removing a high-denomination bill. But Yugi shook his head.
"No money." he said firmly. "I don't need it."
Kaiba nodded and returned the bill. "What would you like as payment?"
"A chance to get warm and dry." Yugi said jokingly. Surprisingly, Kaiba nodded acquiescence.
"Anything else?"
"An explanation..."
A shadow crossed Kaiba's face. "All right. I suppose you deserve to know."
"One thing first..."
"What?" Kaiba snapped in annoyance. *Can't he tell how much he's asking of me?*
"Please clean the blood off your face. No, don't get up! I'll get the stuff... where is it?"
Kaiba merely pointed to the bathroom. He put a hand to his head for a brief second, and was shocked at how much blood covered it when he pulled it away. "Ho-ly shit." he stated flatly.
"This might sting a bit." Yugi warned as he applied the washcloth, soaked in alcohol, to Kaiba's face. Kaiba flinched a bit, but held still. Yugi wiped Kaiba's face clean, and applied a large bandage.
"Just one more thing!" Yugi called cheerfully over his shoulder as he headed to put the medical kit away.
"Now what?" Kaiba asked, shaking his head slightly in amusement. Here was Yugi scurrying around like a rabid hamster in a wheel, doing all sorts of crazy things. "You're acting like a mother hen!" he added, laughing despite the pain it caused.
Yugi came out ten minutes later with a pot, two cups, two spoons, and a sugar bowl. "Tea is always good for when you hear a story, or tell a painful one." he explained. "My mom always told me that before..." he paused. "Go ahead. Start explaining."
"It all started 4 years ago..."
________________________________________________________________
'Hanabi' Translation
I'm looking up at the stained sky
so my tears don't well up and fall.
Why can't people live
as they wish
I don't want a weak heart that can't cry
or the strength not to cry.
I'll search for a shooting
star to cast my wishes on, but
dawn is coming too soon
and I won't be able to find one.
There's never a day that I have
to remember you because
I never for a moment forgot you.
Whenever I'm sad I have
a habit of saying I'm ok.
After something stopped
that day, no matter
how much I pray,
I can't see a single star.
I want to see you, I want to see you.
Your smiling face in my memory is
just too kind.
There's never a day that I have
to remember you because
I never for a moment forgot you.
I want to see you, I want to see you.
Your smiling face in my memory is
just too kind.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
What do you all think? The lyrics fit the chappie? Like? Dislike?
Gengetsu.
Notes: Yes, the characters are portrayed out-of-character. Do I care? Yes, every chapter has an image song. I made them try to fit the mood. Yes, I'm messing around with the continuity and rewriting parts of the story, but oh well. If you don't like it, DON'T READ IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Timeline Reference: This Prologue is set A.U, July, 2 months post-Duelist Kingdom. (Nothing else happened after D.K, just life going back to normal)
Song Info: Hanabi, Ayumi Hamasaki
Angel's Tears
Prologue: Anniversary of a loss
The fiery ball of the sun was setting, casting a lurid red tint on the sparkling sea. The sky was a beautiful medley of passionate reds and vibrant oranges, deep purples, and light pinks. It was a awe-inspiring vista, a perfect end to the day. But the brilliance was tempered by the dark clouds of the storm that was amassing on the horizon.
A brilliant flash of lightning occurred, so bright that anyone watching had spots floating in front of their eyes. This flash had struck a tree, cleaving it down the middle, splintering half to unrecognizable pieces, and lighting the rest on fire. This fire spread to a neighboring house, which held up about as well as paper holds up to a blowtorch... Not at all, that is. Then the storm hit.
Within seconds the sky was covered by ominous clouds. White spears of lightning flashed, lighting briefly the dark grey clouds. Cracks of thunder reverberated loudly. The wind gusted, strong and cold, icy particles stinging the skin of any creature insane enough to be out in this weather. And six-foot-plus waves struck the base of the cliff, crashing on the rocks, the larger waves sending up clouds of spray that reached the top of the cliff, soaking the grass and the solitary figure posed there.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The well-lit house was behind and to the right now, its soft glow a compelling promise of warmth and human companionship to any other, yet this person resisted its lure.
The solitary figure silhouetted on the cliff appeared small and insignificant between the power of Nature. The sky was turbulent, with dark clouds, and violent flashes of lightning. The sea raged, large waves crashing violently. The chill wind gusted, blowing the fine pieces of debris of the ancient shrine into the small marble headstone. The flaming house had collapsed into the sea, and the pieces still on fire formed a conflagration far out to sea.
Seto Kaiba was seriously contemplating jumping as he stood alone on the cliff. *Who would care if I died? I'm alone, no friends, no family but Mokuba.* He took a tentative step forward.
*What would Yugi think if he saw me like this?* Kaiba shook off the train of thought. He was surprised he actually had bothered thinking about Yugi.
*What would people think, seeing me about to jump? Would anyone care?* "Would they be glad to be rid of me?" Kaiba murmured aloud, preparing to jump.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Of course not." A gentle voice said from behind him. "You would be sorely missed."
Kaiba assumed it was just one of the myriad voices he occasionally heard. He was tempted merely to tell it to go to hell and complete his jump, but, out of sheer curiosity, turned to look at the direction from whence it came. He gasped in shock.
"Who the hell are you? Or, perhaps more precisely, what the hell are you?"
"Intriguing you should use that particular expression, since you do not believe in hell." She paused, and then added, almost as an afterthought, "Or anything else, for that matter."
"Would you shut up?" he growled. He took a good look at her. Her face was very thin, fine-boned to the extreme. Her nose was small, her lips delicate. She was pale, so pale he could see through her. Her ears were pointed. She had wings!
Her hair was a red that somehow, inexplicably, appeared to be liquid fire, even though it was translucent like the rest of her. Her eyes were grey, like wisps of smoke, but clouded over. On her forehead was a black mark, one crescent moon facing right, somewhat thick; another facing left, slightly below the other and thinner.
She appeared so familiar to him; he felt he should know her. He felt like she was a friend whose name he couldn't quite recall, nor where he knew her from. *Like a memory I've partially forgot...*
"What are you?" he repeated, quieter, more subdued. "Who are you?"
"I feel so loved, Seto. You seem to have forgotten your old fiancee's name." she said tolerantly, with amusement in her tone.
"My...fiancee?" he asked in shock. He couldn't remember any of it, anything at all. "I...don't remember."
"I do not suppose you would wish to remember...I suppose it is best that you not..."
"Can you help?" he asked. Whether it was for help with life itself, or to recall his memories, or just comfort, even he didn't know.
She nodded, trailed a finger along the line of his chin. She gently cupped his chin, brought his face to hers. She kissed him lightly, then the specter faded away, leaving only the words. "Live, Seto Kaiba..."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
He sighed. The specter's kiss had returned memories to him, memories of the months leading up to that fateful day. The day when he had woken up in a hospital bed, semi-paralyzed and not sure if he would ever walk again; with no memories of the preceding three months, only scars covering his body, only with a burning desire to be strong, not to let it happen ever again.
"Would they be glad to be rid of me, since they hate me?" he murmured again. He poised to jump. "Yuri-chan... I don't know even now if I love you for your kindnesses or hate you for the pain you've inflicted. I would rather die, have a hope of seeing you, even if just to hit you, but I can't live in this harsh, painful world all alone anymore. All alone, no friends, no one who cares about me... "
"Kaiba!"
He turned, expecting it to be Yuri's ghost, not sure if he loved her still or hated her. But what he saw, the person who was standing there, was not who he expected.
"Yugi?!?!" he breathed, shocked. Yugi's coat was whipping around him in the high winds, and tears were streaking down his face as he offered Kaiba a hand.
"I don't hate you, Kaiba. I don't want you to die! I heard what you said. You might have suffered a loss, but it's not the end of the world!"
"Why do you care?" Kaiba asked bitterly. "Why do you care if your rival lives or dies?"
"I don't know what you think of me Kaiba, but I look up to you. I respect you! Please don't kill yourself..." Yugi begged.
"Why do you care?"
"Because I want to be your friend. I don't know why you want to do this. Please tell me." Yugi said, trying another tack.
"No one else knows this story. Why would I tell you?" Kaiba asked scornfully.
"Let's go back to your house, and tell me why you want to do this."
"Why?" Kaiba asked. *Why is Yugi being so nice? Does he actually care? Have I misjudged him?*
"Because maybe if you tell someone, get this off your chest... Maybe telling someone will help you reason it all out. Maybe it'll help you decide you want to live. And afterwards..." Yugi stopped, then added quietly "Then, if you still want to kill yourself, I won't stop you."
Kaiba looked at him for a long second. *He's serious...* "All right." he said quietly. "I'll go with you." He took a step forward, off the cliff's brink, but slipped on a wet patch of rock and slid to the edge, knocking his head.
"Kaiba!" Yugi cried, rushing forward and grabbing his hand. Yugi tried desperately to pull him up, but wasn't succeeding. It wasn't that Kaiba was heavy; actually, he was much lighter than he looked. It was just that he was so far off already.
Kaiba was wet, which was making him heavy, and Yugi wasn't that strong to begin with. He wasn't helping at all, which scared Yugi. *Is he trying to die, and pull me with him?* Yugi wondered in a panic. But then he looked down to see Kaiba's eyes closed. *It would help if he was conscious...* he thought grimly.
Finally Yugi gave a large yank and pulled Kaiba up. Kaiba sprawled on top of Yugi. Yugi rolled out from under Kaiba, stood up, and looked at him. "Daijobu?" he asked. Kaiba didn't respond.
*He didn't hit that hard!* Yugi thought. *He can't be... dead...* He wasn't going to believe that all the work he had done, pulling Kaiba up, was for nothing. He bent down, touched Kaiba's neck, searching for a pulse. Just then, Kaiba coughed.
"Daijobu?" Yugi asked again. It wasn't just a polite 'all right?' that was usually used, it was a very sincere question, filled with concern and a growing panic.
Kaiba rolled onto his side and vomited, then looked up. "My head hurts like he- Sorry, Yugi." he apologized.
"Anything else?" Yugi asked, worried. *Why did he apologize? He's never been afraid to curse around me. He's actually called me names. Now he's kinder, considerate! It's like it's not the same Kaiba...*
"No, I think I'm all right."
"That's good to know."
Kaiba stood up and brushed himself off. They started walking back towards the house in silence. They reached a back door. Kaiba slipped a key-card in, let a small beam of light scan his eye, and opened the door. He gestured for Yugi to enter first, and they stood in the kitchen in silence.
"I want to thank you for saving me." Kaiba said quietly, reaching over to the counter, opening a drawer, and removing a high-denomination bill. But Yugi shook his head.
"No money." he said firmly. "I don't need it."
Kaiba nodded and returned the bill. "What would you like as payment?"
"A chance to get warm and dry." Yugi said jokingly. Surprisingly, Kaiba nodded acquiescence.
"Anything else?"
"An explanation..."
A shadow crossed Kaiba's face. "All right. I suppose you deserve to know."
"One thing first..."
"What?" Kaiba snapped in annoyance. *Can't he tell how much he's asking of me?*
"Please clean the blood off your face. No, don't get up! I'll get the stuff... where is it?"
Kaiba merely pointed to the bathroom. He put a hand to his head for a brief second, and was shocked at how much blood covered it when he pulled it away. "Ho-ly shit." he stated flatly.
"This might sting a bit." Yugi warned as he applied the washcloth, soaked in alcohol, to Kaiba's face. Kaiba flinched a bit, but held still. Yugi wiped Kaiba's face clean, and applied a large bandage.
"Just one more thing!" Yugi called cheerfully over his shoulder as he headed to put the medical kit away.
"Now what?" Kaiba asked, shaking his head slightly in amusement. Here was Yugi scurrying around like a rabid hamster in a wheel, doing all sorts of crazy things. "You're acting like a mother hen!" he added, laughing despite the pain it caused.
Yugi came out ten minutes later with a pot, two cups, two spoons, and a sugar bowl. "Tea is always good for when you hear a story, or tell a painful one." he explained. "My mom always told me that before..." he paused. "Go ahead. Start explaining."
"It all started 4 years ago..."
________________________________________________________________
'Hanabi' Translation
I'm looking up at the stained sky
so my tears don't well up and fall.
Why can't people live
as they wish
I don't want a weak heart that can't cry
or the strength not to cry.
I'll search for a shooting
star to cast my wishes on, but
dawn is coming too soon
and I won't be able to find one.
There's never a day that I have
to remember you because
I never for a moment forgot you.
Whenever I'm sad I have
a habit of saying I'm ok.
After something stopped
that day, no matter
how much I pray,
I can't see a single star.
I want to see you, I want to see you.
Your smiling face in my memory is
just too kind.
There's never a day that I have
to remember you because
I never for a moment forgot you.
I want to see you, I want to see you.
Your smiling face in my memory is
just too kind.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
What do you all think? The lyrics fit the chappie? Like? Dislike?