Summary: Tragedy strikes. Joey Wheeler is gone forever. Or is he? Joey POV. Post Duelist Kingdom AU. Will eventually be Seto/Joey shounen-ai.
Author's Notes: Well, I thought I'd try writing a YuGiOh fic. I have a rough idea where it'll end up, but the journey might take quite a while…
Yay, I got more reviews! Thank you all for continuing to read this little story ^_^
Warnings: Character death (sort of), language, angst, eventual Seto/Joey.
Disclaimers: I don't own YuGiOh or any other brand names you might come across. No ostriches were harmed in the making of this fic.
**************************************************************************
Being Dead Ain't Easy
Chapter Four: A Reason to Go On
**************************************************************************
After the 'flying lesson', I spent a few weeks visiting the gang. They couldn't see me, feel me, or even hear me. It hurt.
My little sis got that eye operation she needed, paid for with the money I won at Duelist Kingdom. Serenity sees fine now. There was even some cash left over. She's pretty broken up over me.
I'm sorry you never got to see yer big bro one last time. I'm sorry, sis.
I hung around with her for a while. I don't know if it helped or not.
Mom and Dad? Well, Mom never really saw me grow up and she's still got Serenity. She never knew me, so she wasn't hurt too bad. Dad stopped drinking. I guess my death snapped him outta his drunken stupor or somethin'. I'm glad he's putting his life back together.
Good for you, pops. Now, if you'd only done that, like, I dunno, ten years earlier, that woulda been great. Still, better late than never, right, old man?
Tea, Bakura, and Grandpa are still kinda sad, but they're movin' on just fine. Sometimes I think that Bakura… nah.
We weren't super close, so I'm okay with that. Movin' on is cool.
Tristan… he spends a lotta time starin' off into space. He doesn't smile much anymore, and every time he does, you can tell he's fakin' it. Every time he sees Kaiba, he gets this real nasty look on his face. It scares me.
He's sorta drifted away from the group. Even though he's pushing 'em away, they're still tryin' to help him.
I hope he gets over me. I mean, I'm glad I meant so much to him, but I don't want him to be miserable, ya know? He was my first real buddy.
Yuugi cries a lot. It was real bad at first, but then he'd stare off into space, sorta like Tristan, for minutes at a time, or maybe he'd talk to somebody I couldn't see. I'm guessin' he's talkin' to the other him. That 'Yami' guy's kinda scary, but whatever he's sayin' to Yuugi helps.
I didn't mean to hurt cha, Yuug. I wish I can hold ya, but I can't, not really, no matter how hard I try. I'm sorry I let ya down.
Sometimes I wonder if Yuugi can kinda see me. He'd stare right where I am, and then shake his head and start cryin' all over again. Maybe his Puzzle's got somethin' to do with it. Maybe I should try talkin' to him some more when he's not hurtin' so much. There's no way he can hear me in the condition he's in.
The Kaibas? Saw 'em at school. They're fine. Mokuba didn't really know me and Kaiba looks the same as always: cold and stuck up. Man, you'd think he'd be a little more broken up over me. What's his problem!? Hard to believe, but I think he's even colder now than he was before I…
The injuries he got from the fiery limo o' death are healin' nicely. Still hate the guy. That'll never change.
Tristan's been gettin' in his face lately. I'm thinking he blames Kaiba for what happened to me.
So yeah, I visited the gang. Now I'm just wanderin' around doin' nothing. I'm kinda runnin' outta things to do, ya know? I walk around, fly a bit, walk some more. Walking's faster than flying for some reason.
My feet lead me right into the cemetery.
You know, that cemetery.
And whadayaknow, Kaiba's standin' by my grave. He's gatherin' his thoughts, like he wants to say something. Looks kinda stressed. It's pretty late; the sun's gone down ages ago. Well, since he wants to talk to me so bad, I guess it'd only be polite to go and listen in, right?
Yup, there's some kinda emotion on Kaiba's face. Can't tell what it is, though.
"Wheeler."
"Kaiba," I answer. He doesn't hear me, of course. 'Cause I'm dead and all. I guess I'll just hafta pretend he can.
He swallows. "We finally caught the man who killed you. He was a disgruntled ex-employee of mine. He's also the one who planted the explosives in the limo."
I narrow my eyes. "Your employee? So you're sayin' it's your fault?"
"In a way, I suppose you could blame me for your death. My ex-employee, my responsibility. I should have seen it coming."
I wanna, but I really can't blame it on Kaiba. "Nah. You just fired him. Anybody'd fire a nutcase like that. Don't beat yourself up over it." I look down and ghost-kick a pebble. "Don't blame yourself. I don't."
Pause. It's almost like he really can hear me.
Kaiba clears his throat. "I never thanked you for saving Mokuba's life, did I, Joey? Or mine," he adds as an afterthought.
Mokuba's life? And he called me Joey. I can count on one hand the times he's called me 'Joey'. Without addin' some sorta insult to it, I mean.
"But I didn't do nothin'." Just got in the way of the bullet.
He shakes his head. "I never would have gotten the door open without your help. It was reinforced to prevent people from breaking in. I designed it myself."
"Well, that's what cha get when ya start messin' around with perfectly fine doors. Here's some advice from beyond the grave: you're smart, Kaiba, but leave limo design to the professionals."
"However, I never thought that I'd need to get out in an emergency in which the doors would be melted shut. Rather shortsighted of me, really. I should've left it to the professionals." He stops to massage his temples. "It cost me the life of a limo driver who's been with me for five years. Mokuba and I would have died from smoke inhalation, if not the fire itself."
I never thought I'd see the day when Kaiba thanked me for anything. "Eh, you're welcome." I take a closer look at him. There's bags under his eyes. "Go home an' get some sleep, Kaiba. You look bushed."
He ignores me.
"And thank you for taking the bullet for me." He continues. He gives my grave a sort of wobbly smirk. "Though I doubt you did it deliberately." A twitch, and there's the trademark Kaiba sneer. "Only an idiot would do something so foolish, but then, you are one."
"I'm a WHAT!?"
"You're both an idiot, and a fool." Smirk.
Jerk. I take back all the sorta nice things I just said. "You think I'd do somethin' that stupid on purpose!?" I snarl. "You think I wanna be dead!? You owe me big time, Kaiba!"
Kaiba scowls. "Yes, I owe you, Wheeler, but it's hard to pay one's debts to a dead man." The scowl fades, and turns into somethin' I can't read. "Now that I think about it, I suppose it… bothers me."
That's all he has to say!? "Bothers you? Bothers YOU!?" I explode. "Who's the dead guy here!? I'm the one who's fuckin' bothered, ya jerk!" Man, I wish he could hear me!
Moneybags glances at his watch. "Well, it's been dull talking to your grave. It's time to end this little conversation." His expression twists and flickers until it settles on another smirk. "I hope you're having fun chasing Frisbees and sniffing trees in that great park in the sky… chihuahua."
SON OF A BITCH! I lunge at him and take a swing at his ugly head. Surprise, surprise, nothing happens.
With that, he strides off to his spoiled little richboy car that costs more than all the houses around here put together and drives off into the night, away to his spoiled little richboy mansion.
Grrrrrrr…
He makes me so MAD!
I punch the ground in a not-really-punchin'-the-ground-'cause-I'm-a-ghost kinda way.
Not. Satisfying. At. All. I wish it was his face! Prick.
Stinkin' Kaiba.
I'm so gonna haunt your ass.
**************************************************************************