Summary: Tragedy strikes. Joey Wheeler is gone forever. Or is he? Joey POV. Post Duelist Kingdom AU. Is sort of Seto/Joey shounen-ai.
Author's Notes: Well, I thought I'd try writing a YuGiOh fic. And it's still going. And whoa, still going. But it'll be over very soon!
Over 1100 reviews! Thanks for reading, thanks even more for reviewing ^_^ I finally found the time to do this chapter. Thanks for (im)patiently waiting! The story's mostly over now, and the next chapter will probably be for wrap-up.
AG the master: The Bunnies represent Pegasus, and it looks like Kaiba thinks about him a lot. This may have made them show up in the soul room. Funny Bunny will not be making an appearance in this story again.
bigfuzzydiceperson: It wasn't licensed yet when I saw it. I was a member of an anime club and they got it off IRC or something ^_^
Exodia Himself: With his luck, it'd probably break his jaw or something.
Jay Kamiya: Why? Because it represented Kaiba, and the poor guy's been falling apart recently.
Jou-pup: In order: Yes, because he was in a good mood, because he wants something, I got hit with a plot mallet, life is as life does, yes, and maybe.
Julia: Well, it shouldn't be a huge surprise in this fic since I've had the Seto/Joey warning in there since Day 1. If you don't like him making out with Joey, I'm sure there are lots of people making Kaiba gay by sticking him with Yami, Yuugi, Malik, Pegasus, etc. And of course there's some straight fics out there too.
Kaori: Probably no more limey goodness, sorry :(
Katsumi-chan: If you knew that giant killer rabbits could attack you at any moment, would you be able to enjoy anything?
Kimmie: The nurse ended up the same way everybody else in the hospital did... poor nurse.
pokeih: It was supposed to be ^_^
shitsumon: I didn't know about the uncle thing. Weird.
Taito_Kisses: Thanks for the plushie! Now I have two ^_^
The End is near! End of the story, that is. Looks like it did turn Seto/Joey after all. Some people liked that, some people didn't, oh well. It was supposed to be Seto/Joey from the very start, but the plot took over and obvious romance just didn't fit in. I hope what I ended up doing didn't totally wreck everything ^_^;;;
Warnings: Character death (sort of), language, angst, a little Seto/Joey.
Disclaimers: I don't own YuGiOh or any other brand names you might come across. No Millennium Anythings were harmed in the making of this fic.
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Being Dead Ain't Easy
Chapter Thirty-Six: Well, That Clears That Up
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"Bakura!" I snarl.
He leans down and picks up my card before I can stop him. Where the hell's Yami!?
Lying in a heap on the floor. "YAMI!" I run over to him. He's alive, but knocked out. "What kinda freaky magic did you use on him, Bakura!?"
"I walked up behind the stupid pharaoh and hit him over the head with a food tray while he was busy glowering at the Priest. Sometimes, physical violence works just as well as any spell." I can see the bump on Yami's head. It doesn't look too bad, but he'll be out for a while.
"Priest." Yami Bakura heads for Seto and ignores me. "You know what I want."
Seto struggles to sit up, bandages and all. He looks awful; really different from his soul room self. I keep forgetting how bashed up he really is. "You tried to kill me."
"It wasn't personal, my dear Priest. Next time, don't get between me and my Millennium Puzzle."
His Puzzle? "Yuugi's Millennium Puzzle, ya mean."
He smirks. "...For now."
Seto lets it go. "Can you at least wait until I'm out of the hospital?"
"I think that it would be in your best interest to come with me now, Priest. It is time for you to give me your company." He plays with the Red Eyes. "If you don't wish to do so right now, well, these flimsy cards are so very, very fragile."
What would happen to me if he ripped it up? Would it do anything to Seto?
He narrows his eyes. "Is that a threat?"
The bastard just smiles. "There's a taxi waiting outside for us."
I feel bad about leaving Yami lying there like that, but Seto needs all the help he can get. Yami Bakura gives him back his clothes - he probably swiped them from somewhere - and helps him out of the hospital. I don't know what that guy did, but nobody's trying to stop us.
We all pile into the taxi and head for Kaiba Corp. It's a bit of a long ride, so we try our best to get over Yami Bakura's threats. Me and Seto ask him a bunch of questions... and he answers them. I guess bashing Yami over the head and getting Kaiba Corp. on the same day put him in a good mood or something.
Why did the soul room go all weird?
"The soul room is a reflection of the self. I can only assume that the Priest has, shall we say, issues."
But it wasn't that bad the first time!
"Your rooms are merged, yes? Perhaps the person who enters first influences the landscape the most, but only for that visit."
So what, it's gonna change every single time?
"Depending on who enters." A laugh. "I am feeling generous, so I shall give you some advice: Never let the Priest enter first, dead man. If the creature that tried to escape with you is any indication of what happened in there, I suggest that you never let him back in at all."
Yeah, about that...
"That card is no longer simply a card. It has been infused with the energies from three Millennium Items. I am not surprised that it is able to grant figments of your imagination some sort of existence. The card may have other abilities, as well. Though it is not a Millennium Item, this card may still be quite... interesting. Not that I would take it from you, of course."
It's quiet for a while. Yami Bakura looks at me. "Not that I really care, but shouldn't you find something less... mangled... to wear? I find your appearance somewhat offensive."
I look down. Ripped up pants. Ripped up trench coat where the Funny Bunnies got me.
Yami Bakura flashes the card at me. "Well?"
I go back into the card. No monsters. It really was all Seto's fault. No way is he coming back here.
All the ripped up stuff I left last time is gone, so it looks like I'm gonna need new shoes and socks, too. The stairs aren't moving all over the place now and I find the bedroom in less than a minute. I'd explore some more, but I really don't wanna leave Seto alone with that guy. I find some clothes that don't look too much like Seto's; white T-shirt, jeans, socks, and boots that are just a little too big for me. Good enough. I come back out.
Looks like nothing exciting happened while I was gone. Seto frowns. "Those are mine, Joey."
"Not anymore."
The taxi stops.
Kaiba Corp. is swarming with cops and reporters, but Seto Kaiba just ignores all of them while we head up the stairs to his office. We don't take any elevators this time.
"What happened here, Priest?"
Seto snorts. "Some fool lost his balance and fell off the top floor." Well, that's one way of putting it. "It happens more often than you'd think."
Yami Bakura frowns but doesn't say anything.
We finally make it to the office. Seto sits down behind his desk and makes a bunch of phone calls and huge stacks of official-looking paper are brought in. Yami Bakura pulls up a chair and sits down across from him. They start talking business, and I sorta zone out after ten minutes. Seto knows this stuff more than I do.
It's really gonna happen. Kaiba Corp.'s going to Bakura. Yami Bakura. I wonder how Ryou's gonna handle it when he finds out? Maybe he'll just give it back, but I'm guessing Yami Bakura's not gonna let that happen.
What'll Seto do when he's outta the job? Maybe some kinda desk job, I guess. He'll probably work his way back up to CEO of some other company and then take over the world or something. I don't exactly see him waiting tables or flipping burgers. He's better than that, but it'd do his ego some good. I mean, that guy needs to do something about that massive attitude problem. Problems. Pick one.
I guess I'll have to work on them, one by one. It's not like I want to totally change him. Seto Kaiba is Seto Kaiba. It's just that I want him to be nice to somebody besides Mokuba and me. If you can call that 'nice', I mean. He's really not that rotten a guy sometimes. Maybe he'll loosen up a little when he doesn't have to worry about Kaiba Corp. all the time.
Seto stands up. "It will take a few weeks for all the paperwork to go through, but Kaiba Corp. is basically yours now. Do what you want with it."
"It was a pleasure doing business with you, Seto Kaiba." Yami Bakura picks up his copy of the legal stuff. He tosses my Red Eyes Black Dragon over his shoulder on his way out. Seto catches it.
It's just me and him now.
Awkward silence. The king of 'em all.
Seto coughs. Gestures at me to sit where Yami Bakura was before. I guess he actually wants to talk about it. Us. It. That thing. Well, if he's gonna give it a shot, I guess I will too.
"Joey, when we were... ah... fighting in the soul room over your continued presence, you asked me a question. Do you remember?"
Fighting. Last I heard, it was called 'sexual harassment', pal. Or worse.
"You harassed me back, so you can't really preach at me, Wheeler." He glares at me. Forgot about the mind reading. It's not fair I can't read his mind right back. Reading his mind would really help me out right about now. "My original intention was simply to disgust you enough to make you leave, but I got... carried away."
"Carried away!? That's way past 'carried away', Kaiba!"
"Forget that," he growls. "Do you remember that question you asked me afterwards?"
The question. "Yeah, I remember." It was the same question he asked me. Why did we do it? Me, I'm thinking that it was some sorta alpha male dominance thing that went weird. I mean, I was kinda stressed out and I've been not-hating Seto for a while now, and he kissed me first so I didn't really start anything. Just because I don't want the guy to get hurt doesn't mean I like him. Okay, I like him, but I don't like like him, got it? I mean, I like Yuugi, but that's totally different. He's my friend.
Seto blinks. "You kissed Yuugi?"
I almost fall off my chair. "NO!"
He ignores me. "I wonder how that would work, seeing that he only comes up to your waist, not including his hair..." He smirks. "However, that's about the right height to-"
Not funny. "Watch it, Kaiba."
He drops the smirk when he sees the look on my face and just... stares at me, thinking.
If he's gonna say anything else about me and Yuugi, I don't wanna hear it. "So what about that question? You've got an answer for me?"
He does a slow nod, still thinking. I've got a feeling he's not cooking up another insult. Good. Or not good, 'cause that means we're gonna Talk About It.
Seto looks at the card he's got in his hand. He comes to a decision and gets up.
I get up too as he walks around the desk and stands in front of me. I watch as he uses one hand to fiddle around with that Duel Monsters card thing he has around his neck.
"Seto, whatcha doing?"
He grumbles something about the hinges being stuck, but he finally gets it to open up. I always thought that the thing was some kinda tacky 'I'm King of Duel Monsters' symbol, but it's not.
It's a locket. With an old photo of Mokuba inside.
"This is my answer. A part of it."
He puts my card on the inside cover of his locket so that the Red Eyes Black Dragon is on one side and Mokuba's on the other.
It's a perfect fit.
He closes it and gives the locket a shake to make sure nothing falls out. "Don't go around thinking that I roll around on the floor kissing my little brother, though. This is different."
Well, duh. Yuck. "Ya don't say... Just so ya know, I don't do that with my little sis, either." Or anybody, now that I think about it. Just...
I'll freak out later when he's not standing there listening in.
"So we understand each other, then."
"...Yeah."
Well, no, but we're getting there.
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