babygurl: Hey, girl, what's up? Thanks for the boost as to my dueling skills and for just being your all-around encouraging self these days; I needed it, and you were there the whole way, which is more than I can say for everyone else in my life, so thank you for all that! I've definitely tried to leave a piece of my depression in this chapter (and as such get it outta my system) ~_^ but tell me what you think, okay? As always, I value your opinions. Love you, Princess, and ja ne!
Kay and Fantasychick: LOL, I agree, drunken Joey is hilarious! Enjoy the chappie, although it's quite short!
D-Chan and Nuva: Phew, thanks for letting me know I got Seto right in this fic, Nuva! ^_^ Glad you're both enjoying the story so far; don't worry, Seto gets back on top of things in this chapter! Thank you both for your great reviews; how'd the driving test go, D-Chan? I just know it was great! (thumbs-up) Take care, you guys!
QueenOfGames: The first of many nails, Queenie! ~_^ LOL, glad you're enjoying the tape, and thanks so much for your cute reviews! They make me laugh, and when I'm happy, I write, so.. yeah, good cycle we got there! ^_^ Enjoy this chappie, despite the shortness, and I'll catch ya at Chapter 6! Laterz!
Silver: You have no idea how long I agonized on that dueling scene, LOL. Since I also play the YGO card game, that kinda made it easier, but not by much... originally, I was toying with the idea of writing the whole duel, and while that might have been interesting to read, it would have taken a disproportionate amount of time to write. In hindsight, though, I could have taken two decks and dueled against myself, but since I don't have an Ultimate Dragon OR a De-Fusion... yeah, exactly. ^_^ It's a rush that someone actually takes the time to print out my stories, although that must take like a whole lotta ink! Thanks for that booster, though, Silver.
I love your reviews; they're so... long, and interesting, and a lot less random and insane than mine! ^_^ Please keep writing; I love your stuff, and it's so totally inspiring to me! Thank you for being a great audience, Silver, and an even better person. Good always comes back, and get ready to drown in it! ^_^ Much love, and ja ne!
Bug-Chan: I hope you DO enjoy Seto's plan... it's the first part of this disturbingly short chapter! Thanks for offering Ignigena's services to toast flamers; Diamond, bless him, doesn't have wings, so it might take him a while to find them. ^_^ (pets sleeping Diamond) Don't worry, I still love ya! I can't wait to read your fic; I'm like checking my e-mail five times a day looking for it! Thank you again for the honor of being your beta-reader (bows) and I promise not to disappoint, either in writing or in beta-ing! Love ya, Bug-Chan, and catch ya later! Enjoy the chappie!
Blue Lagoon Loon: I agree, Kaiba can be so vacant, slowwitted... oh well, he redeems himself in this chapter! Enjoy, and I hope to get another review from you when you're done!
Cherry: Yep, us strange people just have to stick together! (wraps an arm around Cherry) I'm glad the dedication meant so much to you, and that you like the story enough to put it on your faves... thankies! LOL, if I ever need the Fork of Ultimate Doom, I'll be sure to call you! (looks over at plotting YGO bishies) Might be sooner rather than later.... (gulp) I hope you like the evil master plan, and the next chap of NYA is in the works, don't worry!
kimi no vanilla: Thank you! I've tried to keep Kaiba as true to the original as I could, and it means a lot that I succeeded! Thanks for taking the time to tell me that, and if you're still reading, I'd be interested to hear any comments you might have on this chappie, or the story in general! Laterz!
DaughterofDeath: Wow, you're still with us? Thanks for being such a faithful reader/reviewer! I hope you enjoy this chapter; although it's short, I think it's high in the quality department! ^_^ Lots of love, and catch ya later!
Ancient Angel: Thank you for the encouraging words! They mean a lot, as do everyone's! I hope this chapter lives up to your expectations, and hope to see another review from you once you're done with it! Laterz!
Starfly: OMG, are you serious?! Thank you so much!! I was proud of that chapter, and I haven't been able to say that for a while, so thanks for letting me know that it really was good and not just my wishful thinking. ~_^ Enjoy the chapter, and NYA should be coming along in a while! Love ya, Starfly!
Firewing: This chapter is dedicated to you, in case you missed it! LOL, don't feel bad; anime is easy to get hooked on! Thank you for your kind words of encouragement, and for the little anecdotes about your personal life, as well as your insights into the characters! I agree with everything that you said about Seto's character, especially in relation to Mokuba. It seems to me like he's just lost sight of his little brother in his lust to get the God Cards, since ignoring Mokuba doesn't really jibe with the whole Duelist Kingdom thing and what he went through to get Mokuba back. However, that could be attributed, as you said, to his pride; nobody steals from Seto Kaiba and gets away with it. Good observations, for sure! Thanks again, and I look forward to the day that you post your own story on FF.net. I can't wait to read it! ^_^ Laterz!
Ranma Higurashi: I totally agree, he's for sure evil here! I hate Seto, personally, without his NYA makeover, but he was perfect for this idea, so... yeah, no OOC warning in sight here! Thanks for your reviews, and catch ya later!
Shadowy Fluffball: Well, I don't know that this qualifies as 'soon', but it IS an update! ^_^ Hope you enjoy!
Princess Razu: Thank you! It's always nice to know that I succeeded in getting Kaiba down, so thank you for telling me that. I hope you still think this story is awesome after this chapter... laterz!
Angel-Belle: I know, isn't that annoying! I've started cheering for whoever's against Yugi/Yami in the show, since they're always gonna win anyway. LOL, they probably keep their good cards in that neck buckle or something! Thank you for your review, and I hope Kaiba's plan isn't too evil for your taste. Laterz, Belle!
Warnings: Same as usual, I suppose.
Disclaimer: Oh, please... again?! Fine, Guardian doesn't own YGO! (pouts)
Chapter 5: Quicksand
I finally set my pen down ten minutes before six, taking a moment to admire my handiwork. It took an entire night, but I believe I've finally gotten the first phase of my plan down perfectly. This strategy could sink a genius, so it's quite safe to say that the mutt won't know what hit him.
On the desk before me lies a letter addressed to Joey Wheeler, telling him how I've loved him for ages but never had the guts to act on it, for fear of rejection. I laugh at the irony of it all; me, Seto Kaiba, afraid of rejection? Who would ever reject me? I'm all that anyone could possibly want; rich, powerful, hotter than Hell. Even if he resists at first, he won't be able to help being drawn in. No one ever does, once I turn on the charm.
Who would ever dream it was so easy to get people to believe you're something you're not? Feed them a few clichés about your fears, your hopes, dreams, problems... whatever they need to hear, and they don't even stop to think about who they're dropping their guard for. In the end, everyone falls for one mask or another, and once I'm done with them, I cast them off to the side like the trash they are.
Oh, but by the time I'm done with Wheeler, he'll be begging to be drained and cast aside. He'll wish that's all I did to him, and no more. At least that, he'd eventually recover from. But this plan... it's so diabolical, I'm surprised I don't have any moral objection to it. To be perfectly honest, though, I'd be surprised if I had any morals, period.
The plan, if you haven't figured it out by now, is quite simple, really. I'm going to make the puppy fall for me, so hard that he'll be completely lost to any reason where I am concerned. Then, once I'm sure he's trapped in my web, I'll cut him loose, tear his heart to shreds, and break him from the inside out. It's a completely foolproof plan; even if by some chance he should actually survive it with some shred of his spirit intact, I can always let him see me with one of those all too eager whores that would fuck me just for bragging rights. Nothing can possibly go wrong; I've got every eventuality covered.
I wonder if he's going to kill himself, I think to myself as I slide the letter into an unremarkable envelope, seal it, and write his name across the front before tossing it into my open briefcase. I certainly hope he does. I've found misery loves company, and once the mutt's gone, his friends should have misery in spades. Not that I'll be around for very long after, though.
Once my lust for vengeance is sated, after all, what else am I going to stick around here for? Certainly not Mokuba, or Duel Monsters. Thanks to Yami, I've completely lost my reputation as World Champion, and after yesterday morning, I doubt Mokuba would even want to give me the time of day. I have no other family, and less friends. In my absence, someone else will run Kaiba Corp. No matter how hard I try, I can't think of anything else worth one more second on this dismal planet.
As I fish my school uniform from the closet, I contemplate how I'm going to do it. Pills and booze? That has possibilities, I suppose. Slash my wrists in the bathtub? No, far too feminine, and slow. I don't want time for second thoughts. A gun, then? Hmm.. Mokuba would probably find me, and I don't want to subject him to that. He's paid enough for the crime of loving me. That's out too, then.
Tossing the blue shirt and pants onto the bed, I grab a quick shower, mentally going over my itinerary once again. I have to get to class before the mutt, so that I can get the letter onto his desk without being caught. That shouldn't be a problem; he always runs in under the bell if he's not with the midget, and I can beat either of them to school any day of the week.
Even if he does read it during class, nothing will happen until lunch; he's got recess detention for mouthing off to the sensei when she started chewing him out for not having done his homework since.. well, ever. He'll definitely have read it by lunch, though; Wheeler's not known for his patience. However things turn out, he'll be searching for me at lunch hour, that much is sure.
I always eat on the roof; nobody else ever bothers to go all the way up there. He'll find me eventually, though. That's one of his few good qualities; persistence. He'll find me, and then... then, I'll have to wing it, I suppose, since I have no fucking clue how he's going to react. Shouldn't be too hard, though; he's quite predictable, especially when he's off-balance, and what I can predict, I can counter.
I dress quickly and take up my briefcase as I walk out the door. I'll have to drive myself to school if I hope to get there on time, I reflect as I force myself to bolt down a quick breakfast. Mokuba's seated on one of the kitchen counters, staring intently into his bowl of cereal, loath to make conversation after yesterday. I don't blame him; after getting burned like that, I wonder how long it would take me to open up again. Don't worry, kid, I think to him as I start up the Mercedes a few minutes later. I'll be gone just as soon as Wheeler is.
* * *
My plan goes off without a hitch; I beat the mutt and his friends to the school by a clear ten minutes, at the very least, and get the letter onto his desk without anyone noticing anything amiss. It's touch and go for a while, however, as it takes him a full ten minutes to actually find the damn thing, and by the time he does, it's time to get to first period already. I wish I could have seen the look on his face when he opened it, but then again, it might have been annoying to see him staring at me through an entire class. Not uncomfortable, mind you, just annoying.
He's slower than I gave him credit for; I have time to eat, do two assignments and half of another before he finds me at lunch time. His hair's a mess, his face totally flushed, and my letter, hardly recognizable, is crumpled in his hand, and he thrusts it out at me without so much as a salutation.
"What the fuck is your damage?" he demands of me, and I laugh inwardly at his impotent rage.
"I'm sick of hiding what I truly feel for you," I recite, turning my face away from him to stare out towards the harbor, just as I would if the letter was genuine. Is it any wonder I got the highest grade in my drama class?
His lack of self-control is painfully evident as he sputters, searching for a reply. "You..." he begins, unable to finish his sentence. "You, ice-cold, black-hearted Kaiba... loves me?"
Oh, so we're at this stage of the game already, are we? He's more gullible than I thought. "I believe the letter speaks for itself."
I'm surprised to hear him scoff; he certainly does change gears quickly. "I don't believe it." I hear the sound of the wadded-up letter striking the ground and the noise of his sneakers scraping against the gravel covering the roof as he turns to leave.
This is it. Gotta make him believe this. Composing myself, and forcing something resembling emotion to bleed out from behind my masks, I glide over to him and grab his arm with an urgency I by no means feel. If he doesn't fall to this, he'll fall to another of my plans. "Please... please wait." I say, with a desperation that most Academy Award recipients would be unable to exhibit on demand. Useless things, trophies; if I had one, I'd toss it in the first Dumpster I could find. Only insecure people need tangible reminders of their victories to feel good about themselves.
He turns, and his eyes begin to search my face for something, anything, that would prove all this is a lie. I hold my breath for an agonizing few moments, until his gaze goes from angry and guarded to soft and yielding. "You're serious, aren't you?" he says, as though trying to convince himself of that fact.
"Yes," I reply, fighting to keep the act up and not use this opportunity to attack him while his defenses are down. Patience is a virtue. "I mean every word, Joey."
He bites his bottom lip, and his eyes stray off to the side. I can tell he's trying to decide what his next move should be. Either way, it doesn't matter one bit. If he doesn't fall now, he'll fall tomorrow, or the next day. It has been my experience that people have an infatuation with those things which look too good to be true, and that being the case, all of them are drawn to me inexorably.
"I don't know," he says at length, and the venom is gone from his voice as he looks up into my eyes, expecting me to deliver an ultimatum.
Well, I didn't expect him to fall into my arms, as he did last night, did I? Honey over vinegar, honey over vinegar.... "Take your time," I say, ignoring the flare of impatience that explodes in my chest. Every moment he delays me is another I have to spend alive and in this forsaken darkness that defines my existence. However, I refuse to go into oblivion quietly, and if I ever hope to take him down with me, I'll have to hold off my avarice long enough to draw him to the cliff before trying to push him off. That being as it is, what else can I do but swallow my impatience and frustration and settle in for the wait?
"Thanks," he answers, backing away slowly. "Uh... well, later, Kaiba." With that, he bolts for the stairs, escaping the soon-to-be awkward moment. I lean against the chain-link fence that circles the rooftop, allowing myself the tiniest of smiles as I pick up the letter and smooth it out as best I can. Flipping open the lighter I always keep in my pocket, I set it on fire, tossing it to the ground as I pick up my briefcase and stride over to the stairway, not even bothering to glance back at the pile of ash that I know is all that remains of the first step of my plan. Like so many other things over the years, it has served its purpose and must be destroyed.
I try not to think too much about the fact that this defines my own life just as well as the burning letter.