Cherry: How'd ya guess? ^_^ About the plot questions... sorry, answering them would spoil the surprise, non-cliché ending!!! Love you for your great reviews/comments/enthusiasm, and P.S., STRANGENESS ROCKS!!!! ^_^
Kay and Fantasychick: (fishes Seto out of piranha-infested pool) You girls can kill him after the fic's over, I need him now! (smacks Seto upside the head) Don't think that means I forgive you for hurting Joey-kun, though! Oh, right, thank-you's! (drops Seto back into the pool) Thankies for your funny reviews; although they're short, I love 'em just the same! Laterz!
Shadowy Fluffball: Okay, at least it's a little more prompt, if not altogether quick. You know, it takes time to get the evil genius persona right! ~_^ I'm glad you're still enjoying the fic, and hope the same can be said after this chapter! Thanks, and ja ne!
Ranma Higurashi: Sorry, but the sad truth is that that's who Seto really is... until you stick a personality upgrade on him! Yeah... but since I wanted to avoid OOC, that's reason for the evilness ^_^. I like it, personally; gives me a chance to get some of my darker emotions out.... why else write first-person POV? LOL... thankies for all the reviews (huggles Ranma Higurashi) and I'll catch ya after this chappie! Later!
eep: Great to hear it!!! LOL, your name's so cute, I love it! Thanks for taking the time to let me know that you enjoyed it; I hope this chapter is more of the same! Laterz!
babygurl: Hi, Princess! (hugs Hema) Boy, you really don't like evil-Seto, huh? Don't worry, the story's gonna be over soon, and then it's full speed ahead with the fluffy NYA! LOL, tell me about it; poor Kaiba would be the one wondering what hit him if you two had a mind-games contest! Thank you for your reviews, and your friendship, both of which mean the world to me... love you, Princess! (huggles Hema again) See ya on MSN!
D-Chan and Nuva: Where's my award?!?! (cries) Just kidding, you guys! Your reviews are all the reward I need, believe me! (hugs D-Chan and Nuva) Thank you for the praise, Nuva, it means a lot coming from someone who seems like she knows her angst; sorry, D-Chan, but Joey's a necessary casualty of this fic... don't worry, though, he'll be fine when the next chap of NYA comes around! ^_^ Thanks again, guys; later!
Ancient Angel: Wow, you know other ppl who read my story? YAY!!!! ^_^ Thanks for the compliments and the encouragement; I put a lot of effort into the plot, and the ending... OK, enough said. (zips lips) LOL, be sure to tell me what you and your friends think of this one, okay? Ja ne!
keira maxwell: You can do it, Keira! Just write, and worry about quality later on! Trust me, I know it'll be amazing. Thank you for having faith in my writing skills... sometimes it feels like I can't write anything good, so reviews like yours really get the chapter out a few days sooner than it would normally be! About the death part... can't tell you, sorry! Would defeat the whole purpose of a "surprise" ending! ^_^ Don't worry about not reviewing right away, I forgive you! (glomps keira) Laterz!
Bug-Chan: Hey, if it isn't our authoress-to-be! ^_^ Thanks for your anything-but-irritating e-mails, and for the honor of being your beta reader once again! Take your time with the fic, and please don't be afraid to ask me anything if you get stuck or whatever, okay? I know it'll be amazing whatever you do! Hmm... I agree, Seto's character is scary, but he's actually hilarious if you're the one writing it! ^_^ I know that doesn't help you much.. oh well, I tried, LOL! Hope to see a review from you for this chapter, love you lots, and later!
Angel-Belle: I totally agree, although would that be fair to the poor shrinks? I mean, they'd be so broken... ^_^ Glad you're still with us; please keep reading/reviewing!
Firewing: What's up? Thank you so much for the Kaiba-suicide idea!!!!! It really made a lot fall into place for me, so thanks! How am I gonna pull this off? Hopefully, very well! ^_^ Thank you for your compliments and ideas, both of which mean so much, and the more people that are sickened by Seto's warpedness (I know that's not a word), the better I've portrayed his character! ^_^ Thanks again, later!
Lizzie: He's annoying you? Bad Seto! (smacks Seto) Well, the fic's not going to be too much longer anyway, so you don't have much farther to go! Hope this satisfies your curiosity for a while; laterz!
Starfly: Thank you! That line just came to me, so I stuck it in... yeah, not much of a story there! ^_^ We'll see if you can predict the turnout; I wouldn't be too sure! Thanks for your confidence, as always, it means a lot! Love ya!
Katmon =^.^= AKA Okusama KK: Phew, did I get that name right? LOL, thanks for your equally cute review; I'm always glad to see a new reviewer! Hope this chapter meets with as much satisfaction as the last one! Be sure to let me know, OK? Laterz!
Silver: I was wondering when you'd show up, girl! ^_^ Don't worry about imitating my stories; as long as you're not copy-pasting it, I don't care! Thank you for your encouraging words; glad I was able to help you through your writer's block, and believe me, you do the same for me a lot of the time! If it weren't for your review, the last section of this chapter never would have been written! So, on behalf of all the readers, thanks! ^_^ Reviews much longer? I might hold ya to that! ~_^ Love ya too, Silver, and ja ne!
Warnings: Usual warnings go, guys!
Disclaimer: Don't own 'em, never will.
Chapter 6: Willful Blindness
He avoids me as though I have the bubonic plague for the rest of the day; no insults, no projectiles flying across the classroom at me, not even one of his vacant glares. I suppose that I should be enjoying the peace and quiet, but my impatience makes it impossible for me to concentrate on anything but the advancement of my life's final goal. If that letter doesn't work, I'm going to need a contingency plan, and advance preparation can only help me in that case.
As I cross the parking lot to my car, I'm still so absorbed in my plotting that I don't notice him leaning against the hood staring at me until I'm less than ten feet away. "Hey," he says, offering a halfhearted grin.
Damn. No time to compose myself. Come on, all those business meetings must have taught you something about improvisation. Say something! "Hello," I reply at length, and his low chuckle reaches my ears as he realizes just how many million miles away I was.
"Zonin' out, Kaiba?" He asks as I toss my briefcase into the back seat of the Mercedes, and ordinarily, I would have rearranged his face for that comment. Must stay in character.
"Was there something you wanted, Joey?" I return, and it takes all of my considerable willpower to keep my tone amiable, not to mention remembering to call him by his name instead of one of my many canine references.
I never imagined that such an innocent question could so put him off balance, but evidently it did. His confident air disappears, and he stares at the ground, unconsciously biting one fingernail. To his credit, he catches himself almost immediately, folding his arms across his chest as I look on with an amusement I don't find myself having to feign. I think I hear him mutter something, but I can't be sure. "What was that?" I ask, keeping the smile from my face. Of course I know exactly what it was.
"I have feelings for you too!" he shouts, and suddenly conscious of how loud his voice is, he glances around the deserted parking lot in a manner more suited to owls than dogs. Thankfully, we're the last ones still here; he's bad enough when he's not embarrassed. Satisfied that nobody else heard that outburst, he locks his eyes with mine, and suddenly I realize what all this window to the soul bullshit is about. His normally clear honey orbs are clouded with fear, apprehension, and I detect a hint of relief at finally getting his feelings out in the open. If I take advantage of this vulnerability, I can hurt him right now and be done with the charade, but the damage probably won't be permanent. Not good enough, then.
That decided, I need an answer, quick. Well, time to put that old cliché about actions and words to the test. Clearing the distance between us in the time it takes him to blink, I pull him into my arms and touch my lips to his ever so lightly. I hear a muffled yelp of surprise before I feel his arms around my neck, his lips caressing mine with just the slightest bit of urgency. My tongue darts out quickly, like that of a snake, demanding entrance, and he yields completely to me.
I smile against his mouth even as our tongues begin to duel. Joseph Wheeler, you're mine.
* * *
To my mild surprise, it takes his friends an entire week to realize that we're together, and another weekend to decide that they should interfere. We're eating lunch up on the roof when the Scooby Gang finds us; Yami and that annoying Tea girl leading the charge, Yugi, Tristan, and Ryou bringing up the rear. Of his sister, Serenity, there's no sign, something I find quite strange. If anyone could break my spell, it would be her. Are they so overconfident as to think they stand a chance on their own? And here I thought they would present a threat, however minor, to the fulfillment of my plan.
"Joey, can we talk to you for a minute?" the midget asks.
"Alone," specifies his other half, shooting me a glare that I think is completely unfounded, but that I return anyway. It occurs to me that he hasn't aired the tape yet, and I wonder why. Surely he wouldn't be that patient with it, would he?
"Not a chance," the mutt replies, holding my hand in a death grip. "Anything you can say in front of me, you can say in front of him."
Oh, this is just too perfect. He's that gone after a week and change? You give your heart too easily, puppy. That will be the death of you. I should have started a cult; seems I'm pretty good at this brainwashing stuff. Oh well, too late now. At this rate, my life's being measured in weeks, not years.
A few feet away, Taylor sighs and pushes his way to the front of the group. "Joey... come on, wake up. Kaiba's your worst enemy, remember? And now you're... with him?! What's the deal?"
"We're all very worried, Joey." puts in the albino boy, and I find his accent annoys me more than usual right now.
"Please, Joey..." begins Yugi, and my eyes narrow a fraction of an inch. If anyone stands any chance of convincing him that I'm bad news, aside from his sister, it's the parasitic little cherub over there. "I hate to say this, but Kaiba's poison." He looks over at me in apology, but turns away as he remembers the last time he tried to be nice to me. "What I mean to say is..."
"Oh, for Ra's sake, stop sugarcoating it!" Hmm, this just might the first time Yami's ever yelled at his precious light. Yugi's shoulders slump, and he begins to stare at the floor, sadly. "Joey, Kaiba's obviously playing some twisted game with you, using you for something. That... monster," he spits the word like a curse. "...is incapable of human emotion. You must realize that."
"That's enough, you guys!" The mutt's on his feet, still holding my hand, and I stand as well. "Kaiba and I are in love. Why can't you just be happy for us? Is it that hard?" As a gesture of complete defiance, he pulls me down to his level and kisses me with all the passion he can muster. His back is to his friends, so I open my eyes just wide enough to catch their reactions. Ryou and Tristan are both completely defeated, torn between interfering in their friend's life for his own good or letting him make his own mistakes. Yugi's clinging to Yami, the pharaoh's outburst evidently forgotten for the moment. Only the Gardner bitch seems to be ready for an encore, striding up to us bravely and tearing Joey from me, spinning him to face her. I always knew she was stupid, but this could kill whatever seed of doubt they might have already been planted in his mind. Humph... not like I'm gonna stop her from helping my cause if she really wants to.
"Joey, listen to us!" she cries in that shrill, nails-on-a-chalkboard voice, and everyone except for me cringes. "We're your friends! Friends know best, and we know you don't exactly have the best track record for decision making. Don't you remember all those bad decisions you made on Duelist Kingdom? What about the time you took on Duke to save your pride and wound up in a dog suit? Now, you want to get together with Kaiba, your worst enemy? Come on, stand back for a second and think about what you're doing!" As though her outburst hadn't done enough damage to their mission, she slaps the mutt across the face, hard. "Wake up, Joey!"
I watch as his eyes blaze with a fire that I've only seen on rare occasions, when he's fighting for something he believes in. Angrily, he rubs at his cheek, where a red mark is already taking shape. "You listen to me, okay, Tea?" he growls. "I've had more than enough of your airhead cheerleader crap to last a lifetime! It's no secret you think I'm stupid, that I can't take care of myself without you guys holding my hand, but I'll be damned if I'm going to give up my chance with Seto just because you guys are paranoid!" His use of my first name doesn't go unnoticed by anyone. Oh yeah, definitely gone. "If you were half the friend you claim to be, you'd butt out and go fix your own mess of a life!"
That's taken the wind out of her sails, to put it mildly. Just as defeated as the rest of them now, she turns and shuffles back to the others, who immediately start heading for the stairs. All except the midget, who comes up to me alone and begins rummaging in his backpack, eventually taking out a small glass case. Is this what I think it is...?
"I don't know just what you're trying to do," he whispers, low enough that his best friend can't hear him, "but please, stop it. It's not too late." With a small nod, he pushes the case into my hand and runs off to catch up with the rest of them.
The mutt comes over a few moments later. "What'd Yug' want?" he asks, and although he might not be happy with any of them, there's a certain note of tenderness in his voice at the mention of the shorter tricolor-haired boy.
I open the glass case, and a tape falls out. "He wanted to give me this," I say in disbelief, turning it over in my hand. It's definitely the right size for that camcorder Yami had that night... but why? It hits me a few moments later; a peace offering, so that I wouldn't go through with my plan. Smooth move, Yugi, but I'm not about to back down.
Pocketing the tape, I put my arm around him, forcing myself to smile. "You called me Seto back there." I say, and my voice is so sweet I think I'm going to be sick on the spot.
He grins shyly. "Do you mind?"
"Not at all, pup." It means that my plan's working like a charm.
I watch as he sighs contentedly, burrowing into my side. I'll let him twist in the wind a while longer before I cut him loose, I think. After all, it's only been a little over a week. Who knows just how far he can fall given a little more, and the farther he goes, the more painful the final blow's going to be. Nothing can stop me now. He might as well just lay down and die right now instead of waiting for me to shoot him like the dog he is.