Title: Canvas

Summary: A post-Duelist Kingdom story centered around Pegasus and his search for a way to bring Cecelia back… And the man he wants help from is the most unlikely of all. Shounen-ai of a very uncommon pairing that someone requested.

Disclaimer: Lily does not own YuGiOh. Lily is not making money off of this.

Warnings: None yet.

Chapter 4: Swoop

Kaiba awoke to teddy bear wallpaper.

His eyes widened, and then closed incredulously, before he reopened them.

The teddy bears were still there. In fact, upon closer inspection, Kaiba found that it wasn't just teddy bear wallpaper. It was teddy-bears-and-baby-blue-stripes-and-little-pink-ribbons-tied-into-perfect-little-pink-bows wallpaper.

Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore.

Actually, perhaps this was more like Alice in Wonderland. We're all mad here.

Come to think about it, even Mokuba's wallpaper wasn't this ridiculous. Though his curtains more than made up for it.

He sat up slowly, smoothing out his rumpled jacket, and slid his legs out from under the covers. Toes met carpet of a creamy kind of color, and Kaiba noted that his socks and shoes were in a neat little pile right under his feet. Whoever had put them there had made an excellent estimation of where Kaiba would normally put them, and for a moment, he relaxed. He slipped them on, trying to recall just where he was.

Pegasus.

The idea was even worse than the wallpaper. He had been sleeping in Pegasus's castle? Sleeping? Worse, he had fainted, right in front of Pegasus! And the crazy bat had caught him! His face flushed as he realized that he had completely ruined his dignified persona, in front of Pegasus, of all people!

Grumbling to himself, and tensing again, he stood up, wobbled a bit, righted himself, and left the room in a huff, leaving the bed a mess.

The hallway was brightly lit but windowless. Kaiba dimly thought about balls of twine and unrolling them as he went so he wouldn't get lost in the labyrinths of Pegasus's castle, but recalled that that was from Greek Mythology, not Disney. Ah well, Disney would probably steal the idea and make it into a movie soon.

As he walked in a random direction, he peered into the doorways he passed. There was a bathroom. There was a kitchen. There was another kitchen. There was a vast dining room that could've probably seated half the participants of Duelist Kingdom. There was a locked room. A low rumbling sounded somewhere around him, and Kaiba looked around, half expecting to see the walls shifting.

They weren't, of course.

Something about staring at the blank wall for too long made his eye twitch, and he hurriedly directed his gaze away. There was a painting. The signature at the bottom right read "Arnold Kablinski" or something like that. It was just a house, surrounded by flowers, backdropped by the night sky. Plain, but a welcome relief from the otherwise dull wall.

When he felt he could without tumbling over his feet, Kaiba continued walking, occasionally pausing to squeeze his eyes shut against the glare of the stark walls. The rumbling noise got louder, and he finally realized it was the sound of a television.

Kaiba stumbled into the room with the television, gaze immediately lighting upon Pegasus. The owner of Industrial Illusions seemed not to notice the football game going on in front of him, or even Kaiba's sudden (and not too graceful) entry. Following his gaze, Kaiba found that Pegasus was staring at a large portrait that hung in the next room, of a golden-haired, blue-eyed girl with a pleasing visage and a coy smile.

That figured out, Kaiba cleared his throat.

Pegasus snapped his head around, looking startled. "Kaiba-kun, you're awake!"

'Well, that was a stupid statement. If I weren't awake, how would I be standing here?'

The room was also too bright. What was wrong with this place? Where did all the white come from? Just then, Kaiba caught sight of the window, blanketed by a curtain of falling snow. "It's snowing," he announced back, also not too intelligently.

Nod. "I don't think you'll be able to leave in this weather."

Well, that certainly hadn't occurred to Kaiba. His face blanched. "What?"

"I'm sorry. Your helicopter won't be able to fly in this kind of weather. We've moved it into my garage, and your driver is currently reading his novel on the first floor sitting room."

"And what are you suggesting?" Seto glanced at his watch. 11:34:27. "That I stay at your castle until the weather clears?"

"What else can you do?"

"You… you… fiend!!" By now, Kaiba was beyond annoyed. "You planned this, didn't you! You drugged me or, or something! And now you planned the weather so I'd be stuck in your castle!"

"I resent that," Pegasus stated, looking highly affronted. For a moment, he looked like he might explode. It wasn't until now that Seto noticed just how easily and genuinely smiles came to Pegasus's face, and in their absence, Seto felt a sense of dread, and perhaps a little twinge of regret. "We both know that your accusations were completely unfounded."

What was it about Pegasus that made Kaiba always feel like a kid again, immature and way out of control? Perhaps it was the way that he always remained collected and levelheaded, something that Kaiba struggled to achieve, and did… most of the time. To his shame, he found himself struggling against Pegasus's words again, trying to throw any kind of weapon he found in order to prevent the man from victory. But there was nothing.

"Fine. Can we just discuss what it was I came here to discuss so I can leave when the storm ends?"

"Fine by me." He only now seemed to notice that the television was on, and he searched for the remote. Finding it on his thigh, he quickly turned the TV off, motioning for Kaiba to sit on one of the other couches. "Now, where were we?"

"You wanted me to find someone." At least Kaiba had a perfect memory. Take that, you demented freak who never loses his temper!

"Right. Is it possible?"

"Well, who do you need me to find?"

"Um… Actually, I'm not too sure. I know that it has to be somebody who came to the Duelist Kingdom tournament. And I know he or she has light hair. I made a list of people who fit those descriptions." Always efficient, Pegasus grabbed the stack of papers that he had had waiting. "We have 5 people with white hair, 2 with silver or gray, and 9 with blond light enough to qualify."

"And what do you hope to accomplish with this?"

He looked reluctant to answer at first. "My…" Pegasus took off his sunglasses, and Kaiba found himself tempted to draw back with horror at the empty socket. "My Eye was stolen from me. My only clues are that it happened right after the finals, and… and the hair thing." He laughed softly. "It's pathetic, I know, but if there's a chance I'll be able to find the thief, I'm willing to take it."

Kaiba had always been disgusted with the gold that had replaced Pegasus's left eye, but it was even worse without it. "Why is a chunk of gold so important to you? You could always afford to make another."

"It's not just any chunk of gold, Kaiba-kun." One amber eye darkened seriously. "It was the Millennium Eye. You saw what it did to you, but that's not the most important part. The important part is that without it, I can't see her anymore… I can't even… paint her… Well… that's not relevant right now. What's relevant is that I'm willing to do anything to get the Eye back."

"So, this nebulous 'she' is that important to you?"

"Yes. Yes, she is. Can you understand that?"

"…I think I could." Kaiba thought about backing up until there was only empty space behind him, he thought about the drop waiting for him should he step back once more, he thought about threatening to jump should he lose the duel and fail to rescue Mokuba. Wait, was he feeling empathy towards Pegasus? He was the one Mokuba needed rescuing from in the first place! "And what do I get if I help you?"

Something seemed to die in Pegasus's eye, a glimmer of hope squashed and lost by harsh words, the hope that maybe somebody could possibly understand. "You get Industrial Illusions."

To Be Continued…