Disclaimer: I do not, nor will I ever, have the intelligence to own anything as worthwhile as Yu-Gi-Oh!, so buzz off.
Warning: I have no idea where the story is going, but this WILL have SLASH! Yugi is a bit depressed, there may be a few inappropriate things, and of course, violence. I doubt I own a story without any of the above...
A/N: Sorry this keeps taking so long! I have so many tests right now! And family keeps coming over every weekend. What went wrong with the concept of 'free time?' *wails* Well, on with the next chapter. Enjoy.
Chapter 6: The Mind of a Kaiba
Last Time…
"Tea," he murmured, "I am willing to bet that's it. How could it not be? Obviously the wife of a Pharaoh would be smarter than your average woman." He kissed her thoroughly. "Now let's find if Shadi, Isis, or the assorted fags has my slave kept hidden from my view …"
*
Seto glanced around his classroom, frowning. He had been gone from school for the past month, fixing what that Ra-be-damned hacker had destroyed. He had been looking forward to seeing Yugi again. He started at the thought. Since when had he grown so fond of Yami's hikari? His eyes narrowed in thought, and he made a quiet wish that Yugi still wanted to come over his mansion. Besides, he wanted to know what exactly had been going on since that wild story of Yami's saying his hikari was a menace. What a load of shit. Yugi couldn't intimidate a flea; he tended to be a pushover. So why exactly did he find himself attracted…? Kaiba shook his head. Mokuba had asked him to invite Yugi over anyway, which was why he was perusing the classroom. But there was only one spiky head present …
Yami was sitting beside Tea and Tristan, chatting happily and looking arrogant. Per usual, there was no Yugi nearby, but (more unusual) there was no Yugi even present in the classroom. Ryou, Bakura, Marik, and Malik were gathered around their own table, talking seriously and casting loathe-filled glances in Yami's direction. Normally, Seto would never lower himself to actually talk to Yugi's crowd (except for Yugi and Serenity), especially the two platinum blondes, but he wanted to know where Yugi was.
All four youths (can you really call the yamis youths, though…?) looked surprised when he stalked over, but they weren't so unbalanced that a recovery was necessary. Bakura sneered at him.
"What do you want, Kaiba?" he snapped. Seto ignored him.
"Ryou, may I have a word? Privately." He sneered back at the suspicious yami. "Had I been going to hurt him, trust me, it would have been more circumspect." Bakura watched reluctantly as Ryou stood and walked away with the CEO.
"Yes, Kaiba?" asked Ryou politely, once they were a distance away.
"Where's Yugi?" That, Ryou had not been expecting.
"Wh-what?" he squeaked. Seto glared.
"Do I really need to repeat myself?"
"N-no. Not at all," he stuttered. "He's … out sick. Yami Yugi could probably let you know how he's doing, but it must be really bad because he's been gone over a week - " Seto's glare increased in power.
"Fine." And he walked away, fuming at the idea of asking that stupid Pharaoh anything. Ryou breathed a barely audible sigh of relief and hurried back to the others to tell them of this latest development.
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He gave in and approached Yami at lunch.
"Hey, baka, you there?" he asked, trying to get Yami's attention. The teen's head whipped around and Seto idly noted that he wasn't even a close second in the looks department to his counterpart's beauty. His smirk grew. "What's with this whole Yugi being sick thing Ryou told me about?" He noted, with no little confusion, that Yami seemed infuriated by the reference to his hikari.
"He's sick. That's it," ground out Yami through clenched teeth. "And stay the fuck away from my light, ass-hole." Seto's smirk vanished and he nearly snarled at Yami.
"I'll talk to him if I damn well please, you arrogant - " He broke off as Tea fidgeted. She was wearing …
"Why is that slut wearing the Millennium Puzzle?" Yami shot a glance at Tea and cursed vividly. She petted it protectively and scowled at Seto.
"Yami's letting me wear it. Yugi betrayed him and threw it away. You've missed a lot Kaiba, or you'd know that Yugi's changed. He's so antisocial and completely arrogant. He actually told me that he was better than us! And if you had seen what - " Seto really did snarl this time.
"What a load of bullshit. You were the ones who shut Yugi out in the first place! And to think you were supposed to be his friends. You traded him in for the world-class butthead!" He jerked his head at Yami. A gasp from behind him made Seto turn. Joey was staring from him to Yami in horror; his chocolate eyes wide and hurt. Mai hugged him close and led him away. Kaiba shook his head. What was that all about? Yami's muttered curse turned him back to the crimson-eyed Egyptian and they engaged in a staring match. Seto won.
``````````````````````````````
"Wheeler, Valentine. A word." Joey and Mai looked up to see Seto Kaiba blocking their path home. Joey was still staring into space in shock, and Mai was worried. Seto let his confusion show. "What is wrong with him?" Mai sighed and looked away.
"You're not gonna like this …" she muttered. "Come on Kaiba. We need to get Joey home." The brown-haired teen looked at her questioningly but did as he was bid. He had to find out what was wrong with Yugi.
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Mai shooed Joey to an armchair and sat beside him. Seto stood.
"You've missed a lot, Kaiba," she said. "And you shot your mouth off too soon. I had hoped to break this to him gently …" She smoothed Joey's hair, and the boy turned to look at her.
"Ya knew?" he whispered. She nodded sympathetically.
"I was afraid you wouldn't believe me if I told you what was really going on. And I'm not sure I know the half of it." Joey let out a sigh of his own, but looked up at his guest's (Kaiba as my guest? he wondered. The world just wants ta shock me taday …) impatience.
"Um, yeah. Kaiba, everyone believed Yami." Seto looked clueless. "About Yuge bein' evil incarnate." The business-teen looked stunned.
"And those who didn't believe were mostly too happy with the poor kid's lowered status to say anything," added Mai. "Yugi went back to being a punching-bag for the school bullies. I've been trying to get near him, but convincing Joey without shocking him took up most of my time."
"… And now, I'm not so sure he's just 'sick,'" muttered Joey slowly. "When I went ta see him yesterday Yami said he was at da doctor's but Yuge told me they had a house doc. He comes to them, not da other way 'round." Mai looked proud of him, but Seto's shock grew. That cut … Yugi's fear … Yugi …
"He's been hurting him!" he snarled. The blondes looked at him in fearful surprise.
"What?!"
"Yugi was hurt. Just awhile before that glitch hit … he showed up at my place with a really nasty cut on his face. And he kept getting jumpy every time Yami was mentioned … that stupid Pharaoh must be hurting him!" He moved toward the door, looking murderous. Joey stopped him.
"If dat's true … ya might make things worse for Yuge if ya go there now," he said softly. "Yami's got Shadow Powers you an' me can only dream of. We should get backup."
"Marik, Malik, Shadi, Ishizu, Bakura and Ryou," said Mai, going to the phone. "I'll call them now. We need to get Yugi outta there." Seto only nodded.
"Tell them …" his voice croaked a bit, and his companions looked at him strangely. "Tell them to meet at my place." Mai nodded, understanding dawning on her face.
"I will," she promised.
*
A/N: I know it's short, but it was a good ending spot and I feel really guilty for not updating in so long. I am dying to type the next chapter – cuz it's so exciting – but I figure to feed you this now as slight compensation and a promise that I will update. It just might take a little time … I hope to have the next one up by tonight or tomorrow, but my relations just got here …
Please review. This story doesn't have many.