Chapter 12: Flame of Friendship II
Kaiba called for a limo and eventually went home. The two sat in complete silence during the ride. Icey never shifted her gaze from the passing scenery outside the window, she chose not to say anything at all. In case Kaiba got annoyed at her for whatever she said. It was obvious that the two had completely different view points. Icey let out a soft sigh and closed her eyes, resting her chin in her hand. Kaiba suddenly reached over and brushed some of her soft hair behind her ears. Icey jerked from the sudden contact, and blushed at his sudden show of emotion. Icey put her hand over his, and gently squeezed it, then leaned into the crook of his arm.
"Aishiteru...zutto zutto desu..." She whispered softly.
Kaiba didn't answer, he just held her even closer, tightening his grip. The amount of space between them gradually closed.
At the Mansion
"Mokie!!!!" Icey called running up the stairs.
Kaiba walked to the foot of the stairs and watched her run up, "Icey, what are you doing??!!"
Icey stopped and turned to him, "I just have things I need to discuss with Mokie, that's all, don't worry, it's not like I'm going to hurt the kid..." She reassured
Icey continued running up the stairs until she approached Mokuba's room. She knocked frantically. From inside came a sudden bustling, as if something was hastily being put into the drawers. Then came silence, and the door finally swung open, to reveal a panicked Mokuba. He instantly relaxed as his eyes came to rest on Icey's visage.
"Don't do that!!! I thought you were Seto!!" He yelled, upon realizing he was yelling he hesitantly looked around, then pulled her into his room, shut and locked the door.
"Relax Mokie, Seto is downstairs...I think..."
"Let me show you something, I've been working on it for ages!!!"
Icey smiled, "Yeah ok, it's for Seto ne?" She wondered.
Mokuba nodded his head, his cobalt eyes shone with glee. He opened his drawer and carefully took out a small Blue Eyes White Dragon model. Icey was shocked, how could such a small boy make something as detailed as that???
"Holy...." She trailed off. "Wow, Seto is going to LOVE that!!!"
"I hope he does..." Mokuba said quietly, hiding his modesty.
"Trust me, he will. But anyway, we still have a lot of preparing to do. Where do you think we should hold this little 'gathering'. Who should come, and when should we spring this little trap?" Icey asked.
Mokuba thought for a moment, "Well, I was thinking we invite everyone. We have this so called 'trap' right here, downstairs, and we'll spring it day on the actual day, how's that?"
"Great, that's great. Now all we need to do is get this wheel spinning..." She trailed off, thinking about wheels made her think about Joey. She wondered briefly how he was doing and whether they had come up with a solution of some sort. She blinked out of her thoughts and smiled at the small boy, "Well then, I suppose I should go and start making some things to eat on the day... Which should be no problem. Keyword being, 'should'!!" Icey laughed softly at her own joke, then walked out.
Icey walked silently down the stairs, she eventually reached the kitchen...and walked past it to the door leading to the patio outside where a large garden chair, which also served as an oversized swing sat. Surprisingly, Icey found her sword there, puzzled she picked it up and sat down, running her fingers along the cool metal blade and over the ancient inscriptions carved into it.
"Icey," An extremely familiar voice said.
Icey looked up to see Astret, it had been a while since they last spoke. Not to mention the fact that it felt weird to be talking to the spirit of your past life. Icey briefly wondered how Yugi managed it before Yami got his own body.
"Hey..." Was all Icey said in reply.
Astret sat down, "I understand your situation well Icey. And there is not much that I can do to help. Tristan will not relent on his path. Nor will he come to his senses. He must be stopped...permanently, you do understand this don't you Icey?" She asked.
Icey sighed and looked at her past self, a confused and fearful glint was in her eyes. She half heartedly nodded,
"I know that Astret, but we don't even know where to look for Serenity. Joey isn't taking this too well either and..."
"Not easy is it?" Astret asked, smiling slightly.
Icey laughed softly, "No it isn't." She sighed. "Well I certainly didn't expect this to happen. It wasn't on my 'list of things to do when older' list...."
"You actually have a list?" Astret wondered.
"Figure of speech," Icey replied, rolling her eyes slightly.
She then heard the door open, and footsteps approach,
"Who are you talking to out here?" Kaiba asked her, not seeing Astret beside Icey as of yet.
Icey nodded her head in the Goddess's direction.
"Yeah I gathered..." He answered. "Long time no see, or do you only show up at the most dramatic moments?"
"Well I see YOU still haven't changed, rebirth or no rebirth. Still the uptight idiot I knew 5000 years ago..." Astret shot back.
Kaiba smirked, then turned to Icey who sat puzzled at the two arguing. "Now Icey, lately I've been noticing you and Mokuba have been, shall we say, secretive? Just what is going on?" He demanded.
Icey thought for a moment, sending a pleading look over at Astret who merely shrugged. "Umm...well it's like this...um well I, he...you..." Icey suddenly pointed in some random direction. "Look Seto, a FUO I mean UFO, no wait, it's actually Ghadious!!"
Kaiba didn't bother to look, he just stared at her bluntly. Icey still took to the opportunity and bolted. Kaiba stared after her, sighing softly.
"Baka..." He whispered flatly.
Astret decided to speak up, "Well whatever they are planning, it is purely unimportant. Serenity is more important. If we move too slowly what will we do if she ends up getting killed?"
Kaiba scoffed, "To be completely honest with you, I wouldn't really care..."
"Are you sure?" Astret asked, trying to get the truth out of him.
Kaiba stayed silent for another few seconds, "I'm positive, and before you- " He would have voiced a very rude insult, but he heard a small cry come from inside. "Icey," was all he uttered before running inside.
Astret smiled, "And here you said you don't care..." She whispered to herself.
Kaiba never imagined he could run so fast, and by the time he reached Icey..............
It turned out that she was fine, she was just sprawled on the floor in a mess of tangled purple hair. Kaiba fell over (A/N: Next time I say this, I mean like in anime... just clearing it up... ")
"Icey, what happened...?" Kaiba asked, suddenly feeling not too eager to know.
Icey untangled herself and stood up, a childish grin on her face, "Nothing really, just had a quick trip." Her expression suddenly grew serious, the next part she added more reluctantly, "Seto, I know where Tristan is...I don't know how, but i have this sixth sense telling me he's....in the Shadow Realm..."
"And...?"
"We need to tell the others right now!!" Icey replied, somewhat frantically.
"But first..." He turned to the stairs, "Mokuba!!! Get down here right now!!"
Within seconds, Mokuba appeared at the top of them, staring down at the two.
"Nani o, ni-chan?" He asked.
"What's this big secret? Does it have anything to do with a certain day?" Kaiba answered.
Icey looked up at the small boy, a look of mixed emotions on her face. All of which strongly signaled 'NO!!'
Mokuba saw this, but still couldn't lie to his big brother. Mainly because he was one of those people where they expect a truthful answer or things would start to look grim.
"...Yes..." Came his small reply.
Kaiba growled, "Mokuba, you know I hate it when you tell personal things about our past!! Icey does not need to know such things!!!"
Mokuba cringed, "B-but Seto..." Mokuba began.
"That's enough Mokuba!!!" Kaiba yelled. "I have to put up with more then I bargained for even since the day Icey moved in!! The day of our adoption is of no concern to her!! Do I make myself clear, Mokuba????!!!"
Even Icey cringed at the anger behind Kaiba's tone. Whoever said 'Hell hath no fury like a demon scorched' was obviously speaking from past experiences.
"Seto, don't you think that you're a little too-" Icey was interrupted by a raging Kaiba.
"Shut up Icey!!" He turned back to Mokuba, who looked just about scared. "And as for you, whatever you are planning I suggest you stop it now before I really get annoyed!!" With that, Kaiba walked away and out the front door.
Icey watched him, how could he have been so mean? "Seto..." She called after him. Then turned to Mokuba, he seemed angry and upset all at once, he then turned and was about to storm off, "Mokie!!! Just..."
"..Keep going right?" Mokuba asked. "...I know Icey...I will..."
Icey smiled slightly and then ran after Kaiba. "What was that Seto?" She asked, slightly out of breath.
"Do you need to ask?" He asked back in his oh-so-familiar icy tone.
Icey grabbed his arm, forcing him to a stop. By this time, they stopped just by the front gates of the Mansion. "Seto please. Mokuba didn't mean to upset you. He just wants to..."
"Look, Icey. What happened all those years back does not have anything to do with you," Kaiba turned his back to her.
Icey looked down to the ground, "You're brothers Seto, you shouldn't be yelling like that..." She said softly.
Kaiba's cold mask softened slightly, the next thing he knew was someone's warm arms around him and someone's face against his back. Kaiba turned his head to look at her out the corner of his eye.
"Aishiteru...Seto," She whispered.
Kaiba tensed up, then eventually relaxed. He placed his hands over hers.
"Icey..." He escaped her grip and slowly turned to face her, cupping her face in his hands.
Icey realized it then, the gentleness he showed only to her. She placed both her hands on top of his, closing her amethyst eyes. Icey's face heated up, probably from the sudden surge of emotions in Kaiba. Without any warning at all, Kaiba then touched his lips on hers. Icey flinched slightly, but soon gave in to his affectionate hold. Kaiba pulled back, his blue eyes were, for the first time, confused and unfocused. Icey buried her face into his chest. Kaiba closed his blue eyes, then stepped back from her.
"Let's go..."
At Joey's place.......again...
Malik groaned, "Ok, so let's go over this ONE more time..." He counted on his fingers as he spoke. "Serenity was kidnapped, yeah? Tristan has converted, yes? And we have NO idea where the HELL they are, am I right?"
"More or less..." Bakura snapped
"Yeah, it's all crystal clear to me now..." Malik said sarcastically.
"Guys, maybe you could turn the sarcasm down just a bit. Joey isn't too happy at the moment y'know?" Tea said worriedly.
Yugi sweatdropped, "Yea I reckon, all this is..." He paused when he heard someone approaching.
"What is it, Hikari?" Yami asked.
"Baka! You ahould be able to sense what's coming!!" Bakura scolded.
Joey silently stood and made his way to the door, he stood there for a few seconds before grasping the handle and turning it and pulling the door open.
"Still feeling sorry for yourself? I knew you wren't man enough to face your problems!!" Kaiba's harsh voice rang throught the silence. He walked in and faced the others. "We know where Tristan is,"
Eight heads snapped up, and eight pairs of eyes were locked on to Kaiba as he said this.
"Where??!" Tea cried desperately.
"He's in the Shadow Realm," Icey stated calmly.
Bakura's chocolate brown eyes widened, "The Shadow Realm?"
Malik stood up, a small smirk on his face, "Well, I don't see /i we're waiting for, but let's get going!!! Bakura's Millennium Ring specializes in sending people to the Shadow Realm, so it should have no problem with sending us all there!!"
Ryou looked uncertain, "Are you sure that you can bring us all back?" He asked, obviously he was adressing his yami.
"More or less, Hikari. But there is no need for all of us to go. Things could look grim in there, and you can't forget the strain of the Shadow Realm. Right Yugi?" Bakura replied, sneering at the little boy.
"That's right," His mind wandered back to the pain he felt when he duelled Pegasus in Duelist Kingdom, as Pegasus took the duel to the Shadow Realm.
Bakura smirked, "Alright, now thats settled, the three of you will stay behind!!" He announced. The 'three' being Yugi, Ryou and Tea.
The Millennium Ring around Bakura's neck began to glow (A/N: Why /i has it I don't know ok? So don't bother asking me about it) and the next thing everyone knew, was utter darkness surrounding them, a thick purple mist swirled throught the dense air, making it somewhat harder to breathe.
"So how shall we announce ourselves as we go in?" Malik asked, "Can I start the show?"
"Wait!!" Astret said, popping up out of nowhere.
Kaiba clenched a fist, "You really /i wait for the most dramatic moment don't you?" He asked.
Astret said nothing so Bakura spoke up instead, "What do you want woman?"
Astret sighed, "Still holding a grudge against me?" She changed the subject to one of more importance, "I think you'll need this, Joey." Astret held Icey's sword in front of her.
Icey slid up to her former self, pointing to the sword then to herself, "But that's mine...."
"It's not yours, it was originally mine, and now I'm giving it to Joey, I know he can harness it's powers well..."The goddess replied,handing him the long sword.
Joey reached out and gently took it from her hands, and on cue, it began to glow a soft yellow. Joey personally had /i clue what was going on. It was clear from the expression he had plastered on his face. And with that, Astret disappeared again.
Joey looked up, determination glazed over his eyes, "Serenity...I'm coming to you now..."
Meanwhile
Serenity blinked, the bubble was filling up with water,
"The water...!" She managed to say, before being forced to take a deep breath as the water washed over her head.
Tristan stared up at her, "Yes, suffer, this is how all of your pitiful lives will end..." His attention drifted to the sudden light coming from across the cavern. The light soon gave way to an explosion which rocked the walls.
As the light faded, there stood Joey, with everyone else behind him.
"About time..." Tristan said darkly.
"Let Serenity go Tristan, or I'll-" Joey was cut off.
"Or you'll do /i??!" Tristan scoffed.
Joey continued, "The only things that matter to me now are my true friends who will help one another defeat Ghadious. And to save Serenity, I will kill you!!"
"Is that so? Then I guess you'll have to do it before she drowns!!" Tristan spoke, gesturing to the bubble.
Serenity opened her eyes, "Joey! No, don't fight him!!" (A/N: How she can talk whilst in water I don't know. This is FICTION here people, use your imaginations!!)
Kaiba got into a fighting stance along with Joey, Yami and Bakura, "Let's go..."
Tristan smirked, he spread his arms wide. Droplets of water hovered up from the ground, and Tristan sent them all flying towards the group. And they discovered just how painful water can be. They pelted the skin, one after the other, an endless barrage of attacks.
Joey gritted his teeth, shielding his face with his arms. The yellow Eye of Horus shone on his forehead. Kaiba was the same.
The tall blonde suddenly felt it, something inside him tweaked. It was as if he knew exactly how his powers worked, what he was capable of. And from out of nowhere, Astret's voice was heard, "I have unlocked you and Seto's powers now Joey. I know you both know how to use them. You can't lose to this Joey!!" She was saying.
Joey shut his eyes tightly, "I can't!!!" He yelled.
"For Serenity!!" Malik cried.
Joey opened his brown orbs of his. Serenity. He had to. /i to. Relaxing he closed his eyes again, while concentrating his life force. "Ban bukyuu chou hou na hobaku....KAN!!!" With a sudden surge of energy, a thin ribbon of light erupted from the blade of the sword, it hit it's mark at full force, causinf Tristan to slide backwards a few feet.
Bakura was shocked, "Incredible...."
Kaiba felt the same, "Yeah...no shit..."
Serenity saw this, saw how Joey was being hurt as he had just physically damaged his friend, "Tristan!! Stop this!!! Can't you see that Joey still loves you??!!! Don't you see how this is hurting him???"
Tristan gritted his teeth, "SILENCE!!!!" He roared.
Serenity didn't silence, she kept yelling, as tears welled up in her eyes mixing with the water inside the bubble which held her captive. "If...if you were his friend... Then you would understand that!!!"
Joey had a small smile on his face, "Tristan, I swear, I'll save you...." With that his body materialized in a red glow, reappearing behind Tristan where he now held him. "Hey Kaiba!!!" Joey yelled. "Use that attack again!!!! He's put up a water barrier!!!!! Concentrate everything on the water barrier!!! If you do, the barrier will break, and the attack will reach inside!!!!"
Kaiba's eyes widened, "...But if I do that, your body will be...."
Tristan looked back at his former best friend, "I must say, your penetrating my water barrier is impressive. But it's taking all of your strength to hold me hold. His attack? That amateurish attack will /i work!!"
Kaiba kept a firm grip on the sword, not knowing what to do, sure, he had always dreamed of killing Joey, but now....
"Kaiba!!" Serenity called, she was growing weak, and her lungs felt like they were going burst, they needed air....badly. "Save Joey....please..." And then, her eyes closed all on their own, her body drooped.
Kaiba gritted his teeth. Should he?
"Seto!!!" Icey called. He looked over to her, Icey had a clear look of determination on her face. And that was enough for him.
"Alright Joey!!!" Kaiba yelled, focusing his life force into the sword. Once enough energy was generated, he swung the sword. Sending the ki blast over to Tristan.
(A/N: not sick of me interrupting are you? Sorry, 'ki' means life force, or energy. I'll be using instead coz it sounds better lol)
The bright light was blinding, "Let me go, Joey...." He whispered, his eyes were wide.
Joey said nothing, he just smiled through his tears, "You don't need to be afraid Tristan, I'm here with you, and we'll both be reunited soon...."
"LET ME GO JOEY!!!" Tristan screamed, only to be muffled by the ki blast as it hit. "....What???!! The barrier's collapsing....and the blast....."
Joey stood, shocked as Tristan fell to the ground. The bubble holding Serenity popped, and she fell to the floor. Malik ran and slid beneath her, managing to catch her. Serenity coughed, gasping for air.
Malik turned back to the others, his soft lavender eyes were happy, "We did it guys!!!!"
Icey slumped to the floor, "Yeah....we did....man my nerves, I almost had a heart attack, you jerk..."
"But you did nothing!!" Marik objected.
"Just shut up..." Kaiba snapped.
Joey knelt down beside Tristan's body, his hand firmly held in his own.
"Why aren't you letting go of my hand....?" Tristan asked.
"Because, we're friends right? I wouldn't let go..." Joey tried to smile.
"We'll be reunited huh? You're still such a nice guy. That's why we were best friends. But then I hated you, and let a demon possess me. So, yeah, I'm the one who messed it up." Tristan's hand was dissolving into water, it flowed through Joey's grasp. "What idiots we were Joey....Could real best friends, ever be so quick to hate one another....?"
Joey's eyes widened, the tears which settled in his eyes were now rolling steadily down his face, "What are you saying??? You're my dearest friend.....even now. When you left the first time, I felt...I couldn't move. If I had the powers I have now, I would have.....I..." He violently shook his head, Tristan's hand had dissolved away completely, along with the rest of his body, "TRISTAN!!!!"
Icey buried her face into Kaiba's shoulder, not able to watch what was happening....
Joey remained kneeling on the ground, water dripped from his hand onto the ground. He swore to have heard Tristan's voice, whisper,
"Sumanna..." (Forgive me)
Icey's note: Not very tear jerking is it? Don't worry, trust me, the next tragedy is as tear jerking as I could make it. Who it is, you'll have to wait to find out.
Oh, and in case your thinking, 'hmmm, this sounded very familiar...' don't sue me yet. This and chapter 11 were inspired by a Fushigi Yuugi OVA episode. So don't hurt me!!! There I admitted it!!
Kaiba called for a limo and eventually went home. The two sat in complete silence during the ride. Icey never shifted her gaze from the passing scenery outside the window, she chose not to say anything at all. In case Kaiba got annoyed at her for whatever she said. It was obvious that the two had completely different view points. Icey let out a soft sigh and closed her eyes, resting her chin in her hand. Kaiba suddenly reached over and brushed some of her soft hair behind her ears. Icey jerked from the sudden contact, and blushed at his sudden show of emotion. Icey put her hand over his, and gently squeezed it, then leaned into the crook of his arm.
"Aishiteru...zutto zutto desu..." She whispered softly.
Kaiba didn't answer, he just held her even closer, tightening his grip. The amount of space between them gradually closed.
At the Mansion
"Mokie!!!!" Icey called running up the stairs.
Kaiba walked to the foot of the stairs and watched her run up, "Icey, what are you doing??!!"
Icey stopped and turned to him, "I just have things I need to discuss with Mokie, that's all, don't worry, it's not like I'm going to hurt the kid..." She reassured
Icey continued running up the stairs until she approached Mokuba's room. She knocked frantically. From inside came a sudden bustling, as if something was hastily being put into the drawers. Then came silence, and the door finally swung open, to reveal a panicked Mokuba. He instantly relaxed as his eyes came to rest on Icey's visage.
"Don't do that!!! I thought you were Seto!!" He yelled, upon realizing he was yelling he hesitantly looked around, then pulled her into his room, shut and locked the door.
"Relax Mokie, Seto is downstairs...I think..."
"Let me show you something, I've been working on it for ages!!!"
Icey smiled, "Yeah ok, it's for Seto ne?" She wondered.
Mokuba nodded his head, his cobalt eyes shone with glee. He opened his drawer and carefully took out a small Blue Eyes White Dragon model. Icey was shocked, how could such a small boy make something as detailed as that???
"Holy...." She trailed off. "Wow, Seto is going to LOVE that!!!"
"I hope he does..." Mokuba said quietly, hiding his modesty.
"Trust me, he will. But anyway, we still have a lot of preparing to do. Where do you think we should hold this little 'gathering'. Who should come, and when should we spring this little trap?" Icey asked.
Mokuba thought for a moment, "Well, I was thinking we invite everyone. We have this so called 'trap' right here, downstairs, and we'll spring it day on the actual day, how's that?"
"Great, that's great. Now all we need to do is get this wheel spinning..." She trailed off, thinking about wheels made her think about Joey. She wondered briefly how he was doing and whether they had come up with a solution of some sort. She blinked out of her thoughts and smiled at the small boy, "Well then, I suppose I should go and start making some things to eat on the day... Which should be no problem. Keyword being, 'should'!!" Icey laughed softly at her own joke, then walked out.
Icey walked silently down the stairs, she eventually reached the kitchen...and walked past it to the door leading to the patio outside where a large garden chair, which also served as an oversized swing sat. Surprisingly, Icey found her sword there, puzzled she picked it up and sat down, running her fingers along the cool metal blade and over the ancient inscriptions carved into it.
"Icey," An extremely familiar voice said.
Icey looked up to see Astret, it had been a while since they last spoke. Not to mention the fact that it felt weird to be talking to the spirit of your past life. Icey briefly wondered how Yugi managed it before Yami got his own body.
"Hey..." Was all Icey said in reply.
Astret sat down, "I understand your situation well Icey. And there is not much that I can do to help. Tristan will not relent on his path. Nor will he come to his senses. He must be stopped...permanently, you do understand this don't you Icey?" She asked.
Icey sighed and looked at her past self, a confused and fearful glint was in her eyes. She half heartedly nodded,
"I know that Astret, but we don't even know where to look for Serenity. Joey isn't taking this too well either and..."
"Not easy is it?" Astret asked, smiling slightly.
Icey laughed softly, "No it isn't." She sighed. "Well I certainly didn't expect this to happen. It wasn't on my 'list of things to do when older' list...."
"You actually have a list?" Astret wondered.
"Figure of speech," Icey replied, rolling her eyes slightly.
She then heard the door open, and footsteps approach,
"Who are you talking to out here?" Kaiba asked her, not seeing Astret beside Icey as of yet.
Icey nodded her head in the Goddess's direction.
"Yeah I gathered..." He answered. "Long time no see, or do you only show up at the most dramatic moments?"
"Well I see YOU still haven't changed, rebirth or no rebirth. Still the uptight idiot I knew 5000 years ago..." Astret shot back.
Kaiba smirked, then turned to Icey who sat puzzled at the two arguing. "Now Icey, lately I've been noticing you and Mokuba have been, shall we say, secretive? Just what is going on?" He demanded.
Icey thought for a moment, sending a pleading look over at Astret who merely shrugged. "Umm...well it's like this...um well I, he...you..." Icey suddenly pointed in some random direction. "Look Seto, a FUO I mean UFO, no wait, it's actually Ghadious!!"
Kaiba didn't bother to look, he just stared at her bluntly. Icey still took to the opportunity and bolted. Kaiba stared after her, sighing softly.
"Baka..." He whispered flatly.
Astret decided to speak up, "Well whatever they are planning, it is purely unimportant. Serenity is more important. If we move too slowly what will we do if she ends up getting killed?"
Kaiba scoffed, "To be completely honest with you, I wouldn't really care..."
"Are you sure?" Astret asked, trying to get the truth out of him.
Kaiba stayed silent for another few seconds, "I'm positive, and before you- " He would have voiced a very rude insult, but he heard a small cry come from inside. "Icey," was all he uttered before running inside.
Astret smiled, "And here you said you don't care..." She whispered to herself.
Kaiba never imagined he could run so fast, and by the time he reached Icey..............
It turned out that she was fine, she was just sprawled on the floor in a mess of tangled purple hair. Kaiba fell over (A/N: Next time I say this, I mean like in anime... just clearing it up... ")
"Icey, what happened...?" Kaiba asked, suddenly feeling not too eager to know.
Icey untangled herself and stood up, a childish grin on her face, "Nothing really, just had a quick trip." Her expression suddenly grew serious, the next part she added more reluctantly, "Seto, I know where Tristan is...I don't know how, but i have this sixth sense telling me he's....in the Shadow Realm..."
"And...?"
"We need to tell the others right now!!" Icey replied, somewhat frantically.
"But first..." He turned to the stairs, "Mokuba!!! Get down here right now!!"
Within seconds, Mokuba appeared at the top of them, staring down at the two.
"Nani o, ni-chan?" He asked.
"What's this big secret? Does it have anything to do with a certain day?" Kaiba answered.
Icey looked up at the small boy, a look of mixed emotions on her face. All of which strongly signaled 'NO!!'
Mokuba saw this, but still couldn't lie to his big brother. Mainly because he was one of those people where they expect a truthful answer or things would start to look grim.
"...Yes..." Came his small reply.
Kaiba growled, "Mokuba, you know I hate it when you tell personal things about our past!! Icey does not need to know such things!!!"
Mokuba cringed, "B-but Seto..." Mokuba began.
"That's enough Mokuba!!!" Kaiba yelled. "I have to put up with more then I bargained for even since the day Icey moved in!! The day of our adoption is of no concern to her!! Do I make myself clear, Mokuba????!!!"
Even Icey cringed at the anger behind Kaiba's tone. Whoever said 'Hell hath no fury like a demon scorched' was obviously speaking from past experiences.
"Seto, don't you think that you're a little too-" Icey was interrupted by a raging Kaiba.
"Shut up Icey!!" He turned back to Mokuba, who looked just about scared. "And as for you, whatever you are planning I suggest you stop it now before I really get annoyed!!" With that, Kaiba walked away and out the front door.
Icey watched him, how could he have been so mean? "Seto..." She called after him. Then turned to Mokuba, he seemed angry and upset all at once, he then turned and was about to storm off, "Mokie!!! Just..."
"..Keep going right?" Mokuba asked. "...I know Icey...I will..."
Icey smiled slightly and then ran after Kaiba. "What was that Seto?" She asked, slightly out of breath.
"Do you need to ask?" He asked back in his oh-so-familiar icy tone.
Icey grabbed his arm, forcing him to a stop. By this time, they stopped just by the front gates of the Mansion. "Seto please. Mokuba didn't mean to upset you. He just wants to..."
"Look, Icey. What happened all those years back does not have anything to do with you," Kaiba turned his back to her.
Icey looked down to the ground, "You're brothers Seto, you shouldn't be yelling like that..." She said softly.
Kaiba's cold mask softened slightly, the next thing he knew was someone's warm arms around him and someone's face against his back. Kaiba turned his head to look at her out the corner of his eye.
"Aishiteru...Seto," She whispered.
Kaiba tensed up, then eventually relaxed. He placed his hands over hers.
"Icey..." He escaped her grip and slowly turned to face her, cupping her face in his hands.
Icey realized it then, the gentleness he showed only to her. She placed both her hands on top of his, closing her amethyst eyes. Icey's face heated up, probably from the sudden surge of emotions in Kaiba. Without any warning at all, Kaiba then touched his lips on hers. Icey flinched slightly, but soon gave in to his affectionate hold. Kaiba pulled back, his blue eyes were, for the first time, confused and unfocused. Icey buried her face into his chest. Kaiba closed his blue eyes, then stepped back from her.
"Let's go..."
At Joey's place.......again...
Malik groaned, "Ok, so let's go over this ONE more time..." He counted on his fingers as he spoke. "Serenity was kidnapped, yeah? Tristan has converted, yes? And we have NO idea where the HELL they are, am I right?"
"More or less..." Bakura snapped
"Yeah, it's all crystal clear to me now..." Malik said sarcastically.
"Guys, maybe you could turn the sarcasm down just a bit. Joey isn't too happy at the moment y'know?" Tea said worriedly.
Yugi sweatdropped, "Yea I reckon, all this is..." He paused when he heard someone approaching.
"What is it, Hikari?" Yami asked.
"Baka! You ahould be able to sense what's coming!!" Bakura scolded.
Joey silently stood and made his way to the door, he stood there for a few seconds before grasping the handle and turning it and pulling the door open.
"Still feeling sorry for yourself? I knew you wren't man enough to face your problems!!" Kaiba's harsh voice rang throught the silence. He walked in and faced the others. "We know where Tristan is,"
Eight heads snapped up, and eight pairs of eyes were locked on to Kaiba as he said this.
"Where??!" Tea cried desperately.
"He's in the Shadow Realm," Icey stated calmly.
Bakura's chocolate brown eyes widened, "The Shadow Realm?"
Malik stood up, a small smirk on his face, "Well, I don't see /i we're waiting for, but let's get going!!! Bakura's Millennium Ring specializes in sending people to the Shadow Realm, so it should have no problem with sending us all there!!"
Ryou looked uncertain, "Are you sure that you can bring us all back?" He asked, obviously he was adressing his yami.
"More or less, Hikari. But there is no need for all of us to go. Things could look grim in there, and you can't forget the strain of the Shadow Realm. Right Yugi?" Bakura replied, sneering at the little boy.
"That's right," His mind wandered back to the pain he felt when he duelled Pegasus in Duelist Kingdom, as Pegasus took the duel to the Shadow Realm.
Bakura smirked, "Alright, now thats settled, the three of you will stay behind!!" He announced. The 'three' being Yugi, Ryou and Tea.
The Millennium Ring around Bakura's neck began to glow (A/N: Why /i has it I don't know ok? So don't bother asking me about it) and the next thing everyone knew, was utter darkness surrounding them, a thick purple mist swirled throught the dense air, making it somewhat harder to breathe.
"So how shall we announce ourselves as we go in?" Malik asked, "Can I start the show?"
"Wait!!" Astret said, popping up out of nowhere.
Kaiba clenched a fist, "You really /i wait for the most dramatic moment don't you?" He asked.
Astret said nothing so Bakura spoke up instead, "What do you want woman?"
Astret sighed, "Still holding a grudge against me?" She changed the subject to one of more importance, "I think you'll need this, Joey." Astret held Icey's sword in front of her.
Icey slid up to her former self, pointing to the sword then to herself, "But that's mine...."
"It's not yours, it was originally mine, and now I'm giving it to Joey, I know he can harness it's powers well..."The goddess replied,handing him the long sword.
Joey reached out and gently took it from her hands, and on cue, it began to glow a soft yellow. Joey personally had /i clue what was going on. It was clear from the expression he had plastered on his face. And with that, Astret disappeared again.
Joey looked up, determination glazed over his eyes, "Serenity...I'm coming to you now..."
Meanwhile
Serenity blinked, the bubble was filling up with water,
"The water...!" She managed to say, before being forced to take a deep breath as the water washed over her head.
Tristan stared up at her, "Yes, suffer, this is how all of your pitiful lives will end..." His attention drifted to the sudden light coming from across the cavern. The light soon gave way to an explosion which rocked the walls.
As the light faded, there stood Joey, with everyone else behind him.
"About time..." Tristan said darkly.
"Let Serenity go Tristan, or I'll-" Joey was cut off.
"Or you'll do /i??!" Tristan scoffed.
Joey continued, "The only things that matter to me now are my true friends who will help one another defeat Ghadious. And to save Serenity, I will kill you!!"
"Is that so? Then I guess you'll have to do it before she drowns!!" Tristan spoke, gesturing to the bubble.
Serenity opened her eyes, "Joey! No, don't fight him!!" (A/N: How she can talk whilst in water I don't know. This is FICTION here people, use your imaginations!!)
Kaiba got into a fighting stance along with Joey, Yami and Bakura, "Let's go..."
Tristan smirked, he spread his arms wide. Droplets of water hovered up from the ground, and Tristan sent them all flying towards the group. And they discovered just how painful water can be. They pelted the skin, one after the other, an endless barrage of attacks.
Joey gritted his teeth, shielding his face with his arms. The yellow Eye of Horus shone on his forehead. Kaiba was the same.
The tall blonde suddenly felt it, something inside him tweaked. It was as if he knew exactly how his powers worked, what he was capable of. And from out of nowhere, Astret's voice was heard, "I have unlocked you and Seto's powers now Joey. I know you both know how to use them. You can't lose to this Joey!!" She was saying.
Joey shut his eyes tightly, "I can't!!!" He yelled.
"For Serenity!!" Malik cried.
Joey opened his brown orbs of his. Serenity. He had to. /i to. Relaxing he closed his eyes again, while concentrating his life force. "Ban bukyuu chou hou na hobaku....KAN!!!" With a sudden surge of energy, a thin ribbon of light erupted from the blade of the sword, it hit it's mark at full force, causinf Tristan to slide backwards a few feet.
Bakura was shocked, "Incredible...."
Kaiba felt the same, "Yeah...no shit..."
Serenity saw this, saw how Joey was being hurt as he had just physically damaged his friend, "Tristan!! Stop this!!! Can't you see that Joey still loves you??!!! Don't you see how this is hurting him???"
Tristan gritted his teeth, "SILENCE!!!!" He roared.
Serenity didn't silence, she kept yelling, as tears welled up in her eyes mixing with the water inside the bubble which held her captive. "If...if you were his friend... Then you would understand that!!!"
Joey had a small smile on his face, "Tristan, I swear, I'll save you...." With that his body materialized in a red glow, reappearing behind Tristan where he now held him. "Hey Kaiba!!!" Joey yelled. "Use that attack again!!!! He's put up a water barrier!!!!! Concentrate everything on the water barrier!!! If you do, the barrier will break, and the attack will reach inside!!!!"
Kaiba's eyes widened, "...But if I do that, your body will be...."
Tristan looked back at his former best friend, "I must say, your penetrating my water barrier is impressive. But it's taking all of your strength to hold me hold. His attack? That amateurish attack will /i work!!"
Kaiba kept a firm grip on the sword, not knowing what to do, sure, he had always dreamed of killing Joey, but now....
"Kaiba!!" Serenity called, she was growing weak, and her lungs felt like they were going burst, they needed air....badly. "Save Joey....please..." And then, her eyes closed all on their own, her body drooped.
Kaiba gritted his teeth. Should he?
"Seto!!!" Icey called. He looked over to her, Icey had a clear look of determination on her face. And that was enough for him.
"Alright Joey!!!" Kaiba yelled, focusing his life force into the sword. Once enough energy was generated, he swung the sword. Sending the ki blast over to Tristan.
(A/N: not sick of me interrupting are you? Sorry, 'ki' means life force, or energy. I'll be using instead coz it sounds better lol)
The bright light was blinding, "Let me go, Joey...." He whispered, his eyes were wide.
Joey said nothing, he just smiled through his tears, "You don't need to be afraid Tristan, I'm here with you, and we'll both be reunited soon...."
"LET ME GO JOEY!!!" Tristan screamed, only to be muffled by the ki blast as it hit. "....What???!! The barrier's collapsing....and the blast....."
Joey stood, shocked as Tristan fell to the ground. The bubble holding Serenity popped, and she fell to the floor. Malik ran and slid beneath her, managing to catch her. Serenity coughed, gasping for air.
Malik turned back to the others, his soft lavender eyes were happy, "We did it guys!!!!"
Icey slumped to the floor, "Yeah....we did....man my nerves, I almost had a heart attack, you jerk..."
"But you did nothing!!" Marik objected.
"Just shut up..." Kaiba snapped.
Joey knelt down beside Tristan's body, his hand firmly held in his own.
"Why aren't you letting go of my hand....?" Tristan asked.
"Because, we're friends right? I wouldn't let go..." Joey tried to smile.
"We'll be reunited huh? You're still such a nice guy. That's why we were best friends. But then I hated you, and let a demon possess me. So, yeah, I'm the one who messed it up." Tristan's hand was dissolving into water, it flowed through Joey's grasp. "What idiots we were Joey....Could real best friends, ever be so quick to hate one another....?"
Joey's eyes widened, the tears which settled in his eyes were now rolling steadily down his face, "What are you saying??? You're my dearest friend.....even now. When you left the first time, I felt...I couldn't move. If I had the powers I have now, I would have.....I..." He violently shook his head, Tristan's hand had dissolved away completely, along with the rest of his body, "TRISTAN!!!!"
Icey buried her face into Kaiba's shoulder, not able to watch what was happening....
Joey remained kneeling on the ground, water dripped from his hand onto the ground. He swore to have heard Tristan's voice, whisper,
"Sumanna..." (Forgive me)
Icey's note: Not very tear jerking is it? Don't worry, trust me, the next tragedy is as tear jerking as I could make it. Who it is, you'll have to wait to find out.
Oh, and in case your thinking, 'hmmm, this sounded very familiar...' don't sue me yet. This and chapter 11 were inspired by a Fushigi Yuugi OVA episode. So don't hurt me!!! There I admitted it!!