Drifting Away Chapter 9: A Spark In The Fire, a yu-gi-oh fanfic

Ichigo- SO SO SO SO SOOOORRRYYY! 2 months of not updating is so lonnnggg! Sorry!

Bakura- ichigo got us lost in McDonald's for a week…

Kaiba- and once we were out, we went west because we thought that that was where our basement was.

Ichigo- little did we know that our basement of wonders was just across the street

Kaiba- -- little did YOU know….

Bakura- kaiba! You were the one who told us to go left!

Kaiba- my compass said so!

Bakura- your compass is broken! Remember? Ichigo thought she could use it for hockey…

Ichigo- I scored a point with it, remember!?!?!

Kaiba- OH YEA! that was awesome!

Ichigo- anyways, please don't flame! Please read and review!

Drifting Away- A Spark In The Fire

Don Don walked down a corridor of the 13th floor of the company building, digging his hands deep inside his jean pockets. He strolled down, remembering every word his uncle told him a while ago.

"My brother was weak. And I didn't do all of this just to make you just like your father…To watch the helpless crawl is more appealing." The boy's fragile eyes turned ice cold as he frowned deeply.

--Don Don's POV—

I gritted my teeth and clenched my hands into a ball, leaning onto the wall. I'll never forgive my father for what he had done. Never. Never allow myself to even consider the slightest bit of doubt because, just like what my uncle said, my father was weak. And I'll never forgive my mother for following his footsteps and abandon me. The only way to survive this world is by trust. And if I die because I didn't trust my parents, then I'll die. But because my uncle took my brother and I in, the least I can do is show my gratitude and respect towards him.

It's appealing. Almost fun to see this girl act so normal and yet quiver whenever speaking of her parents. Such a stupid girl Tea Gardener is. No. She's not ignorant anymore. She's beyond that point. Beyond that point where she can go back. Such a stupid girl to think that she can just go on with her life while still thinking of the safety of her mother. She'll break down eventually. And when she breaks down, Kaiba will break down. And that's all that matters now. To see the helpless crawl.

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Kaiba dug into a pile of papers that seemed to be sitting on his desk for a couple of days. His face bore the resemblance of his older self. The pale and cold face everyone knew as the CEO of KaibaCorp. He looked around to no avail. The young boy sighed helplessly and ran his hand into his brown hair, continuing his quest to fix his company.

A paper dropped. One Kaiba noticed all of a sudden. He raised an eyebrow, picking the single sheet and reading it.

In it was a company's request to be sister companies. As to agree in partnership. He remembered that he turned that offer down, thinking that another company would just get in his way.

He looked down at the signature and the name shot a spark in his head. Kuwaba. He heard that name before. He knew of Donichiwa Kuwaba. But it wasn't he who strucke his mind and gave him an eerie feeling. All of a sudden, as if a light bulb appears, Kaiba began to remember.

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Flashback

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"And now! The quarter-finals of the 6th annual Duel Monsters Championship," the announcer spoke loudly into the microphone, gesturing with his hands. Kaiba stood proudly in line with 4 other duelists. He smirked, already knowing the outcome of the finals. It was he that was going to win. Just like every yea.

Beside him were two people. One short, known as Rex Raptor. Kaiba smirked at him. Dueling him would be a waste of his time. He could easily beat him, with his eyes closed if he had to. Behind him stood a boy, not much taller than him. He seemed to be his age. The stood silently, hands behind his back, his black hair covering his eyebrows and parts of his almond-shaped eyes. Kaiba did not recognize him. He must have been a new player. Kaiba shrugged though, not seeming to care. At the end, it will be he who will be victorious.

Time passed as Kaiba watched the other finalist battle it out. He watched the boy sitting down from him, seeming to observe each finalist carefully and calmly until each person was defeated one by one.

"And now for the finals," the spokesman said outloud. "Max Kuwaba vs. Seto Kaiba!" Kaiba smirked and simply walked toward the field.

Max stared at him with no expression on his face, but mere mockery. He smiled pleasantly as he took his hand out to shake Seto's. Kaiba just stared at the raised hand, walking away without even touching it.

They took their positions, as each player got ready of their decks.

"I heard you duel well," Max said across the floor. Kaiba smirked, placing his deck to the right.

"Then you heard right," Kaiba said in pride, "I haven't heard your name. I wonder why." Max just chuckled.

"Underestimate me if you like, Seto Kaiba," Max said happily. His tone changed all of a sudden, but with a hint of mockery in it. His face turned to stone just then, "But underestimating me will not change what I can do." Kaiba gave no attention to his opponent.

"Let's just duel," he sneered.

The duel lasted until it left Kaiba with 350 life points left and Max down to his only 50. Kaiba smirked and leaned against his stage.

"You're right," Kaiba said, "Underestimating you will not change your lack of ability to beat me." Max looked up innocently and smiled kindly.

"We'll see," he said.

"Come on then," Kaiba said, his eyes flaming with anticipation.

"I will play Koumori Dragon, Celtic Guardian, and Bolt Penguin and fuse them with my polymerization card to fuse," Max said as tiny particles of light began to form, "the Twin-Headed Dragon with 2800 attack points." Kaiba scoffed.

"Your dragon is strong," Kaiba started, "But it pales in comparison to my dragon, my Blue Eyes. But I'll pass my turn to prolong your misery." Max narrowed his eyes at Kaiba, which made Kaiba shut his mouth. Kaiba watched as his foe flipped a magic card onto the field."

"You should have destroyed me when you had the chance," Max growled lowly, his bright and cheerful personality changing. "Now I will play the magic card Umi which changes the field into water." Kaiba couldn't understand what was happening until he was too late. He jerked his head to his Blue Eyes as it roared in pain by the terrible slash it received from the Twin-Headed Dragon." Kaiba couldn't believe his eyes as 300 of his life points were taken away and replaced with 50."

"What?" Kaiba said outraged, "What did you do!" Max's smile came back as he talked sweetly to Kaiba.

"It's quite simple," Max said in a matter-of –fact kind of tone, "Because of my Umi magic card, it enabled my monster to gained 500 more attack points, bringing it to 3300. Quite a move, don't you think?" Max smirked. He began again, "Don't underestimate people, Seto Kaiba. A life lesson everyone should learn." Kaiba scowled, biting his lower lip in the process. What he hated more than losing was being corrected of his mistakes.

"Why so glum?" Max said smiled with sarcasm. Kaiba clenched his hands into fists and he swallowed his anger. The calmness and frightful steadiness held in Max's voice was aggravating to Kaiba's ears.

"I have nothing, so I'll put a monster card in defense mode and a magic card." Kaiba said.

"Cowering already?" Max said, "I thought you were better than that. So, as you said yourself, I'll prolong your misery and just place a magic card on the field and let my dragon destroy that hidden card of yours." The monster Kaiba placed was shattered into millions of shards until each disappeared as it fell. Kaiba looked at his deck hoping a card that could destroy his opponent's monster. He closed his eyes, slowing moving his hands to reach for a card. His eyes opened to reveal a card that made his eyes widen in gratefulness. He looked at Max and smiled sweetly at him.

"I'm afraid that your idea of prolonging your defeat is soon coming to end as I play wasteland!" Kaiba said victoriously, "Which takes away your Umi card, bringing your monster's attack points back to 2800." Max smile stayed the same.

"My monster is still strong, Seto Kaiba." Kaiba smiled.

"But not as strong as my Blue Eyes!" Kaiba shouted, "I play my magic card Reborn to take my blue eyes back from the graveyard." Max grunted, almost overdramatically. Kaiba saw Max's hand creep to his magic card and knew that there was one flaw in his plan to win. Kaiba forgot Max's magic card on the field. Kaiba sighed inwardly. It was too late. But for some reason, Kaiba looked at the side of his eye at Max jerking his head to his left. His face turned into fear for a millisecond and then changed into a defeated look as he took his hand of his card. Kaiba knew it was his chance and so he took it. "Blues Eyes attack!"

The duel was over.

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Tea walked into her room, a sigh of relief from her lips. Her eyelids drooped down as she dropped down to her bed, her hand lying restlessly on top of her forehead. This was just too much for her. Too much for her to handle by herself. She shook her head furiously. No. She won't let her friends get involved in this. This was her problem and she was going to deal with it herself. All by herself.

And the first step to that begins now. Tea stood up, feeling needy of something. Anything. Anything that would take her mind of things.

She reached into her bag and took out a bottle of alcohol she bought that day. She stared at the clear bottle in her hand as if thinking twice about her decision. She shrugged her worries off, gulping the bottle. Half way done, she closed the cap and hid it under the bed. She then passed out, looking like she was sleeping peacefully.

Unknown to her though, Mokuba watched the whole action. He frowned a bit. People should lock their doors or something.

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Flashback

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They took their positions, as each player got ready of their decks.

"I heard you duel well," Max said across the floor. Kaiba smirked, placing his deck to the right.

"Then you heard right," Kaiba said in pride, "I haven't heard your name. I wonder why." Max just chuckled.

"Let's just duel," he sneered.

The duel lasted until it left Kaiba with 350 life points left and Max down to his only 50. Kaiba smirked and leaned against his stage.

"You're right," Kaiba said, "Underestimating you will not change your lack of ability to beat me." Max looked up innocently and smiled kindly.

"We'll see," he said.

"Come on then," Kaiba said, his eyes flaming with anticipation.

"What?" Kaiba said outraged, "What did you do!" Max's smile came back as he talked sweetly to Kaiba.

"Why so glum?" Max said smiled with sarcasm. Kaiba clenched his hands into fists and he swallowed his anger. The calmness and frightful steadiness held in Max's voice was aggravating to Kaiba's ears.

"I have nothing, so I'll put a monster card in defense mode and a magic card." Kaiba said.

"My monster is still strong, Seto Kaiba." Kaiba smiled.

The duel was over.

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Kaiba barged into an office, red with anger. The boy sitting across from him looked up from his papers, smiling suddenly.

"Why, hello Mr. Kaiba," he said innocently, "Quite a surprise visit from you don't you think?" Kaiba scowled, his eyes narrow and square.

"Cut me the crap, Kuwaba," Kaiba hissed, "I know you're the one to blame for the hacking. Now own up or be a coward."

"Hmmm…a coward you say?" Mr. Kuwaba said who seemed to be thinking sarcastically, "How in the first place do you think I'm the one who has brought your company down? Please Mr. Kaiba. You're telling me things that are of no concern to me. Now if you excuse me, I have business to attend to." He stopped looking at Kaiba, and started to do his work again. Kaiba's vein pumped at the side of his forehead.

"Don't act innocent," Kaiba growled, "Because everyone knows you're everything but that." Mr. Kuwaba chuckled slightly, eyeing Mr. Kaiba almost like he was toying with him. He rested his arms on the desk.

"And you're always right, aren't you Kaiba," Mr. Kuwaba asked sarcastically, "Because everyone knows you're nothing but right. I guess your intelligence shows it in your progress with KaibaCorp, huh? Oh no wait. It doesn't." Kaiba walked straight to the boss's desk, placing his palms so he could lean over it to stare at his competitor.

"If this is your way of breaking down a company for your own pathetic company to rise," Kaiba started, "Then trust me, you won't get far. You're messing with the big leagues. Didn't you're mother ever teach you to never play with fire? It might burn you." Mr. Kuwaba smiled, looking down and back up at him.

"Trust me Kaiba, I'm the least person for you to be concern with," he said meekly, "After all, there is a certain girl." Kaiba's face hardened more.

"You touch Tea Gardener," Mr. Kaiba warned, "And I swear that my affairs will be a great concern to you."

"Oh Seto," the boy chuckled again, "You don't have to worry about me hurting her. You should worry more about what my uncle will do. After all, this is his company. I'm just is follower. Heck, I just came to Domino City about a month ago."

"You are not welcomed here, Max," Kaiba growled. The boy chuckled.

"I'm not welcomed here, you say," he said softly, yet in a mocked voice. He looked down and then slowly looked back up at Kaiba's face with taunting eyes. "I don't need you to give me permission on what I can and can not do. It doesn't matter that I'm welcomed here or not. Domino City is mine to do with as I please."

"You can't just-,"

"Because without me," the boy interrupted, "You'll have them to deal with." Kaiba turned around to glimpse at a group of about 12 men standing, their faces bearing the lives of innocents. Kaiba quivered slightly, but turned around to glare at Max. Max's eyes seemed to bury into Kaiba's with deep triumph as he smirked. "Atleast with me, the Gardener family will not cease to exist…not yet anyways."

"Don't you go near, Tea Gardener," Kaiba growled, his anger getting the best of him. He grabbed Max by the collar until they were face to face. Kaiba stared ferociously at his opponent while the other just stared, mocking him. Seto then heard a click beside his ear. Slowly his eyes ran sideways, catching a glimpse of a silver pistol pointing at his head. He looked back at Max who smiled kindly, keeping calm through the whole conversation. Burning a hole in Kaiba's chest just the same way he did at the competition.

"I suggest that you let go of me," he smiled. Kaiba let go and just gazed at him, not really knowing where he was going.

"So you can what?" Kaiba said sarcastically, "Beat me? Like the last time we met at the Duel Monsters Championship? Oh wait…you didn't." Memories came flooding back into Max's mind. His brother's face struck with disbelief flickering over and over. Max grit his teeth and clenched it hands.

Max sat up and walked up to Kaiba and stared into his eyes, "Silly Kaiba. You're mixing games up with real life situations. So let me give you some advise. I think you should listen to your little saying you got going for you. Stay away from the fire and you won't get burned."

Ichigo- I hoped this "chappie" pleased some of the angry fans enough that they won't send flames…or fake pizza men who come to the basement offering toy pizzas and throwing fake breadsticks from toys-r-us

Bakura- they're were toys? I thought they were real!

Kaiba- geeze…it feels weird using chappie

Bakura- I know! Especially after all the times Ichigo threatened us with rubber ducks to say chippie…

Kaiba- sighs good times good times…