A Legacy Unfinished
Disclaimer: needless to say, if YGO belonged to me, this wouldn't be called a fanfic and I wouldn't be posting this on fanfiction.net
Summary: Sequel to 'Identity'. The legacy carries on in a new timeline – modern Domino. Ryou and Seto face new problems the legacy holds in store for them. Semi-AU Duellist Kingdom and Battle City S/R YY/R
Chapter Title: A New Beginning
Warnings: yaoi, OOC, semi-AU, weirdness of character and DK, BC plot changing! If you don't like, DON'T READ! No one's holding a gun to your head and FORCING you to read this! And all flames will go to burning Anzu/Tea, and assisting Baku and Marik in their evil schemes.
Author's Notes: I think it would be safe to say that people were generally okay with the ending of 'Identity' . . . and I was afraid that people didn't like it. Anyway, this fic is a bit weird and the first chapter might seem a bit rushed, especially with the meeting of Seto and Ryou and the characters are a little, some more than others, OOC.
Before I forget, when I say 'Alternate Universe', I mean that the yamis are in separate bodies from their hikaris. Yami is Yugi's older brother, Bakura is Ryou's and Marik is Malik's . . . like inside 'Identity'. The yamis are the Duellists, but they're all there, okay? I know the gang calls Ryou by either 'Bakura' or 'Bakura-kun', but in this he's still going to be Ryou and Y.B. will be called Bakura.
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Chapter One: A New Beginning
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"Ohayou minna!" (Good morning everyone!)
Sixteen-year-old Bakura Ryou caught up with his friends as they walked to school. He narrowly missed crashing into Yugi as he skidded to a stop, but Yami caught him just as he tripped. The younger boy grinned up at him sheepishly and extracted himself from Yami's arms.
"Ah, gomen, Yami-kun!" he apologised. (Sorry, Yami!)
"Daijoubu ka, Ryou-kun?" (Are you all right, Ryou?)
"Ee, boku wa daijoubu." (Yeah, I'm all right)
They walked to school together, laughing and chatting as always. Jounouchi and Honda showed both Yugi and Ryou some new game inside a magazine, pointing and talking excitedly. It was called 'Duel Monsters' and was similar to that of the one Yami and Jounouchi played, called 'Magic and Wizards'.
"The graphics are way better," Jounouchi pointed out. "Look, they have more info and stuff written on the cards! Plus it's made by a guy in America!"
"Yami-kun, mite!" (Yami, look!)
Ryou held up the magazine advertising Duel Monsters. The older teen grinned and looked at it closely; crimson eyes alight with interest. This group of high school teens loved games and Yami especially loved Magic and Wizards. Seeing his favourite game 'new and improved' was fascinating for him.
"Jiichan's got stock on this game," he told the gang. "I was helping him display them yesterday."
"Ne, how come I didn't know?" Yugi asked, pouting.
"You were asleep as soon as you got home from school."
The gang laughed as Yugi blushed sheepishly. Yami pulled out his Magic and Wizards' deck, then reached into his other pocket and pulled out something similar. Imprinted on the back of the cards was a brownish swirl that looked somewhat like a black hole, only brown. They stared, wide-eyed.
"A Duel Monsters' deck?" they exclaimed. "Sugoi!" (Wow, cool!)
"I gotta get one of them," Jounouchi decided. "I'm coming over after school, today, Yami. You have to show me some new cards, k?"
"Sure."
Anzu looked at her watch and gasped.
"Hayaku, minna!" she yelped. "We're gonna be late!" (Hurry everyone!)
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At lunchtime, Yami showed them his new deck, specially designed by himself. He pointed out his favourites, some of the newer cards and improved old ones. The gang crowded around him to study them, pointing out things that stood out and fighting for a view of the new cards.
"Isn't that the Black Magician, Yami?" Honda asked.
"Sou." (Yes)
"It looks so much better than Magic and Wizards. I mean, at least he doesn't look ill all the time. Oh! Look at this one! Isn't that . . ."
Meanwhile, a bit further away, Ryou sat underneath another tree, reading a book. He didn't like crowds, even if more than half of them was his close friends. Sure, he liked hanging around them and all, but sometimes he felt intimidated by their loud, outgoing attitudes, having been basically raised in a secluded environment.
"Why are you reading again, baka Ryou?"
The boy looked up in shock, before relaxing as he saw whom it was. His older brother, known to everyone as Bakura, smirked back down at him. A known troublemaker, Bakura was the same age as Yami and his biggest rival in almost everything. Including games.
"Niisan," Ryou sighed. (Big brother)
"What book is it this time, baka otouto?" He grabbed the book, with a half-hearted protest from Ryou. "'Moby Dick'? What's that? Is it some sort of porn?" (Stupid little brother)
"Iie!" Ryou cried, flushing. "It's a classic novel!" (No!)
"About?"
"A whale."
"You read books about whales in your spare time?"
Bakura raised an eyebrow at his younger brother while Ryou glared at him indignantly. He grabbed the book back, marked the page and hugged it to his chest protectively. The older teen sighed impatiently and sat down next to him.
"You gotta get out more."
"And what? Jig school with your flunkies? No thanks, niisan."
'Jigging' school was another term for cutting classes, or skipping school. Bakura was notorious for that, and rule breaking. He was part of a 'flunkies' group, one that comprised of guys who were on the brink of being kicked out from school, or who planned on dropping out. Needless to say, both Ryou and Bakura had to keep this bit of information from their archaeologist father, who was always away on business trips to keep track of their school records.
"Aw, shame, Ryou," Bakura sighed mockingly. "You'd fit right in. You know, we'd liven up your social life."
He pulled out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, along with a lighter. Putting one in his mouth, Bakura lit it and took a drag. When he breathed it out, Ryou frowned and took it away from him, smothering it on the dirt.
"Oi, that's not nice."
"Smoking can kill you," Ryou said firmly.
"I'll live." Bakura opened the pack again. Ryou snatched that away too. "Don't be like that, Ryou!"
"If tousan ever found out about this disgusting habit, he'd kill you." (Father)
"That's if, my dear otouto." Bakura slung a casual arm around his little brother's shoulders. "And you're going to help me keep it a secret." (Little brother)
Ryou sighed.
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Yugi and the others went to the Kame Game Shop after school, but Ryou declined Yami's offer of helping him construct a deck and walked home on his own. His apartment was about half an hour's walk from school and it was a fairly lonely and quiet walk.
"I'll walk you, Ryou-kun," Yami offered.
"Iie, daijoubu yo." Ryou smiled. "I can get home myself. Have fun, minna." (No, I'm all right)
They left in the opposite direction. Smiling, Ryou turned around and walked in the direction of his home. His mind drifted off into space as he walked, thinking about everything except where he was going. And one should never walk anywhere without paying attention to the road.
There was a screech of tyres and Ryou fell backwards, jarring his ankle in the process. The motorcycle swerved dangerously and onto its side, before the rider jumped off and hurried over to him.
"Daijoubu ka?"
"Un, I'm fine." Ryou winced as he sat up. (Yeah)
He looked up and found himself staring into blue eyes. Bright, blue eyes, as clear as sapphires . . . he shook himself out of his trance-like state when the other person offered a hand. Taking it, Ryou struggled to stand up, only to fall back down again when a sharp pain shot through his ankle.
"Itai . . ." (It hurts . . .)
"Come on, I'll give you a ride home," the person offered.
Now that Ryou had recovered enough to realise what was going on, he recognised the person who had almost run him over. He barely bit back a terrified squeak as Kaiba Seto, CEO of Kaiba Corporation and his classmate, led him over to the motorcycle. When it had been righted, the CEO helped him onto the bike and got on as well.
"Gomen nasai, Kaiba-kun," Ryou whispered. "I'm bothering you, aren't I?" (I'm very sorry)
"Iie, I almost didn't see you," Kaiba replied. "It's my fault. Now, where do you live . . .? I don't think I know your name."
"Call me Ryou," the albino said. "Otherwise you'll get me confused with my niisan, who everyone calls Bakura."
"All right, Ryou," Kaiba said. "Now, where do you live?"
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They arrived at his apartment complex and Ryou invited Kaiba upstairs and inside to sit down. By now, Ryou's ankle was badly bruised and starting to swell. He barely managed to climb the stairs, before Kaiba carried him on his back the rest of the way.
"I'm sorry to bother you again."
"It's all right." Kaiba stopped at the top of the fourth floor stairs. "Which way now?"
"Left." As Kaiba walked, Ryou gave directions. "And then you turn right, go straight ahead and my apartment's number 437. Would you like to come in for a moment? Or are you busy?"
Kaiba considered his offer. From what Yugi-tachi had told him, Ryou knew Kaiba Seto to be a cold and ruthless competitor, ingenious as well. He rarely showed compassion to anyone and whatever he said basically went. He was wealthy enough to buy up the whole city, if not most of Japan, and he had apparently been an indirect cause of his stepfather's death.
Such talk from the others had convinced Ryou that Kaiba was someone to be feared. He had captured Yugi and Yami's grandfather once, over Magic and Wizards card and his reputation, as the world's best gamer. Someone who would go to such extreme measures to get what he wanted was really someone to be feared. A little like Bakura, only with more access to almost everything.
"I'm afraid not," Kaiba said finally. "I have a board meeting in a few minutes. You'll be okay on your own?"
He didn't seem like someone to be feared. Ryou smiled briefly at him.
"Sure. Arigatou, Kaiba-kun." (Thanks)
"Give me your number," the CEO said suddenly.
"Nani?" (What?)
"How am I supposed to know if you're not going to sue me for this incident?" he asked. "I'll have to make sure you're all right."
"Daijoubu, Kaiba-kun," Ryou stammered, a little freaked. "I-I'm not about to sue you over something that I had fault in also. It's perfectly all right."
"Are you going to give me your number, or will I have to come personally to check up on you?" Kaiba demanded. "I'm not a very patient person, Bakura Ryou, and if you don't give me that damned phone number, I will force it from you. What's it going to be?"
"H-Hai."
Ryou hastily scribbled down his phone numbers (he had a cell phone as well) and handed them to the CEO. Nodding curtly, Kaiba left him in front of his apartment door. The albino breathed a sigh of relief. He was glad Kaiba was gone. The guy had major problems with his attitude. One minute he seemed to care, the next he was just evil.
He unlocked the door and let himself in, shaking his head in amusement. Evil was probably too strong a word to use on Kaiba. Perhaps cold was a better word, or antisocial. He certainly hadn't seen the CEO at school very often, so he could deduce that the other didn't get out much.
Well, that was an interesting experience.
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Kaiba Seto pocketed the piece of paper with a frown. He was serious about the suing thing and it was better to be safe than sorry, even if he may have damaged his reputation in the process. If that boy – Ryou, or whatever his name was – told anyone about what he did when they got back to school tomorrow, he would not hesitate to march over to his apartment and wring the life out of him.
He snorted. Oh yeah, he could see the headlines: Kaiba Seto Almost Kills Classmate in Road Accident: The Victim Tells All! Then his reputation would sink to an all-time low, his company would fail and that would be the end of the Kaiba Empire. That was why he took such measures to ensure the boy was okay.
But there was another thing strange about that boy. He was almost certain he had seen him somewhere before. There was something familiar about that silvery hair . . . or maybe he was just experiencing dejavu after visiting the nursing home for a charity event. He settled for the nursing home. After all, that was perhaps the only place where one could see many whitish-haired people all at once. That Ryou kid was just . . . strange.
As he kicked the engine to life on his bike, Kaiba wondered what could have possibly possessed him to give Ryou a ride. Usually he could care less about what happened to someone who fell and sprained their ankle. But he could probably explain it with the suing reason again. It seemed to be his main reason for being nice – and he usually was 'nice' whenever he did something wrong and didn't bother saying sorry. He hated saying sorry as much as he hated being sued. Maybe that was why he was so antisocial.
And that didn't mean he always got sued. No, just enough for him to hate it. Which wasn't a lot – seriously. He didn't mean to purposely get into trouble. It was always by accident that something went wrong and the victim found it necessary to sue. Like that time when that kid collided with his briefcase. And the other time when . . . if he continued those thoughts he would be well on the way to proving himself wrong. And he didn't want that.
When he stopped at a red light, he heard his cell phone ringing. He hated cell phones, no matter what anyone else thought. They were the most annoying things in the world. Especially when he owned one that rang more often than not. And always on the other end was one incompetent fool or other who needed his help on things that even his younger brother Mokuba could fix.
He was glad however, that he had a hands-free set. Pressing the button to answer the phone on his earpiece, Kaiba waited for the lights to change.
"Kaiba."
"Kaiba-sama, we've encountered a problem with the duelling arenas in KaibaLand."
"What's wrong this time?" he snapped.
"The images are flickering a lot . . ."
"There's probably a loose part within the 3D simulator," he said impatiently, noting that the light still hadn't changed. "Get whoever's duelling there off and onto another, then send for the technicians. You're supposed to be professionals. Don't come running to me when something so minute comes up."
"Hai, Kaiba-sama."
He hung up. Kami-sama he hated it when those so-called professional employees of his proved themselves to be useless over and over again. And couldn't they be more precise about their descriptions of faults? 'The images are flickering a lot . . .' yeah, he was really going to know what to do from such a vague description.
And, to his annoyance, the light still hadn't changed. It had been around two minutes already and there hadn't been any sign of traffic from anywhere around him. That did it. He was going to get someone to complain about it.
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End Chapter One
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Author's Notes:
How did you like the first chappie of the sequel? I noticed that Seto was OOC, especially when he whinged and complained (internally) in that last part. Oops.
And yeah, like I said, that may have been a bit rushed.
I officially declare that Seto/Ryou are the best!
Wait, I've already done so before . . .
Oh well.
Please review and tell me what you thought.
Relinquished