Well, everyone hates me now for not making them shower together. lol. Hey, I would have liked it, too, but Seto and Yami fought back and found a loophole. Darn them.
Important Author's Note: The next story I want to post, after Wide Awake and Dreaming is up, has some sexual content, but I really would rather not have to give it an R rating. I was wondering if one or two of you would be willing to read the chapter in question and tell me if it's too racy for PG-13. If anybody would do this for me, would you please tell me in your review so I can email it to you? I'd really appreciate it.
Warnings: OOCness; specifically clingy-Yami.
Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh.
Chapter 3: Disturbing News
When I woke, Kaiba had vanished. For a moment a jolt of fear ran through me, until I heard water running in the bathroom and realized I could still see him if I needed. Yawning slightly, I shuffled to the closet; Kaiba's pants dragging on the ground behind me. I pulled on a pair of black pants and slipped off Kaiba's oversized T-shirt, but before I could replace it Kaiba strode out of the bathroom, toweling his dripping hair. Blushing hotly, I quickly yanked on a shirt.
Backwards.
I struggled to twist the shirt around without removing it, but only succeeding in getting stuck with my left arm hung in a sleeve. The shirt rode up my torso as I raised my right arm over my head to yank the other sleeve off. Kaiba gave an amused snort.
Shaking his head, he strode over to me. He pushed my right arm away impatiently, and gently gripped my left elbow, pulling it down as he tugged the sleeve upwards. Then he twisted the shirt so it faced the right direction and pulled it over my head. I stuck my arms through the sleeves, and he smoothed the shirt while I gaped at him incredulously. "Mokuba," he explained, shrugging.
We stared at each other for a moment, until I felt my face heat under his gaze and escaped to the bathroom.
After Mokuba left for school, I had to tag along as Kaiba went to his office. I followed him, panting, as he stalked through the building at full speed, and resisted the urge to grab his arm. Instead, I huffed along behind him and collapsed, exhausted, into a chair in front of Kaiba's desk when we finally reached his office.
"Tired, are we?" he smirked as he sank gracefully into his desk chair, not showing the slightest sign of exertion.
"Your legs are longer than mine," I grumbled, glaring.
"Ah," he said vaguely, and commenced typing (and ignoring me).
"I should probably call Yugi today. Maybe he and the others can come visit me, since I can't go to them," I mused to myself.
Kaiba wordlessly handed me the phone. "Yugi's at school right now," I told him. He didn't answer, just waved the telephone impatiently, and I hastily grabbed it out of his hands. "Well, maybe I could leave him a message," Iamended thoughtfully, dialing Yugi's number.
"Kame Game Shop," Yugi's voice answered after the second ring.
"Yugi? Why aren't you at school?" I asked, shocked.
"Oh, hi Yami," Yugi answered softly. "It's good to hear from you. How are you handling being around Kaiba all the time?"
"It's heaven compared to the Dream World," I replied instantly. "But you didn't answer my question."
Yugi sighed. "Jiichan has been really sick lately, so I've stayed here to help him and run the game shop," he replied.
"No, Yugi," I breathed. "When did he get sick?" Kaiba looked up at this.
"The day Marik sent you to the Dream World. It was almost like they were connected, but then you came back and he didn't get better..." Yugi told me dejectedly.
"I'm so sorry, Yugi. But he'll still get better," I said with more confidence than I felt, and bit my lip worriedly. Kaiba stared at me curiously.
"Yeah, you're right," Yugi replied, sounding slightly reassured (I hoped). "So why did you call, if you didn't even know I'd be here?"
"I was just going to leave a message for you. Kaiba said you could come visit me if you wanted," I lied, eyeing Kaiba pleadingly.
"Really? Where?" Yugi asked.
"Kaiba's house," I replied, watching Kaiba warily, but he just ignored me. I guess that was my permission.
"Great. When can we come?"
"Er, this evening?" I noticed the use of 'we', but kept silent, afraid that Kaiba would change his mind.
"Okay. I'll do my best. I have to go, we have customers," Yugi said quickly, and hung up before I could say goodbye.
I laid the phone back on Kaiba's desk, watching him carefully and waiting for his reaction. "He said he'd try to come," I ventured. Kaiba nodded, not turning his gaze from the screen.
"Jiichan's sick," I added sadly. "I think it has something to do with me..." I trailed off, gazing out the office window.
"You certainly have a high opinion of yourself," Kaiba retorted dryly.
"What?" I gasped in surprise.
"How could you possibly have made him sick? You've been in some nightmare world for three weeks," Kaiba elaborated.
"He got sick the day I got my own body. What if... I don't know- I have a body because I'm taking his or something?"
"That's stupid, and you sound like Noa. Taking people's bodies. Hn," Kaiba scoffed. Strangely, that reaction made me feel a little better.
"Well, Yugi's been skipping school to take care of him, and I can't even help them because I'm stuck here annoying you," I sighed.
"You're not annoying me. Except when you're feeling sorry for yourself, like now," he retorted, glaring. At these words, Kaiba rose and strode to the door, pulling it open.
"I'm sorry!" I shouted in panic, leaping to my feet. "Come back, please, I won't whine or feel sorry for myself, I promise!" I ran across the room and latched onto his arm. "Sorry, Seto," I murmured.
He chuckled under his breath. "I was just going to the men's room," he reassured me. "I assumed you'd follow."
I reddened. "Oh. Well, you seemed angry," I muttered. He gave me a slight grin and started walking.
I kept a firm grip on his arm as I followed.
Yugi, Honda, and Anzu arrived at the Kaiba Mansion around seven that evening; Jou was missing, most likely because of his absolute hatred of Kaiba. When they arrived, Mokuba and I were playing chess in the study while Kaiba worked. The younger Kaiba brother was much more agreeable this afternoon; maybe he had just needed a little time to get used to someone else living in the house. He still gave Kaiba strange looks whenever Kaiba paid attention to me, however.
When Yugi-tachi arrived, one of Kaiba's faceless servants (I think his name was actually Ned) knocked at the study door. "Mr. Kaiba, guests have arrived, and are waiting in the foyer," Ned informed us.
Mokuba and I jumped up and Kaiba groaned. "Fine. Just give me a second," he replied.
"Mokuba, you can go ahead, so they won't just be standing there alone," I said, watching Kaiba finish typing a list of numbers. Mokuba gave me a long, thoughtful glance before he nodded and raced out the door.
"What was that look about?" I mused under my breath.
"Hmm? What?" Kaiba asked, closing the program and turning to me.
"Mokuba. He's friendlier today, but he keeps giving us strange looks," I replied.
"I think he's still trying to accept the situation. It is rather strange, after all," Kaiba said offhandedly, but he reddened slightly. I eyed him curiously but decided it was nothing.
"Come on, I want to see Yugi!" I insisted, grabbing his sleeve impatiently and pulling him out the door. He groaned again.
"This month is not going to be easy," Kaiba grumbled.
"Yugi! Honda! Anzu!" I cried happily, letting go of Kaiba's sleeve. "I haven't seen you in so long!" They all hugged me, and Kaiba made a soft gagging noise in his throat that only I caught. Giving him a brief glare, I asked them about Jou. "Where is Jounouchi?"
"Who cares?" Kaiba muttered.
"Never mind, I think I know," I amended, frowning at Kaiba.
"So what's new?" I asked them as we trooped to the living room. (I grabbed Kaiba's arm again. He was in a bad mood because of Yugi-tachi and I didn't want to risk him running away from me.) Anzu immediately launched into a long speech, rambling cheerfully about all the things she and her friends had done over the past few weeks.
I made sure to sit next to Kaiba.
"You know, Yami, you and Kaiba seem to have gotten really close," Anzu giggled as she finished talking.
"What is that supposed to mean?" I grumbled, blushing.When she just giggled some more,I decided to ignore her, turning to Yugi. "How is Jiichan?" I asked in concern.
Yugi sighed. "He's been in the hospital for the past four days. I haven't told you because I didn't want to upset you while you were still dealing with the Dream World. He's not getting worse, but he's not getting better either."
"What exactly is wrong with him?" Kaiba spoke up. We all glanced at him; surprised he would deign to participate in a conversation with Yugi-tachi.
"His heart. The doctors think it's just weak," Yugi replied. Tears began to leak from his eyes and he stood hastily. "I have to go. Oh, Yami, I almost forgot; Isis wants to see you whenever you're free." I nodded and opened my mouth to reply, but Yugi ran out of the room, wiping his face.
"We should go after him," Honda said softly, and he and Anzu stood. Mokuba silently followed them and walked them to the door.
I turned my gaze to the floor, wringing my hands miserably. "Yugi... It's worse than I thought," I whispered. A tear dropped onto my hand, and I clenched my eyes shut. Slightly to my surprise, Kaiba slipped an arm around my shoulders.
"Shh, it's okay," he mumbled, patting my shoulder awkwardly. "They'll be fine, both of them."
"I know it's crazy, Seto, but I can't help feeling like this is my fault. I can't even be there for him," I choked, trying to hold back my sobs. I really felt horrible- I pretty much abandoned Yugi for three weeks while I was in the Dream World, and when I finally came back, I didn't even see enough of him to know Jiichan was in the hospital...
I turned and buried my face in Kaiba's shoulder.
"You may not be living with him, but you're still there for him, and he knows it. Plus he has the rest of the cheerleaders to help out," Kaiba informed me wisely.
"Don't call them that," I muttered into his shirt, but I grinned in spite of myself.
"I'll call them what I want. Do you want to visit the old man in the hospital tomorrow?"
"Can we?" I asked hopefully, pulling back to look at his face. Kaiba nodded, wiping away my tear tracks with his thumb.
"Maybe we can go see what that crazy Egyptian woman wants, too," he added.
Irolled my eyes and stood up. "Come on, I'm hungry," I told him, stretching languidly. He glared at me.
"Don't be so pushy," Kaiba grumbled, and I immediately grabbed his hand.
"Sorry, I'm sorry Seto," I apologized, and he sighed.
"I'm not going to kick you out, Yami, so relax," he assured me. I slowly loosened my grip on his hand as Kaiba stood, but didn't let go of him. He didn't seem to mind, however- he merely swung our arms carelessly as we walked and smirked down at me mischievously.
"Not that I want him to be sick, but I hope that old guy is either asleep or unconscious tomorrow. He really hates me," Kaiba commented.
"Kaiba!" I cried angrily, and yanked my hand out of his grasp. I stopped in the hallway and glared at him, but he simply raised an eyebrow, still smirking, and kept walking down the hall. After a moment I ran after him, sliding my hand back into his.
Seto smiled.
That wasa short chapter...sorry about that. But I'll update soon- look for the next chapter in the middle of next week, probably Wednesday. Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed! I love you all!
Oh, and those of you wondering about Mokuba's reaction- all I'll say is to read very carefully. There's definitely something going on under the surface; the Kaiba brothers have a lot of secrets.