Young Blood by Mooguri Klaine
Author's Notes: ((Mooguri Klaine sees readers holding knives and pitchforks)) Ehehehehe… ((nervous laugh)) Uhm… do forgive me for that ending in Chapter Six… I couldn't think of any way to end it, so I thought, 'Why not a cliffhanger?' Your reviews were spectacular, albeit scary and threatening! I LOVE IT! XD Keep 'em coming! :D
To Elusia: Yes, I always thought that the YGO series and manga were too stingy with the Kaiba brothers, so I really enjoyed planting a comedy routine every time these two are available! And… ((blush)) you totally melted my heart when you wrote that this (Young Blood) is turning out to be one of your all-time fave YGO stories! ((blushes some more)) Thanks for that! So I hope I won't let you guys down! ((thumbs up))
To Faith, the uke Seto gal: Nice assessment, Faith! You really had me impressed! ((nods happily)) And that anticipated meeting you were talking about…it will surely come to pass! Yes, and school's really a bummer! I still need to make my term papers! Darn! But we shall not yield! WE SHALL SUCCEED! XD I'll keep in touch again!
To Misoka: Yes, send vampire Yami after them! ((cackles evilly)) Nevertheless, thanks for finding this chapter okay! Needless to say, the new Chapter Six was better than the deleted one :D But I still haven't forgiven the cursed perpetrator called the computer technician! XD
To Nachzes-Black Rider: ((Mooguri Klaine stops Nachzes-Black Rider from destroying random things)) New Reviewer! Welcome to Young Blood! I shall never let you go!! XD ((hugs Nachzes really tight)) And you've also read Merry-Go-Round and Against Protocol! I'm so happy! Arigatou for that! XD
To swtdreams07: Oooppsss… sorry for that cliffhanger! ((bows down)) But hey…that wasn't so bad… a cliffy would do wonders for anything! Hehehe…
To silver dragongurl: Oho! An unsatisfied reader! Ehehhe… your outburst was just…priceless! XD
To Minor Arcana: Thanks again for that review! Whoa…and your fic…it's growing and growing! I must review at once! And yeah, your drawing's almost done! XD
To Allya: New reviewer! Thanks for that! I do hope you received that gift art I promised!
To Demon: And another new reviewer! Uhm… one thing though…what's your e-mail add? XD
Oh, oh, oh! I'm currently working on another story, entitled Against Protocol, another YGO AU (Alternative Universe) fic about secret agents, guns, and Seto/Yami! Check it out, if you please! I'd love to hear from you! :D
Disclaimer: Seven chapters long, and I still have to repeat myself that I DO NOT OWN YU-Gi-Oh. Ouch. It really hurts (and sucks), knowing that there are some things in life that you can never have! ((sobs)) My dad told me a saying once: "You can't have your cake and eat it too…" And I innocently replied: "But it was my cake, I should have all the right to eat it!" I received a whack in the forehead after that, then he snorted: "Idiot." Pff, honestly! Darn grown-ups…I swear… (But we'll eventually become adults…Oh no…((groans)))
Warning: Shonen-ai. Yaoi. Seto/Yami. Mooguri Klaine. Don't like 'em? WHY? WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU?! Waaa… ((goes to a corner and cries))
Rating: R, I think, for language and violent stuff that will eventually unfold in this story of mine. And also…MIND-BLOWING FOREPLAY AND SEX! ((looks suspiciously around)) Hehe…oooppsss…I think I said too much… ((sweatdrops))
Summary: The Necklace delivers a cryptic vision to its beholder, the priestess Ishizu. What could an intersection mean in the grand scheme of things? Lame summary. Argh. READ, REVIEW, AND RECEIVE A PRIZE! XD
----------
Chapter Seven: Intersection
(A/N: Read also my other YGO fic entitled 'Against Protocol', onegaishimasu (please)! Tell me what you think of it! XD
And oh yeah, email addies for new reviewers! Drawings for you! XD)
"Sekheth?"
"Excuse me?" Seto raised an eyebrow, confused. He felt the stares of everyone on him and authoress. Even the cloaked men surrounding Isis were giving him a strange look…
…as if they knew him…
"Sekheth, is that you?" the writer called him that name once more, her pale eyes seemed trembling with suppressed feelings.
Mokuba –who has now abandoned his tantrum – stared from Isis to his brother, puzzled.
"I'm sorry, Miss Isis, you must've mistaken me for someone else," Seto replied.
----------
"Sekheth, is that you?" Ishizu felt her heart pounding in her ears, so intense that she could've sworn that everyone around her could hear its sheer intensity.
Sekheth, the man they have been relentlessly searching for over three millennia, the unwashed commoner from the city of Kemet, the ancient throne of the imperial Pharaoh. (1) Sekheth, the simple mortal whom Pharaoh Atem have loved, and still does to this day, the sole reason that the sovereign fled under their protective wings to find him.
Sekheth, the Prince's neb ma'atra. (2)
Finally here. After so long a time…
Ishizu blinked for a moment, not daring herself to close her eyes too long lest this was all an illusion or a mere hallucination. Fortunately, Sekheth still stood in front of her, wearing a perplexed look reflected by his all-too-familiar cerulean eyes.
Mahado looked at Sekheth for the first time in thirty centuries. Thirty centuries have passed, the priests have walked on earth and with their ageless eyes, they witnessed the rise and fall of empires, the birth and death of mortals, and myriad of events that changed the course of human history. And with that long a time that elapsed, the image of the young man was as still clear as ever, burning like fiery symbol etched on his lasting memory.
There was no doubt that many physical characteristics have been altered and changed, but there were still a lot of signs that convey that the mortal is Sekheth. 'Cloaked in a different form, yet still the same. Such irony,' Mahado said in his thoughts. The "new Sekheth" was pale – starkly different from the tan skin of his previous incarnation, his once-unkempt chocolate-brown hair now short and tidy. The new vessel was just as tall as the last time, but there was a strange way that the new Sekheth held himself – it was proud and aloof – a far cry from the humble and warm aura from the other, scores of years back.
And his eyes – the blue tinge, startling and unusually bright. Yet this new Sekheth had his glazed over like ice, piercing and emotionless orbs staring out ominously. Now Mahado was beginning to doubt. 'Could this be truly Sekheth?'
"I'm sorry, Miss Isis, you must've mistaken me for someone else…"
Ishizu's eyes widened momentarily. 'He doesn't recognize us?' A thousand reactions went zooming in the priestess' mind, so many she can't even grasp where to begin. Yet she remained her calm despite this. Willing her voice that almost seemed to abandon her, she asked,
"Your name…"
----------
"Seto Kaiba…" murmured Seto in reply. He noticed the hopeful glimmer in the woman's eyes vanished instantly. The woman sighed.
"Of course. I should've known," she said as she shrugged, more to herself than to Seto. "My apologies."
Seto managed a simple nod. Mokuba was still in his older brother's arms, totally clueless, but was wise enough not to butt in adults' discussion.
"I must go…" the authoress announced all of a sudden. A huge groan answered her, coupled with voices from the press and swift clicks from their cameras. She turned around and walked away, flanked by other veiled men and the mob of paparazzi hot on their heels. Seto saw a veiled man regarding him curiously, and gave him one last look before finally turning away.
"I say, that was most unfortunate," came a voice behind his back.
Seto spun around and found himself face to face with a man in his early thirties, long platinum-silver locks spilled on his shoulders carelessly. Even the languid voice was not too hard to guess.
"Maximillian Pegasus."
----------
"I think I'm dreaming," Karimu muttered, still struck with a mixture of confusion and awe. He looked at Ishizu, hoping to get an answer that can explain what he had seen.
"That man is Sekheth, is he not?" Shada spoke, shattering the long silence that lingered in the group. Beyond the heavy oak doors, few activities buzzed outside as the media relayed their reports to their cameras, bringing along with them the surprised reactions from the authoress' fans. Hardly anyone believed that the writer fled almost at once, even before the ribbon-cutting ceremony. To Ishizu, it did not matter to her at that moment – there is a matter of higher importance.
"Yes, the man looks uncannily like Sekheth," Ishizu began, her brows furrowed. "But it is still uncertain…"
"Is this what you saw in your Necklace a while ago?" Mahado asked. "Tell us what you saw." Karimu and Shada looked up curiously.
As the holder of the Sacred Tauk, it is in Ishizu's prerogative to decide whether or not to disclose her foresight to the other priests. To the priestess, she felt that it was still against her will to reveal the vision, for she herself did not understood any of it. The intersection meant hardly any sense to her. But one thing was for sure…
…the Necklace did not give any hint of the arrival of Sekheth.
Why?
"The Necklace…it did not tell me of Sekheth…" came her quiet reply.
"What?!" Mahado stood up suddenly at the answer, apparently surprised. Even the other priests weren't able to stop themselves from doing the same thing. "The Necklace –"
"Yes, this Sacred Item gives its bearer visions of crucial and major events that shall come to pass…"
"But I don't understand; finding Sekheth is our ultimate goal - one that we have worked so hard to attain for more than centuries! The Necklace should've given you –"
"But it didn't." Ishizu interrupted. She shook her head wearily, trying as she might to get rid of the confusion that was starting to haze her otherwise-perceptive mind, but to no avail.
"Then what was it that the Sacred Item made you see?" Shada asked.
No matter how much Ishizu wanted to keep the vision to herself for the meantime, she decided against it. Right now, she did not want anything more than to throw some light on the recent events. And so she told them.
----------
"I have been hearing a whole deal from many business clients, and the press does seem to take a liking to you, I believe. But this is my first time to meet you personally."
Seto nodded in acknowledgement. "Indeed. The same goes for me, Mister Pegasus," he courteously replied.
Pegasus waved a hand carelessly. "Oh, formalities are hardly necessary. 'Pegasus' would suffice."
Not knowing what to respond, the brunet nodded again. Truthfully, his mind was wandering off to where the oak doors stood, where the revered authoress fled to after seeing him. He was at a loss of words, to put it bluntly. He could've sworn that for one wild moment, Isis looked as if she knew him all along – like meeting an old friend for the first time in a long while at the most unexpected place. Seto also felt that the other hooded men knew him as well. He thought that he was quite a social icon himself; naturally, people will instantly recognize him for who he is. Who wouldn't? But that was he thought at first.
Until the woman called him a name. "Is that you, Sekheth?"
"Yes, Mister Pegasus." The older Kaiba brother heard Mokuba reply, but not really hearing it altogether. But he didn't mind; he allowed his younger brother to converse with the businessman.
Sekheth. Sekheth. He had never heard of that name before. Unless his late parents gave him that name without telling him…but that was totally illogical. Seto knew fully well that his whole name just plainly consisted of two words: Seto Kaiba. That's it. God, he didn't graduate with full honors at a prestigious university without actually knowing his full name.
"It's nice to see that you're a fan of the authoress, Mokuba boy…"
So what was left to deduce for Seto (and this made better sense too) was that it was all a case of mistaken identity. Perhaps Miss Isis knew a certain Sekheth that resembled him at some aspects. After all, there's a good few billion people walking in this world; there is a possibility, after all.
Unless he had a clone. Seto snorted silently at this; now that was stupid.
Feeling relieved at some point, he pushed the thought away to the back of his mind, though an unsettling feeling was still left to gnaw into his consciousness. Isis looked so sure that he was Sekheth – it was disturbing.
'What the hell. I'll think of it later. All the deduction is wearing me out.' Exhaling a frustrated sigh quietly, Seto joined in the conversation.
----------
Atem curiously watched the humans from a small distance. A lot of lights still glimmered every so often, and tinkles of appreciative laughter from various people lingered in the cool night air. Judging from their garments, the prince could draw a conclusion that some sort of event and formal banquet was taking place.
'After all this time, humans still act uncannily the same, even after a long time has passed,' he said to himself. He strained his eyes to look past the glare of lights, and into what lay beyond the tall, lavish doors.
A flicker of hope ignited in his heart, lighting up, as would a merry fire can do wonders to cold and shivering hands. There may be a chance – a possibility – that he could be there…
Sekheth
His eyes widened in anticipation, as he felt his feet edge forward to meet the merry crowd of humans. A genuine smile broke free in his somewhat-taut features. But before he could draw close to a human, he stopped abruptly. Sadly, he shook his head.
As much as he'd want to join in with them, he could not. Hesitance and uncertainty held him back – for he is a vampire, a creature to be feared, after all. Mingling with them was simply just out of the question. The hopeful feeling in him abandoned him, and was now filled by a futile sense of loneliness and dread.
Atem consoled himself as he gazed longingly at the mortals before him.
----------
"I DON'T BELIEVE THIS!!"
Seto now wished he brought along a pair of earplugs with him. Mokuba was seemingly engrossed in screaming his head off inside the car, and was just as intent on not stopping any time soon. (The older Kaiba sent the limousine away, and ordered one of his cars to be brought instead. Seto suddenly decided he wanted to drive home.)
"I WAS THERE! RIGHT IN FRONT OF HER EYES! SHE EVEN PATTED MY HEAD!" The younger sibling made wild gestures with his hands as he stood defiantly on the car seat. Seto was eyeing Mokuba's shoes disapprovingly – he was stepping on expensive black leather seats.
"BUT DID I GET HER SIGNATURE? NO SIR, I DIDN'T!" Mokuba was now quivering with anger and regret as he embraced his books tightly, as if opting to never let them go.
"I wonder why…" Seto started, heaving a sigh as he did so.
----------
A sudden draft rattled the shattered windowpanes of a forlorn warehouse. There was little light glowing inside the decrepit structure, and along with it, the slow grunts and growls from a number of people.
Bakura observed the ongoing renovation from an electric post outside the building. He sniffed. "Ah, the residual flow of the Shadow…" he murmured, flicking out a finger as if tracing the waves of invisible energy on paper. "Atem seemed to be losing his cool quickly than I gave him credit for…"
His coffee-brown eyes landed on the broken-down bar and what was left of it. Numerous parts of the walls were badly cracked, along with pieces of equipment, which fared a lot worse. There was quite an impressive damage on the exit doors of the place – Bakura believed that it was the other lesser vampires that did it, while scurrying away with their lives. This made him let out a derisive snort. "You should've finished them off, all of them, the stinking lot…"
He sniffed again. "Half-bloods are such disgusting filth, don't you think, Marik?"
A shadow slinked from an electric pole not too far away from Bakura. A figure emerged. "How did you –?"
"I smelled a stinky half-blood rat; you're not particularly hard to miss," the white-haired vampire chuckled in reply. "You've been following me for two days now, tracing my progress from the skyscraper…"
Bakura proceeded to face the Egyptian vampire. "Needless to say, I am getting really pissed off…" his voice trailed off menacingly, as he twirled his fingers, a small Shadow orb pulsing gently.
Marik glared his purple eyes at the thief. "Stop flattering yourself, for I am not following you."
"Aha! Orders from the First Brood to track down and find the runaway prince, is it not?" The robber flipped his tousled hair nonchalantly over his shoulder. Then he raised his head up in mock concentration. "No, let me rephrase that. How about, 'Beat Bakura to finding Atem before he starts telling the prince about what really happened to his mortal'? Was that better?"
"You spout nothing but deception and lies; your words are poison to –"
"Ah, quit talking in literary gibberish, Marik," Bakura interrupted. "New age, new times. Hasn't anyone told you about that?"
"Shut up," Marik retorted.
"Now that's more like it," the thief sneered. "But I do feel offended about you branding me a liar…"
"Because it's true."
"Correction, Marik," Bakura held up a hand to silence the sandy-haired vampire. "If there's someone you should call a liar, it's your sister, not me. I happen to be an honest man in search for the prince befuddled by your sister's lies. Frankly, I was doing you guys a favor. And –"
Whatever Bakura had to say next, he stopped just in time to dodge a Shadow blast that was directed at him.
"Oi, that was uncalled for, you jerk! I'm not finished talking yet!" pale-haired Bakura exclaimed in surprise and fury.
"Don't you dare insult my sister, you bastard!" Marik's lavender eyes glinted with anger, as he threw himself at the other vampire with all his might.
Bakura cracked his knuckles pleasantly, amusement in his slanting eyes. "So you finally decided to take a one-way trip to hell, huh?"
"Allow me to give it to you!"
----------
Mokuba was still fuming when he grudgingly took a seat, apparently tired from all his shouting. Seto decided to cheer his brother a little when he decided to take a detour to a nearest Mac Donald's, the said restaurant being the younger Kaiba's favorite (3). His little brother's mood improved quite a notch when he opted to order practically everything in the menu list. The bill was huge, but it was nothing the CEO couldn't handle. He was disapproving of something else though: fast food stuff equals one huge gunk of grease, cholesterol, and fat.
The younger sibling bit into his Big Mac with gusto. His free hand strayed to a big clump of French fries, and plucked out three sticks. Seto watched in silent awe (not to mention disgust) as his brother ate in silence, all the while murmuring things like "signature", "stupid", and "why didn't I get it". He didn't quite grasp that his younger brother had an appetite of a monster.
"You've been staring at me since the past minute," Mokuba blurted out; this time he was submerging himself on a Quarter Pounder (traces of the Big Mac were nowhere to be seen). "There's still a lot more of this stuff; help yourself."
Seto quirked an eyebrow briefly at hapless mess strewn on the car seat – chicken nuggets, cheeseburgers, fish fillet, and other greasy delicacies – before turning away to face the window. "No thanks," he replied. But he had to admit, his stomach was gurgling a bit. He hasn't had a single bite since lunch.
'That's it; I want coffee,' he thought as he rounded a corner leading to a nearest Starbucks.
----------
Atem walked aimlessly again, all the more feeling dread and sadness swelling inside him. His previous trip only made him more lonely and detached from everyone. And his deep longing for Sekheth weren't helping matters.
In truth, he was starting to despair. All this time, the thought of finding the blue-eyed mortal once more was what that kept him alive – the single strand of hope he continually clung on. Yet it was starting to shatter – bit by bit – as the days and nights dragged on.
Where could Sekheth be? The prince assessed that he can be virtually anywhere; there must be a few more thousand cities dotting the world. And perhaps Sekheth would be cloaked in a different form, if he were indeed reborn into this world once again. He could be in another guise – what they might be, the young sovereign could only guess. His heart sank even deeper.
And if he were to find Sekheth, then what would happen? Would Sekheth recognize him right away? Would there be any traces left of the past memory they both had? How would the "new Sekheth" react if he were to be told of who he once was?
"Ra, does he even want to see me?" Atem murmured aloud. He stopped in his tracks and observed the night. He didn't know how much time has passed by, but it was quite certain that the emptiness of the street, give or take a few more stragglers eager to get home. A sudden wind blew around the vacant space. Atem felt extremely cold, and he knew it didn't come from the draft of air.
He sadly drew up his arms around him, hugging his lithe form tightly, wishing it were Sekheth who would be comforting him. With a heavy heart, he started to cross an intersection.
----------
Seto slid back inside the car, along with a few items he'd picked up from the coffee shop. He passed Mokuba the chocolate frappuccino the younger sibling asked for ("With lots of whipped cream, brother!" called the boy after his brother a while ago), and also a small bag of cookies. (4)
Mokuba was now happily munching the chocolate cookies when Seto turned the engine to life. His left hand on the steering wheel, the elder Kaiba blew the hot liquid in the paper cup. Smoke lifted in the air, bringing with it the smell of brewed coffee. He took a small sip, and proceeded to settle the cup on a built-in tray for glasses.
It was then when he let out a curse, wildly gripping the brakes, and brought the car to a screeching halt.
----------
Atem was thoroughly deep in thought that he did not sense a car coming his way. And when he did, his eyes widened in shock, and automatically triggered the Eye to life, as his body willed to take defense. He almost blasted the car that was careening to meet him, but thought better of it, as there were humans inside the machine.
Not a moment too soon, he pushed himself to the side, narrowly avoiding the impact by inches as he stumbled to the sidewalk and fell there with startling force.
----------
"Whoa, what was that?!" Mokuba gasped; the air was almost knocked out of him. He fluttered his eyes open, and found out to his relief, that they were still alive. One minute, he was enjoying his drink along with a handful of cookies, and the next thing he knew, the car tires screeched ominously, as he felt the car turning around suddenly and finally sidled in to a dangerous stop. His brother wouldn't have done that if there weren't someone on the road that was bound to get hit by the car.
"Did we hit someone?" Mokuba's pale blue eyes shone with fear. His question was not given an answer.
Beside him, he saw his older brother snapping seatbelts aside, throwing open the door angrily as he stepped out of the car.
"Big brother, what --?"
"Stay in the car," came his brother's icy tone.
----------
Seto was positively fuming, not having the ample time to celebrate when he managed to pull off a full 180-degree turn to save his and his younger brother's lives. 'Some stupid, fucking dunderhead found it funny to endanger everyone else's lives,' he thought angrily, pulling himself out of the car – an expensive one too. He was sure he didn't hit the suicidal git. It was a good thing too; he wanted to kill that person himself.
"Big brother, what -?" Mokuba's uncertain tone called from inside the car.
"Stay in the car," he ordered, unable to hide the anger in his voice.
Seto scanned the empty street and instantly found a figure in black gingerly standing up.
----------
"What the hell is your problem, you bastard?"
Atem blinked a few times as he got up from his crumpled state, one side of his body tingling with pain.
"If you plan to do some god-forsaken suicide, have the decency to do it somewhere away from us."
The prince's head was swimming uneasily, his eyes sliding out of focus. He willed his head to gaze upward, and he saw a peculiar vision…
Sekheth was standing before him.
----------
"Are you even listening?" If Seto was fuming, now he was undoubtedly feeling impatient. He was just a few steps away from the person he almost hit – which was a he, now that he confirmed it. And upon closer inspection, it was a pale young man with vivid spiky hair donned in black leather. From the looks of it, the boy was some thrasher, undoubtedly high with drugs and narcotics.
The boy motioned his head and looked at him with a dazed look. Seto saw the person's face for the first time and noticed at once a pair of startling red eyes, which in Seto's opinion, were probably contact lenses with red tint. Yet he couldn't help but think that those carmine pools were real.
Seto noticed that the person was pale at first sight, but now, he realized that he was too pale, as if he was running out of blood. For a moment, his anger subsided, and he felt worry for the stranger.
"Are you still alive?" he found himself asking, and then realized that the man was indeed alive – he was still moving, for god's sake.
The stranger stood up and continued to stare unblinkingly at Seto, his red eyes misty and far-off. The man then moved closer to him, willing to close their distance.
"What –"
The rest of Seto's words were cut short as the young man's lips proceeded to seal his.
----To Be Continued----
Footnotes: (1) Kemet is the ancient name of Egypt, which means 'black soil', because of its fertile land.
(2) I thought I might want to repeat it… 'Neb ma'atra' is the Egyptian word for 'beloved'.
(3) Well, there's no official release as to what's Mokuba's favorite fast food, so Mac Donald's it is! Actually, it's my favorite! XD
(4) Also my favorite drink and munchie in Starbucks Coffee XD ((drools)) I think I want one right now… XP
Author's Notes: YAHOO! Chapter Seven done! And…it's a cliffhanger again…hehehe ((sweats nervously))
Now that Seto and Atem have officially met, expect the story to be in a lot of tangles. Let's not hope that my story goes downhill from this point! ((gulps)) So tell me what you think of it! I want nothing more than your enjoyment so I badly need your feedback so I could further improve this story! XD If you're willing to beta this before I post it, tell me!
Again, I'm plugging my other story, Against Protocol! If you have time to spare, feel free to peruse it!
I'm sending new fanart! One problem, though…it's not YGO. All my YGO stuff aren't scanned yet, and what I have are a handful of drawings from other anime, like Crush Gear Turbo… So tell me if you still want to receive it! It's my personal favorite, and I love to share it with you lovely readers! Just give me the go signal!
So what's in Chapter Eight? An intense battle between two vampires begins, and an old love awakens in the dormant heart of the Pharaoh. And a whole lot more! So stick with me! XD
Thanks a lot and Rock On!