Curse in the Heart of the Cards
by: Eyes-of-Pearl
Rating: G
Chapter 7
When Yami next opened his eyes, he was back in Yugi's room. The most surprising thing was that he no longer needed to inhabit the young boy's body for survival. Yami believed that it attributed to the new powers at his disposal. Yes ... he recalled every detail. From now and the days to come, he shall revisit those memories and at times, shared with Yugi, Joey and Tea.
He thought of Kaiba as well, but he knew that Kaiba had made his own choice. Whether Yami agreed with those choices was a different matter, but he was content, though it was bittersweet. There were those memories of a girl who would never return except when summoned as a figure in a card. No, Yami was satisfied for he had discovered much of his past and was ready for the future.
Time shift: a couple weeks later
Kaiba had been working ceaselessly on L4 along with Quatre on the new prototype for the duelling system. If possible, Kiba submerged further into his work. His ideas were ingenious and ambitious. His attitude was more curt but he was undeterred in his course and was already making plans for Kaibaland, a dream that he had erected for Mokuba since they were kids.
Speaking of dreams ... he had strange ones of desert sands, of golden halls, of enticing smiles. They were lucid dreams, between wakefulness and the realm of sleep. He thought little of them as they became hazy and faded with the weeks. Even in the solitude of his office and the pattering of the rain, the images became only a lingering presence in the back of his mind. He talked to nobody about what was in his thoughts, so instead he focussed on something tangible: his work. Kaiba was satisfied as he poured his energies into the planning.
It was one of those times when he was studying some unfinished blueprints that he caught Quatre's voice outside. "Amy, I had a really nice time. Sorry, I had to cut it short."
"Don't worry about it, Quatre. I'll call you after I land on Earth," replied a feminine voice, presumably Amy.
Kaiba rummaged his thoughts for the name, Amy. It sounded familiar but for the life of him, he could not remember where he had heard it before. His thoughts of the last few weeks were a blur but Kaiba gave up trying to distinguish between dreams and reality, instead he found himself listening to the conversation outside.
There was a moment of silence before Kaiba heard Quatre's voice again. "Heero, Trowa, Duo, Wufei, it's nice to see all of you but why do I get the feeling that I may not like this one bit."
"C'mon Quatre, you know these three with their moods. Honestly, I just want the best for y'all," answered a cheery male voice. Again, there was silence before the same voice said, "Geez, can't you guys take a joke?"
The comment was followed by Quatre interfering by directing his friends into his office and Kaiba heard no more. The auburn-haired man returned to his work before him. Silence reigned until he once again heard Quatre's voice. "Guys as much as I appreciate you coming over, I already made my choice. I love Amy. Yes, I do. Be happy for me. This is what we worked so hard for. Doesn't that count for taking a chance?"
It wasn't long that a murmur could be heard, "Follow your heart then."
"Yeah, listen to Trowa. I'm all for this, Quatre," said the previous upbeat voice.
"Emotions make you weak, Quatre, but you still have humanity," came a monotonous voice.
That comment was second by another, "Well if Heero agrees, then ... You fight well, fight for your heart. Nataku will be with you."
"Thanks Wufei. All of you, thank you," replied the grateful blonde.
Kaiba ventured out to see what was going on. He was curious as to who Quatre was talking to. As the metal automatic doors of his office opened, he realized that the four friends were on their way out. The tallest one with one of his eyes covered by his chestnut-coloured hair was in the front. He was followed by a Chinese man who was shaking his head at his companion, one with a long braided hair. Finally, Kaiba locked eyes with the one with messy brown hair and emotionless prussian blue eyes. No words of acknowledgeable were spoken, and then they were gone.
Quatre noticed that Kaiba was standing there but without a word, the older man returned to his office. Quatre had wanted to talk to Kaiba for awhile now, but the moment never seemed right. Kaiba was burying himself further into work and building his personal empire. Quatre was not proud of the success that Kaiba Corp and Winner Corp had found themselves, but the blonde simply felt that Kaiba was being increasingly introverted.
Quatre thought back not so long ago when Kaiba first came to L4. They had attended a Charity Gala at the museum that was featuring various Egyptian hieroglyphics. Quatre had met up with Dr. Amy Mizuno. They had immediate chemistry and settled into a discussion of ranging intellectual topics but something had happened to Kaiba since then. Kaiba was staying later and later in the office and no matter how early Quatre came in, Kaiba was always there first.
Now, instead of returning to his office, Quatre followed Kaiba into his. Upon entering, he found the said occupant standing in front of the windows with his back to the door. Kaiba had seen the blonde's entrance from the reflection of the glass and grunted in greeting. Neither of them began the conversation with Kaiba starring out the window and Quatre wandering around the spacious, yet barren office.
"So Winner, who were they? It certainly didn't appear to be a social call." Kaiba finally asked from his spot by the windows.
Quatre wasn't sure what question to expect but he supposed that one was as good as any. "They are friends, Trowa Barton, Duo Maxwell, Wufei Chang and Heero Yui. They worked for the Preventers," said Quatre.
Again, Kaiba got a sense of deja vu but instead he said, "And what did they want?"
Quatre stiffened slightly at the 'interrogation'. "It was more or less a social call. I did get security checked out. Did they bother you at all?"
Instead of answering, Kaiba replied by saying "You know one of them said that emotions make you weak. He could not be more right."
Quatre sensed that Kaiba was on the verge of disclosing whatever was plaguing him for the last couple of weeks. Kaiba continued, "Emotions are dangerous if you base your action on them. It takes a competitive drive, the sureness of the mind, it is about analyzing each strategy as a precise move. There can be no room for failure."
"I think that it is important to have aim, one can't be blinded by the sole drive for ambition alone. One needs a purpose for loving, true living to enjoy life in all its facets. Life is never easy and often can't be explained systematically and logically. Sometimes, your mind can't decide. It is internal. It is about your heart wants."
Follow your heart ... what does it want? Kaiba thought of those words, ones given by one of the Preventers as they echoed those from fragmented dreams. It struck to the heart of his fears and uncertainties. Kaiba was one to take risks but is he willing to gamble his heart?
Quatre spoke through Kaiba's contemplations. "I love Amy and we're both willing to make it work. There are things in the past that will always be a part of me. It is inescapable but I can't change the person that I am. I can only compromise but I know one thing that I can't compromise is my heart. You can't help who you love, Kaiba."
Seeing the unresponsive stance, Quatre continued on, "You don't believe me?"
At his pause, Kaiba turned and stared at his young business partner. "Kaiba, I never told any outsider this ...I was a solider during the Eves Wars. I killed people, colonies and mobile suits. It is never easy to bear the pain alone. We all need friends, Kaiba."
It was as far as Quatre was going to disclose. After all, there was security to maintain the identity of the Gundam Pilots. He hoped the knowledge would help Kaiba decide whatever he wanted in his heart. Quatre would not and could not be the one to decide for him.
To say the least, Kaiba was shocked to hear Quatre's admission. Quatre would be the last one that anybody would suspect in having anything to do with the wars. Then again, nobody would think that he was a High Priest to the Pharaoh of Egypt 5000 years ago.
When those thoughts escaped his unconsciousness, he knew them to be true. Like Quatre, who would have thought ... He had to look inside himself to determine if love is worth taking a chance in the chaos of this world. He had been independent for so long. He had wanted to become the best duellist because he had wanted to escape the very image of his stepfather, to be himself. He had kept running for so long that he had lost sight of what he was running from. Is it too late to find what he had lost? Then, he looked at the blonde before him and said, "You know Winner ..."
"I know, Kaiba. Good luck."
Quatre saw the moment of epiphany that passed through the older man's eyes. There need to be no words because Kaiba was too stubborn not to get what he wants.
Kaiba made his way to the upper level of the Winner building to one of his own private floors. There, he retrieved a single titanium plated briefcase which contained his duelling deck and disk. Then, he journeyed upwards to the roof. From the inner pockets of his trenchcoat, he pulled out a remote control. After pressing the button, the roof disassembled and a small sized plane in the shape of the Blue Eyes emerged.
Kaiba settled into the cockpit and with a single destination in mind, he took off for Domino City.
Yami visited the museum on its last night of the Egyptain exhibit. The events of the last weeks seemed to have been erased from everyone's mind as nobody seems to remember a certain Dr. Serena Tsukino. Only Dr. Amy Mizuno was there to coordinate the event. Announcements of the Charity Gala advertised the appearance of Quatre Rebarba Winner and Seto Kaiba from their recent business merger. Yami wondered as he did many times before this, how much Kaiba remembered from the last weeks, if at all. Putting the thought aside, he meandered through the various artifacts.
Then, just as quickly to his surprise, Yami found himself face to face to the one and only Seto Kaiba. "Kaiba, what are you doing here?"
The azure eyes bored into his when Kaiba said, "You still remember, don't you ... the girl that is fading from my dreams. We knew her."
Yami tried to downplay the shock from his face before he countered, "I thought you want to forget the past. That is what you want ..."
Walking away, Yami was taken aback when he heard Kaiba's reply. "I can't forget my heart. Yami, can you?"
"What did you say?" In all the times that they had encountered, Kaiba had always referred to him as Yugi, never Yami, no matter which form he was in. Now...
Kaiba simply said in his defiant voice, "You heard me."
"What made you change your mind after all this time."
"I don't know what happen from the time that I came to L4 till now. It is liked being caught between waking and dreaming. You don't know what you feel is real or simply part of your imagination. Day by day, I feel like I am losing a part of something that I cannot tangibly grasp again. All I have is this card ... even now it haunts me, taunting me with its secrets."
Yami stared at the 'Betrayal's Demise' card and looked to Kaiba and said, "Are you ready for those secrets, Kaiba?"
End of Chapter 7
It is a horrible place to stop but I had to sometime because the chapter is getting a bit long. The next one will be the final one, I promise and maybe you'll see why I cut it off here. Please r/r and leave me comments. I take constructive criticisms, so until next time ...
