This chapter has been edited, 6th May 2005
CHAPTER 3: Speaking of the Past...
It was dark, but darkness was a blessing these days. The only thing Yami regretted was his inability to see the face he knew to be inches from his own; but he could feel the warm breath, soft upon his cheeks. He knew the mouth it came from to be warm and sweet, a stark contrast to the cold emptiness of the cell. He knew their flavour, their texture; and he craved their intoxicating power. Somehow, every slight caress of those unseen lips reached a part of Yami's soul he had believed dead from the long months' imprisonment...
His fingers hesitantly tripped around supple skin, to the nape of his lover's neck. He pressed his fingertips down, bringing those lips towards his own, eagerness making him clumsy. He could feel laughter in their kiss; laughter at his own lack of self control. But he needed this, more than anything in the world. He needed to be touched, to be held, to be kissed, because it was all that kept him sane.
A tongue brushed over his teeth, and a hand rested on his naked chest. Beneath the skin, Yami's heart skipped a beat, lost in the intense passion of the kiss. But his lover was drawing away; he was leaving...
"No!" cried Yami, clawing at the warm skin he had held moments before. But his fingers could no longer grasp what they had touched so intimately. He was losing his love to the darkness, and he knew that he was alone again. Alone, when loneliness was what he feared most of all...
He moaned, reaching blindly, his eyes opening wide. To his surprise, he could see... But he felt groggy, and there was sleep in his tired eyes. He had been dreaming.
He glanced around his cell, eyes falling upon his fellow prisoner. Kaiba was sitting, watching intently, and obviously had been for a while. Yami felt a slight flush creep up his neck.
"You were dreaming."
"I know."
"What about?"
"I don't want to talk about it." The deep blue eyes remained upon him, but he kept his face impassive. The silence spread between them, a river of unspoken thoughts creeping into the shadows, becoming steadily more uncomfortable. Yami finally felt he had to break it. "So, Kaiba, how did you end up in here?"
He had refrained from asking the question this past week; despite being desperately curious to know. Now, however, Seto Kaiba was without a doubt feeling better, and Yami felt that after all his care, he was due something other than the usual stony silence religiously observed.
Not that they were uncivil; when you're trapped in a prison cell, guarded by enemy soldiers, petty differences had to be ignored as much as possible. Sometimes Yami got the feeling that Kaiba's arrogance and icy disposition were just a façade to a more emotional, vulnerable inner spirit. Of course, at other times, the taller male managed to make his blood boil beyond reason.
"How did you come to be here, Yami?"
He noted the use of his real name, with a grudging smile. On what Yami supposed was the fourth day since his arrival, he had finally lost it with Kaiba, who continually called him by his hikari's name. After ranting for about five minutes, he had noticed the slight smirk playing about the other's lips. Yami realised Kaiba had been winding him up the whole time, and had gone off at him for even longer, calling him 'immature', and other, slightly more crude names.
"Well..." Yami began hesitantly, "when the enemy were rounding up civilians to put in... I think they said they were camps...? They came to take Yugi and I, so I fought them. Took down a few, too, before they knocked me out and dragged me in here. I haven't seen Yugi since..."
"You're worried about him?" His voice was soft, and Yami remembered Kaiba would understand, having the responsibility of an innocent loved one to protect.
He nodded. "Are you worried about Mokuba?"
"No. I know Mokuba is safe. Safer, perhaps, than most people in the world at the moment."
Yami quirked an eyebrow. "How so?"
"It's a long story."
Yami looked around the cell, a dry grin tugging at his lips. "As far as I can tell, time is not much of a concern."
This, Kaiba could not argue with. He sighed, linking his hands between his head for support, a thoughtful frown gracing his fair features. "This war was not a surprise, Yami. It has been a long, long time in the brewing; over a decade, at least. When China began rising as another economic superpower, the United States felt threatened and began searching for allies to decide supremacy through warfare. Japan answered the call. Every major economical and political event that has occured over the past few years has been the result of preparations for this war.
"I was indoctrined to the true foreign policy a few years ago; the government approached me to begin the production of weapons again, as Kaiba Corporation were once famous for. Well, obviously, I told them to stick it. But it seemed they had a certain... leverage."
Yami grimaced. "They threatened Mokuba?"
"Yes and no. They didn't threaten to harm him, per se. But they promised that, with the inevitability of war upon us, they could provide somewhere safe for him. If I complied to their terms, that is. So Kaiba Corporation, for the last four years, has been mass-producing highly electronic 'smart' weapons. And I have, in turn, been an active part of world politics to date.
"Which was all well and good, until Japan was invaded. Obviously, they wanted our manufacturing sites out of the way; and they wanted me...
"I too put up a fight - but, obviously, not enough of one." Yami could detect a slight note of shame in his voice. He knew Kaiba's pride was important to him, and could whole-heartedly relate. Yami felt more sorry for his rival than he had in a long time. "They captured me, and I was left in a tiny derelict cell, half open to the elements. It was so cold at night..."
Yami nodded, but remained silent. He got the feeling Kaiba was talking as much to himself as to Yami, and didn't want to lose this rare opportunity to see Kaiba with his guard down. "Some Japanese guerillas stormed the prison one night - in the chaos I managed to slip away. I had just cleared the area when I was recaptured by another regiment. Thankfully, they didn't seem to realise who I was, so they just crammed me in anywhere, I suppose."
He looked up, seeming to remember Yami's presence. "But how long have you been here?"
"A couple of months, I'd guess. Hard to tell in here, isn't it?"
Kaiba looked at him steadily, taking in the black-eye and cut lip, stilll prominent from his beating. "And your injuries?"
Yami flushed again, ducking his chin, hiding the threat of a blush creeping up his neck. "I lost my temper, and kicked one of the guards... he had been beating one of the other prisoners..."
Yami noticed the ghost of a smile flash deep within those shimmering ocean eyes; even as his features remained their usual blank and unreadable. There was something of the teenage duellist he had once been, still lingering in his aura. It was somehow reassuring; even after all this time, after all that had happened in the world, some things could not and would not be changed.
Kaiba lowered his voice to a conspiratorial whisper. Yami couldn't help but shiver at his tone. "So, now we know how we cam to be in here... How are we getting out?"
It took a moment for Kaiba's use of the word 'we' to register. Yami knew Kaiba was and always would be an independent soul. He was the sort of person who would never rely on another, nor would offer his own assistance or even attention lightly. So when he did notice the collective term, he couldn't help but smile to himself.
He wasn't alone, after all.
