Please Read and Review… mainly because I'd like to know what you think.
SETO KAIBA NICKNAME VOCABULARY NOTE:
Koryuu – Little Dragon – is back in use as the nickname for the 13 year old Seto Kaiba.
FIGHT (I really couldn't call it Martial Arts) VOCABULARY:
SHURIKEN: Any small blade that can be thrown at an enemy. Usually in the shape of stars – especially in kung-fu movies, but they could also look like knives or darts.
BO or BO STAFF: This is basically a long stick, about the height of the person using it. Using mostly two-handed (with some one-handed and release moves) the person makes sweeping, slashing and thrusting moves very quickly.
HAMBO: This is a three foot stick that is used for various striking and chopping moves. Typically used for kata, not sparring – and only a single Hambo is used as opposed to the one in each hand method I described here.
NOTE on BEWD PLANE: In the DOOM arc Kaiba's BEWD plane gets trashed.
CHAPTER 21: WELCOME TO THE MONKEY HOUSE
JOUNOUCHI'S POV
It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. For one thing, Mokuba had every video game known to man. For another, Kaiba was polite, when he spoke. Which wasn't often. And he only occasionally rolled his eyes when he thought someone (well, okay, me) had said something stupid.
I couldn't believe we were all spending so much time hanging out at the mansion – although in a weird Kaiba sort of way, I suppose it made sense. Kaiba wanted Yami. Oh, it's not like anything resembling an expression, let alone a smile crossed his face. It's not like he said anything, and no one had the nerve to mention it to his face, but it was obvious: he had it bad.
Maybe if he'd acted like a typical, horny, teenager I would have had some sympathy for him – but who am I kidding? That would have been the one thing that would have had me laughing out loud, instead of just to myself. I mean, let's face it, it was a real hoot thinking of Kaiba being led by his dick. Here I was all these years, thinking his brains were in his ass…
It was funny. We'd both done time in the Shadow Realm. We'd both been turned into statues by Noa. We'd both had our souls stolen by DOOM. You'd think all that would have created a bond between us, wouldn't you? But you'd be wrong. I have to admit, I didn't really hate him the way I used to. Well… not until he walked in the room, and his high and mighty attitude pissed me off all over again.
I mean… who did he think he was fooling with that Ice Prince act? Take away his money and his corporation and the flunkeys who jumped every time that he sneezed… take away his planes and limousines… and he was just another street thug. The only difference between us, was that my way into a new life was through my friends. His idea of a winning move was apprenticing himself to a murderer. And he acted like that made him the better man. He acted like we weren't worth the time it took to ignore us.
I shook my head. In a way though, I'd misjudged him. I always figured that Kaiba was the kind of guy who thought that his hand was the only thing good enough to touch his cock. And to think it was Yami, of all people, who brought him down. Again.
It would have been even funnier if I could have convinced myself that Yami was just playing him. (Man, would I like to see someone use and throw away Kaiba, for a change.) Or that after 3,000 years, it was just that Yami was horny enough to jump anything that moved… even Kaiba. But I knew – Yami wasn't playing. He cared. It was as if he had come all this way to find himself, only to discover he needed Kaiba. Not that he said anything, either – at least to me. I suppose he told Yugi something.
I couldn't get why Yami wanted an ice cold killer like Kaiba. And Mr. CEO was so stuck on himself, it was hard imagining him getting down with the only guy ever to beat him twice. But I was all for it. I mean Yugi had a thing for Anzu like, forever. It had to clear the field a little, having his main rival screwing his main rival.
So if Yami and Kaiba had a duelists-with-benefits thing going, I could live with that. My friends have always been more important to me than my enemies, anyway. And besides Yugi, Yami was one of the best. That's the real reason I kept my mouth shut. (Besides the fact that my run-ins with Seto hadn't exactly left me aching to find out just how much damage Kaiba could do, if he put his mind to it.)
We'd all been through a lot together, but it was pretty damn embarrassing realizing how little I knew about Yami. I mean I hadn't even known he was into guys – let alone homicidal computer geeks – and that's a pretty big item to miss. To be honest, I'd never really thought about Yami before. He was this 3,000 year-old dude who lived in Yugi's puzzle, and only came out to save our lives, or when a hot duel was going down… and I'd always kind of left it at that.
So it was like I was seeing him now for the first time… now that he'd finally found something new… now that he'd finally found something that stripped away those 3,000 years.. reminding me that he'd been a teenager like me the day he had died.
Yami was almost as mum about whatever was going on as Kaiba was. And that made me realize something else – Yami had never talked much. His thoughts and feelings had always been filtered down to us through Yugi. As far as I could tell, Kaiba was the first thing Yami wanted for himself – the first thing he had thought of that hadn't been in Yugi's thoughts first. I wouldn't have been much of a friend if I hadn't tried to help Yami figure out who he was, and what he wanted – even if his wanting Kaiba had me convinced that his puzzle had been dropped on the floor once too often.
I don't suppose Kaiba liked us, any more than we liked him. But he was always one for dealing with the facts on the ground. He accepted that Yami wanted Yugi, and the rest of us came along as a package deal. Just like we accepted that Yami wanted Kaiba, that Yugi would be there for Yami, and the rest of us were along for the ride.
There was one thing that we all agreed on. We all loved Mokuba… both of them.
KAIBA'S POVI don't know how Mokuba had talked me into taking the punk with us when I took them up for the first flight in my newly rebuilt Blue Eyes White Dragon jet. But I was touched that Mokuba had remembered how much I had loved being in the air when I had been Seto's age – even with Gozaburo at my side for each business trip. Mokuba had remembered how much I had wanted to take control of the plane myself… how much I had wanted to be the one flying.
And today… I had planned on taking Mokuba and Kouma with me. It would have been cruel to exclude Seto. But that doesn't explain how he ended up in the co-pilot's seat, with Mokuba and Kouma in the back.
I had gone over the specifications with Seto as it was being rebuilt. They were familiar, of course. The jet wasn't all that different from the fighter plane he had just finished designing. Except this time, the only payload we were carrying was named Mokuba.
Seto and I might have been sitting next to each other, but at least Mokuba wasn't expecting us to talk. I guess most people would have been able to think of a lot to say to their younger (or older) selves. But I looked at him and saw my failures; saw the criminal who had designed Gozaburo's weapons; saw the traitor who had tried to kill Mokuba. Seto hadn't done it yet… but he would.
And he looked at me, and saw the proof of his worst defeat; saw the proof that he could be broken. I can never undo my actions, any more than I can cleanse the reminders of Gozaburo that are branded into my soul… or erase the shame that goes with them. I had tried running. I had tried fighting. Now, for the first time, I was hesitantly trying to learn to live with the scars, instead. And how could I expect Seto to understand something I couldn't figure out, myself?
Although Seto and I rarely talked, we were together surprisingly often. We sparred together, almost every night; practiced kata. Although I don't know if beating the crap out of each other on a regular basis counted as bonding.
I looked at Seto. It was good to know that I was five years smarter – or at least five years subtler. The punk should have known that I'd be on to him… that I'd know about his little meetings with Akunadin. After all, there wasn't an escape from the mansion he could come up with that I hadn't tried first.
But he was a little too sure of himself… just as I was. It was going to get him in trouble… one day.
Oh, I set a few roadblocks in his way. If he'd escaped too easily every time, he'd have smelled a rat. So I threw in just enough obstacles to make it interesting, and let him go often enough to convince him that he'd duped me along with everyone else. I didn't mind the effort. It was fun. He was a worthy opponent.
Even if I hadn't been monitoring his movements, his conversations, I would have known something was up. Seto should have realized that his video game would give him away – after all, we'd been working on it together for weeks. He probably assumed, that even if I figured it out, I'd let him continue as long as the meetings continued to improve the product. There was some truth to that assumption, but it wasn't the whole story. I knew what was driving him, better than he knew himself.
He was a perfectionist. And he was designing an Ancient Egypt so real, so vibrant, that anyone playing his video game would lose themselves in his world. He had found his escape – the only one that he would permit himself.
It was interesting watching him. He couldn't resist embedding a piece of himself in the program; hardwiring his DNA into its codes. And so the characters and plot had started to resemble the little action-adventure drama we were currently engaged in. I wondered if their unfolding dilemmas would be ours…
Nobody… not even Mokuba… not even Yami… not even myself… understood how I merged with my creations… or why I couldn't design the simplest program without leaving a splinter of my heart in its core. The game was in Seto's blood now, it had become a part of him. And I couldn't take that away – not without greater cause.
And there was another reason why I didn't put a stop to it… the real one. Mokuba was running interference for him. And I wouldn't go against Mokuba, ever again.
I glared at Seto in the co-pilot's seat. He looked even grungier than usual – possibly in honor of the plane ride. His T-shirt was sloppily tucked into the front of his jeans, revealing his dragon belt buckle. It was the one item I approved of.
The T-shirt had started life midnight blue; the jeans, black. They had probably been unexceptionable before Seto had decided to throw bleach all over them. He had burned pinpoint holes through the shirt, each with their own white tail. If you squinted and used your imagination, it looked like a meteor shower was passing across his chest. If you didn't, it merely looked like Seto had fished his shirt out of a dumpster… after the rats had gotten to it.
There were no holes in the jeans. The tougher fabric had defeated him – or more probably, he had decided to rinse the bleach out sooner. It had merely discolored the material, fading it in cloud-shaped splotches to a dingy, yellowish gray, and then to white.
"I can't believe that, left to my own devices, I could ever look like such a piece of shit," I told him, sourly. "Maybe it's just as well that Gozaburo kept me on such a short leash."
"Leash is the word all right," he responded.
After a moment I joined his laughter. And nodded for him to take the controls. He knew how to fly, had been in simulations before. He had created the plane's basic design. It was time he knew what it felt like to fly, for real.
Of course the punk started spiraling on purpose – keeping the altitude steady as he rotated the plane until we were upside down then right-side up again. He was banking through the clouds; trying every trick he'd practiced in simulations when he thought no one was looking. As he gained confidence, he picked up speed. I hoped he'd have the sense to stop before Kouma threw up.
I glared at him, then looked away. I had never seen a look of pure joy on my face before; never seen a wide open-mouthed smile. I shook my head. He looked like a fucking asshole.
YAMI'S POVIn the early morning and late evenings, when Yugi's friends were absent, the mansion was a subtly crazier place.
For once, they were in the other kitchen. The chef had fled. The reason for the change of venue was clear. There was more room… and more implements. They were using the kitchen utensils for some sort of demented fight game. Sugoroku was sitting at the table by the door, in open-mouthed appreciation.
Koryuu (and it was easy to think of Seto as a little dragon, watching him fight) had grabbed pizza cutters, shrimp prongs, paring knives – anything that was small and pointed – and was using them as shuriken – flinging them at Kaiba, point first. Kaiba was wielding a long handled omelet pan, using it, as I had seen him use his sword, to deflect the objects back at Koryuu, who was using an oversized ladle as a shield of his own. Both were laughing maniacally.
"YUGI!" I called, using our mental link to wake my sleeping aibou. "You have to come down to the kitchen and see this!"
Seto had finally run out of pronged implements. With a cry of frustration he threw the ladle at Kaiba's head. Still laughing, Kaiba opened the freezer door to block it, then reached around and started lobbing the frozen food inside at his younger counterpart. Seto grabbed a wok to catch the missiles and was busy hurling them back as fast as they came. There was a big oval work table in the middle of the room. They were on opposite sides and were ducking behind it occasionally for cover. I started to wonder what had set them off this time, then decided I really didn't need to know, and took a seat next to Sugoroku to enjoy the show.
Yugi came in, rubbing his eyes. He stopped on the threshold, blinking, before joining me with a grin. He was followed by Mokuba and Kouma, who seemed to have a sixth sense for those rare occasions when their older brothers were enjoying themselves.
Kaiba had finally reached Seto, vaulting over the table as Seto ducked behind it. He threw the boy over his shoulder, as he had Shadi, clearly aiming for the wall again… but Koryuu rolled out, stood to face Kaiba again.
Kaiba was pressing his advantage, using his longer legs to close the gap between them. But Seto grabbed the oil can, and poured it at Kaiba's feet. He slipped on the slick surface, his feet flying out from under him, but in midair he managed to turn it into a flip; landing on his feet once more. But Seto had put the length of the table between them, again. This time, Kaiba tried jumping on top of it, kicking everything on its surface – food, pans, appliances – in Koryuu's direction. The younger boy had grabbed a broom, and broken off the head. He was using it like a Bo Staff, trying to sweep Kaiba's long legs out from under him.
One of Kaiba's feet kicked out, neatly snapping the Bo Staff in half. With out missing a beat, Seto started swinging both sticks in unison, "Did you forget that Hambos work just as well for me?" he taunted, as Kaiba jumped down on the opposite side of the table. As the faced each other once again, Yugi said, "Jounouchi was right. You guys really do look like a Jackie Chan movie."
That got Seto's attention, although not enough to break his concentration. It was just as well. They were fencing with BBQ prongs.
"Who the hell is Jackie Chan, anyway?" Seto yelled in frustration, whether at his ignorance, or at his inability to skewer his older self was difficult to say.
Kaiba disengaged… stared at Seto as if suddenly seeing him. "That's right," he said in wonder, "I never saw a movie until Gozaburo died." He gave a harsh bark of laughter. The sound sparked Seto's anger. Suddenly he wasn't play fighting any more. He dropped the prongs and reached for the cleaver instead.
"I wouldn't," Kaiba warned. "If you kill me, you might destroy your own future, too."
"Would that be such a loss?" Seto retorted.
"I don't know," Kaiba replied, his humor deserting him. "For what it's worth – I wasn't laughing at you. Or if I was, I was laughing at myself more."
Seto released the cleaver, but his hand still twitched. And the anger hadn't left his eyes.
Kaiba smirked. "Go ahead. We both know you're dying to."
In one motion, the boy picked up the cleaver and threw it. I hoped his aim was off on purpose. Even I could see that the knife was probably going to sail over Kaiba's head. Probably. Kaiba could have ducked, but at the last moment he grabbed the cutting board and swung it over his head, embedding the cleaver, blade still quivering, in it's surface.
"How's that for a finale?" Kaiba asked, addressing his audience for the first time, before turning to Seto to say, "Come on… we have some movies to catch up on."
AUTHOR'S NOTES
THANKS to laura m and Kagimihari. Laura m started the ball rolling on this chapter with some really thought provoking questions on how the Yugi-tachi felt about Yami and Kaiba being together. Our e-mails helped me to figure out what was in Jounouchi's mind. Before that, the narrative was four paragraphs long, and much weaker. And thanks, as always to Kagi for listening to me sort things out in my head.
Seto: In a real way, Seto hasn't learned to put limits on his own behavior. His life has taught him that those in power set the rules, and they are neither fair nor just. But the limits on his behavior have always been external – he was wary of Gozaburo, and probably careful not to push him too far. I think that's part of the reason he went so crazy after Gozaburo's death – all of a sudden those external limits had been removed, and he had nothing to replace them with. I see him being in the same situation here – a little bit. (There's not as much pressure on him, in that he feels safe, and also he hasn't been as badly damaged – he's still about two years younger than the Death-T version.) But I can still see him being borderline out of control
Seto's clothes: I tried to carry that rebel/punk idea in his clothes. Seto's very creative and very destructive – so I thought he might express himself with deliberately (and artistically) damaged clothes. And like his older self, he might have a flair for the theatrical.
Title Note: One of the cool things about picking books, movies, etc, as chapter titles is that you occasionally get to sneak in a favorite author, in this case, Kurt Vonnegut.
RESPONSES TO REVIEWSYami and Kaiba: (Darkstar71, Desidera, EcoGoth, laura m, Mistal: The Poisoned One, MotherCHOWGoddess, Nachzes-Black Rider, QueenOfGames2, Sylvia Viridian) Yami realized that first night, that getting Kaiba to recognize and accept his feelings was going to be a long battle. Kaiba isn't intentionally being difficult or cruel. And he's not trying to insult or hurt Yami. He simply doesn't believe that any of this is real, because he can't imagine what it would look or feel like to have someone care for him, and he's not any more in tune with his own feelings (not to mention that he's DENSE.) He also doesn't really know how to act around people out of a business setting, or believe that he matters enough to Yami for his actions to hurt.
But just as the tightness of Kaiba's grip helps reassure Yami that he's solid, I think he would be hurt when Kaiba treats the relationship as though it was an illusion. I think he would understand how difficult this is for Kaiba, but he would also make it clear when his behavior is unacceptable.
Timeline, competition, sex (that got your attention, didn't it?): I picture abouttwo weeks going by betweenChapter 18, when they first sleep together to Chapter 20. I go into a little more detail on what happened those two weeks a few chapters later. I picture them being kind of competitive from the beginning – one of the first things Yami notes is that he's pleased Kaiba fell asleep first. As to how often they are having sex… well they're two teenage guys – one of whom is in his own body for the first time in 3,000 years, and the other of whom is in a relationship and feeling cared about for the first time – between their age, hormones, and emotions… pretty often would be my guess.
Akunadin, Seto, flashbacks: (Clarity, Katty Sarcasm. Nachzes-Black Rider) I know – I'm beginning to realize that this story requires a lot of patience. First I made everyone wait for 18 chapters for Seto and Yami to hook up, now I'm making everyone wait for Akunadin's reappearance (not to mention more Seto and more flashbacks.) But I'm not just being a tease (honest!) I'm trying to set things up so that when Akunadin re-enters the picture, the events that follow make some kind of emotional sense. The story isn't quite as meandering as it seems (or maybe it is, it's hard to judge your own work.) Anyway, I seem to be asking for patience. Again.
Sugoroku: (AmunRa, Desidera, Katie Torango, QueenOfGames2, samurai-ashes, Skecchi, Wintersslayer) Sugoroku's had this really interesting life – he was this Indiana Jones style archeologist/treasure hunter. But I can see him, enjoying settling down and being 'Jichan' – and maybe being pleasantly surprised to find that watching Yugi's friends is just as interesting as the rare artifacts he used to search for. I can see him being amused by all the drama, and laughing at Yami and Kaiba – neither of whom are used to being laughed at.
The Macarena: (AmunRa, MotherCHOWGoddess, Wintersslayer) I actually considered using Beethoven's Ode to Joy – but I couldn't imagine Mokuba picking it. I was trying to think of a really silly pop song that everyone would recognize, and which would be even sillier and more annoying when played on a watch alarm. Then I saw a VHS show called "One Hit Wonders" and the top spot was won by "The Macerena".
Ryuujin: (Kurosaisei) Your Japanese was correct. I should have said Dragon King in my notes – which I have corrected. When I think of Kaiba defeating destiny in his duel with Isis, or summoning his BEWD to save Mokuba in his duels with Noa and Amelda, there is something not only Dragon-like, but Dragon King-like about Kaiba. I think Yami would respond to that side of Kaiba. Also I wanted something as far from Koryuu – Little Dragon – as possible.
Yami/Seto group: (Katty Sarcasm) For some reason I couldn't put in the name before. It must have been a formatting problem, or maybe I just didn't do it right.It doesn't seem to like the sign, so I'm typing in (at) instead. Anyway, it's ThePharaohsPalaceII at yahoogroups. com