Before I get into all the usual nonsense and ramblings of pre-chapter notes, I just have to say that I think you guys are so totally awesome, it's not even funny. I mean, I only have four chapters of this story, (well, okay, five if you include this one, heh), and I have, as of this moment, 72 reviews. That's crazy! That alone would be miraculous, but wait there's more! Not one flame. I repeat: Not one flame.
(knocks on wood)
There, now that I said it, it'll probably all disappear like it should…and I'll be all alone again, but I just had to comment on it while it was still here. (curses self at use of "it" like 50,000,000 times in those last two sentences)
So for those of you still here that weren't whisked away by the impressionable forces of the…unknown…(strangely put into semi-rest by the knocking of wood, weird), I hope you enjoy this chapter. It was difficult, but I've managed to deem it acceptable for your eyes. Thanks!
Warning: Adult themes, everyone. Yaoi, male on male, mentions of bad things like prostitution and rape, All Kids Out of the Pool.
Disclaimer: I don't own YGO.
Chapter Five: Dead
I have often wondered, (years later still), how it is possible for one's heart to remain beating even when it is currently nestling somewhere in the sole of your foot. For you see, that is what happened to me upon seeing the yellow spikes of hair and desperate, watery purple eyes in front of me on the night of The Oak Hole, (as I have come to call it in my mind), as I stepped into my office.
Next to him, Kuguro, (my head bodyguard), and half my staff of executives stood around him, smothering him, yelling at him at the top of their lungs—they were practically pushing the boy to tears where he stood, yelling at him like that. (Those were the shouts I had heard over the phone, probably.) Ichigata pattered around nervously trying to get everyone to calm down, I understood his hysteria, this was not a pleasant sight.
My heart settled in my feet, warming them over, but freezing the rest of my body from the sheer relief over the sight. I was fully prepared to see Toshokama, (or to be honest, the worst part of my imagination had actually conjured up a sights of Katsumoto), standing there smoking a cigar and waving around pictures of me in the willing positions I assumed for him during our visits. Then everyone would know. It would be in the newspaper and…my body had practically given itself a heart attack just with these thoughts—seeing my rival there had just sent it into climax. Thank god this was the denouement, the relaxation, the time I had to recuperate.
I closed my eyes. Relax, Seto Kaiba. The world hasn't ended just yet.
I swallowed mucus. It stuck in my throat.
So I coughed, cleared it. All at once the commotion stopped. Everyone in my office turned and looked at me, every mouth still suspended in silent speech.
"What is going on here?" I asked, using my most controlled voice, the quietest whisper in a ringing cloud of stinking breath.
Again, everyone tried to talk at once. I closed my eyes, again, and held up a hand. Running a company can be so much like babysitting five-year-olds.
Silence again.
I turned to the formerly harassed individual at the center of their death-ring. I motioned for them to move so I could get a good look at him.
I had been right, tears were near the dropping point in his eyes, his skin was red with embarrassment and something I couldn't identify, and he was soaked. Apparently he had been out in the rain earlier as well.
One hefty sigh. What the hell did he want? Now that I was finished praising the skies in relief, I was left with the annoyance of having to face this new problem.
"What do you want, Yugi?"
His eyes searched my face for some sort of compassion. I have to admit that those business execs, although they have the group mental capacity of a slab of rotten meat, can be pretty menacing when they want to be. Something like a small inkling of sympathy for him itched in the bottom of my stomach, like a pebble caught in your shoe or a grain of sand in your eye. But I didn't let it show.
"I…really need your help…with something…"
The voice of Motou Yugi. So feminine, so childish, so imploring of you, so irritating, so guilt-inducing…I could tell upon meeting him for the first time, (or even by the first note in his voice), that this boy would have made a great orphan, the first to be adopted. Or better yet a street kid; by the second day hustling spare change from sympathetic tourists he would have enough money to buy his own mansion.
"Oh well, Yugi. I don't have the time right now. Make an appointment next time, hai?" I had been disturbed from my time with Jonouchi for this?
Wait a minute…why did that bother me?
Oh, I know. I probably still felt guilty about punching him once, (iie, it was twice now), and I had missed my chance at a proper apology. I had already justified to myself the fact that Jonouchi needed an apology, he just wanted to survive after all.
Survive…I reserved that puzzlement in a mind-file for further study when I was alone.
"It's…im…it's really…important…" Yugi took a step toward me to show how important. Was he desperate or something?
"And?"
Yugi's face picked up urgency and then—suddenly it fell in pure sadness. Black sadness. Seriously, that kind of depression was a little dark for Yugi, almost frightening for a spectator such as myself.
"Onegai, Kaiba. Please." This look on Yugi's face…it was indeed desperate. I frowned.
"…Well, what is it?" He couldn't make me comply with just one look after all. "What could be so important that you had to run to my building at 10:45 in the middle of a Saturday night?"
His face turned downcast. I could be sure that I heard some sniffling. OK, something was definitely wrong. I mean…not that I should care, this didn't affect me in the slightest—this was my rival, my one enemy, perhaps the reason that people had stopped buying from me, the cause of my prostitution to Toshokama, the one factor in my life that needed immediate extermination—and yet I couldn't help but feel the pain emanating off of him. Why did that bother me…this didn't make any sense.
But what the hell. It was too late in the night for me to be questioning myself and what I felt.
"Everyone get out. Right now." Of course, I was talking to the businessmen polluting the air and making the situation ever-worse.
No one moved. I made direct eye contact with all of them, forcing them all into submission. "Did you think that I was kidding when I said that? Get out, all of you."
One by one, they shuffled embarrassedly out of my office. I stared at them all penetratingly as they passed by me, shooting them with pure hatred, injecting shame directly into their systems, making them remember every single sin they ever committed. (Part of my gift as a businessman, you see.)
Ichigata stared at me from his sitting position on the couch next to me desk, (it wasn't so much as sitting as it was collapsing, though), clearly perplexed. "Good work, Kaiba-sama," he sighed out.
I nodded and turned back to Yugi, who hadn't moved. "Dōmō, Ichigata. You may go as well, now." With every look of tiredness he nodded and left for his adjoining office. It was all so pathetic.
One day, Ichigata. We're probably both going to die of exhaustion over this whole mess, anyway. Just keeping walking the line down to the precipice. And then you are free to jump, if you want. End it all quickly.
Yugi and I were left alone.
I swallowed my hatred for him. The little grain of sand in my eye had turned to an entire beach after hearing the whimpers from his struggling tears. I traversed the distance between us. Standing above him, very near to his small, fragile figure, I hesitantly put my hands on his shoulders. Just small pressure, not really an embrace.
Like Ichigata and I, Yugi and I were probably both going to die from pain, anyway. I didn't know what his pain was, but I knew my own. Sometimes this was all I wanted, comfort. Why not give it to Yugi?
Suddenly I found myself thinking of Jonouchi. What would he say about all this? He definitely would have wanted to be here, right now.
Better yet, what would Yugi's answer be to the near-impossible question Jonouchi had asked me earlier? What would he want?
Also, what would Jonouchi do if I comforted him? What would he say? Would he push me away like a vile creature not worth his time? Would he hug me back, like Yugi was doing now? I imagined Jonouchi hugging me, instead of Yugi.
Something deep within me stirred.
I gasped involuntarily.
What the hell was that?
Before I could think about it anymore, Yugi decided to make his presence re-known and speak up.
From the folds of my trench coat, where Yugi's head was pressed firmly against my chest, where his hands were fisting my shirt, came a voice weak with free-flowing tears and over-bearing emotion, "He's dead…"
I looked down at the tips of the yellow spikes in my face. Yugi had already been wet from the rain earlier, so had I, but now we were both drenched in his tears, instead of the rain. I felt the newly formed spot of wetness in my shirt where he was crying.
But I kept my hands where they were. I summoned from my childhood the voice I had used to console Mokuba and asked in a shushed, calm tone, "Whose dead, Yugi?"
The strain of the head against my chest and the fists grasping my shirt increased. So did the force of the sobs. But no answer.
I didn't pressure him into answering right away. Instead I moved my hands to his back where I rubbed little circles of reassurance. "Yugi…" I prodded. This could be dangerous, I suddenly realized. Someone was dead for God's sake.
The muffled cry, "My grandpa!" He had shouted it, I knew. It just came out slightly muffled from the way his mouth was pressed against the cloth from my shirt.
Electricity of the coldest kind snaked through my veins. Yugi's grandfather…I knew him, didn't I? Hai, of course I did. He was the man with the Blue Eyes White Dragon card, wasn't he? Hai…I had given him a heart attack stealing that thing from him, hadn't I? Hai…and then I had ripped the thing in two, was that not correct? I knew this man. He was a kindhearted soul, it was true…he had died?
"Your grandfather is dead, Yugi?"
Strangling sobs. "Hai…"
Alright, then…what to do? I removed one hand from Yugi's back and ran it through my hair. A thousand thoughts circled through my mind. I needed to focus on just one, and forget my shock, the emotions lingering from thoughts of Jonouchi, and forget the shock that all this was happening so quickly—and to me, of all people. Why not to one of Yugi's cling-ons? Why had he come to me?
That wasn't important right now. I needed to find out if this man was really dead and where the hell he was, all the while keeping Yugi from severe depression.
"Where is the body, Yugi?" It was costing me a lot of self-control to keep that same Mokuba-stop-crying voice when asking him these questions.
More sobs. I wondered if Yugi could even hear me. Then he said through his tears, "At home…"
Good, he could hear me. "Is that where he died?"
"Hai…"
"He's still there now, right?"
"…Hai…"
"Alright. You need to take me to him, Yugi."
He sniffed a little. "Now?" And then he raised his face to meet my eyes. Red, blood-shot eyes mixed with the purple of his irises, face like a pale smudge, runny and watery, red marks staining his cheeks from the force of the hands wiping away his tears, nose running clear liquid all over his chin, mouth twitching, lines of saliva in the corners from the shouting and the sobbing. This was the Motou Yugi that met my vision. My heart wrenched slightly in his direction.
To answer his question, I nodded, while also offering a small smile. It didn't last, though. In fact, I'll be damned if Yugi even saw it, that's how quick I gave it to him. But at least I had given it at all.
Yugi detached himself from my waist, (which was all his little head came up to, after all), and went to recollect himself a little as I reached for my cell-phone. We were certainly not going to walk to his game shop, (I didn't even know it's precise location first of all, second of all Yugi was way too emotional for that sort of thing, and third, no one really needed to see him like this, anyway).
"Moshi moshi?" rang the tired, woken from sleep voice of Nakamura from the other end.
"Konbanwa, Nakamura. It's Kaiba. I need a ride somewhere, it is urgent. Where are you?"
"Uh…at home, sir." Just like the body of the senior Motou, supposedly. I shook that thought from my mind.
"Well, come to Kaiba Corp., immediately. I know it's very late, I apologize, but it's urgent, like I said."
"I understand. I'll be there right away, Kaiba-sama."
"Dōmō." I hung up.
Yugi stood in the corner practically punching his eyes he wanted the tears to stop. Now they would be even redder than before. I shook my head. This was crazy. Why was I helping him, again, this cry-baby? I don't know. But, as I said, it was too late in the night to be questioning myself.
I put a hand on his shoulder, and he looked up, eyes still red, but there was no more snot or saliva dribbling down his chin. I gestured for us to go down to the first floor and what for Nakamura there. He nodded.
So, we stood in the lobby of Kaiba Corp. waiting for a black limousine to pull up. Yugi seemed to be wishing that the result of what we would find at his house would be different, I could tell by the look in his eyes. Who would have done anything different? I was able to gauge just by seeing them together once or twice that Yugi cared about him like someone would care about a parent.
I sighed. What the hell did I know about this situation? The only person I had ever had to comfort when someone close to them died had been Mokuba and myself. I was easy; I just needed to tell myself to move on. And it wasn't like either of my parents actually cared about their gay son anyway, so that was settled rather easily. And Mokuba was young, I just told him that our parents had gotten called away on some sort of business and would be back later. Eventually the kid figured out that they were never coming back. But it wasn't until he was eleven, (about two years ago), that I had actually had to explain to him how they had died, which was the hardest part of it all, I guess. Although at that point Mokuba was at peace realizing that he would never get to know them, so there wasn't all that much drama.
But Yugi was different…he was, (I suppose), fourteen years old and he loved his grandfather. This would be all new to me. How was I supposed to fare here? Why was this all my burden?
Nakamura arrived rather swiftly, just on time. I had to hand it to him, he was a hell of a chauffer. It was his life's calling. And he was really loyal, as well. If only I had the money to raise his pay…
He didn't ask questions when he saw I was with my arch nemesis. In fact, he even gave both of us a greeting by name, "Konbanwa, Kaiba-sama, Motou-san. Where are we headed tonight?"
"Kame Game Shop, you know where that is, correct?" I answered. Yugi's eyes were glued to the floor.
"Hai."
"And hurry, Nakamura. This is very important."
"I will, sir."
Once again, to the merit of Nakamura, he got us there in 3 minutes flat, and the game shop was all the way on the other side of town. I wondered how long it had taken Yugi to run all the way to my building, probably a long time. The boy was so puny, he could not run that fast, I guessed. How torturous for him to be limited by his own failing stature, when his mind was running frantically for his destination…but that is a story that should only be told by him.
I had not bothered to ask Yugi how his grandfather had died. I should have. Then I might have been ready for the scene that met me when I arrived.
"Watashi no kami…" (My God) Nakamura said as we pulled up. I silenced him for Yugi's sake, but agreed internally.
The windows to the place were all broken in, the glass door was now only frame and it hung ajar with the shattered glass pieces littered all over the floor. The lights were on still, so you could see through it to the inside. The rows of duel monsters merchandise were broken into and thrown everywhere. Nothing was left sacred, it seemed.
I turned to Yugi after taking in this horrific mockery of the former sanctuary that was Kame Game Shop. "A robbery?" I asked.
He nodded. Tears welled in his eyes again, but he was already out of the car and running straight into the glass heaps before I could prepare him for what I knew was yet to come.
I ambled out of the car, trying to prepare myself for the scene. I followed Yugi into the shop, maneuvering around the broken glass and into the sell room. Right away I could sense death in the place. There was some aura of oddity about it, the place broken up and deformed in every way imaginable.
Yugi dashed into the living room through a door. I followed.
The room looked fine as soon as I stepped into it, but then I turned my head to Yugi's position and I saw the body.
Liquid nitrogen run through my veins instead of blood for those first few minutes I stood staring at the cadaver of Motou senior. His eyes were open and staring at the inside of his head, as his eyeballs had rolled up upon themselves, leaving the viewer with only a look at the whites and a hint of purple iris. His mouth hung open, broken jaw, teeth shown in disarray and bloodied from the impact of, I can guess from the bruises, a bat to the side of the face. The old wrinkled skin of the once very much alive man was split in some places showing congealed blood, where, I guess, he had been repeatedly punched more than twice, it seemed. And of course, the deadly blow to the head, an actual bloody indentation to the skull, leaving blood on the pale white carpet beneath him. Left arm broken and twisted unnaturally. Left leg broken and knee dislocated. A golf club lay next to his right arm, perfectly clean. I guess he had picked it up to try and ward off the robbers, but he had not gotten in even one shot.
And of course, the huddled figure of Yugi crouched next to his side, crying in loud-soft tones, "Grandpa…Grandpa…"
My throat was as dry as vacuum. I tried to conjure up some saliva to wet it a little bit, so that I wouldn't choke, but none came to my aid. I swallowed air, then, which helped a little.
I grasped my chin and massaged it, trying to throw away the image of the corpse. All to no avail.
Alright, I thought, trying to get my mind back form the watery depths of shock. What needs to be done?
I pulled out my cell phone with cold hands. Then I laughed a little. Who to call? An ambulance? Or the mortuary? There was no hope.
In the end, I decided that 911 would be appropriate. I told them that I was reporting a robbery that had happened all of twenty maybe thirty minutes ago with one man dead in the process. To this day I still find it weird how such an observation had not startled the calm voice on the receiving end.
When I was assured that someone was on their way, I went over to Yugi's side, knelt down beside both him and the corpse. I averted my sight away from the dead body and concentrated on the shaking, live body of my rival.
He looked worse than he had earlier. Every muscle in his face was contorted into some form of internal anguish. And he was shaking violently, uncontrollably, giving the sobs he uttered actual life force. Yugi, ever the willing host for his emotions. I shook my head at that thought, fighting down the disgust that crept up my throat. This was not the time to hate Yugi.
In regular tones, "Yugi…" I began, placing my left palm on the middle of his back tentatively. Heat radiated off of him.
Then a thought occurred to me. "Are you hurt? Did they hurt you, as well?" I hadn't I asked this before? Where had my head been? Stupid.
Yugi didn't answer. He didn't even move. I moved on. Later, at the hospital, I could have him checked out for injuries.
"Yugi…" I applied more pressure to the part of his back in my palm.
It seemed that my comfort was only making him cry harder. Maybe he just needed to get these tears out of his system? But hadn't he already cried enough before, in my office? I didn't know. I sighed. This was not at all my area of expertise.
"Yugi…" Third time. Sirens in the distance. I looked up from this scene towards their direction. Through a shattered window I could see the red and blue flashing lights that meant help was arriving.
Yeah right. Help. What could they do besides give this profoundly dead man a death certificate? Yugi was not their problem. He was no one's problem, now.
I sighed again and turned back to Yugi. He's crying had not subsided at all.
"Yugi, do you hear those sirens?" He didn't move. I went on, anyway. "Those are medics. They're going to take your grandfather to the morgue, alright?" Best not to lie to him and say that they were going to take care of his already very much dead grandfather. "And you can't go with him." I added that last part because from the look in Yugi's face it seemed like he was about to suggest that.
He sobbed on. The sirens came closer. Eventually I heard them outside. I got up to meet them.
Nakamura was outside and leaning against the limousine when they pulled up. I think he figured out why we were here as soon as he saw the ambulance. It wasn't that hard. And he probably could hear everything that happened inside what with the windows being gone.
There were four or five of the medics in white. They came in swiftly with a black bag and portable bed all ready for him. They were so unashamed. They were so used to this, it didn't even matter anymore, the people that died in their business every day. You could tell by the way they moved; solemnly but indifferently.
Cold. That's all they were, really.
I nodded toward them all the same and showed them in to the site. It was only after they were inside and inspecting the body did Yugi move.
"Step aside, please, boy," they said and outlined his body in clean white chalk. A woman with a black braid trailing down her white uniform, (contrasting horribly), tried to pry him off the freezing hand of his grandfather, but he held on tight.
"Iie, this is wrong…it's not fair…Grandpa!"
"Step aside," she said, (no emotion at all), and pulled harder.
It was such an odd sight. Dead, shocking body lying like some sort of nuisance on the floor, and some sad, desperate fragile boy clasping his hand so hard you were worried it might fall off. Not to mention the people in white moving around silently and swiftly, making note of this and that, no flaw to speak of in their movements. And the woman. Damn that woman…
Was this what happened when you died?
I shook my head and stepped in. "Leave him," I said to the woman, pushing her to the side and sending her a freezing glare for her already freezing heart. Have a heart attack. Subzero temperatures in the aorta, blood freeze. See what happens when you die.
Yugi went to clasping the hand again. The medics were ignoring him and lifting the body anyway, straining from the lifeless weight, eventually plopping him down on the lift. Yugi moved with it, standing up and following the body.
I went over to him and grasped his shoulders. "Yugi, come away. They need to take him. I told you that you can't go with him."
"Iie, it's not fair…" He wouldn't let go. The medics were becoming impatient, they wanted to zip up the bag, now.
"Yugi…" I took his hand, the hand attached to his grandfather, and squeezed it, hoping that some warmth had returned to my own hands. Eventually, when I squeezed hard enough, Yugi was over powered and his hand slacked.
In one movement, they tucked the arm inside the black bag and zipped it up. One fluid movement. Frrrrriip. He was gone.
"Iie!" Yugi cried. I grasped him around the middle as he jumped and squired fighting me. He was very spry for one so weak. I had to old on tightly, almost to the point of hurting him. "Iie!"
I leaned my head down to his ear. In it, I said unintentionally rough, "Relax, Yugi. There's nothing you can do anymore. Calm down. It's not your fault."
As soon as I said that, Yugi stopped moving. He turned around and buried himself in my coat again. I tensed. I couldn't help it. I wasn't used to being hugged like this.
I could feel his face crushing my stomach and the wetness again. I sighed and put both my hands on his back. Is this what he wanted? I didn't know.
Oh how I hated being this helpless, not having all these answers of what to do. I sighed and closed my eyes.
Then they shot open. I sensed people still in the house, even though the medics had driven off with only the word of what morgue he was to be taken to.
I saw three people, one man in an American suit with blonde hair and green eyes and a bouquet of flowers in his hand. He looked fake, and obviously foreign.
When he spoke, it was in broken Japanese, and with a heavy American accent, even worse than Jonouchi's. "Kahnichwa…my condolences on yer loss…horrible, I know. Would you…to make fun'ral reservations, my pahlah?"
I stared at him, he was offering me the flowers and trying to explain how nice the place was. I interrupted him to say, "Go the hell away." He sighed and dropped a card at my feet before turning away.
The other two people were Japanese and spoke correctly at least, that was a relief. They walked around the spot where Yugi's grandfather had died, examining the brown and red blood stains, writing down things. Detectives.
Eventually the came over to Yugi and I. They were a little warmer than the others had been.
"We know this is probably a bad time…" one of them began. "But could we possibly ask you both a few questions regarding the robbery and murder?" (At the word murder Yugi flinched and hugged me tighter.)
The two men looked worn, tired, but sharp. One looked like he was headed on 55, and the other look about in his early thirties. They had consoling but weathered looks on their faces.
I said to them, "Gomen. This is not a good time."
"It will only take a second," the younger one assured me.
I felt Yugi's trembling body in my hands. A maternal side of me, (back from my years of raising Mokuba), felt the need to take of care this boy. He shouldn't be here right now. He should be in a bed somewhere, sleeping off the initial grief, tears wiped away with a cool washcloth, with someone sitting by his side should he wake up screaming from a nightmare.
But this was Motou Yugi we were talking about…my rival, right? Then I banished that thought. It was apparent that we were putting off our feud for right now. Besides, who really gave a damn about a card game when real travesties happened? Like selling yourself for relatively small amounts of money. And loosing someone you love…
"Sir?"
I shock myself awake from these tangents. "Ask only me, leave the boy alone."
"Alright," they said and gestured for us to talk inside, in the kitchen, away from all the blood.
The first question they asked once we stood around Yugi's table was, "Are you related to the Motous?"
I smirked dryly. "Iie."
"Then…who are you and why are you here?"
How to explain? We'll, we're rivals, but…that wouldn't work. "We know each other from school. We're sort of friends." Kind of.
The younger one nodded and smiled. "Best friends?"
I am willing to bet that my arid face when I said "Not really" put him out a little. Oh well. He probably understood.
"Right. Well, anyway…how are you involved in this?"
"I'm not. I was out for a walk about an hour ago and I got a call that someone was in my office, requesting my presence—.."
"Your office?" The older one questioned, with a raised eyebrow.
I stared him in the face. Some old-timers don't know how I am. If they're not involved in the stock market and not fans of the game, why would they?
"I own a corporation. I'm its president and CEO."
"Really." He said this like he didn't believe me.
"Wait…" the younger one looked at me hard. "You're Kaiba Seto, aren't you?"
I nodded.
"Oh, I see. My kid loves all that duel monsters shit. Oh, sumimasen," I waved it off. The man continued, "He's a pretty big fan of yours, I think."
"Would you like an autograph?" Why not? Maybe the kid would buy some more duel monsters shit, save me a night at Toshokama's. I cringed at the memory.
"Oh, I couldn't ask…"
"It's ok. Give me a piece of paper." He ripped out a page in his notepad and handed it to me. I got my own pen from the depth of my coat and signed my name extravagantly while the older man said they needed to get back on topic, and could I please finish my story.
I finished, "When I arrived in my office I found this boy there crying and telling me that his grandfather was dead. So, I said that we had to take of care it and was driven here by my chauffer—perhaps you saw him in front. When I saw the body I called 911 and reported a robbery as well as a death. You can piece together the rest, I imagine."
"So, you hadn't been here at all before Yugi went to your office, right?"
"Iie."
"Ok. Anything else you know involving the robbery?"
"Iie, that's it."
"Ok. Can we…talk to the kid, then?"
I looked down at Yugi who was just sniffling quietly without any hysterics. "If he wants to."
Yugi shook his head wordlessly.
"Another time," I told them. They were satisfied. So, the two of them thanked me for my time, the younger one thanked me for the autograph and they left.
It was kind of difficult to walk with Yugi latched onto me like a clasp, but I managed. For his sake. Nakamura didn't say anything as he drove us to my mansion. He understood.
I didn't even need to suggest to Yugi my plans for him to stay with me for a while. We both knew this was the only way. I wasn't about to drop him off at some orphanage—(where I assumed he should be placed, what kind of boy lives with his grandfather and still has living, available parents?)—and I didn't want to bring up the subject of his other friends. There was a reason he had come to me first, after all.
So, the only sound in the limousine was Yugi's breathing and the occasional sniff. I could tell by the look in his face that he was in shock, for now. Numb and dry of tears. Of course I could expect them to come back later, but, that was later.
I felt like something was waiting for me at home…something…was it a meeting or something?
Iie, it was Mokuba. Mokuba! My poor little brother. I had forgotten all about him, and we hadn't by any means left on good terms. He was probably worried sick…I looked at my watch. 11:23. Definitely.
I pulled out my cell phone, ready to face hell and guilt from him. All my fault, of course.
Mokuba answered on the firs ring. "Seto?" All the hope of someone hanging off a cliff that sees a mountain climber heading their way. (Of course we had caller ID so he knew who it was, anyway, but I don't know what he thought).
"Hai, Mokuba. It's me."
"Seto…" All the relief of someone saved by a passing mountain climber with a hook and rope. "Seto…I was so worried…"
"I know Mokuba, gomen nasai. I've been so busy…"
"You could have at least called! I was about to call the police on you!" Oh don't, Mokuba. They have a touch enough night already what with a robbery and murder on their hands.
"Gomen. It's been very hectic."
"Are you safe?"
"Extremely."
"Where are you?"
"I'm on my way home, Nakamura is driving me. But you should know that we're going to have a guest for a little while."
"Really?" He seemed confused. "Who?"
"Motou Yugi."
Silence. Then, "Nani?"
"I'll explain when I get home, Mokuba. For now, I want you to relax. I will not tell you to go to bed because I know you won't, anyway, so, I'll be home very soon. Alright?"
"…Ok, Seto. I was really worried. And I feel bad about before…"
"It wasn't your fault, Mokuba it's mine." Which is true. Why did he always have to take the blame for everything? My poor otōto…
"But what do you have against Kats—.."
I couldn't hear that name again. I interrupted with, "Another time, Mokuba. I'll be home promptly. Sayonara."
Frustrated but still in the throes of relief, Mokuba said, "Sayonara, then, Seto."
We hung up.
Like anticipated, the drive home took us less than ten minutes. I thanked Nakamura exclusively when I got out of the car, he said it was nothing, that this was his job, but I knew it really wasn't his job. None of this was, not after I stopped paying him. So did he, I think.
Yugi seemed afraid to let go of me as we walked up to my house. I had to kind of shift his weight onto my hip and walk like my left leg has a gimp in it. But that wasn't so horrible.
When we got into the house, I slipped off my shoes, and moved Yugi's weight in front of me. Then I sort of walked him like someone would walk a two-year-old just taking his first steps.
Mokuba was waiting for us on top of the stairs. I saw the beginnings of over a thousand sentences in his eyes, and then, as soon as he looked at Yugi's face, I watched them all fall to the floor and break into over a thousand pieces. My little brother was stunned speechless.
When his gaze shifted to me, I saw the confusion and hurt there. "Later, Mokuba," I said. He understood and ran ahead of us up to the guest rooms, ready to prepare Yugi's guest room.
By the time we reached that flight, Yugi had started to whimper a little bit. "Shh…" I said quickly and took him into the room. Mokuba had down a good job, the bed was turned down and everything.
Yugi got into bed and curled the sheets around him. I didn't worry about his shoes just yet. Let him sleep.
"Sleep, Yugi," said, and tucked the sheets around him like Mokuba used to love. "It'll be a little better in the morning."
He whimpered a little bit more, but eventually fell silent. I guessed he was asleep.
I wondered out of Yugi's new room and into Mokuba's. I had to explain some of this to him. But by the time I went in he was already asleep. Fell asleep in his clothes, too, waiting up for me, I guess. I sighed, removed his shoes, and set the sheets around him. I whispered a soft, "Oyasumi," and left to my own room.
The gloom of the dark blue walls met my vision. Home sweet home.
There was so much to do…but later. Hai…later…not now. Random thoughts ran through my mind…
The cold medics…ugly corpse of Yugi's grandfather…the boy I signed an autograph to, would he still want it if he knew I was a prostitute?
I thought of Jonouchi…he just wanted to survive…would he want Yugi to survive? Of course. What would he do when he found out about all this? I don't know…poor Jonouchi…he's so alone…in the park…in The Oak Hole.
Then an odd thought crossed my mind. I guess I'd have to take care of Yugi from now on. And Mokuba. I laughed a little.
How could I possibly take care of all these people when I couldn't even take care of myself?
A/N: Alright! I guess you noticed by now that there is a big change in Seto. Of course you do…but, think about it before you jump to conclusions about OOC-ness. Doesn't it make sense? He's not the same person he was before all the deals with Toshokama, is he?
But yeah. You're probably still going to hate me anyway, heh.
And I know this might seem, like, really off topic, but trust me it will all tie in soon enough. And if any of you think that I'm changing the pairing to a SetoxYugi, I'm sorry but you're wrong. The pairing is still SetoxJou, I just had to put this in here to add something to the plot. You'll see, I think…I think…heh.
I hope you liked it, even for its differences from all the other chapters! If you didn't, blame me. It's be my fault. Please review, I really want to know what you think of all this.
And to MercilessTantatalus, I really want to respond to your review, but you do not list your e-mail address in your bio page. Could you leave it in your next review, if you review, if you even care anymore, lol? Oh and if you even want a response, of course. I'd appreciate it, thanks, and thank you for reading it, if you still are!
Thanks to everyone, I love you guys so much…peace!