Taintshipping (Seto x Ryo x Noa)

It was just another day, for him, anyway. Everyone else was celebrating, at a party or something. They were all ready to ring in the new year.

For Ryo, though, it was just the beginning of another long, lonely year.

He stood in the snow, bundled up in a coat and scarf, staring down at the grave of his mother and sister. His father hadn't even come back for the holidays. Hadn't even sent a card in the mail, or called. It was like he had forgotten he had a son.

He sighed deeply.

"Happy New Year, mom, Amane," he whispered.

He started to turn around, and then noticed a pair of figures walking down to the cemetery, barely visible in the fading light. It took him a few moments to make out who it was, and the revelation surprised him.

There was Seto Kaiba, looking disgruntled in his long, thick purple coat, and Mokuba Kaiba, his breath clearly visible in the air and his cheeks red.

"Oh, Bakura-san?" Mokuba said, and Ryo was flattered that the boy remembered him. "What are you doing here? I thought Yugi and everyone were having a New Year's party."

"They are," Ryo said. "I'm going there in a minute..."

Mokuba's eyes wandered to the gravestone behind Ryo, and his expression became saddened.

"What are you two doing here?" Ryo asked quickly, before Mokuba could ask about his family.

Seto snorted.

"Mokuba has this idea in his head that...someone we knew is buried here," he said. "He's been looking all over the place for the grave."

"We have to wish Noa a Happy New Year, and a Merry Christmas, because he missed that too!" Mokuba said.

Seto rolled his eyes, but it was obvious that his sarcasm was forced.

"Whatever. Just be quick, you got it? It's getting dark, and if we don't show up at that stupid party soon, then I'll have to deal with Pegasus bothering me for the rest of the week."

Mokuba nodded vehemently and ran off. He paused at each gravestone, reading the contents before running on, until they could barely see him.

Seto and Ryo were the only ones left, the fog of their breath mixing in the air.

"So..." Ryo said, unsure if he should break the silence. "Who's Noa?"

Seto didn't reply. An awkward moment passed – and then suddenly, Seto spoke.

"He was our stepfather's son," he said. "He died in a car accident just days before we were adopted. We met him again during Battle City, because my stepfather uploaded his consciousness into a computer."

"Really?" Ryo said, shocked. "I don't remember that."

"You were unconscious at the time," Seto said. "Consider yourself lucky: his games were one hell of a waste of time."

The silence grew again.

"What...happened to Noa, then?" Ryo asked softly. "Why is Mokuba so desperate to find his grave?"

Seto blinked, as though surprised by the question.

"Well..." Seto said after a beat. "Maybe...Mokuba liked having a brother his own age, although if Noa were still alive, he'd be as old as I am. Either way, Noa shut down the virtual world in order to make sure my stepfather didn't invade another network. Guess old Gozaburo remained a backstabber to the end. Even to his own son."

The cold bit at Ryo's nose. All of this was somewhat hard to believe: uploading a brain into a computer? But still, he had to deal with an evil spirit living inside his head, so it couldn't be that far-fetched.

"He must have been...lonely..." Ryo said softly.

"What?" Seto said, sounding surprised.

"Noa, I mean," Ryo said. "All alone in a virtual world...and only he's the real one...and even his father just tossed him aside...maybe Mokuba picked up on that. He's like that...I can tell. He probably just doesn't want Noa to feel lonely ever again."

A faraway set of car lights gleamed in the distance, but it didn't help Ryo see Seto's face. Small crystals of snow started to fall lightly around them. It merely enhanced the silence.

"Yeah..." Seto said quietly. "Maybe...you're right..."

Ryo looked up at the taller boy, and for a moment, felt an uncanny connection with him. Both of them...were missing their parents. Both of them were missing guidance.

"I'm...going to go check on Mokuba," Seto said.

"Yeah, you probably should," Ryo said.

Seto took a step – and then he stopped dead, staring.

Ryo hesitated. He had been about to start walking towards Yugi's house, but he followed Kaiba's gaze.

And then he, too, stopped to stare.

The grave behind his family's gleamed in the half-light of a streetlamp, and on the face of the stone read the words Noa Kaiba. But that wasn't why they were staring.

They were staring because there was a boy scrunched up in a ball in front of the grave, cheeks red with cold. Short green hair fell around closed eyes, and he looked much too cold in his short sleeves and shorts.

They both hesitated for only a brief moment. And it was Seto that moved first.

"Mokuba!" he shouted, as he shot to the side of the boy. "Mokuba, come here! Get over here!"

Seto hefted the boy into his arms, as Ryo ran over, unbuttoning his coat.

"He's going to freeze!" Ryo said, tucking his coat around him. "Kaiba-san, is this...?"

"It's Noa, all right, there can't be a mistake about that," Seto said, eyes wide with disbelief. "But...how...?"

Noa stirred ever so slightly. His eyelids fluttered.

"Father..." he whispered, and the hint of tears grew in his eyes. "Please...please don't leave me. I'm afraid of the dark...I'm afraid of being alone..."

Ryo heard the crunch of approaching footsteps as Mokuba ran towards them from the dark. Ryo glanced up into Seto's face. He looked flustered and confused, like he wasn't exactly sure what he should do. But there wasn't a hint of anger or hatred in his eyes. It was almost unnatural.

"I don't want to be alone," Noa whispered, his eyes still not opening.

Ryo touched his head gently.

"You're not going to be," he said.

"Happy New Year, Noa Kaiba."

A/N: This was tooootally out of canon for me. But, however, I wanted to bring Noa back to life. X3 I love Noa so much even if he's just a filler villain. It just opens up so much more room to develop the whole Kaiba family. Plus, he's adorable. :D Next is Tabloidshipping (Seto x Mokuba). This should never be a romantic relationship...but as a oneshot, it should be fun! Happy New Year, everyone, and let's hope that the next year will be even greater than the last one!