Chapter Thirteen
Kaiba family estate, just outside Domino City
Arcadia Planitia
Kaiba Corporation Colony, Mars
Yami had reluctantly given in to Rafael's politely-worded but uncompromising insistence that a physician be summoned to the Kaiba estate. By the time the doctor arrived, Yami's head was throbbing in time with his heartbeat, and he would gladly have agreed to almost anything just to make the pain go away. The doctor had examined him, pronounced her opinion that Yami was under too much stress, and given him an injection for the pain. With a parting admonition to make an appointment for a follow-up visit should the headaches persist, the doctor left Yami to sleep off the combined effects of the migraine and the medication.
Although he had initially had no intention of napping, Yami found himself unable to fight the soporific effects of the medicine. He stretched out on a bed in one of the upstairs bedrooms and was soon lost in a drugged, restless doze.
The dreams that came to him were anything but sweet.
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SSDF Orbital Station 003Jupiter orbit
(One standard year ago...)
Chaos surrounded him.
On all sides, pieces of destroyed mecha littered the black of space with tumbling points of reflected light. Between the chunks of debris, Valkyries and smaller mecha dodged and weaved as they exchanged fire with the enemy's mecha, ugly gray hulks that bore a strange, glowing green seal on their metal foreheads. A stream of escape pods poured from the ruins of Jupiter Station in the background, racing toward the distant jump-gate and its heavily-armed guardians. Somewhere to Dark Magician's right, the Blue-Eyes White Dragon pulverized his opponent with a well-timed shot from his rail-gun, sending sparkling bits of metal flying in every direction. To his left, the Red-Eyes Black Dragon did the same.
In the thick of the battle, Dark Magician pivoted to bring his weapon to bear on an enemy mech just as the Orichalcos Soldier fired at a cluster of escape pods. Dark Magician dove at the Soldier. The beam from his staff weapon smashed a gaping hole in the Soldier's torso, but the thing continued to fire at the escape pods, and his assault on it had drawn the attention of two of its comrades.
Dark Magician calculated the angles of the incoming projectiles, then dropped straight "down," toward the station and out of the line of fire. One of the Orichalcos Soldiers erupted into brief flame, quickly extinguished, as it took friendly fire from its own partner. The others followed the Magician as he wove a dizzying path through the battlefield.
Unlike the clumsier Orichalcos Soldiers, Dark Magician was lithe and agile, built for both speed and maneuverability. He used that and every trick at his disposal, now, attempting to shake the enemy mecha off his tail. As he flashed past a cluster of debris, he spotted a damaged escape pod drifting toward the thick of the fire-fight. His sensors told him that the pod's occupants were alive. Cursing inwardly, he feinted left to throw his pursuers off-guard, then dove toward the pod.
The escape pod was a spherical construct just big enough to hold four people, provided they didn't mind being overly friendly. Dark Magician grabbed it in both arms and looked around for a rescue mech. Seeing none, he shot toward the 'gate.
"Shield Knight One," he called to the heavily-armored, and -armed, sentinels who guarded the jump-gate. "Heads-up!"
He gave the escape pod a strong shove toward the nearest of the twin Knights guarding the 'gate. The Knight grabbed the pod and gently ushered it through the 'gate. Satisfied that an R-mech would pick it up on the other side and escort the pod to safety back on Mars, Dark Magician turned back to the battle.
The impact slammed into him without warning, sending a shockwave through his body and temporarily overloading his sensors. Blind and deaf with both sensors and comm off-line, he hung helplessly in space. Battle-seasoned though he was, he had never lost all external input before. It was like floating in a sensory deprivation tank, a tiny speck of consciousness lost in an endless black void. The urge for input, for light, was almost overwhelming. His training urged him to deepen his gestalt, to solidify his connection with his "other self," but his need to see, an atavistic fear of the darkness, urged him even more strongly to do whatever was necessary to bring back the light.
"You need to remain calm," a soft, feminine voice reminded him as, in a burst of static, the internal comm came back to life. It was Anzu, his Anchor, gently encouraging his vital signs back down into their passive resting state, not quite asleep, but not really conscious. In that state, he could forget himself enough to meld with the machine. Only then could he be the Dark Magician. "Redundant systems are coming up. Sensors should be back... Now."
And, just like that, he could sense his surroundings, again. After a few more seconds, other critical systems had re-routed themselves to their back-ups, and he could see, again. He almost wished that he couldn't. He was face-to-ugly-face with an Orichalcos Soldier, its weapon aimed for his "heart." He tried to dodge, and managed only to turn partially aside before the shot blazed through his torso.
As everything went black for the second time in as many minutes, he heard Anzu scream.
The impact set off a cascade of alarms throughout the cockpit. Gestalt slipped enough that Yami was suddenly seeing things through two sets of eyes: his own and Dark Magician's. Awareness of his human body returned in a white-hot rush of pain -- burning all down his left side and knifing through his temples.
The disorientation left his head spinning dizzily. He groped for balance, even as he swung his staff weapon around to bear on yet another Orichalcos Soldier and discharged the particle beam. The blast of blue-black energy through its torso sent the enemy mech tumbling in pieces. He thought vaguely that it might be the same mech he had hit before. Bits of it struck others of its kind, damaging them and adding to the pandemonium around him.
The indicator on his weapon status display blinked into the red, along with most of the rest of the mech's systems. Panting in the suddenly stale atmosphere and fighting the waves of nauseating pain crashing through him, Yami called down to the secondary cockpit in the mech's torso, "Anzu? Life-support just switched to back-up. Are you okay down there?"
Silence.
"Anzu?" Suddenly afraid, he checked the comm-system read-out; it was one of the few indicators still showing green. "Anzu, can you hear me?"
"I... I'm here..." The response was stilted, her voice trembling and filled with agony. "Are you... hurt, Yami?"
"No," he lied, blithely ignoring the pain shooting through his temples and the smell of scorched cloth where his flightsuit had caught a spark from an exploding panel. His head throbbed in time with his heartbeat and his vision was blurry. None of it mattered now. There would be time enough for cataloguing his injuries later, after the battle.
Gestalt continued to slip, and the pain of it tore at his mind, but he forced himself to concentrate on his instruments. Right now, he had more important things to worry about than whether or not he was going to end up with a "gestalt hangover" when this was all over.
He called up a full status report and cringed at the extent of the damage. The blast had hit him in the torso, in what should have been one of the most heavily shielded areas on the mech. Somehow, the alien projectile had penetrated his armor, damaging the secondary cockpit and setting off a chain reaction inside the delicate electronics systems. Now, his legs were nearly useless; he could barely sense them, much less move them. His thrusters were sputtering, and his weapons systems were off-line. That final shot from the staff was the only one he was getting.
Systems continued to shift into the red, even as he watched with horrified eyes. Life-support was already on back-up. Fire suppression had worked long enough to put out the fires before they could spread, but if something sparked now, they were going to go up like a torch. The initial impact had fused the relays on his chest plastron shut; closer inspection showed him that the emergency hatch was useless, as well. It was going to take the Jaws of Life to wrench Anzu out of the Anchor cradle in his chest. The mech was leaking vital fluids into space. And Anzu...
His Anchor's biofeedback readings sent a pang of agony through his heart. "Anzu..."
"Just... get us back... to the station," she said, her voice growing weaker with every word. The wild fluctuations in her readings stabilized for a moment, as she attempted to help him strengthen his gestalt so that he could pilot them to safety. "Don't worry... about me, for now. We'll ...deal with it... there."
He heard the resolve in her voice, felt it when her mind touched his through the pilot/Anchor interface and, in spite of the terrible pain she was suffering, began to ease him back into proper union with the Magician. His vision resolved back into a single point as his consciousness aligned once more with the AI. The pilot heads-up display ceased to have any meaning for him, and the pain faded as Yami's eyes closed. His body slumped in its support sling as his mind once again merged with that of the machine.
Dark Magician wished that he could support his Anchor, send some of his strength to her, as she had loaned him some of hers. His frantic worry for her safety made him long to be able to climb down into the secondary cockpit and see for himself the extent of her injuries. But he was trapped by his need to remain in gestalt. Getting them back to the station was undeniably the best course of action -- Anzu needed immediate medical attention, if her bio readings were anything to go by. He needed to get her help, and soon.
Dark Magician's thrusters fired, then stuttered. At least it was enough to get him moving. Unfortunately, it was in the wrong direction, and attitude control was as fubared as the rest of him. Self-repair was attempting to get the most vital systems back on-line, but the damage was simply too great.
Dark Magician radioed for help.
A moment later, the Blue-Eyes White Dragon was there, just in time to fire at an advancing Soldier. Blue-Eyes grabbed him unceremoniously by one arm, spun him around, and towed him toward the jump-gate, all the while continuing to fire at the enemy mecha. Blue-Eyes held off the enemy fighters while the remaining refugees from Jupiter Station disappeared through the gate. Then he flung Dark Magician into the jump-gate and dove in after him.
The enemy followed.
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Kaiba estate
Just outside Domino City
Arcadia Planitia
Kaiba Corporation Colony, Mars
(Now...)
Yami moaned, moving fretfully on the bed as he fought to break free of drugged sleep... and the dream. His head tossed on the pillow and his limbs thrashed, fighting the entangling covers, but he couldn't break the grip of the nightmare, the memory, which had dug its claws deep into his unconscious. Only when large hands caught his shoulders and gave him a rough shake did sleep reluctantly release him.
Yami opened his eyes to find Rafael standing over him, a concerned expression on the bodyguard's usually stoic features. Rafael frowned. "Sir? Should I call the doctor back?"
It took Yami a second to wake up enough to process the question. Finally, he shook his head. It ached. "No." His voice was a rough croak. Swallowing hard, he added, "I'm fine."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
Rafael looked skeptical, but he didn't argue. Instead, he straightened and stepped back from the bed. "I'll be outside if you need anything, sir," he said, then strode from the bedroom. The door closed quietly behind him.
Alone again, Yami lay for a moment and stared at the ceiling with blank eyes. His stomach churned with acid and the emotions stirred up by the nightmare memory. Anzu... He felt moisture on his cheeks, and scrubbed impatiently at his face, erasing the tears he couldn't admit to having shed.
A man does not cry, my son, his father's voice chided in his head, and Yami gave a bitter laugh. A man doesn't allow his fiancée to die for him, either -- but he had, and now the path that stretched before him was a lonely one, indeed. The shadows pooled in the corners of the room seemed to writhe in sympathy.
Will you still be there, following me into that dark future? he thought bleakly. My own pet shadows, reminding me of the glory I once held and lost. Without love, without purpose... With only madness lurking ahead of me... What hope is there for me, now?
He rolled onto his side, and his gaze fell on a crystal vase one of the maids had set on the nightstand. The vase was filled with a bouquet of some kind of blue flowers. They reminded him of... Blue eyes, such a deep blue they hinted at purple, smiled up at him from memory. And with them came the remembrance of a warm, surprisingly strong embrace that had chased away the shadows once before.
Yugi.
Suddenly, Yami was consumed with an undeniable need to see Yugi again, to bask even for just a moment in the warmth of that open, friendly soul. Throwing aside the covers, Yami shoved himself to his feet and began searching for something suitable to wear.
Half-dressed and pulling on a fresh pair of jeans, he stumbled to the bedroom door and shouted down the hallway, "Rafael! We're going out!"
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Kame Street Game Shop
Domino City
Arcadia Planitia
Kaiba Corporation Colony, Mars
When the downstairs chime sounded, Yugi was slouched on the battered sofa in the living room. His socked feet propped on the coffee table, he was frowning at the golden puzzle pieces scattered on the cushion beside him. After his earlier success, he had been unable to fit even one more piece into place, though he had constructed enough of the puzzle to be able to envision the final shape it would take: an inverted pyramid, with the udjat at its center.
The door chime cut through his frustrated thoughts as he sat toying with one of the uncooperative pieces. Heaving himself to his feet, Yugi called to his grandfather, who was puttering about in the kitchen, "I'll get it, Grandpa!" and trotted down the stairs to the front door.
Yugi opened the door without checking the security screen... and froze when he saw the slim, spiky-haired figure waiting for him on the front step. He swallowed hard, attempting to dislodge his heart, which seemed to have leapt up into his throat.
"Yami!"
Yami was dressed casually in black jeans and a sleeveless shirt that buckled across the chest. One hand was still extended to reach the door-chime; the other was, for some reason, hidden behind his back. He cleared his throat. "Hello, Yugi. I hope I'm not disturbing you?"
Not in the way you mean, Yugi most definitely did not say. He shook his head and tried to remember what casual conversation should sound like. "Not at all! Um... What are you-- I mean, uh, do you want to come in?"
Yami turned his head slightly to glance over his shoulder. Only then did Yugi register the presence of the second man on his doorstep. This one looked a lot like one of the two hulking security men from before: easily over six feet, broad-shoulders straining the seams of his tailored black jacket, close-cropped blond hair at odds with his extravagant side-burns. Dragging his gaze back to Yami, Yugi hastily added, "Your friend can come in, too."
Shaking his head, Yami smiled softly. "That's okay. I just wanted to come by and... and make certain the new cart was delivered properly. You did receive it?"
"Uh, yeah. And it's great, Yami, but I can't accept --"
"I insist." Yami's smile faded as quickly as it had appeared. "Yugi, it was my fault that your cart was damaged. I feel terrible that my carelessness not only ruined your property, but also injured you. I can't go back and stop myself from acting irresponsibly, so... Please. Let me do this."
Well, if he was going to put it like that... Yugi didn't see how he could refuse. His gaze dropped to his toes, and he nodded slowly. "O-okay. I guess... If it will make you feel better."
"It will."
They were silent for a long moment, then Yugi felt warm fingers ghost beneath his chin to tip his face up. His eyes widened as they met Yami's gaze. Yami's dark eyes seemed to see right through him, into the depths of his heart. A shiver ran down his spine, and he found himself leaning almost hungrily into Yami's feather-light touch...
"Here." With an abruptness that left Yugi blinking and swaying on his toes, Yami stepped back and shoved a small bundle of...something... into his arms. "These are for you."
Yugi stared at the offering in confusion. Yami had brought him…flowers? Tentatively, he studied the rather clumsy bouquet. Perched atop thick green stems, the blooms were a velvety, bluish-purple, like the sky just after sunset. He stroked one wide, curving petal. The soft, fuzzy yellow beard arching down its center tickled his fingertip. "Irises, right?"
"...What?"
"The flowers." Very carefully he did not look up at Yami, but continued concentrating on the petals, tracing their graceful contours with his finger. "They're irises, right?"
"I guess."
Now Yugi did look up, in time to see Yami's embarrassed shrug.
"I don't know much about flowers. They just…" Yami looked away, but not before Yugi had seen the faint pink staining his high cheekbones. "They reminded me of your eyes."
"…Oh." It took a moment for the meaning of the mumbled words to properly sink in. Then... "Oh!" Yugi's eyes were wide, but he was trying desperately for outward composure. He clutched the bouquet to his chest, his heart pounding. "Thank you."
Hands shoved in the pockets of his jeans, Yami shrugged again. Then, very carefully, he slanted a worried-looking glance at Yugi. In a far-too-casual voice, he asked, "So… Do you like them?"
"What…? Oh! The flowers!" Yugi pulled himself together with a deep breath and a sunny smile. "Yes. They're beautiful. I like them a lot!"
"Good." Yami gave a satisfied nod. He turned to leave.
Yugi's heart clenched. He's leaving? Wha-- "Wait!"
Yami hesitated, looking back at him over one shoulder, a question in his eyes. Yugi cast about frantically for something to delay him further. Inspiration came in a flash. "Your bike! You left it here the other day... Remember? Do you want to get it?"
"I guess I should," Yami said, turning back. Yugi forced his breathing to slow down to something approaching normal.
"C'mon," he said, gesturing toward the side of the house. "It's still in the garage."
Yugi led the way around to the side door. The man in the black suit followed behind them, not close enough to intrude upon their conversation, but close enough to make it clear he was keeping a watchful eye on things. Yugi thumbed open the garage door and waved Yami inside.
"It's just as you left it," Yugi said. "I wasn't sure what you wanted to do with it..."
"I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it." Yami chuckled, then glanced back at his companion. "Rafael, can you arrange to have this motorcycle delivered to the estate?"
"Of course, sir." Rafael pulled a phone from his jacket and turned away to make his call.
"Thanks for taking care of my bike, Yugi," Yami said. "I appreciate it."
"I didn't do anything, really." Yugi dug his toes into the ground. To cover his sudden embarrassment, he lifted the bouquet to his face and inhaled the light scent of the flowers. "Thank you for the new cart. It's really great... How did you know that purple's my favorite color?"
"Lucky guess." A smile flickered across Yami's features, warming them briefly. "I'm glad you like it."
"I do!" Yugi faltered, unable to think of suitable small talk. He had never been very good at it, and being near Yami had the unfortunate tendency to render him speechless. As the silence stretched between them, Yugi worried that Yami would grow bored or decide that Yugi didn't want to talk to him. Then Yami would leave, and Yugi might never see him, again. But what could he say...?
Yugi's stomach growled suddenly, helpfully reminding him that he hadn't actually eaten the lunch he had fixed, and that it was nearing evening. That was it! He could invite Yami to have dinner with him! He was suddenly grateful that he had been too distracted earlier by the puzzle to eat. "A-are you hungry? I was going to go get a burger. You could, maybe…join me? I hate eating alone."
Yugi's fingers tightened nervously around the stems of his flowers, making the petals tremble. He was unaware that he was holding his breath, waiting for Yami's answer. Finally, Yami nodded.
"Yeah," he said softly. "I think... I mean, yes. I'd like that."
Yugi beamed. "Great! There's a Burger World about a block from here. We can walk... If that's okay with you."
"Yes, it's fine."
Yami glanced at the man in black, who tucked his phone back into his jacket and reported, "It's taken care of, Mr. Kaiba."
Yami gave a satisfied nod. "Good. Now that that's out of the way... Shall we go?"
This last was directed at Yugi, who said, "I just need to tell Grandpa that we're leaving." He glanced at the flowers he was still clutching. "And put these in some water... Will you wait here for me? I'll be right back."
"Of course."
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Yugi thundered up the stairs and skidded into the kitchen. He nearly bowled over Solomon on his way to the sink, where he grabbed a random tumbler from the dishwasher and stuffed the flowers into it. As he ran some water from the tap into the glass, he babbled out in a single breath, "Hi, Grandpa! My friend Yami is here and we're going to Burger World to get something to eat and I'll be back in a few hours, okay? Bye, Grandpa!"
Solomon blinked at him as Yugi ran back the way he had come, socks sliding on the kitchen flooring. "...Okay, Yugi. Have fun."
"I will!"
Yugi dashed back out into the hall and staggered around in a distracted circle as he tried to remember exactly where he had left his shoes. He gave a triumphant cry as he almost fell over them, then shoved his feet into his sneakers and half-ran, half-fell back down the stairs. Outside the door into the garage, he paused briefly to pat down his hair, and try to catch his breath. He didn't want to appear too eager, after all.
As promised, Yami was waiting for him. Yugi smiled up at him. "Okay, we can go now."
They started down the street, walking side by side. Yami's black-suited friend trailed a few paces behind them. Yugi tried to ignore their silent shadow, but after a few minutes his discomfort forced him to say something. "Um... Yami?"
"Yes?"
"Is he just gonna... follow us?" Yugi darted a nervous glance back at the much-larger man, who returned his gaze stoically from behind his dark glasses.
"I'm afraid so." Beside him, Yami sighed. "His name is Rafael Santoro. He's my bodyguard. He won't interfere, but he'll have to come with us wherever we go. Does that bother you?"
"N-no," Yugi said, cursing his stumbling tongue as it tripped over the lie. "I mean... I've never really known anyone who had a bodyguard before, that's all. It's all a bit strange, I guess. But it's okay. Really. I'm sure I'll get used to it in no time."
He peeked sideways at Yami in time to catch the flash of amusement that curved Yami's lips for just a moment. Well, at least he wasn't angry. Yugi huffed out a breath and risked edging a bit closer, so that their arms brushed occasionally as they walked. When Yami didn't move away, Yugi again felt that warmth uncurling in the pit of his stomach. It was a feeling he could very easily get used to.
Actually, he thought, with another glance back at Rafael, he felt a little sorry for the bodyguard. How boring it must be to have to follow someone around all day and not even be able to carry on a normal conversation with them. Maybe that was why Rafael seemed so somber.
Yugi turned so that he was walking backward, facing Rafael. For some reason, he knew that he could trust Yami to keep him from walking into something or falling down. Yugi peered up at the bodyguard, who towered over him even with the distance between them. "So... Do you like being a bodyguard?"
Rafael's expression, such as it was, didn't change. "Yes."
"Do you like being Yami's bodyguard?"
That got a reaction, from both Rafael and Yami, who half-turned to catch Rafael's answer. "Yes," Rafael said after a slight hesitation. The corners of his eyes crinkled behind his dark glasses. "He can be very entertaining."
Uncertain what to make of that, Yugi blinked at him, then at Yami. Yami snorted, rolled his eyes, and faced forward again. As he turned, he curled his arm around Yugi's shoulders, turning him as well.
"Come on, Yugi," Yami said, laughter in his voice, "I don't know about you, but I'm starving."
At that moment, Yugi would have agreed to just about anything. Yami's arm was around him! It felt nice, comfortable. It was a disappointment when they reached the door of the restaurant and Yami moved ahead to open the door. Noooo, Yugi mourned inwardly. Put the arm back!
Inside the restaurant, Rafael discreetly herded them toward a booth in the back, then selected a seat for himself that was nearby and that allowed him an unobstructed view of the dining room. As they ate their burgers and fries, they talked first of inconsequential things: the weather, the new cart, the game shop. Finally, Yugi got around to asking the question that had been on his mind since he had first seen Yami standing on his doorstep.
"So... How long are you going to be on Mars?"
Yami chewed thoughtfully on a french fry. After swallowing, he said, "There's a problem at the Kaiba Corp facility at Amazonis Planitia. I'll be here until it's fixed, I suppose."
"What kind of problem is it?" Yugi asked, unable to keep himself from hoping that the problem, whatever it was, would take a long time to set right. Then he chided himself for the unworthy thought. It wasn't very friendly to wish trouble on someone, especially someone you liked. But... He so wanted to continue seeing Yami, and if the problem kept him on Mars for awhile longer...
Yugi listened attentively while Yami explained about the mecha production facility and how some of the robots being produced were not up to Kaiba Corp standards. It was actually all pretty interesting, Yugi thought, his imagination conjuring up images of the giant robots.
"It must be something to see them being built," he said, then took a huge bite of his hamburger. Burgers were his favorite food, but he could rarely convince his mother or grandpa to make them, so going to Burger World was a special treat. Yami's company was making things even better; hamburgers and fries had never tasted quite so good.
"Would you like to visit the factory, sometime?" Yami asked. "I could take you on a tour, if you want."
Hastily, Yugi swallowed his mouthful of food, just managing not to choke on it. He nodded.
"That would be great, Yami." And it would. Not just because Yugi really did want to see the mecha being constructed, but because it meant he would get to spend more time with Yami. "I'd really like that."
The rest of the meal passed all too quickly, in Yugi's estimation. He found that he liked talking to Yami, who seemed to really listen when Yugi told him about working in the shop and the new Duel Monsters tournament that was about to begin. Yugi had been ambivalent about entering the tournament. While he loved to play the game, he hated the publicity and hassle that went along with major competitions. But when Yami mentioned that he would like to see Yugi duel, Yugi instantly made up his mind to transmit his registration form first thing in the morning.
Since he had invited Yami to eat with him, Yugi insisted on paying for the meal. They passed a street vendor on their way back to the game shop, and Yami bought them all ice cream for dessert. Giving in to Yugi's coaxing, even Rafael had a small vanilla cone. The sight of the imposing bodyguard doing something as mundane as eating ice cream made Yugi laugh, and his laughter proved contagious. Soon, he and Yami were leaning on one another as they chortled, and Rafael was watching them with a long-suffering look that held more amusement than censure. Even after the laughter died away, Yami remained close to Yugi, one arm slung casually across Yugi's shoulders as they walked.
As they neared the game shop, Yugi began to wonder if Yami would kiss him goodnight. Or if he should kiss Yami goodnight. Or if it were actually possible for his heart to hammer its way out through his ribs, which was what it felt as if that organ was trying to do.
They reached the front door, and he moved up onto the set of low steps that led inside. "Would you... like to come in?"
"I wish I could," Yami said. He sounded sincere, which eased the mild rejection. "But I have some things at work that I have to take care of tonight."
"Oh. Okay. Maybe next time?" Yugi was gratified when Yami nodded his agreement, rather than denying there might be a 'next time.' He took a deep breath, and added, "I had a good time, Yami."
"So did I," Yami said, with a soft smile. "Thank you, Yugi."
Yugi blinked at him in confusion. "Thanks? For what?"
"For..." Yami gave a helpless shrug. He canted his gaze to one side, avoiding Yugi's eyes. "For... being you, I guess. Today was not a good day. I really needed a friend, and you..." His voice trailed off into a sigh, and another shrug.
Yugi's eyes were wide. "I want to be your friend, Yami. Maybe..." Maybe more than a friend, someday. He swallowed the words he couldn't quite find the courage to voice, and said, instead, "I'd like to see you, again."
"I'd like that, too," Yami agreed, softly.
They had drifted closer as they spoke. Yugi was standing on the doorstep, so he was almost the same height as Yami. Rafael had withdrawn to the corner to give them some measure of privacy. It was now or never...
Before he could talk himself out of it, Yugi leaned up on his toes and brushed his lips against Yami's in a soft kiss. Then, before the flush he could feel burning up his face and neck could burst into actual flame, he spun through the door and closed it firmly behind him.
Euphoria carried him all the way upstairs before his shaking knees gave out on him and, grinning like a lovestruck fool, Yugi collapsed in a graceless heap onto the sofa.
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Yami touched his fingers to his lips. They were still tingling from Yugi's unexpected kiss... and they were curved upward in a small, faint smile. Yami shook his head. Well, turnabout was fair play.
Still smiling, he gathered Rafael with a look and crossed the street to where he had left the car, a low-slung silver coupe. The only parking spot he had been able to find was marked 'one hour only,' but no cop in this colony was going to ticket or tow a vehicle with Kaiba Corp plates, no matter where it was parked or for how long. Yami got behind the wheel, and glanced over at Rafael as the bodyguard slid into the passenger seat beside him.
"I hope you're game for a long night," Yami said, starting the engine and putting the car in gear. "We're going back to the factory."
Rafael simply nodded.
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SSDF Orbital Station 002
Mars orbit
When Bacardi had mentioned crawling around on the inside of his mech, Seto hadn't taken him literally. His mistake.
Cursing under his breath as, for what seemed like the thousandth time, he bumped his head clambering into and out of spaces meant for much shorter people, Seto found himself wondering what sort of sadist had designed these access hatches. Or maybe there was some obscure Kaiba Corp directive about only hiring technicians under five and a half feet tall to work on the Duel Mecha. Seto paused, half-in/half-out of an open port in his Dragon's lower right leg. Come to think of it, Chief Bacardi couldn't be more than five foot five, and some of the other techs were even shorter. Hm. There might be something to his theory, after all.
Adding to Seto's strange mood was the fact that every time he emerged from some cramped crawlspace or accessway, he was greeted by the sight of more of the Red-Eyes Black Dragon spread out on the hangar floor.
The area around the Red-Eyes' gantry was beginning to resemble the aftermath of a weirdly neat explosion. The creeping sprawl had infiltrated other areas of the bay, encroaching on the painted pathways normally reserved for loader and human traffic. Only the areas around the active-duty mecha were still clear of Red-Eyes parts and the clusters of techs fussing over them.
Well, the active mecha... and the Blue-Eyes White Dragon. Seto had been hard-pressed to hide his smile when Bacardi had bared his teeth and literally growled at a hapless Red-Eyes tech who had tried to unload a pallet of servo-motors at the base of the Blue-Eyes' gantry. Since that incident, the Red-Eyes team was giving the Blue-Eyes a wide, respectful berth.
Seto finished recording the results of the latest circuit test he had completed, this time on the critical TEM unit that not only allowed pilot and AI to achieve gestalt, but was also necessary for pilot/Anchor interface. He backed out of the access hatch and, with a sigh of relief, straightened to his full height. Repeatedly cramming his six feet plus height into spaces designed for the efficiency of the machine rather than the comfort of the mechanic was beginning to take its toll on the muscles in his back, neck, and shoulders. He rolled his neck, trying without much success to work some of the kinks out.
"Ties ya in knots, don't it?" mused an amiable voice from behind him. Seto turned to find Bacardi regarding him with amused understanding in his faded hazel eyes. "Guess you can call it day, Captain. Hit the showers, work some of those knots out."
Seto glanced down at the time display in the bottom corner of his diagnostic pad. Had it really been two hours, already? His protesting muscles assured him that it had, but a part of him was surprised by how quickly the time had passed. When he looked back up, Bacardi was smiling benignly at him. It was disconcerting how easily the man seemed to read him, Seto thought, deliberately making his features an expressionless mask -- too little, too late where the shrewd crew chief was concerned, he was sure.
"We'll make a tech outta you, yet, Captain," the chief said with cheerfully, clapping him on the arm as he moved past Seto to clamber aboard the gantry lift, once more. "See you tomorrow."
With a tired sigh, Seto cautiously picked his way through the ever-expanding maze of Red-Eyes parts, and headed for his quarters.
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After a quick shower and change of clothing, Seto grabbed his personal computer (the one he had built to his own exacting standards), and perched on the sofa. A few clicks on the keypad and he had ensured Bacardi an excellent performance review for this quarter. Then he settled down to do some real work.
Moving from the less secure personnel server into Research and Development took but a moment's work, but accessing the files on the Kaiba Corp Island Research Station took much longer than it should have. Seto sat for a second, staring at the uncooperative computer screen, then frowned and stabbed at the command pad. The seeker program executed again, with the same results.
Access denied
Seto growled in frustration at the blinking cursor. It was almost embarrassing that he, of all people, was being kept out of the Kaiba Corp mainframe. Unfortunately, the passwords that he had hacked when his father was still running the company no longer worked. He realized that he had been right all along. If this was going to work, he would need to physically access one of the computers in the Kaiba Corp network.
Frustrated, Seto shut down his seeker and absently browsed the system while he considered his very limited options. Getting down to the surface of Mars would be simple enough -- he had accrued quite a bit of unused leave, to the point where he was certain Korone was about to get on his case about it. But it might arouse suspicion if he showed up unannounced at one of the KC facilities and demanded access to their computer network.
Something on one of the screens caught his eye. Paging back to the screen in question, Seto frowned at it until it dawned on him exactly what he was looking at. Someone had turned one of his ferret programs loose in the Kaiba Corp system. He watched it run for a moment, then tapped in a command to give himself access to the program. It was an older version, he saw immediately, a few years out of date compared to the version he was using now.
Seto's frown deepened. Only one other person had a copy of this particular program. What was Yami doing spying on his own company? For that matter, why was he on Mars in the first place, instead of back home on Earth, basking in Kazuki Kaiba's reflected glory?
Intrigued now, Seto took a closer look at the data the ferret was rifling through. It seemed to be searching for any references to the Duel Mecha, particularly the Dark Magician -- from the inception of the enhanced-mecha program right up to the catastrophe of Jupiter Station.
His already straight posture stiffened. What the hell was Yami up to? Could it be that there was some truth to those ridiculous rumors, after all? Seto's eyes narrowed. Yami hadn't been the same since his Anchor's death; he had lost his drive, his competitive edge. It had infuriated Seto, then, and it made his fists itch, now. Yami was wallowing in his cowardice, refusing to face his demons head-on and at least attempt to conquer them. Could he really have run so far from himself that he had gone over to the other side?
A few more commands and Seto had reprogrammed the ferret to not only report back to its user, but to Seto's computer as well. Soon, he would know whatever Yami found so fascinating in the Kaiba Corp files.
Seto's lips pressed into a thin, white line. He had to find out the truth. And, if Yami really had become a traitor, then Seto would be the one to do something about it.
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Kaiba Corp Enhanced-Mecha Production
Amazonis Planitia
Kaiba Corporation Colony, Mars
When Yami returned to his borrowed office in the executive tower, he once again swept the room with his bug detector. He found a new camera, barely the diameter of a strand of human hair, affixed to the side of his workstation monitor, and quickly disabled it. Standing before the desk, he stared at the tiny device laying on his palm. He had been in so much pain at the time that he hadn't thought to lock the office before departing earlier, so almost anyone could have planted the camera in his absence. No closer to an answer than before, he closed his hand over the camera and walked to the door.
Rafael was where Yami had left him, waiting patiently in the outer office. He looked up, instantly alert, when Yami poked his head around the door and waved him over. Yami held up the microfilament camera. Rafael nodded. Satisfied that Rafael would take care of the spy device, Yami handed it to him and went back into his office, closing the door behind him.
He settled at his desk and took a small device, about the size of deck of playing cards, from his pocket. Reaching around to the back of the workstation, he attached a thin cable from the portable reader to the ferret. Normally, the ferret could be remotely triggered to send its report over a wireless connection, but that was easily detected -- and intercepted. Using the wired connection would allow him to receive the ferret's report with no one else the wiser, or so he hoped. He set the small reader on the desk and pressed the key that would trigger the ferret to report.
Time to see what Seto's pet program had found for him.