Title: The First Time

Author: Wintersslayer

Rating: Pg-13

Pairing: Seto/Yami, sorta Joey/Yami

Spoilers: None that I know of.

Warnings: Maybe some language. And please, LOOK at the pairings listed. If you don't like, then don't read. CHARACTER DEATH in this chapter.

Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh.

Summary: AU- 10 years ago, Yami had a beautiful relationship with Seto that ended tragically with Seto's death. Now, shortly after his engagement to his long-time best friend Joey, Yami meets a man named Seth, who curiously looks a lot like Seto...

Status: 5 of ?

A/N: Yay for me, finals are done! As promised, here's the next chapter!

START OF CHAPTER

Chapter 5

Yami smiled happily as he rested his head on Seto's shoulder. It was the following Saturday, and they were sitting on one of benches surrounding the dragon fountain, wrapped up in each other's arms. They had just come from attending a beautiful piano concert, and Seto had suggested that they take a walk in the park, leading him down the familiar pathways, now covered with snow, to the dragon fountain. It had become their favorite place- they spent every day after school there, though their time together was often short, as Seto had to work. But Yami didn't care how short their time together was. He was just happy that they were together.

The sophomore shivered a bit from the cold. They usually came here during the afternoons, when it wasn't nearly so cold. The temperature seemed to drop drastically as soon as the sun had gone down. With a sigh, Yami snuggled closer against Seto, burying his face into the other's coat. However, his date seemed to have other plans…

He felt the brunet's warm hand underneath his chin, gently lifting it up. Crimson eyes widened as he noticed the faint smile on the other's lips as he brought his head down. His eyes slid shut as Seto pressed his lips against his own, in a sweet, gentle kiss. Yami could no longer feel the cold as they continued to kiss, and knew that he'd remember this moment for the rest of his life…

The next several weeks passed by in a blur for both Yami and Seto. They spent nearly every day after school together, usually in the park, with the dragon as the only other presence around them. On Saturdays, Seto would take Yami out to some place nice, but they would always return to the dragon fountain afterwards. The crimson-eyed duelist couldn't believe how well things were going between them.

Seto was also pleased with how well things were going. However, he was rather worried as well, because he knew that his excuse of meeting with a "potential future investor" was starting to wear thin with Gozaburo. He could tell that the CEO was starting to suspect that something else was going on. He needed a new excuse to spend time with Yami, and soon. Mokuba had offered to cover for him, but he didn't want to put him in any kind of trouble. Which is why he had yet to formally introduce Yami and Mokuba to each other. He did not want his adopted father to suspect that Mokuba might know some useful information about him. He had explained this to both of them, and thankfully, both seemed to understand. One of these days, he'll figure out a way for the two of them to meet without raising any suspicions from Gozaburo.

The future CEO of KaibaCorp was quite surprised to find the current CEO waiting for him when he walked into his office one day after just having spent the afternoon with Yami. The CEO had a very displeased expression on his face, one that Seto knew all too well. He wasted no time as Seto set down his briefcase on the floor next to his desk.

"I've heard some rather displeasing news about you, Seto. That you've been meeting with some boy after school?"

Seto felt his blood run cold, but he remained calm on the outside. "Oh? And what's your source?"

"One of your schoolmates actually. Joseph Wheeler. He said he's seen you with this boy every day after school."

Blue eyes narrowed coldly. He knew that that Wheeler boy was trouble, considering he already had almost broken him and Yami up once.

"He even has proof."

A small white envelope was tossed to Seto, which he caught easily. Opening it, he found several pictures of him and Yami walking in the park, a few of them standing outside the game shop. And here the mutt was supposed to be Yami's "best friend". He had always thought that friendship was meaningless…until he had met Yami. But then again, they were much more than just friends. He had planned on telling him this weekend…

His thoughts were interrupted by Gozaburo's harsh voice. "I had asked the Wheeler boy what was in it for him, and he had only replied that he had personal reasons for doing this. I don't care what those reasons are. However…this could be extremely detrimental to the company, and I know that you know this, Seto. This boy has already taken valuable time away from your work. There seems then to be only one solution."

"And what is that?" Seto said evenly. If Gozaburo even thought about harming Yami, he'd push that bastard out the window this very instant.

"I've decided to relocate the company to America. We leave immediately."

Blue eyes widened. This couldn't be happening…

The CEO quite enjoyed the look on his adopted son's face. "The servants are packing as we speak. Your brother is already waiting in the limo."

No…he couldn't leave. He couldn't just leave Yami like this….

Gozaburo smiled triumphantly. "Come along, Seto. Get your briefcase and let's go." He picked up his own briefcase and headed out the door.

Numbly, Seto picked up his own briefcase and followed the man down the hall. He was silent as they rode down the elevator, and walked out of the building. A servant opened the limo door, and Seto was faced with an extremely sad Mokuba. The taller brother smiled faintly, then turned his head to stare out the limo's window. It was already becoming dark outside. He wondered what Yami was doing at this very instant, what he would think when he would find out that he had left the country. He would probably be heartbroken. They didn't even have the chance to say goodbye…

As the limo passed by Domino City Park, Seto suddenly made up his mind. He refused to leave Japan without first saying goodbye to Yami, and telling him how he felt. He was going to tell him this weekend, after a romantic candlelit dinner for two, as they sat together in front of the dragon fountain. But now, thanks to that mutt Joey Wheeler, he'd never get the chance to. This was his only chance now.

At the next red light, Seto popped up the lock, shoved the door open, and jumped out of the vehicle. He could hear both his brother and his adopted father calling out after him as he rushed down the cold, icy sidewalk. Snow was falling heavily around him, but only one thing was on his mind: find Yami. As he crossed the street, he didn't even notice the bus until he heard the driver honking his horn madly. He glanced up and turned around as the bus's bright lights washed over him, blinding him. The last thoughts to drift through his mind were:

I'm so sorry Yami. Please forgive me…

The next morning at school, Yami waited for Seto at the school's gates. They always waited for each other now in the mornings. However, it was usually the brunet who did the waiting, as Yami was predictably late most mornings. The sophomore glanced worriedly at his watch. Seto had never been this late before- the late bell had rung nearly five minutes ago. He was growing more worried by the minute. Perhaps his adopted father had kept him at work today.

Another five minutes passed before Yami finally decided to go inside. What greeted him his first class period shocked him- his entire class was crying and sniffling quietly, small groups of students huddling together in various places around the room. Even the teacher was sniffling quietly at his desk, and he rarely cried. They all looked up as he walked in the door, the girls becoming even more teary-eyed. What surprised him even more was seeing Yugi there with their group of friends. They were crying as well.

He made his way over to the small group. "What's going on?" he asked in a quiet voice.

Yugi came over and gave him a long hug. "I'm so sorry, Yami. I'm so, so sorry."

"For what?" He was still rather confused.

"It's Kaiba. H-He…he's…" The freshman started to tear up again and couldn't continue.

Crimson eyes widened with worry. "What happened to Seto?" He looked around at the small group of friends. "Is he alright?"

Tristan came over and placed a gentle hand on Yami's shoulder. "There was an accident last night. The bus driver never saw him with the snow and the dark. He…he didn't make it." He bowed his head in sadness.

With those words, Yami's world suddenly came crashing down. He sank down into a seat, his mind and body going numb. "No…" he whispered. "Seto…Please no…"

The younger Mutou once again embraced his older brother. Their three friends came up and embraced them as well. But all Yami could think about were those deep blue eyes….

Later that week on Friday, the five friends held a small memorial for their classmate to say goodbye to him. They had learned through the media that the Kaiba family had packed up and left for America, after holding a small, personal family-only memorial for Seto. The Kaiba family had decided to move their company to America, as staying in Domino was too heartbreaking for them.

The five friends gathered together around the dragon fountain, Yami wearing Seto's dark blue scarf wrapped around his neck. He was tired from crying so much that week, as the realization set in that Seto was truly gone. He missed him terribly. Crimson eyes gazed sadly up at the fierce dragon before him. Even the dragon's eyes seemed to be sad, though he knew that couldn't possibly be true. He had been to this fountain every day since learning of Seto's death, sitting on one of the benches, wrapped up in his scarf, crying his eyes out. He missed him so much…

The day after the memorial, Yami received an unexpected package in the mail. Crimson eyes widened as he recognized the writing on the front. Seto…

He tore open the envelope to find a CD inside. On the front of the case, it said simply FOR YAMI. With trembling hands, he placed the CD into his CD player and pushed the play button. As Seto's rich deep voice filled the room, Yami could feel his tears beginning to well up once more.

"Hey, Yami. I know I could have just given you this tonight when we have our date, but I wanted to surprise you with something a little bit early. This is the first of many surprises that I have for you tonight. I hope you that you like it, and I'll see you later tonight."

A soft, slow melody began to play. The tears started falling freely as Yami instantly recognized the tune. Seto had made him a recording of him playing The First Time, the piano piece that he had once played for him long ago in the auditorium. He closed his eyes as he listened to the beautiful song, tears still falling down his face, as a flood of memories suddenly washed over him.

Goodbye Seto… I will never forget you… I love you…

TEN YEARS LATER

The young man came to a stop, gazing up at the fierce dragon with its tail in its mouth, representing the cyclic nature of things. He gently fingered the worn, dark blue scarf around his neck. He always wore this particular scarf whenever he came here, which was at least once a week. When it was too warm for wearing scarves, he simply cradled the scarf in his arms. He liked coming here to talk. It was here where he felt closest to Seto…

"Hello, Seto. I just thought I'd tell you that I'm engaged now. Joey proposed to me yesterday, and I accepted. Our friends are throwing us a dinner party tonight." He laughed quietly. "I'm running late as usual. But I wanted to let you know. I'll talk to you later then."

He walked out of the little area, thinking about how much things had changed. He now helped run the Kame game store with Yugi, their grandfather having passed away two years earlier. After Seto's death, Joey had been extremely caring towards him, always there when he had needed someone to talk to, a shoulder to cry on, whenever Yugi was not there. They had officially started dating in college, Joey convincing him that he needed to finally move on, that Seto would want him to be happy. He seemed very understanding of Yami's need to go to the fountain every week and talk to Seto, which Yami had faithfully done for the past ten years.

Over the years, Yami had taken greatly to Duel Monsters, and as the game's popularity rose, so did his own popularity. He was now the World Champion, nicknamed the "King of Games", and was quite famous worldwide. He always participated in the tournaments hosted in Japan, and often traveled outside of Japan to tournaments as well. Joey was third-ranked in the world, and in between tournaments, had a job of teaching young, beginning duelists the tricks of the game. The second-ranked duelist was a mysterious man from America, rumored to have his roots in Japan. Both Yami and Joey had dueled him several times in various tournaments, but always he hid himself behind a dragon's mask, using a powerful dragon deck, both of which had earned him the nickname the "Dragon Master". It was a well-known fact that only Yami could beat him, and their duels were awaited anxiously by all fans of the game. Joey, on the other hand, almost always lost to the Dragon Master, which annoyed him greatly. But he didn't mind so much, as he always had Yami cheering him on from the sidelines.

As Yami headed out of the park, he suddenly caught a glimpse of something familiar across the street. A very familiar-looking dark blue trench coat to be exact. He walked quickly along the street, straining to see through the passing cars at the tall man wearing the coat. Trench coats weren't exactly popular, as they tended to look ridiculous on most people, and he knew of only one person who could successfully pull the look off. Glancing both ways to make sure it was clear, he rushed across the street and after the man. He was several steps ahead of him, but from the distance Yami could tell that the man had dark hair at least. Try as he might though, he could never quite catch up to him. He spent the next half an hour chasing after him, till he finally lost him when he got stuck at a red light, watching helplessly as the man turned at a corner and out of his sight.

The famous duelist took several deep breaths as he walked slowly along the sidewalk towards the restaurant where he was supposed to meet his fiancé and friends. He was nearly an hour late now, but his lateness was the furthest thing away from his mind. All his could think about was that man in the dark blue trench coat. It must have been his imagination. He must be just seeing things, his mind playing tricks on him…

As he approached the restaurant, the door flew open and out came Joey and Yugi. The younger Mutou had grown a bit taller since high school, but was still rather short compared to the rest of their friends. He wore a worried expression on his face, but that soon changed to one of relief as he rushed towards Yami. "Yami, are you alright? We were getting so worried about you!"

Yami smiled. "Yes, I'm fine. I'm sorry for being late. I just…got caught up in something, that's all."

Brown eyes frowned at this. "Where were you?"

"Umm…I was at the fountain, and I guess I just lost track of time. I really am sorry, Joey."

While he didn't exactly like Yami going to that stupid dragon fountain, he didn't make a bit deal out of it simply because it didn't matter much, seeing as how Kaiba was gone anyways. But for Yami to miss their celebration party in order to talk to him…Joey wondered if you could be angry at a dead guy. "Well…I'm just glad that you're safe, that's all." He slung an arm over the other's shoulders. "Come on. We should head inside."

Later that night, back in their small living room, Yugi questioned Yami about his whereabouts before the dinner party. They never kept any secrets from each other. "So tell me Yami…what's the real reason why you were so late to the dinner party tonight?"

Yami hesitated, but knew he couldn't lie to his younger brother. "I was at the fountain, but only for a little while. As I was leaving the park, I thought I saw someone…"

An eyebrow rose curiously. "Who?"

"I saw a man wearing a long, dark trench coat."

Purple eyes widened, knowing immediately whom his brother was talking about.

"I tried to catch up to him, to see his face. But I ended up losing him at a red light."

"Whoa…" He looked gently at his brother. "But Yami. You do realize that it couldn't possibly have been him, right? The dead don't exactly come back…"

"I know, Yugi, I know." He paused slightly. "I guess it was just wishful thinking, that's all. Just my imagination working overtime." He gave a shaky laugh.

Yugi smiled. "Well, we should get some sleep. Big tournament tomorrow."

Yami brightened at the mention of dueling. "Yes, the sponsor is KC, the gaming company from America, and the maker of these duel disks." He paused. "I wonder if the KC stands for anything. We never did find out."

He shrugged. "Maybe we'll find out tomorrow."

END OF CHAPTER

Finally, we are back to the present time! Yayness!

Okay, okay, so I'm not so good with overly sad and dramatic parts, and I'm really not good with goodbyes. Hope it wasn't too sappy and sad for you.

Next chapter, Seth gets formally introduced (you all knew that was him Yami was chasing after, right?). Lots of confusion this will end up causing, and a certain blond will definitely not be too happy with this…

Hopefully, I'll have an update by Christmas at least. Never know though, with all the holiday junk that's going on. But I'll try.

Thanks for reading, and please review! ;)