Till Death Do Us Part

Chapter 6: Kaiba's Predicament

Seto wasn't certain how long he had been walking blindly through his home in search of the staircase that should have been just to the right of the foyer not more than ten steps away, when he realized that the hand grasping firmly onto his own belonged to someone other than Jounouchi. The fingers had become too thick and rough, the hand that of a much larger and older man than the lean, young duelist. Reacting on instinct, Seto tightened his grip and jerked the stranger toward him, at the same time pivoting to aim his free hand at where he estimated the other's throat to be. He met with only thin air, causing him to stumble and curse before turning again to crouch in a defensive position. No retaliation followed and, although he strained his ears and kept his breathing controlled and shallow, he detected no sounds to give away the other's location.

"Are you such a coward you need to hide in the dark rather than face me head on?" he finally ground out, his patience reaching its limit. He did not appreciate games like this one bit.

And where the hell's Jounouchi gotten to?

A deep, unpleasant chuckle drifted through the gloom in response, creating a shiver of revulsion up Seto's spine. "There is a difference between hiding in the dark and being a part of it. But you know that well, don't you, my dear Seto."

It was a shock to hear that voice again – the voice of a dead man.

"Gozaburo," Seto spat out, his spine stiffening and fists clenching. Disgust and cold fury swept through him as he realized he had been holding hands with the one man he despised more than anyone on the planet – his adoptive father.

"Very good, boy. You are as sharp as ever."

There was a snap of fingers and then harsh light flooded the room. Seto didn't flinch from the sting of his eyes adjusting to the sudden change. He glared at the man who stood several metres from him, while some part of him noted that they were still at the entrance where Jounouchi and he had started from. Gozaburo looked exactly the same as the last time Seto had seen him, moments before the man had smashed through the window on the top floor of Kaiba Corp and fallen to his death. He was a large man – not overweight, but muscular and broad-shouldered, like a commanding officer in the military. Thick eyebrows, a well-kept moustache, and short hair with only hints of a receding hairline all gleamed silver-grey in the light of the wall-lamps. He was wearing his favourite double-breasted red suit with a white collared shirt and black tie underneath. Although not an ugly man by most definitions, the very sight of him made Seto want to vomit, and then claw out those cold, judging eyes.

"Mind you, I'm not pleased about what you did to my company," Gozaburo continued as though he didn't notice the murderous gaze of his adopted son. "But at least you did it well and with style. A tremendous achievement that befits a Kaiba heir."

Praise from him. Seto shuddered internally, remembering a time when he had craved and willingly bled for that approval. Now it just sickened him. "Get the fuck out of my mind. You're not even here, but in hell where you cannot touch me or my brother ever again. I hope you are burning for everything you did to us."

One corner of Gozaburo's mouth lifted, the hairy-caterpillar moustache twitching above it. "Well, of course I'm all in your mind, genius. Nobody could have survived that fall. However…"

In the blink of an eye he was gone and then reappeared inches from Seto's face. The older man, his expression now ugly with malice, shot out an arm and grabbed Seto by the neck. His grip was like an iron claw, fingers wrapped almost entirely around the pale column of flesh. Seto choked and fought for air, clutching at the other's fist in a weak attempt to tear it away.

"However, that does not make me any less dangerous." Gozaburo's teeth clenched in a feral grin before he lifted Seto up off his feet and threw him to the floor.

Seto slid a few metres across the polished marble and lay there helplessly for a moment, gasping and blinking away the spots that threatened to blacken his vision. As soon as he was able, he gathered his feet under him and rose up again, refusing to submit in any form. He was shaken, however, by the fact that Gozaburo, a mere hallucination, could in reality harm him.

Warier now, but not about to back down, Seto rasped, "What the fuck do you want?"

His adopted father only appeared amused by Seto's icy tone and determination to stand up to him. "Why rush to the point? We have so much to catch up on, my son. Tell me, how is little Mokuba doing these days?"

Seto refused to be goaded into losing his temper. Instead, he stood his ground and held his glare steady; but he was finding it difficult to control his breathing. The monster in front of him had no right to speak of his brother.

"Hm, it's unusual to find you alone without the whelp attached to your hip. Where could he be… ah." Gozaburo's grin turned smug. "I suppose he's lying down to recover after his harrowing experience with the darker side of humanity."

"That wasn't real," Seto blurted out before he could stop himself, unconsciously repeating what Jounouchi had said to reassure him at the time. A shot of pain lanced his heart as he unwillingly recalled how Mokuba had lain across the cold, stone floor, bruises and cuts covering every inch of his abnormally pale skin, while the man who had broken him stood over him and laughed. Even then, Mokuba had pleaded for his big brother to save him, his voice hoarse and nearly gone.

"Wasn't it?"

"No." He was confident that Jounouchi had not lied to him. Mokuba was fine, wherever he was.

"Perhaps not. But can you be one hundred percent certain? Would you bet a life on it?"

That gave him a pause. Not "your" life, but "a" life. "What are you getting at, old man?"

To Seto's frustration, he received no direct reply. Instead, Gozaburo reached into the inner breast pocket of his jacket and withdrew a fat cigar. His gaze never wavering from Seto's, he raised the cigar as though in mock salute and slipped it between his lips but didn't move to light it. The expression on his face was the same one he had often worn in the past when assessing whether Seto was up to a challenge. The consequences of losing one of his challenges were never painless.

Gozaburo bared his teeth after a moment and turned away. Seto only hesitated for half a second before following at a safe distance. He wasn't about to let the other out of his sight.

They went through a door that should have opened into the dining room but instead had them stepping into the middle of an unfamiliar hallway. The only light was from a single wall lamp opposite the door, a small yellow pool that was cut off by shadow after half a metre to the left and right. Seto was careful to remain close to the door so as to have an easy escape if necessary.

The old man turned to face him. "Well, well. It appears you have come to a fork in the road. Which way will you choose to go from here? That is the question."

Crossing his arms, Seto glanced up and down the hallway before meeting Gozaburo's eyes again. He snorted and said, "Neither direction appears particularly enticing."

"No? Ah, well, let me shed some light on the matter then."

The man raised his left arm in one, dramatic motion and swept it towards the corridor that was on Seto's right hand side. The darkness was at once chased away by multiple lamps along both walls lighting up until, at the end, a closed door was revealed. It was a plain wooden door, stained black, but the cracks around its edges glowed with a softer, bluer light that seeped through from the other side. Seto narrowed his eyes but made no move towards it.

"To your right, a way out. It will take you away from this place and into the arms of your precious brother. He has been waiting a long time to see you again. Haven't you, Mokuba?" Gozaburo grinned, his sharp eyes focused on Seto's face.

Seto watched with some trepidation as the door slowly swung open. He wasn't sure what to expect, but it was not to see Mokuba staring back at him from the other side with a look of surprise and hope that mirrored Seto's own carefully hidden feelings. The younger boy was fully clothed and appeared unharmed, despite what Seto had been forced to witness earlier. In fact, he appeared healthier and more vibrantly alive than ever. His wide, grey eyes shone with unshed tears and he reached out a hand towards his older brother only to have his palm and fingers press and flatten against an invisible barrier. It reminded Seto of the time he was trapped outside the bedroom in the game shop while Jounouchi faced a nightmare of his own inside.

"Mokuba…" Seto whispered, but in his mind he was frantically calculating the odds as to whether this was truly his brother or just another illusion. He watched as Mokuba began to mouth his name and attempt to push through the barrier, but it did not give way.

"Old man," Seto said with a growl, turning to face Gozaburo. "What the hell kind of game are you playing at?"

Gozaburo was clearly enjoying himself, a self-satisfied smirk causing the wrinkles under his eyes to deepen. "Do you not want to go to the poor boy? He has missed you so much and I'm sure you have been worried to death about him."

"As if I would ever trust you. That is surely not my brother or the way out. I have had enough of this nonsense, so find somebody else to play mind games with." Seto turned his back on the man with the intention of leaving the way they had come in. He would find Jounouchi and escape this mad place without that monster's help.

"I assure you, it most definitely is the genuine and only exit that allows you to leave alive and in one piece."

The tone Gozaburo used caused Seto to freeze. He knew his adoptive father well; he had observed him negotiate, cut deals, bribe, bring men to their knees and cause businesses to collapse, and do anything to get what he desired. There were times, Seto had been taught, for honesty and times for lies. And now, after studying Gozaburo closely, he realized the other man was telling the truth, or at least in part.

"What do you mean, the only one that allows me to leave alive? There are others?" Seto asked, glancing again at Mokuba. The youngest Kaiba was staring back with a worried frown, still silently calling his brother's name.

"Of course, let me show you a second option," Gozaburo said, raising his right arm this time and flinging it in the opposite direction from Mokuba and the door.

The darkness to Seto's left receded in the same manner as before and revealed…

"Jounouchi!"

The golden head of hair was unmistakable. The younger man was standing still in the hallway. His mouth was moving and he appeared to be talking to thin air, but it was the sight of what was in front of Jounouchi that caused Seto's heart to skip a beat and fists to clench at his sides.

"That… that is the other exit?"

"Correct. It is a way out."

"But he will die." It was not a question.

"Yes, and it will be a very, very painful death."

Seto swallowed against a suddenly tight throat when he saw Jounouchi take a timid step closer to the darkness. He forced himself to look back at Mokuba, his heart aching at thought of his brother alone and scared, waiting for Seto to go to him. The game Gozaburo was forcing him to play was now obvious. Mokuba or Jounouchi. To leave his brother alone or his… friend to die.

"One more thing," Gozaburo added with a malicious twist to his lips. "Once you make your choice and move in that direction, the other way will be closed to you forever. No second chances."

Meaning I cannot go grab Jounouchi and then drag him out to where Mokuba is.

It really should not have been a difficult decision. Mokuba was and had always been the most important person in Seto's life. If this choice had been thrust upon him before or just after meeting Jounouchi at the beginning of their adventure, he would not have thought twice about turning his back on the idiotic blond. But now he hesitated.

"Jounouchi!" he finally thought to call out. The desperation in his own voice startled him.

"He can't hear you."

There was not enough time to think this through as carefully as he would have liked – Jounouchi looked about ready to step into the darkness and the door to Mokuba could shut at any moment.

I have to choose Mokuba. He's too young to fend for himself and take over my position as CEO of Kaiba Corp.

But that meant leaving Jounouchi to his fate.

Good riddance. He's nothing but a nuisance, a pest. He is too…

Loyal. Good-hearted. Warm.

But he does not need me. Not like Mokuba does. I didn't see much of Jounouchi after high school, so nothing will change if I leave here without him.

But he had grown closer to Jounouchi than he had ever thought possible. He didn't think that he could go on as though none of it had happened and pretend that Jounouchi had never existed.

Seto's breathing turned harsh while his mind furiously weighed pros and cons, calculating the most beneficial path to take. He tried to ignore his personal desires, and needs, and the horrible feeling of guilt that pierced him every time he thought about walking away from Jounouchi.

And then he was forced to watch as Jounouchi took that final step. Almost in slow motion, he entered the wall of darkness and disappeared from sight.

An unconscious, frantic cry tore itself from Seto's throat. His upper body jerked in the direction Jounouchi had been, but his feet remained planted to the ground as though they had been cemented there. Pitiless, cruel laughter roared in his ears, mocking his indecisiveness.

I don't know what to do! The pain of that admission almost overwhelmed him. What do I do?

He stared at where Jounouchi had vanished and then at the doorway where Mokuba met his gaze. The younger Kaiba was beating his small fists against the barrier and crying, clearly frightened that his brother was about to leave him.

"I'm fine, 'niisama."

"Mokuba," Seto gasped, startled. The words his brother spoke formed directly in his head and were out of sync with the boy's frantically moving lips.

"It's okay. Please don't worry about me." The tone was soothing and only wavered slightly with emotion but not with the screaming sobs of the Mokuba on the other side of the door.

"What do you mean? Mokuba?"

"Help Jounouchi. I think he's depending on you right now. Don't let him die. Please, Seto. I can wait a little longer."

Seto shook his head. "I can't. I can't leave you."

"You'll come back to me when you're able to. I believe in you, Seto."

The unconditional trust and love in his brother's voice was unmistakeable. It made Seto realize just how much Mokuba had matured. His dear baby brother was all grown up. A lump formed in his throat, but he quickly swallowed and took a deep breath, straightening his shoulders and raising his chin.

"I will find you again, Mokuba."

He looked at Gozaburo, meeting the other's glare with a resolute nod. "I have chosen."

"Abandoning your brother, Seto? How loyal of you. Then again, I suppose you were always quick to shove him aside when he got in the way of your personal desires."

"You've been dead a long time, old man. Things have changed drastically since then. The darkness was expelled from me by a certain annoying midget and my heart is whole again."

"You're going the wrong way!" Gozaburo shrieked at Seto's retreating back. "You'll die! Your brother will hate you, you fucking coward! There's no way out for you anymore– Seto! You hear me? You'll regret this!"

Blocking out the ghost's insane howls, Seto picked up his pace until his quick steps turned into a full out sprint. He had a feeling that they were almost out of time. The dark, writhing thing grew larger and larger as he approached. It was pitch black and opaque – he couldn't see Jounouchi at all.

Is it too late? Have I already lost him?

Seto didn't hesitate when he finally stopped inches away, but plunged his arm in.

And reached.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

The shivers had finally stopped, but whether from warming up or only out of fatigue was uncertain. The unnaturally pale skin was still ice cold to the touch, however. Seto gazed down at the tangle of golden-blond hair hiding the face that was pressed against his chest. He lifted the fingers of his free hand, the one that wasn't curled tightly around the other's shoulders, and brushed some of the strands out of the way. Jounouchi's eyes were closed and there was no sign of the light tan that normally graced his skin, but Seto was pleased to note that the blue tint had disappeared from his lips.

He's alive, but it was a close call. Much too close. A minute later and…

It would have been too late. Seto touched one of Jounouchi's cheeks lightly but the unconscious man didn't react. Dead to the world. An ironic smile lifted Seto's lips as he let his hand drop down to Jounouchi's neck, feeling the faint but steady pulse there.

"You attract trouble like honey does bees," he muttered. His fingers remained on the pulse point while he pulled his eyes away from the blond in his lap to check out their surroundings. The corridor was quiet and there was no sign of Gozaburo or anybody else lurking in the dim shadows. It appeared they were safe for the moment, at least. But he knew they should move on soon.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

He glanced left and then right again, studying the two directions for any clue of which way to go. They appeared to be identical, but instinct was telling him to take the right-hand option. Perhaps the shadows were slightly lighter.

"Jounouchi." He had to repeat himself twice more before he got a reaction from the shorter man who was leaning heavily against his shoulder.

"Nn?"

Seto tightened the arm he had around Jounouchi's waist, pulling him closer and helping to keep him on his feet. The shaking blond looked ready to fall back asleep right there on his feet. "Are you positive you can walk?"

"…yeah, think so. Jus' c-cold 'nd…"

"And what?"

Jounouchi shook his head, then looked as though he regretted the movement as his legs almost gave out on him. One of his hands grasped Seto's forearm, while the other clenched a fistful of the back of Seto's black turtleneck.

It was worrying how weak and chilled Jounouchi still was. He had slept for at least an hour, and yet his condition did not seem to have improved much. Seto wondered what had happened to Jounouchi in the darkness and if permanent damage had been done. The sooner they figured the way out and got him some help, the better.

"Let me know if you need a break, but it's best if we can keep moving for as long as possible," Seto said as he manoeuvred them down the hall, deciding to trust his gut feeling and go right after all.

"'kay."

They proceeded down the corridor, but it was slow going. Jounouchi seemed to be in a daze and would barely respond to Seto's occasional queries. Side corridors and forks appeared. At first Seto ignored them and remained on the same straight path. Eventually they came to a dead end, however, and were forced to back track to the last left turn they had passed. It continued on that way – more dead ends and many more turns. It never ended.

"This isn't my mansion. It's a maze," Seto muttered at one point.

They came to another fork and Seto paused, glaring one way and then the other in frustration. He nudged Jounouchi, but the other man didn't have the breath to do anything more than pant, his breaths sounding wheezy.

"Damn." Seto ran his fingers through his hair, wondering what to do next. It was obvious they couldn't keep doing this for much longer. Then he felt Jounouchi twitch and raise his head with some effort from where it had been lolling on Seto's shoulder. "What? Do you need to sit down?"

Jounouchi didn't appear to hear him. "Yug'."

Startled, Seto turned his head for a closer look at Jounouchi's expression. The blond was staring ahead, his eyes wide and unexpectedly alert. "Jounouchi, Yugi is not –"

"Straight. We need to go s-straight, Seto," Jounouchi said, not meeting Seto's inquiring gaze.

"We can't," Seto replied slowly. "We're at a T-intersection. There's only a blank wall ahead."

"Go straight."

"Jounouchi, you're hallucinating. We might as well rest for awhile since we don't seem to be getting anywhere." He shifted Jounouchi, preparing to help him down onto the floor, but Jounouchi resisted and continued to cling to him.

"Please, Seto, listen t'me. Don't wanna be stuck wandering 'round here forever."

Seto didn't want to listen to Jounouchi who was clearly delusional; however, he couldn't help but examine the stone wall that the other insisted they go through. It appeared solid enough. No door or cracks or any other sign that it would allow a path through it.

Then again, stranger things had already happened to them. If Jounouchi insisted they could walk through walls, Seto couldn't very well say otherwise considering he'd already seen Jounouchi recover from a fatal knife wound without a scratch, survived a jump off of Kaiba Corp, and spoke with Gozaburo's ghost. He relented with a weary sigh and hefted Jounouchi's arm more securely over his shoulders.

"Fine, we'll try it your way and when it doesn't work, you'll sit down and take a damn nap until you're sane again."

He felt he should have been more shocked when they stepped forward and passed through the wall as though it were made of smoke, but all in all, it was a truly miniscule addition to the insanity. They stopped on the other side in another hallway identical to the one they'd just exited.

"Now what?"

Jounouchi said, "Straight." And so they continued to drag themselves in that direction, passing through several more walls which posed as no barrier against their progress.

"I have some new theories," Seto said as they limped forward. He spoke aloud mainly to help keep Jounouchi awake as he looked like he was fading again. "It's likely I was drugged by another lunatic looking to ruin me or my company. There could easily be a drug that causes such delirium."

"Hm, but… What 'bout me?"

"You are part of my delusion, obviously."

"Th-thought we already settled we're both real."

Seto frowned and said, "Yes, but nothing can explain that. Unless this is the end of the world created by some disaster, but even then I wouldn't imagine there'd be ghosts of our loved ones and enemies flitting around to lure us to our deaths."

"Gas leaks?"

"Hn, I guess that could cause hallucin—"

A pale, wavering light up ahead caught his eye, causing him to lose his trail of thought. He squinted, trying to spot the source, but it was too distant.

"See that?" he said, quickening his pace as much as possible without causing them both to stumble.

Somehow Jounouchi managed to keep up, but there was confusion in his voice when he asked, "What?"

"That light. It might be nothing, but it's worth investigating."

Jounouchi made a sound in the back of his throat but said nothing else while they hurried towards the end of the hall. As it came closer, Seto could make out a door set in the stone. It was cracked open and bright yellow light was filtering through from the other side. He stopped a few feet away and examined it carefully.

"A… a door," Jounouchi said, his eyes wide with surprise as though he'd just noticed it.

Seto nodded distractedly. There didn't appear to be anything dangerous about the entrance or exit, whichever it was. It reminded him of the door Mokuba had been standing in, but compared of the eerie blue light, it felt more welcoming this time. Inviting.

"Kaiba…"

"We could take a peek through it and check for the light source. If anything looks wrong, we'll walk away." He took a couple of steps closer to the portal, but was forced to stop when Jounouchi dug in his heels and tried to hang back. "What, you're not scared of this after everything else that's happened, are you?"

Jounouchi was biting his lip and staring at the door with an agitated expression. "The door… i-it's open?"

"Are you blind?" Seto said, wondering what had gotten into the other man. "Now move it before it disappears or something." He wasn't sure why he wanted to check through the doorway so badly, but there was definitely a growing desire to do so. It felt right, almost like the light was calling to him. It was so bright and warm. He managed to drag Jounouchi to the threshold before the other man resisted again.

"W-wait, Kaiba. It's… I can't…"

It was too bright to see anything through the crack. For some reason, however, his heartbeat sped up with unreasonable anticipation. He couldn't even tear his eyes away to look back at Jounouchi, but said with more than a little frustration, "I trusted you when you said to go straight, now it's your turn to trust me. This is the way out, I'm certain of it. Nothing about this damned place has called to me so strongly."

"I… I get it. But I can't go with you."

The broken whisper was what snapped the hypnotic hold the light seemed to have on Seto. He whipped around to look at the other and was startled to find Jounouchi's eyes filled with tears. "What do you mean? Of course you can. I'm not just going to leave you here. If you're feeling sick, we'll rest on the other side."

"N-no." Jounouchi shook his head and sniffed. A tear finally escaped, hanging on his lower lashes before dripping to his cheek. "Sorry. I screwed up. A-and after we came so far. I… I'm a fuckin' loser after all."

"I don't understand." Still frowning, Seto tried to tug the other closer to him, but Jounouchi shook him off.

"S'alright. Jus' remember, it's my fault. Not yours. Forget about me and look after your little bro, yeah?"

That's it. Jounouchi had gone off the deep end, but if he thought Seto was going to turn his back and go on alone… Seto clenched his teeth. No way. Jounouchi was his now and therefore had no choice in the matter. He opened his mouth to tell the crazy third-rate duelist just that, but instead almost bit his tongue when Jounouchi moved forward on his own and pressed a kiss to his cheek.

"I'll miss ya, Seto. Goodbye."

He didn't have time to get over the shock of hearing Jounouchi call him by his first name because after the whispered words came a hard shove to his chest and suddenly he was falling backwards. His shoulder blades hit the door, which flew completely open, and his flailing hands failed to grasp the door frame.

Jounouchi's saddened honey-brown eyes and pale face was the last thing Seto saw before the light closed in and blinded him with its brilliance.

To Be Continued...