Disclaimers: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!. I'd be rich if I did. :) Oh, and no Hellsing, either. And no Metropolis. ):
Here comes chapter 8!
I also changes the title- which is just plain 'Fake' now. :P
After reading a review posted by 666TheWitch666, I must admit- I AM SCARED.
It was a very positive review, so I do thank you and I hope that I do not let you, or any other lovely readers of mine, down! So I'm going to keep writing as I have in hopes that it will be satisfactory, at least. : )
Ich wünsche Sie means "I want You", by the way (Inspired by the Across the Universe Soundtrack)
[Ich wünsche Sie]
Jonouchi walked back to his home. Kaiba left during lunch, and he hadn't come back at all. Batchi said it was normal for him. It still made Jonouchi feel uncomfortable. He really didn't want Kaiba to go anywhere. He was just... always there. It was odd if he left.
He shook the thoughts from his head. If it was anyone else, he wouldn't be thinking like that.
But it was Kaiba. It wasn't just anyone else.
And he liked Kaiba.
So maybe he would do something about it.
Sometime.
He just didn't know when.
So, tomorrow, he decided. Tomorrow, he would do something about that little nagging feeling in the pit of his stomach that was always concerned with Kaiba.
He turned into an out of the way street. Walking, walking, walking. The building on either side seemed to stagger and jut up above him. Taller and taller, stumbling up instead of down. He thought of KaibaCorp Tower, the titan's arm itself.
He hoped he got a job there. Really, really hoped.
Stopping at a set of steps that went down to a door imbedded in one of the walls of a building, he descended down into the clinging shadows. There was hardly any sunlight here. Just enough to make swampy, oily, clingy shadows.
There was a small microchip reader by the door. He pulled out a key card and placed it over the reader, opening the door when he heard it beep in approval and satisfaction.
Walking in, he came to a well-lit, sparse but walls and glossy floors.
He uttered a small "Welcome home" to himself and headed down to the rest of the complex.
The home.
He walked through the kitchen and to his room. The door opened, and he dropped his stuff and flopped down on the bed. What to do about Kaiba. What to do about Kaiba.
He bothered to think about what he was thinking. It seemed kind of... silly. but he didn't really care.
He liked Kaiba.
And he smiled at that thought.
So he would do something about it.
Tomorrow.
[Kaiba Mansion]
Kaiba sat at his desk in his room, accessing the mainframe to get to the data charge. He needed information.
All the Romanarium said was true-
Joey, or Joseph, Wheeler looked identical to Katsuya Jonouchi.
He was indeed dead.
His grave was indeed dug up.
And, hacking into the schools mainframe, Kaiba saw information correlating with the information of a neurotoxin.
Katsuya Jonouchi was apparently diagnosed with CIPA.
Congenial insensitivity to Pain with anhidrosis. He can't feel pain, heat or cold. A good cover for a corpse with no neural system.
It was a rare disease, with only about sixty patients in the last hundred years or so. And if he had backup from a doctor (Which he indeed did), then it was a believable condition.
This was an interesting new development.
But he needed time to get some more information.
And the Romanarium was right- he needed to get closer to the source.
He needed to get close to Katsuya. Close enough that he could find out everything.
He could start tomorrow.
[Domino High School]
They were watching a documentary. It was actually an interesting, if gruesome documentary. They were still studying Civil Rights issues. It spared no detail, and left out no bit of information, terrible or no. The students as a whole looked terrified.
Kaiba sat there, pensive as always. He had seen this all before. It was terrible then, and it was now. The bell suddenly rang. History was the last period of the day today.
The teacher switched on the lights and stopped the documentary.
"So you all know I want a paper by next week on these issues. That is the only homework you have until this time next week. Get it done or you fail. Have a nice day!"
She dismissed them.
Jonouchi grabbed his bag and looked up to see that Kaiba was already half way to the door.
He ran to catch him.
"Kaiba- Hey, Kaiba!"
Reaching out, he grabbed him on the shoulder.
"Yes?"
This was it.
"Um... well.. Would you like to-"
"Are you asking me on a date," Jonouchi started at this, blushing a bit. "Or do you just want ot hang out? Make up your mind and then tell me."
"The second one. D'you wanna hang out? This weekend or something?"
"I've got work."
"Oh... um... then d'you wanna just hang out at lunch?"
"Okay, then."
Jonouchi smiled. He did it.
"Great! See you tomorrow, then!"
Kaiba walked off, and Jonouchi followed, staying a few steps behind. A hand shot out an pulled him backwards.
"What happened to you?"
Batchi pulled him back and started walking beside him.
"Who'd you ask out on a date?"
"A date?"
"Oh god," Batchi face-palmed herself. "You don't know what a date is. O, good lord! What is the world coming to!"
"I know what a date is," Jonouchi laughed. "I just didn't ask anyone out."
"Really? 'Cause you looked real smitten with Kaiba over there."
"I think I actually got to where I can talk to him openly."
"You're Jesus."
He laughed again.
"Not quite."
They walked out of the building, chatting.
[Lunch, The Next Day]
"So what's up," Jou slid his chair over to Kaiba's desk, pulling out another sandwich.
"Hm."
There was a notebook spread open on his desk, the pages almost completely filled with writing.
"What're you writing down," He craned his neck to take a look.
Kaiba seemed to be pulled back into the real world then. He shut the notebook, hastily putting it back into his bag.
"Nothing you'd be interested in."
"Company stuff?"
"More or less."
There was a silence.
"...Whad'you wanna talk about?"
A shrug of the shoulders.
"Did you process the application?"
"Not yet."
"Oh. Okay..."
"Where are you from?"
Jonouchi didn't think Kaiba would ever ask anything like that.
"Hiroshima."
"Before that? You said your dad was in the military; You must have moved around often."
"Nowhere, really. I mean, we moved to Japan but..."
"Where'd you move from?"
"America. That's what I was told, I was really young. Like, two. We moved from Brooklyn."
Confirmation. Good.
"I bet you've been everywhere with being a CEO and all..."
Jonouchi never really got an answer to that. Kaiba pulled out a book... again.
"Whatever compels you to read that much has got to be in your DNA or something," He muttered, walking over to where Batchi and the others sat.
Kaiba waited until he left and then pulled out the notebook again. He opened it up to the page he was on, formulas, ideas, theories scribbles everywhere. Pulling out a pencil, he wrote down Jonouchi's confirmation of the data he had. To get Jonouchi to admit to CIPA, though... it may have seemed ridiculous to some, but the more sources to verify a suspicion then the more likely that it's a truth, or a very well-spread misconception.
A few minutes later, the bell rang. Kaiba quickly put the notebook back, pulling up his book and getting ready to not pay attention.
Jonouchi moved back to his seat. He noticed kaiba putting the same notebook away. Whatever was in there, it had attracted his interest. But Kaiba's bag was on the other side of his seat, far out of inconspicuous reach. He'd have to think of how to get to it after school or something, then. Whatever was in that notebook, he wanted to know.
[Below the KaibaCorp Tower- Lab Complex]
Franz stood at his work table, writing formulas and measuring compounds and chemicals and extracts, only half-focusing on his work. Erich sat at the end of the table, smiling and watching him as he furiously wrote this chemical equation or measured this liquid. It was almost like all the years ago. He was transferred from Berlin to Aushwitz, and Erich, being in the Totenkapfverbände, would watch him work during the inspections he carried out. Usually watching him more than the actual proceedings, which made Franz cringe and his insides crawl recalling some, if not all of the experiments that Erich would ignore.
And he couldn't believe what Erich had told him, either.
He could... would, no matter what, stay if he got what he needed.
What did he need? What did he need?
Franz was eager to meet whatever request there was if it meant Erich could stay.
And he needed the research.
Erich needed all the research he had conducted. The notes, formulas, processes he used...
The request threw him at first. There was so much that wasn't right about Erich now, of al times.
He was to serious, to dark underneath whatever flirtatious, playful veneer he put on.
As much as Franz never thought that he would think, or even realize he would long for and miss, was Erich being his playfully reckless, lecherous, perverted, smiling self that he always was. And it used to aggravate him so.
He could have been more careful under the eyes of the SS and the Reich.
He could have been less of a pervert.
He could have been less annoying at times.
But Franz had missed it the most after he had died. The void was astounding.
"What are you thinking about?"
The short sentence cut through his reverie.
"Wherever Rotwang might be."
A hand came up, brushing some hair back behind his ear, pleasantly lingering.
"No you're not."
It moved back, the fingers threading through the light gold strands.
"Will you tell me what you're really thinking?"
The touch moved down to the side of his neck;
"No."
Ghosting back along his jawline.
"You're no fun," Erich pouted, starting to pull him over.
"Doesn't matter. Will you stop being so-"
"Distracting? No."
He didn't answer back, still thinking.
"Did it ever bother you?"
"What?"
"Aushwitz."
Erich had stopped smiling. He looked concerned; concerned and regretful.
"Yes. Why do you ask?"
"Your inspections."
"Did they bother you at all?"
Franz stopped writing, setting the pen down and laying his hands flat on the desk.
"You ignored all the horrible things that I did. You still said you loved me, but you ignored what I did. Did you really see everything? Or did you just shut it out?"
"I haven't forgotten anything. Every detail... is still in my memory."
"Everything?"
It was a whisper.
"Yes. Why do you ask?"
"... No reason."
"That's not an answer."
"Just forget it, please."
"Then why don't you answer my question."
"Lassen Sie es einfach ist, Erich!"
"You know you can tell me-"
"Laßt ihm seien Sie!"
"Okay."
Nothing moved. Neither of them said anything.
"You can stay if I get the information," Franz asked, picking his pen back up.
"Yes."
"Can you... can you give me more time?"
A smile, and a soft touch.
"Of course."
[KaibaCorp Tower]
The barely remembered application was dug out of a file, sent back down to the secretary with the message "Process immediately."
Kaiba turned to a TV monitor, pressing the power button on the remote. Domino News lit up the screen, playing constantly.
"...And stocks are down .6 % this quarter. For all you businesses and all you investors out there, look out. Economists say that recent trends in the market may indicate an economic downturn. In other news today, the police are still at a loss trying to find the criminal responsible for the recent suicides that started in December. When asked about the lack of leads in the case, the Chief of police said only this- "We are doing our best with what we have. This will not be over quickly, nor painlessly." Many people are voicing their comments and opinions of inefficiency on the part of the police.
To date, no evidence has surfaced on these killings other than the menial leads that were presented at the start of the investigation. Anyone with any information at all is encouraged to call. In other news-"
Kaiba didn't hear much more, muting the sound.
He sat down at his desk, staring for a few moments at nothing, trying to think of who could do this.
He was jolted out of his thoughts by the phone ringing.
"Yes?"
"There is a party of two here to see you, sir."
"Who is it?"
"They say they're names are Leda and Hiram."
Leda and Hiram... Leda and... They were from the conference not too long ago.
"Let them up."
"Yessir."
The elevator door opened not to long after. Out stepped Leda, in her coat and with her river of blonde hair. Hiram wasn't to far behind her, seeming to attract shadows.
"I thought I told you to keep in touch," Leda smiled, sweeping her eyes around.
"When you stop flirting with me long enough to tell me why you're here, I won't bother to kick you out. Until then, you can either be quiet or leave."
Kaiba never looked up from his desk as Leda sat down and Hiram stood behind her.
"Okay, okay. Lighten up. We're here to investigate."
"Investigate what?"
A paper signed, then put over in the 'Outbox" pile.
"The strange sightings of elves and other mythical creatures that have nothing to do with real life."
"All the stoners and so-called mystics and spiritualists are down on the other side of the city, Leda. I'm sure you could ask them."
She leaned forward, putting her elbows on the desk.
"Kaiba, stop working for a minute. Listen to what I have to say."
The pen stopped moving, the papers stopped flying between stacks.
"You have a minute to inform me of why you're here. If you make it good, you might be here longer."
"Okay. I'm here because I need to investigate serial murders. I thought we could... collaborate," She smiled.
"We both have resources. If we combine them, we can have this solved and ended in no time."
Kaiba was still not convinced.
"And why are you so interested in these murders?"
"A fake did it. We both know that much. If the three of us-"
"Three?"
"You don't think I'd leave Hiram out of the fun, do you? Back to the point, man- If we all work together then there's a greater chance we find out who is at fault. We get information out of them, and we use it to shut down the Mausoleum."
It sounded good. But 'Sounded Good' was hardly good enough. Then again, Leda was Vatican. A definite unpredictable, uncontrollable force, but to work in the Vatican she had to be moral. He decided to take the offer at face value.
"Alright."
"Shake on it?"
Leda wore a knowing smile, her hand extended over the desk.
They shook on it.
[End ch 8]
I must say- THIS WAS SO SLOW. D:
It'll definitely pick up next chapter.
A bit of an Elaboration on CIPA- As said before, it's a neural disorder in which the patient in question can't feel heat, pain, or cold. For some reason, the nerve system is lacking what it needs to transmit the signals pertaining to those particular sensations to the brain for processing and, therefore, acting upon (i.e.: If a person has CIPA and gets a broken toe, they wouldn't notice and therefore wouldn't know to see a doctor to fix it, which can lead to a number of complications in in itself). I thought it would fit well since I wrote before that Jonouchi's corpse had traces of an unidentified neurotoxin. What that toxin is... I don't know. :P
German/English Translations-
"Lassen Sie es einfach ist, Erich!"- "Just let it be, Erich!"
"Laßt ihm seien Sie!"- "Let it be!"