AN: So the truth is out…and spreading rapidly, how will the revelations concerning Duke and Kaiba affect all those concerned…

Huge, in fact…gargantuan thanks to all who took the time to review this week! You are all fabulous and add so much to this experience:

SmellyBelly69 (I'm always waiting for it!), Nenya85 (Thank you so much – looking forward to 'ghosts'), Kaibasbigbluedragon (thumbs up was really appreciated), Yuki-Chan and Jane (so glad you're enjoying it), Deck Divination (v pleased you think it's on an upward curve), Janders (recognised you – he's not out of the woods yet), Bill (and nan, more for you this week then – lol), Bella (watch this space…), Lovemondotrasho (loving to have you on board! You are such a giving reviewer), The guest is yet to come (Glad you like Tristan, hmm no name ideas this week – I await with anticipation).

Loving you all! As always – to everyone else who is reading and following – a big thank you – let me hear from you, then I could acknowledge you individually :)

"Vanity and pride are different things, though the words are often used synonymously. A person may be proud without being vain. Pride relates more to our opinion of ourselves, vanity to what we would have others think of us." Jane Austen, P&P.

Chapter Twelve

More than a week had passed and the news was out. Yami could tell it was a source of much discussion (and speculation) by the way some conversations ceased abruptly when he came into a room. In addition to this - less tactful and more intrusive people wanted to probe for more information and tried to question him further about it. The whole situation was extremely unpleasant. Bad enough to have been duped by Duke but the job of 'tale-bearer' was not one he enjoyed at all.

It was made doubly difficult by the need to clear Kaiba whilst being obliged (to at least try) to shield Duke as much as possible. Attempting to incite some understanding of his behaviour or at least sympathy for him – now that he was repentant - was a tough challenge and one which Yami undertook reluctantly. He did not really comprehend Duke himself; he knew that rationally it was the right thing to do, and he respected Tristan's stance on the matter, but emotionally – he found it problematic.

He still felt so angry with Duke and resentful that his implicit acceptance of the tale had caused indebtedness to Kaiba – even if only in Yami's own mind. He sighed, every consideration of that led him back to the same place…his own prejudice had been his downfall and he needed to put that right - for his own self-respect as much as for Kaiba. If that meant he had to swallow his pride, he would just have to suck it up.

The rest of the family were also doing their best. Arthur and Solomon had shared the truth of the tale with many of their associates and Ryou was reprising Yami's role. Marik had offered to solve the whole thing using the rod and was affronted by the lack of appreciation shown by Tristan. Fortunately once Joey had pointed out to him that this was not the way to interact with possible future business contacts he was both convinced and mollified, afterwards consenting to stick with more mundane methods of persuasion.

The entire family was aware from Tristan that Duke had already had a taste of the potential backlash. A few (now former) 'friends' they had encountered had been openly scathing, one going so far as to walk past with no acknowledgement of Duke's presence.

However much he might have expected some unpleasantness to arise as the story became known; the previously dashing Duke had little experience with dealing with the reality. Again it was Tristan whose presence enabled him to weather the storm, but inwardly he cringed when he considered that this was early days.

"Seto? Seto!" Impetuously Mokuba banged open the door to the study and hurtled in, still talking and ignoring his brother's wince at the sudden noise. "Why didn't you tell me…"

"Mokuba I'm working, and this is important." Kaiba responded absently, intent on the figures he was examining.

He was fairly sure he had uncovered yet another pocket of corruption hidden behind a legitimate front – some of his foster father's former associates had been difficult to unearth. Inwardly he sighed, feeling no satisfaction in the fact that only his own uncommon intelligence and carefully logical deductions had allowed the discovery. Sometimes there seemed no end to the dross his foster father had left behind, Gozaburo might be dead and buried but still he reached out to befoul the world of the living. Kaiba tried to be so thorough – had thought again that he had eradicated every trace of him - but this set-up bore all the earmarks of one of his 'cess-pits', would he ever be truly free of this taint on his life?

"Why don't you go have a snack, if you give me twenty minutes – I'll be with you and you can tell me about school…"

"You're always working big brother, and this is important too." Mokuba replied, stubbornly. "Why didn't you tell me Duke Devlin was in town? You always keep everything to yourself."

That name finally brought the desired attention. Kaiba's head jerked up and he fixed his brother with a suddenly intent blue stare. "How do you know that – did he dare to approach you again?" The clipped words carried a definite note of anxiety.

"No, I haven't seen him – I heard about him…but why didn't you tell me he was here?" Mokuba folded his arms and regarded Kaiba; while still youthful, his posture was reminiscent of his sibling's own when displeased – and hinted at the man he would become in a few years. The pleading eyes and injured tone were all his own however and were symptomatic of his desire to 'live-up' to the man before him.

The older he grew, the more Mokuba became aware of the emotional toll exacted by too many burdens – of necessity these had been shouldered alone by his beloved older brother. He longed to be old enough to stand beside him and ease that load and was sometimes resentful of attempts to 'shelter' him.

"I didn't want you to worry or be reminded," Kaiba replied, "bad enough I was forced to encounter that snake."

Mokuba sighed, "You always say that," he responded to the opening comment, "Duke wasn't that bad Seto, he was stupid but he didn't scare or threaten to hurt me. It was all a pity - because I liked him before that – I wasn't even scared – I was angry."

"He tried to take you away." Was the flat response, Mokuba's welfare was the beginning and end for Kaiba – it had been for almost as long as he could remember. "What did you hear anyway?"

Diverted back to his news, Mokuba brightened, "Everyone's talking about it, and people know what really happened Seto. Lots of kids at school have older brothers – apparently it's all over town – Duke's name is mud – and your name has been cleared. Better than that – they can see they misjudged you – it's so great!" He finished with satisfaction.

Kaiba regarded him – nonplussed and thinking furiously, 'how on earth? ...Yami!' He suddenly realised and despite himself felt a glad little burst of confused emotion. Putting it to one side for the moment he spoke carefully, assuming a nonchalant tone, "I never cared what a bunch of nobodies thought about me anyway, what matters is that you're safe – and that's all taken care of now – everything still running smoothly?" The last was interrogatory.

"Yes, everything's fine," Mokuba felt slightly flattened by the unenthusiastic response. "Rowland's got security running like clockwork – don't fuss…," he hunched an irritated shoulder, "I'm going to get that snack – and I thought it was great news." The last was flung defiantly over his shoulder as he left the room and Kaiba looked thoughtfully after him. He had cared – it had simply been a necessary evil and a secondary concern - so unimportant compared to Mokuba's safety that he had embraced it. Now however – as soon as he was done with these figures – he had every intention of investigating further.

The family meal this evening was an uncharacteristically quiet affair. From time-to-time there was desultory conversation, and Solomon and Arthur discussed the gossip currently rampant concerning Duke and Kaiba in low voices, but for the most part all present were lost in their own thoughts – these varied wildly.

Joey was absorbed in agitated reflections about Mai, he had shared news of the phone-call with Yami and the two had discussed possibilities. Ultimately however, for the moment nothing had really changed – the feelings were now stronger again, a fierce rather than dull pain – but he was back to speculation and desperate longing.

Yami's thoughts were a jumble of emotion as he contemplated the confusion of the situation in which the entire family was now embroiled. He felt a great deal of anxiety for Joey and Tristan and was still battling his mistrust for Duke and the intolerance he instinctively felt for his behaviour. Added to this maelstrom of uncertainty were the fruitless conjectures about Mai and beneath it all lay the continual nagging of his need to reappraise Seto Kaiba.

The whole matter was probably now academic – he doubted they would encounter one another again - but the desire to understand and fairly assess him was continually present. An aggravating 'itch' in the recesses of his mind, it was particularly annoying in the face of all the more pressing worries which confronted him.

Across the table, if he had but known it – lay another possible source of agitation. Always quiet and hence easily overlooked in the current turmoil, Ryou was distracting himself from the current unpleasantness by musing (and these thoughts now had familiarity – he often dwelt on them) again on the fascination he still secretly felt for Bakura.

The most diffident of the five brothers – it was more common for Ryou to be overlooked – than to be a source of immediate attention and he had felt flattered by the instant attraction Bakura had clearly felt for him. Admittedly…what followed had been somewhat alarming and he too had felt pangs of disappointment upon hearing Bakura had left town with Duke. However Ryou had listened closely to Yami's discourse regarding both this and the subsequent friendship which his brother had developed with the object of his interest. Since then, Bakura had been often in his thoughts and he wondered if there would ever be an opportunity to pursue his acquaintance further.

Tristan – although obviously concerned for Joey – was primarily occupied with his thoughts of Duke. He was doing his best to cushion him from the full repercussions of the wrath people understandably felt at the deception he had practised but it was not an easy task.

In addition to the genuine distaste many felt for Duke's behaviour; many of their acquaintances clearly felt uncomfortable with their own consciences regarding how gladly they had embraced a reason to dislike Kaiba – Duke was a convenient target upon which to transfer the blame. Tristan was uneasily aware that there was an unpleasant swelling of negativity towards his friend and dreaded further confrontations.

He was determined to stand by Duke - in fact the clear remorse he was now feeling and his commendable attempts to weather the storm of current opinion made him feel proud and he felt more strongly for him than ever. Unfortunately, praiseworthy though Duke's struggles for redemption were – Tristan was afraid he would be unable to cope with too much more of the hostility which was more prevalent than he had expected. Duke was clearly unhappy and was developing shadows beneath his unusually sombre green eyes; Tristan yearned for him to be given a break.

In the face of all this powerful rumination it was unsurprising that the atmosphere within the room should be tense. It was left to Marik (unusually) to snap out of his own abstracted daydreams. He was more than happy to do so this time. Sitting on a powerful motorbike with the wind streaming through your hair…it ought to have been a great fantasy – but for some reason, he could never quite picture himself on a Ducati – it always turned into a 49cc Scout moped (in powder blue!), complete with dorky helmet and goggles - and that just wasn't the same thing at all! Shuddering at such lameness, he broke away from the unsatisfactory distraction and become aware of the general despondency. He needed a diversion and attempted to lighten the mood…

"Anyone feel like watching a movie?" He asked with an assumption of cheerfulness, "I've got 'Pan's Labyrinth' – I want to check out the chalk, key and dagger – or someone lent me 'How to Train Your Dragon' if you fancy that – apparently it's quite funny and sweet with some interesting dragon animation."

For a moment everyone looked at him in shock, each jerked from their own introspection then there was a chorus of almost universal acclaim for his suggestion. Yami voted in favour of Pan's Labyrinth - he definitely didn't need to dwell on any other dragon related males at the moment.

Only Tristan declined the idea – somewhat regretfully – he had an agreed to go out with Duke that evening and left as the others settled down to forget their troubles for a few hours.

Not long afterwards, Tristan was regretting his film watching decision, how he wished he had invited Duke over instead of agreeing to go out.

Acting (it transpired mistakenly) upon the idea that if Duke was to re-habilitate himself, he could not do so whilst hiding from public view - the two had made their way to their usual dicing haunt. It had seemed like a good idea until walking into the rooms they had caused a ripple of accusing silence to race ahead of them.

Halting just inside the doorway they had faced a sea of accusing faces – all levelled at Duke, but what came next was worse. A number of those present nodded to Tristan, muttering such things as, "Evening Tris – good to see you," then all present deliberately turned their backs to Duke. It was a united and calculated display of ostracism; all present were involved and they paused that way briefly – underlining the studied insult - before resuming their previous activities and conversations, ignoring Duke as though he had become invisible.

Duke stood as though turned to stone, his already pale complexion whitening further then he turned, and raising a shaking hand quietly reopened the door they had just entered – and left.

Tristan was horrified and mortified on behalf of his friend, but very quickly those emotions changed to become outrage and a hot anger that almost overwhelmed him and left his voice shaking as he forced it from pallid lips.

"How could you do this?" He accused, "How dare you treat him this way after calling yourselves friends for all these months! Who made you hypocrites into judge, jury and executioner? You all know full well that you have behaved pretty badly in this situation too. All of us enjoyed feeling able to gossip and sneer behind Kaiba's back - because he turned up his nose and not one of us had the guts to stand up to it. Don't try now to pretend it was all Duke that caused these attitudes – he just gave them validation. Everyone behaved badly – you, me, Kaiba himself and yes – most of all Duke, but he's trying to put it right! Clearly everyone here has led a blameless existence?" Tristan looked around and more than one pair of eyes dropped beneath the stare of his own. "I thought better of you," he finished quietly before turning away and following Duke out of the door.

From the foyer (where Duke had awaited Tristan) the two went out to the street together, only then did Duke make any sound – and that was a stifled sob.

"They'll realise they were wrong," said Tristan urgently, clasping his upper arm in awkward support.

Duke turned to face him, his expression was slightly dazed and his green eyes shone with unshed tears but the over-riding emotion in them was of gratitude and dawning wonder. "I heard what you said in there," he choked out, "no-one's ever stood up for me like that – I don't think anyone cared enough to want to – I probably haven't deserved it." He finished honestly, then added, "it's only now I've realised who you really are…thank you for being my friend."

Tristan flushed with embarrassment at the words, his self-deprecatory nature unused to such praise. "Don't worry about it mate," he replied awkwardly, "what do you want to do now?"

"I need to go home and think," Duke answered, "do you mind if I go alone?" He waited for the nod of agreement before continuing, "I'll contact you tomorrow then."

He turned to leave before swinging back abruptly, casting a searching look into Tristan's face and swiftly pressing a gentle kiss to his lips. He then waved a hand in farewell and continued on his way, an astounded Tristan staring after him with a pounding heart.

Methodically Yami placed things into a bag next morning, as he listened to Joey. His brother lay back on the bed, hands clasped behind his head and gazing at the ceiling as they discussed again the possibilities raised by Mai's phone-call. Joey felt it was a lifeline - all his previous hopes and fears had been reignited and he was waiting impatiently for further developments with a mixture of emotions. Again he was forced to depend on the faith of another and his outlook varied between fearful dread and optimistic anticipation.

Frustration sometimes overcame either – he was not good at being patient, quite the opposite in fact and this was reflected in his face and manner which were…strained.

"Are you sure you don't want me to stay here Joey?" Yami asked for a second time, much as he would enjoy a few days with Ishizu, he was no longer sure about going. Joey was so agitated and who knew what might happen? He wanted to be there for his brother if needed.

"I already said so didn't I? You're only going for a few days…who knows how soon she'll call again? Besides, I can always ring you Yami, I know you're trying to be there for me – I appreciate it – but there's nothing you can do here either. We seem to keep having this conversation." He finished with a wry smile and a hint of his usual humour.

"Ok Joey, but don't forget what you said about ringing – I will be worried if you don't."

Finishing his packing, he cast a quick look around to see he had everything he needed then pulled up the zipper with an air of finality. Jumping up, Joey slung an arm over his shoulders and the two left the room together.

…Some time later during the short train journey, Yami's thoughts turned to Seto Kaiba as they seemed to do - uncomfortably often, these days…

A considerable distance away…but drawing steadily closer, Mai nibbled a finger-nail in doubtful contemplation. She still wasn't sure it was the right thing to do and intermittently cursed herself for behaving like a deluded fool, but… ever since hearing his voice again – she ached to see Joey. She too vacillated between the fear of more pain and the tenuous hope his words had raised within her. His tone and final words had moved her to tears after the call – crying…again!

Impatient with herself she shook her hair back with a defiant straightening of the shoulders, 'Let's face it,' she thought, 'it can't hurt worse – if I haven't gotten over him by now I have to find out the truth. Either way, at least I'll know…maybe then I can move on with my life.'

Determined to ignore the jolt of distress such vulnerability gave her, she took out her deck and soothed herself by sorting through the beloved cards. It wasn't enough – her thoughts still raced intermittently – but it helped, and all the while the plane soared onwards bringing her ever closer to a final resolution.

Thoughtfully Kaiba ended the call.

Hands clasped loosely before him on the desk he thought deeply as he tried to sort through the confusion he felt at what he had discovered. The gossip related by Mokuba had been a clear indication of what seemed to have occurred but he could think of nothing which might have prompted such an action. A carefully selected series of phone calls had confirmed his suspicions and yet this had left him further perplexed, what was going on?

As he thought back over that evening, (he still felt both mortification and incongruous pain when he did so) he could picture Yami standing before him – defiantly issuing that comprehensive denunciation. Shaking his head to dispel the image, he growled in frustration – he could discern no motive. He could find no reason to account for this – neither his words on that night nor the subsequent e-mail, had contained any reason for Yami to feel anything but anger and resentment towards him – that much he had unwillingly come to realise.

So what was this? His sources had told him that the origin of these recent revelations could definitely be traced to Yami and his family. That they were the starting point for the news was also logical when Kaiba considered that in recent times – the only new person to learn the truth of what had occurred was Yami himself. It must have been him – but that meant he had told his family…what?

Unable to sit still as his mind raced, Kaiba rose to his feet and paced about the room – still immersed in his conjectures.

He supposed he should feel grateful, and deep down part of him did feel that way. Kaiba himself did not understand that too much shelving of his own needs had led to this – he was so used to containing any pain that (initially at least) he failed to fully appreciate its removal. Admittedly this had only been a small torment but he had hated the appearance of dishonour, even as he shrugged it aside. What he really wanted to know was why they would do this for him?

Apparently Yami had involved his whole family in some 'positive propaganda' exercise. They had all been active in spreading the accurate version of what had occurred between himself and Duke Devlin, yet he had also heard that they still associated with him also. He paused in his pacing as he considered the implications of that – it just didn't make any sense.

He shook his hair irritably from his eyes and went to lean against the window. Moodily he glared out into the darkening grounds below, he did not like the confusion he was feeling. People always had a reason for their behaviour, usually a self-serving one…he just couldn't see what it might be – and that made him feel vulnerable (something else he didn't enjoy).

Kaiba didn't get long to brood alone, as Mokuba entered the room - immediately detecting his brother was in one of his moods.

"What's the problem Seto?" He asked, sombre but characteristically direct. "I'm not a little kid anymore – I wish you would talk to me."

His brother looked at him, assessing the serious expression and understanding that he really meant what he said. After a considering pause he came to a decision – leaving out of the tale any mention of his ill-advised approach to Yami (he too claimed they had had an argument), he summarised the happenings of the past months and the cause of his current uncertainty.

"I have confirmed the validity of this information, what I don't know is the truth of what's behind it," he remarked as he ended the tale. "I just can't figure out the motives."

He realised that Mokuba was looking at him with incredulity, perhaps he had noticed something? Kaiba arched an enquiring eyebrow, "have you thought of something I missed?"

The response was diffident yet clearly heartfelt, "Why hasn't it occurred to you that they might just be doing what's right Seto? Don't you see…you're an honourable person and somebody besides me is finally recognising that? I wish more people saw you like I do; they just don't know you or they'd see how great you are." He concluded sadly.

For a moment Kaiba just stared wordlessly at him, thinking over this alien idea 'Could Mokuba possibly be correct and the intentions sincere – might his explanations have truly influenced Yami?' Kaiba had not acknowledged to himself how much he wished that it would be so, but briefly his face was unguarded and vulnerable, beautiful and revealing a deeply buried yearning for someone, somewhere to rise above his expectations.

Abruptly he seemed to come back to himself – and his expression became shuttered once more, eyes slightly wary as though aware he had betrayed his desire for better things and was ashamed of such weakness.

"That hasn't usually been my experience." He offered dryly, attempting to move on.

"Perhaps this time's different," Mokuba pursued obstinately. "At least be aware of the possibility Seto, not everyone's bad - we've just been unlucky." He winced slightly at the understatement of that, before brightening as he added, "Thanks for discussing it with me anyway".

As they left the room together, Kaiba gave him a quick brotherly squeeze of appreciation, "You're right, I do forget you're growing up, but we've always been a team. As for the rest…I'll think about it."

AN: Hmm…lots of will/they? Won't/they? Going on…

Will Yami/Kaiba meet again? Well duh prideshipping, but one of them may be rather wet next week ;)

Joey/Mai, Tris/Duke – where next? And Ryou's still feeling that fascination…all in all – quite a bit to come…

Hope to see you all next Friday…and btw, I've written a one-shot for Christmas – 'It's a Wonderful Life (but only with Kaiba)'.

I will be uploading that next week also - if any of you fancy a yaoi festive(ish) short story.

EvilMidget6 :)