Yugi slowly opened his eyes and saw a child's face hovering inches from his. He had long black hair and deep-set grey eyes that stared unblinkingly at him.
"Can I eat you?" Mokuba asked bluntly, opening his mouth to show Yugi his fangs. "I'm hungry."
Frozen to the bed, Yugi blinked, and Mokuba was swept away by his older brother who was dressed in a crisp gray suit that looked new.
"We don't get to eat until we learn 'manners,'" Kaiba rolled his eyes and plopped Mokuba down on a chair he'd pulled out from the large, oak desk. "Sit."
"But I'm hungry!" Mokuba raised his voice to a whine but instantly quieted when he saw Yami emerge from the other room, looking pale and haggard.
Yami eyed Kaiba wearily and nodded politely.
The mini argument from last night was still fresh in his mind.
Kaiba nodded stiffly back, and Mokuba watched this interaction with narrowed eyes.
"Who's mad at who?" He asked perceptively, and he was ignored.
Yami stood by the window and avoided the tiny beam of sunlight coming in through the crack of the curtains, crossing his arms stiffly and composing his lecture carefully inside his head before speaking.
"When you are hungry, you don't flash your fangs at the person," Yami said, deciding to start from the main point, and he received another eyeroll from Kaiba. "You scare them, understand, Mokuba?"
"He's not scared," Mokuba huffed, crossing his arms and giving Yami a look. "I learned. Can I eat now?"
Yugi clenched his fists over the covers, realizing that they were holding…a class?
"You're telling us shit that's common sense," Kaiba growled, also growing impatient. "Tell me something I don't know."
"You pressure them gently, and you don't force them to come with you," Yami said, eyeing Kaiba beadily. "Commanding them to sleep could cause a seizure if they have an underlying illness. The sudden disruption in their—"
"Yes we get it! Be nice to people and they will let us eat!" Mokuba shouted, jumping out of the chair and throwing Yugi a hungry look over his shoulder. "Lemme have him. He smells good!"
Mildly frightened, Yugi pulled the covers up higher over his bare chest, scanning the room frantically for his clothes. Where was his uniform?!
"See, you're scaring him," Yami said knowingly, walking forward to grab Mokuba by the hand and leading him over to the edge of the bed. "Try again. Ask nicely."
Nervous, Yugi stayed put and let Yami bring the child closer towards him.
"Hey…dude," Mokuba struggled to change his tone, and Yugi felt the corners of his mouth twitching upwards. "You smell nice. Can I please have a bite out of you?"
"Why do you deserve that?" Yugi asked instantly, nervously eyeing Yami and clutching the sheets tighter to his chest. "Where are my clothes?"
"Here," Kaiba said, striding over to the closet and pulling out a pressed uniform still in its plastic from the cleaners. "Let us eat and you get your clothes."
"Yeah! Or you'll be naked forever!" Mokuba added, and Yami palmed his face in exasperation.
Yugi caught this and smiled shakily at Mokuba, "I don't think that's the lesson he wants you to learn."
"Well I asked nicely, and I didn't do the hypnosis," Mokuba pouted, giving Yami's hand a tug. "He said 'no'".
"I didn't say 'no,'" Yugi replied quickly, and he saw Yami slowly lift his head to smile gratefully at him. "I asked you why you deserved it."
"Because I'm…hungry and…" Mokuba frowned, lowering his head to stare at his toes, sounding glum. "I don't deserve it. I didn't do anything to deserve it."
"Is that correct?" Yugi asked lightly, and he received a solemn nod from Yami.
"Very well, I accept your answer," Yugi said cleverly, slowly sticking his arm out of the covers to shakily expose his pulse point. "You can have…two sips. Because I haven't eaten yet."
"Three," Mokuba insisted, and Yami's face darkened.
"One and a half, or we'll keep going lower until you apologize," Yugi said firmly, sitting up higher and understanding that these vampires had a particular way of doing things, and it was nice to see them trying to be polite about it.
Kaiba folded his arms and watched this scene from afar with rising disdain.
Yami was teaching Mokuba how to be fucking soft.
Hypnosis was clearly the way to do it.
Otherwise why would that even be an ability they had?
He watched Mokuba hastily bob his head in apology before grabbing Yugi's arm to bite down into it with vicious glee. Kaiba's stomach to churned at the sudden twisted expression Mokuba wore when he took one big gulp.
His angelic little brother had turned into a monster.
They were monsters, feeding off of a high school boy's blood.
Oh fuck.
Yami was teaching Mokuba how to be humane, not soft.
Fuck.
Fuck.
Fuck.
The realizations were hitting Kaiba too hard and too fast.
He was a monster.
They were all monsters pretending to have orderly society.
It didn't matter how polite you were asking—you were still biting into human flesh, drinking warm blood.
Fuck.
"Done!" Mokuba announced proudly, beaming at Yugi. "Thank you for the meal."
"Y-You're welcome?" Yugi whispered, his heart thundering in his chest when Yami hovered too close beside him on the bed.
"Then, you spit on the wound to heal it," Yami instructed, gently lifting Yugi's arm away from Mokuba's chubby hands and bending down to give the tiny pinprick a lick. The moment Yugi's blood touched the tip of his tongue, it sent a jolt of electricity crackling down his body, but Yami steeled himself to ignore it and kept his lips over the wound until he felt it close.
Mokuba watched intently as Yami showed off Yugi's arm under the light, rolling it forwards and backwards. The place where he'd bitten had disappeared. Only two, pink welts remained, looking like day-old mosquito bites.
"Can I do that?" Mokuba wondered, and he received a tight nod.
"You can heal tiny cuts and wounds on the playground like this," Yami said, and he reminded himself to shut up.
He would not teach his way of life.
He needed to teach Mokuba…the 'proper' way.
The way of the hunt.
No more casing out playgrounds and turning into small animals for tiny sips here and there.
That would only starve Mokuba and affect his growing body.
He needed full meals, not rations.
"Mmm okay," Mokuba replied, immediately uninterested. "Can I watch TV?"
Kaiba nodded stiffly and Mokuba cheered happily in celebration, causing Yugi to wince.
Yugi slowly edged out of bed, snatching his uniform up from the bed and getting dressed, his cheeks burning when he felt Yami's and Kaiba's gaze following his every move.
A freshly wrapped sandwich was pushed under his nose by a tanned hand, and Yugi lifted his head to see Yami smiling gently at him.
"Its about your lunch time. Please eat," Yami said, and his heart warmed when Yugi blushed and tucked the sandwich under his arm.
Kaiab frowned sourly as he watched Yugi hurry to the door without another look behind him and slam it shut with a loud bang!
There was a tense silence with nothing but the sounds of the TV coming from behind them before Kaiba glared at Yami.
"Great," he said dryly, crossing his arms irritably. "You let my breakfast walk out the door."
He wasn't going to tell Yami about the 'Gem of Domino' nonsense, because Yugi made an excellent meal. They had already feasted on him once, what was a few more times?
"We will get breakfast elsewhere," Yami breathed, eyeing Mokuba carefully and making sure the child was still enraptured by the TV. "I'm giving you a lesson in hunting…during the daytime."
"What, now?" Kaiba's stance broke, and he grit his teeth in anger. "The sun is giving me a damn headache. I'm going to take a nap until it sets."
"No." Yami said firmly, flashing Kaiba a dangerous glare. "We will now head out to find a meal in the middle of the day, and since women are a challenge for you, we will feed on a woman this time."
"Men taste better," Kaiba shot back, and Yami shook his head.
"You haven't had enough to know for sure," Yami replied simply, and Kaiba bit back an exasperated groan. Whyyy…God why….
"How will you fare when Mokuba gets hungry again?" Yami snapped, deciding to play at Kaiba's feelings for his younger brother. "What if I'm not here to guide you? We must go now. No more questions."
He brushed past Kaiba and strode to the door, resting his hand on the knob briefly before yanking it open and stepping out into the hall, praying that Kaiba would follow him. He heard footsteps behind him and threw a glance over his shoulder, relieved to see Kaiba's tall silhouette close at his heels.
Good. Argument avoided.
Yami was beginning to get the hang of dealing with Kaiba. The CEO acted heartless, but deep down, he really cared about Mokuba and the well-being of those he considered his friends.
Now for the real challenge: finding a female meal to practice on.
They fell into step beside each other, and Kaiba swallowed his anxiety, deciding not to speak. He knew why Yami insisted they find a girl this time. His performance with the black-haired woman was poor, and he really should've been more attentive, and less forceful.
Standing in the middle of a crowded ballroom, Kaiba winced at the bright streams of sunlight filtering in through the glass ceiling. He felt hungover and sluggish, even though he was just fine moments ago. The dark was preferable.
Fuck. He couldn't function like this, let alone…seduce a woman feeling like he'd just gone on a weekend bender.
"Please, can we pick a man?" Kaiba asked dryly one last time, and Yami gave him a firm shake of his head.
DAMMIT.
"I'm going to circle the room again," Yami said stiffly, giving Kaiba a nod. "Emit your pheromones carefully."
"Fine, but don't get pissed if a man comes sniffing," Kaiba replied coldly to the back of Yami's spiky hair which was already melting away into the crowd.
Fuck…everything.
Eating had always been hard for him, and now, it had somehow increased in difficulty and skill-level. This game sucked.
"U-Um…excuse me?" A gentle voice sounded from his left elbow, and Kaiba steeled himself to keep his face pleasant as he turned to give the woman a smile.
Maybe this game didn't suck because he had a cheat.
"Yes?" Kaiba forced the corners of his mouth to turn upwards into a smile, and gave the woman an apprehensive up-and-down look, not caring if he came off as a pervert. She was petite, and pretty, with delicate features and silky brown hair that hung long past her waist.
Great. Long-haired girls were his thing…apparently.
"Y-You're stepping on my…m-my ticket," she blushed furiously and pointed to the ground.
Kaiba moved his foot aside and noticed that a tiny slip of paper had been caught under his shoe, so he bent down to pick it up, seeing 'RAFFLE #93' printed in bold.
"Thank you," she whispered, and their hands touched briefly when she took it from his fingertips.
"What's it for?" Kaiba asked conversationally, but she had already turned around to leave. She heard him and paused, nodding politely at him over her shoulder.
"A duel disk!" She replied happily, pointing at the large screens above their heads displaying a clock. "They'll start the drawing in a few minutes."
"You like dueling?" Kaiba asked instantly, now wondering if this girl could duel. Maybe he could have a duel and a meal with her.
Her eyes widened slightly before she shook her head in embarrassment. "N-No, I wanted to win it for my brother," she said shyly, and before Kaiba could say anything else, she turned and melted into the crowd.
Great.
Meal gone.
Hissing in annoyance, Kaiba backed away from the center of the room, eager to avoid the harsh beams of sunlight streaming down from the glass ceiling above. In his haste, he accidentally tread on someone's toe and heard a hiss of pain.
Whirling around, he saw Yugi at his elbow, gazing up at him cautiously with his large, violet eyes.
"Sorry!" Yugi breathed, wondering if he was being followed, because he'd sworn vampires didn't move around in the daytime.
My meal! Kaiba crowed victoriously to himself as he mustered a kind smile for Yugi, his mouth watering heavily at the warm, welcoming scent, but to his dismay, it was once again masked heavily by the scent of wet dog. Damn those two werewolves.
"What are you doing here?" Kaiba asked, trying to sound conversational, but he secretly knew. Maybe he could use this situation to his advantage.
"What are you doing here?" Yugi cried defensively, pointing at the duel disks on the screens above their heads. "I'm here for the raffle! Isn't this…your event?"
Why is the CEO of Kaiba Corporation, the inventor of the duel disk casually hanging out in the ballroom? Yugi wondered frantically.
Kaiba narrowed his eyes when he heard this passing thought and decided to answer Yugi directly.
"This isn't my event. It's being hosted by Industrial Illusions. The man in charge is just using my name. I'll have to fix that," Kaiba said, more to himself than anyone else.
Yugi nodded weakly, unsure of how to react. More questions were popping up in his head the longer he stood there, staring at Kaiba towering over him in the bright sunlight streaming down from the windows above.
"Come with me," Kaiba insisted, reaching down to grab Yugi by the wrist and leading him out of the ballroom. "Don't waste your time with the raffle. I can send you a duel disk when we dock."
"I'm sure you could!" Yugi replied uneasily, wondering if he should pull away and run, because he had a feeling Kaiba was leading him back to the hotel room.
Kaiba said nothing and clenched his jaw, striding purposefully ahead and feeling Yugi resist behind him. His stomach growled impatiently, and he had to remind himself to be kind. They passed a deserted hallway near an employee entrance and Kaiba pushed Yugi against the wall, his mind racing with a mixture of hunger and excitement. If he forced himself to bear it through the horrible dog scent, a delicious meal was waiting for him on the other end.
Yugi leaned anxiously back, his heart racing frantically as Kaiba bent down to give his spiky bangs a tentative sniff.
"Kaiba-kun…!" Yugi winced, his face growing hot. "I'm not sure we should be—"
"You can have whatever you want," Kaiba chanted, his eyes darkening as he dragged them intrusively down Yugi's slender body, fixating on a pale collarbone. "You know who I am. Just ask, and you can have it."
"I…I don't know?" Yugi whispered, flattening his palms against the wall and desperately wondering where Yami was. He'd just met these two, but he had a feeling Yami was more nurturing, and Kaiba was dangerous.
"Then you can think about it while I eat," Kaiba said casually, reaching up to graze his knuckles over Yugi's plump cheek, his stomach churning. "…Agree?"
Yugi blinked once and hesitated before nodding ever so slightly. He wasn't sure what possessed him to agree. A part of him was intrigued, and excited at the idea of having Kaiba's willingness to help him with anything, but another part of him was uncertain, and frightened because something dangerous was still happening here.
But he's...handsome, Yugi reasoned with himself, faltering when he caught a whiff of Kaiba's sweet scent, and he relaxed instantly. This was fine. Kaiba-kun didn't want to kill him. Yami was there to keep him in check…. but Yami wasn't here right now.
"Look at me," Kaiba breathed, and Yugi turned his head slowly upwards, his body burning with a strange fire when he met Kaiba's clear blue eyes.
Suddenly, he was being kissed, and Yugi blinked rapidly, trying to gather his bearings, but a hot tongue was roaming sensually along his lower lip, sending a wonderful shiver down his spine. Parting his mouth, Yugi held his breath and melted happily into Kaiba's kiss, enjoying the way strong arms came up to embrace him around his shoulders while a silky tongue prodded the roof of his mouth, exploring him gently.
Kaiba pulled away slowly to drag his mouth down the side of Yugi's neck, his ears ringing with the rapid thudding of Yugi's heartbeat. Holy shit. Was this guy scared or aroused? He couldn't tell the difference.
"Let me have…a taste," Kaiba said quietly, his lips gently grazing Yugi's skin with every word, his mind humming strangely with longing and hunger.
Struggling with himself, Yugi kept his eyes tightly shut and nodded, his lips stinging and swelling from the loss of contact. He waited for the sting of fangs, but none came. Instead, there were slow, lustful swirls of Kaiba's tongue on his neck, moving lower and lower, before he changed directions and began travelling up higher to meet his lips again, and Yugi found himself being kissed passionately again, and his mind spun with confusion.
Kaiba bided his time, waiting for Yugi's heartbeat to slow down but it seemed the kissing had an opposite effect. Growling to himself, Kaiba decided he was done waiting, and dipped his head down to land a swift bite above Yugi's left collarbone, his mind rushing with pleasure when a gush of sweetness coated his tongue and streamed down his throat. Amazing. He could stomach through the horrid stench if he was hungry enough….
He felt Yugi instantly weaken in his arms, and he jerked his head back fearfully, licking his lips and seeing the two, bright red welts he'd left on Yugi's skin, and he hastily bent forward to pass his tongue over the wounds, the way he'd seen Yami do it several times before.
Yugi regained his strength and squirmed, gripping Kaiba's forearms tightly and laughing at the ticklish sensation.
Kaiba smiled into Yugi's soft skin and pulled away to press one last soft kiss on Yugi's chin, and he felt hot hands cup the sides of his face, angling his head down for another passionate, open-mouthed kiss. Yugi winced when he could taste the metallic heaviness of his own blood on Kaiba's breath, but the wonderful head rush he got from locking his arms around Kaiba's neck made up for that. Kaiba-kun was a wonderful kisser!
Kaiba heard this thought and his heart soared with triumph. Really? That was good to hear.
He pressed himself down insistently onto Yugi's lips, relishing their softness, and he found that he couldn't stop. Yugi was a different kind of drug—one that made him toss reason out the window.
Suddenly, the air around them grew deathly cold, and Yugi thunked his head back on the wall, panting breathlessly, his lungs aching from sudden temperature change.
Kaiba felt the cold presence seeping into his bones, and jerked his head to the side, horrified to see Yami standing at the mouth of the hallway, glaring venomously at them.
"So, when I said to make a meal out of a woman, you disobeyed me," Yami hissed, clenching his fists at his sides in restraint when he saw Yugi blush adorably and look away, embarrassed.
"I tried," Kaiba answered lightly, tucking his chin protectively over the top of Yugi's spiky hair and gazing directly at the wall in front of his nose, suppressing a shiver.
"Looks like you intentionally sought out a meal you weren't supposed to be having," Yami growled, noticing Kaiba behaving protectively, and he grit his teeth in frustration.
New vampires were infuriating for this very reason. When something always worked for them, that would be the method they would employ for the next decade.
It was unhealthy. How many times would he need to correct this behavior in Kaiba?
This would get exhausting, fast.
Yugi said nothing and realized his arms were still looped around Kaiba's neck, so he hastily dropped them to his sides, understanding that Kaiba had been instructed to avoid him, and had done the exact opposite.
"Let him go," Yami said, trying to keep the emotion from leaking into his voice. As much as he enjoyed Yugi too, the spiky-haired boy was once again reeking of werewolves. Kaiba must've stomached the horrible scent just to get a bite. Admirable, but also despicable.
"I'm taking him back with us," Kaiba insisted, tightening his arms around Yugi's hips, and Yami pressed a hand to his face, biting back a tired sigh.
"We can't do that. Let him…go," Yami said quietly, and to his relief, he saw Yugi untangle himself from Kaiba's embrace and inch out from underneath him.
"I'm sorry, I let him," Yugi squeaked, bending himself into a nervous bow, and he straightened up hastily to rush past Yami to his freedom, his ears burning terribly.
The sound of Yugi's footsteps faded away and Yami folded his arms, glaring at Kaiba, who was still leaning against the wall in the same position where Yugi had left him.
"Kaiba…" Yami began, but he was cut off when the CEO straightened up with fire in his eyes to argue with him.
"I have several problems with the way you do things," Kaiba said stiffly, his tongue still buzzing from the electricity of Yugi's blood, but he ignored it. "From what I've learned about this new life so far, it's that if you don't stake your claim on something, it's not yours. We can have him to ourselves, you know that?"
"He's not for us to have," Yami hissed, taking a step forward, intent on keeping their fight in hushed tones, but Kaiba wanted to challenge him. He knew the CEO was behaving brashly on purpose. Kaiba knew Yugi was untouchable, right? They would have to fight a hoard of werewolves for him, and quite possibly, Bakura's clan.
"I know that," Kaiba raged, finally leaning away from the wall to face Yami. "That's why you've been starving yourself, living as a cat. I also have Mokuba to think about. Yugi is perfect for him—for us, and if you're dumb enough to stop me, we're not on the same team."
Yami swallowed thinly and said nothing. Turning Kaiba was either the best or worst thing he'd ever done this century. If they fought Bakura's clan and lost, they would have to leave Domino City forever, but if they won…. A comfortable life was surely attainable, right? Was he being naïve to hope for that outcome?
"See you back in the room," Kaiba said, sweeping past Yami and passing a hand under his lip, making sure there were no residual blood flecks.
Yami didn't move and kept his arms tightly folded, staring at the blank, white door of the employee entrance at the end of the hall, his mind racing.
Kaiba's harsh words had sparked a rare fire of hope in him.
"Team" was not a word in his vocabulary, but Kaiba had said it to him so frankly, it had stunned him. Kaiba's rage and determination was incredible. The CEO had passed through death's door and was still fighting for luxuries worth living for.
He wanted the same thing every vampire wanted: a happy, comfortable life surrounded by loved ones.
I will prepare to help him in this endeavor, Yami decided, nodding to himself.
It was time to come out of the shadows as a "fallen king,", and fight beside Kaiba for life's necessities, starting with their favorite meal, Yugi.
Author's note:
kaiba gets a lesson in hunting during the daytime and cant stop repeating bad habits, but this inspires yami to be a better vampire somehow? LOL idk these two I swear xP
ALSO i made some CUTE YGO VINYL STICKERS
link to more here! (see more at [pinkpafu] on insta!)
