Joey lay wide awake in bed, listening actively to the sounds outside, waiting for the entire property to fall asleep. There was a soft rustling coming from the manservant Isono's quarters at long last, indicating that it was exactly 2AM.
Holding his breath, Joey stared up into the darkness at the high ceiling, counting his heartbeats steadily. There was so much to learn over the past few months during his stay on Kaiba's guest property, and the amount of information he had to keep track of was annoying.
Tristan wasn't helpful.
He would knock out at 9PM sharp and snore loudly until 7AM.
Sighing, Joey thunked his head back onto his pillow, wondering if he should try waking Kaiba. Something was tugging at his chest, calling him back to the ocean, and he wanted to explore this feeling, but sneaking out at night was impossible because there was a spiked metal gate…and cameras.
Sitting up quickly, he threw the covers off himself and tiptoed into Tristan's room, shaking his friend awake roughly.
"Hey…" Joey whispered, giving his friend another shake. "Wake up. I need to go out. Come with me."
Tristan rolled over groggily, pressing the pillow sleepily to his face before he lifted his head to give Joey a glare in the dark.
"What…dude? What time is it?"
"Two-ish," Joey answered aggressively, yanking the covers off his friend and trying to drag him out of bed by the arm. "C'mon. I feel like something or someone is Calling me. I gotta act on it now."
Tristan rolled over and continued snoring, his legs splayed out ungracefully across the white sheets, and Joey let out an angry huff.
Fine. He would go by himself…but he should try asking Kaiba to come with him, just to be safe.
Rushing through the house, Joey stepped hastily into his shoes and ran out the door, across the thick grass and towards the glowing fountain in the middle of the paved road on the property.
The Kaiba mansion towered in his view, its white pillars alight with warm lights built into the ground, making the house seem almost temple-like.
Panting, Joey raced up the marble steps and rattled the door handles furiously, shouting at Kaiba in his mind.
KAIBA! Lemme in! Wake up!
Mokuba jerked awake, terrified. Someone was shouting really close to his ear, and it sounded like that dolt, Joey.
No, on second thought—KAIBAAAAAAAA LEMME IN YOU BASTARD—the shouting was in his head.
Clapping his hands over his ears, Mokuba jumped out of bed to answer the door, hating Seto and his telepathic discovery.
Upstairs, Kaiba's eyes shot open and his heart raced frantically in his chest as he lay very still, listening to Joey throwing a tantrum on his front doorstep.
Furious, he tossed the covers off himself and raced down the grand staircase, nearly running into Mokuba, who was already thundering his way down, shouting angrily at Joey.
"SHUT UP! SHUT THE FUCK UP!"
Joey took a step back as the door swung open and Mokuba Kaiba towered over him with murder in his dark grey eyes.
"What the fuck is your problem?" Mokuba spat, feeling Seto approaching him from behind, but he aimed to give Joey a piece of his mind. "People are sleeping. Some people have this thing called final exams! Not everyone can just drop out of school like it's no big deal, so fuck off!"
Heaving with anger, he felt a cold hand on his shoulder and Mokuba spun around to glare at Seto too.
"…You suck," Mokuba hissed, brushing past his older brother and storming back up the stairs.
Kaiba watched him go, feeling slightly apologetic, and he turned his attention back to the blond merman on his doorstep, but before he could even speak, Joey barreled into an incoherent rant.
"Something or someone is Calling me," Joey said fervently, wringing his hands and doing a strange shuffling dance on his feet as he grew antsier. "I've been feeling it every night, but tonight is when I've got it the worst, man, you gotta come with me."
"I have so many questions," Kaiba said seriously, feeling a rare spark of excitement. He was about to learn something new again tonight!
"Yeah, well, questions later," Joey replied, pointing in the direction of Kaiba's garage. "Drive us to my spot. Ya' know, the place with my hidey-hole?"
Kaiba did not hesitate for a moment. He spun around eagerly and dashed through the house to fetch the car keys, his heart thumping excitedly in his ears.
Someone was calling Joey? Was it too much to hope that …it could be Atem?
I need to learn how to make these 'calls', Kaiba thought delightedly to himself as he snatched a random set of keys off a hook and strode down the long hallway towards the garage.
Wait…Kaiba paused mid-step, and he gripped the keys tightly in his fist while his mind raced. If it is Atem, I need to bring him his ring!
Turning hastily on his heel, Kaiba dashed back up the grand staircase, intent on grabbing the gift he'd made for Atem several months ago.
The merking would be happy to know he had had a ring made, and his pretty face was going to light up when he saw how beautiful the design was.
Atem would slip it gracefully on his forefinger with a smile, and they would kiss.
It would look stunning on his tanned finger.
Tonight was going to be amazing.
Mai swam in slow circles near the water's surface, singing wonderfully sweet notes in a husky tone as Anzu floated a couple yards away with her arms crossed anxiously.
"He isn't coming, Mai. Let's give it a break." Anzu sighed, leaning against the rock and gazing up at the distorted moon rippling above her head.
"Nope, I'm pretty sure I've got his resonance this time," Mai said confidently, flipping her tail slowly up and down as she took a deep breath and continued to sing.
Anzu frowned and bobbed gently in the water as an oncoming wave washed towards them.
This was the twelfth night in a row they had tried to contact Joey to no avail.
Several nights ago, they had accidentally reeled in a man from another colony who was passing by, and it had taken a few insults and hissing to get him to leave them alone.
This was starting to become dangerous.
If Joey didn't show up soon, they would have to give up.
Anzu watched Mai continue to sing, and she shook her head sadly. If the mer-society didn't forbid contact with humans, this would be easier for everyone.
Closing her eyes tiredly, Anzu listened intently, feeling the cliff vibrate gently behind her, followed by the soft rumble of a car's engine. Excited, she kicked off the rock and grabbed Mai by the arm. "I hear something!"
Mai stopped singing and bobbed gently up and down in the water, gazing up at the dark indigo sky distorted by the waves above them, also perking up her ears to listen.
Sure enough, there was the low roar of a sports car, and Mai shook her head.
"No, wrong type of car," Mai said fervently. "There's no way any Warrior can afford that kind of vehicle."
"How would you even know?!" Anzu cried, exasperated. "Cars can be rented!"
"Renting is also expensive," Mai argued. "Do you hear that? It sounds expensive."
"Yeah, I know, you don't have to tell me," Anzu grumbled, eyeing the surface fearfully. "They'll pass by soon. Let's wait…"
On the road above, Joey froze in his seat and Kaiba noticed this change immediately, so he pulled over on the side of the road and observed the blond carefully.
"What is it?" Kaiba asked breathlessly. He was itching with excitement.
"…Nothin'…it stopped," Joey said faintly, and almost as if he was in a trance, he stepped out of the car and walked slowly to the edge of the road, peering down into the dark waters below.
Something in the air was causing his skin to tingle and his heart to beat faster.
"Who's there?" Joey shouted loudly, and underneath the water, Mai and Anzu stifled simultaneous gasps of happiness as they gripped each other tightly and celebrated with a tight hug.
"We did it!" Anzu gasped, immensely relieved. "I-I mean, you did it, Mai. You're amazing!"
"I know," Mai said loftily, and she sent Joey a quick response in her thoughts. We're down here!
Kaiba sat very still in his seat, adrenaline coursing through his veins when he heard a woman's voice echo clearly in his mind.
What the…fuck?! Was it another delivery mermaid?
The voice didn't sound like the girl with big boobs….
She had also said 'we'.
That meant she wasn't alone…!
"Get in the car!" Kaiba yelled, revving the engine at Joey. "We're going to park at the bottom this time. Let's not get arrested climbing the cliff, dammit."
Joey hesitated for a moment before he nodded and hopped back into the passenger seat, his eyes glassy and his cheeks flushed.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" Kaiba growled, pulling away from the side of the road and speeding down the curved highway, searching for the small indent that led to the parking lot.
"It's….my goddess," Joey breathed, leaning back in the seat with a nervous laugh. "She's a beautiful, strong-willed maiden. Oh my god…Atem is a real stand-up guy! He freed her! Wow…"
"Just say she's your girlfriend," Kaiba hissed, trying not to steer the car off the cliff as an ugly monster of jealousy reared its head.
Atem had sent Joey his "goddess".
Great.
Underneath the water, Mai hovered by Joey's makeshift hole in the cliff, poking at it with a manicured finger while Anzu swam in anxious circles behind her.
"He wasn't alone," Anzu whispered, wringing her hands. "Was that his pod mate?"
"Probably," Mai replied, very unconcerned. "Didn't you hear him say that part about being arrested? They must've gotten into trouble together."
"But something is weird, right?" Anzu prompted, her heart racing uncontrollably at the thought of seeing another human, even if it was a merman. "Their car sounded strange, and why was the other man shouting? He sounded angry—"
"Shhh…listen!" Mai's eyes darted left and right as she swatted her hand at Anzu. "They're coming."
The crunching of footsteps echoed from afar, and Anzu swam over to stick closely beside Mai, listening to an unfamiliar voice ask a barrage of questions.
"Where was she freed from? And why would Atem need to free her? You're telling me you guys have a jail? Don't ignore me. Fucking answer me, or I'll leave you here to freeze tonight."
Joey threw Kaiba a furious look over his shoulder but continued to say nothing. For an Undercover merman, Kaiba sure knew how to keep up the human act in the presence of other merpeople.
Stepping towards the water, Joey glanced out over the horizon and listened intently, hearing nothing but the soft crashing of the waves against the rocks beside him.
Kaiba folded his arms and stood irritably behind Joey, watching him climb atop a rock and stick his hand in the water, waving it energetically.
Was that…how to signal to other merpeople? Kaiba kept his eyes nailed to Joey and his surroundings, not wanting to miss a precious second of information.
A pale arm shot out of the water and grabbed onto Joey's arm, followed by a beautiful glowing head of blonde hair, cascading down a pair of slender shoulders. A woman.
Kaiba's breath caught painfully in his throat when the woman turned and looked right at him, her violet eyes sending an electric shock through his entire body, rooting him to the spot.
She was…beautiful, unearthly…. looking very much like a goddess with golden hair, framing a set of plump cheekbones blushed a pretty pink, a slender nose, and soft, bowed lips which were open in surprise as she gazed right at him.
"Oh…my…ANZU!" Mai breathed, waving her arm underwater energetically. "Guess who the fuck I am looking at right now! Come up here and see for yourself!"
Thrown off by her sudden vulgarity, Kaiba snapped out of it and stalked towards the water's edge, trying to read her thoughts as he demanded, "Where's Atem?"
"Hello to you too, Mr. Kaiba," Mai said demurely, flipping her hair over her shoulder to reveal one of her breasts. Joey's mouth dropped open as he glanced fervently between Kaiba and Mai, his resentment for Kaiba rising.
Kaiba tucked his tongue between his teeth and bit down on it, his eyes burning as he steadily ignored her perfect boob gleaming in the moonlight, her nipple hovering just above the water.
Very pretty, but he wasn't interested.
She knew who he was, which meant…she was connected to Atem.
"Ugh, I'm offended." Mai rolled her eyes and dove down, grabbing Anzu by the arm and dragging her up to the surface, hissing in her ear. "It's Seto Kaiba."
Anzu's eyes widened as she struggled against Mai's grip, shaking her head frantically as she tried to stay underwater. "No…No! I don't want to!"
Kaiba watched with bated breath as the blonde mermaid dragged her friend above water with several rough splashes, and Joey climbed off the rock to glare at him heatedly.
"Yo, how is that she pays attention to you, but not to me?" Joey fumed, curling his fists at his sides as he resisted the urge to punch Kaiba in his smug, handsome face. "Has she met you before?"
Anzu bobbed her head half above water, blinking incredulously at the two humans standing nose-to-nose on shore.
Joey was glaring at a tall man, who looked extremely refined, dressed in a simple black turtleneck and pair of dark slacks. His skin was so pale, he seemed to glow in the moonlight, and his features were sharp, foxy, looking very much like a Pure merman from the stuck-up colonies in the Northern Hemisphere.
Holy shit! Anzu cried frantically, forgetting to keep her thoughts to herself. He looks different as an adult.
"What the fuck do you mean by that?" Kaiba asked shrewdly, ignoring Joey completely and aiming his gaze at the head bobbing in the water behind Mai's pale shoulder. "That would mean you would've seen me as a kid."
"Only in that picture you have though, right?" Joey asked frantically, dashing to the water's edge again to gaze lovingly at Mai. "Ya never seen this jerk on land otherwise, right?"
"And how would you have managed to obtain a photo of me as a child?" Kaiba fumed, his insides burning with a million unanswered questions.
"Come on, we read magazines too," Mai said, pouting prettily at Kaiba, aiming to throw him off with her looks. "Stop sounding so angry. We're here to help you. Our poor king is crying because of you."
"Yes, because everything is my fault," Kaiba replied viciously, shoving his hand in his pocket and having second thoughts about giving these mermaids the ring he had prepared for Atem. "What's the message?"
"Ha!" Mai threw her head back and laughed haughtily while Anzu finally found some courage to raise the rest of her face out of the water. "He thinks we're his fucking messengers, Zuzu, let's leave. This guy is full of it."
"I know right?" Joey added furiously, nodding. "I don't know what Atem sees in this guy."
Kaiba's heart skipped a frantic beat, realizing he had been made infamous among Atem's…friends? Were these people his friends? Shit.
Time to turn on the charm.
"Wait…" Kaiba swallowed his pride and managed a bright smile. "You know I'm just excited to hear from him."
All three mer-people stared blankly at him with suspicious frowns painted across their faces. Kaiba took this chance to stride forward and sit on a wet rock nearest to Mai's shoulder.
"I even got him something," he said earnestly, making sure to keep his mind clear of angry thoughts. "Can you give it to him? He asked me to get him a diamond ring, so I had one specifically made for him."
Both mermaids gaped at him and Anzu pressed her hands to her mouth, meeting Kaiba's gaze and feeling herself falter slightly. He was…so incredibly handsome. She could see why Atem was so charmed. His eyes were soft at the corners, and his boyish smile glinted wonderfully under the silver moonlight.
"Right…because you're so in love with him," Mai said cautiously, eyeing Kaiba's body language with rising apprehension. This guy was an actor, right? He had to be.
The way he had switched tones and personality was eerie.
Now, he was sitting almost too poised on the rock before them, with his legs crossed, one hand on his pocket and the other outstretched in a friendly gesture with the most charming smile.
This man reeked of danger.
"Hey…I'm still here," Joey said loudly, waving at the two mermaids, hating how both of their heads had turned while they gave Kaiba their full attention. "Mai…I love you. Go out with me."
"Shut up," Mai replied carelessly, her eyes nailed to Kaiba's hands, where sharp, pointed claws were growing from his delicate fingertips. "Hey, seen a nail file recently, Kaiba?"
Kaiba's lips curved upwards into a smile, and he gracefully gave her the middle finger.
Mer-people were so fucking uptight about keeping their nails trimmed.
Why was it such a huge fucking deal?
"Give the ring to me and I'll pass it to him," Anzu rolled her eyes and swam forward boldly to the rock where the CEO was sitting. "We need to go back before someone notices we're missing. Do you know how long we waited here for you?"
"How do I know you won't take it and wear it yourself?" Kaiba asked, tightening his grip around the ring case in his pocket, his distrust rising. "Who are you to him?"
"Who are you to him?" Anzu fumed, her anger flaring dangerously. "If you understand our ways, then you should know you put him in a lot of danger! You hurt him!"
Joey and Mai watched this argument silently, deciding not to step in.
"I did no such thing," Kaiba hissed in response, deciding it was a bad idea after all. "If you think I hurt him, then you don't know how he really feels about me. I helped him."
Mai raised her hands up out of the water, glaring at Kaiba. "Stop fighting! We are here to deliver a message, and it's 'I miss you' alright? Now give us the ring so we can leave without being seen."
"But—th-that's it?" Joey whispered, leaning over the rock on his stomach and holding his hand out towards Mai, looking depressed. "I think about you all the time, Mai. Look, I'm human now."
"Maybe I'll come back for you if I get bored," Mai answered playfully, giving Joey a small smile before she turned back to Kaiba with a glare. "Give us the ring."
"You can't wear it…or it'll be tainted," Kaiba said, unable to believe the words coming out of his mouth as he kept his hand stiffly in his pocket. "I wanted to give it to him personally, not to you two—"
"Let's drown him," Anzu glowered, rising higher out of the water, not caring if Kaiba could see her breasts. "I officially think you are a jerk, and Atem deserves better than you. Why don't you trust us?"
"Because I don't know you!" Kaiba replied, exasperated. What if these mermaids sold or pawned the ring off to someone else? It would never reach Atem.
"I hear you. I promise we won't steal it or wear it," Mai said in monotone, holding her palm out of the water. "Last chance. Give it to me. It's now or never."
Kaiba fought with himself for a moment before he slipped it out of his pocket and held it hesitantly out over the water towards Mai, his knuckles white over the dark blue box.
"You can't open it," Kaiba said as the ring was pried out of his hand with wet fingers, and both women crowded around the box with gleaming eyes.
"Why not?" Anzu demanded, ignoring Joey waving from the rock beside them. "How will you know Atem will like it? I'll bet you didn't know that we were the ones who told him to ask you for a ring. You need our approval first. Also, you didn't give him the lipstick he asked for. That was for me."
"What she said," Mai sang playfully, waving the box over her head.
Shocked speechless, Kaiba ground his teeth together furiously. This was so fucking high school, but fine, if he needed Atem's girlfriends to approve of the ring first….
"I wanna see it too," Joey said glumly from his rock, hanging his head and trailing his fingers in the ocean water, hating how he was being ignored.
Mai flipped the box open and her eyes watered with glee, feeling Anzu's breath tickling her ear as she gasped and laughed delightedly.
"Lemme see it too!" Joey cried, and he was viciously ignored again.
"Wow, Mr. Kaiba, you know how to deliver," Mai said, puffing her chest out happily, aiming the box towards Kaiba, glowing with approval. "This is the most unique ring I've ever seen, and this is coming from a girl who gets quite a lot of these."
Kaiba said nothing, keeping his jaw clenched tightly shut. Great.
The girls approved, right? Could they get it to Atem now?
Less talking, more swimming.
"That must've cost…a fortune," Anzu squeaked, feeling her face heat up as she eyed the delicate golden band encircling the tear-dropped shaped diamond. "And…why…does it look like a tear? Who cried it?"
Kaiba felt a searing hot knife stab through his chest and he stayed silent. Caught.
Joey perked up after hearing Kaiba's passing thought and he strained his arms towards Mai, calling out to her, "What? Lemme see!" Part of him wanted to jump in the water with the girls, but he knew Kaiba would yell at him for getting the car wet with his clothes.
"This is a tear if I've ever seen one," Mai said firmly, swimming over towards Joey and showing him the ring in the box.
Joey swallowed thinly, staring at the glowing gem inside the padded cushion before it was snapped shut and tucked safely inside Mai's seaweed pouch around her waist.
"Who the fuck else do you think cried it?" Kaiba asked heatedly, finally finding his voice while his cheeks burned with fury and embarrassment. "Can you deliver it now?"
"Y-You cried it…?" Anzu breathed, her gaze roaming rapidly over Kaiba's entire form. No…way! No fucking way! How the hell did Atem ever think that this guy was human? He was clearly a merman—a very Pure one at that.
"Yes, we can," Mai answered sweetly, reaching behind her to grab Anzu painfully by the arm. She floated away from the rock, giving Joey a knowing look. "I'll be back in a couple of moons. Listen for my call, Joey!"
"I-I will!" Joey cried, almost slipping face-first into the water as he lunged forward to wave happily at her. "Come back soon, okay?"
Kaiba blinked rapidly, sitting very still on the rock as he watched the two women disappear just as quickly as they had appeared, leaving nothing but a shallow ripple of water behind them that was quickly dispersed by an oncoming wave.
"…Wait…" he breathed. His chest was still bursting with questions, so he decided to round on Joey instead. "How do you get her calls? How do you make calls? Tell her to call me instead."
Joey stared sullenly at him., his body language stony with resentment. "I'm not playin' this game with you, Kaiba," he said heavily, getting off the rock and walking back along the beach. "They're gone and can't hear you pretendin' to know nothin'."
"What?" Kaiba raged, leaping off the rock and catching up beside Joey, wondering why he was being treated so coldly. "I really don't know. Tell me. How does she make calls?"
Joey stalked further along the beach, his irritation rising higher the more Kaiba continued to rain questions down on him.
"…And you didn't tell me about mermaid jail," Kaiba added, stepping over piles of dried seaweed and driftwood as he struggled to keep up with Joey's unusually fast pace. "Hey…stop walking so fast. What the hell is wrong with you?!"
"Stop it. Just fucking…stop, alright?" Joey spun around, having had enough of Kaiba's act. "We get it. You're high and mighty. You want to play disgustin' games with Atem by collecting jars of his semen and making Mahad deliver dead scales to your private rock. You've proved your point already, alright? Leave me alone."
Kaiba stood numbly on the beach, watching Joey walk farther and farther away from him, and his confusion rose to an all-time high.
"What's…the point I'm trying to make?" Kaiba breathed, realizing Joey was too far away to hear him. "HEY! What do you think my point is?!"
"That you're better than us!" Joey shouted back across the beach, his heart thundering loudly in his ears. "You've lost your way, so now all you wanna do is mess with us because you're angry!"
"I don't know what any of that means!" Kaiba yelled back, his blood boiling. "I don't even know what 'losing my way' means! I repeat it because I heard it once—one time, from the old geezer I stole this tattoo from!"
"Is that your story?" Joey snorted, turning and continuing on his way back to the car. "I've heard better."
Astounded, Kaiba took a moment to gather himself before he raced after Joey and caught up to him as he was walking up the sandy wooden steps leading to the parking lot. He grabbed onto Joey's arm, feeling the merman yank his hand back furiously and stalk towards the car.
"Hey! I'm flattered," Kaiba called, rushing to Joey's side again, straining to catch his eye. "Really. You think I'm a fish? Come on. I have proof I've been human all my life, even as a kid! Do you want to see photos, or videos? I have them."
"No," Joey replied dully, leaning against the car and folding his arms tightly across his chest. "You're gonna show me doctored videos. And yeah, we know you were sent on land as a hatchling, so of course you're 'human' in those videos."
Kaiba stared at Joey, processing his words the best he could.
"As a hatchling?" Kaiba repeated incredulously, happy with the discovery of new information once again. "How old would I have been then? Why don't I remember anything about mermaids and shit?"
"Dunno, don't care." Joey shrugged heavily, his gaze lingering over the car's steering wheel. "Drive us home."
"No, not until we figure this out!" Kaiba insisted, his cheeks burning with fury again as he realized Joey was really, truly convinced he was a fish. "Please, help me. I'm fucking begging here."
There was a long, tense silence before Joey finally met his gaze and gave him a steely look.
"Trauma," Joey said simply, shifting his stance against the car's body. "It's traumatizing for kids when they surface, so that's why King Solomon banned it. You probably blocked it all out. You don't know nothin' about us underwater cuz you went to a human school up here. You grew up like a human. You are…human. Do you remember a mom or a dad? Or did they get taken away from you?"
"Mokuba and I are orphans," Kaiba said quietly, slowly growing numb. "But I'm human. There's no way I'm a fucking fish."
"Yeah?" Joey scratched his head, frowning. "How'd you lose your human mom and dad then? Can't remember that either, can you? Can you remember anything? What about your Assignment?"
Kaib tucked his tongue in his cheek and said nothing, lowering his head slowly, his mind racing anxiously. This was fucking bullshit. Joey was implying there was more to his past, but it wasn't that complicated.
His parents had died in a house fire. Then, with a tearful Mokuba in tow, they were dropped off at the doorstep of the nearest orphanage, where he had managed to rope Gozaburo into adopting them both by winning a game of chess against him.
"I'll bet you right now that you can't find any info on your dead parents" Joey said sadly, kicking the dirt with his shoe. "With all your fancy technology and stuff…you've just accepted that they died. Did you see their bodies? Were you there? Did you have a funeral? You were just re-homed over and over again, or—"
"Fine, you're right," Kaiba said stiffly, mirroring Joey's stance with his arms folded. "I don't remember my parent's death due to trauma, but I age like a human. Explain that, genius."
Joey gave him a dull-eyed look. "You've never seen a Moon Pool, of course ya' gonna age. The second you turn human, you'll age a bit faster than normal, but once you go back, you're fine. The side-effects are worse when you're a kid."
"Then, lead me to a Moon Pool," Kaiba said triumphantly, quite satisfied that he'd manage to steer the conversation into a full circle.
He needed to find a Chrysalis.
Had he not made himself abundantly clear?
"Annnnd we are done talkin'," Joey said sadly, turning around to hop into the roofless car. He slid into the seat and buckled in, giving Kaiba a sympathetic smile. "Let's go."
Kaiba set his mouth in a tight line and circled the vehicle, yanking the door open and tucking himself into the driver's seat, his trepidation rising as he stuck the key in the engine.
"You really think I'm a fish?" Kaiba asked, giving Joey a long look, and Joey nodded tightly.
"You act like someone who's been through a lot of trauma," Joey answered plainly, looking away to avoid Kaiba's burning gaze. "And your story sounds like what they tell us about Hatchlings sent to shore. Memory of parents erased, memory of life underwater erased, and you behave Lost, even as a human."
Kaiba started the engine with a roar and peeled out of the parking lot with Joey's words echoing in his ears.
No fucking way.
He just didn't want to remember the way his parents had died.
The trauma Joey was sensing was entirely Gozaburo's fault, he was pretty sure.
There was no fucking way he was a fish.
That would mean Mokuba was a fish too.
"...And that's why you're dangerous to us," Joey continued dully. "When you discovered us, you got angry, and felt like Mer-people abandoned you on land. You think we don't want you back, but it's the pact that makes it hard for me to help you, okay bud?"
Kaiba gripped the wheel tightly, not sure which he hated more: the wild story Joey was spinning about his past, or the fact that he'd just casually called him 'bud'.
"I'm human, and I just want to get closer to Atem," Kaiba said, growing tired of repeating his intentions. "I'm injecting dead scales into my bloodstream. That would explain the freaky nails."
"Uh huh," Joey yawned, settling down comfortably into the seat and closing his eyes. "Why'ja pick Atem? Why him? You can Mate with anyone the fuck else. You're considered 'cool' and 'hot' by everyone in the world. Did you see the way Mai was ignorin' me? That was your fault."
"Because Atem is fucking beautiful and amazing," Kaiba answered stiffly, pulling the car onto the freeway, feeling the wind whip his hair around his face as they sped up. "I could go on. No human can compare."
"You feel that way cuz you can't help yourself," Joey replied matter-of-factly. "Other humans can easily move on, especially if another pretty human comes by. Why don't ya do that?"
Kaiba hissed in annoyance, gripping the wheel even tighter as he answered, "because I can't! Atem is the only one."
"Yep, see?" Joey tucked his hands behind his head and leaned back further into the car seat. "You can't help it. He's the first mer-person you saw, you basically imprinted onto him."
"Are you fucking shitting me?" Kaiba growled, feeling the car waver as his grip slipped dangerously on the wheel. "Are mer-people like birds? You lay eggs and imprint on people?"
"Now you're insultin' us because you're mad…again," Joey said, opening one eye and giving Kaiba a reproachful look. "Do ya' sense a pattern?"
Kaiba swallowed thinly and said nothing, aiming to keep his eyes on the road to drive them safely back to the mansion. He was angry because he was always hitting dead ends. It had nothing to do with jealousy or anger towards mer-people and their ways of life.
He didn't want to become a fish, but he had accepted that fish-like symptoms were going to be a side-effect of his actions while he hunted for a way to get closer to Atem.
They sat together in silence as Kaiba pulled the car off the highway and down several narrow streets.
Joey kept shooting Kaiba nervous glances. The tense silence was making him very uncomfortable. It was just further proof that Kaiba was very good at concealing his thoughts.
Kaiba eased the car off the main road and down the private street leading to his property, carefully constructing his next request in his mind before he spoke aloud.
"Is there any way you can help me? Please."
Joey frowned guiltily, ruffling his hair nervously as he watched the spiked black gate slide open, letting them in.
"I'm not sure…" Joey faltered, wondering if it was really within his means to help Kaiba. "I'll talk about it with Tristan."
"No, don't bring him into this," Kaiba hissed, stamping furiously on the brake as the car lurched into an empty parking space in his wide garage. "The less people who know, the safer we'll both be. Give me information. Tell me everything you know. Show me images, the way you did before by grabbing my hand. I'll take anything you can give me."
Joey leaned back into the seat and slowly unbuckled, blinking rapidly while his mind raced.
S-Sure…there was nothing in his pact that said he couldn't talk about home or his training.
Besides, Kaiba had saved his life on that beach many moons ago. Giving him information about life underwater was the least he could do. Atem trusted and loved this man, so…it should be safe to discuss anything, as long as he didn't reveal the location of the Moon Pool.
"Y-Yeah, I guess I can do that," Joey said quietly, and he heard Kaiba let out a relieved sigh beside him and smile genuinely at him for the first time.
"Thank you," Kaiba said with emphasis, his heart racing with a mixture of excitement and gratitude. "I really mean it. Thank you. In return, I'll give you anything within my means."
Joey nodded silently, his voice caught in his throat before he managed to speak after a moment. "...You already gave us a really nice place to live. We should be thankin' you."
Kaiba rested a hand on Joey's shoulder, giving him a warm squeeze.
"No. Thank you. Thank you for coming to find me," he said, and he got out of the car hastily before he said any more sappy shit to the blond merman.
Joey sat stiffly in the seat, watching Kaiba's tall figure disappear inside the house, leaving him alone in the semi-darkness.
Dang. This was going to be hard.
Atem swam in a lazy circle above the play structure with the cries of children playing ringing in his ears while he tried to ease his boredom. A couple of guards hovered behind him a few feet away, at full attention.
He wasn't allowed to be alone anymore since he had almost killed himself swimming to the surface in an attempt to see Kaiba.
Security around him had increased tenfold as a result of his own stupidity, and now, there was always someone watching him. He had even less freedom than before.
When he was eating in the grand hall, Mahad was at his side, trying to make pleasant conversation.
When he was resting, Mana would come into his room sometimes and curl up beside him in bed.
When he was leisurely reading, Solomon was always floating within earshot in the bookshelves nearby, out of sight, but never out of mind.
A makeshift arrow whizzed by his arm, and one of the guards behind him caught it expertly, glaring furiously at the children playing beneath them. A small boy zoomed through the water towards them, yelling loudly at his friends behind him, "you almost hit someone!"
His friends ducked and hid underneath the rotting hull of the ship, waving apologetically at Atem. "Sorry! We're sorry, King Atem!"
Atem waved back halfheartedly, almost wishing the arrow would've hit him.
It would end this miserable existence he called a life.
Suddenly, out from the corner of his eye, he saw two familiar silhouettes rushing towards him, and he recognized them as Mai and Anzu.
Waving excitedly, he saw the two women stop and pull together fearfully, gazing at the guards on either side of him.
Mai gripped Anzu worriedly as they floated to a stop above a ship's moss-covered mast, eyeing Atem's bodyguards cautiously.
"He's surrounded…let's try another time," Mai said nervously, hiding the ring box behind her back. "We're giving him a human artifact. We both know the royal family has awful policies about receiving artifacts as gifts."
Mai! Anzu! Atem called loudly in his mind, directing his thoughts towards the girls as he waved anxiously. Please…save me.
"Uh oh," Anzu muttered, giving Mai a knowing look. "We need to get him away from those guards."
"I'll distract them," Mai said quietly. She passed Anzu the ring box behind their backs before she grimaced and swam forward slowly with a tentative wave.
Atem held his breath nervously as Mai floated towards them with an angelic smile. He could hear both his guards' frantic thoughts behind him.
Wow! A golden-haired goddess! She's coming this way!
Holy Suijin! Is this maiden Atem's friend?
"Atem," Mai said silkily, leaning into his space to hook her arm around the king's elbow, giving the two men behind him a playful wink. "I've missed you! What's been going on?"
"Absolutely nothing." Atem answered cautiously, watching Anzu dart nervously in the water from afar. "How have you been?"
"Lonely!" Mai cried dramatically, throwing an arm over her eyes, making sure her breasts bounced wonderfully in the water as she did so. "Can Anzu and I spend time with you…alone, in your room?"
Atem threw a nervous glance at his guards behind him, slightly amused to see them staring shamelessly at Mai with their jaws hanging half-open.
"Men, I'm headed back to my private quarters," Atem said lightly, giving the guards a wave, and he saw them wave limply back at him. "I will be there until mealtime, so don't bother coming to check on me."
The men nodded mutely, watching the blonde goddess lead Atem away by the arm, her violet tail swishing magnificently behind her smooth, pale back.
"Idiots," Mai muttered, tugging Atem behind the ship's tall mast and gesturing for Anzu to follow. "What if I was a danger to you? They let me have you so easily!"
Atem smiled privately to himself, thankful that Mai's beauty was so enchanting, it usually rendered men speechless.
Anzu caught up and swam ahead of them, brushing past Atem's shoulder without even saying 'hi', and Atem frowned, reaching out to wave at her.
"Anzu…?"
"Not here," Mai whispered in his ear, pulling him so rapidly through the water, his bangs brushed back along his ears. "Let's go somewhere no one can hear us."
They swam through the palace gates without incident and once they were safely back inside Atem's room, the king made sure to lock the door firmly behind himself before he whirled around to face his two friends with a hopeful smile.
"Was Kaiba at the rock?" he asked, busting with longing and excitement to hear news, any news. "Did you see a purple Messenger? He might have gotten lost…"
"Oh, he was there," Anzu declared, sitting gingerly on the edge of Atem's bed, looking pale. "…Atem, I don't know how to say this—"
"Then I'll tell him, you wimp," Mai said loftily, tossing her hair over her shoulder. "Your man isn't human. Sorry. Also, he's a total jerk."
Atem sighed and swam in an anxious circle. "No. He's ingesting dead scales. He is human."
"Is that what he told you?" Anzu whispered, her eyes widening. "Th-That's a lie, Atem. He was with Joey, and he even behaves like an Undercover Warrior!"
"I believe him," Atem said firmly, crossing his arms across his chest with a frown. "Tell me everything! Joey is with him?!"
"Yes, we were all at Joey's Hiding Spot," Mai said quickly, sitting beside Anzu on the bed. "He was arguing with Joey in Merspeak. How can he be human?"
"Enough with the speculation about his species!" Atem hissed, losing his patience. "Seto Kaiba is human, and that is final."
"Alright, alright." Anzu held her hands up defensively, looking panic-stricken. "Then…maybe you can see for yourself. Here. This is a gift from him."
She slipped the ring box out from behind her back and respectfully held it out with both hands for Atem, seeing his angular violet eyes widen with shock and amazement.
"A gift?" Atem cried, diving forward and sweeping the box up for closer inspection. "What is this? So curious. Does it open? What's in it?"
He shook it vigorously, hearing nothing, but the texture of the box was soft…and interesting.
"Open it," Mai said dryly, flopping back onto the bed. "Then maybe you'll believe he's not human."
Atem flipped the tiny box open and his breath left his lungs in a sudden whoosh!
His throat constricted terribly, unable to find words for his feelings as he stared intently at the set of rings sitting snugly inside a pretty, blue cushion. It was a diamond tear, so pure, it seemed to glow on its own accord.
Gripping the box tightly, Atem realized it was two rings, made of several tears, set on thin, golden bands. The largest tear was standing alone on one band, and complimenting it was a starburst of five other stones, hugging the curved bottom of the teardrop like a fiery crown.
Stunned speechless, Atem angled the ring box left and right, unable to take his next breath. Whose tears were these?!
They certainly weren't his own, because he had only ever cried diamond tears once, when he discovered his mother had perished on land while in captivity.
And those tears had been oddly misshapen due to his distress and young age.
He had buried those tears in a jar somewhere behind all his other gems in the very back of his treasury, because the mere sight of them brought the memory back in a painful surge.
"S-See?" Anzu said tentatively. "Put it on. That way we'll know for sure."
"I'm not sure I want to…" Atem choked, wondering what painful memory he'd see when he inevitably put the rings on.
There were…so many!
He would be sent reeling down a long, painful road…because he'd counted six tears.
That was at least 600 heartbeats of memories.
"We'll be here to pull you out of it," Mai said seriously, sitting up and giving him a grave look. "He really didn't want to give it to us. We basically pried it out of his hands."
"Of course…because he doesn't…trust you," Atem hiccupped, his breath catching painfully in his chest as he tried to regain his composure. These tears were a side-effect of Kaiba's scale consumption, that's all it was. Perhaps it was too much to hope that they were empty tears?
Anzu rose from the bed and grabbed Atem gently by the arm, easing him down into a sitting position beside her, patting his back reassuringly.
"We're here for you," she said confidently, gripping the box lightly as she slipped the rings out and held them out with a shaking hand. "Ready?"
Atem shook his head tightly, his chest swelling with emotion as he held his hand out tentatively and felt her slip the rings onto his middle finger.
It was…a perfect fit.
Holding his breath nervously, Atem held his hand up for a closer look, enjoying the way the gems sparkled in the low light.
Mai threw her head back and laughed, trying to break the tension. "Wow, that looks—"
Her voice cut off suddenly as the room tilted dangerously in Atem's vision, and he couldn't hear the rest of what she said because he was no longer present.
He was riding in a moving car without a roof at night.
The wind was whipping his hair painfully around his face while someone spoke harsh words beside him. Atem fearfully glanced over to see who it was, shocked to discover a familiar face.
Mokuba.
The boy Mokuba, all grown up, with long flowing black hair, broad shoulders and a chiseled jaw.
Speechless, Atem glanced back down at his hands, horrified to see that they were shaking violently, and a heart-wrenching pain was exploding out of his chest in the form of a distressed shout which rattled his ear drums and shattered all the glass in the car.
A ringing silence followed, and the car rolled to a gentle stop.
Mokuba was sitting very still, his shoulder shaking with fury.
"Why'd you do that?! This was my favorite car, Seto!"
The scene shifted and melted away. He was underwater now, patting the sandy floor beneath him, searching for something. His eyes were blurry, and his lungs were tight.
Atem instantly recognized this memory from the colored rocks around him.
This was when he had parted with Kaiba after moon bathing.
Kaiba had…cried real tears when he'd left!
"Atem?! Atem! Can you hear us? Are you okay?!"
Anzu and Mai's voices were shrill, echoing somewhere far away in the distance, and Atem managed to nod his head.
He wanted to see all of it.
The scene shifted, and he could breathe again, but he was still on his knees, but this time, on firm ground, staring at a pair of very shiny shoes.
Atem looked up, seeing a dark night sky above him.
He jerked his head around, staring breathlessly at the glowing mansion towering behind him before an old manservant's face appeared in his vision, looking worried.
Pale hands held the tears up for him as an offering.
The old man shook his head, looking exasperated, and Atem felt a pang of frustration.
The offering had been rejected.
The old man's face melted away, and he found himself walking down a deserted street. He arrived at a door and after knocking, it was answered by another aging human, frowning in annoyance.
After being invited in, Atem watched with growing fascination as the old man led him through the house and showed him an electronic screen with various designs of rings.
He's a goldsmith! Atem thought excitedly, immensely flattered that Kaiba had gone to such lengths to get the ring made.
The old man sifted through the gems with a pair of silver tweezers and held them up to the light, his eyes gleaming as he spoke.
Atem felt himself nod and rise to his feet, ready to leave.
He had a feeling they were nearing the end of the memory sequence.
The next memory was darkness, several long heartbeats of darkness, indicating that the gem had been cut. It had been cut several times because all Atem could see were flashes of the old man's face in deep concentration, his grey brows knitted together as he worked tirelessly.
Atem felt Anzu's hand growing clammy in his as she squeezed him tightly, and he returned the squeeze with equal vigor.
More darkness. Atem counted 120 heartbeats.
Yes, this was the end…wasn't it?
After a moment, light flooded his vision, and Atem was caught off guard for a moment as Kaiba's handsome face appeared before him, his blue eyes wide with mild shock before smiled so confidently, Atem felt his stomach curl with longing.
Kaiba was gazing at the ring with pure happiness. He looked so handsome, wearing a crisp white suit with a tie that matched the color of his eyes.
Atem watched as Kaiba smiled lovingly down at him again before darkness slowly crept into the corners of his vision and enveloped him completely.
He was thinking about me! Atem thought weakly, feeling tears building behind his eyes, but he forced himself to remain composed, waiting out the last few seconds of the memory before the sandy floor of his own room came swimming back into view.
He stared blankly at the tips of his red fins waving gently in the water with Kaiba's smile stamped permanently inside his mind.
Because of these rings, he now had a tangible memory of Kaiba's face that he could revisit anytime he missed him. Kaiba had cried these tears with genuine feeling from the bottom of his heart.
Amazing.
It didn't matter if Kaiba wasn't human.
Kaiba's love for him was as true and clear as the tears he cried.
"A-Atem?" Anzu whispered, seeing the king's eyes brighten as he pulled out of the trance. "You're back."
Atem gripped Anzu's hand tightly as tears of gratitude welled up in the corners of his eyes.
"Thank you for suggesting …the diamond ring as a gift. This will keep me sane," he managed, barely able to breathe as his throat threatened to close with emotion. "Please tell him I said, 'thank you'."
"What did you see?" Mai prompted, flipping over onto her stomach and staring at him curiously. "Tell us. You were gone for a while."
"He went to a human goldsmith," Atem said excitedly, and the women gasped in delight. "The gem was cut several times, but with precision. I saw everything clearly."
"A capable human," Mai said solemnly. "What else?"
"He cried them while in a moving car," Atem continued, his cheeks heating up terribly at the sadness he'd felt. "Mana will be pleased to know that Kaiba was the merman who had let out the cry of distress several moons ago."
"Ohmigosh, Heartbreak Scream?" Mai threw her head back and cackled. "That's what we call it."
"Hey…be nice," Anzu gave Mai a nudge after seeing Atem's face darken with worry.
"Mokuba is grown up!" Atem continued, eager to discuss all the details of the memories. "He looks very pretty, almost as good as Seto. I can see their resemblance as brothers now."
"Wow, little Kaiba is big now," Anzu mused thoughtfully, tapping her chin. "I kind of want to see him with my own eyes."
"Ask big Kaiba to bring him," Mai grinned evilly, twirling her hair between her fingers. "Anything else?"
"That's it…" Atem said anxiously, unable to find words to describe Kaiba's happy smile at the very end. "He looked incredibly satisfied with the ring at the end."
"Of course, because it's gorgeous!" Mai declared, snatching up his hand and staring down at it with jealousy. "Look at the gold band and how thin it is. Kaiba must have found the most skilled human on the surface of this planet! It passes Mer-standards easily."
"Yes, only the best for you," Anzu echoed happily, leaning down to watch the ring sparkle on Atem's finger, and the king beamed at them, looking happier than he'd been in days.
"I must give him a ring in return!" Atem said happily, wiggling his fingers gently, feeling as if he was flying on the highest cloud. "Help me pick a gem from my treasury?"
"Oh! Yes, yes, yes!" Anzu laughed and zoomed towards the seaweed curtain, hovering excitedly beside it.
"I thought you'd never ask," Mai said dryly, rolling over onto her side, closing her eyes. "Man, I wish you had some human fashion magazines here."
"Ask Kaiba the next time you see him," Atem replied seriously, hurrying to his closet where Anzu was already excitedly picking through gems.
He dove in to join her, feeling more alive than he'd had been in a long time.
Time really did pass quicker when his friends were around to keep him company.
Author's note:
Kaiba has just about met all of atem's friends.
Atem gets a set of rings! :D
also, this got linked in my discord!
:
im amazed and thankful you are recommending this story to groups on facebook, dear reader!
i dont have a facebook, only an instagram ( pretti (dot.) ugli)
and twitter (prettiugli)
and tumblr (UgliFish)
(hugs)!
Ugli