Card Captor Sakura Fan Fiction / Tokyo Babylon Fan Fiction ❯ The Bet ❯ Case Closed ( Chapter 4 )

The Bet:

Chapter Four

Disclaimer: Both Card Captor Sakura and Tokyo Babylon belong to CLAMP, not me, and I make no money from this work of fanfiction at all. I'm going to be using Yugioh names for some of the add ins because… Well, I like them. So there. And they don't belong to me either. Nor does the song Duvet from Serial Experiments Lain.

The night was steamy. Cool air was washing down over her, but it barely made a dent on the thick fog below. Sakura Kinomoto bounced agilely over the construction equipment, through the dense mist as she scouted out the area.

Kero-chan floated next to her, watching her leap like a rabbit on a sugar rush. Then without warning- she stopped- and Kero-chan, Beast of the Seal... hit a wall.

Sakura took no notice. She had seen something stuck to a wall. Likely as not, it had just been a flyer…

"Oh crap!" she hissed, getting a better looked, calling her Cards. A breath later, she had invoked Shield and Sword, slicing away the curse ofuda from the wall, and was protected from the backlash-

Then slumped against the wall in relief.

"Kero-chan," she said quietly, picking the curse up to look at inspect it carefully. Her sidekick landed unsteadily on her shoulder.

"Dude, there's two of them?" he shook his head, struggling to uncross his eyes.

"Kero-chan?"

"Uh, uh, right," his eyes stopped spinning. "Whoever wrote this had NO idea what they were doing," the small Guardian sneered. A soft glow announced his change in form- and Cerberus looked around, sniffing the ground for traces of other magicks.

He followed the smell, his nose wrinkled unpleasantly at the odor, and suddenly hissed and growled, as a large dog barked, bounding around him. Sakura didn't know what to think- the poor thing was scared stiff of the giant cat-

"DUCHESS!" a young man's voice called, and the sorceress blinked, her eyes making out the dim outline of someone on the other side of the lot. The large dog ran to the figure, and they both disappeared in the fog.

"You might want to get small again, Kero-chan," Sakura murmured, returning her key to its proper size. "We don't want to be seen."

It was a good thing she did so- because a few moments later, as they walked through another alley, checking for more ofuda, there was a soft beeping. Sakura jumped, whirling around.

"You know- that makes it nearly impossible to tail people," smiled the detective from earlier, showing his identification.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

It turned out that the detective was quite a nice guy. He introduced himself as Yamakawa.

"This construction site has been plagued with accidents since it was started," he began, fishing out a cigarette. "Is it really cursed?" he turned to her.

Sakura nodded. "It was a really badly done curse, but still a curse."

"If it was badly made, then why would it work?" he looked curious.

"No matter how badly written it was, it would still affect the energies and spirits in the area. It just wouldn't be predictable." Sakura shook her head in bemusement. "Trust me on this- even if you don't want it to, magic, when invoked, will do SOMETHING."

The detective shook his graying head. "Do you believe that someone could have… infallible luck?" Sakura blinked as the man actually started fidgeting. She wracked her brain for an answer.

"Ye-es," she said, tentatively. "If a person was granted protection from the spirits at birth. Any bad luck, or bad karma, would be directed towards others nearby."

The detective was so unnerved he was having trouble with his lighter. It took him several attempts to produce a flame- and even more to actually hit the flame with his cigarette.

"I don't usually give any kind of credence to this kind of thing," he took a calming puff. "But who would willingly… If you knew that an elevator was going to fall- what sane person would willingly get on it? Only a person who knew they were invulnerable."

Sakura's eyes went huge as Detective Yamakawa continued. "The accidents on this site have always involved one man. I built up a good sized dossier on him since all of this started, and these accidents have been happening to him since childhood. Any of his friends, his parents, even his little brother… All have died in accidents. Only he survived them."

"Who is this person?" Sakura said in a soft, breathy voice. She had a feeling she knew.

"The current head of this building project. The one who has been at the center of every accident that killed someone in his way but always walked away clean- I think you talked to him this afternoon. Seto Kaiba."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Li and Eriol walked slowly through Tomoeda after having left Tomoyo's, searching mentally for any and all magical traces. They continued on, combing the streets in silence for what seemed like forever.

"Why didn't you tell Tomoyo exactly what those portents were?" Li asked, finally breaking the quiet that had been so thick it nearly made him itch.

"What was I supposed to tell her? 'The end of the world is coming. Sakura is going to make a choice whether or not to destroy the human race, and someone close to her is her Accompanying Star, who will take the opposite side of Sakura? You and I both think its going to be Touya. All my visions before hand showed two versions of Sakura, or the Kamui as she will be called. God's Will, and then the one who Hunts God's Will. Oh, yes- her friends are going to split on both sides of this conflict. That I'm a Dragon of Earth, you are a Dragon of Heaven, and we really have no bloody idea who the rest of the Dragons are?" He was sarcastically bitter. "I have no idea where the Shin Ken is. All I know is that this is going to happen."

Li rubbed his eyes. "I don't want to fight anyone… which is why I offered to help you. Hell, if it wasn't for the fact you gave half your power to Fujitaka, I'd be running already. You have more power and experience than anyone here."

Eriol's eyes were bleak as they took in his cute descendent. "Was I still Clow, I would say that the future could not be changed. There is one future, and that we must all go along with its flow… Yet he misjudged the heart more than anything else. Even that of his own creation."

"You need Prozac," Li muttered, and looked around. The itching feeling was getting stronger.

"Where have we gotten to?"

Eriol looked around, surprised at the question, and found they were standing before-

Tsukimine shrine.

"Haven't we looked this place over already?" Syaoran looked confused.

Eriol frowned. "I was sure we had. I was certain of it- then why did the tracking spell lead us here?"

Syaoran shook his head. He had this sudden desire to leave. A glance at Eriol showed the other young man was feeling much the same way.

Had they not been looking for magic already, they wouldn't have noticed they had been tampered with at all. Even still, it was subtle, like an ant creeping its way up your sleeve- unless you were looking for it, you wouldn't have noticed it was there, save for the faintest of tickles.

"I want to leave," Syaoran whispered, edging away. He felt cold now- deathly cold. Eriol was staring at a spot on the ground a few feet away from them. The young/old sorcerer could feel echoes of something there- like watching shadows on a wall flicker past.

"We have to stay," he hissed back at him, kneeling down to inspect the ground. A heavy, cloying smell filled his nostrils, a mix of two distinct odors. Yet for the life of him, he couldn't place it.

"We have to go!" a hysterical note started edging into the little wolf's voice, and he drew his sword, getting into a ready stance, and stalking the perimeter. Not to fight Eriol- no- he was getting ready to defend him from this sense of… whatever it was. Foreboding, approaching death… the terror was barely held at bay now.

"NO!" Eriol barked, and he placed his hands on the cold earth, and started to chant a post-cognition spell-

//Kaho-

-blood-

-petals-

-betrayal.//

"ERIOL!" Syaoran screamed as the dark haired boy. Power whipped around him, twisting and weaving, tossing his erstwhile companion into the air.

Eriol had been completely unprepared, in his eagerness, to counter the magical backlash that hit him. The unease had made him rush- and now he was paying for it as his body went limp with shock and pain. Someone had cleaned this place with dark magic. It overloaded his senses, and he clenched his eyes shut, because he couldn't stop his landing.

Diving, Li put himself between Eriol and the dirt, groaning when he landed on his cute, not so little descendent.

They both lay there for a long time, battered and bruised, but alive. It was a miracle that Syaoran had remembered to drop his sword- his training master would have had a fit. Yet he had, and had kept them from being cut in half.

"We have to leave," the chocolate haired boy coughed, air returning to his empty lungs. Eriol groggily agreed. Both of them felt the night coming, and with it, a long shadow they did not want to be caught in.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Touya smiled, as Yue slept deeply, his head trustingly placed in Touya's lap.

He should have guessed Yue wouldn't have been as affected by the memory wipe he had performed on Yukito. While they shared the same soul, they were basically split personalities. Separate enough that magic on one would have trouble affecting the other...

A beautiful piece of art, Touya thought, stroking Yue's snowy hair. Clow Reed did a great job making him.

The afternoon had passed quietly after Yue's nearly hysterical reaction to the Tree. It made the Tree's master and slave almost want to truly laugh. The sensation had been so foreign to him he had paused.

Had he nearly lost his bet that easily?

Before becoming Sakurazukamori, Touya had felt freely, had given his heart to a beautiful woman, had protected his little sister, and admired and pitied his father. The husk he was now felt nothing... except for a strange spark lit by the strange pale boy he had met in highschool.

He still didn't know what had moved him to give up what little of himself he'd had left to save Yukito. The strength he had been born with, without being part of the Sakurazuka clan. It had been all that had stood between him and being completely Sakurazukamori.

Up until then... until then, he'd kept some of himself. He'd kept hope.

Then he'd given it away, and knew he would never get it back.

"You really are adorable, Yukito," he murmured, still stroking Yue's hair. "To bad you can't win."

~*~*~*~*~*~

"Murder," Sakura muttered to herself, flopping on to her bed, looking up at the ceiling. "Murder. I have never had to deal with that before."

"Ah, you KNOW you can handle this, Sakura," Kero-chan answered, floating above her head. His tiny orange paw scratched his head.

A frustrated, sad detective watched the funeral proceedings of the late president of the M.C.C. corporation- soon to be Kaiba corporation.

"There is only one person in your way now, isn't there, Kaiba?" he said quietly, from the outside of the building, and lit a cigarette. He listened to the speeches made about the president, Kaiba's voice ringing but unintelligible.

"I may not be able to stop you… but that girl might."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

A few days had passed, and Sakura was still no closer to solving the murder, or even finding the person who had put up those badly scrawled curses.

She was fairly certain they were different people. The murder was cold calculation- whoever did it wouldn't make the same kinds of mistakes that the curse writer did.

Today they were going to brainstorm again at Touya's clinic after it closed. Li and Eriol would be dropping by- they said they had found some information on Kaho. That was another thing that had Sakura in a bind- the situation with Kaho's death had been painful enough when it was fresh. Now it felt like a festering wound. She just wanted to be happy now that Touya was back, and everyone could be pair- uh, have their best friends…

Sakura was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she didn't notice when she collided with a much taller body- and nearly had a dog try to rip out her throat.

"Duchess!" the taller form yelled, pulling on the dog's leash. "Bad girl! Bad girl!"

The young sorceress was on her duff on the sidewalk, staring up at flashing teeth, and reached out a trembling hand to the dog. She blinked at her, sniffing her hand, and calmed down, thrusting her head under Sakura's hand for a good scratch, which Sakura obliged her.

"Hello," she said in a trembling voice, as the animal started giving her doggy kisses. Her fear turned to giggling.

The young man just watched with trembling hands. Sakura looked into his eyes- and she knew.

"I'm sorry for that," he said, sheepishly. Offer her his hand, she was lifted to her feet easily. "Could I um, make you some tea?"

~*~*~*~*~*~

Sakura found herself sitting in a small apartment as her host threw together some tea. She could hear him clanking away in the kitchen, talking to himself, and she looked around. Angry spirits seemed to be clamoring to get in- the feeling of a curse returning.

Getting up, she looked around, and found some paper and ink, and wrote out a spell for a barrier to protect this young man. She had, undoubtedly, found her curse writer.

Sticking it to the wall, she immediately felt the pounding of ill will recede.

"Wha- what?" she heard from behind her. Whirling around, Sakura saw the young man, whose face had held a shadow of despair and burden, ease.

"How did you do that?" he blurted out, nearly dropping the tray he held, stumbling around to catch his balance, almost losing it completely and saving the tea from disaster at the last second.

Sakura shrugged. "I put up a kekkai, a barrier, to protect this apartment. You're curse didn't really work all that well, but it made the local kami pissed off at you."

"You... knew?" he said weakly, slumping.

His guest nodded, getting up and looking over his book collection. Mostly manga, but it had a few books of magic- ones she knew to be incorrect. Opening the most likely suspect, she found what she was looking for.

"See this?" she pointed to the directions for making ofuda. "They mis-wrote the kanji, and the order is completely wrong. You might want to check something written by the Li family if you want accurate magic. They're one of the most powerful clans in eastern magic in the world, along with the Sumeragi Clan."

The young man just blinked at her and paused. "AH! Oh man, sorry. I'm Katsuya Jounouchi, but everyone calls me Jou," he rubbed the back of his head, not looking at her.

"Sakura Kinomoto," she smiled. "I didn't see you at the docks, but I did see, and hear, Duchess. I doubt I will ever forget THOSE teeth."

"Um... yeah," Jounouchi sighed. "She has great teeth." He stared at his clenched fists, and nerved himself, like he was expecting a blow. When Sakura said nothing, he looked back up at her. She noticed he had lovely golden eyes. Sad eyes, full of pain, and a simmering hatred.

"Go on, you know you want to ask," he muttered, ducking his eyes away again. They would peer at her, then dart somewhere else, and then find their way back.

Sakura still said nothing. Time and painful experience had taught her that patience would get her most answers.

Jou finally couldn't stand the silence. "Could we go for a walk?"

Sakura nodded, getting her coat and hat.

Following Jou silently, she watched him bring Duchess with him. The wolf-like dog looked at him fondly, lovingly, and whined at his obvious discomfort. They walked down several streets, taking several turns, finally pausing in front of a run down store, with the faded words "Turtle Game Shop" on the marquee. Jounouchi sat on one of the steps, and motioned for her sit next to him.

"This is," he swallowed. "I used to have a... a friend. His name was Yugi Moto. Best friend a person had."

Sakura heard the unshed tears in his voice, and guessed that 'best friend' was the least part of their relationship. This was something the young man needed to get off his chest, so she said nothing, but put a hand on his shoulder. His pain cried out to her- if this was the only way to give him help, relief, she would offer it freely.

"He...was a gaming whiz in highschool. He beat even the current champ at a card game named Duel Monsters. He didn't see that the old champ was bitter. Yug', he even tried to make friends with him. Give him a chance, he said. Guy was always insulting me, calling me a dog," he paused with a trembling laugh. "Yug' gave me Duchess, here. Said I needed someone else to take care of, other than him. Duchess loved Yug' as much as me. She was our baby."

"Then," Jou rubbed his face in his hands, before Duchess started covering his face with doggy kisses. "Then one night, after highschool was over, after college even and we hadn't heard of Seto Kaiba for years, Kaiba called and wanted a rematch. He went to the building Kaiba was working on... The new building at the waterfront, the one you saw me at."

His voice trembled. "The police said it was an accident. But then I started looking into the history of that project, and I found out that in the past year, pretty much ANYBODY in Kaiba's way had 'accidents'. But."

"Is the police called it an accident, maybe..?" she trailed off, before Jou exploded.

"IT WASN'T AN ACCIDENT!" he roared. "Kaiba had it in for Yug' since highschool! Ever since Kaiba lost that one game, he'd been obsessed with defeating Yug'!"

"Then why do they keep judging things to be accidents?" Sakura had an idea of why, but wanted to hear him say it.

"Yug', he fell twelve stories... But Kaiba fell with him. He hit a safety net. They both fell... but Kaiba keeps killin' people and gettin' away with it. It can't be allowed to keep happenin'!" he stood up, waving his arms and ranting.

"There is a police detective, Yamakawa, he thinks the same thing as you do," Sakura put an hand on one of his arms to haul him back down. He calmed, a little, before sighing.

"Yeah, I know the guy, he interviewed me awhile back," he grumbled, then got back up, removing her hand. "Thanks for the recommendations. I'll be able to find a good spell now."

"But you won't be able to do anything! You don't know enough about magic-"

"I don't care," he said softly, voice dead. "All I have is revenge- and I need it. Without Yug'," he turned around, and tugged Duchess away from snuffling Sakura. "There's nothing for me."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"So, that's what happened?" Tomoyo asked Sakura, offering her a can of soda. They were all sitting around a table at Touya's apartment, slurping take-out ramen.

"Yes," Sakura wasn't eating. Her head was buried in her arms as she rehashed in her mind that afternoon, over and over again. "I have no idea what he's going to do next... but I don't know if I even want to stop him. He's got some right to revenge," she took a deep breath. "Yet I don't want him to get hurt... which he probably will."

"He will," Touya asserted. They turned to him. "If this Kaiba is as protected as you think he is, the result of Jounouchi's hatred clashing with Kaiba's powers would result in a magical hemorrhage that would be impossible to predict."

"Wow... you really are a strong magician, aren't you Touya-san?" Tomoyo smiled sweetly.

Touya laughed. "I'm just an onmyouji."

A knock on the door interrupted their musings.

"Hello, everyone!" Eriol chirped, coming in with a cake box. Syaoran followed more sedately, shaking his head. "How's everything going?" Then he noticed the long faces.

"Did someone die?"

Yukito choked on his fourth bowl of ramen.

Sakura looked up at him, and Eriol and Li blinked. Her face was blotchy and streaked with tears. "Its a long story. Its my most recent job..." she swallowed hard. Touya reached over and put a hand on hers. Her reddened eyes shone. "Onnichan..."

Yukito watched this... and felt something stir in his breast that had never been there before... Jealousy. Of whom, he couldn't say.

"You said you had some information on Kaho?" Touya said abruptly, turning from his sister. He was all business.

"We found where she died- and the Sakurazukamori left a trap for us," Li answered flatly, sitting down.

"For you specifically, or just anyone there?"

"Probably just to scare away trespassers," Eriol said quietly, opening the cake box and fending off the enthusiastic Kero-chan hovering over his head. "There was a sense of 'stay away' and fear there. I nearly got myself killed trying a post cognition spell."

"Discover anything?" Touya's eyebrows raised.

Eriol shook his head, frustrated. "Some images, feelings. Kaho... and sakura petals. Blood, fear... and I think, betrayal. She knew her killer."

Nothing could be said after that.

~*~*~*~*~*~

And you don't seem to understand

A shame you seemed an honest man

And all the fears you hold so dear

Will turn to whisper in your ear

And you know what they say might hurt you

And you know that it means so much

And you don't even feel a thing

Touya watched the little group of sorcerers leave, unaware that he had been using his magic on them. None of them seemed to notice how they never seemed to connect him to Kaho's disappearance, or his power to that of dark onmyoujistu.

Thinking back, he could remember the 'games' his mother taught him, of how to use his powers. The first time she had him summon a friend... his ever faithful shikigami falcon.

"Why did I kill you, Kaho?" he mused, putting on his overcoat to fetch the Tree's next meal. "I wasn't the Sakurazukamori when we met and started dating..."

He'd received a fax that evening, as his little sister was talking to Eriol and Li. His job for tonight...

He didn't fear being caught. He didn't feel anything when using magic on his sister or her friends, or her charming toys...

Nothing meant anything to him anymore...

Yet something inside him regretted it.

I am falling, I am fading,

I have lost it all

Was he truly lost?

And you don't seem the lying kind

A shame then I can read your mind

And all the things that I read there

Candle lit smile that we both share

And you know I don't mean to hurt you

But you know that it means so much

And you don't even feel a thing

Jounouchi flipped through a book, before throwing it on the floor, and stared out his window.

He'd found a spell that would finally punish Kaiba; he was sure of it. He'd cross checked it in some books by members of the Li family, and he believed it would work.

Could he do it?

He could- that was the frightening thing.

Closing his eyes, he listened to Duchess bark happily at traffic.

I am falling, I am fading, I am drowning,

Help me to breathe

I am hurting, I have lost it all

I am losing

Help me to breathe

Fujitaka Kinomoto stared out of his window in the middle of the night. He could feel his wife's presence at his back, but not even that was enough to shake the terror of those memories. Pain fluttered through his chest as he put his hand to his heart.

What he had seen... oh gods, what he had seen her do...

I am falling, I am fading, I am drowning,

Help me to breathe

I am hurting, I have lost it all

I am losing,

Help me to breathe

Tomoyo sat in front of her family shrine, and prayed. The picture of her mother and father together were there, with incense burning around them... and an unshapely canvas wrapped object, tied with plain string was propped up against the wall behind the pictures.

"Mother... I've kept it for you for this long. I wish I knew what happened. I wish I understood. All I can do is be strong for Sakura now... But I'm so lost. Why?"

I am falling, I am fading, I am drowning,

Help me to breathe

I am hurting, I have lost it all

I am losing,

Help me to breathe

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN THE INVESTIGATION IS CLOSED?" Sakura screeched, making the detective next to her flinch.

"The higher-ups decided that the cause of the accident was metal fatigue in the elevator gears. Therefore, it HAD to be an accident. I could tell them what you told me- that it was maybe a curse- " he could feel the force of Sakura's scowl "but I want to keep my credibility. No one believes in magic anymore."

Now Sakura rolled her eyes, then took a deep, calming (she hoped) breath. Then she grimaced. "Poor Jou, he's going to be heartbroken..."

"Jou? Katsuya Jounouchi?" Yamakawa tilted his head and sighed. "I remember him, was about to tear Kaiba apart with his bear hands, had to be restrained later."

"Let me tell him, okay?" she asked softly. "But I won't give up MY investigation..."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Katsuya Jounouchi looked at the golden pyramid that his lover Yugi wore around his neck for years, and sat next to his sweet dog on the floor and hugged her.

Sakura had told him earlier that evening that the investigation had been closed. Kaiba was going to get away, again, with murder. He had no choices left.

Duchess knew something wasn't right. Master was sad, and she wished she could make him happy. She just didn't know how....

"I'm sorry Duchess," he whispered, stroking her soft fur. "I'm sorry girl. I'm sorry sweet Duchess..."

On the floor next to him was a large meat cleaver.

"I'm sorry Duchess... I hope you can forgive me, sweet girl..."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Yamakawa looked up at the side of the massive, mirrored sky scraper.

Tomorrow, the project would be deemed finished, and Kaiba would be able to completely take over the company. Only the chairman was left of the original power structure.

"Damn you Kaiba," he growled, clenching his fists in impotent anger. "The game isn't over yet. No way in hell..."

Night had blanketed Tokyo, and as the frustrated detective turned away, he saw movement in the large sculpture garden before the building.

"Jounouchi-kun? JOUNOUCHI-KUN?" he barked, seeing the young man, eyes dazed and covered with blood, fall and roll down the hill towards him.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Sakura sat next to the blond man in the hospital, who whispered softly to himself, and stared at his bloody clothes. Tomoyo and Yukito were with her, while Kero-chan hid in Tomoyo's hair.

"Did you find out anything?" she pounced her brother as he walked in the door of the sterile white room.

"They don't know what's wrong with him," he said seriously, voice soft. "He had blood all over, but no injuries. They're going to keep him for observation..."

"I'm sorry Duchess," Jounouchi whispered a little louder. "I'm sorry girl. Forgive me sweet Duchess..."

"Oh my god," Sakura grabbed his hand. "Jou, what did you do?"

"I'm- Duchess I'm sorry... Book said, beloved dog..."

Yukito's eyes had slipped shut, and Yue took his place. He traded looks with Sakura.

"Inugami."

Without another word, they all dashed down to the parking garage, to Touya's van.

"TOMOYO-CHAN! You and Kero-chan take care of Jounouchi-kun!" the young sorceress ordered, as Yue pulled her into the back seat.

"Why am I driving?" Touya asked as he sped through traffic.

"We don't want him to know we're coming!"

They could only get so far when Tokyo's horrible traffic caught them.

"Maybe we should fly now?" Yue muttered, looking out the window. Touya frowned, and looked around.

"Here we go," he said, and without warning backed them up into the car behind them, and took off down the side.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"What the hell was that boy doing here?" Yamakawa squatted, then picked up the dropped shovel beside the disturbed ground. Planting the blade, he stepped on it, digging it deep... and the sky lit blue around him in the ghostly form of a large dog... and blood spouted from the hole in the dirt, as Yamakawa ran.

Inside the completed skyscraper, Seto Kaiba looked out over his domain, and smirked. Soon the whole city would be his- nothing would stand in his-

The lights went out. Startled, he looked around, as the gout of red took the form of a demonic wolf-dog.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!"

Needless to say, Yamakawa was shocked, shaken, and generally freaked out by what he had seen. Hearing Kaiba's scream, his cop instincts made him run into the building (ignoring the part that wanted to run gibbering in terror and disbelief) he took the elevator to the top floor...

"Kaiba-san?" he barked, drawing his gun and scanning the area. "Kaiba-san!"

The young executive was lying in a pool of blood... minus an arm, his hair shock white.

"My- my arm!" he howled, clutching at his stump, gaping at it. "MY ARM!"

Yamakawa's cop instincts failed him- he walked forward, holstered his gun to try to help the injured man, not seeing the crimson surrounding him. Then he was snatched up-

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Yue and Sakura were about to get sick from Touya's driving- when they crashed through the bottom floor window, and they stumbled out to head to an elevator.

"Onnichan, wait here for us, okay?" Sakura snapped, sprinting to the elevator with Yue.

He only smiled at her as the doors closed... his eyes blank as glass.

"Ready?" she whispered to Yue, who opened his palm, his razor ice shards formed and ready to deploy.

They jumped out, Sakura holding her wand and cards. They didn't see anything... until they heard that annoying beeping of Yamakawa's watch. Looking up, they saw him stuck in some kind of red goo.

"JUMP! SWORD!" the Mistress of the Sakura cards called, leaping and slicing him free. They fell to the ground.

"You," murmured a voice in the shadows. Getting ready on the defense, Sakura dispelled the Sword and Jump, and got her attack cards out.

"You didn't have to hurt him!" she cried out, as the figure walked out of the shadows.

"He was unlucky... or lucky as the case may be. He witnessed my rebirth," the blue eyed business mogul grinned insanely.

"You've fused with the inugami?" Yue snarled. Kaiba smiled at him, as the red goo, blood, slid up his arm to surround him in a caress.

"You won't be able to get away with hurting more people!" Sakura declared, and tossed out an attack card. "FI-"

SHLLLLLLUUUURRRRPPP!

Streamers of red, viscous blood whipped out, taking a form behind the changed man- taking a shape like... a dragon?

"I know who I am now," Kaiba grinned, baring his teeth in a smile of madness. "My blue eyes white dragon will rend your flesh..."

Even as they watched, Yue fired his ice shards- and they were absorbed into the seething red form behind Kaiba. It had only the semblance of a dragon- where Kaiba was getting blue eyes and white was beyond Yue. The Moon Guardian hoped it was insanity talking as he readied his bow.

Sakura dodged nimbly, casting Fly on herself.

"He's crazy, Yue!" she watched him draw. "DON'T KILL HIM!"

"K'so," he said under his breath, flying up to join his mistress. "I won't if he doesn't hurt you!"

The blood was solidifying, paling- becoming real instead of a caricature of blood.

"I am Lord Set, Priest to the Pharaoh- and through me, the Shadow Games will RETURN!"

Sakura winced at the cliched maniacal laugh.

"Yue- we'll figure out what he's talking about later- distract him!" she hissed to the side, hoping he'd hear her. Whether or not Yue heard her, she didn't know, but he started firing his light arrows, swooping around to draw Kaiba's attention away. Kaiba clearly saw Yue as the greater threat- a female like herself was unworthy of his attention.

Idiot.

"Cards of Sakura, hear me," she whispered, twirling her Star Wand. "Shadow, form a chain to bind the man in place! Firey! Burn away the darkness!"

The cloaked and winged avatars birthed themselves from the Cards. Launching themselves at their mistress' enemy, one held Kaiba to the floor while the other incinerated the blood shadow behind the mad man.

"What? NO!" Seto denied, seeing his creation go up in smoke. "This can't be! NOT MY BLUE EYES!"

"And that," Sakura grinned in satisfaction. "Is that." Her cards dispelled, returning to cardboard, and she scooped them up.

"Yue- is Yamakawa-"

The Guardian knelt beside the policeman. "He's got a steady pulse- but I think he's got broken bones. We need to get him to-"

"ARRRRRRGGGGGHHHHH!" roared a voice- and Sakura felt shock as a fist collided with her head, and she was tossed through the glass of the side of the building.

"MISTRESS!" Yue tried to dive after her- but his way was blocked.

"You-" Kaiba smirked at him. "Nothing more than a Duel Monster- a servant to one with cards. A slave. A more pretty version of my Blue Eyes..."

The shadows thickened around Seto Kaiba once more, and they crept out to entwine the Moon Angel.

Kaiba's words mirrored fears deep inside Yue- fears he had never given voice. He couldn't move- as Kaiba continued to talk.

"I will take you- and add you to my collection..." Those powers of Kaiba's flared up, trying to ensnare Yue. "My own moon child..." The mad businessman stepped closer. Yue began to sweat in fear. An enemy's outright attack he could fight- but his own demons were something else- and the powers of the ancient priest were ensnaring his mind. Neither noticed the shadow of a falcon cross the floor to perch on Yue's shadow.

"You are so beautiful," Kaiba was in front of him. Reaching out to stroke his face. Submit, give in, don't think, his eyes told Yue. You aren't human, stop trying to live like one. Forget-

Forget your mistress, who could be dead.

Forget Clow, who abandoned you

Forget Tou-

NO! He would never forget Touya!

Two voices shouted in Yue's heart- Yukito's and his own. His eyes flared with defiance, as Kaiba growled, and he joinedhis mistress in unconsciousness.

~*~*~*~*~*~

"Fool," the reawakened Priest hissed as Yue dropped. "You will be mine..." Reaching over, he grabbed hold of Yue's hand to remove one of his gloves- and hissed as something raked his cheek. Steps echoed loudly in the silent room as Kaiba whirled to meet this new intruder.

"I'm sorry, but I can't allow you to have either Yue, or harm my sister. They are mine," Touya smiled, his predator's gaze eclipsing Kaiba's. He removed the glasses hiding his eyes.

The Sakurazukamori was amused Kaiba lashed out with his Shadow powers, as they bounced off his kekkai. "Sakura and Yue are strong, but neither are very capable when it comes to spiritual powers. I, on the other hand..."

Kaiba continued his assault, shattering glass and making rubble that littered the area.

"I am not as gentle as my sister."

The glass collected in the form of a glowing falcon, shards glittering in the city lights. Kaiba roared in rage, charging to try to rip the Sakurazukamori apart with his hand- and the glass falcon flew threw him, ripping his heart and lungs to shreds, and Kaiba's eyes went huge with pain and shock. Staggering around, he looked at the prize that had eluded him. Blood gushed from his mouth and chest in spurts.

Then he died, turning to Sakura petals.

The falcon glowed a moment more, before alighting on its master's arm.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The sun rose, bathing them with light, chasing the darkness of their battle away, warming their could souls...

Yukito woke up later, his head in Touya's lap, exhausted.

"Is- is Sakura okay?" his amber eyes wrinkled in concern, even though he did not know his own condition.

"She's fine. She was able to cast Float before she was knocked out and I found her before coming to check on you. Don't worry- I called an ambulance for her, and for the other guy..."

"Kaiba? What about him?" Yukito struggled to sit up, but gave up when Touya picked him up like a child.

"He's no where to be found. Idiot, both of you," Yukito didn't know who Touya was talking about, Sakura, Yue, or himself. "You should have let me come with you immediately. Kaiba's power was SPIRITUAL, not just magic."

"Uh... okay..."

"I'll take you out to eat," Touya smiled at him, his blue eyes glinting behind his glasses in the morning light. "Its time for breakfast. My treat."

Yukito looked into Touya's eyes, nodding wordlessly.

We wouldn't let ourselves forget you Touya. Ever. Two voices spoke within Yukito's heart. Yet, they spoke as one.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Sakura woke up in the hospital, wondering why the lights were so bright.

"SAKURA!" called a voice she wasn't completely familiar with. She made a little sound in the back of her throat. She didn't want to get up. School couldn't be today. Right?

"Sakura, geeze, thanks... but ya might wanna wake up now," that odd voice told her.

"No I don't," she said back, turning over, wincing as her head ached.

"I think you do," a much more familiar voice cut in."I have cake, and Kero-chan is about to eat all of it."

"Cake?" she cracked her eyes open. To the side of her bed were Tomoyo and Jounouchi. Both looked like they had been through a war.

"What happened?"

"You're in the hospital," Tomoyo smiled, and showed her the cake box- with Kero-chan sitting on it. "You fell out of a skyscraper and landed on the walkway between buildings. You have some cracked ribs and a concussion."

"Why didn't Clow make a Heal card?" she groaned.

"I'm sorry Sakura," Jou sighed, and slumped into a chair. "Tomoyo and Kero-chan said something attacked the hospital after you left to go see Kaiba. I should have listened to you..."

"Jou- you were hurting and sick at heart," she struggled to sit up and then gave it up as a lost cause. "You'll probably never be completely healed of Yugi's death. But- but you can live on, for his sake. I think he'd want you to be happy. For his sake, and yours, put it behind you."

Jounouchi didn't look at her... but she could see tears start sliding down his cheeks.

"We're here for you, Jou," Tomoyo said gently, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Thanks."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Sometime later, Fujitaka sat in his living room, the lights out, and rubbed his chest absently.

"Will it be much longer?" he asked his wife, look reached out to him, only to pull her hands back.

"Not much longer... Not much longer at all..."

To be continued!