Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ A Summer to Remember ❯ Chapter 5 ( Chapter 5 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Title: A Summer to Remember 5/7
Author: Kleptomaniac Can Opener
Beta: WhosJeebus
Rating: NC-17
Pairing(s): Seto x Jounouchi
Disclaimer: Any and all things related to Yugi-Oh do not belong to me. However, everything else that has nothing to do with the original series does belong to me.

Summary: The last thing they expected to find at the beach was a naked body.

~*~*~*~

I don't think a chainsaw can cut through the atmosphere around us right now.

The girls ignore it by occupying themselves with Rebecca's laptop. Apparently the American girl's hobby is keeping track of some gaming company. I don't see what's so interesting about it, but Shizuka is fascinated.

Unfortunately, my activity is trying not to look at Kaiba. It's pretty difficult since he's right next to me. He's glaring hard enough to burn a hole in the sun.
It's partially my fault. I've avoided 'discussing' our situation for three hours already. It's not exactly something I want to talk about in front of other people.

It's amazing how you notice a place is NOT private when you really want that privacy. I would love to be under a rock at the moment.

A strong hand grabs my wrist and yanks me out of my seat. "Hey! Kaiba! Stop that!" I'm dragged towards the only bedroom this house-on-wheels has. "What are you doing? Shizuka! Some help here!"
"You boys look like you need to talk things out."
"Seriously," chirps in Rebecca. "It's so tense between you, facing down a Blue Eyes White Dragon would be easier."

Kaiba slams the door closed behind us and shoves me onto the bed.
"You're jumping on thin ice, Kaiba! You better stop manhandling me!"
"Be silent."
"No! I will not be treated like some kind of dog!" I watch him frown to himself. Maybe I'm finally getting through to him?
"It's a good comparison. I'll call you Pup."
"WHAT?! NO!" I have got to stop letting him trap me between x-surface and his body.
"Yes," he purrs low in my ear, making a shiver run up my spine. "It suits you."

If all our arguments are going to end with him kissing the daylights outta me, it might almost be worth him being a high and mighty prick. Almost.
I break the kiss. "Stop that! I'm still pissed off here!"
"Why?"
"Because I won't be treated like property! I'm my own man and I don't take orders just because you think you're in charge."
"You will soon learn that I am, Pup."
"Fu-" My protests are cut off by his mouth and tongue. I can't find the strength to push him away. WHY did I teach him to touch me like that?

He stops.
What the hell?
Kaiba pulls off, looking through the wall. Is something out there?
He's out the door before I know it.

"Halt the carriage!"
"Kaiba, what is it?" asks my concerned sister. Everyone gathers into the main area once the vehicle has stopped.
Grandpa Hawkins looks worried too. "What's wrong, Kaiba?"
"I sense someone." With those words he's exits the home entirely.
"Wait for me!" Why did I say that? I must be insane after all.
Shizuka runs after us. "Me too!"
"Wait here, Grandpa." Great, now we have a whole Hero Party. Isn't that dandy?

"What sort of person are you sensing?" `Cause like hell we're walking into danger without knowing what it is.
"Someone from home."
There's much surprise all around. "Another Siren?"
"Possibly."

We reach a river that wasn't far from the road. I guess that explains why whoever it is would be here. I have no idea which river this is, but I do know that most of them connect to the sea at some point or another.
The surface swirls like a whirlpool but there's a shadow coming UP, then there's some guy standing ON the water. He looks strangely like the Deep Sea Warrior with a few upgrades.
Kaiba doesn't look too happy to see him. "Gansley, what are you doing here? Were you not assigned to protect the Southern Border?"
Gansley's voice is deep and the guy sounds like he has a whole city block on his shoulder. "Why yes, Master Kaiba, I was. But I realized I had something more important to do."

MASTER Kaiba?

"What do you think they're saying, Rebecca?"
"I'm not sure, but Kaiba sounds livid."
"Wait, you guys don't understand them?" What's going on now?
Rebecca's eyes light up. "You can understand them? All we hear is something like murring!"

"-is punishable by death, Gansley!"
Whoa! What's been going on behind my back?
"I'll just have to take you with me!" Gansley dashes in like a piranha on speed!
Kaiba sidesteps and sings a sharp note but Gansley just shakes it off! My body's moving before the situation even sinks in.
I'm between them, bringing my hands up to ward off a fin that looks sharper than a katana. I'm suddenly holding fire.
Gansley screams and leaps away, holding the arm that the fin is attached to. "A Sun Warrior?"
Shizuka raises her voice, "Dolithe!" The ground shakes and a huge barbarian of stone shoots out of the ground, snatching Gansley.
Gansley struggles and yells. "I never thought you would lower yourself to awakening mere humans, Master Kaiba!"
"I never thought you would betray the Royal Family. Katsuya, remove his mask."

A quick yank and Gansley's sorry mug is exposed to everyone. He looks pretty geeky actually. More like a financer than a warrior or guard.
Kaiba smirks at him. "That's where the enchantment was placed, correct?" His answer was a snarl. "Are you alone in this endeavor or are there others?"
Gansley refuses to say a word.
"Then accept your fate."

He sings, I feel my heart tremble, then that first night plays itself over again. Gansley's head explodes.
The girls scream, the barbarian dissolves back into the ground. The body falls with a thump, blood pooling around it.
My legs stop holding me up and I hit my knees. Sick. I feel sick again. I throw up.
"Pup?" He's rubbing my back. I think the girls are crying.

"Oh my god! Kaiba, you killed him!" Shizuka sounds horrified, not that I blame her.
"He was an assassin; I had to." I hate it when he answers in that matter-of-fact tone.
I look up at him. "Why...what is...?"
"To my understanding, treason against the Royal Family is punishable by death in all land-bound cultures. It is the same in ours."
"Wait...you saying that...that you're..."
"I am the heir to Atlantis."

Well, shit. He IS royalty. That explains the attitude.

~*~

It's night before we're on the road again. I gave Grandpa Hawkins the short version of events when we got back, then he took the rest of the day to counsel Rebecca and Shizuka. He wanted me in on the session too, but I like to think I already came to terms with things on my own. I didn't feel as sick as I did the first time in any case.
I'm sitting on the bed with Kaiba, the door firmly closed for the girls' benefit. "Did you really have to do that in front of them?"
"It was that harmful to them?"
"Yes! What? You think it's normal to see people blow up?"
"Death is a natural part of the life cycle, weather by natural or unnatural causes."
"God dammit, Kaiba! Get a clue! Stop being a fish for a moment and-shit!" I can't tell him to be human, cause he isn't. And from what Gansley said, they don't think too highly of us.

"I cannot understand your point of view. I have had to kill assassins since I was a child; it's them or me. It's as simple as that."
"I just mean, couldn't you have sent them away or something BEFORE doing it?"

Why is this so hard for him to understand? I don't want to think that he's no better than a cold-blooded fish! "Don't you remember being innocent?" I don't know where the words came from, but I can tell I hit the nail on the head.
"I...don't think I do."
"Kaiba..."
"I've been groomed to be heir since I was ten. There was no room for innocence, not when I had to learn to pass judgment and to wage war on both battlefield and behind closed doors."
"I thought that sort of thing was done from birth?"
"It is, for the eldest child. He was kidnapped six years ago."
I don't know how I know but... "The sorcerer?"
"Yes. I was able to escape, but Noa was not. It was due to his efforts that I got away at all."
"Damn, Kaiba, I'm sorry..."
He shakes his head. "There is nothing to be done now. I can only try to retrieve Mokuba."

I cup his face in my hands so he has to look at me. I gaze into his eyes to find the water there rippling with emotions, like someone throwing stones into a pond. "You're actually pretty warm under that facade of ice, huh?" I watch his eyes widen in disbelief and insult. A smile pulls at my lips. "Deny it all you want, but I know. I can feel it. I'm your other, right?"

His other...I think I understand what it means now. Grammatically speaking, it's terrible language...not that I can talk about grammar. Aside from that, I think it's his way of saying he likes me.
I never thought I would fall for someone like him. He's a jerk, overbearing, secretive, a literal Royal Pain... I really am insane.

"You are accurate on account that you are my other, Pup."
"Stop calling me that! I will wipe that smirk off your face!" Riiiiight, us arguing equals me getting my wits kissed from me. Good job, Katsuya.


After a while, I offer to drive so Grandpa Hawkins can catch some Z's. It's not the most legal thing in the world, but no one will notice if I stick to the speed limit. I tuck Shizuka and Rebecca back under their blankets on the foldout bed before heading up front with Kaiba and a big cup of Irish Cream coffee.
The roads are pretty eerie at night.

I turn on the radio and scan for a J-pop station. "I could use some Hamasaki Ayumi right now."
"Who?"
"She's a popular singer. I think sis told you about her a while back."
"Ah, yes. The one who sings that song Hanabi."
"That's her. I prefer her faster songs though." I finally track the station down and tap my fingers on the steering wheel to the beat of Siam Shade's '1/3 no Junjou na Kanjou'. "You're concentrating a little hard there, Kaiba. It's just a song."
"This tune sounds promising."
I can't say I'm surprised. He uses his voice to fight, so naturally new songs would be a fresh source for him.

'Ue O Muite Aruko' pops on.

/It's all because of you,
I'm feeling sad and blue.
You went away,
Now my life is just a rainy day./

"Kaiba...after we rescue your brother, you're going back, right? To Atlantis, I mean."
"Yes."
"Oh." I can see him staring at me from the corner of my eye.
"You will not come with me?"
"I can't. I have my life here."
"That is unacceptable, Pup."
"Don't you start acting like an ass again! And don't call me that!"
"You will accompany me, and that's final."
I grip the steering wheel hard. "I said I can't! First off, I can't live in the water."
"A flaw I can fix easily enough."
I grit my teeth. "And I can't leave my friends and family behind either. I have obligations."
"You are my other, you will come."
I resist the urge to bang my head against something. "Just forget it."

/Now my eyes are filled with tears,
And I'm wishing you were here with me./

Yeah, right. Like I'll miss his pompous ass.

The sun peaks over the horizon.
I've never seen a sunrise before... so how come I'm not happy to see it?

/You took your love away from me.
You took your love away from me.../