Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Chrysalis ❯ Homecoming ( Chapter 16 )

Disclaimer: Yugi-oh is the property of someone else. I can only humbly worship the artist.

Hey! I finally got my reviews! Yee-Haw! Man that is one major goof up in Explorer, but it's doable now.

DragonMaster TC: Thank you for your continuing support! I think nurse Joey wants combat pay. Yes, I did change the summary for this story, because two characters who I won't name *authoress glares at a Jonouchi and Kaiba, who start whistling innocently and looking away* have taken up so much room, I'm going to extend Yuai's relationships into the next part of the story arch.

Sakiyama: Thanks! I intend on continuing, I hope you keep enjoying ^_^

Dragon_or_1000_Lands: I'm seriously thinking of it!

Rowan Girl: Caffeine, can't live without it, need to be locked up someplace with soft wall with it….. Me? Kill Ekko??? Really, do you think I'm going to be that nice to him???? No, Yuai can't just find the pictures and destroy them. What about the negatives? Where did the pictures come from in the first place? Questions, questions, questions… Thanks for getting back to me about the make up scene, I really appreciate the input.

Joufan: I will definitely try, thanks!

DugFinn: Thank you *authoress blushes*. On the italics, I actually write in Microsoft Works, then save it as a Microsoft doc. I have noticed however that the italics sometimes disappear, especially if it's just one line, such as Jonouchi's comment of "Yea! My new home" in chapter 13, the italics disappeared. You'll see soon what happens with Yuai!

Gamegirl: Okay, here's the update. Don't worry too much. This story is all plotted now and I will finish it, so sit back and enjoy.

RyokoMink: Your wish is my… well you get the idea, more writing is on the way. BTW, who said the drama was over *authoress grins evilly* the fun's just beginning. Thank you for letting me know what you thought of the make up scene.

Cryptic Broken Alabaster: Thank you for the award… I would like to thank my goldfish for his constant fishy inspiration, my cats for keeping me awake at night, thereby causing insomnia which causes me to write, and finally I want to thank all my reviewers for all their comments and inspiration!!!

jhoney: This is slated for at least another three chapters, then it will go off into another story that will focus more closely on Yugi, Yami and Yuai

Pharaoh's High Priestess: I'm happy you like it. I actually don't like OC's either and when I started creating Yuai I made her the opposite of most OC's that I've read. She isn't so stunningly beautiful and sexy that the real characters fall madly in love with her, she isn't a super powerful wonder warrior who has come to save the suddenly wimpy original characters from their woes (she can`t even save herself), and the other characters don't stand around discussing the wonderfulness of her at odd moments (face it, it took chapters till Jonouchi could even remember her name). I think, in a strange way, that is why she is doing so well. Domo arigato gozaimasu!

Chrysalis

Chapter Sixteen: Homecoming

~*~*~*

Yugi & Yuai

~*~*~*

Yugi studied the cards in his hand and looked carefully across at Yuai who was sitting calmly across the Kaibas' coffee table. Mokuba was sitting on his left with his head drooping over his cards. He looked back at Yuai, noticing the way she casually fanned her cards out, how her attention seemed to be focused on the TV that was chattering about the Hong Kong stock market in the background that Yami was watching. Yugi didn't trust that look. Yuai was never unfocused, the cards were being held a little too innocently.

She had it. Then again, maybe she didn't. A counter strategy? Yugi pondered the distracted inattentive look on her face. Being shot at had to have rattled her a little, it could have shaken her enough to cause her to lose focus. He cautiously reached out and selected a card from her hand.

"Match. Two jacks." He smiled and laid the two cards down.

Yuai smiled, and almost absently reached over and picked a card out of Mokuba's hand. "Match. Two eights."

Mokuba's jaws stretched into yawn as he reached over and snagged one of Yugi's cards. He looked at his cards a moment and then looked over at Yuai. "Can I sleep on the couch tonight?"

Yuai shook her head, "No, you have a perfectly fine bed. Use it."

"But big brother's going to be home. I want to stay down here." Mokuba scrunched his face up trying to look both fierce and pitiful at the same time. It didn't work well.

Yuai wasn't totally surprised by the request. She didn't feel like going upstairs either, even with the wildly comfortable bed in the guest room beckoning her. "He won't land till seven thirty in the morning. You'll be awake by then."

"But what if he comes home early?" Mokuba watched Yugi snatch one of Yuai's cards and frown.

Yuai looked briefly at her hand and smiled nastily at Yugi then reached over and took a card from Mokuba's hand. "Match. Two fours." She looked over at Mokuba, "If your big brother walks in here early, the world will finally have proof of out of body travel. But if you want, you can curl up on the couch till everyone leaves."

Mokuba nodded and took one of Yugi's cards, "Match. Two nines."

Yugi tapped his cards against his lips thinking, then reached over and selected one of Yuai's cards. "Match. Two threes."

Are you getting beat again aibou? Yami was curled into a huge, cushy arm chair that looked like it wanted to absorb him. Across from him Honda and Serenity were cuddled together in a matching chair pretending to be reading a book a teacher had assigned from class.

No, not yet. Though things aren't looking good for Mokuba.

Yuai took her turn and laid a pair of queens down on the table. "Yugi, who are you going to the dance with?"

Mokuba yawned again and took a card. "Match. Two sixes."

"I was actually thinking of taking Anzu. She'll be home by then." Yugi sighed. He understood about Yuai not being able to go, but still Anzu…. He plucked a card from Yuai's hand. "Are you sure you can't go?"

Yuai nodded taking a card. "Yeah. No dances, no boyfriends, no kissing. Match. Two kings."

"What, are your parents super religious or something?" Honda peeked up over the edge of the book, looking a bit too flushed.

Part of Yuai nearly went into hysterics. Her parents religious? Except to scream curses at Kami, there was nothing religious about them. The words religion and her parents just didn't belong together in a sentence. She managed to answer calmly though, "No, just a bit old fashioned."

"You've never had a boyfriend before?" Serenity asked as she flipped the page of the book and cuddled closer to Honda.

Mokuba laid two fives down. "Match. Two fives."

Yugi looked at his cards. Down to three. He took one of Yuai's and smiled. "Match. Two fours."

Yuai smiled back and took one of Mokuba's, "No, never. It's not allowed. Match. Two twos."

"How about Yugi?" Mokuba snitched a card and moaned.

Yugi gave Mokuba a apologetic smile and took one of Yuai's. "Match. Two jacks. We aren't dating. We. Are. Friends."

Yuai studied Mokuba for a second then reached over and purposefully selected the wrong card.

Mokuba grinned and grabbed Yugi's card. "Match. Two aces. Just friends?"

Yugi scrutinized Yuai, who grinned back showing lots and lots of teeth. "Yes, just friends."

Your friend looks very pleased with herself. Yami noted as a commercial for denture cleaner sang merrily in the background.

She's got it. She knows, I know she's got it and she knows I know she knows she's got it. Yugi narrowed his eyes in concentration A wrong move now could cost him the game. He looked into Yuai's eyes trying to read her expression, then looked at the cards she held out challengingly toward him. He scrutinized each card, then carefully reached across and selected a card. "Yes! Match! Two sevens."

Uhmmm… aibou, it's Old Maid. Maybe you should relax a bit.

~*~*~*

Kaiba and Jonouchi

~*~*~*

Jonouchi staggered slightly juggling their carry-on luggage with Kaiba leaning heavily on his shoulder. His blue eyed love was wiped out, his skin had turned a grayish white, his eyes were dull, nearly slate blue, his head was drooped wearily forward and the only reason he was on his feet was because Jonouchi was carrying most of his weight. Could be worse. He could have passed out on the plane.

Jonouchi wondered how he was going to manage the baggage, the carry-ons and Kaiba as he headed towards the baggage claim. Their fellow passengers were already clustered around the baggage shoots. Maybe he could leave Kaiba in a seat and get one of the baggage carts. If he put the all the luggage on the cart, he might be able to handle walking Kaiba out to the waiting limo. He carefully dodged a group of American tourists and looked around for a place for Kaiba to sit. Damn. This airport could really use a few more chairs.

"Forget it, Jo." Kaiba lifted his head and looked at him, his voice was hoarse, fading, "Someone can get it later. Just get through immigration."

Jonouchi nodded and kissed his temple, "Okay, just hang in there a few more and we'll be out of here."

Kaiba just dropped his head forward and concentrated on walking. He didn't want the blond to know just how bad things were getting, but he privately admitted that unless they got through immigration and customs quickly, there was a good chance they'd have to carry him through. There was a nasty buzzing sound in his ears and a burning sensation in the back of his sinuses that boded no good. However, he was not going to give in to it. He was a Kaiba. He would get through customs. He would get out of this airport on his own feet. He was not going to lose. He WOULD do this.

Jonouchi headed toward the booths at customs, digging out their passports from the pocket of Kaiba's carry on. There was only one other person who was skipping baggage claim, so walked up to the official and handed over their passports. He wondered if they would say anything about the half conscious brunette draped over his shoulder. He had a wild image of the officer confiscating Kaiba for bringing foreign germs into the country. Good luck to him if he tries.

The uniformed man looked at the passports, glanced at their faces and passed the documents back. "Do you have any luggage?"

"Just the carry on bags." Jonouchi handed them over. The man poked in them a few seconds and waved them through. "Okay. Have a nice day. Next."

"Okay, we're in the home stretch." Jonouchi shoved the passports back into the pocket, pulled Kaiba closer to him and walked out to the main terminal.

A crowd of people waiting for the other passengers were standing near the exit, chatting and smiling in anticipation. A couple of people looked their way as they stumbled along, but so far the driver that was supposed to meet them didn't appear. Jonouchi wasn't all that sure if he could recognize the man, but he was pretty sure the man would recognize his boss. He glanced over to check on his lover, noticing that the body pressed so close to his was starting to shake. Not good. Definitely not good.

"Hey! Jonouchi! Over here!" Voices yelled to him.

He looked around and spotted Honda and Yugi ginning and waving madly at him from the fringe of the crowd. His friends wiggled through the greeters and hurried over as he felt the first true smile he'd had since Mokuba's frantic call tug at his mouth. Relief poured over him as his friend reached his side. "Man, oh man. You are a sight for sore eyes."

Yugi's hands reached out and pulled the luggage from his shoulder as Honda slipped his shoulder under Kaiba's other arm taking some of the weight off his tired shoulders. "Good to see you two, too. How was the flight?"

Kiaba had stirred a bit, and was looking foggily at his newest supporter, then nodded and drooped, leaning more heavily on them. Honda looked startled. Yugi opened his mouth to say something.

Jonouchi shook his head quickly and nodded toward the exit. He wanted out of here. He wanted to get Kaiba someplace where he could rest. He didn't want to answer questions. "It's been a long, long trip."

"Yeah." Honda looked worriedly at the top of Kaiba's head, then looked over at Jonouchi forcing a smile and a cheery voice, "But, hey you're home now."

Yugi slung their bags over his shoulder, "We took the day off from school so we could help out."

"How's Mokuba?" Kaiba's voice was blurred and faint.

"He's fine." Yugi smiled reassuringly, "He wanted to come, but Yuai wouldn't let him. He really didn't like that."

Kaiba didn't respond and Yugi's smile faded. "Jo? What…"

"Let's get home." He stepped forward and headed toward the main exit, following Yugi who scampered ahead of them, leading the way. Jonouchi never realized just how big the terminal was before. It seemed to stretch forever, with pretty sculptures, small shops, stairways leading up, stairways leading down, racing children, groups of glacially slow tourists, columns, kiosks, desks, carts and various airport personnel who strode importantly around. He kept following Yugi, noting that Kaiba's feet were starting to stumble more and more the farther they walked. Finally, he pushed through the double doors to the outside, instantly recognizing the limo and two Kaiba security guards waiting only a couple of paces away.

The driver was standing next to the back door and quickly opened it as the guards stepped forward, scanning the area. Two more guards ghosted up from behind them and nodded to the others before turning to eye the passersby suspiciously. Jonouchi and Honda hustled Kaiba into the limo and everyone piled in after, quickly settling themselves in the seats. The driver closed the door, hurried around the car and slipped into his seat as the guards separated again. Two of them got into a car that was just in front of the limo as two stood next to the door. The limo slid forward into traffic with another car pulling up at the rear.

Jonouchi cuddled Kaiba against him feeling the shivering muscles go lax under his fingers. Made it, love. "Hey, Yug. Can you hand me the blanket in Kaiba's bag?"

Yugi dug it out, "Can I ask now?"

Jonouchi's lips turned down in a slight frown, "It's not good. He should be in bed, not runnin' around in airplanes."

"He looks like hell." Honda took the blanket from Yugi and wrapped it around Kaiba's still body. "Are you sure he was up to this?"

"Some day when you want to die, try and tell him not to come when Mokuba needs him." Jonouchi stroked the soft cap of brunette hair that rested against his shoulder. "Best I could do was make sure he got on the right plane."

"Should we take him to the hospital?" Yugi reached over and pulled a corner of the blanket over Kaiba's knee. Yami was peeking out his eyes and the ancient pharaoh was radiating silent worry.

"No. He wants to go home." Jonouchi noticed that another Kaiba Corp security car had joined them. "Guys, just how bad is it? I mean really, three cars?" He nodded out the window at the newly arrived sedan.

Honda shrugged. "I think they're just having fun." Honda gestured to the cars following them. "We went over to Kaiba's last night to stay with Mokuba. Man, for a few moments I thought we were actually going to get a full body search."

"They even tried to frisk Serenity." Yugi grinned. "I didn't know she could throw a punch like that."

Honda laughed, "Oh yeah. She has a nasty right.. Don't get her mad."

"They frisked my sister!" Jonouchi yelped, then quickly checked to see that his lover hadn't been disturbed.

"No, they tried to frisk your sister." Honda shook his head still laughing. "You should have seen the guard's face. She stood there and yelled at him for, like, five minutes. Mokuba had to come and save him."

"The kid's alright then?" Jonouchi rested his cheek on Kaiba's head, suddenly feeling as if he hadn't slept in a year. Since the call, he'd been busy. There had been packing, and phone calls, and taxis, and airport security, and the flight, oh man, that flight had been bad, all turbulence and worry about how Kaiba was dealing with the flight.

"He's fine. Security didn't want him to go to school today, so he's home, probably driving Yuai nuts." Honda leaned back in the seat, shaking his head. "Nothing slows that kid down, not for long."

"Nope, didn't think it would." Jonouchi closed his eyes, listening to Kaiba's deep even breaths. "He's tough, just like his brother."

~*~*~*

Mokuba & Yuai

~*~*~*

"You're just going to hurt yourself if you keep whipping your head around to look over your shoulder like that." Yuai noted as she picked up the blankets off the couch and started folding them. Mokuba had spent most of the night sleeping on the couch, till Honda had carried him to bed around three in the morning.

"Shouldn't they be here by now?" Mokuba demanded glaring at the door.

"They should be here any time now." Yuai put the folded blanket down on the foot of the couch and picked up another. Neatly folding that one and laying it on top of the other while watching Mokuba sit staring at the door. He'd been nearly dancing in anxiety since he bounded out of bed around five in the morning. Getting him dressed, fed and ready had taken nearly two hours of gentle prodding, liberal amounts of guilt and a couple of threats of taking away his Playstation.

"Do you think anything happened?" Mokuba got up went to the window.

"Like what?" Yuai picked up the pile of blankets and walked out of the room to place them in the laundry room.

"Like, well, you know. Like what happened to us yesterday." Mokuba called from his window post.

Yuai walked back in and sat down in the armchair. She loved this chair and admitted to herself she was going to miss it when she left. "No, I doubt it. Too much security."

Mokuba nodded and continued watching. "Probably right. Do you think Seto's okay?"

Yuai shrugged. "He's probably going to be tired. Remember he's only been out of the hospital two days."

Mokuba stayed silent and Yuai sunk into the chair. It had to be nice living here. Nice to have a home with nice things in it. Nice to have food when you wanted food. Nice to be warm. Nice to sleep safe in a soft bed. Nice to turn on a light when it got dark out. Nice to have a brother that would do anything for you. She smiled as her mind drifted, imagining having a brother. He'd be tall, yes very tall. And he'd have dark hair, maybe long, she liked long hair, but not all straggly, it would be neatly cut. Her brother would want to be tidy, maybe even a bit too tidy. He'd like to dress with a sense of drama though, no bland uniforms for her brother. No, he'd wear something dark and bold. Her eyes fluttered closed picturing him. He'd have sharp features, she decided, not silly, big eyes like hers, but narrow eyes, sharp eyes, bright, intelligent eyes, set in a intelligent face.

"Their here!" Mokuba yelled, jerking her from her dream.

Yuai stood up as Mokuba raced down the hall and flung open the front door, causing the security guards stationed to jump. Yuai followed him out and stood next to him as the limo pulled up to the front steps. The limo coasted to a stop and the driver got out. He walked around the car and opened the passenger door.

Yugi bounced out first, carrying two small pieces of luggage. He smiled at them and ran up the steps. "We're back!" He looked back down to the car in time to see Honda step out. "Mokuba, listen." He caught Mokuba's shoulder, "Your brother's really, really tired, okay? "

Mokuba was nearly ready to fling himself down the steps, "What do you mean?"

"He's tired, it was a long trip and he's really worn out." Yugi looked at Yuai, his soft eyes begging for help.

Yuai didn't know what was going on, and tried to silently ask for a explanation. She noticed that Jonouchi was the next out of the car, and he was leaning in still half in the car, speaking softly. She caught Mokuba as he tried to bolt to the car. Jonouchi stepped back and Kaiba got out.

Mokuba gasped, barely managing to whisper, "Big brother!"

Kaiba staggered slightly and Jonouchi immediately steadied him. Yuai was semi amazed that he was even on his feet. He looked like he should be passed out on the front step, or better yet passed out in a hospital with a doctor hovering nearby. Mokuba looked at Yugi accusingly, shrugged off Yuai's hand and walked down the stairs.

"Seto?" He stopped when he reached Kaiba, almost tentatively reaching out his hand to touch his brother's arm. "Are you okay?"
Kaiba smiled a worn frayed smile and reached out, pulling his brother into a one armed hug. "Just tired Mokuba. It's good to see you."

"Come on. Off to bed." Jonouchi tugged Kaiba forward with Mokuba doing his best to help his brother from the other side.

"No, I want to talk to security." Kaiba shook his head.

"Nope. You're heading to bed. Let security come to you." Jonouchi started dragging Kaiba up the stairs.

"Jonouchi!" Kaiba tried to pull away.

"Bed." Jonouchi yanked him through the door, aided and abetted by a grinning Mokuba.

~*~*~*

Review Please!!

What would you guys like to see for the next story?I want to take a small break from the Chrysalis story for a little once this is done. I was thinking of doing a one shot about:

1) Why is Bakura doing Ryou's homework in chapter one?

2) Kaiba gets a new secretary who has…shall we say…attitude to spare?

3) What if Kaiba was the victim…I mean stud for sale…I mean guest on the Bachelor? 4) The Yu-Gi-Oh cast gets put into various other shows, like Xena Warrior Princess, Buffy, Vampire Slayer or Survivor?