Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Coalescence ❯ The Approach ( Chapter 1 )

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

"Coalescence"
by Yami Czarina
A Yu-Gi-Oh! Yaoi story

Description: The two top duelists in the world discover an attraction for each other... and then new Duel Monster cards arrive from the future to change their destiny forever.

Disclaimer: They belong to Kazuki Takahashi, not me, though I'm likely to have more fun with them...
Pairing: Yami Yugi x Seto Kaiba - intimations of YY/S/Y

Rating: Most is R, but there will be lemon scenes.

Timing: Sometime after the Legendary Heroes arc. Perhaps closer to Episode 50, "The Past is Prologue". But definitely before that episode.

Note: By this time, Seto Kaiba understands that there is another being within Yugi Mutou - if nothing else, he would have found out from someone after Yugi's duel with Pegasus. This is contrary to the Japanese version in which he finds out later in Battle City. (the English hasn't been shown that far yet.)

Note: Seto Kaiba is probably a bit OOC in this. He's more of a bastard than this. <snicker> Just consider that he's willing to do what he does because he's got it bad for this guy with weird hair... heh. But on the other hand, in the Japanese version, he does show a lot of respect and grudging admiration for Yugi (Yami?) during the Battle City arc, so I'm building his character here mostly from that, and less from the earlier Duel Kingdom material.

[ one's private thoughts ]
/Yugi's thoughts to Yami/
//Yami's thoughts to Yugi//


1) The Approach

Seto Kaiba resisted the compulsion with every fiber of his being for exactly one week. Then he began to sneak glances toward the object of his obsessive desires. And managed to find himself in said object's general vicinity. He knew he was going to have to confront the other, get this out into the open where he could deal with it. Otherwise, he was likely to go mad.

Or at least suffer from extreme, maddening sexual frustration and tension. Neither was a preferred outcome.

Finally managing to locate a certain classmate of his at a rare time when the other's friends weren't around, Seto made the initial confrontation. "Yugi Mutou!" he declared, blocking the shorter teenager's exit from a classroom. He'd waited until they were the last two in the room. "I need to talk to you!"

"Oh, hi, Kaiba-kun," Yugi replied cheerily, then frowned a little at the boy's severe demeanor. "What's up, another tournament?"

"No, that's not it," Seto muttered, then took a deep breath to calm himself. "I need to speak to... the other one."

Yugi blinked his large violet eyes at his tall dueling rival. "The... other one?"

Seto forced himself to keep from shaking the little clueless duelist. "Your... other one..."

Blink, blink. "Oh, you mean Yami-san?"

It was Seto's turn to widen his eyes. "Yami, is that what you call him? Darkness?"

Yugi looked sheepish. "Well, it's really what he calls himself as he doesn't have a name, or at least he can't remember one. He doesn't know much about his past. He says he's my dark side, but..." He shrugged. "I don't think of him that way. He's not like that, not like Bakura-kun's other self."

"Right," Seto muttered. [So it's true - this Yami is the Spirit in Yugi's Millennium Puzzle. Now I'm even more curious...] "Well, I'd like to talk to him, if I may."

Frowning, Yugi considered the request. "Is this about dueling? Are you going to challenge him again?"

The query took Seto Kaiba aback. "Challenge? N...no, that's not it."

Yugi nodded. "Well, I suppose it's all right then..." He closed his eyes.

Seto blinked and nearly gasped as he raised his eyes to see the much taller King of Games before him. While Yugi was a veritable shrimp, Yami was almost at shoulder height to him. "You..."

"You wanted to see me, Kaiba? Here I am," Yami replied smoothly, regarding the other benignly.

"Yes, I..." Suddenly Seto found he had trouble speaking. Those eyes! He could drown and be lost in those intense violet eyes forever. The transformation had always stunned him, but usually he was clear across a dueling arena when he saw it. This time it happened directly in front of him! "You... you're so different from..."

A minute smirk came over the firm mouth. "From Yugi? I should say so. We are different in personality after all. So, what is it? Or were you just curious, Kaiba?" The dark velvet voice went darker at this last.

Seto swallowed with difficulty. Yugi Mutou's other self was so different, assertive, even aggressive, dispensing entirely with honorifics. "Is he aware of our conversation?" [I really don't want that little squirt spying on...]

Yami shook his head. "Since you asked to speak to me, his awareness has receded to afford me some privacy. We've had to work out how to give each other that."

Taking a deep breath, Seto nodded in understanding. "You two must be... close."

[This is very unlike the Kaiba I know,] Yami was thinking, studying the taller teenager astutely. [Asking such personal questions... Something is going on here...] "Yes, we're like brothers. Or rather, I suppose I think of him as my little brother." He peered up at him. "In a sense we have that in common, Kaiba. You have Mokuba to take care of and protect, and I have Yugi. So... is this about him? Is that why you don't want him listening in?"

[This Yami is definitely older than Yugi. So he's protective of him...] Seto relaxed minutely. He'd wondered just how close those two were. "No, this isn't about Yugi," he replied, glancing away again. "This is about you and me."

"Oh?" [Interesting... and if this isn't about dueling, then just what is Kaiba up to?] "What about you and me?"

[Damn, this is harder than I thought,] Seto considered, his mouth dry. [Now what do I say? 'I want you'? Hardly; he'd likely deck me if I said something crass like that.] Despite the other's size, Seto had a tremendous amount of respect for him. If the boy could fight like he dueled...

He cleared his throat. "Um, Yugi, I..."

"You'd better address me as Yami. So we don't get confused."

[Is he smirking? I think he's smirking...] Seto wondered, glancing over to see an enigmatic little smile on the other's face. "Yami-san... it's just that... I... I'm..." He paused, swallowing with difficulty.

[He's nervous,] Yami noted with growing interest. [Is something wrong? Perhaps he needs to ask my help for something and is embarrassed to ask.] "It's all right, Kaiba," he replied gently. "Despite what you may think of me or Yugi personally, I consider you a friend. You may speak freely. I promise you I won't tease you or berate you for whatever it is you're trying to say."

Seto suddenly felt like a schoolboy with a crush on a teacher. [He's so mature... but that's part of his attraction. Damn... but he's...] He tried again. "Yami-san, um, thanks, but this is something I'm not used to saying. In fact, I've never said it to anyone before."

[Said, not ask - he's not asking for something,] Yami noted again. "Yes, Kaiba?"

"You... can call me Seto," the taller boy admitted, carefully looking somewhere around Yami's shoulder.

[Oh... is he...?] Yami thought he could start to see the picture. [He's interested in me. In *me*? But Yugi is his classmate... I don't even have my own body anymore.] "Seto," he murmured, nodding. "You had something to tell me, Seto?"

[Just say it... say something,] Seto fretted to himself. "Yes. Ah..." He looked down fully into the other's face. "You... you have the most beautiful eyes I've ever seen."

[I did NOT see this coming,] Yami thought as understanding rushed through him, setting his heart to beat faster. He was careful, however, to keep his expression friendly or at least neutral. "That's not something I'd have ever thought to hear from you, Seto, but... thank you. I suppose one could say they're my best feature."

"I don't mean to be cold and ruthless," Seto blurted out, then clapped a hand over his mouth, appalled that he'd brought *that* out into the open. [Shit... that was stupid...]

"I know," Yami replied quietly. "I know that you're a businessman running a corporation even if you are Yugi's classmate in school. You have a great deal of responsibility, not the least of which is being an entire family to your brother Mokuba. The stress understandably makes you..." He shrugged, not willing to put the painful truth into words. [Flinty... grouchy... overly competitive... driven... and I wonder why he is so driven? I've wondered about that for some time...]

"Yeah, I suppose it does," Seto breathed, then crossed his arms over his chest, turning away slightly. It made it easier to speak if he didn't look at those soul-reading eyes. "Yami, I think of you as a person separate from Yugi. I mean, not just as a duelist - it's clear you're my equal there and I take great pride in my own prowess..."

[Another compliment. He's attracted to me! I'm right, I know it...] "Thank you," Yami replied simply.

"But it's clear you do have your own personality, even if you... even if you must share a body with him," Seto continued, staring at nothing, his eyes unfocused. "I don't understand all that, I confess."

"Nor do I, Seto," Yami responded quietly. "It seems my personal essence and mind was trapped in the Millennium Puzzle many centuries ago. I have no idea how my own body died or even if it did, though given the time, it must have. I do not have any memories of that time. So, yes, I am a completely different person separate from Yugi. Except that we share one body... so to speak."

Seto frowned. "But you're much taller than he is... you look a bit different, older... and your hair is different."

Yami shrugged. "Magic. It may be an illusion that even I am subject to. As long as this body bears breath, Yugi and I will share it."

[But there is a way...] Seto thought. He did not think he had any attraction to Yugi Mutou alone. The boy was too immature and childlike for his sixteen years. "Yet you speak to him, don't you? With your own voice?"

[I wish he would look at me again,] Yami fretted. [Despite his interest in me, I think he's actually frightened of his feelings. I must tread carefully here.] "In our merged minds, yes, and when we're in our soul rooms."

"Soul room?" Seto had to glance over again, but quickly looked away again, for those penetrating eyes were still fixed on him.

"The compartments of Yugi's soul where our mental essences dwell," Yami explained. "There we may appear to one another when the doors of our soul rooms are open. This happens in dreams or in something like a trance. I really can't explain it any better than that."

Seto closed his eyes. He adored Yami's voice. When dueling, it had unnerved him and had forced him to shut out the thoughts it engendered in him. It seemed to penetrate deep into his heart as much as his gaze did. "It must be difficult. How could you have a life of your own, Yami? I mean, what if... what if you wanted to, ah, be with someone, but Yugi didn't?"

Yami almost said, "I don't have a life of my own," but the words died in his throat as he stared up at the profile of the taller teenager. [He wonders if it's even possible to have a relationship with me. I confess I myself haven't given that a thought, neither to the prospect of having a relationship and certainly not with him. However... Seto Kaiba is a remarkable young man... and very good looking. He's already shown me a side to him quite different from his public one. He's reflective and extremely intelligent, caring in his own intense way...]

He gulped. [I'm contemplating a relationship with Seto Kaiba,] he thought, also unnerved for a moment, then mentally he shook himself. [And why not? I am human, even if I don't have my own body. I can definitely see him as desirable... it's just been so terribly long since I've even had such thoughts...]

"I would have to work it out with Yugi," he replied finally. "It would be difficult because I wouldn't have much time with that person, for Yugi needs to have his own life and relationships, too. And it's true that neither of us asked to share a body, so he could come to resent that." It was his turn to bow his head. "No, we're closer than that. I have to believe that he would accept it in time."

Seto felt relief at the words, but a gnawing fear was still chewing on his insides. "Even if... even if that someone... was me?" [There's I've said it. Now I'm damned or blessed for eternity...]

The confirmation of his suspicions strangely brought comfort to Yami's heart. [Someone cares about *me*,] he mused, awed. [Someone outside my little aibou considers me real enough to have developed feelings for me...] "Seto, if you should mean that..."

"I do," Seto answered, turning to face him again, making himself meet the wondering gaze lifted to his. "I want to be with you, Yami." Now that it was out in the open - and the little Egyptian hadn't reacted with revulsion - his courage and conviction had returned. "You're the closest thing to an equal I'm ever likely to meet... and I'm attracted to you. I... I can't stop thinking about you, Yami. That's why I had to tell you... how I feel."

[This will NOT be easy,] Yami mused. [I've never seen him so shaken, except... when I beat him that first time. He feels everything so intensely. I must consider carefully how this could affect my little partner as well as consider what the long-term consequences could be. Yugi's friends will have a hard time with this as well. Mokuba on the other hand... may be very pleased...]

"Seto," he addressed the taller boy, his voice cool and even, "I consider you an equal as well, and I have already said that I consider you a friend. I can admit that I find desirable qualities in you as well. However, I must also admit that I'm taken aback by your statement of preference for me rather than my other self. And that's what you're saying, isn't it? You're not interested in Yugi, are you?"

Seto, now that he'd made his confession, was recovering his determination and characteristic intensity. "You stated yourself that you two have different personalities. Why is it so hard to believe that I prefer you to him?"

To his surprise, Yami broke the gaze, turning those gorgeous eyes aside. "It's because he's... less mature. Young for his age."

[Oh, fuck, is he going to be offended if I tell the truth?] Seto wondered, but he knew he had to be honest above all else with the spirit. "Well... yes. He seems so like a child, and I cannot be attracted to that, frankly."

To his surprise, Yami nodded in understanding. "He has the purest and most loving heart I've ever encountered," he murmured. "But you are correct. He is quite innocent. Physically..." He didn't finish the sentence, but Seto could guess what was left unsaid. "On the other hand," Yami continued, his expression turning wry, "I could say that you're much too young for me." He glanced over. "Couldn't I?"

[Even now he's intimidating me, but that just challenges me to fight it,] Seto thought with fierce pleasure. "In a manner of speaking, but I am no child! Even to you. I know you do not see me like that!"

Yami smiled then, and turned to face him again, looking up into the stormy blue eyes. "Very true, I do not, Seto. You carry an adult's weight on your shoulders, which has had the effect of maturing you early, although you possess a youthful passion that I find..." He paused, realizing that he was admitting this to himself just as he was admitting it to Kaiba. "That I find stimulating."

Seto leaped at the opening as if Yugi, no *Yami* had just left him the perfect opportunity in a duel. "Yami, are you attracted to me, too? Are you telling me that I can have hope of something with you?"

The smile vanished. A jolt of ice dashed down Kaiba's spine at the look and he almost thought he could see a faint image of the spirit's third eye. Yami fixed an imperious violet gaze upon him. "Now your age is showing..."

"What?" Seto gasped. Then he drew his breath in sharply again as the spirit's third eye began to glow for real.

Yami's expression remained firm. "Seto Kaiba, while your devotion to your brother and your protection of him is very admirable, there doesn't seem to be much else in you that could be deemed warm and inviting, does there? Many of your actions toward Yugi and his friends could be considered harsh and unfriendly. What do you think I would find attractive in that? Or is it that you figure I wouldn't mind because I am Yugi's darker half? I might be darkness itself but I do understand loyalty and friendship. I embrace concepts of forgiveness and understanding and Yugi's pure love. You and I both have fiercely competitive spirits, but you, as far as I can tell, embrace winning at all costs except where it affects your own blood. What really is there for us to build a relationship on?"

Seto's mind was racing as fast as his heart was, remembering the conclusion of their first duel when Yami reached into his mind and sent the darkness within to the Shadow Realm. While Seto Kaiba was able to reform from his more devious and harmful ways after that, he'd retained his fierce will to win. Their second duel had revealed that. There Seto had risked his own life, forcing Yugi to back down and lose the duel to save him. [If Mokuba had known about that,] he thought, his mouth dry, [it would have broken his heart to see his brother acting so recklessly. If I'd died and Mokuba had been freed later, he'd have been alone to face my enemies... And if I'd have listened sooner to Yugi, I'd have known that he'd do everything in his power to free Mokuba as well as his grandfather...]

Abashed, Seto stared at Yami with eyes that were suddenly hot. "I guess... there isn't much." [Shot down before I even got a chance to be close to him,] he realized, heartsick.

But the enigmatic little half-smile returned to the spirit's lips, to Kaiba's shock and wonder. "On the surface, apparently not. But I know there are hidden depths to you, Seto, and therefore... if you are able to convince Mokuba and Yugi that your heart has truly changed... or wants to change, even... then I'll date you."

Seto gaped as the diminutive Egyptian turned half away from him, still wearing that smirk. "You'll... you'll date me?" he gasped, stunned. [There is a chance?]

"That's what I said," Yami replied firmly. "Of course, if this is to come about, it's all contingent on Yugi's approval. I will not see him hurt or distressed by any level of relationship that I may develop with you or anyone."

"Of course," Seto responded, regaining his composure swiftly now that apparent disaster had been averted. Though he knew well he had a trial awaiting him. Not only must his brother feel that he'd changed, but Yugi... and by default Yugi's friends as well. That could be... difficult. "I accept your challenge," he added, his resolve returning. "I understand that Yugi has to be involved. I will... do my best to become acceptable to him."

Yami studied the deep blue eyes a moment, then nodded, satisfied. "Seto, I've long since forgiven you for what you did to Yugi's grandfather, since I know you had a spirit of darkness within your mind at the time. But that did not mean darkness left you completely when I sent that spirit to the Shadow Realm. No one can eliminate that, for every soul bears both dark and light. Yugi Mutou is unusual in that his darkness is contained chiefly in a second mind, mine. I believe we share one soul though we have two minds. We do not ever want to be permanently separate. Anyone seeking a relationship with either of us must always respect and accept that. I... cannot be without him, Seto. Do you see that for you to be with me, you must not only accept Yugi but also master your own darkness?"

Seto blanched, remembering how he'd hurt Yugi's grandfather and torn up the man's Blue Eyes White Dragon card. [My darkness... yes, how could I want to hurt an old man like that? I know I can be ruthless, but he'd never done anything to me. Did I fear losing that much? Do I still?] "Yes," he replied slowly, nodding. "It appears I have my work cut out for me."

[The memory hurts him - good,] Yami reflected. [He needs to discover for himself about his fears. And perhaps if he makes a good start, we can work on that together...] "Then let's talk about this again in one month," he replied, straightening, the sennen eye fading. "I look forward to it."

"Yes," Seto murmured, then drew his breath in sharply as Yami laid a hand gently on his chest. "Yami?"

"I am confident that you will succeed, Seto," the Egyptian spirit murmured, his voice sliding into the dark honey range. "And I so look forward to the new you," he added, a corner of his mouth turning up.

[Was that a seductive look he just gave me?] Seto wondered, his mouth dry again as Yami glanced up at him then let his eyes and fingers slide away as he moved past him to exit the room. As the young executive glanced down the hallway after the shorter man, his glance fell to the other's slim hips. [Oh, fuck...]

Seto closed the door of the classroom, still inside, and leaned back on it, his heart pounding, blood rushing to a certain portion of his anatomy. [I want him... and damn it, I have to grow a heart in order to do it. Well, Seto Kaiba, you've weathered many challenges in your seventeen years. How hard could it be to warm up a little? He's worth it... fuck, but he's worth it... I'm in love already, totally lost in those gorgeous, almond eyes...]

When his body was again under his control, he departed the classroom, his mind still spinning.