Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Coalescence ❯ A Chat Over Lunch ( Chapter 5 )

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

5) A Chat Over Lunch

Summary: Yugi has a chat with Kaiba during lunch; Yugi and Yami discuss about it later.



The next day at school, Yugi found himself glancing over in the direction of Seto Kaiba in class several times, curious about the boy his other self was interested in... and wondering how he could get his friends off his back. It seemed like Jounouchi and Honda never missed a chance to dig at Kaiba with some little comment or other, and unlike the Seto Kaiba they'd known in the Duelist Kingdom, this one wasn't digging back anymore.

Besides, Seto was plainly preoccupied, though typically it didn't interfere with his schoolwork. The brilliant young executive was mostly going through the motions of attending public school on the advice of company lawyers, but that didn't mean he wouldn't excel in his studies.

Yugi managed to slip away from his friends for a short while at lunchtime, catching up with Seto in a remote wing off the main body of the school's lunchroom. "Hi, Kaiba-kun," he greeted the other in his usual bright manner, waving his lunchbox. "Mind if I join you for lunch? I'm hiding from the gang."

Seto blinked at him in surprise, shocked to see Yugi in front of him at all, and taken aback by the thought that Yugi didn't want to eat with his friends. "Hiding?"

Yugi gave him a sheepish grin that Seto thought was terribly cute, though the thought made him irritated. "Yeah, Honda-kun was teasing me about something. It's not important. Sometimes they're a bit much, you know? So..." He waved at the seat opposite the other boy.

"Suit yourself," Seto murmured, distracted. Yugi was seeking *him* out? He glanced over at his diminutive classmate, his own lunch forgotten. "Uh... I haven't had a chance to talk to my lawyers yet..."

"Huh?" Yugi blinked, then grinned again as he sat down. "Oh, that doesn't matter. I didn't come over here to talk about Duel Monsters or anything."

Seto knew a moment of panic. [What *else* would we talk about?] he thought, shifting in his chair uneasily. "You had something else in mind?" he asked, then thought he should have just said nothing. [What if...]

Yugi shrugged, but studied the other's expression a little before continuing. [What happened yesterday really bothered him... I don't suppose he's feeling very good about things...] "Kaiba-kun, I'm really sorry about the guys yesterday. Jounouchi-kun was so way out of line..."

[Oh, *that*...] Seto glanced away to stare at nothing. "It's all right. He's made up his mind about me, and I don't suppose I feel very different either." [Oh, there I go being tactful again...] "I...I'm sorry, Yugi."

"Well, you're honest," Yugi replied, shrugging again. "It's okay, Kaiba-kun. I'm really glad you and I are talking now, but I don't expect you to get along with all my friends, really."

[What does he mean by that?] Seto wondered, startled, looking at the other again. "You're... glad we're talking?"

"Sure, I'm glad," Yugi affirmed, smiling. "I mean, we're friends now, right? By the way, I never got to tell you that I really enjoyed teaming up with you against the Five God Dragon* in your virtual game. Though I know of course that you still consider me your archrival as a duelist." He couldn't help winking at the dumbstruck Seto Kaiba at this last.

[Friend! Yugi Mutou considers *me* a friend? I... I don't even know what that is... I never had one before... though Yami said the very same thing...] Seto opened his mouth, but closed it again, not having a clue how to respond to all that. [Friend... enjoyed teaming up... archrival... damn, I've only seen him as that. But... it wasn't Yugi, was it? It was... it was...]

[Oh, man, what did I say?] Yugi wondered, his smile faltering as the other boy continued to gape at him. "Kaiba-kun?"

Seto swallowed carefully, and chose his words equally so. "When you duel... I thought... I thought that's when... I thought it was Yami... wasn't it?" He felt weird asking, and looked away immediately, feeling strange. [Was I mistaken?]

"Oh..." Yugi blinked, cocking his head at him. "Well, yeah, but it's kinda hard to explain." When Kaiba flashed him a somewhat alarmed look, he took a deep breath, knowing he'd have to try his best to explain. He owed the former world champion duelist that at the very least.

"When I go into a duel," Yugi began earnestly, "I nearly immediately sense a surge of power from my Millennium Puzzle and I feel filled with... energy. At first that's all I thought it was, some kind of magical power that seemed to make me more confident and assertive, but as time went on, I began to experience that power more and more as a separate entity from my own. So now, what we think is happening is that our spirits merge. My own personality does fade into the background somewhat, though I'm aware of the whole duel."

Glancing away for a moment, Yugi brought up a subject that he never thought he and Kaiba would ever speak of again - their duel on the ramparts of Pegasus's castle. "That changed when you and I fought at Duelist Kingdom," he murmured, his voice dropping to a whisper. "For the first time, his will and mine clashed... and I understood that he was a separate person. I could not risk your life, Kaiba-kun... and he was willing to risk it. He accepted that gamble; I did not. Up until then, we'd fought together, blended. Now I understand better. When Yami-san fights alone, he accepts risks that I would not if I were fighting alone. Together we find a balance. Sometimes he's had to take over completely, like in the Shadow Realm, and sometimes I've handled a battle on my own as well. Ours is a tight partnership - it must be, for we both now share this one body."

He took a deep breath again, glad to have gotten all that out, though he was curious as to how the silent Seto Kaiba felt about what he'd just told him. Kaiba was sitting still as a statue, staring at him in wonder. Yugi, glancing back and noting the stare, blushed slightly. "Okay, I know that was totally weird... did any of it make sense? You don't think I'm nuts, do you?"

[Then it *was* Yami I was fighting for the most part,] Seto was thinking, his mind still reeling from the frank explanation. [That regal demeanor, that lust for the duel resides in Yugi's darker half for the most part... and that's what draws me irresistibly. But it's not that simple by half. I sense that the masterful control that is so evident in a duel from them is truly a team effort... the balance of light and dark. It's... magnificent... *they're* magnificent...]

Seto blinked. [Yugi just *looks* awfully young,] he thought, then realized the other boy was waiting for an answer. "No, you're not nuts," he replied finally. "Though if I hadn't experienced the power of your Millennium Puzzle for myself, I would think you suffered from multiple personality disorder..."

Yugi chuckled, relaxing. "Yeah, sure sounds like it, doesn't it? I was freaked out, I admit, especially when I thought I couldn't control my other half. But despite his name, he's really a good person and I know he would never do anything against my wishes, or else not without very good reason. I... trust him now, Kaiba-kun." He sobered, thinking of another classmate of theirs. "Bakura-kun... he's in the same situation I am, but he's not so lucky. He has very little control over the dark spirit who inhabits his Millennium Ring."

Seto filed that little fact away for later. "Yugi, thank you for explaining it to me," he murmured sincerely. "I confess I'd been thinking that Yami merely took over from you when dueling."

"Yeah, it must seem so, since I guess we show his manifestation during duels," Yugi commented thoughtfully. "He does tend to take charge, though he's very aware of my feelings and wishes at the same time." He blushed again, this time from embarrassment. "I gotta admit, he's way cool. Yet it's weird - he's me and he isn't me all at the same time."

"Clearly you were meant to possess the Millennium Puzzle," Seto murmured. "You and the spirit within the puzzle seem to be perfectly matched for one another."

Yugi opened his mouth to respond, though he hadn't a clue what with, when the scraping of chairs nearby alerted them to their environment again. The lunch hour was drawing to a close. "Time to go," Yugi said instead, tucking the astonishing comment away for close inspection later. He stood, repacking his untouched lunch. "Eh, I wasn't hungry anyway."

Seto felt a curious reluctance to end this conversation as he also stood. "Me, neither," he muttered.

"See you later!" Yugi called as he turned to go.

"Yugi..." Seto breathed, unconsciously extending his hand toward the other. When the shorter teenager turned to glance back, the taller one lost his nerve. "Never mind..."

"We can talk about this some more at another time," Yugi murmured. He noted the almost crestfallen look on Seto's serious face. "I... gotta go, Kaiba-kun."

"Understood," Seto whispered, walking away without a glance back.

As Yugi headed back to class, his thoughts were jumbled. [Wow, he's so intense... mmm, and now that I think about it, Kaiba is really REALLY good-looking. Hey, if I can think that... maybe I am attracted to guys like Yami is... I don't know, I just want to help both of them get together! Kaiba doesn't want a little peanut like me anyway...]





After school, Yugi had to help his grandfather in the shop, though he could work on his homework if there weren't any customers around. Even so, his mind kept going back to the conversation he had with Seto Kaiba at lunchtime.

[Actually, they're BOTH so intense...] he thought, opening his literature book for the night's reading.

//Who is so intense?// a voice in his mind spoke suddenly.

/Huh? Yami?/ Yugi started, surprised.

//You were broadcasting a little loudly. I apologize for interrupting your thoughts, aibou.//

Yugi relaxed. He still wasn't used to speaking to his dark half in this manner, though since anyone could come into the shop at any moment, he supposed it was better than Yami appearing to him. /Sorry. You're intense. You and Kaiba-kun./

//Ah. You're thinking about your chat with him at lunch.//

/Yes, I can't stop thinking about it./ Yugi fidgeted, glancing nervously at the door. /I think that was the most I've talked to Kaiba, ever./

//He's a man of few words as it is, aibou,// Yami replied gently. //You find him attractive, too.//

Yugi bit his tongue. /Er, I don't know! I just think you should ask him out!/

There was silence for a moment. Yugi felt his heart pounding. //Are you sure, aibou?// he heard in his mind softly.

/Yeah, I'm sure,/ Yugi replied, sighing. /Kaiba-kun's changed. He's sad yet I can tell he's fascinated by you... and he doesn't wish to interfere with my friendships... our friendships. He was really very civil to me and didn't mention our rivalry as duelists. I was the one who kinda brought it up./

//He's been reaching to get to know you, too,// Yami murmured. //I think we could both be good for him, actually.//

Yugi almost fell off the stool he was sitting on. /You think *I'd* be good for him? You think I... I should date him too?? But...!!/

//No, I'm not saying that,// Yami countered gently. //Not unless it's something you want, too. I think he could use your friendship, in particular.//

Yugi didn't know whether to be relieved, insulted, or freaked out. [I gotta figure myself out better,] he thought privately, not sending. /I wish.../

//What do you wish, aibou?//

[His voice is so calm, soothing... damn, if there's anyone I could like, it'd be my Yami...] Yugi thought, then shook his head. [Isn't that crazy? It's like I'd want to be with myself... wouldn't it? That's just... nuts... but he's not me, not really... oh, it's so confusing...]

Though the thoughts didn't come through, the confusion did. //Aibou, what's wrong?//

Just then a couple kids came into the store. [Saved,] Yugi thought. /Later, I've got work to do, and also my homework. Later, Yami, okay?/

//Yes... all right.//

[Whew, that was close,] Yugi thought. [And I've got some decisions to make... fast!]


* - this awesome five-headed dragon was called "Mystic Dragon" in the English version.