Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Desideratum ❯ Threat ( Chapter 6 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: KatsuyaKaiba 
Threat
Anime/Manga: Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Drama | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 04.20.2005 | Pages: 3 | Words: 4.3K | Visits: 341 | Status: Work In Progress
Threat
Anime/Manga: Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Drama | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 04.20.2005 | Pages: 3 | Words: 4.3K | Visits: 341 | Status: Work In Progress
Desiradatum
A Seto Centric Thingy by Katsuya Kaiba
AN:Chapter Six? Already? How is this happening? Actually, I know how it's happening, and it's not pretty. Here is a visual: Imagine me in a dark room, surrounded by pictures of Mana from Malice Mizer, hunched over the keyboard and typing maniacally, a crazed expression on my face. Now picture Seto Kaiba in a dark room, shuffling through his deck and making adjustments maniacally, a crazed expression on his face. My gentle friends, I have been possessed by the soul of Seto Kaiba, and I am losing ungodly amounts of sleep. This lazy part time author had made the swift transition into a Workaholic. I am enjoying my time as Seto, but rest assured I will be so very happy when I return to being possesed by Joey. We have so much fun together, although we rarely update anything together. These obsessive updates are the work of Seto's insane capacity for work.
Love
n.
1. A deep, tender, ineffable feeling of affection and solicitude toward a person, such as that arising from kinship, recognition of attractive qualities, or a sense of underlying oneness.
Just when I thought I had read quite enough, there was even more of this nonsense.
2. A feeling of intense desire and attraction toward a person with whom one is disposed to make a pair; the emotion of sex and romance.
Well, that was just great.
3. An intense emotional attachment, as for a pet or treasured object.
The last thing that I needed was an attatchment.
4. A person who is the object of deep or intense affection or attraction; beloved. Often used as a term of endearment.
I closed the dictionary with an ungodly force and flung it away from me. I watched it as it sailed across the room and slammed into the wall, then fell ungraciously to the floor with a muffled thump. I was not happy, and this book would suffer for the information it held.
These were the things Joey felt for me. This was it, and there was no way around it now that I fully understood all of the ramifications of this infection. Because of this wretched emotion, I had been subjected to intense interrogation, affectionate conversation, intimate confessions, a slap in the face and a very public kiss. And I wasn't even in love with anyone. All of these unfortunate consequences were the inevitable effects that this widespread virus held for all who would stand in it's path. I felt like leaving the country. I most certainly wasn't making any progress here. I wondered to myself what it was that I would consider to be making progress. I supposed that successfully driving Joey away would be an acceptable end.
I laughed quitely at that thought. I couldn't help myself, it was so promising, and yet so very hopeless. I knew that would never happen. All of my more recent attempts at driving Joey away had somehow drawn him to me like an unstoppable magnet. I was impossible to resist.
Well, that much he didn't have to tell me. I was aware.
But in all seriousness, this was something that I needed to sort out, and soon. I looked up at my alarm clock. 12:45. Sighing as I accepted my sleepless fate, I laid my head back on my pillows and gazed up at the ceiling, hoping that some sort of answer might be cleverly hidden in the paint cracks. No such luck. There weren't even any paint cracks to read, since I'd had the whole house repainted less than a year ago, completely snuffing out my chances in detecting a secret message anywhere in the room I was in. I had never felt so...immoveable. I had been backed into a corner, and right now my instincts were threatening to revert back into survival mode. I wasn't sure how I was trapped, or what it was that was pinning me, but I felt a new and unfamiliar restriction settling around the circumference of my mind. I allowed my devious subconscience to hesitantly drift back to that time earlier today, and the feeling that I had sensed washing over me.
'Some kind of unspoken agreement had been formed here, but an agreement to what I had no idea. What had I just sold myself into?'
I reached over and grabbed one of the pillows that I was currently not resting upon, and with a groan that spoke of great despair, I placed it over my face and closed my eyes in the darkness underneath. Perhaps here, even I wouldn't be able to see the Truth. I didn't want it, didn't need it, and I definitely didn't ask for it. Yet there it was, shining as brightly and sunnily as the clear and beaming smile that haunted my shadowed thoughts.
There was something inside of me that wouldn't drive him away completely.
Yes, I saw it. I had seen it coming a mile off. But here, underneath this soft and smothering sanctuary, I could look it in the eye and see it unrestrained for what it truly was.
I wasn't as adverse to the idea of Joey as I had originally planned to be. Not only the idea of Joey as he was, but the idea of Joey having those...feelings for me. I had let him kiss me. Without hesitation, and with no attempt to escape or get out of the situation. In all honesty, I had somewhat kissed him back. In no way was I in love with him, but I had an awful suspicion inside of me that whispered of the promise of like. To be in like with Joey Wheeler had become, unbeknownst to me, a feasible option in my mind. When had this occured? As I asked the question in my mind, I immediately was shown the answer, and I resolved to never ask my mind another thing ever again. It knew all the answers, and I didn't care to know them as soon as I saw what they were. I remembered a time that he and I had shared, a time that was not at all long gone. It had been quite recently.
'I stared at him from where I had fallen on my back, my face to the sky, and I turned my head in order to see him better. The sunlight came from behind Joey's head, making it's way towards the western sky in the late afternoon, and the red and yellow streams of light that filtered through his messy locks made him seem...shinier, for lack of a better description.'
I could see him as he was then so clearly behind my eyelids, as if my treacherous brain had purposedly burned it into my memory for later use. But now later had finally come, and I saw no use in hiding from anyone or anything, including myself. How could I expect to be rid of this problem if I didn't act against it? All of a sudden I got the impression that time was running out, and the opportunities to stop this were becoming few and far between. I did not need this, and I did not want this. I would have to put an end to all interaction betwwen Joey and I. I would have to.
"Kaiba!"
A voice carried over to me across the crowded school hallways, and without turning my head I quickened my pace. It wasn't Joey's voice, but it was a voice that belonged to someone else that I also did not wish to speak to under any circumstances. Perhaps I could lose him in the crowd.
"Kaiba, wait!"
My efforts were in vain, and within seconds I heard the scurrying footsteps that had been hastily approaching come to a halt in front of me, blocking my path.
Yuugi Mutou. If there had been anyone I wanted to see less than Joey, it would have been this kid.
He looked up at me, which was a fair distance as far as height was concerned, and he smiled before he spoke.
"Kaiba, how are you?" His voice was cheerful and honest, and I got the distinct impression that this boy actually did want to know how I was doing. I impatiently shifted my weight to one of my legs and gave him a very bored and disinterested look.
"Fine."
He blinked at my admission and smiled even wider, if such a thing were possible. I felt a grimace in the works, but I witheld for the moment and decided to wait and see what he had actually come to say to me. Maybe he knew where Joey was. I hadn't seen him at all, and now that the schoolday had ended I realized that Joey had skipped out.
"Do you know where Joey is? He never showed up at school today."
I didn't say anything to him at first. Why the hell would I know where the mutt had run off to? But then I thought of yesterday, and what they had seen...
"How should I know? You're supposed to be his friend, so why can't you keep an eye on him? What makes you think that I would have any idea?" I couldn't have his little entourage getting the impression that something was actually going on between Joey and I. Yuugi gave me a very sheepish look and let his eyes fall to the floor.
"Oh...well, I just thought that maybe...you might be able to tell me what's happening with him. He wouldn't talk to me at all yesterday after we saw you two in the hall...you know. I tried to talk to him, but he was so quiet, and I didn't want him to feel bad, so I just let him go home alone. But now he's skipping class, and..." He trailed off into a questioning silence and brought his eyes back up to gaze into mine. They were misty looking and threatened to spill over at any given moment... "What's going on between you and Joey?"
Christ.
He had come to me for help. Just great. Now I had to clean up Joey's messes as well as suffer the wrath of his affections. This was far too complicated and involving for my tastes. I had to tell Yuugi something, even if it was only to chase away his fears enough so that he might leave me alone. I knew that his overwhelming concern for Joey's well-being might drive him to do a number of things, and if accosting me daily with those tear filled eyes was one of those things, then I might as well correct this problem before it grew to the point of madness. I cannot stand to see people crying, being eaten alive by their own misery and self worth. It was a vile thing to behold.
I drew myself up to my full height and loomed down at the small boy, narrowing my eyes in a menacing fashion. Perhaps this might be easier for me to say if I did it in a very threatening way. It had always helped me out before.
"If I tell you, will you go away?"
Yuugi nodded enthusiastically. He hadn't expected this to work, and he must have been surprised that I would say anything to him at all, especially on a subject such as this. I supposed that if I had cared enough about it, I would have been surprised as well.
"Has Joey ever mentioned anything to you about someone that he liked?" I didn't want to give up any information that I didn't have to, so I decided to test the water in order to determine just what I needed to say and no more or less. This wasn't any of my business.
"No, he never said anything about another person that he liked. But has been acting funny for awhile now. I thought that he would tell me what was wrong when he was ready, so I didn't bother him about it." Yuugi continued to gaze at me wide eyed and confused, and I felt my lip curl of it's own accord. My god, the sheer emotion that this kid spilled forth was disgusting...
"Well, Joey told me that he was in love with me. Twice, actually. First he told me that he liked me in a rather obscure way, but when I questioned him about it later he accidentally let it slip that he had indeed fallen in love." Why was this so hard? Each word that I spoke seemed to take ages just to fall from my lips. The entire scene now felt like it was playing in a slower pace, and the seconds dragged on forever. This had no effect on me. So why was it so hard to say aloud?
"Really? When...when did he tell you?" Yuugi was taking the news a lot better than I had expected. Evidently it wasn't an issue for him who Joey was on about. All he cared about was his friend. How touching.
"Awhile ago. He didn't talk to me for a month or so, because I had...said something to him that was insulting, and he took it badly. But yesterday he seemed to be over it."
Yuugi was silent for a few seconds, and he appeared to be thinking about what I had just told him. It was a lot to take in one go, especially if you hadn't the slightest clue about it previously, having only witnessed a very confusing kiss. His face told me that something just wasn't clicking in his mind, and he spoke again, more quietly this time.
"Were you guys hiding it from us because you thought that we might disagree?"
What?
"No, you don't understand. WE are not hiding anything. There is no we. There is only Joey and his one sided infatuation. You can tell him that when you see him, if you want." I was finished here. I was extremely tired of unintentionally getting hopelessly entangled in other people's problems, and I stepped around Yuugi and left him where he stood.
"Kaiba." Yuugi's voice, although normally whisper soft, was strongly emphasized by the now empty hallway and it was amplified as it traveled to where I now stood still. I didn't turn to face him, but I stood firm and silent to hear the last thing he had to say. I hadn't heard him move either, so we were most likely facing in opposite directions, which was how I normally preferred to carry a conversation in the first place.
"If there is nothing between the two of you, why did you kiss him back yesterday?"
I said nothing. I had nothing to say, honestly. I didn't know the answer to that question, either. I wished that I did. He took my silence as the answer that it was and continued. His attitude was different now, almost as though he were challenging me to prove him wrong. This must be that...other one, or whatever.
"I will only say this once, Kaiba, and never again, so remember it well. Joey is my friend, and if you toy with his emotions and break his heart, you know that I will come for you. So I suggest that you decide on what it is you want. Joey would allow you to string him along forever, I'm sure, but I will not allow you that luxury. So make your choice."
As soon as he was finished, I continued walking away and never looked back. That arrogant asshole was always sticking his nose where it didn't belong. Unfortunately, I knew from experience that he had the power to back up his threats, so I remained silent and heard what he had to say.
I already knew all that. Why did he have to shove it in my face? I knew that I had to make a decision. I...I knew. I knew it, I just...I didn't want to look at it. I wanted it to fix itself. I wanted Joey to fix it for me. I thought back to when I had demanded that he fix it, and chuckled deeply to myself at the memory. But he had been correct in saying that I needed to fix myself. I just didn't know how. I couldn't wrap my mind around all of the foreign emotions and spastic thoughts that fluctuated wildly each time I saw him, talked to him, thought about him. It was consuming me, and I had to fix it. I wondered what it was that I had to do.
I wanted to go Home. So I went to look for Joey Wheeler.
I didn't know where he lived, not exactly. I knew the general area, but that didn't help me. So I went back to my house and chose a car to drive myself around in. I knew that any car would do, but although I didn't want to acknowledge the fact at the time, I decided on a particular vehicle that was most impressive and with a satisfied air I opened the door and got inside. If I was going down, it would have to be in style. And a little style never hurt anyone, especially when I might be picking up someone who I might want to impress.
The moment I heard that last thought as it ran across my mind, I froze in my seat and let my head fall onto the steering wheel in a fit of despair. What the hell was wrong with me? When had I given in to this little game of Joey's? I didn't care what he thought of me. I didn't care what anyone thought of me. That wasn't true...
My thoughts ran into one another and they fought and clawed as each one tried to come out as the clearest, as the loudest, but the one that won in the end was the last and the least listened to.
That wasn't true. I did care, and it infuriated me, but the thought wasn't nearly as infuriating as the other thought that I had been avidly pushing away. The idea of Joey, suffering alone somewhere because he thought that he couldn't ever speak to me again. I stopped thinking altogether and simply acted. I acted and drove off into the fading sunset, racking my brain for all the places that I had heard of Joey wasting away his time in. I supposed that the first order of business was to check into that understocked game store that Yuugi lived in. Why anyone would go there was beyond me, the only time I had ever been there I had seen what a pathetic selection they kept.
I needed to clear my head. Insults wouldn't get me anywhere, as much as I hated to admit that. This was uncharted territory, and I was going to have to be nicer if I wanted to get any information from that Yuugi kid. I wasn't going to insult anyone, but I never said anything about deviously acquiring information. There had to be some middle ground.
The cheap bell that was strung along the front door jangled as I forcefully shoved it open and strode inside importantly. Yuugi sat behind the counter and watched me as I wasted no time and walked directly up to him.
"Well, Kaiba, that was quick. I assume you want to know where you might find Joey."
No, not Yuugi. That other one, the one I hated even more than I hated Yuugi himself. I almost wanted to slap him for being so knowledgable, but I knew that if I did that he probably wouldn't give me any information. He must have known this as well, if he was able to mock me so openly with that smug look on his face. I bit the inside of my cheek and supressed the inner rage.
"Yes." I spoke and was surprised at the low tone in my voice. I sounded really angry.
Yuugi thought this was quite amusing, and laughed quietly to himself as he watched my face. He was searching for something, and he must have found what he was looking for because he stood up from where he sat and motioned for me to follow him. I walked behind the counter and followed his footsteps to a door in the back of the store.
"This is the way into Yuugi's house," he said with an air of finality. "If you want to talk to Joey, he's inside." With that being said, he went back to where I had first found him and sat down, watching me out of the corner of his eye. I looked back at him and nodded my head in thanks. He waved me away, and I opened the door and stepped inside.
I scanned the surroundings quickly, and saw Joey within seconds, lying on the couch and watching something on the television. He was sprawled out in a lazy fashion, and it seemed as though he wasn't really paying too much attention to the screen. He had heard me enter and must have thought I was Yuugi, because he turned his head and I saw that he wore a smile that faded the instant his eyes fell upon the sight of me. Gee, great to see you, too.
"Kaiba? What are you doing here? I thought you hated this shop." His face was shocked, as well as a little frightened. I suspected that he thought I had come here to take my revenge for that kiss. Ha. It was good to strike fear into someone's heart again, and I smiled at the feeling before I corrected him. It just never gets old.
"I came to get you. Now get up, we're leaving." Leaving no room for argument, I turned away from him and opened the door that I had come in through, expecting him to immediately follow me. I heard no movement and I impatiently whirled around to see just what it was that he was doing. He hadn't even gotten up from the couch, althought he was now sitting as opposed to lying down.
"Hello? I said we're leaving."
Joey looked at me hesitantly before speaking. "Why?"
Each second that passed brought another wave of anger. Why did I have to answer to everyone all of a sudden? I bit back the comments that rose from within and twisted my features until they somewhat resembled indifference. It was better than rage, at the very least.
"Because I need to talk to you, and I don't want to do it here where that meddling fool will eavesdrop on what I have to say."
Joey blinked at me for a few moments before making his decision. He stood up from the couch and followed me out the door, waving goodbye to Yuugi as he left the shop with me.
"I heard that, Kaiba." Yuugi's other called out as I walked out the door.
"Precisely my point." I shouted back as I slammed the door shut, the bells jangling furiously under the force of my actions. I knew it.
Joey silently followed me to my car and got in the passenger side as I opened my own door and got inside as well.
"Nice car." he said quietly. I smirked as I started up the engine, going down in style.
AN: Can't you just see Seto doing everything in this chapter with that look on his face going "Damn it, damn it, damn it!" You know, all Seto needs is a nudge in the right direction. Well...maybe a kick in the face...in the right direction. And yes, the introduction of the other characters was imminent. I knew that. I just didn't want to admit it. But Yami really knows how to work people, even though I may not like how he abuses that power. Whatever. This is how I torture Seto. I torture Joey by making him bleed and do horrible things to himself. I torture Seto by making him feel. Isn't that amusing? I hope that you are still enjoying this story. I sure am. I want to give you something to believe in. I want you to see all of these things that I write about clearly in your mind, as though they actually happened. Perhaps you might believe that they exist, and this is a beautiful concept. I want to give you something to think about, as you lay awake at night. A way to picture Seto and Joey that is so exiting and so thrilling that you will have a fit of happiness and cover your walls in puppyshipping pictures. I have. Smile, for there is happiness for these two! I will create it.
Converting /tmp/phpxoHJJz to /dev/stdout
A Seto Centric Thingy by Katsuya Kaiba
AN:Chapter Six? Already? How is this happening? Actually, I know how it's happening, and it's not pretty. Here is a visual: Imagine me in a dark room, surrounded by pictures of Mana from Malice Mizer, hunched over the keyboard and typing maniacally, a crazed expression on my face. Now picture Seto Kaiba in a dark room, shuffling through his deck and making adjustments maniacally, a crazed expression on his face. My gentle friends, I have been possessed by the soul of Seto Kaiba, and I am losing ungodly amounts of sleep. This lazy part time author had made the swift transition into a Workaholic. I am enjoying my time as Seto, but rest assured I will be so very happy when I return to being possesed by Joey. We have so much fun together, although we rarely update anything together. These obsessive updates are the work of Seto's insane capacity for work.
Love
n.
1. A deep, tender, ineffable feeling of affection and solicitude toward a person, such as that arising from kinship, recognition of attractive qualities, or a sense of underlying oneness.
Just when I thought I had read quite enough, there was even more of this nonsense.
2. A feeling of intense desire and attraction toward a person with whom one is disposed to make a pair; the emotion of sex and romance.
Well, that was just great.
3. An intense emotional attachment, as for a pet or treasured object.
The last thing that I needed was an attatchment.
4. A person who is the object of deep or intense affection or attraction; beloved. Often used as a term of endearment.
I closed the dictionary with an ungodly force and flung it away from me. I watched it as it sailed across the room and slammed into the wall, then fell ungraciously to the floor with a muffled thump. I was not happy, and this book would suffer for the information it held.
These were the things Joey felt for me. This was it, and there was no way around it now that I fully understood all of the ramifications of this infection. Because of this wretched emotion, I had been subjected to intense interrogation, affectionate conversation, intimate confessions, a slap in the face and a very public kiss. And I wasn't even in love with anyone. All of these unfortunate consequences were the inevitable effects that this widespread virus held for all who would stand in it's path. I felt like leaving the country. I most certainly wasn't making any progress here. I wondered to myself what it was that I would consider to be making progress. I supposed that successfully driving Joey away would be an acceptable end.
I laughed quitely at that thought. I couldn't help myself, it was so promising, and yet so very hopeless. I knew that would never happen. All of my more recent attempts at driving Joey away had somehow drawn him to me like an unstoppable magnet. I was impossible to resist.
Well, that much he didn't have to tell me. I was aware.
But in all seriousness, this was something that I needed to sort out, and soon. I looked up at my alarm clock. 12:45. Sighing as I accepted my sleepless fate, I laid my head back on my pillows and gazed up at the ceiling, hoping that some sort of answer might be cleverly hidden in the paint cracks. No such luck. There weren't even any paint cracks to read, since I'd had the whole house repainted less than a year ago, completely snuffing out my chances in detecting a secret message anywhere in the room I was in. I had never felt so...immoveable. I had been backed into a corner, and right now my instincts were threatening to revert back into survival mode. I wasn't sure how I was trapped, or what it was that was pinning me, but I felt a new and unfamiliar restriction settling around the circumference of my mind. I allowed my devious subconscience to hesitantly drift back to that time earlier today, and the feeling that I had sensed washing over me.
'Some kind of unspoken agreement had been formed here, but an agreement to what I had no idea. What had I just sold myself into?'
I reached over and grabbed one of the pillows that I was currently not resting upon, and with a groan that spoke of great despair, I placed it over my face and closed my eyes in the darkness underneath. Perhaps here, even I wouldn't be able to see the Truth. I didn't want it, didn't need it, and I definitely didn't ask for it. Yet there it was, shining as brightly and sunnily as the clear and beaming smile that haunted my shadowed thoughts.
There was something inside of me that wouldn't drive him away completely.
Yes, I saw it. I had seen it coming a mile off. But here, underneath this soft and smothering sanctuary, I could look it in the eye and see it unrestrained for what it truly was.
I wasn't as adverse to the idea of Joey as I had originally planned to be. Not only the idea of Joey as he was, but the idea of Joey having those...feelings for me. I had let him kiss me. Without hesitation, and with no attempt to escape or get out of the situation. In all honesty, I had somewhat kissed him back. In no way was I in love with him, but I had an awful suspicion inside of me that whispered of the promise of like. To be in like with Joey Wheeler had become, unbeknownst to me, a feasible option in my mind. When had this occured? As I asked the question in my mind, I immediately was shown the answer, and I resolved to never ask my mind another thing ever again. It knew all the answers, and I didn't care to know them as soon as I saw what they were. I remembered a time that he and I had shared, a time that was not at all long gone. It had been quite recently.
'I stared at him from where I had fallen on my back, my face to the sky, and I turned my head in order to see him better. The sunlight came from behind Joey's head, making it's way towards the western sky in the late afternoon, and the red and yellow streams of light that filtered through his messy locks made him seem...shinier, for lack of a better description.'
I could see him as he was then so clearly behind my eyelids, as if my treacherous brain had purposedly burned it into my memory for later use. But now later had finally come, and I saw no use in hiding from anyone or anything, including myself. How could I expect to be rid of this problem if I didn't act against it? All of a sudden I got the impression that time was running out, and the opportunities to stop this were becoming few and far between. I did not need this, and I did not want this. I would have to put an end to all interaction betwwen Joey and I. I would have to.
"Kaiba!"
A voice carried over to me across the crowded school hallways, and without turning my head I quickened my pace. It wasn't Joey's voice, but it was a voice that belonged to someone else that I also did not wish to speak to under any circumstances. Perhaps I could lose him in the crowd.
"Kaiba, wait!"
My efforts were in vain, and within seconds I heard the scurrying footsteps that had been hastily approaching come to a halt in front of me, blocking my path.
Yuugi Mutou. If there had been anyone I wanted to see less than Joey, it would have been this kid.
He looked up at me, which was a fair distance as far as height was concerned, and he smiled before he spoke.
"Kaiba, how are you?" His voice was cheerful and honest, and I got the distinct impression that this boy actually did want to know how I was doing. I impatiently shifted my weight to one of my legs and gave him a very bored and disinterested look.
"Fine."
He blinked at my admission and smiled even wider, if such a thing were possible. I felt a grimace in the works, but I witheld for the moment and decided to wait and see what he had actually come to say to me. Maybe he knew where Joey was. I hadn't seen him at all, and now that the schoolday had ended I realized that Joey had skipped out.
"Do you know where Joey is? He never showed up at school today."
I didn't say anything to him at first. Why the hell would I know where the mutt had run off to? But then I thought of yesterday, and what they had seen...
"How should I know? You're supposed to be his friend, so why can't you keep an eye on him? What makes you think that I would have any idea?" I couldn't have his little entourage getting the impression that something was actually going on between Joey and I. Yuugi gave me a very sheepish look and let his eyes fall to the floor.
"Oh...well, I just thought that maybe...you might be able to tell me what's happening with him. He wouldn't talk to me at all yesterday after we saw you two in the hall...you know. I tried to talk to him, but he was so quiet, and I didn't want him to feel bad, so I just let him go home alone. But now he's skipping class, and..." He trailed off into a questioning silence and brought his eyes back up to gaze into mine. They were misty looking and threatened to spill over at any given moment... "What's going on between you and Joey?"
Christ.
He had come to me for help. Just great. Now I had to clean up Joey's messes as well as suffer the wrath of his affections. This was far too complicated and involving for my tastes. I had to tell Yuugi something, even if it was only to chase away his fears enough so that he might leave me alone. I knew that his overwhelming concern for Joey's well-being might drive him to do a number of things, and if accosting me daily with those tear filled eyes was one of those things, then I might as well correct this problem before it grew to the point of madness. I cannot stand to see people crying, being eaten alive by their own misery and self worth. It was a vile thing to behold.
I drew myself up to my full height and loomed down at the small boy, narrowing my eyes in a menacing fashion. Perhaps this might be easier for me to say if I did it in a very threatening way. It had always helped me out before.
"If I tell you, will you go away?"
Yuugi nodded enthusiastically. He hadn't expected this to work, and he must have been surprised that I would say anything to him at all, especially on a subject such as this. I supposed that if I had cared enough about it, I would have been surprised as well.
"Has Joey ever mentioned anything to you about someone that he liked?" I didn't want to give up any information that I didn't have to, so I decided to test the water in order to determine just what I needed to say and no more or less. This wasn't any of my business.
"No, he never said anything about another person that he liked. But has been acting funny for awhile now. I thought that he would tell me what was wrong when he was ready, so I didn't bother him about it." Yuugi continued to gaze at me wide eyed and confused, and I felt my lip curl of it's own accord. My god, the sheer emotion that this kid spilled forth was disgusting...
"Well, Joey told me that he was in love with me. Twice, actually. First he told me that he liked me in a rather obscure way, but when I questioned him about it later he accidentally let it slip that he had indeed fallen in love." Why was this so hard? Each word that I spoke seemed to take ages just to fall from my lips. The entire scene now felt like it was playing in a slower pace, and the seconds dragged on forever. This had no effect on me. So why was it so hard to say aloud?
"Really? When...when did he tell you?" Yuugi was taking the news a lot better than I had expected. Evidently it wasn't an issue for him who Joey was on about. All he cared about was his friend. How touching.
"Awhile ago. He didn't talk to me for a month or so, because I had...said something to him that was insulting, and he took it badly. But yesterday he seemed to be over it."
Yuugi was silent for a few seconds, and he appeared to be thinking about what I had just told him. It was a lot to take in one go, especially if you hadn't the slightest clue about it previously, having only witnessed a very confusing kiss. His face told me that something just wasn't clicking in his mind, and he spoke again, more quietly this time.
"Were you guys hiding it from us because you thought that we might disagree?"
What?
"No, you don't understand. WE are not hiding anything. There is no we. There is only Joey and his one sided infatuation. You can tell him that when you see him, if you want." I was finished here. I was extremely tired of unintentionally getting hopelessly entangled in other people's problems, and I stepped around Yuugi and left him where he stood.
"Kaiba." Yuugi's voice, although normally whisper soft, was strongly emphasized by the now empty hallway and it was amplified as it traveled to where I now stood still. I didn't turn to face him, but I stood firm and silent to hear the last thing he had to say. I hadn't heard him move either, so we were most likely facing in opposite directions, which was how I normally preferred to carry a conversation in the first place.
"If there is nothing between the two of you, why did you kiss him back yesterday?"
I said nothing. I had nothing to say, honestly. I didn't know the answer to that question, either. I wished that I did. He took my silence as the answer that it was and continued. His attitude was different now, almost as though he were challenging me to prove him wrong. This must be that...other one, or whatever.
"I will only say this once, Kaiba, and never again, so remember it well. Joey is my friend, and if you toy with his emotions and break his heart, you know that I will come for you. So I suggest that you decide on what it is you want. Joey would allow you to string him along forever, I'm sure, but I will not allow you that luxury. So make your choice."
As soon as he was finished, I continued walking away and never looked back. That arrogant asshole was always sticking his nose where it didn't belong. Unfortunately, I knew from experience that he had the power to back up his threats, so I remained silent and heard what he had to say.
I already knew all that. Why did he have to shove it in my face? I knew that I had to make a decision. I...I knew. I knew it, I just...I didn't want to look at it. I wanted it to fix itself. I wanted Joey to fix it for me. I thought back to when I had demanded that he fix it, and chuckled deeply to myself at the memory. But he had been correct in saying that I needed to fix myself. I just didn't know how. I couldn't wrap my mind around all of the foreign emotions and spastic thoughts that fluctuated wildly each time I saw him, talked to him, thought about him. It was consuming me, and I had to fix it. I wondered what it was that I had to do.
I wanted to go Home. So I went to look for Joey Wheeler.
I didn't know where he lived, not exactly. I knew the general area, but that didn't help me. So I went back to my house and chose a car to drive myself around in. I knew that any car would do, but although I didn't want to acknowledge the fact at the time, I decided on a particular vehicle that was most impressive and with a satisfied air I opened the door and got inside. If I was going down, it would have to be in style. And a little style never hurt anyone, especially when I might be picking up someone who I might want to impress.
The moment I heard that last thought as it ran across my mind, I froze in my seat and let my head fall onto the steering wheel in a fit of despair. What the hell was wrong with me? When had I given in to this little game of Joey's? I didn't care what he thought of me. I didn't care what anyone thought of me. That wasn't true...
My thoughts ran into one another and they fought and clawed as each one tried to come out as the clearest, as the loudest, but the one that won in the end was the last and the least listened to.
That wasn't true. I did care, and it infuriated me, but the thought wasn't nearly as infuriating as the other thought that I had been avidly pushing away. The idea of Joey, suffering alone somewhere because he thought that he couldn't ever speak to me again. I stopped thinking altogether and simply acted. I acted and drove off into the fading sunset, racking my brain for all the places that I had heard of Joey wasting away his time in. I supposed that the first order of business was to check into that understocked game store that Yuugi lived in. Why anyone would go there was beyond me, the only time I had ever been there I had seen what a pathetic selection they kept.
I needed to clear my head. Insults wouldn't get me anywhere, as much as I hated to admit that. This was uncharted territory, and I was going to have to be nicer if I wanted to get any information from that Yuugi kid. I wasn't going to insult anyone, but I never said anything about deviously acquiring information. There had to be some middle ground.
The cheap bell that was strung along the front door jangled as I forcefully shoved it open and strode inside importantly. Yuugi sat behind the counter and watched me as I wasted no time and walked directly up to him.
"Well, Kaiba, that was quick. I assume you want to know where you might find Joey."
No, not Yuugi. That other one, the one I hated even more than I hated Yuugi himself. I almost wanted to slap him for being so knowledgable, but I knew that if I did that he probably wouldn't give me any information. He must have known this as well, if he was able to mock me so openly with that smug look on his face. I bit the inside of my cheek and supressed the inner rage.
"Yes." I spoke and was surprised at the low tone in my voice. I sounded really angry.
Yuugi thought this was quite amusing, and laughed quietly to himself as he watched my face. He was searching for something, and he must have found what he was looking for because he stood up from where he sat and motioned for me to follow him. I walked behind the counter and followed his footsteps to a door in the back of the store.
"This is the way into Yuugi's house," he said with an air of finality. "If you want to talk to Joey, he's inside." With that being said, he went back to where I had first found him and sat down, watching me out of the corner of his eye. I looked back at him and nodded my head in thanks. He waved me away, and I opened the door and stepped inside.
I scanned the surroundings quickly, and saw Joey within seconds, lying on the couch and watching something on the television. He was sprawled out in a lazy fashion, and it seemed as though he wasn't really paying too much attention to the screen. He had heard me enter and must have thought I was Yuugi, because he turned his head and I saw that he wore a smile that faded the instant his eyes fell upon the sight of me. Gee, great to see you, too.
"Kaiba? What are you doing here? I thought you hated this shop." His face was shocked, as well as a little frightened. I suspected that he thought I had come here to take my revenge for that kiss. Ha. It was good to strike fear into someone's heart again, and I smiled at the feeling before I corrected him. It just never gets old.
"I came to get you. Now get up, we're leaving." Leaving no room for argument, I turned away from him and opened the door that I had come in through, expecting him to immediately follow me. I heard no movement and I impatiently whirled around to see just what it was that he was doing. He hadn't even gotten up from the couch, althought he was now sitting as opposed to lying down.
"Hello? I said we're leaving."
Joey looked at me hesitantly before speaking. "Why?"
Each second that passed brought another wave of anger. Why did I have to answer to everyone all of a sudden? I bit back the comments that rose from within and twisted my features until they somewhat resembled indifference. It was better than rage, at the very least.
"Because I need to talk to you, and I don't want to do it here where that meddling fool will eavesdrop on what I have to say."
Joey blinked at me for a few moments before making his decision. He stood up from the couch and followed me out the door, waving goodbye to Yuugi as he left the shop with me.
"I heard that, Kaiba." Yuugi's other called out as I walked out the door.
"Precisely my point." I shouted back as I slammed the door shut, the bells jangling furiously under the force of my actions. I knew it.
Joey silently followed me to my car and got in the passenger side as I opened my own door and got inside as well.
"Nice car." he said quietly. I smirked as I started up the engine, going down in style.
AN: Can't you just see Seto doing everything in this chapter with that look on his face going "Damn it, damn it, damn it!" You know, all Seto needs is a nudge in the right direction. Well...maybe a kick in the face...in the right direction. And yes, the introduction of the other characters was imminent. I knew that. I just didn't want to admit it. But Yami really knows how to work people, even though I may not like how he abuses that power. Whatever. This is how I torture Seto. I torture Joey by making him bleed and do horrible things to himself. I torture Seto by making him feel. Isn't that amusing? I hope that you are still enjoying this story. I sure am. I want to give you something to believe in. I want you to see all of these things that I write about clearly in your mind, as though they actually happened. Perhaps you might believe that they exist, and this is a beautiful concept. I want to give you something to think about, as you lay awake at night. A way to picture Seto and Joey that is so exiting and so thrilling that you will have a fit of happiness and cover your walls in puppyshipping pictures. I have. Smile, for there is happiness for these two! I will create it.
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