Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Disquieted Volition of Blue Eyes ❯ First Haunt ( Chapter 1 )

Disquieted Volition of Blue Eyes

A/N: A big note to non-shounen ai peeps, this story will contain vaguely descriptive lime towards Atem and Kaiba. I will indicate which chapters are and where you can mostly skip part of the chapter for when this happens. This chapter, is safe.

Disclaimer: I do not own YuGiOh nor any of its characters.

--

First Haunt

A frustrated swear rang throughout Seto Kaiba's office as another modified duel disk clashed against the wall and broke into scattered pieces.

“Dammit all I'm doing is wasting my time!” he vociferated in an acidic tone, throwing another hologram component at the wall.

His body shook in vexation in the dimmed room; the dull glint from his belt the only hint of luminance against the abyss-hued outfit he wore.

A terrible year had crept begrudgingly by since Atem reclaimed his name and entered his afterlife.

A terrible year that Seto had refused to admit was because of him being miserable without the pharaoh in his life.

Seto had sharply cut off any kind of contact with everyone he knew and practically shut himself out from his own personal life.

It was a surprise Mokuba still had the interest to stay near his brother's side. He had been used to Seto's coldness through the years, but it had grown into an entity ten times as worse.

In addition to Seto's new unbecoming attitude, he had contracted an unknown illness that was pronounced fatal but was not treatable to even the best-paid doctors.

And worse still, his ideas for his company had all been misconceptions and were all failures. A large percentage of his company profits had suffered because of it.

He had lost all focus and nearly lost his company.

The money meant nothing to him. Everything was a waste now there was no one greater than him at Duel Monsters. He had no one to push him to his greatest limits anymore.

Mokuba tried his best, but his efforts were empty and nothing but attempts at pure failure in his older brother's clouded eyes.

Throughly vexed, Kaiba roughly ran a hand through his messy locks and forcefully pushed everything off of his desk.

“How could he leave me here as if I meant nothing...?!” he grit through his teeth and kicked his swivel chair to the floor.

“How could he duel that pathetic disgrace instead of me... ?!” he spat, deliberately avoiding mentioning Yugi's name. “He has no other competition except me!”

Fleeting blue eyes narrowed in the midst of his dilemma.

Now only a shell of his former stature, the dispirited CEO sunk to the edge of his desk and wallowed guiltily in his obsession.

The madness needed to end.

The urge and neediness for closure practically screamed at the disgruntled male. To goto Atem's tomb and leave his frustrations there.

At first, he declared it useless to do something so fruitless. Yet, second thoughts wrought his being and he reluctantly went with them.

He was probably going to die soon anyway.

With a grunt, Kaiba forced himself from the desk and violently fumbled around on the floor for his office phone.

“Hello?” Mokuba's unsure voice drifted into the Seto's ear. “Seto? Is that you?!! You never call! I had no idea--”

Seto shut his troubled eyes, listening to his brother's excited rambling.

And only for a second, Seto embraced relief. But his words twisted into the exact contrast. “Stay with a friend after school.”

“And then-- Huh? Wh-why?”

“I'll be leaving for a few days. If I'm not back by early Monday morning, call someone to watch you.”

A gasp sparked between them. “But Seto, where are you...”

“Goodbye Mokuba.”

An echoed click soon became the only sound in the room before Seto gathered his frigidity and headed out the door.

--

By the time Kaiba arrived to his destination, it was already sunset.

Somber clouds shared his malcontent demeanor and hung imminently to a hidden precursor.

Leaping out of his Blue Eyes White Dragon jet, he devoidly approached the stairs to the tomb. Yet, he didn't expect its doors to be open.

“Someone else is here?” he grumbled to himself and made haste to the interior.

Jagged rocks, uprooted earth and shattered pillars decorated the destroyed tomb in haunting disarray.

Once he made his way through it, his dispassionate eyes fell on the crouching form of a woman.

Her thick flowing hair spilled over her elegant shoulders and spread down her slender back in separated masses and strands as she turned to meet with the tomb's unexpected visitor.

Piercing blue narrowed fiercely at pliant teal.

“Seto...Kaiba?” the enthusiasm in her tone far surpassed her surprise and she quickly rose to greet him.

Seto said nothing, but studied her every move as she lessened the space between them.

“I never expected to see you here. Is there a special occasion?” she inquired almost breathlessly, smoothing back locks of silken ebony.

It was obvious he was missed in some way. Yet, it appeared that the feeling was not mutual.

Seto frowned deeply and tossed her a scowling expression. He would been better off if she hadn't seen him at such a degrading low.

Rudely, he shifted his eyes away from her vibrant grace and stared off into the dark and decrepit distance elsewhere.

“My Ra, it would seems the last year took quite a toll on you, Seto.” she pointed out, lightly touching the dark circles beneath his eyes with a gentle gaze from her own.

Seto's jaw tensed before he parted his lips to respond.

“What are you doing here” he demanded flatly, still not looking at her.

“Paying my respects.” she answered placidly. Her eyes hardened slightly. “You neglected to answer my question.”

“This time of day?” he risked glancing at her and she snagged that slither of attention immediately, staring dead at him with serious eyes.

“Were you always this avoidant, Seto?”

“You were always this annoying, Ishizu.”

“What business do you have here?” she pressed, her tone solidifying.

“None of yours.” he stated promptly and started to walk past her.

Hurt flickered in her eyes for a fleeting moment before determination took its place. “The pharaohs tomb is my business, unless you've forgotten the tomb-keeper's duty.”

Seto said nothing, ignoring her.

Instead, his glazed blue eyes etched over the cracks and gapes in the walls and floor where the sarcophagus that once held the Millennium Items formerly was.

A headache began to surface and an internal entity wrenched at his heart. A sudden shudder faltered his posture but he managed to hide it in shifting his weight to the opposite side.

Curse that illness. But Seto had more important things on his mind.

Atem.

Seto's reason for being in this accursed place to begin with.

But now that he had finally arrived at Atem's tomb, what could he do? It wasn't like he could bring Atem back.

And as if his thoughts were spoken, Ishizu keenly picked up on them. Her soft footsteps barely scraped against the gritty floor as she walked over and stood beside him.

Seto didn't flinch.

“You wish to see the pharaoh?” she asked calmly, her eyes occupying the same locations as him.

He blinked.

When he didn't answer right away, the graceful woman slowly turned to him, but was oddly not surprised to discover him staring at her.

It was something he always did when she spoke of something that interested him and was a simple gesture that not many received.

But something was different.

Instead of the usual lingering intent his eyes showed when he would look at her, she felt her heart sink from the one expression she never expected to see.

Bleak emptiness. And at the same time, coupled with a deep sorrow and silent plead.

Kaiba would never plead for anything.

He was desperate and tormented by something. She felt her heart stop and her eyes widen from the sudden realization.

Pained, she tore her eyes away from his, unable to bear the weight of them.

Ishizu's odd behavior didn't go unacknowledged by the dispirited young man, but there was nothing he could do for her.

“Ishizu...”

“....Well, Seto?”

An uncomfortable silence pressed between them.

Ishizu had her back to him, as he had to her. But like always, he turned to look at her.

Subdued lupine spread hesitantly over her poised back and tapered through her thick feathery hair.

And for a few moments, he almost regretted even talking to her in the first place.

She was in his way. But in the same respect, she also may be able to help him.

Finally, he managed to locate his battered voice. “Yes. There is something I need to settle with him.”

“You can't wish him back if that is what you may have been wondering.” she answered sharply.

Seto said nothing, but returned his divided attention to the walls and gate the spirit passed through to his underworld.

“I don't care. There's something he took from me and I won't rest until I get it back.”

She forced a false laugh. “Your pride, Seto? Is that it?” she half-smiled, hiding her eyes beneath fluffy lashes as she turned to him. “Perhaps you would wish to see him for a duel?” she mocked sarcastically.

“...I told you it was none of your business. If you're done paying your respects, get out.” he stated curtly, glaring at her.

“I will be the judge of my actions, thank you.”

“You're failing.”

“And you are being unreasonable.

“You're not very good at personal jabs either. Try again.”

Tired of their primitive banter, Ishizu spun around and glared poison-tainted dirks and daggers into his back. “Seto, you are fooling yourself!”

“And you have a hard time listening. I said I don't care.”

“Let the pharaoh rest! There is nothing more for you with him!”

His jaw began to clench again, as did a fist.

But the woman continued. “Please just allow him to rest!”

“No! I can't and I won't, Ishizu!” he snapped back in an acidic tone. Acute blue eyes shifted wildly in unyielding finality that caught Ishizu off guard.

She gasped, taken aback. “Wh-what do you--”

“Do you know what it's like to be kept awake at night, never getting any sleep because you're being haunted by the ghost of someone that left you behind!?! Have you ever lost the will to do anything constructive because that ghost would never leave you alone?! Constantly toying with your mind into having you believe you were nothing?!” he intensely gestured, his tone heightening and growling, accentuating his pained overreaction.

He was bordering the brinks of insanity.

Ishizu took a step back. She had never seen Seto so hysteric before. “Seto, calm yourself!”

“Calm?!” he quipped in a suppressed hiss. “Look at me, do I LOOK LIKE I can be calm?!!” he yelled, pointing at his darkened eyes. “This is all his fault! It's his fault I can never get his memory out of my head! It won't let me sleep, my company is plummeting and Mokuba has distanced himself from me! By my own hand! Because I can't stand to deal with this anymore!”

“S...Seto...” she faltered, slowly shaking her head. She was immensely amazed by his grandiose level of obsession with the pharaoh. She had always known he was determined to best the pharaoh, but this was something completely unhealthy.

Towards anyone else that was not of her own blood or family she trusted, she probably would have also distanced herself from him. But she didn't run. She stayed, fearing for both their lives.

“If he won't let me rest, I'll return the favor.”

“But Seto, you can't go on living your life like--”

“My life?! I'm already dead!” he spat “Atem is all that MATTERS to me right now!”

His words struck her deeply and nearly all the breath left her body as her surroundings dulled.

Even in his afterlife, the pharaoh managed to sweep Seto even further away from her.

“I... I see...” she squeaked, trying to maintain her proper stature. Delicate hands clasped the other tightly and slender fingers entwined in front of her; locking her adversity within their taut confinements.

“I understand, Seto.” she spoke with a dignified air to hide her anxiety.

“No you don't understand, Ishizu...” he declared with a distinct edge to her name as if it were a forbidden word.

His expression then malformed into one she couldn't read. “If you had even three bits of any kind of understanding, you would be able to do something.”

“I can't.”

“Or you won't.”

“There is nothing I can do to help feed your possessed obsession.” she seethed.

“Perhaps, I can be of assistance.”

Both the forlorn woman and despondent young man turned into the mysterious presence of Shadi.

His entity was transparent, indicating his body may have become lost to him. But he still remained loyal to his pharaoh even while he thrived in the afterlife beyond the gate.

“Shadi...” Ishizu murmured in surprise and thankful for his “diversion” from her battling emotions. “What brings you here?”

“A strong desire of the forbidden and the impossible.” Shadi spoke directly, pinning his stern gaze to Kaiba's.

The younger male scoffed at the words. “In other words, you are useless.”

“Am I, Seto? You wish to see the pharaoh, correct?”

Seto swallowed. “ Yes.”

Shadi studied him while continuing on seamlessly. “And you also are suffering from an unidentifiable illness, correct?”

Unbelieving aquamarine flashed to the dejected male with denial wavering within them. “Is this true?” she questioned, her words hefty and laced with concern.

Ignoring her, Seto stepped closer to the projection of Shadi before him. “If I'm going to die soon anyway, I may as well risk it all on a bothersome memory that won't leave me alone.” His words consisted of regret, but his tone carried the contrary of seriousness and determination.

Ishizu was mortified. “Seto, no! You don't know what you're getting yourself into!”

“Know your place, Ishizu.” Shadi scolded in a straight and even voice without bothering to look at her. “Don't bother to expose your feelings in vain to an empty shell that refuses to accept them. Now...” he continued, returning the direction of his words towards Kaiba. “ If I agree to help you settle your...troubled emotions, would you be willing to accept whatever challenge I give you?”

Pausing, Seto slipped a quick glance towards the pained woman who turned her back to him, then looked Shadi dead in the eyes.

“...Whatever, I've already told you I have nothing to lose. Just do it.”

“Very well.” the spirit affirmed. “Your soul is now being tested.”

Before Seto could even question the meaning behind those cryptic words, a heavy force felt as if it were pressing down on his shoulders and seeping inside his chest, suffocating him.

He staggered, then dropped to his knees, choking out garbled and incoherent words as his consciousness felt as if it were being ripped right from his body.

The mystic spirit's shallow eyes watched the younger man's lifeless shell drop to the dusty and broken floor.

Ishizu forced herself not to look. Lithe fingers curled at her pounding chest as her breath caught in her throat.

Shadi remained silent, then looked slowly towards the gate without turning. “He got his wish.”

“What...” Ishizu stammered airily, “What... did you do to him, Shadi?”

“Fear not. I simply sent his soul to the world of his much sought after pharaoh. Yet, while this test commences, his body will remain here in an incapacitated state.”

Hearing that, Ishizu tore herself away from whatever ails she felt and knelt at Seto's side. Shakily, she grabbed a wrist and pressed two fingers against it, then did the same against the right side of his neck.

“He... He's in a coma?”

“And he until he makes a decision on which is most important to him, he will stay that way. Or he will die.”

Feeling her heart be dragged into the pit of her stomach, Ishizu hung her head, then mustered every ounce of confidence and self-control she had to lift it again. Dapples of a warm clear liquid began to collect amongst her lowered lashes. “Is there no other way?” she inquired unevenly.

Still not facing her, Shadi spoke the consequences. “If he were to choose to remain in a place where he does not belong, then his soul will disintegrate and his body will die. If he were to choose to remain in his own life and time, he will live.”

“B...But, his illness you spoke of... If it's unidentifiable and he returns to the living...”

Yet, Shadi continued on as if she had said nothing. “But, it is all upto him to determine is own fate. Such as he always prefers.”

Fighting back waves of sorrow and wails of grief, Ishizu bit her lip and held everything back. Only her silent tears continued to seep out beneath her closed lids and spill down her beautiful pained face. “I... I understand.”

“It would be best within your intentions to summon immediate medical attention.” Shadi suggested, his level tone unchanging.

Ishizu nodded. “Yes. I should also contact Mokuba to tell him...” she trailed off, realizing that she was only talking to herself.

One arm draped over Seto's prone form protectively, as she pulled out her cell phone and called for an ambulance.

--

-Mel