Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Disquieted Volition of Blue Eyes ❯ Second Haunt ( Chapter 2 )

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 you can skip for when this happens. This chapter, is safe. No, really, it is!


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

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Second Haunt

A tattered swear strayed from Kaiba's lips as the glaring heat from the high fiery sphere above beat down on him mercilessly.

Various warped sounds of life littered about his ears and made him grunt. Gritting his teeth, he forced his eyes to open.

Before they had time to adjust to the bright and sandy sights before him, his vision was obscured by the silhouettes of the natives.

Kaiba's ears buzzed with their random banter. Even though they spoke their own language, he could somehow understand it.

“Look at that!”

“A foreigner. Look at the dark clothes he bears.”

“No, such pale skin, it must be an omen!”

“An omen!”

“Another pale-skinned omen! Just like that white-haired demon girl!”

“What should we do with him?”

“Stone him!”

“Burn him!”

“Yes, let's stone him before the pharaoh finds out!”

“Yes!”

“N-Not a chance you cretins...” Kaiba croaked while pushing himself up from the cracked ground.

As he struggled to stand to his feet, he heard other sounds, voices, of awe, humility and of guilt.

Slithers of light parted between his contracted eyelids as he forced himself to open them.

He was able to identify the hoof of some sort and the whinny of a horse.

Peering upwards, he raised an arm to shield himself from the sun.

One word of question was all he was able to mutter before two figures surrounded him and knocked him out.

“My Pharaoh! My Pharaoh, the citizens in the kingdom's village have found a pale-skinned wanderer!”

“He is unarmed, but he wears odd clothing.”

“Perhaps he is a spy?”

“Isis, what can you tell us?”

“...Isis...?” Kaiba grumbled, disoriented. His heavy head swam with fits of vertigo and disequilibrium.

He was getting rather sick of randomly being knocked unconscious.

And again as before, he forced his eyes to open.

His pale lids slowly lifted, revealing hazy cerulean orbs in the presence of glistening aquamarine.

“Ishizu...?”

“Isis” the bronze-tanned woman corrected him.

“Ai...?” Kaiba panted, then shook his head. Upon doing so, he became quickly aware of the chains bound to his arms and the spears pointed at his neck on either side of him. Ignoring them, he glared at the woman. “Where am I? Am I in Atem's afterlife?”

A flurry of outraged gasps echoed throughout the room.

“Who dares to speak of the mighty Pharaoh in such disrespect?!” a deep and articulated voice boomed, entering into the room.

For a moment, Kaiba thought he was looking in a mirror.

But his eyes narrowed upon recognizing the priest. “Oh, it's you. Where is...your mighty pharaoh?” he mocked sarcastically, still being held by the arms in captivity.

“You wretch! I will not have you address me so casually, nor speak of the Pharaoh in such a--!”

“Kaiba?”

The air in the room suddenly shifted from thin to dense at the surprised voice of the Pharaoh of Egypt himself.

The delicate sound of reverberating cool gold clinking together in a sort of chorus resonated in unison with each noble footstep. Dark tufts of hair accented with layers of carmine and golden blonde swayed slightly while being nestled around a large regal headpiece that circled Atem's forehead.

Wide deep red-violet eyes teemed with a hidden allure that was enhanced by rich kohl about the lashes and seemed to soften at the sight of the otherworldly male.

Yet, his browned muscular body tensed and his lips pressed together in an unreadable flat line.

It couldn't be deciphered if he were appeased or appalled at Kaiba's arrival.

“Atem...” Kaiba exhaled, appearing relieved and shocked in the same breath.

“You were warned, heathen!” the priest reprimanded and pulled out a dagger, ready to slash the fiend's throat.

“Seto, that is enough! Stop this at once or you shall face severe consequences afterwards!” Atem's sonorous voice demanded, littered with discreet care.

His order struck all of his subjects to their core and they bowed to him, praising his knowledge and actions.

Kaiba said nothing, but watched Atem “play pharaoh” with a flicker of a smug smirk dressed across his lips.

“I see you've gotten used to the power trips, Atem.” Kaiba mocked, which sent a deathly threatening look his way from his ancient counterpart.

Atem smirked faintly and a small sound of amused wariness swept from his lips. “Release the pale one. He is a dear friend of mine.” he explained smoothly.

His court exchanged various glances, especially scowling ones from the noble Seto and bewildered ones from from the cautious Isis.

“But, my Pharaoh, if I may speak freely...” Priest Seto approached with authority in his voice, but one shake of his Pharaoh's head was all it took to humble him.

“You all are dismissed until I need to send for you. Until then, please treat this man as an honored guest.”

Pausing, Atem's eyes glided over to Kaiba and contracted a tad. “But do not make haste with making him feel comfortable. He and I are in need of an immediate private audience.”

Respectful agreements were relinquished to Atem by his court before they obediently dispersed.

Seto gave his Pharaoh one last lingering look before pushing past Kaiba and leaving the palace.

The spear guards swiftly unbound Kaiba, bowed to their leader then went about their business to another section of the palace.

Searching clouded blue eyes met with intent mauve through the passing people.

This was the moment Kaiba had yearned for. For whatever range of emotions and bitterness he held against Atem, he could finally get them off his chest. Finally he could receive closure and make Atem suffer the same loneliness and failure like he had.

“Excuse me.” a soft voice pardoned, begging Kaiba's attention.

Without bothering to move his head, his eyes trailed over to the opulent woman that stood next to him.

“What is it?”

“Since you are to be the Pharaoh's revered guest, then it should do you good to wear this on your skin.” she continued, sliding her turgid and slender fingers into her garment and revealing a small vial of a creamed liquid.

Kaiba eyed the substance skeptically. “What is that....”

“Creamed oil. It is for your skin to allow you to tan more quickly.” she informed accurately. “If you were to at least look like one of the Pharaoh's people, your chances of being mistaken for a heathen foreigner would be less likely.”

Kaiba half-frowned. “I don't care what anyone else thinks.” he retorted curtly with hints of arrogance.

A tiny smirk curved her moistened lips. “Then I believe you must not care for a sentence of being stoned to death. Nor to having your ka torn right out of you where you stand.”

Kaiba only stared tersely at her with a frown. He didn't come there to hang around long enough to be invited on a picnic, not to mention become just like the rest of them to fit in.

He wanted to settle his troubles and leave.

But this woman reminded him too much of Ishizu. And if she was indeed her past self, he knew better than to resist her offers of something possibly beneficial.

Still not bothering to acknowledge the woman's face, Kaiba snatched the small bottle from her and shoved it into his pocket.

“You are dismissed now, Isis.” he hissed in a mock regal tone and walked past her.

Perplexed aqua narrowed beneath kohl-trimmed tanned lids as she watched him go. “...” Gingerly, she placed her light fingertips against the cool engravings of her Millennium Necklace and sighed. Then, left out of the vast room, closing the thick doors behind her.

At last, the two were alone.

Solitary.

Silent.

Enclosed.

One of them sought answers while the other internally fought with his combating emotions.

Except now that Kaiba had Atem within his vengeful reach, he had no idea of how to settle things.

His mind drew a complete blank.

Atem, on the other hand, was shocked by his former rival's sudden intrusion, but had a pretty good inkling of why he was there.

A thick cloud of misplaced silence settled between them as neither one dared to take a step closer to the other.

But soon growing tiresome of such uselessness, it was Atem who took the first step forward.

Dubious cerulean scrutinized every movement Atem took; every fluid and prideful step.

And unknown to Kaiba, his body began to tense and his hands began to curl into fists.

He had felt so much anger, so much hatred even, towards the thinner male before him.

But the more he watched Atem, the more that anger began to lift as something else was moved into its place.

Atem took silent note of Kaiba's actions, but decided not to think too much of it.

The moment every accessory and piece of jewelery ceased its jingling prose, Atem gave Kaiba a reassuring, but stern smile.

“Shall we go?”

“Go where.” Kaiba asked flatly, an unreadable expression thriving in his glazed eyes.

Atem frowned a bit. “To see that woman. The ka of the Blue Eyes White Dragon you adore so much.”

Kaiba blinked in uncertainty in not only Atem's choice of reference towards the woman he spoke of, but also the fact that he would think that was solely Kaiba's reason for being there.

The irony of it all almost made Kaiba chuckle.

Almost. But a scoff came out instead.

“I didn't come all the way here to see Kisara.” he stated with a little more edge to his voice than necessary.

Atem's eyes widened slightly, both at this declaration as well as the statement's emphasis. “Is that so?”

“...”

“So for what reason did you come here?” the pharaoh asked with taunting allure glistening in his eyes but his lips in a thin line.

Kaiba said nothing, then finally shook his head. He didn't know what he wanted anymore. Suddenly, he was starting to feel like quite the fool for being so bent on coming to Atem's afterlife in the first place.

Discerning red-violet searched the silent other, then stood at his side.

“Let us go.” Atem stated promptly and began to walk away from Kaiba towards a set of smaller doors opposite of the one Isis left through earlier.

Not being left with much choice, Kaiba groaned heavily and ran a hand through his messy locks before following after the lithe pharaoh.

--

-Mel