Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ El Lado Del Rio ❯ Chapter 4 ( Chapter 4 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Chapter Four

As his slender fingers slid over the keys of his laptop, Seto Kaiba's eyes drifted unfocusedly around the room. He didn't need to look at the screen since his hands were so accustomed to typing. This was proving to be a bit of a problem. In his time at Oxford, he'd discovered a rather disturbing talent of multitasking. Most people would be extremely pleased to discover such a talent, but for Seto, it meant that he could perform almost any task and daydream at the same time. This, of course, meant that one blond in particular would never leave his thoughts again.

He still didn't understand his fascination, obsession and…he hated to say it…love for that boy. As hard as he tried to look at Katsuya through that red lens of hatred, the red would always seep away to a pearlescent, translucent white. And through this window, his…no…not his…Katsuya appeared heavenly, godlike in his magnificence. His honey eyes were matched in brilliancy only by his golden hair, strands of gold caressed by the sun. O, how Seto cursed the Sun, always able to touch where he couldn't.

Seto growled, he was sounding like a lovesick girl spouting pathetic poetry. If there was one thing he wasn't, he was never a lovesick girl. He had to find a way to resolve this, NOW.

Suddenly, he smiled. He could tell the midget or Mutou Yugi, as the short boy was known to the world. Why this occurred to him, he wasn't sure. The boy was trustworthy, if not anything. Seto loathed him with a passion but also grudgingly admired the boy for his determination. Maybe, someday, Seto could ask him to relay the information.

Glancing at the clock on his mahogany desk, he noticed it was just 12:03. Perfect, it would take him less than fifteen minutes to get to Mutou's house.

After snapping his laptop shut, Seto stood up and gracefully stretched upwards. At least, after he told someone, he might be able to get some peace. However, a small voice in his heart whispered that he'd never be satisfied telling anyone but Katsuya. But the voice was quickly quashed by Seto's pride. Or was it fear?

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After about a 10 minute walk, Jou found himself outside of the Kame Game Shop. This had to be one of his favorite places in the world. It held so many wonderful memories of time spent with his friends.

The bell on the door tinkled as he entered. At the counter was an elderly man with hair similar to Yugi's, though now a steely grey.

“Jou! It's good to see you. You left your friends rather distraught when you rushed off the other night.”

“Uh, yeah. Sorry `bout that. I had a lotta stuff on my mind.”

“Well, Yugi is upstairs in his room. Go right up.”

“Thanks, Mutou-san.”

Jou preceded towards a door behind the counter. This door connected the shop front to the comfy home behind. Through the door, a staircase facing it leads up to the second story. A short hallway connected to staircase; Yugi's room was the door farthest down the hallway by the window. As Jou reached the door, said door opened revealing the person Jou was searching out.

“Jou! What's up? What're you doing here? Are you ok? You look tired!”

“Whoa, slow down there, Yug. I'm fine. Though there's something I need to talk to you about.”

Yugi's face relaxed as he listened to Jou speak. He had a feeling Jou would want to talk at some point that the other night when he ran away.

“Alright then. Would you rather we stay upstairs or go downstairs?”

“If it's alright with you Yug, I'd rather stay upstairs. This ain't something I really want anyone else knowing besides you.”

The last after-thought left Yugi a little puzzled. What could Jou want to tell him and not tell Anzu or Honda about?

“Sure, alright…come in then.”

Jou quickly stepped inside Yugi's room after him and snapped the door shut.

“Would you like to sit?” Yugi asked gesturing towards the chair sitting before his desk.

“Yeah, you should probably sit too. This might take a while.”

Yugi sank into his bed and crossed his legs. This was starting to worry him more than just a little. Now that he could see Jou plainly with decent light, he noticed that the blond boy looked thinner than before and much more tired. Jou never said anything about sleeping poorly at night, so the reason was likely something more serious. Well, I guess my questions are about to be answered…I just hope it isn't anything too serious or life-threatening…

“Ok, Yug. This is gonna sound weird to start out with. What do you think of Kaiba?”

Yugi was taken slightly aback. What did Kaiba have to do with anything? But he answered honestly just the same.

“Well, Jou, I guess I feel a little sorry for him. I don't know completely of his past but I think he was hurt in some way then. Hence, why he's so brusque and seemingly uncaring now. I know he has a lot of pride and I'm not sure that it's all misplaced. He seems really lonely too. I can't imagine that just having his little brother around all the time would be fulfilling his need for society but then again, I'm just speculating.”

As Yugi finished, Jou frowned slightly. It wasn't exactly the answer he'd been expecting. Though, it didn't surprise him that Yugi expressed no sentiments of disdain or distrust of the brunette.

“Ok, Yug. I guess I hafta to say brace yourself. It's going to get even weirder.”

Yugi's eyes reflected how surprised he was. Jou was not acting like himself at all.

“Yugi…I…I think I might have feelings for him.”

“Feelings…as in love?”

Jou blushed. Heat slowly crept up his face and his blush deepened.

“M-maybe.” He whispered softly.

Yugi suddenly smiled, “Well, Jou, this isn't as terrible as I would have expected. I thought you were going to tell me you had end-stage cancer or something like that. In any case, I'm glad you told me since now I can try to help you with the problem at hand.”

Jou looked up with a surprised face at his friend. This wasn't the reaction he'd been expecting. At all. Yugi looked almost relieved. But then, Jou decided he had underestimated Yugi's compassion for others. Even after all that Kaiba had done to them, he was still willing to forgive.

“So, you don't think I'm weird, Yug? Ya know, for being gay?”

“Of course not, Jou. You're my best friend. No matter who you are, you'll still be my best friend.”

Jou was struck by how frankly Yugi spoke. As he watched the smiling boy, his heart lifted slightly out of the shadow it had lived in for so long. Maybe things would be better in the end.

“Jou, if you don't mind me asking. When exactly did this start?”

A pause. “I really can't tell ya, Yug. I just know that after he left, he was all I could think about for a long time. Whenever I thought about him, my heart would start to hurt. When I saw him again-”

“Wait. You saw him? He's back?”

Jou paused again. “Oh yeah, sorry I forgot to mention that. I bumped into him after I left your house the other night. Well, more like he found me but anyways, it was so different when I saw him again. My heart started to pound really hard. I could barely breathe when I looked into his eyes.”

Yugi watched as a dreamy expression stole over Jou's face. He looked much calmer than he had in recent weeks. His eyes seemed to glow of their own accord. Suddenly, sunlight broke through the some cloud outside and streamed in through the window. It flowed softly over Jou's face illuminating it. He lost the pallor that seemed to haunt him for a long time. Yugi suddenly realized something. My god, Jou really does love him and that's why he's in this state because he hasn't seen him for so long!

This realization on Yugi's part worried him slightly as it meant the possibility of unhappiness for Jou until his last day. After all, it was completely unknown to Yugi of the other boy's sentiments. However he would soon find out as the said brunette was approaching in his blue Corvette.

Seto slowed to a halt in front of the game shop where Yugi and his grandfather lived. He eyed the location warily before getting out of his car and setting the alarm. As he reached the door, he pulled it open and went inside. A bell tinkled from the door as it opened and closed. The elder Mutou looked up from his book and was met by the sight of Kaiba Seto in his shop.

“Seto-kun, what on earth are you doing here?”

Seto merely stared at the elderly man for a few moments before saying simply,

“I need to speak with Yugi.”

“Oh I see. He's upstairs in his room. Should I call him down?”

“Ah-…that won't be necessary. I'll go up instead. Which room is his?”

“The last door in the hall next to the window.”

“Thank you.”

The elder Mutou stared dumbfounded after the brunette. When had that boy ever been polite to him? Then again, from what Yugi had told him, the Kaiba who had viciously defeated him several years ago had matured into a slightly more polite person, though still quite arrogant in his own way. Still, nothing in the elder Mutou's mind could explain why on earth Kaiba Seto would come to his shop on a Sunday to speak with Yugi. What puzzled him more was what Kaiba needed to speak with Yugi about. From what Yugi had told him, Kaiba had been out of the country for nearly a year. Things were becoming quite strange again. Though, Mutou-san had to guess, there were some definitively different reasons this time.

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Yugi continued observing Jou after he finished talking. The sunlight that crossed the blond boy's face gave him an inner glow that was quite unique. Yugi had only seen it less than a handful of times. They were mostly when Jou was dueling and doing extremely well. Though it was clear to Yugi that this wasn't a flush of victory but a much stronger emotion.

Abruptly, a soft knock-knock came at his door.

“Come in.”

The door slowly opened to reveal a cautious looking Kaiba Seto.

Jou's eyes widen as they set upon the very person he'd just been speaking so amorously about. His blush deepened as Seto's eyes drifted around the room to settle on his. The spark of electricity was instant as a million emotions crossed the short space between them. Seto was too shocked to see Jou there to do anything but simply stare at the blond boy. The way the sunlight poured across his face was…astonishing.

Seto hadn't thought it possible for a human being to look like that.

Though neither had spoken a word, Yugi hadn't missed the instant connection when Seto stepped into the room. As he watched the two settled into simply staring at each other, his worry lifted slightly. The way that Seto's eyes were so intensely locked on Jou's spoke of a changed relationship from before. A very different relationship…

“Ah, Kaiba-san. Sorry, I was just on my way out to run an errand for my grandfather. Jou's staying here, so why don't you keep him company? I'm sure he won't mind! Don't worry, I'll be back later.”

With that, Yugi quickly slipped out of the room, but not before throwing Jou a surreptitious wink. Jou could only stare after Yugi shocked. What on earth was he thinking? Leaving Jou in the same room as Kaiba Seto. It's a recipe for disaster. Well, it was before Seto left for another country.

Jou gulped and glanced at Seto from the corner of his eye. Seto's gaze had not shifted to outside the window somewhere. Seto's thoughts were a jumble right now. Part of him was screaming to just leave but another part was whispering in his ear to tell Jou how he felt. Currently, the two schools of thought were battling for dominance. The side that wanted to tell Jou was quickly winning though. Seto thought quickly to himself how Yugi had said that Jou wouldn't mind Seto keeping him company. That could mean one of many things, but Seto could only hope it meant what he hoped.

“Jou…Katsuya, I have something I need to tell you that is of utmost importance. If I tell you, will you please promise to keep it a secret? At least until I feel ready to tell others about it?”

Katsuya stared confusedly at Seto. When did a Kaiba say please when he asked for something? Why would Seto confide in him now? What on earth could he have to say that Katsuya needed to keep a secret?

Seeing no other viable choice really, Katsuya nodded the affirmative.

Seto breathed in softly and began.

“You know, I was gone abroad for a year studying. I realized something in that time that has, since, become of incredible importance. What I realized was that there was someone here whom I cared for deeply. Love even...”

Katsuya's breath hitched in his chest and his heart jumped into his throat. Good god…is he talkin' about me? Seto kneeled down again like he did the first time they had met at the park.

“I…I'm talking about you, Katsuya. I don't understand my affection but I don't doubt it either. You have to understand how much effort I'm putting into this, how much trust. I think you can easily remember when what I'm saying right now would have seemed downright impossible. But please, I…I learned that I'm empty without you. I have no joy, no laughter in life without you around. Needless to say, teasing someone else isn't nearly as pleasing as teasing you.”

Katsuya could only continue staring at the pair of shimmering sapphire eyes before him. Oh, how rich and vibrant they looked now, filled to the brim with an emotion so strong, it made them glow like the jewels they resembled. He wasn't sure what he could say, would say, wanted to say. It seemed to the gods who had laughed before had also blessed him.

“Katsuya, say something?”

“Seto, I…oh, I never thought this was possi-…”

Suddenly, the edges of his vision began to swim and darken. For some reason, he couldn't hear himself speak anymore and he felt as though he were falling.

The last thing he could remember was being held by a pair of strong, warm arms not unlike those from his dream and a soft, gentle voice whispering his name in his ear. He looked up as the darkness nearly swallowed everything to see soft, worried cerulean eyes looking down at him. Finally, the darkness claimed him entirely and he fell away into nothingness…

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