Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Falling From Grace ❯ Chapter 23 ( Chapter 23 )

YUGIOH

Falling From Grace

 

 

 

Chapter 23.

It was another school day, and Yugi was worried. Tristan came to class, but there was no sign of Joey, nor Tea. 'Where is everyone?', he wondered. And the Duel was today, too. He needed all the friends he could as strength against Kaiba......and he had been feeling so empty and run-down, lately. He wasn't even sure if he wanted to do this duel.

 

'But we have to', Yami said, sensing Yugi's concern. 'Kaiba has no right to bully our friends around. He has to see that he cannot gain friends through bribery. Besides, something is happening that we need to get to the bottom of. If Kaiba's not responsible for Tea's actions, then we need to find out the reason for her sudden change of heart.'

 

'You're right', Yugi said. If there was any way to get through to Kaiba, it was by dueling. Yami and Kaiba dueling was like the comparison of average people having a conversation. Kaiba never talked or opened up to people, normally. But, Yami seemed to know Kaiba's dueling language. He was certain if they battled, Yami could once again help Kaiba see their side. And fortunately, Yami was very good at winning this particular style of argument.

 

But, Yugi still wished he had all his friends ready to be there for him. Tea's sudden coldness towards the group would make this battle all the harder. 'But, without Tea routing for us, it just doesn't feel right', Yugi added, missing the Tea he was used to.

 

Just then, Joey showed up and was once again being yelled at by the teacher for being late. Yugi smiled, watching the normal routine of his friend getting in trouble. But then to his surprise, Joey handed the teacher a note, which shut her up, instantly. He turned and headed to his seat.

 

"Dude, where'd you get the note?", Tristan asked, who had also been watching. "You never have an excuse to be late."

 

"Huh?", Joey asked, not realizing they'd notice. "Oh, uh......m-my Dad."

 

"Yeah, right. Honestly......where'd you get it?", Tristan asked again.

 

"I, well......got into some trouble in the morning, and.......Kaiba made it", Joey said, looking very guilty.

 

"Kaiba?", Tristan asked.

 

Yugi then asked, "Where is Kaiba, anyway?"

 

"Dunno. He said he had to work or something", Joey muttered, not looking them in the eye. Joey also felt lousy at himself, knowing that the only reason Kaiba stayed away was because Joey was worried about them coming in at the same time. Kaiba simply took off to save him the embarrassment.

 

But, now that Joey had begun to understand Kaiba's side, everything he did was starting to make him feel guilty. And the more Kaiba did for him, the more crappy Joey felt for treating this so one-sided.

 

And somewhere inside, Joey was beginning to realize maybe he did like Kaiba that way, too. But, his fear was controlling him.....afraid of what other people might think of him, afraid of what his friends might think. And the idea of him maybe liking Kaiba only made him more afraid. What if his friends rejected him? What would they think if they knew the truth?

 

Strangely, these thoughts reminded him of a conversation he had with Yugi a little while ago, regarding Tristan.

 

“That's what I mean. Tea starts disappearing, and then Tristan starts thinking he likes that gross old janitor. I mean, what's up with that? Tristan's not even gay!"

 

“Does that bother you? I mean....if he's gay.”

 

“No.....I guess not. It's just kinda weird, you know? I mean, you think you know someone......”

 

Was Joey wrong, when he said that? Maybe that 'was' the problem he had with Tristan. Maybe the fact that Tristan was trying to go out with someone different than who was considered acceptable to be with, was what bothered him.

 

The person Tristan claimed he liked was not only very old, but he was male. And Joey not only felt bad for him......he was embarrassed to be around his own best friend. He was infact so embarrassed about it, that he brought his own sister over to Yugi's place, to try and convince him to change his mind. He told himself he did it out of concern and caring for his friend......but was it?

 

Joey looked at the empty desk that was Kaiba's, then back at his friend Tristan. "Hey, Tristan......I got a question. That time you were talking about liking Gumcruff....."

 

"Oh, god......I don't wanna talk about that. Just pretend that never happened, okay?", Tristan blushed, looking away.

 

"But I need to know. How were you so calm about liking him that way? Didn't that bother you at the time, to even tell us about it? Didn't it bother you that the whole school might know?", Joey asked.

 

Tristan just shrugged. "I dunno......it was like a lapse of insanity. I just didn't think about those things. All that mattered was.......him." Tristan looked away, saying, "Listen....it was stupid, okay? I'm not saying I don't feel bad that he passed on. But, I just aint into dudes, especially some crotchety old guy."

 

"Yeah......I get it", Joey said. If his friends knew what was really going on, would they really be against him? He knew Tristan probably couldn't.....not after him falling for the Janitor. Would Yugi? Things like that didn't seem to bother Yugi. As long as Yugi had his friends, he seemed okay with just about anything. Then, maybe his friends weren't the problem at all. Maybe the problem was him.

 

Wait. Speaking of friends......where was Tea??

 

x-x-x-x-x-x-x

 

"I want to make another Shadow Pact", Tea insisted.

 

Marik crossed his arms, looking skeptical. "Another one? Why?"

 

"It doesn't matter why, I just need to do this. Please, Marik.....you said you were my friend. And friends help each other", Tea said, trying to use her older friendship preaching to help her through this. But somehow.......it sounded so fake, now.

 

Marik turned away. "Perhaps my sister has a point. You have already caused enough trouble. I don't think it would be wise."

 

"What if I paid for it?", Tea asked.

 

Marik looked over, and was as shocked as Odion was to see her start to raise her shirt, to show off her breasts to him. "I bet your sister can't do this for you", she smiled. "You can even invite your friend Odion to join in, if you want."

 

"Tea, that is enough!"

 

Tea whirled around to see Ishizu looking down scornfully at her. "I had warned you that if you continued this, you would fall into darkness. Are you happy, now? I would say you've just about hit rock bottom. I forbid you to do any more damage to the people of this town."

 

"How dare you lecture me! You have no right!", Tea spat. "I have to do this, I - I just......I just have to...."

 

Tea now looked miserable, and began to cry as she put her shirt back down and sunk to the ground, looking simply pathetic. "You have no idea how cold it is......how dark. He's the light, the only light I see. Don't you see? I have to have him!! And it's the only way!"

 

Marik dropped his head, saying, "I understand. I will let you try again."

 

"Brother, no!", Ishizu spat out.

 

Marik explained, "She has already made a Shadow Pact, sister. Perhaps, the duel monster she made a pact with had done this to ensure she carries out her end of the deal. And if she cannot succeed, she may be this way forever. I will help her, if only to help satisfy the pact."

 

"A Duel Monster can only do so much to her, Marik. It may have somehow pushed the lighter part of Tea's soul away to show her cruelty, twisting her desires to suit its needs. But the darkness that remains is still her own." Ishizu shook her head and walked out of the room, having nothing more to say to them.

 

"Thank you, Marik......right now, I feel you're the only friend I have", Tea said sweetly, as Marik began to light the candles.

 

Tea's sweet smile soon looked very evil, as she felt she would soon have her wish, not caring in the least what Ishizu had to say.

 

x-x-x-x-x-x-x

 

The same ritual was done, as the fog began to fill the ring of candles. Tea put her hand in, waiting anxiously for this next servant. But after a full minute, there was no shadow that formed within.

 

"What's going on?", Tea asked.

 

Marik stated, "It appears that there is presently no Duel Monster willing to serve for a price. It happens, at times. Perhaps they do not want to offer another deal yet, until your first deal is finalized."

 

"That's not fair! I need this thing to kill for me!", Tea spat out.

 

Marik called, "Odion!"

 

Odion bowed, then unsheathed his dagger and threw it, as it landed at Tea's feet. "You can always do it yourself, Tea. It's a magic dagger. No prints or DNA will be found on it, no matter what they do. You will be clean, so long as you have no witnesses."

 

"No, you don't understand.....I can't. If Kaiba found out.......then he'd never love me", Tea said.

 

Marik said nothing, though by now he had just about guessed what Tea wanted. Tea then turned, saying, "Can you please make me another love potion?"

 

"How can that help?", Marik asked.

 

Tea hissed, "This is your own fault! You said Kaiba was going to be miserable, and Joey wasn't going to accept him. But, you were wrong! Kaiba should have been mine.....it's not fair!"

 

Marik's eyes widened at that. "You mean......Joey accepted the priests offer to him? Well, that was unexpected. But, I thought you didn't like the priest."

 

"I was wrong......he's the only light that I see, now", Tea said, looking so lost.

 

"Hmm......your pact partner has definitely put you under a spell of some sort. But giving another love potion to Kaiba will not help you. Once he is affected by one, another dose will do nothing to cancel the first", Marik explained.

 

Tea spat out, "Fine! But if I can't have him, then nobody can!!"

 

Marik finally nodded, and ordered Odion to assist him with the next vial.

 

 

Narr: Yep.....Tea's is back and once again causing even more trouble. And you'll be seeing her next week, as well.

 

Next week: Tea implements her next plot against Joey. Will she succeed?? And only two more chapters before the duel finally hits! The count-down begins.....

 

I guess I see 23 as a sort-off filler. Yet, it has atleast one very important part involved in this chapter (atleast I think so). It's where Tristan's love event gets connected with what's happening to Joey....turning Tristan's moment of misery into a sort-of lesson to be learned. I always try and tie in what happened earlier with things that are happening later, to add consistency to the story. So, atleast I liked that part. ;P

 

I forgot to start giving out the 'guessing' awards! That's correct....for anyone that had correctly guessed anything that might be taking place in the future story lines.....you get your name in the spotlight for one chapter!

 

Congratulations to Socksy! Way back in Chapter 8, she guessed that Tea may try to kill Joey in order to free Kaiba, even though during that time Tea couldn't stand Kaiba. What an amazing guess!

 

Congratulations to Lady Psychic! Back in Chapter 10, she guessed that Tea was going to do something she really regretted, as well as take the Shadow Pact. Well, if trying to murder your friends and sleep with 1/2 of Domino isn't something to regret, then I don't know what is. Good job.....guess there's a reason for calling yourself a psychic (grin).

 

There will be more award winners in the future. Maybe you'll be next!

 

Not a lot of reviews this week. But that's okay....I figured everyone's still on Xmas break (or trying to recover from it.....kind of like me). ;p

 

Growing Pain: Glad you liked the chapter. Hope you like the next one.

 

Rubisora: Yeah, trying to take out Kaiba isn't easy. Somehow, I have a feeling she'd have a much better chance aiming at Mokuba (ha). Infact, I think the best person that ever described Mokuba's unlucky ability to be kidnapped all the time was Nenya, who mentioned Mokuba felt like he had a walking bulls-eye on his head 24/7 (poor Mokie). Yeah, I hope I didn't give anyone a heart-attack from such a shocking revelation as putting 'feelings' and 'Kaiba' in the same sentence. I agree.....having Joey be stupid I think is best for him. It actually helps mesh Kaiba and Joey much better. It's never good having 2 geniuses in the same relationship, after all. Well, think....all you really have to do now is dye your hair black and purple in certain streaks, and they could mistake you for Yugi! (heh.....sorry, couldn't resist) ;)

 

Cinnamonqueen: Hey, that's not true! You don't have to have a miserable life to like my fic! Tell me you have a wonderful life, and STILL read my story!! Well, thanks. Characterization has always been my top priority in writing. I never did understand why some people purposely even change the character's persona to match a story. If they didn't like the character the way they were made, then why is that person their favorite? I think the most dramatic change I've ever seen was Serenity. It's so strange to see people change the quiet self-spoken Serenity into this weird bossy, mouthy woman trying to beat people up in school. And I've seen her written that way more than once. They should have just given Joey a sex change, instead.....it would have made more sense. Heh....but yeah, I'm sure everyone has to do a smut fic at some point in time just to get it out of their system (I've done it....I admit it). But I made this one a little tamer, to keep the rating down and allow more readers to see it. Plus, by doing so, it even allowed people who aren't into the yaoi so much to enjoy the fic. I just thought I'd try it this way for change, and it seemed to work out well. I'm actually quite amazed just how much I managed to pack into this fic.....I'm trying to figure out how I did it. I got just about all the characters in this show to have some part in this story, which is not something I normally manage to succeed in. But thanks again for the input and I hope you like future chapters just as much.