Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Family Secrets ❯ Kaiba's Twitch ( Chapter 2 )

AN: Much Kaiba OOC in this chapter. Don’t fret, all will be explained. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don’t own, so you don’t sue.

Key:

“Speech”

Thought

-Yugi to Yami-

--Yami to Yugi--

---

Family Secrets

Chapter Two

Kaiba’s Twitch

---

The normally cold-hearted CEO found himself thinking of his pint sized rival. The fact that said rival looked like he was run over by a train may have had something to do with it, of course.

What the hell happened to him? He wondered. It couldn’t be... could it? Kami-sama, if it is, I’m going to kill somebody. He then realized Haruna had been calling his name for the past thirty seconds. “What do you want?” he asked.

“Kaiba-san,” she said, “I know you don’t want to be here, but if you tell me one thing about why you are under so much stress, I can give a diagnosis and send you on your merry way.”

He gave a somewhat undignified snort. “I lived in an orphanage, was adopted by Gozaburo (who threw himself out a window after I seized control of his company), survived an attempted murder and hostile takeover of my company (which included my younger brother getting kidnapped), and was dethroned of my Duel Monsters World Champion title by some nobody.”

Haruna blinked. “You do realize you just summed up your entire life in one sentence, don’t you?” Seto stayed silent. The psychologist sighed, shook her head, and spoke once more. “Never mind. I suggest getting some extra rest and taking a nice, long vacation.”

“You can suggest all you want, but I’m going back to work.”

Oh, now he speaks, Haruna thought bitterly. “You can go now, I suppose,” she said. “I’m going to speak with my other patient.”

Seto quickly gathered his things and strolled out the door.

Haruna sighed once more. Now to see what happened to Yugi. As she opened the door to the back room, she could see said boy placing his completed puzzle into his backpack. The woman stepped inside and began speaking with him.

---

Seto stepped outside Haruna’s office and set himself down in a nearby chair. He was going to find out what happened to Yugi even if he had to sit there all day.

An hour later, the door opened once more. The young duelist stepped past the CEO, eyes on the floor. As he past, the taller boy placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Yugi,” he spoke, “what happed to you?”

The younger boy kept his eyes down and simply said, “I fell down the stairs.”

Seto breathed a frustrated sigh. “Listen, Yugi, you don’t get these injuries from falling down stairs. Tell me who did this to you.”

Once again, he only said, “I fell down the stairs.”

The elder twitched. No one evaded Kaiba Seto. “Yugi, I’m not stupid. Your face is scraped as if you were thrown onto the ground. You’re limping, so I’d guess that you twisted your ankle when you landed. You have cuts as if someone took a knife to your skin. You look like you’re having trouble breathing, so I’d say someone beat your chest and at least cracked a few ribs. Now, answer me- Who did this to you?”

“No one did this to me. I told you, I fell down the stairs.”

Seto finally lost his temper. He spun Yugi around, pulled him into the air, and pushed him against the wall. “Kuso, Yugi! I know abuse when I see it! Look at yourself! Who is doing this? Is it your grandfather?”

“Jii-chan never hurt me!” The duelist finally stirred.

“Now we’re getting somewhere. Who did hurt you, Yugi? Tell me!”

The billionaire said nothing more, however. He had seen the fear in Yugi’s eyes. He had seen how he had stiffened and attempted to curl himself into a small ball. He gently set the boy down and took a deep breath.

“Look, Yugi. I’m not going to force you to tell me. However, I sincerely hope that you will reconsider. If you ever decide you want to talk, just call.” And with that, he handed a business card with a cell phone number to his rival and walked away.

As he walked out of the building, the great Kaiba Seto realized he was helping the one person he despised the most.

Anything’s better than letting someone go on abusing a kid, he thought. I’ve had enough of that to last a lifetime....

---

Yugi slowly picked himself off the floor. Kaiba-san’s acting strange today, he thought. How could he know? Maybe I should tell someone--

Iie! What am I thinking? I shouldn’t burden anyone else.

The boy sighed and began his walk to the parking lot, where Jii-san was waiting to take him home.

---

Yugi had a bounce in his step as he walked home from the arcade the next day. It faltered, however, as he rounded the corner and spotted a tall figure. He hurriedly stuffed his puzzle into his bag.

Ushio was here.

“So,” the bully began, “you actually had the guts to show your face in public.”

The younger boy said nothing.

“Heheh....” He smirked. “Say, buddy, where’s that gold puzzle you always carry around? I bet that would fetch a high price. It would bring what you owe me down to... about 380,000 yen!” The boy laughed cruelly. He then snatched the backpack away from his prey.

“Iie!” Yugi cried out. “Not my puzzle!”

Ushio’s evil smile grew. “What’s wrong, squirt? Have you already forgotten what happens when you don’t pay your debts?” He threw his fist into his adversary’s stomach, tore the puzzle out of the bag, and tossed everything else back at him. “Do you need another lesson already?”

This ‘lesson’ was cut short, however, by a cold voice behind him. “You know, the only people I hate more than cowards are psychotics and bullies. And you’ll excuse me for saying this, but you appear to be all three.”

The taller boy spun around and stared up into the face of none other that Kaiba Seto. Said CEO quickly grabbed the Sennen Item and smashed the former into the wall, knocking him unconscious in the process.

He then turned to the small boy. “Are you alright, Yugi?” he asked, extending a hand to help him up. The other shook his head. Seto pulled his rival to his feet and handed him the puzzle. “I believe this belongs to you,” he said.

“D-domo arigato, Kaiba-san,” Yugi whispered.

The elder turned from him, walking to his waiting limo. “Don’t,” he instructed. “As I’ve said before, I despise bullies.” He paused as he opened the car door, calling over his shoulder, “Well? Are you coming or do you want to walk home in your condition?”

Yugi quickly followed Kaiba into the limo. The CEO commanded the driver to take them to the Kame Game shop. Outside, the sky turned gray. Rain began to steadily fall on the streets of Domino City. The ride was quiet, neither boy wanting to disrupt the moment of peace the rain was bringing. This was interrupted, however, by a different entity.

The ancient pharaoh inhabiting the Sennen Puzzle appeared, checking over his aibou, who had recently replaced the item on his neck. “Yugi, why didn’t you let me stop him?” Said hikari, however, was unable to respond; Kaiba Seto had turned towards the pair.

He blinked his eyes several times, wondering if he really had been working too hard lately. Slowly, he realized the translucent replica of his rival was not disappearing any time soon.

“Yugi,” he began, “what the hell is going on?”

The other frowned. “What do you mean, Kaiba-san?”

“I mean why do you have a doppelganer.”

Yugi blinked. -Mou hitori no boku, why can Kaiba-san see you?-

The spirit frowned. Truth be told, he had no idea why the priest could see and hear him. Perhaps Isis would be able to answer his question later. Now, however, he simply answered, --I don’t know, aibou.--

Seto impatiently drummed his fingers on his briefcase. “Well, I’m waiting.”

The ancient pharaoh was the one to respond. “Kaiba, do you remember when I told you about the Sennen Items?”

The businessman showed no sign of recognition other than a twitch above his left eyebrow. He did, indeed, remember the fairy tales of Egypt the apparition had told him. Supposedly, the blurry figure was a pharaoh who saved the world 3000 years ago and then sealed himself into the artifact around Yugi’s neck. The spirit also had attempted to convince him the he himself was a reincarnation of high priest. The realistic teenager, however, was disbelieving in these magical stories he had told him.

Now, however, he was beginning to doubt his sanity.

And Kaiba Seto doubting his sanity was a very, very bad thing.

Maybe I should go back to see Haruna. I’m hallucinating images of my rival.

The hallucination, however, continued to speak. “Kaiba, I told you that I was an Egyptian pharaoh trapped in the Sennen Puzzle, and acted as if I was insane. Do you believe me now?”

The priest scowled. “I believe that I’ve been overworking and am now seeing a hallucination,” he responded.

Yami growled. “Kaiba, you can’t be so close-minded! You-”

“Mou hitori no boku,” Yugi interrupted, “it’s okay.” The younger one could sense an impending argument and perhaps even a duel if he allowed this to continue any farther.

“But Yugi-”

“Look, I don’t care if you’re real or not. If you are, however, supposed to be this ancient pharaoh and Yugi’s other half, why didn’t you come to his aid when Ushio attacked him? Why didn’t you ‘bond’ with him and throw the idiot into this ‘Shadow Realm’ you’re always preaching about?”

Silence reined over the trio. Kaiba had struck a nerve. The spirit of the puzzle had felt guilty for not protecting his young charge ever since the bully first approached him, and now he was being reprimanded by his rival. After a few moments, however, he spoke.

“I would have sent him to meet Ammit without a second thought if I had been able to.”

“Mou hitori no boku!” Little Yugi reproached his yami for saying such a thing. “You shouldn’t be so cruel!”

As the king was scolded, Seto turned towards the hikari. “Yugi,” he dead panned, “Ushio threatened you in order to get money. Then, he followed up on those threats. When I found you, he looked ready to kill. Face it: the guy deserves it.”

Next, he turned towards the yami. “And unless you can prove to me that I’m not dreaming, I am going to assume you are a figment of my overactive imagination due to your insane stories about ancient Egypt.”

The spirit growled. “What would you like me to do to convince you, Kaiba?! You’ve been to the shadow realm yourself, baka! Why do you continually refuse to admit that magic is real?”

“Because unlike some people, I have a grip on reality.”

A deadly quiet overcame the car as the two began a heated glaring contest.

-Yami,- Yugi asked, -can you summon a Kuriboh?-

--What a brilliant idea, Yugi! I only wish this contraption was bigger so that I could summon the Blue Eyes White Dragon.--

Suddenly, eye contact was broken as Yami smirked, leaned back into the cushioned seat, and prepared to watch the hilarity.

Seto blinked as a Kuriboh appeared before his eyes. The tiny ball of fluff squeaked, bounced a bit, and glomped the businessman. The brown thing exploded upon impact, leaving a very charred, very angry Kaiba.

Before any of the duelists could give an appropriate reaction, however, the limousine abruptly stopped. A voice came over the intercom.

“Kaiba-sama, we’ve reached the Kame Game shop.”

---

Once safely inside the small but humble store, the strange trio met with Yugi’s grandfather. The old man was standing behind the glass counter, waiting for a customer. When he saw Yugi’s condition, however, he immediately came running to his grandson.

“Kami-sama, Yugi,” he cried, “what happened?”

Seto took this opportunity to make his presence known. “What happened,” he said, “is Ushio nearly murdered him.”

Sugoroku looked back and forth between the two, too shocked to say anything. When he eventually found his tongue, he spoke to the elder boy. “Domo arigato, Kaiba. I can’t thank you enough for helping him.”

The duelist’s expression didn’t change. “I’ve already told Yugi not to thank me. This applies to you, as well.”

“Be that as it may, you did save my only grandson, and for that I feel as if I owe you something. If you ever need anything, just ask.”

“Whatever.”

By this time, the young hikari had escaped the grip of his grandfather and begun to lead his savior up the stairs to the house.

As they closed the door behind them, the game store owner spoke to himself. “Now why in the world were Kaiba’s clothes charred?”

---

Upstairs, Yugi led the others into his bedroom. He sat down on the bed and took a deep breath, preparing himself for the questions he knew were to soon come.

And come they did. Seto almost immediately dove into his inquiry. “What the hell was that?” he asked.

Yami was quick to retort. “What do think it was? That, my dear priest, was a Kuriboh.”

Seto scowled. His eyes narrowed. “You know what I mean. That was no hologram; holograms don’t explode. What was it?”

“Dear Re, I think he’s got it!”

This sarcastic remark, however, was gently scolded by the spirit’s hikari. “Mou hitori no boku, be nice.” The young boy then turned towards his adversary. “I apologize for my yami’s behavior, Kaiba-san. It was my idea to summon Kuriboh. But he shouldn’t have summoned it in attack mode! Yami, you know that Kuriboh’s are very friendly!”

Twitch.

“Yugi, when you say ‘summon,’ what exactly do you mean?”

The boy looked up at the question. He pondered it for a moment and then answered, “Well, back in ancient Egypt, duel monsters were real. We don’t know much about it, but what we do know is this: Yami sealed the monsters into the Shadow Realm because they were being used for evil purposes. Now, we can use the power of the Sennen Puzzle to bring those monsters out of the Shadow Realm.”

Twitch.

“And so once again, you bring me into these fairy tales.”

Yami growled from his place next to Yugi. “Kaiba, the stories we’ve told you are true! Would you like me to summon the Blue Eyes White Dragon to prove it to you? Or would you rather I give you another penalty game?”

Twitch.

“Kaiba-san, I think you need to have your eye checked. It keeps twitching.”

Twitch.

Said CEO let out a frustrated sigh. “Look,” he began, “suppose for one moment that I actually believed your silly little story. This would mean that I’m not going insane. However, it would also mean that... it is real. I’ll go along with your games for now, but the second I can explain it, I’m sending you to see Haruna.” He paused a moment, trying to decide what to do. “I’m going home, going to work, going to sleep, and I’ll see you in the morning to make sure this isn’t all a nightmare.” He then stood and moved to leave.

Before he had completely gone, however, he stopped and spoke again. “Yugi, my offer from yesterday still stands. You know where to reach me.” And with that, he swept out the door, leaving a confused yami and a bashful hikari.

---

Seto Kaiba stepped into his home office later that night. He truly wished he could continue denying the existence of magic forevermore, but his coat proved it to be utterly impossible.

Then again, nothing is impossible for a Kaiba, he thought. I can move Kaiba Corp. to Antarctica where these damned Egyptians wouldn’t dare go, and I can take drugs to make me forget that this day ever happened, and... oh, forget it.

He slumped into his chair, pulled the blinds closed, and laid his head on his laptop. Damn spirits.

Bang! He hit his head against the computer.

Damn magic!

Bang! A second blow might knock him unconscious....

Damnity damn damn damn, I hate my damned life!

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

Knock!

Huh?

“Kaiba-sama, is everything alright? Mokuba-sama said he heard strange noises coming from inside your office.”

Oh. It’s just Roland.

“Kaiba-sama?”

Maybe if I’m real quiet he’ll just go away....

“Kaiba-sama?!”

No, he’s just getting panicky. He’ll call a SWAT team if I don’t answer soon.

“Everything’s just peachy, Roland.”

Silence....

“If you say so, sir....”

“Please tell Mokuba he’s grounded for being awake at 2:00 in the morning.”

“Hai, right away, Kaiba-sama!”

Footsteps leaving....

Good. He’s gone.

He sat there thinking for a few moments more, not lifting his head from its current position. Twenty minutes after he had entered his office, he finally sat up straight.

....that’s right. Kaiba’s don’t run away. I’ll go to bed at five; that should give me a little time to go over some of these reports. If I wake up and my coat’s not fixed, I’ll take some painkillers and go back to the Kame Game and talk to Yugi. Maybe then I can coax something out of Yugi which explains why he’s never told anyone about his abuse- or at least a little something about his abuse directly. He turned on his computer and sighed. I’m just too damned nice these days....

---

Yugi fitfully tossed and turned in bed that night, unable to sleep. After Kaiba had left, Yami had immediately begun to question the young boy about his ‘offer.’ Yugi simply remained silent, however, and he eventually resigned himself to taking off the Sennen Puzzle and going to bed.

Before long, though, he found himself staring at the night sky outside of his bedroom window. Too much had gone on the past couple of days, and he found many thoughts about Kaiba running around in his head. Why is he being so nice to me? Why did he ask about abuse? Why is he even talking to me? Usually he won’t come near me unless he wants a duel. Why does he keep staring at me with sympathy when I’m around? Why is he acting so crazy?! He sighed and turned to face the wall. I wish I knew what’s going on with him. It’s really beginning to freak me out.

Maybe he’s just finally starting to come around. Maybe he actually wants to be friends and is just trying to be civil. Maybe he’s just sorry for how he’s been acting....

Maybe I’m too hopeful. What if he’s just trying to get something from me? Or what if he’s just trying to lull me into a false sense of security like the others?

I hope I’m just being paranoid. I really wish Kaiba would be friends with us. Well, I can always hope, at any rate.

And with those final thoughts, he finally closed his eyes and drifted into dream land....

---

Sugarpony: So, tell me what you think. I know, I know, Kaiba is acting very strange. Just keep reading, I’ll tell you why in the next chapter or two. *sigh* You people (other writers aside) have absolutely no idea how difficult it is to write confrontation scenes.

Tsuki: And when will they be posted?

Sugarpony: Oh, hush up. I’ll eventually write Bakura’s part.

Tsuki: Sulks.

Sugarpony: Well, please drop me a review!