Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Family Secrets ❯ Happy Birthday To Me.... ( Chapter 4 )

Sugarpony: Hello, all! I’m finally getting back on track (after six months), so I’m gonna start this chapter right away. I know that the last couple of chapters have been mostly fillers (do you have any idea how hard they are to write?!), but here’s where we start getting into the meat of the story. Or at least part of the story.

Yes, folks, you heard correctly, I’m finally getting started on the center of the entire storyline! It’s been in my brain for so long now and changed so much that I hope it won’t be too terrible. It should be better than my original plan, anyway.

One final note. I’m gonna go ahead and do the “read and review” begging now, because I’m gonna need to hide by the end of this chapter. So basically, leave a review, because I’m not updating again until I get one.

Okay, no more rambling. On with the fic!

Review Response:

dragonlady222: Awe, thank you! It makes me happy that at least one person likes my story!

Standard Disclaimer: Sugarpony does not own Yugioh! or Harry Potter. Sorry, go sick your lawyers on someone else.

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Key:

“Speech”
< br> Thoughts

-Yugi to Yami-

--Yami to Yugi--

---

Family Secrets

Chapter Four

Happy Birthday to Me....

---

Monday, June 3. An ordinary day for ordinary people. Luckily, though, our heroes are not ordinary.

Let’s do a quick recap:

Kaiba goes to therapist.

Yugi goes to therapist.

Kaiba and Yugi meet at therapist’s.

Kaiba saves Yugi’s butt.

Yugi tells Kaiba about Sennen Items.

Kaiba actually listens.

Kaiba tells Yugi about his past.

Crazy past three days, ne?

Now, back to the present. And speaking of presents, let’s go to the mall to see what Yugi’s getting.

Yugi’s grandfather had dragged him out to the center of town in order to buy him a birthday present. “Maa, maa, Yugi,” he had said, “ I know you’re birthday’s not until tomorrow, but I’m allowed to spoil you every now and then, am I not?”

The boy didn’t even have the opportunity to argue.

Currently, the duo was sitting in a small café, eating lunch.

“So, Yugi,” Sugoroku began, “are you glad to be out of school for the summer?”

Yugi vigorously nodded his head. “Hai, Jii-san. Now I have more time to play games with my friends!”

His elder smiled widely. “You do love your games, don’t you? But you’re also an excellent student, Yugi. I don’t know how often I’ve told you this, but I’m very proud of you.”

The small boy blushed furiously and shifted his gaze into his lap. “It’s nothing, Jii-san. I just try my best.”

“Yes, and your best is always more than I could ever hope for. Yugi, you don’t know how much you mean to me.”

The pair sat in silence for a few moments more, and then the old man clapped his grandson on the shoulder. “Well, now, are you about finished? We really should be heading back soon.”

“Hai, Jii-san,” Yugi smiled up at him. “Let’s go.”

After the bill was paid and the two had left the café, Sugoroku led Yugi down the street.

“Yugi,” he said, “You go ahead and head back. Go join your friends at the arcade. Have fun.”

“But what about you, Jii-san?”

“I have something else I need to do,” he said cryptically. “I have one more surprise for you tomorrow, and I need to get it ready.

So, curiosity rampant in his mind, Yugi headed back to the Kame Game shop.

---

Later that afternoon, Yugi lay on his bed, thinking about the past few days. His grandfather still had yet to return from his errand. The Sennen Puzzle, once again, lie forgotten on the desk.

Kaiba-san sure has been acting strangely lately. Why is he so worried about me? His goal in life is to defeat me. He’s never been nice to me. So why is he so interested in my well being all of a sudden?

I guess it would be nice to tell someone. I can actually relate to Kaiba-san. Maybe he can help me.

But what if this is all just a trick? He would have no problems denying everything he told me yesterday.

Then again, it must have taken him a lot to tell me everything. He’s always been so protective about his past. It’s only fair that I return the favor, if he’s really that interested.

He sighed as he picked himself up out of bed. He reached for the phone and dialed a number....

---

Shortly after he hung up, Yugi was sitting in his living room, once again, with none other than Kaiba Seto. Kaiba sat comfortably on a recliner, a cup of coffee clutched in one of his hands. Yugi rested on the couch, twiddling his thumbs. Ever so slowly, he sat up straight, took a deep breath, and began his tale.

“Kaiba-san, if it’s not too much trouble, I’d like to ask you to not interrupt once I’ve started. If I stop, I don’t know if I’ll be able to finish.”

Once he had Kaiba’s accent, he continued.

“First of all, we have more in common than you think, Kaiba-san. You see, I was an orphan, too.”

Kaiba looked rather surprised at this fact, but, respecting Yugi’s wishes, he remained silent.

“My parents left me at an orphanage when I was still just a baby. The lady who worked there told me that my okaasan left a name and nothing else. They... they didn’t want me, Kaiba-san!”

Here, the boy’s eyes became misted over. He composed himself and then continued.

“I grew up in that orphanage. The woman who took care of us all wasn’t very nice, to say the least. She put us to work, and if we didn’t do a good job... she hit us.

“I don’t know how many different foster homes I’ve had. I didn’t stay in any of them for very long, though. They were usually just as bad as the orphanage. A lot of them were drunks, and they only wanted me for the care money or the tax refunds. Everything that went badly was blamed on me, and nothing I ever did was right. They hit me a lot, too.

“I tried to get away from everything by playing games, but they were usually taken from me. Instead, I focused on school. I learned everything I could in an effort to do something good for a change. That’s why I’m in high school even though I’m so young.

“No matter where I went though, everything had something in common. Whoever I was with always made a point of telling me that I was worthless. They said I was a mistake; no one would want me; I shouldn’t have even been born; I was worthless.

“About a year ago, Jii-san showed up at the orphanage. He told the woman who ran the place that he was my grandfather, and he had the papers to prove it. He took me home with him, and you know the rest.”

By this time, Yugi’s voice had grown so quite that it was almost inaudible. He held his head down, hiding the tears that were leaking from his eyes.

Kaiba, who had held his end of the bargain and merely listened all this time, spoke. “Why didn’t your grandfather ever come looking for you? Did he suddenly grow a conscience? Where was he all this time?”

Yugi’s head snapped up. “Iie! Jii-san didn’t know where I was! He didn’t even know about me until he got a letter.”

Now, Kaiba chose a different question. “Yugi, how badly did these people hurt you?” He narrowed his eyes, almost afraid of the answer.

The younger boy quickly averted his gaze. He shuddered, took a deep breath, and answered in a small voice, “Well, most of them liked to drink a lot. I tried to stay out of the way, but they would get mad at the smallest thing and....” He closed his eyes, as if reliving the pain. “I still have the scars.”

He stayed silent for a few more seconds and then asked, “Kaiba-san, why do you even care? You never did before.”

“I care, Yugi,” he said, “because I do. More than anything else, I hate people who hurt others. I do because I’ve been through it. That day at Haruna’s, I saw that you were being hurt. Ere go, I tried to solve the problem.

“And also,” he said, “because now that we’re on equal ground-- as awkward as it feels to say this-- I actually feel... I don’t know, more relaxed. I guess it just feels good to get it all off of my chest and to be able to trust someone.

“Yugi, you’re not worthless. Never let anyone tell you otherwise. I’ve heard enough of Mazaki’s baka friendship speeches to know that you would die if it would make one of your friends happy. Yugi, you’re nothing if not selfless. You’ve helped me and Mokuba several times, and now it’s time for me to return the favor.

“We’re going to help each other through this, alright?”

The smaller boy seemed to be touched at his rival’s-- no, friend’s-- words. All he could do was offer a small smile and say, “Domo arigato, Kaiba-san.”

Kaiba smiled back. “My friends call me Seto.”

“Hai, Seto-san.”

The duo remained in the room, simply talking to each other, for the rest of the afternoon. When it came close to dinnertime, though, Seto stood and left, saying that he needed to get home to Mokuba.

“Domo arigato, Seto-san,” Yugi said to him as he left. “Arigato for everything.”

Seto turned to him and smirked-- not a harsh one, but a joking one-- and replied, “Would you expect anything less than the best?” He then walked out the door, passing Sugoroku on his way down the street.

The old man turned and stopped the CEO. “Kaiba,” he called.

The young man stopped but did not face him.

“Kaiba,” Sugoroku continued, “I’d just like to thank you. You really have been helping him, you know.”

Kaiba simply stood in silence.

“You know,” the old man said, “Yugi’s birthday is tomorrow. His friends and I are giving him a surprise party; Anzu and Otogi will be there, and Jounouchi and Honda will be coming down from Tokyo. I know you must be busy, but I know that he would be glad if you could come, if only for a minute.”

Kaiba stood for a few more moments before walking away. Just as the game shop owner was turning away, disappointed, the younger businessman spoke.

“I’ll try.”

Sugoroku smiled and walked into his home.

---

The next day was the fourth of June. Yugi awoke bright and early after a pleasant night’s sleep. He dressed and slid the Sennen Puzzle around his neck.

-Ohaiyo, Yami!- he chirped.

His darker half appeared outside in his semi-solid state. --My, you certainly are in a good mood today, Yugi.--

-Hai,- Yugi giggled. -Today’s my birthday!-

Yami smiled. --Happy birthday, then,-- he said. --And may you have many happy more.--

Yugi giggled once again at this. He felt bubbly beyond belief this morning. He felt, somehow, as if nothing could go wrong this day. The morning flew past, and by lunchtime, he was brimming with joy.

“Oh, come on, Jii-san, tell me what you did yesterday!” Yugi could be found begging his grandfather that early afternoon.

“Maa, maa, Yugi-chan, that just wouldn’t be any fun at all! You can’t spoil the surprise! Now, I have an errand for you to run. Oh, don’t you give me that look (for here, Yugi had begun to pout), it won’t take more than an hour. I just need you to pick up a few things from the store for me.”

And so, the birthday boy was out the door before he could utter a word against it.

---

A little more than an hour later, as his grandfather had promised, Yugi was back outside the game shop, carrying a rather large box full of merchandise for the store. He roughly shoved the door open, placed the box on the countertop, and strode back up the stairs and into the living room which was directly above.

Why is everything dark? he wondered. Then, it all jumped out at him.

---

Kaiba Seto grabbed his present and walked out of the house. His younger brother, Mokuba, was unable to visit Yugi, as he was grounded until further notice because of the sugar incident. Instead, he sat at his computer, chatting with his other older brother.

“You know, Mokuba,” Noa sighed, shaking his head, “you really should watch yourself around all that sugar. It’s a good way to have a heart attack before twenty.”

Mokuba laughed. “Oh, come on, Noa, it’s not all that bad!’

Noa, on the other hand, disagreed. “Are you kidding? It’s just as bad as coffee, and look at what that’s done to Seto!”

That stopped the younger brother in his tracks. “Gee, I never thought of it that way. That is a pretty scary thought.” He chuckled, but he was interrupted be a loud crack! coming from without the room.

“What was that?” Noa asked.

Mokuba was also confused. “I don’t know. Seto just left, and that sounded like fireworks! I’m going to go and check it out.”

He began to rise from his chair, but Noa warned him against it.

“You don’t know what that could be, Mokuba,” he rationalized. “It might be a burglar.”

“Oh, come on, now,” the younger waved off the comment. Do you really think any one could get past our security system?”

And with that, he left the room.

Out in the hallway, however, he was in for a big surprise. It was not, as he had imagined, a simple fall of a painting or vase. It was, in fact, a man-- a man that was very familiar.

Mokuba stood, frozen in his tracks. “It... it can’t be... but you... I thought... you were....”

Before he could complete his jumbled train of thought, however, the intruder murmured, “Aveda Kadavra!”

Kaiba Mokuba’s body crumpled to the floor.

---

Yugi smiled happily at his good fortune. It was his June 4, his birthday, and he was turning 13. Finally, he could not be considered a kid anymore! Jou and Honda were sitting on the sofa in the Muoto’s living room, playing some game, while a rather chipper Anzu was talking to the birthday boy. Seto was had yet to appear, but it was to be expected; he was, after all, a busy man. Otogi had left merely five minutes previously.

After a few more moments, however, Jou and Honda announced they both had to leave; they needed to head back to Tokyo before nightfall.

After the dynamic duo had left, Anzu was helping Yugi and Sugoroku to clean up.

This peaceful bliss would not last.

Shortly before they were about to finish, the tinkle of the store bell rang throughout the building. Sugoroku volunteered to deal with the customer.

Before he could even leave the room, however, a person (it was hard to tell if it was a man or a woman) wearing a long black cloak and a white mask stepped into the parlor.

“May I help you?” The owner asked politely. “I’m sorry, but we’re closed; you’ll have to make this quick.”

Still, the mysterious person said nothing.

As Anzu stood to leave, however, the stranger pointed a stick at her and spoke. “Avada Kadavra.”

An eerie green light flooded the room, and Yugi’s close friend fell to the ground, dead. After a few moments, the elder man approached the woman (for her voice was clearly feminine) and attempted to fight her away. Before he had even moved two feet, however, she once again lifted her stick, this time at Sugoroku, and spoke.

“Avada Kadavra.”

Another flash of green light.

Another innocent dead.

During all this, Yugi had been in a state of shock. His friend and grandfather had just been murdered by this- this woman- and now he was alone with her. After attempting to contact his yami, he realized with a fright that he had left the Puzzle on his bed. He was alone with a complete stranger. He was alone with a murderer. As she turned to him, she removed her mask.

The woman who had killed off his remaining family had long, chestnut hair and wide, amethyst eyes, not at all unlike his own. Tears were running down her pale face. She rose her not-so-harmless piece of wood at Yugi, and she muttered a single word in a soft voice.

“Silencio.”

There was not, as the hikari had expected, another flash of eerie green light. He was also, he realized a few moments later, wrong about being dead. Yugi was, in fact, very much alive and very much in tact.

There was no pain, no nothing.

After gathering what little courage he had from his quivering body, he began to ask who this woman was and why she had just murdered his friend and family- and why she had left him completely untouched.

Of course, began was the key word.

Once he opened his mouth, Yugi realized nothing came out of it.

No words.

No cries for help.

No sound at all.

This killer had silenced him from telling who she was.

Before he could ponder this thought any farther, however, said person suddenly advanced upon him and roughly shoved him down the staircase.

He tumbled downward, feeling pain as his spine collided with each sharp, wooden step. He soon registered that he had came to a stop at the landing on top of his arm. After a moment, he heard a loud crack! and saw another figure in a cloak appear in the room above. The newcomer spoke quickly, as if he was rushed.

“Is it done?”

“Hai. He is dead.”

“Good. And the boy?”

“See for yourself. He is silenced.” Surprisingly, the woman sounded sad as she spoke of this.

The man glanced down at Yugi and then shook his crimson streaked ebony hair at the woman. “You know that it had to be done. Come; we must go.” And with that, they both replaced their white masks, pulled up the hoods of their dark cloaks, and disappeared with two loud, resonating crack!s.

And Yugi let the inviting darkness take him away....

---

AN:

-Sugarpony is jumping behind a mound of snow, dodging the oncoming flamethrowers.-

Okay, okay, I know I left it on a cliffhanger! I promise I’ll try to update by next week, okay? Please don’t hurt me for killing off three characters in one chapter! It really needed to be done for this to go anywhere! I mean, come on, you didn’t really think that Kaiba and Yugi would become friends and then the story would be over, did you?

-Sugarpony ducks from various flying weaponry and rushes to get out the next chapter.-

I’m going as fast as I can, people!