Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Final Distance ❯ Summer Cloudburst ( Chapter 9 )

I've been getting a lot of reviews for this story, thank you all so very much! I hope that I won't fall asleep again the next time I say I am going to update a chapter! Your reviews all mean very, very much to me and it's what's letting this story really write itself. Thank you all for putting up with the bad encoding that is on FF.net, I'm very sorry about those. As of now, I'm looking at my outline for this story and it's spanning longer than I had anticipated (I was thinking it'll only last five chapters at first!), so I hope you'll all be patient now that school has started up for me and follow me through this story as well as the prequel^^

Disclaimers: Don't own them, none of them (whether it's YGO or Persona)…otherwise I would be really rich and paying several million dollars in taxes every year.

Chapter 9-Summer Cloudburst

Mokuba wiggled as he watched Seto tie the sash around his yukata, the tightness making him uncomfortable, and Seto loosened it just a bit. Standing back, Seto looked at his younger brother in the yukata he had chosen for him-one that was a dark navy with pale blue maple leaves printed at the hems and the end of the long sleeves. Seto himself was dressed in a white one that was such a pale sheet white it seemed to glow, and the print of the river and lotus on his yukata was a blurred baby blue, causing it to look very much alive on the fabric. The yukata also emphasized his blue eyes quite well, and that was the reason why Mokuba, Yuugi and Yami all agreed that he should wear that to the end of summer festival. Yami wore the yukata Yuugi had chosen for the both of them-one that was completely black with a maroon trim. It was a plain little thing, but when Yami tried it on, he seemed quite regal in its formality.

For the past week, Kaiba had to be constantly reminded that they were attending an end of the summer festival, even though the reminding was quite futile considering his condition. But he never once showed any discontent about going to the festival, he always agreed, saying that it might be a good thing for Mokuba.

"So, what do you think?" Yami asked, walking into Mokuba's room sporting his black yukata. It was strange seeing him wearing something other than his usual tight-fitting leather ensemble, and Mokuba smiled brightly. Kaiba, however, walked right over to Yami and undid his sash, causing the Pharaoh to blush and stagger back.

"Wh-what are you doing, Kaiba?!" he shouted, quite offended.

"Your yukata is on the wrong way," Kaiba explained, his expression plain as he reached out and placed the right side of the yukata under the left. "You're wearing it the way they would put spirit clothes on the dead. And as far as I know, you're not due for embalmment in this lifetime yet." Finishing his clarification, he fastened the gold-yellow sash around Yami's waist and nodded in satisfaction. "You would think that after living in Japan for so long you would know," Kaiba added, crossing his arms in front of his chest as he gave Yami a smug smile. Yami looked away, pouting slightly as he adjusted his tightened sash. "Whatever," he retorted.

"You look very majestic in that, Yami," Mokuba commented, looking up at Yami. The Pharaoh smiled and ruffled the boy's hair when Kaiba had his back turned to put away the boxes the yukatas were stored in. Checking his watch, Yami turned to open Mokuba's room door.

"We should be going now," he announced, looking at Kaiba. "Maki said that the buses to Sumaru come to Domino City once every twenty minutes."

"I still don't see why we can't take the limo," Kaiba muttered, turning off the bedside lamp.

"It'll cause too much of a distraction," Yami argued. "We're going to a temple festival, not the Oscars." Kaiba only scoffed and shrugged, then took Mokuba's hand as he lead the boy downstairs, Yami following as the three of them walked in their wooden clogs to the bus station that would take them to the Rengedai ward of Sumaru City. To say the truth, Kaiba had never remembered being in that city. The whole place just seemed a bit too strange for him for some reason, having seen a photo of the place when he was young. The photo was one that was taken from a helicopter, an overhead photo that showed the city that looked like a ying-yang with the way its highways are constructed. For some reason, he never saw the need to go there, and now he wondered why he was on the ten minute bus ride there.

Once they were there, it wasn't that hard to see where the festival was since it seemed to be pouring out onto the streets despite the fact that it was supposed to have been just a temple festival. Excited, Yuugi exited his soul room to take over the body for the night as he grabbed Kaiba's hand and led him into the swirling crowd, Kaiba taking hold of Mokuba's hand as he was being churned into the mass of people. The three of them snaked through the crowd, intent on finding the source of it so that they can work their way down the stands and the games, as well as Maki, who said that she'll be waiting by the temple. Yuugi smiled, delighted that he was told about this festival, and otherwise he would have just been going to the ones held at Domino, which were much smaller in scale than this one. His wooden clogs clicked on the ground as he led a slightly hesitant Kaiba along, the crowd bumping into them occasionally in their mingling dance of assembly.

Finally reaching the source of the festival, Yuugi was surprised to see that the temple was really quite small; not at all what he had expected to be able to hold such a grand festival. Glancing around, Yuugi released Kaiba's hand as he searched for Maki, whom he soon found standing next to the temple's sacred tree, waving at the three of them. "Maki-san!" Yuugi shouted, turning to urge Kaiba and Mokuba to follow him before he ran towards the psychotherapist.

"It's nice to see you here," Maki said, smiling. She was wearing a yukata that was such a pale pink it seemed more like it was supposed to be white with pink undertones. Apparently the yukata was not a traditional one for it had a few strawberries stitched onto the hems. Maki beamed at Kaiba as he walked over and bowed to her slightly, apparently thinking that this was their first meeting. Mokuba, however, shook her hand with much enthusiasm, glad to have found her so quickly in a crowd this large. Next to Maki, there was Toudo Naoya, who was dressed in a white yukata with green undertones and lotus leaves printed on them. Several other people, whom Yuugi couldn't name at the moment also crowded around Maki, obviously close friends by the way they were knitted together, their stances almost circling Toudo, as though he were the leader.

"I'm so glad you could make it," Toudo said, fanning him with a yellow fan. It seemed that he was quite funned out already, his smile fatigued and his form leaning on a tall man behind him who had a cross scar on his forehead. The man didn't seem to mind Toudo leaning on him, however, even though the first impression he gave Kaiba was one of a cold and rough man in his pure black yukata. In his hand, the muscular man held what looked like battle trophies Toudo had won from the stands-water balloons, stuffed animals, masks, goldfish, and the like. "This is Kido Reiji," Toudo introduced, motioning at the tall man behind him. "He's my…housemate." The pause he gave was a bit too obvious and Kaiba raised his eyebrow in suspicion as Maki giggled and both Yuugi and Mokuba cocked their heads like a puppy who just heard a strange sound.

"Let me introduce you," Maki stated, turning to face the three. "This is Kido, Naoya, Nanjo, Eriko, Yukino, Uesugi, Maya, Ulala, Saga, and the Suou brothers Katsuya and Tatsuya." As she named them, the crowd's members waved and smiled, some of them very friendly, and others were a bit aloof, but still in the right place.

"A lot of friends you have there," Kaiba commented, crossing his arms. "Is it just me, or does Toudo look especially young…?"

"There are more who are too busy tonight," Maki teased. She seemed to have either not heard the CEO's question over the clamor, or she ignored it completely. Then she noticed the eager looks that Yuugi and Mokuba were giving at the game stands down the steps of the temple. "Well, I guess I won't keep you. Have fun!" Cheering, Yuugi and Mokuba raced down the stone steps as quickly as their clog-wearing feet can carry them as Kaiba sighed and followed them. Toudo smiled and stood up straight, steadying himself against Reiji for a few moments as he followed Kaiba. "Mind if I joined you?" he asked. Kaiba shook his head but walked a bit faster, joining his brother's side as he crouched down in front of a goldfish stand. He purchased a round of thin paper scoopers for Yuugi and Mokuba, but then another for himself when he decided that he should do something as long as he was crouched there. Mokuba laughed as Yuugi's goldfish flopped on the paper, breaking it and returning to its moment of freedom before Kaiba scooped it up into his small plastic basin. In the end, Yuugi got three from two scoopers and both Mokuba and Kaiba walked away with one, deciding not to play too long there. They hit the water balloon stand next, and Kaiba managed to get two water balloons for both Yuugi and Mokuba since neither of them got any because their rubber band rope detached with their nervous pulls. As they walked along, Yuugi and Mokuba's each individual sweet tooth was satisfied with small snacks such as cotton candy, marble soda, wheat sugar on a stick that was molded into a cartoon character's face, and other little goodies. Kaiba contented himself to a barbecued squid, and then something called "sugar gourds," which were strawberries on a stick covered in hardened wheat candy. He smiled as Mokuba pulled his hand along through the crowds of people, trying to play every game every stand had to offer in the festival and to beat Yuugi in all of them at the same time. Not remembering when was the last time he had so much fun at such leisure, Kaiba allowed the two to splurge themselves to their hearts' content, seeing no harm in the small innocent activities that the large gala had to offer. As they wound down the streets of the festival, they approached a park that also had a few stands in there, but due to the late hours, they seemed to be cleaning up.

"Nii-sama, I want to ride those!" Mokuba shouted, pointing his finger at a circle of ponies that were giving children rides.

"Aren't you a bit old to be riding those?" Kaiba teased. But it was a bit true; most of the children on those ponies were no more than eight years old, even though Mokuba's size was about theirs.

"Let him ride it, it won't do any harm," Toudo chimed in, his gold eyes twinkling in the red paper lanterns strung overhead in the trees. "Besides, the festival is about to clean up for the fireworks. This is probably the last round." Kaiba shot him a look that told him to mind his own business, but then he looked down at the incessantly tugging boy and sighed. The puppy eyes that Mokuba was giving him always seemed to do the trick, and he pulled out a few coins to give to the old man who was leading the ponies. Mokuba cheered and hopped onto one of the ponies, settling onto its saddle as the ponies were lead in a circle around the darkening park. Yuugi moved closer to Kaiba to make way for the ponies as they passed them, Mokuba waving to them on his way onwards. Toudo shuddered a bit even though it was humidly hot, and moved towards the two.

"Are those cherry trees?" Yuugi asked, pointing at the trees that were planted at the far end of the park, the opening between them letting the moon's face into view. The trees' leaves seemed to frame the sky and the full moon of the clear, cloudless summer night.

"Yes," Toudo said, "They are quite majestic when they bloom." Kaiba looked at those trees, at how their leaves appeared to be a teal color under the strangely large moon. He saw a large red jungle gym by the trees, fashioned to the shape of a plane. His cerulean eyes squinted at the sight, for jungle gyms like those were rare.

"Did you know…?" his strangely boyish voice said over the drumming of the festival announcing the ending. "That this park has a legend…?" His eyes turned so slowly in their sockets as he looked at Yuugi and Kaiba that they seemed to leave a trail of gold in the blue and red light of the park. Yuugi shook his head, but his expression was tell-tale, showing that he was interested and curious. Toudo smiled and reached over, patting Yuugi's head as he laughed delightedly, like an old man whose curious grandchild would never stop asking questions.

"They say that…couples who come on dates here in Honmaru Park will end up breaking apart in the most dramatic way," Toudo said, chuckling a bit, as though amused. Yuugi's eyes widened in fascination as Kaiba scoffed. "How unscientific," commented the young businessman. The good doctor only smiled and walked towards the returning ponies, lifting Mokuba off as the ponies came to a stop and then were led off to their transporting car as soon as all the children were picked up. He then smiled and whispered something in Mokuba's ear, causing the boy to squeal in enthusiasm, hopping up and down in his heavy wooden clogs. The boy then ran back, with Toudo following him.

"Nii-sama, Dr. Toudo told me that he lives in a broken down factory and there are monsters in there, can I go and stay the night with him?!" Mokuba shouted, tugging eagerly on Kaiba's yukata sleeves.

"Excuse me?" Kaiba whispered, his voice almost a hiss as he glared up at Toudo, who smiled in his general direction. "Please don't be stuffing junk into my brother's head. Number one, how can you possibly live in a broken down factory…"

"Avoids paying taxes and rent. Reiji lives there with me, as well," Toudo answered.

"…and how can you say there are monsters in there? How can you prove it?" Kaiba asked, grinding out his words.

"It can be proved when Mokuba is dropped off at your house tomorrow morning and he tells you what he's seen," Toudo countered, his voice cool and level, but the strange smile never leaving his lips. This was the first time Yuugi as ever seen so much expression on the doctor's face, but the smile was very different from Maki's. As Maki's smile is like a goddess', Toudo's felt like a seducer's. Finally, Kaiba sighed and threw his hands in the air as Mokuba continued his whining and begging. "Fine!" he shouted, exasperated, "Just so you know, he MUST be dropped off at my front door no later than 9AM tomorrow morning, and if he returns with any scratch on him, you'll be answering to me!" Toudo's smile grew wider at the answer and he bowed in thanks, then motioned the three of them towards him. "Then let me show you to the bus station. I live in the Konan ward, and there is a beautiful beach there I'm sure that you would like to see." Together, the group walked to the bus station as the clamoring of the festival crowd began to die down and a majority of the people left began to walk towards the Araya temple.

The Konan ward was about a five minute bus ride from Rengedai, and on the way, Kaiba could smell the scent of the ocean from the window of the bus. Mokuba was sleeping on the way there, his head resting against Kaiba's lap, too pooped from the festival. Yuugi, also exhausted, decided to switch with Yami, going back into his soul room for a good night's sleep as Yami took over. Soon, the bus came to a stop and the four of them got off at the stop in front of a majestic beach.

"Welcome to Ebisu Beach," Toudo announced. Mokuba awoke on Kaiba's back and stared out at the surface of the ocean, which glittered a beautiful silver and blue, bathed under the diamond moonlight. Even Kaiba had to admit being impressed by how clean the beach was for a city that was this developed. To get a better look, Mokuba hopped off from the piggy back ride that Kaiba was giving him and kicked at the ebbing tide a bit, laughing as the cool water touched his feet, chilling his feet, which had been heated on the hot summer sand. Smiling, Toudo let him play for a bit longer before going to the boy and taking by the hand. "Let's go then," he whispered, leading the boy away. Mokuba waved goodbye for the night to his older brother as Kaiba's blue eyes followed them before they disappeared into the night.

Yami suddenly stuck out his tongue after the two left, making a small noise of discomfort that brought Kaiba's attention to him. Kaiba's one eyebrow lifted in amusement that such a serious figure would do something so comical.

"It's hot," Yami complained, pulling at his yukata hem.

"Of course it's hot," Kaiba retorted, "It's hotter in Egypt, isn't it?"

"Not like this," the Pharaoh muttered, "It's sticky here. And the ocean makes it stickier. I wish it would rain a bit or something."

The answer he got for that comment wasn't something Yami had expected. "As you wish," a silky voice said. And before Yami could react, he saw Kaiba walk towards the ocean, kicking off his wooden clogs and stepping into the warm waves, and then to the chilly regions until he was waist high in water. He pulled his sash off and stripped himself of his white yukata, discarding them on the waters, letting the articles of clothing be brought back to the sand by the waves.

"Kaiba, what are you doing?" Yami shouted. But he could feel no intention, whether by physical reflex or some distant memory, to stop Kaiba from what he was doing.

Closing his eyes, Kaiba placed his palms onto the surface of the ocean waters that glistened majestically in its magnificence, kissed by the moonlight brilliance. He then lifted his hands and a strange melody flowed from his lips.

"Tihn oh oh, beh loh ho.

A gohn a gya tei tao beh gu ou."

Before Yami can process what the other boy had sung, he felt rain droplets upon his eyelashes, and then he found himself stuck in a cloudburst. Kaiba, or rather, someone who probably took over Kaiba's body, standing in the ocean and causing the rain, turned and smiled at him, seemingly satisfied. But then he lowered his head, gripping his shoulders as though he were freezing. Noticing the sudden change, Yami grabbed the white yukata that was discarded and ran towards Kaiba, wrapping the clothing around Kaiba's shoulders.

"It's Seth, isn't it?!" he shouted, looking into Kaiba's face. "You're Seth, aren't you?!" He didn't know exactly where he made the connection with that name, but right now it seemed like the right one to say.

"The sky is darkly black, it's going to rain.

Grandpa took a shovel to get some taros.

Dig, dig, dig…

He dug up an eel instead.

Hey~now that's really interesting."

Steady hands gripped at the shivering shoulders, and Yami shook Kaiba to urge the other to look at him. "You're Seth, aren't you?!" he demanded again, the name now not as unfamiliar as it was a second ago. When the eyes looked up at him again, Yami drew in a sharp breath at the cloudiness within the blue depths, and yet in some distance corner they shimmered like the sea beneath them.

"Will you kill me when I become myself?" whispered the choked voice.

"What?" Yami asked, confused. He felt the rain pummel against them, but something else was there, something that was hot and wet, something that fell upon his face and his arms. He looked up and realized the mixture of rain and tears on Kaiba's face.

"Will you kill me in this lifetime?" Kaiba asked again, leaning into Yami, his face burying into the Pharaoh's shoulder, his hands now gripping the black material that Yami wore, pulling it from where it stuck to Yami's back like a second skin. "Will you?"

"I…I won't," Yami stammered, not sure of what to say.

"Please…don't…" Kaiba whimpered before he went slack within Yami's embrace.

The fireworks exploded in the distance as the rain stopped.

To be continued…

Yeah. That was a weird chapter, but it will all be explained soon, I hope. Thank you all for your reviews!

The song that Kaiba sang in here was actually a children's song that I learned from my mom that's in Formosan. It's not really Egyptian, but I really like it.