Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Fixations of the Past ❯ The Invitation ( Chapter 2 )

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He never really stood a chance, did he? With one curt nod, sharp, snappy voice, always so full of pompousness, and he agreed to the other's suggestion, although it sounded much more like an order.

Yes, they needed to talk. Soon. That was the word sending his head amidst shadows. Soon. Because it wasn't but a few, fleeting seconds ago, when his throat had shriveled up from the loss once more lacing his heart, when he thought he had lost the only man worth living for…again.

But he hadn't! There he was, walking away with serpentine grace, chained down tight by money and the sleek necessity of a businessman. And perhaps that's what hurt the most, he was there, alive and well, content at being himself, ice and quiet whispers making those bright blue eyes shine like frosty fire, without anymore apparent concern for Yami than for the other teens he brushed past.

What had he seen? Was Kaiba's vision so different? Did his disbelief run so thick not even the glaring will of the Gods could change his mind?

Yami closed his eyes slowly and sighed in defeat, yes, Kaiba really was that stubborn. Or was Yami just too willing? Too starved for something so long past, perhaps Kaiba couldn't remember?

/Yami?…/ Yuugi's soft voice tickled his mind, sending ripples along his consciousness. /Wh…what happened?/ Ah, yes, Yuugi hadn't seen, couldn't have seen what was locked away in Yami's mind, and perhaps it was better that way, no need to concern the small boy of dusty heartache.

//Just another vision, Aibou.// Yami walked along the aircraft, staring intently at the ground as images flickered before his eyes.

/Oh!/ Yuugi sounded almost too happy from this revelation for Yami's liking. /Anything new!?/

//…// Yami cursed his pause, knowing Yuugi would only figure out his dark wished to keep something to himself.

/I…it's ok, Yami. Their not my memories to look into, I just…I just-/

//No, I'm sorry, Yuugi.// the dark shut his eyes in self frustration, he could be so stupid sometimes, his light was too sensitive to be treated like that. //It's just something I have to settle on my own, I don't mean to sound-//

/Yami./ the smaller's voice sounded like a mix of apology and understanding, laced with innocence and honesty. /I understand, don't worry. Some things are just for you./

The dark smiled, letting the sincere gratitude dribble through their link //Thank you, Aibou.// Yami's head turned at the sound of their friends calling him, heavy sigh leaving his chest, he just didn't feel like talking to others at the moment. //Yuugi?//

/Go ahead, I'll just tell them the vision wiped you out and it was a repeat of last time./

//You're my favorite hikari at the moment.// Yami grinned across their link and felt himself melt into his soulroom, the soft wisp of Yuugi's mind brushing against him as they traded places, delicate pout upon the light's lips.

/At the moment?!/

Yami snickered softly and blinked to find himself surrounded by the thick stones of his past life, each heavy brick another memory, those intact representing anything he remembered. It was of no surprise then that most, if not all, of his soulroom looked as though it was about to crumble and collapse upon him. The lithe shadow sighed and sauntered over to his bed, it was very out of place in the dark corner of his mind, the only thing to prove to himself he had indeed once been pharaoh.

Just a little past his waist, Yami's legs would dangle when he sat on the bed. Four tall posts, each inscribed with an incantation for his protection, pretty, scarlet silk strewn from one to the next. The bed glittered in the soft lighting Yami preferred to surround himself with, dim candles that burned indefinitely, even as he slept.

The once pharaoh clamored atop his bed, crawling to the center and smiling slightly as he sank into the thick mattress, soft blanket wrinkling around him despite his light weight. Yami drew himself together and wrapped slender arms around thin legs, one cheek pressed against his knee as he stared into the nothing of his walls.

Why him? Of all the other yamis, of all the other souls…why him? Why did he have to remember? Why did he have to know? What had he done that was so terrible he had to relive each and every heartbreak? Watch his dark-haired lover fall, lifeless and lovely even in death, breathless and beautiful, slain by his pharaoh's unwilling hand.

Scarlet deepened to blood red, stabs of fire causing the youth to shut his eyes, leaking tears of regret and eternal apology. "Gods! Seth!…" He saw against the black of his eyelids the brunette shudder from the slam of a spirit, tearing his soul to shreds, destroying its master's potential threat. Yami ordered it to stop, told the spirit not to go, not to attack, not to kill…

"Seth…" The high priest didn't even gasp from the pain, he didn't last long enough. The tall form fell to the ground, dust and sand filming the air, settling on the soft, pale skin. Yami could feel the warmth receding from the empty body as he held the taller, memories so vivid, too vivid. "I'm so sorry…" The scarlet-eyed youth combed his fingers through the silky strands of dark brown, burying his small face in the depths of auburn, sobbing and praying to every god. "I'm sorry…"

The hot wetness on his knees finally snapped Yami awake, tear streaked face looking up to the emptiness around him, soft hiccups echoing and bouncing back at twice the volume. He felt so small, huddled like this in the middle of an overly large bed, broken walls surrounding him, a frightened child crying all alone for something no one could ever know about. No one should ever know about. They had no need for it, no need other than to shove it in his face and smear the vile picture of his blood soaked fingertips across his half soul.

He wouldn't tell, couldn't tell, no one, not even Yuugi, poor, sweet Yuugi. This would stain his other half's innocence, seclude him from his friends.

`Your yami's a murderer, he killed Kaiba! He killed hundreds, just ask Bakura.'

They'd say it, they'd tell his hikari such things…and Yami wasn't sure if he'd be able to deny what was truth, though twisted so ugly it made him sound more horrid than he already felt.

And Kaiba! Gods, Kaiba! If he found out, if he knew, if he hated Yami now, what would come of telling him Yami had loved him, killed him?!

The thin boy shook his head and tried to collapse such thoughts, he was becoming panic stricken, fear and regret and turmoil nestling themselves in his mind, twisting worrisome wrinkles to tremendous towers.

Kaiba…Kaiba…he'd…he'd understand…wouldn't he? After all, didn't he believe in Yami now? Didn't he always give Yami a sneer and save Yuugi the hurt feelings because Kaiba knew, Kaiba saw, Kaiba could tell there really was a Yami. So why wouldn't he believe in Yami's words? Believe Yami had loved him, tried to save him, and had always regretted that night.

Sharp, short breaths filled the room; the spirit's chest rose and fell at a rapid pace, vision misting as he felt his head go light, small slash of darkness masking his eyes before he blinked and found himself facing the eternal shadows collected as his ceiling. Alright, so he had panicked and caused himself to have an attack, that's ok. Yami sighed and lay there for a while, letting the dark quiet encompass him until his nerves had settled and he found no reasonable explanation to not confront Kaiba. All would go well in the end, the brunette might not like him much, but a businessman would listen to logic and sense, problem was, nothing Yami wished to tell him contained even the slightest of logic, but there was plenty of sense, it was something Yami had to do.

Yes, Kaiba will completely understand…

/Yami?/

Scarlet eyes opened just slightly //Yes, Aibou?//

/Oh…well…you have a phone call…/ Yami raised a brow; his light sounded rather confused, then again, Yami had never received a phone call before. /And…it's…well, it's Kaiba./

The once pharaoh sat up at that, eyes wide and the sense of panic beginning to revive itself as he gripped the sheets around him tightly, knuckles whitening as he thought of something to do. He couldn't hide, well, he could if he just refused to ever come out again, but that would be of little help. Yami was at a loss for what to do; of course, he wanted to speak to Kaiba, but so soon?

/Yami? Are you ok?/ Yuugi sounded slightly panicked, the dark feeling terrible for being the cause of it.

//Yes, yes, I'm fine.// the dark took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down. //Tell Kaiba I'll be right there.// Whether or not he was ready, Yami was going to have to speak to the CEO, and as far as he was concerned, better now than later.

Yuugi scrunched up his face, something was bothering Yami, and the dark didn't want to talk about it. "He'll be right out, Kaiba." The small youth heard a faint grunt in response, the brunette obviously annoyed he was put on hold. Not that he wished to be nosy, but the light didn't want Yami to suffer alone, and yet he respected the other's privacy enough to not question his decision to deal with the issue on his own.

A soft tingle began in his mind, slowly enveloping him completely and melting to warmth as he receded, smiling as he passed Yami's soul, concerned when he saw the spirit rather worried, internal conflict flitting in his scarlet eyes.

"Yuugi, what the hell is taking him so long?" Kaiba growled, fingers rapping on his desk as he waited impatiently for Yami. "Just how fucking hard is it to-"

"I don't appreciate it if you speak to my light in that manner, Kaiba."

The brunette felt shivers race along his spine from the scarlet teen's voice, wry grin shaping his lips. "I apologize for any permanent scarring."

Yami narrowed his eyes at the mocking tone "What do you want?"

"Why…" Kaiba smirked over the line, voice dropping just a pitch as he purred over the phone "You, of course." The Pharaoh felt his heart stumble over a beat, face lighting like a brushfire at the other's words. "Why else would I have called you? I said we needed to talk, didn't I?"

"Oh…" Yami flushed even brighter, how could he have assumed Kaiba meant anything else? "Yes, you did. I suppose you want to get this over with now?" The sooner they spoke of their visions, the sooner the tricolor haired spirit could tell Kaiba everything; the butterflies were already battering his stomach relentlessly with the thought.

"Actually, I was thinking of doing this in person." The brunette answered coolly, feeling the other's surprise…and was that nervousness in Yami's breath?

"In…person…" hushed, like it was a deathly secret for only his ears, sparing Kaiba the repetition of his words, a soft crackle heard over the phone line from Yami's quickened breath.

The brunette cocked his head, lightly wondering if he really came off so seductive, or sinister, or something like a dangerous mix of the two. "Yami?" And the way he said it, the way his tongue wrapped about the name, lips pressing it against the dark's ear, sent a pleasurable shudder down the shadow's back. "Can you come?"

"Only you can make me." The Pharaoh was startled by his own boldness, scarlet widening, face matching his eyes to the very shade.

Kaiba smirked again, ah well, this could be more fun and much easier than he had anticipated. "Oh, I'll make you, Pharaoh." Slightly husky and yet too laden with mock obedience to be truly seductive "So why don't you skip your skinny ass over here and I'll see what I can do?"

Yami's breath caught, head flickering with dizziness as a wave of startling emotions suddenly drowned him, he hadn't expected the billionaire to be so…so…blatant about it. Whether or not the innuendos had even a sliver of truth was not the scarlet teen's concern, it was what those prickles were doing to his body and mind that worried him. He swallowed, throat tight and dry, voice viciously unnerved as he spoke "I'll be right over."

"Excellent." Nearly a purr, soft, sweet caress of barely chained passion, lust riding out through the phone and making Yami's knees buckle. "I'll be in my office suite, don't keep me waiting."

The soft click echoed in Yami's mind, sound of a broken conversation pounding against his ears. He wasn't sure how long he stood there, staring blankly out the window, not really hearing anything other than his thundering heart, blood pulsing across his thin form, not in the least aiding in his frozen state of body and mind.

There was a soft knocking in his mind, badly startling Yami to the point of snapping his link even tighter, feeling the wave of hurt from his light as Yuugi was thrown from his other's soulroom.

//Aibou!// Yami quickly appeared within their mind, helping the small boy stand with tender carefulness. //I'm sorry, you surprised me.//

Yuugi chewed on his lower lip as he struggled to keep tears from forming, it wasn't as though it had hurt him, the fall that is. /It's ok./ the boy smiled and blinked his large amethyst eyes in concern, Yami's gaze seemed distant, far too distracted for Yuugi's comfort. /Yami? What's-/ And he cut himself off, no, Yami had a right to keep it to himself, when and if the dark was ready to tell him, Yuugi would be there. /What did Kaiba say?/ slightly choppy, and he was sure his other heard the trip of words, but perhaps Yami wouldn't worry over that.

//He…// his eyes darted nervously from his light to the emptiness around them. //I have to go see him now. // So softly stated, Yuugi had to tip his head just slightly to catch the stir of mumbled words.

/Oh, well…/ the smaller didn't know what to say, if Yami had to go, then he had to go, not like Yuugi wouldn't know where he was, or how to contact his dark, very hard to get rid of someone inside your head. /Get going then!/

Yami was startled by his smaller half's enthusiasm, the enormous smile plastered across the boy's face so warm and reassuring, the taller gained a trickle of confidence, nodding his head in affirmation. //Yes, that prick did mention something about not keeping him waiting.// The dark grinned, quick snap of his previous conversation replaying through his mind, quite glad he could control his blush while in their mind.

Melting away, Yami fluttered his eyes open to the real world and sighed lightly. //I'm not sure how long this will take.//

/Doesn't matter./ Yuugi answered quickly, bouncing into his soulroom and clearing a path amongst the scattered collection of treasured toys. /I'll keep myself more than busy, do what you have to./

The dark smiled inwardly, slight curve of his lips as he admired his smaller half's sincerity, thanking all the gods he knew for receiving such a caring light. Yami felt the shudder of their link closing, not too tightly, so they could speak had they reason to, but enough to hand the taller a gratifying amount of privacy.

It was a long walk, the longest walk Yami had ever taken as he approached the Kaiba Mansion, then again, it might have had something to do with all the unnecessary side streets and distractions he seemed to force upon himself. He wanted to see Seto…he just didn't want to see him…at the moment, especially as Yami was feeling less than confident in himself.

`You're being a baka.' Yami growled at himself, finally deciding to take one last turn, swearing he would not stray because it led straight to the billionaire's establishment. `Look at yourself! Since when does the King of Games avoid a confrontation? What's the worse that can happen? Kaiba will hate me? Swear to never speak to me again?' Yami's head bowed and he slowed to a languid step, heart rippling with ache.

`Would that be so terrible?' It was a stupid question really, especially considering how he was acting, feeling, and thinking. Yami knew he'd be crushed were the CEO to simply cut him off, choose to ignore the dark as though he didn't exist. `Not like we were that close to begin with.' Images of his earlier dream smack him in the face, shiver racing down his spine as he could all but feel Seth's ice-cold body held tightly against his own. `In this life anyway…'

He sighed dejectedly, blinking awake at a sharp sound, suddenly aware his knuckles were knocking on a ridiculously large door, riddled with intricate designs and adorned with a long, gold handle. Yami glanced behind him and stared dumbfounded, there was a tall, black gate with a guard, what seemed like a mile long driveway, and a beautiful array of statues in the vast lawn.

When the hell did he pass all that!?

"Welcome, Mr.-"

"Yami…just Yami." The scarlet-eyed teen interrupted nervously, blankly staring at the short, old man before him. Yuugi and he had spoken about allowing Yami to gain his light's last name, the taller eventually refusing as he felt an amnesia struck shadow didn't deserve a last name. His first suit him well enough despite his hikari's saddened acceptance, and even then, `Yami' was merely a title if he really thought about it.

"Well, Yami," the elderly man smiled stiffly at the leather wrapped teen, beady eyes looking the boy up and down with slight disgust, hidden by the thick glasses currently flashing sunlight in the taller's face, after all, why would Master Kaiba associate with such…wild company? "I was instructed to merely explain how to arrive at Master's office, it is assumed you are a courteous guest and will make no other visits to different parts of the mansion, nor-"

"I'm not going to steal anything." Yami snapped, bloody eyes narrowing at the belittling tone the short man was using on him.

"Yes, well, of course you wouldn't. Never once crossed my mind that you would." Or could, considering it was next to impossible to sneak anything out while wearing clothing painted upon the flesh.

Yami snorted in disbelief and carefully listened to the directions, he'd have better luck finding Jou in a library than Kaiba within his own mansion. There had to be at least a dozen left turns with twice as many right turns meshed together with doors and stairs and hallways. He held his head and sighed once the servant left him alone, Yami rolled his neck and stared at the enormous chandelier above him, soft, gold glow radiating past the crystal and throughout the scarlet clad room.

He trudged through his directions, taking slow steps as he steeled himself for the hate Kaiba would throw at him once learning the truth. After some time, felt like a day's worth of walking to the spirit, Yami finally arrived at his destination, the sleek, brown doors engraved with `S' and `K' on either door, gaping jaws of the white dragons adding to the splendor of the richly decorated doors.

His body tightened as he suddenly felt as though the entrance was looming over him, hall stretching away and swallowing his exits. Yami took a shaky breath and raised his hand, knocking gently on the Blue Eyes' chest.

"Come in."

Kaiba knew it was Yami; he had to have known, unless he always invited others to join him with such a sultry voice, heavy with hunger and amusement that sent sparks down one's back. Yami's fingers splayed across the glazed door, wave of nervous dizziness getting the best of him as he slumped against the door. Breathing heavily and regaining some composure, he straightened his stance, slender fingers combing through tricolor locks as he twisted the heavy gold and pressed his weight against the door.

"I apologize for being late, Kaiba, I-" Yami stopped dead in his tracks, scarlet widening to an impossible size, words falling unspoken from his lips at the sight before him.

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