Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Learning to Forgive Yourself ❯ Chapter ( Chapter 1 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Kaiba sat at his desk, completely ignoring the teacher. He stared down at the cards in his hand, then glanced to his left and saw his rival, Yugi. *Why? Why did Yugi Muto beat Pegasus?* He closed his eyes, tossing his cards down onto the desk. One of the cards fell down onto the floor, but Kaiba didn't notice. *Why didn't I?* ~It's because he's not as heartless as you are.~ A voice inside him taunted.

Feeling a small tug on his sleeve, he turned to see Yugi holding the card.

"Here, you dropped this." He said in a quiet voice, so as the teacher didn't hear them. Kaiba took the card, and Yugi went back to writing the notes on the board. Kaiba glanced at the card, and held in a small gasp of surprise. *My Blue Eyes!* He looked at Yugi again. *He could have kept this for his own deck, or given it to his grandfather. So what is it with this kid?* He looked down at the card, then closed his eyes, his hand trembling.

After a moment, he stood up, packing his briefcase, and left the room. Yugi looked up and watched him close the door behind him, a worried look on the small boy's face.


Kaiba called his limo, and was waiting in the school parking lot when Yugi came running out. "Kaiba!"

"What do you want Yugi? Come to remind me that you were the one who saved everyone?"

"No, Kaiba, I came to see if you were alright." He said in a quiet voice. Kaiba blinked in surprise, then silently cursed himself when he saw the hurt in Yugi's eyes. *Damnit, there I go again. I really am heartless.*

"Yugi-" He stopped himself. *No, as heartless as it may seem, I can't go soft.* Kaiba then turned away from the small boy. "I'm fine. Why would I care if you were the one who saved my brother instead of me? It doesn't matter that I broke my promise to always look out for him." Yugi could hear Kaiba's voice crack slightly at this last part, and had a feeling he was telling himself that as well.

"Kaiba, your brother knows that you tried to keep your promise. And you did! What doesn't matter is that you weren't able to save him by yourself. By attempting to beat Pegasus, you showed your brother how much you cared for him, and you showed us a way to win against Pegasus. That gave us the edge we needed."

After what seemed like forever, Kaiba turned to face Yugi again. The boy had a determind look in his eye, like he wouldn't leave until Kaiba believed him.

"Yugi..." He trailed off as his limo pulled up behind him, but didn't get in until the horn honked, snapping him out of his daze. Without saying another word, he got in the limo. The long car pulled away and Yugi turned to go back inside. Kaiba told his driver to stop and got out, calling out to Yugi.

Yugi turned in time to catch a small package. "A gift from Industreal Illusions!" Kaiba explained as he climbed back inside. Yugi opened it as the limo disappeared, and just stared at the three cards sitting in the small box. He pulled them out slowly, watching the sun glint off of them. "Exodia........." He sighed. ".....Kaiba......"