Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Of Crimson and Cerulean ❯ The First Wile ( Chapter 2 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Author's Pointless Note: I am so, so, so very sorry I would've updated sooner but I had school exams which I have to study for and I have to update chapter 4 of my other fic and not to mention a tiny case of writer's block. Anyway, I promise to update this story more often ^^ like once every week or so. Oh yeah, and please send me some feedback after you're done. That'll help me a lot ^^. Now, on with the chapter ^o^

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh. If I did, I think you would've heard of me, right?

Of Crimson and Cerulean

Chapter 2 The First Wile

Yami scanned his garnet spheres around the large, crowded cafeteria, roving over chattering heads and vacant lunch tables. After two, torturous months at Domino High, he still could not, for the life of him, figure out where half his dozen classes were. If he was lucky, Yugi or one of the others shared that class with him and would escort him to the classroom and he wouldn't have to worry about being late or not attending at all. But for now, he just wished he had, by the hand of Ra, wandered into the right room.

He was considering stopping an exiting student to question whether this was the 'cateferia' or not when he suddenly remembered his Pharaoh's dignity and pride. But he needn't have worried for sitting beside a long, metal lunch table at the other end of the room were Tea, Joey, Tristan, Ryou, the Tomb Robber (after their frequent disagreements in which no one turned out to be the winner, Yami had accustomed himself to calling Bakura Tomb Robber, which he knew irritated Bakura greatly) and his own, darling hikari. He let escape a sigh of relief.

He would sooner rip out his tongue from its roots than admit this, but he secretly wished he had the Tomb Robber's reliable ability in sense of direction. After all, Bakura's occupation -- or it was 5000 years ago -- was basically weaving through the mass of complicated mazes Yami had personally taken pains to design with high hopes of stumping and trapping any grave thieves (which never worked), steal the rotting body, then escape.

He silently made his route across the territory (a small space Domino students have dubbed long ago 'The Loser Table') where the infamous school nerds and geeks lunched apart from the rest of the 'accepted society' and came to a halt in front of the table.

"Hey Yami," the gang chorused in perfect harmony except for Bakura.

"Hey," Yami replied with an engaging smile that would have made any ordinary, giddy schoolgirl swoon. Lowering his gaze to meet Bakura's, his tone turned to ice and his charming smile faded. "Tomb Robber." He remarked coldly.

Bakura gave a nod of acknowledgement. "Pharaoh."

Ryou shifted over a space, allowing Yami a seat beside him, which Yami accepted gratefully. Sliding with effortless ease onto the smooth metal bench, he noticed the small stack of money bills beside Tristan's elbow. He queried, "What's that for?"

He didn't spot the panicked look that materialized on Tea's face, or the sudden uh-oh looks that popped upon both Joey and Tristan's faces, nor the mischievous glint that twinkled in Bakura's eye.

"N-nothing," Tea hastily stammered. Yami raised a perfectly cut eyebrow. It was evident that she wasn't telling the truth.

A subtle plan formed itself inside Bakura's head and he mentally smirked. "It's for a bet," he returned casually. Tea shot him a look that could cut right through the famous glaciers of Antarctica. Unfortunately, whether it was deliberate or not, Bakura missed her death glare.

If Yami ever found out about this, her plans would fly out the window faster than a rock into a creek. Not to mention the fact Yami would never trust her again. Being the 'happy, friendship girl' she was, Tea couldn't stand to have one of her closest friends not trust her.

Yami raised his other eyebrow. "What kind of bet?" By now his curiosity had swelled as big as a hot air balloon, that he didn't mind that he, the almighty Pharaoh, was conversing with the filthy, tomb robbing Bakura.

Bakura's only response was a careless and insolent shrug. "Who Kaiba likes."

Yami's eyebrows drooped in disinterest and he rested his chin on his palm while he craned to address his hikari. "Kaiba likes no one," he remarked seriously before turning his undivided attention to Yugi.

A twisted, sinuous grin hooked Bakura's lips and he looked like the perfect image for a mad maniac. "Oh yeah? Check out over there!" He thrust his arm out in Seto Kaiba's direction. His comment was spoken so confidently that if he told Yami the sky was green, Yami would check to make sure.

Yami restrained the urge to roll his eyes but turned his head so he could see what Bakura was pointing at.

Seto Kaiba, multi-millionaire and president of the successful company Kaibacorp, was dining on -- to Yami's amusement -- a small bowl of Caesar salad. Hovering like an eternal shadow behind him was the gorgeous ditz of the school goddess, Crystal Black. Crystal flipped her waist-long golden hair flirtatiously and batted her long, fake eyelashes coquettishly.

"Seto, I was, like, wondering if you're, like, free tonight?" She grinned brightly, displaying two rows of perfectly straight white teeth. Crystal was well known not only for her unusual, tacky beauty and expensive attire, but for her lack of intelligence as well.

"Hn."

"So, I'll, like, take that as a yes?"

"Hn."

"See you, like, at 7."

"Hn."

Unquenchable fury ignited inside Yami and he clenched and unclenched his fists to stay under control. He gritted his teeth and unconsciously bit his tongue, tasting blood. You see, this was all necessary for him to not go stalk up right to Crystal and utter a dreadful curse that would transport her to the Shadow Realm quicker than a jet plane could.

How dare she? How dare she flirt like that to Seto? If I ever lay hands on she'll regret that she ever talked like that to my Seto- He froze. No, it couldn't be. He couldn't have just called Seto his, could he? No, that's impossible. He mentally shook his head, clearing himself of all disturbing thoughts. It was no use dredging up old emotions and memories he had long since buried. It would only hurt more.

Before he knew it, the pale, restraining hand of his darling hikari Yugi, was placed on his shoulder. He vaguely realized that he was standing up from his seat beside Ryou.

"Yami?"

"What?" Yami snapped back.

"What are you doing?" There was a hint of hurt inside Yugi's voice. The group had fallen silent, whether it was the fact that Yami had snapped at Yugi or the fact that they had never seen Yami so angry before.

Yami immediately regretted his harsh words. "I'm sorry--" he began but was cut off shortly by the one and only... Tomb Robber.

"Jealous?" Bakura questioned still in that casual tone of his, though he was close to breaking into fits of laughter.

Yami whirled upon Bakura like a merciless tornado with a vengeance, his eyes wide. "I AM NOT JEALOUS!" He screamed loud enough for the whole cafeteria to hear before spinning on his heels and marching out of the noisy compartment, leaving a surprised Tea, a shocked Joey, an astonished Tristan, a worried Yugi, a baffled Ryou, and a grinning Bakura.

Ryou broke the silence, casting Bakura a brief glance of disapproval. "You shouldn't provoke him, Yami. I think he's still stressed from that English exam we had this morning."

Bakura stared into his hikari's chocolate-brown eyes innocently -- or as innocently as it was possible for a tomb robber to be. Then he shaped his features to his famous, irresistible, the one-and-only... pout.

Ryou sighed and turned his head away from the face his yami was giving him. "I think that was the bell. I'll go put the trays away."

Yugi jumped up from his seat and started piling the plastic trays on top of each other. "I'll help you."

The others nodded. "We'll see you then." The gang then dispersed with Tea in one direction, Joey and Tristan in another, and Bakura without a trace.

The two were in a small room, secluded and evidently forgotten by the rest of the busy slaves and servants of the gigantic palace. The small compartment was barely any larger than half of the Pharaoh's rooms, but it's size served a far greater purpose than necessary. In the center was a huge, comfortable bed lavished with gold trimmings and gold bed sheets and pillows. Candles bore their meager flames from every corner of the room.

"You're beautiful." The dark-haired youth spoke passionately as he intimately rained kisses on the supple neck underneath him.

A moan brimmed with pleasure was his only reply. He smiled slightly before ending his assault of hungry kisses on the youth. Eyelids fluttered open, revealing a pair of odd crimson eyes.

"Don't stop," the Pharaoh pleaded.

"Who said I am?" The High Priest hissed huskily before trailing his warm, work-calloused hands down the alluring, seductive body. Perspiration drenched every inch of their naked bodies.

Set, High Priest of the Temple of the God of Seth, brought up a sweaty hand and raked through his short, sweat-beaded brown hair. His cerulean gaze locked with crimson orbs that dripped with lust and love. He cocked his dark head to one side as he warily studied his lover. The young Pharaoh returned his gaze equally, his tri-coloured hair in damp, straggly ropes.

"What?" Yami finally inquired.

A hand shrouded in gentleness reached out and lovingly caressed the Pharaoh's handsome features. His fingertips lightly brushed Yami's temples before moving to touch the pair of red, swollen lips. Yami leaned into the comforting touch and planted a feather-light butterfly-kiss on the fingertips.

"You're so beautiful." Crimson spheres burning with flaming passion latched onto cerulean orbs embedded with love and desire. Despite the already warm atmosphere, Yami could sense the familiar shy blush creeping up his tanned cheeks. Seto smiled then. The smile that never failed to light up Yami's day to melt his star-crossed heart.

"I love you."

"I love you too."

"MISTER YAMI MUTOU!"

Yami snapped out his reverie and found himself face-to-face with one of the most cantankerous schoolteachers this side of the country, Mr. Moore. Their noses were barely five centimeters apart. He bit back a scream. Even the most fearsome and brave Pharaohs would be afraid of Mr. Moore. The well-known, short-tempered, overly strict man glared angrily at Yami as if challenging his defiance.

Mr. Moore was a rotund man approximately two inches shorter than his students, though he never failed to tower over them all with his reproachful glare. He wore half-mooned spectacles, which he allowed to slide to the end of his nose as he could eye reprovingly at his students. He had dark eyes, thick eyebrows and a balding skull. It was commonly rumored that a compliment or a remark of encouragement never crossed his lips. He was the kind of teacher that prided in knowing all of his thirteen thousand students' names.

"Well?! What do you have to say for yourself?!" Mr. Moore demanded angrily, his dark, beetle-black eyes flashing.

Yami gulped visibly, though not audibly, and stared helplessly back into the black eyes of his grouchy teacher. All his dignity and Pharaoh training dematerialized from his brain. "N-nothing, sir."

Mr. Moore scowled. "Then perhaps you can tell me the names of all the gods and goddesses of Egypt."

Yami choked back a sigh of relief. Mr. Moore unknowingly had crossed into something that was in actually in his knowledge. "Ra, Isis, Horus, Thoth, Bastet-" he paused. Seth. He was about to say Seth.

"You do not know?" Mr. Moore barely gave him any time to answer before resuming. "Then I suppose a ten-page essay on the gods and goddesses of Egypt would do you some good. I expect the report by Thursday." Then with that he marched away from Yami's seat and continued his endless and tedious lecture on Egypt's religion.

Yami allowed himself an inaudible sigh of relief. At least it wasn't detention with Mr. Moore for two or three hours. A ten-page report on the gods and goddesses of Egypt wouldn't be very hard for him. After all, he used to live in Egypt. Correction, he used to rule Egypt. From the corners of his eyes, he noticed Seto looking at him warily. He suppressed the urge to counter back with a death glare.



Tea gently poked Yugi's arm. "What was that about?" she hissed. Yugi shrugged.

"He's been staring into space like that all morning." Yugi responded.

Tea frowned. "Can you sense what he's thinking?"

Yugi closed his eyes and focused on the mental link that bounded him to Yami. Yami? What were you thinking of? He mentally shouted to his other half. Nothing. He waited patiently. Maybe Yami didn't hear him.

Yami?!

Nothing.

It took several tries for him to realize that Yami was ignoring him deliberately although he didn't bother to break the mental link. Yugi sighed and shook his head.

Tea understood and handed him a folded notepaper. "Can you make sure Yami finds this?" Yugi nodded and tucked the piece of paper into his pocket.

"What is it?"

Tea winked mischievously. "Oh, you'll see."

Yugi slid his half-open backpack from his left shoulder. The knapsack landed with a dull thud, briefly reminding Yugi of his many textbooks and spiral notebooks, or, in general, his homework. He vaguely wondered why Yami never took his homework home with him, but always managed to finish his assignments in the nick of time.

He threw himself onto his well-made bed, his arms crossed underneath his head, his pink lips pursed in thought. There was something wrong with Yami. For one, Yami had refused breakfast and lunch and Yugi hadn't seen him touch anything. Second was that moment in the cafeteria. If Yami had been a girl, Yugi would have thought he was PMSing -- Yami wasn't one to scream like that in front of the cafeteria. And finally, it was plain obvious that Yami was too deeply tied to something in his mind that he purposely ignore Yugi during History class.

Something crunched from his pocket. The paper! Yugi had completely forgotten about the notepaper Tea had asked him to let Yami find. He leaped up from his bed, stuck his hand into his left pocket, and drew out a not-too badly wrinkled, folded paper.

Curiosity streaked through him and, for a second, he debated on whether reading it or not. Finally, he concluded that he would not. It might be private anyway. He glanced around his room.

"Aha!" He muttered triumphantly as he placed the paper on top of his knapsack in a particular way so it would be impossible for Yami to miss it.

"Yu-ugi!" His grandfather shouted from downstairs.

"Coming!" He shouted back before dashing downstairs. Halfway down the stairs, he accidentally bumped into the one-and-only... Yami. He briefly spotted the dazed look in Yami's crimson spheres.

"Sorry," Yugi apologized with a sheepish grin. If Yami heard, he gave no signs of acknowledgement. Yami just walked around him and continued his journey up the long flight of stairs.

Yugi's amethyst orbs trailed behind Yami fretfully. If Yugi had any doubts that Yami was having problems, he didn't now. It wasn't like Yami to be that ignorant. Yugi sighed. Another thing to add to his list. He jumped the last three stairs and proceeded to the adjoining kitchen and dining room where his grandfather was just placing a plate of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies on the kitchen counter.

Solomon Mutou greeted his beloved grandson warmly, "Hello, Yugi."

Yugi smiled back. "Hey, Grandpa." His expression changed. "Do you know what's up with Yami?"

Solomon turned his back towards his grandson as he bent over the oven to retrieve another batch of cookies. "He's fine. He's just going through some teenage problems. I'm sure he'll be back to normal by tomorrow."

Yugi snatched a cookie from the plate and popped it into his mouth. He swallowed. "Yami's no teenager. He's a 5017-year old Pharaoh."

His grandfather placed the batch of cookies on the windowsill to cool before turning to face Yugi. "No, he's not a teenager. But hanging around you and your teenage friends can bring teenage problems."

Yugi looked surprised and popped another cookie into his mouth. "Like what?"

Solomon glanced away from his grandson's probing amethysts. "Don't eat all the cookies. Save some for Yami and your friends. I'm going to go manage the shop."

Yugi nodded and his grandfather disappeared. A knock caught his attention and he spun around, another cookie halfway devoured.

It was Joey. Yugi grinned and went to open the back door to let Joey in.



Yami lazily pushed open the door to the room he shared with Yugi. He carefully picked his way around the scattered toys and building blocks that added a touch of childishness to the room. Something caught his eye. It was a piece of paper sticking halfway out from Yugi's backpack.

His curiosity consumed him and he plucked the loose leaf from its position. It was folded in quarters and was addressed to him on one side. He carefully unfolded the note and read its contents:

He blinked and glanced at the signature again. He was right. It was Seto Kaiba. He read the memo again. Alfredo's? Dinner tonight? Thoes definitely sounded like Seto's words.

He flopped himself onto Yugi's bed and was left the whole afternoon to wonder why Seto invited to dine with him that night at one of Domino's finest restaurants.

- To Be Continued -


Author's Pointless Note: Finally got that done. I'm sorry if there are any spelling or grammar mistakes but my mind doesn't seem to be working today. Anyway, please send me a review and maybe even suggest a few things. Just click that button down there ^.~ Constructive criticism (flames) are welcomed ^.^