Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Psyche ❯ Mistakes ( Chapter 1 )

Disclaimer: Yugi-oh is the property of Kazuki Takahashi, who is a genius.

 

This is the third part of the Chrysalis series. You will enjoy this more if you read Chrysalis and Emergence first. You will get lost!

 

I know, I know! I should be working on Just Shoot Me, but I'm in the mood to be moody. So, here's Psyche a bit earlier than I planned.

 

Psyche

Chapter One: Mistakes

~*~*~*

Yami and Yugi

~*~*~*

Yugi lay over the side of his bed with his tri-colored hair brushing the floor and his feet propped up on the wall, watching his yami wander back and forth from the closet trying on clothes. No matter what he was wearing, how you looked at him -upside down or not- , or what he was doing, Yugi decided he had the most beautiful dark half in the world. Whoever was in charge of creation had to have put in overtime creating him.

 

“Aibou? Just what are these for?” Yami dangled a pair a rainbow colored suspenders in front of his nose.

 

“They keep your pants up. Just toss them back in that pile in the far corner Yami. Grandpa keeps giving them to me each Christmas.” Yugi waved his hand back towards the closet.

 

“I have never noticed that your pants are in danger of falling off.” Yami eyed him speculatively. “Actually, I find the problem is getting them off you quicker.”

 

Yugi smiled and wiggled, “You didn't have a problem last night.”

 

“I've been practicing,” Yami playfully leered at him, “if you haven't noticed.”

 

Yugi grinned gave him a matching, though upside down, leer. “I kind of noticed something like that.”

 

Yami tipped his head, contemplating his light, “The way you were screaming last night gave me the impression that you noticed.”

 

Yugi rolled over, blushing, “So, I'm a bit vocal.”

 

Yami grinned and disappeared back into the closet. “A bit? Isn't that like saying Bakura is slightly off key?”

 

Yugi stood up, huffing, “Well, if you feel like that…!” He stalked toward the door, keeping one playful eye out for his yami.

 

“Well, to be honest, I'd rather feel you.” Yami stuck his head out of the closet. “But you have to go to school.” He ducked back into the closet. “It's too bad about that aibou. Maybe when you get home, after being stuck in that dreary school all day, we can explore this vocal thing of yours.”

 

“Hey!” Yugi frowned at the closet, “What do you mean when I get home?” He stepped over to look inside. “You're coming too!”

 

A hand snaked out and dragged him in to meet a playful kiss, then suddenly he was back in his bedroom, panting, disoriented and a bit… needy. Yami leaned against the closet door frame, licking his lips and eyeing him like a rather tasty candy. “The joys of being registered as an eighteen year old.” He narrowed his eyes and stalked forward, “Now, are you going to school today? Or shall we discuss just how vocal…”

 

Not trusting that look, and guiltily realizing that by now Honda and Yuai would be waiting for him, he darted for the door. He heard Yami's smooth laughter behind him as he hopped down the stairs. His grandpa looked up from his morning paper as he ran past, grabbing a piece of cinnamon and sugar covered toast. The shop, still dark, was still and quiet as he darted through, cramming the toast in his mouth, and, with a quick turn of his wrist, opened the shop door and found himself standing in a glorious spring day.

 

Down at the corner, Honda and Yuai stood. Honda was leaning back against the corner stop light and Yuai was squatting next to him, rummaging through her backpack. Already, the sidewalks were getting crowded with students wandering in the direction of school.He jogged quickly over to them.

 

“I honestly thought I had it right here.” Yuai mumbled.

 

“Maybe you left it in the limo?” Honda's jaws cracked in a wide early morning yawn.

 

“No, no.” Yuai zipped up the main compartment and unzipped another. “Kaiba would never allow me to… oh, here it is. Got it.” She stood up holding a small dueling deck case in her hands.

 

“Hi guys!” Yugi stopped in front of them.

 

“Hi Yug. Is Yami coming?” Honda pushed himself away from the pole and yawned again, stretching his back and combing his fingers through his short crew cut.

 

Yuai glanced around, then shrugged. The case disappearing into her pocket. “We better hurry. I need to talk to the principle before class.” She swung her pack to her shoulders and after quickly checking the traffic, started across the street with Honda at her side.

“Are you in trouble?” Yugi fell into step with Honda, looking curiously across at the small blond girl. Her slender shoulders were set in a straight, rigid line under her crisp school jacket. Even her hair, usually a bouncy, blond bob, seemed determined. Each strand staying inflexibly in place.

 

She gave him a brief glance then returned her attention to winding through the early morning pedestrians. “No.”

 

Yugi blinked at the curt, sharp word. He looked questioningly at Honda, who shook his head mouthing “later” and bit his lip. Noticing that Honda didn't have his pack, Yugi nudged him. “Hey, where's your books?”

 

Honda grinned up at the warm blue sky. “You honestly think I bring them home?” He snorted and sighed dramatically, “Yug, it's spring. The weather is warm. The breeze is cool. The grass is green. The sun shines bright in the day and the moon is full and glowing at night.” He rolled his eyes to look over at his friend, “What part of I was too busy getting laid to do homework do you not understand?”

 

“Hey, I was busy getting laid too but I mana…” Yugi stuttered to a stop as Honda winced and Yuai slammed to a halt.

 

She looked over at him, her eyes wide, questioning. “Yugi?” She quickly turned away, clutching the strap of her pack. “I… I have to… go… talk to the principle. I'll see you…” She bolted away through the thickening crowd of students that were migrating toward the school.

 

“Wait, Yuai… that came out wrong… what I mean… I…” Yugi tried to dart forward after her, only to be brought up short by Honda grabbing the back of his uniform.

 

“Whatever you have to say, say it later.” Honda pulled him back to his side and walked slowly forward. “She's been wired tight since Kaiba dropped her off.”

 

Yugi stopped, “Is it…?”

 

Honda shook his head. “No, so far no word. Nothing.”

 

“Oh.” Yugi hung his head, “I guess no news is good news right?”

 

Honda shook his head, “Sorry buddy, but in this case I'd say no news sort of means the worst news, and the longer the no news lasts, the worse the news is going to be later.”

 

“I'm not going to believe that!” Yugi pressed his lips together in a determined line. “Jonouchi's going to be fine. I know it. He'll be just fine.”

 

Honda just nodded, not pointing out the tears hitting the pavement at Yugi's feet.

 

~*~*~*

Kaiba

~*~*~*

Kaiba sat behind his desk watching the sun glitter on the waves out in Domino Bay. The sky was high and blue, darkening slightly toward the horizon where it met the curve of the ocean. Far out, just on the farthest reach of his sight, a ship was sliding through the water, heading for the city. A few pleasure boats floated merrily in the bay itself, lending the water soft, billowing, white wings. Someone being towed around in circles by a motor boat, drifted above the water, held aloft by a bright yellow parachute. It had to be nice to be able to soar into the sky on such a lush, warm day.

 

“… so, with the sudden lack of executive assistants. I set up a schedule of appointments to interview replacements.” Jame was smiling cheerfully across the desk from him. “I have already weeded out the wackos, the under qualified, and the one's that haven't had any combat experience.” She neatly set a stack of files down on his desk. “Kado has already done preliminary background checks on them, weeding out the criminals, the industry spies and the ones with any nervous habits, like mass murder. Though there was one that really looked promising. If he ever manages to get parole, we should keep him in mind.”

 

Kaiba nodded. A flock of pigeons flew past, dancing on the spring winds. A few were… he searched his mind a second, then came up with the correct word, tumblers. Probably someone's pets that escaped and bred into the local pigeon population. That was nice. It gave the normally drab, little birds some interest. Maybe, if he set up a few feeding stations, more would come by. He could even liberate a few more tumblers into Domino City's bird society. In a few years, he'd have soft clouds of grey birds doing gymnastics outside his window every morning.

 

“… checked their references, and they all seem sound enough. Kado will do a more in depth check later.” Jame consulted her schedule. “I've scheduled the interviews for today. The first…”

 

“You handle it.” Kaiba swung his chair around to look at her. His normally piercing, blue eyes were dull and full of shadows. “Just put the finalists on my desk.”

 

“I'm guessing you don't want me to take that literally.” Jame jotted a note in her schedule and nodded. “You still have the Brecken Group meeting at ten and the Domino City Man of the Year Awards tonight at six.” Jame eyed her boss, “I've taken the liberty to arrange a suitable escort for you.”

 

He nodded, flicking the top of his laptop open. “Fine. I'll pick her up at five.” He focused on the screen, waiting for the files to load. He really should do something about that. There had to be some way to make the whole process faster. Admittedly, the start up time on his computer was superior to any other, but still, with a bit of work, he could shave off more time. He tapped his finger on it's plastic side. Maybe make it slimmer too. That might be worth a bit more effort. After that he could see about mass marketing it. A slimmer, faster… how about weight? Yes, that would need some work as well.

 

“… formal wear?” Jame jotted another note to herself. “The last time you wore that tux, you spent most of the evening tugging at the sleeves.”

 

Kaiba nodded, “After the Bracken meeting.” He stared at the desktop icons. The tux really did need to be replaced. He had grown an inch in the last three months, as his aching knees and joints constantly reminded him. Why he was the victim of a nearly post-adolescent growth spurt, was probably the doing of some long ago, abnormally tall ancestor. Maybe that priest, the one he was supposed to have been. What had Yami called him? Set? Seth? Sam? The High Priest Sam? No. No matter. He truly could say he had no one to blame but himself for his complaining knees.

 

“Brecken Group.” Jame was still writing. “Okay. I have him already working on the tux, so he'll only need final measurements.”

 

Kaiba tapped on an icon, calling up a file from the memory. With another flick of his finger he could erase the thing. Gone. No more memory of it. Then he could change his mind and bring it back. He could do that indefinitely, destroying and recreating. If he spent a bit more time, he could completely obliterate it, removing it from even the memory of the memory. Yet, the computer would still work, merrily churning over data, never missing that one little bit of it that would be forever lost. And was that really so very bad? To forget? To never miss what was irretrievably gone?

 

The door of the connecting office closed with a small sigh. He was alone again. Jame was back in her office, organizing, planning and, he was sure, plotting. Since all her plotting was about how to get fired, he wasn't going to waste time worrying about it. Her friend… Rick? Tim? Whoever, had told him about the bet, and his little treasure's obsessive, organizational streak. He'd had worse employees, so, if the one secretary that he could actually rely on had a hobby of trying to hit the unemployment line, he wished her luck. It wouldn't be happening, not anytime soon.

 

He looked at the program file on the desktop and sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. At least now, he had something to do, something to focus on. For the next few hours, he could lose himself in clear, clean sequences of numbers. For a short time, everything would be simple, precise and under his control. Maybe, if he was lucky, Mokuba would want to stay over at a friend's house, or maybe Yuai would manage to keep him busy enough that his little brother wouldn't notice his absence. That way, he could spend the entire night here, lost peacefully in the numbers.

 

He glanced at the phone, then at the small desktop clock. She was in school now. Probably sitting in her desk behind Honda. Yugi leaning across the aisle to chatter happily. Anzu would be perched next to them, listening to Yugi's voice and daydreaming about Mai.

 

I wonder if they even notice his empty desk anymore? Kaiba felt his muscles give a quick jerk of protest as his breath hissed between his teeth. His eyes winced closed in pain. His fingers, resting on the keyboard, hit a string of wrong keys. Quickly, he buried that thought, slamming it down into the basement of his mind, crashing a heavy trap door shut on it and locking it tight. Numbers. Numbers. This program needs to be finished quickly. Concentrate.

 

He focused back on the screen, narrowing his mind down to dealing with the problem that was in front of him. He erased the error and with a tiny smile. In moments, he was gone, lost in the almost automatic tapping of his fingers on the keys, the nearly miraculous strings of thought composed as numbers, and the clarity of black figures dancing past his eyes on the white background. For as long as his world would let him, Seto Kaiba didn't exist. Soon enough the world would call him back, back to meetings; tuxes that didn't fit; escorts that smiled professionally, warm smiles; and a bed that loomed large and empty in the center of his empty room, in a corner of his silent house.

 

~*~*~*

Bakura and Ryou

~*~*~*

Bakura stood frowning in the center of his and Ryou's bedroom. In his hand, he held a small wooden box. It's intricately carved lid hung open, the small latch and lock lay at his feet. Fuck! I could have sworn I left it in here.

 

“Ryou!” He stalked back to the closet and searched the whole shelf. “Ryou!”

 

“Yami?” Ryou walked in holding a large cup of tea in one hand and a CD case in the other.

 

“Have you, ” Bakura held out the wooden box. “been playing in my things?”

 

Ryou shook his head. “No. That was the deal. You leave my things alone and I leave your things alone. Why?”

 

Bakura stepped threateningly forward, “Are you sure hikari that you haven't been playing with this?”

Startled, Ryou stepped back. “Yami, I haven't touched it. I don't think I've even seen it before.”

 

Bakura caught his chin and forced his head back slightly to look into his eyes. “This is very, very important Ryou. Have you touched this box?”

 

“Yami, I didn't touch it.” Ryou shivered as Bakura continued to stare into his eyes. He could feel the old spirit shuffling around in his head, sorting through his memories, prying into a few places that Ryou didn't really want him.

 

“Fuck.” Bakura breathed softly, letting Ryou's chin drop. He turned and looked vaguely around the room, looking a bit bewildered. “If it wasn't you, then who? It's not like it could walk out on it's own.”

 

Ryou hurriedly put a few steps between himself and his yami. “What, Yami, what are you looking for.”

 

Bakura gave him a distracted, irritated look, then shook his head and stepped away. “I've put enough protection on this place that even I would have problems getting in here.” He muttered as he looked out the window suspiciously. “But there's no sign that anyone broke in.” He looked back at the closet. “So where the fuck did it go?”

 

“Where did what go Yami?” Ryou took a tentative step forward. “Maybe I could help look…”

“NO!” Bakura lunged forward and grabbed him by the shoulders. “If you see it hikari, you will not touch it. Do you understand me!” He shook Ryou hard, causing the mug of tea to smash down onto the floor. “Don't even come close to it!”

 

Frightened, Ryou twisted in his grip. “I won't. I promise I won't touch it. Please!”

 

Bakura suddenly yanked him close into a hug. “Just don't touch it Ryou. It's dangerous. You must never touch it.”

 

“What?” Ryou, now half smothered in a desperate, protective hug managed to ask.

 

“The Eye. The Millennium Eye.” Bakura shivered, holding his light closer. “It's dangerous tenshi and, now, it's missing.”

~*~*~*

Ta Da! The first chapter is up and the story is running! Yay, me! Yes, I will wrap up Just Shoot Me, but I really needed to do this. I have leaving Jonouchi in sadistic limbo like that, and I feel guilt about making Kaiba dangle. So on with the Kaiba torture and the Yugi torture, and the Yami torture and yes, I will torture my OCs too! Woot! Go me!