Fateful Salvation: Chapter 5

Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters

Genre: Supernatural, Romance

Description: An old man's Blue Eyes White Dragon card brings about the crossing of their paths. After that, life will never be the same for the two of them. A Seto Yami fanfiction.

Pairing: Seto Kaiba x Yami Yugi (Prideshipping)

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!

Fateful Salvation
by: scarlet wax petal

Click here to return to Chapter 4. Click here to see the Table of Contents.

Chapter 5: Aftermath

"The National Duel Monsters Tournament," Yugi Mutou reads aloud as he looks up at the poster put up on the Kame Game Shop front window. His large amethyst eyes are transfixed as he gazes at its Celtic Guardian design.

"The National Duel Monsters Tournament," he repeats, more softly now, slowly and breathily. "Just three weeks to go…" His eyes seem to briefly gleam with a faraway stare; then a smile forms on his lips. He abruptly turns around and excitedly exclaims, "Hey Yami! Wanna join?"

Yami, who has been standing behind him, does not respond. He is still looking up at the same poster, at the same Celtic Guardian design… but it is as though he is gazing at a distant point beyond what he could see. As though his mind is equally distant; he does not even flinch when Yugi waves a hand and snaps his fingers twice. Yugi claps a hand on his own forehead in exasperation. Ah, Yami, what on earth is happening to you?

Almost a week has passed since that occurrence -- the one which Yugi refers to as the "Kaiba incident," often with a grimace, much to Yami’s dismay.

Well, actually, Yami does understand why Yugi would act that way; and whenever he feels like reasoning with Yugi, he would ask himself: If my own grandfather were almost killed by my wacko businessman-classmate, I would be very angry, wouldn’t I? His answer: yes. In fact, he is surprised, and relieved, that Yugi continues to regard Kaiba civilly. Knowing himself, he would have given the young man a one-way mandatory ticket to the shadow realm, or, even more likely, killed him -- had he not been stopped. The thought makes him shiver.

Jou and Honda, on the other hand, have been predictable--

"Damn, Yugi," Jou had remarked, "the next time we meet that jerk, I’m gonna give him the pounding of his life!" He smashes fist into palm as audibly as he could. Yami gulped.

"And then we feed him with horse shit," Honda had offered with a sneer. "Lots and lots of nice, warm horse shit. Mm-hmm…"

"Then we spread the shit all over his face!"

"And slam his head down the toilet!"

"And then flush it!"

"And flush it again!" Then Honda scratched his head. "And then what?"

Jou shrugged. "And then… we parade him naked down the street?"

"Eew, man! That’s nasty! That’s gonna stink!"

Jou smirked. "Eh, makes no difference, doesn’t it?" And he and Honda laughed out loud, obviously proud of their brilliant plans. Yugi had tried to laugh along with them, though with evident unease, as he glimpsed at Yami every now and then. Yami, on the other hand, had not smiled. He had strained to keep his expression as neutral as he could. And when he was too tired -- too hurt -- with hearing the exchange between his two friends--

"Excuse me," he had said as he slowly stood, his voice cold and flat. The rest had looked up at him, quite concerned. Yami began to march away.

"Where you headed, Yami?" Jou had asked.

Yami had shrugged, and gone on his way. He had even heard Jou asking, "Hey, Yugi, what’s up with him?" but he had not stayed long enough to know if Yugi had responded. However, he is pretty sure that Yugi had offered an explanation, for Jou and Honda have not talked about Kaiba in that manner ever since, at least not in his presence. But… had Yugi said the truth, or made an alibi? Yami isn’t certain and, curious as he is, he hasn’t dared tap into Yugi’s mind for the answer.

Only his aibou understands him. Only Yugi knows what goes on in his mind, in his heart… since Yami has not bothered to talk about this issue with anyone else. And granting that Yami had decided to keep his mouth shut about the matter, Yugi would eventually know. After all, they are each other’s aibou. They have a connection that no one, not even the closest of brothers, would ever--

"Oy, Yami!" A hard slap lands on his shoulder, and Yami snaps back to reality.

"Jounouchi!" he exclaims in protest, glaring at the grinning blond boy. "That hurt, you--"

"Sorry," Jou says, cutting him off. He briskly rubs the part where he had hit Yami. Then, grinning some more, he adds, "So, how was Mars?"

Yami looks at him, evidently puzzled. Yugi shakes his head. "Mars is another planet, Yami," he explains. He gently places a hand on Yami’s cheek and pats. "Welcome back."

The confused expression does not leave Yami’s face. "But I didn’t go to another planet…"

"It looks as if you’ve been there, though," Yugi replies, smiling wistfully. "Jou was just saying that your mind has been elsewhere. You didn’t even notice that we’re already inside the house." And then, as if on cue, Yami glances around and realizes that they’re no longer standing outside the Kame Game Shop. They are now in the living room, and he is seated comfortably on an armchair. Yugi and Jou are looking down upon him, their faces full of concern.

Come to think of it, he thinks, I didn’t even notice when Jou had arrived. "What time is it?" he asks.

Yugi glances at the wall clock. "Six in the evening," he replies. "Jou came here at five-thirty. We went inside immediately afterwards."

"So about thirty minutes had passed?" Yami remarks, rather incredulous. His two friends nod.

"You’ve been really out of it, Yami," Jou says. "Wanna talk about…" But Yugi cuts him off by patting his arm. Jou looks down, and his eyes widen, obviously having remembered something. He and Yugi mouth words at each other, and Yami rolls his eyes. I think I understand now… he muses.

Jou and Yugi then turn to him with bright smiles on their faces. "Anyway, you’ve seen the poster outside the shop," Jou remarks. "Wanna join the competition?"

"The competition?" Yami asks, rather woozily.

"The National Duel Monsters Tournament!"

"Well, maybe--"

"And good news: Kaiba’s not in it!" (Oh boy… You’ve blundered again, Jounouchi, Yugi thinks to himself.)

"Kaiba’s not in it?" Yami exclaims, promptly springing to his feet.

"Yep!" Jounouchi grins. "Tough luck going against you, eh, Yami?"

Yami absently bites his lips. So Kaiba’s not in the competition… Has he become afraid of losing again? Or was he simply recovering from his defeat, and decided that it was too soon to duel again? Or… was he changed so much by what I had done that he had lost the spirit of the duelist in him? The last question strikes fear in Yami’s heart, and he tenses, his conscience once again gritting, gnashing--

"Yami!" Yugi and Jou holler in unison; and Yami awakens from his thoughts. He begins to taste blood, and feels the pain on his lip. Jou quickly takes a handkerchief and presses it upon Yami’s mouth.

"I’ll go get ice!" Yugi calls, promptly dashing for the kitchen. He returns a minute later with a bowl of ice cubes, and requests Yami to suck on one. Yami obeys.

Jou sighs. "Ah, Yami… I don’t really know what to make of what has been going on."

Yami does not reply. His mind is once again somewhere else.

-o-o-o-

Eleven o’ clock. For some reason, though it is likely he knows, Yugi has found sleep hard to come by this particular night. He has been flipping channels for the past few minutes, hoping to come across something that would bore him enough to make him sleep. Well, finding the ho-hum programs has been easy but, unfortunately, none of them have made him even yawn.

What a night, Yugi mutters to himself. Idly, he continues to push the buttons on the remote control, slowly counting to three before moving to the next channel. Quite like counting sheep, he adds. But it doesn’t work. And none of the programs catch his interest.

"Lose three inches off your waist in thirty days or your money back!" Click!

"Repent, my brothers and sisters! Repent, because the end is near!" Click!

"It’s time to vote, ladies and gentlemen! Who will be the next--" Click!

"And now for the headlines. Kaiba Corporation’s young CEO Seto Kaiba has withdrawn from," and Yugi leans forward interestedly, "the upcoming National Duel Monsters Tournament. Mr. Kaiba has announced, via his spokesman, that he has withdrawn from the tournament ‘due to professional reasons.’ He has refused to expound on this statement. Duelists from around Japan are divided on the matter.

‘No Kaiba, better chances of winning! Of course I’m glad!’

‘It’s really sad. The tournament just won’t be as challenging without him around.’

‘It’s just an excuse. Kaiba’s saving face after being defeated. And by a kid!’

‘That Yami guy kicked his butt. Serves him right. He shouldn’t duel again.’

It can be recalled that Kaiba, uncontested Duel Monsters king, was defeated by then-unknown duelist Yami Mutou in an informal battle almost a week ago. Though the public has not seen Mutou participate in any duel since, he is now regarded as one of the top duelists in Japan, and is quickly reaching Kaiba in terms of rating. Now a new question arises, and everyone’s asking: Will Yami Mutou be this year’s ‘Duel Monsters King’?"

That’s an easy question, Yugi thinks to himself. And the answer is no.

He points the remote control and presses the "off" button. The television screen dies down.

(to be continued)

Click here to proceed to Chapter 6. Click here to see the Table of Contents.