Adult-FanFiction.org : Yu-Gi-OH

I Know You're Out There Somewhere	By : Firewing Category: Yu-Gi-Oh > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 3536 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own YuGiOh!, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 30
- 31
- 32
Chapter 31: The Path From This Dark Place

This is the second part of what is actually Chapter 30 and the rest of the songfic �No Way Out� from Brother Bear by Phil Collins.
��
Pegasus unhurriedly tidied up a bit under Seto's glower, leaving the cards where they were but disposing of the empty wrappers in an appropriate receptacle.
�Where is Jou?� a deep grumble demanded. Seto was positively cold and sleek in a navy shirt and slacks, and Pegasus couldn't discern any leftover symptoms of his hangover. The boy's constitution was truly admirable, the silver-haired man decided.
Once the CEO had spied the messy mass of gaming cards on the floor, it had taken him less than a split second to comprehend just what his brother and his worst enemy had been doing. Unsurprisingly, his eyes had yet to return to their normal width.
�Uh�I asked Pegasus to show me some of his strategies, Seto, just to pass the time. You know, Serenity left and the others went to look for her, and I was bored, and you were sleeping�� Mokuba rambled, trying to cool his brother's temper and failing miserably. Thankfully, he was cut off by the ringing telephone, which Pegasus stepped into the bedroom to answer.
�So you decided to hang out with Pegasus, Mokuba? Has the world gone mad? And you�re having him teach you Duel Monsters? All you had to do was ask!� Seto snarled.
�I did ask. You never took the time. He invented the game, Seto, and he taught it to you. Who better to learn from?� Mokuba retorted. He refused to be put on a guilt trip by his brother when he had done nothing wrong.
Before Seto could speak again, Pegasus re-entered the main room. �That was Christopher. Serenity's with them, safe and sound. They�ll return as soon as they complete the funeral arrangements for her mother.� As he relayed this information, he couldn�t help thinking what a pity it was that Kaiba had woken from his nap so soon. He and Mokuba had been getting along quite nicely until they had been so rudely interrupted.
�Croquet�s with Jou?� Seto asked, irritated.
�Yes, Kaiba-boy.�
�And it didn�t occur to you that I might want to talk to him?�
�Actually, Kaiba-boy, it did. However, he will be back shortly, and you need a chance to clear your head before then.� Pegasus replied smoothly.
�Don�t tell me what I need!� Seto growled back.
�You need Joseph, obviously.� The older man stated simply, stunning Seto into silence. �He may actually be able to help you change from a wooden puppet into a real human being.� He smiled just a little, remembering his own version of the Blue Fairy and the magical transformation she had performed on him. �So like his mother��
�Excuse me?� Seto scowled.
�Oh, nothing, Kaiba-boy.�
�Would you quit calling me that?!� the brunet snapped.
�As you wish, Master Kaiba.� Pegasus gave him a subservient yet sarcastic bow. �In any case, it would seem you need something to occupy your time until Joseph's return. Instead of brooding about everything, as you usually do, why not seize this golden opportunity to teach your little brother the intricacies of Duel Monsters?� As graceful as always, he sat down on the couch and gestured to the scattered cards on the floor. "Of course, you're welcome to these." Ignoring Seto's death glare, Pegasus winked at Mokuba. "Consider them a gift, young Master Kaiba. Just make sure that your brother doesn't 'borrow' any of the more powerful ones for his own deck."
The blue-eyed CEO felt totally out of his depth as he sat on the floor, practically on top of Mokuba. Pegasus chuckled to himself. It was difficult to tell whether Seto thought he was protecting his brother or if he wanted Mokuba to protect him.
Mokuba, too, felt that he had wandered into a place of enchantments, spells, and other impossibilities as the three of them sat in the same room, sharing a common interest in a manner that could almost be considered civil.
��.
By late in the afternoon, Seto�s near civility had worn out; his obstinacy, on the other hand, would never be in short supply while Pegasus was around. He would sit there in the madman�s suite until his puppy returned, even if it killed him. Even though he remained in the man�s hotel room, though, he refused to be swayed by Pegasus� hospitality, especially since his baby brother seemed to have fallen under the silver-haired illusionist�s spell just the same as the rest of the Domino residents. Someone had to remain sane when it came to dealing with the lunatic, after all.
About an hour and a half after Croquet�s phone call, Pegasus ordered room service. He was aware that the rest of their crew would arrive at any moment, and when he heard footsteps in the hall, he opened the door of the suite without hesitation, not taking into account how it was that he knew they had come back.
This peculiar chain of events was not lost on Mokuba, who was still at odds with himself on the subject of Pegasus. He was caught between trusting Joey�s intuition and believing in Seto�s logic. The truth appeared to lie somewhere between the two, though the younger Kaiba was at a loss to pinpoint the precise balance required to decipher it.
�Ah, you�ve returned.� Pegasus greeted them warmly. �Come in: supper will be arriving shortly.�
Croquet found nothing unusual about Pegasus holding the door open for them even as they approached it. He�d always been more aware of Pegasus� precognizant gifts than the man was himself; his master had never quite figured out how Croquet managed to suddenly appear whenever he wanted him. Since childhood, though, Croquet had felt pulled to his master like steel to a magnet whenever Max had needed him, be it in the wake of a particularly bad nightmare or just because he was feeling lonely. To this day, Pegasus didn�t understand that he called Croquet to him, simply using the power of his mind, and while Croquet despised magic as a rule, this wasn�t magic as he understood it. It was more a natural outgrowth of Pegasus� overdeveloped brain.
Croquet waited as the others entered the suite, tensing slightly when he saw the elder Kaiba. Pegasus smirked and leaned in to whisper to the other man. �No worries, Christopher: young Mokuba has kept his brother in line.�
Croquet nodded as the food Pegasus had ordered arrived. None of them was particularly hungry, however, and even a chain saw would have had some difficulty slicing through the tension in the room. Needless to say, the dinner conversation quickly degenerated to a level where it was composed mostly of �please pass the butter� and �thank you�.
Pegasus made a brief attempt at levity that went over like a lead balloon, deciding right then that the sooner this dinner party was over, the better. Without the Millennium Eye, he had no shield against the extreme angst in the room, and a familiar migraine began to pulse through his forehead and temples before too long.
�Sir?� Croquet broke the silence as he rose and served Pegasus another glass of wine, hovering over him like a mother hen.
�I�m fine, Croquet,� Pegasus told him testily. �It�s just a slight headache.�
This appalled his servant, since Pegasus hadn�t complained of a headache since he�d had the Eye. Chris wanted to dismiss Pegasus� guests right then and there, possibly even have hotel personnel clear the floor. He would do whatever it took to give his master however much space he needed.
Joey realized the stoic bodyguard was nearly frantic with worry over Pegasus, and that same emotion began to take root in his own heart. �Father? What is it? What�s wrong?�
Upon hearing the word �Father�, Seto stood quickly, threw his napkin down onto his plate, and stormed out of the suite without a word.
Pegasus smiled warmly. Not only was he ecstatic to hear Joseph call him Father, but his headache had receded dramatically with Kaiba�s exit. �I�m fine, Joseph, really, but perhaps you should be attending to Kaiba-boy.�
�Yeah.� Joey agreed, but nevertheless stayed where he was. He had fully expected Seto to be gone when he got back to the hotel, and now he felt uncertain about getting into another possible confrontation with his dragon master. He was also suddenly very aware that everyone was watching him.
Finally, Mokuba huffed, �What are you still doing here?�
Jou got up slowly and left. He felt like he was being punished for crimes he wasn�t aware of committing; that was the only explanation for the events of the past two days. Reluctantly, he knocked on Seto�s door, at the same time wanting to avoid Seto and get the whole mess over with.
Seto opened the door abruptly, the infamous Kaiba glare adorning his face. Those beautifully scornful blue eyes totally wiped out what little ability to reason Jou had had to start with, and he said the only thing he could think of on the spur of the moment.
�I love you, Dragon Master.�
��

I can�t believe the words I hear

It�s like an answer to a prayer

When I look around I see

This place, this time, this friend of mine

��.
Seto�s heart surrendered to the words neither of them had expected without resistance.
�I�ll tolerate Pegasus, but I don�t have to like it,� Seto grumbled.
�Thank you,� Jou responded softly.
Seto nodded as though he were a benevolent king bestowing a great favor on a lowly peasant, though it was in truth the other way around. He waved Jou into the room, closed the door, and reached out to touch Joey�s black and blue neck with the same fingers that had made the marks.
Jou flinched and backed away reflexively, and Seto jerked his hand away as though he�d been burned. They looked at each other, completely at a loss for a way to get beyond their earlier violent encounter.
Suddenly, Joey lunged at the brunet, aggressively capturing his mouth and forcing him to the floor, though Seto had no intention of fighting him off. No, the dragon master could live with being the victim of this particular assault. He tangled his fingers in the gold mane, unwilling to give Jou any chance for a reprieve; while the puppy was dominating him for the moment, he�d be damned if he was going to let go of the blond under any circumstances. Using his long legs for leverage, Seto rolled them so that Jou was pinned beneath him.
His deep, sultry voice trembled as it caressed the blonde�s ear. �I hurt you because I hate him. I could have killed you because I want your father dead. I murdered Gozaburo, Jou. I��
�Seto, shut up. I know. Mokuba told me,� Joey confessed, trying once again to capture the lips of his beloved.
Seto pulled away, though, horror eating at the pit of his stomach. �What? Mokuba� Mokuba thinks it was a suicide��
�Hey, you may have a genius IQ, but Kuba isn�t stupid. He loves you. He knew you only wanted to protect him, and he�s done his best to protect you in return.� Jou explained, wondering what kind of Pandora�s Box he�d just opened.
Seto got off of Joey, offering him his hand gallantly even as a perplexed expression began to appear on his face.
�Mokuba was unconscious . He doesn�t know what happened�� he trailed off suddenly, his reasoning falling apart as he realized that he simply didn�t want to believe that his little brother had witnessed his crime.
Jou wrapped his arms around him comfortingly, kissing his cheek in mute apology. �I�m sorry, Seto. You were so determined to tell me. I should have just let you, but you and Mokuba shouldn�t have to keep secrets from each other. I learned that the hard way today. Serenity didn�t know I was gay and Tristan ended up having to tell her. That�s why she ran off.�
Seto heard him, but his mind was still processing other data. He could hardly comprehend it through the veil of his shock. �Mokuba watched me kill Gozaburo?�
Joey nodded uneasily, and Seto retreated to the bathroom, locking the door as his sparse meal fought its way back up.
��
A few moments after her brother�s exit, Serenity politely asked to be excused, and Tristan stood to accompany her. Almost as an afterthought, he turned to Croquet as they left. �Thank you for everything you did for us today.�
Croquet merely nodded in acknowledgement. He had not actually done anything, but any attempt at modesty would probably have come off as a dismissal of the boy's obviously sincere gratitude.
Mokuba watched the door close behind the lovebirds before looking back at Pegasus. It seemed as though he�d been abandoned to his former kidnapper and said kidnapper�s guard dog once again.
�Hmph... maybe someone would pay attention to me if you guys grabbed me and stuffed me in the dungeon again!� Mokuba pouted.
Pegasus roared with laughter. He adored Mokuba; it truly was a shame that he had to be Kaiba's brother. �What we have here, young Master Kaiba, is a bachelor's club." He glanced around the room, sniffing the air suspiciously. "Hmm... would you like to leave this stuffy hotel? Perhaps we could find something to entertain us outside.�
�Er�Sir?� Croquet hated having to be the one responsible for opening this can of worms, but it couldn't be helped. If Pegasus found at later, his name wouldn�t be Chris; it would be Mud. �On our way to Miss Serenity's home, I noticed that there is a Funny Bunny marathon in Central Park tonight.�
�Truly?� Impish delight lit up Pegasus� face.
Mokuba couldn't help but giggle. There was a little boy inside this sinister man that reminded Mokuba of Peter Pan; a boy who had flat out refused to grow up.
�Shall we?� the silver-haired man asked of the ebony-haired boy.
�Sure. Why not?� Mokuba shrugged. "The rest of them will probably have more fun without us anyway." That said, he hopped down from his chair and headed for the door, Pegasus' rich laughter trailing him.
As they left, Croquet slapped a Post-it note on the door of the suite, the words on it written in his master's flawless script.

We have gone to Central Park.

Call should you need us.
Max, Mokuba, & Uncle Chris

��..

I know it�s hard but you found somehow

To look into your heart and to forgive me now

You�ve given me the strength to see just where my journey ends

You�ve given me the strength to carry on

��..
�Seto? Hey, baby blue eyes, you okay?� Jou asked, standing outside the bathroom and listening nervously as his lover's retching died away.
The door swung inward to a very worn and exhausted brunet. �No, Jou, I�m not.� Seto admitted, and all of his smug arrogance seemed to have melted along with his icy demeanour as he leaned on the doorframe heavily. �With all my power, with every ounce of strength I possess, I�ve tried to protect my brother�s innocence. I�ve taken on the world so that he would never have to, and now I find out that he watched me kill the man who took us in as his sons, watched me take over that man�s company like some... tyrannical dictator.�
They sat across from each other on the floor of the small bathroom. Joey didn�t know what to say, so he took Seto�s hand and interlaced their fingers, squeezing gently every so often.
Suddenly, an epiphany struck his overtaxed mind. �Seto, maybe you don�t hate Pegasus as much as you think you do.�
�What?!� Seto demanded.
�Think about it. You killed Gozaburo because he went after your brother, which forced you to take over Kaiba Corp. Then, Pegasus kidnapped Mokuba as part of a grand attempt to take over your company. You�ve kept everything bottled up inside for so long, never letting anyone get past your defenses. Is it possible that you�re taking all of your repressed anger out on Pegasus because you can�t take it out on Gozaburo?�
�Jou, you�re not making any sense! Gozaburo is dead, and even if you were right, which you aren't, that still wouldn't change what Pegasus did to me and my brother!� With a growl of denial, Seto jumped to his feet and stepped over Jou on his way back to the bedroom.
Jou hung his head. He knew that he was right, at least to some degree . No, it didn�t change what his father had done to the Kaiba brothers, but it made Seto�s hatred easier for him to understand.
Jou walked up behind Seto and wrapped his arms around his lean waist, leaning up to whisper in his ear, �It�s gonna be okay, Seto. Trust me.�
�You, I trust. It�s Pegasus I have my doubts about." The brunet sighed as he spoke. "You said I never let anyone past my defenses. I let you in, Jou. I needed you to know the truth.�
Joey pressed his forehead into Seto�s back, nuzzling gently. �Well, we�re making progress. It wasn�t so long ago that you trusted me with Mokuba, but not your heart.�
�My heart is more fragile than glass, Jou. Please be careful with it.�
�I will. I promise.� Jou nipped at the back of the brunet�s neck, sending shivers through his lover�s lanky frame. Nuzzling the dragon master�s neck, Joey put his fingers to work on the buttons of Seto�s shirt.
�Mokuba.� The older Kaiba brother stated flatly, and Jou's hands froze over the third button from the brunette's shirt collar.
�Mokuba?� That really hadn�t been the name he had expected to come out of Seto�s mouth right then.
Seto turned to face him, looking absolutely horrified. �I�ve left Mokuba alone with Pegasus all day!� he explained hastily, storming out into the hall and down to Pegasus' suite.
Jou braced himself for the coming storm, but the one that ensued was slightly different than the one he had imagined. Seto tore back into the room like a whirlwind, waving a small square of yellow paper under his puppy's nose.
�He�s taken my brother! Again!� Seto roared, and Joey snatched the paper from his hands in order to decipher his father's calligraphic handwriting. It was hard enough to translate the artful designs into coherent letters when the sheet was perfectly still.
�Yeah, to Central Park," he told his infuriated lover calmly. "Seto, Mokuba was probably bored out of his mind. Pegasus is just trying to help, and besides, he even told us to call him if we wanted." Grinning, the golden boy draped himself over the still-fuming businessman. "If it makes you feel any better, you can hold me hostage until they come back.�
Seto turned, his glare replaced by a devilish smirk as he moved to gather his new captive into his arms, but Jou danced out of his reach as thoughts of his own sibling, not to mention his best friend, began to crop up in his mind. �Hey, what happened to Serenity and Tristan?�
Now, it was Seto's turn to stare at him in equal parts frustration and bewilderment as Joey pulled out the keycard to his sister's room and left their suite. My time as a drunk must have killed off more than its share of brain cells, Seto thought to himself. The puppy's making way too much sense tonight.

�Damn mutt,� he said under his breath as he turned on his laptop and flipped his cell phone open.
��
Jou opened the door to his sister�s room, stopping short at the sight that met his eyes. Serenity was as tranquil as her name, her old rag doll tucked into her arms as she reclined in Tristan�s arms, looking very much like a doll herself. Both of them were sound asleep, and even the overprotective Jou had to admit that they were just too cute to be separated. Besides, his baby sister looked safe enough for the moment.
He crept into the room to gather up everything he would need while he stayed in Seto's room, taking special care to be quiet as he did so. Leaving those items outside, he pulled the bedspread from the second bed and was beginning to cover them with it when Tristan's eyes cracked open sleepily.
Joey leaned over him, whispering, �Behave yourself, or you won�t be breathing in the morning.�
Tristan�s eyes went wide in shock. The threat was no surprise, but the fact that Joey was going to let him stay there with Serenity certainly was.
That taken care of, Jou left his baby sister in Tristan's trustworthy care and went back to the love of his own life. He found Seto with his ear pressed into a cellular telephone while his hands flew across the laptop�s keyboard at a speed that Joey was powerless to differentiate from that of speeding light. Evidently, the tall brunette was beginning to get very annoyed with whoever was on the other end of the line, and Jou looked over his shoulder to discover that Seto was using the Kaiba Corp satellites to track Mokuba. Seto had told Jou that he had inserted tracking chips into both of the brothers� lockets some time ago, when the blonde had become the Kaibas� chauffeur. In light of this information, therefore, there was only one person Seto could be arguing with so vehemently; Christopher Croquet.
On a whim, Joey snared the phone. To have attempted to grab the laptop would have been to court certain death, and the computer wouldn�t have helped him much in any case. �Uncle Chris, is Mokuba there?� he asked nicely.
Seto's face turned positively ashen. First Father, now Uncle Chris? What was next, calling Duelist Kingdom 'home'?
�Thanks. Here, Seto. It�s for you.� Seemingly oblivious to the way his lover's jealousy was flaring up, Jou handed the telephone back to Seto as Mokuba came on the line.
The Kaibas talked briefly before Seto hung up, at least temporarily placated. �They�ll be back in about an hour," he informed the blond, glancing at his watch as he did so.
Jou had gone over to one of the beds while Seto was on the phone, and was bouncing on it happily by the time he had put it back into his pocket. A feral gleam ignited in the watcher's eyes, and he dropped his unbuttoned shirt to the floor.
�This really is a pretty nice room, huh, Seto?� Jou said as he looked around, actually seeing their suite for the first time.
Seto silently toed off his shoes, his eyes never leaving the bouncing golden puppy as he began to edge towards him, gliding over the carpet like a spirit.
�Seto?� Jou finally noticed the change in his lover's demeanour, and his bouncing slowed gradually, eventually coming to a complete stop. Seto said nothing, simply moving forward at a controlled pace and watching as Jou's soulful brown eyes went wide.
�Uh oh.� Joey gulped as he began to scramble across the bed, trying to put it between him and the sleek, graceful hunter who had chosen him as his prey. He might have succeeded too, if he hadn�t been laughing so hard. As things were, though, Seto caught him by the ankle rather easily, dragging him down and allowing his long-fingered hands to work their way up one blue jean-clad leg.
Jou rolled, trying half-heartedly to break Seto's hold on him. �Seto�Mokuba will be back soon,� he protested pathetically, knowing that if his lover's hand reached its destination, he would be powerless to resist any further.
�We have an hour, Pup.� Seto's hand slid up Jou�s inner thigh and into the cleft between the blond�s legs, lightly caressing the pleasing hardness he found there.
As predicted, Jou whimpered and strained for more, forgetting his reservations completely. Unfortunately, Seto decided to move up to the blonde�s waistband, hooking his fingers there as though he were marking his place and shifting Joey�s T-shirt out of the way. Joey squirmed in frustration; he wanted those hands to go down his body, not up it.
As always, though, Seto had his own agenda, and he was not about to be deterred from it. He pinned Jou�s wrists to his hips, effectively immobilizing the him on the mattress as he abused the puppy's navel with his lips, teeth, and tongue. Jou struggled against him, convinced the dragon master was intent on driving him insane.
Seto just continued on his slow journey, unconcerned by his lover's apparent difficulties. His mouth nuzzled and sucked its way up, inch by agonizing inch, from Jou�s abs to his chest, pushing the offending T-shirt out of the way with his nose as he did so. The blue-eyed demon took his sweet time nipping and torturing each of the blonde�s nipples in turn, and Jou decided right then and there that Seto was thoroughly, irredeemably evil.
Seto finally let go of Jou�s hips and hands in order to strip him of his shirt, and as if he were a compressed spring that had been freed suddenly, Joey automatically wrapped his arms and legs around Seto, forcing the brunette into making full body contact with him. Their mouths connected in a ravaging kiss, and Seto made a mental note of how his lover responded to even relatively small amounts of teasing.
That done, Seto managed to break away from Joey enough to get at the abused column of the other boy's neck, tenderly kissing the purplish splotches. Guilt overwhelmed him as Jou's low whimpers reached his ears, and he buried his face in his puppy's shoulder for a moment as his eyes began to tear. How could he have done this to Joey? How could he have wanted the honey-gold blonde dead, even for a millisecond?
�Hot�so hot�Seto�� Jou threw his head back as his blood rushed to the surface of his skin, making every inch of his body super-sensitive. It was like dying, being born, pain and ecstasy combined. He would never get enough of this potent drug that defied description, and yet he believed that if the sensation continued much longer, he would simply cease to exist as though he�d never been at all.
�Seto�� Jou looked into those depthless oceanic eyes and saw the intensity he felt reflected there. �What are you doing to me? Gotta stop�can�t stop�never stop��
Seto withdrew long enough to divest both of them of their remaining clothing, listening to Joey�s small, wordless cries. Apologetically, he gathered his lover back into his arms. �I won�t stop, Jou. I spent years provoking you just so I had an excuse to be close to you. Now that I have you, I intend to keep you forever.�
Joey responded by nibbling on every bit of Seto�s skin available to his mouth, his hand wrapping itself firmly around Seto�s arousal as his boyfriend began the slow process of stretching his puppy.
�Please�Seto�now�� Jou pleaded, not needing to be prompted to beg this time.
�What, dragon-pup? What do you want?� Seto�s deep husky voice combined with his musky scent overwhelmed Jou�s senses. To the blond, it was as though a strong, enchanting incense, combined with the steamy heat of a sauna, had engulfed the reality of the ordinary hotel room. Seto had taken him to a plane of existence just beyond what he had always known as reality, he realized as he used his elbows to pull Seto�s shoulders down and clawed his fingers into the silky, dark hair.
�Love me, Seto.� Their mouths connected once more, the passion with which Joey drank Seto's breath from his lungs threatening to pull the dragon master's very soul from his body and into his puppy's.
Despite Joey's quite obvious desperation, however, Seto pulled away again. This caused Jou to cry out in an almost forlorn puppy wail, unable to understand why his master had left him at such a time. Then, Seto squeezed a jelly-like substance into his hand, and he began to figure it out.
�Oh�� Comprehension dawned in Jou�s lust-glazed eyes with the brightness of a rising sun, and he made sure to coat Seto well. As Seto penetrated him, he looked up into a smirking face, and his brow furrowed in confusion once again.
�It�s about time I turned you into a puddle of goo.� Seto whispered into the blonde�s ear, and the only reply Jou was capable of formulating was a low, appreciative moan as their bodies flowed together effortlessly, two parts of a single entity.
��..

I see the path from this dark place

I see my future

Your forgiveness has set me free

Oh and I can see another way

I can face another day

��.
It seemed only a few minutes later when a tapping on their door roused Seto and Joey from their post-intercourse stupor. �Mokuba!� They both exclaimed at the same time.
�Yes?� Seto called out toward the door, trying to buy precious seconds as he untangled himself from the twin snares of Jou and the rumpled blankets in order to locate his clothes.
�Big brother, I�m back! Wait until I tell you all the cool things I got to do tonight!� Mokuba said cheerily through the door. "Hang on, I've got my keycard here somewhere..."
The door started to swing open as Seto jerked on his pants, and he abandoned the thought of fastening them as he lunged for the door, intending to become a human barricade.
�No!� In his zeal, he nearly crushed his brother�s fingers between the wooden panel and the doorframe as his shoulder connected with it, forcing it closed. Behind him, Jou giggled, tripped over the displaced bedspread and landed on the floor with a thud.
"Mokuba, wait there!" Seto called through the door, gathering up what he could find of Jou's clothes and dumping them on the blond, still lying on the floor immobilized by the force of his hysterics.
"Get dressed in the bathroom," he growled, "or I'm going to start calling you a hyena instead of a mutt." Jou certainly didn't seem to find that very funny, but he dragged himself up nonetheless, glaring at Seto in mock anger as he passed the usually-stoic dragon master.
"I told you we didn't have enough time, genius," he smirked, closing the bathroom door before Seto had a chance to reply.
��..
Mokuba stood in the hallway for what felt like forever, counting his fingers to make sure he still had all of them and shaking his head at the commotion in his brother�s room. Finally, Seto opened the door to let him in, and the younger Kaiba gaped at the chaos in his brother's suite. Hurricane Jou has definitely been through this room, he decided, assuming that said destructive force was hiding out in the bathroom.
�If this is how you act when you fall in love, I think I�ll pass, thank you very much!� His forced scowl contrasted sharply with his delighted, sparkling lavender-gray eyes as he hugged his still half-dressed brother.
Jou came out of the bathroom then, playing the part of the innocent, maligned scoundrel, while Seto was the one who looked like he�d come fresh from a sweaty battle.
�What happened to you?� Jou asked the older Kaiba innocently.
Seto stalked past him without answering, playfully knocking him upside the head on his way to the bathroom. He and Mokuba were going to have a long talk in the very near future, but he didn�t want to think about that right then.
�I guess I showed up at a bad time, huh?� Mokuba asked with a sigh once his brother was out of sight.
�Nah. Did you have fun tonight, Kuba?� Jou ruffled the kid�s hair. As a kid, he�d hated that, especially since he worked so hard to get his messy hairstyle just right, but somehow it felt appropriate in this case.
Mokuba grinned, eyed the bathroom door, and lowered his voice. �Your dad�s pretty cool,� he confided. �Not as cool as Seto, but�� Mokuba shrugged.
�Yeah, nobody�s as cool as the Ice Man.� Joey laughed, not sure if the faint noise he heard was his imagination or the grumbling of a very irate dragon master.
��..

I see the path, I can see the path

I see the future

I see the path from this dark place

I see my future
��.

Later that night, Seto lay awake as complicated thoughts centering around the blonde boy beside him battered his conscious mind. They had both been forced to experience too many of the negatives of life, but their major differences lay in their responses to the events over which they�d had little to no control. Jou understood risk as well as anyone, but was still ready to take on all challengers with an open heart and a cavalier grin on his face. Maybe the puppy didn�t think his strategies through all the way, and perhaps he was a bit too willing to go wherever the wind took him, but Seto had remained rooted to the ground like a great oak long enough to know what it was to stagnate. Yes, he was rigid, proud, inflexible, and strong, yet he was also bound to his plot of earth like a prisoner. If he could not learn to sway with the wind, if he couldn�t learn to bend, Jou would certainly leave him behind one day, and that scared him more than he had ever imagined anything could.
Seto had always believed vulnerability and compassion were weaknesses. Even before Gozaburo had come into his life, Seto had built a fortress around his heart that Gozaburo had reinforced into an impregnable palace, in which the blue-eyed boy�s heart had withered with hate. Even against Mokuba, there were some barriers Seto always kept in place.
Usually he just took what he wanted, and felt no remorse over who he crushed in the process. He had railed against the love he felt for his golden boy, hating himself and Joey for it, only to discover there were forces in the universe more powerful than himself. He was only truly himself when he was alone with Jou; he had an insatiable hunger not only for the sensory pleasures, but also for the unconditional acceptance that banished the tormenting darkness that he had always faced alone. Joey Wheeler was the only one that could give him those things, and Seto knew that was why he would need to keep him around for the rest of his days. He had quite simply forgotten how to live without him.
He despised himself for not realizing that Mokuba had been watching while he forced Gozaburo out of the third story bedroom window to the paved patio below. Seto remembered shaking as he watched the pool of blood form under Old Man Kaiba�s crushed head. The dark stain of the blood had remained on the cement despite rainstorms and the servants' best efforts to scrub it off. As soon as Seto and Mokuba�s fates had been decided, Seto had had the patio dug up and Mokuba�s elaborate swimming pool put in, but the stain still remained in Seto�s soul.
He didn�t understand why Mokuba had chosen to tell Jou his secret instead of him. Then again, knowing that Mokuba had watched him commit murder, he couldn�t understand how either of the two boys in his life could look at him, much less love him.
Everything came back to the puppy. In a little over two months, Jou had buried both of the people who had raised him. His birth mother was long gone, and his biological father was a man Seto would just as soon have join the rest of Jou�s parents as tolerate him.
And yet�
According to Jou, Pegasus had never wanted Kaiba Corp at all. He had been motivated by love, not greed or a lust for power. The Duel Monsters creator had seen potential in Seto�s holographic designs that Seto himself had not. By combining the forces of modern science and ancient magic, Pegasus had endeavored to resurrect his late wife.
Jou�s birth mother.
If Cecelia were alive�if what Jou said was true� perhaps Pegasus would turn his focus from Jou to his wife�

Useless, senseless, stupid, impossible! Seto berated himself. For one thing, even if the Millennium Eye could have brought back Cecelia�s soul, Pegasus didn�t have it anymore. For another, the level of technology necessary to create a solid hologram didn�t exist.
But�
Yugi and Bakura both had Millennium Items, and Seto could rise to any technological challenge.
What if it wasn�t impossible? What if together, they could resurrect Cecelia Pegasus?
Taking care not to wake Jou, Seto slid from their bed to the table where his laptop rested, turning the machine on with renewed vigour. There was no way he was going to get any sleep while there was a possibility of getting rid of Jou's birth father in sight; he might as well be working on advancing his new goal.
The thought that perhaps he was being a little too productive never crossed Seto Kaiba's genius mind.
��

I see the path, I can see the path

I can see the future�
- 30
- 31
- 32
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

I Know You're Out There Somewhere