Adult-FanFiction.org : Yu-Gi-OH

Cursed Gold	By : RyokoEnigmasKitten Category: Yu-Gi-Oh > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 1219 -:- 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
- 8
- 9
- 10
All disclaimers and warnings
are posted in chapter one.

Dedications:
My wonderful beta reader Eternal SailorM. Also the kitties Aya, Biscuit and
Mika-chan for keeping me company while I type.

Archive:
DarkMagick.net if ESM wants it; The Asylum; MediaMiner.org; Katsuko's Obsession.
All others please ask.

---

The remainder of the
night, or rather dark part of the morning, passes in a blur. I managed to
catch a nap on the ride back into Domino, get shaken awake by Dorobou so
I wouldn't get left on the helicopter, doze off in the car on the way to
Kaiba Corp, woke up by Seto to tell me I could stay in said car, snapped
off a 'lemme sleep asshole', then proceeded to fully pass out.

When I wake up next,
the sun is just sinking below the horizon. And since I know that the windows
in Seto's room all face west, it's safe to assume that I've been asleep
for almost fifteen hours... or thirty-nine or more. Full moons leave me
wasted and damn near useless for a day or so.

"I see you're finally
awake." It takes me a few seconds to place where the voice is coming
from; then I half-roll to my left and blink lazily at Seto. Damn him for
looking so good after waking up. He's propped up against the headboard,
an open book in one hand and what appear to be reading glasses in the other.
Bet anything they're plain glass now, it must be habit for him to wear them
since I recall him wearing them a couple years ago. He's shirtless (don't
drool, Katsuya!) and clad only in a pair of silk pajama bottoms. Heh, blue,
what a surprise. Seto smirks a bit; guess he noticed my observation.

"Mrr, how long?"
I ask, pulling myself up to settle against the headboard next to him.

"You fell asleep
in the car yesterday morning." Another smirk, apparently my expression
is 'confused cat' again, that or 'oh shit'. It's been a while since I've
been this drained.

I shake my head a bit
to clear it, raising one hand to brush my hair out of my face. It takes
me a second or two to register that I'm not wearing Seto's jacket anymore.
I think I just found out where Seto's pajama top got to, I just wanna know
when he had time to get me semi-dressed before daylight got to him. Hmm,
well, guess he must have done that last night then.

Wait a minute, something's
missing. My hand flies up to my throat and my fingers meet bare skin for
a fraction of a second before Seto grasps my wrist, gently pulling my hand
away.

"I had Mutou's
collar sent back to him last night," he says by way of explanation.
"And I had a rather interesting yet fairly uninformative conversation
with Bakura." Oh fuck. Please don't ask about the scar, don't ask about
that night, because I don't think I could look you in the eye and lie about
it. "From what I know about your blood line and what I've learned about
you recently, I can't figure out why you were in the warehouse
district on the night of a full moon three years ago."

Fuck. Not a question
but it may as well have been one. "I didn't give a damn anymore."

"What?" Confusion,
but just a trace. I think his chat with Dorobou got him thinking back.

"Did I stutter?"
I reply, gaze locked on my hands. "I. Didn't. Care. The police kept
it quiet, but you saw the video feed."

"I thought only
Industrial Illusions, Kame Games and Kaiba Corp brass received the feed,"
Seto says quietly.

"Yeah, well, I
sure as hell wasn't in Tokyo that day and you know I wasn't at Kaiba Corp."
I laugh a bit; it's a bitter sound and harsh to my own ears. What must it
sound like to my vampire? "Jiichan still doesn't know I was there.
Oyaji and Kaasan went to see if there was anything they could do to help;
I was supposed to stay home with Shizuka. But I wanted to go, so I swore
Imouto to secrecy and followed."

"Jounouchi...."
His voice is soft, I don't need my other senses to know he wants to reach
out to me but won't just yet. I tug at the cuff of my (Seto's? whichever)
sleeve before continuing.

"After Yuugi was
killed, I stopped hanging out with Yami. He wasn't convinced that his brother
was dead, and I couldn't pretend nothing had changed. I stopped listening
to Kaasan. I stopped going to school. I stopped eating. Hell, I stopped
caring, period.

"I started spending
school hours and evenings in the bad parts of town. Dangerous? Fuck yeah,
but like I said, I didn't care. I was hoping something would
come along and kill me so I could maybe see my best friend again."

I fall silent, shutting
my eyes and turning away. This time I feel the bed shift beneath me; he's
moved but I can't tell if it's closer to or further from. Fuck, this is
hell. My own personal variation of hell, and it's of my own making.

"I got lucky. Or
unlucky, I suppose. You want the Reader's Digest condensed version or all
the gory details?" I slit my eyelids and glance towards Seto. Oh; closer
to. Surprise, surprise.

He doesn't answer for
a moment. "The thief said you don't remember," my vampire finally
says. "That you only know what the doctors told you and your family."

"Good, then my
brothers and family can keep thinking that."

"Jounouchi--"

"It started coming
back a year ago." My voice is barely a whisper, but I know he can hear
me, no question. "Just... words and phrases at first, not enough to
set me off but just enough to unsettle me. Then images without sound, and
blood, and phantom pains...." I trail off, my fingers brushing over
my scarred neck. "Wolves and rats are lucky. A scratch or a nip, poof,
'nother Were in the world. Cats... we are fucked from the get-go."

"What do you mean?"

"You know shit
about Weres," I snap. "Feline DNA is picky. A victim has to have
one foot in the grave before it'll infect him, and the turning just might
finish him off. That's why tiger pards are so small. That's
why there is only one leopard pard in Japan. That is why we all
bear scars and no other species does.

"You want the condensed
version, or the details?"

Seto is silent. I'm
about to get up and leave when he finally answers me: "Whichever is
easiest for you, kitten."

I have to laugh again.
"Easiest. Is there an easy way to tell your mate, your crush
since second year junior high, that you wandered down the wrong back alley
on the wrong night hoping to find solace from the entire fucking
world and instead was attacked, raped, torn apart, infected and left for
dead by the bastard who licked his 'father's' boots?" I don't even
look at him. "If there is an easy way to say that, by all means someone
tell me how."

I only realize that
I was thinking aloud when Seto growls quietly and I suddenly find myself
in his lap, his arms wrapped possessively around me. I rest my hands on
his shoulders, fully intending to push him away when an odd scent strikes
me. Scenting the air again, any fight I may have had left flees me. Mingled
in with my vampire's usual mint and cocoa scent is the faintest trace of
salt water. I'm glad someone can still cry for me; my own dried up three
years ago and have yet to return.

"I. Am going. To
kill Hirutani," Seto snarls softly, voice somewhat thick with rage
towards my former Nimir Raj and sadness for the hell I went through. I rest
my cheek against his, feeling the wetness of his face against mine for a
moment before murmuring a negative reply to his words. "Why not? The
bastard--"

"Is mine,
Seto," I hiss softly. The feline side is asserting itself a bit, the
moon is still affecting me and I'll be more leopard that human for some
time yet. "I broke from him two years ago, served up to him what he'd
forced on me for months. If he intrudes on my territory, comes too
close to my family, I will kill him. I do not want you to even so
much as think of him, Seto. You shouldn't waste the effort on him."

He's quiet for a long
time, long enough for his tears to dry and for their scent to fade, holding
me tight to him and petting my hair. Finally he nods slowly. "All right,
Katsuya, but only because you've asked it of me."

"Thank you."
I close my eyes and relax against him. I thought I would be okay but I feel
like this evening has sapped me of whatever strength had returned with my
slumber. A soft laugh escapes me and Seto's hold tightens a bit.

"What?"

"That's the first
time you've called me by my given name," I say lazily, lifting my head
and pressing a kiss to the corner of his mouth before he can apologize for
what he may see as a liberty taken without permission. "I like how
my name sounds on your voice. Almost like you care." I'm teasing a
bit now, but I'm also digging. Why did he bring me to his home instead of
having me returned to the apartment or even to Yami's? I hope it means what
I think it does, but I've learned not to jump to conclusions.

There's a flash of something
in his eyes before he answers. "I do care, kitten. More than
I probably should."

I can't help but purr;
even if he didn't say it I can smell the truth on him. "I love you,
too."
---

Chapter Nine is over
and done. All that remains is the Epilogue, which ties in just the littlest
bit with that of Color of Life. Mostly, though, it's going to be
a bit of a jumping-off point for the next fic in the CoL side series, tentatively
entitled Silver Blue.

And just one final thing
that my ever-lovely beta and friend Eternal SailorM pointed out to me; yes,
Jounouchi has been looking vampires in the eye the past three chapters.
How can he do so, since most people can't? He's not human, and
in truth never has been. As a Wereleopard he doesn't fall under
the rules for most people, and had he never been turned he would have been
a fairly powerful witch. Although he wouldn't have been able to look vamps
in the eye he wouldn't have turned tail if one was trying to intimidate
him.

Again, Epilogue to come
soon!
- 8
- 9
- 10
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Cursed Gold