Seto glanced out the window into the vast emptiness that is the outside world. He couldn't sleep due to the questions that swirled in his mind since that afternoon. Yami has some sort of problem, but he openly denies it. One minute he is the reserved man that some knew as the former pharaoh of Egypt millennia ago, then he's some sort of self-proclaimed prophetic thief the next. What could it-
It finally clicks in his mind. "Son of a bitch." he mumbles, slightly irritated at the thought. "Yami is born with some sort of derangement. No wonder he seems so confused."
"You're still up, Seto?" his younger brother mumbles sleepily from his bedroom doorway.
Seto doesn't turn his head, but gently asks, "Shouldn't you be in bed, Mokuba?"
"Couldn't sleep." the child yawns. He hears his phone ring. Picking it up and glancing at it, there was a recent text from Yami. Or was it Aedrian. Great, now his head was spinning.
He opened the text and began to read it.
‘Seto, here is a riddle for you:
Only one colour but not one size
Stuck at the bottom, yet easily flies
Present in sun, but not in rain
Doing no harm and feeling no pain
What am I?’
“Seto? Who was it?” Mokuba asked, slightly more awake than he was a moment ago.
"It was just Yami. He probably couldn't sleep either." *Either that or he's sleep texting.* Seto thought in disbelief. He soon shrugged it off as a ridiculous notion.
Glancing at the clock, it read 1:30 am. He decided to turn in, even if was way too early for him to sleep. “Why don’t you go back to sleep, Mokuba?” Seto asked, watching as the younger sibling began rubbing his eyes.
“Okay.” He sighed, too tired to raise any sort of fuss about going back to bed. Seto closed the door and walked towards the bed. He couldn’t help but think how Yami just seemed so secretive in the last few days. But that girl… the blonde child the afternoon before. What was her name…
Isabelle. Yes, that’s it. She seems to have a connection to Yami. But after the accident, no one has seen her since. What did she mean by those words?
'She told me to tell you, “This is only the beginning.”’
Only the beginning? The beginning of what, exactly? *Why is everything a fucking riddle with him?* the brunette thought venomously. *Everything seems to be covered in darkness, nothing clear, always something hidden in the shadows of-*
His thoughts froze almost instantaneously. Wait a second… Shadows…
He glanced back at his phone seeing he had left the text open for any and all to see. Reading the bottom of said text was a name. Aedrian.
____________________________________________________________
Yami woke to his 5:00 am alarm. He slowly opened his eyes and scanned the room. He may have been tired, but he couldn’t help feeling a little paranoid at Isabelle’s message. Her message.
The teen gently put his hand on his forehead. Even he could tell that he was getting sick again. After taking a hot shower, he had just finished getting dressed when he heard the doorbell’s soft ringing. Yami walked down and opened the door to Yugi and Joey, who were standing there with bright smiles on their faces.
“Mornin’ Yami!” Joey greeted.
“Morning, Joey. *cough* Morning Yugi.” Yami smiled back at the duo.
Yugi greeted, “Good morning, Yami. Are you feeling any better?”
“No- *cough* Not really, no.” the teen responded hoarsely before he began coughing up a storm. Joey and Yugi exchanged uncertain glances, unsure if they should let Yami leave the house in his present condition. Yami looked quite ill and could barely support his weight, thus the reason why Yugi’s twin was leaning against the door for balance.
When Yami yawned, Yugi hesitantly suggested, “Maybe you should stay home today, Yami.”
When said teen gave him a confused look, Joey translated, “He’s saying, ‘I don’t think it would be a good thing if you passed out in class and scared the shit out of everyone.’”
The crimson-eyed teen couldn’t help glaring at the blonde with a gaze that threatened death. Wasn’t as effective with him feeling sick and tired.
“I didn’t need a translation, Joey.” Yami growled, causing the other to flinch. Smirking at the reaction from his friend, he consented, “If you believe that I should stay here, I will. Anything else you would like to tell me while you’re at it?”
Joey put a finger to his forehead in an attempt to search through his thoughts for anything important that he might have forgotten.
“Oh! Kaiba wanted us to tell you he was going to visit you after school.” Joey said casually. Yami rolled his eyes. He’ll never understand him and his casual attitude.
"Do I dare ask why?" Yami inquired, a little pissed at the fact that this was decided without his knowledge or consent.
"Kaiba didn't give us a reason." Yugi responded timidly. Yami wasn't too happy about this, with or without that false smile on his face. "He just wanted us to pass it on to you."
*I suppose I can't complain.* Yami thought, thinking of a few things that the arrogant brunette would want from him or speak to him about. "Alright, alright, if you see him, tell him I'll be expecting to see him this afternoon." Yami sighed, conceding defeat.
Yugi suggested, "Why don't you sleep until then, Yami?"
With a final nod and a farewell or two, the duo took off towards the familiar path to school. The crimson-eyed teen stepped back to shut the door. He glanced outside the window of the living room once more before returning to his bedroom. He was expecting someone later on today. Yami passed out on his bed in an attempt to fall back asleep.
Two hours later, Seto had sent him a text while he was in blissful slumber. Yami never answered.
____________________________________________________________
Sometime around 2:30 pm, Yami woke in slight discomfort. His mind was in a haze and he was beginning to feel nauseous. Whatever it was that he caught this time, it was taking its toll on his body.
Yami held his stomach, turning on his side and moaning, “Son of a bitch.” The pain was killing him!
His head was throbbing and he felt feverish just lying there in bed. As much as he wanted to do something about it, he just didn’t have the strength to actively do something to eliminate the pain. He picked up his laptop from beside his bed and turned it on. He produced his flash drive from a bag nearby and put it in.
Yami began to type up the rest of his fanfiction that he started at Joey's house. He got as far as chapter 3 before saving it and pulling up the story he had been originally working on. He continued to finish the tenth chapter and looked it over. It ended differently than he thought it would. He glanced at the clock. It read, '3:24 pm'. *I still have an hour or two.*
Yami eventually rose to his feet and walked downstairs. Upon walking into the kitchen, he instantly froze when his crimson eyes suddenly locked with an amused azure.
"About time you got up." Seto sighed half-heartedly as the teen stood there with a confused look on his face. It just didn't add up. How did Seto get in?!
"I could swear I locked the front door!" Yami cried indignantly.
Seto smirked at him. "That damned thief isn't the only one who could pick a lock. Especially one as simple as the one on your door."
The male stood there in shock. The brunette approached him with a cup of tea. "Try this." he said, placing the hot cup in his hands. Yami had a sudden hot flash, swaying when it hit and almost dropping it in the process.
Seto took the glass off his hands and wrapped an arm around his waist. Setting it down, he guided the ill teen to the couch and helped him lay down. Certain that he was fine, he returned the glass to him.
"Are you sure you're even supposed to be up?" Seto asked with a small laugh. Yami scowled at him.
"I'm fine, Seto, so I don't see why you're even here, let alone taking care of me."
He shook his head. "Well, if that's the way you want it to be, maybe I'll leave." he sighed airily, walking towards the door.
Something came over Yami between then and the brunette walking outside. He had put his tea down in a hurry and almost fell onto the floor, rushing over to him and attacking him from behind with a hug, saying, "No!" Seto stopped, listening to Yami's somewhat heavy breathing and the whisper that said, "Please, don't go."
The male smiled at the request. Once Yami released him from his grasp, he turned and picked him up bridal style. Setting him back on the couch, he thought, *Can he ever stop being who he is?* He couldn't help smirking at him as he took a sip or two of the tea.
Placing one hand on Yami's forehead, the smaller male seemed to relax at his touch.
The brunette was handed the glass to set it down on the table at the other end of the couch. Yami was feeling really drowsy and it was driving him crazy, considering the fact that he still had the headache that just won't go away. Seto proceeded to find some medicine in the hall closet. He thought it would be much easier to locate the right medication than actually get a stubborn Yami to take it. Looking back at Yami, the teen had a hand on his head, a sign that he had a horrible headache.
There were all sorts of medicines on every shelf. Seto gave a low whistle, thinking that it was a miracle if Yami could find anything in here to begin with.
He eventually narrowed the list down to two bottles. One was red and the other was green. Seto called over to him, “Red or Green?”
“Green one, s'il vous plaît.” Yami responded weakly. This fucking headache was driving him nuts! "Quel heure est-il?" the teen asked breathily as the heat from his fever began to affect his body.
Aware of the lingual change, Seto laughed, "I was unaware that you spoke French." He handed the bottle to him.
Yami promptly responded, "Mais oui, je parle français! Pourquoi?" Seto shot him a look.
"Yami, speak English. French is starting to give me a headache."
Yami realized this and apologized, "It happens sometimes."
"It's 4:16."
"Hm?" Yami tilted his head to the right a little.
The brunette ran his fingers through Yami's soft hair. "Earlier, you asked for the time."
"I did?" The crimson-eyed teen thought about it for a moment. "Oh, I remember." *I still have time, then.* he added as an afterthought in his head.
Swallowing the pills, he listened to Seto as he said, "You don't really seem surprised to see me here. Looks like the mutt and the pipsqueak did their-"
Yami had stood to his feet and slapped him across his face, the angry red mark evident. "Don't ever talk about my friends like that!" he growled, causing the other to visibly flinch.
As he began to walk away, Seto's hand shot out to catch his wrist, pulled him closer to his body, and nuzzled his lips on his neck. Puzzled, Yami dared to look at the brunette only to have his confused crimson eyes meet with a set of lustful azure.
He turned to look at him carefully. Seto's attitude had changed so suddenly. He tilted his head up with the guide of the male's hand and was brought into a gentle kiss. Caught in the moment's distraction, Yami wrapped his arms around his neck and entangling his hands in the silky brown hair hoping to get more of the sweet taste on his lips as things began to quickly escalate.
However, they came to an abrupt halt when Yami's cell went off. Growling in irritation, Yami looked at it to see who was calling. He answered it before he missed it.
"Hello?" he said, waiting for a response. Seto couldn't quite hear the conversation, but it was definitely a woman talking to him. Well, more like screaming.
"Wait, slow down, Maiyo! Now, why - What? I ... he didn't ... Well, he could've - Okay, I'll meet you out front, alright? I'll see you soon."
He hung up as Seto caught Yami in his grasp. "Who was that?" he asked.
"Just a friend of mine." Yami shrugged, attempting to remove him from his person. "I'm in a bit of a hurry, so if you don't mind..."
He sighed before releasing the smaller teen. He could only wonder how he managed to run that fast upstairs and back down with a black bag covered in a blue rose pattern. He could only wonder.
Seto walked to the window as Yami dashed out the door. Outside was a black car, a young girl standing there with one of the doors open, wearing some gothic black dress, and had a smile upon her lips. She had medium long black hair with blue tips. Assuming this was the girl Yami called 'Maiyo' earlier, he witnessed the male tackle her with a hug, dropping his bag in the process.
"It's so good to see you again, Maiyo!"
"It's only been two weeks!" He saw a male with black hair in the driver's seat. "Shun?! What are you doing here?!"
"Come on, I can't say 'hi'?" the teen laughed. "Get in or we'll be late."
"Oh wait!" Maiyo pulled out a black top hat with a yellow sash on the bottom and a blue rose on the left side tucked in. "Try this on real quick!"
He took the hat from her and put it on. "It fits perfectly! Thanks, Maiyo! You're the best!" he said, giving her a quick kiss on her cheek. "However, I think the other one would work just fine for this one. Maybe we'll use the top hat next time." Seto narrowed his eyes, feeling jealous at the way Yami was acting around them. So carefree and innocent. Like they've known each other for years.
"Get in, you two. We've gotta go." Shun repeated, rolling his eyes at the teens.
"Sorry!" they said, Maiyo picking up Yami's bag and putting it in the backseat, climbing in and shutting the door as the driver hit the gas pedal.
Seto quickly ran out the door to see a smile on Yami's face before they were halfway down the street. He briskly walked to his own car and began to follow them. He couldn't help but question why Yami was being so secretive about his personal life.
Seto lost them for a moment before he located them at a park near a building used for holding concerts. There were tons of other people wearing the same gothic outfits similar to the one the female wore when she picked Yami up. *Speaking of which, where is he?* he thought, keeping himself hidden from the swarms. He knew what they were.
Cosplayers.
Seto made a point of avoiding if at all possible. Last time he was passing through a site like this, they attacked him, forced him into some bizarre costume, and covered him in some sort of makeup he couldn't get off for a week! He passed it off as sickness once, but he would rather not have to give a repeat performance of that incident.
Yami was most likely dragged to a cosplay site knowingly by his friends. But why? Unless...
"OMG, Kaitsu and Tesuni are here!!" Seto heard one of the girls shriek in excitement, turning his attention to the black car as a woman with long, flowing light green hair come out wearing a black dress. One that appeared quite like the one the woman named Maiyo was wearing just a few moments before. He watched as the driver climbed out, looking like a servant of nobility. That was the one named Shun. But where was Yami??
The group was talking amongst themselves as he watched as a male with short blue hair and stunning blue eyes stepped out of the vehicle. The mysterious cosplayer was wearing a rather flamboyant outfit. A black suit with a flowing blue cape, a white ribbon with a garnet stone in the center, a walking cane that was made from a dark wood with an emerald-cut garnet colored jewel on the top, white gloves, a white mask to hide his face, and a hat that brought out the mysterious nature of the male. He looked like someone out of a fairytale!
The green-haired woman clung to his arm, acting like she was with him. This somehow infuriated him. Kaitsu's lips were moving, but he couldn't hear a word he was saying. He managed to keep himself concealed as he approached the black car in silence.
"Are you sure about this one, Maiyo?" Kaitsu asked, seeming a little nervous. Seto was trying to make the connection between the two.
"You'll be fine, Yami. With those contacts on, even if your friends pass by, they won't even suspect that the man named Kaitsu is the Yami the think they know."
The brunette's suspicions were true. Yami was a cosplayer.
~A/N: Fifty bucks says no one saw that coming! For anyone wondering about Yami's cosplay outfit, think of Kaito in the Cantarella videos. Maiyo's outfit? Miku in Cantarella. That is, if you know Vocaloids. If not, disregard this sentence entirely.
Yes, I took three years of French, so I do know how it is said and/or translated. No, I will not be using French that often in the story. As for the Tarot Cards before, those will come into play every so often. As often as using French in storyline will be. Which will be very rare. I hope you liked the surprise! Please Review! X3
{I'm thinking about doing one story at a time until it is complete, so if you want me to put my other two stories on hold, tell me so by PM or Review. It's up to you. If you want me to continue the way I am writing my stories, which is me typing the next chapter of all my stories and posting them all at once, you could say so as well. All comments will be accepted. Most votes on any story will become my main priority so I can update faster. Thank you for your attention. Have a great day!
~ Sakura Beth Valentine}