Yu-Gi-Oh!: Switch
By: Jenrya Lee
Note: Hi! Another Yu-Gi-Oh! Angst fic by me! Yeah! Anyway, this is Seto and Bakura based, but not on a yaoi level. Slightly dark. In character's P.O.V. And 'Turmoil' is on hiatus. I'm out of ideas, so just be patient. Oh, and this fic is in a nice, neat format, btw.
Story Note: Ryou Bakura's Millennium Item can switch souls in an individual; but can it switch souls within two different people? Well, it can. Can Bakura live in Kaiba's shoes for a week, and vice-versa?
Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! That is why this is called a fanfic.
Bakura P.O.V
"Dad, in Ancient Egypt, were there any legends about seven items?" I asked, curiously.
"No, I don't think so. Why?"
I frowned. 'So he can't help me neither....' I looked up at my father, who was fumbling with his chopsticks. He never liked eating rice with chopsticks... why, I don't know.
"No particular reason." I said, putting a smug look on my face.
'Punk. Little, stupid punk. I'll get you for this, you know. Trying to get rid of me, hmm?' I shivered. 'No, Yami, it was nothing like that!' I told my darker half, trying to hide the quiver in my thoughts.
'You'll see....'
~*~
I tried to keep my darker half at bay. But it was hard. I felt him growing out of me, but I continued fighting against him. I tried desperately to rip the Sennen Ring off my chest, with little success. I screamed in pain as I felt my Yami breaking out of me. I screamed at my Yami's cruel taunts. I screamed for someone to help me.... My Yami jumped out of the Ring. It scared me; my Yami looked so much like me. Only his hair was sharper; his eyes darker; his build firmer. He quickly locked the door, and lifted his fist....
Kaiba's P.O.V
"O.K, the companies stock went up 2%, correct?" I said, pushing my dark brown hair away from my face. I secretly hated meetings. My business suit was always so uncomfortable, and having to stare at mindless beings for hours was not a pleasurable affair. Most automatically, my business executives nodded there heads, looking like frightened rats. "Well, get it to raise 5%, or....." I lifted my finger and pointed at a man who just happened to look like my moronic, and most happily for me, deceased adoptive father. But I knew this underling, Mr. Aku-something, had a grand family. Ah, the perfect victim. "....I fire you. Now leave." Everyone scurried out, grumbling. 'Grumble your heads off, see if I care!' I bitterly grabbed the closest item, and as the last person left and closed the door, I threw the item at the door. 'Fools...' At that moment, I could have sworn I heard someone screaming for help. I stuck my head out of the window, but saw no kids fiddling. Then again, the Corporate Executive Officer's room was always on the top floor; I wouldn't have heard children if they yelled so loud there tonsils would fall out of there mouth.... But something about that scream; it frightened me. It reminded me of when Otou-San.... I shrugged. 'Not enough sleep, I suppose.'
There was a knock at the door.
"Mr. Kaiba, you're brother's soccer practice will be done in 10 minutes. You should start to prepare yourself if you wish to pick him up." One of the many mindless, intelligence dwindling fools said. I walked to the door, and opened it. The man who was there was Mr. Aku-something...
"Do you not think I know?" I said, pushing him out of my way.
~*~
I drove around the block, looking at my watch. I stared out of the window, seeing one of the idiots that seems to always be with that Yugi Muuto. I looked closer; while driving slower; and realized it was that insane Sennen Item stealer. The one who was the forgein exchange student.... Bakati? Bakuri? Bakura? Ah, yes, Bakura. Ryou.....Bakura. He seemed in really bad shape, and he had blood stains all over his pants and shirt. I knew immediately what it must have been from; abuse. When Gozaburo was done with me, I always looked like that.... I've still got the hideous scars across my chest. I stopped the car and stepped out. Bakura looked at me, trying to hide himself, with little success.
"Are you alright?" I asked, keeping my low tone. He looked up at me, his dark eyes frightened.
"Please....could I ride in your car? Please? I need....to go to the hospital." He said, his voice quivering. I stared a him again, remembering my own scars and pain. I quickly nodded; I might not enjoy Yugi and his companions, but this youth was in trouble. I helped him get up, but he couldn't walk. He frowned, feeling extremely stupid.
"I'm sorry..." He said, his eyes watching the floor.
"I can help you right here." I said, turning to my car. I knew how to help him, and even though I didn't want to help, Mokuba would pester me forever if he found out that I didn't assist his acquaintance. And beside, he seemed quite different from Yugi and the others...
Bakura's P.O.V
I stared at Kaiba's face, which before had always looked so dark and....mean. Now he looked so nice. Like he wanted to help; or like he went through the same thing. He hooked his arm under mine, trying to help me stand. But the bruises on my leg wouldn't allow it. I felt so stupid. "I'm sorry...." I looked at the floor, trying to avoid his face. I expected him to leave, but he didn't.
"I can help you right here." He said, turning to his car. He went into his car, and took out a roll of bandages and alcohol. "I used to be....well....never mind that..." He handed me the alcohol, and told me to use just a little. I followed his instructions, until I got to the large cut on my arm. I had some fabric in that cut. Kaiba looked up at me.
"Bite this." He gave me the roll of bandages. I was confused, but did it anyway. Kaiba's fingers dug into my arm. I bit the roll so hard, my teeth might have broken right off! Kaiba tried to take the fabric out, saying that if even a small piece was left, serious blood clotting would result. Kaiba gave me his cellphone.
"Call the paramedics while I bandage this up. Don't worry, I've have quite a bit of experience with wraps." I immediately dialed the paramedics, and they asked if I was near death. I said no; so they said I would have to wait 10 minutes. I gave the phone back to Kaiba, who just finished my arm.
"They said 10 minutes." I said, feeling like I was wasting his time.
"10 minutes, it'll be at least 15–" His phone rang, and he answered. "Yes? Mokuba! I am so sorry! I entirely forgot you! I ran into an emergency, would you mind staying at Ayeka's house? O.K, bye." Kaiba hung-up, and he slightly glared at me. But his expression dramatically changed.
"I left Mokuba at his soccer practice thing...." Kaiba said, pocketing the phone. I remembered that Kaiba was extremely close to his brother; but I knew nothing of his parents. I fiddled with my new bandages, and got nervous when people started looking at me.
"Um, Kaiba, if you mind, could we wait in your car?" I asked, thinking that maybe I shouldn't pester a person I don't know. Kaiba didn't seem to hear me. He held a duel monster card in his hand, at least, I thought it was. Once he snapped out of it, I realized it was a locket; with a picture I couldn't make out inside.
"What? Oh, sure." He carefully lead me into the car, and Kaiba locked the door behind him.
Kaiba's P.O.V
Why was I helping this boy? I hardly knew him. Damn Mokuba. As I looked at his pictures, I realized that he gave me a conscience. Why, I could have easily destroyed it after my father died; I guess I tried to because everything would be simple without it...
Bakura looked up at me, and frowned. "I'm sorry... I guess I'm bugging you..." He seemed so troubled. I didn't know much about him, but so far, he seemed the shy type to me. He was pestering me, but I just didn't answer. Always keep a cold front; and back, for that matter.
"Um, maybe you should call your parent's or something. I bet they're worried about you." Bakura asked, turning to me.
"That is not a problem." I answered, realizing I was beginning to like this boy less and less.
"But, why?" He asked again, clearly not seeing that I did not feel like discussing the matter any longer.
"They're dead." I said simply, giving the white haired boy a cold look.
"O.K....What about your guardian?" He asked, frowning.
"Abandoned me." I said, remembering my worthless relatives.
"O.K....You're elder?" He asked, running out of people.
"Dead." I said, trying to hide the smirk on my face. Thank you Kami-Sama; you finally let that poor excuse of an adoptive father die!
"You take care of yourself?" Bakura asked, shocked. "No elders? But how! You're a minor!"
"I make enough money. I'm CEO of Kaiba Corp., remember?" I said bitterly. "And I'm old enough to work."
"But, how do you get such good grades in school, while still being able to—"
"People told me I was extremely smart for my age in the orphanage. Guess the same purpose stands even today. Now, may we get off this?" I said, glaring at Bakura.
"I'm sorry... May I ask a question?" Bakura asked, clearly feeling stupid.
"You already asked one." I said, clearly thinking that Bakura was stupid.
"How did you grow up—" My cell phone ran, and I picked it up.
Bakura's POV
"Yes? Why do you need me? I'm in the middle of an emergency! No, I am your superior, and I refuse to come! I will be there in approximately 10 minutes. No, the company will not burn to the ground. NO, I am NOT leaving my corporate station!" Kaiba furiously hung up, moving his brown hair out of his face.
'Middle of an emergency?...' I thought, thinking about what Kaiba just said.
"Damn them.... Now, what did you want to ask?" He asked, looking straight at me. I noticed that his eyes were very much like his brothers, only colder. He was tall– at least a few inches taller then me. He had a slender, yet firm, build. He looked like he was born to wear a business suit, which was a turtle neck style, and at that moment, he un-buttoned his wrist buttons.
"You family– how did you grow up?" I asked again, hoping he wouldn't hit me, or scream at me. I was beginning to...well, I thought maybe we could be friends.
"Mom died, dad died, put in an orphanage, adopted, adoptive dad died, took over adoptive dad's company." He said, showing absolutely no emotion. His eyes glittered when he said, "....took over adoptive dad's company."
"Gozaburo Kaiba, right? I read an article about him in a magazine a while ago." I said, trying to bring up a conversation.
"Really? Did it mention his drinking problem?" I shook my head. "His abusiveness?" I shook my head. "His hatred for Mokuba and I?" I shook my head. "His forgetfulness?" I shook my head, starting to feel stupid. "His neglect for his company?" I shook my head, a blush taking over my face. "Oh. Not a very accurate article, then." Kaiba said, smirking slightly. "Oh, I am sorry if I seem mean. I don't know you much. Mind telling me about yourself? Oh, and make it fast, I think the ambulance should be here in a minute."
I put my finger to my chin, thinking. "My name is Bakura Ryou, and my mom died. My father is an archeologist; that's how I got my Millennium Ring, I play Duel Monsters, and that's it." I said, looking at Kaiba again. I noticed he had terrible scars on his wrists, which I never noticed before. "Hey, were did you get those?" I asked, pointing to the scars.
"Nowhere. Now, the ambulance is here. And...58 second pasted since I said it would." Kaiba helped me out, and once he did, he drove away.
~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~
Kaiba's P.O.V
The next day in school was hot. Extremely hot. Most students neglected the school wardrobe code and wore whatever they wanted. I realized I was the only one in my class who actually stuck to the dress code; which is our school uniform. Anzu Mazaki was forced home because her tank top and shorts were far to tight and short. Joey was forced to button his shirt, since he didn't even button one button. I will have so many nightmares about that.... Bakura had a turquoise shirt, and dark blue jeans. I noticed because he walked up to me, and sat there, talking to me, as if I even remotely cared.
"....And then that's when I got the Ouija Board, with the Death Messages." He said, with that idiotic grin glued to his face. I stared at him, nearly falling asleep, when he asked: "Maybe you could come over some day. How about today, after school?"
I glared at the boy, and shook my head. "I have a meeting tomorrow. I have to research something for it." I said, simply.
"What about the day after tomorrow?"
"Meeting."
"After the day after tomorrow?"
"Convention."
Bakura sat there for a moment, since he forgot were he was going with all this nonsense, and asked:
"How about in four days?"
"Convention followed by meeting." Bakura simply gave up, and I kept my stare straight ahead, not looking at him a bit. "Incase you were going to ask, the day after that, me and Mokuba will be going on a camping trip."
"You? Camping?" Bakura asked, shocked.
"I owe it to him. It is his birthday." I said simply, not wanting to get into details. Then, he asked a question I hoped he would not ask.
"Can I come with?"
I nearly fell off my seat, but quickly regained my posture. "You would have to ask Mokuba. It is his birthday; not mine."
Bakura happily nodded. "Will you be O.K with it?"
I looked at Bakura, and shrugged. "It makes no difference to me whatsoever. I will be in my cabin for the entire trip. The duel disks have not worked properly, and a new model must be released." I answered, mentally frowning. 'As I did for the past five trips...'
"Wait, me and Mokuba know each other pretty well, so would you mind if I dropped over at your house to talk to him?" Bakura asked, fiddling with his hair.
"Why are you so eager?" I asked, glaring at Bakura. What was he up to?
"Eager? Eager to do what? Jeese, I just want to speak to Mokuba!" He answered, clearly angered by my remark.
'Just continue pushing him away....Friends will interfere with work.' "You could do whatever you want. Just keep your insane Yami 100 feet away from my home." I said, smirking.
Bakura stood up, and glared at me. "You are a mean, rude, pathetic, jerk! I wish you never helped me! But I swear, I'll go through your layers and find out why you're so mean!"
I just sat there, shocked out of my fair mind.
~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~
Bakura's P.O.V
I felt really worried while walking to the Kaiba mansion. I knew Kaiba wouldn't be there, Mokuba told me so when I called, but I still felt guilty about what I did. Maybe his life just forced him to become so mean. And I meant what I said. I will find what made him so mean. Because he was so nice to me when I was injured; he can't be evil. My hand slightly shook as I rang the doorbell. I heard footsteps, and looking through the window, saw it was Mokuba.
"Bakura!" He said, opening the door. He had a huge smile on his face, and he looked really cute in his summer shorts and with his hair pulled up in a messy ponytail. He also had an adorable shirt that said, 'I'm the cute little brother!', and had a little smiley face on the back. "Come in! My brother left ½ hour ago, and won't be coming back until midnight." He said, pulling me in the house.
"Midnight?" I asked, shocked.
"Oh, that's early for him when he has one of his 'meeting, convention, meeting, convention' weeks." Mokuba said, pushing his hair out of his face. "The only reason he works is for me, you know?" He hopped on the couch, and comfortably sat there. "He does lotsa stuff for me. Like he did my hair for me in the morning before going to work." Mokuba said, making the ponytail tighter.
"Oh. I see." I said, smiling, and making a mental note about all of this information.
"So, why'd you come?" Mokuba asked, his normally playful blue eyes becoming stern. Now I realized how much Mokuba could look like Kaiba within the blink of an eye. They were
blood-brothers, by the way.
"I just wanted to....well...."
"You wanted to know about my brother because he must have done something bad to you today. Yeah, I know. He told me today he had a 'disagreement' with a classmate. But he couldn't tell me anymore because then he had paperwork to do." Mokuba said, getting up.
"Hey, were are you going?" I asked.
"I'm getting some ice cream. It's so hot. What flavor do you want?" He asked. Amazing how two brothers could be so similar, yet so different.
"Oh, I don't want to be a bother." I said, feeling stupid. These people were multi-millionaires; of course I wouldn't be a bother!
"Did you forget that my brother owns a million dollar company? Of course it isn't a bother!" Here comes another wave of stupidity....
"Vanilla." I said, handing Mokuba five dollars. He just laughed and gave it back. He pointed to his kitchen.
"I've got every flavor know to man in that fridge." He said, smiling sweetly.
"Have you mocha? Coffee? Bubblegum?" I asked. He nodded. "Fudge?" Mokuba nodded, and said that used to be his brothers favorite.
"He doesn't really eat ice cream anymore." He said, leaving the room. I wondered around the living room, until I came to a very interesting picture. It showed a young eight year old, with short brown hair, a young three year old, with dark blue hair, and a father with dark blue eyes and very short brown hair. I was about to put the picture down when Mokuba walked into the room, with two ice cream cones.
"That's dad, me, and Seto. Mom died before that." Mokuba said, handing me my ice cream. I tousled his hair sadly.
'Poor kid.'
Kaiba's P.O.V
I rubbed my temples, beginning to get extremely exhausted. Four straight hours with nothing but talk. Four direct unswerving nonstop continuous hours! 'Help me Kami....' I muttered as my cell phone rang. "Eee.....Moushi Moushi?" Using the standard Japanese, incase anyone I worked with had called.
"Brother! It's Mokuba! Hello!" My overly spoiled adorable sweet little brother said.
"Hello. What is it? I'm in a rush. I've just finished the meeting and I've got a convention to go to." I said, keeping my voice stern. I loved my brother to death, but sometimes he got in the way.
"Bakura came over. Can he stay the night?" He asked, his voice eager.
"Fine. I haven't got a problem with that." I said, quickly hanging up. I still had twenty nine papers to read, correct, memorize, and organize within a 30 minute time period.
~*~
"....and we wish for a 20% raise....Wait, that would mean.... A $800 raise...because we work excessively hard, and we are technically doing more then mandatory...." I stopped reading and looked at my watch. "4 minutes, 28 seconds to go." I muttered. I quickly signed the paper, but I wrote, 'I do not authorize.' I do more then mandatory day by day, and what am I getting? I sadly sighed. Mokuba, luckily, is at home, with a friend. Friends. I haven't had one since I was rather young. But enough of that.
'99 undone papers on the wall, 99 undone papers...you take one down, read it, sign it, and file it, 98 undone papers on the wall....' I yawned slightly, and told the chauffeur to go a bit slower. I would be able to finish, roughly, 5 papers if he went slower. A lot slower. About 10 miles an hour, no more. I read the next paper. "Our dental plan.....again with the dental plan! That's eight times!!" I angrily pushed the paper in the file that my lawyer fills out for me...
"Mr. Kaiba, we will be at the location in three minutes." The chauffeur said.
"No. Two minutes and....57 seconds." I said, looking at my watch. The chauffeur rolled his eyes while he drove. I noticed by the way his head rolled a bit. I am an professional when it comes to emotions. Not that I even slightly care about those kind of things. 'Mokuba. I should check up on him...it's late.' I looked at my watch. Midnight. The meeting was four hours long... Plus I already finished three conventions. I wanted to go to sleep, but I had to head over to the Kaiba Corp. in Hiroshima for the annual convention. And then to the one in Nagano. Each is about an hour long, so I should be home around 3 A.M because of the ride back home. Domino City is quite far from Nagano. But the thick-headed fools wanted the annual convention to be on the same day. I told them it would be smart to just move it to the day after, but they knew my schedule is full tomorrow– today. I could only make an appearance today. The CEO just has to be to all of the ceremonies.... Corporate Executive Officer.... That's all I'll be for the rest of my life.
~*~
Hiroshima. My car stopped right in front of the Kaiba Corp. The second I walked in, everyone stood up and clapped. Half of the people were sleeping, but once they heard clapping, they woke up and clapped as well, even though they had no clue on what was going on. I fixed my collar, and thanked Kami that I didn't have a tie. Just a business suit. Plain, grey, with gold embroidery on the cuffs and gold embroidery running down the center of the torso; like a zipper, although it didn't open. My finest suit; from Italy. I only wear it to extremely important ceremonies. Not that this was important. The manager shook my hand. I stared at him with disgust. A middle-aged man, with yellow teeth, who was completely bald except for his sideburns and horrible comb-over. I prayed that I would never turn out to look like him.
"Mr. Kaiba, thank you for coming! Please, sit down!" He said, shaking my hand.
I put on a false smile and let go of his hand. "Oh, I cannot stay very long. I will just make a short speech and leave, if that is alright with you." The man quickly shook his head, and I bitterly smiled. Good, now I might get home sooner. I quickly got on the platform, said a few encouraging words, and left.
Bakura's P.O.V
I never really liked staying over at homes. It was uncomfortable. But, Mokuba insisted. And he also sounded a little worried about being home alone. All there butlers and maids left after 10 o' clock, and Kaiba wouldn't be home until late. So I decided to stay. It was 1 in the morning, and me and Mokuba were chatting.
"And then, Seto couldn't find his swimming trunks and had to swim in a Blue Eyes White Dragon bathing suit!" Mokuba said, laughing. I laughed a bit to, and looked at my watch.
"Oh man, you better go to sleep now. You're older brother will kill you." I said, throwing Mokuba his blanket which was on the floor. Mokuba nodded, and looked at me.
"If Seto comes home now, tell him I was a perfect angel the whole night." Mokuba said, smiling mischievously. I looked at him oddly, hoping he wouldn't throw something at me now. But he didn't, he just covered himself in his blanket and slept on the couch nearby. I slept on the other couch.
~*~
I woke abruptly as I heard the door open. It was 3 in the morning, and Kaiba had just gotten home. I kept my head down, but was curious to see what he would do. He put his briefcase on the floor, and looked at his watch. He walked over to Mokuba, hardly noticing me, and fixed his blanket and pillow while moving his braid out of his face. Kaiba looked at his watch again.
"O.K, if I sleep now for a ½ hour, then I'll wake up at 3:30. Then, I'll finish my papers by 5. Then I'll sleep again until 7 and leave for school. Wow. I'll sleep for quite some time today." He yawned a bit, and pulled a chair near Mokuba. He then went over to the closet and got a table to work on. He placed it next to the chair, and took a lamp from a nearby night stand. The he opened his briefcase and took out tons of papers. Then he went to the closet and took a blanket. He sat in the chair and wrapped himself in the blanket. "If I get to comfortable, I won't wake up in time." He muttered before closing his eyes and falling into a deep slumber. I stared at him, felling a little guilty for always saying that he was just a rich snob. I never knew that being CEO could be so hard. I suddenly thought of something.
'Yami!! He never went back in the ring!! Were is he?!!' I looked around, and decided to deal with it in the morning.
(Jenrya: Well? How is it? Good? ^_^ I hope so! Gomen to all the 'Turmoil' fans. I may not finish it. I really need more ideas! And I need ideas for this fic, to! Oh, and as I was listening to my 'Linkin Park' tape, I found a song that describes Bakura well, and Kaiba well. Well, there souls should switch next chapter. I can't find a good scene to make the switch.)
Linkin Park
"Papercut"
Why does it feel like night today?
Something in here's not right today…
Why am I so uptight today?
Paranoia's all I got left
I don't know what stressed me first
Or how the pressure was fed / but
I know just what it feels like
To have a voice in the back of my head
It's like a face that I hold inside
A face that awakes when I close my eyesA face watches every time I lie
A face that laughs every time I fall
(And watches everything)
So I know that when it's time to sink or swim
That the face inside is hearing me / right beneath my skin
It's like I'm - paranoid lookin' over my back
It's like a - whirlwind inside of my head
It's like I - can't stop what I'm hearing within
It's like the face inside is right beneath my skin
I know I've got a face in me
points out all the mistakes to me
You've got a face on the inside too and
Your paranoia's probably worse
I don't know what set me off first but I know what I can't stand it
Everybody acts like the fact of the matter is
I can't add up to what you can but
Everybody has a face that they hold inside
A face that awakes when they close their eyes
A face watches every time they lie
A face that laughs every time they fall
(And watches everything)
So you know that when it's time to sink or swim
That the face inside is watching you too - right inside your skin
It's like I'm - paranoid lookin' over my back
It's like a - whirlwind inside of my head
It's like I - can't stop what I'm hearing within
It's like the face inside is right beneath my skin
It's like I'm - paranoid lookin' over my back
It's like a - whirlwind inside of my head
It's like I - can't stop what I'm hearing within
It's like the face inside is right beneath my skin
It's like I'm - paranoid lookin' over my back
It's like a - whirlwind inside of my head
It's like I - can't stop what I'm hearing within
It's like the face inside is right beneath my skin