Chapter title: Kaiba
Word count: 3.137
Chapter: 16/16
Chapter summary: Kaiba is this close to realizing his dream, when he hears some disturbing news.
Chapter warnings: A slight bit of horror.
Pairings: YamixYuugi
Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!
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Chapter 16: Kaiba
His fingers were a blur as they tapped on the keyboard in an incredible speed. There was so much work to be done. He had finally gotten the deed of the land just outside the borders of Domino. His dream would finally be realized. Ever since he was a small child, he wanted to build an amusement park, one that would allow orphans in for free.
Kaiba Seto, having been an orphan himself, wanted nothing else than to make them happy. Something he never had the chance to. He got adopted, having to beat his stepfather in a game of chess in order to take his little brother along with him. From the first day the man had taken him in, he was driven to the brink of insanity. He had to study day and night, in order to take over KaibaCorp, the corporation his stepfather had started.
But he prevailed. He outsmarted the man and took over the company at the mere age of eleven. The man, not being able to live with the fact that he lost his company to a child, committed suicide. Seto didn't mind at all. He continued working hard and here he was, with a finished plan to build the park.
Now all that was needed was it to be executed. He had written emails, made phone calls, and had several meetings with all the stakeholders of the project. He picked up the receiver as soon as the phone on his des rang.
"What is it?" He said, continuing to type with one hand.
"Nii-sama… the plans of Kaiba Land have to be delayed…." His little brother's voice said a little timidly on the other end of the line. Seto dropped the receiver as he just heard what his little brother said. He quickly shook his head to recompose himself and picked up the receiver, which had fallen on his desk.
"What did you say Mokuba?" He demanded. He mentally chastised himself as he just knew his little brother cringed from the tone he had spoken.
"A teenager c-committed s-suicide." The younger boy stuttered.
Kaiba's eyes widened as he stood up, the force throwing his chair back. "Cancel all of my appointments. I am going there now." He said and hung up without waiting for a reply. In the elevator he notified the driver of his limousine that he was coming, so the sleek black car was already waiting and ready to go in front of the KaibaCorp building.
"To the construction site." He ordered. The chauffeur nodded and started towards the destination.
The police and an ambulance were already there when he stepped out of the car. The entrance to the house it had happened in was closed off by police tape. Outside were four crying teenagers, one crying elder woman and one crying young woman.
He marched over to the female officer shaking her head sadly just outside the door. "What happened?" He demanded. The officer gasped as she now noticed the intimidating aura of the CEO.
"Kaiba-sama!" She exclaimed surprised. "A teenager has committed suicide in this house." Shetold, standing up straight. Kaiba rolled his eyes. "I gathered that much. What happened exactly?"
"We don't know either…. One of his friends called and we rushed over. He has left a note, which is quite vague. He has hung himself on a chandelier." Kaiba nodded as he took it all in. "Where is the body?" He asked. "They should be taking him out soon." She said.
As if on cue, the paramedics walked out with a gurney, covered in a white sheet. Kaiba's eyes doubled in size as he saw the size of the teenager lying on it. The boy hadn't even had his growth spurt yet! He was pushed into the ambulance and it rode away. The crying of the six people got louder as the car drove away with what he assumed was their friend and/or family member.
"Let me see the note." He demanded. The female office was again startled at the sudden demand and went in to fetch the note. Seto ignored the tape and walked in as well. There were two more officers in there and one detective.
After discussing with the detective, the female officer had permission to show the note to Kaiba. He had gotten to know that the boy had some hardships this last month, one of them losing someone he held dear. He swallowed the lump in his throat at the thought of Mokuba dying.
The last part got him confused though. Just exactly who was this Yuugi? He had already figured out that this Yuugi was probably the beloved he lost as he wrote at the beginning. What he did not understand, was the part about the murders written on it. It appears like that had baffled the detective too because he wasn't looking too happy.
The thing that broke the boy was that the house was being demolished. He felt a pang in his chest as he realized that he had some sort of blame for the debt of the young man. If he wasn't going to build Kaiba Land… the boy might've lived. He bit the insides of his cheek, his nervous habit, something he hadn't done since he was ten years old.
He decided that he would make sure that the boy got his last wish. If his savings were not enough, he would pay for the rest. He handed the note back to the detective, trusting his photographic memory to remember the note. He would look into this matter himself, not trusting the incompetent police officers and detectives.
"Since this is my property, I allow this 'Ishizu' person to look into the basement and take whatever she likes." He told the detective and officers. His authoritative voice left no place for argument, which he even didn't wait for as he left the house. He looked quickly around the house and found the fake plastic tombstone in the garden.
Like he said, incompetent officers. He dared to bet his company that they hadn't even seen this. The words scribbled on it with black marker confused him even more than before. "Murdered a long time ago, unable to rest, until he was saved, may he find happiness in passing?" Kaiba recited.
He already figured out that this boy had been involved with some unusual stuff. He walked back to the crying people. "My condolence." He said as he bowed his head to show respect. He walked back to his limousine when Jounouchi suddenly growled.
"You think you can just march in here and say you're sorry? This is your entire fault!" The blond boy snarled with tears in his eyes. Kaiba cringed at the harsh words the friend of the boy threw at him. How could he have known that this was going to happen?! He swallowed his pride, knowing he had a temper, and continued walking into the limousine. If he were to go into a discussion with a mourning person, it would not do well for his reputation.
"To Domino High." He ordered the driver.
At the school, he dug up some more information about the boy. His grades were mediocre, but they were still good enough to get into a decent university. He was well loved by his classmates and had some very good friends. 'That blond boy.' Kaiba noted as the principle told him about Yami.
He also learned more about the boy's situation. About how he was robbed and that he was forced to live with an adult until he was an adult himself. About how Yami was an orphan. That irking feeling in his chest got worse by the minute.
Back at his company, he dug up some about the people mentioned in the note. He didn't have to about his friends for he got enough at the principal's. He got to know that Ishizu worked at the museum in Domino and that Anzu was retired and took Yami in when he was thrown out.
The following day, he went to the museum, in hope that Ishizu was in. Just as he wanted to knock on the door, she opened it, ready to go to the house to check on the things left by Sugoroku.
"Kaiba-san, what are you doing here?" She asked. Her voice was incredibly tired, her eyes red and puffy with black bags underneath. "I want to talk." He said. The woman nodded and stepped aside, letting Kaiba in.
"What is it you want to talk about?" She asked. "About Yami." Kaiba said. Ishizu's eyes watered at the mention of his name. "I apologize, it must be hard to talk about it. I understand if you don't want to." He said and stood up.
"No, no, it's alright. I can manage." She said. Seto sat down again. Ishizu chuckled sadly. "Do you believe in the supernatural Kaiba-san?" She asked. Kaiba frowned at the question but shook his head. "Then you will refuse to accept that he had fallen in love with a ghost."
Seto's jaw dropped at the claim the woman had made. Ishizu chuckled again. "That look doesn't suit you Kaiba-san." Seto snapped his mouth back shut. "Come again?" He said. Ishizu sighed, her elbows on her desk, her fingers intertwined and her chin resting on them. "It all started from a dare from my foolish little brother and their other friend Bakura…." Ishizu started.
He could absolutely not believe what he was hearing. Yami had really fallen in love with a ghost? Either this boy had been crazy or he was going crazy. "I know it's hard to comprehend all this. I couldn't really believe it myself at first." She sighed. "Now all I can think about is how I'm going to ask the undertaker to dig up some long dead person and bury him with Yami."
Kaiba abruptly stood up. "Thank you for telling me." He said and walked out of the office. Ishizu just watched him leave. He did not show any signs of believing it. She didn't even know why she told him all this. She stood up as well, going to the house with a team to salvage whatever they can.
-o-o-o-o-o-
It was past midnight as Kaiba got into his car. He did not want to involve his chauffeur with what he was about to do. He frankly couldn't even believe himself what he was doing. With a shovel in the trunk, he drove to the house.
He also could not believe that in that house murder and suicide took place in that house. What next? An Indian burial ground? But then again… Indians never lived in Japan. Argh! He was digressing! Seto gripped the steering wheel tighter to stay focused.
He parked the car in front of the house and took the shovel out of the trunk. He gulped as he walked to the tombstone. He stuck the shovelhead into the still soft dirt and started digging. His shovel hit something soft and he stopped. Seto got down and started dusting the dirt away rather than digging.
And there it was. Rolled up in only a blanket.
Seto's hands flew to cover up his nose as the smell hit him. He hoped they had at least buried him in some kind of box or something! If he had known he would've brought air refreshers with him. He tentatively picked the body up and laid it in the backseats.
Great. Now he would have to redo the interior of his car. He turned the air conditioning up as high as it could, despite the cold air outside.
Carrying the bundled up cadaver with him, he walked into the clinic of the undertaker. "Why did you want to see me, Kaiba-sama?" The mas asked tiredly. It was obvious he didn't want to be here at the moment.
"You are in charge of Sennen Yami, correct?" Kaiba asked, laying the bundle on the black couch in the funeral home. The mortician walked up to the bundle and looked questioningly at Kaiba.
"I want Yami to be buried with him." Kaiba said, pointing to the rolled up corpse. He fished out a folded piece of paper from his coat's pocket. "Ask no questions, just do it. You will receive the other half after the funeral." He said as he handed the man the piece of paper.
The undertaker unfolded the piece of paper and his eyes bulged out. "W-was that all?" He asked, not believing the number on the check. Or the fact that this was only half what he was getting.
"There are just a couple of small things. First of all, a woman by the name of Ishizu will come asking if he–" Kaiba said, pointing at Yuugi, "can be buried along with Yami. Just say yes and say that your men will dig him up and take care of everything. Just charge some sort of fee for that service so it won't be suspicious. Never mention that I have anything to do with it. Understood?"
The funeral director just nodded. "Good. I will be on my way then." He said and left the funeral house.
Like Kaiba had said, the woman came the following day. She asked the question with a desperate tone, that the undertaker was happy to say yes. Like his instructions, he told everything would be taken care of and the woman looked so happy.
He went from the display room to the preparation room, where Yami was already on mortuary table. Even though it was decided that they were going to have a closed casket burial, it was out of respect that they set the features. He undressed the boy first, covering his genitals with a modesty cloth and began the embalming.
When he was done, including dressing the boy and applying the make-up, the undertaker shook his head in pity. The boy looked so peaceful, it was really sad that he had ended his own life. His eyes strayed to the decomposing body Kaiba had brought in. He had put it in a body bag and it was currently being refrigerated.
"I wonder what stories you both had to tell." He said looking back at Yami. The boy had been dressed in his school uniform, to show that he was very young when he died and Yuugi he dressed in some more casual clothing, putting the pajama's he was wearing near his feet in the coffin.
He had laid them next to each other in the double coffin the friends had picked out. It was a little too big since the boy's weren't too big but it would do.
Just before the funeral, Kaiba demanded to see the coffin, to see if the undertaker had truly listened to what he has said. The funeral director opened the casket so he could see. But before Kaiba got a good look, the director dropped the lid and jumped back.
"What's wrong?" He asked annoyed.
"T-the corpses… t-they're not h-how I p-put them!" He stuttered. Kaiba frowned at him and opened the lid himself. Yami was lying on his with his right arm next to him and his left arm under Yuugi's body, while the other was lying on his side with his left arm draped over Yami's waist. His skeletal fingers were clutching the blue fabric of his school uniform.
Kaiba gulped and closed the lid of the coffin. "I'm sure there is an explanation for that. The bodies probably moved during transportation." He said. For once in his life, he wasn't confident. "I am starting to believe Ishizu's story." He muttered to himself.
After the funeral, the woman approached him. "Thank you." Was all she said before leaving. Kaiba just blinked. Had she already figured out it was him that ensured the inclusion of Yuugi? He shrugged his shoulders. He did his best to fulfill Yami's last wishes, his chest already felt lighter.
After the woman left, the blond boy approached him. He just stood there and scratched his neck in sheepishness. Seto raised an eyebrow for him to continue. "Look… I wanted to apologize for screaming at you… that day." He started. "When I found him I just fainted and my emotions were all jumbled up." He said.
Kaiba nodded, accepting the apology. "Again, my condolence." He said. "Thanks… did you know why he did it?" Jounouchi asked, taking out the puzzle from his bag. "He lost his beloved." Kaiba answered. Jounouchi nodded in confirmation. "But that is not all. You see, that house was the only thing he had left that reminded him of Yuugi. Yuugi actually left him this." He said holding out the puzzle. "But I immediately knew Yami hated it."
Seto took the puzzle from Jounouchi and inspected it. That was one complex puzzle. He hated to admit it, but even he would have trouble solving it. "How come?" He asked, intrigued by the object. "It was the puzzle's fault Yuugi left. Ishizu had already told us that she told you. The house was where he first met Yuugi, where he first kissed Yuugi and where he buried Yuugi. How you kiss a ghost, I really don't know. Yami was crazy like that." Jounouchi said with a chuckle, reminiscing the more pleasant memories he had of his best friend.
"I see. When my company wanted to demolish the house…." Kaiba trailed off, the heavy feeling on his chest returning.
"Was his breaking point." Jounouchi finished with a sad nod. Kaiba returned the puzzle to the teenager. "Thank you for everything." Jounouchi suddenly said. Kaiba was taken aback. Had the blond figured it out as well?
"Look, I might be goofy sometimes but I'm not dumb. Don't worry though, Ishizu and I are the only one who know." He said with a smile. Kaiba was slightly flustered, another first, and turned his back without saying anything.
As he was in his limousine back to his company, a smile graced his face.
-o-o-o-o-o-
The next day, he returned to the grave, flowers in hand. He laid the blue carnations against the gravestone and just stood there in silence for a few minutes.
"You better be happy in the afterlife." He demanded. He smiled slightly again. "I really hope you do." He said more softly. Today the demolishing of the old houses started. He had made sure that that house was the last one to go.
He would surely invite the friends of the two boys to the opening of his park. This whole situation had made him consider the haunted house of his park. It would be about a boy, falling in love with a ghost. And he would call it:
Yuurei Yashiki no Korosare Shounen.
The murdered boy of the haunted house
THE END
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Author Notes: This was first just a summary, but someone warned me that it was an author's note (which I didn't really realize) and that it was against the rules. So I made it into a chapter. But this time it really is the end! This will not be updated anymore.