Atemu Fanfiction

Title: False Accusation
Author: Shadowesque13
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Mystery/Horror
Disclaimer: Yu-Gi-Oh! is © Kazuki Takahashi. Any books, movies, television shows, etc. mentioned belong to their respective owners.

The next day went very much the same way. Téa had come to ask him if the shop had gotten a new shipment of cards yet, which it hadn’t. His grandfather didn’t talk to him much, knowing that he should give his grandson some time. He just couldn’t understand why he was so affected by this.
Kaiba wasn’t really that good a “friend” and just couldn’t accept that Yugi was the better duelist. But, once more, he shoved any deep thoughts of how he died from his mind.
“It’ll take time to adjust to losing someone, Yugi,” intruded Yami that night.
“I know…” He looked at the near identical image. “How are you holding up?”
“As well as can be expected, I suppose. So, when does school get out tomorrow?”
“A little before lunch. We should be at the church by 1, I should think.” He gave a sad chuckle. “If only he knew I was there, he’d be pretty furious at that, don’t you think?”
“Ranting about how he needed nobody’s pity? Probably. I wonder if he ever realized how to duel without so much hate…” He said goodnight to Yugi as sleep began to envelop the both of them.

Yugi was almost surprised by how many people at school were wearing black. Are they all going? He was reminded of his talk with his grandfather where he said that they’d go, but not out of respect. Maybe some were, respecting him as a grand duelist and innovator, so he supposed he really shouldn’t be so surprised.
Adding to the somber mood was the fact that all the classes were oddly quiet and gloomy. The day itself proved to go against the mood, being a bright, almost cloudless day. There was a slight wind, and was actually deceptively chilly, but Yugi somehow thought it represented his friend.
When the bell for dismissal rang and the students collected their things, the local church was gaining attendants. He tugged at the black tie his grandfather made him wear. It choked him almost, and the cuffs seemed done a little tight. Or perhaps he’d just grown out of it.
Téa, in a quaint black dress, met him outside while Tristan and Joey, dressed in their normal street clothes, bade them farewell as they headed the opposite direction.
“I wish those two weren’t so hard headed,” she grumbled. “Honestly, they’re so immature.”
Yugi only nodded slightly as he stared glumly at the ground. They stopped at Yugi’s house to drop off their school supplies. His grandfather hadn’t opened the store today, but he wasn’t coming either. Téa wondered if he still had a grudge about Kaiba tearing his Blue-Eyes White Dragon in half, ruining it’s value, money wise and the value it had to the friend who gave it to him. Yugi just shrugged, saying that it wasn’t like the two of them were friends.

“Not like I really was…” was Téa’s response. “But I guess I feel more like he was than the two guys.”
They saw neighbors and strangers heading for the church, even people from all around the world. They did, however, nearly jump when they saw a certain white haired boy standing by the doors. Ryou Bakura, the holder of another Millennium Item, waved to them, his usual shy smile on his face. They ran up to him.
“Bakura!” Yugi said with a grin. “I didn’t know you were coming.”
Bakura looked a little surprised. “Why wouldn’t I come, Yugi?”
Téa shrugged. “I guess it’s just because we don’t see you that often, even at school.”
Bakura laughed. “Yeah, I’m not known for being outspoken during classes.” He looked nervously toward the door. “But I’m not sure if I’m actually going to go in. Maybe I’ll just stay out here and listen.”
The two were confused. “Why? If it’s because of your religion, it’s no problem-”
“No, no,” Bakura stated, gesturing that they had it all wrong. “It’s nothing like that. I’ve just never been comfortable about funerals.”
Yugi patted his back. “I’m sure lots of people feel that way, Bakura. Nothing to be ashamed of.” He looked around at some of the people. “Hey, do you know if Mokuba’s here?”
Bakura shook his head. “But I would assume he’d be. It’s his own brother’s funeral.”
“I’ve heard,” said Téa, “of famous people holding private funerals before or after public ones. Maybe he’s decided to do that and not attend this one?”

Yugi started to go inside. “I wouldn’t be too worried about him. He’ll need the most time to heal, but he’s a strong kid. C’mon, let’s get seated in the back before it becomes standing room only.”
“Ugh, please, I can’t stand standing in these shoes much longer; I knew heels weren’t the right way to go…”
Inside, the church was far larger than the outside looks led people to believe. The stained glass windows with different, colorful images of God and Christ filtered the sun’s rays. It was light inside, but not so overly bright so that it still left darkened corners and shadows. Dozens of rows of pews were slowly being filled by unnamed black suits and dresses. Scanning the faces, Yugi noticed no wet or weeping faces.
And in the center in the front of it all was a beautiful open casket. Although it could not be seen from where Yugi stood, he knew a body lay peacefully inside of it. That body being of Seto Kaiba’s. It was almost creepy how it was being displayed as such. Téa tapped him on the shoulder, bringing him back to reality.
“Sorry,” he quickly apologized as he sat next to his friend. “Where’s Bakura…?”
“He’s sitting in another pew.”
“Oh.” He dared not speak much more as it was getting close to 1. The wait was actually shorter than he guessed, and soon the door not far behind the two was closed. In the shifting sea of people, silence descended. The only thing that seemed not to move any was the casket.
The church’s main priest stepped up to the podium placed to the side of the doorway to the deceased. He looked across at the mix of sinners and saints, and when all seemed settled, he recited passages from the Bible, none of which Yugi knew, and he pretty much tuned the priest out to focus and thing about other things, which he was sure most everyone else was probably doing.
It was only after the priest stepped down and a familiar short figure stepped up and took his place did Yugi actually start to listen.

He elbowed Téa, nodding in the raven-haired boy’s direction. Mokuba Kaiba stood stony faced before them for the entire world to see.
“Seto was never liked by many people here,” he began. “People said he was cold and ruthless, only caring himself. Nobody knows what he was really like.” He bowed his head, yet his expression remained static.
“Nobody knows all the times we used to play chess together. Nobody knows all the times he protected me. People just couldn’t see past what he wanted them to see. He was much more than a good duelist and a CEO of a large company. He was my big brother.”
He only went on for a few more minutes. What he said wasn’t much or as intriguing as his opening statements. When he was done, he went to the open casket to his brother. A small line began behind the boy to see the body while others just left.
Mokuba left trying to hide tears running down his face with his security detail out a side door. Yugi got up to get in the line. Téa was behind him, but said, “Are you really going to do this?”
“I feel like I have to.”
“…Then I think I’ll just wait for you outside,” she shakily replied. “I don’t think I could stand the sight of a corpse.”
“What a lovely way to put it,” Yugi said with a small scoff as Téa turned around.
To his surprise, a few people did actually cry a little. The woman in front of him let out a sad sigh, or perhaps it was a sob, as she dabbed her cheeks with a handkerchief. He hesitated when she stepped to the left to leave and make room for the next person. He gulped and steeled himself, stepping up and forward.

He could see the grain and polish of the casket, making it look more grand and beautiful up close. The golden handles, which would be used to carry it wherever it was headed to, gleamed and reflected parts of the church and the people inside. The interior of soft silky material looked overstuffed and comfortable. Strands of lace trimmed the outer area of the material, whatever it was, maybe it was silk. The body rested inside. He looked like he was sleeping peacefully. Yugi doubted that he looked so peaceful when he was discovered, but before he became sick at imagining it, he put it out of his mind.
He was dressed up in an expensive-looking suit. It was dark blue, tailored to fit just him, with a white-buttoned shirt underneath and a black tie. Sticking a corner up out of the breast pocket was a black handkerchief. Every button was done up, which, to Yugi, looked like it would be very uncomfortable. His hands had been folded daintily over his stomach, and someone had placed a rose of all flowers under them.
Perhaps it was bred that way, or maybe it was dyed that way, but instead of a natural red or black or whatever other naturally occurring colors roses were, it was a blue that would have matched his eyes, if they were open. One thing Yugi almost missed was the absence of the card shaped locket normally found hanging around his neck. Both he and Mokuba wore them. Yugi was almost about to look for one of his infamous Blue-Eyes White Dragon cards, or something to represent that particular monster, when he realized how silly that sounded.
He sighed and wondered if he should say something. It was a dead body, after all, and couldn’t hear, couldn’t reply in any way. But he had things to say, and since he knew about people’s souls and spirits (he at least had experience with them, even if he didn’t totally understand it all), he held the hope that Seto’s soul would hear him.

Yami appeared beside him, nodding in agreement with that thought. “I doubt you’ll ever get another chance to tell him anything face-to-face.”
This grim thought made Yugi look at the pale face. “Kaiba…Mokuba’s right. You weren’t a bad person at all, you just…kept it all hidden. We had our differences, but whether you admitted it or not, we also had many similarities. I considered you a friend. And deep inside, I think you felt the same. I’m sorry…” He made a decision right there.
“I’ll make sure to find the person who did this to you,” he whispered instead of saying a goodbye, which he refused to do, which would have made everything seem so final.
Yami’s eyes widened as he looked at Yugi. “Yugi…?”
Yugi bowed his head and left the same way as the woman before him had.
Outside, Téa walked up to him. “I think either Bakura’s in line or he left without us,” she said. Yugi made no reply.
Téa got the hint and decided not to make anymore comments. They began their walk of silence until they reached the game shop.
“So…how are you holding up?”
“Well, I did just see a corpse,” Yugi said, throwing her words back at her.
“Yugi, you knew what I meant.”
He sighed. “Yeah…” He sat on a nearby bench and watched people go by. “It was…interesting. I don’t know, I don’t think there’s a good way to describe it.”
She nodded. “I’m a wimp when it comes to death. And, I mean, I wasn’t really what you would call a friend.”

“I don’t blame you.” He stood up again and opened the door. She grabbed her things, which were sitting on the countertop. “Well, now that it’s over, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.” He waved with a small smile on is face.
She did the same and went as he stepped inside, door swinging shut. He barely acknowledged the presence of his grandfather, who was reading the paper. He was about to ask Yugi something, but decided against it.
“I’ll take your suit to the dry cleaners tomorrow. You can lay your clothes on the counter before you go to school.”
Yugi merely grunted in response. He trudged up the back stairs and locked himself in his room, where he stayed until supper. As the sun began to set, Yami decided to confront him on some issues, and his spirit sat beside him on the bed.
“And what was that all about that you told Kaiba?”
“You were there.”
“Yes, but I don’t understand.”
Yugi, now only in his white shirt and pants, jacket having been tossed onto his desk chair, began to undo the tight belt. “I told him I’d find out who killed him.”
Yami inspected him for a moment, pondering. “What if there’s nothing to find?”
“What, you’d just accept that?”
“Some things are better left a mystery. Or maybe it was fate.” He leaned back, bracing himself with his hands. “I have so far, anyway.”
Yugi went to the closet and put his belt away. “I think I’m going to go to the mansion tomorrow, look around a bit.” He laughed. “Starting to sound like some cliched horror or mystery movie, eh?”
The taller paid the less-than-amusing comment no heed. “You’re sure you want to do this?”
Yugi looked up at him.

Yami understood and nodded, grim grin on his face. “Then I will support you.”
It was times like these when Yugi wished that this echo of his ancient past could be corporeal at the same time as him so he could hug the spirit. He made a note to do that the next time they were both in the hallway between Soul Rooms in his mind. He was like the big brother Yugi never had.
“Thanks, Yami.”
It was then that Yugi’s grandfather called up to him. Supper was ready, and there had been a call for him that Joey and Tristan were going to stop by. Yugi ate, spirits risen some. There was a knock and commotion at the door that could only be two certain boys.
“Let go o’ me!”
“Not until you say it.”
Tristan was lifting Joey up by his collar. He was having a little trouble holding the other boy.
“Uh…” Yugi let them in. “If you’re gonna fight, better do it somewhere else.”
“It’s nothing, Yugi, just another little bet to settle.”
Joey swung at air. “He’s a cheater! An’ I won’t say it!”
“Fine.” Tristan dropped Joey, and the following minute was an amusing bit of arguing and fighting.
“Don’t tell me,” stated Yugi, staring at the two who were exhausted on the ground. “I don’t think I want do know. Really.”

Once things were settled and they were situated on the floor of Yugi’s room, the blonde began.
“So, Yugi, how was it? A bore-fest?”
“Well, all the Bible phrases didn’t phase me. Oh, Bakura was there.”
Tristan cocked his head. “Bakura?”
“Yeah, I guess he wanted to pay his respects. I don’t know where he went afterwards, though.” Before waiting for a barrage of questions, he decided to say more. “It was an open casket funeral. Pretty creepy, really, knowing he was up there the whole time. Mokuba seemed a bit shaken after his bit, but the kid’s strong. He’ll just need a lot of time to heal.”
“Anyone else speak?” inquired Joey.
“No, so it really wasn’t that long.”
Tristan took a moment to word his question. “How did he look? Kaiba? Did anything…look off?”
Yugi shook his head. “But I’ve never seen that suit before. He just seemed…” He tried to end this particular discussion. “…At peace.”
“When has that guy ever been at peace? Musta been weird.” Joey shrugged. “Ah well, I suppose that’s the best we could hope for for the big lug.”
“So, anything planned after school?” Tristan asked.
“Er…” Yugi didn’t want to tell them his beginnings of his plan lest they made fun of him for being too obsessive about this. “Not really. Why, you got an idea?”
They shook their heads.
The sky had long since grown dark; it was cloudy, an odd change since that afternoon, so only scattered stars were visible. The threesome watched some t.v. and dueled each other, but the guests soon left, leaving Yugi in his room alone once more.
“I hope Tristan doesn’t remember the bet Joey never did,” he chuckled.

The next day’s weather differed, being a shade of gray, compared to the previous day. The skies had turned a threatening, intimidating dark color. The wind blew fiercely, gusting here and there. Without the warmth of the sun, the temperatures plummeted, sending people to wear their turtlenecks and jackets. In the far distance, if one listened closely, a slow rumble of mighty thunder could be heard.
Fighting the wind, Yugi clambered his way to school. It was still quieter than normal, but for the most part, things were running as if nothing ever happened. They could only talk about one thing, though, and Yugi suspected that this would happen for the rest of the week or the next.
He spotted Bakura at lunch and sat down beside him. “Did you take off after the ceremonies, Bakura?”
The shy boy nodded. “It was bad enough me attending a funeral; did you think I was going to stick around to see the body?” He munched on his sandwich. “I think Mokuba did a very good job up there.”
“I liked the speech. Any word on when Kaiba Corp.’s gonna get back on it’s feet?”
“I assume whenever Mokuba does.”
“True.” Yugi finished his lunch as his eyes wandered the room. “Have you seen the gang anywhere?”
Bakura pointed to a general area saying, “They’re sitting at a table over there.”
Yugi nodded but didn’t join them, figuring he’d hang with Bakura some and avoid the gang and any questions about after school.
“Can you believe they still call me ‘the new kid’ and ‘that British kid’ after all my time being here?” asked Bakura in a disgusted manor, but was making a joke. “Honestly, you’d think I’d have made a name for myself by now…”

Later in the day, after the bell rang, Yugi took a decidedly different way home. Halfway there, a small sprinkle of raindrops formed and fell overhead. Soon he started to jog, picking up is pace.
“Great,” he muttered, “I had to choose this day to start my investigation.”
Once the large black fence was in sight, he slowed. The rain, unfortunately, did not. He walked up to the gate and peered up the pathway. The windows were still dark, as he knew they would be.
It was a (at school, anyway) well known fact that the remaining Kaiba brother had not been inside since he discovered the body, and it would remain likely that his return would take a while. He was trying to decide how best to get in when there was a flash quickly followed by a loud boom echoing through the sky.
The wind had picked up speed, the surrounding trees bending and swaying on the wind’s command. He was about to turn back and leave it for another day when he heard his name called. Perhaps it was just he wind or his mind playing sick tricks on him psyche, but the soft, masculine voice (it seemed very far away) sounded vaguely like Kaiba.

“Yugi…! Yuuuugiiii!” it called. It didn’t sound like it was coming from the mansion. “Yugi…”
The wind threatened to knock him over, or perhaps cause something to fall, so he was about to turn back. “Yugi…!”
A hand touched him on the shoulder. He whirled around, eyes going wide, back flattening against the gate.
“Yugi, there you are!” Tristan ran up beside Téa whose hand had disappeared from Yugi’s shoulder. “We were looking for you.”
“C’mon, Joey’s waiting at the shop.”
After he was sure his heart was still beating, and at a healthy pace, Yugi joined them. Once back at the shop, Joey grasped Yugi by the arms. “You’re soakin’ wet! And I was starting to get worried.”
“I was just taking a different way home,” he said, half lying. “Wanted to think more, you know.”
“Yugi!” His grandfather stood near the doorway. “You’re dripping water everywhere! Here, go change before you catch a cold.”
“It’s nothing important, grandpa,” he protested, but went up anyway. As he closed the door of the room for privacy, he overheard some of the conversations.
“You should have seen him,” came Téa’s voice. “He jumped 20 feet into the air!” Laughter echoed down the halls. “Like he thought I was a ghost or something.”
“Well, maybe he did,” Tristan added. “He was walking by the Kaiba mansion, so that’s gotta be really scary in this weather.”
A snarky remark was added by Joey. “Maybe he was trying to catch a cold to miss school tomorrow.” A few dull thuds represented the two whacking him in some form.
“Hey, if I had gotten that idea sooner, I woulda done it.”
“We know,” Téa said, sighing.

Inside the comfort of his own room, Yugi talked a bit to Yami as he grabbed fresh clothes as compared to the damp mess on the floor. “Guess I’ll wait until tomorrow.”
Yami smirked. “They’ve got a point, it was rather amusing to get Kaiba’s voice out of Tristan’s.”
Although he knew it reality it must have been funny, he couldn’t help but come up with a defensive response. “It wasn’t funny! I was scared half to death.”
“Maybe you should bring a waterproof jacket tomorrow.”
“You’re still gonna help me, Yami?” he asked as though he somehow couldn’t believe it.
Yami raised an eyebrow. “Of course.”
“Great!” The younger one threw on the random assortment of clothes and ran back down the stairs. “Hey, guys, sorry to keep you waiting and worrying.”
“Just don’t do it again,” winked Joey. “And, truth be told, we didn’t have a game plan.”
“And I think it’d be fine if they stayed here until the worst of the storm was over,” interrupted his grandfather. “They can help me around the shop while you’re doing some of your chores! Which, might I add, you’ve been slacking off on lately.”
The others’ faces fell in seconds. And minutes after that, they were doing labor that a short old man really shouldn’t do mostly by himself anyway. Yugi washed windows, which were being washed on the outside by the now steady rain. The trees still blew, but not nearly as hard, which just seemed like bad luck for him. Joey and Tristan carried boxes and crates of different game accessories through the rooms. Téa ended up sweeping while the eldest of the group in the house counted profits. It wasn’t that hard, and in less than an hour, they had more or less finished.

“Good job, everyone. I’m glad Yugi has such willing friends who would help an old man around his business for free.” A grin wrinkled his face, making the friends sigh and Yugi laugh.
“And I have to live with this.”
“I heard that,” came the older voice from the back room.
“The rain’s still not letting up,” sighed Joey, resting his chin in his hand as he sat on one of the moved boxes. “So, what to do in the meantime.”
“Yugi,” started Téa, “any reason you were going by the Kaiba mansion?”
He shook his head. “Just some air, just some thinking is all. Really, it’s nothing to worry about.” He brightened. “Talked to Bakura. Yeah, he’s not comfortable around the dead. I mean, seriously, who is? Certainly not me.”
“Especially,” Tristan added with an evil smirk, poking Joey, “if they’re the undead.”
“Cut it out!”
The radio came on from the back room, obviously due to Yugi’s grandfather. It was news at the moment, saying traffic, weather, a bit of info about the funeral, that kind of thing. It was probably just an oldies station, anyway, so they tuned it out, but it gave some good white noise.
“You really do have to feel sorry,” Joey said quietly. “He was only, what, 18? 19? Guy had a whole life of running a business with his little bro ahead of him.”
Téa nodded. “And I know we all like Mokuba, so we know he’s probably beating himself up over it. Poor kid.”
“I wonder,” Yugi pondered more to himself than anyone else, “if he’ll ever really fully recover…”

“I know if I lost my baby sister Serenity, I never would,” finished Joey as quietly as he began.
Unfortunately for the blonde, Tristan remembered the bet from the other day.
“Hey!” He grabbed Joey by the hair. “We have some unfinished business.”
“No! Let go of me!”
Téa rolled her eyes and sighed, muttering something about boys and their need for violence. Yugi knew no real physical harm was to come, so he was only interested in what Joey was supposed to say. Joey slipped away, having a few hairs ripped out in the process. More running around and carrying on went on.