diatu | ow the edge (open)

ow the edge (open)

Who: Kaiba (

blue_ice) and you!
When: One early September morning
Where: All over campus!
What: DUELS. In any and every game. Or try to talk him down from this madness, idk.
Warnings: Excessive edgy shonen rival behavior. Possibly some dark themes, will be labeled in subject lines!

Kaiba's request, in hindsight, was a foolish one. Every interaction between their worlds and this one thus far had been a disaster with unintended consequences, why would this be any different? And why would he risk his most priceless possessions this way? He could kick himself, but that's not going to save his Blue Eyes White Dragons. His hand trembles as he holds them, watching their attack and defense values slowly tick toward zero.

You are not the worthy heir we chose, says the trio of voices in his ear. Your emotions have made you weak. We seal our power from you until you prove that the spirit of a champion lurks within. Crush your foes with precision! Or are you now a coward?

No. He's no coward. Kaiba sweeps through the hallways with an icy expression, searching for prey. Any instrument they might hold for a game draws him...a deck of Fantastic Foils cards. A basketball. A chess board. A wand. Any game, anywhere...he absolutely must win. He swivels to face his chosen opponent.

"You. Duel me. Now."

Are you game? Or more inclined to tell him he's out of his mind? It's your move.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

He had been working a lot with Professor King over the last couple of weeks with his Deathtoll card to see where the Gate could be opened and they had found a lot of, uh, interesting places. It seemed like the most interesting was still the one he and Kaiba had found though, but whatever. He's sure that the two of them would have breakthrough soon. He was scribbling in a notebook in an empty classroom when Kaiba burst in unannounced and... challenged him to a duel. What.

"Kaiba? Are you okay?" He looked positively maniac. He closed the notebook and stood up, wand out and used to lock the door, so his boyfriend couldn't escape without answering the question.

What?

Kaiba blinked twice. Had he honestly been so desperate to throw himself at anyone that he hadn't recognized the familiar face? Granted, they'd both been so busy that they hadn't spent much time together lately, but he could never forget his face.

"...Yugi?"

Ugh. He realized his mistake almost immediately and swiveled on his heel, reaching for the doorknob only to find it wouldn't budge. He huffed. "Sorry, Yugi, but I don't have time for this. I have to duel someone else---if I can't win, I'm finished."

'Win' being the operative word...Blue Eyes hadn't told him it had to be a fair fight, just that he needed to utterly dominate a challenge or lose her forever. Therefore, Yugi and Atem were way down on the list of opponents he wanted. Just his luck to run into his boyfriend now. He looked away, having the grace to be somewhat embarrassed by this.

Edited 2019-09-02 15:46 (UTC)

"Kaiba..."

He frowns, glad that he had decided to lock the door on him. Granted, seeing his boyfriend in a panic does make him feel a bit bad about being underhanded, but clearly something is wrong and he should be telling him about it. "If you can't win, and why do you have to win? What happened, ..." He trails off, reaching out to him. "I think you're underestimating yourself again." His frown deepens at that. Kaiba could absolutely beat him.

"I think I have an idea..." He had put gotten the opportunity to summon Gandora, though things had, uhm, not exactly gone to plan. Each and every time he tried he ended up in a maze with somebody else he... well... that part was also strange. It was someone he knew. He hoped this time it would be Kaiba. He kept his hold on his boyfriend as he channeled all of his energy into the summon, teleporting them both into the strange maze.

"If you want to play a game, then here you go, Kaiba. Find the center of the maze, go."

It all happens in a whirlwind. Kaiba almost flinches away, but Yugi's grip on his hand is stronger. The world twists and turns around them, and a chill races up his spine as he instinctively curls around Yugi.

"You're starting to sound like him," he grumbled, reminded strongly of those early days. But Yugi was here beside him, and they needed to escape together. He lights the tip of his wand and tentatively steps forward, still holding to Yugi's hand.

"...look, I'll tell you what's going on if you tell me what you just did---argh!"

He stumbles slightly on a slippery root---wait, that hadn't been there a moment ago---and crouches low, casting a repelling charm to hopefully clear the way for Yugi.

He's done this before, so the sudden change in scenery doesn't affect him nearly as much. He lets Kaiba hold onto him as strongly as he needs to, until he's able to get his bearings in the strange maze. "And that's not a bad thing." He comments lowly.

"Fair, but you go first, Kaiba. Tell me what's going on." His grip tightens when Kaiba stumbles to keep him from falling, though if he hadn't caught himself he probably would have hit the ground too. It's not like he's big or strong enough to keep someone like Kaiba upright. ~~Look at him, he's a tiny!~~ He keeps his own wand out, casting a spell to have the tip light up too.

"You always were my greatest opponent."

Nearly unbeatable. Nearly. But the dark skies and the wind chill drew him closer. He rubbed at his arm, wincing when he felt the sting of the thorns in the bushes that had torn at his arm. Nothing too deep, only a trickle, but he'd have to replace his uniform again.

He waited until they'd cleared the roots before continuing, hovering his pale blue lightning orb to act as his guide. He thought it'd be prudent to keep both hands free.

He reached into his inner breast pocket and withdrew one of the familiar Blue Eyes cards, passing it to Yugi. The familar line with their values now read ATK 2498, DEF 2021. A few seconds later, they red ATK 2497 DEF 2020.

"I asked the researchers to retrieve them. In hindsight, I should've known better than to take such a stupid risk. When I touched them, they told me I was no longer worthy to be their champion and began depleting. If I don't win a duel before they hit zero, they're gone forever."

He kept his gaze locked straight ahead as he explained, fighting to keep his tone even. Conflicting desires tore at him even now...to stay and fight, or to run. He stopped at a crossroads...right or left? And went left, stopping as his head spun. The air here felt heavier, making him feel drowsy...

"Don't breathe---" and he fought the sudden weight of the air to reach blindly for him, conjuring two oxygen bubbles for them. A cold, cruel laugh split the air and he bristled. The ghost dragon. A memory of Noa's struggle and his own silence flashed through his mind, and he pressed close to Yugi.

"We're getting out. I can't fail you."

"It's not a stupid risk, Kaiba, because those three cards are some of your most prized and precious possessions." He frowns, slowing to an immediate stop when he tells him that. "You know that's not true, right? and that's just another test." He starts walking again. "You are absolutely worthy of them. The only person, in fact, and I know you'll be able to overcome this."

Yugi waves his wand and the light that had been sitting at the end of it becomes and orb just like Kaiba's, floating alongside his head to light the way. Yugi hadn't followed Kaiba, and had instead stopped at the crossroad, looking at the marks etched at the center when Kaiba had instructed him not to breath. He looked over at him, staring at the bubble and watching his wide eyed boyfriend freak out.

He'd been through his maze a few times and had been made to confront plenty of terrible things. The physical stuff always faded, but the emotional stuff... stuck around. "Kaiba..." He reached out for him, tugging him back toward the split in the path. "I know. I trust you and your strength. We will get out with you leading the way. You'll beat this maze. It is our opponent and you will absolutely crush it. Keep that in mind. Keep your Blue-Eyes in mind and you. will. win."

Yugi's soft encouraging words are welcome. He wants so badly to believe them. But he knows he needs to live up to that and recover his inner strength if he's to stand a chance of facing down the challenge and getting them out.

He allows Yugi to tug him back, clutching his hand a moment longer than necessary. He nods and kneels to turn his gaze to where Yugi had been looking...the marks. Another puzzle, of sorts. He doubts it's as simple as a map, but he does see something resembling the corridor to the right. A map of traps to avoid, he thinks.

Mind made up, he slowly moves forward, dodging left and right and noting the way the ground rumbles at certain spots. "I promise, Yugi. I'll do this. But you still haven't told me what this even is, or why you're so nonchalant about it. Did you ask for the ability to summon puzzles?"

Just as he says that, the ground quakes. He curses, grabs Yugi, and leaps for a stone platform embedded in the path ahead. This...isn't the best place to talk, but seriously Yugi, what the hell?

It's definitely not a map. That would be too easy. It's just a hint about which direction they should have chosen. A bit cryptic, of course, but they could have probably figured it out if they had taken the time to. At each intersection they'll find something like this, though it's not always going to be obvious which path to take and just because it seems like one path may be better than the other that doesn't necessarily mean that one is going to be free of traps. In some cases they'll both contain traps. One might just not be nearly as bad, as it were.

"It's because I've been here before... And, no, that's not it. I can summon Gandora now, though whenever I try this is what happens. Like you I think it's something I must overcome if I want to do so without..." He trails off for a moment. "Without fail, so to speak." He gives Kaiba a small smile, though it immediately falters when the ground quakes and Kaiba is grabbing him and leaping forward?!

He makes an undignified noise and tries not to yell, though they're eventually on solid ground again. He breathes out a sigh and gets to his feet, though he's a bit shaky on them now, and especially after that. "The maze is meant to wear us done which tricks of all kinds and it's different every time, so unfortunately I can't tell you exactly how to beat it, though I can certainly help with the puzzles at the intersections. They're meant to be hints about the paths we're about to choose."

"...you're serious. If I ever decide to ask the researchers for anything again, I'm consulting you first."

Kaiba wouldn't be in this mess with his cards if he'd just gone for direct summoning. Granted, he could be in a bigger mess. And he seriously doubted he was going to ask them for anything ever again. He sighed, dusted himself off once he was sure Yugi was alright, and crouched to study the next markings.

They look jagged, but there's a space above them. They have to climb over, somehow...? If they had to be at a magic school of all things, why didn't they have flying broomsticks? He muttered a curse and used modification to turn some of the vines of the walls into ladders, setting up a mundane climb over.

Just as he's about to touch down on solid ground again, the voice returns to his head. He looks at the cards' values, now dangerously low and flashing red. The voices return, echoing only inside his head.

Clever, clever...but you're still weak, Seto. You cling to the boy you once vowed to defeat, hiding behind his greatness. No more. We should ally ourselves with a true master, one who will bring us glory!

The wind howls and a fog lifts. Kaiba reaches back for Yugi, trying to haul him through and duck into the next corner before it gets worse.

"No. You're wrong. I'm going to prove it."

He reaches, but he can feel his grip slipping. Sorry, Yugi.

"Heh. I don't think I'm the authority. I'm not sure asking them for anything is a wise decision, honestly."

And that's not necessarily. He'd be in a different mess. Perhaps an even worse mess! It seemed like no matter what they asked for it came with a price and Yugi wasn't so sure it was worth the price tag. He just hoped that he could help Kaiba realize his own strength with this maze. It... would be difficult, but he believed in the strength of his boyfriend. Himself too. Together they'd get through this.

As soon as Kaiba changes the vines Yugi follows his lead and begins climbing up behind him. It's a long climb and he can't really see ahead because of Kaiba, but he's sure they're headed in the right direction. "What?" He blinks, squinting when he hears Kaiba talking to himself. "I know that..." Is his head getting the better of him again? "Kaiba?"

Was that Yugi? Kaiba faintly recognizes his boyfriend's voice in the distance, but he's distracted by the much more immediate voices in his head. Yugi's voice feels further and further away, but the dragons' shrill calls grow louder. They even choose to let Yugi hear their call this time. A little humiliation all around is fun!

It's no wonder humans were slaves to dragons in this world. You so arrogantly thought you could master us? You're weak, Seto Kaiba. Without your wealth and power to hide behind, you're nothing! You can't even save the one you debased yourself for...perhaps we should ally ourselves to him? Or maybe Wheeler...

Ah, the classic bridge too far. Kaiba suddenly goes rigid, and when he looks up his eyes are blazing with fury. He extends his wand with a flourish, radiating a cold fire.

"THAT'S ENOUGH!"

He modifies the fog into heavier water droplets, soaking them but immediately clearing his vision. He reaches Yugi in a single bound and clasps his hand.

"You're wrong about humanity, you're wrong about Yugi, and most importantly you're wrong about me. I should congratulate you, Blue Eyes---if that's really who you are. It takes a special kind of talent to so consistently miss the mark!"

He scoffs, his old swagger back in force.

"I don't hide behind anyone or anything. I forge advantageous partnerships with talented people, and I learn from them as much as they learn from me. Even love is no weakness---it's my guiding force, the one I'll hold to while I burn through this maze!"

He confidently steps forward crouching at the next set of markings. He looks up at Yugi with a great big blur of emotion in his eyes---relief, admiration, love. Kaiba even laughs weakly.

"Dragons are a real piece of work."

Is this what Kaiba has had to listen to? And, what, slaves to dragons? Do the Blue-Eyes really feel that way too? It's not like they were even a part of this world, but have it's influences already corrupted them? He frowns, looking up at Kaiba when they try to tell him he's weak, which is a fucken lie.

He feels Kaiba's hand clasp tightly around his, which isn't something he can actually see, because his hair is covering his face now that the fog turned water has soaked them. He does smile though, and Kaiba might not be able to see it, but the way Yugi holds his hand back he can probably feel that he's absolutely behind him on all of what he says.

"Not all dragons are like that, Kaiba. I'm not really sure what's gotten into your Blue-Eyes, but I'm confident we can break them of their strangeness clouding their own minds." His hand moves to his heart. "Me and Gandora haven't had nearly as much experience together as you guys have, but the bond we share is strong. We chose each other for reasons that go deeper than deep and he helped me in three of the most important battles of my life." It's almost like there's a light glowing from within him.

"Choosing to be able to call on Gandora was definitely dangerous, but he's my partner, and there is no master servant relationship. We help each other and there's mutual understanding and..." He smiles, looking at Kaiba. "I know it's the same for you and your cards. Your bond is strong too, Kaiba, and we'll get that back no matter what. Again, I'm not sure what's going on now, but we'll get through to them."

"Dragons have their reasons to distrust humans in this world," he mutters, though he's not entirely sure. He holds tight to Yugi's hand drawing strength, the first smile he's felt all day stretching his mouth when he looks down at the wet mop of his boyfriend's hair.

As much as he feels conflicted about his emotional weakness...he can't resist. He roughly pushes Yugi's hair out of his eyes, stealing a brief kiss before they continue on the path.

"Blue Eyes is the ultimate symbol of destruction and dominance. Her White Lightning can conquer any obstacle...except you or the pharaoh," he adds with a shake of his head. "I believed domination was the true goal for the longest time...it brought me far, further than almost anyone, but I hit my ceiling."

His ceiling was rather short, actually. He gently squeezed Yugi's hand.

"Domination was gratifying. It kept everything else at bay. But there's another reason to wield power: to protect what's yours. That's my reason to keep fighting now...for a future."

He pauses at the fork in the road. Left or right. Either way, they'll get through...though as they get closer the sky darkens and the wind howls.

"Think she'll understand?"

"???" He looks confused. "Really? Did... something happen..." He hadn't heard anything about humans and dragons, but, then again, it's not something he'd really been researching.

He feels his face color as Kaiba brushes aside his hair and their lips meet for the first time in what feels like forever. "But we're not an obstacle... n- not anymore, right... heh." He gives Kaiba a lopsided smile. He nods though, listening as they continue along.

"I think that's a great reason to keep fighting. It's the reason I fight. To be able to protect what means the most to me. My family and friends. My loved ones too." He smiles up at Kaiba. And for his future, obviously.

"I think she will. What you've decided to fight for... I think it's great. It's what anybody would choose to fight for and what most do, honestly. We fight for the same thing, Kaiba, and I think- hope- she'd be honored to help you reach the future you've got in mind."

"Mmm. She may think I've dishonored myself by relying on others, but I still make my own rules. They just so happen to include you."

Kaiba slows to observe their surroundings, mindful of the creeping thorns. He sees red lights in the distance...what could they mean? Likely not anything good.

"I never got around to explaining that. In this world, dragons were originally the masters of humans. With their far superior size and power, why shouldn't we be their slaves? Our pitiful existences were solely for the purpose of serving dragonkind, or so the only dragon I've ever spoken to has told me."

And he sure sounds unhappy about that. That had been a scary few minutes.

"The humans grew to resent their oppression, and so with the help of magic they launched a sneak attack, killing most of the dragons in a desperate bid for freedom. Only a few survive. The ghost below the castle, who tried to enslave Noa and I, and another one that Spyro seems to know---who thankfully sounds far less insane."

Kaiba scoffs as the wind rises, whipping at them as if being summoned by broad wings. A prelude to a trap? "Let's just get through this and I'll make her my offer. We might be getting closer...or it might be what they want us to think."

He frowns at that. "Really? I think that's just... silly. I don't think relying on others is a weakness. It takes somebody strong to be able to admit that they, themselves, have a flaw and, therefore, need to kind of, well, fill in the gaps using other people. Nobody's perfect, y'know, and to be able to finally admit that..." He trails off. "I don't know where I'd be without my friends. You only knew me briefly back then... but look how far I've come." He clenches a fist. "I never thought I'd get to this point, Kaiba, not in a million years."

"..." He blinks, surprised. "W- What?" Oh wow. Well that's definitely not the story he was expecting to hear. Yikes. "And what dragon was this? Are there anymore left? Aren't there a couple of dragon students here? Do they know about this? Seems kind of..." He makes a noise, seeming equally unhappy.

"This sounds all sorts of bad. For both sides, actually." Hm, so there are at least two dragons? "This is getting complicated..."

Yugi squeezes Kaiba's hand. "I'm sure you'll make her an offer she can't refused. She's not like those other dragons and you've already fought tooth and nail through many a tough battle. You're partners. Not enemies. Not master and servant. And we'll get through this too."

"I didn't notice you back then, but when I look back...you held everything together through all of that. You overcame incredible obstacles, led through inspiration, and finally showed me your strengh...and no matter how many times I insulted you or pushed you away, you kept seeing right through me. We're a team now."

He gives Yugi a fond look as they tread carefully. "I'll let you know if I find out any more, but the dragons won't really talk to humans. We're relying on Spyro as a go-between. But Blue Eyes...I have to prove my worth to her somehow."

Hopefully not through a death-defying stunt, but...the wind's picking up. The red glow intensifies, and there's a roar in the distance.

"Yugi, do you feel anything? Is that Gandora or a trap?"

He smiles at that and holds onto Kaiba's hand tighter. "And there's nothing we can't overcome. If you need any help with him let me know... though it sounds like talking to anymore humans isn't going to be a solution. It'll just make matters worse. Do you know any dragons that could try to, ah, smooth things over? Besides Spyro? Maybe having more than one could help?" Or maybe that, too, would make things worse. He honestly doesn't know. He's only just finding out about any of this.

"Hopefully this will prove to her that you're somebody absolutely worth fighting alongside." Hn? He lifts his other hand up to guard himself from the whipping winds. "It's not Gandora. I haven't summoned him. I only tried to... which is why we ended up here. I could summon him now, but he'd be much too large to fit in the maze. It's probably a trap." He moves forward carefully, but stops when the path in front of them starts to crumble, eventually giving way completely to an enormous pit of spikes.

Kaiba takes a sharp breath. "Kisara, maybe, but he might not like her human form. And I don't want to spread around who she is---who knows how the townsfolk would react. They only seem to tolerate Spyro because he's cuddly and looks harmless."

He rolls his eyes fondly as he moves...but that soon turns into a mumbled curse as the ground crumbles. He immediately summons a few vines and latches them to the walls, reaching for Yugi.

"Least complicated is probably a bridge."

He starts drawing debris from the walls, morphing and stretching it downward into a very knotted vine bridge. It's not the smoothest walk, but it should work...it extends most of the way, at least. He wobbles a little crossing, but they're almost there when the bridge stops.

"I'm out of material to modify. We'll have to blast across."

For his next trick...he flares out his coat, draws a glyph to manipulate the immediate gusts of wind in a certain direction, grabs Yugi...and jumps. He keeps casting, because this jump requires a lot of wind.

It's not the most graceful landing, but hopefully it's not a spiky one.

"It seems like we don't really have a lot of options then... And you're not wrong about him, heh. He's also really personable, which helps.

Yugi stumbles, reaching for Kaiba who is quick with his wand, helping him back onto solid ground and then using the broken bits to form a bridge for them to cross. Unfortunately there's no enough to let them get completely get across. Yugi frowns, his own wand in hand when Kaiba's already formulating a plan. "Blast our way across?" Before he can even piece together what Kaiba can mean he's shooting them across with a gust of wind. Yugi yelps, gripping Kaiba's hand tightly and pressing closely, because a bit more of a warning would have been nice.

He doesn't immediately let go when they land, but at least they didn't land in a bunch of spikes. "You've really gotten the hang of that thing for somebody that couldn't stand magic for a time, huh?"

Kaiba's not in too much of a hurry to continue. That fall had taken the wind out of him. So he clings to Yugi a little longer, giving him another kiss to his nose before carefully helping him up.

"I'd be an idiot not to use every tool at my disposal. And as unreliable as this particular tool can be...if it's what I have, it's what I'll use."

He slowly moves forward, arm in arm with Yugi. "Especially when the tool's used to protect what matters to me."

Another kiss, this time to his crown. That's you, Yugi.

"K- Kaiba." He feels his face heat up as he presses closer to Kaiba. He's in no rush to move too. He could use a bit of a break besides. "I know... I'm going to do what I can to master this craft too, especially if it's something I can use to protect the people I care about here, back home, anywhere, really. And I know that no matter the obstacles this maze throws at us we'll make it out of here." He leans up to give him another quick kiss.

"Ready?" He slides back and turns back to the path, using another quick spell to illuminate the entire corridor, showing that there are some hidden holes in the walls, the faint glimmer of metal hiding within - another trap. "Looks like we'd have triggered something if we would have just went ahead."

Yugi's quiet words and affection give him the strength to keep going. He smiles against his lips, distantly surveying the holes. That...could be dangerous. He straightens his robes, shifts into position, and lifts his wand.

"Wait for me to give the signal, Yugi. They won't hurt you."

He tries tossing a small object from his pocket down the corridor---nothing. He tries throwing a heavier stone on the ground. Still nothing. Looks like he's still going to have to go through with this. He fires a gunky substance at every hole he can see, summons a bubble around himself---

---and charges ahead. The good news is that his plan was mostly successful. Red lights dot the corridors as the traps activate, sharp arrows flying every which way. The combination of the rubber cement and his bubble shield block most of them.

Unfortunately, not all, as he goes down with a grunt once on the other side. One ripped through his leg and another his shoulder. Great. But the important thing is that they can't hurt Yugi now.

"I think I got them all," he hollers hoarsely, dropping to the ground with a thud. He uses his good arm to tear at his sleeve and pant leg, doing what he can to mop up. Not that he can actually die.

"..."

"...!!!"

What does he think he's doing?! As soon as he tells him that he's not going to be hurt he just knows Kaiba's up to something stupid. He seemed to have the right idea, but what fired from the holes was several dozen sharp arrows, which were all able to penetrate the gunk with little to no effort. Yugi is so glad that Kaiba was able to evade almost all of them, though he's hit by a couple, which has him immediately breaking into a panic. He casts a protection spell around himself and hurries after, trying to keep from losing his shirt immediately, which is hard given the state of his boyfriend.

"Kaiba, what the hell was that?! He kneels down alongside him, casting a spell to unravel his robes and turn them into bandages, which immediately start wrapping each and every one of Kaiba's wounds tightly. At least he always wears his regular clothes beneath, so he's still in his leather pants and shirt. "Why did you do that, there was probably another, less dangerous method to overcome that! You could have been hurt worse, Kaiba, or... or..." He growls, eyes filling with tears. "Just because you can't die here doesn't mean you can afford to be reckless!"

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