ow the edge (open)

[blue_ice]

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.

Comments

[blue_ice]

Kaiba looks up at him weakly. There's really not much he can say in the face of tears---they rip at his heart as Yugi patches him up He struggles to catch his breath, but at least his condition is stable now. The hardest thing to overcome is the lump in his throat.

"Better...better me than you," he whispers. "This might be our game, but you're the one who has to get to the end to find your dragon."

He feels guilty as hell, though. He stares at a spot on the ground. "But I should've asked you. It's not as though we're on a time limit...it just felt urgent. I'm sorry."

[puzzlers]

"Kaiba... I think you misunderstood, and for that I must apologize. But, here, let me set the record straight, and perhaps he can help us." Yugi takes a step back and wipes away his tears as he taps into his spiritual energy to activate the magical contract door that ties him to Gandora in this place. "Break free from your iron prison and join us, Gandora-X, the Dragon of Demolition-!" He lends some of his power to the duel monster who appears before them and roars, parts of the maze getting destroyed, because Gandora is much too big too fit. Yugi's wand is in his hand though and he's got to shrink him, so he doesn't completely destroy the place.

"It's not that I couldn't summon him. It's that every time I tried I ended up here. If I did again it would be okay, because I was already here." Gandora roared again, Yugi gently setting a hand on his head. He, himself, thankfully hadn't taken any damage so both him and Gandora were at full power, so it would be up to them to take care of Kaiba. "Gandora, help me get Kaiba up." They both went over to Kaiba to help him to his feet.

[blue_ice]

"...what..."

Yugi is very lucky that Kaiba's too out of his mind to react with more colorful language. He puts all of his weight on his good arm and forces himself upright to get a good look. He's beautiful, just as he remembers---not as beautiful as Blue Eyes, of course, but he's still having an Issue with his dragons right now.

Between his stubborn attempts to balance on his good leg, Yugi's firm hold, and Gandora hauling him with his claws, he finally manages to get his feet under him. He glances at a small fistful of arrows that he's picked up, some bloodied, and banishes the blood before morphing them into a cane with a whisper of a spell. He gently nudges Gandora to let him know he's okay before turning to Yugi.

"If you were together the entire time, why---why didn't you summon him before?"

[puzzlers]

"Because he doesn't exactly fit into the confines of the maze and I really didn't want to have to shrink him. I didn't know if it would hurt him or not, but I guess if you're going to be reckless, Kaiba, I don't have much of a choice, since we're going to need him to get through this now." Gandora makes a noise, but ultimately backs off, positioning himself behind Yugi in case anything tries to sneak up on him.

"And it was a risk. Who knows if something else might have triggered, like if we would have gotten sent back to the start or something. I didn't want to have to try, but I had no choice."

[blue_ice]

There's nothing he can really say. Kaiba's hair hangs in his eyes, and his posture's more hunched over than usual. Though some of that is the pain, of course. He's not so weak as to flinch, but he comes close.

He pushes on slowly, hoping to get a look ahead from the holes Gandora made, but they've mostly closed up. One of his cards is about to fall out of his pocket and he glances at it: 0/0. As he feared: time ran out. At the moment, that he hurt Yugi hurts even more than that, so he simply huffs and shoves it back in his pocket.

"Don't worry. Even if I could do something like that again, there's no urgency anymore."

[puzzlers]

"I know you were just trying to protect me, Kaiba, but I want us to work together. We're stronger that way."

Yugi catches sight of the card, but he's not quick enough to notice the values on it. He frowns though, looking to Kaiba and trying to gauge his reaction... it's probably not hard at this point, so Yugi just finds himself looking down at the ground, feeling guilty for having dragged Kaiba into this.

"There is an urgency now. You're hurt. Gandora, destroy the maze and get us out at any cost. You need power, yeah, so take all of mine." The orbs on Gandora's body glows, because, by default, Gandora doesn't have an attack power, so he zaps Yugi of all almost all of his, causing him to drop. He roars, bidding Kaiba to take Yugi and duck before all of the lights on his body erupt in red lasers, shooting the walls of the maze and destroying them. The maze starts to crumble, revealing other portions of it. Parts they had been through and parts they hadn't and, oh, there's the center.

[blue_ice]

"Yugi!"

Turnabout is fair play. Of course. Kaiba curses and tucks Yugi against him, curling over his body as best he can. His heart drops, and now he fully understands what he did.

Gods, he was stupid. And for nothing too.

He finally looks up when the red light fades, and there's the center, taunting them. Hell. He screwed up Yugi's chance to fix his own problem too.

He gently traces the side of Yugi's face, swallowing the lump in his throat and looking up at Gandora.

"I'm sorry. I'll protect him with everything I have. Just...help us, please."

[puzzlers]

Yugi is out cold. He's given almost all of his energy to Gandora, so the dragon could help Kaiba escape the maze.

Gandora roars, because they're going to have to work together to get to the center, which isn't too far, but some of the traps are still active. Kaiba is probably going to have to use his magic to build them a bridge, while Gandora can at the very least protect them while they cross.

[blue_ice]

That's fine. He can do this. Kaiba carefully drapes Yugi over his shoulders and rises on the cane, extending his good arm forward. He pulls together all his architecture knowledge to summon a sturdy bridge. He'll wait a moment to ensure that it's stable, nod, and then begin the long trudge across.

It hurts like hell. He really was stupid. But he made his bed, and now he has to lie in it.

"Yugi..."

He reaches up and squeezes Yugi's limp hand as he forces himself to keep walking.

[puzzlers]

As soon as Kaiba makes the bridge it's Gandora that steps out onto it first. He tests its strength and then moves cautiously, bringing his wings up to shield himself against any projectiles that are getting shot his way. Arrows, it seems, from across the way. It looks like some of the traps are still in working order, but better him than them. And his wings are thankfully able to keep him safe, so Yugi won't take any damage. The trip across isn't that long and soon they reach the center.

Gandora looks to Kaiba, waiting for him to step into the spiraling vortext to transport them out. As soon as they leave their wounds will all be healed and he'll vanish, leaving just the two of them back at the school.

[blue_ice]

Kaiba gives the dragon a grateful nod. It's been a rough trip, but they're nearly there. He reaches up to tighten his arms around Yugi one more time and steps through, immediately feeling a little better.

But this is no time to rest. Now that he has use of both arms, he shifts Yugi into a bridal carry and immediately begins the trek back to his dorm, without even checking to see if he stirs.

It's going to be a long night. And it's all his fault.

[puzzlers]

As soon as they step through the portal and Gandora disappears Yugi regains some of his lost strength. He stirs just a little bit in Kaiba's arms, though he's still in a bit of a daze. Turning into him, he keeps his eyes closed, letting him carry him back to his dorm, and it's only once they're there that he finally lifts his head and looks up at him.

"..." Though they had gotten out of the maze the look of disappointment on Kaiba's face. He wonders what had happened with the cards. He's almost afraid to ask.

[blue_ice]

"I'm sorry, Yugi."

He lays his boyfriend on the bed and sits beside him, taking his hand and closing his eyes.

"Neither of us got what we needed because I had to be an idiot. Look, I'll run it with you again when you're better so at least you'll have him."

[puzzlers]

"...so you lost you chance at your Blue-Eyes..." Yugi frowns, feeling an exobitant amount of guilt. And here he thought he could and would help Kaiba, but he only hurt him... and in more ways than one. "Kaiba, I'm so sorry." He ducks his head, hiding his face in his pillow.

[blue_ice]

"Yugi...Yugi, look at me."

Kaiba can't stand hurting him. He lays down beside him and nuzzles his hair.

"Your idea was a good one. We could have won if I'd thought it through. I'm the one who cost us too much time."

His eyes are dark and glinting...he's clearly still haunted, but he has to push through.

"I have no one to blame but myself. But don't think this gets you off the hook so easily...when we get home I'll build a new deck and a new strategy. I'm just...glad you're safe."

He doesn't know how he'll ever be strong enough now. But he has to try.

[puzzlers]

"Kaiba..." Muffled. "I wanted to help you. I wasn't really concerned about my own problem. It's not like I couldn't keep trying. You were the one with the problem running the clock. I had all the time in the world." He sighs, turning to finally look at him... and then he feels even worse, because Kaiba looks truly heartbroken.

"..." That's not true. Yugi feels partly responsible. If only he had challenged him to another game, something easier and more simple. "I don't know if it's going to be that simple, but... there's no harm in trying... and... and I'm glad you're safe too, Kaiba. That's what's most important here."

[blue_ice]

"No, I know it won't be. You put up a hell of a fight, always...and there aren't many decks in the world strong enough to stand a chance against yours. But I never bested you with my original strategy, so why not start again?"

If there's a way...he'll be the find it. He has to be the one to find it. He wants to harden his resolve...

"Someone told me I've spent my whole life leaning on the illusion of power as a crutch...and there's a chance they were right."

His eyes are closed tightly, still processing the day's events. He holds tight to Yugi.

[puzzlers]

"I know. But you have bested countless others, Kaiba, ..." But he's not going to harp on that, especially when it's clear Kaiba is hurting because of the entire ordeal. He does, however, make a face in response to what had been said to him. He doesn't think that's necessarily true. "I..." Yugi shakes his head, but just doesn't say anything and instead reaches for Kaiba and tugs him close, bringing him onto the bed as he scoots back. "Let's just rest. We can talk about this more in the morning... alright? I think we've been through enough tonight." He says quietly and squeezes Kaiba, giving his cheek a nuzzle as he turns his head and gives him a kiss.