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"Atem...? Atem can you hear me? Guys!! It looks like he's waking up!! Atem, are you ok?"
His eyes were twitching behind their lids, his fingers curling and uncurling, breath filling his lungs, ears ringing, his eyes started to open...
The light was so bright...
--
It had started as a conversation with Kaiba, a few months ago
"It's starting to get really inconvenient coming all the way here to duel you, you know,"
The pharaoh had found that considerably amusing, leaning back against the step behind him as he moved a chess peice forward on the board
"I do not recall asking you to visit," he pointed out
"If I could bring you back without drawing on an ancient evil, would you return?"
The CEO apparently had no wish in responding to the pharaoh's point, instead delving onto a different topic entirely
"Would I give up my eternal rest for a new life in a world I'm still rather unaccustomed with so that it is easier for you to play card games with me, you mean?" Atem smirked back, watching as Kaiba moved a peice of his own across the chess board
True, they usually dueled during these visits- in fact they already had that day- but Atem had wanted to put to use the chess game he had recently finished making and Kaiba had been plenty willing to oblige
"You can have eternal rest later, wouldn't you rather live a full life first? Or are you too old and tired to bother?"
He knew Kaiba was just trying to goad him, he wasn't going to fall for it
"You do not believe I've earned my rest?" the pharaoh guessed
"I think you miss the living world but are too afraid to go back,"
Atem gave a slight laugh, shaking his head as he moved his peice
"Tell me Kaiba, what awaits me there that I do not have here? Something that would please me, that is, something that would make the journey worth it,"
"Your dweeby freinds for one thing, having an equal to play games against, the chance for new games that you can't get here,"
Kaiba moved a peice
Atem lost a knight for that and wrinkled his nose
"My freinds have moved on with their lives and do not need me, and I can shape my afterlife to anything I wish- all souls can, if there is a game there I can have it here, even though I fancy my afterlife as ancient Egypt,"
The pharaoh paused, taking one of Kaiba's pawns
"You consider yourself my equal?"
"I consider myself better than you, I was referring to Yugi," the taller man smirked back, moving another peice- dangerously close to winning now
"And as for the geek squad, I never said they needed you, are you so incapable of having a relationship with someone who doesn't need you that you're afraid to even try? Is that why things worked out so well with Yugi, up until he stopped needing you and you went to another freaking dimension? Because he did need you- alot, for a long time, and then he didn't anymore,"
Atem slammed his peice down, his eyes burning with anger as he glared at the man across from him, he knew Kaiba was still trying to press his buttons but he couldn't help giving him a reaction this time
"You're taking what I said out of context,"
"Am I?" Kaiba smirked, a cocky edge taking light on his expression as he placed his peice ever closer to the goal, a win almost secure at this point
"Yes,"
"Then prove me wrong Pharaoh, if I can come up with a way to bring you back to life without putting the world at risk, you accept it, you come back, and you live a long, natural life until you die of old age like you're supposed to and then-"
"And then what? You, who will also be dead, will continue to pester me here once more?" the pharaoh smirked, gaining an advantage as he placed his peice down on the board
"-and then you get the peace you keep griping about,"
Kaiba paused, a pinched look on his face as he moved another peice
"Though, peace is a relative term I suppose, you're right- I won't leave you alone just because we're both dead, I'll duel you until I win and if that doesn't happen in my lifetime then I'll just keep trying in my afterlife,"
The pharaoh barked a laugh, his eyes glittering with amusement
"I am not surprised, you won't even leave me alone when one of us is dead," he mused, grinning confidently as he picked up his next peice
"I will not become a spirit again," he added a beat later
"Ofcourse not, you'd have your own body, I'm not going to let the concern for your host get in your way of dueling me,"
Ofcourse that was his excuse
"Alright then Kaiba, you have a deal, if you can return me to the living realm, in my own body, without disrupting the natural order in ANY way, then I will return to the land of the living,"
He paused, lips twitching even further upwards as he set his peice down
"Checkmate,"
--
In retrospect, Atem really never should have made that deal
He had issued Seto Kaiba a challenge, and Seto Kaiba never backed down from a challenge
With the added motivation of the pharaoh's promise, it had only taken two months for Kaiba to find what he needed, travel to the afterlife, and- much to Atem's shock- tug the pharaoh back to the living world with him
And now....
"Atem?"
He glanced to his side, eyes blurry and burning as they adjusted to the god-awfully blinding lights above him
He could make out Yugi's blurry form beside him and felt a smile crossing his face, suddenly not caring nearly so much about the lights
"Yugi..." he breathed, a slight wave of annoyance passing through him at the .. thing that was covering his face
He reached up slowly, his fingers pressing against some small plastic covering that had been placed over his nose and mouth, pulling at it until it was off and taking another breath a moment later
"Atem... you're really here, you.... you're really back...."
Glancing back at Yugi again- his eyes having adjusted much better to the light now- he felt a smile pull at his lips, slowly sitting up and reaching his arms out as Yugi practically threw himself forward, wrapping his arms around the pharaoh's neck and squeezing, hugging the life nearly out of him
"I.. I can't believe you're really back," the smaller duelist gasped, his fingers clutching desperately at the fabric of his partner's shirt, nails digging slightly into the man's tan skin
Atem could feel the wetness of tears dripping through his shirt as he hugged Yugi closer, squeezing his eyes shut to keep himself from shedding any tears as well
"I am aibou, I am back for good now, I promise," he breathed
"You'd better be...." Yugi sniffed slightly, clinging to him for a few moments longer before slowly and, clearly, reluctantly pulling back, rubbing at his eyes and offering the pharaoh the most sincere smile he had ever seen
"I am, I do not have any plans to leave any time soon," Atem promised gently, finally glancing away from his partner long enough to see everyone else standing only a foot or two away, each looking more concerned and relieved than the last
"It's good to see all of you as well," he said with a gentle smile, but before he could do or say anything else, the trio suddenly rushed at him, each hugging him almost as tightly as Yugi had, practically nocking him over from the sudden force
"Oh!" he gasped in surprise, blinking breifly before feeling a warm smile settle on his face and slowly wrapping his arms around the small group- well, to the best of his abilities
"You better keep that promise!" Joey shouted
"We missed you way too much!" Tea` added
"Don't ever sacrifice yourself again!" Tristan insisted
"I'm not sure if I would count that as a sacrifice though Tristan..." Atem noted with amusement, glancing at Kaiba over his shoulder, a small smirk resting on his face, even though Kaiba was clearly scowling
"Ofcourse it was a sacrifice, you idiot," the CEO huffed back
Atem only smirked and shifted slightly out of the arms of the others as they started to pull away, instead reaching out towards Kaiba, eyebrows raised teasingly
"Well?" the pharaoh practically purred
Kaiba's expression was flat, unimpressed, and just south of annoyed
"No,"
Fair enough, he expected that
"If all of you are done slobbering over eachother, I need to make sure that this new body isn't going to collapse in it's first few minutes of life,"
Atem gave a nod, carefully shifting to swing his legs over the side of the cot and lean back on his hands
"Very well Kaiba, you may examine my body to your heart's content,"
He wasn't sure what about that made Joey snicker, but he decided to ignore it for the time being
(He couldn't say the same of Kaiba though, the brunette seemed increasingly annoyed by the amusement as he yanked open a drawer in the large cart-cabinet beside him and started fishing around in it)
"You all must tell me what I have missed in my absence, we did not exactly have time to catch up during my last visit,"
"Ah nothin' real new, same ol' same ol', we're WAY more interested in hearin' about the afterlife! Since, ya' know, Kaiba's a real wealth o' information and won't say anythin'!" Joey insisted, arms crossed over his chest as he pointed a well-aimed glare at Kaiba's back
"There's nothing to tell, he had a throne, that's about it,"
Atem couldn't really blame Kaiba for that assessment, they had never bothered to leave the throne room since Kaiba only ever wanted to play games- usually duel- and hadn't seemed to have any interest in exploring the rest of the pharaoh's realm
"Perhaps in the portion that you chose to see, but I assure you, there was much more to it, you cannot really believe that I am capable of so little creation that I could only come up with a throne room,"
Kaiba's response was to roll his eyes dramatically and shine a bright light at Atem's face, immediately resulting in the pharaoh scrunching his eyes shut and flinching back
"Don't," the taller man grumbled, not so gently grabbing Atem's face and rubbing his thumb beneath the pharaoh's eye, obviously trying to get a response, though the once-royal wasn't entirely sure what it was that he was after
"Come up with? So ... the afterlife is sort of like your imagination?" Tea` asked curiously
Atem flinched, reluctantly opening his eyes and resisting the urge to shut them again once Kaiba shone that blasted light back in them
"Not exactly, each individual spirit may construct their ideal world, whatever makes them happy, that is the afterlife, my ideal afterlife was similar to the life I lived as a pharaoh, so that is the visage I chose, though in honesty I did have a few more modern additions here and there, such as games, I suspect that the next time I die, my ideal will have changed to a degree, it will be different next time, though I am yet to be sure of how different,"
"Isn't that kind of.. lonely though?" Yugi frowned
"I mean, if everyone has their own afterlife, then aren't you always alone?"
"No no, not at all," the pharaoh smiled, glad that Kaiba had finally finished shining that light in his eyes, though he seemed to have moved on to grabbing something else out of the drawer, a weird looking device with some kind of fabric cuff and a rubber string and..?
Well, he was choosing not to pay any attention to whatever Kaiba was doing
"Consider an individual's afterlife like a residence, you may choose to live in your home but you may leave to visit another's home at any time, and oftentimes, those who love eachother deeply share the same visage and stick together frequently, believe me, no one is alone in the afterlife, I promise this,"
That news seemed to bring a relieved smile to Yugi's face, wich the pharaoh was quite happy to have provided
"Soooo your afterlife is ancient Egypt, but mine could be like ... a mansion full o' cards or a castle with a dragon or somethin' and we could still be around eachother?" Joey guessed
"That's correct," Atem nodded, wincing slightly as the cuff that Kaiba had wrapped around his arm began to grow tighter- and ... tighter, and tighter...
"Kaiba, that's too much," he hissed, trying to pull his arm away, but Kaiba just wrapped a hand around his wrist and held him in place, apparently not at all bothered by the pharaoh's discomfort
"You'd better get used to it now, I hope you don't think this is a one-time thing,"
"What do you mean?" Atem asked with a tense frown
"I mean that you came back from the dead, in case you're unaware, that isn't exactly common, we still don't know much of anything about that, or about this new body, you need to be monitored to study how all of this works, how it's affecting you, to make sure that this isn't somehow temporary or requiring some sort of specialized care, I did not waste so much of my time and money on bringing you back just for some glitch to happen and end up killing you again,"
"And... what does that mean in Japanese?"
"It means that I'm submitting you to extensive medical testing twice a week for the next month, if things go well I'll let you cut down to once a week,"
".. For.. another month?" the pharaoh guessed
"Permanently,"
"Kaiba don't you think that's just a little extreme?" Yugi pointed out
Thank the gods for Yugi, always jumping in with a voice of reason when it was needed
"Yes, and further, I am a pharaoh, you will not 'let' me do anything," Atem pointed out as well
Kaiba seemed entirely unconcerned, unwrapping the cuff from the pharaoh's arm and giving him the much needed releif of some blood flow back to his fingers
"Correction: You were a pharaoh, now you're a guinea pig, welcome home,"
The way Kaiba smirked when he said that was more than a little concerning, it kind of reminded Atem of the way a cat looked when a fat mouse sat down right in front of it...
"And as for you," he added, his attention turning to Yugi, a much more serious look on his face now
"Wouldn't you rather me be overly cautious and catch a problem before it manifests than under cautious and find a problem too late?"
"Ah..." Yugi muttered quietly, cringing and turning to the pharaoh with a wince
"Sorry Atem, he's got me there,"
For the love of- ...
"But do you not think this is a little extreme? Surely others do not have to submit to regular medical testing," the pharaoh pointed out
"Weeell... actually...." Joey began, rubbing the back of his neck
"I mean, not that it's anythin' compared to what Kaiba's tryin'a' do to ya', buuuut..."
"Somewhat frequent tests are generally recommended, so Kaiba's not being that unreasonable I guess, all things considered," Yugi added quickly
The pharaoh wrinkled his nose, annoyance creeping under his skin
He most certainly wasn't happy to hear about any of this, but at the moment it was too petty of an issue to bother arguing with
He had just returned from the afterlife, there were far, far more important things to be considered at this time
"Additionally, you'll be staying with me until I've decided that you're clear to be on your own, in case your body should glitch or malfunction somehow and you require emergency medical attention, it's just temporary, until we can be relatively sure about your stability, now take off your shirt,"
Atem didn't even try to bite down on his smirk as he reached down for the hem of the plain white t-shirt he was wearing and tugged at it
"My my Kaiba, I had no idea you were such a ... what is the word? Mothering goose?"
Judging by the look on Kaiba's face- and the echo of snickers and giggles coming from everyone else- Atem would venture a guess that he missed the mark a little
"It's mother hen, and don't ever call me that, I'm protecting an investment, nothing more," he insisted with a hiss
Atem shrugged playfully, a smirk on his face, fully intending to call Kaiba a "mother hen" at every given opportunity
"You should get used to it though, I'm sure all of us will be a little more protective of you for a wile," Yugi pointed out, drawing the pharaoh's attention away from Kaiba and the "mother hen" situation for the time
"Oh? You realize you do not have to be,"
"I know but we just naturally will, I mean, you've been gone for over a year... it's going to be hard not to be a little overprotective,"
Atem tilted his head, admittedly surprised as he turned the conversation away from teasing Kaiba and instead into his partner's concern for him
Kaiba certainly wasn't forgotten though, in fact, wile Atem and Yugi gently disagreed about the level of protectiveness the newly revived pharaoh required, Joey's attention was much more focused on the shirt that his freind had just discarded, in particular, the KC logo printed over the breast
"Hey Kaiba.... those clothes are your company clothes right?"
"Not mine personally, but otherwise yes, why?"
"Well I'm just thinkin'.... you said Atem's body manifested in that test-tubey aquariumy tank thingy right?"
Kaiba glanced up from the drawer he was fishing through, an entirely unamused look on his face
"That is not at all what I said,"
"'Cause if that's the case, then he didn't start out wearin' those clothes right?"
That seemed to strike a nerve, a tense, annoyed look on Kaiba's face as he glared at the blonde
"What the hell is your point?"
"My point is.... you wouldn't happen to be the one who put 'im in those clothes... would ya'?"
Kaiba froze, a look of absolute terror crossing his face, albeit breif
"If you point that out to anyone, you will become nothing more than a strange smell in the woods, do you understand?"
"I'm just askin', I know ya' did what ya' had to do," Joey smirked back, watching as Kaiba- looking far more tense, frazzled, and irritated than before- tugged a stethoscope free from the cabinet drawer
He wasn't quite done though, he was waiting, watching the CEO place the earplugs in his ears, and then-
"'Course I couldn't really blame ya' for decidin' to do it yourself and not leave it to one of your many underlings, he IS pretty attractive,"
From there, a series of events happened in succession:
Kaiba slammed the head of the stethoscope down against Atem's chest
Atem, startled out of his conversation, yelped and flinched backwards from the sudden cold
And Yugi, who had been practically leaning on the mattress Atem was currently sitting on, stumbled backwards and nocked Tea` over
Magnificent
"Kaiba that's cold!" the pharaoh shouted in offense, not that it was really the cold that bothered him as much as the suddenness of it, but like hell he was going to take the time to verbalize that
"Be quiet, I need to make sure your heart is beating correctly,"
Atem bit down on his tongue, preventing himself from saying anything else, despite how desperately he wanted to
He wanted to be done with this ... examination process as quickly as possible, so it was best, for now, not to fight
"I don't even want to know what caused any of that," Yugi said with a sigh, his eyes pinned to Joey and Kaiba with a similar expression to a disappointed mother
"SO, I guess you'll be needing a wardrobe huh?" Tea` asked suddenly, drawing everyone's attention away from... whatever the hell had been going on before
"Hm? Oh.... well.... I suppose so yes," Atem replied slowly
He hadn't actually thought about that, in all honesty, he hadn't thought about much in terms of the smaller details of ... all of this
The idea of coming to live in a place that in no way actually acknowledged his existence hadn't really occurred to him until now, he hadn't thought about how difficult it might be to just start completely from scratch like this...
"Then we'll have to go shopping once Kaiba gets finished! This is going to be so much fun! I've always wanted to design someone's wardrobe from scratch!"
The pharaoh barely understood what half of that meant, but he had the sneaking suspicion that he should be a little bit terrified about it
"And are you gonna fund that shoppin' spree?" Joey asked with a raise of his eyebrows
"'Cause I'm pretty sure the pharaoh can't afford it, what with him havin' absolutely no money an' all,"
"He has money," Kaiba interjected suddenly, pulling away from the pharaoh and yanking the stethoscope away from his ears
"Wha- ... how-!?"
"You don't honestly think I brought him back with zero preparation do you?" the CEO asked flatly, as if offended by the very notion
Wich, fair, he probably was
"So... what'd'ya' do exactly?" Joey asked with hesitation
Kaiba stepped away again, a little further than before, and began punching a code into the keypad on the wall
Seconds later, a panel in the wall shifted and sank down, revealing what looked to be some kind of safe
Another key-code later, the door swung open, and the CEO pulled out a single yellow envelope, taking a few long strides back towards the group and shoving the envelope at the pharaoh
"You'll find that unlike you, I made sure I was prepared for your return, inside that envelope is your key to a life- a government ID, a birth certificate, a passport, an Individual Number, a debit card-"
"Woah!!! You've gotta be kiddin' me!" Joey shouted in shock, pushing past the others to peer over Atem's shoulder
"This I gotta see, open it man! Open it!"
"I... don't understand what any of this is... but alright," Atem frowned hesitantly, carefully peeling the envelope open and reaching in to pull out the contents
"Did you really forge all of that Kaiba?" Yugi asked in a tone that was mixed between shocked, impressed, and concerned
Frankly, Yugi wasn't quite sure what to feel about this, on the one hand he was happy that Kaiba had thought so far ahead and gotten Atem what he needed to make living in the city possible
....
But on the other hand it was still a little concerning that Kaiba had access to someone who could create forgeries good enough to (assumingly) pass legal inspection...
Yugi knew Kaiba's quality standard, he was sure that he wouldn't have accepted anything that wasn't a perfect replica
"Well I didn't do it myself..... but I know some people," he replied with a smug grin, clearly rather proud of himself
"I'd like to see even one person question the authenticity of those documents,"
"And the bank card?" Tristan asked curiously, by this point having joined Joey to peer over the pharaoh's shoulder as he pulled out the pappers and cards
"That's real, ofcourse, I opened an account for him," Kaiba replied, pausing for a breif moment, before shifting just slightly- not enough for anyone to really notice, not anyone but Atem, that is, but he was looking a little more... tense, all of a sudden, more nervous for some reason
"I gave you a temporary surname, since you can't just go walking around with only a first name, just tell me what you want it changed to and I'll have my employee do it today,"
Apparently, this was enough to finally get Tea` and Yugi to rally behind the sheriff as well, not that he really noticed, given that his attention was turned towards the name listed on the documents
"Wah... you've gotta be kiddin' me!"
"No way...."
"What the-...?"
The pharoah was quiet for a moment, just a moment, before glancing up at his freind, a look of utter surprise on his face
"Kaiba.... you gave me your name?"
Sure enough, Atem Kaiba was printed neatly on the birth certificate, and, as the pharaoh was slowly discovering, on each of the other cards and forms in his hands as well
"Don't get too excited, you needed a last name for your documents, it's just temporary," the CEO barked in reply, refusing to make eye contact
"And that name just so happened to be your's?" Joey frowned, clearly an accusation
"It was easier for me to open up a bank account for him if he was a 'relative'," Kaiba grumbled back
"Riiiiiiiight," Joey grumbled slowly, eyes narrowing, before turning back to look at Atem
"I'd change that fast if I were you buddy, wouldn't wanna risk anybody gettin' the wrong idea,"
"You can always use my name Pharaoh," Yugi offered with a shy smile
"I mean, you're practically part of the family already, and I think 'Muto' would suit you well,"
"OOoooor if ya' wanna go with somethin' REALLY snazzy, give my last name a shot! It's foreign and exotic and I bet it'd sound great on ya',"
"Yeah, because 'Wheeler' sounds really exotic Joey," Tristan snorted back
"More exotic than 'Taylor'!"
"I didn't even MENTION my name!"
"Guys, I'm pretty sure Atem wants his own identity, not to share with someone else," Tea` commented with a frown
"I mean the guy did spend his last existence here basically known as 'the other Yugi' for, what? A few years?"
That seemed to quiet the boys down for atleast a second, giving her a chance to make a suggestion of her own
"Don't pharaohs actually have five names, Atem? Maybe you can use one of your others, I think I read that pharaohs always take on the name 'Ra' after they take the throne, Atem Ra sounds pretty cool, don't you think?"
"Aw man you've gotta go with that one!" Joey grinned with excitement
"Atem Ra sounds freaking amazing!!!"
"Actually I'm not sure if that's entirely accurate," Yugi said slowly
"Technically, the hieroglyphs for each different name were preceded by a title, the nomen name you're talking about is 'son of Ra' or 'daughter of Ra' depending on the pharaoh's gender, the 'son of Ra' glyphs would precede the glyphs for the pharaoh's nomen name, but I don't think they would actually pronounce 'Ra' in the name it's self,"
"I still think it sounds wicked cool though!" Joey insisted
"Atem Ra, I mean c'mon!"
"I don't disagree but considering that Ra is such a sacred god in ancient Egyptian religion-"
"But ain't pharaohs considered gods too? And surnames started as a way o' sayin' who your parents are right? So Atem Ra is basically Atem, son of Ra, wich is the same thing as the nomad name pretty much, right?"
"I think you mean 'nomen' Joey... and I think-"
"All of you realize that Atem hasn't said anything in a very long time, don't you?" Kaiba interjected suddenly, wich, by some grace of a god somewhere, actually shut everyone else up
Atem had in fact been silent since this naming discussion started, too busy staring down at the birth certficate in his hands
"Do you ... have any preferences so far?" Yugi finally asked, soft and delicate, wanting to give his freind the chance to make his own decision, but being far too curious to keep from asking
"Actually.... if it is alright, I... I would like to keep the name Kaiba has given me,"
A split second of silence, and then-
"Huh????"
"A name is given to you by the person who gives you life, correct? In this case.... Kaiba has brought me back to the living world, I am here because of him, so ... if it is alright with you Kaiba, it would be my honor to keep the name you have given me,"
There was a breif moment of silence, before the CEO gave a quiet huff, his face shaded pink
"It's your name Atem, do whatever you want with it," he shrugged back
Atem gave a shy smile, nodding slowly
"Then it's decided,"
"Wait a second though, ain't people gonna think you two're related then?" Joey frowned
"We could always simply say that we share a name by coincidence," Atem said with a small shrug
"Or, if it makes you more comfortable Kaiba, you could say I was your cousin, not the biggest lie as your past self and I were cousins,"
"Quit reminding me of that," he grumbled in irritation
"If anyone asks just tell them that you married into the family, if they pester you for details tell them to mind their own business," he finally decided
Atem frowned, not really liking the response but deciding not to push Kaiba any further, it was enough of a favor that the taller man had allowed the pharaoh to have his name, there was no need to keep going
"Whatever you say.. hm... tell me, if I am now also named 'Kaiba', does that mean I should I start calling you Seto now?" Atem smirked, batting his eyes playfully
The look on Kaiba's face was enough of an answer really, but he was still somewhat amused by the firm, dripping-with-disdain "No" that followed
It was kind of oddly satisfying
"Now stand up, let's see if your motor skills are working,"
Figures, leave it to Kaiba to want to get away from personal subjects and back to business as soon as possible, but Atem couldn't really blame him, he wanted to get all of this over with as soon as possible anyway
"As you wish," he said with a light smile, sliding carefully off of the cot and flinching slightly, the cold of the tile floor suddenly pressing into the soles of his feet was like an electric jolt up his spine, and the feeling of standing was a little... foreign almost, kind of dizzying, as if his head weighed twenty pounds all of a sudden
He wobbled a little, but ultimately managed to keep his balance, taking a few small, hesitant steps, letting himself adjust slowly to the sensation of controlling this body, of movement, of .... all of this
"Awww, it's like watchin' Bambi learn how to walk," Joey crooned
"Huh? Who is Bambi?" the pharaoh asked slowly, head tilting to the side
"Ah... we'll explain later, it isn't important," Yugi replied quickly
Right...
It was probably a popular culture reference that he had yet to come across the context for
"Walk in a straight line," Kaiba demanded, crossing his arms over his chest
Atem rolled his eyes, but held his arms out carefully as he started to walk in a straight line, just as ordered
He would be outstandingly glad when this examination process was over...
"So what else did Kaiba take the liberty of puttin' on your records anyway?" Joey asked suddenly, scooping up the pappers and cards that Atem had set down on the cot
"Nothing that can't be changed upon request, all of the information is subject to change," Kaiba huffed back, watching Atem for another moment as he walked, observing him, keeping his eyes locked on the pharaoh
"All of it huh? Since when're you so accommodating?" the blonde frowned, clearly a little suspicious
It was one thing for Kaiba to bring Atem back from the dead, that was more about dueling him- in Joey's opinion atleast- but all of this was starting to border on nice and he really wasn't sure how much of that to trust
"Everyone should have the right to control their own destiny, the information I wrote down was mostly at random anyway, it has no significance to me either way,"
That brought a small smile to the pharaoh's features
He knew that Kaiba was all about not letting destiny or anything preconceived or predetermined control him, it made sense that he felt that it should be the same way for others too, but he had a feeling that it went a little bit deeper than just that...
"Now try with your hands behind your back,"
"Are you sure you are not just trying to make me do silly little tricks?" the pharaoh asked skeptically, nose twitching as he glanced at Kaiba over his shoulder
"Oh please, if I wanted to make you do silly little tricks I'd come up with something better than 'walk with your arms behind your back', I'm trying to make sure your balance isn't shot,"
As much as Atem sort of hated to admit it, that sounded reasonable enough...
So with a sigh, he placed his arms behind his back, starting to walk again, and much to his surprise, he found it significantly more difficult to stay balanced, he was wobbly and a little unsure, but still staying upright... for the most part, atleast
"Hey look at that, you're a Leo!"
Joey's voice distracted the pharaoh enough to cause him to almost miss a step, wobbling a little more and glancing over his shoulder at the blonde
"A .... Leo? What does that mean?"
"It's a Zodiac sign, ya' know, astrology?"
Atem merely stared at the blonde in further confusion, head tilting slowly, eyebrows pinched
It sounded almost like Joey was speaking another language
"Uh... it's a personality thing, ya' know, you're born under a certain alignment of the stars- determined by your birthday, there are twelve of 'em, and wich one you're born under determines stuff about your personality, like, I'm Aquarius for example, so that means I'm independent, energetic, open minded, and love to help people! Yugi's a Gemini, that means he's gentle, affectionate, curious, adaptive, and a quick learner, and Kaiba's a Scorpio, wich means he's stubborn, secretive, distrusting, violent-"
"First of all, quit only listing the negative traits, second of all, quit filling his head with all of this garbage, astrology is nothing but easy-to-guess nonsense used as a cheap way to make gullible people feel validated and make bad choices, and third of all, how the hell did you even know that I'm a Scorpio? I never told you when my birthday was,"
"I don't need to know when your birthday is Kaiba, I know your personality and I know for a fact that you're a Scorpio!"
Atem was willing to bet that, if Kaiba hadn't accidentally confirmed Joey's suspicions already, he would have denied it to the end of time
".... Quit filling his head with this garbage,"
"So is being a Leo a good thing? What does it mean?" the pharaoh asked suddenly, returning with mild reluctance to his pacing as Kaiba started sifting around in one of the drawers again
"Oh yeah, it's one of the best signs out there! And it fits you PERFECTLY! In fact, if I didn't know any better, I'd say that Kaiba here knows astrology better than he'd have ya' believe!"
"It has nothing to do with astrology, I just picked a date at random," the CEO grumbled back, pulling out a few things from the cabinet and setting them on a metal tray beside him
"Suuuuuure, you mean to tell me that you just pulled July 26th outta the sky for no freakin' reason?"
"That's what I'm telling you," Kaiba answered dryly
"Can someone just tell me what a Leo means?" the pharaoh pouted, coming to a stop and crossing his arms over his chest
"Leos are only one of the best signs EVER," Joey repeated with a grin, apparently redirecting his attention- finally- back towards his freind
"They're represented by lions, and they're fire signs! Leos are warm-hearted, creative, passionate, generous, humorous-"
"Why don't you just marry him if you're going to kiss up this much?" Kaiba huffed, taking a step closer and nodding towards Atem
"You, sit,"
The pharaoh rolled his eyes, but didn't argue, it was just easier to go with what Kaiba wanted without protest, and hopefully the more he cooperated the sooner he would get out of here...
"Ya' know somethin'? I WOULD marry him, he's a great catch!"
"Great, reserve a chapel then," Kaiba huffed back, grabbing the small rolling chair by the cabinet and tugging it closer
"You know what rich boy? I-"
"Kaiba, how did you get Atem's blood type?" Yugi interrupted, glancing up from the birth certificate he had been glancing at
Mostly, he had just wanted the bickering to end before he went insane...
"The same way I got his birthday- I guessed at random,"
"Ah, that explains it then, I'm not all that sure if Atem fits type A completely..."
"It's the most common, the odds were good, and I don't subscribe to all of that personality test crap anyway," he grumbled, sitting in the rolling chair and grabbing a thin rubber tie from the tray beside him
"What's a ... blood type?" Atem asked with a frown, glancing over his shoulder at Yugi
"It's ah... well, there are different types of blood-"
"There are different types of blood?!" the pharaoh echoed in alarm, barely even noticing as Kaiba took his arm and started wrapping the rubber strap around it
"Well not DRASTICALLY different, it's just .. ah.." Yugi paused, trying to think of the least complicated way to explain things
"It's like a hair color, human hair is all basically the same, but some people just have lighter hair than others, blonde vs brunette, you know?"
Slowly, Atem nodded, though it was pretty clear that he still didn't really get it
That was ok, Yugi really couldn't blame him
"Well, in Japan there's a theory that certain blood types determine things about your personality, sorta like astrology, I'm type AB myself, but listen, I wouldn't put too much stock in any of this if I were you... ok? It's just for fun, but some people take it pretty seriously, and it's really easy to get caught up in all of it, start judging yourself, judging other people, judging compatibility... it's fun if you take it lightly but don't put too much attention on it,"
Joey was all about personality determination, and Kaiba couldn't stand it
Someone here had to be the voice of reason before Atem's head exploded and Yugi, being pretty firmly in the middle, decided it was going to have to be him
(It was usually him, but he really didn't mind)
"I see.... well then, I shall just keep whatever Kaiba wrote down for me, if it isn't really serious then why change anything?" he shrugged, wincing slightly at the tightness that was suddenly around his arm
He moved to touch the strap, but Kaiba swatted his hand away
It must have been like one of those cuff things from earlier....
"Well... you can't really do that with blood type, remember how I said that it was like hair color? If something happens and you need a blood transfusion, doctors need to be able to give you the right blood type, if not they could really hurt you, it'd be like... suddenly weaving blonde hair into black- .. ok... bad example..."
He was going to have to sit the pharaoh down with a biology book sooner or later, that's all there was to it
"It's alright aibou, I trust you," Atem chuckled with amusement, flexing his fingers as he tried to get some blood flow back into them, despite the fact that Kaiba was clearly trying to cut off his circulation
"If you say that I need to know then we will find out, so how does one determine one's blood type?"
"With a blood test,"
At the sound of Kaiba's voice, the pharaoh turned his head, and watched in confusion as the CEO suddenly pressed something shimmery and silver against his arm
What followed was a scream that nearly deafened everyone in the building
~+~
"Come on Atem... it really wasn't THAT bad,"
The look on his freind's face really, REALLY said otherwise
Yugi winced, deciding not to try to bring that up again- atleast, not around Atem
"Ok, not the time, got it... but look on the bright side, atleast now it's all over and we can get you a wardrobe,"
He was trying to be positive, to clear away the bitter look on the pharaoh's face, and luckily, as he opened the door to one of the spare rooms on the upper floor of Kaiba's mansion, he spotted something that may just accomplish that task
"Look what I got for ya'! Real clothes! No brand-stamp anywhere on 'em! You're gonna need these if you're goin' out into the real world!" Joey said with an immediate grin, thrusting a pair of loose jeans and a t-shirt into the pharaoh's arms
Atem blinked in surprise, then offered his freind a soft smile, gently accepting the clothes
"Thank you Joey, I truly appreciate it,"
"No problem!! They might be a little big on ya', but I think they'll fit well enough,"
"I'm sure they'll be fine,"
Joey's amusement faltered just slightly when he noticed the bandaids covering his freind's arms, eyebrow raising slowly
"Wow, Kaiba really gottcha good huh?"
Well, there went the pharaoh's good mood
Yugi really wished his freind hadn't made that observation when he did...
"Yes, he really did," Atem returned dryly
After the initial blood draw, everyone but Yugi had made themselves scarce, Joey had said he was going home to get some clothes that Atem could borrow, and Tea` and Tristan...
Well, if they had given actual reasons, they certainly weren't reasons that Yugi remembered
"Ahh... well just put all that behind ya' ok? We'll let ya' get changed and wait downstairs, then we can get ya' some clothes!"
"It'll be nice for you to finally get to choose what you wear for once, instead of being stuck in my clothes by default," Yugi added brightly
"I suppose.... though I always liked your clothes aibou, for what it's worth," the pharaoh replied softly
"Well then, that's good, I can show you where I get them from and you can find your own, create your own style... that sorta thing,"
Atem really wasn't sure how to reply to that, so he simply nodded, accepting when Yugi and Joey decided to leave him be and shut the door for him
He wasn't.. quite sure what to do with himself, in the way that he was still getting used to the idea of being himself, he still felt a little awkward about it, he still felt, in some ways, that he didn't truly know himself yet
Or rather, he didn't know how to be in the modern world
He took a step closer to the door, feeling anxious and twitchy, but-...
"So not a fan of needles huh?"
"That's... putting it pretty mildly,"
"... How mild we talkin' here?"
"Um... well... Kaiba may have gotten kicked..."
"What? Where!? In the leg?"
"... Little bit higher than the leg Jo..."
The voices faded more and more the further his freinds moved away, but Atem... honestly felt a little bit better
The light-heartedness of their conversation... it felt like things were normal again, after the last couple of hours had felt so thoroughly not normal, it was a releif for something familiar to return
He decided to step back then, undressing and trying out the new clothes Joey was letting him borrow
They were a little loose and baggy on him, a size too big probably, but they fit well enough
He stepped up to the full-length mirror on the other side of the room, staring at himself, finding his fingers slowly pulling at the cloth around his body, examining the fabric a little, just... curious, and feeling a little bit surreal
He ran his fingers slowly down the side of his face, tapping a little bit, pulling, pinching the skin
It was soft and smooth beneath his fingertips, warm to the touch...
He pinched the skin of his arm, watched it gather and then snap easily back into place, reached up and ran his fingers through his hair, stuck his tongue out, sneered into the mirror, just.... studied himself, he supposed
It was all very weird, all so.... odd, unreal in a way
He felt like a stranger, as odd as that probably sounded, he felt like this was going to take some getting used to....
For the longest moment, he just stared into the mirror and observed, took in the surreality, let all of the strangeness overtake him, fill his veins, flutter over his skin....
Finally he forced himself to look away, bit down on his lip, and exited the spare bedroom, deciding to pick up this weird explorative process later
He barely got a foot away from the door, however, before he was suddenly face to face- well, more like face to chest- with Kaiba, forcing him to take a step back and stare up at the taller man
"Oh, Kai-"
"Your pack of idiots is getting antsy, they wondered if you'd gotten lost," the CEO grumbled
"Ah, thank you, I was just... getting dressed,"
There was a pause, silent and awkward, and the pharaoh found himself feeling a little.... guilty
"Kaiba, I .. wish to thank you for bringing me back, I missed it here, I missed all of you, I am glad to have returned,"
He paused, rubbing his wrist a little awkwardly
"I.. also apologize for kicking you, it was a reflex,"
"Yes, atleast we know those are working," the CEO grumbled, clearly displeased
"In all fairness though, you should have warned me first," Atem huffed back
"Oh I'm sorry, I didn't realize you had such incredibly low pain tolerance,"
"It has nothing to do with pain tolerance!"
"Oh please, the needles were smaller than my fingernails, even Mokuba doesn't flinch-"
"It has nothing to do with pain tolerance because it has nothing to do with pain," Atem snapped quickly, effectively cutting off the other's speech
There was a moment of silence between them, breif and tense, before the pharaoh went on
"I... look, don't get me wrong, you still should have given me some indication of the fact that you were going to peirce my skin, it was startling- that is why I kicked you, fight or flight reflexes,"
"And the screaming and squirming?"
Right...
Atem never said he had handled any of that with dignity
"It wasn't about the pain," he repeated
"Then-?"
"Hey Atem!! We leavin' or what?!"
Well, he would certainly hand it to Joey, he had excellent timing
"I should go," he said quickly, taking a step to the side, dodging around Kaiba, and making his way to the stairs
Though... he paused breifly at the top step, his hand on the rail, as he glanced back over his shoulder
"Kaiba... those names on my birth certificate, the ones you listed as my parents..... who do they belong to?"
"Why do you assume they belong to anyone? Maybe I just made them up,"
Somehow, the pharaoh really didn't believe that
"Maybe, but I doubt it,"
Kaiba went silent, and they were back to the awkward pause again
"Atem? Everything ok?"
"You should go,"
Finally he and Kaiba agreed about something
"This conversation isn't over," the pharaoh warned
"And neither is the other one,"
"No," Atem considered quietly, starting down the stairs
"I suppose it isn't,"
~+~
"This place.... it's incredible!!"
The mall was overwelming, in a way, it was loud and somewhat crowded even on a Tuesday afternoon, there were so many things to take in, so many sights and sounds, so much chaos and commotion, it was definitely alot to take in, but there was also such a sense of liveliness
It was full of life and people and all of the things that reminded the pharaoh of life, so much different from the sterile coldness of Kaiba's lab
He loved it
"You've been to the mall before though, haven't you? With me, I mean?" Yugi asked thoughtfully, wondering breifly if he had just... imagined that they had been here together a few times, back when they shared a body
"Yes but... it's much different now, before, everything I experienced in this world was through you, everything was a little... muted, faded, it was as if I was underwater, I suppose, now I'm experiencing everything at it's full capacity for the first time in thousands of years and it's overwelming but it's also very exciting,"
Yugi smiled gently up at the pharaoh, wrapping his hand around Atem's and giving it a gentle squeeze
"I'm glad that it makes you happy, you definitely deserve it,"
Atem only smiled back a bit shyly, and squeezed Yugi's hand in turn
"Well what're we waitin' for!? Let's get goin' already!" Joey beamed, grabbing Atem by the arm and giving him a sharp yank forward, not seeming to notice the slight wince that slipped out of the pharaoh's mouth at the pressure on his sore arm
Atem didn't really mind it though, he was just happy that Joey was so excited
"I know just the place too! You're gonna love it!"
Atem didn't doubt that, he trusted Joey to know what he liked by now, and after only a quick rush across the main floor, they were apparently in the right spot, considering that merely a glance in the store window already had the pharaoh's expression lighting up with excitement
"Oh! It really does look interesting!"
"This is where I buy most of my stuff, I'm kind of surprised you remembered it Joey," Yugi commented
"How could I forget? I almost came outta this place with a tattoo and a nipple peircin'!"
"You know what? I don't even want to hear that story," Tea` said quickly
Atem was actually kind of curious about it himself, but he resisted the urge to ask, he had a much bigger interest in seeing the store
He wandered in immediately, his eyes wide with curiosity as he stared at the various fashions hanging around on walls and racks and shelves
The style seemed to be primarily dark, lots of black and dark reds, purples, and blues, lots of dark colors in general, as well as plenty of gothic accessories, from belts to spikes to studs... he wasn't sure what to call this sort of store but he certainly liked it
"You're quite right Joey, I do love this place," he grinned, his eyes catching on something in the corner and widening with excitement, his face lighting up as he immediately rushed towards the rack in question
"Ohh.... it's so pretty..." he mused softly, carefully taking the hanger and staring at the clothing in front of him
A long black skirt, very flowy and loose, but covered in belts and chains...
It looked lovely
"That's really pretty Atem," Yugi agreed gently
"You like it?" the pharaoh practically beamed
"Yeah, it's going to look great on you, just make sure to look at the sizing ok? You'll have to try things on to make sure they fit,"
He nodded, starting to look through the tags as Joey gently nudged Yugi's shoulder
"Hey Yug... should we.. ya' know... tell 'im?"
"Why does it matter?" Yugi asked with a tense, slightly defensive frown
"It doesn't, I mean... not like that, I just meant.."
"I think Joey is just saying that Atem deserves to have all the cards on the table if someone starts something with him over this," Tristan explained
Yugi knew that he was right, that they didn't mean anything negative by it, he was just... well, maybe he was a little overprotective of the pharaoh....
"Alright, well... who's going to tell him?"
Judging by the silence and the looks on everyone's faces, Yugi didn't actually need to ask, seemingly
"Oh fine... but one of these days something is not going to be up to me," he huffed with minor aggrivation
He was getting a little tired of always being the one to deliver questionable news honestly....
"Um... Atem?" he said a moment later, taking a step closer to the pharaoh and gaining his attention
...
He already had four pairs of pants, two more skirts, and eight tops of varying masculine and feminine leanings
...
The guy worked fast
"Yes aibou?"
Ah and he was smiling like a beam of sunlight.... Yugi felt terrible and he hadn't even said anything yet
Screw this
"I just wanted to tell you how nice I think your skirts are going to look,"
His face lit up even more, eyes bright and happy, and Yugi decided in that moment- as if there had ever been any doubt before- that he would protect Atem with his life
"Thank you Yugi!"
"You're welcome, I really have to commend you, you know, not everyone would be brave enough to express themselves like this,"
The pharaoh tilted his head, expression laced with confusion
"Hm? In what way do you mean?"
"Well, most people consider skirts to be traditionally female clothing,"
"Oh, really? That's a bit silly..."
And if that didn't put things into perspective....
"Yeah well, society has always been a bit silly," Yugi agreed with a laugh
"I'm just really impressed is all, not everyone can be so brave, I don't know if I could,"
"Brave? In what way aibou?"
"Well... some people are ... you know... they can be really ... horrible to people who they think don't ... fit .. in with society-"
"I ah.. think I know what you're getting at Yugi," Atem promised softly, thankfully putting the smaller duelist out of his misery
"I assure you though, I am not bothered by whatever anyone might say or do, my choices are my own now and I will not let them be dictated by small-minded strangers,"
Yugi seemed to be extremely happy about that, his eyes were soft and warm, his smile gentle and wide
Atem wasn't sure what he had said or done to make him look so proud, but he would happily do it again- whatever it was
"Good, that... that's really good,"
"I'm glad that you're concerned for me Yugi, but there's really no need to be worried, I think I'll be fine, and I have dealt with cruelty before, if you will remember," he pointed out
As happy as he was that Yugi cared for him so much, the concern was a little unnecessary, and he didn't want his partner to worry about him, or to think that he couldn't adjust or take care of himself
"I know, that wasn't... what it was about," Yugi replied slowly, turning to start sifting through some shirts on the rack behind him
"I just ... I guess I just want you to be prepared for things, you're still so new to this world... I know it's inevitable that some things will take you by surprise but I want that to happen as little as possible,"
"Believe me, there will be absolutely no lack of things that I will require your assistance and protection for, so you really needn't stress when there's something I can handle on my own," he teased
"I guess that's a good point," Yugi said with a laugh, head tilting as he pulled a tank top out from the rack, admiring the studs that patterned down the sides
"What do you think of this?"
"Oh! I like it!" Atem beamed, turning around and showing off a black, belt-covered dress
"What about this one?"
"I think that'll look great on you!"
If things could go this smoothly from here on out, Yugi figured, then they would have nothing to worry about
....
So why did he get the distinct feeling that this smoothness wouldn't last for long?
~+~
"I can't handle one more store..."
Joey had good stamina, ok?
Hell he'd even venture to say that he had GREAT stamina
But the shopping hell he had been through was a test of SO MUCH MORE than just stamina, granted he wasn't entirely sure what else was being tested but he knew it was alot ok?
"Oh come on Joey, don't wimp out on me now! Atem still needs a cell phone and shoes and probably-"
"Actually Tea`..." the pharaoh winced slowly, feeling more exhausted than he could remember feeling in ages
He wasn't sure how modern day people were constantly doing this, wandering around these shopping centers all the time, just a few hours at it had him exhausted
"I believe a break may be in order, surely these other things can wait another day?"
"Yeah Tea` give us a break here... Atem's gonna live like... another EIGHTY YEARS or somethin', he's got plenty of time for all o' that!"
"You really are giving me alot of credit, aren't you Joey?" Atem asked blandly, though there was definitly a sense of humor to his face
He found it a little hilarious, the idea of living for so long when he was already around twenty years old- it was hard to calculate, really, not knowing how much of his time as a spirit he should put into account, but he would assume based on the body he currently inhabited that it was roughly that age
"A lil' bit, I mean, you're definitely a survivor, comin' back from the grave... what? Two? Three times already? Besides, livin' to a hundred ain't all that rare anymore, I bet you could do it!"
"Yes but I don't know if I'd want to, you're signing me up for a very long time here Joey," Atem chuckled softly
"Well how long were you plannin' to be around then?" the blonde challenged with a huff
"Oh... the average amount of time, thirty or fourty years, I realize lifespans these days are much longer than they used to be so..."
"You'd better not check out on us after only thirty or fourty years!!"
Joey said it with so much horror and a little bit of anger in his voice that Atem was... legitimately surprised
He knew that Joey wanted to keep him around, but he hadn't realized that he was quite that determined and wanted to do so for that long...
"Joey is right, if you check out on us early then one of us is going to have to haul you out of the afterlife again and honestly? What Kaiba did looked exhausting so we'd really rather not,"
Atem chuckled softly at Tristan's declaration, a soft smile on his face as he leaned against the wall behind him
"Don't worry, I promise that I will not purposely be leaving you again," he said seriously
He was actually a little... surprised at the way they seemed to be so attached to him, so reluctant to let him go, to even let him out of their sights
Sure, he had hoped that they would want him around again, but he had never expected them to ... want to keep him quite like this
He adored it
He knew that made him incredibly selfish- well, he was selfish for all of this really- but he couldn't help it
He had feared so badly that none of them would really appreciate having him back, that he would be more of a burden on them than anything else, and wile he still felt absolutely certain that he was going to end up being a burden to them- sooner or later, probably sooner- he was happy to know that, atleast for now, they seemed to sincerely want him around
For keeps, it seemed
"They're right, I may have let you go once, but that won't be happening again," Yugi promised, reaching out to loop his fingers through Atem's, holding his hand tightly in Yugi's own
"You're going to be around for a long, long time Pharaoh, weather you like it or not,"
Atem chuckled warmly, his face soft as he stared down at his partner, and returned the tightness of Yugi's grip
He felt ... so happy just to know how much his partner and the others wanted to keep him around, to know that coming back wasn't as much of a mistake as he feared it might be
Not yet anyway
"That's just the thing though," Tea` said suddenly, taking the pharaoh's attention away from the warmth of Yugi's hand
"I was lucky to get the time off to come here in the first place but... I have to be back in New York in a few days, I want to spend as much time with you as possible until then, so... I guess I just don't want the day to end, you know?"
Atem offered a gentle smile, sensing the mood shift around him, likely everyone else felt the same way he did- rather meloncholy and just a bit guilty
"I think we can manage another store or two," he offered softly
"Yeah, that's fine, just PLEASSSSEEEE feed us first!! We're starvin' here!" Joey groaned, his stomach growling moments later, almost as if on cue
"Alright, alright, I guess you guys deserve some food," Tea` finally laughed
It was a releif for the pharaoh to see her happy again
In the end, that was really all he wanted, for the people around him to be happy, and that was how Kaiba had finally convinced him to return in the first place
"They'll be happier with you there,"
It had taken so many times of hearing that, and taken Kaiba just the right time when Atem himself was suffering from a moment of weakness and missing them before it finally was enough for him to agree
He felt selfish the moment the agreement had come out of his mouth but there was no way in hell Kaiba would let him take it back once it was said so here he was
And all he could do was hope that, for once, this was a battle that Kaiba would win
That he would be right, and Atem would be wrong
~+~
"Hey Yug, what was Kaiba buggin' ya' about earlier? You never told us,"
The question was rather sudden, and ... considerably strange, it took the pharaoh's attention away from his own thoughts, wich he had been somewhat burried in since they left the shopping area of the mall and found themselves in an area that Yugi called a "food court"
Atem wasn't entirely sure what to make of the place, but it had pizza and he really liked pizza, so it couldn't be that bad right?
"Kaiba was 'bugging' you about something?" he asked curiously, attention turning towards the other and tilting his head
"No no, nothing like that," Yugi said quickly, waving off the implications and rubbing the back of his neck, looking down for a moment at his drink in seeming contemplation
"I ah... was offered a job, actually,"
The entire group went completely quiet, no one really sure what to make of that, before Joey decided to take it upon himself to question further
"What? What kinda job? As his secretary!? Yug, please tell me ya' didn't take it! You can do so much better than that!"
"What? Oh, no no, nothing like that! Actually, he offered me a job as a game developer,"
"A game developer? Are you serious?" Tristan asked in surprise, his mouth slightly open, eyes wide, Atem could relate, even he was surprised by that
"What does that entail aibou?" he asked curiously
"Well, basically I'll help Kaiba design new games, help him with the games he's already established, and design my own games wich he'll put on the market under Kaiba Corp's name,"
"Oh sure, so you can do all the work and he can take all the credit right? How much are you even gonna make off'a these games huh? Like ten percent?"
"Actually, not only is Kaiba giving me sole credit on all of the games I create, and partial credit on everything I help him with, but the royalties for the games I make are 75/25 in my favor, and the paycheck is... kinda huge,"
Somehow, this was all even more shocking than the fact that Yugi had been offered a job there in the first place
"Ok but he'll probably keep ya' there like... twenty-four hours a day and work ya' like a dog! He'll treat you like crap!"
"No not really, I'm not actually required in the office all that often, and since most of my work has to do with designing games, I can do it pretty much anywhere, so I can work on my game designs wile helping Grandpa at the shop,"
"Also," Tristan added slowly
"I have a cousin who works at Kaiba Corp, she says that he's actually a pretty great boss, good pay, good benefits, vacation time... he has high standards but he's not a complete prick about any of it, the way she puts it, he's actually a decent human being, just strict about work quality,"
"Kaiba a decent human being? Pinch me, I'm dreaming," Joey snorted, taking a loud slurp of his soda
"Why didn't you ever tell us about your cousin before?" Tea` asked curiously
"Well she only started working there last year but.... c'mon, do you really think having family relations at Kaiba Corp is information I want easily disclosed?"
"Good point...."
"I think it sounds fabulous!" Atem smiled brightly, leaning over to wrap his arms around Yugi in a tight, affectionate hug
"This sounds like a magnificent opportunity and I am happy that you'll be happy there! You did accept, didn't you?"
"Yeah, this one I did," he smiled back
"Huh? What'd'ya' mean... 'this' one? Did he offer ya' somethin' else?" Joey asked in surprise and confusion
"Well.... sort of, he's starting a duel sponsorship program, he's starting off with five positions with the idea that, if they go over well, he'll open more, he offered me the first spot but I turned it down, I'd really rather design games than compete professionally, I'm still interested in dueling and even participating in tournaments from time to time, but I really don't want to do it for my job, so I turned him down,"
"Good for you Yugi," Atem smiled sweetly
He was sure that saying no to an opportunity like that hadn't been easy, but Yugi had done what he felt was right for him and that was incredibly courageous
"Eh it was probably a sucky job anyway, I mean sponsored duelist? What even is that?"
"You go around dueling in events and promoting Kaiba Corp through games, sometimes you enter tournaments or attend things like charity events, parties, and openings, you do some advertising spots, test and promote new equipment and play with new cards, you get to have a pretty nice amount of free time and sometimes you get to travel, plus the pay is really good, it's a little like being a sponsored athlete but much cooler,"
"And what would Kaiba get outta all that?"
"Advertising mostly, in all kinds of ways, the more duelists who have his name branded on them do things like win tournaments and use company-issued gear, the more advertising Kaiba Corp gets, and when they go to events like theme park openings or charity auctions, their celebrity status will pull in more people and make the events bigger, ah.... he explained alot more of it to me than just that but it's a little complicated,"
"Huh.... well if you're playing tournaments for Kaiba Corp- wich by the way, is stupid, Rich Boy should just enter 'em himself if he wants to win so bad- then ya' probably don't get to keep the prizes huh?"
"Actually that isn't true either, all prize money won or titles given during any competition is the property of the duelist, not Kaiba Corp, other prizes like rare cards or artifacts or other things like that are up for debate but usually the duelist will get to keep them, he said there were only 'special circumstances' where he'd want one of the prizes, and I have a pretty good feeling that the only time he would follow through with that would be under some pretty dire circumstances, something... potentially world-ending that he wouldn't want in the wrong hands,"
"Or a limited edition Blue Eyes anything," Tristan snorted
"Yeah, ok, or limited edition Blue Eyes anything," Yugi agreed with a laugh
"Man....... I'd kill for a job like that," Joey said quietly, his face having fallen to something much less chipper and teasing, now looking far more somber and depressed
"I'd do anything to be able to duel for a livin', to travel around to different tournaments, competin' all the time, even advertisin' stuff...."
"Don't give up now Joey, you could get one of those positions you know," Yugi promised
"Aw no I couldn't, Kaiba hates me! Even if I did manage to qualify for a job like that, there's no way I could ever get hired by Kaiba,"
"You might not have to be," Yugi pointed out, smiling a little bit
"I haven't told you guys about my first project yet, Kaiba wants me to help him design a tournament,"
"Another tournament? Jeez, does that guy have literally nothin' better to do than throw tournaments!?"
"Well, this tournament is a bit more important than your typical competition, the goal is to determine who will take the other four spots at Kaiba Corp as sponsored duelists, the winner will get a guranteed spot, no questions asked, plus the prize money, after that, the remaining three spots will be determined by a miniature tournament between duelists who were hand-picked by Kaiba and I, most likely it'll be the finalists facing off and winning the other spots, but Kaiba has some other ideas in mind for those,"
"Why not just give all of the spots to the top finalists?" Tristan asked in confusion
"Well, alot more goes into sponsorships than just being a good duelist, you have to know how to promote, how to have stage presence, have a good social media presence, a clean background... all sorts of things like that, that's why the top spot in the tournament is so valuable, you can be complete and utter crap at advertising and still win the sponsorship, ofcourse you have to pass certain qualifying steps in order to even join the tournament, pass a background check, make sure you have a passport so you can travel, just basic things like that, the application process can be a little intimidating and extensive... but the good news is that Kaiba said I can invite anyone I want to participate in the tournament, within reason ofcourse, and I want to extend an invitation to you Joey,"
"Wah- ... to... to me? Are ya' sure...?"
"Ofcourse I'm sure! If anyone deserves one of those sponsorships it's you Joey, and I'm absolutely sure that you could win this tournament! You deserve to be there, you deserve your shot at the prize just as much as anyone else,"
"Yug I... I don't know what to say..."
"You don't have to say anything, it isn't really a big deal, Kaiba DID say I could invite whoever I want after all," he said with a bright smile
"Y-Yeah but still...."
"Really Joey, don't worry about it, you deserve one of those spots and even if you don't get first place, I will do EVERYTHING I can to make sure you're in the second tournament to get one of the other three, you deserve this job Joey, it's made for you!"
"Not to interrupt.... but I have a question," Atem said slowly
"Yugi, you keep saying that there are four positions available from the tournament, yet you said earlier that there were five positions in total, what happened to the first one?"
"Oh... well, actually... I was going to talk to you about that... Kaiba wanted me to tell you that... he's offering YOU the first sponsorship spot,"
Atem blinked, his mouth opening slightly in shock, eyebrows raised and breath caught, for a moment, in his throat
"I- .... me? .. Why...?"
"Why do you think? You're the best duelist in the world other than me! And you have a really great showmanship pressence too, sure you may not know about how to advertise or anything like that but you're really a natural at it!"
"I.. am....?"
"W-Well... yeah, I mean... I think you are, and obviously Kaiba thinks so too,"
This was... certainly something he hadn't expected, he would give it that
He admitted that he hadn't really planned forward alot when he finally agreed to return to this world
He hadn't put any thought into things like living situation, a job, identity....
Life......
He hadn't thought of it, though it seemed that, strangely, Kaiba somehow had
Maybe he shouldn't be surprised though, this was Kaiba, he was talking about, and Kaiba always seemed to be three steps ahead of the game...
"Well? What'd'ya' think Atem? Think you'll take it?"
He glanced up at Joey, giving him a small smile and a slow, timid nod
"Yes.... I believe I will,"
It was surreal, honestly, that only a day ago he had been in the afterlife, dead, and yet now...
Now he had a life
He wasn't just alive, he had a life
And that was something he hadn't known how to anticipate, something he had thought would take him so much longer to have...
He was glad, in this case, that he was wrong
~+~
It was weird seperating from Yugi at the end of the day, he wondered if that would be a permenant thing or if this was just a temporary situation, having to seperate from him
He knew that he couldn't ... ask to be near him more, to stay with him, to be practically glued to his side the way he had been before
That would be incredibly selfish of him, to want to steal away more of Yugi's life after he had already taken so much of it
He was just happy to be part of his life at all now, and asking for more than that would be asking for too much
Besides, he was used to being without Yugi now, he had been in the afterlife without him for over a year, and that space was good, even though it felt odd to be back here, in Domino, and not be right beside him
Stepping into Kaiba's house was equally strange, sure he had been there in the past but... that felt like lifetimes ago now, and to know that he was here to stay and not just for a breif visit, to pick up Mokuba or check on Kaiba's well-being
It was kind of surreal, walking inside and knowing that there was a room upstairs waiting for him, where he could sleep, where he would stay...
He just ... stood there for a moment, quiet, looking around... letting it all sink in...
"Never thought you would be one to admire the interior decorating,"
Atem jumped slightly, turning around and taking note of the smirking C.E.O. standing behind him, arms crossed over his chest, looking like a cat who had just caught a mouse
"Ah... I suppose I'm just ... experiencing a little bit of ... I'm not sure what the word is for it, it feels ... dreamlike, it's... odd..."
"Reasonable, you just came back from the dead, it's going to be pretty weird for a wile, plus I just had the house repainted, the new color is throwing everyone off,"
It took a moment, but Atem finally caught onto what he was saying, a small smirk making it's way across his face
"Was that a joke?"
"Did it sound like one?"
"Yes," Atem replied with a slight laugh, grinning in amusement
Kaiba only gave a shrug, apparently unwilling to confirm or deny that, and stepped away from the pharaoh
"If you want to see your room, you'd better follow me,"
Blinking in surprise, the pharaoh gave a quick nod and started following after him
This was going to take alot of getting used to....
Good thing he had an entire lifetime ahead to do so