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Once the group ran hastily from the collapsed tomb, you could hear the panted breaths around you, filling your ears with empty noise. Your breathing heaved as well, though your mind reminded you that your lungs felt as if an invisible hand tightly wrapped them. The tightness did not stop at your lungs, as the invisible hand grasped at your heart by mistake.
Though you were surrounded by the friends you had for years, everyone seemed to fade into the blackness. As you caught your breath, you seemed to shrug into the background of the group, once again feeling alienated, as you had before you met these wonderful people. For the first time in years, you felt it.
Alone.
This behavior grew over the next couple of months. You were initially able to shrug it off as 'the world was saved, and you needed a break', but that had only lasted so long. Questioning from your friends was like white noise to you. Tears that rolled down your cheeks nightly became your new moisturizing mask.
You were a duelist, just as Yugi, Joey, Kaiba, and him . You had been expected to be at tournaments in the future, but each time that you got an invitation to a tournament, you ripped up the papers. Three tournament invitations lied in your trash can, ever since you watched him leave. Though you felt selfish, you couldn't help feeling betrayed.
You thought he loved you the way that you loved him. Each time he would take over Yugi's body to go on a date with you, or each time his strong, slender arms held you close, you thought you felt it. Everyone else he referred to as his friends, and yet you - you were his. For some reason, you thought that meant something.
A knock at your apartment door caused you to groan through your chapped lips, your eyes focusing upon the ceiling atop you. Maybe if I'm quiet enough, they'll just go away, you thought to yourself, lips tight as you once again shut your watery y/e/c orbs. When the knocking stopped, you let out a sigh of relief.
When you felt yourself being lifted up by strong arms, the first thought on your mind should have been to fight against your assailant. At least, you should have been able to open your teary eyes, and yet you had not even flinched. With their wordless actions, absolutely anything could have been happening to you, and yet...you just didn't care anymore.
Roughly, you were shoved into something cold, yet you had not even shivered. Your eyes stayed shut, uncaring of whatever was happening. If they were there to take your kidneys, it was time for the harvest. Without your Pharaoh, you were just that.
Nothing.
Cold water poured down upon you, jolting you from your uncaring mindset. It was not by choice, but simply the fight that was left in your body fighting off hypothermia that was sure to come. Jolting upwards, your arms wrapped tightly around yourself, and your y/e/c eyes landed upon Seto Kaiba himself.
"What do you think you're doing?" He asked in a graveled, seemingly aggravated tone.
Frowning, you simply stated, "Freezing, thanks."
"You should be thanking me," he spat back acidically. "So how about you stop acting like an idiot and take an actual shower. I'll throw an outfit in here for you, and then you'll explain to me why you haven't been attending my tournaments."
You raised an eyebrow, but as freezing as you were, you quickly switched the water off. Letting out a soft huff, you shooed Kaiba out of your bathroom and set your shower onto a dull warmth to not fully shock your body. Stripping yourself of your already soaked clothes, you did as he said rather slowly. For a while, you just allowed the water to wash over your body as you leaned against your wall.
"You better be showering in there, or do you need help with that, too?" An annoyed Kaiba scolded out from the other side of the door.
Quickly realizing that he had gone through the lengths of coming into your house already, you quickly called out, "Hold onto your coattails, I'll be out in a sec."
Hastily, you finished washing yourself, feeling the tiniest bit better from simply being clean for the first time since he left. Glancing out of the shower, you quickly grabbed the towel to dry yourself off, before dressing to meet the man that managed to barge into your house. Sheepishly, you walked out of the bathroom to see Kaiba leaning impatiently against a chair in your room, his icy blue gaze directed right at you.
"So, what do I owe the pleasure?" You forced out sarcastically as you leaned against your own wall.
"Quit the crap," he said harshly, quickly knocking you down a peg as he strode with confidence closer to you. "You know why I'm here. You and I are supposed to be having a rematch. Instead, you've been throwing every invitation in the trash, haven't you?"
Letting out an irritated sigh, you pinched the bridge of your nose before directing your gaze back to the man. "I don't know what you're expecting out of me, Kaiba," you forced out, trying not to choke on your words as you spoke. "Maybe I should just tell you that you've been right all along and call it a day. Friendship is stupid, love is worse, and just take my runner up title. Televise that you beat me right into retirement. Whatever you need to make you happy, take it." Your voice had cracked halfway through you talking, and you had to bite your lip hard to block the dam of tears pushing to break free from your eyes.
Kaiba's eyes softened through your speech, his blue eyes not leaving your weak frame as he simply stared at you. His lips grimaced as he watched each word force itself passed your lips. "How did you really think loving a spirit was going to work for you?" He replied, his voice somewhat smug, yet had the smallest hint of compassion to it.
"I don't know," you said simply, letting out a sigh as you placed a hand upon your face in shame. "Love is selfish and stupid. I'm more angry than anything by this point."
"Angry at what exactly?" He asked, his eyebrow raising slightly as he watched you.
Pursing your lips, your brows furrowed for a moment before continuing. "Angry at him for leaving," you started, before sighing. "Angry at myself for being so selfish. Angry at myself for believing every word, and for expecting it was more than just this. Angry at myself for thinking I was worth staying."
Seto Kaiba knitted his brows together as he listened, before letting out a huff. "Come hang out with Mokuba or something," he said, his voice nearly wavering as he spoke. "Your dweeb squad will just keep you in your mood, and Mokuba always knows how to cheer people up."
You were taken aback by his proposal, but nodded sheepishly. "Thanks," you murmured softly, almost to the point that he couldn't hear you. The light tug you witnessed of his lips upward had shown that he did in fact hear you, though, as you followed Seto Kaiba to his limousine.
Who you would assume was the driver opened the door for the two of you, and you ended up sitting across from Kaiba in the limo, next to an over-enthusiastic Mokuba. "Did you convince Y/N to duel you, Seto?" He asked his brother expectantly. "It's nice to see you, by the way!"
Kaiba let out a scoff, his lips smirking as he answered. "Y/N will be dueling me once you manage to get them into a better mood," he replied, his voice leaving no room for debate from either of you.
Once the three of you ended up getting to the Kaiba mansion, you were dragged by the arm to go with the younger boy, his smile wide. Your own lips attempted to placate the boy, forcing themselves upward to make it seem as if you wished to be dragged off to play video games. Inside, you were cold, empty, and just wished to curl back up in your bed. Maybe Seto Kaiba had decent intentions, you wished to think. It was almost ironic that the man that hurt you was gone, while his rival was the one trying to pick up your shattered pieces.
You clutched the gaming joystick tightly as you pushed yourself to actually play the game in front of you. Beside you sat a grinning Mokuba, his smile nearly contagious as he beat you in round after round of the racing game he put in. As you saw his smile in your peripheral vision, you could feel a genuine tug, as slight as it may have been, of your lips upward.
"I'm the master of this game," he said excitedly, his large gray eyes practically sparkling as he spoke. His fist pumped into the air to exemplify his excitement, and you reached over to ruffle the boy's hair. As you did, there were small traces of blush on the young boy's cheeks.
"You are, Mokuba," you said kindly to the boy, trying to push as much enthusiasm in it as possible. "If you put as much effort into everything you do as you do beating me, you'll end up being the King of Games, you know. Just as I'm sure your brother will end up being."
"Isn't that why my brother wants to beat you at Duel Monsters so bad?" Mokuba said with a chuckle. "Since then he'll take on Yugi and beat him."
You leaned your head back, y/e/c orbs closing as you spoke. "I'm sure," you said softly, trying to keep your lips curled upward as much as you could. "And I hope he does. With all the work he's put into it, I'm sure he will."
"Don't you want to keep your title, though?" He asked curiously.
You sat back upward, opening your y/e/c eyes and glancing over at the boy. "I don't know," you said honestly, giving him a shrug as you spoke. "My heart was in it for the wrong reasons, and I'll be graduating this year. I guess it's time to do something that I'm doing for myself."
"Losing him affected you a lot, didn't it?" Mokuba asked.
You could not keep the facade of your smile any longer, allowing a frown to cross your lips as you nodded. "He used to call me his, his muse, all that jazz. I let that bring me happiness, self worth even. The reality of it all was that he didn't belong here, and I didn't belong with him. It took your brother knocking some sense into me to realize my fantasy may have ended, but the world around me hasn't."
"We've both been worried about you, Y/N," Mokuba said with sad eyes, causing you to feel as if your heart was stabbed by his eyes.
Through your journey, you always had a soft spot for the younger Kaiba brother, as he always seemed to care, and you never had siblings yourself. You pulled your arms around the boy, engulfing him in a tight hug. As you did, you could hear him audibly squeak, before laughter ensued. "I'm not going to lie, it'll take a while to be normal again, but I'm definitely feeling better," you said to him softly, before letting go of the younger boy.
From the hallway, you had not even heard the silent boy that stood with a half smile, leaned against the doorframe. Though he dismissed himself from the two of you to take care of this and that, he made the excuse for himself to watch the two of you without seeming like he cared of your progress. His blue eyes gazed at the two of you with a soft expression, watching all the events that ensued.
He watched as the two of you played a few more rounds of the racing game, Mokuba still beating you each and every time. By the point that Seto begun to realize you were dumping your car on purpose, his lips curled upward the slightest bit more. As you were doing it to see Mokuba smile, Seto could not help but feel a little tug at his own heart.
After a while, you finally stood up, saying, "I wonder if your brother would be ready."
Clearing his throat behind the two of you, you quickly turned to see the blue eyed man. "As long as you make the duel worth my time," he scoffed out, putting up his facade once more. "I have your deck waiting for you in the other room."
You shot him a confident smile, saying, "If you want my title, you're going to earn it, Kaiba."
"Simple, and just what I want to hear," he said, clearly bemused before motioning for you to follow him.
Mokuba followed behind the two of you, planning on cheering for his brother from the sidelines. Today, you would not have your friends to cheer for you, but in that sense, you needed this. You could no longer use Atem as a crutch, something you sought approval from. It was time for you to be you, and to defend your title as you.
The duel was close, both of you attacking and defending your life points like a teeter-totter. Seto Kaiba had always respected you as a duelist, nearly as much as he respected the Pharaoh himself. You were almost enough of a duelist for him to call a rival. Almost.
"You ready to lose your title, runner up?" Kaiba sneered, his smirk clear against his lips.
Closing your eyes for a mere second, you let out a soft sigh. Your lips curled upward into a smile as you opened them back up clear determination in your eyes. There was a small touch of admiration in them as well as you spoke. "I couldn't ask for someone more worthy to take it, Kaiba," you said with a smile. "But I'm not out of life points yet."
"You will be," he said confidently, and with that, he took his turn. He proved to you that he was the one worthy of the title, blasting through your life points one more time before they hit zero. His were merely at 200 when he won, and he could tell that he had at least received your all against him.
Shuffling through your deck, you pulled out your rarest card and tucked it carefully into your hand before shoving the rest of your deck into its holster. Walking towards Seto Kaiba, you held your hand out, showing him your rare card with a half smile. "Take it," you said insistently, your y/e/c eyes intense as they stared into his own icy blue eyes. "And use it to beat Yugi one day."
Seto Kaiba merely stared at you, before glancing at the card in your hand. Though he did have a fixation upon dragon cards, and your card was nearly as rare as the Blue Eyes White Dragon, he still glanced back at you with a questioning gaze. "You don't have to give me your card, Y/N," he said flatly.
You frowned, sighing lightly. "I'm done, and it's yours," you said insistently. "One way or another, I'm leaving this here for you, so just take it."
Kaiba rolled his eyes, saying, "What do you plan on doing if you're done ? Going back into your hole to rot away?"
You shook your head, pressing your card into his hand as he reluctantly took it. "I'll be pursuing my passion, the way I should have been from the very beginning," you said confidently.
Little did he know that your passion was something that would cross his path once again. Successfully, you received your degree, and you began working for Kaiba Corp's newest investments. When the Duel Academy was set up, you rose yourself right to the top relatively fast. With your previous experience and expertise, you were soon chancellor of the whole ordeal.
Word of your success was circled around Kaiba Corp, all the way up to the top. Mokuba was the one to pass the information onto his brother, his voice jovial as he brought a familiar name to his brother's attention. Once your name had slipped across his brother's lips, Seto's heart tightened at the thought.
"Schedule a meeting for me," he said absently, despite the excitement that brimmed in his heart and he heard your name.
His eyes had not landed upon you in nearly ten years, and yet there you were, walking into the coffee shop adorned professionally. Your y/h/c hair was done up, your piercing y/e/c eyes clearly matured with age. Lips curling upward as your eyes landed upon the familiar face, you took your coffee to the table, sitting in front of the same man that you could credit to your own success.
"Mr. Kaiba, what a surprise," you said softly, though there was a touch of excitement in your own voice. "Typically I've been meeting with your associates. What do I owe the honor?"
"Seto," he quickly corrected, his own lips curling upward as he eyed you down with his icy blue eyes. "There's no need for formalities with me, Y/N. I never expected to be calling a meeting with you."
"You never asked about my passion, I guess," you said with a shrug, letting a light laugh pass your lips. "It is nice to see you again, Seto. I never really got to thank you for pulling me out of that dark void."
"Unnecessary," he said quickly. "Though I am impressed."
"Now that's something I never expected to cross your lips," you teased. Sipping your coffee to hide your blush, you could not help the smile crossing your lips. "How have you and your brother been?"
"You should stop by and visit him," he replied softly. "I know he would be pleased to see you." Folding his hands, he almost seemed nervous before he spoke again. "I did have an alternative reason for asking you here, Y/N."
You raised your eyebrow, though you did not slip from his gaze. "Yes, Kai-Seto?" You asked, feeling a little anxiety rising in your chest as you watched his expression. As you watched him bite his lip gently, you could not help the shiver that shot down your spine.
"The Pharaoh was an idiot," he said frankly. "And I don't plan to make his same mistake." Sucking in a deep breath, he reached his hand out to meet yours, the touch warming your skin as he did. "I want you to be mine, Y/N. I have since we were teenagers."
You felt your cheeks heat up at his words, while his hand squeezed your own gently. "Truly, you have no idea how happy that makes me," you said sheepishly.
The two of you made your way out of the coffee shop, sharing your first kiss to document the rest of your lives. Tasting of coffee with the slightest hint of mint, those lips enveloped your own passionately, savoring the flavor of one another as you did. Though you entered the meeting not expecting to come with anything out of it, you could not help but smile all the way back to work, thinking of all that was to come.