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Chapter Text

"Are you sure this is all the pieces?" Mokuba asks, looking over the glittering gold puzzle nestled neatly in a briefcase with custom-cut foam padding.

Seto takes the largest piece with the Eye of Horus carved into the surface and runs his thumb over the surface of the ancient gold.

"How many are in there."

"Thirty-Three, including the one you're holding."

Seto hums, watching the sun glint off the surface of the Puzzle piece, "That's all of them. I'm sure of it."

He places the piece into its place and Mokuba closes the briefcase and locks it.

"If you're sure. I don't want to fly back to Egypt for one piece." Mokuba muses, "How's the program?"

"Flawless." Seto says, turning his car into the Kaiba Corp parking garage, "I'll have it assembled shortly.

"You gonna do that right now?" Mokuba asks as he kills the engine of the car, "I was thinking we should get dinner and-"

"I need to." He interrupts, slamming the car door closed, "Puzzle."

Making a disdained face, Mokuba passes him the briefcase, "You flew the Blue Eyes jet for six hours through a seven-hour time difference."

"I'm aware."

"Maybe after a nap you will see that this is-" Mokuba takes a deep breath and sighs, knowing to leave well enough alone, "Whatever. I'll get the other items put in the secure storage facility."

"Thank you." Seto says, walking to the private elevator and scanning his ID, "I'm not to be disturbed."

Mokuba makes a sour face at him and Seto narrows his eyes. Daring him to say another word on this topic as the doors close. He's blessed with silence as the elevator starts to rise towards his office.

Once he was finished with this, he would deal with Mokuba. Dealing with a teenager certainly wasn't easy, he missed the days when Mokuba listened to him unquestionably. They grow up too fast.

The elevator door opens to a hall and he marches towards his workshop. Setting the briefcase on the table and opening it. He stares at the puzzle before picking up the pieces and setting them on the 3-D scanner. He watches the screen as the shapes of the Puzzle are digitized before his eyes. Every detail, down to the most insignificant scratch is taken into account and uploaded to his custom-made neural net processor. Once the pieces are scanned in the AI will start running thousands upon thousands of permutations of the shapes until the correct one is found. Then all he needs to do is follow the instructions to assemble the puzzle.

It took Yugi eight years of near-constant tinkering to solve this puzzle. Seto had watched him for five of those years. He had always wanted to attempt the puzzle, there had never been one he couldn't solve, but his situation at he prevented him from reaching out at the time.

"Scan Completed." An artificial voice rings out.

Seto collects the pieces and takes a seat at the desk as the program begins to search for the answer. He picks up a few processes and slots them together, just as he had seen Yugi do thousands of times in between classes and during lunch. After some deliberation, he tries to slot a piece into two others only for the fitted parts to dislodge and fall onto the desk with a familiar clatter. Without feeling discouraged he picks it up and starts again, glancing at the computer to see that it had fifteen percent of the puzzle put together. Nothing to do but continue to tinker with the puzzle.

It takes the computer three hours and forty minutes to solve the puzzle. Seto thought it would take longer. He had not made much progress in trying to solve it in that time. As much as he would like to put this together the old-fashioned way, he wasn't spending eight years on it. Using the computer-generated guide he's able to assemble the puzzle in thirty minutes. As expected the last piece is the Eye of Horus. To his left was another briefcase. This one contained two Duel Disks, his deck, and a complete replica of the Pharoah's deck.

Taking the briefcase, and the puzzle he quickly makes his way to the elevator and presses the button for the roof. The ride up is tense, and he can hear the thumping of his heart in his ears. The doors open and he squints into the bright daylight. He had left Egypt at midnight, and his body was expecting it to still be dark. Stepping out onto the roof he crosses quickly towards the edge. The wind whips at his coat and he sets the briefcase at his feet.

It had been four years since the Pharoah had left.

Now he was going to return.

And Seto was going to beat him in a duel, proving that he was worthy to face Yugi.

Seto holds the Eye of Horus piece up to the light, staring into the eye as if he was going to see something in there.

He places it into the empty spot. A soft, almost imperceptible click sounds and he waits with bated breath for something to happen.

...

He grips the completed puzzle so hard his knuckles turn white.

"Come out you coward." He murmurs, words torn away into the whistling wind, "I solved your puzzle, come duel me."

The puzzle doesn't respond, chain clicking musically in the wind. Rage lights inside and he raises his arm; intending to throw the puzzle onto the roof and shatter it into pieces. He stops before he brings his arm down. Shattering this thing wasn't going to help.

"...Pharoah." Seto murmurs, holding the puzzle up by the chain and watching it swing in the wind, "You're ruining my weekend plans of destroying you in a duel."

He separates the chain, holding it in both hands now, "Once I defeat you, I can defeat Yugi with a clear consciousness."

Slowly he brings the chain over his head, and the heavy golden pyramid thumps against his chest. The chain weighs on his neck and he wonders how Yugi wore this every day as it felt like a damn noose.

Seto is standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling window of his office, staring at a reflection of his impassive face.

How... was he here? Wasn't he on the roof only a second ago? Now it was dark outside, very dark. Probably approaching midnight. When he had completed the puzzle it was well into the late morning. That was at least... twelve hours lost in an instant? He was no stranger to manic episodes, but to have no memory of the greater part of a day was very concerning. He glances at the Millennium Puzzle resting against his chest. A sight that was deeply, deeply disturbing to behold. The last thing he remembered was putting the inert artifact on. The weight of the chain on his neck, and the solid gold against his chest. Then absolutely nothing.

With a contemplative sigh, he brings his hand up to rub his chin. What was he to...

Why had his reflection not moved?

Heart racing he reaches out to touch the cool glass of what should be the window, to touch a reflection that was not reaching back, but his hand stops short.

His hand- no his entire arm was translucent. Through what should have been solid flesh he can see the floor and the non-translucent boots of his reflection.

"Kaiba." A voice speaks in a timbre that is entirely foreign yet entirely his own.

Seto lunges forward, sticking his arm through the solid chest of what may not be his reflection. The action causes an uncomfortably warm tingling sensation to slither up his arm and he rips it away from himself just as quickly. Taking a few steps back from the window.

"What is this?" He demands, glaring at himself, "Who are you?"

"Exactly what you wished for, Kaiba." The other him replies, cool blue eyes not leaving his own for even a moment, "I suppose you do not recognize me?"

Seto's breath catches in his throat. No... there was no way. It- it wasn't possible. Why would he be in his...

"Pharoah?" He asks voice barely a whisper.

His body smiles at him, an expression that looks unnatural and twisted, and raises a hand to push his thick bangs upward to reveal an ethereal golden eye burnt under his skin.

"That better not be permanent."

"It's not, don't worry." The other- the Pharoah- Atem? Says with a shrug as he lowers his hand and hair.

Seto stares at himself, now noticing the differences in the way Atem carried his body. Their posture was similar, upright and confident, but Atem had an annoying relaxed expression on his face. Not to mention he had put on some sort of eye makeup as Seto's eyes weren't nearly as dark and accentuated.

"It seems like there's been a mistake, Pharaoh." He says, crossing his arms in an attempt to maintain his cool, "You're in the wrong body."

Atem shakes his head at that and steps forward. Walking around his desk to sit on top of it. Annoying Seto further as he had a perfectly good chair to sit in.

"I don't think I am, Kaiba." Atem says, running a finger over the top of the Puzzle, "You do know what happens when you solve the puzzle, don't you?"

"Enlighten me."

Atem tilts his head, "You get a wish."

"What?"

"And I'm giving you your wish."

Now Atem was blabbering about occult garbage again. Occult garbage he made the mistake of indulging. He marches to himself and reaches out, attempting to grab the lapel of his coat only for his hand to slip through his body and that horrible burning feeling runs up his arm.

"I didn't wish for a damn thing!" He snaps settling on looking down at his corporeal form with a ferocious glare.

"You did, Kaiba." Atem replies, "You may not have said it aloud. I imagine you don't even know what your soul wants."

Atem places a single finger on his chest, just above his heart. The feeling is different than when he tried to touch his own body. It doesn't burn, but it certainly feels strange. Like something was brushing up upon his very soul.

"But I do. I know exactly what your heart yearns for."

Seto swallows as he stares into his own cold blue eyes. He was close enough that he should see himself reflected in the black irises, but there is nothing.

"Your defeat at my hands." Seto supplies, voice low and unaffected, "That's what I want."

"Are you certain?"

If he had heard Mokuba or Yugi's voice say that he would have dismissed them immediately. But to hear his voice question him. To look into his doubt-filled eyes and hear Seto Kaiba ask him if he was certain?

Of course, he was certain! All he had ever wanted was to crush this cocky little fool Atem as hard as he had crushed him when he was at his weakest! He wasn't going to be a loser anymore. He was taking control of his life by facing Yugi, the King of Games, the man who beat Atem, and crush him just as easily!

"I can tell you what you want, Kaiba." Atem offers, drawing his hand away and resting it on the desk, "But I do not think you are ready for it."

Seto doesn't respond, and Atem does not continue. Face the truth, or admit defeat.

Has he ever had more than those two options?

Why was he even afraid? He knew what he had wished for. This ghost doesn't know his soul!

Suddenly he laughs, or his body does. The sound is startling and he despises it. Seto grits his teeth and waits for Atem to finish mocking him.

"You haven't changed a bit, Kaiba." Atem says, "Why don't we settle this in a game?"

"Game?"

Atem pulls a coin out of his pocket, which is odd since he doesn't carry change. The dark lines underneath his eyes only make the blue look brighter, and his toothy smile was incredibly disturbing on his face. Never had Seto seen a look of sadistic glee as horrific as his own.

"A coin flip to decide if I stay or if I go." Atem explains, "If I win I will stay until I fulfill your wish, and I get to lay out the finer details of your possession such as who stays in the driver's seat."

"And if I win?" Seto asks, narrowing his eyes at the man.

"I leave, and you get your body back."

Seto rests his hands on his hips and looks down at himself with a smug expression, "Why would I agree to that? I go to all the trouble of bringing you here, only for you to weasel out of it without a duel? I'm not stupid, Pharaoh."

"You are not in a position to be making demands, Kaiba." Atem says, unflinching in the face of Seto's threats, "I'm not the same man I was when I first awakened from the Puzzle."

Seto watched his body stand and then the lights above them flicker ominously. As he breathes the air becomes thick and heavy. Shadows seem to creep along the edges of his vision, and he watches in horror as the hair of his corporeal body begins to stand on end to reveal the golden eye that marred his forehead was now glowing a bright yellow.

"I'm giving you a way out, Kaiba." His voice but deeper, deadlier bellows at him, "What you are experiencing is not simply being a vessel for my soul like my partner. This is a possession. Your body is as good as mine if I wish it to be."

Seto was not afraid of the Pharoah, it was difficult to be intimidated by a man a foot shorter than himself. But to be threatened by his voice was another matter. He felt unreal, inhuman. Like a flame without a source that could be snuffed out in an instant. He swallows, feeling sweat collect on his palms as he clenches them.

"...Fine. I'll play your game. You call" He spits out, managing to sound calm and collected despite the mounting anxiety in his chest.

"Tails."

Atem flips the coin high into the air. Instinctively Seto reaches out to catch it as it falls, only for it to pass through his translucent hand a clatter on the ground. He looks down and makes a clicking noise with his tongue. Hoping to convey enough bitterness that Atem doesn't even have to look to know the answer.

"I wanted to leave your fate to chance, Kaiba." Atem says thoughtfully as he rises from the desk and stoops to pick up the coin, "But you decided to leave it up to me."

Seto watches Atem hold the coin up, pinched between his pointer and index finger was the tail's side. Then Atem flips his hand to show the back of the coin which is another tails.

"Cheater." He hisses in rage.

"You asked me to call." Atem says, flicking his fingers in flourish and causing the coin to vanish before his eyes in a trick of slight of hand, "A rigged coin is still 50/50 if you're calling the shots. You always take your destiny into your own hands, but here you flinched. Is it because I look like you? That you think I will guide you as you guide yourself? As I would guide my Partner?"

The eye on his forehead glows brighter and his hair starts to move in an invisible wind.

"I may look like you right now, but I am not you. Don't you forget that."

Atem pauses for a few moments before speaking.

"Every other day. That's our terms. Until you figure out what you wished for, or it is granted." Atem says, as if there was any room for argument, "I can switch with you, but you cannot switch with me."

He scowls at himself, now understanding how his adoptive father must have felt on that triumphant day he overtook the company. The disgusting and bitter taste of defeat. The feeling of death.

"You seem to be good with riddles, so I'll give you a hint. What you wished for is something that you can see, but cannot be seen."

Chapter Text

Unwilling, he opens his eyes and sits up before he can have the chance to fall back asleep. Weariness seemed to be weighing down his very bones as he rubs his hands against his face in an attempt to feel something other than horrible. It felt like he had a hangover, which is unlikely as he doesn't quite recall how he ended up in his bed at home but he surely hadn't been drinking enough, or at all, to be black-out drunk on a Thursday night. He looks at the clock on the wall, noting in annoyance that it is six-thirty and he's slept in a full two hours. What's worse than sleeping in is the horrible pain in his neck caused by five pounds of ancient gold and a chain from a hardware store resting against his chest. Why the hell was he still wearing this thing anyway?

Grasping the warmed chain he pulls the ancient artifact off his neck. Holding it up and watching it swing like a pendulum in his grasp. Though the physical weight of the Puzzle had been removed it still felt as if something had been tightened around his neck.

He sets the Puzzle on his nightstand. No use getting worked up over some psychosomatic response when he was already behind schedule. Seto gets out of bed, a monumental challenge, and makes his way into the en-suite bathroom. Wasting no time he keeps his shower quick and cold. The shock of water certainly helps him wake up, and as he dries off he glances into the clear mirror. Noticing what looks like black streaks under his eyes. Upon closer examination, he realizes that it is some kind of eyeliner.

Odd. Very odd.

He washes away the black pigment. Perhaps it had something to do with the missing time between completing the Puzzle and waking up in bed. There was also that nightmare he had about the Pharoah but compared to the rest of this mess that was by far the least pressing matter. What mostly concerned him was the implication that he had somehow gotten from Kaiba Corp to his apartment with no memory of doing so.

He had also apparently bought eyeliner and mascara judging by the two makeup containers sitting beside his face wash on the sink.

Troubling thoughts to be had. At least he could speak with Mokuba about this sudden lapse in memory. No doubt brought on by overexertion. Mokuba would say "I told you so" and he would say he would try to avoid doing it again. The usual song and dance. Seto dresses and exits his room, walking down the halls in search of his brother. From the sound of it, he was in the living room watching television. Never hurt to have breakfast with his brother, so he stops at the kitchen to pour himself a bowl of cereal before joining Mokuba on the couch.

"Morning." Mokuba greets, "You finally took that Puzzle off."

"Morning." Seto parrots, not bothering to ask about the puzzle thing as it tends to sour the mood and instead shoving a mouthful of frosted flakes, "When did you get Spider Riders on VHS?"

"What?" Mokuba glances at him, brow furrowing in confusion, "It's just Saturday morning cartoons."

"You're not tricking me again. I know it's Friday."

A look of worry falls upon Mokuba's face and the young boy turns to face him, "Seto, it's not Friday."

He stares at Mokuba, shoveling another spoonful of cereal into his mouth. Mokuba certainly looked serious, and he would never play the same trick twice.

"Saturday, huh?" Seto asks, chewing on a mouthful of sweet bran flakes and processing that information, "Was I... busy on Friday?"

"Do you... not remember? You did a lot of stuff on Friday." Mokuba says, sounding much more distressed by the second, "You've been acting weird since we got back. Yesterday you cleared your entire schedule for one meeting."

"With who?"

"I don't know! You wouldn't tell me anything! You just ran around all day doing weird stuff, asking weird questions, and being... weird."

That was concerning, "Well, it's not going to happen since I don't know where or what I'm meeting for."

"Uh, Seto you told me to tell you if you didn't go to this meeting you were going to blow up Kaiba Corp."

...That certainly wasn't good.

"Wait, hold on you told me to give you this!" Mokuba jumps up from the couch and darts to the coat hanger to pull an envelope from his coat pocket before darting back, "Here."

Seto takes the envelope and opens it to reveal a brief letter written on the personal stationery he kept at his office desk. Its contents are brief, an address and a time along with what looks like... hieroglyphs in place of a signature? He recognized the address at least, a coffee shop that was located in downtown Domino.

"Seto...what's the last thing you remember."

"Completing the puzzle."

"The day we got back from Egypt, right?"

Seto nods in confirmation, "Yes, it took three hours. I completed it around noon."

Mokuba bites his lip, "Seto, you're telling me that you genuinely have no memory of yesterday and the day before?"

He folds the letter and replaces it in the envelope as he stands. Brushing past Mokuba to put his shoes and coat on at the door before he presses the call button for the elevator.

"Seto," Mokuba demands, voice determined with a deadly edge he usually loved to hear.

"It's fine, Mokuba. I'll figure this out " Seto says, making sure his voice does not waver, "Don't go to work today."

"...Okay." Mokuba relents, "We need to talk about this though. I'm really worried about you."

"I am too." He murmurs in response as the elevator opens and quickly steps inside, pressing the button for the garage.

As soon as the door closes Seto reaches into his pocket and grabs his phone. Opening it and staring at the plethora of unopened emails from the last two days. His phone was also at six percent.

Glancing over the emails he can see that most were confirmations of rescheduling meetings and calls. All replies to emails he had sent with a time stamp of yesterday and the day before. He shoves his phone back into his pocket and gently presses his fingers against his temples.

Two days lost, and in that time he had cleared his schedule and rigged Kaiba Corp to explode if he didn't go to this meeting. Despite how clearly terrible that was he couldn't seem to dredge up much worry over that situation as it almost didn't even feel real. Nothing in this morning had felt real, and it was starting to bother him because what was truly weighing on his mind was the horrible nightmare that seemed to be the only thing he could recall in complete clarity in the missing time between completing the Puzzle and now.

It was just a dream brought on due to the failure to summon the Pharoah. It was only natural considering he had spent hundreds of thousands of dollars excavating those ruins over two years. All for one duel. He should stop thinking about that and think about how he was one missed meeting from destroying his very livelihood.

The elevator door opens and he marches out towards his car, pulling his keys out of his coat pocket.

Something was wrong, but he couldn't figure out what it was.

He stops, casting a weary gaze around the parking garage. Lines of cars parked in neat rows stretch across the length of the building.

It was empty.

But it doesn't feel empty.

Seto doesn't feel alone. He feels like there is something else in here with him. Something else was... was...

"Pharoah?" He murmurs, expecting something, anything to happen.

Silence is his only answer.

In frustration he scowls and marches to his car, slamming the door and pulling out of the garage onto the street. He was going to arrive at this meeting at least thirty minutes early, but that's fine. Perhaps whoever he is to meet will shed some light on his predicament. Even if he doesn't remember what he did he rarely acts stupid so this someone should have something to do with the Millennium Item's. He hated to capitulate to occult garbage but to deny those items of being capable of great power was a fool's errand. With more information, he maybe can find a connection between his memory loss and the artifacts.

Seto let's out a slow breath and parks his car around the corner from the Cafe. He could use a coffee too. Though he couldn't say for certain, it felt like he had very little sleep in the last few days. With a new mission in mind, he exits his car and quickly makes his way to the shop. The line is short so he doesn't have the opportunity to scan the crowd before ordering, only getting the chance to while waiting for his drink to brew. Unfortunately, no one in the vicinity stood out too much. It looked to be mostly high school-aged students and young adults.

"Kaiba?" The cashier calls, voice soft as if not trying to draw attention to the order. He appreciated that.

Quickly he takes his cup and goes about adding a few sugars to it. Now he needs to find a place to sit that isn't-

"Kaiba!" A chipper, familiar voice calls with much less hesitancy than the cashier.

He turns to see Yugi walking up to him with a soft smile that still managed to make his heart leap.

"Yugi." He greets, trying and failing to think of something else to say to the man that consumes his thoughts in moments of weakness.

"Glad I decided to come early." Yugi says, looking up at him with wide bright eyes, "We're you excited to see me too?"

Oh, could Yugi be the person he was supposed to meet? The man did have hands-on knowledge of the Puzzle, and ideally knowledge of the other items. Still, he knew better than to talk to Yugi of all people about what he had done. What was he thinking when he organized this yesterday?

"I suppose-"

"Muto!" The cashier calls, interrupting him.

Yugi edges by him and grabs his cup before motioning him to follow, "I hope you don't mind sitting outside."

"It's fine." Seto replies, following after the man as he leads them to a round table outside. It was positioned near the building and therefore in the shade.

Yugi sits first, and Seto notices a notebook already at the table. Looks like Yugi saved the table first before ordering. He sits across from the man and sips his coffee. Yugi smiles at him expectantly. Right. He was technically the one who initiated this meeting, so Yugi was probably waiting for him to start the topic of conversation.

"How have you been?" He begins, cringing at the banality of the statement. How has Yugi been? He can do better than-

"Great!" Yugi replies, "I've been working on a game the last few months."

"Your own game?"

"Yeah! I've wanted to start making my own games since high school! Now that we've graduated I've started working on it." Yugi smiles brightly and his fingers drum over the cover of his notebook absently, "It's not a card game so I'm sure you're not interested."

"Don't be ridiculous." Seto snaps, leaning forward in interest, "I like all games, not just card games. Tell me about it."

"Right now?"

"Yes. Give me the elevator pitch."

Composure leaves Yugi's body in an instant and the young man is fumbling over himself. Suddenly unable to meet his eyes, "I don't think you would want to hear-"

"Now, Yugi." Seto demands, even going as far as snapping his fingers to intimidate him, "You need to be able to concisely explain your concept to anyone who asks, otherwise no one will take you seriously."

"I know! I just uh, here hold on." Yugi opens his notebook and flips through a few pages, "Uh, so it's going to be a board game with RPG elements, so you build your character with equipment cards and then everyone will draw a goal card and whoever reaches their goal first can win but-" Yugi stops talking and looks up at him as if waiting for something. Seto decides not to move and after a few moments Yugi quickly closes his notebook, "It-It still needs a lot of work."

It seems that without guidance Yugi's confidence tanked. That never happens in Duels, so it must be when he's put in an unfamiliar situation. Even likelier it could be his fault as he's been told his resting face is akin to an agitated glare. Still, he was interested in what Yugi had in mind for a game and he pulls a card out of an inner coat pocket along with a pen. He writes his phone number on the back of the business card and holds it out to Yugi.

"Once you get your pitch fleshed out, call me." Seto orders as Yugi carefully accepts his card, "That's my number. I expect you will deliver a quality concept, and from there I can put together a meeting for you to pitch your idea to a few company representatives."

Yugi blinks at him in surprise before a smile spreads across his face. It almost makes him smile as well, but he covered it by taking a sip of his coffee.

"Thank you, Kaiba that's... very kind of you." Yugi says, tucking the business card into his notebook. If Yugi doesn't contact him in three days, Seto was going to take matters into his own hand and call the man himself.

"Think nothing of it." He dismisses, "Is that all you've been up to?"

Yugi nods, "I've taken a break from professional dueling to pull more hours at the Game Shop. Grandpa's getting older, and he can't seem to keep up like he used to."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Seto says, a little surprised that he means it too.

"He will be fine, he just needs some time off." Yugi laughs, but his heart isn't into it, "Oh, we didn't get a chance to talk at the time but the Duel Disk prototype you showed at the KC Grand Championship this year looked incredible!"

Oh, right. The KC Grand felt so far away, even though it was only in February. That was just before the excavation crew had found the first of the Millennium Item's. Since that he had turned all his focus away from organizing tournaments to uncovering the items. In doing so he had gone from seeing Yugi every so often at his tournaments to... to seeing him now, almost six months later.

"I'm surprised you haven't released it yet." Yugi continues despite his extended silence, "Have you run into technical difficulties?"

"No... I've been focused on something else." Seto admits. It's not a lie by any means.

"Something that's not Duel Monsters?" Yugi raises his eyebrows, "Care to share?"

Now was probably as good of a time as ever to bring up what he truly had been up to. Of course with a little bit of subterfuge.

"It's the Pharoah." He says, watching Yugi's demeanor change in an instant. Shoulders slumping and brows furrowing in displeasure.

"...What about him?" Yugi asks, deft fingers tracing over the lid of his coffee cup. He's looking down and he can't see his expression through the man's blond fringe.

"I want to duel him." Seto answers honestly, "And I-

"Kaiba." Yugi interrupts, looking up at him with a determined glare "Let him rest."

He blinks at Yugi, annoyed at being interrupted but somehow intrigued at the expression on Yugi's face. One he had seen many times of course, but never directed at him from Yugi personally.

"Why should I?" Seto counters, marveling at the way the sun strikes Yugi's eyes, "We have unfinished business."

"You can finish it with me."

Seto doesn't know what to say to that. Yugi's eyes are locked on his, unwavering and determined. It was unlike the Yugi he often remembered, demure and afraid. But it wasn't like the Pharoah's gaze that was often cold and unrelenting. If Yugi and the Pharoah were two sides of the same coin, then what he was seeing was the edge of that coin. The meeting of two different, but equal, halves.

"What if someone were to unearth the puzzle from the ruins and solve it." Seto asks, ignoring Yugi's demands, "You would receive your wish, and the Pharoah would return, correct?"

"You're avoiding my question."

"You didn't ask a question. You demanded something of me that is impossible." Seto explains, waving a hand dismissively, "As I've said before, my business is not with you, Yugi. At least not yet."

Yugi's lips press into a thin line as his brows furrow in thought. After a few tense moments of thought the other speaks.

"I don't think he would come back." Yugi admits, a deep sadness shining in his eyes, "There's nothing for him to do here, Kaiba."

...

...

...

"Kaiba."

His eyes lock onto Yugi's.

"His... loss hit everyone hard. For me, it was the first time I've ever had someone close to me... move on?"

"Die." He fills in, causing Yugi to flinch slightly.

"I know you wanted to Duel him one last time, Kaiba, and I'm sorry you didn't get that chance, but-"

Seto stops listening to Yugi. This wasn't what he wanted to hear. Coping with loss, that annoying nonsense. Who was Yugi to talk of such things to him?

'There's nothing for him to do here.'

Nonsense, the Pharoah would be delighted to duel him again. It was their destiny to duel.

"Yugi." Seto interrupts the man, turning his eyes from just past Yugi's ear to look into his eyes once lore, "Are you done."

Yugi sighs, obviously discouraged and nods, "I'm done for now."

"Good."

A painfully uncomfortable silence passes between them. Seto checks his watch, noting that it was nearing noon now. Though the mood had certainly soured he always enjoyed time spent with Yugi. He misses the days their paths crossed so consistently. Even if those days were... turbulent to say the least.

"Kaiba..." Yugi begins, waiting to assure that he had full attention before speaking, "If you want to really talk about Atem, I'll listen, but I'm not going to encourage you to attempt some deluded project to raise the dead."

That ship had long since sailed. Though he didn't need Yugi's permission to do as he pleased the look of disappointment in the man's eyes did affect him in some way. Seto sighs and sips his now lukewarm coffee.

"I have to go." Yugi says, picking up his notebook, "It's almost my shift at the game shop."

Kaiba nods and stands as well, "Yugi, when I called to schedule this meeting what was it I wanted?"

"Call? You sent me an email saying you wanted to catch up." Yugi rubs his chin, "It was worded a bit weird now that I think about it..."

Email? He had checked his emails and he surely would have noticed one from Yugi. Why did he go to such trouble to assure he went to this meeting if it was just to catch up?

"Is everything okay, Kaiba?" Yugi asks, "I didn't want to say anything, but you look tired."

"Don't worry your pretty head about me." Seto says, allowing a smirk onto his face when Yugi turns bright pink, "I expect to hear from you about your game soon."

Yugi offers a bright smile that seems to ease all the tension in his body, "We should do this again sometime! It was fun!"

Seto doesn't respond to that, not wanting to give Yugi any false hope that this would happen again. The less the man knew about his current mental state the better. He does however nod before turning to leave.

Before he can get a few steps away from Yugi, a horrific sense of longing seems to reverberate from somewhere deep inside. A feeling so melancholic it makes his stomach lurch at the vicious onset of the emotion.

He presses forward in an attempt to ignore the foreign emotion, pulling his dying phone out and dialing Mokuba.

"Hello?"

"I'll be at the office today." Seto says quickly, "What's the projected release date of the Solid Vision System?"

"We're really behind schedule on it, so we've pushed it to March of next year."

"Move it up to September. Send the current version of bug reports to me ASAP." He orders, getting into his car and starting it. On the other line, he can hear Mokuba gasp in excitement.

"You're coming back on?"

"Obviously." He smiles to himself as he pulls out and starts driving to the office, "My cell is low so I can't talk-"

"Wait!" Mokuba interrupts, voice cracking, "Who did you meet?"

"Yugi, and don't ask me why I don't know either."

"I'll have to thank him." Mokuba says thoughtfully, causing Seto to snort.

"Why?"

"He brought my brother back."

"What is that supposed to..." He trails off when his phone vibrates once and dies. With a sigh, he places it in his pocket and replaces a hand on the wheel.

'He brought my brother back.'

Was he acting that... badly these past few months? There had been mounting tension between them ever since he started excavation in Egypt. There were times things had almost come to a head, but they always stopped just short of hurting each other's feelings. He grips the steering wheel and glares as he turns into the parking garage.

He needs to control himself. Letting the situation with his brother deteriorate as it had was unacceptable. From now on he was going to have to obfuscate things if Mokuba vehemently disagreed with him to preserve their relationship. It was all a matter of control. Parking in his reserved spot he exits the car and briskly makes his way toward his office.

Upon entering he notices that the calendar hasn't been marked for the days he had missed. He corrects that error and looks over his desk, straightening his pens and stationary that had been left askew. It was hard to believe that he would do such a thing at all.

Almost as if... he wasn't himself at all...

Seto shakes his head and sits at his desk. Someone, Isono presumably, had left his V3 Duel Disk prototype on his desk. He wastes no time putting the Duel Disk on and attaching the headpiece as he pulls up the attached bug report. It had been a few weeks since he had synced with the Disk which meant that it would take a few minutes for any new data to be transmitted and uploaded. During that time he reads over the bug reports from the QA team, starting with the highest severity.

It seems they had finally fixed the system crash that happened when a face-up monster card is placed in the magic field. The fact that it took three weeks was embarrassing. At least there were no other unresolved Blocker-type bugs. From there it seemed to be mostly S4 and S5 issues. Holograms and clipping textures are something that would have to be fixed by the art team. The only S3 high-priority bug that caught his attention was the anti-cheat functionality detecting certain real cards as fake and force closing the game. He could presumably fix this issue today by rewriting the anti-cheat code to test for false positives for less popular fake cards.

The light on his Duel Disk flashes and he activates the solid vision lens. Frowning at the text that appears.

"New Memory Files Scanned. Upload To Database? (24Hr Est.)"

That's not possible. The average Duelist memory upload only took around four hours, six for a professional. His had taken fifteen hours, which was by far the most so far. How had he suddenly gained enough memories to justify a twenty-four-hour process? Especially after he had lost almost forty-eight hours to some sort of pointed amnesia? This had to be some sort of bug.

...Though he was curious to know just what his Duel Link System had found.

"Process Data." He orders, recording an affirmation screen as the data begins the slow process of being transferred to the Kaiba Corp servers.

Now he just had to wait until tomorrow to see what came from this.

Chapter Text

Seto opens his eyes and lurches out of bed. Stumbling to the ensuite bathroom and collapsing on his knees before vomiting into the toilet. He gasps, running his fingers through his hair as he dry heaves. Unfortunately, he doesn't seem to have eaten much as three minutes of miserably gagging only leads to him spitting up half a mouthful of stomach bile.

He rises on shaking legs, using the counter as support while his stomach lurches, but blissfully decides not to attempt anything. After flushing, he grabs his toothbrush and gets to work scrubbing the bitter taste of vomit out of his mouth. Noting that he seemed to be wearing even more eye makeup than yesterday. Eye makeup that he doesn't recall putting on.

"Are you fucking kidding me." He hisses, spitting toothpaste into the sink and rushing back into his room to grab his phone which was exactly where he had left it before going to sleep.

Upon opening it he's bombarded with a maelstrom of texts, and even worse the news that it was Monday. The only upside to any of this was that he was up at five-thirty as opposed to six. He drops his phone on the bed and presses his palms against his heavy eyes, feeling the odd crush of his eyelashes coated in heavy mascara.

Breathe in... breath out.

Breathe in... breath out.

He doesn't feel better, but he's wasted enough time. Dropping his hands to his sides he blinks to clear the spots from his vision. Eyes catching the Puzzle sitting on his pillow, and not the nightstand where he had originally left it. Just the thought of spending all night sleeping next to the accursed artifact made his skin crawl. He shivers and turns away from the bed to get dressed for the day. He considers wiping off the flamboyant eye makeup while he brushes his hair but it almost seems pointless if it's just going to end up back on him. Setting the brush down he lifts his bangs to examine his forehead. There's no Eye of Anubis inked on his skin. It's unclear if that comforts or disturbs him as he lets his hair drop and leaves his room to partake in breakfast with his brother. That would cheer him up.

Mokuba is in the kitchen, sitting at the island and poking at a bowl of oatmeal. There's another bowl set up at the stool for himself and he gratefully sits down. Waking up so late was keeping him from making breakfast for his brother. Looks like he was going to have to start setting an alarm by the looks of it.

"Good morning." He offers, mixing the blueberries sat on top of the oats into the mix and taking a bite, "Thank you for breakfast."

Mokuba doesn't respond and he looks up to see a very sour expression on his brother's face. That wasn't very good.

"What's wrong?"

Mokuba clenches his fist and raises his dark eyes to level him with an intense glare.

"Let me guess. You don't remember yesterday?"

Seto can't recall the last time he had seen Mokuba so upset, especially at him.

"...I don't." He confirms begrudgingly.

"How convenient." Mokuba looks back down at his entirely untouched breakfast.

"Mokuba, tell me what I did. I'm in no mood for mind games." Seto demands, trying not to let his annoyance show, "Also can I have your oatmeal?"

Mokuba slides the bowl across the table and he wastes no time eating it.

"You did a complete server rollback on the Duel Links system. Basically destroying three months of work and corrupting so much data our neural net processors had to be completely reset from zero." Mokuba hisses, physically shaking from anger.

Seto blinks at him, oatmeal now churning in his stomach. The last thing he wanted to do was vomit in the sink in front of his brother, but the news he just received was very, very chilling.

"I... did that?" He asks, setting his spoon in his bowl, "Why?"

Mokuba throws his hands up and jumps off his seat, marching around the island and heading towards the elevator door.

"I don't know! I wanted you to tell me why you went to work on your one day off, destroyed all the hard work I put into your abandoned project, then disappeared for the rest of the day!" Mokuba yells as he put his shoes on and stabs the call button.

Seto doesn't respond, but he does turn so Mokuba can see his face. The least he could do was take his brother's scorn.

"You know I can't tell you why I did those things, Mokuba." He offers as his brother gets onto the elevator "Where are you going?"

"Sucks not to know, doesn't it?" Mokuba says, arms crossed as the doors close and the elevator descends.

Seto rises and takes the dishes to the sink. Rolling his sleeves up and rinsing out the bowls. He focuses on the task and doesn't think about what he had done.

He puts the dishes away and puts his shoes on.

He waits for the elevator to return and rides it down.

He gets into his car and drives to work.

He walks through the building, and no one says a word to him.

He enters his office and sits at his desk.

He starts typing code.

He starts fixing his mistake.

He doesn't think about what is wrong with him.

Eventually, his mind does wander to yesterday, or two days ago he supposes, to his time with Yugi. The man's game sounded interesting enough. Yugi would have certainly put his heart and soul into designing the game. The man always worked with a fever and passion that Seto respected like no one else. Since it had been an entire day he takes the time to type up another email for Yugi about his game, deciding to play it safe and ask to meet the day after tomorrow. Then he sends out another Email to a few tabletop game developers he knows. With his help presenting the game Yugi would have problem attaining funding. Once the emails are sent he can't help but yearn for the peace he had felt in Yugi's company and the brief moment where everything was going okay.

So why the hell did he roll back the entire server after a massive update? Was it because of that strange issue with the memory upload yesterday? If so that doesn't explain why he allegedly left after doing so and didn't return until late. He checks the development history on the V3 Duel Disk. The data stored here was third party so he can read through any changes that were made up until today. Notably was the server rollback he initiated around five yesterday. Just before that was the processing of the New Memory Data that had been collected from his Sync with the V3 Duel Disk. It seems whatever it was he had learned from the Memory Data had informed his decision to rollback the server, but what on earth could he have learned that-

His pens were out of place.

Seto frowns and reaches out to adjust the askew fountain pen. Pointing the writing tip towards himself, and the handle towards the door.

Had the reason he had been acting so erratically... possession? He could believe that he had an intense psychological meltdown over his failure to initially summon the Pharoah with the Millennium Puzzle and in response to that stressor his hippocampus ceased functioning for odd periods. It wasn't that outlandish of a theory. What he had done a few days ago was strange, clearing his schedule for Yugi and threatening to blow up his own company to force himself to go to that meeting wasn't entirely deranged. He had certainly rigged explosions for less critical endeavors.

But he would never, ever, allow his pens to lay askew on his desk two days in a row.

That dream... was it not, in fact, a dream? Was it more akin to a real experience?

Had he succeeded in summoning the Pharoah, only to be tormented by the spirit?

Perhaps, but it didn't make sense. He wasn't wearing the Puzzle now. As far as he knew the spirits that came from the Millennium Items- god he hated capitulating to these occult beliefs- were drawn to the items and seemed to dwell inside them. Yugi could only switch to the Pharoah when he had the Puzzle, and whatever the deal was with Malik was caused by the Rod.

Though maybe he was assuming too much. Perhaps the accursed party only needs to be near the Millennium Items, not necessarily wearing them. Which would explain his erratic behavior seemingly being confined to his office and home.

Seto rises and leaves his office, scanning his badge and heading towards the underground secure storage facility. He had always planned in sending the uncovered Millennium Items back to Isis once he had dealt with his business with the Pharoah. It was her family's duty to protect them, and he wasn't in the business of stealing artifacts of another culture. Once he got rid of the bulk of these items he should be less susceptible to the dark spirit's control over his body. The Puzzle was another issue, but if it did work to summon the Pharoah then he needed to force the man out from wherever he was hiding to Duel him.

He exits the elevator and approaches the door to the secured room. Submitting his fingerprint and retina scan before the door opens and he can step inside. This is the first time he's seen the other items, as Mokuba took the lead in storing them here.

This particular room was of the highest security. Only himself and Mokuba had access to it. Sat on a plain, steel table was a large case. All the items had been fitted into laser utility foam sheets for protection, and those sheets were neatly stacked on top of each other in a thick case that was similar to a suitcase. He inputs the code and opens the case, wanting to verify the contents before shipping the container to Egypt. Immediately he's met with the shining gold of the Scales. He removes the entire foam pad to reveal the Rod, Key, and Eye fitted into one foam pad perfectly. The sight of the shimmering golden eyes still makes his stomach churn. That disgusting thing had troubled his life enough. He lifts the foam pad out and sets it aside before glancing at the necklaces. Blood running cold and breath catching in his throat.

One was missing.

Quickly he packs the items back into the case and calls Isono from his communicator.

"One of the Millennium Items missing. I want all the footage from security camera eighty sent to me now. Put together a search team for the building and call Mokuba. Tell him it's an emergency."

"Yes sir!"

Seto all but runs back to his office, where an email containing the footage was waiting to be reviewed. He sits and watches the empty hall, waiting to see who had broken through his security.

- -

Seto paces around his office. To say he was strung out was an understatement. It had been four hours since he discovered the missing Millennium Item. During that time he had the building searched three times, and had the security footage inspected.

"Kaiba, Sir, are you sure you haven't-"

"I'm sure." He interrupts, scowling at Isono and his good intentions, "Is Mokuba on his way?"

"...I believe so, yes."

Seto nods, coming to a stop at his desk. Impulsively he presses play on the video clip. It was taken from the day after he had solved the puzzle. A day completely lost to memory.

It's him, wearing the Millennium Puzzle as he entered the secure storage room. Passing the retina and fingerprint scans. He remains in the room for three minutes before exiting and returning to his office. He had watched the footage time and time again, paying close attention to his shirt to see if there was a necklace underneath, but due to the camera quality, he can't say for sure if he was wearing the second Millennium Item. Seto does not like watching footage of himself that he can't recall, especially footage that implied he was the one who took the necklace. More likely it was the dark Spirit in possession of his body that took the necklace, but that was just semantics.

The elevator dings and Seto snaps to attention as Mokuba walks in with an annoyed expression on his face.

"You lost a Millennium Item?" Mokuba asks, stopping just before Seto's desk and crossing his arms, "Really."

"I don't understand." Seto admits, moving around the desk and crouching in front of Mokuba. He places his hands on his brother's shoulders and looks into his brother's steely grey eyes, "Mokuba, where did I put it?"

"Is this a joke, Seto?" Mokuba asks, shrugging his hands away, "Why can't you ever say sorry to me?"

"I'm sorry!" He blurts out quickly, hands hovering over Mokuba's shoulders, unsure of what to do with them now, "I'm sorry, but Mokuba this is important. Where is the Millennium item?"

"You're wearing it, Seto! You've been wearing it for days!" Mokuba yells, hand darting out towards his neck, "Why can't you-"

"Sir!"

Seto blinks stumbling back into his desk as Isono's strong arm presses against his chest. Why was Isono stepping between him and Mokuba?

"What- Isono what are you doing?"

"Kaiba, Sir, you should take a-"

"Mokuba? Where are you going?" He yells, pushing around Isono at Mokuba's receding form.

"Home." Mokuba interrupts them both, "I'm going home."

"Wait- wait what..." Seto trails off as Mokuba doesn't bother taking the elevator and instead takes the stairs to be out faster.

"Did I hurt him?" He asks, turning his gaze to Isono. The man's concerned face was a horrible sign.

Isono's brows tighten to a deep frown, "You... you grabbed his wrist. I don't think you hurt him but..."

"I understand." Seto says, stepping away from Isono and trying to keep himself together, "You can go home now."

"...Goodnight Sir." Isono says, giving him a firm nod that does make him feel better. He nods back to Isono, hoping the man understands how much he means to him.

Then Isono leaves his office, and Seto is all alone.

Slowly he runs his hand over his neck and chest. Feeling for a necklace or pendant.

There wasn't anything there.

He looks down at his shadow stretching out before him. For some reason, it looked different.

Wrong.

Almost without any emotion, he leaves the office. Body now moving on autopilot.

"But I do. I know exactly what your heart yearns for."

"Your defeat at my hands. That's what I want."

"Are you certain?"

What else could he have wished for? The Dark Spirit, who was presumably the Pharoah, wasn't going to give him peace until he figured it out.

Something that can be seen, but cannot be seen.

Maybe the Pharoah wasn't asking him a question, but mocking him by implying that the Pharoah's defeat at his hands was something that would never be realized.

No, that was too simple. His wish was something deeper than surface level. To figure out what he wished for would involve self-reflection, which was simply not necessary for him.

No, he cannot give up now. If he lets this continue then things with Mokuba could only get worse. Seto had let his brother down too many times now. He was going to find his wish. He had to.

A familiar bell sounds and he snaps into reality as the doors of the elevator open to his home. He steps inside and quickly removed his boots. From the couch, he can hear jaunty music playing from Mokuba's Gameboy. Seto swallows and approaches the sofa.

"Mokuba..." He begins, meeting his brother's eyes for a second before the boy looks back at the screen, "I think I'm possessed."

His brother is silent, eyes not leaving his game as he continues pressing buttons on his game. Eventually, he rolls over so his back is to Seto. His throat tightens as he realizes he's receiving the silent treatment from Mokuba. Seto wasn't going to be able to break his brother's vow of silence. Mokuba was steadfast in his choices, something that they had certainly learned from himself. If he didn't want to talk, he wasn't going to.

"Goodnight, Mokuba." He says, turning away from Mokuba and walking to his room.

The door clicks closed behind him. It's dim in his room, the only light coming from his floor-to-ceiling windows. Still, a stray moonbeam falls upon the golden Millennium Puzzle. Reminding him that this is the root of all his problems.

"What did I wish for?" Seto murmurs as he sits on the edge of the bed and picks up the puzzle, running a thumb over the Eye of Anubis at the center, "I can't fathom how this nightmare you're putting me through is going to help me figure it out."

Seto glances at his bedside clock. It was three minutes until midnight.

"You've done a lot of horrible things to me, Pharoah." He says, narrowing his eyes at the eye, "You've shattered my mind, put me in two separate comas, and almost let me jump off a building because you had to win. My life means nothing to you, but this is a new low."

He grips the pyramid until his knuckles turn white, "Now I wouldn't dream of wishing for anything but your defeat at my hands, Pharoah."

He loosens his grip on the puzzle and stands from the bed, walking into the bathroom. It seems Kaiba hadn't bothered to wash off the makeup he had applied yesterday. Not one to go around without fresh makeup he quickly wipes away the mascara and eyeliner with a hand towel before carefully applying thick black lines to his upper and lower lash line. Kaiba's eyes were different than his and Yugi's and therefore required a different shape of makeup. Once he's finished he changes into a fresh pair of clothes. Kaiba certainly was a fan of layers. There wasn't a sleeveless shirt to be found in his closet, but at least Kaiba had plenty of turtlenecks. They worked well to hide the Millennium Necklace from Kaiba and the others.

Unfortunately, Mokuba had spotted it at some point. If he had succeeded in pointing it out to Kaiba, then his illusion would have been broken.

Reaching down he retrieves the Millennium Puzzle, looping the chain over his head and letting the familiar weight fall against his chest.

Kaiba was certainly feeling the strain of his possession. All he needed to do was steer than turmoil towards a source of warmth. Kaiba had already done his part to reach out to Yugi, now he needed to up the ante. This was a war of attrition. He knew well enough that Kaiba's mental fortitude was unmatched, but no one can continue fighting when their very body gives out under him.

Tomorrow would be the day Kaiba breaks, and when that happens there will be one person there to help him up.

With a smile, he leaves his room.

Mokuba was still on the couch playing his game. He can feel the boy watch him as he passes and puts his shoes on at the elevator. He presses the call button and steps inside, holding a hand out to block the door from shutting

"Mokuba." He says, unfortunately, used to the much deeper voice he had been speaking in the past few days, "Your brother is right."

Mokuba looks up from his game, eyes narrowing at the puzzle resting against his chest.

"He isn't in control anymore. I am."

He smiles as Mokuba's eyes widen and he releases the door, letting them begin to slide closed.

"Wait- who are-"

The door closes on Mokuba's plea, and Atem laughs.

He scared the boy, didn't he?

Chapter Text

The puzzle wasn't in his hands anymore.

He could feel its weight on his chest and he blinks, looking down at the heavy golden item.

Then he looks at his alarm clock.

Twelve. On the dot.

Except he was not sitting on the edge of his bed anymore. He stood next to it as if on the way to sit but had run out of time.

He removes the puzzle. Unwilling fingers grasp at the chain as he pulls it over his head. Immediately the cool metal slips from his fingertips and a loud clunk echos through his room when five pounds of gold hits the hardwood floor.

Fortunately, or perhaps, unfortunately, the puzzle does not shatter into thirty-three pieces.

Seto gets into bed. He's in his day clothes, ones he was not wearing only moments ago. Though that didn't matter.

He was so tired. Just a minute ago he felt fine; well not fine but he wasn't... this tired.

Seto closes his eyes.

A screech pierces his ears, and he sits up. Heavy eyes turning to his alarm clock flashing four-thirty. It takes a minute for him to reach over and turn it off.

He should go back to sleep.

No, that's not an option. If he sleeps through his day nothing would be closer to being solved. He needed to stay awake.

Blinking slowly, he stands. There was no soreness in his bones, just weight. Like something was dragging him down as he shuffles into the bathroom dropping articles of clothing onto the floor until he finds himself in the shower. Fiddling with the knobs until water that's lukewarm at best rains down on him.

"I wish you would get out of me." Seto murmurs to the water pooling on the tiles before slipping down the drain, "I wish you had never... had never..."

He stops himself before finishing that sentence. Atem was listening, and he wasn't going to admit defeat.

He turns the water off and steps out of the shower. Moving past the towels and into his room to pull on the first articles of clothes he touches.

Breakfast with Mokuba will help. It always helps. Even if Mokuba doesn't talk he can still make him breakfast and-

"Morning, Seto." Mokuba says, perched at the island and eating cereal. Relief floods him when Mokuba speaks to him. Maybe the other him had made it up to Mokuba yesterday. No matter what he was just happy to have his brother smile at him.

"You're up early." Seto says, voice a miserable rasp as he makes his way to the kitchen and sets about making coffee.

"It's five-thirty."

Oh. How long was he in the shower? Way too long. He blinks blearily as he pours water into the coffee maker and turns it on.

"...Isis called."

"Hmm?" He grunts in response, staring at the coffee pot slowly fill with black liquid.

"She wanted to thank you for retrieving the Items and mailing them to her."

"I did that?" Seto muses, "Did she ask about the missing one?"

"...No she didn't. She just wanted to pass along a thank you."

Fucking Atem. That little bastard. Always one step ahead of him. Oh well, it's not like he had a plan for any of the other Items anyway. Eventually, he would find the necklace and drop it onto the ocean. Maybe with the puzzle too. Dooming Atem to wander the earth as a ghost in a golden artifact. Again. Just the thought brings him glee as he pours coffee into a mug and sits across from Mokuba. Wet hair dripping steadily onto the white counters.

Seto sips his coffee, and he feels better. It's calming to sit with his brother, and he tries not to close his eyes or he will fall asleep. Once the caffeine hits he will be okay.

"...You have a date with Yugi today at three in the afternoon. He confirmed it yesterday."

"Finally, some good news." Seto sighs and downs the rest of his coffee before getting up. Can't sit too long or else sleep would get him, "I'm going into the office today. I'll get the V3 system back on track by tonight."

"Seto... you uh, hmm." Mokuba hesitates, which isn't a good sign.

"What?"

"...It's the car..."

"What about the car?"

Mokuba swirls a strand of hair between his fingers, "You should probably see it for yourself."

Seto blinks at Mokuba and then puts his shoes on. The elevator takes a few minutes to arrive from the garage, and when it does Mokuba quickly joins him for the trip down. Face an inscrutable mask. Seto feels the icey claws of anxiety run down his spine. There was no way in hell this was going to-

The elevator opens, and he gasps.

"What the hell happened?" He asks, now wide awake and distressed as he approaches his 1994 Toyota Supra.

The front bumper was hanging off the main body of the car, the driver's side light was busted and the bumper was also hanging on for dear life. It looked like someone had driven his car through the city and hit every curb and fire hydrant in their path.

"I was wondering the same thing." Mokuba replies, holding the door of the elevator open, "You didn't seem all that bothered by it yesterday."

"Pharoah." He hisses through gritted teeth, stamping away from his car and into the elevator, "I'm working from home today. I'd rather be dead than seen driving that."

Mokuba laughs and steps out, "I have something planned today, so I gotta go. Don't forget your date!"

"I won't." He says, pressing the button to go back to his apartment. God damn that ancient moron. What was he thinking trying to drive his car? Seto was going to destroy him once he solved his stupid riddle and got him into a duel.

The coffee and anger were doing wonders to energize him. Better get to work before the ambient rage wears off into the inevitable crash. He should also start another pot of coffee.

A few minutes later he's pacing around the living room typing furiously on his laptop with one hand. He had called a trusted body shop and set up an appointment for his vehicle, in a week he would have it back and in mint condition. If the Pharoah was still overstaying his welcome he would ask Mokuba to hide the keys from him. Now that the problem with his car was solved and anger faded a familiar weariness settled in its place. Seto can't sit down to work, he would fall asleep before he could even type a full line of code. This wasn't ideal, but it would keep him awake long enough to make progress on the Duel Links V3 system as he promised.

Atem wasn't going to win whatever horrid game he was playing with his life. Seto would rise to the top as he always had. Though he wasn't exactly sure what type of game the Pharoah was playing. By now he had lost five days to the Pharoah, and in those five days, the menace hadn't done all that much besides wearing him out physically.

Well, the rigging of explosives to ensure a meeting with Yugi, driving a wedge between him and his brother by deleting months of labor, and destroying his car were substantial blows to his life points, to use Duel Monster's as an analogy, but there were much easier less convoluted ways to ruin him. Personally, he found the impersonation of him the biggest insult. Just the thought of that little wretched beast parading around in his skin made him sick. How Yugi hadn't completely lost his mind under the sane effects was a miracle. These little games had a purpose though; Atem and Yugi rarely acted without purpose.

Presumably, this torture was going to somehow point him towards the answer to the Pharoah's riddle.

What can be seen, but cannot be seen.

Seto still cannot fathom what he could want besides what he had always wanted. What had been his goal in excavating the ruins.

One. More. Duel.

Then he could move on from there. That was it, so why wasn't Atem accepting his adequate answer?

It was so frustrating having to deal with that guy. Yugi would never do this to him.

Yugi...

Hadn't Mokuba been calling their scheduled meeting a date? Certainly a Freudian Slip.

Odd, since his brother seemed to have gotten over his crush on the other man a few years ago.

No, that was looking into it too much.

Or was it?

His hands still on the keyboard and he stops pacing in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows to look out upon Domino. The city he now saw as home. From here he couldn't see the Muto game shop, but he knew the general location. His eyes were drawn to it often enough.

Yugi was probably working. The King of Games toiling away at retail while on hiatus from dueling.

Seto wonders, as he often does, what it would be like to duel Yugi.

The real Yugi, and not his ghostly parasite.

Well, their ghostly parasite.

This thought often crossed his mind, especially after seeing the real Yugi duel during the ceremony and in tournaments, though he had never allowed himself to think too deeply about it. Now, however, while suffering from sleep deprivation and general exhaustion, he can't seem to keep his mind from exploring the concept. He knew the Pharoah's deck inside and out, he had dueled endlessly with an AI-generated Atem more times than any regular person would.

Yugi, however, was different. He studied the way he dueled with the same fascination he had for Atem of course, but he was lacking in hands-on experience. There simply wasn't enough data for him to build an AI he was satisfied with until he Dueled Yugi personally. Felt the heat of battle and put Yugi under pressure. They both knew that the only person who stood a chance at beating Yugi was himself.

A Duel was something he had deftly avoided since the departure of the Pharoah. Five years of dancing around the dessert table.

This was something he did intentionally, but not... hmm what was the way to describe this? He did it intentionally, but why he did it he couldn't quite seem to figure out. When asked by business-minded folk he had always said something along the lines of wanting to wait a few years to make the occasion all the more thrilling. This wasn't a complete lie, but he knew as well as any that a duel between him and Yugi always drew a crowd, whether it had been mere days or months in between their last duel. Waiting years for a rematch wasn't going to affect turnout.

Maybe he could attribute his apprehension to the fact that Yugi no longer possessed the God Cards and the lack of fearsome foes to overcome made him lose interest.

No, that's not true. Industrial Illusions never let the game get too stagnant, they were always releasing bigger and better cards and rules that shook the meta up enough that Egyptian God Cards, while fearsome, were not the threat they once were five years ago.

He still watched Yugi duel obsessively. Though it wasn't the same as a hands-on experience, he knew that Yugi had plenty of tricks up his sleeve. His playstyle was uniquely captivating to Seto.

Atem dueled with power. He wielded his cards in much the same way a tornado wields the wind. His Dark Magician is more than cards, they are his dear friends. Without them he is nothing, and without him they are nothing. Atem is aggressive, hot-headed, stubborn, and prideful. He is easily goaded into attacking, he steps into traps and spells as if magnetized to them. While he is clever in his own right, always thinks on his feet. Seto knows that he isn't capable of recovering from his blunders without Yugi. He is creative, but more often than not his tricks are well-trodden paths. Mystic Boxes and Magical Hats. Illusions, smoke, and mirrors stall for time until he's blessed with a trump card. It is Yugi that holds him steady. It always had been.

If Atem is the sword, Yugi is the shield.

Or more accurately, Atem is a pistol pointed at your face, and Yugi is a switchblade you never saw coming.

Yugi plays like he's digging himself a grave only to climb out and push you in. If Atem is five moves ahead of you, Yugi is fifteen moves ahead. He duels like a fog rolling onto a coast. Like waves against a shore. Like a vulture circling its kill. Yugi is slow. Yugi is deliberate. Yugi's victory seems almost inevitable. He's a force of nature that you can try to push against it, but you cannot stop it. He will turn your strongest cards against you in ways that no one could have ever dreamed of. Yugi will purposefully drag the game out to make sure you have fun before he graciously defeats you. Yugi can pretend he's trapped in a corner only to reveal that all this time he held your defeat in his hands and had let you wear yourself out circling him.

It's insidious really, but so, so captivating.

Seto's eyes refocus, and he jumps at the sight of himself in the glass. Mind flung back to the events of a few days ago. Cautiously he looks at his hand, relieved to find it solid if shaking a bit. Good.

From his pocket, his phone buzzes twice in quick succession meaning that it was Mokuba. He pulls his phone out and opens the message.

M: Brother,

Don't forget your date with Yugi is in thirty minutes. If you do not respond to this text within five minutes I will be calling you to assure your punctuality.

Love, Kaiba Mokuba

He quickly responds, letting Mokuba know that he received his text. No time to waste now. He sets his laptop on the couch and takes his shoes with him to put on in the elevator. Walking to the Cafe wasn't going to be a problem. It was for the best as it would keep him awake long enough to talk with Yugi. He was looking forward to hearing about the man's game more in-depth, especially since the meeting with those investors was soon. He would need to put together a PowerPoint for Yugi later tonight, once he had more information. While thinking about PowerPoint presentation designs he manages to walk to the coffee shop without any issue and in almost no time at all. He yawns and blinks at the coffee shop window. Should he sit and wait for Yugi? No, that would mean risking falling asleep in public.

"Kaiba?" A soft voice sounds to his left and he looks over to see Yugi approaching. The man's eyes widen and a familiar concerned look falls across his face, "Oh, you look..."

Seto tilts his head and raises his eyebrow. Yugi makes a pained face and forces a smile.

"You look tired."

"A hello would be nice." He replies, causing Yugi to wince at the sound of his strained voice.

"Right. Hello!" Yugi corrects himself, then steps closer standing on his tiptoes to be closer to eye level, "Kaiba, have you been crying?"

He frowns and his hand twitches slightly as if wanting to touch his face and check, "No. Where did that accusation come from?"

"Your makeup is running."

"Makeup?" He asks, frowning a few moments before remembering the Pharoah's penchant for eyeliner, "I took a shower earlier, must not have washed it off completely."

Yugi doesn't look any less concerned as he drops back to the heels of his feet. Seto can see his brows knit slightly in thought. What could he be plotting in the first minute of their meeting?

"Do you want to go to my place?"

Seto almost immediately says no outright, but Yugi intersects as the word forms on his lips.

"I have a physical prototype of my game back at my place. Games are easier to understand when you learn as you go, don't you think?"

"Fine." Seto agrees, "You lead the way."

Yugi smiles brightly and starts down the street. Seto falls into step beside him. Walking a bit slower to keep pace with Yugi and his much shorter legs.

"Did you see the new booster packs that are coming out at the end of this month?" Yugi asks. An impressive attempt at small talk. Seto decides to indulge him.

"I did. Industrial Illusions only releases one all foil booster pack a year, and this one has five cards per pack instead of three." Seto muses, not that this sort of thing mattered to him. If he wanted a foil version of a card he could get it from a seller no matter the cost.

"I know! The cards that are featured are basically deck stables like Reborn the Monster and Mirror Force," Yugi continues, a bright smile already cheering Seto up, "I'm hoping to pull a foil Pot of Greed from one of them."

"Your Pot of Greed is common?" Seto asks with a snort, "That's a little embarrassing isn't it?"

"It is. I used to have a star foil rare but I lost it in a bet." Yugi sighs in misery, "Now it belongs to Tristen..."

"That guy?" A small smile quirks onto his lips, "I didn't know he Dueled."

"He doesn't. Well, he has a deck, but his interest in Duel Monster's is casual at best." Yugi then looks up at him with raised eyebrows, "You actually remember Tristen?"

"I can make an educated guess." Seto replies, sluggish brain trying to recall if this Tristen fellow was the man with Black hair or Brown hair. Or was he the one with long white hair? No, no that was... Bakura or something, "Do you want my Pot of Greed? It's an Ultimate Rare, much better than your old Starfoil and a significant upgrade from a common."

"Whoa, really?" Yugi asks, bright eyes practically sparkling in excitement. Unfortunately, a hesitant expression befalls the young man, "No... I couldn't just take your card without anything in return."

"Unlike you, I own doubles of all my cards in their proper rarities." Seto says, charmed that he has to convince Yugi to accept his offer, "But if you insist on making a trade, I'll accept your time as proper payment."

"My time...?" Yugi questions, tilting his head in thought before a rose flush appears on his cheeks, "Oh! Oh that's uh, well if that's all you want..."

"It's more than enough from you, Yugi." He says with a small smile as he pulls his deck case from the inner pocket of his coat. Usually, he didn't carry his deck with him without a briefcase and V2 Duel Disk, but he always wanted to be prepared when seeing Yugi.

It takes a moment to find the card amidst the others. With a flourish, he hasn't used since his teenage days he pulls the card from the collection and holds it out to Yugi. The man hesitates for a moment still but inevitably takes the card. Seto slips his deck back into its inner pocket. Watching from the corner of his eye as Yugi examines his new card with an expression of glee that warms his cold heart. He looks ahead and realizes that they weren't where they should be.

"Yugi, we passed your house."

"Hmm?" Yugi looks around as if surprised, "I don't live at the Kame Games anymore! I wanted to live on my own for a bit so I moved into a studio a few blocks away. It's right ahead."

"I'd hope that mutt isn't around."

"Just me." Yugi assures as he leads him towards a standard-looking apartment building, "It's a bit messy."

"I'll manage."

Yugi leads him up a few flights of steps before pulling out a pair of keys and unlocking his door. He pulls his boots off but keeps his coat on, unlike Yugi who removes his leather jacket and hangs it on a nearby hook.

The place was cozy, and as promised, messy. There was a couch covered in clothes, a coffee table that was covered with painting supplies, miniatures, and a game board. Must be the prototype. Against the walls were bookshelves filled to the brim with games and card binders. He drifts over to examine the bookshelf closer as Yugi surreptitiously attempts to collect the random items of clothing and jewelry lying around the living room.

"What is this?" He asks, tapping a finger on the oddly shaped glass tank that sat atop the shelf. It looked like an enclosure for some sort of beetle, but he couldn't be sure as there wasn't anything in sight.

"It's my tailless whip scorpion."

"....Right." Seto says, entirely unsure what that bug looked like. He decides he doesn't want to find out and turns away from the enclosure to see that Yugi had tidied the place very quickly.

"Do you wanna sit down and I can explain how to start?"

He nods, walking briskly to the couch and taking a seat. Instantly days of stress, uncertainty, and the Pharoah's sleepless nights crash down on him like a wave. He blinks, struggling to keep his eyes open as Yugi starts to point out pieces on his game board. It's so hard to listen to Yugi when the words phase incessantly in and out of understanding. It sounds like Yugi is speaking a different language, and getting further away. His eyes flutter as he struggles to stay in the world on the waking but unfortunately it's a losing battle.

Seto doesn't dream often, and this was no exception.

Slowly he blinks his eyes open, noting that the room he was in was light by a dim yet warm yellow light emanating from somewhere to his right. His eyes close again and he can't seem to force them open.

He's not in his bed, that obvious. Judging from the way he's positioned, namely his legs hanging off the edge, he was on a couch. Yugi's couch? Yes, that's right he was at Yugi's place. With effort he opens his eyes again, only managing to crack his eyes open slightly. He turns his head and catches sight of the light source, and more importantly his host.

Yugi was sitting on the floor in front of him. A tabletop lamp was pointed away from him and illuminated the table. Yugi was hunched over something on the table. Seto can only see the back of his head, but he can guess what he's doing by the paint pallet on the table. Seto watches Yugi work for a while as he tries to force himself to wake up from the haze of drowsiness. He wished he could easily close his eyes and fall back asleep, but judging by the light levels in the room he was running short on time. One day wasn't nearly enough to do everything.

"Yugi..." Seto starts, voice a low rasp that makes the other man jump slightly before turning to look at him. He forgets what he was going to say at the sight.

"Kaiba!" Yugi whispers with a smile, "You fell asleep."

"I noticed."

Yugi sets his paintbrush into a cup of water and puts the miniature he was painting aside to turn and face him, "Sorry I couldn't move you to a more comfortable location."

"It's fine." He blinks again, fighting off the urge to drift back into sleep, "If you had somehow gotten me to your bed, then I would be upset."

Yugi laughs, and Seto can't hold back a smile. It was hard to be so guarded on the edge of slumber.

"Are you okay, Kaiba?" Yugi asks then, face changing from joy to concern, "I've never seen you so... out of it."

Out of it was a very polite way to say that he looked like shit. Seto figures he should bring up his issues with Yugi now before his common sense returns.

"I feel like I'm being haunted." Seto says, half lying as he is very much certain he is being haunted.

"By... him?" Yugi asks. Him in question is a reference for Atem. Seto doesn't nod, but he doesn't break half-lidded eye contact with Yugi. This suffices as an answer as Yugi's shoulders do slump slightly.

"I understand, Kaiba." Yugi says, even though he doesn't understand a thing, "I miss him every day."

No, he didn't miss the Pharoah. He was sick of the little bastard. But Yugi had such a sad expression that it tugs at his heartstrings enough to hear him out.

"It's different for you, isn't it? You two were closer than anyone can be." He offers, hoping to encourage Yugi to talk about his possession at the hands of the Pharoah.

"...It is." Yugi looks down at his hands, running a thumb over faint scars on his palms, "No one's ever... said that about us. That we were close. It's nice to hear."

"Really?" Seto is genuinely surprised at that admission from Yugi, "Your friends surely understood the depths of your partnership with him."

Yugi shrugs, "I'm sure they understand on some level, but I-I guess their grief kept them from expressing it."

Seto stares at Yugi, noting the distant and sad look in his eyes. Was it too outlandish to assume that Yugi had spent the last few years comforting his friends instead of being comforted? That is unsurprising, considering the company he keeps. Seto won't let that stand now that he could help it.

"Would you tell me about it?"

"Huh?" Yugi frowns in confusion at him.

"Your grief, Yugi. Tell me what you've felt since losing him. I will listen."

"No, I can't put that burden on you."

"Stop dawdling and speak." He demands, mustering up his best sleepy glare.

Yugi tilts his head and then nods. Seto waits patiently as Yugi's brow furrows in thought and he chews his lip. After a long silence, Yugi begins. His Voice was soft and his speech halting as if he were afraid to say his words louder.

"When he left I... I felt like I was losing a piece of myself. It's kind of ridiculous to think it, but when me and him first met it was impossible to tell each other apart. He was a spirit with no memories so he assumed that he was me, and when you have a... a presence inside of you it's not like the first thing you assume is that there's someone else's spirit in you! You just... assume puberty is hitting late or something."

Yugi laughs, then sighs sadly. A hand resting on his chest where the puzzle once sat. The puzzle was laying on his bedroom floor.

"I don't know how to describe what it's like to genuinely be the same person. Even when we figured out what was going on, sort of, we still allowed each other to think that we were just... reflections of each other and not separate beings. He... he told me that he didn't want his memories, and was happy to stay with me forever." Yugi stops, eyes shining bright with unshed tears, "To this day I still think of him as my other self, not Atem."

He swallows, and almost without his will he reaches out and rests his hand over Yugi's. The man doesn't move, and he doesn't either.

"I... I guess he changed his mind at some point. Or... or decided that he was some sort of burden on me." Yugi says, voice cracking mid-sentence. The man clears his throat before continuing, "I was... I wasn't mad of course. I was just sad to hear he wanted to go. The ceremonial duel was- was so sudden too. We just found out his name and he didn't even have a chance to tell me who he was before he left! I've never had that before. I've never had a friend who I know I won't ever see again."

Tears are streaming down Yugi's face and he pulls his hands away from Seto's to wipe his cheeks.

"I felt like we had just started to get to know each other before he was gone." Yugi takes a deep breath and collects himself so quickly Seto is impressed, "Can you believe that? Our souls were entwined as one, and in the end, I feel like he left as a stranger."

Seto feels hollow listening to Yugi's words.

"Kaiba, I know you've been through so much more than me." Yugi adds, "So I... I assume that you might understand what I'm talking about."

"How it feels to lose someone suddenly?" Seto asks, surprised at the steadiness of his voice.

Yugi nods, looking at him expectantly.

Seto retracts his hand that had been laying limply over the edge of the couch and rests it on his chest. Yugi wanted some sort of heart-to-heart. He probably did owe Yugi that much for demanding the man to bear his soul. The problem was he had nothing much to say on the subject at all. The silence stretches on and Yugi seems to realize that he wasn't going to be saying anything.

"I... every so often I just wish I could see him one more time, y'know? I know everyone wishes that with loved ones but..." Yugi trails off once more.

These words are affecting him in a way that he can't quite fathom. On one hand, it is moved by the way Yugi described his loss, on the other he feels a pain that's so deep that he can hardly breathe. It's not just empathy either, it's guilt and sorrow. Emotions that are surely not his.

Before he can sit up and make an exit a phantom force tightens around his throat. Like someone is wrapping a garrote around his neck.

"What would you say to him if he were here?" Seto's voice says. In a panic, he tries to flex his fingers and realizes he can't. Was the Pharoah doing this?

Yugi blinks at him then forces a smile, "I guess I'd tell him that I missed him, and then we would probably talk about Duel Monster's until it's time for him to go again."

Seto watches Yugi's lower lip tremble and the man bites it. Obviously holding back much more emotion than he was already letting on. How dare the Pharoah make him do this to Yugi against his consent. He forces his body to move and manages to sit up. From there he stands quickly, the action causing Yugi to jump to his feet too.

"Kaiba?"

"I don't know what came over me." Seto says quickly, marching to the door and pulling his boots on hastily, "I've obviously overstayed welcome."

"It's okay, Kaiba!" Yugi says, muffled footsteps approaching, "You can stay until morning, it's late and I don't mind your company!"

"Late?" Seto asks, ignoring the way his heart races at Yugi's admission to enjoying his company.

"You were asleep for a while. I think it's almost two thirty."

"What day is it?"

"It's Thursday?"

Thursday... interesting. Seto opens the door to Yugi's apartment, risking a glance back at the man. He regrets this action, as Yugi looks particularly lost kitten-like in his paint-stained shirt and shorts. It makes him want to close the door sit on the couch and...

No. He needs to leave.

"I'll be seeing you." He spits out as he quickly exits into the hallway. Seto only makes it two steps down the hall before the door opens again and Yugi spills out.

"Kaiba, wait!'

He stops and turns to face Yugi. The man smiles at him, and his heart skips a beat.

"Thank you for listening to me. No one has ever pushed me to talk about the other me's absence like that." Yugi's hands are wringing together nervously, "Despite all the tears I do feel a lot better."

"It was no burden." Seto replies, "Your friends should have done it long ago."

"My friends wouldn't have been able to get that out of me and you know it!" Yugi says with a laugh.

"Am I not your friend?" He finds himself asking. He had meant to say it as a snide joke but it had come out as a disappointed statement.

"Of course you are Kaiba!" Yugi says quickly, "You're just... in a league of your own."

"Good." He smirks, making sure to sound much more confident this time, "Goodnight. Again."

"Goodnight!"

He turns and moves quickly down the hallway. Sound of a door shutting softly reaching his ears and telling him that Yugi had returned to his home.

It was unfortunate he was unable to learn more about Yugi's game. He had expected a hint more self-control from himself, but there's only so long one can deny the body its needs. At least what he had learned about Yugi was undeniably fascinating.

Seto had been interested in Yugi for a very long time, all the way back to middle school when he was transferred to Domino schools, but like most of his pre-pubescent interests, he never explored his interest to the fullest. Gozaburo had an eagle eye that was always trained on him. Anything Seto seemed to show much interest in was quickly snatched away. Though the man was now dead for what was approaching six years old habits tended to stick around.

Bitter memories aside, this look into Yugi's personal world was interesting. No one had ever freely shared something so profoundly personal with him before. Yugi, and unfortunately the Pharoah, had never been ones to shy away from displays of emotion and honesty. Some of the things the Pharoah had said about friendship back in his teenage years still caused him to roll his eyes. Yugi on the other hand... his words caused a profound ache inside him that was certainly not the Pharoah's phantom pain.

Seto was always watching people, and Yugi was no exception. He knew that Yugi didn't share his pain, he hid it deep down. Only giving sugar-coated responses when pressed. That was simply how Yugi worked. He would rather suffer than let others hurt for even a moment.

Though no one would believe him if he said it aloud, Seto was the same way. Unlike Yugi he had limits of course, but when it came to the very few people he cared about... Seto would take on anything to keep them free of harm.

Yet Yugi did share his pain, or more accurately he pried that pain from Yugi by force. That should give Yugi every right to have been angry or upset with him, yet Yugi was not. Yugi had been reduced to tears and
The man had gone out of his way to thank Seto for his meddling.

He had thought there to be little reason to talk of his life and the many horrible twists it had taken. Seto had come to terms with many of those grievances after his crushing defeat at the hands of Atem and Exodia all those years ago. There were a few marked occasions where he and Mokuba had touched upon the subject of Gozaburo, and even their lives before that. Those conversations were largely uncomfortable affairs, and both he and Mokuba were in unspoken agreement to not talk about their lives before the death of Gozaburo. He had heard from a many sources that talking about pain and trauma can help it. Seto didn't not believe this, as it was backed by scientific research, but he had never seen a case in point as aptly as Yugi Muto crying his eyes out over the Pharoah.

Speaking of, Seto was in control. On a Thursday. He hadn't skipped forward one day like before.

The only thing that was different about tonight as opposed to any other was that he passed midnight with Yugi.

Seto recalls that intense flash of guilt that was most certainly not his when speaking with Yugi. The words that were forced from his mouth, ones that were not his own but mediocre attempts at hiding behind his face.

Now of course what he knew of Yugi and the Pharoah relationship could be summed up in what he had just learned tonight, but if he had to make a hypothesis on why he was still able to roam the streets on a Thursday it was because the Pharoah was apprehensive about revealing himself to Yugi. The guilty conscious he was forced to experience was just the nail in the coffin.

"Pharoah." He murmurs, not wanting to draw too much attention to himself even if the streets were empty, "Can you hear me?"

Heat runs up and down his spine, and he feels what could be described as hands around his neck poised to choke him. That was possibly the closest was going to get to a verbal response.

"You're a monster, you know that, Right?" Seto says, immediately feeling his skin crawl as the hot-headed alter ego of Yugi rears its head.

"You lived in his body for years like a little parasite and didn't even tell him why you decided to die on him?" Seto whispers to his own shadow, enjoying the way he can physically feel the bastard haunting his body get upset, "If I didn't know any better I'd say you even enjoyed watching him cry."

"Kaiba." A voice, his voice, hisses inside his mind, "Enough."

He smirks and backs off. The anger bubbling under his skin isn't his own, and as much as he would like to prod the Pharoah further this wasn't the time to do that. Not when the Scales of their arrangement so precariously balanced. Seto knew better than to pick fights he can't win. He just hopes the smugness he's feeling is crawling over the Pharoah's skin as well.

Chapter Text

"I just heard from the QA team and they're confident that the V3 OS is on track for the earlier release date!" Mokuba says brightly as he sets a stack of papers onto Seto's desk, "Do you really think we can get it out in two weeks?"

Seto pulls the papers towards himself and runs his eyes over the charts and graphs. He's tempted to tell Mokuba that he could have the V3 system out by next week if not for the fact that he had to account for the ghost of an ancient 3,000 year old Pharoah borrowing his body every other day.

Again, that's more of a personal problem.

"I'm certain." Seto says instead of venting, "Do you have an updated bug report?"

"Stuart will be sending it to you in an hour. Though all we have are of low severity and priority, sure you wanna deal with it?"

"Absolutely. I refuse to let my products release in need of a day one patch." Seto says, pulling up his email to read over the bug reports, "I'll get these finished by tomorrow."

"Will you be here tomorrow?"

"Of course I will."

"No, Seto. Will you be here tomorrow?"

Seto leans back in his seat and wears a confident smile that will surely put Mokuba at ease, "I will."

Mokuba tilts his head, eyes narrowing ever slightly before he smiles as well, "Okay, I trust you bro! I'm heading home now."

"Of course, see you tomorrow, Mokuba. Stay safe."

"Will do!"

As soon as Mokuba leaves his office, Seto stands. Walking over to the window and looking out onto the city. It was late, around ten or even ten-thirty. Under the layers of skin, past the sinew, muscle, blood, and bone he could feel the ancient spirit waiting to take over. A figurative and literal noose strung around his neck waiting to tighten.

Seto had been in control for two days.

Atem did not take control of his body even after he left Yugi's. Seto had gone home, slept a few more hours, then participated in a normal day of development at Kaibacorp. Then he went home, went to sleep, and woke up the next day.

Atem was a lot of things, but most importantly he was a man of his word. Every other day was the deal, and he had given up his day.

Seto smirks, hoping that the parasite living in his body could feel the sense of elation that he had felt earlier today when he realized he had the upper hand in their relationship. That he knew what Atem was afraid of. Since that night with Yugi, Seto had been made... more aware of Atem's presence in his body than ever before. Small flashes of emotion that were not his, and the heavy feeling around his throat. He reaches up and runs a finger over the Millennium Necklace that hung around his neck under his turtleneck. A choker pressed tight against his Adam's apple.

Last night he had seen it for the first time when he had changed clothes. The gold shone under the light, and when he tried to pull it off... the Pharoah made sure he wasn't able to. Not fully possessing his body, just a piece was enough. Atem had slammed his hand, his favorite one at that, against the counter hard enough to bruise it.

"Try that again and I'm putting your hand through the mirror."

Atem may have control of his body, but he wasn't going to win that easily. Even now he could feel the dark Spirit shifting restlessly over his shoulders and throat. Atem knew he had something planned, but couldn't figure out what. He turns away and walks to his desk, picking up the landline and dialing a number he had looked up earlier.

"Hello! Thank you for calling Kame Games! We are currently closed right now, but if you have any questions about inventory or-"

"Yugi, it's me." Seto interrupts, straightening the pens on his desk.

"Oh, hi Kaiba!" Yugi says, voice shifting from professionally chipper to cheerful, "Why are you calling so late? Do you need a card?"

"No." Seto says, licking his lips and preparing to throw away a bit of his pride, "Listen, Yugi are you available?"

"...What do you mean by that?" Yugi asks after a suspiciously long pause.

"Can you see me within the hour?"

"Th-The hour?" Yugi asks, "Kaiba it's pretty late can this wait until-"

"Yugi." Seto interrupts, allowing a shake to come into his voice. If he sounded desperate, Yugi will crumble in an instant, "I really need you right now."

He can hear Yugi's breath catch on the other line and he smirks because he knows he's won this one. After all, Yugi felt bad for him.

"We can meet at my place. Do you like curry? I just finished dinner my mom made curry and it's really good, I can bring you some!" Yugi says quickly, sounding breathless for some reason.

"As long as I get to see you." Seto says, checking his watch. Eleven on the dot, "I'll be there in fifteen minutes."

"Yeah! See you then!"

Seto hangs up and wastes no time leaving Kaibacore HQ and heading towards Yugi's apartment. He had forgotten what apartment complex he had moved to, but it only took a few minutes of research to find the public record. Unfortunately, his car was still being worked on, so he would have to walk there, but that was fine. He technically only needed a few minutes with Yugi, any extra time spent with the man was just padding.

That's what Atem was afraid of. The little bastard was afraid of showing himself around Yugi. For what reason he wasn't sure; probably guilt for leaving Yugi with more questions than answers. Why Atem decided to let him have the reigns for the rest of the day was just as inscrutable as his other actions. Perhaps he was using a sort of carrot and stick method to get him to do what he wanted. Which was... talk to Yugi apparently. Admittedly talking to Yugi had been making him feel better, but he could attribute that to Yugi's presence making the Pharoah back off.

"What are you planning, Kaiba?" His voice in the timbre of the Pharoah's asks.

Seto considers responding to the question, an insulting sneer not an actual response of course, but wondering the night streets of Domino talking to himself would be bad for his image.

"Stalling?" Atem continues, "Running away? Avoiding asking questions that will get you answers because you're too afraid?"

He rolls his eyes, and an unearthly laugh echos through his head. Gritting his teeth he remains focused. Atem was just trying to pull more information from-

Seto stops in his tracks, breath catching in his throat at the sight of a familiar figure a few feet away from him. Standing between the shadows of the streetlights; face obscured but there was no mistaking his build, even without his long coat. Seto could recognize himself when he was looking at it. Swallowing hard, he keeps walking. Approaching his transparent doppelganger without fear. Atem couldn't touch him in that state.

"Aren't you brave." Atem murmurs, stepping aside before Seto can touch the ghostly apparition.

Annoyed and finally pushed to his limit, Seto pulls out his phone and presses it against his ear, "You seem so keen to talk, Pharoah, but you aren't saying anything that matters to me."

"That's where you're wrong, Kaiba." Atem chides, dark figure appearing from the shadows a few feet away, "I'm telling you exactly what you need to hear."

Seto scoffs, glaring at his ghostly apparition as he passes. Ignoring the glowing Eye of Anubis plastered on his forehead.

"Your nonsense falls on deaf ears, Yugi."

"Yugi?" The voice in his head snickers, "You flatter me, Kaiba. We both know I'm not nearly as nice."

Seto snaps his phone shut and shoves it into his pocket. Atem was just trying to scare him away by these paltry shows of intimidation but it wasn't going to work. Not when he was already at Yugi's apartment complex. A glance at his watch reveals it to be 11:20. He was five minutes behind schedule, but surely Yugi wouldn't mind. Last night he hadn't paid attention to Yugi's apartment number but he does recall that they were on the second floor and at least three doors from the stairwell. Taking a chance he knocks on the door he believes to be Yugi's and crosses his arms. Out of the corner of his eye, he can see himself leaning against a wall. It makes his skin crawl. The door opens after only a few seconds and Yugi smiles up at him.

"Kaiba! Glad you made it before the rain."

The man steps back so Seto can enter the others house and takes his boots off. It looked like Yugi had tidied the place up considerably. The paints had been cleared off the coffee table leaving only a colorful board and an array of miniatures.

"You didn't tell me if you wanted dinner or not so I made you a bento box." Yugi says, walking past him and into the kitchen, "Do you want anything to drink? I have water, juice, and beer."

"I'm fine, thank you." Seto says, sitting on the couch and crossing his legs.

It's difficult to keep a neutral expression instead of glaring at Atem as his ghostly figure saunters around Yugi's apartment as if he owned the place. The guy even peeks into Yugi's room. The lack of shame is disgusting.

"You should eat something, Kaiba." Atem says, voice not at all muffled despite being in Yugi's room, "Our mom's cooking is spectacular."

Seto can feel his eye twitch in annoyance. "Our mom"? What a joke. He rolls his eyes, wishing he could tell Atem to put his sorry ass back in the necklace.

"You look a lot better, Kaiba." Yugi says, snapping him out of his thoughts as the man sets a bento box on the table, "You finally get some sleep in a real bed?" The other gives him a knowing smile before sitting beside him on the couch.

"I did." Seto admits, having felt better for the first time in a long time due to regaining control over himself.

"On second thought, don't eat that. I'd rather have it." Atem says, walking across the room and leaning against an arm of the couch, "It's eleven twenty, Kaiba. You're running out of time."

Seto turns on the couch, angling his body away from Atem and towards Yugi. It was obvious that Atem was running scared. Pacing around outside of the necklace, saying annoying cryptic shit in an attempt to intimidate him into... doing something. What he wasn't so sure but it was something he would hate.

"Uh, Kaiba you're looking at me like you wanna bite my head off?"

"It's nothing." Seto says quickly, relaxing his facial expression so he isn't glaring at Yugi anymore.

Yugi also shifts slightly to face Seto more and a few uncomfortable beats of silence pass between them. All he needed to do was pass forty minutes, but he didn't exactly have a plan for how to pass that time. He supposes he should say something to the other man... Damn, usually Yugi was the one who started conversations.

"This is horrible." Atem pipes up from behind him, "Why don't you try thanking him for what he did for you."

"Thank you for seeing me." He spits out, keeping his voice steady despite taking Atem's advice, "You have no idea what it means."

A happy expression appears on Yugi's face and his hands go up to fiddle with his choker, "Oh, that's good!"

A few more uncomfortable beats of silence pass, and Atem snorts.

"Are you okay?" Yugi asks, tilting his head and lowering his hand, "You sounded... flustered on the phone but you're uh, not... anymore."

Right, he did put up quite an act to assure Yugi would allow him inside. Now that he was here he was unsure of how to explain his desperation. Yugi was pretty passive outside of duels so he wouldn't put up much fight no matter what excuse he used.

"The walk here calmed me down." Seto offers with a shrug.

"You walked?"

"My car is in getting fixed."

"Oh." Yugi tilts his head and nibbles on his lip, "Does this have anything to do with the last time you were here?"

"It does." Seto admits, not seeing any point in the obfuscation of the truth.

Now Yugi's eyes furrow slightly, a familiar look of contemplation on his face. Seto wonders what Yugi is trying to figure out from his erratic behavior. If he was in Yugi's shoes he wouldn't even know where to start. It was difficult to admit, but Seto is touched Yugi was making an effort to try as he never tried to understand people outside of duels and business deals.

"I meant to ask you something." Seto says before he can think too deeply about what he was going to be saying, "It's a riddle I heard. Something that you can see, but cannot be seen. Does that mean anything to you?"

Judging by the way Yugi's eyes widen in surprise; it does.

"Have you been messing with the Millennium Items?" Yugi asks instead of answering the question, stern expression washing over his soft features.

"That's a strange conclusion to jump to, isn't it?" Seto shoots back. This defensive non-answer causes Yugi to narrow his eyes slightly. Purple irises locked onto Seto's eyes as if searching for something in there.

"...What do you think the answer is?"

They were up to four questions with no answers. Seto was tempted to continue this back and forth if only to pass the time, but considering Yugi's connection to Atem it would be more beneficial to relent and acquire more information than to continue their amusing banter. He glances away from Yugi and allows himself a few moments to genuinely ponder the riddle Atem had given him.

"The wind, perhaps." He muses, fighting off a scowl as the dark spirit behind him snickers in amusement. It takes a lot of self-control not to snap at the ghost. How dare he laugh at that after putting him through days of mental torture.

Yugi on the other hand nods, "That's a very fitting answer for you, Kaiba."

"I'm glad you think that Yugi, but I get the feeling it's not the answer I need." Seto replies, clenching his fist at the snort from behind him.

Yugi stands without warning and starts walking towards the cracked door that was his room, "Wait just a moment."

As soon as Yugi disappears Seto turns to shoot a glare at Atem. The other wore his holier-than-thou smirk a little too well. He hopes his glare is enough to silence the man before he turns back and checks his watch. Eleven thirty-five. He looks up as Yugi exits his room with a familiar golden box in his hands.
"You still have that thing?"

"You recognize it?"

"Of course I do." Seto scoffs, "You pulled it out every day in middle school."

"Oh, right." Yugi holds the box up and points at the hieroglyphs written on the sides, "The riddle you told me is engraved on the side of this box. It's a reference to the puzzle. You can see all the pieces that make the whole, but it's something you've never seen before."

"Where are you going with this, Yugi?" Seto asks, worried he's teetering on the edge of a heartfelt speech about friendship.

Yugi sets the box on the coffee table beside the prototype of his game before looking back to Seto with a soft expression that causes his stomach to twist. Yugi even shifts closer to him on the couch.

"When I was still working on the puzzle Joey told me- don't make that face!"

"I'm not making a face." Seto retorts with a huff, "Can you save your pep talk for another time?"

Yugi rolls his eyes, "Alright I won't bring up other friends but can you just hear me out for this one?"

"...Fine." Seto agrees, "Do your worst."

"What can be seen, but can't be seen. It's not always literal, like a puzzle or the wind moving leaves, it can refer to emotions. More specifically bonds between people." Yugi says, gentle voice the only thing keeping Seto interested in this nonsense, "These bonds aren't visible by themselves, but we can see their effects in how we interact with others."

"Where are you going with this?"

Yugi sighs and runs his fingers through his bangs. He looks unsure of himself, and Seto really doesn't like the look on Yugi. It reminded him of when the man was in middle school and a complete pushover. Thankfully it fades quickly to an expression of determination.

"I guess what I'm trying to say is that I... uhm-" Yugi's face flushes bright red and to Seto's surprise the man reaches over and rests a tentative hand on his knee, "You're not the type to believe something without proof, and uh, I guess my proof is that I'm here for you."

Seto blinks, not quite understanding what Yugi was getting at.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Kaiba, you've done a lot of pretty messed up things to me and my friends."

"Ah, right." He prefers not to think about his teenage years, "I suppose I have."

"And I still answered your call, didn't I?"

"You did..."

"Don't you know why?" Yugi asks, big eyes staring intently at him.

Seto was genuinely at a loss. What game was Yugi trying to play with him? If he knew that asking about Atem's hint would lead to this he should have kept it to himself. Surreptitiously he checks his watch. Eleven forty-eight. Yugi wants an answer from him, so he sighs with as much annoyance as he can muster.

"Why?"

"Because I love you, Kaiba." Yugi says as casually as he would say just about anything else, "I've always liked you, from the moment we first saw each other in middle school. I like you because there's a kindness inside you that shines under the right light."

Seto blinks at Yugi, and Yugi dares to smile at him in a way that had always made his heart throb.

Always?

Since the day they first saw each other in middle school? When Seto was introduced to the class as a new transfer student and he locked eyes with the kid in the back that immediately looked away. The kid who was toiling away at a 3D golden puzzle.

Since then? This... this entire time Yugi had looked at him with affection in his heart?

Seto had never thought about why he was constantly orbiting around Yugi, constantly watching the man from afar. The way his heart would often race when near Yugi, or his fingers would go numb and his breath would catch in his throat. He had thought that it was because he knew Yugi would be a perfect rival. By that logic, he should have stopped feeling those things when Atem left, but those sensations continued to even today.

This entire time had he... had Seto...

"Kaiba." Yugi says again, his voice feeling far away, "I don't expect you to reciprocate my feelings. I just want you to know that I'm here for you, no matter what. Not because I have feelings for you, but because you're my friend, and you will always be my friend. That's our bond. It's something that you cannot see physically, but you can see in actions."

Yugi retracts his hand, and Seto's leg burns where it had been.

There's no way he had wished for that. Why would he wish for... for...

He didn't need that. He needed revenge. He needed to win. He needed to... to...

Yugi was smiling at him, but he looked sad. Was it because he hadn't said anything? What could he say to Yugi when he didn't even know what to think?

"I'm sorry, Yugi." He hears his voice in his ears, "But I'm afraid I have to go."

Go? Why was he leaving? It wasn't past midnight he can't leave. Not after Yugi said that to him! At the least, he owed Yugi an answer for his confession. Seto feels his body stand up on its own. Despite his protests, he grabs the bento box and begins walking to the door.

"Kaiba..." Yugi says softly, hurt painfully obvious in his voice, "It's raining outside..."

It was a request for him to stay, and although he was currently slipping his boots on he desperately wants to stay.

"It's raining..." Seto says carefully, as if trying to convince himself to stay.

Yugi doesn't respond, and he reaches for the door.

Seto doesn't want to leave. So why is he trying to?

Slowly, using all his willpower he turns around to face Yugi. The man was still sitting on the couch, but he had turned away from Seto. Face impassive.

"Yugi, I'm not going to leave." He says firmly.

The man doesn't react to his words.

"Yugi! Don't ignore me when I'm-" He stops when he hears the door open.

How did the door...

Seto looks at his watch, hands shaking as he finds he can see the floor through his arms.

It's Eleven fifty-five.

He turns and watches himself leave Yugi's apartment, his white coat swishing slightly on the way out. Seto feels a rage like no other boil inside him.

How dare Atem do this.

Seto runs after his body, which had already made it to the stairs judging by the empty hall.

This bullshit had gone on long enough.

"Atem!" He yells, taking the stairs two at a time. He rounds the corner and runs through the open lobby doors onto the street.

Rain was pouring down on him. Truthfully he could feel it soaking his clothes before he even set foot outside. His body had already made it down the block, swift strides and long legs carrying him far before he turns down an alleyway out of sight. Seto rounds the alleyway seconds behind Atem.

"Wait!" Yugi's voice cuts through the rain, and his body stops so suddenly that he almost runs into it.

Seto turns halfway to see Yugi had followed them- or more accurately him- outside. The man didn't bring an umbrella so water had soaked his hair and shirt. His body doesn't turn to face Yugi or himself. It just stands there. Shoulders rising and falling with steady breaths.

"Can he hear me?" Yugi demands, taking a step forward and almost brushing against Seto's ghostly form.

Almost imperceptibly, his body nods.

Wait... did Yugi... know?

Yugi's eyes search the alleyway, running over his form but not seeing him. Eventually, they rest on his back.

"Kaiba, what I told you is what he wants to hear from you. He wants you to look at yourself and not just see your actions but see what you cannot see! The reasons behind what you do!" Yugi says, "You can't move on until you do that. Because even though you lied to me, I still know you are good Kaiba! I'll still be waiting for you."

Seto can't breathe. His chest is so tight, as tight as his throat is. Yugi continues to stare through him and at Atem. At his form soaking in the rain.

Even after all this... Yugi wasn't going to give up on him?

He turns his back to Yugi and marches towards his body, towards the Pharoah.

"Give it back! Give it back you coward!" He yells against the rain.

Atem starts walking. The sound of his boots are muffled by the splash of rain. Seto looks back at Yugi as the man wipes his eyes and turns away.

"Let me speak to him!" He demands, floundering for the first time in a long time as he chases after his receding form, eventually darting out in front of Atem and causing the parasite to stop, "I need to talk to Yugi!"

"Why?" The other him asks, tilting his head. The rain had soaked his hair, leaving it plastered to his forehead.

"Why? Because he told me he loves me!" Seto replies, enraged by how desperate he sounds.

Piercing blue eyes stare at him without an ounce of warmth.

"So what?" He says, eyes narrowing, "You don't care if he loves you."

"Yes, I do!" He spits at himself, "Because I feel the same!"

"Then why don't you act like it?"

Words die on his lips. Why didn't he act like it?

"Admit it, Seto, you wouldn't have acted any differently if you had control." He says to himself, "In fact, I think you would have been crueler to Yugi."

He grits his teeth and looks away from himself. The words are coming from his mouth, and while it's not him who is saying him they are still just as true.

When given control. When given a choice in the matter...

Seto would have walked away. He would have walked away every single time.

"Fuck." He whispers, turning away from himself and running his fingers through his soaking hair, "Fuck!"

"Seto." The other him says, voice low and hidden by the rain, "I can show you what cannot be seen. I can show you what you wished for."

He glances over his shoulder at himself.

"Then do it." He hisses, "Show me what I wished for."

The other him raises his hand and snaps his fingers.

Chapter Text

It takes a second for Seto to comprehend his new environment, anger dissipating as he takes in the new stimulus. He no longer feels wet and when he looks down at his hand it's solid. It's unclear if that's a good or bad thing right now. Curiously he looks around the place he was now in. The rainy alleyway was gone, replaced with a strange room instead. In front of him was a corner where two walls met. One was made of a frosted type of glass, and the other some sort of ancient yellowed bricks. It was dim in here, but there was no obvious source of light. When he looked up there was no ceiling; just the endless stretching of walls and inky blackness. The sight is unnerving so he looks to his left instead, to the wall made of ancient bricks.

Set into the stone is some sort of false door with an Eye of Wdjat carved into the center. Seto takes a step towards it, reaching his hand out to feel the sides of the carving for some sort of hinge.

"Sorry Kaiba, but that room is off limits."

Seto stiffens and whirls around quickly. Both relieved and annoyed to see himself, minus his coat and his pendant replaced by the Millennium Necklace. Atem was leaning against the frosted glass of the other wall. Beside him was a tall door also made out of glass. Carved into the front was some sort of keypad, also made of glass.

"I hope it's getting remodeled. That things as dated as you are."

Atem laughs. The sound echoes through the room and makes his skin crawl due to the nature of the laugh. It wasn't mocking, or spiteful, as if Atem was genuinely amused at his insult.

"I missed your jokes."

"That wasn't a joke."

Atem's smile widens, which only pisses him off again, and he pushes off the wall. Turning towards the door and snapping his fingers. With a soft hum the door opens up and Atem strides inside. With nothing else to do Seto follows Atem through the door.

Despite only being out of sight for a second Atem was no longer in front of him. Now he is faced with a black and white checkered walkway suspended over rolling off-white fog that stretches out endlessly. Each square on the platform is two feet long and wide and interspersed with chips and cracks. At the end of the walkway was a square platform, and above that were two other platforms, both connected by a silver tube curved into the shape of a C. From here he can make out some sort of white statues on the third platform.

The third platform must be his destination. The first silver connector is directly ahead of him, so he does not attempt to divert from his path. Boots click on the marbled floor as he crosses the board. Without fear, he steps onto the silver connector. A hum sounds and in the blink of an eye, he's transported to the second platform. Seeing no need to explore the empty plane further he strides towards the second connector and is elevated to the third and final platform.

This one is different. Unlike the other two platforms, the black and white tiles are not chipped or cracked, instead, they are interlaced with gold that branches out like veins across the surface. He steps out into the board, eyes running over the intricately carved white chess pieces. Much like the board, they rest upon the white surface inlaid with golden veins.

For some reason this board, this place is comforting. It feels familiar in a way that he can't quite explain. He runs a hand over the cool surface of a pawn, smooth rock-like texture broken up by the warm rivers of gold.

Seto hadn't felt like he was home in a very long time.

"What is this?" He asks, turning his eyes away from the pawn and towards his opponent across the board.

Atem, in his usual fashion, was lounging upon a black and gilded throne. The Queen's throne.

"It's a room that is the manifestation of your soul." Atem says plainly, "I created it using the Millennium Necklace and your Duel Link V3 technology. Think of it as your brain manifesting images to match your neuroses."

...He could believe that. This place looks like one he would make after all. With that answered Seto realizes he finally has to face the entire reason he was here.

Something that can be seen, but cannot be seen.

To understand the meaning behind himself.

Seto had always thought himself about that sort of thing. He didn't need to consider his the reason actions because he had made himself to be ineffable. What he choose to do would always fall in line with his wants because he had built himself dammit.

"Are you ready?" Atem asks.

"I don't have a choice."

"You do have a choice. It's not the choice you want of course, but it is yours to make, Kaiba." Atem muses, "You can choose to start now, or later."

"Then let's start." Seto demands stepping forward and crossing the board until he reaches the row of black pawns.

"You're going to go through a selection of memories. I didn't choose them for you, they are entirely your subconscious." Atem explains plainly, "These memories are created using your VR system, so there will be discrepancies between that and reality. What matters more is the emotion behind that."

"I understand." Seto says, crossing his arms and squeezing his biceps to let out a bit of frustration at Atem's monologing.

"I don't want you to go alone of course; not that I don't have faith in you but..." Atem tilts his head, cold blue eyes running over him, "You haven't put the last four years to much use."

Seto scowls, "I think I've had enough of your company."

"The feeling is mutual." Atem says humorously before snapping his fingers.

A heavy fog descends on the second throne, the King's throne, obscuring it completely for a few moments before rapidly dissipating to reveal...

"Yugi?" Seto asks in shock.

"Hi, Kaiba!" Yugi chirps, a bright smile on his face, "I'll be accompanying you."

Seto looks between Yugi and Atem. The sight of himself beside Yugi on the thrones made his stomach twist in an entirely foreign way.

"This Yugi is an NPU that's created using both our memories as a basis for Machine Learning."

"It's an AI?" Seto asks, unable to look away from the hologram.

"Don't call me it." Yugi corrects, "But yes, I'm an AI created from you and the other me. There might be some discrepancies in my responses, but I'm closer to the real Yugi than not."

"I didn't mean to offend you." Seto offers, tilting his head at the AI. The man looked younger, closer to his high school self, though that may only be because he was wearing his uniform and from his neck hung the puzzle. Seto supposes it wouldn't hurt to have a little AI along to talk to. Especially since it isn't the real Yugi.

The AI slides off the throne and walks across the board to stand beside him. Now that it's- he's closer Seto notices that this Yugi is taller, probably the height he remembers him being.

"It's easy to get lost in one's soul, so be sure to depend on each other." Atem says, still sitting languidly upon the throne, "I'll be waiting here for your answer."

Without any further pageantry, a thick fog rolls in. Despite this, he can still see the glowing Eye of Anubis until it eventually flickers out too.

The air has changed. Now they were outside. It was summer, and there was a light breeze bringing the smell of grass to him.

The fog dissipates, and they're standing in the middle of a park.

"Where is this?" Yugi asks, looking around curiously.

"It's the Miyagi prefecture." Seto explains, "I used to live here."

"Oh."

Seto can hear the sounds of other children, but he cannot see anyone except for two children. One is so young, probably four at the most. The other is older, or at the least taller, and was spinning the younger boy on a merry-go-round. Nearby were two parents and adults. Unlike the children playing they were blurry forms... half-remembered.

"Is that you?" Yugi asks, pointing to the two children.

"Must be." Seto offers, taking a tentative step toward the group. Eyes focused not on the children, but on the parents, "This park... we went here for birthdays."

"Is it your birthday?"

"No. Mine is in the fall." Seto says, stopping a few feet away from the shadows forms of his parents. Watching their appearances shift as if underwater. His mother was tall, and had stark black hair... or was it his dad who had black hair? As he questions this their hair colors switch, and he's left with a feeling of... of emptiness.

He looks away from his parents and instead at himself and his brother. They were far more clear. It must be Mokuba's... fifth birthday? He can't quite recall. Still, he is comforted by the familiar laughter of his brother.

There is significance here.

"Seto!" A warped voice calls. It's feminine, "Mokuba! It's time to go home!"

Seto turns back to his parents, and he blinks in surprise. The blurred form of his mom had solidified and sharpened as he finally recalls this memory.

"You look like your mom." Yugi comments as his younger self runs over to grab her hand, "You both have brown hair."

"We do." Seto agrees, watching his father pick up Mokuba and walk towards the gates of the park.

A happy family.

"This was the last time we were all here." Seto says to himself as the memory closes out to fog The rest of the day was forgotten, as many precious memories are. Lost to the failing of the human mind.

The fog opens to reveal a hallway. Seto blinks at the chance of scenery, feeling a wave of deja vu. This place... it felt so familiar yet so... different. The color on the walls and the placement of the photos were just slightly off. With a frown, he turns and his eyes widen at the sight of a familiar blue backpack.

"This is my home." Seto murmurs, mostly to himself. Distantly he can hear laughter and he steps through a nearby doorway and into a kitchen. The kitchen had been used recently, and through the open doorway he can see the living room, and the two boys sat on the couch.

"Pancakes?" Yugi questions, walking past him and looking over the mess of flour and batter on the counter, "Looks like someone made a mess."

"I did... I made them." Seto says, watching him and his brother laugh. They were watching Funny Bunny.

"You're a little young to be making breakfast." Yugi says, even though ten was a perfectly good age to make breakfast, looking into the living room, "Are you two watching Saturday morning cartoons?"

He nods swallowing a lump in his throat growing as he watches himself smile and laughs so freely. He hadn't thought of this day in a very long time.

"This was the last day of my life." Seto says as a knock sounds on the door.

The child version of him perks up and tells Mokuba to stay put.

"What do you mean?" Yugi asks, watching the younger version of himself pass between them.

"Last night my parents went out." Seto says, turning away from Mokuba to watch himself open the door, "On their way home they got into a car wreck."

He leaves it at that, watching the police gently break the news to him. Though there is no easy way to tell someone that they were now an orphan, the man certainly gave it his best shot. He watches himself crack. He watches himself tell the officer that he doesn't know who to call. That they didn't have anyone but their parents. He watches himself close the door, standing completely still at the threshold.

"Kaiba..." Yugi's voice was closer, and he glances down at the other's sad face, "I'm sorry for your loss."

Seto just nods, "I don't know what I thought when I woke up. I'm sure I was confused, but I didn't suspect anything bad had happened. I took it upon myself to make breakfast, and we watched cartoons. It's what we always did. We didn't know they had been dead for hours."

"Kaiba you shouldn't blame yourself..."

He can't help but laugh, a barking snarky noise that causes Yugi to flinch. The fog was starting to slip under the doorway. Signaling an end to this memory.

"I don't blame myself, Yugi." Seto says, staring at the form of himself trying to decide how to tell Mokuba before it is engulfed by a thick haze, "I just find it incredibly sad that it happened. That you can wake up one day, and never see the person you love ever again."

The fog obscures Yugi completely. Seto feels alone. It's familiar, but this time it hurts.

"I don't remember what I said to them before they left..." He whispers into the endless swirling void, "I just hope it was I love you, or something similar."

He takes a breath crossing his arms as the lump on his throat starts to ease Tight feeling in his chest lessening when the fog pulls back, no doubt about to reveal another tragic moment in his life. Judging by the fact that he was in his middle school homeroom, it could be worse. As usual, he could hear the hum of voices, but there were only two people in the classroom. He sat in the back middle row of the room due to his height, and Yugi who was sat two seats ahead of him and to the left near the window.

"...Middle school?" Yugi asks, voice trying at humor despite the previous memories being so uncomfortably tragic, "I might need some context for this."

As does he. Seto walks through the rows of desks to stand near himself. He was... fourteen probably. His white uniform was immaculate, and his bento box sat untouched. He was tapping his fingers on a book, a copy of Crime and Punishment that was required for his home studies. From here he can see the tip of an envelope sticking out. Every so often his younger self would look over to Yugi and his brows would knit together in thought before he would look away.

"This is the last day of school." He supplies, turning to look at the young Yugi who was being watched by the other Yugi, "I believe this is the last time I saw you working on the puzzle."

"I didn't finish it until high school," Yugi says, frowning at the pieces of the Puzzle as they fall apart in Yugi's hand.

"I was absent the first four weeks of the semester," Seto explains, looking back at his younger self. It was sad how innocent he looked. How hopeful he was for the future.

"So why is this significant?" Yugi asks, genuinely curious as he sits atop a desk in front of his younger doppelganger.

"...I was going to ask you to be my friend in high school." Seto admits, reaching down and pulling the slim cream envelope from the book, "Gozaburo permitted to attend public schooling for socializing as long as it wasn't a distraction to my home studies. Knowing him he would consider any friendship with someone of no status as superfluous and distracting."

Yugi stares at him with a surprised expression. Brows furrowed ever so slightly as he processed the information he had just received. Seto turns the envelope over in his hands, it was blank on both sides.

"That explains a lot." Yugi says apologetic look on his face before he offers a smile and a change of subject, "You really wanted to be friends with me?

"Of course I did." Seto scoffs, eyes trailing away from Yugi to his younger counterpart. The boy's shoulders were slumped, and his head was down. Partly in concentration and partly due to fear, "You loved games, and your kindness never seemed to run dry. Even for people that didn't deserve it."

The puzzle falls apart, and young Yugi picks it up again, undeterred.

"I was infatuated with you from the day you asked to play checkers with me." Seto admits, feeling a smile quirk onto his lips as the older Yugi flushes bright red.

"I-Infatuated?" Yugi asks, eyes darting around, "Th-This whole time?"

"Why are you so surprised?" Seto asks, turning away from the ghosts of the past and motioning for Yugi to follow him, "If you are created from mine and the Pharoah's memories you surely recall your confession?"

"I do but I... I never thought you would say you liked me too!" Yugi says, rushing after him as he exits the room and strides down the hall, "Seriously, the whole time? Like all through middle school and-"

"Yes." Seto interrupts, opening a door a climbing towards the roof of the building. By the looks of it, this memory was the entirety of lunch period, "Though I didn't realize it until you said it."

"You... didn't?"

He pushes the roof access door open and walks out to face the sunshine. A cool breeze blows his jacket open and he stops, facing away from Yugi.

"I ignored how I felt about a lot of things." He says softly, "Especially how I felt about you."

Taking a slow breath he turns to face Yugi. Although this Yugi is just an AI the way he is looking at him feels so real. As always when facing down Yugi his heart races, and he holds the letter out to him.

"It was hard to ignore how I felt about you, but it was even harder to admit it." Seto says as Yugi tentatively takes the letter from him, "On this day I wanted to ask you to be my friend, but I couldn't. I was too... uncertain of the future to play my hand. I suppose the only reasonnim saying this now is because youre an AI."

Slowly Yugi opens the letter, pulling the white paper from the depths and running his eyes over the note. Seto still remembers what it said.

"...I think if I had given you that letter... our lives would have been very different," Seto says, unable to tear his eyes away from Yugi as the other man starts to tear up.

"Yeah..." Yugi says, voice strained. Despite this, he smiles wide, and Seto's heart skips a beat, "I wish things had been easier for both of us, but I'm glad we made it here in the end."

Seto smiles and nods. Fog swirls around their feet and rises to overtake him. He never expected to feel better after revealing something like that to another person, but he did. Still, he wasn't quite seeing the connection between these memories. At first, he had theorized it had something to do with his parents, but this was not correct. Maybe it was memories of times he had wanted to say something but never did. But how did that connect to the Pharoah-

The fog clears, and his breath catches in his throat. Instantly all feelings of warmth evaporate.

Gozaburo sat behind his desk, and Seto stood in front of him. He was barely any older than he had been in the last memory. Slowly he steps back, moving until he is standing behind Yugi. The man looks at him curiously but remains silent as the ghosts of his past talk.

"Seto, I lost my game with you!" Gozaburo roars, standing from his desk and walking out from behind it. His younger self doesn't flinch, but he does. He knows what's coming.

"Burn this into your brain! This is what happens to losers!"

Seto brings his hands up and clasps them over Yugi's eyes. The man gasps and his cool fingers grab his wrist. Yugi pulls but stops when he hears the haunting shatter of glass. Then it is still and silent. He lowers his hands, though Yugi was still gripping one of his wrists tight.

"... To lose means to die." The other Seto murmurs, slicing through the silence like a knife, "Thank you for teaching me that."

Then it's silent again. Seconds slip by as the sound of an ambulance is faintly heard from the now open window.

"No one deserves to see that," Seto says softly, finding comfort in the way Yugi's hands grip his wrist. Though he is not the one holding on for dear life, he feels like he is.

"But Kaiba-"

"I'm including myself in that statement. I didn't deserve this."

Yugi's hand slides up his wrist and their fingers entwine. Seto had never had his hand held in such a way. He wonders if he's shaking. The hand of his younger self is shaking. He remembers how it shook as he stared at the gaping maw in the glass; shards scattering the floor reflecting the light in broken pieces. He was an orphan again yet the only thought in his mind was that Gozaburo at least had the decency not to bleed on the way out.

"I used to have nightmares every night after this. I'd be walking the streets of Domino and around me, I'd see his body falling. When it would hit the ground he would explode into a wave of blood. Eventually, the streets flooded and I would drown."

Yugi's thumb runs over the back of his hand.

"Thank you for... sparring me the sight." Yugi says, voice soft and so kind it makes his shoulders relax, "And for sharing the pain you felt with me. I... I hope it's easier for you now."

Seto nods even though Yugi cannot see it and reluctantly releases the man's hand as the fog rolls in to take them away. He was starting to see a pattern of sorts. There was an obvious theme of death, but it felt like something was still missing. A piece of the puzzle just out of reach. He needed to wait until the end of this miserable movie before drawing too many conclusions. He had a feeling he was nowhere near the final act.

The fog begins to clear. And he can't help but laugh.

"This?" He asks, resting his hands on his hips, "This must be a cruel joke."

Ahead of him, he watches Exodia The Forbidden One's hologram break into the Duel arena. His most crushing defeat at the hands of Yugi, or Atem apparently. In disdain, he clicks his tongue as Yugi points his finger forward.

"Exodia, Obliterate!"

And then there is nothing.

He blinks, glancing to his left to assure that Yugi is still with him. Kneeling on the floor in front of him is... himself. It's hard to pinpoint his age as it seems to meld and shift like the swirling fog. Like he was every age at once layered over himself time and time again. The strange collection of himself was working on a sort of 3D puzzle. There was a smile on his face.

"This is new." He comments, watching his ghostly figure work. The only thing he remembered after that duel was waking up new.

"Atem told me about this Duel." Yugi says, "When I first finished the puzzle I didn't know about him for a long time. High-stakes duels like this often caused me to black out so I wasn't exactly here for this."

Now he was a little curious to see what light Yugi could shed on his mysterious two-week coma. Seto knew he was a bit dramatic, but even that felt like too much. Glancing at Yugi he nods for the man to continue.

"He said that he took the parts of you that were wicked and crushed them into pieces along with your soul. I assume the bad pieces are those things there."

Sure enough, there was a pile of puzzle pieces set off to the side. Though they looked no different from the others... maybe if he were to touch them he could feel a difference.

"From there he wanted you to piece your soul back together. He saw that you were hurting from something deep inside, and that hurt was causing you to lash out against the world. Atem wanted to allow you to better yourself and overcome that pain."

Seto watches himself fit two pieces together and reach for another. A chance to completely rebuild himself, keeping only the parts he needed. Seto does recall the feeling he had upon waking up. It was a... settled feeling. Like sediment that finally came to rest on the seabed after being tossed in the waves for years. It was a sense of security that was a blanket on his shoulders. Moving forward had been easier than ever before at first, but then it had gotten more difficult. He had closed himself off. He had refused to think of Yugi as anything but a rival.

"It's not often people are given a chance to rebuild themselves, Yugi. What you- Atem I suppose, did to me was as much a blessing as it was a curse. I choose to be... this. I choose to be difficult, to be cold." He muses, turning away from himself. He hears Yugi take a soft step toward him.

"You also choose to be kind. You choose to give where others had taken. To rebuild yourself as a better man. To be a refraction of the soft person that you used to be." Yugi says carefully. Though it is one of his goofy speeches, it does make him feel inspired.

"You said it, not me." Seto replies, crossing his arms as the floor starts to flicker and become the gilded checkerboard from the beginning of this deranged cinema. Yugi lets out a sigh that's almost a laugh and he can hear the heels of his booth click on the tile as Yugi walks in front of him and turns.

Fog starts to lick around their knees.

"This memory is the last one."

"Good. I'm getting sick of this."

A wash of fog, and then it clears to show something he didn't expect. The Ceremonial Duel between Yugi and Atem. It's difficult not to be in awe at the sight of three crushingly powerful Egyptian God Cards, especially after all this time. Yugi now stood beside him, there was a slight smile on the man's face.

"This was a poignant moment for both of us." Yugi says, watching the Duel play out.

"For you, maybe." Seto snips, "I hardly cared about this."

Yugi looks up at him, eyebrows raised in skeptical interest.

"What?"

"Kaiba, you haven't Dueled me in four years." Yugi says in a voice that is miraculously free of accusation, "There are only two reasons I can think of to explain why."

"Oh?"

"One is that you don't see my victory in the Duel as proof that I'm a worthy rival to you. Or two; you're mourning Atem's death and Dueling me will only remind us of what we lost."

"Those are ridiculous theories."

"Do you have any better ones?"

Seto grits his teeth, jaw set firm as he glares ahead. He had no better explanation for his actions than Yugi did. They watch turns pass in silence. Seto can't help but be impressed by the way the two Yugi's dueled.

"Kaiba is it harder to lose someone suddenly, or to know it's going to happen and not be able to stop it." Yugi asks voice distant as his light eyes stare at the Duel ahead.

Seto watches Yugi place a card in the sarcophagus, the card that spells the Pharoah's defeat. He had never personally experienced a pain that he knew was coming. Throughout his entire life, every horrific tragedy that he endured had been a shock to his system. Never had he experienced anything close to what Yugi was referencing.

"I think losing someone will always hurt. I can't speak for what happened between you and the Pharoah." He begins carefully, "When someone dies suddenly you spend all your time wishing for one last moment, or thinking that maybe if you did one thing differently they would still be there.

Seto pauses, taking a deep breath as he watches the Yugi of the past defeat the Pharoah. Something that he thought was his glory. Yugi had inadvertently taken away his shot... at victory. At... beating the only person that stood a chance against him.

"You spend the rest of your life searching for closure that you will never find." He finishes at Atem's life points drop to zero.

Yugi, his Yugi not the one of the past, smiles up at him.

"I think you have your answer now, Kaiba. If you go through that door it will lead you to Atem."

Seto frowns and looks away from the bright eyes. Ahead of him the two Yugi's had vanished and they were alone in the room, but the door remained open. He glances down at Yugi before marching towards the door. No point in overthinking anything.

Still, he pauses in the steps. Staring up into the boiling white light.

"Will you be okay?" Seto asks, not trying to stall for time, "I don't want to get into anything philosophical, but it wouldn't sit right with me to leave after all the things I told you."

"Oh, uh..."

He turns to look at Yugi, who suddenly had a flustered expression on his face.

"I'll be okay! As long as you promise me one thing."

"What?"

"You'll tell the real me how you feel once this is all over."

A smile tugs at his lips, "I will. I promise."

He turns and takes a step forward, heading towards the light to-

"Kaiba." Yugi says again, "Sorry to trick you, but I am the real Yugi. I wanted you to be open with me, so I lied about the AI thing. I hope you understand."

He whips around only to find that Yugi had disappeared. Typical little trickster, Atem had spoiled that man's personality. No matter, he could deal with that when he was done with this shit. Annoyed, he walks into the light. Emerging seconds later on one side of his board, facing the army of black pawns. At their helm was himself.

"Have you found out what you wanted?"

"Obviously."

His double tilts his head, fingers running his chin on thought, "Are you still focused on your short-term goals, Kaiba?"

Seto swallows, crossing his arms. Being cross examind by his double was unnerving, but he had a point. Seto had issues with only focusing on goals in short term, he knew that as well as anyone. When he summoned Atem here he wanted to Duel, and he still wanted to Duel. But after looking at those memories, peeking deep into his almost forgotten psyche, he could finally see the other reason he called Atem.

"I wanted closure." He admits, "For our relationship."

"Why?"

"Because it's the only meaningful relationship I've ever had where I've felt in control."

Because when he faced both Yugi's in a Duel he felt in control. It was dependable. Though he never knew what the outcome could be he did know that it would be a thrill to the bitter end.

"During the Ceremonial Duel, Yugi took away the chance to face you for the last time, my chance to beat the both of you."

"Why don't you Duel Yugi? He carries my legacy?" His other self asks.

"What if I win?" Seto says, voice a low whisper, "What if I crush him without a challenge? Without a battle that makes blood rush? Then what? You're still gone, and I'll... I'll have no reason to speak to Yugi again..."

Seto grits his teeth and clenches his fists.

"I'm impressed you made the leaps to answer me honestly." The other him says, a slight smile on his lips.

"It's easier when you look the easy you do." Seto admits, "I think if I was talking to anyone but myself... well I wouldn't be."

"Yes, often admitting things to yourself is easier than admitting it to others. Still, you shouldn't downplay such an achievement." The other him laughs and walks forward, clearing the distance between them, "Can I ask you to try opening up to someone else after this is over?"

"I won't promise anything."

The other him nods and then looks around at the chess board they stand on, "Kaiba when I splintered your soul all those years ago it was to bring out the light I saw shining behind those eyes."

Seto is silent, only offering an annoyed squint as a response.

"Unfortunately, as people grow and change they become new people entirely. You are not the same person you were all those years ago, Kaiba. You have grown and changed, and as such your soul is different. Repairing why you are is an ongoing process, we cannot always rebuild from the ground up."

He wonders if it's possible to get a migraine from the sound of his voice.

"Don't forget, Kaiba, you have forged bonds stronger than you think. You may crack, but you will never break when friends are standing beside you."

"Okay Pharoah, that's enough." He snaps, unable to stand any more of his voice giving him these asinine childish speeches, "I wished for one last Duel because I need closure for once in my damn life. Can we go now?"

The other him smirks, "I suppose that's an acceptable answer, though I would have liked to hear more about how you wished for compassion and kindness, but I think that would be trying to push water upstream."

Seto hopes his glare is an adequate answer for the Pharoah. Infuriatingly, the man smiles broadly and snaps his fingers.

He opens his eyes and lurches he's up.

The Millennium Puzzle bounces against his chest, and his V3 Duel Disk feels hot against his skin. Moving quickly he pushes activates the eyewear and pulls up the calendar.

Two days had passed.

"You bastard." Seto sighs and swings his feet over the bed, "What now?"

"Now, it's time to Duel."

Chapter Text

As eager as he was to be rid of the ghost that haunted his body as Seto was, it was pertinent to be presentable.

Warm water washed over his shoulders as he scrubs shampoo into his hair with vigor for the first time in a little too long. It was nice to partake in a routine after a week of chaos. His cleansing lotion had been untouched in the corner of his shower for days for God's sake. That honestly should have been the first indication that something was wrong with him. Aside from Atem flat out telling him that in his office. Though if Seto accepted every strange instance in his life without question his life would... probably be no different than now.

With a sigh, he washes the shampoo from his hair. It hadn't even lathered into bubbles, that's how awful his hair had been. Had Atem showered even once in his body? Then again if Atem had showered in his body he would probably be just as displeased at the thought of that gangly apparition prying at his nudity.

Seto runs conditioner through the tips of his hair, staying out of the water spray as he lets the soap sit in his hair. Watching water droplets streak down the frosted glass of his shower door. He runs a finger over the Millennium Necklace. The gold was warm and wet. He had to keep one of the items on and taking the Puzzle with him into the shower felt wrong.

He had been avoiding thinking about what he had seen. No, not what he had seen but what he had... realized. About himself, and Yugi.

It was difficult to allow those thoughts and feelings to permeate his consciousness, he had deftly avoided them for the better part of a decade, for fear of what he might find.

The peace he feels is overwhelming.

Near peace, actually. He still had a bone to pick here and there, but overall he felt... fine. No hungry skeletons in his closet to feed anymore.

Sort of.

It was strange. How he felt. Looking over some of his hardest falls and most painful losses hadn't made the scars that were set into his soul burn as much as he'd expected. The weight, so familiar it was that its loss affected him more than the act of carrying it.

He puts his head under the stream of water and scrubs conditioner from his hair.

He missed his parents.

He was desperately in love with Yugi Muto.

He had, for some ungodly reason, missed Atem.

These revelations would have made the Seto Kaiba of last week scoff and he would have packed every stray thought into a little sub-folder on the proverbial desktop of his brain, and then tuck that sub-folder into an even bigger folder labeled "Not Important." Of which that Not Important folder was filled to bursting with other folders that were just simply Not Important.

Compartmentalizing.

Because the Seto Kaiba of last week was prideful and knew that he had no weakness. No wavering in his heart. He was a pillar of stone of which tragedies liked to slam their frail little bodies against like bugs on a window.

Though now, he was fine with admitting to those things.

Internally of course.

Not out loud.

Where someone could hear.

But that was good, wasn't it? It was progress of sorts. Rebuilding his soul or whatever Atem had spouted.

Seto turns off the water and shakes his hair out. Then he grabs a towel and dries himself off, wrapping it around his waist before going to the sink to brush his teeth. It's mindless, and he's staring at the way the steam of the mirror disappeared when he catches sight of something out of the corner of his eye. There's nothing in the mirror so slowly he turns and scowls at the sight of himself, transparent and leaning against the shower door. Eyes trained off into space.

"What are you doing here?" He snips as he turns to spit into the sink.

"Hm? Can you see me?" Atem asks, tilting his head curiously as Seto brushes past him. It bothered him that they were dressed the same.

"No, I'm talking to my toilet." Seto snips, grabbing clothes from his closet and fixing his ghostly presence with a glare, "Obviously I can see you."

Atem frowns, displeased for whatever reason. Seto waves a hand at him and the other quickly turns his back to him to stare into the bathroom.

"That's not good..." He hears the other murmurs and he tugs on a pair of pants and a long sleeve shirt.

"I was wondering why you were so obnoxious when I went to Yugi's. " Seto asks, fastening his accessory beats, "Don't tell me you've been hovering over my shoulder this whole time completely invisible like a vouyer."

"It means we are syncing up." Atem replies, unaffected by his insult.

"Like college girls or something?" Seto scoffs and turns to glare at his ghostly apparition who had turned around without permission. Judging by the quizzical look his face wore, Atem didn't understand his allegory. He decides to move on.

"Elaborate." He orders, grabbing his jacket and pulling it on. Into his pockets, he stuffs the Puzzle and phone before putting on the V3 Duel Disk.

"A soul is a very odd thing. One would imagine that sharing the same space with another soul would be noticeable, but it's not. Two souls can often reside in the same space for months, even years without either party being aware of each other." Atem explains. Normally such silly talk could be dismissed, but it was hard not to pay attention to his voice, "It took my partner months to realize that we were separate people, but that's a bit of a different situation."

Seto leaves his room and Atem trails behind him as he goes to the kitchen and starts making a quick breakfast for him and Mokuba. Atem is still speaking when he starts the coffee maker.

"It seems our souls have shared the same body for long enough that we are becoming more aware of each other's presence, that's all."

"Didn't you say it took months for you and Yugi to notice each other?" He asks, cutting strawberries as the oatmeal cooks, "Why would it take only us a week? I'm not that fond of you."

"The feelings mutual." is Atems quick response as his apparition hops to sit on the countertop. Seto glares at him but it has no effect, "I suppose our souls simply do not fit together well and the friction is causing this," Atem gestures between the two of them, "Rift between us."

Seto spoons the oatmeal into two bowls, almost grabbing a third before remembering that Atem wasn't going to be joining them. He recovers from the fumble by grabbing two mugs from the cabinet, filling one with coffee and the other with oat milk and coffee. Placing the sliced strawberries atop the oatmeal and sprinkling sugar over the entire concoction.

"Can't you go back into the-"

"Seto?" Mokuba's voice pierces his words and he chokes as he turns to face his brother, standing in the threshold of the kitchen, "Who are you talking to?"

"..." He glances at Atem, then at Mokuba. At this point, he had to know, right? Mokuba wasn't stupid, his brother had surely connected the dots faster than even himself, "...Atem."

Mokuba raises an eyebrow and his steely eyes dart around the room as if looking for a stray shadow or ghost. Eventually, they fall back on him as he sits at the island.

"Is he... with us right now?" Mokuba asks rather childishly as he hops up onto his stool.

"Are you scared?" Seto asks playfully, mixing his oatmeal before taking a bite.

"No!" Mokuba exclaims, then glances around again, "Should I be?"

Seto allows a very foreign smile to appear on his face. One that dripped with sadism and glee.

"Perhaps you should be, Mokuba." He says, dropping his voice to a timbre that he had heard shoot insults at him hundreds of times.

"Pharoah?" Mokuba gasps, jolting up in his seat. Behind him, the real Pharoah laughs at his joke.

"No, still me." Seto says, dropping the act in an instant. Mokuba huffs, pouting an annoyed pout as he eats his oatmeal.

"Don't do that, Seto!" Mokuba whines, "The Pharoah is kinda scary in your body."

Seto narrows his eyes, resisting the urge to turn and glare at the spirit behind him, "Scary?"

"He's just... kinda creepy y'know?" Mokuba muses, "Like how Yugi is creepy."

"Yugi isn't creepy." Seto and Atem say at the same time, making his eye twitch in annoyance.

"You don't get a say in Yugi because you're... you know!"

Seto rolls his eyes, and Mokuba beams at him for not denying the sort of accusation of affection like he normally would.

"I'm the creepy one." Atem pipes up from behind him, "Just so you're aware."

"Oh, I'm aware." He huffs, only causing Mokuba to grin wider.

"So... how did that whole two-day thing go?" Mokuba asks, jumping off the stool and collecting the used dishes, "You normal yet?"

Atem snorts, and Seto does turn to glare at him since Mokuba wasn't looking.

"Yes, I am. Or I will be once I beat Atem and send him to Hell."

"I'll have you know my heart was lighter than a feather when weighed, Seto. I will simply be returning to paradise."

"I wasn't talking to you." He snaps, causing Mokuba to glance back at him. Seto ignores the look and stands, "Anyway, our duel will take place at Kaibacorp HQ as soon as I get there."

"Cool, can I watch?"

"Of course, you can. I require an audience for my victory." He says with a smirk as he pulls his boots on and calls the elevator.

The ride down was uncomfortable, with Atem standing on the other side of Mokuba. Made only more odd was the fact that the man slipped into the back of the car instead of vanishing into one of the Millennium Items. Just like in the bathroom he can't see Atem in the rearview mirror, but he does have an uncanny chill slipping up and down his spine as he starts the engine and pulls out. Mokuba seems content to stare out the window, and Seto is happy to sit in silence as well.

"Kaiba, can I push your buttons for a moment?" Atem asks, leaning in between the seats just enough to be seen out of the corner of his eye.

"No."

Mokuba glance over with, a slight frown before realization lights in their eyes and they quickly look away.

Undeterred, Atem begins to speak, "First of all, I really hate that you have strict dietary needs. What did Mokuba call it, lactose intolerant? That's just strange. I drank a milkshake and felt awful."

Seto grinds his teeth and stares ahead. That explained why he had woken up in pain so much.

"Secondly, how are you allergic to coconuts? You know that's one of my favorite foods and I can't eat it while I'm stuck in the world of the living or you'll die." Atem sighs dramatically, "I've been miserable."

"Oh, you've been miserable?" Seto laughs bitterly, "I'm sure you were very miserable when you destroyed my life and car."

Atem lets out a thoughtful hum, "It wasn't my goal to destroy your car."

"But you did!" Seto snaps, gripping the wheel hard, "Where did you even learn to drive?"

"Duke Develin taught me, back in America." Atem replies casually, "His car was less responsive than yours, and it had a lot of extra steps.

"Go away." Seto says, finally waving his hand towards his apparition, "Get back in the Necklace or Puzzle you, obnoxious little ghoul."

"It might be my last day in the land of the living, can't I enjoy the sunshine?"

"You're an apparition."

"You're splitting hairs."

Seto pulls into his parking spot and slams the door, marching towards the elevator with his brother and pesky ghost following behind. He punches the combination key in for the roof and crosses his arms.

This was it.

His last chance.

Seto wasn't nervous, not one bit. He had never been nervous before a Duel, and never will be. He always went into them with the expectation of winning, and his duels with Yugi-Atem were no different. Once he won this... he could truly bid Atem goodbye with no regrets.

The elevator opens and he looks up, eyes widening in shock.

"Yugi?"

"Partner?"

He and Atem speak in sync again, annoying him to no end. Thankfully he was the only one who could hear it.

"Good morning, everyone!" Yugi smiles brightly as if he wasn't currently standing on the roof of a skyscraper that should be public access, "I brought Mochi!"

"How did you get here?" Seto demands, striding out of the elevator before it closes.

Yugi winks at him, and when Seto looks down he notices a familiar badge clipped to Yugi's belt. The photo on the front was decidedly not Yugi. Seto turns to narrow his eyes at Mokuba, who was doing a very good job of not looking in his direction. Clasped in Yugi's hands were two plastic shopping bags, and under his arm was a familiar white and pink Duel Disk.

"Where did you get that?" He asks, not trying to sound accusatory since he had that Duel Disk specifically made for Yugi, but earnestly confused about where the man had gotten it.

"Mokuba gave it to me two days ago! It was Atem's idea to use them for the uh, soul stuff." Yugi explains with a shrug, "I figured it would come in handy for your Duel!"

"Right..." Seto says, caught off guard at the references to the bizarre experience they had shared, "I suppose you're here to watch me crush your partner?"

"And here I was going to cheer for you." Yugi sighs and tuts playfully, "No, I'm here because you can't exactly Duel Atem without this."

Yugi opens one of his deck holsters and pulls out a stack of cards. Seto stares at them for a moment, already feeling a twitch in his fingers and a spike in his heart rate at the thought of a Duel that could challenge him.

"I had a replica put together." He throws out, reaching up to unclasp the Millennium Necklace, "But I suppose Atem can use the real thing."

"You were going to let him Duel with a deck that's four years off meta?" Yugi asks, a devious glint in his normally innocent eyes, "Don't you want a challenge?"

Before Seto can reply Yugi then raises his finger to point just beside Seto's left shoulder.

"He's right there, isn't he?"

Seto glances over, blinking in surprise when Atem is indeed exactly where Yugi had pointed. Even Atem looked shocked.

"He is."

"I knew it. He always stood on my right." Yugi says, eyes staring directly where Atem's would be had he been visible before he turns away and sets the bags and Duel Disk down on the ventilation unit "I uh, brought falafel with Fava beans for him!"

"Partner..." Atem murmurs, voice heavy with sadness so strong even Seto feels a twinge in his heart.

"Well, we should get to work before it gets cold." Seto says, holding the necklace out to Mokuba before pulling the Puzzle out of his pocket.

He loops the heavy chain around his neck and crosses his arms. From here he watches the transparent version of himself fade away before he feels something weighing on his shoulders. A second heartbeat pounds in his chest just slightly out of sync with his own. Tingling runs up and down his entire body as his very shadow splits in two. Blinking, he stares at a familiar face watching him. Blue eyes shone with a different light than that he was used to. The chain around his neck was gone, the puzzle seemed to want to stay with its true owner.

"...Atem?" Yugi asks, voice low and almost ripped away by the rushing winds.

He watches himself turn to Yugi, and a smile graces his features. It's jarring to see, troubling even.

"Partner." Atem says in a voice that's almost a mockery of his own with how much it shakes.

Footsteps, the crunch of gravel. Yugi throws himself at Atem and the man easily catches him. Yugi's arms wrap around his shoulders and without hesitation, his hands wraps around Yugi. Seto clenches his fist to stop it from shaking as Yugi literally nuzzles his- no Atem's neck. From here he can see tears streaking down his own face as his lips move, whispering something to Yugi that cannot be heard from where he stands.

Seto knew he liked Yugi in the same way a man could know that the sun rose every day, but had never seen a sunrise. To finally see what could be... it was beautiful. It was painful because it wasn't him holding Yugi, telling him it was okay. It hurt because maybe... maybe if so many things had been different it could have always been him at Yugi's side. Swallowing hard, he watches himself pull away from Yugi and wipe his eyes.

"-rry for all this. I didn't want to involve you any more than was necessary." He hears himself say as Yugi holds out the Duel Disk. The other him removes his jacket, the article vanishing once he releases it before putting on the pink and white disk.

"It's okay! I understand!" Yugi says, bright as always. Forgiving as ever.

"Thank you for your help, I know I can count on you." Atem says, smiling at Yugi with his face and causing the other man to flush red.

"Kaiba's body doesn't suit you at all." Yugi says, eyes running up and down Atem, "You're way too tall."

"I don't like it either." Atem sighs and looks down, "Kaiba has carpal tunnel, and did you know he's-"

"Allergic to tree nuts and lactose intolerant?"

"Exactly! It's been miserable for me." Atem sighs dramatically, and Seto hopes his glare is burning a hole into the bastard's soul.

He watches Yugi smile at him- no at his... body and he finally turns away and strides towards Mokuba. Distance would calm his racing heart a bit. Even though when he turns with his arms crossed over his chest he can feel his thumping heart.

"Should we say something?" Mokuba asks, having been silent through most of this engagement.

"No." Seto says, watching Yugi fan out the deck of cards he brought for Atem while leaning over his shoulder as he eats the food Yugi provided. Blue eyes laser-focused on Yugi's words, "I can't interrupt something like that."

"...They're kinda cute together." Mokuba says, a certain playful edge to his voice, "Your body and Yugi."

"He's smiling like a dork." Seto seethes, avoiding his brother's obvious implication, "It pisses me off."

"Don't be so negative, bro." Mokuba teases, nudging his side with his boney elbow.

He huffs, gripping the cloth of his long sleeve shirt and looking away from the sickening sight of himself with Yugi.

Last night... or whatever time it had been in the soul, Yugi had listened to his every word. The real Yugi... he knew everything. Seto hadn't considered what to do with that knowledge, however. Anyone else would say the obvious answer was to initiate something since they both knew they liked each other, but Seto knew he wasn't the type to make anything easy. Even for himself. He had two decades of dealing with himself to know that he would surely have filed the whole Yugi business into a folder and ignored it. Even with all the affirmation that his feelings were mutual. That's just how he is. Letting people in was a slippery slope that lead to letting people out and he... he doesn't like losing anything.

But watching himself, even if it was just his body and face, stand so close to Yugi and simply be happy... it was having a monumental effect on him.

Seto doesn't believe in magic or fantasy. He has to see, even touch things for them to be real to him because that's how the world works. One can say and believe in things, but until something solid and real happens that's just what those things stay, beliefs. Dreams. Fantasy.

That's what he had thought his crush on Yugi was. A flight of fancy.

Now... watching his other self stand shoulder to shoulder with Yugi, watching the bright smiles on each other's face in the afternoon light...

It was real. It was a glimpse into... into a possible future that he was allowed to have. It was proof that he could let someone in and not be afraid of them leaving. Because Yugi had proven time and time again that he was always going to be around.

His hands are shaking.

"Kaiba."

From across the roof, he approaches himself. The other him, Atem, is holding out his deck and Seto takes it. Passing the man his own in return.

They shuffle their cards and return them.

Seto loads his cards into the blue compartment, preferring to use the digital versions. Atem loads his cards in the other part and the Duel Disk playing area opens. They walk fifteen feet away and turn to five each other.

"Now this will be a match," Yugi says as he walks past them and sits on the ledge of the building. Immediately Seto frowns at the man.

"Yugi, don't sit there."

"Partner, don't sit there."

Two voices overlap, and Yugi snickers as he stands. Seto shoots a glare at Atem, who was watching Yugi like a hawk as he moves to stand beside Mokuba instead. Seto relaxes when Yugi offers Mokuba his snacks and he looks back at his opponent.

"Where should we Duel?" Seto asks, Artificial Reality locations scrolling over their headsets. There were locations familiar to him, and a few that stemmed from Atem's memories.

"I'm not picky," Atem replies, selecting the randomize option.

"Neither am I." Seto selects the randomize option as well, and around them, their environment changes to a high vaulted church that Seto had been to once on a business trip with his father.

"Kaiba." Atem calls, his voice was not the familiar timber of Yugi's but his own, "This will be our last Duel in this lifetime."

"I know." Seto says, drawing five cards, "Don't disappoint me."

His double simply smiles a devious expression that looks right at home on his face.

He looks down at his cards, and his heart skips a beat. Though the cards are virtual, they replicate the actual cards contained in his deck, right down to the special effects of a foil card. That's why he was so shocked to see it, resting innocently between a Blue Eyes White Dragon and Crush Card Virus. A common Pot of Greed, no sparkles or shimmers dotting its digital surface. He glances at Yugi, who smiles widely at him and gives him a thumbs up.

In the time between giving Yugi his card, and now it had slipped his mind to get a replacement. When he had slept... Yugi must have slipped this card into his deck. Seto can almost hear the man's voice in his head.

"I wouldn't want you to be at a disadvantage waiting to draw a card that isn't even in your deck! Keep it, just in case."

He smiles and looks at Atem.

"I play Pot of Greed." He says simply and draws two cards.

- -

Seto deactivates his headset and Atem smiles at him as the church melts away to the familiar skyline of Domino City.

"You never disappoint, Kaiba." Atem says, walking across the roof towards him, "That was a Duel like no other."

"Of course it was. I've been preparing for this-"

He gasps when Atem grabs him and yanks him forward into a tight hug. The puzzle presses uncomfortably against his chest. Almost as uncomfortably as the arms around him, and the breath against his ear, and everything happening in the wretched moment. He had never been hugged by someone the same size as him ever before. Atem graciously pulls away, hands resting on his shoulders and a slight smile playing on his lips.

"I think I'm going to miss you. Just a little bit." Atem muses, "Our home life was awful but out duels? Almost makes it worth it."

"I'm not." Seto lies, debating on if squirming out of his reach would affect his image negatively, "Get lost already."

Atem drops his hands and steps away. Slowly removing the headset and Duel Disk he was given. And as if flicking a switch, the elation everyone had felt during the Duel dissipates. By his side, Yugi bites his lips as he takes the Duel Disk from Atem and puts it on. The pink looks much better on Yugi than it had on him.

No one wants to speak. The four of them are all standing exchanging sad bitter looks at each other. Seto swallows, and figures he should start.

"Thank you." He says, voice hesitant and he clears his throat, "It wasn't ideal, but I suppose I needed the push."

Atem nods, "There's no shame in that, Kaiba."

Silence again, and Atem looks around. Blue eyes rest on each of their faces before they turn to the bright blue sky and white clouds that drift above them.

"It's always when it's time to go that you don't want to leave." Atem murmurs, eyes turning back towards them, "You all have grown so much in these four years, and I feel like I'm still sixteen struggling to keep up with the adults."

Yugi nods, biting his lip as his eyes shine bright with tears. Seto can see that his entire body is shaking.

"I'll miss you again." Atem says moving forward and pulling Yugi into a hug, "I'll miss you all until the day you die."

"I'll miss you too." Yugi murmurs, he whispers something so softly he can't even hear it.

Slowly Atem stands again and then steps passed them towards the elevator. L the silver doors open automatically to reveal a bright white light. The same that he had seen in his memories after the Ceremonial Duel. And then Atem is wreathed in light, and when it fades the man is no longer a reflection of himself, or even a reflection of Yugi. Gold jewelry glitters in the sunlight, casting dapples of light across dark brown skin.

Atem, the true Atem, steps into the light, and unlike last time he turns back one last time. A smile lights his face, and he raises a hand to give a thumbs up as the elevator doors close.

Then he is gone.

Forever.

A cold hand grips his and he looks down to blink dumbstruck at Yugi's shaking shoulders.

"I... I forgot to tell him so many things." Yugi says voice strained and cracking as his slim fingers grip Seto's hand like a vice.

"It's okay Yugi, I'm sure he knows." Seto offers, glancing at Mokuba who shrugs helplessly.

"I-I-"Yugi gasps, releasing Seto's hand to press his hands against his face, "I forgot he died. As soon as I saw him, and spoke to him it was like he had never left."

Mokuba tugs his sleeve and Seto looks at him. His brother mouths 'hug him'. Normally he would never dream of doing such a thing, but he wasn't the same person he was yesterday. Slowly, tentatively, he leans down and wraps his arms around Yugi. One hand runs through the man's spiked hair to rest on the back of his head, and the other he places on the small of his back. Yugi's forehead rests on his shoulder and he shakes under him like a leaf caught in a typhoon. He looks up to see Mokuba flashing him a big thumbs up as he steps into the elevator, now a normal elevator and not a portal to the afterlife.

Yugi, being the man he is, wraps his arms around Seto and squeezes him so tight it takes his breath away. Seto gently runs his hand over Yugi's back, something his parents had done for him, and in turn, he had done for his brother.

"I'm sorry, Yugi." Seto apologizes, "What I did to call him here was wrong and selfish, I see that now."

Yugi nods, tears soaking through Seto's turtle neck, "It's okay. I'm not mad."

Seto knew that Yugi wouldn't be mad at him, though god knows he deserves it.

"It was nice to see him again at least. Last time felt so sudden..." Yugi mumbles into his neck, voice starting to even out.

"When did you figure it out?" Seto asks, thinking back to the night in the rain when Yugi specifically tried to speak to him.

"...Since the beginning I guess." Yugi shrugs, lifting his head to rest his chin on his shoulder, "I didn't figure it out immediately, but he can't hide from me. Even in someone else. I think my soul just sensed him."

"And you didn't tell me?" Seto chides.

"You wouldn't have believed me." Yugi counters, "And it would have scared Atem off. He tends to doubt himself when trying to deceive me."

Seto holds in a laugh and leans his head on Yugi's spiky hair, "It's hard to imagine someone as steadfast as Atem doubting himself."

"He's only sixteen."

"A very cruel sixteen-year-old."

"That's rich coming from you, Kaiba."

Seto does laugh at that. A small rumble in his chest. Yugi pulls away and wipes his face. Despite the tears that made his makeup run he still looked sweet and kind. It makes his cheeks flush.

"Thank you, Kaiba." Yugi says, reaching up and gently cupping his cheek with a cool hand, "Can I... uh... would it be too... I know we just..."

Yugi stumbles over his words, but Seto can easily understand what he's asking for. His heart is thumping in his chest and he can't quite feel the tips of his fingers. He cups Yugi's face between his hands and leans down, pressing his lips against the others.

Under his touch, Yugi stills, then pushes into the kiss. Fingers entangling in Seto's hair.

He pulls away then, and Yugi's smile is so beautiful under the sunlight. The kiss was... it was a kiss. Almost underwhelming for a first kiss, but the fact that it was with Yugi was what made his heartthrob. It takes a lot of effort, but he allows himself to smile back.

"Do you want to go on a date with me?" Yugi asks, voice steady now, "We can get burgers somewhere and maybe go to an arcade!"

"So childish." Seto teases, "I suppose I can fit it in."

Yugi cheers and starts towards the elevator.

"I missed the meeting for your game. I apologize." He adds as they walk.

"It's okay! You were doing more important things."

"How did it go?"

Yugi calls the elevator and smiles at Seto, "Poorly! They didn't seem interested in what I had to say since you weren't there."

Seto frowns, "I'll make sure they hear from me."

"Don't do that." Yugi brushes away his threat, "I want to get my game published on my own, not because I have connections."

That answer is unsurprising, and so Yugi it settles his nerves. The other smiles and takes Seto's hands into his own. The tight squeeze grounds him in the reality that he was taking tiny steps forward.