Ten years later. . .

There were a lot of rumors circulating in the last days. Some incredible news had reached St. Petersburg and people couldn't stop to gossip about it. It was rumored that the last son of the Czar, Prince Atem, might have survived. Solomon Muto, a rich nobleman, and father of the last empress of Russia had promised to pay a reward for the return of his grandson.

A silver-haired man walked through the crowd with a cocky smile on his lips and reached a secret door that connected to to the black market. He knocked on the door a couple of times and whispered the secret word. After door opened, the man entered the market and looked around for two familiar figures.

"Pegasus!" A young voice called him.

The man turned around and smiled, seeing a little boy beside a tall young man, Mokuba and Seto Kaiba.

"Kaiba-boys, hello!" Pegasus greeted the two brothers.

"Don't be so loud," Seto scolded him, eyeing him badly with his cold blue eyes. "Did you find it?"

"You're always so cheerful," Pegasus mocked him, already used to his business partner's bad mood. He put a hand before his mouth and whispered, "Come one, let's go."

The irritable man took the lead and the other two followed him as they walked across the market.

Seto Kaiba had changed a lot over the past ten years. After the revolution, he had lost his job at the palace and his dream to become a counselor in the royal court had been crushed. Seto had always wanted to get a better life for his brother and himself. After passing days in the streets, he had been able to get adopted by a powerful rich man, along with Mokuba. But things had not gone as he had planned after the man had died, he had left nothing to the brothers. Seto had to start everything from zero with only the man's surname as heritage.

The trio walked out of the marked and reached an isolated building, where unwanted ears couldn't listen to them.

"So?" Seto asked, impatient. "Did you find the theatre?"

"Oh, I did!" Pegasus told him, pleased. "Everything is going according to the plan."

Seto grinned as they climbed the stairs to his office. "Now we need only the boy." And the money would be theirs. He and Mokuba will never have miserable lives again.

"I will come too to Paris, right big brother?" Mokuba asked with a little pout as they entered the room.

Seto ruffled his brother's long hair. "Of course, Mokuba. I will not leave you in this place. After all, we'll leave this rat hole and never come back."

Mokuba smiled happily and stepped away from his brother's hand.

"We'll have four tickets out of here," Pegasus reassured, raising his fingers. "One for you, one for Kaiba-boy, one for me and one for Prince Atem!"

"But is this Prince Atem really alive?" Mokuba asked, crossing his arms.

Seto took his briefcase and started to pack stuff. "It's just a rumor, our only interest is to convince Solomon Muto to get the money."

"Actually it's a mystery, nobody knows the truth," Pegasus said, imitating the citizens of St. Petersburg.

Seto groaned annoyed.

He didn't believe that the prince had survived, what were the chances of him making it alive all alone that night? And if he did why was he still hiding?

"But your brother is right, Prince Atem will make us fly, Mokuba-boy," Pegasus continued with an overdramatic tone.

"We'll really become rich!" Mokuba cheered, jumping on his place excited.

Seto moved aside a little picture on the wall that hid a hole behind it, inside there was the golden pyramid that belonged to the lost prince. He had found it after he had helped the prince to escape from the palace. This will be their trump card, along with the actor that they will hire to play the part of Prince Atem. They will teach him what to say, then dress him up and take him to Solomon Muto.

Thanks to the hopeless fool the Kaiba name will rise again.


Outside an orphanage, a short young man, dressed in second-hand oversized clothes, was being dragged out by the old headmistress.

"I got you a job in the fish factory. You go down this path till you get to the fork in the road. Go left..." The woman stopped to talk when she noticed that her interlocutor wasn't listening.

The young man had a thumb up towards the children who were watching him from the window and saying goodbye.

"Bye, Yami!"

"We will miss you!"

"Are you listening?"

Yami turned slowly towards the headmistress and put his small bag on his shoulder. "Of course, miss," he said deadpan.

The headmistress growled almost like a dog. She had always hated the boy's attitude. "You've been a thorn in my side since you were brought here," she said exasperated, grabbing Yami from the scarf and dragging him to the gate. "Acting like a pharaoh of Ancient Egypt, instead of the nameless no-account you are."

Yami freed himself from the scarf before she could suffocate him and rolled his eyes. He knew the headmistress' usual rant word by word by now.

"And for the last ten years I've fed you, I've clothed you. I've-"

"Kept a roof over my head," Yami interjected, annoyed.

The woman turned her head irritated as she opened the gate and walked back to Yami. "How is it you don't have a clue who you were before you came to us, but you can remember all that?"

Yami's eyes sharpened and he clutched his necklace. He didn't remember his past but. . . "I do have a clue-"

"Oh, I know!" the headmistress interrupted him this time, grabbing his necklace. "Together in Paris. . ." she read aloud the inscription. "So, you want to go to France to find your family, huh?"

She laughed and Yami took the necklace away from her hands.

"Mr. Yami, it's time to take your place in life, in life, and in line, and be grateful too," the Headmistress continued, pushing Yami out of the gate and throwing his blue scarf. "Together in Paris," she repeated with a mocking tone for the last time and left him alone.

Yami glared at the woman for the treatment and walked away. He didn't know how much he had walked before he reached the fork that led to the fish market and to St. Petersburg. Yami grabbed unconsciously the necklace as he read the left road sigh for the fish market.

The headmistress had found a job for him even though she loathed him but something in his heart told him this wasn't the right path. Maybe he should take the other road and follow his instinct. . . He couldn't remember anything about his childhood, not even his real name. The necklace was the only thing that tied him to his past, what if there was really someone who waiting for him in Paris?

Yami chuckled and shook his head.

No, this was stupid after all these years, and then how could he reach Paris? He should just keep going for his road, but a part of him just wanted to know who he was, his real fate. . .

Yami sat down on the snow and lost in his thoughts he didn't notice a little furball come from behind him and take his scarf.

"Uh?" Yami blinked as a hairy brown puppy barked at him with his scarf in his mouth. "You want to play?" he asked amused as the puppy shook his scarf playfully.

The young man stood up and took the other end of the scarf but the puppy pulled to his side as he tried to take it back. In the end Yami was able to win it back but something was different. Yami looked behind and noticed he had walked a few meters from the fork, he was on the road to St. Petersburg.

Yami looked surprised at the dog in front of him. "You played me, didn't you?"

The puppy barked happily and Yami smirked.

He would take this as a sign of fate.

"Well, then let's go!"