"That smug, selfish, son of a bitch!" The shout threatened to crack the windows, thunder clouds rolling in waves over the metropolitan as if in tune with his suddenly foul mood. The secretary smartly removed herself from the room and locked the door, canceled his meetings. Seto Kaiba was not in a mood to be disturbed.

Chairs became overturned, books flying to the floor in rumpled heaps, the phone finding its way to the carpet- dial tone bleeping out a syncopated reminder that sooner or later it would have to be picked up. Seto's fist landed against the windowpane as he glared out at the city, damning it for even thinking of existing at a time like this.

Atem, considering quitting; considering moving to a new record label? But if he did that, how on this hellish earth could Seto keep tabs on him? How could he find out what his expenditures were? How could he find out things like his most ordered food while on tour, or his most beloved fabric to wrap himself up in at night- without looking like a fool and a stalker? To know where he was at all times? To be able to listen to his records without having to buy every last one?

Again his fist banged against the window, cracks rising from the force, etching their way into the one-way bulletproof glass. His cerulean eyes glared down on the people below him. They all worshipped this petty little prima donna, kissed the ground he walked on- ground Seto could be nowhere near, and it was starting to seem as if he would never be near again.

Atem was threatening to leave, found loopholes in his contract; loopholes Seto thoroughly damned himself for having let happen. He was the only one allowed to own Atem's proverbial soul and somehow he'd let it slip through his very fingers. He was going to leave and he wouldn't even state why or what company he was leaving to- a smart move because Seto would have decimated any company Atem claimed before the spiky-headed Pharaoh even had a chance to walk through their doors.

The man wasn't leaving Seto an option; it didn't look like he was fooling around. He had his eyes set on something and he was planning on leaving. If he was doing this just to get attention or a higher pay raise he would have messed around, tried to tweak the rules, tried to anything- anything at all. But instead Seto had just gotten a single message.

Atem was leaving Kaiba Corporation, and it didn't seem like Seto could pull himself out of this.

Halfway across the world, Atem was biting his fingernails. Threatening to leave with no reason and nowhere to actually go he hoped he'd given off an air of seriousness. His mind was just as, if not farther than, logically brilliant as Seto's. If this pissed Seto off he'd know he had a chance. But there was a high risk he was running. Seto could easily pass him off and forget about him. Just another celebrity walking away, Kaiba seldom cared. He was worried that Seto would just shrug him off like any other bothersome person and be done with him.

He'd paced the room nearly a hundred times by now. The time difference was staggering and he should have been dead tired; having just moved from a concert hall right into his hotel room, however he was jittery. But the message had been delivered to Seto, this much his secretary promised to get in. So, why hadn't the brunet called? Why hadn't anyone called? If not Seto then why not a representative?

Were they really going to let him walk?

He felt faint. He'd just blown everything. Yuugi had been wrong.

The shrill cry of his phone ringing nearly gave him a heart attack. He dove for it, but a firm hand from Yuugi stopped him. Right, he couldn't appear desperate. Though this could have been the goodbye call. This could have been anything-

"Mm, what?" He managed to make himself sound dogged and tired, rather than panicked and nervous.

"You are going to be in my boardroom at your earliest convenience with your manager and we are going to talk this out." Seto's voice gruffed from the end of the line.

Atem nearly died. How long had it been since he'd heard that beautifully angry voice? "What, why?" He'd worked out a plan with Yuugi. The younger had been right up until now, so Atem saw no reason to trust him.

"Don't fuck around, Mutou. You know exactly why."

The smirk was clear in his voice. "What's the matter, Kaiba? Company can't stand to lose their brightest star?"

"I clearly just asked you not to fuck around." Seto was not in a good mood.

Atem yawned, and then sighed. "Earliest convenience, yeah, okay. It'll be about a day, maybe two."

"Your flight leaves in an hour, fail to catch it and I can guarantee you never work in this town again." He couldn't. He absolutely could not afford such a high price; but he had his own games to play.

Atem yawned yet again. "We'll see what happens." With that his phone snapped shut, effectively ending the call before he blew it.

He quickly got up from bed, Yuugi following at his heel. They were going to the airport and heading back to Japan. There was no way he'd miss this.

But on that other side of the globe, Seto's phone found itself nearly wedged into the floor. "Damn him. Fuck him right to hell." He'd never felt so out of control in his life. Atem was playing him like a harp, and he could only lament at such torture. Would he show?

Gods help the world if Atem didn't. Because it was in dire straits of nearly going up into flames from one very pissed off Seto Kaiba.