Yugi looked up from the sofa as the front door slammed. He could feel the Pharaoh's anger, but he forced the spirit back inside the Millennium Puzzle and stood, ignoring the Yami's heated protests.
"Let me talk to him, aibou!" Yami commanded. He tried once again to take control of the body, but Yugi pushed him back.
"I'll talk to him first, Pharaoh," he said and closed the door to Yami's soulroom. The cursing was still audible as he brought himself back to the real world with a jolt. Seth stood in the doorway. Immediately recognizing Yugi, he nodded a greeting.
"Where were you, Seth?" Yugi asked, keeping his voice casual.
The High Priest looked a little sheepish. "I was taking in the sights of your strange city. There are still many things in this time that I don't understand. What exactly is an autograph?"
Yugi laughed. "A signature. The fangirls probably thought you were Kaiba. I hope you didn't get mobbed too badly."
Seth shuddered. "I have fought invading armies that were less threatening." A very Kaiba-like smirk spread across his face. "A pity that removing people's souls does not go unnoticed."
"Fangirls don't have souls," Yugi said. At Seth's startled look, he laughed again. "Well, it would explain a lot." Seth smiled too. There was a moment of companionable silence. Then Yugi remembered the extremely annoyed Pharaoh that was currently trying to seize control of the body again.
"Uh, the Pharaoh wants to talk to you."
The Puzzle glowed. Seth watched in fascination as amethyst turned to crimson and the gentle gaze hardened.
"Where. Were. You?" Each word sounded as if the Pharaoh was struggling to maintain his temper.
Seth bowed his head. "As I just finished explaining to Yugi, I went for a walk. I wished to make myself familiar with this time." He glanced up; his blue gaze held a challenge. "Did you want me for something?"
Yami bristled. "This is different from anything you have experienced! The return from the afterlife was hard enough."
Seth roughly pushed aside memories of the darkness and pain and forced a smirk. "Why, my king." he said. "I had no idea you cared so much!"
Yugi, who was watching in spirit form from the Pharaoh's side, gaped in astonishment. But Yami did not react as he had expected. He just sighed.
"Seth, I don't want anything to happen to you. I tore you away from the afterlife and put you in danger to fulfill my own selfish whim." His voice softened. "I am sorry."
Seth's face also softened. "Frankly, the afterlife was dull without you. Karim is not someone I want to spend any length of time with, let alone eternity. Do not apologize. Besides, the only danger I've run into so far has been a pack of ravenous fangirls."
The Pharaoh shuddered. "Again, I apologize."
The High Priest's tone was firm. "Again, do not."
Yugi used the opportunity to take back the body. "Well, now that you're back, let me show you where you can sleep." Seth followed him gratefully up the stairs and into a small guest room. Yugi patted the bed.
"I know it's not what you're used to, but the sheets are clean."
"It will suffice," Seth said, unsheathing the Millennium Rod from beneath his robe and laying it across the bedspread. The golden head glinted at Yugi innocently. As Seth shifted, Yugi could also see the glint of a knife at his belt.
"There are some clothes here for you too," Yugi added, uncomfortable. He pointed to a neat stack on a nearby chair. "You aren't very inconspicuous in that outfit."
"I had worried," Seth said stiffly. There was an uncomfortable silence. Yugi turned to leave.
"Yugi," Seth said. Yugi looked back at him. "I… have not had the time to thank you properly, little one. Without your help, my king would never have been reborn." To Yugi's surprise and embarrassment, Seth dropped to one knee and bowed his head deferentially. "You possess the soul of a Pharaoh in more ways than one."
Touched, Yugi managed to stammer, "Thank you. It was nothing really."
Seth rose gracefully to his feet. "I will retire now. It has been a long day."
Yugi nodded fervently. "Yep, but that happens a lot when you have a yami. Good night, Seth."
Seth couldn't help but smile back at Yugi's youthful innocence. "Good night…Yugi."
As soon as the boy had gone, Seth collapsed onto the bedspread. A gnawing ache was spreading through his body and he was exhausted. He slipped beneath the sheets with a Herculean effort, not even bothering to get undressed. His last thought as he drifted off into a restless sleep was of Seto Kaiba's defiant sneer.
Later that night, Seto Kaiba woke up, violently ill. He staggered into the bathroom and collapsed on his knees in front of the toilet. He heaved until his stomach was empty and his throat raw, then rested his forehead against the cool porcelain bathtub. He heard Mokuba knock on the door, heard his little brother call out to him, but he was afraid to open his mouth. After a long moment, he managed to gasp out a weak, "I'm fine, Mokuba. Go back to bed."
He didn't know whether or not Mokuba had heard him. His stomach chose that moment to rebel and he dry-heaved for five minutes, burning his throat. There was an anxious knock again.
"Seto, can I come in?"
"It's just the stomach flu, Mokuba," Seto called. "I don't want you to get sick too. I'll be fine."
He heard a worried sigh and the sound of soft footsteps retreating. He sat back on the tile floor. The nausea was gone and an aching pain had replaced it. An ache that was strangely familiar…
In the privacy of his own bathroom, Seto Kaiba dared to whisper the words he never would have voiced anywhere else.
"Damned priest. What have you done to me?"
