Seth found Seto in his study. The other was seated at a computer, back rigid and eyes focused on the screen. He didn't even look up as Seth entered the room. Seth didn't bother waiting for an acknowledgement. He swept across the room and sat gracefully in a chair across from Kaiba's desk. Seto still did not look up.
"There are some ingredients that I need to perform the spell that will restore the Pharaoh's memory," Seth said. "Without my natural power, I will need to rely on magical items and charms to provide the energy."
Seto continued typing as though Seth had not spoken.
"You have the connections and resources to get them for me."
Kaiba snorted. "And what makes you think that I'm going to help you?"
Seth stood and lifted Kaiba's chin so that the boy had no choice but to meet his gaze. "You're going to help me because I imagine you wish to be rid of me before you die."
Seto stood as well, jerking his chin out of Seth's grip. "Is that a threat?"
"I don't need threats to get my way."
"If you're trying to get me to do you a favor, you certainly aren't taking the right tone with me. Shouldn't you be on your knees or something, like you always are with the runt?"
Seth unsheathed the Millennium Rod. The golden eye began to glow. Seth's eyes narrowed and Seto actually felt his stomach lurch. He forced his voice to sound disdainful.
"I thought you said that you didn't have magic."
Seth's voice was as cold as ice. "Not like I used to. If you had taken that tone with me five thousand years ago, you would not have lived to speak again."
"Please, stop being melodramatic," Seto snapped. "This isn't Egypt."
Seth sighed and the glow faded. "No, it is not. Therefore, I'm going to appeal to your sense of reason, for despite your stubbornness, you do have one."
Kaiba folded his arms. "Let's hear it."
"You want me gone. I want the same," Seth said. "The Pharaoh was one of the most powerful shadowmancers to ever walk this earth. His magic can sever the bond that connects you and me. I'll leave you in peace, or as close to it as you'll ever find." He paused. "Refuse to help me, and I'll be tied to you until the day you die." He spread his hands. "It's your move, Seto. Personally, I would find Mokuba a very charming roommate."
Kaiba's eyes narrowed. "I am not your puppet to do with as you wish, priest," he snapped.
"Yes you are. But if you help me, that doesn't have to last forever."
Kaiba visibly reigned in his temper. "What do you want?"
Seth bit back a triumphant smile. "Do you have a pen?"
After Seth had left, Seto sat at his computer with his head in his hands. He was trembling with anger. How dare he?! With a deep breath, he sat up and put his hands on the keyboard and began to work again. The rhythm was soothing.
He typed for a few moments, but the words began to blur together. He rubbed his eyes and put his head back in his hands. His fingers tightened on his own hair and his teeth clenched in anger. Abruptly, he slammed his hand against the desk, eyes narrowed in a scowl.
"Seto?"
Seto looked up. Mokuba was standing nervously in the doorway.
"Come in, Mokuba," Seto said gruffly, trying to rein in his anger.
Mokuba carefully walked across the study. He looked at his brother, seeing in a moment all the anger and stress in the lines of Seto's shoulders. He hesitated. Maybe I shouldn't talk to him about Seth now.
"What do you want?" Seto snapped irritably. Mokuba flinched at the tone and straightened his shoulders defiantly.
"I wanted to talk to you about Seth," he said. Seto stiffened.
"That's not a topic I'm going to discuss with you," he said, turning his eyes back to the computer screen.
Mokuba's temper flared. "Well too bad, Seto! We're going to talk about him."
Seto looked up, eyes narrowing.
"You behaved badly at dinner. You knew that Seth couldn't eat fish and you served it anyway!"
Seto arched an eyebrow. "And how would I know that?"
Mokuba glared at his brother and Seto was uncomfortably reminded of himself. "I know you, Seto. I know that you would want to know everything about Seth so you could figure out a way to hurt him! Just like Gozaboro would have."
Immediately, Mokuba realized his mistake. Seto's face drained of color. He looked shocked. He fell back into his seat, his hands dropping bonelessly into his lap.
"Seto, I…" Mokuba reached out and touched his brother's arm, but Seto turned away, his blue eyes full of hurt. Mokuba felt horrible.
"I'm sorry," he whispered miserably. Seto didn't answer. His back was still to his brother, the proud shoulders slumped. Tears flowing down his cheeks, Mokuba left the room. Seto continued staring blankly at the wall.
Seth was asleep in the luxurious bed when he was awakened by a sharp pain in his ribs. He opened his eyes immediately, lunging for the Millennium Rod on the bedside table. It wasn't there. Disoriented, he sat bolt-upright and stared at the dark figure standing above him.
"Seto?"
The other flicked on the light. Seto Kaiba stood by the bed, the Millennium Rod in his hands. Unsheathed. The metal blade gleamed in the light from the lamp from where it tickled Seth's ribs. Blood was already flowing from a shallow cut nearly three inches long. Seth took a sharp, startled breath. It hurt! With deliberate movements, Seto traced the blade up Seth's torso to his throat. The feel of the cold steel on his unguarded neck made Seth shiver.
"It's generally considered polite to knock first," he managed bravely. He was already reaching inside himself for what little magic he still possessed, but against the Millennium Rod…
Then Seto spoke. His voice was cold and dead, as though he had ceased to be human and was merely a shell of a man that walked and talked.
"Get out of my house."
Seth cautiously peered in Kaiba's mind, hoping to find some sort of rationale for this behavior. What he saw made his skin crawl. A thin layer of calm covered a deep well of pain and hatred, and the calm was about to snap. Seth was reminded of a man who has been flayed alive, and shock alone is shielding him from mortal agony. He withdrew immediately, shivering.
Without a word, he swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood. He slept shirtless, but he didn't dare grab more substantial clothing. The Millennium Rod never wavered from his throat. He backed slowly towards the duffle, which lay at the foot of the bed. Seto did not pursue. His arm fell limply at his side. Seth felt a wave of pain and sorrow from the other boy and without thinking, he attempted to comfort him. He imagined light and heat flowing across their mental link, warming Kaiba from within.
With a strangled cry, Seto staggered back, recoiling from the mental touch as though from a poisonous snake. The Millennium Rod tumbled from his nerveless fingers and skidded across the floor towards Seth.
"Get out." He was gone before Seth could reply.
Seth let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. It took him a few minutes to remember how to make his lungs work properly again. That view of Kaiba's mind… Shaking slightly, Seth pulled a shirt from the duffle and pulled it over his head. He threw his few belongings, including the Rod, into the bag and hauled it over his shoulder. His ribs screamed at the abuse. Pulling the shirt up, he saw that the blood was still flowing sluggishly. Wincing, he tore a tiny strip from the hem of the shirt, folded it, and pressed it against the wound.
When he could walk without wanting to faint, (the adrenaline was wearing off), he staggered out onto the landing. Mokuba appeared at the door of his room, rubbing his eyes sleepily.
"Seth, where are you going?" His eyes widened. "You're hurt!"
"I'll be fine. I have to leave."
"Why?"
"Because your brother is barely clinging to sanity and my presence here is not helping!" Seth snapped. His ribs flared.
"Seto?" Mokuba said. "What happened?" His voice quivered.
And in that instant, Seth knew. "What did you say, Mokuba?"
"N-nothing."
"Listen," Seth said. "I looked into his mind. He's trying to repress mental anguish that's threatening to overwhelm him. No one else could have caused him such pain." He took a menacing step forward. "What. Did. You. Say?"
"I-I defended you. Because of the dinner incident."
"That's not enough."
"I…lost my temper. I c-compared him to…our stepfather."
Seth blanched. He had seen glimpses of Kaiba's past in his explorations through the other's mind and knew the sacrifices that Seto had made to keep Mokuba safe. He had seen memories of the torture and the exhaustion and the fear of what he was becoming in Seto's thoughts. To hear his worst fear confirmed by the one he loved the most must have rocked Seto to the core.
"For his sake, Mokuba, I hope he forgives you." Leaving Mokuba alone on the landing, Seth turned and carried the duffle down the stairs, step by painful step.
"Wait!" Mokuba cried. "It's the middle of the night! You can't go back to Yugi's alone. I'll have our driver take you."
"No thanks," Seth said curtly. "I'd rather walk."
He shoved open the heavy doors, one hand pressed to his wound, and stumbled out into the night.
Within moments, he was freezing. The insubstantial clothing didn't protect him from the chill and he realized that he had forgotten to put on shoes. But he didn't dare rummage through the duffle for them, for he feared that if he put the bag down, he wouldn't be able to pick it up again. He stumbled on, wincing at the pain in his ribs.
Suddenly, he remembered the cell phone that Yugi had given him. He dropped the bag and sank down beside it, rummaging in the pockets. There! He dialed the number.
"Hello?" Yugi sounded sleepy and disoriented.
"Yugi," Seth said, pressing harder on the makeshift bandage with a soft groan. "I need you to come to the mansion immediately."
To his credit, Yugi didn't ask questions. "I'll be right there."
Seth dragged himself to his feet and pulled the duffle out to the elaborate gates, where he waited in the shadow of the guard booth. A few minutes later, headlights approached. Solomon Mutou was at the wheel, with Yugi riding shotgun. Seth staggered out to meet them. Yugi was out of the car before it had fully stopped and ran to Seth's side.
"Seth, are you alright?" the Pharaoh asked urgently.
"A little dizzy," Seth replied. He lifted up the shirt to show the cut to Yami. The Pharaoh growled in anger.
"Kaiba did this to you?" he snarled.
"He was provoked," Seth said faintly. "I'll be fine. I just need a proper bandage."
"You're just as stubborn as Kaiba," Yami said.
Seth smiled. "I'll take that as a compliment."
Yami sighed and helped Seth to his feet and to the waiting car. Solomon Mutou did not ask questions. Perhaps he'd seen too much weirdness to think much of picking up a duplicate of Yugi's archrival in the middle of the night. He drove home after Seth argued vehemently against the hospital.
"Seto Kaiba coming in with a knife wound? Every tabloid in the country will jump on the story. There will be an investigation."
"You're not Kaiba," Yami said.
Seth gave him a withering glare. "What do you want to tell them? The truth?"
No one argued with him after that.
At home, after allowing Yugi to bandage the wound properly, Seth lay on his bed, propped up with pillows. He ached all over, not just where the Millennium Rod had sliced into his skin. I can only imagine what Seto must be going through…
As Seto hunched over the toilet that night, he almost welcomed the aching pain that spread through his limbs. Mokuba was at the door again, had been for hours, but Seto ignored him. He felt cold and empty.
He brushed his teeth and rinsed his mouth after it was over, but the bitter taste remained. Wiping the water from his face, he happened to glance into the mirror. For a moment, he thought he saw Gozaboro's face staring back at him in place of his own.
