The light in the room was too bright, and the pain in his head was intense. But, Seto noted with some degree of relief, he was indeed still alive.
He sat up slowly and looked around, recognising his surroundings instantly. He wasn't surprised to find himself in Domino City Hospital, in one of the more spacious suites they had. It was a twin room, and Seto recognised the noises coming from the other bed, regardless of not being able to see through the curtain separating them.
They were battle noises from a videogame KaibaCorp was in the very beginning stages of beta testing. And the company's best tester, if Seto was honest, wasn't even one of the people who were hired to do it.
Seto had long limbs – Mokuba often remarked that he had perfect "selfie arms", not that he took selfies – so he was just able to reach the curtain and pull it open enough to see his brother. "Mokuba!"
Mokuba instantly looked up from his game, then over to Seto. "Nii-Sama! You're up!" He put down his DS and grinned at his brother. "You were out for ages! I blacked out too, and when I woke up there were paramedics dragging me out of the car, and they wouldn't let me speak to you. They said I had to come straight here. Our driver's fine, by the way. He got a concussion and whiplash, and a few scrapes and bruises, but the nurse said he'll recover in no time. He's in a different ward, though, because he's a grownup. But they were able to keep us together since you are technically underage."
"But what about you?" Seto pressed.
"Oh, I'm fine!" Mokuba nodded. "Not too much damage done. Mostly just sore. The doctor said that we were all lucky." He frowned slightly. "Very, very lucky actually. A crash like that usually results in lost limbs, or worse. But we should all recover with no long-term issues."
"That's good to know." Seto was reluctant to tell Mokuba the reason why he thought that was. After all, it was probably just a coincidence that emergency services showed up just after he completed the puzzle…
The puzzle!
"Did they recover any of our belongings from the wreck?"
Mokuba shrugged. "The car's a total write-off. Oh! But they did manage to save a couple of your things. I don't know what they were, but the nurse said they were put in the drawer beside your bed for when you woke up."
Seto tried to look calmer than he felt as he opened the drawer. His wallet and phone were there…as was the pendant, sitting quietly at the very back. He couldn't explain why, but Seto felt relieved. Despite all the item had put him through, a part of him felt attached to the spirit within, in a way he didn't understand.
He closed the drawer slowly, and reached for the nurse call button. If no serious damage had been done, then Seto saw no reason for him and Mokuba to stay any longer.
Seto spun his chair this way and that, the swivelling going back to an old nervous habit of his. He held the puzzle before his own eyes, examining it as though he as seeing it for the first time.
He was beginning to wonder if he really had a choice but to believe in all this nonsense. He'd read his file, as well as Mokuba's, spoken to the officer on duty and read the accident report. In every considered opinion, the doctor had been right, and Seto, his brother and their driver had been very lucky. Many people didn't survive accidents like that; and those who did, didn't usually walk away so easily. There had to be more to it.
Seto recalled wishing on the puzzle. He recalled every word he'd said to it, and how each one came true. So, knowing that he was about to go against everything he believed in, he took a deep breath and spoke aloud.
"I'm not really sure how this works, but…if you can hear me…give me a sign, or…something."
"What kind of sign would you prefer?" Seto looked up upon hearing the voice, and saw the spirit of the puzzle standing before him.
"Did you save us?" Set asked, rising to his feet. "That car wreck was pretty bad…are you the reason nobody was really hurt?"
The spirit smiled. "You know that whoever puts the puzzle together is granted a wish. You wished for your safety. Actually – foremost, you wished for your brother's safety. But yes, the puzzle is the reason everybody survived the accident."
Seto rubbed his eyes, as if doing so would clear his mind of all confusion. "So, clearly you're not malevolent, then."
The spirit actually laughed at that. "No. I'm actually – well, I don't know. I have no memories, and only a small concept of who I might have been."
"So you don't even know your name?"
The spirit shook his head. "But you can call me Yami. I do know that others have before. I come from Egypt – but anything more than that is beyond me."
Seto looked down at the puzzle in his hands. Yami…darkness…but this spirit wasn't dark. Now that Seto could speak to him, he realised that he actually seemed quite, well, normal. For a ghost, that is. Still, if Seto knew anything for sure, it was that everybody was capable of great evil, even those who do great good; meaning that everybody had darkness within them – and if his last conversation with Yami was any indicator, Seto himself was no exception to this rule.
This was so much to wrap his head around. Before the accident he'd understood so little and, looking at Yami now, he understood it all even less. Seto knew that his own memories were less than pleasant, but they made him who they were. Everything he'd been through served to bring him to where he was today. Yami didn't even have that. The best he could do was believe that whoever held his puzzle would do the right thing, so he could learn through them. He had no choice but to trust unconditionally someone who had yet to give him a reason to; a concept that made Seto's skin crawl.
Seto wasn't a man disposed to going out of his way to help others. However, Yami wasn't exactly like most others, and therefore warranted an exception. "What if we went to Egypt, then? I'm not sure what we'd be looking for, exactly, but it seems like the most logical place to start."
Yami visibly brightened. "You'd do that?"
Seto shrugged, and averted his gaze. "I guess. I mean, if – if – you're right and fate or whatever has brought us together, then maybe this is what for. I have a private jet, I can get us there in no time. And Mokuba said that he managed to contact a woman who seems to know a lot about what's going on. Maybe she can help you."
"I don't know what to say." Yami smiled softly. "You're a good friend, Kaiba. And I think I'm not the only one who will gain something from this trip."
Seto rolled his eyes and put the puzzle back around his neck. "Yeah, yeah. But if you're going to be sharing my body, we need to establish some ground rules. First…"
