Chapter 34

Second Chance

Author's note: just to not get in trouble, I should remind everyone that I don't own anything YuGiOh. I just own my characters and Dark Mage of the Sea owns hers.

From here on out, River and A Star Among Darkness will be updated based on the order of the timeline set by me and my coauthor.

This chapter will coincide with bits of the 36th and 37th and the 40th chapter of River, with each chapter focusing on a different POV. For the Ceremonial Duel, please read chapter 37 for River.

When a sentence is ~like this~, it's phoenix speech.

Thank you, Dark Mage of the Sea, my coauthor and best friend.

Itami and Earthzina were getting antsy, almost rocking on their guardians. Itami hissed a sigh. ~It's been too long!~

Earthzina agreed. ~I'm starting to think the worse…~

Looking up from Merina, Torru ruffled his feathers. ~Calm down, you two! I'm sure they're fine!~

Tarra gave a worried whine and nuzzled Yugi's cheek. Just then, he started to stir. ~Yugi!~

Everyone started to wake up, to the phoenixes' relief. Tarra chirped happily. ~Finally! We were so worried!~

Itami lightly pecked Kaiba's temple. ~Don't ever do that again!~

Kaiba glared at her. "Do that again, I'll make you my dinner."

Itami did not blink at the threat/tease. Everyone stood up and, after registering they were back in their time, turned to Yugi and Tiki. Tea asked, "Is Yami—I mean, Atem…?"

Merina added, "What about Tima?"

Joey finished with, "Did they make it back?"

Yugi and Tiki looked at the Millennium Puzzle and Queen's Necklace. The gang got their answer when Atem and Tima took over. Atem smiled. "We're here."

The gang was happy to see them. Atem's smile widened. "Thank you, my friends. If you all hadn't come with us, we probably would have lost the Shadow Game."

Joey grabbed Atem's shoulders in a friendly manner. "What's with being so formal? We'll always be by your side."

Merina added, "After all, you two are our special friends."

Tima smiled. **Thank you.**

Peeking at Tristan, Joey smirked. "Merina says special friend but you got your ass controlled by Bakura pretty easily."

Tristan looked away in embarrassment. "Can we not bring that up?"

Joey continued to needle his friend, which led to an argument. Earthzina gave a chirping laugh as Tea and Merina tried to break the two up. Tima covered her mouth, as if giggling, and Atem watched in amusement. Kaiba waited for the right moment before throwing the Millennium Eye at Atem, who caught it. "I believe you need that."

Kaiba started to leave. Joey asked, "How the hell did you get this?"

Kaiba kept walking. "Let's go, Tiki."

Joey growled, "Kaiba! Stop! We need an explanation!"

Kaiba kept walking so Joey ran up to him. But they stopped at the base of the stairs as they saw two people walking down. When they got close enough, the two people were Ryou and Rose. Everyone was on the defense until Ryou asked in a daze, "What's going on?"

Rose looked around. "Where are we?"

Everyone blinked in surprise. Joey asked, "Wait, you don't remember a thing?"

Ryou looked up a little. "We were being chased by something…and…"

He suddenly collapsed into Joey's arms. Worried, Rose went to her brother. "Ryou, are you all right?!"

Ryou whined to Rose, "Ane, I'm hungry…!"

With that, Ryou passed out completely. Rose sighed a little. "He'll be fine but we need to get him some food."

Tristan smiled softly. "Let's get him outside."

Joey agreed and took one of Ryou's arms. Noticing the Millennium Ring, he took it off and gave it to Atem. "I think you'll be needing this more than Bakura."

Rose looked at her accompanying pendant. "What about mine?"

As if responding, the pendant became sand and blew away. As his friends headed upstairs with Ryou, Atem looked at the Millennium Ring. Kaiba watched him and Tima for a moment before heading up himself with Itami. Once he was out in the sunlight, he looked behind himself and saw the couple had not followed him. Looking at her guardian, Itami asked, ~So what happened in there?~

Kaiba looked around. 'I'll tell you later.'

Itami wanted to press the issue but she could sense a whirlwind of emotions in him. So she went quiet. A couple minutes later, Atem and Tima came up. Tima smiled at the Ishtars. "Marik. Ishizu. Odion."

Everyone was surprised to hear her speak. Merina asked, "How can you speak?!"

Tima smiled some more. "When Atem got his memories back, I got my voice back."

Ishizu asked, "I assume, with the Queen having her voice back, that you were able to regain all your memories?"

Atem nodded. Tima added, "You know what this means, don't you?"

Marik's face lit up. "Yes…that our duties as Tomb Guardians has truly ended."

Ishizu shook her head. "Not quite. Right now, all the Millennium Items are together. One thing remains."

Atem agreed. "To keep them from getting into the wrong hands again, Tima and I must seal them with our own hands."

Tea tensed up. "Wait, you mean…"

Tima nodded. "It is our final duty."

Tarra nuzzled Atem's head. Both Tea and Marik looked a little hurt. Tea asked, "I know what you mean…but…doesn't that mean you will return to the afterlife?"

Their friends did not like the sound of that. Sensing tension, Ishizu spoke up. "Pharaoh, Queen, the stone slab our family has been protecting was returned to the Temple of the Underworld."

Atem realized, "You mean the Millennium Tablet?"

Ishizu nodded. "It is written that placing the Millennium Items on the tablet will activate the door to the afterlife and the key to opening it is the Pharaoh's name."

Joey looked at Atem. "Atem…"

Ishizu lit up a little. "Atem…is that your name?" Off Atem's nod, Ishizu continued. "That means all the conditions have been met. Are your minds made up?"

Atem nodded. "They are."

Tima took his hand. "It's where we need to be."

Ishizu nodded. "Then allow us to guide you to the Temple of the Underworld."


About an hour later, they arrived at the Nile where a huge yacht was waiting for them. While impressed, Joey was confused. "We're not going by plane?"

Ishizu explained, "We can only there by boat."

Earthzina ruffled her feathers, as if shrugging. Tristan pointed out, "Like it really matters. A ride on a yacht can be pretty sweet!"

Joey almost agreed but instead asked, "Why are you so laid back all of a sudden?"

Annoyed, Tristan motioned to Tea with his head. Merina looked as well and got annoyed. Tiki looked up at Merina and elbowed her side a little as Joey grinned, "Not like we're in a rush or anything!"

Ishizu started to head towards the yacht. "In ancient times, the people believed ships carried Pharaohs, Queens, and others back to the Gods, traveling from this world to the Land of the Dead. They also believed the Land of the Dead is where the sun sets. Because of that, that is where the Temple of the Underworld is. So you can say there is another reason we are going by ship."

Yugi and Tiki did not know what to say. They were saved, however, by someone calling out to them from the boat. Everyone looked up to see Solomon, Duke, Mokuba, and Professor Scipio. Yugi and Tiki said at the same time, "Grandpa?!"

Merina's eyes were just as wide. "Dad!"

As the gang joined them and Mokuba ran up to Kaiba to hug him, Duke teased, "It's about time you guys got here. We didn't know where you guys were so we were in the city for a while."

Tiki said, "We didn't know you were coming."

Solomon grinned, "After you all left, I suddenly got a feeling that I should go to Egypt as well and, before I knew it, I had bought a ticket."

Scipio smiled. "I was booking a trip to India for a couple months from now when I ran into Solomon. When he told me where he was going and why, I knew I couldn't miss this piece of history."

Duke added, "When I got to Japan, I tried to contact you guys but couldn't find you. When Gramps told me where you were and that he was about to leave with the professor, I ended up tagging along."

Scipio looked at Mokuba, who jumped down from Kaiba's neck to hug his waist. "As luck would have it, we ran into Mokuba when we landed."

Mokuba looked up at Kaiba. "You and Itami left so suddenly, Nii-sama."

Kaiba looked a little guilty. "Sorry but we had to deal with something on our own."

Itami ruffled her feathers. ~You're right, we should have told you and we do apologize.~

Mokuba was all smiles. "Still, you two hade me worried. When I arrived, I couldn't reach you." He then murmured, "Even if you were having a moment with your girlfriend, you would still check in."

Itami gave a chirp like a laugh as Kaiba, almost blushing, covered Mokuba's face, making the child laugh. Itami looked at Kaiba with a sparkle in her eyes. ~You know your brother cares about you, even if he has to share you with Tiki.~

Kaiba glared at Itami. "You're not helping."

Itami eyes sparkled some more, as if smiling. Joey looked at Duke. "You know you didn't have to come all this way."

Duke looked a little offended. "What the hell's that supposed to mean? This is an important moment for Yugi and Tiki, right? It's a little cruel that you two kept all of us out of the loop!"

The siblings apologized and Duke added, "I at least told everyone else about this, however sudden it was."

Merina blinked. "Everyone else?"

Scipio nodded. "Everyone who was involved with Yugi and Tiki in one way or another."

Duke added, "Since it was so last minute, none of them could come." He smiled. "But I know they're thinking about you, no matter where they are."


A couple hours later, the yacht was underway. Standing at the head of the yacht, everyone admired the sunset. Yugi was the first to break the silence. "It's beautiful…but also a little sad."

Agreeing, Tiki rubbed her brother's back in comfort as Tarra nuzzled his head. Joey looked back at the Kaiba siblings. "So why the hell did you two come?"

Mokuba snapped, "We have our reasons!" He looked at Kaiba. "Right, Nii-sama?"

Kaiba remained quiet. Coming out, Ishizu said, "He hopes to end his involvement in all of this, as one whose fate is involved with this destiny."

Marik then thought of something. "Yugi, there's something else we need to tell you. There's something else written at the Temple of the Underworld: it speaks of a ceremonial battle."

Yugi's ears perked up. "Ceremonial battle?"

Marik nodded. "I hope the Pharaoh and Tima can hear me." After a beat of silence, Marik kept talking. "It is written 'the Pharaoh's soul cannot journey home to rest until his sword is put to rest.'"

Joey blinked. "I don't get it."

Merina explained, "Dad always said that spirits who die in battle roam the earth until they know the battle is won."

Marik nodded. "Exactly. In this instance, the sword means a tool to fight. For Duelists, those are the cards."

Atem realized what Marik was saying. "To put down my sword is to lose a duel."

Yugi heard and understood. "So someone has to duel with Yami and win?"

Duke thought about it. "Makes sense. When you think about the other Yugi's dueling history, he can't be released until someone has bested him."

Tea gingerly asked, "But who…? No one here can beat him."

Kaiba looked at Yugi. 'True…none of you can…'


Finishing dinner, Tiki looked at Kaiba, who was staring at his coffee. "What's on your mind, Seto?"

Kaiba continued to stare. Mokuba looked up from his parfait. "Seto…"

Without looking up, Kaiba said to Mokuba, "Get my briefcase."

Tiki and Itami blinked in surprise. While confused as well, Mokuba quickly finished his dessert and left. Tiki scooted a little closer. "Seto…talk to me."

Kaiba looked up. "You heard what Marik said about the ceremonial battle."

Tiki nodded and sighed. "Yeah…"

Itami then looked at Seto, figuring it out. ~You're going to challenge him, aren't you?~

Tiki asked, "You really think you can do it?"

Kaiba almost tensed up. "Are you implying I can't defeat him?"

Itami's eyes narrowed at Kaiba's tone. ~Watch your attitude.~

Tiki waved Itami off, understanding. "Not at all. I just…worry because…"

Her train of thought left. Kaiba continued to stare her, waiting for her answer. To her relief, Mokuba came back with the briefcase. Seeing it, Kaiba quickly got up. "Let's go."

Tiki and Itami got up just as quickly. Itami warned, ~If you are not cordial with them…~

Kaiba continued to lead the way with Tiki and Mokuba following. But he did say, "I'll be civil."

Tiki almost grimaced as Tima told her, "Why do I not believe him?"

They arrived in time to hear Joey say. "Anyway, I'll be the one to duel Atem!"

Duke said, "Stop being crazy!"

Joey snapped, "I'm serious! If I do, I'll—"

Kaiba snapped, "You will do no such thing, bonkotsu!"

Everyone looked up. Nervous about Kaiba's tone, Tiki started gently pulling on Kaiba's arm. "Seto…Seto, you said you'd be nice."

Keeping a firm grip on Kaiba's briefcase, Mokuba smirked, "This is him being nice, Tiki."

Ignoring them, Kaiba went up to Yugi. "If this is really his end, I will settle this grudge once and for all!"

Yugi sighed. "Kaiba…"

Joey got in Kaiba's face. "Hey, bastard! You can't just come out here and make your demands—"

Kaiba pushed Joey away and shoved his hand in the blonde's face, shutting him up. "I came all this way to settle my score with you and with him! I will duel him and I will win this time!"

Itami glared at Kaiba. ~Such a charmer!~

Yugi smiled softly. "You have a point, Kaiba. You have been battling Yami from day one."

Kaiba smirked. "Glad to see you see reason."

But Yugi kept talking. "But no. I'M going to duel him."

No one expected that. Tiki asked, "When did you decide?"

Yugi looked very determined. "When Marik told us. I'm sorry but I cannot allow anyone else to do this."

While shocked, Joey smiled at his friend. "Sounds like you made up your mind."

Yugi smiled but Kaiba refused to give up. Forgetting himself, he grabbed Yugi by the collar and lifted him off his feet so they could be face to face. "Cut the crap! Someone like you wouldn't have a chance beating him!"

Tarra hissed at him. Tiki squeaked and pulled on Kaiba's other arm. "Seto, please!"

Itami dug her talons into Kaiba's shoulder. ~Drop him!~

Kaiba ignored them as Yugi said in a very firm voice, "This is something I have to do!"

The two rivals stared hard at each other for almost a full minute. Seeing he would not get his way, Kaiba dropped Yugi and turned to Mokuba. Itami glared. ~You are such a jerk.~

As Tarra and Joey checked on Yugi, Mokuba opened the briefcase, revealing Kaiba's collection. "Use these cards. If you insist on dueling him, the duel must not be an insult to him! This will give you the perfect deck."

Yugi smiled kindly. "Thank you…but I don't need them." Kaiba looked insulted as Yugi continued, "I'm going to use the cards Yami and I have shared these past few years to build my own perfect deck."

Kaiba suddenly turned, breaking out of Tiki's hold. "Whatever!"

He stormed inside with Mokuba following. Tiki almost followed but looked at Yugi and bowed. "I am so sorry, Yugi. He said he would be nice."

Kaiba scowled and headed for his room. Itami glared at him. ~You shouldn't have acted that way. You should be ashamed of yourself.~

Kaiba growled and pushed Itami off his shoulder. "Mokuba, put that away and take Itami with you."

Itami wanted to protest but Mokuba took the phoenix and left. Kaiba went into his room and started to pace, infuriated. 'How dare Yugi deny me what is rightfully mine?'

A minute later, the door opened. Kaiba did not look up until he heard the voice, "Seto…"

Kaiba looked up and saw Tiki. He saw the look on her face and could tell she was disappointed. However, he continued to stand tall. "If you're going to ask me to apologize, save your breath. Your brother does not have a chance; I should send him off because only I have a chance of defeating him."

Tiki looked up at him and pointed out, "And he was the first one to defeat you."

Kaiba tensed up. If anyone else had said that, he would have yelled them. Instead, he told her in a tense voice, "Yugi doesn't have a chance."

Tiki heard Tima scoff but did not react. Instead, she went up and wrapped her arms around Kaiba's waist. "You can't grab and pick up Yugi like that. You could have really hurt him."

Kaiba took a breath and put his arms around her shoulders. "I will apologize for that, my star. But that's it."

Tiki squeezed him tighter. "That's all I wanted."

The Ceremonial Duel was one for the ages. Yugi and Atem pulled out all the stops but it was Yugi who won, allowing Atem and Tima to rest. Kaiba was still disappointed that he never got to duel Atem and vindicate his first loss but knew there was nothing he could do to bring the dead back.


A year later, Kaiba was working in the New York branch of KaibaCorp late one night. His back to an open window, he typed away furiously and focused on his work until he felt a gust of wind next to him. "Have any trouble, Itami?"

Itami landed on the desk and set down an insulated bag. ~Nope. Got bagels for us, coffee for you, and a yogurt parfait for me.~

Kaiba nodded and continued to work. Seeing that he would not take a breather, Itami closed the window with her wing and then went back to the desk. Ripping open the bag, she started to get the food out. She tried to get the coffee out but the lid was not stable. ~You'll have to get the coffee.~ She popped off the lid of the parfait and looked up at him. ~Have you heard from Mokuba?~

Getting the coffee without removing his eyes from the screen, Kaiba answered, "He landed in Japan an hour ago. He's on his way home for the graduation party." He smirked. "I told him to keep an eye on Joey; that bonkotsu better not ruin my house."

Itami's eyes sparkled with amusement and looked at the screen. ~You almost done?~

Kaiba scowled. "Almost. That programmer is fired the instant I see him."

Itami tasted the yogurt parfait and her eyes lit up. ~Mm! This is good!~

Kaiba gave her a look. "Are you even listening to me?"

Itami's eyes sparkled, as if smiling. ~Of course I am. That programmer shouldn't have said to his reporter roommate your new product would be introduced tomorrow instead of next week; I know how much you wanted to go to Domino High graduation. But you'll be able to come back tomorrow and spend the day with her. Also, remember this: Tiki will understand.~

Kaiba looked up at his phoenix before going back to work. Beak-deep in the parfait, Itami gave her guardian a look. ~If you're so concerned, why not give her a call?~

Kaiba continued to work but one hand did reach for his phone. He paused just enough to dial his girlfriend's number before cradling the phone between his head and shoulder. He continued to work until he heard the voice he wanted to hear: "Hi."

Kaiba smirked with pride. "How's my high school graduate?"

Tiki's giggle sounded. "Yes, I made it! I wish you could've been here."

Kaiba stopped working and turned his chair around, wanting a little privacy. "I am sorry I couldn't make it; I did not plan on moving up the deadline like this. But I know what I can do to make it up to you."

"Oh?"

"I'll be back in Domino tomorrow."

She squealed happily. "Really?! I can't wait to see you!"

Kaiba smirked. "I am glad to hear that."

He wanted to spend a little more time talking to her but she suddenly said, "Let me call you back, Seto."

Kaiba's smirk widened. "Let me guess: the bonkotsu."

Tiki snickered. "Yeah. Bye, Seto!"

Hanging up, he turned around and went back to work. Itami leaned over and looked at the screen. ~So how much more work do you have to do?~

Kaiba answered, "If I do not stop, I will finish by morning."

Itami gave her guardian a look. ~Don't overwork yourself.~ She then thought of something. ~Never mind, that's a stupid thing to tell you.~

Kaiba smirked and continued to work.

Kaiba worked until dawn but managed to finish. He then immediately held a meeting introducing the product to the company and assigned everyone their task to get it introduced to the public. He and Itami then took his private jet back to Japan.


A little jet-lagged but awake (he slept during the plane trip), Kaiba looked out the window of his limo. Itami was still snoozing in his lap and he was absent-mindedly stroking her back. His jet-lagged mind went to the (now) fired programmer and he scowled. But his mind moved to Tiki and he felt his exhaustion ebb away. 'I'll be happy to see her again.'

Just then, the limo arrived at the mansion. When the limo stopped, he scratched Itami's head, waking her up. Yawning, she stretched her wings. ~We home?~

Kaiba nodded and got out, giving Itami room to move to his shoulder. He headed for the door and Itami made a sigh-like chirp. ~It's so good to be back. New York is cool but home is home.~ She then gave Kaiba a mischievous glint. ~If you need some privacy with Tiki, just give me a sign.~

Kaiba said nothing but Itami gave a small glint in his eyes. But their attention were diverted as soon as they went in the door by very loud, obnoxious snoring. Kaiba paused. "What the hell is that?"

Itami looked around. ~It's coming from the living room.~ She flew into the living room and, when she "spoke" again, her voice was full of amusement. ~Found it!~

Kaiba went to the living room and found Itami sitting on the couch's arm, looking down at Joey and Earthzina sleeping on the couch. Tristan's jacket was draped over the love-seat (he was in the bathroom). Annoyed, Kaiba opened his mouth to yell at them but his ear picked up gentle singing coming from the kitchen. Intrigued, he headed for the kitchen. Noticing this, Itami asked, ~Aren't you going to wake them?~

Kaiba continued to walk but said, "I'll let you do that."

Hearing the singing as well, Itami's eyes sparkled and nodded. Peeking in, Kaiba saw it was Tiki, pulling out eggs and bread for breakfast. Smirking, he quietly went up to her and wrapped his arms around her waist. She gasped and jumped but relaxed when she saw who it was. "Seto, don't do that. You scared me."

Kaiba chuckled almost-smugly. "My apologies, my star." As she turned around, he said, "I wish I could have been there yesterday."

Tiki smiled. "I know. But I know how you can make up for it."

Kaiba looked down and saw her closing her eyes. Smiling softly, he lowered down and kissed her. The kiss deepened but eventually interrupted by a phoenix scream and Joey and Earthzina screaming. Tiki pulled back and giggled. "Seto, that was mean."

Kaiba smirked. "You call it mean; I call it entertainment."

Tiki giggled again as Itami flew through the door, followed closely by Joey. Itami teasingly hid on Kaiba's shoulder as Joey yelled, "What the hell, Kaiba?!"

Kaiba looked very proud of what Itami did. Earthzina was pulling on Joey's shirt, as if trying to pull him back. ~Joey! It's too early for this!~

Joey pointed at Kaiba. "How dare you wake us up like that! What is wrong with you?!"

Kaiba continued to smirk. "Now that you are awake…"

Joey yelled, "Because of you!"

Kaiba ignored him and continued, "…you can answer my question: what are you still doing in my house? Shouldn't you be outside?"

Joey glared as Tiki hugged Kaiba, trying to get his attention. "Seto, be nice. Mokuba said we could spend the night."

"What's all the noise?"

Without looking, Kaiba held up his hand. "This does not concern you, Atem." After a few seconds, he registered what he said. "Wait…"

Everyone looked up to see Atem standing in the doorway, rubbing his eye. "Morning, everyone." He then looked at Kaiba and smirked. "Kaiba."

Kaiba was stunned. "…I must be hallucinating."

Joey rolled his eyes and went forward, ignoring Earthzina pulling his shirt. "When will you get your head out of your—"

Kaiba cut him off by putting his hand on Joey's face. His eyes never left Atem. He finally spoke up: "How the hell are you still around?"

Tiki looked up at Kaiba. "He came back. He and Tima." She then looked at Atem. "She still sleeping?"

Atem nodded. "I'm letting her sleep in."

Kaiba continued to stare at Atem, not noticing when Joey knocked his hand off his face. Earthzina landed on Joey's shoulder. ~Joey, be nice.~

Joey scowled and murmured, "Him first."

After a minute, Kaiba's face went from shock to his trademark smirk. "I'm happy you came back…so I can finally defeat you."

Joey and the phoenixes rolled their eyes; Tiki pressed her lips together to not laugh. Atem smirked. "Name the time and place."

Kaiba's smirk widened. Seeing this, Tiki pulled back and loudly cleared her throat, getting the young men's attention. "After breakfast, you two can duel to your heart's content."

As she opened a cabinet, Atem smiled and gestured to the door with his head. Before the three could leave, however, Tiki tossed all of them an apron. Atem and Joey looked at the aprons, confused by what she was doing, and Kaiba looked at Tiki. "What's the meaning of this, Tiki?"

Tiki put on her own smirk. "Thank you for volunteering, boys. I was starting to wonder how I was going to cook for everyone all by myself. So wash up and put those on! You three will be put to work."

Atem and Joey blinked in surprise. Kaiba stated, "I have cooks. We can just wake one up."

Tiki gave them a look. Itami looked at Kaiba. ~I think you should listen to her.~

Kaiba agreed and put on the apron. Joey and Atem did the same but Joey did not look too thrilled. Catching Joey's eye, Atem shrugged. "We should help out since we're here."

Itami and Earthzina flew to a corner to not accidentally get their feathers in the food. Joey pointed to Kaiba with his thumb. "But we're dealing with Rich Boy here. Does he even know the difference between a pan and a plate?"

Washing his hands, Kaiba glared at Joey before looking at Tiki. "Did you have anything in mind?"

Tiki shrugged. "I was just getting food out when you came home. I did find the eggs and I think there's also bacon and a block of cheese in the fridge."

Kaiba nodded and immediately took charge. "Atem, get the cheese and cut the block into cubes. Tiki, work on making toast. Bonkotsu…separate the bacon strips. You should be able to handle that."

Joey growled but Atem pulled him towards the fridge. While the three worked on their assignments, Kaiba took a few eggs and heated the stove. To the three's astonishment, he started to make scrambled eggs. When the eggs were halfway done, he took the cheese cubes Atem had made and added them to the eggs. Done separating the bacon strips, Joey asked, "Since when can you cook?"

Still focused on the eggs, Kaiba stated, "I am the CEO of the largest gaming company in the world. There have been times when I had to cook my and Mokuba's own food when I suspected one of my cooks was a double agent for a competitor."

Tiki smiled and nuzzled Kaiba's arm. Atem asked, "Has that actually happened? Would your competitor stoop so low?"

Kaiba murmured, "Better safe than sorry."

Taking the bacon strips from Joey, Tiki gave him the bread and she went next to Kaiba to work on the bacon. As Atem took out some fruit for the phoenixes, Kaiba looked at her and asked, "Do you know how to make that?"

Tiki nodded and started to heat the bacon in the frying pan. "Thank you for the concern."

Kaiba smirked and kissed her head. Joey gagged and was only silenced when Kaiba started to pull out a large knife from the knife block.


Minutes later, everyone else had woken up and all sat down at the dining room table for breakfast. All the phoenixes were on Itami's bird tree next to the glass doors, eating from the bowls of fruit. Crystal smiled. "Everything smells good."

Tiki smiled. "I would hope so. Seto made the eggs."

As Seto came in and sat down, Mokuba grinned and hugged his brother. Surprised the CEO was back, everyone nodded to him as Mokuba said, "Let's eat!"

Everyone started to dish up the food and eat. But first, Tiki gave Kaiba a look; he smirked and took her into another room. Assuming, Joey dropped his fork and knife. "Well, I lost my appetite."

Tristan teased, "That's a first."

Tima chuckled. "Joey, just let Tiki date him."

Yugi agreed, catching Joey's eye. "I still don't get how you're so easy-going with this."

Yugi shrugged, popping a piece of bacon in his mouth. "I can't stop Tiki loving who she loves. Besides, on the off chance he hurts her, I will make sure he never touches her again, let alone hurt her again."

At that moment, Tiki and Kaiba came back. Tiki giggled and hugged her brother's head. "You're the best brother a girl can ask for!"

Yugi blushed deeply. Tea smiled at them before noticing, "Did you scratch yourself, Tiki?"

Tiki raised her eyebrow. "No, why?"

Tea pointed to Tiki's neck. "Your neck is bright red."

Tiki went bright red; Kaiba smirked with pride. As Tiki ran off to the bathroom, Joey looked at Kaiba in disgust. "Come on! I'm eating!"

Kaiba did not looked at Joey but still answered: "You are lucky I am in a good mood or I would throw you out on the street."

Joey opened his mouth to argue but Kiko quickly stuffed a piece of toast with honey in his mouth. Tasting the food, he sat down and went back to eating. Everyone looked half-amused, half annoyed. Ukino murmured, "So simple-minded…"

Tsuki agreed. Kaiba then started to eat, not paying attention to what everyone was saying. Coming back (now with makeup on her neck), Tiki reached over and touched his arm. He smirked at her as she asked, "How was New York?"

Kaiba nodded. "Good."

Mokuba chuckled. "Tiki, you know Nii-sama is all about work."

Tiki giggled. "I know. But I want to know about where he works and about his work."

Kaiba smirked with pride but he got distracted by Yugi asking Atem and Tima, "By the way, how long have you been back?"

Atem thought about it. "About a month ago."

Tea looked a little hurt. "Why didn't you tell us you were back?"

Everyone but Yugi noticed Tea said "you," not "you two." Tima tensed. "We needed time to get used to our new bodies."

Atem nodded, taking Tima's hand. "We wanted to call you guys but we knew we had to be fully recovered to see you." He smirked. "Besides…it was a nice graduation gift."

Everyone nodded with smiles. Their smiles, however, vanished when Kaiba asked a single question: "So what are you going to do now?"

Atem and Tima froze as reality set in. Atem touched his head. "Damn…we have nothing but our name and clothes on our backs."

Tima bit her thumb in stress. "No education, no jobs…not even birth certificates!"

The couples looked like they were on the verge of a mental breakdown. Everyone tried to suggest ideas but none seemed to be plausible. The tense air was broken by Kaiba clearing his throat. "You are forgetting you have someone who can make up the paperwork you two need."

Yugi looked at Kaiba. "You would do that for them?"

Kaiba smirked. "I could…" Tiki tapped his hand with her fork, "…and I will. But not for free." He quickly turned his hand and caught Tiki's fork, which was coming in for another tap. "Nice try."

Tima got worried again. "Kaiba, we don't have any money."

Kaiba scoffed with a scoff. "Who said anything about money?"

"Then what do you want?"

Kaiba locked eyes with Atem. "A proper rematch."

While relieved that Kaiba was going to help them, everyone was annoyed by how adamant Kaiba was about the rematch. Atem shrugged. "As I said, name the time and place."

Kaiba smirked. "Very well. But first, I will use you as a guinea pig." Tiki tapped his hand again. "Keep that up and I won't take you out tonight."

Tiki hid her fork on her lap and put on an innocent smile. Kaiba smirked and continued. "I have a new Duel Disk virtual reality technology being developed and I need someone to test it with me. I can't afford to lose another Duel computer."

Yugi tilted his head, confused. "Should I test it with you?"

Kaiba said a little bluntly, "You may be the King of Games but Atem's face is attached to that title."

Joey grumbled, "Damn, that was harsh."

Tristan murmured, "But kind of true."

Joey smacked Tristan upside the head as Atem nodded. "Very well. You got my interest."

Kaiba smirked as Tsuki asked, "What about a living situation? My family can't take care of you forever."

Tiki chirped up, "There's always Seto's—"

Kaiba covered her mouth with his hand and gave her a look. She gave another innocent smile as Atem asked, "What was that?"

Kaiba removed his hand. "Nothing."

Deciding to respect Kaiba's wishes, Tiki looked at Yugi. "Why don't we ask Mom and Grandpa about letting them stay?"

Tima shook her head. "We don't want to be a bother."

Tarra lifted her head, a piece of melon in her beak. ~Nonsense! It'll be like it was in Ancient Egypt!~

Atem asked, "Would we be staying in yours and Tiki's rooms?"

Tiki thought about it. "Probably. You think the guest room is ready?"

Yugi shrugged. "I've been too busy studying for finals to pay attention. But we'll make due."

Tiki giggled. "These next two months will be fun!"

Crystal looked up. "Is it really only two months? That seems so soon."

Tima asked, "What's in two months?"

Tea smiled. "We girls are going to New York for college!"

Atem and Tima looked between Tea and Tiki. Tea smiled at Atem. "I got accepted to Columbia, the best dance school—"

Assuming what Tea was doing, Tiki cut in with, "And Merina and I got into New York University, the best theater school!"

Atem and Tima congratulated both of them. As the breakfast continued, Kaiba's mind started to plan out both the testing of the virtual reality technology and the paperwork Atem and Tima needed. 'This is going to take a lot of time and resources. Looks like I'm going to take to call in some favors.'

Looking at Kaiba, Tiki touched his arm. "Thank you for helping them out."

Kaiba smirked. "If it means I can have someone test out my new system…"

Tiki gave him a teasing look. "And I thought it was because it would make me happy."

Kaiba's smirk widened and kissed her hand. She smiled, knowing what he was saying without him saying it.