Kaiba opened his eyes slowly and saw that it was dark outside. The ocean waters were deep navy, and everything was deathly silent.
It seemed a Resting Period was happening.
Sitting up slowly, Kaiba froze when he saw Seth sitting in the corner of the room, fast asleep with his spear tucked horizontally across his lap. Kaiba stretched and edged out of bed to get a closer look, wondering if it was the spear he'd cast the pact on.
Seth woke with a start and gave Kaiba a scare.
"Seto—What!" Seth pressed a hand to his chest to calm his frantically pounding heart as his twin backed away and flushed angrily.
"Don't do that!" Kaiba cried, and Seth rose from the chair, pointing at the mess of journals scattered on the bed and floor.
"I helped you organize these and now they're everywhere! Why do I even bother helping you sometimes?" Seth sighed, shaking his head.
Kaiba bristled and ignored it, shooting back with a question, "Hey, is that your spear from…way back when we were kids?"
"Yes…" Seth replied suspiciously, crossing his arms. "Why?"
Kaiba shrugged and sat back down on the bed to gather up his journals. "No reason. Just wondering," he said nonchalantly, trying to keep a straight face. "Where's mine?"
"Don't know. You lost it somewhere and never told me how or when," Seth replied shrewdly, his eyes continuing to narrow. "Did you remember something from reading those books you wrote?"
"Yes, possibly," Kaiba replied vaguely as he floated to the bookshelf and stuck the diaries back onto the shelf, not bothering to put them in order again. "Do we have a shrine? Did I used to have a shrine?"
"YES! You built it yourself!" Seth said so loudly, it made Kaiba tense again.
"S-Sorry, it's just that you've been so…different since you came back. Your memory loss is severe," Seth added heavily, his shoulder sagging. "We had a shrine. It was destroyed. Now that we are a resort and not an official kingdom, we don't have one. You used to love praying and even forced me to start."
Got it, Kaiba thought darkly, now understanding why.
"Where's the nearest shrine?" Kaiba asked as innocently as he could, but Seth caught on instantly.
"Why? Should I go with you? Can I help? I'll pray with you! I'll say whatever you tell me to, just like old times!" His twin's eyes widened and shone with so much hope, it made Kaiba's stomach twist.
"No, just tell me where the nearest shrine is." Kaiba said stiffly, and Seth's face fell.
"Atem's kingdom has one," Seth replied with a shrug. "By the way, did you tell anyone you're here?"
"No, and I'm headed back now after I eat something," Kaiba sniffed, swimming out the door and giving Seth a wave over his shoulder, not seeing his twin shaking his head at him from behind.
Adina crossed her arms and pouted, glaring at the plate of food in front of her.
"I want Daddy to be here before I eat!" She said loudly, and Atem swam tiredly into the dining hall, her voice sending waves of anxiety down his body.
"Seto is at the resort with Uncle Seth," Atem said nervously, and Adina pouted harder.
"WHEN?! When did he go? Without me?!" She cried, rising from her chair, and she was pulled back down into it by Mana's firm hand.
"He swam all the way there by himself during a Resting Period? Has he slept or rested properly?" Mana asked quietly, and Atem shook his head, sinking into the chair beside Adina and patting her head.
"I got a message from Uncle Mokuba," Atem said, hoping to distract her, and Adina perked up with her cheek pouched full of food, blinking expectantly at him.
"He says—" And Atem was interrupted by Seto zooming into the dining hall, flushing the face looking refreshed and carrying a spear he'd never seen before.
"DADDY!" Adina shrieked, diving out of her chair to pull Kaiba into a lung-crushing hug.
Kaiba angled his spear away from her and looped one arm down to fully give her a hug, his mind churning of ways to place a protection pact on her before she went on land. Clearly the protection pacts he'd made on Seth had worked, and since his spear had come zooming out of a steaming fissure and burned his hand on contact, that had been a nice surprise, knowing that all his pacts were mostly still in effect.
"Oh, good, you're back." Atem said coldly, still chafing from Seto's sudden departure. "Everything is ready on land for Adina's schooling. Although it's been a while since Mokuba's message arrived, we now have one week left to make our arrangements and surface."
Kaiba beamed at Atem, his spirits falling when he still saw a dark pink aura swirling around the king's shoulders. He decided not to say anything about it.
"Hungry? Let's eat…" Kaiba encouraged, letting Adina drag him into the chair beside Atem and begin eating enthusiastically.
"So, did you enjoy your unannounced visit to the resort?" Atem asked heatedly, unable to keep the anger from leaking into his voice. He'd faced his subjects in the throne room after much turmoil, and Seto hadn't even been present to accept the Ambassadors' begrudging gifts pledging their loyalty. This transition was going to be rough and awful if Kaiba was going to be flitting between the resort and this kingdom, causing an unstable rule. Solomon was already furious, refusing to attend any meetings, claiming he was resigning 'for good'.
"I learned a lot about myself," Kaiba said carefully, wondering if this news would please or shock the king, and to his dismay, Atem's aura remained dark pink. Wow, what the hell? Did something happen and he'd missed it? Atem had been angry about something since the procession!
"Good for you," Atem sniffed, sticking his spoon into his bowl, not hungry at all. He couldn't show his anger to Seto, or the prince would keep running away back to his resort.
It was a lose-lose.
All he could do now was focus on going to shore with Adina to protect her and keep her company.
Mana kept her head lowered, watching the princess eat.
Wow, the tension between Adina's fathers was palpable.
Maybe they were going to split… Which explained Atem's sudden insistence that Seto take over while he was gone.
"Hey, weird question, but where is your shrine?" Kaiba asked, and he saw Atem give him a withering look.
"Why?"
"Because I'd like to pray," Kaiba said, already feeling silly the moment the words left his mouth. Ha ha, yeah as if.
Atem wasn't going to fall for that if he knew him at all.
"Right, of course you would. He who scorns God along with 'mermaid magic or some shit' would love to pray," Atem said nastily, feeling Adina tense beside him.
There was a palpable silence.
Adina was the first to speak up timidly, "Papa…what's wrong?"
"Nothing," Atem lied stiffly, folding his arms and leaning back into his chair.
"It's probably a waning crescent right now, that's why," Kaiba scoffed, rising from his chair and swimming to the door. Fine. He'd find the shrine himself.
He could ask anyone, and command them to tell him.
Atem was clearly going through a moon mood swing or something.
As he passed the door, he remembered to fetch his spear, so he called for it in his mind, and the pole of silver zoomed into his hand, hitting his palm with a satisfying coolness. He continued on his way, unaware of Atem, Mana, and Adina all gaping at him from behind.
"That's not the same merman, is it?" Mana whispered fearfully, and Atem shook his head, numb with shock. Kaiba had somehow enchanted a spear in the week that he was gone.
What other odd news was he going to learn?
Every time Kaiba left for the resort alone, he'd come back terrifyingly different?
"I'll take him to the shrine. Adina, be good," Atem said quietly, diving out of his chair to race after Seto. He caught the flash of blue-green fins turning around a pillar leading to the men's wing, and he watched from afar as Seto entered his room and emerged seconds later after having tucked his spear away.
Atem swam out into the hallway, trying to maintain a pleasant expression. "I'll take you to the shrine—" he began, and Seto dived at him to press his mouth tightly over his in a kiss before he could finish speaking.
Freezing up, Atem dared himself to relax for a brief second when Seto's lips passed warmly over his, and he jerked his head to the side breathlessly, reminding himself to stay angry.
"Y-You left without saying anything!" Atem said accusingly, and to his surprise, Kaiba apologized immediately.
"I'm sorry. I'll do better to let you know," Kaiba replied, gazing lovingly into Atem's face, taking in his harsh frown. "Hey…I love you. What's gotten into you?"
Atem set his jaw and turned his head away again as Kaiba tried to kiss him again, causing Kaiba to miss, landing a tender peck on his lower jaw instead. Kaiba took this in stride and trailed his lips down the king's neck, still seeing the odd, pink cloud hovering around Atem's shoulders. Yikes…
"I love you too. Your behavior is concerning me…and everyone," Atem added, wondering if this was a good time to be voicing this loudly in the middle of the hall. "I tried to give you more responsibility, and you…ran away!"
"You think that's what I did?" Kaiba cried, and he paused to reflect. S-Sure…
It was a panicked moment. Atem had sprung a random pact on him! He had to make sure it wasn't as dangerous as the previous one, and as a result he'd learned way more than he thought was possible about pacts.
"Yes, so if this kissing is your way of making up for it, I won't let you off if you keep offering to mate with me," Atem said firmly, repeating what Mana had advised him to say. If Seto was only sticking around to mate with him, and he took that temptation away…perhaps the Prince's true colors would start to show.
"I get it," Kaiba seethed, his aura darkening just as fast. "You're withholding sex because you want me to be responsible. Got it. I understand. I'm trying to do that. Now take me to the shrine."
"Glad we understand each other," Atem said stiffly, and he turned with a regal swish of his fins to lead Kaiba out of the palace, his chest churning with turmoil at what he'd just said.
The kissing had felt so nice. It had been so long since they had time to themselves, but now they were in a stupid fight because it appeared neither of them wanted to take turns ruling the kingdom. If they both wanted to abandon their fins for land, their kingdoms would be doomed.
Kaiba listened to these thoughts and his anger melted away.
This was fine. Atem wanted to be on land with Adina, and the king was testing him to see if he was fit to rule. Well, now that he was armed with knowledge, he would surprise the fins off of Atem.
They swam out through the main pillars and into the Royal Village, and Kaiba braced himself to begin waving. People had already spotted them from above and were calling out to them, "King Atem! Prince Seto! Greetings!"
Kaiba craned his neck and saw four maidens swimming above them, carrying baskets full of kelp in their arms. He raised his hand and nodded, hearing the delightful squeals echoing painfully in his head.
PRINCE SETO WAVED AT ME!
No, he waved at me!
Ladies…he waved at all of you, but he chose to smile at me!
Atem heard this and kept the pleasant smile plastered to his face, leading them down a narrow path between marketplace stalls and restaurants, trying to feel pleased about all the attention Seto was getting. This all showed that his transition would be widely accepted, with the pushback mainly being Solomon and possibly Mahad.
Kaiba followed Atem apprehensively through a maze of stalls until they reached the edge of the marketplace and the sand began sloping downwards. They arrived at the mouth of a dark cave, the opening crumbling as they swam closer, and chunks of sand cascaded down into large piles on the ground.
Two markers were planted on either side of the cave, with merwriting so small, Kaiba could barely read it.
"…And there it is," Atem said unceremoniously, gesturing at the gaping hole. "I'll wait out here to make sure the entrance doesn't collapse on you while you're inside."
Kaiba stared speechlessly at the hole, steadily growing numb with shock. He had a feeling the shrine he'd built as a kid for his own colony was leagues above this…literal hole.
And what if it did fucking collapse on him while he was in there?!
"Don't worry, I'll call for help. We'll get you out in time," Atem said reassuringly, reading his mind sneakily and giving Seto a playful smirk. "Changed your mind about going in?"
"No. I'll be fine," Kaiba said through gritted teeth, squaring his shoulders back and secretly wishing he'd brought his spear. He could feel Atem mocking him, and he wanted to prove the king wrong. He was turning over a new leaf—at least, he was trying to.
Without another look over his shoulder, he swam bravely into the dark cavern, hearing Atem calling after him, "Don't make any turns. It's straight ahead."
Kaiba ground his teeth and nodded, shivering as a wave of cold water blasted him in the face the deeper he swam. The sandy walls around him were curved, making it extremely claustrophobic, and the light behind him at the mouth of the tunnel was shrinking.
He could barely hear Atem sending him another worried thought, "….be…careful…!"
Steeling himself to push on into the dark, Kaiba paused when he heard a strange echo, so he stopped, floating in place, waiting for his eyes to adjust.
After an eternity and several rapid heartbeats, the lumpy walls of the cave came into focus.
Kaiba froze in mild fear at the giant endless tunnel opening to his left, and the air left his lungs in a tight whoosh! causing a stream of bubbles to edge out from underneath his lips.
Atem said straight ahead, so…no detours.
Waving his fins carefully in the water to avoid disturbing the sandy walls around him, Kaiba's skin crawled as he inched forward in the dark, his heart thundering in his ears. He didn't know what to expect. There were miles of darkness in front of him, and now miles of darkness behind him.
This shrine needed a fucking makeover.
He passed another rushing tunnel, and Kaiba shivered again. Great. Where was the end of this hellhole?!
Almost as if the cave was answering him, he was met with a solid wall of stone and nothing else. This was the end of the tunnel.
What. The. Fuck.
There were no markers—nothing around his fins on the ground to indicate that this was the shrine's worship area.
"Okay," Kaiba seethed, feeling a rush of anger. "I'm here now. Someone give me answers."
His voice echoed dully in the space around him, and another cold wave passed through the tunnel from behind. Swallowing his fear, Kaiba swam in a tight circle and gingerly patted the dark, sandy ceiling, feeling a few chunks of sand come away and sink to the ground.
Awesome.
"Hey…. God! It's me, your favorite fuck-up!" Kaiba yelled, patting his hand blindly along the walls and feeling more clumps of sand come away in his fists.
Fine.
Maybe yelling wasn't going to do it.
In his journals, he said he'd 'prayed to Great-Grandpapi'.
Hissing to himself, Kaiba tucked his fins underneath him and sat on the floor, hating the darkness. He folded his arms in his lap and glared at the stone wall, shutting his eyes and taking a deep, calming breath, willing himself to remember what his child-self had done previously.
Did he have to say a prayer out loud? Or could he do it in his head?
Kaiba took another breath and listened intently to the water rushing around him.
Nothing happened.
Nothing was happening.
His mind remained blank, and the water was getting colder with every passing heartbeat.
I'm cold. I don't know what I'm doing here. I don't remember a goddamn thing! Kaiba raged, opening his eyes and realizing he'd finally fully adjusted to the pitch blackness of the tunnel.
There was a drawing on the stone wall before him, and it was of a giant, winged bird flying above an ocean horizon, circling what looked like a fireball in the sky while merpeople swam joyously in the sea below. An inscription carved in ancient mer panned down the side, and Kaiba blinked twice, his mind reading it aloud before his eyes could register what he was looking at.
"The Ruler of All Parts of the Created World: Sun God Ra—Giver of Life, the Earth, the Sky and the Underworld"
Kaiba's mouth went dry, and he automatically lowered his head, feeling an odd pressure compressing around his shoulders. It was…too deep here in this fucking hole.
This was a shrine?
More like a hellhole. A shit hole.
Stop it. Be respectful! Kaiba ranted at himself, feeling himself slipping further as he gazed down at the outline of his clawed hands in his lap. He would risk saying a prayer aloud, and then he would swim the fuck out of here as fast as his fins would let him.
He took a deep breath and stared at the illustration on the wall, his eyes burning.
"Dear…Great-Grandpapi," Kaiba began spitefully, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "I've lost my way on land, clearly. I don't remember anything. I found my journals, and that got me here, which is nowhere. I have a guy I'm in love with and I managed to have a kid with him who I can barely get to behave. Please help. Thanks."
The water grew colder around his fins, and Kaiba rolled his eyes.
Right, well, this was a fucking waste of time.
He was just about to get up when he thought he saw something seeping in through the cracks of the wall in front of him. Blinking rapidly to make sure he wasn't hallucinating, Kaiba watched in fascination when he saw a sliver of yellow light slowly filling in the curved lines of the beautiful stone carving before him.
His wonder melted into horror when he was blinded by the sudden illumination of the entire wall, and he threw an arm over his eyes, gritting his teeth furiously.
"Seto…! Welcome home, my boy…!" A voice boomed in his ears, the volume causing his head to throb.
Unable to lower his arm, Kaiba nodded stiffly and kept his eyes shut, his skin feeling like it was sliding off his bones from the sheer heat emanating from the wall in front of him.
Holy fuck, holy fuck…holy…fuck!
"I've been wondering when you'd come visit me," the voice continued, sounding friendly and conversational. "Adina is quite a little darling. She will do well on land. I'll watch over her as much as I can."
…Cool, Kaiba thought darkly, trying to pry his eyes open a tiny centimeter, but he couldn't without burning his retinas out. Now time to ask all the questions he needed answers to.
"Where are my memories?" Kaiba shouted, because he could barely hear himself over the loud ringing in his ears.
"Where you left them. On land. With Eder Iota, or did you forget that too?" The voice scoffed, now growing fainter and fainter. "Catch some Huso huso for your Great-Grandpapi next time, won't you? You know I love them. Oh, and bring your bratty brother, Seth. Haven't heard from him in so long. Your mother…wants a… word… with….you….both…"
The light faded along with the booming voice, and after darkness fell completely did Kaiba dare to lower his arm away from his eyes. The water was still pleasantly warm around him.
He stayed right where he was, slightly afraid to move.
Great. He was in trouble with a mother he couldn't remember.
And he had to bring Seth along for the scolding.
What else did he have to fucking do?!
He was just about to get up when he thought he saw the drawing on the wall light up again, and to his ultimate horror, it did. The golden light was creeping across the wings of the bird, faster this time, and Kaiba barely had time to cover his eyes again when the blinding light seared through him and made his skin burn white-hot.
It was like he was sitting on the surface…of the fucking…sun!
Was this drawing a portal of some kind?
Every god or deceased person who became a god could come by and say hello?!
"Prince Seto of Helios. We meet at last," another unfamiliar deep voice boomed in his head, and Kaiba's eyes watered.
Fuck. Fuck…
Who the fuck was this?! Grandpapi #2?
"You may not know me, but I am King Aknamkanon…. Known to you King Atem's father, and known to others as the great-great-…."
GREAT! Kaiba screamed internally, trying not to panic as his fins burned on the sand he sat on.
"…Great-Grandson of Ra. And I demand a peaceful rule when you're in power, otherwise I will be unhappy. Your Great-Grandpapi assures me that you know what you're doing, but I've been watching you, boy. You're behaving like a reckless warrior who just grew his legs. You better regain your lost memories and take my kingdom seriously! You have half of my blessings for now. You must gain…the other…half…from…King…Solomon…."
Kaiba felt the heat dissipating, and along with it came the cold darkness, which was now so, so welcome.
His back was drenched in sweat.
He was shaking and shivering.
Everything he'd written in the journals had been true.
Gods were real.
They were merpeople's parents.
Merpeople made pacts to carry out 'God's Will,' which was why it was so hard to disobey.
Mer-Kings and Mer-Queens were watching them in the sky somewhere, or something.
They were deceased, but not out of earshot, clearly!
Kaiba lowered his arm slowly, his jaws aching from how hard he'd been clenching his teeth as he contemplated what face to make when approaching Atem outside.
He had a huge responsibility to bear, and his bad behavior preceded him.
At least Great-Grandpapi was sticking his neck out for him.
Atem's father was fucking terrifying.
Outside, Atem was stunned speechless.
He'd seen a bright wash of golden light beam out of the dark cavern in a sudden burst, warming the water around his fins dramatically before it faded just as fast as it came. And thinking Seto was hurt, Atem had barely managed to swim through the opening of the cave before another blinding wave of light shot out of the tunnel, almost burning him on the spot.
Reeling from shock and extremely terrified, Atem decided it was safer to remain at the mouth of the cave. Clearly, whatever prayer Seto was saying in there had worked, and Atem itched in his own skin to find out what had happened.
Anxious and afraid, Atem swam in nervous circles around the opening, wondering if anyone in the marketplace or the village had seen that golden light. It was dark down here, and that light was almost like…real sunlight.
It had felt like real sunlight.
"Seto?" Atem called shakily, and to his relief, he saw Kaiba zooming out of the cave in a rapid, blue-green blur.
A cold hand clamped down around his wrist and Atem was dragged through the water with such force, his crown stuck to his hair stiffly and his cheeks flattened from the way his face rushed against the water.
Wh-What happened?! Slow down! Atem cried silently, seeing a few blurry people wave dazedly at them as Kaiba pulled him along at a head-rushing pace.
Kaiba didn't stop to breathe, or think, intent on getting back to the safety of Atem's room. He barged past the palace guards and barely acknowledged the two Ambassadors floating at the edge of the men's hall before he flung Atem's jewel-encrusted door open, threw Atem inside before him and slammed it shut, nearly catching the tips of Atem's fiery red fins with the edge of the door.
"HEY!" Atem cried, flipping around and hugging his fins protectively, his ears burning. "What in the Gods—"
"Don't! Don't say that!" Kaiba hissed, his blue eyes wide with panic. "They're watching us! Holy…fuck. Fuck!"
Atem blinked slowly and took deep breaths, waiting for his heart to stop pounding as he watched Seto swim frantic circles above his head before he finally calmed down too, and sank into the sand with a somber expression.
"Now, tell me what happened," Atem said simply, reaching out to place his hand atop Seto's pale, shaking one. "I saw a light. And another light. What did you do?"
"You saw it. Of course you did." Kaiba said, talking to his fins and keeping his head lowered, his cheeks burning with a mixture of dread and humiliation. Where to even fucking start?! He'd talk to two Gods today—no, he'd talked to one, and had been lectured by another.
Atem listened fearfully to these thoughts and nodded, curling his tanned fingers around Seto's hand and giving him a shake.
"Tell me more!" Atem insisted, and his breath caught in his throat when Kaiba raised his head to look him right in his eyes and speak steadily, "I asked my great-grandfather where my lost memories are, and he said they're on land somewhere, kept with Elder Iota. The second he left, your father almost burned to me to death, saying I only have half his blessing, and I need to beg Solomon for the other half."
Astounded and rendered speechless, Atem could only nod.
There was a thick lump in his throat and his eyes were heating up with unshed tears.
H-How nice! Seto got to talk to his father…!
They sat together in silence for a long time, with Kaiba glumly staring at the linear pattern of his scales while Atem blinked rapidly at the wall, trying not to cry.
"I…want to speak to my father too," Atem whispered, after finally composing himself. "I haven't heard his voice in so long."
"You want to hear his voice? Here!" Kaiba snarled, reaching forward with his other hand to grip Atem's fingers, sending him reeling into a memory before he could brace himself.
Atem grew very still and cold, his eyes glazing over as he swayed on the spot.
He stayed that way for a few long heartbeats before he pulled out of the memory, and his eyes sharpened instantly, his complexion was unusually pale.
"G-Grand…Papi?" Atem said shakily, attempting to smile, but it only came off as a frightened grimace. "Y-You're really something, you know that, Seto?"
"Sure. And what the fuck is a Huso Huso?" Kaiba cried, feeling a headache coming on.
"I'll show you in a book… I've never actually seen one, because we don't live near them," Atem said warmly, patting Kaiba's shoulder. "But I'm sure you can catch one without a problem."
"Right…" Kaiba said flatly, shifting himself into another sitting position on the floor, feeling a crushing wave of despair. Just when he thought he'd had something figured out, the list of things to do kept growing.
The worst was the undeniable fact that he really was being sent to do God's bidding.
"How about this," Atem sat up straighter and gave Kaiba a tentative smile. "While Adina is in school, I'll try to locate this Elder Iota on land. You remain here and obtain Solomon's blessing, and when that happens, come up to find me, and I will have found the Elder…hopefully."
"Oh yeah, it'll work out perfectly like that," Kaiba said sarcastically, and he received a quick kiss on his cheek along with a playful wink from Atem.
"I have faith that you will be a great and capable ruler, with or without your memories," Atem declared, his cheeks flushing as he gave Seto's hands another squeeze.
Kaiba nodded stiffly and let Atem's touch warm his body nicely.
It was so cute how Atem believed in him so much, so Kaiba vowed the least he could do was try to fulfill Atem's duties seriously while the king was on land with their daughter.
Author's note:
Kaiba's backstory (part 2 of 5)
personal news:
I hope everyone is having a safe and happy new year so far.
I have some bad news regarding my pet bunny.
He passed away on friday (jan 8th) from heart failure and im just a huge mess. I'd like to thank everyone who helped him through all his illnesses in the past years by commissioning me, giving me a way to afford his multiple surgeries and aftercare medicine. He fought to live, so I fought for him, giving him all that I could manage, and sometimes more.
The fight is now over.
He was never ungrateful for the treatment which is how I always knew when to continue (putting him through treatment).
A couple weeks ago, right around xmas/new year's week, he decided to be extremely picky with his food and lost a lot of weight. He also began refusing his medicine, when before, he would eat it happily.
He told me very clearly that he was finished fighting and went gently in his sleep with the help of pain medication and a hot water bottle.
I'm devastated but relieved he didn't suffer in his last moments.
I did my best, and he did his best.
Thank you again for your support, because his multiple illnesses spurred me to write more, and your comments and requests also inspired me to work harder so I could afford the treatment for him, so he could keep living his happy life.
He leaves behind a bunny gf, and we are slowly adjusting to his absence.
I'm grateful for all the medical knowledge I learned from him, and for all the new friends I made in this fandom who cared for my situation with him more than I could imagine was possible. Thank you.
_Ugli
