Atem chinned the pillow tighter underneath him as Seto's hands slid sensually down his back and gave his ass cheeks a tight squeeze. Sighing happily, he kept his eyes shut while enjoying the wave of heat curling low in his stomach.
Maybe tonight, they would finally have time together to themselves, undisturbed.

The sheets were sticking uncomfortably to his chest, so Atem raised up on his elbows slightly and woke up with a start, realizing he was on his back, and drenched in cold sweat with a boner sticking resolutely up between his legs.

Cursing, he stumbled to the bathroom and threw himself into the shower, drenching himself with water, shivering with lust.
Something was wrong with his body.
This was his third week in a row having woken up from an erotic dream every single night. He really missed Seto, but even when Seto was on the surface with legs, he hadn't experienced erotic dreams to this extent.
Something had changed.

Glancing down at his raging erection, Atem cursed himself one last time before succumbing to the unbearable throbbing and reaching down to give himself a fast stroke upwards, jerking his hand up and down along his shaft mindlessly fast, trying to make himself cum as quickly as possible. Seto's cold sneer kept flashing in his mind's eye, and Atem grit his teeth, daring himself to enjoy it before he came in a heated rush, feeling semen coat his knuckles briefly before it was washed away by the water. He hung his head down, his shoulders heaving for breath as he sagged with defeat.

Fine. Perhaps he ought to be more honest with himself.
To say that he missed Seto was an understatement. It was an obsessive loop of erotic dreams happening every night without fail, sometimes in human form, other times in mer-form. At first, Atem thought he preferred the dreams of them mating in mer-from, but after the last few human-form dreams of Seto entering him from behind, it was all starting to blur together.

It didn't matter what form they were in, because it felt good either way, and he was being horribly deprived of intimacy while Seto was underwater, taking care of the kingdom.

Water beat down heavily on his shoulders and trailed down his chin, not warming him up at all.
Atem reached up to shut the water off, still lost in his own thoughts.

Was this how Seto felt when he was trapped on land with legs? Restless nights filled with heated passion and then waking up cold, sweating, and angry upon discovery that it was all a dream?

Dragging himself out of the shower, Atem threw a fluffy towel around his neck carelessly and moved back into the bedroom, no longer tired. A silvery half-moon was shining in through the towering windows of his room, and he longed to be by the water, but Mokuba insisted they live together at the mansion for the first month.

Adina had adjusted well and was enjoying the new friends at the private day care, so he barely saw her at all. In the evenings after her last tutoring session, she'd come into his room, pink-faced and excited, filled with stories about who did what during her time at the nursery, and Atem tried his best to visualize everything she was saying while maintaining a pleasant face.

He was caught between exhaustion and deep longing to dive back into the water and into Seto's arms.
The erotic dreams were a blessing and a curse while he was stuck here at the mansion, too far away from the ocean's edge to even send a messenger. It was pure agony.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, Atem kept his gaze fixated on the moon outside, thinking it looked awfully small. Adina had Telling-and-Showing tomorrow, and she insisted he be there to listen, which meant he had a full day ahead of him, meeting new humans at her nursery school and possibly taking her out for a shopping trip afterwards.

He shut his eyes and sighed, laying back down on the bed and staring up at the impossibly high ceiling where a dark chandelier was hanging.
If he fell asleep again, another perverted dream about Seto would soon follow….


Kaiba shivered from the biting cold as he stuck his feet angrily into the plain pair of pants Mahad had handed him.

He'd been escorted to the Chrysalis blindfolded, and only after sitting in the pool for thirty minutes did the guardian octopi fuck off long enough for him to tear it off to have a look around. To his supreme disappointment, there had been nothing about his surroundings that gave the location away, but Kaiba knew he would find out soon enough when they climbed up the metal rungs.

The moment he shrugged the shirt over his head, Mahad held his hand out intrusively under his nose, nodding solemnly at the blindfold.

God…dammit!

"Were Atem and Adina blindfolded too?" Kaiba asked roughly, snatching the wet band of cloth from Mahad's fingers and tying it around his eyes, hating how icy cold water dripped down the sides of his face.

"Yes." The warrior answered shortly, doing his best to keep his thoughts to himself. "Now we climb up. I will lead you to the edge, don't fear. I'll catch you if you fall."

I won't fucking fall, Kaiba seethed, stepping forward blindly and hissing when Mahad's warm hand clamped around his wrist, guiding him to the cold metal rungs of the ladder.

Still scathing from the lack of information, Kaiba stamped one foot above the other, feeling cold ocean winds whip the hair around his cheekbones as he climbed out over the rocks and wobbled unsteadily on his feet. He tensed when Mahad rested a reassuring hand on his back to steady him, and it took all his willpower not to jerk away.

He could hear a car waiting by the side of the road in the distance, and Mahad grabbed him by the arm to pull him along. Kaiba grit his teeth and focused his senses on what he could feel.
Warmth, from the sky, even though it was night, so it was probably a full moon or something close.

"Watch your head," Mahad muttered, knocking on the roof of the car to let Kaiba hear where it was, and Kaiba grimaced, saying nothing as he ducked down and eased into the seat, recoiling in horror when he realized they were cloth seats.

"I hate this car," Kaiba announced, and he heard a startled thought from one of the hemisphere guards at the wheel.

This is Prince Seto? Arrogant! I dislike him already.

Mahad shut the door with a hollow thunk! and mirrored Kaiba's grimace.
He was not enjoying this at all. At least Seto wasn't fighting him on the blindfold.

"Drive," Mahad instructed, and the car rolled forward gently over a bumpy road.
Kaiba took note of this and filed it away secretly.
Bumpy road, clear air, no sound of other cars driving by—now if Mahad had his phone on, he could ping the location later and find this Chrysalis.

They rode in tense silence before Mahad spoke up quietly. "Usually, we drop warriors off at train stations, but considering how you're royal, we will drive you all the way to your residence."

"No. I don't deserve special treatment," Kaiba said cleverly, his tongue slipping on the words as he eased himself into the lie. "Stop at the nearest train station. I know the way home. It'll give me a chance to stretch my legs."

That way, I can pinpoint where we are based on the nearest train stop, Kaiba glowered privately, and he waited a few anxious heartbeats for Mahad's reply. He would uncover the location of this chrysalis even if it killed him. He wanted to know, dammit.
Would Mahad agree?

The guard's thoughts from the driver's seat were leaking badly too.

He's snappy and then all of a sudden, he's charming. I can't put my finger on this merman.

Yes, you and me both, Mahad thought darkly, watching the scenery flashing by outside his window. It ought to be fine to remove Seto's blindfold now. They weren't anywhere near the Chrysalis.

"…Please," Kaiba hissed through clenched jaws, and to his relief, Mahad reached out to pull the blindfold off his face.

Letting out a tight sigh, Kaiba arrogantly brushed the hair out of his eyes and leaned his head down on one hand, observing the freeway lights flashing by overhead. Mahad had made a grave mistake letting him know which freeway they were on and which way they were traveling.

A full moon was glowing like a tiny orb in the sky, and Kaiba felt his head rush with elation at the sight. Yes. Perfect. Everything was working in his favor now.

His stomach churned with jealousy when he mapped it out quickly in his mind, figuring that this chrysalis was closer than the one in Kyushu. Dammit.
Of course there was a chrysalis in the outskirts of Domino city.
It had to be the one on…that beach.
He knew exactly which one.
He had to keep his mind blank… blank…

Mahad shifted uncomfortably in the thickening silence, growing slightly fearful. Prince Seto was terrifying when he was in human form. The ease at which he hid his thoughts was unrivaled.

They were arriving in the city, creeping to a stop at a series of red lights underneath a rumbling bridge, and Kaiba stared hungrily at the crowds of people crossing the street.

"Let me out here," he said, his long fingers already reaching for the door handle, and Mahad swallowed thickly, shaking his head.

"Protocol states I must leave you at a train station!" Mahad insisted, and Kaiba rolled his eyes, losing his patience.

"I lived up here for as long as I can fucking remember," Kaiba snapped, seeing the crowds of people thin as the walk sign began blinking. "Let me out. Now."

Mahad opened his mouth to argue, but his throat constricted terribly, making his next breath impossible, and he fumed when he realized Seto was…commanding him. The nerve!

"Five… four—or you suffocate—three…two…" Kaiba counted patiently, his eyes on the blinking walk-sign. He didn't feel guilty causing Mahad grief.
Land was his territory.
Hell, he owned this city.

Finally, the locks clicked open, and Kaiba threw Mahad a cold smirk before climbing out and slamming the door behind him with a long swing of his arm, hurrying to the sidewalk, his head rushing with triumph.

Weakling.

Mahad doubled over coughing in his seat the moment the traffic light turned green, and he could hear the hemisphere guard's frantic thoughts seeping into his mind.

Are you alright?! Warrior Mahad! Did he…hurt you?! Are you hurt?! I felt that! It was terrifying!

"S-Shut up and…drive," Mahad gasped, curling his fingers into the backrest of the passenger seat, hating Seto with all his might. A horrible pattern was beginning to emerge.
He was somehow always losing his free will whenever he served Prince Seto.
That stubborn prince was going to get himself killed on land, a second time!

He jerked his head up just in time to see Seto's tall form melting into the crowds on the sidewalk, and his blood boiled. His babysitting of this young royal continued until Seto safely returned to the kingdom.

Kaiba threw a glance over his shoulder, seeing the red taillights of the car disappearing around the corner, and he breathed a sigh of relief. Fucking, finally.
Now he had freedom to move around as he pleased.

First, home. Maybe he could save himself a trip if he could figure out which home held clues to his lost memories. Deep down, he had a feeling it was the mansion, but he wanted to search it last. His sights were on the beach property, and time alone…with Atem.

Squaring his shoulders back, Kaiba scanned the busy crowd before him, meticulously picking a target. He would have to acquire a phone from a stranger to contact Mokuba.
Who out of this crowd was the weakest?

His answer came in the form of two women peeking at him from a food cart further along the street, and Kaiba made steady eye-contact, seeing one of them blush and look away quickly to whisper to her friend.

Perfect.


Mokuba pried his eyes open, groaning at his phone which was buzzing non-stop on the nightstand. Ayame shifted in her sleep and rolled over, ignoring the alarm.

Sitting up groggily, Mokuba snatched his phone off the nightstand, nearly dropping it when he saw an unknown number panning across his screen. What the—?

The call was missed, and the voicemail icon popped up in the corner, along with the time. 4:35AM.

He was about to block the number when the phone lit up with a call again, and Mokuba grit his teeth, answering it gruffly, "who is this?"

"It's me," Kaiba said smoothly, doing his best to speak without disclosing his name because one of the two girls was thinking rapidly about how similar he looked to the dead billionaire, Seto Kaiba.

"S-SETO?!" Mokuba exclaimed so loudly, Ayame woke up with a start and closed her eyes softly, taking several deep breaths, having been startled.

"Lost my phone and keys because I was drunk," Kaiba said evenly, knowing Mokuba would understand the silent message. "Can you pick me up or pay for the cab home? I'm at the giant crossing downtown."

"Y-Yeah, yeah let me…send a car," Mokuba swung his legs over the edge of the bed tiredly, thinking he would give up sleep for the rest of the night to get Seto himself.

"No it's fine. Stay in bed. A cab will do," Kaiba replied firmly, and the girl whose phone he was borrowing gave him a wide-eyed look.

DOES HE HAVE A GIRLFRIEND?! Her voice pierced his mind so sharply, a headache followed.

"No cab. You're dead, remember?" Mokuba growled, hearing Kemo shuffling by the door of his bedroom with coffee, having woken up after hearing his loud talking. "I'll come get you. No one's at the beach property anyway."

Kaiba grimaced and nodded. Dammit.
He was forced to return to the mansion first after all.
Unavoidable.
At least Atem and Adina were there.

"Wait at the coffee shop by the train station. Kemo and I will pull up in our SUV," Mokuba said, rubbing his face tiredly and hearing Seto argue.

"No. You can stay in bed. You have work tomorrow. Send him. I'll be fine," Kaiba hung up before Mokuba had a chance to retaliate and he handed the phone back to the girl.

"Thanks. I'm no longer stranded," he said, attempting to sound humorous, and the girls smiled kindly, their eyes sparkling.

"Did you want to hang out with us for the rest of the night while you wait for your friend to come?" She asked hopefully, her fingertips whitening around the edge of her phone, and Kaiba shook his head, reminding himself to bow stiffly to thank her.

"I've already troubled you enough," Kaiba used the politest language he could muster and hurriedly turned to walk away, hearing their disappointed thoughts echoing behind them, mingling with other people passing by.

Awwww…he was so polite and handsome!

He's close in age with Miki! Maybe she would've liked to go on a date with him?! But he just ran away!

The coffee shop's sign loomed into view, and Kaiba stuck close to the wall of the building, trying to stay invisible and wishing he had a mask, because people were glancing at his face and then staring for longer than 5 seconds. Fuck. He was being recognized. Maybe?
He could never tell. Some people just liked to stare.

Kaiba pressed himself closer to the wall, watching cars zip by on the road, waiting for a familiar one to stop by the railing, but all he managed to do was catch a few people's eyes, and their stares lingered.

Thankfully, his salvation arrived in the form of a tall, white SUV with blackened windows. He hurried towards it, leaping over the sidewalk barriers and yanking the door open to throw himself into the safety of the backseat, already seeing someone's phone camera pointed in his direction as he slammed the door shut.

"Seto! Missed you!" Mokuba beamed and reached out to pull his brother into a hug, feeling Seto tense and give him a half-smile.

Kemo, at the wheel, nodded at Kaiba in the rearview mirror, and was given a gruff command.

"Just get us out of here," Kaiba growled, seeing a crowd of young men drunkenly waving at the car, the man holding the phone camera frowning at his screen while swaying on the spot.

The car pulled away from the curb and Mokuba scanned Seto's body, taking in his long legs and plain attire, his chest swirling with a strange emotion.

"What're you wearing?" Mokuba asked, unable to help himself, and Kaiba grimaced, tugging at the collar of the plain shirt, hissing. "This is standard-issue clothing. Hideous."

"Where'd you pop up?" Mokuba pressed, and Kaiba shook his head, unsure if there would be any pacts suffocating him if he spoke about it.

"Can't say, but I'll figure it out," Kaiba replied vaguely, turning his gaze out the window to watch the groups of trucks passing by slowly as they crawled through the city's early-morning traffic.

Mokuba nodded and leaned back into the seat, still bursting with questions.

"Why the sudden unannounced visit? Adina will be super happy," Mokuba continued, eying the Kaiba skyscraper that towered into view as the car rolled to a stop at another red light. Seto was being unusually quiet.

"I was set up here to find something," Kaiba said through numb lips, hating how he'd lost a bit of his free will. Now he had an inkling of how Mahad had felt, but he couldn't bring himself to care.

"Cool," Mokuba replied calmly, folding his hands in his lap. "Can I help?"

"Yeah. Where's Isono's stuff?" Kaiba asked stiffly, his chest constricting at the thought of rifling through Isono's suits and shoes.

"Gone," Mokuba answered flatly, turning his head away to look out the window. "We packed it all away. Why? Are you suddenly regretting not going to his funeral?"

"No. I just need to see his stuff," Kaiba replied coldly, feeling himself sweat as the car took a dip down a narrow hill into the Kaiba Corporation's parking garage.

There was a long silence before Mokuba said something, and his voice sounded strained.

"His ashes are on the mantel on the third floor. We haven't scattered them because he never left instructions, so we've kept them. And about his stuff, it's in the basement labeled in boxes. Kemo has the key. Kemo?"

"I have the key," the bodyguard answered gravely, drawing the car to a rigid stop in a marked parking space. "

"There. Happy?" Mokuba asked gruffly, opening the door and climbing out of the car, eager to leave. "Don't do anything crazy, okay? Say 'hi' to Noah for me. I'll be back early today to have dinner with you."

Kaiba nodded stiffly and the door was shut as Mokuba hurried off to step into the silver elevator doors.

The car backed slowly out of the space and Kaiba leaned back into the seat, feeling himself grow drowsy. Oh, dammit. Now that he had legs, he had to remember to sleep every night.
He was starting to see the upsides to the fish body.

Inching himself down into the backrest and crossing his arms, Kaiba tucked his chin to his chest and closed his eyes quickly, hoping to catch a short nap before they got back to the mansion.


"….Master Kaiba?"

Kaiba was shaken awake by Kemo, and he pressed a hand to his face to stave off the sleepiness that was blanketing him heavily.

"We're home," the manservant said stiffly, and he stood by the open car door with robotic precision.

Kaiba forced himself awake and eased out of the car, noting that the sun was barely peeking over the tips of the trees at the edge of the property, casting a minty white glow in the sky above. His head was muggy, and Kaiba blinked slowly, willing his alertness to return, but it was useless. Damn. He was really weak as a human, holy fuck.

"Take me to the basement," Kaiba insisted, and the manservant bowed, closing the door with a heavy thunk! and striding stiffly into the mansion without another look behind him.

Following him closely, Kaiba craned his neck up to look at all the closed windows before stepping into the home, feeling a magnetic force pulling him up the grand staircase, but he ignored it viciously and followed Kemo into the elevator to the basement.
It was probably his longing to see Atem.

He glared at the silver doors closing in his face and the lift sank lower until bell chimed softly, opening on the last floor that was completely dark. Kemo cleared his throat nervously and the lights flickered on when they walked into the dark room, illuminating the long lab tables with a harsh, white glow.

Wincing at the sudden brightness, Kaiba followed Kemo to the towering metal storage lockers packed against the furthest wall and watched the burly manservant pry open a set of doors to reveal a stack of plain boxes with Isono's name written neatly on a sticker in each of the top corners.

Cool, thanks. You can leave, Kaiba said quietly, unable to open his mouth because seeing Isono's name on the labels made his breath catch painfully in the back of his throat, followed by a large, threatening lump that usually accompanied tears.

Kemo bowed stiffly and left in a hurry, throwing one last anxious look over his shoulder before he stepped into the elevator and rode up in silence.

Kaiba waited until he heard the soft whooshing of the elevator stop at the upper floors before he reached out to tug the boxes down, dreading what he'd find in each one. Lowering it to his feet, Kaiba tore the tape off the flaps carelessly and flinched when he was greeted with a large portrait of Isono encased in a black frame.
The ribbon from the ceremony was still tied to the upper corner.

Swallowing stiffly, Kaiba unhooked the ribbon from the frame and set the picture aside, seeing a stack of clothes neatly folded at the bottom. He took it all out and set it on the floor, feeling nothing out of the ordinary. Isono's watch and reading glasses were in the second box, along with several pairs of shoes, his phone, and a stack of handkerchiefs.

Kaiba pinched one off the top of the stack and held it tightly in his hand, his eyes heating up dangerously.
Shit. Shit. He would not cry right now.

He shoved all items back into the two boxes, frowning.
There wasn't much here. The second box had been practically empty.

A swirl of dark disappointment settled in his chest as he rose to his feet, keeping the heavy photo frame tucked under his arm because he was somehow unable to let go of it. Dragging his feet into the elevator, Kaiba stabbed the up button and swayed drowsily on his feet.
He needed coffee.

The elevator doors slid open silently and he stepped in, trying not to let despair overwhelm him. Isono would've left him something. He was sure of it.
He squared his shoulders back and hastened to exit, his feet taking him up to the third floor, directly to the white marble mantle. Clear white sunshine was streaming in through the tall windows, and the digital clock on the wall read, "6:13", bringing on an exhaustion headache.

Gritting his teeth, Kaiba scanned the sparse decorations, spotting the black glazed vase instantly.

He set the portrait down by his feet and lifted the vase carefully up from the base, holding his breath as he lifted the lid to peer inside, the contents dark and ashy.
This was highly disrespectful. Mokuba would kill him if he knew.
But this was it.
This was…all of Isono and his belongings.
What now?
Maybe he would find some answers closer to the water.

Time to figure it out by the beach, Kaiba thought darkly, tucking the vase in one arm and carefully bending down to pick the portrait up by the frame, turning on his heel to go back the way he came.

He ran into Kemo halfway down the stairs and the manservant stepped aside awkwardly to let him pass, his expression unreadable underneath his dark glasses, his mind eerily blank.

"Open the trunk for me. Any car will do. I'm taking one to the beach property," he commanded, and he felt Kemo bow and follow him loyally.

I'm being insane, Kaiba thought nervously as he passed a large mirror and saw his reflection carrying the dark funeral portrait and the urn.
It was fine. Isono would forgive him, probably. Mokuba, not so much, which was why it was imperative that he return the urn before the day was over.

He made his way down the long hallway to the garage and let Kemo step in front of him to click the keys on the remote, causing the headlights of a white convertible to blink. The car made a high-pitched blip! and Kaiba circled the vehicle, feeling oddly disconnected.

The excitement he felt when he usually got into a car was absent. It was like he'd become an emotionless robot, moving steadily to obey orders from Solomon.
Fuck that old merman.

He secured the urn in the passenger seat and the portrait was shoved into the space between the armrests, the corner towering up in the center of the car, blocking his rearview mirror.

"Master Kaiba, should I accompany you?" Kemo asked gravely, shaking as he wondered if he needed to report any of this back to Mokuba. The older Kaiba was…stealing remains.

"Nope. You need to shut up and forget that you ever saw me do this," Kaiba replied stiffly, tucking himself into the car and seeing the man stiffen significantly and look oddly blank.

"Dismissed," Kaiba added, seeing Kemo turn robotically and march back into the house, leaving the double-wide doors swinging behind him.
God. This sucked. He didn't even get to see Atem or Adina for 5 seconds.

But I'll figure this out once and for all, he vowed, backing out of the garage and onto the expansive concrete, biting back a shiver when the morning sun blasted him in the face, reminding him of the time passing quickly.

He stamped down on the pedal and peeled off the property, his fingertips white over the edge of the beige leather steering wheel.

His memories were close, he could feel it.


Author's note:

Kaiba is on a quest! When is atem gonna realize he's been *cursed lmao

This was kaiba's backstory, part 4 of 5