Seto was openly pissed, and it had everything to do with the story Odion was telling him regarding why Marik had such an elaborate tattoo over the majority of his back. Considering Marik had made his distaste of the Nameless Pharaoh abundantly clear and it was obvious to someone who spent a lot of time acting as a surrogate mother to his Elements that he was hurting from deep-seated trauma over the issue, he had gone to the one most likely to give him actual answers over the matter. Particularly since Marik was barely 16 or 17 at the most, and his tattoo looked at least nine years old.
Getting a tattoo could be painful, as he knew perfectly well. Considering the traditional methods rarely included the after-care necessary to prevent infection, and all signs pointed towards the clan of Tomb Keepers being rather 'traditional' in mindset, he was going to guess that they hadn't asked for his consent first.
Seto's face was twitching.
"You're telling me Marik's father was an arrogant asshole who forcibly tattooed his son to keep a secret when living skin is one of the worst possible mediums to keep such a thing on? Not only that, but he was an abusive person who refused to consider the fact that there was an older, more willing person to carry the legacy instead?"
Odion nodded, ashamed. It had taken him a bit to figure out why he was even telling Kaiba this, but he decided it was too late to do anything now.
"Where the hell was his sister during all this?" demanded Kaiba.
"Isis tried to mediate, but her father was more interested in Master Marik than her. And women aren't exactly respected in our clan unless they wield the Tauk. When her gifts manifested, she was kept away from Master Marik most of the time in favor of properly training her ability."
"Of course she was..." said Seto scathingly. "The fact that both siblings possess Cloud flames and have completely opposing territories likely made it worse. By any chance, does Marik have the training required to use shadow magic without the fancy stick?"
"As heir, he was required to...particularly after the incident," said Odion. "I was only permitted because Marik refused to follow the instructors unless I was allowed to learn as well, as I had aptitude for it. The fact that I agreed to act as a seal for his darker half helped though."
Seto looked exasperated. Why did he always attract the damaged ones? Seriously, what god decided he was the perfect pseudo-mother for people who had shitty parents or came from horrible backgrounds and insured he always ran into them in a way his conscience wouldn't allow him to ignore their situation?
He pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to come up with a way to tempt Marik into leaving the clan entirely in favor of something he wanted. It was the best way to keep him from backsliding later.
"Which means he's perfectly capable of teaching my people how to use shadow magic and keep me from having to be near that damn sister of his," said Seto. "Is there a hobby or something I can use to help justify his presence in Domino, or perhaps someone he'd want to meet to get him to consider the idea of joining my clan?"
Odion didn't have to think twice about the answer.
"He favors motorcycles. The main reason he wanted to leave the safety of our clan's grounds is because he found an old magazine on them and has always wanted one. There was a stunt driver he became a particular fan of, though we've had no luck tracking him down for an autograph. Master Marik is a diehard fan of his old shows."
"What's his name?"
"The Immortal Stuntman that death hates..." started Odion.
Seto interrupted, mostly because he knew exactly who Odion was referring to and couldn't help but appreciate the irony.
"Skull de Mort? Marik's a fan of his?"
Odion nodded.
Seto had an evil, evil idea...besides, he was overdue for a real vacation and after this headache he needed one.
"I know how to contact him, or at least where he'll make a regular appearance," said Seto. "Would he be interested in joining my group if I could guarantee a meeting?"
"It would raise the chance considerably, but I cannot make any guarantees," said Odion.
Seto had an evil grin, though he hid it well.
He couldn't wait to see Skull's reaction to a super fan that actually remembered him. It would be a nice surprise for the poor Cloud.
Though there was one thing he needed to do immediately once this was over.
"You want to what?" asked Yami.
"I want to borrow the God Cards until we reach the mainland," said Seto.
"Why?" asked Yami.
"Because I think they're actually a conduit to the last vestiges of the actual Egyptian Gods and I want to see if I'm right," said Seto.
"...Does this have anything to do with why Ieyasu has been frantically searching for a ring he apparently lost when he went to the bathroom earlier?" asked Yami.
"Do I really look stupid enough to potentially incriminate myself where I might be overheard?" asked Seto.
Which wasn't an open admission he had taken it, but it might as well have been one in Yami's opinion.
Yami would admit he was intrigued, but he still wanted to confirm why Kaiba needed the cards.
"What possible purpose could this serve?"
"Is Yugi awake?"
"Actually she's napping. That last duel took a toll out of her, why?"
"I suspect that whatever grand destiny Isis keeps hinting at involves the actual reason behind why you can't remember anything...particularly your real name. From what I've read, names were important enough that losing it means you can't pass on to the afterlife, and will end up in some form of limbo until it's found," said Seto patiently. "If that's the case, the odds are that once she's completed that destiny you will likely pass on and leave a void in her soul that her Guardians are highly unlikely to properly fill."
Yami winced at that, particularly the blunt way Kaiba delivered that admission.
"It's not like I can do anything about it."
"Hence why I'm borrowing the cards for about an hour at the most. I plan to try and open some communication with the gods that rule over such matters to see if a deal can't be brokered," said Seto.
Yami looked completely confused.
Seto looked annoyed.
"Cloning, while technically illegal for public use, does actually exist. It's just incredibly expensive, morally unethical to the random masses that will bitch the most about the idea actually being put into execution, and most governments don't want to bother with it because it's a headache they would rather avoid," said Seto patiently.
Yami was completely surprised by that revelation.
"However the same cannot be said of the criminal underworld. The only reason they don't bother messing around with it is because it's not profitable and it's easier to train replaceable flunkies. I know of at least one scientist who could pull it off if properly funded...the real trick is convincing him it's worth the time and effort required."
He almost had Verde interested in a few collaboration projects with his company. The problem was that the scientist was too jaded and the White Dragon clan was too 'new blood' for him to trust it completely.
Yami reluctantly handed over the cards...only after assuring himself that there was only one exit and that he could keep an eye on Seto from the security cameras.
What followed was an incredibly boring hour, but Kaiba emerged looking irritated. He handed the cards over without a word, or any mention of whether or not he was successful.
Yami did notice him carrying a ring that had formerly been on Ieyasu's person... but considering the boy had been careless enough to lose it he was going to keep his silence. Besides, the brat had been incredibly arrogant the entire tournament and it wasn't his problem.
Not to mention the unspoken similarities between Kaiba and Ieyasu. The brat had mentioned repeatedly that the ring was a 'special heirloom' only certain people were 'worthy' of wearing and that it made him the heir of his family. If he really was related to Seto the way Yami suspected, that meant Kaiba was likely the older sibling and therefor should have been the one to inherit the ring first.
That meant it was a succession issue that Yami wanted no part of.
Reborn was with Kaiba for a private meeting. Mostly to settle the possible bill for his occasional help. Yes, he had come as a favor to Fon, but he had also made it clear that he would charge for his assistance dealing with the more...persistent...Triad members.
He almost wanted to sigh in annoyance when Seto suggested testing to see if they were compatible. So far the teen had shown far more honor than most Skies he had to deal with, which meant odds were he wouldn't try to forcibly harmonize with the Sun if there was no compatibility.
So you could excuse his absolute shock when, the moment his flames touched Seto's Sky/Cloud mixture, it sank in and latched onto them with almost dragon-like possessiveness. And that wasn't the only side effect.
Memories that were too real to be fakes seemed to pour into his very soul, and a strange familiarity with the teen came to him.
His Sun flames were almost purring with contentment at the new bond between the two...almost like they had been waiting for a long time for this to happen.
The first thing that he said while he tried to get his legendary composure back together was...
"Dame-Tsuna, what the hell did you do this time?" in the most exasperated tone he could pull off.
Seto...or rather Tsuna nearly dropped his coffee in shock.
"What did you just call me?"
"Don't make me repeat myself, Dame-Tsuna. Why do I suddenly have two sets of memories?" demanded Reborn irritated. "More to the point, I thought you locked up that damn bazooka after last time."
Because the only thing that made sense was if the "Idiot Trio" as his (student?) Sky called them had been messing around with the damn Ten Year Bazooka again.
"For one thing I wasn't even in the room when it went off...I was about to open the door when I got hit with the blast. And I thought you'd be proud of the chaos I've been sowing since the accident," said Seto, trying to regain his own calm.
There was no mistaking the sheer relief in his voice at having Reborn back in his life.
Reborn had a headache.
"What exactly did happen?"
"Nana was hit by a semi...apparently the truck driver had forgotten to eat anything and his insulin was too low, causing him to black out and cause the accident. I checked extensively and there was no set-up involved," said Seto quietly. It was obvious the incident still affected him. "Since Iemitsu couldn't be contacted and it was almost two months before the infamous visit, I decided I didn't want to be subjected to his 'stellar' parenting ability so I insured that I would be sent to a random orphanage well outside the district and altered the records slightly. When Mokuba came and I realized he was Active, I set things up so that we wouldn't be overtly noticed by any established groups while increasing my own powerbase."
Reborn listened to Seto calmly explaining how he had driven his abusive and manipulative step father into doing all the work for him while subtly making a name for himself in the underworld. Mostly due to the fact he knew who to go through to hire the Varia and had the resources and cunning to pull it off without anyone suspecting the wiser. It wasn't like any of the major players were going to care if a weapon's dealer with only minor connections and no real backers was taken out by a kid misplaced by his famiglia.
By the end of it, while Seto explained how he had turned an unknown like the White Dragon into a major rising power in the Eastern underworld, he noticed a suspiciously misty expression on Reborn's face.
"Are you crying?" he asked.
"No," said Reborn promptly...but the pride in his voice betrayed his real feelings. Understandable really...his favorite student had not only caused untold amounts of chaos, but had clearly taken to his teachings more than Dino ever had if he could create a famiglia out of nothing while discreetly raising his personal power base to the point even the Vongola would have intense difficulty forcing him to become the next Vongola Decimo.
Reborn didn't even mind being cuddled by a relieved Kaiba. To be fair, now that he realized why he always felt like he was reaching for a Sky he thought didn't exist, he was glad to have him back.
Though he was definitely going to help Seto bond with some of the other Arcobaleno. He deserved better than half-trained idiots shoved onto him because of a genetic resemblance to their ancestors.
"How are you planning to deal with the Vongola?" asked Reborn.
"In your honest opinion of this current timeline, do you really see it flourishing as is? I'm already stealing the Varia away from them within the next year."
"Under the current leadership, and after meeting their present heir...no. It's been circling the drain since Timoteo named Ieyasu the Vongola Heir and gave him the rings."
"We both know that man won't give a damn what the name of the group holding them is called so long as one of the bloodline has the rings. So I've hired a thief to steal them for me and I plan to crush the Vongola systematically until they either figure out who I really am or they get the wake up call they desperately need. I'm not cleaning up their crap twice," said Seto flatly.
"Good," said Reborn equally flat. He could see his student/Sky was thriving far more than he had the first time with half the headaches and opposition.
Besides, he could honestly admit he was glad he wouldn't have to pretend to be nice to that jackass Iemitsu. He suspected this time around Seto wouldn't care one whit if he were to brutally murder that dumbass.