Where the End Stops and the Start Begins

CHAPTER THREE

What Would We Do if the Light Turns Green

Seto looked at Katsuya as though he had not seen him in years. He was every bit of attractive, still – not that much had changed or could change. After all, the nature of their industry practically begged them to be together in the same vicinity every so often.

"Jounouchi." The CEO managed greet curtly.

Katsuya, who had just noticed that his ex stood within the same circle as he did, shot his most polite smile. "Kaiba."

"Thanks, Jou," Yugi smiled at his friend. "I owe you one!"

"It's no biggy." Katsuya shrugged with an energy he did not share with Seto – something that the CEO was a tinge jealous of. "Besides, I needed change anyway."

Yugi offered Katsuya another sign of gratitude quickly. It was a short bow that had warranted him a quick view of another familiar acquaintance, whom had appeared at a distance not too far off behind Katsuya. "Hey, it's Bakura!" He said with great enthusiasm upon recognizing their newly arrived peer. Yugi gestured to excuse himself properly before he wondered off to Ryou's direction.

By default, Anzu followed immediately – with her hands still entwined with her fiancé's. She gave her friends a quick bow of apology for her sudden exit.

Mokuba and Hiroto, as well, made their way to where Ryou was situated, heavily engaged in the deep conversation between them on motor engines and their mechanisms. Seto guessed that his younger brother looked for further information to better his design.

Suddenly, there was only his former partner and himself, with no motivation to stay put. Nevertheless, Seto found himself thankful for the opportunity. Despite the horrible awkwardness in between and the lack of narrative to share. Besides, what did exes talk about?

Katsuya sighed and scratched the back of his head – "I just arrived and they're already heading somewhere else, huh?" He said more to himself than as a conversation starter with Seto.

This only merited a muffled cough from the CEO. Even with words, the strange air around them weighed too heavily for the two of them to deal with.

"I, uh, guess we should go greet Bakura then."

"You should." Seto answered, with little to no care about Bakura Ryou.

Katsuya, had they still been together would have retorted with a phrase phrase quite similar to you're our friend too, you know. There was none, but only the reluctant agreement that he should go: "…yeah."

Seto watched as the other turned to leave. His free hand had balled tightly in a fist, in an attempt to fight off every urge to hold onto Katsuya. Suffice to say that it was taking too much of his effort; especially when there was a crease to fix where Katsuya's jacket had wrinkled. Perhaps it was his neurosis or the force of habit that he cultivated in the span of their relationship that triggered it. Should they have been still together and should they had been in a private place, Seto would have fixed it as he so often had done before.

He regretfully remembered that they were neither.

"Jounouchi," he called with a hesitation that he hoped went unnoticed.

Katsuya tentatively turned to him. His eyes seemed curious enough about what Seto had wanted to say. In turn, however, he did not speak.

The CEO took a sip of his champagne as he tried to settle the nerves that crawled up his spine. "There is a crease at your neckline." Were the only words that he found himself saying, yet they still prompted his former partner to react.

Seto watched silently as Katsuya ironed out the crease he was warned about. It was an act that allowed the CEO a glimpse of the tattoo he detested so much.

"T—thanks." Hurriedly, Katsuya walked away.

The CEO continued to look on as the distance between Katsuya and him widened. As he did, Seto wondered to himself at which point in their lives did things change so drastically, that it had been enough to wedge a gap bigger than they had at the very beginning? Would they have been better off with a one-sided rivalry, mostly on the other's part? At least back then, whatever happened between the two of them would have been shrugged off and they would restart. Unfortunately, resets were no longer the best options for the situation he and Katsuya faced.

There was a churn within Seto. Somehow, he suddenly found it appalling to even consider the thoughts that ran through his mind. He did not regret any shared moment between them. On the contrary, what Seto felt remorse for were all the things they did not share – all the things he failed to provide even when he thought he had.

He sighed. Relationships, the CEO decided, were too indeterminable. If he could conceptualize it on a graph, the highest peaks would meet by the lowest points almost immediately. The alternated fluctuations were sensible and senseless at the same time. It was never one or the other. Yet, he was fine with it as long as it was with Katsuya.

He really wanted him back.

Seto turned away from his reverie when he noticed Katsuya finally reached his friends. He saw the latter wear a smile, the one Katsuya used when he would come up with excuses, as Hiroto leaned in with what Seto assumed to be a question. Perhaps, it had been an interrogation of the short discussion they shared prior to the other's arrival beside Hiroto.

"Mr. Kaiba," an older voice fully captured the CEO's attention. "How have you been?"

Seto, in turn, decided to engage in business talk.

It was already in the middle of the evening when guests had finally been ushered to another part of the museum, where they could finally dine. They sat in groups around different round tables that scattered the hall as waiters who seemed too eager to exchange the empty plates and glasses with the next set of meals and drinks. Not that Katsuya could complain when he was way too hungry for his own good. Yet the change of his plates came slower than the rest as he found himself distracted.

"Are you going to eat that?" Hiroto, who sat to Katsuya's left, pointed at the piece of cubed meat he saw on his friend's plate.

"Huh? Hey – I was gonna eat that!" Katsuya frowned as Hiroto swiftly dug his fork into the food item he aimed for and shoved it into his mouth.

"You snooze, you lose, bud."

"What's the matter? You're usually a fast eater." Mokuba, who was at Katsuya's right, asked as he faced where Katsuya looked. "Uh, why are you looking at my brother?"

The man in question stiffened. There was no denying that the younger Kaiba had been right. Katsuya was, in deed, preoccupied with how Seto stood at the other end of the hall, mingling with those he assumed to be industry colleagues. Nonetheless, he lied: "I wasn't."

"Yes, Jou, you were." Anzu chimed into the conversation as she passed a bread roll from Bakura to Yugi. "And it's getting disturbing because I'm right in front of you."

"So, why are you?" Hiroto prodded, without looking.

Katsuya nervously leaned back into his seat as he ever so carefully played with the baby potato on his plate. "He looks shitty, that's why." He mumbled before shooting the younger Kaiba a questioning gaze. "Is he even eating?"

"Okay, I kind of take offense in that." Mokuba frowned. "But, yes, he eats."

Hiroto turned to his friend and asked, "yeah, but the real question is, why do you care?"

"Because he really looks like shit."

"Aw, come on, he doesn't look that bad." Yugi commented as he found where the CEO stood. "Maybe just tired."

"Well, he did say he had a rough morning." The lone woman of the group added. "Maybe that's it."

Ryou then finally found his moment to speak. "I get what Jou means though. He looked, I guess, livelier a year ago. I wonder what happened since then." He ended thoughtfully as he returned to his meal.

Katsuya was caught in a state of slight distress; however for merely a short moment. He shook it off – still he wondered to himself what Ryou had meant by livelier.

"I think being single for two years is finally getting to him." Mokuba piped in with a forward lean, as though he shared a secret.

"Two years?" Hiroto, too, decided to lean forward in interest. "What happened to the super model?"

"Apparently, he hasn't dated anyone seriously!"

"No shit?"

Discomfort – that was what Katsuya felt as he continued to sit between his ex's younger brother and his supposed friend. Correction, it was what he felt with the entire event as a whole. It was not as if he was unthankful for the chance to join them for a night of unwinding. Rather, it was the excruciating combination of their current topic of conversation as well as the reason they had to gather in the first place. If Katsuya had the choice, he would have been absent all together.

Guilt, however, washed over him. Atem was still an integral part of his life, regardless of the messed-up triangle he left them with.

"How are you guys so sure?" Katsuya continued to play with his baby potato. "The guy probably went out, we just probably never see it."

"Come on, he spends all his time at the KC gym after work – you would know, Jou!" Mokuba snorted. "It's worse now, 'cause he does it every night. The guards are lucky to even get to lock the building up at all."

"I appreciate your interest in my relationships, or lack of thereof," a stoic voice resounded from behind Mokuba – which resulted a squeak from the younger Kaiba, "however, I would like to keep discussions like these out of the public eye."

"Geez, Kaiba, lighten up." Hiroto answered with a grin. "If you need help, I've got some friends who might be interested."

"You're disgusting, Honda." Anzu snorted as she unknowingly echoed what Katsuya had wanted to say.

Seto frowned as well. "I doubt your tastes meet my requirements, Honda." He said with a seethe.

"What, all I'm saying is I have single friends," Hiroto defended himself with a swift cross of his arms. "But, fine, if you don't want them, then maybe Jou would be willing to share. He's been around."

Katsuya choked, feeling the cold glare that Honda received from the CEO transfer immediately on him. This was precisely what he wanted to avoid. "What the heck, man?" Not that he could blame his friends. It was, after all, the consequence of having kept his previous relationship a secret. Katsuya could only lower his head. He really wanted to punch Hiroto though.

"Again, thank you for the concern," Seto spoke in a cooler manner, "but I've had an eventful two years." Katsuya knew his eyes were still on him – how they looked, however, was something he could only guess.

"I need to go to the toilet." Anzu announced all too suddenly as she stood from her seat. "Let's go, Jou." She ordered right after she asked both Ryou and Yugi to watch her bag.

"Eh? Why me?"

"Because you're the closest person I have to a girl friend in this table. I really have no other choice." She replied as she crossed the floor to where the other sat. Quickly, she grabbed Katsuya's wrist and made her way towards the toilets. "Let's go."

"W—wait, Anzu!" Katsuya called out as they swerved past the onslaught of museum guests. By all means, he had the right to be insulted by what Anzu had just claimed. But, honestly, he was thankful to have been dragged away.

The two friends then came to a stop as they arrived at a hallway, not too far off from the makeshift museum banquet hall. It was warmer and dimly lit yet a lot more comfortable than the table they had been in.

"I was going to wait until you were ready to talk, but watching you guys was excruciating! Spill!" Anzu began as she rested her hands on her hips. "What's going on back there?"

Katsuya shot her a questioning look. "Back where?" He asked.

"Are we really going to beat around the bush about this, Jounouchi Katsuya?" The latter frowned as she shook her head. "You should know by now that, being the only female in our friend-group, I've become hypersensitive to everyone and everything happening around me."

The other folded his arms in return. "I really have no clue about what you're saying." He answered.

"What's going on with you and Kaiba?"

"What?"

"You heard me." She said with a tight frown that graced her feminine face. "What's going on?"

"Nothing's going on."

"Biggest lie of the century, Jou." Anzu continued to wear her frown as she stepped forward to land a finger on the other's chest. "There's something odd going on between the both of you."

"We just don't fight as much anymore. That's it." Katsuya's forgotten discomfort loomed itself over his head again – but it was more terrible than it was earlier. "I mean, he is paying me."

"So does Pegasus, but you don't twitch when his name's mentioned, do you?" Katsuya knew she was right. "Come on, Jou, don't you think San Francisco was the perfect setup for a whirlwind romance?"

"Just because we met in San Francisco doesn't mean we have something going on."

Then there was silence as Anzu returned to her previous stance, only to give Katsuya a knowing look. She did that every time she found him too stubborn for his own good. Katsuya felt as though he was back in high school again – simpler times – whenever he saw her that way.

"There was no whirlwind." He worded his answer carefully, with a hope that the latter would get the hint. In spite of longing for someone to talk to about the entire thing between Seto and himself with, he had gotten used to not speaking about it over time. It was a new sensation at that point and it was difficult.

"But there is romance."

"Was. At least, I want to believe there was." Katsuya abruptly countered her as he leaned his back onto the nearest wall. "We, uh, broke-up… seven months ago. Together for almost two years." He breathed heavily upon the end of his sentence. The weight of the secret lessened, finally.

It was quiet.

Anzu moved to lean her back at the space closest to Katsuya. While she saw the relieved expression that finally appeared on his face, she understood enough to stop the questions even when the curiosity rose higher. Anzu figured, at that moment, that Katsuya would talk about it when he was ready. Wordlessly, she rested her head on the other's shoulder. She gave him a tight squeeze just when her hand found its way onto his arm.

Slowly, the quiet grew more and more bearable.

"Ready to head back?" Anzu offered softly.

To which, Katsuya nodded. "Sure."

Arm-in-arm and with smiles on their faces, the two returned to the table with a conversation that veered away from the original issue – which, of course, gained the interest of the group. All, except Seto, who busied himself with his own plate.

"We were just talking about the wedding plans, I asked Jou to design the invites." Anzu's smile widened as she noticed Yugi's reddened face. Letting go of Katsuya, she returned to the earlier abandoned seat beside her fiancé. Yugi pulled the chair out slightly for her. "Thanks for watching my stuff, boys."

"There you guys are!" Ishtar Marik shouted as he weaved through the waiters. "I've been looking everywhere for you." He said as he placed a friendly hand on Katsuya's shoulder, whom had still been standing all the while.

"Marik!" Katsuya smiled.

"Marik! I thought you stayed back in Cairo?" Yugi greeted from across the table.

"I had to rush something over for my sister." He answered with a smile. "I just arrived last night, actually."

"I thought the exhibition pieces were complete upon arrival?" Ryou inquired.

"They are." The Egyptian replied. "This one's… something we wanted to share with you personally."

Seto was among the last ones to enter the cordoned-off area, while at the very front of the group was Yugi with Marik at his side. The former of the two had been excited, which could not be anymore understandable. After all, what they were about to see first hand would be a complete and official archives to his previous life. To Atem's life. After Yugi, there were Ryou, Mokuba, and Hiroto, all of whom simply went and stopped as needed.

Katsuya and Anzu were the last two to have followed in – why Yugi's fiancé decided to come in last was beyond him. It was Katsuya's motivation (or lack of thereof) that interested him more and took pride in. Seto knew it was a horrible afterthought, that if Atem still had an effect on the other, then – by association – he still had an effect on him as well. Nevertheless, it was a small victory he wished to celebrate.

They stood in a room that had barely been lit, presumably in preparation for the official unveiling later in the evening. The Ishtar siblings had given them the first opportunity to explore the exhibit. Yet, even with the lights dimmed, Seto could still make out bits and pieces of hieroglyphs that surrounded them. From time-to-time, he would find a recurring image – he would find Atem.

"Thank you for taking the time to come tonight, despite your busy schedules." Ishizu's voice rang from the side entry point of the room. The lights then turned on as she reached the middle. "This was a difficult feat and we truly appreciate the support that was given to us for this study."

There were different tablets and scrolls that had been kept safely in glass cases all around. Other artifacts such as paintings and vases, as well, adorned the space. Everything had been correlated and spoke of a central theme, which Seto and the rest had already known about.

Nevertheless, eyes wandered the vicinity in at most awe despite comprehending next too nothing. In actuality, they were very lucky to have kept a deep friendship with the Ishtars, whom had gladly translated what the scribes had written thousands of years ago.

Ishizu talked about Atem's recognitions and Marik would sometimes add to the tale. They were definitely remarkable, to say the very least. However, none had found it surprising. It was Yugi's other self, after all. Moreover, they had the experiences to serve as evidences. Everyone – save the CEO, who found solace near the back – merely began to share personal anecdotes of the spirit.

Katsuya, whom Anzu had already for her fiancé, chose to merely smile and laugh at what others shared – Seto realized. He also saw that the other had his hands stuffed in his pockets. It was something he would do when he was not in the right mood.

"The pharaoh has done a lot in his lifetime and even in his time as a spirit." Ishizu wore a serene smile as she moved to take Yugi's hands in her own. "With great help from you and all of your friends in his later experiences. I am sure, that even in the afterlife, he is still thankful to have met all of you."

It was then that Marik moved to roll out another glass case from where Ishizu first entered the scene. All too suddenly, the entire mood changed as the attention had shifted from the older Ishtar to her younger brother.

The glass case carried four new tablets, with numerous pieces missing from each one.

"What's this?" Hiroto asked, to which the Ishtar siblings gave each other a distressed look.

"It's a message." Marik gave him a tentative answer. "We believe it was recorded by Atem, himself."

Seto's full attention had been caught at that point. Slowly, he moved closer to where everyone else gathered. The CEO's arms crossed as he found a space a few feet away from his former partner, which the other paid no heed to.

"We also believe that," Ishizu paused for a sigh before she shot a weary look at Seto and Katsuya's direction, "you must endure once more."

Seto's eyebrow rose at the realization that it was not solely Yugi, the Ishtars siblings addressed. He was included in the warning as well as Katsuya – and if the other had not been too busy being unaware, he would have noticed too. Seto was not at all amused.

Nevertheless, he let his eyes land on whatever he could see from where he stood. He recognized some carvings, which can be found on the other tablets. Of course, Atem would not disappear from the records. Seto also saw what seemed to be the past version of himself on another slab. Unfortunately, regardless of the years he dabbled in Egyptology, the CEO could not comprehend what the tablets tried to tell.

He guessed that neither did Yugi. "What does it say?" The aforementioned man questioned the tablets before them as Anzu landed a worried hand on his shoulder. He was just as worried.

"At first, we thought one of the scribes chronicled another version of the incident with Zorc Necrophades," Marik scowled and Ryou stiffened at the mention of the name. "But with what we've translated so far, the story is completely different."

"What does it say?" Yugi repeated with urgency.

Marik first looked to his sister, whom had given him a nod of approval. The younger Egyptian let out a heavy sigh and he said, "It involves the God of War, his consort, and the high priest—"

Yet before Marik could push further with the story, "—Jou?!" Mokuba's voice echoed the room loudly as he noticed Katsuya's body began to fall back.

Seto found himself in a hurry to lurch forward.

TO BE CONTINUED