Author's Note: I really enjoyed this chapter because of Kaiba and reasons...hopefully you'll understand if you read on. I won't say why and ruin the surprise. Also, this one gives a bit of background on their lives as adults so I thought it was fun. I'm sure I'll be expanding on that more later. This story takes place in right around the present, but there is one difference-they have Seto Kaiba, the man who managed to make holograms and virtual reality in the 90's. Two decades later I figure that certain technology originally applied only to gaming by Kaiba Corp would be applied to other things. I don't get to write about it much, but it can be seen in the form of the holo-poster in Akari's bedroom.

I'd like to give a shout out to lalalei for reviewing this story, and to all who decided to give it a shot. I hope you continue to enjoy it!

Enjoy!

-ForeverLily

Higher Stakes 4: The past repeats itself

Come on puzzle…just one more time. That's all I ask. Yugi pleaded with the puzzle in his hands. He had been working on it for eight hours and he had only managed to connect two pieces. It took him years to complete it the first time, but the next time after that it had only taken him a few minutes. He could still remember the way that it felt, as if his hands were moving on their own accord. He couldn't afford to take years-all he had were a few days, and even taking that long made him uncomfortable. We may not even have days. We don't know when he's going to make his move and we need to be ready, he thought. No, he had to stop thinking like that. He had to be positive. He knew he could solve the puzzle because he had already done it twice. He needed to stop with the what ifs. They wouldn't accomplish anything-all they would do is make him lose faith. Maybe that was it! He just needed to have faith. It had gotten him out of many tight spots in the past. Recently he been letting everything that had happened bog him down with worries over the future of his family and it was making him doubt himself. He took a deep breath. Okay fate, it's up to you now. He picked up a different set of pieces and tried again. The connected, but not to the pieces that he had already connected, still, it was progress.

He heard a knock on the door. "Dad? Are you in there?"

"Come in Akari."

"What are you doing in here?"She asked.

He put the puzzle down. "Come here. I want to show you something."

She obeyed and walked over. She looked at the puzzle pieces, and then looked at him in confusion. "This looks exactly like that puzzle."

"That's because it is that puzzle. When Mana and Mahad hid the puzzle they hid it in plain sight. She put the box on my old desk, right where I used to always keep it. "

"Oh yeah, sometimes I forget this was your old room. You were so weird dad! This room is exactly the same way that it was when you graduated high school, and there's not a single holo poster on the walls."

He ruffled her hair affectionately."That's because I'm old. Holo posters weren't invented yet."

"But what about the old paper ones?"

"I used to have some up, but we took them down when we made it the spare bedroom. It's weird being at my old desk, Kari. I remember spending many nights over the years trying to solve this puzzle."

"Years?"

"Yep. You see, not everyone can use the puzzle. Only the one who is fated to use it can solve it and learn it's secrets. I solved it exactly when it was meant to be solved. If I had been any younger I wouldn't have been much use to the pharaoh, and I wouldn't have been ready for the trials ahead.

Suddenly she was indignant. "So this guy was using you? What gives him the right to-"

"Akari!" He scolded.

"But Dad-"

"You shouldn't judge a situation that you don't understand. 5000 years ago, he sacrificed himself when he was a young pharaoh in order to save the world by locking his soul inside of his puzzle without his memories. He waited all of that time in order to save the world a second time and then had to pass a test in order to finally find peace. He's sacrificed a lot for the sake of the world."She could no longer look him in the eyes because she was ashamed of her outburst.

"We shared a body, but once we began to understand each other we realized that I was chosen for a reason."

"Why?"

He could feel a bittersweet smile cross his face. "Because, we complimented each other-we both had strengths that the other lacked. I taught him compassion, and that the end doesn't always justify the means, and he taught me to be strong. We were like two halves of the same person. I used to call him 'other me'. Well, maybe the fact that he sometimes took over to duel might have had something to do with it too."

Suddenly she looked horrified. "Do you mean you're not the real king of games?" She had always taken pride in the fact that her dad was the king of games. He could only imagine what was going through her head when she thought that he was a fraud.

"No, I am the real king of games. We dueled together, but the test that he had to pass to return to the afterlife was to lose to me. We gave it our all, and it was the toughest duel I've ever had, but I won. It was a pretty close call though."

She knitted her eyebrows the way that she always did when trying to solve particularly difficult puzzle. "Why'd he have to lose?"

Yugi had asked himself that many times over years. He had thought that it was because losing had been painful for him, but he eventually came to realize that it wasn't exactly losing that was his weakness-it was pride. He supposed that it was inevitable that a king of any sort would find pride to be his weakness. He could never back down from a duel even when it meant gambling with other people's lives. To someone like him losing wasn't option, plain and simple. At first it had caused tension between the two of them and Yugi had started to fear the ruthlessness of the spirit that he had unknowingly unleashed. Once they began to communicate and trust each other, he slowly began to realize that letting go of his pride to help someone was more important than victory at any cost. "It was because he had to overcome his biggest flaw."

"How is winning a flaw? Wasn't that kind of the point?"

The raw desperation in Kaiba's eyes as he stood on the ledge still haunted him. He was taunting Yugi because he knew that he wouldn't risk someone else's life like that, but he was beyond the point of bluffing. To this day Yugi believed that person that Kaiba was at that time would have jumped. When he asked the Pharaoh about it one night shortly after they arrived back home from Duelist Kingdom he had said, "It was his decision. He chose to take the risk, so I did not think think that it should have interfered with our plans. However,he saw Yugi shifting uncomfortably in seat, "I realize that was wrong. We could have found another way inside, and we did. I was too foolish to not realize that."Despite his admission that he was wrong, it was something that he struggled against right up until the final duel.

"His biggest flaw was pride. He had to lose because there was a time when he believed that the ends justified the means, and that isn't always true."

"Yugi? Akari? Are you guys alright?" Tea ran into the room. "Don't scare me like that! I sent you up here fifteen minutes ago Akari! I thought that something really bad had happened to you! Both of you should come down for dinner It's been ready for ten minutes and it's going to get cold!"

Dinner at the Mutou house was a silent affair for what was probably the first time since that first week after returning from Egypt when he was kid. That silence was solemn and it was deafening. This time the silence wasn't solemn. Instead was composed the buzzing minds of the family as they tried to digest everything that they had learned.

They all pitched in to do the dinner dishes that night because Tea had cooked something especially elaborate because she had taken off of work, and then sat in front of TV. "Do we even want to know?" She asked in regards to the news.

"Staying in the dark won't do us any good, so I guess we'll have to see what we can find out."

To their surprise nothing newsworthy had happened yet, except that A dog had saved a little girl from drowning at the pier. Although it was a pretty impressive story it was hardly relevant to what they were looking for.

"Uneventful is good, right?" She asked.

Amen to that."Definitely."

His phone went off. The caller ID said read Ishizu Ishtar. "Is everything alright Ishizu? Isn't this pretty late for you?"

"The necklace has found it's way back to me."

"So Mana and Mahad hid them with their original owners…"

"This is the work of the servants of the pharaoh?"

"I spoke with him last night while I was asleep Mana and Mahad managed to hide all of the items but the ring. I found the puzzle in my old bedroom…"

"That is excellent Yugi!"

"There's just one problem…"

"What is it?"

"I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to put it back together again. I spent eight hours working on it and only managed to put four pieces together."

"You must have faith. You will be able to connect all of the pieces when the time is right."

"Did your necklace tell you that?"

"I don't need a millennium item to be sure. You were the vessel for the great pharaoh. I can assure you that if anyone is worthy, it is you." He caught himself blushing.

"What exactly did she say?" Tea whispered.

"I don't know about that, but thanks. How is Marik doing now that he had the millennium rod?" He was afraid that his dark side would return.

"He doesn't have it. I suspect it is going to find its way to Seto-" He heard buzzing on the other line and it was Seto's number.

"I think maybe it just did."

"Take care. If something happens I'll let you know."

"Same here."

They switched over. "Hi Seto what's-"

"Get this thing out of my house Mutou."

"Get what out of your house?"

"You know damn well what I'm talking about! If you need a private jet back to Egypt take it, hell, I'll pilot it myself, but I will not touch that thing. I am not some Ancient Egyptian Priest! I have absolutely no desire to touch that thing and be dragged back into that mess."

"I'm not sure it works that way."

"I decide my own destiny. It's that I don't care that you're in danger, if you need me to do something because you morons lack the talent then I'll help you, but I'm putting my foot down about the shadow games." So the issue wasn't that he didn't believe, it was that he did believe. He couldn't really blame him for not wanting to deal with it. But when would Seto learn that you can't run from fate?

"Seto, you can't run from this. Don't you remember what happened the last time you tried to run from all of this? You wound up in the Pharaoh's memories despite all of your protests that it was all 'hocus pocus nonsense'. But if it'll make you feel any better, I'll hold onto it for the time being."

"I suppose you'll want me to say thank you or something like that?"

"From you? I think I'd be more frightened if you did."

"I'll be right over."

"I'll send a car." He faintly hear Mokuba in the background. "Is that Yugi? We should probably come in person. You can't be too careful"

"Since we're asking you for a favor I guess we should come to you. I could use a break from those imbeciles from the board of directors anyway. If the company can't keep running without me for an hour or two I need to hire better employees."

"Is your nephew coming? We have cookies. Tea's been baking all day."

The item was wrapped up in a blanket. "Wow, you weren't kidding when you said you didn't want to touch it."

"Do I ever kid?"

"More than you'd think." Tea said as she walked into the room.

"Hello Mokuba and hello to you too little guy. Your birthday's next week, right?"

"Right!"

"How old will you be this year Toma?"

He proudly held up three fingers."I'll be this many."

"He's turning four this year," Mokuba said, "And he couldn't be any more excited. He's been asking me for different types of cakes since Friday. How does a four year old even know that many types of cake anyway?"

Yugi laughed because his daughter was the same way at that age, only instead of cakes it was games."You did marry a baker. Speaking of Risa, where is she?"

"She's attending a convention. Every year there's this huge convention and she's been saying that she's wanted to attend since before we even started dating. This is the first year she hasn't been sick on the day it starts. Her bakery's already a success, but she wants to expand. She's been looking up regulations and ordinances in between customers. I guess that's what I get marrying a reformed lawyer." Risa had been fresh out of law school when they met. She was about to accept a job at a firm when brother asked her to help out at his bakery for the day. She fell in love with baking and decided to open up her bakery. Although you'd think that she'd be as different from Seto as night and day, she was extremely organized, efficient, spoke the language of sarcasm as fluently as him, and was sharp as a tac. She really did remind Yugi of Seto. Needless to say Seto approved of his little brother's wife.

"Cookie." He pointed at the plate of sugar cookies that Tea was holding.

"Can he?"

"Just the one, and don't let him try to fool you into thinking that he didn't eat it later!" Mokuba warned.

Tea knelt down. "Here you go. Take your pick."

"Why don't we all go sit down?"

"Akari?"

"Yes dad?" Akari walked in and greeted the guests. "Hello Mr. Kaiba and Mr. Kaiba." Mokuba and Seto had been like Uncles to her, but she always called them that because it got on Mokuba's nerves, and she said that Seto had always seemed like a sir to her, even though she really enjoyed spending time with them. "Why don't you go play with Toma?"

"Okay."

They had to walk past the kitchen to make it to the living room and Seto and Mokuba stared at all of the baked goods lining the counter and the table. There all sorts of different breads and cookies. Yugi was amazed that she had been able to prepare such an elaborate dinner after that.

"Maybe you should go into baking instead," Mokuba teased. "I hear my wife's been looking to hire someone new."

Kaiba quirked an eyebrow. "I never took you for a nervous baker Gardner."

"It's been Mutou for sixteen years thank you. I took the day off of work, and I didn't know what to do with myself so I started baking, and then I couldn't stop! I never thought I'd become a nervous baker either." she said defeatedly.

Tea had always been a doer, and not being able to do something made her restless.

"I'm sure you'll be fine. If even you geeks could do it as teenagers, I'm sure you can do it again," Seto tried to comfort her.

"Where did you find... it?" Yugi asked.

"Why are you talking about it like it's a stray dog that you've just taken in?" Mokuba asked.

"We've got little ears in the house now, we need to be careful." Tea defended Yugi. "We don't want to be overheard."

"Fine, I found it in the vault with my cards and my important blueprints. What I don't understand is how they managed to get in there in the first place. It's guarded with state of the art security systems didn't even exist sixteen years ago!"

"I'm telling you that Mana and Mahad are two powerful magicians acting on the orders of a pharaoh who apparently has the ability to watch what's going on down here and that's what you question?" Kaiba had always had a highly logical mind, so his explanations tended toward the scientific even when things could not be explained away using science. "The items were hidden with those who were meant to hold them. Isis had just finished telling me that she had found the necklace when you called."

A crash sounded from below. "Are you okay Akari?" Tea shouted.

"That wasn't us." Akari shouted back.

The adults looked at each other and ran to the shop. A duel monster menacingly stood in the middle of the floor. "Seto, get the rod."

"I said-" he protested.

"We don't have a choice. We need your help. I might be of commission so you have to use yours to summon the Blue Eyes white dragon!" He shouted.

"Okay Mana and Mahad, I'm sorry to call on you again so soon." He whispered. "I summon the Dark Magician and the Dark Magician Girl!" He wasn't sure if it would work, but to his relief they came when he called.

They immediately moved to stand between Yugi and his friends and the creature. He didn't recognise it, but it looked powerful.

One attack had already knocked the Dark Magician Girl to the side, but the Dark Magician stood his ground.

They launched another attack, which shook the creature up a bit but didn't appear to do much damage.

Kaiba returned and pointed the rod. "How do I use this thing?"

"Trust your instincts! If it's meant to be yours you'll know!"

"I summon the Blue Eyes White Dragon!" The creature appeared in a blaze of light. It attacked the creature once, and that was enough to destroy the creature in the attack and not leave a single piece behind.

Seto slowly lowered his arm. "What in the hell was that? I could feel it! I could feel it coursing through me. How did I know how to do that?"

"You just do." Yugi shrugged. "It comes with the territory. It sort of becomes an extension of you. Do you believe us now? Things like this will keep happening whether you have it or now, so wouldn't you rather be safe than sorry with that on your side?"

"Fine, I'll keep the rod," he muttered.

"I'm home!" Mai shouted. "Oh, don't all get up at once."

"Hey Mai!" Joey said distractedly.

"Is that any way to greet your wife?"

Joey had the grace to look embarrassed. "Sorry Mai, we're just trying to figure something out."

"Don't hurt yourself. What are you guys trying to figure out?"

She surveyed the faces of her friends and her eyes stopped next to Seto. "Is that what I think it is?"

"We know who has five of the items, but we can't seem to figure out who has the last two," Joey explained.

"Where's your puzzle Yugi?"

"I haven't solved it yet," he admitted.

"We're sure it'll all come back to you bro." Tristan patted his shoulder.

"Of course it will-you're the king of games!" Joey encouraged.

"All that means is that I'm extraordinarily lucky," he said. "Think about all of those duels that I won with half a point left."

"As much as I hate to admit this, I think you proved that you're the King of Games in the ceremony. You haven't lost an official duel since Duelist Kingdom-I think that has to be more than a bit of luck." Seto begrudgingly admitted.

Tea took his hand. "Look at me Yugi."

He turned to face his wife. "Aren't you the ones always telling us to trust in ourselves? To trust in the heart of cards? You will solve that puzzle because that is what you are meant to do. Stop doubting yourself!" He should have known that they'd be on the same page. He had given himself a similar pep talk earlier that evening.

"Who said I don't think I will? I know that if I am meant to solve it then I will." Fate does what it wants, and that's that.

Mai sat on the couch with her legs crossed and carefully listened in on the conversation. Although she knew the basics, Yugi knew that there would probably be some things that she didn't know. It wasn't something that they had purposefully decided-so much had happened that it was easy to leave details out.

"That's four now." Joey stated. "Weren't there supposed to be more?"

"Do you think Pegasus has the eye? That guy still gives me the creeps." Tristan grimaced at the thought of seeing him with it again. "I know he's supposed to be all reformed and everything, but if a man is capable of stealing souls once, doesn't that mean he's able to do it again?"

Mokuba made a face. "I hope not." Yugi couldn't blame him. The man had stolen his soul as a kid. Surely there were few things as traumatizing as that.

"I'm with Mokuba here. That kind of power isn't for just anyone to mess around with. Cheating is the least of what he could do with something like that. I remembered the darkness that surrounded the arena. At first I thought it was just something wrong with the cameras, but then I realized how...solid it looked. If he was able to duel you in the shadow realm he could do a lot of damage."

"So what does that leave?" Tea asked. She whipped out her phone and did a quick search "The key and the scales. Who had those?"

They all tried to think back, but struggled to come up with answer. Finally it was Tristan that spoke, "Wasn't it that creepy spirit guy?"

Yugi's eyebrows shot up. That description rung a bell, and then he realized who he was talking about."Shadi? I don't think he'd have it. He moved on when the pharaoh did."

"Are you sure? I mean, if the pharaoh can..." Tea trailed off hopefully.

"No Tea, it can't be him. The pharaoh's different." How could explain that it all hinged on the connection that they had? If the pharaoh wasn't his other self, if he weren't a Pharaoh things would have been different and they'd really be on their own.

"But-"

"Tea!" Mai interrupted. "If Yugi says it can't be him, then we should look at other options. The spirit of the puzzle was your friend right? And Yugi is your husband and knows more about this than any of us! If there's one thing that he's taught me is that sometimes you need to trust the people that care about you, and I know when someone's trying to b-" she saw the pointed look that Yugi and Tea were shooting her, "What I mean is that I'm get at telling when someone's over confident and doesn't know what they're talking about and Yugi definitely isn't one of them. I say we go back to the drawing board."

Finally Kaiba gave his two cents. "Let's say that out guess is right and the items are going to be found by whoever represents the original holder. What we should be trying to figure out who is who had them in Egypt, not who had them twenty years ago. It's obvious to anyone with half a brain that a spirit who doesn't even exist anymore isn't going to be able to have an item."

"So who had them in Egypt then?" asked Tristan.

They all looked at each other. "For some reason I can't remember. Sorry pal."Joey said regretfully.

"I don't either. Does anyone know?" Tristan asked.

"I don't remember seeing anything about it on the tablet either…" Yugi shook his head.

"The items came to you, right?" Tea asked.

"That's right, they did."

"I have a feeling they'll come us then! Now, since there's nothing else we can do…" She looked towards the kitchen and cringed when she saw that entire surface of the kitchen counter was covered in baked goods. "Does anyone want a cupcake?"

Author's Note: Thanks so much for reading. I would also appreciate it if you would review if you have the time. It's always nice to get feedback and know what readers are thinking. In this case I've written the story that I want to read, and it's been so much fun predicting their future while using canon as the foundation. I thought maybe I'm not the only one who'd want to read this story.

-ForeverLily