I'm back! Sorry for the wait- but I couldn't upload until now. Anyway, the first part of this chapter is a flashback. It's not in italics, but it's fairly obvious where the flashback ends, anyway. Okay, read, review, and enjoy!

Warning: Yami may be slightly OOC, but I'm trying to keep him in character as much as possible.

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh.

Chapter 5: Reliving the Nightmare

I had separated from Yugi so that my spirit hovered beside him. Generally he was the only one who could see me, but now things felt different. As Isis chanted, I felt my limbs growing heavier and I gradually became more solid, and Yugi-tachi and Malik looked on in wonder as my body slowly came into view beside Yugi. Yugi gazed at me open-mouthed, and I felt a click, a slight shift in my body, just as Isis finished her chant. I started to smile, but suddenly Malik shouted something in ancient Egyptian. We turned to him in shock, only to see that his hair had been rearranged into thick spikes and he had a crazed look in his eye.

"Marik!" Isis shouted. The psychopathic other side to Malik had reemerged! I heard Yugi gasp in shock before sudden darkness swarmed around me.

Darkness… It wasn't like the black, pulsing darkness of the Shadow Realm; this was something different. Swirling colors shifted all around me so that the sky bled indistinguishably into the hazy distant horizon. All I could see were the dim plain and the shifting purple sky, barely visible in the gloom. As I stood stock still, gawking at my surroundings in wonder, I frantically tried to recall what Marik had shouted. Egyptian words.

Words that translated to… "Dream World"?

Then this was the world of my dreams. Or, since Marik had sent me here, it was probably the world of my nightmares. While I mused, I heard a deep rumbling from behind me and whirled around defensively, prepared to fight against whatever lurked in this "Dream World," but I found that a giant fissure had opened in the ground a few feet away. As I watched, the crack widened into a great, yawning chasm and sped rapidly toward the ground under my feet.

I ran, heart pounding and adrenaline pumping through my veins, until I eventually escaped the pit and paused to rest against a purple tree that had suddenly appeared on the horizon. But when I took a deep breath and leaned against the bark it morphed into sticky purple goo and I fell back against the ground. I hit the murky plain with a thud that knocked the wind from my lungs.

"Hey, bud, don't just lie there!" a familiar voice called laughingly.

"Jounouchi?" I asked hesitantly, not daring to believe that I'd found a familiar face. But I had. When I looked up, I saw him hovering over me with a wide grin.

"Yeah, man, why're you just laying on the ground?"

"There was a tree…" I started.

"I don't see no tree," he smirked, and offered me a hand. I took it gratefully, letting him pull me up, but suddenly his skin swirled with the same blinding mixture of colors as the sky and claws grew from his hands.

"What-what's going on?!" I stuttered, yanking my hand away and crawling backward along the ground.

"Where are you going, bud?" Jounouchi laughed, displaying long fangs. His white teeth stood out sharply against the swirling shades of red in his face, and I leapt to my feet and ran.

"That's what happened when I first got there. Everything else was pretty similar; it seemed to take things, people I cared about and transform them into something horrible. The Duel Monsters were the worst," I finished, raking a shaking hand through my hair.

"How did you escape?" Isis asked softly.

"That's ENOUGH!" Kaiba barked. "He's already shaking; he can't handle talking about this anymore!"

"It's alright, Seto. This part isn't so bad," I spoke up, and laid a reassuring hand on his arm. He put his hand over mine, watching me worriedly.

"I had been there so long, and it seemed like I was running all the time. Finally, I couldn't take it anymore. I collapsed on the ground, exhausted and crying… and I heard Kaiba's voice. He said the same thing he had when I'd battled against Marik for my first god card, 'Since when do you bow before your enemies?' I couldn't see him, but I got up and headed toward the sound of his voice.

"When I had been walking for a long time, I almost gave up, but I heard him again, encouraging me. Finally I followed his voice to the edge of a black void, when the fake Yugi showed up. He said I was going the wrong way, so I started to turn around. But Kaiba called me a fool," I laughed a little at that, "so I turned around again and ran into the darkness. The next thing I knew I was in Seto's office."

Isis stared at me wide-eyed, and I didn't dare look at Seto's face. "I see," Isis murmured. "Thank you for your words, my Pharaoh. I hope to have some answers for you soon." She turned and strode calmly away without another word.

I slowly pulled my hand away from Kaiba's grasp and turned toward the entrance, watching the floor. "Well, I guess we can go now," I muttered.

"I'm sorry," he said abruptly.

"What? For what?" I asked, finally looking up at him in my surprise.

"That it was so horrible. That I didn't help you before," Seto replied.

"It wasn't your fault, and I don't think you could have helped me any more than you did," I told him slowly, confused.

He nodded slightly and began his speed-walk to the car, causing me to run panting after him once more.

"You know what's strange?" I remarked conversationally, lounging on the sofa in Kaiba's study.

"Hmm," Kaiba replied vaguely, staring at the computer screen.

"In the Dream World, everyone was different. Yugi was too sweet, until I'd make him angry, at least. Jounouchi was too friendly, Honda and Anzu too. Everything was twisted and exaggerated, except for you. I followed your voice because you sounded exactly the same as you always do: rude and encouraging at the same time."

I ended my speech and stared at the ceiling thoughtfully. "Maybe I just couldn't imagine you acting any way but like yourself," I added, chuckling slightly.

Seto walked over and sat on the couch beside me, pushing my legs to the ground. "Hey, I was comfortable," I grumbled, sitting up.

"I don't care," he smirked. "You shouldn't put your feet on the sofa anyway; it's not polite."

"Don't lecture me about being polite," I scoffed, rolling my eyes, and gave him a rough shove. He grabbed my arm before I could pull away and twisted it behind me so that I automatically turned my back toward his chest to keep him from wrenching it out of the socket. I ended up almost sitting in his lap.

"Kaiba, let go," I protested, and pushed at his chest with my free hand in an attempt to pry myself loose. "Let go!" I pleaded again, tilting my head back so I looked him directly in the eyes.

His blue eyes met mine and I felt a tiny shock. I froze, staring at him, and he leaned slightly closer to me, so that I could feel his warm breath across my face. We sat there, frozen, just watching each other for a long moment- until I felt my face automatically inching closer to his…

"What's going on?" Mokuba's voice suddenly called from the doorway.

"N-nothing," I stuttered, yanking my arm out of Kaiba's grasp and climbing off the couch. I glanced over at Mokuba's disapproving face and moved to the chair farthest from Kaiba.

"How was school, Mokuba?" Kaiba asked.

Mokuba frowned at me a moment longer before turning to his brother. Then he climbed onto the couch beside Seto and started chattering away about his day, while I picked up a book and pretended to read. My mind drifted to the scene from a moment before. What had just happened? When Seto had leaned forward, it was almost like he was going to…to kiss me.

But that was ridiculous. Right?

"So, Yami, do you like that book?" Seto's voice broke through my thoughts.

"Er, yes," I replied, not looking up.

"Well, it might be more entertaining if you turned it right-side-up," Kaiba remarked dryly.

I dropped the book in surprise and glanced over at him, my cheeks suddenly burning. While I had been lost in my thoughts, Mokuba had disappeared, and now Seto leaned languidly against the couch cushions with his arms crossed, smirking at me in amusement. "I…well, I…I was just thinking," I stuttered.

"About what?" he asked innocently, raising an eyebrow.

"Mokuba," I lied. "He seemed upset with me."

Seto's eyes darkened briefly before he replied. "Oh. Don't worry about him. I'm the only one whose opinion matters."

"You are so arrogant," I groaned. Kaiba stood at those words and strode slowly toward the door. I tensed and scooted to the edge of my seat.

"Could you imagine me any other way?" he asked, grinning, and stepped out of the room.

Gulping, I tried to wait before going after him, but a few seconds after he disappeared I panicked and ran out the door behind him. Shadows swirled in the edge of my vision as I barreled out the door and smacked into Seto.

"Please, please don't do that without telling me," I begged, clinging to him.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Yami," Seto apologized, and wrapped his arms around me consolingly. "I thought you would follow me before I got out of sight."

"I wanted to…to see how long I could last," I replied, briefly interrupted by a shiver.

"I'm really sorry; I didn't think you'd try that. We should probably wait a few days before we try separating," Seto replied. He patted my back soothingly and I loosened the fistfuls of his shirt I had been holding.

"I'm sorry, I'm trying not to be so clingy," I mumbled, and pulled away from him, staring awkwardly at the floor. But, as soon as Seto let go of me another giant shudder ran down my spine. He sighed and hugged me again, resting his chin on the top of my head. "Sorry," I murmured once more.

"It's not your fault." Seto backed away just enough to examine my face, and when I looked up at him, he surprised me by tugging me into another hug, even though my shudders had stilled. "I don't mind," Seto added.

"Really?" I asked, with my face burning as he finally let me go. "Why are you being so nice to me?"

Seto smiled. "I feel like it," he replied loftily, and ruffled my hair like he would with Mokuba. "Let's go eat something," Seto added. He commenced his rapid strides toward the stairs, and this time I followed closely.

A/N: Next chapter: things get even worse for poor Yami. You'll see...

Thank you so much to all my reviewers! I really appreciate your feedback! Those of you reading Chef Yami, the sixth and final chapter should go up sometime tomorrow or Monday. I'm also posting a one-shot today, called "Healing Rain." Go check it out! (Heh, I'm not above shameless self-promotion...)