1"Ankh Of Despair"

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Sorry that I haven't updated in awhile! I have been downloading sub-titled episodes of the shounen-ai anime called "Gravitation." I highly recommend it! There are only 13 episodes, and it is very cute. There are a lot of funny moments, but there are some serious/touching moments as well. If you have a downloading program such as imesh (imesh has all 13 episodes), then do yourself a favor and download them. . . I wouldn't recommend letting your parents see though. . . the guys do kiss. . . and there is implied sex.

So anyways. . . happy belated new year! Here is the next chapter! By the way, thank you so much for your reviews! I will surpass my goal!

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh. I own the plot of this fic.

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Yugi, Tea, Joey, and Tristan all rushed to Yami's side. The Pharaoh had sunk down to his knees in a sort of defeat. His blonde bangs hung low in his face, shielding his eyes from the onlookers as he cried softly to himself. . . crying softly for the love that would never be.

Yugi crouched down beside his partner, placing a loving hand on the other's shoulder, "Yami. . ." There was nothing that he could say to ease the sorrows of his darker half. . . Yami's heart was, again, crushed, and he had always been telling him it would be okay, so what good would it do to repeat himself? It wasn't okay.

Yami stood, his crimson eyes still hiding in the shadows of his hair. He gave Yugi a light shove, once the hikari had also stood, letting Yugi know not to bother him. He didn't want to be touched, didn't want to be comforted, didn't want to be talked to. . . he wanted Seto, his Seto. . . not this. . . this asshole-of-an-excuse for the priest.

"What happened?" The question came from the corner of the room, where the two albinos lay, their bodies entwined as they exchanged heated kisses and caresses. Apparently they had finally come to realize that everyone else had gone quite and the thief stopped his rain of kisses on his light to see what was the matter.

Yugi looked from Yami Bakura and back to his yami, who soon left through the door. When he could assume that the Pharaoh was out of hearing range, Yugi proceeded to answer, "Kaiba crushed Yami again." He was able to catch a look of worry pass over Bakura's features as Yami Bakura began to smile.

The thief looked down at his light (one can assume that Yami Bakura were laying on top of him, yes?) and smiled, placing a satin kiss on his forehead, "The priest still loves his Pharaoh. . . Yugi. . . you still have the Millennium Rod, don't you?"

Yugi faltered for a moment at the mentioning of the Millennium Item. . . was the tomb robber still after them? "Well, yes. . . yes I do. It's back at the game shop. . . why?" A few beads of sweat threatened to form as a catlike smile tugged at the spirit's lips.

"Well, perhaps you should give the rod to Seto."

"Why would I do that?"

"Because back in Egypt, the Millennium Rod belonged to the most gorgeous priest in the Kingdom."

"The priest Seto. . ."

"Exactly." The thief turned his attention back to his hikari, beginning a trail of kisses from his forehead down to his collar bone, stopping only as his name was called.

"Yami Bakura?" Yugi absentmindedly fisted the bottom of his shirt, "If I give Kaiba the Millennium Rod, will he have a yami too?"

The albino looked thoughtful for a moment, placing a hand at his chin to rub at his imaginary beard, Bakura giggled at this, "No. Seto Kaiba is exactly as the priest Seto was, both in looks and in attitude. He bears his original name and I believe that he still holds all of his original memories. They are most likely locked away within his tainted mind somewhere. Why, I bet if you were to use the Millennium Key, you would find a soul door just like that of your yami's, except this door will be locked. Of course, you don't have the Millennium Key, s-"

"Yes I do."

"Where did you get it?!"

"Shadi gave it to me." Yugi smiled.

"Why that little. . ."

"I have all of the items except for the Millennium Ring and the Millennium Eye. . . you have the Millennium Ring and the Millennium Eye is still out there I guess. . ."

The former thief resisted the urge to smirk. He had both of the remaining items and had no intention of giving them up.

"Wait a sec!" Joey chimed, "If Seto has soul rooms, then if we could unlock the other one, wouldn't he have a yami?!"

"No, there are only memories there. Seto is Seto, that's all there is to it. Bakura and Yugi are different than the Pharaoh and myself. The differences between us and our lights are quite obvious, whereas if my memory serves me right, Seto bears a very strong resemblance to his ancient self. In fact, the only changes I can see are the color of his skin, the lack of black around his eyes, and his height. He is certainly taller. . . but that's a nice thing." He chuckled a bit, "Now, unless you would like free, gay porn, I suggest you all exit the premises immediately."

Bakura's eyes were the size of golf balls now, and everyone else began to leave. Joey had stayed where he was, but Tristan pulled him away quickly, practically dragging him up the stairs.

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Mokuba trailed behind his brother as they entered the house. The taller of the two slammed the door shut after they were in, and the raven-haired boy wondered if it were intentional, "Seto, please tell me why you did that to Yami!"

"Because I don't like him Mokuba!"

"Yes you do!"

"No I don't!"

"But you do, Seto! I know you do!"

"Oh? And how do you 'know' that I do?"

"Because you have a photo album with a whole section just for Yami! I've seen it!"

"I already told you Mokuba, it wasn't Yami. . ."

"Oh my God! You are such a fucking liar!" Mokuba's hands flew up to cover his mouth, but they came to late. Wide, violet eyes stared into angry sapphires.

"What did you just say?" A threatening tone lingered in Seto's voice, his eyes narrowed and his frown looked more unpleasant than usual. He grasped Mokuba's chin roughly in his hand, "What did you say?!" he spoke harshly through his teeth, but his entire expression melted into the loving older brother that he was when he saw the tears welling up in his baby brothers' eyes, "Don't say that word again, do you understand?" It was no longer an order, but more of a request, and Mokuba nodded, the few tears in his eyes escaping and rolling down his cheeks.

Seto leaned down, kissing the raven-haired boy's forehead and leaving the room.

It was late into the night, and Mokuba figured that Seto was heading off to bed. . . or to his office to do his paperwork for the night. He stretched his arms and emitted a yawn, "Guess it's about time for me to crawl under the sheets too. . ." He glanced about the room, not looking for anything in particular, "Today has been so strange. . ." He frowned, but his expression soon turned thoughtful, "But I think we've made some progress!"

He slid off the couch and bounded up the stairs. He flew into his room and pounced upon the bed, making easy work of removing his shoes and street clothes, and slipping into his more comfortable pajamas.

Gathering the bundle of dirty clothes, he lugged them out into the hallway and dropped them down the laundry chute. Mokuba spun on his heels to return to his room, but a dim light caught the corner of his eye, and being the nosey child that he was, he simply had to investigate.

It was coming from Seto's room, the room at the very end of the hall, and it appeared to be from on back in the bedroom. . . most likely a small lamp, perhaps the lamp that sat upon the desk in the far corner of the room.

"He's probably working." Mokuba whispered to himself as he tip-toed to the door that had been pushed to. It didn't even creaked as it was lightly shoved open.

At his desk sat Seto. A thick binder sat open on the fine oak and Seto looked down at it, apparently distraught about whatever the pages contained. Mokuba squinted his eyes to make out, what he believed to be, a single silver tear slip down his brothers' pale cheek and disappear amongst the shadows.

Seto ran his hand over the page he had been gazing at as though some hidden message were written upon it in braille. The brunette laid his head down upon the book, and Mokuba could no longer see his face. Shutting the door as quietly as he had opened it, Mokuba left his brother to himself. Perhaps he would bring up the subject in the morning. . .

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Yami had gone straight to his bedroom without a single word. Yugi lay in his own bed, hearing the occasional frustrated grunt from the room that neighbored his own.

Yami paced in his bedroom, taking the time to make glances at the golden relic that lay on the table before him. The Millennium Rod. If he gave this to the CEO, there would be a chance for love in this life. . . but then again, wasn't that almost like force? Almost like brainwashing? Something just didn't feel right about the idea, and since when was something that Yami Bakura suggested a good idea? But. . . this could be his only chance.

"Gods, why does this have to be so damn hard?!" He bit his lower lip as his door opened after a light knock, "I'm sorry Yugi, I hadn't meant to call that out like that. . . I'll be quiet from now on, I promise." The Pharaoh sat on his bed and buried his face in his hands in exhaustion.

Yugi joined him and placed a hand on his back to rub it soothingly, "Yami, I know you're upset and I know you're frustrated, but not sleeping isn't going to get you anywhere, it will only succeed in making you cranky, and the last thing we need is a cranky Pharaoh snapping at us!" He chuckled a bit at his little joke, but the look his yami gave him obviously showed that he didn't get it, so the hikari waved his hand to dismiss the conversation, "Listen, just get some sleep and we'll talk more about it in the morning and I'll help you come up with a solution, okay?"

Yami sighed, "You're right, this won't do me any good. . . I'm just so confused right now. . . so undecided and unsure of myself. . . I don't think I've ever felt this worked up before. . . sleep is probably a good idea. . . thank you Yugi." The two hugged. It were as though they were brothers. . . it was a nice thing for the both of them to be able to find support in one another.

Yami curled up under his covers, but knew that even if sleep did eventually overcome him, it wouldn't happen anytime soon. . .

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Gomen! Gomen! Gomen! I know, I know! It's a late chapter and it's short but. . . I've been completely obsessed with gravitation lately! Go download it on imesh, seriously! If you love shounen ai, you will love it! I have also lacked motivation to write this. . .

I got an IM on yahoo a couple days ago. . . they said that they loved my stories, but they weren't a big fan of me, they just liked what I wrote. . . that really pissed me off. I know, it's a lame excuse, but that made me fume. Anyways, this fic is, believe it or not, winding down. . . and I still haven't decided on how to end it yet. . . hmmm. . .

Anyways, you know the drill! Rate and review!

New review goal: 200 reviews by the end of the fic!