As Yami and Mokuba looked around and asked around it took 15 minutes before someone suggested trying the gardens. As they were looking around it was Mokuba who spotted him.
"Seto!" Mokuba called running over to him.
Seto turned around, smiled seeing the little boy and gladly accepted his embrace.
"Seto where have you been? I've been worried sick." Yami scolded.
Seto sighed. "Mokuba, there are some flowers over there that only bloom at night."
"Really?" Mokuba asked looking at Seto.
"Yeah, right over there, go on, I want to talk to Yami."
"Okay big brother." Mokuba said running off.
"So, now will you tell me why you seem to be avoiding me all day?" Yami asked.
"I couldn't face you."
"What are talking about, Seto?"
Seto turned to face him. "You don't think I know, you don't think I can see it! Mokuba's too little too see it."
"See what, what are talking about?"
"I'm talking about the fact that, you're leaving."
Yami blinked in surprise. "I don't understand how, how did you know?"
"I guess after seeing you so freaked the other night and then watching you study Mokuba while he was opening his presents. It was almost like you were making a mental picture to remember him by."
"That's why you said you had to go to work when I told you I wanted us to spend the day together. If you knew this then why did you leave?"
"I felt that you and Mokuba could use some time together. If you were planning to leave you should have time alone together."
"If you knew then why didn't you stay and spend time with both of us."
"I don't know. I guess I couldn't face the fact that you couldn't accept us and felt the need to leave."
"That's not it Seto. That's not it at all! You never let me talk at dinner or I would have told you. When I was facing off against Noah the other day I realized something. I realized that I'm not alone! You were right all along, I have a family."
"I don't understand. Then why are you leaving?"
"I have no choice."
"Then how can you stand there and tell me you accept us!"
"Seto I met a young woman today that happens to be the local school teacher. She's being fired and I hired her as Mokuba's tutor."
"Well that's good he did need one."
"Seto when I met her I told her my name."
"So, what's so odd about that?"
"My name is Yami Atemu Kaiba."
"But I still don't understand. If you've accepted that we're you're family then why leave us? What about the throne?"
Mokuba walked closer and hearing Yami was leaving walked over and wrapped his arms around him. "D-don't go big brother."
Yami smiled and stroked his hair a minute then placed his hand on his shoulder. "Seto when you were living with Mokuba for those 2 weeks I had to run the kingdom. It wasn't the easiest thing to do."
"Knowing you though you were also worried about me which only made it worse."
"True, but if you can honestly look me in the eye and tell me you truly don't want the crown anymore and can live in second place then I'll accept and risk staying."
"I don't understand the risk but I want you to stay, I want you to have the crown."
"You're a lousy liar."
"What?"
"I never imagined you'd be willing to give up the throne; I mean you've been king for years now and you do love the power. I've seen you when you rule and make decisions you just seem to crave the power. You're willing to give all of that up?"
"If it'll get you to stay yes!"
"I appreciate that Seto." Yami said sitting down pulling Mokuba into his lap and patting the place next to him. Seto sighed and sat down next to him. "I really appreciate all you do for me Seto. But it's time to move on and accept my destiny. I'm abdicating the throne. So you may continue to rule."
"Why do you have to g-go, big brother?" Mokuba asked.
"When I blacked out on the trail I learned that it was a new power. That I'm destined to be as great as the legendary dark magician."
"You can't learn that from here?" Seto asked.
"Master Dartz wants me to go to him and train there. I've seen the future Seto it's not pretty."
"We'll work through this we'll fight whatever comes together."
"That's just it this vision told me that something mysterious happens to me that no one knows what, you're killed protecting Mokuba and he disappears also. Master Dartz told me a great disaster is coming and that I am needed to save the world. But more importantly, he told me that I could change the future and save my family. You are my family Seto. You and Mokuba mean the world to me! I don't want to leave but if leaving now means that I have a chance to save you both and prevent that future from taking place then I have to do it! I don't want to lose the only family I've got."
"I see." Seto said.
"Seto please don't make this decision any harder on me than necessary. If I could find a way to save you and the world without leaving I'd do it!"
"I understand. I don't like it but I understand. When are you leaving?"
"Tomorrow."
"Why so soon?"
"The sooner I get started the sooner I can come home to you and Mokuba!" Yami said then turned to the crying Mokuba. "Mokuba I'm sorry but its something I have to do. I need you to be brave and be a good boy. I need you to take care of Seto for me, while I'm gone. Can you do that for me? Can you take care of him?"
Mokuba sniffed and nodded before throwing his arms around his neck.
"We'll be all right, we'll miss you." Seto said.
"I'll miss you both too. I'll stay long enough to get Mokuba's teacher settled in then I'm going to go."
"You leave without saying goodbye, I don't care how hard it'll be, and I'll never speak to you again!"
Yami smiled and the three hugged. "I promise Seto I will say goodbye and I will be home soon. I'll do my best to get home for Christmas."
Seto sat up. "Christmas? Yami, Christmas is almost three months away. You'll miss Thanksgiving."
"I know and I hate to miss it but I'd rather miss it than Mokuba's first Christmas."
"I can't argue with you there. It'll be our first family Christmas."
"Maybe Mokuba could even invite his new friend over."
"You made a friend did you kiddo?" Seto asked.
Mokuba sat up and nodded "H-his name is Muran."
"Another friend of his knows Noah. Which told me I couldn't enroll him into that school."
Seto stood up over him. "You tried to enroll him without my permission! Yami I made it clear that I didn't want to send him to public school. Now especially after what happened with Noah. We're his guardians we're both suppose to have a say in how he's raised!"
"How was I supposed to know he went to that school! I thought he'd be better off in a school with other kid's his own age!"
"It doesn't matter if you knew Noah went to that school or not! Even before that incident the other night if he went to public school, we couldn't keep more than one guard there. Plus with so many kids' it'd be hard for Mokuba to become just a regular kid. Not to mention all it'd take is one person who knows Noah to tell that they'd seen Mokuba. The guard might not be able to get to him if something happened and if he stayed up under him he couldn't be normal or make friends!"
"He'll never be normal Seto! We both know it!" Yami said standing up to face him. Even though he was a few feet shorter than he was. Seto was tall at fifteen he was 6 feet tall. Now at 21, he was a total 6'1" and Yami was only 5' 6". "He is the crown prince of this castle as I am."
Mokuba was surprised. 'I guess I never thought about that. I mean I know Seto and Yami are my big brothers and Seto's king, but I never realized that made me a prince, its kind of weird. One day I mean nothing to nobody just a slave. Now I have three people who love and care for me and want nothing more than me to be happy. I'm also a prince. It's strange I don't feel any different other than love from Seto and Yami. Despite their arguing, I guess arguing is normal for them.'
"I'm renouncing any claim I have to the throne to you. I don't know if that still qualifies me as a prince or a regular person but…" Yami said.
"In my world you are. The throne is rightfully yours. Even abdicating it to me, if I can't do the job anymore it falls to you until Mokuba gets older. I understand what you're saying about Mokuba needing to be around other kid's but we can't always have what we want. I'll have him a swing and maybe a couple of other things built so he and his new friend can have something to play on."
"Are you sure Seto?"
"Look my…our father was a cold hearted…" Seto refrained cause he was trying to cut down on language in front of Mokuba. "All our father ever said, when we asked or my mother asked if we could go to the school and play or have a playground built here, was we are royalty we must work hard and train to be effective rulers. Which is why we didn't have a lot of a childhood, but I'll be damned if Mokuba is raised the same way! The kid's already lost out on close to 5 years of his childhood already because of that old man. I won't let the way he raised us dictate how we raise Mokuba! If I have any say in the matter he'll be raised the way we want him to be raised, giving him as much of a normal childhood as he can possibly get. If that means eventually bringing in more kid's during the week and have them all learn at once so that Mokuba will have playmates, then, I won't like it but I'd do it!"
"I never knew you were so passionate on the subject, Seto."
"You never asked. I want Mokuba to have what we didn't. A chance to play and be free, of course he still has to learn and will have to crack down more later but till then he needs to just be a kid!"
"I agree Seto, I'll make the arrangements for what to make before I leave."
"I still wish you didn't have to go." Seto said.
"Me too but I have to."
"Why don't you take Mokuba and go on to bed he shouldn't be up this late anyway."
"You're the reason he's still up!"
"What did I do?"
"He had a nightmare and you weren't there for him. Let's all go to your bed it's twice as big as his or mine and we'll have a sleep over." Yami suggested.
"You get to carry him."
Yami looked over and smiled seeing the little boy sound to sleep on the bench. He carefully scooped him up and they all went to Seto's room to try to get some sleep.