ANNIVERSARY NOTE! I feel a little silly being excited about this,but as of today, I have been posting 'It's Déjà Vu all over again' for exactly one year. I think I feel a little like a hobbit (in a good sort of way) plodding steadily forward. But the one thing I am absolutely sure of is how touched/moved/amazed I am by everyone who's stayed with the story (especially those who've taken the time to let me know.) So I wanted to say: Thanks. It's been a lot of fun.
AKUNADIN AND SENNEN ITEMS RECAP: Well, it's a year later, and I'm finally working my way back to Akunadin and the Sennen Items. But I thought, since it's been a while, I'd summarize that part of the story. Basically, Akunadin's part of the story revolves around the Sennen Eye and Rod. 3,000 years ago, these items were split – with each copy having half of its original power. Akunadin and his master, Zork (who's this sort of ultimate bad guy), have one copy of each. The other copy was guarded by the priests and continued being handed down through the ages until they wound up with Pegasus and Malik, respectively. They were eventually given to Shadi. Since these are Sennen Items, Akunadin and Zork can't just grab the other copies – they must be freely given them or win them in a duel from the legitimate holders – which in this case are potentially Seto and Kaiba. Way back in the beginning, Akunadin had targeted Seto as being his most likely ally in helping him gain control of both the Eye and the Rod. Before Akunadin could approach Seto, Shadi transported both Seto and Mokuba, who were running away from Gozaburo, five years to the future. So basically Akunadin's in a holding pattern until the two versions of Seto Kaiba claim the items. Yami way back in Chapter 15, realized that this gives them the time they need to get their act together. This is made more complicated by the fact that Seto is tempted by Akunadin's offer that if Seto helps him, he will in turn make it possible for Seto to stay in the future, because Seto's resentful of Kaiba and Yami's relationship, and drawn to the idea that Akunadin might actually care about him. Kaiba, who's been spying on him, becomes aware of this, and lets Seto know as well as trying to warn Seto of the dangers of what he's doing – which is basically where we are now. So on with the story…
CHAPTER 32: HERE COMES THE SON
(With apologies to the Beatles)
SETO'S POVI didn't really want to fuck Yami, and I sure as hell didn't want him to fuck me. Unfortunately, it had taken his tongue in my mouth and his hands under my shirt before I'd figured that little detail out. I would have gone through with it anyway. No one was ever going to be able to say that Seto Kaiba doesn't finish what he starts. I would never have backed down, but I was glad when he backed off.
Kissing Yami had been wonderful though. It had been everything I had imagined it would be – and I have a pretty detailed and vivid imagination. Yami had tasted of honey and spice. He had been as exotic as one of Akunadin's stories. And yet his arms had felt familiar, as if I was coming back to the home I was too smart to believe in. I wish I'd stayed awake longer. How could something that felt so good, make me relaxed enough to fall asleep?
I liked seeing how far my tongue could go down Yami's throat. I liked playing with his hair, running my fingers up and down his body, cupping his ass in my hands. But I didn't like being touched, or I thought I didn't, until last night. (And I hated being confused even worse.) Yami's hands were a lot gentler than Gozaburo's, the things he was whispering in my ear were a lot nicer, but despite appearances, the message had to be the same, it was always the same: the one doing the touching was also the one doing the owning – and no one had a lease on my ass.
I'd finally figured out that despite his threats, his insinuations, the way he'd touch me whenever and wherever the hell he felt like… Gozaburo wasn't really interested in following through. He wasn't going to seal the deal, not unless I pushed him a lot farther than I planned to. Sometimes a threat is harder to fight, and therefore more powerful when left to the imagination… and unfortunately, I have a pretty detailed and vivid imagination.
The bottom line was, Gozaburo wasn't the type to waste his energy, and he didn't need to fuck me to make me feel like his whore; not when he'd bought me, not when he could do whatever he liked and I couldn't do shit in return. Not when I let him touch me (up to a point) because keeping Mokuba and me out of the orphanage, keeping the dream of building a Kaiba Land for kids alive, was more important than keeping his hands off me. Not when I let him because the only thing that mattered anymore was winning this game… and everything has a price.
So I never argued the point. After all I'd seen his name on the check. And it didn't matter how many idiots called it a 'generous donation' when Gozaburo and I both knew it was a Bill of Sale. But Gozaburo never got it. He might have paid for me, but he didn't own me. No one did, or ever would.
So, like everything else, a hand under my shirt, a voice tickling my ear, was just the next move in the next game… a game that was going to go nowhere.
And unlike Kaiba, I wasn't dumb enough to forget that was all it would ever be, no matter how different it had felt last night, no matter how much I'd liked it, no matter how hot this new opponent was.
(I knew that. I knew it all. So why had I let my guard down enough to sleep in his presence? Why had I let Yami get so close?)
But even if I didn't want to go any further with Yami (and I didn't) that didn't mean I didn't know a rejection when I saw one. Yami wanted Kaiba not me, even though Kaiba had done something horrible. I could see it in Kaiba's eyes. I could see it in their eyes whenever they looked at him. But Yami didn't care. He preferred Kaiba anyway. That stung, unexpectedly. So did seeing the way Yami looked at him. The way he couldn't take his eyes off of him. I don't know if Kaiba noticed. But I wanted someone to look at me like that… like I was worth looking at. And I didn't want to wait five years.
Well Kaiba could keep his Yami. Akunadin preferred me. At least that was the mood I carried to our next meeting.
"You will have to make a decision sooner or later, Seto… and I think we both know what it will be," Akunadin said. It was not a good start to our meeting. I don't like anyone thinking they can predict my moves.
"If you're so sure, you can afford to be patient," I answered.
"Maybe I can't wait to have my son at my side again."
I tried not to feel pleasure at his words. Part of me knew I was being played, I had to be, but it was hard to resist. And after all, was Yami so different from Akunadin? Yami had managed to get to Kaiba using the oldest trick in the book. Part of me knew that wasn't true… that was what hurt so badly… but for once I wasn't ready to listen to the more logical part of my brain. It was nice to hear someone call me 'son.' To want me – even if it was just a sham. Of course that didn't mean I was going to fall for it either. But it had been lure enough to keep me coming back.
"So why pick me and not the older version? Why come after 'Seto' and not 'Kaiba?"
I'd asked before, and I knew the real answer. He figured that I was younger and stupider… more malleable. But I was curious to see what lie he'd tell me this time.
"Kaiba," Akunadin said, emphasizing the name, 'has made his allegiance clear. His loyalty is to his lover and that little boy."
"Mokuba?" I said. It was the first time his name had crossed my lips. "What's he got to do with this?"
"Nothing. He's a hindrance, but a minor one."
I saw the look in his eyes. The look that never left Gozaburo's. The one starting to come into my own eyes… the one Kaiba had not been able to erase, even five years later. A look that said its owner was calculating lives as if they were of no worth. It was a point of view I usually endorsed. If Akunadin had directed that look at me, I wouldn't have minded, having decided long ago that I could afford to give meaning to only one life. And that was the problem. Because the life Akunadin had deemed irrelevant wasn't mine… but Mokuba's.
I wondered how long it would be before Akunadin realized, as Gozaburo was starting to, that Mokuba was a line I would never cross. How long it would take him to decide to erase that line instead…
None of this showed on my face. I may have slipped up when it was my life on the line, but this was Mokuba's. I would be the perfect emotionless statue for him.
"If he's so minor, why bother to bring him up?"
"He's an intrusion. He didn't exist in your past."
"Times change. Who cares about Mokuba anyway? You've got a bigger problem. How do you expect me to get Shadi and the rest to trust me? I mean they'll probably trust Kaiba. Now that Yami's fucking him, they'll figure that'll keep him in line, but I'm a different story."
"There are two items, the Eye and the Rod. Each can only be wielded by one of you at a time. Kaiba, being the older, will be drawn to the Eye. If you bring the Rod here and surrender it to me, he will follow, and try to recapture it. But he won't have gained the experience necessary to have mastered the Eye in such a short period. He won't be able to use it effectively for attack… or defense. If you lead Kaiba into my trap, I can challenge him for the right to the Eye he will assuredly have in his possession by then. He won't back down. Once I've defeated him, I can reclaim his Eye and finally reunite your versions of the Eye and the Rod with my own. That is the only way they will regain their full power. That is the only way Zork Necropolis and I… and you… can succeed. The only way we can rule," he explained.
"Unless they trust me a little more, I'm not getting near the Rod, even if we do collect it. And no one's made a move to pick it up yet."
"You may be right. As much as I will miss your presence, my son, perhaps it's better not to come again until you have the Rod in your possession, or definite news of it. Patience, Seto. Soon we will rule together, as we were meant to."
I nodded.
"You seem to have dropped your pretense of indecision," he smiled.
"Power and family – it's an irresistible combination… Father," I bowed and was gone.
AKUNADIN'S POVI didn't mind him staying with the others; didn't mind whatever double game he thought he was playing. Let him stay at the mansion. Let him play at Kaiba Corporation. Let him get a taste of the wealth and power that could be his. In the end he would dispose of his older self, as easily as Kaiba had once tried to dispose of the younger brother.
The tie I had crafted was stronger than mere ambition, and more unexpected. For who would have thought that this self-possessed boy would long for a father?
I had raised my son, the original Seto (that these others were all pale counterfeits of) in secret. But I had raised him none-the-less. I had loved him. I had sold my very soul to make him the pharaoh. Only to have him turn from me. Only to have him reject the power I offered him… only to see him accept that self-same gift at the hands of his cousin and lover, instead.
Seto had owed me his loyalty and his obedience. We were meant to rule together. But he could not walk away his obligations to me and to the fate I had chosen for him, forever. And now his reincarnation was poised to repay that millennia-old debt.
It was delightfully ironic. This time, having done none of the work of rearing the boy, I was now to reap the benefits of engaging his powerful loyalty. The God of Chaos himself, for whom my son was named, must be laughing.
I considered the younger brother. I had possibly underestimated the extent of that bond. I was surprised that Gozaburo had left such a liability alive. It was a mistake that, although Seto did not realize it, I was not about to repeat. The little viper was not going to get a second chance to betray me – especially for so slight a cause.
But that could wait. For now, whatever feelings he had for his brother would only make him more eager to carry out my plan, more desperate to remain in the future. The younger brother's fate could wait until the older one was ruling at my side; blind to all but his father's love; blind to all but ambition. The younger one's death could wait until darkness fell.
SETO'S POVGozaburo was right. Stupidity is the only sin, and life never fails to extract its punishment.
Akunadin had almost conned me. He had almost won. I had been considering joining forces with him – and for all the wrong reasons. Not for power, or revenge, or even to escape whatever fate sat so heavily on Kaiba. No, I had been tempted by the promise of having a father, by the promise of being a child.
What the fuck had I been thinking?
Part of it was their fault. They all treated me like a kid. Even Kaiba, who should have known better… giving me a nickname, taking me to ball games, the movies… until I was in danger of forgetting the only thing that mattered.
Mokuba.
As I had told Gozaburo, Mokuba was mine. I swallowed the bile that rose in my throat at the unwelcome reminder of my lies. That didn't matter either. I loved Mokuba. I would never stop loving him. It was the one certainty of my life, the one thing I had to believe in, the one thing that made all the rest possible. The one thing that I would never lose.
Did Akunadin really believe I would betray my brother? How could Akunadin think that I would ever harm Mokuba?
It was strange. People kept wanting me because I was a genius. Then they kept expecting me to be stupid. If I had slipped, revealing my longing for a father (an admission that shamed me) Akunadin had slipped too, and worse. He didn't realize it, but there was no way I was going along with his plans. Nobody threatened Mokuba.
You could tell that Akunadin was still mad at his son, even 3,000 years later, for having had enough honor, enough integrity, to reject him and his crazy schemes. You could tell that the only value I had in his eyes was that he figured I was too depraved to have a clue about right and wrong. He had a point. I'd seen enough 'wrong' up close and personal, and done enough too, to know it real well. But I'd never seen enough 'right' to figure it mattered… to believe it existed.
I was the conscienceless savage he thought me. After all, I had picked Gozaburo, even though I had known exactly who and what he was. I knew he made his money killing people – maybe not with his hands – but they were dead all the same. But I also knew that he was my best shot at protecting Mokuba, and that a conscience was just one more thing I couldn't afford.
Akunadin was right about me. I didn't care if he covered the whole world in darkness. I wasn't sure I'd recognize the difference anyway. But he figured that meant I didn't give a shit about anything – and that's where he figured wrong. There was one thing I cared about.
Mokuba.
I felt a faint warmth towards Kaiba. Whatever else he had done, he had kept Mokuba alive. He had kept his promise. The shadows were in his eyes, not Mokuba's.
So, for the first time, even though it meant confessing my criminal stupidity, I not only needed to talk to Kaiba… I wanted to. If he couldn't forgive my fall, at least he would understand what had been my salvation.
KAIBA'S POVThe punk barged into my room (without knocking, of course) and announced: "Well, you'll be happy to know you were right."
"I'm sorry," I answered sincerely.
"For what?"
"About what," I corrected. "I'm sorry Akunadin let you down.
"You knew? Even before the game?"
I nodded.
"How?"
"Because it's what I would have done. I would never have let something this big be decided for me without checking out Akunadin myself… without trying to deal."
"I suppose you can tell me what decision I've reached too?" he asked sarcastically.
I shrugged. "This was the only timeline that guarantees Mokuba's safety. Sooner or later you'd realize that. Or Akunadin would screw up."
"He had a good plan. If it wasn't for Mokuba, it might have worked."
"I know."
"Why did you let me do it?"
"At first it was clear that you were just playing him, just using him to get enough data to design your Egyptian setting correctly. It seemed like a harmless enough diversion. Later… when I realized the bait Akunadin was using…" I shrugged. This meant admitting to my weakness as well as Seto's. But he had earned my honesty.
"I don't really remember our father," I said. "But I was eight when he died. I should be able to close my eyes and see his face. I've certainly never forgotten anything else. The truth is – he wasn't home enough to fix his place in my memory. I can't remember going to the park or a ball game with him, or even just hanging around the house. What I do remember is trying – and failing – to stay awake long enough to see him when he finally came home from work. It was our first 'No Sleep Game' – until I realized just what a sucker's game it was. Then there was the orphanage. Then there was Gozaburo.
Like you said, the sorcerer was playing you; it's what he does. But he also kind of cared. That came across – even through cyber-space. In some ways Akunadin may have been the best of the bunch. You got to have something I never did, at least a little. I couldn't take that away from you."
"The moment I said 'yes' all that affection would have vanished like the wind."
"Probably. That's usually what happens," I agreed, hoping that Yami was the exception.
And then I remembered… how many nights had Yami fallen asleep waiting for me to come home; playing and losing a no-sleep game of his own? Perhaps the worst hells are the ones we recreate…
Ancient or modern, I could not undo the past. I could only resolve that in the future, Yami would never wait for me in vain, again. I wrenched my attention back to Seto, who was saying: "I came so close to betraying you… to betraying Mokuba. Why didn't you step in?"
I paused needing time to puzzle it out. I finally said with a note of surprise in my voice, "I guess I decided to trust you."
"That doesn't make any sense," Seto cried in frustration. "You know me better than anyone. How could you trust me?"
"I don't know. Maybe because Yami believed in me, and I wanted him to be right."
"Why did Yami trust you?" Seto demanded.
I shrugged. "I'm not sure."
"You feel the same way, don't you?"
I shrugged again.
There was a long pause.
"What's it like?" Seto finally asked.
"I don't know," I said, shrugging a little helplessly this time. "It's different. It's… nice."
Now that Seto had proven his loyalty, now that he had proven my faithfulness, I felt a twinge of guilt for not telling him the one thing that could have driven him over to Akunadin; for not telling him about Death-T. I wasn't afraid of facing his condemnation. I faced that every day, every time I caught sight of myself in Kaiba Tower's mirrored windows. But I knew how far I would go to erase that day. It was possible that Akunadin had simply picked the wrong bait, the wrong Seto Kaiba. If he had offered me a chance to go back in time… to stop Death-T before it started… for the first time I felt some sympathy for Seto, some pride in his victory.
Because strange as it seemed, taking Akunadin up on the offer he had made to Seto instead of me, the offer to rearrange time, would have been for my benefit – not Mokuba's. As far as I could judge (having limited experience with the emotion) Mokuba was happy. He had adjusted to what had happened.
No one, not even Yami would understand. And only Seto (who I had no intention of telling) would approve. But some days, the knowledge that, in the end, Death-T had hurt me far more than Mokuba, was the only thing that kept me going, the only thing that made it all bearable.
It was the reason why, in the end, my answer to Akunadin would have been the same as Seto's. Taking care of Mokuba was my right and privilege. I was his Nisama. And no one, not Akunadin, not Gozaburo – not even myself – could ever take that away from me.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Well, I suppose I'm in a bit of a looking back mood. When I first started posting, I joked that I was writing a ridiculously long fanfiction novel. Well it's a year and I'm-afraid-to-think how many words later, and we're about 71 of the way through. When I started, one of the things that attracted me to this story was that I wanted to write a relationship between Yami and Seto where they both have admitted that they care for and trust each other, and see what would happen from there. Well it took me 31 chapters to get to that point. It also occurred to me that their relationship really follows three distinct arcs. In the first third of the story, Kaiba is helping Yami deal with the aftermath of the guilt he feels over not listening to Yugi at DOMA (which led to Yugi's soul being trapped). In the second part, Yami is the one giving Kaiba the time he needs to sort out his own feelings about their relationship, and now of course, we're ready for Act Three. Similarly, the first third of the story sort of set things up, both in terms of the Sennen Items, and the relationships between all the characters; the second third went into Yami and Kaiba's emerging relationship, as well as the often roller-coaster relationship between Kaiba and his younger self, and hopefully the last story arc (so to speak) will tie it all together.
RESPONSES TO REVIEWS:
Who's the main character? (Daje Elle Namte) That's an interesting question – and one I hadn't thought about. I'd probably have to say that the main character is Seto Kaiba – if you include both of them! I suppose it is a bit of a triumvirate with Seto, Kaiba and Yami being the three main characters (with Mokuba close behind – but a lot of his narratives are Kaiba-centric.) Similarly, although the main romantic/sexual pairing is between Yami and Kaiba, there are two relationships that are given equal weight. One is, of course, the relationship between Yami and Kaiba, the other is the one between Seto and Kaiba. And actually, these two relationships effect each other, which leads nicely into the next response…
Yami figuring out Kaiba from Seto: (Kagemihari, Lightning Sage, StainofCurare, Sylvia Viridian, YGO EcoGoth) To continue… for example, how Kaiba feels towards Seto, affects how he figures Yami will feel towards him. (I suppose this is on the order of if you can't be in a relationship with yourself…) Similarly, Yami has finally figured out that if he wants to get a clue what's going on with Kaiba, looking at Seto isn't a bad place to start. Also I think Yami could only be reassured to realize that even Kaiba's often hostile, hyper-aggressive 13 year old self is irrevocably drawn to him. Similarly, Kaiba, on some level must be relieved to realize that Yami cares for him – even for the version of himself (Seto) that he can't summon (at the moment) much affection for.
Why isn't Kaiba jealous of seeing Yami hugging Seto? (Aki, Ceribi Motou, Desidera, Stain of Curare) Sometimes I write things, and feel them very strongly, and have no idea why! Well after a few IM conversations and emails I figured out (with help from Kagemihari and Clarity) why Kaiba wasn't jealous. Part of it is that he recognizes Seto as a part of him, in a way that he doesn't acknowledge the High Priest. Part of it is that what he saw Yami expressing was affection, not desire (Yami was cuddling a sleeping and fully clothed Seto). So possibly he liked seeing the proof that Yami is drawn to even what he considers the worst part of himself, and the part of him that still wanted to be held felt better seeing his younger self get that affection.
Also Clarity reminded me that this is a time travel story. Even if Seto doesn't remember any of this – maybe it's somewhere in his unconscious – it's why he's willing to open up to Yami later – because on some level he associates Yami with feeling loved. In that sense the scene later between Kaiba and Yami is the continuation of the moment that began five years earlier between Yami and Seto.
Seto and Yami: (Aki, Daje Elle Namte, Desidera, elirian 19, Lightning Sage, Moonrunner, Sylvia Viridian, YGO EcoGoth) The more I thought about it, the more I realized that not only would Seto make a pass at Yami, given the opportunity, but that Yami would respond, at least initially, because as he notes, there's no version of Seto Kaiba he wouldn't desire. I agree, Seto's thoughts towards Yami aren't particularly innocent, especially in their expression (let's face it, not much about the little punk is innocent) but at the same time, he is 13. He has never allowed himself to be a child, but I think his youth does come through in his often confused thoughts about Yami. And I think for Yami that is what lets him respond to Seto's need for affection, and then use that knowledge to gain a better understanding of Kaiba's needs.
Kaiba POV: (AmunRa, Aramis-chan, Ceribi Motou, elirian 19, Moonrunner, YGO EcoGoth) A lot of this story concerns Seto Kaiba's sort of loss of his childhood, and how that has an effect that ripples through his life. I thought one thing that Yami does, is give him a place where he feels safe enough to explore being, if not a child which he has outgrown, then a teenager. Another part of the story is how people can only see what they are ready to see, so even though the nature of Yami's offer has never changed, what is different is Kaiba's ability or readiness to recognize it and respond. And I agree – Kaiba is certainly used to fighting by himself, but I often think how tiring that must be for him… And while it has become second nature, I think allowing himself an ally would be a very important step for him. And yeah, Kaiba can be as dense as a black hole (a comparison that crosses my mind too) but he's not stupid, so slowly, in his own convoluted way he'd eventually start to figure things out. I think part of the reason my stories are so long, is that it takes him such a long time to do that, so he needs a lot of chapters.
Seto and Pegasus: (Aramis-chan, Daje Elle Namte, elirian 19, Kagemihari, Stain of Curare) If you think about it, Pegasus and Seto are working together on the holographic game chambers (in the manga) used both at Death-T and Duelist's Kingdom. Pegasus takes Seto on trips, he knows an awful lot about him – like how important Mokuba is to Seto, and his plans to create the duel disk – and those are probably his two closely guarded secrets. Also it's not hard for me to imagine Seto looking at Pegasus and seeing a slightly older, wildly successful genius game designer and CEO, and admiring him at least a little. In the anime, Pegasus chides Kaiba with feeling betrayed, and Kaiba answers with real bitterness that if he did, he had only himself to blame. I agree though, that Pegasus had to have deepened Kaiba's sense of distrust. I mean he emerges from a coma only to find that his business partner is plotting with his board of directors, that his employees have betrayed him and kidnapped Mokuba… and that's before they try to kill him. Sometimes Kaiba seems like the illustration of the line: Just because you're paranoid, that doesn't mean they're not out to get you.
The whole seme/uke lime thing: (Daje Elle Namte, Nachzes Black-Rider, StainofCurare) I have to admit I get a perverse pleasure in making it clear that Yami and Kaiba are making love without mentioning an unmentionable body part. Part of it is using first person narration. I can't picture Yami detailing exactly what goes where, and although I probably could picture Kaiba going into clinical detail, I'd rather not. (That's a joke, actually.) Beyond that, at some point I decided that each lime would have to either highlight a different facet of their relationship, or illustrate some change or evolution in the expression of their feelings. So I've concentrated on that rather than physical descriptions. For that reason, what position (seme/uke) either character is in changes, depending on what mood or emotion is being expressed. Also given their personalities, I've never been able to see either Yami or Kaiba staying with one role exclusively (particularly the uke one.) Also, real people like variety, so why shouldn't fictional characters get the same perks?
School Attendance (Amarin Rose) Well, you hit on the one detail I was hoping no one would notice! I never saw Yami or Kaiba being in school in this story. Yami has never attended school unless you count the times when he was in a puzzle, and the manga makes clear that Kaiba attends school for about a week during which time he steals Sugoroku's BEWD card, loses a shadow game to Yugi and ends up in a playing card. Not surprisingly, after that, he drops out.
As for Mokuba, and the Yugi-taachi, I'm afraid I have only a rationalization and a fairly unsatisfactory explanation. The rationalization is that from Duelist Kingdom onwards, you don't really see (except briefly in the anime) either Mokuba or any of the Yugi-taachi in school, and in fact it's hard to see when they would find the time. Now I realize this is the equivalent of saying, "Mommy, Kazuki Takahashi does it!" and that the proper response is: "If Kazuki Takahashi was jumping off the top of the Kaiba Tower, I suppose you'd do it too?"
Which leads to the explanation: since a few months have gone by since the start of the story, even when you add in summer vacation, clearly for some of the time they would have to have been in school. There's nothing in the story to contradict that, mainly because it's never mentioned. The truth is, I couldn't figure out a way to work in whether (and when) Mokuba and the Yugi-taachi were attending school without making the story too unwieldy for me to handle, especially since neither Yami, Kaiba, or Seto (can you imagine the havoc he'd cause?) would be in school. So I finally decided that not taking into account the whereabouts of the Yugi-taachi and Mokuba was a flaw that was inherent in the story – it was one that I couldn't figure out how to correct, but decided I could live with. By the way – only Yugi, Sugoroku and Yami are living at the mansion. The rest just stop by to hang out but are still at home.
Note to Aki: Thanks for reviewing! Actually until I saw your review, I hadn't realized that I had used the same phrase, 'I had been in this position before' once for Kaiba in Cards, and here for Yami. I wasn't trying to draw a parallel – it was totally unconscious.
Note To Daje Elle Namte on 'Little Viper' comment: Thanks! Kaiba refers to Seto as a little viper three times. The first time, in Chapter 8, he's sort of dispassionate about it, it's simply an observation, in Chapter 22 at the motorcycle track, as you noticed, he's being almost affectionate in the use of the term – it's almost a nickname. And the third time, in Chapter 31, it's an expression of his anger and disgust with both Seto and himself. I deliberately used the same word, but used it differently to sort of underline how Kaiba feels towards Seto at the different points in the story. I'm absolutely thrilled that you noticed!
Note to Moonrunner: When I was writing 'I Guess it was in the Cards' I got this incredibly helpful review from Blue September (it's a perfect example of the value of constructive criticism.) Anyway, I had referred to Yami as a bit of a Tolkien elf, and she politely pointed out that I was overlooking the fact that like Kaiba, Yami, both as pharaoh and as a spirit, was someone assuming large responsibilities from an early age. I realized she was right, but as Cards was more than halfway finished, I couldn't radically change Yami's character without derailing the entire story. But I decided if I ever wrote another story, I'd find and highlight the things that made Yami more human.
Note to StainofCurare: That's exactly why I've always given Yami his own body.
Note to Wintersslayer: Taking it to the next level describes it very well. Thank you.
Note to kittycat1158: Glad you're enjoying the story.
Note to Ceribi Motou: I was wondering if you'd pick that one! I have to admit Kaiba's closing was my favorite part. I kind of like the slight hedge in "something that could only resemble love.'