Please Read and Review: I've always felt (there's poem that said this) that until it's been read, a story is just ink on a page – so I'd like to know what you think.

AUTHOR'S NOTES:

STORY RECAP: In the last chapter, Zork Necropolis and Akunadin had set up a situation where Yami and Kaiba would end up dueling, while being unaware that they were fighting each other. Zork and Akunadin were hoping that Kaiba and Yami would end up destroying each other. With some help from Yugi and Mokuba, (and their own feelings that something was wrong) Kaiba and Yami manage to foil this plan. In the process they realize where Zork and Akunadin are waiting. The chapter ends with Yami going through one doorway to face Zork, and Kaiba and Seto going through another door to fight with Akunadin over the 'right' to the Sennen Eye and Rod.

SEKIHO ARMY REMINDER: At the end of the Tokugawa Shogunate, there was a certain amount of chaos in Japan, partly because this once fairly isolated nation had a sudden infusion of foreign (i.e. Western) contact, and partly because after over 200 years the government was starting to break down and there was a certain amount of social unrest. Anyway, the revolutionaries or the Imperialist side) wanted to turn Japan from a feudal society to a modern nation state, unified under an emperor. At this time, there was a peasant revolt, mostly over land and tax issues in many provinces. The pro-Imperialist side encouraged this, as a way of further weakening the Shogunate, and sent Sagara Sozo, among others, to organize the farmers, creating the Sekiho-tai. However, when the Imperialist side realized they were going to win, they also realized that they couldn't afford to keep the tax relief promises Sagara had made in their name. They declared the Sekiho-tai to be imposters, and arrested and executed Sagara and other top commanders. In 1928, the government offered an official apology, clearing their name, and honoring the troop.

CHAPTER 43: FATHERS AND SONS

YAMI'S POV

I felt Kaiba watching me as I walked towards Zork Necropolis's lair. But as soon as the door shut behind me, I put all thoughts of Kaiba aside. It was time to face my earliest and latest foe.

Zork Necropolis was seated in darkness, on the opposite side of what looked like a Role Playing Game table. I remembered Kaiba once saying to me, 'There's Darkness and darkness.' Whereas mine was the peaceful darkness of night under stars, Zork's was the darkness that devoured souls and destroyed worlds.

I looked more closely at the game board separating us. On it, were not tokens or dolls, but holograms. The figures were instantly identifiable from Seto Kaiba's video game. At either end of the table, two figures were facing each other. The prince was standing, crimson eyes flashing as he glared at his enemy. Enthroned at the opposite end, was the Demon King. Although he had retained his business suit, Zork's features had replaced Gozaburo's. In the space separating them, three figures stood on the floor of a royal chamber. The sandstone squares under their feet resembled a giant chessboard. On my side were the larger and smaller versions of my blue-eyed Elven warrior – Ninquiloce and Locelle. Their brown hair was caught in a tie at their backs; their bangs covered their eyes. Opposing them stood the gaunt sorcerer.

I raised my eyes to meet Zork's, and saw the prince on the board mirror my movement.

Zork and Akunadin had used their Shadow Powers to tap into Seto Kaiba's game.

"As you see, neither of us is totally in our own territory," Zork said. "Still, your pet won you the best deal he could. I expected to hold every advantage. After learning to think of time in terms of millennia, we may have underestimated the difference that a mere five years would make. Possibly we approached the wrong Seto. The older one would have been quite a prize. Perhaps you agree?"

"A prize, indeed," I snarled. "But he is mine. And I will never willingly give him up."

"Yet you left him to face Akunadin, alone. You must know that there is little he could have learned in three weeks that will enable him to stand against my puppet."

I closed my eyes and saw Kaiba falling into my arms fighting DOMA. This time, after promising to stand beside him, I very well could have sent him to his death… alone.

"I may have misjudged you. I wouldn't have thought you were the kind of man who would be content to let your pet die in your place," Zork taunted in his cold voice. "It is your choice – you can rush in there, become another piece on the board – or you can take your seat opposite me… and we will let our puppets determine the final outcome of this battle."

At his words I longed to leap up, to race to the other room, to throw myself between Akunadin and Seto… and Kaiba. But Shadi's cryptic words flashed across my mind, "In the coming battle your greatest strength will become your greatest weakness… but your weakness, if you can find it, will lead you to the strength that you need." Now, finally, I understood. My true strength had always been in my friends. My true weakness was that in my need to protect them, I refused to accept that they, like me, had to face life's chances – that they had both that right and that obligation.

I settled into my chair. "You have one thing wrong. He's not my puppet, he's my champion. And I am well content to let my Knight fight this battle.

Zork screamed. He had not expected this. All his preparations had centered around his taking a hand in this game, and he would have been a skilled and dangerous opponent. But although it had not been my intent, my acquiescence to his terms had neutralized the threat he represented. The words of his oath became a chain that bound him to his throne, as they had defined me. If I would not interfere in this battle – then neither could he.

"So, you're not as confident as you seem," I murmured.

KAIBA'S POV

Damn, Seto was good. Akunadin looked just like the sorcerer from our game. Sounded like him, too.

"You know, I really only need one of you. Two would just make things too complicated," Akunadin remarked pleasantly.

"Do you remember what happened to the last 'father' who got in my way?" I responded with an answering smile. "It's a shame we're in the basement."

"You never were a very obedient son."

"I was never an obedient anything." Damn, this was fun. I could see why Seto kept coming back for more. It was like dueling Yami, only sicker; a craving that I thought had died with Gozaburo.

"I'm sorry this will be our last meeting," I said truthfully. "It would have been a pleasure doing business with you."

"Ah, but you wouldn't have done business with me. That's why I needed the younger one. But, I agree with the sentiments. I'm sorry, Seto, that our first meeting will be our last."

"Kaiba, to you."

"Seto is your name."

"So is Kaiba. Maybe I prefer the name I paid for, to the one I was given."

"After 3,000 years… still so proud, Seto?" he asked, just as Gozaburo had. The obvious answer was 'yes'. The less obvious one was that pride had often been too expensive a commodity to afford, although I admit, it was the one luxury item I indulged in as often as I could. Either way, I kept silent.

"You don't seem to realize I hold a trap card. Seto will betray you."

I yawned. "I already betrayed myself in every way possible, long before you arrived on the scene."

"I suppose his actions shouldn't surprise you. After all, you know what you are… what you'll become."

"Once I would have said that I know exactly who and what I am. But I've been told twice lately, that I haven't a clue."

Seto was keeping quiet. He knew, if things went wrong, it was up to him to protect Mokuba and Kouma. He wasn't about to tip his hand too soon.

Akunadin shook his head sadly. "It's a shame you have such strong loyalties. It's a shame you chose to give them to your brother and your lover. It's a shame I have to kill you."

"Spoken like a true father," I sneered.

I wasn't surprised by the speed of his attack. And I had faced it before, of course – that beam of light that could shoot out of the Eye; that blinded in its intensity, as it stole your soul. I parried; reflected the light back, wildly. The truth was, if I was younger, and possibly stronger than Akunadin – I was also untrained. All I could do was block his assaults.

I was playing a sucker's game, and I knew it. Unless I could mount an attack, just as with Gozaburo's little Kendo lessons, it was only a matter of time until Akunadin broke through my defense – and Akunadin seemed as little inclined as Gozaburo, to trust me with a weapon with a cutting edge.

But maybe I could make one. After all, despite having had all the disadvantages, I had wrested a victory of sorts against the last parent I had battled. At least I was alive and Gozaburo was dead. It was time to see if history would repeat itself with the next father to cross my path.

I considered my options – although when you're down to considering your options, it means you're running out of them. Akunadin had had three millennia to practice focusing the power of the Eye outward; to practice using it as a weapon. I had only tried it out on myself.

The truth was, that first time… if I hadn't had Mokuba waiting for me, if I hadn't had Yami to protect, I might have stayed in the Eye forever. It was what I deserved, the only way to pay for what I've done. And part of me welcomed the thought of finally having it all be over.

I didn't make the mistake of thinking Akunadin had a conscience… at least I had seen no sign of one. But I knew something Akunadin didn't. I knew what waited deep inside the Eye. I had heard Anubis whispering in my ear, promising judgment. I had smelled the monsters laying in wait. I had felt the flames… they had singed my hair, my clothes. Each time I went back, I had tested myself against the Eye, until I had finally mastered its paths.

Maybe I would burn in Hell one day, as some mythical feather sank beneath my sins. But I wasn't going alone, and I wasn't going first. After all, if I thought I knew what Anubis' judgment would be – how much more did Akunadin have to fear?

It had taken me this long to realize it, but I had not only survived Gozaburo, I had survived myself. I had survived the Eye. I smirked. Akunadin had had his Eye for 3,000 years. In all that time, had he ever turned the Eye inward? Had he ever walked its paths, fought with it from the inside? Had he ever stared down the darkness within his own soul, battled his own demons? I was willing to bet he hadn't. I was willing to bet my life that he wouldn't like what he would see…

It was time to change the rules of the game. To fight, as I always did, on my terms.

I looked at Seto, standing like a sentry awaiting the call to battle. Between the two of us, we would meet our enemy head on.

Akunadin was holding a blank card in his hands, ready to receive my soul, just as Pegasus had at Duelist's Kingdom. I was insulted. Did he think I could be caught twice with the same trick? This time, I wasn't going to be diverted to a card. I was going to follow the beam of power – as I've always followed power – back to the source. But I was taking my earliest and latest father with me. We were both going into the Akunadin's Eye… into Akunadin's soul. Only one of us was coming out.

YAMI'S POV

I knew what he was going to do from the moment he fell. Kaiba had simply chosen the most direct, most self-destructive way to achieve his goal. He realized that he did not have the experience to wield the Eye as Akunadin did. He was betting everything that he would fare better from the inside. And so, he had done what he did best – he had made himself into the bait to trap his enemy.

"This was easier than I thought," Zork said, as Kaiba crumpled to the ground. "After all, the younger one was half on our side to begin with… not to mention he's untaught. Even if he chooses to oppose us, this shouldn't take long."

I understood his confidence. On Zork's side was his High Priest – who had 3,000 years to perfect his scheme of revenge and power; 3,000 years to learn the uses of the weapon he wielded. And Akunadin knew his opponent as much – and as little – as a father knows his son.

On my side, seemingly all I had left was a troubled boy – who despite his words, despite his promises – was tempted by what Akunadin had offered. What I wished I could offer in his stead: a chance to remain in this world; a chance to escape his future.

I looked at Seto and saw a boy who knew nothing about the Sennen Item in his hand; had never held it. A boy who refused to believe in its power – who refused to believe in anything but his own formidable will.

I had one more thing on my side… I had faith. In both of them.

"It's disappointing in a way," Zork continued. "With the older one gone so quickly, this won't even be an interesting contest. You do realize that the binding between you and your puppets is unbreakable. Whatever doom they meet on that field will be yours."

"I wouldn't be so quick to count the elder one out, just yet," I replied. "In the last 3,000 years, you really should have found the time to study chess. There are still two Knights on the board – and if there's one thing I've learned, it's that no one can predict what the Knight's going to do next."

We looked on. The stage was set, but Akunadin hadn't moved; he seemed unable to. We watched as he became consumed with some interior battle. We could follow Akunadin's increasingly frenzied gestures now; we stared at the hands that seemed to be moving of their own volition, at the spasmodically twitching body, as if it was not quite under his command. In his brief moments of control, Akunadin motioned to Seto, but the boy ignored him. Seto made no move to attack the unconscious body of his older self, nor to offer Akunadin the Rod which still swung from the loop on his pants. Either action would have ended this stalemate. Instead, Seto stood, almost meditatively watching.

"The tide has turned," I murmured. "What will happen when you lose?"

"If I lose," Zork snapped. "Why don't you ask your lover what happens to those who lose Shadow Games?"

"For him, the answer was life. For you, the answer will be Death," I said.

"Yes. But even Death is less permanent than you'd think. Your last victory sealed us in our prison for 3,000 years. Another should grant you at least that long a respite. But forever is a very long time, and none have reached it, yet."

KAIBA'S POV

I had done it. I was inside Akunadin's Eye. I looked around. The layout wasn't identical. Instead, it was a mirror image of the Eye I had claimed. I closed my eyes, substituted left for right, and forwards for backwards in my mind, then opened my eyes to an adjusted reality. It's a good thing I'm a genius.

I smiled as Akunadin shimmered to life in front of me. I had pulled him in after me, or he had followed of his own free will, hoping to end the menace I represented. Either way, he was where I wanted him.

"Hello, father," I said pleasantly. "It seems we're not in the basement any longer."

As I spoke, the flames of a village long dead sprang to life around me. Shadowy people, already engulfed in fire, fled… becoming more real with each step… their screams growing in my ear. I tried to store the details in my mind so that I could recycle them into the inevitable sequel to our video game, later.

Akunadin's panicked voice broke my concentration. He was sweating, as if the fire was getting too close, was getting too real.

"Why aren't you burning? Why isn't any of this affecting you?" he yelled.

I shrugged. "Why should it? It's not my nightmare."

That got him mad enough to take a step towards me… a step further inwards. I grinned. I had been right. Even dreams run on code. And I had just cracked this one. I knew what I had to do. I had to get Akunadin to the center of his soul room.

All I had to do to win this game was to turn his Eye 180 degrees around, until it was facing inwards; forcing him to look inside himself, forcing him to face his own demons. I had spent the last three weeks practicing this exact maneuver, so I knew that I could do it by myself. But it would be easier (and more fun) if I had his help. And each step he took further into his nightmares, further along the path of his life… of his sins… would turn the eye faster. Until he was at the center of his soul room… in the place of judgment… where Anubis and the fire and the monsters would be waiting.

Of course a having plan is one thing; implementing it is another.

"You blame me for all of this, don't you?" I asked conversationally. "After all, I'm the one who defied you twice, in two separate lifetimes. I'm the one who dragged you in here. I'm the one who's beaten you, again. I'm the one who's chosen Yami over you, again. Do you believe in destiny? I think it's a load of bullshit myself, and nothing I've seen yet has changed my mind," I said, taking a large backwards step with each sentence. Akunadin was taking the bait; was moving in time with me as though he was a toy on a pull string. "Unless you believe that character is destiny; that our actions flow out of who and what we are. That what fools call 'fate' is determined, not by some god on a cloud, but by our selves. Our natures setting the parameters for our actions… each choice and consequence building upon one another until the entire edifice acquires a patina of inevitability."

We had left the anteroom and started down a corridor. I grinned in satisfaction. The nightmares were getting worse, the body count was steadily rising, But Akunadin was still following. I picked up the pace and kept talking.

"Maybe I was born to reject you. Maybe I'll always turn from you, no matter how many times we do this, no matter how many lives we run through. That would be pretty ironic, wouldn't it? I could almost believe in a God who had such a fucked-up sense of humor."

We had reached a turning point in the maze. Visions of death and destruction were all around us now, and Akunadin's face had taken on a glazed look of horror. But he was still focused on my words, still following. I closed my eyes and double-checked the layout of the labyrinth that was stored in my brain. Opened them, and said, "I'm the one that brought you here. Maybe this is all just a nightmare, just an illusion. Maybe it'll all go away, if you kill me." I grinned, as annoyingly as I could. "But first you have to catch me…"

I took off, my long legs speeding around the corner, just out of reach… leading him further into his nightmares… leading him to the center of his soul room… leading him to Anubis.

I ran as gleefully, as playfully, as a child trying to entice his father into a game of tag.

SETO'S POV

I admit, it was strange seeing myself fall over like that. But I'd gotten the look that Kaiba had shot me, and I was willing to believe I had a card or two up my sleeve. So I just stood there watching, looking for my chance to complete this tag team. The great thing about having a reputation for impatience is that no one expects you to be able to wait when you have to.

Kaiba might have been lying on the floor, lifeless, but Akunadin didn't look much better. Instead of triumph, pain… no, agony was etched across his face. He screamed, clawing at his eye, but he was unable to touch it. As I stared at Akunadin, his gold Eye started slowly to turn inward. And I knew… Kaiba was alive. He was inside the Eye. He was fighting. He had committed everything in him, body and soul, to this battle. The proof of his struggle… the proof of his survival… was in the Eye that was turning gradually, inexorably, inward.

It was clear what Kaiba was trying to do – he was trying to force Akunadin to take a long, hard, look at himself. Kaiba was taking the fight to Akunadin's soul room; daring Akunadin to survive the journey Kaiba himself had made. And I was willing to bet Akunadin couldn't.

The Eye was still tuning, but painfully slowly. I had no idea how long Kaiba could last in there – and he had ceded Akunadin the ultimate home field advantage. And that card in Akunadin's hands couldn't be good news – even if it was blank.

Like his dragons, Kaiba would never give up. That wasn't our style. But this was my fight too. And I was going to make sure we won it.

Except I had no idea how to help Kaiba. I'd never had the Rod in my hands before today; I'd never quite believed in it. Everyone said I had the 'right' to the Rod. That didn't mean shit to me. Not without the power to use the damn thing. I had to give Sugoroku and all the rest of them credit. They had tried to work with me, to work with Kaiba; had tried to drum a sense of right and wrong and friendship and all those other abstractions that the rest of the world lived by into our heads. Maybe they were right. But right now, this was about survival, so it was Gozaburo's lessons that I remembered.

I stared at the Rod in my hand. And I didn't see a Sennen Item whose powers I couldn't understand, much less use. I saw something simpler… a three-foot stick. A Hambo to be exact. I swung it in my hand, automatically compensating for the extra weight in the ball at the top. I remembered the Sekiho Army, armed only with their sticks and staves. They had been betrayed. They had died. But the future they fought for had come to pass, although they had not lived to see it dawn. They had won.

I studied the Rod's stiletto-like point, so like the shikomi-zue, the concealed sword cane of a Ninja assassin. It was a fitting instrument for the killer, Gozaburo had trained me to be.

I stared at the Rod in my hand. Like me – it was an assassin's weapon… and a peasant's. Like me – it was a combination of Gozaburo's lessons… and my own. I didn't know what its powers were, but I knew this: it was all the weapon I needed.

I started forward. Akunadin was too wrapped up in his struggle with Kaiba to notice me. I could feel his fury as he fought my older self. I smiled in appreciation. Damn, I was clever. How often had I done that? Taken Gozaburo's attention and held it at all costs? Different parent, same strategy. I've always been good at getting people to hate me… to be so focused on destroying me that they forgot everything else. It was nice to know I hadn't lost the knack.

Suddenly, Akunadin seemed to shake free from his internal battle. He saw me; saw the Rod in my hand – which was the only thing, besides the Eye, in that room that he truly loved – whatever lie he had tried to sell me. He pointed to Kaiba, on the floor, "Kill him, my son… and we will rule together as we were meant to," he panted.

Akunadin was in pain, and was deluded enough to think I was still on his side… that I would kill myself at his order. Maybe, if I had never run into Gozaburo, I would have pitied him. But it was my remorselessness, it was Akunadin's conviction that I would countenance any evil... that I was the worst of the three versions he had come across, that had attracted him to me in the first place. Maybe he was right. Maybe I was, as Gozaburo had always claimed, nothing more than a stray dog from the gutter. But like the Sekiho Army, I was fighting for the future now… Mokuba's… and my own.

"Come here," Akunadin commanded.

I was coming all right. I swung the Rod up, just as I had all those times in practice; just as if it was a Hambo, just as if it was the broken broom that Kaiba and I had fought with in his kitchen. Akunadin suddenly realized I wasn't on his side. He reacted, but not quickly enough. He jumped back, but not far enough. He was certain I was trying to stab him or smash his head in. I wasn't. All I had to do was tap him, lightly, in the Eye. Just enough to tilt it further inward. Just enough to finish the job that Kaiba had started.

My aim was perfect. The eye clicked into place, backwards, taking Akunadin's soul with it. For a moment everything froze, as he was drawn into whatever Hell Kaiba had prepared for him.

Then Akunadin started screaming. Flames engulfed him, covered him, ran down his arms and legs… then exploded out of his open mouth, like a fiery serpent's tongue. He melted; dissolving in a fire that didn't heat; a fire that didn't burn anything but him. He screamed until all that was left was the echo of his voice… and a perfect golden ball and a slim, oddly shaped, golden Hambo, on the floor. The card he had held fluttered to the floor, its edges already on fire. It was no longer blank. I saw Akunadin's face staring back at me in the instant before the card burned and turned to ash.

It wasn't as good as Gozaburo jumping from the Kaiba Tower windows. But for now, it would have to do.

I guess Newton's Third Law of Motion – that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction – applied to this situation as well. Akunadin was gone, taking whatever powers he had with him. As if in answer, a wind raged through the room; a backlash that picked me up and hurled me across the room – to land on Kaiba. To hear my heart beating in his chest as I passed out, cushioned on his body.

YAMI'S POV

Shadi was already there, when I entered the room. He had Akunadin's Rod in his hand, was reaching to pick up its mate – which lay by Seto's side. As he held them and chanted over them, they became one. I stared at the Rod, seeing it as it was meant to be, for the first time in 3,000 years.

Shadi picked up the Eye from the floor. Before I could ask about Kaiba, Shadi waved his hand, closed it, and there were two items that slowly combined into one.

I looked at Kaiba, afraid to see only a sunken socket where the golden orb had been; but even through his closed lids I could see the outline of his restored eye. I was content that when they opened, both would be blue.

"The Sennen Items have been healed. It is time they were returned," Shadi said.

I started to remove my puzzle, but Shadi stopped me. "You may keep it for this lifetime."

"Thank you," I told Shadi. "I made a promise to him. I would like to keep it."

For the first time Shadi smiled. "Then make the most of your time, this time." He pointed at the puzzle on my chest. "I will be back to claim it, one day."

I nodded.

"There is only one thing left to do, to seal Akunadin and Zork in their prison. Rest for tonight. Tomorrow, the timeline must still be fully restored."

I nodded again, as he disappeared.

I wasn't surprised that the first person (supernatural beings, aside) to enter the room was Mokuba. When he saw his brothers lying motionless on the floor, Seto partially shrouded by Kaiba's coat…when he saw me, still standing… for a moment a pure, blinding fury lit his eyes.

"You son of a bitch!" he yelled. His eyes narrowed, looking almost blue in the dim light. He gave me Kaiba's bitter laugh. "I guess you kept your promise after all. Nisama didn't die alone. He had Oniichan for company. I swear Yami, whatever it takes…"

"Mokuba, listen to me," I broke in before he could complete his vow. "They're alive. I swear it. They're all right. They won. They'll be awake any moment."

He looked at me, as he had at Duelist's Kingdom, weighing whether to believe me. I knew I had convinced him when he shuddered and looked away, his cheeks flushed with shame. He knew I had seen the hidden Mokuba, the one that Yugi's friends had forgiven and forgotten… the boy I had defeated Death-T… the Mokuba who had betrayed his brother's hopes, by following too closely in his Nisama's footsteps.

Mokuba hung his head, refusing to look in my eyes. I reached out to hug him to me. He would have shrugged out of my hold, but this I could not allow. No more than I would abandon his brother, could I let Mokuba deny himself the comfort he needed – for no one could love Kaiba, without adoring the boy who was the mainstay of his heart.

"It's all right. I understand," I said. "Of all of us this night – you have had the hardest part. Let us wait for them to wake up, together."

He still wouldn't look at me, but I felt his tears on my shirt, as I cradled him in my arms. My Ryuujin wasn't the only Kaiba who had some lessons to unlearn.

Thanks to Clarity for editing this chapter.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Well, that's the end of the battle, but not the end of the story. There's still one more post (I'll be posting the last two chapters together) to go.

One of the things I tried to do with this story was to weave a lot of seemingly random things – like Seto and Kaiba practicing martial arts, or the video game they're designing, or Kaiba's dreams, or even Shadi's opening words to Yami way back in Chapter 3, and then have them all become relevant and tie together in the end (yeah, I know it's not the actual end of the story, but you get my point.)

It's funny… I tend to write the very ending and the beginning first, and then write random scenes with no real idea of where or how they fit – I just know that somehow, eventually they will fit in somewhere. Anyway, way back when I was still drafting this all out, I found myself writing the scene where Seto and Kaiba were fighting in the kitchen with all these pots and pans and brooms and things. At the time I had no idea why this was important, and I was pretty impatient with the way my mind kept going back to it – especially since the thing I needed to figure out was what on earth Seto was going to do with the Sennen Rod – since I had already planned out that Kaiba would be fighting Akunadin from inside of the Sennen Eye. Then somewhere along the way, when Kaiba kicked the broom in half and Seto started using the pieces in place of a Hambo, it occurred to me that I had solved my problem – that the Sennen Rod was, stripped of all mystical mumbo jumbo – a stick – and here was a role Seto was uniquely qualified to play.

Character note: I try as hard as I can to keep the guys in-character, even though the more I write the more convinced I am that that's impossible. Because the Kaiba and Mokuba and Yami in Déjà Vu are not quite the characters that Kazuki Takahashi created and brought to such intense life. They're my own interpretation of them. That was even more true for the 13 year-old punk. There's only one frame of him in the entire manga, and he's only in a couple of scenes in the anime. But he made an impression to me and I wanted to show that he is the way he is, because it's the only way that he (or more to the point, Mokuba) would have survived. I also wanted to bring him to life in all his angry, determined, reckless, self destructive, obnoxious, almost innocently-arrogant glory. I guess you can tell, I lost my heart to him along the way.

Kaiba's Name: I've always thought that it was ironic that for all the name 'Kaiba' defines the character, it's not the one he was born with. And I thought, as he said, he would put a higher value on the name he has purchased at such cost than the one he was given.

Until the next chapter…