A/N: I am alive! I'm still writing, just not very much. It's a short chapter, but nothing much came up. So, hope it's enough for my long absence. I'll try not to make The Hiatus that long again. If you find any glaring mistakes, well... I didn't check it a billion times 'cause I just wanted to post something.

Disclaimer: I still don't own it.

Chapter Five:

Yami lay curled up in a ball on his bed, the covers tangled around him in an impossible position. His head wasn't resting on the pillow, but instead on his clasped hands. He was awake, and staring at the wall across from him. The pure, white wall directly in front of his face. It looked like he was watching a movie on that wall; his eyes were glossed over, the lights were on, but no one was home. Suddenly, he sat up perfectly straight, and nodded to himself.

Unmindful of the fact that he was still in his nightwear, he ran to the door to his room and pulled it open, sprinting down the hall and stairs. It may have been later in the morning, but he was sure Mokuba would be there, waiting for him to wake up.

He burst into the kitchen, only slightly disappointed to find that Mokuba wasn't occupying it. Instead, Seto was sitting at the table in the breakfast nook, sipping coffee and reading a newspaper. Yami read the bold print on top, "Business," and saw other sections laying on the table in varying proximity to the reader.

"So you're up. Mokuba told me you were a late sleeper," Seto said without removing his eyes from the paper.

"Where is Mokuba?" Yami asked.

"He had made plans with some of his friends last week to go out today, and since he had cancelled yesterday and Monday, he felt he should go. So instead, he left you with me, but only for the morning, I still have to go to work later," Seto said.

"Oh, well," Yami faded off, while sitting down across from Seto.

At this time, Seto glanced up at Yami's face. As expected from what Yami had to go through yesterday, his face had taken on a pale color, deep circles under his eyes. Nothing in his posture of presence gave away the fact that he looked tired away, and if only for that one observation, Seto wouldn't have assumed anything was wrong.

Trying to keep Mokuba's early-morning threat regarding Yami in mind, Seto tried to form a sentence that was tactful. "Are you going to tell me anything today?"

Despite the sickly color in Yami's face, his lips twisted up into a smile. "I remember it all, every last detail. I stayed up all night playing through the memories of my past, trying to figure these things out. I know I was in San Francisco, but it obviously didn't look like it does now."

Yami paused, looking at Seto to gauge his reaction. Seto was impassive, simply there to listen, not to judge. Yami shrugged when Seto didn't probe anymore.

"From what I can remember, it was destroyed by massive nuclear bombs," at this Seto's resolve did falter, and his brow knit in disbelief. "Those who survived did so by going into deep underground shelters, and when they came back out the world was completely dead. But that didn't matter, they had been underground for so long, due to the fallout, that they just wanted to see the sky again. Well, there were huge brownish red clouds covering the blue, so they lost on that front. As well as the earth being dead and all. That was the first generation, the survivors. Me and my brother are third generation, to my knowledge two of very few to live past three or four." Yami seemed to think about this, looking up at the ceiling. This gave Seto the opportunity to counter Yami's theory on where he came from.

"Wait, you want me to believe that you come from some post-apocalyptic world. That you somehow got transported here?" Seto said, almost sarcastically.

"Yes, now if you want to hear my story, you're going to have to let me continue," Yami said. After Seto crossed his arms over his chest and settled down into a more comfortable position, Yami continued. "And it's not 'some post-apocalyptic world,' it's this world, just far into the future. I remember reading old books on what earth was like before the war, so I remember everything that's happening now, that's why it's familiar."

"If everything was destroyed, how was there books?" Seto asked.

"Some people brought along books, many of them were religious texts, but some had to do with science and society...history."

"Okay," Seto said, playing along with Yami's story for kicks.

"Right, so, oh," Yami said, his eyes widening as he remembered something seemingly important. "Also, like I mentioned earlier with us being the third generation, well, that's were the mutations came from, like my eyes, their color and performance, and my brain. I can see a lot further than you or Mokuba can, we tested yesterday, and I learn quick too, like with that video game. My body to a lesser degree, I'm pretty small, but very strong. My brother is small too, strong like me, but faster. He has purple eyes."

Seto exhaled. A week ago, he wouldn't believe that a person could have naturally red eyes and he would never consider that someone could be from the future. This was all getting a little too science fiction for him. "So, if you're both so strong and fast, for what reason were you mutated this way? What advantage does it give you?"

Yami looked up at Seto, his bangs obscuring most of his eyes. That disturbing smile plastered itself onto Yami's features again, almost enough to make Seto squirm under its gaze.

"Because the animals had been mutated too."

"Animals? Why weren't they killed with the radiation?"

"No one knows," Yami said simply. "But they weren't killed, they were mutated. Terribly strong beasts that could rip a man in two. Very horrifying. Me and Yugi, um, my brother, would take turns to see who could climb up them when they slept. He was younger than me, and lighter, so he won most of the time."

Games on mutant animals. Seems like a fun childhood, Seto thought. "Do you remember how you got here?" He couldn't believe he sounded like he was falling for this, but he at least wanted to confirm that Yami's story made sense, no matter how strange it was, so that he could determine if Yami was going insane.

"Good question. Nope, I don't remember anything after I had turned around to my brother screaming my name, and then before my stay in the water and you dragging me out of it."

"What about why you were alone? You woke me up for that one memory in the middle of the night, and if you say you remember everything about your past, then you should remember this one small thing," Seto asked.

"Alone, me and Yugi were alone for most of our life," Yami looked to the side, contemplating. He shrugged. "The radiation killed anyone not able to withstand it. The adults were all first generation and hadn't mutated to the extent that would allow them to live in a highly toxic world. So me and Yugi were left. We lived in that church most of the time, it offered a great deal of protection since it wasn't reduced to rubble."

"And that's what triggered the memories to come back? Seeing that church?" Seto asked, by this time he had his fingers laced together and rested his chin on them.

"Right," Yami confirmed. "I'm pretty sure it was the same one."

"This is all a very convincing story, but there's no proof," Seto said, unlacing his fingers and gesticulating. "It doesn't even seem plausible."

Again, Yami shrugged. "It's what I remember. I don't know what else to say to you so you believe me. I don't think there is anything I could say to you so that you would believe me."

There was a pause in the conversation. Yami leaned back on the cushion, finished with his side for the time being, and it didn't look like Seto was about to add anything useful to the discussion. Instead, he shook his head and lifted the Business section of the paper up again. Seeing this as the end, Yami shifted the pile of newspaper and pulled out a random section. It just happened to be the International news.

Seto sat on his side, every once in a while taking a drink of coffee, turning the page. He heard Yami searching through the newspaper, but so long as he didn't destroy the general organization of the stack, Seto could care less. It was when he started to hear the pages of the other section of the newspaper rustle more than usual did he get annoyed. He folded the part he was reading in half towards himself and looked over at Yami.

Across from him, Yami was turning the pages one every four seconds, apparently skimming.

"If you're going to read the paper, don't just skim," Seto said.

"I'm not skimming," Yami replied, turning another page. "I'm reading the columns. I just read a lot faster than you do." Seto made an indignant snort. "And the way the world's heading, why is it so hard to believe a nuclear war isn't far off?" Yami glanced up at Seto, a small smile gracing his lips.

Seto was about to give a witty reply when he heard the front door slam shut and Mokuba call out to him. Moments later, Mokuba walked into the kitchen and saw them sitting at the table. Yami slid out of the chair he was sitting in and walked over to meet the younger Kaiba.

"I have a story to tell you," he said, directing Mokuba back out of the kitchen. Mokuba looked back at his brother, eyes wide in confusion. Seto rolled his eyes in reply and went back to the paper, noting the time.

"Wow," Mokuba said. That was all he was saying after Yami finished his life's story. Yami was just relieved that someone believed him.

Mokuba slid down on the couch, his eyes still unblinking. The sun outside had dipped low in the sky, it had taken Yami much longer to recount the events of his childhood because Mokuba was so enthralled in the situation, he wanted to know everything and constantly asked questions.

"So you're from the future, where you were constantly fighting things for survival and were mutated by radioactivity?" Mokuba said, more for confirmation. Yami nodded. "Wow... How'd you get here?"

Yami shook his head. "I don't really know. The last thing I remember from that time was my brother, then nothing until the water."

"That's amazing," Mokuba said. Then silence. Mokuba was absorbing, Yami was relaxing. Then a deep growling emanated from Mokuba's stomach and he smiled. "I'm hungry, let's go see if we can find anything to eat. I wonder if Seto is back yet."

Yami followed Mokuba out of the living room and into the kitchen, content that he wasn't labeled insane by all the members of the family.

Earlier that morning...

The voices in the room were quietly mumbling amongst themselves. The din was disorderly, since not everyone was currently present for the meeting. They had to do something to pass the time, and what's better than chatting? A hush went around the room when the final person had entered the room and cleared his throat. Everyone could hear their peers shuffle around their chairs, the creak of leather as they sat down, though no one was actually visible.

"I hear from one of my informants that we have located the being in question," a male voice said.

"Have you? That's marvelous. We should eradicate it immediately," another male said.

"No, I don't think that would be a good idea. We could take it to a lab and study it," the previous male countered.

"What's the point? This isn't the first you've gotten to study, and it won't be the last," the second male pointed out. It was obvious from the tone of this voice that he was unwilling to accept anything less than death.

"We should vote, then," the first male said diplomatically. The others that were previously listening all added their assent, and a vote was held. A two-thirds majority held that the anomaly should be taken in and studied, but the other side had negotiated that if the target resisted, it would be taken care of. The male in favor of study already had a plan to go about the capture, it would all go smoothly.

A/N: Review, show me that you guys haven't died as well!