The pungent smell of dirt and sweat filled the air as Jou and Yugi laboured to prepare an empty, windowless room at the Kaiba mansion for the ritual. Huge bags of dirt lined the wall closest to the door, waiting to be spread around the room, and Jou and Yugi moved like well-oiled machines, their movements now swift and efficient after tedious repetition.

"It would be nice if Kaiba helped us," Yugi said as he cut open another bag of dirt. He struggled to dump out the contents on the floor, then he grabbed a nearby rake to spread the dirt around.

"Yeah, he said he doesn't touch dirt," Jou huffed as he heaved another full bag across the room. Even through his panting, Jou still managed to look annoyed at Kaiba's abandonment, and he flung his cargo on the floor with considerably more force than was necessary.

It had been almost a full day since Yugi and Jou had convinced Kaiba to agree to the ritual, and Kaiba had been scarce for most of that time, leaving the preparations to the two of them. Jou propped himself up on his shovel and surveyed the room, taking a moment's reprieve from his continuous toiling. It wasn't a small room by any means, and they were only halfway done with covering the floor with dirt. As soon as they were finished with the floor, they'd have to go get the fresh pigs' blood from the butcher. Jou had expected to field suspicion from the butcher's shop, or at the very least curiosity, but no one had asked him a single question about why he needed ten gallons of pigs' blood as soon as possible, which made him wonder what weird, depraved things people had been doing while he lived in blissful ignorance. He'd wanted to talk to Kaiba about it, but he'd barely seen him since they'd made their decision, and when he had, Kaiba was understandably preoccupied, distant.

"Besides," Jou continued, "I think he's working on something at KaibaCorp. For in case he doesn't…" Jou didn't finish, picking at the shovel handle. "He just said he was getting his affairs in order. Some kind of contingency plan, I guess."

"That does sound like Kaiba," Yugi said, doggedly pulling his rake across the dirt at his feet while Jou watched silently. Jou knew he should be helping, time was ticking away, but something had been niggling at the back of his mind for hours and he figured he might as well ask. It wasn't like they'd be going anywhere for a while, after all.

"Hey, I've been thinking and I have a question. I mean, I actually have so many questions, but…"

Yugi looked over his shoulder at Jou. "I'll answer if I can," he said, quickly turning back to his rake, not slowing down for a second.

"I know that once we get this over with, Kaiba'll be safe for now, but what about in the future?"

"He'll be himself as long as he lives," Yugi assured Jou, steadily dragging dirt over another patch of clean floor.

"No, I mean, like…his next life. Or the one after that," Jou explained to Yugi's back.

Yugi finally stopped what he was doing and turned to look at Jou as he continued.

"Once we do this ritual, I know he'll be safe this time, but what about after? Does this cancel out the other ritual, or what? Or is this the last time he'll be reincarnated…or whatever?"

Yugi processed Jou's question and his own answer for a moment before he responded. He took in Jou's earnest face, and he hated to disappoint him.

"No," Yugi said morosely. "That was blood magic, and what's done is done. He will be born again, and I can't say for sure what will happen next time, but I know that Set will return."

Jou nodded his head slowly, clearly thinking about the plight of the future Kaibas.

"Who knows, maybe he'll find you again."

Yugi smiled at Jou wistfully, and Jou looked sadder than Yugi had ever seen him. Jou tried to smile back, but failed spectacularly, something akin to a faint grimace appearing on his face.

"Yeah, maybe," Jou managed hoarsely, looking away quickly. He picked up his shovel and turned back to the task at hand, and after a heavy moment, so did Yugi.

o.O.o

Loud voices disturbed the eerie afternoon quiet of the Kaiba mansion, echoing off the walls. The three of them were in the ritual room, arguing over what had started as a disagreement about the runes that were to be painted on the wall with the pigs' blood. Kaiba had insisted that he had no time to paint the runes himself, while Yugi insisted that it had to be Kaiba or it wouldn't work, and in a surprisingly short time, things had escalated into a full-blown quarrel with Jou caught in the middle.

"I'm sorry if this doesn't make sense to you, Kaiba. It's not like it makes sense to me either, I just know what we have to do, okay!" Yugi said, frustration clearly ringing in his voice and twisting his face, while Kaiba glared at him from several feet away. Jou stood between the two of them, hoping to pacify the situation. He knew that Yugi was on edge, desperate to get everything done as fast as possible, and he shared his friend's apprehension.

"Please Kaiba, would you just let Yugi help you?" Jou pleaded, hoping to settle this squabble and get working again.

However, Kaiba seemed to be at his breaking point too. His eyes glinted and he exploded at Yugi, even though it was Jou's words that set him off.

"No one helps me! I take care of things, I always do, I always have. If there's a problem, I fix it, I don't…get help."

"Well, you do today!" Yugi snapped, actually yelling. "I might be trying to save you with this ritual, but I'm not doing it for you, Kaiba! We have to stop this! Do you have any idea what Set could do in your body? With your money, your resources? Your reach?! He could break this world, and I refuse to let that happen. So bitch all you want, but we're doing this and we're gonna do it right!"

Yugi stormed out of the room, and Kaiba looked after him, almost in admiration. Jou shook his head in disgust at Kaiba and went after Yugi, finding him trying to calm down in the kitchen.

"Sorry about that," he said as Jou reached his side, leaning down next to him against the kitchen counter. "I didn't mean to yell."

"It's okay. He responds a lot better to force. Next time, throw in a kick or two."

Yugi laughed a little, but he was still upset about Kaiba's mulishness.

"He is so frustrating. If I say left, he goes right, if I say jump, he sits down. It's almost as if he just likes being contrary."

"Welcome to my world," Jou said wryly, bumping shoulders with Yugi. They stood in comfortable silence for a while, then Yugi looked up at Jou.

"You really love him, don't you?"

"Yes," Jou replied, without hesitation. "I love him. So fucking much. So much that I'll do whatever - be whatever he needs me to be, whenever he needs it. His lover, his conscience, his punching bag…human sacrifice," Jou chuckled humourlessly. "This has to work, Yuug. I can't lose him. I can't."

"Well, he's such a stubborn asshole, I honestly think he's gonna beat Set with sheer willpower. If anyone can do this, it's Kaiba," Yugi said in what he hoped was a reassuring tone.

"He'd better," Jou mused wryly. "I don't think I'd look good in a toga."

Yugi opened his mouth to tell Jou that those were the ancient Greeks, but didn't bother. He supposed it was close enough. He had bigger fish to fry right now, a mission he'd been dreading this whole time. He just had one more thing to make sure of before he was confident that they could proceed with the ritual, the key element in determining its success or failure. He technically should have done it before starting anything else, but as usual, he'd gotten ahead of himself and was shovelling dirt before he'd even confirmed the most crucial detail.

Jou had just passed with flying colours, but Jou wasn't the one Yugi was worried about. One down, one to go, and he was not looking forward to the next part.

After he and Jou had returned to the ritual room, Kaiba finally conceded to drawing the runes on the wall himself. While Kaiba worked on the walls, Yugi and Jou worked on finishing the altar, which was really just a large circle in the middle of the room, large enough for Kaiba to lie down and stretch his arms out, filled with red clay and clearly outlined in a thick line of talc. When Kaiba had finished, however, Yugi finally spotted his chance.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go wash this animal blood off of me," Kaiba said drily, holding his red hands in front of him as he stalked away toward the nearest bathroom. Yugi signalled Jou to wait for them and then hurried after Kaiba, catching up with him as he disappeared through an open doorway down the hall. He ducked inside the room and pulled the door closed behind him, startling Kaiba who was busy scrubbing his hands in the sink.

"Fancy meeting you here," Kaiba drawled, his eyes moving from Yugi's face to the closed door and back again, and it hit Yugi how awkward it actually was that he'd locked himself and Kaiba in a bathroom together with absolutely no preamble.

"I just wanted to…" Yugi started, but Kaiba's hard, questioning glare made him stop short. How could Kaiba still be so cold, so hostile in spite of everything they'd shared over the years? He and Kaiba were definitely going to have a long overdue talk about his animosity when all of this was over Yugi decided, and he tried again.

"What I said before, I didn't mean –"

"No, you were right. Set could do a lot of damage as me," Kaiba said plainly, showing no ounce of resentment over Yugi's outburst. He dried his hands and started for the door, but Yugi didn't budge, keeping the doorknob blocked.

"Um, not that part. I mean, it was wrong of me to say that that was why I'm doing this. I want you to know that it's just as important to me to save you. Even though you clearly don't want to hear this, I consider you a friend," Yugi said, almost smiling at the look of distaste on Kaiba's face.

"And Jou loves you very much," he continued, covertly examining Kaiba's expression, but true to form, Kaiba's features revealed nothing useful. He hadn't taken Yugi's clumsy bait at all, and was instead intent on escape.

"If you're done apologising, we should get back to it," Kaiba said, obviously itching to wriggle away from their conversation, and Yugi sighed internally. Of course Kaiba wouldn't make this easy for him, he was going to have to be more direct. He took a deep breath and stopped Kaiba before he pushed his way out of the room.

"Kaiba, before we do this, I need you to be honest with me. This ritual only works if you really, truly love the sacrifice."

Kaiba's eyes narrowed and his whole body stiffened.

"I have no doubt that you care about Jou and don't want to see him hurt," Yugi said holding his hands up pacifyingly. "So I know you won't intentionally put him in any danger. But I have to be clear, you need to love him, truly love him with all your heart for this to work. If you don't love him like that, you cannot let him do this. There will be consequences."

Kaiba said nothing, and Yugi could tell from his demeanour that he was livid, but he still pressed on, he had no choice but to force Kaiba to respond. It still wasn't too late to switch gears, change tactics before the time came for Jou to put his soul on the line.

"It doesn't have to be Jou. We can call Mokuba back from university. He can be here in a day –"

"No! If this doesn't work, everything will go to Mokuba – the company, our assets. I've left instructions so he'll know what to do to keep me – Set – away from our…'resources.'"

Kaiba glared at Yugi, drawing himself up before continuing.

"And if it doesn't work, it won't be because I didn't love him enough."

Yugi observed Kaiba carefully, and it was obvious that he was gearing up to say something. Kaiba pursed his lips, exhaling heavily through his nose, and his eyes darted to the side briefly before moving back to Yugi's with a surprisingly piercing intensity.

"I will only say this to you once, so listen carefully. Katsuya is my family now, and there's nothing I cherish more. There's nothing I wouldn't do to protect him, keep him safe. No one knows me like he knows me, like I let him. I trust him with my life. I didn't think it would ever be possible for me to love another person as much as I love him. With all my heart? That's a fucking joke. I love him in my bones, with every breath in my body, every atom of my being. You couldn't comprehend how much I love him."

Kaiba drew closer then, lowering himself so that he could stare Yugi directly in the eyes, and though his voice was low and even, it still made Yugi shiver.

"And don't you ever question my feelings for him again. Ever."

And with that, Kaiba barrelled past Yugi, pushing him away from the door and slipping outside, not that Yugi had offered any resistance. That was it, mission accomplished. Relief flooded through Yugi as he slumped against the wall. He'd done everything he was supposed to do, everything he could do, and it all seemed to be falling into place. Despite his worst fears, Yugi suddenly found himself feeling somewhat hopeful. Maybe things would work out after all.

o.O.o

All three of them stood around the large circle marked out in the sand, the makeshift altar.

"So, you both have to, uh…" Yugi trailed off, searching for the right words. He looked like he was in a fair amount of distress, so Jou decided to help him.

"Cum?" he volunteered, and Yugi nodded gratefully.

"Yes. Both of you."

"So what, we just jerk off in the circle, or something?"

"No, you have to have sex."

"I don't see how we're going to have sex if we can't even touch each other."

"The room is consecrated now, so it should cancel out the whole electric shock, energy overflow thing."

Neither Jou nor Kaiba looked convinced, and Yugi urged them to test it out.

"Go ahead, try," he said, and Jou tentatively reached out to Kaiba, gently touching the backs of their hands together. When nothing happened, he pressed their palms together, interlocking their fingers, and still, nothing happened. Kaiba and Jou both looked at their clasped hands, and then up at each other, smiling.

"Well, whaddyaknow," Jou mused aloud. "It works."

"So, how long do we have?" Jou asked Yugi, never taking his eyes of Kaiba, who pulled Jou's hand up to his mouth, pressing his lips sweetly to Jou's skin.

"What do you mean?" Yugi asked distractedly. He'd already started running through the remaining preparatory steps in his mind as soon as they'd made sustained physical contact and it was apparent that the consecration had worked, and was barely paying them any attention.

"I mean, how long can we be in here? Five minutes, thirty? All day?" he asked, his other hand grabbing a handful of Kaiba's shirt.

"Oh. Um, technically, there's no time limit or anything. But I mean, I wouldn't go overboard, Kaiba still has to face Set afterwards."

"Gotcha." A pause. "Do you have to be here?"

"What, like, do I have to watch? No."

"Well, that's a relief. Read the room, Yuug," Jou said as Kaiba's arms folded around him and they pressed their foreheads together.

"Right, you actually have to... Sorry, I'll get out now." He reddened despite himself, and while he spun around to hustle for the exit, Jou stepped into the circle, pulling Kaiba over the threshold with him.

"Remember not to cross the barrier after, Kaiba! And don't overdo it!" Yugi yelled over his shoulder, closing the door behind him just as their lips met.

o.o.o.o.o.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.o.o.o.o.o.

Thank you to everyone who read and reviewed! I know updates have been very slow, but this is the first time I've posted something without having it completely finished already. It's very scary. There are two (or three) more chapters to go, so I hope you'll stick with me til the end. Thanks for your patience!

Also, please be advised that the ritual would have been totally different for Mokuba, I am not into Kaibacest. Not that I'm judging you if you are. I'm just saying.