Plenoptic

Why is Ishizu the only one who uses honorifics? Because this is pure crack and I CAN DO WHATEVER I WANT DURNIT.

For whatever reason, I always forget what the Millenium Scale(s?) is(are?) called. If I'm ever seen making a face like I'm trying to look at my forehead, that's probably why.

I don't know where you're going

but do you got room for one more troubled soul?

I don't know where I'm going but I don't think

I'm coming home.

-Fall Out Boy

"One more time."

"No."

"Come on. I want to understand what's going on with you."

Seto Kaiba glared at his guest from beneath the ice pack on his forehead, huffing out a sigh. "Why do you care?"

Zero scowled back at him. "I'm a goddamn sweetheart that way. Just tell me again."

Kaiba sighed loudly, shifting on the couch and wincing when his head throbbed. This recall shit wouldn't be so bad if it weren't for the crippling migraines that always followed each lapse from reality. "You get the concept of past lives, right?"

"Yeah. Reincarnation. I get it." He'd gotten that when he realized who and what Kaname really was, but he didn't volunteer that information.

"Alright. I have one. I suspect we all do, if one buys into this hocus pocus bullshit, mine's just a particular bitch. The memories from my other life were contained within an old Egyptian artifact."

"The Bicentennial Phallic Symbol."

"Millennium. Rod. So wrong. And also shut up. When the soul of a pharaoh who was inhabiting the artifact belonging to Yugi Mutou departed for the afterlife, the other artifacts were destroyed, swallowed up. We're the only remaining vessels left for those memories to occupy, so we're slowly assimilating them into our consciousness." He paused, glowering at the ceiling. "I don't care what Yugi says, someone drugged me at some point in the last five years. This shit sounds crazier every time I retell it."

"I'm still not sure how the card game factors into all this," Zero put in, popping open one of the many cans of soda that Mokuba, true to sixteen-year-old form, hid all over the manor.

"Welcome to the bane of my pain ridden existence. How hard is it to find a damn Advil? Probably got distracted by a shiny object…"

"Oy," Jou said, coming back into the living room with a glass of water and bottle of pain pills in hand. "I represent that statement. How's the head?"

"Excruciatingly painful. Give."

"We've been over this," Jou snorted, holding the bottle just out of arm's reach. "You've got to say please, asshole."

"Please. Asshole."

"Close enough," Mokuba chuckled from the armchair closest to the television, flipping the channel from the anime he was watching (something involving huge-ass people eating little people; Zero didn't want to know) and leaning forward eagerly. "Bro, you want to know how the semifinals are looking?"

Seto nodded, swallowing what Zero suspected was three times the prescribed dose of pain killer. "Go."

"China against America," Mokuba said, reading off of a bracket displayed on-screen. Zero edged a little closer to the TV. He wasn't a sports fan by any stretch of the imagination, but this didn't look like any sports channel he'd ever seen. "Japan is up against South Africa. Shit."

"America will take it," Seto sighed, lying back down and slapping the ice pack over his head. Jou had taken a seat by his feet. Despite an apparently bad break-up, Zero couldn't help but notice that they didn't seem at all uncomfortable in one another's presence. "Vivian Wong against Rebecca Hawkins-interesting little repeat of a few years ago."

"She's been raring for a re-match since the Grand Prix," Mokuba sighed. "Good thing Bec has gotten so much better. Nice going, Coach Broski!"

Seto waved a hand dismissively. "I don't even remember who's playing for Japan."

"It's not Yugi or you or Jou, so does it matter?" Mokuba sighed, muting the television and turning around in his chair, grimacing. "Jou, why don't you start playing again? Get a veteran back in the game, man!"

"Nah," Jou said uncomfortably, pulling on the neck of a t-shirt he'd snagged from Seto's closet and shrugging one shoulder. "Too much to do. Work and junk."

"You'd make good money playing if you'd just win, mutt," Kaiba snickered, nudging Jou with his foot. "Go out there and reclaim your coveted fourth-place."

"You go play again, if you're so great," Jou snapped back, whacking at the intruding foot.

"This is that game, right?" Zero piped up, a little tired of feeling hopelessly left out. "Duel Monsters?"

"Yep," Mokuba said, bouncing up and down in his chair apparently out of sheer boredom. "Biggest it's ever been right now. Shit really hit the fan when Jou and Nii-sama both retired. Yugi's still in, but he hasn't played a tournament since the Grand Prix. You don't know why, do ya, Jou?"

"This," Jou snorted, pointing at Kaiba with a grin. "Damn migraines all the time. He wants things to settle down before he starts playing again. Losing Atem really shook him up, you know? I think his confidence is rattled."

"He beat that smug bastard," Seto said, sitting up abruptly and pulling off the ice pack, glowering at Jou. "He should be on fire. What the hell is he doing dicking around?"

Jou cradled his face in one hand, smirking over at his ex-beau. "You're just pissy because Atem got to leave before you could beat him. How much you want to bet that when you die, he reincarnates himself to get away from you?"

"I'm not pissy," Seto grumbled, in as pissy a manner as Zero had ever heard anyone grumble anything. "Any reason you're still here, by the way?"

"Making sure you're gonna be alright, jerk. And grabbing some stuff," Jou said, indicating a plastic bag jammed with a few shirts, a comb, and a sad-looking pair of trainers. "It was hiding in your closet."

"...Oh. Well. I'm fine, so…" Seto appeared uncharacteristically uncomfortable, looking pointedly away when Jou stared at him. "Thanks for…"

"Yeah, yeah, don't hurt yourself trying to show a little gratitude," Jou snorted, getting to his feet. "See you later, Mokuba. And nice meeting you, Kiryuu. Good luck with this shit," he added, jerking a thumb toward Kaiba before heading out the door.

"Just so you know," Mokuba sighed, looking at his scowling older brother, "this is ridiculous. Just make up with him already. No one expects you to get back together, but at least go back to being friends."

"Thank you for the unsolicited advice, Mokuba. Now turn the volume up, I'm interested in this."

Mokuba huffed, chucking the remote over at the couch before getting to his feet and all but stomping out of the room, shooting his brother a dark glare on his way out. Zero hovered awkwardly in his seat, silent throughout each snapped exchange.

"Alright," he said mildly after a moment, "say whatever you're going to say to piss me off and make me leave you alone."

"Fuck off," Kaiba said tiredly, staring at the television. He hadn't unmuted.

"You're going to have to try harder than that."

Seto sat up on his elbows, craning his head to look over at his guest. "So Kaname Kuran, huh? Not bad, Kiryuu, especially for someone like you."

Zero rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I get it, I'm not worthy of big-shot high-born noble whatever. How well do you know Takuma?"

"Well enough. You may not have noticed, since you were too busy fucking me with your eyes, but he and I don't have many peers amongst Japan's business elite," Seto replied in a drawl, folding his arms behind his head. "He's an interesting guy. Annoying, but not mundane. What about you?"

"I know him well enough. He and Kaname were...close." Zero repressed the urge to twiddle his thumbs, looking over at the CEO, still gazing distantly at the flickering screen. This was probably the closest to relaxed he'd seen the other man thus far. "Do you want me to?"

"Want you to what?"

"Fuck you."

Kaiba snorted, rubbing a hand across his forehead. "Not at the moment. You'll have to consult my secretary for my working hours."

"I'll do that, then," Zero grumbled, feeling very much like getting up and stalking out, but it occurred to him that that was Kaiba's game, and had been all along. "Who's Kisara?"

"Oh, for the love of- are you ever going to let this go?"

"No. I'm curious now. Who is she?"

Seto sighed loudly, reaching into his pocket and removing his cell phone, starting it up and accessing the internet page he wanted with a few quick taps to the touch screen. Stretching, he offered it to Zero, who took it wordlessly. The screen showed an image of a card-one of the cards from the game Kaiba had played, like the pendant he wore around his neck. The stats and description were meaningless to Zero; he focused on the image. The dragon was white, sheer white, with blue eyes like sapphires, or ocean waves, or...other sappy shit.

"That's Kisara," Seto said, so quietly that a moment had passed before Zero realized he'd spoken. "That's all that's left. That, and all this crap floating around in my head."

"The long-lost love of your life is a trading card," Zero said skeptically.

Kaiba sat up, turning around to glare hotly at the hunter. "When did I ever claim she was the long-lost love of my life, idiot?"

"...Alright, that I kind of assumed."

"I never even knew her. She lived- and died- three thousand years ago." A hand in his hair, agitated. "She was his-Seth's."

Zero nodded slowly, calling to mind the grinning face of the boy who had found Kaname in the desert. "What's she got to do with this, though?" He handed the phone back to Kaiba.

"The ancient Egyptians believed that a person's life energy-their ba-could manifest as a spirit-ka. Seth and the other priests held esteemed positions in court because their control over their ka was second to none. Or something. Anyway, Kisara's ka manifested as this dragon. At first Seth and a priest named Aknadin planned on using it, turning it into a weapon. But…"

"But he fell for her."

Kaiba smiled wryly. "Yeah. Screwed the whole plan up. Aknadin intended for Seth to become pharaoh, but Seth became more preoccupied with keeping Kisara safe than playing Aknadin's game. And the old codger didn't take kindly to that. By the time all was said and done, he'd killed Kisara-and Seth had turned around and killed him."

Zero rubbed the back of his neck. "Damn. But that doesn't explain why you get so up in arms when I mention her."

Seto scowled, sitting up and running his hand through his hair. "You're going to think I'm insane."

The hunter shrugged. "Too late for that."

'If I tell you, you have to tell me why you ran away when you saw Ichijo."

Zero winced, but curiosity got the better of him. "Fine. So what's the deal?"

The other man mulled over it for a moment, tongue in cheek, and sighed before speaking. "You heard what Ishizu said, right? That it was the most emotionally impactful memories I'd be subjected to the most?"

"Yeah, sure."

"Every night, when I fall asleep…" Zero was seriously beginning to worry that Kaiba was going to start ripping his hair out. "I see...her. And I go back and forth between kissing her and sleeping with her and then watching her die. Every night, without fail, I have to watch myself being happy with someone I've never met, and then I lose her. And it's...it would be one thing if I just saw it, but it's me,I'm doing what he did, feeling what he felt, and it...it's maddening." Agitated, he got to his feet, paced for a second, and then sat back down, too irritated to stay still. "And there's no way to stop it, so I just have to keep putting up with it until I've assimilated all of Seth's memories. I just have to stand there every night and watch her die, knowing how and when it's going to happen and unable to do anything to stop it."

He blew out a long sigh, lifting his fringe from his eyes and letting it fall back down again before shooting a rueful smile over at his guest.

"So that's that. Your turn, Nosferatu. Why did seeing Ichijo make you lose it like that?"

Zero hesitated, hating being put on the spot so abruptly while he was still trying to digest what Kaiba had told him. "I just...I thought he might try to take me back."

Seto raised his eyebrows. "Back? Back where?"

"To...I don't know. Cross Academy, or to the Hunters' Association. My job is done, we wiped out all of the level E's in Japan. I'm sure I've been recalled for duty elsewhere, but I...I can't do it anymore. I can't. I'm done. Now that Yuki and Kaname are gone, I just...I don't want anything more to do with it. With any of it. My life is my own for the first time, and…" He shook his head, realizing that he was rambling. "Seeing Ichijo was just...it was a little much. I've been doing good. I'm getting past shit. I don't want to go back to his world." He lowered his eyes, teeth worrying his lower lip. "Kaname was...he was the first person who made me feel like I was more than a hunter, like I could be a real person if I wanted to be. I don't want to lose that. Until the day I die, I want to be how Kaname knew me."

He paused for a moment, carefully considering what he would say next.

"Look, I was...dying. When you found me. Kaname and I had a...a...a bond, I guess you could call it. Without him, I was starting to...wither away. I had his blood, and that sustained me, but it was only a matter of time before that ran out."

"You said was," Kaiba interjected, and Zero started when a hand grabbed his forearm, forcing him to look at the older man. "You were dying? What about now?"

"I don't...I think it's stopped," Zero said weakly. Something deep down inside of him trembled, and he had to repress the urge to bolt. This was more than he'd planned on revealing, ever. "Ever since I...drank from you. I could feel myself fading away without Kaname, but I feel...solid again, I guess. Stable."

Seto's brow furrowed. "Why, though? You said it had to be Kaname's blood, right?"

"He told me, before he...before he left, he told me that I could survive if I found someone with blood as potent as his. And I'm starting to think that, that maybe...maybe all of this stuff with your recall, and Seth, your past...the fact that Kaname and Seth knew one another...maybe that has something to do with it."

Kaiba sat back, releasing Zero's arm and expelling a long breath. "How did they know each other, though?"

"Kaname was the first pureblood-maybe the first vampire, for all we know," Zero sighed, rubbing his eyes tiredly. "He'd been through a few reincarnations himself, but he retained his memories from one life to the next. I think Seth knew him early on in his life, relatively speaking, maybe a few hundred years after the progenitor died."

"The progenitor?"

Zero reached into his holster, withdrawing the Bloody Rose. "The woman who gave us these. The first hunter, so to speak. She and Kaname were...I don't know. Close. After she died, he spent a long time just wandering, trying to find some purpose, some explanation for why he existed." He felt his throat start to close, and swallowed thickly. He hadn't intended to gush all of Kaname's deepest secrets, but something in the back of his mind nagged at him, told him that he had found Kaiba for a reason. There had to be a reason that Kaiba's blood affected him the way Kaname's had. "Hey, have you...seen it?"

"Seen what?"

"It was another memory. Later. Seth asked Kaname to help him do something."

Kaiba frowned. That sounded familiar… "Maybe. I'd have to think on it. You suppose that has something to do with all of this?"

"Yeah, I do." Zero reholstered the Rose and looked at Kaiba seriously, brows drawn. "You want this recall to be over, don't you?"

"Of course. Wouldn't you?"

"Maybe we should talk to that Ishizu woman. If you get all of Seth's memories, we'll be able to figure out what linked him and Kaname."

Seto scowled at him. "You've insinuated that you have Kaname's memories. Why don't you figure it out yourself?"

"I can't decide when I remember stuff. Ishizu said she could control her recall, right? If we could get you to that point, you could...I don't know. Search for Kaname."

"I don't think it works like that."

"Isn't it worth a try? You want to stop watching this shit without your say-so, and I want to know what Kaname was doing in Egypt, and…" He hesitated, but plowed on. "I want to know why your blood is keeping me alive."

Seto glowered at him, but after a moment his expression softened, and he heaved a sigh. "After that show I put on this morning, crawling back to her to ask for help may literally kill me."

Zero quirked a grin. "It's a risk I'm willing to take."

A snort, and blue eyes fixed on him, seeing through him. "Come here."

The hunter obliged almost robotically, getting up out of the armchair and moving over to the couch. Kaiba pulled him onto his lap, winding a hand into his hair and tugging his head down. Zero felt a rush of everything at once- the sharp pain of nostalgia, the aching memory of Kaname's taste and smell, a hard knot of guilt in his stomach, but it was accompanied by a sweeping sense of relief, of release, a sort of blooming elation at having another warm mouth under his, fingers in his hair, an arm around his back pulling him closer. This was stupid and juvenile, and he knew it, but it felt right, awakened things he thought he'd never feel again when Kaname died.

He could almost taste the same nervous reservations on Kaiba's mouth, feel it in his breath, and without thinking he pressed the other man more tightly to his body, as if, like a wound, they could kiss it better.

Ishizu Ishtar had a small office that somehow played the line between modest and posh. The rich mahogany tones were unusual for Japan, and Zero found himself staring around the room more than was strictly polite as he quietly sipped his tea, listening to Seto and Ishizu talk. She was seated behind her desk, a pair of glasses sliding a little further down her nose with each passing minute, dark hair pulled back in a ponytail. Between that and the dark knit sweater she wore, Zero thought she looked like a cute librarian. If her charms were effecting Seto similarly, however, he didn't let it on.

"Let me see if I have this right," Ishizu sighed, scratching her forehead with her pen and frowning at the young CEO seated across from her, his arms folded over his chest. "Two days ago, you told Yugi and I to scat when we tried to talk you into accepting this process."

"So I did," Seto replied mildly. It took herculean effort not to follow that up with anything snippy, but he bit his tongue. He was here for her help, after all, and Ishizu was a woman with a temper.

"That night, however, you were subjected to recall of a memory, and Kiryuu-kun saw it as well," she paraphrased, spinning the fountain pen between her fingers. Zero had spent a good quarter of an hour inarticulately explaining what he had seen. They skimmed over the bit where Kaname was his deceased lover; Ishizu would no doubt draw her own conclusions. "And your aim is to find out why that is?"

"Yes," Seto sighed, a little ruffled by her cavalier summary. For someone who had made such a big goddamn deal out of the recall, she was being awfully nonchalant about his coming around to it. One of the many ways the woman got under his skin. "I want this process expedited. And Zero wants to know what Kaname was doing in Egypt."

She hummed, nodding to herself. "Kaname was the vampire king, yes?"

"Y-What? No. What are you talking about?" Seto retorted, just barely covering.

Ishizu smiled blithely at him. "You're not the only one with memories of that time, Seto, remember?"

"That reminds me, since when are we on a first-name basis?"

"I remember Kaname vividly," she went on, ignoring the huffy young man.

"You do?" Zero broke in, leaning forward in his seat. "What do you remember?"

"I know that he and Seth were close- not lovers," she added almost casually, as if she sensed the sick swoop in Zero's stomach. "Old friends. They met when Seth was a young man, before he came to the palace to study under Aknadin. Kaname was a nomad, but he could always be counted on to show up when we needed help. In turn, he occasionally asked for the services of the priests in turn."

"Services," Zero repeated slowly. "Like what?"

Ishizu frowned a little. "Those memories aren't as clear. They may not have been significant to Isis. I do remember weapons, though-Seth, with a sword, silver from blade to hilt. Unnaturally silver."

Zero's stomach did a backflip, and the Bloody Rose seemed to prickle in its holster, hidden beneath his coat. Unless he was very much mistaken, Ishizu had just told him that Kaname had made honorary hunters of Seth and his comrades. He glanced sideways at Kaiba, who was frowning intently at the Egyptian woman. Apparently he'd missed the significance of this little revelation, but Zero wasn't surprised; the CEO's knowledge of hunters and lore was tremulous at best. He knew the Bloody Rose was meant to be used against vampires, but he didn't know that the gun wasn't unique in this ability.

"If you do want to access your memories more easily, I can help," Ishizu sighed at last, sitting back in her chair and removing her glasses. Apparently her requisitions list wasn't getting finished today. "Rishid and I have discovered a number of techniques that can instigate recall. But are you sure that this is what you want? It seems best to let this process proceed naturally."

"I can't be falling over with migraines every time I see a grain of sand," Seto retorted impatiently. "Let's just do this."

The idea, as Ishizu explained as she led them into a side room adjoining her office, was to stimulate as many of the senses as possible with triggers that would lead to recall. She lit a row of scented candles. The barrage on Zero's nose was immediate, overwhelmingly floral and spicy all at once.

"Aganthapus," she said, smiling at him. "Lotus, poppy, papyrus. The scents of the Nile."

"Opium," Seto said suddenly, turning to stare at her. "I recognize it, but I've never-shit. Was I a damn drug addict?"

"It was used ceremonially," she answered, smiling wryly at him. "Besides, sometimes you needed something to take the edge off."

He shook his head, exasperated, and removed his coat, running a hand through his hair. "So now what?"

"All you have to do now is dream," she answered, stepping up to him and patting him almost fondly on the shoulder. "Rishid, if you would, please."

Zero's hair stood on end- he spun around just a second too late and was pushed out of the way. An immense man passed him with ease, stepping up behind Kaiba and latching a hand around the back of his neck. Zero recognized that move, difficult and precise, and just as he'd expected, Seto crumpled like a puppet with its strings cut. The man caught him, hoisting him up with ease and dropping him on the couch along the wall.

"What the hell?!" Zero demanded, starting toward the man with teeth bared, but Ishizu caught his arm.

"It's alright, Kiryuu-kun," she said gently. "This is my older brother. Rishid, this is Zero Kiryuu. He's a guest of Seto's."

The man turned, offering Zero a wide, white smile. His hair was shaved but for a tight ponytail at the back of his head, and an intricate hieroglyphic tattoo obscured the left side of his face. The hand he offered Zero was gigantic.

"Rishid," he said, pumping Zero's arm enthusiastically when the hunter cautiously took his hand. "Good to meet you. It's not often Kaiba makes friends. Sorry about not warning you about this, the recall is easier if it's unexpected."

"Are you one of them, too, then?" Zero asked cautiously. "One of the priests?"

"Once," Rishid answered, eyes twinkling. "Kalim was my name. The priest of the Millennium Scale. My recall isn't complete, though, so don't quote me on that."

"And you're sure he's okay?" Zero pressed, leaning around Rishid to look at the unconscious brunet on the couch. "You just Mister Miyagi'd the crap out of him."

"He'll be fine," Rishid chuckled, clapping Zero heartily on the shoulder. "Now, how much do you know about Roman warfare? Did Ishizu already bribe you into visiting the exhibit?"

Zero passed a casual hour examining broadswords and bits of chariots behind glass displays. He was halfway through completing a second circuit, surveying a hanging tapestry, when he sensed someone standing behind him, watching him. He waited until he heard a cautious footstep before moving- his hand plunged into his coat, removing the Bloody Rose from its holster, and he pivoted on his heel and pulled back the hammer in one swift movement.

Takuma Ichijo froze, hands up, eyeing the gun nervously. "Please don't shoot me, Kiryuu," he said slowly, offering up a small, timid smile. "I just want to talk."

"Who sent you?" Zero demanded, taking a step forward, fingers tightening around the butt of his gun.

"Kaname," Ichijo said quickly, wincing at the thunderous expression that crossed Zero's face. "Just let me explain. May I?" He gestured toward his pocket. Zero nodded slowly, and Takuma reached into his jacket, withdrawing a white envelope. He held it out, but Zero made no move to take it.

"I honestly didn't know you were in Domino City," Takuma said quietly, his voice pleading. "I'm not here to take you back, and I won't tell anyone where you are. You have a right to live your life."

"What's in the envelope?"

Takuma hesitated. "It was...left amongst Kaname's belongings. It's addressed to you. I headed straight to the Association when I found it, but they said you hadn't reported in."

"And you've just been carrying it around with you since?" Zero asked skeptically, letting his finger rest lightly on the trigger.

"Yes," Takuma said hurriedly, "and I'm fairly sure you're not meant to touch the trigger unless you mean to pull it. Business takes me all over Japan, there was no way of knowing where or when I may see you. So I took it upon myself to always be prepared. Kaname may be gone, but he is still my dearest friend, and he meant for you to have this."

A long pause- but then Zero lowered the Bloody Rose, reholstering it and stepping forward, accepting the envelope with a slight dip of his head.

"There's also the issue of Kaname's will," Takuma went on, visibly relieved that the tension had abated somewhat. "He left everything he has to you, Zero."

"I don't want it," Zero said automatically. Kaname had few material possessions, little more than the bare essentials. In any case, things wouldn't fill the hole Kaname had left behind, and Zero didn't want to pretend otherwise. He wasn't going to be one of those guys who slept curled up with Kaname's old shirt or some shit like that.

"Kaname had a great accumulation of wealth, Kiryuu. I'm sure he'd want you to be supported."

"No thanks," Zero said roughly. "Donate it." He quirked a grin. "Invest it in Kaiba Corporation. You'll make a killing."

Takuma returned the smile somewhat ruefully. "I don't need the money. But I'll take care of it for you, if that's really what you want."

"Yeah, it is." Zero shifted his weight from one foot to the other, a little embarrassed. "Hey, Ichijo, it's...good to see you."

The vampire aristocrat blinked- once, twice- and then his smile warmed. "Same to you, Kiryuu. I never got to express my condolences."

"Er, well...my condolences to you, too. This can't have been easy on you- any of it. First Sara, then Kaname…"

"No, it wasn't," Ichijo agreed, bowing his head. "All of our losses have been immeasurable. And yet," he went on, lifting his gaze and smiling widely, "you seem very well, Kiryuu. To be honest, I half-expected that you may not have survived this long."

"Hey now," Zero said, mock-offended, "I'm a tough son of a bitch, you know?"

"I certainly do now, if I didn't before," the blond replied, chuckling. "You intend to stay in Domino, then?"

"Yeah, for now. I've got a roof over my head. Can't ask for much else."

Takuma raised his eyebrows. "And good company?"

Zero flushed darkly, rubbing the back of his neck. "Er. Well, yeah. That too."

The blond vampire laughed, sticking his hands in his pockets. "I'm actually quite fond of Seto Kaiba, Kiryuu. I do hope you'll take good care of him."

"He's taking care of me," Zero replied with a snort. "It's a small world, huh?"

"Truer words...Listen, Kiryuu. Good luck. I know Kaname wanted you to be happy. Whatever time you have left, I hope you put it to good use."

"Yeah. I will. Thanks for this, Ichijo." Zero pocketed the envelope; Kaname had written his name across it in his meticulously perfect handwriting, and the sight of it made Zero's heart throb. "I'll be getting back."

"We'll meet again," Ichijo said earnestly, shaking the hunter's hand. "I know it."

Zero offered him a rare smile before departing the room, throat too tight to say good-bye. It figured that Kaname could chase him down even here. What did it mean? Was he not meant to move on, not meant to escape the Association? Was his old life all he would ever have?

He stopped his near break-neck pace three rooms away from where he'd left Takuma, plunging his hand into his coat and withdrawing the envelope. He held it with shaking hands, staring down at the neat script of his own name. When had Kaname written this? Was this envelope the last thing he had touched, the last thing he'd left behind?

Should he open it?

He didn't have to. He could leave it closed forever. He could leave Kaname's last message to him unread. He could keep Kaname bound here, bound to him and to this world. If he never opened it, it would be like Kaname wasn't really gone. As long as there was one thing left unsaid…

"Open it, Zero."

He'd lowered himself to the floor without realizing he'd done so. Now he lifted his head, peering from underneath his fringe through an unexpected blur of tears. Seto nodded, placing a hand over his, clasping it over the envelope.

"Let him go."

Zero dropped his chin to his chest, shaking his head and drawing a shuddering breath. He couldn't. Not yet. Not yet. Just a little more time, that was all he wanted…

Seto blew out a sigh, leaning forward and wrapping an arm around Zero's shoulders, pulling him in. The hunter's head dropped against his collarbone, hot tears dripping from his nose and onto Kaiba's coat.

"When you're ready," Seto amended quietly, twining a hand in Zero's hair.

They stayed like that for what could have been forever, kneeling on their knees, Zero crying silently, Seto holding him without another word. The envelope remained crumpled in Zero's fist, soaking in his sweat. He hadn't cried in a long time. A little, when Kaname first left, but not like this. Hard, silent, with abandon, like a child. He had thought it was all over, that whether he was meant to live or die, he could do so in peace, leave his grief behind. For Kaname to abruptly come back into his life like this, like an echo, was just unfair. And here he was, unable to put this final piece to rest, unable to do anything more than cry on the shoulder of someone who wasn't Kaname, would never be Kaname, but for whatever reason made him feel safe.

But he let it come. For the first time he'd didn't repress it, didn't swallow tears away. He let it happen, and Kaiba let him let it happen, silently and without judgement. Kaname had left wounds, deep lacerations that wouldn't heal so soon, but as his knees lost sensation on the floor of the trebuchet exhibit, focusing on how it felt to feel someone's hand in his hair, the hard edge of Zero's grief dulled.

Just a little.

The sun was warm, not quite hot yet—it had only just peaked over the horizon, and Ra had yet to really stretch his wings. The chill in the air that settled over the desert at night had just cleared away. It was, in Seth's opinion, the perfect time to be outside, walking the gardens or riding around the walls of the palace by horse or chariot. Had he been fifteen years younger, he would have been doing just that, chasing Mana or pulling the little prince out of one of the ceramic pots he liked hiding in.

But he was very much mired in the present, a young man of twenty and a high priest of Pharaoh Atem's court, and even at the early hour, he was harried and busy. He had a towering pile of papyrus scrolls waiting for him in the library, all needing translation or review; he had to put in his daily few hours with the Grimoire, with its remaining thousands of unreadable pages; the Pharaoh would need to be briefed on the reports of skirmishes on the border; and after all of that, court would begin, for which he would have to present, or face Lord Aknadins reprimand.

Seth had already been awake for several hours when the sun finally rose, and his eyes itched with tiredness. Rubbing them wearily, he scowled at the brightening horizon, wishing his mind had settled enough over the night to allow him another few hours of sleep. Ever since the thief named Bakura had made his dramatic and near-deadly appearance at the palace gates, he and his comrades, the other five priests who bore the Millennium Items, had been working tirelessly to find a way of putting a stop to the self-proclaimed Thief King's reign of terror.

It wasn't easy. Nothing was anymore.

Soft footsteps announced the presence of another in the study, and Priest Shada settled quietly down at Seth's side, unrolling the first of many scrolls needing attention. Like Seth, he'd yet to don his ceremonial garb and jewelry, and both looked simple and tired in the same white robes the common folk wore.

"I don't suppose you've discovered a spell that can convert men into insects," Shada grumbled, running a hand over his shaven head.

"You think that would get rid of Bakura?"

"No—but it might get me out of court this afternoon."

Seth smiled ruefully, stifling a yawn and rubbing the back of his neck as he perused an expense report. They'd had to triple the guard around the city, and suddenly it occurred to Seth that it would fall to him—who had always been naturally good with finances and money—to come up with the gold to pay for the new troops. He'd have to put in an hour or two with the abacus later. He was beginning to run out of hours in the day.

"Where's Kisara?" Shada asked, as casually as possible to the question would seem nonchalant, small-talk, but Seth's eyes narrowed just slightly all the same.

"Sleeping, like every other sane person this side of the river," Seth sighed, scratching his neck where his skin had become irritated by the gold neckbands that custom dictated he should wear. "Why?" he added suspiciously.

"Inquiries after—ah—friends are considered polite, or so I've been told," Shada replied evasively, unable now to suppress a smarmy sort of smile, his dark eyes twinkling with gentle amusement.

"I haven't broken my vows," Seth grumped, glaring at his friend.

"I never insinuated that you had. But you and the girl have seemed to be getting on awfully well lately," Shada said, sounding now like a bird about to swoop down on a helpless grub, so gleeful was his tone.

Seth got to his feet abruptly, dusting off his knees and uttering something rude when Shada burst into laughter at the bright shade of scarlet decorating his friend's cheeks. The priest of the Millennium Rod departed, not bothering to excuse himself, feeling irate and more tired than ever. He knew Shada only meant to tease in good fun, but his astuteness was worrisome. If Shada had noticed the deepening bond between he and Kisara, who else might?

Gods above, don't let Aknadin find out, Seth prayed silently, thumbing the head of the Millennium Rod at his belt as he strode down the covered walk that lined the central courtyard. He was so distracted by his worries that he didn't notice the light footsteps approaching him until a small hand grabbed hesitantly at the back of his shirt.

"Wha—Kisara?" he laughed, looking over his shoulder at the girl hovering shyly behind him. "What in Ra's name are you doing up so early?"

"I couldn't sleep," she admitted sheepishly, smiling timidly up at him. "May I walk with you?"

"Please," he said, unable to smother a smile when she fell into step beside him, their shoulders brushing. He snuck a sideways glance at her while they walked, admiring the way her hair tumbled down her shoulders and back, free-flowing as the water in the Nile. Her eyes, shyly downcast toward her bare feet, were as blue as a storm-less sky, so beautiful as to be nearly heart-breaking to look upon.

"You need shoes," he noted, frowning a little. "Or sandals, at least, but even then the sand is hot."

"I'm alright," she replied lightly, offering him a small smile. "I walked around barefoot all the time back when—back before you—before we met."

Before they met. Seth bit the inside of his cheek to hold back the swell of anger rising at the very thought of it. Before they met, Kisara had been a nomad, a wanderer in the desert; and before that, she'd been a slave. He had a bad habit of thinking of her as fragile, but she'd endured more hardships than most women—or men, for that matter—could fathom in their darkest dreams.

Suddenly aware of a rather gloomy silence between them, he floundered for something to say. Something reassuring, something noble. Surely recalling those dark days would be upsetting to her—he should say something to put her mind at ease again. She didn't have to worry—not about slavers, or the desert, or finding food and water and shelter—he'd take care of her. His vows kept him from being anything more to her than a kind protector, but he was her protector all the same. He wanted to voice as much.

"You don't have to sneak up on me."

"Hm?" she looked back up at him, and he felt himself grow hot. He'd always been tall—but next to Kisara, who had the stature of a fairy, his height seemed almost obnoxious.

"When you want to talk to me, you can just…" He waved a hand around impatiently, tired of searching for the right words. "Walk up and say hello."

Kisara laughed. He wondered when that sound had become sweeter than music to his ears. "I'm sorry. You just always have this look—like you're concentrating really hard on something. It makes you difficult to approach."

He was about to argue that point, but Isis and Pharaoh had told him the same thing before, so he closed his jaw. He thought being unapproachable could only be an asset; it dissuaded others from bothering him about nonsense, left him free to focus on his duties, but he didn't want Kisara to feel like she couldn't talk to him. He'd work on it.

"Um—milord?"

This again. He resisted the urge to roll his eyes. He knew it was just her way—as soon as their conversations would become comfortable, casual, she retreated from him, falling back on titles, as if afraid she'd crossed some invisible line that separated them. The only thing standing between them was the set of vows he'd sworn to upon becoming one of the Pharaoh's high priests, and nothing more. He only paid it so much consideration when it came to this girl who had fallen into his life, and, quite unexpectedly, into his heart, where she'd once taken up residence when they were only children. She'd learn that, one way or another, he'd make sure of it.

Reigning in a chuckle, he looked away from her purposefully, pretending to be deeply interested in a passing bird. Kisara cleared her throat.

"Lord Seth?"

He maintained his cold shoulder, grinning at the brief and surly silenced that followed. A hand caught the back of his shirt again, and this time he stopped, smiling down at the girl.

"Seth," she mumbled, her face turning a heated shade of pink. Her lashes cast lovely shadows across her cheeks. Leaning down, he brushed his mouth gently over her brow. Her head lifted, hair falling back from around her face, and his arms caught her up as they kissed. Small hands clutched at the front of his robes, tan fingers wound tenderly into her hair, smoothing over flawlessly pale skin.

To be perfectly technical, he still hadn't broken his vows.

Seto Kaiba woke with a start, staring up at the ceiling in utter bewilderment. Several long seconds passed before his senses caught up with him, reminding him that he was not, in fact, in the palace courtyard. As if on cue, his head throbbed, and he sat up with a groan, massaging his temples. He felt like someone had taken a jackhammer to the inside of his skull. Looking around the room, he reoriented himself, trying to recall what had happened. Ishizu had called for Rishid, and then- he was talking to Shada, and then to Kisara. And now he was on a couch in the darkened curator's office in the Domino Museum.

He forced himself to his feet, grabbing his coat from the back of the couch and exiting the office, wincing in the bright lights of the hallway. Aggravation ate at him, making the headache worse. He'd gone under hoping to find out more about Kaname Kuran, and all he'd gotten was more bittersweet memories of someone he wouldn't, couldn't, ever see again. He was formulating some harsh words to throw at Ishizu when his head throbbed powerfully, making his vision go white. His knees hit the linoleum-

"You shouldn't have done this," Nabirye said fearfully, watching her son pace back and forth. "We've had enough to deal with keeping you hidden, and now-"

"I didn't have a choice," Seth snapped, more harshly than he'd meant to. "They'd have killed him, the can see he's not like everyone else."

"Like you, then?" his mother asked quietly, approaching the stranger lying on her son's cot, unconscious. She crouched down, touching her fingertips to his forehead. He burned with fever, but did not perspire. Curious. "A...a user? Of..."

"Magic," Seth sighed. He was tired of his mother skirting over the truth they both knew. "He came from the direction of the royal city."

"Perhaps they chased him away?"

"I told you, magicians and sorcerers join the pharaoh's court in the royal city. They aren't treated like...this," he said somewhat helplessly, gesturing toward the unconscious man. "No one saw me take him from Tarik's hut. If we just nurse him back to health, he can leave unharmed. Please, Mother, we can't let them have him."

"And what if they discover him here?" she demanded, getting to her feet and rounding on him. "Think about your safety, Seth! What if they think you brought him here? That you're like him?"

"I am like him," Seth shot back, bristling. "I know how much you hate it, but-"

"Don't," she said hotly. "You know I'm not afraid of you or your abilities. You're my son, I only want what's best for you. I'm going to tell Tarik that this man escaped his hut, came in here and attacked us, and that you defended me."

"They'll kill him!"

"Better him than you, Seth! You can't recklessly endanger yourself for someone you don't even know!"

"He came from the royal city! He can take me there, bring me to court, then we won't have to hide anymore! You could have a real house and real food, not…" Seth gestured around their small, one-room hut in frustration. "Why won't you let me go there?"

"I can't tell you that, yet," Nabirye said despairingly, stepping forward to touch his face, but he threw her off.

"I'm not a child anymore, Mother! Tell me what's in the royal city that you're so determined to keep from me!"

She opened her mouth to retort, probably to remind him that he wasn't quite a man yet, either, but at that moment the stranger on the cot stirred, speaking in slurred tones. Seth hurried to his side, dropping to his knees and lifting the other man's head, cradling it gently.

"Kaname?" he asked when dark eyes fluttered open, speaking quickly. "It's just me. Seth. You're safe. I pulled you from Tarik's hut. When you lost consciousness on the edge of town, he had you brought to him. He intended to hold you, interrogate you…" He looked up, shooting his mother a hard look. "But I won't let that happen. I promise."

Kaname blinked blearily up at him. "...Why?"

Seth grinned, lowering the older man gently back onto the cot. "Because you're like me. You're the first one I've ever met. I won't let you get away from me that easily."

"Seto?"

Kuran's face blurred, disappeared. Ishizu was in front of him, watching him with concern, pushing his hair out of his eyes.

"Are you alright? What are you doing sitting in the hallway?"

Kaiba blinked at her, bewildered. Again the room came rushing back to him, the solid floor, cool and synthetic, the clothes on his back, the wall behind him. His head throbbed, and he groaned, leaning over and clutching it in his hands.

"Ow. Dammit. Why am I on the floor?"

"That's what I asked," she said wryly. "What happened?"

"...Woke up. Came out here. Then it happened again…" He rubbed his temples. The pain wasn't as bad now, though, and he felt more stable than he had when he first woke up.

"Do you know your name?" she asked him seriously.

Kaiba lifted his head, scowling at her darkly. "Of course I know my own name, what kind of idiot do you think I am?"

The woman sighed loudly, getting to her feet and offering him a hand. "I don't, but it can be hard to tell when someone's emerged completely. Up you get, come on."

He accepted her help reluctantly, leaning his weight against the wall and waiting for the world to stop spinning while she continued to question him.

"What did you see?"

"Seth's mother...Nabirye. They were fighting...he wanted to the royal city, but she refused to give him leave. And…" He furrowed his brow, struggling. The recall was slipping away as fast as a dream upon waking. "...Kuran. Kaname was there. Unconscious. Seth had retrieved him from someone called Tarik." He looked at Ishizu. "The priests were held in high esteem at court. They were some of the most respected members of society. Am I wrong?"

"No. You're correct."

"Then why did Nabirye seem to think that Seth would be in danger if anyone found out he could use magic?" Kaiba demanded, pushing off the wall. "Why try so hard to keep his abilities secret?"

Ishizu stared at him for a time, brows knitting together as she contemplated her answer. "When Isis was five," she began, slowly, "she knocked over a jug of water without touching it. A week later, she told her father that their village would be drowned in a great flood. Sure enough, two nights after, the Red Sea swelled over the beach, and Isis's mother perished. Her father retrieved Isis from the wreckage of her home, purchased a camel with what remained of his funds, and took her to the royal city. He brought her before Pharaoh Akhenamkhamon, and there she stayed for the rest of her life." Ishizu bit her lower lip, shaking her head. "The people of Egypt were superstitious. Only gods were meant to have powers beyond that of mortal men. The villagers thought that Isis had summoned the storm. Her father took her to the palace instead, the only place that welcomed children with abilities such as hers. She surely would have been killed otherwise- condemned as an abomination, sacrificed to the gods as a show of fealty. A promise that man would never try to go where only gods could walk." She beckoned to him, taking a seat on a bench that stood alongside the opposite wall, and Kaiba followed suit. "If Seth's abilities had materialized, then it is little wonder that his mother wanted to keep them secret. We know that she- Nabirye, was it?- took Seth from the palace when Aknadin slaughtered Kul Elna. Seth's powers must have manifested after that."

"After the Millennium Items were created."

"Just so."

The silence that followed was long, both engrossed in their thoughts. Seto tried to concentrate on what he'd seen of Kaname, however fleeting it had been, but his thoughts kept wandering back to Kisara. Her hair under his fingertips had felt...magical. Her body against his had awakened want he didn't know he could feel.

"You, and me, Ishizu, Rishid... are still here. As are the disembodied spirits who protected us."

Was she still here, then? Kisara? Still watching over him, just as she'd promised? Or was she well and truly gone now, buried alongside the Millennium Items when Atem moved on? Had he been without her for these past two years?

"I'm going to go find Zero," he said at length, getting to his feet and brushing the dirt from his knees where he'd hit the floor. That was going to hurt in the morning. What a pain in the ass. "Thanks for today, though I can't guarantee I'll be back anytime soon."

"You should rest," she suggested, getting up after him and smoothing the wrinkles in her skirt. Somehow, normal clothes didn't seem to fit her as well as her traditional garments. "Process what you have seen. But you should come back, Seto. You know I can help you."

"...Yeah, I know. See you."

He left her standing in the hallway, ducking through the first door he came to and reemerging in the exhibition area of the museum. He heaved a sigh, dragging a hand through his hair. He'd never wanted a cigarette so badly in his life.

A sniffle came from the other side of the room, muffled quickly. Frowning, Kaiba leaned around the huge model trebuchet in the middle of the room, and that was when he caught sight of Zero. The hunter was sitting on the floor, knees drawn to his chest, hiding his face behind an envelope. His name was scrawled neatly across the front.

Kaiba knew what it was without asking. There were only so many things in this world that he figured could reduce the stoic younger man to tears. He approached slowly, kneeling in front of Zero, apologizing silently when Zero withdrew more, tightening in on himself.

"Open it, Zero," he said quietly, as gently as he could. Zero looked up at him, amethyst eyes swimming and agonized beneath his fringe of silver hair. Seto nodded encouragingly, placing his hand on Zero's, covering the envelope.

"Let him go."

At that Zero shuddered, dropping his head again, shaking it almost frantically. Seto sighed, pulling Zero onto his knees and holding him close without thinking on it, without really meaning to. He felt Zero begin to cry against him, felt hot tears on his shirt. He reached for Zero's hair but hesitated, fingers hovering just above the soft silver strands.

"When you're ready."

He let his fingers twine into that silver sea, closed his eyes and let Zero be close to him, let the hunter hurt and cry. He heard footsteps in the doorway, a pause, and then they departed. Ishizu, no doubt, checking up on him. He thanked her silently for leaving them alone. No doubt Zero would die of embarrassment if anyone saw him like this.

Anyone besides me?

Maybe. He wouldn't think on it too hard. There was undeniably something between them now, but it wasn't worth worrying over. What would be would be. For once, preoccupied with what had happened in the past, Seto Kaiba didn't feel so compelled to put his foot down on the future.

So thinking, something tight and hard in his chest loosened, and he breathed a little easier.

Just a little.

Lengthy chapters are lengthy.