Chapter 29: Confrontations

Knowing that it wouldn't be much longer before the room erupted into noise, Kaiba enjoyed the momentary silence of the empty classroom. He thought about pulling out a book to read, but there was plenty of time for that later; he was content to let himself experience the joy of no pressing obligations or responsibilities. It was almost enough to make him feel disappointment when he heard the classroom door sliding open and a student entering. No further thought would have been given to the intruder had it not been for the taunt, "Looking a little lonely there, priest."

Kaiba's eyes narrowed into a fierce glare as the white haired youth continued to approach him. "Bakura," Kaiba growled, not bothering to hide his contempt. Normally Kaiba would have disregarded the psychotic youth, but there was something about the way that he was being watched that made him uncomfortable. He didn't understand why something inside of him was seething in response as Bakura stood next to him, but Kaiba refused to let his control slip.

"There's no need to be like that," Bakura told Kaiba with a laugh that set the other on edge. "You once welcomed my company."

"Doubtful," Kaiba spat, staring up at Bakura in disgust. He didn't know what Bakura was referring to, nor did he know why he was feeling so indignant over the insinuations; his reaction felt deep-seated and there was no reason for it.

Bakura stood closer than Kaiba would have liked, but he made no move to change the situation. "I spent enough time in your dungeon to get very well acquainted with you, priest," Bakura said with a perverse laugh that made Kaiba want to recoil in disgust.

The implications were far beyond anything that Kaiba was willing to accept. He may not have completely believed in the past life nonsense, but he had no doubt about the fact that the priest would never betray his pharaoh and lower himself to be with such scum. The mere thought of it made something tighten painfully inside of Kaiba, but he did his best to ignore it. "Stop wasting my time with such ridiculous bullshit," Kaiba said coldly, not wanting to participate any further than he had already been forced to.

"Still just as angry as ever," Bakura said with another infuriating laugh. "You never did very well when your master left you alone."

Gritting his teeth, Kaiba tried to hold back his response and failed. "He was not my master."

"You say that as if you remember."

Kaiba immediately realized his slip and he cursed himself for using the wrong tense. Quick to cover it up, he arrogantly countered, "You say it as if it actually happened."

"Oh, it happened alright," Bakura said with a smug smirk.

It was hard for Kaiba to repress a shudder at the look, but he refused to show any weakness. For the first time ever, Kaiba found himself wishing that he could remember the details of his supposed past life as a high priest just so that he could fight against such base accusations. He felt like he was forgetting something crucial and he rapidly tried to remember anything that Yami might have mentioned about Bakura in the past.

Realizing that Kaiba had no intensions of saying anything else, Bakura continued trying to antagonize him. "You're just like that damn pharaoh—always refusing to remember," Bakura said with a sneer. "Although there are quite a few things that I can't believe you forgot."

"Like how to shut you up?" Kaiba retorted sarcastically, confident that the priest had quickly come up with a solution for that problem.

He immediately regretted the comment when Bakura narrowed his eyes with a vicious grin, his tone full of innuendo as he said, "Oh, that bastard priest had several ways of quieting me—some of which you're more than welcome to try."

Kaiba's response of, "Disgusting," was involuntary and filled with his revulsion.

"He thought so too, but that didn't stop him."

Unable to stand the insults any longer, Kaiba was on his feet, his fingers tightening around Bakura's throat in the quickest, guaranteed way to stop such offensive words from being spoken. "You will cease this ridiculous talk now."

"Hit a nerve?" Bakuara managed to ask in a strained voice, his laugh sounding more like a wheeze.

Instead of dignifying the question with a response, Kaiba reminded Bakura, "I do not harbor the same sentimental attachments to your host as the rest of them do."

"If you couldn't kill me then, why could you now?" Bakura pointed out, his fingers seeking out Kaiba's in an attempt to pry them away from his neck.

"I am not him," Kaiba hissed, narrowing his eyes into a deadly blue glint.

"You're no longer a high priest of Egypt and I'm no longer the King of Thieves, but that doesn't change the fact that we're them."

Kaiba was about to respond when he remembered the echo of the voice so close to his own boasting, "Like that bastard thief could kill the likes of this High Priest Seto?" He felt something inside of him go cold, felt things that were beyond his knowledge and he was overcome in a rush of feeling.

"You," Kaiba said as if it were the foulest word imaginable. His grip tightened at his realization and the fact that nothing inside of him was contradicting his conclusion; all he could feel was the rage and desire to finally take revenge. "You bastard! It was you."

Even as the fingers threatened to completely close off his airways, Bakura still managed to say, "It seems that you do remember something, priest."

The words felt as if they were spoken by someone else as Kaiba threatened, "Keep your distance or else you will regret the day that I remembered."

"Still so worried about keeping you precious pharaoh safe?"

"You will not harm him."

"Who said anything about him?"

Kaiba was startled by the question, but he said nothing until Bakura warned, "You should start worrying about yourself." Not giving him a chance to ask for clarification, Bakura laced his fingers through Kaiba's hair, yanking hard enough to bring his face down to his. Bakura ceased struggling to free himself and it allowed him to use his other hand to cradle Kaiba's cheek in an attempt to use the position to try and kiss the other. Bakura failed when he felt Kaiba retaliate by grabbing a fistful of his white hair and pulling him back hard enough to prevent the attack.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing!" Kaiba demanded dangerously, not liking the fact that Bakura was laughing maniacally as if he were experiencing no pain. Kaiba's heart was pounding, but he was too focused on maintaining control over the situation to think about what had almost just happened. The darker part of him was whispering at how easy it would be to snap the thin, frail neck in half and be done with his problem, but Kaiba refused to act out in such a distasteful manner.

"You were always far more effective than a blade when it came to wounding the pharaoh," Bakura purred, his fingers tracing the side of Kaiba's cheek before trailing down his neck and onto his chest. Using the fact that Kaiba had froze in horrified shock, Bakura grabbed Kaiba by the collar of his uniform and tugged on it, pulling the taller boy even closer. "You meant more to him than any of his treasures; how could I resist trying to steal his most prized possession?" Bakura continued on with a feral grin that had Kaiba trying to pull away despite his desire to remain stoic. "And this Bakura-sama always gets what he wants, or did you forget that, too?"

Unable to listen to anything more, Kaiba tore himself out of Bakura's grasp, backhanding him in the process. "You sick, twisted bastard!" Kaiba yelled, refusing to believe that the priest would have ever given in to the types of things that Bakura was implying.

Wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth with another infuriating laugh, Bakura stared up at Kaiba with a smirk. "Don't think that I don't know the real reason why you condemned me to stay inside of this body. But make no mistake: I don't need my own body to finish what I started," Bakura threatened as he licked the blood off of his hand.

They were interrupted by the classroom door sliding open and Yuugi staring at the pair wide-eyed when he realized that Bakura was bleeding and Kaiba's hand was clenched tightly into a fist at his side. "Kaiba-kun! What are you—?" Yuugi started to ask as he rushed over to his friend's side with Jounouchi right behind him.

Ignoring Yuugi, Kaiba issued his final warning, "I won't say it again." Not caring how it looked, Kaiba simply turned away from the revolting display. He was vaguely aware of Yuugi trying to stop Jounouchi from pursuing him, but Kaiba was beyond caring. All he wanted to do was put as much distance between himself and Bakura before he something severe in his anger. How dare he even think that Kaiba could be used as a pawn to manipulate Yami! And to have the audacity to touch him in such a manner? It made his stomach turn violently and he needed to get away.

Briefcase in hand, Kaiba walked through the packed hallways toward the exit. He skirted close to the edge in an attempt to avoid the noisy crowd, hoping that it would get him out of there faster. Going to work sounded like his best option, but going home and taking a shower sounded even better at the moment; anything to wash off the feeling of disgust at having been touched in such a way by another.

"Seto."

The voice softly calling out to Kaiba made him stop in his tracks and he slowly turned to face the owner of it. Yami was standing in a doorway, clad in the school uniform, beckoning for Kaiba to follow him. Kaiba did so without question, shutting the door behind him, and setting down his briefcase. Only then did Kaiba allow himself to pull Yami into a tight embrace, startling the shorter boy. "Seto?" he asked as he wrapped his arms around Kaiba's waist.

Kaiba knew that he was being abnormal, but he couldn't be bothered with it at the moment. Something inside of him was whispering its gratitude to find Yami safe—hell, to find him at all. He tried to still his emotions and was making slow progress because his anger was radiating in so many different directions. Even though he considered the priest to be weaker than him in most ways, he still wanted to believe that he would have resisted whatever Bakura had been insinuating had happened in the past. Kaiba hated that he had allowed the priest's emotions to spill over from the vision, but that didn't stop him from stupidly wondering what punishment he had given to Bakura in the past for daring to hurt Yami. The whispered promises that he would protect Yami better in this life made Kaiba cringe, but the thought of Bakura harming him was unacceptable.

Yami was waiting for Kaiba to say something, but it was looking increasingly unlikely that it would be any time soon. Yuugi had told him that Kaiba had stormed off after a fight with Bakura, but that didn't give him much to go off of at the moment. It didn't make sense why Kaiba would be so deeply troubled afterwards, nor why he would be practically shaking with an emotion that Yami figured had to be anger. There was nothing that Yami could think of that Bakura could have said to get Kaiba that worked up, so he tried once again to prompt Kaiba with a quiet, "Seto?" Under different circumstances Yami would have been upset at being ignored, but he could her how fast Kaiba's heart was racing and it concerned him. "Seto, look at me." Still getting no response, Yami sighed and reached up to touch Kaiba's cheek in order to refocus his attention.

Jerking back at the touch with a flinch, Kaiba stared down at a very confused looking Yami. Kaiba cursed himself for being so jumpy, but his body was still reacting unfavorably to Bakura's touch. Instead of apologizing, Kaiba quietly swore, "Shit," as he rested his forehead against Yami's, closing his eyes as he tried to steady himself. He needed to get his self control back, needed to calm his errant emotions, needed to stop being so foolish, but those things apparently needed time to happen.

"What?" Yami asked as he tried to get Kaiba to look at him. He wanted to know what happened but he knew better than to pry.

There were plenty of questions that Kaiba could have asked, but he didn't. Part of him just didn't want to think about it right now, so he chose to focus on the more immediate issue. "Why are you here?"

Pulling back slightly, Yami said, "I'm transferring here permanently," with a hint of a smile tugging at his lips when Kaiba finally opened his eyes.

"How in the hell is that even possible? There is no paperwork to prove your existence, let alone school records."

"Jii-chan's friend Arthur is a professor in America, but he used to teach in Egypt," Yami started to explain before he got interrupted by a rude noise from Kaiba.

"Yeah, and?" Kaiba asked, not seeing the connection.

"Arthur still has a lot of friends in Egypt, so Jii-chan asked him to help with the transfer paperwork. Apparently he owed Jii-chan a favor," Yami finished with a laugh. He didn't understand all of the details, but he didn't really care; as long as he was able to continue going to school and stop sitting around the house all day, then it was fine with him.

Kaiba was surprised at his lack of irritation over such news. "I hope you know what you just got yourself into," Kaiba told him as he shook his head. Yami was lacking in most of the foundational knowledge that would be required for academic success, but when had that ever stopped the other?

"I'm sure I'll be fine," Yami said with a confident smile. "The question is, will you be?"

Trying to play it off, Kaiba brushed it off with, "Provided you behave yourself, yeah."

"That wasn't what I was talking about."

The sound of the first warning bell interrupted them and Kaiba frowned. He didn't like where the conversation was heading, but he disliked the thought of leaving Yami even more. There was something inside of him that wanted to tell Yami about Bakura, but he couldn't bring himself to say anything more than, "Stay away from him." It wasn't that he was worried about Yami believing anything that Bakura might say, he just hated the thought of all the things that could potentially happen.

"From Bakura?"

Narrowing his eyes, Kaiba tried to ignore the resurging hatred. "Yes," he said tersely, realizing that Yuugi somehow must have managed to inform Yami about what had happened.

Before Yami could ask about what had happened, Yuugi's voice filtered through his mind to let him know, "Jii-chan's trying to find you."

Thanking his aibou, Yami realized that the conversation would have to wait until they had more time. "Okay," Yami agreed, finding no point in arguing against something he was inclined to do in the first place. Having said that, Yami braced himself against Kaiba's chest and kissed him lightly, surprised by the hesitation he encountered. It was quickly replaced with an intensity that stole Yami's breath away the longer it continued.

"Thank you," Kaiba said so quietly that Yami almost thought that he had imagined it. This time it was Kaiba's lips that descended on his as he was pulled even closer and Yami gave himself into it willingly with a soft moan of pleasure.

Yami didn't want to stop, but the sound of someone outside the door forced him to do so. He heard his grandfather's voice asking, "Yami, are you in there?"

Scowling at the intrusion, Kaiba stepped away from Yami, ignoring his body's protests. Shooting Kaiba an apologetic look, Yami called out, "Yes, I'm in here, Jii-chan."

Opening the door and entering, Sugoroku paused when he saw Kaiba standing off to the side looking decidedly annoyed. Nodding in greeting to the taller boy, Sugoroku told Yami, "The principal wants to talk to you."

"See you in homeroom," Yami said with a wink in Kaiba's direction before following his grandfather out of the room.

Kaiba remained motionless as the final bell chimed. As much as he had wanted to leave the school, Kaiba couldn't do so while knowing that it left Yami open to a potential encounter with Bakura. Thus it was with a heavy sigh that Kaiba picked up his briefcase and started walking back to class. As he entered the room, the entire class quieted down until they realized that it wasn't their teacher. Everyone resumed talking again and Kaiba found himself missing the silence from earlier as he sat down at his desk. He was pleased to discover that Bakura was no longer in the room and he ignored the angry glare that was coming from Jounouchi.

Even though Kaiba knew what was going to happen, he still felt anticipation when the teacher entered the room with Yami. There was definitely some squealing from the girls in the class at the sight of Yami, but Kaiba ignored it. "Everyone, quiet down! Yami has decided to transfer permanently to our school, so please be sure to give him a warm welcome back!" the teacher encouraged her students. Somehow Kaiba doubted that the female popular would have any problems with that; if anything, they would probably have to be discouraged from being too enthusiastic in their excitement. The teacher was still having trouble trying to regain her students' attention as Yami sauntered back to take a seat next to Kaiba.

The teacher did her best to make her way through the roll call, but she was practically drowned out by the chattering students. "Does anyone know where Bakura-san is?" she asked loudly, looking around for someone who might be able to answer.

"Bakura-kun went to the nurse's office," Yuugi answered timidly, earning him an appreciative look from the teacher.

"Why?" she asked, a hint of worry in her voice. "Was he not feeling well?"

"He was bleeding," Jounouchi told her with a venomous glare back at Kaiba.

The teacher didn't understand the significance behind the look, nor the reason for Kaiba's disinterested shrug, so tried asking a follow up question, "Will he be okay?"

"Only if he learns to keep his damn mouth shut," Kaiba muttered, adding to himself, and remembers to keep his hands to himself. He was overly aware of Yami's concerned gaze and he forced himself to meet the crimson eyes. The anger that he had been expecting to see was strangely absent; instead, Yami's eyes were filled with a complicated emotion that was beyond anything Kaiba could identify.

Jounouchi's response was interrupted by the door being thrown open with a loud bang that elicited several startled noises from some of the students. "Aw, sensei," Bakura said, his voice heavily laced with sarcasm, "I didn't know that you cared."

Kaiba was somewhat displeased to see that his hit had left minimal evidence, but then again, that hadn't really been his goal at the time. His body tensed for a fight, ready for anything that Bakura might try to do, but so far he seemed content to stand at the front of the room without so much as a glance in Kaiba's direction.

"Of course I care," the young woman said with a protective fierceness that had Bakura arching an eyebrow at her, "I'm your teacher!"

"Is that the only reason?" Bakura asked, his voice lowering in pitch. He was amused by the reaction it produced as a pink blush started to spread through her cheeks as she quickly looked away before meeting his gaze once more.

Sounding incredibly scandalized, she took a step back from the boy as she asserted, "Yes! It's only natural for a teacher to be concerned about the welfare of their students!"

"Pity," was all Bakura needed to say to silence her indignation. "I could have used the entertainment."

"What are you implying!?"

Waving it away as he walked back to his seat, Bakura cryptically answered, "That I could have had some fun until our real teacher returns since my priest doesn't like to play that often."

It took every ounce of self control that Kaiba possessed to not react to the comment. His priest? It was bad enough hearing Yami call him that, but to hear it from Bakura was beyond vile.

Yami was also trying hard to control his temper since he knew that correcting Bakura in front of the entire class would put him and Kaiba in an awkward position, but he couldn't let something like that go so easily. "He has never been your priest, Bakura!" So much for not saying anything.

Turning to face the pair, Bakura laughed loudly, oblivious to the nervous looks that the rest of their classmates were exchanging. "He may not have been my priest," Bakura consented before his tone once again became filled with perverted insinuations, "but he was mine. How convenient of you to forget, Pharaoh."

The dismissal bell interrupted them and for once, everyone was quick to leave the room in their attempt to escape the tense situation. Well, almost everyone since the entirety of the Yuugi-tachi remained to watch.

"I see that I was too lenient earlier," Kaiba said coldly as he finally stood up, subtly placing himself between Bakura and Yami. "Shall I follow through with my promise?"

"Bastard, just leave him alone!" Jounouchi exclaimed as he rushed to Bakura's defense. He may not have liked the demented spirit, but he couldn't stand by and watch Kaiba harm Ryou's body.

Before Kaiba could start hurling a barrage of insults at his friend, Yami rose as well and firmly said, "Jounouchi-kun," in a tone that left no room for argument.

"Have you lost it? Why are you standing up for that bastard?" Jounouchi yelled as he pointed at Kaiba. "Whose side are you on?"

Softening his tone slightly, but not his stance, Yami tried to mitigate the situation. "Jounouchi-kun, this does not involve you."

"The hell it doesn't!" he exclaimed, staring at Yami incredulously. "I'm not going to sit around and do nothing while that bastard tries to hurt my friends—including you!"

"It seems that you got yourself a new guard dog," Bakura said with a cruel laugh before focusing on Kaiba again. "So tell me: how does it feel to be replaced?"

Something inside of Kaiba snapped at those words and he felt a rush of emotions that were so powerful it almost made his rage feel tangible. Without being conscious of his own actions, he narrowed his eyes while slowly raising his hand to point it at Bakura. A simple flick of his wrist sent the white haired boy flying several feet from where he had originally been standing; he was stopped only when his body crashed into a desk with a sickening crack that made Anzu stifle a scream. Bakura collapsed on the floor, motionless but still breathing.

With one irritant out of the way, Kaiba's gaze shifted over to Jounouchi who was backing away from him like a dog with its tail between its legs. The sight pleased Kaiba and he could feel the pressure building up inside of him again as he heard Jounouchi's shaky, "Y-Yami, why—why does he…?"

Stepping in front of Kaiba, Yami was startled—maybe even more so than Jounouchi—by what he saw. "I think I need to borrow the Millennium Puzzle for a little while," Yami told Yuugi before urgently adding, "but I need you to leave and take the others with you."

"Yami, what's going on? How did Kaiba-kun do that and why does he have—"

Interrupting Yuugi with a stern, "Aibou," he was pleased that it was enough to spur his light into swift action. Within moments, they were alone once again, but Yami wondered for how long as he wrapped the cold chain of the Millennium Item around his wrist. Pushing the concern aside, he focused on Kaiba once more as he tried to figure out what exactly had just happened.

Kaiba's mind felt as if it was enclosed in a heavy fog and he tried to shake his head to clear it without success. Looking down at Yami, Kaiba noticed with a start that the center of the Millennium Puzzle was glowing and he instinctively took a step back from it. "What did you do?" Kaiba demanded weakly, knowing that whatever had sent Bakura into the desk had to be connected with the Millennium Item. And why did Yami have it anyway?

Yami knew that he wasn't responsible for what happened to Bakura, but it didn't explain why the Millennium Puzzle had responded to Kaiba. He had a vague memory that he had entrusted it to Seto, albeit it with much protest from the high priest. It ensured that no one would question Seto's right to ascend the throne as pharaoh and it allowed Yami to continue protecting him even after his soul had been trapped inside of the Millennium Item. If Seto had used the Millennium Puzzle during his reign, could it be possible that it would respond to Kaiba's soul in this modern time?

Approaching Kaiba slowly, Yami braced himself for the backlash as he softly explained, "I didn't do anything, Seto."

"Then who the hell did?"

"You."

It was beyond Kaiba's comprehension why Yami would insist that he had anything to do with Bakura magically getting launched into a desk. Sure, he had raised his hand and pointed in his general direction, but Kaiba had pointed at plenty of people during duels and none of them had ever been sent flying off of the dueling platform. "No!" Kaiba denied, refusing to accept Yami's answer. "There's no way that was me! No fucking way!"

Realizing that words were never going to convince Kaiba, Yami reached up and started lightly tracing the golden glowing eye on the taller boy's forehead. Kaiba's immediate reaction was a wordless sound that was caught somewhere between pleasure and pain. "What the hell are you doing to me?" Kaiba demanded as he tried to pull away, but was held fast by Yami's other arm encircling his waist. It felt as if his very soul was being stroked and he tried to wrench himself free without success. All he had managed to do was somehow get himself pinned against the nearest wall, but he was powerless to do anything about it so long as Yami continued his torturous tracing of the glowing eye that Kaiba couldn't explain away.

Yami knew that time was against them and that classes would be starting any minute, but he couldn't resist the unexpected opportunity he had been presented. Capturing Kaiba's lips with his own, Yami was engulfed by the power surging through the reincarnated priest, causing him to draw on his own in response. Kaiba would have swore at the appearance of Yami's identical eye, but he was too distracted by the new sensations that were bombarding every sense as their unique energies began intertwining through their intimate connection for the first time in centuries. He would have gasped had he not feared severing the bond; there was no point in arguing against his intrigue when he realized he was feeling Yami in a way he had never experienced before. It would have been frightening had it not been for the fact it felt so undeniably right as the very fiber of his existence demanded more.

Driven to further the sensations, Kaiba started stripping Yami of his coat, shrugging out of his own as the favor was returned. Slipping his hands under Yami's untucked shirt, they both reacted to the spike in power that heightened their awareness of each other even further. The instant Yami's fingers brushed against his skin, Kaiba interrupted the kiss with a low moan of pure pleasure as he was overwhelmed by a dual awareness that he had no words to describe.

Even though the separation had been brief, it had been enough to disrupt the fragile link. Kaiba felt like he had been slammed into an invisible barrier and no matter how much he wanted to reestablish the connection, he could already feel it fading fast. Kaiba's vision was starting to blacken out around the edges and it was taking too much effort to remain conscious for him to devote to chasing an intangible feeling. His body felt too heavy and he sagged against the wall for support, too exhausted to stop himself from sliding down to the floor when his knees buckled under him. It was disorienting to come back into himself and he was already disliking that the warmth he had just been immersed in was being replaced by a hollow feeling that made him want to cry out at the loss.

Yami wasn't fairing much better and he crouched on the floor to look at Kaiba. His own body was trembling at the overexertion and he could feel his strength ebbing away as the Millennium Puzzle's light faded into nothing, taking with it the last traces of golden glow from their foreheads. He wanted to speak, but there weren't any words; their silence was filled with frustrated voices from outside that were arguing with each other.

"Will someone just go get a janitor? I'm sure he'll have the keys!"

"I'm telling you that the doors don't have locks, idiot!"

"If you're so smart, then why don't you explain how it's locked?"

"Does this school even have janitors?"

"What kind of door doesn't have a lock?"

"Just shut up and wait for the teacher to come, okay?"

In his haze, Yami wasn't sure if either him or Kaiba had somehow managed to barricade the door with their power, but it was clear that it was time for them to leave. Even though it had felt like a long stretch of time, it was becoming apparent that they could still make it to their next class. As much as he wanted to tell Kaiba to take them back to his place and further their explorations of what had just happened, he had his suspicions that they both would need time to recover from the spiritual exchange.

Kaiba was the first to stand, although he felt as if he was moving against gravity. He extended his hand to help Yami, half expecting another influx of exchange, but their connection lay dormant; somehow he was slightly disappointed. It took entirely too much effort to force his body to move, but he stubbornly fought against his sluggishness to recover his briefcase. "What the fuck was that?" he finally asked, careful to keep his voice unheard by the louder ones on the other side of the door.

"Wonderful?" Yami replied with a lazy smirk as he retrieved his own belongings.

"Smartass," Kaiba muttered, but there was no malice in the comment as he walked toward the exit. "We'll talk about this later."

Yami grinned broadly when he realized that Kaiba hadn't contradicted him. Stopping Kaiba just before they reached the door, Yami promised, "Later," faintly hoping that it would require a second demonstration. He was pretty sure he could convince Yuugi to lend him the Millennium Puzzle, although it would mean having to explain why he needed it…

It still felt as if something else needed to be said, but the bell announcing the start of the next class sounded. Sighing, Kaiba threw open the door and startled the bickering teenagers that were standing around and waiting. One of the brasher ones was about to say something until he realized who he was facing off with; a single icy look from Kaiba was enough to shut him up and get out of his way.

Following Kaiba out of the room, Yami walked beside him until they came to Yami's classroom. Kaiba still didn't have a clue what to say or even what to do, so he stood silently until Yami smiled up at him once again before slipping into the classroom. He was faintly aware of Jounouchi and Yuugi's exclamations, but he continued walking to his own classroom that was further down the hall. There really was no point in going since he sure as hell wasn't going to be able to concentrate on anything other than what had just happened, but at least it gave him time to try and figure out what he could on his own.

A/N: Definitely more fun to write than the last chapter. XD I definitely had more fun than I probably should have, but I blame Bakura entirely. Apparently he keeps trying to get me to develop plot points to keep this story going, but I must resist, haha.

Oh, Bakura. I'm normally not a big Thief Bakura x Priest Seto shipper (does that pairing even have a name? Corruptshipping or something if memory serves), but it seems that either my Bakura interpretation is seductively evil in all rights or else I've read one too many doujinshi where that was the side pairing. I like the psychology behind it, I suppose. Lest we forget, Thief Bakura steals Yami's dead father—if that doesn't scream, "Look at me, damn it!" I don't know what does. Stealing away the honored, respected father and desecrating the corpse falls under that theft category in my head, I guess.

I always thought that he was after the pharaoh, but it was only while writing this that I realized it really wasn't that far of a jump that he would notice the importance of Priest Seto and attempt to steal him away to use again the pharaoh. Now whether or not he was successful or not, that's a totally different story. But that's one way to get Kaiba to admit he wishes he remembered everything, ne?

As for Kaiba and the Millennium Puzzle, that's another thing that occurred to me while writing the chapter. It was originally given to Yami's father, then to Yami when he became pharaoh, and then we're shown Yami handing it over to Seto so that he could become the next pharaoh (Plus I liked the idea of Yami protecting Seto through it even after he was gone…). Thus in theory, the Millennium Puzzle wouldn't react solely to Yami since it would react to any pharaoh who had possession of it. Since Kaiba is a reincarnation and no part of his spirit is trapped inside of the Millennium Rod (that we know of; memories are different?), the Millennium Puzzle could possibly react to his desire to protect—even though Yami wasn't in harm's way, Kaiba's subconscious reaction to his position potentially being threatened could merit it.

Whether Bakura is serious or not I'll leave up to you for the time being. I'm inclined to lean toward Bakura being angry that he can't escape from the Millennium Ring and is acting out in an attempt to sabotage the pair and denying Yami the enjoyment of his body, but that's just the prideshipping purist in me railing against what I was implying. XD He came about this close to getting bitchslapped with Kaiba's briefcase (he is so fond of that in the manga), but I resisted the urge. And I swear I don't mean for Bakura to sexually harass every teacher, but it keeps happening, haha. I can only imagine what the teachers talk about in the staff room when it comes to that boy.

Yami's transfer: even though the thought of Arthur (Rebecca's grandfather) and Yuugi's grandfather grosses me out (those two are so weird together), it was useful here. We know that they both spent a lot of time in Egypt, so I finally figured out a way around Yami doesn't exist problem. I figured that Arthur lost at something to Jii-chan, so he called on a favor from a friend in Egypt that owed him a favor, thus resulting in transfer credentials. It also sets me up quite nicely for a post-story oneshot about (strip) tutoring… XD I know that it's been done before, but I'll be damned if I don't want to tackle it, too.

I so wanted to lemon this one out, but once again, it wasn't very realistic. Kaiba wouldn't be used to using any sort of power and I'd imagine launching a person into a desk would have been draining enough on its own. Plus there's that whole relocation aspect since even though the pair seem to be exhibitionists in my story, I couldn't really justify using magic to conceal their presence while they had mindblowing sex against a wall while a teacher and the students were oblivious in the same classroom. Nurses' office was out since that's where Honda and Jounouchi drug Bakura and the bathroom was just ewwww. There's always time for that later, I suppose.

NEXT CHAPTER: Resolutions

Kaiba and Yami finally get a chance to talk after the end of a long day.

And hey, I'm actually on time finally! Next chapter hopefully goes up next Sunday, so until then, please leave me your thoughts. The next chapter is most likely going to be the final one in this arc, so it'll be weird saying goodbye to it. But there's always the hope of oneshots, right? I still can't believe I made it this far, so thank you to everyone for all of your encouragement!