Original Yu-Gi-Oh Series
Parallel
Chapter 074
Originally Written: Saturday, May 7, 2022 338PM to 429PM
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Seto wanted to ask what Joey was thinking when he gave Yami his own body. Did he have any idea of what he did? If things went well they really could win. If things went wrong, Yami could die. He wouldn't die physically, but having his soul sent back to the puzzle would certainly kill him.
Magic came easily to Yami in his new form. He quickly learned from Shadi or revised old, forgotten techniques that came to his mind like vague memories. He instinctively toned the intensity of it down, as though he knew he should hide until he was used to the change. He continued examining everything around him, even if he had examined or seen it before. He looked at everything with what Joey thought was a sense of fascination. Duke almost caught on that it wasn't just a sense of fascination, but couldn't tell what else it was. Seto guessed Duke would have figured it out if he had spent any amount of significant time with Namu or Ishizu, but he had not. Seto and Shadi however, knew it was something different.
No one called out to Yami that his soul had changed so much that he no longer subconsciously thought of himself as a Pharaoh. Shadi said he should have appeared wearing his old clothes when he was king, as that was what he died wearing. Yugi's shirt and school blazer, and Joey's old jeans looked good on him. Somehow he made them fit with the sandals he wore as a Pharaoh. They had to spend a few days trailing behind him, however. Yami would slip out the shoes and start walking around barefoot without noticing.
Seto clutched the Millennium Rod in his grasp like it was a lifeline. The gold shined and glimmered against his black suit. It didn't take him long to find Yami. He had moved a stool to a window, and was staring out at it. Sweat lined his brow from training. His purple eyes shined with amusement. He hummed an old tune Seto remembered, but knew he didn't learn this lifetime.
Yami looked in his direction before he took his second step in the room. "You need something."
Seto stared. He wasn't sure if it was amazement, or something else. He fidgeted with the rod in his hands. Joey broke through the confines of the laws of magic. The same laws of magic Yami used to lock the greatest darkness in the universe away until he could come up with a way to properly defeat it nearly 5 millennia ago. Seto knew that Joey had no idea he broke through a literal Demi-God's magic, solely because said Demi-God was his friend, become lover.
Seto remembered and knew of every step before this point that the Pharaoh needed to take in order to regain his body. Joey told the universe that he didn't care. Joey told the Gods who created Yami that they weren't going through all that. And he lived through it. Mokuba would say Joey told them to "Get on board, or get out the way."
If Joey could do that, Seto wondered what he could do. He took a chance, and focused. A golden eye glowed on his forehead. Magic from the Millennium Rod flowed through his veins.
"Why are you-...?" Yami looked at him in confusion. His hands reached up to massage his temples.
Another way then. The millennium key appeared, floating before Yami. Seto waited. Yami took it. Joey wouldn't mind. It was his anyway. The item glowed. Yami set it on his lap.
Magic strained and objected to Seto's advances. He took his time. Searching, looking. He found something useful, and put that in his mental notebook. He pushed himself to remain standing, as the magic pushed him down. He hoped to finish before Duke and Joey sensed anything.
He sensed Shadi first. Shadi blocked the doorway, and erected a barrier along the exit. Then his soul hovered. Watching. Waiting. Judging.
Seto dropped to the knees, gasping when he was done. Yami jumped to his feet, and stumbled over to him. The millennium key dropped to the ground with a clang. Yami nearly tripped over it. Seto gasped, as Yami hovered over him. He dropped the Millennium Rod and pressed his hands to his chest as he gasped for air.
"Seth!" Yami dropped to his knees in front of him. "Are you alright?" Yami's hands glowed. He wasn't good at healing, but he could get by.
Seto kept his head bowed, processing the information he found. "Y-yes." He murmured.
"Before the Gods pass judgment, let it be known that I approve not of either of your actions. The both of you are insane." Shadi seemed to whine in amazement. "Was such insanity worth you finding what you were looking for, Priest?"
Seto smiled. Then he laughed. It was strong, and confident. The kind of laugh Seto hadn't done in years. "I am a Kaiba. Fuck your rules. Kaiba's make their own."
Yami blinked in surprise. Seto looked up at him. Yami chuckled. "That you are."
"My Pharaoh." Seto nodded, "It is my honor to let you know that your name is Atem. Pharaoh Atem."
Shadi covered his ears, even though it was already too late. "Let it be known I am not the one who said that, nor do I approve of Priest Seth saying it."
"You should think outside the box more, Shadi." Seto looked at Yami. "The Gods wouldn't punish you for my actions. I wouldn't let them anyway." He mused.
'Even when you were a priest, you never followed traditional conventions.' Shadi seemed to mope in resignation.
Yami stared. His arms dropped from Seto's shoulders. He tested the name on his lips. It came to him easily, to his confusion, until he thought of why. Then he laughed. "Isn't that..My name is 'King' in Japanese." He laughed harder, hunching over. Tears streamed down his face as he laughed. His laugh turned to frantic sobbing.
Seto looked at Joey and Duke. Both stood in the other doorway. He looked back at Yami. "It's a good name, My Pharaoh. It fits nicely with 'Yugi'."
Yami's sobs increased with intensity, but they stopped being so frantic, switching to something like relief. Joey entered the room, and wrapped his arms around Yami from behind. Duke followed and put a hand on his shoulder. He told Yami that he liked the name as well, silly as Yami thought it was.
It took time, but eventually Yami calmed. He looked up and wiped the tears from his eyes. He straightened his back, and looked at Seto in the eyes. He took another deep calming breath. "Thank you, cousin. I know what to do now."