Author's Notes: Let's just say I don't like this chapter. Like, at all. Nothing flowed right and I considered scrapping it several times but I had no idea how to make it different. I almost considered just posting the next one, but some rather vital, albeit minor, things happen here and I have to include it in order for some later things to be understood. I know this chapter is just going to get ripped to shreds but it's okay, it's pretty bad. I know. I promise the next won't be as bad. My updates have slowed yet again thanks to school but I have other fics in the works as well. I will try to keep on a once weekly update schedule, it just may not be this fic. ^_O If I can't get an update up for the week then I am sorry. I hope I can get back on track again soon enough. Okay, that's all. You got your fair warning. So proceed with caution!

Unreal Truths

Chapter 16: Illness

Seto's POV

It felt good to finally be at home.

I looked around the mansion and just let my surroundings sink in, enjoying the smell of my home rather than the sterile stench of the hospital.

I would have been back sooner had it not been for a particularly bad infection taking hold several days after my operation and worsening my condition, making it incredibly hard to recover. Just when I thought I was getting better, the infection broke out once more and I got sick all over again.

At last the doctors had found a cocktail of antibiotics and medication that worked for me and I was finally able to get well enough that I was allowed to come home.

I heard Mokuba shut the door and walk in behind me and gently put his arm around my waist, "You doing okay Seto?"

I nodded stiffly and looked at the massive staircase that led up to the second story where my bedroom was and dreaded the effort it would take to get up there.

I scowled in disgust. When did climbing the stairs become something I took into deep consideration before doing?

Mokuba noticed my look and glanced up at me, "Nii-sama you should take one of the downstairs bedrooms until you fully recover."

I chewed on my lip as I looked at the stairs. I really didn't want to appear weak but then again I really didn't want to end up back in the hospital either. The only person who would see me struggle was Mokuba; was I really afraid of appearing weak to my little brother?

To be perfectly honest, yes.

"Well I will make the decision easy on you Seto." I was snapped out of my thoughts as Mokuba began to speak again. "All your things have already been moved to the large guest bedroom by the kitchen so you may as well just head right there and save us both the hassle."

I blinked and looked to my little brother in shock. I had never heard Mokuba speak that way before let alone to me.

Mokuba put his hands on his hips and nodded his head towards the hallway and I felt a small pang of sadness in my heart. I had to grow up so fast that I never got to enjoy my childhood and be a normal kid. I essentially became an adult when our parents died and I had to take guardianship of Mokuba. The last thing I had wanted was for him to go through the same thing I had and I tried my hardest to prevent that from happening.

Looking at him now though proved to me that my efforts had all been in vain. Mokuba would never get to enjoy being a normal teenage boy and it was all my fault.

"Right." I gave a gruff response and slowly made my way down the hall trying not to irritate my left side any further. My shirt was already doing a good enough job of that on its own.

I heard Mokuba moving around behind me as I opened the door to the room and eased myself down onto the bed.

"Do you need me to get you anything Seto? Food or something to drink?" Mokuba moved to stand in front of me and gave me a concerned look.

I slid my socks off and slowly made my way under the covers, "Maybe have Roland get me some water."

Mokuba nodded then gave me a very gentle hug, "I am just glad to have you home Nii-Sama. I want you to rest now okay? No getting out of bed unless you absolutely have to! Remember what the doctor said."

I scowled but said nothing. The doctor ordered that I not move from my bed for at least a week and no work for another three. I was going to go stir crazy but I knew if I didn't do exactly as the doctor said I would be facing the wrath of my younger brother.

"Alright Mokuba. I'll behave." I gave him a sly look and was gratified to see a smile grace his lips.

"You better Nii-sama or else you are going to be in BIG trouble!"

I scoffed, "As if that doctor could really do anything."

Mokuba shook his head laughing, "I meant me Seto." He grinned and let go of me straightening up, "I'll have Roland bring you that water while I go get some more work done okay?"

"Alright Mokuba, just don't push yourself too hard." Now there was a case of hypocrisy if I ever heard one and Mokuba's look in return told me he thought the same thing. Oh well, I didn't want my little brother to end up like me. Sad but true.

He shook his head but the smile never faded from his face, "I have been doing this for over a month now Seto. Three more weeks isn't going to hurt me." His eyes met mine and his smile widened further, "Just focus on getting better Nii-Sama, that's all I ask."

Giving a small sigh I nodded to Mokuba, "I will."

He gave me a satisfactory nod and walked out the door.

Once he was out earshot I turned my head to the opposite corner of the bedroom and cocked an eyebrow, "Can't leave me alone for more than 5 minutes can you?"

I was answered with a chuckle as Atem's opaque form came away from the shadows, "Is that a problem Seto?"

I rolled my eyes but smiled as the former Pharaoh crawled onto my bed with a feline-like grace, "Not really." I shuddered slightly as Atem curled himself up gracefully beside me on the bed.

I sighed as he tried to rest his hands on mine but instead it went right through, "It would be nicer if I could get my hands on you."

He grinned, "Now now Seto, remember what happened the last time we had physical contact."

"Yeah you gave Yugi mono." I deadpanned, eliciting a chuckle from the former king.

"Yeah, Aibou is going to the doctor today to find out what's wrong." He gave me a sly smirk.

"You mean you haven't told him?"

Atem gave a small shrug, "He didn't ask my opinion."

I couldn't help but roll my eyes and smile, "He's going to find out eventually you know."

"Oh I know, I would just like to delay the yelling session as long as humanly possible. I kind of like being able to hear out of both ears."

I laughed and was about to give a smart ass response when I heard footsteps approaching.

Atem looked to the doorway then to me and I whispered, "Roland."

He gave me a quick nod before his body slowly faded out of view, "I'll be back Seto. I Promise."

I let out a small sigh as Roland walked in and handed me a glass of water and a bottle of pills, "Here you go master Seto. You need anything else?"

"No. That will be all Roland. Thank you." I watched as he left then scowled down at the pill bottle before twisting the top off and popping one into my mouth.

Yami probably wouldn't be back for awhile so I pulled the covers up over my head and let out a groan. I may as well make an attempt to relax. It wasn't like Mokuba was going to give me much choice in the matter anyways.

I must have been more tired than I thought because it wasn't long before I slipped off into a deep sleep.

Yugi's POV

I walked back into the game shop slowly, my steps sluggish and feet dragging against the floor. I was absolutely exhausted and now thanks to my visit to the doctor I knew why.

I had mononucleosis. Yeah that's right, mono.

I made my way through the back entrance and into the house, my eyes set firmly ahead. I had one goal in mind and that was to get to bed.

"What did the doctor say Yugi?"

I looked over to the couch where my grandpa sat reading the paper.

"He said I have mono."

My grandpa cocked an eyebrow, "The kissing disease? How in the world did you get the kissing disease? Is there something you're not telling me Yugi?"

I gave a frustrated grumble, "No grandpa. I don't know how I got it." Though I do have a sneaking suspicion.

"Well go rest up Yugi. Don't want you to end up like that Kaiba boy."

I rolled my eyes, "Okay gramps." I continued walking to the stairway and grabbed the railing using as a support to haul my exhausted body up to my room.

I don't think I have ever been happier to see my bed before in my life.

"Ah bed!" I fell face forward onto my pillow and smiled.

"What did the doctor say Aibou?"

I lifted my head to find the semi-transparent form of Atem perched on the edge of my desk. He was looking at me with an intense gaze, his back straight and head held high showing his regality. The whole effect was sort of spoiled though by the leather arm bands and collar.

"Well, it's a funny story Atem." I gave him a fake quizzical look as I sat up on the bed.

"What do you mean Aibou?"

"I am so glad you asked." I crossed my legs and sat Indian style on the bed and folded my arms.

He cocked his head to the side and I continued on, "Well you see, the doctor said I have mono."

His eyes widened in concern, "Are you okay?"

"Oh yeah I am just peachy. I feel exhausted all the time and my throat is so sore it hurts to do pretty much anything involving my vocal chords. But besides that I am just great."

"I am so sorry Yugi…" He looked at me with a pitying glance.

I was so not buying this act he was putting on and so I continued on my tirade, "Now, the funny thing about mono is that most people catch it by exchanging saliva with someone who is infected and that's why they call it the kissing disease." I looked at him and I swore I saw him pale a little bit. Bingo.

"And, as you know my dear yami, I don't have any girlfriends let alone any who have mono. So I thought to myself, how could I possibly get mono? The only person I have been exposed to who has had mono was Kaiba and as much as I just love Seto Kaiba, I'm not going to go around kissing him."

Atem was looking at me with his eyes slightly wide and his posture now gone on the defensive.

"I was thoroughly puzzled for awhile until I remembered that you borrowed my body for awhile to 'talk' to Kaiba. You two didn't happen to do anything more than talk did you." I cocked an eyebrow and waited for him to respond.

Atem swallowed several times and opened his mouth then shut it before sliding off the desk, "Aibou listen..."

"Oh GOD!" My eyes widened in horror. I had the sneaking suspicion that he and Kaiba had something going on but having it confirmed just blew my mind. "You kissed Kaiba? KAIBA?" I suddenly had the urge to run to the bathroom and wash my mouth out with soap. No scratch that, draino would be more effective.

"Yugi calm down! It's-"

I interrupted him and fought the burning in my throat to give him hell, "Calm down? CALM DOWN? You kissed Kaiba! Kaiba! Of all the people to be gay with you had to pick KAIBA?"

"It's not like I randomly picked him out of a crowd!" The first hints of anger were leaking into the former Pharaoh's voice and it threw me off. I never heard Atem take that tone before. Well okay, maybe once or twice when he was dealing with Bakura, but it was never directed at me.

That only served to make me even more pissed off. He had no right to be angry! I was the one who had my body taken over so he could flirt with Kaiba!

"Yami-" I was cut off as he continued on.

"Seto and I are merely continuing a relationship that began 3,000 years ago Yugi. You can't begrudge us that."

I gave him a glare, "I can if it means you are using my body to make out with each other!"

I saw a spark of anger in his eyes and he opened his mouth to speak but I didn't let him continue on, "You took over my body to meet your own needs and didn't even tell me about it let alone give me a choice! You're no better than Bakura if you did stuff like that!" I saw the hurt in his eyes and felt slightly bad about my choice of wording. "Okay I'm sorry; I guess that was a little out of line. I mean you two only kissed, it's not like you had sex or anything." I forced a smile and looked down at the millennium puzzle.

Let's just say that in a million years I would not have anticipated what happened next.

Atem was silent for an awful long time and I looked up with a puzzled expression on my face, "Something wrong Atem?" I felt my heart race as I saw the extremely guilty look on his face, "A…Atem…y…you didn't…you didn't have sex with Kaiba…did you? Oh please tell me you didn't!"

He swallowed and wrung his hands together, "Aibou…"

That was the only answer I needed, "You had sex with Kaiba….in my body…"

I didn't know how to feel. My mind seemed to have shut down to protect me from the reality of what Atem had just told me.

He had used my body to have sex with Kaiba. Sex. With Kaiba.

I took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly. Things were about to get very ugly very fast.

"Yugi listen. I am so sorry. I couldn't tell you though! You wouldn't understand."

"Understand?" Even I was surprised by the even and unshaken tone of my voice. "Of course I wouldn't understand. You used my body to have sex with another man. I lost my virginity and I don't even remember it." I slowly picked up the puzzle and took it off. I didn't even want to look at the damn thing right now.

"I'm so so sorry Aibou. I really didn't think. Just seeing Seto sparked memories between us and I..." His voice trailed off as he saw the deadly look I was giving him.

I took in several deep breaths and attempted to calm myself down. Getting into a shouting match with the former pharaoh was only going to serve to make things worse on us both especially with me being ill.

I held up my hand for silence and luckily for him he complied. If I could just let this sink in and breathe everything would be okay. I just needed to calm down.

"I can't believe you betrayed me like that." I clutched the puzzle so tightly my hands began to hurt. "How could you?" My voice cracked as the first bit of emotion started to come through.

"Yugi-"

I shook my head and held my hand up again, "Just…let me think."

He nodded and I closed my eyes, counted to ten and thought my way through the situation.

Okay, so getting mad about something that happened in the past was not going to help me any. Would I have been angrier if I had found out earlier, while it was happening? The answer would have most definitely been yes. Would it have been better if he told me? Or maybe if he had asked? No and no.

I sighed and ran my fingers through my hair. I guess if there was a best case scenario for this situation this would be it.

Looking at Atem I let my shoulders slump before looking down at the golden item in my lap.

"Think of it this way Aibou, at least I didn't make you bottom."

Way to take me from nice and calm to instantly irritated again. I shot him a deadly look and he swallowed.

"Yugi I-" His eyes widened and he was cut off as the millennium puzzle came soaring towards him and he gave a grunt of pain as it nailed him directly in the chest.

Woa, okay. Hold on. Hit him? I blinked in shock, my previous anger quelled once more.

Atem looked even more shocked than I was as he looked down to the millennium item sitting contently in its former owner's lap.

"What the…" I walked over to him and gently pushed my hand against his shoulder and gave a squeak of surprise when my hand met resistance.

"Yugi…" He looked at me and I swallowed.

"You're solid…"

He nodded and I gave a wicked grin, "Good because that means I can do this!"

He let out an embarrassing squeal as I gave him a none too gentle shove and he went crashing to the floor, "That's for using my body to have sex with Kaiba you horny bastard!"

He grumbled and slowly got to his feet, the puzzle laying on the ground and his body now transparent again, "What the hell Yugi!"

I crossed my arms and smirked but my expression turned puzzled again, "You're not solid now."

He blinked and looked down at his body, "Huh….weird…" He looked at me then we both looked at the puzzle.

It sat there by my bookshelf, the sun glinting off the eye in the middle.

"You think it was the puzzle Aibou?"

"Only one way to find out." I nodded towards it, "Go pick it up."

He gave me a look then walked over and slowly reached down.

My eyes widened in absolute disbelief when his fingers brushed against the millennium puzzle and his body became whole.

He looked at me and pulled his hand away and his body went opaque once more.

"Well I'll be damned…" I almost laughed in my disbelief, "This is amazing."

"I know…" Atem grabbed the puzzle and this time put it around his neck, his body looking the same as it had 3,000 years ago.

I walked over to him and laughed as he flinched, "I'm not going to hit you." I gave him a huge hug and allowed a massive grin to grow on my face.

"This is a huge breakthrough Aibou!" He looked at me then cupped the puzzle in his hands, "I wonder how…"

"Does it matter?" I gave a joyous laugh and hugged him yet again, "You're back and that's all that matters!"

He smiled and rubbed my back gently, "Does this mean you're not mad about Seto and I anymore?"

"I'm still pissed but I'll get over it." I gave him a smug look, "Plus, now with this new development you can have sex with Kaiba in your own body," I crossed my arms and muttered, "And maybe give yourself mono while you're at it."

Atem's eyes widened as this fact dawned on him and I rolled my eyes.

He looked at the door then at me and I sighed and pointed at it, "Just go!"

He gave me a thankful look and gave a gracefully scurry towards the exit, "I'll be back later Aibou."

"Yeah, yeah I know." I ran my fingers through my hair as I watched him leave and shook my head in disbelief. I may not have let on how much him being able to be solid affected me but it did so greatly.

I was determined now more than ever to figure out what was going on and make sure no evil forces were behind it.

That was usually my kind of luck after all. Something good happens and it goes all to hell in a hand basket a week later.

Welcome to the wonderful life of Yugi Mutou.

I groaned and crawled into my bed. Now that all the excitement had wore off I realized how tired I really was.

I would start figuring out this new phenomenon tomorrow.

As for right now? Sleep sounded like a much better idea.