Well, it looks like this chapter is a bit shorter than the last. I've been having issues with inspiration, so updates are taking awhile, but this one needed one. Please don't forget to tell me how good/bad, they are. Flames are accepted, for I am a poor college student who cannot afford the heating bills. I feel like I'm forgetting something. Oh well! Enjoy!

~The Apathetic Empath~

Seto was surprised to find himself wrenched from the scene of the sobbing blond and onto a path of blue orchids and roses. He looked down, seeing a beautiful silver trail beneath him, wondering just where this was meant to lead. Being human, his curiosity got the better of him and he found his feet leading him down the path and to something that strongly resembled the Magician of Faith. He might have been ready to dismiss this as a simple hallucination if he wasn't dead. Next to her stood the Mystical Elf, already in the middle of a chant. Behind them was a figure whom resembled Change of Heart, meant to judge a soul's purity and then either allow it to pass into Paradise or be damned to spend an eternity in the Underworld.

"Seto Kaiba... It is not your time to die." The Magician of Faith looked upon him with dark eyes and a soft expression. "My colleague is in the middle of a chant that will allow you to return to the Other World. Because of the life you had left, we have chosen a special punishment for you. It is a gift as well as a curse. Now I shall translate my colleague's chant so that you may understand:

"By the earth and by the sea

Emotionless so you shall be

A great gift from you we take

But give you something in its place

Emotion of others you will know

This is the gift we shall bestow

You are the Apathetic Empath

So it shall be."

Seto was not being subtle about the fact that he was annoyed. He wanted that stupid witch to shut up and let him pass. Listening to the chant made him wonder just what exactly they were making him into until it was revealed in the last two parts of the chant. Apathetic Empath? How original. All he wanted was simply to move on to the Underworld, seeing as he was almost certain that his soul was meant to be damned.

They watched him for a moment before the Maigcian of Faith used a few tears to revive him. She was amused by his parting expression, and she turned to the Mystical Elf, letting out a happy laugh. He needed another chance to find his reason. He needed to realize that there was a certain part of his life that he was meant for. His job raising Mokuba was nearly done, but there was someone else waiting for him. Now Seto would know Jou's feelings for him, but until he promised himself to Jounouchi the same way that other had promised himself to always love Kaiba, he would remain without emotion.

Seto saw everything swirling around him, a rather trippy mixture, until finally it faded into darkness. His mind was blank and he was at peace. This wasn't death... It was sleep! His eyes moved back and forth under their lids. Any discoloration that his body undertook within the past week disappeared, and soon Seto opened his eyes. Cobalt stared into honey orbs, no feeling in them whatsoever. The absence of any sort of passion in the brunet's eyes made Jou shiver. Being as slow as he was, it was another moment before it dawned on him that the supposedly dead CEO had just suddenly snapped his eyes open as if he had been sleeping the whole time.

Jou's eyes widened as he stared at the other teen, who was now stretching and sitting up in his casket. He felt the tears coming a bit faster, surprised by what had just happened. The only thing that he could conclude was that this was all some dream, or maybe a nightmare, that he really needed to wake up from. There was no way that this was all really happening. This had to be some desire that Jou's heart had formed after he'd been told about Seto's suicide.

When Seto brushed Jou's hand, he felt a strong jolt that threw him backwards. His eyes widened as something strong coursed through his veins, but he couldn't place the emotion. It was something that Kaiba was familiar with, but hadn't felt since his father died. He stared for a moment at the blond and then sat back up with a glare. He didn't want to be back Why had they sent him back?

"What are you crying about Mutt?" Cobalt eyes looked the other teen up and down with skepticism, waiting for him to realize what had just happened to Seto. He had to laugh at the comical way that Jou's eyes bulged out of his head as what would be considered a 'dead man' rose from his casket. He wondered just how Jou was going to take this whole situation. He knew that he wasn't doing to well with it because it defied all logic, but something told him that this was far beyond his comprehension.

He hopped out of the casket, and as he did, the blond fell backwards onto his butt, still wide-eyed. He smiled, squatting down over the blond with a smirk. Jou looked scared out of his wits. Seto waited for the pleasure that he took in teasing Jou to surface, but it never came. He frowned, wondering just what was wrong with him. Perhaps disappointment? He waited once more, but no feelings surfaced. All Seto felt was emptiness unless... His eyes widened, and he touched Jou again. He could feel everything that the blond did: love, hope, heartbreak, and sadness. Why couldn't he feel anything on his own? As he let go, he felt Jou's different emotions continuing to channel into his body. Apparently the Magician and the Elf had been real.

He shook his head, trying to get a better grip on this reality. He felt his world spinning out of control around him. Seto preferred to be in control, and he needed to get his grip on life back. What the hell was going on? He looked down at the blond, holding out a hand now to help him up. Jou took it cautiously.

Seto let out a sigh, about to turn around when suddenly he felt two well-toned arms wrapping around his thin frame. Jou was hugging him, and Seto didn't really appreciate it. He went to push the smaller male away from him, not wanting to accept the hug. As far as he was concerned, the stupid mutt had no right to touch him.

There was no annoyance or irritation. There was a hole where he was meant to react to the odd series of events. All that the cold hearted CEO could feel was a longing to remember the emotions that he was suddenly missing. Perhaps he should keep the blond around as his own personal high. Making contact with Jou was the only time that the lingering hole disappeared.

Jou was looking up at him oddly, as if trying to read what he was thinking. The pup was chilled to the bone by the lack of depth in the other's eyes. Although Seto had always had the personality of an ice cube, one could usually figure out at least a smidgeon of what was going on in that brilliant mind by peering into the deep ceruleans.

Seto pushed him off, though Jou noticed that he seemed unsure. There was something about Seto that was definitely different... missing. Jou shivered, feeling a chill from the expressionless orbs now gazing at him. He decided to be stubborn as usual, tightening his grip while the CEO tried to push him away once more. Jou wasn't going to let it happen again, not now that he had the one he loved back. He was living the dream of any person who had ever lost a loved one.

Mokuba had now made his way back in, having waited by the door to receive everyone's parting words before going back to say his last goodbyes to his brother before the burial. Instead of finding the room empty and his brother's body resting in the casket he had picked, he saw Jou hugging Seto while the elder looked on indifferently. His eyes went wide, and as many might expect from someone who had literally just seen a ghost, he fainted.

Seto looked over, waiting for something to wash over him: worry or even love. Neither of the two came. He knew that it was going to take some time for him to get used to this whole not being able to feel thing. It was already bugging him because he couldn't remember how to feel love for his brother. Jou's worry washed over Seto, and he had to act on the aftereffects of that, running over to his brother.

Seto knelt down next to Mokuba, who was now starting to come to. Two violet eyes began to open, and soon widened when Mokuba saw who was holding him. In an instant, his arms were around Seto, and he began balling his eyes out, not sure what to think or believe. Seto gave an empty smile, but that was enough for Mokuba. The younger Kaiba wrapped his arms around his older brother, hugging him close.

"Promise you won't leave again!" It was not a question, but a statement.

"I promise Mokuba," came a voice void of passion. Mokuba smiled up at him, as if he already knew what was the matter. The two had always been close, and they had a very good sense of each other. Mokuba was the only person that Seto never shut himself off to. Now he was also thinking that perhaps Jou deserved a chance, but something else told him that the only reason he thought that was because he would gain something.