Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!

You think things will go well with Yuto and Seto?

Chapter 3: The Truth Comes Out

Mitsuko came home a couple hours later, a happy smile on her face as she recalled how sweetly Seto had kissed her on the doorstep and had wished her good night. I think this will work, all I have to do is convince Yuto.

"Oka-san! You're finally home!" Mamoru cried as he ran down the steps and hugged her.

"I told you I'd be home later, didn't I? Don't you trust me?"

"I do, but Yuto got me all worried when he said you might not be safe, which is why you hung up on him!"

She sighed and went up the steps, calling out, "Mutou Yuto! What kind of things have you been telling your brother?"

Yuto, who sat on a couch with a scowl on his face, shook his head. "All I said was you wouldn't have hung up like that if you weren't in trouble. You never just hang up like that on us."

She shook her head and crossed her arms. "You know saying stuff like that scares your brother! I hung up because I was busy! You weren't going to let me go easy, and it's rude to stay on the phone when you're spending time with friends! Now apologize to your brother for frightening him!"

He turned his eyes and smiled warmly at his brother. "Sorry for scaring you, Mamoru. Oka-san's fine, see?"

Mamoru clung to Mitsuko's side and pouted. "Don't do it again!"

"Okay."

Mitsuko nodded and sat down. Having such a serious child who always assumes the worst is a pain sometimes. "Now you two, I want you to understand something: Unless it's an emergency, if I'm out, please don't call me. I'm usually busy with friends. I could've been with Mai or Jonouchi."

Mamoru nodded immediately and chirped, "Okay, Oka-san!"

Yuto only questioned, "Who were you with, Oka-san?"

She sat back and smiled fondly. "I was spending time with Kaiba Seto."

The tan skinned boy sat forward. "So you are dating him?! Everyone says he's such a jerk!"

"Who's everyone, Yuto?" she asked with her eyebrows raised.

"I saw him the night he came! He was a jerk to Amelda-san!"

"Yuto, he was celebrating his victory. It was his game face, not who he truly was. He gave Yugi-oji-san a job, right? He's a really good person when he's not playing cards."

"And who's this 'Damiri Atem' Valon-san mentioned? Is he a friend? Why haven't I seen him, then?"

She sighed and lowered her head. I knew he'd get to that question, even if he was eavesdropping. "I think you're old enough to know about this. Damiri Atem…he's…" She paused and bit her lip. "He's your father."

She took out her wallet and went to the second-to-last picture, behind all the ones of her friends and family. She slid it out of its sleeve and showed it to her sons. "This is him."

It was a picture of her and Atem before Bakura's attack. His arm was around her waist and she grinned, holding up her hand in a victory sign, and he was looking at her with a fond smile. Mamoru gasped and looked to his twin. "You look just like Otou-san, Yuto!"

"Everyone who knows about him has told me that, especially Oka-san!" Yuto growled softly. He then softened his tone a bit when he looked at his mother again. "Why isn't he here with us, Oka-san? He looks at you with such love in that picture."

"Well, things aren't so simple as he just lost interest and left. You see that pendant I have around my neck in the picture?"

The two boys studied it and nodded together.

"That is an Ancient Egyptian artifact that Jii-chan found in a pharaoh's tomb. It didn't look that way when Yu-nii and I found it when we were seven years old. It was in a box and shattered in pieces, going by the name of the Millennium Puzzle."

Mamoru sat closer, enraptured by the story, while Yuto tapped his finger, waiting for her to get to the point.

"We decided to take turns trying to complete it, and, eight years later, we were still trying, when we were sophomores in high school. When it was my turn to try, Jonouchi stole the box full of pieces from me, throwing it into the school pool. I wasn't much of a swimmer back then, so I almost drowned when I only reached the center piece with the eye on it. When I thought my life was over, I felt a presence beside me, bringing me up to the surface. To this day I believe the spirit of the Millennium Puzzle spared my life so I could fulfill my destiny."

"Wait," Yuto interrupted, a confused light in his eyes. "What do you mean, Jonouchi-san threw it into the school pool? I thought you were friends with him."

"Back then, Jonouchi and Honda often bullied Yu-nii and me. They weren't our friends until both of us decided to protect them from Ushio-san, the meanest school monitor in Domino High. He saw what Jonouchi had done to Yu-nii and me, and decided to exact revenge for us, charging us two hundred thousand yen each. If we didn't pay, he'd kill us."

Mamoru whimpered and murmured, "Who saved you? Jonouchi-san? Honda-san? Anzu-san?"

Mitsuko shook her head. "Jonouchi and Honda were too weak from being beaten up, and neither of us wanted to trouble Anzu. As we walked home, a poster telling about an Egyptian exhibit at the museum caught our eyes. To try and get our minds off of our impending doom, we went there, only to find a sarcophagus with a strange hole on the top. The archeologists who'd discovered it were unable to open it, for it was sealed by non-conventional means and they didn't want to damage the priceless artifact. I noticed the hole was the same shape as the very piece of the Millennium Puzzle I'd grabbed from the bottom of the pool earlier that afternoon. Yugi covered me while I placed the piece into the hole, and a bright light surrounded us, only for a deep voice say in a language that I didn't understand at the time, but now I do:

" 'You who hold the pieces of the Millennium Puzzle, will be able to awaken the pharaoh's spirit within... Take him from this imprisonment and grant him his only wish...'

"The light faded just enough for me to see someone inside the opened coffin, and Yu-nii helped me lift the body out. The light faded and the sarcophagus closed again, and I took the piece back. He seemed to be in a deep sleep, so we carried him back here and put him onto my bed. He wore clothes of a pharaoh, tanned skin, gold on many places. Yu-nii had to step out for a moment and deal with a customer who'd come into the game shop—"

"Oka-san, you mean you stole a body from a sarcophagus that you opened with a piece of the Millennium Puzzle and heard a strange voice say for you to take it? That was stealing museum property!" Yuto protested.

"That was twelve years ago, Yuto. What could we do? Let scientists have him to prod at? I'm sure he would've loved that," Mitsuko said while rolling her eyes. "Get real."

Mamoru tugged on her sleeve. "What happened next?"

"As I waited, I worked on completing the Millennium Puzzle, my thoughts wandering. I pleaded for someone to help me and Yu-nii as I pushed in the last piece. It surprised me, just as the eye of the Puzzle zoomed up at me, and I fell, into what looked like an ancient tomb. I heard a voice call to me, asking who I was, and I turned to see the pharaoh standing behind me. He was surprised to find me here as I was to be there, and he asked me if I was a goddess to guide him to his spirit home. I told him I was only a normal teenager. He didn't understand what I meant with my modern words, so I had to explain in simpler terms. When he understood, he asked if I was there to draw him from the Millennium Puzzle, since I wouldn't be here unless I'd completed it. I told him I was, then I asked what his name. I'll never forget how he said it:

" 'I am Pharaoh Atem, son of Pharaoh Aknamkanon.'

"I then brought him out of the Millennium Puzzle to where his body lay. I woke myself to find Yu-nii shaking me, who'd thought I'd died when I'd hit the floor. We were both surprised when he rose from the bed, looking around the room, only to kneel in front of me when he saw me. He said to me:

" 'Mitsuko, you have saved me from an eternity in the dark depths of the Millennium Puzzle. For such a selfless act, I will bestow the highest honor I can to you: you will be my queen.' "

She paused, seeing Mamoru with his mouth wide open in awe, while Yuto was still frowning, his arms crossed.

"This has to be something you made up, Oka-san. Him an Ancient Egyptian Pharaoh whose soul you drew out of an artifact you completed? And his body was preserved enough that it didn't look like a mummy? Just what myths have you read to make this 'historically accurate'?"

"Yuto, I'm not making it up. You can ask Yu-nii, Jii-chan or any of my other friends, even Kaiba-kun. It's fact: I reawakened Pharaoh Atem, whose soul resided in the Millennium Puzzle, a magical pendant made over three thousand years ago. He hadn't told me the specifics on why his soul was sealed inside it or what might've threatened Egypt during his reign, just that he needed to be reawakened so he could have a second chance at life. Now I'm going to continue my story.

"I was dumbfounded by the fact he wanted me to be his queen. My mind couldn't quite grasp it, but then Yu-nii interrupted, asking me what Atem had just said. It was then I realized Yu-nii couldn't understand what Atem had said to me, so he had to be speaking his native tongue, Ancient Egyptian. So we had to have a bond through the Millennium Puzzle, a bond of souls. I told Yu-nii a rough translation, only for Atem to prompt me for an answer to his proposal. I told him I had to think about it.

"It was then that Jii-chan came into the room, only for him and Atem to start talking to each other. I don't know how Jii-chan learned a dead language, but it was probably part of the reason why he was able to get the Millennium Puzzle in the first place. I could only understand what Atem was saying, so I only got half the conversation. He called Jii-chan 'Siamun', which I learned later was the name of his advisor back in his first life. Most of it I didn't quite get, just that he was going to learn about this day and age, and he was going to stay with us. Jii-chan and Yu-nii left to prepare dinner, when I realized that with all this, I'd forgotten about the deadline Ushio-san had given Yu-nii and me on paying him. Atem felt my sick fear and asked me what the matter was. I told him about the mess we'd gotten into, and he vowed to protect me.

"That night, we went to the school to meet Ushio-san, and Atem played what he called a 'Shadow Game'. Ushio-san broke the rules, so Atem gave him a 'Penalty Game', which caused him to see nothing but money, as it was his greed which drove him to bully Yu-nii and me. As far as I know, he never recovered from it.

"Many more troubles came to me that Atem had to protect me from, some of which affected me more than others. We often argued about how I wanted to run my life. He wanted us to get married right away, but I told him I wasn't even thinking about it until I went through college and became an astronomer. He tried bribery, but this made me so mad I stopped talking to him for a full week. Then on our first date, we got into another argument, where I stopped speaking to him again because he didn't seem to understand girls in my time at all. I avoided him like the plague, actually making good friends with Kaiba-kun, who'd been curious about me from the moment he'd found out about me. I met his younger brother Mokuba-kun, who actually accused me of dating Kaiba-kun when I clearly wasn't seeing anyone.

"When I explained it to him, he and I became friends and he asked me to come over to the Kaiba Mansion to play some games. I defeated him in almost every one of them, but I sensed someone watching us the whole time. When I was guided to a room to sleep that night, I found the second Millennium Item I'd ever encountered: the Millennium Rod. It was then that my watcher intercepted me, thinking I was going to take it. Eventually I figured out his identity: High Priest Set, one of six magicians who once served under Atem.

"I made peace with Atem eventually, and…it was around that time you two came about."

She twiddled her thumbs and turned red, then shook her head. "Jii-chan was furious that Atem hadn't waited until we'd graduated and gotten married, but Atem thought it was a miracle and calmed him down. I wasn't pleased either, but I got used to the idea as the time of your birth came ever closer. Set-kun often came to help, since you two were the most violent babies I'd ever heard of. You broke three of my ribs with your kicking. When you were born, the look on Atem's face was priceless: he looked like he'd seen the sun for the first time, in awe and complete joy. It was love at first sight for both of us with you. He called you his heir, Yuto, since you were born first. He named you, while I named you, Mamoru. Atem swore he'd support me through the time between your birth and our marriage after we graduated from high school.

"But…halfway through our senior year…a new student transferred into our class…invited us to play a game in his apartment…and…the worst happened."

She stopped and curled upon herself, pressing her forehead to her knees as she wrapped her arms around her shins. Mamoru held her tight and cried, "You don't have to tell us, Oka-san! It must've scared you a lot! More than anything that scares us!"

Yuto touched her shoulder and asked, "Is it really that scary, Oka-san? You're not scared of anything."

She looked up at him and nodded. "After what happened, I was never the same again. It frightened Atem, so much that when we graduated, a month before our wedding, he left me and never came back."

"He ran away and abandoned us because he was scared of what happened to you, Oka-san? What about his promise?! Did he forget because he was so scared?!" Yuto demanded.

"He never explained why, only that if he stayed near me, he would watch me die at a young age. That what dangers were drawn to him because he was pharaoh and the Millennium Puzzle, he didn't want to take the risk that he might not know I was in trouble, like the last time. After he left, I made the decision that I was better off without him, and went on with my original plans, but with you two included.

"Now, ten years later, I've finally been given a second chance at love. If you get to know him, Kaiba-kun is a good person and if we ever choose to marry, he'll be a good father to you both."

Mamoru grinned in happiness and proclaimed, "I don't remember Otou-san, and I want to have a new dad! I want to play with him and be the best of friends!"

Yuto huffed and stood up, snapping, "Why didn't you ever try to find Otou-san? Try to convince him to come home and be our dad and your husband? He must love you so much he didn't want you hurt! Now that the danger's passed, he should come back and be part of our family!"

"He doesn't want to be, or else he would've tried to find me during all these years of separation. I've come to accept that he's made a new life for himself without me or you two. For all I know, he might've gone back to Egypt. I moved on the instant he decided to leave, so I'm going to date Kaiba-kun and he might be your new father, Yuto. I hope you come to accept that in time."

She walked to her room and looked up at the stars. I predicted that Yuto would want me to try and track down Atem, but I can't go through that when I have a boyfriend and soon a job. My life is more stable here, not out there, tracking down someone who doesn't want to be found.

It was the next day that Mitsuko found she was on the front page again, but this time she was alone. It proclaimed in bold capital letters:

MUTOU MITSUKO: ENIGMA OF DOMINO! WHAT ABOUT HER HAS DRAWN IN TWO FAMOUS MEN FROM THE DUELING WORLD? FIRST DAMIRI ATEM, KING OF GAMES, NOW KAIBA SETO, NATIONAL CHAMPION OF DUEL MONSTERS AND CEO OF KAIBACORP! DOES SHE HAVE A TASTE FOR POWERFUL MEN? OR IS SHE A GOLD-DIGGER?

She sighed and put it back on the kitchen table as she drank some ice tea to wake her up some more. I'm sure it wasn't too hard to look in the yearbooks of my high schools to find out about my past romance with Atem. I didn't ask for him and I to get together, and I don't want to date Seto-kun for his money or status. That's the last things I could ever want. It's just coincidence that I've come to date the two most famous men in Duel Monsters. I didn't even date Atem when he had all the titles and won loads of cash. He wanted to keep me "safe" from all that, so I focused on my studies and merely watched it recorded when it was over, so I wouldn't be interested to go and be in the middle of the so-called "danger".

She heard a sigh and turned to see Anzu shaking her head as she read the headline. "Don't they have anything better to do? You're just thankful none of our old classmates are still around, or else they'd have tons of dirt on you, even if it wasn't true."

"We're just lucky that I decided to sic Atem on them when it had gotten bad enough."

"I figured he wouldn't act unless you'd let him. Wait a second…you're okay with saying his name now?"

"I decided that now was a good time to completely let go. I told the twins about him, so I'm sure they'll be talking about him when they get home from school."

The back door opened and three sets of footsteps came running in.

"Oka-san! Anzu-oba-san!"

"Oka-chan! Mitsuko-oba-san!"

The three boys came into the kitchen, Atsushi going to his mom first to hug her, while Mamoru and Yuto came over to get kisses from their mom.

"Oka-chan, there were weird people following us home today!" the younger boy chirped, not the slightest bit worried about it.

Mitsuko rolled her eyes. "Oh boy. I think I know why."

Yuto and Mamoru stared at her in question. She sat down on the edge of the counter and explained, "They wanted to talk to you two, since you're brand-new students at school and Yuto is a miniature of the 'King of Games'."

She held up the newspaper and Mamoru asked, "What's an…an…'enigma', Oka-san?"

"It's a mystery. No one can figure out much about me or my motives of my past relationship with your dad or my current one with Kaiba-kun, but don't answer any of the people's questions if they try to talk to you."

Yuto snorted. "Duh. We don't know them. You taught us not to talk to strangers."

"As well you shouldn't, Yuto."

"Why does it say you like dating powerful and rich men?"

"They're trying to guess why I'm dating Kaiba-kun, and both guesses are far from the mark. I'm dating Kaiba-kun because I like him, nothing else."

"How can you like him if you've only been on two dates?"

"To tell you the truth, it just came to me when he asked me out."

"Does he like you?"

She crossed her arms and raised her eyebrows. "Do you have to dissect this down to single cells? Sheesh Yuto, you're nosier than a bunch of grannies put together."

Yuto scowled and copied her stance. "I just don't want to be surprised like this again. Could you at least let us meet him before he asks you to marry him?"

"He's already expressed interest to meet you two, even if he's seen you as babies and when he visited a few days ago."

"Is he good with kids?"

"He had to raise his younger brother by himself, so I'm sure he'll know how to treat you well."

Mamoru almost jumped out of his skin when he heard the words "younger brother". "He has a little brother?! Is he our age?"

Mitsuko giggled at that. "No, no, Mamoru. Mokuba-kun's twenty-four, although I met him when he was only a couple years older than you are now."

"Do you think when you get married to Kaiba-san we'll get a younger brother?"

Anzu and Mitsuko did simultaneous spit-takes, both having had been drinking something when the question had been sprung. Anzu had to pound her chest while Mitsuko blushed as she scolded, "What gave you that idea, Mamoru? Don't startle me like that, I could've choked!"

Mamoru pouted. "I've always wanted to have a little brother, since Yuto's older than me! Please, please, please could we get a little brother when you marry Kaiba-san? Please?"

His puppy-dog eyes made her touch a finger to her lips in thought. To think that's the first thing on his mind after the prospect of having a dad. He hasn't even properly met Seto-kun and he wants a baby brother. I'm sure Seto-kun would love to have a boy first so that he can have an heir, but I'm sure he'd be just as happy with a girl. That makes me wonder… What would our kids look like?

She had an image of brown-haired children with violet eyes, then with tri-colored hair and blue eyes. I just can't decide! And I would like a daughter to raise after having two sons…although I'm experienced with boys... Now that I'm thinking about it, maybe my biological clock's ticking again!

"Mitsu…earth to Mitsu! Are you going to answer Mamoru's begging already?"

She blinked to see her best friend waving her hand in front of her face. "Sorry! I just got distracted. I don't really know if Kaiba-kun wants kids, especially if we married, we'd have you two."

Yuto shook his head. "What made you blush, Oka-san? Does having kids with Kaiba-san embarrass you?"

"MUTOU YUTO! Don't you dare insinuate that about me! I'm not some school girl who blushes at the thought of having kids! I'm a good mom to you, aren't I?! Enough with your cheekiness!"

He muttered, "Sorry Oka-san," cowed by her show of temper.

It was then her phone went off, and she flipped it open and put it to her ear. "Hello?"

"Hey, Mitsuko-san! It's me, Mokuba!"

"Mokuba-kun?! Wow, your voice sure changed with adolescence. I can't believe you sound just a little bit different from your brother."

"You'd sure be surprised with how all of me has changed with adulthood. I'm not the little kid you knew me as anymore."

"Of course not, you're twenty-four. I'm more surprised you weren't at Kaiba-kun's side when he came to visit a few days ago."

"Oh! Sorry about that! There was a pile of paperwork waiting for me when we got back from the Duel Academy that I just finished today. Do you care if I come visit you? We have a lot of things to catch up on."

"No, I don't mind in the least."

"I'm on the way over now, so I should be there in a few. See you then! Bye!"

"Bye, Mokuba-kun!"

She closed the phone and Anzu asked, "Is Mokuba coming over?"

"Yeah, he is. He'll be over in a few minutes, so I'd better get something decent on."

She walked to her room and put on a pair of jeans and a tank top, putting her hair in a braid just as the doorbell rang. Her eyes lit up as she went to the door and answered it. Her eyes widened as she took in the two men who stood at the door. The one with raven hair she knew right away and she grinned. "You've changed more than your voice has, Mokuba-kun!"

Mokuba had grown to nearly his brother's height and had a shaggy hairdo just like his brother's, too. He smiled just like a kid as he grabbed her in a tight bear hug. "Mitsuko-san! You sure became beautiful, being so mature!"

She laughed and hugged him back. "I'm glad to see you too, Mokuba-kun. Would you put me down? You're not as short as you used to be."

Mokuba looked to see her feet were hanging just above his knees. He chuckled and let her down, sheepish as he scratched the back of his head. "Sorry, Mitsuko-san."

"It's okay. Who's this with you?"

"Oh! This is Noa, our stepbrother! He's the real son of our stepfather, Gozaburo!"

The teal-haired man smirked and bowed a little. "Hello. I'm glad to meet the woman Seto's been talking about all these years. Mutou Mitsuko…I can see why he's so enraptured with you."

Mokuba slapped his shoulder. "Noa! Would you stop that?! We're around friends now! You mess with everyone almost as much as Set-nii-sama!"

Noa laughed. "I know, Mokuba! I wanted to see how she would react to that, since Set's told me how much she likes to tease!"

She giggled. "Come in, you two!"

She led them to the living room and they sat down. "So, when did you two meet, Noa-san?"

"I met them during the Battle City Tournament. I was bitter towards him and Seto because Otou-sama disinherited me when I was ten years old, because I wasn't ruthless enough to run KaibaCorp. He thought of me as a spoiled brat, so he adopted who he thought would be a better son and heir to his company and fortune. But as I spent time with them, I realized they'd changed KaibaCorp into a far more prosperous company than I ever could have. So I've joined them as their brother and made peace."

"That's good, Noa-san."

"I'll ask you straight out: Will you refuse to inherit any money under the Kaiba name? Even if you marry Seto and have any sons?"

"That goes too far from the very first, Noa-san. If I choose to marry Seto-kun and have children with him and any happen to be boys, it will be their right as sons of the CEO of KaibaCorp to be groomed as heirs to the company and fortune. There wouldn't even be a contest unless you get married and have children. I won't deny anything Seto-kun gives me, even it happens to be company shares. Are we clear?"

Noa looked sour, but he nodded.

Mokuba patted his brother's shoulder and smiled. "Now that's solved, Noa." Mokuba then pulled out the morning newspaper out of his pocket. "Did you see this?"

Mitsuko nodded. "Read it before you came over. What's Seto-kun's reaction to this?"

"He just laughed and told me it was stupid for them to try and judge you before they learned more. He wasn't even surprised that they found out about Atem-san so quickly, although I'm surprised they haven't found out about Yuto-kun and Mamoru-kun being his sons yet."

"I'm sure it'll be on the front page in the next few days."

"What'll you do if they find out it's true they were born out of wedlock?"

"Nothing. They're my sons, and Atem hasn't laid any claim on them since he left. They're Mutou Yuto and Mamoru, not Damiri."

It feels rather flat after heavy editing, but what do you think?

Please review!