Dinner that night was a chilly affair. Seth was summoned from his room by one of the servants and swept down the stairs with Mokuba behind him. Kaiba already sat at the far end of the magnificent dining room table, and his eyes narrowed when he saw the priest. Unruffled, Seth sank regally into the chair opposite his double. Mokuba, after darting a glance at both of them, chose a seat in the middle of the table.
There was silence. Awkwardly, Mokuba tried to start a conversation.
"How's your work going, Seto?"
"Fine."
Mokuba tried again. "What are you working on now?"
"The usual. Running a multi-billion dollar company."
Seth took pity on the boy and jumped in. "Can you explain more about your company?"
Kaiba didn't answer. Mokuba turned to Seth, forcing a smile.
"KaibaCorp is one of the largest gaming companies in the world. We ship all over, but it's based here in Domino. Seto's the CEO, so he's in charge."
"Congratulations," Seth said. Kaiba just nodded once and gestured for the food to be brought in. A delicious smell filled the room as servers wheeled in carts packed with covered dishes; Seth's mouth watered. The cooks brought the cart over to him. He took one look at the main course and blanched.
Fish. He glanced over at Kaiba, who was watching him with a calculating smile on his face. Seth felt a rush of anger. He knows, the little… Thankfully, there was a salad and Seth filled his plate. Then he saw Kaiba smirk again and treated the other boy to a withering death glare. Seto just raised an eyebrow and began to eat.
It was agonizing. The smell of the fish pervaded the entire room and watching Mokuba dig in with all the enthusiasm of youth was like being unable to drink from a pitcher of water even though it is the desert in high summer and you're dying of thirst. Seth ate a little of his salad and tried to ignore it, but by the gods, he wanted something more substantial!
Halfway through the meal, he saw Kaiba put down his fork and lean forward with mock concern.
"Aren't you hungry, Seth? You haven't touched the fish." He smirked and Seth had an overwhelming urge to strangle him. "It's very expensive arowana, so I thought it would suit even your royal tastes."
Seth forced himself to smile back at Seto as though the other's concern was truly touching. "Thank you, but I'm fine."
Kaiba shrugged. "Suit yourself." He pushed his empty plate away and stood. "I have to return to my work." He walked out, and Seth could see by the set of his shoulders that he was laughing.
"Don't you like fish?" Mokuba asked anxiously. "Seto does, so I thought…"
"I love fish," Seth ground out. "It was a staple food for the peasants of my village. But after I became a priest, it was a food forbidden to me. It was considered impure." He glared at the doorway where Kaiba had disappeared. "And he knows that."
"You're not in Egypt anymore. Do you still have to follow the old rules?"
"They're too deeply ingrained for me to cast off so easily, little one."
Mokuba stood, pushing his plate away. "Come on, we can order some pizza or something. You can't just eat a salad for dinner."
Seth stood and shoved the fish aside. "What is pizza?"
Mokuba let out a delighted giggle. "Oh, you're going to love it."
Fifteen minutes later (the service sped up considerably when the name "Kaiba" was mentioned), Seth found himself sitting at the table again, a square cardboard box in front of him. With a flourish, Mokuba opened the lid and another heavenly smell wafted up to Seth. Still, he gazed at it doubtfully.
"Why does it shine like that?"
"It's just bread, some sauce, cheese, and pepperoni, Seth," Mokuba said impatiently. "I asked you beforehand, and you said that none of those things violated your dietary code. Go on, try it."
Seth picked up a piece and bit into it cautiously. Immediately, his eyes widened. He quickly devoured the whole slice and reached for another.
"That's good!"
"Help yourself." Mokuba followed his own advice and the two of them finished off the box. Seth sat back and wiped his fingers with a paper napkin.
"If Mahaad could see me eating something like this," he said, leaning back in his chair with a satisfied sigh. "He was obsessed with cleanliness." He held up the greasy napkin. "And one thing pizza is not is clean!"
"That's the best part," Mokuba said. He also leaned back in his chair with a little "Oomph." Seth eyed him.
"What amazes me it that you can eat a healthy portion of fish and salad and still have room for half a box of pizza."
Mokuba grinned. "Seto always says that I'm going to eat us out of house and home. And he doesn't ever order pizza because he thinks it's really bad for you."
"It probably is," Seth said. "But life is short. I can testify to that."
"I wish you could stay longer," Mokuba whispered. "Seto, well…he doesn't have time for me."
"He loves you, you know," Seth said. "You're always in his thoughts."
Mokuba gazed at him suspiciously. "And how would you know that?
Seth smirked in an eerie imitation of Kaiba. "A magician never reveals his secrets."
Yugi shifted the phone awkwardly to his other ear and reached for a pencil and pad of paper. "Hang on, I'll write it down."
Seth waited, phone cradled in his hand. It was strange, hearing Yugi's voice out of the flat little box as clearly as if the boy was standing right beside him. It had taken Mokuba several minutes to explain how to use it, and a few books from Seto's library to assuage Seth's curiosity. He still marveled at it, but the cell phone was no longer a mystery.
Yugi's voice reappeared on the line. "Okay, what do you need?"
Seth named the ingredients, spelling each carefully for Yugi's benefit. The entire list took about five minutes, and when he was done, Yugi whistled.
"A lot of this is going to be really hard to find. I hate to say it, but the best person to get it would be Kaiba."
"I know, but in case I fail to persuade him, I need another plan."
Yugi's voice deepened. "Seth, leave Kaiba alone."
"That's exactly what I'm trying to do, my king," Seth replied. "The problem is: I cannot. Believe me, I wish I were somewhere else."
There was an awkward pause, then Yami spoke. A question had been bothering him all day.
"Do you miss the afterlife, Seth?"
Seth was silent for a moment. "In the afterlife, I found peace," he said finally. "But I also learned that I am not a peaceful man. I suppose I miss it the way people miss a comfortable old cloak when it has finally been thrown out; they grieve for the loss of the familiar, but the old piece of clothing is soon forgotten when the new cloak is slung round their shoulders." He paused again. "I think… I would rather stay here, if I could."
"What's stopping you?" Yami struggled to keep his voice even.
"I don't belong here, Pharaoh," Seth said. "This is not my time."
Yami gripped the phone a little tighter. "You belong where your heart lies, Seth. Follow it."
"Do you wish for me to stay, Yami?" Seth asked.
"Yes," Yami whispered. "Gods, yes."
Seth sounded uncomfortable. "Well, I'll talk to Kaiba about getting the ingredients for the spell," he said briskly. "The peace of the gods be with you." Without another word, he hung up.
"And also with you," Yami murmured to the dial tone.
