Skin

by Usagi Squared

Jonouchi Katsuya will always look out for his friends, no matter how weird things get. That means he will keep on fighting, whether facing maniacs with freaky powers, monsters from a childrens game, or the fact Kaiba's a girl. Wait, what? Warnings inside

101. Chapter 100

If Things Had Changed A Little More

---

Though there was plenty of chaos through the duel above them by far the worst moment came when they could again move. As though a blanket had been removed from each of them, and the only thing on their minds was why the HELL didn't we do something earlier, with each of them running forward in a minor stampede while the blond on the 'stage' collapsed in a bleeding heap.

She didn't get on the arena though. She didn't need to stand on the arena to know things had gone horrifically wrong and that she should have tried a hell of a lot more to keep this single match from happening rather than letting that tiny, naïve scrap in the back of her mind let her believe it could turn out right. "Get Kuzushi and a stretcher here STAT," she snarled into the radio on her collar, screams and cries filling the air. ('It's not TRUE,' she thought she heard Yugi scream, but he wasn't moving, simply staring numbly as the blood stained the field, and as it coated Honda's hands and as everyone screeched and cried in fear and-). "We have severe bleeding in addition to a series of unknown injuries," she continued into the radio, "Prepare for the worst."

There was no response as the radio clicked off but that was to be expected in such a fatal situation. Kuzushi had thankfully been waiting in an 'on call' state- it wouldn't take her long to get up here. It'd have taken far too long to get there if she hadn't been after all, and so rather than run from the airship she simply came from the bottom of the tower itself. But in the meantime her brother was crying, standing with the others that he called friends. Screaming as Katsuya gave dying chokes, trying to say something, anything, anything…

And that Egyptian bastard on the arena had the gall to laugh when he would have lost, hands held out as he watched the chaos. "Hnhnhnhn... HAHAHAHAHAHA! Another SACRIFICE to the shadows beyond... So," he continued, those paying attention to the teen gritting their teeth, "WHO'S NEXT," Malik cackled, the arena lowering for ease of access despite there being people atop the field. The blond stepped off the side, receiving no answer other than tear filled cries from beside Katsuya's bleeding body and a cold stare from Seto. It was a look that by far wasn't missed- for as he passed the woman Malik turned, crazed grin still in place. Waiting for a bit of conversation.

She couldn't help but answer that 'challenge'. "…Malik," she spat, eyes narrowing further as the Egyptian stood before her. "Know that while you've 'won' the match, you lost this battle... And more importantly," the woman continued, Malik dropping the grin as Seto pulled out a card from her pocket, "He forced you to reveal God's final weakness to me..." And though it could hardly be a weakness, it was just enough for her. "I've seen all I needed," Seto hissed, Kuzushi and a pair of the staff's guards running up from the stairs to clear the crowd to their victim, "The key to defeating your supposedly perfect God lies in this card... Your days are numbered," she warned, slipping the card back in her pocket. "Remember that..."

For a moment a flash of worry could be seen in Malik's eyes. A calculating stare that seemed to question whether or not it was a bluff or not In the end however he disappeared down the stairs, giving Seto one final narrowed glare before vanishing. "Hn... Good luck with that," he hissed, shouts continuing behind him. "Your 'dog' will be long dead before then though," the blond chuckled. Katsuya… As Malik vanished from sight the woman turned, somewhat stiff as she watched the already unconscious blond become strapped to the board on the gurney. The stretcher was being moved... Raised back up, rolled down…

"Quickly, quickly," Kuzushi shouted, the stretcher now carried away by her two 'assistants'. "We need to get him to the airship as quick as possible," she continued almost panickedly, "Go, GO!"

Honda followed. As did Anzu, Otogi, her brother… "Please don't die," Mokuba was crying as they ran, Yugi following with a numb and cold expression as they vanished down the stairs. "Please don't die, don't die..!"

Screaming, crying, screaming, crying... For a few moments she was almost frozen behind the crowd, teeth grinding down in the resulting silence of the arena. From where she stood she could see the blood on the field… She didn't stare long before following after the others however, the cold wind blowing behind her in almost a vacuum upon re-entering the tower. In so much chaos there was nothing much to say on the situation... Nothing at all.

And then she got into the airship itself, where the chaos had somehow multiplied even further in the hallway outside where they'd taken Katsuya. "YOU..." Shizuka turned from where they'd been forced to stay outside the room, her eyes filled with misery, pain... She was the first person to spot the approaching woman, and as a result of a silent agreement the first who would 'confront' their 'host'. …And she herself would let them. "How could you let this HAPPEN," she screamed, tears streaming down her face as she pointed to the door. "I told you," Shizuka whispered, choking on her words as she shook. "I told you to STOP this," the girl shouted,
And you said it was the only way to keep everyone alive..." Yes… That was what she'd said but-
"HOW IS THIS ALIVE," she roared, pulling against the ones holding her back as she wept. "How is ANY of this 'ALIVE'..! HOW-"

Her cries were interrupted by Kyouko throwing the door to the staff room they had Jonouchi in with wide and panic filled eyes. "Do any of you have type B negative blood," she quickly called out, the hall falling silent as they stared. Type... B..?

Seto stared, the others as well freezing in response. She was A... Yugi was AB, and the others were- "I... I do," Otogi said fairly quickly, growing pale despite this. "What-"

"Get in here," the woman hurriedly ordered, pulling the teen in through the door by his arm instantly. "He's lost too much blood, we need an emergency transfusion..!"

"What-? Isn't that ille-"

The door slammed without another word. All rage was replaced with a haunting despair again, and as Shizuka crumpled on herself she was barely supported by the women at her side, Ishizu and Anzu both looking to her worriedly as Seto stared. "Hnnnnnnggg... Nnngggg... This... This can't be happening," she cried softly, fingers digging into her arms as she curled up against the wall. "Mai-han, Keichi, and now nihan..! Why... WHY..." Why was this happening..? She was asking herself the same thing..! He should have won… Beyond everything, that idiot... Right at the end she'd thought he had WON somehow..!

He'd proven himself against all her doubts at the last second... And then, not even one second later...

Seto's eyes fell to the ground as the woman continued to watch from the side, and as they waited for what was occurring inside the room to finish a voice came over the 'PA' system.

-Attention: There is now twenty minutes before the next match of the semi-final rounds,- the announcement began, those before her turning up to the speaker as she held her gaze on the door to the staff room. -Competitors Mutou Yugi and Kaiba Seto will be expected to- She didn't hear what happened after that.

Not over the shouts around her. "Twenty… Twenty minutes," Shizuka was repeating incredulously, pulling out of Ishizu's grip as she walked toward the woman before her. "Twenty... I don't believe you," she wept, a twisted mix of horror and rage both coming through her face as she stared at the seemingly stone CEO, Seto merely staring back in silence and letting the shouts continue. "How can you be so SELFISH," she screamed, almost pulling at her hair in aggitation. "How can you just STAND HERE, while my BROTHER is DYING," she cried, "And POSSIBLY expect to keep fighting?" Seto still remained silent, and Shizuka continued on. "How… Can you even THINK of this," the girl roared, "When your own brother is standing RIGHT HERE!"

At those words Mokuba flinched, looking toward his sister with a confused but nonetheless sympathetic stare as he pulled at Shizuka's arm. "Shizuka-chan," he said quietly, Seto still not moving from where she stood. The girl didn't respond and again Mokuba pulled back, biting his lip. "Shizuka-chan, let's just..."

She was shaking, Seto noted almost dully. Shaking and about to collapse, and as she began to do just that Honda caught her from behind. Pulling her back toward the others and fixing Seto with a narrowed glare that was answered with continued silence. Yugi was also silent, staring at the floor with wide and dead eyes. As was Ishizu, and Anzu, though the latter was holding her arms close and seeming to mutter under her breath, eyes almost seeming to flash between colours as the chaos toned down. "It's not fair," Shizuka wept quietly, burying her face in her hands. "It's not fair..! Why is this happening," she repeated constantly under her breath, "Why..."

Otogi was released from the room at that moment, a small bandage around his elbow from where they'd taken the blood. In an instant he was swarmed by the friends of the blond, Mokuba included as his sister stared from the side, watching and listening to the crowd's panic. "Otogi, how... How is he," Honda shouted quickly, looking to the room, "What's going on in there..!"

"Can they save him," Shizuka pressed, "Will he be-"

"Will he be alright," Mokuba hurriedly added. "Can we-"

"He's not breathing," the game inventor said hoarsely, gripping his bandaged arm. The crowd hushed at those words, and as Otogi stared at the ground he continued. "The ECG flat-lined completely, there's no heart rate. They... They have a machine giving him CPR," he whispered weakly, holding his head in one hand as a look of horrified humor came through his eyes, the incredulity of it all striking them cold. "They… They said that his brain activity is the same as a fully conscious person, but his heart just won't beat, and it..." He took a somewhat shuddering breath, looking to the side before turning to Seto. "They want you in there," he continued. "Something about diagnostics," the teen muttered, "I..." Of course… This was her responsibility after all, so-

"Wait..." Wait..? "What about us," Anzu asked, frowning somewhat as she reached forward. Briefly Seto found herself staring with narrowed eyes, shaking her head slightly as she stared. Her eyes... What was with the colour, they almost seemed... "Can we go in at all," Anzu pressed, rubbing her arm in worry.

Otogi shook his head, his own arms crossed lest he agitate the bandage on his elbow in the anxious rubbing. "We can't," the teen began, "They said they're still trying to stabilize him," he explained with a short swallow. "They haven't... They haven't gotten him to breathe or…" Not haven't… They couldn't. He was clinically dead with nothing but a machine keeping him alive and-

She moved past, the crowd splitting somewhat as she forced her way toward the door. "Ah... Ne... Nii-sama," Mokuba corrected as he remembered Ishizu's presence, his sister not appearing to notice the slip as the Egyptian at the side turned to frown. "Nii-sama," Mokuba continued, "When we're allowed to come in, you'll tell us right," he asked, his sister pausing as she reached for the door handle. "You'll..."

Tell them... If what she heard was any sign she herself shouldn't have even been allowed inside yet. If what she'd heard was even close to the truth then... Seto looked down at the boy, her expression still the same ice-coated and half-dead stare she'd held for the last number of minutes. "...Yes," she said plainly, before moving inside to shut the door. She would. Of course she would, they had a right to know after all. Walking forward into the room as she pushed the door open however, a cold and unstoppable shudder ran through her body... And the sight of Katsuya's body still supported on the folding gurney caused her blood to almost freeze in its veins. It was as Otogi had said, and then some. There was a large 'AutoPulse' machine hooked up against the blond's chest sending steady compressions between synthesized breaths, a machine impossible to ignore...

Just as noticeable however, if not more so, was the mess of the body itself. True, the wounds had been bandaged as best as possible, and as quickly as possible to lessen the need for blood, but that didn't mean the areas around it had their damage to show. Even after being cleaned up there was still signs of the battle from the field, small scratches that were slowly fading, clumped blond hair stained 'brown' with blood, thick bandages that had to be wrapped 'just so' lest wounds be re-opened by a pounding machine...

And his eyes were shut as though he were merely asleep... Merely asleep, in a peaceful place that had nothing to do with the chaos and- "Seto-san," Kuzushi said softly, placing a hand on her usual patient's arm. The woman held out a clipboard as her employer turned, before taking down the mask she'd had around her face. The garbage can was filled with rubber gloves and stained cloth from when they were trying to stop the bleeding to cover the wound... The lights were almost unbearably blinding despite the comparable darkness of the hall and- "I've made a record of the damage," the doctor told her, Seto blinking somewhat slowly as she cleared her mind to pay more attention. "From what we can tell the wound looks far worse than it actually is; in fact," she added confidently, a small fragment of relief evident in the tone, "It should likely heal within a number of weeks. The problem however is his heart rate," the doctor continued seriously. "This machine will continue to create it for him, but until he shows sign of regaining consciousness he's as good as 'dead'- I know you don't want to hear that," she added quickly and sternly, catching a sudden tension from the woman beside her, "But I am only giving you the facts; I will do everything I can to bring him back. But I cannot tell how long it will take, if and when," Kuzushi warned, "For him to wake up. You need to keep that in mind, no matter what you may-"

"I understand," she said flatly, taking the clipboard and looking it over with dull eyes as she cut the doctor off. "The shock from Ra's attack would have been incredible... I'm not surprised it threw his heart into arrest," she continued, despite her mind telling her the attack itself had little to do with it compared to the severe and inexplicable bloodloss. But she'd still hoped that he would survive, she told herself as she flipped the paper over to skim the hurriedly scribbled notes. She'd hoped that it hadn't killed him despite that, and why had she...

Seto placed the clipboard on the table at the side at that thought, looking back to the 'duel victim' with the same 'dead' expression on her face as her doctor stared. Katsuya... He... 'I'll make sure I reveal as much about Malik's cards as possible,' he'd told her. 'I'll make sure tha' no one else can suffer from th's guy. I'll...' "...I'll be right back," Kuzushi said somewhat quietly, receiving little more than a short nod from her employer in response. "There are a few materials that I need to retrieve from my office," she continued, already leaving for the door. Hn! As if that was true...

As if...

Really. She wasn't the type to be sentimental enough to leave time for her alone with a hospital victim so don't...

Don't...

The door closed behind her at that moment, and for a few seconds more Seto merely stared at the bed in silence. The helicopter would arrive in just under three hours. The next duel was due to start in fifteen minutes. There would be ten minutes between the two matches and it was expected that each duel would take between thirty and forty-five minutes.

And once again everything had collapsed right beneath her feet, the rubble of her tournament crumbling into an ash worthy of a funeral pyre's remains. "You fool," she finally hissed under her breath, nails digging into her palms as she leered at the body before her. "You pathetic, barking DOG..!" Pathetic... Truly pathetic, he... 'Of course I picked you,' he'd told her, even after the scar across his chest had been discovered and his face smashed in with all the force of an enraged ox. His nose was still bruised, she could see under the mask. Still somewhat red and... 'More than anythin',' he had whispered clearly, 'I really... Really love you...' He... Of all the things to say damn it..! "You... You god-damned MUTT!" Of all the things to-

...

She was shaking she noticed, gripping the side rail on the gurney as she looked down at the blond. She was shaking and as she closed her mouth the room fell silent, nothing but the occasional 'double breath' from the 'Auto-Pulse' meeting the air. Of course there was no answer she thought to herself with a clenched jaw, staring at the motionless and silent body before her. Of course, she snarled to herself, bowing her head somewhat. Of course this idiot would find a way to avoid questioning, to avoid any burning questions about the duel, about the words he'd (and she as well..!) somehow understood from the blond's opponent, about the talking...

'RA.', he'd said flatly. Nothing more, nothing less, not even as though to speak to Malik. Simply...

RA.

As though he knew the beast before him. As though he'd known all along that those were his final moments, that there was no looking back, and as her grip tightened on the gurney rail her mind drifted along the vague trail that thoughts of the blond left behind. What did she have to do, she asked herself again, to convince him not to fight... What did she have to do..?'You could kiss me,' his memory offered with a chuckle, Seto's jaw clenching even further into a 'vice' as she closed her eyes just for a moment.

"You... I wouldn't kiss you even if you died," she forced through the air, narrowed eyes opening and nonetheless faltering as those moments before the match came to mind. "Even if..." Even... If...

...

Moron...

MORON ..! "Did you need your stupid first kiss so badly," she snarled, raising her voice just slightly as her eyes widened, the woman leaning over the gurney somewhat as she shouted at the body. "Did you want to prove yourself so much you had to get yourself killed..? Get this through your head," she roared, despite the fact that no one would answer and despite the fact that none would hear from behind the steel walls around them. "I'm not some pathetic school girl you can 'crush on', MUTT! I'm your EMPLOYER," she continued, still shaking as she shouted at the blond. "So don't even think of keeping secrets from me! You..." She was trembling... (Stop shaking damn it..!) Her palms were bleeding... (What did she care!) "You... Moron... Y..." She'd asked about the scars. Once...

'It's nothin'.'

Twice...

'Like I said. 'S nothin'.'

And why...

Why was she still SHAKING! Why did she feel this weak..! Why... Why did she care even a little about... Why did she care about something as little as... "Katsuya..." The woman didn't even pause as the blond's first name came forward, merely pushing on with shuddering breaths. "Did you think... I wouldn't believe you," she whispered, closing her eyes tight as the steady compressions and 'breaths' in the air hovered in her ears. "That you would have to kill yourself twice to prove yourself as a 'duelist' of all things?" Even after that fiasco on the docks? Even after that twisted Virtual World, both at 'home' and beneath the seas? Even... "You've already done enough," she snarled, answered with nothing but the peaceful 'sleeping' face of the blond before her. "You saved my brother... Once, twice, THREE TIMES..!" Possibly more..! And in addition... "..You have a scar completely encompassing the area Ra struck... Your cards were being pulled from your hands on their own, and your feet are covered in burns..." And a multitude of other unexplainable events that unfolded on that field before her as foreign languages were ignored and as Gods rose far beyond the limit of the hologram's field. The number of injuries on that chart seemed impossible in fact, even with all that in mind... Fractures in his skull. Multiple incisions on his arms and face, albeit faded and smaller than noted oddly enough. His heart refused to pump and his lungs refused to move, and with one of them collapsed and completely run through by some unseen force that was remniscient almost of a broad sword how could she be surprised..? With all that happened, all that remained... "You... I watched you become impaled... On NOTHING," she hissed, eyes bloodshot as they opened once again. "My BROTHER watched... And you think you can sleep through this as though it'sNOTHING! As though this is just another battle for you!" Answer her... ANSWER HER... SHE...

There was no answer though. " Moron..."

No answer at all. "MORON..!"

Something wet had fallen on the sheet she noted idly, still shaking as she stood at the side of the gurney. Something small and wet, staining the sheet with water... "I hate you," she whispered, still shaking as she gripped the gurney rail. "I HATE you..!" More than anything she tried to tell herself, more than anything, she... "Gh... ...This mask... Was flawless until I met you," Seto hissed. "Flawless..! 'Men' don't cry," she spat, unknowingly repeating Gozaburo's words from years ago. "And they certainly don't let other 'men' KISS them," the woman continued half desperately, rage more than evident across her face. "And that card..." That one card... "Gh..." Stop crying..! Stop crying, she snarled to herself in the back of her mind, just stop..! Just...

Stop.

...

Seto's hands fell from the side of the gurney as the room went silent, the woman ignoring any wetness on her cheeks as she stared at the bed. He was dying. His heard wasn't beating and he was dying. But he couldn't die, she told herself. He couldn't..! Not for her brother. Not for her, not...

He just couldn't die. He couldn't die, he couldn't die, he COULD NOT DIE..!

But she couldn't control that..! Of all the things in her power there was just one thing...

Just one...

"You should have won that card," she said quietly. Again there was no answer, and she stood with her head bowed as she pulled back with 'crossed' arms, hands gripping above her elbows with almost as much force as exherted on the gurney rail moments prior. "Ra should have been yours," she repeated. "You won that match... And not that scum waiting on the field right now. Do you hear me," Seto growled, raising her voice as her arms fell back to her sides. "I admit it..! YOU WON! So WAKE UP," she shouted, eyes narrowed in the same desperate rage she'd held through most of her words. "Before the end of all of this I want you to wake up..! Understand?" Understand...

...

No answer.

Of course not. He was in a coma, worse than that even. Of course... It was like he'd said.

Exactly like...

"... 'Love'," she 'sneered', trying and failing to pull a face at the word as she stared at the bed. "You're more pathetic than I thought, talking about things like that... What did you expect me to do in response," Seto 'asked' with a shout, "Admit the same in return? HN!" Though the snort echoed through the air with honesty at its edges her glare softened, arms again shaking her sides as the steady 'thump' of the auto-pulse again continued. "...Wake up," she repeated, quieter this time. "Wake up," she whispered almost desperately. "...If you don't wake up," the woman continued, staring at the bed with an expression that she'd reserved for her brother until that moment, "How am I supposed to give you your answer, 'Mutt'..?"

There was no answer. Not that she expected one, right, her mind reminded her. It would have been... Ridiculous, if he woke up now. And she didn't love him, she told herself, turning away somewhat as she shook her head. That would be stupid, completely idiotic. Ridiculous..! She had no time for romance, and no interest in the matter whatsoever.

Not like hormonal dogs she thought to herself, unable to stop her face from heating up at the reminder of the kiss he'd forced on her. Not that he'd done much 'forcing' outside pulling her in with no warning... It was a light kiss, a soft one and-

And...

She had no time to be thinking of kisses, she snarled mentally, the steady 'thump' of compressions continuing to fill the air. And why did she even need to remember that anyways? He 'won'..! And he was going to wake up... And after all, hadn't he said it himself? 'If I win, and if I don't die, then we can act like it never happened. We can go back to when I didn't say anything, and back to before that kiss. And until then...' Until then...

"Moron," she repeated yet again, turning away to leave the room as it was again left in nearly complete silence. "How could things possibly go back to before then..?"

---

He didn't quite know what to say, standing there in the room.

He'd been there for quite a while actually. He'd followed the doctor into the room, after a quick look to his other self, at the body that was still staring with wide and almost terrified eyes as the shock of what had occurred continued to pound again and again and again at their minds. He'd followed and stared helplessly from his transparent and ghost-like state as the doctor and the two guards from before hurriedly rushed to stop the bleeding wound, to stabilize his vitals, to keep him alive, period. 'We're losing him,' Kuzushi was shouting with wide eyes, blood already covering a majority of their hands as gloves were thrown on and gauze snatched from the sides. 'He's not going to last much longer..!' They were panicking... He shouldn't have been watching but he was the only one that could, and he couldn't even force himself to turn away anymore..! He...

'How is this even possible,' one of the guards was saying amidst the chaos, pushing the gauze on the wound as the others attempted to treat the wound and stop the blood.

'Doesn't matter right now, what matters is keeping him alive..!'

'This isn't good, he's losing way too much blood...'

'Dogtags say he's type B Negative...' Ah- The dog tags..?

Yugi's spirit sniffed as he was pulled from the echoed reality he was listening to, wiping his eyes and turning to where the tags had been removed from around his friend's neck. He'd never seen those up close but... Looking them now they had his name, his address... "She put his blood type there," he whispered, shaking his head. But... Why would she...

'Does anyone here have type B Negative blood,' he could hear Kyouko shout into the hall, the boy not turning back from where the others were bandaging his friend's wounds. 'Anyone?'

Silence. And then, as the boy bowed his head with a bit lip- 'I do.' That voice... Otogi..?

The teen was pulled in, and Yugi drifted off to the side still watching in silence at what transpired before him. It was almost surreal... They attached some sort of tube and needle to the inside of Otogi's elbow, asking him multiple questions as they went... About diseases, about possible conditions that might be carried with the blood... There was some kind of machine in between the tubes, and soon enough both ends of the clear piping were a solid red in colour. Flowing... From one arm to another and...

Yugi choked somewhat, bowing his head and closing his eyes as tears continued to roll down his face. He couldn't look he told himself, curling inward in the air as he shook. He couldn't, he just couldn't any more and-

-Breeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee- And...

That sound...

As he opened his eyes they were met with chaos once again.

'We're losing him!' Losing..? He was dying..!

'But the transfusion-' Yea, shouldn't that have-

'That's not going to be enough idiot..! Get the AutoPulse over here!' Auto..?

'Starting CPR... Five... Ten...' It did CPR..? And why... Why did his heart stop..!

'This is it right?' Why...

'It says AutoPulse doesn't it? Get it over here!' ...Why..!

'...Twenty Five... Thirty... Administering two breaths..!'

'Now start the machine, attach it like this...' Please start breathing...

'Still no pulse..!' Please come back...

'Damn it all..!' Please..!

'You- get out, and tell Seto-sama to get in here..!' Kaiba..?

'Machine seems to be working fine...' But Jonouchi was dying, he was dying..!

'How long can that thing-' Otogi was looking around the doctor almost in fear and-

'Just GO!'

Yugi continued to stare in horror as the monitor for Jonouchi's heart rate flatlined, frozen in shock even as people ran back in forth with no awareness to his presence, running through his body like the ghost he currently was. Otogi was forced out of the room... The machine was hooked up and only after a few long and painful minutes did things begin to calm from the panic of his friend's cardiac arrest. The bleeding had been stopped, ironically with the help of the very reason to hook him up to the machine. And though Jonouchi still lacked a pulse the doctor appeared to be completely confident that this machine would keep his blood pumping both until that time and until the helicopter had him in a hospital room with better suited equipment.

But even so... With all of this..! With all that was going on... "It's... A lie," he whispered to himself, gripping the edge of his friend's mattress only for his fingers to pass through and fall back to his sides. "It's not true, it's not real," he whispered to himself, "It's a dream..." Please let it be a dream... Let it be one horrible, horrible nightmare, let him wake up, let Jonouchi be there and alive and laughing please... "Gh... Hngg... Ng..."He couldn't be dead... He couldn't, he was his best friend..! And... And as long as they said his brain functioned... As long as they-

Outside, his other self had removed his duel disk, taking refuge of sorts in an empty area of the hall as he slammed a fist against the side. They didn't react in the same way, to this tragedy- but they reacted just as extremely. That promise they'd made with Jonouchi... That had helped them keep going in this tournament. Through Battle City, through everything, regardless of what happened to them. But now when that same friend they'd made the promise to was in this condition, it felt more like everything was over. And in its place there was nothing... Nothing but hatred for the 'other Malik', but even with that...

What would happen after, even if they defeated him in a battle of vengeance..? When these wounds had been inflicted not by Malik, but by Jonouchi himself..! But by the events of his own duel..! Because he'd known..! He'd known... 'Shadow games... They don' mean anythin' t' me.' "Why..." He'd known what would happen, all along he'd known... "Why didn't you say anything," he cried, sniffing and wiping his eyes on the side of his jacket while he choked on his tears. "We're friends aren't we?" Best friends... He'd said it himself so... "So why... Why didn't you tell me..." Why didn't he tell them...

That their promise had the potential to kill him..?

Kaiba was at the side of him right now. Speaking to the doctor beside the gurney... 'I'll be back in a moment,' Kuzushi had just told him, moving back and out of the room to leave them in silence. Alone, Yugi noted as he stood at the bottom end of the bed. She'd left him alone here... Fifteen minutes until they'd be expected to duel but...

For once, it looked as though even Seto was dreading this fight. That she wanted nothing to do with the tournament any longer. And for a moment, there was nothing but silence. And then... Just when he assumed she would turn around to prepare for the match, she spoke. 'You fool,' she whispered, quietly at first. 'You pathetic barking dog!' The woman's voice rang through the air with an almost electric 'ting' floating through his ears, the volume throwing him off as he stared toward the woman in silence. Kaiba... He noticed only now but... She almost seemed to be shaking almost and- 'You god damned MUTT..!'

But how..? Why...

Again, Kaiba fell silent, as though waiting for an answer to the shouts. And again, despite it seeming almost unlike her, she spoke again.

'You...I wouldn't kiss you... Even if you died...'

Kiss..? Yugi's eyes widened, the boy swallowing as he continued to stare. He probably should have left, he told himself. Kaiba couldn't see him after all, so she didn't know he was there. Didn't know he could hear her, and that he was listening. It was rude, and out of place... But what was she talking about..? He was honestly too confused to move, too curious, too...

'Even... If...'

She was having trouble speaking... That wasn't like her though. She couldn't speak...

But why? Why not, he asked himself. The shouts began again- Almost frantic in tone, despite the fact that it would be better to shout at a wall. He'd never heard Kaiba talk like this... Never heard any mention of such from Mokuba or Jonouchi, not that they would likely say anything like that.

Maybe that was why he couldn't leave. Why he couldn't...

'Katsuya...' He'd never heard her use anyone's first name other than her brother's, at least with this kind of tone Yugi thought from the side of the room. Not when she'd already made constant use of his last name, but...

She was still shouting, shaking, whispering... Acting in a way she'd never have done if she knew he was in there, watching and- 'I watched as you impaled yourself on nothing,' she hissed, the boy at the side biting his lip the reminder of the gruesome scene. Of the sudden spurt and release of blood as what appeared to be nothing charged through his side. 'My BROTHER watched,' the woman continued, 'And you think you can sleep through this as though it's nothing..?'

"Kaiba-san," he whispered, watching as the woman continued to shake. This wasn't like her... Stop...

'Moron...' Stop...

"Kaiba-san," he repeated, "Don't..." Stop this...

'MORON!' Stop..! Just...

'Gh...Ngh...'

Kaiba was... Crying, he realized with lowered eyes. Her head was bowed and shadowed by hair that had grown out somewhat during her coma, and her fingernails were digging into the palms of her hands as they wrapped around the pole at the side of the gurney. She was crying... Her tears were staining the sheets and... And... 'I hate you,' she was whispering, voice wavering somewhat as she tried and failed to leer at the victim before her. 'I hate you..! I HATE YOU!' She had a mask to uphold. She had a disguise, a company, and a brother to worry about... Kaiba was a private person. She didn't trust many people, not at all.

So when someone she'd come to trust was about to die... When someone she'd finally stopped glaring at constantly, if not only when no one was looking, was dying on the bed before her... 'Men... Don't cry,' the woman was growling, her jaw clenching between words. 'And they certainly don't let other men kiss them..! And that card...' The card..?

'Ra,' he thought he heard someone say. The third God card. The one that did this to him, the one that...

Kaiba fell silent yet again, somehow calming down the shudders as she stepped back from the bed. He still couldn't see her eyes. The expression of rage she'd held with those shouts, the desperate expression she'd held in the face of the thing that had so violently been ripped out of her control, was gone. She couldn't let that sort of thing affect her after all; that was how she saw it. That was how... She... 'You should have won that card,' she said quietly, staring almost coldly at the gurney before her. He should have... What..?

Yugi stared, eyes widening somewhat as he looked toward the woman. She was admitting... Well... He didn't think she'd accept Malik as the winner, but even so...

After all she'd said... Could he say that now? 'Ra should have been yours,' she was continuing on, teeth grinding as she narrowed her eyes. 'You won that match... And not that scum waiting on the field right now... Do you hear me,' she shouted, tears still dotting the corners of her eyes as she focused her rage. 'You WON... SO WAKE UP! Before the end of this I want you to wake up, UNDERSTAND,' she howled, as though still waiting for the answer. But she wasn't going to get an answer in the end. Kaiba realized that, and it was obvious but...

As she spoke, he continued to stand there frozen in confusion, pity, and a whole other mess of things he never expected to feel around the woman. 'Love,' she spat, though the sound was only half-hearted in tone. 'You're more pathetic than I thought, talking about things like that... What did you expect me to do in response,' she continued with a roar, 'Admit the same?' Her words echoed through the air almost tauntingly, and still the woman continued as her posture slackened once again into an odd and formerly non-existent state of worry and pity. 'Wake up,' she whispered, staring at the bed with a broken stare. 'Wake up... ...If... You don't wake up,' she asked quietly, 'How am I supposed to give you your answer..?' She wanted an answer; that much was obvious but...

But Jonouchi couldn't hear any of that. He just continued to 'sleep', his blood kept pumping only by the machine giving him chest compressions, with oxygen supplied only by the occasional set of two breaths from the machine. Even when words that were more confusing than anything else he heard came over the air, he slept. Even when, as Kaiba made to leave the room, she said...

'Moron- How could things possibly go back to before then..?'

But what was then, he wanted to ask, staring at the door in silence. What was it..! He wanted to know but...

But this was Kaiba's conversation he told himself, bowing his head and biting his lip. Her private conversation with the unconscious, a release of words she would never say out loud.

Which meant that no matter what he told himself, closing his eyes as he shook, he couldn't say anything. Even though no one wanted to fight any more, even though everything was going wrong, wrong, wrong..! "J... Jonouchi-kun," he whispered, shaking as tears ran down his face. "Jonouchi-kun... Why... Why..!" Why didn't he talk... Why didn't he say something, anything,ANYTHING..! "You can't die Jonouchi-kun," he cried, shaking his head. "You can't die," he repeated, "You just can't, I..." He was the only one other than his other self... The only one they could both hear and speak to, no matter who was where, he was...

The others were being allowed inside now he noticed. Slowly, quietly, the doctor giving them strict instructions as she took them in. Shizuka broke down at the bedside moments after reaching it, falling to her knees. Honda was begging the doctor to fix this somehow, no matter what, and all Mokuba could say was that with the helicopter now two and a half hours away it would be better to wait things out than attempt to fly back. His other self hadn't come in though he realized, slowly floating out of the room to find him. He hadn't...

Ah. There he was. "There are five minutes left," Kaiba was telling him in the hallway, the boy not looking back from the wall he leaned his forehead upon. His dueldisk was at the side, near a slightly scratched wall... Had he thrown it..?

The other him said nothing in response to both the words and the mental questioning, and so Kaiba continued.

"He will not die- I've made sure of that," she said coldly, as though such a thing was perfectly within her control. There was still no answer, and so she continued. "For now," she told him, "I expect to see you across from me on the arena." Another pause for an answer. And still more silence in response. His partner's eyes were blank, empty, dead, cold... Staring blankly at the wall and ground, and eventually it seemed that Kaiba had given up speaking to him. "I'll be waiting for you," the woman told him as she moved to leave the airship. "Understand..?"Understand..!

How could they..? How could they fight..? Even his other self was shaking, again slamming his fist against the wall in defeat and despair. Grinding his teeth in a continued silence in the empty hall. "It's all over," the boy finally said, the spirit beside him attempting to approach only to shrink back in his tears at those words. "All... Over..." All of it... So how...

How were they supposed to fight? How were they supposed to move on through something like this, in a situation where even the doctor had to break a few laws for the sake of their friend's life, how... How..!

"Grrn... Rrrrnnnn..?" What...

Both Yugis jumped at the low growl coming from their side, turning as a 'shadow' seemed to hover before them from the end of the hall. For a split second... Just a short, almost nonexistent moment he thought he'd seen something black, and-

And there it was again... Flickering in and out, in and out like a hologram. Same with the sound, and- "Grrrnnnn..." A black dragon, likely the size of large dog... Was...

Sitting... Right... In front of them..! "T-This..." Yugi swallowed as the image cleared, eyes widening with fear and shock both. "This dragon is..."

"Red-Eyes Black Dragon," his other self whispered, staring at the monster in shock. The detail was clearing on the monster and it was standing far too close than a sane man would dare to think. Close enough to see the detail of each scale. Close enough to feel the heat radiating from its form, to smell the ash on its breath as it snorted like some strange reptilian horse. Close enough to see the pupils in what would ordinarily seem to be completely red eyes... And in their stiffened silence the dragon before them moved down to all fours, leaning its head inward to sniff the boy before it and come even closer.

"...Snrf... Nfff... Grrn..." Snuffling noises, growling noises, as though this was a real animal and- "Rrrrrrnnn..." This...

"What's it doing," Yugi whispered with a swallow, the corporal of the two stepping back somewhat as the dragon moved even closer with the same constant snuffling sounds. "What-"

Without warning the dragon's head came forward, large red eyes seeming almost curious as it examined the boy like a possible meal or toy. But despite this, neither of them could move; for as the dragon looked toward the body's pocket, something seemed to glow from their side, and the look in the dragon's eyes seemed to change. And seconds later, even as the teen pulled back, that dragon pulled at the thin gold cord hanging out from the edge and held toward them the tauk, its eyes gleaming in an unknown light as it held the object before them. The tauk.

The brilliantly glowing millennium tauk, the light off its form almost blinding. With nothing else to do, both he and the other Yugi reached out to it, a voice seeming to come through their ears... 'Neh, Yugi,' someone asked. 'A true duelist... A true 'warrior'... Tha's someone who fights t' th' end, f'r everyone, no matter what righ'..? Righ'..?' J... Jonouchi. That was Jonouchi they realized, hand clasping over the tauk's 'eye', that was-

As their fingers closed around the necklace the hallway they stood within seemed to almost melt away completely. They were standing in a street, with the sun setting in the distance, not a single trace of the dragon or the airship remaining... 'I want t' show you,' he thought he heard, Jonouchi's voice faded and almost ghost-like in the distance. 'I wanna show you... What I saw...'

This vision... An empty street, and Jonouchi smiling across from him with his duel disk held forward, the device locked into position and ready for play... "Hey, Yugi," he said with a grin, an expression almost unconciously mirrored by his friend. "Our ' Battle City ' ain' over yet... R'member?"

Like a draining sink the vision vanished from sight, spiralling back into the tauk as it hung limp in his hands. For a few moments, Yugi, the 'Other Yugi', stared forward, shaking his head. "That vision," his partner began, shocked almost silent. "That..."

Red-Eyes still stood before him, if only for a few moments. The dragon bowed its head, looking into the eyes of the human boy before it with a low growl. This vision... This message...

As the dragon misted away into shadows he nodded, gripping the tauk tightly and moving to grab his duel disk from the ground. "I understand," he said calmly, clacking the device over his wrist as he made to leave. "I'll fight... For Jonouchi... For everyone..." No matter what went on, it was time to finish this.

Time to duel.

---

Japan as a whole was often considered one of the 'politer' countries. There was much tradition and honor in the language, and the complexity of certain phrases and statements could occasionally seem completely bizarre to the passing tourist, beginning student, or really anyone not raised within that same culture.

One large example was the difference in how women and men were raised to speak, with choice phrases and suffixes added or removed to suit the situation. Though certain patterns lessened over the years, certain pronouns were considered 'girls only' while others were considered 'boys only'. Things like 'ore' or 'ora' for example were 'boys only'. In fact, to use the phrase was so assertive that in certain situations it could be considered almost rude... Not that he paid any attention to that. 'Boku' was another 'boys only', not that the nickname 'bokuko' didn't still exist; there were a few girls who would use the term after all, extreme tomboys or even just rude young women.

Then there were the girls who weren't running around using 'boku'. Watashi, a polite pronoun, was most commonly used it seemed, though in formal situations men would use the term as well. This could be shortened to the less formal 'atashi', and even further, to the childish 'ashi', or 'atai', all three of which sounded just plain weird when a guy used them. It was this sort of thing that he'd grown up with. This sort of thing he'd come to know.

But Seto wasn't 'normal'. Seto pretended to be male, and had therefore adapted those habits of men. When referring to herself, she used ' Ore ', no matter what the situation. When referring to someone else, it was either omae, or, if particularly enraged 'kisama' or 'onore'. It was something he was used to. Something he expected.

So it was one thing when he heard the others refer to her by her old last name, 'Souryuu'.

But it was another when he heard her voice, somehow more feminine in tone than it had ever been, echoing from the front... "Sensei- Osokunatte, sumimasen..." Osoku- She... Was apologizing for being late..! And more importantly...

This wasn't weird..! "It's fine," the teacher was telling her, gesturing to the desks. "Please, take your seat Souryuu-san. I will excuse this for today;jJust make sure this doesn't happen again."

"Of course," came the flat answer.

What what what..! Those clothes..! She was wearing the girl's uniform and... Over the PA, the teacher was called down, Seto briefly looking back before watching as the teacher left. Just seconds more and the usual crowd of friends turned on the woman, Katsuya left to stare in shock and mild horror both. "Hah... That was a close call Seri-chan," Anzu said with a smile, causing Katsuya to only further grit his teeth to hold back his groan. Seri... Chan...

It didn't work damn it..! I just didn't work..!

Even so the others didn't seem to notice, instead agreeing with Anzu as the woman stood near the desk. "One minute late... That's rotten luck," Honda said somewhat plainly.

'Seri' merely smiled somewhat, the expression somehow leaving Katsuya with a mixed feeling of confusion and nausea both. "My bus took a detour," she said somewhat plainly, the blond before her wincing as 'watashi' came over the air again. "So it took a little longer to get here than I'd hoped..."

The others nodded, still staring at the much taller member of the group in slight silence. "...I like your hair," Yugi said somewhat conversationally, looking at the apparently 'new' cut. "It's nice."

"It used to be so long though," Otogi added with raised eyebrows, "Why cut it?"

The woman blinked, smile fading somewhat before replacing itself with ease. "Ah... It was getting in my eyes," she answered, the reasoning sounding oddly similar to the reason the 'real Seto' preferred her own cut. "So I decided to cut it. It's better this way anyways," 'Seri' decided, "It doesn't get in the way of what I'm doing now..." Well... He supposed that was true but...

It still didn't look right damn it! The skirt, the neatly brushed hair that was clearly styled to suit a woman, the smile that just didn't seem to be hers, and the 'watashi' 'watashi' 'watashi' of all things..!

Katsuya stood from his chair without another word, the others turning with somewhat raised eyebrows. "..Ah... Jonouchi-kun," 'Seri' asked, unknowingly sending another sting through the blond at the sound of the honorific. "You look pale," she continued, tone laced in an obvious worry that was doing nothing at all to help. "Are you alright..."

"'M fine," he said a little too quickly, before moving to leave the room. "Jus' need t' do somethin' quickly," he added despite protests.

Very quickly, he thought to himself as he brushed past the others. Very, very, very quickly.

Because, Katsuya told himself, splashing as much water on his face from the washroom sink as he could just moments later, this was more than clearly a dream. Or maybe a nightmare... Hell even a 'vision', who knew. But for some reason he was in some kind of world where he wasn't waking up, where this cold water wasn't shocking him awake, his pinching wasn't sending enough pain to jar him...

He was stuck. And he was aware of it. Which was probably one of the worst kinds of 'stuck', because chances were, he wasn't supposed to be aware. The blond groaned, slamming his head into the sink. "Alrigh' 'Ra'," the blond muttered, for some reason thinking of no other 'giant deity thing' than the phoenix that had struck him down. "If I'm dead," he continued under his breath, "An' th's is heaven... Then lemme tell y' now, yer doin' it wrong..."

Seriously... This dream... "Now what is he doing," he thought he heard someone mutter, the voice almost familiar to him. The blond froze, and again it continued. "Splashing himself and muttering about dreams... ...Strange..." That voice...

Katsuya turned, narrowed eyes honing in on the far corner of the ceiling. For a moment there was nothing there. After a few seconds however something appeared, seeming to originate from the dark point of the corner itself. A shadow... Almost completely black in colour, poking in through the walls and- "You," he muttered, eyes narrowing further as the shadow began to clear. This shadow... No- Not a shadow. Not completely. There was colour there, it was just too dark to see. And besides that, in the center of his brow he could see... The 'eye'. This was... "...Th' other Yugi..."

The 'other Yugi' seemed to stiffen with shock, Katsuya as well staring up in confusion as the spirit came forward. "You... You can see me," he muttered in surprise, the blond nodding just slightly as the ghost narrowed his eyes. "You can hear me," he continued, floating before the blond with narrowed eyes. This...

"'F course I can," he said without thought, nonetheless stepping back as he looked over this 'other world' version of his friend. Completely dark, black... Like a liquid shadow... Like...

Darkness.

"Impossible," the 'darkness' said bluntly, eyes almost a single shade of colour in the shadows that he was made of. "Even the one who carries my vessel can't see me," he continued, Katsuya's frown deepening. "There's no reason for you to be different." Vessel..? Waaaaait...

"Y-Y' mean Yugi," Katsuya repeated with a swallow, waiting for a response only to get silence. "Yugi can't..." More silence. But... No... He shook his head, looking away for a brief moment. "No way," he muttered, "Tha' ain't possible... I saw Bakura out there," he continued, recalling the 'change point' between where his friend had started trying to reach out more to the ghost. By this point in time he'd long since been able to see him but how... "How..."

The shadow blinked, crossing his arms a moment as he looked to the blond oddly. There was suspicion there... A large amount of suspicion, most likely in regards to being 'seen', or to his 'friend' acting against the restrictions of the dream, but in the end the spirit shook his head. "When the Dark Bakura and I fought," he explained flatly, "It's true that we became aware of each other... However, due to the circumstances through which they came about, I don't feel that we will be able to meet again..." The circumstances..? What circumstances..? "True, Bakura is alive again," 'Yugi' was muttering, crossing his arms as he hovered in the air, "But given all that happened between... ...Well..." 'Well'? Wait... Wait... He'd have understood if they all swore the 'other Yugi' off from a first meeting like that but...

He shook his head, stepping back once again. "No... No way," he muttered with wide eyes, "You an' Yugi did tha' at... At Death-T, you both came t' terms w' th' other an'-"

And the look on the other Yugi's face said it all, obvious confusion evident even in completely black and shadowed eyes and facial features. "...Death... T..?"

Katsuya paled, realization hitting him cold. Seto was 'Seri', that was one 'change'. But there was another; Seri wasn't Seri Kaiba afterall, she was Seri Souryuu. Which meant that Seri had never been adopted by Gozaburo, possibly never adopted at all. Which meant she'd never taken over Kaiba Corp and turned it over into a game company. Which meant she'd never fought Yugi for Blue Eyes, had never built that horrific tower in an act of vengeance after the penalty game exacted, had never put Yugi through the trauma that would force him to tell everyone that he thought there was another him...

Which meant, in turn, they wouldn't have started trusting each other, when they themselves said rather bluntly that 'two Yugi's were just as welcome as one. Yugi's blackouts would have continued, along with the odd number of victims and- "...Tha'... So y' still give 'm black outs then," he asked somewhat quietly.

There was a somewhat owlish stare in response, as though he'd asked something completely ridiculous. In the end however, he shook his head, sighing almost guiltily. "I wasn't aware you even knew about that," he whispered, folding his arms as his friend bit his lip. "How exactly is it that you can see me any ways..?"

The blond stared, looking to the shadow before him. What little 'emotion' he was displaying looked almost to be tied to what would be 'expected' rather than what he 'felt' almost... He felt guilty, that was obvious but... It was too extreme. It wasn't in check at all, it was just washing off the body in literal waves of darkness. This...

He really was just a 'shadow' now, wasn't he... Just following behind, invisible and... "...Hey," he asked, looking to the ghost almost in pity despite himself. Besides the fact that he couldn't answer the question... Just what had gone on here? "How long 's it been since y' spoke t'..." How long since they said a single word to each other..?

"Since the Monster World game," the spirit admitted, Katsuya growing more than pale at the mention of an almost year-long-past event. "I haven't even been able to access the body since then... All I can do is follow him like some 'shadow'..." Hell, he looked like one... "You even began calling me 'Darkness,'" he added almost bitterly, turning from where he'd looked away with crossed arms. "Not even 'Dark Yugi', 'other Yugi'... Just 'Darkness'. It's my body too isn't it," the boy muttered, before falling somewhat limp. "...Though I suppose... In the end, it's not even that," he decided with a sad frown. Not even that... Darkness...

'Yami'. The name sent chills down his spine, not that he'd admit it. Hell... He knew the 'other Yugi' was one dark guy when he was first around but... Yami? Sounded like the kind of game for the final 'big bad', the last monster in the video game. Not the name for him. ...Alright... Alright he told himself, shaking his head as he tried to clear it. Alright... Besides the fact that this world was way too twisted for him to handle with ease, this...

More silence hung over the air, the pair trading a long and awkward stare before the less physical of the two finally spoke up again. "You... You'll tell them I won't hurt them right," the spirit asked, Katsuya blinking. That he wouldn- But why would they have to know that, it should have been obvious that- "Before, when he met with Otogi... With all that happened," he continued with a swallow, Katsuya knowing just what he referred to, "Well... I think my absence affected him somehow, and negatively. He won't acknowledge me... But he won't abandon me either," the spirit continued almost in lament. "I think he's still afraid. Of me, of my intentions... So if you could tell him," the ghost asked, "Even just to let him no that no matter what, I still protect him, I..."

Katsuya stared, before nodding somewhat guiltily. Try as he might to pretend this didn't matter because it was a 'dream', it still felt all too real to ignore really. All the same, if it was this far... He had a feeling that whatever he said would make things a hell of a lot worse... Even so. "Y... Yea," he said quietly, rubbing the back of his neck. "I'll let 'm know next time I visit 'm," he decided. "When it's jus' us tw... Three," he corrected.

'Yami' seemed to sigh in relief at that, a small smile even appearing. "Hah... Thank you. I can't even describe how much this-"

-breeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee..!- Ah-

The blond jumped, looking up at the ceiling. That sound... "Ah... Fire alarm..? We havin' a drill then..?" What the hell was the fire alarm going off fo-

"Hn... An alarm for fire... But where..." The blond stared at the ghost a moment, shaking his head. Wow... The other Yugi not being tied to the real one was... Really putting a damper on this one's knowledge of things. A lot.

Regardless Katsuya simply shook his head, grabbing the spirit's arm and pulling him through the door before dropping it as he ran through the already developing crowd. "You c'n ask Yugi abou' it later," he said quickly, holding his voice at its usual 'secret whisper'. "If I ain't out there fast enough I'm screwed..!"

"Ah, right..." 'Right' indeed. Now...

If he could just figure out everything else about this weird 'dream' world...

---

School had passed in probably the most awkwardly slow fashion in the history of any class he'd ever taken. He couldn't say anything, couldn't do anything, and worst of all the others continued on mentioning things, small things, that had happened in the place of all that went on in his 'real world'... Things which he either only barely picked up on, or found himself missing completely as he stared in embarrassed and agitated confusion.

For one, what the other Yugi had said before the fire drill was right. When mentioned (in passing) as the 'other Yugi' during lunch, they'd been confused as hell and wondering if he was alright... Again. It wasn't until he said 'darkness' that they understood who he was talking about. And when, after Anzu decided to ream him out for even thinking that they were the same person, he had asked why they called him that...

'Because that's what he is,' Yugi responded with an eerie amount of ease. 'My 'darkness'.'

Something told him that Ishizu never showed up, with that in mind... Which had him wondering about the 'replacement' for battle city in the end.

But regardless of differences, when the 'other Yugi' appeared, when 'Yami' appeared, no one knew he was there and no one saw. He kept himself as disconnected from the group as possible, lest he provoke still more negativity in his direction. Ironically enough, it seemed that by remaining afraid of the shadow Yugi himself had become more like his other self. A little more confident, a little stronger...

But that wasn't right, he told himself later. It wasn't right, and it wasn't Yugi. This wasn't the one he'd come to know as his friend, and if he didn't wake up soon he'd-

"So, Seri-san," Yugi said later that day as they slowly left the school building. "Do you think you'll enter that tournament..? You have a pretty good deck after all," he continued, "So..."

Seri had turned at that request, blinking. "My deck... ...Hn!" She smirked, shaking her head. "Obviously it's not so good if you always beat me..."

"Eh, no one beats Yugi," Honda countered absently. "Heck, I think he's the only one who can beat you," he muttered almost sourly, "With your three dragons..."

"I don't use those in my deck though," she responded with a frown. "You know that. The closest thing I have is my Emerald Dragon, and that hardly counts," Seri went on, Katsuya again freezing behind the group. That... She had the Blue Eyes cards, but she didn't-

Very big difference. Huge difference, he told himself, this was... "Jonouchi," Anzu said with a smile, turning back was he was snapped out of his stupor yet again. "Want to go to burger world?"

Burger world..? The blond's eyes drifted over the shadow before him, the shadow of his friend which was now hovering amidst the crowd unseen. This world was weird... Different... Not... "Nah," he said quickly, shaking his head as the shadow poked out of sight. "I got... I got somethin' t' do," he muttered as he walked off. "I'll see y' later, I-"

"Ah- Jonouchi-kun," Yugi said quickly, reaching out as the blond turned back. "Why are you going that way?" That way?

Katsuya blinked, looking toward the direction he'd been about to walk. What were they talking about, he always went this way, that was where- ...Right, he told himself, growing somewhat pale as he bit his lip. 'Seto Kaiba' never existed, therefore he'd never snuck into the mansion to figure out what was in her briefcase, which in turn meant he'd never gotten hired there which meant...

He still lived in the apartment with his old man. Who wouldn't have been in jail in this world, who wouldn't have been broken out of his alcoholism... Who would likely be irritable, drunk, and ready to throw whatever was on-hand to start up an old game of 'duck, duck DUCK DAMNIT', and agghhh... Damn it all, he thought as he scratched his head. This just wasn't working for him at all... It was too weird, too different, too... Well...

SHIT! "There's somethin' I gotta do in th's direction," he said somewhat flatly, finally taking a deep breath and walking off. "Jus'... I'll see y' all later, alrigh'," he continued.

The others seemed more than confused on the matter... But for the most part, as he walked away they didn't follow. He wouldn't know of course... After all, he didn't look back to check and he didn't want to. Not once. But as he walked he had to fight off the gnawing feeling of confused and worried stares from friends that weren't his friends but were his friends or at least trying to be, burning holes into the back of his shirt as he moved...

And an hour later he was on the subway, still trying to calm himself from that fact. This wasn't real, he was repeating through his mind, his panicked breathing haggard and quick as he gripped the hand rail. This wasn't real, not in any way and it was all a dream..! A twisted, fucked up dream that butchered everything he knew! It wasn't real...

It wasn't real...

God damn, he sounded like Noa right now.

He needed to find out what happened, Katsuya decided as he came to the same supposedly random street where he'd found the internet cafe half a year ago. This place was only a 'little' different. But it was those little things that were drastically twisting everything he saw, changing things from mere movie posters to common 'world wide events'. So he needed to find out what happened...

And after forking over what was apparently all of his change for an hour of net time, he found out just how much hadn't.

For some reason, while he was looking, a 'poem' from English class came to mind, line by line as he looked through article headlines and clips of video. How'd it go... 'For want of a nail...'

Ah- Words appeared in his mind- briefly, just briefly as he left the cafe an hour later with a fairly depressed outlook on his situation. 'For want of a nail the shoe was lost, for want of a shoe the horse was lost, for want of a horse the rider was lost, for want of a rider the message was lost, for want of a message the battle was lost, for want of a battle the kingdom was lost...'

"An' all f'r th' want 'f a horseshoe nail..."

Standing outside of the cafe his blood went cold after those words passed his lips, and it seemed to only now just hit him how much had changed.. Because 'Seto Kaiba' never existed, Gozaburo's Kaiba Corp was still the king of its previous field; weapons and arms, supplying to the highest bidder in an endless war overseas... A war Japan had nothing to do with it. The irony was that it seemed some other company called 'Schroider Corp' had done just what Kaiba had done by transforming their own company over to the Game industry, creating the duel table, and most likely (he couldn't be sure given the date) the duel disk as well. All in all, it seemed as though the technological end hadn't changed...

But because Seto Kaiba didn't exist, the other Yugi faded into darkness, never forced into the open by a series of tragic and ultimately traumatizing events in one single tower. Because Seto Kaiba didn't exist, Pegasus was still alive, as Death T hadn't happened, as Seto had never had her soul 'crushed', thereby allowing the Big 5 to take the company, allowing them to impose that deal on Pegasus with the intent of merging companies... Pegasus didn't need that in this world.

So he never even heard of Yugi. Or of Seto. Or Mokuba. Or Bakura. Or any other item holder really- There was no ' Duelist Kingdom '. The Yugi of this world had, for some reason, still not entered the tournament that would have led to the event, and it was likely simply because it was so soon after Bakura's appearance. He didn't become a 'duelist icon'. Pegasus never held his grandfather hostage for a fight between the loss of a soul or an incredible prize.

His sister was still blind. There was no prize from the duelist kingdom, so his sister was still blind. And if she wasn't, it would have been from Ryuzaki Keichi's winnings in a tournament, and not his or his friend's, so in the end it was still as though he'd done absolutely nothing for her cause.

The Ghouls still existed, but they showed no signs of arriving in Tokyo from what he saw because at the moment there was no clue as to the whereabouts of the 'Pharaoh' that Malik would seek out, nor any mention of God Cards as Seto had used to lure them out for Battle City. And as he had searched for the Blue-Eyes White Dragons he found something even more fearful. First- All three of the men whom owned those three blue eyes white dragons had been killed, supposedly in accidents, shortly after online meetings with a similarly composed unknown source. Second...

Gozaburo Kaiba still had a son. But it wasn't Noa. Instead...

It was Mokuba.

"Jonouchi-kun," a calm voice 'asked' at that moment, Katsuya pulled from his fear filled thoughts as he turned. J-? Who was-

Brown hair came into view, along with a somewhat taller young woman currently dressed in something other than the school uniform. Set- "...Ser... K... Souryuu," he finally forced out, the woman across from him staring somewhat owlishly at the mix of names coming forward. She'd been about to give someone a call from her phone... And hahaha, there was a small Blue-Eyes white dragon dangling from the end, that... That was so like her, seriously... But wait- this was way the hell at the edge of the district, so why- "...What're you..."

Seri merely blinked, silent for a few more moments. "I work nearby, repairing computers," she finally said, gesturing down the street as the blond looked around her. "...Jonouchi-kun," she continued, frowning somewhat. "...Did something happen at your apartment again?" Eh- Again..! Katsuya blinked a few times in confusion, and the woman's frown increased somewhat. "As I recall... You had to spend a few weeks at Yugi-kun's last month because of something... You never said what it was though," she added, "So I assumed something happened to the apartment." Right... The apartment, he...

...Shit... If he'd had to spend a few weeks at Yugi's recently... Well there was no way it'd be safe right now..! "Hah... ...Yea... It..." It was... ...Damn these dreams were well 'planned'. Ehh... "...Th' plumbin's still shot," he muttered as an excuse, easily catching the 'I don't believe you' look in Seri's eyes before pressing on nonetheless. "I'll manage anyways," he continued. "Don' mind me, I-"

"Hn... I understand," the woman responded, adjusting the bag under her shoulders before turning away to text something in on her phone. "In that case," she decided I suppose you can spend the night at my own apartment." AH-

"W-W-What... At your apartment," he repeated, shaking his head. "Whady'-" Why would she...

What the hell..! "Come on," Seri continued almost flatly, pulling him across the street by the arm as her 'friend' continued to sputter. "This way- I doubt Bakura-kun will mind much anyways."

"Ah-!" Hold on...

Bakura..!

---

The wind on the field was cold and harsh and it blew her coat out behind her enough to make it appear as though she was wearing a cape around her waist. A similar effect was occurring with her opponent she noted as he made his way up the stairs, the woman's eyes momentarily freezing on the cold expression he held. As Yugi slowly clicked his duel disk into place the jacket he wore blew out behind him, his eyes narrowed with a steely determination to get things over with. There would be no banter this time around, no traded insults. It was time.

No other way to put it. "You came," she said almost simply, expression cold and nigh emotionless in appearance. The field was rising beneath their feet at that very moment, and even though it had been cleaned thoroughly in their absence it felt as though she was still standing in a puddle of blood, watching as Katsuya tried and failed to make that one desperate final attack...

'Second match of the Semi-Finals,' a voice called out, cutting her thoughts short 'Kaiba Seto VS Mutou Yugi is about to start,' Isono announced, the stage slowly continuing to rise as the two duelists stood in silence. 'Ready your disks..!' The words weren't even needed at the moment, and as the silence continued Higher... Higher...

The arena locked in place, and for a moment there was only silence. A cold wind blowing past them as they stared across the field at each other. "...Why do you insist on this tournament continuing," her opponent eventually asked, disk held forward as he narrowed his eyes.

"Because it 'must'," she said almost stonily, looking forward with icy eyes. "And besides... Your friend is fighting for his life right now," Seto told him. "It's only fitting that we have our own battle to deal with... Something to distract you from your self-pity," she added coldly, her opponent appearing to hold back a growl in response. "Unless you really aren't trying to blame yourself for not facing him first to prevent this calamity..."

Yugi merely narrowed his eyes, swallowing. "Kaiba... And just what happens afterwards then," he asked, almost turning away with the question. "At the end of this ' Battle City '?"

"The loser sulks, and the winner moves on... What else," she asked bluntly, receiving nothing more than a continued glare in response. "That's all there is for the loser after all- despair, hopelessness. Nothing else." Nothing more than that... And that would never change.

And yet he still thought otherwise. "Is that what you really think," he asked, narrowing his eyes. The boy shook his head, and with not another moment gave his own opinion on the matter. "...You're wrong. You can take that option, true," Yugi went on, turning away somewhat in the blowing wind. "But there's still another option. To continue down that road ahead," he shouted, "Looking onward to what lies at the end..!"

As though there were no losers then, right? As though everyone came out unscathed, as though nothing was wrong... That... "Tch... Pointless," she snarled, gritting her teeth. "POINTLESS! There's only one winner and in the end that person must step over the bodies of the defeated regardless of who they might be..! YUGI," Seto went on. "I will defeat you... I will take your God Card, and I WILL fight Malik..!" She had to fight him... No matter what..! Her spirit wouldn't crumble here... That idiot in the ship would live and while they waited for that helicopter to arrive she would do all she could to end this...

All of it..!

"HERE I COME," she roared, holograms abruptly jumping up around them to form a series of colloseum walls. "DUEL START!"

The cold wind continued to blow and as Yugi looked around his eyes almost seemed to dim, taking in the scene that had replaced the ruined plain that was Alcatraz Island. The walls around them were cold, stone... And silent. Not even a single holographic person sitting within the seats. "Empty," Yugi said after a moment, shaking his head almost in surprise as he took in this fact. "The halls are..."

"This is merely a wall," Seto said almost dully, not willing to activate the 'second half' of the colloseum program. "To block out any distractions while we fight." Distractions such as Malik, such as the airship in the distance that she kept looking to, the image of Katsuya's broken and dying body, the feeling of that...

Kiss...

"I see," her opponent said stiffly, drawing his hand of cards while Seto did the same. "In that case, I'll move! ARE YOU READY," the boy roared, the shouts more than pulling his opponent from her thoughts as she stared across the field. "I summon the Queen's Knight, in defense mode! In addition," he continued, the holographic knight standing at attention as a second card appeared, "One card face down!" Alright then...

Her turn..! As she drew the card she couldn't help but let a smirk come over her face, looking back over where the light shimmered over Yugi's blond and red armored knight. Victory was on her side already... The first card she drew and it was Obelisk..! Another card was grabbed from her hand, and the smirk remained in place. "I summon X-Head Cannon," she announced, the holographic monster shimmering into existence with a metalized snarl as the card was placed. "I also set a face down card, and end my turn!"

"I'll summon another monster then," her opponent countered, familiar holographic form of Kuriboh appearing before her to croon as she snorted. "Kuriboh in defense mode!" Kuri... Ugh. Her only comfort was the lack of animations this one had... "Turn end!"

Tch! Always summoning this one... She'd teach him how foolish it was to play something like that against her..! "My turn then..! I use the spell 'Soul Exchange' to switch our monsters and use yours as tributes... In addition," the woman continued with a dark grin, the monsters already trading places in various showers of light, "Another spell! ENEMY CONTROLLER! Allowing me to control 'your' new X-Head Cannon," Seto shouted with a continued grin. "And for a small price of life points," the woman continued, the controller briefly hovering before her to enter a code that would bring the monster back to her field, "I have not two, but three sacrifices... So," she announced, grabbing the card from her hand as a storm began to brew, "I SUMMON-"

"TRAP CARD! LIGHT FORCE SWORD," Yugi roared, the holographic panel swinging upward as a sword of light swung through the card her hand. Blinding light seared from the ground, the blade appearing to impale a holographic duplicate of her card to the field. The disk locked... She wouldn't be able to summon this for another three turns, regardless of the card she held..! Damn it... "Hn! Don't get hasty," Yugi said from across her, a smirk on his face despite all that was going on. "This game's just started after all..."

Hn! "So has the count down to your defeat," she responded with a small and sneering smile. The monsters returned to their respective sides of the field with those words, but even with the lock on her God she wasn't worried. She had a strategy after all... This wouldn't stop her! "My turn is over," she continued aloud with that in mind, arms crossed as she gave a gesturing nod to her opponent. This was her battle. Her tournament. And as such she would be taking the reigns back if it killed her..! "Your move, Yugi!"

Her opponent nodded, looking to his deck as he drew his next card. She had her God. He didn't. And despite Light Force Sword being in play that fact alone had Yugi at a grave disadvantage, with the boy staring at the field with narrowed eyes before finally making his move. "One card face down," he said clearly, holographic panel shimmering into existence beside the revealed Lightforce Sword. "And that's all!"

Defense monsters and face down cards... Hnhnhnhnhn... Of course that was all. "Keep running like that and the three turns you saved yourself will pass by in an instant," she chuckled, eyes narrowed in mirth. Of course, she thought as her smirk widened, she wouldn't even need three turns if she played her cards right... And if she could defeat Yugi with enough speed... "Hnhnhnhnhn... My turn," Seto called out, a second monster card appearing at her side. "And my next card is the Y-Dragon Head in attack mode!" The holographic pterodactyl appeared before her from in front of the card, red-metal armor gleaming in the sun as her opponent paled. That look in his eyes... "Hnhnhnhn... I see you've already guessed what sort of monsters I'm summoning," the woman called out, the energy of the duel more than enough to hold at least a somewhat positive mood through her being. "That fear in your eyes... You've guessed right, there's no doubt! Watch; as two of three magnet monsters fuse together..! And the moment I summon the part of 'Z'," Seto continued, "They'll form the ultimate being... But until then," she shouted with a grin, the monster at her side taking aim with both the cannons on 'X's' shoulders and the gaping mouth of 'Y', "The XY-Dragon Cannon takes aim..! READY... ATTACK KURIBOH! HYPER DESTRUCTION!"

For a moment, she almost thought she heard a scream when the monster died. A high pitched wail, surpassing the pitch of the duel disks' sound system as the monster curled away in pain. In the end however she passed it off as nothing, instead studying her opponent's scowl with a smirk. "Gh... Kaiba," he hissed, absently rubbing his arm.

"Hnhnhnhnhn... Scared, Yugi? I imagine you're counting down the three turns to the end right now aren't you," she continued, smirk widening. "But what if I told you I didn't have to wait..? After all... The God Cards only choose the ultimate of duelists; so watch! I play the spell Voice of the Heavens," Seto roared, pointing forward with a wicked grin. "Allowing me to take one of your most powerful monsters..! All I need to do is say the name," she continued with a hissing laugh, "And it's mine... The name of 'God'... 'Saint Dragon Osiris'! SO, YUGI," she 'ordered', the boy tensing considerably more as he looked to his deck. "Pull out your God and give it to me..!"

Yugi swallowed, still tense as he did just that. Card after card was fanned out while the deck sat upside down, the boy searching for the card... In the end Osiris was the third from the bottom, Yugi grudgingly walking forward with the card while his duel disk re-shuffled the deck. Well now...

"It was hidden deep within wasn't it," she muttered almost dryly. "How unfortunate... It looks as though you wouldn't have drawn it in this duel after all... Not that it matters," the woman laughed, holding a hand out to take Osiris. "After all; the Gods listen only to me..!"

"Actually," her opponent said with a smirk, "I think you should look back to my side of the field..." What... The grin fell, and as her eyes drifted over to where the face down card had been activated she tensed. Oh SHIT..! "Hnhnhn... You must have been thinking the same thing I was," Yugi continued, holding out his hand of cards. "That the moment Obelisk came free, I'd activate this card. But right now seemed like a better time; the spell Exchange," he continued with a grin. "So... I'll be keeping this," he went on, gesturing to the Osiris card in his hand. "And as for you... ...Pick a card," he chuckled as he waved the remaining ones forward. "Any card."

---

It took a few minutes for him to fully realize what it was that 'Seri' had told him.

"You... Y' live w' Bakura," he asked once again with wide eyes, Seri blinking as they stood to wait at another crosswalk.

"Of course," she responded, giving him an almost incredulous look. "Since I turned fifteen..." Fifteen...

Ah- that was the minimum age to own an apartment wasn't it? Provided there was guardian permission? So then why... He shook his head, attempting to focus on walking while he thought of the questions. Alright... So she was staying in an apartment. In that case... "...Why Bakura..?"

"It helps with the ring," she said somewhat bluntly, not even hesitating as she answered a text from her phone. The ring..? Briefly the blond stopped moving before mentally nodding with understanding.

Right. It was probably a little harder to put that thing on when Seri was around huh... But... Well, not that they didn't care, but why would this one difference mean actually having someone mediate the mess? And... The blond shook his head. Push it from mind, he told himself. It wasn't real... Just push it from mind. "Hey... ...Souryuu," he said after a moment of trying to clear his thoughts, the pair crossing the next street as the light changed. "Those three Blue-Eyes cards... Where did you get-"

"I already told you all 'where'," the woman answered flatly, only a slight hint of anger visible in her eyes. "I received them in an envelope on my birthday. There was no return address, and all I could find was a note that stated it to be 'repayment'. I..." There was a short pause, Seri turning away somewhat with distant eyes as she fingered what looked to be a small card sleeve around her neck. "...That's all there is to it," she eventually said, dropping the packet to cross her arms around her bag as she continued to walk. "Nothing more." Nothing...

Nothing more. ...Well obviously something weird happened here. "Righ'... Kay then..." What he wouldn't bet that the card sleeve 'locket replacement' held those cards... ...New subject! "...Hey, Souryuu," he asked, Bakura's apartment complex already in view from where they stood. There was something he needed to know... Hell there were lots of things he just needed to know, but for this one... "...Why 'xactly did y' start hanging around w' us," Katsuya asked, the pair walking through the building and up the stairs. "I mean... On a 'p'rmanen' basis," he added with quotes, attempting to hide the unease with a grin only for it to falter. They were outside of the apartment now, and as Seri put the key in the door she'd frozen completely, not turning as she fell silent. When she did give her answer however, it was just a little...

Disturbing.

"...'Darkness'," the woman muttered, narrowing her eyes. Darkness...

Wait, what..? As in the other Yugi? As in... "'Yami'..?"

There was a short, small nod but she still didn't turn away, merely turning the key in the lock to open the door. "I'm not proud of what I did to warrant his attention," she muttered lowly, slowly turning her attention back. "You understand that, don't you?"

He... Well... "'F course," he said without thinking, nonetheless meaning what he said as he looked to the woman with a slightly suspicious stare. "You... ...Y'r talkin' about Jii-san's card," he continued, attempting to hide his shock as best he could. "...Aren't y'..." When she'd apparently tried to take it right from under Yugi's nose... But for her to do that... Hell...

She'd still tried that, even in this world..?

The woman nodded yet again, eyes growing dim as she walked into the apartment. "Come inside," she said quietly, still not looking back. "We can talk in the living room." Living room..? Oh yea, Bakura had an 'LDK' apartment didn't he? It was a pretty big one for what he had... Of course, he used the dining room for his Monster World kit last he recalled- Or had that been the random second bedroom he'd had here? He was assuming Seri used that and- ...Well, even so he said nothing, simply following the woman in and taking off his shoes. Over all, it didn't look much different from Bakura's apartment in his own reality. Maybe a little 'brighter' (which felt weird some how), and there was obviously an extra pair of shoes and related to show there was another person there, but otherwise...

The only real sign was that the second bedroom actually had a bed in it, with the Monster World equipment moved to join with the rest in the dining room. Not to mention a fairly large amount of paper sketch piles in said second room, along with a computer, a small bookshelf... "Huh... Nice room," he muttered, slowly taking a seat on the side as Seri shut the door behind them.

"Yes... ...I suppose..." A somewhat awkward silence hung on the air, and as Seri put her bag on the side it seemed almost like she didn't even plan to speak. "...Did you know," she muttered almost softly in the end, evidentially making the decision anyway. "I had a brother once..?" Had..? The woman took a seat at the desk chair, pulling out the plastic card-sleeve around her neck to open it up. "At the orphanage where I stayed until recently... I had a brother there," she whispered, Katsuya frowning.

Alright, he knew the kid wasn't dead at least so... "Y' mean... ...Mokuba," he asked, Seri looking up in slight surprise to blink a small number of times.

"Ah... ...Yes... That was his... Name... That..." She sighed, opening the sleeve a little more as she pulled out three cards. "Mokuba... While we were at that orphanage, there was a rule," Seri explained, "Boys in one side, girls on the other, save for 'free time'. I wasn't able to protect him from anything that happened because of that," she said quietly. "So everyday, I would find myself hiding him from other boys he shared his room with and..." Seri cut off, pausing a moment more while her guest continued to frown. This... ...Just because she wasn't there, he... Things got that bad..? "In the end," she continued, "I spotted something on the television while we were playing chess. About KaibaCorp's CEO,"

"Kaiba Gozaburo," Katsuya whispered, shaking his head. And history came close to repeating... He blinked, catching a blank stared from the woman before rubbing his head. "Er... Sorry," he added with a cough, "Keep goin'..."

The woman continued to stare a few moments longer, but nonetheless did so with a short nod. "Right... Kaiba Gozaburo had supposedly had a son at one point," Seri began. "When I found out that he had lost his life in a car accident a few years prior I wondered if Gozaburo would possibly be willing to adopt a child again. A home like that... There's no way it can be bad right," she asked, sounding almost as though she expected an answer to it. There was no answer to give however, and so the woman went on. "So... When Gozaburo appeared at the orphanace, I made a bet with him... I could handle the orphanage. But for Mokuba's sake, I told Gozaburo 'If I win, you will adopt my brother, and raise him as your own.'"

"And y' won... Didn' you..."

She nodded. "Correct. It was difficult... I was almost tempted to cheat," she continued, brushing a bit of hair back with a smirk. "But I won. I helped my brother pack, and we spent one last day together. We walked around down town, visiting arcades, stores..." The woman leaned back against her chair, looking up at the ceiling almost wistfully. "Duel Monsters at that time was very new," she muttered, almost to herself. "So there were lots of posters advertizing the powerful cards, and even the ones that no one would ever have... Blue-Eyes was one," Seri continued, fingering the cards in her hand. "We stared at that poster for so long... I..." She sighed, looking back down at the card's surface. "I made him a promise," she whispered with dull eyes. "That some day, I would get him that card... But in the end, it was impossible," the woman continued with a shrug. "I offered all I had to be rejected, and then tried to steal it out of some pathetic desperation... I..."

Katsuya swallowed, looking away somewhat. He knew what happened after that- After that match in the real world... But the penalty game; what was it again..? "...Sou... Seri," he said, the woman before him briefly staring in confusion as he continued on despite not bothering to address his overall annoyance at the different names. "...After tha' game... What did th' other- ...I mean, 'Yami'," he corrected with a slight wince, "Wha'd he..."

"The illusion of death," she whispered, pulling her arms close with a slight shudder. "For an entire evening, there was nothing but monsters attacking me... ...I spent a few days at Anzu-chan's shortly after while trying to explain what happened," Seri went on, shaking her head with a swallow. "And though she didn't believe me at the time... Well... It's likely the only reason why I can sleep even now... After all, something like that, even now I..." Wait...

Anzu's house? So then the other Yugi's penalty game actually worked this time..? Katsuya rubbed his head, wincing before realizing that the woman had cut off. Ah- "If... If y' don' wanna talk abou' it," he began with a slight wince, pushing the mental question of Seri knowing Anzu beforehand out of his mind, "I..."

She nodded, giving the blond a small smile. "It's fine, Jonouchi-kun. What 'Yami' did had nothing to do with you... But when I received these cards in the mail only to see the deaths of those people in the news," the woman went on, cards shaking in her hand, "Well... In the end, I can't use cards that caused such a thing." Hnn...

That was why then... But who sent her those cards then..? Hell, why, the only one he could think of here that knew was...

...Mokuba. But why would he...

Hell, if people had died this time around then- Katsuya bit his lip, shaking it off and attempting to change the subject to something more positive. "Er... S... So," he said after a short awkward moment, rubbing his neck. "What kinda food y' got here?"

Seri seemed to stare almost incredulously for a moment, as though having expected something far harsher in response. In the end however, she merely smiled. "Bakura-kun isn't much for making anything beyond simple meals... At the moment you have the option of ramen noodles or leftover rice." Ramen or rice... Well!

Sounded good to him!

---

Bakura had arrived sometime between when he was about done the left over rice and when he'd plowed through their leftover ramen. Ironically, Bakura had gone grocery shopping... So he'd been pleasantly surprised to find his fridge cleaned out for whatever he was about to put inside. The rest of the evening passed fairly calmly as well; Bakura vanished off after he'd finished eating for an online Monster World campaign and, after a fairly blunt and almost rude check over concerning the ring, Seri had simply taken her sketch pad and sat back on the futon/bed in her own room.

Having nothing else to do, he ended up following. This version of Seto... She drew a lot he noted later on as he lay back on a borrowed futon in the living room. He hadn't seen too much of what was there of course... But a lot of the papers had things like dragons, Egyptian soldiers and workers, items however small...

He supposed that a 'Seto' that hadn't been conditioned against anything supernatural would do that really. It certainly made sense, he thought with a yawn the next morning. All in all however... Now that it was Saturday, there wasn't much to do outside of Bakura doing whatever it was he did, and with Seri going to her part-time job for a few hours...

And him following, since she was more than capable of replacing thermal paste and graphics cards while talking, and her boss didn't particularly care so long as they didn't do anything stupid. "So... Th's 's where y' work," he said idly, the woman currently poking around an old laptop with a frown that likely had nothing to do with his presence. It was just a simple maintenance place but...

There really weren't many people working compared to the number of computers hanging around to be fixed. "That's right," Seri said somewhat plainly, voice still a number of notches warmer than he was used to even with the slight annoyance at whatever she was fixing. "I've been fairly adept with computers for a while now; it's second nature really." Hoh...

That was cool... Add that to the list of similarities he supposed. "Guess tha' means you c'n always e-mail Mokuba when y' wanna talk t' him," he supposed under his breath, before paling as he realized the woman had heard him. The look on her face in particular... Well- given that it wasn't happy, it probably meant she didn't have said e-mail and... Well... "ER- I mean..."

"It's fine," she responded flatly, before carefully screwing a small fan into place and putting the cover back on the device she was working on. "I haven't seen my brother in six years," she continued. "It's fine." Six...

Six years...

That... "...I used to pass by that house after school though," Seri continued later on, when they were walking back from the work building at the end of the day. "It was a bit of a short-cut from my middle school, so I would have a few minutes to stop there before and afterward. I'd wait by the gate to see if maybe he would have to go somewhere and I could catch a glimpse but... ...Hahhhhh..." She sighed, a weak and almost broken smile on her face as she looked down somewhat to the blond beside her. "In the end, I received a mysteriously funded bus-pas with enough money behind it to get me through college, along with strict orders not to come any where near the building..." T... That...

They actually threatened her to stay away? For that long..! But then... When she said 'see', she didn't mean as in speaking to...

She meant... "Six years," he whispered, stopping for a moment beside the woman. "You haven' ev'n seen yer brother... F'r six years," the blond rasped, barely able to comprehend his own words. For that long...

Seri merely looked to the shorter blond, adjusting the bag on her shoulders. "It doesn't matter," she told him somewhat quietly. "This doesn't concern you." 'Didn't concern him'... Hahaha, as insistent as ever but...

He stopped walking, Seri making it about two steps forward before looking back in confusion. It was the middle of the sidewalk really. No big deal but... "...Seri," he said after a moment, the woman frowning lightly. "What 'f I told you... I could help y' see yer brother again..?"

The look on her face was all the answer he needed.

---

The fact was, she'd have to be a fool to think that her opponent wouldn't have found someway to make things somewhat more difficult for her. In all honesty, it was what he did best; and probably why she was so driven to defeat him. (Though it would always be a challenge to defeat...) 'I have to thank you,' he'd said with a small smirk, almost waving the card in his hand as she frowned. 'Osiris is in my hand now..!' And so it was...

But good luck to him in playing it; she would have Obelisk summoned in two more turns, and her Dragon Cannon would obliterate any chance of three tributes appearing on Yugi's side of the field. She had the 'numerical' advantage over him, no matter what. She had the advantage, and that was that. More over...

The card she'd taken from Yugi... 'Life Shaver'. Well, with Osiris across from her that trap would make even God harmless! So...

"I play Big Shield Guardna in defense mode," her opponent announced upon reaching his end of the field again, the holographic warrior appearing behind his shield to guard the duelist. "Following that," he continued, "I play a face down card and end my turn!" More defense monsters and traps?

"Hn! Is defending yourself all you can do," she sneered, narrowing her eyes. The still face down holograms were almost taunting... Not to mention pathetic, albeit a good shield against most. ...Of course... That was 'most', not her. "Really," Seto muttered. "At this rate I won't even need Obelisk to defeat you..!" Not that it mattered of course! "My turn," the woman shouted, drawing her next card. After this, two turns left... And this card... "Hnhnhnhnhn..." Just what she needed. Exactly what she needed. In one turn, she'd have Obelisk...
And even better, until then this new monster would allow her to unleash the Dragon Cannon's full power..! Get ready, she thought mentally, the smirk on her face growing. God would crush him..! "Set a card face down," she stared, making sure she had the her 'first' trap for if Osiris were to appear. "And now, I summon the Z-Metal Tank," Seto announced, the holographic and one-eyed tank appearing in an instant. "And of course," she continued with a grin, each component of the device clanging and clashing together as sparks filled the air, "X-Y-Z fuse together... Forming the XYZ DRAGON CANNON! Now... I'll destroy your Guardna! XYZ HYPER CANNON," she commanded, all weapons firing forward. "This match will be mine..!" Powerful lasers, flames, and explosions filled the air from that side, completely eradicating the defending shield. The monster was destroyed... And now... "HnhnhnHAHAHA! Just one left," she laughed. "Next turn I'll crush you out of existence completely!" And then-

And...

God. Fucking. DAMN IT YUGI! She hated that smirk..!

HATED IT. And as his grew her own faded, one of his traps swinging upward in response to the blow. "Hehehe... You just love an easy target, don't you," he chuckled with crossed arms, shaking his head. "I knew you wouldn't resist attacking my shield." Oh haha, rub it in Yugi. Stupid, smug little- (Why? Why did he always have to have 'just' the right card..!) "You've given me a chance to win," Yugi was continuing loudly, clicking the side of the duel disk. "Face down reveal! SOUL ROPE!" Oh come on! That one? ...And what she wouldn't bet that the monster he summoned would be something she'd been trying to prevent... "I summon a four star monster in the place of my last one," her opponent was shouting, "At the cost of 1000 life points... And I choose the King's Knight," he went on, the holographic and bearded warrior appearing at his Queen's side. In response to the pair entering the field a third figure arose, a card spitting out of Yugi's deck. The knight trio's effect had kicked in... Shit. "You're not the only one who has monsters to help summon God to the field," the boy announced, the holograms gripping their swords tightly as the storm above again began to brew. "And with the King and Queen at my side I gain a third monster for sacrifice! The Jack's Knight! It's MY TURN," Yugi roared, his opponent gritting her teeth as he announced the move. "AND I OFFER THREE SACRIFICES TO THE HEAVENS... SUMMONING THE DRAGON GOD FROM THE SKIES, OSIRIS..!"

Osiris... A howling roar came over the air, and red scales peaked over the walls of the holographic colleseum, seeming to form individual and rolling hills. Up and down, up and down, and the dragon roared and snarled as storm clouds converged and lightning shot through the air. As its double jaw arose tall behind its summoner, dagger-like teeth bared and ready. "GRAAAAOOOOOOOOO!" So loud... "RAOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Powerful... As the monster settled into its place in the sky the woman continued to stare, watching the jaws lock up in wait. "GRRRNNNNNNnnnnn..." The sound of breathing was even filling the air, audible even over the storm's thunder...

As though it were real... "Hnhnhnhnhn..." And yet despite Osiris' summoning, she couldn't help but grin with anticipation, pushing the thoughts of awe aside with ease as she prepared her own move. Interesting, she told herself. So interesting. So he'd summoned God first then after all?

Well... "It looks like the tables have turned," her opponent shouted toward her. "So much for defeating me..!" Oh...

She wouldn't say that... "Hn! Take a look at your hand," she chuckled, her own smirk widening slightly. "You have three cards; only 3000 attack points."

"Only," Yugi repeated with a smirk, completely confident in the power backing him. "Your Dragon Canon 'only' has 2800 points; I know for a fact that you wouldn't have missed that..!" It was those words that almost caused the boy to trip up; as though he'd only just realized what it meant. And just to push it along, she'd voice it.

"Well..? Go on then," she taunted lowly, eyes narrowing to mere slits as she gestured to the field. "Try it... Attack my monster and destroy it... If you can." That seemed to freeze her opponent in place. His eyes abruptly widened, before narrowing once again to hone in on the face down card she'd set. Trap or spell, he likely wondered. Trap or spell or both? Silence... More silence... "What's wrong," she 'asked', still smirking as her opponent grit his teeth. "Go on... ATTACK!" Osiris was oddly silent amid this she noted... Not even growls could be heard over the storm, and breathing had quieted completely, not that it mattered. And either way... Regardless of if Yugi attacked, she wouldn't be stopped this turn. Her opponent's eyes widened. Osiris' jaw dropped and electrically charged flames began to develop, and in a split second the appropriate retaliation came to mind.

"Tch... OSIRIS," Yugi ordered, the enormous beast raising its head just slightly as the blast became blinding in form. "FIRE! THUNDER FORCE!"

"REVEAL TRAP," she countered, tapping the disk as her holographic card swung upward. "Interdimensional Matter Transporter," she shouted, opponent paling. That was right... It wasn't Life Shaver. Moreover, she thought with a grin, her monster vanishing from sight as the transporter briefly appeared on the field to pull it from sight, that was the 'last move.' "Hnhnhnhn... Too bad," Seto called out, the transporter slowly fading away in the light around them. "Thanks to this spell Osiris loses its target, and the attack is wasted..! Pity," she taunted, her monster reappearing to the field as the holographic card dispersed completely. "Your turn was pointless..!"

Despite this, that smirk was still there it seemed. "Hn... Not completely," her opponent responded with a competitive smirk, taking a card from his hand and nodding. "I play a card face down," the boy continued, "And end my turn!" End-

He was playing a card, when it brought Osiris down to 2000! When she would have OBELISK in the next one? 'Come on,' her opponent was taunting in silence, the look on his face seeming to attempt at goading her into attack. 'You tested me, now I'll test you... It's your turn..!' Tch...

Say what he liked, she already had a plan! "Fine then," she decided, taking Obelisk from her hand as the holographic counterpart faded from existence. "Fine! Your lightforce sword is gone now anyways," she laughed, the storm growing even more vicious about them. "Which means your end is already here regardless..! HAHAHAHAHAH!" Watch... "I'll show you GOD," she roared, the storm seeming to increase still more in strength as the sound of roaring waves dividing and parting met her ears around the tower. "I sacrifice my XYZ Dragon Cannon," Seto announced, setting the God card on the field as lightning continued to crack and strike even the walls around them. "SUMMONING FORTH THE GOD OF THE DESERT AND STORM, THE SOLDIER OF THE OBELISK..." Her God card... 'The' God card, the one that would far surpass Osiris in this match. Now... "DESCEND TO MY DOMAIN AND FIGHT AT MY SIDE... BRING ME VICTORY," she roared as the clouds continued to swirl, and as necrotic armor formed behind her "SHAKE THE HEAVENS AND EARTH WITH YOUR POWER..! COME FORTH..." Sutekh... 'Set'... "GOD-SOLDIER OF THE OBELISK!"

"RAAAAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNN!" Thunder heralded the monster's arrival, and her grin widened. Obelisk... Was bigger than last time, she realized in the back of her mind. He stood behind the tower, with wings wide spread and arms crossed, his chest easily coming above the edge of the holographic coliseum. He stood at a height to match Osiris' length, lipless mouth and eye-less sockets staring toward his opponent as the dragon screeched. Two Gods stood on the field. Two Gods...

"This is it," she said with a grin, the multitude of power in the air flooding her being, rushing through her veins and making it impossible to remain calm. "The clash of the Gods has come..! SO, YUGI," she continued, yet another thunderclap piercing the air, "PREPARE YOURSELF... MY GOD WILL DESTROY YOURS WITH EASE..!"

And as her opponent stared and the storm converged, the Gods themselves seemed to agree; the battle had only just begun.

---

The situation that he and Anzu were in was an odd one, though that much was likely obvious to anyone around them. After all; it was one thing for someone to say they were either possessed or 'a man in a woman's body' but... Well, this brought it to an interesting level. For the moment, Anzu was the one in control of the body. Whoever wasn't in control got to sit in the back of the mind, formless, as though they were half there- it couldn't even be called possessing the other, simply handing someone the reigns of the horse while sharing the same seat on a carriage. It made it easy to switch as well; like blinking really. Switch, switch switch... Easy.

But not having a body to speak of for himself was an entirely separate matter. It was a scary thing to put it lightly, and even though this one wasn't his own it was at least a relief when he was in control of the sensations of touch taste and smell rather than nothing more than dull sight and hearing. It had been half an hour since Yugi had left with Kaiba, Malik noted. Anzu had chased him down, grabbing him by the arm and pulling him back screaming 'WHY!'... Why? Was his memory so important that he would leave his best friend's bedside to fight..? Were these battles really the only thing that mattered to him..?

...Did he even care about what had happened to Jonouchi out there?

The boy had stiffened, but in the end forced his arm free from his friend's grasp. '...I'm not doing this for my memories, or to fight,' he'd responded, looking to them both with nothing but honesty. 'I'm doing this to uphold a promise to a friend. Our ' Battle City ' isn't over yet... And we all have something we're reaching for,' he continued quietly. 'While I don't remember the past... I can still look forward to the future. Jonouchi will live,' Yugi said flatly, leaving no room for argument had there even been one. 'No matter what... He'll live.'

He'll live... At the moment, thunder had cracked outside, the clouds darkening the sky to the point where it looked more like a stormy evening than a storming 'early afternoon'. They'd been allowed to come into the room only minutes before despite this however, after much begging on the part of Shizuka and to a more 'subtle' extent all those others around him. The door had opened, and seats were prepared, with the strict order given to not touch anything, not say anything too loudly...

They could only sit, stare, and if they felt up to the task look out the window at the somewhat distant holograms on the field of the tower.

Jonouchi was a wreck. Otogi's description from before was nothing compared to the reality of the situation, and coming into the room had been a feat in itself as a result. It took all they could to respond an affirmative to the doctor's words. All they could not to simply stand and congest the doorway, staring at the limp form on the gurney. His heart wouldn't beat. His blood wouldn't flow. But his brain was still firing all pistons so to speak, despite all of this.

And in addition to that, all minor injuries had already healed, including both the slits from the single trap his dark half had activated and the impressions from the 'Viser Des'. 'It's incredible,' Doctor Kuzushi had told them, going over Jonouchi's current state of being as they stared. 'Despite the severity of his wounds, the only remaining injuries as of now are light burns across his back and the stab wound through his right side. And even these are healing at an alarming rate,' she went on with visible disbelief, 'As though they never existed to begin with. By the time he wakes up, assuming he does so...'

"Only the scar will remain," he muttered to himself with Anzu's body, the others turning in confusion.

"What was that," Honda asked. "The scar..?" ...Right... Kuzushi didn't mention the 'healed' scar, only his current wounds so...

"Ah- It's nothing," Malik responded, shaking 'his' head as 'he' leaned against the wall. "Just thinking out loud. I-" Thunder clapped once again and as they looked up the lights began to flicker, each of those within tensing. The storm was getting worse... Even the 'plane' seemed to shiver against the wind, vibrating somewhat in the force. Until now, that had been the only worry...

But that was 'then', after all. "Gh- The power's failing," Otogi hissed, gritting his teeth and looking up with wide eyes. "If that goes out, what will happen to..."

"We have enough back up power reserved for three hours," Mokuba said with a swallow, answering the question as the others turned. "So even if it goes out, they'll be alright..." Right. 'They'. Not just Jonouchi... It was also Mai, Ryuzaki...

And Rishid... "How much longer," he found himself asking, Mokuba turning toward him as he continued on. "Before the helicopter arrives, I mean?"

The boy blinked, looking to the clock on the side. "...Two and a half hours," he said after a moment. "After this next match," he continued slowly, "There's a break to clear the field... But unlike the others, that one's only ten minutes," he added. "Not much time..." Which meant that if no one stopped his dark half before then...

They'd all die. Regardless of time limits and rules, they would all die one way or another. And there was nothing they could do about it. "Damn it Jonouchi," Honda was whispering from the side, gripping the gurney rail as the depressing mood continued to sour and fester around them. "Wake up... You're missing Yugi... Our Yugi's match, so just wake up-!"

-BROUWM!-

More thunder claps. They seemed louder this time, and the wind now rattled the 'plane' with enough force that the clock shook on the wall. And another clap through the air, and another, and-

"-GROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!-"

And a roar.

The crowd turned, staring out the window. High above the tower, seeming to hover around the colliseum walls was- ...No... No he told himself, they weren't simply hovering... They were bigger this time, they were...

"How is that possible," Anzu whispered, Malik again losing control despite being able to see what she did with ease. "The holograms can't possibly be that big," she repeated in horror, "They..."

Gods stood before them on this island. Osiris and 'Obelisk', the Gods, the dragon and warrior, the-

...They had names, his mind corrected despite himself, blood draining from the body's face. Osiris and Sutekh, the eternal rivals, the brothers, one killing the other, this entire battle would be one enormous-

"...Can we move the bed by the window," Honda asked at that moment, Kuzushi looking up from the side of the room with a frown.

"Move the-"

He nodded, the others watching as Honda swallowed and continued. "He needs... ...Wants to see this fight," the teen whispered, expression half dead as he looked to the doctor. "Please- let him watch."

The doctor seemed to stare, mouth hanging slightly open as she froze on her original words. "I... ..." Silence... And then finally she stood, moving the gurney and turning it with the machines to face the window as the others moved to the side and stared. "...I can't raise his body," she said quietly, the blond's face still 'staring' up to the ceiling in silence with the new positioning. "His wounds could re-open, or worse, it would simply kill him. But I can do this much," she continued, giving a slight nod to the group. "So..." So even this...

At that moment- it was probably just a fluke but he could swear...

The monitor made a 'beat' noise.

---

Most would ask him how he could stand and fight at this moment in time with all that had happened so far. How he could stand there while his best friend's heart refused to beat, while his lung was collapsed in its own blood. How he could fight with a growing smirk during moments of this battle, and focus on the strategies that he threw out to the field and his current opponent.

And he would answer that he had a promise to keep, above anything. After all; they all had their secrets. When and if they said anything depended on both those around them and their own confidence on the matter. 'I didn't want to say anything,' his lighter half had told his friends, long ago, before anyone had truly been made aware of his presence. 'Because I was scared… I was…'

Jonouchi did not fear the truth in the same way that Yugi had. Yugi had wanted friends more than anything; he was afraid that they would leave him out of fear or disgust of he himself, the spirit of the puzzle, the so-called 'pharaoh' of years before. Afraid that the wish he'd made would shatter, and things would go back to the way they had been before...

Jonouchi, however, had feared the truth because of a promise. A promise he wanted to keep more than anything, treasuring their bond above even his own life. He did not want to be forced to break it simply because of this ability he could not control. He did not want a life where even a simple card game could spell his doom, where he could not join in with the game because of a freakish and highly unusual ability. But things had gotten out of hand, far far out of hand. And in his final moments on the field, it seemed he'd realized that, caring no more about secrecy. But despite this…

'Saw,' he'd whispered, chocking blood onto the field. 'I… Saw…' Saw them dueling. Saw their duel.

Jonouchi's predictions did not fail..! He would survive. That much was certain. And for that reason he told himself he would continue to fight, reaching the one who had done this to his friend. ...Even if it meant facing the Gods themselves in these dire times. "So we MEET at LAST young KING," a roaring voice called out, the 'other' Yugi looking up at Obelisk's form with a slight swallow as glowing 'eyes' leered down. "It has been LONG since I laid my EYES upon your FACE… You have CHANGED," he continued, the boy just now noting that what seemed to be a malice filled stare was in fact calm indifference, "Though be it for BETTER or for WORSE," the giant decided, "We will soon SEE… Only THEN will you pass your SECOND major TRIAL… Only THEN," Obelisk roared amid the thunder claps, "Will you have EARNED my POWER…"

"But until THEN," Osiris countered, gleaming ivory teeth bared as he growled, snarling at the representation of his very murderer, "PAYMENT for our PREVIOUS battle," the dragon announced. Previous battle? The boy shook his head, deciding not to try and understand lest the duel grind to a halt. After all...

The Gods were arguing. What point would there be in mere mortals to try and understand the reasoning behind it? Instead, he told himself, it was time to focus on the current battle. "Kaiba," the boy announced, lightning and flames blazing from the second jaw of Osiris as the dragon's words came to mind. "Need I remind you… That by summoning Obelisk, you've activated Osiris' special ability..! GO," he roared, the flames belting forward as Osiris snarled, "SPLIT HIS POWER IN TWO, AND EVEN THE PLAYING FIELD!"

"With PLEASURE, Little KING! NOW, BROTHER," the God roared, fires already streaking across the air as Obelisk shouted in apparent 'shock', "A TASTE OF WHAT YOU DID TO ME!"

"GH-" the seared the shadows and clouds, filling the air with an eerie light as Obelisk ducked the attack only to be caught across the side. The scent of burning rotted flesh hit the air, and with narrowed 'eyes' the monster growled. "YOU..!"

"HN! Next time," Osiris snorted, his opponent nursing a fallen wing with grinding teeth as his summoner stared across the field with narrowed eyes, "I plan to aim LOWER…" …Lower?

Whatever it was that they were talking about, Obelisk chose to say nothing in response, merely clenching his fists in rage for a moment. "Tch… We will see NEXT TURN," he hissed, standing straight yet again so as to stare his 'rival' down. "Your time is NUMBERED, OSIRIS..!" True… Time was limited… (But what sort of battle did they-)

Both Gods had even attack power right now; Osiris from his two cards and Obelisk from the '2000 point-summon attack'. However... If they attacked, both Gods would be lost. Next turn, he'd draw a card, bringing Osiris' power up, but in the same manner, the effect he'd induced on Obelisk would vanish. Obelisk would return to full power…

And he would then be a full thousand points above his monster. Not good. But neither was foolish enough to attack either, and so the attack never came. "Tch… I put one card on the field," Kaiba announced, the holographic card appearing almost stone-like as it hovered in the air before her, stiffening and thickening in the air. "END TURN!" Alright... That was it...!

"My turn then," Yugi called out with a swallow as he drew a card, the dragon behind him raising his head and growling lowly. "Osiris' power rises by 1000 points-"

"And Obelisk's returns to full power," Kaiba finished, the God inquestion re-growing his limb with a pained growl before leering at his opponent. Obelisk was now seemingly 'taller' than Osiris... But while neither shrunk back things didn't look good with this imbalance.

And that was almost just as troubling as the trap… He couldn't use any cards to defend himself- he was already behind in power as it was. Worse, that trap could very well be the 'life shaver' he feared, and who knew what Kaiba was thinking with that usual smirk on her face.

"Hnhnhnhnhn…" Particularly since he was more than obviously struggling to decide what to do, which simply increased his opponent's confidence. "You're on your final moments in front of 'Obelisk'," his opponent taunted, making no effort to hide her natural voice over the field. It wasn't as though anyone was watching. It wasn't as though anyone other than themselves and the maniac they were stuck dealing with really cared. Nonetheless, they continued on, and for the sake of battle the banter increased. "Osiris can do nothing against Obelisk's full power," she was bragging, the grin widening beneath the power of her 'god'. "And those who think in the short term stand no chance! So… Anything else you plan to do," the woman continued, Yugi merely narrowing his eyes in response.

Hn… …Not for now. He still had his own face down after all, not to mention this hand… But that was all he could do. And there was nothing he could do to add to that for this turn. So… "No," he responded clearly, "I end my turn..!"

"Let the BATTLE begin..!"

"Reminds you of OLD TIMES, doesn't it, BROTHER!"

"HN! Very well," Kaiba roared, "HERE I COME… OBELISK ATTACKS," she announced, the god reaching forward with a thundering shout, "PULVERIZING OSIRIS..! GOD HAND CRUSHER!"

"Gh- ACTIVATE TRAP," Yugi called out, ducking under the force of Obelisks' fist smashing into Osiris' jaw above him. "POT OF GREED! Allowing me to draw two cards," he continued, the dragon's teeth clamping down on his opponent's fist as the second opened up above his attacker's face.

"Hn hnhnhn… WELL DONE, young KING," he rumbled almost humerously. Fires were already licking the sides of the open jaw's mouth, preparing for attack. "NOW THEN! TASTE MY FIRES, B-"

"ATTACK!"

"I THINK NOT," Obelisk roared, teeth ground sharp as his summoner countered as well.

"ACTIVATE TRAP! LIFE SHAVER!" Life shaver..! Shit..! "Try again Yugi," Kaiba snarled, pointing forward while the dragon before them hissed in annoyance. "I destroy one card in your hand..! WE'RE EVEN NOW!" Even..!

Four thousand against four thousand. "HERE, BROTHER," Obelisk taunted, fist clenching within his opponent's mouth. "You have something in your TEETH!" Blood pooled to the ground in torrents as Obelisk ripped his fist through both jaws of the great dragon, Osiris moaning in pain. "And NOW… To do as I INTENDED," he continued, slamming a fist into the ground as the dragon shook itself. "Though the BATTLE CONTINUES," the giant announced, "Our TIME has COME!"

"FATED to fight with no END... That is NOT your FATE! This BATTLE ," Osiris continued, the expression on Kaiba's face telling him that she as well could hear their words, "Has no NEED for GODS!"

"But you must REMEMBER," they chorused, "IF NOT SLIGHTLY…"

'The events of another time…'

And as blinding light filled the air, he could swear he saw the Red Eyes Black Dragon again.

---

Standing outside the wall to the side of the Kaiba mansion, Katsuya couldn't help but notice that the woman beside him was both more different and more alike to her 'real' counter part than he'd initially thought.

As for what those differences were... Well for one, no crossdressing, though that was a given. She spoke as a woman because she was one, and dressed as such... Though there was still a slight masculine flair to what she wore now, despite it being something like capris and a tank top. She wasn't as hesitant to show her emotions either... Though it was more like they were just more subtle rather than 'hidden' somewhat. A small smile could have been as important as a grin. Simply looking away could have equated to bursting into tears for all he knew. But despite this, they were there at least. She didn't hide them.

Because she trusted them. Because she'd made friends with everyone in this 'world'... She'd never had to experience the betrayal and abuse she had from Gozaburo in the real world, never had to deal with the scars from whatever had been done during those times. But that same strength she'd gained...

Had come at a horrible price. A price that now lay over this wall before them, lit just dimly by a soon to set sun. Katsuya didn't know how different the Mokuba of this world would be; for a while, he didn't know if he was even alive despite what the internet spat out for him to read. But in the end, Gozaburo had adopted Mokuba, even if he left Seto behind. So over this wall, if he had his timing right, that version of Mokuba would likely be taking a riding lesson. Which meant that even though they couldn't get past the wall without getting shot by much more heavily armed guards, they could at least watch from the wall before them to catch a glimpse of him riding past.

This 'Seto' was afraid right now. Afraid of if they would be caught, or that if her brother would see her he would simply hate her for what she'd done.

But she, like the real one, cared for Mokuba above everything. She needed to see him, more than anything. So despite all their differences, it was with that in mind that he was reaching a hand out for this fragment of his imagination, even if in the back of his mind he tried to remind himself that it didn't matter.

And if she didn't come with now... If she turned back now... "...Seri," he asked after a few moments of silence, the woman beside him still looking up the wall with somewhat wide eyes. "...Are y' ready? ...Are y' alrigh' w' this..?"

There was silence for a moment. But 'Seri' did indeed have Seto's courage, even if it was displayed with somewhat wide and life filled eyes that almost reminded him of another person entirely. "I'm ready," she said curtly, looking back down to the blond beside her and then looking back to the wall with a determined frown. "...Let's go."

Katsuya nodded, smiling somewhat. "Alrigh'. I'm gonna help y' up firs'," he told the woman as he cracked his knuckles, "But y' gotta lis'n carefully, got it? I'm gonna give y' a boost," the blond explained, Seri listening in silence, "And y' need t' keep as close t' th' wall top as possible. Righ' now," he continued, "We're righ' b'hind th' trees b'tween th' two halves of th' backyard. At th's time 'f th' day, it'll give us enough cover t' avoid d'tection... So long as we keep low, understand," he finished, sounding oddly intelligent compared to normal.

Again the woman nodded, putting her bag at the side. Even in this world, 'Seri' was obviously not the type to take orders; but she at least knew when it was best to listen. "Understood," she answered, looking back to her friend. "Now..." Katsuya held out a hand for the woman to step on, Seri gripping the wall and quickly 'climbing' upward as she was given a quick boost to the top. As instructed, she was laying flat across the top, shuffling to the side to make room... A few moments later and Katsuya had made his own way up, keeping beside the woman. "...So..."

"Follow me," the blond whispered, gesturing toward where a number of trees hung over the side of the wall with a careful and hidden wave. "We'll be better hidden over there..." Seri nodded, slowly 'seal crawling' behind her friend until they were at that very location. Just enough that they could see the stables… Just enough that someone would have to look directly at them to see…

Katsuya bit his lip as they were met with empty air, the woman beside him merely looking around somewhat curiously. Nothing… There was nothing…

"Damn it," he muttered under his breath. "I'd thought-"

"What's that sound," Seri whispered abruptly, cutting the blond's words shout with narrowed eyes. "It's almost like-" Like..

Hoofbeats. A snow white horse came into view over the field, jumping a set of fencing with ease as its rider stood somewhat off the saddle. "WONDERFUL," came a somewhat aged man's voice, Katsuya wincing as a chilling amount of cheer that he'd have never expected to hear came through it. "Wonderful Mokuba," the voice repeated, the horse trotting over at the sound. "You're learning so quickly..!" Wait...

Mokuba..! The horse slowed to a stop, the twelve year old on the saddle pulling off his helmet to free a bit of his long black hair as Gozaburo approached from the side. "Ah… Thank-you Tou-san," he said with a grin, those far off at the fence merely staring with mixed reactions. "It's only because of the lessons though; without it," he continued politely, "I'd never have made it this far..!"

"Hnhnhnhnhn… Well, regardless of lessons, you're doing amazingly well," the man complimented, helping his 'son' down from the horse as another wave of nausea struck the blond witness on the side. "If you can get the rest of your university courses done quickly in time," he went on, "I might even be able to take you somewhere special…"

"Special," he asked.

"Ah- you have to finish your classes first," the man countered sternly, a hand placed on his 'son's shoulder as he guided him away from the horse. "I can tell you that it begins with a 'D' however, and-"

"Doitsu," Mokuba guessed, his 'father' turning at the sound. "Deutschland? We're going to Germany again?"

"I thought I told you classes first," he growled, Katsuya idly noting that there was little to no malice in the tone.

Mokuba merely grinned, grabbing the reigns from his horse. "Hehehe... Right away Tou-san!" 'Tou-san'... This…

Though he himself had a stone look upon his face in response to the almost insulting image that spat in the face of his 'reality', Seri was merely staring with a somewhat relieved if not teary smile, watching as Gozaburo left the field to leave Mokuba on his own. "He looks so happy," Seri whispered, the two looking at the boy with now neatly brushed hair as he made to lead his horse back to the stables. "I… I always wondered how he was doing," she continued, "And what had happened but… He's happy... He's really..."

It looked as though, with all that happened… Mokuba ended up conditioned enough to fill the void Noa did, Katsuya noted almost coldly. Gozaburo was no different than from when Noa had gone if anything. In fact, this version of Mokuba was, if at all different from the Noa of that time, likely just more willing to dirty his hands rather than traumatized.

And just because they looked nothing alike, his mind told him. Just because he'd been younger than Noa had been when he started his schooling, and therefore a completely clean slate to work with. He almost felt sick, he thought to himself, eyes growing dull as he stared at the boy below the wall. He almost felt…

"Ah- Hang on," Mokuba called out abruptly, the stable hand helping him tensing as the shout entered the air. "Who is that?" Who was-

...

Crap. The two on the wall tensed, both the stable hand and the nearest guard reacting as soon as Mokuba's eyes turned on them to reveal their location. "GH- What th'-," Seri's shout was quickly cut off as she was pulled up on the wall, her arm having been quickly snatched up by the blond beside her. "What are you-"

"RUN," he called out in panic, the woman at his side growing pale as a bullet was fired beside her shoulder. "RUN FOR IT!"

"A-AHH!" The fence was probably about two meters tall. Nothing to really worry about when jumping down. Nonetheless, as they landed on their feet it took a few seconds to get running off again down a nearby street, particularly since there were probably guards on their tail and one of them was still stumbling and hesitating and trying to talk. "J- Jonouchi-kun," Seri repeated in protest, "What-"

"JUS' RUN FOR IT," he called out again in panic, turning the next corner as the pair quickly attempted to out run their pursuers. "RUN..!"

"RUN!"

"THEY'RE GONNA KILL US F'R TRESPASSIN'!" He didn't care how dreams worked, he wasn't dying in it and-

"Kil- ...Gh... Jonouchi-kun," the woman protested, pulling her arm back with a scowl as they came near the side of a canal. "Those are just rubber bullets! They're completely non-fatal!" Ah…

Rubber? They were using...

Rubber? The blond turned, blinking as they stood near the canal in the dying sunlight. "H... Hahaha... Really..?"

Seri sighed, smiling somewhat. "Really. ...Hahh... Jonouchi-kun… Why would Kaiba-san kill someone for trespassing," she asked, Katsuya opting to hold back how absolutely bizarre it was to hear her say 'kaiba-san' at all. "It's more trouble than it's worth..! Just because he deals in arms," the woman continued, "Doesn't mean he's a ruthless killer..!" Ah but that was what the public thought, but what about- ...Wait...

…Wait, she... She actually had a point, the blond realized blankly. Gozaburo could easily get more out of arresting an intruder than killing them, and even then…

Back in the time of 'Noa', Gozaburo completely detached the matters of war from the matters of his home, unless it was directly work related. So with that logic… Though the guards would be trained to use force, the first matter of attack would be the equivalent of riot control, taking down the intruder and bringing them in for questioning, not for killing them. So... With that in mind-

"Jonouchi-kun," Seri asked, waving a hand in the blond's face as he blinked. "Are you alright?" Al-

Oh. He spaced out again he realized, nodding as he looked back to the woman. "Er... Yea… Yea," he repeated awkwardly, "I'm… Ah... Heh..." That was scary actually... But in the end... "Hehehe… HAHAHAHAHA!" D-Damn… Now that it was all over, that was pretty hilarious actually..! "AHAHA! PHEW," he shouted with a grin, collapsing on the side of the canal as Seri stared. "That was… Tha' was crazy," he chuckled, shaking his head. "That…"

"…Hahaha…" Katsuya paused, blinking at the slight chuckle beside him. "Yea…" Laughing... It was weird, not hearing her laugh sarcastically but... "It was crazy, wasn't it," Seri admitted, taking a seat beside the blond as he continued to stare. The woman smiled, looking decidedly more like her 'real' counterpart as she stared out at the canal with a dim look in her eyes. "Six years… …I always wondered what he'd look like now," she whispered, looking down at the water with the sad smile still in place. "He was always right there, just in reach, but I could never find out… …Katsuya," the woman finished, turning to the blond beside her. "…Thank you, for everything, alright?" Ah... Thanks..! She was thanking him, what..!

"H-Hey," the blond laughed somewhat nervously, rubbing his head. "'S nothin'," he said with a shrug, "I-"

"I'll always remember this," the woman continued, her friend suddenly realizing how close she was sitting to him. "Thank you." E... Er...

"It's… Like I said," he whispered, face burning somewhat as his face came within a centimeter or so of Seri's. "I…" She was coming closer… Closer…

"I mean it..." Closer… "Thank you."

And as he closed his eyes, moving only slightly, he could feel her moving closer still in that world of the dream... Unable to tell if he wanted it to end or not.

---

AN: Another kiss! WHAT. ...Maybe? Hey, I could be a dick and wake him up, right now for all you know.

Or do you? AHHHHH NO...

So here's to chapter ONE HUNDRED! I didn't count the prologue...

But even so, so many people sent in congratulations..! I'm almost in tears here, it's been such a long run so far and I'm so happy...

I just wish I had the scanner unpacked; as you know, this chapter (SUPERCHAPTER~) was delayed due to my moving to B.C.; the trip didn't take until now, but the fact is, it's three timezones and I had literally nothing to do in that car; inverter broke so typing was out, and trying to draw in a moving vehichle is absolute insanity. On the bright side, this time while driving through the states, I got to see two coyotes.

I've never seen a coyote, so I was quite pleased about this. (There were actually a few in the area I used to live in... But since I was downtown, I never saw them.) ...They sound kinda like they're laughing when they bark.

Anyways! VERY sorry about how long this took, particularly since, with the scanner still not set up, the art can't be posted with it... But I figured that it was either no art or supremely late chapter, and I don't like doing that.

At all.

Nonetheless, you've all stuck with me even this far... And I can't thank you enough for that! I'll have that 'hundred chapter' picture, along with some other reference art soon hopefully. Also, I'll be going after a degree soon enough, and since that's online, updates will start slowing down when I start... But not too much. I will say this again; thank you for reading it! This fanfic couldn't have made it so far without all of you, and the fact is, it is because of you that I might even have a novel in the works. It's still rough going, and I'm just fleshing out the plan... But the fact is, there's a beginning middle and ending to it, there's characters, and there's a chance; and I owe this to all of you reading! Not just reviewing... Reading. Because every time I look at those numbers...

It really helps me to keep going with this guys. It really does.

On another note, it was brought to my attention... That this fanfic has a fairly 'bad' summary. It really doesn't do it any justice, and apparently actually steers people away from the fanfic; so...

Here's your next contest! The title will always be Skin of course; it'd be rather silly to change it now, after 100 chapters. BUT... That doesn't mean the summary can't be fixed up. Summaries are a limit of 255 characters, or letters for those not text savvy. (You'd be surprised; I didn't know what 'characters' meant until the middle of Highschool. I'm a fairly oblivious person believe it or not, which is probably why I do so much research. I don't like missing things) Your task? See if you can come up with something better than my summary...

And this contest has a prize; The winner will receive one request of art, for ANYTHING. It'll be flat coloured, with no background, and the limit of characters will be two... Three if they're all ridiculously simple or something. It could be for the fanfic, for another fanfic, for your favorite anime/book/daydream... Anything! So help me out, kay? Just enter it in either an anonymous review, an e-mail (You'll find that on my author page), or in a PM for those registered here... So...

And now, without further ado... Reviews, Notes, and Music! (Also, go watch Zexal; it's good. )

Anonymous Review Responses

A lot more than normal this time; this section REALLY doesn't do it justice, I got a lot of registered reviews for the last chapter as well!

First, Imadork! Thank you for the congratulations, and the praise~ (Praise is always good, even if it gives me a big and overinflated head, ohohoho.) I suppose all the effort I put into this is mostly because I don't want it to turn into just another 'rewrite'... And whenever I come across a pot hole, my stupid obsessive mind says 'NO USAGI, IT MUST BE FIXED.'

I'm glad you like it so far; here's to the next hundred chapters! (Because given that I'm including all the arcs, and this is just before the end of Battle City... I'd say there will be another hundred chapters. Whoops.)

Ooooh Iona... Bakura-esque wouldn't even cover it. Bad pun indeed!

It's beginning to feel like everything is futile against Yami Malik by this point... Jou certainly gave the bastard a run for his money though, that's for sure; scared the shit out of him as well, wait until later when he shows up for Yugi's match!

Over all, I found that the reaction in the manga was complete and utter devesation; even Kaiba showed shock for a short bit... But sadly, manga Kaiba was so obsessed with beating Yugi that he ended up being a complete prat about things. I can't really speak for Mokuba in the manga either... But fanfic versions? HAH. Look up and there's your answer... Care of the majority indeed, though the manga is still accurate on the part of Yugi, Honda, and Shizuka. 'Little' Yugi and Shizuka were in tears, Yami Yugi was in complete shock and unwilling to go on until he got that vision (And saw Jou's... Ghost? I dunno, but that's why there's a dragon there.), whereas Honda was actually shaking the body at one point on the field...

Later, in the actual medical room, he bowed down before the doctor to beg him to keep Jonouchi alive. And the fact is, Honda and Jonouchi have been friends for far longer than he has with the rest of the cast; this reaction... Isn't actually surprising.

Happy 100 indeed! I'm now safe and home in BC (With a wonderful cedar loft... My dad BUILT my fiance and I a bed; evidently, he was aiming to have it done before we got there as a surprise. It wasn't done, but it was two days later, and for that I am happy.), and though things will still be slow as I run around gathering my bearings the update will hopefully be quicker than it was this time.

Oh! Cynical Gamer! *hugs* It's good that you're alright, I was worried.

And... Yes. Yes it was a shocking bit wasn't it... Even I don't have words, and I wrote this..! As for your reaction... Well. You have it. All of it. And boy is it grim... The fact is, that scene alone is what took this chapter so long; I can't even begin to tell you just how hard that scene was to write. The despair, the feelings from everyone... And Kaiba...

OH Kaiba..! What would be OOC and IC by this point was a heavy, HEAVY stressor; as it is, the relationship will be taking a rather awkward turn for the next number of chapters... Largely because Seto knows nothing about things like that, doesn't want anything to do with things like that, but all the same can't help but love the idiot mutt.

Like I said WAAAAAYYY back in the prologue; fluff only. So thankfully... This means I can't feel TOO guilty about not having anything like that kiss scene for a bit. Just awkward. Endless awkward...

But first, DESPAIR. WHY, WHY DID I DO THIS? WHY DO I HURT THE ONES I LOVE AAHHHHHHHH...

And ooooh! I have your love? Yay~

Hehehe, keep guessing, but eventually you'll get your answer... I say eventually because it happens a full year after these events though, so... Lots of stuff.

Poor Anzu indeed. As for Haga, it does involve one of his sisters, but not at all in the way you would likely expect; as a quick hint/warning so that the epileptic trees don't start sprouting in anyone's heads, the sister was not the cause of the incident, or at least, they did not instigate it. If anything, she was just as much victim as Haga was in the situation. So have fun guessing now... It'll be revealed before Doma, and after the Christmas arc. (That leaves you with about six months for a window of time to guess and point at. Yay...)

Yes... Yes I HAVE left you with a mind-screw haven't I? Entering the TWILIGHT ZONE~~ And hopefully, this dream isn't lame either.

It's certainly cliched now that I think about it. Oh well~ (Hooray for the Seto that never was~)

Thanks for wishing me luck on my trip by the way; I'm now safe at home! And my cat... Lost all his weight... (He's underweight now! NO. CAM, GET FAT AGAIN. GET FAT SO THAT I STOP WORRYING. ...Poor cat...)

Well, enjoy the chapter!

Maggiemay! You're back!

And hahaha, I THOUGHT you might like this. I'm glad you'll be good for another few chapters Maggie; because besides the overdose of despair we have coming (though Malik's neck is indeed sexy), this relationship is going to be a LOT more awkward; after all... Go back to normal? HAH, no. If anything, it creates the kind of rift that comes before the incredibly indestructable bridge of romance.

You know, the one where one person wants the feelings responded to and the other has no clue what the hell she's supposed to feel about anything? Doesn't help that Seto's kiiiiiiinda trying to keep her gender underwraps, and hasn't learned diddly about this sort of thing as a result.

Actually, that part probably makes it worse, since any sex-ed classes she'd have had would have come with the added bonus of her tutor believing she was male... (OH BOY) Oh well. I'm always up to a challenge.

With that, I hope you enjoyed the above, with the 'Seto-that-never-was'!

Until then...

Enjoy the hundredth chapter everyone! Here's to the next half-and-a-bit of SKIN! (Which could use a better name. And a summary.)

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Usagi's Manga & Japan Guide/Corner

See, this is where Japan's obsession with blood types is REALLY handy. Jonouchi has type B blood. However, we don't know if that's B positive or B negative. As a whole however, 'O Negative' is the universal type that they can use for this… Similarily, O Positive is not the universal donor; instead, only positive blood types can take it.

Now, if Jou was B-, I would have to give him either B negative, or O negative. I had actually been thinking at one point how cool it would be for the oh-so-cliched couple's blood transfusion, but Seto's type A, and that would be silly and fatal. But the thing is, it can't be Yugi either!

Yugi's the universal recipient; he's type AB! AB can only donate to AB! (And even then, Positive ABs can only donate to… Well, positive ABs.) Honda's an A type himself, which knocks him out of the running,

On the other hand… Anzu and Ishizu are O type. And Otogi is B type. And Mokuba's O type as well! (We don't get Shizuka's type.) Which is why, for the sake of accuracy, Otogi is the one who donated; see, the 'universality' only applies to the red blood cells here.

It's reversed for the plasma, and they aren't exactly filtering right now. Plasma makes up 55% of blood… Yea…

Also, I don't think that any of this blood transfusion was legal in any way. For one, there's no testing, no filtering… Nothing. All they had to go on was type. But Kuzushi pretty much just threw everything out the window and said 'screw it; I'll take this kid's word that he doesn't have any diseases and to a transfusion to save his life'.

See, it's kinda hard to carry oxygen through the body when there's no blood to do it. So it's a matter of 'well, we don't have time to dick around waiting for an actual blood bag, so let's move it.'

---

What! Yugi can see Red-Eyes? Not because of anything Jou did! And not because of some weird power thing; remember what I mentioned earlier about the others having their own weaker forms of this ability? (Seto with Blue Eyes ON the field for example) Since Red Eyes is technically part of Yugi's deck at the moment, and because the entire freaking island is being super-charged by God Cards, it's completely within his power to show up before the kid.

---

Hey look, we're back in the twilight zone! The reason why most of the others call this 'Seto-That-Never-Was' 'Souryuu-chan' is mostly because this version of Seto is… Really… REALLY… Polite. Also very impersonal at first glance; after all, she's still the same height, and that makes an obviously female Seto possibly more intimidating than if she was crossdressing.

In any case, Yugi being Yugi, he's likely the only one who uses her first name, besides Anzu… Though Anzu's reason was explained later on as you see; in this incarnation, Seri actually attended Middle School with Anzu. OH AU'S. HOW FUN IT IS TO SCREW WITH REALITY.

Sadly, no pictures of the AU cast for you yet.

---

HEHHHH 'Usagi, how can they possibly be happy during this duel, omg!' First, don't use chatspeak in your words, hypothetical reader, it ruins your maturity level. Second, it's easy! They're both the sorts of characters that get easily caried away with this sort of thing, and the duels themselves have that effect. (How else would Jou be able to continue with all those grievous wounds?) Besides that, Seto's good at pushing negativity from mind. Which isn't actually a good thing... As we found out a few chapters prior...

---

Funny thing; Seto seems to have two completely different reactions to things when something happens at the end of the chapter in the manga. At the end of the chapter where Osiris is summoned, Kaiba smirks and says interesting. In the start of the next, he's pissed, going on in his mind about how detestful it is for Yugi to summon a God Card first... Even has his rage face. DAMN IT KAIBA, MAKE UP YOUR MIND.

---

All of Seto's summoning lines came directly from the Manga. JUST SAYIN'. It wasn't me making Seto more 'hammy'. I don't need to do that. Seto can do it for me.

---

There aren't too many notes here, but here's a long one on Osiris and 'Set', 'Sutekh', or whatever you want to call our Desert God. Osiris and Set were both brothers, (Their sisters being Isis and Nephthys) sons of Geb and Nut specifically. Set, at one point, kinda killed and dismembered Osiris however, because he was jealous of the guy's respect and happy marriage with Isis. He then took all the pieces and threw them in the nile...

And this is where the in-joke comes in. Isis regathered all the pieces and put Osiris together you see...

But he didn't get his penis back. A catfish ate it. Needless to say, if he wasn't depicted fighting Osiris, he was depicted fighting Osiris' son, Horus.

Even... Though they're depicted together to represent Lower and Upper Egypt... (WUT.)

Any ways, fun stuff there.

Oh, more on how Set killed Osiris... He tricked him into getting in a box. And THEN threw it in the nile. So technically, Set didn't do the dismembering; yet. See, Isis went and found the corpse, got pregnant, and then hid the body. Set, in the meantime, went along his merry way while Isis was off raising Horus.

Then Set found Osiris' body. And then he got ticked off and dismembered it. (14 pieces I believe.) Isis however, went off and found all but the last piece, and as a reward for being so determined to give the poor guy a proper burial, Osiris was revived as the god of the underworld. Yayyyyyyy...

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WHAT. MOKUBA'S HAPPY? WHAT. Hey. It's a weird-ass dream, alright? As for the actual explanation, a large amount of Seto's grief in this fanfic originated from Gozaburo wanting Noa back... And from Seto simply not being Noa, but resembling him completely. (Well, in the face at least.) Mokuba however, looked nothing like Noa. In addition, not only would he have had to start at the same point Noa did for schooling, but this means the schedule wouldn't have been nearly as demanding, and more importantly, he wouldn't be seen as a vessel nearly as much. In fact, given how many years it takes for people to adapt to each other, it's quite likely that crazy-dream-world Mokuba and Gozaburo... Actually get along fine. Particularly since Mokuba would have tried his damnedest to not screw up what his sister gave him, which involves paying attention in class...

Given that Noa completely flipped out and lost it a year later, that leaves plenty of time for the pair to grow on each other and not be complete assholes to each other either.

Of course, this makes Jou extremely sick to his stomach as a result, but whatever, it's a dream. Or something.

NOW THEN...

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Musical Notes

Music music music...

Time for some shameless song advertising!

First...

Pretty much EVERYTHING on 'Ciel's page on Youtube. I mentioned her last chapter, but a large number of her covers are quite good. In particular, there was lots of 'Sweet Devil' (Ironically... During the DUEL scenes. AHAHAHA), Zeijakukei Shounen, and 'If'... Lots and lots of music! I basically cycled through this playlist of her solo covers.

And of course, by directing you to said page (Her username is izaya1380 by the way) this section is much shorter than the norm...

So until the next chapter, enjoy the above! Today's update took... Oh... Two weeks... (-wince- ...The fact that it's LONG probably helps.) BUT... From now on, unless I say otherwise, expect about a week between updates depending on length, okay?

Off we go! See you!