A/N: This was supposed to be the next day but the characters were like nope. All that drama from earlier needs to be evened out by some humor and...other things... *ahem* Which brings to mind a quick thing: there is a hinted lime at the end of this. And yes, in it I promised future fun in the sequel or possible separate by related oneshots for this series. One of those oneshots will likely be a continuation of this chapter. Just FYI.

P.S.: AO3 makes it much easier to make a bunch of fics and oneshots and connect them in a series so you can find everything in one place easily. Too bad this site doesn't do that. *hint hint*

Chapter 62 summary: In which the gang sees the blatantly obvious, Mai threatens her Regent, the siblings are ruthless, there's a surprise guest, and Kaiba does some...soul claiming with a vouyer.

Teasing, Shenanigans, and Claiming

Kaiba sat back and let the others talk before slipping off the bed and moving to stand next to Oliver. "You have a fine sister," he said, his bandaged hand tucking comfortably in his pants pockets. "My word still stands: so long as she and Walter do not betray us, they will have my protection and that of the Court. I swear on the Shadows."

Oliver nodded shifting his gaze to Kaiba. "Thank you," he said simply.

"If possible," Kaiba hesitated, "I would like to meet you at the Verdant tomorrow." His blue eyes shifted, moving back to where Mokuba and Mai were happily talking with Thea. Seth, however, had turned to meet Kaiba's eyes steadily. "I would like to teach you a few things so you are not," he tilted his head and turned back to Oliver with the slightest hint of a smirk on his lips, "totally helpless when I leave."

Oliver fought down the urge to laugh. Kaiba had basically just issued a challenge and who was Oliver to turn down a challenge?

"Helpless?" he said. "Like you, you mean?"

Kaiba smirk darkened. "We'll see. Tomorrow at noon then? That would give me enough time to freshen up before I leave."

"You're leaving?" Oliver asked.

The Regent snorted. "Of course I'm leaving. I don't live here. I want to go home and sleep in my own bed." He blinked, face blanking before sighing and pinching the bridge of his nose. "I just remembered I have so much paperwork to do."

Oliver patted Kaiba's shoulder sympathetically. "Don't worry. It only gets worse as it goes," he teased.

The younger brunette huffed and crossed his arms in a sulk. Oliver snickered and watched as Seth got up from the bed and strode over to Kaiba. It would always be a little strange to see two Kaibas standing side by side. They were clearly different in almost every way and yet identical in all ways. It was fascinating to watch.

The two half souls spoke softly to each other in hieratic, sometimes speaking over each other or saying the same thing at the same time. They rarely broke eye contact except to glance at their companions or presumably think of a reply. Oliver wondered if the two realized how close they were standing to each other. They were almost whispering in their ears. It was reminiscent of the way Yami and Yuugi spoke to each other which made sense. But that did bring a curious question to mind: could Kaiba and Seth speak telepathically like Yami and Yuugi could?

"Oh boys," Mai called, derailing Oliver's musing, "did anyone ever tell you how cute you two look together?"

Both Kaiba and Seth blushed bright red and Seth stumbled back a few paces putting distance himself and the Regent. Kaiba did not step back but he was struck speechless.

"Mai!" Seth gasped.

"How many times do I have to say it, Sorceress," Kaiba said when he finally found his tongue. "Not in front of Mokuba."

"It's okay Ni-sama," Mokuba said with a playful smile. "I'm used to this from Yami and Yuugi."

Kaiba's expression grew more abashed. Then Mai chipped in. "Don't forget Marik and Bakura," she added with a sly grin.

Kaiba was visibly shaking as he struggled to control his temper while Seth looked like he desperately wanted to melt into the floor and disappear. "It's actually Marik, Bakura, and Ryou, now," Oliver could not help but add.

Kaiba whirled on the vigilante with a betrayed expression and Seth buried his face in his hands. "Kohai?!"

Oliver shrugged. "Truth hurts. And incidentally, you can't really afford to argue with her right now."

Blue eyes became narrow and wary. "Why not?"

"Because you're in debt," Oliver said.

"No," Kaiba said firmly. "I'm not."

"Yes you are, rich boy," Mai sang. "And I will collect."

Kaiba turned to his Sorceress, eyeing her suspiciously. "I don't owe you anything."

"Wrong," she said, holding up a single finger. "I bought you your coffee at Java Script. You owe me a camping trip with no technology."

Kaiba reeled back in abject horror. It was such an amusing an unexpected sight even Oliver cracked up, quickly slapping a hand over his mouth in a pathetic attempt to muffle his laughter. If he listened hard enough, Oliver was certain he could hear Fuguta and Roland chuckling on the other side of the door as well.

"You- I didn't tell you to buy it for me!" Kaiba defended.

"But you accepted it and drank the whole darn thing. A debt's a debt, young man," Mai said waving her finger with a wink. "And I think I'll collect immediately."

"No!" Kaiba said firmly. "I have to get back to work. I haven't been able to do hardly anything for KaibaCorp in two full days."

"Ni-sama's right," Mokuba said hesitantly. "But if you give him a week or so to get stuff in order, we can meet you."

"Mokuba?!" both Seth and Kaiba gasped.

Oliver cackled and Thea smirked. "He's got him tied around his finger doesn't he?" she teased staring at Mokuba. "I think we'll get along just fine." She held out her hand and shook Mokuba's firmly.

Oliver's laughter faded. "No."

"Oh yes," Thea said.

"I suggest a group trip," Mai said. "We can go camping out at Lake Tahoe."

"I've actually never been there," Thea said. "We could rent a cabin-"

"I'll only allow that for a bit," Mai schemed. "We have to stay in a tent at least a couple days. And the cabin had better not have any wifi or that one," she jerked her head at Kaiba, "won't stop working."

"For good reason!" the young CEO exclaimed.

"Why are you including me in all this?" Oliver demanded.

"I think it sounds like a wonderful idea," the person who stepped into the room said jovially. Walter met everyone's gaze with proud eyes. "I could rent a cabin for a week for everyone could stay at," he offered to the two young ladies. "It would be nice if you all had a nice relaxing vacation." He met each of their eyes, daring them to argue. "How about in two weeks? That will give me enough time to book a place and you can settle things with KaibaCorp," he said to Kaiba who stared at the man stunned. "How does that sound?" he asked Thea, Mai, and Mokuba.

The scheming threesome grinned. "It sounds perfect," Mai said. She held up a thumbs up. "You really are a gentleman."

"A gentleman who shouldn't have gotten in here," Kaiba glaring at his bodyguards.

"Why don't you and your brother stay the night in the guest room," Walter offered.

"I'll head back to the hotel and claim the bed," Mai said. "Finally, a bed. I'll meet you two," she said pointing to Oliver and Kaiba, with an added wink at Seth, "at the Verdant tomorrow with your stuff. Ta~."

"Please, let me see you out," Walter said, offering Mai his arm.

"Well," Mai said with a wide smile. "If I wasn't already interested in someone, I'd be falling for you quite quickly sir. Lead on."

She took Walter's offered arm and together the two left. Kaiba blinked and shook his head. "And I thought my Ba was hard to control," he muttered in Japanese. He looked up at Seth when he felt surprise as well as a plethora of other emotions emanate through their shared link. "What?" he asked.

Seth's eyes were huge and filled with so many emotions it was hard to separate them and categorize them. But before Kaiba could ask what was wrong, Seth vanished leaving the CEO confused. Thea gasped momentarily distracting Kaiba from his thoughts.

"Was that it?" she asked excitedly. "Was that the magic?"

Oliver grinned and nodded. "Partially yes. If Kaiba doesn't mind, you can come watch us train tomorrow if you want."

"Hm? Oh," Kaiba said recovering from his lapse in concentration. He must be seriously tired. "Yes, it's fine so long as she stays out of the way. I don't want to hurt someone."

"You can sit with me," Mokuba said, grabbing Thea's hand. "We can watch together then go for ice cream."

Kaiba pinched the bridge of his nose muttering something in Japanese.

"Ice cream?" Thea repeated incredulously. "No," she said firmly. "We can get froyo instead."

"Froyo?" Mokuba asked, tilting his head cutely.

"Frozen yogurt," Thea said. "Don't worry. I know all the best local places."

"And on that note," Oliver said, cutting things off before they got too far. "I think it's time you," he placed a hand on Kaiba's shoulder, "get some sleep. Come one. I'll take you to the guest room. And don't worry about waking up early. Tomorrow's Sunday so we all sleep in anyway."

Mokuba waved to Thea and followed his big brother down the hall to the room on the left. It was about the same size as Oliver's but overlooked the back yard instead of the front driveway. Mokuba hopped on the bed and approved of mattress. He sank in just enough to be comfortable while still able to bounce.

Seto heaved a heavy sigh and after a brief nod to Oliver, he stripped off his white trench coat, boots, belt, and holsters and got in the bed. Mokuba joined him moments later. It was a tribute to how tired Seto actually was that he did not go through the room looking for bugs. But Mokuba trusted Roland and Fuguta to do that.

Sure enough, as the brothers curled up together, Roland strode in and searched the room. Mokuba leaned back to watch and thus noticed that Seto was already fast asleep. The younger Kaiba smiled and cuddled close to his big brother, bumping his head up under Kaiba's chin.

It had been a long week and all Mokuba wanted to do was sleep the whole night through with Seto and wake up still in his brother's arms. Roland paused to brush out a few tangles from Mokuba's hair and pat Seto's shoulder before taking up his usual position by the foot of the bed. Mokuba smiled at the parental treatment and closed his eyes. If Roland was in here, then that meant Fuguta was standing outside the door. And Arrow was in the bedroom nearby. All in all, Mokuba felt safe, so he allowed himself to fall asleep too with a big smile on his face.

Unbeknownst to Mokuba or anyone outside of Kaiba's mind, while the Regent's body may have been sleeping regaining the energy it had lost, his soul was wide awake.

"You accepted me."

Kaiba's soul manifestation stood facing the window overlooking the familiar industrial city of Domino as he remembered it. The light from the remembered sun was gone leaving only the twinkling lights from the nighttime cityscape to filter into his darkened soul room. It was cold in the room reflecting Kaiba's emotional upset, mental confusion, and physical exhaustion; something even his soul manifestation standing here now refused to show visually.

"You called me yours.

Kaiba continued to stared out the window steadily, trying to make sense of his racing thoughts, his arms crossed over his chest and jaw set firmly in place. There were no stars visible above the cityscape because the CEO never remembered seeing any, just the city lights or the familiar glow from his laptop sitting open on the metal and glass desk behind him. If he looked down to the streets of Domino far below, he would see streaks of indistinct red and white where cars should have been driving. It was a single image ingrained in his memory giving the illusion of life and motion.

"Your Ba."

Kaiba sighed and turned to the other soul manifestation in his soul room. Seth stood in the middle of the room watching him with crystalline blue eyes that glowed with an inner fire and the reflected light from the nighttime city. Seth's dark skin and hair made him difficult to discern in the darkness had it not been for those eyes and the fact Kaiba knew Seth's soul so well.

"Did you mean it?" Seth asked softly.

Kaiba did not answer right away. He lowered his eyes and reached out to close the glowing laptop on the ultra modern desk before walking around it to stand directly in front of Seth. When he was inches away from the person who was and was not him, the person who knew him best, Kaiba stood still and stared into those all too familiar eyes.

He glanced down at the floor beneath their feet at the intricate mosaic of Kisara and the Blue Eyes White Dragon before lifting his eyes again. Seth had followed his gaze and was now staring down at the mosaic with a fixed gaze. Kaiba could feel the sadness and loss radiating from Seth from the CEO's reluctance to answer his question aloud. Kaiba purposefully placed two fingers under Seth's chin, lifting his face so they stared at each other again.

Seth met Kaiba's gaze evenly, refusing to back down. The Regent felt his lips twitch upwards at the show of stubbornness and defiance he knew he also possessed in high quantities. If anyone was a perfect match for him as a rival other than Yuugi and the Pharaoh, it was Seth. But then, he would be.

"I did," Kaiba said finally.

Seth's eyes closed and he let out a fluttering sigh in relief. He leaned forward, resting his forehead against Kaiba's. The two half souls remained there for several seconds before Seth nuzzled Kaiba, dropping his head to rest his face on his Ka's shoulder. A breathless laugh escaped his lips.

"My Ka," he whispered, lifting his hands to grasp Kaiba's arms, comforting himself with the knowledge this was real and not another dream.

"Don't disappear," Kaiba said softly, reaching up to cup Seth's elbows with his palms.

Seth shivered. "I do not intend to."

Kaiba clicked his tongue. "Too formal."

Seth laughed uncertainly. "My sincerest apologies."

Kaiba rolled his eyes and muttered, "Idiot."

He stood still when he felt Seth hum and lean closer to him, unsure of how to respond. This was all new to him. He had no idea how to act or react to this kind of situation. He was not attracted to men in the slightest. He had only ever been attracted to Kisara in either of his two lives, no one else. But if that was true, which he knew it was, then what was this he was feeling

"My Ka," Seth sighed, hot breath brushing Kaiba's throat

Suddenly it had become hard for Kaiba to maintain his aloof composure. Emotions flooded him: possession, adoration, and, strangely, worship. It was so close the the feeling he experienced right before his and Seth's souls had merged bringing a fully reborn Set back from the dead. Kaiba's breathing came harder and he felt warm and tingly where Seth touched him. He lowered his head to bury his face against Seth's neck, breathing in the faintest scent he recognized as cyprinum. For some reason, that was the trigger.

Kaiba leaned back and pinched Seth's chin between his thumb and forefinger pulling him into a kiss. He had no practice kissing in this life but he remembered how from when Seth and Kisara...

He stepped to the side dragging Seth with him until he could press Seth against the triple locked door to his soul room and force his knee between his Ba's legs. His Ba. Kaiba growled and lifted his leg so his thigh pushed against Seth's crotch earning him a muffled gasp. Kaiba pinned Seth's upper arms to the door on either side of his Ba.

After a moment, Kaiba's senses returned reminding him that he knew he should stop. Somehow, he found the strength to pull away and stare with tightly restrained desire into equally hooded blue eyes.

"I'm not interested in men," he said, startled when his voice wavered ever so slightly.

Seth shook his head. "Neither am I."

Kaiba's eyes narrowed in confusion. "Then why…?"

"I…I don't know," Seth gasped. "But…I don't want it to stop."

"Neither do I."

Kaiba surged forward, claiming his Ba's lips once more, plundering his mouth with his tongue just he remembered Kisara teaching his previous incarnation. Seth tilted his head willingly encouraging the kiss, even lowering himself as much as his pinned arms would let him and rolled his hips experimentally. Kaiba swallowed the ensuing groan and gave a groan of his own. His groan was echoed by another, louder and deeper than his voice could ever hope to be.

Kaiba and Seth froze, staring at each other in shock. Both halves of the same soul looked over Kaiba's shoulder and gulped when they saw a shining white dragon with intelligent blue eyes gazing back at them. By all rights, the dragon should not have fit in the soul room but the laws of physics hardly applied here in a world created by the mind and soul. The white dragon practically filled the room with an inner light that was both cold and warm.

"Kisara!" Kaiba said at the same time Seth said, "Ki-sa-ra!"

Kisara rumbled and lowered her head to gaze at Kaiba and Seth currently locked in a very compromising position. She tilted her head and Seth ducked his head in shame, subtly pushing Kaiba away. Kaiba, however, did the exact opposite. He yanked Seth forward as he stepped to the side. He held his Ba's so Seth's back pressed close to his chest and he turned to face Kisara.

Kisara lowered her head so she stared eye-to-eye with the two souls of her former lover. Two sets of electric blue, one bold the other shy, met sky blue. Seth tried to pull free of Kaiba's hold but his Ka held him firmly in place facing his precious lover. When he realized he could not escape, Seth slumped, bowing his head in shame. Kisara rumbled, snuffling Seth's longer hair until he looked up into her eyes. Unshed tears rimmed his lashes as he beheld the bonded Ba and Ka of the one person he ever truly loved.

"He's mine," Kaiba said, startling both Seth and Kisara into looking at him. "He's mine," Kaiba repeated.

"Seto," Seth warned softly.

"He's mine, Kisara," Kaiba said louder, tightening his hold on his Ba. "As you are ours." Kisara nodded her giant head. "And we are yours." Kisara opened her great mouth in a semblance of a smile, crooning to him. Kaiba smiled and nodded. "We swore we would never cheat on you, despite your encouraging me to settle down." Kisara snorted and Kaiba's smile softened. "We'll find a way to bring you back somehow," he swore, eyes serious. "I swear. But until then," he tilted his head so he could take another whiff of Seth's scent with a sly grin, "since this is technically masturbation, would you mind if I claimed him like you once claimed us?"

Kisara studied both souls closely before folding her wings and crooning, giving her permission Seth tensed, blushing madly in Kaiba's hold. Had he been the whole soul of Set, he would have made Kaiba eat those words. But he was a Ba and Kaiba was his Ka, the Ka that had finally openly accepted him. Seth could finally live and not worry about fading away into nothing, unwanted and forgotten. He felt a puff of warm air tickle his ear and tipped his head back onto Kaiba's shoulder, closing his eyes in surrender. He heard Kisara make a noise that sounded distinctly like laughter and his blush deepened. Ra help him, it was not fair.

:No, it's not fair is it?:

Seth stiffened when he heard those words ring in his head. :Seto?:

Kaiba laughed against Seth's warming skin enjoying the ensuing shudder. :Since I have Kisara's permission and this is basically masturbation, I can't really find a problem with this. Just be aware she'll be watching.:

Seth groaned and felt his hips twitch at the thought. :When we succeed in turning her back into a form we can,: he licked his suddenly very dry lips, :hold like this…:

:She'll join us, most definitely: Kaiba finished. :She did teach us everything we know after all.:

The sigh that followed was not entirely deliberate. :Greeks,: Seth whispered, reaching up to turn Kaiba's head, drawing him into a kiss.

Kisara crooned and settled on the floor in the middle of Kaiba's soul room, resting her head on the railing facing the ancient Egyptian city. She oriented herself so she could watch her former lovers' souls claim one another. She had been Greek when she was human so relationships such as this were anything but uncommon or strange. Since these two were her former lovers and she knew they were entirely devoted to her, she could tolerate this.

Besides, she knew the attraction between two halves of a soul was bound to end up like this at least once. Yuugi and Yami were an excellent example. She could hardly fault them for this, especially when she was enjoying watching them. She was essentially watching her former lover, who was still avidly devoted to her, play with himself which was nothing new to her. Granted this did add another element into the mix she had not originally anticipated, but she was certainly not complaining. Neither were Seth and Kaiba, she noticed. In fact, they seemed quite thoroughly distracted. She grinned, flashing her sharp teeth. Maybe getting laid would take the edge off. It was certainly entertaining for her.