As promised, I'm back! Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday!

Did you know that exactly 1 year ago today I posted my first chapter? Anyone who's been here since the beginning, thank you for continuing to follow me on this crazy journey!

Super huge thanks to thor94! You gave me my first (and for the longest time only) comment. It was that ONE comment that kept me from falling into the pit of 'OMG, I suck. I should just give up'. I have discovered how much I enjoy writing as a creative outlet. Thank you 100x, thank you!

So this was the Yugi hell chapter I was struggling with before. The second half still has parts that bug me, but for my own sanity, I'm going to try not fixating on it.

If you want to know when I'll be posting updates, or wanna see what else my crazy brain has been working on, I now have a Tumblr (Sesshy380).

Small TW: Momentary hostage situation flashback.

Imhotep threw his school bag across the room as soon as he stepped inside, then proceeded to throw himself onto the bed that was now 'his' while curling up into a ball facing the wall.

Yugi approached cautiously, reaching his hand out slowly and attempted to place it lightly on his twin's shoulder. Imhotep retracted from the gesture, pulling his shoulder away and curling up even tighter. Yugi lowered his hand, then walked over to his side of the room and sat on his bed. He could see his twin breathing heavily, trying to hide silent sobs. He wasn't certain what he could do for him.

"I'm going to head downstairs and see if grandpa needs any help," Yugi said in a sad voice. "You can come down when you're ready…that is if you want to."

He had just placed his hand on the doorknob when Imhotep quietly spoke up, his voice cracking as he tried to keep his emotions reigned in.

"Why do I always screw things up? Why do I say and do shit without thinking?"

Yugi sighed and removed his hand from the knob, then sat on the foot of his sibling's bed.

"My guess is you probably just don't have a lot of practice. It's like back at the arcade when you were talking about not having real-world applications for slowing down," he said, trying his best to help.

"I don't think that's it," Imhotep replied through a slowly cracking wall of emotion. "I've always been like this. I always say and do shit without thinking. It's like I don't really care…but that's not true. I care a lot. I don't like seeing Shae when she's upset. It makes me feel like I'm a disappointment or something…and then I just feel so angry…and I don't know why."

Yugi didn't know how to respond. He sat there trying to figure out what to say, wanting to offer some sort of advice, but he kept coming up empty.

"It's strange," Imhotep said after a few long moments of silence between them. "I feel like someone just crammed a tangled mess of cords inside of me…and every time I try to sort it out, I just end up making a bigger mess. Like, I start to make some progress, but then I run into something difficult and get so frustrated that I wind up undoing all the progress I'd just made and make things worse for myself in the end."

"Have you ever considered asking someone to help you untangle it?" Yugi asked.

Imhotep raised himself into a sitting position, wiping away a few stray tears with his sleeve while still facing the wall. "Like who? Until now, all I've ever had was Shae and Mkhai. How do you ask for help from someone when they are the one that made you feel that way in the first place? I'm upset with Shae…and I feel like I'm just beating my head against the wall trying to explain to her why."

"I'm sure she knows."

Imhotep scrunched up his face. "I don't think she does. She won't listen. Our old man still cares. He didn't mean any of what he said. He was just tired. Can you blame him? Imagine waking up every five-hundred years or so inside of someone else. Having to live through them. Having to be them. Knowing that in the end, that they would die because of him. He didn't want any more of that."

Yugi thought back to the day when he had snapped at Atem and both had been sickened by the idea of so many lives lost in vain. Then he recalled Marik's point of view on the subject. He had tried to see things from Kat's perspective.

"Have you tried to view things from a different set of eyes?" Yugi asked.

"A different set of eyes?" Imhotep reiterated in confusion.

"Yeah. Have you tried to see things from Kat's perspective? You've seen through Atem's perspective, but not hers. Maybe she views things differently."

Imhotep looked away, the idea of seeing things from another point of view obviously never having occurred to him.

"I…haven't…" He hung his head a bit. "No wonder the old man was disappointed." He let out a halfhearted chuckle. "Guess I need to switch up the point of view more often. First person is great for the most part, but sometimes you don't see the dragon incoming unless you're in third person. It kinda sucks when you don't realize it's there until it's chomping on your head."

Yugi stared blankly. "Did you seriously just use a Skyrim reference?"

"Yeah," he chuckled sheepishly. "In case it isn't obvious by now, video games are the only real reference material I've got."

Yugi couldn't help but smile and chuckle along with him. "Nope. I was completely unaware."

Imhotep breathed out a sigh, smiling lightly. "Thanks."

Yugi was slightly puzzled. "For what?"

Imhotep glanced casually over at him, the light smile still in place. "For just being here. It's strange. We barely know each other in a personal sense…but it feels like we're able to just figure out what the other needs."

Yugi stared blankly again.

Imhotep lowered his head sheepishly. "Okay, that sounded a lot better in my head. Saying it out loud kinda sounded dumb."

"No, I get it," Yugi said in reassurance. "It's like after the arcade when I was feeling a bit upset. It's like you somehow understood why I was upset on a deeper level. I wonder if it has something to do with the fact that we're twins?"

Imhotep thought about it for a moment. "It's a distinct possibility. It's rumored that twins are one soul manifested into two physical bodies. It would explain why I was born with magae, while you weren't."

"That actually makes a lot of sense," Yugi stated.

"Yeah, it does," Imhotep said in agreement. He released another light sigh. "I need to make things right with Shae, I just don't know how to go about it. I was being a bit more like our old man than I care to admit…and not in a good way."

"Just tell her that you're sorry," Yugi said earnestly.

Imhotep shook his head slightly. "You don't get it. Shae has always told me that to apologize is to ask for forgiveness. I shouldn't be forgiven for all the things I've said and done. It was wrong, and I knew it. I was just too stubborn to care."

"There are other reasons to apologize. You don't have to expect forgiveness. Sometimes you just need to show that you feel regret for your actions, and saying you're sorry is the only way."

Imhotep lowered his head in contemplation. "Well…that does make sense. But then what about what Shae said? Does that mean she was wrong?"

Yugi shook his head. "No. In a way she's right, but only partially. But maybe that's because that's what she was told. Maybe no one ever told her the other reasons a person should apologize."

Imhotep continued to contemplate. "Well…her mom did die when she was young…and Anubis…he's not exactly sitting around sipping coffee from a '#1 Dad' mug."

The image of the jackal god sitting at a table while reading the morning news and sipping coffee from a mug labeled '#1 Dad' appeared in Yugi's head, and he couldn't help but try to stifle a laugh.

"You pictured it, didn't you?" Imhotep asked dryly.

"Was it that obvious?" Yugi asked in embarrassment.

"Kinda," Imhotep said with a smirk.

"So have you decided what you're going to do?" Yugi questioned.

Imhotep sighed in reluctance. "Yeah. I think I'm going to head back and try to apologize for both this morning and just a bit ago."

"Want me to go with you?"

"Only if you want to."

"Kinda. I'm hoping maybe I can get a chance to finally talk with Atem, that way I can finally look past all the weirdness," Yugi stated.

Imhotep nodded with a small smile, then encased both of them in Shadow.

Both Yugi and Imhotep could hear shouting upon arrival. It was coming from behind the closed door upstairs.

"That can't be good…" Imhotep said nervously. "I must have really upset her."

The door opened, the pale elemental being shoved roughly backwards out of it. He stumbled a bit, catching himself on the railing.

"Why the fuck would I make something like that up?! I'm not fucking stupid! I know that's a sensitive topic!" Bakura shouted at the doorway.

Kat emerged from the room, looking extremely pissed off.

"So you mean to tell me, that my brother has possibly been around all this fucking time, and he hasn't shown himself once until now?! THAT'S BULLSHIT!" she seethed. "I'm done! I've chased after so many 'I think' and 'I'm certain I saw'...I'm. Fucking. Done. Don't you ever bring up Set to me again," she stated coldly.

"But-"

"EVER!"

"Fine!" Bakura growled. "I wasn't even going to bring it up until I had solid evidence, but when Atem mentioned that you went after Kaiba, I thought maybe you'd want to know what I saw!"

"Well maybe you should have just kept your trap shut!" Kat shouted bitterly, then slammed the door in his face.

Bakura made a rude gesture towards the closed door, then stormed down the stairs. He noticed the two teens standing there in confusion as he approached the bottom few steps.

"Why are you here?" he growled.

"Well…I was going to try apologizing to Shae…but maybe I'll come back when she's not so pissed off…" Imhotep replied nervously.

"Good luck with that," Bakura growled snarkily.

Yugi glanced around. "Where's everyone else?"

Bakura shrugged. "Don't know. Don't care. Though given the time, they probably went to grab something for dinner. Kat doesn't cook, so her kitchen is pretty bare of food."

"Oh…" Yugi said, hanging his head. He'd been looking forward to being able to speak with Atem.

"Whelp, Shae's pissed and the old man isn't here. Guess that means we can leave," Imhotep said with more enthusiasm than he probably should have.

Yugi lifted his head and glanced over at his twin. "You can't leave now just because Kat's upset. The sooner you apologize, the better. Plus I'm sure it'll cheer her up."

Imhotep looked at Yugi as though he'd said something dumb. "Yeaaah…that's not how it works with Shae. When she's pissed off, you don't approach her…you go the opposite direction."

"Gotta agree with Shadow on that one," Bakura stated casually.

Yugi looked up at the closed door. Imhotep wanted to make things right between him and Kat. Leaving now would only leave things unsaid between the two.

When I look at you….I see a light in the darkness.

Kat's words from the other day gave him an idea.

"I'm gonna go talk to her," he said, starting up the stairs.

Imhotep quickly moved to block his path, his arms outstretched.

"Have you inherited Shae's insanity?! Did you not just hear what I said a second ago? Pissed off Shae means 'DO NOT APPROACH'. She will both figuratively and literally rip you to shreds!"

Yugi ducked under his sibling's outstretched arms and continued up the stairs.

"Might as well call the coroner," Bakura said sarcastically, having sat down on one of the cushions beside the table. "Yugi is a 'Grade A do-gooder'. Once he's made up his mind, all you can do is sit back and watch the show."

"Oh yeah? Must be why you always lost to him," Imhotep taunted.

Bakura's face fell. "I didn't lose to him. I lost to that Royal ass."

Yugi ignored the back and forthing between Imhotep and Bakura as he approached the door near the top of the stairs. He took a deep breath, then knocked lightly.

No answer.

He knocked again, this time cracking the door open slowly as he did.

"Um, hello? Kat?"

The strong smell of cigarette smoke assaulted his nostrils, and he coughed a bit as the smoke hit his lungs. The smell triggered the momentary flash of a memory: A man was pointing a gun at Téa. There weren't any other specific details to remember, but he did recall the event in general. He'd 'blacked-out' after that moment. Knowing the things he knew now, he was certain it was one of those moments when Atem had stepped in and handled the situation. His friends had come out okay in the end, and that was all that mattered to him.

Yugi poked his head into the room. Kat was sitting on her bed, leaning casually against the headboard. She shakily raised a cigarette to her lips, inhaled deep, held it for a moment, then slowly exhaled.

"What?"

Kat's tone was emotionless and even as she stared off into the empty space of the room.

"Um, I know you're pretty upset right now, but can we talk?" Yugi asked quietly.

Kat rolled her head and gazed slightly towards the teen. "Do yourself a favor. Don't try to 'get to know' me. I'll only disappoint you. If you really want to know anything about me, just know that I'm a top-notch fuck-up."

Yugi had moved to stand fully inside the room now. "I doubt that's true."

"Oh, it is. Everything I do, I somehow screw it up. Think about it. It took me five-thousand years to bring back someone that was trapped in a relic. Do you even know how his soul ended up trapped inside? Because as I held his lifeless body I freaked out and said the words 'I promise, no matter how long it takes, I will find a way to bring you back'. The lovely magic of the relic decided from there to 'help' me fulfill that promise by storing Atem's soul inside," Kat said in a very sarcastic tone.

"You couldn't have known that would happen though. You were struck with grief," Yugi tried to reassure.

"I only met him in the first place because I wandered off and got lost. If I had just done as I was told, well…"

"Then Imhotep and I wouldn't exist," Yugi stated firmly. "You can't just look at all the unexpected outcomes of your choices and only see the negative side to them."

"Sounds like something Set would have said," Kat scoffed, going back to staring at nothing.

Yugi took another step into the room. "Set? That was your twin brother, right?"

Kat breathed out a false chuckle. "Yeah. The brother that, according to Bakura, has kept himself hidden from me for the past five millennia. Though, I guess if I were him, I would want to stay hidden from my murderer too."

Yugi blanched. Imhotep had told everyone that Set was the one that had killed Atem, but he'd never mentioned that Kat had killed Set in return.

"Y-you…" Yugi couldn't make the words come out.

"That's right. I killed my own brother. I watched as Atem fell to the floor, but wasn't struck with numbness or pain like a normal person. I was filled with rage. By the time I was done…I couldn't even lift my arm."

Kat was visibly shaking, a single tear streaked down the side of her face as forced herself to remain emotionless.

There was a long pause of silence.

"B-but you obviously regret what you did," Yugi stated, trying to calm his mind of the disturbing information.

"Just because I regret it, doesn't mean I want to be forgiven for it. The words 'I'm sorry' cannot express how I feel. I wish for nothing more than to see my brother again…but honestly, I have no idea what I would even say to him."

"Well, 'I'm sorry' might not be much, but it's a start."

"Those words are for when you want forgiveness. I am not deserving."

"It's not just about asking for forgiveness. It's also about showing that you feel remorse."

Kat sighed, then glanced back over towards Yugi again. "Why are you even here?" she asked, sounding somewhat annoyed.

"I came with Imhotep. He wanted to apologize for earlier."

"Yeah right," Kat scoffed. "Im rarely apologizes. Besides, he has every right to be angry and spiteful towards me. He's right. I kept him locked away, and for what?"

"You didn't know. You did what you thought was best."

"Yeah, well 'my best' simply proved to be yet another thing I obviously suck at."

Yugi felt his eyes start to sting, and it wasn't from the cigarette smoke.

"But still, you at least tried," he said, trying to hold back the frustration he was beginning to feel. Was this why Imhotep felt like he was beating his head against a wall whenever he talked to Kat?

Kat looked tired and exhausted. "Yugi, go home. Forget everything you know in regards to me. If you get close to me, you'll only end up getting dragged down just like everyone else."

She went back to staring into the emptiness of the room, still shaking as she slowly puffed away at the stick of tobacco between her fingers.

Yugi felt momentarily numb. Kat wanted him to forget about her? Wanted him to forget that he had a mother who cared so much that she removed herself from his life to keep him safe?

"I-I can't…I don't want to…" he stammered.

"Trust me, you should. It would be better," Kat said without looking at him and taking another long drag of her cigarette.

Yugi balled his hands into fists as he tried to make sense of the emotions he felt. The stinging in his eyes worsened, his throat felt constricted, and the space in his chest felt tight. It felt like someone had taken hold of the heart itself and had begun to tightly squeeze, and it hurt.

Kat released another lungful of smoke. "If you need help forgetting, I can do what I did for Atem…just on a smaller scale," she stated, her voice still void of emotion.

"I don't want to forget!" Yugi shouted, the stinging in his eyes releasing in steady streams from the corners. "You brought me to grandpa to keep me safe! You kept me and Imhotep apart to keep me safe! You even tried to delay Atem's revival to keep me safe! You don't have to do that anymore! So why are you pushing me away!?"

Kat was staring in shock at his sudden outburst. Even Imhotep and Bakura had started running up the stairs to see what the yelling was about.

Kat recovered from her shock and narrowed her eyes. "Because there's one thing I haven't screwed up on yet, and I intend to keep it that way."

"So what if you messed up and made mistakes! Mistakes are a part of life! They're what make you human!"

"Mistakes are meant to teach. I've obviously learned nothing," Kat said calmly.

"Because you can't learn if you become fixated on only one aspect of them! From everything you've said since I've walked in here, it's obvious you only look at the negative side of things! What about the positives?! If you hadn't met Atem, Imhotep and I wouldn't be here!"

Yugi's face of frustration slowly turned to one of realization.

"Unless…you think…we're mistakes…"

Kat's shock returned. "What? I've never-"

The cigarette between her fingers vanished in a small burst of flame as she quickly slid off the bed and stood, appearing half frozen with her arms slightly outstretched as if she were about to run over and hug the conflicted teen.

Kat retracted her semi-outstretched arms, pulling them in close as she hung her head slightly.

"I've regretted many things over the millennia and have made many mistakes…but I have never, not once, thought of the two of you that way." She lifted her gaze slightly. "I only wish I could have done something better for the both of you. I wish I had made better choices instead of giving in to panic and fear."

"But you're giving into those things right now!" Yugi pointed out, shouting again.

He had noticed the way Kat had paused and then retracted from what was obviously meant to be a reassuring embrace. When she had first made her move towards him, he had momentarily felt a strange form of excitement. The closest he could compare it to was that same form of excitement on Christmas morning and seeing that one present that he knew, without a shadow of a doubt, was exactly what he had been asking for. That strange form of excitement that still held a small air of mystery that it might not be what he thought it was. That the only way to know for sure was to tear off the wrapping and see it with his own eyes.

Yugi didn't think Kat could pull her arms any tighter to her body, but she somehow managed to anyway. She closed her eyes tight, turning her head off to the side as she tried to keep her tears hidden.

"Yugi, please go. You don't understand…"

"Then make me understand!" Yugi shouted all at once.

"I'd rather watch Atem die again..."

Those words cut Yugi deep. His eyes widened at the realization of why she was so afraid to get close to him.

"You're afraid of watching me die…."

Kat looked back towards him, the tears finally making their way free.

"I'm already watching it. Standing here, looking at you…I can see every crease around your eyes deepening. The miniscule growth that makes you that much taller. Each movement developing the muscle below the skin. I can hear the rhythm of your heart, and the flow of the blood through your veins. I'll know before you will, when each of your internal organs start to slowly fail you. I'll see the individual strands of gray as they begin to appear. I'll see the bright color of the eyes that remind me so much of Atem, slowly fade to a color I no longer recognize. And the worst part…for you it will have been an entire lifetime…but for me…" She trailed off, not wanting to say the rest.

"It will have felt like only a year or two," Bakura stated from behind. "We left Amarna for what we had thought was only a few years. Imagine our shock when we discovered those years had actually been centuries. Time passes differently for us," he added.

"And I don't have magae…" Yugi said in quiet realization.

Kat nodded slowly. "At one time I thought the only thing I had to worry about was when you would Awaken, and what might happen when you did…but now I realize that when you are gone…I may never see you again."

"So you would rather stay away than spend what little time we have together? Haven't we all been apart long enough?"

Kat fidgeted uncomfortably, trying to draw herself in even tighter still.

Imhotep stepped forward, coming to stand beside Yugi. "Shae…" He stared at her, his eyes pleading for her to stop giving into the fear.

Suddenly Kat became angry and upset. "It's not fair! Why was it only one of you!?" she shouted, her eyes closed as a few more tears found their way out.

Imhotep hung his head. "I'm sorry. I wish there was a way to give him some of my magae."

Kat's anger quickly subsided. She was breathing heavily as she stared at the matching faces across from her. Each face sad in a different way. Both wanting her to stop hiding from the terrifying fear she felt deep within.

She took a deep breath, then took a hesitant step forward. Everything within told her to stop, to go the other way, but she pressed on, taking another, less-hesitant step…and another…until she was standing directly in front of both teens. She shook as she pried her hands and arms away from her body. She slowly reached out a hand, placing it on Yugi's cheek, then doing the same with Imhotep and her other hand.

Imhotep was the first to react to this gesture by quickly hugging his mother and burying his face into her shoulder. "I'm sorry Shae! I didn't mean to make you think I hated you! I'm sorry I've been difficult about everything! I'm sorry I was the one born with all the magae!" he said quickly.

Kat returned the embrace, then pulled him away so she could look at him. "I know you don't hate me, my Sa-nesu. And I understand why you want me to give Atem another chance, but you must understand that some words cut worse than any blade, and his very much did. And it is not your fault that you were born with magae, while your brother was not."

"So…you're not mad at me for earlier?"

Kat shook her head. "No. What you saw earlier, that was me being upset about something entirely different."

"About Kaiba…and your brother?"

"Among other things. I am mostly upset with myself. I did something that I deeply regret doing…and let's just say that there's a chance you won't have to worry about me and Marik being together for much longer."

"But…as much as I hate to admit this…you seem…happy when he's around," Imhotep said earnestly.

"I am. Believe me, I am…but, like words, some actions cut deeply and wound in a way that cannot be easily forgiven."

"I've seen the way Marik looks at you, I'm certain whatever it is, he'll find a way to look past it," Yugi stated reassuringly. His tears had quickly vanished, along with his frustration.

Kat placed her full attention on Yugi, wrapping her arms around him and holding him tightly.

"Yugi, you truly are a beacon in the darkest of places. You see the light in everything, and when you encounter someplace void of light, you don't give up until it shows itself again." She pulled away so that she could look at him just as she had done with Imhotep. "You remind me so much of the Atem I knew in my youth…and even more of my brother, Set. He always saw things in a way that I could not. He always knew the right words to say to help those who were lost in their own darkness."

Yugi wasn't certain what exactly he felt at that moment. That strange type of excitement had filled him again, except it was the kind he felt after having finally unwrapped that gift that he had known what it was all along. The strange excitement where he was actually holding that gift in his hands, still staring in disbelief. He had known the whole time, he was now holding it in his hands, and he still couldn't believe it. He was still, in a way, somewhat shocked.

He reacted without thinking, his body controlling every action as he pulled Kat back into another tight embrace. It was the strangest thing, holding this tiny woman that physically appeared no older than himself, but the gesture itself somehow felt right, and it was accompanied by only a single word in his mind as he did so.

Ever since the day Kat had revealed the truth to him, he'd tried to use that word in his mind, each time it felt strange and foreign. In this moment, however, it suddenly felt right…and he said that word aloud.

"Mom…"

Kat's eyes went wide for the briefest moment, then she tightly closed them and tightened her hold on the teenage boy in her arms. He was here, in this very moment…and she vowed right then and there that she would make every second of the years he had left count for something

Happy 2023 everyone!

Quick Edit: Had a brain-dumb and forgot to mention here that the 'flashback' Yugi had is from Season 0, episode 2.