"Hey."
A hand on Anzu's shoulder gently shook her awake, and she rubbed her eyes before looking up to see who'd disturbed her.
"Did you sleep here all night?" Seto asked.
"Uh, yeah. I didn't want to leave her alone." Anzu glanced over at Ishizu's bed where the older woman was still unconscious. "I didn't mean to fall asleep in the chair, though."
"Thank you for staying with her."
"Yeah, of course." Anzu snuck a glance at Seto, but his face was inscrutable. What was Ishizu to him that he should care if she was alone?
Seto sat down two chairs away from Anzu, closer to the head of the bed and further from the door to the room.
"Did you know that the Millennium Necklace lets her see the future?" Anzu asked, one eyebrow raised.
"Yes, she told me." Seto wasn't looking at Anzu at all, his gaze instead on Ishizu's sleeping face.
"Is that why you two have been whispering together so much?"
Seto frowned slightly as he pondered his response.
"Yes. We've been discussing how to take down Noah Kaiba."
"What she said during the duel—that Noah has less than a week to live if he doesn't give up the Millennium Eye—is that true?"
"She hadn't mentioned that to me," Seto answered, trying not to look annoyed. "But even Noah said that she wasn't lying, so it has to be true."
"Hm." Anzu looked at Seto again, studying him too closely.
"When do you plan to tell Yugi your true feelings for him?"
Anzu's jaw dropped and she sputtered, face turning red. She stood up and glared at the other teen, finally finding her tongue.
"Mind your own business!"
Anzu stomped out of the room and Seto smirked to himself.
Was that really necessary?
She was irritating.
Then why did you wake her up in the first place?
I forgot how irritating she is.
Seto could feel Seth's eye-roll.
Do you think she could hear me if I talked to her?
Ishizu? I'm afraid not. Her soul and consciousness are far from us.
"Hm."
Seth was curious. What was Seto wanting to achieve?
You could try holding her hand, Seth suggested.
Would she feel that?
I don't know, but she might.
Seto looked at Ishizu's hand laying on top of the blanket, then at the door to the room.
You shouldn't care if somebody sees you holding her hand.
I should care, especially if the person happens to be Marik.
Marik would understand. He also won't be leaving Ryou's side for the rest of the day, I imagine.
He seldom does, if he can help it.
It was quite early as well. Nobody else should be awake, except Anzu, and he had effectively removed her from the room for at least the next twenty minutes.
Seto tentatively reached out his hand and touched Ishizu's, his fingertips resting on the back of her hand. It felt cold. Carefully, he moved his fingers to wrap around her hand and hold it properly.
He could feel Seth's unspoken question nagging at the edge of his mind and sighed.
When Pegasus trapped my soul, it was terrible.
He'd never talked to Seth about that experience before.
I had no sense of direction, no light. I was drowning alone in a void. It felt like it would last forever. Then something changed. I think it must have been when Marik returned the Millennium Rod to my body and you were able to take over. It got less dark, and I could feel you there. I couldn't reach you, but I knew you were there. I knew I wasn't alone anymore, that you hadn't given up on me.
Of course I didn't give up on you. I never will.
The warmth in Seth's voice was soothing.
I think it's sweet that you want to comfort Ishizu while she's in the Shadow Realm.
Seto blushed but lightly squeezed Ishizu's hand.
Shut up, you're embarrassing.
Seto focused his gaze on Ishizu's face again. Maybe it was a stupid thought and a futile effort, but he hoped that she got the message.
She wasn't alone.
"The matches for the semifinals of the Battle City Tournament will now be determined by lottery!"
The duelists and spectators were all gathered in the room with the lottery machine that had determined the quarterfinal matches as well. Mai had been filled in on the details of what she missed while she was in the Shadow Realm. Now that she'd experienced Shadow Magic for herself, instead of just witnessing it, she had no doubts about how real all of this was or how important these duels would be.
Somebody was about to duel Noah Kaiba, and they would either bring an end to his quest for unlimited power or fall under the weight of his god-cards.
Ryou reached out both hands to his friends on either side, Yugi and Seto. He squeezed both hands and received an answering squeeze from both of them.
Good luck, was Ryou's message.
Stay strong, was Seto's.
Have faith, was Yugi's.
The three duelists stood together, surrounded by their friends as Noah stood off to the side, alone, the Millennium Ring hanging from his neck.
The numbered balls rattled around in their chamber until two found their way into the extraction canister.
Ryou held his breath.
Seto clenched his jaw.
Yugi closed his eyes.
"Duelist #4 and Duelist #7 will face off in the first duel of the Battle City Semifinals!"
Seto dropped Ryou's hand as he turned to face Yugi.
"Looks like it's you and me for the first duel." Ryou's eyes shone with relief as he faced his opponent.
"It seems so," Yugi agreed.
"Duelist #1 and Duelist #5 will be facing off immediately afterwards!"
"Good luck," Seto said as he turned away, wanting to return to his room so that he could focus on his strategy until it was time for his duel.
"You may have noticed if you looked out the windows this morning," Noah said, turning to face his guests and making Seto stop. "That the blimp has reached its destination. The remaining duels of the tournament will be held on the top of the Duel Tower outside. Anyone who wishes to participate or observe must exit the blimp now."
That ruined his plans for privacy, but he'd find a way to make it work. He didn't have a choice.
The Duel Tower was an impressive structure, but the island itself confused Seto. Dangerous debris still lay around on the rocky surface, and he warned Mokuba to stay close to him. Seto couldn't make out what this island used to be just from the debris he could see, but he didn't doubt that it had been a creation of Noah's father. Just thinking about the man made his skin crawl, and he tried to push away those memories. He needed to focus.
The flat platform inside the duel tower lifted them all to the top, acting as an elevator and seeming to be the only way up or down from where they would be dueling.
The roof of the tower was flat with a raised platform in the center, long and stretching from one corner to another. That must be the arena. The referee ascended the platform and summoned the duelists to the arena for the first match of the semifinals.
As the proceedings began, Seto stepped over to the guard edge of the tower's roof, looking out over the island and the ocean. The view wasn't bad, but Seto didn't have time to enjoy it. Millennium Rod in hand, he closed his eyes and focused on returning to Seth's soul room. They needed to talk.
"Seth."
Seto stood before the ancient pharaoh with his arms crossed. They were back in the tunnels where the walls were painted with Seth's memories.
"Yes?"
The spirit was unbothered by his harsh tone of voice.
"We need to defeat Noah."
"I'm aware." Seth smirked slightly.
"He's been using the rules of the Shadow Games to put his opponents at a disadvantage or otherwise interfere with their focus."
"You want to initiate the Shadow Game," Seth realized, raising an eyebrow.
"I want us to duel on my terms. He can't be allowed to control the game any longer."
"I agree." Seth inclined his head. "So, what will your terms be?"
"I was hoping you could help me with that. The rules will apply to us equally, so it has to be something that I know I can handle but will throw him off."
"Something you can handle…" Seth rested a hand on his chin as he thought.
"Erasing memories almost worked for Ishizu, but I can't risk him erasing you from my memories. It would make it impossible for me to focus if we reverted to you being an unknown voice in my head."
"Gods, no." Seth rejected the idea with a grimace. "It was difficult enough to convince you I was only here to help the first time. I'm not doing that again."
"Besides, I don't want Noah in my head." Seto frowned at the thought. "So what other options do we have?"
"We could have each monster on the field be supported by that duelist's life force, like in Mai's duel," Seth suggested. "That would make it difficult for either of you to keep multiple monsters on the field."
"That would also make it much more difficult to summon Obelisk," Seto pointed out. "I think that would just disadvantage us both equally."
"Hm…" Something flashed in the spirit's eyes.
"You've thought of something." Seto wasn't asking.
"Yes." Seth's brow furrowed as he looked back at expectant young eyes. "But I don't like it."
"Tell me."
Seth hesitated, then released a small sigh.
"What if any lifepoints lost are felt as pain by the duelists?"
"That could work. I have a pretty high pain tolerance."
"Do you really think that will be enough?" Seth's face was still creased with concern.
"A spoiled brat like him won't know how to handle physical pain of that intensity," Seto said with confidence. "I have plenty of experience having to function in spite of it. It would be less of a disadvantage to me than it would be to him."
"If you're sure that's the condition you want to use, I won't stop you." Seth sounded resigned, reluctant.
"You really don't like this idea."
"No, I don't." Seth sighed again, stepping forward and looking like he wanted something. "But I'm never going to like a plan that involves putting you in danger or letting you come to harm."
"You wouldn't be a very good friend if you did."
Seth smiled slightly, but worry still darkened his eyes.
"There's something else we need to decide. Do you want to send Noah to the Shadow Realm as a penalty for losing the duel?"
"I don't think I should," was Seto's uncertain answer. "It would feel too much like vengeance if I banished him. I'm not opposed to vengeance generally, but this is different." The teen paused. "This is in front of everyone, including Mokuba. I need to set a good example for him."
"So you've chosen justice over vengeance." Seth's voice was warm. "I'm proud of you." The priest pushed aside Seto's hair and leaned forward to kiss his forehead.
"Don't be proud of me." Seto smirked, tilting his head and letting his bangs fall back over the spot Seth had kissed. "I haven't won yet."
"Hey."
The new voice and a hand on his shoulder jerked Seto out of his own mind. His eyes flew open and the world was brighter than he remembered.
"Yugi won," Joey murmured, dropping his hand from Seto's shoulder.
"I'm not surprised. Ryou's good, better than he thinks, but Yugi's better."
"Are you ready?"
"Yes." Seto turned his head to meet his friend's gaze. "I have a plan."
"I'm glad." Joey didn't look relieved though.
"Don't worry about me." Seto smiled thinly. "This will all be over soon enough."