Thanks to those of you who gave my experiment last chapter a chance. For those who decided not to suffer through a written duel, know that I don't blame you. I'd have done the same thing. I did my absolute best to keep things moving at a fast, exciting clip, and made sure not to bog it down with rule explanations and gratuitous flip-flops, as we so often see in canon. I implore you to give it a try if you haven't; I promise it's relevant to the plot.

But in case you just don't do duels in your fanfiction, the short version: before a local tournament, Seto and Mokuba faced off against one another in an exhibition match. Mokuba managed to win, and received one of his brother's Blue-Eyes White Dragons as a prize.

Kisara "Kay" Mayer was in the audience, and when she approached the Kaibas with Katie and Renie after the match, Seto started to introduce himself to her, when his eyes inexplicably changed color.

Take a wild guess what that means.

Verse One.

Kay stared. "What…?"

Seto was now staring openly at her, throat working as though the words he was trying to say had swelled up his tongue. He managed to choke out, in a much thicker voice than before: "K…Ki…sa—" before lowering his head again, cradling it in one hand. "…Pardon," he said, speaking normally again. "I think…I may be falling—ill…"

He whirled around and shot for the exit.

"Niisama?" Mokuba called after him, looking surprised and almost lost. "Niisama!"

The man in white looked suddenly angry, and anguished. He clenched his teeth and swore, then turned his attention to the detective. "Eyes sharp, McKinley. Watch Mokuba." And with these clipped instructions, he stalked off himself.

The black-haired boy, still holding his new card in both hands, looked frightened now. "Noa! What's going on? Noa! Answer me!"

The man in white stopped on a dime, turned his head over his shoulder, and called back, "Stay here, kiddo! I'll handle this! You're just going to have to trust me on this one!"

And he was gone.

"But…!"

A broad, sure hand rested on Mokuba's right shoulder. Detective McKinley smiled down at him; his eyes were conflicted, but his voice was firm. "You heard the man. I'm sure your brother will be fine."

Kay felt a nearly irresistible urge to laugh as Mokuba pouted, glaring hotly after Noa's back. He said "Sheesh" in a tone that was clearly meant for a curse, and Kay thought her heart might cheerfully melt right there.

"He doesn't get sick, does he?" Renie asked the stifling silence.

"Not really," Mokuba said, grumbling. "Niisama's been acting weird. Noa, too. They're trying to hide it from me. Protect me from something. They're always doing that." He tried to keep his voice reproachful, annoyed, but Kay was an informal expert on the temperature of people's moods, and she could hear warmth, not heat, in Mokuba's voice.

He sighed, then turned to regard Kay. "Hello," he said in a new, chipper sort of voice, offered hand-in-hand with a smile. "Thanks for coming. We weren't sure how many people were going to show up. Niisama said people would think he was either trying to prove he was still relevant by beating up a little kid, or rolling over and dying by letting himself get beat up by a little kid. Either way, pathetic."

"Oh, no," Kay said, returning the smile because, honestly, she had no choice. While his brother's personality left something to be desired, this boy was clearly a born charmer. His smile was easy and inviting. "This was an eye-opener. I mean, I've heard my dad talk about Kaiba-Corp holograms before, but this was my first time seeing them work their magic."

Mokuba's smile widened into a full-fledged grin.

"So," Kay said, turning to Katie and Renie as though pulling them into the conversation as backup, "if I'm to understand this right, there are only a handful of these Blue-Eyes White Dragon cards, right? How many did you say there were?"

"Four," Katie said. "Mister Mutou, the owner of the Turtle, you met him on the porch, he's got one. Mister Kaiba has…two, now. And there's the last one right there." She gestured to Mokuba.

"Hmmm…" Kay murmured thoughtfully. "So they've never been reprinted?"

"Nope." Katie put on a nasty little grin of her own. "Why? Is someone interested? I saw the way you were watching the games. You're curious, aren'tcha? Huh? Arent'cha?"

Kay rolled her eyes. "What? Can't I be a girl sometimes? I thought it was pretty."

Renie quirked an eyebrow. "Really? Pretty? I mean, it's cool, sure. It's a freakin' dragon. But…it's a freakin' dragon!"

Kay shrugged.

"Why would he…?" Mokuba whispered to himself, turning again to the card like he thought it might disappear. "These are so important to him. I can't believe he would…"

"It's his guardian," Kay said, before her brain caught up. "His white knight. His Excalibur. Some people give their kids hunting rifles, or the keys to a car, or set up a separate bank account, as a symbol of their faith that sonny-boy or baby girl is growing up and getting ready to take on the world. He gave you his dragon. The highest vote of confidence he could think up."

There was a beat of stunned silence, as Katie, Renie, and even Detective McKinley stared openly at her. Renie asked, "Where did that come from, greenhorn?"

Kay blinked, watched Mokuba's face for a moment, then said, "…I'm a psych student. It's hard to turn off. What? Tell me I'm wrong."

"No…" Mokuba said slowly, still half to himself, "…no, I guess maybe you're right. I mean, he did let me sign up for that class. Maybe…maybe…"

The detective chuckled. "You're learning, Miss Mayer."

"I'll say," Katie put in. "I've been following him for years and I wouldn't've come up with that."

Kay put on a pensive expression and mused. Maybe, what she'd taken as self-evident wasn't so self-evident? Was that why Seto Kaiba's reputation was fueled by just as much enmity as awe? She filed the idea away, and turned back to the eyes.

Eyes didn't just…change color.

What the hell was wrong with this city, and why did it feel so familiar?

Verse Two.

"I don't need anyone checking up on me," Seto snapped without turning around, "much less a posse. I thought we agreed, Noa, that you would keep near Mokuba in public from now on."

Noa—adjusting his suit jacket and looking around at the people milling about the parking lot where Seto had sequestered himself near a trash can—smirked. "He's with McKinley. He'll be fine. It's happening again, isn't it?" He didn't sound concerned so much as offended. "It's taking control again, isn't it? Did you bring that fucking thing?"

Seto removed the Millennium Rod from its place—yet again—beneath his coat. He grimaced. "No. I didn't. Except, obviously, I did."

Yugi Mutou, wearing a king's face, chuckled. "I'm sure this is all new to you, Kaiba. The Millennium Items can be a heavy burden, not to mention a confusing one. I just want to help." Something about the way Yugi talked when Yami had control of him sent a shiver through Seto's entire body; it used to be that he would only see this man in the arena.

"Not interested," Seto hissed. "I'll handle this myself. Noa, get back to Mokuba. Now."

"Not happening, Aniki. Y'oughtta know better than that."

"You have built your career by learning from those with more expertise than yourself," Yami said. "In this, there is no more an expert than I. Look me in the eye, Kaiba. I respect you. Of all the people I have met in my time here, you are the most fundamentally honest. You are angry, because you fear for your boy's safety. Magic has done him pitifully few favors, I admit. So let me help you. I know personally the spirit with whom you are dealing. I can make him see…reason."

Seto eyed his old rival suspiciously, his lips curling and it was obvious that he was preparing to tell Yami to perform illicit acts with himself; then the eldest Kaiba's eyes flashed to his pseudo-twin, and his shoulders fell in defeat. "…Fine."

"Excellent!" Yami said, laughing. "Noa? I can handle things from here. If I fail to resolve this situation, you may cheerfully murder me. At the moment, though, I think little Mokuba is concerned. You might want to let him in on the secret. I'm sure he doesn't appreciate being lied to, and if you think you've actually hidden this from him…either of you…I can assure you that you haven't."

"Of course we haven't," Noa muttered. "He's a Kaiba. He knows damn well that something's wrong. Fine. I'll talk to him. But don't insult me, Mutou. If anything happens to Mokuba because you fail to make that thing 'see reason,' I won't stop at cheerfully murdering you."

Yami grinned again. "Naturally."

Noa stalked off, hands stuffed into the pockets of his slacks.

"Get on with it," Seto muttered, rolling his eyes. "I assume that we'll be meeting in the grand dining hall of my soul again."

"Your soul room is a dining hall?" Yami asked, eyebrows raising. "Fascinating. That explains a lot, actually. Yes, as a matter of fact. I think it would be best if we did business there. And…before you ask, don't worry about this material world. No one will be aware of our little séance."

"Lovely," Seto said.

Verse Three.

"Cousin! Did you see? Did you see?!"

Yami, dressed in a white robe embroidered with gold symbols, held up a hand and smiled. He looked surprisingly gentle as he sat down at the table. "Of course I saw, Seti. And I know very well that you are pleased. But before we get to the matter of your white dragon, there is business to conduct. Kaiba? Please, sit. This is your domain. You are, of course, pivotal to these negotiations."

Seto, eyeing the man who looked so much like him, sat down. Feet flat on the marble floor, back ramrod straight, he kept his hands clenched together in his lap, so as to avoid using the flatware in front of him as a weapon.

"Negotiations?" Seti asked. He leaned back in his chair, looking suspicious, but he shrugged. "Of course. I am not unreasonable. Let us negotiate."

"There is a bit of a problem of hierarchy," Yami said mildly. "It seems, Seti, that you have taken to using Kaiba's body for your own purposes, without permission." Seti made to speak, but Yami held up a hand again. "I am not finished. You have once inhabited Kaiba in order to seek out those who hold the other gems of the Golden Cradle." Here Yami gestured rather grandly to the Millennium Puzzle around his neck. "And now, in public, you have sought to speak to Miss Mayer."

"Of course!" Seti proclaimed.

"My body is my own," Seto said firmly, with no sense of decorum. "I refuse any interference. Just sitting here with the two of you is an insult to my sanity. You are apparently operating under the delusion that you are an equal party to my life. You are a parasite, Seti, and my current course of action is to rid myself of you. You hold no power over me, nor do I have any obligation to you."

As expected, Seti's face reddened with anger. "…You…dare speak to me—"

Seto stood. "You, spirit, seem dependent upon me for your continued existence. You have no body of your own. You are a shattered fragment of memory. Do not presume authority over me. Yes, I am a blasphemer. I think of your gods as little more than a mass of delusions, and if they do exist, they are spiteful and malevolent, and beneath my concern. I bow to no one, to nothing, and your power does not interest me. Would you like to fight me for control of this body? This 'domain,' as Mutou calls it? Fine. I'll treat you like every other idiot who's tried to cross me."

Seti stared, wide-eyed and open-mouthed.

Yami chuckled. "You see, Cousin? Do you understand why he is fit for this?"

Seti regained his composure slowly, and nodded. "…Indeed." He cleared his throat. "Please, good man. Sit. I now see the score of things."

Seto sneered, and remained standing.

"If you would do business with this…most particular individual," Yami said, "there must be mutual respect. Just as you held power in our land, Kaiba holds power in his. We are equals, here, and this must be maintained if anything is to come of our interactions together. I can assure you, Seti, that Kaiba will undermine every attempt you make to wrestle control from him. In fact, I think you have set a contingency plan in motion yourself? Kaiba?"

Thinking of Noa, Seto said: "Yes. I have."

Seti leaned back, rubbing his chin. "…Fine. I see. If we are to be equals, then, I have a matter I should like to discuss with you. Why have you abandoned ownership of a white dragon? What possible reason could you have for entrusting one of the most powerful serpents in existence to the care of a simpering child?"

Seto's eyes narrowed. "The reason is that it was mine to entrust. I will do as I see fit with it."

"You have cast a gift from heaven into the mud and stomped on it simply because it is yours?"

"There is no heaven, and no gifts come from it," Seto sneered. "But even if you were right, my answer would not change. Yes. That is precisely why. Twice now you have insulted my brother in front of me."

"Insulted? Please. Let us be honest here, successor. It is mere truth, not an insult, to claim that an insect's place is beneath the heel of a man."

The room slowly, ominously, began to darken.

It was not Seto who spoke next, but Yami: "…Cousin. You tread upon thin ice. Leave the boy out of this, or you will make two of the worst enemies you could ever hope to meet."

"It is mere truth, not an insult, to claim that a corpse is beneath even the nobility of an insect," Seto hissed. "You are, at best, a projection of fallen glory. A pathetic fragment of a past that no one can remember. Your civilization is nothing more than dust and ashes. You speak of men? You are a footnote. You mean nothing to me, will never mean anything to me, and if you prove yourself a threat to my 'simpering' child's safety, then I will find whatever remains of your pathetic, shriveled body and chop it into so many pieces that even your beloved gods wouldn't be able to find them all! I'll find your damned Millennium Items just for the purpose of melting them down into costume jewelry! Go ahead, you fucking cockroach, make an enemy of me."

Seti stared openly at the man who looked like him.

Then, eyes sparkling, he grinned.

"Do you know," said the spirit of Seti I, "more than one hundred hands have grasped the Destroyer of Minds since my death? You have no understanding of just how long I have been waiting for one of them, any of them, to take up that scepter and rule with it. I came to you expecting a servant. It seems that I have finally found a king."

Grinning, Seti stood up and bowed with a flourish.

"Seto Sasaki-Yagami Kaiba, I am at your disposal."

Had Seto been in a slightly better, or slightly worse, mood, he might have believed that.

Verse Four.

"Be careful, Kaiba."

Back in the parking lot behind the auditorium, where Seto and his rival had made their journey inward, Yami was still in control. He looked rather grim; Seto raised an eyebrow at him. "I'm always as careful as I can afford to be," he said sardonically. "Would you care to elaborate?"

"My cousin is much like you," Yami replied. "If he senses weakness from you, or that his faith in you has been betrayed or misplaced, he will attempt to rectify the problem to his standards. I will do everything in my power—which I assure you remains rather potent when dealing with my own kind—to intervene on the little one's behalf. I like Mokuba a great deal, and believe wholeheartedly that your custodianship of him is vital to his future success. But in regard to what Seti opts to do with you…you are, as you have always been, on your own."

Seto smirked. "I should hope so."

"By the way…let Mokuba know that I stand ready to accept his challenge, whenever he wishes." Yami winked. "An inspired performance, from both of you." He hesitated, then added, "Keep watch on Miss Mayer. Her time in this city is far from over."

"Is she a threat, like your cousin?"

"Hardly. In fact, she would be a most potent ally in that fight. If she could only remember who she is."

"You delight in riddles, Mutou."

"I do. It keeps things interesting. I like seeing if people are able to unravel them."

"When I saw her, I saw someone else," Seto said slowly. "I remembered…a woman in robes. I remembered the Blue-Eyes White Dragon. The name 'Kisara.' That's what this whole nonsense is about. Why Seti is so offended that I would give one of them to Mokuba. Why he tried to take control of me when I saw her."

Yami nodded. "You seem more willing to accept the nature of magic than you were so many years ago. The pieces are connecting more readily for you. Tell me, Kaiba, how much do you know of my country's history? By which I mean…" his lip curled disdainfully, "…Egypt. Let us, just for a moment, accept as fact that I am the man I claim to be."

"If I am to accept that, then I know this: your predecessor was Akhmenkhuamun, the man responsible for the Great Pyramid at Giza. You were replaced by Seti I." Seto's eyes flashed suddenly. "Do not…do not tell me…"

"Of course, Kaiba. So many thousands of years ago, Seti was my successor. In other words, you. You took the throne when I died. And if you take the path that my cousin intends to offer you, then you will do the same now. All that talk of destiny, back when we were locked in battle with each other? It seems I forgot the course of my own history. In my hubris, I assumed that I had been brought back to this age for a second chance at glory. It seems, however, that I was brought back to perform the precise role that I had back home."

"Which is…?"

"To prepare you for kingship, Kaiba. My attempt to gather the Millennium Items and put them to rest…well, it quite obviously failed. You, like me, have begun with a single item, and a…" Yami chuckled, "spiritual adviser. And if you decide to undertake my old mission, and find the remaining six, you will find yourself more powerful than you could ever have dreamed. No one, not I, not my cousin, not Pegasus Crawford, will be able to touch you. If you succeed where I have failed, Kaiba, you will gain the one thing you have always wanted in your life."

Seto's eyes narrowed to slits. "Which is…?"

"Control."

END.

I decided a long time ago that the best fit for Yami's reign as king in Egypt was in the Fourth Dynasty, the rulers of which were responsible for the pyramids at Giza. Primarily, I decided on this because the kings were still quite literally gods in the minds of their subjects back then; obviously, I don't know this for fact, as I've never met an Ancient Egyptian, but I do know that royal power was absolute, which is more than I can say for later dynasties, such as when Yami ruled in canon. While I admit that there's some credence to the conflicts that could be made if we do assume Yami was born in the twenty-first dynasty (around 1,000 BCE), a time of governmental upheaval in Egypt, I don't feel that this really does much justice to his power.

So instead, I looked at the English version of things. I can't help it. This series is special for me in that I first got into it when I was too young to know about the Japanese version, and so I literally grew up on the dub. And so, even as I incorporate more and more of the original version into my stories here, there are certain things that just work better in my head.

Since the English version opts for Yami having lived 5,000 years ago instead of the Japanese 3,000, that lands Yami's reign right around 3,000 BCE. I don't subscribe to this, either, as that would put Yami's reign nearly smack-dab in the predynastic period of Egypt, before kings even existed. I decided in my eternal wisdom to split the difference. So now, he rules in place of Djedefra, in the Fourth Dynasty, right around 2,600 BCE. This means that his father replaces Khufu, the king responsible for the Great Pyramid, and that Seti, his replacement, takes up the reign of Khafra. The king list takes back up historically with Menkaura, whom I have before identified as the Ancient Egyptian Mokuba.

According to Herodotus, Menkaura was responsible for alleviating the suffering of his people brought upon by his predecessor. If that doesn't sound like an ancient ruler's version of what Mokuba does for Seto, then I don't know what does.