Isono sat stiffly on the couch, listening to Yami detail the side-effects he would experience when he died.
Extreme thirst.
Extreme hunger.
Extreme mood swings.
Extreme urge to murder something.
Extreme need to change forms, and then murder someone.
"I was negligent and didn't catch Kaiba at his time of death," Yami said solemnly, lowering his head in shame. "He went on a bloodthirsty rampage downtown in the form of a sable wolf, and I take full responsibility for that."
Isono trembled and nodded, trying to sort out his tumultuous feelings.
"You will be under my care," Yami continued kindly, hearing the human's frightened heartbeat in his ears. "Even if you feel any strange sexual urges, don't be afraid to tell me. They're normal, and we will work together to find a humane solution. You won't have to go mindlessly attacking the public to appease those urges."
Isono nodded again, and Mokuba squirmed beside Yami, gripping his arm tightly.
"It won't hurt, right?" Mokuba asked quietly, trying to remember his own death. "I mean, I was already dead, so I didn't feel anything, but you're gonna be draining him alive right now!"
Isono felt a chill go down his spine, and he opted to remain silent.
If it was pain, he would endure it, because he knew the cost of being human would be a far greater issue to the Kaiba family than any pain he could be made to feel.
"It didn't hurt for me," Kaiba said airily, standing in the doorway with his arms crossed, openly eavesdropping. "Were you guys starting without me? How rude."
"We weren't starting anything," Yami said kindly, giving Isono a small smile. "We were giving him time to make a decision. He can back out at any time."
Isono swallowed thinly and nodded for the umpteenth time. He'd already made up his mind. Hearing about the side effects only helped prepare him for what was to come.
"I'm ready," he said shakily, and to his surprise, Master Kaiba approached him and stared down at him from his great height.
"No. You're not," Kaiba scoffed, folding his arms across his chest haughtily. "You haven't properly thought about it while eating your favorite meals. You won't be able to feel or taste anymore. Let that sink in. Stand up, Yami. I have something to tell you."
Yami nodded solemnly and followed Kaiba out of the room, secretly touched by Kaiba's kindness towards his manservant.
"What is it?" Yami asked quietly as they walked into Kaiba's study where silvery moonlight was filtering in through the tall windows.
Kaiba turned around to face him, taking in his spiky silhouette in the semi-darkness, letting his breath out slowly while he thought out loud.
"I think I know who is responsible for crashing my plane, and we don't need to make a trip to Pegasus's island to find them," Kaiba said in a rush, clenching his fists at his sides. "But we still need to go, to make sure Pegasus isn't directly involved. Ready for a long story?"
Yami nodded and gave Kaiba an approving smile, "how about the short version, and you can tell me the long version on our journey there?"
"Okay," Kaiba let out a tiny sigh of relief. "There's a group of assholes who are my business rivals. They organized a ribbon cutting for a donation to a shitty acre of wildlife, and since it would be bad PR if I didn't show up, I flew out there to take care of it. It has to be them. So let's get them out of the way first before we fly back to the island."
Yami sat down on the leather lounge in the room in thoughtful silence. He knew parts of this situation already. Did Kaiba forget he was in the form of a cat on his lap when he'd received all these calls?
"On the off chance it'snot them, and I'm wrong... Well, I'm never wrong," Kaiba said venomously, turning to face the window, his face burning with fury. "I'm itching to make them bleed anyway."
After another long silence, Yami spoke up quietly.
"It's them," he said simply, uncrossing his legs to recross them, keeping his arms tightly folded across his chest while a frown sat in the middle of his brow. "Now the issue is…murdering those humans without anyone knowing. I'd say a permanent hypnosis might be safer."
"Aw, you're on my side already," Kaiba said cattily, sitting behind his desk in one fluid motion, unable to stop the grin from creeping across his face. "Don't worry. I know the perfect way to get rid of them. Do you trust me?"
Yami tilted his head curiously to the side, still thoughtful. "I might, if you tell me the main parts of your plan and let me help."
"Perfect." Kaiba hissed, flipping his laptop open and staring at the screen until his vision sharpened. "You're better at hypnosis and I have a lot to learn from you. I'll need you in a suit and in the boardroom with me. Can you do that?"
"Of course. I'd love to wear a suit," Yami replied, his violet eyes gleaming.
Kaiba nodded happily, hovering his hands over the keys and feeling a surge of determination. He could successfully tackle the Big 5 with a powerful vampire like Yami at his side.
They sat together in pleasant silence before Yami stood up quietly and gave him a soft smile.
"While you take care of troublesome humans, I'll take care of troublesome vampires," Yami declared, walking to the door and throwing Kaiba a look over his shoulder. "I'll be taking Mokuba with me in a car to register his existence. Once the council recognizes we have a child living here, we should be safe from any more unwanted visitors."
Kaiba blinked and nodded, waiting to feel a pang of fear, anger, or anxiety, but there was nothing but a bubble of serenity sitting low in his chest.
"Be back by morning or I'm sending the human cavalry after you," he said, giving Yami a warm smile in return, and Yami's deep laugh rang pleasantly in his ears, followed by the door closing, leaving him sitting in the calm silence.
"Mokuba!" Yami called, hearing his voice echo down the long hallway as he approached the library doors.
Pushing them open carefully, he stepped into the spacious study room to find Mokuba bent over the desk, diligently doing his homework while his laptop sat at his elbow with a darkened screen.
"What," Mokuba grunted, scratching his head with the back of the pencil. "Have you asked Seto if I can have the tutor come over now? Cuz I'm stuck."
"It's 3 AM. Your human teacher is probably asleep," Yami said gently, giving the child a smile and resting his hand on the back of his study chair. "Put a pause on this. We need to head out and get you registered. I know you had a hectic morning with the water balloons. Would you like a vampire tutor instead?"
Mokuba's eyes widened with joy and he nodded. "Y-Yes?" He breathed, and Yami wrapped a cold hand around his arm, leading him out of the library and down the grand staircase.
"So where are we going exactly?" Mokuba asked curiously as he climbed into the waiting car and felt Yami ease into the leather seat beside him to give him a beaming smile.
"A place you'll find very cool," Yami answered confidently, calling out to the driver, "I'll tell you where to turn. Just drive." And the car backed out of the driveway with a gentle lurch.
Mokuba gripped his seatbelt and swallowed thinly as he stared out the window, lost in thought. It was weird that Yami was behaving like his new big brother. He was fine with it, and Seto was fine with it. Everything was different, but strangely okay.
The car arrived in a brightly lit parking lot behind a tall building in downtown, and Yami climbed out and stood against the wall, offering his hand out for Mokua to take.
Mokuba clambered out of the car and grabbed Yami's hand, glancing up at him curiously.
"What are we doing here?" He asked impatiently, and Yami gave him a confident smile, pulling him along, keeping close to the wall until they reached a narrow set of metal stairs leading up to a cramped door that was plastered with a million neon flyers.
"900 yen - 2 hours, unlimited browsing!" yelled one star-shaped handwritten flyer.
"1,200 yen - 3 hours + amenities & café access!" screamed another one shaped like a triangle.
"2,500 yen - 24 hours + full package service!" was written neatly in a giant red circle.
"A net café?!" Mokuba's eyes widened and Yami pulled him inside before he could read any more flyers.
They approached a desk set up right by the door, and a teenage girl sitting behind the glass gave him a wide-eyed stare before she shot to her feet and bowed, rushing out from behind the glass to lead them down a narrow hallway lined with walled cubicles, each decorated with a hand-drawn number on the door.
Mokuba stared at each number as they passed, his skin crawling. If Seto knew they had set foot in somewhere as dingy as this, he'd get in so much trouble for 'fraternizing with poor people'.
The girl used her keycard to let them into a private room in the back, and Mokuba frowned at the office supply mess strewn all over the wide table. Not a single person was here.
"This way," Yami said quietly, leading Mokuba over to the fire exit in the back, and Mokuba's confusion rose.
They walked through the fire exit door without triggering an alarm and arrived in a dark, stylish lounge where several people were sitting at the curved booths, working, typing away on their laptops. The air was cool and filtered, giving the entire room a refreshing scent. Giant vases of flowers sat on the tables, and strips of led lights lined the ground, leading them to a private booth at the very end, and Mokuba gripped Yami's hand even harder.
Seto would never let him set foot in a place like this.
This looked like a secret bar for adults.
"Sit, and someone will be with us shortly," Yami said quietly, pulling Mokuba into the curved booth, and Mokuba's back hit the soft cushion with a thump! And he stayed stiffly upright, gripping his knees until his fingers ached.
A man appeared at their tableside and set two glasses of water in front of them wordlessly and left without another glance.
Super nervous, Mokuba stared at the water and didn't feel thirsty at all. Yami picked it up to take a sip, completely at ease in their surroundings, and Mokuba tried to copy him, but it felt weird. It was eerily quiet and the people who were at their laptops ignored them.
It didn't take long for someone to sit down at the booth. A cheery, heavyset woman carrying an electronic pad eased into the leather seats across the table from them and beamed, giving Mokuba an appraising up and down look.
"Thank you for coming. Full name and age?" She said quietly, not greeting them at all and going straight to the point.
Mokuba swallowed thinly and gripped his knees tighter, his palms sweating.
"Go on, tell her," Yami said gently, and Mokuba cleared his throat nervously.
"M-Mokuba Kaiba… and I'm 11."
The woman didn't look up from her pad as she tapped it in, asking casually, "Did you want to change your name? Now would be the time to do it."
"Nope. I like my name," Mokuba replied gruffly, and he tried not to look at her, but it was hard.
"Okay, got it," she replied sweetly, giving him a formal nod. "And how did you die? If you don't remember all the details, it's fine."
Mokuba threw Yami a nervous glance, and Yami nodded encouragingly, so he answered the woman in a rush, "I was shot in the head after surviving a plane crash. I think I was paralyzed from the neck down."
The woman didn't even blink.
She noted that in her pad and then addressed Yami.
"King Atem, I presume you were at the site when this happened?" She continued, and Mokuba wondered if there was fluff in his ears. This woman had just called Yami by a completely different name, and it had the title of 'king'.
And she was talking fast, so fast that Mokuba had to pull himself out of his head to listen.
"Do you vow to take Mokuba Kaiba under your wing and raise him to be a virtuous member of our society?"
"Yes," Yami replied firmly, and Mokuba lowered his head to stare at the table again, his cheeks reddening.
"Do you, to the best of your ability, vow to raise him in a nurturing and safe environment, free of violence and duress?"
"Yes, of course," Yami's brow furrowed, and Mokuba felt his ears burn even hotter.
"If you are unable to do the following at any point in time, do you agree to enlist our help to place him in a secure and stable environment conducive to his development?"
"Yes." Yami said calmly, folding his hands together atop the table and giving the woman a nod. "I would like to register another guardian for Mokuba. I'll bring him on another day."
"Very well. Thank you. You're all done here," the woman said cheerfully, reaching into her purse to dig out a lollipop, and she pushed it across the table towards Mokuba with a friendly wink. "For you! Don't look so glum. Your death wasn't too bad. You still have all your body parts attached. You're going to be fine!"
Mokuba glared at the lollipop and grit his teeth. He wasn't a baby. And how dare she say his death 'wasn't too bad'? It was fucking shitty. He had been murdered…on the ground.
"Take it. You'll like the flavor," Yami encouraged, pushing the lollipop closer to him. "Try it. If you don't want it, I'll give it to Seto."
Mokuba snatched the lollipop up from the table and shoved it in his pocket. Fine. Whatever.
This was embarrassing.
He climbed out of the booth and let Yami take his hand to lead him out of the lounge and into the small back office again, circling the messy table to the exit and then hurrying down the narrow hallway of cubicles.
The girl at the front bowed to them again and called after them, "see you again soon sometime, Atem!"
Yami nodded stiffly and felt Mokuba tense in his grasp as they hurried down the metal steps and into the car waiting for them behind the building.
Throwing himself into the leather seat, Mokuba crossed his arms and didn't waste his time raining questions down on Yami.
"Who the heck is King Atem?" Mokuba asked heatedly, his grey eyes flashing. "Have you been lying to us this whole time about your name?"
Yami closed the door with a thunk! and patted the headrest in front of them, urging the driver to pull away before he answered Mokuba with a tight sigh.
"I am…he," he said awkwardly, unable to look Mokuba in the eye because the child was glaring so accusatorily. "But that was me in a past life. You have to understand… It's been several thousands of years, Mokuba. I was alive at a time before cars were invented."
"Well yeah, duh, I know that," Mokuba said sarcastically, rolling his eyes. "How many thousands? And are you like, super strong then?"
Yami cracked a smile and replied, "If you really must make me count, I believe it's been roughly… 5,000 years. And no, I'm of a normal strength. I can do what most adult vampires can do, and you can too… if you study hard."
Mokuba narrowed his eyes and looked out the window, his ears still burning. Dang. Yami was super strong and super old. He probably knew how to turn himself invisible and read minds.
Trying to keep his own mind blank, Mokuba reached into his pocket to take out the lollipop and unwrapped it. He stuck it in his mouth for something to do, and the wonderful, savory flavor of blood caught him off guard.
"What's in this?!" Mokuba cried, pulling it out of his mouth to stare at it incredulously. "H-How did they do that?! Is this…legal?!"
"It's artificial flavoring," Yami grinned handsomely, his teeth twinkling in the semi-darkness as the lights from the street lamps above flashed by their car window. "You can still taste salt and sugar while you're still young, so enjoy it while you can."
"I won't be able to taste salt?!" Mokuba cried, his anxiety rising along with his disdain. Being a vampire was becoming steadily less cool. It sucked to be dead, but he didn't want to die yet….
So this was the only option.
"In a thousand years, don't worry!" Yami replied hastily, sorely regretting saying anything at all. "How about you focus on your studies before you worry about any changes to your body, okay?"
Mokuba crossed his arms in a huff and glared at the gate as the car drove past it. He could still see it glowing eerily with holy water in the moonlight, and he wasted no time climbing out of the car to race back into the mansion, not bothering to check if Yami was following.
He ran right into Seto on the bottom step and nearly choked the lollipop.
Coughing, he pulled it out of his mouth and glared at Seto. "Watch where you're going, dummy," he growled, and Seto's pale hand came swiping for the lollipop in his hands.
"Give it. Where'd you get that?" Kaiba asked playfully, wrenching the candy from his little brother's fist and feeling Mokuba give him a weak fight before releasing it almost immediately.
"The registration lady gave it to me. You can have it," Mokuba rolled his eyes, stepping around Seto to walk up the grand staircase to get back to the library. "King Yami says we won't be able to taste salt and sugar when we're older."
Kaiba blinked and stuck the lollipop in his mouth, watching Mokuba's tiny figure disappear up the stairs, and a curl of disappointment churned in his stomach as the lollipop's wonderful flavor coated his tongue. No taste came with age, huh? Damn. Well, it wasn't an improvement to what he was currently tasting when he ate human food.
Blood would never lose its taste.
And that was all that mattered.
But more importantly, he had a ton of questions for Yami before his meeting with the Big 5 today. The sun was about to rise in a few hours, and he'd scheduled the meeting as early as he could.
Yami walked up the steps and smiled tentatively at Kaiba, who stood imposingly in the doorway of his mansion and didn't waste a second, launching into a rant.
"I've got the problematic humans in a room together. Only issue is, I need you to tell me how to beat the sun," Kaiba said heatedly, aware that Isono was hovering protectively behind him, listening to their every word. "And I need to look a little less dead. My skin is whiter than paper. I literally did a comparison. I know I used to be pale before, but I'm like, fucking pale now!"
Yami bit back a laugh and leaned against one of the giant pillars flanking the doorway, gazing up at the steadily brightening sky. He could smell the dawn breaking, and it was a heavenly scent that he missed, along with the sound of birds chirping and the noises of the city waking up in the distance.
"You can't beat the sun, Kaiba," Yami said patiently, sneaking a peek at the CEO and seeing him clench his fists at his sides, clearly frustrated. "But you can feed to stave off the effects. Get some sleep beforehand, and…that's all you can do. You can slowly go out into the sun a few minutes at a time during the day to build an immunity to it."
"Alright, cool. Is that how you did it?" Kaiba asked gruffly, and Yami gave him a warm nod.
"I came from the desert, if you'll believe that," Yami laughed, his violet eyes gleaming prettily in the grey, morning light. "No sun was not an option for me, so I had to adapt quickly. You're lucky Japan's spring sun is so mild."
"Yeah, so lucky," Kaiba rolled his eyes and he shifted his stance, quickly changing the topic. "Come to the office with me and help trap the humans. I also had several suits shipped there for you, so let's go now."
Yami nodded and turned his gaze back up to the sky, watching the silvery stars vanish quickly as the sky began to lighten. It was going to be a bright, sunny, beautiful day today. He could hear the manservant's faint thoughts, interrupting his brief moment of serenity.
I don't want to trouble anyone, but I'm ready. I had a few bowls of my favorite soup at Master Kaiba's insistence, and he's still denying my transition. He's facing off with a dangerous group, I need to be here to protect the house if anyone were to come by for Mokuba again.
"You will feed on your servant before we leave." Yami announced, and Kaiba paused with his hand on the limousine door. W-What?
"We don't eat out of the house. That was rule number one," Kaiba breathed, and Yami gave him a quick shake of the head, pointing casually at Isono.
"I heard his thoughts. He's getting irritated," Yami said calmly, seeing what little color Kaiba had in his face drain.
Understandable.
Kaiba didn't want to see his manservant leave this world, but if he was going to the office with Kaiba, they would leave Mokuba unattended without a vampire guardian.
"Well…I'm not ready," Kaiba admitted gruffly, and he felt a rush of fear, followed by a pang of sadness. Isono wanted to follow them willingly into this disgusting lifestyle?! No amount of money could buy this kind of loyalty. How was this possible?
"Please, Master Kaiba, think of Mokuba…" Isono breathed, stepping out of the house to kneel at the topmost step, pressing his hands formally in front of him and bowing his head to touch the ground in the deepest position of respect. "Please. Allow me."
Shocked, Yami took a step back at the sudden show of submission, and he glanced nervously at Kaiba.
T-This servant was really begging.
Even his own, dear Mahad didn't need to beg this hard.
Kaiba grit his teeth and looked away from Isono's bow, and his ears burned. God…dammit. Fine. It was fine. Because if Isono remained human, he would age. He would be susceptible to other vampires and could easily be killed and mangled beyond reviving. At least if he joined them, he could be stronger than a human. And humans were by far the weakest form on this planet anyway.
"Fine. I'll allow it," Kaiba said gruffly, hating how his tongue swelled when he spoke. He had a feeling it would come to this, but it was happening so soon.
"Good. Then is there somewhere in the basement we can begin?" Yami said, squaring his shoulders back and determined to do this right. "I won't have anyone going feral on me again. I'm ready to turn someone responsibly."
Isono slowly got to his feet and remained bowed, his heart thundering in his ears at what he was about to do. He was giving up his humanity to join Master Kaiba in a new way of life.
Kaiba grit his teeth so hard, he saw spots.
Thankfully, Yami was as calm and cool as ever.
"Call for Mokuba to join us. This will be made special and painless," Yami smiled warmly, aware of everyone's fear in the air, and it brought nostalgic memories back in a rush.
He followed Isono into the elevator while Kaiba disappeared up the steps to call for Mokuba, and they rode down together in silence.
Yami could hear the manservant's heartbeat pounding in his ears, and he turned to give Isono a reassuring nod.
"I had a loyal servant at my side for several thousand years," Yami said conversationally, feeling Isono tense beside him, listening intently. "I fell from power, and he went on to serve someone else he deemed worthy. You should always follow your instincts and do what you think is best for yourself. Your Master may not always know what's best."
Isono nodded stiffly, taking the words to heart. This man spoke like 'several thousand years' was only a couple of years. Life was bound to change, and he was aware of that, but he was ready to shoulder the burdens of change, for Master Kaiba and Mokuba.
They stepped out of the elevator, walking into the empty lab where the boxes of holy water and silver were still stacked high on the shiny tables. Yami picked them up to move them onto the ground, hearing the Kaiba brothers running through the house, their footsteps pattering as they burst into the lab and had trouble stopping.
Kaiba tried to skid to a stop but ended up hitting the opposite wall with his shoulder, sending a resounding thump! echoing through the lab while Mokuba circled the room in a flash and ended up collapsing on the couch in a poorly timed summersault.
Wincing, Kaiba brushed himself off and tried to ignore the giant dent he'd made in the wall while Mokuba struggled to his feet and smiled shakily.
"Let's clear this table," Yami said calmly, pushing the box of holy water into the corner. "He'll lay on it flat, and any residual blood will be easily cleaned up."
Mokuba sank into the couch and crossed his legs, unwilling to help while he watched Seto and Yami wipe the table down and lay towels down across the surface, and his stomach churned with a feeling he recognized as envy. Isono was going to die comfortably down here.
How nice for him.
Kaiba offered to help Isono onto the table, but his manservant climbed up steadily and laid down without making eye contact, keeping his gaze focused up at the ceiling, his face hidden by the dark glasses.
"Now, we begin," Yami said quietly, lifting Isono's arm and slowly rolling the sleeve back. "Kaiba, you will count your sips. Take even drinks, and do them slowly, or he'll feel pain. We are essentially…. bleeding him out. He should begin to feel sleepy after 20 drinks from you, and 20 drinks from me. He's a big man—"
"I got it," Kaiba said gruffly, but Yami cut across him, sounding serious.
"No. I've got it. You will raise your head after 12 sips, do you understand?" Yami insisted gravely, and Mokuba gripped the edge of the leather couch with his claws, his fear rising.
Kaiba glared at Isono's dark suit sleeve and nodded. Yes. Goddammit.
"Now, when you feel sleepy, speak up," Yami said, addressing Isono while calmly rolling up his sleeves with short, practiced motions. "You'll sleep for an entire day and night before waking up with a dry throat. We should have food for you in 24 hours, so stay here until we've returned."
Mokuba grimaced and raised his hand. "What do I do?"
"You stay here and watch over him until he wakes up," Yami replied firmly, noting that the older Kaiba brother had gone completely silent. "Seto? Are you able to do this?"
Kaiba swallowed thinly and nodded. Yes. He could do this.
Reaching for Isono's arm, he raised it to his lips, eager to get it over with. The overpowering scent of smoked whiskey flooded his senses, and Yami's voice sounded far away. "Count them carefully. Raise your head every 5 or 10 sips if you feel yourself sinking into a frenzy…"
"Master Kaiba?" Isono's hand clenched into a fist, and Kaiba snapped out of his inner turmoil to gaze into his manservant's dark glasses, seeing the strips of lights reflected above.
"Thank you…" Isono said quietly, and he turned his head away, the tips of his ears red with embarrassment.
Kaiba drew strength from this and bit down without hesitating, his ears ringing as the alcoholic scent stung his nose and flooded into his mouth. He swallowed evenly, listening to Isono's rapidly thundering heartbeat and took another, agonizingly slow draft, realizing he didn't need to breathe, so he could take his time, going as gently as possible.
Yami nodded approvingly and kept two fingers down on the wrist in front of him, feeling the pulse still going strong. Kaiba was being so methodical and gentle, it was impressive to see this much restraint from a newly blooded vampire.
Isono blinked steadily, staring up at the lights in the ceiling, his arm going numb. This wasn't too bad. Nothing hurt, and he was…getting sleepy…
Mokuba hopped off the couch and finally found the courage to approach the lab table, hovering anxiously at Yami's side and gazing into Isono's impassive face.
"D-Does it hurt?" Mokuba whispered, and he received a shaky smile and a shake of the head.
"No, young master. I'm fine," Isono said confidently, and the moment those words left him, he could feel his entire body growing dangerously light. His head swam with grogginess and he managed to add, "…but I am feeling tired…now…"
"Good. Slow down," Yami instructed, even though he knew Kaiba was already going as slow as he could. The arm in his grasp was growing heavier by the second, and the manservant's breathing had gone shallow.
Kaiba took one last steady gulp and raised his head, the room spinning violently as the sudden blood-drunkenness hit him hard, and he sank to his knees, automatically massaging the arm in front of him, but he knew it was pointless because he'd heard the heartbeat stop five drinks ago.
He felt empty, and devoid of emotion when he knew he should feel terrible about what he'd just done, but all he got was a pleasant tingle at the back of his throat from the alcoholic tang from Isono's blood.
Yami wasted no time and bit down on Isono's other arm, counting slowly as he took steady sips, feeling the hand twitch in his grasp, and he could feel Mokuba circling him anxiously.
Kaiba stayed sitting on the ground, noticing Isono's fingers twitching and spasming. After-death…motions?
Yami finished his last sip and lifted his lips, glancing down at the lifeless manservant and seeing the man's burly chest rising and falling steadily with the memory of breathing while asleep, and he relaxed.
They'd succeeded.
"Look at that, he's breathing," Yami said happily, giving Mokuba a pat on the shoulder, encouraging him to step closer to take a look.
Mokuba peered over the edge of the lab table, and sure enough, Isono was breathing heavily like he was deeply asleep.
Oh. How nice for him.
Kaiba gazed listlessly at the way Isono's chest was rising and falling, and he pressed a hand to his chest, his muscle memory acting for him. He was relieved. But his heart wasn't beating inside his chest and he'd forgotten to breathe. Taking a deep inhale, Kaiba let it out shakily, realizing if he didn't remind himself to breathe, he wouldn't breathe.
Yami appeared above him, offering him his hand with a pretty smile.
"Come on. We've got somewhere to be, right?" Yami said encouragingly, aware that Kaiba was deeply shaken by what they'd just done, but they had to press on. "We're both at full strength. Let's enjoy it while it lasts."
Kaiba nodded and grabbed Yami's hand, letting the spiky-haired man pull him to his feet strongly, and Mokuba ran into his legs in a furious blur, hugging him tightly.
"Come back soon, okay?" Mokuba whispered, gripping Seto's shirt tightly as he buried his face into it to hide his tears. "Love you big bro."
"Love you too kid. We'll be back before you finish a dungeon," Kaiba said warmly, kneeling to rest his hands on Mokuba's shoulders to look into his eyes. "Grab your game and wait on that couch. He'll wake up in no time."
Mokuba ran his sleeve under his nose and nodded, biting back a sniffle as he stepped back to let Seto stand to his full height and give him another hug.
Yami watched this scene with interest, his heart swelling with warmth.
This family was going to stick together until the end of time.
He had a good feeling about it.
Author's note
isono finally joins them :O wonder what kaiba has planned for the infamous big 5