Wounded by Ra's flames, Kaiba Seto knew he was done, but he stared his deranged opponent down, refusing to bend, refusing to break in what would be his final moments.
Refusing to show any moment of weakness.
This wasn't losing. This wasn't defeat.
Showing weakness? Showing fear?
That was defeat.
And letting Mokuba die?
That would be utterly unforgivable.
If Hanaq hadn't taken Mokuba,if she hadn't used him as her ante in this Shadow Game, Seto would've destroyed her. But he couldn't do it.
He couldn't win. Not when it meant killing his brother.
"You haven't defeated me. You haven't earned this victory. I could strike you down here and now and you'll always know that the only reason you get to walk away, is because you were a coward who had to hide behind my brother to get what you wanted."
"No…" His brother's cry told Seto he understood. And that Mokuba's heart was breaking as much as his own.
But it was the only way to save him.
"Mokuba."
Seto could hear the tremble in his own voice and hated himself for the moment of weakness, knowing that it would frighten Mokuba and give pleasure to his enemy.
"Yugi and her friends don't belong to me, they never have. They'll be safe. Go find them. Tell them what's happened."
"Niisama, no!"
Mokuba's plea didn't stop his brother.
"I end my turn."
The Winged Dragon let out a furious, mournful bellow as his control over it broke and it returned to the side of his demon possessed foe, leaving Seto defenceless.
Certain of his complete and utter victory, the demon didn't hesitate.
"Ra, destroy them both!"
As the flames built up in the jowls of the divine beast, Seto dove for his brother, unwilling to let Mokuba be killed by the fires that'd consumed the souls of so many others.
As he shoved Mokuba from the stage, keeping him safe from Ra's attack, he was able to say two words before the blaze consumed him: "I'm sorry."
Agony erupted and a scream escaped him, as his lifepoints tumbled away and his body and soul burned. His voice cracked and his body failed him as 9899 points of damage were torn from him, point by point.
Before the last lifepoint burned away, he could feel himself falling, his eyes closing before he could crash to the ground…
Only to get awoken by a bucket of ice-cold water, chucked over his burned and blistered skin. The agonized roar that drew from him caused a chuckle that made Seto glower at his tormentor.
"That'll fade, Tsumibito." A demonic creature snickered as Seto took in his surroundings, ignoring the 'Tsumibito' or 'Sinner' title thrown at him.
If he was hallucinating from the pain of the flames, he wasn't going to let it overwhelm him. He refused.
The creature, a red skinned, yellow eyed creature that reminded him of the Monster card, Abaki, just continued to snicker as he absorbed the dark stone that made up the cell he was sat in, and the thick, heavy metal bars preventing him from just walking out.
"Where am I?" Seto forced himself to his feet, ignoring the screaming of his body in his refusal to appear weak before this inane creature.
"The cells of Emma-o, King of the Dead."
Seto froze at the voice that replied, one full of malice and twisted delight. The demonic creature scuttled out of the way as the one person Seto had never, ever wanted to see again in this life or any other came to stand before the bars.
Kaiba Gozaburo.
Trust his twisted, screwed up mind to bring the worst demon of his past into play.
"You…"
"Shut up and listen to me, boy."
Despite having earned his freedom from the man's reign, the years of abuse and training Seto had suffered made him snap to attention automatically.
"You're not hallucinating. You're dead. Just like me." Gozaburo continued with a smirk, "Just like all those people you killed over the years."
"Prove it."
With a snap of Gozaburo's fingers, Seto was sent crashing to the floor as agony coursed through him and the final moments of his life played out once more.
He writhed and screamed as Ra's flames consumed him and reduced his body to a burned, charred mess, able to feel every moment of his soul blistering and scalding and his life draining away.
Before he snapped back to awareness in the cell.
"I told you that brother of yours would be your downfall." Gozaburo snickered as Seto glared up at him, panting for breath as he tried pull himself back together. "You're dead because you weren't strong enough to let him burn. Now you'll pay for everything you've done. To me, and to others."
"You dare judge me? After I beat you?" Seto hissed out, hands balling into fists as he staggered back to his feet and barely resisted the desire to launch his fist into his adoptive father's face, real or not.
"As tempting as it is to cast you into Hell now," Gozaburo tutted, enjoying every moment of his son's discomfiture. "I'm not the one who gets to cast judgment. I just get to prosecute."
"You're no lawyer. And I have nothing to be judged for."
"Watch your lies, Seto. You have so many crimes in your past that you came straight here, rather than go to wait in whatever hell you consider home now."
Seto gritted his teeth, but he couldn't deny it. He hadn't been a good person. He still wasn't. He'd killed to get his hands on the Blue Eyes White Dragons. He'd driven his own father to throw himself out of a window.
He'd sacrificed twenty-one thousand, four hundred and forty souls in his selfish desire to protect his brother.
Still, he knew, with Yugi still in the living world, those souls still had a chance. He had no doubt that she'd defeat Hanaq and free them. Just as he had trusted that his brother would be safe with her moving forward.
That faith in his Rival helped him hold strong and glower back at his father.
"You deserve hell far more than I do. Your weapons, your wars? They killed far more than I ever have."
Gozaburo's glower told Seto that he'd hit a nerve.
"Emma-o will decide exactly what you deserve, boy."
"So, you're just someone else's mutt now." Seto smirked, realising that for all Gozaburo's posturing, he didn't have final say over anything.
"I am in full control of my afterlife!" The twitchiness of Gozaburo's posture and the balling and unbaling of his hands told Seto that was a lie. "And over yours. You'll finish burning by the time I'm done with you."
"Do your worst. I'm not afraid of you."
"You should be, you little…"
"Ah ah ah. That's not professional, is it?" The scolding of a voice that Seto didn't recognise cut through Gozaburo's snarl and made both father and son turn towards the noise.
A woman, tall and elegant, strode into view, wrapped in a white kimono whose left side was on the top, in the manner of those who had died.
"Lady Izanami…"
"Go away, Tsumibito. I have words to exchange with this one."
The anger and disrespect that flickered across his father's face, earned him a dark stare from the woman.
"Do I need to repeat myself? You may be allowed to walk Yomi for the duration of this trial, but I am more than willing to throw you back into Hell myself."
The woman, Izanami, if his father was to be believed demanded, her voice cold and sharp as a freshly sharpened blade. Her gaze was hard and vicious and the darkness around them, which was already infinitely more solid than the Shadows Yugi and her sister bore, deepened and reached up, dragging Gozaburo down to his knees and forcing him to bow.
As much as Seto revelled in the sight of his father brought low, he knew, from the fear on his father's face, that this woman was dangerous.
"Do you want that, Tsumibito?"
"N… No my lady," Gozaburo stammered. "I'll… I'll leave."
"Good."
Her darkness released Gozaburo, who scrambled to his feet and glared at Seto as he dusted his suit off.
"See you in court."
With that, he scuttled away.
"You, Tsumibito Junior."
Izanami turned on Seto, who took one look at her half decaying features and had to lock down his expression to avoid showing the disgust and nausea it caused. Then he did the smart thing and bowed politely, understanding this woman could end him if she desired.
"If you can be respectful, then you can come with me to prepare for your trial, since I can't trust your prosecutor to play fair, and I won't let a child be thrown into the fires without a chance to defend themselves, no matter their past."
Seto had to hide the twitch being called a child caused. The Lady wasn't wrong, he wasn't yet old enough to be considered an adult and if it got him a chance to understand how this whole supposed afterlife bullshit worked, he would take it.
"I have no intentions of causing harm here. There's someone back in the living world I want to punch, but…"
"No one ever likes the person who killed them, after the fact." The woman let out an amused huff as she unlocked the door, "Come on Takamoto Seto, we have much to discuss and only a little time to discuss it in."
"Kaiba Seto," Seto corrected with a scowl as he stepped out and followed her down the corridor.
"I suppose you've earned that name with blood. Even if you were born Takamoto Seto." The supposed Goddess seemed unperturbed, "Remember your roots though, they may just save you."
"What, exactly, am I facing?"
"As your father said, you're going on trial to decide if you get to stay in Yomi, or whether you go down to Hell. Normally a soul would get a chance to rest in the last place they considered home, before judgment, but Emma-o doesn't want you amongst the general population. Not with what you did."
She didn't need to clarify. Seto knew what she was referring to.
"I don't regret saving my brother."
"Hold onto that strength, you're going to need it."
As she spoke, they strode past other cells where other sinners awaited judgement. Some were curled up in corners, others reached through the bars. One even dared to spit on the goddess as she stalked past, only for the darkness that'd seized Gozaburo to grab him and throw him across the cell, proving to Seto that he was right not to antagonize Izanami.
"Why is my trial so soon?" Seto demanded, certain he was being jumped up the queue for some reason and amused that even in his own hallucination, life wasn't fair. "I'm being given no time to prepare at all."
"Not everyone ends up on trial. Most souls don't need one. Emma-o or I can just get information on their actions here, read their souls, and decide whether they go straight to Yomi, or the other way. But souls like yours are a special case."
"Why?"
"Because you've committed unforgivable crimes, yet you stepped in to stop a Demi-Goddess from falling and helped pull her back from this side, which saved the living world. Hence, it's not a clear-cut case. Normally, a soul like yours would be allowed weeks to prepare, to summon witnesses to speak on your behalf, and to ensure you had a defense. And your prosecutor would use that time to make their own case ready."
"But?"
"But your father has been preparing your prosecution for years. Since the moment he was judged, in fact. And he's convinced Emma-o there's no defense you can prepare, that will excuse what you did."
Seto raised an eyebrow at the phrase 'Demi-Goddess'. He knew without thinking who this woman was talking about and Mutou Yugi was no Goddess. She was just as mortal as anyone else.
A character in his own hallucinations calling her anything like that was new and uncomfortable. He'd clearly been focusing too much on historical research for video games needed a dose of reality, if he survived Ra's fire.
"You still doubt this is real, don't you, Kaiba?"
His eyes narrowed. "You reading my mind doesn't change my opinion."
"I don't need to read your mind, it's all over your face." Izanami rolled her eyes, "But maybe I have something that will convince you…"
With that, she threw open the double doors, revealing the courtyard beyond. On each door stood a pair of sea green skinned, one-eyed brutes, each taller than him, with huge clubs that watched him like a hunting dog watching its prey.
Allowing him to understand that should he make a single move against the Lady, these Hitotsu-Me Giants would be on him in a heartbeat.
"If your plan is to show me more Duel Monsters, you're not making your case very well."
"It is not on me if your game is based on reality, Kaiba, the woman huffed as they crossed the cobblestone paths, heading for the other side.
"Many of your cards represent those who your world chased from it. Vampires, Demons, Dragons, many lived alongside you mortals in the time before magic had what I believe you'd refer to as a cascade failure. Some still do, some stay in hiding and others took positions in places like this garden."
"How can magic have a cascade failure?" Seto's curiosity got the better of him. "It doesn't work logically."
"Blame the Demi-Goddess you serve," Izanami's expression darkened. "She took a 'node' out of commission, and it unbalanced the entire rest of the 'circuit'."
"I don't serve Yugi," Seto replied automatically, though his mind was racing.
Supposedly the Pharaoh had sealed the Shadows away. If what this supposed Goddess was saying was correct, that action had devastated magic globally, not just in Egypt.
"You're saying the Shadows being sealed crashed the system?" Kaiba needed to confirm, beginning to believe this might be more than a dream, since he had NO reason to make this up.
"The Shadows were the common magic. The balancing point between the Lighter magics and the Darker. Without them, there was nothing to keep the scales stable. Thankfully, with the Seal cracked, things will start to even out, and the world may be able to recenter."
"Then Yugi drowning was a good thing?"
Now he knew this hallucination probably wasn't a product of his mind. He had absolutely no reason to want Yugi dead until he had defeated her and her sister. Her death was no longer one of his goals, and he certainly wouldn't care about some ancient magical bullshit enough to make up a whole system.
"Yes. And no. Her drowning allowed the seal to crack and Shadows to start draining back into your world, but if she had stayed dead… well… I believe the phrase is 'Game Over'?"
She shrugged, amusing Seto with her lack of knowledge of video games, when she'd known what a 'cascade failure' was.
"It's been too long and there has been too much damage done. Too many Gods and Demi-Gods were unable to cycle around, like you and your companion knight have for tens of thousands of years, because their souls were sealed away by one who took advantage of the chaos. There would be almost no one left to fight back the tide of darkness that would swarm your world."
Her eyes flashed in fury and her tone turned ice cold as she stared him in the eyes.
"If the Seal shatters, humanity will be lost. Their lives ended and their souls devoured. They'd never reach this realm. Including the brother you committed mass sacrifice for."
Seto gritted his teeth against the anger that thought caused. He cared little for most people, they were selfish, loud, obnoxious fuckups that were slowly destroying the world for their own gain, but his brother?
His brother was his entire world, and the thought that Mokuba could be lost forever should Yugi fall again, was enough to have him asking, "How do I go back?"
"You can't. You died. Burned as a living tribute to a God who wants to end everything, by the avatar of a God who just wants his daughter to undo the mistake she made in a moment of desperation and come home safely."
"You said I've been 'cycling around'. There has to be a way back." Seto shook his head, refusing to accept her words.
"You? The part of you that is Kaiba Seto? You're done. Your vessel can no longer sustain life. So, your personality, your memories, your spiritual self will remain here, facing judgment, while the rest of your soul moves on and becomes someone new. Just as it has time and time again. Same face, mostly the same soul, but different personality, different name, different thoughts, different ways of dealing with things. Hopefully this time a little less murderous."
"There isn't time for that and you know it," Seto snarled out, making the giants reach for their weapons. "Yugi already died once and look what it did to the Seal. And there's a woman who will burn the world to the ground, ready and waiting to do to her what she did to me. Not to mention whatever else is out there. I need to go back. In this lifetime."
Unspoken, "I need to protect my brother."
Izanami paused to consider him carefully, tilting her head slightly as she said, "You're not what I expected, Kaiba Seto."
Seto just stared her down, feeling the constant agonizing ache diminish as the burns started to fade. As the pain slowly subsided, his gaze snapped sideways as he thought he heard Mokuba's voice calling him.
"The living world is summoning you, but your trial is only moments away. Once you're judged, there's no returning." The death goddess grimaced, "It's too late."
"But if I can stall it out?" Seto demanded, aware that Yugi had been dragged back from death and the Mutt and Bakura had been saved from crossing over themselves, so it was possible that he could still return, if those in the living realm were capable enough.
"How? The case is already closed. Your fate is already set before you even walk through those doors. Even if you don't attend, you'll be judged poorly. Your recent actions…"
"I only need two witnesses. My birth father, Takamoto Shigeru, who gave me a specific order I've followed to this day. And Kaiba Gozaburo."
"Gozaburo? He'd be a hostile witness."
"That's what I'm relying on."
The Goddess paused and considered him for a moment, then nodded.
"Gozaburo has witnesses here already. Your father, Takamoto Shigeru, can be summoned while they are giving their statement and I doubt Kaiba Gozaburo will refuse a chance to make your case worse."
Seto had to hide the frustration his father's preparedness caused. There wasn't time to worry about it though. "Then take me to the courtroom."
"Are you sure?" Izanami asked, "If your plan fails…"
"Then I'll accept judgment for my crimes and trust in my brother to hold his own, but I won't fail. Kaibas don't fail. And I refuse to run from my father."
"Alright."
With that, they turned from the direction they had been going in and headed for a huge set of red and gold double doors, emblazoned with the kanji of justice.
Seto's heart raced and his hands shook as he took in that this was it. Just as that last meeting with Gozaburo had defined his life until now, this court session, this trial, would define his life going forward.
Or his afterlife.
Then he took a deep breath.
Gozaburo had stacked the odds against him, but this wasn't the first time and Seto knew he'd beaten the odds before.
He could win again.
"Open the doors."
At Izanami's nod, the doors swung open to reveal a packed courtroom full of human souls and oni, all clamoring for the next big show as Seto strode toward the defendant's stand, unwilling to show fear in front of a smirking, Gozaburo who was already certain of his victory, and his assistant, Ouka Chikuzen, the former Head of KC Legal, was smirking as he handed Gozaburo some papers.
Nor would he tremble before the huge, red skinned brute of a man whose beard flowed like flames and whose sharp eyes bore into Seto's soul. The great horned helm upon his head had to easily weigh more than Seto did, and yet Emma-o seemed unbowed as he roared out, "Silence in the court!"
And everyone shut up.
"Kaiba Seto, born Takamoto Seto, your crimes against humanity are vast. Some are indefensible. Theft, Attempted Murder, Murder, Inciting Suicide, Assault, Kidnapping, and worst of all, Mass Sacrifice. How do you plead?"
"Not Guilty. And I call witnesses in my defence."
Seto's words made the court erupt in noise.
Emma-o raised an eyebrow at him. "Your actions are recorded, your soul bears their weight and you have no spirit willing to stand for you."
"Only because I haven't been allowed time to prepare my case. So, I will argue my case myself, if I have to."
Emma-o considered him for a moment, glanced at Izanami, who protected children and who stared him down and nodded. Then he turned to Gozaburo who still seemed amused.
"Does prosecution object?"
"The facts of the case are clear, my Lord. I don't see why the court's time should be wasted with a defence that cannot absolve the defendant of his crimes."
Despite Gozaburo's attempt to cut his attempt to save his skin short, Seto had the satisfaction of seeing his adoptive father take on the appearance of having sucked lemons at having to show respect to anyone.
"Because every soul is entitled to a defence. No matter the crimes."
Seto's head snapped towards the door, where HE was walking through the door, dressed in the garb of an Egyptian Pharaoh, accompanied by a young man, bearing Ancient Egyptian clothes, a scimitar and a pauldron in the shape of a jackal's head, who closely enough resembled Bakura, that Seto couldn't help but wonder if he was supposed to be a son or brother.
"Pharaoh Seth, this is not Aaru. You have no rights here," Emma-o warned, infuriated with the interference. "Even in the case of your descendant and reincarnation. You will sit and listen or I will send you back."
"And when I tell Anubis and Osiris that you're denying souls judgment to boost the number of souls processed and make your afterlife look better, how much power do you think you'll have then?"
Emma-o barely held back a grimace at Seth's words. He could not deny the accuracy of them. Anubis and Osiris would speak with Hades, Hel and the other Deities of the Dead, and while they couldn't oust him, they could make his life a living Hell.
"Also," Izanami spoke up. "The boy is under my protection until you judge him fully. So, I too, would speak with my allies."
"Fine, I will hear the defence of the accused," the Demon King of the Japanese Underworld grumbled. "But the Pharaoh will sit down and not speak again in my court."
Seth, who'd hoped to get here before Seto's trial was called, so he could yank him over to Aaru and slip him out that way, but had been unable to due to the speed with which Seto's case had come up, didn't fight it.
Instead, he simply moved to the front of the court, where he could sit close to Seto and hissed out, "Our cousin is burning life energy to bring you back. Energy she and her friends need if they're going to survive against their foe, so do not mess this up."
Seto's eyes widened. To know that Yugi and her friends were trying to drag him back from this insanity, despite their bad history, surprised him. There were a lot more people who needed them right now, and reviving him would take energy that the Spirit of the Puzzle just didn't have.
Not after the last few days.
"Your cousin," Seto hissed back, refusing to admit Meisa could be related to him.
"The accused will speak only to the bench," Emma-o's warning as he slammed a hand onto the podium made Seto grimace.
"Our." Seth had to get the final word in.
Seto just glowered at the Pharaoh for a moment, then turned towards the podium where his father, steps thundering, expression full of fierce joy turned to Emma-o and bowed. A shallow, disrespectful bow that had the court grumbling.
"My Lord. The facts of this case are clear."
As he spoke, he waved a hand towards a huge mirror orb that rested just to the left of the witness box. Smoke swirled up, darkening it, then images formed, showing Seto's willing sacrifice to protect his brother.
"Kaiba Seto willingly threw away his own life and the souls of everyone on his island. Souls he had a duty of care for. His actions have resulted in the potential destruction of more than twenty thousand souls. And that's not the first time he's destroyed others to get what HE wants. I call my first witness…"
Seto gritted his teeth as person after person came forward.
The guy he'd ordered killed so he could take his Blue Eyes because no one would miss him.
The young woman who'd been driven to suicide when he wanted her Blue Eyes and no money had been enough.
The staff who'd been let go and died in poverty when he'd changed Kaiba Corp over to a gaming corporation…
He couldn't defend himself from their accusations. Their words were true. His actions had hurt so many and while he regretted those actions now, the Kaiba Seto he'd been before he had been given the chance to undo the damage that his adoptive father had done, HAD committed these sins.
It wasn't until Gozaburo's last witness, a woman with purple eyes and red-brown hair, cut into a bob, that Seto's chances turned around.
"State your name for the court."
"Mutou Junko."
"But you were formally Takamoto Junko, correct?"
Seto let out a sharp breath, realizing where this line of questioning was going.
Junko's gaze was apologetic as she looked at Seto before answering.
"Yes. However, the Takamoto family…"
"Only answer the questions asked of you." Emma-o scolded the woman, making her flinch.
"As such, Mutou Yugi, the reborn Nameless Pharaoh and current Queen of Games, is also a Takamoto by blood, is she not?" Gozaburo pressed.
"By blood, yes, but…"
"And that means that when Kaiba Seto kidnapped and attempted to kill her, he was attempting to kill a member of his own family, his own cousin, does it not?"
"I…" Junko's expression shifted to one of frustration, one that echoed the way Yugi expressed frustration in the real world.
"It's a yes, or no question, Mutou."
"Yes…"
Seto wasn't surprised, having discovered their familial bonds when he had background checked Yugi. He hadn't said anything because Yugi hadn't mentioned it at all. However, the murmuring of the court at Junko's words told Seto that her admittance of that would not only looked bad on him, but in a culture where family was everything, may doom him.
But, it also gave him a chance.
"No further questions."
"I have questions for this witness." Seto finally spoke, rising to his feet.
"You may proceed," Emma-o waved his hand for him to speak.
Seto turned his sharp gaze on Junko, who looked, to his surprise, relieved.
"You were exiled from the Takamoto family before my birth, were you not?" Seto asked Junko, who nodded.
"I was removed from the Takamoto koseki three years before the birth of yourself and my daughter due to my choice of husband, yes."
"So, Yugi's name was never on the Takamoto koseki, and there would've been no way myself and Mutou Yugi could've met before we had our first school day together, correct?"
"No, it's not, and no chance at all, as my sisters wouldn't have allowed it."
"And you died before my parents did, so you couldn't take me in and I couldn't learn of our familial relationship that way?"
"Exactly. Nor could Yugi have known, because I never told her she had cousins."
That answered a question Seto had long been harboring and softened his mood regarding it. Still, he had more important matters to handle right now and he turned to Emma-o.
"As you can see, the charge for deliberately attempting to murder family is in question. It wasn't clear that Mutou Yugi and I are related. Also, I request the right to recall this witness for further questioning later, once another point has been made."
Emma-o turned his gaze on Junko who nodded, more than willing to put in whatever she needed to, in order to assist her nephew.
"Agreed. You may rise, Mutou."
Junko didn't go far. Seth shuffled over to make room for her and she slid into the spot without hesitation. Seto ignored the quiet murmuring between them that was comfortable enough that the pair had met previously and turned his attention back to the Demon God ruling the court.
"Any witness I call has to answer the questions asked truthfully, correct?"
"The witness stand is enchanted to ensure the truth, yes."
"Then I call Kaiba Gozaburo to the stand."
Confused rumblings came from those assembled, but Seto stared his adoptive father in the eyes, daring him to back down.
"Unless he's scared?"
And of course, that challenge set Gozaburo's hackles rising and he stalked towards the witness stand, slumping into the chair.
"State your name for the court."
"Kaiba Gozaburo."
"And your relationship to the accused?"
"I adopted that whelp after I walked into his trap," Gozaburo stalled, his eyes widening as what he'd been about to say, that Seto cheated his way into the Kaiba family, came out as something else entirely.
Seto smirked. He knew his father had always considered him a cheat for the way he'd played the chess game for adoption. However, Seto never had. Getting Gozaburo to play both himself and Mokuba at the same time and them each echoing his moves on the opposite board, so Gozaburo had been essentially playing against himself had, in Seto's opinion, been a stroke of genius.
One Seto had regretted, with the sheer level of abuse that'd followed, but a stroke of genius, none-the-less.
And apparently whatever was forcing the truth from witnesses agreed with him.
"And what did you expect from the accused?"
"To start with nothing. He was a means to an end, a body to shove the mind of my deceased child in."
Seto had suspected as much when he'd run afoul of Noa during a virtual reality beta test earlier this year and the oldest of the Kaiba brothers had attempted to seize his body, but to hear it stated calmly and coldly made his blood freeze.
"But he proved smarter, more capable of learning, so I kept him and drove him to become the best, just like a Kaiba should be."
"And how did you do that? In detail."
Gozaburo fought the magic, Seto could see it in the way his veins bulged, and his eyes bugged out, but as the abuses Seto had underwent tumbled from the man's lips, Seto dared to glance around.
And found, to his relief, that the respect that Gozaburo had been maintaining for bringing his crimes to light, was being destroyed with every word he spoke.
And at the back of the room, Izanami, who protected children, had an expression that suggested she wanted to rip Gozaburo apart.
"Would you say the child that emerged from your 'training' was the same child who went in?" Seto asked, when Gozaburo was done digging his own grave.
"Not even slightly. You were better, stronger, less emotional, the perfect businessman. The perfect heir. You even had the competence to burn my company to the ground and still be successful. Then you let that little bitch beat you and threw it all away."
The last was a growl.
"So, you don't think that I'm the Kaiba Seto you created?"
"You'll always have aspects of the Kaiba I formed you into."
"But I'm not the Kaiba Seto you created?" Seto pressed.
"No, you're not."
Gozaburo's irritated snarl was exactly what Seto was looking for.
"You'd have thrown your brother away in a heartbeat to keep your power when I was done with you. You'd have let the bitch others call Queen die and seized her throne. Even killed her yourself to get that power. Not saved her life. You've gone soft and I'm ashamed to call you a Kaiba."
Seto smirked. "Thank you. I have no more questions for this witness. I recall Mutou Junko to the stand."
Furious at being played like he had, Gozaburo skulked off to the prosecutor bench as Junko rose from her seat and stepped in, giving Seto an apologetic look as she took her seat.
"I would have taken you in, if I'd been alive. You and Mokuba both."
"Witness will only answer questions," Emma-o cut her off, but Seto's heart warmed a little at her words.
The witness box drew out the truth. So, there HAD been family who would've accepted him, even if his older aunt would not.
"Mutou Junko, you have a daughter in the living realm, do you not?" Seto asked her, easing her back in softly.
"Yes, technically two of them. Mutou Yugi, Queen of Games, and Mutou Meisa, the Nameless Pharaoh and your rival."
Seto barely held back his surprise as the magic allowed her to call the Spirit of the Puzzle her daughter.
"Have you been following events in the living realm?"
Junko's eyes lit up as she worked out why she'd been recalled and where he was going next and the slight approving nod told him she was on his side, suggesting she'd been hoping for a chance to defend him, which was why she'd agreed to testify in the first place.
"I have."
"What has my relationship with your daughters been like since we met?"
"It started rough, but after Death-T, after Meisa shattered your soul and allowed you to undo the damage that… man did to you, you started over, like a new man and you've been an ally to my daughters, someone they consider a friend. Someone who assisted in saving my Yugi's life, and who they would fight to protect."
Seto smirked at Junko cutting herself off before she swore about Gozaburo.
"Submitting for evidence, the moment the Nameless Pharaoh shattered the old Kaiba Seto's soul."
Seto gestured to the mirror Gozaburo had used earlier, which now displayed the moment Meisa had crushed his mind and shattered his soul into a puzzle that Seto had taken month upon months to assemble.
"One last question, Mutou-san. Would you consider the Kaiba Seto who triggered Death-T, the same Kaiba Seto that is now on trial?"
"No." Junko shook her head, "The Kaiba Seto who stole, who committed all those murders, who drove Gozaburo and that girl to suicide, who kidnapped and tried to kill his own cousin, who gave Mutou Sugoroku a heart attack? He stopped being you the moment Meisa shattered his soul, allowing you to throw the pieces of him into the Shadows. You are NOT him. You are someone I would be proud to call family."
"Thank you."
"You're welcome."
With that, Junko rose and retook her seat next to the Pharaoh.
Seto didn't care. Instead he stared at Emma-o.
"By acknowledging "Pharaoh Seth" and "Kaiba Seto" as two different people, this court acknowledged that a soul can be two different people at two different points of time. This is much the same."
The unamused huff from his father as Gozaburo realized he had made the opening for this defense, made him have to hide a smirk.
"Do I regret the actions taken by the other Kaiba Seto? Do I wish they could be taken back? Yes, but I am not him and I can prove it. He dueled against Mutou Yugi, while I was still in a coma."
With that the mirror flickered again, splitting down the middle to show a comatose Kaiba on one side, while the other revealed the moment in question, when the ghastly Shadow specter of the old Kaiba had dared to duel against the Pharaoh on Duelist Kingdom, and had nearly gotten Mokuba kidnapped again while doing it.
"He was not me. And if he's not me, then his crimes aren't mine." Seto stood tall and proud, needing the people around him to believe him.
And more importantly, needing Emma-o to believe him.
Because it didn't matter if Seto didn't believe his own words.
When negotiating, the only one who needed to believe what you were saying, was the one sat opposite you.
Gozaburo had taught him that.
"There's still the matter of the mass sacrifice," Gozaburo snarled out, having not expected Seto to be able to pull out a credible defence.
"For that, I have one last witness. I call Takamoto Shigeru to the stand."
The man that rose from the crowd and came forward was a thinner, slightly shorter, but older Seto, with glasses that just about balanced on his nose. The brown hair was speckled grey, and the grey eyes looked sad as he took his seat. Next to him was sat a black-haired woman whose blue eyes were firmly locked on Seto.
Seto wished he dared go and hug the woman he recognized as his mother, but he had to stay strong and finish this case.
"State your name for the court."
"Takamoto Shigeru, formally Tanaka Shigeru. I took on my wife's surname at her family's insistence." The man watched Seto with a heaviness that made his shoulders droop, and his lips take a downturn.
"And your relationship to the accused?"
"I'm your birth father."
Seto had known but hearing it said made his stomach flip.
"You and Okaasan raised me to respect family and look after my brother, yes?"
"Yes." His father looked like he wasn't sure where Seto was going with this line of questioning.
"Family was more important than anything according to you and Okaasan?"
"Yes."
"Despite the disownment of Mutou Junko?"
"Your mother was the middle child of the family, she had no choice but to follow the rules of your grandparents, or be disowned with her and never see the rest of her family again."
"So, you'd say keeping family safe and together is more important than even one's own happiness?"
"I wouldn't, but your mother would."
"You also taught me that promises have to be kept, did you not?"
"I did."
From the silence around the room, Seto knew he had everyone's complete attention, allowing him to bring out the main reason he'd called for the father he missed so dearly, despite his complete lack of desire to stay here with him.
"What were your last words to a seven-year-old Takamoto Seto, who would become the current Kaiba Seto, the morning you died after the accident?"
"Look after your brother. Protect him, no matter what it takes. What you did on Hekigan? You did because you were following my order. If a little overzealously."
As the court erupted into noise, Seto took a deep breath free of pain for the first time since he'd awoken, then startled, looked down to find the burns had mostly healed, he was glowing with a golden light that was guiding him towards the main doors and he could hear Mokuba calling him.
Yugi had managed to open the door for him to return.
Glancing at Izanami, he saw her grin and watched her step forward.
"Emma-o, it seems the living world has grabbed a hold of him. He's out of your jurisdiction now."
"No!"
Gozaburo's protest went ignored by the Death God, who stared at Seto as if considering his next words carefully and the jackal-decorated man who'd accompanied Seth vaulted the railing to escort him back to the living world.
"Kaiba Seto is released by this court to return to the living realm," Emma-o spoke finally, as Seto started to fade out, heading back to the living world if the Demon God liked it or not. "However, this trial will be remembered and should you return to the Underworld, any of them, it will continue. You will be judged, for these crimes and any more you have committed, and the oath of a child to a father may not save you, understand?"
"Completely."
Not that Seto had any intention of returning any time soon. Or of doing so without so many charitable works to his name that it would balance the crimes he was on trial for.
"This court is dismissed. Witnesses are free to go."
As Seto started to follow the jackal, Gozaburo grasped his sleeve, rapidly warping into a twisted, gaunt version of himself as he spat out...
"You'll never be free of me, understand? You'll always be the terrified child that came begging me for a chance to be better."
Seto stared at him, taking in the disgusting, disheveled creature before him, unable to believe that this thing was the man he'd once feared more than death itself,
And it hit him.
There was no one in the living world who would fight death itself for Gozaburo's sake. There'd been no mourners at the man's funeral, just those who mourned the money he would no longer provide. No family who actually cared.
His pursuit of perfection, his need to be King and rule over those around him, had driven away anyone who cared, and left a shell of a man who still needed to cause pain, even in death.
And Seto didn't want to be him.
Didn't want to focus on hurting others. Didn't want to be driven into destroying himself to match up with the specter of a man who'd ended his own life because he couldn't face losing.
Defeat didn't have to mean death.
Not then and not now.
He may have lost to the Mutou twins again and again, but he hadn't failed. He'd still fulfilled his and Mokuba's dreams, and there was still time to grow and become better than the Kaiba Seto who was on trial here.
Because he WAS better. Better than Gozaburo at least.
And Seto would not allow his father to drag him into Hell with him.
To that end, Seto drew back his hand and drove his fist into Gozaburo's nose, breaking it in two places and forcing his father to let go.
Then, without dignifying his father's words with a verbal response, he headed for the door, briefly nodding to Seth on his way past. There, Junko and his birth parents were waiting, to avoid the chaos caused by Gozaburo's post punch collapse.
"Seto…" His mother, Rei, reached for him, then hesitated, unsure her son would welcome the touch after everything she had heard, before Seto pulled her into a tight hug, having needed a hug from his mother for longer than he had realized as his frame trembled with barely suppressed grief and longing.
"I never wanted you to throw yourself away to protect Mokuba, but I'm proud of you, Seto." Shigeru didn't waste time and pulled them both into a strong, solid hug that gave Seto enough support to find his mental footing, "What you've done? Despite all the setbacks? You've been incredible. You and Mokuba are going to be amazing."
"Not that you aren't already. We're proud of you both." Rei promised when Shigeru let go, backing off to let him breathe. "Be safe going home."
"I will."
As Seto spoke, the jackal impatiently gestured to the doors, where the bright golden glow was beginning to fade.
Seto ignored him and threw a glance at his aunt, "I assume you have a message for your daughter?"
"I saw her when she went in the water." Junko shook her head, "I just want to say, it's good to meet you. Feel free to shock my daughters with the family connection if you want. Or not. Either way, I'm certainly going to use this as a chance to reconnect with my sister."
With that, Junko wrapped an arm around Rei's shoulders.
Seto's mother brightened drastically, her expression softening and a smile that lit the room gracing her features as she hugged her sister back.
The jackal-adorned man let out a soft cough, bringing Seto's attention back to him.
"Your cousins await," the man gestured to the door. "More importantly, so does your brother."
Pulled towards the gate by the pleading of his brother, Seto didn't hesitate to step through.
