/Blah/ Spirit to host

/Blah/ Host to spirit

Chapter 5: Deliberation

"So…what do you think?" asked Mokuba. He had ushered Yugi and Ryou out of his brother's office as soon as Dumbledore left in order to give him some peace before they went home for the day. Now, they were sitting around a table in the back of the employee cafeteria. "I mean, I'm almost positive Seto is still going to say no."

"I think…I'm going to go," said Yugi. "I'll have to talk it over with Grandpa of course, and I'm sure Yami and I will have a conversation or two about this, but…" Yugi looked down at the table, "Every time we seem to catch a break, something else happens to us. And we're always the ones stuck on the defensive, and usually, one or more of our friends ended up hurt. If this threat is as real as Professor Dumbledore makes it sound, I want to get out on the offensive and stop this guy before he can harm any of us."

Yugi turned to Ryou and frowned. Ryou was staring unblinking at the table. I think he's talking with his spirit.

"Bakura?" asked Mokuba, "Are you okay?"

Ryou jumped. "Oh! I'm sorry, were you talking to me?" Turning a bit red, he ran a hand through his hair. "I'm sorry; I was conversing with the spirit. He…isn't too keen on going, although I think it would be fascinating."

"You're originally from England, right?" asked Mokuba, "Is that why you want to go?"

"Maybe a little," Ryou admitted, "I'm looking forward to visiting again, but while there's a lot of danger involved, it would be nice to get out and do something." He laughed sheepishly, "I've always taken a back seat to my spirit, Yugi. Even when I was following you around in Duelist Kingdom, my spirit had ulterior motives that he took over to accomplish. And during Battle City, he teamed up with Marik to try and get the Millennium Items, and I spent that time first in the hospital, and then in the Shadow Realm! Despite that someone I've never met before may be after my Millennium Ring, I guess I'm a little excited to be able to take part in this fight."

/And I suppose I'll have to tag along to make sure you don't get your neck killed./

/Are you worried about me, spirit?/

Bakura scoffed from inside his soul room. /I rely on you to survive, host. If I have to end up as your guardian angel for when you stick your nose where it doesn't belong, then so be it. …And if I get to send a few souls to the Shadow Realm, well, that'll be an added bonus, now won't it? I haven't played a good Shadow Game in some time./

"Well, there's still time to think about it," said Mokuba. "I wish I could go with you, but I don't think I have any magic powers. It sounds like your connection to the Millennium Items is what's gonna let you go, and that won't work for me."

"You may not really have to worry about it though, Mokuba," said Ryou, "Knowing your brother's aversion to magic, he'll end up staying here. You said yourself that he probably would refuse it."

"I know…but I think learning magic would be cool! And, bad guy aside, it would probably be the least crazy thing that's happened to us."

Ron Weasley had to duck to avoid a flying duster as he walked inside the Burrow's kitchen. "What the – Mum? What's going on?"

Molly Weasley poked her head out from around the corner. "Careful to not track dirt into the kitchen, Ron, I just swept the floor!"

"What's going on? You haven't gone on this much of a cleaning binge since last summer at Grimmauld Place. I know Hermione arrives tomorrow but you've never gone to the extreme for her before. What, is the Minister coming to stay for the summer too?"

Mrs. Weasley shook her head, waved her wand towards the sofa, and the cushions immediately started to fluff. "No, but I spoke to Dumbledore at yesterday's Order meeting. He has extended Hogwarts invitations to three foreign exchange students. If they accept, they will stay here for the remainder of the summer, and with Harry and Hermione coming too, this house will be full and I want to make sure it's spotless!"

"Wait, so you're scrubbing the air in the house and you don't even know if they're coming?"

"Just let it go, Ron," said Ginny. She was sitting on the bottom step with a book in her hand. "Mum has been at this since she got up this morning. Even though these students haven't given their answer yet, Dumbledore apparently is sure they're going to say yes, so she's going to prep the house anyway. And if they don't come...well, it'll give Fred and George something to do when they're here. They haven't blown anything up in a while."

Mrs. Weasley either didn't hear Ginny or chose to ignore her. "Ron, your room had best be cleaned. Harry will have to stay in there with you, and we might have to put up the new students in Percy's and Charlie's rooms."

"What about Fred and George? Aren't they going to stay in that apartment they've got above their shop?"

At the mention of her twin sons, Ron saw his mother stiffen. Apparently she was still a little bit sore that they did not follow in their elder brothers' footsteps and finish school, although their new joke shop was doing very well.

"No, they've told me that they're going to stay here too. I don't think the house will have ever been this full before, and supposedly Bill will be visiting in from Egypt. He's been doing some work for Dumbledore recently and will be sitting in at the next Order meetings."

"C'mon Ron, go get your broom," said Ginny. "We'll go out back and shoot some goals before you end up having to tidy half the house without magic." Making sure their mother was out of earshot, she whispered, "I'll tell you what I overheard at last night's meeting."

Ron waited to be out of the house before speaking again, broom slung over his shoulder. "I didn't really need my broom, did I?"

Ginny shrugged. "Not unless you want to set up some goal posts. I just wanted to get out of the house before Mum found out the garden still needs to be de-gnomed again."

"Ugh, I did that last week. So, what's going on?"

Ginny sat down in the grass. "Aside from his Gringotts work, Dumbledore's been having Bill look into some of the more dangerous tombs lately. Something in Egypt has caught You-Know-Who's eye, and I think that's why Dumbledore is inviting those exchange students here. I can't see any other reason for it."

"Maybe it's something that's done in their magical school and Hogwarts got them this year," said Ron, shrugging, "Of course, the timing's terrible with You-Know-Who being back."

Ginny plucked at a blade of grass. "Yea, maybe. But I overheard McGonagall last night. Dumbledore wasn't in Egypt. He was in Japan."

Ron scrunched up his face, confused. "You've lost me there. I thought these guys were from Egypt? Geez, how many places has he visited? Man sure gets around...?"

"Yeah," said Ginny. "But we don't know what's going on with these foreign students until the end of the week. McGonagall said they weren't ready to just come on out here, so I think we'll hear something then. …But that's not all I overheard…" She sighed and looked her brother in the eyes. "Apparently the professors are not happy over the new Defense and Against the Dark Arts posting this year."

"Why?" Ron asked. "Who is it?"

Ginny shook her head. "They didn't say, but apparently Dumbledore had no say in the matter."

Ron scowled. "Sounds like last year all over again. Still...can't be worse than Umbridge."

Seto sank back against his pillows and stared up at the ceiling in his bedroom. For the first time in a long while, he had escaped to bed well before midnight. For him, this was ungodly early, though he suspected the lack of sleep he had gotten over the past several days was finally catching up to him.

"I seem to have put you out today. I apologize," said Set. He phased out of the Millennium Rod and perched himself on the edge of the bed next to his host. "I did not realize that you would be so…averse to receiving our Millennium Rod, or that my search to find you would be so hazardous to your health."

Seto waved his hand dismissively, "I've gone without sleep before, and the feelings of migraines are nothing new when you have to deal with ineptitude on a daily basis."

"Be that as it may…at least that old man's remedy seems to do wonders for you, even more effective than the herbs and balms we created millennia ago. Your hand should not scar at all."

"Hn," Seto murmured, rubbing his left thumb along his opposite palm. The extra bottle of murtlap had helped enough that he didn't have to bandage it up again. It was perhaps the one good thing that had come out of today.

Set looked down at the Millennium Rod. "This was not how I envisioned our first meeting to go, but alas, there is nothing to be done about it now. I imagine you must have questions for me. You were not in the right mindset to try this earlier."

Seto looked over at Set. "I might. I'm also still trying to wrap my mind around the fact that I'll have you whispering in my ear all day. It's very distracting."

"This is an adjustment for me as well. For the past 5,000 years I have been alone, sealed within the Millennium Rod, waiting for not only the Pharaoh's return, but for my destined counterpart to wield my Item and assist him in this modern world. Though, I did not anticipate your strong dislike towards the Pharaoh and his vessel."

"Yugi I can tolerate. We have…a mutual respect towards one another. It's his pals and their insistence of friendship and togetherness, and that those beliefs alone will solve their problems is what drives me up the wall…that and the Pharaoh preaching about destiny every damn day. I don't know much about his friend Bakura. I've never formally met him, but I've seen enough of his spirit to know that he's no ray of sunshine."

"Having only been released from my solitude for less than a day, I cannot speak much for the boy that Bakura possesses. He seems to be kind-hearted, but it is the spirit from within the Millennium Ring that you must watch for, Seto. If he is still questing for all of the Millennium Items, it will only be a matter of time before he comes for this one."

"What happens if he does collect them all?"

Set thought back, and began pacing the room. "In the past, he wanted all seven items to unlock a great evil, and he succeeded, clouding all of Egypt in darkness. But the Pharaoh sealed away the monster, and his own memories, within the Millennium Puzzle. I cannot say for certain if collecting all of the Items together in this day and age will release the same beast. If it does, and he is successful in doing so, we may be unable to defeat him this time. The key to its defeat is buried within the Pharaoh's lost memories."

Seto raised an eyebrow. "What about you?"

Set stopped. "What?"

Seto gestured. "You're here, and not some figment of my imagination. Obviously you survived whatever happened to know that this Pharaoh saved the day. You don't remember what it was if necessary to do it again?"

Set frowned. "It appears that when the Pharaoh locked away the great beast and sacrificed himself, all of my memories of the battle were also lost. It is a safe guard against the monster rising again. I can remember bits and pieces, but only of trivial events. Anything that may have occurred afterward the Pharaoh sacrificed himself is also clouded."

"Wouldn't it make sense then that the other Bakura's memories are also gone?"

"That would be the best case scenario, but it is no guarantee. He won't know the secret to defeating the ancient monster, at least. That knowledge was thoroughly removed from everyone and everything. But he may remember all or none of his past life. And I doubt he would be willing to share anything he does recall. From what I do remember, he very much enjoyed toying with all of us. I imagine time will not have changed that."

Set sighed. "What I know is this: Bakura cannot be allowed to get control of all seven Millennium Items. I know he attempted to barter for mine while it was in the care of the Ishtar clan, but he was unsuccessful in obtaining it."

"Obviously," Seto said. "Did you possess that nutcase Marik too?"

Set shook his head. "No. While the Millennium Necklace and Rod were in his family's care for generations, and his families' study of some of the ancient scriptures allowed them to use the powers of the Items, I was unable to access the boy's mind, and with good reason. His strong resentment for his family's guided path created a strong darkness in his heart. Even if I were able to share a link with the boy's mind, I would not have, for fear of influencing that darkness. You saw yourself how dangerous he had become."

Seto reached over and took the Millennium Rod off of his bedside table, and turned it over in his hands. The item glistened off of the warm lamp light, having been cleaned up not long after entering the mansion. "The other Items. Who has them?"

Set waved a hand towards the window. "I do not know what happened to the other items after my time. The Millennium Rod and the Necklace were passed down through a sect of tomb keepers, which led them to the Ishtar's custody. Now, of course, the Necklace is in the Pharaoh's possession. I imagine the other items were handed down through other tomb keeper families until their present-day counterparts came to claim them. The Eye, Key, and Scales could be anywhere."

Seto scoffed. "I think I know who has the Millennium Eye."

Set looked back to Seto. "I saw through some of your memories when we bonded. That Pegasus man…is he still an enemy?"

"Not in the same sense that he was back during his Duelist Kingdom tournament." Seto yawned. It had been a while since he felt this exhausted. "He's…mellowed out to be nothing more than an annoying business partner now."

"You must sleep." Set said, "Sealing the bond with a Millennium Item has tired you. I will not keep you up any longer. We will talk more in the morning once you have rested."

"First thing's first," Seto propped himself up against his headboard, placed the Rod next to his alarm clock, and leveled as much of a stern gaze with his ancient self as his tired eyes would allow. "Inheriting that thing wasn't my choice, but it seems it's too late to do anything about it now. It looks like you and I are stuck with each other. As much as I hate to say it, I can learn to tolerate…whatever this is that we have here." Seto gestured between them and then crossed his arms over his chest. "But I can't have you wrestling control from me while I'm in a meeting or terrifying my little brother. So we need to set some ground rules."

Set matched his gaze. "Very well…and what are these conditions?"

"It figures it was only a matter of time before things got weird again," said Tristan. Yugi and Ryou had gathered their friends into the Muto's living room two days later. "I didn't think it was possible for someone else to be after the Millennium Items."

"It's more of a precaution," said Yugi, "We – and Kaiba – were invited to go to this school to learn how to fight this guy on their terms. Hopefully we won't be caught off guard so easily like we have been before."

"It's too bad we can't go with you," said Tea, "But we'll support you even from the other side of the world."

"Even worse - it's too bad that you'll have to put up with Kaiba," said Joey, "Try not to pull all your hair out by the second day."

"I can't believe he was invited in the first place. You know how he reacts to anything magic-related," said Tristan.

"Mokuba is pretty certain that Kaiba will decline the offer," said Ryou, "But we're going to go back and see him tomorrow, and then try to make contact with Dumbledore again."

"I hope you boys remember to be careful," said Grandpa Muto, "You might be painting targets on your backs just by going into England."

"We can't always play on the safe side though, Grandpa," said Yugi sadly, "Too many people have gotten hurt. I don't want to leave you guys either, but by going away, we might take their eyes off of you completely. It'll be safer for everyone if we go. And, like Bakura said earlier, aside from the saving the world bit, this is a chance of a lifetime to go and learn about a completely different culture! It's not like Domino High would given us this chance for even a normal exchange school."

Grandpa nodded. "That's true. But still, I imagine with this kind of threat, this Dumbledore fellow will want to send you both off immediately. I'd pack a few bags ahead of time. There's no telling how often you'll be able to come home and visit."

"Are you sure you'll be okay all alone, Grandpa?" Yugi asked. "I feel bad leaving the shop all to you."

"Don't sweat it, Yug'," said Joey, "We'll give Gramps a hand, won't we guys!"

"That's right!" said Tristan.

"Take your phone with you, Yugi, and let us know how you're doing at your new school," said Tea. "The next school year will seem so empty without you."

"Ugh," Joey groaned and elbowed Tristan in the arm, "Without Yugi to go around adventuring and saving the world with, we'll have no excuse to ditch class anymore!"

"I see we will need to get that painting framed again, sir."

Seto glanced over to where Roland was looking. The shattered glass had been cleaned off of the floor by the overnight cleaning crew. "I didn't aim for it…this time."

Roland silently chuckled to himself. It wouldn't be the first – or even the second time – that he had to have a wall decoration removed and either restored or replaced due to his employer's temper. The last time this had happened, Dartz had been in the middle of his corporate takeover. He watched Seto's rage get closer to its tipping point as Pegasus got on the video-call to claim he was behind it all. Of course, they didn't find out until later that Pegasus had nothing to do with it, but it didn't stop Seto from taking the first item he could grab and hurl it angrily into the wall.

"May I?" Roland gestured to the now-empty chair in front of his boss's desk.

Taking the barely-heard murmur as a yes, he sat and watched his charge through his dark sunglasses. "You look…troubled, sir."

Seto looked up from staring at the weird coin Dumbledore had left him two days ago in one hand, and the miraculous healing his other hand had accomplished just by sitting in what looked like nothing more than dirty water. "I look troubled," he repeated. "Gee, I can't imagine why. It can't be because after all this time of believing magic did not exist, I had that turned on its head not once, but twice this week. Of course, Yugi knew better than to rant in my face again, so the only way he could possibly get me to agree with him is to sic some old hunk of gold on me. Because I can't be in control of my own destiny unless some spirit who looks just like me from 5,000 years ago is muttering in my head. And now, because of all that, some tyrant on another continent takes one look at an ancient rock and decides that his own brand of magic – which by all accounts shouldn't exist in the first place – isn't enough for him and he's going to have to want this too. But no, I'm not troubled at all. "

Roland sat back and watched his employer vent. This wasn't the first time he had listened to him rant about Yugi's insistence of destiny, and he was sure it wouldn't be the last. Though with the Millennium Rod now in his boss's possession, he was sure the outbursts would start slowing down. When Seto had finally finished, he spoke. "It makes you wonder what a normal, mundane life is truly like, doesn't it, sir?"

"Apparently, if you breathe just once in the same space as Yugi Muto, your life will never be normal. I'll get used to Set, in time. At least he's agreed not to intentionally drive me up the wall, but magic - outside of the Millennium Items, being real?" He turned the coin Dumbledore left him over in his hands. "I shouldn't be considering this, Roland."

"I understand it is a lot to take in, sir. From what I heard, Mokuba believes you're to turn down the invitation."

"For my own sanity, I should," Seto snapped irritably, "Anything to do with Yugi lately has left me with nothing but trouble. We had just gotten over the fiasco with Paradius. I'm getting sick and tired of it. The old man and his letter was just icing on the cake."

"If Professor Dumbledore arrived last week, you would have thrown him out of the building and not spared a second thought to any of this," said Roland. "But I believe when Mr. Muto handed that Millennium Item to you, it was…a step in admitting that there have been a lot of supernatural…incidents occurring lately. Not everything can be easily explained by science, although I know you try your best."

"Hn." Seto scowled. "Even so, it seems whether or not I choose to accept Dumbledore's offer, this Voldemort character is going to come eventually. It'll only be a matter of time before he connects me to that tablet."

"From the conversation you all had, that's what I gathered as well, sir."

Seto looked at Roland curiously for a moment, before leaning back in his chair. He fiddled with the coin again. "If you were me in this scenario, what would you do?"

Roland looked taken back at the seemingly out-of-the-blue question. "If I were you…" he said, mulling this over, "I would, of course, be weighing my options. Speaking as myself and not you in this moment, I have witnessed a lot of weird magic coming from these items." He tapped the edge of the Millennium Rod. "Now, I know they are powerful, but I don't know how they work, and having just gotten one yourself, neither really do you. If I were you, in this scenario, and I chose to decline the Professor's offer for protection, I would probably try to learn more about this item, and how to use its magic, if for nothing more than mere safety. This, of course, would mean you would have to spend time with those who know about these items, so Mr. Muto or Mr. Bakura, and as I say this, I realize how riveting that concept is for you. Because when this Voldemort comes to pay you a visit, he will probably use his magic to try and get his way. You will want to have something similar in kind to use against him."

Sensing Seto's upcoming objection at potentially spending time with his rival, he added, "I am more than willing to do whatever is necessary to protect you and Mokuba, Mr. Kaiba. However, since this man and his followers have such a vendetta against us mere normal folk, I doubt they will be intimidated or stopped by bullets."

Seto was certain that a bullet would travel faster than however long it took some idiot with a stick to spit out a spell, but Roland had a point. Wizards probably had some defense against non-magical attacks. Seto's scowl faded, and it was replaced by his usual unreadable mask. "…And if I accepted?"

Roland leaned back in his seat. "While accepting this offer would also go against everything you had previously believed in, it would put you on a much more even playing field for when that time comes. I take it if you went to this school as a student, you would learn magic to defend yourself against these dark wizards. You would be able to fight them on even terms, which might throw them off guard. …And to be frank, sir, you are one of the most intelligent people I have ever met, having watched over you since you were adopted. I doubt you would do any less than excel at this school. Your drive to be the best in everything you do, despite having led you into a bit of trouble where Mr. Muto is concerned, would probably be useful here. You'll probably pick up and master that stuff quicker than students who have been at the school from the very beginning."

"So you're suggesting I agree to this?"

"I would suggest you do both. For better or worse, you've got that Millennium Rod now, so you might as well figure out how to use it, if not from Mr. Muto then from the spirit of your ancestor. And then, yes, you should go to that school and learn whatever it is you can, not just about waving a magic stick and hoping something happens, but it seems going into the heart of this man's territory is the only way you're going to get any information about Voldemort. And you and I both know that like any obstacle, you're going to study it, find its weakness, and then destroy it."

Seto grimaced. "When did you start thinking like me?"

Roland stood up and headed towards the door. With his hand on the handle, he turned back. "I know none of these options are particularly ideal to you, sir, but it's not just you that you have to think about. Again, we both know that it will only be a matter of time before someone targets Mokuba."

One last thought popped into his head. "And…" he began with a sly grin that looked foreign on the man's normally blank face, "To end on a positive note, sir... if Mr. Muto also chooses to take Dumbledore up on his offer, you will have something else to excel and one-up him in."

Roland could have sworn he saw a ghost of a smile on his boss's face as he returned to his own office.

Seto turned the coin over in his hand again before dropping it into his desk drawer. "I can't believe I'm going to do this," he muttered to himself.

/It is not an easy decision to make, Seto. There are dangers to both going and staying here. Perhaps you should converse with the Pharaoh and Bakura. They might be able to help you reach a decision./

/Knowing Yugi, he probably already accepted Dumbledore's offer. He can't help but play the hero in everything he does./

/I wouldn't be too sure. There is a lot at stake for the Pharaoh and his vessel. I'm sure there are people here that they care about as well. Their wellbeing may mean as much to him as your brother to you. You two may have more in common than you think./

"Hn." Seto withdrew from his soul corridor to the ringing on his office phone. "What is it?"

"Mr. Kaiba, there is a Mr. Muto and a Mr. Bakura here to see you. They say it's urgent."

Seto rolled his eyes. That was certainly quick. "They're only saying that because they don't think they'll make it past the lobby."

"Should I turn them away?"

Seto sighed. "No. I think I know why they're here. Send them up."

He drummed his fingers across the desk and returned to focusing on the new development budget proposal for the next duel disk.

Yugi finally poked his head around the doorway to the office. "Um…Kaiba?" he asked nervously. "Can we come in?"

"If you're worried that I'll toss you down an elevator shaft – or whatever gruesome fate your mind has made up - for the stunt your Pharaoh friend pulled the other day, then you're mistaken," said Seto, without bothering to look up from his laptop. "I may be bitter, but I'm not stupid."

Visibly relieved, Yugi chuckled awkwardly and ran a hand through his spiky hair. "So…Mokuba says you were going to refuse Professor Dumbledore's offer. Is that still true?"

Seto looked up from his computer screen. "When did he tell you that?"

"Right after he ushered us out of here that day," said Ryou.

"That was several days ago," said Seto. "There's been time to evaluate Dumbledore's offer, and quite frankly, there are some matters that would need to be addressed before I drop everything and jump halfway across the globe."

"Well, I'm a little surprised, but glad you're considering it! Yami and I talked about it for a while last night," said Yugi, "I've essentially come to my decision, but I've got some concerns too."

"Well…we don't have to wait for the week to be up," said Ryou. He pulled Dumbledore's odd coin out of his pocket. "We can contact him now, remember?"

"Then let's get this over with," said Seto. "I need to be at the R&D lab in two hours."

Ryou nodded, closing his fist around the coin. "Hogwarts!"