The entire YGO fandom seems to have come to the conclusion that Seto is an insomniac, and this is one of the few times I actually agree with the majority. I very much imagine that Seto runs on very little sleep. It could be that he's just one of those people who don't need much rest to recharge, or it could be that he's just doing it out of pure stubbornness and it'll catch up to him as he gets older.

The answer, to me, usually depends on which I find more interesting at any given time.


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There wasn't a person on earth who would have mistaken Seto Kaiba for a man with a healthy sleep schedule; there was never any surprise when one found him awake at some ungodly hour of the night, doing any number of things that any rational human wouldn't. From swimming laps at midnight to cooking fried chicken at 3AM, from building a shed to painting his car, there was no shortage of projects Seto picked up when everyone else on the grounds was dreaming.

None of this changed when Kisara St. Vincent came into his life; it was just that now, he usually had someone to keep him company while he went about his nonsense.

"Well," said Kisara, "we have one net positive so far." She watched Seto level his piping bag to the freshly frosted cake he'd just finished baking. "My parents have not put up any kind of fight. Whatever it is that Roland told them, it was convincing. They're fully ready to cooperate with whatever we recommend."

Seto hummed as he started planting little lavender flowers on the edges of his cake.

"The question," Kisara continued, clenching and unclenching her fists, "is what we recommend. What are we supposed to do, exactly? We just . . . wait?"

"We wait," Seto said, "and we don't panic. The worst thing we could do in this situation is make too rash a judgment call and leave any weaknesses open. Roland and his team are professionals. We can afford to let them do their jobs. If you feel the need to do something, make it something only you can do. Maybe entreat the dragon to send some of her subordinates to cover our . . . magical shortcomings."

"She did mention something once," Kisara said, "about some monsters being able to breach the Barrier and come here to the living world." Seto hummed again. "She also said that, unless some major, world-shattering rift happened, there's no way that she could do such a thing. I suppose that isn't much of a surprise, really. The best we can do is invoke her power. She can't come to us personally."

"Rift," Seto repeated. "That must be what Dartz did."

"Dartz?" Kisara quirked an eyebrow. "I have heard this name. He aimed to make an army out of monsters from the Barrier, so that he could use them to invade. I have also heard that you were instrumental in his undoing."

Seto grunted. "Instrumental is a stretch," he said. "I suppose you could say that if you wanted. I think Mokuba would appreciate that framing. But the King did most of the instrumental work. I was a distraction, an obstacle, at best."

Kisara smiled teasingly. "Come now, my prince," she said. "Surely now isn't the time for you to be modest."

"It has nothing to do with modesty," Seto said. "It's just the truth."

"If you say so." Kisara's smile flipped into a scowl. "That is a distressingly attractive cake, I hope you know."

Seto smirked. "What can I say?" he asked flatly. "I'm a true Renaissance man."

". . . My parents wanted to know something," Kisara said suddenly. "Is it true that children enter your theme park for no charge?"

"Not just children anymore," Seto said. "I charge no entrance fees at all."

"How do you make money from that park?"

"I don't."