Atem woke up feeling dizzy and nauseous again.

He rose slowly to the surface and gazed at the food on the cart.

Bile rose quickly, and before he could stop himself, he vomited in the water.

Gasping for breath, Atem heaved himself out of the pool and lay weakly on the edge, waiting for the water to clear and filter through.

Ah…damn.
How many days and nights had he been living in this tiny pool?

His lungs felt tight, as if a hand had reached down into his chest and was continuously squeezing. He was pretty sure all the vigorous sex with the human wasn't helping either.

A sour film stuck to the back of his throat and Atem shut his eyes, his heart rate increasing steadily.

I'm really dying. Atem thought faintly, fading in and out of consciousness.

He heard soft footsteps approaching the door and he didn't move. The human needed to see him like this, lifeless and weak, with vomit in the water.

Mokuba poked at the code in the door, trying every combination he could think of before he finally got the right one. Ha! And Seto thought he could hide this room from him.

Snickering triumphantly to himself, he pulled the door open and dashed inside, skidding in his steps, shocked to see the merman lying lifelessly at the edge of the pool.

Mokuba rushed forward and held his breath fearfully, seeing a disgusting patch of greenish filth floating in the middle of the water, and his fear rose to an all-time high.

Was the merman bleeding?!

Atem heard the child's thoughts and turned his head slowly to gaze up at him. "…Like I said, child. I'm dying."

Hyperventilating, Mokuba dug his hand into his pocket and pulled out his phone, nervously dialing Seto's number.

Kaiba felt his phone buzzing in his pocket just as he exited the lab, and he fished it out to glance at the caller ID.
Mokuba.

"What is it?" Kaiba answered smoothly, and Mokuba's panicked cries filled his ears.

"He's dying, Seto! Look at him!" Mokuba cried hysterically, jutting up and down on his toes, unsure of what to do with himself. "There's, like, gross blood or something in the water and he's just unconscious on the edge!"

There was a slight pause, and Mokuba shouted into the receiver. "He said it's vomit! He got sicker!"

Kaiba swallowed stiffly and whispered, "He was fine when I left him this morning."

"Well he's not fine now!" Mokuba wailed, kneeling beside Atem and gently helping him sit up. "He's awake. Hurry, Seto!"

Atem reached out to grasp the child's hand in his, gazing deeply into Mokuba's large grey eyes and nodding approvingly at him. "Good. It's not too late."

"Okay," Mokuba said tearfully, holding onto the merman's hand with all his might, feeling it weaken alarmingly in his grasp. "Seto finished cleaning all the garbage around your home! You'll have a clean home when you get back!"

Atem smiled half-heartedly. This child meant well.

There was a loud clattering coming from the hallway, and a group of men in suits burst into the basement, wheeling a gurney.

Mokuba stepped away respectfully to let them lift the merman onto it to wheel him out of the room. He glanced at the stack of jewelry sitting in the far corner of the pool and he hurried over to retrieve it.

If he remembered correctly, the merman had been wearing these upon his arrival.

Kaiba gripped the wheel tightly and sped down the narrow highway towards his private beach.

Atem was right. He had failed.
He had barely managed to keep him alive for "one moon cycle".

It had only been a week and a half at most, and Atem was already vomiting.

The thing he couldn't replicate in a basement pool was water pressure.
Damn.
So the shallow pool had been a ploy.
The merman had specifically asked to be housed in a shallow pool so he'd get sick enough to be released.

I've been outsmarted, Kaiba growled, flooring the pedal and watching the scenery whiz by in a blur.

It didn't matter. He'd got what he wanted. The scales. An endless, lifetime's supply of scales. His company would thrive after this, and he no longer needed to worry about bankruptcy.

Seeing his property rise into view, Kaiba sped up the hill and swerved dangerously on the road the closer he got to the ocean's edge.

He could see his men already gathered at the beachfront, with Atem on the gurney. He was late.

Parking the car haphazardly on the side of the road, Kaiba got out and slammed the door without bothering to shut off the engine.

"Seto!" Mokuba cried, waving frantically at his older brother from the water's edge. "He's coming, mermaid. You'll get to see him before you go."

"Let me up." Atem said weakly, and he felt the men unbuckling his restraints obediently.

Struggling to sit up, Atem took several deep breaths, his lungs constricting terribly even though they were so close to the water's edge. The salt in the air helped moisten his throat, but for some reason, breathing was still difficult.

"…He's…suffocating," Mokuba whimpered, wringing his hands anxiously as his older brother joined him at his side, breathless and panting.

"Dismissed…" Kaiba breathed, sending off his men and trying to compose himself at the same time.

Atem watched as the group of men bowed and shuffled off down the beach in an odd single file line, and he turned his attention back to the glittering sea shore.

The sun was setting magnificently across the horizon, tinting the water a stunning orange. Was this a dream? The human was releasing him!

He gazed at the Kaiba brothers, taking in their features one last time, feeling his heart ache. It was either from the sickness or from sadness. Both humans had been kind to him in their own selfish ways.

Kaiba stepped forward silently and lifted Atem off the rolling bed, gently carrying him to the water's edge, and Mokuba ran after them, his shoes squishing wetly in the sand.

Atem draped his arms warmly around the human's shoulders, appreciating the soft touch.
Being carried like this was nice.
Being with this human had been…nice.
Their sexual playtime would live in his memory forever.

"Thank you," Atem said nervously, his voice almost drowned out by the rushing waves around Kaiba's ankles. Kaiba kept pushing forward steadily, taking long, awkward strides to avoid the impending waves until he stood waist deep in the freezing ocean water.

"You're not welcome," Kaiba replied coldly, his body numb with sorrow and disappointment.

This had been too quick, but it had been planned this way by the cunning merman.

"I'll give you a parting gift as thanks," Atem said playfully, leaning up to plant a warm kiss on Kaiba's chin, feeling his lips burn happily at the brief contact. "There. My debts all repaid. Drop me in the water now."

Kaiba tensed his jaw and felt his stomach churn terribly. Not even a real kiss.
That was fine. This wasn't a special parting anyway.

Atem smirked, enjoying Kaiba's inner turmoil immensely.
He had won.
He had gotten this human to love him so much, that at a moment's notice upon the first sign of sickness, he was being released.

He felt the arms underneath his body loosen, and he waved his tail happily, gazing up into the human's clear blue eyes, which were burning strangely bright due to the orange setting sun before them.

"Go on, drop me," Atem said, giving Kaiba's neck a tight squeeze. "Goodbye, human. It was nice being with you."

Kaiba bit his tongue tightly and knelt in the waves, shivering violently from the cold. Atem's weight slipped easily from his arms and the merman kicked off, disappearing underneath a shallow wave, the glint from his red tail barely visible underneath the white foam.

Atem circled the shallow water, trembling with happiness and relief. He felt instantly better the second his skin touched real ocean water.

"Bye, Mr. Merman!" Mokuba cried, waving ecstatically behind Seto, oblivious to his distress. "See you never!"

Atem heard this and he mustered up the last of his strength to pull his body out of the water, doing a magnificent flip.

Kaiba sat down painfully in the water, his heart catching thickly in his throat, staring at the beautiful silhouette of the spiky-haired merman outlined against the setting sun, the tips of his spiky hair sparkling with stray drops of water, every curve of his muscular body poised gracefully in mid-air.
Unreal.
Absolutely magical.

Landing solidly back in the water with a splash, Atem stuck his arm out of the water and waved energetically, hearing the boy's laughter ringing from shore.

Satisfied, he swam off quickly and headed straight down for deeper waters, ignoring the pain still tugging deep inside his chest.

He was alive, and that was all that mattered. The pain would quickly vanish along with his shore-related illness.

On the beach, Kaiba found himself looking directly into the setting sun, causing his eyes to water uncontrollably.

He was crying.

"Seto…come on. I'm hungry!" Mokuba called, giving the wet sand an impatient kick. "We did a good deed. He's gonna be okay now."

Kaiba stayed sitting in the water, letting one thick wave after another lap up against his body.
He didn't feel cold anymore.
There was just a gut-wrenching pain in his chest and stomach.
Why did it feel like he had just broken up with someone?
Was he going insane or did a merman come into his life, charm him, and then dump him?

I'm…fucking stupid! Kaiba thought wildly, the tears still streaming uncontrollably down his face. I'm in love with him!

"Hey…Seto?" Mokuba called, clinking the merman's jewelry together awkwardly. "How do we give these back to him?"

Kaiba didn't answer.
He no longer had a voice.
In fact, it felt like he no longer had a heart or soul.

The merman had taken it with him when he disappeared beneath the foamy waves.

The reality of what he had just lost was sinking in steadily.

"S-Seto?" Mokuba cried anxiously, his concern rising higher and higher the longer his older brother continued to sit silently in the water, letting the waves almost drown him as they washed in.

Mokuba sighed. He set the jewelry down on the gurney and sat down in the sand, keeping his eye on Seto's back in the water.

He had seen the merman kiss Seto on the cheek for a millisecond.
Seto was sad the merman had left.
They had probably been close friends.

Atem could feel his strength returning tenfold the deeper he swam, and he paused midway, taking deep shuddering breaths.

Free at last! But without all his finery.

It was fine. Seto Kaiba could have it for all of his troubles.

Continuing on his way, Atem felt his limbs growing heavier with an odd sensation.

Guilt?

Shoving the feeling aside roughly, Atem barreled on forward, congratulating himself on his own cleverness.

The hemisphere of his kingdom was in sight, and he swam right through the protective barrier with ease, hearing excited shouts from the guards surrounding area.

Atem gazed down at the glittering rooftops of his kingdom, relieved to see that everything still looked the same.

The shell-covered rooftops gleamed in the low light, and he circled above the homes, letting the barrier guards surround him quickly with relief painted across their faces.

"Your Majesty!"
"Your Highness!"
"You look unwell! Praise Ahti! You're alive!"

Atem nodded weakly, at a loss for words, already feeling faint.

"Atem!" Mahad's deep voice rang out from a distance and Atem sank gratefully against the strong grip of the guard who was holding him steadily upright.

Shooting forward in the water, Mahad wrapped a protective arm around the king's shoulders and tugged him out of the guard's grasp. "I'll take him from here, thank you. Return to your posts."

Atem blinked slowly, the world spinning dangerously around him with each light breath. Why…did he still feel…sick?

"The change in pressure was too sudden," Mahad said stiffly, gently guiding Atem towards the palace. "Let's get you to a medic."

Nodding again, Atem let Mahad tug him forward, hearing cries of relief and joy from the merpeople beneath them as they passed over their roofs, their excited whispers reaching his ears.

"He's been saved! Thank Suijin!"
"He looks unwell, but he's alive!"
"The king is alive! See there! He's being carried by brave Mahad!"

"The human acted fast on his promise," Mahad growled, his blood boiling with a strange fire. "It seems we owe him a great debt."

Dizzy and lightheaded, Atem's mind spun with questions but his throat was so dry, he could barely speak.

They approached the palace gates and Mana came zooming out the front, throwing herself onto Atem and clinging onto him tightly.

"Atem!" she sobbed. Feeling how unnaturally cold and clammy his body was, she jerked back, shining tears pooling at the corners of her eyes.

"Y-You're so cold! Let's warm him up, hurry! Swim faster!" she cried, circling Mahad and tugging incessantly at his arm, dragging them both forward with surprising force. "Medic! Mediiiiic! Someone prepare an empty pod!"

Feeling dangerously weak, Atem shivered and managed a smile, but winced when his throat began chafing and burning with a terrible dryness.

He was gently drifted through the palace gates, down the hallways towards the medic's chambers, and on the way, they passed many concerned faces hovering around them.

Shadi swam ahead quickly, intent on getting to the medic's chambers first so he could confront Mahad on the suspicious timeline of the human's activities.

"Atem!" Mana shrieked, grabbing tightly onto his arm and giving him a rough shake. "He's unconscious...!"

"Come, hurry," Mahad urged, passing under the stone arch and gently pushing Atem's limp body into an empty membrane pod.

Mana pressed a hand to her mouth and gazed anxiously at the king floating lifelessly in the pod, his fingertips an odd greyish color.

The medic hurried towards them with her assistant close by her side, frowning with worry. "A bad case of shore-sickness, but he will be fine."

"Mahad, a word," Shadi growled, grabbing the advisor by his muscled arm and dragging him towards the chamber entryway, making sure to keep his voice low.

"The human said he needed a few days. We had just met with him this afternoon! The sun is just now setting. Does this not seem a bit suspicious to you?!"

Mahad jerked his arm out of Shadi's grasp and glared furiously.

"This human Seto Kaiba is particularly skilled in making deals with other humans," he fumed, wondering why Shadi was sounding so ungrateful. "On land, he has a kingdom of his own. If you had gone up with me, you would understand."

Mana listened to the men arguing from Atem's podside, wringing her hands with worry as the medic and her assistant worked quickly, taking his vitals.

"Is he going to wake up?" she whispered fearfully, and the medic turned to her with a kind smile.

"Yes. He's had something to eat, which is fortunate. But he needs a deep cleanse. We'll shut him in the pod so he can detoxify slowly."

Mana nodded anxiously, listening to Mahad and Shadi shout at each other.

"You promised him a lifetime of dead scales! Do you really intend to rise to shore every week? You'll kill yourself!"

"The human said anyone's scales would do! You could travel to shore in my place, you coward! We could take turns!"

"As if I would indulge in the human's petty demands for such a disgusting thing!"

"Then I will tell Atem!" Mahad said, finally losing the last of his patience. "He can issue a decree. Similar to how we discard of human litter, we will add scaling to the list."

Mana swam over to the men, her heart pounding nervously with curiosity. "What now? You want Atem to issue another shoreline decree?"

"Yes," Mahad answered firmly while Shadi cried out at the same time, "No!"

"I-I don't understand," Mana said shakily, and it grew silent behind her as the medic and her assistant also began to listen in.

"I'm going to advise Atem to add another clause," Mahad said coldly. "Stating that the volunteering merperson discarding litter to shore will also deposit dead scales on Seto Kaiba's private rock."

Shadi palmed his face heavily and turned away, the rage accentuated in the corners of his eyes, which had narrowed into thin slits.

"Now I don't understand!" the medic cried, and her assistant nodded stiffly beside her.

"The human who freed Atem demands payment in the form of dead scales," Shadi growled, facing the medic chamber and seeing several curious heads peeking out from the edges of the other pods.

"The human committed many crimes in order to find Atem and free him," Mahad added, seeing Mana's face grow paler and paler. "I gave him my word that I alone would deliver him dead scales until he has no need for them anymore."

"Then we give him whatever he wants!" someone cried from the far end of the room. "The human sounds noble!"

"Far from it!" Shadi shouted back, unable to contain his fury anymore. "He is a criminal!"
Merpeople these days were getting soft.
The moment a human showed "kindness" it was a rallying cry to repay them.
Seto Kaiba was not a kind human and did not deserve anything in return for his actions.

"I volunteer to give the human my sheddings," another merman piped up from another pod. "I will deliver them personally to you, Warrior Mahad, or I shall add them to my list of shore duties."

"Me too!" a mermaid called, sticking her bracelet-adorned arm out of a nearby pod. "It's a hassle paying for services to discard my sheddings. I'll ask my salon to donate their garbage to the human."

"How convenient!" the mermaid beside her laughed, also sticking her hand forward out of her pod. "I'll ask my salon too. You'll have an endless supply, Warrior Mahad. You have our support. As for bringing it to shore…"

"My husband makes my trips for me. One time, he said he saw a naked human," the first mermaid giggled, and the two women resumed happily gossiping with each other.

Mahad blinked slowly, his heart pounding steadily with a strange happiness.

People were oddly nice in times like these.

"Ridiculous," Shadi growled, storming off and leaving nothing but a swirl of water behind him.

"I…can make trips in Atem's place until he gets better," Mana said tearfully, pressing her hands to her cheeks to prevent herself from crying. "He was making my trip for me when he…when he—"

She hiccupped and pressed her face in her hands, tears flowing out through the cracks of her fingers and landing with gentle clinks onto the medic chamber's floor.

"Now, now, don't cry all over the floor. I just swept," said the medic, swimming over quickly and producing a small seaweed woven pouch, offering it to Mana kindly. "Come, sit here beside him. He'll wake up soon."

"Do not blame yourself for the actions of humans," Mahad said nervously, trying to calm her down. "I'll speak with the rest of the court about this, and you watch over him. Come to me immediately when he wakes."

Mana nodded bleakly and pressed the tiny pouch to the corner of her eye to catch another stray tear, watching Mahad swim away quickly.

It didn't matter how many times anyone told her it wasn't her fault that Atem had gotten kidnapped.

She resolutely felt that it was her fault, because she was afraid to make her trips to shore.

Kaiba moved with painful slowness down the stairs towards the elevator, feeling as if his entire body was made of lead.

He stepped in through the sliding doors and leaned against the wall, hating everything.

This was fine. Maybe if he tried dating someone in the real world, he'd feel less shitty about this merman.

The elevator door slid open and he stepped out, seeing two lab technicians rush to him with excitement and lead him over to their work stations, talking excitedly.

Stuck in a depressed haze, Kaiba only half-listened.

"…Really truly amazing…we were able to make a serum out of it, just as we expected!"

"It was Akagi-san's idea to fuse it with a binding agent, glycerin…."

"Touch it, Mr. Kaiba! Put it on the back of your hand, it feels refreshing, doesn't it?"

Kaiba dipped his fingers into the clear jar of jelly-like substance and dabbed it carelessly onto the back of his hand. As the serum began to dry, it left his feeling skin light and airy, almost as if it was breathing better.

"I wonder if I'll look more youthful if I put it on my face," another lab technician spoke, reaching for the jar and dipping a gloved pinky into it, playing with the consistency. "My wife complains about my forehead wrinkling."

There was a light round of laughter echoing through the lab, and Kaiba stood rooted to the spot with mild shock.

An idea crept into his mind and he cleared his throat, hearing everyone quiet down politely to let him speak. "So…cosmetics. This is the scale in its most refined form?"

"Scale?" a chemist from the far side of the room echoed. "Skin, perhaps, but not scale, and no Mr. Kaiba. The most refined form we've managed is a clear liquid with a fishy smell."

"There wasn't much of it left after making this one jar." Another pregnant chemist piped up, nodding politely at Kaiba. "Do you perhaps have more? To make cosmetics…we would need a large batch. Much larger than the plastic bag you sent us."

"Does it hold color?" Another scientist piped up, reaching for the jar and slipping her glove off and tentatively sweeping a dollop off the top. "I'd love it if we could tint this a light blue. This almost feels like a gel."

Everyone in the lab held their breath and watched her pat it onto her face with familiarity, and there was a pause before her face split into a blissful grin, "Ah…! Wow! This feels so nice! It's like I just got a facial!

The women in the lab gravitated towards her, clamoring over the jar, leaving the male scientists sitting awkwardly in their seats.

"H-Hey!" the male lab technician cried out in protest. "It was my idea! I said it would help with the creases on my forehead!"

"But you didn't put it on your face first, now did you, Midori-san?" another chemist shot back at him playfully, and the women in the lab giggled in amusement. "Hey, put it on my stomach, Akagi-san. Give it here! Pregnant women first."

Kaiba swayed on the spot, his spirits rising higher and higher the louder the excitement grew in his lab.

He pointed at the chemist in the far end of the room and gestured for him to come closer. The man bowed and hurried forward, giving the women in the center of the room an envious look as he passed them.

"Write this down," Kaiba said stiffly.

The man pulled out a notepad from his breast pocket, gripping a pen tightly and gazing expectantly at him.

"I need to know exactly how many pieces make an ounce." Kaiba said quickly, watching the man jot his words down and the room quieted once more, so he addressed the room at large. "Remember that you signed an NDA. You will all receive a raise, and stock options in the cosmetics line if this launches successfully."

Thunderous applause rang out in the room again and the women began chatting happily amongst themselves, dispersing slowly back to their stations.

"The only issue is the scent," the chemist said nervously while the pregnant chemist approached them quickly, handing Kaiba the jar and smiling.

"We can manufacture a scent that won't affect the composition of the serum," she said sweetly, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear before continuing. "But for that, we would need more batches to test on. This is a rough estimate, but from my earlier notes, five slices of the skin makes one ounce."

"It would have to be extremely expensive cosmetics, sold in tiny jars," another lab technician added from behind them. "But it works, so once people realize that, they will pay anything. You have a premium brand on your hands here, Mr. Kaiba."

Kaiba nodded stiffly and began walking towards the door, feeling the chemists stick by his side closely, still talking.

"We haven't tried freezing or burning it while it's in liquid form."

"How do you want to proceed with testing this on live subjects?"

"But to do that, we'd need several kilograms of this skin."

He stepped into the elevator and stared at his two chemists who were still gazing at him hopefully.

"I'll check in with my supplier," was all he said before letting the doors close in their faces, and the elevator rose steadily upwards.

A headache was slowly building in the back of his head and he shut his eyes, trying to forget the vivid memory of Atem's face hovering inches from his, his eyes narrowed in concentration while they were in the water together…enjoying each other's bodies.

This was easily remedied. He just needed to fuck someone else to forget about the pretty merman.

Atem heard muffled voices and was woken from his pleasant dream. He opened his eyes a slight crack, seeing blurred figures hovering around his pod, and he closed them again.

His body felt wonderfully light while he slipped back into his lewd dream, enjoying the warmth around him.

The human Seto Kaiba had his arms wrapped around his neck, kissing gently down his chest, pausing to throw him a mischievous look before his lips wrapped naughtily around one of his nipples, sucking and licking playfully, sending heated jolts of pleasure running up and down his body.

His hands were wonderfully cool against his heated skin, and his lips were warm against his navel. A silky tongue slid suggestively along the line where his scales met his skin, sending ticklish sensations running down his tail—

"He's awake." The medic's voice could be heard through the pod, jolting Atem unpleasantly from his daydream. "We can open the pod now."

"Really?! Oh…thank Ahti!" Mana's voice sounded relieved, and Atem frowned deeply, wishing he could go back into the daydream.

The sound of membrane ripping filled his pod and Atem found himself gazing up into the worried faces of the dark-haired medic, her male assistant, and Mana.

"Your majesty." The medic bowed her head down respectfully. "There was something concerning about your vitals. Do you want to hear it now, or later?"

"Tell us now," Mana demanded, reaching forward to grab Atem's hand and giving it a tight squeeze. "Can we talk about it now, Atem? I need to know you're perfectly okay!"

Atem nodded stiffly, giving the medic an approving nod too, seeing her throw her male assistant a strange look before addressing Mana.

"Perhaps…if we could have some…privacy," the assistant said deeply, holding his arm out to wrap warmly around Mana's shoulders and leading her away from the edge of the pod. "I can stay with you here."

"Wait!" Mana cried tearfully, clutching her seaweed pouch tightly and gazing Atem. "You'll tell me what it is, right, Atem? Atem?"

Atem smiled weakly at her and felt his heart pound nervously in his chest. Oh no…what was it? Why was the medic asking for privacy? This might be bad….

The medic floated closer to him and pulled the edges of the pod up around their heads, giving him a deeply concerned glance.

"King, my readings are sometimes flawed, but they are rarely so," she said nervously, and Atem waited patiently for her to continue.

"It seems…that you have somehow become…infertile."

Infertile? Atem reeled, his ears ringing with a terrible sound, and he felt weak all over.

The medic bowed her head deeply, wearing a pained expression while speaking quickly in a low tone. "It might be temporary, and it was probably caused by surface illness. But none of our kind has ever spent so much time on shore and come back alive."

Atem blinked rapidly, desperately trying to find his voice before he managed to whisper, "You're saying…this is a side effect of surface illness?"

"Y-Yes, your majesty," she said uncertainly, bowing forward again because she was unsure of how to behave. "Unless you want to believe an old wives' tales about how infertility is caused by a human's touch."

Atem's breath caught painfully in his throat, and he coughed stiffly, his throat still searing and the medic rushed forward to rest her hand on his chest.

"A human's touch?" Atem asked, his heart skipping several terrified beats in his chest and he watched the medic nod and shake her head.

"Don't listen to me. I'm being silly."

"Tell me the tale," Atem demanded, gripping the edge of the pod and feeling a rush of guilt. "Many humans touched me while I was on shore."

The medic paled and kept her head lowered respectfully, talking in a rush. "When I said a 'human's touch', I meant that if you had mated with a human, it might cause infertility. That is why sexual contact with humans has been forbidden…to preserve our race."

She raised her head to sneak a peek at him and was met with a deeply shocked look. Of course, a noble king like Atem wouldn't have known about such a dirty thing.

"I'm very sorry," she added nervously, turning away to give the king his privacy. "I'll leave now."

"Is it permanent?" Atem asked frantically, struggling to sit upright and gazing at her with wide eyes. "If it is caused by surface illness, my body should heal quickly, right?"

"Perhaps, my king. I'll pray for it to be so." She gave him a deep sympathetic look over her shoulder before pushing the membrane walls aside and swimming away quietly.

Breathless with shock, Atem thunked his head back onto the spongy pillow behind his head and gazed up at the high stone ceilings.

A human's touch had rendered him infertile.

Seto Kaiba's…touch!

Weak with a mixture of dread and disappointment at himself, Atem closed his eyes and curled up inside the pod, listening to his heart thumping heavily inside his chest.

The medic's assistant had been right to ask for privacy.
How would he ever be able to break this news to those closest to him?

How will I ever conceive an heir? Atem thought wildly, his anxiety rising higher and higher. He had put his own kingdom's future at stake for rough playtime with a pretty human…thinking there would be no consequences to his own actions.

Shutting his eyes tightly, Atem willed for sleep to come.
The medic had said it was an old wives' tale.

The infertility would be temporary, because once he healed from the surface illness, he'd be just fine.

Author's note:

atem is released, kaiba is heartbroken, but the good news is that the scales make a nice serum for a Kaiba Cosmetics line! Atem almost passed out swimming his way back home and received some devastating news about his own health.

edited by setokaibaes

stay tuned for new chapter coming WEDNESDAY MAY 8th 2019!

AO3 has restricted my posts until Thursday may 2nd. (i gotta thank whoever reported me. THANK YOU!)

xo
Ugli