Author's Note:

So here is Chapter 8 of "The Kingdom [be]Comes." This chapter has a lot of talking: we find out a lot (but not everything) about what's going on and just what might be happening in later chapters. There is also some history and overview of the original Yu-Gi-Oh stuff in this, so I apologize if you hate or don't know anything about original Yu-Gi-Oh.

At the same time, this chapter in particular, really made me wonder whether or not this fanfic belongs in the Crossover section (between original Yu-Gi-Oh! And Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's) rather than just in Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's). But I decided that since the only character from original Yu-Gi-Oh is Mokuba and everything else either references the original or just builds upon it, then this is still Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's because the main conflict is YuseixAki and not YuseixYugi (lol) etc.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter and let me know what you think!

Thank you for your thoughts, questions and reviews. You inspire me.

NineInchNailed.

"Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success."

~Anonymous.

"Okay…so take it off and show it to me," Aki requested.

Yusei slowly stripped.

"Yusei! It's…it's…" Aki gasped.

"Big?" he attempted.

"Ghastly!" Aki exclaimed, hands clapped over her mouth.

"I don't really think it's that bad…"

"Are you kidding me? Just look at it!" she insisted.

"Fair enough," Yusei replied, folding his dirtied leather jacket and placing it on the bathroom counter. He was now wearing his signature sleeveless black shirt which revealed the loose bloody bandages and the no longer concealed dragon carving.

"And you didn't tell us right away when you got it? Seriously?" Aki asked while staring at his wounded arm and shaking her head in disbelief.

"I didn't want to needlessly worry everyone before I had a chance to figure things out."

"Oh yeah, and you really figured things out, huh?" Aki mumbled sarcastically, rolling her eyes. Upset with him over his silence and carelessness. She looked around the room for some sort of towel or a sponge.

"Well, I figured out…some," he answered quietly, watching her. He had finally figured out his feelings for her and wasn't that worth for something? And was it also incredibly selfish that he thought that figuring this out might have been more important than anything?

She didn't hear him because she was too busy going through the drawers. "You know, while I'm pleasantly surprised as to how clean Crow's bathroom actually is, I'm frustrated as to how it seems like he has nothing at all in here."

"I think it's because he's so rarely at home," Yusei speculated.

"Yes, but doesn't he shower or something? Where are the towels?" Aki rumbled but then quickly brightened with a smile when she stumbled upon what turned out to be a towel drawer. "Ah-huh! Here they are…now let's take a look at- OH MY GOD!"

"What's wrong?" Yusei neared to look inside and when he saw what was in it he began to laugh and it was hard to stop. "Looks like he's home more often than I thought!"

They were both looking at an almost finished pack of "Tropical Flavours" condoms.

While amusing, this situation was mostly mortifying for Aki. First of all, she never ever needed to know that Crow was using Trojans' banana flavoured condoms. And two, it felt really, really weird to be standing so close to Yusei and looking at something like this. It felt like the whole universe was subtly hinting on sexual relations right now. And by subtly hinting it was actually screaming, "Hey, here is a box of condoms. And here is a guy you're crazy about! Why not just beg him to give it to you right here?"

Embarrassing or not, however, seeing Yusei laughing so wholeheartedly - especially at a time like this – was delightful. He barely ever laughed like this around her...and he wasn't of very humorous type to begin with. So despite the awkward situation she began smiling like a fool.

The more Yusei looked at the mortified expression on her face the funnier he found this to be. It was cute how embarrassed she was by this. It was almost as if she's never looked at condoms before. Because she has to have…right? Right? After all, who hasn't…right? After all, being as gorgeous as she was, why wouldn't she have…right? Especially when she used to live at Arcadia headquarters with Divine? Hmm. He began to wonder. It didn't occur to him before. Maybe she hadn't, after all.

Some blood circles, possessed people, a billionaire in Crow's living room, God card…all of that nonsense just flew right out of the window for him. Nothing was as singularly important and fascinating as being in this little room, with her. "Well, at least we can assume that the towels are clean. Although…should we check the expiration date on those just to be sure?" he joked, jumping up to sit on the counter, and watching intently for her reaction.

Aki coughed, hiding her red face behind her hair (which was also red…so she wasn't really helping her case), and quickly shut the drawer before starting to wet the towel in the sink. She couldn't look at him now and she refused to answer anything to his last remark, figuring that she'd just end up embarrassing herself further and revealing her inexperience with these things.

Yusei finally stopped laughing and observed her with a smile. She did everything so carefully and elegantly... It was why it was sometimes difficult to look at her and why he tried not to look longer than a few seconds at a time. Because every time he did, he'd get lost; he would admire her eyes, look at her lips, her neck, her hands. He didn't want her to catch him doing that. It was embarrassing. It's like he wasn't himself, the way he studied every part, the way he found everything about her so incredibly sexy. Seriously, just watching her rinse that towel was beginning to turn him on. The most mundane and insignificant things were sensual and would catch his breath: the way she pulled back her hair, the way she spoke, the way she laughed, the way the line of her collarbone was enunciated by the Dual Academy uniform. The smallest, the most random of things. They didn't even add up to the other, more obvious aspects that made his mind spin and turned heads wherever she walked: the dazzling smile, full and inviting lips, the big brown eyes, the silky red hair, the slender impossible waist, the luscious bust line, the length of her legs, the way she walked in heels…

"Well, anyway," she mumbled and gave him a quick smile. "Ready?" She saw that he was staring at the towel in the sink, soaked by her hands in the running water. His eyes seemed far away.

Yusei blinked and quickly looked away. He'd done it again. Zoned out watching her, fascinated by everything she was doing. Crazy about the nominal of things. That was a glimpse into desire he'd buried and which had begun surfacing regularly without inhibition. Eyes feasting for longer than he should have permitted. A longing for a touch, a craving for a taste. It was painful. He wasn't himself during those moments…and yet why did this make him feel more alive? "Yeah."

"Okay, then sit still," Aki requested when the towel was finally wet enough and moved closer to him, gently beginning to wipe the blood off his bicep.

Every muscle in Yusei's body tensed when the towel touched him and his heart rate spiked. He winced.

"Sorry," she looked at him apologetically. "Did that hurt?"

"No," he muttered, still avoiding looking at her. His pulse raced and he could almost feel it in his throat. He was unbelievably tense. It wasn't pain at all. It was the fact that she was taking care of him and this had never really happened to him before. He was always the one nurturing others, not the other way around. This felt...really weird, just having somebody tending to him like this.

Aki, meanwhile, wondered if she was sick in the head because while cleansing the wound all she could think about was how sinewy and sexy his arms were and how much she would love just to run her hands over them. Maybe she could ask if he was injured anywhere else and get him to take off his shirt entirely. But maybe that was a terrible idea: she imagined that if he were to get topless right now that she'd probably just pass out from that dazzling sight.

"You know…you don't have to do this. I could have done this myself," Yusei pointed out quietly, trying to control his accelerated breathing. This was a realization to suddenly hit him…after about fifteen minutes since she suggested helping him out with his "injury." I guess I'm just really slow today, he reasoned. Ha. Nice try. No, it's all because I wanted to spend time with her alone. Especially after what's happened earlier, not even three hours ago. Her confession, the truth of what happened to her that day, the identity of another man. Seriously, how could there exist an idiot like that, an actual person who'd stand up Aki? Didn't that moron realize just how lucky he was? And if Aki was right, if this had anything at all to do with her past life as Black Rose Witch… This made his blood boil. He knew that if he ever found whoever it was that stood her up that he would punch him out like there is no tomorrow.

"You could start by saying thank you," Aki responded, focusing her gaze on the task at hand. He was right of course: she didn't have to help. But she wanted to and having watched him be in so much pain she wanted nothing more but to do everything in her power to help him. His pain inflicted agony to her. "But even the strongest of us need to let down our guards and allow for ourselves to be taken care of. At least once in awhile, Yusei. So just let me, okay?"

Yusei's eyes widened and settled on her. Was she right? Yes…yes, she was. He swallowed a knot in his throat, feeling like she had just exposed a hidden layer of his soul. He had spent his whole life taking care of others, crushed under the burden of responsibility for everything and everyone…so she was right, so right. He drew in a deep breath and relaxed, giving in to her soothing touch on his wounded skin, allowing her, the first and only person, to really take care of him. He studied the features of her face as she worked, the colour on her cheeks, the long eyelashes, the lightly parted lips. She was such a beautiful girl. He was drawn to her, needing willpower to keep him from closing the distance here and kissing her. His lips tingled with the phantom, imaginary sensation of touching hers. She was right here. He could do it, right now. To feel her, to taste her, to feel her breath, to hear her sigh, to have her hands on him. He had tried to kiss her earlier already… Yes, he had tried. He wasn't really thinking about what he was doing then. How about now? Should he attempt this again without thinking of the consequences? What if she doesn't like it? What if she refuses to? What if he'd missed his chance? Should he just open his mouth and ask if he could kiss her right now and see her reaction?

He'd spent those precious seconds arguing with himself, and within that time Aki had unfortunately finished what she was doing. "There, all done," she said and pulled back to rinse the towel before throwing it into the laundry, "I guess there is no point in bandages right now since everybody wants to see it. And you know what…it doesn't look horrible anymore. Actually the opposite. I mean…it's kind of like a cool tattoo." Seriously, in that sleeveless shirt, with the new rugged mark and the one from the Crimson Dragon on his strong arms, he looked incredible. She had never looked upon a more attractive guy, in her life.

"Didn't know you liked tattoos."

"Neither did I," she mumbled, staring at it, and her face flushed red when she realized how that came off. "Um. Well, anyway, it's not a tattoo, so whatever. Just looks better than before now."

Yusei smiled and said, "Thank you." He jumped down from the counter and picked up his jacket.

"Sure," Aki replied, returning a bashful smile, and began nervously playing with a strand of her hair.

"How long has it been?"

"Sorry?" she was abruptly confused. Two years? Since the day we've first met?

"How long have we been in here? I don't have my phone."

"Oh, I left mine in my purse," she hurried to answer, face still red. "But probably fifteen minutes." She was intensely aware of him as they stood close in that small bathroom. She remembered the proximity between them right before the duel today, remembered that he actually held her hand, the way he spoke and the way he looked at her…and remembered how it looked like he was about to kiss her. Was that what it looked like or did she just imagine it? After all, two years of mixed signals from him really messed up her ability to read body language when it came to opposite sex. It couldn't have been that, right?

"I think we've made others wait long enough," Yusei remarked.

Aki awoke from her daze and nodded. She moved to open the bathroom door when, suddenly, his hand reached out and gently tucked a loose lock of hair behind her ear. Then his hand remained upon her cheek, the lightest of touches. She froze and stared at him, tilting her head. He stepped in close and closed his eyes. Her wide eyes fixed on his neck, where the collar of the shirt and the bare skin met, on the leather thread where the Eye of Horus hung; she could smell him, a scent which somehow bottled-in masculinity with confidence, warmth, sensuality and encompassed what was Yusei.

His lips touched her forehead. He had kissed her there and she stood, immobilized by this foreign display of intimacy, from Yusei and from anyone. What does this mean, what does this mean, what does this mean? was spinning in her head.

He stepped back, withdrawing his hand, and the two of them just stared at one another.

Kiss me, kiss me, kiss me, Aki was thinking, in a stupor.

"Let's go," he said, breaking the eye contact, and opened the door, leaving.

Aki stayed behind, blinking slowly, her blood pressure all over the place. What had just happened? He kissed her after all, but it was in this different, tender way. Why would a guy do it like that? Was it what friends did sometimes? She wished for this to not have been so confusing. She wished he could just tell her if he felt something for her. She had tried so hard to move on but during these past two days he's been drawing her in, deeper than ever before. Giving her flashes of what could be. And she no longer wanted an exit.

Aki finally followed him out and walked into the room to see everybody waiting impatiently.

"You took your sweet time," Jack greeted them and Yusei just shrugged, taking a seat at the available arm chair. Aki stopped to stand near Carly and Ushio.

They were all crammed in Crow's small living room, situated wherever there was free space either on a couch or some chair brought from the kitchen. Since Crow's apartment was the closest from the hospital and they didn't need any spectators they all decided to go there for Mokuba to explain what's going on. The doctors had some of their phone numbers to contact them in case Takashi came to after surgery.

"Okay…now that you mention it, it looks nothing like the Crimson Dragon," Crow commented as he appraised the mark of Osiris' dragon on Yusei's arm.

Yusei sighed while Jack laughed: "Yeah, no shit Sherlock! How could you even think that it's the Crimson Dragon? It looks nothing like it!"

"Hey, shut up Jack! I couldn't see all of it under the bandages!" Crow snapped and flipped him the middle finger.

"Okay, can we finally hear what Kaiba-sama has to say?" Mikage said, interrupting the characteristic bickering between the two. "I'm sure he's got other important things to tend to but he's volunteered his time to help us out. Please begin, Kaiba-sama."

Mokuba smiled, fingering at the duel card locket hanging around his neck, and said, "Thank you, Mikage-san. I guess the story begins with Mutou Yugi winning the Battle City tournament and having the three God Cards. It was then that-"

"Wait, who is this Mutou Yugi?" Crow interrupted. Everybody else looked just as puzzled.

Mokuba stared. "Are you people serious? You don't know who Mutou Yugi is? Is this a joke?"

It suddenly clicked in Yusei's head. Mutou Yugi. Yugi Mutou. Y.M. So was this Yugi Mutou the one who sent him the letter containing the dragon of Osiris? Who was this man? Yusei decided not to say anything about his theory until Mokuba Kaiba finishes telling them what he knows. Instead, Yusei answered: "Yes, we are serious. So why don't you enlighten us?" He had to hold back his irritation. This Mokuba was treating them like fools and he didn't like it.

"Wow, just wow. Do you not have Internet here or something?" Mokuba mumbled and sighed. "Okay, fine. Mutou Yugi was the original King of Games, the title which you, Atlas Jack, and you, Fudo Yusei, are both intimately familiar with."

"Jack Atlas," the former King corrected.

"Just so you know, not all of us have been educated in the histories of this city, Kaiba-san," Crow pointed out, giving the reasonable explanation for their ignorance. "Not all of us have had that privilege."

"This isn't really history, this was only 28 years ago," Mokuba replied.

"Yeah, none of us were really around during that time, if you know what I mean: the majority of us have barely hit our twenties," Crow asserted.

"I wish," Ushio mumbled under his breath.

The youngest Kaiba brother frowned. "I figured you guys were young but not that young. At the very least I assumed that you would've been aware of some history of the game that rules your lives. I guess I was wrong."

"Why does it make such a big difference?" Yusei prompted with a cold look.

"Okay, so then…how old does this make you, Kaiba-san? Like fifty?" Rua questioned, still childishly oblivious to some manners.

"Thirty eight, thank you," Mokuba responded to Rua before glancing at Yusei, eyes narrowed. "It doesn't make much difference, Fudo, you're right. The story still begins with Mutou Yugi. You see, when Mutou Yugi was sixteen he assembled an ancient Egyptian artifact which released a spirit of an ancient Egyptian pharaoh. From that point on, Mutou Yugi shared his body as a vessel with that spirit. You people probably don't believe that something like this could be possible but let me assure you that-"

"No, we believe you. Stranger and far more bizarre things have happened. This is cookies compared to some of the stuff we've faced," Jack interrupted. It was true. Driving on Razca lines towards an Aztec pyramid while dueling Rex Godwin on steroids was significantly more unbelievable and more fucked up.

"Alright, then this definitely saves the supernatural probability lecture. So the ancient Egyptian pharaoh was a master of Dueling Monsters, believe it or not. He and Mutou Yugi made an unstoppable team. They would switch, back and forth, as hosts of the single body and duel depending on convenience," Mokuba said and paused, waiting for some questions before he'd resume.

"So…um…weren't they, like, two different people? How could nobody notice a dude change to a completely different dude halfway through the duel?" Rua asked.

"No, the Egyptian Pharaoh looked almost identical to Yugi, thus the body alteration wasn't very noticeable: their voices were a bit different, and so were some of their facial features but, overall, they were the same," Mokuba responded.

"Ah…huh…" Rua mumbled, skeptical.

"Wouldn't that be cheating? And who was the King of Games then, Mutou Yugi or that ancient spirit?" Carly inquired.

"Ah, yes," Mokuba nodded, smiling, "That was one of the questions that all of us have wondered at one time or another. That was one of the things that drove my older brother, Seto, up the wall. But more on that later. So Mutou Yugi and that ancient Egyptian pharaoh dueled together, defeating my brother who was, up until that point, the undefeated Duel Monsters champion, and going on to win countless tournaments. The Egyptian Pharaoh had no recollection of who he was or why he was here but we later found out that he was out to resolve a millennium long conflict. His name was Atem."

"A-te-m? Do you mean, Atum? Atum, after the Creator God and the God of Beginning in ancient Egyptian mythology?" the book-savvy Carly asked, attempting to piece things together.

"What? No, his name was Atem, and he was a pharaoh not a deity," Mokuba corrected her.

"A pharaoh was considered a deity then…" Carly whispered thoughtfully but nobody heard her.

"Anyway, so once Atem resolved his own conflict after kicking everyone's ass in a card game, he went back to his own time, that is, he finally died. After that Mutou Yugi, now without the help of Atem, resumed the duty as the King of Games and remained undefeated for another 10 years. And then he disappeared off the face of this Earth," Mokuba said.

"This is all very interesting, Mokuba-san, but what does this have to do with us or with you, for that matter?" Aki finally spoke up.

"My brother, Kaiba Seto, was Mutou Yugi's greatest opponent. He was his antithesis. They could not exist without one another. Seto and Atem, that is. All the times Seto challenged Atem, Atem remained victorious. But then, once Atem had died, Yugi refused to duel Seto. You can see then how my brother had become convinced that it was only Atem that had been capable of defeating him, not Yugi. So for the next decade Seto challenged Yugi without success. And then when Yugi had disappeared, Seto searched for him for years without avail," Mokuba responded.

"That's kind of weird…" Ruka whispered to Rua.

"Oh, so is that why the Kaiba brothers left Japan? In search of Mutou Yugi?" Mikage asked.

"Kind of. Seto sent me away to Sweden when I was twelve which was right after Atem had left. Seto told me that Japan was no longer a place for me and that he wanted me to have a different life. He forbid me to play Duel Monsters. He wanted me to study Business in order to take over the Kaiba Corporation when the time comes. And then, ten years after and following his involvement in creating Duel Academies and his various travels around the world in search of Mutou Yugi, Seto returned to Japan one more time, for a few weeks, and then left for good. Nobody knows where Mutou Yugi is until this day or even if he's still alive. His companions either legitimately know nothing of what happened of him or are missing as well," Mokuba said.

"So…did Kaiba Seto really say "A city, to devour in its pain," just as he was about to depart?" Crow interrupted, curiously. An urban myth or the truth? Did Kaiba really predict the Zero Reverse?

Mokuba raised his eyebrows. "Seriously? I just told you, I was in Sweden! I don't know what Seto might have said. Although, if it makes any difference, this doesn't sound like anything Seto would've ever said. It's probably completely made up."

"Oh," Crow said, looking disappointed.

"And what does any of this have to do with us?" Yusei pressed, repeating Aki's words.

"Ah, yes. Patience is a virtue, Fudo. You see, I was supposed to be leaving Japan today but on my way to the airport I saw something that I couldn't believe: I saw the Sky Dragon of Osiris hanging in the sky. So when I followed to where the dragon was summoned, I saw you, Fudo Yusei, commanding it in a duel. Do you mind explaining what one of the three forbidden Egyptian God Cards and one of Mutou Yugi's most prized possessions is doing in your deck?" Mokuba asked, staring at Yusei very carefully. Everybody else turned to stare at him, questioningly, too.

Egyptian God Card? One of three? Yusei and Aki thought in unison, unaware of one another.

Yusei slowly got up from the armchair, neared the small coffee table, and placed the letter from Yugi Mutou and the Egyptian God card on it.

"I got this in the mail on the day of my birthday. When I opened the letter I got the new dragon mark on my arm. Make what you will out of it," Yusei said.

All of them huddled around the coffee table, looking back and forth at the overpowered God card, the handwritten letter and at the mark of Osiris on his arm. Yusei noticed a very strange look on Mokuba's face.

"So…what does this have to do with anything, again?" Crow asked, scratching his head.

"Mutou Yugi…so he is alive…" Mokuba whispered, almost inaudibly, but Yusei heard and he didn't like it. Mokuba then turned to look at him and blatantly asked: "Hey…so do you mind if I borrow the letter and the God card for a short while?"

Not in a million years, Yusei thought. "No, sorry but I don't think so," he refused. "This was entrusted to me for a reason and I think that I should comply with Mutou Yugi's wishes." Yusei then quickly pocketed both the card and the letter, noticing the billionaire watching him with a bitter look.

"Mokuba-san, you mentioned that this Egyptian God card was one of Mutou Yugi's most prized possessions? Then, judging by the letter, he clearly he wanted Yusei to have it," Aki spoke up, oblivious to the tension between them. "And it looks like the card has chosen Yusei too. So I guess the bigger question is this: what does this have to do with Sutekh Sacrificō duels we've been having, for what purpose did this dragon choose Yusei, and how does Mutou Yugi even know of Yusei?"

Yusei observed her from the corner of his eyes, feeling amazingly grateful. It was like she was reading his mind and speaking out in ways he wasn't able to. Use it as a means of protecting what you believe in… and the ones you love… Yusei thought, inexplicably remembering the words in the letter.

"I've been asking myself the same question, Aki-san," Mokuba mumbled, still eyeing Yusei. "While I have no idea about what the hell is going on with these blood circles and dueling suicides all over the city, and no idea as to what's going on with Yugi, what I do know is this: Mutou Yugi or Atem as well as my brother and a few other select people were capable of using the three Egyptian God cards without any problems and without any of…the consequences Fudo appeared to have suffered."

"What are you saying?" Yusei asked, no longer bothering to conceal his anger. Was this guy saying what he thinks he's saying?

"I guess what I'm saying is that when a sixteen year old kid that looks like a baby panda can use three Egyptian God Cards, at the same time, without any of the issues you've had, then there is definitely a problem here. I don't think that you are a suitable guardian for Osiris, Fudo. If anything, I think you're a pussy," Mokuba said, smirking.

The usually cool and collected Yusei had to have Crow grab him and hold him back because he was about to swing his fist at Mokuba's grinning mug. Okay, what the fuck was this!

"Mokuba-san!" Aki gasped, feeling disgusted.

"Sorry, Aki-san…I realize that the last part was uncalled for. But I am telling how it is, after all," Mokuba answered.

"So you would be more suitable to hold on to this card?" Yusei asked, angrily, Crow still hanging off his back. Everybody else was just as enraged as him at the rude outburst.

"Actually no, no I don't. I'm no duelist. But that doesn't change the fact that you appear to be the weakest owner of the Egyptian God card, by far," Mokuba remarked.

"If that's the case then why do you think Yugi chose Yusei as the Sky Dragon bearer?" Aki asked, strictly. She was extremely upset.

"To be fair, I have no idea, Aki-san," Mokuba said, turning to look at her. "But while Mutou Yugi was no fool, my own theory is that he succumbed to his own nostalgia: you see, Fudo here looks awfully a lot like Atem. It's the same sort of type. They have similar fucked up hair, similar unusual eye colours, and, from what I've observed, they even act quite alike. Thus my theory is that Mutou Yugi gave Fudo the card for very superficial reasons: he figured that just because somebody looks a lot like the real King of Games that they might possess the same skills. I think that he was very wrong."

"That's very nice of you to share, Kaiba-sama. You have told us some pretty useful stuff today," Crow said, releasing Yusei and stepping up in front of him. "And now, would you kindly get the fuck out of my house? People that speak in such a way about my best friend are not welcome here," the brash Signer finished, gritting his teeth, and looking seriously pissed off.

Everybody else looked just as infuriated.

Yusei could not have been more thankful to have friends like this. They were the greatest people anyone could have in their life. He was so lucky.

Mokuba looked around the room, stopping his gaze on Aki, as if looking for some support. Aki frowned, unable to believe that he was hoping that she'd be on his side.

"As you wish, then. This was basically a waste of my time anyway. You guys are lucky to have learned what I know. I'll be staying in Japan for awhile now, there is way too many interesting things going on. So if you'd like to find out more – come with something valuable to offer me," Mokuba concluded and departed Crow's apartment.

Everybody stood in silence until the door closed and Crow instantly muttered, "Wow, what an asshole."

"Seriously. I guess being a billionaire gives you an excuse to treat people like doormats!" Ruka exclaimed. "Are you okay, Yusei?"

"It's fine," Yusei shrugged uncaringly. "He's just got something against me for some reason. I'm guessing his brother's bitterness at Mutou Yugi passed on to him as well." Honestly, this was way too pitiful to be upset about and he no longer cared.

"I think you're right, Yusei. He seemed very excited to find out that Yugi was still alive somewhere. I think he wanted to use the letter and the card to find him," Ruka added.

"I wonder if Kaiba Seto was as much of an asshole as Mokuba…" Rua mumbled under his breath, not particularly speaking to anyone.

"Well, while we did learn some interesting things, we haven't really solved the mystery of the Sutekh Sacrificō duels and the La Magra monster which becomes real during," Aki pointed out.

"Yeah, that's actually why Mikage-san and I came to find you guys today," Ushio spoke up. "Over the course of two days, there were twenty three duels which resulted in supposed suicide attempts. From what you and Yusei have told us on the way here, they weren't suicides but, rather, murders."

"Murders!" Aki gasped.

"Yes, murders. Actually…it's kind of both," Mikage said and elaborated: "From what we've seen with the Investigation unit, both the losers and the winners of the duel lose their lives if the duel takes too long. But, the thing is, there are survivors but only if they were the ones to have initiated the duel and only if they had won and if they were taken to the hospital on time to mend their wounds. The loser of the duel dies right away from severe internal bleeding."

"So…what you're saying is that this sacrificial duel is actually of no advantage to anyone? That death is almost inevitable both to the duelist who's in possession of the power and to the duelist challenged? Then why do people agree to this power and how does it find them?" Aki asked, anxiously.

Yusei was the one to attempt answers to her substantial questions. "If you remember, Aki, both of the people to have challenged us were completely convinced that the duel will be in their favour. They believed that their revenge will be fulfilled and that only the loser will pay with his or her life. And then once the duel was won, they were back to normal?"

"What are your theories, Yusei?" she asked.

"I think that somebody or, rather, some thing, is preying on these people and manipulating them into thinking that whatever animosity they have – no matter how serious or inconsequential – that all of it can be settled with a blood duel," he speculated.

"Then, whatever it is, it's giving these poor people some pretense notions that everything can be solved with a duel? And then gives them a strange power and a powerful monster to achieve these means through death?" Aki asked. The two of them were basically bouncing ideas off each other now and not involving others in their conversation at all.

"I guess so," Yusei said quietly, studying her thoughtfully.

Aki nodded, keeping her eyes glued on him.

A strange silence fell between the two of them – it was not precisely awkward; it was, Crow thought, almost powerful. And he felt a twinge of discomfort. Some indescribable vague unpleasantness. Perhaps it was…jealousy? But that didn't make sense. None.

Crow cleared his throat and forced himself into the seemingly private discussion. Because whatever was passing between these two and whatever it had been, it had excluded the rest of Team 5D's from it. "Yes, except that the people that agree to this sacrifice don't realize just how much they're putting their own lives in danger, regardless or not they win the duel," he spoke out.

"...Then, what is it that could be manipulating the people of Neo Domino into doing this?" Aki turned her attention to the other Signer now. "What could gain so much from such cruel deception? And what could gain from sacrifices of both duelists?"

Carly drew in a deep breath. "I think I know," she suddenly said.

All eyes were on her now. Carly was holding a phone in her hand, apparently having done some quick research just now. She looked a little paler than usual.

"I looked up the phrase you guys were repeating over and over again. That Sutekh Sacrificō thing. Sacrificō literally means "sacrifice, to," in Latin. And Sutekh…it's another name for Set, the Ancient Egyptian God of Darkness and Chaos…So, Sutekh Sacrificō literally translates to "The sacrifice to Set, the God of Darkness."

The room stood in shocked silence. For some amount of time nobody knew what to say.

Finally, Crow attempted to say something. "So what you're saying is: an Ancient Egyptian God of Chaos is roaming free in the city and getting people to kill themselves for his own amusement?"

"Looks like it," Jack replied.

"Fun stuff," Ushio said, "You guys just can't catch a break, can you?"

Yusei and Aki stood with grave expressions on their faces. It all made sense now. La Magra was a servant of Set, manipulating people into thinking that they have an unstoppable monster which, in reality, actually feeds them to the Dark God. To live up to his name, Set was probably doing this to perpetuate chaos among the Neo Domino people. And here was the Sky Dragon of Osiris: Osiris, the brother of Set, a God capable of defeating Set. Yugi Mutou may have known that all of this would happen and had lent the power of Osiris as a means of defeating Set. At this point Yusei actually sympathized with Mokuba: he, himself, wouldn't mind finding this Yugi and having a talk with him.

The only thing that didn't make sense was the mark of Osiris' dragon on Yusei's arm. Why did it appear? If it appeared because this dragon chose him, as Aki hypothesized, then why did it choose him to begin with? And why did he experience pain commanding it? According to Mokuba nobody else has had this problem before. Yusei wondered if there was something different about him.

"I guess that asshole Mokuba telling us what he knows wasn't so bad after all," Crow pointed out.

Yusei nodded and picked up his ringing cell phone.

"Now we must find the means of informing people about this and somehow stopping this pandemic," Aki pointed out. She looked at Yusei for support.

Crow opened his mouth to say something else when Yusei hung up the phone and said, "Takashi is awake. I think it's time we found out what it's like to be on the other side of this affair."

This chapter was important in covering the plot and explaining what (might) be going on in this fanfic. I hope you liked it. At the same time there was no dueling this chapter and that made me very happy – I don't like writing duels, ugh.

So for next chapter: will we find out how Set finds his victims? Will we find out what Takashi has to say? Will some boring duel happen? Will Aki and Yusei finally tell each other how they feel? Will Yusei play the Egyptian God Card again? Will Mokuba go away forever (I hope he does, he sucks)? Will Yugi Mutou make an appearance?

Stay tuned and you (might) find out!