Disclaimer: Unless Santa puts the rights in my stocking this year, then still no, I don't and never will own "Yu-Gi-Oh!"

Author's Note: So Santa, is that possible? XD Probably notttt, though if it were, I'd be highly interested in the method in which it was - via winning an auction? Sneaking it out of Takahashi's house somehow? Naw, that's theft… I think. Santa is still beholden to the law after all. Ah, well, anywho, the holiday season is in! This month, the chapter comes a little bit before the holidays as a little gift from me to you. So I hope you enjoy it! Let's jump in then and see how Seto is enjoying his failure from the last chapter (oh poor baby, I'm sorry it had to happen). Anywho, on with the show (after one term)!

Terms -

Ju-en Coin - a coin worth ten Japanese yen.

Today's chapter title as a noun means "a complete set". It can also be a prefix meaning "complete, whole, entire, or all". Most commonly, it's used in words such as "senbu", meaning mostly literally "all", but I picked this less common word/prefix because the meaning of being "complete" by being "whole", as in one is closer to what I wanted for this chapter title. I also like that it rhymes with the Japanese word "Ten" which Kanji means "Sky" or "Heaven" in Japanese (though "Tengoku" may also be used for heaven as well as "Sora" for sky.). Final note, I also like how in English, this word may be associated with feelings of "peace". ;)

-YGO-

"Baby, there's something going on today

But I say nothing, nothing, nothing

So now if you sing, sing, sing, sing

For the love you bring won't mean a thing

Unless you sing, sing, sing, sing"

-"Sing" by Travis

Chapter Twenty-Seven: 全 (Zen)

What followed after his defeat was a blur. Mokuba had handled it, swiftly turning everyone's attention over to the magnificentness of the Saikou Duel Disk. Pegasus had come up to congratulate Yugi and while he had held out a hand to Seto as well, he hadn't taken it. At some point, he had gotten off stage, relieved himself of the disk and had headed out to the reception party which was set at the pinnacle restaurant within the park, the Clear Sapphire, which looked out over the park, making it the ideal location for the rich snobs that attended things like this to relax.

Correction: rich snobs and other obnoxious duelists who existed to ruin his life, such as the King of Games.

Thankfully, Mokuba stood by, doing the talking for him. Mokuba knew how he was after a losing duel, so he did so naturally - they didn't even have to say a word. Mokuba just knew that Seto would prefer it that way. At this point though, he could have sworn that he had never spoken a word in his life. The CEO just couldn't bring himself to do it. However, it did allow for every other rich socialite to drag their conversations on and on until they had to refill their glasses having dried out their throats. It was at that point that he was able to ditch out of the conversations. At the fifth occasion though, Mokuba caught his side.

"Hey," He said in an undertone, "Are you okay?"

Seto glared at his brother and muttered, "What do you think?"

"It was just a bad hand," Mokuba said, trying to calm him down.

"I NEVER get bad hands," Seto hissed so that only Mokuba could hear, the two standing near an open window with a view overlooking the park, "And even when I get 'a bad hand' it's still outstanding compared to most of these third rate duelists."

He kept replaying the duel in his head. How was it possible that so little of his key cards... the odds just...

"Yeah, well... this time... Nii-sama, I know you had been wanting this, but it wasn't your fault," Mokuba insisted, "The release is still a huge success and-"

"Kaiba-boys!"

They both winced before turning to see Pegasus walking up to them both, "Absolutely spectacular show. Really. Seems like your hand was against you Kaiba, but it was a radical demonstration of the new system, for which I am grateful for. Thank you."

"Don't push it, Pegasus," Seto shot, "I have half a mind to push you over this ledge. Don't make me give into that half."

With that, Seto turned, walking briskly away from the creator of the game, amazingly leaving Mokuba alone with him, something he never did. Mokuba awkwardly looked up at Pegasus and smiled, inching away.

"Well, uh, you know, he's uh... It's the stress of the day..." He said, "I'm going to go-"

"Well, I figured as much, speaking of which," Pegasus, grabbing Mokuba around the shoulders and leading him off to the hot hors d'oeuvres, "I wanted to thank you for that check regarding the tablets. Yugi's been working so hard on reconstructing the damaged pieces, you know. Your contribution really helps."

"Oh it was really no-"

"Have you ever been to Egypt, Mokuba? Lovely place, really..."

It was the beginning of being roped into perhaps the longest conversation of his life and it was with his former kidnapper. Maybe Yuzu was right, maybe he did meddle a bit too much and this was the resulting karma.

-YGO-

People had passed by her rather excitedly, while she waited off to the side of the exit. She had watched as the Kaiba Corp CEO and his brother had retreated off of the stage and she didn't make eye contact with Yugi when he had passed her by. Finally, a voice brought her out of her trance.

"Hey, Kisara, did you... were you waiting up here?"

She looked up to see Joey a step below her, "Oh, uh, yeah, I.. I just needed some air. I... there were just too many people."

"Welcome to Japan," Joey said with a smirk, "Well, shall we head up to the after party?"

"After party?"

"Yeah, Yugi mentioned to me yesterday that there would be one and I'd bet I could get us in," Joey said, "After all, I'm..."

"Seto Kaiba's least favorite person on the planet?" She filled in.

"I was going to say a world renowned Duelist, but sure," He said laughing.

She smiled a bit, but no laughter came while a still quietness followed them as they walked slowly up towards the party. She felt rather guilty, not being present for the entirety of the duel. But Bakura's words... the way he said them it was like... And then the realization hit her.

"Oh!" She said, "Joey, I have to tell you something str-"

"Passes?" The maitre d' requested.

She hadn't realized that they were suddenly at the restaurant. Holding her thought, she dug into her clutch to pull out the card. Seeing hers before Joey could even get his out, the maitre d' let them pass through. As they went in, Kisara found herself surprised, wondering just how good the pass Seto had given her actually was or if she should tell Seto that his security seemed almost too lax, but then again, now probably wasn't the best time to do so.

Walking inside though, she felt similar to how she had felt the first time she had gone to the mall, with the gold covering the walls, so smooth and reflective that she felt every which way she looked, she'd see a golden version of herself. But this instead was a silver encrusted kind of palace, at least, that's what it seemed to be. With chairs and seating all pushed off to the side allowing for a large open area in which people could talk, clink glasses, and laugh together.

Once inside, Joey dug his hands into his suit pockets and whistled, "Well, uh..."

Kisara looked up at him and he slowly stopped, "Yes?"

"I'm sure uh, oh there's Yugi," He said, pointing him out in a crowd.

It seemed like he was on the receiving end of many congratulatory remarks, prompting Kisara to ask, "Do you think it would be alright to talk to him?"

"Naw, not now, let's just wait till he's not so busy," Joey answered.

Pursing her lips, Kisara nodded, "Alright."

She was starting to think that they never would get to talk to Yugi, let alone that Yugi would ever have the chance to talk to Kaiba, if he hadn't already, who at this point, she hadn't spotted.

"So... you hungry?" Joey asked.

"Oh, I uh, I can wait till later," Kisara said, clutching her purse tightly.

"You sure? It's all free with admission," He told her.

She did a double take, "Wait, really?"

"Really."

She thought, "Well.. I'm still not very hungry yet."

"Ah..."

She nodded. Again it was quiet between the two of them. She and Joey got along fine, but for whatever reason, they seemed to be having a hard time talking today, as though all topics of conversation were gone.

"So uh..."

"Hm?" He voiced.

"How.. how did you like the show?" Kisara asked, then elaborated, "Uh, I mean, the duel?"

"Well," Joey said, starting, "It was certainly something else seeing the holograms like that. Kaiba's been getting real good at making them more... sturdy lately with each upgrade of the last model, but that.. that was really, literally solid."

He picked up a drink off of a tray as a waiter passed by and took a swig, "But the game play was awful. I mean, they played just fine, but it was almost too easy. And when Yugi and the Dark Magician Girl collided, boy wish I could have been in his shoes right there. That looked so real, it would have been cool to experience it I mean. But I couldn't believe Kaiba didn't manage to get a Blue Eyes on the field. Made Yugi's win seem almost feigned."

Kisara nodded, thinking about it. Really... he was right... Seto's decks, from what she had gathered, were all about bringing out the Blue Eyes White Dragons right away and moving the duel through to a quick crushing victory via a beat down. It wasn't just too easy, it was so unfortunate that it seemed almost rather rigged against him somehow.

Slowly, she felt her face becoming flushed and red, like a burst of heat had entered the room as her stomach started to turn like she'd eaten something that didn't sit right with her, "Um, Joey, I think I'm uh, going to get a drink too."

"Alright," He said, "I'll be here."

Politely and quietly making her way over to the table, Kisara found a crystal clear glass bottle of water and twisted the cap, allowing for the little pop to create a slight jump in her motions. She took a swig and gulped down the water quickly. Unable to place her sense of sudden unease, she thoughtfully pushed the top rim of the bottle to her lips. So far, everything was going well, it was all going as they had discussed. But the duel bothered her. Why should it though? It's not like she tampered with Seto's deck or even requested the duel in the first place to happen. There was no way that the outcome of the duel had been her fault either, so... Maybe it was a feeling of guilt for leaving and letting Bakura distract her away from the here and now at the time? Whatever the case, she didn't like the feeling one bit.

Bringing her gaze back up, she looked back from where she had come, but her forehead wrinkled, not able to catch sight of Joey; there were so many people. Biting the inside of her lip, she caught a glimpse of a raised area from which she discerned that she could likely find Joey with more ease. Bringing the bottle with her, she made her way through the crowd and up the four steps to the mid tier level of the restaurant. Though about to turn around to continue her search for Joey, another person caught her eye, out on the open balcony.

Seto.

She gulped, the unusual feeling from before coming back, but stronger this time. However, there was a little desire in her head to see him and it was just enough to give her a gentle nudge.

She walked forward, with caution. Was she even supposed to talk to him at this time? Did he even want to talk to anyone? Why did he have to be wearing something so much more intimidating than usual? Why was no one else around? Did no one dare to go up to him right now? If so, why was she? Why did she think it was alright to-

"Seto?"

He turned, almost startled out of a kind of trance. He blinked a few times before he spoke, "Kisara, I... I thought you'd left."

She shook her head, "Uh, no, I uh, I waited down at the stadium, let the crowd mostly pass..."

"Oh..." He said, a hint of wonderment bemusing his mind. Where had she been during the onslaught of his mock- his defeat then?

The two stood there, with no words, the sounds from within the restaurant trailing out, making the balcony seem cold even though it was really only just starting to become the beginning of fall. He eyed her for a moment before another question came to mind, one not so personal.

"You uh, you look great," He said with a mumble, trying to get the conversation going again, albeit, poorly in his mind.

"Oh, thank you," She said, with a brief smile, "So uh... uh..."

"What?" He asked.

Kisara looked him up and down, his dueling attire still on and attempted to feign a courteous response, "Uh, so do you?"

But her face and tone of voice at the end revealed the irony in her words and he raised a brow, "Is that a question?"

"I... uh," Finally she broke and laughed a bit, "I'm sorry, it's just... your outfit, I mean, it was cool while you were dueling, but just to see you out and about in it... it looks very out of place."

She continued to giggle and Seto found himself taking a slight offense to the remark, "I always wear this while dueling."

"No, no, I mean, I..." She attempted to stop her laughter, "I just, it's, really, it looked really cool while you were dueling, since you know, you were fighting with monsters and such, but here with all these people..."

"What's wrong with it here with all of these people?" He demanded.

"Well, Seto it's just... I've never seen anyone with such..." She reached her hand out and touched one of the spiking angles of the shoulders of the jacket, when a thought, a familiarity somehow overcame her.

"What?"

She slowly finished, coming back to the moment, "Such... pointed shoulders..."

His brows furrowed as she glanced back into the party then back at him.

"It's unique," He remarked.

"It looks like you're trying to become a dragon," She said with a soft smile.

Seto's eyes rose, startled, but when he thought about it... she was kind of right. A slow smile started to overcome him as well and soon, they were both laughing. Inside, Mokuba found himself relieved to have finally gotten away from Pegasus and ran up the four steps two at a time. He let out a sigh of relief. That guy was such... a whack job. The sound of laughter though caught his attention. Looking up, he almost wanted to scream with astonishment and happiness, the sight of his brother and Kisara laughing together making his chest feel like it was about to explode with a jig that he was pretty sure would not be appropriate here. However, instead, he found himself startled by something else and jumped about three feet into the air when a hand placed itself on his shoulder.

"Mokuba, why'd you run off?

Behind him stood once again, his least favorite person on the earth, "Oh, uh, sorry, I was uh, I had a bit of a problem to handle, Pegasus."

"Ah, well I hope it's resolved?" He inquired.

"Um, uh, yeah," Mokuba said, hating every word that came out of his mouth, when he noticed Pegasus' gaze not on him, but on those behind him.

"Ah... well, that's good..." He said, "Tell me, Mokuba, who is that girl over there with your brother?"

"Hm? Oh, uh, a friend of his, why?" He said, deciding right away the least amount of information he could provide Pegasus with the better.

Seto had friends? After a moment, Pegasus continued.

"Oh no reason, just, I've never seen your brother smile so much before, let alone laugh," Pegasus said, bemused, "Well, in that case, shall we be off so as not to disturb them? I really must insist that you tell me more of your impressions of Capsule Monsters. Your opinions as a reigniting champion are truly invaluable..."

'If they were really invaluable, why did you practically try to kill me 6 years ago?' Mokuba thought, cursing his luck.

On the balcony though, the laughter started to fade, even as smiles remained. Seto shrugged and took off the jacket, laying it over the balcony's edge.

"And what's so wrong with wanting to become like the fiercest beast in all of mythology?" He questioned, in a much better mood than he had been a couple minutes ago.

"Nothing," She said, "But... I don't think you need to. You're already... impressive enough."

Her words fizzled out near the end and a pinkish color came to her face. Seto watched her carefully. Did she maybe...

"Well, thank you..." He said, trailing off, "Are you, uh, enjoying yourself?"

"Yes, very much, thank you," Kisara said, bringing a hand to her chin as she smiled up at him.

The hand in question held the corsage on it and Seto suddenly felt his cheeks going red. Mokuba. He blinked furiously away.

"Oh, and thank you for the special passes too and the seat in the front," She added quickly, "It was, uh, it was really amazing."

The front. The memory of the duel came back. She was there at the beginning, so what happened in the middle?

"I'm... I'm glad," He said, and continued after a moment's consideration, "I'm curious, I saw you at the beginning of the duel. Did you... leave?"

Kisara's brows rose and then they fell, "Oh, um, yes, kind of... I got distracted by uh... something someone said to me. I wanted an explanation for their... language and I went up to the top of the stadium to try and catch them... So I heard the duel... but... uh, I only saw the ending from way in the back..."

Well that seemed unnecessarily... cryptic. Seto's brow furrowed. Maybe he shouldn't have even asked. It clearly was a whole new can of worms and... she had still seen the end of it anyway it seemed. His defeat. He had honestly been hoping that she hadn't. How humiliating...

"I'm sorry," She said.

"For what?" He asked, her words bringing him out of his thoughts.

"For not staying. I should have. I'm sorry," She explained, "And uh, I'm sorry about... what happened... but..."

Her words lingered in the air between them. She battled with herself as to if it was really right of her to even express what she was about to say. This was Seto Kaiba. Clearly a man far above her league in life. She was probably next to nothing to him, if not nothing. Just some girl that he taught card games to... But she went ahead with it anyway.

"I'm, uh, I'm really glad that you're okay though," She finished.

"Okay?" He repeated.

"Yeah, when, uh, when I saw how realistic the monsters were and... and just how important it was that it go off without a hitch, I... I just, I got really worried about you. So I'm glad that, even though you lost, I'm glad that you, yourself, are okay," She explained.

She was worried about him?

"Oh, uh, I see..." He said quietly, "I... I would have been fine though..."

Would he have though, if it hadn't been for that glitch? That weird shield like thing that had appeared seemingly out of nowhere? He wasn't sure. Come to think of it, he still had that problem to deal with. Tonight was becoming much too long...

"Well, even still, I'm glad you're okay," She told him.

Seto brought his gaze up to her, her eyes dazzling in the moonlight, a rare thing to see during this time of year, and the same thought hit him from before. No, he couldn't possibly, was he... no…

He couldn't really be... in love, could he?

He blinked, berating himself for the thought. That was never going to happen. Never. It couldn't possibly... Not in his life, but still... even after seeing what had happened, she wasn't here laughing at him for failing. She wasn't stupidly telling him that it wouldn't matter in the long run, that it wasn't like he was going to win anyway, that he was just wasting his time with a silly game. She was telling him that she was happy that he was alright. Clearly, his success or failure wasn't important to her. His well being was...

"Are... are you alright?" She asked the pause long enough to almost be awkward.

"Hm?" He said, pulling himself back to the present.

"Are you alright? After... after losing?" Kisara asked, tilting her head slightly.

"I..." He hesitated.

In truth, he wasn't sure how he was. After the duel, he felt rather numb, bitter, working off of automation from the sub-conscious of his brain and anyone that dared interfere with that could have very well gotten pushed off of a roof. But after talking to her... he, admittedly, felt better.

Meanwhile, after about a million handshakes in the dining area, Yugi let his shoulders slump. He hated these things. So much. It was honestly such a waste of time when he could be...

"Hey, King of Games!"

His shoulders scrunched up, but slouched again when he realized who it was, "Joey, don't you think I've heard that eno-"

There was Joey... alone, "What?"

"Where's Kisara?" He asked.

"Honestly, I was hoping you had seen her, she went to get a drink or something and I haven't seen her since," Joey said, with a little concern.

A simple thought radiated from Yugi's eyes and Joey knew it immediately. Yugi sighed and shook his head, "Come on, let's go find her."

"Yug, I'm sure she's..."

"You know, if I had a ju-en coin for every time you said that," Yugi started.

"You'd need a really large change purse?" Joey filled in.

"This is why your past self wasn't in the King's court," Yugi muttered.

"Rude! How do you know I wasn't at some point for sure?" Joey asked, feigning insult, "Or perhaps I ruled some other far off land!"

Yugi rolled his eyes and the two of them began to briskly walk through the crowd searching for any hint of Kisara.

"You know what she's wearing right?" Joey asked.

"No, that would be helpful," Yugi said quickly.

"Blue dress, white jacket overtop. Her hair's in a bun," Joey told him.

"Why's her hair in a bun?" Yugi asked, wishing instantly that it wasn't - it would be so much easier to spot her if it wasn't.

"I don't know why; why is your hair styled like a pineapple, Yug?" Joey snapped.

"Alright, alright, just look!"

Elsewhere, as Seto attempted to properly answer Kisara's question, a memory flashed through his mind. The memory of Kyoto, when he had shown her the Blue Eyes for the first time. Like an odd kind of dream, where the once sheer importance of her seeing it started to sift away, leaving behind grains of sand carrying the truly essential elements of the evening...

He couldn't remember being so close to anyone, not like that and his heart had beat so rapidly, not unlike now. It felt good. Right. Her lack of preconceived notions of him, her determination to see and do all she could, and her appreciation for both the simplistic and futuristic beauty all around her... they were but a few things that he could pinpoint that made him feel so comfortable with her. He really couldn't place words on it, other than that he felt as though she held a soul meant to compliment his own.

Was that selfish? To even think such a thing? After all, much like he had his own freewill and agency, so did she. He had no right to place such intertwining phrases and coined terms together. But despite all that and despite knowing the kind of person he was, she was still standing right here, her back against his chest and her arms relying on his own, trusting him, while her beautiful, stunning, gorgeous, and simply majestic blue eyes practically glittered up at his. Did that mean... could he take such a bold chance? Such a bold dare to go against what he thought possible or even viable?

As if on instinct, his neck tilted his head slowly, if not awkwardly, unsure of what he was really doing. He was just doing what he thought felt right... and then her head started to tilt in tandem with his own and he felt his heart begin to beat faster in his chest. Did this mean... their lips near millimeters apart when...

'Buzzbuzzbuzz'!

They parted and she looked down at her clutch, sheepishly opening it. Reading the note, she let out a gasp of exasperation and sent a reply message.

"Sorry about that," Kisara had said, looking up at him.

"No, it's fine," He had answered, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Uh, thank you, for showing me the Blue Eyes. It was nice to finally see it in person," She had told him a little shyly, as though slightly embarrassed.

"It's no problem," He had replied, feeling like something was slightly stuck in his throat, but upon dislodging it by swallowing hard, he continued, "You earned it."

She smiled.

And that made him go red.

They started walking back to the main streets where a limo was waiting. She yawned slightly. It was late, and their fingers brushed against one another and ever so carefully on both parts, their hands interlocked, entwining their fingers together. Mokuba stood outside, looking rather irritated at the two, but took the Duel Disk that Seto had carried back up with them. Isono greeted the three at the car, opening the door. Inside, they all slid inside, eyes becoming drowsy, but again, their fingers made their way around one another's, sitting side by side.

As the minutes passed, nothing was said and they relaxed, considering they had little to nothing else to do on the two hour drive back to Domino. It took a bit of time, but soon Seto noticed a weight on his shoulder. Normally, it was Mokuba, but after a moment in his exhausted stupor, he realized that Mokuba was sitting closer to the front. Glancing to his side, he saw Kisara's head resting there, seemingly in need of a good sleep.

Surprised, but oddly, content, he smiled and his eyes shifted over to Mokuba, who rolled his eyes. He glared back slightly. Clearly nothing was ever good enough for his brother. Closing his own eyes, he rested his own head back. Mulling it over in his head, he came to the conclusion that even if it wasn't good enough for his brother, it was certainly more than good enough for him.

Maybe though, maybe he'd been wrong.

Because right then, he found himself, almost unnaturally, wanting so much more. It was such a new feeling that he didn't quite know what to do with it and it distracted him heavily from the here and now.

"I..." He started, "I will be."

She nodded, contemplating his words before coming to an answer that nearly made him feel as though his ears would never stop ringing, "You'll beat him someday. I know it."

He paused, but soon wished he hadn't, "Kisa-"

"Kisara, babe, there you are!"

Babe? The term coming from Joey Wheeler's mouth, in particular reference to Kisara, was infuriating to him.

"Hey Yug, she's over here!" He called and soon enough, Yugi was there as well, looking rather exasperated.

Probably from shaking so many hands with so many donors and accepting congratulatory remarks, Seto thought bitterly, his mood quickly souring back to its original state from earlier in the evening.

"Kisara, there you are," Yugi said, trying to compose himself.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you worry," Kisara said quickly.

"No, no, it's fine," Yugi said, "Just, uh..."

"We gotta run home, kid," Joey explained, "I uh, I got an early day tomorrow."

"You came here with Jo- Wheeler, how are you even here?" Seto demanded, shifting his attention from Kisara to Joey in seconds, the realization that Joey was even here, despite his wishes.

"It just so happens some people like having me around, Kaiba," Joey answered with a smirk, "Come on, hun, we gotta ride."

Kisara looked rather uncomfortable, the thought of riding the motorcycle again enough to send her stomach signals to start tying itself up into knots, "Uh, yeah, okay. I'm sorry."

"Don't be," Joey said lightly, "Yug, I'll see you back later on?"

"Uh, yeah," He said, responding to his que.

Kisara stepped back inside with Joey, turning once more to see the CEO, "Bye, Seto."

"Bye," He said, his words feeling solid in his throat.

As she left, disappearing from sight, the thought occurred to him: 'That's how it always was. That's what he was used to. That's how it should be.' It took him a minute to even realize that Yugi was still there. His nostrils flared in anger.

"What do you want, Muto?" He spat, turning away and grabbing his coat.

Yugi took a deep breath and decided to just go for it, diving headlong in, "Kaiba, I need to talk to you."

"About what?" Kaiba demanded, "You want to gloat over your win?"

"When have I ever-"

"Forget it," Seto said, moving to leave when Yugi grabbed him by the arm.

"What are you-"

Their eyes met and Seto instantly noticed a sharpness to Yugi's eyes unlike anything he had seen in years... like during Battle City, "Kaiba, we NEED to talk."

"Let go of me," Seto demanded.

"No."

Pulling his arm free, Seto crossed his arms, "It wasn't a question."

"Neither was what I just said a suggestion," Yugi countered, "Kaiba, we need to talk about that night the tablet broke."

"Absolutely not," Seto refused, trying to exit back into the restaurant, when Yugi blocked his path.

"Kaiba, you have to listen to me," Yugi stated, "I need your help."

"You? You want my help?" Seto questioned, insulted and rather aghast, "Is it not enough that you have to humiliate me in front of an entire stadium AGAIN? Now you're demanding me to help you? Well, I don't think so."

"Kaiba, if you'd just listen to me for one second; the tablet likely reacted to your Blue Eyes cards and your past self's connection to-"

"If you dare even bring up that crap again, Yugi, I swear-"

"Whether you like it or not, it happened-"

"Nothing happened!" Seto asserted, "You really are insane. Like the King of Games is actually some royal title. What, is that why you think you can use me and my resources for whatever? Like I'm some kind of subject to you and your 'oh so holy' kingdom of gaming?"

"You're not a... a subject or whatever to me," Yugi inserted, "You're my friend, Kaiba! You always have been!"

"And do I not get a say in that?!" Seto demanded, "Have you ever given that any thought, Yugi? That a 'friendship' goes both ways? That a friendship has to be 'mutual'? Seriously, you are so arrogant. We're not friends. We never have been and I'm sick of you insisting that we are and that we were part of some delusional past life you've created in your mind to satisfy your own needs for gratification and self-importance!"

Yugi watched as Kaiba's words halted, the dispute hidden from the view of the public. Slowly he answered, "Seto, I can be a friend to you whether you want me to or not. And I can consider you a friend, whether you consider us to be friends or not... Friendship can always be given. It doesn't have to be reciprocated to make it valid."

The two rivals glared at each, Seto in anger, Yugi in determination. He had to get Kaiba to see reason.

Finally, he continued, "But... that's not the point I'm trying to make. Please, Kaiba, listen to me."

"And why should I?" Seto demanded.

"Because it has to do with the well being of someone else and you're the only one who might be able to help," Yugi explained, "This isn't for me, this is for-"

"Your pharaoh friend who lives inside your head?" Seto quipped, "Thanks, but no thanks. I have other priorities"

He moved to get passed Yugi, but when Yugi stood in his way again, he pushed him aside.

"Kaiba-"

He turned on his heel and pointed a finger directly at Yugi. He was livid. Tonight had been miserable. And all thanks to Yugi. His very presence was making Seto sick. Why? Why couldn't Yugi just disappear, never leaving a trace? Why... why couldn't he beat him? Just once... Why couldn't, for just once, he keep something that Yugi seemed to have? Just a little, a little purpose to his life...

"Don't. Don't you dare. Bring up anything. About your ancient Egyptian delusions to me again, Muto," Seto slowly breathed, "I will literally cut off ties with Industrial Illusions and your grandfather's game shop if I have to."

"But-"

"No, don't get yourself into a hole deeper than the one you've already dug," Seto told him, "One day, we'll duel again and I will beat you. But I refuse to participate or put up with your fantasies. I'm not some ancient priest. I'm Seto Kaiba. So just leave me out of it! And stop calling us friends!"

With that, Seto left, leaving Yugi rooted to the ground. Leaning against the edge of the balcony, he gripped the marble tightly. It wasn't like he hadn't heard those sorts of things from Kaiba before. But to fail so outrightly in getting him to listen... What would Atem have done? Would he have followed him? Was he weak for not doing so? And why...

Why was it that if Atem and Seth had been friends, why couldn't he and Kaiba be? Why was Seto so dead set against that? Perhaps that was one of the odd things about 'reincarnation'. The roles and attributes they had were the same; the situations and souls different. Seto wasn't the same person his past self was, just as he wasn't the same as Atem. So maybe... maybe that's just how destiny was. Sometimes you were lucky. Sometimes you weren't.

But that still left the problem of getting Kaiba's support in all of this. He rubbed his forehead.

"I could really use your help, Atem..." He whispered.

While Yugi pondered the newest predicament, Seto stormed out of the restaurant. Passing multiple people by, he didn't stop when recognized or reached out to. He just kept going, a heat burning his chest until he came to the center of the park, the main control tower. Entering the code to enter, he hit the elevator button, allowing him up to his office on the top floor. He rarely came here, but it was a good place for solace where he could stay away from Muto, who was clearly deluded and desperate for friends and attention.

Desperate...

He hated himself for using such a word. It was one he could relate to so much it hurt. The word struck recollections of abandonment, bullying, abuse, and an ever irrefutable lack of purpose. No one had ever wanted him or Mokuba to even exist. He had been a tool, something to be molded for Gozoboru's own personal gain. Upon working the system to usurp Gozoboru, he became a target for corporate business men eager to steal away what he had gained through his own hard work. The sleepless nights were relentless as he plugged any holes from the ship he captained to keep his brother safe...

That's right. It was all for Mokuba. The only person who had ever needed him.

Tonight, was supposed to be, for once, his night. And it almost was. He was now officially the first person to create physical holographic creations... as well as the loser who lost every game he played against the person who took away the one personal thing he had once held, something not even Mokuba coveted. It had been solely his, the thing that represented what solace he had found in this agonizing journey, the title of "King of Games".

But not even now could he get it back. He'd lost his chance at it again to Yugi, who, in Seto's mind, he couldn't understand why he'd even want it in the first place. He was so obsessed with finding things in the past that may have not even existed, why did the title even matter to him? If they really were 'friends', then why... knowing how much he wanted it, why would Yugi obliterate him so completely? He didn't even hold back - not that he wanted that but...

They were both just as desperate for something as the other, weren't they?

He shut his eyes tight and sat in his chair, turning on the security cameras. He watched the gates, when he saw a blonde head of hair, accompanied by one of white walk around and then wait outside for their vehicle. She rocked on her heels back and forth, like the first time they had had lunch. And then the vehicle... a motorcycle, came around. He watched Joey toss Kisara a helmet and put his own on, swinging his leg over the side. The CEO's brows wrinkled as he saw Kisara turning to look back at the park before also following Joey in suit. She wrapped her arms around his waist and they were off.

It was amazing how such a simple action made him feel so distanced from her.

He sat back in his chair and looked out the 360 window.

It was a dazzlingly beautiful night, with every star capable of being seen, though there were many that seemed to shine brighter than the others. He watched them twinkle and sparkle. He pulled out the three blue eyes and tilted them back and forth in the light, letting them glitter like magic... an escape almost full... and then her eyes came back into his mind. And her smile. And the way she spun around while walking in Kyoto, laughing with joy...

And he felt complete.

He blinked, trying to process his own thoughts.

This... feeling. It was... new... completely and totally new...

But despite it being 'new'... instinctually he felt it was... good. Somehow... it was good.

-YGO-

A/N: So, who caught the fact that Joey's phone interrupted their almost first kiss?! XD I'm evil I know. I enjoyed writing this chapter though - Seto's finally experiencing something other than annoyance for a change, haha. Could it be that his heart is growing ten times its size? (Not a chance, but maybe it's no longer ice ;) ). Anywhooooo, let me know what you thought! Rather long this one I know, but I figured it's the holidays - this will be my gift to you. :) Next chapter coming to you next month, so in the meantime, have a wonderful holiday!

Later,

~Rena