- YGO - The Art of Mediation parts 2 and 3

[hitokirisan]

Title: The Art of Mediation
Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh!
Genre: Humour
Pairings: well, none; you may ship Ishizu and Yugi's Kuriboh plushy
Characters: Yami, Yugi, Ishizu, Kaiba
Warning: Yami's general lack of ability to adapt the modern world
Summary: Ishizu couldn't imagine the Pharaoh having a row with the Chosen One; now she was finally treated to the sight. With Yami on a tantrum and Yugi thoroughly frazzled, all Ishizu could think of was that this wasn't included in a tombkeeper's job description

A/N: Okay, I cave. I usually post stories on FF net first before I transfer them here, but FF net's denying me my upload...so I'll do it here. I realize that livejournal does not have a YGO:DM fanbase - or at least my flist people are not really YGO fans, but rawr. I just have to have this up.

Much of this is actually written for quite a while, but since I was entertaining false hope that I could wrap up within this chapter, I haven't gotten around to posting it. It turned out, again, that I have no hopes of ending the story anytime soon, so I've decided to put this up first.

Haha, I think I'm going to stop predicting when this thing's gonna end anymore and just go with the flow.

Kaiba is a poor dear in this chapter, Atem and Yugi are dorks, and legal stuff is abound. Ishizu has little to no presence. I've taken a few liberties with the legal issues, since I'm more familiar with the common law system than Japan's civil law counterpart. Also, excuse the cross-referencing to various games and shows. I can't resist it.

FF net has been being difficult these days and keep denying me my upload, though. So forgive this for being late.

For people who want to revisit PART I, go here


That was how Ishizu found her pharaoh, eight hours later, still sprawled on the couch in a surly mood. The morning news had long since ended, moving on to various shows - a few reruns, the afternoon news, a cooking programme, a cartoon with a ridiculous plot - for the day. Yami, however, hadn't so much as shifted.

Ishizu was of the personal opinion that Yami might as well move on from his unproductive funk as well.

The corridor outside Yugi's room was a good vantage point that overlooked the whole living room. Tilting her head over the corridor's rail, Ishizu watched in resigned exasperation as her pharaoh persisted in his imitation of a stone statute. At her side, the Chosen One had given up pretending to do his schoolwork; his gaze followed Ishizu as she checked briefly on Yami.

"He's still down there, isn't he," Yugi observed gloomily, and Ishizu couldn't help raising a brow at his tone. He had apparently confined himself to his room after he'd returned from school, not wanting to confront his darker self. The small teen was immensely relieved when Yami continued his relentless channel-surfing, not acknowledging his aibou's return in the slightest. But sooner or later, Yugi would have to go down to the living room for dinner - or, if he didn't appear, Sugoroku would force him to. It was obviously not a prospect he enjoyed.

Ishizu stepped back into his room, ebony hair swaying gracefully behind her. If she was going to be the mediator by default, she'd rather start from the gentler one. If she happened to fail, at least she wouldn't be attacked by rabid shadow creatures or the like.

"Is it that hard to forgive the pharaoh?" Ishizu asked, affecting puzzlement. "Once, he had used your body to punish those he saw fit. Some he'd turned into human fireballs, some he'd sent to mental hospitals, and some he'd even killed."

Yugi winced at the reminder, thinking of the days when he used to wake up with blood on his hands and no recollection of what had transpired. Ishizu continued, tallying the numerous crimes Yami had managed to commit in a short span of two years. It occurred to her that it was probably enough to warrant lifelong imprisonment, had it been committed with anything other than magical means.

"He'd very nearly sent Seto plummeting to his death in Duellist Kingdom, and he lost your soul to the Orichalcos seal. Still, you forgave him each time. What makes it different this time around?"

Yugi seemed to freeze for a moment. "But this is…different! What kind of person would just break into your memories when they know you don't approve? It's almost like picking the lock to someone's diary and then leafing through it! And when I caught him at it, he made it sound like it was entirely my fault! For not trusting him enough!"

Personally, Ishizu thought that Yami did have a point, though she wasn't about to say it at this stage. Yugi spun in his seat to face her, wide amethyst eyes narrowed to half their size. "A single 'sorry', and I would have let it pass. I didn't expect him to counter-accuse me and then cut me off and walk away when I tried to explain!"

"Yugi," Ishizu was completely undaunted by his outburst. If she could face down her homicidal cult leader of a little brother without a blink, she could easily deal with an upset teenager. "What the pharaoh did was…improper. But you must understand that he did it for the sole reason of ensuring your safety. The pharaoh thinks of himself as your guardian; your safety means more to him than anything on this world. You could imagine how he felt when he saw you - all of a sudden - lying on the ground, unconscious, possibly dead. You remember how he'd reacted when he lost you to the Orichalcos seal?"

It was a roundabout way of guilt-tripping Yugi again, and Ishizu knew it. What she was saying was essentially "whatever Yami did, he did it under the shock of seeing you half-dead'. Her smile, serene and all-knowing, hid victory as the point struck home. Yugi looked hesitant as he mulled over what she'd said, and it was a very good sign.

Another five minutes, and she'd have him convinced.

"That guy…went after me because the other me forced him to stab his shin in a shadow game, two years ago. I didn't really want the other me to know - he'd either blame himself for it, or go after that guy for revenge. Maybe both, I don't know," Yugi admitted quietly, and the tomb keeper gave him an encouraging look.

"But that guy couldn't do anything more than push me to the ground, and Kaiba-kun eventually got a hold of him near the stadium, so I didn't think it was necessary to bother the other me with things like that! He…deserves release from the things he'd done in the past. He wasn't all that stable then - but he is now. It's all that matters, right?"

"I understand," Ishizu nodded - half to Yugi's words and half in veiled satisfaction- as she watched Yugi's rage dwindle down to a simmer. She only needed to let his anger burn out on its own accord, now; just like all the times she'd let Malik rant and rave to his heart's content until her brother eventually gave it up in favour of some food.

"But today, I had to explain to the press jammed in front of my school gate that no, foul play wasn't intended, I am neither facing a crisis in my life nor giving up duelling, and Kaiba-kun isn't in the habit of poisoning his rival on his own premises, and will you guys please let me take the test in time!

And when I was finally able to get past the crowd, I couldn't concentrate on the history test as I hadn't so much as closed my eyes last night! Of all twenty-four hours in the day, the other me had to pick a fight with me right in the middle of the night!"

A flash of dark magic, spiked by anger, was all the warning Ishizu got before she caught sight of Yami, standing just outside the door.

"So you think it appropriate to lay all the blame on my shoulders," Atem said icily, and Yugi's head snapped towards him. "You see me as the source of all your misfortunes. Why am I not surprised?"

"I didn't say that! Stop putting words into my mouth!" Yugi retorted, anger rekindled at the accusation.

"I'm merely stating a fact. If you find me a nuisance, Yugi, you could always ask me to leave this household. You know you have that right. As opposed to blaming me behind my back."

"I…!" Yugi spluttered, cheeks flushed with outrage. "The other me, you're impossible!"

With that he stormed out of the room, Yami looking slightly thrown off as his light brushed past him, footsteps thumping nosily on the stairs.

Ishizu couldn't quite conceal her annoyance as she rounded on Yami. Two more minutes, and she would have a calm Yugi on her hands again. She folded her hands on her lap, repressing a sudden urge to smack the pharaoh upside the head. Couldn't he have chosen a better time to appear?

"Pharaoh. Don't you have channel surfing to do?"

Yami blinked at her, quizzical, and gathered up his regal posture once again.

"I've come to pick up my deck. I wasn't expecting a discussion on my many failings."

Ishizu's gaze sharpened into something akin to a glare, and the word "mutiny" glided through Atem's mind before he stared back at her evenly, unwilling to back down.

"Pharaoh," she sighed in resignation at her pharaoh's lack of remorse, "you can cut the sarcasm. You owe the Chosen One an apology, and you know it. If you mean to talk to Yugi, you could at least do it in a more civil fashion."

Collect his deck, indeed. From the way Yami had been seeking asylum before the television all day, Ishizu highly doubted he would be willing to brave Yugi's territories to collect a deck, when he didn't need it in the first place.

He had obviously come for the Talk, and he was failing badly at it. Ishizu pushed her hair back absently, and wondered why no one had told Yami that people don't usually start a peace talk with accusations. Probably because the only enemy in Yami's past life was Zork, and making peace with evil was in and of itself unthinkable.

Yami simply made a show of retrieving his deck from his bedside, but from the tense set of his shoulders, Ishizu knew he wasn't going to do anything with them - other than shuffle them in sheer restlessness. Ishizu decided to take pity on him.

"Yugi is afraid of what you might think and do if you know of…the circumstances behind his injury. He thinks you might start beating yourself up over the incident, or try to exact revenge from the man involved - he wants neither of these to happen. Even if he lied to you, it was because he doesn't want to hurt you in any way. He wants your life to be free of regrets. If it is anything else, he would have taken it to you," the tomb guardian started, falling into the simple rhythm of recounting the incident in a clear, logical manner. With any luck, it could be an exercise of the same guilt tripping technique she'd used on Yugi.

However, Ishizu mused, with Yugi it had been easier. She didn't need the Millennium necklace to see what the teen's concerns were, what he was actually angry about, and how she could go about addressing them. With Atem it was…a little more difficult. The pharaoh's thoughts tended to go off in a hundred different tangents all at once, and gathering them into a manageable database could be quite a task.

"What I had done in my…earlier days is my own burden to bear. If he thinks I'm still going to Shadow Game the man into oblivion, then he has far too little trust in me."

"What you did to that man the first time around is not particularly confidence-inducing. Can you begrudge Yugi for feeling a little traumatized?" Ishizu retorted readily, and Yami faltered a little before his past wrongdoing. Ishizu took the opportunity to steer the topic away; they were going nowhere with this blaming game.

"Pharaoh. What do you intend to achieve by holding on to this grudge? Do you want Yugi to apologize to you? Are you still unable to forgive the fact that, as you put it, 'Aibou doesn't trust me'? Or…" she steepled her fingers in front of her, "is your pride preventing you from reconciling with him?"

Yami turned to her, looking slightly bewildered to have the whole argument put to him as a multiple choice question. "This issue is not as simple as you think it is."

This "issue" is generally coined an argument, and the only thing that complicates it is your mind, Ishizu thought dryly, allowing herself a little sarcasm.

"Atem, please, think carefully about this. Lashing out at Yugi mindlessly will only cause more unnecessary harm. You feel anger, but is it really directed at the Chosen One? It hurts Yugi immensely, you know," Ishizu added for good measure, "to be fighting with someone he cherishes so much."

Yami looked mildly uncomfortable at hearing "hurt" and "Yugi" put into one single sentence. The tomb keeper smiled, knowing that she had one-upped him - albeit in a not-so-honourable way. Now she understood why all the villains had the uncanny tendency to target Yugi as a way to get at his darker self.

"This situation is my fault, and his as well. I…do not know what I should say to him. I have seldom been engaged in an argument…" he said the word carefully, as though uttering it alone might jinx him,"…before."

Ishizu could sympathize, though she found the situation a little comical. Not many people in Atem's time - even the strong-willed High Priest Seth - would dare argue with the living Horus; the best they could do was phrase their grievances in form of a humble advice and hope that the Pharaoh would accept it. And in the duelling ring, Yami tended to get the upper hand of any argument automatically by winning the duel. That was probably why no one could effectively disprove his lengthy friendship speeches, despite how ludicrous they often found them.

"Maybe you should try apologizing," Ishizu suggested placidly, turning a flat look at the once-pharaoh as he tensed, hackles raised. It reminded the tomb guardian strongly of a feline on the defensive.

"And before you argue that you 'were merely trying to protect aibou from harm and therefore not in the wrong', you did intrude on his privacy knowing you weren't welcome. You know it well, my pharaoh; you just aren't ready to accept it."

Yami's russet eyes shifted uncertainly, as though he didn't find Ishizu's proposal appealing.

"I do owe him an acknowledgment of my wrongdoing. I would admit that much. But this is not the only - he needs to realize that he can trust me more than this. That I won't go berserk and start sending those who threaten him to the Shadow Realm…" he grimaced at Ishizu's pointed stare. "…again."

There was an uncomfortable silence until Yami continued with a small cough. "Really, I rather think we should be over this for at least two years already. As aibou's guardian, I personally think that man deserves a lesson for daring to assault him at all. Though if Yugi had dissented - if he had expressly forbidden me to do so…" he paused, darkly contemplative. "I would have heeded him. There is no need to keep anything from me."

Ishizu studied the regal countenance, thinking of the one and only time when Yami had turned a deaf ear to Yugi's pleas - and how that had turned out in the end. The encounter with Raphael had traumatized Yami in a way no other event, however horrifying, could.

"Well said, pharaoh," the tomb keeper caressed the Kuriboh plushy as she smiled at him, like a teacher complimenting her student on a right answer. "It seems that you are clear about what you want to tell the Chosen One. Why don't you go and find him now?"

The once-pharaoh froze, momentarily looking as if Ishizu had recommended that he activate the Orichalcos field card in his next duel. He brushed at his lightning bangs in a futile show of disinterest.

"…I think it may be prudent to give Aibou some time to calm down, especially after our last…confrontation."

Ah, stalling. Ishizu hid a knowing smirk, recognizing the adolescent tactic for what it was. She wasn't going to put up with it, though. "Pharaoh, this isn't like you. No matter what you may think, stalling won't get Yugi talking to you again. The best thing you can do is steel yourself and get it over with quickly."

Yami's face was blank of emotions, but Ishizu saw his fingers brushing over his deck instinctively, seeking comfort in his trusty pieces of cardboard. She sighed, patience wearing thin. Enough was enough.

"Pharaoh, for your sake as well as mine, I'll be straightforward with you. Are you going, or do I have to make you?"

She had the satisfaction of seeing the regal figure look stupefied. Visibly collecting himself, Atem backed off from her, having heard the line from Yugi's mother enough to actually feel threatened.

He narrowed his eyes, incredulous, and backed off until his legs hit the bed. "You wouldn't dare. It would be treason against your king."

"You can try reporting my treasonous act to the Domino police, then," Ishizu was wryly amused. "Come on, pharaoh. You know better than anyone that time waits for no man."

"How is this maxim even applicable to our current situation?" Yami protested, and was astonished as she reached out to steer him by the shoulders. Ishizu had always been tough - manipulative if need be - but he hadn't thought it was in her to manhandle someone.

"I can walk by myself," he gritted out at her, gathering his dignity around himself like a cloak, and stalked off towards the door.

Ishizu folded her hands in her lap and followed him, demure and elegant once again.

It took a while to find Yugi - the living room, the kitchen and the bedrooms all turned out suspiciously empty - and Sugoroku turned an odd but otherwise apathetic gaze on them as they checked briefly on the game shop. Curious, thought Ishizu, that it would take so long for Yami to pinpoint his lighter counterpart. She knew well that the pharaoh had the ability to sense the person who was essentially part of his soul. And even if he couldn't, the premise was so small it was a wonder they hadn't bumped into him already.

The only explanation was that he knew, clearly, where Yugi was, and was taking a deliberate detour to places where he wasn't in. It irritated her a little that she was taken for a fool, but she thought she could allow Yami a little waywardness. Her king, like all kings, did not like his intention laid out before him like cards on the table. To those in a king's immediate service, Ishizu reminded herself, tact is an essential virtue.

"Maybe he's in the storeroom?" she suggested pointedly, kohl-lined eyes blinking at her Lord in a way that was disturbingly knowing; Yami had even started checking the bathrooms, and she thought, exasperatedly, that the length he'd gone to in order to avoid Yugi was starting to get ridiculous.

"The storeroom," he repeated, oddly testy.

"The storeroom," she affirmed, and knew that she'd won the contest of will when Yami spun, closing the toilet door behind him with unnecessary violence.

Yami started towards the storeroom, with a kind of strange resolve that bordered on agitation. As she dutifully shadowed her lord, Ishizu thought - with a sudden tinge of sadness - that if Yami was so disproportionately stressed out at the thought of initiating reconciliation, there was still a long way to go before he could fully settle down in this world, this era.

III

Perhaps no one was really surprised to find Yugi seeking sanctuary in the storeroom; Ishizu certainly wasn't. The boy was perched, cross-legged, on the window sill; an unfinished Boeing 747 model on his lap. He looked up at the creak of the door, expression turning immediate hostile as he spotted his lookalike at the door.

Yami noted the awkward way the Boeing plane was put together, and resisted the destructive urge to comment that, were the plane a genuine one, it would never have been able to fly.

"What do you want, the other me?" It was Yugi who broke the silence. Ishizu had to marvel at the young boy's boldness - shy to the point of being antisocial, Yugi usually didn't have the courage to stand up to anyone or anything at all. Having the epitome of ego living inside his head for a few years, however, might have helped balance out his character a bit. That, or he was exceptionally furious this time.

Yami visibly swallowed a retort, and held out his hands out in an irritable peace offering. "I am, aibou, here to talk."

The emphasis on the word "talk", thought Ishizu, could entirely be left out if Yami didn't want to start this talk on the wrong foot.

"Pharaoh," she hissed lowly, a feline warning, "your tone."

A vague look of realization flashed across Atem's countenance, but the damage was done.

Yugi scowled, turning to align his plane model with lethal purpose.

"I'm obliged, my pharaoh, but you don't need to do that. You obviously don't want to talk to me, so why bother?"

"Please, Aibou," Yami tried to sound placating, but ended up with a patronizing tone even to his own ears. Maybe coming to Yugi with some remnant of resentment in his heart hadn't been the best idea after all. "Can you just listen to me for a while? You're making this difficult."

"I'm not trying make anything difficult! First you come over to tell me off for laying all the blame on you, now you're accusing me of being difficult? What's wrong with you!"

Atem, Ishizu thought with growing dismay, would not have made a remotely passable diplomat in his regime. It took a certain talent to get the tone and words all wrong in just a few sentences.

Despite himself, Yami's expression hardened. "Perhaps you would know what is wrong if you would just listen, instead of picking on every damn sentence I've ever said," he gritted out before Ishizu could interject.

"I apologize for interrupting you then, pharaoh. Do continue with your speech, I have other stuff to do," Yugi rebutted, in what was a distinct imitation of his dark's formal sarcasm. Atem growled, affronted by the persistent mockery.

Sensing the danger, Ishizu laid a restraining hand on Yami's elbow, only to have him throw it off irritably. She may be the mediator, but he was not her puppet; if she thought he was going to do whatever she told him to, she was sorely mistaken.

"Do what, have tea with Kaiba?"

It was juvenile, grossly irrelevant, and completely unbecoming of him; but at that moment, Yami found that he couldn't care less. Yugi huffed, and stood as though to take up the suggestion.

"You know what? Kaiba-kun would at least be more agreeable than you are!" the shorter boy declared, rising to the bait, and started for the door.

Unwilling to let the meeting end with juvenile jibes, Ishizu moved to block him. She needn't have bothered; the phone in the storeroom rang before Yugi could take a step, its shrill interruption a timely salvation to the long-suffering tomb keeper.

Yugi froze, gauged the distance between the storeroom and the living room, and decided he couldn't make it to the phone in the living room before the ringing cut off. Grudgingly, he turned back, and snatched the phone from its cradle.

"What?" he demanded of the person on the other end; Yami had the audacity to cross his arms in a decidedly unrepentant fashion. Glaring at his darker half out of the corner of his eyes, Yugi found that he couldn't be bothered with phone etiquette.

There was a pregnant pause; the boy could literally feel silent bemusement radiating off the other end. Yugi started, catching himself, and attempted to redo his greeting in a flustered tone.

"Er, sorry, Mutou residence - "

"Well, that's more like it," if anything, the voice on the other end sounded amused, "I wasn't aware that you do have a temper, Yugi."

"Kaiba-kun!" he exclaimed, wondering if their inane argument about the charitableness of Kaiba Seto had somehow garnered the man's attention through some telepathic means. Yami's expression grew even darker, but he refused to leave, apparently ready to resume the argument the moment Yugi put down the phone. Ishizu nudged him, sharply, for attention.

"Pharaoh, would it kill you to just utter a single 'sorry', and be brief about it?" she told him lowly, "please stop provoking Yugi further!"

Her lord, predictably, ignored her.

Yugi's expression was contemplative as he twirled the phone cord around his finger. Whatever Kaiba was telling him, it didn't seem to require much contribution on his part.

"Uh, yeah…" Yugi paused, heaving an exasperated sigh, "What, right now? I'd prefer…oh."

There was another long pause, and Ishizu could already imagine Kaiba ruthlessly cutting Yugi off impatiently. Kaiba Seto was not a man tolerant of meaningless expressions such as "uh" or "oh".

"Then I'll see you in…" Yugi glanced down at his wrist watch, "thirty minutes?" With that he put down the phone, Kaiba apparently having hung up on him halfway through his response.

Pushing off from the crate he'd been using as support, Yugi started off towards the storeroom door, bobbing his head towards Ishizu in passing. Yami didn't move to stop him, russet eyes following him as he made his way across the room.

"Aibou. Where are you going?"

Yugi tilted his head at him, expressionless. "I'm going to 'have tea with Kaiba', as you said."

If they'd been on better terms at that moment, Yami would have chuckled at this.

The moment Yugi, Yami and Ishizu walked into his office together, Kaiba already knew that this day could not end well.

"You do realize," the CEO stated slowly, blue eyes sharp and searing behind steepled fingers, "that this is not a tea party."

Two identical faces looked back at him, one slightly apologetic, one decidedly unimpressed. He'd expected no less from his arch rival. Yami was lounging on his office couch like the teenage monarch he once had been, and Kaiba couldn't help but notice that the ex-pharaoh was rather prone to couch-hogging everywhere he went. Maybe couches subconsciously reminded him of the throne he'd once presided on in his last life, or something.

Still, this was his couch, on his turf, and the Kaiba Corporation Headquarters was his palace, not Yami's. Slightly irritated, he rounded on his rival with a lazy sneer.

"Mutou Atem," he drew out the words deliberately. After this meeting, he would cut Isono's salary for dropping off unwanted nuisances into his office. "I don't remember ever requesting you to come here."

"I do not come and go by your orders, Kaiba," Yami tilted his head at him and sank further into his makeshift throne, "I don't work for you."

That much was true. While Yami was prone to appear in virtually every important tournament held by Kaiba Corporation, he wasn't really contracted to the gaming firm - he hadn't even considered the idea that he could actually work for Kaiba. Isono had advised, once, that Kaiba ought to stake his claim on the two Game Kings before other competitors did. The Mutous were friends - no, contacts, Isono had amended quickly at Kaiba's look - of Kaiba's. They still owed Kaiba for helping with Atem's legal papers, and they would surely agree without much fuss.

God knew how much profit the Mutou twins had reeled in for Kaiba Corporation in the last two years; to have them working for other gaming companies would be such a waste.

This, Kaiba acquiesced, was a valid point. Siegfried, the sly bastard, had made a point of getting on Yami and Yugi's good side after they came back from Egypt ("I haven't known that you have such a charming brother, Monsieur Yugi…and such a great duellist, too! And speaking of duelling, we will be holding a Christmas tournament in Los Angelas, you see, and I would be so glad if you could both come and join us!").

Kaiba had, out of a streak of vindictiveness, made sure that neither Yami nor Yugi would be free that Christmas. He considered it lenient punishment for the grief Siegfried had caused him.

However, he couldn't quite stop Pegasus from mailing Yugi fancy Monster cards from time to time - as Christmas presents, Pegasus claimed, or for the Mutou twins' birthday. Once, at a press conference, Pegasus had handed Yugi yet another Kuriboh card - this time it was a Winged Kuriboh, with fairy wings for added cuteness - and the boy had swooned over it so much he ignored the press' questions thereafter.

It didn't help that the prospect of the Mutous considering a career in rival companies was very real. Yugi, trusting and naïve as ever, wouldn't recognize the power struggle among the gaming companies as what it was. Yami on the other hand was struggling to grapple a sufficient understanding of how the modern world worked, and didn't much care for battles outside the duelling arena.

Still, it felt…off, somehow, to treat Yami and Yugi the way he treated the rest of his staff. He had battled Yami with every fibre of his being for the glorious title of the King of Duellists and lost. Making them part of his faceless employees seemed a vile sacrilege to the title he had honoured so.

"You entered my premises without permission," Kaiba countered evenly, "I could always have the security throw you out."

"I hope Kaiba Corp's employee insurance covers magic-induced injuries, then," Yami informed him.

Kaiba idly wondered where in hell Yami could have came across the term employee insurance in his six months of separate existence, before he decided that he didn't really care. With the psychotic magic-wielding madmen he came across in his everyday dealings, he really ought to take Yami up on his advice and include magic-induced injuries in his employee insurance anyway.

He closed his eyes, trying to ignore the building irritation he was feeling towards the ex-pharaoh since the end of that goddamn tournament. Kaiba knew he wasn't going to resort to shadow powers for this kind of petty banter, and his rival had long grown out of shadow-gaming people; but to be threatened with it was annoying. The man could be such a pain when he put his mind to it.

"My business is with Yugi. You are not Yugi…" he paused briefly, suddenly recalling the state of affairs before Egypt, "…anymore. Get out of my office."

Yami crossed his legs and didn't budge from his spot. Off the duelling field, and they were still very much rivals; he wasn't quite willing to give Kaiba the satisfaction of telling him off out of sheer principle.

"I am Aibou's guardian. Any business you have with him is my business as well," he said pointedly, the phone calls between them unmentioned but very much in mind. There was a short huff in Yugi's direction, and Kaiba blinked slowly.

"I am of the impression that Yugi's parents are his guardians," he commented dryly, "and in any case, Atem, you are not in any position to be anyone's guardian. The ID I made you pegged your age at seventeen - which means you are every bit as underage as your 'charge' is."

The ex-pharaoh looked vaguely confused at this. Yugi thought, idly, that it was rather unfair of Kaiba to hit his other half with modern legalities. He was pretty sure that the two of them meant entirely different things by the word "guardian".

Yami pushed his lightning bangs back in irritation, turning sideways so he faced the CEO directly. He had dealt with the man enough times to know how to get through to him. "Kaiba. I will say this only once: I am not leaving until I get to the bottom of this matter. I will not risk you going about things behind my back again."

Kaiba's brows rose, and there was that appreciative, anticipatory undertone to his expression, like all the other times he'd stood before Yami in a duel. "Hmph," he mused, almost amused now, and turned to Yugi.

"Yugi. I didn't summon you here to waste my time. Either you make him leave, or I'll do the honours and kick all of you out," his eyes raised to Ishizu, who was sharing the couch with Yugi, and added as an afterthought, "including the woman."

In the post-Ceremonial Duel hassle, most people hadn't been quite sure how to deal with the newly resurrected Atem. They'd been used to dealing with Yugi on a daily basis, and hadn't had much of a chance to interact with Atem outside the duelling field.

Kaiba, on the other hand, found himself more unsettled by Yugi than he was by Atem's existence. Before Egypt, he had merely assumed that Yugi was schizophrenic; and if his other personality happened to excel at duelling, then that was all fine. He was aware that there was another version to the story (pharaohs and priests and duels that transcended time), but he conveniently chose to ignore it like he did everything else. It simply wasn't relevant.

But then one day they'd appeared before him as two different people altogether (Um…Kaiba-kun, do you think you can something about the other - Atem's legal papers? I don't think he can just walk into Japan like that… ), and Kaiba had outright refused to consider the logic of how that could be possible. He'd left it at "ancient magical mumbo-jumbo", and that was that.

But even so, he had been forced to acknowledge one single thing: while Atem had been the one to take the title of Duel King off his hands, Yugi had in turn managed, against all odds, to lay down the ancient Pharaoh's sword. Strange really, considering that the boy was usually a withdrawn, blubbering mess most of the time, but he'd done it.

Kaiba had briefly considered who he should be challenging for the title now - technically it should be Yugi, since he'd taken the title from Atem. No one could deny, however, that Atem was still every bit as competent as Yugi at duelling; another Ceremonial Duel, and Atem might very well emerge the victor.

The CEO had taken this in stride, though, and ended up regarding both as his rivals. Yugi, though, always had that deer-in-the-headlights look when Kaiba stormed whatever establishment he happened to be in and announced his intention to challenge him for the title of the King of Duellists, as if he was one step short of bolting from the premises. It was a reaction Kaiba hadn't been able to get used to in the beginning. Yami would then glare at him for intimidating his aibou, at which point Kaiba would ignore the once-pharaoh and issue him his share of the challenge as well.

Since then, Kaiba had settled into a different way of dealing with Yugi. He didn't think much of the way Yami coddled the teenager - in his opinion, Yugi had absolutely no backbone for someone who was crowned King of Duellists, something he needed to remedy lest his company's marketing suffered - and tended to confront the boy personally in matters that concerned him.

Yugi gave him a wild look - why was this boy his rival again? - and visibly stuttered. "Kaiba-kun! I didn't bring them along, they just followed me here!"

"I can see that," Kaiba intoned dryly, "and that is my business how? He is your brother. You're supposed to be the one dealing with him."

He said the word "brother" so naturally, as though Atem and Yugi had always been siblings in his knowledge. Kaiba obviously knew better - it was, after all, him who had helped Yami fake his documents. This was, Yugi thought exasperatedly, Kaiba's standard way of coping with the supernatural. He made up his own truth and shut the rest of the world out.

Yugi pursed his lips, and couldn't think of a reply to that.

"It's not like he listens to me," he said sullenly, and Kaiba had the distinct feeling that he was not being talked to. Yami's expression notably darkened.

"I am always ready to listen. It is unfortunate that I am not deemed worthy enough to be trusted with certain matters," the former spirit sniped, and Kaiba suddenly felt like the referee in a verbal spar. He thought back to how irritable Yami and Yugi had both been across the phone, and quickly put two and two together.

They were arguing over his head. They were arguing over Kaiba Seto's head. It was so unbelievable the CEO glowered.

"That's it. You are all getting out."

They had the nerve to turn identically startled looks at him, as though they didn't realize they had it coming. Damn Mutou twins.

"Please wait, Seto," Ishizu interjected calmly. Kaiba would have forgotten her existence if she hadn't chosen the moment to speak up. She smoothed her skirt, unflappable, and continued. "We could have this discussion together. The pharaoh already knows too much to be left out. And it wouldn't do to waste even more of your time, would it?" Her smile seemed honest. Kaiba, though, hadn't forgotten how she had tricked him into hosting Battle City - she had invited him to the museum with the same smile.

"Why are you even in Japan?" he asked, slightly wary; he trusted Ishizu about as far as he could throw her.

"Rest assured, it's nothing that you would need to deny later," she said, amusement lacing her tone, "I have some…ah… minor housekeeping matters to take care of."

Now she was talking over his head as well. He quirked a brow sharply at Yugi - because the whole matter was his fault to begin with - and the boy cringed.

"Uh…" he started, both cowed and petulant, and Ishizu laid a soothing hand on his shoulder.

"Chosen One," her voice was gently admonishing, and he caught the unspoken words behind it. Come on now, don't be childish.

"…do I have to decide this?" Yugi muttered hesitantly, and wilted at Kaiba's scowl. He had failed the King of Duellists personality test again. "Okay, sorry Kaiba-kun. I have to. Let's discuss this together, then."

Kaiba expression clearly stated that he couldn't bring himself to care either way. His other self, though, looked grimly triumphant. The once-pharaoh was practically adamant to be present in this meeting, Yugi recalled, his will so immovable the boy only had half a heart to stop him from tagging along. Trying to slam doors on Yami might have, in hindsight, been extraordinarily ineffective. Doors simply froze themselves before the ex-pharaoh, and he wasn't even sure whether it was dark magic or overwhelming charisma or steely willpower.

"Fine. I assume you haven't received any court summons yet, Yugi. There is a probability you will get it before long," Kaiba started, casually, and folded his arms across his chest. Yugi choked and nearly fell off the couch in mortification.

"C-Court Summons? What did I ever do?"

Kaiba gave him a distinctly patronizing look. "It has nothing to do with whether you did anything criminal or not. In that case they will simply arrest you."

Yugi looked even more stricken at that, while his counterpart was surveying the CEO with wide eyes, possibly wondering whether he was bluffing. It was heartening to know that Yugi was as familiar with the law as his ancient, three-thousand-year-old counterpart. Kaiba pinched the bridge of his nose and decided to save himself the grief.

"They will just be summoning you as a witness, Yugi, nothing more - if they even choose to summon you. For the prosecution case against that madman who messed up my tournament."

He said it as though messing up his tournament was a crime in and of itself. To Kaiba it probably was. Yugi laced his fingers, suddenly at a loss.

"They're prosecuting him," he said quietly, and Yami caught a slight tremor in his counterpart's voice. His eyes narrowed, struck by a different concern.

"Kaiba, you told me the man 'won't be getting out of jail anytime soon'. I am under the impression that he's in jail already."

"If I were the king or ah…pharaoh…" here he aimed a condescending smirk at Yami "…of this city, then yes, he should be in jail already. Unfortunately, the judiciary is not a branch of Kaiba Corporation. It is such a shame."

Atem frowned, justifiably befuddled. Yugi was suddenly glad that Kaiba had no sway over the courts - he'd probably have them rule it mandatory to have a Blue Eyes White Dragon effigy in one's home. Or something.

"However, the surveillance camera did catch him at the act. Yugi's testimony will be the final nail on his coffin." He looked vindictively pleased at this. Hell hath no fury like a Kaiba foiled. Yugi's lips turned down in an unhappy frown.

"Kaiba-kun, can you help…"

"No," one look at those wide amethyst eyes, and Kaiba had a pretty good idea what he wanted to say.

"I have better things to do than meddle in the city's prosecutions. It is no fault of mine that he considers assault a good idea," he decided, as though he hadn't gotten away with kidnapping people for a card game and pulling down towers around their ears himself. He paused, looking momentarily contemplative, and added, "although he could always choose to plead guilty. Or plead insanity and head to a mental facility instead. He definitely needs its services, after all."

"Kaiba-kun!" Yugi sounded decidedly upset this time. "…we wronged him first. It is natural he'd hate us for it. I…."

"The responsibility is mine. It was I who had injured him, after all," Yami cut in quietly, and Yugi noted the way he kept clear of the word "wronged".

"But Aibou," he continued, addressing Yugi for the first time since they stepped into this office, "he was mugging an old woman with a flick knife. He hurt you. It is natural that he would be held responsible for his actions."

Ah. That would explain the stabbing. Yami had probably initiated a shadow game that involved the flick knife in some way. Yugi felt sick at the thought, and tried his best not to think about it.

In some way, Yami's words reminded him of the boy in that detective manga, who killed criminals because they'd killed others. They deserved judgment, the boy had declared, gleeful, and signed the criminals' death sentences with a flourish. It hadn't occurred to him that he was just as guilty as they were.

"You've injured him and driven him mad enough to come back for revenge. And you are not sorry about him," Yugi's voice was plaintive, more heartbroken than angered. Yami seemed to freeze up at the tone, but finally gathered his resolve and turned around to face his light fully.

"…that is not it, Aibou. The Shadow Games I initiated were cruel and unneeded - and this man is the direct result of my actions. I know this," Yami said, voice soft at the edges. This was something he would have to admit if he didn't want this to evolve to yet another shouting match, "but what he did - attacking you - could not be right. If the law calls him on it, he will have to answer."

Yugi looked away, not acknowledging his words, and wondered what law his other self was referring to. The courts, karma - Yami himself? Surely driving people, no matter how evil they were, over the brink of insanity couldn't be right either.

He imagined the law calling on Yami for his crimes. Multiple murders, grievous bodily harm, the charges piling high enough to get him life imprisonment - and felt his heart flutter in trepidation. No, he wouldn't have allowed it - he would have tried to send Yami somewhere else, tried to cover up his trail, did anything he could to avoid it. Yami had just been released from his dark prison, then. He was confused, angry, and felt threatened; he probably didn't even truly appreciate the extent of the damage he'd dealt those people.

He'd only wanted to protect Yugi.

"This is such a mess," he sighed, leaning into the couch in defeat, "I've only wanted to live a normal life... and play card games…" he added when Kaiba raised his brows at him.

"Then you should think twice before solving suspicious Egyptian artefacts next time," Kaiba commented wryly, and this was as close as he'd admit that Yami wasn't actually born as Yugi's twin brother. Yami glared, sullen.

"Anyway," the brunette continued unfazed, "The trial will be pretty smooth if he pleads guilty, but if he doesn't - well, the court may compel your presence, Yugi. The press will want a piece of this juicy gossip, but they're not going to get it. PR and Legal will take care of it for me or they'll all be fired. The problem lies elsewhere."

"What is the problem, then?" It was Yami who prompted him, and Kaiba felt like a class teacher talking to a parent about his kid's grades. He twitched.

"The issue of why exactly the man would want to attack Yugi will certainly come up. I expect…ah…all sorts of fairytale nonsense coming from the man's mouth."

Yugi's gaze was shaky and afraid. Yami looked like he wanted to comfort him, before remembering that this situation was entirely his fault to begin with.

"Yugi, I trust that you will act suitably confused at any nonsense the man might happen to spout. He doesn't have any proof - or he doesn't have any that will be remotely believable. No one will be inclined to believe him," the CEO said, voice soft and deadly.

Yugi shivered. "But…the other me -"

"Do you truly think they can really trace it back to him? No, judges do not have that kind of vivid imagination. Or have you been playing Ace Attorney one time too much?" he snorted.

Mokuba had forced the game on him in the name of learning about our rivals' key products. He'd played through it reluctantly, and the culprit of the game was revealed - after a series of lame murders and illogical plot twists - to be the defense counsel. So the court had convicted the suspect's lawyer instead of the suspect in the end. Kaiba had wondered, irritably, what kind of drugs the scriptwriter of the game had been on when he'd written this game. At least he now knew why his company was still leading the market.

"I…this is wrong, Kaiba-kun! We've hurt him, and we're trying to deny we did it. I…!"

Kaiba hadn't seen Yugi so upset since perhaps the Ceremonial Duel. Had the mutt and the rest of the annoying entourage been here, they'd have fussed all over the small duellist, offering pretty words. He was not them.

"If you have a better idea, Yugi, I'm all ears."

He'd managed to shock the boy into miserable silence. Really, Yugi needed to learn that there were times when he couldn't afford to be indecisive. If it were Mokuba who'd been threatened he'd have absolutely no qualms with feeding people any kind of crackpot story.

"Aibou…" Yami said weakly, looking guilty. He stood, finally, and peered sideways at his rival. "Kaiba, give us a moment."

The brunette shrugged to indicate that he didn't care, and furrowed his brows when Yami didn't move immediately. Then it hit him.

"You don't expect me to move from my own office," he sniped, already pulling paperwork in front of him, "there are conference rooms all around. Have my people show you one."

Yami's expression was a cross between gratitude and fond acquiescence. He moved over to Yugi's side with unsure steps and extended his hand.

"Aibou…" his smile was small and tentative, as though it was ready to dissolve at any moment, "…come…?"

To his own surprise, Yugi - head hanging desolately - did.

When Yami had closed the office door behind them, Kaiba considered the woman who was still occupying his office couch.

"So you're playing mediator this time," he mused, and signed his approval on one of the papers.

"You are as sharp as ever, Seto," there was a smile in her voice as she blinked kohl-lined eyes at him.

"You are surprisingly quiet for a mediator. I distinctly remember you rambling non-stop when you were trying to trick me into your plans." He couldn't help the sourness in his voice.

"It seems that there is no need for my interference at the moment," she said placidly, "I thank you for inviting the pharaoh and the Chosen one over. This meeting has come at a good time."

"Hmph," he huffed, and ignored her cryptic words in favour of his work. Studying him silently, Ishizu spoke up again.

"You are trying to press a guilty plea so Yugi doesn't have to appear in court."

She looked as omniscient as she'd been when she was in possession of the Necklace, and it struck Kaiba once again that, Millennium Item or not, future-seeing power or not, Ishizu Ishtar was a woman far more dangerous than her lunatic little brother.

"I can't risk Yugi stuttering lamely in court and looking guiltier than even the suspect himself, can I? That would ruin my firm's reputation."

Their gazes locked, and she saw - for a moment - not the CEO of Kaiba Corporations, but the soul of the man who had once been the pharaoh's cousin: the man who'd tried to best the pharaoh in everything from Senet to combat (but failed mostly), but would never hesitate to protect him when danger loomed over the kingdom.

He held her gaze for a moment before looking back to his documents. And then Kaiba was Kaiba again, gruff and uncaring and very much not Seth, and Ishizu knew that even if the brunette wasn't willing to admit it, the force of fate was at play even after three thousand years.

"Thank you," she said. Kaiba, predictably, didn't grace her with a response.

…to be continued