#dm rivalshipping fanfiction

[writewolf90]

Attention Yugioh fandom! You have been waiting and wondering if or when Rivalshipping Week will happen in 2023.

I want to officially welcome any and all willing writers, artists, or fan content creators in general to the prompt list for 2023! Pick one, two, or whatever fits your vision for the week.

This year was built around the Seven-Part Story Structure with the rises and falls that come with plot, as well as internal conflict. This is to give the option of creating one coherent narrative if so desired. If that doesn't strike your fancy, you may do one independent piece each day. Tis the season for creativity!

Let's finish out 2023 with a bang and a little bit of everything that makes fan content so much fun!

Special thanks to @shinayashipper for being a big support in me taking on this week, as well as @zakurarain for being an amazing artist as always when I asked for some art to go with this week.

Let your muses be your guides! I'll be poking around to see what you all come up with, so please tag your works #rivalshipping2023. Thank you for humoring me and allowing me to present my list that I hope you can enjoy.

[bum-scum]

Another Rivalshipping snippet!

I must warn yas that my English is terrible, because of grammar (past and present tense and I dont make sense.

Also Genderbending here, Yugi is a woman. And a bit of sexual suggested in it towards the end. Cheers!

Set pass DSOD (For ref)

--

Yugi sighed as she felt the cool sea water touch her hot skin. She stayed in the shallow of waters. The summer heat had taken its toll on her for the past couple days, she was definitely glad Anzu had the idea of going down to the beach. Her best friend invited everyone.

"Hey, bro...stop that!"

Including The Kaiba's.

Mokuba insisted Anzu for Kaiba to come, to help him come out of that stuffy office that Kaiba called home. Nonetheless, it worked!

However, Anzu used Yugi as a ticket to get him out.

Yugi wasn't impressed that Anzu would do that, but she was glad also. Because she could get to see the handsome man outside for once.

Not far from her, obviously splashing water at Mokuba's direction, is Kaiba. Having a great look at him, Seto Kaiba suprised everyone by the way his body had changed over the years. He wasnt as muscled, but toned, and his clothes did slightly bagged a bit until senior year.

And now here as an fully grown man, his muscles were telling. Not too overly buff, but the tall man's muscles were big enough for Yugi's eyes to be pleased.

Especially his chest. Oh Yugi loved how Kaiba's chest developed over time. She wondered what it would feel like being pressed up against him. Shaking her head out of her thoughts quickly, her hair tie flew off and landed next to her.

She sighed and grabbed the hair tie, ready to pull it up in a messy bun.

"Oh shit! Yugi!"

Unaware of what was happening, Yugi almost shrieked. Arms wrapped around her tightly, her breasts pushed up against the most attractive chest she's ever seen.

Until she realised. It was Kaiba.

His face red, red to rival a beetroot. His eyes darted away to the left.

"Uuh...Can I help you Kai-"

"Are you going to put that top back on?"

Yugi blinked. Top? What top? Looking down at her chest, her face went red.

Her bikini top became undone.

With the feeling of embarrassment, Yugi snatched her floating top and put it back on but it came with a struggle to tie it up behind her back.

"Here...let me help." Yugi nodded, feeling Kaiba's hands moving, she gasped at the friction her breasts against his own chest.

He was pulling her in closer and tighter, probably to avoid on lookers. But she couldn't help but let her mind wonder elsewhere.

"Is this tight enough?" Kaiba's low voice snapped her out of her mind and back into reality. Yugi blinked, without saying a word she nodded.

"Good."

Yugi felt Kaiba letting her go as she adjusted her Breasts in her top to sit comfortably.

"Thanks."

"Don't mention it."

Watching him leave the sea water, Yugi couldn't help but stare at his chest one last time before Kaiba was out of her sight. She would love to feel that chest again. How her breasts pressed against him. She wondered how it feel it against him while him being on top of her. Close and hot...intimate.

Yugi shook her head again. Her face burned from the images that flashed in her mind, making her heart beat faster and her knees feeling weak.

She was sure to have a shower tonight.

A long cold shower.

[olddirtybadfic]

You Got Played: Bandit Keith Howard Must Die Inside (Part Five of Five)

In which I turn a Yu-Gi-Oh fic into a cheesy teen movie (that most teens wouldn't even be allowed into without a fake ID).

Part one is here. Part two is here. Part three is here. Part four is here.

This fic contains: Teen!me laboring under the delusion that Bandit Keith is the same age as Yugi and company; song lyrics inserted into the prose; mpreg (bonus “even pregnancy of the male variety does not work that way” content); Bandit Keith being a prick; all the characters are kind of idiots; author’s notes to give track listings; cheating; terrible OC; terrible OC slut-shames Kaiba; Noah Kaiba somehow being alive and bizarrely invested in his brother’s romantic life; Yami/Atem is corporeal for some reason; artistic liberties taken with medical technology

-O-o-O-o-O-

Meanwhile, Kyra had her own plan.

Kyra didn’t care that Keith had sex with Kaiba; hell, she had cheated a few times, too. But for Kaiba to just steal Keith from her like that—that was completely unacceptable by her standards. She wasn’t going to let any trenchcoat-wearing, Blue Eyes White Dragon-loving freak steal her man.

So that afternoon, when she spotted Kaiba walking down the street, little brother in tow, she grabbed him by the arm and dragged him into an area surrounded by bushes and trees. Mokuba saw her grab Kaiba and followed them.

“What the hell?!” Kaiba exclaimed. As Kyra stopped dragging him, he tripped and ended up on the ground. Kyra looked down at him as if she was an arrogant princess and he was a lowly peasant.

‘No matter what you do, He’ll never wanna be with you. He’s into what he’s got (and that’s me), He loves me, He loves you not.’ (author's note: He Loves You Not - Dream)

Kaiba got up, brushed his clothes off, and glared at Kyra.

Kyra had heard Kaiba’s outburst about Keith cheating. She didn’t appreciate Kaiba’s attempt to get his man back.

“What is your problem?!” Kaiba shouted.

“I don’t appreciate you moving in on my man,” Kyra said, evilly, yet seductively.

“What?! He cheated on me with you!” Kaiba retorted.

Kyra shook her head. “Kaiba, you’re so wrong, you’re right. Don’t you realize that Keith never thought of you as a boyfriend? He looks at you as a whore.”

“Don’t call me a prostitute.” Kaiba’s voice got low and threatening, which would be pretty freaking scary if he snuck up on you in a dark alley. “I don’t go sleeping around with everyone and I didn’t get paid for what I did.”

“Well, I’m not gonna let a whore like you steal my boyfriend just because your damn condom popped!” Kyra shouted.

“Well, maybe you should because I had him first!” Kaiba retorted.

“That’s a heaping pile of bullshit! I had him first! I’ve had him for a whole month!” Kyra shouted.

Kaiba’s eyes went wide. Kyra sensed weakness and went in for the kill.

“So, how long have you been dating Keith, Kaiba?” Kyra asked.

Kaiba said nothing.

“Come on, Kaiba, tell me how long you two dated!” Kyra pressed, still smiling evilly.

“That is none of your business, Kyra,” Kaiba growled.

“Why don’t I go ask Keith myself? I’m sure he’ll be happy to tell me how long you two dated. Or should I ask Noah? And he’ll surely want to hear what you did with Keith after he tells me, won’t he?” Kyra taunted.

Kaiba turned red. “Do not test me, Kyra.”

“Then tell me how long you and Keith dated, damn it!”

“We dated for two weeks. Then he started to ignore me.”

“I knew it! I knew he couldn’t have been with you for that long! He only stayed with you long enough to get in your pants, which, since you’re such a whore, obviously wasn’t long!” Kyra laughed evilly.

“Hold up!” Mokuba walked into the clearing. “I don’t know much about this whole situation, but it seems like you two are getting mad at each other for no reason. I mean, you didn’t know that Seto was dating Keith. And Seto didn’t know that you were dating Keith. It seems to me that the real bad guy here is Bandit Keith. He played both of you like Nintendo 64.”

Kaiba and Kyra looked at each other, in silence, for a moment. Finally Kaiba spoke. “What do you propose we do about it, Mokuba?”

“I propose that you play him back.”

-O-o-O-

A few minutes later, Keith was walking through the park when he saw the most repulsive thing ever (in his opinion).

Kaiba and Kyra were French-kissing on a bench.

“What the fuck is this?!” Keith shouted when he saw them.

Kaiba and Kyra looked up at Keith, then turned back to each other and continued kissing.

“Don’t you turn away from me!” Keith pulled Kyra off of Kaiba. “What the fuck are you doing with my girlfriend, Kaiba?!”

“We’re kissing. Couldn’t you tell?” Kaiba deadpanned.

“Kaiba, there are a million other girls in Domino. Why’d you have to choose my girlfriend?!”

“He chose me because we’re both tired of getting played by you,” Kyra answered.

“What?!” Keith tried to play dumb.

“Don’t act like you don’t know, Bandit Keith. You made both of us believe that we were the only one you were dating. You just wanted to get in both of our pants and feel like you were some kind of sex king for it,” Kaiba said.

“But why are you complaining, Kaiba? You know you liked it,” Keith said, trying to grab Kaiba’s butt again. Kaiba not only pulled away violently, but kicked Keith off of himself. Keith grabbed Kaiba and, before Kaiba could do anything about it, he began to kiss Kaiba on the lips. Kaiba pulled away and spat on the ground.

“You taste like shit!” Kaiba shouted.

Keith only laughed at this. “I love it when you’re nasty, Kaiba. You’re so sexy when you’re mad.”

“Then I must be really sexy now, because you’re really pissing me off!” Mokuba had to hold Kaiba back before Kaiba could cause any bodily harm to Keith.

Then Kyra turned to Keith. “Y’know, you’re a real pig. First, you cheated on me. Then, you tricked Kaiba into sleeping with you and you treat him like a cheap whore. Then you plan to dump him when he’s having your kid. Pardon my French, but you’re an asswipe!” Kyra shouted.

“Well, you shouldn’t be complaining either. You’re a whole lot hotter than Kaiba, so I’ll always come back to you,” Keith said smugly.

“Not this time, Keith! You know that little thing between you and me that’s called a relationship? Yeah, about that: it’s over!” Kyra shouted.

Keith’s jaw dropped at least two inches. Kaiba walked over to him.

“Bandit Keith, if you play with fire, you just might get burned,” Kaiba said.

-O-o-O-

After Keith had walked off, stupefied by what Kaiba and Kyra did, Mokuba, Kaiba, and Kyra shared a victory high-five.

“That was so great! You two really put Keith in his place!” Mokuba cheered.

“We sure did,” Kaiba said.

“Kaiba, I’m sorry I called you a whore. I didn’t mean it, you’re really not a bad guy,” Kyra said.

“It’s okay,” Kaiba said. “And I’m sorry I almost stole your boyfriend.”

“It’s okay, you didn’t know he was dating me.”

As Kyra turned to leave, she said, “And you’re not a bad kisser either.”

Kaiba blushed. “Thanks.”

Later that day, Kaiba was walking down the street, alone. He was happy that he had put Keith in his place, but he was sad that Keith wouldn’t ever want to be with him. A part of him hated Keith and wanted him to drop off the face of the earth, yet another part of him wanted Keith to come back and take responsibility for his actions.

“What am I supposed to do with his child? I can’t raise it all by myself,” Kaiba thought. “And why would Keith want to do what he did? Why would he just take my virginity, then dump me like that? How could I be so stupid?!”

‘How you gonna up and leave me now? How you gonna act like that? How you gonna change it up? We just finished making up. How you gonna act like that?’

Kaiba reached his home. He went up to his room and lay down.

‘How you gonna act like we don’t be making love? You know we be tearing it up, breaking stuff, and getting rough. How you gonna trip, How can you forget? How you gonna act like that?’ (author's note: How You Gonna Act Like That - Tyrese)

Mokuba went into Kaiba’s room. He found Kaiba lying on the bed, staring into space.

“I can’t believe Noah was right, Mokuba. I acted like such a pompous idiot. He kept trying to warn me and I wouldn’t listen,” Kaiba whispered.

“Seto, you’re not an idiot. You were just being protective of your boyfriend because you loved him. It’s not your fault that Keith was a low-down cheater. You deserve someone better than him, anyway, so forget about him,” Mokuba said.

“But how can I forget about him?! I’m having his kid!” Kaiba growled.

“Don’t worry, Seto, we’ll figure something out. Everything will be okay,” Mokuba said, hugging Kaiba.

Noah heard their conversation and entered the room. “Are you okay in here?”

“Noah, you were right. I should’ve listened to you when you said that Keith was cheating on me. I’m a jerk,” Kaiba said.

“No, you’re not a jerk. I didn’t want to be right. I just didn’t want you to get hurt. I only wanted you to be happy,” Noah said.

Kaiba’s exhaled heavily. “Thanks,” he said, starting to smile again.

“But you say you’re having Keith’s child. How can you break up with him?” Mokuba asked.

Noah took a second to recover from this shocking news, then he responded, “He can’t, Mokuba. I’m going to go to Bandit Keith and force him to take responsibility for what he did.”

“You can’t do that, Noah. He’ll only end up cheating again,” Kaiba said.

Then, Mokuba thought of something that changed everything. “What if it’s not Keith’s?” he mused to himself.

He didn’t realize that Noah had heard him. “What did you say?”

Mokuba realized that he had said it out loud. “Uh, nothing?”

“It’s okay, Mokuba, he’d find out sooner or later, and I’d rather it be sooner than later,” Kaiba said. “I did it with Yugi, too.”

Noah stared at Kaiba in shock. “Did it ever occur to you that it could be Yugi’s child?”

“No, it didn’t. Because I started getting the symptoms after I did it with Keith. It couldn’t be Yugi’s kid,” Kaiba stated.

“Well, just to be sure, I’m taking you to the doctor to find out,” Noah said.

Due to amazing advances in technology (and the fact that this is just a fictional story), a machine had been invented so an expectant mother could tell who the father of the child was. All they would need was a sample of Yugi’s DNA.

They had their sample; it was a few strands of Yugi’s hair, taken from Kaiba’s trenchcoat. They knew it was Yugi’s hair because it was tri-colored and they made sure it was Yugi’s and not Yami’s.

“I’m telling you, it’s not Yugi’s child. You’re wasting your time, Noah,” Kaiba said, as they went to the doctor.

“I just want to be sure, Seto,” Noah said.

After the test, the doctor showed them the results. “Seto Kaiba, I have determined that the father of your baby is Yugi.”

“I knew it,” Noah thought.

“I can’t believe it,” Kaiba thought.

That night, Kaiba reflected on the events of the day, as he lay in bed. He had put his cheating boyfriend in his place, successfully broken the news about his situation to Noah, and found out who the true father of his child was.

“But will Yugi even look at me after I ran off yesterday? I bet he’s already moved on. He thinks that it’s Keith’s child. He probably thinks I’m a freak. That Blue Eyes underwear was a little weird,” Kaiba thought.

As Kaiba drifted off to sleep, he thought, “Where do I go from here?”

-O-o-O-

The next evening, Yugi decided to go to the park to listen to music. It was a nice, quiet day. The setting sun painted the sky brilliant shades of red and violet. Yugi listened to his portable tape player, admiring the nature while running through the park.

Kaiba, who had decided to stop moping around the house and go outside, was walking through the park, too. He was so absorbed in his thoughts that he didn’t even notice the sunset that much.

It was getting dark. Yugi was wearing black as he walked toward Kaiba. Kaiba didn’t see Yugi and Yugi wasn’t really watching where he was going. The two ran smack into each other, knocking them both over.

“Oh, crap! I’m so sorry, Kaiba!” Yugi exclaimed, running over to help Kaiba up.

“Yugi, we’ve gotta stop meeting like this,” Kaiba said, smiling as he got up.

“I keep knocking you off your feet,” Yugi commented.

“In more ways than one,” Kaiba thought silently. He said out loud, “Yugi, I have to tell you something.”

Yugi looked up with interest. “So do I.”

“I love you, Yugi,” Kaiba said quickly.

Yugi stared at Kaiba. “That’s certainly different.”

“If you don’t love me back, I’ll understand,” Kaiba said, turning away.

“No, I do. That’s what I wanted to tell you. I love you, too,” Yugi said.

“Really?” Kaiba asked.

“Really,” Yugi answered.

Yugi and Kaiba hugged.

“Yugi, I have something else to tell you. I’m pregnant with your child,” Kaiba said.

“But, I thought it was Keith’s child,” Yugi said.

“No. I was wrong. It’s yours,” Kaiba said.

“Then, maybe we can get married,” Yugi said.

They sat down on a bench.

“Do you wanna listen to music?” Yugi asked.

“Sure,” Kaiba answered.

Yugi took out the tape player, put a tape in, pressed play.

As they listened to the music, Yugi remembered something that had happened in PE class. “Remember in PE when we had to learn the tango?”

Kaiba chuckled. “It was disastrous. The teacher paired us up and I was too tall to dance with you properly.”

“And I kept stepping on your feet,” Yugi added.

They listened to the music for a while. Suddenly, a song came on that got their attention.

‘Watch the band, Through a bunch of dancers. Quickly, Follow the unknown.’

“Our song is playing,” Yugi joked. “Let’s dance.”

“You think our dancing will be any better?” Kaiba asked.

“Well, I’ve gotten taller and I’ll try not to step on your feet,” Yugi said. “Let’s try the tango.”

“You don’t wanna do such a dance with me. I can’t,” Kaiba said.

“You’ll be fine,” Yugi said.

They began to dance. Kaiba was surprisingly good at it.

“You’re really good at this,” Yugi said.

Kaiba smiled. “Thanks, Yugi.”

They continued to dance in the final twilight of the setting sun.

‘Courage, my word, didn’t come it doesn’t matter. Courage, couldn’t come at a worse time.’ (author's note: Courage - Sarah Polley (I heard it in an episode of Charmed))

-O-o-O-o-O-

Moral of the story: If you're going to two-time a guy, make sure he's not better at card games than you.

[shelbyroundthemountain]

Hollow Resonance

Yugi still wasn’t used to navigating the Kaiba Mansion, but Kaiba had said to let himself in whenever he stopped by. More accurately, he told Yugi not to pester him with things like doorbells, but that was as close as Kaiba could get to extending an open invitation. Kaiba’s office was the only place he could be trusted to find on his own, but that was where Kaiba always was anyway.

Through the ornate doorway of the office, Yugi could see Kaiba standing in the middle of the room. He was inspecting an object a bit smaller than a basketball that gleamed a sickly yellow-gray. Kaiba turned it over in his hands and Yugi could make out a joyfully raised trunk and gaudy painted eyes.

“Is that an elephant?” Yugi asked.

Kaiba’s gaze flicked to him briefly.

“An elephant vase, yes.”

“Oh. Not sure it matches the decor here. Thinking of redecorating?”

“Not quite. It’s for Mokuba.” then, too late to be casual, he added, “It belonged to our parents.”

“Your birth parents?” Yugi asked, suddenly feeling like he intruded on a private moment, “I thought you didn’t have anything left from them?”

“We didn’t. This elephant is the result of considerable man hours of investigating dusty bins of auction records and pawn tickets.” Kaiba explained.

“And you did that all for Mokuba’s birthday?”

“He doesn’t remember our parents. It may not look like much, but Mokuba deserves to have something from them. Even if it's just a ceramic elephant” Kaiba stated.

“Still, he’ll appreciate it.” Yugi replied, “That’s a lot to go through for a birthday present.”

“I have a lot to make up for.” Kaiba had a distant gleam in his eye. “I wasn’t around like I should’ve been for a long time.”

“I’m sure he doesn’t hold that against you.” Yugi assured him.

“He doesn’t. He’s forgiven me for a lot that he shouldn’t have.” he passed the elephant from one hand to the other, “he even forgave me for Death-T.”

Yugi’s palms started to sweat. They never talked about Death-T and he’s feeling woefully unprepared to start now.

“You remember Death-T?” He asked.

“Tch. How could I forget something like that?” Kaiba responded. His knuckles white where they gripped the elephant. Yugi could almost hear it creak in protest.

“It's just that-” Yugi swallowed, “I thought Atem erased your memory.”

The elephant shattered.

Ceramic shards littered the ground. A few pieces skittered across the hardwood floor.

“Shit.” Kaiba cursed. He clenched his now empty hands into fists and kneeled down, facing away from Yugi. He began collecting a few of the broken pieces.

“Fuck. Kaiba, I’m so sorry.” Yugi really wished he could see his face, gauge how bad this was about to get. “I didn’t mean to- I’ll just leave, I'm so sorry.”

“Stop.” Kaiba waved off Yugi’s apologies,”Stay. If you want. Just… give me a second.”

Yugi froze in place, unsure if Kaiba wanted his help. For a minute, the only sound in the room was the soft clinking of ceramic as Kaiba methodically collected them.

“I didn’t forget…” Kaiba broke the silence without warning, “He didn’t erase my memory. I remember everything. The Pharaoh broke me apart, but I had to put myself back together. I relived everything in that coma. Every day I’ve ever lived was projected endlessly while I sorted through all the pieces. ”

It was strange to see Kaiba like this. Whether he was jumping from helicopters or sneering down from billboards, he always managed to make himself larger than life. He mirrored his dragons: proud, tall, and untouchable. Now he was hunched in the shadows, hiding his face. He looked small. Vulnerable.

“Not all of me got put back.” Kaiba continued, “Some parts were too corrupted and had to be cut out. Ever since then it’s felt like something is missing.”

Kaiba rubbed absently at his chest.

“Do you think that’s what he wanted? Is my penalty to live feeling incomplete for the rest of my life?”

It was a challenge. It was always these games with Kaiba.

“He isn’t punishing you, Kaiba. You were hurting a lot of people and you needed to be stopped.” Yugi took an unconscious step forward, wincing when he heard the crunch of ceramic underneath his boot “He was trying to show you mercy.”

“Mercy?” Kaiba let out a cruel laugh, “Was that his idea of mercy?”

Shit. Not ceramic, an eggshell.

“Reliving my entire childhood of neglect and torment could be a mercy,” he mocked, “only if you compare it to being devoured by monsters for 8 hours. Though, you’re right. I did hurt a lot of people. Is that your point? That I doled out worse than I got so I should stop whining-”

“Don’t put words in my mouth. I never said-”

“If he was interested in showing real mercy he would’ve ended me there and then!”

Yugi was tired of this. If Kaiba wanted to have this fight then he was going to have to look him in the face goddamnit. He was sick of staring at the man’s back. He was sick of Kaiba’s constant hiding.

Yugi circled around him, careful to avoid the bits of ceramic littering the floor. He half expected to see Kaiba smiling, his eyes overtaken with the same madness that had gripped him at Death-T.

Instead, he saw a young man on his knees with red rimmed eyes and a blotchy pink nose. His lips were upturned in a halfhearted grimace. Kaiba whipped his head up to meet Yugi’s eyes defiantly.

“Why are you even here, Muto?”

“You said I could stay.”

“Don’t play stupid,” he tsked “It doesn’t suit you. What’s the real reason? Were you hoping I’d bare my soul to you? Did you want this to be the day you finally tore down my walls like He did? I didn’t want to get ripped open, you know. Before that, everything was fine. For the first time in my life I was numb. Truly numb. After a decade of enduring Gozaboro he finally couldn’t hurt me. I could actually be free.”

“Then you and your little Pharaoh had to fuck it up” Kaiba accused breathlessly. “His mercy only left defenseless. It felt like being vivisected and left open. Every missing piece turned into a bitter memory.”

Yugi just watched. He knew what Kaiba meant about the missing pieces. About the constant ache they cause. He knew from experience there wasn’t much he could say to make it better. Some pain can’t be soothed, only endured. Kaiba took a few steadying breaths.

“He was supposed to fix me.” Kaiba sounded like he was pleading with some absent god “he left before I was done.”

Listening to Kaiba sent a chill through Yugi. It whistled over the holes in his heart, like breath over an empty glass bottle. A hollow resonance hummed through a space that once housed a feeling of comfort, companionship,and love. A space once filled to the brim by Atem, now left empty, open, and stinging like an exposed nerve.

The sensation made him want to shudder, cry, scream, do anything that might release the dull anguish that has been gnawing at him this last year. None of those options could properly communicate what it felt like to lose half your soul, nor did they seem particularly helpful with this situation. So Yugi settled on crouching down and retrieving the rest of the pieces of Kaiba’s last family heirloom. He set them carefully in Kaiba’s lap, and plopped down next to him.

“Yeah,” Yugi drew his knees under his chin. “Me too.”

Kaiba watched him closely for a moment. He hummed in acknowledgement.

Winning the ceremonial duel was supposed to prove that Yugi was ready to stand on his own.It was meant to prove he could thrive without Atem. It must have been some mistranslation though, because Yugi’s been finding it difficult just to function as a normal highschooler, forget thriving.

Tea, Joey, and Tristan were all doing so well. They all loved Atem. They all grieved, but they also seemed to be able to get back up and continue on with their lives. Seeing them succeed despite their grief should have been inspirational, but all it seemed to do was remind Yugi that he wasn’t capable of that. It’s been getting to the point that it’s hard to even talk to them. They’ve all been making so much progress on their post-highschool plans. For them, everyday was filled with more progress and new developments as they inch their way towards their respective goals. For Yugi, every day was a boring blend of sadness and pain. He’s gone days without calling just so he doesn’t have to lie when they ask how he’s been.

But Kaiba, even in all his sarcasm and vitriol, he understood. Or at least Yugi thought he did. They’re both struggling with the holes Atem left behind. He doesn’t feel like he has to be ok around Kaiba, because Kaiba is the biggest emotional wreck he knows. If Kaiba’s worried that Yugi just wants to fix him, then he’s dead wrong. These days he’s barely interested in talking to anyone who has their shit together, and knowing that Kaiba is as much of a mess as him is… comforting. There’s a comranderie to it.

“Hey” Yugi said softly, “Do you have any super glue? I think this is still salvageable.”

[princessofgames]

what should I write first ☆

[kaibacorpintern]

hello I am new to the fandom and wanted to introduce myself, i love your content and was wondering if you'd recommend any active blogs to follow. thanks!

ahhh for sure!!

@rainstormcolors is one of my top fav yugioh bloggers and a beloved friend. @yuujoh and @emblematik and @danieco and @kuriboh-i-choose-you and @atembomb and @nenya85 and @dxmichelle and @kaibacorpstocksplit and @millenni-em-tauk are also beloved friends (some of them post a mix of things, not just yugioh <3)

i love @zombiekaiba's yugioh posts, although they post less yugioh nowadays.

@millenniummmbop posts hilarious and lovely rivalshipping art although i believe she's currently on hiatus.

here is storied list of yugioh bloggers that i know are active and post or reblog a lot of yoog, mostly DM but some other series thrown in: @norealgoodbyes @marikism @crushcardvirus @zorcskhakis @duelistkingdom @dominonary @popflythesky @shinayashipper @millennium-tin-stick @alectoperdita @millenniumblog @king-thief @beanist GO WILD. a truly wide variety of bloggers, tastes, opinions, ships, types of fanworks (fanart and fanfiction and meta) etc <3 enjoy!!

drop a note in the comments if you're also an active (mostly) yugioh blogger!! we're thriving, baby!!!

AND HOW CAN I FORGET MY BOSS: @kaibacorp !!

[millenni-em-tauk]

“I don’t understand you. How you—you live with a literal demon in your head, and you made friends with it?”

“It’s—well it’s like I said before, you get used to it.”

Kaiba stared at him. “Not necessarily.”

Scene from a beautiful, poignant fanfic called “Ivy Winter” by @emblematik - a story that never leaves my heart, so I wanted to illustrate for it. Thank you for sharing your beautiful writing with the world!! ❤️

[little-yugi-muto-rp]

All my fics are now on my AO3

Here's the link. All but one are Rivalshipping. Blame @bowl-of-chaos and @shinayashipper for that.

And you can blame thank @better-name-for-rp-blog for the non-rivalship fic titled Nova, as well as an upcoming work set in that same verse.

https://archiveofourown.org/users/SentinelSpockNimoy/pseuds/Little%20Yugi%20Mutou

[playgroundghosts]

With Eyes of Blue (Chapter 01/??)

Wrote fanfic for the first time in over a decade and figured I’d post it on Tumblr too, still waiting for my AO3 invite but I uploaded it to FFnet here, but I’ll also post it here on Tumblr too. Will add the AO3 link to this post later. Feel free to give me your thoughts/criticism, I don’t bite (for I am not a dragon maybe)!

Title: With Eyes of Blue (Chapter 01/??) Summary: The four Blue-Eyes White Dragon cards become real and Rivalshippy co-parenting shenanigans ensue, because why not? Post-canon, pre-DSOD, minor Rivalshipping, with both of these dorks mourning over their favorite Pharaoh, who is probably laughing at this from the afterlife. Minor profanity, fluffy and H/C-y with some comedic elements, not sure how far the Rivalshipping will go yet. WIP obviously. Canon: Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (duh) Rating: T for minor profanity, plus dragon violence in future chapters Language: English Genres: Hurt/Comfort / Humor Words: 2,411 Main Characters: Yugi Mutou, Seto Kaiba, Mokuba Kaiba (best dragon uncle uwu)

Note: This is my first fanfic in a long time (and my previous ones were absolutely awful because I wrote them as an immature teenager, lmao) so hopefully I don't fail too hard! I feel like I should apologize in advance if I muck up Kaiba's characterization at all, I love him, but I'm much more experienced with Puzzleshipping, so I'm bound to make mistakes with everybody's BEWDy-loving billionaire. This actually popped into my head before I even knew it was Rivalshipping Week 2021 on AO3, but hopefully Rivalshippers will see it as a nice treat even if I'm neutral on the ship itself. I also posted this on my Tumblr and I'll have it on AO3 after the waiting list period. Characterization based off subs rather than dub, by the way. Enjoy! Also, shout out to my beta reader Kelsi/ItazuranaKitsune!

* * * *

Chapter One: We Don't Talk Anymore (Like We Used To Do)

* * * *

Months had passed since the Ceremonial Duel, and although Yugi was glad that Atem had been put to rest, it was hard adjusting to having his body to himself again. Sometimes he mumbled to himself, forgetting that there was nobody there to talk back to him. Certain times, his friends would notice and show concern, but he would insist that it wasn't a big deal, just a habit to get over. He was fine, really! Although maybe he wasn't just trying to convince them, but himself as well.

This particular day though, he had just gotten home from Burger World after grabbing some lunch. Opting to enter through the game shop portion of the building, he intended on grabbing a pack of cards or two before running up to his bedroom. Maybe it would be a welcome distraction from the pain, even though talking about new cards was something that he enjoyed doing with Atem, too. Damn it, yet another reminder of his dear friend.

After unlocking the front door of the game shop, Yugi paused as he could hear the sound of boxes being pushed around behind the front counter. Pausing in an attempt to decipher what it was, he could hear it happening again. "...Grandpa?" He raised his voice asking the next question. "You're down here getting the shop ready on a Saturday?"

He wasn't able to see his grandfather standing over the counter, but maybe he was bent over cutting boxes open? Curious, Yugi wandered over with his Burger World bag in hand as he walked past the counter and turned to look at whatever was behind it making so much noise.

But it sure wasn't Sugoroku Mutou making so much commotion. Strangely enough, it was a small Blue Eyes White Dragon, probably about the size of the average adult Siberian husky, potentially 20 inches (51 cm) tall at the withers and maybe 45 lbs (20 kg), assuming that it hadn't eaten too much of the Kame game shop's stock prior to being discovered.

The small but suddenly very real Duel Monster exhaled some air through its nostrils as it looked Yugi over, before moving its gaze toward that yummy-smelling bag in his hand and grumbling curiously. Out of sheer shock, Yugi gasped, took a step back, and accidentally tripped, falling butt-first onto an open box of Duel Monster cards. Fortunately, the strange dragon didn't seem to mean him any harm, only interested in getting a whiff of his food.

"Huh... Are you hungry?" He opened the bag and reluctantly took out a burger and unwrapped it, a little displeased about sharing his meal. Fortunately, he had bought two burgers and a side of French fries. He didn't even need to lower his arm before the partially unwrapped burger was snatched out of his grip and chewed happily by the ravenous little dragon. The strange creature quickly swallowed the food without hesitation and started licking its lips, looking up at Yugi for more. "Sorry, buddy, I've gotta eat too, you know," he said as he carefully pushed himself up and off of the now dented box.

"Yugi? Did you call me?" asked Sugoroku as he walked in behind Yugi, before seeing what all the commotion was about. "What the---?!"

The King of Games grimaced as his grandfather saw what was in front of them, although at least it confirmed that he wasn't somehow hallucinating all of this. "Yeah, I'll... I'll call Kaiba, I guess. Just keep mom busy so she doesn't come down here." He sure didn't need to ask Sugoroku twice! The elder Mutou simply nodded and left, chuckling to himself about how Ancient Egyptian magic was interrupting his grandson's life yet again.

After a few moments, Yugi sighed, reaching for the phone and then starting to dial some buttons. After all, who else could Yugi possibly call about a Blue Eyes White Dragon suddenly becoming very much real?

Ring ring ring... Somebody answered fairly quickly, it was Mokuba.

"Hey Yugi, long time no talk. What's up?" Mokuba answered, genuinely curious why the King of Games decided to call them up. Yugi simply chuckled nervously before replying.

"Hahah, hey Mokuba... Funny story, but I'm having a little bit of a situation here..." It only took Mokuba a couple of seconds to decipher what he meant, especially after what had happened with his brother and Yugi's grandpa so long ago.

"...You too, huh? Do you need us to send somebody over?" Mokuba offered. Yugi could hear the small dragon making some noise behind him, but he paid it no mind, assuming it was sticking its nose into some boxes or something. He could feel its smooth head bumping against the side of his torso, but he simply gave it a light elbowing and a shush, not wanting to be distracted.

"Yeah, I'd really appreciate it. Grandpa knows, but I really don't need my mom finding out..." The Mutou household might not have had any pets, but Yugi was pretty damn sure that his mom would absolutely not want a real life dragon living in their home. Who knows how big it would grow and how much it would cost to feed it anyway?

"On it, just hold tight, okay?"

Before Mokuba hung up, Yugi gave a grunt in reply, only to turn around and discover that the rest of his lunch was missing, even the wrappers. At least there was a very content little dragon eyeing him down, he could definitely imagine that it would be asking "Got any more of that?" if it was able to actually speak. At least it seemed to be able to understand him just fine, which made the language barrier more bearable.

Even after losing his whole meal, he couldn't help but chuckle and let out another sigh as he brushed his hand against the top of its scaley little head. Disappointing for sure, and yet... so cute. "You might've stolen my lunch, but I guess I can't stay mad at you. You like Burger World too, huh?" The Blue Eyes made a happy grumble in response and pushed its head against the underside of Yugi's hand, wanting more pets and maybe even an extra side of fries if he was somehow hiding more somewhere. Now both of them had to deal with an insatiable appetite, since they were both hungry for more. Oh well.

It didn't take too long for a Kaiba Corp limo to pull up in front of Kame game shop, maybe 20 minutes since Yugi made the phone call. To be quite honest, he was just glad that he was able to hide the dragon behind the counter and that nobody walked by and wanted to come inside to talk to the King of Games to ask for an autograph or something. He quickly grabbed a blanket from the other room and placed it over the dragon's body, putting it over its head last. "I can't risk letting somebody see you while we get in the car, okay?" The Blue-Eyes let out another grumble as a reply; Yugi assumed that it was fine with that since it didn't seem to be rebelling against him at all.

"Follow my voice, got it?" Yugi gave the dragon a pat on the head before grabbing his keys and leading it to the front door. After opening the door, he looked around to see if the coast was clear before calling the Blue-Eyes to walk out with him, its broad body swaying side to side. Mokuba pushed the back seat door open before scooting to the other side to give Yugi and the Blue-Eyes room to get in. "You know, I almost forgot about your grandpa's card when Seto woke up to dragons this morning. He still can't believe that he's got 3 real dragons at home that he doesn't know what to do with!"

Yugi chuckled in response as he gave the dragon a light push into the back seat, only for it to sit next to Mokuba and start sniffing him curiously, not worried about part of the blanket falling off and exposing its head and long neck. Locking the door behind him, he walked back to the car and gently moved the dragon's tail out of the way so that he could sit down, and then he closed the car door behind him. The driver nodded at them and started driving. At least he didn't seem to be freaking out either; Yugi wasn't sure how he was able to stay mostly calm himself, but then again, he had already dealt with a lot of weirdness due to the Millennium Puzzle and all of the mysteries around it.

"Yeah, it's crazy, huh? I can't imagine how your brother would react, knowing how much he loves Blue-Eyes White Dragons." Yugi replied, trying not to laugh too hard to himself about a certain billionaire's BEWD obsession.

Mokuba shot Yugi a smirk of his own, "Oh, he's excited, all right. Very confused because it doesn't make any logical sense, but also very excited." Yugi could feel the dragon bumping its head into his torso once again, and simply rested his hand on its head, closing his eyes and trying to make some sense of all this. Then again, if Seto Kaiba wasn't able to do so, how could he?

* * * *

Earlier that day at the Kaiba residence, Seto Kaiba was already awake and dressed, getting ready for his day. Like Yugi, he also felt a strange emptiness in his heart that Atem's presence used to fill, and was on his way to his safe room to grab his deck so that he could duel his deceased rival using virtual reality. It was his way of coping, and really, it wasn't quite fair that Yugi got one final duel with Atem, but not him. Not that he hadn't already frequently done that sort of thing already...

He was standing in front of the room about to key in his PIN when he paused, hearing a strange noise inside. A burglar? Impossible; An alarm would've gone off if somebody had somehow broken in. Besides, who would dare attempt to incur his wrath anyway? Seto shook his head in an attempt to distract himself from his thoughts as he rushed to input his PIN and get inside as soon as possible. Maybe he was just hearing things after not sleeping well the night before and his morning coffee hadn't quite kicked in yet, that must have been it.

Yet when the door was opened, there was definitely something bizarre in front of him, even if it wasn't a burglary in progress.

Seto was enthralled by the sight before him; 3 majestic Blue-Eyes White Dragons gleaming from the light shining in from his window. They may have scratched up his floor a tad while exploring the room in search for an exit, but the sight of their master placated them for the time being, now that they didn't have to worry so much about escaping such a cramped room. He could almost feel a whispered "Beautiful..." escape his lips, due to the sheer amazement at what was happening in front of him. Yet at the same time, it simply didn't make any sense, just like a lot of the strange happenings in his life. Such was the life of Domino City's resident billionaire.

"Hey Seto, I thought you were grabbing your deck so we could--- huh?!" Mokuba walked into the room behind Kaiba, wondering why it was taking his older brother so long to simply grab his Duel Monsters deck, and was also shocked at what the two of them were looking at. The three dragons looked over at Mokuba, before gazing back at their master, as if they were waiting for his command for what to do next. One of them made a noise similar to clearing its throat, feeling a little impatient that Seto hadn't done much yet, while not wanting to offend him at all.

"Mokuba, I'm going to need you to make a few phone calls..." What exactly would he need? Perhaps a veterinarian to study them and see what makes them tick? How big were they going to get, would he need to buy out a large property to contain them and commission somebody to build them a shelter? Could he train them to fly and use Burst Streams to protect him and Mokuba? He had so many questions, although he couldn't quite get answers for them yet.

"On it, big brother! Just tell me what you need!"

This was going to be a long and complicated day for sure.

* * * *

Note: Calling all Kaiba experts! I don't know enough of his mind to know what he'd name his three BEWDs, any suggestions? Already got a name in mind for Yugi's. A friend of mine suggested Rex (Latin for "king") which I think would be pretty fitting for a male BEWD and another friend suggested maybe Brutus (an actual king), but I was thinking all 4 BEWDs would be girls so they could all be daddy's girls so I don't know, I'm undecided, hahah. Maybe one could be named after their uncle Mokuba somehow? "Best" I could think of was Ki, Sa, and Ra (for Kisara), but that's also kind of silly and not "cool" enough for Seto Kaiba. Anyway, give your input because my brain can't come up with anything that sounds good. uwu

[thatdangeroussmile]

New Story Poll Update

It looks like it’s even so far! If you’re a part of the Yu-Gi-Oh! Community and you’re looking for new fan fiction, vote on my Patreon for what you’d like to see!

There’s only 4 days left to cast your vote so search for QueenBEWD on Patreon to access the public post!

Patreon.com/QueenBEWD

[bum-scum]

From the hug starter. Here 

Rivalshipping

Excuse me for grammar and tense ( past and present) mistakes. Just warning you now. I dont type things that make sense. Set in DSOD ( for ref) 

Yugi sat there on the roof top. He had finished his lunch and watched as his other friends laughed and talked from afar it was then he realized the pang ache thudding in his chest; 

The loneliness. 

He couldn't be mad that his friends had found someone for themselves, but Yugi felt that stab of jealousy of the bonds his friends had made without him, even together as a group, he felt like the odd one out and Yugi hid the pain with a smile. It was something he couldn't understand why.

He’s got all the friends he’d ever wanted, even his mother and grandpa exist in his life. Still, that empty space kept brewing in his heart, no matter how much he was surrounded with the best people ever. 

 Yugi smiled absently. Now staring into nothingness but the blue colour of the sky, trying to forget the horrible feeling in his heart.

“Unusual for you to be alone.”

Yugi snapped out of his dazed state, startled by the figure standing next to him.

“Kaiba!” 

Yugi watched intently as Kaiba sat next to him. ‘The tall tower’ Yugi had dubbed him as a slight joke of his own fondness, straightened himself once he got comfortable. Yugi eyed at how The CEO’s school uniform was starting to become tight around the chest area. He had been working out it seemed; biceps slightly bulging as Kaiba folded his arms across his chest. Now Yugi was staring at his chest more than he would like to admit.  

Ripping his eyes away from the tempting development of Kaiba’s muscles, Yugi looked down at his feet. His own shoe laces were about to become undone from PE earlier before lunch. He tensed when he heard Kaiba sigh. 

Yugi turned his head and saw Kaiba staring back at him. Their eyes locked, but what Yugi didnt expect next made everything around him go silent in time. Strong arms wrapped around him in a tight embrace, pulling him closer to Kaiba’s warm and welcoming body. Yugi quietly gasped as he felt Kaiba’s cheek gently rubbing against his own, his big hand cradling at the back of Yugi’s head, fingers threading through his wild locks. 

Yugi’s face was nestled comfortably in Kaiba’s chest. This was completely out of character of Kaiba. He wasn't the type to hug anyone except Mokuba, and Yugi had seen how Kaiba hugs Mokuba. 

But this hug was different, different than the brotherly hug that he would give Mokuba. This one felt far too close, more than friendly. It felt rather quite intimate.

Personal, even. 

Yes, this felt intimately personal. 

it was then reality settled back in. Yugi now noticed why Kaiba was hugging him. 

He sobbed as tears welled up and fall, feeling Kaiba hugging him tighter, the gentle rubbing of his cheek and hand at the back of his head held a little more firm made Yugi cry harder. 

The loneliness he was feeling was overwhelming like a tidal wave, drowning him to sink at the bottom and he felt like Kaiba was shielding him from it. The patch of tears soaked the fabric of Kaiba’s uniform as he rubbed his eyes to wipe them away, but to no avail. He kept crying.

“Let it all out, Yugi.”

As if Kaiba couldn't get anymore out of character that hearing his soothing voice tugged at Yugi’s heart strings. 

As the world and time had stopped, he felt himself moving along the motions of rocking. Seeing this side of Kaiba was melting his heart, making his face burn warm as the pounding organ throbbed against his chest. His feelings of loneliness ebbed slowly and was replaced by warmth; a medicine to remedy the sickness that was attacking him.  

His crying had settled down into sobs, and then sniffling. The hug continued for a moment longer before the rocking motion had stopped, and the warm embrace of this strong arms and chest moved away. 

He felt Kaiba’s hands caressing his wet cheeks, thumbs wiping stray tears away. Looking at Kaiba’s blue steely eyes, he could see the slight, puffy redness in them.

It looked like he was about to cry, too

But what's more surprising is that Kaiba’s facial expression was out of this world and Yugi had the honor to see it first hand for himself.

Kaiba’s soft, sadden expression showed empathy and kindness. Eyes weren't squinted in anger, his scowl looking non-existent, and the downturn of his lips are now upturned in the most heart melting smile.

“I-”

“Shh, Yugi. It’s okay. I know, I already know. You don't have to tell me.”

With Kaiba standing up, his hands no longer caressed his cheeks. He felt Kaiba’s hand squeezing his shoulder, reassuring him of their hug moment ago. 

“You know where to find me,” He said with a slight nod. 

Kaiba’s hand left Yugi’s shoulder and turned around to leave, and before he left, Kaiba looked over his shoulder with a soft smile.

“You’re never alone...

I’ll always be here.”

[katyanoctis]

Total Eclipse - Epilogue

Seto witnesses the final judgment...and learns more than he wanted to know about all that truly happened. 

And with that, I am still a terrible person...but this story is complete! I began writing it in 2009 and it’s FINALLY done and online. Woo! Thanks a BUNCH to my amazing betas, Rika and @ashethehedgehog  <3

[shelbyroundthemountain]

An Exchange or Two

https://archiveofourown.org/works/43510941

A single bead of condensation slowly crawled its way down the side of Kaiba’s root beer float. His fingers rested delicately on the table, sticky with grime and hastily mopped up soda-spills. The carpet under his Italian leather shoes was a stained geometric pattern. It was vaguely reminiscent of a PSA he must’ve been forced to watch at the orphanage. The surrounding noise was overwhelming. Clanging, dinging, and chiming rang out from every corner of the arcade. Squeals of excitement echoed after sugar-high children. Kaiba fought off nausea caused by the rubbery pizza. He tried to ignore the cacophony and focus on whatever trivial matter the nerd herd were blabbering about. It wasn’t his fault that most people his age seemed to speak a different language. He could negotiate deals worth billions of dollars, singlehandedly saving a thousand jobs in the process, but add things like slang to the mix and conversation suddenly became hard to follow. It was difficult not to detach entirely and spin off into his own thoughts. The state of his shredded napkin could attest to that.

A memory of being in a similar position at the orphanage floated through his brain, unbidden. He shoved it away discomfortingly.

How the hell did he let himself end up here.

A sudden tap against his shoe from underneath the table broke him out of his thoughts. He looked up and saw Yugi giving him an encouraging smile. ‘ You okay?’ he mouthed.

Of course, that’s how.

It was only a handful of nights ago. He had been holding Yugi in his arms. Their fingers intertwined in a shaft of moonlight. Yugi’s breath, warm on his chest.

“Teá’s visiting soon. We’re all going out,” Yugi said softly, “I think you should come.”

Kaiba blinked. He had never really gotten along with the dork squad. They didn’t like him and he wasn’t interested by them. He exhaled, his breath stirred a strand of Yugi’s hair.

“Why?”

“I dunno. There’s a lot of reasons. I haven’t seen them as much as I should,” Yugi looked away. Ashamed, maybe? “And I want to be around you. So I figured? I don’t know. If we all hung out it wouldn’t feel like choosing between you or them… Does that even make sense?”

Yugi’s bright eyes turned back to him. He seemed hopeful. Nervous. Vulnerable. Kaiba barely thought twice-

“Okay.”

“Okay?”

“Yeah. I’ll go.”

Kaiba felt like a sailor who heeded a siren’s call. Doomed to be tormented for eternity in his own personal hell. Which happened to look a lot like a pizza arcade.

The night had a couple of highlights. Teá and Yugi had been locked in a DDR battle that seemed to go on forever. Dizzy after a battle well-fought (and lost) Yugi had practically fallen off the platform and into Kaiba’s arms. He was exhausted, sweaty, and flushed a very pleasant pink that gave Kaiba butterflies. He had rushed to get Yugi back on his feet and reclaim control over his own reddened face.

He had enjoyed playing Street Fighter with Wheeler. It was easy to drown everything out and focus on the combos, the blocks. On completely decimating the enemy in front of him. By the end, Wheeler was frustrated beyond the capabilities of language. Kaiba was prepared to enrage him further with a traditional victory gloat, but Yugi had given him a pointed look at the last minute.

“Ah. Good… good game, Wheeler.”

Dinner wasn’t going so smoothly.

Kaiba had the distinct impression he was being stared at, which was confirmed as soon as he laid eyes on… Trent? The trench coat one, who had been watching him closely the entire time they had been eating. Sure, the others had slipped him looks, but Teá and Wheeler both looked away as soon as they had been caught. Trevor… no… Tristan had the audacity to stare openly without any trace of fear.

Kaiba wiped his hands on his napkin again. How were they still so wet ? Was the pizza that greasy? He took a sip, the syrup coated his throat and his stomach protested further. As he set down the glass, he could see the fine tremors in his hand. He tried to focus on the conversation again. Something about shoes maybe?

It was a pathetic reaction, Kaiba knew. Reduced to sweating and trembling by some simple chatter and a bit of staring? It was completely unacceptable. He was the Seto Kaiba. Powerful. Infallible. He will not be cowed by this nobody.

He felt he was being mocked openly. Kaiba is not one to ignore that. He opened his mouth to say something biting. Something to drag this insolent oaf back into his place. Maybe even a threat. Something to show this mongrel how worthless he really is.

Before he can decide on an insult, Yugi leans against him, having collapsed in a fit of giggles. Wheeler and Teá are laughing too. Tristan only smiled knowingly at him.

Ah so that was his play. Tristan was trying to goad him into making himself look bad in front of Yugi and goddammit he almost fell for it. He needed to be more alert. He stood suddenly.

“Sorry,” He said as he met Yugi’s worried eyes, “Restroom.”

The concrete of the restroom muffled the harsh noise of the arcade and almost immediately Kaiba could feel the difference. No wonder Yugi had looked worried, his muscles had been so tensed up he could feel three new knots had formed. He forced himself to relax as he splashed water in his face, carefully avoiding the slimy sides of the sink.

The door behind him opened, briefly letting in the cacophony of sound. It only took a glance in the mirror to confirm his suspicions on who might’ve followed him in.

“Man, it took longer than I thought to get you alone.” Tristan said casually.

“Jumping me in the bathroom is behavior I’d expect from Wheeler, not you.”

“Relax, this isn’t a jump, just wanted to have a little chat with my new… friend.” Tristan kept his tone neutral,” So you and Yugi, huh? How’d that go down? I thought you didn’t take social calls.”

“Not usually” Kaiba watched him with measured indifference. He needed to know what Tristan wanted before he could get the upper hand, “Though, I will make exceptions for the exceptional. Is that enough chit chat for you? Or did you accost me for a reason?”

“I’m just tryin t’figure out what Yugi sees in you.”

Kaiba’s jaw tensed with rage. He spent all night mocking him and now he thinks he can question his relationship with Yugi? As if he could even understand it. Getting close to Yugi was a slow growing process. Kaiba had thought his capacity for trust to be permanently limited by the scars his father’s training left behind. He had resigned himself to live mostly alone. Mokuba would get older and more independent and Kaiba would survive on his own like he always had. He had never considered romance as a possibility. But what he said was true, there are exceptions for those that prove to be exceptional, and Yugi had proven himself time and time again. He was passionate. Intelligent. His creativity and innovative problemsolving always ended up surprising Kaiba. He had a capacity for empathy and kindness and compassion, the likes of which Kaiba had never seen. Even after all he’s suffered, Yugi was still so full of hope and a readiness to love.

But he can’t say what Yugi sees in him.

“That sounds like a question for Yugi,” Kaiba said as calmly as he could manage,”Why don’t you go ask him .”

“Well that's the thing. Yugi’s been acting weird. Flaking out, skipping calls. He’s been evasive and irritable. Even avoiding his grandpa. It’s not like him. Could you think of anything that could make him on edge like that?” Tristan said sharply.

“Is this some kind of accusation?” Kaiba crossed his arms,

“You aren’t known for your soft and fuzzy demeanor.”

“Don’t assume you know anything about our relationship. You don’t.”

“Then what do you suggest is wrong with him?”

“He’s grieving. A bit of prickliness is to be expected.”

“ Grieving? He never acted like this before.” He seemed genuinely surprised by the answer.

The ache in Kaiba’s chest makes itself known again. Like the gentle howling of wind.

“The Pharaoh was a part of his soul. They were almost a singular being for years .”he rolled his eyes “Don’t tell me you thought a homemade funeral and a couple crying sessions would heal a wound like that.”

“You better fuckin watch it” Tristan fisted Kaiba’s lapel and pulled him close, “you don’t know what we went through. We mourned together . We healed together . You weren’t even there.”

“Exactly. I wasn’t even there and I can tell Yugi is still struggling.” Kaiba scoffed, slapping Tristan’s hand away. “He lost his soul. Don’t insult him by thinking that something you can just bounce back from. When was the last time you even talked about Atem?”

Tristan blanched slightly, whether it was in reaction to the accusation or just the mention of Atem’s name Kaiba wasn’t sure.

“I- We-” Tristan swallowed “We didn’t want to reopen any old wounds, okay?”

“Yours? Or his?”

Tristan huffed, deflated. He looked at Kaiba for a moment.

“Losing Atem hurt, ok? I’m just trying to move on.”

“Do what you want, just be sure you don’t leave Yugi behind when you do.”

“We won’t.”

“Good.”

The tension in the room began ebbing away as they stared at each other. Kaiba thought maybe Tristan’s initial was noble, even if his methods were irritating. He clearly had come in here looking for a fight, which was no small act of courage when the person he was looking to fight was Seto Kaiba. Kaiba felt a small bubble of respect well up in him, and going by the look in Tristan’s eye, the feeling was mutual.

When Kaiba returned to his seat, Yugi was still there. He looked worried, even with the flush from laughter still lingering in his cheeks. He grabbed Kaiba’s hand and pulled him close.

“Everything ok?” he asked softly.

Kaiba nodded. He raised their clasped hands together and kissed Yugi’s knuckle. He just needed to get through the next couple hours. Tristan came back to the table not too long after.

“Yo, Kaiba. I’m getting another drink, want anything?”

Tristan seemed adept at the faux-casual approach (something Kaiba could never quite master) but Kaiba took the offer for what it was: an olive branch.

“Yes. I’ll have a black coffee. Thank you.”

~

A couple hours later Kaiba and Yugi were walking through the door of the Kaiba mansion together.

“Hey,” Yugi started, he held onto Kaiba’s lapels, nearly standing on Kaiba’s toes. “Thank you for going tonight. I know it wasn’t easy, especially at the beginning of dinner.”

Kaiba shrugged and avoided Yugi’s eyes.

“It was fine.”

“No, Seto, please. Talk to me. When I invited you I didn’t think it’d be so stressful for you.”

“ Stressful is an exaggeration. I was mildly uncomfortable at worst.”

“Mhmm” Yugi grabbed one of Kaiba’s hands and started massaging it out of the fist it was still clenched into, “Well the goal was to have fun. Do you know what might’ve added to your discomfort ? Maybe next time we can all do something you feel more at ease with.”

Kaiba’s face scrunched a bit at the word all . A stone was stuck somewhere between his throat and his stomach. It went without saying that Yugi’s friends were important to him. Probably even  nonneogiatable, but Kaiba wasn’t sure he could put up with too many nights like tonight. Being surrounded like that. His stepfather taught him that conversation was just another form of battle. Everyone had their own goals, everyone was trying to get what they wanted from the other however possible. It was a game with winners. And losers. He remembers what it meant to lose, even if logically his father’s final lesson had been disproven. His throat tightened.

“Seto?” Yugi broke through his thoughts, “You went away for a second.”

“I’m here. It’s fine. We can keep going to the arcade.”

Yugi sighed.

“I know it's not easy to talk about this. We don’t have to do it right now. I just- I want you to know I’m willing to come up with something. I’d feel better knowing you felt better.”

“Did you not have fun tonight?”

“I did. But I was still worried. I knew better than to pester you about it in front of everyone.”

“If that’s the case, then why have you been avoiding them?

Yugi flinched. His encouraging smile faded. He rocked his weight anxiously from one foot to the other.

“Don’t change the subject. We’re talking about you.”

“We’re always talking about me. This is equally important. I know it’s been bothering you.”

“Is that what you and Tristan talked about when you both disappeared?”

“Sort of. I think it was just supposed to be a prelude to him punching me.”

“Ha, I think you’re lucky Tristan is more levelheaded than he seems.”

“Yugi.” Kaiba said seriously.

Yugi let go of Kaiba’s hand in favor of grabbing both his elbows. Kaiba tried not to feel rejected.

“I’ll answer your question if you answer mine.” Yugi said.

Kaiba thought for a long moment. Self reflection wasn’t his strong suit, but spending time with Yugi had taught him how to be more perceptive of his own reactions.

“Maybe… If there wasn’t an ‘everyone’. Also somewhere quieter.”

“Okay,” Yugi smiled, “We can do that. Next time what about me, you, and Teá? Or Bakura?”

That would greatly reduce the amount of potential combatants. Kaiba nodded.

“It’s my turn then?” Yugi laughed nervously, “I guess, uh. They’re a lot of fun to be around.”

“And that’s bad?”

“Sometimes I don’t want to have fun. And if I go anyways, I just get frustrated. And sometimes, really angry.”

“Because He’s not there?”

Yugi’s face crumpled. His lip trembled.

“Yeah. And sometimes when I have fun too it's even worse. He was our friend. He was a part of me. And we can just move on like that?” Yugi wiped his eyes. “It feels like an insult.”

Kaiba was silent. Now that he succeeded in getting Yugi to actually talk he was feeling a bit in over his head.

“It’s not an insult. The Pharaoh- Atem… Atem knew how much you loved him, but he wouldn’t have left if he didn’t believe you could have fun without him. He wouldn’t have wanted that.” Kaiba wiped away one of Yugi’s tears, “He would’ve… he would’ve endured a millenia more of the puzzle if he thought it was the only way to make you smile again.”

Yugi sobbed. Kaiba prayed to all the denizens of Aru that he wasn't blowing this.

“I still miss him.” Yugi said when he got his breath back.

“That’s okay.”

Yugi pressed himself against Kaiba, and Kaiba wrapped his arms around him.

“I love you,” Yugi whispered, backing away only enough to turn his face towards Kaiba’s.

Kaiba sighed. Pressing his forehead against Yugi’s. He closed his eyes and breathed him in.

“I love you too.”

[rainstormcolors]

I was tagged by @norealgoodbyes. Thank you for tagging me.

Tag game: tag people you want to know better.

Favorite time of the year: I think I like autumn best. I like the clouds and the colors on the trees and taking walks outdoors if I can, and I like how it can be cozy.

Comfort foods: vanilla ice cream.

Do you collect anything: I guess I’ve collected YGO commissions. Earlier in the year, I was able to obtain a copy of a very rare doujinshi I’d been hunting for maybe eight years and that was quite nice.

Favorite drink: vanilla milkshakes and lattes of varying flavors like vanilla, rose, strawberry, etc.

Favorite music artists: Moby, I’m also pretty fond of the Hotline Miami soundtrack, and things like that.

Current favorite songs: I’m not entirely sure why my brain’s been so stuck on the song It Was Only a Dream by TimeCop1983 but it is. It’s an immersive song to sink into. I’ve also been listening a lot to specifically the Reprise Version of God Moving Over the Face of the Waters by Moby lately.

Favorite fics: I’m very touched and fond of various gift fics people have written for my birthday or just because. Like Abstraction (Kaiba brothers + Honda and Blankey) by kaibcorpintern or Ivy Winter (Rivalshipping) by emblematik or Treatise on Interdisciplinary Collaborations Between Entomological Studies and the Performing Arts (post-canon Pestshipping, a true rarepair) by the-cryptographer. I was given two fics this year as well that I’m touched by.

For not-gifted fanfictions, I’m very fond of I’m Not Your Salvation (early-manga Anzu and Jonouchi) and Lottery Ticket (angsty building-towards-Puppyshipping) by the-cryptographer. Counterfeit of Blood (Mokuba-centric, post an alternative Noa Arc) by mostremote has a scene I’ve considered, for myself personally, one of the most powerful scenes I’ve read in a fanfiction and I feel like I wish I could capture a fraction of that sort of storytelling power.

I’ll tag @the-cryptographer, but feel free to ignore me or to just DM me or whatnot.

Thank you for tagging me.

[blueeyeswhitechick]

Yu-Gi-Oh! Blog Masterpost (1.7)

Since it can be hard to find blogs/get found in our crazy big fandom, I created this list to help network between any and all YGO fans. Check out these super cool YGO-centric blogs below (listed in alphabetical order):

((ALSO, I’ll only be adding people to this list by request, in order to spotlight blogs that might not be as well known!))

@aibouuuuuuuuuuuuuu - Self proclaimed “YGO hell” blog lol

@arcatsk - Platonic prideshipping art (by the blogger!!) and other YGO reblogs!

@ask-seto-kaiba - Seto Kaiba RP blog!

@ask-thebrothers-kaiba - RP blog for Seto and Mokuba Kaiba~

@ask-yugi-mutou - Yugi Mutou RP blog!

@bewd-dewd - Artist and YGO lover!

@blueeyeswhitedragongirl - Lots of YGO (and Kaiba!)

@chaos-maxx - Puzzleshipping & prideshipping-focused YGO blog!

@desertrose3000 - All sorts of YGO!

@discordia-draws - YGO drawing blog!

@distracteddream - Lots of YGO (especially Bakura!)

@dragon-of-the-ra - YGO shitposting and art by the blogger!

@egyptian-magician - YGO blog with a couple other fandoms thrown in too!

@eleonoraolivieri - Puzzle/blindshipping animations and comics (by blogger)!

@elysiaree - YGO fan art (by the blogger), DM, and puzzleshipping!

@eveningthescoreyugioh - Fan blog for YGO comic “Evening the Score”

@fatkat17 - Plenty YGO all around!

@florence-midknight - Bakura RP blog, mainly for YGO Abridged!

@hiramiyugioh - General Yugioh DM, prideshipping and YGO Merchandise!

@iknowimhorrible - All kinds of YGO reblogs~

@jackvbriefs​ - YGO fanfiction & HCs! (mostly puzzleshipping)

@joeywheeler - Joey, Serenity, and Mai-centric!

@kaiba-fangirl  - Lots of Kaiba & a variety of shippings!

@kaiba-s-giant-ego - Kaiba posts, screenshots, and puppyshipping!

@kaibacorp - The complete Seto Kaiba experience~

@kaibagirl - All about the Kaibas~

@kaibascock - Great name lmao, but not an nsfw blog! Thirsty 4 Kaiba~

@kawaiideathmatch - Various fandoms/posts with YGO reblogs!

@king-jack-atlas - Jack Atlas RP/Ask blog!

@littleirishani - YGO DM-centric blog!

@loudsonggalaxy - Mostly YGO with a bit of randomness thrown in!

@maivalentine - All Duel Monsters (all the time)

@masaya90 - Puzzleshipping and blindshipping art blog!

@millenium-star - Mostly YGO, slight multi-fandom blog!

@millenniumpencilsharpener - YGO blog w/ lots of Bakura (+she writes/draws!)

@mywaywardcupcake - ALL the YGO blogging!

@nipplechain - YGO porn resource blog~ (NSFW)

@officialgrandpa - YGO blogging (and they also draw!! :))

@pastelbeatloves - New YGO blog w/ DM + prideshipping focus!

@peachypuzzle - YGO blogger and writer!

@pmdfan - YGO reblogs!

@pretti-ugli​ - Fan art & fics by the blogger & lots of pride/rivalshipping!

@riemaibou - YGO and cosplay!~ 

@rubygees - DM, puzzle & blindshipping, and European Portuguese dub posts! 

@sadbakura - YGO comic updates and art give aways (by the blogger)!

@setokaibasgreenhair - YGO fan art-centric blog that posts lots of new content!

@setokaibastarbucksbitch - Mostly YGO but a bit of SU too (and dat name tho)

@shindianaify - ~50% YGO/50% Shingeki no Kyojin (w/ occasional other stuff)

@sibbinthegivengibbon - YGO DM-centric blog (+they draw too!)

@silverrandomnesswolfpony - YGO blog with on/off RP!

@sinfulpapillon - Mostly YGO & the blogger is an artist, RPer and writer! 

@skarmew - YGO shitposting WOO!

@sombreset - DM memes, pride/puzzleshipping, and cosplay!!

@soukaina-roch - Lots of YGO reblogs!

@spiritsintertwined​ - Ask/RP blog for Yugi + Atem & specializes in 3D reactions!

@talesofaduelist - RP blog (currently for Yugi Mutou and Pharaoh Atem)~

@thatgiantjerkkaiba - Seto Kaiba/Priest Seto RP blog w/ other YGO reblogs!

@the-pancake-writes - Creator of a blindshipping fanfic epic!

@up-seto - Great selection of YGO (w/ a good number of Kaiba posts)

@wheredidyamileavemenow - Ryou Bakura and Yami Bakura-focused blog~

@yamikink - Yami Bakura/Yami Marik-focused blog!

@yo-queen - Lots of YGO!! (more than just DM)

@yugiohkinfessions - YGO kin blog!

@yugiohtrashh - Multi-pairing NSFW YGO blog! 

((EDIT: after ~every 5 new names added, I will change the version # at the top; find the fully updated version here))

If you run a YGO blog and want to be added to the list, just message me! And please signal boost so we can get more people recognition!! <3 

[duelistkingdom]

you’d come back to me

chapter eight: suggestion

[first chapter] [previous chapter] [master list] [next chapter] [read on ao3]

Summary: Seto Kaiba has been presumed dead for four years after the events of Dark Side of Dimensions. His return causes both unresolved feelings of grief to be brought to the surface and the past to be dragged right back up. In hopes of helping Seto move on and reintegrate back into society at large, Mokuba asks Yugi to work on Spherium II with Seto. Never one to leave a friend hanging, Yugi agrees. Over the course of the project, Seto and Yugi both come to terms with their mutual grief and grow towards a better understanding of each other.

Rating: T

Ships: Yugi Mutou/Seto Kaiba, Mokuba Kaiba/Rebecca Hopkins, Katusya Jonouchi/Mai Kujaku

Warnings: aged up characters, grief, references to suicide

consider supporting me on kofi / battle city tiers & above get first access to chapters!

On the first day of development, Seto immediately began to question all of Yugi’s choices in design. “This could be far more effective if we do this instead,” Seto said as he spread out a new code that would take far longer than the allotted time to implement. “I don’t know why you’re doing it that way.”

“We only have a year to get a working prototype to show investors, Kaiba,” Yugi said for what felt like the fiftieth time that day. He was certain that it was, at most, the fifth time. “I’ve already told you it would be unfair on the team to do it that way so we’re doing it the easier way.”

“If you want it to be effective, you should do things right the first time,” Seto snapped and Yugi glared up at him. Once again, Yugi was annoyed that he stopped an inch short of six feet tall. It was hard to be intimidating when Seto was still ever so slightly taller than him and had to wear some sort of heeled boot on top of it. “We should do things this way.”

“Kaiba, believe it or not, the team is not made of robots and we have new rules in place where we’re not allowed to stay in the building past 11 pm,” Yugi said, back straightening out to his fullest height. His eye line still barely met Seto’s nose. “It would be impossible to do things the way you outlined, so we’re keeping things the way I designed.”

“I used to stay at work all night,” Seto countered, not seeming to realize what a very bad argument that was. In fact, Yugi couldn’t help but smirk in response because as far as he was concerned, Seto made his point for him. This seemed to bother Seto, however. “Stop smirking at me. I stayed at work all night and it was fine!”

“Kaiba, you do realize that might just be the worst argument anyone’s ever made right,” Yugi asked as he raised a brow at Seto, enjoying the flush that appeared right across Seto’s cheeks. He couldn’t believe he was ever intimidated by Seto. Seto was basically putty in his hands. “If you did something, that’s proof enough that it does not work. We’re keeping it the way it is. Thank you for your input, now get back to work.”

To his great surprise, Seto shuffled off without another word. Perhaps working with Seto would be a lot easier than expected.

 “Mokie,” Rebecca called as she burst right into Mokuba’s office, her badge pinned to the pocket of her pink and blue jacket. Mokuba looked up from his work, a surprised look on his face. While Rebecca did, indeed, frequently visit, she normally at least called ahead. Though he couldn’t say he was complaining as he noted she’d paired the jacket with a pink skirt that showcased her legs. “Whatcha planning for my birthday?”

Mokuba wished he could say he was surprised that Rebecca would think that this was an appropriate reason to visit him at work but he really wasn’t. At least it wasn’t as bad as when she dropped by to ask him about fabrics for the apartment’s couch. She’d been convinced it was dire and refused to admit it could have waited until he got home. “I thought you said you wanted the details of your birthday to be a surprise,” Mokuba remarked as he took a look at the calendar. There were only three days left until Rebecca’s birthday on December 28th. “You also said Christmas gifts do not count towards your birthday gifts.”

“Hanukkah gifts do not count to the overall total either,” Rebecca said seriously, eyeing Mokuba suspiciously. “You should make sure everyone knows that. It might start on the 25th but that doesn’t mean they can cheap out on my gifts.”

“Of course, Rebecca,” Mokuba said, almost amused. He had to admire Rebecca's tenacity. It was part of her charm, after all. He made a mental note to remind Yugi about Rebecca’s gift demands as his hands rested on her hips. “I wouldn't dream of letting you get cheaped out on your gifts, my love.”

Rebecca was instantly mollified by the pet name, a soft smile appearing on her face as she leaned in to press a quick kiss to Mokuba’s cheek. “Good,” she said softly, hopping off the desk and winking at him. “I’ll see you at home, darling!”

Mokuba grinned as he looked over her backside as she walked out the office. As much as he was certain that was another thing that could’ve waited until he got home, he did feel a little more relaxed about going back into working on this project. In fact, he actually didn’t want to get back to work at all.

 Yugi checked his watch, keeping a close eye on the time. Jonouchi’s Duel was at six pm and he needed to be at the stadium an hour before the Duel. The tournament that Jonouchi was dueling in had been excited to have snagged Jonouchi for their roster. He took his dueling rather seriously, always working to improve his deck. Yugi had passively mentioned how Jonouchi’s deck had improved to user saggithedarkclown that he’d started to regularly chat with online, who expressed a little bit of doubt that Jonouchi might be able to secure victory. Yugi had a small bet with the user riding on Jonouchi’s victory now.

As expected, the stadium was already a madhouse when Yugi got there. Everyone was chattering with excitement as Yugi was directed to enter through the back. He wound up driving under the stadium and directed to the valet. A security guard met with Yugi, handing him a badge that secured access backstage and made a joke about how it was a formality. Yugi grinned, joking back about how rules are rules. It would be impossible for him to ignore that people knew who he was at this point. “Where’s Jonouchi?”

“He’s getting ready,” the guard said as he led Yugi towards his dressing room. Yugi noted that the halls of the stadium were cold and impersonal until they turned down the hall that led to his usual room. Posters from past exhibition matches and promotions for other events decorated the walls. The few things that weren’t Duel Monsters related stuck out the most. “You’ll see him when the Duel starts. Sorry about that, Mr. Mutou.”

As much as he’d like to wish Jonouchi luck before the Duel, he wasn’t about to break the rules for it. Jonouchi would know that Yugi was rooting for him, after all. He thanked the guard as he ducked into his dressing room. Yugi changed into his professional Dueling attire, noting it over in the mirror. He was still embarrassed by how much it still looked like his old school uniform. He’d been wanting to replace it for the longest time but his manager had insisted this was what people wanted to see. Yugi had a hard time believing that. The backstage of a stadium was the same lineal space it always was. If it were not for the clock on the wall or the watch on his wrist, Yugi could’ve easily lost track of time. “Mr. Mutou,” came the voice of one of the security guards from outside his dressing room. “You’re on.”

His boots clicked on the concrete floor of the hallway with the sounds of the crowd getting louder as he approached the pitch. Before he went out, a stage hand pinned a microphone to his tank top and pressed the battery pack into his back pocket within seconds. She gave him a thumbs up before ducking out of sight as quickly as possible and he stepped onto the platform, staring upwards at the opening that would lift him up into the center of the pitch.

No matter how many times he did this, it always felt strange. The roar from the audience was deafening and the lights in his face prevented him from getting a good look at the audience. Still, he grinned, spreading his arms out as if he wasn’t uncomfortable. “Welcome to the Duel we’ve all been waiting for,” Yugi announced, stepping off the platform onto the field and spinning around as if he could see beyond the first row of the audience. He grinned when he saw Mokuba, Honda, Bakura, Mai, and Otogi in the front row. “Katsuya Jonouchi is going to face off against Ryota Kajiki! A rematch, as it were, for those of you who remember Jonouchi’s time in Battle City!”

The crowd went into a frenzy as Ryota entered the pitch and waved up towards the crowd. Yugi grinned at Ryota. Yugi was glad that the first Duel that Jonouchi had in this tournament was against this Duelist. Ryota was as honorable as ever and always proved to be a real challenge. “I Duel with the raw power of the ocean behind me,” Ryota called, holding up his Duel Disk in a theatrical manner. “Not many have managed to withstand the powerful monsters that hide in the sea!”

“Ryota’s a three time champion, with his most recent victory being in Nagasaki, where he took the top prize. He’s known for his signature Umi based strategies,” Yugi announced. “He seeks to challenge Jonouchi for the Domino City title today! And now, here he comes - Katsuya Jonouchi!”

If the crowd had been frenzied for Ryota, they were absolutely feral when Jonouchi entered the pitch and tossed his bangs out of his eyes with a glean in his eyes. “Been a while, Kajiki,” Jonouchi called out with a grin on his face and activated his Duel Disk. “I’ll warn ya now: I’m not gonna cower away from a challenge! Let’s have a fun Duel!”

“Most of you remember Katsuya’s rise from underdog to third place at Battle City to four time champion,” Yugi called out as he gestured over to his friend with a grin across his features. The crowd roared, and Yugi laughed. “Katsuya, like Ryota, is seeking to proceed forward in the Domino City regional championships in hopes of going to nationals! With his fierce Red Eyes Black Dragon and warriors by his side, he’ll be a tough one to beat!”

“Remember, fair play, fair Duel,” Yugi said as he pulled out the coin, tossing it up in the air. “Heads, Katsuya goes first, tails, Ryota goes first.” He caught it in the air as the drone flew around him, catching the fact that the coin toss came up tails. “Ryota will start! Each player will start with 8000 life points with no draw on the first turn. If a player fails to make a move within five minutes on their turn, they will automatically lose. Duel, start!”

Yugi took a step back, watching the Duel with a sense of pride taking over. Jonouchi really had managed to come a long way since his first Duel. In fact, Jonouchi had managed to get his trusty Red Eyes on the field by turn two. By turn four, Red Eyes Slash Dragon was on the field and equipped with Axe of Despair and Gearfried. “And that’s not all, Kajiki,” Jonouchi said, sounding proud of himself. “I’m tributing from my hand another Red Eyes Black Dragon to bring out Red-Eyes Alternative Black Dragon! And I’ll be setting three cards before heading into my battle phase!”

From there, Yugi saw how that one turn had decided the entire Duel. Ryota never recovered from Jonouchi destroying Umi on the fifth turn with Heavy Storm nor the fact that he’d used that move to set Red-Eyes Fang with Chain. Ryota’s life points hit zero by turn ten - a hard earned victory on Jonouchi’s part. “Katsuya Jonouchi is the winner,” Yugi declared, stepping forward to congratulate Jonouchi on his win.

 “You know you didn’t have to fly in for Rebecca’s birthday,” Yugi said as he picked up Anzu at the airport. The unspoken statement was that despite the fact he said she didn’t have to, Rebecca would have been disappointed to not have Anzu at her party. And well, Yugi would have missed having Anzu around too. “Aren’t you busy with rehearsals?”

“I wanted to come,” Anzu said as she tossed her bag in the backseat of Yugi’s car and climbed into the front seat with a bright smile. There might have been a time when that smile might have done strange things to Yugi’s heart. However, now, it was just the smile of a friend who had been there by his side since he was a child. “Thanks for letting me crash on your couch, by the way.”

“Hey, no problem. You know my couch is open for you whenever you want to come home,” Yugi said. “I miss you when you aren’t here.”

“Is Kaiba really driving you that crazy?”

“He’s the worst project partner to ever exist,” Yugi said, more out of impulse than anything else. Last night, Seto had wanted to stay late and Yugi had to put his foot down. While Yugi didn’t mention he had to be up early to pick Anzu up, he did remind Seto that most of the team would like to get home to their families. Seto, naturally, had insisted that working late was good for a person. “He doesn’t seem to get that he’s not the only one working on this project. I asked Mokuba about it and apparently it was the same when he was making the Duel Disk system.”

“Kaiba’s always been intense,” Anzu said thoughtfully. “I suppose you shouldn’t be too surprised that he’s intense with work.”

“I suppose,” Yugi said with a sigh, shaking his head slightly. He couldn’t help but think about all the times Kaiba had blown off the team building nights. At every turn, Kaiba wanted to undermine Yugi’s leadership. Now that was the part that pissed Yugi off the most. “Just wish he’d get that this is supposed to be a team effort. He seemed shocked that it wasn’t just him and I working on the project.”

Anzu pursed her lips, tilting her head slightly. “Did Mokuba mention if Kaiba’s ever worked with a team before? This might be the first time he’s actually worked with a team.”

Yugi gave her a lopsided grin. There was a good chance she was right. He’d never really known Kaiba to be much of a team player. Not only that, it was obvious that Kaiba was smart enough to create the projects he had on his own. “Are you suggesting that I simply aggressively apply friendship to my problems with Kaiba?”

“It’s worked before,” Anzu teased with a light shrug. “Besides… you and I both know teamwork is best with people you’re friends with. Oh! Maybe you should try inviting him to hang out after work one on one! That would help establish a rapport.”

“It might help since he’s blown off every single group night,” Yugi admitted. Plus he could see if Kaiba had changed at all in the past four years. Sure, Kaiba hadn’t physically aged but maybe something was different. Maybe Kaiba was not the Kaiba from his memories. “I think that also it’d help Kaiba to relax around me. He’s always so tense.”

“In that case, it might be good for the two of you to hang out without work involved,” Anzu said brightly. “Might help him relax and help him realize that the team nights don’t have to be so scary. You’ve always been good at helping stressed out people relax.”

Yugi laughed, shaking his head. “Anzu, I think that it would take a miracle to make Kaiba relax.”

Just then, his phone pinged and Yugi glanced towards his phone. Normally he’d pull over to see if it was another message from saggithedarkclown but with Anzu in the car… “Did you want me to check who messaged you,” Anzu asked.

“Uh, yeah,” Yugi admitted with a light blush across his cheeks. “I’d actually like that.”

Anzu picked up his phone, checking it before giggling. “It’s from someone called Saggi The Dark Clown,” she remarked, raising a brow at him. “Interesting username. I thought Jou had that sniped.”

“Jou claims he sold it and I’m inclined to believe him cause this guy types a little formally compared to Jou,” Yugi said with a shrug. “So whoever Saggi is -”

“You call him Saggi,” Anzu asked, interrupting with a laugh before waving her hand with a teasing smile. “Sorry, I’m being rude. Tell me more.”

“Thanks for being mature about this,” Yugi said, the blush on his face darkening. He wished he wasn’t prone to blushing. Anzu was sure to pick up on that. “Anyway. Saggi was posting about being out of the game for four years and wanted to get back into the swing of things and wanted to know more about the meta. I’ve just… been helping him. That’s all.”

“Oh is that all,” she teased, a twinkle in her eyes. “Why Yugi! Have you finally started to crush on someone new? This is fantastic news!”

“Oh no,” Yugi groaned. “Don’t tell the rest of the gang.”

“Jou would be so happy to hear that you’re starting to move,” Anzu protested. “And you know that Ryou and Honda would also be happy for you too. You’ve been stuck in this state for so long, Yugi. They’d want to hear you’re doing better.”

Yugi sighed. “Let me tell them on my own,” he said softly, knowing Anzu was right. They’d absolutely be happy to hear that he was no longer stuck on Atem. It’d been a long time since Yugi had allowed himself to fall for anyone. He’d been terrified to fall and risk losing them again. It was terrifying still, actually. “It’s still just someone I’m talking to online about Duel Monsters, anyway. It’s not really a crush.”

Anzu laughed. “It would be like you to fall for someone over a game,” she teased. “I’m happy for you, though. I hope this works for you.”

 Seto didn’t understand why he had to wear a tuxedo specifically for Rebecca’s birthday party. In fact, he also wasn’t sure why Mokuba insisted that Seto buy a grand total of ten gifts for Rebecca. He was fairly certain Rebecca was Jewish. He didn’t understand why he had to buy her a Christmas gift to begin with, nor did he understand why his Hannakuh gift couldn’t count towards her birthday gift. He messed with the Kaiba Corp branded cufflinks on his suit jacket, wondering why anyone would want so much attention on them during their birthday. He also didn’t know what was wrong with having the birthday in the apartment. No, Mokuba had rented out a ballroom for Rebecca’s birthday.

In fact, everything about this seemed over the top. He was certain that more than Mokuba and Rebecca’s usual friend group was going to show up considering the amount of food at the banquet table and the ostentatiously large cake. A DJ had been hired and he was setting up his equipment while Mokuba seemed to be dealing with the staff. From what Seto could tell, it seemed like the staff and Mokuba had a rapport going on. Mokuba laughed at something one of the employees said and Seto was stunned to realize that it seemed like Mokuba was a natural leader. A pang in his chest as he realized that yet again, he never got to see Mokuba develop this skill in his absence. Mokuba had pulled his long hair back into a ponytail and the long hair was the only thing Seto recognized in his brother. His brother had taken to wearing suits of varying colors. Today, it was a baby blue suit with a pink tie and a pale lavender vest.

Seto hadn’t seen Rebecca yet. In fact, he was certain the only reason Mokuba insisted that Seto help set up the party was to talk to him about how things were going with Yugi on Spherium II. He wouldn’t be sure how to answer that question. In many ways, it was going poorly. Yugi insisted on ending the work day early, losing valuable hours because Yugi wanted to go home early. It seemed like Yugi didn’t really care about getting this project done as quickly as possible. He hadn’t even begun to form what he would tell Mokuba when Mokuba had strode over to where he was standing. “You know I didn’t expect you to stand around and do nothing,” Mokuba remarked casually. “I hope you aren’t doing this to Yugi at work.”

“I’m not,” Seto said defensively. “I just don’t get the point of having a birthday party at all. People get older every year. No point in celebrating it.”

“Some people like their birthdays,” Mokuba said with a shrug. “Rebecca happens to like celebrating her birthday. And well, might as well indulge her since it doesn’t harm anything. Plus twenty-one’s a big deal for Americans.”

“I suppose,” Seto said, remembering Rebecca’s threat to break his legs if he ruined her birthday the way he ruined his own birthday. He didn’t think he’d ruined anything but he’d prefer not to test Rebecca. “You seem to really care about her.”

“Yeah,” Mokuba said softly. “She’s smart and driven and keeps me down to Earth. I wish you two would get along.”

Seto noted the look on Mokuba’s face in an attempt to better understand the meaning behind those words. It seemed it really did bother Mokuba that he and Rebecca did not get along. How peculiar. He wouldn’t think Rebecca and his relationship wouldn’t have an impact on Rebecca and Mokuba’s relationship or his and Mokuba’s relationship but it seemed it did. “Alright,” Seto said, just as soft. He didn’t want Mokuba to be upset. He’d already done enough damage in that regard. Seto was certain he’d have to spend the rest of his life making up for his past mistakes to Mokuba at this rate. “I’ll try to be nice today. Shame that can’t count as my gift to her.”

“Rebecca’s touchy with gifts,” Mokuba said, seriously. “She’s used to her gifts being lumped together and her birthday being treated as another holiday stressor. I don’t want her to think she’s just a stress point.” He paused before grinning as if he’d come up with a brilliant idea. “Maybe you two should hang out more. Get to know each other. I really think you’d like her if you just got to know her.”

Seto gave a soft “tch” before relanting. “Fine,” Seto said as he thought about all the times he’d been alone with Rebecca. Every time, it felt like he was with a caged lioness who was on the hunt for her young. “I’ll try to find more time to spend with her.”

Seto was surprised when the doors opened and who should walk in but Ryou wearing an odd tweed suit. “Hi, Mokuba,” Ryou said, holding up a large gift. “I hope Rebecca likes this. I saw it and thought that she might also think of her grandfather when looking at this.”

“Oh, I’m sure she’ll love it,” Mokuba said with a laugh. “Especially if it came from your shop. I swear, your shop shows up on the bank statement at least three times a month.”

“The tricky part is finding something she hasn’t bought already,” Ryou said with a rather soft smile as he went to place it with the rest of the gifts. Seto had noted that the table already had at least ten gifts on it. “Can’t complain too much. Keeps business steady.”

Seto didn’t know that Rebecca liked occult stuff. He shouldn’t have been surprised considering how many of Mokuba’s friends were enraptured by the occult. For whatever reason, they just seemed to attract occult nonsense. A thought scratched at his head, reminding him that he had forced his way to the afterlife to see a dead man. He supposed he didn’t have much of a leg to stand on in that regard anymore. He’d accepted that magic, for whatever reason, was real. Who was he to stand here and pretend otherwise? It still made his skin crawl knowing there were things that he could not properly explain despite coming to this conclusion.

This line of thought plagued him as other guests began to pour in. As expected, he didn’t recognize all of them. He had to suspect some of them were either duelists or students from Rebecca’s school. In fact, some of them seemed on the older side compared to Rebecca - easily in their late twenties or early thirties. Then again… Rebecca was a PhD candidate. He had to imagine that chances to talk to people her age in that kind of program were few and far between. That was something they could connect on, Seto considered.

Much like Rebecca, Seto never really had many chances to connect to people his age. He was, after all, the CEO of a major corporation by the age of fifteen. All the people he’d interacted with at that time were twenty plus years older than him. Perhaps that was why he’d reacted the way he had to Yugi and his friends. He didn’t know how to interact with people his age. He froze as he remembered that Yugi and his friends weren’t exactly his age anymore. He was completely disconnected from them now.

He was so caught in his thoughts that he never expected the wind to be knocked out of him like this when Yugi finally arrived with none other than Anzu on his arm. He didn’t know why he was so surprised. Hadn’t he already pinged them as dating? He couldn’t help but note they were matching. Anzu had a chiffon dress in yellow on and Yugi himself was wearing a gold vest with a black tie underneath his suit. Yugi seemed to be laughing at something she said and his cheeks were slightly tinged pink. Why did this scene bother Seto?

It took him a few moments to pinpoint the emotion. Was this jealousy? Was he jealous of Anzu? Did he want to be with Yugi? He took more note of Anzu than he ever had. He knew she’d been cast as Black Magician Girl in some musical on Broadway. He doubted it was actually Broadway but he hadn’t bothered to double check at the time. If he had to guess, he supposed she was traditionally beautiful. The kind of face he might see in a museum while other girls remarked upon how much they looked like that.

He was staring just a little too long. “Mokie said I have to try to make an effort to get to know you,” came a voice and it took Seto a minute to ping it as Rebecca. He’d been so focused on Anzu and Yugi that he’d forgotten the rest of the world existed. How embarrassing. “Hello? Earth to Seto?”

Seto turned towards Rebecca and instantly noted that Rebecca had ditched her glasses for the day. He suspected that Mokuba had a hand in the dress she wore as it looked just a tad out of budget for a university student. “Sorry,” Seto said, not really sorry at all. “I was just thinking. Er… Mokuba said I have to be nice to you today. Happy birthday, by the way.”

“Good,” Rebecca said and for once, she didn’t look close to murdering him. In fact… she seemed almost a little relaxed. He was guessing that the party must have something to do with that. “Thanks… so… uh. I actually…” She seemed a little bit lost. What could she possibly have to say that would leave her looking this confused? He’d never known Rebecca to mince her words. “I just wanted to say that I’m sorry I was harsh on you for the past few months. It’s just… when you disappeared… you weren’t there, but I was. Mokie was heartbroken and I know that you probably didn’t mean to cause that now. I was just scared that you’d hurt Mokie again and that wasn’t fair of me. So… start over?”

Seto was taken aback. Her hostility had been because she cared about Mokuba. He could respect that, actually. If everything she’d done towards him was out of concern for Mokuba, Seto had a newfound admiration for Rebecca. “If that was your reason, then I suppose I can’t fault you for it,” Seto admitted. It seemed both Yugi and Rebecca had similar reasons to be angry with him and it all came back to Mokuba. He didn’t know if he could ever forgive himself for hurting Mokuba. “And I would rather you keep holding me accountable for that. It’s better I don’t try to brush it aside.”

Rebecca eyed him critically. “I don’t want to keep harping on it,” she said slowly, tilting her head. Seto had noted long ago that Rebecca had to crane her neck upward when it came both to Mokuba and him. Today, she didn’t need to and could almost meet his eyes. He could only assume this meant she was wearing heels underneath her dress. “The past is the past. Nothing any of us can do can change it. All we can do is try to be our best every day. Right, Seto?”

There was something fierce in her voice. It seemed like this statement was very important. And Seto wanted to agree with her. It seemed full of promise if he could just let go of the past and stride to the future. “Of course,” Seto said softly. Was it not him who said that they could break free of the prison of reality? That the future was theirs to shape as they saw fit? It all required him to put the past squarely in the past, however. Could he do that? Let go of all his grief and rage? He wanted to. He’d never wanted anything more in his entire life. “In that case, Rebecca. Let’s just move forward. I’d like to get to know my brother’s girlfriend properly.”

It seemed he passed. Rebecca smiled brightly as she grabbed his hand. “You’ve got so much to learn,” she said as she pulled him towards the dance floor. “Let’s take it one step at a time, okay?”