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Duel Deck

Card 44: Workaholic

Everything was so quiet that night in the Kaiba Corporation building, it was eerie. The only office in the entire building that still had a light was Seto Kaiba's office at the top floor. Everything was in absolute silence, save for the sound of his quick skillful typing. Just a few more lines of code and this new game would be finished. It wouldn't take too long; Mokuba could wait just a little longer for him to return.

Then again his little brother had probably already been defeated by sleep at this late hour of three in the morning. He had told Mokuba to go to bed even if he wasn't home. The boy needed his sleep; he wasn't used to going entire days without sleeping like his big brother was. Yet as much as he tried to deny it and show otherwise, he needed sleep too.

Whenever he didn't get enough sleep he was visibly crankier and with a shorter temper than usual. Who knows, maybe if he got more sleep, he would be just a tiny bit friendlier, maybe not too much, but just enough to notice. He stopped typing for a moment and reread the codes he had written so far. He moved the mouse and saved his work, but he wouldn't stop yet, he wasn't done.

Mokuba was probably asleep by now. He could wait until morning, he wouldn't know when Seto returned and he could pretend he got there earlier. Then Mokuba would stop worrying about his lack of sleep. No, his little brother would notice if he was telling the truth or not.

Seto threw himself back on the large comfortable chair and spun it around so his back was to the computer. He felt tired, but he wouldn't stop, not until he finished. He closed his eyes for just a moment, resting his vision. He had been staring at the computer screen for too long and his eyes were beginning to water.

Feeling as if sleep threatened to claim his consciousness, Seto quickly opened his eyes again. He stared into the night of Domino City on the other side of the large glass windows. He could see a few street lights and but no light came from most stores and houses. Most people were sleeping right now. Maybe he should be sleeping too but no, not until he finished.

Sleep would be more rewarding if he didn't sleep until he finished his work for today, even if it was technically already another day. Even if that meant only sleeping for an hour or two so he could be up early in time for breakfast, some morning work and getting to class after taking Mokuba to school.

He could let the chauffer drive him to school on the limo, but he hasn't been spending a lot of time with his little brother lately, so he wanted to do it himself. He turned his chair around again and the light of the computer screen hit him like a ton of bricks. His eyes were tired from staring at it for so long, but he had to continue.

To his frustration and annoyance, he wasn't typing like he usually did. He could easily type with his eyes closed before, but now he found himself missing a few keys even if he never had the need to look at the keyboard while he typed before. After making a few more mistakes, he continued his typing looking at the keyboard.

He wasn't typing as quickly as usual, now he took a little time to think where the next key was located. If he tried to type faster, he would end up hitting the key next to the one he wanted and the game's code could have no mistakes. It had to be perfect, everything he did had to be perfect, but it was never good enough.

He shook his head, saved his work and got up. Maybe after drinking a little water he could concentrate better. He stopped a few steps away from his desk. No water, he had to finish. He wouldn't go home, sleep or drink anything until he was done with that game, just as he planned to do. He forced himself to sit down again, ignored his thirst and pushed the sleep away as he continued typing.

He occasionally stopped and reread the code he had recently typed to make sure he made no mistakes. He had a feeling he was missing something. Of course, he never defined the value of that variable he was using in the line of code he was typing right now. How stupid, it won't work without the correct initial value. He mentally kicked himself for such an obvious mistake and quickly corrected it.

Seto continued his typing, ignoring his strong head ache. He couldn't allow himself to be this weak. He said he would finish before going home and so it shall be. He had to finish, he had no choice. This was his life. He typed faster now, making more mistakes. He went back to correct them all and suddenly his mind went blank. What was the code that was supposed to go there? What was the name of the variable to be used? He didn't remember.

Seto punched the desk hard and slammed his finger on the mouse area of the laptop. He quickly scrolled up to see the variable being used in another line of code and remembered its name. It had to be typed exactly as it was written or it wouldn't work. Now if he could only remember what he was going to do with it.

He scrolled back to the end of the program and started typing, hoping that the code would come to him as he went along. His hands moved all over the keyboard, he only used one or two fingers, but his hands moved quickly so his typing was still faster than most. Taking a deep breath as if he had just run ten miles, he saved his work again, in fear of losing it for whatever reason.

Losing his progress was unacceptable. Then he would have to start from the beginning again and he couldn't remember everything he typed so far exactly as he typed it. He could figure that out thinking about what he wanted the game to do, but he didn't want to think about that. He didn't want to think at all, his head hurt too much, but he couldn't leave. I didn't matter how bad he felt or how much he wanted to rest, he could simply not leave.

He felt so tapped in the office, he considered for a small moment running off to get away from everything, but he couldn't do that. His headache was making it hard for rational thoughts to stay rational. His logic was hard to understand and he didn't like it, he didn't like it at all. He had felt this stress before and thought he was used to it. He thought that this is how it's meant to be. He thought that it's the only way to improve. He felt this stress when he was little all the time.

He wanted to run, he wanted to take his little brother and run away but he couldn't. Gozaburo always stood there watching him. He didn't let him rest until he finished his work correctly. One mistake was enough to make him start over again from the beginning, but Gozaburo wasn't there anymore, then why was he still trapped? Did he not notice he was free to go home and no one could stop him?

He could go home now, home to his little brother. He could get something to drink, have a snack, take a relaxing warm shower and go to bed. He could fall into a deep sleep free of nightmares because that part of his life was over, but it wasn't forgotten. Yet he didn't know. He didn't know why he stayed there, why he was disappointed in himself most of the time and why he thought he was worthless if he wasn't the absolute perfect best at everything.

He felt bad for disappointing his brother. He said he would stop staying late at work, but he lied. He didn't mean to lie to Mokuba, yet he did. There was a sudden knock on the door that caught Seto off guard. The sound was quiet, but was clearly heard in the silence of the top floor of Kaiba Corporation. Seto jumped and wondered who it could be. Was it a thief? How could a thief get passed his security? Most importantly why in the world would a thief knock?

Maybe it was an employee. Maybe it was one of the security guards that stayed there at night. Maybe there's a problem that he must tend to right away. Seto saved his work once more and shut down the computer, then he opened the door ready for whatever bad news may come. "What is it?" Seto sounded alarmed and angry, mostly angry, but he didn't find one of his employees standing at the other side of the door.

Mokuba jumped back a little at his brother's sudden question and more so at the tone of it than the question itself. Seto looked surprised to find him there and before the CEO could ask what he was doing there, Mokuba answered. "You said you were going to have dinner with me but then you called and told me you had to work and would get some dinner here. I said I missed you and you told me that you would come home and have a late dessert with me, so I saved dessert to eat it with you but you didn't come. I snuck out and came here around eight. I waited for you at the lobby and told the guards not to say I was here, because I didn't wan to interrupt if you were busy. Then I fell asleep and woke up just now. Seto, I miss you and I'm here for you, just like you're always there for me big brother. There's something wrong, I can feel it, like when you know if anything happens to me."

"Mokuba..." Seto didn't know if he should be angry at Mokuba for sneaking out or happy that he was there. Seto had told him before to go to bed if he was late, Mokuba wasn't supposed to wait up for him. "I know little brother, I know." Seto hugged him. "Let's go home now and tomorrow I promise I'll have dinner with you. If I'm not there, you have permission to come over here and drag me home."

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Card 45: Crazy DDR

In Kaiba Land, a white haired boy was holding back another identical boy, in an effort to keep him from choking a certain CEO. A brown haired girl watched the scene as she gave an indignant speech. The girl was Tea and the CEO was Seto Kaiba. As for the two white haired boys, one of them was Ryou and the one attempting to choke Seto, was Bakura. The wavy lines of a flashback make their appearance and we travel back in time to earlier that afternoon.

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DDR was a very well known game. Tea Gardner, being a dancer, loved that game so she could not resist her curiosity when she saw a Kaiba Corp. flier announcing that said company will now not only produce Duel Disks, Dueling Arenas and milk, but also DDR machines. So she decided to sneak into the testing area of Kaiba Land, where the new DDR prototype was.

Tea watched as the high-tech DDR machines were being set up from her hiding place behind some boxes that were mysteriously there for no apparent reason other than to hide her. She could hardly contain her excitement counting the seconds until she got her chance to kick major four five five in KC DDR.

Concluding that she couldn't wait any longer, as soon as Seto and his employees were gone, Tea ran to one of the DDR machines and decided to try it, but just as she was about to do so, the door was once again opened and there stood Seto, dragging Ryou by the arm. "You said you would test my inventions!"

"No, they blow up all the time!" Ryou tried to break free.

As if on cue, the Millennium Ring around Ryou's neck glowed and Bakura separated from his hikari, materializing in a separate body. "Last time you tested one of Kaiba's inventions it was very amusing to watch." Bakura remembered when Ryou had tested the Automatic Poke Master 3000, which was a machine with many mechanical hands that poked people really fast. To win at the game, one had to poke it back faster, however if the player fell behind, the machine would poke harder.

As Seto and Bakura dragged Ryou to the DDR machine, they finally noticed Tea, who was just standing there. "Did you get another guinea pig?" Bakura pointed at Tea.

"I'm not his guinea pig!" Tea didn't like the fact that Bakura was pointing and looking at her as if she really was some kind of poor unfortunate guinea pig that had resulted strangely deformed in a failed lab experiment.

"In that case, whose guinea pig are you?" Bakura inquired annoyingly.

"I'm not an animal!" Tea's voice echoed all around Kaiba Land and possibly all around Domino City. Then there was an awkward moment of silence in which everyone occupied their time by staring at their own feet, waiting for someone to break the silence that came after the loud scream.

"Since you're here, do you want to try out the DDR machines?" That suspiciously innocent smile Seto had, should have been Tea's first clue that something wasn't right with those DDR machines, but she was too exited to try them out to notice.

"I'd love to!" Tea accepted the offer happily.

"Does this mean I'm not your only guinea pig anymore?" Ryou asked hopeful.

"I'm not his guinea pig, or anyone else's!" Tea added, making the grin in Bakura's face disappear, he was hoping to repeat his earlier comment, but now it just didn't fit in anymore.

Just as suddenly as lightning strikes, an OOC moment crashed on Seto. "No, she's just a temporary DDR tester not a guinea pig, you are and will always be my only true guinea pig."

"Really? Aw!" Ryou and Seto gave each other a friendly hug and immediately let go when they noticed Tea and Bakura directing strange stares at them.

"On with the test!" Seto became serious and Ryou went from fluffy and happy to panicked and scared.

"I don't want to test anything!" Ryou hid under Seto's anti-gravity coat.

While Seto tried to get Ryou out of his coat, Tea decided she could wait no longer and pulled Bakura into the DDR machine for a dance. The spirit protested and would have jumped right off, if not because suddenly he found that he could not control his body's movements. Tea was experiencing the same dilemma as she danced. "Kaiba what's this thing doing?" Tea yelled.

Ryou came out from under Seto's anti-gravity coat to watch the show while the CEO explained what was happening. "The Auto Dance mode is still in the testing stage; basically it controls your movements using a magnetic gravitational energy field and makes you follow the song exactly as it was programmed. It will let you go when the song is over."

"I could dance better than this!" Tea glared daggers at Seto who's machine had made her dance to badly and with the spirit of the Millennium Ring no less.

"I'm a computer genius not a professional dancer," Seto tried to defend himself.

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The wavy flashback lines appeared once more, only this time they were flash forward lines to bring us back to the present time. Bakura was still attempting to choke Seto and Ryou was still trying to stop him, while Tea criticized the dance choreography.

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Card 46: Question

It was another normal day in Kaiba Corporation, the CEO typed rapidly into his computer. Everything was silent except for the quiet sound of his office door being opened and gently closed soon after. He didn't have to look to know who had entered his office. None of his employees would dare to go into his office without first knocking, so the one who just arrived had to be his little brother Mokuba.

Feeling Mokuba's persistent and impatient stare on him, Seto looked up lightly, without stopping his typing. "Big brother, I have a question," Seto swallowed and nodded. For some reason unknown to him, he didn't like the tone of Mokuba's voice or the curiosity in his eyes. "Where do babies come from?" Mokuba blurted out impatiently, awaiting his brother's answer to the question he had been wondering about for some time now.

Seto's fingers stopped moving on the keyboard. The keys he had touched at that very instant remained pressed down and the letters appeared repeatedly on the screen, filling up page after page of unreadable gibberish. It wasn't until five pages later that the Seto finally left his state of shock. He smiled nervously, trying to make it look like a sweet smile. "Your big brother is busy and it's not nice to interrupt him when he is busy, so why don't you just go play with Roland and let your big brother finish his work?"

Mokuba stood there for a few seconds, wondering why Seto was talking about himself in third person. Soon, but not soon enough for the CEO, the raven haired boy nodded and left to find his brother's blue haired employee.

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Mokuba found Roland at his desk, going over some papers. "Hi, my big brother sent me here."

Roland repressed a sigh, thinking to himself that he had become more of a babysitter than an executive. Even so, taking a break from the paper work was a very welcoming thought and babysitting Mokuba would be the perfect excuse to do so. "What do you want to do today?" Roland already had a variety of board, card and handheld games in the drawers of his office, which he brought to keep Mokuba busy and out of trouble whenever Seto send him over.

"I want to ask you a question." For a moment, Roland imagined Mokuba asking if he wanted a raise, to be vice-president or something like that, could Seto finally have sent his little brother for purposes other than annoying Roland? Was Mokuba now the messenger boy to give him the good news? "Where do babies come from?" No such luck.

Roland woke up from his daydream and gave Mokuba a blank look as if he hasn't heard the question. "Pardon?"

"Where do babies come from?" Mokuba repeated his question, impatient to finally receive an answer.

Roland blinked and spoke quickly. "Well you see this kind of question is the kind of question that you should not be asking me, because this kind of question is the kind of question that you should be asking someone else, because this kind of question is the kind of question you should ask your brother," Roland took a deep breath after he finished.

Mokuba took a moment to interpret all those words that came without a pause. "I already asked him but he doesn't know." Mokuba's big brother always answered all his questions, so he assumed that the one time he couldn't answer a question, was simply because he didn't know the answer.

Roland was having a hard time trying not to laughing. So Seto Kaiba had his own corporation, his own amusement park, he even had his own brand of milk, yet he completely ignored the simple, yet not so simple to explain, facts of life. It was almost too funny to be true, but if Mokuba said it, it had to be the truth. "I'm sure that eventually your big brother will figure it out and tell you."

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Later, at the Kaiba Mansion, Seto was, for once in a lifetime taking a break from work and playing a video game called Harvest Moon. "Eat it," he told his character while pressing a few buttons on the control. "C'mon, just be nice and eat it or she'll think you don't like her cooking and you'll never have a baby." Unknown to Seto, Mokuba was watching him play. "That's it eat the live raw fish, I'm sure a baby will come soon." What more could his character do to prove his love to that horrible cook of a virtual girl? Nothing says I love you like eating a live fish.

'That's it!' Mokuba thought. The answer to his question had finally come. Raw live fish! That's were babies come from. The fish must evolve into human inside the parent's stomach. That also explained were mermaids came from. The mermaids must come from premature births where the evolution was not complete. But why didn't Seto tell him before? Maybe he was finding out just now too. 'You can learn a lot from videogames.' Mokuba smiled, he could use this new information to his advantage.

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The next day, Seto and Mokuba were on their way to Mako's house near the beach. "I still don't know why we have to come," Seto complained.

"Aw, c'mon big brother, Mako invited us to dinner and said he made something special so we should go," Mokuba pleaded.

Seto sighed in defeat. "Fine, we'll go have dinner with Mako."

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The dinner at Mako's house went by normally, save for the fact that Seto's dinner consisted of a live fish. After his discovery, Mokuba would never eat fish again so to make sure the plan was not ruined, he and Mako ate sushi instead, which was actually fish, but Mokuba didn't need to know since it doesn't look like a fish. Mako had a goofy smile plastered in his face and every time he said something, he giggled after every word, as if he wanted to laugh long and hard, but was holding it back.

When Mokuba called him and asked if he would make Seto pregnant, Mako was creeped out to say the least, but when Mokuba explained where he thought babies came from, Mako thought this joke was too irresistible to pass up. At Mokuba's insistence and Mako's teasing about not being man enough to eat like a real fisherman, Seto gulped down the live fish and nearly choke as it swam down his throat. Now all Mokuba had to do was wait and soon he would be an uncle.

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The morning of the next day, Mokuba was at Kaiba Land. His brother said he wasn't going to work because he had a bad stomachache and didn't even get up. Mokuba had called Mako but the fisherman assured him this was perfectly normal. The truth was Mako himself had eaten a few raw fishes and by now his stomach was used to it, so he knew Seto wasn't in any big danger. Seto had insisted that Mokuba went out and give him some time to rest, so the younger Kaiba found himself in the arcade section of Kaiba Land.

Mokuba spotted a familiar looking girl dancing on a DDR machine and waited until the song was over. "Tea, Tea! Guess what?"

"Hi Mokuba." Tea greeted, "what is it?"

"I'm going to be an uncle!" Mokuba proudly announced.

"You're what?" Tea nearly screamed in surprise.

"It's true, my brother's expecting a baby, so that means I'm going to be an uncle!" Mokuba cheered.

Téa was left in shook. Kaiba was going to be a father? "Wow, that's great news! I know, We should have a baby shower. When is the baby coming and do you know if it's a boy or a girl?"

"I think it's coming really soon, but I don't know if it's a boy or a girl, I guess I'll have to wait until it's born to find out," Mokuba replied.

"No problem, we'll just follow the standard baby rule, blue for boys, pink for girls and yellow if you don't know. I bet I could have this planned out for this afternoon if that's okay?" Tea was ver excited.

"That would be great," Mokuba confirmed.

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That afternoon, Seto was still having stomach problems and spent the entire day trying to rest and not being able to do so because his stomach hurt so much. 'When I get better, I'm going to kill Mako,' Seto plotted as he hugged his Blue Eyes White Dragon plushie and tried to fall asleep.

Soon all the guests arrived. There was Tea, Yugi, Yami, Tristan, Joey, Serenity, Mai, Duke, Ryou, Bakura, Ishizu, Marik and Odion. Mako made up an excuse not to go, even if Tea insisted. Tea had managed to drag all of the others into the baby shower thing mostly because they were curious about the baby's mother. There they stood, with all sorts of yellow baby items.

Mokuba led them to the large living room. He wasn't sure how baby showers worked, but if it was a party they needed cake and ice-cream so he had told the maid to get some. The gifts were placed on a table in the corner of the room while everyone chatted about this unlikely turn of events and ate cake and ice-cream.

Finally, not being able to stand the curiosity any longer, Mai asked the question that was on everyone's mind. "So Mokuba, who is the poor unfortunate soul, I mean, who is the lucky girl that is giving birth to Kaiba's child?"

"Girl? What girl? Mokuba asked confused. "There no girl, Seto's laying an egg, I guess." Everyone stared at Mokuba.

"That is biologically impossible," Ryou pointed out.

"Biologically impossible?" Bakura voiced. "That's impossible in Biologically, in Domino too and in any other city!"

"But he ate a fish!" Once again everyone was confused even further by Mokuba's statement.

"What does a fish have to do with it?" Duke inquired.

"People have babies from eating live fish," Mokuba explained.

Laughter echoed in the room. Even if they had uselessly purchased all those yellow baby items, it wasn't all that bad; they still got to eat cake and ice-cream and got a good laugh out of it.

"Mokuba that's not where babies come from," Yami clarified.

"Yeah, the stork brings them," everyone looked at Yugi. "What? That's what Grandpa told me."

"Well at least Kaiba was a little more original with the entire fish thing, but the stork? That story is so old not even a four year old would believe it anymore," Tristan shook his head.

Ishizu sighted and shook her head, "Odion will explain everything."

"Why me?" Odion complained.

"Now!" Ishizu ordered.

Odion gulped and nodded.

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Card 47: Broken Promise

It was a stormy night in Domino city. At around 2:13am almost everyone had gone to sleep. Tonight, even Seto Kaiba, who frequently stayed up late working, had gone to sleep earlier than usual. He was tired and felt strange. He concluded that he was developing a cold, but it was something else.

"Big Brother?" Mokuba stood at the door. The storm frightened him and he needed to see his brother.

Seto woke as loud thunder crashed outside. "Mokuba?"

"Can I stay?" Mokuba asked. Seto nodded and soon the Kaiba brothers were asleep again.

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"Big Brother," Seto looked around, he wasn't in his room. It was Domino city at night, but it wasn't raining and there was no thunder, just a deadly silence. "They're looking for you Seto."

"Who is?"

"They..." The shadows moved on their own; claws, fangs reflected in those shadowy creatures. He saw them so clearly, but there was no one there.

"They came," Mokuba's voice was heard again. The shadows surrounded Seto, he was frozen in place unable to do anything but look at them. "They came for you big brother." The shadows started to become solid, horrible creatures of darkness. Mokuba's eyes began to glow red. Seto watched horrified as his little brother turned into one of them, the evil creatures. Indescribable, horrible, ferocious, scales, fangs, claws, they were shapeless beasts, too deformed to look like any specific species. "They'll get you like they got me."

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Seto woke up as the rain continued to fall. The thunder had ended and now only a little rain was left. Mokuba was still asleep. Mokuba, the reason why he tried hard to be the best at everything, his little brother, the one he had to protect. Seto glanced at the glow in the dark clock to see that it was 3:27am. Being it too early to get up, Seto decided to go to sleep again, but somehow those presences he felt in his dream wouldn't fade away.

The shadows on the walls of his room reflected by the moon light that came from the windows, appeared to move. The shadows on inanimate objects surrounded him. Seto closed his eyes and tried to push the images away. It was just a nightmare and those feelings would fade away soon, or so he thought. What he didn't know or didn't want to believe, was that it wasn't going to end so easily.

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Morning came and Seto had not slept any more. He felt somewhat relieved to see the sun light as if 'they' wouldn't come during the day. Even now he couldn't stop thinking of his dream. The day came and went normally save for that fact that sometimes Seto felt someone or something following him, yet there was nothing there.

Every now and then he would see a random shadow try to move, as if trying to get to him, but it was trapped by the light. Seto decided that it was a product of stress. He thought that taking a break would cure it, but it was only the beginning.

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Seto took a week off, something he would have never thought of doing. Even after seven days of nothing but playing video games with his brother, watching TV and sleeping most of the time, he was still stressed.

The shadows and the strange presences were worse now, as if someone or something was trying to torture him day by day. Seto thought that he felt this way because he was worried about getting behind in his work, he thought that instead of taking time off, he should just get his work done and he would feel better, but he didn't.

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At work things continued to get worse. He couldn't concentrate. There was the shadows he saw, the presences he felt and soon also voices. He wasn't able to understand very clearly what people told him, there was always another voice in the background. Threats, insults, why couldn't it all go away?

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It had been almost a month sine that night with the dream. Every sign pointed to the fact that there was something wrong, but Seto just didn't know what. He thought the entire situation was stupid and that he should just get over it, but he just couldn't. What could possibly be wrong?

The voices kept calling and the echoes joined in. Images now came to him outside of sleep. He put up a good show, faking that he felt fine, nobody knew the torture that he had to go through every day. That was his life now, it was something he knew. He started to forget what peace used to be. Inevitably, soon it started to show, everyone knew there was something wrong. People insisted to help in any way they could but, 'they' just wouldn't leave him alone. So time passed and it kept getting worse, realty was not known to him anymore.

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One day when he was trying to keep up with his work in his office at the Kaiba Mansion, Seto couldn't take it anymore. It was late at night. There was thunder, lightning and heavy rain, just like there was that day, the day when it all began. "Who are you? Show yourself!" There was no answer, but the shadows looked more threatening now. They surrounded him and started to take the shape of those creatures from his nightmare.

"Seto! Big Brother! Where are you?" Mokuba, he was in danger!

Seto ran to his little brother, pushing the monsters aside. "Mokuba!"

"Big brother," Mokuba was saying something, but Seto didn't understand. His language was strange like a cry of pain, anger and hatred. Mokuba's eyes glowed red like in Seto's nightmare.

"I got him," a voice echoed in Seto's head. "I am him," Mokuba began to change and Seto stepped back. The creature that had been disguised as Mokuba came closer.

"Now I'll get you," the voices echoed.

"What did you do to Mokuba?" Seto demanded.

"He's dead," the creature replied.

"No!" In desperate rage and sadness, Seto punched and kicked the creature. He didn't stop until it was beaten, unmoving and the shadows disappeared. With a crash of thunder Mokuba's body appeared on the floor. "Mokuba! Little brother, please say something." Mokuba was hurt, blood was everywhere, still fresh. "What did they do to you? Mokuba please, open your eyes you have to be alive!" Seto thought he felt Mokuba moving a little. "Mokuba?" He slowly woke up. "Mokuba..."

"Let me go!" Mokuba screamed as he struggled to get away.

"It's okay Mokuba, the monsters are gone, I won't let them get you." Seto no longer wondered if those things where real or not, he knew what he saw. A monster, a creature of darkness, possibly something that escaped from the Shadow Realm.

Tears ran down Mokuba's face as he continued to try to get away. "Let me go, please."

"It's alright, they're gone Mokuba, they're gone," Seto tried to calm his brother, who continued crying uncontrollably. "No one will hurt you again."

Mokuba looked at Seto. "No one?"

"No one."

"Never?" Mokuba tried to calm down.

"Never."

"Promise?"

"I promise," Seto assured.

"I believe you," Mokuba whispered.

Seto felt different now. He felt as if a large weigh was lifted off his shoulders. As if something that he needed to get out of his system was gone. For once in a long time he didn't feel stressed. He somehow knew that creature, whatever it was, would not return, at least not in a long time. Seto began to forget his encounter with it and soon every thing was back to normal.

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Mokuba had fully recovered and the Kaiba brothers were how they used to be. The memories of the dark event were lost by Seto. It was strange, but the truth was that he had fought and defeated this creature before. Mokuba would get hurt, Seto would fight the creature until it disappeared. Mokuba would recover and Seto would slowly forget. It was as if the same thing making those things happened was making Seto forget them.

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The years passed by slowly and the creature did not return, until one day Seto had that nightmare again. By now Mokuba was older and noticed there was something wrong. Seto told him about his nightmare, now things were different, it was okay to tell Mokuba, he was old enough not to be scared by the fact that his big brother had nightmares.

Mokuba tried to smile. "They will come for you, then you will defeat that creature like you always do, you'll defeat it and then it'll go away." Mokuba skipped the part about him getting hurt, knowing it would make his brother worry. "I know it doesn't make sense, but please believe me and don't worry about it, you've done this before."

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After having that talk with Seto, Mokuba couldn't stop thinking about it. He had figured out a long time ago what was happening, but he didn't want to admit it to Seto. He wanted his brother to continue his life without worries, to feel that relief that he obtained only when he defeated the shadow creature. Why not stop the creature from coming? Because it would bring Seto more pain that way, they tried that before, but that is also something that Seto forgot. Regardless of how he lived, it was already too late, the creature would awaken again. It had been sleeping within for a long time and it couldn't be permanently destroyed.

Mokuba wasn't looking forward to Seto's fight with the creature, but he knew it was coming as it had before. There was a pattern to it or so the doctor said during the time when the creature was being avoided completely.

He remembered Seto's promise from years ago, that no one would hurt him, never. He told Seto he believed him and he did, but Mokuba he knew he would still get hurt. Even if it was a lie, Mokuba still believe it because he understood. Seto was just trying to protect him, as he always had for as long as he could remember.

The medication used to stop the creature from returning was more painful than the days when Seto had to face it. Mokuba would rather be beat up every couple of years than to watch Seto in pain every day. It was best this way, this was the only way Seto could forget and have a few years of peace. "I believe you big brother and I forgive you."

xoxox xox xoxox xox xoxox xox xoxox xox xoxox

Card 48: Perfect Dream

Seto's Point of View

I'm not sure how or why I got here, when I got here or how long I've been here. All I know is that I must get out.

The last thing I remember is that I had a life that was real. I ran one of the world's greatest companies, I lived in a mansion with every material thing I could possibly want and most importantly I had my little brother. We both lived happy lives, even if sometimes we didn't spend a lot of time together because I was busy with work. But I'm sure he was happy as was I, even if I can't remember how I felt, I must have been.

My past is nothing but a forgotten shadow. I recall images and parts of events like pieces to a puzzle I can't solve. Everyday I ask myself how I got here and why I'm here in this unreal world, but I never get an answer. I know I must wake up from this dream.

I'm not sure how or when or why I got here, nor can I point out when my real life turned into this. All I know is that in this world it is the unspoken law that my happiness is above all. I wanted to beat Yugi at Duel Monsters and I did. I wanted to have a perfect monopoly without being bothered by the law and I did. I wanted my employees to work harder and they did, even if I did not say a word to them, I just thought. That's all I really need to do, I think about it and it happens.

You may think that I enjoy all of that and in the beginning I did, but back then I thought it was real. I was happy with all my success, but suddenly it started to feel too easy. Everything I wanted, I achieved it, until I could think of no more goals to chase and that somehow started to feel unreal, almost wrong.

One night I was feeling very frustrated with life in general. I haven't felt that miserable for a long time. As I lay awake in my room trying to fall asleep, I started to realize just how dream-like this life was and for the first time I started to truly hate it. I guess my anger must have made something snap somewhere because for a moment I was surrounded by darkness and cold.

I heard distant voices like echoes. "He's waking up!"

"Don't let him!" Someone called out.

"I'm trying!" Another person answered.

"Set the machine to full power!" Someone ordered.

After this I felt as if a thousand bolts of electricity hit my body and I was in my room again. Sleep came to me quickly, but when morning arrived, I did not dismiss that experience as a dream like I normally would have, because these are not normal circumstances that I'm living in.

I have come to the conclusion that I'm trapped in some kind of virtual world. This is a world where everyone and everything spins around me. You may think this is the perfect dream world, but it's not. I need a life that's real and just realizing this one isn't, makes it meaningless. I've had no success or victories, I was simply tricked.

As I became sad and angry all at once for letting myself be captured by whoever I heard out there I try to remember the moment when it happened, but I can't. All I have are images and sounds scattered all over, memories that don't fit in together. Even so, I will not give up. One day, if time even passes the same way here, I'll leave this place and whoever created this world will pay.

End Seto's PoV

Seto's Virtual Journal

Subject: Realization
Date: Day 1 after 'The Truth'

I've decided to keep my progress on my plans to escape documented. This book in which I write is virtual, as is everything else here, yet I feel this information is more secure written down. For lack of better term, I'll call the event with the voices 'the truth'.

Subject: Malfunctions
Date: Day 3 after 'The Truth'

I have conducted extensive research and came to the conclusion that it is my anger and sadness that makes the machinery glitch. Whatever this virtual world was built for, it's clear that to serve its purpose I must be happy. Considering how I'm feeling right now, it might not be too hard to cause malfunctions in the program that I can use to my advantage.

Subject: Debugged
Date: Day 7 after 'The Truth'

It seams that the program used by this virtual world was debugged. I could feel things changing and soon challenges came. My company is in financial danger, but I know it will not go bankrupt. Whoever is in charge is trying to trick me, but it won't work.

Subject: Real
Date: Day 10 after 'The Truth'

It's finally happened. I found someone real in the city. I think I used to know her, but can't remember who she is. Was she trapped in this world too? Is she trying to get out or will she simply enjoy the dream? Is this world is also nice to her. She ran away when she realized I noticed she was different. I'll try to find her again. I think she knows more about this place.

End Virtual Journal

Seto's Point of View

After chasing her half way across virtual Domino, she finally realized I wasn't giving up and stopped running. Now I'm face to face with someone I know has answers. "Who are you?"

"Your friend," she looked away. It's clear she doesn't want me to know who she is and may think that if I look at her I will remember. But why does she not want me to know? What does she hide?

"Why can't I remember you?" No matter how hard I try, I really can't remember her name or anything about her, but I'm certain that I knew her.

"Your memory was damaged when..." There's an eerie silence and she doesn't want to finish what she's saying. "I'm sorry! Please live happily in this world." She runs away again and like last time and I run after her, but this time she disappears into thin air. I suspect she can come in and out of this virtual world so why can't I?

End Seto's PoV

Seto's Virtual Journal

Subject: Him
Date: Day 20 after 'The Truth'

I haven't seen the girl again, but I have seen someone else that I can sense is also real, unlike Yugi who came to duel earlier today but I refused, that Yugi is just a virtual copy. The new person I saw looked around my age, in fact, he looked a lot like me, but his hair was black. I don't know what his eyes are like since he is always wearing dark sunglasses. He was watching me with a sad expression, but disappeared whenever I tried to get closer. I have a feeling it will be hard to get him to talk.

End Virtual Journal

Seto's Point of View

Unexpectedly the girl showed up today. I was heading downstairs from this virtual copy of my mansion, ignoring the complaining from the virtual copy of Mokuba, which I locked in his room. It was hard to push him in and throw the door closed, but that was not my little brother. Then I found her sitting in the living room, holding my virtual cat. The entire virtual world went silent and I could no longer hear fake Mokuba's complaints to be let out. She placed the cat on the floor when she saw me and asked me to sit down.

I notice she is holding a small black box. "This virtual box is a symbol of the memories that were taken from you. Not the memories that you lost, these were taken. There will be things that you still won't remember. You won't know me, Mai, Joey or Duke; those memories are among the ones lost by accident. But you can still gain the truth, the real truth."

She's sounding very confusing with those names I've never heard. I do remember a scene where there was Yugi and there were people around him, people I don't know. A girl with long blond hair dressed in purple, a blond guy that for some unknown reason brings the word 'mutt' to my mind, a guy with a dice shaped earring and others. The picture gets blurry when I try to look at the others, there are girls and guys but I can't see them clearly. Out of all of them I only recognize Yugi and Ryou in this chard of memory. It's like the others never existed, I never met them, yet I know I have.

"He wanted to tell you this himself, but he couldn't, so instead you will remember. I give you back what was taken from you." She opens the little black box and a bright silver light comes from inside it. Everything is covered by light, the girl fades away and my memories return to me.

She was right, I still don't recognize the people from that memory even if the picture is very clear now. I see them so clearly, Yugi, Ryou, the guy with the dice earring, the blond girl hugging the guy whom I can't stop calling 'mutt'. I feel like I'm starting to remember the one I saw earlier in this world who was real. He must be who she was talking about, but what did he need to tell me that he couldn't?

It takes a while for me to put my memories in order but one thing is clear, death. Someone died, I watch those memories return like a movie before my eyes. Mokuba, I remember you were sick, but I didn't want to lose you. I built this machine for you, to keep you alive. But this wasn't the way it was meat to be, I never finished it.

No, wait, Mokuba recovered. That's the reason I didn't finish this machine, it was no longer needed. But someone died and if it wasn't Mokuba, who was it?

"Brother..." It's him, the unknown guy with the sunglasses. He doesn't have them now and I see his eyes are purple. He appeared here out of no where. "I'm sorry, I didn't want you to go. You lost some of your memories during the transfer to this world, but the memories of death were not lost. I erased them hoping that you could be happy. I had to make up for the lost memories by making you relive your past, but I wanted everything to be perfect, I wanted you to be happy. I'm sorry it turned out all wrong. I'm sorry I can't give you a life that's real."

I know who he is, "Mokuba?"

He hugs me but I can't feel anything. "Big Brother, I'm sorry I'm not as good as you with technology and I'm sorry I had to send a friend you accidentally forgot to speak to you before. I just couldn't do it myself and it wasn't easy for her either. All this anger and frustration short-circuited everything and I can't..."

"You can't keep the perfect dream going anymore. You can't keep me alive anymore. Mokuba, why did you trick me? Look at you, years have passed, but I don't remember anything, just small random scenes."

"Because being dead was too much for you. You were always depressed when I tried to keep you conscious, but I could tell you were trying very hard just to be there for me, so I thought you'd be happier this way. It was as if something was tormenting your very soul, as if it needed to be put to rest. I didn't want to let go and you didn't want to leave me, but I couldn't let you go on that way. Rest in peace big brother."

The memories come back now. I remember how every day after I died was an eternal torture, but I didn't want to leave my brother or her; too bad I can't remember her name. She appears now. My brother and this girl I can't remember, but I know I love, are the last thing I see before my soul finally rests.

End Seto's PoV

xoxox xox xoxox xox xoxox xox xoxox xox xoxox

Card 49: A Thin Line

-There is a thin line.-

'People say there's a thin line between many things and many of those things are opposites. For example: love and hate, pain and pleasure, sanity and insanity, you and me.'

-His footsteps echoed in the empty mansion and only stopped when he stood in front of a large mirror in his room.-

'Stare into the eyes of your enemy and savior. He's the one that keeps that feeling going for better or for worse. The one you need to control, but can't. Earn his trust and tell him what he wants to hear. Quote what some said that you believe is good and makes you feel like you're okay. Erase from your mind and from his what you didn't want to hear, the things they said that you deny are true. Reach for him make him trust you. Your enemy and your savior, there's a very thin line between them. Earn his trust; tell yourself you're doing well. This is not pain, this is something impossible to explain.'

-He touched the mirror and came closer to it.-

'I love you so much and I hate you so much, is there really a thin line in between those two feelings or are they the same thing? Is your life in my hands or is my life in yours? If my life is in yours, then let it fall, I cannot. I fear what may come at the end, yet if you take me there, I will let you, I cannot stop you.'

-He came closer to the mirror until his face was an inch away.-

'Will you open the door today like you do everyday?'

-He kissed his reflection.-

'Now I have your trust, now I am in control of you or are you in control of me? Either way, please let me go on with what must be done or do it yourself, grant me my escape. If the action comes from you or if the action comes from me, it matters not, as long as it's done.'

-He reached for the blade.-

'Cold isn't it? Do you feel fear? Or are you waiting anxiously for what is to come?'

-Metal against skin.-

'Is there truly a line between sanity and insanity? Are they truly different things? Do they even exist or are they the same thing looked at and interpreted from different points of view? How do you know that you're right and I'm wrong? If you're the one who's wrong, then you wouldn't know; it cannot be certain. Don't tell me this is pain, this is not pain, this is something I can't explain and you can't understand, unless you feel it caused by your own hands.'

-Red liquid flows.-

'If there is no line between sane and insane, between right and wrong, then they are the same, so all would be alright, but there is a line, a very thin line. I feel it, I see it, I have it. There is a line between reason and confusion. Reason and confusion are fighting for me and there is a line between them. The line is thin, the line is red, I see it, I have it, I made it. The line is mine.'

-There is a conflict.-

'By the time Mokuba returns we will have everything cleaned up. I don't want him to know. No one can know. If I find nothing wrong with my actions, if this is not wrong, then why do I hide it? I do not know.'

-He stared at his reflection.-

'This is our secret, our little secret, just you and me.'

-He placed his hand on the mirror.-

'This is my escape and my asylum and no one will take it away. There is a line between what people can know and what they can't know. The line is thin and the line is red. The line is mine to make.'

-Everyday it was the same.-

'This isn't painful, this is freedom. Maybe there is something new you would like to try?'

-He always spoke to the mirror.-

'Tell me, I want to know. I want to try something new. I want to go deeper into my asylum.'

-Each day he spoke to his reflection more as if it where another person.-

'I will try something different or will you? Are you coming up with an idea or am I? It doesn't matter, you are mine and I am yours, we belong to each other always.'

-He kissed his reflection like he always did.-

'You're in control now. I'll let you do what you want. Just help me escape, help me please. Take me to my asylum; you are my asylum deep inside.'

-He ran his fingers through his hair.-

'Don't ever let me go. Don't ever let them take this away from us. No one must know, ever.'

-Brown turned red.-

"Big Brother!"

-The echo of a child's voice.-

'No! Not now! I'm not done. No! I must go, but I will return! I'll come back to my asylum!'

-Blood stained clothes on the floor.-

'I won't be gone long. I'll be back. Hold that thought, that idea, that new door to my asylum, my escape and my freedom.'

-Clean clothes covered him.-

'I must go to my brother, but I will return! I'll be back soon! I'll be back for you!'

-He leaves his room and heads down the stairs.-

'I hate being interrupted. I will not be at peace until I finish. Please be quick in whatever you want, Mokuba. Why did you get back from Yugi's so soon?'

-A glance at a clock.-

'Why must time pass by so quickly? I don't get enough time in my asylum, I need more time with him.'

-A child runs to his arms.-

'Yes, I'm happy to see you too, Mokuba, but why did you have to call me now? I must not be angry, you don't know. You don't understand, you never will, lucky you.'

-Purple eyes spot red.-

'Why is he so quiet? Why is Mokuba not saying anything or even moving. He finally moved, he reached for something and I come closer, wondering what he wants. He wants to tell me something maybe? A secret that he must whisper to me even if there's no one else to hear? He poked my forehead with his finger.'

-The touch of blood.-

'I stare at my little brother's finger stained red. The cut under my hair must have been deeper than I thought. Blood came down on my forehead and the side of my face. Why wasn't I more careful? What am I thinking? He might suspect. His innocent mind must not be corrupted. He must not know. No one must!'

-Purple eyes meet blue.-

"Blood?"

-A child's tears.-

'I wasn't prepared for this. I never thought he would know. Why doesn't he believe me when I say I bumped my head? The blood flows into my hair and it feels different. It's more hidden, more protected, yet I made a mistake. What brings Mokuba to look at me like that? Does he know? Did he know all along?'

-Confused and filled with questions.-

"I don't understand big brother, why?"

-Questions that could not be answered.-

'He doesn't know what this is, he doesn't know what this means to me. He's too young, he must not find out, not now, not ever. This is my line, only mine, my doorway, my asylum yet it has made my brother cry. I hate he who made my brother sad. (Forgive me...) A voice echoes in my mind, but I pay no attention to it. It's my imagination; I just need to think of something to tell Mokuba.'

-Awaiting an answer that never came.-

'Days passed and I calmed Mokuba. I told him it was nothing and I don't want to lie to my brother. I feel my asylum calling me. (Come to me.) What is that voice that echoes in my mind? I hate you! You are not me! There is a thin line between being insane and being sane and I will stay sane, if only for Mokuba's sake. I don't care how much I want to go to you, I will not. (You admit it.) I'm arguing with myself, before I used to welcome this feeling. This feeling that made me feel as if I wasn't alone, as if there was another like me that understood me like only I can understand myself.'

-At work alone.-

'I hear him. (Come back.) No! (I didn't mean to make our brother sad.) Go away! (I'm sorry...) I need to get out of here. (Return!) A duel will do me some good.'

-Against the pharaoh.-

'He is distracted. He is not concentrating in the duel. Does he know too? Yugi... Mokuba wouldn't tell him, he didn't tell anyone, I just know he didn't, then why would he know? I don't think Mokuba even fully understands, or maybe he's smarter than I think? (I will help you win.) Go away, stop messing with my mind! I promised to stop! I promised Mokuba and myself!'

-The spirit of the Millennium Puzzle senses something.-

'Why isn't Yugi taking his turn? Why does he have that look in his face? The Millennium Puzzle glows, why? He will gain nothing with his silly tricks of ancient spirits and pharaohs.'

-The pharaoh interferes.-

"Kaiba, let me help you! I'll send the darkness to the Shadow Realm!"

-He could only watch.-

'I speak, "I am not the darkness," I have no control over my words. "I am not from the Shadow Realm," why do I say these things? "I do not hurt him," why does it feel like it's all a dream and I'm only part of an audience here. "I protect him," my voice sounds more distant by the second, I am not saying anything, yet those words are coming from me. "I am a part of him," I'm so tired... "Without me he dies," I don't know what's happening. Nothing makes sense but I'll just rest for a while, I'm so tired... There's a thin line between thinking something and doing it. There's a thin line between doing something willingly and letting it happen. He is the line...'

-Seto woke up alone in his room.-

'How did I get home? The last thing I remember was dueling Yugi at the Game Shop then the puzzle glowed and then... I don't remember. What happened? Did he send the voice away?'

-He got up and fell down in bed again.-

'I'm too dizzy and my head hurts. How did I get here in the first place? Was it all a dream? If it was a dream then he didn't send the voice away. Why don't I hear him? My asylum, where is he? Why did I say I hate him? Why is he gone?'

-Panic started to show.-

'He's gone he's really gone. No voices in my head. Yet I feel him here, there's still hope. Or am I just insane? I wanted the voice to stop and now I want it back. I'm alone without him, he is me and I am his.'

-He closed his eyes.-

'Then I hear him. (Rest hikari, sleep my light.) The voice is back. "You're here," I am relieved. (I just wanted to know that you don't want me gone. I don't want to hurt you so you must find another door, another way to get rid of stress, another door to your inner asylum.)

-It's all becoming clear to him.-

'I don't want things to change after all. "I am no light, I don't know of another door." (Search for it my dear darkness, you'll find it and then we will be one again. Then the conflict within you will stop and there will be no need to be separated. You and I will be the same. You'll feel your asylum in another way.) The voice fades away.'

-Now they are one again.-

'The spirit of the Millennium Puzzle must have understood, that he was only protecting me, keeping me sane. Now I need to move on to find a better door than the one that was my last resort.'

-He closed his eyes and rested.-

'There's a thin line between physical pain and emotional pain and sometimes one can cross that line and become the other. There's a thin line, the line is red, the line was mine, the line is healing, the line is gone.'

End

Disclaimer, I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!, DDR or Harvest Moon.