Future Lover

“I lost…” Yami whispered, going down on his knees. “Oh, Ra,” he looked to Seto’s direction. He and Mokuba weren’t there. “Where is he?” he was panicking. He had completely forgotten about thinking about a way out of this because his concentration was all out on the duel. “No…”

“Yami?” Yuugi lifted Yami’s chin so that he’d look at him. “The door is about to open, are you sure about this?” he asked. “I know that you’ve been thinking about it, and…well…you just didn’t get to figure out how to stay…”

“I can’t think of anything to give up…” said Yami, looking around, seeing his friends’ faces happy that he could finally let go. But they didn’t know anything. “You all are important to me…I can’t let you…this is something-” he realized something. “I know what I can give up.” He stood up and ran to where Seto was standing.

“What’s he doing?” Anzu asked, watching him look for Seto.

“H-hey! The door!” Honda announced, pointing to the huge slab of rock moving.

“Yams! Where are you going?! The door’s this way!” Jounouchi yelled, turning to run after him.

“Don’t go after him.” Yuugi grabbed Jounouchi’s arm, preventing him from moving from his spot. “He’s got something to tell his rival before he leaves.”
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Seto just sat there on what appeared to be a huge brick behind a wall. He didn’t want to see the duel, no matter how important it was. He didn’t want to know how the squirt was planning to win. He didn’t want to know what strategy he was using to defeat those damn god cards. He didn’t listen to the moves they were making, but blocked out all voices by thinking about how he was going to take Kaiba Corp to its zenith once again after everything that had happened, and about deciding if he should build another KaibaLand, only in Japan.

He winced. The wounds and bruises he had experienced in Yami’s memories wasn’t with him when he came back, but he couldn’t help but think why it caused him a little stinging pain where the bruises used to be. “I think I’m going out of my mind,”

Mokuba looked up. “Hey, Niisama, are you?” then he remembered the gold dragon. “Almost forgot, I thought you might like this back.” He fished around his pocket and gave Seto back his dragon.

“Thanks for agreeing to keep it Mokuba,” said Seto, taking the gold chains from Mokuba’s hands, then holding the small digits in his large ones as he put the necklace on. “Come here, baby brother,” he said, pulling Mokuba close to him, and letting him sit on his thighs, Mokuba facing him. “It’s been so long since I held you like this.” he admired Mokuba’s cute little face.

The boy threw his arms around Seto. “Please tell me he’ll stay…please…”

“You shouldn’t worry yourself about these things…” Seto whispered, allowing Mokuba to sob into his coat. “You’re still too young to get into these stuff.” He ran his hand through Mokuba’s wild hair. “This is what mommies and daddies get into, ok?”

Mokuba let go and looked at him. “But I’m a smart little boy, aren’t I? You said so yourself! So maybe I can get into these! I want to help you!”

“No, no, no,” Seto took his handkerchief from the inner pocket of his coat, and wiped Mokuba’s tears away. “This is adult stuff, ok, and little boys like you, no matter how smart, are not allowed into this.”

“But I want Yami to stay…bad…” Mokuba rested his head on Seto’s chest, sniffing a few times. “What about that party?”

“Well, it’s good that you haven’t invited anyone yet,” said Seto, rubbing circles on Mokuba’s back to calm him down.

“But the food’s already ordered. I’ve had Isono order all the food,”

“Then let’s celebrate something else, like offering a toast because Yami had already gotten what he had been waiting for for years,” but then it crossed his mind that they were like celebrating his death. “No, nevermind. Scratch what I said.” He hugged Mokuba tighter, smelling the fruity scent of his hair, and kissing his forehead. “I love you so much, Mokuba, so much,”

Mokuba looked up at him. “More than Yami?”

“Of course,” if Yami wasn’t going to stay, then he should direct all his attention that was meant to be for Yami to Mokuba. “Mokuba, I want you to study hard, and be a good little boy for me when we go home, ok?” he realized he’d been talking like the father they never had.

“Okay…” Mokuba whispered his answer.

“Do you want to build another KaibaLand?”

A smile graced on Mokuba’s face, and looked up and Seto once again. “Really?!”

“Well, after we get Kaiba Corp back up again, yes,”

“Yeah!” Seto chuckled, seeing Mokuba get so excited. “We should make it better than what’s in America! Because Japan is home, right Seto?”

“I suppose so,”

“I wanna pick the rides!” he said, “Can we put in rapids, and super fast coasters and, and water rides,” Mokuba kept going, and going.

“Okay, okay, alright, you better list those down when we get back,”

“Awesome!”

“Seto!” Seto looked around, Mokuba did, too. Then Yami appeared. “Seto…”

“Did you win?” Seto asked, putting Mokuba down as he stood up.

Yami hesitated to answer, but there was no point in hiding it. “N-no…”

Seto was silent, Mokuba held on to his hand. “I…I see…” Seto lowered his head. He heard Mokuba whisper ‘Niisama.’

“But I’ll come back.”

“What?”

“You will?!” Mokuba ran to him. “You will?!”

“But I don’t know how, but I know what to give up.” He pat Mokuba’s head, and approached Seto. “I told you…that I will find a way, and I did. I just don’t know how I will come back, but I know what to give up, so don’t lose hope, ok?”

Seto bent over a little and kissed him. Mokuba knew better, and turned around. Yami pulled away. “The Dragon will always protect you,”

They followed him back to what Seto could tell was a stage, and watched Yami say goodbye to the others, and talking to Yuugi last, hearing him say that he will always be looking down, on them, watching. Yami took one last look at the people who took care of him, and before he entered the afterlife, he looked at Seto and mouthed ‘I love you.’