just a small mind crush?

There are many things that Yami will do for his host. Anything, really.

But when Yugi asks him to be less violent, to stop challenging the people who would hurt him or his friends to shadow games, to stop killing?

Yami tells him he'll stop. He promises and he begs for Yugi's forgiveness--

--But he doesn't stop.

Yami will do anything for Yugi, but he finds he must kill for him the most.

It's not Yugi's fault he looks like a baby panda and others wish to take advantage of him. Yami would never fault his other half for something he can't control.

But Yami promised he would protect Yugi and his friends first, and sometimes there is only one way to do that. No matter how unglamorous it might be, it certainly helps results.

So, when Pegasus takes their grandfather's soul, Yami is furious. Seething with barely contained rage as Yugi sobs over his soulless body. While Yugi's friends call for an ambulance, Yami begins to plot.

It's their first night in Duelist Kingdom that he makes his move. Sending a sleeping Yugi's consciousness to his soul room and blocking him out in case he wakes. Yami sneaks away from all their friends silently, making his way to the castle lording over the island.

Sneaking inside is easy, finding Pegasus is even easier.

Yami finds him in his darkly lit room, sitting out on his balcony and nursing a half finished glass of wine as he looks down at his kingdom before him.

And despite all the powers his eye gives him, it doesn't help him see Yami until he's grabbed Pegasus in a chokehold.

"Well aren't you full of surprises!" Pegasus coughs out, hands clawing at Yamis arms. "I wouldn't think you had it in you, little Yugi... Though, you're not quite Yugi, are you?"

Yami grits his teeth. "Give me one good reason I don't snap your neck right now."

"Yugi's poor grandfather, for one," Pegasus drawls, his hands still gripping Yamis arms tight, even when he loosens his hold around the man's neck.

Pegasus hums. "You're quite the character, aren't you, my strange intruder."

"How would you like to play a game?" Yami leans down to whisper in his ear.

He feels Pegasus shudder. "Oh I do love games. What shall we play for, my dear?"

Pegasus releases his grasp on Yamis wrists, gently trailing a finger over his arm instead, drawing nonsensical patterns that leave his hair standing on edge.

"Oh, I think I have a few ideas," Yami grins, something feral and uncontrolled.

Seto doesn't know how the damned thing ended up in his possession, all he knows is that he'd very much like for it to disappear just as suddenly.

He stares at the Millennium rod and the unblinking eye of Horus stares back at him. Still real, still there, still confoundedly annoying.

"Staring at the thing isn't going to change anything, you know." The voice of his new hallucination scoffs at him.

Seto grits his teeth and pointedly does not snark back no matter how much he'd like to.

Just when he thought he was free of all this nonsense when Atem returned to the afterlife and Yugi lost his puzzle and the rest of the millennium items to the sands of Egypt. Somehow this thing ends up in his grasp carrying an uncomfortably familiar ghost with it.

"You may ignore me all you like, but neither me, nor the rod, are so easily set aside."

Seto knows that. He'd told Mokuba to give the stupid thing back to Yugi the minute he found it. Only for it to end up hanging off his belt again before it was halfway across the city.

He watches out the corner of his eye as the great Egyptian priest, Set, pokes at one of his Blue-Eyes figurines on display, intangible finger phasing through the solid object.

With a heavy sigh, Seto resigns himself to his fate of having to ask for Yugi's assistance himself.

-

When Yugi gets the call from Seto demanding he come to the Kaiba manor at once, Yugi easily reads the undertone of a desperate cry for help.

"I would... Greatly appreciated your... Assistance, with something." Kaiba had said through gritted teeth and Yugi was halfway out the door before he knew it.

Kaiba wasn't the type to ask for help. Whatever was going on had to be world-endingly terrible!

When he finally got to the Kaiba manor, he soon found it wasn't world-ending on a greater scale. It was just world-ending for Yugi specifically.

As Kaiba had explained his new problem, the Millennium rod held pinched between his fingers like it was something dirty and not a sacred, magical artifact made from solid gold, Yugi had immediately thought they should call in Ishizu for help.

But as a second option and a quick fix for the moment, Yugi had asked Seto if he could let the high priest speak through his body for a moment. At least so they could figure out if he knew anything about his predicament!

Seto hadn't looked thrilled about the idea, but he still conceded, probably weighing the benefits to outweigh the cons.

And now...

"It's an honour to meet you, Yugi Mutou," the high priest says, kneeling at Yugi's feet with his head bowed in reverence.

Yugi flushes a deep red. The image of Kaiba kneeling before him is sure to be burned into his mind for the rest of his life.

"Oh you really don't have to--" Yugi tries and quickly notices that the high priest barely even twitches. With a sigh, he kneels down to join him on the plush carpet of Seto's office.

"It's nice to meet you too."

The high priest looks awed and a little taken aback by Yugi's actions, the mental battle he must be fighting with Kaiba visible in the sparkling blue of his eyes.

"You guys okay in there?" Yugi asks hesitantly after a long moment.

"My modern counterpart is... Displeased to be on his knees," the high priest rolls his eyes, meeting Yugi's gaze with a fierce determination. "But we both agree that you are something to be worshipped, so I hardly understand his feelings."

Yugi startles at the forward comment, his whole body going warm at the implication. Before Yugi can even hope to come up with a response, Seto's body goes rigid and in the blink of an eye, it is no longer the high priest before him, but Seto Kaiba himself.

"So," Yugi trails off. "Want to talk about that?"

Seto glares at him fiercely, but Yugi's seen far more withering looks from Kaiba in his lifetime, he can easily tell that the annoyance is half hearted.

Yugi holds his ground easily, refusing to break their eye contact under Seto's glare. Tilting his head to the side as he patiently awaits his answer.

An answer which Seto gives to him as he leans forward and presses a kiss to Yugi's lips.

Joey knows it's bad manners and probably distasteful. Really, he does.

Despite what others may think, he really is a gentleman. Tries his best to be, at least.

Unfortunately, his mouth has always run quicker than his brain. Usually it just gets him into a bit of trouble he can't talk his way out of, but every now and then it just leaves him embarrassed and humiliated in front of pretty people.

He will not let this be a repeat of that situation though. Not when the girl who's grabbed his heart is the most gorgeous, ethereal woman that he has ever had the privilege to lay eyes upon.

Especially not when she's Seto Kaiba's fuckin' personal assistant.

It's not often Joey comes to KaibaCorp -- okay, he never comes to KaibaCorp -- but Yugi had invited him along for one of his weekly matches with the man himself.

And for the first time in his life, Joey just cannot focus on the game playing out in front of him.

Not that seeing Yugi and Kaiba duel isn't always some sort of spectacle -- and these days, filled with so much innuendos and flirting it's like watching a particularly captivating trashy TV show -- but no matter the dramatics or the plot twists, Joey's attention is firmly held by the pretty woman sitting next to him in the spectator stands.

Kisara, Joey knows her name is after hearing Kaiba bark commands at her. Silky white hair flowing over her shoulders and curling round her pale face. Her eyes are a beautiful sparkling blue, intensely focussed on the laptop sitting on her knees.

"Hey, how's it going?" Joey says to her and fights the urge to wince.

Really? That's the best he can do?

Kisara blinks and turns her head to face him, concentration broken as she looks at Joey like she's only just realised he's there.

"Oh, hi. I'm just working," she tells him with a quick smile and fuck is it breathtaking.

She turns back to her laptop and Joey curses silently as he realises he'd missed the opportunity to say anything more, too captivated by her stupid pretty smile and now if he tries again it's gonna be awkward and god, what if he makes her uncomfortable?

Kaiba and Yugi's duel finishes soon after and Joey practically runs up to Yugi to try and escape his spiralling thoughts. The two of them are halfway to the door when Kaiba grabs his arm and pulls him back.

Joey whirls around, a taunt on the tip of his tongue. What's wrong, rich boy, want me to beat your ass too?

But he stops when he sees Kaiba's sneer.

"Don't hit on my assistant." He warns "Kisara is too good for a mutt like you."

Joey feels himself flush, pulling his arm out of Kaiba's grip.

"Fuck off man, I was just being polite!" He snaps back.

Seto's sneer falters slightly as he narrows his eyes, looking Joey over like he's some fun new puzzle to solve.

"At least wait until she's off the clock. I can't have you distracting her."

Seto stalks off before Joey can get another word in, Kisara at her bosses side in an instant. Despite recieving Kaiba's blessing -- which he didn't want or need, by the way -- Joey is almost certain it's not gonna do him any good anyway. Kisara is way out of his league, as usual, and totally not interested in him. As usual.

Joey suspects he has a type.

But just when he thinks he's done for, Kisara looks over his shoulder to shoot him a wink and a smile.