You Wait Until My Father Hears About This

With the Covid lockdown Seto found himself with more time on his hands without going to and from his office, across town to meet with other departments and retailers, to press events, and to business conferences across the world and everything else that normally kept him busy all day every day.

When he was busy he didn’t have time to think about the past. Now though he worked remotely for the most part, with his meetings limited to Zoom.

It was nice in the beginning. The first week was delightful; he could stay in bed longer. He could eat breakfast with Nova. He could even go back to sleep after catching up on answering emails. He could play games with his wife and with Atem and catch up on tv shows he liked but was always behind on.

The joy in the games were fading, especially as the worldwide situation was getting grimmer. Atem started isolating better instead of coming over.

It was fine really. He had his other best friend, his wife. It was fine until it wasn’t. Until this house was getting to him. He wasn’t busy enough to keep himself from thinking about where he was and where they had been.

He knew he was relapsing into old food avoidant behavior he thought he had moved past. But there were calories in alcohol right? He wasn’t going to die.

It really wasn’t like him to be drinking whiskey concealed by a coffee mug at a morning department meeting over zoom. Did he even like whiskey? Sometimes it was wine. Much better.

How many times had he lied to Nova that he either wasn’t hungry or has already eaten?

Pegasus and Taylor wanted them to visit for a while. Yes. Maybe that’s all he needed was time away from the house. Nova had had the same idea, telling him they were going.

Pegasus and Taylor were hardly affected by the lockdown. They loved being home. Taylor loved that he was there more often, but not much had changed for them. Max had already been working partly at his home office, and he wasn’t one to volunteer to wake up early even under normal work circumstances. They were having fun with this.

So why did Seto feel like trash instead of being more fun for Nova? (Definitely not because he had never engaged with his trauma in any meaningful, restorative way.) He would give her more attention tonight. After rejecting Atem’s pleas for playing on Duel Links following his last zoom meeting of the evening.

A shared bath helped to clear his head and to focus on Nova. None of his stress mattered in this moment with her in his arms. But god he was tired. Still, by the time they got to bed, he was able to continue worshipping her a while longer, indulging on her breasts, filling her again…

Then his mood faltered afterward, guilt clawing into his mind and shredding apart short lived joy.

(Atem texted Nova: something is wrong with him if he won’t duel me 😠)

He woke to darkness in the early morning, horror dawning on him at the realization the dreams that had been plaguing him ever since his mental health took a turn (a generous word— more of a spiral) were not dreams at all.

It had been much worse with Gozaburo than he thought.

He got dressed and moved quietly to try to avoid waking Nova, slowly closing the balcony door and pouring himself another drink, hands shaking.

When he heard the door open some time later he tried to calm his erratic breaths but couldn’t bear to be seen like this, covering his face although his back was to her.

Including when something's wrong.

At first, the quarantine was fine - even a little fun.

Nova was a bit of a recluse (despite her penchant for sass and her fiery temper, she was actually quite shy) so it wasn't like she went a lot of places - mostly Kame Game Shop or Ryou's apartment.

And having Seto home nearly 24/7? Was more than happiness-making for Nova. (There was something about donning a "sexy secretary" outfit and teasing Seto during Zoom meetings so he'd take her on his desk afterwards that was just *chef's kiss*)

But the novelty didn't last long.

The longer quarantine dragged on, the more Seto started changing.

Even Mokuba noticed it.

Nova knew Seto was drinking more - she could smell the alcohol on his breath (the whiskey was especially bad, triggering flashbacks of her own).

And she knew he was lying about eating/not being hungry.

So when Taylor messaged her about Max missing his beloved niece, Nova saw her chance.

Duelist Kingdom Castle was perfect.

It was on an island.

There was enough space in the Castle that they could be socially distanced.

Plus Uncle Max's medical team was top notch, on par with the team KaibaCorp kept staffed.

And it would get them away from all the terrible memories this house contained.

She proposed the idea to Seto and was rather surprised when he agreed (Uncle Max was still not one of Seto's favourite people).

~~~~

When they arrived at Duelist Kingdom Castle, Nova noticed the immediate change in Seto's demeanor. He definitely seemed a little more relaxed. Unusually, he wasn't as on-guard as he was when near Uncle Max (he even returned some of Max's teasingly flirtatious banter).

But, just like everything else, the pleasantry was short-lived.

Seto was still withdrawing. He'd declined a duel with Atem (if it was Joey, she'd understand. But...Atem? The guy she joked was Seto's boyfriend?)

Even sex that night had been a little off.

So when Seto awoke and left the bed, Nova was awakened by the movement.

Slowly she approached him, knowing something was wrong. (There was no one else on the island, so she didn't care that her nightgown was see-through and perfectly cupping her breasts and hugging every sensuous curve)

"I can't go back to that house"

Hearing those desperate words cause Nova to stop. But her hesitation didn't last long. She continued her approach until she was right behind Seto, gently wrapping her arms around his waist.

He dropped his brandy glass, shards slicing his elegant hands. He swore in Japanese. In English. In Korean as he began picking the pieces out embedded in his skin, heart racing and stomach turning.

He cleared the table then held his face in his bloodied hands, closing his eyes.

But, she gently took his hands and inspected them to make sure all the glass was out.

"All right." She said softly. "I won't say a word to him about this. But...Seto..."

She looked up at him, one of her hands gently caressing his bloodied cheek

How much did he still not remember? How much of it had he imagined? What if he couldn’t trust any of his memory on it?

“The virus will pass, and I’ll be fine, if I can just work normally again…”

With the Covid lockdown Seto found himself with more time on his hands without going to and from his office, across town to meet with other departments and retailers, to press events, and to business conferences across the world and everything else that normally kept him busy all day every day.

When he was busy he didn’t have time to think about the past. Now though he worked remotely for the most part, with his meetings limited to Zoom.

It was nice in the beginning. The first week was delightful; he could stay in bed longer. He could eat breakfast with Nova. He could even go back to sleep after catching up on answering emails. He could play games with his wife and with Atem and catch up on tv shows he liked but was always behind on.

The joy in the games were fading, especially as the worldwide situation was getting grimmer. Atem started isolating better instead of coming over.

It was fine really. He had his other best friend, his wife. It was fine until it wasn’t. Until this house was getting to him. He wasn’t busy enough to keep himself from thinking about where he was and where they had been.

He knew he was relapsing into old food avoidant behavior he thought he had moved past. But there were calories in alcohol right? He wasn’t going to die.

It really wasn’t like him to be drinking whiskey concealed by a coffee mug at a morning department meeting over zoom. Did he even like whiskey? Sometimes it was wine. Much better.

How many times had he lied to Nova that he either wasn’t hungry or has already eaten?

Pegasus and Taylor wanted them to visit for a while. Yes. Maybe that’s all he needed was time away from the house. Nova had had the same idea, telling him they were going.

Pegasus and Taylor were hardly affected by the lockdown. They loved being home. Taylor loved that he was there more often, but not much had changed for them. Max had already been working partly at his home office, and he wasn’t one to volunteer to wake up early even under normal work circumstances. They were having fun with this.

So why did Seto feel like trash instead of being more fun for Nova? (Definitely not because he had never engaged with his trauma in any meaningful, restorative way.) He would give her more attention tonight. After rejecting Atem’s pleas for playing on Duel Links following his last zoom meeting of the evening.

A shared bath helped to clear his head and to focus on Nova. None of his stress mattered in this moment with her in his arms. But god he was tired. Still, by the time they got to bed, he was able to continue worshipping her a while longer, indulging on her breasts, filling her again…

Then his mood faltered afterward, guilt clawing into his mind and shredding apart short lived joy.

(Atem texted Nova: something is wrong with him if he won’t duel me 😠)

He woke to darkness in the early morning, horror dawning on him at the realization the dreams that had been plaguing him ever since his mental health took a turn (a generous word— more of a spiral) were not dreams at all.

It had been much worse with Gozaburo than he thought.

He got dressed and moved quietly to try to avoid waking Nova, slowly closing the balcony door and pouring himself another drink, hands shaking.

When he heard the door open some time later he tried to calm his erratic breaths but couldn’t bear to be seen like this, covering his face although his back was to her.

Including when something's wrong.

At first, the quarantine was fine - even a little fun.

Nova was a bit of a recluse (despite her penchant for sass and her fiery temper, she was actually quite shy) so it wasn't like she went a lot of places - mostly Kame Game Shop or Ryou's apartment.

And having Seto home nearly 24/7? Was more than happiness-making for Nova. (There was something about donning a "sexy secretary" outfit and teasing Seto during Zoom meetings so he'd take her on his desk afterwards that was just *chef's kiss*)

But the novelty didn't last long.

The longer quarantine dragged on, the more Seto started changing.

Even Mokuba noticed it.

Nova knew Seto was drinking more - she could smell the alcohol on his breath (the whiskey was especially bad, triggering flashbacks of her own).

And she knew he was lying about eating/not being hungry.

So when Taylor messaged her about Max missing his beloved niece, Nova saw her chance.

Duelist Kingdom Castle was perfect.

It was on an island.

There was enough space in the Castle that they could be socially distanced.

Plus Uncle Max's medical team was top notch, on par with the team KaibaCorp kept staffed.

And it would get them away from all the terrible memories this house contained.

She proposed the idea to Seto and was rather surprised when he agreed (Uncle Max was still not one of Seto's favourite people).

~~~~

When they arrived at Duelist Kingdom Castle, Nova noticed the immediate change in Seto's demeanor. He definitely seemed a little more relaxed. Unusually, he wasn't as on-guard as he was when near Uncle Max (he even returned some of Max's teasingly flirtatious banter).

But, just like everything else, the pleasantry was short-lived.

Seto was still withdrawing. He'd declined a duel with Atem (if it was Joey, she'd understand. But...Atem? The guy she joked was Seto's boyfriend?)

Even sex that night had been a little off.

So when Seto awoke and left the bed, Nova was awakened by the movement.

Slowly she approached him, knowing something was wrong. (There was no one else on the island, so she didn't care that her nightgown was see-through and perfectly cupping her breasts and hugging every sensuous curve)

"I can't go back to that house"

Hearing those desperate words cause Nova to stop. But her hesitation didn't last long. She continued her approach until she was right behind Seto, gently wrapping her arms around his waist.

He dropped his brandy glass, shards slicing his elegant hands. He swore in Japanese. In English. In Korean as he began picking the pieces out embedded in his skin, heart racing and stomach turning.

He cleared the table then held his face in his bloodied hands, closing his eyes.

Heruhirmaat

Several months have passed since Atem was released to the Underworld. Although he did save the world and that’s all well and good, he could not pass the Weighing of the Heart. Apparently setting people on fire with shadow games when the Puzzle was completed doesn’t contribute toward maintaining Ma’at. How was he supposed to know? Ironically another part of his name, Heru-hir-Ma’at has a translation of One Who Satisfies Ma’at.

Tears gathered in violet eyes. Atem whispered, “Will I be uncreated?”

“Oh, no! No, nothing like that!” Djehuty exclaimed, taking hold of Atem’s hand as the boy sunk to his knees. “You’ve shown great bravery! We all adore you. And loyalty to Yugi! Although you’re still accountable for all your actions, we also know the Puzzle has always been corrupted by isfet. All those items were.”

“Reincarnation—” Yinepu was promptly cut off by Atem: “What?! No, no, please, I just recovered my memory! Don’t make me... n-no...”

“I would restore your memory afterward.”

“No! I can’t... please... I’m tired. I’ve waited... so long.”

When Atem was openly weeping, heartbroken and shamed by the ordeal... Yinepu embraced him.

“Alright. You’ll be fine. Everything will be fine. You’ll return to Japan fully resurrected.”

(Djehuty is the Egyptian name for Thoth; Yinepu is the Egyptian name for Anubis 💕)

- mun is 28 with no triggers; fueled by angst and darkness

- OC friendly if I can get a sense from you of what is going on

If your YGO fanfic doesn’t have a scene with Seto Kaiba getting absolutely trashed, then what’s the point.

bonus:

Noa flinched at Seto’s abrupt noise before he settled a look of concern onto him. “What?” There was no sense to be made out of this. Why was Seto so angry? “Where else would I be…? I don’t have yoga until the afternoon. I’ve been in my office… Oh, and there are donuts in the break room. Did you want one? Are you… Are you feeling well, Seto?” he asked, sinking into a chair across from Seto’s desk. “Why are you looking at me like this?”

“Don’t play dumb with me, you snot-nosed punk!” No, that insult wasn’t nearly strong enough for what he’d suffered at the hands of this freak. Trying to steal his body and his company was bad enough. But the image of a brainwashed Mokuba forced to protect Noa with his life was burned into his mind, and that’s all he could think of, whenever he thought of his so-called ‘stepbrother.’ So what if Noa supposedly changed his mind and saved them at the last second? It was Noa’s fault they were all in that situation in the first place! 

“Oh, my apologies, you startled me…I didn’t hear you come in.” The redhead blinked slightly and gave an apologetic dip of his head, offering a smile after a brief moment. 

Seto Kaiba: Inherited his (adoptive) dad war profiting company & immediately changed it to a gaming company cuz war profiting = bad