Yugi didn't listen to his grandfather when he scared him with stories about a puzzle found in an Egyptian tomb. Yugi also didn't listen to the "power of darkness" that would be given to the one who solved the puzzle. Now, having solved it, Yugi notices every now and then the gaps in his memory and the oddities that happened to every ill-wisher who had done wrong to Yugi and his friends. What's going on?
I find it funny how i love yugi (and Yami!) so much, probably because i can really relate to yugi.
You know how Atem just kinda chilled and did whatever during Duelist Kingdom and didn't know who he was and didn't even question it? Not until like after Yugi stopped him and confronted Pegasus after and learned about shit?
And given the time difference of s0 and DK...Atem was legit clueless for a whole year. He thought he was Yugi for a whole year. (If you base off anime anyways.)
What...like, how did those two interact during that? Like...they were kinda aware, but they didn't know how to explain it and just kinda went with they were two sides of the same person?
In manga, basing off of Yugi's thoughts and such, I think he was aware that Atem was...someone else? But he didn't know how to explain it or what to think? At least for a long time he didn't. Yugi is very smart and kinda figured things out once he is given more information.
But still, the overall question here remains...how the hell did the two perceive each other for that whole fucking year? Thinking they are one and the same but have a feeling they aren't?
Can you just...imagine the pure frustration and fear Yugi went through? He so badly wanted to try to talk to Atem (I don't believe for a second Atem couldn't hear him in all attempts) but he just...didn't respond? He was literally forced aware that his control can be ripped out of his hands once Yugi stopped him in his duel with Kaiba. And had to face the fact it could be, but it can be done in a POSITIVE manner. Called cooperation.
My personal hot take: Yugi was hella lot more aware and able to see what was happening once he realized someone was taking over his mind when in danger. Very early on. He got more and more practice, and he wanted to talk to this stranger inhabiting his mind...but grew very fucking scared when he saw the lengths that Atem would go to win a game (though in fairness, Atem felt very pressured and left with no choice, but not justifiable).
Yugi and Atem felt very similar in emotions when it came to the previous duels...anger, confidence, etc. I would even say Yugi agreed in some cases of Atem's...behavior and opinion. And when he didn't, he couldn't reach him or was blocked off somehow. But their friends were safe and happy, so couldn't be all bad.
Duel with Kaiba happens, and the finals happen. Time to reach Pegasus. Now THIS...is where things become interesting.
I want to say Atem, for once, was the one adamant on avoiding Yugi's presence. Intentionally this time. Duel with Mai happens, and this is the first time they really become in sync...at least in spirit. The duel with Pegasus is where the first time to actually talk to each other happens. They have experienced so much shit together already but could have never talked...they know each other, but also not really?
Hence the excitement Yugi has when Atem fucking finally decides to rely on him and work together. And this is where Atems genuine over protective habits over Yugi began to develop. At first it was just to make sure himself (or what he thought was) and friends didn't get hurt, but...him and Yugi connected in a way no one else could before that day. It's important and sacred and needs to be protected.
I am curious to anyone else's thoughts if you have any!
Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh!
Characters/Ships: Puzzleshipping/Blindshipping (Atem/Yugi); Gemshipping (Thief King Bakura/Ryou Bakura); Puppyshipping/Revertshipping (Priest Seto Kaiba/Jounochi); Atem, Yugi, Thief King Bakura, Ryou Bakura, Priest Seto Kaiba, Jounochi Katsuya
Rating: M (WARNINGS for steamy fade-to-black moments, banter of a sexual nature, and some abuse of lotus wine)
Length: Chapter 7 / 7; 2200 words
Summary:
Upon his homecoming, Priest Seto Kaiba certainly didn’t expect to find a statue of the Thief King in the middle of the palace courtyard, right where the Pharaoh’s statue ought to be. He also didn’t expect the stray puppy he picked up on his travels to follow him all the way home.
In the meantime, the Great Royal Husband, Yugi Mutou, makes a new friend, one Jounochi Katsuya, and Pharaoh Atem wonders when the power dynamics around his palace got so difficult to navigate.
Sequel to “For Love of Pharaoh and King;” “The Pharaoh’s Lotus Garden—Part I” accounts for the time between the two works. Can be read separately, but will make more sense with context.
Full Story Begins Here!
Read on AO3
Previous Chapter – Next Chapter (next part coming soon~)
Chapter Seven: Return, in Truth
There was a feast—a feast the likes of which hadn't been seen since the royal wedding. Pharaoh Atem spared no effort in celebrating the return of his cousin and High Priest, Seto Kaiba, and the whole of the royal city rejoiced with their Pharaoh. The commoner Jounochi Katsuya, friend of the Great Royal Husband and consort of the High Priest, enjoyed a seat of honor at the banquet, beside Priest Seto. The Thief King made no mischief to speak of.
That night, everyone in the palace enjoyed a peaceful, exhausted sleep. When dawn came, the air was undisturbed by human movement and filled only with early morning birdsong.
A single person broke that stillness—one Jounochi Katsuya, making his somewhat meandering way through the courtyard of the palace. And, as he neared the front gates, a second approached from behind him; called out.
"Jounochi?"
The young man turned; tilted his head. "Oh. Hey, Yugi."
The Great Royal Husband halted; took in Jounochi's determined expression and the bag slung over his shoulder. With a sinking heart, he asked, "Where are you going?"
Jounochi smiled. "Back home. I never thought Seto'd change his mind, or anything. I just hung around for one last night with him, and that's that. That's how it is, between us. I get that. I always knew that."
Yugi frowned; reached out and took one of Jounochi's hands in both of his. "I don't know about all that—I can't speak to your relationship with Priest Seto—but I would like it if you stayed."
"Thanks for being my friend, Yugi," was Jounochi's reply. "You're the best one I've ever had. I mean that."
They embraced, tightly; Yugi clung to Jounochi, knotting his hands in the other's shirt, and then they parted.
"Come visit any time," Yugi said.
"Thanks. I think this is goodbye, though."
Yugi nodded. "I... understand."
"Say 'bye' to Bakura for me," Jounochi said, backing up as he did so. "Tell him I'm sorry we never got that proper fight, okay?"
"I will..." Yugi took a single step after him, but stopped there; watched as Jounochi took one slow step back after another.
"And don't even bother to tell that bastard Seto 'bye,' for me!" Jounochi called, then waved. "Thanks for everything, Yugi!"
"We'll still be friends!" Yugi called after him, and Jounochi's smile faltered.
"Yeah... yeah, friends forever!" he yelled, then spun and began to run; Yugi saw one arm rise to cover his face, as he did so.
"Friends forever!" he called. "Goodbye, Jounochi!"
... ... ...
"Obelisk the Tormentor... and Slifer the Sky Dragon..." Atem murmured.
His High Priest nodded, standing before him at the side of the throne room. It was mid-morning, the day after the banquet. "Two of the Three Lost to Time. Two of the three god cards. The third has eluded me."
"Finding even one of them is a feat thought impossible, by many..." Atem murmured. "You've done well. Far beyond well."
Seto nodded. "My Pharaoh honors me, with such words." And he offered the two cards on upturned palms.
Atem considered them, then picked up Slifer the Sky Dragon. Seto looked questioningly at him.
"My Lord?"
"Obelisk is yours, Cousin. You've dueled well, with it, and are deserving."
Seto looked perturbed. "They're both yours, by rights, Pharaoh. I left to find them on your behalf."
"Then consider Obelisk a gift, if you must," Atem replied. "Either way, it is yours."
Seto hesitated, for another moment, and then pulled the card back toward himself. "Thank you, Pharaoh. You honor me."
Atem smiled. "I do. But you needn't be so formal about it."
Seto still dipped his head when he said, "You honor me, Cousin."
"And you didn't leave on this mission on my behalf," Atem scoffed. "Don't try to feed me such lies."
Seto's head snapped up. "It's not—!"
"You left because you were running away. From what happened." Atem's voice wasn't harsh; his expression was gentle and open. "What's done is done, Seto. There's no need for that, anymore. You're home, and I hope you'll stay."
Seto shifted; began to turn, and said, "Excuse me. I have business to attend to."
"Stay, Seto."
Seto bent his head again, though he didn't turn back. "If that is my Pharaoh's command."
"It's not a command," Atem said, softly. "It's a request."
And Seto replied, after a moment, "I'll stay, Cousin..."
... ... ...
"It looks like it hurts..." Yugi murmured, running his hands gently along the bruises that mottled Atem's chest. They, along with some scrapes about his shoulders and face, were the extent of his injuries from his duel with High Priest Seto. Mentally, though, the Pharaoh had taken less damage from the final attack than was to be expected—there had been no fear, on his part, or malice on Priest Seto's, at the moment of impact, and that had softened the blow.
"It's fine," Atem murmured, kissing Yugi's shoulder; working his way along the collar bone, and then hovering above Yugi's throat. He kissed the hollow at the base of Yugi's neck, then ran the tip of his tongue lightly up; nipped his jaw. Yugi shivered.
"Really... I wish you hadn't taken that last hit..." Yugi breathed, although his breath kept hitching.
Atem nibbled, then sucked at Yugi's neck, just below his jawline, leaving a scarlet mark before replying. "I had to, love... We had to settle it. And now it's settled."
"No more fighting? Really?" Yugi asked, stubbornly refusing to be distracted.
"No more fighting..." Atem breathed; kissed Yugi's mouth, quickly, and breathed between kisses, "No fighting... unless Bakura... starts it..."
Yugi shoved Atem's chest, at that, and Atem grunted softly in pain. Yugi, remembering the bruising, gave an alarmed squeak. "I-I'm sorry...! I wasn't thinking...!"
"If you weren't thinking, we wouldn't be having this conversation... Stop thinking..." Atem growled, giving up on spoken words as he attacked Yugi's mouth again. Yugi's body arched involuntarily, despite his whine of protest.
"We're not done talking about this...!" he said, and then groaned into Atem's mouth.
"We can talk about it later..." was Atem's reply, as his fingers sought out each sensitive spot on Yugi's body.
"Pharaoh..."
"I'm sure it'll come up again. I got Seto to say he's staying. I almost thought he wouldn't."
Yugi felt Atem's distress bubble up, with that thought, and wrapped his arms around the Pharaoh's neck; kissed him back, to soothe him. "But you got him to stay. So don't worry."
"Right... it wasn't just because of me that he stayed, though. I'm sure."
That made Yugi pause, and for a moment they both stilled, short of breath and with passion halfway begun. "What? What do you mean?"
"The boy. Jounochi." Atem matched Yugi's verbal speech, for a moment, and Yugi sensed his lingering dislike for the young man in question. Atem reverted to telepathy, for efficiency's sake, to convey without words how Priest Seto had left in search of the god cards; how he had sworn it was on his Pharaoh's behalf; how Atem had always known it to be an excuse, for the palace had become an uncomfortable place for young Seto Kaiba. "But he only found two of the three gods, so he could've stayed away, according to his own pretext. He came back because he wanted to. He came back because of the boy."
"Couldn't he have just been homesick? After all that time?"
Atem's head was turned slightly, his gaze distant. "No... not my cousin. We may not appear it, but we know one another well. He's not the type to suffer from ailments such as homesickness."
"So... Jounochi?"
"Mm. I don't know his motivation, exactly... but that's the only thing I can think of. That's the only variable that could've changed his mind, for whatever reason."
Yugi frowned, then said aloud, "I hope he comes back, then."
Atem looked down in surprise. "'Comes back?'"
Yugi nodded. "Jounochi. He doesn't think... I mean, he left, this morning."
Atem smiled suddenly; began to laugh, the sound soft and warm.
Yugi stared up at him, surprised. "Atem?"
"Don't worry, Partner..." Atem leaned down; kissed him, and so passionately that Yugi had no choice but to respond. "It's been taken care of."
"What do you mean... Pharaoh...?"
"We cousins may not appear it, but we know each other well. It's been taken care of."
"Pharaoh, please explain...!" Yugi's whine, as Atem's hands began again to wander, suited the pensive thought.
"Later, Partner... we said we'd talk about this later..."
"Pharaoh..."
"Later, my love."
"Later... Pharaoh..."
... ... ...
Jounochi Katsuya sat in a dingy tavern at the very edge of town—the next town over, from the royal city. It had been a couple of days since he'd covered such a distance in one day, so his legs were a bit achy, and he propped them up on the empty chair across the table while he drank his beer.
"Aah..." Leaning back, Jounochi let his head hang; closed his eyes. He was strangely comfortable with the fact that his time as Priest Seto's... whatever he had been... was over. But he had no idea what would be next for him, then. He would return to his family; try to find work... and what? Perhaps take a wife, for the sake of meeting social expectations; perhaps not. Perhaps he'd never take another lover, and keep instead to whores and one-night-stands for company.
Maybe that jerk Kaiba's wrecked me... for good... Jounochi smiled, when the thought occurred to him. Maybe...
The chair was jerked suddenly out from under his feet, and he gave a shout of surprise as he bolted upright. A familiar shape thudded down across from him, waving for the tavern staff.
"Wine, please," the newcomer said. "The best you have."
"Wh-Wha..." Jounochi tried, then stood and spluttered, "Wh-Wh-What?!"
"Have some dignity, pup," the man said, with a motion. "Sit down."
Jounochi slumped back into his chair; stared at Seto Kaiba, even as the High Priest thanked the serving girl for the wine. He poured two bowls.
"Drink. You look like you could use it."
"You... you came after me?" Jounochi breathed, and Seto narrowed his eyes.
"Don't ask questions with such obvious answers." And he sipped his wine. Jounochi, at a loss, did the same.
After they'd both finished their drink, Priest Seto stretched across the table; grabbed the front of Jounochi's shirt and kissed him, more insistently than passionately. Upon drawing back, he bit Jounochi's lip hard enough to make the other yelp; to draw beads of scarlet blood.
"Come home, pup. Don't make me chase you all the damn way back to the start."
Jounochi's breath caught, and he grabbed Seto's wrist as the High Priest went to retract it. Seto regarded the display with slight amusement.
"You jerk. Stealing my shtick."
"You're the one who ran away, this time."
Jounochi drew a breath, then let it out with a chuckle. "It's already dark. We'll have to spend the night here, for sure. I'll decide in the morning, whether I'll keep running or not. What'd'ya say?"
But Priest Seto shook his head. "I'm through sleeping anywhere but my own bed." He stood; used the grip Jounochi still had on his wrist to pull the other up, as well, and led him toward the tavern's door.
Jounochi was drawing breath, once again, to object, but again let it out before speaking. Seto motioned almost demurely to the chariot waiting outside, all but blocking the street. Several palace folk stood by the horses, and Seto motioned one of them over.
"Go pay the tavern owner," he instructed the servant, then said to Jounochi with a smirk, "You can't expect the High Priest to go looking for his lost puppy on foot, now can you?"
Jounochi grimaced at him. "That's how I always had to come after you."
"You and I aren't quite of the same privilege," Seto replied. "Or the same breeding, or the same social standing. And yet..." he threaded his fingers through Jounochi's hair, startling the young man, "here I am, come to retrieve you anyway."
"And you still manage to be a jerk while doing it..." Jounochi muttered, but didn't resist when Seto shooed him on ahead toward the carriage. "I haven't decided yet, y'know," Jounochi objected, as he was bundled inside. "I may be gone again tomorrow morn—aah!"
The High Priest gave him a rather hard shove, sending him crashing face-first into the carriage's cushioned seat. Seto was on top of him before he could right himself, pinning him down, and the carriage door shut behind them with a soft click.
"Don't be so disagreeable," Seto ordered, close to his ear; Jounochi shivered. "It just makes me want to put you in your place..."
Jounochi tried to think of a retort as his ear was bitten; as his trousers were pulled down in one swift motion. He felt the carriage begin to move with a gentle lurch, the sounds of horses' hooves an echo behind Seto's harsh breathing.
"What do you want, Joey? Anything... I'll do anything you want... For this carriage ride, the High Priest will be your servant..."
Jounochi gave a breathless chuckle. "That's a weird thing to say, when you've got me pinned."
"I know what you like..." Seto rasped. "That's why..."
"And if I had something different in mind?"
"Then I am your servant." And the High Priest bit his neck; sucked, then licked the spot as if in apology.
Jounochi's whole body shuttered. "Maybe... after... y'know. After y'know what... then I'll think'a something... different..."
muchos antes no sabíamos de los openings en japones de Yu-Gi-Oh solo teníamos el intro de DM, GX y de 5ds en aquellos años el internet aun no había evolucionado a como es ahora pero bueno me he escuchado todos me terminaron de gustar para mi estos serian mis 10 favoritos
1 DM:Overlap- Kimeru
2 GX: Precious Time, Glory Days- Psychic Lover
3 5DS: Last Train- Knotlamp
4 VRAINS: Calling- Kimeru
5 GX: Teardrop- Bowl
6 VRAINS: Win the wind- Hiroaki "Tommy" Tominaga
7 ARCV: Light of Hope (Kibou No Hikari)- Unknown Number
