The Light

By The Inspector

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Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, and I most likely never will. Though believe me, I would love have own a cute little pair of Bakurae. I am this close to naming my next cat Ryou. But yeah, I make no money, so please don't sue me! Gracias!

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/Yami to Hikari/

::Hikari to Yami::

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"You must be my Yami. I'm Seth."

Seto just sat and starred at the other boy. At first glance they were perfectly identical, like a mirror with a mind of its own. But a closer look (like, after he stopped hyperventilating) found obvious differences. The other boy's hair was a shade lighter than Seto's, longer too and it kept falling into his wide, gentle eyes that were the pale blue shade of a newborn kitten's. His face had a softer look to it as well, easing all the angles in Seto's face, and his body seemed slighter.

In all, this other boy looked very sweet, like a little fluffy little thing you just want to pick up and snuggle, practically radiating innocence and kindness. And it was freaking him out.

"What the hell are you?" Seto demanded with a hiss. But that didn't seem to phase the…Seth. He just laughed and settled more comfortably on Seto's bed.

"What I am," Seth repeated, amused, "Interesting way to put it. I prefer 'who,' of course, but I will answer either way." He smiled at Seto's sour frown. "I am Seth, once-High Priest, living Spirit, and your Hikari."

"My what?" Seto scoffed, "Light? Ridicules. What is that even supposed to mean?"

"Right," Seth said with a patient sigh, "I can see this may take awhile." He shifted his weight and leaned over to grab a big bag of marshmallows out from under Seto's bed. Popping one in his mouth, he chewed thoughtfully for a second.

"Where the hell did those come from?" Seto demanded, eyeing the marshmallows like they were poisonous.

"The kitchen," Seth said as he swallowed, "They are wonderful!" He held one of the pieces of white fluff out. "Want one?"

"No," Seto said flatly.

Seth shrugged and put it in his mouth instead. "Okay," he said at last, pushing his hair behind his ears. "When a soul is born into the world, it consists of both light and dark sides that are combined to create a whole. When our soul was sealed away for thousands of years, it was split into two separate parts, dark and light. Of course, nothing is completely dark or light, but that's beside the point." He picked up another marshmallow. "These things are amazing. Sweet, fluffy, and squishy!"

"Would you cut that out?" Seto snapped, his hands twitching, itching to slap that offending marshmallow away. It was disturbing to see something that looked so similar to himself act like this.

"Anyway," Seth continued through a mouthful, "When the soul was reborn, you, it was only half of the original. But with rebirth comes a deletion of old memories. A new life cancels out the old. But then there is me, a snag in this universal rule. Since I was sealed away I was not able to be reborn and thus have become my separate entity, complete with memories of our former life."

Seto scowled and folded his arms across his chest. "That doesn't make sense," he said. "From what I have seen, it's always the darker half that is 'sealed away' and keeps the memories of the previous life." His smug smirk fell when Seth laughed.

"Oh my," Seth said when he caught his breath. "So you did hear what the others were trying to tell you about Yami and Hikari situations. Hearing, but not listening. No, no, it doesn't work that way. The half imprisoned will always hold the memories, but it doesn't have to be the dark half. Which half was picked to be taken was simply chance. A 50-50 thing. Yes or no. Me or you."

"And it was you."

Seth nodded, his eyes becoming a little sad as he remembered his thousands of years alone. "It's very hard for a half to exist as such. It's a lonely, cold existence." (Seto had to resist the urge to nod.)

So instead, for a few minutes anyway, Seto simply sat, trying to digest everything that…Seth had told him. He was a Yami. Seth was his Hikari. Ummm…how about no?

Seto shook his head. "No," he said bluntly, making Seth look up quickly. "I don't believe it. I refuse to believe any of this is real. You are a figment of my imagination. A tick of the mind that comes from lack of sleep. A blood clot in the brain."

Suddenly feeling more confident, Seto swept the bag of marshmallows off the bed with a fierce backhanded gesture and prodded Seth in the chest. "I don't care what you think you are," he hissed. "Get. Out."

Seth's eyes widened for a second and then he looked down at his hands, his hair falling into his face and obscuring Seto's view. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "I, I didn't mean…" He shook his head and Seto saw a single tear hit the bedspread before his Hikari's body turned transparent and he disappeared.

With a sigh of relief, Seto lay back down, shoving the Sennen Rod back where he had found it, and went to sleep.

At least, he tried to sleep.

At four in the morning, he realized that he was not going to be getting any sleep (at all) and he got up to do a little work before he had to go to school. But he couldn't concentrate very well. Seth's hurt voice kept coming back to him and he couldn't deny it; he had hurt his Hikari's feelings. Damn.

Not that he was admitting for a second that Seth, if Seth was real (which he wasn't saying he was), was his Light. But if he was (real and his Hikari) then why did he feel so bad? He insulted The Midget and Co worse on a daily basis. Arg! It was too confusing.

As he left his room, washed and dressed for school, he pointedly ignored the scattered marshmallows on the floor. Because (close eyes) there were NO marshmallows (open eyes). Damn.

Seto made his way towards the kitchen, shaking head as he went. He was most certainly losing his mind.

As he touched the door, he heard voices in the other room and assumed that Mokuba was watching television. The younger Kaiba sometimes watched cartoons while eating breakfast, usually ending up late for school when he did unless someone pushed him along.

"Mokuba," Seto said as he entered the kitchen and made a beeline for the coffee, pouring himself a full cup. "What are you…" He trailed off as he looked up see two pairs of eyes watching him silently. One pair belonged to his brother, but the other… Seto glared and slammed his coffee cup down on the counter. "You!"

Seth visibly cringed and stood up. The Sennen Rod was in his hand, held against his chest, and he nervously put one of the gold wing-tips in his mouth. He was still dressed in his pajamas and his hair was rumpled like he had just woken up. "Yes, Yami?" he asked politely.

"What are you still doing here?" Seto demanded. "I thought I told you to leave! And don't call me Yami. I am not your Yami."

"I can't leave," Seth said, looking down at the table top. "It doesn't work that way. I'm connected to you. And even if you don't want to believe it, you are my Yami. And I'm your Hikari."

"I think it's really cool, Seto," Mokuba piped up in, hoping up from the table and holding Seth's hand supportively. "And Seth's really nice. Just give him a chance! Pleeaase?" Mokuba's pleading look was copied instantly by Seth, and Seto sighed in defeat. He had the feeling that the two of them would be ganging up on him a lot.

"Fine," Seto told Seth coolly. "Stay. Just don't get in my way."

For a second Seth just stood there, blinking, then he smiled brilliantly and plowed into Seto, wrapping his arms around his waist and nearly hugging the life out of him. "Thank you, Yami!" he chirped happily as he buried his head into Seto's shirt.

Standing now, Seto could see that he was actually a few inches taller than his counterpart. Yes, he said counterpart. Because whether he wanted to or not, it looked like he was going to have to admit that this clingy, wide-eyed creature with pale eyes was his Hikari. (but not because he wanted to)

"Stop," Seto whined as he pried Seth off him. "Just, don't do that."

"Seto doesn't really like to be touched," Mokuba explained to Seth as he put his cereal bowl in the sink. "He's about as cuddly as a cactus."

"Indeed," Seth said, nodding enthusiastically as Seto finally managed to push him away. "It's safer hugging an asp."

"Or a porcupine."

"Or a leopard."

"Or a shark!"

"Or a-"

"Stop!" Seto shouted, cutting into his brother and Hikari's descriptions of him. "I got the point the first time."

"Point!" Seth shrieked and laughed so much that he had to hold onto the table to support himself. It only irritated Seto more that Mokuba was laughing just as hard.

Seto felt like smacking himself in the head, but refrained from making such a fool of himself. "I've got to go, Mokuba," he said. "The car will be around for you in ten minutes."

Mokuba nodded, still giggling a little, and skipped out of the room just as Seth asked with a bright grin, "Where are we going?"

"I," Seto said with a frown, "Am going to school. You are staying here." As he watched, Seth's smile melted faster than a snowball in hell (unless hell was cold, as Seto sometimes theorized it was) and his bottom lip trembled.

"But," Seth blinked rapidly, "I, I though, I mean, I hoped-"

With a sinking feeling (think the Titanic going down) Seto realized that his Light was about to cry again. "Fine!" he shouted, making Seth jump, "Arg! You can come! Just don't cry!"

Seth grinned, all traces of near tears gone, and he picked up the Sennen Rod from the table. "Just keep this near you," he said cheerfully as he handed it to his Yami, "And I will be with you." He paused for a second, and then continued. "And if you DO try to get rid of it, know that you can't." He shrugged. "It will just show up here again. That's how I got it here in the first place after I first felt your presence."

"So that's how it happened," Seto said with a small humph as he turned the Sennen Rod over in his hand. "I wondered how the blasted thing ended up here."

"It's connected to you," Seth explained. "You're like one big Sennen Rod magnet!"

Seto sighed. "Wonderful," he groused. He headed towards the door and then glanced behind his shoulder at his Light. "Come on then," he said. "Let's go."

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::Is this your school? What class is this? What are you learning today? Do you have any friends in this class? How's the teacher? Once, in Ancient Egypt, we had a lesson from this scribe who-::

/SHUT UP!/ Seto roared through the mind link he shared with Seth. After his Light had disappeared, he hadn't thought to try to find him, until he heard his voice in his head. It had nearly given him a heart attack! Turns out it's a common way for Yami and Hikari to communicate with each other. Goodie. (Note the sarcasm)

After that, Seth wouldn't shut up. He kept yapping in Seto's head from what he had called his 'soul room,' whatever the hell that was. He could care less.

Seto was SO tempted to throw the Sennen Rod (carefully hidden in his briefcase) out the window and be done with it, but he had a horrible vision of it coming right back and beaming him over the head and he really didn't want to suffer that indignity.

Seth had at least promised to keep his chatter at a minimum while class was in session. It was just Seto's luck that he had a habit of arriving early.

::Yami? Are you mad at me? Yami? Yami! Yamiyamiyamiyami-::

"Enough!" Seto shouted. It was only after he had glared at the other students who gave him funny looks, and then realized that he had shouted out loud. /Enough,/ he repeated to Seth as he hunched lower in his chair. /Please, give it a rest. There is peace to be found in silence./

::So…you're not mad at me?:: Seth asked almost timidly.

Seto resisted the urge to bang his head repeatedly on the table and nodded. /I'm not mad at you. I'm just tired./

There was a pause, and then Seth whispered quietly, ::I'm sorry. I didn't realize I was being so loud.::

/Forget about it,/ Seto told him with a small groan. /Just, try not to act like a five year old on sugar for a few minutes, okay?/

::Okay!:: Seth agreed and he lapsed into silence, contenting himself with looking at his surroundings through his Yami's eyes. (Though doing that did cause Seto's eyes to take on a two toned look due to the different shades of blue.)

Seto was enjoying the quiet in his mind like a glass of fine wine, savoring it for all it was worth, when he felt Seth give him a small mental nudge, snapping him out of his reverie. /What?/ he asked shortly, hoping, praying, pleading with what ever Higher Power existed (if any existed at all) that the Spirit wasn't about to launch into another round of Twenty Questions.

::Do we know those people over there? Because they keep glancing over here.::

Seto sat up straighter and blinked, clearing the fog from his mind. /Who?/ he asked, his eyes sharpening.

::Over there,:: Seth said. ::The group of three to the left who just finished talking to the boy with the white hair. Huh, he reminds me a lot of someone.::

Seto didn't even have to look to know what group of people Seth was referring to. Standing, he slid over to where Jou, Anzu, and Honda were watching with dark suspicion as Ryou Bakura returned to his seat, a sad expression in his pale face.

"Well, well," Seto said, startling the three as he came up behind them. "And here I was starting to think that you believed the crap you continuously spout about friendship." He jerked his thumb back Ryou. "He certainly seems to agree."

"This is none of your business, Kaiba," Jou growled. "So stay out of it."

"I don't care what you pathetic children are squabbling about," Seto retorted. "I just thought I should point out the hypocrisy that reeks so horribly I could smell it from across the room."

::Yami? So these people are not friends?::

/Most assuredly NOT! They are just amusing to mess with. The more they know I'm right, the angrier they get./

::……You were the type who liked to melt slugs with salt when you were little, weren't you?::

"Hey! Earth to Kaiba!"

Seto blinked and nearly cursed aloud when he found all three of them looking at him oddly. Memo to self, do not start talking to Hikari in the middle of conversations. Result will make self look stupid. "What?" he snapped.

"Dude, you spaced out there for a few minutes," Honda said.

"I have a lot on my mind," Seto quipped. "I was thinking. Ever heard of it?"

"It's just that," Anzu said slowly, "Shortly after Battle City, the Sennen Ring that Malik gave to Yugi disappeared. We asked Ryou about it, but he said that he hasn't seen it. And then a few weeks ago the Sennen Rod went missing."

"So you of course expect your placid little friend," Seto said. "How nice to know that he can count on you people."

"Maybe we should ask you if you've seen either," Jou snipped back. "Going glassy on us like that, maybe you're under someone's mind control."

Seto snorted. "I am not so weak minded, Mutt," he said and turned to go back to his desk, but half way there, a small sound on his right stopped him and he looked down to see Ryou watching him with surprise and wonder. For a second his eyes flickered to the briefcase still on Seto's desk and then he looked away.

::Yami-::

/You can call me 'Seto,' you know. Not all this 'Yami' crap./

::Um, alright. Seto, let me speak to him.::

Seto was surprised at Seth's soft request and almost gave in (almost). /What? No! I am not in the mood to let everyone know that I have lost my mind./

::He already knows something is going on. He can sense the Sennen Rod in your possession. Think of him as a Sennen Bloodhound. Pleeaase?::

Seto sighed in defeat. /How do we go about this? You are NOT just appearing in front of everyone./

::Just relax,:: Seth replied, ::I'm just going to barrow you body for a few minutes.::

There was a reluctant hesitation as Seto weighed the pros and cons of letting the dangerous thing that occasionally possessed his classmate know about his Light verses listening the Seth beg and plead with him for the rest of the day. Shit, that just wasn't worth it.

/Fine./ Seto took a deep breath and felt his control slipping away. Everything got fuzzy for a second and he blinked rapidly to clear his vision, only to find himself in an unfamiliar room decorated with all his favorite things.

Slowly, Seto picked to a picture Mokuba had drawn for him once from the dresser and shook his head. "Where the hell am I?" he wondered aloud.

::Your soul room,:: Seth informed him. ::Take a look around. I'm going to talk with the Dark half of the Tomb Robber.::

Seth flexed his hands (Seto's hands, whatever), and then took a step closer to the white haired boy at the desk. "You can't keep doing this," he said kindly. Ryou looked up at him. "Please, stop before it consumes you."

Ryou shook his head, but Seth was sure he saw a flash of red and knew that the dark half had just switched with his light. "I don't know what you are talking about," 'Ryou' said innocently, but there was a warning behind his soft words.

"Yes, you do." Seth leaned closer so that no one could overhear them. "They are dead, Bakura. You must let their souls rest. You can not win against him. None of us can. I tried, and failed. It is not possible. The gods favor him above the likes of us."

"I will win," Bakura hissed, holding his physical façade except for his eyes, "And I will have my revenge. You can not stop me. I will find a way."

"All you will do," Seth corrected, "Is destroy yourself. And the soul of your Hikari." Bakura frowned and looked away. "There is still time to make amends," Seth insisted. "He will understand."

"How do you know that?" Bakura spat, his eyes burning furiously. "He hates me. I've ruined his life."

"No." Seth shook his head. "Your past is his past, and he will understand. It's the nature of Sennen Spirits and their other halves. If you gave him the choice, he would choose to die with you rather then to live alone again. You know that."

"He shouldn't," Bakura muttered, not knowing why for the life of him he was actually have a civil conversation with Mr.-I-Have-A-Stick-Up-My-Ass-Kaiba. "I don't get him. He confuses me."

"I know," Seth smiled, "But give him a chance. Give this life a chance. It does not have to end like the last one."

"How would you know?" Bakura glared accusingly at him, "I thought you didn't believe in all this magic and Spirit stuff. Why the sudden change of heart?"

Seth grinned and shook his head. "I think you've mistaken me with someone else. I am quite versed in the ways of magic. I have practiced it for thousands of years."

For a second Bakura remained motionless then he whispered, "Seth." His fingers dug into his palms, carving tiny half moons into his palms. "Are you here to kill me?"

Seth blinked once and then shook his head. "Of course not," he said softly. "I'm just trying to help."

Bakura's eyes latched onto the briefcase and then he shook his head. Seth, the powerful Priest who risked everything in an attempt to defeat the Pharaoh, was the Hikari. Guess it was safer that way. And if Seth was here…"So, you do have the Sennen Rod. I thought so. You know they were trying to accuse me of taking it this morning?"

"I thought they might be," Seth said with a shrug. "Can't blame them really, if I recall correctly, anything was open game to you. But them, it hurts your Light to have them suspicious of him." He saw Bakura's slight nod of agreement and pressed his main issue. "If you would just stop, the two of you wouldn't have to live like this. Will you give this second life a chance? For your Light?"

Bakura growled and looked away. "I'll think about it," he said at last with a huff. "But don't expect anything. My family died for these cursed Items, and I promised them I would avenge them."

"I think they would understand. Think about it, that's all I ask," Seth grinned.

"Ra," Bakura cursed, "All you Hikari are alike. Too cheerful for your own good." But his eyes looked thoughtful.

Back at their desk, Seth gave control back to Seto and returned to his own soul room. ::Seto? Yami, thank you.::

Seto sighed and took out a book to read until the teacher showed up. He gave Mutt and Friends a dirty look and flipped the novel open to where he had left off. /You're welcome./

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TBC

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Author's Note: To answer a few questions

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Mokuba's Official Glomper, I hadn't thought to make it a Seto/Seth pairing…do you think I should? Waa! And I said 'should' cause I know I 'could.'

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The Inspector

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