https://youtu.be/VHC90tSzDKg

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If anyone were to look directly at Yami's eyes without any context, they would refer to him as the "man who is alive but dead". This was especially noted after Yami's first duel with Rafael.

So far, there had been little to no answers for the questions Yami and the gang had prior to this horrid adventure. Professor Hawkins isn't even helping, he's just summarizing everything that he and Yugi had discovered when the Great Leviathan spoke.

And now Yami finally understands when the Great Leviathan told Yugi they'll meet again. Because now, Yami has no one besides him. Yes, he has Tea, Tristan, Joey, Duke, and the Hawkins family.

But they aren't filling the aching hole that grew intensely in his heart. He lost you, now he lost the partner he felt the closest to due to his selfish choices.

Not to mention how Tea isn't a big help at all, in fact, she was unintentionally making it worse. His eyes were completely dull the moment he realized what he had done wrong, and Tea decided upon her own behalf to try and cheer him up.

"Come on, Pharaoh. Think of it this way. We'll beat Dartz's butt and take back Yugi!" Tea amped with a bright smile on her face as she put her feet in the lake.

Resisting the urge to punch her face, Yami quietly stared at the lake towards his own reflection. Tea's eyes softened at Yami before leaning back,

"Hey....so....I want to ask you something." Tea lightly kicked her feet in the water

Yami quietly averted his gaze on her,

"So...I've noticed that you...don't seem to like me recently." Tea bit her lip as she spoke, "...and...I just want to clear it up in case you end up hating me or something."

"Tea." Yami finally spoke, his eyes averted back to the lake, "It's not that I dislike you. I still consider you as a friend."

"Then what is it?" Tea asked, "Cause you certainly don't act like-"

"Tea, within a few days I've lost the very two people who I felt the most complete with." Yami clearly spoke, anger slowly rising in his throat, "Without them, I feel nothing. I appreciate your concerns and your efforts to cheer me up with Yugi's loss, but knowing how you're not like this with (y/n) upsets me the most."

Tea clenched her fists in the rocks, "...But Pharaoh-"

His crimson eyes darted at her in silence,

"...Pharaoh, the least you can do is listen to me because everyone's been ganging up on me about her since the very beginning." Tea started, taking a deep breath before she continued, "It's...look, I really care and cherish you all in my heart. It's just...when I first met (y/n), I wanted to try to get to know her. I just couldn't! It-It was like she was intentionally hiding something from the getgo, and I really didn't like that dishonesty."

"It's not that she was being dishonest, Tea." Yami sneered, "She didn't feel comfortable telling us the fact she was the vessel of a great ancient evil."

"Well, you and Yugi were comfortable telling us about the Millenium Puzzle-"

"That's because I trusted Yugi, who trusted you guys and have been friends for a longer period of time." His eyes narrowed, "...(y/n) has had little to no history of having friends. You know that."

"Just....I didn't like how she....she wasn't completely honest with us, and she had plenty of chances to do so! Instead, she hides it all and lies to us. And it makes me uncomfortable that we only saw a half of her...if you get what I mean."

"I do." Yami nodded, "I understand from your perspective. You consider yourself as 'the mother' of the group, as people would call it. But you also need to understand from her perspective, as well. If you had something as dark and evil as the Orichalcos inside your body, forcibly bestowed upon you without your own will, would you tell a group of people you've met and found yourself close to?" He asked and watched Tea silently stare at her own reflection, "Could you even muster the courage to tell them of the beast you're destined to protect that eats souls for order and balance to people you consider as your first friends?"

Tea pulled her knees to her chest and rested her head on them, "....no..."

"Tea, don't take it as though I don't understand your reasoning. It's just I don't understand your approach. It may not seem like it to you, but you are terribly mean to (y/n), and everyone knows it. I know it, and even (y/n) does."

Tea stiffened, "...but..."

"If you truly want me to believe you actually consider her as a friend, then I recommend you actively prove it to me." Yami slowly rose to his feet, his dull crimson eyes staring her down, "We are friends, and that is a fact. However, my feelings for (y/n) have far exceeded the means of friendship."

"Pharaoh..." Tea gasped, "...Do....Do you really love her?"

"...let's go. Joey and Tristan are still out there." Yami started climbing back to the train tracks. Stumbling after him, Tea slipped her shoes on and followed with a slight sense of guilt in her consciousness. Silence between the two continued forth until they were to meet up with Joey and Tristan...and another unexpected company.

It surely wasn't long before Tea and Yami found themselves in a forest, where they soon made eye contact with a descending ship that had three dragons leading it to the ground. Once Yami and Tea ran over to find the ship down, they stared until they heard a familiar voice,

"Now that's somethin' you don't see every day..." Joey said,

"Joey! Tristan!" Tea shouted for the duo, as both men turned around in shock,

"It's Tea and the Pharaoh!" Tristan gasped as Joey's eyes narrowed when he saw Yami.

"Hey Pharaoh, ya good?"

"Yes," Yami nodded. Glancing at Tea, Joey turned over to the plane and headed down to investigate. It wasn't long before they saw the logo KC on it,

"Hold on, isn't this one of Kaiba's ships?" Tea asked, "I hope everyone is okay.."

Right as Tea spoke, the door opened. Kaiba soon appeared holding a man with a long red bowl cut, as though he was unconscious.

"....Kaiba?" Joey called out,

"Oh great." Kaiba rolled his eyes as he descended the stairs, "If it isn't the dweeb control." He scoffed as Mokuba appeared from the door,

"What happened?" Tristan asked as more helicopters appeared. Kaiba put the man down,

"I dueled him. That's all." Kaiba mumbled

"You mean to tell me you dueled this guy in the middle of the air?" Joey gasped as Yami noticed the man was wearing a familiar necklace.

"So what? Don't you geeks have someone else to annoy?" Kaiba asked as Yami knelt down and stared at the stone from the man's necklace. He tore off the necklace from the man's neck and held the stone tightly in his hand.

'....maybe this will help her...' Yami thought and turned to Kaiba, "Kaiba, you know we need you on this destiny-"

"If I had a dime each time I heard 'destiny' from you, I'd be even richer." Kaiba scoffed,

"Mr. Kaiba! Mokuba! Are you both alright?!" A security guard hopped off one of the ships and ran over,

"Yeah, we're fine!" Mokuba waved as Kaiba turned to Yami,

"You look dead as a corpse." He mumbled before turning to everyone, "Alright, come with me. Dartz bought my company and I want it back."

Yami and the gang went with Kaiba on one of his ships, as the corpse of the man Kaiba dueled and Rex went on a different plane to a hospital. As Kaiba talked, Yami found himself dissociating and silently leaned back.

He kept telling himself not to dwell in it, even Yugi told him before the Seal took him. Yami told himself not to worry too much about you.

But knowing the absolute hell that you could be going through, possibly alone? Without him knowing exactly where you are? He couldn't help himself. He was blanking out the whole trip until Mokuba waved his hand in front of Yami,

"Are you okay, Yugi?" Mokuba asked,

"Hm?" Yami perked up and looked at him, "....yes."

"What's in your hand?" Mokuba pointed at Yami's tight hand. Yami gently showed Mokuba the stone he grabbed from the man,

"I am holding onto this."

"Why?"

"...It's for (y/n)."

"Where is she?" Mokuba asked, "I know she's missing."

"I'm sure she's fine." Kaiba came in, "It's (y/n) we're talking about."

"....I hope so.." Yami mumbled as he stared at the stone with rage slowly seizing his veins. It's all because of this stone that he's holding that put you in such a horrid place.

When the sun set, the helicopter landed to drop off everyone. Luckily, Duke, Rebecca, and Mr. Hawkins were already there - thus reuniting everyone that was scattered. Yami hopped off the chopper took off. There was a temporary peace until it was disturbed when everyone heard what seemed to be multiple cars heading in their direction. Soon enough, black cars surrounded Yami, Tristan, Tea, Joey, Rebecca, Mr. Hawkins, Duke, Kaiba, and Mokuba.

"We're surrounded!" Tea gasped as one of the car doors open. A woman comes out with a black suit and long brown wavy hair with her eyes covered by black sunglasses. Kaiba's eyes quirked up and he walked to the girl.

"Mokuba, let's go." Kaiba looked at Mokuba who followed him soon after. Once he approached the woman, he nodded as a greet,

"Mr. Kaiba," The woman nods in return and gives access to the car where she came out of. Kaiba and Mokuba went in the car as the woman closed it once they settled in. She turned to Yami and everyone with a raised eyebrow,

"Are you Yugi?" She asked and watched Yami perk up,

"...If I am?" He tensed up,

"And you, his friends?" She referred to everyone else.

"What's it to ya?!" Joey hissed,

"All of you. In the car and with us." The woman answered,

"Wait, what?" Tristan narrowed his eyes, "Why?"

"If you guys want to fight Dartz, you're gonna need more than what you have. Not only that, but anything to do with Dartz is to go through me." The woman replied,

"And who are you to tell us what to do?" Tea sneered, "Not to mention, how is it that you guys knew exactly where we are?!"

"The secretary of 'The Cards Chalice.'" the woman sneered back and Yami perked up, "We made contact with Roland of KaibaCorp. Now get your asses in the car. We gotta go if we don't want to be spotted by Dartz or his men. We need to talk privately about this at our meeting room-"

"Now hold on just a second," Rebecca came forward, "This is a little too-"

"I'll go." Yami stepped forward. There was something about where this woman works for that's calling him. It sounds extremely familiar that his heart is demanding him to oblige.

"Pharaoh!" Tea frowned at Yami,

"Good. At least someone here as a brain." The woman rolled her eyes,

"Come on, Pharaoh!" Tea stared at Yami, "We can't just trust this woman!"

Yami silently sneered at her in reply which caused Tea to stare at him in shock before trying to reason with him again, "...Pharaoh, we can handle this on-"

"I mean, we're dealing with someone like Dartz." Duke came forward, "...we're dealing with some big, ancient evil that's been around longer than the Pharaoh. Wouldn't we need all the help we could get?"

"But.." Tea bit her lip,

"Come on, Tea. We need all the people we can get. Besides, Kaiba and Mokuba immediately went to her, so they gotta be trustworthy." Duke shrugged and walked over to the woman, "So, what car?"

"That van." She pointed at one of the black vans that the driver opened on queue.

"...Duke's got a point." Joey mumbled and followed him to the van, "C'mon guys."

Professor Hawkins tilted his head at the woman, "...what is your name, ma'am?"

"Cassandra." She replied, "Now follow your friends, professor."

Tea sneered at her, "Well, Cassandra, I hope you mean it with dealing with Dartz together. Unless you're secretly working for him."

"You reek of insecurities. Now stop wasting breath on excuses and get in the van." Cassandra snarked in reply. Gasping in offense, Tea tried to attack Cassandra but Tristan held her back as he dragged her to the van. Just as Yami was going to follow, Cassandra tugged Yami's sleeve and pulled him back,

"Not you." She shook her head, "You're coming with me in a different car."

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Joey hissed as he peeked out of the car.

"I said what I said." Cassandra sneered at Joey, "Yugi will meet you guys up later."

"Now hold on on just a second!" Just as Tea tried getting out of the car, the guard closed and locked the door on them. Yami quietly stared at Cassandra, who angrily sighed and looked at him,

"Let's go." She gently tugged him in one of the cars nearby, which coincidentally was the car behind where Kaiba and Mokuba went. Once the driver opened the door for Yami, he quietly sat down as the driver closed the door on him. Cassandra sat on the passenger seat and moments later, all the cars began heading in the same direction and occasionally switched around in case anyone was watching from afar.

"....why did you separate me from everyone else?" Yami asked,

"Because you're needed for something else temporarily. If you're worried you'll miss the meeting, just stop worrying. I'm sure your obsessive friends will fill you in later."

"They're not obsessive." Yami's eyes narrowed,

"That girl is." Cassandra scoffed,

"...then what am I needed for?" Yami asked,

"....before I answer that," The girl pulled the passenger window down and opened the mirror. She took off her glasses as her green eyes locked with Yami's crimson eyes, "...I can't help but ask for your actual identity."

Yami tensed up, "...What do you mean by that?"

"Well, cause Yugi isn't really here...the real Yugi no less." Cassandra replied, "So it kinda threw me off when you answered to the name of Yugi, cause I mean, Yugi's soul is trapped in the Seal. I'm sure you know that."

Yami clenched his fists with the leather that he sat on, he was ready to either attack or flee at this point. His eyes narrowed as he glared at her, "...And may I ask how do you know about the seal of Orichalcos?" He asked, now taking Tea's account into consideration on if Cassandra works for Dartz. Cassandra gave the same energy back, her green eyes sneering at Yami,

"I'm surprised it didn't click on you yet." She chuckled, "I am the secretary of the company that has the vessel. Dumbo."

Yami froze in place once he heard her reply. He stared at her as he slowly realized what she meant, and his eyes quirked up upon realizing it. He's talking with the secretary of your grandfather's company.

Cassandra's eyes narrowed as she watched Yami's reaction; noting how when he realized she was working with you, his crimson eyes lit up for the first time since she first saw him. She no longer saw a dead-inside man, she saw someone who looked alive.

'His suspicions were right....' Mentally praising Nathaniel's instinct, she readjusted her position on the seat as her eyes no longer focused on Yami. "The reason why I knew you weren't Yugi was because she was screaming about you."

Yami perked up, "...what do you mean? Is she okay? How has she been?" He asked,

"Too many questions for me, but I'll start with the first." Cassandra groaned, "First off, she's the vessel for crying out loud. You think she doesn't know who gets sealed or not?" Cassandra asked, "She cried about how the Seal snatched you and blacked out. Never seen her in such emotional distress before. So that's why I asked who you are, which you never really told me but oh well."

"...I don't think you'll believe me if I answer that," Yami mumbled,

"Come on, I'm literally with the vessel of some ancient being." Cassandra scoffed, "Nothing is surprising for me."

"...I am an Ancient Egyptian Pharaoh of five thousand years that resides in this puzzle." Yami finally responded while holding onto the Millenium Puzzle. He watched her reaction, expecting laughter or active disbelief but was shocked when she simply shrugged.

"'Kay." She responded,

"....that's it?" Yami asked,

"What, do you want me to look shocked or look like it's new?" Cassandra's eyebrow rose, "I told you, witnessed and been with literally the same thing."

"....how is she?" Yami asked as he clenched the seatbelt.

"...She's actually in solitary confinement at the moment." Cassandra replied, "Nathaniel, her adoptive grandfather, had no choice but to take her there because of threats of Dartz's men swooping in and kidnapping her."

"Adoptive?" Yami perked up and watched her nod,

"Yes. Adoptive." She nodded, "Dartz wants her because he believes the Orichaclos rightfully belongs to him and him only. He's planning on taking the Great Leviathan and seizing the world with what he deems to be his prophecy."

"Which is?" Yami asked,

"Purge the world of evil." She replied, "A pure psycho we're dealing with, I'm telling you. Nathaniel wants you to see (y/n) and help her out. The Orichaclos is putting her through hell at the moment and Nathaniel can't take care of her himself as he's busy dealing with Dartz's random attacks that are keeping him extremely occupied. It's basically impossible for him to see (y/n) right now. We can't have Nymphi do it cause she's way too young."

Yami perked up, now remembering you have a sister, ".....would it be possible for me to meet Nymphi? I want to check on her if that's-"

"If you two bump paths, then sure." Cassandra shrugged, "Nathaniel did mention you to her, but she doesn't really get along with strangers unless you're with (y/n)."

The car that Yami was in eventually changed paths unlike where everyone else with. While being accompanied by two other cars, the car that had Yami entered through a tunnel. Once the car went up a few levels, the car eventually pulled up to an underground drop-off which had a few security who seemed to be waiting for him. Once the car pulled to a stop, one of the guards opened the door and escorted Yami out of it as Cassandra got out of the vehicle. Cassandra, Yami, and four security guards walked inside the building as Yami found himself to be in a white hallway that led to an elevator.

"It'll be a small walk before we reach where she's at. Just so you know." Cassandra noted as she walked with Yami towards an elevator. Pressing one of the buttons, the elevator went up a few levels. Yami quietly stood beside her and slowly got nervous as the elevator doors opened. Right as Yami headed out, he noticed a young girl running to the elevator and soon bumped into the Pharaoh. He gently held her shoulders to make sure she didn't fall,

"Careful, little one." He quietly spoke as the girl quickly looked up at Yami's eyes. Her eyes locked with Yami's as he soon realized how much she resembles you. Of course, it didn't take long for Yami to realize who he's staring at.

It's Nymphi.

Yet, for some odd reason to him, being this close and in direct contact with Nymphi made him feel like he's known her for a long time as well. The same feeling he got when he first saw you in Pegasus' tournament, he stared at Nymphi before she stretched her arms out to him; as though she wanted him to pick her up.

Cassandra narrowed her eyes as she watched Yami carefully pick Nymphi up and wrapped his arms around her, as she rested her chin on his shoulder. Yami looked at Cassandra as though he waited for her to lead the way, and Cassandra walked along the path. Yami quietly followed her, taking in the new warmth by the little girl in his arms.

"...Have you two met before?" Cassandra asked, "Nymphi isn't into being cuddly with strangers."

Yami shook his head, deciding not to tell her about this weird nostalgic feeling of Nymphi in his arms.

After about a few minutes of walking, Cassandra made it to another elevator. She turned and looked at Nymphi,

"She can't come with us beyond this point." Cassandra noted, "Cause we're almost there."

Yami narrowed his eyes, he was a little upset at this but he had no choice but to. He gently went on his knees and put her down. Nymphi locked eyes with Yami again as he carefully put her hair behind her ear,

"As of recent, have you seen your sister?" He asked and watched her nod, "How was she?"

"She looked really sad and confused." Nymphi responded, "Can....can you help her?"

"Of course I will." Yami nodded, a gentle smile grew on his face for the first time in a while as he ruffled her hair. Resisting the urge to kiss her forehead, he watched her jump into Yami's arms once more for a tight hug. Returning this embrace, he soon let her go and watched her head out with one of the guards. His crimson eyes latched onto Nymphi until she was out of sight, and turned to follow Cassandra into the elevator. The elevator descended down a few floors and the doors soon opened. He quietly followed Cassandra up until a vault appeared before him.

"She's right inside." Cassandra glanced at Yami, who intensely stared at that door.

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https://youtu.be/VgNyT7kAXs8