https://youtu.be/VHC90tSzDKg

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Making sure the stone was in his pocket, Yami stared at the door in silence before he managed to speak,

"....why is she inside this vault?" He asked,

"Were you paying attention?" Cassandra raised an eyebrow, "Cause it's her solitary confinement. This is the only room where she can be safe from Dartz."

"And that's because Dartz is actively trying to snatch her," Yami mumbled,

"You're good at repeating stuff," Cassandra rolled her eyes, "She used to be in her actual bedroom until Mai Valentine broke in and tried snatching her. Luckily, (y/n) was with Nathaniel at the time, so it wasn't too much of a hassle."

"Mai Valentine?!" Yami gasped and stared at her in shock, "She was here?"

"Yeah, you know her?" Cassandra asked,

"Yes...she was a friend of ours, especially with Joey and (y/n)...now she works with Dartz for reasons unknown." Yami answered before narrowing his eyes, "......may I ask once more about how (y/n) is doing? You never told me that Mai was the one who broke in."

Cassandra only shrugged and walked over to an iPad that was next to the vault. Activating it, she turned on the microphone and leaned close to it,

"(Y/n)? It's Cass. I'm here with the other Yugi as Nathaniel calls it." She spoke and pinned the code as the doors slowly opened. The lock surrounding the pad was slowly unturned, giving both Cassandra and Yami full access to the other side. Once the door slowly opened, Yami was greeted by a large hallway,

"She's at the end of the hallway, all the doors are gonna be unlocked until you walk in so good luck. I'll be in the monitor room." She waved him temporary farewell as she walked back to the elevator. Yami nodded at Cassandra's farewell and clenched the stone in his hand. His heart pounded, you're practically right there. It had been so long, to him it felt like it had been years. He started his way down the bland, white hallway inside the vault. Right as he walked in, the giant vault door closed behind him and locked seconds later. Biting his lip, Yami progressed into the hallway until a door was seen before him. Thankfully, the door was normal unlike the vault door; as though this was an ordinary room. He stood before the door before realizing he was shaking. He couldn't tell why he was trembling, in fact, he was alarmed by the silence that emitted from the room behind the door. Normally when you knew Yami was coming, he'd see you pop out of the room and eagerly wait for him.

His hand shook as he gingerly touched the door handle and pressed it open. It took a bit of effort as the door was heavy - as it's because it's solitary confinement, it would be weird for the only brief security being a giant door. Yami figured the door would normally be locked, as Cassandra implied all the doors are temporarily unlocked. Once he pushed the door open, he took a look around at the room....if he were to call it one.

The room was pure white with no signs of color, already showing signs of pure isolation. There weren't any decorations that would make the room seem lively, it was only a bland white closet, a separate room for the bathroom, and a white bed that was fixed. Yami's eyes narrowed as he examined the room, he didn't like how this room was so bland. The least Cassandra or her grandfather could do is to try and make it lively. His crimson eyes soon rested on one of the corners of the room and softened when he recognized you. You were curled up in the corner, your face hid in your knees and your arms wrapped tightly around your legs. Seeing your whole body shake broke his heart, it almost looked like you were in an immense amount of pain. He watched your body shudder and he silently walked to you and sat next to you. If Yami was completely honest, he didn't think about what to say to you. He didn't think this far. Yami had so much to say, yet his mouth said nothing. He felt your body tense up before you slowly shifted and stared at him. Yami could only give you a gentle look, his heart feeling down to his feet when he saw the eyebags, along with both your eyes holding nothing but pure pain - even if one of them held the familiar Seal of Orichalcos.

"....is that the stone you used in the duel?" You weakly asked, your eyes averting to his hand. Yami quickly realized what you were inferring and opened his hand that held the necklace. It dangled off his hand as he stared at it,

"No...Rafael took mine after the duel finished. This came from Kaiba's duel." Yami softly responded as you reached out and gently held the stone. You winced as the stone burned into your hand, the pain being extremely similar to the first time you did it back in Noah's world. Yami watched in astonishment as you stretched your hand once the stone faded,

"Oh right...Kaiba dueled against it too..." You weakly muttered as your back popped, "...forgot about that."

"How did you know?" Yami asked,

"Anyone who pulls the Seal drags me into it. I didn't realize it until..." You halted, ".....until..."

Yami's heart broke, he knew what you were gonna say, "...until my duel." He finished and watched you tense up.

"...it's all my fault, Yami." You mumbled, "...I'm sorry.."

"Don't apologize for something you can't control." Yami gently spoke as he rested his free hand on your back. Flinching in reply, you shook your head,

"....It's all my fault...I am supposed to bear all the Orichalcos, yet here we are...." You mumbled,

"No, no no." Yami shook his head, "This isn't in your control. Dartz swooped in and stole everything for his own selfish needs. If we need to blame anything on anyone, it's all on him."

"....if I weren't born in the first place, no one would be suffering right now, Yami." Your voice quivered as tears threatened to fall again, "....if I wasn't in this world, then-"

"Stop that." Yami gripped his hands on your shoulders, his whole body now facing you with an intense look. "(Y/n). Stop that at once."

You stared at him with eyes widened as tears went down your cheeks,

"...(y/n)..." Yami started to tremble as he wiped your tears, "...please don't blame yourself like this. Don't think of yourself like that, you were put in this world as a blessing. This isn't your fault at all, you were doing your duty but were robbed of it without knowing. You are here for a reason, (y/n)."

Feeling a nerve twitch, your eyes dropped to a glare, "....I was born to suffer."

"No, no you weren't." Yami shook his head, "You were born as a protector of this world. You bear a destiny far heavier than mine, things are bound to occur, whether you want it or not." His voice shook as he spoke, his own tears threatening to fall which made you stare at him shocked, "....(y/n)....you may not realize this, but you hold so much importance to everyone. All your friends cherish you the way I do. Everyone is worried sick about you, and we all want to help you......to tell yourself things like this....imagine how everyone will react hearing you say that. Especially Nymphi."

You flinched when he said her name. You couldn't bear to look at him in the eye anymore and stared down. You felt his shaky hands on your shoulders,

".....(Y/n)....for the past week, I've lost two of the most precious people in my life....one left within my grasp and the other was taken by my own selfish mistake...." He trembled as he spoke, his voice shaking alongside his body, "....I don't want to lose you.....I don't want you thinking like this and wind up hurting yourself...please, (y/n), I don't want to be selfish, but for my sake, please stop it. It's never been your fault Yugi's gone, it's Dartz. He's the one who is doing all this, he's the one causing all this pain...and suffering...not you. You're too sweet...too kind and protective over everyone." Tears started going down his cheeks, and unable to hold himself anymore, he pulled you into a tight embrace, "...you have done your duty beautifully like no other. Don't force all this pain onto you...I am here...Yugi will be here, as so will everyone else. You're too beautiful for me to lose." His whole body shook as he practically wept in your shoulder.

You were in a complete state of shock. Your whole body was frozen in place, your eyes were wide and you couldn't properly process what he's saying. Yet, despite this state, your heart began to weep upon both hearing and seeing him like this. Your whole body trembled under his embrace as you slowly wrapped your arms in return. You were certain you were never told things like this, yet these words coming from specifically Yami sounded....soothing, and the tiniest sense of déjà vu crept in as you buried your face in his shoulder. You took in the warmth that he graciously gave you and held him tight as though he'll disappear just like how Yugi did.

By the gods, you realized you missed him dearly.

The room was silent of words, yet was quietly filled with the sobs of both you and Yami until the room was completely silent; the both of you fell asleep in each other's arms.

Cassandra silently watched through the monitors and reached over to the communicator, "...Nathaniel...you were right. There is something going on between these two. I will turn to more research as you mentioned."

Meanwhile, as Cassandra ordered the guards to keep watch before leaving, your dream state pulled you into a dark abyss. You could only stare down at this abyss with no form of light until a bright green light shined from the depths of this abyss. You stared at this light before spotting two yellow slits staring at you. The eyes seemed to try and get close to you, to which you instinctively responded by reaching towards it. You forced yourself down the abyss to reach out for the Great Leviathan before the Seal of Orichaclos forged between you and the beast, electrifying you out of reach. Yelping at the pain, you jolted back and saw the beast receive the same shock as it repelled back and further into the abyss.

"...my Vessel, time is running out." You heard a disoriented yet familiar voice boom from the other side, "You must hurry."

"I don't understand." Your face scrunched, "....What am I supposed to do?! You're getting all these souls, isn't that what you wanted?! You want all this suffering, and you're getting it!" Anger fueled you as you spoke. Seeing Yami in that state upon losing Yugi....Mai being on Dartz's side....what more does this thing want from you?

The slits stared at you from a distance and soon narrowed at your questions. It never responded as you were forced to watch these slits fade away into the darkness while staring at you.

".....Come back!" You clenched your fists, "...what's so special about me? Why did you choose me in the first place?! Isn't Dartz giving you what you want?! Why are you making me suffer like this?! Like Yami?! Give Yugi back!"

Silence came from the other side of the Seal until the Seal that separated you from the beast began to brightly shine - causing you to cover your eyes,

"You will find your way to the answer to your questions." It bellowed before you were shot back from the abyss, your vision fading to black.

You wearily opened your eyes and slowly adjusted to the same white room you were placed in.

'So it was a dream...' You thought as your eyes averted to the ground. You were still crawled up in a corner, but now with company, as Yami fell asleep hugging you with his face buried in the crook of your neck. You gently moved your hand towards your eye direction and stared at it. It was the very hand that took the stone Yami held, yet you felt you needed more. You gently closed your hand as your mind began to race, your heart swayed in the same direction as your mind once you began to realize there were at least two other stones in the same building as you.

Did Yami not come alone? You narrowed your eyes at your hand and clenched it tight. You knew one thing, and that's you need more of these stones.

'These stones are from the actual Orichalcos....' You concluded, '....so I gotta head over to Dartzs crib and take it all back.....cause I apparently have to....because it chose me for no apparent reason.'

You quietly sighed, why did it choose you in the first place? You've done nothing to appease this beast, the only person who has so far is Dartz. You rolled your eyes and closed it shut, your hands massaging your temples. This was so stressful you couldn't properly digest what's going on. You haven't even been able to register the fact Mai is with Dartz at the moment.

'What is she doing with him...' You thought and bit your lip, '....I literally saw her a week ago...what happened?'

You stared at the wall before you as your hands unconsciously massaged Yami's back, '...that means I have to encounter her to get that stone around her neck.'

But that meant confrontation of a close friend of yours who is on the enemy's side. You heavily sighed and leaned against the corner's walls. You felt Yami's grip on you tighten and he shifted his head,

"...(y/n)." He mumbled tiredly,

"Yeah?"

"Oh...you're still here." He mumbled before he pushed himself away from you and wiped his eyes, "...How are you feeling?"

"The same...." You watched him flinch, "...with improvements.."

He quietly stared at you before he looked around the room once more, "...(y/n), come with us."

You stared at him for a bit in silence before finally responding, "....what?"

"Come with us." He repeated with his eyes locking with yours, "This whole thing matters more to you than to any one of us."

"....But Dartz-" You narrowed your eyes

"I'm not letting Dartz touch you." Yami shook his head, "If he even touches a strand on your hair, I'll never forgive myself." Yami interrupted, "You can't just stay here and hope all goes well. This isn't like the previous times you could've been here."

"....do you think I can leave in the first place?" You raised an eyebrow, "Didn't Cassandra tell you I was shoved down here after Mai broke in?"

"She did." Yami nodded,

".........okay?" Your eyebrows furrowed as you tried figuring out Yami's motive. He tilted his head with a small smile on his face, as though it were entertaining watching you figure out what he's going for.

"We're taking you. It's safer that way." Yami finally spoke,

"....how." Your eyebrow raised and Yami's eyes rolled,

"Wouldn't it be safer for you to be with us rather than being here? It wouldn't be long before Dartz actually comes here. Then what?"

You scrunched your face, slowly connecting the pieces. Yami lightly chuckled,

"If you're with us, Dartz would make all that effort to come here to realize it was for nothing."

"Ah..." It finally clicked on you, "....I see..."

Laughing at your pace of understanding, Yami's fingers laced with yours and he headed to the door,

"Wait-" You paused, "sh-shouldn't we first talk about this to-"

"You actually thought I was gonna take you like that?" Yami stared at you as he pushed the door open, "I would never do that."

"Oh....." You watched him shake his head with a smile before taking you out of the room. Raising an eyebrow at how the door was open, you followed Yami to the elevator.

"....You didn't come alone." You narrowed your eyes. The stones you could sense were hard to miss.

"I didn't." Yami shook his head,

"...the usual crowd?" You asked,

"Yes," Yami nodded,

That means Tea. You bit your lip and found yourself squeezing Yami's hand, "....how....how did everyone react at first?"

"With what?" Yami asked,

"...ya know...with this." You pointed at your eye,

"...We were all confused." Yami answered,

"And Tea?" You narrowed your eyes and watched him hesitate,

"...She's....adapting." Yami configured, "...you'll....hopefully understand when you see her."

"...ah..." You already knew from Yami's response that Tea was probably worshipping herself for a bit.

"..we're all affected by Dartz...in our....own respected ways." Yami said, "but we all want the same outcome. First, I must speak with your grandfather."

Right as the elevator door opened, someone was blocking the way. You and Yami flinched as both of you made eyecontact with a familiar middle-aged man.

"Just where do you think you're going, (y/n)?" Papa asked with an eyebrow raised and arms crossed.

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so sorry for the short chapter! That will be fixed for later chapters!

https://youtu.be/VgNyT7kAXs8