Serpent's Vow

11: Truth Hurts

Something danced in Kaiba's eyes and Yami blinked.

:Was that... a joke?: Yugi murmured. :Did Kaiba just make a joke?:

:It would appear we know less about him than I thought,: Yami agreed.

"You have a twisted sense of humor, man," Jounouchi griped, shaking his head. "Honda," he called to his still petrified friend. "I'm serious. It's okay. He's not gonna hurt you. You can relax. Trust me."

Slowly, Honda inched away from the wall and approached the flimsy metal and plastic table, keeping his eyes on Kaiba. Everyone waited while Honda attempted to put words to his fears. Both Yami and Yugi noticed how outwardly calm and patient Kaiba seemed as they waited. It was almost like a parent waiting for a child to ask the question they really wanted to know the answer to but were afraid to ask because they knew they probably wouldn't like the answer.

Finally, Honda swallowed thickly, squared his shoulders, and asked, "Who are you?"

"Kaiba Seto," Kaiba replied. Then, after a moment of silence, "but I used to go by the name Set. Though I think you'll probably remember calling me Neph-"

"Nephthys," Honda said, nodding. "I do remember that."

Kabia rolled his shoulders in what looked suspiciously like discomfort. Hmm. Maybe this was just as uncomfortable for him as it was for Honda, Kaiba was just better at hiding it.

"You always called Seth, Setesh," Honda said, his confidence slowly beginning to show in his words. "I vaguely remember thinking you didn't like him."

Now that was a very Kaiba-esque sneer. "I don't," Kaiba sniffed. "I despise his existence."

:That is a lot of hatred,: Yami murmured. :Jounouchi was right. Kaiba and Seth do have a history. I'd wager it's a rather colorful history too.:

:I never doubted Jounouchi,: Yugi said.

:Neither did I,: Yami replied. :But it's always good to have solid proof if available.:

Yugi nudged the spirit with what could pass as a playful poke before slipping back in control of him body. However, the moment he did, Kaiba's attention locked onto him with a startling intensity that caught Yugi off guard.

Dark eyebrows furrowed over sharp, blue eyes as Kaiba stepped away from the wall and rested both hands on the table. His gaze never left Yugi's for an instant.

"To whom am I speaking?" he asked.

Yugi flinched, feeling Yami's own shock close to the forefront of his mind.

"It's Yug'," Jounouchi answered before they could. "You can tell by the eyes."

:Why is he-:

Yugi quickly soothed the spirit's ruffled feathers and calmed his mind. "It's true," he said.

"You're lying," Kaiba hissed.

"I'm not," Yugi said firmly, holding Kaiba's gaze.

Kaiba glared, then straightened, scooped up the Millennium Rod, and swept towards the door. "I don't have the time to deal with liars," he snapped, the inhuman warping in his voice vanishing as he spoke.

"He's not lying, Kaiba," Jounouchi said, deliberately stepping between the CEO and the door. "Yugi's here. But Yami is also here. Yugi's like his host."

Kaiba stilled, glancing over his shoulder at Yugi suspiciously.

"Yami is the spirit of the Puzzle," Yugi said, feeling the cool gold of the reverse pyramid shape against his palm. "He's been here since I solved it. We can switch back and forth if we want to. It was the only way we could defeat Pegasus when he used the Millennium Eye to read our minds and changed our duel to a Shadow Game."