This fanfiction is based on Yu-Gi-Oh! - the anime and the manga. (And when I say the anime and manga, I mean parts from each, so if something contracts the anime, it's probably from the manga) Most of it isn't my idea, and it doesn't belong to me. I'm just using characters already created and placing them in a new setting.

Prologue

At Domino High, the famous Seto Kaiba sits at his desk, wearing the Domino school uniform. As usual, Kaiba wears the blue jacket buttoned all the way up and sits perfectly erect at his seat in the back row. He seems to be listening intently to the History teacher, although most of the class are paying little attention to her.

"And because of what he did, it's thought that Adolf Hitler is the most hated and cold-hearted person who ever lived.-" the teacher says.

"No, that title belongs to Kaiba," a kid at the opposite side of the room calls out. He and his buddies start laughing. But they quit when Kaiba turns and sneers at them in warning. After all of that, the teacher isn't sure what to say, so she returns to the lesson.

'How dare they compare me to Hitler; that man was a maniac!' Kaiba thinks, clenching his teeth in anger.

A lot of kids think of Kaiba as a jerk - he knows that he's better than everyone and makes sure no one forgets it. But behind his cool attitude, Kaiba is a little bit nervous at school - he can't mess up, he has to do everything perfect. He's only truly at ease when he duels or when he works on one of his projects, because then he doesn't feel the pressure of having to be the best. When he runs his company or goes to school, he feels that he needs to appear serious, mature, and strong; because that way it looks like he has everything under control. It's a very good lesson he learned after his parents died, which has been reinforced after he was adopted by his step-father and later when he took over his step-father's company.

School ends and students noisily rush out of the building, eager to get home. Kaiba is one of the last students still in the school. He walks quietly but quickly down the halls with one hand holding a briefcase and his other hand in his pocket. Yugi and his friends are standing by the wall in the next hall, having some meaningless conversation. Yugi sees Kaiba come around the corner.

"Hey, Kaiba," Yugi says cheerfully, with a little smile on his face. Everyone stops talking, even though Kaiba's still several feet away.

"Yugi," Kaiba says curtly and nods in his direction, acknowledging his presence.

"Kaiba, I'm lookin' forward to our next duel. 'Cause next time... I'll win!" Joey tells him confidently.

"Heh," Kaiba says while walking past the group. "In your dreams, Joey," he says with a sly smirk.

"Oh yeah, Kaiba? Just you wait and see! I'll-" Joey says and steps past a wet floor sign. He slips on the tiles. "Yahhh! Ahhahaiyeeeee!"

"Hm?" Kaiba wonders aloud and turns around just as Joey slides into him. They both travel several feet. Kaiba crashes into the opposite wall of the hallway - hitting the back of his head against it pretty hard - and Joey also collides with him a second later, ramming his thick skull into Kaiba's forehead. Kaiba blacks out with a groan and slides down the wall to rest in a sitting position on the floor. Joey ends up lying sideways on top of the other teen.

Téa gasps. "Are you alright!" she asks as she runs toward Joey and Kaiba. The others follow, being a little more careful not to slip on the recently mopped floor.

"Yeah. I think so, Téa," Joey says while getting up. He turns his attention to Kaiba, who's sitting on the floor with his legs spread out and his head tilted slightly downward. His briefcase is lying against the wall a few feet away. "Kaiba? You okay?... Kaiba?" Joey asks. No answer.

"I'm going to call an ambulance," Téa says, worried Kaiba might be hurt.

"Good idea, Téa," Yugi agrees.

"Smooth move, Joey," Tristan says sarcastically. "You better pray he doesn't sue."

"Shut it, Tristan!" Joey yells, annoyed.

-Part One-

Chapter One: First Impressions

Kaiba opens his eyes.

"Oh! Seto, you're awake!" Mokuba says smiling. "I came as soon as I could. Joey didn't mean to do it, it was only an accident, you're not mad at him are you?..." Mokuba asks his older brother hurriedly, before Kaiba even has time to fully regain consciousness.

Kaiba blinks a few times and pulls himself up to a sitting position on the hospital bed. "Ugh..." he moans, rubbing his head. "My head's killing me... What did you say?" he asks Mokuba, turning his head in the boy's direction after realizing that he was talking to him.

"You want me to call a nurse or something? They could probably give you something for your headache," Mokuba says.

Kaiba looks around the room. "Why am I in the hospital?" he asks confusedly.

"Don't you remember?..." Mokuba asks him, knowing that when a person blacks out, they may forget the last thing that happened to them.

"No..." Kaiba says and rubs his head again. "Please tell me..."

"It was just an accident... Someone wasn't looking where he was going and ran into you after school let out... I guess you were knocked out by the fall," Mokuba tells him while looking away - not mentioning Joey.

"Oh..." Kaiba replies, not sure of what to say.

"I'll go get a nurse," Mokuba says, turning to leave the room.

"Wait..." Kaiba calls after him.

Mokuba turns around. "Yeah, Seto?" he asks with a smile.

"Who are you?" Kaiba asks bluntly. Mokuba's eyes widen and his smile disappears. He slowly steps back, toward the door. How could his own brother, the person who takes care of him and loves him so much, forget him?

"Well, all of your tests were negative. You can go home anytime you want," a doctor tells Kaiba a minute later.

"But I can't remember anything! How can you send me home!" Kaiba asks. He sits sideways on the hospital bed with his school jacket unzipped. The doctor stands by the door of the room, and Mokuba stands between the two of them.

"Your memories may return over time. You can go back to school or to work in a few days," the doctor says.

"He can't spend all day at home! He has a company to run!" Mokuba says.

"I do?" Kaiba asks wide-eyed. Startled, Mokuba turns toward Kaiba, realizing his brother can't run Kaiba Corp. in his condition.

Mokuba then looks downward at the floor. "Well, I guess the company will be alright for a day or two..." he says, relenting to the doctor.

"I'll make you an appointment to have an MRI done tomorrow," the doctor tells him. "And afterwards you'll see a neurologist to discuss the results."

Téa walks up to a nurse. "Excuse me... Can you tell me if Seto Kaiba will be alright?" Téa asks the woman.

"Oh, he left a few minutes ago," the nurse tells her pleasantly.

"What!" Joey yells furiously from his seat in the waiting room.

"Well, that's Kaiba for ya," Tristan says, unsurprised. He remains relaxed, leaning back in his seat with his head resting in his arms.

"All this time worryin' 'bout the guy and he's prob'ly at home right now without a care in the world!" Joey says, sitting stiffly in the seat beside his friend's.

Kaiba looks out the window. "Whoa... Is this our house?" he asks Mokuba in wonder.

Mokuba laughs at his reaction. "Of course!" he tells his brother with a smile.

'First a limousine, now a mansion... Who am I?' Kaiba thinks uneasily. The chauffeur opens the door for them and they get out of the car. As they walk, Kaiba wonders what will be next, and if he will remember his home. Mokuba opens the door to their house. Disappointedly, the sight Kaiba sees doesn't trigger a rush of memories. It's just the house of a stranger, and the only feeling he has as he steps inside is one of intruding, as though he's entering someone else's home without the owner's permission.

"I'll show you around the house if you want," Mokuba says.

"No... I think I should look around on my own for a little while and see if I can remember something," Kaiba tells him. "I just need some time by myself to sort everything out..."

Mokuba gives him a small, understanding smile. "Okay, Seto..." he says and then walks up the stairs to the second level of the house.

'Mokuba seems like a nice kid. I think he cares a great deal about his older brother...' Kaiba thinks as he watches Mokuba walk across the upper level.

Kaiba looks in several rooms, but nothing seems familiar. He tries to force himself to remember something, anything, but nothing comes to him.

"Can I help you find something, Mr. Kaiba?" a maid asks after watching him for a few seconds.

"Oh!" Kaiba says and turns around. He didn't notice she was in the room. "No. Nothing..." he says. She goes back to dusting the furniture. Embarrassed, Kaiba walks into the next room, still trying to find something that he can remember.

Kaiba spends several hours looking around, examining every detail in each room he visits. After searching through the present room, he collapses on the couch with a sigh.

'I give up...' Kaiba thinks. He sits with his elbows on his knees and his head resting in his hands. He hates not being in control of everything, including his own memory, but realizes that what he's been doing for the past several hours isn't helping. He just has to accept the fact that he can't remember anything. Kaiba looks up to see Mokuba entering the room. The little brother smiles and gives him a little wave.

"Hey, Seto," Mokuba says and then walks over to the couch. "It's starting to get late; is everything okay?"

"Yeah. Everything's fine," Kaiba tells him with a smile.

"So... Are you ready to go to bed yet?..." Mokuba asks.

"Yeah. Just lead the way," Kaiba says. Mokuba guides Kaiba to his room and he walks inside.

"Get some sleep, big brother," Mokuba says from the doorway.

"Sure," Kaiba replies with a small smile.

Mokuba smiles slightly as well. "Good dreams, Seto," he says and closes the door behind him.

Kaiba does a quick scan of the room before walking over to the bed. Again, it seems like someone else's room entirely, but he's starting to get used to that feeling. He already knows that he won't be able to remember anything in the room, so he doesn't try. He figures he'll sleep in what he has on - at least until he finds out what Kaiba usually wears to bed. He decides to take off the school jacket and pants before getting under the covers so they won't get wrinkled, though. When taking the jacket off, he feels something hidden under his shirt. He pulls it out through his shirt collar and examines it, wondering what it is. He opens the locket to reveal a photograph of Mokuba, which looks to have been taken several years ago. He realizes that it must be something special to Kaiba, and after taking it off, he sets it down carefully on top of a little table in front of the bed.

'I feel like I've invaded Kaiba's privacy by looking at that... But how can that make sense when I am Kaiba?' he thinks as he gets under the covers of his four-poster bed.