To the Victor Go the Spoils

Plot: Seto is determined to best the King of Games, no matter what the cost. However, he doesn't stop to think just what that cost might be.

Timeline: A few months to a year after the end of the series. Yugi and Yami are fully separated following the Ceremonial Duel, which Yugi wins, but Yami chooses to stay and remain separate, rather than continue to the afterlife. I'm calling him Yami instead of Atem…just for my own preference.

Rating: T for dark themes: insanity, non-sexual violence, language. This is probably going to be the darkest fic I've ever written, darker even than Void of Tears.

Pairings: Mild Puzzleshipping, maybe some very twisted and one-sided Prideshipping down the line.

Disclaimer: If I owned Yu-Gi-Oh, I'd have no problem paying off my student loans, and the characters would have more things to do than play children's card games. :p

Italics indicate thoughts or emphasis.

Seto slammed the door shut behind him, a furious snarl etched into his face. He paced the floor of his bedroom angrily, letting the last vestiges of self-control fall away and his rage take over.

"AGAIN," he growled to the empty air in front of him. "AGAIN he thwarts me. AGAIN he snatched victory right from under my nose!" With a roar of frustration and hatred, he snatched a small decorative vase from his dresser and hurled it across the room, where it exploded in a shower of colored glass against the wall.

"…Seto?" a small voice inquired as his door was inched open. Seto glared at the intruder, not caring that he was looking into the very concerned and wary eyes of his little brother.

Mokuba entered the room once he saw that his brother was not holding any other objects that could be used as projectiles. "I guess your rematch with Yami didn't go too well, did it?"

Seto growled softly. "How," he spat out, "do YOU think it went?"

Mokuba wisely chose to say nothing, merely shrugging.

"I lost. AGAIN. That fucking former pharaoh pulled a victory out of his ass with only 200 life points. I STILL don't know how he did it; he didn't even use the Egyptian God Cards, and those are the only reason why he's unbeatable!" Seto's rage was growing; he could hardly speak, choking with hatred. "This is RIDICULOUS. I KNOW I can beat him! I KNOW I can wipe that fucking smirk off his face! There's NO WAY he can keep beating me like this!"

Mokuba swallowed. This had been happening for months, and it was only getting worse. His older brother's desire to best the King of Games had grown into a full-blown obsession. Every couple of weeks, he'd challenge Yami to a duel. And lose. And come home in a rage of hatred and humiliation that put him out of his mind for hours. Mokuba had gotten into the habit of checking to make sure his brother was physically all right and then ducking out of the house to hang out with his friends – which, to his brother's annoyance, often included Yugi and his friends – until Seto had calmed down.

It was usually pointless to reason with him, but he had to try. "Seto…Yami's the King of Games. You're at least difficult for him to beat; what's so bad about being second to--."

"BECAUSE THE TITLE KING OF GAMES BELONGS TO ME. NOT SOME SPIKY-HAIRED RUNT WHO SHOULDN'T EVEN BE ALIVE!" Seto thundered. His fists clenched as Mokuba opened his mouth to protest. "No. Get out."

Mokuba's eyes widened at the look on Seto's face. "But, Big Brother—."

"GET OUT."

Mokuba complied, practically running out of his brother's room and out of the mansion, stopping only to grab his backpack. "Roland," he called to the security guard on his way out, "Make sure he doesn't destroy anything."

The older man sighed wearily. This was starting to get old. "Yes, sir."

-----

Seto locked the door as Mokuba's steps retreated down the hall. His hands shook; he was breathing as hard as though he had just run a marathon. He paced again, running his hands through his hair, gripping fistfuls as particularly painful thoughts flew through his head.

That goddamn son of a bitch, he snarled to himself. He must have a weakness. He MUST. Mentally, he reviewed their recent duels. Every time, his rival had beaten him. Every time! There HAD to be a flaw in his strategy!

Seto had been convinced that the God Cards were the only reason why he was so unbeatable. So he had dared him to set them aside, trying to goad him into getting angry and making a fatal mistake. But what had the King of Games said to him?

"Very well, Kaiba," he said, coolly raising an eyebrow. "I shouldn't have to prove that to YOU, of all people, but if you insist…"

And he'd beaten him. Again. Without the God Cards. It was, admittedly, a closer duel than usual, but he'd still pulled through.

"'Me of all people,' INDEED," Seto growled to himself. He'd had Exodia the last time he'd won against him without a God Card in his deck. And deprived of it, he'd lost – in what Seto had difficulty admitting was not entirely a fair match, but he'd still lost. And he'd lost to that oversized biker a few months later. And Yugi had won against his other half in that Egyptian crypt. And that means he's not invincible!

Seto slammed his fist onto the top of his dresser. He stared into the mirror above it, barely registering his wild appearance: his tousled hair, sticking out in all directions; his eyes, furious and gleaming with a soft madness that had nothing to do with anger. "There has…to be a way…" he rasped. "There HAS to."

An image of his hated rival seemed to float before his eyes. Yami, former pharaoh and King of Games, fully separated from his other half, alive and well even though he'd been given the chance to disappear into the afterlife. That confident smirk, assurance in those red-violet eyes, complete trust in his skills and his deck, assured without being overtly arrogant. Seto hated every inch of him. By his side, his smaller counterpart, just as assured, just as confident, but softer…those sickening violet eyes always holding a smile. Those infuriating cheerleaders that called themselves his friends, who'd risked their lives for him…

That's it. Slowly, a deranged smirk replaced the fury on his face. Memories seemed to well up unbidden: Yami hurling himself in front of Marik's blast at Joey and Mai; standing anxiously beside Joey's bed; yelling at him time and time again to call off a duel when it became clear that his friends were in serious danger…

…And the look on his face when he realized Yugi had to take the damage for him in that final duel of Battle City.

Yes. He would beat him. He'd finally found his weakness…it had been staring him in the face the whole time.

A plan began to form in his head, and he began to laugh, a wild laugh bordering on hysteria, and he didn't stop until tears poured from his eyes and his lungs were wrung out of air. Yes, he'd beat the so-called King of Games…at a game of his own making, this time. And finally, FINALLY he would be back on top. Second to no one.

Forever.

And thus begins my first multi-chapter fic in five years...with Seto starting to go off the deep end! How fun. XD I'm getting into my more twisted side for this story, for sure.

Hope you enjoyed it! ^_^