A/N: Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of the characters. I just like writing them for fun!

Welcome to Supremacy! This is technically a sequel to my other multichapter, Madness (if you want to read it, it's on my profile), but this fic can also be enjoyed as a stand alone. The essential background information you need to know is that Atem is back and in his own body (and for that he owes Pegasus a favour), the SS Puzzleship has sailed and Seto Kaiba is still hell bent on beating the Pharaoh.

If you read Madness, you know I used it as a vehicle to explore Yugi's emotions post series/DSOD. Since that was a lot of fun for me to write, I thought that there is another character who would have some interesting emotions to explore post DSOD – Kaiba.

This chapter starts a bit fluffy, but gets heavy pretty quick. The remainder of the story is written with the dramatic flair you may have come to known from me. Without further ado, I present to you: Supremacy.

Snowflakes drifted down gently from the night sky, falling upon the general populace that were braving the snow-covered streets. Winter had hit Domino city in full force this year. Snow was piled up several feet high on the sides of the streets, and many schools had been shut down for the day because of the heavy snowfall. The city had become the picture of a winter wonderland. Or at least, that's what some would call it. To Atem, the once Pharaoh of Egypt, this scene was nowhere close to a wonderland. Atem grumbled to himself under his breath as his leather boots crunched through the new layer of snow that was accumulating on the sidewalk. Snow was one thing he had never become accustomed to, even though he had shared a body with Yugi for several years back in the day. Yugi had tried to give him some exposure to winter activities back in the day, such as ice skating and snowball fights, but Atem had not found them nearly as enjoyable as Yugi did.

"Why does it have to be winter already?" Atem muttered disgruntledly under his breath. His breath caught as he nearly slipped on a patch of ice obscured by the ongoing snowfall. He clutched the jug of milk he had been sent to get in one mitt-clad hand, and a small bag of groceries in the other. Despite being a bit irritable due to the sub-zero temperatures, Atem found himself smiling and feeling a warmth spread through his chest as he thought about spending some quality time with his Aibou this evening.

It had been just over a month since Atem had returned from the afterlife, and things were starting to settle into a comfortable rhythm. Yugi was back to working on his PhD at Domino University, and this last week had been putting in some serious overtime as he tried to wrap up a time sensitive part of his dissertation. Atem, in the meanwhile, was occupying his time by picking up shifts in the game shop and attending some evening classes at the university. However, Atem had other plans as to how he wanted to spend his time. He just needed to find the means to make it all come to fruition.

A thoroughly chilled Atem finally reached his destination, placing the milk down on the step momentarily as he dug out his key to the game shop. After tracking snow through the game shop, he unlocked the door at the back of the shop that lead to the private residence. As soon as the door opened, an excited voice called out to greet him.

"Finally! I thought I'd have to send a rescue party." Yugi called, rounding the top of the stairs.

"It was never this cold when we shared a body." Atem remarked, brushing snow off his coat before removing it. His cheeks were pink from the cold wind.

"That's because you refused to spend any time outside during the winter when we shared a body." Yugi said as he tugged off the snow-covered toque Atem had been wearing, unleashing a sunburst of tricoloured hair. Yugi tossed his arms around Atem neck, pulling him in for a kiss. Yugi's warm lips and embrace made quick work of melting Atem's heart. When they pulled apart, Yugi's cheeks were the same shade of pink as Atem's.

"Come on upstairs, I've got a surprise for you." Yugi said coyly.

"A surprise?" Atem mirrored, as Yugi grabbed his hand, pulling him upstairs.

Yugi lead Atem into the family room, where he had dimmed the lights and piled up a duvet and several blankets on the couch. On the coffee table was an assortment of take out containers and movies.

"Since this is the first winter you'll be experiencing with your own body, I thought I'd show you some of my favourite things to do during the best season of the year." Yugi said with a grin, motioning for Atem to sit down on the couch. "One of the best parts of a snow day is that you get to spend it inside relaxing with your friends and family all swaddled in blankets."

Yugi grabbed the duvet and tossed it over Atem's lap. He then motioned for him to start divvying up the Thai food. Yugi went back to the kitchen and filled a pot on the stove with milk, cocoa and sugar.

"What are you doing over there?" Atem asked a few minutes later, his mouth full and his task complete. He had already started on his plate.

"Just making you one of the best wintertime drinks! Hot chocolate." Yugi said cheerfully, walking back into the family room with two mugs of steaming hot chocolate. Atem accepted his with a smile.

"I remember. You love this drink." Atem took a sip. He smiled up at his Aibou. "And apparently I do too."

Atem had found that when he had shared a body with Yugi, his tastes and preferences mirrored Yugi's perfectly. However, since getting his own body, Atem quickly realized that some things he once thought he liked he did not care for anymore, and vice versa. For example, he took his coffee differently than Yugi – black, as opposed to the double-double Yugi preferred. This discovery had resulted in a massive and often hilarious culinary expedition as Atem rediscovered this part of himself. Joey had been especially incensed to realize that Atem had not liked Brooklyn-style pizza more than the usual cardboard box delivery kind. Atem also realized he hated fish, much to the chagrin of his sushi-loving friends. Thankfully, hot chocolate was a new shared favourite between the two tricolour haired men.

"Awesome. I'm glad you like it!" Yugi sat down beside Atem. He turned on a movie, threw the comforter over his own legs and grabbed his plate of food. Slowly becoming one with the plush duvet, they snuggled up together and finished their dinner and hot chocolate. Some time later, the movie reached its end. Yugi had dozed off halfway through the movie while resting his head on Atem's shoulder as his busy week finally caught up to him. As the credits rolled, Atem's mind started to wander.

It's surprising that I haven't heard from Pegasus yet. I was sure he would have tried to redeem the favour I owe him. Or Kaiba for that matter. How has Mokuba not told him yet?

Atem sighed as he shifted himself, resting his cheek against Yugi's erratic hair. Just as he felt himself starting to drift off to sleep, he heard Yugi mumble something.

"Yugi?"

"I said 'stop being such a blanket hog, Atem.'" Yugi said into Atem's shirt, tugging the duvet back in his direction to cover himself completely. Atem shot him a playful look in response.

Yugi sat upright to look at Atem, whose eyes began to look pensive again.

"What are you thinking about, partner?" Yugi asked.

"Kaiba."

"What, am I not enough for you?" Yugi feigned hurt, pouting. Atem snorted in response and pulled Yugi back in against his chest.

"You've got everything I could ever want and more, Aibou." Atem said lovingly. Yugi chuckled sheepishly and buried his face deeper into Atem's shirt to hide his oncoming blush.

After a few moments revelling in his love's embrace, Yugi sat up and shrugged slightly. "I honestly would have expected Kaiba to have broken down our door by now in order to challenge you to a duel. I wonder what's the hold up."

"My thoughts exactly. And Pegasus has not tried to collect his favour from me."

"Oh, about that. He sent me an email yesterday. He's cashing in on that favour." Yugi said. He pulled out his phone to show Atem the email. It contained a short message and an over-the-top poster advertising the next Industrial Illusions Elite Tournament.

/

Yugi-boy!

You and the Pharaoh are cordially invited to participate in Industrial Illusion's latest and greatest Elite Duel Monsters Tournament: Starlight Showdown. I have hand picked some of the top ranking duelists from around the world to participate in this spectacle that is sure to go down in the history books! Prepare your decks, gentlemen!

Oh, and by "cordially invited", I mean required. Tell the Pharaoh the time has come for him to pay up. And this will not be the only thing I will be requiring him to do as part of his tournament duties.

Warm regards,

Maximillian Pegasus

President, Industrial Illusions

/

"Well, at least it's not an unreasonable request." Atem remarked.

"'Not unreasonable'? What I'm concerned about is your 'tournament duties'. I hope it's nothing to… off-colour. You never know with Pegasus." Yugi said uneasily.

"We can handle him. And besides, he's not the one I'm concerned about." Atem responded reflectively.

Ever since their brush with Seto Kaiba's progeny from the future, Atem had found himself wondering about the role he plays in the arrogant billionaire's life. Back in the Duelist Kingdom and Battle City days, Kaiba was just a rival. An arrogant but ultimately benign rival. However, after seeing him appear in the afterlife, in a crazed state, risking everything in order to challenge Atem for a title once again (one which Yugi technically holds), Atem was not so sure that he was just a benign rival. The consequences of the afterlife duel were also more pervasive than Atem could have ever imagined. Guilt had started eating away at Atem, as he worried that he should have done something differently in order to help stop this deranged form of Kaiba from ever being created.

Should I have just simply lost to him those years back? But that would have had repercussions for all of humanity…

Atem's train of thought was derailed when he felt Yugi open their mind link which, despite their separate bodies, remained in a transient form which could be opened and closed easily at either side's behest.

I've said this before and I will say it again. It's not your fault. You are not Kaiba's keeper. He made his own decisions and although there were unfortunate consequences, you can't hold yourself accountable for this. Yugi said through the link.

"I know, Yugi." Atem responded aloud, reaching out to give Yugi's hand a squeeze. "But ultimately, I think I need to pay him a visit soon."

"Well, if you need me there when you do, just ask." Yugi offered.

"I'd like that, Aibou." Atem responded affectionately. "I must say though, I'm looking forward to this tournament."

"Me too. I'm looking forward to kicking your ass again." Yugi said teasingly.

"Hah! I will have you know, I've won all of our duels since I came back."

"Ah, but you see, I let you win. You get kind of angsty when you lose." Yugi chuckled, giving Atem a playful shove.

"Oh? Is this so?" Atem feigned hurt, but the amused twinkle in his eye gave him away.

"Now before we fall asleep on this couch again, I think its time to go to bed." Yugi said with a smile. Atem obliged.

Across the city that same evening, a man sat alone in his spacious office towering over Domino City. The light from the multiple computer screens highlighted his angular features in a pale blue hue. He continued to type up his briefing, only stopping to occasionally take a sip of his scotch – neat, no ice. Sales were down, and there needed to be something done about it. The simulations he had run were not overly helpful. He had a few ideas, but they would not fix the larger problem.

Seto Kaiba sighed in frustration and stood up abruptly. He snatched up his tumbler and walked over to look at the city lights through his floor-to-ceiling window.

There's got to be a solution. The theme parks and Duelist Academy have been profitable, but duel disk sales are down. Maybe a new, more portable model with improved holographics…

Kaiba's eyes drifted up towards the night sky. Despite the light coming from the buildings below, a few stars managed to pierce through the haze to shine down upon the city.

Maybe I should try again. Kaiba thought. Although the interdimensional transporter burst into flames mere minutes after I came back from the afterlife, I can still fix it. It will just require some resources. And maybe it will be different this time. It has been years since…

Kaiba recalled his trip to the afterlife. The adrenaline and fear pumping through his veins as the machine sent him to a different dimension. By some scientific miracle, he had found himself standing in an Egyptian palace staring down the gold-clad, regal asshole he had spent years trying to best.

"Kaiba?" Atem uttered, his voice a mixture of confused and impressed. Those crimson eyes bore directly into his soul, as they had many times back in the day. Kaiba felt momentarily vulnerable, as only staring into the Pharaoh's eyes could make him feel. Vulnerable… and inferior? Narrowing his eyes, Kaiba quickly pushed aside those bothersome emotions to replace them with a deep-seated determination.

"I am here for a rematch, Pharaoh!" Kaiba had called, his voice as powerful and commanding as a king. And a rematch he was given. Despite the countless simulations Kaiba had run, and his perfectly tailored deck, he found himself in the impossible situation of staring down the Dark Magician again, defenseless. As his last few life points dwindled to zero, another crack was created in Kaiba's soul.

Kaiba dropped to one knee, panting and clutching his chest. Atem walked over quietly to stand in front of his rival.

"Stand up, Kaiba."

Kaiba stood up, glaring.

"I see you still haven't learned your lesson. Do not come back to challenge me again until you do." Atem had said.

"My lesson?"

"You know. I have repeated it many times over the years. Now, go home Kaiba. It's not safe for a soul still tethered to a living body to stay in the afterlife for long."

Atem moved to walk away, but he turned back around to add one more thing. His eyes had gone noticeably softer and sadder. "And please, pass onto Yugi… nevermind."

Kaiba angrily punched a few buttons on his wrist, causing his soul to be pulled back into the wormhole he had established with the interdimensional transporter. After a nauseating, vertiginous second, he found himself back in his body and seated in the shuttle.

The phone shrilled, breaking Kaiba out of his memory. Kaiba became aware of something dripping down his hand. Looking down, he noticed shattered glass scattered on the floor. Scotch was dripping down his hand, mixing with fresh blood from a laceration. Mildly annoyed, he pulled out the pocket square from his suit, and wrapped his hand in it. With his other hand, he roughly grabbed the receiver.

"Kaiba."

"Hey big bro!"

"What have you got for me?" Kaiba deadpanned.

"Glad to hear from you too. I just got back from the research trip, and have I ever got some interesting ideas for the theme parks!"

"Let's do this later, Mokuba. I have other things I need to work on right now."

"Profitable stuff? Or are you trying to fix that interdimensional transporter again? You know, the afterlife machine? Oh, actually, that reminds me. There is something you need to know."

"What is it?" Kaiba snapped, his patience for his brother's tangents wearing thin.

"Uh, I don't know if I should really be the one to tell you this, but hey, I kept up my end of the deal. They can't be mad. Seto, the Pharaoh's back."

Kaiba's heart stopped and his eyes went wide. Kaiba gripped the phone tightly as his pulse quickened. He could hardly believe what his brother had just said.

The Pharaoh is back?

A whole host of emotions flooded Kaiba's usually cool, calculating mind. He raged internally that Mokuba had not spoken to him sooner. He found it infuriating when he was left in the dark, especially when it came to matters as important as this. Next was a wave of impatience. He nearly hung up the phone in that instant to start hunting down his rival this very moment, without hesitation. This impulse was quickly overcome by Kaiba's rationality, as acquiring more information from his brother would surely be of benefit. However, the dominant emotion the often stoic man was experiencing was a deep seated excitement. An anticipation and thrill he had not experienced in years. Fighting the adrenaline pumping though his veins, Kaiba composed himself and furthered his line of questioning.

"Where is he?"

"That's a bit unclear. When I ran into him, he was with Yugi –"

"You saw him?"

"Yeah, more of him than I would have liked." Mokuba said dryly.

Kaiba ignored this vague comment, instead favouring to continue his interrogation. "Where?"

"KC HQ. I think they were heading back to the Muto's game –"

"Alright." Kaiba interjected curtly. He had heard enough. He moved to hang up the receiver.

"Big brother! What are you doing?"

"It's time to pay the Pharaoh a visit. It's been too long." Kaiba responded, blue eyes gleaming. He was unable to keep his building excitement out of his usual deadpan voice.

"It's nearly midnight!" Mokuba interjected.

"It's early enough. Goodbye Mokuba." Kaiba hung up. He toyed with the cloth wrapped around his hand as he walked towards the window again. All of these years spent preparing, researching and trying to find and manipulate the Pharaoh's few weak spots though his simulations may finally pay out in dividends. He did not even have to dip into his profit margins again in order to make another trip to the afterlife. The Pharaoh came to me. A sly smile crept up on Kaiba's face. A deep chuckle reverberated though his chest as he spun on his heel to walk over to the closet. He grabbed his usual dueling jacket, his steel briefcase containing his cards and made haste towards the parking garage.

Bang. Bangbangbangbang. Atem bolted upright in bed, heart hammering, flinging Yugi's arm off his chest as the intrusive sounds rang through the residence.

"W-whaaat?" Yugi stuttered, partly in confusion, partly in terror.

"I think someone's breaking in. Stay here." Atem quickly threw off the covers, pulled on his boxer briefs and silently walked towards the hallway.

"Atem! What are you doing?" Yugi hissed, getting up to follow. Atem waved him off.

"Quiet." Atem hissed in return. He made his move towards the hallway.

Bangbangbangbang.

Yugi quickly grabbed the broom that was in the hallway closet, brandishing it in front of him. The two men made their way down the stairs and into the shop.

Bangbangbangbang. "I know you're in there!" A muffled voice called. A tall, dark figure was silhouetted against the glass door, fist roused to knock again.

Taking a deep breath, Atem opened the door. He could not believe his eyes. Not one foot in front of him stood the man that had singlehandedly cause the vast majority of Atem's headaches all of those years ago. Piercing blue eyes met his, gleaming in the streetlights.

On the other side of the stare, Seto Kaiba was experiencing another onslaught of complex emotions upon seeing the face of his rival glaring from within the cracked open doorway. Satisfaction, excitement and disbelief ran supreme in that moment. Kaiba had often fantasized about what he would say to the once Pharaoh should they meet again. He had recited his speeches and visualized how the conversation would go. But now, in this moment, faced with the almost near impossibility of his wish come true, he was at a loss for words. Which did not happen often to the outspoken and opinionated Seto Kaiba. The crimson eyes in front of him seemed to bore directly into his soul, making Kaiba feel oddly vulnerable. Kaiba broke eye contact, surveying the rest of the scene in front of him. To his chagrin, his mouth had impulsively found a way to ruin this historic moment Kaiba had dreamed of.

"Nice shorts." Kaiba chided, referencing Atem's distinct lack of clothing. "Were you really going to face a potential burglar in just your underwear?"

Atem's eyes narrowed, his glare intensifying. "Kaiba." He sighed impatiently, not unlike a parent chastising a child who had once again chosen to break the rules despite their better judgement.

"You really are back." Kaiba remarked. His smug gaze flitted towards another erratic head of tricoloured hair that had popped into view behind Atem.

"What is – Oh, it's just Kaiba." Yugi said flatly, quickly becoming disinterested in the situation.

"Wait. You have separate bodies?" Kaiba asked, mildly stunned.

"Yup." Yugi slid beside Atem to further address Kaiba, his tone curt. "What are you thinking, showing up like this? Do you know what time it is?"

"I heard from Mokuba that the Pharaoh had returned. I needed to see it for myself."

"Well, now you have…" Atem snipped, looking as if he was developing a migraine just by looking at Kaiba.

"… are you happy? Can we please continue this at a more reasonable hour?" Yugi finished his partner's thought, punctuating his question with a raised an eyebrow.

"Pharaoh, I –" Kaiba started. Atem boldly raised a hand to quiet the billionaire.

"No." Atem stated forcefully, as if he was ordering an overly excited puppy to sit. Kaiba's mouth closed with a snap.

"Not here or now, Kaiba. But I know what you want. You want a rematch." Atem said simply, his eyes not leaving Kaiba's.

"I've been waiting years for this, Pharaoh. I will finally prove to the world that I deserve to be called the greatest duelist of all time." Kaiba said haughtily. He raised his arm, of which bore the newest Kaiba Corp. prototype duel disk. "And there's no time like the present."

Atem took a step forward and placed a hand on Kaiba's forearm, pushing the man's arm back to his side.

"Did you have a chance to think about what I said after our duel in the afterlife?" Atem asked, his eyes dark.

"I don't know what you are taking about." Kaiba retorted, eyes narrowing.

"I suspect you still haven't learned your lesson."

"Why must you be so cryptic? After our duel, I continued to do my research in order to perfect my strategies. I will easily beat you now, Pharaoh. I hope you're ready for defeat." Kaiba proclaimed.

Atem shook his head. "Well, futile cause or not, I will not battle you here in the street in the middle of the night."

"Futile? What are you implying?" Kaiba growled.

Atem chose to ignore this line of questioning, because if he responded, he'd be stuck battling Kaiba's ego all night. So instead, Atem changed his approach. He knew that getting Kaiba to drop this matter tonight and leave it for another time would be difficult. It would take some tact to get this arrogant billionaire off of their doorstep. Thankfully, Atem knew of a few buttons he could press to hopefully get this dog with a bone to heel.

"I am returning to the dueling scene by… entering into one of the Industrial Illusions Elite Tournaments. How about we raise the stakes and make this rematch one for the record books? If you enter this tournament, you can have your rematch in front of the whole world, which will serve as a permanent record should you beat me. In addition, I'm sure having the president of Kaiba Corp. enter into a prestigious tournament to duel his historic rival would be good for your bottom line." Atem propositioned.

"A tournament…" Kaiba repeated, his eyes lighting up manically. "A tournament…"

"Did you not hear what I just said? We will discuss this further tomorrow. Good night, Kaiba." Atem moved to close the door, but it was obstructed by a swiftly introduced boot.

"I look forward to our rematch, Pharaoh."

Kaiba could swear that through the haze of annoyance, he could see a glimmer of excitement and anticipation flash through the crimson eyes in front of him. Kaiba's heart skipped a beat.

"Good night, Kaiba." Atem's bare foot nudged Kaiba's boot out of the doorway before closing the door. Atem spun around to address Yugi, leaning tiredly against the door.

"Well, he certainly has not changed one bit." Atem remarked, a small smile on his face.

"You've got that right, partner." Yugi chuckled. "He's just as dogged as ever."

Tossing his arm over his Aibou's shoulder with a yawn, Atem led Yugi back upstairs.

The next morning, Atem found Yugi in the kitchen on his laptop getting some early morning research done. Atem dozily kissed the top of Yugi's head, which elicited a preoccupied, yet affectionate mumble from Yugi as he was concentrating on his dissertation work. Atem grabbed himself a mug and the half-full coffee pot and brought them to the table, topping up Yugi's coffee before pouring his own.

After a few minutes of browsing the news on his brand-new smartphone, Atem stopped his scrolling hastily. He could not believe his eyes at the headline in front of him.

Yugi Muto Returns! Domino to host a joint Kaiba Corp and Industrial Illusions mega tournament! STARLIGHT SHOWDOWN!

Somewhat preoccupied, Atem tugged at Yugi's shirtsleeve. Yugi leaned over to look at the phone. Embedded within the article was a video of a confident Kaiba announcing his newest tournament.

"Welcome to the biggest thing since Battle City! Kaiba Corp., in conjunction with Industrial Illusions, is proud to present Starlight Showdown! We are inviting some of the biggest names in duel monsters from around the world to participate in the highest stakes, battle royale, crown jewel cup in all of Duel Monsters history! And for this very special tournament, several duelists have come out of retirement to once again grace the stage!"

With a dramatic voice over calling out names, several faces flashed across the screen. Kaiba then reappeared, chest puffed out and eyes sparkling in the studio lights.

"I am pleased to announce that two legendary duelists, both Yugi Muto and the Nameless Pharaoh, will be participating! And finally, I will be personally be entering into this tournament in order to end their supremacy!" Kaiba crowed, pumping a fist in the air. He then turned to point at the screen with a well-practiced flair. "Be ready, as history will be made right here in the Kaiba Dome in Domino City!"

"Oh Ra, you've created a monster. You should have never told him about that tournament. He even somehow snagged it from Industrial Illusions overnight and made it his own." Yugi said, eyes wide.

"Well, this is Kaiba. He would have figured this all out one way or another."

Yugi smiled at Atem, unable to keep his excitement hidden. "This should be fun."

Atem smiled back. "I think it will be much more than that."

A/N: If you've got a moment, please leave a review. Good, bad or otherwise, I always love getting some feedback from you guys!

Next chapter is the start of the KC/II mega tourney, and ohhhhh boy, do I ever have some drama set up for you. Also, my Canadian-ness showed in this chapter. Toques, double-doubles. Sorry. (A double-double coffee is two cream, two sugar for the uninitiated.)