Authors Note:

A new perspective today!

This will be where the story diverges from the original upload from before. I spent a lot of time trying to figure things out with this chapter and I may rewrite some of the end of this chapter once I've done a bit more research, but I've pushed this one off for a bit too long.

Sorry it's a bit shorter than my usual chapters for HSS. I'll try to be better about it in the next chapter.

I don't know why it had been bothering me so much. I guess that's a lie. We all know I can't leave someone in need alone. It's always been a part of my nature. It's just who I am.

Ever since that night, her questions buzzed around in my head. We had a lot in common, but then again, a million differences. "If I died in the past… and my soul was sealed in the stone tablets that prevented me from being reborn… Why am I here? If I had to take another person's soul to be reborn… What do you think that means?"

The way she had asked me… It's like she truly believed that she had done something terrible just to be alive in present day. I know it had been months since that night… and yet… I can't stop thinking about it. I'm so distracted, that I'm not even paying attention on the movie I had on the TV, passing by the time while Tea slept in my bed beside me. It wasn't super late, but she had a flight to catch early in the morning.

She'd be leaving for two weeks, for a trip out to Europe for rehearsals with a new crew. They'd be traveling all over, doing life performances as back up dancers for some pop artist I didn't know until she took the job. I was used to her having to leave for weeks on end, just as she was used to having to travel as much as she does. But it still seemed like she was never around anymore.

And yet, I smile at the thought of knowing she's following her dreams. She sends me pictures of every place she rehearses, and even group photos of every crew she ends up working with. Even when she knows that I don't worry about the distance and I have complete trust in her during her absence, she always sends me her schedule and lets me know where she'll be, when she arrives, and when she leaves. Every night, no matter the time difference, she calls to tell me goodnight.

So even when she's never around, I guess it never actually feels like she's gone. I love that about her. And even when I'm felling a bit anti-social, she'll be completely understanding, and give me the space I need until I'm ready to get back to being myself.

These last few weeks, she's known about my concerns with Kisara and how it's eating at me. These last few days have been weighing on me even more, and I can't find a reason why. I envy how Tea can sleep so soundly with the piles of stress on her shoulders and a constant foot-on-the-gas mind set to constantly keep her moving forward. Somewhere along the way these last few years… I've lost my drive.

It's nothing like Kaiba, losing himself after living the memories of the past. It's not the lonesome feeling I gained after the pharaoh's departure into the new life he had to lead. It's not even the fact that the majority of my time is consumed by helping out my grandpa, as his age is finally kicking him down. These are all things that I've come to terms with, and I'm happy to still be going forward to what ever tomorrow brings… but I can't remember what my end goal is supposed to be anymore.

I have a home. I have the girl of my dreams, with the plans in place for marriage and the eventual kids. All the typical stuff that most couples eventually reach… But what do I personally strive for? Duel Monsters was once a hobby that became my calling. It was my way of life for so long and it was necessary for me, my friends, and everyone for the past few years. It's slowly but surely divulging back into just a hobby.

Even so, I'm still expected to defend a title that I never asked for—King of Games. What happens when I decide to step down? Who would take the crown? Am I supposed to keep fighting battles until someone can finally defeat me? The last duel I had with Kaiba before he went on hiatus… I found myself thinking things that I wouldn't normally think. I want him to with this duel. I want Kaiba to take back the title of best duelist. But… I don't know why I started thinking that.

Since then, every duel I've had; mock duel, tournaments, duels with even my friends, I've starting thinking the same thoughts about every person who challenges me. Figure out my strategy. Take the victory away from me. Turn the tables. Step up to take this throne.

The more I've dueled, the more I've come to realize… I don't want to be a King of Games. I don't want to be a king of anything… I've been in the spotlight for so long, and I never asked for any of it. Everything was put on me when all I had ever wished for in the beginning… was for friends. I have so many friends now, so many people I cherish, and achievements I could have only dreamed of as a boy. I'm so thankful for every memory I've gained along the way… but I just want to step out of the light, and fade in with the background for once… But that would mean losing the duel, the game I love, with reciprocations that won't be too kind.

But I'd be so much happier playing Duel Monsters for the fun of it, instead of being expected to always win. To always be a king. I can't just give away this title. Believe me when I say, this most recent duel against Kaiba… I really thought of throwing the game… But I didn't have it in me. The moment I saw the concern on his face, when he wasn't looking at me, but to the crowd, searching for her… for Kisara… I saw a part of him that I used to see in myself… A reason to give your all in each battle. Even if it was just that one duel, I felt the spark to try to keep going, until someone finally defeats me.

I want to repay Kaiba, for knocking some sense into me, even if he had no idea that he indirectly helped me. Atop that… I want to help the woman he loves achieve some peace of mind. I know what it's like going on, pretending you're not drowning when the world around you seems to be flooding around you. Maybe, just maybe… I can help her find some answers.

After some wallowing in my own thoughts, I decide to pull myself out of the bed. I throw on a white shirt and the closest pair of jeans I could find from the pile on the floor of clothes I couldn't distinguish from clean or dirty. I ruffle up my hair a bit, and open up the top drawer of my dresser. It's filled with random, miscellaneous junk that I didn't really know where to put (and I didn't want to mess up any of Tea's organized every-things) but amidst the junk was a notebook with a pen dangling off the spiral binding. I grab it out and shut the drawer. I walk back to the bed side, sitting and pulling the pen out of it's cap.

Hey love,

I didn't want to wake you up, so I decided to write ya a note. I'm gonna take a walk down to the magician's pub. I don't plan on drinking more than a beer, but I wanted to see if Mahad and I could sit and have a chat… I know I shouldn't be worrying about it as much as I am, but what Kisara said that night is still bothering me. I won't be out long (I hope…)

xo Yugi

Finished, I recap the pen, and sit the notepad on the bed where I was originally laying down. I turn my attention to the TV, debating on turning it off. I decide to leave it on for some background noise. Tea always sleeps better with a show or music on in the background. I smile at the thought, before getting up and making my way out of the bedroom, and leaving the house with the spare key on the chain connected to my wallet.

"Welcome to the Magician's Pub—" A bright and cheerful voice greeted me upon entering the building.

Of course I recognized her for who she was in the past, but I had never reintroduced myself in this life. I couldn't just explain how we were good friends in the past, and I don't even know what happened after the Pharaoh returned after our departure. Who knows what that had become? Part of me can feel it… that there was a love between them, but I honestly wouldn't have thought Mana would reincarnate into Mana again. Part of me believe that Tea was Mana's new life. But I can also see the differences that set them apart, which are more than I would have originally thought.

"Th—thanks." I waved, realizing she hadn't actually looked to see who had entered, but just used the audio queue of the bell on the door to greet the customers who arrived.

Finally noticing me, her cheeks blushed with a tinge. "Well if it isn't the returning duel monster's champion! What can I get for you?"

She skipped over, tray under her arm as she held her waiter wallet and pen in hands to write down my drink order. But I rose my hands in decline, "I'm actually just gonna sit at the bar and drink a beer tonight. I was hoping to get to chat with the bar tender about a friend of mine who was here a while back…"

"Oh, you mean to speak to Mahad?" She wasn't that shocked, as smiled as she put her waiter wallet and pen into her apron that was wrapped around her waist. "He's pretty good at remembering people, unlike me. I hope that he can help you out. By the way," she extended her arm forward, in hopes to shake hands, "I'm Mana. It's nice to meet you officially! I admire you as a duelist, and I hope I can someday have the honor of a fun duel against you!"

"You wouldn't stand a chance." Mahad laughed from the table he was wiping down in the distance. "You're a terrible duelist."

"Would you shut it?!" Mana bit her lip to hold back saying anything bad before sighing and looking back at me. "I'm not the best duelist, but I don't claim to be that great in the first place. I just like some friendly competition."

Her smile was welcoming, and her perception of dueling was a nice change that was reminiscent of my own. "I feel you on that. I'll have to take you up on your offer sometime!" I reached back, shaking her hand before pulling my hand back and sticking my thumbs in my pockets.

Though she tinged a slight blush she still smiled widely. "Hell yeah! I look forward to it!"

"Hey Mana, can I get my long island?" A customer a few tables back called over to her.

"Right! Right! Sorry!" She waved over at them. "I gotta get back to work. I'll see you around! In case you didn't catch it, my name's Mana! Later!"

With that, she trotted off. I couldn't help but smile. Just as she had been in our past lives, she was still very kind and bubbly. I would always admire her for that, and even more so, I'm just happy that she held onto that part of her. But just as I was shaking off the distracting thoughts of comparing her past self to her present self, I was met by Mahad, leaning to wipe down the table next to me, just as he had been doing at the other table just feet away.

"So, you're wanting to chat?" Mahad didn't look at me as he continued to work.

Though I had actually had a chance to bond with Mana in the ancient Egyptian past when we traveled through time as spirits, I hadn't actually gotten the chance to speak with Mahad. Of course, the memories were there of him as my guardian, right hand man, and best friend, I just didn't feel the same connection that the Pharaoh would have felt with him. I got to be my own person, walking beside Atem as he discovered his own forgotten past, so Mahad surely didn't know me either.

"Yeah. I just… How do I put this..." I scowled, my eyes dropping to stare at the floor. "My friend was talking with you at the bar a couple months ago before getting sick and running off. Her name's Kisara. And… well, I thought maybe she confided in you the way she did with me, and I… I wanted to ask if you knew some things that I don't..."

I realized I wasn't wording things the best that I could, but then again, how was I to be sure he'd have any idea of what I was talking about? But Mahad didn't hesitate took glance over at me though, momentarily stopping cleaning, though he kept his stance leaning over the table. His long brown hair hung over his shoulders, just inches above the table. He didn't bare the black paint under his eyes that I vaguely remember from the past, but it was a nice change. I know he was a powerful mage back then, but It was refreshing to see him look so normal, even if it was just something small like the face paint no being present.

"Is that really what you came here for?" He looked back down to the table and finished wiping it down before standing up straight and hanging the towel from his front apron pocket. "Didn't you think to talk to 'Kisara' about it before coming to me?"

"So you remember her?" Of course he did, but did he remember her from the past? Or just from this time period?

A soft chuckle left his lips. "Her pigments are pretty unique. It's hard to forget someone who looks like that." Mahad shifted his weight, now facing me with holding a hand on his hip while the other hung at his side. "But you'll need to be a bit more specific with what you're looking for. As a bar tender, it's kinda code that I don't tell our guests secrets to others. But if it's nothing harmful, I see no reason to hide anything."

"Heh heh… Right..." I scratched the back of my head, the feeling of reverting back to a kid taking over me. I typically never had any issues with confrontation… So why was this so difficult? "It's nothing damaging to her reputation, nor any of her relations… This may sound strange, but do you per chance believe in past lives?"

He smirked, but his eyes led back to the bar, where he was being waved over by a guest to get him a drink. "I've dabbled in the subject of past lives. It's a difficult question to answer though, as the different possibilities of reincarnation into different universes, or time lines, divergent lines, or whatever you may choose to believe can seem far too… infinite. Perhaps we can discuss this matter after I've helped out Tatsu over there?"

He pointed with his thumb over to the man at the bar, and I nodded intently, "Of course. I don't mean to hold you up. In fact, if you want to grab me some mead, I'll pay for a drink and wait for you to finish up."

Again, he smirked and waved me to follow. "Sounds good to me," and with that, he walked off.

I gently smiled, my eyes at the floor as I followed behind him to the bar.

"It's been some time since I've last seen you, Kaiba-Boy!" The irritating voice I so detested was ever too present.

"Can't you act like a civilized human for once?" I sighed, stepping out of the helicopter that flew me to the kingdom's side entrance, just by the shore where Pegasus had his newest pool made. With a suitcase in hand, I surveyed the area. "We're both adults working in the entertainment business. I'm no 'boy' as you love to state."

"Always so serious, aren't you?" He chuckled, a glass of wine in his hand was brought to his peach tinted lips as he lightly sipped. "Care for a glass?"

"No thanks." I approached the flamboyant man. "I've recently cut back on how much alcohol I drink. Plus, being around you, I'd rather be one hundred percent sober."

"Of course. I expect nothing more than your complete professionalism, Kaiba." Pegasus smiled before whisking away another sip. "Shall we retire to a more appropriate room for discussing business then?"

"It doesn't quite matter to me. I don't tend to stay longer than I have to. I'll be on my way after I get the information that I came here for." Seto rubbed his eye with his thumb, scratching at an itch just behind the eyelid. "Were you able to dig up anything in your archives on the matter?"

Pegasus finally stood from his bench seat, glass still in hand. "Straight to the point are we? Well, there are a few things that I could find, but I wouldn't get your hopes up too high. There's not much research that went into the blue eyes white dragons. Honestly, I could have just sent you an email with everything I've compiled so you wouldn't have had to fly all the way out here. There's nothing that impressive to share."

"I realize you're just phrasing it that way to irritate me, but could we please just get to the information I requested without you trying to push my buttons?" I closed my eyes, crossing my arms as I stood, awaiting for him to lead me through is labyrinth of a 'kingdom' that he calls home.

He rolled his… eye, annoyed that I wasn't playing along with his antics. "I'm being serious Kaiba. I don't have much on the Blue Eyes White Dragon. The inspiration I have for making that card was almost entirely based on the tablet that was found in Egypt, the one you've seen for yourself." he started towards the entrance, me following him not too far behind, "There were very few inscriptions that read of the 'White Dragons' in Egyptian history. There was one I found that read of a village being destroyed but the sudden appearance of one, with no further meaning to it that wasn't about fearing the power of it. There was a tomb that was found, riddled with silvers and golds with carvings of White Dragons lining the walls and the sarcophagus itself. It was read to be the burial site of a pharaoh's mistress, not considered royalty but still held with high praise. It even seemed as though that no one knew of the woman outside of who that pharaoh had create the tomb."

"That pharaoh?" My mind was perceiving something entirely wrong with the way he described it. "What pharaoh."

"While it was never actually written which one it was, it only claimed to have been a pharaoh's mistress. Many things from that tomb were already robbed in ancient times, so there wasn't more to go off of from there." After some time of walking, we made it to a decent sized conference room, where the two of us Sat as he continued to tell me of his archeological finds from his past. "I'm not sure how much you care to hear about that tomb, but that was the place I found inspiration for the 'Monster Reborn' card. The mummy of the mistress was holding some kind of stone dagger in her hands. It's not typical for mummies to be buried with objects placed in their coffins. Even more odd was how even though the mummy was wrapped up, none of her organs had been removed and placed in canopic jars."

"Gross..." I said beneath my breath. "So why did you associate that to 'Monster Reborn?'"

Pegasus waved over one of his butlers, who entered the room from the shadows, holding a large file folder, seeping with documents and photos. I hadn't even noticed the few butlers on the edge of this conference room, each holding either a file of some sort, and one of them was even holding a stone with hieroglyphics etched into it. Had they been waiting in here with this the whole time and I was somehow blind to it? Or was I just too focused on Pegasus's random bits of trivia that suited what I was here, looking for: Answers. Answers to what happened to Kisara after what I had witnessed myself in my past life.

As the document was handed over, Pegasus opened it up on the table, scattering out the papers and scanning over each of the images until he found the one he had been rummaging for. "Can you read hieroglyphs? Or should I translate this for you?"

I took the photo from his hand, standing now only a few feet away from him to better see the other images and documents he had lied out. I skimmed the text, but I was a bit rusty in my Egyptian studies, so the few words I could make out didn't make sense to me.

"Paraphrase it for me." I wouldn't admit I was having trouble, but it was clearly obvious by my statement.

He held back out his hand, and I passed the photo back to him, now looking at the images that he had taken of his discovery of the tomb as he read the glyphs aloud. "'A beast in human form. Loved by Anubis, jealous of the Pharaoh who loved her, took the woman for his own desires. Her heart is lighter than any feather, allowing her guidance to the Hall of Ma'at in each of her deaths. Though her body remains without spirit, she continues to come back stronger and wiser with each rebirth. Freed from her curse, she was received the title, 'The Hope that Follows in Death' by the Goddess, Sekhmet, finally allowing her a final ending.' And there is another inscription along the sarcophagus that in summary states 'After many attempts for mummifying her, the beast continues to grow new hearts. A failure in life and a failure in death, we leave the beast to rest unfinished.'"

"Odd..."

"From what I gather, this woman had defied death on multiple accounts. With no other explanations, I believed the item she clasped in her hands was some sort of ark used in rituals for a form of healing. I twisted it to symbolize rebirth, thus creating the Monster Reborn card that no deck is complete without."

I grabbed one of the chairs that remained off to the side. "That's nice and all, but I'm looking for something a bit more specific. I'll ask you a few things, and if you can't help me than I'll be on my way."

Pegasus eyed me as I sat down, "Enlighten me on what it is you're looking for then Kaiba. For all of the years that I've known you, you have never once believed in any of the ancient Egyptian folklore and views of the past. Why the sudden curiosity?"

He snapped his fingers, and held out his hand. Another one of his many servants scurried to his side, a tray with a bottle of wine atop it. Setting the tray down the servant popped the cork from the bottle and refilled Pegasus's cup. I hadn't even notice him down it. Thinking back, I couldn't recall the last time I had seen him without a glass in his hand. At least not since his days when he was still in the possession of the Millennium Eye. With that in mind, I found myself more distracted by the past, finding myself engulfed in thoughts of Aknadin. Just the image of him made my chest hurt, knowing it was he whom first purged the world of Kisara, taking her from the man I once was. He stripped me of the one thing I had back then that brought me any happiness, at least from what I witnessed as I walked along my past self's side.

"I'm looking for something in relation to the origins of the Blue Eyes White Dragon stone tablet." I tried to play off the things I already knew to lead him into getting the answers I sought, "I've heard tales that the monsters in those stone tables are actually the 'Ka' or 'spirit' if you prefer. The person who's Ka is sealed in stone is typically sealed for all of eternity, with no chance of reincarnation. Hypothetically, the person thousands of years ago who once inhabited the Ka of the Blue Eyes White Dragon had their Ka forcefully taken from them and sealed away, so tell me this; How could it be possible for them to be reborn in their next life?"

Pegasus seemed rather impressed with the small amount of knowledge that I referenced in this circumstance. He sipped his wine, as he tried to think of anything that could even remotely be the answer for me. "Why do you suddenly care so much about reincarnation? Cause I can tell you right now, there's no way someone like you could harbor the Ka of a Blue Eyes. You have no shred of light within you."

"Ouch." I rolled my eyes, "Even after I risked everything to save my Brother's soul from you…" That's right. Pegasus once was able to contain the souls of people within cards, just as Aknadin could use the Eye to put one's Ka in stone. Pegasus was able to release the souls of those he imprisoned. Perhaps the answer was much more simple that I was making it out to be? "When you were in possession of the Millennium Eye, would you have been capable of releasing the monsters from stone, so that the Ka's could simply be reborn into their next lives?"

He seemed to take it into consideration for a moment, "Believe it or not, it was never something I considered to try. I did think of it as a possibility, but never found a reason nor desire to do such a thing. I guess one could be capable of such thing in theory, but you're missing something important here: The Ka is only part of the soul. If it's the only thing that was stripped from them, would they truly not find their way to their next life? Or am I to believe that you only see the Ka as what makes a person who they truly are?"

It was too convenient. "The Ka is what makes the soul come alive, whereas the Ba is what fuels it. In theory, there's no need for Ba without a Ka to fuel. While I'm sure there's more to it than that, it's not exactly what I'm looking for."

"I'm quite surprised that you of all people have an interest in something like this. Tell me, is this type of thing what you actually believe in?" Pegasus flared back his hair for a moment before it immediately fell back to its dull position.

While I would usually spout out any form of denial, I didn't find that I could at this point. There was a lot of things that I allowed others to call me; pompous, greedy, cruel, selfish, anything you could think of to make me out to be the bastard that I rightful deserved to be viewed as. But there was one thing I would never be called, and that's a liar. No matter what it was, I always spoke the truth. If I would rather not state my opinion or had no feelings towards a subject one way or another, I just wouldn't speak. All the years of preaching how this "Ancient Egyptian" shit was a load of, well shit… I could no longer deny the past. I had already come to accept the idea of past lives and reincarnation, seeing logic in certain circumstances of Kisara and I. Though, for lack of proof, I still did not believe in "fate" or "destiny."

"I don't know what I believe in any more…" I growled lowly, "But I know that I had visions planted in my head that match the things I've come across in my current standing. I'd rather know for sure what it is that happened to this woman-" I pointed at the sarcophagus in the photo, "I determine for myself if what my girlfriend believes is true or not."

"Did you say… Girlfriend?!" Pegasus was giddy with anticipation at this point.

Mentioning her was one of my many mistakes today… But the first was even attempting to find answers through Pegasus J. Crawford.