Atem breaks every rule of the afterlife to appear before Kaiba with a desperate plea.
"Help me."
The King of the Afterlife is about to be forced into a political marriage, and there is only one loophole left: he must marry someone who does not belong to the realm of the dead.
Someone like Kaiba Seto.
Kaiba dismisses the idea as utter nonsense. Atem refuses to give up. Between relentless proposals, an interrupted wedding, and a marriage that begins as nothing more than a legal escape, the line between obligation and genuine devotion slowly disappears.
What begins as a desperate attempt to preserve Atem's freedom becomes something neither of them planned.
Or perhaps... exactly what both of them had been heading toward all along.
This is a translation of an original work on Pixiv.
Original Title: 駆け込み婚
Original Author: 葉人(@Hathor₋yuki)
Personal site: https://prideshipping.sakura.ne.jp
01 This Is Not a Temple of Last Resort
"Kaiba, help me!"
Breaking through every restriction the Underworld had, Atem set foot in the living world.
"…Hm? Wait—"
Yugi felt a definite weight around his neck. Then a pull on his consciousness, and now, for some reason, he was running.
"Other me! Where's Kaiba?!"
Whaaat, it's my other self!?
It's been so long. Are you doing well? But why so suddenly. How are you even here. Before Yugi could ask any of that, Atem was already frantically searching.
The person he was looking for was probably more famous and conspicuous than anyone else in the world. If he were nearby, finding him should be easy — but he had a habit of vanishing without warning. To the Underworld.
But the reason he went to the Underworld was Atem. With Atem here, he had to be somewhere in this world.
Kaiba… I think he's on Earth…
"On Earth — WHERE?!"
Atem's pressure was entirely serious.
But even if asked where, Seto traveled the world. His exact location at any given moment couldn't be pinpointed.
That I… don't know.
"Then for now — the Kaiba mansion, or Kaiba Corporation?! If we could get to Mokuba…"
"But I just got scolded by him the other day about the game thing, so it's a little awkward…"
"If you get scolded I'll handle it! Either way, we have to find him or something terrible will happen!"
Joey and Tristan spotted Yugi running, but something about his manner made them hesitate for just a moment.
"Hey, Yug… Yugi?"
"Joey! Tristan!"
"What's the rush?"
"Do you know where Kaiba… kun… might be?"
Atem was technically in the living world incognito. He was trying to imitate his other self, but the wrongness was leaking out everywhere.
There was no way it would work on old friends. They saw through it in seconds.
"You… Atem!? Yugi's got his number, just call him—"
"Of course, that's the way!"
He pulled out the phone, searched the contacts. Found it.
Wait, if you call out of nowhere, he'll—
Yugi tried to stop him, but Atem was already calling. There was no time to listen.
Three rings and it connected. Atem had good luck.
"What do you want. Mokuba handles your account. The resubmission deadline won't be extended."
"No, I don't think that's what this is about! Kaiba… kun, would you… hear me out?"
He tried to maintain the disguise, but again, the wrongness was unmistakable.
And Seto had been seeing both of them irregularly. There was no chance he wouldn't notice. Seconds, again.
"…Atem, is it."
Kaiba Corporation. President's office.
"Kaiba, help me!"
Atem burst in and asked for help before even saying hello.
What on earth, Yugi tilted his head.
Joey and Tristan had come too, watching with tense expressions.
But Seto showed no warmth. He wasn't even listening — his hands never stopped working.
This was hard to square with a man who had traveled to the Underworld to see Atem more times than anyone could count.
"This is not a temple of last resort."
But Atem couldn't afford to give up here.
"Something has happened in the Underworld, and you're the only one who can help me."
"Help you? You're the king there. You can handle anything."
In the Underworld, Atem was king and living god. The logic of that world had driven him here, to the living world, to ask Seto for help. The situation was bizarre.
"This time my power alone isn't enough. Please, lend me yours."
"That's none of my concern."
Yugi had heard from Mokuba that Seto was going to the Underworld quite frequently to see Atem.
And yet — this. Even though Seto couldn't hear or see him, Yugi found himself whispering please, just listen to him.
Joey threw in a word too.
"Could you at least hear him out?"
"Then you hear him out."
If you can come to the living world, why didn't you come sooner.
Seto was holding that back from shouting.
The speed of his typing increased.
"Atem, what's actually going on?"
"I'm sorry, Joey. You're right that only Kaiba can help me."
Being sincerely apologized to carried its own kind of damage.
"Kaiba, he says it's your turn."
"…Just the point of it, then."
No choice. He asked that much, flatly. Eyes cold, not looking up.
But finally — someone would hear him. Atem had carried this crisis all the way here, and he let the urgency spill out.
"Something terrible has happened. If this continues… I'm going to be forced into a marriage!"
Marriage. The word made Yugi, Joey, and Tristan all widen their eyes.
But Seto didn't react. He had processed it — he simply had no capacity for sympathy.
"So what?"
"You can do something about it. Help me. Kaiba, with you I can fight back. I need your strength!"
In that instant, Seto's brow moved — just barely.
As if it's only natural to rely on me.
But cooperation, solidarity, friendship — all of it was on his list of things he didn't do. He wasn't about to be pulled in that easily.
"…Same as always, Atem."
Despite the words, a strange unease spread through Seto's chest.
He didn't like him. But he didn't look down on him either. He simply knew that if he abandoned him, Atem would certainly be swallowed by something.
Seto shifted his gaze to the window.
"Whether I help is my decision. Your convenience is none of my concern."
Atem fell silent and clenched his fist.
But in the silence, he didn't miss the faint flicker behind Seto's cold manner — the early signal of intervention.
They hadn't built this history for nothing. Every encounter had been head-on, nothing held back.
Getting Seto on his side — that was Atem's first objective.
Once he knew that objective wasn't impossible, the rest was just a matter of applying force, or working the angles.
"Could you at least come to the Underworld once?"
Seto narrowed his eyes and leaned an elbow on the desk.
"And do what there?"
Atem steadied his breathing, and put everything he had into what he said next.
"I want you to marry me!"
The air in the room stopped for a moment.
No elegance, no ceremony — a sudden, public proposal from Atem, right here in the open.
Seto's brow furrowed for a moment and he stared at Atem.
"…What did you say?"
The friends stared, eyes going wide.
Yugi was too stunned to speak.
Joey's mouth fell open.
"…Mar — Kaiba, marry you?!"
Tristan's bottle rolled off his hand.
"…You're joking, Atem…"
Seto leaned back in his chair, glanced at Atem once without stopping his work.
"…Pathetic."
A cold voice dropped into the room. Seto pulled up a report and started reading.
"It's not pathetic. This is serious."
Atem pushed back.
"It's the law of the Underworld. If this continues, I lose my freedom!"
Seto laughed through his nose.
"That's not my problem. Whatever happens to you has no effect on me whatsoever."
Atem coming to Seto for help. With a marriage proposal.
Yugi, Joey, Tristan — none of them could say just hear him out anymore.
Seto's flat tone made Atem's expression twist, but he kept going, voice still desperate. No hesitation.
"Marry me. You're from the living world — the Underworld's rules don't bind you. It only has to be in name. It won't change anything. Please!"
A moment of silence.
The next moment, Seto's laughter rang out.
"There's a limit to absurdity."
Atem's face stiffened.
"I'm not joking. I mean this. I won't ask you to be a bride — be my groom."
Seto looked away from the report, and fixed a sharp gaze on Atem.
"As far as I'm concerned it is a joke. Whoever you end up marrying in the Underworld makes no difference to me."
"Kaiba!"
Atem stepped forward and put both hands on Seto's desk.
"You're the only one I can ask! You're the only one who can protect me!"
At that, finally, Seto's hands stopped.
You're not the kind of man who needs protecting. He held that back too. Learning when not to clash over differences in values — that was something both of them had been slowly getting better at.
A frustrating unease spread through him. Why do you call on me as if it's obvious. Why do you believe I'll come through for you.
Seto stared Atem down for a long moment, then said, as if discarding the words:
"What a troublesome man you are."
He exhaled slowly.
"Marry you? Don't make me laugh. I have no intention of taking part in this kind of farce."
Atem's eyes wavered.
"Kaiba…!"
"How many times do I have to say it. Your marriage is a game that has nothing to do with me. Don't waste my time."
The words were as cold as ice.
Atem bit his lip, his fist trembling. But he was used to Seto's pressure. He didn't back down — he leaned in further.
"Even so… you're the only one I can ask!"
"…Is that all. Get out."
Seto threw Atem and the others out.
As if he were completely ignoring Atem's desperate voice.
But.
Looking out at the night city, Seto couldn't hold back his irritation and clicked his tongue.
"Pathetic…"
He told himself over and over that it was none of his business.
But in his ears, that voice wouldn't leave.
Help me.
You're the only one I can ask.
Several days after sending Atem back to the Underworld.
Seto stood alone, looking down at the city. A faint smile crossed his face and he murmured quietly.
"A marriage. …Interesting."
One ring. He called Yugi.
02 Anyone Who Objects — Try Stopping Me
The palace of the Underworld was wrapped in the noise of celebration.
Atem, draped in heavy ceremonial robes, was being led toward the throne room.
His eyes held resignation and resistance in equal measure.
"…Kaiba."
His voice calling that name was swallowed up and reached no one.
The high priest had just begun his declaration — at that moment.
There was a loud sound from behind.
"Stop."
A low, sharp voice rang through the great hall.
Wind poured in as if the gates of the Underworld had been blown apart, and a tall figure appeared with his coat sweeping behind him.
Atem turned and his eyes went wide.
Seto walked forward without hurry and planted himself in front of the throne.
He swept cold eyes over the priest and the assembled guests, and announced:
"Call this marriage off. I won't allow it."
Murmuring spread.
This was an act of violence against the laws of the Underworld. Everyone froze.
Seto paid no attention to those looks and seized Atem's wrist.
"You can't enter a marriage with anyone without my permission. I've decided that."
"Wh—! Kaiba, you—!"
Atem let out a voice shaking with shock and relief.
Seto didn't look back. He leveled a sharp gaze at the crowd.
"I'm taking him. Anyone who objects — try stopping me."
With that declaration he scooped Atem up and tore through the darkness of the Underworld, taking him away.
Those left behind had only a silence like the aftermath of a storm.
Through the tear in the Underworld, they landed in the quiet night city of the living world.
Seto released Atem's hand and turned his back.
"Hmph. You make things troublesome. That's what you wanted, isn't it. I've done what you asked."
Atem, his heart still pounding, looked at that back while he caught his breath.
"…Why did you come to help?"
Seto answered without turning, voice cold.
"Losing your freedom? I simply won't tolerate something that absurd playing out in front of me."
"Something absurd…?"
Atem blinked.
"Just for that, you broke the laws of the Underworld?"
"Laws are none of my concern."
He said only that, with a laugh through his nose, and started walking.
Atem hurried after him.
"I thought you had written me off."
At that question, Seto stopped.
The coat moved in the night wind. He said quietly, as if discarding the words:
"…I did. But you're a nuisance. My one true rival — I can't simply allow that to be taken from me."
Atem was lost for words.
Allow that to be taken.
Those words, right now, carried more weight than anything else.
"…Kaiba."
The voice that called his name was, without thinking, softer than the desperation of before.
Seto didn't turn around.
But Atem knew.
That Seto had moved, for him, beneath that coldness.
Atem steadied his breath and looked quietly at Seto's back.
"Kaiba… thank you. Truly. I mean it."
There was more than mere gratitude in that voice.
Seto frowned, answering without turning.
"I didn't move for your sake."
Atem moved around to face him.
"But I was saved because you came. Only you could have done that."
Seto kept his expression cold and shifted his gaze away.
"…Then be grateful on your own."
Atem smiled slightly.
"Gratitude isn't enough. I…"
Something hot spread through him like a wave.
He swallowed the words. Feeling something warm taking shape in the depths of his chest, but unable yet to name it.
"…But I have to return to the Underworld eventually."
At that instant, Seto's shoulder moved — just barely. He wasn't aware of it. But at the possibility of Atem going somewhere far away, something stirred in him.
Atem sensed that faint disturbance and continued quietly. Moving toward the second objective.
"Even if I go back — don't abandon me."
Seto slowly turned to meet his eyes.
No words came. But something spread in his chest — a feeling that couldn't be explained in logic.
The night city. Walking back toward the Turtle Game Shop.
Atem's chest was a mix of hope and unease.
But one thing was certain: the situation of only that man can help me was shifting — from a matter of logic into something true.
Back at the office, standing at the darkened window, Seto was turning things over in his mind.
"Pathetic."
A quiet murmur, and he clenched his fist.
He hadn't needed to get involved.
The laws of the Underworld were none of his concern.
Whatever happened to Atem should have been entirely unrelated to his world.
And yet.
You're the only one I can ask.
You're the only one who can protect me.
Don't abandon me.
That desperate voice echoed in his ears, over and over, and wouldn't leave.
The irritation built.
Why had he moved.
Why had he done something like that.
His face in the window looked harder than he expected.
"…Did he use some kind of occult power on me?"
He said it dismissively, but the unease in his chest didn't quiet.
Atem's eyes.
They had been looking at him — clearly, in that moment.
Not clinging, not in despair. Simply straight ahead.
The moment he recalled that gaze, Seto unconsciously held his breath.
"…Pathetic."
He repeated the same word again.
But the coldness of before was no longer in his voice, and the expression reflected in the window held a faint smile.
03 To Secure Your Freedom. That's All.
In front of the dimly lit palace of the Underworld.
Seto had brought Atem back to the Underworld.
He had escaped once, but hadn't escaped completely. The date of the ceremony was almost here.
In the heavy air, Atem drew a deep breath. Suppressing the pounding in his chest, he looked at Seto steadily.
"Kaiba."
He called his name quietly.
Seto stood with his arms crossed, as always, saying nothing. His eyes were cold, steady, showing no sign of tension.
"I brought you all this way. You had your time in the living world. Ready now?"
At Seto's question, Atem nodded with something like resignation.
"I have to come back here. And this marriage is necessary."
At those murmured words, Seto frowned.
"…What are you trying to say?"
Atem took a step forward.
"The marriage is necessary, but I want to avoid it at all costs. And I can't escape. So…"
"Is that so. Your problem. Handle it yourself."
Seto cut him off before he could finish.
But Atem stepped closer and gently took hold of Seto's arm.
He took a breath, then said it with everything he had.
"Kaiba, marry me!"
"…What else would you say. That again."
There was no hesitation in Atem's eyes.
"You exist in the living world and don't belong to the Underworld — you're the only one who can protect my freedom. So please, make a marriage vow with me."
Silence closed in.
Even the air of the Underworld seemed frozen still.
Seto was calm, yet felt an unease stirring deep inside.
There was no logic to deny it with. Atem was serious, and pressing him without a single moment's doubt.
"Still not giving up. Are you trying to bind me with your own laws?"
Seto turned his face slightly away.
Atem didn't lower his gaze. He looked straight ahead.
"It's not my law alone. You're the one who brought me here, and it's the two of us, standing here together right now."
He had brought him because Atem asked for help.
But the force and desperation of that will worked its way, slowly, into Seto's chest — cold as he was supposed to be.
In the silence, Seto let out a small breath.
In logic he could deny it. But inside, he felt himself unable to refuse Atem.
A hard expression, a long exhale — and then, slightly, he extended his hand.
"…To secure your freedom. That's all."
"That's…"
"Do it before I change my mind."
"Thank you, Kaiba."
Atem smiled, just faintly.
Not letting the joy out in full — but feeling his chest grow genuinely warm as he whispered. Inside, there was no more hesitation or reserve.
But Seto had seen that particular light in Atem's eyes — the look of someone certain of victory — more times than he could count. He didn't miss it. He exhaled, wondering if he'd moved too soon.
Atem took the hand Seto had extended.
They held each other's hands, and the resolve exchanged without words was pressed into their hearts.
The air of the Underworld was as heavy as ever, but in this moment alone, the distance between the two of them had unmistakably closed.
After leaving the shrine, they stood in the great hall wrapped in the dark of night.
Atem felt a certain warmth in his chest and quietly clenched his hand.
No more doubt.
What he felt had become something real — not through logic, but through certainty.
"Kaiba."
At that voice, Seto glanced his way, slightly.
"…What."
Seto was as composed as ever, nothing showing on the surface. Atem took one slow step closer.
"Tonight, being able to make this promise… I'm genuinely glad."
The words came naturally, spilling from inside him.
Seto gave a small shrug and shifted his gaze.
"Pathetic. If that's how you feel, be glad on your own."
But despite the coldness of those words, the warmth of a hand still lingered in his heart.
Atem held back a smile and tilted his face slightly. Moving toward the third objective.
"Kaiba… I know. You just haven't realized it yet."
Seto's brow drew together for a moment.
"…What are you talking about."
But in the depths of those eyes, there was a shadow — a consciousness of something striking his chest without his meaning it to.
Atem smiled quietly.
"It's all right. I know."
At those words, Seto let the tension in his shoulders ease slightly.
He understood what Atem was trying to say — but his only awareness was of having been dragged into something.
Yet deep in his chest, the events of that night. The fact that he had moved — that was carrying a definite warmth, he could feel it.
The night wind moved through, the distance between them still close.
Words were few, but inside, something certain and quiet was shifting.
04 What This Contract Means
The palace was filled with heavy air and solemn decoration.
In the throne room, the high-ranking figures of the Underworld stood waiting in rows.
Atem drew a deep breath and walked forward, holding back the hot feeling burning in his chest.
"Kaiba. We've finally come this far."
Atem sent a glance to Seto for just a moment.
"…So it seems."
Seto was expressionless, his cold eyes sweeping the throne room.
The priest began the ceremony.
"Those who would exchange the vow of marriage — declare it here."
Atem didn't hesitate. He took Seto's hand.
"I exchange the vow of marriage with this man!"
His voice was strong. It didn't tremble.
Seto's brow drew together, and he answered in silence.
Deep in his chest, something stirred — something that couldn't be explained in logic.
But a promise was a promise.
"Fine. I'll make the vow."
His voice was cold, but his hand held Atem's firmly.
The priest moved the ceremony forward, and the proof of their contract was set in place.
"…With this, the marriage contract is established."
Atem's lips curved into a faint smile.
His eyes held joy and relief — and a resolve that wouldn't fade.
Seto hadn't realized it yet.
But deep in his chest, Atem's direct feelings and the warmth of that hand had left their mark.
"…Pathetic."
He said it as if discarding the word, but his heart was wavering.
The ceremony was over.
But from this moment, they were heading into a battle of confirming each other's hearts.
The door closed quietly, leaving only the two of them in the space of newlyweds.
The marriage had been made. Atem let out a long breath, and finally the tension left his shoulders.
"It's… over."
His voice held relief and something still tense — barely more than a breath.
Seto sat beside Atem, saying nothing.
The ceremony and the reception had gone on long. They had actually gotten married.
Seto glanced at Atem, pleasantly flushed from the wine and looking entirely satisfied with how things had gone, then looked away.
But something was quietly stirring in his chest.
Atem took Seto's hand.
"Kaiba… thank you."
At the sweetness in that voice, Seto lost his words for a moment.
"…Pathetic. I'm going home."
He said it as if discarding that too — but made no move to go, and his hand tightened slightly around Atem's.
Something was spreading in his chest, something that had no logical explanation. He couldn't leave this man alone.
He didn't have words for it yet, but the bud of awareness was swelling quietly inside him.
Atem smiled and leaned his shoulder against Seto.
"No more worries now. Because you're here."
A line that was clearly the wine talking — Seto exhaled quietly.
From the day Atem had come running in, his reason had been trying to deny it. But his heart had been responding.
More than words — the warmth of a held hand, the sound of breathing, the slight crossing of glances. They were confirming something between them.
Atem's relief and his letting himself lean — it moved something in Seto.
And suddenly — he understood.
"…Understood. I see. So this is what it is."
A small murmur to himself. And Seto too, from some point he couldn't pinpoint, had already been admitting it.
He thought it was pathetic. And yet, unmistakably, his heart was moving.
A faint heat filled the space.
Without putting it into words, both of them sensed it deep inside — that something certain had been tied between them.
That Seto had acknowledged his own heart, and made up his mind.
Beside him, Atem held a smile of relief, still pressing down the pounding in his chest.
"From now on too — I'm counting on you. For a long time."
At those words, Seto looked at Atem in silence.
But his eyes sharpened with light.
Not coldness — the light of a strong will that carried heat.
And then, as if he found it interesting, a smile came to his lips.
"How much of this situation do you actually understand. I've grasped most of it."
A low voice, amused, and yet certain of something. Atem's body went still for a moment.
"The situation… you and I got married, and…?"
Seto didn't hesitate. He gripped the hand that was already holding his and pulled Atem's hand toward him.
"That's not what I mean."
"Then… I think you… feel that way… and you… probably… feel that way too…"
"Yes. And you — your goal from the beginning was exactly that."
At those words, the wine cleared from Atem's head and he opened his eyes wide without meaning to.
The goal — the third objective — had been Seto's heart.
The truth that the moment he obtained it, it had also been exposed.
He'd thought he'd navigated it well, and at the very last moment the positions had been reversed.
"No wonder you were so desperate…"
"I couldn't help it. You were the only one I could rely on…"
"Rushing in like a temple of last resort, locking in a marriage, playing coy — was that it?"
Seto's mouth curved slightly and he was laughing with his shoulders.
All of it had been seen through.
"But needing to get married — that part was real."
Atem decided to be unapologetic about it.
"You just made use of it. You could have said so from the beginning. What a troublesome man."
"Would you have answered if I had?"
"I don't know."
"What's that supposed to mean. But — you feel that way now too, so… that's fine, isn't it."
Seto looked into Atem's face and a smile came to his lips.
"Well then. I won't hold back either."
"…What?"
The moment Atem tilted his head, Seto said quietly:
"It seems you still haven't grasped the situation."
"What do you mean by—"
"I can go all out, without restraint. That's what you're saying, isn't it."
His heart jumped for just a moment.
"Wh — what are you—"
Atem stepped back in confusion as Seto closed the distance.
"You're ready for this, aren't you."
Seto's voice was sharp, and yet it wound itself sweetly around him.
The moment those eyes pierced him, Atem held his breath. His instincts understood — there was no way out.
From the moment Seto said I won't hold back, the air had changed.
Seto was always a man who controlled everything. His emotions, his words, the distance between them. With that control removed, the Seto in front of him was terribly still, and terrifyingly hot.
He hadn't been trying to run.
He had only tried to move a little further away — and a gaze alone was enough to stop him.
The blue eyes that should have been cold as ice were holding the heat of molten rock.
Had everything up to now been a prelude? From when, exactly.
He had thought he understood the movement of Seto's feelings. Or so he thought — but faced with the force of emotions and decisive action hitting him all at once, Atem couldn't hide his disturbance.
"R… ready…"
His voice trembled.
Seto put a hand at Atem's waist and drew his whole body in.
"…There's no reason to look like that. You have nothing to be afraid of."
His voice was low.
Atem's heart responded to the sound of it echoing inside him.
It didn't take long to understand — there was no resisting this.
Seto disturbed nothing.
He only drew closer, wove words, and took the space between Atem's breaths.
Without even being touched, Atem's body was growing warm.
This control wasn't violence. It was conquest through understanding.
"The conclusion inside you was decided from the beginning, as a goal."
When those words came, Atem lost the whole of his thinking.
He couldn't deny it. His lips wouldn't move.
More than that — a small part of him was relieved. Being seen through wasn't frightening. If anything, it felt right.
"You brought it, I decided. I won't permit you to leave my side."
His voice carried possession and passion, and held Atem with overwhelming force.
Atem's cheek grew warm and he had nowhere to look but away.
But Seto wouldn't allow that. He looked steadily, and held Atem's gaze with his own.
"A marriage vow is not something to be settled in words alone. Tonight, I'll make you understand what this contract means."
At those words whispered in a low voice, Atem felt agitation and anticipation and an irresistible heat all at once.
His heart hammered, and the heat inside him grew.
The feelings he'd been aware of were shaken all at once by the force of Seto's momentum, and he was nearly losing his reason.
"Th… that's… tonight of all nights… I've been drinking…"
He had been the first to notice his own heart — but there was no resisting with words or actions anymore.
Now that Seto's switch had flipped, he had no choice but to be completely swept away before that overwhelming will to act.
The cold of the stone at his back drove Atem further into the corner.
"K — Kaiba… wait, I'm drunk…"
"Wait?"
Seto's voice cut him off sharply.
"From the moment you pushed for this marriage, you had no way out."
Atem's throat made a small sound.
He tried to look away, but he was caught in those blue eyes.
"I only wanted — help…"
"You wanted more than help. You got everything."
Atem, who knew that to be true, couldn't say a word.
He tried to turn his face away, but Seto took his chin and wouldn't let it go.
Not blocking the escape route — but taking away the very option of escaping.
No way out. He couldn't breathe.
"You were the one who wanted me as your groom. I'm making that real, now."
"Wh—…"
Heat rose in Atem's cheeks. His heart pounded hard enough to break.
Seto's voice was low, and said it quietly.
"I go after everything — power, position, the future — with everything I have. Placing you at my side is no exception."
Atem lost his words.
He had sought help, secured a marriage, and thought he'd won a heart — but without realizing it, he had arrived at a place where he had no choice but to accept Seto's declaration.
He parted his trembling lips to argue, but Seto closed the distance further. His face was right there, looking straight at him.
"No excuses, no arguments. What you truly wanted was me. Then I'll answer that in full."
At that overwhelming heat and certainty, Atem felt as though his chest was being burned through.
The ceremony's flames flickered, and shadows stretched and overlapped on the walls.
Atem was still in the middle of the disturbance.
"W — wait… I didn't mean it like that, seriously…"
Seto listened to that objection coolly, and extended his arm.
"Atem. Do you really think 'I didn't mean it like that' works at this point?"
A voice with the pressure of someone reasoning, and the sweetness of someone persuading, mixed together.
There was no escape. His heart beat fast, his breathing grew shallow.
Even so — when Seto's fingers touched his cheek, an irresistible sense of relief spread through him.
"You asked for help. You asked for me. …You'll come to understand the weight of that. Again and again."
"…!"
The words were severe, but the hand that touched him was surprisingly gentle.
From cheek to ear, from ear to the side of the neck. Moving like fingers touching something that might break.
"Kaiba… really…"
"I'm only answering your sincerity with mine."
At the face of Seto saying that with a smile, Atem went quiet.
Fear and sweetness closed around his chest at the same time.
"Atem."
The voice that called his name rang as if cutting through even the darkness of the Underworld.
"You're mine now."
There was no way to resist anymore.
But Atem had realized. Surrendering to this man was far sweeter than resisting.
At a distance close enough for their breath to touch, Atem finally let his eyes fall closed.
A softness touching his lips.
The flames flickered, and two shadows overlapped and became one.
The night in the king's chambers was quiet and dense enough to forget the cold outside.
Seto's voice sounded close.
"Are you ready?"
By now, Atem had a clear enough sense of what was coming.
But it was unmapped territory, and there was a fear of losing something. His reason, perhaps. His pride. Or the outline of himself entirely.
"…Kaiba."
When he said the name, Seto's fingers lifted his chin, and Atem closed his eyes on reflex.
When their lips met, in that moment, everything in his vision turned to light.
Tongues tangled, and his body sank.
Not from gravity — drawn down by the weight of Seto's presence.
Falling, and yet there was no fear. If anything, it felt like finally arriving somewhere.
He had run, deflected, and even so — there was nowhere he had ever been able to imagine but at Seto's side.
Their lips parted. He breathed in.
Seto's warmth had dissolved into that air.
"…Do what you want."
His own voice saying it sounded distant, from somewhere far away.
Seto's smile answered it.
"Yes. What I want."
The moment Atem received that gaze, he forgot to breathe.
This was not the usual Seto.
Not a calm smile, not reason keeping distance — just a straight, unflinching look that offered no way out.
His heart sounded. Something in the depths of his chest quietly broke open.
"…Don't look at me like that."
He couldn't stop his voice from trembling.
"Who was it that said do what you want."
Seto's fingertips traced his cheek. Almost no force at all — and still, his spine rose with it.
The lid he had been pressing down on his feelings was lifted, easily, as if it had never been fastened.
He no longer knew which was more frightening — resisting, or surrendering. Even so, the reason to resist was something he could no longer recall.
"…I mean, I… I don't… know…"
The small whisper made Seto smile, faintly.
Atem's voice was trembling. Relief and anticipation, and even a little fear, were all mixed into it.
Seto answered that voice and reached out. He drew Atem's body in and held him firmly.
Fingertips moved along the back of his ear. Just that, and his breathing shifted.
He could feel the heat rising to the surface of his skin.
"There's nothing wrong. Feel it. Whose you are."
Low, and cold in one sense, yet carrying heat — the voice settled into Atem's ears. Something welled up from deep in his chest.
"I'm… yours…"
Their lips touched. Breath wound together, and his body and heart were pulled toward Seto.
Seto didn't hesitate. He wrapped around Atem completely, and took hold of both his heart and his body.
His hands moved to Atem’s ceremonial robes.
Layer after layer, Seto removed them one by one with deliberate care.
“Yes. You are my partner.”
The single word partner caused Atem’s thoughts to melt even further.
There was nothing left covering his body.
Atem surrendered to that decisive voice and finally gave himself over completely.
“…I… I won’t be able to leave you anymore, will I…”
Hearing those words, Seto gave a faint smile.
“I have no intention of letting you go.The constraints of the Underworld, the flow of time in the living world—none of it matters.”
Seto removed his own garments one by one.The moment their bare skin touched, Atem gave a small nod and closed his eyes in relief.
The anxiety deep in his chest melted away, enveloped by Seto’s strength.Time in the Underworld did not stop, and their connection to the living world continued.
Yet by confirming each other’s existence, they felt they could overcome any restriction.
Seto’s fingertips slid from Atem’s shoulders down his back, tracing the curve of his body.
The instant their breaths mingled, a shiver ran through him.
Those hands knew exactly where to touch—finding every sensitive spot on Atem’s body as if they had memorized it.
“…Nngh…”
Atem arched, and an arm slipped behind his floating back, pulling him up into an embrace.
Lips trailed across his skin, leaving red marks with every kiss.The tip of Seto’s tongue traced from his neck to his collarbone and down to his chest.
When it took the small peak into his mouth, sucking and gently biting, Atem let out a soft cry.
Even the breath of Seto’s faint laughter burned across his entire body.All the while, Seto’s hand moved past his solar plexus and stomach to envelop the part of him that had already begun to react.
“Ah—wait… nngh, mm…”
Atem’s hips bucked at the teasing touch.
“…You want me to wait?”
“Aah… no… that’s…”
Flushed cheeks, lowered brows, and tearful, upturned eyes—filled with confusion and expectation.
Seto only smiled at that expression before pulling his hand away.
Atem’s eyes wavered with longing.“This is oil… scented, it seems.
”Seto dipped his fingers into the vial with a knowing look. In the moonlight, his wet fingertips glistened.
The fingers passed before Atem’s eyes, moved past his lower abdomen, and touched the tight entrance.
Atem’s heartbeat spiked; his eyes widened.
“Wait… stop…”
“There’s nothing to be afraid of.”
The words were spoken as the finger slid inside.
“Ah— that’s not… you’re too used to—”
Seto blinked twice at Atem’s words.
“…Ah. So that’s what you meant…”
He narrowed his eyes slightly and exhaled.Though Seto’s voice remained calm, the fingers moving inside Atem did not stop.He added more oil from time to time, sliding them in and out repeatedly, stretching the entrance open.
Only Atem’s sweet, breathy moans and the wet sounds of the oil echoed in the space.
When a third finger was swallowed behind him, Atem’s body trembled.
The fingers stroked his inner walls, pressed deep, and opened him wider.
“Kai… ba… ah, aah…”
“What is it?”
“…You really… nn… who the hell taught you…?”
Atem looked up at Seto with a troubled, aching expression.
Anxiety and jealousy. What would happen if this continued. Seto read all of it precisely.
He gave a small laugh and pressed his lips to the corner of Atem's eye.
"I simply did my research beforehand."
The voice was neither teasing nor deflecting — it sounded like words chosen specifically to cut through Atem's fear.
Atem felt genuine relief, from the bottom of his heart. His expression still looked close to tears, but it shifted into something sweet, full of trust.
Seto laid Atem down gently and covered him.
The moment the tip touched him, Atem’s chest tightened with tension and anticipation.
Keeping their eyes locked, Seto entered him.
“Nngh… aah…!”
As the rhythm began, Atem furrowed his brows and trembled, but he never fully closed his eyes.The hot breaths brushing against each other.
The modest moans that spilled out with every thrust.
The expression of endurance.
Everything was unbearably erotic, and Seto found himself swallowing hard.
When he leaned in so close their cheeks touched, Atem wrapped his arms around Seto’s neck.
“Atem…”
The whisper against his ear sent something slow and deep spreading from the back of his mind.
Atem felt as though his consciousness was floating in pure pleasure.Thrust after thrust, he could think of nothing but the man before him.
“Ah, aah… nngh… mmn…!”
He forgot to hold back his voice.
Shame vanished. The more he accepted Seto, the bolder he became.The moment Seto was certain he occupied every corner of Atem’s vision and thoughts, a smile touched his lips. He drove his hips harder.
“Yah— nngh… nn…!”
The distance had closed completely. Breath, heartbeat, warmth — all of it overlapped. Words were few, but heart and body were unmistakably bound together.
Answering everything Atem asked of him, Seto protected his presence and showed his love with everything he had.
They sought each other, surrendered to each other, and the time that grew more intense continued, deep into the night.
The marriage vow had become something more than mere form — a firm contract binding heart and body.
Seto held Atem close and whispered quietly.
"As you wished. I'll protect you. I won't give you to anyone."
At those words, Atem smiled, and felt something warm in the depths of his chest. This man would be at his side, from now on, always.
The cold air of the Underworld, the noise of the living world — none of it reached them here.
Only the time that belonged to the two of them, and a love that would go on without end, flowed certainly between them.
A pale light came through the window, illuminating the quiet room.
Atem's eyes opened slightly.
In his field of vision was Seto, looking down at him.
"…Awake."
A low voice.
Fragments of last night came back to Atem and his cheek grew warm and he looked away.
He knew he hadn't been so drunk that he couldn't remember everything.
"You… when you said serious, you meant that kind of…"
"Have you grasped the situation?"
Seto's mouth curved with a hint of irony.
"…Yes. More than enough."
Atem smiled wryly, and found his eyes drawn to Seto.
He was aware that heat still remained, in his heart and in his body.
Seto was quiet for a while, then his expression returned to neutral.
"I won't make you regret it."
"Who would regret it."
Atem's answer was immediate. The absence of hesitation made Seto smile with satisfaction.
"Is that so."
Seto slowly settled on the edge of the bed and ran his fingers through Atem's hair.
"Then be prepared from here on. Whatever the Underworld says, however things stand in the living world. You are my partner."
Relief and warmth spread through Atem's chest.
He understood again — this was a path he had chosen and sought himself.
"…Kaiba."
At the small voice calling his name, Seto turned a quiet gaze toward him.
"From now on too… don't abandon me."
At those words, Seto narrowed his eyes for just a moment, and smiled at the corner of his mouth.
"Don't worry. You have nowhere to run from me now."
In the quiet morning of the Underworld, the air that had formed between the two of them drifted with something sweet and heavy.
05 None of My Concern
Visit. Seto
When Seto appeared at the palace of the Underworld, the attendants and high-ranking figures bowed their heads all at once.
"The king's consort has arrived."
Seto's brow furrowed and he clicked his tongue.
"What — that's not the agreement. I'm only the formal partner for the marriage."
But Atem smiled pleasantly and took his hand.
"That's true, but… everyone around us just calls you that on their own. Heh, Kaiba, it suits you."
Seto said it under his breath.
"None of my concern."
But what he was thinking about, in his head, was the pounding in his chest when Atem smiled at him.
Being treated as the king's consort was a bit of a nuisance — but if he thought of it as having more reason to come to the Underworld… no, he didn't want to admit that. Those two feelings pushed against each other.
The high-ranking figures around them bowed sharply, and Seto, arms still crossed, stood at Atem's side because there was nothing else to do.
"Then use that title a little more carefully."
Atem held his hand and laughed quietly.
"But you look pleased about it."
Seto made a bitter face, let his eyes drift up to nothing, and exhaled audibly.
"…Pathetic."
How many times had that word dissolved into the air by now — but this time a wry smile was mixed into it.
"You keep saying that one."
His heart was firmly in Atem's hands, and had been for some time.
Visit. Atem
Atem sat by the window, looking out at the garden, and quietly steadied his breathing.
"…Not yet."
The murmur held none of the old urgency — instead something closer to calm, and anticipation.
After the marriage, every time Seto appeared, Atem's heart jumped slightly.
The sound of a door.
"Kaiba."
He turned, and there was Seto, standing with his usual cool eyes.
"Couldn't wait? We made a promise — I have no intention of letting you go."
The composed voice carried the usual pressure, but the gaze turned on Atem held gentleness and possession mixed together.
Atem's cheek warmed slightly, and he smiled.
"…I was waiting."
With just those words, Seto walked over, took his hand, and drew him close.
"For someone who was waiting, you have quite a calm look about you."
Atem held his hand back and leaned his shoulder in, a little like letting himself be held.
"Because I know you'll come. That's why I can wait in peace."
Seto gave a small laugh and ran a hand along his back.
"…Is that so. Well, that expression isn't bad."
At the warmth of those fingertips, Atem naturally brought his face closer and let himself lean in quietly.
The air of the Underworld should have been unchanged — and yet between the two of them, a warm and dense time was flowing.
Waiting, and the moment of arrival — both were completely different from before.
Atem felt Seto's presence with his whole body, and was filled with the joy of entrusting his heart.
And Seto, too, felt his heart move with the joy of protecting Atem and keeping him close.
Daily life had changed.
But what hadn't changed was the feeling of wanting each other, and the certain bond tied by the marriage.
Aftermath. Yugi
Yugi felt he had a right to ask.
He had helped when Atem got cold feet and came running.
He had helped the night Seto crashed the wedding and carried off the bride — or groom — whichever it was.
But he stopped himself. He'd found something, while being scolded by Seto. A mark on his neck. And on his hand, a ring.
It was a golden ring that gave off a light with a familiar warmth.
