Atem wants to thank Priest Seto — but Priest Seto is gone, reborn as Kaiba, a man who isn't quite the same person at all. Determined to repay a debt he can never truly settle, Atem talks his way into a private day at Kaiba Land.
What starts as an act of quiet gratitude for someone who no longer exists slowly, quietly, becomes something meant for the man standing in front of him instead.
This is a translation of an original work on Pixiv.
Original Title: たった一日の恋
Original Author: 葉人(@Hathor₋yuki)
Personal site: https://prideshipping.sakura.ne.jp
I want to thank Seto. Even if I can't say it in words, I at least want to repay him somehow. That was what Atem thought.
Seto no longer existed in this world. Since he'd been reborn, he wouldn't be in the afterlife either.
Knowing full well it was self-satisfaction, Atem decided to repay Seto's reincarnation instead — Kaiba.
Deciding on the details proved a real struggle.
Kaiba was a man who got what he wanted through his own effort. That ruled out giving him a gift.
Expressing it in words was out too, since Kaiba wasn't Seto.
Enjoying a duel to the fullest — that also felt somehow wrong.
Something Kaiba could do, that Seto never got the chance to.
Atem decided to give him something unremarkable — a quiet, peaceful stretch of time.
Calling up Kaiba himself hadn't been easy.
It had taken considerable effort just to learn his schedule for a temporary return and finally secure a promise of his time.
To begin with, this wasn't a man you could simply meet without some reason.
He was, admittedly, a man who loudly declared he'd accept any challenge involving cards, anytime.
But this time, it wasn't a duel he wanted to give him — just a quiet stretch of time.
To make that wish work, he needed a different pretext.
In the end, he won Kaiba's agreement by asking for a tour of Kaiba Land.
"If anything, it sounds like I'm the one being treated, at this rate."
Atem laughed softly. In that smile, a faint trace of embarrassment and relief lingered.
"I'll send a car for you at eight."
He'd been told that, but would the man really come himself?
There was no certainty until he actually arrived.
Atem got into the car that arrived right on time and headed to Kaiba Land.
The car veered off from the front gate, heading instead toward the staff entrance.
There, the man he was looking for was waiting.
Seto. No — Seto Kaiba.
"Kaiba."
"Suddenly asking me to show you around Kaiba Land — what exactly is..."
Atem cut him off.
"Even I want to enjoy myself once in a while."
At that, Kaiba's brow moved, just slightly.
Looking closely, Atem noticed Kaiba had the same blue eyes as Seto.
Their features were nearly identical. Kaiba was, perhaps, a little taller.
The air about him was similar too. Or maybe — entirely different.
"...What."
"No, it's nothing."
Called out for staring too long, Atem quietly looked away.
After a moment's silence, Kaiba said, "Let's go," shortly, and started walking toward the entrance.
Atem hurried after him.
"Where do you want the tour to go."
Kaiba asked briefly.
"I'll leave it to you."
Atem answered immediately.
Kaiba's brow twitched.
"...Leave it to me?"
"Yeah. I'm the guest here."
"You're the one who called me out. At least tell me the bare minimum of what this is about."
"What this is about, huh."
Atem looked up at the sky, deliberately theatrical, and grinned.
"I want to walk through the place you built, together with you. That's what this is about."
"...That makes no sense."
Kaiba looked up at the sky too, in the same way. Something was nagging at him, somewhere.
Why me, of all people.
It wasn't his usual straight-on gaze at the person he was facing. It was more like he was trying to confirm something through him.
What that something was —
He had no interest in it.
But the gaze Atem couldn't quite hide pricked at Kaiba's pride, and a faint irritation began building.
What are you chasing after.
"What are you trying to get out of watching me."
"I'm not trying to watch you."
Atem's voice was calm.
"...I see."
Kaiba answered briefly.
But for some reason, that very calm of Atem's rubbed his nerves the wrong way.
"First up, the ferris wheel."
At Atem's words, Kaiba blinked twice.
"Yugi. Are you out of your mind?"
"Us on a ferris wheel — that's never going to happen except on an occasion like this. Let me ride it."
Kaiba let out a single sigh.
"...This makes no sense to me."
Even so, he set off walking, his stride quick.
Atem jogged lightly to keep pace beside him.
Eventually, they arrived at the foot of the ferris wheel.
The massive ring, catching the morning light, turned slowly.
"Getting cold feet?"
At Atem's question, Kaiba huffed a laugh through his nose.
"Pointless."
The gondola door closed, and it began rising, slow.
The ground beneath them fell away, sound growing distant.
Silence.
"...This isn't so bad, is it?"
Atem murmured.
"Who said that."
"You did. You got on without a word of complaint."
Kaiba started to argue, then swallowed the words.
Outside the window, the sea of Domino spread out.
Faint sunlight spilled in, lighting Atem's profile.
Kaiba thought, for a moment, he saw someone in that outline, and looked away without meaning to.
The gondola creaked gently as it rose in altitude.
Outside the window: a pale, hazy sea, and the morning cityscape.
The sound of the wind, the creak of the wheel — both felt somehow distant.
Atem said nothing, only watched Kaiba's profile.
As if confirming the stillness that existed there.
Kaiba was aware of that gaze.
But he deliberately said nothing.
He had the feeling that putting it into words would break something.
In the silence, Atem smiled faintly.
"...Time like this, doing nothing — it feels nostalgic, somehow."
"Nostalgic?"
Kaiba's brow furrowed.
"We don't have any past like that to share."
Atem's eyes narrowed.
"No, you're right... that's true."
Even as he said it, there was a certainty in his voice.
Kaiba let out a faint breath.
Who are you looking at.
A discomfort sinking in his chest swelled without becoming words.
Atem's gaze remained just as calm as before.
But it wasn't directed at Kaiba.
Kaiba understood that, and yet, for some reason, couldn't look away.
The scenery outside was already nearing the top.
Light fell between them, quietly illuminating a distance that never touched.
Stepping off the ferris wheel, the sunlight was dazzling.
The air was soft, the wind faintly carrying the scent of the sea.
"What do you want to do next?"
Kaiba asked, and Atem crossed his arms, thinking it over for a moment.
"Hmm... lunch?"
Kaiba blinked, startled.
"Yugi, it's not even ten yet. ...Did you have breakfast?"
"Missed it."
At the sheer shamelessness of the answer, Kaiba let out a long breath.
"What is that. You have no sense of planning at all."
"Same goes for you, doesn't it?"
A faint smile touched the corner of Atem's mouth.
Kaiba shrugged.
"I ate breakfast before I came. Can't be helped. We'll eat."
The faint irritation in that voice resembled, somehow, an unspoken, awkward kind of embarrassment on Kaiba's part.
They fell into step, side by side, as Kaiba led the way.
The restaurant district still had few people around, the quiet sounds of opening preparations echoing softly.
Their pace matched, oddly, without either of them saying so.
Neither mentioned it as they pushed open a sunlit glass door.
Inside, the restaurant still had few customers, sunlight falling softly onto the white tablecloths.
Once seated at their table, Atem opened the menu and immediately looked troubled.
"...What should I get..."
Kaiba looked up from his own menu.
"It's not so many choices that you can't decide. How much do you want."
"It feels like too much for breakfast, and too early for lunch. ...I still don't really understand this whole 'brunch' concept, to begin with."
"Then stop thinking about it entirely."
Kaiba lifted a hand lightly, calling the staff over.
"The 'usual' course, for two. We'll choose drinks later."
"Right away, sir."
Once the staff member withdrew, Atem blinked.
"...That's not on the menu, is it?"
"No issue. That one's 'for me.'"
Kaiba said it flatly.
Atem laughed softly.
"So right now, I'm getting the 'president treatment,' then."
"Take it that way if you like."
Before long, the dishes arrived — an egg dish, soup, a fragrant grilled fish, and grilled vegetables.
Atem's expression eased at the rising scent of the sauce.
"...This is impressive."
His hand moved naturally to his fork, and the instant he took a bite, his eyes went wide.
"Delicious."
At the sheer bluntness of it, Kaiba's mouth lifted at the corner despite himself.
"Obviously. I wouldn't waste my time on anything less."
Atem ate on quietly, absorbed.
Kaiba found himself watching that profile, without meaning to.
After the meal, coffee arrived.
Kaiba picked up his cup, savoring the aroma for a moment.
At that gesture, Seto's shadow flickered at the edge of Atem's vision.
The same way of leaning back in the chair, even the habit of tracing the rim with a fingertip — all alike.
Atem's breathing was quiet, choosing silence as if to confirm something.
That silence stirred both irritation and curiosity in Kaiba at once.
"What are you thinking about."
"...No, nothing."
Kaiba let out a short breath.
"I see."
Only the sound of the cup being set down echoed quietly.
For a moment, the conversation lapsed.
From the restaurant's speakers came an announcement that the Kaiberman Show was about to begin somewhere in the park.
"Sir, the show's about to start. What would you like to do?"
A waiting staff member approached.
Kaiba glanced at Atem.
"Want to go to this too?"
"Might as well. Show me."
"Fine."
Kaiba stood and started walking.
His posture straight. Following that back, Atem smiled faintly.
Really — he's so alike.
The falling light lined up the two of their shadows, slowly stretching them out.
By the time they arrived, a large crowd had already gathered at the venue. The stage glowed with light.
Atem narrowed his eyes for a moment against the brightness of the lighting, and took his seat in the audience alongside Kaiba.
"This show is highly popular. Everything from the script to the direction is our team's work."
Kaiba said it, offhand.
In that tone, a faint note of pride and control mixed in.
Ah, they really are alike.
Atem murmured it to himself, in his own mind.
The curtain rose.
The performers' movements were razor-sharp, and music wrapped around the venue.
As the audience's eyes turned forward all at once, Kaiba crossed his arms, taking in the whole stage.
Sharp eyes. A posture with no openings.
The bearing of an observer who missed nothing.
At that sight, Atem forgot to breathe, for a moment.
Seto...?
He knew it wasn't him, and yet his heart called out the name anyway.
It was only then that Atem became aware he'd been searching for "him" all along.
Light burst across the stage.
Cheers rose up.
The corner of Kaiba's mouth moved, faintly. A satisfied smile, shown to no one else.
Something in Atem's chest grew warm.
He knew that smile.
The same smile that had, back then, risen for just an instant, beside the throne.
...No, it's different. It has to be different.
Music announcing the show's finale rang out, applause rolling in like a wave.
Kaiba watched it, satisfied.
Atem joined the audience, offering his own applause.
But in the sound of his own palms, he felt his own heartbeat mixing in, indistinguishable.
Something was shifting, out of place.
Inside Atem, the outlines of Seto and Kaiba had slowly begun to melt into one another.
The show ended, the audience stirring as they headed toward the exits.
The two of them stood, a little behind the rest.
"Satisfied?"
At Kaiba's question, Atem smiled.
"It was wonderful. Almost like..."
He started to say it, then swallowed the words.
He'd been a moment from saying, "like a kingdom ruled over by its king."
Kaiba glanced sideways at him.
"...You really did come here to confirm something."
His tone was low, probing.
Atem's eyes wavered for just a moment, and he quickly put on a smile.
"Roller coaster's next."
Kaiba's brow furrowed slightly.
"...What is it with you. What's gotten into you today."
Even as he said it, he didn't argue.
They rode the monorail to get there.
Midday light streamed through the window.
The ferris wheel's shadow, the fountain's reflection, children's voices.
Atem watched the passing scenery, stealing glances at Kaiba's silent profile.
If this time could be a continuation of that time.
The thought brushed past his chest.
Kaiba's hair caught the light, gleaming faintly blue.
That color overlapped with Seto, somewhere at the bottom of his memory.
But in the next instant, the monorail swayed, and Kaiba reached out an arm to steady Atem's shoulder.
"This needs some improvement..."
The gesture of support was so natural that Atem lost his words.
This isn't Seto.
Seto would never touch him like this.
"...Thanks."
Atem murmured it softly, and Kaiba only answered, "Don't mention it."
The car descended the gentle slope, the roller coaster's track coming into view in the distance.
The wind grew stronger, the sky opening wide.
Kaiba.
Atem finally called that name, in his own heart.
The roller coaster's track soared into the sky.
In the dazzling light, Atem narrowed his eyes.
"That's high."
"Getting cold feet?"
At Kaiba's provocation, Atem's mouth curved upward.
"You think I'd flinch?"
The safety bar came down, metal clanking.
Wind struck their cheeks, the track creaking.
A steep climb, a moment of silence, then the drop.
His vision flipped over entirely, along with a scream that cut through the wind.
Atem was laughing.
Laughing out loud, taking the wind full in his face.
Beside him, Kaiba's eyes narrowed.
"What's so funny about this."
"It's fun. Just falling, without thinking about anything at all."
The brakes engaged at the end of the ride.
Atem's cheeks were flushed.
"Again."
"...What did you say?"
"I want to ride it again."
Kaiba put a hand to his forehead and let out a long breath.
"Are you a child."
"Once more. Come on, Kaiba."
In the end, the two of them ended up in line for a second round.
Kaiba clicked his tongue softly, though a smile he couldn't quite give up lingered on his face.
On the second drop, Atem raised a hand without meaning to and caught the wind.
In that moment, he looked freer than anyone.
Watching Atem, still laughing after they got off, Kaiba said, exasperated.
"...You must have been starving for excitement."
"For wind, actually."
"Wind?"
"It's something I don't have."
Kaiba only answered, "I see," briefly.
Something faint mixed into that tone.
"Well." Atem laughed, pressing a hand to his stomach. "I'm a little hungry."
"You just ate that much a little while ago."
"Moving around works up an appetite."
Kaiba started walking, exasperated.
"Fine, grab something light."
"There we go."
Atem smiled, satisfied.
At that smile, something in Kaiba's chest gave a faint pang.
An expression he had no memory of. And yet, seeing that smile...
Kaiba cut the thought off himself, before it could finish.
"If you want something light, this stand's the place. What'll you have."
"What's the standard order?"
"Fish and chips."
"That, then."
They took their paper trays and headed for a table outside.
The golden batter, translucent in the sunlight, smelled fragrant.
Atem picked up a piece of fried fish and blew on it lightly, letting the heat escape.
Come to think of it, Seto had hated fried white fish.
Remembering that, he glanced over at Kaiba — who was eating the fried fish without a hint of hesitation.
This man isn't Seto.
He'd known that.
He'd known it, and asked him along anyway.
But somewhere along the way, inside Atem, "a day begun for Seto's sake" had quietly become "a day spent with Kaiba."
Not wanting to acknowledge that fact, he took a sip of melon soda.
The taste and temperature both too vague to remember.
"What do you want to do next?"
He was pulled back to reality, abruptly.
"...What's your top recommendation?"
His voice, feigning composure, came out just slightly stiff.
Kaiba answered, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly.
"Fireworks from the official hotel. Started last month. Still a bit early for the start time, though."
"Fireworks, huh..."
Atem watched the ice melting at the bottom of his cup.
In the light of midday, he still couldn't quite picture the distant scene of night.
Even so — he wanted to see it with Kaiba.
Swallowing that thought before it became words, Atem stood.
"Let's do a little more, until then."
"So I'm being dragged along for that too, am I..."
They cleared their empty containers and started walking, side by side.
The ferris wheel floating in the sky behind them, heading toward the next attraction.
The haunted house. Shooting gallery. Small attractions.
None of them seemed to suit Kaiba's nature, and yet he went along with each, unhurried, matching Atem's interest.
Only the shooting gallery drew murmurs from the crowd of "no-pay big brother" jokes.
The scene was faintly funny, and Atem held back laughter more than once.
Eventually the time drew near.
As the sea breeze softened and a sense of night began settling over the park, the two of them turned toward the hotel lobby.
"This way."
Kaiba called the elevator with practiced ease.
The lounge on the top floor was quiet and spacious, the sea visible through the full window.
Coffee arrived, steam rising in a gentle swirl.
Kaiba looked out through the window at the distance and murmured.
"Never expected to spend a day like this with you..."
The meaning of the words stayed ambiguous.
Even so, they resonated faintly in Atem's chest.
"You're busy anyway, aren't you. Even you need a break sometimes."
Atem's voice came out naturally.
Kaiba's eyes narrowed slightly, and he let out a quiet breath.
Night fell, the lighting dimmed.
At that moment, light bloomed over the seaside outside.
With a low roar, fireworks colored the night sky.
The light, reflected through the glass, lit their cheeks in turn.
The person beside him was no longer Seto.
Atem simply watched the fireworks quietly, as if accepting that fact.
The afterglow of the night sky still lingered, shimmering through the lounge window.
The reflected light fell across Kaiba's profile, outlining it faintly.
Atem watched that profile, holding his breath.
Not anyone else. Not Seto. The man in front of him was, unmistakably, Seto Kaiba.
And yet, something deep in his chest grew warm, slowly. He didn't know why.
Just being looked back at by those blue eyes, as an unshakable presence in their own right, was enough to set his heart racing.
At that realization, Atem let out a small breath.
He didn't say it aloud, but his heartbeat trembled through the quiet air of the lounge.
In the silence, something small and certain took root, deep inside him.
The dimmed lights brightened, just slightly.
Sensing reality returning, Atem let out a small breath.
"Thank you, for today..."
The instant he said it, he noticed he'd limited it to "today" himself.
In that single phrase, a trace of reluctance lingered.
Kaiba's brow moved, faintly.
"'Today,' huh."
The words were calm, but there was a certain resonance beneath them.
Kaiba had long since understood who Atem had really been chasing.
But he didn't press him on it.
Atem couldn't answer.
He only sat there, unable to look away, resting in the silence.
"I'll have you driven back."
Kaiba stood.
The sound of footsteps down the hallway, a door opening, the lights of the waiting car.
Everything was quiet, as if announcing an ending.
The car door closed, the scenery drawing away.
Atem tried, again and again, to steady the racing in his chest.
He thought back over the whole day.
He'd repaid the debt. That much was true. So why did he feel this loneliness.
This is, so this was what it was, then.
Laughing, talking — the one who'd been beside Atem hadn't been Seto. It had been Kaiba.
He'd realized it.
In that moment, the one he'd been watching was Seto Kaiba.
Each streetlight that passed outside made his heartbeat stronger.
Atem closed his eyes.
This feeling will surely be gone by tomorrow.
No — it has to be gone.
But, just for now, he wanted to stay just as he was.
On the desk, a mountain of documents. On the display, a meeting schedule.
Kaiba finally caught a breath and drank some coffee.
Something made him think back to that day.
Kaiba Land.
A rival who'd dragged him around with baffling behavior.
He felt he finally understood what that man had been thinking.
It had been, probably, an indirect way of forcing "rest" on him.
"A mandatory day off, huh."
Kaiba laughed softly.
He admitted, belatedly, that he'd been thoroughly played by a man who'd pulled some workaholic "someone" away from reality for a single day.
But that mandatory day off had really been directed at "someone" existing at the back of that gaze.
"What was he trying to accomplish, dragging me into it."
Just as he was beginning to understand what that "something" was, Atem was already gone.
Only Atem's eyes at their parting, that day, seemed to be pleading for something — those eyes wouldn't leave his mind.
Not looking at "someone." Looking, unmistakably, at him.
But that dreamlike day, unmistakably, remained in his memory.
"At this rate, I'm the one 'chasing' someone."
Kaiba laughed softly.
But it couldn't really be called a smile.
His voice came out rough, and in the quiet room, the sound rang with a painful fragility.
