The magazine has an exclusive on how they met, because Atem was asked which of them fell first and answered honestly.
In the study that night, the recollection opens: Seto breaking through dimensions for a rematch, coming back for another, and another; Atem discovering that the category of "friend" was one he had never been given, and concluding that special must therefore mean love.
Seto runs the analysis and gets ninety-five percent. Then ninety-nine.
Then a checklist with five items and a sixth to be added as necessary.
This is a translation of an original work on Pixiv.
Original Title: 愛と理論 17 王、恋に落ちた日
Original Author: 葉人(@Hathor_yuki)
Personal site: https://prideshipping.sakura.ne.jp
On the living room table was placed that by-now familiar magazine with the pink cover.
Written large on it was this:
Quantum Marriage Special Issue, Part Two: An Exclusive Interview on How the Two of Them Met!
Atem was gazing at the cover, somehow proudly.
Seto, meanwhile, was quietly pressing at his head.
"...You. You talked again."
"Just a little. They asked how we met, so I talked just a little."
"And what does that just a little refer to."
"About as much as every time Seto came to the afterlife, I couldn't stop being curious about him."
"...More than sufficient."
At Seto's low voice, Atem shrugged slightly.
But of course there is no appearance of contrition. If anything he is smiling as though embarrassed.
"Because they asked me, you know? Which of you fell in love first?"
"If you hadn't answered, the world would have been at peace."
Atem is a charismatic figure in moving the world as well.
Several hours later, the net and the news were in an uproar.
The headlines were like this.
[SCOOP] King Atem's statement that he was "chasing after" President Kaiba.
[Love began not from quanta, but from the King!?]
The world stirred.
The unexpected new fact that it had been from Atem.
Fans and the media of every nation begin verifying, from every angle, "which of them really was first."
That night.
The study of the Kaiba mansion.
Seto sat quietly in a chair and gazed at Atem, seated opposite.
Atem is drinking herbal tea, looking somehow uncomfortable.
"...Atem."
"Mm?"
"This sort of thing is something you keep as a matter between the parties themselves."
"But for me it's the same in the afterlife and the mortal world. I found you, chased after you, and finally became able to walk beside you. The meaning in hiding that, I don't understand."
Seto let out a sigh.
It was both exasperation and a breath containing something like nostalgia.
"...Unchanged from those days. ...Not that it's a bad thing..."
"Those days?"
Seto laughed a little and returns his cup to the table.
"That's right. When you still wore nothing but the face of a king, and I went to the afterlife merely to accomplish a rematch."
Atem's eyes look a little into the distance.
Those golden bangs were as though they held the sunlight of antiquity.
"...Nostalgic. When you first came to the afterlife, I thought what is this, is this modern man sane."
"I thought what is this, this attitude like a king's."
The gazes of the two overlap.
And quietly, memories of the past revive.
The afterlife.
An ancient palace where golden light comes in amid the stillness.
The air of the afterlife was somehow nostalgic, and endlessly quiet.
Light and sound both dull, and into that world where even time flows slowly, a particularly vivid white comes in.
It was Seto.
Breaking through the wall of dimensions, the figure standing with his own Duel Disk carried on his arm wears a sharpness unchanged from the mortal world.
The instant Atem saw that figure, the depths of his heart were squeezed tight.
That time, he had left without telling him anything.
Put into words it seemed it would crumble, so he could not say it.
And yet, the man had come after him.
"...Why have you come here?"
"It's obvious. To settle things with you."
After a short silence, Atem narrowed his eyes slightly and laughed quietly.
Nostalgia, and a helpless gladness, melt into his chest.
"...Ah, so it is. Then let me accept. Let us fight once more."
In the great hall, the fields of the two are deployed.
Along with the signal of the opening declaration, cards of light dance in the air, and the souls of the two collided.
But it was different from before.
Atem had noticed.
That Seto's gaze carried, rather than only the hostility and obsession of former days, a temperature somehow as though confirming something.
And when the Duel ended, Seto quietly switched off his Duel Disk and turned his back.
"Atem. Are you satisfied with this."
"...Yes. With this, the mortal world is no longer..."
"What are you talking about?"
The eyes of Seto, having turned around, were sharp even in the dim half-light of the afterlife, and somehow gentle.
"The next one to win is me. I'll come again."
Leaving that behind, Atem could only see off the back of Seto returning to the mortal world.
Losing his words, what spread in the depths of his chest was a quiet loss, and a helpless expectation.
And the days.
Atem remembered in unguarded moments.
The light of the mortal world, the heat of the Duel, Seto's gaze.
While thinking he won't come again, somewhere in his heart he was waiting.
And then.
Once again, as though cutting through the air of the afterlife, a white light came in.
"...You've come again?"
"Naturally. I'm not so idle as to leave a worthy rival alone."
For just an instant, Atem's eyes widened, and then he laughed.
Surprise, and a very little relief.
Inside Atem, something had unmistakably begun to move.
And so, the two of them's "beginning" started quietly, without anyone knowing of it.
The frequency with which Seto visited the afterlife had increased before anyone noticed.
Verification of new card theory, structural surveys of the afterlife — he would appear attaching plausible reasons of that sort.
Every time, Atem was smiling unconsciously.
"You've come again. Do you have lingering attachments to the afterlife?"
"There's merely an object of verification here."
Saying that, Seto sits down in a chair as a matter of course.
When Atem saw that figure, for some reason he felt the air grow lighter.
What sort of emotion that was, Atem himself still did not quite understand.
At first, it was nothing but Duels.
But at some point they came to exchange words as well as fight.
Memories of antiquity, duty as a king, and loneliness as a person.
Feeling that within Seto's composed gaze there was something that understood him, Atem went on talking.
As the days piled up, Seto's shadow came to remain deeply in his heart.
At night, in the hushed temple of the afterlife, at some chance moment he remembers that profile.
Even trying not to think, his thoughts flow in that direction of their own accord.
—— Could this possibly be what they call love?
The concept of a friend, which had existed when he was in the mortal world as Yugi. That was something a king of ancient Egypt did not have.
Respect, or loyalty, or love. Time that had ended with the boundaries of those left ambiguous. Its continuation was now.
Seto, for Atem, should have been an opponent for whom the border between worthy rival and friend was unclear. And while doing the work of a king in a world that was an extension of antiquity, that had become unclear.
Within a relationship with ambiguous boundary lines, the category of friend had vanished entirely.
And in Atem at that time, special was immediately linked with love.
From then on, a faint affection came to seep into Atem's words.
Even while speaking theory, here and there he brings out definitions of love.
"Love is a power that cannot be measured by reason. Which is to say, the resonance of soul with soul... Kaiba, do you believe in that?"
"The word resonance is convenient. It's synonymous with the abandonment of logical explanation."
Atem was a little downcast, but undeterred, challenged from another angle. That aspect of his nature is unchanged.
Every time Seto returned to the mortal world, every time he saw off that back, the depths of his chest took on heat.
Around that time, meanwhile, Seto too was piling up his thinking.
The change in Atem's attitude, the frequency of his statements, the movement of his gaze.
He attempted to analyse all of it rationally.
As a result of running an analysis with AI, the closest behavioural pattern ended up matching the dialogue history of a "romance-advice AI."
"...Which is to say, affection. No, it's no more than a hypothesis. But the degree of certainty is high."
Seto let out a deep sigh and closed the display.
On that profile, something like a faint smile had surfaced.
"...Honestly. To be liked by the King of the Underworld — what kind of bug is that."
And once again, he begins preparations to head for the afterlife.
If they meet next, he may be able to confirm it. Whether that emotion is misrecognition or truth.
The Duel was fierce as always.
The space of the afterlife vibrates, and the light of the cards illuminates the walls of the great hall.
But the silence that arrives after things are settled was the time the two shared longest.
"...A good match today as well."
"Naturally. There's no reason to hold back."
In the hushed great hall, the sound of Seto's shoes echoes.
As though on some passing whim, Seto came to a stop in front of Atem.
In the depths of those eyes there was a light slightly softer than usual.
And then, with no warning at all, Seto took Atem's hand.
Temperature is transmitted.
In that instant, Atem's breathing stopped.
Heat rises from the core of his body, and his cheeks are faintly stained crimson.
"...K-Kaiba?"
"I'm merely confirming."
Leaving only those words, Seto said nothing more.
Atem too lost his words, and just as they were, the two sit holding hands.
Time flowed quietly.
Neither speaks.
But neither lets go.
Within the silence, Atem heard the sound of something bursting its banks deep in his heart.
There are things that are conveyed without piling up words.
If one were to give this emotion a name.
—— This is... love. Without a doubt.
After Seto went home, Atem, alone, smiled while gazing at his hand.
That smile was not a king's, but soft, like a mere boy's.
Meanwhile, Seto, returned to the mortal world, was looking down at the same hand.
At his fingertips, a faintly remaining warmth.
As though analysing it as a verification result, Seto murmured quietly.
"Affection, then. Probability... ninety-five percent, is it."
His lips rise just the slightest bit.
That was not the smile of victory.
Somehow, a warm emotion resembling relief.
Seto lowers himself into a chair and looks up at the ceiling.
And then quietly closed his eyes.
—— Whether to accept it, or not, is it.
Deep in his heart, something that until now could not be quantified had begun to put out a sprout.
To call it love is still too early.
But there was no longer anywhere to run.
Seto came to the afterlife again.
While feeling the depths of his chest grow hot in spite of himself, Atem feigned composure and straightened his posture before the throne.
That incident last time, when Seto took his hand.
Since then, a question with no answer had been swirling inside Atem.
Why did Seto grip his hand.
An experiment, a verification, or else.
But there should always be a reason in Seto's actions. Not emotion — there should be intent.
Before an Atem thinking so, today's Seto walked up without setting up his Duel Disk.
By that alone, one can tell it is different from usual.
"...Today, you haven't come to fight?"
"The fighting is already finished. More to the point..."
Seto cut his words once, and fixed Atem squarely in his gaze.
"...Your emotions are already stripped bare."
Stillness falls.
Atem's eyes widen greatly for an instant, and then his gaze wanders here and there.
"...Wh-what are you talking about?"
The usual dignity of a king is not there.
His shoulders tremble faintly, his fingertips are unsettled.
Seto does not let any of it slip past him.
—— As I thought, an upward revision to ninety-nine percent.
Seto's silence corners him.
Atem understood. That he had been completely seen through.
His pulse rings in his ears.
His face grows hot.
He had intended to tell him someday, but when it comes to it, it's frightening.
Even so, he opened his mouth.
"Kaiba, the truth is I..."
But he was not allowed to say it to the end.
Seto took a step forward, extended his arms, and embraced Atem.
Saying nothing, only as though confirming that body heat.
Atem caught his breath for an instant and became unable to move.
The beating of their chests echoed between the two.
Seto let out a small breath and murmured at his ear.
"...I came intending to answer it."
Silence arrives again.
But it was not a silence of unease.
Even with neither of them saying anything, it had already gotten through.
Before long, Atem gently raises his face.
In those eyes dwelt not the flame of battle, but a soft light.
"...I ask this of you."
Seto only nodded.
And drew him close once more.
The wind of the afterlife stroked the hair of the two.
There was the sound of pride as worthy rivals quietly changing form into love.
Even after beginning to go out, there was no dramatic change in the daily life of the two.
Seto is always stable, unwavering, and his manner of appearing in the afterlife is the same as before.
Atem too is dignified as always, moving as curiosity takes him, as emotion takes him.
Only, at times his behaviour is suspicious. That is the Atem of now.
"...What is it. Your eyes are swimming."
"No, nothing... Only, when I look at Kaiba's face, my heart seems to get busy somehow."
Seto lets out a small sigh.
The heart gets busy. The only one who makes an expression like that is Atem.
But he knew that there was no ill intent, and that it was not calculated.
If anything, Seto viewed that sort of innocence favourably, as characteristic of Atem.
Ever since the days in the mortal world, Atem has been unchanged all along.
Not fearing others' gazes, standing with dignity, straightforward toward everyone. And meaning no harm.
Seto understood that.
That is why he did not refuse.
If anything, he thought he wanted to observe that innocent strength from beside him.
However, there was one problem.
Atem does not know the concept of romance.
Seto too is unpracticed at the practical handling of emotion.
Two beginners have to manage it somehow.
"Kaiba, what does one do about this?"
"What is this?"
"The phenomenon of, when we're together like this, the area of the chest growing warm and wanting to say something."
"...That is presumably part of the physiological phenomenon of romance."
"I see. But to define that, the grounds are insufficient."
"Agreed."
Something had to be managed, but the two were serious. In short, they were a little lacking in sentiment and romance.
After a silence, Seto puts a fingertip to his chin and thinks a little.
"Then let us construct it. What love is, what affection is. Together we build up a theory and define it."
Hearing that, Atem's eyes shone.
There is nothing more inflaming than a theoretical challenge from a worthy rival.
All the more so if the theme is love.
"That's a fine idea. To build theory in order to understand the heart. That is your and my love."
At the corner of Seto's mouth, a faint smile surfaces.
Just like scientists drawing up an experiment plan.
The two open notebooks and go on breaking down the structure of the heart.
Can love be observed?
Where is the intersection of theory and emotion?
Is love arrived at logically the real thing?
Discussions resembling formulas pile up, and the distance between the two draws closer little by little.
And then.
Before they noticed, what was there was not construction but love itself, already established.
"Kaiba, it appears that love was completed before theory."
"...So it seems."
And so, a love in which love and theory were all mixed together was quietly born with a bang.
The day after the two set up their "theory," Seto promptly proposed.
"Since we've constructed a theory, next is verification. Physical contact in romance. We observe its effects."
"I see, that stands to reason. And where do we start?"
At that question, Seto let out a small breath and set a bundle of materials on the desk.
Atem's eyes go round.
"Surely not... a checklist?"
"Naturally. Observation is something conducted according to plan, isn't it."
"...It isn't a rite, you know? Is a checklist necessary for observing love?"
Item 1: Hold hands.
Item 2: Gaze at each other.
Item 3: Embrace.
Item 4: Stroke the hair.
Item 5: Kiss.
And Item 6 onward is "to be added as necessary."
Atem makes a serious face while holding back laughter.
"Let's try them as they occur to us, without following the order."
"...Nonlinear verification, is it. Not bad."
And so the experiment in love began.
Atem acts as his interest takes him.
Seto takes records as a composed observer. That was the plan.
For example, the morning greeting.
"Good morning, Kaiba."
"Ah... good morning. ...Why so close?"
"I'm confirming how the pulse changes with differences in distance."
"...For the object of observation to confuse the researcher."
And another time, at an Atem reading materials while still holding hands, Seto knits his brows slightly.
"Handling documents with one hand is inefficient."
"But does concentration in the brain drop in this state, or rise? Interesting, isn't it?"
"...You are a runaway test subject wearing the skin of a researcher."
But Seto too soon became a captive of that research.
The more he observes, the more unknown phenomena increase.
Intending to be a composed recorder, before he notices he becomes unable to stop the rise in his pulse.
Night.
"Item 5: Kiss."
After finishing that verification.
The distance between them had already drawn close enough that it could no longer be measured by theory.
Atem asks.
"...The next item?"
"It's no longer on the checklist."
"Then let's add one. Spend the night together."
"...An unobservable domain, is it."
"The unknown domain is precisely the road a king and a scientist walk, isn't it?"
"You mad scientist."
And the night quietly grew late.
A dizzying, sweet span of the senses passed, and morning came.
Within the light, Atem is sleeping beside him.
Seto takes up the notebook at the bedside, but for a while did not move, gazing at the page.
The pen tip does not touch the paper, and before long a wry laugh escapes.
"...I'm abandoning keeping records."
At that voice Atem opens his eyes.
He wears a smile with a half-asleep face.
"It seems love is a thing where the result comes out before the theory."
"With you, every law collapses."
"Then we need only make a new law. The two of us — love and theory."
Seto smiled.
This research into love will surely never end.
The more they observe, the more the heart goes on being updated.
And today again, the two keep records side by side — on that road no one can trace, called "the compatibility of theory and emotion."
The recollection broke off abruptly.
Beyond the window, the world of night spreads out.
A quiet night after returning home.
A place the commotion of the magazine with the pink cover cannot enter.
Calm time, visited for the first time in a while.
Atem laughed nostalgically while tilting a wine glass.
"In those days it was all groping in the dark. Trying everything, seeking results... thinking of it now, they were dangerous experiments."
On the sofa opposite, Seto crosses his legs and lets out a short breath.
While tracing the rim of his glass with a finger, he raised the corner of his mouth slightly.
"You're dangerous now as well."
Atem narrows his eyes.
"Oh? Why is that?"
"No progress... no, unchanged. The test subject who placidly drags the observer in is in fine health."
Atem laughs lightly and sets down his glass.
And quietly walks over beside Seto and lowers himself down.
"It's because you don't leave that the experiment continues."
"...I have no intention of issuing a discontinuation order."
"Then tonight as well, let's continue the observation."
Their gazes cross.
Between the two who should have grown, sparks ran unchanged from those days.
On top of the sofa, the red of a wine glass topples.
Night wraps the two of them up.
Theory and records are no longer needed now.
Love is not something to be observed, but something that unmistakably is there.
And the quiet night passed on.
The sweet, deep night the two of them spend now.
Love and theory goes on being updated even now.
