Co-authoressed by:

High Crystal Guardian

and

Ebony Kuroneko

Ebony: Phuef. Well, here's chapter three of Keiro no Hikari. I hope you've all been enjoying it so far!

Kaze: *In the corner, sipping his coffee. He snorts softly*

Ebony: ...Well, without further adieu, lets get on with the fic!

Disclaimer: You know the drill, Yu-Gi-Oh belongs to Kazuki Takahashi. The Negative Realm and those contained within belong to High Crystal Guardian. However, this Mokuba, Naosu's personality, the Wanderers and those in the Reverse Negative Realm, are Ebony Kuroneko's. Get it? Good! Transform and roll out!

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"You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you look fear in the face. you must do the thing you think you cannot do."
~Eleanor Roosevelt
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If anyone had ever said Kaze didn't have a sense of humor, they obviously didn't know him very well. As he and Atemu waited for the mysterious 'visitor' to arrive, it was hard for him to keep his usual calm expression in place. Luckily, not even a minute had passed before the door creaked open and a certain short, dark haired figure stepped in with a tray.

"Dinner time, niisama!" Mokuba announced cheerfully, unaware of who was staring at him from around the door. He placed the tray down carefully and turned with intentions to pull a chair close to share the evening meal with his sibling as he always did. Upon turning however, he noticed Atemu and froze in surprise.

"Mokuba," Kaze spoke gently, so as not to startle him. "you remember Atemu, don't you?"

"Atemu-san?" Mokuba glanced at Kaze, who nodded, and then back at Atemu, who's surprised expression was blossoming into a smile.

"It's good to see you, Mokuba." Atemu spoke, his voice made soft by emotion. "You look well."

Mokuba nodded, his own face lighting up, and then he leapt forward to hug the Reverse Oppostion leader, who happily returned the gesture.

"Niisama and Nozomi-san and Naosu-kun have all taken very good care of me!" Mokuba exclaimed, his whole body vibrating in happiness. "I get three meals a day, and warm baths and...it's very nice!" The boy fell silent then and pulled away to look up at the only person he knew from his home realm whom he trusted. "You're not here to take me....back, are you?" His tone now held a tremor of fear.

"No, Mokuba." Atemu put a hand on Mokuba's head and smiled faintly. "You seem to be treated well here, and I sent you here with exactly that intent. I would never dream of trying to take you away if you didn't want to go."

Again Mokuba smiled. "Good. I want to stay with niisama and Naosu-kun and Nozomi-san. Uh..." He looked at Kaze. "should I go? I know I'm not supposed to--"

"It's okay, Mokuba." Kaze gently cut him off with a smile. "Atemu and I have concluded our business, I believe." Atemu nodded slowly and Kaze continued. "So he'll be going back to his own realm, but don't worry. You'll probably be seeing him again soon."

"Okay niisama!" Mokuba chirped, once more happy.

"Again Kaze, thank you for all of this." Atemu bowed, though Kaze noticed that he'd lost some of his friendly demeanor. The Blue Eyes sighed softly. Though he normally wouldn't bring the subject up in front of Mokuba, it was best to clear misundersandings quickly before they could cause problems.

"He calls me niisama of his own accord." Kaze spoke just as Atemu was turning to leave. "I never asked him to call me anything past aniki. He made the progression on his own."

Showing that Kaze had guessed correctly, Atemu paused and looked back at him, then glanced at Mokuba, who looked faintly confused. After a moment, his posture relaxed. "Of course, forgive me." He spoke, looking back at Kaze. "I think you can understand my reaction however...given issues from the past."

"Of course." Kaze responded.

With a final bow, Atemu finally left Kaze's office, closing the door behind himself.

Mokuba turned to look at his brother with a curious expression before he moved to sit. "Niisama..." He said slowly after a few moments, even as he reached for his dinner. "who's the scary man outside? He looked like Nozomi-san and Atemu-san, but his eyes are weird..."

That Mokuba had taken notice of Shikyo's eyes definitely told Kaze that Naosu was having a heavy influence, but he didn't focus on such a minor matter and smiled.

"That man is named Shikyo. He might look a bit scary, but he's going to help us help Atemu win his war." Kaze told his sibling in a light tone that was used toward Mokuba and Mokuba alone. He too started on dinner and lapsed into silence, which worked just fine for Mokuba, who accepted Kaze's simple explanation and went on to chatter as he did, about what he'd been doing that day, and new skills he'd learned if any, as well as skills he had improved upon.

Kaze listened attentively, nodding and smiling and offering comments where deemed neccessary. Though Mokuba had been improving in leaps and bounds since he had arrived in the Negative Realm, there were still a lot of things that he was learning, much of which had to do with school education. Though Naosu himself had only gotten a grade seven education, Mokuba hadn't gone to school since he was ten years old and thanks to the conditions he had been forced to live in for the nearly four years afterward, he had forgotten nearly everything he had learned and was still recovering that knowledge. As such, Mokuba cheerfully told his brother all about what he had learned. Anyone else might have lost patience with the energetic youth, who still, more often than not, acted like a child rather than the fourteen year old he was, but Kaze was honestly interested in all Mokuba had to say. It meant his brother was happy, and to Kaze, that was almost as important as the Opposition was.

"Niisama." Mokuba said suddenly, breaking off his own monologue and his expression growing somewhat more serious. "Will things ever be normal?"

Kaze blinked, puzzled by the question. "'Normal'?" He asked.

"Will the fighting ever stop? Will I ever go back to school? Will you ever sleep regularly?"

The last question made Kaze chuckle softly, as just like most people in the base, Mokuba was concerned that Kaze didn't get enough rest. He gave his brother a fond look, to which Mokuba responded with a cheeky grin and Kaze chuckled again.

"The war will be over one day, Mokuba." He said. "And then yes, you'll be able to go to school, though we'll all have a lot of catching up to do. As for me getting regular sleep, it's hard to say, but once the war is over, it'll certainly be more of an option than it is right now."

Mokuba stuck his tongue out and screwed his face up briefly before he moved to pick up the tray, as both he had Kaze had finished eating. "Niisama's gonna look like an old man!" He announced. "Get all wrinkly." He pulled at a cheek, pulling his eye down in an exaggerated gesture.

Kaze allowed himself a slight smirk, acknowledging his brother's needling but not responding to it and shortly after, Mokuba left. Kaze chuckled softly once more, allowing himself fond thoughts of his little brother briefly before he turned his attention back to his duties.

*****

Returned to his own realm and given certain instructions regarding the gate that would be built in his realm, Atemu then set out to round up the council for an emergency meeting. After several minutes, they were all assembled and Atemu looked slowly around at them.

Joey sat to his left, in the seat that once long ago, had been occupied by Yugi. Also on the left side of the table were Duke, Keith, Mako, and Rex. On Atemu's right sat Pegasus, Weevil, and the Ishtar family who had joined their Pharaoh a few months prior in one last attempt to win back ground, Malik, Rashid and Ishizu. Exchanging nods with his most trusted advisers, Atemu spoke.

"Our situation is desperate," He began. "but thanks to a recent visit from the Negative Realmer we know as Kawari, there is some hope. I only recently returned from a meeting with his leader, Kaze...who we would recognize as Seto Kaiba." Atemu fell quiet then to let the expected reactions run their course and then held up a hand for silence.

"Some of you were not here half a year ago when Kawari was here last, so for your sakes" He looked specifically at the Ishtars. "I will tell you, that Kawari, Ryou Bakura, is from another realm, as is Kaze. They are not the personalities we know. Kawari is an individual who proved he could be trusted and I can tell all of you that Kaze is also someone whom we can trust." He paused to look around at the council and then leaned forward and steepled his fingers.

"The reason I have called this meeting is that, in approximately two days, the Opposition of the Negative Realm will be coming here to our realm to help us with our war, even though they have their own difficulties. They will likely have many people in their ranks that we may know here as enemies, but it is imperative that we show them the same respect we show one another and we must make sure that everyone knows that." Atemu paused briefly to take a sip of water from a glass by him, and then he resumed once more. "Kaze has assured me that he will be able to give us food and water supplies from their own surplus. It will still keep us drawn thin, but we will all be the healthier for the help."

"Are you sure we can trust them, my Pharaoh?" Malik spoke up, fiddling with the sleeve of his tunic, betraying his nervousness. "I mean, you've only just met this Kaze person..."

Atemu nodded to him. "Your concern is noted Malik, but I assure you that it is not needed. The history of that realm is different. There, I was their enemy, not Seto Kaiba." Several members of the council shifted in their seats, obviously uncomfortable with such an idea and Atemu nodded.

"If there is nothing further to be addressed, then please return to your duties. Be sure as always not to overstrain yourselves, but be certain to spread the news that we will soon be receiving help." Thus dismissed, the council dispersed and Atemu sat back for a moment before he too left. Like everyone else, there was much he needed to do.

*****

The next two days were busy between the realms as they prepared both mentally and physically for the joining of two Oppositions. Cowled figures were occasionally seen and pointedly ignored in both bases and finally, Shikyo appeared to both Opposition leaders seperately to inform them that the gates were built and ready to be activated.

"There'll be someone on both sides to deal with the flow of traffic, just like those cloaked figures you've been seeing around the last couple of days." Shikyo tilted his head slightly at Kaze and smirked a bit. "The Inter-Realm gate will be activated at your command, and not a moment before." He straightened up again and became serious. "I don't think I need to tell you to be careful in that realm, Kaze. I wouldn't go anywhere by yourself there if I were you."

"Thanks for the tip." Kaze said without sarcasm. He arranged some papers on his desk. "Anything else I should know?"

Shikyo thought a moment, his cloak quite obviously flicking of it's own volition, then he shrugged. "Don't think so." He said. "Except that...a certain former Puzzle hikari over there is completely off his rocker crazy, so you should probably look out for him." Shikyo shrugged again. "Other than that, I think you can figure things out on your own."

Kaze took note of Shikyo's wording regarding the Yugi of the Reverse realm, but he saw no reason to draw attention to it and only nodded. Shikyo took this as a sign as dismissal and phased out of the realm in that strange, going out of focus way that his device caused. After making some last checks over his office, Kaze stood up and slowly stretched out his bad leg. It was being somewhat bothersome, but after a few slow extensions, the kinks seemed to go out of it and Kaze was able to pack up his laptop and leave his office with nothing more than his usual slight limp. He then headed for the motor pool, where the Inter-Realm portal had been set up. About halfway there however...

"Kaze..."

Kaze paused at Nozomi's voice and turned, fully expecting to see the spirit without an escort, which was required if he wished to leave his room. Kaze was thusly surprised when he saw an Opposition agent with Nozomi.

"Yes, Nozomi?" Kaze spoke. That Nozomi had bothered to follow the rules for once and had tracked Kaze down meant something serious.

The Puzzle spirit fidgeted a moment, seemingly uncomfortable, but then he raised his eyes and straightened up. "I wish to join this mission." He blurted.

Kaze arched a brow and set his weight back on his good leg slightly. "Well, this is a surprise." He said after a momentary pause, finding himself having to fight the urge to be sarcastic. "What brought this about?"

Nozomi glanced pointedly back at the Opposition agent serving as his escort before looking back at Kaze.

With a quiet sigh, Kaze dismissed the man and then looked at Nozomi expectantly.

Nozomi took a slow, deep breath before he tilted his head slightly to meet Kaze's eyes. "I do not help you with the war in this realm because the Hand was originally my forces...and I cannot bring myself to fight against them...but this is another realm, not my forces...so I have no such qualms."

"So you have no problem killing people you techically have never met, is that what you're saying?"

Nozomi winced. "No, it is not like that." He protested in a softer tone. He took a breath and then stood up at his full height. "Simply....Mokuba has become like a second hikari to me, and I wish...to exact vengeance on his behalf upon the one who hurt him....also" He added quickly, as if he had only just realized that he was talking about harming a version of Seto Kaiba. "I can help with strategies. It is a good idea is it not, to have many working on plans in this instance?"

Kaze crossed his arms and gave the shorter spirit a dubious look. "Kaeru fills that capacity pretty well, and don't forget Nozomi, that you are a POW."

"How interesting that you only strive to remind me of that when you do not want me to do something for you..." Nozomi noted dryly, then sighed. "Listen then please, as to what skills I can offer. I have powerful magic that I would pledge to your command. I understand better than anyone how an insane mind works. I would like to think myself as a rather good strategist. I could provide you with limited invisiblity, aiding you in whatever direction you would require..." Nozomi spread his hands. "I understand that I have not proven to be overly useful to your cause in the past, but...this is not my former forces and...that being the case, I wish to help."

Kaze remained silent, considering. After several moments in thought however, he spoke.

"You make good points, but as you know, this isn't my decision alone to make. The council also has to agree."

Nozomi bowed slightly. "I understand that fully, Kaze. Truly, I hope that they will agree to allow me to assist."

"Mm." Kaze uncrossed his arms. "In the meantime, I don't want to see any sign of you. Naosu--as long as he's careful--I'll allow, but until further notice, I want you to stay in the Puzzle. Understood?"

"Perfectly." And with another bow, Nozomi was gone and Naosu had taken his place.

"Do you have any orders for me, Kaze-san?" Naosu asked.

Kaze turned to resume heading to the motor pool. "Yes." He responded. "Stay out of people's way and out of trouble."

Naosu hesitated a moment, apparently having been hoping for more, but then he nodded. "Hai, Kaze-san." He said seriously.

Kaze simply nodded slightly and continued walking to the motor pool. When he arrived, he noted a small crowd gathered there. Some were standing by the supplies that they would be taking over to the Reverse Negative Realm, and a couple were to be Kaze's bodyguards so as to avoid any accidental shootings, but the rest were likely just there for curiosity's sake. As Kaze approached the cloaked figure sitting by the controls of the Gate, he vaguely registered Naosu peeling away from him and going to stand somewhere else, and then Kaze reached the figure.

"We're ready." He told them.

The figure's fingers flew over the controls and with a whine and a whirr, the giant gate sparked to life. At first the transition point looked like a shimmering mirror, but then slowly it cleared until it was transparent.

Kaze's only visible reaction was to blink in surprise. When Shikyo had told him it worked like a doorway, he certainly hadn't been kidding. He, and the other agents, could clearly see the Reverse Opposition base and the small group waiting for them. Atemu stood at the front of the group with his realm's Joey and Keith on either side of him. There were others as well, but those three were standing closest and so were the most important.

Moving forward, Kaze headed for the gate, Saguru and Damon falling into step beside him and they three were the first to cross over.

The transition was surprisingly smooth, with only a soft, vague sucking noise to mark their passage. Kaze noticed that all of the Reverse agents stiffened reflexively as he came through the gateway and both Saguru and Damon moved as one to move slightly ahead of their leader to protect him if neccessary.

Atemu stepped away from his own guard and extended his hand to Kaze, smiling politely. "Welcome to the Reverse Negative Realm, Kaze."

Kaze took his hand and shook it briefly but firmly, giving a nod. "Thank you." He responded.

Atemu released his fellow leader's hand and briefly looked behind himself at his guards, making a hand motion telling them to stand down, then he returned his attention to Kaze.

"My council and I have done our best to forewarn my agents of your presence here, but all the same, I would advice caution."

Kaze nodded slightly. "I understand perfectly." He responded. "I'll be careful. Now" He continued. "where would you like the surplus to be taken?"

"Ah yes. Joey will show them the way." Saguru gave a faint, brief smirk at his own name being spoken, but the Joey of the Reverse realm wasn't as amused.

"But Atemu..." He protested softly, frowning.

"It's alright." Atemu responded simply, but with a bit of a harder tone. With a frown, Joey nodded and stepped away toward the agents who had just stepped through the gate with the supplies.

Saguru and Damon exchanged a glance. While they had expected the starved look of the Reverse Opposition members, a Joey having a foul temper was a new thing to them and they began to wonder what other things they would find.

While this was all going on however, Naosu slipped through the gate himself and walked on into the Reverse Opposition base, the Puzzle held close to his chest with both hands.

The moment he'd crossed over, he'd noticed a very large difference in the air. Perhaps it was only his imagination due to the appearance of the agents around him, or the unkept look of his surroundings, but the place seemed rather foreboding and unwelcoming. Agents he passed either ignored him or shot him looks of distaste or wary surprise. Though Naosu knew he should have expected it, being reacted to in such negative manners was somewhat disheartening and his gaze dropped to the floor as he walked. Because of this, he didn't see the person until he ran into them.

Knocked to the floor by the impact, Naosu sat there dazed for a second before he jerked his head up to apologize. However, the moment his eyes met those of the person he'd run into, his voice caught in his throat.

Yugi stared down at his Negative with eyes made of cold steel. Naosu had only seen eyes like that in his nightmares, not even Kawari looked so emotionless. The two stared at one another for several seconds, one with fright and frozen surprise and the other with no reaction at all.

After those moments however, Yugi calmly pulled out a gun and pointed it at his shorter Negative. "You are a threat." He stated flatly.

If possible, Naosu's eyes got even bigger. Oh Ra, he's gonna shoot me! "S-Stop!" Naosu squeaked desperately. "I-I'm you! I'm Naosu, I'm not a threat! I don't even fi--"

"Shut up." Yugi's flat tone cut through Naosu's frantic voice cleanly. He clicked off the safety of his weapon, keeping it aimed at the Negative.

Then Naosu saw a glimmer of something in the Reverse realmer's eyes. He hadn't noticed it before, but it...looked like fear. Suddenly, Naosu understood. Naosu was a threat to Yugi! He represented something that Yugi either didn't want or no longer understood and it frightened him.

Though every nerve in his body was begging him to run or call on Nozomi for protection, Naosu ignored his instincts and instead trusted in the rule of opposites that he hoped would prevent Yugi from harming him. Slowly he rose to his feet.

"Yugi-kun." He said in a gentle tone he tended to use with shell shocked Opposition agents. "It's okay, Yugi-kun. I understand you're scared, but it's okay. I'm not a threat to you, but you've been very hurt inside...I want to help if you'd let me."

//Aibou!// Nozomi suddenly called though the link, having finally noticed the situation. //What the hell are you doing?! That boy is clearly not in his right mind!//

/He's me, mou hitori no boku and he's scared. I want to try to help him./ Naosu responded in as reasonable a tone as he could muster.

Nozomi made a sound of frustration and muttered something that sounded suspiciously like 'stupid hikari', but as Naosu had blocked him out, there was nothing he could do.

"Yugi-kun." Naosu said again when Yugi hadn't moved or reacted to his words. He slowly reached up to the gun to push it aside. "It's oka--"

Yugi fired and Naosu yelped and flinched, but managed to hold his ground. The bullet had barely missed him and was now imbedded in the wall behind him.

"Y-Yugi-kun..." He stammered softly. "Don't shoot, I'm not an enemy..."

"Stay away from me." Yugi told him flatly, anger now burning in his Yami-narrow eyes in place of the fear. He pressed the gun right against Naosu's forehead and hissed. "If you come near me again, I will kill you." And then he stepped past, leaving Naosu shaken.

"He's like Kawari..." Naosu whispered. "But so much worse..." And then he sank to the floor, his body shaking too badly to keep him upright.

*****

Ebony: Well...that wasn't a very loffy ending, but oh well. At least I've got Kaze instead of Nozomi or I'd probably be a crispy authoress about now. *Looks around briefly* Speaking of Kaze, it looks like he's gone to get more coffee. So with that, I end the chapter!

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