Coming Up From . . . Behind?
AN: Brought about by ponderings on the nature of an AU. Which turned into ponderings about how nice it'd be if the Duellist Arc wasn't so card-game oriented. *sighs* Ah, well. A girl can dream.
Disclaimer – Kazuki Takahashi has card games on the brain. I have plot bunny infestations.
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Kaiba scoffed seeing Yugi (or so he thought) run desperately away straight after winning Slifer the Sky Dragon from one of the illegal duellists, the Ghouls. Mokuba called out after the spiky shrimp, but Kaiba himself only muttered a few choice words about choosing friends over pride before getting in touch with the main command and communications centre to track his rival.
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Yugi found his anger rising at the frustration of his current situation as his opponents bickered for dibs on the first duel.
"Rock!"
"Paper!"
"Scissors!"
"Rock!"
"You paused!"
"Paper!"
. . .
Thunk.
The diminutive Game King watched in a haze of bewildered awe as Kaiba Seto laid out first one Ghoul with a hard heeled boot and then another with the unforgiving underside of his Duel Disk.
. . . Kaiba!?
Seto dusted off his hands and turned to face Yugi – just in time not to see two wadjet eyes appear briefly on the foreheads of the thugs before vanishing due to their sudden and unexpected unconsciousness and their master's current preoccupation of starting up and driving a motorcycle.
"Don't get the wrong idea, Yugi," said Seto, oblivious to the simple way that he had irritated the enemy. "One of the reasons why I held Battle City was to wipe out these card-counterfeiting scum. It's not as if I'm lending you a hand."
Yugi carried on looking pleasantly bemused as Kaiba took the two stolen Duel Disks and fished out their Puzzle cards from black cloaks. The Disks he handed to Mokuba; Yugi then found himself the surprised recipient of one of the puzzle cards.
"I expect to see you at the finals very soon, Yugi. See that you don't find yourself held up any more by riff-raff like these two."
Yugi opened his mouth to thank the icy CEO, but said person was already making his grand exit – complete with gravity-defying coat – as light laughter filled his head.
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AN: Certain material taken directly from manga #13. Alternate take on the beginning (or lack therof) of the tag-team duel. No real meaning.
