THE CRUELEST GAME
a yu*gi*oh fanfiction by violette crosse (KazuyaViolet@hotmail.com)

PROLOGUE: CAUSE

"God-dammit!" Jounouchi cursed as he slammed his locker shut. "Who the hell does the trig teacher think she is, anyway?"
Honda snickered. "Maybe that will teach you to try sneaking into the classroom like you're some Solid Snake wannabe."
Jounouchi glared his friend. "Dude, what? I'm not the only one trying to sneak into there...it's just that the teacher is culturally biased."
Honda raised a brow. " 'Culturally biased'? How so?"
Jounouchi ran a hand through his dark blonde hair. "She's culturally biased against handsome bastards; I thought you knew that."
"I don't see a handsome bastard, do you, Anzu?" Honda joked.
"Yeah, you're a real mafucking riot," Jounouchi muttered with a sneer.
Honda glanced at Anzu, who did not seem to be paying much attention to the conversation at hand. "Uh, Anzu? Helloooo, Anzu..." He waved his hand in front of her face.
Anzu batted the hand away as if it were an annoying insect, and pointed at something that was directly ahead of the trio. "Over there...that's Kaiba, isn't it?"
Jounouchi and Honda looked forward. Sure enough, the young man they knew as the cold, conniving, and insensitive Seto Kaiba stood in the center of the hall. His form was mostly covered in an black trench coat, concealing most of his clothing save for a black button-up shirt that peeked through on the front and a pair of Doc Martens on his feet. Anzu briefly noticed the shoebox he had tucked beneath the bend of his right arm.
"Uh, you can't wait for school to be out for the day before you can challenge Yugi to another duel?" Jounouchi sarcastically inquired.
Anzu playfully elbowed Jounouchi in the gut, as she stood in front of the young man, her nose slightly twitching at his scent...was that cigarette smoke? "Kaiba...I did not expect to see you here. I would have thought that you would be busy with college by now."
Seto shrugged his shoulders indifferently. "I dropped out."
Anzu, Jounouchi, and Honda were immediately paralysed by the sudden news.
"You dropped out?!" Anzu exclaimed. "That is...that is really unlike you."
Again, Seto shrugged his shoulders indifferently. "It just wasn't for me."
Jounouchi shook his head in disbelief. "Whoa, you mean to tell me honour student Seto Kaiba dropped out of college? Man, what's next?"
"I dunno...maybe you getting good grades?" Honda retorted.
Jounouchi rolled his eyes. "That was a rhetorical question, dumb-ass!"
Seto ignored the duo, his cold blue eyes rolling before falling upon Anzu. "I've other affairs to take care of, so I need a favour from you. When you next see Yugi, give this box to him." He handed Anzu the rather weighty shoebox. Her face showing reluctance, Anzu stared at the box as Seto carefully placed it in her hands. She began to remove the lid from the box; Seto's icy hand laid atop hers, preventing her from doing so.
"Don't."
Anzu bit her lip, and sighed. Seto slowly withdrew his hand, and Anzu did the same.
"Tell him he can't open it until he gets home. This is a very important favour that I ask of you, Anzu. You will do this for me, won't you?" His voice was very commanding...
Anzu gave a slight nod of her head. "But let me ask you something, Kaiba."
Kaiba remained unresponsive. "Ask away..."
"Is there a reason for all this?"
Again, he shrugged his shoulders indifferently--Anzu found the shrugging annoying. "Other than the fact I just feel like doing these things, not really." He turned on his heel, slowly exiting the hallways.
"What do you suppose all that was about? He didn't even call me dog or an total dumbfuck or nothin'," Jounouchi noted, his disdain for Seto clearly displayed by the tone of his voice.
"You're asking me? This is cold Seto Kaiba, the super rich son of a bitch we're talking here. I don't know what could be up his ass, and beside,s who cares?" Honda dismissed.
Anzu's eyes rested upon the box for a moment, then she looked at Jounouchi and Honda. "You're right. Let's just get this to Yugi, and call it a day. Oh, speak of the devil, there he is now."
"Atta girl!" Jounouchi exclaimed as he patted Anzu on her rear. She shot a very angry glare at him.
"A-HEM," Anzu coughed. Jounouchi instantly removed his hand as she briskly walked past him owards Yugi.
"I tell you what, she's got a glare that could rival that of Kaiba's," Honda whispered to Jounouchi. He nodded in agreement.

As soon as school had dismissed for the day, Anzu and Yugi headed over to the Game Shop to investigate the matters of the box.
"Ah, welcome back Yugi, and hello to you, Anzu!" Yugi's grandfather had greeted them in his usual cheerful and polite tone.
Anzu bowed. "Good afternoon Mutou-san."
Sugoroku noticed the shoebox his grandson was carrying. "Say, what's that you have there, Yugi?"
Yugi glanced at the box. "I'm not sure yet, grandfather. It was a gift from..." A pause. "It was a gift from a friend. Anzu and I will be in the back for a moment; I'll be out to assist you shortly."
Sugoroku chuckled. "Oh, it's no rush. Take your time; it's been a slow day today!"
Yugi and Anzu both smiled at the kindly elder Mutou as they entered the back room. There, Anzu handed Yugi the shoebox; Yugi's eyebrows raised as he noticed how surprisingly heavy the box was. He took a few moments to inspect the exterior of the shoebox as Anzu stood there and watched. Yugi raised his head to look at her. "So Kaiba just handed this to you without any explanation whatsoever?"
Anzu nodded. "It was pretty random...he didn't want me to open it, either. I had to keep an eye on the thing all day, because Jou and Honda kept trying to avert my attention from the box. Kaiba should have tied the damn thing shut..."
Yugi raised a brow when he heard Anzu utter the curse. "That time of the month again?"
Anzu looked away, her hand over her mouth. "That obvious, huh?"
Yugi chuckled. "I wouldn't need to use the powers of my Millenium Puzzle to figure that out."
Anzu glanced at the large golden pyramid-shaped object around Yugi's neck. "Well then, if you don't need me, I will be on my way...perhaps I should see Mai. I think I need some good old fashioned girl talk. I'd invite you, but...you know." She winked at Yugi as she gathered her books.
"I understand. Thanks for bringing this over to me. I'll let you know what I discovered inside of it tomorrow." He waved to Anzu as she left the game shop. Yugi slowly shut the door, an exhausted sigh escaping his lips as he leaned against the door. His eyes stared at the hardwood floor for a few moments, then he slowly approached towards the shoebox that made him very curious about its contents.
#Why would Kaiba give me anything?# Yugi thought as he placed his hands on the lid of the box. He briskly removed it, his eyebrows lifting as he found a plain white envelope with his name enscripted on it. He gingerly lifted the envelope and ripped it open--he cursed to himself as he did so; he always ripped them in such a messy fashion, but he was too stubborn to bother himself with retrieving a letter opener. He placed the torn envelope onto a nearby table, his hands unfolding the letter. There were few words, but Yugi knew that Kaiba Seto wasn't the type to go into long-winded speeches anyway.

Yugi:

I will not go into any details of any sort, but I hope you make good use of what is in the box, for I no longer have any need for them.

-Seto

Yugi arched a brow. #A rather blunt and direct message if I ever saw one#, he thought. He eyed the box. Inside, it appeared to contain a dark blue handkerchief. Yugi pinched a small portion of the cloth, and lifted it.
His jaw dropped open allowing a dramatic gasp to escape at the sight he saw.

"Are you kidding me?" Mai asked in disbelief as she leaned forward on the counter of the cosmetics store she was currently employed at, unintentionally exposing much of her cleavage in the process.
Anzu could not help but notice the endowments, so she instantly looked away from them. "It's true. He didn't really give a reason as to why he dropped out."
Mai shook her head. "Well, that's Kaiba for you...he never gives a straight answer."
Anzu sighed."Well, there were a few things I noticed about him as well. His trench coat was more concealing than any others I had seen, and he smelled of rather strong cigarette smoke. I don't ever recall Seto taking up a smoking habit..."
Mai shrugged her shoulders. "I could see a guy like him doing that sort of thing, what with the stress he undergoes. I still can't get over that he would just up and drop out of college like he did. But then again, he runs the Kaiba Corporation, so I guess he really has no need for something like college. Besides, he's a smart kid, so he probably was bored with it."
Anzu's lips formed a tight line. "That's not the point. Kaiba is the kind of guy who never gives up on anything. To suddenly drop out of college like he did it's just...it's just unlike him."
Mai smirked. "If I didn't know any better, I'd suspect that you have a...liking for him."
"That's not funny."
"Who said anything about joking? When he graduated, you were going on about how things just weren't the same without him around. Now here you are, talking to me about how he seems to be acting strange so suddenly."
Anzu was ready to respond, but instead a frustrated sigh escaped her lips. "What are you anyway, a cosmetician or a counselor?"
Mai giggled. "I'm only trying to help you out, hon."
Anzu arched a brow. "Is that so? Maybe you can help Jounouchi with his girl troubles, then?"
Mai stood from her leaning position as she rolled her eyes. "The only reason Jounouchi can't keep a date is because he's still young and just doesn't know any better."
Anzu giggled. "Perhaps he needs an older woman to set him right?"
Mai's eyes widened when she realised who Anzu was implying. "Since when was this about me, anyway? We're talking about you, Anzu!"
Anzu sighed. "I know, I know. It's just that I worry about things like this, even if it is someone as cold as Kaiba."
Mai's rose pink lips puckered for a moment. "Well, I can't really tell you how you should feel about anyone. All I can really say is if Kaiba really causes you so much worry, maybe you should confront him about it and get him out off of your mind that way."
Anzu's eyes fell as she heard those words. #But Kaiba isn't the kind of guy that is easily confronted...#
Mai looked over her shoulder. "Ugh, the boss is nearby. I have to pretend I'm working" She grabbed a case of eyeshadow.
"Okay. I'll be seeing you." Anzu nodded at Mai, and slowly turned away, exiting the cosmetics store. She glanced up at the murky gray sky and instead chose to look at the sidewalk. She continued to walk in that fashion until she walked into someone three minutes later.
"Oh, I'm terribly sorry--" She apologised, then looked up to see who it was she bumped into. "Oh. It's you."
Seto lifted a brow. "Not really worth apologising to when it's me, eh? That's fine. I'm used to that. Did you give Yugi the box?"
"Yes." Anzu started to walk away from Seto, but she turned around. "Seriously, Kaiba. Is something wrong?"
Seto shrugged his shoulders again, causing Anzu to roll her eyes once more. "It's nothing worth losing sleep over. I just wanted to know if Yugi got the package. You should be getting home; it's late."
Anzu folded her arms. "Then shouldn't you be going home as well?"
Seto turned around, walking away. "Perhaps."
Anzu wanted to say something more, but she realised that Seto was finished with the conversation. She walked away in the opposite direction.

A very downcast Jounouchi slumped into his seat as students entered the classroom for their usual daily sessions. Honda, who was sitting behind him, was about to tap him on the shoulder, when Jounouchi started to speak:
"Yumi dumped me."
Honda instantly withdrew his hand. "Damn...and it had only lasted a couple of weeks. What happened this time?"
Jounouchi sunk further into his desk. "She confessed that the only reason she was seeing me was because she couldn't stand to be alone. What kinda bullshit is that? I swear, I get the worst reasons...'My parents don't approve of a troublemaker like you', 'You don't look as though you'll be successful later in life', and my favourite, 'You look to be the type that would have another girl on the side'...."
"Well, you did have that one girl on the side," Honda muttered.
Jounouchi sneered, but chose to diesregard the remark. "Anyway, I wonder why I can never hold a steady girlfriend...what in the hell could I be doing wrong, anyway?"
Honda leaned back casually in his seat. "Who knows...maybe you just have bad luck with the women?"
Jounouchi turned aroud, a forced smile on his face. "With looks as good as mine? Not a chance in Hell."
Yugi slowly entered the classroom, sitting next to Jounouchi as he listed to Honda why he could easily get a date. Yugi placed his books on top of the desk, and the sneaker box on top of them all.
Honda was the first to notice Yugi. "Hey Yugi, what's up? Why the long face?"
Yugi glanced over at the duo. "Oh...it's nothing, really."
Jounouchi's sienna eyes took notice of the box. "Say...ain't that the box Kaiba gave to Anzu to give to you?"
Yugi nodded.
"So? What was inside?" Jounouchi asked.
"Well, inside was..." Yugi hesitated. Honda and Jounouchi leaned closer towards Yugi.
"Is it some porno or something?" Honda inquired.
"Hey, if you don't want any of it, I'll be more than happy to take it off your hands," Jounouchi offered. "Hell, who knew that Kaiba had a collection of porn anyway? Maybe he was so sad yesterday because he had to part with them..."
"Actually, this is a really serious matter," Yugi stated.
Jounouchi sighed. "So what is it? What's in the box?"
Yugi removed the box from the table and placed it on his lap. His hands took hold of the lid and he lifted it, it's contents exposed to the prying eyes of Jounouchi and Honda.
Honda's jaw fell. "Holy...shit..."
Jounouchi rubbed his eyes. "Is...this...are these what I think they are?"
Yugi nodded. Jounouchi, still in disbelief reached into the box and pulled out an object, which was very much tangible, indicating that it was very much real. The object that Jounouchi removed from the box was a card from the Duel Monsters game he would play during his increasingly sparse spare time. His eyes widened when he saw the image and read the inscription on the card, identifying it as one of the three BLUE EYES WHITE DRAGON card.