Yu-Gi-Oh! - The Shadow Institute

Disclaimer: No, I do not own anything to do with the Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise at all. No characters, no cards, no places, nothing. All credit goes to Kazuki Takahashi and Konami.

I mean, WHY NOT make a mediocre Yu-Gi-Oh! fanfic and put it on the Internet for everybody to ridicule me with? What could possibly go wrong?

Eheheh...anyway...our story begins with Yugi and Joey talking about a new building that just opened right near the Game Shop. So, let's jump right in. Fasten your seatbelts, and set your phasers to DISAPPOINT as we begin!

"See, Yugi, I don't entirely trust it. I mean, it has no signs, no windows, not even any decent colours! Seems fishy, if you ask me..." Joey leaned back in his chair and stared out of the window. He and his friend Yugi were discussing a new office-like building that had opened a few streets away. The builders had worked on it for just a few weeks - they'd seemed rushed. However, the actual building seemed to be of a higher quality than Joey had seen anywhere else. It was a masterpiece of a building.

Yugi leaned forward and put his arms on the table. "You worry too much Joey. It's fine. It's just a normal office building. There are loads of them in the centre. What makes this one so different?"

"I don't know...I still don't trust it..."

"Oh never mind. Hey, look at the time! We have to go to my Grandpa's Game Shop to help him with the new stock!" Yugi grabbed his bag and ran out of the room. Joey stood up and went after him. They ran outside to a lovely afternoon. The sun was out, there were barely any clouds, it was perfect. Not perfect for running, however, and pretty soon Yugi and Joey were exhausted. They arrived at the Game Shop about 10 minutes late, and they knew that they were in for it.

"Where exactly have you two been?" asked Solomon, tapping the handle of a rather short broom.

"Lay off us, man. We've just ran for at least 15 minutes! Now where are these boxes?" replied Joey.

"Fine. Whatever. The new stock is just outside. Big boxes, can't miss them."

Yugi and Joey walked outside and found the boxes. They began to lift them (Joey trying to hide the pain of lifting some rather heavy objects) and were soon halfway done. Yugi was grabbing another box when he saw a figure in the distance. "Hey Joey, can you see that?"

"Oh yeah, looks kinda familiar..." answered Joey, scratching his head.

It should have looked familiar, for the figure was none other than child-prodigy Seto Kaiba. He had been distant from the group for a while (about a month). He said that he had "a new problem to deal with" and couldn't pretend to be best friends with them for a while. "Poor guy..." muttered Yugi, "He's had a lot on his plate recently. Wish he'd talk to us more."

"Well, he can stay away for all I care. Guy's a condescending type, and I don't like that." replied Joey, carrying another box inside.

"How could you say that Joey? Kaiba's stuck with us through some pretty hard times. No matter what, he's our friend, even if he won't readily admit it."

"So what? He did it only for himself."

"Interrupting something, am I?" Kaiba had snuck up on the duo whilst they were bickering. Joey jumped in shock, nearly dropping his box in the process. Yugi raced to place a hand under it, and tripped over his foot.

"Oh. Hey, Kaiba." scoffed Joey.

"Sorry if I...'offended' you in any way, Wheeler. I just tried to be nice. I can't help it if that means I have to be better than you at everything." said Kaiba, with a slight smirk.

"Why don't you just get lost, Kaiba?" yelled Joey, who was getting annoyed.

"Actually, Yugi's grandpa invited me here. He said that the new building nearby had some connection to the...issue I've been facing." Kaiba lost his smirk as he remembered what he'd been dealing with. He shut his eyes, but opened them again quickly to hide any display of emotional pain. "It's been going on for too long. I need to end it. Now, where's the old man?"

"Just inside...you okay, Kaiba?" Yugi asked.

"I'm fine. Leave me alone." Kaiba said, as he walked into the Game Shop, coat tails drifting behind him. It added a certain sense of drama that only he could pull off.

"Man, he sure seemed distracted." noted Joey.

"Yeah..." replied Yugi absently.

They worked for a few more hours, and they finally finished. Joey shoved his hands into his pockets.

"See you later, Yugi!" cried Joey, as he walked away.

"Yeah, bye Joey." replied Yugi. He went to pack away his equipment, and saw Kaiba exiting the Game Shop. Kaiba seemed slightly more annoyed than usual, and his walk was direct and focused. Yugi attempted to stop him and ask him about his issues, but Kaiba blanked him and kept walking. Yugi then went to continue packing up, when he heard a car speeding past the Game Shop at what was certainly more than 30 mph. He ran out to see Kaiba staring at a tattered note, a disturbed expression on his face.

Yugi ran to Kaiba. "You okay? That car sure was fast!" he exclaimed.

"Leave me alone, Yugi!" snapped Kaiba, preparing to walk away.

"No, Kaiba, I won't! You've blanked us for a month now! What is going on?" Yugi attempted to steal the note, but to no avail, as Kaiba was much, MUCH taller than him.

"Nothing to do with your OR your little friends. It doesn't affect you. Stay out of it!" said Kaiba.

"Kaiba, look at me. Tell me what's going on. You know me and the Pharaoh have helped you out lots of times. Now tell me what's wrong!"

"Fine...*stubborn little brat*...you've seen the large building not too far from here, I assume?"

"Yeah, who hasn't?"

"Well, that's supposedly a regular office branch. However, I happen to know it isn't. It's a test lab for a new kind of game...a game much like the virtual reality one I've been designing. Except this one requires nothing more than a brain."

"What?"

"There are no machines involved. Instead, they've somehow managed to make the whole game an illusion. You enter the tower, and have to reach the top and defeat the boss. Simple enough. However, the minds behind it are not exactly friendly...and they've kidnapped my brother!"

At that moment, Joey ran towards the duo holding a similar tattered note. He had panic in his eyes, and Yugi could guess what had happened. "Yugi! These guys in some black car gave me this! They've taken Tristan and Tea!"

Yugi grabbed the note and stared at it. These people, whoever they were, had taken most of his friends. Who knew what they were doing? He was sure it couldn't be anything like a game. He scrunched up the note and shoved it in his pocket, and donned a serious expression. "Kaiba, do you know what they do to the ones they take?"

"I have an idea. Every game needs testing. So, either they've taken Mokuba and the others to test the game, or..."

"Or what?" Yugi went from serious to desperate worry.

"Or they're using them as bait for us to test it." Kaiba shut his eyes tight, unable to imagine his little brother being used as a pawn to lure himself into a trap again.

Yugi looked at Joey, who was very confused. "Why not just ask real people to test it?"

"Have you really not caught on yet, Wheeler? Whatever it is, it isn't a GAME. It's a torture chamber. They want to get at my success, just like everybody else. Well, I'm going to stop them, no matter what. Nobody takes my brother and gets away with it." He clenched his fist. "Whoever these people are, they're going to pay."

Yugi nodded in agreement. "We're going with you, Kaiba. I mean, they're obviously powerful. You'll need all the help you can get."

Kaiba sighed. "I suppose you'd still follow if I said 'go away', so why not? We'll leave first thing tomorrow. Don't get kidnapped...especially you, Wheeler."

"Hey, I can handle myself, Kaiba!" yelled Joey.

"Sure, fine..." Kaiba chuckled to himself as he walked away.

"Told you he was a moron, Yugi." Joey muttered.

"Oh, deal with it, Joey." Yugi replied.