Kaiba checked his watch for the third time in the last five minutes.
"He's late," he ground out to his brother, seated next to him at the long conference table.
"It's only a couple of minutes. Don't worry, he'll be here," Mokuba replied lightly. He flashed his brother a quick grin, and Kaiba rankled.
Seto Kaiba and his brother, Mokuba, along with a few other KaibaCorp executives, were in the conference room of an upscale hotel in the heart of Domino City, waiting to meet with their new publicist from their new public relations firm. Mokuba, as Head of Media had assured him that this up and coming boutique firm was the best choice to handle their company's re-invention before the release of their new gaming platform. He also said that the firm had a young hotshot PR rep who supposedly worked miracles. Kaiba was the last person to admit failure, professional or otherwise, but even he had to admit that sales had not been going as well as they should have been. Mokuba, as Head of Sales, had assured him that a new image was just the thing to save their ailing company and boost their figures.
He checked his watch again. Six minutes late. He was just about to let Mokuba know his opinions on the professional calibre of persons who were late for important business meetings when the door sprang open and a small group of people came in, led by a fair-haired, brown-eyed man with a wide grin on his face.
"Good morning, everyone!" he said cheerfully as he strode to the empty side of the conference table.
Kaiba stared incredulously as Katsuya Jounouchi came to a stop right in front of him, looking down at him from across the table. They studied each other in silence while their parties exchanged greetings and other pleasantries around them. It had been so long since they had seen one another, and each was different than the other remembered in countless subtle ways, but the exactly same in so many more. Kaiba quietly took Jou in, his long golden hair curling at the nape of his neck, his lean but muscular form, perfectly showcased by his trendy designer clothes, that strong jaw with just a hint of stubble. He couldn't help but let his gaze wander to Jou's lips, full and inviting, the corners pulled up into a lopsided smile. From there it was just a short trip back up to Jou's eyes, raging amber depths that made his breath hitch in his throat and his heart pound harder with each beat. They continued to say nothing as they simply looked at each other, time seemingly standing still.
"…right, Seto?" Mokuba's voice penetrated the haze around them, and just like that, the reverie was broken. Kaiba mentally roused himself, scraping his metaphorical jaw off the ground and gathering his wits. He remembered that he was angry, and decided to greet Jou appropriately.
"I see time has not curbed your tardiness," Kaiba snapped at Jou, clenching his fists.
"Oh, I actually got here early, but I waited for fifteen minutes in the lobby before I came up. Wanted to make an entrance, I guess," Jou shrugged flippantly as he slid into the chair directly across from Kaiba. Kaiba seethed as Jou made himself comfortable. He was every bit the brash, swaggering asshole that Kaiba remembered, and a sudden wave of nostalgia engulfed him, threatening to send him spiralling.
In the years since Kaiba had last seen Jou, he'd tried to put him as far out of his mind as possible. He'd had no idea what Jou had been doing in Domino City all this time, having stoically resisted the urge to look him up. He'd actually had to restrain himself on more than one occasion, if he was being honest. And now he found himself staring straight into his past, at all the secret things he kept carefully hidden behind his alabaster façade. He felt it all welling up inside of him, long-buried memories and feelings, first seeping through the cracks, now rushing back, pure chaos swirling in his chest. And while he sat there with his viscera churning, struggling to remain impassive, Jou's eyes continued to bore into him, sizzling to his core, an infuriating lilt on his lips. He wanted to punch his brother in the face. How could he put the future of their company in the hands of this grinning idiot?
Kaiba quickly surveyed Jou's entourage, three other young men and one woman that he instantly recognised as Anzu Mazaki. He briefly wondered how she came to work with the blond buffoon, but immediately dismissed the question, it was useless information.
"So," Jou smiled broadly, looking every bit like the cat that got the cream. Or maybe, the dog that got the bone. "What can we do for you?"
The shock and anger bubbling inside of Kaiba boiled over, and he turned to his brother in consternation. "This is who you were talking about? You can't honestly think I would –"
"I actually knew you wouldn't, that's why I didn't tell you," Mokuba admitted ruefully. "But I promise you he comes highly recommended!" he hastened to add. "Everyone says great things about him!"
"Oh, I've heard what they say," Kaiba said, turning his eyes to Jou. "I didn't do any digging into the firm – or you – because I trusted my brother, but I have heard the rumours. Party animal, reckless, womaniser. That's quite a reputation," Kaiba finished, lips curling in derision, as he looked Jou up and down disdainfully.
A disapproving tut came from Anzu's general direction and Jou's smirk grew even wider, evoking a wrath in Kaiba that was all too familiar. Kaiba clenched his jaw so hard he thought his molars might crack. Why did everything Jou did still make Kaiba want to kick the shit out of him?
"There's obviously a method to the madness," Mokuba rebutted nervously, shooting an anxious glance across the table at Jou. This meeting was clearly not going the way he'd planned. Kaiba could see Mokuba enter crisis mode, and watched him instantaneously switch gears.
"Look, we came all this way for this meeting, we should at least hear him out." Mokuba had resorted to open cajoling, and Kaiba could see how much he really wanted to hire Jou. Which would normally be an instinct he would follow without hesitation. He had trusted his brother with KaibaCorp dealings for so long now that it was almost second-nature to default to Mokuba's suggestions. He couldn't remember the last time he double-checked his brother's information or recommendations, and couldn't help but feel like it was his own fault he was so caught off guard. Mokuba had conned him, pure and simple. He hadn't done his due diligence, which Mokuba had obviously counted on, and now here he was, face to obnoxious face with the Duellist of Christmas Past. He didn't know if he was more angry at himself, or his brother, or Jou right now, and his momentary indecision offered Jou the perfect opening to once again address them.
"Well, if you're done talking about me like I'm not here," Jou started smoothly, "we should get down to business. What can we do for you?" he asked again, looking so damned smug, nestled in his chair.
"You can leave," was Kaiba's icy response.
"Aw, that's not very nice. I'm here to help you, whether you like it or not." The twinkle in Jou's eyes only served to make Kaiba even more irritated, and he quickly fired back.
"I don't need your help, I don't need anything from you."
"We both know that's not true," Jou said plainly, looking Kaiba square in the eye. Jou's cockiness upset Kaiba more than he knew it should. He knew it was petty, but he wanted to knock him down a peg. Or ten. He opened his mouth despite himself, knowing exactly what to say to wipe that smile off of Jou's face, to hurt him, break him.
"Haven't you learned your lesson by now? I don't want anything to do with you," Kaiba enunciated clearly.
"Fuck you," Jou spat out, immediately incensed, and Kaiba narrowed his eyes.
"Not in this lifetime," Kaiba sneered back. The air crackled between them, electric with tension.
Anzu looked back and forth between Jou and Kaiba glaring daggers at each other over the conference table and decided to intervene before someone launched himself across the table. She cleared her throat and interjected pacifyingly.
"Ok, that got heated really quickly. Can we please try and keep this civil? We'll be working together now. This high school drama was, like, ten years ago."
"Twelve," they corrected her in unison.
"Anzu is right," Mokuba chimed in. "We work together now."
"And you already paid for six months of our services, up front," Jou added matter-of-factly.
"Then I want someone else," Kaiba countered.
"No," Mokuba said quickly. "I specifically asked for him. Jou is very good at what he does, we need him."
"Mokuba," Kaiba turned to face his brother. "I refuse to work with him," Kaiba said solemnly, brother to brother, and he knew that Mokuba would respect his wishes.
"Seto," Mokuba replied, just as solemnly, "It's a done deal. Suck it up, big bro."
Kaiba closed his eyes and pressed his fingertips against his eyelids. Mokuba had become so self-assured, so headstrong, so very much the man, the partner, the leader that Kaiba had always imagined he would be. He was disheartened to find himself on the receiving end of his brother's authority, but he accepted it in stride. The initial shock of the past few minutes was wearing off, and he considered things a little more rationally. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad. Mokuba had been the face of KaibaCorp for quite some time now, taking over most of the publicity aspects so that Kaiba could concentrate on KaibaCorp's technological development, and other sundry endeavours. Kaiba most likely wouldn't ever see Jou again, save for the odd PR event. He conceded, albeit reluctantly.
"Fine, Mokuba. But he is your responsibility. You deal with him."
"Of course," Mokuba assured Kaiba. "I'll make sure you don't ever have to –"
"Actually," Jou cut in, "I had an idea to revitalise your brand that might interfere with that little arrangement."
"Oh?" Mokuba looked intrigued, but Kaiba was immediately wary. He didn't trust Jou to tie his own shoelaces, let alone "revitalise his brand," and he waited to hear Jou's insipid plan.
"Well," Jou started confidently, "we all know that Mokuba's been the only one pulling his weight lately when it comes to the company's PR. He's been in all the magazines, he's been giving all the interviews, doing the talk show circuit and all that jazz. Now, not that people don't love you, little guy, you're a stud –"
"Thanks," Mokuba graciously accepted.
"– but it's time to switch it up. We need to bring Kaiba back in the spotlight, people are dying to know what the fuck he's been up to all this time."
"Language!" Anzu jabbed Jou in the ribs, eliciting a sharp hiss, and he continued more carefully while the Kaiba brothers looked on guardedly.
"Look, when you took over KaibaCorp, it was crazy. It was non-stop press and corporate conspiracies and tournaments – it was sensational."
"Then we'll have another tournament," Kaiba deadpanned.
"No, it's more than that. It's you." Jou leaned forward a little, talking to Kaiba as if they were the only ones in the room, his voice velvety and hypnotic.
"You were at the centre of all of it. It's the attitude and the big coat and your…dumb face – I dunno. There's this mystery about you that people are just drawn to. They wanna know what's your favourite food, what kind of music you like, where you buy your clothes. They wanna figure you out. And we can use that."
"I respectfully decline," Kaiba stated forcefully, his tone much harsher than was strictly necessary. He was overcompensating. Jou's steady gaze and his even timbre stirred something in him, something not altogether unpleasant, something he absolutely refused to acknowledge. He had to make it clear that he had no intention of taking part in whatever media joyride Jou was intent on dragging him through. However, it seemed that he was the only one who felt that way.
"No…I think he's right, Seto," Mokuba said slowly, turning to face his brother. "The first thing people always ask me is what's going on with my reclusive brother. They want to see you, talk to you. I think it's worth a shot."
Kaiba shook his head, unhappy to be rehashing this topic again. "We've talked about this. You're doing a very good job, I don't see why –"
"I know we've talked about it but we should talk about it again! You don't get to –"
"We should discuss this in private," Kaiba growled through gritted teeth, and the room settled into awkward silence as the brothers stared each other down for a moment.
"You're right," Mokuba relented, and he swung around to face the room. "Give us five minutes," he said curtly, pushing back his chair and heading for the door to the hallway, his brother following suit.
After shutting the door behind them, positive there was no one within earshot, Mokuba started earnestly before Kaiba could say anything. "Big bro, I love you, and I love this company, our company, and I don't want to see it ruined. I wouldn't have brought him here unless he was good at his job, and he's actually better than good, he's great! He already knows us, he knows the company, he knows how much it means to us. And we can trust him, he'd never screw us over, you know that. All in all, I don't think there's anyone better out there. I really believe that he can do this. I know that you two had your issues, but after everything we've been through, how far we've come, don't let this stupid high school bullshit be the thing that brings us down. If you love this company too, you would do this. For us." Mokuba finished his tirade and fixed Kaiba with an expression he hadn't seen since childhood, the infamous puppy eyes, and as old as he was, goddamnit, it still got to him. Mokuba was really pulling out all the stops to convince him to hire Jou, leaving no weapon unsheathed.
And Mokuba was right, of course. After all these years of struggling and fighting to keep the company alive, hell, just to keep it, would he really let his history with Katsuya Jounouchi stand in the way of his continued success? He took a moment to ponder the conundrum, weighing the pros and cons, but in the end, he knew that there was no sensible way that he could justify turning down Jou's plan, as much as he disliked it, as much personal anguish as it would bring him. At least, not without opening a giant can of killer worms that no one on Planet Earth was ready for, especially him. He admitted defeat, grudgingly admiring his little brother's fervour.
"You, my dear brother," Kaiba started, clapping his hands on either side of Mokuba's face, "are an exceptional manipulator."
"I learned from the best," Mokuba smiled wryly, pulling Kaiba down into a brief hug. "I know you don't want to do this," Mokuba said, pulling away. "But I swear I'll make it up to you. I'll do anything."
"I'll remember you said that," Kaiba threw over his shoulder as he reached for the door. "If this goes wrong, I will collect on that promise," Kaiba threatened menacingly before striding into the room, and Mokuba shivered as he followed his brother through the doorway.
"Ok, we're in!" Mokuba exclaimed as soon as they closed the door behind them, probably afraid that Kaiba would change his mind.
"Seriously?" Jou asked in disbelief. He had turned around in his seat at the sound of the door, and stood to take Mokuba's outstretched hand in obvious surprise. He clearly never thought that the elder Kaiba would go for it, and Jou's eyes followed him as he rounded the conference table.
"It's a done deal, right?" Kaiba droned, heading for his seat again. The room was suddenly abuzz with activity, their two teams immediately arranging meetings and contract clauses and non-disclosure agreements.
"You better not mess this up," Mokuba muttered to Jou as they shook hands, eyeing his older brother. "He is going to kill me if anything goes wrong."
"Don't worry, little man. I got it," Jou assured him.
"Good," Mokuba replied. "Oh, and don't call me little man. I'm twenty-five for God's sake."
Jou let out a hearty laugh and brought up his hands in mock surrender. "You're right, my bad. I'm sorry, but when I look at you I can't help but see that little brat that kicked me in the shins because I said your brother had stupid hair. You were one mean little kid!"
"I did do that, didn't I?" Mokuba chuckled, showing absolutely no remorse. "Well, let's call it even."
"Alright, even. Look, the proposals are on the table, go through them, let us know what you want to keep, what you want to toss, what you want to change, and then we'll get started. Sound good?"
"Sounds great. We'll be in touch."
"Good," Jou smiled, and signalled his team that the meeting was over. He turned to meet Kaiba's piercing stare, and returned it calmly.
"Looking forward to working with you," Jou intoned, his smooth voice belying nothing, his face a composed mask of professionalism. "Mr. Kaiba," he added, with a crooked smile, before following his team out of the room. Kaiba scowled after them sullenly, feeling like he had just signed his own death warrant. Mokuba clapped his hand on his brother's shoulder reassuringly.
"Don't worry, he's got it," Mokuba assured Kaiba. But Kaiba was worried. For so many reasons, most of which Mokuba had no clue about, he was beyond worried. He was downright petrified.
o.o.o.o.o.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.o.o.o.o.o.
Buckle up, this is gonna be a long one!