Shadow: For the final of Compy-kun's contest (OMG, I actually made it through?!), Season three. The other finalist happens to be my 'nee-chan, Hikari Daeron, so um…. Wow. I'm proud of both of us. ^^ The final pairing is Fillershipping – Noa Kaiba x Rebecca Hawkins.
Warnings/Notes: Contains het and shonen-ai (boy x boy), with one-sided Replayshipping – Rebecca x Yugi; Chibishipping – Yugi x Mokuba; and the contest pairing, Fillershipping – Rebecca x Noa. Please don't read if this is going to offend you majorly in any way. Set post-series – the characters have all had the chance to grow up a little.
Data Recovery
The first time Seto Kaiba phoned Rebecca Hawkins, she slammed the phone down on him. She hadn't known who it was that was calling her, of course – she'd thought it had been an annoying telemarketer who had been ringing her flat repeatedly for a week or so despite her constant insistence that she didn't want any of the services the man's company had to offer -, but, on later reflection, even if she had had known who it was on the other end of the line, she probably would've slammed the phone down anyway, just to spite the other.
The second time Kaiba phoned she'd literally just got into her flat after coming back from the local supermarket, dropping her bag of groceries on the kitchen table, her keys skittering across the marble surface as she snatched up the receiver.
"Hello?" Her greeting didn't sound very friendly. Some idiot had hogged the lift and she'd been forced to climb the daunting eight flights of stairs to her apartment, inwardly cursing tiny elevators that could only fit three people (or four very tiny people) every step of the way.
Crisp, cool tones rose from the other end of the line, perfectly enunciated English. Oxford English, to be precise, completely without the American twang she usually heard in her day-to-day life. "Miss. Hawkins, so glad you appear to be in such a lovely mood today."
Rebecca frowned, tucking the phone a little more comfortably under her chin. "Who is this?" The voice was familiar, a name niggling her at the back of her mind –
"Kaiba Seto."
Rebecca almost dropped the receiver. "…Excuse me?!" Kaiba Seto had no reason to be calling her. He was a big-shot CEO, head of KaibaCorp, living in Japan, a whole continent away. The last time she'd spoken to him in-person…ack. The last time she'd actually spoken to him in-person they'd been snarking at one another over a line as she hacked into KaibaCorp's security so Yami no Yugi and he could break in. Which would be – what? Four, five years ago? She wasn't sure he'd ever actually forgiven her for breaking past all the internal security he'd built himself but – "If you are even Kaiba Seto, why the hell are you calling me?"
The Oxford English switched to fluent Japanese. "Hawkins, don't doubt I am who I say I am. What reason would there be for me to trick you? I'm offering you a job."
"You – what?" Rebecca replied in the same tongue, dredging up the language from dusty corners of her memory. "Why on earth-?"
"My company recently got some new games designs in. They're of a stunning quality, and my board has given the go-ahead of their creation – but the majority of my employees are a bunch of blithering idiots." It appeared the years hadn't supplied Kaiba with any more social niceties. "My company employs the best. You are one of the best at this time, a 'programming genius' as others rave about you. I would be prepared to cover all your travelling expenses to reach Japan, put you in charge of the project, buy you a home out here and pay you quite a hefty amount for your troubles – do you want the job?" No, Kaiba was as abrupt and to-the-point as ever.
"Kaiba-san," Rebecca thought it best to be polite when declining such a generous offer, "I already have a job here in the US -"
"Does it pay as well as what I can offer you?"
Probably not, Rebecca admitted to herself rather ruefully, but at least my boss isn't a jackass. "Kaiba-san -"
"The games designer you'd be working with is Yugi Mouto."
"…Yugi?" Wonder, elation, joy…her once-upon-a-time great crush – "Yugi works for KaibaCorp?"
"Freelance. He keeps refusing a full-time job here, insisting he has to help with the upkeep of his grandfather's shop. I'm sure he'd be quite happy to see you – aren't you friends?"
Sudden indignation, flaring bright and hot. "Yes." And Kaiba knew that – had to have known about her childish crush on Yugi, ever since she was twelve. It was well-documented, she'd acted like a prat publicly declaring her undying love for Yugi many times over, and there was no doubt at all Kaiba would've picked up on it – manipulative Kaiba, who would pull every string in the book to get what he wanted, when he wanted it. So…Kaiba was trying to manipulate her now by mentioning Yugi? He hadn't even been very subtle about it.
"So do you want the job?"
Rebecca scowled; disliking the other's scheming immensely. "No." And she slammed the phone down.
The systems were down – again. It was becoming a reoccurring happenstance in Rebecca's workplace; the entire community of programmers about her brought to a grinding halt as the overworked server caved in yet again, desperate technicians swarming about the place like cockroaches. It was impossible to get any work done – in the beginning, when the server had been healthy and happy and only very occasionally died, people had used the downtime to catch up on their paperwork, organise their desks, sort out the filing. Now…now everyone just threw their hands up in the air in disgust, and set about holding wheelie chair races down the length of the office.
Disgusted, Rebecca stalked off to the percolator for some coffee. She'd been working on a series of complex codes for one of the games the company was developing; when the server had went down, she'd lost the past hour's worth of work. Yet again, it was a common occurrence. As her coffee brewed, Rebecca brooded. She'd had this job pushing two years, fighting back against the prejudices against her from the start because of her young age. She was still the youngest employee in the building; still the one many looked down upon even though she'd proven herself better than them hundreds of times over –
Coffee cup in hand, Rebecca wandered back to her seat, carefully stepping out of the path of a wheelie chair race competitor on the way (who promptly blazed past her, pushed by an overenthusiastic friend, and went careening into the nearest wall). Back at her desk she set the mug down, glancing around quickly to see if anyone was looking her way. When the coast was clear she snatched up the phone on her table, quickly tapping in a few numbers she knew would get her a direct line to who she was looking for…
"Hawkins."
Rebecca twirled the phone cord with one hand, suddenly nervous. "Kaiba-san," she started hesitantly, well aware the other would gloat about what she was going to do for days to come, "is that job still on offer?"
Airports,
There had been a delay with unloading the luggage. Bored with waiting around the carousel Rebecca had gone to the toilets to freshen up after the flight – but then there had been a queue there. Why was there always a queue at the ladies' toilets?
About an hour later Rebecca finally made it out of baggage collection, stalking towards the airport exit with the full intentions of hailing a taxi and getting to KaibaCorp as fast as physically poss-
"Hawkins-san?" A smartly dressed man stepped in her path, tipping his peaked cap emblazoned with the infamous KC symbol at her politely, copying the same symbol he wore on the lapel of his suit.
"That's me." Rebecca took a step back from the male, a little cautious.
"Kaiba-sama asked me to escort you to KaibaCorp main;" the man flashed a badge at her, bowing politely; "the limo is waiting outside."
For the first time since she'd arrived in Japan, Rebecca's mood took a sudden upswing. "Limo?" She was hard-put to hide the sudden excitement sweeping through her.
"Yes, Hawkins-san." The chauffeur (?) smiled dryly at her, apparently noticing her sudden change of mood. "Shall we proceed?"
"Oh – definitely."
Domino hadn't changed much over the years. Rebecca couldn't help but smile as she looked out of the tinted limo windows at the city outside, at the groups of people milling about playing different types of games, at the buildings, the people. Above it all rose KaibaCorp, visible from practically anywhere in Domino, the tallest building around – all sleek glass and shiny modernism, eye-catching and bold. Towards this great point the limo drove, and it wasn't long before the vehicle was pulling up before the entrance, Rebecca's breath lost as she stepped from the car and faced down the three great Blue Eyes White Dragon statues guarding the doors.
The foyer inside was even more impressive. One entire wall was made of glass panes – windows-, sunlight from outside streaming in across the marble floor, the gushing tri-dragon water fountain in the centre of the lobby. The room was at least seven floors high, the ceiling stretching far, far above Rebecca as she craned her head back to try and find it - when she looked up something flashed across it, a graceful swoop of quicksilver light. Then, something roared, the light collecting itself to preen on a distant arch.
Rebecca stared. Three white dragons were tumbling in the sky above her head, soaring, flapping and turning loop-the-loops. A fourth lay curled up on a shelf of some kind, seemingly asleep, wings twitching every so often to show it was still alive. They were holograms, no doubt, some kind of advanced programming combined with KaibaCorp's famous projection system, but they were gorgeous. Rebecca had the sudden urge to pick the mind of the one who had created the illusion – but then she realised that would probably be Kaiba, her new boss, and – well – no thank you.
"Rebecca!" A familiar voice calling her name snapped Rebecca from her thoughts, blue eyes sliding from the holograms soaring about the foyer's ceiling down to the smiling young man coming her way, his hands outstretched in welcome. "Look how you've grown!"
"Yugi?" Quite forgetting the cool dignity she was meant to be exuding in such a professional workplace Rebecca ran over to the male – how she didn't slip on the polished floors in her heels was anyone's guess -, snatching up the man's palms, her expression delighted. "You've cut your hair!"
Yugi freed one of his hands from hers, running it back through his cropped locks a little abashedly. His hair was still its unusually gorgeous mix of red, black and blond, but had been cut close to his head so spikes fell in charming disarray near his crown. "It's more manageable this way, and less distinctive." His smile, flashed at her with perfect ease, was sweet. Rebecca felt the old thrill within her at the glance, her cheeks turning a little pink. Yugi had grown even more attractive over the years. "Means it's easier to hide from fans still out there searching for dueling tips."
"Well I think it looks cute." Another voice broke into their conversation, a slim man moving in with an easy smile, the casual suit he wore screaming refinement. "Yugi," one pale hand was laid on the named male's shoulder, speaking of familiarity and comfort, "won't you introduce us?"
Yugi turned his smile on the intruder, finally extracting his other hand from Rebecca's grasp. "But you've already met."
"That was a long time ago." The stranger flapped his free hand airily, tossing his head slightly so the black plait of hair that had been hanging over his shoulder fell over to hang down his back instead. "We've both grown up since then."
"Very well…" a roll of soft purple eyes, Yugi sweeping a hand out to indicate Rebecca. "Mokuba, this is Rebecca Hawkins, the granddaughter of one of my grandfather's good friends and colleagues, and a good friend of mine. Rebecca," Yugi jerked a thumb not-so-politely at Mokuba, "this is Mokuba Kaiba, younger brother of Seto Kaiba, Vice-President of KaibaCorp, and the current bane of my life as he hounds me about my deadlines."
Rebecca stared at the handsome young man just (re-)introduced to her, a little hard-put to associate it with the vague memory of a hyperactive black-haired young boy trailing after his elder sibling all the time. "You grew up." Her tone was astonished.
"So did you." Mokuba's laugh was friendly, "don't we all?"
"Most of the paperwork and legislation goes on above ground, with some of the basic computing up there as well." Mokuba pressed a button for one of the basement levels when he, Yugi and Rebecca entered one of the elevators. "The main of the graphics department is above-ground too, from floors twelve to fifteen – they demanded the view from the windows as 'inspiration' and, as their work remained at an acceptable standard, nii-sama saw no reason not to allow them their choice of location."
Yugi complained. "The above-ground graphics department are mad, Rebecca."
At the female's confused look, Mokuba added with a grin - "They hold contests to see who can bounce the most paper missiles off of his head as he walks past."
A dramatic sigh, Yugi looking wounded. "Totally uncalled for."
"You told the head of the entire department her drawing of your main character looked like a peanut!"
"Well…it did look like a peanut!"
"Yugi-"
Aware the conversation could go on for a long time if she didn't halt it, Rebecca interrupted. "So…what goes on below-ground?"
Mokuba switched his attention back to her. "…The majority of the programming, virtual simulation and testing. You'll be working down here most of the time – or at least, you'll be ordering around those who work down here, most of the time. Basically, as long as the work gets done, you can work pretty much wherever you wish."
The elevator 'dinged', coming to a halt, the doors sliding open. Mokuba stepped out first, ushering his two companions along a long corridor with a long window running down all one side. Going over to peer into the glass, Rebecca was more than a little amazed to see the view shown was a giant room, holograms flickering to life and battling one another. They were larger than the norm for the duel disk system, some of the monsters almost terrifying in size and width.
"Testing." Mokuba beckoned Rebecca on a bit further down the hallway, pointing into another room that came into view, banks of computers and busy people floating about. "Programming."
Yugi, accompanying them, smiled. "I spend most of my time alternating with the guys down here and the graphic department upstairs."
"The team for Yugi's game has already been assembled," Mokuba broke in again, "you'll only have to speak to the various leaders and draw the strands together, though you're free to alter the coding and programming yourself of course -"
"Um…" Rebecca was still staring down at the sea of people in the programming room, a little daunted, "I haven't even seen the designs yet."
"Working title for it all is 'Yugi's game'," Mokuba added helpfully, grinning once more. "No-one can think of a better title, least of all the designer."
Yugi shrugged a little embarrassedly. "So sue me for running out of creativity in time to pick a title – I did the rest of the work, didn't I?" He turned back to Rebecca. "I have the original designs in my office, if you want to have a look at them." He moved off.
Rebecca followed after him, asking curiously: "You have an office?"
"An attempt to bribe him into working here fulltime." Mokuba said, when the female glanced back at him. "But Yugi's stubbornly resisted all enticements we've offered him insofar."
A roll of violet eyes. "Mokuba, I've told you -"
"'You have to help your grandfather with his shop'. We know, Yugi." A cheerful smile took the edge off the Vice-president's words. "You've said."
Rebecca would never admit it, but she loved her new job. KaibaCorp's technology was far superior to the selection available to her previous company, the employees around her much more affable, used to working with people of all ages. (Their boss was still in his early twenties.) It was great to catch up with old friends in the area, and Yugi was being his usual sweet self to her on the days he came in to KaibaCorp to work with others on his game.
Talking of his game…
Rebecca was in love with it. Yugi's designs were beautiful in their own right – since when had the duelist been so good at art? – but the notes attached were detailed and insightful, making her job so much easier, as well as everyone else's on the team.
She was currently working through the schematics of one of the later environments, one of KaibaCorp's VR helmets slipped over her head as she explored her 'surroundings' to test for any flaws in the programming. Really she could have offered up the job to one of her subordinates – but there was something just so…satisfying about doing it herself. Plus, it was…well…kinda fun.
Smiling to herself, Rebecca started testing the in-game objects around her, checking they interacted with her person correctly and – like in the case of one ill-fated virtual vase – didn't completely fail to interact with her at all, and let her hand sail straight through into layers of intricate code.
Something green flickered at the corner of her eye.
Rebecca whirled around, the green thing vanishing from her view, flickering with white –
The environment around her was calm. Everything was exactly as it was before she'd looked elsewhere. But…then why did Rebecca suddenly feel so spooked? Unable to put up with the silence of the virtual reality any longer Rebecca reached up to pull her helmet off, shaking her blonde hair loose, blue eyes troubled. Slowly, she made her way back to her office.
Yugi waited for her there, going over some files. He looked up when she approached and sat down, purple eyes lighting with worry. He touched her arm gently, soft eyes concerned. "What's up Rebecca? You look like you've just seen a ghost."
The girl shook her head, trying to regain her thoughts. "I – it was nothing. Just…I remembered something I have to do when I get home, is all." She didn't quite know why she was concealing what she'd seen from Yugi – what had she just seen anyway? -, but…it felt like it was the right thing to do. For now.
"If you say so…" Yugi still looked troubled.
"I do." Said Rebecca firmly. Her mind was still elsewhere though, her thoughts worrying her –
And then Yugi was leaning in closely to study some of the graphics she was showing him, and she forgot everything except how very handsome Yugi was when he had his face that close.
Someone had been meddling with her data.
Rebecca sat and glared at the rows of code before her, at the edited binary which had completely altered the interaction between two types of in-game weaponry. She'd been battling with the code for a good three hours before lunch, gone away to eat, and now – this. It really annoyed her. Why? They'd solved the dratted problem.
Switching from code to actual gameplay Rebecca was even more vexed to see the weapons work perfectly smoothly, an extra gleam added to them that hadn't been present before. Getting her avatar to execute a particularly stylish twirl-and-slash Rebecca moved through all the steps of testing, pausing for a minute to glare at the screen in utter petulance. She hated it when something got the better of her.
Something green flashed in the corner of the game.
Rebecca's eyes swivelled at once to glare at it but, once again, there was nothing there. But – she could've sworn she'd seen – for an instant – the outline of - "Damn it!"
Shocked silence about her.
Suddenly realising she was in a room surrounded by all her team, Rebecca glanced abashedly up. A row of staring faces looked back at her, startled at her sudden outburst.
Mokuba, there to supervise that day – for the hell of it, most thought, the Vice-president often wandered when he was bored -, blinked a little curiously. "Rebecca-chan…?"
"Um…sorry?" She offered a sheepish smile.
"Is everything alright, Rebecca?" Yugi looked over at her from where he had been talking with one of the programmers, expression concerned.
"Fine, fine…just a bit of awkward code." She flapped her hand at the male, embarrassed, not finishing the action until the other turned back to his work and –
Oh my.
Rebecca had to strongly – strongly – resist the urge to let her mouth drop open, and drool in joy.
Did he have to bend over?!
Yugi. Completely oblivious as ever. Leaning over the desk to talk to the programmer, wearing those beautiful, god-forsaken leather pants he was still so dreadfully fond of and –
Oh, what a wonderful view.
Rebecca gave up trying to be subtle, propped her chin up with one hand, and set about openly admiring the curve of the Yugi's ass.
And then Rebecca became aware she wasn't the only one looking that way.
Glancing to her right the girl caught Mokuba's gaze lingering just where her own had been only moments beforehand, blue-grey eyes sliding to meet her own contemplatively when their owner realised he was being observed.
For some strange reason, the complete lack of any shame whatsoever in Mokuba's gaze made Rebecca blush, and she dropped her own eyes rather quickly.
She had code to yell at.
In all her years away the Kame Game Shop, like pretty much the rest of Domino, hadn't changed a bit.
Rebecca smiled as she looked around the little shop, laptop tucked under her arm as she waited for Yugi to come back with his grandfather – he'd vanished as soon as Rebecca had entered to fetch the man, asking Rebecca to watch the counter he'd been manning previously.
"Rebecca…" Grandfather Mouto came through the door into the shop, taking her hands and smiling genially her way. "My, what a lovely young lady you've become."
"Mr. Mouto," Rebecca let her eyes sweep across the old man's wrinkled face, the faded bandana he still wore, the sturdy dungarees, "you haven't changed in the slightest."
Yugi quietly pattered into the shop after his grandfather. "Jii-chan -"
"Yugi, my boy, why don't you go make Rebecca here a drink? She must be parched." Solomon released the young woman's hands, ruffling his grandson's spiky locks. "Take her through to the kitchen; I'll mind the shop."
"But – jii-chan -"
"Shoo." The elderly man made a flapping motion with his arms. "I'm fully capable of looking after the shop for an hour or two, Yugi. I've been running it for quite a few years now."
Yugi caved with a sigh. "Yes, jii-chan." He held open the door leading back into the Mouto residence, gesturing Rebecca ahead of him. As the wood shut behind him, Yugi murmured, "Jii-chan doesn't like to remember he's getting old now…"
"He seems as vital as ever…" Rebecca carefully placed her laptop down on the kitchen table. "Why not let him do as he wishes while he still has the life in him to do so?"
"Because he has the tendency to overdo it every now and then and put his back out." Yugi withdrew two glasses from a nearby cupboard. "Lemonade do you?"
"Perfectly, thanks."
Handed a glance of cool, fizzing liquid, Rebecca slowly stared at the bubbles as they rose to the surface, troubled. She didn't quite know how to – "Yugi…?"
"Hm?" The male glanced up at her, his face smiling. Innocent.
"I – just recently…have you – have you tried playing your game just recently?"
"No," Yugi shook his head, blond bangs flying about his face, "I can't say I have. Why? Is something wrong with it?"
Rebecca glanced to her laptop for a brief instant, and then back to her companion. "It's just…I've been seeing things in the game just recently. Things I know no-one on the team has designed."
Yugi frowned. "You think someone's hacking into the system?"
Rebecca shook her head slowly. "KaibaCorp systems are virtually impregnable. Kaiba's been obsessively improving them since the last time I got in, all those years ago." Her smile was tight.
A pause. "What…sort of things have you been seeing in the game?"
"Well – that's just it." Rebecca bit her lip, cheeks pinkening somewhat with embarrassment. "I could've sworn I saw a green-haired boy, all dressed in white."
Rebecca carefully adjusted her headset, and quietly prayed to god no-one was smart enough to check her internal hacking of Kaiba's PA system. (Hey – she'd said the KaibaCorp systems were virtually impregnable, not entirely inaccessible.) As in, the one connected to his office. As in, the private office which he conducted all his private business in at KaibaCorp.
As in, the office in which one Yugi Mouto had disappeared into as soon as arriving at KaibaCorp that morning, dragging a distressed-looking Mokuba along with him.
"What's this about?" Kaiba sounded just as cold over his system as he did in person.
"I was talking to Rebecca…" Yugi's voice.
"So?" Kaiba – perfectly unhelpful. "Isn't that what you're hired to do?"
"Outside of work." Yugi refused to be daunted. "She said…she said she saw Noa in the KaibaCorp system."
"WHAT?!" Mokuba, suddenly yelling. "But he's gone!"
"Then how did she see him?"
There was a long silence.
Eventually, Kaiba spoke again, tone a little quieter, somewhat more muffled. "…You may go now."
Rebecca hastily snatched off her headset, stowing it away and closing the program she'd been using to hack into the PA. She'd heard enough.
She caught Yugi alone later, grabbing him by the arm when he was about to enter the room where the team were currently working.
"Wait."
"Rebecca..?" Confused violet eyes looked at her.
The female tightened her grip. "Tell me about the boy I saw in the system."
"What? Rebecca, I don't -"
"You went to talk to the Kaibas about him."
The male's cheeks turned pink, his eyes sliding away from hers. "I don't know what you're talking abou-"
"Yugi, you're a rubbish liar; you always have been." Rebecca couldn't hide her impatience. "You know something about that person I saw in VR – spill."
"It's a personal matter."
"For whom? You? I don't see how you could possibly have anything to do with -"
"It's a personal matter for the Kaibas. You shouldn't meddle -"
"It's a personal matter for me too when whoever or whatever it is messes around with my coding!" Rebecca put her hands on her hips, vexed. "Yugi, how do you expect me to continue on this project if some unknown keeps altering or corrupting my data? I need to know what I'm up against to combat it." There was a long pause, Yugi's face still averted from her. Rebecca touched his arm, pleading. "Yugi – please."
Another pause, before the male quietly spoke. "His name was Noa."
"…'Was'?"
"Noa Kaiba." Yugi reaffirmed. "He's dead."
"Oh." Rebecca let her hand drop from her companion's arm, shocked. "Oh. Um…how?"
Yugi shrugged, awkward. "I don't know how he died; Kaiba and Mokuba have never said, and it isn't my place to ask, really." A contemplative pause. "Noa is…Noa was Seto and Mokuba's adoptive brother, only…he was dead before they were adopted – physically, at least. Mentally…he was very much alive, his mind uploaded to a computer system by his father."
"How do you-?"
"He tried to kill us all at Battle City – Kaiba, Mokuba, myself, Anzu, Jounouchi, anyone who was left heading for the finals. He abducted the airship's controls and sucked us into a virtual reality he'd created, intending split the bond Mokuba held with his brother, take over one of our bodies and escape into reality. This was all meant as revenge against Kaiba…" Yugi's lips were a thin line, his eyes dark as he remembered. "He took over Mokuba's body and tried to blow up the virtual reality while our minds were still trapped inside, but -"
"But what?" Rebecca frowned, deeply curious. "What happened?"
"But – he relinquished his control of Mokuba at the last minute, set us all free of his realm. The explosion he'd programmed still took place – there was no way to reverse the action -, but we were all safe, back on the airship. Noa, on the other hand… he was destroyed in the blast. His mind was on that server, Rebecca. He shouldn't-" Yugi halted mid-sentence, suddenly glancing back up at the young woman beside him, "he shouldn't still be around."
Rebecca couldn't quite believe she was doing this. She was meant to be mature, responsible, intelligent…and she was sticking her nose somewhere she knew quite well it wasn't wanted, and having the audacity to demand it was her right. If she was Kaiba, she'd have kicked her ass so fast out the door she wouldn't even have had time to utter a 'by your leave' before her buttocks met the sidewalk.
Not that he wouldn't have plenty of time to do that still…
Kaiba looked up from the screen of his laptop, blue eyes lasering across the room into her own. "Hawkins, this better be important. What are you here for?"
"I think you already know the answer to that." Rebecca kept her gaze locked firmly with her employer's, determined not to show any weakness.
"Hm," the laptop's screen clicked shut. "You've been asking questions."
"Yes." What point was there trying to hide it?
"Yugi?"
"Amongst other sources." Kaiba would find out eventually. "But primarily Yugi, yes."
"You're wasting your time if you honestly think-"
"I am not." Rebecca cut the brunet off, suddenly angry. "You're a technology geek just like me, Kaiba! You know once something has been uploaded to a server, to a network, it's impossible to completely destroy. There is always some form of shadow in the system, some backup of a backup of a half a file – some lingering bits and bytes of information that just won't go away however hard you try."
Kaiba studied her silently for a few moments. "…Hawkins, are you really so sure you can pull it off?"
"Yes."
"Why would you even want to?" Kaiba asked the main question, voice as cool and impassionate as ever. "Aside from the project, this has little concern for you – and the issues it has to do with the project are so minor as to be practically negligible."
Rebecca halted, a little unsure of how to reply. Could she feasibly say curiosity? Concern? Her inner sense of justice? She didn't know quite how to respond. Then, it hit her. "There are three usable Blue Eyes White Dragons, are there not?" It seemed ironic Yugi, Kaiba's greatest rival, held the fourth after being gifted it by his grandfather, but with how close Yugi seemed to be to both Kaiba siblings now…
Kaiba frowned for a moment, thinking. "I could forbid you to do what we both know you're going to go do – but then you'd just go ahead behind my back and do it anyway, wouldn't you?"
Rebecca nodded. "Yes."
"I should fire you for insubordination."
Another nod. "Yes."
"But I'm not going to."
Rebecca clasped her hands in front of herself, straightening her back. "I know."
Blue eyes regarded her shrewdly, some unnameable emotion flickering through pristine irises for an instant before disappearing behind ice walls once more. "If anything goes wrong, the blame will be on your head, you realise?"
"I expect, and deserve, nothing less."
Rebecca rubbed her eyes tiredly, irises sore from the glare of her laptop's screen. She'd been working on a new program all night, surviving the long hours only due to the constant replenishing of her supply of coffee and doughnuts.
And now – now she slipped the familiar VR helmet onto her head, pressing the visor down over her fringe, over her hair, sealing herself in the world of the KaibaCorp system, her own newly added program humming as it connected and uploaded. Drawing together the scattered bits and bytes of a personality blasted to pieces inside a giant network.
"Who are you?" A muted voice from nowhere, syllables hissing in some places – interference?
"My name is Rebecca." She stood in the darkness of the VR, the only light the scrolling lines of binary data about her. "I want to help you."
"Rebecca." The voice was monotone, devoid of emotion. The binary scrolled faster – was the personality searching for information? "Three Rebeccas work in KaibaCorp at the present time. One matches your visual." A screen flashed to life in the black, displayed a picture of Rebecca's passport photograph. "Rebecca Hawkins, eighteen years of age, born seventh of July. American by birth. Attended numerous schools, moving from state to state with one Arthur Hawkins, biological grandfather through father's side. Certified genius. American Duel Monsters Champion at age twelve. Accepted into college age fourteen. Graduated early, and went into career programming -"
"I know my own history, thank you." Rebecca cut the monologue off, a little disturbed.
"No doubt you do." Cool silence.
Rebecca frowned. "I want to help you." She repeated her statement.
"Come back later." Edged nothingness, the screen vanishing back into binary. "Right now, there is nothing here to help."
A few days later, when Rebecca returned to the VR of the KaibaCorp system, a green-haired boy stood waiting for her, his pose aloof.
"Hello." Rebecca bowed her head slightly in greeting. "You'd be Noa?"
"Noa Kaiba." The boy crossed his arms. "You are Rebecca Hawkins; my adopted brother hired you."
"That's right."
"Of course it's right." A small sneer flashed across stubborn features eerily similar to Seto Kaiba's. "Computers are infallible."
"Computers are only as infallible as the one who created them." Rebecca corrected quietly. "And humans are far from perfect."
Blue eyes narrowed. "You said you wanted to help me. Do you plan on doing that entirely through preached theology?"
"I'd be the last one to preach to you." Rebecca took a seat on the 'ground', uncomfortable with the height difference between herself and Noa. "I have my flaws, just like everyone else."
Noa frowned at her. "I hope you don't expect me to suddenly break down and confess my 'flaws'."
"Not at all."
"Then what do you want here?"
"I just came to talk." Rebecca affected a nonchalant shrug. "Being alone all the time isn't good for anyone." Noa's frown grew, but he didn't argue.
"Why do you keep coming back here?" Noa's voice bordered on desperate, beyond confused as to why Rebecca had shown up in the VR again. It was the eighth time that week – the woman kept returning despite what was said to her, sometimes talking, sometimes just sitting quietly while Noa glared at her. Sometimes Noa talked back. Sometimes they held a staring match. Sometimes neither of them had a clue what to say. What did an eighteen year-old genius say to a mind programmed into a computer system at age ten, anyway?
"Because I want to." Rebecca smiled at the male, settling down into her usual seat on the floor of the virtual reality.
Noa sighed, running a hand through his hair in frustration. "I don't understand you."
"And I you, so I guess that makes us equal." Another smile.
There was a long pause, Noa looking at his persistent companion, expression unreadable. Eventually:
"I'm older than you." His tone was a mixture of petulance and defiance, echoing strangely in the emptiness of the VR.
"You are." Rebecca nodded, hands folded neatly in her lap.
"And yet I look younger than you."
"If it bothers you, change how you appear." A hand cast around them, at ever-changing lines of green. "You can easily alter this reality at your whim. You altered my code before, didn't you?"
There was a thoughtful nod and then slowly – slowly – Noa's appearance began to change. He grew taller, leaner, his face and eyes narrowing. His shirt and shorts vanished, disappearing into a long tunic and leggings, beautiful boots…all in pristine white. A dark buckler and sword hung from his waist, a crimson cape wound around his shoulders. The Handsome Prince?
Rebecca's own clothes changed, her trousers melding together into a long, swirling dress pooling around her. It was made of what felt like velvet, beaded with pearls down the front. Vaguely amused, Rebecca looked up at Noa. "You would be my saviour Prince Charming?"
"Fat lot of good I would be at being that," was Noa's smooth retort, "when it is my Princess who insofar has done all the saving."
Rebecca grinned. "We could work on that!"
A dry smile. "I'm sure."
Rebecca stretched out a little wearily on the ground of the VR, arching to work kinks out of her spine. "What do you remember?"
The adult Noa, seated beside her, frowned and looked up to the imitation sky he'd created over their heads. "I remember the paved streets of London as the bombs rain down at the height of the Blitz, the -"
"That isn't remembering." Rebecca scolded him. "That is you taking information from the internet, from technological resources."
"Thus is the memory of a machine." Noa shrugged.
"You are not a machine." Rebecca sat up, grabbing her companion's arm. "Do you hear me?"
Noa looked doubtful. "But my mind -"
"- Is uploaded to a system. It's still human – you're still human." Rebecca's glare was fierce. "Do you understand me?"
"Yes…"
"Good." The female deigned to lie down again, resting her head against the other's leg. "Now – what do you remember?"
Noa looked down at her, his pale cheeks taking on the faintest wash of colour – but he told her what he remembered. All of it. It was quite a long story…
Rebecca went to Mokuba later that day, not bothering with an introduction. "He remembers you."
"He does?" A wistful smile touched the black-haired male's lips, and for an instant Rebecca saw the boy within. "Does he ever say why he saved us from the virtual reality?"
Rebecca nodded, her words simple. "You called him 'brother'."
That evening Rebecca connected herself to the VR, but didn't fully immerse herself in the world. Instead she just pressed the headset to her ear, listening.
"…You've grown so much…" Noa's voice was soft.
"Yes." Mokuba's tone was just a shushed, grateful. "Thank you."
Rebecca could practically see the wry smile she was beginning to know so well. "Don't thank me. What I did… is that not what big brothers are for?"
Smiling to herself, Rebecca logged out of the VR, and left the two brothers to talk.
Days, weeks, a few months passed. Rebecca continued to work on the game designed by Yugi during the daytime, connecting herself to the KaibaCorp system when night fell and spending a few hours talking with Noa. Mokuba joined her sometimes, and the three would talk until the early hours, when Rebecca would eventually depart to gain some sleep before having to return to KaibaCorp in the morning.
It was late evening now, about the time when most of the employees wandered home, and Rebecca was camped out in her usual spot in the 'team room' on what was dubbed her basement level, going over some the testing that had been done earlier that day with Yugi – who had only arrived in the building that afternoon, after a morning in his grandfather's shop. Mokuba was with them, leaning curiously over the back of the designer's chair as Rebecca put the latest stage of the game created through its paces before them. "You're ahead of schedule…" The youngest Kaiba sibling seemed impressed, "and as far as I can see no-one's shirked on quality to get there. Rebecca, you're a credit to yourself."
The female smiled, a little flattered. "The team you've given me to oversee are outstanding – I would've never have gotten anything done without them."
"That doesn't stop you from being an outstanding leader alongside them." Yugi reached out to gently touch the back of her hand. "Give yourself credit where it's due."
"Well, I -" Rebecca jolted to her feet, a little embarrassed by the praise, "I need to fetch something to drink. More coffee." She began moving off, heading for the coffee percolator kept in the kitchen area outside the room, just off the main corridor. "Yes, coffee would be good." She practically bolted.
Rebecca took her sweet time getting a drink, trying to rid herself of the pink stain on her face, patting her cheeks in vague horror as she looked at her reflection in the reflective surface of the kitchen kettle. Eventually, her countenance returning more to its normal colour, she returned quietly to where she'd left Yugi and Mokuba.
Too quietly, apparently.
She really shouldn't have been all that surprised when she walked in on the two of them kissing. She shouldn't have been, all the pieces had been laid out perfectly for her to put together, but she was.
Yugi was still seated in his chair; head tilted back slightly, one hand cupped at the nape of Mokuba neck, his thumb gently stroking the skin there under the other's collar. Mokuba, leaning over him partially, had one hand on the back of Yugi's chair to balance himself, the other perched awkwardly on the nearby desk. They were both oblivious to the world and everything in it except themselves, their focus only on each other when they drew apart to breathe, eyes soft, expressions fond. Mokuba must've said something humorous because Rebecca saw his lips move, Yugi's laughter following but a few heartbeats later.
Rebecca withdrew to give them their privacy. A few minutes later she returned, making sure to create as much noise as possible to give the two males time to compose themselves.
"Hey," Mokuba looked up at her, eyes still alight with…some tangible, infectious happiness. It must rub off Yugi. "You get your coffee?"
"Yeah." Rebecca brandished her mug, fixing a firm smile on her own face. "I forgot…I should have offered you some. Would you like me to go back and get-?"
"I'm fine, thanks."
"…Yugi?"
The purple-eyed male nodded cheerfully, idly doodling something on the edge of a sheet of paper close by him. "Never better."
Rebecca sighed inwardly, and took her seat.
Dammit.
Noa flexed his partially-transparent hand, glancing around the room he stood in curiously. Rebecca sat at a table beside him, tapping away at her laptop. A few clicks of the mouse, Noa's image rippling visibly. The male glanced down at himself, expression lost somewhere between amusement and wonder. "…I'm still see-through."
"I'm working on it." Rebecca ran a hand through her hair distractedly. "This is one of my first proper attempts at working with holograms, I'll have you know."
Noa laughed at her obvious frustration, his mirth good-natured. "Your efforts are greatly appreciated."
A raised eyebrow. "They better be. I'm not slaving my ass away here for nothing, you know." A few more clicks, Noa's form shivering and solidifying (in appearance, anyway) some more. "I thought you might want to have a look around this reality, instead of just your virtual one."
"You thought right." Noa smiled at the young woman. "Rebecca, I -"
"– Oh my." There was a gasp from the room's doorway.
Rebecca's neck snapped up, about to glare at the intruder, but – "Yugi!"
"Hey." Though his greeting was to her, Yugi's eyes were firmly fixed on the hologram standing looking at him rather coldly. "…Kaiba Noa-san." The male bowed his head slightly, perfectly polite. "It's been a long while."
"It has been, hasn't it, Mouto Yugi-san?" Noa's reply was a little more stilted. "You…look well."
"So do you."
"I'm little more than a program in a computer." The green-haired male's tone was flat. "You expect me to suddenly keel over and die?"
"Er – no…I guess not." Yugi looked a little uncomfortable. "But…for a hologram, you…" He trailed off.
Awkward silence.
"…Since your intentions are to compliment me I'll take your comments that way," the slightest of smiles touched Noa's lips, "regardless of how well you execute them."
Yugi blushed. "I came back to get some of my older designs." He turned to Rebecca.
"They're over there." The female pointed to a spare desk in the far corner.
"Thanks…" Yugi hurriedly snatched them up, only giving one more quick cursory nod before practically fleeing the room.
Noa watched the other man run away, smile still fixed, eyes unreadable. After a few moments he glanced down at his sole companion, carefully taking note of the palest blush on the woman's cheeks. "…You like him?"
"Yeah." Rebecca figured it was best to not deny the truth – Noa'd be able to tell she was lying. Still, she kept her eyes averted as she altered a code on the laptop, adjusting Noa's opacity. "But he's already taken."
"By Mokuba."
"Yes." Rebecca faltered, glancing up at the green-haired male. "How did you know?"
"KaibaCorp's cameras are wired into my system." The reply was simple. "Do you hate Mokuba for possessing what you cannot?"
"Nah, it's not really something I can hate him for. It's just…life, I guess." Rebecca sighed. "…It's almost impossible to hate Mokuba for anything anyway."
"True…" Noa approached Rebecca, waiting till the woman looked up at him. "You take rejection rather well, all things considering." He raised a hand, would've cupped her cheek but, being made of light, his limb passed straight through her face. His face twisted into a bitter smile. "I doubt I'd take rejection half as well."
Blue eyes blinked up at him. "You think someone would reject you?"
"I don't know."
"Do they like you?"
"I don't know."
"Do you like them?"
"Obviously."
Rebecca frowned, propping her head up on one hand. "Do they know you like them?"
A pause, then: "…I don't think so."
"Then maybe you should tell them?" Rebecca made the suggestion carefully, turning back to her work and closing down the code for Noa's hologram – she'd made enough edits for the day. There was silence for a long while; the only sounds Rebecca tapping away at the keyboard in front of her, interspersed with clicks from the attached mouse.
"Rebecca…?" Noa, somewhat hesitant.
"Hm?" The young woman didn't look up from her work.
"You know what you said some time again, about me wanting to be your Prince Charming?"
"Yeah…?" Rebecca eventually glanced up – and nearly had a heart-attack, Noa kissing her – or, kissing her as best a hologram could, pulling back just as swiftly.
Blue eyes, the infamous Kaiba blue eyes, looked at her rather wryly, rather dryly, somewhat sadly, somewhat hopeful. "…You were right." He vanished in a mass of glittering pixels, fleeing to his haven within the KaibaCorp system.
Rebecca sat there utterly shell-shocked, raising a hand to her mouth incredulously. Had he just-?
Oh…
Rebecca was getting used to being in this sort of situation. The sort of situation where she questioned her maturity, her responsibility, her intelligence, her sanity. Strangely enough, many of the situations arose just as she was about to confront Kaiba.
She was about to confront Kaiba. Again. And he still hadn't fired her yet.
That's a good sign –right?
"Hawkins." Ice blue eyes looked up from work. Every time she saw the man he was working.
"Kaiba." Rebecca gave a curt nod.
Patient silence.
Kaiba frowned. "What do you want?"
"I came to give my status report on the project."
"Hawkins, I am fully aware of the status of the project -"
"Wrong project."
"-Ah." A delicate pause. "You have him fixed then?"
Rebecca's turn to frown. "He was never broken to begin with, just confused."
"Is he or is he not fully functioning?"
"He is fully functioning, and would like to speak to you."
"I thought he would."
"He is a Kaiba. Are not Kaibas by nature confrontational?"
"They are." The current leader of the pack leaned forward on his desk, fixing his employee with his usual seemingly-impenetrable stare. It didn't fool Rebecca anymore – she'd seen the origin Seto Kaiba had be moulded to be like, and the origin had cracked before her. "Is that all you wished to confer to me?"
Rebecca thought silently for a few moments. Thought of Noa, thought of the green-haired male's 'confession', his sort-of-kiss. Looked at Kaiba, who she'd heard still had hostility rolling off of him in waves, mixed the two in her head. They didn't mix. Not yet. It was none of Kaiba's business.
Rebecca shook her head. "That's all."
"Then go." Kaiba went back to his work almost immediately, rapidly losing interest in the woman before him. "I have other things to do."
A sharp nod, his employee already turning to go - "Y'know Kaiba," Rebecca paused on her way out the door, one hand on the knob, "we should really talk more. These little chats of ours are quite enlightening."
Kaiba looked at her flatly. Rebecca smiled sweetly.
"You may go now." The brunet repeated his cool suggestion.
Rebecca laughed, and left the office. She had some talking to do with Noa.