I think the title is stupid but nothing else fits and I like it too much :B and I'm sad about the picture, cuz I made it full-sized, all finished, but then I remembered I can't have an inappropriate pic, so I did what needed to be done and clipped it TT_TT so sad. So now you get ancient egyptian spoiler tags.

Anyway this centers around season 0 and the manga, meshed together, before Death-T (I've been reading the chapters ewe, all I can say is where has this been all my life =u=). I'm just wedging my AU in there~ Kaiba has green hair and yellow eyes in this, it's not a typo ;3 Why? cuz I like him that way too, and he could make neon pink(which I hate to death) hair look damn fine, cuz, you know, he's Seto Kaiba (o yo)

So come on, read my crappy fic~ *3*b

Game 1: Start!

He stared blankly at the screen, it's ominous glow illuminating his features. It gave his skin a splash of much needed color, however out-of-place, and toned down his neon green hair. The low hum of the computer seemed loud in the silence, and the faint vibrations through his finger tips was vaguely registered as lulling. With that thought his eyes snapped from the screen, stretching his hands in annoyance. This waiting irritated the greenette. Every second was another lived in humiliation, and he would not have that.

No, I will not have that . . . , his white knuckles the only betrayal to the anger seething beneath. The stoic expression flickered to that of surprise briefly when an alien sound disturbed the silence of the Kaiba mansion. A distant clamor of a scuffle and, without a doubt considering who it was, muffled swears. Kaiba couldn't help but smirk, for once the feeling reaching his eyes, exhaling what resembled a chuckle as he reclined into the chair more, letting it move freely. He had every reason to revel in the commotion slowly coming his way. The gears were set in motion, driving this game onward.

And this time he would win.

Kaiba Seto was incredibly detail-oriented on top of being calculating, deceitful, and apathetic, all to a sickening degree. With a near photographic memory, he had spent hours viewing and reviewing each moment and scheme involving Mutou Yuugi. Replaying every demeanor, every discourse, searching for even the slightest movement he could have overlooked in his frustration. In reanalyzing, it had occurred to him that there was one who Yuugi held above the others in his gang of groupies, whether he realized it or not.

The blond. In the short time he graced Domino High and the encounters including Mutou's beloved friend, their disposition towards one another reaffirmed it. He could tell that Yuugi could confide in the boy, almost unreservedly. His eyes missed nothing.

He could use him . . . .

If not only to rope Yuugi to draw out his other face, than to make the blond take him right to him, coax the real gamer out of him maybe. He had noted the look in their eyes that told the world they would go to the ends of the earth to help the other. Such was the loyalty of friendship, he could only assume. . . . No, there was something else . . . something in the boy's eye that wasn't reflected in Mutou's.

Quickly, without wanting, his brain recalled a scene of Mutou and his friend chatting to each other one time in the morning before homeroom. He was leaning into the tri-colored boy, sitting between the back of the seat, his head stooped low on the desk, almost as if he needed to gaze up into his face. Once the picture was set, the dialogue played as if the whole thing had been taken off pause.

'' . . . so once you defeat him, he gives you the key to the chest in the well, and guess what! It opens the gate in the tavern's cellar that leads right into the castle. I can't believe I was stuck on that part before for the longest time!'' Yuugi pouted, turning into giggles as he laughed at himself, a cover for his slight embarrassment.

It was apparent the boy wasn't listening to a word he was saying, but he couldn't resist joining in the light laughter, chuckling too.

Then it all slowed, as the blond's face relaxed into a warming smile, filling it up from ear to ear, his eyes crinkling.

And there it was, the thing the greenette could not decipher, radiating from him, and in turn, innocently reciprocated. He was curious of it only for the sake of being all knowing, but just as abruptly as the vision came, it was gone. Leaving Kaiba renewably irritated.

A knock from the door with a formality spared him no time to brood. He swiveled back around to his desk, briefly regarding the hazel eyes in the pictures on the screen before closing the window and acknowledging the announcement. He rose, keeping his fingers on the desk for a little more support for his fatigued body, anticipating when his stare would be reunited with those same hazel.

oOo

He had been jostled and hustled, and by now his anger had reached a monumental level. His slews of curses hadn't stopped once he'd reached that notch in his "Rage Gage", sometime in the car ride, and at this new one he was shouting them at the top of his lungs. If it weren't for the black cloth bag over his head, all would have been able to see the emotion etched across his face, flushed red, instead of just himself who felt the tremble and heat it brought.

Struggling had been rewarded with stern punches, but being this riled up his brain ran on a single track, and they only served to prolong his craze. After a long trek, at some points being dragged, through the halls, the only thing to dampen his fit was being practically thrown to the ground. He couldn't slow the fall as his hands were bound behind his back, but they reflexively twitched anyway, and the wind knocked out of him finally ended his ranting.

With a low moan he attempted to scooch his legs up under his stomach, and prop back on his knees, wincing internally as they yelled at him. But large hands beat him to it, jerking him up and yanking the material from his face. He bit the inside of his lip to keep from crying out and glared at the man in a stupid black suit and a stupid bald head, having his golden eyes throwing daggers. Gods he wanted to get a good punch in, he could tell from years of fist fights that it was that man who had assailed him in the hallway, and he still had things to settle with him.

But a chill ran through his spine, and he sensed a more prevalent danger. Eyes, . . . eyes were boring into the side of his face, commanding his attention. Out of instinct he glanced in that direction, not wanting to comply to their demand. He was Jounouchi Katsuya, no one bosses him around.

What he saw made his mind race to couple the face to a name, and with a double take he gaped at the person standing behind a desk. Oh no . . . he groaned with the thought. The piercing expressionless stare belonged to none other than him, the yellow eyes of Kaiba Seto.

Those orbs shinned in the eerie darkness, the moon dimly washing the room from the window behind the adversary. The bookcases lining the walls seeming to draw him closer, the gargoyles akin to the demon before him. And if he hadn't built up an immunity from watching countless scary movies with Honda, he might, as manly as he could muster, have shrieked.

Jou's stomach clenched, and he mentally slapped himself for being so dumbfounded by Kaiba. He could feel the warmth in his cheeks again as his anger quickly welled back up. The smirk creeping across that sickly pale face really wasn't helping either.

Why... why and how did this happen?! He had slept in from being completely worn out the whole week, but it still started out as normal, other than the hour of day. Sure he had had an uneasy feeling in his gut, and his dad was still asleep on the couch for the second day in a row straight, but it could only have possibly been hunger and much awaited luck. The streak could only last so long before it turned his way, but with the current situation he realized that it had only tricked him, again.

He had wasted no time deciding to go see Yug. Surprising him with his favorite snack was an ingenious thought, causing him to grin wide and pat himself on the back for good thinking before scrounging the couch and floor carefully for loose change. He knew his friend could use the cheer up, and he could take the chance to spoil himself, it was a win-win.

At the local convenience store, he had made it in and out with his prizes in hand without a hitch. Although realizing now if he hadn't been so blinded with happiness he would have sensed the two men who had been following him from his house and down an alleyway shortcut to Yug's. They had come up from behind, like cowards, and got him good, real good.

In a daze, he had tried to fight back, the food and drinks dropped being squished and broken underfoot. The numbers against him wouldn't have mattered, but his head was spinning from the hit, and with that he couldn't concentrate on blocking the pain like he always did. His body knew the motions, Hirutani had taught him that, and keeping his mind distracted kept it from interfering. Right then the glass in his knees he had fallen on when they had kicked out his legs was doing a fine job claiming his focus, it took all his might to stay standing up and quell the shaking.

He was off his game today, and in no time at all it was over. Using his injury against him they restrained him and were trying to work him into submission, to which Jou had no intentions of making that easy. He was pissed he had lost, to only three guys at that, but he would beat himself up over it later, he needed to get away. Clueless as to why some high-class thugs wanted to kidnap him, he had nothing but a bad vibe screaming at him.

The one who seemed the leader looked like he would kill the blond, and he twitched in annoyance as he stopped himself, instead bellowing, '' We have no more time, just get him in the car. He'll simply have to be a little more lively than usual.''

'' What, afraid a brat like me'll beat you old man?'' Jou couldn't help but snicker, his head, high on the adrenaline rush, was getting the best of him. Knowing when to shut up was one virtue he never learned, and his quip earned him a slug to his gut.

Leaning into him, he spat, '' Don't think too much of yourself, I could wipe the floor with you.'', twisting his hair to get his point across. His stomach saved his butt as he had to fight to keep the vomit down, during which he was dragged to a black Lexus, bound, covered and tossed into the back seat.

They were taking him away from his Yuugi, and for what? He definitely couldn't recall slighting anyone recently. No, not since he and Yug became friends, he had become a good little boy.

Once in the car everyone had decided to clam up, and no matter how much he pestered them they wouldn't answer except with their fists. Heh, the old me would've loved their company . . .

The ride was long and his temper, which cleared his head, had worked back into overdrive by the time the car reached the now known mansion. As they were content ignoring him it had brought out the unsightly in him, and he proceeded to call them every curse and name he could think of, some of which he was pretty sure he was making up. Being ignored when he didn't want to be was one thing he hated the most.

He felt the car lurch to a stop, and in the middle of shifting position, again, it threw him to the floor. There was no need to attempt to get out from between the seats, though he did start to try, as two pairs of hands dragged him out. They, who gained an extra member, righted him, which made his knees scream, before roughly prodding him on.

No way, no way was he being commanded to march to gods knew where, and his gut could only guess it was very near an impending doom. He drew the line there, and with his anger making him stupider by the second, he was up for round two.

Jou felt out their positions before quickly twisting free and ramming the one in front of him. He didn't think that if he had trouble fighting off three of them with injured legs, that being bound and blind on top of that would have made the outcome anything but the same. No, he wasn't thinking at all, and in the same quickness as before they had him pinned down.

One attempt was all he would get as three of them seized his arms and legs, and once having him manageable, continued on towards where he found himself now - kneeling before the one person in the world he would have given anything not to see, staring down at him. Gods be damned.

oOo

One of the maids opened the door, bowing low, then followed by four of his men, of which Jounouchi, swearing away, was carried between three of them. He was flipped on his stomach, one man to each arm, and the third having his legs settled in his armpit. If he wasn't so steeled he would have laughed, the helplessness of his prey always entertained him. He was in his house now, there was no escape.

Kaiba looked towards the maid briefly, a quick waver of his eyes, to which he bowed again and left, face down, closing the door. They flicked straight back to the blond, who was then tossed to the floor, finally silencing the incessant vulgarities that he could hear since he arrived.

Regarding one of his men, who gave a nod of understanding, he pulled him up and removed the cloth cover. His face perked his interest. The anger was clearly noticeable, . . . Good. It was much easier to manipulate those ruled by their emotions than the rational.

So used to people jumping to his silent command, he found himself becoming irritated with Jounouchi's ineptitude and lack of perception. But finally he turned to him, breaking off the mental battle with his employee. He would not stand to have to be fighting for his attention, the interference would have to be removed at once.

Their eyes locked before he could tell them to leave, and he silently observed the surprise fill his face. The flicker of dread, which he smirked to - his sadistic side ecstatic, then self-pity, realization, and lastly embarrassment before returning to the day's never-ending anger. That anger wasn't from irritation, it was from that thing he didn't know, and he knew then that this was going to be a very interesting endeavor indeed.

The more he looked at him the more Jou's blood boiled. Killing the greenette was the first thought in his mind, but he knew Yug wouldn't like that, even though he had hurt him, his Yuugi, numerous times. Fine, I'll maim him and Yug can always forgive me later, he compromised.

Just before he would burst, Kaiba's voice broke the silence.

'' You may go,'' an order not for him, though Kaiba's eyes never left till Jou blinked, breaking their connection.

Was he crazy? Leave yourself alone in a room with someone who wanted to tear you limb from limb is not the brightest of ideas, though he was sure the feeling was mutual.

No one moved, for the same reason. One of them attempted to stutter a protest, to which Kaiba arched a lone eyebrow in question, and Jou swore he could hear it creak.

'' Do you think I am unable to handle a child?'' Immediately the air went dead at the posed question, daring them to slip up.

'' Asshole . . .'' he couldn't stop himself from muttering, despite the deadly tension.

'' N-no of course not, Kaiba-sama.'' the man quickly apologized and motioned for the others to follow him out the door. With them gone it felt just plain awkward.

Very awkward. And the way Kaiba was just creepily smiling, staring intently at him, did nothing to lighten the mood, and Jou couldn't help but feel more uncomfortable by the second. Why did he bring me here?

Finally alone the greenette pondered if he should wait to address him, but seeing as he was antsy about something, he decided against it.

'' It is good to see you again, Jounouchi, I hope you had a pleasant time coming to see me.'' he cooed, his words oozing with sincerity as fake as his smile.

'' Ngh, don't ya lie ta me Kaiba, I know ya hate me, it's mutual. I'm street trash, remember?''

He dropped the façade and sneered, . . . he's too easy. Pushing the chair back, he moved out from behind the wall of his desk and walked to one of the bookshelves lining the room. Then they could cut to the chase, but he wasn't going to ask to explain it to the boy. Kaiba Seto never asks, especially someone so beneath him. He would make Jounouchi inquire, that way he could also have more fun with him.

'' I can't help it if you keep upholding the stereotype. You look like a mangy mutt.''

'' Fuck you!'' he spat, bristling at the comparison, wishing the jerk had been close enough so it hit him in the face. His impulse was to go at the greenette, but his knees buckled under his weight and he ended up kissing the ground again.

'' Now now, what's the rush?" he couldn't help chuckling, '' You aren't going anywhere, till I have an inclination otherwise at least.'' He was toying with him, he knew, but he just loved throwing his theatrics when ever the opportunity arose, even if Jounouchi saw through the ruse.

Turning his head, Jou glared up at him. He thought he heard him laugh, though it sounded like a coughed sigh, and he felt his checks burn. Before he could snap back Kaiba began to advancing towards him, and he quickly twisted back up, each step making his muscles tense up out of habit. Stopping a few feet from him he just loomed over him, and remind there silently watching, almost as if he wanted Jou to refute differently.

'' You can't keep me here.'' he said with firm determination, but as soon as the words were out of his mouth he knew it was a lie he was trying to tell himself. There was no escape.

It was written all over his face, no matter how much he struggled to hide it behind veil of bravery. A part of him had resigned to the inevitability of being held here, and in turn the catalyst of this game, I win. But it was never enough to just win he had to vaunt, and crush his opponent completely.

'' Don't lie to me, Jounouchi,'' he parroted, throwing his words back at him, '' "Street trash", as you so perfectly remembered, isn't worth noticing, let alone the trouble of searching for. Indubitably I can keep you here.''

'' Ngh, enough! Ya didn't bring me here to grace your presence and argue with ya, and I definitely didn't to hear your superiority spiel. If I'm not worth noticing or looking for, then what do ya want with me?'' Jounouchi's golden orbs glowered out from under his bangs.

Finally the question. He crossed his arms and smirked, letting him seethe a moment before finally bringing to light his motives and the part he was to play.

'' Please, don't place yourself on such a high horse, your just a pawn in this - worth no more than bait,'' he began walking about him, and the golden orbs followed, puzzled, '' I don't want you, your worthless if not for your connection with him.''

Kaiba was getting worked up now, the sadist causing a crazed expression to creep on his face with the thought of his revenge being completed, and Jounouchi, agape in confusion, egged him on, '' It's Mutou Yuugi I want. I wont be satisfied till he is brought to his knees in defeat! And there is no doubt that he will come for you. How does it feel to know you will be the cause of his end? So much for your precious friendship!'' his chest contorted as a sound like laughter erupted.

Jou couldn't believe it, he should have known. Kaiba's so vengeful it was borderline ridiculous, and predictable. But it still hurt, a lot. Why did it hurt? The greatest pain though, was that he knew he was right, Yuugi would come for him, he was just like that, and walk right into Kaiba's bloodthirsty clutches. His Yuugi was going to get hurt because of him.

No because of "Him", the one that Kaiba really wanted.

It's all His fault. He didn't try to stop the tears from coming, he was just worn too thin, but with that thought he had a scape goat, and remembering why he hated Him, he slipped into a blind rage. He was going to make damn sure Kaiba regretted messing with him or his friends.

Numb with the thought, he hurled himself towards the greenette - this time without faltering, who, in his daze, had walked away towards the door. He needed to hurt somebody, then he wouldn't have to be the only one. And it was the cock of a gun that was the only thing to end the fruition of those thoughts.

While he had distracted him with his elucidation, he had used his call button on his desk to send for his security guards. His little speech would have no doubt ruffled his fur, and rather than just deal with him himself, letting Jounouchi see the seriousness of his situation would do more to his benefit. Kaiba grinned at the immediate submission to the deadly weapon. Underneath it all a persons primal will to live will outweigh all else. Though it intrigued him that instead of regarding the gun, his hazel eyes intently glared defiantly at him.

It stirred something in him he could not place, but before he could ponder on it, one of his maids came up to him. Bowing low, he excused himself, not at all phased by the situation, and informed him that he had company waiting for him in the foyer. Great, it was that late. He had let him monopolize his time.

'' Tell them I'll be down in a moment, urgent business came up.'' never moving his yellow eyes from his, he then addressed his henchmen, '' Get him out of here. One of the spare rooms should suffice, then tell Daimon to have my other study prepped while this one is cleaned. . . . And to make sure he gets cleaned up as well, don't want any diseases floating around.'' then he left, ignoring their acknowledgment of understanding, but making sure they said it.

Game 1, checkmate!

Should really stick to drawing huh?
BTW, that last line is Kaiba thinking ewe
well, give me some feedback and yell at my mistakes so I can cry at my screen (= u=)b Happy or sad tears, i don't mind either. Oh and I've been trying to find the correct spelling of Daimon's name, but the more, japanese, way, like how Katsuya's can be spelled Jounouchi or Jonouchi, yea I want the first version of Daimon's, so if you know, please tell me! TAT unless there's only one way and then, heheh, never mind ;u;