A/N: Just a little holiday fun for you all, to get you in the mood for Valentines. I guess this is slightly closer to the Japanese traditions for Valentines day, but no promises. Reviews obviously won't be responded to (One-shot folks!) But they're appreciated anyway… if you can spare the time. I'm not forcing you or anything… ahem. This is the same kinda thing as my Christmas fic, Shopping For Seto. Judging by all the fics I do about them, anyone would think my favourite characters were the Kaiba brothers, though it is, naturally Ryou. I've gotta have some form of patriotism, haven't I? Let's hope I can get this up in time… It's a bit of bad organisation, writing this the day before Valentines… Anyways, Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I own no Yu-Gi-Oh characters, or anything else for that matter… Any minor OCs are mine, not that it bothers me. Except Phoenix… She's coming soon to a website near you! (Cheap line…See my bio for details of the planned YGO/ Crescent Moon X-over!)
Something in the Air
Valentines can be very dangerous to those who have beauty. Of course, as beauty is in the eye of the beholder, this includes everyone, and so Valentines day should be avoided at all cost.
However, it is not. Humankind seems determined to embarrass themselves as much as their own stupidity will allow. They have a whole festival dedicated to making as much of a fool of themselves as possible- the pressure to find gifts, ask people out, the fear of rejection, the embarrassment of giving cards, the embarrassment of trying to find something to say when someone gives you a card and you don't like them that way, the feeling of being the only person not to get a card, when you get so many cards you're embarrassed that you're quite so popular… and yet, every year, people the world over spend money and time preparing themselves for another onslaught of crushed hearts, embarrassment and awkward moments.
The festival of Love. Yeah.
8:30 am, Domino High
On the morning of this particular Valentines day, Téa wandered into school humming happily. Valentines Day had to be the best festival of the year. For a start, it meant they only had to do part of the morning so that the school could prepare for the dance on the night, and the students could celebrate the festival. Then there was all the love and gifts and cards… She could never choose who to give chocolate to, though, so she'd just brought some for all her friends. She did bring one card… for a certain person. For a certain short person. A certain short, Item-wearing person. Now all she had to do was pluck up the courage to give it to him.
To her disappointment, The Diminutive Duellist was no where to be seen. As Téa made her way down the corridor, she spotted the unmistakable hairstyles of Ryou, Joey and Tristan. As she came closer, she saw them all shoving on a bulging locker door, trying to get it to close.
Just as she made her way over to them, they finally managed to slam the door shut and Ryou hastily put in the combination. As Téa arrived, they gave a sigh of relief, panting.
"What are you doing?" Téa asked, amused as she dished out chocolate. Thank yous were echoed, and Joey and Tristan shoved it straight down their necks.
"Turns out Ryou's more popular then he thought…" Joey replied, gesturing at the straining locker with one hand and licking chocolate-y remains off the over. Ryou decided that the ceiling was suddenly very interesting. He also decided to keep Téa's chocolate in his jacket. He was a bit concerned about opening that locker…
"So, where's Yugi?" Téa asked, looking for said person. Tristan shrugged.
"Last I heard, he'd gone to hide in the Janitor's shed." Tristan muttered. "But keep quiet about it."
"Why? What's he doing in there?" Téa wondered, bemused.
"Cause last I saw, there were twenty odd girls searching for him." Tristan said meaningfully.
8:30 am, Domino High Janitor's shed
Yugi cautiously stuck his head round the shed door… It all seemed clear. He took a step forward, and glanced round the corner of the shed.
"Yugi! There you are!"
He ran and dived back into the shed, bolting the door from the inside. Then he sank into a corner, sitting on top of some streamers and where he couldn't be seen from the only window and sighed.
/Yami? We could be here a while…/
8:35 am, Domino High again
Back in the corridor, things were taking an interesting turn.
"Ryou and Yugi aren't the only ones," Joey nodded at Seto Kaiba who was stalking up the corridor laden down with two bursting carrier bags. "Watch this."
As Téa and the others watched, Seto walked briskly past them with a pained expression, came to the bin at the end of the row of lockers and calmly upended the bags before turning around and heading back the way he had come.
"That's the sixth time he's been past this morning." Ryou noted.
"Guess duellists are popular right now." Joey commented numbly. Téa blinked.
"Then why aren't you having this problem, Joey?"
He was saved from answering by the bell ringing for class.
In the bike shed, Yugi vaguely wondered weather an admiring mob was enough to get out of a detention for lateness. The creepiest thing was, it wasn't all girls out there…
-
12:15 am, Kaiba mansion
It seemed that no-one in Domino over the age of fifteen was enjoying Valentines day. (Except Duke, naturally. The only problem with Valentines was that it was too short. So many girls, so little time… At least he had Whites Day to make up…)
Mokuba Kaiba, however, is not fifteen, and nor does he hate Valentines. The best thing about having an older brother who the ladies seem to love but who seems to be morally opposed to all things connected to Valentines is that said brother will get a lot of chocolate through the post that he doesn't want. So as long as Mokuba got to it before Seto… he was laughing.
The night before Mokuba had finished what he had swiped from the previous year in preparation for this year's refill. Not that he ever got that much- the trick was conservation. And hiding one of those mini-fridge cooler things indented into the floorboards beneath the bed. Though, judging by the largish pile of parcels outside the door, he may need to invest in another one…
Mokuba glanced up at the clock above the front door. His school was a lot closer to home then Seto's, and he had finished earlier for the festival. Plus he had run, rather then walked… But then, Seto got a lift back… Mokuba considered everything that could be a factor in how much time he had alone in the mansion, and eventually calculated that he had about 15 minutes before Seto turned up. Minus the time it took him to work it out, and the time so he could be in a non-suspicious position when his Onii-chan returned, he had about ten minutes.
Mokuba crept over to the parcels and considered. Stealing- 'Liberating'- Seto's Valentine chocolate was rather like defusing a bomb. One wrong move and Seto would notice. He'd be caught. The knack lay in taking the least noticeable ones (Though almost all were covered in glitter, ribbons and hearts in an attempt to get them noticed this year) and then rearranging the pile so it looked like just as much as before.
Mokuba sifted through the small mountain of chocolates and cards. He wouldn't take a lot, he never did… but he just couldn't live with himself if all that chocolate- sweet, gooey, chocolate- was wasted. After all, he reminded himself, the girls (And boys) had put a lot of effort into these gifts. They should be appreciated. And there are people starving in Africa. Good food shouldn't be wasted!
The cards were interesting to; there were envelopes of every colour, size and description though the majority were obviously pink or red. Some had glitter, some had been scented with perfume, and everyone seemed to put something different as a name. Some had simply 'Kaiba'. Mokuba snorted when he saw one addressed to 'My dearest love'. He knew what would happen to that one… It wouldn't just be thrown away; it would go through the paper shredder. There were 'S. Kaiba'sand some 'Mr Kaiba's and even one 'M. Kaiba'…
Wait a minute. M. Kaiba!
Mokuba picked up the nondescript envelope. There was nothing to make it stand out, just a plain, white envelope with 'M. Kaiba' on it in slightly curled writing. Chocolate heist forgotten, Mokuba vaguely kicked the cards and parcels back into some semblance of a pile, staring at the envelope. It had to be for him, there were no other M. Kaibas. But who would want to send him a Valentine? And why? No-one from school sprung to mind… Mokuba drifted upstairs, trying to recognise the hand-writing.
A few minutes later, Mokuba heard his brother's key in the lock. It's a good job he hadn't tried to take the chocolate this year, he would've been caught… Then he heard the sounds of Seto tripping over the pile of gifts in front of the door and, just as he did every year, cursing Valentines Day loudly using words that could only be written in a fic with a much higher rating. Seto was usually above his so-called 'Gutter language' but there were two days in a year when he sunk to that level. One was Valentines Day. The other, Pancake Day.
Seto Kaiba can do a lot of things.
Flipping pancakes is not one of them.
"Mokuba?" Seto shouted. The younger Kaiba hastily slid the envelope, which he now noticed had a small red rose printed on the corner under his pillow. He slid off his bed and hurried down the stairs to find his brother.
"Hey Seto!" He said, overly cheerfully having found his brother in the kitchen eating a sandwich. "How was school today?" It was a rather silly tradition. They both knew Seto only went to avoid a lawsuit. It wasn't like he actually needed it. Seto grunted, sliding a cheese sandwich across the table to Mokuba, who bit out of it gratefully.
"It'll be better when those idiots stop insisting on giving me cards and presents…" He stood up, having finished his sandwich. "Sorry, kid, I'm in a bit of a rush. I'll do something proper tonight." Mokuba looked up, surprised.
"Where are you going?" He asked, as Seto shrugged his coat back on "I thought the office was closed today."
"I have to go back to school."
"Why?" Mokuba asked. Both Kaibas knew Seto was unable to lie to his little brother.
"I have to help prepare the hall for the dance tonight."
Mokuba nearly threw up his sandwich.
"YOU! Why would you do a thing like that!"
"What makes you think I don't just feel like helping out for a change?" Seto asked, eyebrow raised. Mokuba didn't bother to dignify that with a reply. Seto had never once been to an extra-curricular activity- not ever. He didn't even bother to turn up for the detentions he always seemed to get. When threatened with suspension for not only being surly and unresponsive and never doing homework, but also for never turning up to his punishments, he pointed out to the Principal that his suspension would probably be best all round as they were the bane of each other's existence.
And also that the Principal could not expel a student who got straight As in class despite his behaviour, and who could afford to bribe the ministers of education to put the principal out of a job.
Mokuba, however, didn't get away with any of that. Seto claimed that if Mokuba behaved as badly in school, the social services would claim that he wasn't being looked after properly and would take him away. Mokuba couldn't be quite sure if this was true or not, but the work so easy that it wasn't hard to be a model student anyway. Except in languages. At least Es change to Bs really easily on report cards. Of course, Seto noticed due to the fact that the grades were written in rend ink and Mokuba had changed it in pink wax crayon. Seto had been mad- He said he was disappointed with Mokuba. It would have been so much harder to spot if he had scanned it into a computer. Then he could get the exact colour of the ink and reprint it. Apparently, Mokuba should have known this.
"Alright, fine." Seto said, almost chuckling. Mokuba roused from his thoughts. "I guess I'm not the sort to help. But I have to take part in at least one voluntary activity, or I won't be allowed to graduate this year. And there is no way I'm spending another year in that dump." Mokuba looked at his brother, wide-eyed. He couldn't believe that Seto had fallen for it.
"Seto," He gasped "He's bluffing! The Principal hates you! There's no way he'd keep you another year!"
"I know that." Seto snapped irritably, walking towards the door "But he's retiring in the summer, and he someone else would have to put up with me." He smirked "You better not let them get away with it, Mokuba. When I go, and you move up to my school, you're going to have to make their lives a living hell. None of this model student stuff. Once you're a teenager, I can blame it on testosterone and you can get away with anything." He seemed practically gleeful at the thought. Mokuba nodded solemnly.
"I'll try Seto."
"Anyway, I've got to go." Seto pocketed his keys "It was either help with preparations or go to the dance itself. I'll be back by four." He ruffled his brother's hair "Try not to burn the house down." Mokuba snorted and started up the stairs.
"I'm better at cooking then you'll ever be." He said daringly "If anyone's gonna burn the house down, it'll be you."
"Yeah. Oh, make sure you empty that fridge under you're bed before I get back- I'll be checking."
"Fine…" Mokuba sighed "Wait! You know about that!" Seto just smirked and headed out the door.
"I know all." He said, as he closed it behind him.
Mokuba shuddered. Seto was kinda creepy when he did that.
-
12:49 pm, Kaiba Mansion
Mokuba flicked the envelope thoughtfully. He shouldn't open it. Seto never did. Besides, he had no interest in girls yet, except as friends. There wouldn't even be any chocolate in the envelope. And if the envelope was from one of the girls he knew at school, wouldn't it be really awkward to see them? At least if he didn't open it, he wouldn't know who it was from. Yeah, ignorance was bliss. It was all stupid anyway. All Valentines seemed to do was embarrass people. Well, he wasn't going to be a part of it. He wouldn't open the card.
…
Oh, what the hell. Why not? It's not like there was ever really any argument anyway.
Holding his breath, Mokuba opened the envelope and turned it upside down. To his surprise, it wasn't even a card that fell out, just a slip of paper. Mokuba picked it up and scrutinised it.
1 KC
That was it. '1 KC' written in slightly curled but precise small blue print. He knew what KC was, of course. He saw it stamped everywhere round the house- on Mouse mats and mugs and computers and food mixers and cabinets and clocks and his Playstation and on his brother's clothes and even once on a mirror, a sticker he'd put on for a joke. (A/N: I don't own Playstation. Me and my sister once had this conversation, right after we first noticed that Seto had Kaiba Corp stamped on his Battle City outfit. This triggered a conversation about what it must be like in the Kaiba mansion… and you see the results before you…)
KC. Kaiba Corporation. Presumably, the '1' meant at one o'clock, and obviously '' was at. So someone wanted to meet him at Kaiba Corp. At One o'clock. Mokuba wondered weather he should go… then realised it was 12:50. He set off at a run. He'd figure out weather to go or not on the way there.
-
12:50pm, Domino High
Seto took a deep breath, reminding himself why he was doing this. He was no coward. He swung open the double doors and stalked into the hall, fully intending to sit and the back and ignore everyone. Just as he had suspected, it was full of girls. They were all on ladders trying to pin streamers of red and pink hearts to the ceiling, and they weren't doing that well. Oh well. Like he was going to lift a finger to help. He had turned up, that would have to be enough.
His whole body language screamed 'Talk to me and die.' His face read 'I don't want to be here, I hate you all.' Maybe people would leave him alone. They should all be able to take a hint by now.
Of course, there is one girl that doesn't recognise a hint even when you shove it so far up her backside that it comes out of her eyes.
Seto groaned mentally and wondered if there was still time to run as Téa Gardener grinned at him and made her way purposefully over. Seto berated himself. He should have known! Of course Gardener would be in charge of this festival! Who else would it be? As she arrived in front of him, he glared down at her and decided intimidation would be best.
"Yes?" He turned the glare up to full notch. As usual, the annoying girl like a bad boomerang wouldn't go away.
"Nothing!" Téa twittered happily "I just didn't expect to see you today! I thought someone had put your name on the list for a joke!" Seto folded his arms and sighed loudly, but Téa continued undeterred. "It's great that you want to help, I knew you couldn't be all bad! If I could be personal for a moment, it makes me really happy to see you here… Yugi and the others said that you just wanted to be left alone…"
"They'd be right." Seto muttered, wondering how long Téa was planning on continuing.
"But I knew that you'd want some friends eventually! No-one wants to be lonely on Valentines Day, right?" She grabbed Seto's hands. She was so quick, there was no way to avoid her, Seto shuddered in repulsion. "I just want you to know, Seto, that I'll always be here for you, and if you need someone to talk to, You'll always have me!" Seto pulled his hands away, biting his lip to stop a really crushing comment. For the moment. He wasn't sure if Mokuba would forgive him for shaking a girl's concept of reality so much that she ended up in the loony bin. Again.
But then, it was Téa. He was sure Mokuba would understand.
He was saved- Or rather Téa was, by a random girl running up looking flustered.
"Téa! We're all out of streamers!"
"What? But we had so many! How can we be out?" Seto took advantage of this situation to start backing away.
"Well, Phoenix was helping, and we were teasing her about her going with Ryou to the dance tonight…"
"He finally asked her?" Téa squeaked in delight. "That's great… and about time! I knew they'd end up together. They'll make such a cute couple…" Téa sighed triumphantly.
"Yeah." The girl agreed. "Bet she doesn't know how lucky she is… anyway, you know how clumsy she gets when she's flustered, and… she ripped some of the streamers." Téa sighed, this time in exasperation.
"Good job I'm prepared…" She muttered "Don't worry, there's more in the Janitor's shed. Seto!" The retreating duellist froze, wondering what the demon wanted with him this time.
"What?" He glowered.
"Could you go and get the rest of the streamers from the Janitor's shed?" She asked "It shouldn't be locked…" Seto grunted and headed off. Weather he actually got to the shed was another thing entirely. Weather he came back or not was apparently obvious to everyone but Téa.
-
12:59 pm, Kaiba Corp.
One minute to. He had made it on time. But there was no-one around… he wondered what he was supposed to be doing there if the company was closed. He fished his key-card out of his pocket and swiped it through the security lock before walking into the main lobby of the building. There was no-one there, either. Not knowing what else to do, he wandered up to the computerised information point. As the digital clock reached 1 pm precisely, something strange happened.
The information point received an E-mail. And it wasn't- or hadn't- even been connected to the internet. Wandering why his secret admirer was behaving so strangely, Mokuba, ever curious, pressed the E-mail on the touch screen to read it.
From: RWYProse?
To: KCipKaibanetwork.bs
You got here on time! I'm so glad… I knew you'd do it Mokuba! This will disappear in 2 minutes, and it won't do any damage to the Information point, I promise. It was hard enough to send it, let alone make it hang around!
You're doing really well, and I'm sorry to keep you running round like this. I just have to be really sure… Maybe I should look it up.
Mokuba looked at it, puzzled. Look what up? This one wasn't signed either- it just had a graphic of a rose, white this time, at the bottom. Mokuba's first thought was that he should just give up on this strange quest and go home. It was probably a trap anyway. And it wasn't like he didn't have anything better to do.
His second thought was that, in actual fact, he really didn't have anything better to do. He looked at the E-mail again, and was about to press the reply button when the E-mail suddenly flickered and disappeared, and the touch-screen information point returned to normal, complete with the annoying recorded voice that bellowed random KC facts at the most inopportune moments. Seto was at constant war with the executives to get rid of that particular gimmick.
A few minutes later, having thoroughly examined the Information Point and deciding there was nothing wrong with it, Mokuba sat down at the Super computer in his brother's office- A room that only his or Seto's card would open. He began looking at all the company's data for the last few days- but there was nothing, nothing at all, out of the ordinary until One pm today, when the E-mail was sent. Mokuba checked two years back, but still nothing came up. He wondered how on Earth the person managed to do it.
There was no doubt about it, he'd have to track this person down by following the clues and find out! Mokuba thought back to the E-mail. Now, if I wanted to look something up, where would I go? His first thought was the Internet, but then he realised it would probably be somewhere he couldn't get to from the KC building. Having checked the company's website, just in case, Mokuba skipped ahead a couple of plans, deciding Plan D was the most likely.
Alright, he thought, standing up, To the Library….
-
1:00 pm, Domino High Janitor's shed
Seto frowned as he reached the shed. He didn't even know why he was here, and it hadn't taken nearly as long as he would've liked. At first he had no intention of going back (Let Téa get her own dammed streamers) but then he realised that she'd come looking for him, and probably go to the principal in tears if he went 'missing'. He sighed, rolling his eyes. The things he did for a quiet life.
He pushed on the door, frowning when it didn't open. He located the handle, which so stiff with rust that it would barely move at all. No wonder the janitor didn't bother locking the shed… it was nearly impossible to open.
Seto thought about hanging around there till someone came to find him and claim he was still trying to get the door open, but his reputation would be nearly destroyed completely just by his being here. He needed to keep some sliver of his dignity intact. He would not be defeated by a door.
After a few seconds shoving, the door groaned and sprung open. Seto gave a brief grimace of triumph. Stupid door. He stepped through into the darkened shed.
"Kaiba!" Someone yelled. It sounded like Yugi. "Don't let the door shut!" But it was too late. The rusty hinges had already creaked closed, they had started as soon as Seto had let go of it. He leapt towards the door, but it was too late. It was already shut, and so now the only light in the shed came from the grimy window. He slammed the door, but it wouldn't open.
"Pull up a sack." Yugi, for that's who it was, sighed, sinking back into the pile of streamers that had caused all the trouble and gesturing at some piles of compost. Seto declined his offer, choosing instead to study the door. It was then that he noticed a rather serious technical flaw.
"What the…?" He muttered. Then he realised. "Who the HELL had the bright idea to NOT put a LITTLE THING LIKE, OH I DON'T KNOW, A DOOR HANDLE IN HERE!" Seto's observation was correct. In a moment of hopefully non-sober stupidity, the guys who had designed the shed hadn't thought to put a handle on the inside. There was just a rusting bolt, clinging to the door with a hope and a prayer.
"I was wondering the same thing." Yugi laughed sheepishly.
"Great." Seto muttered, leaning on the door in the vain hope that his back would dislodge it. "Great. I'm stuck in a shed with my rival. Oh yeah, the press are gonna love this. This day just gets better and better."
"Bad day?" Yugi asked. Seto didn't bother to answer. "Me to. Try being locked in a shed all day." He sighed. Seto glared at him.
"You've been in here all day?" Yugi looked slightly embarrassed, but, true to form, felt he had to explain himself.
"Um, yeah, see… there were all these girls after me so I hid in here… and…" He smiled sheepishly "The door jammed. Even when I unlocked it, it wouldn't open…I figure it opens inwards. But, without a handle…"
"How'd you get in here in the first place?" Seto couldn't help but ask. No way the hobbit could open that door on his own… he barely got it open himself!
"It was open." Yugi shrugged "But I closed it after me. So, what brings you here, Kaiba?"
"Your friend." Seto snarled. Yugi looked confused. "Téa, you dolt! She wanted me to come and get the damn streamers you're sitting on!"
"Oh." Yugi decided not to press it any further. "Well, I guess we're just gonna have to wait for someone to come and open the door." He sighed. Seto scowled.
"Dammit. I really hate Valentines." (A/N: This line originally read 'Bloody hell' but I changed it to dammit because I just couldn't imagine Seto saying something so… British! Hee hee.)
"Me to." Yugi replied, surprising his unwilling companion.
-
2:11 pm, Domino Library.
Mokuba flipped through the Encyclopaedia, wondering what he was looking for. The Librarian smiled at him from the desk. Mokuba guessed that she didn't let any other kids look at her precious books unaccompanied, but her trust in Mokuba was explicit since he'd fixed the computer system to be 100 accurate all the time. It had been really easy, not nearly as complicated as it looked, and a walk in the park for Mokuba- but now he was the librarian's hero. So he pretty much got away with anything.
Mokuba was about to give up- He was already in the 'Re' section, and he hadn't found anything. He'd just have to keep his eyes open and see if he noticed anyone using Rose-patterned stationary.
Wait. Roses. Of course! The address- RWYProse! And both messages had had a rose on them- one Red, one White. Mokuba looked at the address again… What if 'RWYP' weren't just random letters…? What if they were rose colours? Red followed by white, and if he was right the next ones would be Yellow and Pink.
Mokuba flipped forward to 'Ro' but to his disappointment, there was only a paragraph:
Rose: A flowering plant with thorns on the steam for protection. The leaves are also spiny. The rose comes in a variety of colours. This plant is very popular in England, the red roses' native country. The rose, particularly in red, is often used to symbolise passion and love.
Well, that was all very interesting, but not very helpful. Mokuba wandered over to the imposing desk and greeted the Librarian in a friendly manner.
"Hello there, Mokuba." She said "And how may I help you today?" Mokuba was about to explain he was just saying hi, when a thought struck him. It was worth a try.
"Do you have any books on… roses?" He asked slowly.
"Naturally." She smiled at him as she called up a list of books on roses on her computer "Thinking of taking up gardening, Mokuba?"
"Not really…" Mokuba replied vaguely.
"Ah, here we are." The greying woman put on a pair of specs and scanned down the computer screens. "We have ten currently on the shelf… A Gardener's dream; Rose gardens and how to make them; Roses for romance- a guide for a gardener's passion; Red, white, yellow… All the colours of the Rose; Growing your own…"
"Wait!" Mokuba yelled suddenly "Can I look at that one please? Red white and Yellow?"
"Of course you can…" The Librarian said, slightly confused at the boy's eagerness as she told him the reference number. "Is everything all right?"
"Fine!" Mokuba replied, heading down the library at a trot. The shelf he wanted was at the other end of the Library, almost at the end. Finally, having found the right isle, he went in and began to scan the books. A few moments later, he found 'Red, White, Yellow…All the colours of the Rose' and pulled it out triumphantly. He scanned through the pages, muttering to himself.
"Red Rose…Pink rose…Blue rose… Wait a minute. Blue rose?" Mokuba wrinkled his nose in disbelief before shrugging and continuing "Orange Rose… Yellow Rose! Here it is!" And, indeed, there it was. Nestled safely in the middle of double page spread of small font about the yellow rose was another envelope with his name on it. He pulled it out triumphantly, then hastily shoved it in his jacket pocket and, having shoved the book back, headed out the library.
"Did you find what you were looking for?" The Librarian called after him anxiously.
"Yep!" Mokuba called back happily, giving her a thumbs up.
-
2:30pm, Ryou's place
Ryou twisted the phone chord round his fingers, waiting for someone to pick up.
"Hello, Kame Game shop." Someone answered eventually. Ryou instantly recognised it as Yugi's grandfather. Strange. Usually Yugi answered the phone at this time of day.
"Hello. It's Ryou. Would you mind if I spoke to Yugi a minute, please?"
"I'd love to let you," Solomon replied "But, the thing is, Yugi isn't here."
"Huh?" Ryou asked intelligently. Yugi was supposed to meet him and everyone except Téa round at his place at 2:00. Of course, it wasn't like Yugi to be late, so Ryou had eventually decided to phone him, leaving Joey, Tristan and Duke unsupervised in his front room. No wonder he was nervous. "What do you mean? Is he on his way over already?"
"No." Solomon sounded worried "He hasn't been home at all. I just assumed he'd come straight to you, and when the phone went… Well, I thought it was him."
"Oh…" Ryou said "Well, if you find out where he is, can you get him to phone us?"
"Certainly. Same for you though. He shouldn't worry an old man like this!" Solomon gave a wry laugh "This isn't the first time he's gone missing though. He's probably been side-tracked by some freak show with a duelling deck. He'll turn up eventually…"
"I wouldn't be surprised." Ryou replied, though neither felt reassured. "Thanks anyway."
"No problem." Solomon replied, then hung up.
Ryou put the telephone back on the hook. He knew Solomon was right, of course, Yugi had a habit of turning up. He shouldn't worry. He turned back into his hall and went into his living room.
"What's up?" Joey asked, as soon as he caught sight of his friend's face.
"Yugi…" Ryou sounded confused. "He's, well, disappeared. No-one knows where he is. Come to think of it, I haven't seen him since first thing this morning."
Silence for a few seconds.
"We should go look for him." Tristan said eventually. "Who knows what kinda nut case he's run into this time?" Joey nodded in agreement, but Duke held up a hand.
"Wait. I bet he just got roped into helping Téa. He's the only one out of all of us to be talked around." Ryou didn't like to point out Téa hadn't asked him, or he'd probably have ended up there himself. "Why don't you give Téa a call at the school? She's probably got Yugi running round looking for streamers or something…" They laughed at the image.
"Does anyone have her mobile number?" Ryou asked. The others shook their heads.
"Just phone one of the school's payphones." Tristan suggested. "Someone will pick it up." Ryou nodded, and made his way back into the hall to use the telephone again.
-
2:43pm, The Milk Bar
Across the road from the Library, in the café for the best milkshakes in town, Mokuba slurped thoughtfully before pulling out the envelope with the yellow rose on it. If 'RWYP' was anything to go by, he only had one more to find. His quest was almost at an end! Getting slightly excited, Mokuba tore open the envelope to find…
Nothing. It was empty.
After all that work, it was empty! Mokuba sighed in disappointment. All his work had lead to this… Nothing. Except…
Yes! There was something,drawn on the inside of the envelope! Excitement mounting again, Mokuba rotated the envelope to get a better look and squinted inside.
It was a drawing of an old-fashioned compass, with a sun and ship motif. More importantly, however unrealistic it might have been, the drawn hand was pointing clearly East.
Mokuba, ever practical, wondered just how far east he'd have to go. Seto was due home at five, and Mokuba had to be back before then. Besides, even if he went East, how was he supposed to know when he reached where he was supposed to be going? There had to be something else!
Mokuba reached for the abandoned envelope, but as his fingers brushed it, it fell to the floor. He went to pick it up, but someone else got there first. Mokuba looked up to see a waitress studying his envelope. She smiled at him.
"What a lovely drawing." She said, tapping it before handing it back to him. "Takes me right back to when I was a girl, when I still lived over on the East side of the city. My grandmother used to take me to the most beautiful rose gardens there, every weekend…" She went slightly dreamy-eyed, then laughed as she shook herself "Dead and buried, now of course. Listen to me, blathering on about roses and gardens. I bet a boy like you wouldn't be interested. I bet you just want me to clear your class and go away."
"No!" Mokuba yelped. The waitress looked rather taken aback, and Mokuba forced himself to calm down. He was jumpier then a sugar high frog. "No," Mokuba continued. "I'm very interested, really. I wonder, could you tell me how to get there? Please?"
No-one could resist those big eyes or the hint of desperation in his voice. Before the baffled waitress could collect her thoughts, she'd given him directions verbally and sketched a map on the back of the envelope for him.
Mokuba ran out of the shop, pausing only long enough to shout 'Thank you very much!" over his shoulder as he exited. All he left behind was an empty glass, a confused waitress, and the most eventful afternoon the quiet café had seen in a long time.
-
2:31 pm, The Janitor's shed.
Yugi sneezed loudly. Seto glared at him.
"Someone must be talking about me," He joked, forcing a smile to his lips. It soon faded.
Conversation starter number #91, Yugi thought bitterly Failed. Why did Kaiba have to be such a jerk? They were stuck in here; they might as well talk or something! Why was it Kaiba he had to be stuck with anyway? It just had to be Kaiba, didn't it?
Yugi wasn't in a very understanding mood that day.
He glanced at his watch. He was supposed to have been at Ryou's more then half an hour ago… Surely they would have noticed his absence by now? And it wasn't likely that they'd miss Kaiba's presence in the hall either… But then, they'd probably all assume that he'd done a runner. Their only hope was that either Duke, Ryou, Joey and Tristan came looking for him, or that Téa sent someone else down to get the streamers.
C'mon, guys… Yugi thought desperately Please, get me out of here!
-
2:43pm, A random corridor in Domino High.
Phoenix had been exiled from the school hall, and now that Téa had finally accepted Kaiba had done a runner, it was Phoenix's mission to find the streamers. Suddenly, as she was walking past the payphones, one started ringing! Phoenix gave a yelp of surprise before cautiously picking up the receiver.
"Hello…?"
"I finally got through!" She heard someone shouting in a relieved but worried tone of voice. Whoever it was uncovered the speaker and answered. "Hey, um… I wonder if you could help us…See, we're having a little problem and-" Phoenix, gathering her wits, recognised the voice.
"Ryou?" She asked indcredously "Is that you? What's the matter?"
"Ph-Phoenix…" Ryou stammered, relieved she couldn't see his blush. Behind him his friends rolled their eyes. He'd asked her out, but he still couldn't talk to the girl. Ryou pulled himself together and got back to the task at hand. "Phoenix! Yugi was meant to be at mine for two, but he never showed. Is he with you?"
"What?" Phoenix asked, brow furrowed in confusion "No, he's not here, I haven't seen him all day… What, is he missing?"
"…He is if you haven't seen him." Ryou muttered miserably.
"Oh no… What are you going to do?" Phoenix asked. She liked Yugi, he and Ryou had been the first to introduce themselves outside school on her first Monday after she transferred. Gradually, she had gotten to know Joey and Téa and all the others through them… and these guys were the first friends she'd had. She couldn't quite contemplate Yugi missing… he was one of those people who always seemed to be 'there' no matter where they were.
"We're going to have to go and look for him…" Ryou decided. "If… if we can't find him, I might be a little late meeting you tonight…"
"Are you kidding!" Phoenix yelled "Wait there, I'll get Téa and we'll come with you!" Suddenly she made a connection. Kaiba missing… Yugi missing… "Seto Kaiba!" She yelled suddenly in her own mis-mash of languages "If you try anything, I'll lock you in a room with Téa and some Barney videos!"
"What?" Ryou asked. The problem with dating a girl who had travelled her whole life was that she had no native language. So when she got angry or upset, he couldn't make out a word. Well, except for the English and Japanese ones. But as for the Spanish, German, French and Russian ones… he was at a complete loss. Phoenix did not answer his question. She had already hung up and was running back to hall to find Téa, the streamers she was supposed to be getting from the Janitor's shed forgotten once again.
-
3:02pm, The Domino City Rose Gardens
As it turned out, the gardens weren't at all far from The Milk Bar, and you could hardy miss them. The scent had hit Mokuba from three streets away, and once you had walked through the gates they were everywhere.
Mokuba had to admit, he felt a little out of place. On Valentines Day, and quite possibly every other day, the place was full of couples of all strolling around. Mokuba thought that if he had to weave around one more couple with their tongues down each other's throats, he'd vomit.
Twenty minutes later, just as he was about to give up leave the cavernous gardens, Mokuba saw something sticking out from round a corner that made his heart soar. A rose bush!
Not that it was unexpected, of course, being that he was in a rose garden. No, what made him excited was the colour. Even after having been there for almost half an hour, he hadn't spotted one this colour- Pink!
Mokuba couldn't stop his legs breaking into a run, and heart pounding, he ran round the corner, wondering who or what would be waiting for him there…
There was nothing, no-one. As disappointment rose in him again in a cruel parody of the flower he'd been tracking, he scanned the surrounding area. It was empty of people, and had been designed to look like a small glade off from the main gardens. It was just a semi-circular hedge of pink rose bushes!
"What a waste of time." Mokuba groaned, annoyed. He began to head back to the main path… when he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. He turned round, bending down onto his knees.
There was no doubt about it. The largish hole in the hedge that seemed natural at first was man made. You could see where branches had been carefully and precisely bent out of the way, where the thorns had been plucked from the stem. Someone wanted him to go through this hole.
Mokuba grinned, doing so. He was going to get to the bottom of this, once and for all!
-
3:22pm, Kaiba Mansion Grounds
Mokuba looked around him in disbelief, but there was no doubt about it. He was standing at the very, very bottom of the Mansion's extensive grounds, where the rose bushes backed onto their land. He'd come a full circle!
"M- Mokuba…?" Someone asked hesitantly. Mokuba swung round, he was meant to have come a full circle! And now, he was ready to find out his admirer's- torturer's- identity. He was pretty surprised at the result.
"Mizaki?" He asked indcredously. The bespectacled girl shuffled uncomfortably. She was a very shy, quiet girl; in his class but a little younger then him. She was really smart, and was always reading really hard looking Sci-fi and Fantasy novels, but she was so shy she was often harder to have a conversation with then Seto! She seemed nice and friendly enough, and her friends claimed she had a real sense of humour once you got to know her, but Mokuba had never really spoken to her.
"Hi Mokuba." She replied, smiling slightly. Mokuba saw he was going to have to take charge of this conversation. He sat down on the grass and gestured for Mizaki to do the same.
"You set all this up…?" He asked. A nod came in reply. "But… well, why?" He thought she might think he was asking her why she liked him- and that would embarrass both of them- so he hurriedly clarified his question. "Why didn't you just send a card?" Mizaki shrugged helplessly.
"I don't know…" She said, thoughtfully, pushing her glasses up her nose. "I guess… well, I knew your brother didn't like getting cards, so I thought that if I made it into… a treasure hunt… then you would only do it if you wanted to know. I wanted to be sure that you'd accept this." She handed him another envelope, this one with a rose filled with every colour of the rainbow printed on it. Mokuba had vague recollections of the alleged 'Blue Rose'. Mizaki continued her story. "And once I did one… well, I was having fun so I thought I'd do a few more!" She laughed quietly at her own lack of perception. "Sorry to annoy you…" Mokuba was surprised for a moment, then found himself laughing to.
"It didn't annoy me." He replied "It was actually kinda fun… There's just one thing you have to wonder…"
"What?" Mizaki asked, confused.
"How on Earth am I going to top this for White's Day?" Mokuba asked despairingly, then started laughing again.
"We'll have to see…" Mizaki said quietly, and much to Mokuba's surprise, she kissed on the cheek before giving that slow, secret smile again and rolling back under the hedge.
As Mokuba rather dazedly headed back to the house, his thoughts weren't of niceness or grossness… but rather, there was only one thing going through his head: Weird. I got my first kiss before Seto did.
What a strange festival Valentines is.
-
10:26pm, Kaiba mansion
Seto wearily unlocked the door, never being more pleased to do so. He stepped through and barely had time to shut it behind him before he was tackled by a mound of bushy black hair with a boy attached.
"Seto!" Mokuba yelled, clinging to his brother's waist. Seto hugged him back, despite of his terrible mood. "You're back! I was so worried! No-one knew where you or Yugi were and Joey and the others couldn't find you and…" He looked up curiously "Where were you anyway?"
"Locked in a shed with Yugi." Seto answered, propelling his protesting younger brother was upstairs. Thank goodness that those two kids from the second year had come from to use the shed to make out… they might have been there all night! But to have to be rescued by some over emotional teens… how humiliating. And… well, if those two had been going in there two make out, and they found it already occupied by two guys… Seto shuddered. At least he took some solace in knowing Yugi's friends were probably still out there looking for them. And it was raining. Ha. Ha. Ha.
"Huh?" Mokuba asked intelligently, wondering why his brother had spent his day in a shed.
"I'll tell you in the morning," Seto promised, shoving Mokuba into his room "But now, to bed with you! And remember to thank god that Valentines is over for another year…" He added, sighing in relief.
"Fine. But remember, it's White's Day in a month!" Mokuba laughed at his brother's expression.
"Yeah, thanks for that, Mokuba." Seto sighed. "You have any plans for it?"
Mokuba grinned in a way that would cause his brother great concern over the coming weeks.
"One or two." He giggled.
"What aren't you telling me?" Seto asked, folding his arms.
"Nothing." Mokuba said in a way that was anything but innocent. "Goodnight, Seto!"
He shut his bedroom door firmly behind him, and collapsed onto his bed. Seto was right, that was it for another year… but he had a feeling that the fun was only just beginning.
A/N: I made it! Only now, my sister's using the only PC with internet access. I've worked all day to get this done, and now I can't upload it. Damn. Oh well. It was a long slog, but I made it! And you made it to, if you're reading this! Congrats! Hope you enjoyed, hope it didn't drag on too long and I hope you all have a great Valentines Day! I shall be spending it with all my bishys. (Points at Ryou, Yue and Akira respectively) If you review, you can all have a Valentines YGO bishy:D Except Ryou, naturally… You can have Bakura if ya want. (Offers Mill. Ring around)
Oh, one more thing, if enough of you want to see one… I'm prepared to do a sequel for White's Day! How will Mokuba top Mizaki's trick? I'm willing to figure that one out, if ya want. If you think this sucked, then I won't bother. Naturally.
Happy Valentines Day, everyone! May you find Love, Understanding, and be free of ALL of your delusions afterwards!