Chapter 1: Business Proposal

A limo arrived outside the Game Shop one afternoon. The chauffer exited and jogged around to open the door. A tall brunette male in a white suit unfolded his tall frame and stepped out. "Good luck, Mr. Kaiba."

"Thank you, Rolland." Seto nodded and strode to the shop door. The bell tinkled as he entered and a familiar face looked up from the cash register. "Mutuo."he acknowledged coolly.

"I'm sorry you came all this way, Kaiba, but we don't have any new cards." Yami replied, returning to the cash register.

"I'm not here for cards. I'm here to make you an offer." Seto lifted his briefcase onto the counter and unlocked it. He pulled out a contract and passed it to him.

Yami looked wary as he took the contract. He read through the first page, his eyes widening. "You want me to be a product tester for your company?"

"Yes. As much as I hate to admit it, you're one of the best duelists. I will pay you very well for your time."

"I don't know if I have time." Yami replied, doubfully. He went out of the room, calling, "Grandpa?"

Grandpa appeared at the door to the kitchen. "Yami, what is it?"

"Kaiba offered me a job at his company." Yami shrugged.

"What kind of job?" Grandpa was curious.

"Product tester. I really want to do it, but I don't want to make it hard on you." Yami looked disappointed.

"I think we can survive without you for a couple hours after school and on weekends. On one condition." Grandpa nodded.

"What's that?" Yami was relieved, not caring what the condition was.

"You have to keep up with your homework. If your grades slip, I'll pull the plug, pardon the pun." Grandpa smiled.

Yami grinned, giving his grandfather a hug. "I won't let you down." He promised.

"I know you won't." Grandpa patted his back. "Now go give him your answer."

Yami went back to the Game Shop. Seto had been examining merchandise with interest until he spotted him. "He says I can work for you on one condition. That I keep up my homework. He can only give me up for a couple hours each day. Do we have a deal?" Yami asked, holding out his hand.

Seto shook his hand, giving a small smile of satisfaction. "Sign the contract and we'll be set." He turned the paper around so it faced Yami. Yami signed the contract and Seto snatched it away, tucking it in his briefcase. "See you at KaibaCorp tomorrow after school. Go in and talk to the receptionist. Tell her you are a product tester. She will have security take you down to the lab."

"Lab?" Yami was surprised.

"It's where we test all of our products." Seto headed for the door.

"Kaiba?" Yami called, and Seto turned, scowling. Yami realized his mistake. "Mr. Kaiba, thank you for your offer."

"We may not be friends, but you were my first choice for the job." Seto replied, and left.

Yami dressed in a nice red dress shirt and black slacks after school and drove Grandpa's car to the KaibaCorp building. He entered and stopped at the reception desk. "My name is Yami Mutou. Mr. Kaiba is expecting me in his lab for his product testing." He explained.

"Leo!" the receptionist called to a tall man in a uniform. "Escort Mr. Mutou to the labs."

"Of course." Leo nodded. He gestured for Yami to follow him and led him to elevator. He pressed the call button and the doors opened. They entered and the doors shut behind them. Leo pressed the button marked B and the elevator began to descend.

They were silent for the ride until the doors opened and Leo led him to a set of metal doors. "Good luck." Leo said in parting.

"Thank you." Yami nodded and knocked on the door. Leo walked off.

A blond woman opened the door. "You must be Mr. Mutou, come in. We were expecting you." She greeted, stepping aside to let him in.

Yami entered, looking around. He was in an observation room with computers and monitors. A glass wall that dominated one side across from the door. On the other side of the glass was a wide room.

"You're late." A familiar voice disrupted Yami's thoughts. Seto had entered, carrying a familiar object: a duel disk.

"Sorry, I wanted to change from my uniform." Yami explained.

"Put this on." Seto handed him the duel disk.

Yami slid the disk on, surprised at how light it was. "New prototype?"

"Yes. Interactive. You can find the strengths and weakness of an opponent you have already faced." Seto explained.

"How does that work?" Yami was curious.

"It has a memory card that records every card played in a duel, so if you face that person again, you can find ways to beat them with your cards." Seto nodded.

"Wow, that is pretty cool." Atem nodded.

"Well, go in there and try it." Seto was impatient. "Unless you didn't bring your deck."

"I brought it." Yami fished out his deck and slid it expertly into the deck slot. "Who will be my first opponent?"

"Him." Seto gestured to the glass where Yami saw something he hadn't noticed before. A duel computer was at one end of the room. "I only have one duel disk, so you can only duel him until we build another one. Unless you're scared." Seto taunted, smirking.

Atem gave him a cocky grin. "Do you really think a duel computer scares me?"

"I would doubt your competence if it did." Seto gave him a small smile in return. "Go in and try it out. I'll be in here watching."

Yami stepped through a side door into the room beyond. The duel computer hummed to life, the life point counter reading 4,000 points.

"Good luck, Mutou." Seto said, through the microphone.

Not knowing what deck he would be facing, Yami took his deck out and shuffled it, putting it back in the slot.

The duel started and it only took Yami a few seconds to recognize the cards played against him. "Kaiba, you are having the computer use your own deck?" he asked, surprised.

"You need a powerful deck to test it out." Seto explained. "Besides, you're the only one who beat it."

"I can think of a few." Yami muttered.

"What was that?" Seto asked sharply, even though they both knew he heard it just fine.

"I said I can't think any." Yami said, louder.

"I thought so." Seto left him to duel the computer as a research assistant came in. "What is it?" he demanded, irritated.

"We are having problems getting the new duel disk to configure. It says error every time we put a card down." The assistant explained.

Seto sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Fine. I'll check it out after this guy leaves."

"Thank you, sir." The assistant nodded his head and hastily retreated, shutting the door behind him.

Seto returned his attention back to the duel, admiring Yami's style from a duelist's perspective. The way he confidently played cards, the cocky grin when he played a brilliant move, the way his pants snug around the curve of his backside.

Woah, where did that thought come from? Seto wondered, shaking his head of the unwanted thought.

Yami finished the duel and returned to the lab. He had won the duel, of course, and his eyes were bright. "How was that?" he asked, doubtfully. "Did you get the data?"

"In order to find out if the new technology works, we have to test it multiple times." The assistant in the room spoke up, pushing his glasses up his nose as he examined Yami from his chair at a computer. "If it works, you should get strategies and be able to beat the computer better."

Yami nodded. "Do you want me to go back in there?"

Seto shrugged. "Unless you want to take a break."

"I'm fine." Yami nodded. He headed into the duel room.

As the two hours came to a close, Seto noticed that Yami's lightning fast draw was getting slower. "You okay, Mutou? You need a break?"

"No, I can finish out the duel." Yami panted. He drew a card, even though he just had. Sweat was pouring down his face, matting his hair. "I play-" He didn't finish the sentence as his eyes rolled back in his head. He dropped to the floor.

"I'll call for a doctor." The assistant said immediately, as Seto reached the door.

Seto burst through the door and knelt beside Yami, checking for a pulse. "Don't bother. I think he just overexerted himself. I'll take care of him. Shut down the computer. We're done for the day. Call Rolland."

Seto lifted Yami into his arms and carried him out a private exit where Rolland was waiting for him with the limo. He silently opened the back door and Seto gently set Yami down on the seat. "Turn on the air conditioner." He ordered.

"Yes, sir." Rolland hurried to the driver's door and blasted the air conditioner, pulling out of the KaibaCorp lot.

Yami seemed to cool off as they drove, but he hadn't come to. Seto found himself worried about the teen's condition, but he tried to convince himself it was purely professional.

The limo stopped in front of the mansion and Seto got out, lifting Yami out as well. He carried him inside, barking orders to his staff. "I need a bowl of water, a rag, and a fan."

"Yes, Mr. Kaiba." The maid scurried off and Seto headed upstairs.

He set Yami on a spare bed as the maid returned with the items. She set them up, leaving as quietly as she had come. Seto placed the wet rag on Yami's warm forehead and sat in the chair in the corner to wait, seething with anger.