Title: Versus…Sunrise Corporations!
Author: RuRuLaLa
Rating: T
Genre: General/Romance
Pairing: Atem/Yugi
Disclaimer: RuRuLaLa does not own Yu-Gi-Oh! or any of its concepts or characters. All rights belong to Konami and Kazuki Takahashi.
Summary: A project Kaiba Corp and Sunrise Co. collaborate on reveal…strange results.
Warning: AU. SLASH, adult language, suggested violence
Begin Notes: Planning for this to be a bunch of companion pieces to my other fic Reunion. There's no need to read it to understand what's going on in here buuuuuut…I certainly won't stop you if you do -wink wink-. Unsubtle promotion of own fic simulation complete. Heh heh. =)
I would like to give a special thank you to Atem-Yami-Yugi4alltime who was the inspiration for this chapter. THANK YOOOOUUU!
~oOo~
"25…24…23…"
Yugi's lower back started to strain in his awkward crouched position amongst the small space of wires and metal. This was a space not designed to support any life, let alone an adult man, but Yugi had no choice. He was the only one small enough to fit and with the skill to neutralize the problem.
"…19…18…17…warning, warning…"
His right hand moved at a rapid speed he didn't know he was capable of, switching between pulling out wires and typing in codes on the circuit board. His left arm was useless beside him, broken and cut up deeply when he quickly dropped into the small space.
"...10…9…8…"
Yugi really hated that female automated voice. If they all survived this then he was going to petition Seto to change it to something more pleasant, like Liam Neeson's. A countdown of doom would be way less nerve wracking in that voice.
"…6…5…4…"
"Just one…more…got it!"
A blinding flash of white light engulfed his vision. He shielded his eyes but it did little to stop the throbbing pain. After a few heart stopping seconds the light faded, the building remained intact, no one was vaporized...
"Override Complete. System reboot initiated…"
"Holy mother of cows," Yugi exhaled, head falling back against the wall in relief. His eyes still throbbed and he was beginning to feel the knife sharp pain in his arm, but the crisis was averted.
"YUGI!"
A rope fell into his lap. He looked at it with uncomprehending lilac eyes.
"Grab on Yugi!"
Was that Seto's voice? He sounded angry and a little scared…which would in turn make him angrier. Best if he listened then, lest he fire his entire staff.
"Do you have it? Mutou so help me if you don't answer!"
"Hang on," Yugi called. He tied the rope around his waist and clutched the rope as best he could. "Ok, I got it."
In no time at all he was lifted out of the crawl space and into the arms of his boss. "If you ever do something so insanely stupid again…"Seto hissed, most assuredly not hugging him for all he's worth.
Yugi's smile was a little loopy as he tried to rapidly blink the spots away. "Ha, Ha!...What?"
"Do you have any idea how dangerous that was!"
"Wha… but wait…why?"
"Because you could have been incinerated you pointy haired little oompaloompa!"
Yugi's smile widened and just when it looked like he was going to say something lucid: "Yaaaay! We didn't blow up!"
Seto exhaled deeply in exasperation. "Going to the hospital." He turned to the Game Developers from Sunrise Co. and the concerned deep blue of his eyes switched to icy cobalt in a flash. "You two! In my office! Everyone else get back to work, and if someone doesn't have this idiot's boytoy down here in ten minutes you're all fired."
Immediately his staff went to do as ordered. If anyone expected to get a break just because of a measly near death crisis then they hadn't been working at Kaiba Corp long enough.
"Say Seto," Yugi slurred slightly as he rested his head on his boss' shoulder. "Is that a Kuriboh over there?"
"No Yugi, you're just imagining things."
"Mmky-dokey."
'Damnit', Kaiba thought, worry and fear making his pace brisk. 'He better not have any brain damage or Sunrise is going down in ashes!'
~oOo~
"There is a fucking Kuriboh in my office."
Normally Atemu would have responded with a "Well spotted Kaiba" or something sarcastic of that nature, but at the moment he was too close to destroying the two cowering employees of Sunrise Co.
As if sensing his murderous thoughts, Yugi placed his good hand on his arm and gave him a pleading look. An hour after getting several stitches and having his arm set Yugi insisted on going back to the office to help figure out what had gone wrong and what they were going to do about it. Of course Atemu wanted him to rest (there was some muscle strain in both arms and his ribs were bruised and he had already worked overtime last night and damnit why couldn't life just leave Yugi be for a moment!) either at the hospital or at home, but arguing with the small man at this point would only cause him to damage his injuries further.
Besides, how was he supposed to meet Justice on the unworthy if his aibou was looking at him so disapprovingly like that?
"Can anyone tell me why there is a Kuriboh in my office?" Kaiba's tone was flat and his eyes were chips of blue ice. He wasn't even trying to hide how pissed he was.
Kobayashi Jiro, part of the Game Developers unit at Sunrise Co, cleared his throat. "You see K-k-Kaiba-sama there was a ah," he fiddled with his glasses, looking to the right as if trying to search for words that would not get him killed, "miscalculation in the procedure – "
"The procedure, yes. And what exactly did this procedure entail?"
"The-the-the…cloning –"
"The cloning! That's fascinating. Do you know why it's fascinating? Because I didn't authorize any kind of cloning and according to this," he shoved a stack of papers that was clearly stamped DENIED with Yugi's signature at the bottom, "neither did my Head of Games and Development. So that leads me to the question of why I am currently dealing with this bullcrap?"
"They had everything set up when I came in; said that you'd gone over my head and they were good to go," Yugi said, the slight softness in his voice and the twitch of his lips the only indication that the pain meds had not kicked in yet. "By the time I called you to double check they were starting the process."
"Forgive us Kaiba-san but we just wanted you to see the potential in our project, since we were obviously being denied a second opinion," Watanabe Jun spoke up quickly.
Yugi frowned at him. "It was too dangerous! Half of your theories made no sense, and the ones that did weren't even finished!"
"That should have been up to Kaiba-san!" Watanabe sneered. His beady eyes roved condescendingly over Yugi, from his wild multicolored hair to the casual clothes he had on."If we had wanted the opinion of his staff, then we wouldn't have asked Kaiba-san to partner with us –"
Atemu glared at the game developer sharply, his crimson eyes clearly saying 'you do notget loud with him', and whatever else he was going to say died in his throat.
"And yet, my instructions, my very clear instructions that even a six year old would understand, were for you two to give your proposal to my Head of G&D, and if he approved of it then I would take a look and I would call you back if I was interested. Is that not what happened?"
"W-w-well yes but –"
"We were trying to show initiative! That we were willing to take a chance and put everything on the line –"
"And blow us all to hell and back," Kaiba finished. He steepled his fingers and just stared at the other game developers coldly. "So in summation; you two are complete morons and not worthy of your title, you almost got everyone in this building and probably the surrounding area killed, my Game Developer saves the day, and I find myself saddled with an abomination against nature," he shifted his gaze to Atemu, "again."
The ex-Pharaoh rolled his eyes. You heard it once, you heard it a thousand times.
"Meow," said the Kuriboh.
Everyone was silent, staring in equal amounts of shock and confusion at the Duel Monster.
"Why did that thing just fucking meow?"
"Um…" Kobayashi started, twiddling his fingers nervously. "Because we used feline DNA to…supplement the cloning?"
….
"Get the hell out of my office."
The two Sunrise employees dropped a sketchy bow and hurried out of the building, followed by several of Kaiba's security.
"Was that wise?" Yugi approached the Kuriboh and ran his fingers through its thick brown fur tentatively. When it purred and butted its head (body?) into his hand instead of biting it off, Yugi smiled and crouched down next to it with more confidence. "What they did was really dangerous. They might try it again, if not something worse."
Seto was back on his computer, typing away furiously. "Tch, obviously. As we speak I've sent a team to retrieve any notes or information on this project from their homes and office, and maybe plant a few bugs here and there…" He smirked in triumph at the screen. Atemu walked behind the desk and peered over the CEO's shoulder. "And done." The big screen on the wall lit up, showing over a dozen squares with various images of Sunrise Co.'s office, bedrooms and other personal areas, and what looked to be the point of view of a lamp post from across the street.
"Just a few bugs?"Yugi deadpanned.
"Few is relative," he said unrepentant. "I could have them thrown in jail of course, but it's harder to keep track of people in prison and if they got out who knows what kind of arsenal of crap they may have hidden."
Yugi waved the explanation away. The small man always trusted Kaiba to take the best course of action. Sometimes though, the CEO felt the need to explain himself in depth to Yugi in an unconscious attempt to reassure him that Seto was not going back to his sociopathic ways. And, though it would be a cold day in hell before Seto said this aloud, he wanted to make sure that Yugi approved of his plans.
Seto narrowed his eyes at the computer screen and zoomed in on the camera projecting just outside the building. The Sunrise Head's were both wiggling about and itching their selves madly. "What the hell has gotten into them?"
Atemu smirked at the screen, murmuring; "Just a little parting leprosy for our friends."
Seto paused. He looked at him out of the corner of his eye. "I did not know you could do that."
"That and more, KaibaSeto." His smirk suddenly turned into a predatory grin. Seto was reminded that while as a spirit Atemu may have sought justicehe was equally as bloodthirsty. "Rejoice that you are Yugi's friend, and pray that you never do wrong by him."
Kaiba snorted. "Duly noted."
"If you girls are quite finished?"Yugi called to them.
Seto scowled while Atemu sulked. "No need to be so catty,aibou" the ex-Pharaoh muttered.
Yugi merely graced him with an innocent smile. "So what are we going to with this little guy?" The Kuriboh-cat thing was now on its back, purring like a motorboat as its four green claw like hands pawed at the opened his mouth to say something but Yugi added before he could; "And don't say have it killed and experimented on in the name of science."
Seto snapped his mouth shut, glowering."What do you suggest then, starfish head?"
Yugi had a contemplative look on his face that Atemu didn't like at all. "Well…we could always keep him –"
"A-aibou! Are you sure that's the best idea?"
"Why not? We've got enough room at the house and money's certainly no object, and just look at him," Yugi cooed as he scratched the Kuriboh's underbelly. "He's so calm, I bet we won't even notice him around."
"Ah yes, those-those are very good points," Atem said, thinking furiously for some other excuses. "But don't you think it will be difficult to explain why we have a Duel Monster as a pet?"
"Who visits us besides the gang and Grandpa? Besides, after everything we've been through I doubt a cloned Kuriboh-cat hybrid will be out of the realm of their acceptance."
"…I'm not really a cat person Yugi."
The small Game designer finally tore his attention from the Kuriboh and gave his lover a startled look. Amethyst eyes soon darkened with sadness and guilt. "O-oh, I'm sorry mouhitori no buku. If you don't want him we'll figure something else out."
Atemu watched as his little hikari seemed to shrink in on himself as his depressed state became obvious. Even Kaiba looked close to comforting him. '…Fuck. No fair aibou.'
"You misunderstand me aibou," Atemu said, forcing a grin. "I was going to say that regardless of this, I am sure I will come to like him eventually."
"Really?"Yugi's eyes brightened cautiously with renewed hope. "Because we definitely don't have to! It's your decision to." Without being aware of it, Yugi's head tilted slightly to the side and somehow made his large eyes look even bigger and shinier until the epic cuteness simulation was completed.
'Gaaaaaaah fucking fuck!'Atemu mentally growled, knowing full well he was defeated. It should be illegal to be so damn lovably adorable. Outwardly, he tried to look as cheerfully confident as possible. "Of course! And as you are want to say; how can I know that I utterly despise and loathe cats and would like nothing more than to kick them out of a very high window if I have never owned a cat, Yes?"
"Exactly!"Yugi cheered. "Oh mouhitori no boku, I'm so happy! Grandpa never let us have any pets; we never had enough money to spare. And I always wanted to have a kitty!" He turned to the Kuriboh, who seemed to have caught on to Yugi's excitement because it was bouncing up and down. "You hear that FuwaFuwa-chan, you're getting a new home today!"
"You already named it," Atemu said hoarsely.
"Yeah, it came to me just now. Doesn't he look like a big ball of fluff? I think he likes his name too. Don't you my FuwaFuwa-chan?"
"Mew!" said the newly dubbed FuwaFuwa. Yugi cuddled with it with his good arm as the Kurriboh-cat purred its contentment. Atemu felt his hatred for the creature rise to new heights. He also vowed to never refer to it by that unseemly name aloud.
"Hurray. Fantastic," Kaiba deadpanned. "Now that we're all done being nauseatingly cute, you can tell me how long the doctor said till you're healed, Yugi."
"Well, they said it would be safe to go back to work in a few weeks but I could –"
"I said how long till you're healed, not when you could supposedly come back to work."
Yugi pouted, then mumbled grudgingly: "6 weeks for the arm, 1 week or so for the ribs to heal…I guess."
Kaiba "Mmhmmed" and rapidly typed something before printing out a few papers. He signed them with one hand while his other continued its typing. One thing Atemu could say about KaibaSeto was that the CEO could make efficient look like an art form."Right. Two months of paid sick leave then. Halfway into the second month we'll have the doctors examine you to see if you're well enough to come back early or if you need to stay out longer, and this is not including the checkups you will be regularly getting every week."
Atemu's eyebrows shot into his hairline in surprise. Kaiba must have been very worried about Yugi to give him paid leave.
"What! WHAT! You can't – I mean, that's too long Seto," Yugi protested, equally wide eyed. "I'll be better way before that! And I don't need to be 100% to work anyway –"
"On the contrary, you do need to be 100%, no 110% if you're going to work here. I can't have my best employee keeling over in the middle of a project; the time it will take to find a temporary sub-par replacement for you will be a waste of time and I'll lose money on top of that," which was Kaiba-douchebag speak for: "You're my only friend and I don't want you to be in pain and I feel responsible for you getting injured in the first place."
The small man sighed. Well, when he put it that way. "All right, all right. But I'm telling you now that I think you're overreacting."
"I'll be sure to write that down on your cast," Seto sneered. He turned to Atemu. "And I'll expect you here tomorrow, same time as usual."
The ex-Pharaoh scowled at him fiercely. "And who is supposed to take care of Yugi while I'm at work?"
Seto stared right back at him, just as intense. "I'm sure his nerd-herd will be only too happy to babysit him –"
"Hey! It's just a broken arm people! I can take care of myself!"
"–and if they can't then I'll send someone trustworthy over."
"I'm sure my idea of trustworthy and yours differ exponentially, Kaiba."
"I hardly think Mokuba will be a threat you idiot," Seto said, rolling his eyes. "He's on summer vacation now; a few community service hours will do him some good."
"Hmm, yes."Atemunodded reluctantly. The younger Kaiba brother was considerably more tolerable than the older and, since he had gone to college, quite responsible as well. "I suppose young Mokuba will suffice."
"Don't I get a say in this?" Yugi pouted.
"Quiet Mutou, the adults are talking."
Atemu smiled at his lover and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "I'm just looking out for you, aibou. I want you to be taken care when you're ill."
"But I don't need looking after, especially now that I have FuwaFuwa-chan to keep me company."
The Kuriboh awkwardly wound around Yugi's legs, its circular body shape preventing the grace a normal cat would have while conducting this maneuver. "Mew, mew!"
Atemu leveled a glare at FuwaFuwa. What business did this being of kitties and science have cosigning with his precious little one? Two minutes and the Kuribohwas already rubbing the ex-Pharaoh the wrong way.
"Great, I think that wraps everything up. Now both of you get out."
Yugi stood up, a wave of dizziness engulfing him until it became so bad that he swayed dangerously from side to side. The little one whimpered as he felt his body loose strength and start to drop backwards.
"Aibou!"Atemu exclaimed. The ex-Pharaoh caught his little lover easily. He held him close to his chest but remained gentle, as if Yugi were made of fine spun glass. Atemu felt his worry rise; he hadn't seen his little one this hurt since their days Dueling megalomaniacs.
"Those…pain aren't working…very well," Yugi said weakly.
Atemu picked him up bridal style, his little one's form as light as a feather. "Let's get you home, then."
Seto, his face expressionless but his eyes warming to a dark blue with concern, picked up his office phone and started to dial. "I'll have someone send up a wheel –"
A black glow suddenly enveloped the seat meant for guests in front of Kaiba's desk. It shrunk and morphed until it finally shaped itself into a comfortable leather bound wheelchair.
"Thank you," Atemu smirked, setting Yugi into the altered chair, "but there is no need."
Seto gaped briefly at his rival's blatant show of Shadow Magic. His face cleared into an agitated scowl. "I thought I told you to stop using any of your parlor tricks on office property!"
"This is coming out of your paycheck Atem," Kaiba growled.
Yugi raised his weary head and Seto suddenly found himself locked with guilty lilac orbs. "A-ano, sorry Seto…mouhitori no boku will change it back….I can walk out…" He started to push himself out of the seat with his good arm, teeth grinding and bracing himself for the pain.
"Forget about it," Seto said hurriedly.
"Are you sure? 'Cause I can –"
"Yes damnit! Just…go home and get some rest would you."
He graced him with a bright smile that had the CEO rolling his eyes. "Ok then. Come on FuwaFuwa, we're leaving." He opened his arms and the Kuriboh happily leapt into his lap, purring the whole way.
Atemu's grip on the wheelchair handlebars tightened and growled a little. 'Presumptuous mangycretan,' he thought. Yugi gave him a questioning look but Atemu was quick to plaster on a reassuring smile, wheeling his small love out of the office.
"And I'd better see you here at 9 o' clock sharp tomorrow, gimp," he called toAtemu's retreating back. The ex-pharaoh gave a negligent wave before shutting the door behind him.
Seto breathed out a long sigh as he went back to work on his computer. Never a god damn dull day at this job. Not for the first time he wondered if it had been a mistake hiring the Egyptian Houdini. But he knew that, no matter his reservations, he couldn't deny anything Yugi asked of him. Not that the small had asked in so many words, but after everything Yugi had done for him and his little brother it was the least he could do.
He smirked at the image of Watanabe Jun rolling around in his boxers on his carpeted floor and Kobayashi Jiro using a towel to furiously…floss between his legs. Seto supposed that there were some perks to having the arrogant ass in his employ; completely untraceable vengeance upon his enemies and rivals was just one of them.
~oOo~
End Story
End Notes: Phew, after making Atem so douchey in Life's Game I feel a lot better writing him semi in character. Sadly there will be more doucheyness to come for Atem in that story -sobs anime tears of epic shame- Hopefully I won't make myself hate my favorite character before I can redeem…him? Hum, think I lost track of what I was saying. O.O? Anywho! Hope you all liked the story. And as always.
Read it! Love it! Become one with it! Review it! XD -sing songs- Haaaaaaaaaaaaappinesssssssss!