Title: Press Release
Author: Akanue
Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh!
Rating: K+
Warning(s): None.
Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! or its characters. They belong to Kazuki Takahashi, Studio Gallop, TV Tokyo, and other licensors and distributors. This is a not-for-profit fan work.
Summary: A lot of illegal things were going on during Battle City. And a conscientious Kaiba Corporation employee wants to make sure the world knows.
Author's Note: This was my first time participating in a gift exchange and I found it to be a thoroughly enjoyable experience. I hope my recipient, Magpied_Spider on AO3, enjoys what I've cooked up for them!
Press Release
"We now bring you a special report regarding the recently concluded Battle City tournament. As many of you know, this unprecedented event was held by Kaiba Corporation and attracted players of the Duel Monsters card game from all over the world. The preliminaries were held throughout the city of Domino and the finals and semi-finals were held in an originally undisclosed location. It was later revealed that the semi-finals were held on an in-flight blimp and the finals took place on an artificial island owned by Kaiba Corporation in the Pacific. Yugi Muto, a high schooler who attends Domino High, was declared the winner of the tournament last Sunday in a press release from Kaiba Corporation.
"However, a source who wishes to remain anonymous has provided our studio with a special insider interview about the unseen darker side of the Battle City tournament."
The image on the screen changed to show a man, his face blurred so as to be unrecognizable. As he began to speak, it became clear his voice had also been altered to a low, mechanical, almost non-human state.
"I know that at least three people fell into comas during the flight, and several participants felt their lives were threatened," he began. Even though his face wasn't visible and his voice had been altered, it was painfully clear how nervous this man was. A sheen of sweat could be seen around his neck and even through the synthesizer his voice wavered.
"Why have you decided to come forward with this? What you've uncovered could be enough to bring down Kaiba Corporation, and at quite a large personal risk to you. Are you planning to go to the authorities?"
The man remained silent for a moment, as if pondering the question. "I'm considering it. It depends on the proof I am able to show." A pause. "I chose to come forward because I'm concerned with what Kaiba Corporation is doing. If there were illegal activities going on behind the scenes, I think people deserve to know."
"Well, I think we're all eager to hear it. Tell us what you saw."
"I wasn't actually there," he admitted. "But I can assure you my sources are from within the company and the accuracy can be verified. I viewed top secret Kaiba Corporation documents and I spoke with the employees who were on the blimp as well as around half the participants who made it to the semi-finals. They wouldn't tell me much, but from what they said and what they didn't say, it was very clear they all had something to hide."
"What can you tell us about the people who fell into comas?"
"As far as I can tell, they've all recovered, because everyone who was supposed to be on the blimp returned safely to Japan. However, one boy, who made it to the finals under mysterious circumstances because none of his duels were recorded, had apparently sustained a serious injury to his arm. He acted like it didn't hurt, but then he collapsed in the middle of his duel. Perhaps he was on drugs. But his opponent apparently attacked him regardless of his injuries to win the duel, and Seto Kaiba did absolutely nothing to stop it. The holographic monster attack put him into a coma, and I know this for a fact because an order was put out for medical staff to rendezvous with the blimp before it made it to open water." He inhaled and moved onto the next story. "The second victim was a man, who, again, after being attacked by one of the holograms—apparently the monster was his own, actually—was put into a coma. He apparently woke from his coma first. The third was a woman—some people are claiming it was famous Duelist Mai Kujaku. She apparently suffered minor brain injury and is still recovering."
"Is it your professional opinion that the holograms projected by Kaiba Corporation's duel disks are unsafe?"
"I don't know if that's the cause of these incidents, though that would be my guess. And I do think they need to be thoroughly examined. The testing of these holograms was done entirely by Kaiba Corporation's staff. They should have been tested for safety by an outside organization or government body before they were authorized for use by the general public."
"And what about the explosion that destroyed Alcatraz Island? The American Navy has reportedly been in contact with the Japanese government regarding the incident, but it doesn't appear as if anything is going to be done because the island was privately owned by Kaiba Corporation. Did you obtain any information as to the nature of the explosion?"
"I know for a fact that on Seto Kaiba's orders, explosives were planted before his guests arrived. I have the invoices to prove it. Apparently, the official explanation was given as demolition, but the fact that they were planted before and remained there throughout the finals while the participants were on the island is more than suspect. And an even more interesting fact is that the blimp broke down and was destroyed in the explosion. It was written off as an insurance claim. The participants and their guests were forced to flee the island in a jet that had arrived earlier. And it certainly seems like they departed well after the explosives had been armed."
"What on earth would cause Seto Kaiba to destroy his own island? With the participants of his tournament still on it?"
A shrug. "I have no idea. But I think a logical conclusion is that Seto Kaiba may have become unstable. It's no secret that he stopped making public appearances after his first loss to Yugi Mutou. After Yugi beat him again, and in his own tournament no less, I don't think it's much of a stretch to assume this was some form of... temper tantrum in response to his loss." He paused. "I will be going to the authorities with the information once I have gathered all of it and feel we have an iron-clad case. If Kaiba Corporation committed or allowed illegal acts during the Battle City tournament, you can be sure we'll find out." He finished with a confident nod.
"That was an absolutely fascinating story," the talk show host said. "Until more evidence comes to light, however, we will all have to just keep guessing."
Seto Kaiba turned the television off with an angry press of the power button. He sat on his couch at home, where he'd been surveying all media reports on the Battle City tournament for the past week. Most of them had been rather innocuous, if not misinformed or pathetically trying for sensationalism. This one, however, had taken him, more or less, by surprise. He'd had no idea Yamada had been that persistent in gathering information to prove his concerns about what had gone on during Battle City.
"Someone's getting fired in the morning," Kaiba muttered to himself.