I have the next chapter for this almost finished. It should be up later this week.
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Domino City College was located in the city of Domino, which was a fairly large, yet friendly place to live. The city had just recently become more popular, and although there were other reasons, the most prominent was the emergence of a major company housed in Domino – KaibaCorp. The company had been around for awhile, but under its former CEO it produced nuclear weapons and was fairly under the radar for that reason. But, under the successor, the company had shifted its objective from weapons, to technology suited more for younger people. The latest craze among younger people these days was a card game called Duel Monsters, and KaibaCorp had not only supplied the Duelists with holographic technology to enhance the experience of the battles, it had also hosted a few tournaments, both in the city and in its newest Duel Monster oriented theme park Kaiba Land.
Although the height of the Duel Monsters craze had been a few years back, KaibaCorp was still a world renowned company, raking in millions in profit every year. Those who knew the workings of KaibaCorp could say quite confidently that this success was due to the new CEO of KaibaCorp – a young Seto Kaiba. The now 19 year old Kaiba was a prodigy, and always had been. He was very tall, standing well over six feet at full height, and was known for a clean kept, expressionless presence. His eyes were a very interesting blue, usually cold as ice. His hair was short and brown, always tamed and styled the same way. His clothing varied, but he always looked professional; though on this particular day, Kaiba was wearing a white business suit with a blue tie that matched his eyes. Today was an important day for KaibaCorp – the inspector from the government would be coming to monitor the company. It was by law in Domino that this must happen annually, and Kaiba thought it was ridiculous. He knew everything about his company and would know immediately if someone lacked the qualifications to perform their duties correctly and promptly. Sighing, he closed his laptop that he'd been typing madly on for the past two hours – he wanted to get as much work done as possible before being interrupted by the inspector.
Ordinarily Kaiba had no problem with the inspector, but this year was different. The usual inspector that had been coming since the company belonged to his stepfather had retired earlier this year – this new inspector would surely take more time as he had never been to KaibaCorp before. Kaiba had no idea what to expect of this man, and hated being unprepared for such things. He stood and straightened his tie, giving his office a quick once over. The office was fairly large. Kaiba stood behind his large burgundy desk, which was fairly neat today, bearing only his closed laptop, a telephone and a folder that Kaiba had been working on. The office had grey walls that were decorated with a few acolytes that his company had been given, but there were no personal photos. Kaiba did not let his personal life, which consisted of only his little brother Mokuba and at a time had included his Duelling career as the World Champion; he remained to this day undefeated in Duel Monsters. He had stopped the latter because of a lack of challenge – the new Duelists lacked both the skill and experience to take him on. Kaiba liked to be pushed when Dueling, otherwise it was a waste of his precious time. He already knew that he could beat anyone out there, so why bother even participating, especially with a company to run on the side? Kaiba sighed at the memory, and then reminded himself that his Duelling days were over – he could reminisce some other time after he passed this inspection.
Right on cue, the phone rang. Kaiba picked up the receiver.
"Is he here?" Kaiba asked, getting right the point.
"She is here sir." The secretary corrected. "She has completed her tour of the building. Shall I send her up to you sir?"
"Do it." Kaiba replied, hanging up the phone and doing one last check to make sure everything was in order. He just wanted to get an approval and get on with his work. There was a knock on his door.
"Come in." He called and the door was opened. In walked a woman with long blonde hair and purple eyes entered the room. She was wearing a grey business suit with a white undershirt on top, with a matching grey shirt that went down to her mid thigh. Her boats were black and went up to her knees. She carried a black clipboard in her left arm and a pen in the other. She glanced up at Kaiba, who was standing to greet her.
"Good day Mr. Kaiba, I am Mai Kujaku and as you know I am here to perform the yearly inspection. I must say, I was very impressed with the way the company is run." The woman turned and looked at the wall of covered with certificates and awards.
"This is obviously a very prestigious company." Mai finished. Kaiba smiled.
"Everyone who works here takes their job very seriously Ms. Kujaku – I make sure of it." Kaiba replied politely. Perhaps this inspection wouldn't be that bad after all. Just then, Mai frowned, gazing at the wall even more intently, and then scanning each frame. Kaiba raised an eyebrow at this as the woman turned to face him.
"Mr. Kaiba, I find it curious that such a successful business man does not display his post-secondary certificates of achievement on the walls of his office." She noted. Kaiba smirked slightly.
"I would display them, if I had any. I was entirely home schooled and taught the ways of the business world by my predecessor." Kaiba said calmly, though he wondered where this was going. Mai Kujaku seemed shocked.
"Are you saying that you never went to school?" She asked. And then she shook her head. "Oh dear me Mr. Kaiba, this will not do. This will not do at all." She began to write on her clipboard as she continued
"I am writing in my report that you are not qualified to run this company." She said. Kaiba's eyes widened.
"What!" Kaiba gaped. Mai Kujaku saw his face and replied calmly.
"In accordance with Domino City law, you must have some post secondary education to perform an important job like this. So, you are being withdrawn from your position as CEO until you can get the degrees required to get it back." She returned to her clipboard.
"What the hell are you talking about? You can't withdraw me! This is my company! I am a hell of a lot smarter than anyone else who could possibly run this place and I have been doing this for years!" Kaiba cried. Mai Kujaku smiled as she continued to write.
"You may be the smartest man in the world Mr. Kaiba, but if there is no documentation from any school, then you have no way of proving it; the government cannot accept that." She replied, finishing her writing and looking up at the stunned CEO.
"And besides, if you are as smart as you say you are, then going through College should be like a walk in the park for you." She said smugly. She tore out a sheet from the clipboard.
"This is the contact information that you need for when you get your degree. I will come back and verify that it is legitimate and acceptable, and then you can have your company back. Until then, you are banned from this building, and if you are caught interfering with this company's leadership, you will be arrested." The woman placed the sheet on Kaiba's desk, Kaiba himself was too shocked to move. Mai turned and walked towards the door, pausing on her way out to glance back at Kaiba.
"I will see you soon." She said, and exited, not bothering to close the door behind her as she left. Kaiba didn't move for a good minute after she left. His limbs did not seem to respond. When he finally did move, he first went to his office door to close it, then he let out a cry of rage and punched the wall, knocking several of the certificates onto the floor. Kaiba was fuming.
"Who the BLOODY HELL does she think she is? GODDAMNIT!" He yelled, punching the wall a second time. This was why he hated the inspectors. He was powerless in this case, and hated being powerless. Seto Kaiba was not powerless. He growled, knowing that he had no choice but to comply – going to jail would do nothing good for him. Kaiba took several deep breaths to calm himself down. No matter how much of a waste of time going to College would be, he had no choice but to do it. The sooner he could get a degree, the better. Kaiba went to his laptop and began searching for applications online for Colleges. As far as he knew, he just needed a degree and it didn't matter where he got it, as long as he had one before leaving. And since it was a waste of time, he would not spend that much money on tuition. It did not take him long to find the website for Domino City College – it was the perfect fit so far; close, cheap yet still would give him his stupid degree. Kaiba noticed that the semester had already begun, but was still going to apply. He knew that all it would take was a simple phone call to the head office and maybe a bit of extra payment, but Kaiba wanted to get this over with as soon as possible and would do whatever it took to get himself in the College. He picked up the phone and began to dial.
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Yami was all by himself in the apartment. Yuugi had left yesterday evening after announcing that he had to go. Yami had to admit he was a bit sad that Yuugi had left, but knew the other had had no choice.
The two had had a little conversation after breakfast, as Yuugi packed his bag. Yuugi was on his knees and Yami was sitting on the floor watching him as Yuugi loaded his folded clothes into his small black roller suitcase that lay open beside him. Once he pressed a white shirt into the bag he sat up and sighed.
"Look Yami...I feel really bad about leaving you all alone like this."
"It's alright Yuugi. It's not like you have a choice." Yami reassured him. Yuugi dipped his head slightly, letting his blonde bangs fall over his eyes. He reached down to his left to pick up another piece of clothing when suddenly he lifted his head, eyes lit up.
"I've got it!" Yuugi said, smiling brightly. Yami raised an eyebrow, but before he could ask what Yuugi was talking about, the boy faced him and lay down on his stomach, socked feet in the air behind him, and head in his hands facing Yami with bright purple eyes.
"You can come live with me Yami! I'll look after you at my place! Then you won't be all alone." He said. Yami looked at Yuugi's face that was about 5 feet away from him. This was one of the few times where he could look Yuugi in the eye and he could tell the boy was dead serious.
"Yuugi...I can't. I live here, and besides, what if your Grandfather finds out about me? He's got enough troubles as it is."
"Yami you aren't much trouble at all! And I'm sure he wouldn't mind it! He's really nice." Yuugi replied pleadingly. Yami sighed.
"Yuugi, I will be fine. I've survived on my own before. I'm not helpless. I have food in the cabinets, clothes to keep me warm, a nice bed to sleep in and a roof over my head. I will be fine as long as I have those." Yami reassured Yuugi. Yuugi looked sad, but respected his friend's wishes and nodded.
"I will leave all the non-perishables in the cabinet for you then. And I will miss you Yami. You're an awesome roommate." Yuugi said sadly. Yami smiled at the boy.
"I will miss you too Yuugi, but this isn't goodbye – as soon as you get your finances organized you can come back to College and see me again." Yami said confidently. He knew Yuugi would do it – though the boy was small, he was courageous and very smart. Yuugi would have no trouble finding a job and would do well in whatever that was. Yuugi smiled and nodded.
Yuugi had kept his promise – he had taken food from the fridge, so that it would not spoil but had left food in the cabinet for Yami – things like crackers, potato chips and bread were left out and with open packages for easier access. Yami was extremely thankful to the boy for making his life a bit easier before leaving. Yami was missing Yuugi already, and was almost upset for refusing his offer, but he knew he could not leave. The world outside was a big place and Yami was so tiny he'd be squashed like a bug. Not to mention that he had spent about a year fixing his apartment to suit his needs – building little gadgets on the inside of the walls to help him get around.
Yami sighed in memory as he nibbled a cracker. He had crawled into the open bag, dragged one out and had begun to break off pieces and stuck them in his mouth. Suddenly Yami heard the sound of the door opening. He perked up. Had Yuugi forgotten something and come back? Yami put down the half eaten cracker, and went down the ladder to the hole on the counter. He was about to run out to greet Yuugi and offer to help him look for whatever it was he had forgotten when he heard an unfamiliar voice.
"Here we are Mr. Kaiba – your new dorm room! I hope you enjoy your stay here."
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Kaiba had arrived at Domino City College. He had given the head office a call and upon mentioning his name they were more than willing to accept him. Kaiba had had a few demands – he had chosen his courses online and had been enrolled in all of them. He was taking a full load so that College would be over and done with as soon as possible. He accepted a dorm room, because it was more practical to stay at the College instead of driving back and forth each day from his mansion on the edge of the City, but he refused to have a roommate. Thankfully, it just so happened that a room had been cleared earlier that day when its sole occupant had withdrawn from his courses and moved out. Kaiba was pleased at how nicely things were falling into place. He followed one of the school's chief coordinators to his dorm, inspecting the halls on the way as he went. The hallways were a bright yellow color and the carpet was plain white. The doors lining each side of the wall were brown and numbered in yellow old English script – even numbers on the right and odd on the left. His room happened to be number 204. The man stopped in front of the door, took out a small silver key and turned the lock, opening the door wide and holding it open for Kaiba.
"Here we are Mr. Kaiba – your new dorm room! I hope you enjoy your stay here." The man said with a smile. Kaiba rolled his eyes in response as he entered the room. It looked a bit crowded to him as he gave it a quick scan. For a moment he thought he saw something by the big blue jar labelled 'cookies' on the counter, but when he looked again he saw nothing. He grunted and walked into the room, pulling his suitcase behind him. He hung a left by the entrance and headed into the bedroom, followed by the man who guided him. He saw the size of the bed and was immediately put off by its size.
"That bed is too small for me. I need at least a queen sized one. And I need a bigger desk - how am I supposed to work there?" He said to the man behind him, who began to jot down the items on a notepad, mumbling quick 'yes sirs' the whole time. The man had been told to make Mr. Kaiba's stay as comfortable and enjoyable as possible and would fetch the items the other would need. He went into the adjoining bathroom and said he needed a bathtub because he preferred it to showers. He went into the living room and gave it a quick look again, though it had been the most comfortable looking area of the house and he did not say anything about it. When he entered the kitchen, he immediately checked the fridge and found it empty. He made a mental note to buy some groceries later. Upon closing the fridge he checked the cabinets above the stove. He was shocked when he opened it. Open bags of food and some unopened cans of soup lay before him. Whoever owned this apartment before him was an idiot. Didn't they realize that leaving food out like that could attract mice? Kaiba reached back and moved some of the cans aside to see what was behind them when he noticed a half eaten cracker and crumbs scattered abandoned on the surface. Kaiba groaned. It seemed he already had a mouse problem to deal with, thanks to the negligence of the previous owner. He turned around and faced the man behind him.
"I'm also going to need an exterminator." Kaiba said with annoyance. "Call them immediately." The man bowed and rushed out of the apartment, leaving the keys on the counter before doing so. Kaiba began to clear out the food in the cabinet, pulling up a trash bin with his foot and dumping anything that was open inside. He had no idea how many mice there were or what they had gotten into, so he may as well dispose of it all. Unbeknownst to Kaiba, there was someone still in the room watching him from the shadows. Yami had not moved from behind the cookie jar, only peaking out every once in awhile. He had nearly been seen by this newcomer – he didn't need any name mentioning to recognize the man who had been standing in the room. Seto Kaiba, the CEO of KaibaCorp, was suddenly in Domino College. Yami knew that Kaiba was young, but why someone who already owned such a successful business would come to College, he had no idea. He was more worried about what Kaiba had said to that other man, and what he was doing now – he had called an exterminator and was dumping Yami's food source in the trash. Yami was lucky he had eaten earlier, but was worried. An exterminator could be very troublesome for him; the food was less of a problem because he was sure Kaiba would restock the cabinets eventually and he could open the packaging to take whatever he needed. This was going to be a challenge though, to avoid the exterminator. Yami would have to play it safe and be careful around the CEO. He did not know the man personally, but his first impression was that he was the type that would stomp him or worse, reveal his existence to the public. Seto Kaiba seemed to enjoy the spot light – Yami was well aware of the Duelling tournaments the man had hosted. He closed his eyes at the memory. He could not be wallowing in the past now. He had to focus on now and the future – surviving this unexpected intrusion in his life would be tough, but Yami had no choice but to face it. And he would face it, head on and without hesitation. Yami smirked, taking one last glance at Seto Kaiba, who was still dumping all the food in the trash.
"Alright Kaiba," He whispered. "Game on." Yami turned and walked into the hole, letting Kaiba have his little victory tonight, and preparing a plan in his mind for his retaliation tomorrow.
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TBC
Review Please :D
