The old adage of 'one tequila, two tequila, three tequila, floor' described Yugi's state of mind two weeks later. It was after four in the afternoon on a Wednesday and he was presently sprawled out on the floor of his plain, Spartan room in a rumpled business suit with a half empty bottle of Devil's Tequila within reach. Between the fact that Kaiba had filled his schedule to the brim with things that the billionaire should be doing and the complaining and demands of his sidekick and ward Joey Wheeler, the poor retainer had no time for anything else. "Yugi!" a voice shouted as the slightly buzzed retainer glared at the brown haired maid in the door.
"Go away, I like watching the spinning ceiling and the garbled karaoke that are the voices in my head." He whined, raising a hand to shoo her away as she just stood in the doorway looking rather shocked. "No, damn it, can't let this get me now. Get me today's paper and tomorrow's paper, when it arrives, with some black coffee that can eat through metal."
"You are drunk." The maid deadpanned, ignoring his orders for the moment, as he sat up but cringed at the mistake he made by moving while bringing both hands to press against his temples. This, like all other times, failed to stave off the headache he got from moving while slightly intoxicated.
"I'm only buzzed. Besides that I have a reason because I am overworked, underpaid, under appreciated, and this was the only way to relax because it blurs my thoughts. This is also the only fun I can have without getting a stomach ulcer while giving a good reason why I cannot do anything else he is too lazy to do!" He growled out as she backed away. "Just get me the thrice damned paper and the coffee and accept my apologies but the tequila is talking and I have to listen."
"Of course." She muttered and scurried off to do so as Yugi just sat in the middle of the floor, trying to get the world to stop spinning around.
Nineteen-year-old Tea Gardner had been one of three maids that Kaiba kept, only because Yugi had persuaded him to keep some of the original staff due to the size of the manor. The brunette had been grateful, since she really did not want to deal with her deadbeat parents and what they would tell her, and went out of her way to help Yugi when she could. For the past few months she had watched as the loyal retainer gained more responsibility than he should have had and in the last three weeks she noted that Yugi seemed to be getting paler with rings beginning to show under her eyes. The young woman sighed as she tucked the newspaper under her arm and carefully carried the tray with the mug of coffee, a small pitcher of cream, and a bowl of sugar cubes through the dimly lit corridors to the room closest to master Kaiba's. "Yugi?" she asked nudging the door open and seen her friend sitting against the side of his bed staring up at the ceiling again
"Coffee?" he asked with a hopeful yet somewhat drunk look as she smiled and silently padded forward before she knelt by Yugi and sat the tray on his lap. He carefully picked the mug up and took a cautious sip, letting out a coo as she giggled.
"You wanted the classifieds, right?" she asked grabbing the paper from under her arm and unfolding it. As the first section, sports section, and business sections were thrown to the side she finally found the classifieds and silently read through the few job listings while ignoring the real estate and other ads. "There is an ad for a personal assistant to work for Industrial Illusions." She stated as Yugi glared at her from over the rim of his mug.
"From one over worked environment to another, but this one is worse because it is Master Kaiba's rival!" He pointed out with a shiver. He heard the rumors about CEO Maximillion Pegasus and the unique tastes he had developed after the death of his wife, after his mental breakdown and three-year vacation out of the public view. "I'd rather become a rice farmer in the rural area of China and live out the rest of my days in a back breaking, yet simplistic way in nature." He added and sipped his coffee as Tea frowned and looked down the listings, forgetting how picky Yugi could be when it came down to things he did.
"Male stripper, requires looking good in leather and adaptability. An open mind, flexibility, and a few kinks." She pointed out with a grin as he did not move and did not even glare at her. "I guess not, you would most likely break all the bones in the hand of the first woman or man that grabbed your butt."
"Damn straight." He muttered with a shiver as she grinned. It was so much fun to tease him, especially in his present state of mind.
"Customer service?" she asked as Yugi glared at her this time while sipping his coffee. "Right, too close to what you do now. Way too close and your voice would be better suited for a 900 number." She remarked as he nearly choked on his coffee and she went back to the list. "Oh! This next one is absolutely perfect!"
"Is it?" he drawled out, clearly a bit skeptical after the previous ads she read off, as she nodded.
"Wanted, competent and confident person that can stock shelves and run a small shop independently while manager is dealing with accumulated paperwork. Full-time, package includes holiday vacations and negotiable paid vacation days. " She read off as Yugi sat the mug back on the saucer and looked curious. "Call the Kame Game Shop for more information."
"Not high profile, probably low stress. Pay isn't a matter since I am a millionaire with everything I have saved up and gained from my parents and grandparents…" he trailed off as Tea sat the paper down to her side. "I bet you could get a job cooking with all your experience and I bet you do, considering the fact that you no longer live on the estate and how busy you are when you aren't working here."
"I knew I couldn't hide it from you." Tea stated with a sad smile as she wrapped her arms around Yugi, unsure of what he would say. "I went to a culinary academy to become a chef, finishing early since I had a head start because of you and the other chefs here with the fact that I love to cook, and work the breakfast shift at a four-star restaurant, I didn't want to quit because that would have left you all alone." He carefully brought his arms up and returned her hug.
"That last part is a lie, you knew I would be fine despite a lack of a true friend around here. Why did you stay here?" he asked as she squeezed her eyes shut.
"When you gave me that second chance you were more of a father figure to me than anyone I knew at that time. I thought you would be angry that I quit working here, despite what my logic told me." She muttered as he chuckled.
"I'm proud that you found what something you love to do and followed that dream and I hope you continue to follow that dream." He told her, moving his head so that he kissed her forehead. "I think I am sober enough to call and talk to the owner of the Kame Game Shop now as well as penning my formal resignation." She pulled back and grinned at him, despite the fact that she looked ready to cry out of happiness.
"You can stay with me! My place is big enough for two people and I would love to have a guinea pig to try my new dishes." She stated getting to her feet and rushing to find his cell phone as Yugi moved the tray from his lap to his side and watched her. For the first time in awhile he felt a bit lighter and a bit happier. "Here it is!" she crowed and rushed back to him, kneeling down as she handed him the cell phone.
Atemu had reluctantly closed the Kame Game Shop for the day as he began to organize the information that had been delivered to him before the sun rose. He sat back in his worn desk chair, cracking his neck as he tried to ignore the fact that his body was stiff from leaning over documents and pictures while trying to read between the lines, and glanced at the ornate clock that he had put above the door to his back office. He bit back a whimper when he realized that it was five in the afternoon, meaning he missed two meals and was probably on the way to being dehydrated.
He seriously wished he had a trustworthy minion or such that would not be afraid to force him to take care of himself. The last four minions he had, from simpering girls to kleptomaniac boys, were pathetic and lacked proper organization that would have kept his grandfather's shop in order while he was off causing trouble. For that reason alone he traded them all to Bakura, for a fate worse than death as he put them to doing tasks that were suicidal if they failed or if they succeeded, and put the ad in the paper. "Four women applies, but failed the intelligence impression. Five over the phone, who did not know of anything I asked them. Hell's bells." He muttered to himself, bringing both hands up to cover his eyes as a feeling of lethargy settled in his limbs.
Than the phone rang, causing him to jump since everything in the shop had been relatively silent. At the second ring he whimpered, not wanting to move too much. At the third ring he growled and picked the phone up and held it to his ear. "Kame Game shop, Atemu speaking." He stated in a rather exhausted tone, ignoring the few moments of silence.
"Hello, I was calling in response to the ad I seen in the classifieds." A rather nice voice stated as Atemu sat up in his chair, his lethargy forgotten as he felt his heart beating a bit faster. The man had a nice voice, which was a plus, and sounded polite and patient.
"Of course. My name is Atemu Yaminaka, I am the owner of the store." He stated as the caller was silent again, obviously a bit awkward with the situation so Atemu decided to press on. "What is your background?"
"I'm presently looking for another, less stressful job while employed but I will be writing my resignation today and tying up loose ends before I quit." The man answered before sighing. "I apologize for my lack of manners, my name is Yugi Motou."
"That is all right, Mr. Motou." Atemu stated as he mentally filed that name away for a background check, but he liked the sound of that name— Yugi. In his extensive travels, and from the sound of the last name, he assumed the other man was from a Japanese family since 'Yugi' was one of the many terms for 'game.' It was rather ironic, as well, since he was calling to apply for a job in a game shop, which meant that the man either did not realize it or did not really care. Dispelling those thoughts Atemu resolved to tease Yugi about that after he was hired and shown the ropes, assuming he would accept the job.
Wait, who was Atemu kidding? He was desperate for some sort of help as Yugi's voice was enough to make him think of something other than the information he would be processing.
"I have been at my present job for close to ten years now and I am, well soon to be 'was,' a personal assistant to one of the wealthier businessmen of Domino City and, due to a triple workload and the man's lack of responsibility or pay raise, I am looking for a new job." Yugi further explained and Atemu could hear the exhaustion in the man's voice.
"That would be a serious pay cut, I can't match those benefits." Atemu commented with a frown. If Yugi was a personal assistant, than he had the experience required for the up keep of the game shop and of Atemu himself. This was a perfect chance that was slipping through his fingers quickly! At this point he was cursing his bad luck and the fact that it would blow his cover to offer…
"My medical and dental are covered to my death, even if I leave the payroll, and money is not an issue to me. I will work for whatever you offer, so long as it is reasonable and either at or a little above minimum wage depending on what I will be required to do." Yugi answered, almost sounding like he was saying it to himself, but his statement was enough to bring Atemu's mental rant-turned-berating to a screeching halt, allowing his mind to catch up to what Yugi just told him.
"That works. Would you mind coming to the shop in the next day or two for an interview?" Atemu asked, keeping his voice sound normal while he mentally cheered at his good luck and fortune.
"That would not be a problem, Mr. Yaminaka. What time is best for you?" Yugi asked as the store owner thought about it for a second.
"How about over breakfast tomorrow morning at the shop, say nine?" Atemu asked while Yugi hummed a bit in response.
"That will work, but I will bring breakfast." Yugi stated with a chuckle as Atemu grinned, he was not going to argue against free food. After that they both bid one another farewell and Atemu hung up the phone, but stared at the device for a couple minutes.
He was not letting this golden chance slip through his fingers. Yugi Motou, soon-to-be former personal assistant to some high-class businessman, would be working at the Kame Game Shop whether he accepted or not.
A/N: I am a sucker for trying to be unpredictable, most of the time it fails. Anyways, as you can see Tea is not a total annoyance! It is a new attempt for me, but I assure everyone she will not be paired with anyone and will only make a few random appearances. If anything she is my reserve 'plot device' if I ever get stuck some place.
As far the casting, this is the reasoning I came up with to support why I did not make Yami the Batman character or Yugi the Robin character. (Besides the fact that there was more potential for the pairing of the two together if they were not working together as a heroic duo.)
Seto Kaiba – Batman (He's already a billionaire and has the personality to run both lives, sans the womanizing part but he has the hard ass part down to a science)
Joey Wheeler – Robin (He just screams 'comedic sidekick' and is always around Kaiba, plus the bonus points of being a 'charity case')
Yugi Motou – Alfred (He is not really a fighter, but not really in the background. Yugi never came off of as a fighter to me, but someone with a strong character and always there to help out.)
Marik – The Riddler (After playing 'Lego Batman' I realized he should have been Mad Hatter. I liked Riddler better because one, demented leprechaun in look, and two, I can see him spouting off weird and lewd riddles to annoy and drive people nuts or manipulate them in that way.)
Mai – Catwoman (She is a leather and diamonds kind of gal… plus the only female character in YGO that has the form and persona to pull it off.)
Bakura – The Joker (He seems the type to play with knives and kill those that fail him, as well as dress in such a way to either freak a person out or make them underestimate him. No vat of chemicals but I can see him making Smilex and being in a lab to make more insane things. )
Malik – Harley Quinn (Don't really know why… didn't think of him as being a main villain and a Joker always needs a Harley Quinn to do the leg work and she always seemed to be along for the ride and could switch sides at any time.)
Ryou – Poison Ivy (Calm, seems like a plant lover and someone has to keep Bakura tied up when he's bad. Innuendo intended because a strong Ryou character works out better than an abused or extremely feminine one.)
Yami – The Scarecrow (Two words: Mind Crush. Plus, he's always the hero… this way he is pretty much the leader of the villains and the best unknown rival for Kaiba!)
EDIT: 2010-April-09: A unsigned reviewer, marked as Unknown Person either by the system or by choice, questioned what I had down as the origin of the name "Yugi" and I looked into it to make sure that I was using the right information. Dummy me mixed up that part and I apologize to everyone for the false information and thank said reviewer for asking the question. Yugi (in true romanization of the Japanese word It may be seen as Yuugi) can be translated to meaning "game; amusement." The part I added also stated, ...Japanese family since 'Yugi' was one of the many terms for 'game'" which is true-- game (from Random House's Japanese to English, English to Japanese Dictionary by Seigo Nakao): asobi (pastime); shiai, kyoogi, geemu (match, contest); emono (hunted animal).