Chapter Two

It was midday, and Mokuba was already losing focus on whatever it was he was working on. Kaiba watched from the corner of his eyes as his brother began acting restless, shaking his legs as he sat cross-legged on the couch, hitting the keys of his laptop almost as fast as his big brother. Kaiba was immensely proud of the kid, but when Mokuba began acting stir crazy, it only annoyed Kaiba into losing his own patience.

"Mokuba," he began, not even looking up from his own computer's glowing screen, "if you feel the need to go outside, then please do so and stop distracting me with your constant fidgeting."

"Nii-sama, I'm almost done with my work."

He was doing who knows what; Kaiba didn't stick his nose into Mokuba's business, usually, unless he was asked for assistance. But now he was losing his mind, watching the boy's legs bob up and down in a constant speed that made Kaiba count out each repetition until he lost his control and ended up raising his voice.

"Mokuba," he said again, this time in a more warning tone, "you really need to go outside. Now. That work can wait."

It earned him a glare, but Mokuba sat his laptop down and left, grumbling about whatever teenage angst Kaiba was not interested in hearing about. He was just glad the distraction was over, and relaxing back into his groove, Kaiba calmed down right before one of his assistants buzzed a call through his private line.

"What?"

"Kaiba-sama, there's a man outside here requesting a meeting with you."

"If he's not on the list," Kaiba snapped back, "he doesn't get my time. I don't need any more distractions, and I've told you people this enough-"

"He says he came from California to speak to you on behalf of Otogi-sama."

"I don't care," Kaiba replied, "He could have come from fucking Egypt, and he's not coming into my office. If he doesn't have a meeting with me, he can wait until I feel like seeing him. And that won't be until at least three hours from now. He can wait."

Hanging up the phone, he didn't feel at all sorry for the outburst. He hated it when idiots thought they could just walk into his office and demand an audience with him. It did not work like that. There were protocols in place to see him. Schedules to maintain. People couldn't just come over and ask for personal time; that would be asinine and a waste of valuable working hours that Kaiba needed for himself.

But before he could cool back down into his work, someone shoved the door open, and looking up, Kaiba met eyes with a strange foreign-looking man who most definitely was not fully Japanese.

"My name is Kitamura Noeru, and-"

"I don't give two fucks who you are," interrupted Kaiba, "Get out of my office before I call security."

They stared at each other for a moment, but before Kaiba could actually get his guards into the room, Mokuba rushed in, Jonouchi in hand, and everything became rather...surreal. Kaiba had no idea what was going on, and becoming more flustered as the room suddenly began to feel smaller, he flashed his eyes at every single person in the room before getting up from his desk.

"This isn't some playground," barked Kaiba, "What are all you people doing in here? Besides my brother..."

Jonouchi felt like he'd stumbled in at exactly the wrong time. Kaiba looked displeased. More than displeased, really—he looked downright pissed. Jonouchi had assumed that it would be a bad idea to barge into the private space known as Kaiba's office, but Mokuba had dragged him along so determinedly that he'd figured the man must not have been around.

It looked like there had been some kind of meeting. The man in Kaiba's office seemed at least half-foreign and completely unwanted there. Jonouchi just wanted to leave. He'd been hoping to avoid Kaiba in the first place, and he certainly didn't want to be part of whatever circus was currently playing out in Kaiba's office at that moment.

"Don't look at me, I'm on my way out," he defended, turning to leave, but Mokuba was more hostile. He was almost like a guard dog, the way his feet were planted, his brow creasing as he glared accusingly at his brother's visitor. What did Mokuba think he was going to do exactly? If the man didn't have the respect for Kaiba to beat it when he was told, why would he listen to Mokuba? Odds were, Kaiba was going to be calling security very shortly.

"Nii-sama, I was just visiting with Jonouchi and I thought I could give him a tour of sorts," said Mokuba, trying to appease his brother, "I didn't think you had someone here in a meeting."

"There is no meeting. This man is leaving right this minute, or I'll-"

"Please Kaiba-san, there's no reason for the hostility."

The man was far too casual. Kaiba merely raised an eyebrow at being interrupted once again, but he decided it might be worth listening to this man who was risking everything to get an audience with him. Sometimes people surprised him, with their interesting yet foolish attempts to win his ear, and crossing his arms in a rather pissy manner, Kaiba decided to give the man a chance before calling Isono in.

"It's 'Kaiba-sama,' Kitamura," he corrected, his lip curling ever so slightly, "And if you want me to give a crap about what you're about to say, you'd better address me properly next time."

"Certainly."

Jonouchi was honestly surprised at how little Kaiba's visitor was being thrashed. The Kaiba he'd known before Battle City wouldn't so much as hear out someone who barged into his office, addressed him incorrectly, interrupted him, and then showed such general disrespect. Hell, Kaiba had acted inconvenienced by answering the phone back when Jonouchi and his friends had called for help, but he supposed Kaiba had an excuse at the time—he was dealing with being branded a terrorist in America.

"Mokuba," Jonouchi spoke, slowly enough that only the young boy beside him would be able to hear, "let's get out of here. This seems like a bad time."

"No, you two can take a seat," Kaiba snapped, apparently able to hear Jonouchi's voice from halfway across the room despite not even looking at either of them, "I need my Vice President here to listen to this man's request before I kick him the hell out myself. And I'm sure Jonouchi would just love to watch."

Kaiba's eyes were completely focused on Kitamura, who wasn't backing down but had sweat dripping off his forehead, if only a little. Enough that his face was glistening. Kitamura smirked before opening his mouth to speak.

"Otogi-sama would just like an explanation as to why Kaiba Corporation won't do business with him," he said, glancing over at Jonouchi before looking back at Kaiba, "since his stocks have been rising, and he was even able to get Yugi to back him up during international dueling tournaments."

"I don't care if Mutou decided to make Otogi's piss-poor game one of his charity cases; Dungeon Dice failed when Pegasus died. I'm not sponsoring a shit company for a shit game."

"I would ask that you reconsider," Kitamura replied, though his tone sounded more like insistence than a request, "The popularity of Dungeon Dice Monsters is rising, and with your support, it could quickly become a new major game on the market."

"I don't care."

Kaiba sat down again, crossing his legs before looking at Jonouchi. The pupils of his eyes seemed to have constricted for a second in a rather strange fashion before returning to normal and looking back at the intruder. He was smiling, in that creepy manner of his that often came before he did something majorly fucked up. It was just a matter of time before they'd see what he was going to do.

"If Dungeon Dice Monsters is going to become a success, it can do so without Kaiba Corporation. Tell your boss he should have come to me first for support if he needed it instead of that hack Pegasus. My company is no one's second choice," he spat, now buzzing security, "And Otogi best remember that.

"Also, I'm not against buying a company out and watching it fail because I can. You'd best remember that too, Kitamura, or you might just be out of a job next time you barge into my office looking to harass me. Now get the fuck out."

That seemed to have humbled Kitamura just little, as his expression fell and he seemed to be a tad shocked before snorting. He appeared to be trying to save face, as he glanced again at the audience gathered to watch his failure to gain Kaiba Seto's support. Both Mokuba and Jonouchi were slightly shocked by Kaiba's threat, but then again, it wasn't something he hadn't done before.

Isono came in before any more could be said, grabbing Kitamura by the arm and hauling him out of the room. He was all but tossed out of Kaiba Corporation, and once the sideshow was over, Kaiba relaxed at his desk again and returned to work. His eyes never left the monitor as his fingers began speeding across the keyboard at an impossible speed; Jonouchi wondered if Kaiba even knew what he was writing at all.

Or if Kaiba had realized that he and Mokuba were still in the room. Maybe Kaiba was just ignoring them. The latter seemed more likely, knowing him, so Jonouchi decided to sit stubbornly and wait for acknowledgement. Saying something would only get him some snide comment, and it would probably get under Kaiba's skin more if he simply sat there and stared at him. Mokuba was quiet, as if he was waiting for something. Probably for his brother to cool down and give him something to do; Mokuba looked rather fidgety about just sitting there twiddling his thumbs.

Honestly, Jonouchi didn't feel like Kaiba had much of a right to throw tantrums after the things he'd said. And the way his eyes looked when he'd threatened Kitamura had been chilling. When his pupils shrank and the blue irises were fully visible, flashing dangerously, Kaiba was scary. Where did he get off, threatening someone's job like that? Didn't seem like the right thing to do, just from being annoyed with someone, in Jonouchi's opinion. Wasn't having him thrown out by security enough?

It wasn't Jonouchi's business, though. Kaiba had always been a massive prick who only really stepped up for the sake of others if it was unavoidable or the world was falling apart. Which, Jonouchi supposed, was the same thing, really. So Kaiba was a self-centered asshole. Having the money, power, and influence to get away with it no matter what probably wasn't much motivation to stop. That got under Jonouchi's skin like some kind of fly pricking his nerve endings. He started tapping his heel against the floor repeatedly as he waited.

"Stop doing that."

Kaiba was well aware that Jonouchi was in the room alongside his brother, but he saw no reason in acknowledging that fact. It was rude to ignore them while attempting to put one hundred percent of his energy into what he was doing, but what could they possibly expect? His office was not some zoo, and if they were looking to be entertained, well, they went to the wrong place.

He just continued, typing away and ignoring phone calls until finally giving a frustrated sigh, looking at Mokuba before opening his mouth to speak.

"Any reason why you both are still here?" Kaiba asked, not even glancing at Jonouchi's general direction, "I thought I told you to go outside and get some fresh air?"

"We figured it would be more fun to see how fast we could annoy you," Jonouchi muttered, "Jeez, you gave that other guy more attention, and you didn't even like him."

Jonouchi felt a tad slighted. Kaiba was so deliberately indifferent to his presence that he wasn't sure if he should feel lucky or pissed. Of course, considering how easily Isono had tossed Kitamura out of the office, Jonouchi figured getting angry and having a tangle with him wasn't a good idea. Someday, he planned on getting Kaiba alone in a real fight, and all the attitude in the world wasn't going to save him.

But that wasn't going to happen just yet.

"You could at least stop ignoring Mokuba and pretend like you're capable of being halfway decent on occasion."

Now Kaiba finally looked at Jonouchi, giving him a blank look before speaking again, his tone flat and words slow.

"Mokuba, please escort your friend out of my office and go outside..."

Then, without giving any sort of indication that he was even annoyed with them both, Kaiba returned to his work and answered the phone call that was waiting on hold. And by the way he looked at his brother, his voice lowering and eyes narrowing, Mokuba got the hint and grabbed Jonouchi's hand, trying to lead him out.

Jonouchi bristled, angrier at being ignored than anything. The fact that he was angry made him even angrier. In the past, Kaiba ignoring him would have been normal, something Jonouchi brushed off with the knowledge that Kaiba was a giant douche and would die alone. But now it carried a personal stinging rejection that he couldn't handle too well.

After glaring at Kaiba for a few seconds without receiving so much as a glance in response, Jonouchi grit his teeth and forced himself to give in to Mokuba's tugging. Every fiber of his being was itching to retaliate, but he knew better. Jonouchi picked his fights with far more discretion than he had in high school, and he knew not to butt heads with Kaiba on his own turf. Especially while he felt like beating that too-perfect face right in.

They managed to make it out of the building without any trouble. The walk was relatively quiet, since most of it was just a very long elevator ride, and Jonouchi was fuming too much to talk. He didn't really want to start ranting about Kaiba and make Mokuba feel uncomfortable or upset, so he kept his mouth shut and glared at the floor numbers as they changed. As it was, the countdown he mentally echoed cooled his head a little.

By the time they were outside, Jonouchi was feeling fairly calm and was chatting and joking with Mokuba as normal. He caught sight of the now-banished Kitamura through his peripherals, but didn't pay him any attention. Kitamura didn't seem like the kind of guy Jonouchi wanted to be around, anyways. To be honest, the guy was like Kaiba but without any of the power or aggression to back himself up. And that seemed somehow inexcusable for all the attention he seemed to feel entitled to.

"You look kinda pissed," remarked Mokuba, as he looked up at Jonouchi before looking towards the street, "I know Nii-sama gets on your nerves, but he treats everyone like that... Like they aren't even in the room unless he needs them for something. You shouldn't take it so personally; that's just how he is."

Although Mokuba reckoned Jonouchi should have known that already. His brother had always behaved in that fashion, like the people around him were purposely trying to sabotage him, and unless he was trying to entertain a crowd for business purposes, he seemed keen on avoiding mostly all people. Kaiba even kept a good arm's distance away from his own assistants, and the only person on his staff he ever paid any personal attention to was Isono.

Probably because Isono had known him since he was a child. It was a different situation, and Mokuba figured there was some level of respect his brother maintained for him, but everyone else, Kaiba was pretty dismissive about.

"He's just a jerk, Jonouchi. If you get all worked up over it, you'll only end up amusing him."

"Yeah, I know," Jonouchi sighed, "I can't help it. He and I work in different ways. Where I come from, spewing back talk is asking for a punch in the jaw. With Kaiba, it's like he gets his kicks from pissing people off. I know he wins if I'm mad, but it's a hard habit to break."

He didn't know how Kaiba put up with business politics, but then again, he seemed to revel in it, so maybe it wasn't hard for him. He probably loved fucking with people, acting opposite to nature and playing the who-can-coolface-better game. Maybe it seemed juvenile, but Jonouchi was a firm believer in "loudest is rightest," and it was his preferred fighting strategy. After all, no matter the consequences, no one was a winner after his fist landed in the middle of someone's face.

"Can't really blame him for kicking that guy out, though," Jonouchi muttered, eyeing Kitamura. He seemed to have noticed them, and Jonouchi was hoping that the spark of interest in the man's eyes didn't mean he was about to approach. "I don't know about threatening his job, but I would have kicked him out myself if I had to deal with him."

"He's been bothering Nii-sama for days. That was just the first time he actually barged into his office... You'd think our security would have-"

Before the kid could finish, Kitamura was standing in front of them, looking sharp in a business suit that was almost as nice as Kaiba's. Only, instead of wearing all black, he had on dark blue, and he looked reasonably attractive with the skinny tie and well-groomed dark hair, but something about the way he was looking at both Jonouchi and Mokuba was unsettling.

"What are you still doing here?"

Mokuba quickly turned his attention towards the intruder, giving him a confused yet slightly peeved face, "Didn't my brother toss you out once already? Most people don't come back looking for a repeat performance."

"Persistence is a valuable quality," Kitamura replied coolly, regarding Mokuba in a way that heavily implied he felt pestered by some whining child. "Perhaps your brother will discover his rationality in the near future."

"He doesn't waste time on second-rate games," replied Mokuba, his face slightly red, "or businessmen, for that matter."

He could tell that he wasn't being taken seriously, and it bothered him. Mokuba did not like being talked down to or being dismissed, especially when he was the same age Kaiba was when he took over. How could his brother command people so effortlessly? It didn't come naturally to Mokuba, but taking a step forward, he held his ground.

"Maybe if your company wanted to be taken more seriously, Otogi-san should show up himself to talk to my brother instead of sending down some lackey."

"And perhaps if your brother wished to insult me further, he should have come down here himself instead of making his younger brother memorize his lines," Kitamura retorted. Jonouchi grimaced, feeling his anger flare up again. Maybe he and Mokuba weren't the best of pals, but they were still friends. He didn't feel right standing by while the kid got insulted by some self-important dick in a suit.

"Look pal, the security guards aren't the only people around here who can give you a good ass-kicking," Jonouchi threatened, growing even less tolerant when he got only an interested glance in response. Fuck, it was almost as infuriating as dealing with Kaiba. Although, at least Kitamura would acknowledge his presence.

"What's this? You're quite a bit feistier than you seemed in Kaiba's office. Who are you, exactly?"

Jonouchi blinked in surprise, taken aback by the tone of the man's voice and the interest he was showing. Kitamura's gaze was making him uncomfortable, the slight smirk that crossed his lips a little more friendly than it should have been. Jonouchi had seen that look before in the eyes of other men who gave similar vibes, but it had never bothered him quite this much.

"Like it's any of your business!" Jonouchi replied, knowing that his face was burning and hoping that he looked angry rather than embarrassed. Or both, because at least that would be accurate. "Why would you even want to-"

"You're quite the specimen," Kitamura interrupted in a fashion similar to his conversation with Kaiba, "Are your parents foreign? There aren't many Japanese natives with your looks."

Jonouchi spluttered, struggling to school his face before his expression became any more ridiculous. He glanced at Mokuba with an almost silent plea for help, hoping simultaneously that the kid didn't know what was going on. He wouldn't be able to live that down. Too embarrassing. Especially if Mokuba ever told Kaiba...no, that wouldn't be good.

"You don't just ask someone that," Jonouchi replied, finally regaining some control over himself at the threat of Kaiba ever finding out about this incident, "If you're done asking offensive questions, I'd say you better get out before I kick you out myself."

Mokuba was staring at them with an expression that was unreadable. He was studying them both, watching their faces. Kitamura seemed to be amused, if slightly interested in Jonouchi, who was downright hostile. His attitude was all focused towards lashing out, which Mokuba knew better than to roll his eyes at. Sure, Jonouchi wasn't formally trained in how to correctly use his body as a weapon, but what he lacked in discipline, he made up in sheer power and force of will.

Which was why he grabbed Jonouchi's arm, trying to back him off before giving Kitamura a dismissive glance.

"You're unwanted and still on Kaiba Corporation property," Mokuba told him, "And I can call Isono back here if you need a reminder on what side of the property line you should be on."

Hopefully Jonouchi wouldn't take offense to that, but Mokuba couldn't have a brawl right in front of headquarters. People already thought his brother was nasty, but if Jonouchi's punk ass started a fight right beside the front door, it would be all over the news.

Mokuba wasn't so sure about what exactly was going on before, with what Kitamura said, but he had a slight clue. And it made him feel somewhat sick, like the sensation he often got after eating bad food: everything stuck weirdly to the pit of his stomach, and he wanted to throw up a little, but didn't dare to. Why would any man go looking at another like that? It didn't make any sense to him, and glancing at Jonouchi, he hoped to persuade him to follow.

"Let's go. I'll show you something cool that Nii-sama tries hiding from people..."

"Yeah..." Jonouchi grumbled, "Sure, let's get out of here."

Jonouchi knew he wasn't winning this one. Mokuba seemed utterly confused about the whole thing, which he was partly thankful for. Jonouchi didn't want him to know what really happened. Mokuba would probably end up telling his brother about the incident anyway, but the vaguer the story was, the better. Jonouchi didn't need Kaiba to hold anything else against him.

"Nii-sama has a big vault where he locked up all his cards," Mokuba explained, becoming slightly more animated now that the big creep was gone, "I'm not really supposed to bring anyone there, but since you're an old friend, I don't think he'd mind too much."

Actually, Kaiba would probably get very upset with Mokuba if he knew, but what the man didn't know wouldn't hurt him. Mokuba was rather eager to please, if only because he wanted a friend and didn't have much in the way of companions. He didn't interact much with teens his own age, and dragging around Jonouchi for a tour of Kaiba Corporation was good enough for him.

"Would you like to see it? His collection is worth millions, and he won't sell any of them even though he's given up dueling... I think he bought out a lot of Pegasus's cards when he died. I'm pretty sure of it."

"Really?" The idea of seeing something that secretive was appealing to him. "Then let's go check it out. I'm okay with seeing Kaiba's private stash."

Kaiba carefully guarded most things, and if they were locked into a big vault, they were probably extremely valuable and rare. Jonouchi reveled in the idea of getting a glimpse. Against Kaiba's wishes, to boot. So long as he had Mokuba as protection, he was perfectly willing to break Kaiba's rules.

Jonouchi followed Mokuba through the company lobby to another elevator. Mokuba used the pendant that was always hanging around his neck as some kind of key, pressing a few numbers on the keypad. The elevator started to sink rather than rise.

Which kinda spooked him and caused Mokuba to break into a fit of laughter.

"He's very protective of his collection," he said, "I don't even think I got to go down there more than a dozen times."

Mostly because Kaiba didn't see the sense in messing with a temperature-controlled environment made to make the cards last over time. He didn't want his perfect collection to be ruined by Mokuba's nosiness—or anyone else's—and it made Mokuba wonder why Kaiba kept all those cards in the first place. Was it a sort of insurance policy in case something happened to the company, or what?

"I'm sure he has a Red-Eyes Black Dragon in the collection somewhere, even if he isn't a fan of it. I mean, he loves dragon cards. He just doesn't like you."

"Tch," Jonouchi scoffed, "As if I didn't know that already. I've always known that we both liked dragon cards. Kinda ticks me off that he has a copy of my dragon, though..."

More than a little, really, but he didn't want to antagonize Kaiba in front of his little brother. He could curse Kaiba internally as much as he wanted to. Kaiba annoyed him enough without collecting the same cards that Jonouchi treasured. There were more Red-Eyes in the world than Blue-Eyes, so it wasn't as "valuable," but still. Jonouchi was proud that he had the dragon in his deck.

The idea that Kaiba had one, too, made him burn a little.

"I bet he has a copy of every card in the world, though," Jonouchi mused. It was probably a point of Kaiba's to keep up with that, even if he had retired. Allegedly. It made sense that Kaiba, the champion of the game and one of the best players in its history, would keep one of every card in existence. He was just that fanatical. Not to mention, he had the resources.

"He had most of the cards before you and Yugi were even playing. You shouldn't be that annoyed over it..."

Mokuba didn't think it was a huge deal, but then again, it wasn't his game. He didn't get attached to the cards and the personalities they represented; he only liked the Blue-Eyes White Dragon because it was what he gave Kaiba to motivate him when they were stuck with Gozaburo. It was a lifesaver of sorts, and for that, Mokuba felt somewhat indebted to it.

"Maybe if you're nice, I'll let you touch it," Mokuba teased, making a face at Jonouchi in an attempt to piss him off, "but only for a second."

Then the doors of the elevator opened, and stepping into a wide-open vault of sorts, they found themselves surrounded by metal cases that were storing cards.

"Pull out a shelf and take a look."

Jonouchi did so, his eyes widening slowly as the drawer came open. There were a lot of cards in there. A lot. They filled the drawers to the brim and were stacked neatly. Jonouchi wanted to shift through the stacks, but they looked so well-preserved in their protectors that he thought his thumbprints might be noticed somehow.

"Kaiba doesn't mess around," he muttered. Jonouchi sometimes forgot how much of a professional duelist the man was. A list of championship victories on his dueling profile was one thing, but seeing his obsession in real life was entirely different. Kaiba had always been serious about the game. His mindset about it wasn't that it was a game, but that it was a battle. Life or death. His livelihood. In a way, Jonouchi supposed it had been. Kaiba had converted Kaiba Corporation into a gaming company back then, hadn't he? He'd had to prove himself and make the company successful.

But damn. He was something else. Jonouchi couldn't fathom the level of determination that drove Kaiba. Until he retired, of course.

Now he was like a relic himself, almost, hoarding his treasure like a dragon. It wasn't like Kaiba ever showed his collection to the public or even spoke of it. Only a few people knew about it, and besides Mokuba, no one went inside. Even Isono didn't have clearance to just go wandering whenever he wanted: only in the event of a breach of security could he be allowed inside.

"There are some cool holodeck rooms Nii-sama is working on, too, if you want to see."

They were a secret project of his, which was why they were on the same floor of the vault. All sorts of things that Kaiba didn't want anyone knowing about, and Mokuba was going to show Jonouchi. Just because.

"It's like the monsters come to life in front of you."

"Haven't they always?" Jonouchi closed the drawer, interested even though he wasn't sure what Mokuba meant. "I mean, the monsters have always looked real. Are you saying he made them more realistic?"

Maybe the graphics were updated, or the monsters moved more like living animals during standby phases and battles. Jonouchi was intrigued by the prospect and looked at Mokuba expectantly as he followed him, looking forward to seeing the new toys Kaiba was working on. He felt rather privileged, actually, being able to see all of these things. Jonouchi knew that Kaiba's card collection must be personally private if he kept it in a fucking vault of all things, and he enjoyed knowing he'd invaded that privacy.

"Yes."

Mokuba led him into an ordinary-looking room, unlocking its steel door with a retinal scan before running inside. It contained a large, box-like structure completely, almost like a room within a room, and Mokuba opened it before looking back at Jonouchi.

"It will start up automatically once we step inside. Ready?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" Jonouchi replied, watching as the door opened. The room inside was enormous, the metal walls bare and the bright lights fluorescent. It looked like some kind of testing room, which was the most likely case. Jonouchi guessed that there were probably projectors somewhere in the room.

"How do we check out the graphics? 'Cause I definitely don't have my deck with me."

Maybe Mokuba had some cards, or Kaiba had constructed a visual demo to show off the technology. Whatever the case, Jonouchi was itching to see what was going to happen.

"This isn't just for Duel Monsters, Jonouchi," Mokuba snickered, "It's a virtual room. You go inside and can be transferred anywhere you want. Only problem is we can't change what the user looks like, but everything else is perfect."

The lights suddenly shut off completely. The calming songs of birds and the subtle smells of earth, trees, decaying plants, and flowers began filling the air. It was so soothing, and as Mokuba smiled, he watched the sun begin to rise over the tops of the trees. There was even a steady breeze blowing his hair, and he could hear a twig crack before turning around to see what it was.

A lone doe. She stood staring at them both with an alert expression on her face before bending down to eat a fern. But when Jonouchi moved, it became startled and took off through the brush.

"We can replicate whatever we want," said Mokuba, "I just haven't come up with all the opportunities, yet. I mean, imagine all the rides we could make at Kaiba Land with this sort of programming..."

"Yeah," Jonouchi replied, staring in awe at the scene around him. Everything looked so real. "I'd love to see a horror fun house with this kind of stuff..."

Although something like that would probably scare the piss out of him. Still, it would be a thrill—certainly more than usual amusement park rides could offer. Jonouchi wandered around the room, looking at the scenery and debating whether or not to touch it.

"So you think your brother's okay with us being here?"

"What he doesn't know..."

Besides, if he found out, what would happen? He'd get upset and yell, but that would probably be the end of it. Kaiba wasn't really one for blowing his head off at his brother; most of the time, he did a silent mad stare that made Mokuba uncomfortable until he felt ashamed of himself...

"He might get mad, but nothing will happen."

"To you, maybe," Jonouchi muttered, "But what's gonna happen to me? I don't have the advantage of being his sibling."

Mokuba would probably get significantly less backlash than someone Kaiba didn't like. Namely, himself. The last thing he wanted was to get forcibly removed from the property or something. Then again, Kaiba probably wouldn't do that if it had been Mokuba's decision to bring him to this super-secret testing room. So Jonouchi had that much working in his favor.

"Just relax and enjoy the show."

Mokuba ignored Jonouchi's fretting and went running off into the woods. His feet were breaking the branches and twigs that lay on the ground, and looking down, his eyes caught sight of something, and he stopped. Mokuba turned around and backtracked to a small hole in the ground, picking apart some matted fur until he found something underneath.

Baby rabbits.

"Jonouchi, come over here and look."

They weren't actually real, so Mokuba just picked up one, the kit squirming in his grip and looking a bit frantic. Its eyes were black and wide-open in fright, but Mokuba held it against his chest and tried soothing it the best he could.

"Sometimes I go down here to pretend I have pets," he said, letting Jonouchi have a feel, "because I know Nii-sama won't allow them in the house."

"Why not? It isn't like you couldn't afford one," Jonouchi watched Mokuba handle the rabbit. He was gentle and affectionate with it, especially for a boy his age. Jonouchi knew that at the same stage in his life, he probably would have squeezed and rough-handled the thing more than what was appropriate. Surely, if Mokuba was that mature, he could handle a little pet rabbit or something.

The creatures were incredible. Jonouchi was astonished by how much the animals felt real. It had to be some trick on the senses, but it was a damn good one. If he had something like this at his disposal, he'd spend all his time there just to wonder at it. To see places he couldn't (or never would) in real life...

"I like the woods the best," explained Mokuba, placing the baby rabbit back down, "it's so quiet and serene. I mean the city is neat, too, but I don't like walking amongst fake people. It reminds me too much of the Matrix—Nii-sama played a trick on me with the red lady before, and now I won't go into fake Domino..."

It had disturbed him, just a little bit.

"Want to see something else now, or what?"

"Shit kid, your attention span is shorter than mine," Jonouchi laughed, "But sure. If you want to give me the full tour, I'm not complaining."

As long as they didn't get caught, he was perfectly willing to see Kaiba Corporation's inner secrets. It was a more interesting way to spend his time than holed up in his apartment or working a twelve hour shift that was for sure. Kaiba Corporation always made the coolest shit—stuff that people thought wouldn't be out until "the future," whatever that meant. Much as Kaiba infuriated him beyond belief, Jonouchi had to admit the guy was a genius.

"How do you guys make all of this? Must be expensive..."

Like Kaiba couldn't afford it. Still, even Jonouchi knew that a company couldn't just feed money into all kinds of things unless they were sure about the returns. It made him wonder if Kaiba had ever thrown away cash on something that ultimately didn't work out. Like those virtual pods he'd built.

"We have good investors," laughed Mokuba, "The money always comes."

He'd had enough of the holographic room, speaking out loud to shutdown the computer. It apparently had Mokuba's voice recognized in its program, because it immediately turned off all the stimulators and went back to being an empty room with white lights, the door unlocking as Mokuba stepped out.

"I'll show you the dueling deck Nii-sama used to use before he retired," he explained, running towards the elevator, "You might like it, since the computer memorizes dueling strategies so you can't use the same combos twice."

That was partly why Kaiba was so good. He was constantly testing himself out against impossible odds.

"It's upstairs, where all the less top secret 'toys' are stashed."

"He built a computer just to improve his game?" Jonouchi snorted. That wasn't surprising. Of course Kaiba would do something like that, rather than use the Dueling Network like everyone else and risk decreasing his win/loss ratio. It almost seemed like cheating, Jonouchi knew better than to think Kaiba was taking it easy. He didn't get as good as he was without working and practicing. Still, it burned Jonouchi up a little, all the advantages Kaiba had.

"So is it like the dueling AI at KaibaLand in the United States? I remember that computer had memorized all the pro dueling strategies."

"Yes, pretty much the same thing. Only this one also learns from mistakes."

"That's kinda creepy," Jonouchi muttered, "Doesn't Kaiba ever worry about making his computers too smart?"

"No. It's not like it knows anything besides dueling strategies. That's all he programmed it for, and unless he's practicing for tournaments, which he doesn't anymore, he has the machine turned off. Only he and I can turn it on."

Once they were both inside the elevator, Mokuba pushed the ground level floor bottom. There were some ordinary things he wanted to show Jonouchi, like the in-house restaurant in case he was hungry. Stuff like that, and Kaiba Corporation had a free-to-the-public concept room that kids frequented. It basically showed things they had finished months ago but weren't yet settled on putting to market just yet; to drive people crazy so once they were selling, people would go mad trying to get one. Nothing "new" was ever actually "new"...

"Nii-sama has me working on this Duel Disk, actually. The systems are more complex, the monsters now actually do more than just stand around, and your favorite card can interact with you... Like show favor, I guess. Nii-sama's dragons call to him whenever he plays them. Like, it's weird. They don't even roar for attention, but call instead."

"Are you really surprised that he programmed them that way?" Jonouchi rolled his eyes. Kaiba and his borderline twisted love for Blue-Eyes were notorious in the dueling community. "I mean, he's the one in control of all that. Of course he'd make his own favorite respond to him a certain way."

Jonouchi had to admit he'd probably abuse that kind of ability, too, but the thought of Kaiba doing it annoyed him, regardless. Especially since he'd integrated it before letting everyone else have a favorite. Then again, a creator couldn't exactly be blamed if he kept the best toys for himself...

"Well, if you tried the Duel Disk, I'm sure your Red-Eyes would recognize you. He programmed all the professional Duel Decks into the system so it would know you... I'm pretty sure your dragon would figure out who you were and call... He's trying to make something people want. Nii-sama doesn't duel anymore."

Mokuba was frowning. He didn't like how Jonouchi reacted to his brother's hard work, but it was to be expected. Jonouchi didn't know anything about Kaiba, or the successes he'd achieved for other people's enjoyment.

"When Mai played her deck, the Harpies tried playing with her hair..."

"Are you serious?" Jonouchi laughed at the mental image, especially since it would probably make Mai more flustered and angry than impressed. "I can't imagine that went well. I can almost hear Mai complaining about it."

Although if Red-Eyes tried playing with his hair or something, he probably wouldn't be too amused, either. Maybe if it just asked for a pat on the head or something. But having its claws in his personal space would take time to get used to, real or not.

"-I do think having my favorite monster respond to me would be really cool. When is the new Disk coming out?"

"Maybe in a few months. It needs some bugs fixed, and you know Nii-sama likes to hold things out as long as possible, teasing the public with it until he has something better lined up for the next season..."

"Figures. I should have guessed he was nothing but a giant tease," Jonouchi grimaced, scowling at the elevator doors as the box stopped rising. When the doors opened, his mood did not improve. Slowly revealed by the retracting doors was Kaiba Seto himself, standing with his arms crossed and his feet planted firmly shoulder-width apart. It reminded Jonouchi of how his mother would regard him when he'd displeased her as a child. Even the scowl of condescending disapproval was the same. Except considerably less warm, since Kaiba's eyes were blue.

Jonouchi cursed internally and straightened, meeting Kaiba's eyes when the glare was turned on him. He was always defiant in the face of that hateful expression, but today Jonouchi had just the tiniest bit of arrogance behind his eyes. He knew that Mokuba was something of a shield for him, a guarantee that nothing too bad would happen as a result of his transgression. Kaiba could be anything from a hardass to a giant raging bitch, but he wasn't bad enough to have Jonouchi arrested for something Mokuba led him to do. Probably.

Well, it wasn't like he hadn't been arrested before.

"Missed me so much you had to come and see me?" Jonouchi teased, grinning unevenly enough that the expression lost some of its good humor. Not that it mattered, really. He could be rainbows and sunshine, and Kaiba would still shoot him down before he could blink.

But this time, he didn't get a reply back. Just a glance of general irritation before those icy blue eyes settled on Mokuba, who looked more nervous than anyone had probably ever seen him before over his own brother.

"What were you doing, going down with the dog into my private vault, Mokuba?" Kaiba asked, his voice sickly calm for someone whose vein was about to pop open from his neck.

"Nii-sama, I-"

"Go to my office."

Kaiba watched Mokuba leave the elevator, only moving so the teen could pass by before giving Jonouchi another passing glance, using his card to lock down the elevator once the doors shut. There was no verbal response to Jonouchi's trespassing on his secret spaces, only one last quick look before Kaiba stalked off behind his brother, heading towards another private elevator that led straight up to his office.

Jonouchi blinked; surprised that he hadn't been chewed out even a little. Kaiba wasn't exactly famous for keeping his displeasure to himself when he felt someone was encroaching on him. He shrugged, figuring that for once, being ignored was probably a good thing. Better than getting into a scuffle with security or being arrested by Domino Police. It seemed like Mokuba was in trouble, and Jonouchi felt a little bad for him, but Kaiba was his brother. He'd always had an obvious soft spot for Mokuba, and Jonouchi doubted Mokuba would get much more than a tongue-lashing.

And a mild one at that, compared to what Kaiba usually did to people with his words. Sometimes Jonouchi wondered what it must be like to have that kind of power. Not even over peoples' emotions, but essentially over things like the country. The economy. Things like that. No wonder Kaiba had such an ego trip over himself.

Jonouchi left the building, figuring that his and Mokuba's day was over now that they'd pretty much done the equivalent of sneaking into mom's panty drawer. Kaiba's "dog" comment made his face darken, and if he'd had the chance, he would have made something of it. But Kaiba had escaped too quickly and probably for the best, since Jonouchi's attitude probably would only have gotten Mokuba into more trouble.

He sighed, looking toward the direction he'd have to walk to get home. Kaiba Corporation's main office was in central Domino, closer to uptown of course, but the point was that it was far away from Jonouchi's apartment. He considered taking the metro, but decided that it would be an utter waste of precious yen. With his luck, he'd probably end up in a car with some creep or Yakuza on their way to dump a body.

That said, since he wasn't taking the train, he'd have to walk fast. Maybe even jog. It was getting close to evening, if the color of the sky was any indication, and Jonouchi sure as hell wasn't going to get caught alone at night in his neighborhood. With the Rintama gang gone, what little "protection" he'd ever had was no longer there. The new thugs in town wouldn't hesitate to treat him like one of the endless gaggle of victims they terrorized.

As he made his way toward home, his pace varying from a brisk walk to a steady jog, he started trying to plot in his head how he was going to get out of that fucking ghetto. He'd have to find a better job, and hopefully soon.