IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT!! - This is the Yu-Gi-Oh! Yaoi portion of the Shipping List in order. Be forewarned. Some "pairings" will not be fluffy and cute. But they will all, hopefully, be believable. Rating's will vary.

Disclaimer: Yu-Gi-Oh! is the intellectual property of Kazuki Takahashi

Author's Note: I have to thank my one and only reviewer thus far: dragonlady222. 98 hits as of now. I also have to warn everyone; this is the first chapter that warrents that warning up there and that hits the M rating.

Rating: M


Yu-Gi-Oh! Shipping List #3

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Adoptshipping (Gozaburo x Seto) - "Sacrifice"

At the age of twelve, Seto Kaiba was learning the ways of the world of business at an alarming rate. He was being tutored in chemistry, biology, physics, calculus, and trigonometry along with linguistics, literature, and world history. Gozaburo Kaiba believed that much was to be gained by the study of the failures of others. Gozaburo believed that those who failed had done so because they had not sacrificed enough to gain. And so in order to mold the perfect businessman, the perfect conqueror, the perfect son, Gozaburo took it upon himself to make certain that Seto would never make that mistake - to make certain that Seto would pay dearly for every single thing he gained. Because only something you had to sacrifice for was truly worth having.

And Seto had sacrificed. He had given his childhood to become the son of world business tycoon Gozaburo Kaiba. He had given innocence for power and love for knowledge. And Seto knew that the valuable lessons he was learning would be what truly propelled him into success, far more so than the money he stood to gain. Seto knew that it was best for Mokuba to distance him from himself and all of this until affection once again became a luxury he could afford. He knew that one day, when he no longer had anything to gain from Gozaburo, he would surpass him and make his own way, by his own rules. But to get there, Seto knew that it was Gozaburo's world and Gozaburo's rules he must first master because it was from the top that he would build his own empire.

So while Gozaburo gave to Seto all of the skills he would need to succeed him, Seto soaked them all up with his own agenda…to take everything Gozaburo gave him (for a price of course, because anything from Gozaburo came with a price) and use it to overthrow and then overtake his adoptive father.

Seto pulled in a deep breath through his nose, sitting rigidly on the edge of his bed, and dispelled the pain forcefully with the lungful of air. He would not lay down until it passed, he would not open his mouth, and he would not express that pain in any visible way to anyone including himself. One had to control themselves before they could control the world around them. Those who displayed their emotions for others to see were weak. It was control that begot strength and Seto would be damned if he could not even control himself or his own body. Another deep breath eased the pain considerably much to Seto's satisfaction.

Tonight had been the worst, because tonight, Seto had gone to Gozaburo…

Forty minutes earlier:

A hard, precise knock could be heard at the door of Gozaburo Kaiba's bedchamber. Seto waited patiently for the short, sharp order to enter or state his business through the door.

"Enter."

Seto opened the door stiffly and swung it open the expanse of his arm, no more, no less, before walking through the opening and closing it with a soft click behind him.

The room was dimly lit, with one soft yellow light bulb casting its glow in the otherwise cold and foreboding room. Gozaburo sat rigidly at the edge of his bed, hands folded in his lap, giving Seto nothing less than his full attention. It was both eerie and intimidating, making Seto feel as if his blood were running cold. Of course, he would never give Gozaburo the satisfaction of knowing he was thus affected by simply the sight of him. If Gozaburo saw any reaction at all, Seto knew that it would mean his immediate failure.

"Seto," Gozaburo's voice rumbled in the darkness "to what do I owe this late visit? What do you want?"

Seto remained rigid, standing straight and tall, emotionless and for all visual scrutiny, unaffected.

"I wish to study abroad in America for three months. I would take Mokuba with me as well." Seto would not tell Gozaburo what he wished to study and Gozaburo would not ask. The truth was that he had found a very promising scientist in America who had been experimenting with holographic technologies; a base technology of the future he was slowly building for himself, beneath Gozaburo's radar.

Gozaburo did not dwell on the request for long. "You would also take a guard with you."

"I would chose my guard myself."

"To miss three months of study for a pleasure trip…time is very expensive Seto."

"I am aware."

"So then how do you expect to pay me for this lost time that could have otherwise been spent training my successor?"

"You know that all I have is myself."

Gozaburo laughed, a hearty, amused sound that sickened Seto to the depths of his core.

"So now you come on your own." he mused, showing a wicked grin of satisfaction. "You're learning fast, Seto. This is how the business world works. And of course you'll have to pay your teacher in America, have you planned that far ahead too?"

Seto nodded sternly. "I have."

Gozaburo seemed more than pleased. "Good boy. How worthy you are proving to be. How…calculating. Even a man who has no worldly possessions can rise to power by will alone." Gozaburo's favorite speech, that by dirtying one's hands enough and sacrificing enough, a man could become a god…even if he had to pile up the bodies of those he'd used to reach the heavens. He laughed again and waved Seto over. "But first you will pay me."

Seto approached with long, deliberate strides, dropped to his knees, and reached forward. Every seed that Gozaburo planted would be re-sewn to Seto's own discretion. Every sacrifice he made would one day pay out and in the end, he would have everything, and Gozaburo nothing. One day, Gozaburo too, would have to sacrifice. On that day, Seto Kaiba would laugh as he assumed the throne and threw away every last bit of the shit his "father" had spent his life working for.

Gripping the bed sheets, Seto stared at the wall ahead of him, his mouth clamped shut, swallowing the noises in his throat defiantly as his body, bent over the edge of the bed, jerked forward in rhythm. To focus his mind, he concentrated on the trip ahead, flight plans and lodgings and appropriate lies to tell.

It did not take Gozaburo long. Seto stood, paying special attention to the muscles of his face lest he show the wince that had surged forward at the sudden motion, settled his pants around his waist, and bowed deeply to the elder Kaiba, taking his leave with careful steps, closing the door behind him with a soft click.

Present time:

Feeling he could now lay back without feeling as though he were doing it to ease his suffering, Seto did so, pulling the covers to his waist and tucking an arm behind his head.

One day, Gozaburo would be gone from his life. He would use every lesson the man had ever taught him to make it so, and when the company was his, he would make it into something he could be proud of, something worth all of his sacrifices. Something that would make Mokuba smile, and keep smiling, for the rest of his life. He would sacrifice for Mokuba too, so that Mokuba could have everything he had without killing his soul to get it. For that, Seto would willingly give everything.


Post whatevers: Gozaburo doesn't do it for the sex. He does it for the complete and total power it gives him over others; so that they know without any doubt, that it is he who has control over them. ...Next up is Thief King Bakura x Priest Shaada.