A/N: As always:
italics is thought
:blah: is flashback
>>>> is scene transition
Chapter 4: Of Dishwashing and Locker-Banging
Since the beginning of time, every person has had two mental lists. One is a list of people, places, or things they love; another is a list of things they hate. Seto grimaced as he thought of the task ahead of him. This item had made it to number four on his hate list at the young age of nine and stayed there. Seto moved to roll back his sleeves as he prepared to do the task-but stopped when he remembered Chloe was sitting nearby. He pursed his lips, sighed, and picked up a dish that was half full of food. They had eaten roast chicken for dinner and it had been extremely filling.
Despite his "phenomenal business skills" (to quote from an article in The New York Times), there were some things even the CEO of Kaiba Corporation couldn't get out of. Like washing dishes. Seto turned on the silver kitchen sink faucet and squirted dish soap on a bright turquoise sponge, ran water over the plate, and washed the food down the garbage disposal. He washed the dish, placed it in the dishwasher, and picked up another.
"You know, I hate doing the dishes as much as the next teenager, but you act like it's the bane of your existence," Chloe said as she edited an article for the Torch.
Actually, that honor belongs to Yami no Yugi
"I mean, it could be worse. You could have Clark's chores." Chloe snickered at the thought.
Kent's chores. They probably include shoveling up after the cows. She does have some semblance of a point.
"Usually to make dish washing more bearable, I listen to my CD player."
Seto paused. Again, Sullivan had a point. He put down the sponge, rinsed his soapy hands, turned off the faucet, dried his hands on a rag, and went upstairs. He grabbed his MP3 player, which had been lying on his bedside table, and walked back downstairs. As he entered the kitchen Chloe gaped at him, red pen forgotten in her hand.
"Wow. So you do listen to me."
Seto ignored her and switched on one of his preferred songs. He put the headphones on and resumed doing the dishes. He hadn't been at it long when hands suddenly snatched the headphones off his ears and grabbed the MP3 player he had stuck in his pocket.
"What kind of music do you like anyways?" Chloe asked as she dashed the opposite side of the kitchen. She put on the headphones before Seto could stop her. "Whoa, you like Hoobastank? I thought you'd like Japanese music." (1)
Seto glared at her and crossed the kitchen in several long strides. He grabbed his music player back from her. "I don't like Japanese pop music."
"Too cheery for you?" Chloe smirked at him.
"I don't necessarily like American rock; it's just the only music that I can stand," Seto answered, replacing the headphones. He again returned to washing the dishes.
"Hey, Ryuujin? Why don't you roll back your sleeves? Then you won't get them wet." Chloe pointed to his sleeve cuffs, which were dripping despite his best efforts to keep them dry.
"I do what I want, how I want," Seto answered dismissively.
"Ass," Chloe muttered under her breath, but loudly enough for Seto to catch.
"'Base slave, thy words are blunt, and so art thou,'" Seto replied. (2) He smirked as he heard Chloe sputter in indignation before she pushed back her chair and stomped out of the kitchen.
>>>>
Seto strode into the Talon the next day after school to purchase coffee and get some work done. Sullivan was still angry at Seto for coming home late and Chloe was still upset with him for the insult the other day. The tension in the house had become a distraction for Seto, no matter how hard he tried to block it out. The only solution had been for Seto leave a note on the counter for Sullivan that he was going out and walk over to the Talon.
Seto walked up to the register, ordered a small Americano, and chose a small table in the corner of the coffeehouse (one where he could sit with his back against the wall) and set up his work station. He soon received his coffee and began to work as the waitress scurried off to help other customers. Before even just five minutes had passed, he noticed a girl about his age standing in front of him tapping her foot impatiently. He raised his eyes from his laptop to get a better look at her. She had a soft, smooth face and long black hair and brown eyes. She wore a pair of light-colored blue jeans with a pink tank top.
"What?" Seto asked.
"So you're Ryuujin. Chloe's told me about you," the girl said.
"Since you know who I am, you could tell me who you are," Seto said as he sipped his Americano.
"Lana Lang."
So this is the Lang girl that was sick a few days ago. And she's mad at me. She's probably a good friend of Chloe's. "What do you want?"
Lang's eyes narrowed and she crossed her arms. "What I want is for you not to be such a complete bastard to Chloe and her dad."
"I can't change who I am." Seto resumed his typing.
"I bet you can."
Seto arched an eyebrow, but didn't look up or stop typing. "What makes you say that, Lang?"
Lang stepped closer to Seto and leaned down until her eyes were level with his. "They are letting you stay in their home and are taking care of you. You should act a little nicer. It's called common courtesy."
Seto rolled his eyes, his fingers still flying over the keyboard. "Common courtesy wasn't part of my upbringing."
"You're Japanese."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"You're a polite culture."
"I must have missed the memo."
"I doubt your parents let you talk back to them."
"They're dead."
There was an awkward moment of silence before Lang asked, "What are you working on? Homework?"
"Yes." Mokuba always called his work "homework."
"What is it?" Lang started to walk over and Seto narrowed his eyes.
"It's none of your business."
Lang crossed her arms. "Now why is that?"
"Because it's none of your business."
"Ryuujin, what are you doing?" Lang stepped closer.
"I said, it's. None. Of. Your. Business." The Rod pulsed against his back and Lang halted in mid-step.
"You're right; it is not of my business."
Seto looked up from his laptop screen. Lang's eyes were blank and her movement mechanic as she backed away from Seto and walked away. Seto blinked. Since when did I step into Star Wars? He reached behind himself to grasp the Rod and stiffened when, instead of its pulsing warmth, he found it to be icy cold. It was so cold it was making him shiver a bit. What the hell? Seto removed his reading glasses, shut his laptop, put it in its case, and walked out of the Talon. He didn't stop walking until he got to the park, which was seemingly empty. After taking a quick look around to make sure there weren't any curious passersby, he took out the Rod and gazed at it. The cold had faded somewhat, but it was still icy enough to be noticeable. (3)
Seto thought back to Battle City where Yami had claimed that Ishtar Malik used the Rod to control people's minds. He had dismissed it as occult nonsense then, but now…
Seto shook his head to get rid of his treacherous thoughts and stared at the Rod. It was a piece of gold, nothing more. It did not have the power to control minds. Maybe it could do other interesting things, but it did not control minds.
His mind flashed back to Lang's blank eyes and seemingly mechanical steps away from him.
Damnit, I don't know what to think anymore. I just want my life back to the way it was. Maybe he should just destroy the damned thing. I'll fry it in the microwave or…
Dragons chorused in his head and Seto froze.
If his life was back to the way it was, he wouldn't have his dragons. Would he give them up as well?
No. Never.
Seto looked down at the Rod again and put it back underneath his jacket.
I know I'm going to regret this.
>>>>
Days passed, and Seto managed to get somewhat accustomed to living in the Sullivan household. He would get up at six o' clock sharp, shower, dress, and go downstairs to make coffee. Seto timed this routine perfectly so he would have as little contact with the Sullivans as possible. After he had coffee and had fully awoken, he would make a small breakfast. Unlike what many people in Domino thought, Seto did not have very many servants. He had just employed a couple of maids to keep the mansion clean and others to do the dishes. Despite rumors he had heard, Seto did know how to cook and prepared every meal consumed by him and Mokuba. He soon found out that while he lived in the Sullivan household, this had an unforeseen consequence.
The third day after he had put his routine into action, he had received a surprise. Chloe had stumbled down the stairs in a daze earlier than Seto had anticipated. She yawned and poured some of the coffee Seto had made into a mug and took a large gulp. Blinking as the caffeine kicked in, she rubbed sleep out of her eyes and sniffed the air. It took her a few seconds to spot the source of the delicious aroma, but once she did she was at Seto's side (who was frying eggs) faster than he could hack into Industrial Illusions.
"Cooking for three? That's sweet of you." Chloe winked.
Seto blinked and looked down at the four eggs in the pan. Mokuba; he had made those two extra eggs for Mokuba. She thinks I made this for her and her father. Great. I do not need this now. I don't need this ever. Not with anyone but Mokuba…
Peace once again wrapped itself around his soul like it had in front of the school and his dragons rumbled softly.
I…I guess it's not so bad they think I cooked this for them.
Warmth spread through him and he knew his dragons approved.
Seto had also made sure that he was always finished with his routine ten minutes before Chloe was done with hers. He used those extra ten minutes to sit on the porch and read the books he had never had much time to truly enjoy. Chloe had made it her mission to figure out what exactly Seto liked and disliked and found his choice of reading intriguing.
"Nietzsche? Somehow, I find that fitting."
Seto placed a bookmark on the page and snapped the book closed. Little to Chloe's knowledge, the book he was reading was not Nietzsche. He had simply replaced the real book's cover with Nietzsche's cover (4). Seto stood from the swing and placed his book inside his backpack, slinging it over his shoulder. "Let's go."
"I'm still mad at you for that insult, and the other ones," Chloe told him as they walked to her car and climbed in, heading towards Smallville High.
"I'm touched that you find me important enough to keep a grudge for that long."
Chloe rolled her eyes. "I can't help that you insult me twenty times a day."
"I thought that you would be used to it by now."
"No one likes to be degraded."
"If you are expecting an apology, you won't get one."
"That's what you think."
Seto's mouth twitched. "Oh?"
"Someday, somewhere, somehow, you will apologize to me." Chloe glared at him.
Seto smirked. "When that happens, the sun will shine blue in a neon green sky."
As they reached the school and got out of the car, Chloe said to Seto, "And one day I will get you to smile for real."
"And when that happens, the universe shall cease to exist."
Chloe slammed her car door shut. "Tell me about it."
>>>>
Seto twisted the black knob on his faded yellow locker door and lifted the small metal bar beneath it to unlock his locker. It refused to budge. Frowning slightly, Seto redid the combination and tried it again. Still, the locker did not unlock. Seto tried a third time with the same result. His frown deepened and he peered through the crack in the door. It was as he had suspected: someone had jammed his locker.
Seto exhaled through his nose. His books were in there. It was the end of the school day, and he wanted to finish the rest of his homework as quickly as he could so he could get to his other duties. He still had to search for the rogue Duelist, on top of his normal pile of work from being the CEO of Kaiba Corporation.
He eyed the locker, trying to devise a plan to get it open with minimal damage to the books inside. As tempting as it was, he couldn't blast it with his Sennen Rod. Not only would it attract unwanted attention and blow his cover, it would also harm the contents inside. No, he had to jimmy it open, or go to the office and get someone to help him. Seto decided the latter option would be his last resort.
"Having trouble, Ryuujin?" Marley John's very smug voice came from behind him.
"Why do I have the sneaking suspicion that you were behind this? Bullies always resort to petty actions when they want to take their revenge on others."
"Worked, didn't it? You can't get to your books and I am amused because of it."
Seto rolled his eyes and smiled to himself. He was very lucky his locker was on the end of the row, or else getting it open would have been more difficult. He walked to the left side of the locker and slammed his arm into the side as hard as he could. The bang echoed throughout the room and a number of students nearby stopped what they were doing and watched. Seto ignored the pain that ran through his arm like wildfire and smiled. He had heard a click underneath the bang. He walked around Marley and went to his locker and did the combination a fourth time. This time the now slightly dented locker swung open. Seto gathered his books, hit the inside of the locker to straighten out the dent, put the books in his backpack, and swung the locker door closed.
"Was that as amusing to you as it was to me, Marley? You really are as stupid as I thought."
Someone whistled. Marley looked positively purple with rage. Seto snorted with amusement and walked outside to where Chloe was waiting. He had just finished walking down the stairs that were in the entrance of the school where he heard pounding footsteps and a growl of rage. Seto turned around and blocked the punch that was headed towards his head and hit Marley in the jaw. Marley hit the concrete stairs hard. Seto narrowed his eyes at the jock and turned around and walked to where Chloe was waiting on the sidewalk in front of the school, her eyes wide in shock and gaping.
Marley coughed and Seto paused and turned. The bully's jaw was bleeding, but it did little to repress the pure rage in Marley's eyes. "I'll get you back, Ryuujin! No matter what it takes!"
"Huh. I'd like to see him try." Seto smirked to himself. Compared to his former Board of Directors, this guy was nothing.
:"You are to be the sacrifice, Kaiba-sama," The Witty Phantom smiled.
"No! Let me play the game!" Seto shouted, struggling against his restraints.:
He had underestimated his Board of Directors that time. And, despite his best efforts, they had surprised him. He had played Duel Monsters Quest so they wouldn't take their revenge on him. And we see how well that turned out, Seto snorted to himself. And Noa's world, what a disaster that had been. Maybe he was underestimating the jock. After all, a little paranoia never hurt anyone.
Chloe looked a little shaken. "You act as if that didn't unsettle you one bit. Even though Marley is a jock, he is very intelligent and has gotten into a mother-load of trouble to get people back. One time he was almost expelled for locking someone in the boiler room. If Mandy hadn't shouted long enough for the janitor to hear her, she would have been seriously hurt. I'd watch your back if I were you. There've been rumors that Marley himself isn't all there."
"I can handle myself," Seto responded. I have a bad feeling about this.
"Whatever. If you get yourself locked in the boiler room, I'm not gonna run for the janitor to get you out."
Seto stared at her. "Do you really think I'm stupid enough to get myself locked in a boiler room?"
Chloe frowned. "Good point." As Chloe started to walk to her car, Seto headed in the opposite direction. "Hey, where do you think you're going? I'm the one who drives you, remember?"
"I'm doing my work at the park today. I'll be back at your house in a couple of hours."
Chloe threw up her hands. "Fine. If you want to be a maverick, that's just great with me!"
Seto blinked. What had he said now? It had been amusing to see how little effort it took to make the Sullivan girl angry, but now it was becoming bothersome. He let out the smallest of sighs and continued on his way to the park.
>>>>
"Whoa! What the hell is that?"
"I dunno, Charles. Looks kinda like a large brown furball with green monster feet."
"It looks real stupid, doesn't it?"
Seto raised an eyebrow behind the AP Chemistry textbook he was reading and glanced over to the other three occupants of the park. They were gathered around something that Seto couldn't see, but he could have sworn he heard "Owooo," coming from that general direction. The "Owooo" combined with "large brown furball with green monster feet" and the random appearance of Duel Monsters had Seto's suspicions piqued. He sighed, put his textbook in his backpack, stood up from where he had been sitting on the grass under a tree, and slung his backpack over one shoulder. Seto then approached the three sophomores.
"Yo, it's the Japanese dude!" The teen named Charles said, tapping his buddy on the shoulder.
"Hey, man. What's your name again? It's kinda hard for me to remember foreign names. My name's Max."
Seto raised an eyebrow. "Probably short for Maxwell, right?"
Max frowned. "Yeah…"
Seto smirked. "Well, you should probably have some trouble remembering your own name. It's Celtic."
Charles and the third teen sniggered and Max turned pink.
"Not to mention you should also have trouble pronouncing your friend Charles's name. It's Germanic."
"Jerk," Max muttered.
"What's that poor defenseless creature you're staring at?" Seto's voice was disdainful.
"I dunno, Japanese man. Looks pretty weird," Charles said.
"Don't call me Japanese man. It's Ryuujin-sama to you." Seto's eyes narrowed.
"Whoa, man, no need to get uptight! We aren't bullies like that Marley dude. We're cool, right guys?" the unnamed teen said to the others, who nodded.
Seto moved his way into the circle and stared at the creature. The poor thing was looking for an escape, its eyes wide and frightened.
"A Kuriboh." Attack 300. Defense 200. Category: Dark fiend. The weakest Monster in Duel Monsters. Special effects: you can discard it from your hand and make it contact with the enemy, which causes it to explode. When combined with a Multiply magic card, it is a formidable enemy. Its special effect cannot be countered. If an enemy is about to finish you off, Kuriboh can stall and give you enough time to draw a useful card. Mokuba once said that it could threaten enemy by sheer cuteness alone by causing them to melt when it cooed. Seto nearly snorted at the memory but kept himself composed.
"A what, Ryuujin-sama?" the unnamed teen asked.
"It's a Kuriboh." Seto repeated.
"Wassat? Some kind of native Japanese furball thingy?" Charles said.
Seto rolled his eyes. "No, bakemono, it's a Duel Monster." (5)
"You mean like those other monsters that have been attacking the town? Shit man, let's get it!" Max and the others started to move in but Seto stopped them.
"Don't you know anything about Duel Monsters? The Kuriboh may look like nothing, but if you hit it, it'll explode."
"Right, man." Max started to move again when Seto stepped in front of them.
"I'm serious."
The three teens stared at the CEO and Charles held up his hands.
"Fine, dude, whatever."
This seemed to be a signal to the other teens to back off and they walked away, muttering under their breaths about stupid Japanese people.
Seto looked down at the Kuriboh. "When the hell did I get so righteous?"
"Owooo?"
"Right, when I tossed Devil's Sanctuary to Yugi before his Duel with Ishtar Malik."
"Owooo!" The little creature smiled and bounced up and down.
"Come on. I can't leave you alone out here for other people to harass. I guess you're coming home with me." Seto sighed and put a hand to his forehead. "What the hell has gotten into me?"
"Owooo!" The Kuriboh frowned at him.
"Oh shut up." Seto headed to his temporary home, with the Kuriboh trailing behind him.
Sullivan was sitting at the kitchen table and Chloe was rummaging in the cupboards when Seto walked in.
"Ryuujin, I thought you said you were going to be home in a couple of-" Sullivan stopped when he saw the Kuriboh. "What the hell is that?"
Chloe turned at her father's exclamation and gaped at the Duel Monster. "That's a-"
"This is Kuriboh. It is harmless unless you hit it. Then it'll explode."
Chloe blinked. "Okay," she said slowly. "Is this like a new pet or something?"
"Until I can find a way to get rid of it, yes."
"What do you mean 'get rid of it'? There is no way to get rid of those things!" Sullivan eyed the Kuriboh nervously.
It cooed and bounced up to him, who shrank back as far as his chair would allow. The Kuriboh was unaffected by the man's obvious wariness and nuzzled him, purring loudly.
"I think it likes you," Seto said, amused.
"Please, just take it up to your room!" Sullivan gasped, standing up and backing away from the furry Duel Monster.
Seto smirked. "Fine." He gathered up the Kuriboh gently and walked up the stairs to his room. He took off his backpack, opened up his laptop, clicked on his personal files, and started working.
Or, at least he attempted to.
The Kuriboh, who had been snuggled up against his side on his bed, gazed at the laptop with fascination and climbed on top of it, attracted by the warmth. Seto froze, as the Kuriboh lay down on the keyboard and closed its eyes. Seconds later its breathing deepened and became more rhythmic, and Seto assumed it had fallen asleep. He blinked at the furry monster, sighed, and picked it up off the keyboard and put it back on the bed. It stirred and lethargically climbed into Seto's lap, purring contently.
Seto stared at the creature in his lap, shrugged, and went back to work. He'd been at it for a few hours when his cell phone rang.
"Kaiba."
"Hey, nisama! What's Smallville like?"
"How the name sounds, with a twist. It seems this town has had a few strange occurrences."
"Besides the Duel Monsters attacking?"
"Yes, besides that." After Chloe had mentioned the meteor shower, Seto had done a little research and had done quite a bit of reading between the lines of several newspaper articles, as well as asking Chloe for some personal accounts. The girl hadn't been joking when she had said that she had gotten herself into trouble for her investigating. Kent was quite the small-town hero, and not just because he was the star quarterback. "Smallville has meteor rocks that are spread all around the town that mutate people if they even touch them. Some people have even digested them or used them in operations."
"Ew, gross!"
"The problem is that whatever they want to happen, does, but with…interesting side effects. On one occasion a girl ate some people, because she made a shake out of some rocks to make herself thinner, but was losing too much body fat."
"So she starved herself so badly that she ate people to live? Ugh!"
"Basically. And there was one occasion where a woman could see the future, and another that could control men by excreting pheromones."
"That's even weirder than the Sennen Items stuff!"
Seto laughed. "I'm not so sure. How's everything on your side of the world?"
"Fine. There was a little fight between Yami and a bully, but everything turned out okay."
"As in the bully got mind crushed?"
"No, actually. He was just struck with hysterical blindness for a day. Now he won't go within ten feet of Yugi, so all's well that end's well."
"I see." Seto paused, and then said, "I now have a Kuriboh as a pet."
"What?"
Seto put the phone next to the Kuriboh, who was now awake. It gazed curiously at the phone and cooed into the mouthpiece. Seto put the phone back to his ear. "You see?"
"What are you going to do with it?"
"I'll find some way to send it back to the Shadow Realm. If not, then I'll take it back to Japan with me so Yugi can."
"Oh. Did you find it?"
"Somewhat. It was being harassed by some sophomores."
"Was it sent by the rogue Duelist?"
"I'm pretty sure it was."
If Mokuba was surprised by his brother's rare moment of ambiguity, he didn't show it. "How are you going to take care of it?"
Seto looked down at his furry guest. "I don't think it eats or needs to be housebroken. It is a Duel Monster, not a dog or cat."
"Does it like you?"
Seto blinked. "Kuribohs like everyone."
"How do you know?"
"Have you ever seen it mad?"
"No, but that doesn't mean that it doesn't get mad. I bet you that it will get mad when it's pushed."
"Whatever, Mokuba. I'll talk to you later. Remember-"
"-To call you if something happens. I know, nisama. Bye!"
"Bye." Seto hung up and stared at the Kuriboh as it snuggled into his chest. "What is going on in that fuzzy little brain of yours? Something as innocent as you should have the sense to stay away from someone like me."
For an answer, it merely cooed and snuggled closer. Slowly, as if against his will, Seto reached down and pet the soft fur.
"I'm a dragon Duelist. You belong in Yugi's deck. I'm too dangerous for something like you. Why do you stay?"
"Owooo."
"Sometimes, I just can't stand you." But Seto made no move to push the Kuriboh away. Instead, the CEO wrapped his arms around it and held it close.
Footnotes:
(1) For those of you who are curious, the song Seto was listening to was "Just One" by Hoobastank. I heard the song one day and it matched Seto's feelings in this fic exactly, so I had to include it.
(2) This insult is from Henry VI Part 2.
(3) In the Ancient Egypt arc, you never see the Sennen Rod used for mind control, so that got me thinking that maybe it wasn't really meant to be used for mind control, it just was an add-on to Malik's desire to control everyone. That's why the Rod gets cold because it is not they way it naturally works.
(4) Cookies to anyone who can figure what the real book was.
(5) "Bakemono" is Japanese for "idiot".
Author's Notes:
Sorry this came out so late, but I was really stuck on what could happen next. I had the dishes, I had the Kuriboh, but I didn't have anything in between and then my teachers started to load all sorts of projects on me and I didn't have anytime to concentrate on this story. Also, my beta was also going through a very stressful week and couldn't edit. Gomen nasai for the late update! Thank you Kagemihari for getting this out and thank you to my fans who've stuck with me so far! Please review!
