Too Much To Ask

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Chapter 10: So How Do We Get This Thing Running Again?

Eshe's Point of View

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Although not all of the Battle City Finalists were present, we embarked KaibaCraft 3 nonetheless. A delectable buffet awaited us onboard. Joey immediately sprinted to the closest table containing food and dug in, quite literally.

Seto merely stood in the corner the entire time, glaring at the wall on the other side of the room. I yearned to approach him, to say something, but currently I was not in a position of authority. It would be best to wait before we had at least reached a higher altitude--he couldn't exactly throw me off the blimp then.

Apparently the eighth duelist arrived just in time before our takeoff, but I couldn't see who it was. Judging by her clothing, she was female, but I couldn't tell anything more.

I spotted Mokuba near one of the buffet tables; he had finally left Seto's side to get something to eat. Before I could stop and contemplate my decision, I had approached him, and was positioned at his right side.

"Hello, Mokuba," I greeted him warmly.

Mokuba glanced up at me warily. Recognition flickered through his eyes briefly, but was followed by evident confusion.

"Do you remember me?"

"Should I?" he retorted.

My, hasn't he gotten snippety over these past few years?

"It's Eshe," I whispered. "Eshe Tutankhka."

Mokuba's eyes widened suddenly. "I'm not supposed to talk to you," he mumbled.

"Why not?" I demanded.

"Seto said that you would try to approach me," Mokuba replied. "But still, I'm not allowed to talk to you. Bye, Eshe."

I was so close to picking up something, anything to chuck across the room and knock some sense into Seto's thick skull!! That cold-blooded, arrogant bastard! Who does he think he is, pitting his little brother against me?!

Seto's associate, Roland, got our attention again after the feast was over. He explained to us that the selection of each duelist's opponent was completely random. Two numbered balls popped out of the selection machine's mouth, which was the shape of the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon.

"The first duel of the Battle City Finals will be…Joey Wheeler versus Marik Ishtar!" Roland shouted. He then proceeded to give Joey and Marik directions to the dueling platform, and gave the others separate directions so that they could watch the duel.

I followed Yugi and the others to the elevator. Everyone tried to cram into the elevator at once, but I couldn't fit in, since I was last in line to get in. I frowned slightly.

Of course, I'm the only one stuck behind.

The elevator doors shut.

"Don't worry, we can take the next one up."

I jumped, whirling around.

I stopped cold. It was Seto.

I nearly blurted out his name, but I forced a smile on my face to match the one on his.

Why is he suddenly being so nice…?

"Nice tournament you're running," I remarked, breaking the silence.

"Thank you."

"Good food, too."

"Thank you."

"It seems like you put a lot of hard work into this whole thing."

"I did."

Can we stop with the two-word answers??

"How come you didn't eat anything from the buffet?"

"I wasn't hungry."

Good, we're making progress--three words.

"It seems like Mokuba's working hard, too."

"He is."

Oh, no…back down to two words.

A light flashed accompanied by a short beep that echoed slightly in my ears as the elevator returned.

"After you," Seto stated, gesturing towards the doorway.

I stepped into the elevator, and he followed. The two doors closed, and we ascended slightly when Seto tripped over my foot and hit a button on the elevator wall, causing the transportation device to jerk to a stop.

"Oh, no," he sneered, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "I hit the emergency stop button, which turns off the cameras in the elevator." He glared at me, our eyes locking. The color surrounding his irises was filled with sheer iciness, glazed over by a vibrant anger of fire.

"Well, well, if it isn't Eshe Tutankhka once again, meddling in affairs that don't concern her," he drawled. "Mind telling me why your were interrogating my little brother?"

"I wasn't 'interrogating' him," I spat. "I was simply asking him how he was, seeing that I haven't talked to him SIX YEARS!"

"And now, suddenly, you want to be his friend?" he asked coolly.

"Not suddenly," I retorted. "All this time."

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE, TUTANKHKA?!" he demanded. He grabbed my shirt collar and began shaking me. "People don't just randomly show up to see old friends after six years if they don't want something in return!"

"I do want something," I told him defiantly. "I want your friendship in return for mine."

"I have no room in my life for an abstract idea such as friendship," Seto responded icily. "I've got a company to run."

"Everyone needs friendship!" I exclaimed. "Everyone needs to love and be loved! People need people, whether they like or not!"

"Don't be ridiculous," he scoffed.

"Seto, what happened to you?" I asked him. I could feel tears filling in my eyes, threatening to spill. "What did Gozaburo do to you?"

"Don't say his name!" he growled, his voice dangerously low.

"What?" I taunted. I knew I was playing on dangerous grounds, trying to push Seto off the deep end. I thought that maybe, just maybe if I pushed hard enough, he would break down and tell me everything. "Gozaburo, the man who you let ruin your life?"

He drew back his fist and clobbered me, his fist connecting with my cheekbone.

Well, I certainly did not see that coming…

"What the hell did you do that for?!" I shouted, rubbing my bruised cheek.

"I told you not to say his name." He responded as if that justified his actions.

Silence stretched between us. We simply glared at each other, his eyes filled with obvious distrust, and mine probably filled with hurt, betrayal.

"So how do we get this elevator running again?"

Seto Kaiba: When I originally wrote this, my interpretation of Kaiba wasn't the greatest. I apologize for his OOCness here.

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