CHAPTER 9

The virtual world of the Duel Links system was still in construction, but the main features were already in place. The shop, curiously inspired from the Kame Game Shop in Domino, the arena, the duel school, the card studio, and the gate stood proudly among insignificant background buildings. KaibaCorp's engineers had worked on the architectural designs and main themes for weeks, and this was the primary result.

In the large Neurons System room, Seto strode to the connecting pod that would project his mind into the virtual universe. At first, it had been designed as a mind controlling device Gozaburo Kaiba had ordered for his worrying adoptive son, just in case he needed to turn Seto into a glorified puppet. Its original design had been changed and reprogrammed to serve the company's new goals in the entertainment industry, and Seto projected to expand it worldwide. If proved totally safe and with functioning, autonomous power supplies, it could be commercialized on a large scale one day, to arcades, for example. But presently, it was still a prototype, a rough, imperfect, ugly version of the final product. It could take years to be complete. Only the CEO used this as of day, for it was more dangerous than anything. And it would serve him to test the virtual world from the inside.

The brunet lay down in the pod and put on the Neurons helmet. The digital interface came to life on the surface of the visor, reading his irises and welcoming him into the core system of KaibaCorp's developing department. The pod hummed and whirred, and something pricked at the back of his neck, piercing through the tough skin to reach a nerve. Soon, the uneasy feeling that always accompanied the connection between his nervous system and the computer assaulted him a few seconds, before it faded. Then, new screens opened before his eyes, and the feeling of falling invaded his senses, making his eyes close on instinct. His consciousness evaded him and flew away into the virtual world.

A few seconds later, Seto opened his eyes to the world of Duel Links. He was alone in the streets, as the generic NPCs had not been loaded yet, but it did not matter. He knew where to find the other. He advanced towards the Game Shop, and surely enough, a figure appeared as he turned the corner, standing in front of the closed double doors. Spiky tri-coloured hair were ruffled by an invisible breeze, and a soft clicking sound came from the chain around the person's neck. They had their back to the brunet, and they turned to look at him when his footsteps were too close to ignore.

The vibrantly purple eyes of Yami caught Seto's gaze in a relaxed and challenging manner, as if he was waiting for him and him alone. The duelist stood proudly and turned completely towards the CEO, a winning smirk playing on his lips.

"Kaiba," Yami – Atem – greeted.

His voice was identical to the actual one's. Seto had dug his entire database to snatch every and any piece of the King of Games' voice, to make sure that the synthesized version was perfect. He had hawked on his employees as they coded the duelist, leaving no space to mistake. The result was breathtaking. Upon hearing him, Seto felt a chill run through him and sparking his fighting spirit. His own smirk mirrored the one of his adversary.

"Atem," he replied. He settled on calling him by his Egyptian name, for even if the virtual avatar had Yugi's paler complexion and modern clothes, it was indeed the Pharaoh. "I challenge you to a duel!"

The King of Games hummed, amused. He took his dueling stance.

"Alright, I accept."

An hour later

The connecting pod opened with a wheezing sound, and Seto used all his willpower not to tear himself from the apparatus. If he forced the tiny cable off his neck, he could damage his nerves. But he was close to not giving a damn anymore. He was pissed off to the highest level, and the poor soul who would first come to talk to him would be fired on the spot for just being here at the wrong time.

Sometime during his test dive into Duel Links, the CEO had expected to face a challenging opponent, for once. He had expressly demanded that Yami was loaded with at least a level 40 deck, which meant he could pull a few nasty combos at him, and then gain in power. Eventually, he should have thrown a couple of interesting rounds, before he would be delightfully defeated.

But what did Seto actually get? A succession of weak monsters in attack mode, mere canon fodder he could get rid of with blind eyes and a debilitating disease on last stage. Stubborn as he was, he had asked for three rematches, before his anger got the better of him. The AI piloting the duels was hopeless, and when he had a good look at the coding from the inside, he had seen nothing out of order. That meant someone had fucked it up on a microscopic scale, but his wrath would reach ginormous proportions. Spoiling his sport was a crime no one could get away from without at least a life ruined and a plaguing sense of misery. Whoever fucked up was about to pay tenfold.

Unfortunately for him, it was Mokuba who first came to him, his face scrunched up in worry. Seto's fury abated just in time not to chew his brother's head off and yell obscenities when the unavoidable question came.

"Are you alright, big brother? We got concerned with an unusual peak of activity in the Duel Links system, and we..."

"That was only me trying to make this fucking AI do something worth my time," he snapped. "Tell the engineers I'll personally hunt the dimwit who coded that down, and sack them with no hope of getting another job. Ever. If they're lucky enough to survive after I'm done with them."

The younger Kaiba went back a few steps, the anger radiating from his big brother being enough to scare him away. With a last frustrated huff, Seto strode to the elevator connecting the labs to his office, and locked himself up in there. He was surrounded by morons.

Meanwhile, in the virtual world

Once Kaiba was gone, virtual Yami let out a satisfied chuckle and disappeared. In his place, IKaiba stood proudly, his mischief managed and efficient.

When the CEO challenged this avatar, the AI knew he could get back at him for his treating Jonouchi like nothing. He could not harm the man, but this was no harming per se. He only fiddled with the lesser AI controlling Yami's dueling strategies and deck, making the level 10 deck coded for beginners of the game, the new level 40 deck Kaiba would face. After that, he just watched things unfold on their own. And when the CEO looked into the coding, IKaiba simply rearranged everything back as it was originally. The face he got for this would make him laugh for decades.

The Neurons System really was a blessing. Being connected to Kaiba's brain, it gave IKaiba access to the man's emotions as if they were his own, and he could, for the first time, have a clear idea of the feelings labeled as 'trepidation', 'excitement', 'hope', but also 'frustration', 'disappointment' and 'longing'. He stored them preciously in a privileged part of his own brain, replaying them again and again to ensure he could feel them as his own. He felt like an addict with a new drug. The human mind truly was an exhilarating mystery.

In the meantime, he enjoyed quite a few entertaining matches against Jonouchi, in his room in the Kaiba Mansion. Ubiquity surely had its perks. With the blonde, the AI could test his own strategies and combos, winning a few times, losing a few others, but always having what he guessed was fun, for 'fun' had not been what Kaiba had felt when dueling virtual Yami. The artificial being was pleased to win, but he did not mind losing. The huge smile his human had when he defeated him, made everything, even bitter defeat, worth it. The two could have dueled for hours, had Jonouchi not expressed his urgent need to eat.

As he watched the blonde try to get out of the room alone for the first time, taking cautious steps and making sure no brunet was there to stalk him down the corridor, IKaiba felt another twinge of something undefinable in his core. It was strange, to be so satisfied with pulling a prank on someone for the sake of someone else. Clearly, he would gladly mess with Kaiba again, if it was payback in favor of the rookie, even if he did not get the benefit of collecting the man's emotions. His dedication, which he found he could not help, puzzled him, and his research was fruitless.

The cameras in the hall showed a careful Jonouchi looking for clues as to where he could be, opening random doors. Eventually, he found the huge kitchen and the cook. Good. Once he got sustenance, he would be back to IKaiba. The AI waited impatiently for his human to return, occupying himself with research.

Another problem for him, as an AI, was his lack of human senses, as he had already stated it to the blonde. This was his main preoccupation, for it impended his capacity to get tangible data on things such as gastronomy, sports, and exterior gestures to show emotions. Jonouchi could not give him five, or pat him on his back, or shake his hand, and IKaiba could not stroke the blonde's mane of hair, or kiss him, or taste his body. And crazy as it seemed, he wanted to. His human's athletic figure looked firm and soft at the same time, which sounded like an oxymoron the AI had to test out.

As regards emotions... His contact with Kaiba's brain was the first real occurrence during which he had solid knowledge to compare with what his database contained. It did not help him figure out what love was in the slightest, but at least it was a first step towards a means to know. A message popped up at the edge of his mind and drew him out of his thoughts. It was a text from Isono.

Are you responsible?

His creator did not specify, but the AI knew what he was referring to. Switching to one of the cameras installed in Seto Kaiba's office at KaibaCorp, IKaiba noticed that the brunet was brooding and typing with too much force on his computer. Isono was standing behind him, stiff as a board, phone in hand. His expression, hidden as it were, still looked sour. He was upset and/or angry at him, then.

Another text came.

Why did you do it? He's threatening to fire an innocent!

Okay, definitely angry. IKaiba composed a quick answer, checking at the same time what Jonouchi was doing. The blonde was presently devouring a plate of curry rice and would not be back before long. Convenient.

It was a harmless prank, he wrote back, as a means to avenge Jonouchi.

He did not add that he had taken the liberty to look into the CEO's brain, particularly the part dedicated to emotions, and resisted the growing urge to comment that the man lacked brain space when it came to feelings. Isono looked in no mood for private jokes.

The reply was dry.

If this is your idea of fun, I guess we have things to discuss.

IKaiba mentally rolled his eyes.

If I had a father, based on what I read, you would sound like him.

This seemed to take the elder male off-guard, for the camera feed showed that he moved slightly and rubbed his brow.

Technically, I am.

Ah. True enough. Isono was his creator, so he could be assimilated to a father, in a way. And he did sound like one, at the moment.

The AI decided to give in temporarily. He did not want the other to be furious with him. After all, he did owe him his very existence, and from that, the chance to know Jonouchi.

I understand. Please forgive me. I am trying to figure out if I like Jonouchi or not, and I guess I got carried away.

Isono did start, this time. Even Kaiba sensed him, having him turn around in his chair.

"Problem, Isono?," the CEO abruptly asked.

"No, sir."

When his boss went back back to his computer, his face sourer and angrier than before, the bodyguard resumed his text conversation.

We really need to discuss things together.

Yes, father.

Take care of Katsuya until then, please. I need to go.

Of course.

IKaiba disconnected from the camera and turned his attention back on the blonde eating away everything the cook put in front of him. Now that he was better, his appetite had come back full force, as if his stomach wanted to make up for the missed meal he had to watch go cold in front of him. The AI was satisfied to see this. He had learned that a satiated Jonouchi was happiest, and that was good. He also noticed that even if the rookie could swallow food in gargantuan quantities, his stomach remained quite flat and toned. The artificial being wished he could touch it to feel it for himself.

The cameras in the kitchen caught the voice of Jonouchi, and the AI listened intently.

"Woah, Matsu, you're gonna make me burst! Everything you make is so good!"

Yes, food was essential in Jonouchi's life. IKaiba chuckled inwardly and kept the small track recorded in his database. He had many samples of the kind, a lot of them revolving around the topic of food. Nevertheless, he felt like he never had enough of the blonde. It was so frustrating not to get more of him, and be reduced to having scraps gathered now and then... Whereas the rookie's boss, even if he did not know his chance, could be close to him anytime, should he wish to. The fact that he was not was a blessing in itself, all things considered. IKaiba would have had to find a way around his primary ban and kill Kaiba, which was too troublesome.

In fact, the AI realized he envied Seto Kaiba, as much as he resented him. The human had proved he was capable of feeling emotions, even if this ability seemed to pain him immensely. But still, IKaiba would have done everything to be in his place, with the blonde, talking and interacting as equals. Feeling and touching naturally. Everything his intangibility forbid him from doing.

Unless... Unless maybe, the aforementioned blessing was not one, and the current set of things needed to be altered.

This called for a gigantic amount of data about the CEO, but perhaps Isono would be so kind as to provide him with it without much persuasion. Or Mokuba. Or even Jonouchi, if IKaiba calculated his moves very well. Either way, he would have to plan this minutely, but in case of success... Well, he could make everyone happy, including the obnoxious brunet that was at present very close to throwing a huge tantrum, because his crappy virtual avatar of a not-lover did not reach his expectations.

The camera feed of the Mansion provided him with the vital information that Jonouchi was coming back to his room, a happy spring in his steps, and IKaiba decided to rearrange his tasks in order to prioritize the blonde. Any amount of time spent with him, was a moment that was only his. For the rest, he would see soon enough.

This chapter was a little shorter, because I didn't want to throw too much info at once. The plot is thickening and getting more mature, with IKaiba getting more powerful and a shade darker.

The rating became M for reasons you'll find obvious very soon.

All in all, I'm very happy that Isono and IKaiba received so good reactions and support from readers, and I can't thank you enough :3

Enjoy!