Small Note

Sakura: Time for Mokuba's comeback!

Chapter Twenty Five

Russian Roulette

Thirty minutes after the incident at the arcade Yugi and Joey decided to call it a day and walk back to the nearest bus stop. From there they would catch the bus to the University and then Joey would give Yugi a lift home once they got to the apartment.

Joey looked over at his friend as Yugi continued to nurse his bruised cheek. The other hits were not as bad as the surprise attack so he had a nice developing bruise on the left side of his face but not much else. "Are you all right Yugi?"

Yugi smiled up at his friend and moved his hand away from his face, "I'm fine. I'm feeling a lot better since you got my puzzle back." His hands went to the puzzle that was back around his neck where it belonged. The millennium puzzle meant everything to Yugi and for a while there he worried he would never see it again. Thankfully he had an awesome friend who was willing to go fight for it back.

As the two continued down the street and were about to reach the crosswalk that would take them across the street to the bus stop a black town car pulled up in front of the two. The driver door opened up and out stepped a familiar face to the two teens.

"Master Yugi and Joey, Master Yami cordially requests your presence at the Kaiba estate." The man said with a slight bow.

Yugi was surprised to find the Kaiba family driver coming to pick them up like that. It was strange and the car he was driving was different. Normally he was driving the family limo, but sometimes Yugi wondered if Yami just like to treat Yugi to dates in style. He knew the man so he trusted him, but it was odd for him to come pick Yugi up.

The two friends look at each other and shrugged, before getting in the back of the town car when the driver opened up the back door. Once inside the driver went back to his seat before turning the car around to head back the way he had come.

Joey looked over at Yugi, "I wonder why Yami wants us at his brother's place. I don't think he has ever invited us over there before."

"I've been there once when we first started to date to meet Seto and Mokuba, but after that we always met up at the Game Shop until he got the apartment." Yugi mentioned before he looked toward the driver. "Why did Yami not come to pick us up?"

"Master Yami was busy at the moment. He is working with Master Seto on a very important project, but asked that I come and pick you up. The reasons behind this were not told to me." The driver informed them with what little information he had.

Joey looked around the car, "I'll never get over how loaded these brothers are. I thought their limo was fancy, but this car ain't half bad either. It's gotta be nice being the president of a major gaming company."

"Don't forget the vice president…." A voice in the passenger seat spoke up surprising Yugi and Joey once again. The two were shocked when Mokuba Kaiba turned in his seat to look at them. "It's been a while Yugi."

Yugi forced a smile a little nervous, since Mokuba seemed to be out to get him. He remembered Yami telling him he had grounded Mokuba, but he had a feeling the younger Kaiba wasn't listening to his older brother. "It's good to see you again Mokuba."

Mokuba nodded, and then turned his eyes to Joey, "I don't think we've been properly introduced, I'm Mokuba Kaiba, Seto and Yami's younger brother."

"It's nice to meet you I'm Joey Wheeler, Yugi and Yami's friend." Joey said being nice but he could tell by the tension that Yugi wasn't too friendly with the kid. He never got to meet Mokuba when he was hanging out with Seto so he wondered if Mokuba even knew about him, "So you're the vice president?"

"Well second vice president to tell you the truth. Yami and I share the title and work alongside our brother." Mokuba turned back around in his seat so he was facing away from them, "We've been working on a major project and it's finally been finished today. The opening ceremonies are tomorrow."

"Opening ceremonies?" Yugi and Joey both questioned their attention being caught by that.

Mokuba chuckled, "So anyway, my thoughtful considerate brother wanted his boyfriend and friend to be the first to enjoy it. Yami talked Seto into giving you a special invitation which includes the pre-opening celebration tonight."

"What's this project?" Yugi asked to see if Mokuba would say anything. He did not get much out of Yami about what the brothers had been working on.

"That's a secret… You'll have to wait to find out." Mokuba said with a smirk that the other two could not see. What they did not know is that Mokuba had a little surprise ready at the mansion for the two that he had cooked up. Neither Yami nor Seto knew of Yugi and Joey coming over and Mokuba planned to keep it that way until his plan could be put into action.

"We have arrived at the Kaiba residence," The driver informed them as the gates to the manor opened up. They traveled up the short pathway up to the front doors of the massive estate. Mokuba did not even wait for the driver as he opened his door up when the car stopped then opened the door for Joey and Yugi to get out.

"Don't hold back, come on in!" He said with a smile as he led the two into the home of him and his brothers.

The place was still the same as Yugi remembered it as he walked into the giant foyer. It had been a while, but the size of the place always seemed to take his breath away.

Joey whistled, "Wow, It's like a European castle." This was his first time seeing where the Kaiba brothers lived and he wondered why Yami decided to rent an apartment with him and Tristan. He had been living in style and there were plenty of people Joey knew that wouldn't give this up for anything.

The two teens stopped in their tracks as Mokuba stopped and all three were greeted by two rows of well-dressed men in butler uniforms standing in front of the stair case leading to the upper floors. A shorter gentleman who was even shorter than Yugi stepped forward to welcome them.

"Welcome. We have been waiting for you."

"These are our servants." Mokuba let Yugi and Joey know even though it was pretty obvious.

The elder butler turned his eyes to Yugi, who looked as if he was trying to remember this man. "You are Master Yami's lover, Master Yugi, are you not?" He questioned to which Yugi nodded, "Master Yami has ordered us to make your stay as pleasant as possible."

"Hey where are my brothers?" Mokuba voiced up causing the elder butler to turn back to his smaller master.

"Master Seto retired to his room a while ago and Master Yami is busy at the moment. Neither of them wishes to be disturbed."

Mokuba frowned at that trying his best not to smirk, "What is Seto and Yami's problem! Why aren't they here for the pre-opening celebration?" He had to put on an act for two behind him, but he was glad the two were not here.

"Master Mokuba, Master Seto has been working nonstop these last few days. I believe it would be best not to disturb his sleep. I am sure Master Yami will be down when he is finish with whatever he is doing."

With a sigh Mokuba turned to Yugi and Joey with a sorry look in his eyes, "Sorry about this, looks like my brothers won't be able to see you for a while. So tonight you will be my guests! I'll take good care of you!"

Yugi had an odd feeling about this, but decided to give Mokuba the benefit of the doubt. This might give him a chance to get to know the younger Kaiba. If Mokuba began to like him then maybe one day Seto could like him also. There was no telling what the future held for Yugi and Yami, but he wanted Yami's family to welcome him into their lives.

"Master Mokuba… Shall we prepare a meal?" The head butler asked the younger Kaiba.

Food immediately got Joey's attention, "Yeah that sounds good. I'm starving!"

"What? Why did you say something?" Mokuba asked with a smile. "I'll treat you to the best food in the world."

Joey was all for that and even Yugi was a little hungry himself. The two hadn't even had a chance to have a proper lunch so they were more than ready to enjoy some good food. Mokuba started to bark orders at the servants, before he developed a hidden smirk on his face. "We're both going to enjoy this…" He mumbled to himself, ready for them to see his little surprise.

A few minutes later both Yugi and Joey were led into the dining hall and instead of being seated at the main dining table, they were led by Mokuba to a smaller circular table that had been set up for them. In the middle of the table was a turntable with different kinds of food on top of it. It reminded Yugi of a wheel you would see on game shows.

"Dinner is served!" Mokuba announced as Yugi and Joey took in the different foods laid out.

Joey tried to keep a straight face as he took in what they were being served. 'I was hoping for some fantastic cooking, but this is a sundae, a hamburger, a kiddie lunch, pancakes…' He thought not sure why they were being forced to eat these kinds of meals. 'This is just what a spoiled kid would think of.'

"What do you think? Doesn't it look good? Don't hold back dig in," Mokuba told them before that happy smile of his went away, "…That's what I'd like to say, but that wouldn't be interesting. What do you think about playing a little game?"

Both Yugi and Joey look at each other before they looked back at Mokuba confused, "A game?"

Mokuba reached out to turn the turntable slightly just to show it moved, "See this circle. It's a turntable like they use at Chinese restaurants. The three of us take turns spinning the table, and then we eat the food that's in front of us."

"There isn't any poison in the food is there?" Joey asked as a joke. The kid was strange sure and he had heard stories that Mokuba did not like Yugi so much because of his being involved with Yami, but the way things were looking the kid just wanted to have fun. Joey wasn't one to play with his food, but as long as he got to eat he was willing to play.

Mokuba laughed, "That would be rude. I'd never do that to a guest. Actually there's a wonderful treasure hidden in these dishes and the person who finds it first wins."

Joey was all game for it as he said, "Alright let's play."

Yugi wasn't so sure about this, he had a feeling something wasn't right. He just hoped his gut feeling was wrong.

"Then you start, Joey…" Mokuba said and the blond agreed.

Joey reached out and spun the table. It went round and round for a while before it stopped on a dime leaving the kiddie meal in front of the taller teen. He cursed his luck at not ending up with one of the better meals. "Just my luck…"

"You have to clean your plate Joey." Mokuba reminded the blond hair teen, "That's the rules of the game and you might find the treasure."

"Alright I get it," Joey said as he grabbed his fork and dug into the meal. The other two were forced to watch as Joey ate his meal, but it was only about a minute into him eating that something seriously was not right. He started to feel light headed and his vision was starting to get fuzzy. "Hey…. What's going on?"

Yugi started to notice that Joey didn't look so good and it was then out of the blue that the blond's head hit the table shocking his shorter friend. "Joey what's wrong?" He questioned as he stood up trying to shake his friend awake.

"Bingo!" Mokuba called out of the blue catching Yugi's attention, "Looks like you got the prize, Joey!"

"Y-You mean…"

"He was right all along it was poisoned!" Mokuba said with a laugh. "I call this game 'Russian Roulette Dinner', because if you eat the wrong thing you'll die of poison in thirty minutes."

'He's trying to kill us!' Yugi thought in shock. He knew Mokuba disliked him but not this much and besides Joey had nothing to do with any of this. "Mokuba you have gone too far!"

Mokuba just laughed at that as he pulled a small vile out of his shirt pocket, "You want to save Joey? Then you've got to win and get this antidote."

"I've got a better idea how about I go get your brothers and let them deal with you." Yugi threaten hoping Mokuba would stop this senseless game.

Mokuba was not fazed by the threat, "I highly doubt you can wake Seto from his sleep and by the time you find Yami in this huge manor Joey will be dead," He pointed out as he sat back in his seat with his arms crossed, "So what will it be Yugi?"

Yugi took one more look at Joey, before he took his seat and prepared to play the game. He had to end this before Joey died. "I won't let you get away with this Mokuba."

"Big words, but there are five dishes left and there's one more 'prize' among them. I hope for Joey's sake that you don't end up like him."

Yugi glared at the younger Kaiba before he spin the table praying it didn't land on another special 'prize'. The table went round and round before once again it stopped on a dime leaving the spaghetti in front of Yugi.

"Well Well! Spaghetti…" Mokuba continued to wear the smirk on his face as he watched Yugi pick up his fork. "Eat up Yugi, like they say in Italy… Mangia! Mangia!"

Yugi took a deep breath before he put a bite of spaghetti in his mouth. It tasted normal, but like with Joey if it had poison in it, it could take a while to take effect. He just wished Yami would come down here already so this game could end faster.

"You're safe!" Mokuba decided to enlighten Yugi after Yugi had about five bites of the pasta. "How was it Yugi? Was it not tasty? A meal where you could live or die! After you eat, you think 'boy I'm glad I didn't die!'" He continued to laugh about it, "This meal makes you experience the joy of living and that makes it 'The best meal in the world!'"

Once Yugi finished with his meal he put his fork down and looked back at Joey. The blond wasn't moving and he worried if his friend did not have that much time. "Just take your turn Mokuba." He growled at the kid across from him.

Mokuba had no problem at all spinning the table and it looked like he was having fun doing it. After going around a couple of times the table stopped. "Yahoo! Chocolate parfait! My favorite!" He cheered as he grabbed the spoon beside him and dug in without a worry.

'Strange Mokuba isn't at all nervous playing this dangerous game…' Yugi thought to himself as he watched the kid eat the desert. 'That brat… He must be using some kind of trick.' The teen thought back to when Mokuba had spun the table and he had thought he saw the kid touched the bottle beside him before taking his turn. Since threatening him didn't work he decided to try a surprise of his own to knock Mokuba off his game, "Hey Mokuba what's in that bottle?"

Mokuba froze in his eating at the question as his eyes drifted down to the bottle. "Ahhh, this is…" He was at a loss for words surprised Yugi had noticed the bottle, "It's a syrup bottle. There are pancakes, aren't there?"

"Then why's it empty?"

Mokuba composed himself with a laugh, "I'll tell you why… because this bottle will be filled for the first time as soon as you eat the poison! Like they say… 'The suffering of others makes the sweetest syrup!'" While in his mind he was freaking out slightly, 'I got a chill when Yugi noticed this bottle, but I bluffed through it somehow. It's actually a switch and it lets me stop the table whenever I want… the game will end next turn as I give you a taste of the poison.'

Yugi then got an idea as he took the puzzle from around his neck without Mokuba seeing as the kid finished his desert. "Mokuba, let's finish this in one go. On the next turn, let's both eat the dishes that end up in front of us."

"All right," Mokuba said fast to agree to the terms.

With a quick spin, Yugi sent the table spinning around in circles once again. Mokuba was all grins as he thought he had the upper hand, but at the sound of breaking glass he looked down in shock to see his switch was no more.

Yugi was wearing a smirk of his own as he thought, 'Now there's no cheating… Win or lose the game is up to luck.' He was still nervous about the outcome, but this was the only way to make sure Mokuba had a fair shot at getting the poison and not him. By the look on Mokuba's face and the words he said earlier, Yugi knew he had been cheating this whole time.

When the table finally did stop, the outcome was not in Mokuba's favor as surprise took over the younger Kaiba's face. In front of him was the hamburger, which is what he did not want. 'Impossible! Why did the switch break?' He thought as he looked toward the switch to find the cause now that the table had stopped. He was even more surprised to find the millennium puzzle had been attached to the table and it had been the cause. 'I hate you Yugi!'

In just a few bites Yugi had finished the pancakes that had landed in front of him and was wiping his mouth with a napkin, "Mokuba, I've finished the pancakes… since there's nothing wrong with me, I must have missed the poison." He noticed Mokuba had yet to touch his plate, "Weren't the rules to clean your plate?"

Mokuba growled at Yugi and looked pissed, but made no move to touch his plate. He knew what waited for him with that hamburger.

"What is going on here?"

The new voice caused Mokuba and Yugi to look toward the entrance of the dining area to find Yami standing there in all his shirtless glory in swim trunks and a towel around his shoulders. Yugi tried to fight down his blush and stay serious given Joey's life was still in danger. Mokuba on the other hand was even more not happy about the situation. His brother was supposed to be kept out of the way until he got his revenge.

Yami took one look at Joey and it seemed he had an idea of what was going on. "Mokuba, what did you do this time?" He questioned with a stern voice as he approached the table.

"I didn't do anything! We were just playing a game." The younger Kaiba said trying to act all sweet to his brother. He didn't want his grounding to be even longer than it already was.

"I don't believe that for one second Moki," Yami stated as he turned to his lover, "Yugi what did my brother do this time?"

Yugi had no problem telling Yami everything from Mokuba coming to pick them up with the driver to them coming to the manor and he being forced to play the dangerous game to save Joey. "I even threaten to come find you, but Mokuba said by time I found you it would be too late."

Yami sighed, "I have a strong feeling this was why I found myself locked in the pool room for the last hour and a half." He said with a glare toward his younger brother. The older Kaiba put out his hand, "Hand it over Mokuba."

Mokuba knowing he had lost decided to give in. He reached into his pocket and handed over the vial with the antidote.

Yami took one look at the vial, before he uncorked the top and sniffed what was inside. "Seriously Mokuba…" He held out his hand again. "Hand them over…"

"Is it not the antidote?" Yugi wondered as he looked between the two brothers.

"Not unless water is now an antidote," Yami explained to Yugi as Mokuba reached into his pocket again and pulled out a pill bottle. He handed whatever it was over to his brother who looked at it. "Mokuba you are not supposed to be messing with Seto's medicine. This stuff is not a toy."

Mokuba crossed his arms and pouted. "It was all in good fun."

"Nothing is funny about knocking out my boyfriend and our friend, now go to your room before I change my mind and make you eat that hamburger." Yami's tone left no room for argument.

Since it was either eat the burger and be knocked out cold or go to his room, Mokuba decided on the latter. However it was not before sticking his tongue out at Yugi and then he left the room in a hurry before Yami punished him even more.

Yami let out another sigh as he moved over to Joey to make sure the blond was okay. "Sorry about this Yugi. I had no idea he was going to pull a stunt like this."

"What kind of medicine is Seto on?" Yugi questioned since he knew taking someone else's pills could cause problems for certain people.

"A simple sleeping pill to help him sleep at night, Seto is an occasional insomniac. Most nights are okay for him, but there is some times where he can stay up for days. You would think it was because he was the president of Kaiba Corp that this developed, but actually he has been like that since we were children." Yami enlighten Yugi. It wasn't something he did not like to go around telling everyone about, but his boyfriend had a right to know since Joey had just been given some of that medicine, "I'll have our family doctor check to make sure Joey is okay. But by tomorrow morning he should be back to his old self. In my own opinion this will probably be the best sleep he has had in days."

A small smile developed on Yugi's face now that he knew that Joey was going to be okay. If he listened closely enough he could just now hear the slight snores coming from his friend. "That good to know. I was worried that Mokuba was seriously trying to kill us."

"Pull a prank on yes, but I would hope my brother wasn't trying to kill you or Joey. I'll have to have another long talk with him about this. He wasn't even supposed to leave the house."

"So you really were the one who asked the driver to come get us?"

Yami nodded as he summoned two servants to carry Joey to one of the guest's bedrooms. "The project my brother has been working on is finished and he told me to invite you and Joey to the opening. I was surprised when he told me to invite you over to the manor for a pre-celebration, but I figured maybe he was ready to apologize for that stunt he pulled with the Blue Eyes card. So I asked the driver to pick you guys up from the arcade while I went and got in a few laps in our pool but I had no idea Mokuba was going to lock me in the pool room and then go meet you guys."

After Joey was taken away to go rest in one of the guest rooms. Yami took Yugi's hand and led him up the stairs to his own room. "I'm starting to think Mokuba is never going to like me." Yugi mentioned out of the blue.

"I wish I knew what was going on in that brain of his, but after what happened to our parents. I think he is scared of losing me." Yami said as they stopped outside his room. "I know this is hard Yugi, but I will try and keep a better eye on him."

Yugi nodded, "I know you will and maybe one day he will come around to liking me." He leaned up to give Yami a kiss, glad that everything turned out alright.

Once they broke apart, Yami turned to head down the hall to Mokuba's room. "I'll be right back. I need to make sure my brother is in his room like he is supposed to be."

"Wait Yami…"

"What is it?"

The blush that Yugi had been holding back finally made itself know on his face, "It might be best to put a shirt on first."

Yami looked down at himself and quickly agreed, "Yeah he might not want a lecture from me half naked." He followed Yugi into his room to grab a clean shirt.

The room was the same as the last and only time Yugi had been there back when he was in high school. Games of all kinds were all over on the place, whether they were the floor, on bookshelves, and in his closet. The floor around his TV stand was covered with all kinds of video games and consoles. His boyfriend's old room was a gamer's paradise. All his most personal items were back at his apartment where he now lived away from the manor.

As Yugi made himself comfortable on Yami's bed he watched Yami slip a shirt on, "By the way where are the dogs?"

"In a pen in the backyard. Seto isn't really an animal person, so I had the servants make an outdoor place for them to relax with food, water, and plenty of room to run around in with some of their toys until bed time. We can bring them in before night fall so they can sleep in here with us." Yami let him know so Yugi did not worry about his babies. "I'll take you out back after I get done dealing with Mokuba."

Yugi agreed with that and offered Yami a smile, "Good luck…"

"I'm going to need it," Yami said as he headed out the door to go deal with his brother.

Sakura: This chapter was seriously not supposed to be this long, but I just ran with the ideas going around in my head. I had to add my own twist at the end where Mokuba doesn't eat the burger, but Yami steps in to punish him. I figured it would be funny that Mokuba locked Yami in the pool room before going to meet Yugi and Joey. Also I can't see Mokuba being a killer so I came up with the whole sleeping pills and he just wanted to knock the two out as a sick prank. Don't worry it won't be long before Mokuba does warm up to Yugi.

Yumi: Review!