Chapter 8: The USB

Sunlight streamed through the large window of the office, silence filling the room minus the sound of manicured nails taping against the metal desk. The young woman's azure eyes stared out through the large glass wall that stretched the length of the space, overlooking the busy city below. Her mind raced. The conference had gone well, the handful of resignation that had trickled through thanks to Watanabe aside. Then there was, of course, the issue of the USB. The contents had been a surprise for sure. At first, Yuki wasn't sure what to make of the files locked away in the small piece of plastic. It appeared her father had created a pretty interesting piece of software. The program seemed to be able to adapt to any base system, and then from there would continuously expand the program by dissolving the old data and using it to create new data. At first it had perplexed Yuki. The fact that the software was so adaptable was obviously a strong point. But what was the point of removing and adding data continuously and simultaneously? The young girl had felt stumped, until she suddenly remembered a conversation she had overheard yesterday during the final day of the conference.

Yuki walked through the large open garden behind the hotel, enjoying the fresh air and sunshine. There were picnic tables and benches scattered around the paved area along with a small children's play ground. Arriving at an empty bench, she placed her purse down and pulled out her phone. She scrolled through her missed emails as she took a sip from her take-away coffee. It was the last day of the conference, with only a few panels left until it was finished completely. AmanoTech had done their last panel in the morning so Yuki had sent everyone home to enjoy the rest of their weekend. Only herself, Tozen, and a handful of other executives remained to observe the final presentations. The young woman tilted her head to the sky, letting the sun spread across her skin. Azure eyes fluttered close as she released a heavy breath. It was done. Finally. With only a handful of losses and a minor moment of embarrassment in the beginning, Yuki had made it through the Domino City Technology Conference. She intended to enjoy tonight's reprieve before Monday came. Then, she'd have to deal with the resignations and start to actually run her father's company. Not to mention she'd have to figure out what to do with the information on the USB.

A voice to her left drew Yuki out of her thoughts. Two men were approaching, deep in a conversation that appeared to be getting heated.

"I don't understand what he wants from us!" One of them grumbled loudly. "If he can't figure out what's wrong with his own technology, why on earth would he think we could!"

His companion shrugged. "You know he doesn't expect us to solve anything, right? He just needs us to fail to give him inspiration… or at least give him time to figure it out."

They were almost in front of her now, so the girl tried to busy herself with her phone to not appear as if she were eavesdropping on their conversation… which she was. The first man let out an exasperated sigh. "And how risky was that presentation?! Knowing full well that the SolidVision program tends to over flood the system and short out! Can you imagine how embarrassing it would be for the company if we unveiled this new Duel Monsters area and it crashed? You know he'd blame us too. Not his precious technology that is too powerful for the system, which he also created. That guy is unbelievable!"

The second man laughed at his friend's frustration. "Don't let it get you all riled up. The presentation went fine. And he's got time to fix it before it rolls out during Pegasus' tournament."

There was a problem with KaibaCorps tech? It seemed fine during the presentation. Perhaps that's why they didn't do more than one demonstration? Not that it mattered, she supposed. The two men were out of earshot now, so Yuki resigned herself to answering her emails and brushed the conversation off.

The snowy-haired girl realized now how lucky it had been that she overheard that conversation. The gears in her head started to whirl. If the Solid Vision program was constantly overwhelming the systems that ran it, it was most likely too heavy of a program. It wasn't surprising given that it was projecting holograms which were constantly in a state of flux...

Yuki felt as if a switch had suddenly been flicked in her mind.

KaibaCorp's program was too powerful for the system to handle, because the program was constantly adding and changing the data. As the holograms moved, the data needed to change, and because the program was attempting to simulate real creatures they were always moving in some small fashion. That was increased tenfold when the creature did a larger movement. Not to mention that the holograms would have to interact with each other and create an environment around them to some degree to mimic real interaction too. There was too much data!

Yuki turned to her computer screen. Opening her internet browser, the snowy haired woman chewed her lip and debated where to begin her search to verify her train of thought.

Solid Vision KaibaCorp

Within seconds, multiple search results came filtering through. Yuki scrolled through the articles. None of them contained anything of interest. Kaiba was apparently keeping very tight lipped about his technology for the Dueling Arena. There were a few quotes here and there from Pegasus in some articles, but he was always vague on the technological details. She couldn't help but feel that the lack of information was information itself. If what the two KaibaCorp employees had said were true, then perhaps the technology left to her by her father might be able to help the Solid Vision program. Yuki quickly pressed the intercom button on her desk phone.

"Rin speaking."

"Hi, could you come in here for a moment? I want to run something by you." Moments later the short haired woman walked into the office. Yuki gestured for her to come around the desk, leaning back so she could easily see the screen. The young girl went on to explain what she found on her father's UBS, the conversation she had overheard on the last day of the conference, and how she thought they two could work together. Rin let her speak, never interrupting, her dark eyes alluding to her mind in deep thought as she processed the information. As Yuki finished her thoughts, she felt nervousness bubble in her gut. Her assistant said nothing as she walked away from the desk and to the window. The girl waited in silence. Only a couple seconds passed, but it felt like an eternity. Finally Rin turned to face her with a soft smile on her face.

"You really are Osuma's daughter. You are both innovative and ambitious to a fault."

The snowy-haired girl frowned. "Is there something wrong with it then? Did I miss something?"

Rin shook her head and walked over to the chairs facing the desk, taking a seat in the closest one. "Not at all. I think you understand your father's program perfectly… and have found a surprising and lucky use for it." She folded her hands on her lap, giving the impression of a mother about to give her child a lecture. "I just don't want you to get your hopes up. You're new to the field, but I'm sure you know a little about KaibaCorps CEO. He's never partnered with any other company. Apparently he is a tech genius, and because of that he has been able to rebuild the company on his own. Every program and piece of technology is created by him himself."

Before Rin could continue, Yuki interrupted. "I realize that. Tozen mentioned that his partnership with Industrial Illusions was a shock to everyone. But I really think this program could help his Solid Vision system. I told you I overheard that they were having problems that apparently the CEO couldn't fix." The girl leaned forward in her chair, placing her now clammy hands on her desk. "I'm not saying I'm going to call the guy tonight, I know I need to create a compelling plan..."

The older woman shifted in her seat, leaning forward to reach across the desk and place her warm hand over Yuki's. "I understand. But you need to realize the world you're in. KaibaCorp has been approached numerous times by every tech company in Domino, AmanoTech included, and they've never taken up any offers. Not to mention that you're an unknown. I just don't think it's likely to work. Plus, who's to say that they haven't fixed the problem already? He is a genius after all." She squeezed the girls hand before leaning back in her seat. " I just don't want you to be set up for failure."

As the words left her lips, Rin knew exactly what Yuki would say. The girl's lips pulled into a small smile. "Father always said 'if you believe you have the opportunity to fail, you'll always hold back and never give 100%. So failure is never an option.'"

A silence fell over the pair as they both processed the situation and how to proceed. A thought crossed the young CEO's mind that made her frown. "Rin?"

The other woman nodded for her to continue. "Is there any public version of the program from the USB?"

Short dark hair shifted as Rin shook her head. "Why?" Yuki probed. She had a feeling Rin knew something she wasn't telling her. When the other woman opened her mouth to speak, Yuki could feel that what was about to come out was a prepared lie. So she cut her off. "The truth, please." Azure eyed met dark ones with a hard but pleading stare. "If I'm going to pursue this, I need to know why it was private. My father did nothing without reason. Why was a fully developed program created and stored off the books? And does it have anything to do with why you don't want me to approach KaibaCorp?"

Dark eyes flickered with indecision. The short haired woman let out a sigh and stood. "I figured you'd feel something was off eventually. Let me make us some tea… and I'll tell you everything."

Yuki nodded as she stood and walked over to the couches. She nervously waited for Rin to return, fidgeting with the hem of her skirt. After a few moments Rin entered the room with a silver tray in her hands. She placed the tray down on the coffee table before picking up the white ceramic pot and pouring the hot liquid into the matching cups. Taking her own cup, she sat down and let out a sign. "Your father was a great man in the tech world. And being a great man meant he had a lot of people wanting to see him fail. In the last couple months, your father felt…" She took a breath and let her eyes drift from Yuki's to the window. "Your father felt" she continued, " that there was someone attempting to sabotage AmanoTech. It wasn't anything concrete. Just a few not so public details were circulated around the tech world for working projects within the company, a handful of odd interactions with other executives… but more importantly it was a gut feeling. So when he had the idea for the DCB program, he kept it to himself. Since it was only him, I thought he had a basic outline for the program so far, I never expected him to have a full program running already."

The warm tea has initially soothed Yuki's nerves, but they came back stronger the longer Rin explained. Her father thought someone was out to sabotage his company? "How do you know all this?" She realized after she said it, how rude it must have sounded. "I mean- sorry! I just… if he was so suspicious… why did my father trust you with this information?"

Rin let out a soft laugh and her eyes returned to Yuki's. "It's a valid question, I know you meant no offence. The reason is I have no aligences within the tech world. There's no reason for me to work for any other company. Being an assistant to a CEO such as Osuma meant we had to have a sense of trust between us. And it wasn't an instantaneous thing. It took years of working together and building a foundation, multiple communication errors and differences of opinion. But eventually it all clicked. I was an extension on your father within the company and the tech world. As I will be for you, if you'd like me to be. I only want the best for you and the company Yuki. That's why I didn't say anything before. I didn't want to worry you or make you feel like you were stepping into the lion's den with this new role. Your father could have just been a bit paranoid about the whole thing."

The snowy-haired girl placed down her tea and turned to face her assistant. "If you honestly tell me you think there's nothing to worry about, I'll believe you."

Silence.

The older woman let out another sigh. "I do believe there was a threat to AmanoTech. I don't know if there still is, but I would be cautious."

Yuki smiled. "Thank you Rin. I appreciate you telling me this… and I appreciate you staying by and looking out for me since I came."

Rin seemed visibly relieved.

"But I have to pursue this opportunity. I really think the… did you say DCB program?"

The other woman chuckled. "Yes. Data Compression and Budgeting. Your father wasn't creative with naming."

"Well we'll re-name that" Yuki chuckled lightly. "But yeah… I have to give this program and a potential partnership with Kaibacorp a chance. No one in the tech world believes I can do this. I need to show them I can. I'll do that by doing what Watanabe Industries and BeyondEyes never could… I'll get the partnership with KaibaCorp."

xox

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