As you might have already noticed the title, another canon character from the old seasons will make his first appearance in the fanfic; Kaiba Seto! He's going to be 50 years old while Mokuba is around in his late 40's.
I know I called him Seto Kaiba before, but I'll change it back to Kaiba Seto. I'll also do that in the older chapters where his full name appears.
We have the next review shout-out winner! The user who wrote the 875 review has already won, so the next user is the real winner; Iron-ninja211! Congratulations! The next shout-out will be by the 900 review.
Disclaimer: I do not own any Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's characters! I only own my OCs!
Chapter 62: The Return of Kaiba
Everything was back to normal after the Bonds Beyond Time event. New Domino City had been restored after the alteration of the history was stopped. There were still rumors and speculations floating around in the city, but the citizens had returned to their normal lives. Yusei and I told our friends about our encounter with Judai and Yugi. Jack got a bit irritated that he hadn't able to come with us so he could have challenged Yugi in a Duel, but he got over it.
After some research, I found out both former protagonists were still alive. Yugi had moved to America with his wife, Muto Anzu, to support her career in Broadway. Yugi had opened a new Kame Game shop in America after his grandfather passed away. Some believed the memories in the old shop got too much for him to handle, so he decided to start afresh, but still carry on the legacy of the game shop.
Not much was written about Judai. The files I found said he was one of the best students in one of the first Duel Academies that KaibaCorp had constructed before they built the academy in New Domino City after Zero Reverse. I remembered Judai was once "engaged" to Tenjoin Asuka after some misunderstanding with one of Asuka's fanboys, but I read the female GX protagonist actually got married to Manjoume Jun.
They said Judai went on a long journey to become a strong Duelist and Duel all kinds of people. He soon settled down and married Johan Anderson and they were living somewhere in Scandinavia, my old homeland. So, in this dimension, Judai was either bi or gay, which could kind of explain his lack of romantic feelings toward Asuka in the anime.
Speaking of romantic feelings, I decided not to confess to Yusei. I wanted to wait to the end of the World Racing Grand Prix and the last event, if the Ark Cradle/Divine Temple was ever going to officially appear in New Domino City. I wasn't "chickening" out; I just thought Yusei had much to do before the tournament and I didn't want to bother him with my selfish actions.
However, I finally came to a decision about my own issues. After everything was over, I was going to ask the Crimson Dragon to let me stay in the 5D's dimension. Within almost a year now, I had established a new life with friends and family and I didn't want to lose them. For the first time in my life, I felt whole. I didn't want to let go of the happiness I had found in this world.
But I still had one thing left that shackled me to my dimension.
My parents.
It still hurt my heart a bit with the thoughts of "abandoning" my biological parents and family because of my selfishness. They meant so much to me; they helped me become the woman I am today. I guess my wings weren't ready yet to leave the nest and move forward in life. I needed more time to unlock the shackles and move on.
XXXXXXXXXX
After the events in the future, I decided to pick up swordsmanship lessons. Now that I had managed to unlock a new form of mine, I needed to get better in combat with weapons than just fists and kicks. A private teacher was hired as he taught me the basics of swordsmanship while we were practicing outside in the garden. Goodwin even prepared a training ground for me with practice dolls and other tools necessary for the training.
I had just finished my lesson and returned to my room when I got a call from Goodwin who asked me to head to Sector Security's headquarters because someone wanted to see me. I took a quick shower before getting dressed and headed to the headquarters.
I noticed straight away the mood in headquarters was very tense. Everyone seemed to walk on eggshells and there was barely any gossip, as if they were scared to get fired if they spoke a single word. Even Lazar was nervous as I saw him walking back and forth in front of the door to Goodwin's office.
"Lazar?" I spoke up.
The clown yelped slightly in surprise before he collected himself and adjusted his collar. "Ah, Ms. Estelle. The Director's expecting you."
"I know, he called me about an important guest who wants to see me", I replied.
Lazar began cold sweating when I mentioned the mysterious guest. "Y-Yes, he's very…eager to meet you."
I raised an eyebrow at the reaction. Was the guest who came to see me the Emperor of Japan?
Lazar cleared his throat before opening the door to Goodwin's office. "Director Goodwin, Ms. Estelle has arrived."
The clown stepped aside to let me walk in before closing the door. I was greeted by two tall men standing in front of Goodwin's desk, but their backs were turned to me. However, as soon as the door was shut, they turned around. My eyes widened in shock as I immediately recognized the brunet.
"Seto Kaiba?!" I exclaimed out loud in disbelief.
It was true. The man glaring at me was really the Seto Kaiba. However, he wasn't as young as I remembered him from the anime. He had a few wrinkles and his aura felt old, or maybe "old" wasn't the right word to describe him. His eyes looked like he had just recently woken up from a deep sleep, but they still contained his ice cold stare.
The other man wasn't in the same tired shape as Kaiba, but his grayish-purple eyes and short black hair was a dead giveaway that he was Kaiba's younger brother, Mokuba Kaiba.
Or… Maybe I should call them Kaiba Seto and Kaiba Mokuba instead.
I realized my mistake I did before, so I cleared my throat and bowed slightly while moving my arm to the front of my body to rest it a bit above my heart. "Forgive my mistake, Mr. Kaiba."
Kaiba was quiet for a brief moment before he snorted loudly. "Stand straight, woman."
I carefully glanced up and saw him turn his back to me while crossing his arms. I did what he said and straightened up. Mokuba just shook his head at his brother with a soft sigh before smiling at me. "I'm sorry about my brother, Estelle. He's always been like this."
"It's okay…", I said softly.
"Now that we're all here, let us talk about the issue", Goodwin spoke up.
"Yes", Kaiba nodded as he spoke with a deep and cold voice before turning to me again with an ice cold glare. "How is it possible for someone else to possess cards of my Blue-Eyes White Dragons?!"
I flinched by the strict voice. He sounded even more serious than in the anime, and it frightened me a little.
"Seto, calm down", Mokuba scolded his brother. "You're scaring her."
"I don't care, Mokuba", Seto growled. "I've been in comatose for thirty-one years and I wake up to the news that another Duelist uses Blue-Eyes White Dragons when it should not be possible! My three Blue-Eyes White Dragons were in the safest vault in my mansion while Muto Sugoroku's card was ripped apart, unable to be used forever. There are only four copies existing, so it doesn't make any sense!"
Oh no… I now realized what the issue was about. I used Blue-Eyes White Dragons in my Deck since the very beginning, since I naively thought none of the Duel Monsters characters were still alive in this dimension.
"Unless…", Seto glared daggers at me. "There's an illegal factory that prints fake cards and you bought them!"
"No!" I shook my head. "My cards aren't fake, and I've never bought them from a black market!"
"Then explain your possession of them to me right now or faces my lawyers!"
"Enough!" Goodwin yelled, getting our attention. "Mr. Kaiba, do not threaten my daughter without hearing out her explanation. There's a reason why she has Blue-Eyes White Dragons."
"What reason?" Kaiba questioned coldly.
Goodwin gave me a look I recognized. I had to tell Kaiba and Mokuba the truth about the existence of my Blue-Eyes cards, and that included my secret of me coming from another world.
"It's a long story, Mr. Kaiba", I replied.
"Make it quick", Kaiba demanded.
XXXXXXXXXX
Long story short, I told the Kaiba brothers how I was brought to this world by the powers of a God and a bit about the Duel Monsters in my world. Mokuba got stunned when he heard the details how Blue-Eyes White Dragon cards were actually common in my world, just like any other cards they considered rare in this world. Kaiba was silent as he sat on a chair and listened to the story while having his eyes closed and arms crossed.
"So… You're from another world?" Mokuba asked after I finished my tale.
"Yes", I nodded.
"And Duel Monsters in your world is just a simple card game, like Koi-Koi or UNO?"
"Yes, but we play it in the same way as you do, except we don't have the technology yet to create real Duel Disks that use Solid Vision."
"Just great", Kaiba muttered irritably. "And here I thought my journey with voodoo magic has finally come to an end."
"You mean…the Millennium Items?" I asked slowly.
Kaiba just nodded in a reply.
"I have one question for you, Mr. Kaiba", Goodwin spoke up.
"Yes?"
"What happened that caused you to fall into a coma thirty-one years ago?"
Kaiba was silent as his facial expression told me he was debating whether he should tell or not. "Shorty after I graduated high school, I conducted an experiment to see someone in the afterlife…and challenge him to a Duel."
That sounded like the last part of the Yu-Gi-Oh! movie "The Dark Side of Dimension" when Kaiba used the power of an artifact (forgot its name) to send himself to the afterlife to Duel Atem. However, there were a few things that were different. First of all, those all-advanced Duel Disks they used in the movie didn't get mass-produced nor sold in stores. I haven't seen them anywhere during my staying in New Domino City. Second; there was no space station on the moon and absolutely no elevator that was connected to the celestial body. I used to read astronomy as a child since I was into space and science fiction, and realized the connected elevator between Earth and the moon was scientifically impossible! I could go into other details, but I didn't want to deal with it right now.
"The machine conducting the experiment was about to fail and I refused to lose Seto, so I brought him back with the last power of an artifact we used to power it up", Mokuba continued before his expression turned sad. "However, while I managed to bring back Seto, something happened during the transportation that put him into a coma. I waited patiently for him to wake up, but I also had to think about KaibaCorp. I was just a middle school student at the time, so I got lots of help from our trustiest employees to take over the company until Seto would wake up. I leaked some 'fake news' about Seto's 'disappearance' to hide the truth. Some rival companies tried stealing our company, but they failed and had to pay a big price by handing over their companies to us."
"So… When did you wake up from your coma, Mr. Kaiba?" I wondered.
"Explain, Mokuba", Kaiba replied.
"Right", the little brother nodded. "While it was Director Goodwin and Sector Security who organized the Fortune Cup, KaibaCorp was in charge of maintaining the stadium and advertising the event. I was following the tournament at home in Seto's room, thinking that maybe if he heard the sounds of Duels it would wake him up. Imagine my surprise when I saw Blue-Eyes White Dragon being summoned. Just as it roared, I heard shifting behind me and turned around to see Seto had woken up!"
"He woke up by Blue-Eyes White Dragon's roar?" Goodwin questioned.
"Yes", Kaiba replied. "At first, I was disoriented and could not believe Mokuba had grown up. It took some time to realize thirty years had passed before I saw Blue-Eyes White Dragon on the television. I demanded to head to Kaiba Dome and confront Estelle, but the muscles in my body were too weak after my comatose state. I had to go through rehabilitation to regain my strength."
"And now that Seto got better, he's going to take over the company, making him the head again", Mokuba added.
"And I'll soon make an official return", Kaiba continued before turning to me. "May I see your Blue-Eyes cards, Estelle?"
"Sure", I nodded.
I gave him the Blue-Eyes cards, meaning the three Normal dragons and the Fusion Monster. He checked them with analyzing eyes, rubbed his fingers across the cards and flipped them back and forth before giving them back to me.
"They're real", Kaiba concluded. "Perhaps the God that brought you to our world made them real."
"Yes", I replied.
Kaiba was silent before a smirk appeared on his lips. "Will you Duel me?"
"Excuse me?" I asked in surprise.
"I challenge you to a Duel, but it will be an official Duel to announce my return to the citizens of New Domino City", Kaiba explained. "Both of us must build a Blue-Eyes Deck. That includes Monsters, Spells and Trap cards that support the archetype. I may be behind the evolution of the new Duel Monster cards, but I shall try using Synchro Monsters myself."
I quickly came up with an idea myself. "If you want, I can give you some copies of the Tuner Monsters and other Blue-Eyes cards I have, just to make it fair."
"That'd be appreciated, woman", Kaiba nodded.
"This will be intriguing", Goodwin chuckled. "The legendary Blue-Eyes Tamer facing the new Blue-Eyes Tamer. I have a feeling the tickets will be sold out before the end of the week."
XXXXXXXXXX
Goodwin was right; as soon as Kaiba and Mokuba left the office, the tickets for the exclusive Duel were out in the market and got sold in a hurry. Luckily, I managed to secure tickets for the Signers so they could be in the Kaiba Dome and cheer for me. The word about Kaiba's return almost turned the city upside-down, and even my friends got stunned when I told them I met the legendary Kaiba.
I kept my word and gave Kaiba a couple of copies I had of the support Blue-Eyes cards so he could study them and decide whether to add them to his Deck or not. I hadn't met a pure Blue-Eyes Duelist in my dimension before, so I was looking forward to have this Duel and learn a lot from it.
XXXXXXXXXX – Normal POV
The Kaiba Dome was full to the limit by the audience who managed to score a ticket. The unlucky ones had no other choice but to watch the Duel from home since it was going to be aired national.
Goodwin, Lazar, Mokuba, and Seria, Mina's cousin who was once part of Sayer's Arcadia Movement were in the Ivory Tower and had a good view of the arena. The young woman was now working for Sector Security. She was dressed in a similar outfit as her cousin, except hers was pink.
The Signers were sitting in the stands with some refreshment in their hands. Crow and Leo haven't been able to resist the urge to buy some drinks and popcorn to feast on during the Duel. Leo was already eating handfuls of popcorn, causing the treat to fly around him. "Leo, don't throw the food around you!" Luna scolded her twin brother.
"Sorry, but I'm so nervous!" Leo retorted. "I mean, we're going to see the worldwide famous Kaiba for the first time! I've always wanted to see him since I first heard about him!"
"I understand your feelings, Leo", Jack nodded while he had his arms crossed. "Kaiba is a living legend, just as Muto Yugi. Besides Yugi, another dream of mine is to Duel Kaiba and his Blue-Eyes White Dragons. Perhaps Estelle can introduce me to him after the Duel and we can have a match someday in the future."
"Who do you think might win?" Aki questioned.
"Estelle's a strong Duelist, but this is the Kaiba we're talkin' about!" Crow said after he took a sip of his drink with a straw. "They said he could be extremely brutal while Dueling, so I bet my money on him."
"But Kaiba's been absent for thirty years", Yusei argued. "He might be out of touch and we don't know if he's going to use any Synchro Monsters."
"So you think Estelle might have a chance to win?" Aki asked.
"This is anyone's game", Yusei shook his head. "But I have a feeling both of them will enjoy it."
"Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, and everyone else watching at home!" the MC called from his seat in the Kaiba Dome. "Today is one of New Domino City's brightest days! A legend has returned to claim his prey from the new dragon tamer! That's right, I'm talking about the legend behind the invention of Solid Vision, Duel Disks, and Kaiba Land; Kaiba Setooo!"
The audience cheered as a smokescreen was fired by the Duel field. When the smoke dispersed, Kaiba was standing straight and tall. He moved his left arm with a Blue-Eyes themed Duel Disk and caused his long white coat to ruffle. The crowd cheered even louder and chanted his name.
"Challenging him is the woman who once was an unknown star, a mysterious tamer who wowed the city with her dragons at the Fortune Cup, the Shining Star; Estelle Goodwiiin!"
Another smokescreen was activated at the other side of the Duel field as the crowd cheered. Estelle was revealed as soon as the smoke was gone, equipped with her red Duel Disk based off on the Crimson Dragon. The crowd cheered, but not as loud as they did for Kaiba.
"Good luck, Estelle!" Leo called.
"You can do it!" Luna added.
Estelle turned to the direction where her friends sat and waved to them. Kaiba had a poker face as he waited for the woman to finish waving to her friends.
"I expect a good result of this Duel, Estelle", Kaiba said as he activated his Duel Disk.
"Me too", Estelle nodded, activating her Duel Disk. "Let's enjoy the Duel to the fullest."
"This is it, people! Both Duelists have activated their Duel Disks! There's only one thing left to do! It's toooo…DUEL!"