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Yu-Gi-Oh: Tempus Temporis
Version 2.0
By Jinx&Jedi
.:: Chapter I - Tossing the Glove ::.
Los Angeles, California
Wednesday, October 23,
2002
The late afternoon sunlight streamed through the
high windows of the pavilion and between the graceful lines of steel and
stone. Its twin circular towers rose stylishly against the azure sky and
the glass of the connecting structure between them reflected the gently
swaying palm trees and parking lot like a colossal piece of modern art.
The building was study in efficient yet elegant design and a testament
to recent technological advancements all rolled into one breathtaking complex.
It was a cool day for the Los Angeles area and blustery; the wind stirring
up brief eddies and whorls where it ran headlong into the glass and steel
facade, tossing up the dust and debris endemic to metropolitan areas worldwide.
It certainly would be interesting to see how the
Duel Monsters Tournament would go tomorrow; he had had his doubts
when he arrived but now he was positive the Convention Center would be
able to handle the rigorous demands of the sophisticated holographic technology.
Today, however, was an auction for none other than Industrial Illusions.
One could assume it was being held here in hopes of drawing the duelists
who had already arrived for the tournament tomorrow. Its objective couldn't
get much more overt since a huge portion of the items were Duel Monsters
paraphernalia; and, if the rumors were to be trusted, there were going
to be some excruciatingly rare cards up on the auction block.
Seto Kaiba stretched and then refolded his arms
across his chest as the auctioneer appealed for higher and higher bids
for a massive, abstract painting that used to hang in the lobby of Industrial
Illusions before they acquired the. . . unconventional sculpture that decorated
the hall currently. Fortunately it was the last piece of et cetera
before they got down to the meat of the auction. Although he knew intellectually
that the painting was a piece of fine art; he couldn't help but compare
it to some of Mokuba's better scribbles. He could, at the very least, generally
tell what those were supposed to be. In fact, at the urging at one of KaibaCorp's
decorating consultants, he'd had a few of those better scribbles framed
and hung in a couple hallways. Of course, the ulterior motive to this was
to make the company look more "family friendly." While he could care less
if the company appeared that way or not, he never minded doing something
that made his little brother feel happy and worthwhile.
". . . I have nine-hundred-fifty; do I hear a Thousand?
One-Thousand? Nine-hundred-fifty going once - nine-hundred-fifty going
twice. Sold: For Nine-hundred-fifty dollars!"
And with that, the painting was marched off the
dais and to the claim area. He couldn't have been happier. So far the auction
had dragged; very few of the items were getting bids so far and the crowd
was slowly shrinking as time wore on. One could almost hear the group sigh
of relief from the room as they finally reached the scheduled break before
they got down to business.
"Now, Seto?"
"Not yet, Kiddo. They're going to do an intermission."
Mokuba groaned and slumped back in his chair.
"They have to let the buyers move in to claim their...
treasures too." The older woman next to Mokuba winced expressively.
Seto Kaiba snorted a quick chuckle, before rising
slightly to once more scan the crowd as a fair portion of the assembly
slowly filed out. A surprising amount of the faces or backs of heads he
could see belonged to the dueling elite - champions, former champions,
up-and-coming Yugi wannabes, surprise winners, regional, national, and
international alike, and many more whose status in the Tournament circuits
could be measured only by their presence at this auction. Seto gritted
his teeth as he heard Weevil Underwood's irritating voice rise above the
din. He'd already spotted Rex Raptor, and Bandit Keith and his cronies
had already gotten aquatinted with his personal bodyguards. Not that he
wasn't surprised, they wouldn't dare miss an auction of this caliber. He
had some doubt about the presence of Mai Valentine and Mako Tsunami, since
they were both slated to be exhibitionists at a tournament in Sendai yet
this weekend. To be perfectly honest he wasn't looking for them per
se - it was still satisfying to know who was attending - but he was
searching for Pegasus or even a lackey or two.
"Seto?"
"Yes?" He glanced at his brother's curious face
only momentarily as he sat back down slowly; his gaze never leaving the
direction of Weevil's screech somewhere down the aisle to his left.
"Do you really think Pegasus is in trouble?"
"As far as I know, yes."
"Good." Mokuba said in cold satisfaction, returning
his attention to playing with a fraying thread under the seat of his chair
as he swung his feet to kick the chair legs.
"Industrial Illusions is having their accounting
practices scrutinized by the Government; not to mention the IRS has made
some formal inquires recently." The woman next to Mokuba reiterated softly,
"I would imagine this is a form of damage control."
Mokuba scowled and muttered crossly that Pegasus
deserved it before sliding off his chair to sit on the floor. He opened
his day-pack and began boisterously sorting through the contents.
Kaiba glanced back at her thoughtfully, "I have
to agree, Mizuko. He's getting desperate."
She nodded and returned her attention to watching
the crowd as well. Mizuko was a "shirt-tail" cousin of theirs' and had
been serving as his secretary while here in the USA. She was distant enough
to have absolutely no claim to KaibaCorp beyond her employment in the Los
Angeles Office as a secretary but yet close enough to still call family.
She was middle aged and slightly overweight, her dark hair was beginning
to gray and the changes in sight brought on by age had caused her to have
to wear glasses. She had so far been a gracious and surprisingly informative
host, though she spent way too much fussing over them. Though good-intentioned,
she was beginning to become a little aggravating.
He rose back up slightly as he saw some motion off
the dais, but was disappointed when the person proved to be one of the
Convention Center's employees.
Another patented Weevil nerve-jangling screech was
belted out from somewhere in the throng: "What do you mean he isn't here?!"
Seto sighed and massaged the bridge of his nose
between his fingers momentarily before reaching inside his black sports
coat, searching within the left, breast pocket to reassume himself that
the claim slips were safe and secure inside. Satisfied, he crossed his
arms back over his chest and tried to be patient. Not an easy proposition
when he kept finding himself unconsciously grinding his teeth.
"Mokuba, are you sure you want to plug yourself
into a movie?" Mizuko advised his little brother as he slid back up onto
his chair, tightly clutching a portable DVD player and a wallet of DVDs,
"The Cap Monster things you wanted are next up with the other
gaming paraphernalia."
"But I'm bored!" Mokuba protested peevishly and
regardless of the advisement, unzipped the wallet and began flipping through
the DVDs.
Kaiba leaned over, plucked the wallet from his brother's
hands, and rezipped it, "Just hang in there, Mokuba. As soon as they get
past the Duel Monsters cards I want - we're gone."
He glanced up briefly, did a double-take, and then
tossed the wallet back in the general direction of the day-pack as he rose
to his feet. Weevil was approaching them in an outfit that was nowhere
near tasteful nor the semi-casual dress required for the occasion. Frankly,
he was positively frightened at what Weevil would have worn had this been
a Black-tie event. Somewhere or another, he had found a jacket to a tuxedo
from the nineteen-seventies in the closest color to an lime green as physically
possible. The greenish-tan slacks, red-plaid bow-tie, and Weevil's classic
glasses finished the effect: all Kaiba could think about was the bathrooms
at a major university after a party night. Then again, in all great probability
Weevil probably thought it made him resemble one of his insects.
"Kaiba." Weevil greeted with that same, irritating,
screechy tone. He was trying his best to appear friendly, though the closest
he came was a state oily that teetered precariously on the edge of infuriating.
"Underwood." Kaiba forced out through gritted teeth,
nodding his greeting.
Weevil wrung his hands together while he grinned
in a way he probably thought would help psyche him out - too bad it only
contributed to an effect already unappealing but not in the least intimidating,
"I'm not surprised to see you here. Had to get a piece of the action too,
I bet?"
"Don't kid yourself, Underwood. Bidding is going
to run high - very high when it comes to the cards." Kaiba growled. He
avoided his usual insults, he doubted he could take Weevil's voice for
long and the last thing he wanted was to be thrown out - or worse - for
introducing Weevil to his fist. He had exactly five cards he wanted from
this auction, so long as he got those, he could leave with nothing else
and be ecstatically happy.
Weevil giggled, a sound Seto could rather have done
without, "Going to push the bidding up, huh? Not that I blame you. Afterall,
you've bought your way into other tournaments before. Whatever gets you
the win, right?"
Kaiba shrugged and grunted noncommittally as he
thought, 'Screw the cards. If Weevil leaves within the next thirty seconds,
I'll be ecstatically happy.'
Weevil giggled again, "Well, I know what cards you're
going to want. Dragons or the most powerful and rare cards there are. You're
so predicable."
"Really?" The word was dripping with sarcasm, but
he doubted Weevil would catch it, "You think?" Seto abruptly had the sudden
visualization of himself kicking the dirty little weasel where it truly
counted. It wouldn't be hard either. With his height - or lack thereof
- his crotch was low enough he wouldn't even need a very high kick. 'I
suppose you'd be real surprised at what I'm thinking right now.'
At that moment, his salvation came in the form of
his pager vibrating. He dug it out from it's home in his pocket with his
money clip, glanced quickly at the number, and tucked it back inside his
dark gray slacks. "If you'll excuse me, I have a very important call I
need to make."
Without even waiting for Weevil to respond, Kaiba
turned and made a carefully paced retreat up the aisle and through the
doors in a brief opening as the sea of humanity made its way back inside
the auction hall. He spotted a quiet spot behind a support column and half
hidden behind a large crate stamped with KaibaCorp's logo. In all honesty,
it wasn't an important call at all, just simply the restaurant he'd made
reservations with making certain he would indeed be making it for this
evening. On the other hand, even a crank call at that point would have
been a welcome escape.
By the time he returned, Weevil had returned to
his seat, the first item from the Cap Monsters was bring brought
out, and - much to the amusement of many - Mokuba had jumped up to stand
on his seat and was bouncing in anticipation.
". . . looks like someone's excited about this item!"
The auctioneer was chuckling to the crowd, motioning to a framed and signed
copy of a Cap Monsters poster.
Seto slipped back down the aisle, acutely glad they'd
sat at the end of a row. He pulled Mokuba back down into a seated position
as he himself sat down. His little brother barely missed a beat as he shucked
his sports coat - an exact, but smaller duplicate of his big brother's
- and got back up to kneel on his chair. Mizuko leaned over, picked up
Mokuba's jacket, and folded it across her lap.
As the auctioneer read off the description and information
about the poster Kaiba reached over and slung his arm around Mokuba's neck
and shoulders, pulling him close, "Remember what I told you." He whispered
in his little brother's ear as he tucked the tags back inside the neck
of the child's turtleneck. The tags were fished back out within a split
second, but at least he still had his attention, "This is your money,
don't waste it on one thing unless you absolutely can't live without it."
Mokuba nodded and braced himself on his brother's
shoulder as he rose up just a little higher to see. Seto reached up once
more and tucked the tags back inside the neck of Mokuba's charcoal colored
turtleneck; only to have his own tags yanked up a moment before the younger
Kaiba's tags were fished back out as well. He shook his head in amusement
as his little brother blew him a very large, very wet raspberry before
returning his rapt attention to the poster as bidding began.
The Cap Monsters part of the auction went
quickly, it wasn't a surprise there was only a few sparse items before
it jumped to Dungeon Dice and then finally Duel Monsters.
Mokuba ended up with three Cap Monsters items: two rare, five-monster
sets and one rare promotional poster. Pleased with his purchases, he'd
plugged himself into a movie and hadn't spoken since.
For all the anticipation for this part of the auction,
Seto was officially disappointed. So far, the only items that had caught
his eye were a set of relics that had clearly provided the impetus for
some of the accessory cards and a box of supposed prototype cards, all
of which were now his. Everything else he either already had or wasn't
worth his time and energy to try outbidding the other duelists; most of
whom seemed genuinely thrilled by the items.
There was a antique glove which, allegedly, was
the inspiration behind the design for the Duelist Kingdom Dueling Gloves.
If it hadn't been so ugly and expensive, he might have been interested.
However, he simply couldn't rationalize spending one-thousand American
dollars on a souvenir from an experience that unpleasant. Apparently the
other duelists felt this way as well because it received no bids whatsoever.
There were costumes for some of the humanoid monsters but none of them
were that spectacular, despite the high bids some of them got. He had a
brief, fleeting urge to bid on the "Dark Magician" costume just so he could
compare it to what he might get if he posted an anonymous challenge online
at a cosplay message board. There was a "Red Eyes Black Dragon" and the
various fusion cards that went with it, but again - he already had one
and even had some better fusions and possible augmentations in his current
deck. Other cards were rare and potentially powerful, but wouldn't be that
magnificent in play unless the duelist's name just happened to be Yugi
Moto.
Seto had begun to wonder if Pegasus had changed
his mind about including the cards or if the rumors had been false; the
"Toon World" cards and other newer prototypes were the main draw for this
auction. Perhaps the tournament circuits had protested loud enough or had
arranged a deal to have the cards purchased and destroyed. He was starting
to find his attention drawn towards Mokuba's movie as time drew on, but
forced himself to pay attention as best he could. They brought out prototypes
to the line of Duel Monsters action figures that now would never
be produced, along with rare model kits, life-size, cardboard stand-ups,
super-deformed plushies, and other assorted toys. One of the more exciting
sequences of Mokuba's movie finally drew his attention away, despite his
vain attempts to pay attention. He finally ended up stealing one of Mokuba's
earphones and turning the volume up fairly loud to compensate. Mokuba eventually
pulled his legs up onto his chair and leaned over to rest against his big
brother. Kaiba draped his right arm around his little brother and gently
took the DVD player from him to hold it between them.
The movie was reaching it's exciting climax, drawing
his focus deeper and deeper into it. As such, a sharp poke to Kaiba's shoulder
produced a jerk of surprise and caused him to nearly strike his assailant,
but the motion freed the earphone from his ear in time to hear:
". . . dollars! Sold: The "House of Sticky Tape"
card from the unreleased "Toon World" card set."
As he lowered his hand from the strike he'd almost
completed, he caught Mizuko's hand and squeezed it apologetically. He took
a deep breath and bent forward as he scrubbed his face with his hands.
Mokuba's eyes were still wide in alarm; he had been startled out of a half-sleep
when he had felt Seto's involuntary jolt. Kaiba reached over and rubbed
Mokuba's back a little to reassure him. He blinked repeatedly to wake himself
as one of the Auction's runners hurried down the aisle to take a claim
slip from a young, brunette woman.
'Well, at least I know who won it. I'll offer
to buy or trade it from her later...' He thought irately to himself.
Infuriated with himself, Seto made certain he missed
no other "Toon World" cards by making Mokuba take care of the DVD player.
Instead of protesting, Mokuba dropped it into his day-pack, leaned back
against his side, and attempted to take a nap; too bored and tired to care
that he had been compelled to put his movie away under duress. Seto won
the bids on the rest of the set after he raised his bid on the "Toon World"
card in quick succession, quickly taking the price out of the range of
what most duelists could afford. Most of the other duelists stopped trying
to bid on them after that point, afraid of what Kaiba might do - or what
they thought he might do - should he not get the win. The only card he
had trouble winning was the "Blue Eyes Toon Dragon" card; most everyone
wanted that card, but again his budget allowed him to quickly outbid the
other interested duelists. He felt a brief pang of guilt as he realized
that he was actually helping Pegasus get out of trouble by doing that,
but it was quickly eclipsed by the satisfaction that he would probably
never have to deal with one of little, inane rejects from a Saturday morning
cartoon ever again.
Satisfied and exhausted, Kaiba took a quick inventory
of the small backpack while he repacked it before he tenderly shook Mokuba
awake. The auction wasn't over by any means, but he'd gotten what he came
here for. As nice as this complex was, he was sick of it for the moment.
"Are we going now?" The younger Kaiba murmured sleepily
as Mizuko helped him into his jacket.
"Sure are, Kiddo," Seto nodded as he picked up his
briefcase and Mokuba's day-pack in the same hand, wiggling his fingers
to indicate he wanted Mokuba to take his hand. "Finally."
Down the aisle he heard the distinct sound of flesh
striking flesh, followed by Weevil's yelp. Smirking, he watched the young
woman who had won the bid on the "House of Sticky Tape" snatch up her things
and stalk darkly out of the hall. The looks Weevil was getting from nearby
individuals who had seen the woman's reaction was simply priceless.
"Hell hath no fury - I like her!" Kaiba chuckled
to Mizuko, "Follow her: Offer to buy or trade the card. Offer her one of
my Duel Disc systems if you have to, I don't care what it takes,
just get it."
"Will do." Mizuko replied before hurrying off after
the girl at a rapid half-walk.
Seto tugged his younger brothers hand and started
after her at Mokuba's drowsy pace, carefully guiding him around the back
of the next row of seats and to the least busy of the doors. Mokuba was
barely awake, he didn't even need to look at him to tell that. The younger
Kaiba kept drifting from side to side as he walked, occasionally bumping
into Seto. He got outside the room and almost to the exit when he heard
a familiar voice from down the hall. Mizuko was leading the young woman
to him, but behind them he saw an oddly familiar man duck out of another
exhibit hall. A small part of him raised a curious mental eyebrow at the
old, bright green raincoat over the casual, yet shapely wine-red gown,
but sternly pushed the thought to the back-burners of his mind.
"See that he gets to the limo safely." Kaiba stated,
handing Mokuba off to one of his bodyguards along with the day-pack and
briefcase. "I'll be right back."
He started off at a fast walk, trying to keep the
man in sight. The young woman side-stepped to intercept him, her face expressing
her annoyance as she started to open her mouth to say something. Kaiba
grabbed her shoulders and moved her gently but swiftly out of his way.
"Hold that thought, I'll be right back." He blurted hurriedly, holding
his hands up in a placating gesture.
The man was almost out of sight; Kaiba broke into
a flat run, dodging vendors who were already setting up for tomorrow. One
of the KaibaCorp employees in charge of setting up the dueling platforms
started for him, but Kaiba evaded him like a professional athlete going
for the goal.
From a smaller entrance, he spotted a flash of white
hair.
Kaiba glanced at a map of the complex as he passed
and guessed they were headed for the Concourse Meeting Room. Keeping a
wall of people and vendor stands between himself and his quarry, he hurried
after they as quickly as possible. Eventually the crowds thinned out and
Seto was forced to make the best out of his ability to move quickly and
quietly to close the distance. He stopped just shy of them, listening to
make certain he wasn't going to make an hasty and embarrassing mistake
of judgment.
"Are you going to stay for the tournament tomorrow,
Mister Pegasus? The media is already asking for interviews." An aide was
asking, holding out a clipboard with forms for Pegasus to sign.
'Jackpot!' Kaiba thought with diabolical
glee, trying his best to slow his breathing down some so he could talk
properly.
"No, I won't be attending. With Seto Kaiba here
. . ."
"You rang?" Kaiba purred in derision, crossing his
arms nonchalantly over his chest.
Pegasus froze in mid-step, the man he had recognized
turned and scowled at him through a set of dark sunglasses. He almost laughed
as he realized that the man was Pegasus's subordinate Kimo, though he had
exchanged the chiseled haircut for a cut almost short enough to be considered
a "butch."
"You look good, Kimo, loose a fight with a razor?"
Kaiba commented coolly, approaching Pegasus's back.
"Sir, do you want me to deal with him?" Kimo growled.
If looks could kill, Seto was positive he would have been vaporized.
"No. . . that's all right." Pegasus forced out through
gritted teeth. When he turned, his voice was as cool and oily as always,
"Hello, Kaiba-boy. Good to see you. I hear you made me a richer man - and
here I thought you hated cartoons."
Kaiba laughed sardonically, "You'd like that, wouldn't
you? No, I plan to simply keep them so they won't be used against me ever
again."
"Delightful." Pegasus's surviving eye narrowed contemptuously
while his new, glass one just stared at him through his hair. "Now why
don't you go play while Uncle Pegasus meets with the other grown ups."
Kaiba almost argued that he was frequently more
mature than one-eyed, blond man, but inspiration struck first. He felt
his mouth quirk before he lapsed into a falsetto, "Swure will, Wunkle Pwegasus.
You hwave a goo-goo-goo-good auwedit!" He had to stop to swallow a laugh
before returning to his normal speech, "Let me know how it goes, I have
the names of some good accountants and financial attorneys."
Pegasus's cultured face had gone ugly halfway through
Kaiba's feeble attempt at a "Porky Pig" impersonation: he looked like he
was trying to come up with a comeback but was failing miserably. An employee
from Industrial Illusions who looked like he was already at the edge of
a nervous breakdown carefully skirted them, pushing a cart leaden with
items left over from the auction. Kaiba smirked, kissed the air, and then
saluted Pegasus with his middle finger before turning to walk back towards
the two women he'd left standing in the lobby.
He heard a crash, a rattle, and spun in place to
face Pegasus again. His right arm snapped up instinctually, turning as
it rose so he was presenting a target of intersecting bone to whatever
was hurtling at him. It struck his arm, stinging sharply even through two
layers of material. It started to fall, but his right hand deftly snapped
down to catch it.
Kaiba glanced at the object that Pegasus threw at
him: it was that ugly glove he hadn't wanted to buy. "Wow! How generous
of you!" He gushed sarcastically, "Thank you so much, Pegasus! I have no
use for it, but I supposed Yugi might like it. At the very least he could
sell it for Tuition mon-"
The door to the Concourse Meeting Room thunderously
slammed shut, leaving him alone with a stunned Industrial Illusions employee
and an overturned cart.
Kaiba smirked and tossed the glove up and caught
it once more. Slowly the humor of the situation registered. He snickered.
The sound reverberated loudly in the space; he laughed but snorted. And
that was all it took. He surrendered to hysterical laughter, staggering
over to a wall to support him while he guffawed. It took him several long
moments to regain control as the laughter bubbled up from the pit of his
stomach and spilled tears from his eyes.
Finally reduced to giggles, Seto tugged the decorative
handkerchief from his pocket and mopped his face off before turning to
walk back to the ladies. As far as he was concerned - even if the woman
was unwilling to sell the card - his night was complete.