Captivation
Warnings/notes : Seto/Joey, slightly weird
Disclaimer : I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh.
written at 12th september 2003, by Misura
inserted parts written at 27th september 2003, by Cilara
Yay! People actually reviewed this story! ^_^ Thanks to : WindWalker (yes, well, it's kind of supposed to be mysterious ^^;), Kay and FantasyeChick (thank you!), Unable to Cry (thank you very much, I'll do my best to keep it up), DemonAki (one more chapter? Thanks!) and JuniperMoon (thank you very much!).
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Something was wrong with Seto. Mokuba was sure of it, though he had no idea what was causing his brother's odd behavior this time. Perhaps he and Joey had had another fight, a worse one than their usual squabblings that seemed to occur daily, if he was to believe Yugi.
It might have something to do with his new project, one he had left even Mokuba in the dark about what it exactly was, while Mokuba usually was the first to hear about such things.
Watching Seto pack his bag for school, Mokuba decided he'd go take a look in the cellar, where Seto's private laboratory was. He didn't like doing things behind Seto's back, but he justified his action by telling himself he just wanted to help Seto.
If Seto was too stubborn to ask for his help when he needed it, it was Mokuba's duty to make sure he got it nonetheless. And how could he help if he didn't know the problem?
"Enjoy your day, little brother! And don't be late for school!" Seto smiled, ruffling his hair, just as usual. There was a hint of something else in his voice though, an absent-mindedness that told Mokuba Seto was actually thinking about something quite else than him.
"You have a good day too, big brother!" Mokuba quipped, like was expected of him. "Better run now if you don't want to be late yourself!"
Seto scowled and left. Hearing the sound of the door falling shut, Mokuba slowly counted to a hundred before he slipped out of his seat and headed for the stairs that led to the cellar. He hadn't told Seto they'd gotten a day off at school today, because their teacher was ill and a replacement hadn't been found yet. He'd actually simply forgotten last night, but now he was glad of it.
What Seto didn't know couldn't hurt him, could it?
*****
[later that day]
"Kaiba's been staring at me funnily all morning." Joey complained to Yugi.
"Maybe he's got a crush on you." Tristan joked. He was the only one who laughed at his own joke ; the others all looked at him like he'd gone crazy.
"I don't think that's very likely. I mean ... " Anzu shook her head. "Not Kaiba."
"Hah!" Joey made a face. "Bet Kaiba doesn't even know the meaning of the word 'love'."
"Well, he does care about Mokuba ... " Yugi put in.
"Yeah, but that's just because it's his little brother. And because everyone loves Mokuba." Joey replied.
"That's true." Anzu agreed. "But aside from Mokuba ... "
"He's just a jerk if you ask me." Tristan scoffed.
"Could we go back to my original question?" Joey asked plaintively.
"Sorry, buddy, what was it again?" Tristan grinned as Joey whacked him and all too soon, the two were engaged in an all-out food-fight, to the consternation of Anzu and Yugi and the loudly voiced approval of most other students.
*Most* other students.
"They really shouldn't let dogs into the school." Seto sneered.
"Why, you ... " Joey tried to get up from the floor but slipped on some vegetables.
"You're downright pathetic." Seto threw the blond a last disgusted look before stalking off, leaving Joey muttering curses at his back.
"Here, Joey, let me help you up." Yugi offered, almost falling himself when Joey grabbed his hand.
"Thanks, Yug." Joey smiled, momentarily replacing the scowl on his face.
"He didn't act much like someone having a crush on Joey." Anzu remarked.
"Oh, will you shut up about that stupid idea?" Joey growled. "Of course he doesn't have a crush on me!"
"Geez, chill out, Joey, it was just a joke!" Tristan protested, having gotten up as well.
"Not a funny one." Joey retorted hotly. "And - "
The sound of the bell interrupted him, calling all students back to their classes.
*****
Mokuba sighed. He'd been through about ninety percent of the files on Seto's computer now and none of them had contained anything that might explain why Seto had been so edgy recently.
His hand hesitated as the mouse-pointer hung above a folder called 'The history of Egypt'. He recalled that Seto had once done a school-assignment on the subject, months ago. It was hardly likely there was something in there that would be useful.
And yet ... what was this folder doing here, on Seto's second, private pc, rather than the one in his working room upstairs? Why hadn't Seto removed it yet, or filed it away under 'Finished assignments', a folder he'd come across earlier?
"Might as well take a look." Mokuba murmured, clicking on the folder to open it. He was surprised to see it only contained one file, which wasn't a document as he had expected. Instead, it was a program for holographic projection, based one the same technology used for the Duel Monsters arenas.
While Mokuba's eyes darted over the encoding though, he found completely unfamiliar phrases, things he'd never seen before. It seemed Seto had developed some new things.
"And he didn't tell me about them." Mokuba bit his lip, wondering if he could take the risk of activating the program. If Seto had really added new elements, it might be dangerous to enter. The security protocols Mokuba knew by heart might not work, for example, meaning he could get trapped in the virtual world, like Seto had been once, when the Big Five had messed with his programming.
On the other hand, the text of the code hardly told him anything about the world it was supposed to create. Mokuba was good at these kind of things, but not on the same level as Seto yet. He checked the clock.
"About one hour before Seto gets home. If he can't find me, he'll come looking for me. If I get in trouble, he'll know how to get me out." Mokuba reasoned, climbing into the virtual pod.
Closing his eyes to the dizzying sensations of the helmet, he ordered the computer to activate the program, reminding himself he'd have to erase all traces of his being here later. *If* he'd get out of here without needing Seto's aid.
* * * * *
When Mokuba opened his eyes, he found himself in a wide corridor, with several doors. He tried some of them, surprised to find they mostly led to rooms he was very familiar with ; their kitchen, their living room, Seto's bedroom, the hall of their house ....
There had been cookies in the kitchen-closet, cookies he could taste as he nibbled on them, cookies he could feel sliding down his throat.
He opened the last door almost cheerfully, expecting to find yet another cozy room of their house, already half convinced Seto had just been wrestling with some code-writing that didn't quite work out.
Instead ...
~tbc???~