Author's Notes:
The usual: I don't OWN Yu Gi Oh!
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Here and Thereafter
Chapter 4: The First Move
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The Kaiba Duel Cube, the little gadget that can change the whole Duel Monsters world, as we know it. Having the dimensions of two by two inches, this transparent and harmless-looking gadget can store a maximum of 150 different Magic Cards, Trap Cards and Monster Cards images, abilities and effects. The KDC was also armed with state-of-the-art downloading and processing technologies, and when used, can literally bring to life every single card a player has.
The KDC was also fifty percent more efficient that the old Duel system and the disk system. There was only one available, a prototype, currently resting in the hands of its designer and creator, Seto Kaiba.
It was algebra class today and the teacher wasn't present, so the III-A students of the special class had two whole hours to their enjoyment. The classroom buzzed with chatter except for Seto, who was sitting down and scribbling notes on his notebook. The KDC was in his left had, glimmering innocently.
"This equation here needs major tweaking…" Seto spoke as he chewed the cap of his pen. "Add another variable and the output percentage would be ruined…but I can't deduct values either…that would ruin the download speed…dammit, why is thing so headstrong?"
He tore off the page and crumpled it in his hand. He stuffed it into his bag, where hundreds of crumpled paper balls were already in. Seto heaved an impatient sigh and he rewrote the troublesome equation for the nth time.
"Dratted…stupid…variable…" he hissed through gritted teeth.
"What are you doing, Kaiba?" an innocent voice asked.
Kaiba looked up and came face to face with Bakura, who was smiling hopefully at him. He frowned deeply. "Never you mind, British boy, shove your nose out of my business."
"I can offer some help with your equation." Bakura persisted in Ryou's voice.
Kaiba threw him a dirty look. "Get lost."
But Bakura had already pulled the notebook toward him and started solving it.
"You should transfer this one here," Bakura explained as his hand moved quickly across the page. "And add five to both sides for you to be able to cancel out this. Now, if you convert this to the standard form like this, then you can factor them out. And the other one here can be substituted here and there you have it."
He handed back the notebook to the stunned Kaiba. Kaiba looked at the perfect solutions Bakura had just scribbled for him. He gaped at them. He'd been working with this equation for two whole weeks and now this British boy solved it right under his nose in less than ten minutes.
"How did you—?" Kaiba gaped as he met Bakura's smiling face.
"Oh, it's really very simple." Bakura explained. "It's just the same simple arithmetic underlying mathematics, and the equations weren't really that complicated. You couldn't solve it because impatience got to your head first."
Kaiba's frown appeared on his face again, but this time it was accompanied with a rosy blush of shame. He was the creator of the powerful KDC, but Bakura—whom he considered as an insignificant weakling, solved his toughest equation like magic.
"If you're expecting me to thank you, forget it." Kaiba snapped irritably.
Bakura looked like a little boy as he bit his lower lip. "Can I see that?"
"What?" Kaiba snarled.
"That." said Bakura, pointing at the KDC. "If you can't directly say thank you, letting me see that will make up for my help."
Kaiba felt a twinge of annoyance. First this Bakura had insulted him so bad by solving the equation and proving himself wiser—and now he wants to hold the KDC? But he had no choice, though. If Bakura hadn't intervened then he might've had a longer time to work on the dratted variables.
"Suit yourself." Kaiba said gruffly as he thrust the KDC into Bakura's slender hand.
Bakura twirled the KDC in his hand, his cold brown eyes surveying the plaything intensely. Kaiba was watching closely. Bakura felt an irresistible urge—an urge he'd known so long ago…3,000 years back in ancient Egypt, where pharaohs reigned eternal. He had never wanted anything so much like this…
"Give it back." Kaiba's gruff voice broke his trance. "I don't like the look you're giving it."
Bakura jerked his gaze from the KDC's surface with great effort. "Sorry…it's beautiful…I've never seen…awesome…"
He handed back the cube reluctantly. He was threatened to be overcome by that urge again.
"Of course it is." Kaiba said as he stuffed the KDC back into his padded briefcase. "My products are only of the highest quality."
"What does it do, that cube?" Bakura asked innocently.
"It literally brings Duel Monsters, Traps and Magic cards to life." Kaiba explained with pride. "Now playing the game can be done anywhere—on air, on land—even under the sea if you like. That's all possible with the KDC."
"You mean, you can use the monsters actually? In real life?"
"Command them—make them do your bidding—all of that, yes. But I shall have to consider many things before mass producing this. Owning a KDC requires an overwhelming responsibility for your actions. It is meant to revolutionize the Duel Monsters game, but as to that, it can also be used as a weapon for destruction. I wouldn't want my products causing mayhem."
Bakura nodded to show he understood. "I see, well, thank you for letting me see it, Kaiba."
He returned to his seat, and Kaiba started to work on legal papers.
Yami walked down the corridors in a listless way, Yugi's books in his right arm. His face was still slack, his eyes slightly unfocused. Other students avoided him because he tottered as he walked, much like a drunken man on the street. Inside his mind his hikari was shouting at him, but he didn't give a damn.
"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU LANDED ME IN DETENTION!" Yugi yelled, his voice bouncing oddly at the back of Yami's head. "I, Yugi Mutou, had never—never been on detention before! What did you think you were doing in Mr. Asahiko's class? Why did you throw that blackboard eraser at his face?! FOR RA'S SAKE, ANSWER ME, YAMI!"
"Your teacher reminded me of an old mentor from Egypt." Yami answered, literally talking to himself as he walked, causing many students to stare at him in a puzzled way. "That mentor used to bang me up in pots and seal me there for days. I was so angry with him I asked for his head. Now your teacher looked exactly like him and my hand lost control."
"Oh, right, your hand lost control!" Yugi said sarcastically. "And just how stupid do you think I am? I may be small, Yami, but I have brains—"
"SHUT UP!" Yami shouted so loudly that even teachers stared at him.
The principal, Ms. Suzuki, approached him. "Mr. Yugi Mutou, I cannot have students shouting at the corridor, much less talk to themselves as if they are mad! I order you to stop this—ridiculous behavior right now! Are you listening to me, young man?"
Yami blinked up at the principal. "Bow down before your pharaoh, woman."
"Oh, damn, this will be bigger trouble!" Yugi winced as he hid himself in his soul room.
"What did you say to me, Yugi Mutou?" Ms. Suzuki said in her most dangerous voice.
Yami blinked sleepily again. "Deaf, aren't you, you twitchy little scarab beetle?"
There was a loud yelp as Ms. Suzuki grabbed Yami by the ear. Many students were watching now.
"I will not have students talking to me like that, Mr. Mutou!" Ms. Suzuki shrieked. "I don't care how much your grandfather worries about you, but you shall stay the whole night in this school and scrub all the toilets with your bare hands, do you hear me? NOW GET TO YOUR CLASS!"
"Fine then," said Yami as he walked dreamily away, scratching his head absent-mindedly. "I don't give a damn. You want me to clean the toilets…then I will clean them! Ch, who does she think she's scaring anyway…?"
The other students of Domino High exchanged mystified looks as they watched Yami go to Chemistry class.
"Yugi Mutou's gone mad, hasn't he?" said one first-year girl.
"You're in detention?!" Joey Wheeler repeated incredulously that afternoon in the canteen, when the classes were finally over. "You've landed yourself in detention? Are you crazy? What happened to the Mr.-Clean-Record-Act?"
Yugi scowled heavily as he fiddled with his pen. "It was my fault. I shouldn't have let Yami take over my body earlier. I didn't know what would happen, he asked if he could have some fresh air. You know how weird he's been acting lately—so I agreed—but then he ran amok and whammed an eraser straight into Asahiko's face…"
Joey burst out laughing. "Yami threw an eraser into a teacher's face?!"
"He ran amok, I told you!" Yugi grumbled. "He also insulted Ms. Suzuki right at her face and now we've got to stay here all night and scrub every single toilet with our bare hands!"
"Who would clean all of the toilets in Domino High?" somebody spoke.
Joey and Yugi looked up to see Téa and Tristan joining their table. The two sat down. Téa looked like her usual cheery self while Tristan folded his arms on the table and pillowed his head on them, looking very weary.
"What's the matter, Tristan?" Joey asked. "History teacher's loaded you again?"
"You bet." Tristan replied shortly. "A five-page essay on the French Revolution, to be handed in tomorrow. Do I look like I can do all that with all of my other assignments?"
"Ha!" said Joey. "I haven't got a single load to do at home!"
Tristan grumbled again. Téa looked at Yugi. "You haven't answered my question yet. Who will be cleaning the toilets?"
"Yami. Or more specifically, I will." Yugi answered forlornly.
Even Tristan looked up. "You what?"
"Don't ask." Yugi said curtly. "Ah, look—"
Ms. Suzuki was approaching their table, sinister look on her evil face. She stopped before Yugi in a matter-of-factly way, staring down at him with intense dislike. Yugi managed to give her a wan smile, hoping that it would ease his punishment even for a bit.
"Don't you dare simper on me, rude boy!" Ms. Suzuki barked. "If you think your teeny-weeny trick can ease your sentence, guess again! Now stand up and start cleaning!"
At this, Yugi went to his soul room, putting the reluctant Yami in control. The ex-pharaoh winced as the principal thrust a mop, a dirty rag, a bristly brush and pail in his hands. Ms. Suzuki walked away, leaving a stony silence behind her.
"I cannot believe this!" said Yami, outraged. "I am pharaoh of Egypt! How dare that woman command me to clean the—the—the toilet!"
Téa laughed. "Too bad, pharaoh. This is how our life is."
And Yami stalked toward the nearest CR, cursing under his breath. Joey, Téa and Tristan all laughed together.
The Kaiba Manor was easily the grandest and biggest house in all of Domino City. It had large lawns flanked with lush gardens, fancy fountains and sculptures and armed with the latest security system. The main house itself was splendor defined—it was the product of combined Italian and French architecture, a most breath-taking view.
Superb lighting around the Kaiba Manor intensified the mansion's beauty, making it look like a fantasy castle beneath the night sky. It was a nice house that many would die for, but for Mokuba, it was still far from being home.
"Where's brother?" Mokuba asked timidly as the maids and butler served him his usual solitary dinner. "Is he even home yet?"
"Master Seto is currently in his laboratory, finishing the KDC." The butler replied promptly. "He says he cannot dine with you tonight, Master Mokuba."
Mokuba sighed and poked his fettuccini lazily. "Oh yeah, I understand that. He never had any time for me left ever since he started that stupid Duel Cube…"
The maids and butler exchanged unsure glances. Mokuba grumbled again and started to eat.
Meanwhile, in his laboratory, Kaiba was putting the final touches to the KDC, the notebook where Bakura solved the equation sitting open at his desk. Every now and then Kaiba would return his gaze to the notebook and make some tweaking and twisting at the cube. It was nearly completed, only the last screw to be returned to its place.
"One more…" Kaiba muttered, wiping the sweat out of his eyes. "Just this one last screw…"
Kaiba nearly jumped when he heard a thud from the ceiling. He looked up at his laboratory's lights, which were quivering slightly. Quickly he abandoned the KDC and proceeded to his security monitors. He touched a few keys on the keyboard, and the monitor displayed over a hundred views from different angles of the manor.
"What was that?" Kaiba wondered as he returned to his KDC. "Must have been a cat or something…"
Then he was immersed in his job again.
Bakura cursed himself silently for being clumsy. He lay low for a few minutes against Kaiba manor's exquisite roof, waiting for the pain in his back to subside a little before he could go on. After waiting for five minutes he straightened up again, moving silently and discreetly like a spider.
What the hell was Bakura doing here? Of course, to steal the KDC, which he found would be very useful once he attacks the pharaoh and claims the Millenium Puzzle. If Kaiba had committed one lethal flaw, it was allowing him to see the KDC and touch it.
"Diversionary tactics number one." Bakura whispered as he spotted the nearest security camera. "Destroy all eyes."
He reached up and touched the Millenium Ring. It glowed a bright shade of gold, and a second later, every single camera in the manor was disabled like magic. Finally, with the manor's first line of defenses destroyed, Bakura stood up straight on the roof, ominously lit by the moonlight.
"Diversionary tactics number two," Bakura sneered. "Get everyone out of the way."
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*grins evilly*…hee hee hee hee hee! The show starts here! Please review!!!