(Lilo: god, I was so sick these days =_=. If you live in Canada, you'd know the stupid flu thingy that is here right now and well, I caught it x_x. not the best experience one could possibly want to have …. And I hate being sick because my brain doesn't react to fevers the way I would like it to cuz my head hurt like hell for a week and a half *_* anyways, I won't complain cuz I feel better now and can finally concentrate on something. Also, my laptop is broken ….. *breaks down and cries* completely and totally trashed … I dropped it and it went flying down some 20-30 steps …. Poor thing, I wanted to bury but my parents threw it out …. Aw. And I am not getting another one anytime soon … dang.
Marikue: Disclaimer: lilo doesn't own Yugioh or Elimidate. She doesn't even own a laptop anymore.)
~Chapter 3.
~Can This Get Any Worse?~
Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Be-
"SHUT UP!!!!!!!!!!!!"
-ep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Bee….. BAM!
This was how Kaiba woke up this morning, smashing his alarm clock into a nearby wall. The sound of break glass and metal hitting the floor was satisfying but didn't change the fact that he was now wide awake. Turning onto his back to stare at the ceiling, Kaiba tried to remember why he needed to wake up at 5 o'clock in the bloody morning. He was on the short break from wo ….
"Shit!" Kaiba exclaimed as he sat upright in his bed, his blanket, pillows and laptop falling to the floor but Kaiba could care less at the very moment. Now he remembered the reason for him to wake up this early! It was because of the stupid game! God, what did he do to deserve such a thing? Maybe creating those weapons for the military when he was younger was now paying off ….
"I am screwed" Kaiba told himself 'reassuringly', sarcasm and venom dripping in his voice. With a heavy sigh, the CEO of Kaiba Corp. got up and went to the bathrooms, not sure how his body could move this early, wobbling from side to side. When he actually entered the bathroom, Kaiba turned towards one of the mirrors and stared emotionlessly at his muffled image. It seemed like forever, but he finally managed to snap himself out of his trance and turn the water on so that he could take the oh-so-long waited shower. However, when he actually entered it, he realized that it was cold, VERY cold. After standing under a cold shower for something like a minute, he finally remembered that there was a reconstruction going on somewhere in the city and there won't be any warm water anywhere.
"I am in for a long day" Kaiba mumbled to himself, realizing that today he probably got up from the wrong side of his bed. Indeed, this day seemed to be long already…
~~~~
Cold. Cold was all that could identify and accurately describe Kaiba's current condition, as the morning wind whipped his hair and crawled under his clothes, as if wanting to get through his skin. Right now he was standing in the middle of some small market, waiting for the five contestants to arrive. Earlier today, when he arrived, he was dragged though a bunch of offices, forced to sigh a bunch of papers, was given a bunch of keys, tickets and what not. Now they practically 'threw' him out in this cold to wait for the contestants to arrive. Actually, Kaiba hoped that none of the would show up but for some reason, his sub-consciousness kept on telling him that, in fact, every single one of them would arrive, sealing his doom. Suddenly, a voice of seemingly a very excited female torn him away from his muses and made him turn. Then, his jaw dropped.
"Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Mai Valentine screamed as she ran towards him and then almost crushed him in a bear-like hug. All the while, Kaiba just stood there, rooted to the spot. He stared at Mai and Mai stared back at him, and then suddenly something clicked in Mai's head.
"Kaiba???????" she asked in a shocked half-scream half-gasp, while starring at the CEO, blinking, not believing her eyes.
"In flesh, Valentine." Kaiba said, his mask snapping in place and his arrogance winning over. Mai just stared at him, and then stared some more until Kaiba decided that it was annoying him. "You know, it's rude to stare at others" he told he matter-of-factly. Mai opened her mouth to retort but then snapped it shut, blinked once more and laughed. Hard.
"Oh … My… God!" she managed between gasps for air and giggles. "The Seto Kaiba on..." gasp "…on" giggle "Elimidate?????" after say that she burst into another round of hysterics while Kaiba stared at her, unfazed because he already accepted the fact that he would have a heart attack by the end of the day .. so what if it would be a couple of hours earlier? Less for him to suffer. It seemed like forever before Mai finally got a hold of herself and was able to stand straight, giggling occasionally.
"What is so funny?" Kaiba asked coolly, trying to keep his hands from her neck. It would take so much to simply suffocate this insolent creature … With a sigh, Kaiba turned away from Mai to stare at nothing in particular.
"Kaiba," Mai began and straightened herself, trying to capture Seto's attention. "For your information, you being on Elimidate is the same as me winning a duel against Yami!"
"Why, when Yami is drunk, he looses everything …." Kaiba let his sentence hang there, watching as Mai turned a very bright shade of red and turned away.
"That was an accident," she puffed and crossed her arms over her chest.
"Sure it was. I mean, a guy asking you to find his balls happens everyday." Kaiba said sarcastically, remembering the End of the Battle City, before Isis's and Marik's departure, they threw a big party (and forced Kaiba to attend it) and most of them got drunk …. After that Yami was hurtling for an hour before Marik and Isis took that boat and the others left as well. From that day forward, Kaiba knew that you never give yamis any kinds of alcohol for it turns very ugly in the end and it's not the hang over part …
"You are such an arrogant ass" Mai said with annoyance, now thinking that this wasn't such a great idea as she first thought. This is going to be very complicated …
"Keep your little opinions to yourself" Kaiba snapped, his attention returning to Mai.
"For god's sake, Kaiba! Can't you just drop this?" Mai asked, looking around for other contestants even though she knew who they were.
"I drop nothing but losers from the competition" Kaiba said and his gazed fixed on something in the distance.
"God, you are so …"
"So….. what?" Kaiba shot back.
"Urg! Never mind!" Mai said with annoyance, her left eye starting to twitch. And to think, she had to spend the rest of the week with this pompous ass! God, why did she ever agree to this? What did she do to deserve this torture? Well, maybe she knew what she did, but that was beside the point.
"That's what I thought" Kaiba shot back dryly while watching a figure in the distance get closer and closer to where he and Mai were standing. From where he stood, he could already tell who it was and secretly, he was starting to guess who the other contestants will be as well …
"that's what I thought" Mai mimicked Kaiba's voice but it didn't look as charming with steam coming out of her ears.
"Oh, what's wrong, you've got a high fever?" Kaiba asked, turning away from the figure to stare at Mai.
"Shut up honey" Mai said, thinking that if this remark sent Joey into tantrums, it would work on Kaiba as well because in a way, Kaiba and Joey were so alike …
"I always knew that you were nuts, but to be talking to a product that isn't even present …." Kaiba trailed off, knowing that the comeback was lame.
"…"
"What?"
"Kaiba, tell me something," Mai began in a serious tone. "and I want you to be honest"
"Sure, whatever"
"Kaiba, when was the last time you saw a doctor?" she asked seriously, ignoring the figure that stood a couple of feet away from them. Kaiba didn't notice because he had his back turned to her.
"…" Kaiba sweatdropped but was saved by Tea who was tired of being ignored.
"HELLO!" she screamed, forcing the other two to take her into account.
"'Morning" Kaiba said in a monotone. Sure, he was thankful for being saved from Mai's question, but the idea of him spending this week with Mai and Tea sent a chill running down his spine. God, he was not looking forward to this week at all.
"Not a morning person?" Tea asked cheerfully. For her, the mornings were the best, especially when you wake up at the crack of dawn and watch the sun rise. The scenery is beautiful and it would always cheer her up even if she was in one of her gloomiest moods.
"No"
"You are the only morning person that I've known throughout my entire life." Mai spoke up for the first time after Tea's arrival.
"Mai?" Tea asked in confusion but when she finally registered Mai's presence, her face lit up. "This is wonderful! Isn't it? You came through with that dare!"
"Dare? What dare?" Kaiba asked.
"Oh, the dare that Mokuba gave us the last time he came to party over at Yugi's house!" Tea said and looked at Kaiba skeptically. "But why are you, of all people, entered the contest?"
"Mokuba." was Kaiba's monotone reply. His suspicions were becoming a very painful reality. He also knew that Mokuba will be thought a lesson when he'd be back. A lesson his brother would remember throughout his entire life because his little brother needed to grow up.
"Oh" Tea and Mai said at the same time. For some reason, just now, they both felt sorry for Kaiba. He was, after all, a person whose childhood was ripped away and thrown into garbage. It was deadly quiet after that, and they just stood there, lost in their own thoughts, everyone except of Kaiba.
"Who else is coming?" he demanded, snapping the two girls out of their trances.
"Serenity, Isis and Miho" Mai said automatically, without thinking. Kaiba just narrowed his eyes and thought about her automatic reply.
"How did you know?" he asked her, his eyes burning holes in her forehead.
"They were the once that were dared to come." Tea supplied an answer while Mai just blinked and sneezed.
"They might not complete the dare" Kaiba tried a different approach. Mai just shrugged and sniffed the air.
'Then it is their problem. Somebody else will come" she answered and sneezed again. Tea looked at her disapprovingly.
"Did you have any coffee in the morning?" the girl asked her sneezing friend.
"NO!" Mai practically screamed and tried to look serious with her muffled expression. It would've worked if she hadn't sneezed again.
"You know perfectly well that you are allergic to it!"
"That's a bunch of bullshit! I am not allergic!" Mai tried to defend herself and her coffee.
"So you admit that you drunk it in the morning?" Kaiba asked with a smirk. Mai opened her mouth to reply but what came out was another sneeze, by far the loudest of all. Tea just shook her head a sighed.
"When was the last time you took the medicine?" Tea asked but she already knew the answer. Mai's medicine was fed to her toilet the day she got it. That was Mai's way of protesting. A hopeless case, really.
"Hey!" Mai pouted. "That's private" sneeze.
"Doctors only bring trouble and tell you that you'll die tomorrow. Then when tomorrow comes they tell you that you are officially dead … and when you tell them that you are still alive, they tell you that you will die tomorrow …. Which is dumb" Kaiba said with a far away look in his eyes. "but you can't die, even if you try and they won't kill you even if you ask them to" Kaiba finished, leaving the others in silence. Even Mai stopped sneezing and just stared at the CEO who looked as if he just said a normal thing that everybody knew …
"Speaking from your own experience?" Tea asked carefully but got no reply and decided to drop the subject. They stood there for five more minutes or so it seemed when Isis arrived at the scene, looking slightly worn out.
"Hello" she said tiredly, looking up at Kaiba.
"Still missing your god card?" Kaiba smirked at the memory.
"No, Yami gave it to me." Isis answered and waved her had around. "Actually, he gave me every single one of them"
"Damn Yami" Kaiba muttered darkly under his breath. Why didn't the stupid pharaoh give him the god cards? He could make so much use to them. Damn Yami.
"Don't worry Kaiba, you still have your Blue Eyes." Mai said in a bored tone.
"True" Isis agreed with her fellow friend.
"Speak for your self" Kaiba muttered and turned away from them.
"Don't tell me that you lost them!" Tea exclaimed.
"Then I won't tell you." Kaiba said and they looked at him like he had just grown another head.
"You are not serious" Mai finally spoke, her eyes wider than sauce pans.
"I know." Kaiba said with a shrug and the others glared at him.
"That wasn't funny!" Isis said, her voice finally returning to her.
"Not my fault that you are so gullible." Kaiba said with a shrug of his shoulders.
"Kaiba, be polite!" Isis scolded at him, shaking her head.
"Why would I want to do that? I can't possibly be polite. This is just the way that I am so deal with it" He said it in a cold tone.
"Do you, by any chance, have a popsicle shoved up your ass?" Mai asked sarcastically.
"Why Valentine, I guess that you do, not me, because I do, after all, belong to male species." Was Kaiba's reply as Mai blushed slightly, steam coming from her ears.
"Cold-hearted bastard" Mai muttered darkly under her breath, trying to think of a better way to cut a man who was standing in front of her at the very moment. All of those fantasies ended up with Kaiba's head being cut off and put on the dinner table instead of a turkey for thanksgiving. It would surely do the world a lot of good to free it from this cold blooded bastard.
"Ya, that's what Kaiba Corp. workers call me as well." Kaiba said thoughtfully, earning weird looks from the girls.
"He is scary like that" Tea told Mai quietly. Unfortunately, Kaiba heard it.
"Wanna see something really scary?" Kaiba asked with a smirk. Tea gulped.
"Sure" she said in a squeaky voice. The next thing she knew was her swaying from side to side, trying to fight the gravity as Kaiba gave her a very toothy grin. Mai almost fainted and Isis's mouth dropped to the ground. No one could say a word, they were too shocked.
"Scary stuff?" Kaiba said with his usual smirk in place. The girls just numbly shook their heads, trying to register his actions. Kaiba was 'very' scary when he smiled a toothy smile! They weren't even cold anymore but they were very scared. Kaiba was a psycho, officially.
"You are very, very weird" Mai said, shaking her head. Kaiba laughed.
"Pegasus is weirder." Kaiba replied with annoyance.
"That's because he is gay" Isis supplied. Everyone looked at her with wide eyes. "What?"
"How do you know?" Tea asked, curious.
"I am a good friend of his and a work colleague. I know him well." Isis replied with a far-away smile. The others inched away from her. At the same moment, Serenity chose to make her self known.
"Good morning everyone." She said softly, looking up to Kaiba. She was the shortest and only reached up to Kaiba's chest. Damn, she hated being this short.
"Hello." Kaiba said, recognizing Jo… mutt's sister.
"Um, what are you doing here?" she asking him innocently and he sweatdropped.
"Isn't it obvious?" Kaiba asked, raising his eyebrow.
"He is here for the competition …" Mai supplied quickly, giving Serenity a warm smile.
"Oh." Was all that Serenity said and just kept on starring at Kaiba. Kaiba, being the impatient person he is, got tired of it pretty quickly.
"Take a picture." He snapped and turned away, trying to see the last contestant. If it was Miho then he didn't know how he would survive. He didn't like her and couldn't possibly tolerate her presence at all. He was starting to get annoyed with this Serenity girl as well because she just kept on staring at him. "What is it?" he snapped his attention back to her.
"Northing," she said and shook her head. "You just don't seem like a person who would play this game, therefore the only answer that I could come up with is that you were entered into this against you free will" she said simply and turned away. Kaiba stared at her with an open mouth.
"She is training to be a physiatrist or something …" Isis answered Kaiba's unspoken question.
"Good work kid" was all that Kaiba could say and to cover up for his words he added, "You mind readings were correct. Did a tooth fairy tell you that?"
"No" was her simple reply and Kaiba decided to drop the subject. He just wasn't in the mood for doctors. They were weird.
"So we are waiting for Miho?" Tea asked curiously.
"Yes." was Kaiba's sharp reply. Maybe they didn't realize it but he already knew why they all entered and it wasn't just some stupid dare. The skill that he had with people told him so.
"Where is she then?" Mai asked.
"I am not psychic you know!" Kaiba shot back. "Ask Serenity, she is the psychopath here." After hearing his words Serenity sweatdropped.
"Not really" she said carefully but then she suddenly stopped moving, staring past Kaiba with a hanging mouth. Kaiba, curious at nature, turned around to look at the thing that caught her attention and felt his own jaw hit the ground. He could barely stand. This was his worst nightmare-came-true.
"Kaiba-Boy!" Pegasus stood there, wearing a dress, make-up, a huge hat and making kissing sounds. Kaiba thought that if he ever wanted to kill himself, now was the right time. The faster he managed to murder himself, the better it will be. God, Pegasus was there, PEGASUS!
(Lilo: 3300 words … and I think that I will keep it at that. The previous two chapters were 2000 words each (plus, minus a couple) but I want the chapters to be longer. Also note that I might not update soon because I missed a lot of school and now have to go there and catch up. That sucks royally but the good part is that the holidays are coming and I am pretty happy^_^ I'll probably update this story every two days throughout my Christmas break. Dunno, just feel like it. Anyways, that's all I gotta say and let us hope that I can catch up in school x_x
Marikue: this chapter carries no offence to doctors! Anyways, R&R)