Fate: Woot. The other chapter. A bit shorter, since it was all originally...one chapter. Er. Something like that.
Disclaimer: Go away.
[in which blaze is very happy]
Mokuba Kaiba quietly purred into the driveway and turned his motorcycle off. Hopping off the bike, he sauntered into the coffee shop and bellied up to the bar. "Good evening," he said to the redhead sitting next to him.
"Isn't it morning?" Lupita asked. "Aren't you Kaiba Mokuba?"
"That it is and that I am," Mokuba agreed. "We're concluding our business here tonight, you see."
Ruoko poked his head over Lupita's shoulder. "What, just you and us?"
Mokuba tapped his fingers idly on the counter top. "No, no, there should be several more people joining us soon."
"What is this, a party?" Ruoko demanded.
"Something like that," Mokuba said thoughtfully. "Oh, look, they're here."
"Better get some more," Ruoko muttered, reaching for the espresso machine.
Mokuba jumped down from the bar stool and walked over to the door. "Fancy meeting you here," he said to Mai and Jounouchi, who had both climbed out of the Bug's front seats.
"Mokuba-san?" A slender boy with pale silver hair and a heavy gold necklace scrambled out of the back seat after them. "Oh. Er. Hello."
Mokuba looked warily at Ryou. "Where's your other self?"
"Yo, gaki." [2] Bakura slung one arm around Ryou's waist and grinned, complete with fangs, less-than-sane look, and general evil aura. It didn't help that his stance also screamed psychotic boyfriend on the loose!
"Yo yourself," Mokuba shot back. "This everyone?"
"Hi there!" A tall blonde bounced out of the back of the car, completing the array. "You're Kaiba Mokuba? You're setting this up? I love you!" he finished, glomping the startled teenager.
"Blaze? Blaze, get down," Jounouchi said, putting a hand on his lookalike's shoulder and prising him loose.
"Aww." Blaze pouted, but let Mokuba go.
"Erm. Let's go inside, shall we?" Mokuba invited, holding the door open. Within a minute, the group had arranged themselves around Ruoko, Lupita, and the sleeping cashier.
"Is she dead?" Bakura asked, gazing at the cashier.
"No, yami."
"Can I kill her?"
"No, yami."
"Can I have some of that black stuff?"
"No!"
"Who cares what you think, yadonushi?"
"I'll break the espresso over your head if you don't stop trying to steal –ack!"
"You said you thought they might be cute?" Jounouchi muttered under his breath to Lupita.
"They are," Lupita said, staring in fascination at the tussling pair bonded by the Ring.
"Aren't they just?" Ruoko agreed.
"...shouldn't you be jealous, not agreeing with her?" Jounouchi inquired.
Ruoko shrugged and kept staring.
Mai looked at Mokuba. "Now would be the time for you to be a manipulative little bastard again."
Mokuba grinned at her from his perch on the counter. Then his expression froze as he looked past her to the driveway. "Everyone shut up," he said quietly.
Everyone shut up and stared at the now-opening door.
Seto Kaiba poked his head around it. "Mokuba?"
"Squerk," Jounouchi announced and began sliding under the counter.
"Hi, niisama," Mokuba replied with a wave. "How's things?"
"It's one in the morning," Seto said levelly.
"Yep," Mokuba agreed.
"And you've brought what looks like a college frat party with you," Seto added disdainfully.
"Oi!" Lupita said indignantly. Ruoko and Blaze both sighed dreamily. Bakura pulled a slip-sliding switch into "FUCK WITH ME AND DIE, MORTAL!" mode, Ryou squeaked and started sliding under the bar as well, and Jounouchi made a low snarling noise that sounded half furious and half pained.
Mai jumped to her feet and glared at Seto. "That's a fine reception for the people who're not only saving your sanity but giving your ego a nice boost."
"Who said anything about helping him?" Bakura demanded. "I'm in it because I hate sleeping on the fucking couch."
"We don't have a couch any more, yami. Remember?"
"...oh, right, I burned it."
"Uh huh."
"So why am I here?"
"Because I'll make you sleep on the fire escape if you don't."
"Oh. Right."
Seto stared at Bakura with an expression that said clearly, I almost let my brother get kidnapped by you? Not only once, but twice? He then cleared his throat and prompted, "Mokuba?"
"Right then," Mokuba began, jumping to his feet as well. "Seto? This is Blaze. Blaze, this is my brother, Kaiba Seto."
"Woot!" Blaze said inexplicably, and glomped Seto.
"Lucky bastard," Ruoko muttered. Lupita promptly smacked him across the back of the head with a growl.
"So why don't you take him out? There's some good movies on tonight," Mokuba said thoughtfully, a rather demonic gleam in his grey eyes. "Ooh, and you could go out and dance somewhere. You'll have to get changed though," he added to Seto, who was still looking somewhat disoriented to have a barely dressed blonde clinging bodily to him. "Or you could – "
"Oh, shut up, otouto," Seto retorted with a wave. "We're going, we're going. Be good. Don't shoot anyone. And don't send Moni-chan in to wake me up early if you value your miserable little life."
"Yes, sir!" Mokuba replied, snapping a salute.
"Right, we're off," Seto muttered, turning and heading out the door with Blaze still hanging on.
"Hey," Jounouchi spoke up, gazing straight at Seto.
"What?" Seto snapped, turning back around.
Jounouchi held up Mai's video camera innocently. "I seem to have accidentally recorded this...transaction."
"I'd call it charity," Blaze added.
"Mokuba!" Seto said desperately.
Having already anticipated this, Jounouchi was halfway across the room and hit the back door running before Mokuba could do more than pull his Magnum out and aim.
"You break it, you buy it," Mai said, examining her nails.
"We own the store," Seto said, looking exasperated.
"You thought I was talking about the store?" Mai demanded.
Seto looked thoroughly harassed, but didn't get to do more than look pissy before Blaze poked his face and pulled on the puppy eyes. "Se-toooo. Can we go yet?"
"Erm. Yes. Sure. Let's," Seto spluttered as Blaze finally detached himself and started dragging the CEO out of the shop. "Mokuba, put the gun away."
"Aww," Mokuba pouted, flicking the safety back on and shoving it back in his jeans.
Bakura looked at him skeptically. "How the hell do you fire that thing without getting knocked on your ass, gaki?"
"Shut up," Mokuba retorted. "Don't forget the condoms, Seto-niichan!" he added sweetly as his brother edged out the door.
"I know where you live!" Seto yelled as he hustled into his limousine.
"Not for the next two weeks, you don't!" Mokuba shot back as the door slammed. He then looked plaintively at the rest. "I'm going to the island early so I don't have to listen to them foffing night and day."
Ruoko choked on his espresso and had to be whacked across the back by Lupita a couple times. Bakura made to "assist", but was smacked across the head by Ryou before he could do more than look thoroughly intrigued by the seeming violence.
"Oh, hang on, that's right," Mokuba added, fishing in his pockets. "Here. You and you," he added, flipping what looked like a small, shiny coin at Ryou and Mai. "Oh, and you can have one too," he added to Bakura. "But only if you swear on Ryou-san's life that you won't kidnap me, trap me in a card or gaming piece, use me as a bartering piece, strangle me, suck out my soul, stab me, cut me, poison me, drag my corpse around, steal things from me – "
"Christ, gaki, I get the fucking picture!" Bakura exploded. "Give me the damn shiny thing, will you?"
"Hn. See if I'm nice to you during the tournament," Mokuba sulked.
"You know, I think they're flirting," Mai said to the shop at large.
Mokuba squeaked, "I am not!"
Bakura shrugged. "I want another shiny thing. Give," he ordered, toying with Ryou's Ring idly.
"I don't suppose I get one, now, do I?" Jounouchi asked, poking his head back in the door.
Mokuba went for his Magnum again. "I'll trade it for the videotape."
Jounouchi gave him a long look. "There isn't a videotape. Look." He popped the camera open to show a lack of memory cartridge or tape. "I'm fucking with your brother's mind because I can't stand the sorry bastard. Nothing personal or anything. He's just a complete and utter dick."
"Uh huh. Nothing personal. Sure." Mokuba looked unconvinced. He crossed the room, glanced out into the alleyway, surveyed Jounouchi for a long moment, then sighed. "Well, it does seem like your type of thing to do."
"Hey, now how would you know anything like that?" Jounouchi demanded.
Mokuba rolled his eyes and began counting on his fingers again. "Duelist Kingdom, Battle City, my other brother – "
"Can you stop making lists of all your damn grievances?" Bakura demanded.
Ryou elbowed him in the ribs. "Oh, shut up."
"I most certainly will not! I have to listen to the yadonushi whining all the time about all he goes through, and – mrrph!"
Cue the ostrich egg-sized sweatdrop.
"If we're done here?" Mokuba said with a sigh, "I'll be more than happy to hand over the other two Brands."
"The whats?" Jounouchi asked, accepting his.
Mokuba held out his left hand and pulled the glove off of it, displaying a shiny black disc implanted both on the palm and the back of his hand. "Brands. They superficially resemble each other, but there are variations in the colouring that indicates the privileges of the Branded individual. Seto and I both have black ones. There's four in a stack. They attach to either side of both hands like so," he added, tapping the shiny circles on either side of his hand. "No lasting damage or pain or anything. Holographic projection is contained in them. Gold for well-recognized champions, silver for those who aren't as recognized but are returning to one of our tournaments, and bronze for those who we recruited from other tournaments."
Jounouchi and Mai both eyed their gold circles with no small amount of trepidation.
"Hey, hey, wait," Ryou said, holding up one Branded hand. "What's the red for?"
"Oh, right," Mokuba added. "Red for people Seto knows are completely bonkers and who he thinks will make it to the final rounds anyway."
"Well, thanks," Ryou sulked.
"At least you're special," Mokuba pointed out.
Bakura was busily entertaining himself by watching the Brands on either hand catch the light. "Oooh, shiny..."
"And you've all got yours about a week early, too," Mokuba added. "Practice away. I've got to make some more runs to the other gold and red Brands. Seto wants those ones out as fast as he can."
Ryou and Bakura exchanged glances. It was pretty similar to the glances Jounouchi and Mai were exchanging, only there was a slightly deranged edge that the blondes didn't have.
Well, they did get screaming red Brands.
"I suppose I ought to be off, then," Mokuba added with a sigh, tugging his glove back on and heading for the door. "I'll see you in two weeks!"
"Fun," Mai said as the dark-haired boy hopped onto his bike and roared away. Then she blinked and turned to Jounouchi. "Where'd you put my memory card?"
Jounouchi rooted around in one of his pockets, then produced the memory card and tape. "There. Kaiba being glomped by Blaze, in fully coloured glory."
"You're sadistic. I like you," Bakura announced. "Maybe I won't kill you to get you out of my way."
"You'd better not, or you're on the fire escape for the rest of bleeding eternity," Ryou snapped.
"Fuck! Okay, okay, fine! Be a bitch about it, why don't you?" Bakura sulked.
"I vote we go and download this," Mai said, hopping off the stool. "Now that everything's resolved and all, that is."
"Looks pretty resolved to me," Lupita said, stretching. "Ruoko, let's go out again. I'm wired so badly I think my bones are shaking."
"Yeah, sure," Ruoko agreed, slithering down off the stool. "Let's all clear out."
"Anyone want a ride?" Mai asked.
Jounouchi and Ryou both put their hands up. After a beat, Bakura glanced up. "Huh?"
"Right, we're off," Ruoko said, slinging an arm around Lupita's waist and holding the door open. He tossed a handful of cash onto the bar as an afterthought.
"Yami, you can't steal that."
"Why not?"
"Because I said so. You can work the crowd at the club tonight."
"Promise?"
"Promise. Hey, hey, get your hands out of there!"
"I'm just practising!"
"You are so not practising! Eeeep! Yamiiiiii!"
"Aww," Lupita said. "Aren't they adorable?"
"Puppies and kittens," Mai answered in a doom-laden voice, prompting a snicker from Jounouchi.
Watching Ruoko and Lupita drive away, a sudden thought hit Mai like...well, like a rather nasty sudden thought.
I'm not going to see Jounouchi again after this, am I? She half-smiled to herself at her idiocy. Now why would I think that? And why would it matter? It happened once already...
...it would matter, wouldn't it.
...well, damn.
Damn those sudden thoughts. Always trying to screw with her 'happily ever after' scenarios.
A quick flash of movement caught her eye.
"Jounouchi-kun?"
"Yeah?"
"Tell me I didn't just see Otogi-san snogging in a dark alleyway with some crazy man holding a harpoon." [3]
"...I need to wash my eyes out now."
Yep. Happy ending this night is not. Where are my eyedrops?
Fluffy: [2] Gaki means kid, or brat. We figure that what with all the time Bakura and Mokuba spend together (one or the other usually being unconscious at the time, but whatever), at least one of them would have developed some sort of unpleasant nickname for the other. Basically, Bakura's being his usual random self. And [3]: Be happy, Shinnyu Kudzu. Happy! XD
Duel: Didn't I tell you to review last chapter?