Disclaimer and notes: Woohoo! Call me butter, cuz I'm on a ROLL! This is, like, my tenth update or something! I'm so frickin' proud! Sure, a lot of 'em are kinda short, but WHO CARES! I'M UPDATING! Anyway, I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh, please enjoy.
Marik twirled the Millennium Rod in his fingers, looking completely disinterested in the pile of money that was placed before him. He looked at Seto Kaiba with even more disinterest, if that was even possible. In any case, it was pissing Seto Kaiba off. Badly.
"I'll pay you all that; I'll double it if you want," Kaiba insisted. "What will it take for you to give me that Rod?"
"And why do you want it so badly, Seto Kaiba?" Marik asked slyly. "Hmm? Go on, you can tell me." Kaiba pursed his lips. He was definitely irritated with the question, which meant he had a ridiculous reason. Probably something involving Ishizu.
"That is none of your business," the CEO replied through clenched teeth. "I'll ask again: WHAT will it take for you to give me that stupid stick?"
Marik sighed half-wistfully, but mostly he sighed to mock Seto Kaiba. "You know what I want. I want Yugi's puzzle. If I can have that, the Millennium Rod is all yours." He glanced at Seto Kaiba, who was once again frustrated. "Oh, but that's a no-no, isn't it? Ishizu said no puzzle." He grinned. "That's why you're here, isn't it? Ishizu told you to come get it, didn't she? And you went and played fetch like a good little boy, didn't you?"
Kaiba growled low in his throat and swiftly shut his briefcase. "I knew this was a waste of my time." He turned to leave.
"Now, now, Kaiba. I'll give it to you." The blonde Egyptian twirled the stick on his fingers once more, gazing at its every shine. "But, of course, not for free." Kaiba turned to him.
"Name your price."
"I don't want money, Seto Kaiba," Marik said. "And don't worry, I won't get you in trouble with Ishizu." He smirked, loving the irritated look on Kaiba's face. He was going to irk him all he wanted, because Seto Kaiba wanted the Millennium Rod. And if Marik couldn't have his fun…well, then Kaiba wouldn't get the item. It was as simple as that.
"What do you want from me?" Kaiba hissed at the annoying Egyptian.
"Weeellll…you do know I love hostile takeovers, right?" Marik grinned at the suspicious look spreading over Kaiba's face. "I'll cut to the chase. One-third of your company…mine." His grin spread further across his face as Kaiba's held on of shock and anger. "No share, no Rod. It's as simple as that."
"I am not giving you any part of my company!" Kaiba spat.
"Then no Rod."
Kaiba glared coldly at the Egyptian. Marik could tell that he was thinking very hard about this. Was this really worth his time? Would he regret this? Was his curiosity to powerful now for him to turn back? Finally his features seemed to relax into a decision. He nodded.
"You've got yourself a deal," he said.
HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
"And in other news," the reporter began, "CEO Seto Kaiba has given one-third of his company to one Marik Ishtar. The greater details as to why this transfer took place are still unknown. Marik had this to say—" Yugi turned off the TV.
"Why would Kaiba give a third of his company to Marik?" he said in disbelief.
"Something is wrong with this picture," Yami said thoughtfully. "Seto Kaiba must have wanted something very important from Marik to give him part of his company."
"What would that be, though?"
"I'm not sure. But I get the feeling that Ishizu might know."
"Should we go see her?"
There was a long silence. "Yes."
Um…I'm too lazy to write anymore. So…uh…I'll leave it there. Please review!
