A/N: Yay! Chapter two! Who was the strange person in the Game Shop? Well, I suppose he does act a bit strange in this chapter, but he's not a stranger…
Willowwind: Yes, you know all. You even know how to spell necessary without the use of the spell check. If that's not all, I don't know what is. Anyhoo, enjoy the chapter, I think you'll like Mokuba's 'daring rescue'…
Scooby2408: Yeah, but you can't spell fantastic. :P Even I can spell fantastic. laughs Anyhoo, I think you'll enjoy this… You already know what happens in the Game Shop to some extent, but I think you'll find this version a lil' more interesting then the original…
Disclaimer: Teenage Mokuba (the person) and all the other members of the YGO cast belong to some other lucky bugger. Teenage Mokuba (the idea) is mine, oh, and I should probably say that my little sister likes to think young Mokie is hers, before she hurts me… She's probably gonna hurt me for typing that. Or try to. Midget.
Anyhoo, let's get back to Mokuba, who, in the last chapter, found himself stuck in 'One of those days'…
Two: Sweet Sixteen, and a Spanner
Mokuba rested his head against a grimy window, sighing as the bus pulled away again. One more stop, and he could finally go home. And explain to Seto why he had two detentions to serve, conveniently, at the same time. (From the Headteacher and the history teacher). He hoped his brother would have a bright idea on how to do two at once- he had already tried to change one but had been told: 'Detention does not happen at your convenience, Mr Kaiba'.
So unless Seto stopped laughing long enough to help him, he was kinda screwed.
"Hey, Kaiba!" A boy called from the seat behind him. "Don't you have work today?"
"Yeah…" Mokuba said, remembering.
"Then shouldn't you have got off back there?" Mokuba blinked for a second then realised that he spoke the truth.
"Bollards!" He yelled, jumping up and ringing the stop button. "You could've told me before!"
The boy merely shook his head as Mokuba ran the length of the bus and jumped off, apologising to the disgruntled driver. That kid was so forgetful… How on Earth was he planning to run Kaiba Corp.?
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
After school three times a week and occasionally on Saturdays, Mokuba helped out at the Game Shop. The story is a strange one.
Mokuba was all set to inherit Kaiba Corp.. However, this quickly got around, and kids being the way they are, things were tough. Even the teachers were in on it: 'For those of you who don't have a cushy office job all lined up for you…'. The entire school was laughing, or gossiping at Mokuba's expense. What was the point of him being in school when he was just going to inherit Kaiba Corp., and be a partner in it as soon as he left?
Privately, both Mokuba and Seto agreed with them, but it wasn't worth the hassle. Finding the work easy, he excelled at pretty much everything and rarely found a challenge in it. By working hard, he impressed the teachers by being willing to work even though he technically didn't need to, and Mokuba seemed like such a decent kid that pretty much everyone laid off him.
Those who did not had to find the next thing to pick on him about. And the one they chose was his wealth.
Gradually, the 'joke' spread, and soon people were becoming jealous again, and rather bitter. They once again began to see Mokuba as a show off, though he did absolutely nothing to bring this view about. Previously, he had brought pretty much whatever he wanted without major hassle. Soon it became clear that this would not make life easier.
So, Mokuba found out what allowance most people got, figured out the average, and presented the idea to Seto. Who wasn't impressed, but went along with it anyway. From then on, Mokuba received a fairly average allowance.
And quickly discovered that this wasn't nearly enough.
So, like so many kids his age, he got a part-time job.
At the Game Shop.
Seto hadn't been particularly thrilled by that concept either. However, he eventually caved in. When Mokuba got an idea in his head, it just wasn't worth the bother of trying to stop him.
Besides, by the time Seto was told where exactly his brother was working, Mokuba had been there three months.
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
Arriving at the Game Shop, Mokuba glanced down at his watch, wondering if he was late. He wasn't. Good. Exactly half an hour after the shop opened.
Or usually opened, anyway. In the heat of the summer, it was easy to tell weather or not the shop was open, because the door was always flung open wide. Or it normally was, anyway. Mokuba approached the shop, sensing something was up, and peered through the shining glass window, between a sign advertising Magic the Gathering and details of someone's lost cat.
What he saw inside the gloom of the shop startled him, making him leap back, heart pounding. Yugi and some guy were in there.
And the other guy had a knife.
He had been leaning over, attempting to stab Yugi through!
Mokuba cast about him desperately, looking for something, anything he could use to help. And he saw it.
Running across the road in complete disregard of the traffic, Mokuba reached the bank oppisite. The shop front was being done up, and so it was covered in scaffolding. (The workers themselves were nowhere to be seen surprise, surprise) And lying on the scaffolding, waiting for him, was a large spanner.
Mokuba swung the spanner experimentally. It wasn't bad. And considering that he was the lead batsman whenever the school team ended up in a rounders match, (A/N: Like a simpler, friendlier version of baseball, those of you who are American-ised) his hastily thrown together plan may just work.
What was he doing! Standing around like this! There wasn't any time to spare!
Mokuba dashed back across the road, heart thumping. His plan wasn't elegant. It wasn't even smart. But it might work. Pausing only briefly in a fleeting attempt not to set the bell on top of the shop door jangling (a failed attempt, but hey, he tried), Mokuba leapt into the Game Shop and got the knife-wielding manic square in the back of the head with the spanner.
The guy sunk like a rock.
Now, Mokuba was not one who usually played the hero. He was laid back and rarely angry or stressed about anything. (Except on days like today when everything went wrong). He had only got into a fight once, when someone started to insult his dead parents. And now, here he was, saving his soon-to-be employer, (When Grandpa retired! Huzzah!) who appeared to be unscathed, from some jerk with a knife!
Mokuba felt proud for approximately half a second until he saw the look on Yugi's face.
"Mokuba." Yugi asked, deceptively calm. "Why have you just jumped into the shop and knocked him out with a spanner?"
"Well…" Mokuba said, shifting uncomfortably as he began to get the feeling he'd just seriously cocked up. "…He was threatening you with a knife, so I… ahem…knocked him out with a spanner…"
"Ah." Yugi said, bending to check the guy was still breathing. "Did you stop to look who you were hitting?"
"Oh…" Mokuba trailed. He looked down, and recognised the guy on the floor.
"Oh!" He repeated in surprise.
One of those days… But why did all this stuff have to happen at once!
Thankfully, when he woke up, Ryou was very good about the whole affair, and actually seemed to find the entire episode rather amusing.
Or maybe that was the concussion.
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
The Game Shop's sign read closed, as Yugi hadn't bothered to open it yet. As all the prospective customers were in school, there wasn't much point. So, he was trying to get some of his coursework done. He was never gonna finish this essay…
Suddenly, the shop door opened, the small bell above it tinkling into the silence of the room.
"Sorry, we're closed…" Yugi muttered, trying to figure out what the question meant, not yet even attempting to figure out how to answer it.
"Oh well." The person sighed. "Maybe I'll come back later…Tell me, is the music shop still where it was before?"
Yugi looked up the second he recognised the voice.
"Huh! But you…"
"Are looking for the music shop?" The man guessed, grinning, before returning his friend's exuberant greeting.
"Ryou!" Yugi said eventually "What are you doing here? I thought you were travelling!"
"I am!" Ryou shrugged "We were in Korea, so we figured we'd take a little detour and come see you guys! So, what have you been doing? How is everyone?"
"Nothing of interest, but everyone's fine… Joey and Mai have left town."
"Really? Where are they?"
"Uh-uh. You're the one who's been half way round the globe! You have to tell your stories first!"
"You make it sound as though I'll have some to tell." Ryou said mysteriously.
"Don't give me that!" Yugi pouted, pocking him in the side. Ryou was still way taller then him. "You'd be-"
Just then, the lights sparked and went out, and the shop was plunged into an eerie twilight.
"Damn." Yugi cursed. "The fuse must've blown…" He scowled and bent over the fuse box at the back of the room. Then he shrugged sheepishly. "Would you believe… I have no idea how to change the things?"
Ryou laughed. "Here, I'll do it." He pulled a screwdriver seemingly out of nowhere, muttering to himself "Looks like you've got one of these things where you have to unscrew the front…" He leant over to do so, and had just worked the second screw out when Mokuba leapt into the shop and hit him over the head with a spanner.
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
"That's quite a swing you have." Ryou said good naturedly, accepting the bag of frozen peas off Yugi and pressing them to the growing lump on the back of his head. "Have you ever considered playing cricket?"
"Um… no…" Mokuba said, wondering if this interlude was going to cost him his job. And why Ryou was randomly bringing up cricket. "I don't understand how to play…"
Ryou considered him thoughtfully. "No…" he said eventually. "Neither do I… I wonder if anyone actually knows. I mean, I more or less know how to play Brokian Ultra Cricket, but that's more about smacking people round the head then…Whatever cricket's about. You'd be good at it, Mokuba."
Mokuba was saved from answering (and quite possibly another apology on his part) by the bell sounding in the shop. "I'll do it!" He volunteered "After all, I'm supposed to work here…"
"Tell them we're closed." Yugi sighed after him.
"Sorry, we're closed right now!" Mokuba called cheerily as he went out into the shop front "But if you come back later we…can…"
He trailed to a close as he saw the woman wasn't listening to a word he was saying, and was instead examining the shelf of gaming magazines near the front door.
He cleared his throat and tried again. "I said-"
"I heard ya, little buddy." The person said, putting the magazine back on the shelf. "Sorry." She apologised. Her accent was strange, but not place able to any particular country that Mokuba knew. Obviously foreign, at any rate. "I was just trying to read that mag there… Not easy, in the dark. Don't you people have lights?"
"Well…" Mokuba began uneasily. "The fuse kinda blew and…"
"Doesn't anyone know how to fix it?" The girl frowned. She was strangely dressed, in a flat cap covered in badges of flags from around the world, a statement that seemed oddly familiar… She also wore a long coat made of multi-coloured patches, that inevitably reminded Mokuba of Joseph and the Coat of many Colours from RE. Apart from that, the girl and her clothes were quite normal, just jeans and a shirt, slightly scruffy trainers, and long black hair.
"Fix it…Well, you see…" Mokuba decided not to explain what had happened and instead made up his mind to get back to the original point. "Look, I don't mean to be rude, but we're closed so…"
"Oh, sorry!" The girl said, covering her mouth. "I didn't mean to come off as rude, I just wanted to-"
It was at this point that Ryou and Yugi appeared to investigate.
"Find him." The girl completed, smiling as she pointed at Ryou.
"Jenna!" Ryou grinned back "Gosh, it's great to see you, I didn't know you spoke Japanese as well, are you done unpacking already?"
Jenna raised an eyebrow. "What's up with you?" She asked, taking in the bag of frozen peas he was still holding to his head, then shrugged. "On second thought, I don't want to know. And no, I'm not done unpacking. In fact, I haven't even started. All our baggage is left with that nice doorman in your apartment block."
Ryou blinked. "Really? What a nice man! I mean, you couldn't carry the bags round with you! They're heavy! You know, you must be really smart to think to leave them with him!"
Jenna sighed. "Look, I couldn't get into the flat because you didn't give me the keys, moron. You never forget anything else, why is it always keys?"
"Ah, Keys." Ryou sighed whimsically "Tricky little blighters. But you can't unlock doors without keys! Then you can't get into places! Well, you can if the door isn't locked, but you need a key if the door is! I know! I'll go and unlock the door and then we can get in! Because you can't get into the flat without the key, ya know!"
He ran out of the shop door.
Jenna blinked after him and sidled up to Yugi. "Okay, I give. What is up with him?"
"He got hit round the head with a spanner…" Yugi replied, glaring at Mokuba, who cringed.
"I should've known…" Jenna sighed, rubbing her forehead. "He's always like this when he's concussed." Then she blinked. "Oh, we were never introduced. I'm Jenna Notlaw, I travel with Ryou. And you're Yugi Motto." Yugi took the offered hand and shook it.
"That's right." He said. "How did you know?"
"I heard so much about you and the others, I practically know you all personally." Jenna dismissed, beginning to head out of the shop. "Well, I better go make sure he doesn't kill himself… It was nice meeting ya, Yugi, Kaiba."
"Wait!" Mokuba yelled. "How do you know my name?"
"I may have been travelling round the world, but I'm not totally blind!" Was Jenna's only response as she headed out. "Later!"
Yugi and Mokuba regarded each other. Eventually, Yugi sighed and rubbed his head.
"You may as well go home, Mokuba." He said. "There's not much point in opening the shop now… I think it's just one of those days…"
"You're telling me… Oh, Yugi… um… Do I still…?"
"No, Mokuba. You're not fired. Even though you really should be…"
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
The following afternoon, business was slow in the shop. So, Yugi had suddenly pulled out his old and well used deck, and announced that he would duel Mokuba.
Mokuba did have a deck, and out of habit he carried it round, but it had been years since it had been used. So it was with some surprise and happiness that he pulled out his deck and accepted the challenge.
When they were about half way through, Ryou entered the shop, still wearing his threadbare backpack. This time Mokuba registered the flag badges from the countries he'd visited pinned on it. That's why they had seemed familiar on Jenna's hat…
Speaking of whom, he found himself wondering yet again what kind of relationship Jenna and Ryou had. Were they just friends? Or were they…
Not wanting to interrupt the duel, Ryou sat down on the edge of the counter and pulled out a large hardback text book. Mokuba couldn't read the cover, but it looked very complicated. Ryou informed them he was trying to keep up with his own Uni course- he didn't want to forget everything during his year out. Mokuba noticed that he put on glasses to read. Evidently his eyes had got worse at some point during the time they hadn't seen him.
Mokuba held his breath, wondering if Yugi would notice…
He did.
"Oh no you don't!" Yugi yelled, "Stop cheating, you! Looking at what you'll draw next like that!"
"Well, I'm gonna have to cheat if I'm going to beat you…" Mokuba pouted. "How did you see?"
"I'm used to cheats." Yugi said. He nudged Ryou. "Before he left, Ryou here was always the worse for it…"
Ryou looked up in surprise, apparently having been completely absorbed in his book. Then he smiled.
"Hey." He defended "There is nothing wrong with a little cheating now and again…" He flipped the dust jacket off the front of his book to show them that underneath the text book cover, it was not the suspected text book and was, in fact The Lord of the Rings Complete Collection- Hardback Edition.
Mokuba laughed and Yugi shook his head.
"I would've thought you'd be sick of rings…" He said a little sadly.
"Believe me, I am." Ryou said, marking his page and slamming the heavy book shut. "Anyway, you were always the worst cheater out of all of us…"
"Huh?" Yugi blinked.
"You didn't even play your own duels." Ryou said mildly.
"Well, I guess that's true…" Yugi laughed slightly.
Mokuba was, by now, completely lost. He was about to ask for an explanation when the telephone rang. Yugi excused himself and a moment later his voice echoed out from the back of the shop.
"Hello, Game Shop… Oh hey! Good to… What? Oh yes? Look, just…"
Ryou raised his eyebrows as Yugi continued in this fashion. "So," he said eventually. "Where's Yugi's grandpa these days?"
"Goodness knows…" Mokuba groaned. "He's joined so many OAP clubs it's untrue…"
Ryou seemed to find this idea funny and laughed for a while as Yugi's voice continued to drift into the room.
"…Alright. Will do. Do you want me to as- Yeah, I will. Look, don't panic! I won't. Yeah. Yes, I have it. Yes! Look, just hang up! Trust me, already! …Alright. Thanks. You're welcome. Yes, bye… bye."
He reappeared.
"Guess who that was." He said.
"Joey." Ryou and Mokuba chorused. Evidently they'd both heard phone conversations with the blond before.
Yugi nodded. "Yeah. I haven't heard from him in a while. I was going to tell him you were here, Ryou, but he didn't let me get a word in edgeways, and now…" He grinned. "I have a much better idea."
"Oh no." Ryou said, smiling to show he was joking "I hate it when you're devious…"
Yugi grinned and gave them the low down of the conversation. "Well, here's the thing. It's Serenity's 16th on Friday, and Joey wants to take her out, but he can't book the restaurant and invite everyone without her hearing. So he asked me to do it."
"Sixteen…" Ryou muttered. "Goodness."
"Mai's already visiting him," Yugi continued. "So she's done. Plus Tristan, Duke, Téa and you two…"
"Me?" Both of them said.
"Sure!" Yugi smiled. "Ryou, you'll surprise everyone, and Mokuba… Well, Joey asked me to invite you, after all, you got on pretty well with Serenity at Battle city…"
Mokuba cringed. Did everyone know about that?
"Oh, and by the way…" Yugi said, heading out of the room again. "I activate Poison of the Old Man in order to do 800 points direct damage, bringing you down to zero."
Mokuba groaned and rested his head on the counter.
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
"When?" Seto asked.
"After school on Friday." Mokuba replied, crossing his fingers. He seriously didn't expect his brother to let him, especially with his seemingly personal feud against the Wheelers.
"Fine." Seto said.
"Oh…" Mokuba blinked in surprise. "Thanks Seto." He quietly left the room, leaving his brother to his work. That was easy.
Seto sighed in a mixture of discontent and relief. At least Mokuba would be out of the house when it all kicked off. He shut the E-mail and turned off his laptop. It was no use. For once in his life, and as much as he hated to admit it, he was completely at this jerk's mercy.
There was nothing he could do.
But sometime, there would be… and he'd be ready for the time when it came.
For now, he'd have to wait and hope he'd survive.
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
On Friday night, Serenity gave a cry of delight as she walked into the restaurant with her brother and Mai only to see all her friends, the ones she hadn't seen for so long, waiting for her.
Okay, some may argue that Yugi, Tristan, Téa and Duke were her brother's friends, but all that time ago they were there for her and if it wasn't for them, she'd be blind and quite possibly still trapped in a virtual prison. She had once been close to these guys, and she felt that bond spring up again now. Even Mokuba Kaiba had turned up. Now, there was a face she hadn't seen in a while.
After berating her brother for surprising her and finding out exactly how it had all been arraigned, Serenity sat down and felt very, very happy. For a moment, she wondered why Yugi had booked an extra seat, but it quickly faded away at the shouts of happy birthday and catching-up talks took over the table.
"I couldn't get hold of Ryou." Yugi said solemnly at one point. "Goodness knows where he is…"
"Probably up a mountain having a spiritual discussion with a three-legged goat." Duke dismissed, thus lightening the mood again considerably, especially as the scene described was so easy to imagine.
They were half-concentrating on the task of choosing food, but really more concerned with talk when it happened.
The celebratory chatter was in full swing when Ryou walked hurriedly over and sat down in the empty chair.
"Sorry I'm late!" He cried into the suddenly empty silence, he pushed a present over to Serenity. "You wouldn't believe how hard it was to find this place… Happy Birthday, anyway! May there be many more…" He looked round, apparently surprised at the shocked and staring faces.
"What?" He asked, his mouth twitching as he tried desperately to hold in a laugh. "What's up with you g-!"
As you can imagine, he was interrupted by Téa suddenly diving across the table and hugging him hard. This got the conversation going again, and by the time the food had arrived it was as though he'd never left.
That night was the most fun Mokuba had had for quite a while. And considering that his 'one of those days' had turned into 'one of those weeks', it was exactly what he needed to blow off steam.
They had finished eating and were now sitting round the table waiting for all the sugar they'd eaten to kick in and trying to muster the energy to leave.
"You know," Ryou began slowly "This reminds me of a time in France…"
The others groaned, and there were various voices telling him to shush. They had heard many of his traveller's tales that night, and every single one seemed to have an amusing twist. If he started again, they'd end up in another conversation for and hour or two. And the waiter was already glaring at them- They'd paid, why weren't they leaving?
All too soon, it was time to go their separate ways again.
"We'll have to meet up again soon." Joey said.
"Yeah." Téa agreed. "We left this way too long."
Mai was the first to leave. "Well, it's my flight back to France in a few hours." She sighed. "I better jet. See ya everyone! Enjoy your visit, Ryou!"
They saw her off, and everyone began to head back to their own cars. Mokuba had walked to the place right after school- he hadn't even had time to change out of his uniform; so now it looked like he was gonna have to walk in the dark.
"Hey, kid!" Duke yelled suddenly. "If you want a lift, hurry up! I'm going past your place anyway… So if you're coming, then come on!"
Mokuba shrugged and ran over to the car. Hey, even Duke's erratic driving would beat walking.
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
Mokuba lifted a hand in farewell as Duke's car spun off into the night, feeling a little relieved, not to mention nauseous. Next time Duke offered a lift, he'd decline.
Mokuba took a deep breath and looked up at the stars. At risk of sounding like Téa, even they seemed to shine more brightly that night. He'd had fun. And, in years to come, that would always be where he'd start his story, however irrelevant it was. He looked upwards once more, before beginning the long trek up the drive way to his home, not knowing what would await him there.
It was some minutes and some relief later that Mokuba fell through the doorway into the hallway of his home.
"Hey, Seto, I'm back!" He yelled. No answer returned from the dark house. Frowning, Mokuba shoved his door key into his pocket and tried again. "Seto?"
It was late, yes, but not so late that his brother would be asleep… if he ever slept that was. But it could easily be that Seto could be lurking somewhere in the depths of the extensive mansion and so couldn't hear him. Or, if he had gone out, Seto had a tendency of leaving notes in really obscure places where he though Mokuba would find them but in actual fact wouldn't. So, Mokuba began to scour the mansion in the hopes of finding his brother therein.
Half way through, he began to grow uneasy. No brother. And no lit rooms.
Three quarters of the way through, he was beginning to get scared. Still no brother. Still no lights. Still no sign that anyone had been there at all.
After checking all the rooms and having somehow finished on the first floor, Mokuba willed himself to stay calm. He needed to check everywhere again for a note, or try Seto's phone- though he usually got the busy signal. Heading down the main stairs, he began to try to remember all the strange places Seto tended to leave notes, when he saw one.
It was stuck to the back of the front door; he hadn't noticed it on the way in. Mokuba hurried down the stairs to read it , smiling because his brother had finally put a note in a place that he might see it…
The smile faded the second he read it. Mokuba backed away a little, as though the note itself might bite him, then shook his head, ran forward, flung the door open and rushed out into the black of the night. Maybe he was panicked, but he knew he couldn't stay there a moment longer.
As the front door slammed shut behind him, the note, the innocent piece of paper stuck to the door, came dislodged and drifted to the floor, glaring it's words up at the ceiling.
Opps. It said, in a writing that defiantly wasn't Seto's neat print. It wasn't even the elder Kaiba's rushed scrawl. Looks like we came at a bad time… Don't worry though, we got half of what we wanted. And we'll back for the other half later, so please make sure you're ready to be collected. Otherwise, what use will your brother be to us, hey? Thanks so much!
Innocent words used to portray a message that was anything but. In the silence of the empty Kaiba mansion, the words gloated into the darkness, waiting for someone to return and read them once again.
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
A/N: MWHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Bow to the power of the cliffie! Or you could all review and yell at me to update… Which may or may not happen on Friday. I have exams the week after next, so I have to revise. Plus I'm away on Saturday and Sunday so… But I'll try. After all, how cruel would it be to leave you all hanging through next week (Because of revision) the week after (because of exams) and the week after (to write the thing)? I'm not that cruel… but my school might be. I'll do my best folks.
Homework, coursework and exams all suck, in case no-one's noticed.