I've made it to chapter one! And I have six wonderful reviewers to thank for it! A special thanks to Jieli, who pointed out a grevious spelling error. It should be fixed by now!

Note: this chapter is taking place right after Yugi's duel with Bakura. Dialog is not from the episode, but it should follow the general direction of the actual dialog. If anyone knows of a site with Battle City ep recaps, I'd be grateful for a link. Or if you have them all memorized, I'd be happy for a chance to ask many questions!

Chapter One: Headaches

If Kaiba had known the price of Obelisk the Tormentor was, in essence, living with Yugi and his merry band of followers, he would have taken the card's name more seriously. Yes, he would have accepted the card regardless, but the headache it caused was getting ridiculous. He should have seen this coming, though, when he had left Isis at the museum with his head pounding like a jackhammer.

Now he was standing before the geeks, watching with disinterest as they each took a turn to yell at him.

"Kaiba, you bastard! Ryou needs to get to a hospital, now!" Jonouchi yelled, his eyes blazing in anger. Normally, at this point someone would tell Jonouchi to calm down. No one did.
Apparently, they all agreed with the mutt.

Kaiba's headache spiked. They had all been wearing matching glares aimed at him ever since Bakura had collapsed and he had refused to land the blimp.

Honda stepped forward. "Get it through your head! We're not going to play your stupid games while our friend is hurt. Land this blimp now." The last words were spat at him, full of
venom. That was it, Kaiba thought. If these dorks couldn't figure it out for themselves, he wasn't going to tell them. In fact, he was leaving…

A tug on his sleeve made him look down. Mokuba was looking up at him with imploring eyes. Of course his little brother wanted him to explain everything to the other duelists. Why Mokuba wanted him to make peace with his rivals was beyond him. Why couldn't Mokuba accept that they hated him? Kaiba paused as the pain spiked
again. Unfortunately, another geek took that opportunity to step up to the plate. It was the mutt's sister.

Kaiba raised an eyebrow. What did Shizuka have to add? He couldn't imagine her soft voice raised in anger, so he turned to her. With arms crossed and glare full-throttle, he waited.

What Shizuka did next surprised Kaiba; she bowed to him. She bowed deeply, her hair falling down around her face and hiding her eyes from him. The act of supplication seemed natural to
her: graceful and unforced. Everyone was looking at Shizuka, so no one noticed Kaiba tense. He didn't like where this was headed.

"Please, Kaiba," Shizuka said without straightening. "Please land the blimp. Bakura needs a doctor. He needs you to get him to a doctor. Please help him."

Kaiba clenched his fists and tore his gaze from the girl. He was thoroughly pissed off, but he kept it from his voice. When he spoke it was in his usual cold and uncaring manner. "I have my own medical team here on the blimp. It's composed of the best doctors from around the world, so Bakura is better off here. Any problems?" With that he turned on his heel and left the room. He could hear Mokuba further explaining and smoothing things over with Yugi. Kaiba closed his eyes and walked faster until he was out of earshot.

'Are they all idiots? Did none of them consider that on an aircraft with duelists, chefs, engineers, security guards, and my little brother there might be a medical emergency? I planned this
tournament down to the last detail, and I am prepared for anything.'

He kept walking as light footsteps hurried to catch up to his. 'About time Mokuba left them. Who knows what kinds of things he'll pick up around Yugi…' He reached his door and went inside. The footsteps stopped suddenly, and Kaiba turned around.

"Mokuba, what-" He froze as he saw Shizuka standing at his door. She had her hands clasped in front of her, looking very young and nervous. When she didn't explain herself, Kaiba snarled. "What the hell do you want?"

"May I come in?"

"No." Just by standing at his door she was intruding on his privacy. Only Mokuba was allowed in here, and she should have known that. Angry at her audacity, he felt a spark of satisfaction when she flinched as he strode towards her. "I guess I'm not speaking slowly enough for you. What do you want?"

Now he was standing at the door, and she was backed into the hallway. With any luck, the mutt would come and take her away from him. He had a duel to prepare for.

"I want to know what I did to offend you."

Kaiba didn't miss a beat. "You all offend me with your sheer idiocy."

"No," Shizuka stared up at him, a familiar fierceness returning to her eyes. "You would have watched us all make fools of ourselves, but somehow I offended you and you ended your game. What did I do?"

He frowned at her before turning back to his room. "I already told you: you all offend me."

"No." On instinct she touched his arm to keep him from leaving. He pulled away as if burned, but turned his attention back to her. "Why are you so angry at me?" She asked.

"Tell me, do you grovel to anyone? Or do you just think me a fool who needs his ego appealed to instead of his reason?"

"You're mad because I bowed?"

His hands clenched into fists again, and he stuck them in his pockets as he leaned closer. "At least the others had enough respect to speak honestly! But you thought flattery – a few pretty lies – would win me over. It's a disgusting tactic, one used by the most unskilled employees. They can't earn their way to the top, so they resort to petty ass-kissing." Something soft brushed against his hand, and he grabbed it in his fist.

"I was just being polite!"

"No, you were sucking up! I expected more from you!"

He realized what he had said the same moment he remembered the bandage. Pulling it from his pocket, he tossed it towards the startled girl. He knew that she, too, had grasped the
implications of his words. As if spurred by his anger, his headache blossomed behind his eyes and darkened his vision. He stepped back into his room and hit the button that shut the door just as the dizziness washed over him. He slid down the wall, leaning his head against the cool surface. Beneath the ringing in his ears, he could hear male voices outside the door. Honda and Otogi, his brain provided, but he could care less at the moment. Only when all three sets of footsteps had faded away was Kaiba able to unclench his fists.