Rehabshipping (Seto x Yugi x Anzu)
(One that I missed that I'm popping back into place. There seems to be a lot of those...)
Seto Kaiba was in an especially foul mood this morning. And the biting cold wind didn't help.
It was a freezing January in Domino City, and passersby bustled along with their heads down and their noses buried in scarves, hands shoved in their pockets because gloves weren't enough to block the piercing wind. The weather, however, was only one of Seto's complaints, although perhaps not the least of them. He hated any occasion that forced him to wear something other than his custom made white or purple coat. The way it fanned made him look impressive, intimidating, made people take a second look. But in his double layered trench coat, he looked just like anyone else on the street. The stupid coat wasn't even really helping against the cold.
He bent his head against the wind and continued stalking down the sidewalk, refusing to move aside for people coming towards him, making them walk around him. In his pocket he crumpled the small piece of paper that was the root of his irritation. He half considered throwing it in a trashbin, but his fingers clawed deeper into it, and he got some strange satisfaction from strangling it.
Somewhere behind him, he caught snippets of a conversation. Then,
"Kaiba-san!"
And he thought he couldn't get anymore irritable.
He didn't turn around, trying to pretend that he hadn't heard anything...but no such luck. The round face of Yugi appeared as he jogged over to catch up with Seto. Anzu also appeared, walking next to Yugi.
"Good morning, Kaiba-san!" Yugi said. "What are you doing out here?"
Seto tried to calculate how long Yugi would wait for an answer before they left him alone. He came to the conclusion that nothing would shake Yugi off his tail, and it didn't make him any happier.
"Car froze," he grunted. "I'm going home."
"In the middle of the day?" Anzu said, raising an eyebrow. "Wow, who are you? I thought you were glued to your desk until midnight."
Seto glared sourly at Anzu, but she only grinned back.
"Is something wrong?" Yugi asked.
He actually looked worried, his eyebrows up turned. If anything, it only made Seto feel even angrier.
"No," he growled. "Nothing is wrong."
Anzu and Yugi exchanged a glance.
"So..." Anzu said. "KaibaCorp receiving two bomb threats isn't wrong?"
Seto stopped dead in the street. He stared at the two of them: the tall, mature looking girl, and the short, child-like boy.
"How the hell do you know about that?" he said.
He crumpled the paper in his hand within his pocket.
"Mokuba might have said something," Yugi admitted. "He heard that I – or, well, the other me – did something about the Playing Card Bomber, and he asked if I knew anything about this new serial bomber."
"Nothing has happened to KaibaCorp, and nothing will," Seto said firmly. "No bomb is getting through my security."
"Which is why you had the whole building evacuated both times right after receiving the threats," Anzu said. "Honestly, I guess I'm just glad that you actually care enough about your workers to evacuate."
Seto glowered at her, but she only raised an eyebrow back.
"Was there another one, then?" Yugi said. "Is that why you're going home."
"This is none of your business," Seto snapped.
He started to stalk forward again. Yugi jogged to catch up.
"Kaiba-san, wait a minute," he pleaded. "If there's a bomb threat to KaibaCorp, you could get hurt. I'm worried."
"Why do you care?"
"Well, we're friends, aren't we?"
Seto snorted. The two tagalongs didn't stop walking with him. Damn, at this rate...
"Kaiba-san," Anzu said. "Do you know anything at all about the bomber? Maybe we could help – or, maybe Yugi could."
"I don't need help," Seto snapped. "I have enough leads – this so-called serial bomber will be behind bars within the week."
"Really? That's great!" Yugi said, brightening. "See, Anzu, I told you Kaiba-san would already be thinking about it."
"Then you know I don't need your help," Seto said.
He tried to break away from the group. Yugi and Anzu didn't follow him as he headed toward the road.
"Kaiba-san," Anzu called softly. "Mokuba is really, really worried about you."
Seto hesitated.
"He's afraid," she said. "That's why he told us. Because he's afraid...that you'll get hurt."
Seto didn't turn around. But he looked down, examining the sidewalk. He didn't start to cross the street.
"Mokuba never gets to see you smile, you know," Anzu said.
"Okay, okay, I get it," Seto said, groaning at the back of his head. "Just...forget it. It's not like I'm going after the bomber right now. I'm letting the police handle it."
"Really?" Yugi said. "Great! So you can come with us to the arcade."
Seto blinked. Then he glanced over his shoulder.
"...what?"
Yugi smiled, somewhat mischievously. It looked odd on this Yugi's face – it would have been more appropriate for the other Yugi.
"I'm challenging you," he said. "I'm challenging you to play arcade games. I heard there's a Duel Monsters fighting game..."
"I know, I've already played it," Seto said, rolling his eyes. "Yugi, I have the top score on every single game in that arcade. What makes you think I want to challenge you at those stupid things?"
"I don't see KAI emblazoned on DDR," Anzu said, grinning. "So not every game, huh?"
"Oh, please. DDR isn't even a real game," Seto said.
"Come on, come with us," Yugi said. "I'll tell Mokuba to lock you out of your office if you don't."
Seto growled at the back of his throat. Then he shook his head.
"Fine," he said. "But I'll wipe the floor with you. We'll see how you handle that, Mr. King of Games."
"Challenge accepted," Yugi said cheerfully.
"I bet I could beat you at DDR," Anzu said under her breath.
The group headed towards the arcade on the other side of the street, Anzu and Yugi chattering at each other, Yugi explaining some of the games to Anzu when he mentioned one that she hadn't heard of before. Seto rolled his eyes, wondering how he had gotten stuck with them.
But he tightened his grip on the piece of paper in his pocket. It was written on the back of colored slip detailing the possible items you could get in a capsule game: little chibi ninjas in various colors and designs. Seto knew for a fact that those were only available in one arcade in all of Domino – and, in fact, in the world. Even these slips were considering collectors items, selling for a high price – however, they were obscure to most of the population.
That, with some other evidence, had led Seto to his conclusion. His mysterious bomber frequented the arcade. He had been headed there anyway.
He smirked inwardly. Seto Kaiba, the target of the bomb threats, arriving at the arcade alone would attract the suspicion of the bomber. But Seto Kaiba along with Yugi Mutou? That would be normal.
You'll be in jail before I beat Yugi in Duel Monster Fighters.
A/N: I dunno. Kinda weird, but I liked it. I thought I'd leave it at something of a cliff hanger. :) Next is Regresshipping (Pegasus x Cyndia x Pandora x Cadeline).
