Antagoshipping (Kaiba Seto/Yami no Bakura)

. . .

"Don't tell me that you don't want to play, Kaiba."

The way that Kaiba's face twisted with rage was enough to make the last four months of preparation entirely worth it. Bakura felt a grin spreading over his face, and he had to lick his lips with the anticipation of it. Even the air tasted heady with the tension.

Bakura stood lightly on the balls of his feet, arms loose—he had no doubt that Kaiba would make a lunge for the unconscious younger brother behind him if he thought he had the chance, and Bakura was ready for it.

"You have me on the goddamn roof," Kaiba snarled. "What else do you want?"

"Have some patience, Kaiba," Bakura laughed. "Wouldn't it be terrible if my hands slipped?"

He gestured behind him to the Solid Vision Diabound hovering over Mokuba, its fangs inches from the boy's neck. Kaiba looked deliciously white in the face, his face tight and his entire body so tense that it trembled. Bakura found that he quite enjoyed the look of Kaiba so vulnerable.

"That is nothing more than a hologram," Kaiba said, each word being dragged forcefully from between his teeth. "It—it can't actually hurt him. There are safety measures installed."

"Oh, really?" Bakura said. "You don't look too eager to test that."

It seemed Kaiba's confidence in his technology faltered when it was his brother on the line. Oh, but seeing him like this, powerless and knowing it, it made Bakura hazy with excitement.

"I thought we could make a trade," Bakura said. "Let's see which one is more important to you."

He held one hand out, smiling at Kaiba.

"Blue Eyes for Mokuba," he said. "Does that sound fair?"

Kaiba actually looked like he had just been punched in the gut. His mouth half opened, but no sound came out.

"Oh come on," Bakura said, teasing. "I'm not even asking for all three of them—just one. One Blue Eyes for your brother's life. Is that really so hard to choose between? You think a slip of paper is as important as Mokuba?"

Kaiba looked like he was going to start hyperventilating. Bakura could see the thoughts whirling behind his eyes—anger at the situation, confusion at himself for being so conflicted between the two options. It was hilarious, seeing him so beaten down by the entire situation. Kaiba, of course, barely remembered the reason that he was so attached to the Blue Eyes, and why he needed to keep them close. It was an entire lifetime ago, but powerful enough to confuse him.

It was all right. Bakura didn't actually want the Blue Eyes. He just wanted to see Kaiba squirm.

He laughed.

"I see that's too hard for you to decide on," he teased. "How about this, then—let's have a duel. Winner take all."

Kaiba's eyes immediately narrowed.

"I can't trust you," he said.

"But you can trust the cards, can't you?"

Bakura didn't need Blue Eyes—he just needed to borrow some of the energy of the Blue Eyes in Diabound, which meant he had to duel Kaiba. He had just needed some way to convince him in the end.

The rest of it was all just for fun.

Kaiba grit his teeth.

"If I win, you'll give Mokuba back unharmed," he said.

"Of course," Bakura laughed. He lifted his arm with the Duel Disk already set. "Shall we begin the game?"

. . .

A/N: Coolio. Next is Anruishipping (Shadi x Yugi).

Also, on a different note, if y'all like my writing...I just set up a ko-fi, which if you don't know, it's basically like an online tip jar. They call it 'buying a coffee', so basically you just drop about the equivalent of a cheap coffee through the site and it sends through . So if you guys like my work and have the means to do so, I would appreciate any and all tips ~ The link to my ko-fi is listed at the top of my profile now if you're interested. And if you're not/don't have the means to do so, that's okay! Thank you just for being here and reading my stuff, it really means the WORLD to me. Everyone of you is amazing and I'm so glad you're here ~