I was originally going to save this plot point for later, but the story had different ideas. I figure the point of an AU story is to start diverging from canon as quickly as possible, so I asked myself:
What if Seto and Yugi had met before Seto forgot (entirely) what it meant to make friends?
1.
"Um . . . hello? H-hi. Um . . ."
He is a picture in paradoxes. His clothing is cheap, frayed and doesn't quite fit right; however, he wears it with impeccable precision, and most of the time he wears it with untouchable confidence. His eyes are sharp, bright, vibrant; but when he tries to speak, his voice is quiet, soft, and nervous.
Despite the fact that he probably has a larger vocabulary than his teacher.
For most of the school year, Seto Yagami has sat in the front of the room, in the seat nearest the door; he never raises his hand to answer the teacher's questions, and he never volunteers to do anything; he must be expressly told to do it. He always leaves immediately after the bell rings, and nobody knows where he goes during recess.
Yugi was the first to notice that he has the best scores of any student in the class. Yugi, who is probably the only person shyer and more socially awkward than Seto Yagami, but who hides it better simply due to the fact that he has a friend he can talk to at lunch.
Téa Gardner watches Seto approach Yugi as the bell rings for first recess. Her eyes narrow the slightest bit; she's watched other boys approach her diminutive friend to "play" with him, and they almost invariably force her to get into trouble with the principal.
"I don't know what you expect me to do," she's known to say. "They hit him, so I hit them. Of course I hit them harder. How else am I s'posed to make them stop?"
Thankfully, her mom and dad understand her reasoning—Dad's the one who taught her to think like that—so she hasn't really gotten in trouble at home. Whenever the principal calls them, they talk about "how hard it is to raise such a spirited little girl," and they promise to do better.
Then they take her and Yugi out for ice cream.
So yes, Téa watches Seto Yagami, wondering for a long moment whether she's going to have to rearrange his teeth. Probably not, actually. His awkwardness looks genuine. He doesn't look like he's putting on an act so he can sneak up on Yugi later.
Yugi, ever oblivious and entirely too trusting, looks immediately excited that someone is talking to him. "Hi!" he says, grinning with his entire face. Téa wonders how much Yugi knows about this boy. She's heard that he used to go to a private school, but got transferred here because his parents couldn't afford tuition anymore.
She's heard that his parents are in prison. She's heard that he ran away from home.
She's heard that his parents are dead.
"You're name's Seto, right?" Yugi asks. He waves; again, like his smile, he doesn't just confine the gesture to one spot, but uses his entire body. His enthusiasm seems to infect the other, probably older boy; Seto's lips twitch upward into something that looks vaguely like a smile.
"Um . . ." Seto starts, then sighs through his teeth; he looks angry. "Listen, I was wondering . . . I just wanted to know if you . . . had heard of a game called Magic & Wizards." At this, Yugi's expression changes, and Seto apparently takes this as a sign of grave offense. "I, uh . . . I mean, you always seem to have so many games in your bag, so I thought . . . maybe . . ."
"Have I heard of Magic & Wizards?" Yugi asks incredulously.
Seto steels himself up, and puts on a grave face. Téa isn't much older than these boys, but she can't help but feel a maternal twinge of pride at the way Seto is handling this situation. He obviously has no idea how to approach the concept of being friendly. He doesn't have that . . . charming naiveté that makes it so easy for some kids to make friends; Yugi doesn't, either, for that matter, despite the fact that he's both charming and naive.
"Yes," Seto says.
Yugi lights up like a Christmas decoration. "You bet I've heard of it!"
A stunning little smile rises on Seto's face. "Really?"
"Yeah! Do you play?"
"Well . . . once. See, Mister Pegasus Crawford came to my . . . house. The place I live. And he let me make a deck of cards. But I lost when he challenged me, so he said I had to find someone else to play against, so I could get better and beat him someday. And I want to do that, because he let me have the cards I played with, even though he wasn't supposed to, and . . ."
He loses steam partway through, and only muscles on because he probably has a script in his head. Eventually, though, he realizes that Yugi is staring at him like he's grown extra legs.
He says, ". . . What?"
"You . . . dueled Pegasus Crawford?"
"Um . . . well, yes. But I lost, so I have to—"
"You dueled Pegasus Crawford?! Of course you lost! He's a genius!"
Seto bristles. "I could have won. He just . . . he tricked me. I lost focus."
Téa normally would have been worried, watching this, thinking that this boy had just happened to look up the genius game designer in charge of Industrial Illusions, to use as an in to get Yugi to lower his guard.
But there's something about Seto Yagami—something unnerving—that tells her: if Seto Yagami wanted to hurt someone, he just hurt them. This isn't someone who knows how to trick people. His face is too honest for that.
She decides to help this awkward little square dance.
She steps up. "Yugi forgets his manners at home sometimes," she says. "Yugi, you should introduce yourself to someone you just met."
"Oh!" Yugi looks embarrassed. "I'm Yugi Mutou. Nice to meet you!"
". . . Seto," the other boy offers, even though Yugi obviously already knows. He doesn't give his last name.
Téa wonders what that means.
Seto holds out his hand for Yugi to shake, which Yugi does . . . quite excitedly.
Figuring this is as good as she's going to do, Téa sits back down in her seat and watches the two boys try to maneuver themselves into a game of cards. Neither one of them comes right out and asks for a match, even though it's pitifully obvious that they both want to play. By the time Seto gets around to starting to ask, the bell rings and it's time to get back to his seat.
"You should come sit with us at lunch, Seto!" Yugi offers. "We'll play!"
This surprises Seto. Now he looks suspicious, like maybe Yugi is setting up some sort of ploy. But he eventually nods. "Sure," he says, and sits back down.
Téa figures that if she doesn't tell them to eat first, they'll both forget.
Rolling her eyes, she mutters, ". . . Boys."
But she can't help but smile.
2.
"I hear you followed through with your plan to visit the orphanage today."
Pegasus Crawford glances up from his desk and eyes the stern woman warily. "I did," he says, noncommittally. "Did I not say I would?"
"Forgive my saying, sir, but you often announce grand plans that you never get to. I figured this would be one of them."
"If this is about that barista you tried to set me up with last month, you should have known that wouldn't work out."
"I have no idea what you mean."
"She said my hair makes me look like a poofter, and spent the entire afternoon criticizing my clothing!"
"Well, sir, you might consider cutting your hair—"
"That . . . will do. Listen to me: I have no time for someone as superficial as that, and you know it."
"Superficial? Surely you're joking. Have you seen what you keep around this place? All these toys and cartoon pictures and comic books. And you're calling other people superficial?"
A sudden, but undeniable shift in the air announces that Pegasus has left; Master Crawford has arrived. He stands up. "Listen to me closely, Fiona. You are a valuable member of this estate, and I deeply value your insight. But if I hear one more word about my needing to grow up and put the toys away, my tolerance will be at an end. I run a toy company, woman. This is my job. If you have nothing better to do than question me, I'd suggest you take the rest of the night off. Do we understand each other?"
Fiona St. Claire, realizing she's crossed a line, bows hurriedly and leaves the room without a word.
About ten minutes later, a new voice announces itself from the doorway. "You normally ignore her ribbing. If she's getting to you, sir, then I have no choice but to assume that you're feeling guilty about something."
Pegasus looks up from the stack of paperwork trying to force him into submission, and glares with his one visible eye. "Clearly," he says. "That orphanage needs renovation. Heavy renovation." He levels Croquet with a predatory look. "It's like walking into a Dickens novel. A malevolent dictator, forcing the young minds of today into his very specific little box, 'for their own good.' And only two of the youngest, most optimistic workers there are actually looking out for their welfare. If this were a novel, or a movie, Hathaway and Elliot would fall in love, marry, and adopt those Yagami boys themselves. And the curtains would close on their first Christmas as a family."
Croquet smirks. "This is obviously not good enough for you, sir."
"It isn't." Pegasus growls low in his throat. "That man, Kelvin, needs ousting. Him and everyone cut from his cloth. Cut, then cure."
Croquet nods. "And that, sir, is why you are feeling guilty?"
Pegasus shrugs helplessly. "There's only one way to deal with a man like that."
Croquet sighs, bows, and says, "I'll . . . prepare."
Pegasus leans forward on his desk, tents his fingers in front of his face, and chuckles.
"You do that, Croquet. You do that."
Gold flashes from behind the master's hair.
3.
Téa Gardner is a contemplative person at twelve years old, and right now she's contemplating just how much time Seto Yagami and Yugi Mutou will spend talking about cards before they actually get around to playing them.
She eats her lunch quietly, not infringing upon the moment, because there's something mesmerizing about just how quickly a single topic of conversation can suck two people into their own little world. Two of the shyest kids in school, talking so rapidly and in such clipped jargon that nobody else would have been able to understand them, even if they'd had a transcript to read.
About fifteen minutes before lunch is over, a swaggering boy whose name Téa has never bothered to learn decides to infringe upon this moment. He watches Yugi and Seto trade ideas and strategies for a while, then reaches out and sweeps a hand across the table and sends about thirty cards flying onto the grass.
"'Sup, nerds?" the boy asks with a clammy grin.
"Certainly not the average IQ of this conversation," Seto replies quietly, as he stands up. Téa blinks. Where had that come from? Seto quietly, almost meditatively, starts to pick up the cards. Yugi, meanwhile, alternates between staring at his new friend and staring at his old tormentor.
". . . Um . . . hi, Eddie," Yugi offers with a slight stutter. Obviously he has bothered to learn this boy's name. "We were just . . . um . . . talking about a game. Have you heard of M-Magic—"
"No!" Eddie shoots back, as though Yugi has just made an inappropriate accusation about his mother. "I'm not a frickin' nerd like you!"
"Clearly," Seto says, having collected roughly a quarter of the lost cards. "To qualify as a nerd, there's at least a certain level of intellect required." He looks at Eddie, his blue eyes blazing. He looks the older boy up and down, sneers, and says, "You don't have it."
"The fuck you say to me, nerd?" Eddie asks, beady eyes narrow and suspicious.
"I believe I said your mother should have gotten hold of better birth control medication," Seto replies smoothly, leaning back down and focusing on the cards again, "but I may be wrong. Something about your smell makes it hard to focus."
Téa normally would have stepped in by now, formed a human shield between her tiny friend and the older, stronger, meaner boy who seems so intent on terrorizing him, but she finds herself unable to move.
Unable to think.
A transformation has taken place.
"Say that again! Nerd!"
Seto sighs, stands straight, hands Yugi the cards he's picked up, and turns to face Eddie again. "I . . . said . . . go . . . fuck . . . yourself."
Eddie's first, and only, punch hits nothing but air.
Seto slips underneath the swing, quick as a whip soaked in grease, dives to the side, and sends a leg slamming into the backs of Eddie's knees. Eddie buckles, flails his arms around, and seems to start falling forward in slow motion.
Seto clamps a hand on the back of Eddie's head and slams him against the table.
Looking supremely satisfied, but also frightening, Seto looks around as Eddie crumples, unconscious, to the grass. He's surveying the scene. Checking to see how many other kids have seen this.
The answer is: plenty.
"Anyone else want to try me?" he asks, his normally quiet voice a veritable crack of thunder. Téa flinches. At the expected silence, Seto says, "Good."
He sits back down opposite Yugi, picks up a card, and smiles. "I think Shadow Ghoul has a lot of potential, if you use it right. You could probably build a whole deck around it, actually. Show me that magic card again. What was it? Graceful Charity?"
Yugi, wide-eyed and open-mouthed, nods dumbly. ". . . Uh-huh?"
The bell rings not long afterward, and Seto makes a point to adjust Eddie's bulk so that he's lying straight. He even lifts up the boy's arms and folds them behind his head.
"What . . . are you doing?" Téa asks.
Seto shrugs. "Now it looks like he just decided to take a nap. If he remembers what happened, he won't dare tell anyone." He gestures to himself. "I'm just a nerd. No way he's going to admit I kicked his ass."
Téa blinks. "You . . . you're . . ."
"Awesome," Yugi says, quietly.
Seto smiles. It's a lovely smile. Innocent, charming.
Dangerous.