"Of course there's a reason to panic!"

Seto Kaiba held back a wince as the insufferable screech assaulted his ears. Sighing, he dismissed the call, not allowing the person at the other end to continue another word. He'd hear it all when he arrived.

"Why do I bother to hire a headmaster if he's going to call me over for every benign triviality," he grumbled, keeping his attention to the controls of his jet. He'd be touching down in a few minutes, and he preferred to not land on the ocean next to the island. Sighing, Seto let his eyes rest for a moment. "Things ran so much smoother with Sheppard."

On the horizon, the peak of a volcano grew as he approached. A few seconds later, it was joined by the island that sat upon it. And with that island, Duel Academy. For a moment, Seto let himself soak in his own pride. It had him cost a lot of money to build this place, and it looked the part.

Whatever scraps of what could be called a smile drained from his face. This was no time for idling. He had to get in, resolve this issue, possibly fire headmaster Crowler for wasting his time, and get out.

Simple. Easy. Fast.

And like a passcode unlocking a memory dormant in his brain, those three words made Kaiba realize immediately,

It wasn't going to be any of those things.


"Welcome, Seto Kaiba."

The metal doors of Crowler's office slid open as the computer voice announced Seto's arrival. Shaking his head, he stepped through, immediately catching the man he was looking for jumping to his feet and bowing his head.

"Ah, Mr. Kaiba! It's an honour to have you as a guest and—!"

Seto immediately tuned out Crowler's jabbering, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. He knew it was better to let people talk than to allow himself to be sucked into their nonsense. After a few moments, he released his breath and let his eyes open.

"—So thank you for seeing us here today!" Crowler finished, standing straight again. "I can assure you, this is of the utmost importance!"

"Cut to the chase and tell me, Crowler. I'd prefer you not waste my time," Kaiba opened, approaching Crowler at his desk and taking a seat. "Time is money after all, and trust me, I'm charging by the minute here."

"Charging?!" Crowler restrained himself from overreacting further, hoping that was what Seto called a joke. Sitting down, he squeezed his hand before continuing. "As my initial message alluded to, it's related to the cards you graciously allow Duel Academy to hold and keep safe: the Sacred Beasts."

Kaiba kept a neutral expression as his mind began to race. The Sacred Beasts, the cards that the disgraced former chairman of Duel Academy, Kagemaru, had kept stowed away on school grounds all those years ago. They had been a thorn in his side since then, repeatedly stolen and abused by people who think having powerful cards alone makes you a great duelist.

"And what exactly happened to them?" Kaiba asked, though the answer was already clear to him. He got this call twice a year at this point. One more and he'd get a free duel disk.

"They've been stolen! Last night a student broke into the containment—" Crowler paused as a hand went to Kaiba's face, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Then get security to check every student's dorm, do a roll call and see who's missing. It's an island, Crowler, no one is going to run off with them!" Kaiba snapped, literally glaring Crowler down as he shrunk back in his seat. "The procedure is the same every time this happens, so why in the world did you call me in now?"

"Ah well you see," Crowler began, a nervous smile taking his face as he reached under his desk. This should be good, Kaiba thought. "The cards have already been recovered!"

The moment Crower pulled out the three cards in question, Uria, Hamon, and Raviel, Kaiba gritted his teeth.

"You're fired." Kaiba rose to his feet, intent on calling security to drag Crowler out kicking and screaming. "Waste my time like this—"

"Wait, WAIT!" Crowler screamed, throwing himself over his desk in a panic. "I promise I didn't call you in for nothing!"

Kaiba paused, perhaps showing a degree of forgiveness he would've scoffed at in his younger years. He wasn't young, though. Not anymore. He'd give Crowler his chance.

"Well?" he asked, keeping his back to the mess of a man.

"Oh thank you for listening to reason, Mr. Kaiba. I promise you I won't disappoint with my expla—"

"The point, Crowler. Get to the point," he demanded. Crowler squeaked, taking a moment to recollect himself.

"The reason I felt it necessary to bring you here, Mr. Kaiba, was because I made an astonishing discovery in the recovery of the Sacred Beasts cards." Crowler brought Seto pause. Turning his head, Kaiba let one eye fall on the headmaster.

"Continue."

"When we cornered the student who had taken the cards, she relinquished them immediately without a fight, or, more importantly, a duel." Standing straight, Crowler laid the Sacred Beast cards on his desk. "And it made me realize something."

Crowler stepped out away from his desk, leaving nothing separating him and Kaiba.

"In every case when someone stole the cards and dueled with them, they became immediately protective of the Sacred Beasts, only letting them go after losing a duel, only able to let them go then," he explained. "When they didn't duel with them, however, the cards were released like it was nothing!"

"And?" Kaiba asked, admittedly not getting the point.

"And, I think this may be the key to keeping them safe in the future!" Crowler smiled, picking up one of the Sacred Beast Cards. "You must be aware of the mystical properties of cards as powerful as these, correct?"

Kaiba resisted the urge to groan out loud. Well over ten years, and he still hadn't escaped the spectre of Duel Monsters and the apparent 'magic' it held.

"I'm aware of their… properties, yes," Kaiba said, turning. Seto would never admit that he believed this card game had actual magic in it. But even he would be a fool to lie to himself about it. You can't break into the afterlife and live to tell the tale without coming out believing in some kind of god.

"Good, then you must know how certain cards cannot change ownership unless they're won in a duel!" Crowler continued. "In fact, I believe that's how Mr. Yugi Muto came to possess his god cards."

Kaiba audibly growled, warning Crowler he was treading on a sore spot. Gulping, Crowler took the hint.

"Th-The point being, leaving the cards out in storage like that is relinquishing our, er, your ownership of them, meaning anyone who takes the cards and proceeds to duel with them become their new 'owners.'" Crowler picked up the other two Sacred Beasts. "The solution is then to not do that! Hold onto the cards! And as long as you don't lose a duel with them on the line, they'll be impossible to take!"

Silence took the office as Crowler offered the three cards forward. He bowed his head, his arms struggling to stay straight while extended. After a few seconds of quiet, Kaiba spoke up.

"I'm retired from Duel Monsters, Crowler," he began, stepping past him and taking his seat behind his desk. Crowler gulped before seating himself in the chair Kaiba sat in minutes ago.

"Yes, but—"

"But what? You said it yourself. The cards only take an owner who duels for them," Kaiba explained. He interlocked his fingers, resting his chin on his thumbs as he looked out the window behind Crowler's desk. "And I don't duel."

"Well, uh, perhaps we can find someone who does! Someone we trust with them? Perhaps Yuuuuuuu—" Crowler stopped himself, moments before he finished suggesting Yugi Muto. That surely would've cost him his job or even his head. "The point is, we can find someone."

Kaiba scoffed. He couldn't think of a single duelist he'd trust with the cards. They were all weaklings like Joey Wheelers, snakes like Maximillion Pegasus, or practically retired like Yugi. Who else was there?

It occurred to Kaiba, then. Every name he came up with was the superstars of a decade past. And try as he might, he couldn't think of a single name of a duelist currently in the pro league. Kaiba smirked. Here he was, bankrolling the education for the newest best that Duel Monsters had to offer, and he couldn't think of a single alumni.

"You've run Duel Academy long enough Crowler. Of the past graduating classes, who would you trust with the Sacred Beasts?" Kaiba didn't like not having an answer, so he'd fish one out.

The question brought Crowler pause. His mind immediately screamed a name, but he silenced it, choosing to sort through the rolodex of students he could remember. There were so many choices. Zane Truesdale, Alexis Rhodes, Bastion Misawa, Chazz Princeton, so many bright young minds and stellar duelists, they could all more than qualify if they were at the top of their league.

But, in the end, they weren't. There was one student with that title, one student Crowler would call the best. And though he hated to admit it, he hated to say it, he had to give credit where credit was due, even if that student hadn't earned enough credits in his time here.

"Jaden, sir. Jaden Yuki," he answered. Kaiba paused, the name making him think.

"I've signed the diplomas of the top five graduating students from Duel Academy for years now, but I don't remember a Yuki," he began, turning his seat to Crowler. Gulping, the headmaster nodded.

"Technically, Jaden, uh, didn't graduate," Crowler explained, pursing his lips. "He's, on the record, a dropout."

"You want to tell me, out of all the students that my Duel Academy has produced, the best of them all is a dropout," Kaiba's voice went cold as his eyes narrowed. "What kind of joke do you take me for? And what kind of clown is this Jaden, who can't even duel his way out of a paper bag—"

And then, Crowler did something that surprised Kaiba. Crowler stood up to him, literally, and figuratively. Leaping to his feet from where he sat, he stood tall, towering over Kaiba with a look the CEO thought he'd never see from a man as toadying as Crowler.

"Mr. Kaiba, I can assure you without a shadow of a doubt that Jaden Yuki is more than his graduation status or grades show him to be," Crowler declared, pressing his palms to the top of his desk. "He is without a doubt, the finest duelist Duel Academy has ever produced and given the time to fully stretch his abilities, perhaps the greatest the duelist the world will see. I will not stand for you to disparage him, my student, in this way!"

Silence took the office, as what little colour Crowley's face held drained away. As his own voice echoed in his mind, he began to plan how he'd spend his soon-to-be forced retirement in destitution. Kaiba would surely fire him on the spot, he thought.

Yet, Seto didn't. Instead, he turned his seat away from Crowler, turning his eyes to the window behind the desk. Left there without a word, Crowler sat back down, wondering what was going to happen. Then, Kaiba's voice broke the quiet.

"Alright then, bring him here. I'll test your supposed next King of Games."