This started out as a one shot, but it kept growing and growing so I have decided to spread it over three chapters. It takes place in the manga verse, and is set between the end of Battle City and the start of DSOD. Just in case anyone does not know. In the manga, Kaiba does not participate in memory world and he does not go with them to Egypt for the Ceremonial Duel. And why would he? He made it clear he's not interested, and after failing to win Battle City considers his part over. He goes back to working on various projects and running his company. But his ultimate goal, always remained - beat the Pharaoh in a duel.
Warning: There may be some moderate cursing, but other than that, there's nothing that could be seen as adult content.
Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to YuGiOh or any of the characters, but I do feel honoured that we are given permission to write our own stories about them.
More Than Just Rivalry.
The scars of Battle ran deep. From the day he liberated Yugi Mutou of his grandfather's Blue Eyes White Dragon card, only to be accused by him of stealing it, to the humiliation of Battle City, the wounds of defeat continued to sting and bleed.
He was Seto Kaiba; a man who feared no one and bowed to no one. Yet, here he was doubting his ability to ever beat Yugi Muto in a fair game of Duel Monsters.
But who exactly was this arrogant, yet irritatingly brilliant person Yugi became when he duelled?
He said he was once a Pharaoh who ruled over Egypt.
Claimed their rivalry was three thousand years old!
Seto always considered him delusional.
The Ishtar family were delusional too. Did Ishizu really think that a lump of old rock, with badly drawn images of himself and Yugi carved into it, was enough to persuade him to believe in this crap? If he had been able to gain access to the rock and run some tests on it he would have easily been able to prove it was a fake.
And then there were the visions he and Yugi had supposedly seen during their duel.
Determined to work out how they managed to hack his holographic technology in order to project 'false' images into his mind, Seto had his computer analyse those visions.
But every single time, his computer came up with the same answer: unexplained phenomenon.
It ate at his mind and haunted his dreams; waking him in the early hours feeling angry and agitated.
Could destiny have really brought them together once more; to duel over a three thousand year old grudge?
And were the three Egyptian God cards merely pawns in that grudge?
Or were they something more?
Like Marik had believed, Seto also thought that winning them was the key to becoming King. And since Yugi had managed to defeat Marik, win Battle City and get his hands on all three of them, defeating him to obtain the biggest prize of all, was now an even bigger priority.
However, Mokuba wanted him to let his obsession go. So, to distract himself, he decided to distance himself from Yugi and the dweeb squad.
The less contact he had with them, the less pain he would feel at being second best.
If he could not be the King of Games, then he would be King of Domino City instead. He would know everything that went on in this city and own just about everything worth owning. The people would worship him like a King.
Although Mokuba worried about his brother, he still liked his idea of them being King and Prince of Domino City, readily agreeing to help him build up his empire.
The plans for a space station that would be able to collect peoples brain waves and beam them into a virtual world were ambitious and expensive, even for Seto Kaiba, and Mokuba worried it may overstretch their finances.
Luckily there was no shortage of wealthy investors, all willing to hand over billions of dollars for the chance that they might be able to cheat death by downloading their minds into the computer, and live forever inside their chosen reality.
However, any hopes that his new project would help him forget about Yugi, for now at least, was not working and Seto found himself spending more and more time holed up in his duel laboratory analysing Yugi's duels.
He started loading various different decks used by the opponents Yugi had fought into the duel computer.
Imagining himself as Yugi, he ran different combinations of Yugi's decks and played those decks against the opponents.
He was starting to see a pattern in the way Yugi constructed his decks and used them. All it needed now was to load his own most powerful deck, based around Blue Eyes White Dragon, and battle it against the deck he had come to see as Yugi's most powerful.
What could go wrong?
"Computer! Load Yugi Muto. Version two simulation."
The computer complied and a very realistic holographic version of Yugi appeared on the duel platform, wearing the standard Domino boys uniform. However, Seto had styled him with the features and voice he associated with the other Yugi –the one he considered his true rival.
The duel started and was evenly matched and both were down to a thousand life points each.
Seto drew the card he was waiting for –Champions Vigilance. He set it face down.
But just at a crucial moment, the door flew open and Mokuba came barging in. "Hey! Seto! You in here?"
The interruption caused Seto to hesitate and miss the timing for him to activate the trap card that he believed would crush Yugi's Magician combo.
Yugi successfully activated his spell and summoned his most powerful mage back to the field. Seto's life points dropped to zero and he swore, shutting down the simulation before the computer could announce Yugi Muto as the winner.
"Nice greeting Big Bro!" Mokuba chuckled. "Anyway... Knew I would find you down here. Dinner is ready and I don't wanna eat alone again."
"I'm not hungry."
"Aww, come on Seto. Please..? I've got something important to tell you."
Seto raised an eyebrow. "Can't you tell me now?"
"No! I will only tell you if you come and get something to eat. You've been down here all day and I bet you've had nothing but coffee."
"Wrong! I ate a banana at eleven thirty three," Seto smirked.
"That's not enough to keep a midget like Yugi alive! Let alone a six feet two beanpole like you." Determination to get his brother to come and eat was etched on his face. "I even asked Chef to make fillet of Wagyu with Foie Gras sauce," he smiled, pouting to ensure he was putting on his best pleading face.
Seto could not help but chuckle. His little brother always had the knack of being able to say or do something that would coax him out of his withdrawn state. Was that what he was these days? Withdrawn!
He could not remember the last time he hit the gym or went outside for a run. Lately it was always rise early, shower, smart suit, Chauffeur driven limousine to the underground car park at Kaiba Corp. HQ and straight into his private elevator leading directly to his office suite on the top floor. He even avoided bumping into employees so that he could focus fully on the business of finding the perfect strategy to beat Yugi. And when the working day was done, he would come home and spend his evenings down here.
His stomach rumbled at the thought of his favourite meal. "Very well Mokuba. You win." He gestured to Mokuba to go up the stairs from the basement first.
They entered the dining room and sat down. The butler came in and offered Seto to try the wine he had chosen that would go nicely with the steak.
Seto took a sip and nodded that it was acceptable. The butler filled Seto's glass. Mokuba scowled in disappointment that he only got offered cola or lemonade.
"You're too young Mokuba," Seto smirked.
"And so are you!"
Seto shrugged. "I'm eighteen and in some countries that is legal. And, anyway, I do what I like because I'm Seto Kaiba." There was a touch of humour in his voice and Mokuba stuck his tongue out, just to be insolent and childish.
Seto did not react. "Anyway Mokuba. What was the important thing you wanted to tell me?"
For a moment Mokuba looked confused; like whatever was so important had been forgotten. And then he remembered. "Oh! Yeah... Tests on the prototype space station went real good and they hope to set a launch date very soon."
"You dragged me away from my work to tell me something I already know?!" Seto raised an eyebrow. "Why not try telling me something I don't know."
Mokuba rolled his eyes. "I haven't got to the good part yet," he grinned. "You know you asked me to spy on Yugi for you?"
"I did not ask you to spy," Seto interrupted to correct him. "Since you seem to like them, I merely asked you report back to me anything I might need to know."
Mokuba shrugged. "Whatever... Anyway. You know that really weird storm last month. The one that everyone tried to blame on you, but had nothing to do with Kaiba technology and turned out to be centred around the museum."
Seto narrowed his eyes. "And why should I be interested in that now?" The storm had been on the same night he had that weird dream about Yugi giving him his pendant. In the dream, the other Yugi had been dressed like an Ancient Egyptian King, and was telling Seto that his death meant that Seto was now Pharaoh, before fading away into nothingness. He still did not know if that dream was a product of his desperate desire to replace Yugi as Duel King, or another of those bizarre visions, but he had still made sure to surreptitiously check on Yugi to ensure nothing untoward had happened to him and that he was still in possession of the Puzzle –which thankfully he still was.
Unaware of Seto's dream, Mokuba continued. "Because... well, I went to the game shop this morning. Yugi's mother told me Yugi, his grandfather and his friends, had all gone to Egypt."
Seto gasped. "What?! When?" How had Yugi managed to sneak off without him knowing about it?
"They went four days ago, apparently."
Seto clenched his jaw. It had to have something to do with the Pharaoh Yugi claimed to have living inside him. He needed to know more detail. "Did she say why they had gone?"
"She said it had something to do with that pendant Yugi's grandfather gave him. Did you know? The old man stole it from the Pharaoh's tomb years before Yugi was even born!" Mokuba was chuckling at the thought of the respectable old store keeper robbing tombs.
Seto was growing impatient. Intrigued about how Yugi's family had managed to get their hands on such a priceless artefact, he had looked into the old man's past a long time ago, and was not surprised to see he was once a ruthless, professional gambler and treasure hunter.
"Get to the point Mokuba," he growled.
"Geez Seto!" Mokuba pouted. "I'm just telling you what Mrs Muto told me. She said Yugi's been acting strange ever since he completed the Millennium Puzzle. Keeps talking to himself and sometimes seems different. But when she asks him about it, he says she's imagining things. Anyway, when she was cleaning Yugi's room, she found a bag full of gold items, all with the same eye on them as the Puzzle. Yugi and his grandfather looked a bit guilty at first, but then told her that the Egyptian authorities want them returned. That's why they've gone to Egypt."
"What?! They can't!" Seto felt a sudden pain in his heart.
He clasped at his chest, dropping his crystal wine glass. The glass smashed, spilling red wine all over himself and the white table cloth. The butler immediately ran forward to help but Seto barked at him to get out of the dining room.
"Are you okay Seto?" Mokuba was worried. What little colour Seto had in his complexion had drained away completely.
"How dare he sneak off to Egypt behind my back," Seto hissed.
Any fears Mokuba already had that his brother's obsession with Yugi was getting way out of hand, were being confirmed.
"Look, Seto. I know how badly you want to beat Yugi, and I understand that, but I'm not sure he's sneaking off. My guess is he's gone to visit what was once the Pharaoh's home. His mother said he will be back in a few days." He flinched when Seto glared at him.
"You might think you understand, but you don't. It's like I have a fire of battle burning deep in my soul and the only way to extinguish it is to defeat the Pharaoh in a duel. If Yugi leaves the Puzzle in Egypt, then he will have denied me that chance and the wounds inflicted on me by each defeat I have suffered, will never heal."
Mokuba stood up abruptly. "Stop it Seto! So what if he's taken the Pharaoh to visit his homeland, or whatever. There's no way Yugi would ever want to part with the Puzzle! Without it, he's nobody! As soon as he returns, we can announce the battle of elite duelists, and put your plan to beat the Pharaoh into action." He let out a sigh of frustration. "And then perhaps I can have my real brother back," he added, petulantly.
"It's no longer that simple Mokuba, Whatever you like to believe about Yugi and his alter ego, I have this terrible feeling that Yugi going to Egypt can only mean one thing. They are returning the Puzzle to it's resting place, and with it, the Pharaoh."
"But that makes no sense," Mokuba answered, feeling confused. "Yugi and his friends are close to the Pharaoh. Why would they want to send him away?"
Seto banged his fist on the table. "They may not have any choice! Something Ishizu said about destiny, and the dead having a place to go to. I dismissed it as mumbo jumbo ramblings, but it was all real."
"But I thought you said it was all bullshit! Ghosts don't exist. You said that Yugi saying he was a Pharaoh is just him trying to sound important, and that his other Self is just his imaginary friend."
Seto put his hands to his face and sighed. "I only said that because I didn't want to believe it. I didn't want to believe that I was somehow connected to the same past as Yugi."
Mokuba was silent for a moment. "But... I thought... All this that you're doing; trying to find a deck to beat the other Yugi –the strong one. Does it really matter which one you beat? I always thought they fought together."
"I have to beat the Pharaoh. If Yugi sends him back to wherever it is he is thinks he belongs, then I will never get my chance of revenge and these invisible wounds will continue to sting."
"B..but!" Mokuba stuttered. "If he has gone, you can always challenge ordinary Yugi." Mokuba imagined he would be easier to beat than the other Yugi. Seto would be King and his wounds would heal.
Seto glared at him. "That. Will. Not. Do," he hissed, through gritted teeth. "It's the Pharaoh I want. He is the one I want to beat. Not ordinary, weak little Yugi Muto." He stood up, pushing his chair back with so much force it clattered over onto the polished wood floor. "I'm going to my quarters. No one is to disturb me. Not even you Mokuba."
I hope I managed to portray Seto's obsession and desperate desire to beat Yugi and be the King of Games adequately. Please let me have your thoughts.
Part two will be posted tomorrow.