CHAPTER 12

The launch of the new duel disk system was a tremendous success. Duelist recognition according to the deck database proved to charm everyone, particularly the pros whose favorite monsters felt like old friends after years of dueling. Jonouchi was of them, though Seto had yet to acknowledge him as truly worthy of the pro status. Had he been less biased, he probably would have. But his pride told him to think otherwise. In the dueling department, at least.

Aside from that, the CEO had not forgotten the mess-up with virtual Yami's deck level in Duel Links, but he had been unsuccessful in his search for the culprit. His anger had only been slightly abated by the high sales and popularity his new product got on the market, and his need to duel a worthy opponent had been itching more than ever.

His bodyguard had resumed his job and accompanied him on all his public appearances with stunning professionalism, though he had looked quite cautious around him. No, 'cautious' did not cut it. More like 'clingy', in a bodyguard-like manner. Jonouchi had observed a strictly short distance of one feet from Seto, no more, no less, and radiated an aura telling clearly that no one was to mess with him today. Even though it had been quite efficient, thus saving the brunet from being squashed by hysteric fans, it had felt a little off, and very, very overrated. With Mokuba, why not, but him? He was a fully grown man, for heaven's sake. He could bear with mobs here and there.

Not that he had not appreciated the small respite. He liked the attention, and he could indulge people once in a while, as they were basically the ones giving him and his employees a living, but he had to admit the blonde's attitude was pleasing, albeit strange. Maybe it was his way of showing he wanted to stay in KC's ranks, like a puppy proving he could be a good hound. That much effort could be taken into account in a positive way, at least, all the more when it was efficient. Some of the slackers in his Sales Department might learn from such hard work.

Now that this was out of the way, the Duel Links app was the next project to be developed fully. It would be released in January, just after the usual KaibaLand festival scheduled for Christmas, and Seto wanted it to be accessible to everyone, avoiding the usual pitfall of having to pay to play. Rewards would be generous, and users could pay for nice – but totally optional – add-ons such as games mats, card sleeves, or more packs from booster boxes. Progress through the stages should be possible with or without monetary input, if decks were carefully thought of.

The world in itself was reaching its beta testing stage. Generic NPCs had been finalized, and legendary duelists were being modeled. Of course, Seto's virtual avatar had been the first to be created, followed by Yami – even if he had to be checked by the developing team because of his glitches, much to the CEO's dismay – and Jonouchi.

At first, Seto had only begun the process of creating the blonde's avatar out of revenge, so that he could crush him and reaffirm his authority over the two other traitors. However, studies had shown that, with his lowly social background, his fiery and likable personality, and his instinctive way of playing – Seto saw him as a lucky beggar –, he actually was one of the most popular dueling figures, after the obvious top two champions of course. Therefore, his initiative had killed two birds with one stone, and it was not surprising to find advanced coding for the decks that virtual Jonouchi would use.

What slightly surprised Seto, however, was that these were this advanced. It had taken his engineers two months to balance his and Yami's decks nicely, then assemble the King of Games' avatar and punchlines. He had approved these recently, and the developing team had just fully set on making other features of the game. And here, he found out that Jonouchi was almost completed too, without having heard about it beforehand.

True, he had been quite occupied, and he had enough of the mutt on a daily basis to look for things about his virtual self too. But he should have been informed. He should have been asked to control the ongoing task. This was standard procedure, as demanded by him. Were his best developers just a bunch of morons?

With a scoff, and deciding the new offer of his commercial partners could wait, Seto dove into the data. In fact, he soon got stunned by the fact that all three virtual legendary duelists were finished, and tests were currently being conducted with them. Seto's decks were perfect – obviously –, Yami's had been corrected, and Jonouchi's... Jonouchi's were quite nicely thought of, actually. Maybe better than the real ones he had seen so far.

The brunet skipped through the lines of coding, scanning the selected cards with mild interest. These could prove challenging against his blue-eyes, if played correctly. Maybe his developers were not that much of morons. He had hired them himself, after all.

His itch to duel rekindled. He thrived with challenges. Why not test out those decks, and see for himself.

Then his eyes caught the sight of something soberly named 'Super Jonouchi', and his curiosity piqued, along with his irritation.

Who's made a level 50 deck for the mutt? I've not asked for anything of the kind!

His anger quickly melted into interest once again, when he had a quick look at the code and cards. Now this looked promising, even if it was the dumb blonde they were talking about. Thinking about it, it could indeed please the general public to see one of their favorite duelists, a commoner like them, on the front for once, and not only the top two champions. 'Super Jonouchi' could be used in an event of sorts, with high challenges for experts, and nice dueling times for newbies. Clever...

Seto would not admit he was very pleasantly surprised, for he should not be that surprised in the first place, but he could not deny he was tempted to go down to the pods and have a go at dueling the level 50 deck of Super Jonouchi. After the fiasco with Yami, he could not get more disappointed, anyway. At least, if the blonde lost, it would have been expected, awaited even. Seto just wanted to see if the AI could oppose some resistance.

An idea popped in his head, and he glanced at the real Jonouchi. The rookie was standing in the farthest corner, his eyes fixed on nothing in particular, like a statue. He had been allowed a quick break about half an hour ago – or else Mokuba would have had Seto's head for treating his employee like crap –, and he looked both stoic and aware, and in good health and physical condition. He could not have been any less than that, he had been pampered by Seto's staff, and Seto himself had made efforts to help the blonde recover quickly, albeit under the pointed stares of both Isono and his little brother.

He really should have a discussion with them, about their choice of liked acquaintances and battles. The taste of betrayal was one he intended to never taste, ever again.

Jonouchi had not been informed of the development of the app, but the CEO figured Isono must have told him that he was included in the game's characters at some point. He would have to sign a clause allowing KC to use his face and voice, but it was fairly certain he would accept right away. However, he might not have seen the deck designed for him, and even if Seto could not care less about his opinion, he decided he could reward the mutt with a few spoilers. He had done a good job so far. With that in mind, the brunet turned fully to his employee.

"Jonouchi," he called, "come here."

Katsuya eyed his boss questioningly while obeying. Frankly, he was exhausted, his nightmare of Yami Marik kidnapping Kaiba still haunting him. If he was honest about it, he knew the spirit had been sent to the Shadow Realm by Atem, but if a 3000-year-old pharaoh and a freaking tomb robber mixed with a monster with a dragon penis could return from darkness, why could Marik's worst side not find a way to come back too?

It appeared that nothing would disturb the actual event however, for which he was immensely grateful, though one could never be too careful. He had stuck with his boss and played his bodyguard part a little too seriously, making sure everyone in a ten-meter radius knew they would not dare come closer than he already was, or there would be hell to pay. He had been in no mood for indulging fans, even if Kaiba was in one of his rare phases when he showed his smiling side.

Which was creepy. Not only did a smiling Seto Kaiba call for the genocide of millions of puppies, a non-smiling Katsuya Jonouchi was like a Yugi Mutou without his Dark Magician. Even if the blonde was used to his role, he had always shown a sunny side to the public, and he had felt like a sore thumb not doing so at the launching event.

Some people seemed to have noticed him, although they had not paid too much attention to him, rather focusing on the main star of the event. They might have thought he looked like the duelist he had been, but he had not shown his face for at least a year, working his ass off to pay for his father's debts instead of signing in for tournaments. Only his closest friends could make the connection between the strange, silent blonde man in black behind Kaiba, and the loud, confident duelist that would never kiss Kaiba's ass even if he were paid a million bucks for it. He would never do anything to Kaiba for less than two billion, in any case.

It was sad to admit, but he must have been forgotten among pro duelists anyway. He could never have beaten Yugi or Kaiba, as much as he wished to, and the public only loved winners, right? He had not bothered to check dedicated forums to see if people still talked about him, never had and never would. It could have been a boost on his bruised ego if they did, but honestly, he preferred live attention, and it would have been no good if conversely, he realized he had impressed too few people to leave a trace.

He had been curious when Isono had mentioned the new Duel Links project, but he had not asked too much. The app was only in its first stages, and he was fairly certain Kaiba would never consider integrating him into the duelists that could be challenged. Not only had the CEO always shown contempt towards him as a person, but professionally, he had never regarded him as a worthy opponent, much less as a competent duelist. So, for Kaiba, having him in the app would be like seesawing his own leg. Unbearable.

Katsuya had tried to quench the tinge of irritation and sadness he felt thinking of it. No longing, no regrets, that was what he wanted to achieve. He could no longer find the time to duel professionally, but for the moment IKaiba was nice enough to play with him, and it was fun for both of them. He was glad for this at least.

He immediately killed the thoughts revolving around his friends, and how much he missed them. He had work to do.

He came up to Kaiba's side, ready to resume his surveying task here, but his boss nodded to the computer screen, ordering him to have a look at whatever he was working on. Intrigued, Katsuya bent down, and came face to face with a window full of gibberish – code, he realized, but still gibberish to him –, a picture of himself, and an alignment of cards composing a deck, a red-eyes black dragon deck by the look of it. His deck?

His gaze snapped to Kaiba in shock, but the brunet's eyes remained riveted to the screen. A million questions swam in his head, like why was there his deck on display in front of them, why did it look like it was important enough to be displayed, and why the hell did his boss want him to come and look at it?

His thoughts must have resounded too loudly in the air, for Kaiba eventually let out a heavy, impatient sigh, and deigned say something.

"Has Isono not told you about Duel Links? And here I thought you had to be informed of everything about me."

It was meant to be taunting, but there lacked a bite about the way he said it. Katsuya did not know how to react to this, but he refrained from replying right away, Well yeah, I do, thanks for askin'. I do know everythin', mind you, down to your pants size or the way you'd likely fuck people in all ways possible, but this is not you I see here, is it.

Instead of risking landing on a mine that could blow up his early career, he chose to answer soberly, "Apologies, sir, it appears I know about you better that I have known about myself, lately." He paused, then added cautiously, "I know about Duel Links, of course, but I must admit I did not think I would be a part of it, and especially not in its first stages of development. It is quite a surprise for me."

Seto's eyes zeroed on the rookie, searching for signs of lying. Surely, an attention-whore like Jonouchi had to know how popular he still was? Had he not...?

His first impression was that in fact, no, he did not know. There was no mistaking the shine in the man's honey gaze, transfixed on the deck in front of him and discovering it as if it was the most beautiful thing he had seen in his life, and he did not dare think it was true. Maybe it was just that. He had never been known for his wealth, so it was not unlikely he did not possess all the cards in there, some of them being quite recent. The CEO noticed that for the first time since Jonouchi had integrated the ranks of his employees, he could finally see through his carefully molded mask of professionalism and seriousness. His face was open and earnest.

Seto did not know if he was relieved or irritated. He was undoubtedly irritated to be relieved. If he had appreciated – or, at least, acknowledged at all – something about the blonde, it was how easy he could read his emotions and predict his reactions. The former yankee was hot-blooded, short-tempered, and prone to fits if his buttons were pushed rightly. It was refreshing, in a way, compared to the world of hypocritical sharks the CEO had to survive in everyday. The mutt was natural around him. Always had been. No questions asked as to why, it was so simple and obvious it hurt. And it had felt entertaining, unwinding, even.

For Jonouchi, Seto must have been no more than an opponent, a rich snob, and an asshole. He was well aware of that. And for him, the mutt had been an idiotic, third-rate duelist, with no future and certainly no other use than that of duel-fodder in tournaments. This was normal. This was familiar, and controllable. This was how he had liked it.

Then, Isono had butted in and educated the blonde into bodyguard material, and all the codes he had been used to for years, had been blurred and changed without his consent. KC-Jonouchi was tidy, efficient, and worth something – he realized the admission hurt less than he thought –. He liked the change, since he always appreciated someone worthy in his company, and at the same time he abhorred it, because it concerned the damn mutt. Damn him for turning the tables and changing his fate again. Damn him for making things difficult wherever he went.

Seto hated confusion, especially in his close circles and personal life. His closest henchman had a very soft spot for the mutt. Worse, Mokuba of all people had put his foot down in favor of the rookie, along with Isono, all three of them against him. He had briefly lost control. This was unacceptable. And yet, if he simply got rid of the runt like he usually did with nuisances of the kind, he would have had lost again. Nevertheless, he found solace in the fact that when he won, which he would, eventually, he would have deserved a sweet victory on many fields.

With that firmly set in his mind, so as not to forget his priorities again, he leaned back in his chair and finally asked, "What do you think?"

He did not want Jonouchi's advice, really, but he had been civil, so far. There was no point in being snappy now. It could be counterproductive, if he aimed at making him admit defeat. He joined his fingers in front if him and waited calmly.

Katsuya could not believe his eyes. A deck had been made for him – well, the virtual version of him – in Duel Links, and no one, not even IKaiba, had told him. Why had they not? This was too good to be true.

Part of him thought it was a trap set by his boss to crush what little pride he had left in him as a duelist, and add salt to the open wound to finish him entirely. It would not have been beneath him to do so, if it proved to torment the blonde further. However, it was not logical. Kaiba was a tricky bastard, but they had had so much work recently, that it was unlikely he would have created such an advanced deck in his free time for him, just to play some sort of sick joke. It was too big a loss of time.

Did that mean Katsuya was more famous than he thought, in fact? That he deserved to be in the app? That Kaiba deemed him, of all people, worthy of being in the game so early in its development?

He wanted to ask. Very much so. He could not, though. He did not want to push his luck and shatter the moment.

Then, the CEO asked him for advice, and his brain blanked out completely, unable to grasp the knowledge that his boss, who was supposed to hate his guts, asked him about something related to a project. True, it was his avatar, but still. It was another first in the row of Seto Kaiba's strange episodes of civil behavior. Maybe he should consult Isono about those.

He remembered he had to answer, if only as a dutiful employee, and he licked his lips while he scrambled to form a coherent sentence.

"It's... brilliant."

Thanks, Einstein. I think he really needs 'is ego ta be even more inflated.

Kaiba only snorted.

"I was expecting a constructed, professional advice about the construction of the deck, but I guess it means it is nicely balanced in your opinion, too."

He would not blush from shame. Nope.

"Yes... I mean, it is a good basis to begin with."

The brunet was silent for a moment. Katsuya resisted the urge to turn his head.

"Basis. Explain."

Now, Katsuya felt slightly nervous. He had never been asked for advice in dueling. Not by Seto-freaking-dueling-titan-Kaiba.

"Wel-l, I think it is nicely balanced as it is, but... may I speak my mind, frankly?"

He refused to look back at his boss. He would not. A huff, then, "You may."

He took in a long breath.

"To me, it is a strong deck, but it is not personalized enough. Yes, it is a dragon deck, and yes, it supports Red-Eyes Black Dragon, but it is not a deck I would build naturally, were I given the necessary cards to do so, I precise. It is only my humble advice, but I believe you need more cards revolving fully around Red-Eyes, and maybe, why not, some warriors to go with him."

A pause, then he continued, "I heard you will release a new Red-Eyes fusion monster card in a future booster box, obtained with the fusion of Red-Eyes and a warrior. If you plan on synchronizing actual card sales with app events, I humbly suggest you exploit this deck to the fullest with the possibility of fusion summoning this monster with it, and/or turning it into a fully efficient, Red-Eyes deck.

"I do not know about the public's wishes on the matter, but I think that if you wish to integrate me into the game, you might as well associate me with my trump card, and if you want me to oppose a good challenge, a Red-Eyes combo-oriented deck would be ideal. It would resemble me more, and it would be a way to advertise the new booster sales. People would love fighting and using new cards in the app, before they were to buy them. At least, I know I would, but then again, it is only my humblest, simplest advice, and I am aware I am far from being the most representative person of KaibaCorp's public audience."

He finished his tirade in a mumble, as he had not planned to say so much and was beginning to lose confidence the longer he went on. Really, he felt like a dunce. Giving marketing advice to one of the most powerful CEOs in the world, really? What was he thinking.

Silence stretched on between them. Humiliation burnt in Katsuya's stomach, and he straightened up looking straight ahead. He hoped that his face was not too obvious, and that his hammering heart could not be heard.

"My apologies, sir. It was preposterous of me," he said lamely, unable to stand the silence any longer.

Kaiba hummed.

"Quite, but I allowed you to be."

At least he was not mad at him. The rookie glanced briefly, meeting the polar gaze of his boss and locking onto it involuntarily. Kaiba was studying him with such intensity, that Katsuya resisted the urge to squirm. What was he looking for?

Blue eyes blinked after a few seconds, and the CEO went on, "I think you're not totally wrong. Your Red-Eyes is what makes you famous, after all, and a deck revolving entirely around it would be the obvious choice, however, this deck is supposed to be used by an artificial intelligence, and it has to be efficient. Your choices of cards may feel right to you, but sometimes they're not balanced enough, for all the affection you may have towards some. And like you said, you don't possess some of those cards, so your advice must be limited by this. All in all, your suggestions as regards the Red-Eyes Slash Dragon are interesting, and I've thought of them, but the hows and whens of them becoming reality have to be better thought of."

In other words, I'm not talented enough, and I'm too poor fer my advice ta be taken seriously. Ta much, boss. Katsuya bit back his comment and simply nodded in understanding. What else could he do.

Seto noticed the gleam of hurt in his employee's eyes, and even if he knew full well he had only said the truth, going so far as tampering his snark about the blonde's monetary income and dueling knowledge – the why of this was beyond him –, he had to prevent himself from adding that he was, in fact, quite satisfied with his analysis. Apart from the matter of the deck balance, it was quite clever. But it was both to nice and too strange to say, even for him.

Instead of commenting further, he heard himself asking, "Tell me, why don't you duel anymore? You used to say you'd never stop before you were a champion."

Not that it mattered, but the question felt right. He was curious. And when the rookie stiffened, he sensed he had found a touchy subject and wanted to know even more.

"Well?," he pressed on.

Jonouchi's lips pursed into a thin line.

"It is of no importance, Kaiba-sama, I simply could not anymore."

He arched a brow. You won't 'Kaiba-sama' me, this time.

"You 'could not anymore'. So, you're telling me your ultimate goal suddenly did not matter so much, after a fickle couple of months away from your friends. Looks like Yuugi was the one to infuse you courage, and without him, you're nothing anymore, much like your determination in life."

That was a low blow, again, but he did not know how to make the blonde spill it out another way. He had no times for more idle conversation.

"You are mistaken, sir, I assure you. It is just really complicated, and I know my life is of little interest to you."

It was, but Seto refused to be told what he liked or not.

"I decide what my tastes and interests are, mutt. You're just avoiding the subject entirely."

"Please, sir, it is a privat-"

"I don't care, really, but it's enlightening to witness how your words tend to be just that, words. Like right now. You're all polite and tidy, but you cannot hide who you are for long, after all. Soon, the street trash resurfaces. It's a matter of time for you to lose..."

"Sir."

Katsuya cut him brutally, his eyes ablaze and his face frozen in stony anger. The contrast was startling, to be honest.

Seto raised an eyebrow, refusing to be phased.

The rookie spoke again.

"Kaiba-sama, with all due respect, my private life is mine only, and I would appreciate it if you stopped probing. I did not give up on my dreams, but life happens, and right now I cannot continue dueling like I used to do. You just cannot duel when you starve to death, or when you have no roof over your head, and I have enough self-esteem to choose my priorities and live decently before I consider the rest."

It was, more or less, the polite way to say Not everyone is a rich snob with bucks sprouting out of his virgin ass, so I'd like to eat before I buy cards and go play, and Seto understood the message very clearly. He would not say he was impressed, but the rookie had managed not to blow a fuse, as he had been expected to do. That had to be noticed.

Meanwhile, Jonouchi might have caught up with what he had just done, and his face crumbled into a mildly shocked expression, much to the brunet's satisfaction. He still had some synapses available to make him realize his mistake, it seemed.

He found he preferred when the blonde was easy to read. And some fieriness was not too bad, either. Without giving him the time to beg for his forgiveness, the CEO stood up swiftly and strode to the door. He turned around to find the rookie frozen in place, mixed emotions he could decipher with just a single glance. The other male was internally terrified, certain he would be fired.

Seto was tempted by the idea, but decided against it. He wanted to play a little more, before he did. This was getting entertaining. Moreover, he found much more appealing the prospect of Jonouchi resigning out of his own volition, after he had been reduced to a weeping heap of misery. This way, the brunet would have won on all fronts.

He opened the door and jerked his head to the side.

"Stop acting like a kicked puppy, and come with me."

This shook Jonouchi out of his paralysis, and the rookie quickly caught up with him.

"Y-yes, Kaiba-sama."

Seto smirked. Things looked up for him. He would find his fun, after all.

Hey!

Next chapter will be really fun to write, I think (and also very complicated to manage), with IKaiba, Seto, and Jono :D

Things will get pretty serious from now on, in terms of relationships. I will do my best not to be too OOC, promise!