Chapter 11 :

Katsuya wiped tears from his eyes. He hadn't laughed so hard, especially to the point of tears, in a long time. His jaw hurt from smiling and laughing too much, as well as his stomach and sides. Nothing had even been that funny. He thought that the interaction between the Kaiba siblings was relatable. It definitely reminded him of the times that he spent hours arguing with his sister, Shizuka. But what had made it even funnier… was Kaiba's glare. Laughter did not suit the situation whatsoever - but that look was hilarious. He hadn't been able to control himself.

I'm slap-happy, he scolded himself mentally.

"Here. I'll help you up!" Mokuba crouched above him, offering out his hands. Katsuya took them, hoisting himself up most the way without 'accidentally' pulling the youth down with him - though he was tempted. He gave the youth a grateful smile while ruffling the dark-hair settled upon the middle-schooler's head.

"Stop it!" Mokuba swatted his hands away playfully. "Oh! And I forgot to give this back to you." The teen pulled something from the back pocket of his pants and held it out to him. It was his watch. Katsuya carefully took the time piece in hand and slipped it on to his wrist.

"Thanks, Mokuba."

"Of course." The youth grinned in response to the blond's expressed appreciation.

Katsuya glanced toward the brunet, who was standing patiently in the kitchen's archway and completely expressionless. "So Kaiba…"

The CEO merely looked into his eyes. They maintained their locked gaze for another minute before he looked away. It was almost like staring into a dark abyss. It was crazy to think that those azure eyes had held a brilliant spark of expression earlier. It felt safer to say his question aloud without looking into those vacant eyes.

"Can you really cook?" he asked, hoping that his voice sounded neutral.

"Yes." The brunet's eyes seemed to darken more. That seemed impossible, considering how lifeless they were already though. Katsuya noticed that Mokuba opened his mouth to contradict the CEO's reply, but Kaiba immediately subdued the youth with a sharp glare. The dark-haired teen mumbled something incoherent to himself.

"Hmm… well, it seems that Mokuba doesn't agree with ya," he commented.

There was no reply from the brunet.

Katsuya cracked a grin, taking the lack of a retort as evidence that the businessman was lying. Kaiba was just being stubborn and didn't want to admit that he couldn't.

"Then prove it."

Seto Kaiba really just wanted to head to bed.

It had taken twenty minutes for Katsuya to settle down from his outburst of outrageous hysterics. The shorter man had paused several times, but would start up again soon after. It had been annoying... but it seemed that Mokuba had been entertained by the blond's antics.

I suppose there was no harm done, except for maybe some loss to my pride… Kaiba reluctantly accepted the turn of events.

He could just leave Mokuba alone with Jounouchi but who knows what his unwanted guest might say to his younger brother in his absence. He didn't want to give the shorter duelist the chance of revealing his 'health problem,' especially since the blond might take the opportunity to do so in retaliation. Kaiba had prevented the blond from being able to accomplish what he had come to do in the first place. As such, the nuisance might try to make life more unbearable than usual.

He glanced up as he heard Katsuya start a statement before trailing off. "So Kaiba…"

Kaiba chose not to respond. He could see the hesitation in those amber orbs as their eyes met. He was vaguely surprised when the blond looked away so sudden from his gaze. Apparently Jounouchi wasn't completely put off though - because he continued despite his already noticeable discomfort.

"Can you really cook?"

Although the tone of voice was neutral, Kaiba could tell that the blond was not as relaxed as he appeared to be.

He decided to copy the blond's manner of speech, keeping his own voice neutral as he responded. "Yes."

He saw a look of disbelief cross over Katsuya's face briefly, and a look of shocked anger upon Mokuba's as well. He shot a glare toward his dark-haired sibling, which seemed to do the trick. The youth's mouth closed with an audible snap before mumbling something that Kaiba couldn't comprehend.

"Hmm… well, it seems that Mokuba doesn't agree with ya."

Kaiba chose not to respond to that either. He had been tempted to say, thanks for stating the obvious. But he decided against it. He failed to see the grin that spread over the blond's face - until he heard the next words from the younger duelist's mouth.

"Then prove it."

Kaiba's head snapped up immediately to the challenge in Katsuya's tone.

"Why would I need to prove anything to a mutt like you?"

The blond shrugged. "If ya don't feel that you have anything to prove then I win by default, right? I'm better than you."

Although he was tempted to prove his rival wrong, Kaiba was against making a fool of himself. He was also against rising to meet the blond's provocation. He knew that he was a terrible cook - but he would never admit it aloud. He hated that Katsuya, of all people, was better than him in anything though. But he refused to give the shorter duelist the satisfaction. He kept his voice disinterested as he responded.

"If you are content with such a shallow victory, then savor the moment now, because I doubt it will happen again, mongrel."

The grin vanished from Katsuya's face.

Katsuya was not amused. Not at all. How dare Kaiba say that.

The words repeated in his mind.

'If you are content with such a shallow victory, then savor the moment now, because I doubt it will happen again, mongrel.'

His grin had vanished instantly.

He didn't need a reminder of the lack of victory on his part against the arrogant CEO. He was very aware of the brunet's stubborn mindset toward being the best. But Katsuya knew his own strengths. He wasn't about to give up now. If he could improve the relationship between them, maybe Kaiba would be more accepting of his help. It would be hard to gain the businessman's trust - let alone his approval - but he had to start somewhere. The best way that he could come up with to accomplish that now was through competition. Kaiba rarely backed down from a challenge after all.

But maybe this situation was different.

Cooking was done with patience and experience. And this was a skill that Katsuya had mastered through his dedication and determination. He should have known that Kaiba wouldn't be persuaded to compete without having an advantage of some kind. The businessman never even ate for heaven's sake. There was no doubt in Katsuya's mind that Kaiba had no experience whatsoever in the kitchen in the first place.

Mokuba quickly chimed in with a tilt of his head. "Seto! Since when did you avoid a challenge?"

"I only accept challenges I don't deem as being a complete and utter waste of my time."

"You have plenty of time now," the youth pointed out.

The businessman fixed another glare on the teen. But Mokuba wasn't going to be silenced again, despite Kaiba's obvious desire.

"So... why not see who cooks better? You did say that you can cook."

That doesn't mean that his cooking is any good, Katsuya remarked silently.

"I can." Kaiba replied shortly, but didn't meet the gaze of his younger brother, or the blond for that matter.

"Then?" Mokuba pressured further.

The brunet paused, seeming to ponder his options. It wasn't long before he passed his dark-haired sibling, only after giving the teen a disapproving glance.

"Go Seto!" The middle-schooler clasped his hands together behind his back. A mischievous light could be seen in the youth's dark eyes. "Let me know when you guys finish making the food." Mokuba dashed out of the kitchen through the archway. Just as he was about to turn the corner, he paused and gave a wink before disappearing.

Katsuya blinked in surprise.

Maybe Mokuba could be my wingman, he thought to himself with a chuckle.

He shook his head in vague disbelief as he headed toward the kitchen, directly where Kaiba was leaning over the counter.

Seto Kaiba was regretting his actions. Yes… honestly he was.

He should have just let Katsuya have his way, no matter how idiotic the blond's actions seemed. Situations involving the shorter duelist always ended differently than he had expected them to. Now, he was stuck in this mess - making food to prove he had skills even though he obviously lacked them. He could cook, but the results never end up the way they were meant to.

He sighed inwardly. Might as well get it over with so that he could head to bed.

"So… whatcha doin'?" Katsuya approached from the side, peering over Kaiba's shoulder.

He had just finished taking out all of the things that he needed. He didn't look over to the blond as he responded in a fairly blunt manner. "Cooking."

He could picture the eye-roll that accompanied Katsuya's next comment. "Yeah, I knew that, but what are you making?"

"...Spaghetti."

End of Chapter 11