Peneia Teke: Hey everyone! Sorry for the late update. School's been relentless and writer's block has been a killer. However, the little plot bunny came to the rescue and hacked my writer's block into little pieces. Well, for now at least. Those writers' blocks can regenerate themselves, you know.
Thank you soooooooooo much to everyone who reviewed! It makes it so much more fun to write a story when you know people are reading and enjoying it, so thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!
Disclaimer: I do not in any way own the anime known as Yu-Gi-Oh, so you can all rest easy.
Chapter Two
Kaiba paced his office deep in conversation. His stormy blue eyes narrowed slightly and his brows furrowed in anger at the moron on the other line. He'd been on his cell for less than ten minutes and was steadily wishing he could strangle his employee's neck. He was more than ready to wrap up the conversation. "I don't give a damn what the orders from your superiors were. I'm telling you to have those files on my desk by 4:30 or find your ass out on the street," he growled dangerously, stalking over to his recliner.
"Please understand my position, sir. I-I don't have them at the moment." The voice on the other end was getting desperate.
"That's your problem." he snarled, "I'm running a company not a day care. I don't have time to clean up your messes."
"Just give me one more day, Mr. Kaiba, and I swear I'll have the files!"
The corners of his lips turned up in a dark grin; he loved the feeling of dominance over his employees. "You have my orders, Whitler. I won't repeat myself again." With that final threat, he snapped his cell phone shut and shoved it back into his coat pocket with a low growl. Why must I be surrounded by incompetent morons?
A soft knock at the door was the answer to his unspoken question, and a short man in his late forties poked his head into the room. He'd obviously overheard the conversation and appeared extremely nervous, though Kaiba couldn't exactly say he blamed him. "Mr. Kaiba?" the man asked; his voice shook slightly. "Did I interrupt something, sir?"
The young CEO barely spared him a glance. "What is it?"
"Um, a man from Yuko Industries is here to speak with you about a contract, though he failed to mention any details." He spoke rapidly, unwilling to trigger another bout of Kaiba's explosive temper, which he'd been dishing out in generous portions lately.
Blue eyes narrowed suspiciously. "I don't recall being informed of this. Does he have an appointment?"
The grey haired man fidgeted. "No sir." There was a pause. "Shall I send him up?"
Kaiba allowed his eyes to rest on his associate, who flinched as if he were about to be hit. Then he waved his hand dismissively. "No, I have too much shit to deal with as it is."
"Of course, Mr. Kaiba." He hastily bowed and hurried out of the room.
At last left to the sanctity of his office, Kaiba sat down at his desk and began typing at his laptop. Tick, tick, tick. The noise around him fell silent as he focused on his work, and the rhythmic droning of the keys lulled him into a familiar sense of security. Tick, tick, tick.Work seemed to be the only thing in his life that he could always count on being there. Of course, there was Mokuba, but the kid was growing up before his eyes, and he had no power to slow down the process. He liked the feeling of superiority-he needed to be in control.
He paused and let his eyes drift to the large window beyond his desk. Something wasn't settling right with him.
He shuddered involuntarily when an image of Tea's bright blue eyes and smiling face shimmered through his mind. Stupid girl. He scowled and shook his head to chase away the thoughts. Ok, so he'd admitted that Tea was hot, but there was no way in hell he'd ever think of her as anything more than one of Yugi's little groupies. Besides, she'd made it perfectly clear that she didn't want anything to do with him; she thought of him as nothing more than a heartless bastard.
Kaiba was interrupted from his musings by the sound of scuffing feet on the hard tile flooring, shattering the revered silence he'd become accustomed to and causing his teeth to grind in annoyance. What did the idiots want now? Suddenly, the door burst open, and a tall, well built man tumbled into the room, followed shortly by three of Kaiba's security guards. They charged forward and tackled the man into an arm hold, but Kaiba stopped them in their tracks. "That's enough! What do you imbeciles think you're doing?" he growled angrily.
One of the guards looked slightly taken aback. "Sir, this man somehow managed to break through our security, and we couldn't have him up here causing disturbances."
"Too late for that," he replied dryly. "I suggest that you three release him before I lose my temper." The men immediately backed off and stood uneasily by the door. "Now, get out!" he barked. They didn't have to be told twice and quickly vanished from sight.
Kaiba put a hand to his head and began massaging his temple. "I would have expected someone of your status to have better security than that, Mr. Kaiba," the man said cheerfully, standing up and lightly brushing himself off.
"And you're a very foolish, desperate man to be trying a stunt like that in my facility," Kaiba snapped, eyes flashing. "What the hell do you want?"
The man sized Kaiba up, judging him. At last he smiled and said, "My name's Rakion Yuko; President and Representative of Yuko Industries." He extended his hand, but Kaiba only stared at it in disgust. "I was hoping to borrow a few minutes of your time to discuss terms of a possible partnership between our companies."
"Hn. Whatever." The young CEO glanced at his watch. "You have five minutes to impress me, so I suggest you start talking before I change my mind and have you 'escorted' outside where you belong," he replied coldly.
Yuko pulled out a sealed white envelope from inside his coat. "I know you're a busy man, Mr. Kaiba, so I'll make this brief. I would like you to imagine yourself in a position where you have the respect and admiration of every powerful business corporation in the world, where you're known as the brilliant, young genius of the gaming world. You'd like that wouldn't you?" Kaiba just grunted, and the older man grinned knowingly. "It's a given that, and this is if you were to accept the contract of course, you would remain President and CEO of Kaiba Corporation and continue the manufacturing and marketing of duel monster technology and merchandise."
"Get to the point, Yuko," Kaiba growled, eyes narrowing in annoyance.
"Of course," the man replied. "To be blunt Yuko Industries would like an equal share in Kaiba Corporation, which natrually includes control of the sale prices and distribution of the merchandise marketing. Any profits recieved will be split in a 40/60 ratio with you recieving the latter."
There was a short pause, and then Kaiba gave a dry chuckle. "You don't really want a partnership, do you? You just want the Kaiba name. Well let me tell you something about-"
Yuko was saved from further tongue lashing by the buzzing of the intercom on the office wall. "What is it?" Kaiba growled at his secretary after he'd fumbled to turn on the speaker.
He could hear her sigh from the other line as she replied in a bored tone, "Mr. Kaiba, your little brother would like to see you. Do you want me to send him up?" Kaiba paused for a moment, mildly surprised at the woman's courage to speak to him the way she did; especially when he was in a bad mood. How long had this one been around? Obviously quite awhile, and he couldn't even remember her name... "Mr. Kaiba?" The secretary's tone had changed to one of curiosity.
Annoyed at being caught off guard Kaiba snapped, "You know very well he doesn't need my permission to come up here."
"Yes sir," she replied sarcastically. "I only use it as an excuse to hear your cheerful voice. Always brightens my day." There was a sharp click, and the line went silent. Kaiba narrowed his eyes and glared at the intercom but turned his head to the door when he heard the sound of footsteps pounding up the stairs. A small boy with shaggy, raven colored hair burst into the room and launched himself into Kaiba's arms.
"Hi, Seto!" he exclaimed, panting slightly.
Kaiba grinned down at his brother and ruffled his hair affectionately. "Hey, kid." He cocked his head at Mokuba and frowned slightly. "Did something happen? You look like you just ran a marathon."
They little boy grinned sheepishly and replied, "I ran up the stairs." Enough said. He'd obviously not waited for the secretary's 'ok'.
"Why didn't you take the elevator?"
"I dunno. I didn't want to."
"Ahem." The brotherly greeting was interrupted by an impatient cough, and Mokuba looked up, noticingYuko for the first time.
"Oh, hello," he sang out cheerfully. "I didn't know I was interrupting a meeting."
"Yes, that's quite alright, young man. My name's-"
"He's no one of importance," Kaiba cut in rudely, giving Yuko an icy glare. There was an awkward silence, and Mokuba glanced from one to the other, sensing the tension that had enveloped between them.
"Well, I can see that we are not going to agree, so I'll just leave this with you and be getting on my way," Yuko said, dropping the white, unopened envelope on Kaiba's desk.
"I think that's the first thing we've had a mutual understanding on, Yuko," Kaiba sneered, "It's just too bad that it took you fifteen minutes of my valuable time to figure it out."
The business man walked to the door but turned and added over his shoulder, "Please take the time to read over the contract and get back to me on your decision."
"I wouldn't bother reading that worthless piece of shit if someone paid me," he replied coldly as he watched Yuko exit with a smirk. Then he turned to his little brother, eyes softening. "So, how was school today?"
Mokuba grinned and began chatting animatedly; ignoring the fact that Kaiba had just brought another business man to the mercy of his temper. He was too used to his brother's mood swings to be affected by them, though he knew they made everyone else nervous. "It was great! This animal guy came and showed us these really cool snakes. I even got to pet one of 'em!"
Kaiba's skin crawled slightly at the mention of snakes, but he brushed it off and put on a fake smile for his brother. "That's very ah... interesting, Mokuba."
"Yeah, I know you don't really like snakes, big brother, but these ones were awesome. They were ginormous and wrapped around the guy's arms."
"Mmm..."
Mokuba sensed his brother's discomfort and decided to change the subject. "Oh yeah, John wanted me to spend the night tonight. Is that ok?"
"Who?" Kaiba asked, raising an eyebrow.
"John White; I just met him this year. He's in my English class, and he's from California! Isn't that cool, Seto?"
Kaiba nodded slowly and asked, "Is it ok with his parents?"
"Yup."
"How much homework do you have?"
"Um... just a little bit of math and some spelling, but it won't take that long."
"Ok," Kaiba replied. "I still have some work to finish up here, but I'll send for Roland, and he can take you to the mansion to get your things."
"Yeah! Thank you, big brother!" Mokuba shouted, hugging Kaiba around his middle. The young CEO just smiled warmly.
"What time does he want you to come over?"
"Uh... He said he doesn't care, but we were thinking around 5:00."
"Ok, that sounds good." He brought out his cell phone and dialed a number. "It's me. I need you to pick up Mokuba and bring him back to the mansion."
"Of course, Mr. Kaiba. I assume he's with you at Kaiba Corporation?"
"Yes."
"Alright. I'll be there in ten minutes, sir."
The crisp night air smelled fresh and clean as Kaiba strode down the sidewalk toward his mansion. He found he preferred walking home to taking the limo as it cleared his mind after a grueling day. Plus he enjoyed the quiet and cover of darkness when there was no one out to question him. Contrary to popular belief, Seto Kaiba actually liked being outdoors, but he preferred to keep this little piece of information to himself. In his mind it was a weakness of sorts and weaknesses were never to be flaunted.
Kaiba sighed and glanced up at the bright stars scattered across the navy sky. He felt a bit disappointed that Mokuba wouldn't be home when he arrived, but he was glad that his brother was finally making friends his own age. Since being adopted by their cruel stepfather, Gozaburo, Mokuba had been somewhat reclusive toward others. Not as badly as Kaiba himself but certainly more than other children his age. It made Kaiba loathe his adopted father with even greater intensity. He grinned wickedly as he reminded himself that he'd risen above the old man in every way possible: from taking control of his company and driving everyone he cared about against him to eventually causing the fool to jump out his own office window. Kaiba had triumphed and the old man had failed; simple as that.
A cool breeze stirred, blowing his chocolate colored hair gently into his eyes. He bent his head slightly and brushed the stray pieces of hair aside. Then his eyes narrowed as they fell on the silhouette of a figure walking toward him. He couldn't make out who it was, but the figure didn't look big enough to be any kind of a threat, and he continued forward at his usual brisk pace. Why someone was walking around outside this late at night, he didn't know, but whoever it was didn't seem to be in any particular hurry to get anywhere fast.
When Kaiba was finally close enough to recognize the figure, a small smirk marred his handsome features. It was Tea Gardner of all people, and she was out wandering the street in the middle of the night, totally unprotected, and completely alone. Kaiba couldn't remember the last time he'd seen the girl without her little group of friends. Except for the other night of course, but he wasn't quite sure if that really counted.
It was obvious that Tea hadn't seen Kaiba yet as her eyes were fixed on the texturedpavement before her.
"What the hell are you doing out here, Gardner?" Kaiba asked with a raised eyebrow, though it couldn't be seen in the dark. "Especially at this hour of the night?" Tea's head whipped up and she stopped abruptly in surprise. She didn't even need to see the figure to know exactly who he was. His deep, raspy voice was a dead giveaway. Kaiba stopped directly in front of her and folded his arms across his chest, waiting for an answer.
"What does it look like, Kaiba?" she snapped, "I'm walking." She sidestepped, preparing to move around him, but he mirrored her motions and blocked her path.
"Who said you could go anywhere?" he mocked arrogantly.
"Please don't, Kaiba," Tea muttered, "I'm not in the mood for this right now."
Kaiba sneered. He'd been pissed off all day, and now was the perfect opportunity to vent some of his pent up frustrations on his main rival's best friend. A little voice in his head, presumably his conscience, chided him for his actions and warned him that what he was doing wasn't very nice, but he just ignored it like he always did.
"What do you want?" Tea growled, crossing her arms across her chest as well and tilting her head back to glare Kaiba in the eyes.
"Isn't it a little dangerous for a girl of your caliber to be out here all alone?" He asked, ignoring her question. Then he smirked. "Where anything could happen to you?" He took a step closer and Tea took a step back.
"Are you planning on doing something with me, Kaiba?"
He scoffed. "Don't flatter yourself, Gardner. There's nothing about you that I could possibly want."
"Get out of my way," Tea snapped angrily. Although she hated to admit it, Kaiba's comment had hurt, but there was no way she'd let him have the satisfaction of knowing it. She shoved him in the chest to get him to move, but it did no good. He grabbed her arm before she could go anywhere.
"On the other hand..." he murmured, clutching her forearm and rubbing it gently with his thumb. She froze, rooted to the spot and glanced up at him with wide, fearful blue eyes. He could feel her arm tense up under his touch, and smiled to himself at the dominancy he held over her. "Do I make you nervous, Gardner?" he asked huskily. Tea's knees felt weak and began to tremble slightly. "I think I've won this round," he mocked softly.
That snapped Tea out of her stupor, and she pulled away from him in disgust. "This is all just a game to you isn't it, Seto Kaiba?" she demanded furiously. How dare he toy with her feelings!
Kaiba gave her a sly grin. "Yes." Then he pushed passed her, causing her to stumble and nearly loose her balance. She watched with a look of pure disgust as he strode away, trench coat whipping out behind him.Her eyes narrowedin anger, and she stomped off in the opposite direction.
Later that night, Tea lay in bed and stared up at her ceiling. Her body was exhausted, but her mind was fully awake and functioning. Instead of forcing herself to sleep, she thought back to her run in with Kaiba and began analyzing it. Not that there was much to analyze. It had been obvious that Kaiba had had a bad day and had used her as a means of distraction. It had all been just a twisted little game.
Suddenly Tea's eyes widened. If it had all been an act, then why had his touch been so gentle? It was almost like he'd been afraid of hurting her. She shook her head in disgust. She was thinking too much about the ordeal.
After nearly two hours of lying awake in bed, her eyes began to feel heavy, and she rolled over and drifted into a light sleep.
PT: Well, that was fun! I hope you all enjoyed it. I know it wasn't the most exciting of chapters, but I'll get more into the Tea/Seto parts soon enough. Oh, I almost forgot. Yesterday, I heard this YGO music clip about Kaiba from the YGO movie, and I really thought it fit him well. It's called 'You're Not Me', and I've only heard part of it, but here it is anyway.
You think I've got it all,
Everyone thinks I've got it made well,
How come my only friends are the ones I pa-ay?
No one understands
What I would do to change my life
For just one day.
Don't say if I were you,
Or tell me what to do;
How things would be if you were in my shoes.
It's kinda sad, but I think that's what Kaiba must feel under all that ice. Well, please leave a review on your way out. They really brighten my day, and I'll try to update soon.