Chapter Seven

Yugi was impressed upon his first visit to Kaiba Corporation's offices. Kaiba's understated but unmistakable good taste permeated everywhere. The desk his executive secretary manned was a rich, elegant hard wood polished to a gleaming shine. Beyond state-of-the-art electronics had been set into the surface, and the view screen for the computer was a hologram projected above the desk, keeping it free of any sort of clutter.

A soft chime sounded from the desk. The polished, efficient man who served as Kaiba's executive secretary rose smoothly and walked toward the door behind his desk, keying it open with his palm-print.

"Mr. Kaiba will see you, now."

Kaiba, vaguely menacing in a severe, dark charcoal suit and deep blue tie, rose just as smoothly from his seat behind his even more impressive desk, and took two steps to the side, and two forward to offer Yugi his hand. Kaiba's handshake was firm, no-nonsense -- but surprisingly free of many of the power tactics that could be played -- such as a painfully crushing grip, or an aggressive step toward the other person to assert control over the other's personal space. Complimenting Kaiba's business courtesy dance was a man, also in a dark suit, seated on the other side of the desk from Kaiba. He stood, waited his turn to clasp Yugi's hand, and pump it twice. It was a neutral handshake free of power ploys, accompanied by a clear "Nice to meet you," spoken in a clipped, British accent.

"Mr. Mutou, welcome to Kaiba Corporation," Kaiba said before gesturing to a plush chair in front of his desk. "Please, have a seat."

Yugi wondered what the hell was going on. He was glad that he'd come directly from work, so he too was dressed in a business suit and a tie. CEO Kaiba was daunting in the extreme. Yugi fought down the urge to smile at the recollection of Kaiba's less-than-dignified appearance just the night before...

-- -- -- --

He'd been surprised when he opened the door to his modest home to see Kaiba on his front porch. Mokuba, grinning from ear to ear and standing next to his big brother, he had been expecting.

"Are you just going to gape at us, or are you going to let us in, Mutou?" Kaiba demanded after a long minute.

"Of-of course! Come in, come in!" Yugi turned too fast making room for them to enter and banged his shoulder into the door. The whole evening he couldn't seem to stop tripping, banging into walls and counters, or dropping things. Kaiba had never been to his home before, though Mokuba had become a regular guest in the past few months. Yugi's spazzing reached a dizzying height of humiliation when he tripped -- over nothing -- while bearing part of dinner to the table where his guests were seated in the dining alcove. In a moment of horrified, slow-motion, hyper-awareness, he watched as a plateful of his special appetizer, specifically requested by Mokuba, sailed through the air to land with undignified splats all over Kaiba.

"What the hell?!" Kaiba vibrated with rage as he stood, towering over Yugi, while cold udon noodles, toasted sesame seeds, and strips of seaweed dripped down his clothes to the floor from the top of his head.

"Ohmygod, Kaiba! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to... That is, I tripped..." Yugi spurted out in red-faced mortification before freezing at the cold fury in Kaiba's eyes. Yugi didn't dare move under that frigid regard, but he couldn't help turning his eyes to the left to glance at Mokuba. Mokuba had frozen like a deer in the headlights at the towering pillar of wrath his brother had become -- until a noodle slid down Kaiba's face and audibly plopped onto the floor.

"Snerk!" Mokuba tried to stifle it. Another noodle. Another plop. Another giggle.

"It's not funny." Kaiba's glare swung around to pin his brother.

Mokuba's eyes went wide. Alarmed, Yugi returned his gaze to Kaiba's face, preparing to jump in the way if he tried to go after Mokuba in the mood he was in. Kaiba's fury-filled eyes rested for a long moment on his brother, then returned to impale Yugi on that icy stare, again.

Kaiba finally relaxed, just a bit, and sighed. "Oh, cut it out, you two. I'm not about to go after my little brother for laughing at something..." Kaiba rolled his eyes. "Something I have to admit must look funny. So, stop it with the twin 'puppy eyes of doom' before I..." Evidently uncomfortable with what he was about to say, Kaiba looked down and more noodles and seaweed plopped onto the floor from his head.

"Why'd it hafta be udon?!" Yugi couldn't help but laugh at the aggrieved and put-upon note in Kaiba's voice, a laugh that was echoed by Mokuba. "You know how I feel about this, this -- substandard, food-aping substance, Mokuba!" Kaiba whined. Whined! Yugi's mouth, against his will, dropped open. "Stop gaping, Mutou, and get me a towel. Assuming you have such a thing in your little, udon-infested hovel..."

"Seto!" Mokuba exclaimed. This time Yugi dared to turn to see Mokuba's face fully, and silently agreed with Kaiba's description. Mokuba's eyes were wide, innocent, sparkling, and full of a sort of threatened heart-wrenching hurt that could melt the coldest heart and challenge the strongest resolve if they were to tear up. Kaiba's eyes narrowed. "Knock it off, Mokuba," he advised in a low tone.

Mokuba's lower lip shot out in a bona fide pout before he stuck his tongue out at Kaiba. "Well then, behave, big brother!"

"I'm dripping with udon unwarrantedly flung on me by our 'host'," Kaiba's voice dripped sarcasm, "and you are telling me to behave?!"

"It was an accident, Seto!" Mokuba shouted.

"It's udon, Mokuba! UDON!"

"Uhm...?" Yugi held a towel out uncertainly. Kaiba looked at him and all but snatched it from his hand. "Stop pouting, Mutou."

"I'm not pouting," Yugi protested.

"Yes, you are. Don't you start up with those puppy eyes of doom again, either." Kaiba demanded. "As bad as Mokuba's. Where's your bathroom? I'm still sticky from the..." At Mokuba's warning look he evidently changed what he was going to say. "...the 'mishap'."

Not quite sure what to do after he'd shown Kaiba the bathroom, Yugi had gathered a handful of paper towels from his kitchen and cleaned up the udon and seaweed mess from the floor where it had dripped off of Kaiba. By the time Kaiba had returned, two sets of knocks had sounded on the door. The first one had been Roland, who brought a change of clothes for his employer. Mokuba thanked the man, and scurried off to Yugi's bathroom to give them to his brother. The second one was a delivery from an upscale Italian restaurant delivering -- pizzas. Mokuba had gotten on his cell phone and placed the two calls to mollify his older brother. Despite the seriously rocky start, it had been a good evening, Yugi realized as he refocused his eyes and attention back on the here and now.

"Take a seat, Mutou," Kaiba repeated. After Yugi had complied he went on. "This is Mr. Cumberson from my legal department..."

"I didn't mean it, Kaiba!" Yugi jumped up again in his agitation. "It was an accident!"

"What are you...? Oh. Stop being silly, Mutou. I'd hardly sue over something so trivial. Besides, suing you would be an exercise in futility. Your current earning power and projected wealth wouldn't be worth the time."

Stung, Yugi sat down again. Well, yeah, it was true that Kaiba was wealthy beyond belief, and he, while not poor, certainly wasn't ever going to command even a single percent of Kaiba's riches, but the jerk didn't have to be so dismissively arrogant about it.

"Stop pouting."

"Not pouting."

"You so are."

"Am not."

"Sir?" Mr. Cumberson spoke up. "I can return later if you need a few minutes..."

Sighing, Kaiba stared the man down. "Suffice it to say I'm not going to sue you, Mutou. Mr. Cumberson, if you please?"

The lawyer pulled a single piece of paper from the attaché case across his lap, and handed it over to Yugi. Bemused, Yugi took it and read it over. Though couched in legal terms, the meaning was still clear. He read it again, looking for disclaimers, provisos, and the other catches Kaiba had taught him to look for in contract proposals.

"It's not a contract," Kaiba told him. "It's a reward for saving Mokuba."

Yugi made as if to place it on the desk. "I didn't do it for a reward," he began.

"I know. All the more reason why you deserve it."

"It's five million dollars, Kaiba!" Yugi exclaimed.

"Yes, that is the figure. I can't begin to place a value on Mokuba's life. All the money I have; the full, future earning power of Kaiba Corporation itself wouldn't begin to show that value. I know that you will put that money to good use." Kaiba's reply held a strange sort of serenity.

It was enough for Yugi to try to realize his dream on his own. No strings. No giving up control of his idea, no adapting to a company's thoroughly researched concept of what his 'product' should be...

"I -- can't..."

"Why not? There are no stipulations on what you do with the money. It's a reward you earned. I would have posted that as the next reward level if you hadn't come forward when you did with your crazy stories, anyway. You know that there had been rewards posted from the beginning. I should have given it to you months ago. It is the least I can do."

"I didn't come forward for a reward. It was my visions..."

Kaiba winced. "I should have made that a condition, I suppose. No more nonsense about visions. Why are you smiling, Mutou? I don't trust that expression."

"Admit it, just once -- that I have visions -- and I'll -- I'll accept the reward!" Yugi declared. There! He had him, now. There was no way the great Seto Kaiba would ever admit...

"All right. Just this once, I will admit to you, and in front of Mr. Cumberson who knows better than to mention anything that we say here to anyone else, that I can't explain how you came by the knowledge you did, in regards to where my brother was held, or the danger he was in. Therefore, I have to concede that there is some basis for your assertion that you had 'psychic visions' that led you to Mokuba."

Wow. Mr. Rigid being not quite so rigid. There's hope for him yet. Yugi smiled.

"You will accept the reward?" Kaiba asked neutrally.

"Did I have psychic visions?" Yugi countered swiftly.

"Yes."

"Then -- yes."

"Good. Now, no more of that psychic bullshit."

"What? Wait!"

"You said 'just once'. I admitted it, just once, and now you are bound to accept the reward for saving Mokuba."

"Grrr!"

"And, no pouting."

"I don't pout!"

"Mr. Cumberson, is that, or is that not, a pout?"

The lawyer covered his mouth with one hand to cough politely. The cough sounded suspiciously like an aborted chuckle. "I wouldn't know, sir. Do you still wish me to present...?"

"Of course."

Mr. Cumberson pulled out a small sheaf of papers and offered them to Yugi.

"What is this?"

"Since that is, by necessity, written in legalese, please simplify and explain it, Mr. Cumberson." Kaiba directed.

"Of course, sir. At its most simple, this is a contract between Yugi Mutou and Seto Kaiba to use seed funds provided by Kaiba Corporation to acquire the failing and currently available Industrial Illusions and incorporate an equal partnership company for the express purpose of launching Mr. Mutou's Duel Monsters concept for a collectible card game."

Yugi's jaw dropped.

"That stopped your pouting," Kaiba noted with satisfaction.

"I--I--I...!"