Masaka: -dragging in a large ominous machine-
Yami Masaka: -looks up from her snacks and chocks- A-aibou…w-what's that?
Masaka: Just something I intend to use to squeeze some inspiration from my muse –flips an even more ominous switch-
Jason: ALL IMAGINARY CREATIONS HIT THE DECK!! –huddles on the floor with his arms over his head-
-The machine starts to blow manmade snow into the air-
Yami Masaka: -peeks up from her huddle behind Jason- W-what the …-whacks Jason with her one of her high-heels- You moron, you got me all worked up for nothing!
Jason: Eh…gotcha? Heh-heh…heh?
CHAPTERSTART
Seto didn't particularly HATE Christmas. It was a decent holiday where the business world, ever-consuming though it was, allowed him a moment with his little brother. Hell, even when Gozuburo was alive and in charge of KC he'd given Seto his space on the holiday.
What Seto DIDN'T like was the holiday rush leading UP to Christmas. From November through to the hallowed Eve it was balls to the walls at the company. The CEO had to confer with his advertising team on the holiday advertisement scheme, he had to make sure that the KC Santa was up to snuff; he had to argue with his suppliers to make sure they kept their prices low so that parents wouldn't buy a cheap knock-off duel-disk to save a few dollars on the holiday budget. He had to arrange for bonuses for all the applicable employees and had to set up a Christmas Eve Party.
Then there was the gift-giving part of Christmas that Seto would rather do without. He had to go over a list with his head secretary over which business partners got what. He also had to schedule time with his head housekeeper to review a list of presents for Mokuba –that he never bought or wrapped himself because if he ever went into a store he'd be mobbed by fans—and all the other less important people on his personal Christmas gift-list.
And on top of all that Seto still had to wade through the kiss-ass gifts every morning and spend his lunch-hour turning down the hundreds of party invitations he received as politely as he could.
By the end of the average day in December, Seto Kaiba was one worn-out puppy. Today was no exception.
"God, what I wouldn't give to kill the moron that invented singing greeting cards," the young brunette groaned to himself as yet another letter began to belt out a very poorly recorded version of Jingle Bell Rock.
With his right hand Seto rummaged through his desk drawer for his medicine, the other hand buzzed his secretary.
"Araki-san! Please tell me your finished compiling that list," Kaiba groaned. Normally he'd conduct himself in an icy professional demeanor towards all his employees but his house-staff and his head secretary were special. They managed to annoy him ninety-percent less than most people did. This was probably the reason WHY they were his house-staff and head secretary.
"I apologize for the wait Kaiba-sama," a slightly older female voice echoed through the call-box on his desk; "it seems there were quite a few more callers this year than last."
"Just great," Kaiba grumbled to himself as he dry-swallowed his migraine pills.
"I'm sorry sir, though you know it would really help if you could give me a conclusive answer as to what I'm supposed to buy for that Jounouchi person you had me add onto the list," Araki said firmly but apologetically.
She was a great woman who never put up with Kaiba's temper which was much preferable to the other secretaries he'd had who would just burst into tears whenever Kaiba felt a screaming tantrum about coffee or one of the easier control things in his life come over him.
It wasn't his fault he got so angry; he had stress issues. He had to let that vent out somewhere and sometimes it was just their bad luck that those girls had to get a glimpse of it. It wasn't like he even yelled at THEM, just the coffee machines, or the lists or the other little things that broke at the least convenient moment. And Kaiba always apologized right afterwards and went right back to his controlled and complimentary ways.
"I know Araki, and I'll get back to you as soon as I decide until then-" the buzzer from security went off causing a very uncomplimentary four lettered word to burst from Seto's lips. "-Hold on, I have another call."
Kaiba jabbed the controls a little harder than necessary and barked; "WHAT THE HELL IS IT?"
"U-Um Mister Kaiba…sir…I um…I think you should come down here to the Santa Station…there is a little problem going on with Murakami and um the elves," the poor security guard explained.
Kaiba massaged his aching head in his hand and muttered a curse against all Egyptian spirits and their deceptive coffee-table manners then told the man he was on his way.
Christmas, Kaiba decided, was not his favorite holiday after all.
SCENECHANGE
After yesterday's whole depressing affair Atem had gone home and slept like the dead, not even bothering to contact Yugi before hitting the mattress. But because of this the next morning had been very rough and awkward, leading towards a distant between the two star-heads…which also inevitably led to this current situation.
"Come on Motu-kun," Murakami drooled, as he motioned Yugi to bend over further, "you heard the costumers, they want you in this shot as well, and they want you looking your very sexiest."
"T-They're too old to even BE in this line!" Yugi wailed pointing zealously to the two eighteen-year-old yakuza kids flanking the rather aggrieved Santa Claus like demented bodyguards.
"That hurts elf," the taller of the two yakuza smirked with a hand over his heart, "how can you say that we're too old to appreciate the magic of Christmas? We've got every right to be here, and every right to commemorate the occasion, so just pose and we'll be outta here in a minute."
"You'll be leaving sooner than that!" Bakura growled, yanking off his hat and stomping over the mounds of fake-snow.
"No! Bakura! There are kids present!" Ryou yelped grabbing his lover by the waist.
"Well then Atem can do it!" Bakura snapped, not really thinking clearly about the issue. If he had been he'd have remembered that Atem tended to be a lot more …graphic than Bakura.
Bakura sent idiots to the Shadow Realm, cleanly efficiently and with all the stealth a successful thief should possess. As for Atem…well the ever outstanding ex-pharaoh was much more likely to blast an opponent's brains out or left debilitating curses in his victim's rattling skulls. That kind of image was a lot worse on children.
"Huh what?" Atem jolted at the mention of his name. He then looked over at the Santa's throne and finally noticed what was happening. "What are you guys doing to Yugi?"
Bakura looked about ready to tear Atem a new one for being such an air-head when luckily the troops arrived…sort of.
All Kaiba Seto had to do was walk into the room glowering and the two punks who had thought they were so tough decided that there was nothing wrong with backing off from a joke either. In fact, they instantly knew that there was nothing wrong with stopping a joke mid-execution and abandoning the building all together in light of Kaiba's temper, nothing wrong with that at all.
"Murakami!" Kaiba snapped shortly causing said pervert to jump about a foot in the air from sheer blood-stopping fear.
"Y-Yes sir?" the leech asked meekly, dropping the client's abandoned camera like it was on fire.
"Get this line moving again…I'm borrowing Yugi," Seto said putting a protective arm around Yugi's shoulders and steering him out of the Santa Station towards the express elevator he'd just come from.
"B-But Kaiba-san you already had Katsu-" Murakami began to complain. He then got a good look at those laser blue eyes of Kaiba and relented. "Never mind."
Atem looked curiously between Seto and Yugi.
"Is there something you need to talk to my hikari about, Kaiba?"
"Just hand out candy-canes like a good little elf, Atem," Kaiba smirked before whisking Yugi away in a graceful flare of his coal-black coat.
Atem just stood there gapping in impotent rage at Kaiba while behind him Murakami began a cursing story about spoiled CEOs who get their greedy mitts on all the best boys.
Bakura just smirked like the Grinch who'd just come up his terrible, horrible, awful idea and snuck off into the backroom.
The poor Santa and the bewildered Ryou more responsibly went back to listening to little children's wishes and spreading the yuletide cheer. Or at the very least pretending to, and that was just about all you could ask of anyone given the situation.
SCENECHANGE
Yugi had been to Kaiba's office on only three occasions. The first time had been when Kaiba had offered him a job after Atem had been missing –in a weird way that offer had been Kaiba's form of condolences--. The second time he had been with Ryou and Malik, coming to ask Seto for the funds and the black-market skills to both physically and legally give life to the ancient spirits. And the third time had been when Yugi had come to thank Kaiba for his help with the Jounouchi/Murakami scandal.
None of these three times had been very comfortable, mostly because Kaiba's office seemed to have the man's aura painted so strongly over every inch that Yugi felt like he was getting suffocated every time he crossed the doorway. Also Yugi was always a bit hesitant around authority figures, particularly if they were closer to his own age. That had been the reason why some of the worse teachers at Domino had needed Atem's special attention more than anything to do with Yugi's own weaknesses.
This time around, however, Yugi didn't feel anywhere near as anxious as he usually did. That Kaiba was inviting him in, rather than Yugi having to make the first move, took a lot of tension off the little elf's shoulders. And because of this he was able to notice the nice homey changes the young CEO had made to his rather bland office to make it cozier.
There was no more monochromatic blue carpeting and blue couches and lifeless gray walls. Instead Kaiba had gotten plush green carpeting and a mahogany leather loveseat, two armchairs and a cherry-stained coffee-table.
Kaiba had also added some mahogany bookshelves against the walls to add a sort of library like feel to the room. And Yugi would bet every single book on the shelves was a book Seto Kaiba had read or used in his business.
The wall with the television embedded into the plaster was still the same, only at Mokuba's request, Yugi guessed, there was a shelf bellow this flat-screen, providing a case for a dvd player, four game-systems and a small row of movies.
All in all the office looked more inviting. Kaiba Seto had to spend a lot of time within these walls so it was understandable that the guy would get around to making it a place worth staying. Which hopefully meant, if Yugi was reading the signs right, that Kaiba was trying to become a friendlier person instead of his awe-inspiring corporate self?
"Have a seat," Seto motioned to the chairs as he himself strolled over to his own impressive full-functioned desk chair. It was the prize of all the new accessories, with headphones in the headrest, massage features, great reclining controls and heating coils in the seat-cushion and leg-rest.
Yugi nodded gently and sat down delicately on the armchair closest to the desk. He was still a little wary about his uniform and figured the first time he sat down carelessly it would be the last time the color and character of his underwear would be secret.
"I'm sorry about Murakami, I honestly have no idea what idiot hired him," Kaiba sighed warily. "Rest assured once I find out, both Murakami and said moron will be finding new employment."
"It's really all right Seto," Yugi smiled. He then titled his head curiously to one side. "But Murakami isn't the real reason I'm in your office…is it?"
"…Damn you two are way too good at reading the situation," Kaiba grumbled. He leaned forward against his desk and templed his fingers sternly under his chin.
"I had a little talk with your darker-half yesterday Yugi and a subject came up that I'm just dying to know more about."
"A talk with Yami?" Yugi blinked curiously. "What about?"
"About a certain action taken place with a certain female you know," Seto smirked eagerly. "Apparently you and Anzu Masaki are a couple now."
"Me and ANZU?" Yugi blanched. "Ugh! Gross! That'd be like Malik dating Ishizu!"
"And yet you two supposedly kissed yesterday….according to your other," Kaiba said casually. It was weird to see the brunette so eager to gossip, but then again it was rare that Atem had something scandalous enough happening in his life the gossip could be created.
Despite all the allowances made by everyone involved, the group's rivals still loved to taunt each other. And Seto was a little bit more ambitious than the others at finding new angles of ridicule to exploit.
"We…oh! OH! That wasn't a kiss…not, like, a REAL kiss," Yugi blushed. "Anzu was just happy that she got accepted into this year's production of the Nutcracker and she well…obviously got carried away."
Yugi then looked up from his lap in concern. "How did you…I mean what did Yami say about it? And how did he even know about it anyway?"
"Apparently he was stalking you," Seto shrugged and leaned back in his chair with a sigh of disappointment. Obviously the gossip had lost its flavor with the truth. "He's apparently quite obsessed with you. I seriously believe that man would move the earth to the center of the sun if you just asked him to."
"He…he actually said that?" Yugi stared incredulously.
"Not in so many words, but the feeling was definitely there," Seto shrugged again. He then sighed. "I just wanted to hear the story from you. Take the rest of the day off if you like, Murakami-trauma is something I feel qualifies as a good excuse for leaving early."
Yugi flushed and shook his head, self-consciously tugging at the hem of his skirt. He was just now starting to feel a little ashamed of his costume.
"It's alright. I want to work. It's…fun…when Murakami isn't around anyway. It reminds me of when I used to be one of those kids waiting for my turn in Santa's lap…besides I have…commitments that demand I keep this job."
"That's very admirable of you," Seto smirked kindly.
Yugi was about to rise when he caught sight of something very interesting; amid all the new decorations and furniture there was a particularly startling new addition…namely a silver picture-frame on Kaiba's desk holding a photo of, not Mokuba, but Katsuya.
"Is that-" Yugi started to ask. Kaiba's reaction was quicker though. The brunette swept the photo –and everything else on his desk—into a desk-drawer and he slammed that drawer very firmly shut.
"It's nothing."
Yugi gapped at the very unusual behavior then smiled very charmingly. So charmingly in fact that Seto broke out into a nervous sweat because of it.
The last time he'd seen the much charm, he'd been blackballed into the grave-robbing business for the sake of spirits he would have rather not have seen reanimated.
"What?" Seto snarled defensively.
"Katsuya is very fond of you too," Yugi smiled. "He just can't admit it. Jou has always been bad with words. His very first words of friendship to me even were totally corny. He's always better at just showing his affections if given the chance."
"Why are you telling me all this?" Kaiba coughed awkwardly.
"…Because you want to know, and if I tell you, you'll do what I want later on," Yugi explained simply.
Because he could tell that he was already pushing his luck, Yugi chose not to comment on how oddly cute Seto looked when he was blushing. He just made sure to store that image deep inside his mind for the next time he had business with the CEO.
"I'm sure that I could put in a good word for you with Katsuya, if you want," Yugi smiled gently. "It wouldn't be any trouble and-"
"Just beat it, Moto," Kaiba flushed an even darker shade of red. Yugi bit his lower lip to hold in a desperate laugh and bowed politely.
As he was leaving Yugi couldn't help but take one last peek at his temporary boss and found Seto staring down at his hands with what could have been the most conflicted look Yugi had ever seen.
"I'll have to add this to my list then," Yugi said quietly to himself before gently shutting the door.
SCENECHANGE
Bakura had always been talented at setting up traps even before he'd taken on the role of shadowy avenger. His natural inclination was to be sneaky and to cause mayhem. Over the course of the last few thousand years Bakura had managed to refine this inclination into a way of living.
Bakura knew that the perfect type of prank was one which was righteous in its delivery. If you attacked a friend with a spring-loaded water-balloon or a shampoo-bottle of Nair, you tended to get your ass handed back to you on a platter. However, if you preformed such tricks –or worse- against the local punk ass, you were hailed a hero and given that much more attention by your hikari.
So without feeling much more than a twinge of conscious Bakura had set up what had to be one of his favorite pranks around the Santa's castle. He called it the 'hook and humble.'
"Oh Muuuuuuuurakaaaaaami-sempai!" Bakura crooned to his boss after he'd made sure the last bolt was in place. "Can you come over here a minute please?"
Murakami looked up from his clipboard –which Bakrua's sharp eyes could see was covered with particularly crude doodles of a certain brunette billionaire getting whumped in all sorts of violent manners-and snorted heavily in Bakura's direction.
"What is it Bakura-san?" the leech asked.
"There is a little problem with this Christmas tree's lights. This light on this side won't come on," Bakura said, feeling an urge to stay in theme with his very Grinchy mood.
"Oh for GOD'S SAKE!!" Murakami wailed, scaring a pair of six-year-old girls who were standing in line. "Is everything around here messed up?"
With glee Bakura watched Murakami come closer and closer then-
'WHOOOOOSH!'
The pervert of Domino stepped in the simple rope loop that Bakura had set up with a little of the extra wiring, wrenching the boy legs-first up into the rafters. Bakura then rushed up and yanked the teen's jeans down to his booties and used one of the decorative giant candy canes he'd picked up to smack the pervert's hinny Rudolph red.
(A/N: This…isn't sneaky at all…is it? Bakura: blush s-shut up I was in a rush!)
"Happy Holidays sempai!" Bakura cackled happily.
He was feeling pretty jazzed now that his deed was done and for an extra thrill he pulled out a permanent marker and doodled an upside down Santa face across Murakami's exposed belly. The six-year old girls clapped approvingly, though their mothers looked a little punch-drunk from the suddenness of it all.
"W-wh-wha-what the hell is this Bakrua! You can't treat your superior this way! I'll report you-"
"To who? Kaiba hates your pasty guts," Bakura snorted, jabbing the pervert in the ribs just hard enough to start the boy on a nauseating upside-down spin.
"AAAARRGH! GET ME DOOOOWN!!" Murakami wailed.
"If I promise to cut you down, do you promise to not hit on anyone who is unfortunate enough to work with you from now until the end of time?" Bakura asked with a jaunty smirk.
"Yes, yes now get me down!" Murakami wailed, as he tried to pull his pants back up to his hips at the same time he tried to pull down his shirt.
"Super duper promise?" Bakura asked.
"Super duper promise!" Murakami wailed.
"Really?" Bakura cackled.
"REALLY!" Murakami wailed.
"Weeeell," Bakura sighed tauntingly.
"Please!!!" Murakami squealed like a piglet.
Bakura smirked but didn't make a move towards the lights. That was he didn't…until he noticed one of the girls looking dolefully at him with chocolate brown eyes the same shade as Ryou's.
The very implication of his light was enough to make Bakura pull out his pocket-knife from his belt and clip the wire. "Okay then."
Murakami fell to the ground in a spectacular explosion of fake snow and tinsel. The six year olds whooped approvingly and Bakura proudly polished his nails against his shirt breast.
Mission 'Prank the Perv' was accomplished.
"What in GOD'S NAME is going on over here?" a heart-stoppingly familiar voice scowled from behind causing Bakrua's confidence to wilt.
"Triple crap," Bakura winced as he anxiously looked over his shoulder at Ryou's father.
He may have been a good prankster but it was apparent that his parent-impressing skills would take another millennium to cultivate. If he lived that long.
"Hello Mister um…Bakura," Bakura winced, wishing for the hundredth-millionth time that he hadn't taken Ryou's surname for his own. It made things so much more complicated, in an already too complicated situation.
"So this is how you go about being a 'decent member of society' is it?" Leonardo snorted back one of the defenses Ryou had hastily formed for Bakura's sake the previous night.
Leonardo had not been quite so furious about the whole….couch-thing…as he seemed to have been royally ticked off about who Ryou had chosen to engage in …couch-things…with. By the historian-Bakura's understanding the ancient spirit was just a no account, skill-less, ambitious-less sponge who was preying off his obscenely younger partner.
'Kamenwati' had surged to protest against the ambitious-less insult, nearly bringing up the dreaded 'Z' subject when Ryou had leapt in and told his father that Kamenwati was really a good guy, mentioning how he had taken a job at KC. The company title had given Kamenwati a little lee-way but as Leonardo's eyes were now dipping into previously unimagined shades of red, the ex-thief figured that whatever good impression employment with KC might have made for him, Bakura's stupid need to play devil's advocate had ruined it.
"Uh…I can…explain this," Bakura coughed awkwardly.
"Oh I'm sure you can," Leonardo snorted, crossing his arms sternly across his chest.
"Uh what you um…have to understand is that um…Murakami here is a pervert and I was just doing my part to take down um…behavior of this sort in the workplace with um…harsh…example," Bakura floundered for words.
He was actually feeling a little ridiculous. He could talk down gods and pharaohs and terrify the living-souls out of fully-armed well-trained soldiers…but he couldn't hold his own against his beloved's old man. There was definitely some irony in that somewhere, but Bakura couldn't quite figure out how it would be worded.
"How very responsible of you, Kamenwati," Leo smiled icily. "I suppose you'll be letting him hang you up next then. After all, I do seem to remember some rather inappropriate behavior on your part yesterday."
"HEY! Ryou was willing!" Bakura snapped, before he realized just how little such statements would help him. "I mean…well that is …we weren't in public so it's different and…do we really have to have this conversation here? There are children present…and all that."
"You are right…perhaps we should go…to where there are no witnesses," Leonardo Bakura snarled.
"Ah…that's…not what I meant," Bakura chocked over his sudden fear for not only his masculinity but his very life.
"You should know-" Leonardo started, but was interrupted by Ryou come around the corner.
"Bakura what was all the yelling abou-" Ryou started to ask, before catching full sight of the scene and heaving a exhausted sigh. "Oh Bakura, what am I going to do with you."
Kamenwati smiled apologetically at his hikari and hoped to the gods and even God that Leonardo was a good Japanese citizen and hadn't broken any of the strict gun-control laws of the country.
SCENECHANGE
Mokuba had been patient with his brother. In fact, he had been overwhelmingly we-should-nominate-the-kid-for-sainthood patient with his all too patience-abusing brother.
That patience, however, had just reached its end.
"That idiot CANNOT keep screwing around like this if he ever wants to get anywhere!" Mokuba stomped his foot impatiently against the elevator floor as he waited to arrive at the top-floor. "He's a CEO for goodness's sake! You'd figure he'd be the one to appreciate the importance of taking full advantage of every opportunity but NNNOOOOO not my brother."
The matter that had Mokuba in a huff, as you might expect, was the Jounouchi matter.
Mokuba had known about his brother and Jou's 'totally-sociable-not-at-all-suggestive-long-overdue-thank-you' coffee date. In fact Mokuba had actually jury-rigged Seto's collar-microphone with a button-hole camera so that he could keep an eye on this interaction. He was, after all, as responsible for his brother's social behavior as Seto was responsible for Mokuba's physical welfare (A/N: which probably explains why the boys are always in so much trouble).
And when Mokuba saw and heard Seto take that one defensive teasing step that sent Jounouchi running in a humiliated, infuriated huff the younger Kaiba had reached the end of his endurance.
"I'm gonna give him a telling-off like no other! I CAN'T STAND THIS! Like it wasn't hard enough getting Domino Tower to rearrange its scheduling so Serenity would be busy on Christmas Eve leaving Jou in the perfect situation for Seto to take him on a romantic date! Ooooh there is NO WAY all my butt-kissing and palm-greasing is going to be brushed off THAT easily! I'LL FIGHT!" Mokuba continued to rant as he hopped off the elevator and stalked straight to the office door. "I'll perform a sit-in! No! I'll do a guerilla warfare attack on his precious car and have the snow-plows bury it under a drift ten-foot high! No! I won't even do that I'll-"
Before Mokuba had time to decide what he would do the door to Seto's office came winging open and a very anger-dissolving body came walking calmly out.
"Elf-san," Mokuba blinked, still not quite over the great shock and awe value of Yugi in an elf-girl costume.
"Huh…oh, hello Mokuba-kun, good to see you," Yugi said formally.
"Err…hi…Yugi," Mokuba shook his head to hopefully overcome the need to giggle. "What were you doing in my brother's office?"
"Ah well…how to explain um…Murakami," Yugi sighed.
"Oh, no further explanation needed then," Mokuba smirked sympathetically. The boy then tilted his head curiously to one side and asked. "But if it's just another perv-alert, why do you look so troubled?"
"I-I look troubled?" Yugi blinked.
"Sort of…you've got this little frown-line between your eyes that you always get when something is wrong. Usually you get it right before Seto does something stupid like invite a psychopathic spirit into one of his game tournaments," Mokuba explained himself.
"I'm just a little…worried," Yugi self-consciously rubbed at said wrinkle spot, "about all the arrangements I still have to make for the holiday. Your brother's current err…crush…just got added to the list so now I have a little less time for-"
"OH MY GOSH! YOU SEE IT TOO!" Mokuba whooped, grabbing Yugi's hands ecstatically in his own. (A/N: blame his American private English tutor for the behavior).
"S-see wha- Mokuba, the secretary is staring," Yugi blushed.
"Oh, sorry, sorry," Mokuba let go off the teenager's hands with a laugh. "It's just…well I'm so glad I've got a comrade in arms in this you see! I've been trying to get my brother and Jou together for MONTHS and so far no go, but if YOU help me I'm sure things will turn out all right."
Yugi sighed heavily and leaned weakly against the wall; "That exactly it though, I don't know how I can help when I have so many other people I'm looking after as well."
"Oh, but you're the Yu-Gi-Oh! You've got to have at least one LITTLE plan up your pom-pom decorated sleeve!" Mokuba sobbed.
"…Well…" Yugi said thoughtfully. "There is ONE thing that might work…but you know I don't think I have time to-"
"THEN I'LL DO IT!" Mokuba raised his hand like he was volunteering to answer a question. "I'll follow your plans to the letter, chief! I'll take care of everything by my lonesome and you can focus on your other good deeds! I've got a whole team of body-guards to help me and everything."
Yugi looked thoughtfully out the window for a moment then smirked and laid out his plan.
Mokuba was never sure how Yugi did it really. The boy had a lackadaisical sort of work-ethic and very little appreciation for studying but at times of great crisis…Yugi truly had the best strategies up his sleeve. And this particular plan that Yugi had for his brother and Jounouchi was definitely a world-saver.
"The only problem with it is that I don't know if I can get the restaurant to agree, not to mention it will be hard finding the sort of actors that will pull this off," Yugi sighed in conclusion.
"Hey I was already working with the restaurant over for my own plans and I KNOW the KaibaCorp directory will be able to lead me to some starving artist capable of pulling such as job so I'm sure I can pull a little extra finagling will be no problem at all…I just hope Serenity doesn't mind giving up her reservation," Mokuba winked encouragingly.
"Serenity is probably even MORE desperate to get her brother and your brother together than the two of us combined. If Anzu has taught me anything it is to never, ever underestimate the motivating power of potential romance to the female mind," Yugi replied slightly less jubilant grin.
Mokuba noticed the less than sunshine glow about the duelist and had to ask; "is everything alright with you?"
"No…right now it's not alright but I hope…I hope it will be soon," Yugi said ambiguously before patting Mokuba encouragingly on the shoulder and walking off towards the elevator.
Mokuba huffed in frustration at the dismissal and yelled after him; "The whole lone suffering hero thing works better with PANTS, Motu-saaaaan!"
Gratifyingly Yugi squeaked in embarrassment and ran off into the safety of the elevators.
"So now I have a King of Game's approved plan of action," Mokuba thought over his new strategy gleefully. "Hmmm maybe this Christmas really WILL be a great one after all."
SCENECHANGE
He was exhausted really. Not enough that he felt it was right to trouble Mokuba, but all the same he was tired.
"Mou hitori no boku was just scolding me about not respecting my own limits," Yugi chuckled slightly as he pressed his slightly aching head against the cold glass of the elevator wall. "He told me that I should watch how many responsibilities I take on at once."
What Atem had actually said was that Yugi should monitor his 'ka' more closely and that Yugi should temper how brilliantly he let it flare because 'light-ka' was always most at risk for burning out.
Still Yugi had recognized that his other was talking about more than dueling energy.
"Ah! Speaking of duel-monsters!" Yugi jolted out of his daze.
The small game king reached for his deck-sling which was tucked under his elf-suit around his waist (A/N: at least it wasn't on a thigh holster! _).
With the greatest ease Yugi took Kuriboh's card into his hand and let his energy draw the fuzzy spirit into his reality.
"Kreee," Kuriboh crooned happily, nuzzling itself against the crook of Yugi's neck with uttermost affection.
"H-Hey that tickles," Yugi laughed but let the monster do as he wished.
Bakura and Atem had both told Yugi that he spoiled his deck with too much freedom by allowing things like this but Yugi had always thought that it was better to let monsters embrace their masters on their own terms.
Even the most chatter-box spirit only annoyed its companions out of affection.
(A/N: Chazz would hate to hear that wouldn't he? Oops! No GX!)
"I'm sorry I haven't been very gracious these past few weeks, even after asking you to look in on the ballet company, huh?" Yugi rubbed the small monster's head tenderly.
"Buuuu," Kuriboh accepted the apology graciously.
"Though I STILL can't believe you haunted that primma ballerina like that."
Kuriboh growled angrily and head-butted Yugi's ribs a few times in a meaningful way.
"Whoa. Whoa take it easy! I believe you when you say Iiwaka-san had it coming! You wouldn't punish someone unless provoked I know," Yugi laughed and scooped the monster up delicately into his hands.
"Anzu-chan probably WOULD have been overlooked it that woman had her way. Anzu has always stood out a little too much for her own good. She can't help attracting trouble, it's in her ka."
Kuriboh gave Yugi a calculating look then crooned out a suggestion that made Yugi blush heavy rhubarb.
"KURIBOH, NOT YOU TOO! I told you that Anzu is a friend, nothing more!" Yugi wailed.
Shaking his head ruefully Yugi had to admit that he and Masaki probably did look like a couple to many people. They cared for each other on a level most friends didn't. All of Yugi-tachi was like that really but because Anzu was a girl there were always those who would see more than was really there.
It probably didn't help matters that Anzu and Yugi HAD liked each other for a while before realizing they preferred their close friendship to the awkwardness of an ill-attempted romance.
"Maybe…maybe I should be clearer about the distinction myself," Yugi thought aloud. "If even my friends are seeing things that aren't then…"
Kuriboh butted Yugi in the ribs again, bringing Yugi's attention back to the present.
"Oh, don't worry. I'm not abandoning the plan. I couldn't even if I wanted to. Talking to mou hitori no boku would just be…another type of preparation."
Kuriboh nodded approvingly then crooned out a question.
"Huh? Well I wouldn't say no to more help if you think you could convince some of the others," Yugi then groaned and tilted his head to one side. "I'm almost starting to think I should have let Dark Magician Girl have at with Otogi already. SHE could break through his gloom if anyone could."
Kuriboh made a strange clucking noise in his throat and did a belly-roll. Yugi blushed for a moment then nodded.
"No they are going to go perfectly together I know that. They do have the same flashy streak," Yugi then chuckled. "I'm just glad Rebecca agreed to bring her along. You've got to keep this between us but honestly I think Becca is tougher to control than Exodia."
Kuriboh agreed. The little blonde had been terrifying in her pursuit of Yugi's love. Even a continent away Rebecca had always been able to tell when Yugi wasn't eating right or when he was having homework issues.
Yugi was glad that he'd been able to save their friendship after Atem had returned and Yugi'd HAD to tell the girl he was never going to be able to love her 'in that way'. Rebecca had raved and cried but Yugi's honesty had been just what the girl had needed to get her searching for love in her own age-bracket again.
"She and that Leon von Shrouder kid really are perfect together. His love of childish things forces Rebecca to remember her own age."
"Kreee buuh…buh kreee," Kuriboh pointed out articulately.
"No, you're right. They're all well-balanced couples…or they could be if they'd get out of their own way," Yugi sighed.
The elevator binged as it reached the proper floor and regretfully Yugi moved to send Kuriboh back home.
"Sorry again. That thank-you attempt went off in a weird direction. Maybe I really am under too much stress."
Kuriboh attacked Yugi's neck again causing the boy to laugh.
"Yes! Yes! You take care too, okay?"
With a last nod Kuriboh vanished leaving Yugi with a slightly painful twinge in his chest but nothing more.
"I promise I'll be careful. But I think it will all work out. They are my friends, they shouldn't need THAT much effort."
The door slid open to the dramatic battle of auras sparking between Leonardo Bakura and Kamenwati Kul-Elna Bakura.
"Oh yah, they're MY friends," Yugi groaned.
SCENECHANGE
Serenity hung up the phone and woefully shook her head. She approved of this plan Mokuba and Yugi had concocted but on some selfish level she still felt robbed.
"I know this will work, my brother has always been a sucker for a pretty-face…and …yet," Serenity sighed.
The problem with this whole thing was her brother's pride. Jou was the warmest soul Serenity had ever known but he could be so terribly skittish.
The tough-life he had lived with Jounouchi Sr.'s drunken disinterest and then his former gang's deadly affection had made Jou himself skeptical about love. He certainly believed in its power –with a friend like Yugi it wasn't hard—at the same time the blonde feared it.
Jou could handle lover's quarrels and friendly misunderstandings but only if the only person gave him a clear sign of affection to start off with. If there wasn't that spark on the other end, however, and Jou was supposed to be the one to make the first move then things tended to go badly.
Seto Kaiba didn't seem like a man likely to let down his own guard for that long. Serenity knew that he had his reasons but it DID seem terribly unfair that Jou was killing himself over every phone-call and Seto couldn't even be bothered to say 'aishiteru'.
"Just a single encouraging word, a teeny confession of interest and he could have big-brother on a silver-plate," Serenity huffed. "But no, he can't even give up that much."
This was exactly why Serenity liked Honda so much. The uni-spiked boy had bumbled a lot and occasionally beaten around the bush so far that he was in another forest entirely but he had never let her go until she'd gotten a good look at his heart.
He hadn't blindsided her with unexpected gifts and flowers and stupid material things and then expected those trinkets to say everything for him as if somehow a hefty receipt could be exchanged for the months of hanging-out and hanging-on that Honda had put himself through.
"Easy girl, easy, Otogi isn't a problem anymore," Serenity caught herself.
It wasn't as though she disliked Otogi for his attempts. She even felt sorry she'd had to let him down like she had. But Serenity Jounouchi/Kawaii simply didn't do public-declarations of store-bought love. It was crude and it was tacky in her opinion.
"I don't know if trapping big brother and Kaiba like this will do any good but at least it won't end in a stupid swarm of pink heart-shaped balloons," Serenity couldn't help but jab at old memories one last time. "And this should put an end to big brother's sulking one way or another."
As she was winding down from her anger into more general acceptance a small twinge of regret for her lost romantic dinner with Honda flittered though her heart. She'd wanted Honda to have his moment to show-off, knowing that despite having won her affections Honda felt he needed to prove himself before he felt completely happy.
And Serenity so wanted Honda to be happy.
"If those idiots WASTE my precious dinner and don't get anything done then I WILL have to hurt them BOTH," Serenity growled to the empty apartment sounding chillingly like her brother at his very worst.
It was just her misfortune that no one was around to hear her otherwise Serenity was sure she'd have a lot more respect from her friends.
SCENECHANGE
Leonardo Bakura and Kamenwati Kul-Elna Bakura glowered at each other across the pristine white landscape of the Santa Station. Both men's eyes gleamed with suspicion and pride.
Then suddenly before either one could say a word a pair of pale hands armed with painfully sharp nails reached out and grabbed their ears.
"Ow, ow, ow, ow!" the two idiots whimpered while Ryou let out a hefty sigh.
"All I wanted," the pale boy began, "was a nice part-time job to earn a little extra money to cover the costs of the holiday that I was supposed to be enjoying with my father. Then amazingly something happened. Would you like to know what it is?"
"Son, this is highly inappropriate! As your father I demand that you-"
"Ry-baby will you let go of my ear? Damn it that hurts! GAH! I said knock it-"
"You see a troubled cloud descended over my dream holiday," Ryou continued over the two grown men's whimpers. "Troubles that I did not nor could not have foreseen swept in to ruin my Christmas. But you see I'm not going to let that happen. I WON'T let that happen!!"
Dropping Leonardo and Bakura's ears with sharp recoil Ryou turned to each of his loved ones in turn.
"YOU have not been around since mother and Amane died leaving me to raise myself so you aren't allowed to say anything against the partner I chose as you never helped me to choose another!" Ryou snarled at his dad.
"And YOU have promised me time and time again that you would behave yourself for my father and yet you continuously push the envelope! I know that you can't help some of your impulses, and I know that you are my lover, but you DAMN WELL COULD TRY HARDER TO NOT SCARE MY FATHER AWAY!!" Ryou then whipped around to scream at his other.
"NOW BOTH OF YOU, BEHAVE YOURSELVES OR SO HELP ME I WILL NEVER TALK TO EITHER ONE OF YOU AGAIN!!" the half-Brit concluded with a roar that echoed clear across the entire floor of the KC building.
Parents looked up from their progeny in shock while the children were stunned into absolute silence.
Embarrassingly enough it was Yugi's clapping that broke the silence.
"Well handled Ryou! Really excellent lung-power," the short duelist clapped approvingly while Ryou suddenly remembered how much he hated confrontation and turned red.
"A-Ah Y-Yugi I um…oh God that was…r-right in the middle of the store even…oh bollocks," Ryou stammered while Yugi just continued to smile.
"It's alright Ryou, we all have our moments. Might I suggest you take your other-half and your father and go home where you can REALLY hash out your problems without also bringing the sullied world of domestic disputes to the North Pole Kaiba tried so hard to recreate here?" Yugi said with elaborative flare.
"Yes, yes that sounds…oh! Oh no! But Yugi, you and Atem will be all-" Ryou snapped his head up from his hands in shock.
Yugi waved off the concerns even as he felt the headache he'd fought down in the elevator returning ever so slightly.
"Que sera-sera. You need the time more than I do. Besides there are some things I need to discuss with my own darker-half. Bonding-time and all. You go and mend fences okay?" Yugi insisted.
"Why do I get the feeling I'm being brushed off here?" Bakura mumbled darkly in the background. A single, surprisingly violent glare from Yugi was all it took for the ex-thief to just take the hint and head back to the changing room.
Leonardo muttered the excuse that he was getting the car and also exited leaving Ryou and Yugi as alone as they could get while still surrounded by the clamoring holiday crowds of Kaiba Corp.
"…I feel terrible about this Yugi. My debts to you just seem to be piling up more and more," Ryou huffed.
"Your own Christmas plans are braver than mine Ry-chan," Yugi winked, "you need more help because you've got more to worry about, that's all. Are you still planning on doing it Christmas Eve?"
A slow silly smile and an almost childish glow came to Ryou's face and the young light dreamily nodded his head.
"Yes…it's been something I've been dreaming about since…well since longer than I probably should have."
"Hey, your heart is your own Ryou. No one can decide what's best for it better than you," Yugi laughed.
"And what about your heart, Yugi?" Ryou shot back. "Do you know what will make you most happy?"
"Sadly I do and it is the despair of my spirit that I have to go through such extreme measures as these to get it," Yugi said putting on an exaggerated somber face.
Ryou rolled his eyes but smiled. Yugi was always good at making him feel better about things when the situation was at its gloomiest. More so than himself Yugi pulled off the role of Santa's Helper with aplomb. There was no one more filled with the Christmas spirit than the pharaoh's light.
"Alright then…I'd better hurry along myself then. I wouldn't want Bakura beating me to the car and starting another incident."
"Just be with your family Ryou. They'll get along find so long as your there too," Yugi shoved Ryou off in the direction of the locker-room.
Happily the boy went this time leaving Yugi to deal with the love-troubles of a much more intimate acquaintance.
"You can stop hiding behind the trees now Atem. The fight is over," Yugi sighed to the room at large.
A quiet moment passed and then a slightly shame-faced Atem appeared out of the shadows.
"How are you always able to sense me like that? Even Bakura can't find me when I'm in shadows," the ex-pharaoh pouted to his light.
"The light determines the location of the shadows, my dear other-half," Yugi said knowingly. "I could pick up your presence from a world away."
Atem started to smile then some thought –mostly likely that false idea that Yugi was with Anzu—clouded his garnet eyes and killed the grin before it even began.
"After shift today I have something very important I want to tell you," Yugi purposefully leaned deep into his other-half's personal space. "It's something I probably should have said the moment you returned."
"Y-Yugi?" Atem blushed, his body tense as his mind fought against what his body obviously wanted to do.
"For now though, we have kids to enchant with wintery dreams," Yugi couldn't help but make matters even worse by planting a kiss on his other's cheek. "So just put on a grin until later alright?"
The smile on Atem's face was bright enough to rival any Christmas star.
CHAPTEREND
Masaka: The preplanning for Seto and Jou's part in this story took SO LONG
Yami Masaka: Luckily while we were working on another Yu-Gi-Oh story called "Don't Feed Kuriboh After Midnight" which we will be beginning sometime next year we came upon the great idea to let the monsters do the work of cupid for this duo.
Jason: Kuriboh is definitely a good connection to all sorts of duel-monster planning too. Unlike other bigger monsters Kuriboh can be easily summoned to the 'real' world and converse with his masters then can be easily dismissed back into the 'monster' world where he can pass along the news to the rest of Yugi and the others deck-monsters
Masaka: What is a LITTLE bit harder to do is Leonardo and Bakura. I'm not sure if I've made the tensions between those two quite as …well tense as I want.
Yami Masaka: Eh, we can work more on that in the next chapter
Masaka: *turns to Jason* Ah yes speaking of…
Jason: Oh yes right *clears throat and takes on his official announcer voice* In the next chapter of Beyond the Definition: A Christmas Story…
Jounouchi runs into a mysterious woman who changes his views on the rich
Kaiba runs into a mysterious child who changes his views of the poor
Grandpa finally gets some speaking lines as he supports his grandson's master-plan
AND YUGI CONFESSES HIS FEELINGS TOWARDS ATEM!!
All Three: Stay tuned!