To the Victor Go the Spoils
Plot: Seto is obsessed with beating the King of Games, no matter what the cost. However, he doesn't stop to think just what that cost might be.
Timeline: A few months to a year after the end of the series. Yugi and Yami are fully separated following the Ceremonial Duel, which Yugi wins, but Yami chooses to stay and remain separate, rather than continue to the afterlife. I'm calling him Yami instead of Atem…just for my own preference.
Rating: T for dark themes: insanity, violence, language.
Disclaimer: If I owned Yu-Gi-Oh, 4Kids would've completed the uncut dub instead of nixing it. Damn 4Kids. :p
Italics indicate thoughts or emphasis.
The first thing Yugi became aware of was a throbbing pain on the back of his skull. Groggily, he wondered how it had gotten there. He hadn't had any injuries last time he'd checked.
And when had his bed gotten so hard? Lying facedown, it felt a lot colder to his cheek than usual, too. Perhaps he was in his Soul Room…he'd often wake up on the floor of his Soul Room during the night, but pain usually wasn't involved.
Wearily, he opened his eyes. And blinked.
It was dark. Too dark for comfort, in fact. He was lying on a hard cement floor, in a tiny room that held a few dusty-looking boxes and a very battered-looking three-legged stool. Directly across from him, barely ten feet away, was a door that allowed a small sliver of dim light to peek through the bottom.
In other words, it didn't look like his Soul Room at all. Yugi tried forcing his brain into a more awake state, feeling that he was surely missing something, that surely the Puzzle was playing some kind of trick with him—
The Puzzle. It wasn't around his neck.
And he hadn't had a Soul Room for months.
Yugi jerked fully awake. Dear gods, the Puzzle. Where was it? He'd been wearing it just a little while ago! Frantic, he tried to jump to his feet…but something caught, his arms wouldn't move, and he only succeeded in jerking his body slightly to the right. Which didn't do anything but make his headache ten times worse.
Frowning, he focused on why he'd failed to get himself up. Once again he tried to move, but his arms were firmly locked behind him, wrists bound together. He gave a few cautious tugs, but the twine – or whatever it was – didn't budge. Come to think of it, there was something awfully dry in his mouth, too. A wad of cloth.
Suddenly, he remembered. The race with Joey…he'd pulled far ahead, as usual, had turned down that winding street…he'd bumped into someone. A tall man, wearing a dark suit. He'd had a partner…who had grabbed him from behind. He'd struggled, and suddenly they were both trying to subdue him, trying to pull him towards a nondescript black car. He felt the Puzzle slide from his neck and that moment of distraction was all they needed to toss him into the car. Then he'd felt a sharp pain on the back of his head…
…And woken up here.
Oh gods, this was bad. This was bad. He struggled again, trying to break the bonds that held his wrists together. Where was Joey? Had they captured him, too? Yugi hoped not, but then again, Joey had been so far behind him when he'd started down that street that they probably hadn't even seen him. Hopefully, his best friend was safe.
His bonds wouldn't budge. Whoever had done this to him had done their job well. His legs were free, but that didn't help him much. He didn't see a doorknob on his side of the door and he highly doubted that kicking it would do anything but give him a sore foot. Grimly, he wormed his way into a sitting position, leaning against the wall of his prison, determined to face his captor head-on as best he could.
I don't know who you are, he thought, his features coming together in a determined frown, But if you think I'll just give up and give you whatever it is you want, you are dead WRONG.
...
Yami paced the Game Shop frantically, his mind in hyper-drive. It had been hours since Joey had shown up with Yugi's Puzzle, and they were no closer to finding his lighter half than when they'd started searching.
He turned to the three teens leaning against the couch nearby, who looked just as anxious as he felt. "You're sure we haven't left any place out? Forgotten to check with anyone we know?"
"Yami," Téa sighed. "We've looked all over Domino. The police say they can't get involved until 24 hours have passed. What else can we do?"
"And Duke was the last one on our list, and I've called him," chimed in Joey. "I'm tellin' ya, he was kidnapped. That's the only possible explanation."
"Yes, but why?" Tristan asked the question all of them were thinking. "It doesn't make any sense! The only valuable thing he had with him was the Puzzle and they left that behind; what else could they want with him?"
No one had an answer. The shop was quiet for a few minutes.
"Yami," Téa finally spoke up softly. "It's after 10. I need to get home."
"Me too, man," said Tristan, looking apologetic. "But look, I'll keep trying to think of something, okay?"
Yami nodded, barely watching his two friends leave. He turned to Joey, raising an eyebrow in question.
Joey shrugged. "I don't have anywhere I need to be tonight. Besides, you look like you need some company."
Yami nodded again, sitting down heavily on the edge of the coffee table and putting his head in his hands. The room was quiet once more, neither teen wanting to admit that there was nothing further they could do. Both stared into space, guilt tearing at their insides.
"Gods, I hate this," Yami broke the silence. "I hate feeling so helpless. If only the Puzzle still connected us, I'd be able to find him…I can't stand the thought of him being hurt."
"You and me both, man," Joey said, staring at the floor. "I wish I'd been faster. If I'd been half a block closer, I might've at least been able to see what happened…but nothin'." He growled in frustration.
"I don't blame you, Joey," The King of Games said softly.
"Thanks. Doesn't help much, though." He paused. "Look, Yami, Yug's tough. If anyone can make it through hell and back, it's him. I'm sure we'll see him soon."
Yami glowered at the floor. "I hope so. And whoever is responsible for this will have hell to pay."
...
"Sir…"
Seto looked up from his desk. The past few hours had seen him hard at work in his home office. Instead of KaibaCorp documents, however, his screen was full of statistics on one individual. Tournament records. Strategy analyses. Favored cards and combinations. And information on his known friends and family. Nothing that he didn't already know himself, but sometimes it helped to see things laid out in front of him.
"This had better be important," he growled. He'd specifically said not to disturb him unless it concerned a particular matter.
"Sir, it seems your guest has awoken."
Excitement sparked, and he resisted the urge to laugh. Just in time to save him from boredom. "He has, has he?" He rose. "I suppose I should go pay him a welcome visit, then. You've secured him?"
"In the basement, sir, in what used to be one of your storage closets. Passcode-entry only."
"Excellent." He strode out of the room, making his way through the halls and down towards the lower levels of his mansion.
The kidnap had gone better than he could've asked for. Minimal time involved, no witnesses. It was almost as though the gods themselves were on his side. The gods. God Cards. He'd made a pun. Ha! So unlike him, to make a joke like that. He imagined the God Cards' holograms hovering above him, giant protectors offering their support, though they technically belonged to another…a problem that could eventually be rectified…
But first things first. He grinned, a nasty, wild grin that brought a maniacal look to his face. The shrimp was probably wondering what was going on. Poor little Yugi, so confused, and so naïve that he couldn't possibly guess who was coming for him…he bit back an insane little giggle. Oh yes, this was going to be fun. Fun and games, just like his name…
Really, he was bait for that spiky-haired bastard, but it didn't hurt to try to get some information out of him. He was the former pharaoh's other half, after all…a notion that made Seto hate him almost as much as the son of a bitch he resembled. If anyone knows his strengths and weaknesses, it's Yugi, he smirked. And what FUN it'll be to chat with him again…Oh, little Yugi, you've no IDEA what you've gotten yourself into. He chuckled darkly. Little Yugi, little game…we're gonna play a little game…
He paused in the dark hallway, two levels below the ground floor, lit only by a few fluorescent bulbs. He glanced at the computer monitor outside one particular door. The camera had been installed that very afternoon and was functioning perfectly. Seto was pleased to see that someone had already switched it to night-vision, making the tiny room appear to glow with green light. Such a sickly green…not too pleasant to look at. He wondered who had chosen green as the standard night-vision color. Surely he'd learned that in his studies somewhere. Maybe his next project could be creating a night-vision camera that displayed blue. Blue was a much nicer color than green.
The bright green figure stirred slightly, recapturing his attention. The spiky-haired midget was sitting on the floor, legs crossed Indian-style, looking for all the world like he belonged in there. No fear? Well, that was disappointing. He'd certainly have to fix that. Glowering slightly, Seto entered the code in the keypad next to the door, which slid open immediately.
He flicked the light switch on the inside wall, illuminating the room with a bright bulb, causing the small figure on the floor to close his eyes, cringing against the brightness. Oh yes…fun indeed. Welcome to hell, little Yugi, he thought gleefully, mentally giggling but keeping his face perfectly neutral. Casually, he pulled the wad of fabric out of Yugi's mouth and tossed it to the side. And waited.
Yugi blinked a few times and looked up. His gaze met Seto's and Seto watched amusedly as his face twisted into an expression of shock and outrage. "YOU!" he croaked. His mouth was clearly dry. Seto allowed himself to snicker. Yugi swallowed once, twice. "What the crap is going on?"
"Why, I wanted to chat with you, Yugi. Catch up on old times together," Seto said in a mockery of a friendly greeting. He was thoroughly enjoying himself.
"And you couldn't have just invited me here?" Oooh, some spunk! He liked that. Challenges were always fun, and no one could ever say Seto backed down from one. "What do you really want?"
"Oooh, the midget version of the King of Games means business. Very well, then." He pulled over the battered stool from its corner. Reaching down, he grabbed Yugi by his shirt collar and shoved him roughly onto it. "So I don't have to look down so far." Yugi glowered at him, but there was a flicker of nervousness in his eyes. "You, my friend, are going to tell me everything you know about the King of Games."
Yugi gave a humorless laugh. "That would take all day. I don't feel like talking for so long." Seto merely grinned. This was definitely better entertainment than fear. He didn't expect the midget to comply right off the bat, anyway.
"Let me be more specific, then. You," he drawled out, bringing his face closer to Yugi's, "shared minds for quite some time. You must know everything about him. His likes, dislikes…and his weaknesses. I already knowhis strengths, so you can skip that part."
Comprehension dawned on Yugi's face and he looked slightly nauseated. "This is about today's duel isn't it?" Irritation flashed through Seto at the memory. He should have won! "You can't beat him…"
"SHUT UP," Seto glared at him, anger coursing through him. How dare he? Of course Seto could beat him!
But Yugi only continued, "…So you're trying to force me into betraying him? That's low, even for you, Kaiba."
His rage spiked, and he struck the smaller boy across the face. "You," he snarled, all good humor gone, "need to learn respect." He kicked the stool out from under Yugi, sending him tumbling painfully to the floor. "You'll tell me how to beat him. One way…or another." He grabbed the duelist by the hair, hauling him to his feet, grimly satisfied at the look of pain that crossed his face. "Care to reconsider?"
Yugi opened his eyes and dared to look Seto straight in the face. He was white and shaking, but stood his ground. "Yami is the King of Games," he said stubbornly. "You'll never beat him. And I'll go to hell before I tell you anything else."
With a roar of anger, Seto threw him to the side, causing him to slam into the corner. "Then," he growled, settling into a predatory stance, "I'll send you to hell."
And thus, Seto's mind starts going off the deep end…and only gets worse. XD Poor Yugi; he gets the short end of the stick in almost all my fics!
Note: I'm sure most of you know this already, but just in case… "Yuugi" means "game" in Japanese. Hence Seto referring to him as "little game."
Many thanks to those of you who reviewed! I'm so glad you like this! And thanks, as always, to Toxic Hathor for beta-reading this. ^_^
Next chapter: The night deepens. Yami receives a phone call. Seto stays up late.
Reviews/critiques are much appreciated!