Notes:

Wow! Was it the 'PLZ REVEW', or what? Many more people reviewed than I had expected. Thank you all very, very much. You made my day! I hope to make yours. Man, it'll be hard to live up to that first chapter.

Five Replies:

A special shout out to MotherCHOWGoddess, for her comments on Kaiba's preferences regarding pizza, as well as her great suggestions. Thank you, MotherCHOWGoddess. I was tempted not to update, so as to be written into your Ryou x Seto as you threatened, but … I rather wanted to see how this would turn out.

PanDora: YES. SHUICHI IS GANG RAPED. But it's worth reading just to get to the fifth volume, which makes up for everything. It's awesome. And volumes six and seven are even better. scary grin

Obscured Illusions: sweatdrop The 'good things' I'm not so sure about, but as to that other part - how do I find time to write them? Uh, I don't. I … make it. end cliché phrase

Haruya: I just bought the latest Gravitation myself. I had to start reading it right away, in the mall, and kept on bursting into hysterical (and very audible) laughter … people were looking at me funny. I agree with Cody Saoyrn, though – Shuichi's head on the cover of that volume is incredibly large. It's rather disturbing.

Darkmus: Oh, it'll be very educational and interesting. Especially, if I get my way, for Jou. smirk

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Appeal

Two: Decision

It's for the good of KaibaCorp, he told himself again, rubbing his temples. For the good of KaibaCorp. It would be nothing personal.

If he did, though, surely someone would notice. What would happen then? He would have to tell the media outlets ahead of time that he was creating a … dating simulation … and they would never keep that under wraps. No, they would report it, and then the idea he had in mind would be doomed to fail anyway.

Couldn't he think of a better idea?

No. This was the best idea. He knew it, and his gut feeling was hardly ever wrong. First-hand experience was always the most educational.

He rubbed harder. How many white hairs would he have by the time this was over?

It's for the good of KaibaCorp.

He hoped that it wouldn't turn out like the time his 'gut feeling' had told him that there was no problem with keeping the Big Five employed.

"Mokuba, I need to ask you a very serious question." Seto took another bite of his pizza slice – his brother's Kaiba intellect had seemingly surfaced in the form of unstoppable skills of persuasion – and looked him in the eye.

Mokuba blinked and put down his own pizza slice. "Anything, Seto. Whatever I can do to help."

"I want you to think about it, long and hard, and give me the best answer you can."

"Of course!" Mokuba nodded enthusiastically.

"And … don't think anything strange of it."

"Um, I'll try?"

"Good." Seto took a deep breath. "Mokuba, you know Yugi and his friends. His male friends."

Mokuba was definitely looking edgier now. "Yeah…"

"If you had to choose one to have … romantic relations … with me, which of them would you choose?"

If Mokuba had still been eating his pizza, he would have spat out the bite in his mouth and coughed violently, requiring Seto to rush to his side of the table and pound him on the back. As it was, though, he wasn't still eating his pizza, and he settled for the violent coughing.

Seto rushed to his side of the table and pounded him on the back.

"Mokuba, are you all right?"

"F-fine," choked Mokuba, sitting upright. "You just took me by surprise."

An understatement.

Kaiba walked back to the other side of the table and sat, waiting until Mokuba regained his breath. He then spoke, his voice quiet and serious. "Can you make that choice, Mokuba?"

"Well … um …" Mokuba thought. "Not Honda."

"Which one is he?"

"The guy with the big spike on his head." Mokuba made a swooshing motion above his head to elaborate. "Not him."

"All right."

"And not Otogi, either."

"Which-"

"The guy who looks like he's 'with' Honda. Except for that whole arguing-over-Jonouchi's-sister thing," Mokuba added.

Personally, Seto agreed. "That's good, Moki. Keep on going."

"That brings it down to Yugi and Jonouchi."

Seto winced.

"Should I guess that you're doing this to help your game?" said Mokuba.

"Yes, that would be a good guess."

Mokuba grinned. "Okay. That means that you're looking for the most impressive thing. Something that would be able to fit into your game."

He had an idea of what Mokuba would say.

He still didn't like it.

"Well, Yugi would be good. He's your rival, right? If you seduced him, then you would be better than him. He also has that spirit-"

"That what?" said Kaiba dangerously. They had had the discussion before.

"Split-personality complex," corrected Mokuba. "That leads to a pretty interesting plot. Because it might only be Yugi who likes Anzu, and his other half could like you. He talks to you more than Yugi anyway. When you duel, you know?"

"That does sound interesting."

"But."

Oh no. Kaiba took a bite of his pizza, now tasteless, and chewed it as though it was something particularly foul. Like the fairy tales that Yugi continued to try and feed to him and his brother. Here it comes.

"In a lot of good stories," said Mokuba, adopting an informative tone, "whether they're straight stories or not, there's a certain relationship between the two people who you know are going to get together in the end."

"And that is?"

"Unfriendly! The main girl will really think she dislikes the guy for something, like … say … his ego, and the guy will keep on putting her down, right? But then, somewhere along the line, they-"

"I get the idea," said Seto.

Mokuba finished his pizza slice. "And you and Jou are like that, I can tell. He's actually one of the closest people to you, aside from me. He might not even actually hate you."

Seto had to be blunt. "Yes, he does."

"And that's what the girl thinks when she begins to realize that she's falling in love with him!"

"Are you saying I'm the girl?"

"No, you're the guy, but I was trying to make a point."

"So what you are saying is that I have a large ego."

"You do," said Mokuba simply.

"…Fine," said Seto. "Let us return to the subject – what do you think? Yugi or Jonouchi?"

Mokuba thought. "Who do you like less?"

His reply was instantaneous. "Jonouchi."

"Then Jou it is! Go for it, Seto! Good luck with love. I have homework to do now." Mokuba grinned and left Seto to his own thoughts.

His increasingly dirty thoughts.

But they were for the good of KaibaCorp.

It looked like the next stage of his research would begin tomorrow.

"Hey! Watch where you're going, ya pompous windbag!"

"Unless I'm mistaken, you were the one who was talking to Yugi while you walked. Get your facts straight, mutt."

"Again with the dog jokes!"

"I wasn't joking."

The first class of the morning had ended, and Jonouchi had promptly proceeded to barrel into Seto. Perfect.

Yugi interrupted. "Jou, it's okay! Sorry, Kaiba." He grinned. "I'll watch out for him in the future, all right?"
"Hey! You're supposed to be on my side, Yugi!" Jou complained, face turned into a comic pout.

Yugi replied cheerily. "I am! I'm going to keep you from bumping into Kaiba again."

No, you aren't. Not if I have my way.

Unfortunately.

He almost sighed.

All right, Seto, work up some enthusiasm for this project.

Enthusiasm.

"It's all right," said Kaiba with a small, calculated shrug. "After all, if Jou can't control his lust for me, who am I to deny him the chance for a small amount of harmless contact?"

Jou stared, doubtlessly attempting to comprehend Kaiba's words. Yugi seemed torn between a laugh and support for his best friend.

Finally, Jou managed to respond to the situation. His fists clenched and unclenched, shoulders rising as he fumed.

"You ass!"

Kaiba sidestepped easily. Jonouchi rushed past, and was caught on the return by Kaiba's outstretched arm.

"Happy now, dog?" whispered Kaiba into Jou's ear, hating himself.

Jou's face became red. It could have been because of his failing efforts to free himself, or Mokuba could have been right after all.

He supposed that he was rather like that novelist character. Seto had almost liked him, though he would be loath to admit it. After all, if the plot of Gravitation was any indicator of how things were going to go between him and Jonouchi…

"Kaiba, you…!"

…Back to the matter at hand. Things were going flawlessly.

That, of course, meant that there was-

"What exactly is going on here?"

A looming teacher. Yugi gulped audibly.

"All right, Mr. Mutou, I suppose I'll let you go with a warning. Next time, talk some sense into your friend. As for you two-"

"He started it?" said Jou weakly as the woman turned on him.

Kaiba let escape a dignified snort.

"I seriously doubt it, Jonouchi. You will be seeing me in my classroom after school."

"Wha-?!"

"You and Mr. Kaiba."

He would have protested, had his agile mind not immediately noted the opportunities that would crop up if he accepted the detention. "Yes, madam."

The things he would do.

The look on Jou's face, though, was almost worth it.