14: Meijin Kawaguchi the Third

The universe had a cruel and offensive sense of humor. If it possessed even a shred of decency, it would give Kaiba a pulmonary embolism and end the farce. The universe spared him no such mercy though, just Yuuki Tatsuya's concerned face.

"Perhaps you'd permit me to speak with Kaiba-kun in private for a bit?" Yuuki simultaneously directed his question to the two blond builders located at opposite ends of the room.

"Tatsuya, are you sure about this?" Adams came up behind Yuuki and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"It's fine, Allan, I'm perfectly safe with Kaiba-kun." Yuuki smiled gently. Reaching up, he covered Adams' hand with his own and squeezed. They stared at each other for a beat, before Adams nodded and moved away to join Jounouchi by the door.

Then turning his charm on Jounouchi, Yuuki said, "Thank you for your hard work, Jounouchi-kun."

"It's nothing," Jounouchi muttered, ducking his head but not quickly enough to hide the hero worship on his face. His reaction caused Kaiba's blood to run cold.

The two engineers left, and Kaiba was alone with the supposedly dead man he had "replaced."

"Please have a seat, Kaiba-kun," Yuuki gestured to the two chairs, but Kaiba chose to remain standing. "You must have many questions right now. I will do my best to answer them all."

The reality was that Kaiba had too many questions for a lifetime, but the first one was the most obvious one. "How are you alive?"

"I faked my death." No one could accuse Yuuki Tatsuya of being anything other than straightforward.

Kaiba clenched his jaw. "Why would you do that?"

"Last year, there were two attempts on my life. In September, someone broke into my home. I was able to fight them off and they fled, but their intention was clearly to kill, not rob me. Two months later, someone cut the brakes in my car. Allan was with me when it spun out of control," Yuuki's eyes went flat, returning all of the Meijin's focus and intensity back to his face. "We were lucky to walk away from that crash. Afterwards, it seemed prudent to plan for a possible third attempt."

Kaiba filled in the rest of the blanks. To this day, the building that used to house PPSE's Technical Sciences division was considered off-limits. The administration feared there might be residual radiation or fallout from the explosion last year. In the after incident report obtained from Yuugi, none of PPSE's scientists could reliably predict how the Plavsky particles would react with the environment after escaping containment. Not that any of the staff wanted to go anywhere near the place where Meijin Kawaguchi the Third supposedly perished without leaving a trace behind.

"The lab accident; that's why no body was recovered." Kaiba was almost impressed by how far Yuuki had gone to fake his death.

Yuuki frowned. "Please don't misunderstand, Kaiba-kun, I was not responsible for the accident. That was attempt number three. I chose to take advantage of the opportunity that it provided to investigate who wanted me dead."

"You thought someone at PPSE was trying to kill you."

"At first," Yuuki nodded grimly. "I had my suspicions. Only someone with certain means could have rigged the experimental system to overload like it did."

Chairman Mashita never seemed too broken up over Meijin Kawaguchi III's death. In fact, he avoided talking about him at all costs. Kaiba had never trusted the slimy executive. "Do you think Mashita's involved?"

A set of conflicting expressions flashed across the former Meijin's face before he wrangled his mask back on. "The chairman and I do not get along and probably never will. We disagree fundamentally on the nature of Gunpla Battles. But to answer your question, I don't believe Chairman Mashita is the one who wanted to eliminate me. Doing so would be bad for his business."

"Then who?" Kaiba snapped, tired of dancing around the subject. "You clearly have your suspicions."

Yuuki watched him carefully now, with eyebrows furrowed in concentration and maybe even concern. "My investigation initially took me from Shizuoka to Tokyo, but then finally to Domino City— your hometown. The final piece of the puzzle was the Kaiba Corporation's acquisition of Higuchi Holdings. Were you aware that your father has a preexisting business relationship with PPSE?"

Truthfully, Kaiba had no idea. He did his best to steer clear of all of the Kaiba Corporation's business dealing. The question filled him with dread though. Nothing good ever came out of the family business— only death and destruction.

Yuuki continued, "Although your father, the CEO, likes to distance the company from its roots nowadays, the Kaiba Corporation remains the leader in the field of arms manufacture and it possesses some of the most sophisticated data about modern warfare. It sells that weapon data to PPSE, who uses it to program simulation parameters for the battle system. Additionally, the Kaiba Corporation owns nine of the ten subsidiaries that manufacture a number of the state-of-the-art components used to build the battle system, like processors, motherboards, and projection panels. It's been a lucrative relationship for both parties involved."

"You must have some kind of evidence, otherwise we wouldn't be talking now," Kaiba spat through gritted teeth.

He wanted to know, but a traitorous part of him also didn't want to know. Up until now, he had been able to write off his father's claim to meddling as part of his usual hot air. Evidence would confirm the extent to which his father's machinations had paved the way to Kaiba being Meijin Kawaguchi IV.

Yuuki hesitated before offering the file from the desk, which Kaiba tore from his grip. Yuuki and the rest of the room fell into a backdrop of white noise as Kaiba flipped through the documents. Higuchi Holdings had been on the edge of insolvency before Gozaburo bought it up, which made no sense because it was the exact type of poor business decision that he derided. Rather than generating profit, Higuchi was still losing money to this day. It was a lost cause. Then Kaiba flipped to the next page, and the patent for a familiar high-yield battery— the same, newly developed battery that had powered the experimental battle system which overloaded— stopped him dead. The situation resolved itself with sickening clarity. Taken together, it was far from damning to the casual observer.

But Kaiba knew his father. Gozaburo would never settle for an equal partnership if there was room for him to conquer and annex someone else's territory. The death of Meijin Kawaguchi III would have certainly been good for Gozaburo's business. Especially if this aforementioned Meijin was to replaced by Gozaburo's own son...

I will destroy you as easily as I did your predecessor.

He clenched his fist and the question fell from his parched lips like a croak. "How did you find this?"

Kaiba Gozaburo was many things, but sloppy was not one of them.

Yuuki's brow drew low and tight; he was the very picture of contrition. "I have my resources too, Kaiba-kun. You may have trouble believing—"

He cut him off with a growl— unable to withstand pity from the former Meijin. Kaiba dropped the file on the table before them and stuffed his unsteady hands in his pockets. "Spare me, I know perfectly well what my father is capable of. It's why I chose Gunpla battling over following in his footsteps. So I'm not the least shocked about his potential involvement in the assassination attempts against you. I will spell it out now in case you've misunderstand, I took no part in his deeds. I walked away and cut ties with him and the Kaiba Corporation more than a year ago."

"We know now you're not involved with your father's schemes, but we had to consider the possibility when your name showed up on the list of my possible replacements. Nevertheless, I owe you an apology, Kaiba-kun," Yuuki bowed from his waist, formal and stiff. This and his general manners suggested he was originally from a family of good-standing. "Jounouchi-kun says you are a good man, and I believe him."

Kaiba's insides went numb, cold as a winter day in Hokkaido. Like Yuuki, Jounouchi had known who he was all along— probably since the very beginning. Before Jounouchi became a part of Kaiba's team, he was probably investigating the former Meijin's attempted murder. "Jounouchi and Adams, they were both working for you this entire time," he found the words surprisingly difficult to spit out.

Yuuki's eyes widened in alarm. "No, Allan is my partner, and we started this together. But there was so much ground for the two of us to cover. Allan was already overwhelmed with the investigation at PPSE, and I was busy following up leads on the outside. Allan was the one to reach out to Jounouchi-kun for help. Allan trusts your builder, and I chose to follow suit. Jounouchi-kun only wanted to help Allan and me uncover the truth."

Maybe Yuuki thought he was alleviating Kaiba's anxieties with his explanation, but it had exactly the opposite effect. It all made sense now: Jounouchi's eagerness to join the Works Team and Adams championing a newbie builder to essentially take his place. Adams had long resigned from the Works Team before Kaiba joined up. Yuugi did tell him that Jounouchi only tried to join the Works Team after Kaiba inherited the title of Meijin Kawaguchi.

Kaiba would have even done the same thing— he would have placed someone close-by to keep an eye on "him" too. It was the sensible thing to do, but still...

His mind whirled about with the various implications of what he'd learned today. Kaiba had one last question now. "Why are you telling me this now? The more people that know you're still alive, the more you're at risk of exposure."

Yuuki Tatsuya didn't owe him any explanation or apology. He was doing the best given his extreme circumstances— even if Kaiba hated him for doing so. He did what he needed to survive— which Kaiba understood more than he wanted to.

"Because Jounouchi-kun asked me to," Concern softened the curve of Yuuki's face. "He told me what your father has asked of you. He saw that you were beginning to suspect all the same thing we were, and he wanted to spare you the guilt of my so-called death. I agreed— Allan didn't, but I overruled him. It's not fair to make you carry that weight in addition to your father's."

But Kaiba was the fool in this scenario. He'd let Jounouchi tear down his walls and get under his skin. First, he had been played by Gozaburo and manipulated into a position meant to benefit the bastard and his company. And now Jounouchi...

Kaiba needed to sort out his thoughts in private, not under the scrutiny of his predecessor demanding that he accept and understand without reservation. He couldn't do that here or now. Maybe never. He turned away, baldly signaling his intent to leave. "Thank you for this enlightening conversation, but I think it's time for me to leave."

Yuuki sprang to his feet and caught Kaiba's upper arm in a gentle but firm grasp. Kaiba tried to shake him off, but he tightened his grip. Yuuki forced Kaiba to meet his steady gaze as he spoke, "I was once like you, Kaiba-kun. Certain things were expected of me because of who I was and who my family was. Gunpla offered me freedom from those expectations, so giving up my name seemed a fair price. Maybe you can find a way without needing to do the same. Do not hesitate to contact me if you ever need help."

When Yuuki released him, Kaiba flew out of the room like a bat out of hell. Adams, who was standing guard outside, jumped. Jounouchi was nowhere in sight.

"Where's Jounouchi?" he turned on Adams and demanded.

Adams looked at him warily before answering, "He said he was going back first to work on repairs."

He then opened his mouth as if to say more, but Kaiba stalked away. If he was going to listen to pathetic excuses, he wanted to hear them straight from Jounouchi's lying mouth.

-x-x-x-

Kaiba checked Jounouchi's room first, which was empty. The Legilis and its case were also gone, which meant Jounouchi was actually repairing the Gunpla. The next logical place to check was at the stadium, where there were a fleet of workshops made available to fighters and builders in the competition.

Every door was unlocked except for one. He used his PPSE credentials to bypass the lock.

Jounouchi's shoulders tensed as soon as Kaiba entered the room. The Legilis lay in pieces and Jounouchi was in the middle of sandpapering a blade piece. Kaiba stood back, waiting for Jounouchi to put down his work first. The air between them soured, like wine turning to vinegar. Eventually, Jounouchi slumped in defeat, pushed his chair away from the desk, and stood to face him.

"You're not gonna be satisfied until we fight this one out, are you?" Jounouchi's question was too quiet and tired-sounding.

Logic and emotion were deadlocked in heated battle from the moment he left Yuuki Tasuya behind, but seeing Jounouchi now— emotion won out. His fury came roaring back with a dragon's ferocity. He marched forward, buried one hand in Jounouchi's shirt, and thrust him back. Jounouchi winced when he collided with the edge of the table. The desk rattled, but at least none of its contents fell to the floor. Other than a hint of wariness, Jounouchi seemed resigned. It was infuriating, and Kaiba wondered if he had more to hide. Jounouchi should be begging and screaming for Kaiba's forgiveness. He should be groveling for what he did.

"You were spying on me," he hissed and slammed Jounouchi's hip into the table again for emphasis. This time, both of the Legilis' arms shook free and bounced off the floor with hollow thunks.

Jounouchi gulped and diverted his gaze, tensing under Kaiba's fingers. He was anticipating pain and trying to mount a preemptive defense. The realization sent Kaiba and his rage spiraling higher. Maybe it was because his traitorous heart wanted Jounouchi to at least try to justify his actions. His stupid, fucking treacherous heart needed to hear the excuses. Why couldn't Jounouchi give him that much?

"Say. Something. You bastard," Kaiba growled. He hated the pleading note strumming through his voice.

Jounouchi made a weak attempt to knock Kaiba's hand away and failed. "What's there to say? You already think you got everything figured out."

"Then tell me how I'm wrong. Tell me why you really joined the Works Team."

Jounouchi fixed his gaze on Kaiba's face and plainly admitted, "Yes, I first joined the Works Team to keep an eye on you."

In response, Kaiba sank his claws deeper.

Jounouchi paused, taking several breaths before continuing. The rest of his explanation rushed out like a waterfall. "But I never lied to you except to keep Yuuki-san's secret. I became your friend because I like you, Seto. I stayed on the team because I wanted to help you win. I believe in you. I really believe you have the ability to win this tournament. I believe that you're a good man that is doing the best he can."

Their eyes met for several seconds. Jounouchi reached up to touch Kaiba's forearm and Kaiba could feel a crack forming in his defenses. He forced himself to break the eye contact.

Jounouchi continued, more bold and steady before."I would give anything to change why we met. Even though I wanted to tell you about Yuuki-san and the Chief, it's their lives on the line. And if your head wasn't so stuck up your own ass right now, you'd admit it was for everyone's safety, including yours. You can't convince me for one second that you wouldn't do the same exact thing in my place."

Would Kaiba have done the same in Jounouchi's shoes? Most likely yes. But that was because Kaiba knew manipulation; Gozaburo and Noa schooled him in subterfuge early on. Jounouchi shouldn't be capable of a Machiavellian streak. He was always too honest, too stupid to be anything but himself. Jounouchi was supposed to be everything that Kaiba was not. Were they actually one and the same, like vipers in a pit?

But whether the reason or motivation, the fact remained. "No, you used me, Jounouchi. You took advantage of my feelings to get close to me. You seduced me while reporting my every move to your master. Don't try to deny it."

Jounouchi convulsed with a sharp whistling exhale, as if Kaiba'd gutted him with his accusations. Cruelty was in his blood, and Kaiba was beyond rationality at this point. He would twist that knife— cut Jounouchi open to discover what black poison he hid inside.

(It was how Kaiba was taught: target the weak-point and apply pressure until the enemy begged for mercy.)

"What would your precious Yuuki-san think of you whoring yourself out for his cause?" he sneered.

Kaiba felt some measure of satisfaction when Jounouchi's impassivity finally cracked. It didn't necessarily feel good, but it was something. Apparently, nothing broke Jounouchi like impugning his honor.

The outrage sparked in Jounouchi's eyes before it overtook the rest of his face. It was Kaiba's only warning before a fist smashed into his jaw. The pain stunned him, giving Jounouchi the chance to weasel out of his grip and throw Kaiba off. Copper exploded across his taste buds, and he hurt everywhere— not only in his face, but he ached in his chest. He turned his head and spat out the mouthful of blood.

"Fuck! Fuck you, Kaiba, you don't get to put that all on me! You kissed me first. You pushed me into bed. Fuck you if you actually think I'd toy with your heart— anyone's heart like that— Shit, I lo—" Jounouchi stopped abruptly, gasping for air and blinking away the wetness stinging at the corner of his eyes. "I liked you for a long time, Seto. Maybe not since the beginning, but close enough. Why do you think I never said or did anything before now? But then yesterday, you came onto me. You came and fucking kissed me like you couldn't live without me. And I— Goddammit it!"

Jounouchi was shaking, balling both hands pressed tightly to his sides. His face was a wretched collage of agony and yearning.

Kaiba tried to convince himself that he was unmoved by the display. But his faithless heart tightened, while the next breath stuttered inside his lungs. "Jounouchi—"

"Get out!" the command came out as a keening yowl. "I have work to do. I'm not gonna listen to you twist my feelings into something so fucking ugly." Jounouchi slumped back against the worktable, knees weak and shaking.

Kaiba left, heart dragging at his feet.