18: Polarity Strategy
Kaiba loosened the death grip on his mobile phone, breathing in measured beats to alleviate the tension building in his neck. It was a testament to how unaccustomed he was to asking for favors, but now was not the time to get caught up in his pride. He coached his next words in English carefully, "I greatly appreciate your aid in this matter."
"I'm always happy to help a the friend of a friend. I'll be in contact again soon with more news," the calm voice on the other end of the line was annoyingly reassuring.
He ended the call and pocketed his phone inside his uniform jacket. Jounouchi poked his head through the green room's door, tapping on his left wrist impatiently. After adjusting his coat and sunglasses, Kaiba joined him in the hall.
"C'mon, the match's about to start," Jounouchi scolded as he took his hand.
As they neared the entrance, Jounouchi started to pull away. Kaiba held his hand tighter, smirking at his partner's sudden confusion. After checking to make sure no one was watching, he reeled Jounouchi in for a kiss.
"What was that for?" Jounouchi asked afterwards.
"I believe a kiss for good luck is customary."
Still smiling, Jounouchi shoved him gently. "As if you believe in luck. You don't need to feed me some bullshit excuse next time."
"Hmm, perhaps you're right."
Kaiba tried to take a step back, but Jounouchi weaved his fingers through his cravat and yanked him down again. The second kiss left them both breathless and a little flushed.
"Now that was a good luck kiss," Jounouchi said smugly before releasing him.
Unable to wipe the smile completely from his face, he followed Jounouchi out into the arena. He squinted against the bright stage-lights overhead, blinding even through his tinted lenses. From the other side, Kujaku approached the stage, her every stride reflecting her confidence. They sized each other up, devoid of hostilities. For the first time, Kaiba caught himself seeking out a fighter's strengths, rather than her weakness.
"Oi, Jounouchi," Kujaku called from the other side of the console with a hand on each hip in a classic power pose and an inviting smile on her ruby red lips. "How about a wager for old time's sake?"
Jounouchi laughed. "You're on! The usual stakes then."
She flipped her hair back and nodded. "Prepare to lose then, boys!" she whooped.
"Hell no, we're gonna kick your ass, Mai! Right, Kawaguchi?" Jounouchi turned determined and beseeching eyes on Kaiba. If there weren't several thousand witnesses watching them, Kaiba would have kissed him again.
Kaiba smirked at both her and Jounouchi, "Naturally."
The possibility of further bickering was interrupted by the announcer declaring the start of the match. Immediately afterwards, the battle computer booted up— a field of ethereal blue stars blooming between them. Jounouchi's childish excitement upon seeing the particles never changed, and Kaiba felt a flutter of anticipation for the upcoming battle. It was strange to find none of the usual apprehension or claustrophobic pressure there only days ago.
"Field 3: Desert. Please set your GP Base. Please set your Gunpla."
A virtual sun peeked out from behind the horizon, casting an interplay of light and shadow across the birdlike figure perched on top of a jagged rock in the center of an otherwise flat and barren landscape. Kujaku's Jagd Doga was modified to capitalize on the suit's avian appearance; even its fingers were lengthened and sharpened to resemble talons. The folds in its custom booster pack unfurled to create a silhouette like a pair of feathered wings.
Kujaku Mai wasn't known as the "Harpy Queen" for nothing.
Kaiba landed the Imperial Legilis opposite her. A cloud of dust rolled over them. The Jagd Doga remained fixed on its perch like a gargoyle— it wasn't going to act until Kaiba made the first move. There was one thing he needed to know before starting the battle. Without taking his eye off her Gunpla on the main camera's feed, he brought up his commlink with Jounouchi and asked, "The usual stakes, what are they?"
"If she wins, I owe her dinner and dancing."
He scowled. "And if you win?"
Jounouchi's shit-eating grin grew ever wider. "If I win, she has to go with me to an amusement park."
Of all the unbelievably juvenile and Jounouch-esque things to—
"So either way, she gets a date with you?" he snapped, irritation crawling under his skin. His glare flitted back and forth between the Jagd Doga and his builder. After settling on opening a new voice comm to his opponent, Kaiba drew the Legilis' GN blade and lunged at the Jagd Doga. "Kujaku, I demand changes to the terms of your wager with Jounouchi."
The Jagd Doga's beam saber arced through the air, meeting the GN blade in a shower of sparks. She then broke away first, flying back and launching the missiles from its shoulder racks. Kaiba cut down two of them with his GN blade, blocked three more with his shield binder, and redirected the last one with a well-aimed kick. The last missile impacted with the ground under the Jagd Doga's left leg.
"Aw, don't be like that, Seto. It's just a friendly bet between friends," Jounouchi pleaded over the video link, now wide-eyed and innocent looking. If he thought Kaiba was going to relent just because he pulled a sad puppy face, he was sorely mistaken.
"Exactly, Seto ," Kujaku teased. "You need to learn how to share. Now I wouldn't be opposed to you joining in on the fun, hon."
Kaiba's response was to switch the GN blade to the Legilis' left hand and pull the buster rifle. A green ray of energy cut through the empty air where the Jagd Doga previously hovered.
"Dammit, Mai, don't antagonize him more," Jounouchi scolded. "Who do you think has to deal with him afterwards?"
He leered at Jounouchi. "I'm sure you'll figure out a way."
Jounouchi scrubbed his suddenly beet red face with one hand.
The Jagd Doga's funnels came next, and Kaiba countered with the Legilis' bits. Each point of impact between the funnels and bits exploded into a curtain of fire and dust, providing the perfect smokescreen. He dropped the buster rifle to pass the GN blade back into his dominant hand. He charged into the smoke surrounded by more bits to illuminate his path. Four pinpoints of light suddenly appeared ahead. Kaiba immediately feinted right, dodging weapons fire from the Jagd Doga's four mega particle guns, and sliced through her handheld shield with a stroke from below. However, he paid for the move with the loss of his shield binder to Kujaku's counter-strike when she ejected the heated knife from her beam saber's handle.
Jounouchi cheered and gloated, "Take that, Mai. Now you got no funnels, shield, or mega particle guns!"
Kaiba rolled his eyes. And Jounouchi called him a show-off.
"Yeah, well, you guys lost your shield and bits," she blew an audible raspberry.
"I thought we were battling, not having a tea party," Kaiba snarked at both blonds as a smile fought its way over his lips.
Kujaku and he traded blow for blow. Maybe he could have ended the fight already, but he didn't want to yet. He wanted to see more of what he— she— they were capable of. Each time that their blades crossed, Kaiba could feel the rattle and jolt deep in his bones. Fire, the sort he had never felt before, coursed through his veins. His heart was empty and light— overflowing and buoyant.
Maybe this was what the third Meijin meant by "freedom."
Kaiba inhaled, exhaled, and finally let go.
-x-x-x-
Surrounded by thousands of applauding Gunpla fans, he and Kujaku shook hands. Her hair and eyes positively glowed under the stage-lights, outshone only by the full-blown smile taking over the rest of her admittedly attractive face.
Who knew someone could still be so radiant after losing?
"Ah! I did my best, but I guess you're not Meijin for nothing." She tilted her head and regarded him warmly. "Well, there's always next year."
"You're good, but I'll always be better." Kaiba felt the corner of his lips curve softly and without derision.
Kujaku threw her head back and laughed with peals as loud and clear as bells. She wrapped one arm around her waist and cradled her shaking body until her mirth subsided. "I like you, Meijin Kawaguchi the Fourth. You're interesting ," she drew out the word like she was savoring a piece of candy. "Jounouchi must agree with me."
Behind Kaiba, Jounouchi muttered something that sounded suspiciously like "shameless flirt."
"I'll see you both of you boys soon!" She blew them each a kiss before sashaying off the stage.
There was a ten-minute break in the program before the second and final match of the semi-finals was to start, but both Iori and Reiji were already waiting at the foot of the stage. Kaiba stopped at the bottom of the stairs to study the tense and pinched expressions on both of the teenagers' face. Jounouchi went straight to Iori, leaning close to have a private conversation. He turned his focus on the fighter of the team, who stood rigid with both hands balled at his side. He was glaring at the tunnel at the opposite side of the stadium where his opponent would likely emerge from. Reiji looked ready to strike something— or specifically, someone.
"If you hold onto your hate too tightly," Kaiba said as he searched for Noa's empty seat in the stand. "It may destroy you. Make sure your enmity is directed at those who deserve it."
Reiji looked up, stunned. Kaiba returned the unblinking stare and watched as the storm in the boy's eyes eventually cleared.
"Are both you and Fellini in on it together? You say the exact same things," Reiji sighed as he looked away and scratched behind his ear.
Kaiba snorted.
"Hey, Sei," Reiji called to his partner. "I thought about it really hard, the reasons why Aila did what she did, but I don't have an answer after all. So I've decided to stop thinking about it. You don't mind, do you?"
The smile that Reiji flashed Iori was nervous and fragile.
"Of course!" Iori responded with conviction.
Kaiba stepped around the two boys and continued toward the exit. Several moments later, Jounouchi caught up and fell into pace at his side.
"You better not have given them an unfair advantage." He glanced at Jounouchi out of the corner of his eye. But he knew that Jounouchi, being a wear-your-heart-on-your-sleeve type of person, was more concerned about the fractures in the friendship between Reiji and Aila Jyrkiäinen.
Jounouchi sidled closer, brushing his fingers against the back of Kaiba's hand. "Of course not. I wanted to make sure they thought their situation through. Seemed like the decent thing to do as their senpai. I want to stay and watch."
Kaiba nodded. "I'll be back later. There's something I need to take care of first."
"Should I come with?"
"Don't worry, it's a trivial matter," Kaiba caught Jounouchi's hand and squeezed before making his exit.
-x-x-x-
Noa was waiting outside of Gate 15 as they agreed upon. Inside the arena, the crowd applauded as the battle began. The hallways outside the stadium were deserted as a result. Asking to meet in a public place had been a deliberate move on Kaiba's part. He didn't want to make it easy for Gozaburo and, by extension, Noa to pull any tricks.
Kaiba considered his half-brother, straight-backed and overly self-assured, and he felt nothing toward him. His conscience was clear. He crossed his arms over his chest and widened his stance. "I won't do it," he declared.
With a bored expression, Noa inspected his manicured nails while speaking, "You're wasting time and effort posturing for me. You don't get it, Seto. You don't have a choice in the matter. Now be a good boy—"
"As typical as it is for Father to use Mokuba against me, I doubt you or he would hurt him. He is still a Kaiba," he stared at Noa. Their sibling rivalry had always been confined between the two of them. Kaiba often suspected that Noa harbored a soft spot for their youngest brother that he was careful not to show. He was banking on that now. "And I know Mokuba would be disappointed in me if I folded this easily to your persuasions. England is a long way from Japan, and neither you nor Father can keep an eye on him twenty-four seven. Mokuba will not obediently comply with your house arrest."
What Kaiba didn't reveal was he was putting contingencies in place. It had been a mistake to leave Mokuba behind when he left home.
A delicate frown slipped over Noa's lips. "You are correct. Mokuba has made several attempts to give Daimon the slip. It's why he's currently confined to his room until school starts again."
"Your leverage, though initially shocking, is weak and the novelty has worn off. If that alone is enough to browbeat me, you and Father underestimate me as always," Kaiba sneered.
Noa drew his phone from one pocket and smiled contemptuously. "And if I was to threaten someone not under the protection of the Kaiba family name?"
Kaiba narrowed his eyes as his older brother raised his chin high. His insides chilled upon seeing the expression on Noa's face— arrogant and triumphant. But for the sake of his plan, he needed to know what other cards his father and brother held. Did they know that Yuuki Tatsuya was still alive? Or maybe… Kaiba maintained his impervious and aloof attitude and pressed on, "Why would I care then?"
Noa turned on his phone and started swiping a hand across the holographic screen. "I've been watching you for almost a week, Seto. It has not escaped my notice how close you and your builder are. Jounouchi Katsuya, 20 years old, born and raised here in Shizuoka. His parents divorced in a rather contentious court case when he was eight. The father won full custody of Jounouchi-kun, and the mother of his sister, Shizuka. Now the interesting part is what he does several years later. You builder has quite the colorful rap sheet."
"Which is sealed," he pointed out neutrally. However, he knew that a sealed criminal record meant nothing before the might of the Kaiba Corporation, where Gozaburo could have it unsealed with a wave of his pinky finger.
Noa continued, his tone remained light and airy. "You're right though, Seto. That's in the past, and Jounouchi-kun has done an admirable job of turning his life around. I don't know much about Gunplas, but he is a relatively talented builder, is he not? I know it's no small feat to be hired by PPSE either. And yet he's also a part of the Works Team given his age and seniority at the company. Some people might claim favoritism or something worse. What do you think will happen to his promising career if your affair came to light?"
Noa turned his screen, displaying a still of Kaiba's hotel room. It appeared to be shot from the corner where the television unit sat and gave a wide-angled view of the rest of the room. Noa tapped the screen again and the video began to play. Kaiba took note of the timestamp on the bottom of the screen: yesterday around five in the evening.
Fuck.
Double fuck.
There was no sound, but about ten seconds in, he and Jounouchi stumbled into view. Kaiba watched as Jounouchi fell back onto the bed with a wide-mouthed yelp, still holding the sneaker he'd wrenched off his foot in one hand. The Kaiba on video followed suit, straddling Jounouchi and kissing him like his life depended on it. Noa paused the video before it got to the more risque parts of the previous night.
"We both know what happens next." A note of disgust was layered under Noa's words.
The rat bastard bugged his room— spied on him and recorded his most private and cherished moments. It wasn't something that was below Noa. In fact, it was so Noa that Kaiba couldn't believe he hadn't anticipated the possibility. Noa would hurt Jounouchi if necessary, while Gozaburo wouldn't hesitate and would enjoy it. Kaiba saw red. He grabbed Noa by his suit lapels and slammed him into the wall.
"Careful, someone is always watching," Noa hissed meaningfully.
They glared at each other, hatred crackling in the air between them. Kaiba pushed Noa one last time before stepped back and putting some much needed distance between them. If he stood too close, he was going to rearrange Noa's entire face.
Clearing his throat, Noa straightened his tie and jacket. He schooled his face into its usual blank slate before speaking again. "I have yet to report this development to Father. I don't want him to be any further shamed by your actions, Seto. So if you do as you're told, we can all walk away with our dignity intact, Jounouchi-kun included. Do we have an agreement?"