Ladies and gentlemen (drum roll!) it's time to introduce Mokuba Kaiba! Yes, he FINALLY comes, which means Death T is not too far away. Now, I bet you're confused since Atem and Seto have already found friendship in each other. I'll give you a clue, Seto still believes friends get in the way of his business. Hope that helps. The rest is in this one... or part of the issue. Review please!
Atem was standing in line at the candy store while continually checking his watch. A deep sigh left his mouth. He did not even know why he bothered waiting in line for some stupid toy Yugi wanted. This was just completely bizarre. Yugi was getting excited with excitement filling his eyes. Atem glared at the anxious boy in annoyance.
'What's with you and these new games that come out? I swear you're gonna be the death of me,' Atem glared with folded arms.
"I can't help it. Whenever a new game comes out, I just gotta have it," Yugi grinned.
'You're worse than Tea is with shopping!'
"You just can't get into the game."
There were kids wanting to be first before anyone else. There were even kids trading their capsule monsters for other ones. Atem was thinking the whole time how idiotic this was. Yugi just continually rolled his eyes at his brother's annoyance. While Atem was third in line, a kid cut in front of him. He grabbed the kid by the back of his shirt to meet his eyes.
"Have you heard of the no buts, no cuts phrase? Well, that rule applies here too," Atem smirked as the kid nodded with fear in his eyes.
"Um s... s... sorry. I di... didn't see ya," The kid apologized before walking behind Atem.
He rolled his eyes in annoyance thinking, 'that kid is just as bad as those bitches in Domino High!'
"I know! I don't know why people want to cut in line. That's just wrong!" Yugi agreed.
When Atem finally reached the machine, he put a quarter in the slot and turned the handle. It just so happened that the capsule monster wasn't coming out. Atem was boiling hot red. First Yugi begs him to buy a capsule monster, then he waits for two hours in line, now the machine was jammed.
"STUPID! COME OUT YOU BITCH!" Atem shouted as he banged on the machine with his fist, and then the monster came out. "FINALLY!"
"Hey!" The owner who was nicknamed Old Man Dentures glared. "No breaking my machine to get some quarters!"
"I wasn't trying to steal money. You just need to fix your damn machine," Atem spat while stuffing the capsule monster in his pocket. He turned around and walked on his way out the door. "By the way, this store smells like ass."
"WHY YOU..." Old Man Dentures growled before seeing someone open the door and everyone froze with a sharp gasp.
Atem raised one eyebrow and peered at the direction everyone else was facing. At the door, was a small kid about early in his middle school years. He wore thick long black hair that needed brushing, some rash clothing, and a huge smirk up his lips. His violet eyes gave a dark tone to his look. Atem smirked widely.
The black haired kid walked toward the old man while keeping his smirk. His hands were comfortably in his pockets while staring at the man with his dark evil eyes.
"I'd like to buy your Capsule Monster machine," the kid said in demand.
"It's not for..." Old Man Dentures declared with a deep glare before the black-haired kid gave the man $50. He stared at it with dollar signs in his eyes. "Take it!"
The boy trailed off as he snapped his fingers so the other kids at his age would carry the machine for him. Atem smirked impressively. He's never met this kid in his life and was already starting to like him.
"Nice, kid. Only a few like you can pull stunts like that," Atem complimented.
The kid turned to Atem's direction before giving him a nasty glare and saying, "are you Atem Moto?"
"Yes I am and who are you?" Atem asked with his arms folded.
"I'm Mokuba Kaiba. My older brother goes to your school," Mokuba said in a dark glaring tone. It grew deeper as he stared angrily at Atem. "I know about you. Ever since you beat Seto, he NEVER gets to see me."
"How is this my fault?" Atem asked confused and annoyed at the same time.
"Because of your stupid games. You've beaten him at every single one of them!"
"Actually, he's beaten me in Chess a few times. Not to mention, Yahtzee, Sorry, Life, and Monopoly. Though, I keep a record of wins," Atem smirked before it turned to a frown. "That doesn't mean Seto not seeing you is my fault."
"YOU DON'T GET IT, DO YOU?" Mokuba yelled in fury. Many of the kids' eyes were widened in fear. "My brother would rather play with you than spend any time with me! He's starting to... to... like you. He's always said I shouldn't make friends when running a business and now he's starting to consider you one." He glared coldly. He then muttered, "not that he'd admit it."
Atem chuckled while rolling his eyes saying, "ok, I'll agree with you on that line. I do disagree about not making any friends in business. I believe if a CEO President can handle running a company and school life, let alone a bad-ass brother, I'm sure he can handle an asshole for a friend." He trailed on his way out the door passed Mokuba. "Tell Seto I said 'hi.'"
"NOT SO FAST!" Mokuba shouted with two balled fists. Atem rolled his eyes and stared at the kid boredly. "I want to play Capsule Monsters against you! If I win, Seto's mine!"
"Normally, I'd hesitate to play against middle school dweebs," Atem mocked as Mokuba shook in anger. "Buuut, I'm starting to like you. I'll play."
"Glad you could join," Mokuba smirked as he snapped his fingers and a small group of middle school kids turned to the rich boy. "Escort Atem to the game board."
"I have a bike outside, you know," Atem glared in boredom while sticking his thumb toward the window where you can see a black motorcycle parked on the side of the street.
"Hm," Mokuba smirked while his arms were folded. "Very well. I've always wanted to ride those things anyways."
Atem got out his keys and turned the motorcycle on. Mokuba hopped behind Atem with a helmet on his head before they rode off. Atem and Mokuba felt the wind pushing against their faces. Mokuba could see buildings, people, and objects moving far behind in a fast pace. A joyful laugh escaped from his lips while looking down on the yellow lines on the streets. They were going fast!
Mokuba realized he was starting to lose focus on who the enemy was. He returned his angry glare as Atem showed a slight smirk. He knew the kid was starting to like him a bit. Knowing from being Mokuba's age, these kids would consider riding a motorcycle the best ride of their life, excluding wild rides at amusement parks. At the same time, Atem was starting to like Mokuba alot. He was a smart ass kid.
Atem parked his ride by the location Mokuba said they would meet at. The two walked inside a vacant building that held a game board in the middle. This was a Capsule Monster game board. The Capsule Monster machine was beside the game board. Mokuba gave a smirk at Atem.
"You can be the first to get your monster," Mokuba declared. An evil smirk was placed on his face. "I used the machine I got from Old Dentures just to be fair."
"Except it's ridged," Atem smirked as if he could read the kid like a book. "Being badass as you are, you paid Old Man Dentures to ridge the machine. I'll most likely have lower level monsters."
Mokuba glared deeply and angrily. He asked, "ARE YOU CALLING ME A CHEATER?"
"Yes," Atem replied. He then shrugged. "Of coarse, I won't tell your brother. He'll probably blow a gasket. Still, I've been your age before and I know how you boys work. You're wanting to win to get your brother back." A chuckle left him. "Amusing. I'll let you get away with this on this round. Though, your tactics don't announce a victory."
Atem was the first to get out his Capsule Monster from the slot machine. Him and Mokuba took turns in claiming their monsters. Atem rolled his eyes as soon as he saw the levels of his monsters. Three level 1 monsters, a level 4, and a level 2 monster.
"Yep, no ridging was done," Atem smirked sarcastically. He let out a chuckle. "But I always keep my word. Though, don't think this means I'll let it down."
Mokuba shook and growled in anger and hatred. He hated it and found it annoying when Atem smirked like that. He sat down across from Mokuba as Yugi stood behind his brother with a bright smile on his face.
"I'd like for you to not cheat," Mokuba said while pointing to Atem's puzzle. Seto had told his brother about the spirit inside Atem who lived in the puzzle around his neck.
"Ah, you mean Yugi? He only knows how to play Capsule Monsters as much as I do. Speaking of cheating," Atem reminded.
"I'M NOT CHEATING!"
"liar!"
"FINE!"
"Besides, Yugi is always with me when I play against your brother. If you're that afraid of losing..."
"I'm not afraid of losing!"
"You're lying again," Atem smirked while crossing his arms. "Lesson 1 in gaming, never get cocky and never be afraid of losing."
"YOU PIECE OF SHIT! LET'S JUST PLAY ALREADY!"
"Ah-Kay," Atem shrugged as he placed his monsters in formation. Mokuba chuckled at the formation, thinking it was so amateurish.
"We can make this a little more interesting. If you lose, I get to cut off your fingers," Mokuba grinned deviously while showing a dagger in his hand. Atem had to prevent himself from laughing.
"Fine. Though, I like Russian Roulette better."
"That's disgusting," Yugi cringed.
'We used to make these bets when I was Mokuba's age,' Atem explained as Yugi grimaced at the thought.
Mokuba moved his Ganpo first before Atem moved his Eye Mouth. The two monsters were facing each other in battle. Mokuba was laughing with cockiness in his eyes as his Ganpo crushed Atem's Eye Mouth. He kept laughing and mocking at Atem as he showed a smirk of amusement.
"Why're you smiling?" Mokuba glared.
"Mokuba, did you know that you show weakness when you're at an adventage of winning?" Atem asked rhetorically.
"Are you coaching me?" Mokuba spat in boiling hot anger.
"Watch your temper," Atem smirked with a hint of mockery. This brought Mokuba in annoyance. He placed Great Paa forward and attacked Cobra'd. They both were wiped off the field. "Now, I have three monsters and you only have four."
"You moron! Don't you know I have more stronger monsters than you?" Mokuba smirked with more cockiness.
"Probably because you ridged the slot machine," Atem pointed out while sticking his thumb at the slot machine where the boys retrieved their capsule monsters. Mokuba's head boiled once more.
Mokuba moved Dinosaur Wing to attack Atem's Flowerman. A wide smirk appeared on his lips and glowering eyes were hinting sweet victory. Atem was more amused at the kid's cockiness. Mokuba wasn't even aware of the formation his monsters were being placed in. Atem kept his smirk and took his Devil Castle.
"I'll move this to the left," Atem said as he moved his monster to a specific location to the left.
"Running huh?" Mokuba asked mockingly while picking up his Red Zaccah. "My monster attacks you from behind!"
Red Zaccah attacked Devil Castle and it was moved from the board. Mokuba smiled evilly and victoriously. He was laughing in joy and mockery. Atem, on the other hand, was rolling his eyes during the whole charade. He knew Mokuba never saw this coming. He was too cocky and filled with joy to see his monsters' formation. Though, this wasn't much of a surprise to Atem.
Mokuba noticed Atem's smirking look and glared deeply at it, getting extremely annoyed. He spat, "what's so funny?"
"Look," Atem said, pointing at the diagonal formation of Mokuba's monsters. Mokuba gasped and his eyes widened. He never paid attention to the monster formation. "You need to stop showing signs of weakness. Cockiness is one of those things, you can ask your brother." Atem took his Trigan and slashed through the diagonal monsters that belonged to Mokuba. The kid froze in fear and anguish. He just lost. "Always save your trump card for the end. That's another lesson to learn. It works in Duel Monsters too."
"No! I... lost," Mokuba moped as Atem got off his chair. He turned to leave, but not before turning his head for final words.
"Remember what I told you. It'll help the next time you play with the big boys," Atem said with his hands in his pocket. A smile, a real smile, appeared on his lips. "I had fun. It was a nice play, Mokuba, but don't cheat next time."
With that, Atem left on his way out the door, but not before Mokuba ran up to his brother's rival, and possibly friend. He tugged on Atem's shirt before the teenager turned his head with cocked eyebrows.
"Um... could you... drive me home, please?" Mokuba asked while tapping his fingers together. Atem nodded with a soft smile.
Atem drove Mokuba on his motorcycle once more. The air brushed through their hair and faces. Mokuba started thinking about the game he and Atem just played. The suggestions Atem gave Mokuba throughout the whole game, those words were glued to the boy's head. For the first time, a soft smile appeared in Mokuba's lips. He had to admit, Atem seemed like a really cool guy. Mokuba could now see why his brother liked Atem so much. He was both someone you can hate, but couldn't.
Mokuba started feeling bad for ridging the game like that. Whether he won or lost, it didn't really matter now. He had fun with Atem and wished to play with him again sometime. Then, that's when Mokuba remembered.
"Atem!" Mokuba said.
"Yes?" Atem replied.
"There's another reason I wanted to challenge you. My brother is creating a theme park called Kaiba Land. He's also hosting a tournament on the grand opening called Death T."
"Death T?" Atem smirked with his brow raised. "Sounds interesting."
"Well, it's not just any tournament game, it's one where your life's at risk. It's... a dangerous game."
"Really? I'm more anxious."
"Seto set it up because... he wants to prove to me he hasn't gone soft with you," Mokuba admitted as the motorcycle came to a stop by the mansion. He jumped off and faced Atem to continue where he left off. "I think he considers you like a friend. He's never had friends before, because he says they get in your head and mess with your feelings, making it to where they can stab you in the back or change the way you think when running a company."
Atem smiled, much to Mokuba's surprise, and replied, "Mokuba, there are two kinds of friends. There are the ones that Seto talks about that you can always count on to support you and you support them, and then there are the ones where you can be an ass to. Seto and I share the kind of friendship where we don't have to support each other. We can make ourselves an ass and still not truly hate the other. I don't know how else to explain it. I'll tell you this much, Death T, this tournament, will only make him softer."
Mokuba replied with a soft smile. He replied, "I kinda feel the same way. You're annoying, but I don't really hate you."
"Same here," Atem smirked. "Tell your brother he'll see me dueling against him at any game at any time."
Atem drove off with that. Yugi was riding behind his brother with question in his eyes. He asked, "About this Death T, I get the feeling that it will be a true test."
'It will,' Atem agreed with seriousness in his eyes. 'I'm afraid it might lead to a Shadow Game. In any case, I need Seto to realize that he will have to face his true feelings in his heart. Our friendship is never going to cease, even if he tries to make it.'