Chapter 10: Enter Kaiba
"And so the game of fate has begun."
Zorc was currently in a room made of stone, murals of various scenes etched into various tablets that were scattered about the room.
His eye was particularly focused on a tablet that depicted a young king standing up against a monster, the Egyptian Gods and his court rallying behind him.
"Oh how I've waited for this to come to pass… Now… for all the pieces to fall into place…"
He chuckled, moving away from the tablet, sitting on a throne made of bones, summoning a golden chalice to his hand full of wine.
"And for the masters to make their moves."
He raised the glass, his single eye glinting with amusement.
"Your turn, Pharaoh."
oooooo
How do you turn this infernal thing off?
Yami stared angrily at the device that was currently blaring out its alarm. Morning had risen over the game shop… but it didn't mean he liked what happened during that time.
Yugi was already up and about, getting ready… the noise was coming from an entirely different location.
"How do you even…?" Yami pointed to the pink clock sitting on Natsuki's nightstand. "This thing could wake the dead and yet…" He gestured to the bed. "Look!"
Yugi sighed, shaking his head, looking down at his sister.
Natsuki was curled up, still fast asleep, her hair spilling a bit over the bed as she hugged her cat pillow. She mumbled a bit, burying her head more into the blankets.
This happened every morning.
"If I could give you an answer about that one, this wouldn't be happening." He said, before shaking her shoulders. "C'mon, Natsuki. It's morning."
"No…." She mumbled, turning away from him. "It's not… You're lyin…"
"Natsuki, c'mon, I don't wanna do this today."
She mumbled something before another snore escaped her.
Yugi pinched the bridge of his nose.
Yami crossed his arms.
"Well, that's not a pleasant surprise by any means."
"Nope… Natsuki." Yugi narrowed his eyes. "Get up, right now. I'm not having this argument again!"
"... Bite me."
Why that little jJackal…
Yugi sighed heavily, shaking his head.
"Alright, have it your way."
Natsuki ignored him, burrowing more under her covers… before they were ripped right off the bed.
Yugi glared down at her… only for it to be met with a similar one.
"Mortal…" She hissed.
"Jackal Pup." Yugi tossed the blanket to the side, crossing his arms. "So good for you to grace us this morning with your presence."
"Go away. I'll be late, go to school alone."
"Dad's making breakfast-"
She darted by him in less than a few seconds… stunning Yami as he watched her go.
"What the…?"
Yugi pinched the bridge of his nose again, grabbing up Natsuki's school bag and her violin case. He figured he might as well bring those downstairs while he was up there.
"This is normal. You haven't even seen when she's really ticked about waking up."
"... Tomorrow morning, allow me."
"... Bet. One cup of hot chocolate you're not gonna get better results." Yugi offered a hand to the spirit. "Loser, has to wash the dishes."
"... I shouldn't take this bet." Yami narrowed his eyes, a grin appearing on his face. "But I'm a fool to turn down a game."
… Why do I have the feeling I'll regret this?
"Yugi!" Akira called from downstairs. "I need to talk to you!"
"... Oh, that's a bad sign." Yugi sighed. "One sec!"
Nothing good ever comes of "need to talk to you" or "we need to talk."
… At least it's not "we need to discuss this" guuuh…
As he followed, Yami made note of one thing privately.
Morning routines were odd.
However, that tone…
That was a "concerning" one…
oooooo
"You remember my friend Pegasus, right, Son?"
"Yeah… he was part of your dig team and runs that game company now, right?" Yugi swallowed hard. "And he's married to Cyndia…"
Akira gave him a gentle look.
"He has a foster son now who's going to start attending Domino High today. He called and asked if you could get to know him a little."
Yugi hummed in thought before giving a smile.
"Sure thing! A new friend would be nice."
"And… one more thing." Akira chuckled, producing a box from his bag. "We got something in the mail this morning, so share it with your friends too."
Yugi looked around the classroom, making note of anyone who walked in but he couldn't spot anyone unfamiliar. He had already agreed to meet up with his friends before class started so they could hang out.
I just hope he's nice… I wonder if he likes games…
Yami wandered around the classroom, observing the area.
"So this is school…?"
Yugi nodded.
"A part of it. This is where my history class is taught." Yugi smiled. "Then when that class ends, I head to another room, then get a break in between, then it's the same thing again until 3 PM. It's not the most exciting thing in the world but I do like it since it's how I met my friends. Plus my history teacher is awesome. I think you'd like Mahad."
Yami blinked.
"Mahad? That doesn't sound Japanese."
"It's Arabic. He was born and raised in Egypt then eventually moved here." Yugi chuckled. "If you need to know anything about Egyptian history he's the man to ask."
Yami nodded, humming in thought.
"Wonder if he knows anything about Zorc…"
"Hm… He might. He was also part of my Dad's excavation team when he found the puzzle."
"Then maybe you could ask him about it?"
"I can try." Yugi nodded. "For now though… I just need to worry about being a kid." Yugi pulled out the box his father had given him. "Now I wonder what came for us."
He took off the lid, peering inside.
Inside the box were 6 colorful boxes, depicting monsters and sorcerers.
"Whoa…!"
No way…
Yami peered over.
"Oh! Duel Monster cards?"
"Y-Yeah…" Yugi took one of the boxes out. "Six… One for all of us and the new kid… These aren't even RELEASED yet, Yami!"
"So, they're rare?"
Yugi nodded.
"Must be from Pegasus. He's the creator of Duel Monsters. He paints all the pictures on the cards himself."
Yami's eyes widened.
"All that work is done by one man?"
"Yeah! And with traditional paints. He's devoted to the idea of capturing beauty in its most natural way possible as he would put it."
"I see." Yami looked down at the cards. "Fascinating…"
"Yo! Bring gifts today, Yugi?"
Yugi's head snapped up, seeing Jonouchi at the door along with everyone else.
"Ah! Hey guys!" Yugi smiled. "Yeah! From my dad's friend. You all play Duel Monsters right?"
"Sure do!" Jonouchi grinned. "Quite good at it."
Honda choked back a laugh.
"Good at losing." He muttered.
Jonouchi glared at him.
"Them's fighting words."
"A-Ah guys not now, please." Yugi waved a hand, motioning them to come over. "These are special cards too because they haven't been released yet."
Anzu picked up one of the boxes that had the depiction of a sorcerer, a young girl with colorful armor.
"We can really have these?" She asked, her eyes lighting up.
Yugi's face heated up as he smiled, giving a nod.
"Yeah, Pegasus has a son transferring in and Dad was hoping we could make him feel welcomed. So, I guess he likes Duel Monster cards, so leave one deck please."
"Of course!" She smiled. "Can I have this one?"
Too… cute…
Yugi nodded.
"O-Of course, Anzu! Whichever one you want."
Yami leaned forward, smirking.
"Oh…?"
Don't you dare!
"Just observing… She's beautiful by the way."
Yugi turned even redder.
Stop. Please. Dad already does this enough.
"Hm…" Yami smiled, giving a shrug. "Alright. Though, if I may advise, I'd wear some bracelets next time."
REMEMBER WHAT WE AGREED TO THIS MORNING. THIS COULD BACKFIRE BAD FOR YOU MISTER!
"Oh man, this card looks sick!" Jonouchi held up a card that had a black dragon with red eyes. "Your thoughts Yugi?"
"Oh, it's amazing." He smiled, shrugging Yami away from him. "You know, it has a lot of support cards that can help it power up too. Red-Eyes Black Dragon is one of the best cards in the game. The new support is supposed to be wicked strong too."
"And I get it before anyone else! YES!" He laughed. "Take that, Honda!"
Honda rolled his eyes.
"Suuure…"
"Eeee this one is cute!" Miho squealed, holding up a card depicting a girl with long hair, wearing a set of blue armor.
"Ah, Magician's Valkyria, that's a good one." Yugi smiled. "She's powerful too."
"Any card you pick I'm sure you'll win." Honda looked at her with a gentle look.
"Oh? Someone's kissing up…" Jonouchi murmured, right before Honda elbowed him hard enough to send his cards to the floor. "DUDE!"
"Oops."
Yugi sighed.
So much for stopping that…
Other students started to file in, causing the group to quickly gather up their cards.
"I know Ishtar-Sensei is lax about this but if we got caught by Ms. Chuono, we could kiss these cards good bye." Jonouchi grumbled, shoving his cards into his bag.
"Ms. Chuono?" Yami murmured.
"We don't like her." Yugi whispered, shoving his own cards and the spare deck back into his bag. "If we get caught, our stuff is gonna get confiscated. I'm barely skating by with the puzzle."
"Skating by…?"
"I'll explain later."
"Alright, everyone!" Mahad clapped his hands together. "Settle down. We have a new student today that I would like to introduce."
Mahad nodded to the door as a boy with dark brown hair and piercing blue eyes stepped in. Unlike everyone else in the classroom, his uniform was white in color with gold accents around the buttons and cuffs of his sleeves. He was followed by a woman with red hair… and who was clearly wearing too much makeup.
"That's her." Yugi whispered to Yami.
"Noted…" He sneered a bit. "Her face looks… fake."
"Yeah, don't say that out loud."
Yugi turned his attention to the boy again.
And with that kind of uniform that is definitely Pegasus' kid. Only a rich kid could get away with that.
The boy looked around before he spotted Yugi, giving a small nod.
Guess he got the heads up too…
"Everyone, this is Kaiba Seto." Mahad gave him a smile. "He'll be joining our class from this day forward."
That… baffled everyone. That name was familiar, all over town.
"Kaiba?" Anzu whispered. "Like the tech giant company with the theme parks?"
"I thought you said he was Pegasus' kid." Jonouchi whispered. "Kaiba… That name was in the news recently, right?"
Seto's eyes narrowed into a glare, mouthing:
"I heard that."
Mahad looked right at Jonouchi with an… eerily cold smile.
"Now, no one here is talking in class, right?"
"No, Sir!"
"That's what I thought." He turned to Ms. Chuono with the same look. "And from here, I got this. You don't need to worry about Kaiba-kun. I'll handle this."
"Hmph." She narrowed her eyes before leaving. "Good luck…"
Ooof, that's his "Leave before I kill you." smile. What did she say to him this morning?
And if looks could kill… Ho boy…
I'll turn this around. Once we get to know each other it'll be fine…
Mahad pointed to the area near the window where Yugi was sitting.
"How about you take the desk next to Yugi's?"
Seto gave a small nod, bowing his head once more before heading over to him… taking note of a card next to the boy's desk. He picked it up, offering it back to him.
"Is this yours?"
Yugi smiled sheepishly, taking a look… noting that it had indeed come from his personal collection. A magician with colorful armor and a fierce gaze.
"Yeah, Black Magician. Guess it fell out when I was trying to hide them." He took it back before offering a handshake. "Mutou Yugi."
"Ah, Akira-san's son. It's a pleasure." Seto chuckled, accepting it. His gaze softened for a moment. "My father mentioned you."
"Same… We'll talk more after class?"
"I'd like that a lot. We'll have a match."
Yugi smiled, giving a nod.
Yes! He is nice! And he likes Duel Monsters too… This is gonna be great!
Yami chuckled as he watched the exchange. Happy to see the two getting along just fine.
… Though, when he stole a glance at Seto… For a moment, he saw a shadow looming over him before it vanished.
What the…?
Yami shook his head, blinking a few times to be sure his eyes weren't playing tricks on him.
Nothing was there now… but a sense of dread clung to him.
He frowned, huddling closer to Yugi, deciding to remain silent for now.
Best not to raise an alarm till I know for sure.
But no harm in keeping my guard up.
ooooooo
The girls were huddled around Sera's desk, Natsuki sitting across from her friend. They were worriedly looking down at a set of cards.
"Well?" Ayaka asked. "What do you think, Sera? She doomed or is she gonna pass?"
Sera sighed.
"Ayaka, the cards will call out whatever they like. I do see success but I don't think it involves that… This card here…" She held up one, depicting a moon over a white forest. "Indicates that you're struggling with something still. Might be a good time to square that out."
Natsuki pinched the bridge of her nose.
"Of course the stupid cards call me out…" She muttered. "It's fine, I'm fine."
"You sure?"
"Mm-hm… By the way, if I have to play one more round of Duel Monsters my eyes are gonna fall out."
"... Sore loser." They both chorused.
Natsuki looked behind her, noting more students filing in.
"Move your butts, hide the cards." She whispered, hurrying to her desk as the teacher, a man with messy dark brown hair and piercing blue eyes entered… followed closely by a young boy.
Who's that with Kujaku-Sensei?
"Alright, everyone settled?" The man asked. "Good. Today, we have a new student who's transferring in today." He nodded to the boy. "Please, go ahead and introduce yourself."
The boy was wearing the male uniform for Natsuki's school. The traditional dark green almost black gakuen with golden buttons. His hair was dark and long, stopping just around his shoulders, his gray blue eyes having a gentle look to them.
"My name is Kaiba Mokuba." he bowed. "I've been homeschooled for a while now but decided I really wanted to try public school. I look forward to getting to know all of you."
Natsuki exchanged a puzzled look with Ayaka.
Why does that last name sound a little familiar? Eh, probably just a coincidence. It's not like there's only one person with any last name…
"Thank you. Why don't you take a seat next to Natsuki-chan?"
Natsuki stood up from her desk, bowing her head.
"Welcome to our school."
Mokuba smiled gently, making his way over to her.
"Y-You too-" His face heated up, rubbing the back of his neck. "I mean, t-thank you."
Natsuki smiled.
"It's fine, happens to the best of us, right?"
"Y-Yeah, right."
Poor kid. Natsuki thought. It's okay, I got this.
"When we get out for lunch, wanna sit with me and my friends?"
Mokuba's eyes widened.
"R-Really?"
"Really! We always eat in the library, we can introduce you to Ms. Ishizu too!" Natsuki giggled. "It'll be fun!"
"T-Thank you.."
Natsuki smiled, giving a nod.
"Anytime… I mean it."
Mokuba took his seat, as class started… catching himself gazing at Natsuki here and there.
Maybe this whole public school thing won't be too bad… Wait till I tell Brother about this.
Soon enough, they were heading to the library, the boy looking around him.
"It's huge…"
"Right?" Sera giggled. "My mother works hard."
"Yeah, Sera's lucky, Ms. Ishizu's got the best stuff stashed over here." Natsuki hurried to the back of the library, turning to him with an excited grin. "Before that though… you cool with occult stuff?"
Mokuba smirked.
"Of course."
"Yay! C'mon, c'mon!"
Mokuba turned to Ayaka and Sera with a chuckle.
"She always this hyper?"
"Only when she's making a new friend." Ayaka giggled, nudging him along. "Nat was like that when we met her in preschool too."
She's cute...
He sighed happily, hurrying to catch up with her.
Can't remember the last time I even hung out with kids my own age. This is nice.
"So, you wanna know about Greek mythos or Egyptian mythos?" Natsuki called over from where she was at.
"Uh… both?"
Her eyes lit up.
Ayaka and Sera giggled, exchanging a knowing look.
"I think we should give them a few minutes alone. Manga section?"
"Manga section. Let's let them get to know each other a little."