Kaiba sat at his desk in his office with his face in his hands, his stomach churning with turmoil.
For the past few days, he had thrown himself into his work, performing a series of tests on the merman's venom, saliva, and the single scale before sending them all to his most trusted lab technicians for a second opinion.
He had then sent the semen to a separate lab, deciding it was too embarrassing to say how he'd managed to obtain it if he was asked by his own staff.
But he had not slept well at all since his last sexual encounter with the merman, and his own thoughts were driving him mad.
He had almost died thrice during that ordeal.
If the temperature of the water didn't kill him first, the merman could've easily snapped his spine in half given the way he had curled his tail around his body. And even if that didn't happen, the merman could've scratched, bit, or spit on him at any time.
Every breath shook dangerously with each shallow inhale, and Kaiba pressed his palms into his eyes, willing himself to calm down.
The merman had said something about changing his mind about killing him, and if sex was what he was interested in now….
Kaiba leaned back into his chair and gazed up at the ceiling, staring at the bright strip lights above his head.
God…was he really going to have a sexual relationship with a mythical creature he'd captured in his basement just for more samples from his body?
He inched forward and poised his hands over the laptop, quickly sending another mass email to his lab staff.
Deep sea research was temporarily cancelled.
Focus on ocean clean-up only for the next week.
Send.
The phone on his desk rang quietly, and Kaiba picked it up, listening to his secretary's voice drifting in through the receiver.
"Mr. Kaiba, you have a meeting downstairs in ten minutes…."
Kaiba hung up and sighed again.
It was strange.
Usually, he'd be exhausted after not sleeping well for several days, but his mind was oddly clear and his skin was less dull.
Chalking it up to the fact that he had been eating well, Kaiba shoved the thoughts of the merman aside and focused on his work.
This event, like all other strange moments in his life, would pass.
Studying the merman was just another bonus in his search for the stone with the sparkling blue cores.
Atem was bored.
He dove to the bottom of the pool and resurfaced again, splashing about aimlessly.
The human had not shown his face for a while. He didn't know how long, because there was no way to tell the passing of time in the dark room.
There wasn't a hatch to the sky like there was in the other enclosure, and Atem was beginning to sorely miss the sun.
Fresh night air would be nice too.
But the human was listening to his demands.
An ageing human man had been wheeling in his meals on the silver cart twice a day, and would leave quickly without even looking at him.
Frustrated, Atem gave his tail a furious flick, feeling the water cascade down around his shoulders, the sound echoing thinly in the room. Maybe he could see his own captivity as a vacation of sorts.
There were no responsibilities for him here, but Atem found that he couldn't stop worrying about Mana, Mahad…and the others.
Atem folded his arms behind his head and floated lazily on his back.
Mahad…his most trusted and loyal advisor had chosen to serve beside him as his personal protector, even though his skills as warrior would've been far more useful guarding their hemisphere.
What was he doing now?
Kaiba gazed at the row of sharply dressed businessmen sitting on the plush chairs outside his meeting room, all looking eagerly at him through the glass, and he rolled his eyes.
Why were there so many of them?
This was going to be agonizing.
"I'll be calling in the first one." A woman to his left spoke up quietly, pulling her laptop closer towards her chest. "Or should we invite them in alphabetically? Or by subject?"
"I'm interested to hear them by subject first," a man on his left said genially, smiling kindly at a bright-eyed young man who was staring intently at them from his seat. "Not by who they're related to in this industry. That would be unfair. Mr. Kaiba?"
"Doesn't matter," Kaiba answered coldly, thinking that these two venture capitalists he had chosen to partner with were too soft. "Call in the first one."
Fairness wasn't a concept that existed when presenting new ideas to investors. They were either good, or bad ideas.
"Let's hear from this young man," the woman said warmly, showing Kaiba her screen. "It seems mildly related to what you are currently invested in."
Kaiba eyed the document suspiciously, skipping over the odd foreign name at the top and reading the proposal's title.
"Deep Sea Mining: Searching for Secrets Hidden in Unexplored Ocean to Better Humanity"
"A little vague, don't you think?" Kaiba growled, the hair raising on his arms as he wondered if this was a strange coincidence.
No.
This only meant that he was headed in the right direction, and peasants with no money were already at his heels with a similar concept.
"I think his writing is quite vague too, maybe because he wants us to hear it from his mouth. Or is it woman?" the man on his left said, nodding. "Call them in."
The woman on his left talked into the receiver on the desk, calling out a number.
Kaiba curled his fist slowly, watching a tall man wearing strange robes rise to his feet and walk towards the glass door, and Kaiba's heart stopped in his chest the moment he got a closer look at this man.
He was handsome and muscular, wearing thin, golden bands on his toned arms, and his skin was eerily similar to…the merman's.
Kaiba's mouth grew terribly dry and he reminded himself to keep his thoughts in check.
If he was indeed one of Atem's men, then he wasn't safe here, even in the confines of his own building.
"Welcome. Please state your purpose," said the man to his left, and Kaiba blinked slowly, his ears ringing with dread, using all of his remaining effort to keep his mind blank.
"Hello. My name is Mahad. Nice to meet you all." The man bowed deeply and Kaiba ground his teeth, staring at the many golden rings on his tanned knuckles.
The small stone on one of his rings had a fiery blue core.
"My proposal requires full cooperation from JOGMEC*. I believe Mr. Kaiba has already procured an agreement with them," the man said evenly, in perfect Japanese. "So this partnership would be greatly beneficial to you."
Kaiba tucked his tongue between his teeth, chewing lightly.
He had no reason to help this man.
Why should he help this man?
The partnership would benefit him more.
He needed at least one good reason—
"You should consider partnering with me because I know my way around the deep ocean," the man continued, looking directly into Kaiba's eyes, and Kaiba froze, noticing that his eyes were a stunning deep violet color.
C-Contacts.
Cosmetics.
He was wearing contact lenses to a professional meeting.
What a freak.
"…Both of my parents were marine scientists and I grew up near the…"
Kaiba stopped listening and began chanting tongue twisters to himself in his head.
There are 3 frogs hopping. Here come another 3 hopping frogs. In total, there are 6 frogs hopping.
"Mr. Kaiba?" the man addressed him directly, drawing him sharply back to the present.
Doing his best to hide his surprise, Kaiba threw the man a cold look and sat up straighter, saying nothing.
There was a stifling silence blanketing the room before the man spoke again.
"A bit off topic, but my eye color is completely natural. Am I boring you?"
"Why are you here?" Kaiba asked instantly, unable to help himself, and he wondered if he would get a real, truthful answer.
This man was definitely not an entrepreneur, and didn't look as if he cared about what he was presenting.
He knows I'm lying! Mahad kept his expression pleasant and managed a thin smile at the man with blue eyes sitting in the middle. How?!
The human Seto Kaiba was sitting in the middle, so did that mean he was the most powerful? But the other two were putting out more money, and money was king to these humans, was it not?
Mahad had barely done his research on the man named Seto Kaiba, because the other two humans were his target, and now he was sorely regretting not having done a better job.
The only thing he knew about Seto Kaiba was that he was also interested in deep sea mining, but was no friend to the environment. At least, that was what the news articles said, so this man was automatically his enemy.
The other two human's thoughts were more pleasant, running along the lines of "oh how nice" and, "he sounds like he knows what he's talking about," but the middle human's thoughts were pure nonsense!
He would not fail Atem now.
Beginning to sweat, Mahad steeled himself to continue the words he had prepared for these humans, focusing his attention on the handsome man in the middle, but was interrupted rudely by another stream of thoughts.
Look at his color …must spend a lot of time in the sun. Or not. His hair is so damn long. Is he wearing makeup? Looks like eyeliner. Claims his contact lenses are his natural eye color...hilarious! What a freak.
Beginning to lose his patience, Mahad addressed the middle human again, this time, letting the anger show on his face.
"You have a problem with the way I look, hu—Mr. Kaiba?" Mahad bit his own tongue, realizing he had almost slipped up and addressed the man as "human" instead of by his name.
" ?" Kaiba taunted, daring himself to smile, and he felt a rush of pure certainty.
Great. Freak confirmed. Now what should he do? Call his guards to throw this man as far off his property as possible or…question him about his rings?
"Mr. Kaiba, please, the man is nervous," the woman said, giving his arm an awkward pat and addressing the entrepreneur before them. "Please continue, you were saying?"
I forgot! Mahad thought wildly, on the verge of panic.
He had been interrupted by that vile man in the middle. Damn him.
"Don't bother," Kaiba drawled, examining his nails and briefly wondering if that man could smell the sex on him. "He doesn't know what the fuck he's talking about."
Mahad balled his hands into fists at his sides and tucked them behind his back, his ears burning.
Oh…this human was sharp and very difficult to fool.
Maybe this was a bad idea.
But he couldn't go back empty handed.
Everyone would be so disappointed in him.
To top it all off, this man was thinking about his rings…and sex?!
The actions of humans never failed to astound him, and Mahad briefly wondered if bringing this man's head back on a stick would suffice as proof that he had done his best in his search for Atem on land.
Kaiba gave the man an appraising look and addressed the venture capitalists at his sides. "I'm interested in him, but not his work. I want to interview him privately for something else. Do you mind if I take him now? I'll be back in time for the last few."
Mahad blinked rapidly, unable to believe his ears. What? Was the human going to hire him? Just like that?
"I knew you'd be interested! The first one too!" The woman at his side smiled warmly, and the man on his left laughed heartily.
Kaiba grit his teeth and stood quickly, motioning for the man to follow him, and he strode out of the meeting room, eager to keep a wide distance between them.
Mahad stood dumbfounded in the middle of the room, unsure of what to do with himself, so he bowed to the two remaining humans, listening to their thoughts while they offered him words of congratulations.
"Mr. Kaiba would make a fine businessman out of him! He looks so foreign, but speaks so well! Perhaps that's what sold him!" was what the woman was thinking, and the man's thoughts were less supportive.
"Mr. Kaiba's interest is in him as a person, not his actual venture. He won't get very far, but perhaps would earn a spot on his team."
Mahad hurried out of the room and was startled at the amount of negative energy that waited for him past the doors. All the businessmen in the line were glaring at him and thinking venomous thoughts.
"…Only picked because he looks the way he does…"
"A private meeting with Mr. Kaiba himself. I hate him."
"It's true Mr. Kaiba only hires beautiful people. The divide is real and unfair. I envy that man."
"He even dressed in his own clothes! My suit was so expensive, I had to grovel and borrow money from my father…!"
Thoroughly shaken, Mahad followed Seto Kaiba towards an elevator and was surprised to see the man step in without waiting for him.
The door closed quickly and Mahad was left standing awkwardly at the doors, his fury rising steadily.
This human was so aggravating!
Kaiba pressed a hand to his chest and sagged against the elevator wall, his heart thundering painfully in his chest.
Holy fucking shit.
He gazed down through the glass, making sure the merman was a mere dot underneath him before he let himself loose inside his own head.
A walking merman.
A walking…merman!
They could grow legs!
Growling to himself, Kaiba stepped out of the elevator and made a mental note to test how far Atem's telepathic range was. There was no way the merman could read his thoughts all the way up here.
"Only when you're vulnerable," Atem had said.
"Mr. Kaiba?" His secretary rose to her feet and bowed as he stormed past, and Kaiba shut himself in his office, sweating nervously.
There was no fucking way he was standing in the same enclosed space as that man. Did they still have poisonous claws and fangs while in human form?
Atem said he had summoned his men by communicating with them somehow, so the main goal was to find out…how.
Mahad stepped out of the elevator and strode angrily towards the office doors and knocked furiously, ignoring the woman who came rushing up behind him, telling him to wait.
He was done waiting. If this human held influence over other humans, it was just as good as talking to a king.
The woman bowed nervously at him and knocked on the door, calling out to the human, "Mr. Kaiba, do you have a meeting with a foreigner?"
"No, but let him in," came the reply, and Mahad swallowed tensely, furious that the human had answered to the call and instead of his knock.
The woman opened the door for him, and Mahad brushed past her, seeing the human standing at the far end of the room, holding a drink in his hand while gazing out the large glass windows.
Kaiba gripped his whisky and tossed it back in one gulp in a desperate attempt to calm his nerves. He would not lose to this…freak. Here, he was in total control.
A cruel maniac, Mahad thought angrily to himself, catching Kaiba's thoughts about control. And here he had been hoping to have an encounter with a kind human, but everyone knew that those were rare.
"Let's get to the point," Kaiba said firmly, setting his glass down onto the table with a clink. He watched the merman's eyes follow him. "What did you say your name was again?"
"Mahad," the man answered, his eyes never leaving Kaiba's hands on the empty glass.
"Would you like a drink, Mahad?" Kaiba asked plainly, thinking he would repeat the strange name as much as he could to remember it.
Mahad blinked, taken aback by the sudden hospitality. "A drink?"
"Yes, pick your poison," Kaiba said, smiling as brightly as he could manage.
"Poison?" the man repeated, and Kaiba nodded stiffly, his stomach churning with triumph. Whenever his hunches panned out, it was satisfying to watch.
He pointed at the wet bar in the corner of his office and watched the man's eyes widen with curiosity.
Predicable.
"Anything is fine," Mahad replied, wondering if the human was really going to poison him with a drink.
"It's an expression. Relax," Kaiba smirked, catching a look of fear and confusion flitting briefly across the man's face, and he walked towards the bar, keeping his back to the man to hide his own shaking hands. "You'll have what I'm having. Sit."
Mahad glanced around the room, seeing a plush leather couch behind him, and he walked hesitantly towards it, feeling extremely odd.
The man had seemingly read his mind.
Did humans have telepathic abilities too?
If so, a telepathic human was rare, and there weren't real documented cases.
Kaiba waited until he heard movement behind him, and he turned around, pleased to see the man sitting awkwardly on the couch. He made his way over to him with the two glasses and handed him one, finally getting a closer look at the man.
His cheekbones were sharp and defined, and his hair was a dark chestnut brown. Underneath his robes, he appeared to be extremely muscular.
Mahad accepted the drink with both hands and lowered his head respectfully, unsure of how to behave with this human.
Deciding to remain silent to listen to his thoughts, Mahad sniffed the drink tentatively.
It smelled like spirits. What a treat…!
A rare and festive drink, one which he'd only had a few sips of collectively throughout his entire life, and…this human here had handed him an entire glass….
Deeply shaken, Mahad took a light sip, enjoying the way the drink stung his tongue, and a pleasing warmth traveled down his throat. Marvelous.
Was this human a king of sorts?
The human's thoughts were now louder than ever, given their proximity.
A bodyguard, perhaps, Kaiba mused, eyeing the golden rings that sparkled on the man's finger. A royal bodyguard. Not just any plain one.
Mahad choked on his second sip and coughed painfully.
Kaiba bit his lower lip in an attempt to keep the smile off his face. Being right was a great feeling.
Mahad wiped his mouth gingerly, finally understanding after piecing together what the other humans had been thinking. This man, Seto Kaiba, did not want him as a partner for a business venture, but as a bodyguard.
Unfortunately, he was already a bodyguard…for Atem.
"Mr. Kaiba…" Mahad spoke, using the politest tone he could muster, and was interrupted readily.
"Now that you've got me," Kaiba said, smiling thinly. "You can tell me what you really want."
Mahad narrowed his eyes at the human, waiting to hear more thoughts from him, but there was nothing. The man was truly waiting.
"I—" Mahad began, and he was interrupted again.
"Answer truthfully," Kaiba fumed, tapping his nails against his glass. "I don't want to hear bullshit about mining or about your qualifications. I know it's all lies."
This man….Mahad growled to himself, willing his expression to remain pleasant as he tried to come up with an acceptable answer.
There was a thick silence, and Kaiba noticed for the first time that the man had an envelope tucked under his arm. Papers? This guy had seriously brought papers to back up his bullshit stories? Amazing. How the fuck did he do it?
Mahad blinked rapidly, his resolve quickly crumbling when he realized the human could immediately see that he was a fake.
"Let me see those," Kaiba said nastily, pointing at the white envelope under Mahad's arm, which almost blended in with the man's robes.
Mahan glared and kept his grip on the envelope. "No. You will hear my request first."
There weren't just papers in there to back his story.
He had also brought a photo of Atem…just in case he got close enough to a human who would be willing to help him, but this human was not his first choice.
His journey on shore was going badly, and nothing was going according to what he had predicted. His first target had been the kind woman, and not this man.
"Then speak," Kaiba answered simply. He crossed his legs and leaned back into the seat, watching the man's expressions carefully.
Mahad gazed into the man's clear blue eyes, desperately wishing for a positive thought from the man, but there was nothing but an eerie silence.
Did this man…not have any thoughts? The silence was unnerving!
Perhaps this was why this man was so revered.
Very well. Anything to help his beloved Atem.
"You're right," Mahad said after a long moment, and he watched the human give him a tight nod, encouraging him to go on.
"I have no interest in what I wrote in my proposal. I am looking for someone with influence who will help me. Can you help me?" Mahad asked keenly, and Seto Kaiba narrowed his eyes at him.
More silence, so Mahad pressed on, throwing caution to the wind. "I'm looking for this person."
Kaiba watched the man slip a hand into the envelope and pull out a sheet of paper, but before showing him what as on it, the man held it close to his chest, his hand shaking slightly.
"Please," Mahad said, realizing he was doing something very dangerous. "I have no one to turn to, and I only applied to this because I saw that there was a similar interest between us."
This man had metal ships in the water that were currently mining for something.
He had access to land and water.
Having this powerful man's help would save Atem, whose time was probably running out.
"Just shut up and show me what the fuck it is," Kaiba said rudely, and the man gave him a long, cold look before handing him the sheet of paper.
Kaiba snatched it out of his hand and his blood ran cold when he found himself staring at a sketch of a familiar face. Dark smooth skin, wide angular eyes, beautiful spiky hair, delicate features, and a playful smile curved on plush lips.
A beautiful drawing.
His stomach churned with a mixture of anxiety and fear while he reminded himself to keep his mind blank.
Kaiba carefully uncrossed his legs and crossed them again the other way, arranging his face into a pleasant smile. "Who is this?"
Mahad gazed intently at the human's face, listening to his thoughts for a reaction, but there were none, other than "a beautiful drawing".
On the bright side, the human was smiling kindly and looked interested.
"My…cousin," Mahad lied, and was met with a wry smirk.
"Really? Your cousin," Kaiba repeated, thinking he was sure this man was a bodyguard unless incest was rampant. "You look nothing alike."
Mahad tensed, and glanced down at the drink in his hand. This man was unlike any human he had ever met.
He took a few sips, biding his time while trying to figure out a way to answer this question without telling another lie to the human.
"He is someone I care deeply about," Mahad said truthfully, letting the alcohol sit pleasantly in his stomach. "And he's gone missing. I was hoping someone like you, someone with power, could help me."
"I'm not the police," Kaiba answered bluntly, glancing down at the drawing again. "But I'll keep this as a reference. Can't help you."
"No police would be able to find him," Mahad said dully, now wondering if he ought to tell this human some more truths. Truths seemed to get them somewhere.
"There was a scream," he began, and Kaiba snapped his head up to stare at Mahad, his heart pounding fearfully in his chest.
"And it sounded like a panicked scream," Mahad pressed on, pleased to see that the human showed an inkling of fear at this detail. "Everyone heard it, and a massive search was held immediately, but we were unable to find him."
"Oh yeah?" Kaiba said, reverting back to his impassiveness, but he badly wanted to know what the man meant.
Oh, he was stupid. He could just ask inside his head.
How massive was massive?
Couldn't have been that effective, could it?
They clearly didn't do enough searching.
Also, why was he searching here, in Japan of all places when he clearly looked like a foreigner?
Mahad bristled at the man's thoughts.
Was this human belittling their search efforts?!
They had searched entire ocean! Nothing had turned up, which was why he was now on shore! The worst had been assumed, and here he was, asking for the help of a lowly human to find one of their own.
"Listen here, human," Mahad growled before he blinked and paused, mentally kicking himself. Oh no…he had messed up.
This human valued power and respect.
He had greatly insulted him by not addressing him by name!
But to Mahad's rising confusion, the human grinned and Kaiba's blue eyes gleamed with a strange fire.
"Right, I am human," Kaiba said gleefully, folding the sketch in half and tucking it into his blazer pocket. "Get out of my office."
Mahad grit his teeth and bowed his head forward quickly in an apology. "Please forgive me."
"No, I think you meant it," Kaiba said lazily, rolling his glass in his hand while holding back laughter. "Get out before I have my men throw you out."
"I'm asking you kindly," Maha growled, his chest tightening with a mixture of fury and humiliation. "I will do anything. Did you want to hire me on as one of your staff? I will do it."
"No, I don't want you anywhere near me," Kaiba replied venomously, eyeing the man's hands carefully and noticing that they looked incredibly normal and human. "But I am interested in the jewelry you're wearing."
Mahad blinked incredulously, wondering if his own ears were deceiving him.
Did human greed know no bounds?
"My…jewelry?"
"This one in particular," Kaiba raised his hand and pointed at his own bare forefinger. "The blue core. Love that color. Where'd you get it?"
And to his extreme delight, the royal bodyguard looked deeply stunned.
Mahad tried to calm his racing heart.
This man wanted his ring? His signet ring?!
Or rather, this man wanted to know where he got it?
"This ring…" Mahad said, feeling his throat closing up and choking him. "This was given to me by my cousin, the one I showed you a photo of."
"Okay, and where did he get it from?" Kaiba asked lazily, taking a sip of his drink and noticing that the man had finished his. "Want more? I'll pour it for you."
He grabbed the empty tumbler from the man's hands and strode back to his wet bar, eager to get away from him.
Mahad sat very still, his stomach sinking lower and lower.
This man was not only sharp, but also sought the rarest stones in existence?
But if Atem had been captured by a human and was on the brink of death, trading his ring for the help of a human who could also search from the sky…was worth it.
"I will give you this ring," Mahad said shakily, staring intently at the human's slender back.
The clinking of glass was pleasant as the human busied himself with drinks and did not answer.
"I will give you this ring if you help me find my cousin," Mahad said firmly, regaining his composure. "My family fears he may be dead. We are worried about him."
The human walked back toward him with the entire bottle and one glass filled to the brim with dark liquid.
"I don't want your damn ring," Kaiba growled, setting the whiskey down on the table between them, wondering if the bodyguard would talk faster if he was drunk. "I want the gem in the middle."
"Even I don't know where the gem comes from!" Mahad gasped, paling. The hunters kept the cave locations a secret, even from the royal family.
"I don't believe you." Kaiba smirked playfully, and saw the merman reach for the full glass, his hands shaking visibly again.
Okay, fine.
Maybe this guy really didn't know where they came from, but he knew something. He had to.
Mahad took a big gulp and managed to say truthfully, "It's a trade secret," attempting to deter the human from asking about it further. "No one knows where to get them, aside from the people who…hunt…for them."
"Right, and you're not a hunter." Kaiba rolled his eyes and was met with a shocked look.
"I am not," Mahad replied indignantly, willing himself to stay composed. Why was this human scaring him so much? Humans were harmless.
But this one didn't feel quite right.
…If the stone was what this human wanted, their treasury was filled with a collection, given to the royal family as gifts by hunters from over the centuries. Perhaps with enough finessing, he could ask Shadi for access….
"Then I can't help you," Kaiba said, sneering. "But you sure like your alcohol. Try not to stumble on your way out."
"No! I can procure—I can give you a gem," Mahad said nervously, gripping the glass tightly. "One even bigger than this. The size of a chicken's egg. How does that sound?"
"Great!" Kaiba's eyes lit up and he grinned again. "That big, huh?"
"Yes," Mahad replied firmly, his stomach churning with uncertainty. This human's smile was strangely charming. "And I'll do you one better. One gem per search unit."
"What?" Kaiba frowned, no longer understanding. What was this guy asking him to do again?
"Find my cousin," Mahad said, exasperated. The human had forgotten everything the moment he mentioned the gem. Typical greediness.
"Yeah, I know," Kaiba snapped, losing his patience. "What do you mean by search unit?"
"You have...access to men, don't you?" Mahad said nervously, realizing he didn't know how humans conducted searches for their own missing.
"Interesting. You don't know how it works, do you?" Kaiba said gleefully, giving Mahad another mean smile. "Okay, let me explain something to you in a way you'll understand."
Mahad sat very still, the tiny hairs on his arms standing on end.
"Do you know who I am?" Kaiba asked loftily, and he answered his own question. "Of course you don't. Look out my window. Do you see the view? I own this city. So, this is my…kingdom, if you will."
Mahad stared so hard at the human, his eyes began to water when he forgot to blink. Ah…this was the right human to come to. But if this human was a king, he had the worst attitude.
"So here is a counter offer," Kaiba said, standing and holding his hand out to the man for a handshake. "You will give me your contact information. I will see if I can use the gem for my purposes, and while I'm doing that, I will also send out search teams."
Mahad stared at the man's outstretched hand, slowly digesting his words.
Contact. Giving information to a human for contact.
That was forbidden.
Give this man a large gem from their treasury, which he would have to end up stealing if no one was willing to support the human part of the search….
Punishable by death.
"Counter-counter offer," Mahad said haughtily, setting the glass down and also rising to his feet, looking the human straight in the eye. "I give you a meeting location. You go there, and I will have the gem ready for you. In return, you must give me your word that you will find my cousin."
"If you're sure he's still in the country." Kaiba grinned, holding his hand out further, eager for the agreement to go through. "I will find him and bring him to you, and I am a man of my word. But if he's dead or overseas, I can't do it."
"Then I shall call you with a meeting location later," Mahad declared, grabbing the man's hand and giving it a firm shake. "I agree to this deal. You sound honest."
That's because I am, Kaiba thought mildly, very pleased with the deal. Calling this man up here had been a great decision.
Mahad nodded and released the man's hand, his skin tingling strangely.
The human handed him a tiny plastic card.
He accepted it while bowing stiffly, watching as the human did the same before picking up the bottle of spirits and handing it to him.
"For your troubles," Kaiba said icily, still eyeing the ring on the man's hand. Damn…he really wanted to get his hands on it now. Right the fuck now, but this man was walking out of his office….
Mahad accepted the bottle with both hands, listening to Kaiba's rapid stream of thoughts. Giving Seto Kaiba his ring would prove that he had done a noble thing on land in his attempt to bargain with a human.
It was good thing, to go home without the royal ring.
Kaiba watched with rising interest as the man pulled the ring off his finger and held it out to him in his palm, smiling coldly.
"Very well, you may have this," Mahad said.
Kaiba reached out to gladly take the ring, feeling a rush of vicious triumph.
Good. He could melt this down without any guilt.
Mahad swallowed and did his best not to react, but Kaiba saw the color leave the man's face.
"I suppose…I'll see myself out," Mahad whispered, bowing again and backing out of the office. He turned and hurried out through the door, raging internally.
This human was going to melt down his signet ring!
Wishing he had known that before handing it over, Mahad stabbed the elevator button with fury, gripping the neck of the bottle so hard, his skin burned.
And he had gotten a bottle of fresh spirits for it in return.
It was fine. Rings could be re-forged. Giving it up signified he was willing to do anything for Atem, even sacrificing his position in the royal court.
This businessman Seto Kaiba was skilled in making his deals, and Mahad was beginning to understand why this human was so powerful.
Kaiba watched the walking merman step into the elevator and sink from his view before he yanked the sketch of Atem out of his blazer pocket for better inspection.
He unfolded it and stared at the even strokes surrounding the dark liner of his angular violet eyes.
Unmistakable. This was the face of the merman currently being held in his basement pool.
Kaiba placed the golden ring onto his desk and inspected it closely.
It had to be a seal, or a signet ring of sorts.
A delicate triangle surrounded an abstract carving of an eye. Embedded in the center of the eye as its pupil was the glowing stone with a dazzling blue core.
Finally. Fucking finally! He had something to test on.
Extremely excited, Kaiba grabbed his laptop and shoved it into his briefcase, eager to get home. Today had been a triumphant day.
Author's note:
Mahad grew some legs and is on the hunt for atem
Kaiba makes deals he's sure about because he knows he can deliver, and that is what makes him a good businessman. Honest? Not so much, but he sure can deliver.
[1]asterisk JOGMEC - Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation
edited by setokaibaes/marshmallons
ugli story time!
Many of you who have been reading me for a while may recall a blanket official statement i put out A YEAR AGO regarding harassment, and im here to refresh that, because the said-harasser has returned with full vengeance, still holding a grudge, over something that happened between us personally.
I'm not here to play victim, because i understand that it takes 2 people to have a dispute, and a dispute was had, but
instead of keeping the details of this personal dispute...well, personal,
MORE DETAILS are added and she has turned the entire side of her story into one giant finger, pointed at me, calling me several mean names which I will not repeat here :)
furthermore, she has been private messaging everyone around me. and has been doing so for the past year.
PMing all of my current editors. (like, do you think they wont come talk to me about what you're saying? girl, stop!)
Pming All of my mutuals in the fandom,
Pming anyone i tag on my blog
anyone i call a friend...basically anyone she can reach, to tell them this wonderfully inflated story of our PERSONAL dispute.
Dear (redacted name of the person im referring to):
PLEASE. STOP SPREADING FALSE RUMORS ABOUT ME IN THE FANDOM.
(what do you gain from it? you're honestly making yourself sound crazy cuz the people you talk to, come message me saying: omg this crazy person just came up to me randomly out of nowhere talking shit) like?! im honestly laughing rn, girl, stop. u making urself look and sound crazy.
This will be the last time i'm going to address this publicly because you're making it super public to the people around me, so here is my super public (and last) response:
1) i dont want to give you any more time or attention (its all very negative and not great for my mental health tbh)
2) it has been a year (and some months). A YEAR, HON. I been living my life, while you spend your time hating!
Move on from it please, for your own sake. You'll feel a lot better, i promise.
3) We are in the same fandom. We like the same stuff. You don't have to attach my name to it. (again, thanks, i guess...but im more disturbed than anything.)
4) i also guess im flattered that you're starting an ugli-hate club. (thumbs up, confetti)
if YGO for you equals- hating on ugli, writing smut for urself and your friends, hating on ugli again, messaging other ppl about why they should hate on ugli, then...great.
im glad thats what you get out of this fandom.
thanks for reading leave a comment ok bye! :D :D
xoxo
Ugli