Author Note: I don't own Yugioh.
The Lies That Bind
Chapter II
The Test
Ominous gray clouds stretched all the way to where the horizon kissed the sea, enveloping Domino City in their cold embrace. Seto Kaiba stared impassively out the floor length window of his executive office at the glittering threads of light below which weaved themselves into a masterful tapestry. The city pulsed with sounds, scents and flickering colors. Yet something about the day gnawed at his subconscious and gave him a feeling of unease just beyond the edge of comprehension.
A gentle knock disrupted his thoughts and he turned to the door. "Come in."
There she was. Sabrina Takahashi. She looked no different from yesterday save for her new interview attire. Her long hair seemed to sway behind her as she carefully made her way up to his desk and bowed. "Good morning, Mr. Kaiba."
He merely nodded in acknowledgment as their eyes met again. "Have a seat."
She obeyed silently with poise, but he noticed the subtle tension in her body. Practiced. Too careful. Yet not entirely immune. He supposed she was wavering under his intense scrutiny, he thought with hidden amusement as he seated himself on his executive chair. "Tell me what brings you to Kaiba Corp."
She smiled that perfect small smile that hardly reached her eyes, a subtlety that wasn't lost on him. "If I told you the chance to make a difference at the world's leading gaming corporation, would you believe me?"
"I've heard that line enough times for it to have lost all meaning. What makes you think you're different than all who have come before you?" he challenged, voice dipping lower.
"I spent two years deep in the weeds at Kanzaki Group, your greatest competitor and I have knowledge of where Kaiba Corp may maintain its edge and further develop its systems."
"Based on what you said yesterday, it would seem my company is at no risk of being outpaced by Kanzaki."
"That may be true for now. But there will be others, and no one in Domino in the gaming industry likes to be left in the dust. It's only a matter of time a new competitor rises with new technology - I don't anticipate my future employer to rest on its laurels. Even Kanzaki himself may one day wake up and make dramatic shifts to his current plans."
He steepled his fingers and leaned back. "Interesting. And you think you're the one who has what it takes to help me do that in this Integration Director role?"
"I know so."
"Why don't you prove it to me then?" Kaiba smirked wryly. "Words mean little to me without action."
"What do you propose?" she asked, sitting straighter in her chair. He noted her fingers subtly tightening on the armrest in anticipation. He was beginning to enjoy their little game. Here was a woman who believed she could stand her own against Seto Kaiba with defiant confidence, but still could not hide the tell tale signs of anxiety beneath the surface. Perhaps she was bluffing about her experience at Kanzaki Group and was being ousted? It didn't matter to Kaiba. He would find his final answer in the most simplest way.
"A test." He tapped the sleek black tablet next to his hand and turned it around to face her.
Sabrina leaned forward slightly, her eyes scanning the screen as it lit up.
"This," Kaiba said, voice calm but sharp, "is one of our in-progress internal systems for KaibaCorp's new augmented reality duel interface. A prototype meant to outclass Duel Links and bypass Kanzaki's patented latency reducer. It looks perfect, doesn't it?"
Sabrina tilted her head. "Perfect systems don't get handed over in interviews."
Kaiba smirked. "Clever."
She studied the layout for a moment longer. "The neural sync buffer's off by 0.7 milliseconds," she said without looking up. "That's not enough to disrupt casual interaction, but it's a delay that compounds over time during competitive dueling. If two duelists were evenly matched, that margin would tilt the match in favor of whoever didn't rely on real-time sync."
Kaiba regarded her with that same unsettling intensity. She met his gaze evenly. "You're not testing my skills—you're testing whether I'll say what needs to be said."
His smirk returned—just a flicker of interest. "Most people would've praised the system."
"Then most people aren't worth your time," Sabrina replied. "If you're building the future, you'll need more than yes-men."
Kaiba stood, slow and deliberate, his movement predatory. He walked around the desk to stand beside her, towering, then leaned slightly to tap another file on the screen. A stream of raw data appeared—logs, crash reports, latency spikes.
"Fix it," he said. "You have until this evening. I want a revised integration plan, a system that works, and a report on how your plan scales with cross-platform expansion in the next quarter."
Sabrina didn't flinch. She rose from her seat. "I'll need access credentials."
"You'll get them," Kaiba said, already turning away. "I want you to show me what you can do."
She nodded once. "Understood."
Their eyes met one final time before she left the room, the door closing behind her with a soft click.
Kaiba returned to the window and looked out intensely. The background check he ran on her came up clean but there was something about this woman he couldn't quite pinpoint, an elusive quality that tugged at the edge of his focus. The test would show if she was a more than just a pretty face. There would be a revealing answer to this enigma soon.
—
After three grueling hours it was complete, but Sabrina felt no relief. She was still walking a tightrope and understood there would be no end to it. Kaiba may have given her an initial test, but even if she passed with flying colors she realized the hurdles would only continue under his command. She felt a cold shiver overcome her at the thought of what lay before her. She was groomed for this, but staring the real dragon in the eyes was far more intimidating than in her wildest imagination. His winter blue gaze all but saw through her and left her chilled.
The elevator doors slid shut with a ding. Sabrina exhaled for the first time since entering the building, attempting to ground the anxiety trickling through her system. She saw her reflection in the glass as the elevator went down each level and noticed how exhausted she appeared. She gave herself a mental shake. This was her destined role and she must play it to the end. No excuses. No mistakes. Or Kaiba would be the last of her worries.
The doors opened again and after a few steps she found her away back to his office. She supposed it wasn't unexpected to see him typing away rapidly even at this hour. "You're done?"
"Yes."
"Let me see." He stood up and rounded his desk, long legs striding over to her.
Sabrina felt her heart jolt as his fingers brushed hers when he took the tablet from her hand. She forced herself to remain composed, but the brief intensity of his touch sparked something deep within her akin to fear. His blue eyes were searing the screen as he scanned the code and text. She found herself waiting in enraptured silence as the clock ticked away on the wall.
"Impressive," he said. "Better than I expected." She didn't miss the tinge of begrudging respect.
"I'll take that as a compliment."
"You should."
"Should I also assume that I've passed this part of the interview?"
He put the tablet away on his desk. "For now. The rest is every day of your performance. You may have passed this part, but you'll find I don't keep dead weight around at my company. You'll be expected to implement this plan shortly as soon as you get onboarded."
A smile found its way to her lips and she nodded. "I won't disappoint you, Mr. Kaiba."
His eyes flickered back to hers. "That remains to be seen. Dismissed."
She didn't need to be told twice and bowed before exiting. The second she left his presence, she felt sweat prickle and form on the nape of her neck as if a delayed reaction. This is only the first step. I have to remain focused. Yet, instead of a weight lifting off her, she was suddenly overcome with another, heavier kind of feeling, something that twisted in her stomach and stole her breath. Was this the result of taking her first step into Kaiba's lair or the result of her own choices? Was there even a choice? Yes. Of course. Emptiness clawed at her and she fought the bitter feeling away. She to remember her goal, her role in the bigger picture. She had to survive long enough to see the end of this. Until he was satisfied.
And then one day…she would finally be worth something.