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Ambivalence	By : PupshitDesu Category: Yu-Gi-Oh > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 4882 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: We do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! or any associated properties therein. We do not profit from the creation of this work.

Chapter List
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It was midday and Mokuba was already losing focus on whatever it was the kid was working on. Kaiba watched from the corner of his eyes as his brother began acting restless, shaking his legs as he sat cross legged on the couch, hitting the keys of his laptop almost as fast as his big brother. He was immensely proud of the kid, but when he began acting stir crazy, it only annoyed Kaiba into losing his own patience.
"Mokuba," he began, not even looking up from his own computer's glowing screen, "If you feel the need to go outside, then please do so and stop distracting me with your constant fidgeting."
"Nii-sama, I'm almost done with my work."
He was doing who knows what; Kaiba didn't stick his nose into Mokuba's business usually unless he was asked for assistance. But now he was losing his mind, watching the boy's legs bobbing up and down in a constant speed that made him count out each repetition until he lost his control and ended up raising his voice.
"Mokuba," he said again, this time in a more warning tone, "You really need to go outside. Now. That work can wait."
It earned him a glare, but Mokuba sat his laptop down and left, grumbling about who knew what teenage angst Kaiba was not interested in hearing about. He was just glad the distraction was over, and relaxing back into his groove, he was glad to have calm back into the room until the annoying voice of one of his assistants' sitting outside his office began buzzing a call forward.
"What?"
"Kaiba-sama, there's a man outside here requesting a meeting with you."
"If he's not on the list," snapped Kaiba back, "He doesn't get my time. I don't need any more distractions, and I've told you people this enough-"
"He says he came from California to speak to you in behalf of Otogi-sama."
"I don't care," Kaiba replied, "He could have come from fucking Egypt, and he's not coming into my office. If he doesn't have a meeting with me, he can wait until I feel like seeing him. And that won't be until at least three hours from now. He can wait."
Hanging up the phone, he didn't feel at all sorry for the outburst. He hated it when idiots thought they could just walk into his office and demand an audience with him. It did not work like that. There were protocols in place to see him. Schedules to maintain. People couldn't just come over and ask for personal time, that would be asinine and a waste of valuable working hours that Kaiba needed for himself.
But before cooling back down into his work, someone shoved the door open, and looking up, Kaiba met eyes with a strange foreign looking man who most definitely not completely Japanese.
"My name is Kitamura Noeru, and-"
"I don't give two fucks who you are," interrupted Kaiba, "Get out of my office before I call security."
They stared at each other for a moment, but before Kaiba could actually get his guards into the room, Mokuba rushed in, with Jonouchi in hand, and everything became rather... surreal. He had no idea what was going on, and becoming more flustered as the room began to feel suddenly smaller, he flashed his eyes at every single person in the room before getting up from his desk.
"This isn't some playground," barked Kaiba, "What are all you people doing in here? Besides my brother..."
Jonouchi felt like he'd stumbled in on something tense. Kaiba looked displeased. More than displeased, really, he looked downright pissed. Jonouchi had assumed that it would be a bad idea to barge into the sacred space known as Kaiba's office, but Mokuba had dragged him along so determinedly that he'd figured it must be alright for whatever reason.
It looked like there had been some kind of meeting. The man in Kaiba's office seemed at least half-foreign and wholly unwanted there. Jonouchi just wanted to leave. He'd been hoping to avoid Kaiba in the first place, and he certainly didn't want to be part of whatever was putting a stick up his ass this afternoon.
"Don't look at me, I'm on my way out," he defended, turning to leave, but Mokuba was more hesitant. He was almost like a guard dog, the way his feet were planted, his brow creasing as he glared accusingly at his brother's visitor. What did he think he was going to do, exactly? If the man didn't have the respect for Kaiba to cheese it when he was told, why would he listen to Mokuba? Odds were, Kaiba was going to be calling security very shortly.
"Nii-sama, I was just visiting Jonouchi and I thought I could give him a tour of sorts," said Mokuba, trying to appease his brother, "I didn't think you had someone here in a meeting."
"There is no meeting. This man is leaving right this minute, or I'll-"
"Please Kaiba-san, there's no reason for the hostility."
The man was too casual, and Kaiba merely raised an eyebrow at being interrupted, once again, but decided maybe it would be worth listening to this man since he was risking everything at getting an audience with him. Sometimes people surprised him, with their interesting yet foolish attempts to win his ear, and crossing his arms in a rather pissy manner, he decided to give the man a chance before calling Isono in.
"It's Kaiba-sama, Kitamura," he corrected, his lip curling ever so slightly, "And if you want me to give a crap about what you're about to say, you better address me properly next time."
"Certainly."
Jonouchi was honestly surprised at how little Kaiba's visitor was being thrashed. The Kaiba he'd known before Battle City wouldn't so much as hear out someone who barged into his office, addressed him incorrectly, interrupted him, and showed such general disrespect. Hell, he'd acted inconvenienced by answering the phone back when Jonouchi and his friends had called him once upon a time, but he supposed he had an excuse at the time. He was dealing with being branded a terrorist in America.
"Mokuba," he spoke, slowly enough that only the young boy beside him would be able to hear, "Let's get out of here. This seems like a bad time to bother your brother."
"No, you two can take a seat," Kaiba snapped, apparently being able to hear Jonouchi's voice from halfway across the room despite not even looking at either of them, "I need my Vice President here to listen to this man's request before I kick him the hell out myself. And I'm sure Jonouchi would just love to watch."
His eyes were completely focused on Kitamura, who wasn't backing down but had sweat dripping off his forehead, if only a little. Enough that his forehead was glistening and he smirked before opening his mouth to speak.
"Otogi-sama would just like an explanation why Kaiba Corporation won't do business with him," he said, glancing over at Jonouchi before looking back at Kaiba, "Since his stocks have been rising and he even was able to get Yugi to back him up during International dueling tournaments."
"I don't care if Yugi decided to make Otogi's piss poor game one of his charity cases, Dungeon Dice failed when Pegasus died. I'm not sponsoring a shit company for a shit game."
"I would ask that you reconsider," Kitamura replied, though his tone sounded more like insistence than a request, "The popularity of Dungeon Dice Monsters is rising, and with your support, it could quickly become a new major game on the market."
"I don't care."
Kaiba sat down again, crossing his legs before looking at Jonouchi. The pupils in his eyes seemed to have constricted for a second in a rather strange fashion before returning to normal and looking back at the intruder. He was smiling, in that creepy manner of his that often came before he did something majorly fucked up. It was just a matter of time before they'd see what he was going to do.
"If Dungeon Dice Monsters is going to become a success, it can do so without Kaiba Corporation. Tell your boss he should have come to me first for support if he needed it instead of that hack Pegasus. My company is no one's second choice," he spat, now buzzing security, "And Otogi best remember that.
Also, I'm not against buying a company out and watching it fail because I can. You'd best remember that too, Kitamura, or you might just be out of a job next time you barge into my office looking to harass me. Now get the fuck out."
That seemed to have humbled Kitamura just little, as his expression fell and he seemed to be a tad shocked before snorting. He appeared to be trying to save face, as he glanced again at the audience gathered to watch his failure to gain Seto Kaiba's support. Both Mokuba and Jonouchi were slightly shocked by Kaiba's threat, but then again, it wasn't something he hadn't done before.
Isono came in before anymore could be said, grabbing Kitamura by the arm and hauling him out of the room. He was all but tossed out of Kaiba Corp, and once that side show was over, Kaiba relaxed at his desk again and returned to work. His eyes never felt the monitor as his fingers began speeding across the keyboard in such an impossible speed; Jonouchi wondered if he even knew what he was writing at all.
Or if he knew he and Mokuba were still in the room. Maybe he was just ignoring them. The latter seemed more likely, knowing Kaiba, so Jonouchi decided to sit stubbornly and wait for acknowledgement. Saying something would only get him some snide comment, and it would probably get under Kaiba's skin more if he simply sat there and stared at him. Mokuba was quiet, as if he was waiting for something. Probably for his brother to get off his high horse and socialize with the peasants.
Honestly, he didn't have much of a right to throw tantrums, after the things he'd said. And the way his eyes looked when he'd threatened Kitamura had been chilling. When his pupils shrank and the blue irises were fully visible, flashing dangerously, he wasn't very appealing at all. Where did he get off, threatening someone's job like that? Didn't seem like the correct response to being annoyed with someone, in Jonouchi's opinion. Wasn't having him thrown out by security enough?
It wasn't Jonouchi's business. Kaiba had always been a massive jerk, and only really stepped up for the sake of others if it was unavoidable or the world was ending. Which, he supposed, was the same thing really. So Kaiba was a self-centered prick. Having the money, power, and influence to get away with it no matter what probably wasn't much inspiration to stop. That got under Jonouchi's skin like some kind of chemical pricking his nerve endings. He started tapping his heel against the floor repeatedly as he waited.
"Stop doing that."
Kaiba was well aware that Jonouchi was in the room alongside his brother, but he saw no reason in acknowledging that fact. Sure, it was a rude ignoring them and trying to put hundred percent of his energy into what he was doing, but what could they possibly be expecting? His office was not some zoo, and if they were looking to be entertained, well, they went to the wrong place.
He just continued, typing away and ignoring phone calls until finally giving out a frustrated sigh, looking at Mokuba before opening his mouth to speak.
"Any reason why you both are still here?" He asked, not even glancing at Jonouchi's general direction, "I thought I told you to go outside and get some fresh air?"
"Figured it would be more entertaining to see how fast we could annoy you," Jonouchi muttered, "Jeez, you gave that other guy more attention and you didn't even like him."
It was pretty insulting. Kaiba was so deliberately indifferent to his presence that Jonouchi wasn't sure if he should feel lucky or pissed. Of course, considering how easily Isono had tossed Kitamura out of the office, Jonouchi figured getting angry and having to tangle with him wasn't a good idea. Someday, he was going to get Kaiba alone in a real fight, and all those airs weren't going to win it for him.
"You could at least address your brother. Damn, you don't have a fuck to give to anyone but yourself, do you?"
Now Kaiba finally looked at Jonouchi, giving him a blank look before speaking again, his tone flat and words slow.
"Mokuba, please escort your friend out of my office and go outside..."
Then, without giving any sort of indication that he was even annoyed with them both, he returned to his work and answered the phone call that was waiting on hold. And by the way he looked at his brother, his voice becoming low and eyes narrowing, Mokuba got the hint and grabbed Jonouchi's hand, trying to lead him out.
Jonouchi bristled, angrier at being ignored than anything. And the fact that he was angry made him even angrier. In the past, Kaiba ignoring him would have been standard fare; something Jonouchi brushed off with the knowledge that Kaiba was a giant prick and would die alone. But now it carried a stinging rejection that he didn't like at all.
After glaring at Kaiba for a few seconds without receiving so much as a glance in response, Jonouchi grit his teeth and forced himself to give in to Mokuba's tugging. Every fiber of his being was itching for a fight, but he knew better. He picked his battles with far more tact than he had in high school, and he knew not to butt heads with Kaiba today. Especially while he felt so much like beating that too-perfect face right in.
They managed to make it out of the company building. The journey was relatively quiet, since most of it was just a very long elevator ride and Jonouchi was fuming too much to talk. He didn't really want to start ranting about Kaiba and make Mokuba feel uncomfortable or upset, so he kept his mouth shut and glared at the floor numbers as they changed. As it were, the countdown he echoed mentally cooled his rage a little.
So, by the time they walked out of the building, Jonouchi was feeling fairly jovial and was chatting and joking with Mokuba as normal. He caught sight of the now-banished Kitamura through his peripherals, but didn't pay him any attention. He didn't seem like the kind of guy Jonouchi wanted to be around in the least. To be honest, the guy was like Kaiba but without any of the credentials or honesty to back himself up. And that...seemed somehow inexcusable.
"You look kinda pissed," remarked Mokuba, as he looked up at Jonouchi before looking towards the street, "I know Nii-sama gets on your nerves, but he treats everyone like that... Like they aren't even in the room unless he needs them for something. You shouldn't take it so personally, that's just how he is."
Although Jonouchi should have known that already. His brother had always behaved in that fashion, like the people around him were somehow dampening his flow somehow, and unless he was trying to entertain a crowd for business purposes, he seemed keen on avoiding mostly all people. Even his assistants, he kept a good arm's distance away from, and the only person on his staff he ever paid any personal attention to was Isono.
And probably because Isono knew him since he was a child. It was a different situation, and Mokuba figured there was some level of respect there his brother maintained for him, but everyone else, he was pretty dismissive about.
"He's just a prick. If you get all worked up over it, you'll only end up amusing him."
"Yeah, I know," Jonouchi sighed, "I can't help it. He and I work in opposite ways. Where I come from, taking back talk is the best way to stay at the bottom of the ladder. With Kaiba...it's like he gets his kicks out of riling people up. I know he wins if I'm upset, but it's a hard habit to break."
All those strange politics...he didn't know how Kaiba put up with that kind of thing. Then again, he seemed to revel in it, so maybe it wasn't hard. He probably loved fucking with people, acting opposite to nature and playing the who-can-coolface-better game. Maybe it seemed Western, but Jonouchi was a firm believer in "loudest is rightest", and it was his preferred tactic. After all, no matter the consequences, no one was a winner after his fist landed in the middle of their face.
"Can't really blame him for kicking that guy out, though," Jonouchi muttered, eyeing Kitamura. He seemed to have noticed them, and Jonouchi was hoping that the spark of interest in his gaze didn't mean he was about to approach. "I don't know about threatening his job, but I would have taken him out myself if I had to deal with him."
"He's been bothering Nii-sama for days. That was just the first time he actually barged into his office... You'd think our security would have-"
Before the kid could finish, Kitamura was standing in front of them, looking sharp in a business suit that was almost as nice as Kaiba's. Only, instead of wearing all black, he had on dark blue, and he looked reasonably attractive with the skinny tie and well groomed dark hair, but something about the way he was looking at both Jonouchi and Mokuba was unsettling.
"What are you still doing here?"
Mokuba quickly turned his attention towards the intruder, giving him a confused yet slightly peeved face, "Didn't my brother toss you out once already? Most people don't come back looking for a repeat performance."
"Persistence is a valuable quality," Kitamura replied coolly, regarding Mokuba in a way that heavily implied he felt pestered. "Perhaps your brother will discover his rationality in the near future."
"He doesn't waste time on second rate games," replied Mokuba, as his face went slightly red, "Or businessmen, for that matter."
He could tell that he wasn't being taken seriously, and it bothered him. Mokuba did not like being talked down to, or being dismissed, especially when he was the same age Kaiba was when he took over. How could his brother command people so effortlessly but he could not? It didn't make sense to Mokuba, but taking a step forward, he did not back down from keeping his ground.
"Maybe if you wanted to be taken more seriously, Otogi-san should show up himself to talk to my brother instead of sending down some lackey."
"And perhaps if your brother wished to insult me further, he should have come down here himself instead of making his younger brother memorize his lines," Kitamura retorted. Jonouchi grimaced, feeling his anger flare up again. Maybe he and Mokuba weren't super close, but they were still friends. He didn't feel right standing by while the kid got insulted by some self-important businessman.
"Look pal, the security guards aren't the only people around here who can give you a good ass-kicking," he growled, growing even angrier when he got only an interested glance in response. Fuck, it was almost worse than dealing with Kaiba. Almost, because at least this asshole would acknowledge his presence.
"What's this? You're quite a bit feistier than you seemed in Kaiba's office. Who are you, exactly?"
Jonouchi blinked in surprise, taken aback by the level (and type) of interest he was receiving. Kitamura's gaze was making him uncomfortable, the slight smirk that crossed his lips a little more friendly than it should have been. Jonouchi had seen the look in his eyes before, in the eyes of other men who had similar intentions, but it had never bothered him quite this much.
Fucking rich people.
"Like it's any of your business!" Jonouchi replied, knowing that his face was hot and hoping that he looked angry rather than embarrassed. Or both, at the very least, because that would at least be accurate. 'Why would you even want to-"
"You're quite the specimen," Kitamura interrupted in a fashion similar to his conversation with Kaiba, "Are your parents foreign? There aren't many Japanese natives with your...assets."
Jonouchi spluttered, struggling to school his face before his expression became any more ridiculous. He glanced at Mokuba almost in a silent plea for help, hoping simultaneously that the kid didn't know what was going on. He wouldn't be able to live that down. Too embarrassing. Especially if Mokuba ever told Kaiba...no, that wouldn't be good.
"And there aren't many California natives who have your obsession with heritage," Jonouchi replied, finally regaining some control over himself at the threat of Kaiba ever finding out about this incident, "If you're done asking offensive questions, I'd say you better get out before I escort you out myself."
Mokuba was staring at them both with an expression that was unreadable. He was studying them both, watching their faces. Kitamura seemed to be amused, if slightly interested in Jonouchi, who was downright hostile. His mannerisms were all towards violence, which Mokuba knew better than to eye roll. Sure, he wasn't formally trained into how to correctly use his body as a weapon, but what he lacked in discipline, he made up in sheer power and force of will.
Which was why he grabbed Jonouchi's arm, trying to back him off before giving Kitamura a dismissive glance.
"You're unwanted and still on Kaiba Corporation property," he told him, "And I can call Isono back here if you need a reminder on what side of the property line you should be on."
Hopefully Jonouchi wouldn't take that offensively, but Mokuba couldn't have a brawl right in front of the corporate building. People already thought his brother was nasty, but if Jonouchi's punk ass started a fight right beside the front door, it would be all over the news.
He wasn't so sure about what exactly was going on before, with what Kitamura said, but he had a slight clue. And it made him feel somewhat sick, like the sensation he often got after eating bad food, everything stuck weird to the pit of his stomach, and he wanted to throw up a little, but didn't dare to. Why would any man go looking at another like that? It didn't make any sense, and glancing at Jonouchi, he hoped to persuade him to follow.
"Let's go, I'll show you something cool Nii-sama tries hiding from people..."
"Yeah..." Jonouchi grumbled, "Yeah, let's get out of here."
Jonouchi knew he wasn't winning this one, and between Kaiba and this new guy, he was about to blow his top and pound on the first person he got his hands on. Which, in this case, would be Kitamura, and seeing how the guy was looking at him like a piece of fresh meat, he wouldn't be sorry. If he was going to have to put up with that, then couldn't someone with any decency hit on him? Or at least someone he liked?
Mokuba seemed utterly confused about the whole thing, which Jonouchi was partly thankful for. He didn't want him to know what had happened. He'd probably end up telling his brother about the incident anyway, but the more vague and convoluted the story was, the better. Kaiba didn't need anything else to hold against him.
"Nii-sama has a big vault where he locked up all his cards," Mokuba explained, becoming slightly more animated now that the big creep was gone, "I'm not really supposed to bring anyone there, but since you're an old friend, I don't think he'd mind too much."
Actually, Kaiba would probably get very upset with Mokuba if he knew, but what the man didn't know wouldn't hurt him. Mokuba was rather eager to please him, if only because he wanted a friend and didn't have much in the way of companions. He didn't know how to interact with teens his own age, and dragging around Jonouchi for a tour of Kaiba Corporation was good enough for him.
"Would you like to see it? His collection is worth millions, and he won't sell any of them even though he's given up dueling... I think he bought out a lot of Pegasus's cards when he died. I'm pretty sure of it."
"Really?" The idea of seeing something special was appealing to him. "Then let's go check it out. I'm okay with seeing a big secret."
Kaiba carefully guarded most things, and if they were locked into a big vault, it was probably even more so. Jonouchi reveled in the idea of getting a glimpse. Probably against Kaiba's wishes, to boot. So long as he had Mokuba as protection, he was perfectly willing to break Kaiba's rules.
Jonouchi followed Mokuba through the company lobby to another elevator. Mokuba used the pendant that was always hanging around his neck and used it as some kind of key. Then he pressed a few numbers on the elevator, and it started to sink rather than rise.
Which kinda spooked him and caused Mokuba to break into a fit of laughter.
"He's very secretive about his collection," he said, "I don't think I got to even go down there more than a dozen times."
Mostly because Kaiba didn't see the sense in messing with a temperature controlled environment made to make the cards last over time. He didn't want his perfect collection to be ruined by Mokuba's noisiness, or anyone else's, and it made him wonder why Kaiba kept all those cards in the first place? Was it a sort of insurance policy in case something happened to the company or what?
"I'm sure he has a Red Eyes Black Dragon in the collection somewhere, even if he isn't a fan of it. I mean, he loves dragon cards. He just doesn't like you."
"Tch," Jonouchi scoffed, "As if I didn't know that already...I've always known that we both liked dragon cards. Kinda ticks me off that he has a copy of my dragon, though..."
More than a little, really, but he didn't want to antagonize Kaiba in front of his little brother. He could curse Kaiba internally as much as he wanted to. Kaiba annoyed him enough without collecting the same cards that Jonouchi treasured. There were more Red-Eyes in the world than Blue-Eyes, so it wasn't as "valuable", but still. Jonouchi was proud that he had the dragon in his deck.
The idea that Kaiba had one too...that made him burn a little.
"I bet he has a copy of every card in the world, though," Jonouchi mused. It was probably a point of Kaiba's to keep up with that, even if he had retired. Allegedly. It made sense that Kaiba, the champion of the game and one of the best players in its history, would keep one of every card in existence. He was just that fanatical. Not to mention, he had the resources.
"He's had most of the cards before Yugi was even playing. You shouldn't be that annoyed over it..."
Mokuba didn't think it was a huge deal, but then again, it wasn't his game. He didn't get attached to the cards and the personalities they represented, only that he liked the Blue Eyes White Dragon because it was what he gave Kaiba to motivate him when they were stuck with Gozaburo. It was a life saver of sorts, and for that, Mokuba felt somewhat indebted to it.
"Maybe if you're nice, I'll let you touch it," Mokuba teased, making a face at Jonouchi in an attempt to piss him off, "but only for a second."
Then the doors of the elevator opened, and stepping into a wide open vault of sorts, they found themselves surrounded by metal cases that were storing cards.
"Pull out a shelf and take a look."
Jonouchi did so, his eyes widening slowly as the drawer came open. There were a lot of cards in there. A lot. They filled the drawers to the brim and stacked neatly. Jonouchi wanted to shift through the stacks, but they looked so well-preserved in their protectors that he thought his thumbprints might be noticed somehow.
"Kaiba doesn't mess around," he muttered. He sometimes forgot how much of a professional the man was. A list of championship victories on his dueling profile was one thing, but seeing his obsession in real life was entirely different. Kaiba had always been serious about the game. His mindset about it wasn't that it was a game, but that it was a battle. Life or death. His livelihood. In a way, he supposed it had been. He'd recently converted Kaiba Corp. to a gaming company back then, hadn't he? He'd had to prove himself and make the company popular.
But damn. He was something else. Jonouchi couldn't fathom the level of determination that drove Kaiba. Until he retired, of course.
Now he was like a relic himself almost, hoarding his treasure like a dragon. It wasn't like Kaiba ever showed his collection to the public, or even spoke of it. Only a few people knew about his vast collection, and besides Mokuba, no one went inside it. Even Isono didn't have clearance to just go inside whenever he wanted, but only during a breach of security.
"There are some cool holodeck rooms Nii-sama is working on too, if you want to see."
They were a secret project of his, which was why they were on the same floor of the vault. All sorts of things that Kaiba didn't want anyone knowing about, and Mokuba was going to show Jonouchi. Just because.
"It's like the monsters come to life in front of you."
"Haven't they always?" Jonouchi closed the drawer, interested even though he wasn't sure what Mokuba meant. "I mean, the monsters have always had solid presence. Are you saying he made them more realistic?"
Maybe the graphics were updated, or the monsters moved more like living animals during standby phases and battles. Jonouchi was intrigued by the prospect and looked at Mokuba expectantly as he followed him, looking forward to seeing the new toys Kaiba was working on. He felt rather privileged, actually, being able to see all of these things. He knew that Kaiba's card collection must be personally private if he kept it in a fucking vault of all things, and he reveled in knowing he'd invaded that privacy.
"Yes."
Mokuba led him into a room, which looked ordinary with the steel door, except the kid had to open it with a retinal scan before running inside. There he went inside where a large box like structure sat, completely, almost like a room within a room that Mokuba opened up before looking back at Jonouchi.
"It will start up automatically once we step inside. Ready?"
"Why wouldn't I be?" Jonouchi replied, watching as the door opened. The room inside was enormous, the metal walls bare and the bright lights fluorescent. It looked like some kind of testing room, which was the most likely case. Jonouchi guessed that there were probably projectors somewhere in the room.
"So, how do we check out the graphics? Cuz I definitely don't have my deck with me."
Maybe Mokuba had some cards, or Kaiba had constructed a visual demo to show off the technology. Whatever the case, Jonouchi was itching to see what was going to happen.
"This isn't just for duel monsters, Jonouchi," snickered Mokuba, "It's a virtual room. You go inside and can be transferred anywhere you want. Only problem is we can't change what the user looks like, but everything else is perfect."
The lights suddenly shut off completely before noises began sounding. The calming songs of birds, and the subtle smells of earth, trees, decaying plants, and flowers began filling the air. It was so soothing, and as Mokuba smiled, he watched the sun begin to rise over the tops of the trees. There was even a steady breeze blowing his hair, and he could hear a twig cracking before turning around to see what it was.
A lone doe. She stood staring at them both with an alert expression on her face before bending down to eat a fern. But when Jonouchi moved, it became startled and took off through the brush.
"We could replicate whatever we want," said Mokuba, "I just haven't come up with all the opportunities yet. I mean, imagine all the rides we could make at Kaiba Land with this sort of programming..."
"Yeah," Jonouchi replied, staring in awe at the scene around him. Everything looked so solid and tangible. "I'd love to see a horror fun house with this kind of stuff..."
Although something like that would probably scare the piss out of him. Still, it would be a thrill, certainly more than usual amusement park rides could offer. Jonouchi wandered around the room, looking at the scenery and debating whether or not to touch it.
"So you think your brother's okay with us being here?"
"What he doesn't know..."
Besides, if he found out, what would happen? He'd get upset and yell, but that would probably be the end of it. Kaiba wasn't really one for blowing his top at his brother, most of the time he did a silent mad stare that made Mokuba uncomfortable until he felt ashamed of himself...
"He might get mad, but nothing will happen."
"To you, maybe," Jonouchi muttered, "But what's gonna happen to me? I don't have the advantage of being his younger brother."
Mokuba would probably get significantly less backlash than someone Kaiba didn't like. Namely, Jonouchi. The last thing he wanted was to get forcibly removed from the property or something. Then again, Kaiba probably wouldn't do that if it had been Mokuba's decision to bring him to this super-secret testing room. So Jonouchi had that much working in his favor.
"Just relax and enjoy the show."
He ignored Jonouchi's fretting and went running off into the woods. His feet were breaking the branches and twigs that lay on the ground, and looking down; he caught his eye on something before stopping. Mokuba turned around and back tracked, until he came to a small hole in the ground, picking apart some matted fur until he found something underneath.
Baby rabbits.
"Jonouchi, come over here and look."
They weren't actually real, so Mokuba just picked up one, the baby squirming in his grip before looking a bit frantic. Its eyes were black and wide open in fright, but Mokuba held it against his chest and tried soothing it the best he could.
"Sometimes I go down here to pretend I have pets," he said, letting Jonouchi have a feel, "because I know Nii-sama won't allow them in the house."
"Why not? It isn't like you guys couldn't afford one," Jonouchi watched Mokuba handle the rabbit. He was gentle and affectionate with it, especially for a boy his age. Jonouchi knew that at the same stage in his life, he probably would have squeezed and rough handled the thing more than was proper. Surely, if he was that mature, he could handle a little pet rabbit or gerbil.
The synthetic creatures were incredible. Jonouchi was astonished by how much the animals felt real. It had to be some trick on his senses, but it was a damn good one. If he had something like this at his disposal, he'd spend all his time there just to wonder at it. To see places he couldn't (or never would) in real life...
"I like the woods the best," explained Mokuba, placing the baby rabbit back down, "it's so quiet and serene. I mean the city is neat too, but I don't like walking amongst fake people. It reminds me too much of the Matrix, Nii-sama played a trick on me with the red lady before, and now I won't go into fake Domino..."
It had disturbed him, just a little bit.
"Want to see something else now or what?"
"Shit kid, your attention span is shorter than mine," Jonouchi laughed, "But sure. If you want to give me the full tour, I'm not complaining."
As long as they didn't get caught, he was perfectly willing to see Kaiba Corp's inner secrets. It was a more interesting way to spend his time than holed up in his apartment or working a twelve hour shift, that was for sure. Kaiba Corporation always made the coolest shit; stuff that people thought wouldn't be out until "the future", whatever that meant. Much as Kaiba made him infuriated beyond belief, he had to admit the guy was smart. More than smart. More like a genius.
"How much stuff do you guys make here at a time? Must be expensive..."
Like Kaiba couldn't afford it. Still, even Jonouchi knew that a company couldn't just feed money into all kinds of things unless they were sure about the returns. It made him wonder if Kaiba had ever thrown away cash on something that ultimately didn't work out. Like those virtual pods he'd built.
"We have good investors," laughed Mokuba, "the money always comes."
He'd had enough of the holographic room, speaking out loud to shut down the computer. It apparently had Mokuba's voice recognized in its program, because it immediately turned off all the stimulators and went back to being an empty room with white lights, the door unlocking as Mokuba stepped out.
"I'll show you the dueling deck Nii-sama used to use before he retired," he explained, running towards the elevator, "You might like it, since the computer memorizes dueling strategies so you can't use the same combos twice."
That was partly why Kaiba was so good. He was constantly testing himself out against impossible odds.
"It's upstairs, with all the less top secret "toys" are stashed."
"He built a computer just to improve his game?" Jonouchi snorted. That wasn't surprising. Of course Kaiba would do something like that, rather than use the Dueling Network like everyone else and risk decreasing his win/loss ratio. It almost seemed like cheating, but he knew better than to think Kaiba was taking it easy. He didn't get as good as he was without working and practicing. Still, it burned Jonouchi up a little, all the advantages he had.
"So is it like the dueling AI at KaibaLand in the United States? I remember that computer had memorized all the pro dueling strategies."
"Yes, pretty much the same thing. Only this one also learns from mistakes."
"That's kinda creepy," Jonouchi muttered, "Doesn't Kaiba ever worry about making his computers too smart?"
"No. It's not like it knows anything besides dueling strategies. That's all he programed it for, and unless he's practicing for tournaments, which he doesn't anymore, he has the machine turned off. Only he and I can turn it on."
Once they were both inside the elevator, Mokuba pushed the ground level floor bottom. There were some ordinary things he wanted to show Jonouchi, like the in-house restaurant in case he was hungry. Stuff like that, and Kaiba Corporation had a free to the public concept room that kids often went to, that basically showed things they had finished months ago but weren't yet settled on putting to market just yet. Usually to drive people crazy so once they were selling, people would go mad trying to get one. Nothing "new" was ever actually "new"...
"Nii-sama has me working on this new duel disk actually. The systems are more complex, the monsters now actually do more than just stand around and your favorite card can interact with you... Like show favor, I guess. Nii-sama's dragons call to him whenever he plays them. Like, it's weird. They don't roar... Just call to him."
"Are you really surprised that he programmed them that way?" Jonouchi rolled his eyes. Kaiba and his borderline twisted love for Blue-Eyes were notorious in the dueling community. "I mean, he's the one in control of all that. Of course he'd make his own favorite respond to him a certain way."
Jonouchi had to admit he'd probably abuse that kind of ability too, but the thought of Kaiba doing it annoyed him regardless. Especially since he'd integrated it before letting everyone else have a favorite. Then again, a creator couldn't exactly be blamed if he kept the best toys for himself...
"Well, if you tried the duel disk, I'm sure your Red Eyes would recognize you. He programmed all the professional duel decks into the system so it would know you... I'm pretty sure your dragon would figure out who you were and call... He's trying to make something people want. Nii-sama doesn't duel anymore."
Mokuba was frowning. He didn't like how Jonouchi reacted to his brother's hard work, but it was to be expected. Jonouchi didn't know anything about Kaiba, or the successes he'd made for other people's enjoyment.
"When Mai played her deck, the Harpies tried playing with her hair..."
"Are you serious?" Jonouchi laughed at the mental image, especially since it would probably make Mai more flustered and angry than charmed. "I can't imagine that went over well. I can almost hear Mai squawking about it."
Although, if Red-Eyes tried playing with his hair or something, he probably wouldn't be too pleased either. Maybe if it just asked for a pat on the head or something. But having its claws in his personal space would take time to get used to, trick of the senses or not.
"All bitterness aside, I do think having my favorite monster respond to me would be really cool. When is the new disk coming out?"
"Maybe next year. It needs some bugs fixed and you know, Nii-sama likes to hold things out as long as possible teasing the public with it until he has something better lined up for the next season..."
"Figures. I should have guessed he was nothing but a giant tease," Jonouchi grimaced, scowling at the elevator doors as the box stopped rising. When the doors opened, his mood did not improve. Slowly revealed by the retracting doors was Kaiba Seto himself, standing with his arms crossed and his feet planted firmly shoulder-width apart. It reminded Jonouchi of how his mother would regard him as a child if he'd displeased her. Even the scowl of condescending disapproval was the same. Except considerably less warm, since Kaiba's eyes were blue.
Jonouchi cursed internally and straightened, meeting Kaiba's eyes when the glare was turned on him. He was always defiant in the face of that hateful expression, but today he had just the tiniest bit of arrogance behind his eyes. He knew that Mokuba was something of a shield for him, a guarantee that nothing too bad would happen as a result of his transgression. Kaiba could be anything from a hardass to a giant raging bitch, but he wasn't bad enough to have Jonouchi put in jail for something he didn't do. Probably.
Well, it wasn't like he hadn't been in jail before.
"Missed me so much you had to come and see me?" Jonouchi teased, grinning unevenly enough that the expression lost some of its good humor. Not that it mattered, really. He could be rainbows and sunshine, and Kaiba would still shoot him down before he could blink.
But this time he didn't get a reply back. Just a glance of general irritation before those icy blue eyes settled on Mokuba, who looked more nervous than anyone had probably ever seen him before over his own brother.
"What were you doing with the dog going down into my private vault, Mokuba?" he asked, his voice sickly calm for someone who's vein was about to pop open from his neck.
"Nii-sama, I-"
"Go to my office."
He watched Mokuba leave the elevator, and only moved so his brother could pass by before giving Jonouchi another passing glance, using his card to lock down the elevator once the doors shut. There was no verbal response to Jonouchi trespassing on his secret spaces, only one last quick look before Kaiba stalked off behind his brother, heading towards another private elevator that led straight up to his office.
Jonouchi blinked; surprised that he hadn't been chewed out even a little. Kaiba wasn't exactly famous for keeping his venom to himself when he felt someone was encroaching on his delicate comfort zone. He shrugged, figuring that for once, being ignored was the better outcome. Better than getting into a scuffle with security or being sent to jail. It seemed like Mokuba was in trouble, and Jonouchi felt a little bad for him, but Kaiba was his brother. He'd always had a soft spot for Mokuba that even he couldn't hide, and Jonouchi doubted Mokuba would get much more than a tongue-lashing.
And a mild one at that, compared to what Kaiba usually did to people with his words. Sometimes Jonouchi wondered what it must be like to have that kind of power. Not even over peoples' emotions, but essentially over things like the nation. The economy. Things like that. No wonder Kaiba had such an ego trip over himself.
Jonouchi left the building, figuring that his and Mokuba's day was over now that they'd pretty much done the equivalent of sneaking into mom's panty drawer. Kaiba's "dog" comment made him simmer, and if he'd had the chance, he would have made something of it. But Kaiba had escaped too quickly and probably for the best since Jonouchi's attitude probably would only have gotten Mokuba into more trouble.
He sighed, looking toward the direction he'd have to walk to get home. Kaiba Corporation's main office was in central Domino, closer to uptown of course, but the point was that it was far away from Jonouchi's apartment. He considered taking the metro, but decided that it would be an utter waste of precious survival money. With his luck, he'd probably end up in a car with some creep or Yakuza on their way to dump a body.
That said, since he wasn't taking the train, he'd have to walk fast. Maybe even jog. It was getting close to evening, if the color of the sky was any indication, and Jonouchi sure as hell wasn't going to get caught alone at night in his neighborhood. With the Rintama gang gone, what little "protection" he'd ever had was no longer there. The new punks in town wouldn't hesitate to treat him like one of the endless gaggle of victims they terrorized.
As he made his way toward home, his pace varying from a brisk walk to a steady jog, he started trying to plot in his head how he was going to get out of that fucking ghetto. He'd have to find a better job, and hopefully soon.
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Ambivalence