My reader-insert fics. Stories will not contain swearing or sex scenes, but may contain violence or creepiness. I am under no obligation to any of you.
(All reader characters are female unless otherwise noted.)
Reader x Ethoslab
Ethoslab: Vampire Hunter AU
Reader x Joey
Tonkatsu Dinner with Joey Wheeler (ROMANTIC)
Go on a casual dinner date with Joey in Shinjuku ward.
Reader x Kaiba
Stuck in Another Dimension
Get accidentally sent to another dimension with Kaiba and immediately find yourself in danger from another word's Gozaburo. (This one is less well written in my opinion.)
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Shopping with Kaiba at Don Quixote
The PLAN had called for spending the day with Mokuba...
Part 1 (Mostly Reader and Mokuba)
Nothing Builds a Friendship Like a Crisis
Kaiba hired you to assist Mokuba with performing an inspection of Kaiba Land. An unfortunate sequence of events lead to furthering your friendship with Kaiba instead.
Part 1
Part 2 (Entirely Reader and Mokuba)
Part 3 (We're back to Reader and Kaiba)
Part 4
Stolen Thunder and Fought for Friendship
You were the commissioner of the latest Battle City Tournamentâuntil you weren't.
Reader x Kakashi Hatake
Was Your Friend About to Quietly Go Rogue? (Gender neutral)
You were trying to focus on your assigned task after Painâs destruction of the Leaf, when your friend Kakashi popped in for a little chat.
Reader x Technoblade
Technoblade Never Dies (Gender neutral reader.)
A tribute piece. Contains character death.
Word count: 2,541
Summary: You were trying to bring the appropriate level of banhammer smackdown and showmanship to your job as the new Battle City Commissioner. But of course, just as you felt your confidence flourish, Kaiba wrecked it. Also, a smidge of Roland backstory. Dub canon plus a version of DSOD. Intended female Reader, but gender not actually mentioned. Set maybe two years post DSOD.
Fun fact: I write my Reader characters with personality and specific description. They may not be as generic as is customary for this type of story. Each reader character also has a specific place in the Yu-Gi-Oh world, with set connections and feelings about the various canon characters and other reader characters. This is reader B, who is immune to the siren song of romance, cheap, eccentric, logical, and hands-on.
âBoss, we just had a flag thrown in sector three.â One of the many women with bright hair and a neon visor spoke up as you entered the control center. Alpha Team was Kaiba Corpâs top technical lineup, if they claimed a problem, it was real.
You sighed as the door slid shut behind you with a hiss. Having been on your feet since six in the morning, you had hoped for a moment to collapse in a chair and nap with your head on the desk. But Kaiba was paying you an obscene amount of money to head the dueling security commission, and by golly, you would get him his moneyâs worth. âWhatâs going on?â
Striding to your own console at the top of the graduated floor, you pulled up all available information on the two duelists involved in the flagged match. One was a new duelist, with few recorded games, but all were wins; the man had gained entry to this yearâs Battle City event by crushing the competition at a local tournament. The other was a twelve year old boy with hundreds of games to his nameâa decent duelist, but not extraordinary; he had no chance of making the top eight in this yearâs Battle City tournament. You started to compare their deck lists as Alpha Team brought up a video feed of the duel.
âThe manâs duel disk is running the duel off-server.â One of the nearest techs explained.
Your head shot up. âWhy is the city wi-fi down in sector three?â
âIt isnât. Heâs running an override.â As the tech spoke, the man on the screen began his turn, drawing a card.  Â
âSo heâs cheating.â You reached across your body to aggressively massage the back of your left shoulder.Â
âAffirmative. It appears he is running the duel off of his own duel disk in order to use a cheat showing him his opponentâs set cards. Looking over his duel logs, I believe heâs used this trick before, but this is the first time we caught what was happening.â
Studying the various data streams, you admired the skill behind the deception; tampering with Kaiba Corp code required nearly god-tier programming skills. But with rival Schroeder Corp running an aggressive advertising scheme constantly attempting to twist past events to make Kaiba Corp appear untrustworthy and corrupt, this could hardly happen at a worse time. Surely Kaiba had granted you this position due to your reputation for fairness and good judgment, and you intended to live up to his expectations. Very well, you would have the duel suspended remotely, conjure a hologram presence at the scene to explain why, andâ âWhatâs that?â You pointed to a contraption crossing into the edge of the displayed feed.
âOne moment.â A lavender haired technician adjusted the camera, panning to the right to reveal a national news crew, who were setting up some kind of camera dolly system. Â
Why on earth had they decided to film this duel, when there were a handful of other, completely legitimate, duels ongoing around the city? Spectacle was the name of the game for Kaiba Corp, and there was no pizzazz in bringing the duel to a fizzling halt. Removing your glasses, you wiped the sweat from the space between your eyes. You didnât want to let Kaiba down; he had entrusted his tournamentâs honor to you alongside his companyâs image.Â
Maybe you could use a more impressive hologram avatar? Usually you conjured Kozmo Farmgirl to represent yourself as the duel commissioner for the tournament, but what if⊠âWho owns that wall behind the duelists?â
âOne moment.â This time an orange haired technician spoke up. As you slid your glasses back on, the woman provided the requested answer. âCafe la Green. Itâs a local business. The wall hides the back of their store from the street.â
You glanced back down at your own monitor, checking your available project funds; you were under budget. But did you have the guts to go through with the idea conjured by your brain just now? Gently, your fingers traced the edges of the KC pin on the lapel of your dark red frock coatâboth gifts from Kaiba and Mokuba last Christmas. Placing you in this role showed their trust in your ability to play the game. You would bring your own sense of flashy showmanship to the problem.
âSee if you can buy the brick wall.â
âOn it.â
âAnd load up a second hologram avatar for me, in Solid Vision.â
âWhat monster?â
âAhhhhhhh...â What would have a strong visual impact? âGiga-Tech Wolf.â
âPrepping the projection now.â
You pulled yourself up to your full five foot three inches and planted your fists on your hips. âDoes anyone on the news crew have a duel disk?â
âNo, but a nearby onlooker does, and sheâs chatting with the cameraman.â
âGreat. Remotely activate her debris deflection field to protect the news crew.â
âDeflection field up in five seconds.â Replied a green haired tech.
The orange technician announced, âThe wall is now property of Kaiba Corp.â
Near the projection screen, the higher pitched voice of the lavender tech added, âGiga-Tech Wolf is ready to rumble.â
Gripping the metal railing separating your platform from the rest of the downward sloping room, you broke into a grin. âOn my mark, suspend the duel and have the wolf smash through the wall. Make it a spectacular entranceâdestructive and noisy. We want to give the news crew a show, and highlight how solid our holograms can be.â
âUnderstood. The Creative Department will need a minute to work out the animation.â
âThatâs fine.âÂ
It was one of the longest minutes of your life. Each second offered an opportunity to back out of this outrageous plan, but you tightened your grip on the railing and held your resolve. Behind you, the door to the hallway hissed open, but you were too lost in thought to pay it much mind.
âWeâre ready when you are.â One of the technicians broke the tension as a simulation of the wolf crashing through the wall played in the corner of the screen displaying the duel in progress.
Holding out your right hand with fingers extended, you prepared for a countdown. âExcellent. Suspend the duel and unleash the Solid Vision wolf in three, twoââ
âBelay that order.â Kaibaâs low voice interrupted your countdown with demanding force.
You jumped. Whirling to stare up at the man behind you and seeking understanding of his objection, you tried to work out what mistake you had made in your plan. It felt in line with how Kaiba would handle the situation. âArenât you supposed to be out there dueling?â You asked, confused.
âI already won what I need to make the semi-finals.â He spoke with his usual intensity. âI was going to invite you and Yugi to join me at the sponsorship dinner this evening.â
âSure, you know I wonât leave you to face the public alone if you ask me to join you. But please, until then, let me do the job you hired me to do.â It was unlike Kaiba to micromanage. Usually, he let a person work, and then honestly praised or derided the result when it was time to judge its quality.
âLet the duel play out.â He joined you at the railing.
âKaiba, the man is cheating. Iâm not going to let him get away with that. I can tone down the response if I took it too far butââ
âYour response was acceptable. Under normal circumstances I would enjoy watching you terrorize a man breaking the rules of my tournament.â
You started to smile at the compliment, but tilted your head in confusion. âThen whatâs the problem?â
Kaiba crossed his arms. âLook at the data. Heâs a nobody with a state school degree and average salary as a programmer. No history of dueling until recently, and there were suspicions about his play in the local tournament he won to gain entry to Battle City. Iâve had surveillance on him since the start of the tournament.â
âAnd you never thought to tell me any of this? Iâm supposed to be the one keeping everything honorable in this tournament of yours. We could have kicked him out from the start!â
âThereâs no way that idiot managed to write the exploit heâs using. I donât want to warn him weâve found his trick until I discover who he's working for.â
âKaiba, the kid heâs dueling is going to lose unless we stop the duel.â
Shrugging, Kaiba watched the duel playing out on the screen. âHe never stood a chance of making the semi-finals.â
âYes, I know that, but when he loses, let it be a just loss!â
Barely turning his head to look at you, Kaiba asked, âDo you know the kid?â
âNo.â
âThen why do you care? You admitted he has no particular talent.â
âBecause Iâm a duelist too, and I know how I would want to be treated.â Which was true, but not the whole reason. It stung your honor to think of being hired to handle cheaters, but allow one to escape instead. âCatching a cheater in front of a news crew can only be good for Kaiba Corpâs image right now.â
âI care less about the publicâs perception of my company than I do finding the heart of the problem.â
âAs your duel commissioner, I cannot condone this course of action.â
Kaiba finally turned to face you. âAnd as your employer, your concerns are noted. Weâll let the match play out.â
An angry scoff escaped your lips. âAnd as your friend, I think this is a mistake!â Taking a deep breath, you gathered your composure. âYou hired me for my honesty. Let me use it.â
âI hired you because I thought you would have my back.â
Why did those words hurt so badly? âAnd I do! But not like this.â
Kaiba shook his head, his blue eyes cold, but his tone confused. âI donât understand. Arenât you supposed to be part of my plans? Help me overcome the string of fools who insist on meddling with my life and company?â
âSure, if you bother to tell me about it. Maybe ask if Iâm okay with your plans! Donât you know Iâm an honest person? Donât you know itâs against my nature to let this play out? I thought thatâs why you asked me to do this job!âÂ
âI hired you because I thought you had a modicum of intelligence.â Kaiba countered, stepping closer. âBut youâre nothing more than a shortsighted fool.â He towered over you, his pitch dropping to low gravel. âMy mistake.â
Incapable of mustering a comeback when faced with an uncomfortable truth, you scowled as your brain scrambled to figure out how to respond. Kaiba spent more hours in a day thinking about the future than you did in a week. âYeah, well, then⊠allow me to help you fix your stupid mistake.â Releasing the railing, you fumbled with the KC pin on your jacket lapel before giving up and slipping out of the frock coat entirely. âI quit.â
âI canât stop you.â
âI know.â Mokuba always ensured you had a penalty free termination clause in any contract detailing your work at Kaiba Corp. Relinquishing your red coat by draping it over the railing at the top of the room, you turned and left, relishing the hiss of the silvery door closing behind you.Â
Around you, the metal walls of the hallway offered no commentary, only hazy reflections of yourself as you adjusted your glasses. What were you supposed to do now? Shouldnât you feel satisfied? Why was your heartâŠsad? You crossed your arms.
âIs everything alright?â
You jumped. âRoland!â Embarrassment at being caught unawares caused blood to rush to your face. âEverythingâsâŠâ How could you say you were âfineâ when you had just walked away from a friendship fought for each week over the last year.
âYou look like mister Kaiba after he loses a duel.â Roland observed, as you frantically uncrossed your arms.
And Roland would know. While you werenât sure if he was categorized as Kaibaâs assistant, bodyguard, or something else entirely, it was clear the man had stood at his young employerâs side through years of crises and triumphs. He understood. This man must grasp what your parents and siblings could notâthe desire to befriend Seto Kaiba.
Normally, people made relationships so complex, their feelings and desires beyond your simple ken. But Kaiba, for all the journalists who called him complicated, made sense. Observing him showed he loved his younger brother Mokuba, his company, and the Duel Monsters game. Ignoring his words and instead watching his actions showed him to be a man of intelligence, a man of honor, and a man seeking acceptance from a world which seemed determined to crush him underfootâno, that wasnât right, Kaiba didnât seek belonging, he fought to change the world into a place he felt safe. His words showed he cared for the opinions of few; and most of them were dead.
âDo you regret working for Kaiba?â You asked Roland, breaking the silence.
âNo.â Roland adjusted his suit jacket. âDo you regret your friendship with him?â
âI think I just ended it.â Your eyes burned. If only you had sunglasses to hide your eyes like the man before you.
When you thought the stillness of the hallway would swallow both of you, Roland sighed.
âI worked for Gozaburo Kaiba before he legally adopted the two boys and granted them his name, back when Kaiba Corp still made military vehicles and systems. My personal life was in shambles, and my conscience wasnât much better, as I watched my employer twist a child into a baron of industry.â
You shoved your hands into your pockets, listening intently.
âWhen Seto bested his stepfather and claimed the company for himself, I was the first to pledge my loyalty to the new Kaiba Corp president, even if he was only fourteen at the time.â Straightening his shoulders, the man continued. âThis job has prevented me from ever finding a wife, fathering children, or taking a vacation.â He laughed. âBut I donât regret quietly shepherding two brilliant boys into capable young men. One day, my allegiance may earn me a bullet to the heart, but itâs worth it.â
Starting to reach out to you, he pulled back his hand awkwardly. âI think you see it tooâthe appeal of cold blue eyes and the contained force of a star burning itself to extinction as it tries to protect, fight, and create.â
Without doubt, Roland was overqualified for his occasional work as a tournament announcer.
âI long hoped Mr. Kaiba would find himself a friend. Now he has you and Yugi, although my genius employer has no idea how to process loyalty or kindness. Give him a second chance, and he might surprise you.â
What on earth was the correct response to such a declaration? Before you could formulate an answer, Roland had turned and entered the control center behind you. How were you supposed to befriend a man like Seto Kaibaâand yet, how could you ever make your mind settle for anything less than striving to stand beside him as an equal, a creative, and a friend?
______
If you enjoyed this story, consider checking out my reader-insert masterlist here! There are several other fics featuring Kaiba.
This piece was originally written to be displayed as part of the Affirmation/Transformation museum exhibit. You can see it's digital place in the exhibit here, where it is the only story submitted to the Rivalry/Oppositions category. Also, you can check out @gwenpools-aesthetic, who is the mastermind behind the project.
Word count: 820
âYouâre going with Naruto?â you asked, searching Kakashiâs one visible eye for how much trouble this would cause.
He nodded. âYamato is coming as well. If anyone asks about us, can you help cover for our absence?â
âSure, although Iâm far from a brilliant liar.â
"I know." Kakashi almost chuckled as he stood casually in front of the card table you were using to chop vegetables. Hands shoved into his pockets, partially silhouetted in the opening of the sturdy military tent, he may as well have been talking about visiting your family for a game night, instead of a personal mission which sounded dangerously like insubordination. Even with his headband covering his left eye, and his cloth mask covering the lower half of his face, it was easy enough to read his smile. Perhaps he was about to do something uncharacteristically stupid, but he looked the same as always, wearing a green flak vest and holster pouch.
With the village destroyed and construction constantly ongoing, you had been assigned to peel and chop a sizable pile of potatoes, each of which you dropped into provided buckets of water once it was in quarters for easy boiling later. âWhy all the secrecy?â
He shrugged. âI doubt Danzo would approve of our journey.â
âThe new Hokage?â Usually Kakashi was more aware of the political ramifications of peopleâs actions than you were, but this seemed unwise. Although, you obviously didnât know all the facts about the situation. Civilians rarely did.
âThe temporary, unconfirmed Hokage, yes.âÂ
While you knew almost nothing of the man, it was clear Kakashi didnât approve of this arrangement, so it seemed likely you would not care for the new Leaf Village leader either. Resuming peeling a potato, you wondered how serious this self-appointed mission of Kakashiâs was? And yet, even if he was setting out on a suicide operation, he would likely be talking to you with his hands in his pockets and ever-calm demeanor, just like he was now. You knew that from personal experience.
Sighing, your shoulders slumped as you planted your hands on the tabletop and leaned forward. âIf youâre doing something the new Hokage doesnât like, how many rules are you breaking?â
âIâm not sure of the exact number. Maybe Iâm technically not breaking any.â
You stared at the tip of your knife, which rested on the cutting board. âWorst case scenario?â
âYou used to be an optimist.âÂ
âIâm a realist who hopes Providence has my back. Answer the question.â
After a long, slow exhale, Kakashi rocked back on his heels. âDanzo gets back from his trip, discovers Yamato and I left the village with Naruto, and decides to make an example of me. So I might be facing a demotion. Maybe a short prison sentence, if heâs feeling particularly harsh.â
Your stomach twisted at his words, but your face didn't flinch as you continued staring down the tabletop. âVery well.â
Leaning forward into your line of sight, Kakashi gave you a thumbs up, his right eye squinting almost closed as he smiled at you. âI hope youâll visit me in prison if it comes to that, right?â He teased.
Still clutching your vegetable peeler, you raised your fist and brought it down on top of his head playfully, squashing his spiky silver hair. âIdiot.â Pulling your hand away, you grinned back. âYouâre my friend. Of course Iâd visit.â Better than him not coming back at all, which was how you assumed your friendship would end one day. But then, he had died right here in the village not long ago, so there really wasnât anywhere safe, for either of you.
âDonât worry.â Your friendâs voice was quiet but reassuring.Â
âKakashi?â Captain Yamato stuck his head into the tent.
âIâll be seeing you.â Your friend raised a hand in a wave, and then he was gone.
Picking up another potato, you muttered. âI hope so. I really hope so.â Ever since Kakashi had rescued you nineteen years ago, back when both of you were still children, youâd always known his ninja world was dangerous. Heck, your younger brother had commented that he didnât know how you had the courage to befriend ninjas when you knew how likely they were to one day shatter the friendship by dying.
You thought you had grown accustomed to the knowledge, accepted the future pain in exchange for a handful of interesting friends who could manage feats a civilian like you could only dream of. But this felt different. Political problems at home couldnât be solved with force. If Kakashi got himself in trouble with the Hokage, there would be little to do but watch it unfold. You snorted as you quickly quartered a potato with two violent strikes of your knife. Honestly, why worry about this? Nothing you could do would change events, at most, you might attempt to alleviate the pain of unwelcome consequences if they came to passâŠ
______
Check out my other reader-insert stories here!
A short reader-insert story I wrote Thursday night as a way of dealing with my emotions after finding out Technoblade died. :(
Sort of gives the reader a chance to say goodbye.
Word count: 1717 words
Everyone saw Technoblade differently. Some of his officers spoke of his impossibly broad shoulders, and tireless right arm, while others recalled a mask of antlers and bone. Those who opposed him on the battlefield and managed to survive returned home with stories of âThe Blade,â an inhuman being more monster than man. Disbelieving nurses tending to wounded soldiers heard stories of an immortal being with blazing red eyes and the Devilâs hooves, âThe Blood God.â Visiting dignitaries recounted the visage of a stern man, wearing an imposing crown and immaculate clothing befitting his station as a prince. While many shrank from him in fear, the palace servants who took care of him seemed to see a little boy, soft and comely, who threatened far more than he ever intended to actually carry out. Without exception, animals loved him.
You saw your own version of Technoblade. To your eyes, he was a slender young man with flowing pink hair that shone in the sunlight, a man who moved with absolute grace and assurance, a man who stood straight and strong, with the kindest eyes.Â
âYouâre up late.â A low voice broke the silence of the night.
You looked up from your work maintaining the chapelâs pews. âEtho!â He looked tired, green and black clothes splattered with dark stains, cloak hanging off his body in ripped shreds, and reddish brown smeared all over his bare hand and forearm.Â
Adjusting the mask covering the lower half of his face, he smiled with his eyes. âSister.â Like all your friends, he called you by your title rather than your nameâjust as you preferred. As far as you were concerned, Sister was your name, not the pretentious mouthful assigned to you by the Church when you came here years ago. Hiding your identity was tiresome, although preferable to being claimed by the powerful vampire queen who had marked you as a child.
âI take from the bloodstains all over your clothes, your hunt was successful?â Tossing your screwdriver onto the wooden pew beside where you were crouched, you leaned back to get a better look at your friend; it seemed none of the blood was his this time. Good.
He laughed, almost sounding embarrassed. âIt doesnât feel successful.â
âRough kill?â You threw your long hair back over your shoulder, keeping it out of the way as you returned to work.
Running a blood smeared hand through his white hair, Ethoâs mood darkened. âEven when I know my target has lived for over sixty years, and killed seventeen innocents, itâs not easy to drive a stake through the heart of a creature who looks like a ten year old girlâŠâ
âThe abbess always says youâre too kind for this work.â Picking up the screwdriver, you gave it a little flip in the air, catching it neatly. Gently running your left hand over the pile of screws, you grouped them as you counted in your head.Â
Etho walked towards you. âUh huhh. Itâs hard to tell when she sends me out every week to kill monsters.â Sighing, he squeezed past your kneeling body to tiredly sink down onto the pew. âI shouldnât have specialized in vampires.â
âEtho, donât sitâ!â
Splintering wood and the crash of ancient planks smacking beautiful tilework flooring interrupted your warning, as the pew gave way beneath him. âOhhhhh.â He sounded pathetic as he lay on his back on the floor, gazing up at the decorative ceiling and gripping the pocket watch hanging from his belt. While you knew Etho must be a fierce and capable warrior, you found such an image hard to combine with the slightly hapless, and very nice guy, you had befriended over the years.
You groaned. âI had removed most of the screws attaching the seat to the end of the pew, so I could replace them with slightly wider screws, âcause the whole thingâs been getting loose, and had already been jury rigged before I ever came hereâŠâ
âSorey.â His accent always came through when he apologized. âIâll explain to the abbess it was my fault.â Â
âThanks.â Leaning back against the chapel wall, you mulled over how long it would take you to fix the pew, assuming you had the skill to properly fix something so old, delicate, and ornateâwhich you doubted.
âAnd speaking of the abbess, I got permission to take you with me on my next assignment.â
âReally?â At his words, all exasperation fled your body. Usually you were forbidden from leaving the abbey, on account of the mark on the back of your left hand. âWhy?â
âYouâre good at clerical work, right, Sister?â
You nodded eagerly as he continued.
âMy target tonight had quite a library, and chests of saved correspondence. I needed someone to help me catalog all of it tomorrow, and since they made the mistake of letting me choose my own assistantâŠI chose you.â Propping himself up on his elbows, his eyes crinkled in a smile. âYou do want to see more of the world, right? I donât know why the abbess always keeps you cooped up in the church compound, but I figure I ought to show my friend a bit of the outside world if I can.â
Without thinking, you gripped the back of your left hand, imagining the green symbol hidden by your half finger glove. âIâd love that.âÂ
Rising from the rather destroyed pew, which now littered the floor, Etho stretched. âI need to wash up. Wouldnât want to talk to the abbess looking like this.â He pointed at you. âNow go get some sleep, we have a long day tomorrow.â
âYouâre going to talk to the abbess now?â
âSome of us arenât night owls by choice, Sister.â Etho chuckled. âIf I have to work this late, she can wake up to talk to me in the middle of the night from time to time.â
Grateful for his friendship, and this opportunity to leave the abbey, you wanted to hug the lanky man before you, but decorum held you back. The last thing you had ever wanted was rumors of being romantically involved with anyone, and years of practicing such thinking left little room for nebulous gestures like hugsâno matter how platonically you intended them. âHm, youâve always had fun being a bit of a pain.â
âJust doing my job.â His smile shone through in his voice as you packed up your toolbox.
âSee you tomorrow, Etho.â
With a jaunty little wave, he strode off, leaving you to wonder what the next day held.
__________
Check out my other reader-insert stories here!
Nothing Builds a Friendship Like a Crisis (part 4)
Co-written with multifandoms27
Summary: Mokuba has been kidnapped as you and him performed his monthly inspection of Kaiba Land. Reginald O'Malley, the president of rival gaming company Knightly Rook, is responsible for the kidnapping, and has challenged Kaiba to a tag duel in order to win back Mokuba. To your surprise, Kaiba asked you to be his partner for the duel, since Yugi was out of town. As you head to the rooftop helipad, you hope you're not getting in over your head. Dub canon plus a version of DSOD. Female Reader. Set maybe two years post DSOD.
Fun fact: I always write my Reader character with personality and specific description. Each reader character also has a specific place in the Yu-Gi-Oh world, and is basically an OC with set connections and feelings about the various canon characters and other reader characters. This is reader B, who is immune to the siren song of romance, cheap, eccentric, logical, and hands-on.
Word count: 1,647
You can read part 1 here.
You can read part 2 here.
You can read part 3 here.
You stood inside the elevator which had roof access, feeling the floor press against your feet as you and Kaiba shot upwards. The doors slid open to reveal a helipad. Stepping out onto the roof, you squinted in the blinding summer sunlight as heat radiated up from underfoot and down from above. After ditching your hat, abandoning your sunglasses, and replacing your t-shirt with a fitted black shirt and a short white vest, you had run after Kaiba, barely catching the elevator in time. Now, staring at your shadow, you smiled at your silhouette; it was angular, with your capris falling to your midcalf, and the vest cutting off halfway down your torso, with a high collar and flaring out shoulders. It was a good image, a strong outline, and it sort of reminded you of something⊠Team Rocket. You groaned.Â
Kaiba strode past you towards the helicopter, his hair ruffling in the wind created by the rotors. He moved without hesitation. This was your last chance to back out, but your mind discarded the suggestion. When you jumped into a project, you didnât look back. This was no different. As the artificial wind and engine noise increased, you followed Kaiba inside the helicopter, feeling the sudden lack of blustering air as you pulled the door shut behind you. It was surprisingly quiet inside.  Â
You almost planted your face against the window during takeoff. For a few minutes, the excitement of being in a helicopter drowned out everything else. Settling down on the bench opposite Kaiba, you tried to focus on your deck and prepare for the upcoming duel.
âYou look nervous.â Kaiba commented.
âI am nervous. Weâre about to duel for your brother. What if Iâm not up to the task? What if we lose?â You regretted sharing your worries as soon as you said them.
âI donât lose.â
âOh, we both know thatâs not true.â
Kaiba scowled at you. âI donât lose to two-bit schemers like OâMalley.â
Fair point. Kaiba was an excellent duelist, one of the best in the world. âI might. Iâm a decent duelist, but my deck is hardly top notch, andââ
âYou wonât hold me back. Iâll win on my own if I need to.â Kaibaâs voice was ice. His eyes softened a smidge. âBut youâre a competent duel partner.â
Kaiba believed in your ability? You gave a faint smile, he wouldnât have asked you otherwise. âI try.â
âYou better.â
After a few minutes of silence, Kaiba spoke up again. âLet me see your deck.â
Switching to the bench Kaiba was sitting on, you pulled your deck out of your belt box and spread the cards between you. Working at a game shop brought advantages; you had managed to get some decent cards, and were using one of the new âarchetypes.â When you first found out about the Kozmo cards, you knew you wanted to try and build a deck with them. But even with an employee discount, and Yugiâs Grandpa helping track down cards, you had barely managed to build the simplest form of the deck.Â
âHm.â Kaiba grabbed his silver briefcase from the floor and opened it. His laptop was strapped into the lid, and the base of the case held thousands of dollars worth of cards. Your eyes widened. âBorrow a few for your deck.â It sounded more like an order than an offer.
âI canât start swapping my cards right before a duel! It could mess up my strategies.â It was stupid, but you didnât want to feel like you owed him anything.
Kaiba planted his fingers on a few of your cards and slid them across the bench towards you, âIâm offering you a chance to replace your weak staples with stronger options. Take it.â
âFine, but Iâm giving them back after we win. I donât need your charity.â You took the briefcase from Kaiba and perused the contents. This would require thought. After selecting a few cards like Ice Dragonâs Prison and Pot of Greed, you showed Kaiba the chosen cards and slipped them into your deck. He nodded approvingly.  Â
Kaiba pulled out his own deck, rifling through the cards idly until he found one of his favorites.Â
âCan I look at one of your Blue-Eyes?â You were surprised at your own audacity, but if you wanted Kaiba to treat you like an equal, you would need to act like one.
âSure.â Extending two fingers, he held the card out.                   Â
Up till now, you had only held the ripped Blue-Eyes at the game shop. This one was beautiful. You could imagine its roar. Feel its presence. Holding the card was an honorâyou felt like Kaiba had handed you part of his soul.Â
âDo you know what that card represents?â Kaiba asked. Â
âYou?â
Kaiba almost smiled. âYou spend too much time with Yugi.â
You realized your mistake. âYour power.â It wasnât a guess anymore, you knew you were right.
The corner of his mouth twitched upwards for a moment, before seriousness won out again.Â
You knew the card text without needing to look at it, âThis legendary dragon is a powerful engine of destruction. Virtually invincible, very few have faced this awesome creature and lived to tell the tale.âÂ
âListen,â Kaiba stared at you intently, âWeâre about to step into enemy territory. You canât show weakness or fear, because our adversaries will pounce on any opening you provide.â
You nodded. âIâll try, but I donât feel overly confident right now.â
âYour feelings donât matter.â Kaiba slammed his deck down on the bench between you. âDo you trust me?â
âYes.â It was the truth.
âThen remember my power is behind you now, and act like it.â Â
âKaibaâŠâ You saw no deception in his eyes, only trust, and determination. âThank you.â You handed back his card, realizing he was letting you into his world because he wanted you at his side. Taking a deep breath, you asked, âHow long until we arrive?â
âLess than an hour.â
You leaned back against the wall, which vibrated as the copter beelined for your destination. Closing your eyes, running over everything your deck could do, you tried to focus, until the events of the day caught up to you, and you dozed off.
Some time later, your head jerked up as your eyes flew open. It was too quiet. The helicopter had landed on another roof, this one in rolling mountains, surrounded by forests. Standing near the front, Kaiba held a muttered conversation with the pilot. You stretched and rubbed your neck. âThis is our destination?â Outside the helicopter, men in suits and sunglasses gatheredâa security team. Closing your eyes, you rolled them to slightly reposition your contacts; it was almost time for action.
Kaiba strode to the door. âRemember what I told you.âÂ
You cracked your knuckles, nodding. âLetâs do this.â Nerves settled themselves; playing a game was easier than waiting for it to begin.
Throwing open the door, Kaiba jumped down. Inhaling deeply, you drew yourself up to your full height; you had always been comfortable with yourselfâit was time to stop worrying about manners and act more like Kaiba. You grinned, casually stepping out the doorway and landing beside him. It was cooler here than in Domino City, the air filled with the buzz of cicadas and birdsong.
âWhat are you doing here?â
Hearing the quiet murmur, you turned to Bishop, who shifted slightly under your gaze. âSurprised to see me?â
âI went to considerable expense to keep you out of this mess, Ms. l/n.â
âWhyâs that?â You asked, remembering Kaibaâs words about the high cost of the drugs in your slushy.
âI didnât want to see a naive little girl get caught up in this game.â
âIâm four years older than Kaiba.â You werenât angry, you had always looked younger than your age, and you certainly lacked experience in these high stakes games. âBut I appreciate your concern.â
âYour boss is using you.â
âHnh.â Kaiba crossed his arms.
âI like being useful. Besides,â you slid your hands into your pockets and leaned back against the helicopter, âI make my own choices, Bishop.â
âSuit yourself. But I wash my hands of your fate.â
Before you could reply, the nearby elevator entrance dinged. As the doors slid apart, Mr. OâMalley strolled out before they finished opening. He grinned. âAh, Mr. Kaiba, Iâm so glad you could join us!â The security men parted to allow their employer through. âAnd youâve brought a woman with you. Iâm impressed. Perhaps even the intolerable Seto Kaiba can attract a pretty face.â
âDonât waste my time with your ludicrous assumptions, OâMalley.â
âDarling, the girl is obviously a gold digger.â From the elevator emerged a woman with bottle blond hair and flashy jewelry, her makeup and clothes trying desperately to hide her status as a middle aged woman in her forties. She wore a sleek black dress with brown fur accents perfectly matching OâMalleyâs tie.Â
âAllow me to introduce the missus.â Holding out a hand to his wife, who took it with a regal air, OâMalley presented her as though royalty. âMy dear queen Sashaâbright as fireworks in a summer sky, ambitious as Caesar, and lovely as the Ring of Kerry.â
âAm I supposed to be impressed?â
âNow now, Mr. Kaiba, no need to be rude. Iâm sure your own queen has many lovely qualities as well. While her devotion to the white king shows a certain lack of wisdom, Iâm sure she possesses other charms.â
He was still using chess metaphors, you noted.Â
âGet to the point, OâMalley, weâre here for Mokuba.âÂ
âAh yes, your poor little brother. The ladâs been quite adamant you would come for him.â
âWhereâs Mokuba?â Kaibaâs tone dropped lower, bristling with hostility.Â
âIâm not a cruel man. I shan't keep such devoted brothers apart for long.â Turning gracefully, OâMalley looked back over his shoulder at them. âPlease, follow me.â
Nothing Builds a Friendship Like a Crisis (part 3)
Co-written with multifandoms27
Summary: Kaiba hired you to assist Mokuba as he performed his monthly inspection of the local, Domino City branch of Kaiba Land. Unfortunately, Mokuba was kidnapped before your eyes, and now there's nothing left to do but talk to Kaiba about what happened. Dub canon plus a version of DSOD. Female Reader. Set maybe two years post DSOD.
Fun fact: I always write my Reader character with personality and specific description. Each reader character also has a specific place in the Yu-Gi-Oh world, and is basically an OC with set connections and feelings about the various canon characters and other reader characters. This is reader B, who is immune to the siren song of romance, cheap, eccentric, logical, and hands-on.
Word count: 2,217
You can read part 1 here.
You can read part 2 here.
The next minutes were a blur of worrying about Mokuba, security men asking questions, and being hustled through staff-only sections of the park. After the third round of debriefing, in the second nondescript meeting room, you wished with all your heart there was a way to help instead of repeating yourself to various Kaiba Corp employees. But there was nothing you could do. You had helplessly watched as men kidnapped Mokuba, and nothing had changed since thenâyou were still unable to act, stuck in a state of frustration, failure, and misery.
By the time you were brought to Kaibaâs office, you braced yourself for his anger. It was almost welcome. If one more soft spoken individual kindly told you that everything would be alright, the situation was under control, but would you mind answering a few questions⊠You hated being lied to, and all the comforting fabrications from total strangers were grating on your frayed nerves.
As the door closed behind you, you took a deep breath. You imagined running away. Each step towards Kaiba felt like a bad idea. Since the plush green carpet ate up the sound of your footsteps, the room was silent but for the urgent clacking of the keyboard as the company president steadfastly ignored you. It had been a long time since you had been hereâand back then, Mokuba was filling in as the company president. Another step. Behind Kaiba, light flooded in from the windows making up the entire back wall of the office. Step again. Nestled up against the left wall was a table with a detailed model of Kaiba Land, which you remembered Mokuba showing you the night you had been here last. Step. You couldnât think about Mokuba now. Step. You needed to stay focused, present, involved. You reached the desk.
Kaiba had his laptop out beside his desktop monitor, switching back and forth between the two machines. He never looked up from his screens.
You hated to interrupt, so for over a minute You stood in silence, watching his fingers fly over the keys. But if he told his men to bring you here, he must have wanted to see you, or at least chew you out. âYou wanted to talk to me?â
âIn a moment.â Kaiba kept his eyes buried in his monitor, as you took a wider stance and clasped your hands behind your back. Eventually, he asked, âHow do you feel?â
What?! You thought you could count on Kaiba to not ask about your emotionsâthey werenât something you wanted to talk about. âWorried. Guilty.â
At last, Kaiba looked up in exasperation, âI meant physically. You were drugged, after all.â
âI feel⊠well enough. What do you mean, âI was drugged?ââ
Kaiba reached into a cardboard box perched on the corner of his desk, and pulled out a clear plastic cup containing neon green liquid. He all but slammed the cup down on the polished wood, âLab results show trace amounts of a rather expensive medical concoction in your drink.âÂ
âBut⊠how? When could someone have slipped drugs into my slushy?â
âThis was from Bishop?â
You nodded. âYeah, and I didnât set it down until after Mokuba left. So thereâs no way anyone could haveââ
âI donât have time for your naivete. Bishop drugged you.â
âWhaâWhy? He was always so nice to meâŠ.â Your mind reeled. No one had ever betrayed you before, but it was the simplest explanation. And you had seen three men leave the tunnel and fly off in the helicopter.
âIâm sure he wanted two of the guards to stay behind with you.â Kaiba had resumed typing, although he was moving slower now, giving half his attention to you.
âKaiba, Iâm really sorry. I should have stayed with Mokubaââ
âAnd what would you have done? Got yourself shot like the other guard with my brother?â
âShot?!â
Kaiba glanced at you, âConsider yourself lucky Bishop only drugged you.â
âIs he dead?â
âNo, but heâs in the hospital.â Kaiba almost sounded, for a fraction of a second, like he regretted his employee being in such a state. But he kept working, acting like the conversation was a secondary concern.
âHow did Bishop stop the roller coaster?â Your mind had been mulling over the question of stopping the cars ever since the incident.Â
âHe carried a localized field which blocked power to the brakes and triggered their failsafe, causing them to lock up until Bishop left the area.â
âThatâs impossible. You canât dampen electricity like that. An EMP might have knocked the power offline, but then the cars would have been stuck there.â
âItâs possible. My stepfather sold designs for such a device to the military.â
You crossed your arms, âFine, but no one would have access to those designs, much less the device itself.â
âDespite my efforts, thereâs still old Kaiba Corp tech scattered across the globe, and not exclusively in the US military.â
âSeriously?â You supposed even Kaiba couldnât always buy his way out of other menâs contracts.
âBut in this case,â Kaiba switched to his laptop, âan unauthorized individual accessed those files internally. Probably Bishop.â
âHeâs a hacker?â
âOr his boss is, and Bishop followed his instructions in order to steal the plans, as well as several other, more recent files related to Solid Vision.â
âI would have thought that was impossible too.â
âAlmost impossible. The bypass was impressive. Iâve been rebuilding the systemâs security protocols from scratch this week, but the damage was already done.â
Silence fell again, and you wondered if the conversation was over. You were tired. Shoving your hands into your pockets, you asked, âAm I still going to need to talk to the police after this?âÂ
âWhy would you talk to the police?â Kaiba stopped typing and stared at you with genuine curiosity.
âBecause I watched your little brother get kidnapped!â
âI know, but what do the police have to do with it?â
âWell, yeah, okay, itâs probably the FBIâs job, and not the local police, but you know what I mean.â You were rarely sarcastic, but there was no reason for Kaiba to be so pedantic.
To your surprise, Kaiba stopped typing, leaned forward on his elbows, and pinched the bridge of his nose, âI thought Mokuba explained our situation to you.â
âI donât know what youâre talking about.â You were more confused than angry.
Kaiba sighed. âIâm sure youâve heard that the super rich can do whatever they want?â
âYeah, but Iâve never believed it.â
âIt would be more accurate to say that we can do whatever we want, to those in our league.â
You stared blankly.
âIf a corporation kidnapped a random child, the government would intervene on behalf of the kid, but they wonât interfere with something like this. Iâm expected to use my own resources to rescue Mokuba, or take revenge on his kidnappersâwhatever I want, so long as the perpetrator is playing the same game. And of course, thereâs always the possibility for further retaliation from the other side.â
You grasped desperately for words. âThis isâŠâ Kaiba had ripped aside the curtain, revealing a view of the world you were never supposed to see. âWhere does this leave someone like me?â
âEmployees of Kaiba Corp are under my protection. Any of my rivals who bothered or harmed my people would know to expect retribution. And of course, weâre careful not to harm unrelated⊠civilians.â Kaiba paused, as though questioning his choice of words, then continued. âIf someone like Pegasus grievously hurt one of your sisters, then the government might get involved, and the whole thing could drag out in a multi-year legal battle. No one wants that.â
âAnd where do I fit into this?â It felt like you had tumbled into a dangerous world running parallel to your own.
âYou?â Kaiba leaned back in his chair, âRight now, youâre an edge case. Although your decisions today will plant you squarely in, or out, of the game.â Â
You wondered what decisions Kaiba was talking about, but didnât feel ready to ask about them. âSo, why would Bishop do something like this? Shouldnât he be on your team?â
âUntil last year, Bishop worked for Knightly Rook. When he applied here, he said he didnât respect his boss, and wanted to work for someone with real power. But now, I know he never left his previous employer.â Kaiba smirked, âThe man will regret crossing me.â
âKnightly Rook kidnapped Mokuba? Why on earth would they do that?â
âThe company has been pestering me to meet with their president for months now. Apparently, they wonât accept that I refuse to collaborate with talentless hacks.â
âAnd their president thought kidnapping Mokuba would enable him to win you over? The man is a moron.â
âHe thinks he can use this to prove heâs better than me.â Kaiba aggressively struck a few keys on his keyboard and swung around his desktop monitor to show a paused video. A graying redhead with a roguish grin and playful green eyes stared out of the screenâthe president of Knightly Rook, Reginald OâMalley. Wearing a silky black shirt and perfectly tailored matching suit, the man looked more professional than Kaiba; and his mahogany tie and cane added an extra smidge of respectability.
As the video resumed, the camera slowly zoomed in on his face. âI tried to play nice, Mr. Kaiba, I really did. We could have built something grand together.â
From behind his desk, Kaiba snorted at the assertion.
âAlas, I could handle your refusals,â the video continued, âbut your spurious claims that my company is nothing but pathetic puffery were an affront to my pride, sir.â Twirling his cane with practiced ease, the man continued. âAnd as you can see, Iâm ready to challenge you, to show the world it is Seto Kaiba who should be pitied, as I rip from your inhospitable grip everything you hold dear.â
You had heard OâMalley many times, but never like thisâwith menace lurking behind each cheerfully delivered word. Although as his threat grew more obvious, some of the cheeriness fell away.
âBut of course, I propose a fair match, Mr. Kaiba, me and my Queen, against you and yours.â OâMalley switched to a mocking tone, âAnd worry not, I am aware you are a pathetic man, who has never known the sweet joys of a female companion, but I speak metaphorically.âÂ
You and Kaiba shared an annoyed look at the assertion of singleness being equal to patheticness.Â
The video continued, âI am the black king, you are the white king, and each of us shall bring our strongest piece with us into symbolic battle via your favorite game. The stakes are high, and poor, young Mokuba awaits his dear older brother.â OâMalley chuckled, âThe black king has made the first move, what will you do next, Mr. Kaiba?â
Kaiba paused the video and rotated his screen back to its usual position as you asked, âI thought white always made the first move in Chess?â
âCorrect. But apparently he overlooked that detail when composing his speech.â Kaiba crossed his arms. âWill you be my tag-duel partner against this imbecile?â
You were caught off guard by Kaibaâs question, delivered without preamble, âShouldnât you ask Yugi to be your partner for this duel?â An image of Mokuba suffering because you lost surfaced in your imagination, only to be ruthlessly shoved away; you needed to stay focused on the conversation.
Kaiba stared at the top of his desk, âYugiâs in New York, and weâre on the clock.â
The last time you had agreed to help Kaiba, the two of you had ended up scrubbing floors in Pegasusâs castle, which felt like nothing compared to what was at stake todayâMokubaâs safety. âWhy choose me?â You trusted Kaiba to give you an honest answer. âIâm not the strongest duelist around.â
âYou care about Mokuba almost as much as I do.â Kaibaâs mask of impassivity slipped, an almost childish desperation in his eyes. âAnd I trust you.â
Having tasted betrayal for the first time today, you understood the value of his declaration. Your mind splintered into factions, wanting to accept his offer, arguing other candidates would be a better choice than you, screaming to take action, whispering that joining Kaiba on this venture could cost you a great dealâyour privacy and anonymity, your safety, your right to be excluded from these power games. But your friend was asking for help, and your almost-a-little-brother needed you to rescue him.
The seconds of confusion ended. You planted your hands on the edge of the desk and leaned towards Kaiba. âIâm in. But not as an employee, or a subordinate. As friends. Equals.â
Kaiba stared into your eyes, as though seeking your resolve. âVery well.â
âAlso, you know that outfit you had made for me last year that matched yours? I wore it to Pegasusâs party to help you try and win a bet?â
âOf course.â
âDo you still have that? âCause if weâre gonna play this guyâs stupid game, I want to lean into the aesthetic while we trounce him.â
A smile tugged at the edges of Kaibaâs mouth. âIâll see what I can do. Here.â Reaching into the cardboard box again, he handed you the deck box you had left in a locker back at Kaiba Land. âYouâll need this.â
Nothing Builds a Friendship Like a Crisis (part 2)
Co-written with multifandoms27
Summary: Kaiba hired you to assist Mokuba for one day as Mokuba performed his monthly inspection of the local, Domino City branch of Kaiba Land. You were totally up to the task, until things spiraled out of your control in the worst way possible. Dub canon plus a version of DSOD. Female Reader. Set maybe two years post DSOD.
Fun fact: I always write my Reader character with personality and specific description. This means she may not be as generic as is customary for this type of story. Each reader character also has a specific place in the Yu-Gi-Oh world, and is basically an OC with set connections and feelings about the various canon characters and other reader characters. This is reader B, who is immune to the siren song of romance, cheap, eccentric, logical, and hands-on.
Word count: 1,495
You can read part 1 here.
Mokuba was dressed for work, wearing a button up shirt, tie, and dress pants. If he were in an office, the choices would have seemed normal, but since the two of you were spending the day in an amusement park, he looked quite out of place. At the moment, Mokuba was talking to each of the attendants working in the arcade, asking them questions, looking at spreadsheets, and trying to gauge how popular the newest game cabinets were.
You wore your usual cargo capris, brightly colored socks, and a t-shirt decorated with little images of Scapegoat ringing the ends of the sleeves. Atop your head you wore a baseball cap and sunglasses; you had no intention of being identified in any paparazzi photographs if you could help itâfame seemed like more trouble than it was worth.
Standing around, you eyed the snack bar, wanting one of the neon colored slushies marked as âextremely sourâ on the menu board, but simultaneously not wanting to spend your money on overpriced theme park drinks. Men in dark suits and sunglasses loitered around as wellâMokubaâs security detail: Cole, Bishop, and⊠you couldnât remember the names of the other two. Eventually, Mokuba finished talking with the employees, and walked back. You helped him sort his notesâasking questions, listening closely to his answers, acting like both of you were adults, even though Mokuba wasnât one, and you rarely felt like a grownup.
The guards did a good job of gently brushing away anyone who tried to approach without permission, as Mokuba finally concluded he was certain all Kaiba Corp regulations and standards were being met in the arcade. It was time for fun. Starting with rhythm games before moving on to dancing games, you and Mokuba had a blast. After working up a bit of a sweat, you leaned against the metal handrail attached to the dancing game, âWhy are you so good at this?â
Mokuba grinned at you, âPractice.â
âPractice? I donât want to have to practice to get good at games!â You enjoyed joking around with Mokuba, it felt natural, almost like he was your little brotherâno, thoughts like that were dangerous. Even if Mokuba had taken a shine to you, there was no way the Kaiba brothers were about to let you into their circle of people they truly trusted and cared about; even Yugi barely managed to make it in, and he was one of the sweetest people in the world.
One of the guards, Bishop, approached with a slushy in each hand. You had interacted with him a few times over the past year, and he was always attentive to peopleâs needs. Gratefully, you took the proffered neon green concoction, surprised at how sour the drink was; you loved tart foods. Beside you, Mokuba chugged down his own pink slushy, giving himself a brain freeze. âArrrgh, why doesnât this happen to you?!â
You shrugged, âI eat slowly. It has its perks.â
The two of you made your way outside, where the bright sunlight and gentle breeze contrasted with the dim, noisy interior of the arcade building. Continuing to sip on your slushy, you wondered if you had somehow overdone it playing dancing games. You did enough cardio workouts in your daily life that it shouldnât be negatively affecting you like this, but⊠You forced yourself to keep walking across the park, sipping at your cold drink and trying to act like you felt fine.
âCan we go on the new roller coaster now?â Mokuba interrupted your thoughts. âI havenât had a chance to ride it since it opened two weeks ago.â He turned to face you, âWoah, are you feeling okay?â
âNot really.â Talking caused an unexpected spike of nausea. âI think I need to sit down for a minute, but you can go ahead and ride.â What on earth had you done to yourself back there?
Mokuba hesitated.
âIâll be fine. You can ride it again with me before we leave.â There was no way you were going to hold Mokuba back, even in such a small matter.
âIf you say so.â Mokuba sounded unsure.
As though sensing his bossâs uncertainty, Bishop suggested, âWe can leave two of the guards with her, in order to make sure Ms. l/n remains undisturbed while weâre on the ride.â
Mokuba nodded, âGood suggestion.â He grinned at you, âSee ya later.â With Bishop and one of the other guards in tow, the short teen headed for the waiting line.
Smiling wanly at the two remaining security guards, you walked over to a nearby bench, slowly sitting to avoid roiling your stomach further. You watched as Mokuba and Bishop slipped under a velvet rope blocking off the secondary access line to the coaster and made their way to the front. After seeing the two of them start to enter the next available car with the other park goers, you closed your eyes and let your head sink back, glad to be sitting still and resting.
Listening to the people passing by, the soundtrack for the roller coaster line, and the distant screams of riders enjoying themselves, you relaxed. After a few minutes, you began to feel better, which was just as well, since Mokuba was likely to be bounding up any second now. A couple more minutes passed. It was too quiet.
Opening your eyes, you realized the roller coaster wasnât running. Your eyes traced along its brightly colored path; you didnât see any cars running on the tracks, only empty cars at the loading station, which werenât being filled. So the previous cars must still be on the tracks, and since you couldnât see them, it must have been in one of the covered portions.
Groaning, you pushed yourself up and made for the ride. With the two guards at your side, it was easy to make it to the front of the line, where a young woman was trying not to panic as she talked into her intercom. Finishing her call, the ride operator covered her face with her hands, âIâm gonna lose my jobâŠâ
âWhatâs wrong?â You asked as you approached, eyes scanning over the rideâs control panel as you spoke.
Noticing you and the guards, the young woman tried to straighten up, âOh, uh, one of the magnetic brake systems completely engaged when it wasnât supposed to, and now the ride is stopped at the top of the second peak.â She pointed to the relevant part of the ride, which was covered by an outer tunnel, hiding the cars from view.
âIâm hardly an expert, but that can be caused by a sensor malfunction causing the security protocols to engage, right?â You wished you knew more about how roller coasters worked.
The young woman nodded, âThatâs right, but if that happens, I should be able to fix it by restarting the system, and itâs not working!â
A rapidly approaching helicopter almost drowned out your next question, âHow long before someone gets out here to fix it?â
âA technician should be here in a couple minutes, but I donâtââ the helicopter was too loud now, drowning out the ride operatorâs words. It seemed louder than the Kaiba Corp copters you had been near a few times.
Squelching down your unease, you moved to get a better look at the helicopter, which was unmarked. The copter stopped over the place where you knew the roller coaster cars with Mokuba were stuck, and two men jumped out onto the roof of the tunnel. Was this a rescue operation? Turning to yell to the two guards with you, you saw them motioning to one another in a way that made it clear this was not supposed to be happening. At this angle, it was hard to see what the men from the helicopter were doing, but they appeared to pry a panel off of the tunnel and drop down inside.
More black suited men were arriving at the loading platform now, shouting terse commands and code words you recognized from studying the security protocols last night; this was bad.
Some of the guards began to make their way into out-of-bounds maintenance areas, drawing guns from their suit jackets and preparing to climb steep emergency staircases up towards the place Mokuba was trapped. Caught up in watching the security men, you failed to notice what was happening until the ride operator grabbed you and pointed. Three men were rising from the hole in the tunnel, with a bound but struggling Mokuba in tow.
âMokuba!!â The helicopter drowned out your cry, as the four figures disappeared inside. The roller coaster cars suddenly started moving again, its passengersâ screams becoming audible as the helicopter began to fly away, rapidly disappearing in the distance.
Leaning back against the side of the control panel, you slid to the ground, your knees almost touching your shoulders. âMokubaâŠâ This time the word was barely audible, your throat tight as tears threatened to spill from your eyes.
You even tried to help Kaiba win a bet with Pegasus, and although the two of you eventually lost, it did help create a true bond between you, (especially when it came time to pay up.) Still, once the Solid Vision game was completed, Kaiba moved on to other projects, and you were left with nothing to return to but quiet work at the game shop. It was a good job, a good life, and Yugi was a good friend; but you missed spending time with someone smarter than you, someone who built imaginary worlds from light, someone with impressive dreams for the future. It felt like, after years of hearing about Yugiâs adventures, you had been swept up into the edges of something grand, only to be dropped again back into the mundaneâand there were fewer friends to share it with now.
Still, the Kaiba brothers both kept in contact in their own way, and you had low social needs, so it all seemed like it would work out.Â
While working alone at the game shop, you flipped the radio on. An old fashioned trumpet fanfare blasted out of the speakers as you scrambled to turn the volume down. You were all too familiar with the melodyâthe theme song for a rapidly ascending game company, Knightly Rook, which had been in an advertising blitz for almost a month now. From your admittedly biased perspective, the company seemed more hype than substance, but it was the companyâs snide, barely concealed jabs at Kaiba Corp that irritated you. Still, there was a lot of talk from the companyâs popular president that Knightly Rook would soon go public, so for the moment, even the news was covering their rise to prominence.
At your hip, your cell phone went off, playing the Kaiba Corp theme. Switching off the radio, you popped the phone out of its clip and answered it. âKaiba?âÂ
âYouâre taking Mokuba to Kaiba Land tomorrow.â Kaiba rarely bothered with the customary social dance that defined most peopleâs conversations.
Had you forgotten about a plan made months ago? You switched to your calendar app, âNo, Iâm not. Iâm working tomorrow.â You liked jumping straight past the niceties too. âBesides, I donât remember asking you to plan my schedule.â
âYou should. You wouldnât make yourself a long-term plan if I paid you to do it.â Kaiba gave a harsh little laugh. âYugi can run the shop. I want to hire you to assist Mokuba for his park inspection tomorrow.â
âDonât you usually do the monthly park inspection with Mokuba?â You switched your phone to speakerphone, setting it down and grabbing a box cutter. âBesides, Yugiâs out of town this week.â Cutting open a few boxes of supplies, you began to check the contents against the provided invoices.
After a momentâs silence, Kaiba gave a little growl, âWhy is Yugi in New York?â
âFine. Iâll pay Mr. Muto to give you the day off.â
âHonestly, just wait a couple of days andââ
âDo you think youâre not up to the task? Is that why youâre turning this opportunity down?âÂ
âHey, we both know Iâm capable of keeping up with Mokuba. Iâll be available in a few days. You donât even have to pay me.â
âIâd rather you did it tomorrow. And Iâll pay you. The last time someone other than me did the inspection with Mokuba, he ended up covered in wet paint and quit.â
Not surprising. Mokuba could be something of a feral gremlin with anyone he didnât like. You sighed. âWhat time will a car be picking me up?â You werenât going to pay for parking at Kaiba Land if you could help it.
âNine. Iâll have someone fax you your W-4. Fill it out and have it ready for tomorrow.â
âOkay.â You marked off the last of the supplies on the invoice. âAnything I need to read up on tonight?â
âIâll send you the latest security protocols. But be sure to destroy the papers after you read them.â
âSecurity protoâKaiba whatâs going on?â
âIâm handling it. But I donât have time to accompany Mokuba tomorrow. Just keep an eye out.â
You sighed again. Why did Kaiba have to be secretive? âFine. But Iâm not a bodyguard. I donât have the right training.â
âMokuba will have guards with him.â
You set down your pencil. âThatâs good. Will we see you tomorrow?â
âI doubt it.â
âWell, Iâll keep Mokuba out of trouble.â
âBye.â Kaiba hung up.
Abrupt as always. Hopefully, you wouldnât make any embarrassing mistakes tomorrow. If Kaiba trusted you, then you had no intention of letting him and Mokuba down.
Summary: You try to meet up with Mokuba Kaiba while both of you are visiting Osaka, Japan. Unfortunately, the plans for your outing may need to be abandoned due to unforeseen circumstances. Dub canon plus a version of DSOD. Female Reader. Set maybe two years post DSOD.
Fun fact: I always write my Reader character based off of myself or someone I know. This means she may not be as generic as is customary for this type of story. Each reader also has a specific place in the Yu-Gi-Oh world, and is basically an OC with set connections and feelings about the various canon characters and other reader characters. This is reader V, who is dating Joey Wheeler and acting as his manager. She is a bit anxious and has two sistersâone older, one younger. In addition, she actively dislikes Seto Kaiba, and even runs a Twitter account dedicated to playfully making fun of him.
Y/n refers to you, the reader.
S/n refers to the name of your older sister.
Word count: 3,140
You entered the front door of the hotel at the address Mokuba had given you. White stone covered the walls, diamonds coated a silvery tree sitting on a table in a room just past the doors, and the floor was a polished black reflecting light from above. You felt underdressed. Looking around the entrance for Mokuba, you wished the two of you had arranged to meet outside the building.
A sharply dressed woman approached, âAre you looking for someone?â asked the employee, her English understandable, but accented.
You had hoped to avoid talking to any employees, but it was unavoidable now, especially since you didnât see Mokuba. âYes, Iâm here to meet Mokuba Kaiba.â It felt strange to give his full name, almost as strange as being in a place this fancy.
âAnd what is your name?â the employee gave a professional smile.
Smiling back, You gave your name, hoping you hadnât messed up somehow and come to the wrong hotel. Before your worries could grow, the employee was gesturing you further into the building, saying Mokuba had alerted the staff to expect your arrival. This was not the low key situation you had hoped for. After handing you a note, the woman led you to the elevator, explained how to get to Mokubaâs room, and asked if you needed any further assistance. Trying to act like you belonged here, you shook your head, and the employee walked away.Â
Relief washed over you as the elevator doors closed. The note was from Mokuba, explaining how to get to his room. Excellent, you could already feel the instructions given by the staff member seeping out of your head. Plush ropes hung across the walls, taking the place of the metal rails you were accustomed to in elevators. Behind one of the red ropes was a floor-to-ceiling mirror.
During the long ride up, you admired your reflection in the mirror. Your crop top and skort looked cute. Wildly out of place, but cute. If only the humid Japanese summer was kinder to your hairâbut weather like this always fought to turn your head into a curly mess.
Eventually, the doors slid open, and you stepped tentatively into the hallway. Referring once again to the note with Mokubaâs room number, you looked forward to your fun day together. You and Mokuba had been friends for a few years now, meeting up sporadically, and although he was four years younger than you, it was an easy fact to forget. When the two of you got together, he usually dragged you into one of his little schemes; and you were a woman who could appreciate well-intentioned manipulation.
As you approached his room, you heard Mokubaâs voice float into the hallway. The door was cracked open. Beside it was another, smaller door, perhaps it was used for deliveries of some sort.
âAbukom is my company, Seto. I can handle this on my own.â It sounded like the start of an argument.
âI donât recall our stepfather forcing you to learn any Japanese. Youâll need me to interpret.âYou almost winced at hearing Kaibaâs voice. You had expected him to be out for the day.
Mokuba countered, âI already hired an interpreter. Besides, all Iâm doing is meeting with a manga author to discuss bringing her onto our team to write a new Capsule Monsters series.â
âI managed to cancel my plans with Pegasus this afternoon, so Iâll come with you anyââ
âNot a chance.â Mokuba was emphatic. âThe woman Iâm meeting with is famously shy, and I wonât have you showing up and scaring her away.â
âI wouldnâtââ
âYes you would. Youâd sit there scowling like you just broke your leg. Or youâd aggressively ask a question about her work, and before you know it, sheâd be backing out of the deal.â
âYouâre exaggerating.â
âNo, you just donât want to admit your aura of intimidation isnât always useful, Seto. And you donât know how to reliably turn it off.â
âDonât insult me, Mokuba.â
âIâm not! Itâs a useful quality about you, but itâs not great for what Iâm doing today.â
âHmph, we canât all get what we want with puppy dog eyes.â
âYeah, that mainly works on you.â
âReally?â Kaibaâs voice was quieter, almost surprised.
âSeriously? Seto, do you honestly think I ran Kaiba Corp for all those months you were awayâwith puppy dog eyes?!â
âOf course not.â Kaiba snapped back.
âGood.â
You stood out in the hallway, wondering what you should do. While this was extremely interesting, it was also a private conversation you were not supposed to listen to. And it sounded like maybe Mokuba wasnât going to be available to take you anywhere after all. Should you send him a message canceling your plans and walk away? You didnât want to explore the city alone, but Joey was already busy this afternoon playing an escape room with Yugi and your older sister.
Inside the hotel room, Mokuba broke the awkward silence. âYou know, Seto, you could try to convince me youâre learning to restrain yourself when you need to.â His voice was wheedling, almost cheerful.
âHow?â Kaiba sounded suspicious.
âYou could go out with y/nââ
Kaiba interrupted so quickly he almost sounded panicked, âNo.â
Out in the hall, you stood frozen. You had almost gasped aloud at hearing the suggestion.Â
âNot on a date,â Mokuba clarified, âbut to have fun.â
âNo.â
âWell, you might not have fun, but y/n would.â
âNo.â
For once, you agreed with Kaiba. The two of you had a tacit agreement to ignore each other whenever you metâand since you and Mokuba had been working behind the scenes to help your older siblings become friends for a couple of years now, you and Kaiba utilized this methodology frequently.
âPlease, Seto? I promised to spend the day with y/n before this opportunity for my publishing house came up. And I donât want to leave her alone.â
Kaiba sighed. âGo play with your little friend, and Iâll represent you at your meeting.â
âNope. Business comes first, and Iâm the better man for the job.â
âAnd you think Iâm the best choice to entertain y/n?â
âOf course not. Youâre the only choice.â
âI donât see why your scheduling conflict is my problem.â Kaibaâs voice was cold.
You leaned over to peer through the cracked door. Unfortunately, the gap was only an eighth of an inch wide at best, and you couldnât see anything other than a vague sense of brown. It sounded like the occupants were close to the door, perhaps one of them had been about to leave when their argument began.
âItâs not. I just thought I could count on you to do a favor for me.â
Kaiba didnât respond.
âPlease, Seto? I promised s/n Iâd take care of her little sister today, and I donât want to let her down.â
âFine.â Kaibaâs voice was clipped, âWe wouldnât want you to disappoint my replacement.â
âYour replaceâis that how you think I see s/n? As your replacement?â Mokubaâs quiet voice certainly made you feel his hurt, even if it flew over Kaibaâs head.
âAnyone in my position would feel the same.â Kaibaâs voice was quiet too.
You leaned closer to the crack, trying to catch a glimpse of the conversation; things were getting interesting.
âAre you here to visit one of the Kaibas?â asked a polite male voice from behind you. You jumped. Whirling around, you saw a Japanese man dressed in a dark blue suit with subtle pinstripes and golden designs on the sleeves. In his hands, he held a pair of black shoes.
âYes, Mokuba invited me.â You internally cringed at how suspicious you must have looked just now. And the two brothers had fallen silent inside their room, which meant they were probably overhearing your conversation as well.
With practiced precision, the man slid open the smaller door beside you, placing the shoes on a carpeted shelf. âIt can be intimidating to knock on a hotel door, but I believe you will find it to be the most effective method of gaining entrance.â The manâs smile was gentle, as though trying to calm your nerves. Sliding shut the little door, he gave you a small bow and knocked on the slightly open door with the knuckle of his middle finger.
After a delay you were almost sure must have been for show, Mokuba opened the door. âY/n! Glad you could make it!â Whatever angst he had been feeling a moment ago seemed to have fallen away. âThank you so much for helping my friend,â Mokuba addressed the man beside you, who again bowed and walked off, the soft carpet absorbing the sound of his footsteps.
It had been a few months since you last saw Mokuba in person. His thick, unruly hair had been combed into its closest approximation of tidiness, and you could swear he hadnât been the same height as you last time the two of you met. While you waffled in the doorway, you took in his formal clothes, a white suit jacket worn open over a light green shirt and darker green vest. âCome on in,â his smile was infectious.
Stepping inside, your eyes scanned the room for Kaiba, who was lowering himself down onto one of the couches. At first glance, you almost mistook him for someone else; without his ridiculous long vest and armbands, he looked almost like a normal person. Almost. Those glaring blue eyes could only belong to Seto Kaiba. Still, seeing him like this, in nothing but a tight, high necked, black shirt and matching dress pants felt⊠intrusive, like you were dangerously close to realizing he was human underneath all the bright LEDs and sarcasm he usually sported.
No, you liked to think of Kaiba as an alien who happened to share a lot of interests with your older sister. âAre you ready to go, Mokuba?â you asked.
âAbout thatâŠâ Mokuba dragged you to the corner of the room furthest from his older brother.
You looked around curiously as he did so. The whole place was a lot less flamboyant than you had imagined, with light tan walls, medium tan carpet that contained a raised floral pattern in the same color, and dark accentsâlike the brown marble fireplace and darker brown coffee table. Nearby, the two couches were both velvety black, with bright purple and cream accent pillows, it all felt tasteful and understated; Kaiba must have hated the place.
âIâm really sorry,â Mokuba looked at the floor, and you noticed he wasnât wearing shoes, âbut a great opportunity came up about thirty minutes ago, and I have to take it.â
Having already overheard his conversation, you knew there was no talking him out of it. You asked a few polite questions about the situation, pretending not to already know why he was ditching you. Thatâs when he hit you with his horrible plan, âSo I thought Seto could take you out this afternoon instead.â
âNo way.â You crossed your arms.
âI know you donât wanna see Osaka by yourself, and I thought spending a day with you would be good for my brother.â
âNot a chance.â
âPlease, y/n? He said heâd do it, and he needs practice at interacting with, um, people like you.â
You raised your eyebrows at his choice of words.
âYou know, regular people. People who donât know anything about Duel Monsters and holograms, and arenât super smart. Uh,â Mokuba facepalmed, âI mean, youâre plenty smart, but compared to someone like Seto, youâre not at his level, you know?â Mokuba fiddled with the buttons on his vest.
âYeah, I know. But I donât see why I should spend my afternoon having your brother insult my intelligence.â You glared over Mokubaâs shoulder at Kaiba, who was watching your conversation from the couch. Realizing your posture was an uncomfortable match to his, you uncrossed your arms.
âHe wonât.â Mokuba gave you a confident grin, âThatâs our dealâheâll take you to the store I was going to take you to, and cooperate, and be nice, and buy you a gift.â
âI didnât agree to that,â Kaiba spoke up from the couch.
âIt was implied,â Mokuba replied with unshakable confidence. You had seen this level of assurance from your own younger sister; maybe the youngest child got their way in every family.
âCome on, Mokuba, I canât afford to let him buy me anything. Thereâs no way Iâm going to let myself owe your brother.â You gestured at Kaiba, but kept your voice down so he couldnât hear, âYou guys are out of my price range, literally.â
âYou like free stuff, but you donât like gifts?â Mokuba sounded like he was teasing you, âGirls make no sense.â
âI donât enjoy feeling like I owe someone, especially not rich, arrogant businessmen.â You raised your voice to ensure Kaiba heard your putdown. Â
âYou wonât owe either of us anything, but Iâll owe you a favor if you do this for me.â
You sighed. If you were going to ruin your own day like this, then you would see how far you could push to get something out of it. âI want your brother to buy me lunch.â
âSure.â Mokuba grinned like he had won a game you didnât know the two of you were playing.
âAnd weâll reschedule for another afternoon this week.â You added conspiratorially, âWe have business of our own to attend to, after all.â     Â
Mokuba giggled. âSo, youâll spend the afternoon with my brother, heâll be nice to you, buy you lunch and a present to take home, weâll get together later, and Iâll owe you one. Deal?â
You glanced at Kaiba, and the two of you shared a look of resignation. Suspecting you would regret it, you held out a hand to Mokuba. âDeal.â
You shook on it, and grinned, âI get to annoy your brother as much as I want, right?â
âOf course. I didnât hear Seto make any terms to the contrary.â
âThey were implied.â Kaiba glared at the back of his brotherâs head.
âWe were clearly stating our terms, you should have spoken up.â Mokuba grinned at you.
âI didnât think I needed to, since your little friend is such a good person.â Kaibaâs voice dripped sarcasm as he crossed his legs and stretched his arm out along the top of the couch. âIâm sure she would never irritate others on purpose, right, y/n?â
âOf course not! I donât annoy people for fun.â You planted a hand on your hip, âBut youâre a special exception.â
âHow so?â
You tilted your head, âIâm still not convinced youâre human.â You internally braced yourself for a negative response to your flippant attitude.
Kaiba held his tongue and rolled his head, like an exaggerated form of rolling his eyes.
Mokuba headed back across the room to open the little door to the compartment the butler had placed his shoes inside. Plopping down on the soft carpet, he jammed one of his feet into a shoe. âIâll expect a full report about your time together.â
âFrom me?â you asked.
âFrom both of you.â After a moment, Mokuba jumped to his feet, ready to go. âIâll have the hotel call me a cab, so you can have Roland for the afternoon.â
You and Kaiba said nothing.
âRight, Iâm off. Follow the deal. Y/n, try to treat Seto like a normal person, okay?â
Nodding, you agreed, already realizing that treating Kaiba the same way you treated everyone else would irritate him to no end.
âHave fun!â Mokuba waved, and then he was gone, leaving a sea of awkwardness in his absence.
After an abysmally long silence, Kaiba sighed. âIâll get dressed, and weâll head out.â
âWhat do you mean, âget dressed?â Canât you dress like someone normal for once?â
âWe both know Iâm not normal.â
âWhatever. But no duel disk.â
âFine.â Kaiba pushed himself up from the couch and headed towards another door, which you assumed led to a bedroom.
You thought about sitting down on the other couch, but stayed where you were. You didnât belong here. Touching anything felt like overstepping your boundaries. âDonât celebrities have to hide their identity when they go out?â You raised your voice and hoped Kaiba would hear.
âIâm not a celebrity; Iâm a businessman.â Kaibaâs voice was muffled by the closed door between you. After a moment, the door swung open, and he stepped through, now wearing a long white vest. âI donât hide.â
Kaiba strode out into the room after you, now wearing both of his gauntlets. âLetâs get this over with.â He headed out the front door without looking back. You followed, hoping you wouldnât regret agreeing to spend the afternoon with him. Oh well, at least you could get some great stories out of this.
Summary: You and Joey Wheeler eat dinner together in Shinjuku ward. Set post DSOD.
Fun fact: I always write my Reader character based off of myself or someone I know. This means she may not be as generic as is customary for this type of story. Each reader also has a specific place in the Yu-Gi-Oh world, and is basically an OC with set connections and feelings about the various canon characters and other reader characters. This is reader V, who is dating Joey Wheeler and acting as his manager. She is a bit anxious.
Word count: 1879
âHow about dis place?â asked Joey, looking at the detailed plastic food in the picture window of a restaurant.
You were looking at the signage with your smartphone, trying to translate. âOkay, so these are tonkatsu, and these are curry, and they also serve something called âshabu shabu?ââ
âI thought your phone was gonna translate for ya?â Joey still used a flip phone, so he liked to find instances when your smartphone failed to do what you wanted it to.
âIt did for the other foods,â You stepped closer to your boyfriend, brushing up against him. Behind you, people continued to walk past on the sidewalk. Despite being after nine at night, the Shinjuku ward of Tokyo still bustled with people.
âI know what curry is, da other two...â
âTonkatsu is the breaded pork with cabbage,â you pointed at the plates, âbut I donât know what shabu shabu is. This sign talks about it, but thereâs not a display version.â Shoving your phone in your pocket, you joined Joey in studying the fake food. âI know my mom recommended we try tonkatsu.â
âYour momâs a great cook, so if she says itâll be good, den we gotta try it.â Joey reached for the door, âYa down?â
âSure!â You figured there wasnât much chance of disliking breaded pork.
Inside, abundant wooden paneling gave the place an old-fashioned Japanese feel. Each of the tables had a dark glass cooktop built into the center. Seeing your arrival, the man behind the register said something in Japanese. Joey held up two fingers, and the man nodded, stepping away from the counter to point the two of you to a table tucked in a corner. You sat in the chair, and Joey slid onto the bench across from you, grabbing the tablet from its holder at the end of the table. âDis should make things easier.â
Slightly jealous Joey had beaten you to the electric menu and ordering device, you pulled out your phone again and grabbed the Japanese menu. Why was the restaurant so cold? Glancing up, you saw you were directly underneath an air conditioning vent. âCould we switch places?â You gestured at the vent.
Joey grinned. âLeave it ta me ta date da coldest girl in Domino.â He was already sliding off the padded bench as he finished. After switching places, you both fell silent, each studying the menu. Choosing a meal set with tonkatsu, cabbage, rice and miso soup, you waited for Joey to make up his mind about what he wanted. Beside the docking station for the tablet was a brown, ceramic kettle-ish container with a Japanese label taped onto the lid. Translating it, you discovered it held tonkatsu sauceâinformation you passed on to Joey but had no intention of using yourself, you never put sauce on your food.
The man who greeted you at the door returned to the table bearing two glasses of water, small white towels, and chopsticks for each of you. âI guess dese are da napkins?â Asked Joey after the man left.
You shrugged, âI guess. Now focus on what you want to order.â
âIt all looks so good, y/n.â
After Joey finally decided to get a combination curry and tonkatsu meal, he input your order into the tablet. A group of five or six people who looked to be about your age entered the restaurant, happily chatting among themselves as they were seated at the larger table beside yours. It soon became apparent they had ordered the mysterious shabu shabu, which turned out to be some sort of meat and vegetable hot pot dish which was cooked right at the table. It looked fun. Although the meat and broth smelled delicious, you felt little interest in eating that many vegetables, and the extremely long, skinny, mushrooms were right out. Joey couldnât take his eyes off the food at the next table, which made sense since neither of you had eaten since the morning.
You reached out and placed your hand over his, trying to enjoy the moment instead of focusing on the fact your food hadnât arrived yet. It kinda worked.
Ripping his gaze back to his date, Joey smiled at you sheepishly. âIf some of those K-Pop shops are still open when weâre finished here, ya wanna check one out?â
You felt torn, while you were here in the Korean section of Tokyo, you did want to pick up a few pictures of your favorite idol, but doing it with your boyfriend felt like a weird idea. Still⊠Joey was the one who brought it up, so maybe it would be okay? Seeing your hesitation, Joey tilted his head, âYa still like Stray Kids, donâtcha?â
Time to play it off like you were confident, âOh yeah. If Chan were to ask me out, I think I would have to break up with you.â You were joking, obviously.
âHeâs the hot Australian?â Joey asked.
âYeah.â You couldnât hide your surprise. âI canât believe you remember that.â
âAfter all da time youâve spent listening ta me talk about Duel Monsters, rememberinâ a few facts about your favorite boy band ainât askinâ too much of me.â
Before you could respond, the employee who had greeted you when you entered approached with your food. For a moment, neither of you thought about anything other than eating. Tantalizing scents rose in the airâthe savory smell of curry, a mouthwatering whiff of pork, and a subtle undertone of oil. Your mouth watered.
Nervously, you picked up your chopsticks, afraid you would mess up and embarrass yourself in front of Joey. Despite your practice, you still weren't as confident as you wanted to be; it didnât help that you were left handed, which always meant fewer online tutorials to watch, and your older sister who taught you was right handed. Gripped with determination, you glanced at Joey, who was far too busy eating to pay attention to you. If you weren't careful, your anxiety would get out of control and steal your appetite; Joey was on the short list of people you felt so comfortable with you could eat around him, and you would hate to lose that.
Focusing on your tonkatsu, you noticed the breading was different from what you expected. Instead of breadcrumbs, these were more like bread-shardsâlong and thin, which gave the surface a rough, almost spiked, texture. Raising one of the tonkatsu strips with your chopsticks, you took a bite. The breading was crispy. The pork was tender. Delicious.
For the moment, your nerves settled, and you settled into your meal. After a few moments of silent focus on food, you began to get curious about Joeyâs dinner. âCould I try a bite of your curry?â
Joey looked up with puppy dog eyes, âYouâd ask for part of a manâs dinner?â
âOnly if I want to try it.â you gazed back with your own innocent, wide-eyed stare.
Joeyâs face broke into a grin, âYeah, dat checks out.â He licked his metal spoon clean, wiped it with a napkin, refilled it with curry and rice, and extended the handle to you.
âThanks,â you grinned and took the spoon. Popping the curry into your mouth, you immediately regretted it. It looked like a kind of beef stew, so why was it spicy?? You almost spit it out, but that seemed gross to do in front of your boyfriend, so you gulped it down instead. âYou know I donât like spicy food, Joey!â You grabbed your small glass of water.
Joey was still grinning at you, âYou were da one who asked for it. Who am I ta fight paying da girlfriend tax?â
âOkay, okay, maybe Iâm slightly at fault here. But my pain and suffering is mostly your fault.â You grinned back, taking another gulp. âCan you order more water?â
Joey fussed with the tablet for a minute, âEhh, not with dis thing.â
âThatâs okay, Iâll just drink yours.â
âDatâs fair.â Joey slid his glass towards you. âBut ya shoulda known dat curry is spicy.â
âI knew some curry is spicy, and I thought youâd tell me if yours was too much for me.â You fake huffed at him.
âSorry.â Joey was eyeing your side dishes of rice and miso soup hungrily. âHow âbout ya let me make it up to ya?â
âBy eating my food?â
âWhat? Oh.â He looked you in the eyes, âI got ya a little gift.â
Your eyes crinkled into a surprised smile, âYou got me a present?â
âItâs not much, and Iâm not sure youâre gonna like it,â he pulled his hands into his lap, âand I was gonna give it to ya tomorrow before my TV interview, but den I thought I could give it to ya now insteadâŠâ
You leaned in, âSure! Let me see it.â You knew he had bought a couple things at one of the stores the two of you went into earlier, but never imagined he had bought anything for you.
Pulling his hands out from underneath the table, he handed you a beautifully wrapped gift box. It was light and rectangular. âThe lady at da store did a great job makinâ it look pretty when I told her it was a present.â
Overwhelmed with curiosity, you tore off the paper, revealing a clear plastic box with a large white bow inside it. It was similar to your favorite hair bow, except this one had a blue, horned sheep in the center of the bow. âAw, itâs one of the Scapegoats.â Scapegoat was one of Joeyâs rarest cards, and your favorite part of his deck.
âI know ya donât like Duel Monsters all dat much, so if ya donât like it, I understand. But since youâre my manager, I thought it would be cute if ya had somethingâ with one of my cards on it.â
Joey was irresistibly endearing when he got flustered like this. You reached out and took his hands. âThere are a lot of monsters from the game I would never wear, but this little guy is adorable. And youâre right, as your manager I should wear something related to your deck; itâs good for branding.â
âYa donât have ta like it, y/n. If ya donât want ta wear it denââ
âSorry, Joey, I was messing with you.â You squeezed his hands, âI donât just like it because itâs good for your brand. I think itâs cute, and it reminds me of you, and it even shows you remembered what I like. Thank you.â
âAre ya sure?â
âYep. Iâll wear it tomorrow.â You nodded at him in approval before pulling your hands away and resuming eating.
When you both finished, Joey took the receipt left with the food to the register, where he paid in cash, pocketing the handful of coins he received in return. As the two of you stepped out into the warm summer night, you slipped your hand into his. Tonight would be fun, with K-pop shopping and trying out a capsule hotel. It was easy to set aside your worries when you were with Joey. Tomorrow you would both have work to do, but for now, all you wanted was to spend time with the man who made you feel special and safe. âYouâre the best, Joey.â
If you google the following, you should be able to see the Google listing for the restaurant this story was set in. "ăšăăă€ăăă¶ăăă¶ă«ăăă 性äč äżćș"
Word count: 1,699
Post Duel Monsters anime. This takes place a few years after the end of the show. Dub continuity plus a version of DSoD. Female reader, who is friends with Kaiba.
If you would like to read the previous three parts, you can find them listed here. Or you can read the following summary.
Summary: You and Kaiba have been accidentally tossed into another dimension. After a series of adventures, the two of you landed in the possession of this dimensionâs version of Gozaburo Kaiba, who fitted you and Kaiba with linked shock collars before sending Kaiba to The Underground, and giving you as a "gift" to his own version of Seto. (This version of Kaiba also wore a collar, linked to his version of Mokuba.) Unlike your friend, this dimension's version of Kaiba long ago lost his will to fight.
After you and your new friend were summoned to dinner with Gozaburo and Noah, your new overlord entertained himself by describing how much trouble Kaiba was likely to be in. (A lot.) He also gave you a deck of Duel Monster cards, which you thought were your own at first, but quickly realized actually belonged to Kaiba. As you reached the limits of your emotional stability, your new friend made excuses to get you away from Gozaburo and into his lab.
You found yourself sitting on the floor in this Kaiba's laboratory, leaning up against the wall, gently holding a copy of Blue-Eyes White Dragon and failing at your attempts to stop sobbing.
âI cried when Mokuba was sent to the Underground. Take all the time you need.â It was strange to hear Kaiba's voice saying such gentle, understanding words.
Your shoulders heaved, âYouâre supposed to say âWe donât have time for this,â or âYou can cry later,â or at least, âItâs fine, but hurry up.ââ
âWhy would I say those things?â He crouched in front of you, concerned.
ââCause youâre Seto Kaiba! I expect you to push me to be strong, not let me wallow in useless feelings.â
âBut Iâm not him!â Your companion took a deep breath and calmed himself. âYou were right about me. I lost my will to fight a long time agoâbut I survived, and so did Mokuba.â He shifted from a crouch to sitting on the floor. âIf you donât adapt to your circumstances, you and your friend might not be so lucky.â
âI know.â You angrily wiped tears from your eyes, as though such an action would make them stop. âBut I have to try.â With a Herculean effort, you forced yourself to stop crying and stand up, gently placing Kaibaâs deck down on a nearby table. Still shaky, you turned to the version of Kaiba sitting on the floor. âYou wanted to show me something, right?â
He nodded and jumped to his feet, looking skeptically at you all the while. âIf you want. That was mostly a lie to get you away from Mr. Kaiba. You seem smart, Iâm sure it would be fine if I put it off till tomorrow morning.â He joined you at the table. âThough I would like to see your cardsâif you donât mind.â
âTheyâre not mine. Gozaburo said, âYour friend will suffer without his cardsâ and then handed me his deck.âÂ
Your new companion softened his eyes even further. âIâm sorry.â
âItâs not your fault.â Realizing you never answered his question, you gently pushed the deck towards him. âAnd of course you can look at Kaibaâs cards.â You watched with interest as your new friend slowly read through the stack; he treated each card with reverence.Â
âBlue-Eyes White Dragon.â You inhaled sharply; hearing those words in Kaibaâs voice hurt. âI didnât know a Normal monster could have such a high attack value.â He stared at the card for a few more seconds, âI like this one.âÂ
âNot surprisingâthatâs Kaibaâs favorite card too. Itâs like having part of his heart here.â
You couldnât speak further, your throat was too tight. Without setting down Blue-Eyes, your companion picked up the next card in the deck. âRider of the Storm Winds. âYou can target one Dragon Normal Monster you controlâŠââ his voice trailed off as he continued reading the card text. âI see, this monster supports Blue-Eyesâare you alright?â
You didnât know how to explain what was wrong. That card he had pulled, Rider of the Storm Winds, it wasâŠwell, Pegasus had told you once that you were the inspiration for it. He said the card represented you, and that early mock-ups of the card art had looked like you too. And then, with a slight bow, Pegasus had handed the first printed copies to you and Kaiba. The symbolism was clear. In hindsight, Mokuba and Pegasus had both been rooting for you and Kaiba to become friends since you met. Although it took a while, you had become closeâperhaps Kaiba was your best friend at this point, (although even now, you would hesitate to admit such an audacious feeling.)Â
âY/n?â
Ngh, you had no focus. And you were so tired. That explained why you were so overly emotional; you weren't used to feeling strongly, and were too tired to properly self-regulate the powerful emotions brought on by your predicament. Maybe it was better Kaiba wasnât here to see you like this, although, if he was here you wouldnât have been so worried. Oh crud, you were crying again. Stupid. Itâs like your body was trying to make the worst first impression possible.
âAre you okay?âÂ
âNot really.â Your shoulders heaved as you struggled to bring your emotions back in line, if for no other reason than your new friend was clearly alarmed by your behavior. Closing your eyes, you tried to reassure him. âIâm sorry, Iâll be alriââ
He hugged you.
Shocked, you stopped crying. This was new. This was a proper hug. This wasâŠyou grabbed handfuls of his sweater vest and allowed yourself to cry without fighting back anymore.Â
âI know you feel helpless, but youâll see your friend again.â
You cried harder.Â
When you finally finished crying, you felt nothing but quiet worry in your stomach and an overwhelming sleepiness filling your head, drowning out almost everything else. You let go of your grip on your friendâs sweater and started to pull away. At once, he released you, stepping back to give you space. âYou look tired.â
âIâm exhausted. I havenât slept inâŠâ your voice trailed off as you tried to work out how many hours you had been awake, âa long time.â
Without another word, your friend began to turn everything off. You soon found yourself back in his room, where you crawled into bed and fell asleep at once.
You awoke to your new friend gently nudging you. Groggily, you sat up, your brain sluggish and desperately attempting to return to sleep. Thirty minutes later, the two of you entered his lab. During that time you had barely spokenâmornings were for sleeping, not talking.
Your new friend showed you what he was building. Apparently, Gozaburo used him to manufacture electronic devices when he wanted there to be no purchase history or other way for the world to know what he had at his fingertips. Looking over the pages handed to you, you could see todayâs project involved several electronic devices hidden inside potted plants. You could easily help with this.
As you worked, you took the opportunity to ask your new friend about the world you found yourself in; all his answers were discouraging or alarming. Still, you made good time on the project, finishing before expected. Only when you asked about the collars did your new friend clam up. You glanced around to check for creepy, eavesdropping butlers, dropped your voice to a conspiratorial whisper, and leaned across the table towards not-Kaiba.Â
âCome on, you donât even have to tell me, you can just show me the code.â
He stopped putting away his tools. âThatâs not a good idea.â
Your voice became even quieter. âWhatâs there to hide? I already know you have a built-in knock-out protocol in order to limit how much pain Gozaburo can inflict on his prisoners.â
Eyes widening, your friend grabbed your wrist, âHow do you know that?â
âBecause despite what you think about my 'perfect life,' Kaiba and I have managed to get into a lot of trouble over the years.â You gripped his wrist right back and leaned in further. âI know what technology like these collars can do, and as bad as it was yesterday, I know it could have been worse.â
âI donât knowâŠâ
âDo you want to go on like this? Help me work out how to escape from Gazaburo.â You read the hesitation in his eyes. âPlease, we need to act before he breaks me too.â You let go and pulled back with a sigh. âAnd KaibaâŠwe need to escape before Kaiba gets himself killed.â
âIâm sure that wonât happen.â
âAre you lying to me?â
âNo!â
âYouâre truly sure my friend wonât die?â
Your new friend stuttered a moment, âIâmâheâsâIâm not âsure,â I guess, but I thought you would want to hear me say your friend wouldnât die.â
âPart of me wants to hear that, but I need to deal with the harsh truth of our situation right now. Otherwise I might get complacent and end up regretting it later.â
âYouâreâŠintense.â
You gave a wry laugh, âYou should meet Kaiba.â
âIâm not sure I want to.â
âI doubt heâd think much of you, either. But if weâre going to beat Gozaburo, you might have to work together at some point.â
âI understand what you want, but I donât have the code on my computer anymore. And Iâm not helping you sneak into Mr. Kaibaâs office, that would be tantamount to torturing you myself.â
âYeah, I see where youâre coming from.â Sighing heavily, you began to help with putting away the tools. âIf memory serves, you mentioned you would get to see Mokuba soon. How does that work?â
âIâll get to leave here, and go down into the Underground for a day with Mokuba.â Kaiba smiled at the thought.
âCan I come?â
âI doubt Mr. Kaiba would allowââ
âBut he gave me to you, and youâre going.â
âBut Iâd still need to ask for permission, and if it went badly I might be barred from making the trip at all.â
âOkay, but what if I ask him instââ Your counter proposal broke off into a scream as your collar came to life. Fortunately, it didnât last long. Still, when it ended, you were leaning on the table, with anger and worry competing to be your main emotional response.
âIâm not used to seeing these collars used on someone else.â Seto looked worried.
Since you did not yet trust your voice to be steady, you merely waved off his concern. After completely regaining your composure, you resumed the conversation as though nothing had happened. âBut what if I ask Gozaburo to let me accompany you?â
âI suppose that would be alrightâŠâ
âWhen would be the best time?â
âLunchtime?â
âWorks for me. Is there anything we can do to impress him or put him in a good mood?â
âPossibly, let me think.â He snapped his fingers, âYou could give him access to the information on your duel disk.â
âNo. Absolutely not.â
âHmmm.â
âIâll just ask him. Whatâs the worst that could happen?â
âGozaburo prevents me from visiting Mokuba.â
You gave what you hoped was an encouraging smile, âIâll try my best to keep that from happening.âÂ
Post Duel Monsters anime. This takes place a few years after the end of the show. Dub continuity plus a version of DSoD. Female reader.
If you would like to read the previous two parts, you can find them listed here. Or you can simply read the following summary.
Summary: You and Kaiba have been accidentally tossed into another dimension. After a series of adventures, the two of you landed in the possession of this dimensionâs version of Gozaburo Kaiba, who fitted you and Kaiba with linked shock collars before sending Kaiba to "The Underground," and giving you as a "gift" to his own version of Seto. (This version of Kaiba also wore a collar, linked to his version of Mokuba.) Unlike your friend, this dimension's version of Kaiba long ago lost his will to fight against Gozaburo. While you and your new friend were working out the practical details of you being here, you're told by the butler that Gozaburo summoned you both to join him for dinner...
Less than a minute later, the two of you burst into a wood paneled dining room. Gozaburo was already seated at the head of a large wooden table. âPlease forgive our late arrival, Mr Kaiba, it wonât happen again.â To your surprise, the young man at your side bowed as he apologized. Seeing this, you rushed into a bow of your own as well.
âI imagine Hobson delayed telling them, Father. You know he enjoys watching Seto suffer.â You didnât recognize this voice. Taking a second look at the table, you spotted a green haired young man around Kaibaâs age.Â
âYouâre right, Noah.â Gozaburo turned to the two of you bowing in the doorway, âDonât stand there wasting my time. Join us at the table.â
âYes sir.â Kaiba pulled out a pair of chairs and sat down near the two already eating. Sliding into the seat beside him, you wondered if you would be eating as well. Maybe this would be an occasion to make use of all the lessons on table manners you had endured since you started filling the role of Kaibaâs plus-one years ago.
Across the table from you, the green haired young man was staring at you curiously. Seeing this, Kaiba glanced at Gozaburo before making introductions. âY/n, this is Noah; heâs Mr. Kaibaâs son.â
Your eyes widened; you remembered hearing about a virtual version of Noah your friends had run into once. Apparently in this world, he managed to avoid becoming nothing but a brain in a virtual reality environment.
âFather says youâre Setoâs friend from another dimension. What am I like where youâre from? Am I part of your friend group?â Noah sounded lonely.
âAh. Uh.â
âDonât be shy.â Noah smiled at you.
âDo you want the truth?â you asked.
âOf course.â
âYouâre dead.â
Noah dropped his fork.
Gozaburo laughed. âSeto, this new slave of yours should learn some tact before she gets you both in trouble.â
âYes sir. Iâll have a talk with her once weâre done here.â
âNoah, I never knew you in my world, but if you want to try being friends, we couldââÂ
Noah cut you off. âWhy would I want to be friends with a slaveâs slave? As far as Iâm concerned, youâre nothing but a temporary amusement, while Iâm the future head of Kaiba Corporation.â Glancing at his father as though looking for approval, Noah continued. âInstead of being mean, you should be offering me anything and everything out of sheer gratitude for not being sent Underground like your friend.â
Your breath caught in your throat. Angrily standing, you glared daggers at Noah. âMaybe youâre right. Maybe I should feel grateful. But I donât.â Ignoring your impulsive desire to grab and drink from Noahâs glass, you continued. âAnd if you ever change your mind and want to be friends, you better be willing to treat me like a human being with just as much inherent value as you and your father.â
âHowâŠhow dare you talk to me like that?!â
At your right, Kaiba was staring at you with panicked eyes. Gozaburo didnât look angry or offended, but you decided to redirect the conversation a bit anyway just to be safe. You wanted information, and Noah was likely to give you the worst of it right now, the sort of details a calm man might have held back as a form of kindness. Hopefully he would be honest but brief.
âWell, maybe Iâm so daring because no oneâs told me much about this âUnderground.â What exactly is Kaiba dealing with?â
Visibly confused, Noah glanced at his father, âWhat do you mean?â
âApparently, in the dimension y/n is from, Seto bears our last name. Since you died, perhaps I adopted him as your replacement?â Gozaburo looked at you for confirmation of his theory.
He caught on alarmingly quickly. âYesâŠthatâs right.â You sat back down.
âAnd Iâd be more than happy to answer questions about your Setoâs fate.â Gozaburo smirked. âWhat do you want to know?â
You hated giving Gozaburo the satisfaction of knowing you were worried about Kaiba. And you knew he would likely try to upset you, but this opportunity was too good to pass up. âI believe you mentioned Mokuba was down there?â
âOh yes, and he has been since he was quite a small child. His collar is linked with Setoâs, just as you are connected to your friend. I found this arrangement made controlling Seto laughably easy. And it was entertaining to use Setoâs own technology against him. Of course, I had to make special arrangements for Mokuba. It wouldnât be useful to have anything too terrible happen to my favorite bargaining chip, would it, Seto?â
âNo, sir.â Beside you, Kaiba looked so vulnerable and childlike, worry plastered across his face. You considered ending the conversation for his sake, butâŠknowledge was better than uncertainty, even when it hurt.
âAnd Kaiba, whatâs his fate? What will his life be like?â Somehow your questions came out much quieter than you intended.
Gozaburo took a bite, slowly chewing, savoring the moment as much as his food. âThe work is hard, the overseers are relentless, and the food is terrible.âÂ
âI see.â
âBut itâs the other workers your friend will really need to worry about. Itâs a strict hierarchy down there, with the few at the top delighting in causing great suffering for those at the bottom.â
âBold of you to assume Kaiba wonât quickly earn himself a place at the top of the food chain.â
âPerhaps youâre right. After all, itâs dueling ability which enables one to rise in the ranks of the imprisoned, and Security tells me your friend is quite the duelist, with cards the likes of which theyâve never seen.â
You felt yourself relax a bit. Kaiba could outduel almost anyone. He and Blue-Eyes would make quick work ofâWith a stab of fear, your eyes widened, âBut you have our cards!â
Gozaburo laughed. âThen I would assume your dear friend is facing a life of abject misery. In the absence of dueling ability, a man might manage to get by with his skills as a fighter, but I donât believe your friend has much experience in that arena, does he?â
He was right. Kaiba was tall, and surprisingly strong, but he was no brawler.
âAnswer the question,â Gozaburo ordered you, âWill your friend be able to save himself with his physical prowess?âÂ
âProbably not.â Your answer was barely more than a whisper.
âSpeak up, girl!â
âNo!â You were tired, angry, and sadâthere was nothing you could do to help Kaiba. âHe wonât.â
Gozaburo took another bite, smirking at you. âAs a woman, you know what can happen to someone powerless in the clutches of lawless men.â
You were speechless, lost in a miasma of helplessness and impotent anger.
Gozaburo chuckled. âHere, why donât you take these?â He pulled a deck of Duel Monsters cards from his breast pocket and extended them to you with a casual air.
Shakily reaching out to take the deck, you snatched your cards from the enemy. There wasnât much you could do with them at the moment, but even now the cards provided a touch of comfort. Flipping them over, you saw the card at the bottom of the deck was Kaiser Vorse Raider. These werenât your cards. You didnât realize how badly your hands were shaking until the version of Kaiba sitting beside you quickly reached out and placed his hand over yours to hide them.Â
âI gave you a gift, donât you have something to say to me in return?â asked Gozaburo.
âThank you.â You were struggling to hold yourself together.
âMr. Kaiba, I still need to show y/n my lab and prepare her for our work tomorrow. May we leave?â
You weren't paying enough attention to remember what Gozaburo said, nor to recall the route this new Kaiba took as he led you to his lab. All your energy was funneled into attempting to hide how you felt. Only when the door closed behind you, and you and Kaiba were alone in his workspace did you allow yourself to think over the conversation. Sliding down the wall, you sat on the floor, fanned out the cards, removed a copy of Blue-Eyes White Dragon, stared at it for a moment, and began to sob. âIâm sorry.â
Word Count: 1,399
Post Duel Monsters anime. This takes place a few years after the end of the show. Dub continuity plus a version of DSoD. Female reader.
(You can read Part 1 first, or simply read the following summary and go from there.)
Summary: You and Kaiba have been accidentally tossed into another dimension. After a series of adventures, the two of you landed in the possession of this dimensionâs version of Gozaburo Kaiba, who sent Kaiba to "The Underground" and informed you he intended to give you as a gift to his own version of "Seto." You and Kaiba were both fitted with shock collars, which are linked, so if one of you gets shocked, the other will be shocked as well. Your conversation with Gozaburo ended with him shocking you into unconsciousness.
ââŠalright?â Your foggy brain tried to slip back into the quiet darkness. âAre you okay?â Although you couldnât place the voice, it was triggering a happy response. Your head hurt where it had slammed into the carpeted floor. Inhaling deeply, you forced your eyes open to see an expanse of red carpet stretching across the room. âAre you awake?â The voice came from behind you.
Realization dawned, âKaiba?â You rolled onto your back. Confused, you stared into a pair of deep blue eyes you knew wellâhe still wore a collar, which made it hard to fathom how he had returned, and he was giving you the soft, worried look reserved exclusively for Mokuba, which couldnât be right.
He said, âSorry, Mr. Kaiba left a minute ago.â
As your eyes adjusted to the light, your gaze trailed down from his concerned eyes to discover the man was wearing a sweater vest. âOh, youâre this dimensionâs Kaiba.â Although he looked puzzled, the man offered you a hand up. You brushed the gesture aside and forced yourself to a sitting position, trying your best to ignore the faint nausea caused by movingâyou needed to make a good first impression.Â
âYouâre confused. Iâm Seto,â he introduced himself.
You gave your name in turn and wondered how to handle the situation, âNo one calls you Kaiba?â
âItâs not my name.â
âThatâs right.â You lightly smacked your forehead, regretting it instantly. âIn my dimension I know you were adopted, but I always forget that means you used to have a different last name.â
âI donât have any name other than âSeto.â Mr. Kaiba saw to that.â He sounded a bit rueful. âBut if you feel well enough, we should relocate to my room, I donât want to hang around in the study.â
Setoâs room was painted a drab beige, with a bed, dresser, and desk. Not a single dragon, white or otherwise, decorated the space. In fact, the only interesting feature was a window, which showcased a gleaming city.
âIf you want, I can show you my lab later.â
Everything about him was wrongâhis soft, polite speech, clothes, mannerismsânothing felt like Kaiba.Â
âSure. Listen, we need to establish a baseline for this relationship. Is the room secure?â
He looked puzzled. âProbablyâŠâ
âOkayâŠDo you intend to use my collar against me?â You pointed at his watch.
âNo! I would neverââ
âGood. In that case, tell me what youâre working on as an escape plan and I can help you.â
âEscape plan? Thereâs no escaping Mr. Kaiba.â
Now you were the puzzled one, âAre you serious?â
Seto nodded.
âBut. Thatâs.â You struggled to comprehend, âAre you telling me Gozaburo has you permanently separated from Mokuba, treats you like a slave, misuses your inventionsâand youâre okay with that?!â
âI donât like it, but thatâs the way things are.â
âWell this takes the cake. I was preparing for an enemy, or an ally. But all I got was a worthless NPC with no desires of his own. What am I supposed to do with you?!â
He stepped back, crestfallen. âIâm sorry. I know Iâm not of much use. All I wanted was to be friends, but I suppose it was a foolish dream.â
Instantly flooded with guilt, you tried to apologize for your thoughtless words. âIâm so sorry! I shouldnât have said that. I donât even know you.â There were no excuses for saying anything as terrible as what had emerged from your lips just now, and there were no words which could atone for it.
âThatâs okay, people yell at me all the time.â Your new companion shoved his hands into his pockets, âRoland told me you shouted at Mr. Kaiba. Is that true?â
You gave a tired nod.
âIâve never met anyone stupid enough to do that.â
Since it had been an incredibly stupid thing to do, you couldnât argue with him. âIf youâre lucky, youâll see me do something much more stupid than that.â
âYouâre going to yell at Mr. Kaiba again?â
âNo, Iâm not Joey.â
âWhoâs that?â
âYou donât know Joey Wheeler?â
âI donât know anyone other than Mr. Kaibaâs employeesâŠWhy do you keep looking at me like that?â
How should you answer? âYou have my friendâs face, but youâre totally different.â
âIâm sorry. Iâm sure heâs a lot nicer than me, but Iâll do my best toâwhy are you laughing?â
âI doubt anyoneâs ever described Kaiba as âniceâ before.â
âWait, does your version of me treat you badly? Is that why you look so sad and scared when you look at me? You wish he was like me?âÂ
âNo, Kaiba doesnât treat me badly. If anything, Iâm one of the people he treats the best.â
Your new friend stood patiently, as though waiting for you to continue.
âDonât get me wrong, he can be a difficult, damaged mess. But heâs all fight, with an icy will to win. Kaiba wants to be the strongest man in the room at all times. And itâs⊠disconcerting to see you have none of that.â
âWhy do you call him âKaiba?ââ He looked almost disgusted.
ââCause itâs his name. Gozaburo adopted him. The only one who calls him âSetoâ is Mokuba.â
âWhat about your version of Mr. Kaiba? Mine always calls me âSeto.ââ
âGozaburo? Heâs been gone for years. Kaiba runs Kaiba Corp with Mokuba now. Itâs a gaming company.â
Your new companion stared straight ahead, unblinking. âYour lives were perfect.â
âI donât know about âperfect.â We have plenty of problems.â Sighing, you leaned against the desk. âBut all things considered, it is pretty great, and Kaibaâs my friend, so I have no intention of leaving him to a life of slavery.â
The soft Kaiba in front of you looked at you with such sympathetic eyes you had to look away. âI know this is a lot to take in, y/n, but youâre a slave too, and Mr. Kaiba isnât going to let you, or your friend, out of his grasp.â
âBut I canâtââ
âIf you're good, youâll get to see your friend again. Iâm going to visit Mokuba in a couple days as a birthday gift.â
You couldnât stand the gentle sincerity of your new companion. Gozaburo had managed to remove all the fight from this version of Kaiba, and it scared you. Was it possible your version could end up like this as well?
Still, what your new companion mentioned just now might be useful. Based on what Gozaburo said earlier, Kaiba was likely with, or near, this worldâs version of Mokuba. If you could find a way to join the excursionâŠ
The door to the room opened, and a squat little man entered. You didnât like the salacious way he was looking at you.Â
This world's version of Kaiba looked surprised to see him as well. âHobson? What is it?âÂ
âIâm supposed to ask if you require anything for your new slave.â
âI assume youâre putting her up in the room next door?â
âOf course not, sheâs yours now; sheâll live with you.â
âWhat? UhâŠI guess weâll need a second bed?â
The little man apparently named Hobson looked at you again with eyes that made you feel like punching him in the face and running away to hide. âI see the proper uses of a female slave are completely wasted on you.â He wasnât even pretending to do anything other than stare at you.
âMr. Kaiba gave her to meânot you, Hobson, so keep your hands off. Do you understand?â It was the closest to commanding this Kaiba had come since you met him.
âYou little brat.â Hobson made a mocking bow, âIt may take some time to deliver your requested item.â
The man you assumed to be some sort of butler continued to stand in the doorway. âIs there something else you need to say, Hobson?â asked Kaiba.
The man shrugged and left. Once he was gone, your companion began apologizing. He was offering to sleep on one of the mansionâs couches until a second bed showed up, when Hobson returned.
âOh yes,â the slimy man smiled, âMr. Kaiba has requested the two of you join him for dinner tonight. Several minutes ago.â
âWhat?!â Kaiba dashed to your side, grabbed your wrist, and practically ran out of the room. âHe did that on purpose,â he muttered as the two of you zipped down a hallway.
âWhy?â You knew you wouldnât like the answer.
Word Count: 1,413 words
Post Duel Monsters anime. This takes place a few years after the end of the show. Dub continuity plus a version of DSoD.
Female reader.
Summary: The reader and Kaiba have been accidentally tossed into another dimension. After a series of adventures, theyâve landed in the possession of this dimensionâs version of a man Kaiba was hoping to never see again.
***
This version of Gozaburo wore a snow white suit. He seemed more at ease than the ones you had met in the past, but even a child could read the predatory gleam in his eyes. âSo you two are accidental travelers from another dimension, hmm? It sounds like you might be of some use to me, Seto.â
âIâll never help you.â
âDo I allow you to talk to me this way back in your home dimension?â
âYou donât allow anything, old man. Where I come from, youâre gone.â
âGone? Iâm surprised you can function without a strong hand to guide you, Seto.â
It had been a very long day, and your frustration overcame Kaibaâs instructions to leave the talking to him, âKaibaâs stronger than you ever wereâhe outmaneuvered you back when he was just a teenager! All you managed to do was mess up a good kid and then off yourself when he bested you and took over Kaiba Corp.â You avoided looking over at Kaiba as you took a deep breath, âSo quit acting so superior and deal with him as your equal.â
âSeto, are you in the habit of permitting your woman to interrupt important negotiations?â
âNo.â
You bristled at the phrase âyour woman,â but already regretted your outburst enough to keep quiet and avoid a second one.
âWhich is one of the reasonsâ Kaiba continued coldly, âI requested you leave her with the petty criminals in Satellite until the conclusion of our business.â
âAnd here I thought you were nobly trying to protect your lover.â
âIâve never been a fool who wasted my time with romance. Sheâs my assistant.â
âThen you no longer have any use for her. My Seto will be able to provide you with any assistance you may require.â
âI told you, I wonâtââ
âRoland?â Gozaburo interrupted, âTake the young woman out to the courtyard and have her shot.â
âWhat?!â
âNow now, Seto, giving yourself away when faced with an obvious ploy like this? You do have an emotional investment in the girl.â Gozaburo turned to you, âWhat are you to him? Be honest.â
âWeâre friends.â
âLovers always say theyâre friends.â
You glared. âYes, well, if you know Kaiba at all then I think you know weâre not. But thanks to you, what should have been a simple friendship took years to acknowledge.â
âNevertheless, tell me about your relationship without trite words like âfriends.ââ
âIâmâŠHe trusts me.â
âGo on.â
âUh. Weâve been through a lot. Weâve worked well together. And weâveâŠâ
âYes?â
âAt this point Kaibaâs realized I may be the only person who will neither fall in love with him nor leave him behind. Frankly, itâs a quality I appreciate in him as well.â
âAnything else?â
You hated this, âHe gives me freedom, and I give himâŠwhatever the heck it is that makes people like being friends with me.â You shrugged.
âYouâre friends?â Gozaburo asked.
You glared and nodded.Â
âNow that is interesting; friendship is a relationship of equalsâsouls standing shoulder-to-shoulder and facing life together. Itâs a powerful force.â Kaiba looked surprised to hear Gozaburo talking like this. âThat being said, I donât tolerate anyone acting above their station. And however Seto may view you, youâre not at my level, and I do not allow underlings emotional outbursts during business dealings.âÂ
âButââ
âDonât worry. Pawns are useful, and Iâm not in the habit of destroying what I can use.â Gozaburo looked past you. âRoland, fit them with a pair of collars.â
âVery good sir. And shall I have them sent Underground?â
You could hear a man walking up behind you as Gozaburo said, â Not yet.â You flinched as the man pulled aside your hair and clamped a metal band around your neck. Raising your manacled hands, you tugged at the item experimentally. Immediately, a shock of pain coursed through you. A moment later, when the pain ended, you were panting on your knees, glad to have stopped screaming, disoriented, afraid.
Kaiba was still on his feet, barely. âWhatever you did, donât do it again.â
âRight.â You mentally kicked yourself for tugging on the stupid thing, of course it would be designed to prevent removal. And although your memory of the moment was hazy, you were pretty sure your actions had triggered Kaibaâs collar as well.
âIs there anything I can invent you wonât steal and misuse?â asked Kaiba as you shakily stood.
âHow perceptive, Seto. These shock collars are an invention of your counterpart.â
âSo youâve got access to a contactless neural interface. What do you need us for again?â You suspected you wouldnât like the answer.
Gozaburo appeared to see you in a new light, âYou could recognize the technology after only one use?â
You kept quiet.
âI asked you a question!â
âYeah, of course. Itâs the primitive version of the neural interface we use in our Adventure System.â
âWhich is?â
You wanted to be out of the spotlight, âAn escape game system which combines Solid Vision with a neural interface to create an immersive experience for the player. Obviously our technology is much more advanced than yours, but I remember the earlier prototype stages well enough to recognize the sensation.â
âIâve always assumed Setoâs obsession with games developed as a coping mechanism to deal with his separation from Mokuba. But perhaps youâre simply fated to waste your potential on frivolity.â
âMokuba?â You could hear the change in Kaibaâs voice.
âOh, donât worry, youâll be spending a great deal of time with your brotherâs counterpart.â Gozaburo walked back to his desk and pushed a button on his intercom, âSeto, come to my study.â
You raised your manacled hands.
Gozaburo smiled, âAsk your question.â
âWhat exactly are you planning to do with us?â
âSheâs rather direct, Seto. But then, youâve never had much subtlety either.â Gozaburo turned back to you, âSeto will be sent underground, where he will work in a labor facility until I send for him.âÂ
âIâm not working for you,â Kaiba interjected.
âOh, Seto, I think breaking your spirit will be much more fun this time around.â Gozaburo smiled and placed his hand over his wristwatch.
Your eyes widened in realization, and then you were yelling in pain, dropping to one knee, yanking desperately at your collar in a mindless effort to remove it. When it was over, you could see Kaiba in a similar pose. For a moment, it was all you could do to fight off a wave of dizziness, âWhat about me?â
âMy Seto has his birthday in a few days. You will be my gift to him. A reward well earned.â
âOh?â You werenât in the right frame of mind to respond intelligently.
âHeâs never had a slave of his own before. I wonder how heâll put you to use?â
âWait,â Your mind finally cleared, âyouâre splitting us up?â
âIndeed, although with these collars your lives will continue to affect one another. I find it rather poetic.â
âI hate you.â
âNo doubt you do. But if you want to say your goodbyes, you should reorder your priorities.â
Kaiba sneered, âIf you think you can hold either of us for long, youâre delusional.â
âYou have spirit, Seto. But how long can it last?â
âKaibaâŠâ You werenât sure what to say.Â
âSame rules as always?â he asked.
âYeah. Of course. Do what needs to be done. ButâŠif we could limit your rebellion to the bare minimum, that would be good.â You forced a small smile, âThe pain settings on these collars are really high.â
âYou can take it.â
âYeah, but Iâd prefer not to.â
âHmh.â
âYou're rather different than I expected,â observed Gozaburo.
âShut up, old man.â Kaiba turned back to you, and his eyes softened a smidge, âI forgot; this is your greatestââ
âDonât,â you tilted your head towards Gozaburo.
Large men grabbed Kaiba and pulled him to his feet. âIf my duplicate gives you any trouble, donât hesitate to make him suffer.â
âSure.â
âYouâll pay for this, Gozaburo!â Kaiba shouted his last words before the men dragged him out of the room.
âNow,â Gozaburo loomed over you, âI believe we still have the small matter of your outburst to settle.â
âYouâve made your point abundantly clear, thereâs no need to make it again.â You tried not to sound panicked.
âWithout consistency, rules are useless.â
You tried to keep from crying out when the pain came, but couldnât. You could hear Gozaburo chuckling over your anguish, and then your vision blurred, narrowed, and faded to darkness as you passed out.
Part 2