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Seto Kaiba sat at his desk with his head in his hands. He'd barely moved since he'd lost his duel with Yugi Motou. He knew Mokuba was worried, but he couldn't bring himself to offer reassurance. The blow to his pride had been bad enough, but what happened after... He couldn't put it in words. Something was missing.
Somehow the kid had ripped something out of him. A part of him buried so deep he hadn't even known it was there. It had left a gaping hole, ragged at the edges.
His polished mask- and he could see it now, for the facade it had always been- had been stripped from him. Games were how he'd learnt to relate to the world, where he'd had trouble figuring out his place until he started to win. His adoptive father had encouraged this worldview, until eventually he saw his whole world as a game. A game that he could and would win. That certainty had carried him through, made him CEO of KaibaCorp as a teenager, letting him bulldoze through every obstacle that stood in his way. He won every game he played, regardless of whether it was a card game or a boardroom meeting.
And he had continued winning, up until the day he lost to Yugi Mouto.
Yugi had ripped away that meagre comfort, leaving him to view the world around him with clear eyes for the first time in almost a decade. He wasn't certain he liked what he saw.
His musings were interrupted by a knock on the door.
He made sure to grab his briefcase as he fled. The only possible escape route was the window, and the plan he'd hashed out years ago. Not having a backup plan was just plain foolish in his line of work. Kaiba had several. Later, he would take the time to resent those goons breaking in. Thinking they could just barge into his mansion.
As he fell, though, he let the adrenaline rush through him. By the time he's sitting in his underground base again, he almost felt like his old self again. Little Seto, top of his classes. He'd been so sharp as a child, in that miserable orphanage. All his energy focused on survival, on getting out of there. He was in a competition with all the other kids, and he had a head start because they didn't know it yet. He had to be the smartest, the brightest, the most precocious. He needed to be adopted by the best of the best if he wanted to achieve his ambitions. Back then his plans for the future were like a shining star on the horizon. He just had to keep working towards them, and one day he would get there. He'd left the horizon behind long ago, achieved everything that child in the orphanage could have ever dreamed. Somehow it still hadn't been enough. Why hadn't it been enough? His reasons seemed foolish, now. Trivial.
He'd just wanted security for himself and Mokuba. Mokuba! Surely his brother knew to hide himself away. He was kept informed of all Seto's backup plans, should be sensible enough to keep himself hidden. Surely.
Just as the thought had crossed his mind, the computer informed him that Mokuba had been kidnapped. His little brother in trouble? Must be Tuesday. He still wasn't worried. If anything, the guards should be worried. Mokuba could be incredibly annoying when he wanted to be. Besides, his little brother knew how to take care of himself until Seto got there. And he would get there. He'd be no help to Mokuba if he went out and got himself captured as well, so he continued on his path, mouth set in a firm line.
The stakes were high, but he spared a moment to enjoy the feeling of his fingers on the keyboard, communicating with his computer. He'd built this particular computer as an idle weekend project when he was thirteen, and he'd upgraded her frequently since then. She was sort of a pet project of his, a long term experiment on how AI could adapt. And, a small part of him whispered, she was one of his oldest friends. It had been too long since he'd had the time to himself to sit in front of a computer and just do whatever he wanted. Running KaibaCorp was far from the utopia of being able to just game all day that he’d imagined as a child; it was far too much politics and manoeuvring. Allowing himself to just focus on one task, so much more important than anything he’d done in years. Defeating Pegasus. Helping Yugi.
He paused at the thought. How long had it been since he’d tried in earnest to help someone? Other than himself or Mokuba? Too long. A new feeling rose in him then, and it took him a distressingly long time to realise it was shame.
He hacked Pegasus's system almost on autopilot, looking for Yugi. Who was apparently dueling... Kaiba himself? What was Pegasus playing at?
That was the trouble with Pegasus; he would do anything for the drama of it all. That made him unpredictable. But the joke would be on Pegasus, this time. Watching that impostor use his deck made Kaiba angry, and that meant he would never back down. It almost killed him to upload that virus into his Blue Eyes White Dragon, but he did it anyway. Or... he almost did. Either it had gone through as planned, or... or Yugi was right. The Heart of the cards, his cards, had felt his anger and lashed out at the impostor. A year ago, he would have said that was impossible, but now... he wasn't so sure.
He wasn't sure of anything any more.
-
Katsuya Jonouchi was having a bad week. Well, arguably, he was having a bad life. Still, this week was particularly bad. Sure, his childhood sucked, but things had been looking up recently. His sister was finally old enough that their mother couldn't stop her from visiting him, he had proper friends, and his grades were good enough to get him into university on a scholarship.
And then everything came crashing down; Shizuka needed surgery, Yugi's grandpa was first put in the hospital and then had his soul stolen, and they were stuck on this stupid island trying to defeat a multi-billionaire at a children's card game. And his best friend was maybe possessed by some sort of ancient ghost who was really good at playing said card game.
At least Jonouchi's shitty childhood had taught him one good thing; how to fall asleep wherever he happened to be. Which was really helpful on this insane island.
He was enjoying the best sleep he'd had all trip, until the clearing they were all sleeping in was flooded with light and sound.
A helicopter touched down on the grass in front of them. Dangerously close, actually, and what kind of entitled idiot landed a helicopter so close to a campsite? They were lucky all their stuff hadn't blown away in the wind caused by the blades.
His question was answered when the door of the helicopter opened, and Seto Kaiba collapsed out of the entrance.
Anzu was the first to move, towards him checking his pulse quickly and efficiently rolling the billionaire onto his side. Jonouchi vaguely recalled that Anzu talking about some first aid course she'd done a couple of years ago. Just as he started to move towards her to check if she needed help, Kaiba sat up abruptly. He looked terrible. It may just have been the helicopter light, but he was definitely paler than normal. And trembling, ever so slightly. He moved to stand, but Anzu firmly held him in position.
"Don't move. Let me check you over first."
To everyone's surprise, probably not least himself, Kaiba did what she said.
It was weird to see Kaiba so quiet and still. He almost seemed vulnerable, which wasn't a word Jonouchi would ever have associated with the pretentious CEO of KaibaCorp.
Yugi walked closer, holding a deck of cards toward Kaiba. "This is your deck. We got it back after... Well. It's yours."
"Thanks." Jonouchi exchanged glances with Honda at that. Seto Kaiba expressing gratitude? What had the world come to?
Kaiba seemed almost oblivious to their presence, clutching his card deck like a security blanket. Emboldened by the lack of overt hostility, Yugi spoke to Kaiba again. "We all need to see Pegasus. Why don't you come with us? We could-"
Kaiba cut him off, rising shakily to his feet. He looked more like himself, but he couldn't quite hide the tremor in his hand as he slipped his card deck into his pocket.
"You don't get it, Yugi. This isn't just a game for me. I have to defeat Pegasus to save my brother."
Jonouchi felt his blood boil at that. After everything he'd done, Kaiba didn't get to talk to Yugi like that. "Don't go thinking you're the only one here with a noble cause, Kaiba. Yugi needs to rescue his grandpa. I need to help my sister. None of us are here for fun." He stalked forward as he spoke, until he was almost shouting as he stood in front of Kaiba.
Kaiba flinched back from the sudden onslaught. Underneath his anger, Jonouchi almost felt bad. But... this was Kaiba. He needed someone to knock some sense into him. Still, he didn't resist when Yugi pulled him back gently. His friend looked older, and when he spoke it was with the deeper voice that Jonouchi had come to associate with him duelling. "Kaiba. Jonouchi is right in that we all have people to save. At least sit down and eat something, you're no use to Mokuba if you collapse again." Anzu, who had been quiet since Kaiba stood, spoke up again. "You're experiencing an adrenaline crash. And when was the last time you ate or slept?"
Kaiba paused, and Jonouchi could tall he was considering that. "Perhaps... I will stay for a bit."
The group was well and truly awake at that point, so they stirred the campfire back to life for some food. They reheated up the sausages they'd eaten earlier, shared their supply of bread and cheese around. The group of friends chatted, catching up with Bakura, reminiscing. They all quietly kept an eye on Kaiba, who slowly seemed to relax. Just a bit. Enough to make him seem almost human. By unspoken agreement, they spoke about their problems as well. Yugi talked about his grandpa, and Jonouchi was a little gratified to see what looked like guilt on Kaiba's face. He talked about Shizuka, how he hoped to be able to pay for her surgery and maybe even apply to adopt her, so neither of their parents could have a say in her medical care. To his shock, Kaiba nodded in agreement at that. Apparently he had written up a legally binding contract with his adoptive father that stated he was in charge of all decisions concerning Mokuba. Jonouchi couldn't help but respect that.
He and Kaiba ended up talking for some time after everyone else dropped off back to sleep. They were more alike than Jonouchi would ever have realised. They compared stories about younger siblings. The stories started with silly anecdotes and somehow. meandered into how lonely it could be, trying to parent your sibling when you were still a kid yourself. Kaiba was funny, and interesting, and somehow held a similar worldview to Jonouchi. He was still a bit arrogant, and to be honest a bit of a dick, but by the end of the night they were something approaching friends.
They fell asleep next to each other, so close their shoulders were touching. If Jonouchi was honest with himself, he wanted to be closer to Kaiba. Maybe after this was all over, they could... something. Kaiba had seemed open to potentially catching up in the future. And if that led to more than friendship, well... Jonouchi certainly wouldn't mind.
Kaiba was gone when he woke up in the morning, but Jonouchi couldn't bring himself to be mad. After all, if it was his sister, he would have done the same. Besides, he couldn't be too angry. Kaiba had left a note with a mobile phone number written on it.