Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ How Do You Like Me Now? ❯ Chapter 3

The unemployment office stood in front of Kaiba, glaring down at him, its dark, dusty windows seeming to laugh at him, the peeling paint on the wood panels sneering at him, all ridiculing him for losing his company, his business, his money, his riches, his life. Kaiba stared back up at it, an unsettling feeling nestled in the pit of his stomach. How could he show his face in that place? He, Seto Kaiba, once CEO of one of the world's most successful businesses having to rely on an unemployment office to get a job for him? It was true that it had been impossible for him to get a new job on his own, the incident at Kaiba Corp.'s building striking fear into would-be employers to the point that they refused to hire the young man, regardless of his skills and knowledge. It frustrated both he and Mokuba. After all, it was not as if the event had been Kaiba's fault. In fact, he was not even in the building at the time. Just by some pure chance, Mokuba had gotten hurt at a soccer practice that day, and Kaiba had rushed over to take him to the emergency room to get him checked out. While the two of them were sitting in the recovery room after the doctor had assured them that the injury was simply a sprained ankle, Kaiba had received a radio transmission from the collar of his white coat. The message had been barely audible but he was able to identify the frightened voice of Roland screaming something about how it happened so fast and suddenly the transmission had ended. Kaiba had quickly left the hospital, telling Mokuba that he would return as soon as he could. He had taken the limousine that they had left in the parking lot and commanded the driver to take him to Kaiba Corp.'s building immediately. They had sped along the road, but were unable to get within ten blocks of the skyscraper. Cars were backed up as far as the eye could see and people were running in all directions. Kaiba had panicked and jumped out of the car, pushing his way through the crowds until he reached… Nothing. His building was gone. Where it had stood was a giant pile of rubble and glass, a huge cloud of dust polluting the air. Kaiba had froze, staring at the remains in shock and disbelief for several minutes until he had felt someone grab his shoulder and swing him around.

"You damn mother-fucker!" the man had screamed at him. "How could you let this happen?" Completely stunned, Kaiba had stood still until the man had grabbed him by the collar of his coat and pulled him close. "How could you fucking let this happen? She didn't deserve this!"

"Unhand me!" Kaiba snarled once he had regained some of his senses. He had attempted to pull away from the raging man, but he had held him tight, shaking him in his fury.

"She didn't deserve this!" he had repeated. "She didn't!" He had placed a strong hand around Kaiba's throat, squeezing tightly. Kaiba had struggled against his grip but the delirious man had held fast. "You bastard! You fucking bastard!"

"Let-- go!" Kaiba had struggled out. "Someone-- get him off me!" He had gasped for air, trying to free himself from the strong hand. But another hand had joined its partner around his neck and the man had began shaking Kaiba back and forth until the boy had sank to his knees, strangled noises escaping his throat. Finally, someone had come over and pulled the large man away from him. Kaiba had collapsed onto the ground, coughing and sputtering, gasping for air. Someone else had put a hand on his back and asked him if he was all right.

"What-- what happened to my building?" Kaiba had asked, using the police officer next to him to push himself to his feet. "What the hell happened to it?"

"Eye witnesses say it seemed to implode," the officer had responded. "First from the bottom, then the middle, and then the very top."

"How the hell could that happen?" Kaiba had exclaimed. "Who's responsible for this?"

"We suspect arsenals," the officer had said. "Several bombs lined up on some of the floors. As for who, we have no real leads yet. The investigation is well under way. The most probable explanation is that someone was after you and so brought down the entire building during the workday. If that's the case then they failed and thousands of innocent people were just killed for no reason. It would probably be safer for you to hide out somewhere until things are sorted out." The officer had left him then, joining some of his comrades near the rubble that had become of Kaiba's company. Kaiba had remained where he was, staring dumbfounded at the mess, his mind having completely lost its ability to think rationally. He had stood there for almost half an hour before he turned and began heading back to his limousine waiting for him. However, the long black vehicle was trapped within a compact of cars and would have no way of being able to go anywhere for several more hours. And so Kaiba had kept walking, staring blankly into space, his destination not really clear in his mind. He had wandered for several blocks when quite unexpectedly he had literately ran into a small form that had been running in the opposite direction.

"Kaiba!" the small form had exclaimed upon regaining its senses. "I just saw the news and was heading down there! Are you all right? How'd you get outta there?"

Kaiba had simply stared at the short spiky-haired boy, not comprehending a word he had said, nor even the identity of the person before him. His blue eyes had been unfocused, searching for answers but receiving none. His numb mind had refused to give him a clear idea or coherent thought. He had simply moved past the person in front of him and had continued walking down the bustling sidewalk.

"Kaiba!" the boy had called after him. "Where're you going? Are you all right? Kaiba!"

Ignoring the calls, Kaiba had continued walking, disappearing within the crowded streets. He had walked another few blocks before he had ran into someone else familiar. This time he had been able to recognize who it was.

"Kaib," Joey had panted, obviously out of breath from running. "You okay? I heard on the news the building exploded or somethin'. You ain't hurt, are you?"

"I thought I told you to stay away from me!" Kaiba had snarled in response, pushing the blonde away from him and into the brick wall beside him. Joey had cried out when his skull knocked against the bricks, but Kaiba had not stopped. He had continued walking briskly all the way back to the hospital where he found Mokuba in the lobby, tears streaming down his face. The young boy had explained that he had seen what had happened on the television in the waiting room.

"Seto, what're we gonna do?" Mokuba had sobbed as he came to Kaiba on crutches. "What're we gonna do?"

"I don't know," Kaiba had responded quietly. "I don't know."

"You gonna stay out here all day? We don't appreciate loitering."

Kaiba suddenly snapped back into reality, his vivid flashback still circling in his mind. He turned to the overweight woman snapping at him at the doorway of the unemployment office. "Excuse me, I-- I'm coming in." He began walking over to the building, but as he reached the door, the woman allowed it to slam in his face. Stunned for a moment, he blinked, but quickly regained himself and entered the building.

The inside of the place was much better-looking than the outside had been, however it was still in desperate need of renovation. Old benches were lined up along each other down the side of the wall while a few wooden tables with chairs that looked dangerous to sit in were scattered around the room. Some of the benches were already occupied with a few people, some dirty and ragged, others looking middle-class at least. There were some children in the corner, watching one of the them play some handheld game while some adults sat at some tables conversing with some of the employees of the office. Upon Kaiba's entrance, a few people looked up, but only one seemed to recognize him. It was a young man, probably a bit younger than Kaiba himself, wearing glasses and plaid slacks that contrasted greatly with his green shirt and yellow jacket. Kaiba eyed the boy warily as he stood and approached him.

"Is it really you?" the boy questioned in a nasally voice. "Seto Kaiba?"

Kaiba huffed. "Do I know you?" he questioned.

"No, no of course not," the other said. "But I know you. You owned Kaiba Corp. You made the best games the world has ever seen!" He pushed his glasses up his nose as they had begun to slip down. "After the Kaiba Corp. building went down, you had to end Kaiba Corp. entirely to pay for the damages. And after that, I didn't hear about you again. I got on the Internet to try and find anything about you, but there was nothing but unconfirmed rumors. What've you been up to these past few years?"

Kaiba looked down at him. "I don't believe it's any of your business. Now move. I have things to do."

"It's so sad that Seto Kaiba of all people would have to come down here," the stranger said. "But I guess after that, people'd be scared of hiring you, huh? Have they come after you again?"

"If by 'they' you mean those bastards who attacked my building, no, they haven't. Now leave me alone. I want to get out of here as soon as I can." He pushed his way past the inquiring boy and made his way over to the front desk. "I need to get a job," he told the secretary quite flatly.

"You and everybody else in here," she responded, not looking up from filing her nails. "Take a number and we'll get to you."

Kaiba growled and seized a slip of paper from the dispenser next to her and sat down on a bench in the corner. Number 37.

"Number 6!" someone called.

Kaiba sighed and leaned his head back. Mokuba had better appreciate this.

****

Tristan made no effort to knock but invited himself right in to Joey's elaborate hotel room. After all, they were friends and had barged in on each other countless times over the years, but this time it made Tristan feel a bit uneasy. Joey had been acting strangely ever since he had brought up Domino earlier that day and it simply was not like Joey to not confide in Tristan how he was feeling. It was almost insulting in a way.

The brunette approached the side of Joey's bed where the blonde laid, wrapped up in the top blanket like a burrito. His eyes were shut tight, his fingers twitching in the soft fabric of the sheets, his mouth moving and forming silent words. Tristan watched him for a moment, regarding him with a worried gaze. It was not uncommon for Joey to talk in his sleep, but he rarely ever looked this distressed about it. He sat down on the side of the bed, watching the blonde struggle in his dream.

"Kai-- Kai--…" Joey whispered, grasping his pillow with one hand. "More…" He stuck his tongue out and licked the air, and Tristan scooted away from him a bit. What the hell was he dreaming about?

"Joe, wake up," the brunette said, shaking the blonde a bit. "Wake up man, you're freakin' me out."

"Kai--?" Joey questioned, sitting up sleepily and rubbing his eyes. "Tris?" He blinked a few times. "What d'ya want?"

"Perry told me to go get you cuz you got an appointment or somethin' in a half hour," Tristan told him.

Joey groaned. "Yeah, yeah…" He got out of the bed and wandered over to the dresser where his brush laid waiting for him. He picked it up, took a few quick strokes in his hair and set it back down. "Hope this don't take too long."