Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Seto's Wish Alternate World Conclusion ❯ C62 Meeting Pegasus & Mokie duels? ( Chapter 62 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

C62 Meeting Pegasus & Mokie duels?

It had been awhile since they were gone. Seto had already given Mokuba his medicine, and finally put him to sleep (or so he hoped). He had also torn apart the duel disk that was presently scattered all over the kitchen table.

For a while, Mokuba had been a handful and didn't want to go to bed, at all. But, after threatening to tell his brother about his trouble when he got home, he grudgingly inclined to listen and went to bed, falling asleep quickly, afterwards.

Seto looked at the clock, and noticed it was now 20 minutes to 1, as he thought, `Aren't they late?' He knew how his mother was when it came to shopping, but hoped it wouldn't cause Kaiba to miss out on his own interview. `Maybe I should go if it gets too late.' he began to wonder as an after-thought. Yet, the idea of jumping in front of a camera and attempting to talk about a business he knew nothing about made his nerves tense and his stomach turn.

He sighed, lowering his head. They were right....he was really going to have to get over this phobia of his.

A moment later, Seto heard the door open and the others finally came home. Kaiba had most of the groceries in one hand, and a cell phone in the other, talking on the phone.

Angie came practically bouncing in, talking to Mokie about her new clothes, as the mother closed the door, also each holding a light bag.

“It's about time.” Seto said to them, then added. “Who's he on the phone with?”

“Sorry....Mom just went a little crazy with the shopping.” she said, rolling her eyes.

The mother turned, saying, “Well, Mokuba didn't have very many clothes. Besides, he needed some things to help decorate his bedroom, too.”

She sighed, saying, “See?”

“Who's he on the phone with?” Seto asked again.

“Yugi and everyone, of course!” she replied. “He's just letting them know we'll meet them there instead of trying to get them first. That'll save some time.”

“Oh, yeah....that sounds good.” Seto said, as he began to get up. “I should probably get ready then, huh?”

Kaiba got off the phone, asking, “Get ready for what?”

“You know.....the interview?” Seto asked.

Kaiba began to dial another number, stating, “You already know you're not doing the interview, so why are you even saying that.”

“So? I'm still going to see it, aren't I? I mean.....there's no way I'm staying home for that.” Seto said, starting to feel upset again.

“There's no way that Mokuba is leaving while he's sick, so you're staying here to watch.” Kaiba replied to Seto, then began to talk on the phone again. “Hello? Yes, I'd like to make an appointment with your office......”

Seto looked livid, and turned to his Mom. “Mom, that's not fair! It's supposed to be my business, and I can't even go to watch the interview??”

“I'm sorry, honey.....but Mokuba's health is the most important. Once Kaiba's gone, the business is all yours. Besides, after the mess you made on my table, you wouldn't be going anywhere until you clean that up.” the mother said.

“So, who the hell is he talking to, now?” Seto asked.

“Language.” the mother said, looking down at the pile of bags that mostly Kaiba had put down. “Why don't you take those bags up to my room, before you start on cleaning that table?”

Angie was the one to reply to him, “We didn't get a chance to go over for the DNA test yet, so Seto's making an appointment for after the interview.”

Mokie rubbed his eyes tiredly, and the mother squatted down, asking, “Are you going to be awake enough to do this, honey?”

He smiled up at her and nodded, still being rather quiet.

“Well, bro.....we're going to be going. We just stopped in to let you know we're back and drop this stuff off. We'll be back later!”

Kaiba flipped the phone shut, and turned to the mother saying, “Go ahead and start the car back up. I'm just going to check on Mokuba.”

Seto brought his finger up, looking like he was about to try and talk to Kaiba again, when he went up the stairs still ignoring him. He dropped his finger looking even more pissed, feeling like he was more like the maid of the household than an actual member.

“Seeya, Seto.” the mother waved, and headed out the door with Mokie.....Angie following behind.

Once again, Seto was alone. He couldn't even call his friends over since they were all going to be at the dance place. Everyone was......everyone but him.

Kaiba headed downstairs, and headed towards the door, as Seto said, “Wait! What if me and Mokuba put a disguise on, and just watched from a distance?”

“What did you not understand about you and Mokuba cannot leave, since he's sick?” Kaiba snapped coldly. He then added with almost venom in his voice, “And if you don't listen and drag him out against my wishes and do something stupid, I will make you pay for it!”

Then without another word, Kaiba left the house.

Seto slumped down, feeling even more depressed. “It's not fair.” he pouted. “They like him better than me....”

x-x-x-x-x-x-x

In no time, they made it to the Dance-athon, and Kaiba was pleased to find the place overflowing with people. There were lines of people just waiting to get inside.

Kaiba walked up like he owned the place, which he still did at the time, and the bouncer nodded seeing it was him. He led the family in, then went inside. Kaiba then looked around for the reporters, finding only one crew here when he had hoped there to be more. But then again, this was still just a dance place with an arcade and duel monsters. He didn't have the media mongers like he had in his world....so it was to be expected.

The reporter was familiar to him, as well.....Catherine Halter of XNC news. He had dealt with her in his world, and didn't find it a problem to know what to say to her here. At the moment, his partner John Foley was with her and talking about the place, already.

Kaiba then looked around to see the rest of the group off to the side. They waved the moment they saw him. Kaiba looked down at Mokie, saying, “Stay close to Angie and your mother. You can get lost easily in this place.”

Mokie nodded, moving closer to the other two, who were looking over the place in amazement over what Kaiba's work had done to pick this place up so much.

As he approached, John Foley turned, saying, “Ahh.....here's the man of the hour. This is who I have been talking about.”

Catherine also turned at his approach, and said, “So, you must be Seto Yagakamiya. Your partner's been saying so much about you.”

“I hope it's something good.” he smirked, as he gave a respectful nod in her direction.

The old man gave a laugh, patting Kaiba on the shoulder. He then whispered, “I'll leave the rest of this up to you.” and went away to keep watch over the business.

Kaiba nodded to him, then moved his hand in the direction of his family and waved for them to come. “This is my brother, Mokuba Yagakamiya.....and my mother and sister Angie.”

“Hi.” Angie nervously said, as Mokie simply smiled in fascination. The mother placed a hand on Angie's shoulder for support. It looked like Seto wasn't the only one camera shy, but at least she wasn't going into sweats and threatening to pass out.

The cameraman got all their pictures, as Catherine added, “So, I've heard that you were the one responsible for single handedly turning this business around. What was once a place that was ready to permanently close to a booming dance business that was hotter than ever.”

“There were some key issues to the originally run place that needed to be address. And with the competition of new businesses, if it didn't keep up with the times, there was no way to stay open.” Kaiba explained.

Catherine smiled, “So.....it was a good move to have a more younger and fresher perspective into the business. And I suppose being the first to single-handedly defeat the world's Duel Monster's Champion right here in the Dance-athon I'm certain must have helped, as well. So, does that now make you the new Duel Monster's champion?”

“Someone who doesn't put his all into the game doesn't deserve to be the champion in the first place.” Kaiba stated. “But, no.....it doesn't. Winning one duel is not the same as winning a tournament, something I've never gotten involved in. And with a business to run, it's something I may never do. The championship is out there for anyone with the will enough to take it. All they have to do is have enough determination.”

Mokie looked up in surprise that Kaiba didn't claim to be an official champion after winning to Noah.

The reporter then said to him, “So, tell me about these amazing duel disks that have everyone in a frenzy. This technology that you created and patented is said to have even made Pegasus Land look second rate. Where did you manage to come up with such an amazing idea as holographic projections?”

Kaiba gave the hint of a modest smile, as he stated, “I can't really offer the secrets behind it, but I can tell you this. The game of duel monsters really needed this to show it's true potential. Playing cards on a tabletop you can do with just about any game. But, with the holographic technology, the monsters can literally come to life and fight for you.”

“I see.” she said. “So, does that mean you intend to accept Pegasus's offer?”

Kaiba looked at her blankly. “Offer?”

“Why, yes.” she said, glancing over at one of the tables, indicating to Kaiba that Maximillion Pegasus was right here in Dance-athon, seeming to be patiently waiting for the interview to be over, to see him, as well.

Kaiba looked stunned that he was here. `Why?' he thought. It didn't make sense to him. Pegasus couldn't possibly see this small business as a threat to his massive amusement park. It wasn't even in the same league with each other.

“Though Pegasus did not give specifics, he had mentioned an interest to see you, regarding Dance-athon. Could there be yet another merging in the future?”

Kaiba crossed his arms, and tried not to look agitated, as he answered, “No comment.”

She then turned and crossed her next for her guy to stop filming. She then turned, saying, “Off the record, Seto. Is this a possible merging with Pegasus Land?”

“Off the record?” Kaiba asked. “I'll let you be the first to know, when I find out for myself. But, don't report this with Pegasus until I know.....deal?”

Catherine nodded, “Okay.” then signaled for her guy to start the camera rolling again. “This is Catherine Halter with XNC news.”

After the cameraman put the camera down, she added, “Good, we're done.” She then turned to Kaiba, saying, “Remember, Seto.....you agreed to let me be the first to know. Don't disappoint me.” She then winked and walked away.

“That was great, honey!” the mother said. “And you did so good, Mokuba.”

Mokie looked down and smiled.

“How about me??” Angie asked. “Did I do good?”

“You seemed a little nervous, but you did good.” the mother said.

“I was not nervous!!” Angie spat.

Kaiba stated, “Why don't you three go say your `hello's' to Yugi and the others. I have one other person to talk with.”

They turned, noticing his attention was on Pegasus, then nodded and drifted away.

Kaiba approached and took a seat at the table.

“So.....” Pegasus smiled. “You must be Seto Yagakamiya. What a talented young boy you are.”

Pegasus' introduction reminded him of when he first met Pegasus in his own world, and was fooled into believing he was someone he could somewhat trust. Now all he could see was a man who once kidnapped and threatened his own brother....who had somehow sucked them both into cards.

But Kaiba got his emotions in check, though secretly wondered if Pegasus could read his mind and tell that he had nothing but hate a loathing of the guy. If he did.....he didn't show it.

So, instead.....Kaiba looked around the area blandly, as he answered, “I never expected the creator of Duel Monsters and owner of Pegasus Land to show up here. I can't imagine you would actually be interested in this place.”

“You honestly think I'm here to steal your business? I'm hurt!” Pegasus said, in mock pain. “No no no, my boy. I simply came here to offer you a deal. The type that makes you filthy rich, of course.” Pegasus smiled.

“But, you just said you weren't interested in this business.” Kaiba stated. “I'm sure it can't be for nothing.”

Kaiba knew that Pegasus couldn't be worried about Dance-athon taking away too many customers. Even if they lost a little bit of people at Pegasus Land, it shouldn't matter to Pegasus. The amusement park was merely a self-promotion to his main business of Duel Monsters. So, whether the people crowded to Pegasus Land or Dance-athon, the place would still be promoting the card game.

“That's true.” Pegasus answered. “But, it's not some run-down building I'm interested in. What caught my attention Seto-boy was your mind.”

`My mind?' he thought, at first once again wondering if Pegasus had read his mind.

He then smiled at Seto, saying, “I've never seen such an amazing invention before as your Duel Disks. Holographic projections from a mere hand held.....incredible! Catherine was right, you know......our technician of the table top is nothing compared to what you came up with.”

“I see.” Kaiba said. He should have seen this coming. He waited to hear the offer on the table.

“So....how would you like a partnership? Not in the Dance-athon, but the business of gaming technology? If your mind is smart enough to make something like this, I can only imagine what else you could come up with.” Pegasus stated.

It was a very tempting offer. He could make tons of money doing this, even if he didn't trust the guy as far as he could throw him. But, there was a problem to this agreement. Kaiba wasn't going to be here, and Seto probably didn't have enough knowledge to even fix a bicycle, nonetheless a duel disk.....or anything else for that matter. He couldn't possibly agree to such a deal, when Seto was so lacking in anything. Besides.....this was going to be Seto's business. Which meant, he had to make the deal.

Kaiba nodded, and replied, “I'll need time to think about this. Give me a number that I can contact you with, and I'll let you know my answer as soon as I can.”

“I see.” Pegasus answered, sounding disappointed that it wasn't immediate. He then pulled out some papers from a briefcase and gave them to Kaiba. “Here are my offers. Feel free to look them over. My numbers on the sheets. Don't take too long, Seto-boy.....my offer wont stand forever.”

Pegasus then got up, and headed away from the table.

Kaiba watched him go. He knew that was true. Whoever was creating the tabletops for Pegasus wouldn't take long to figure out how it was done for very long and then he wouldn't need Seto.

As Kaiba looked through the paperwork, he felt a tug on his sleeve and turned to see Mokie. “Hey.” Kaiba said. “What are you doing away from the others?”

“They're right over there.” he said, showing them at a table not too far off, talking with Yugi's group. Mokie then turned back and asked, “What are you doing?”

“I'm checking over these papers.” he answered.

Satisfied with that, Mokie sat down in a chair next to Kaiba.

Kaiba glanced back down at him, and added, “I don't want to bore you. Maybe you should go back to their table until I'm done.”

“I want to stay with you.” Mokie insisted.

Kaiba sighed, realizing the boy wasn't going to do anything while he was still sitting there. He then kept the papers with him and stood, saying, “Well, come on. Maybe we can try the video games this place has.”

As he got up, he suddenly noticed Pegasus again. He was near the exit and directing a lovely blond-haired woman and a white-haired kid towards it. Kaiba recognized the woman.....she was the one that was in that portrait of the main hall in Pegasus' castle. Yet, he had heard rumors that she was dead.....at least in his world.

The woman glanced his way and offered a slight smile. Pegasus seemed to notice and turned to see Kaiba. He gave a nod of respect, then turned back to the exit as they headed out. But for the moment he turned to see Kaiba, Kaiba had noticed one other crucial thing.....Pegasus had both of his eyes, and neither wielding the Millennium Eye.

`So.....in this world, he never obtained the Eye.' Kaiba thought. Kaiba was pleased to see it. If Pegasus did not have that item, then at least he didn't have to worry of Pegasus being a possible threat against Seto if he decided against the man's deal. After all, in his world....Pegasus' way of getting what he wanted was kidnapping people and shoving them in cards.

“Seto...??”

Kaiba looked back down at Mokie looking at him questioningly when he had frozen. He offered this other Mokuba a smile, and said, “Let's go.”

Kaiba stayed with Mokie and let him play several video games. As he did, his attention drifted over to the dueling arenas. He knew that his Mokuba was never really interested in Duel Monsters.....then again, he was never really good at it. The only aspect he ever gotten into was Capsule Monsters, which he had completely given up after Death T. To this day, Kaiba wasn't sure if that was also his fault for crushing an interest his brother once had in something.

He then turned back to Mokie who was still on the video game and wondered if he was any good at Duel Monsters. “Hey, kiddo.....would you want to actually play the game?”

Mokie turned to see what game he was referring to, and saw him pointing at the arena. To Kaiba's surprise, his eyes lit up, and he said excitedly, “Could I, really??”

Mokie's head then began to droop, saying, “But.....I don't have a deck.”

Kaiba then pulled his own deck out and handed it to him. “I'll let you use mine.”

Mokie looked nervously at it, as he added, “It's okay. It's just to try it out. I trust you with it. And if you like it enough, we can go buy you some cards. Maybe we can go to Yugi's game shop on the way home.”

The kid looked like he was going to cry, as he hugged Kaiba. He had to admit, he didn't expect Mokie to really be interested in playing that much, but was happy to lend him the deck.

Mokie's turn came to get up on the field, and the other duelists made fun of such a small kid coming up to play. But, Kaiba encouraged him to try his best. He had asked him before he got in if he needed to know the rules, but to Kaiba's surprise, Mokie said he already knew them.

It was even more surprising how quickly Mokie picked up how to use his deck as well. Though Mokie lacked the amazing ability that Kaiba had to pull the right card when it was needed, and found it impossible to call a Blue Eyes to him, he still did a pretty good job overall. He had actually defeated the kid he was fighting.

Now, given....the kid he fought was an amateur, but the deck wasn't Mokuba's and still he had won. Overall, Kaiba was proud.

And Mokie was so excited that he had actually won. But, he didn't stick around as he got off and quickly gave Kaiba back his deck. “Thank you, Nii-sama.....that was very fun!” he said.

“Where did you learn how to play?” Kaiba asked, putting the deck away.

Mokie looked down. “I kinda learned myself, with some help from Noah, and Seto. Seto kept losing to Noah, and I felt bad. I felt it was my fault and was afraid that he would get hurt and captured by Noah, sometime. I wanted to help him, too if that happened. So, I started to watch more how to play, and Seto taught me some things, too. So, I knew the rules, but....I just never played before, or had a deck.”

“Well.....we're going to let you pick out some cards to make a deck today. All right?” Kaiba asked.

Mokie smiled, and nodded. “Okay!”

x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Finally, he got together with the group and they eventually left Dance-athon. The first stop was a medical clinic where both Mokie and the Mom had to give samples for the DNA test. Then from there, the Mom dropped both Kaiba and Mokie off at Yugi's, and kept going.

“Wow, Mokie.....so you're going to try and duel, too?” Yugi asked.

Mokie smiled and nodded, as he gratefully took the cards that Kaiba had bought for him at the game shop.

Joey then approached and asked, “So, what kinda deck are you looking to make? You got a theme or just doing what fits yer fancy?”

“I like regular monsters.” Mokie said, looking through the cards. “I'm thinking of making an earth deck.”

“An earth deck. Well, that sounds pretty cool. Mine's kind of an earth deck.” Joey said.

“No it's not.” Kaiba smirked. “It's a lame deck.”

“Shut up! It is not lame! My deck's a warrior deck, splashed with a little bit of lady luck. My deck is awesome!” Joey spat.

“When Mokuba's done with his deck, I guarantee he'll be able to wipe the floor with you.” Kaiba bragged.

“No way!” Joey snarled.

Yugi ignored the two, saying to Mokie, “You know, I watched you battling against that kid in the duel arena. You did pretty good, especially being that it wasn't even your deck. But, the next time you fight.....you'll be battling with cards of your own. I guarantee they will work better for you, then with Kaiba's cards.”

“You think so?” Mokie asked, still thrilled over the cards he was holding.

Kaiba gave up his argument to look over at Mokie. It was still so strange to see his brother with the same glint of desire in the cards that only he normally seemed to have in the family. It made him question if the reason Mokuba had no interest was also because of what he had done. `Is that my fault, too?' he wondered.

“So, Seto....where did your Mom and Angie go, after dropping you off here?” Tristan asked.

“Home.” Kaiba answered. “They wanted to check on that loser back at the house.”

As Kaiba said that, there was a pull on his sleeve, followed by a disapproving look from Mokie. Kaiba nodded to silently agree he'd keep his comments on Seto to a minimum.....at least for Mokie's sake.

“Hey, Seto....so what did Pegasus want?” Yugi asked.

Kaiba answered, “He wants to be a partner with Seto, regarding the Duel Disk technology.”

“Wow.....that can be a lot of money.” Joey said.

Kaiba nodded. “Except for the fact that the mor-.....he doesn't know anything about it.” Kaiba's insult was cut short, quickly remembering his agreement with Mokie.

“So, what did you decide?” Tea asked.

“What do you mean `me'?” Kaiba asked. “It's his business, not mine. He's going to have to make it for himself.”

After stating that, he checked his watch, saying, “We gotta get back. I just wanted to get some cards for Mokuba.”

“Can we come, too?” Joey asked, anxiously wanting to see the fireworks when Kaiba attempt to explain all this to Seto.

Kaiba shrugged. “He's your friend.....go ahead, I don't care.”

“All right!” Joey cheered, as Kaiba looked away feeling strangely uncomfortable. His comment basically invited the friendship group to his house, after all.....and he wasn't used to not spitting at them and leaving. But, there was more to it than that. Kaiba was nearing the end of having a reason to be here. Once he was back, he could basically leave everything to Seto and move on. And if Aiko didn't show up by then, he'd simply have to call her to take them away. For some reason, he had the urge to have them there as perhaps a silent way of saying good-bye without actually saying it.

....he had a feeling he was really going to miss this world.