#I set this in the St Regis hotel in Osaka

[dei-lab-assistant]

Meeting Up with Mokuba

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 sisters—one 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, “Are you looking for someone?” 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 didn’t see Mokuba. “Yes, I’m here to meet Mokuba Kaiba.” It felt strange to give his full name, almost as strange as being in a place this fancy. “And what is your name?” the employee gave a professional smile.

Smiling back, You gave your name, hoping you hadn’t 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 Mokuba’s 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. 

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 hair—but 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 Mokuba’s 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 Mokuba’s 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. “Abukom is my company, Seto. I can handle this on my own.” It sounded like the start of an argument. “I don’t recall our stepfather forcing you to learn any Japanese. You’ll need me to interpret.”

You almost winced at hearing Kaiba’s voice. You had expected him to be out for the day. Mokuba countered, “I already hired an interpreter. Besides, all I’m doing is meeting with a manga author to discuss bringing her onto our team to write a new Capsule Monsters series.” “I managed to cancel my plans with Pegasus this afternoon, so I’ll come with you any—” “Not a chance.” Mokuba was emphatic. “The woman I’m meeting with is famously shy, and I won’t have you showing up and scaring her away.” “I wouldn’t—” “Yes you would. You’d sit there scowling like you just broke your leg. Or you’d aggressively ask a question about her work, and before you know it, she’d be backing out of the deal.” “You’re exaggerating.” “No, you just don’t want to admit your aura of intimidation isn’t always useful, Seto. And you don’t know how to reliably turn it off.” “Don’t insult me, Mokuba.” “I’m not! It’s a useful quality about you, but it’s not great for what I’m doing today.” “Hmph, we can’t all get what we want with puppy dog eyes.” “Yeah, that mainly works on you.” “Really?” Kaiba’s voice was quieter, almost surprised. “Seriously? Seto, do you honestly think I ran Kaiba Corp for all those months you were away—with puppy dog eyes?!” “Of course not.” Kaiba snapped back. “Good.” 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 wasn’t going to be available to take you anywhere after all. Should you send him a message canceling your plans and walk away? You didn’t 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. “You know, Seto, you could try to convince me you’re learning to restrain yourself when you need to.” His voice was wheedling, almost cheerful. “How?” Kaiba sounded suspicious. “You could go out with y/n—” Kaiba interrupted so quickly he almost sounded panicked, “No.” Out in the hall, you stood frozen. You had almost gasped aloud at hearing the suggestion.  “Not on a date,” Mokuba clarified, “but to have fun.” “No.” “Well, you might not have fun, but y/n would.” “No.”

For once, you agreed with Kaiba. The two of you had a tacit agreement to ignore each other whenever you met—and 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. “Please, Seto? I promised to spend the day with y/n before this opportunity for my publishing house came up. And I don’t want to leave her alone.” Kaiba sighed. “Go play with your little friend, and I’ll represent you at your meeting.” “Nope. Business comes first, and I’m the better man for the job.” “And you think I’m the best choice to entertain y/n?” “Of course not. You’re the only choice.” “I don’t see why your scheduling conflict is my problem.” Kaiba’s 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 couldn’t 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. “It’s not. I just thought I could count on you to do a favor for me.” Kaiba didn’t respond. “Please, Seto? I promised s/n I’d take care of her little sister today, and I don’t want to let her down.” “Fine.” Kaiba’s voice was clipped, “We wouldn’t want you to disappoint my replacement.” “Your replace—is that how you think I see s/n? As your replacement?” Mokuba’s quiet voice certainly made you feel his hurt, even if it flew over Kaiba’s head. “Anyone in my position would feel the same.” Kaiba’s voice was quiet too. You leaned closer to the crack, trying to catch a glimpse of the conversation; things were getting interesting. “Are you here to visit one of the Kaibas?” 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. “Yes, Mokuba invited me.” 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. “It 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.” The man’s 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. “Y/n! Glad you could make it!” Whatever angst he had been feeling a moment ago seemed to have fallen away. “Thank you so much for helping my friend,” 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 hadn’t 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. “Come on in,” 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. “Are you ready to go, Mokuba?” you asked.

“About that…” 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 accents—like 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.

“I’m really sorry,” Mokuba looked at the floor, and you noticed he wasn’t wearing shoes, “but a great opportunity came up about thirty minutes ago, and I have to take it.”

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. That’s when he hit you with his horrible plan, “So I thought Seto could take you out this afternoon instead.”

“No way.” You crossed your arms.

“I know you don’t wanna see Osaka by yourself, and I thought spending a day with you would be good for my brother.”

“Not a chance.”

“Please, y/n? He said he’d do it, and he needs practice at interacting with, um, people like you.”

You raised your eyebrows at his choice of words.

“You know, regular people. People who don’t know anything about Duel Monsters and holograms, and aren’t super smart. Uh,” Mokuba facepalmed, “I mean, you’re plenty smart, but compared to someone like Seto, you’re not at his level, you know?” Mokuba fiddled with the buttons on his vest.

“Yeah, I know. But I don’t see why I should spend my afternoon having your brother insult my intelligence.” You glared over Mokuba’s shoulder at Kaiba, who was watching your conversation from the couch. Realizing your posture was an uncomfortable match to his, you uncrossed your arms. “He won’t.” Mokuba gave you a confident grin, “That’s our deal—he’ll take you to the store I was going to take you to, and cooperate, and be nice, and buy you a gift.” “I didn’t agree to that,” Kaiba spoke up from the couch. “It was implied,” 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. “Come on, Mokuba, I can’t afford to let him buy me anything. There’s no way I’m going to let myself owe your brother.” You gestured at Kaiba, but kept your voice down so he couldn’t hear, “You guys are out of my price range, literally.” “You like free stuff, but you don’t like gifts?” Mokuba sounded like he was teasing you, “Girls make no sense.” “I don’t enjoy feeling like I owe someone, especially not rich, arrogant businessmen.” You raised your voice to ensure Kaiba heard your putdown.    “You won’t owe either of us anything, but I’ll owe you a favor if you do this for me.” 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. “I want your brother to buy me lunch.” “Sure.” Mokuba grinned like he had won a game you didn’t know the two of you were playing. “And we’ll reschedule for another afternoon this week.” You added conspiratorially, “We have business of our own to attend to, after all.”      

Mokuba giggled. “So, you’ll spend the afternoon with my brother, he’ll be nice to you, buy you lunch and a present to take home, we’ll get together later, and I’ll owe you one. Deal?” 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. “Deal.” You shook on it, and grinned, “I get to annoy your brother as much as I want, right?”

“Of course. I didn’t hear Seto make any terms to the contrary.” “They were implied.” Kaiba glared at the back of his brother’s head. “We were clearly stating our terms, you should have spoken up.” Mokuba grinned at you. “I didn’t think I needed to, since your little friend is such a good person.” Kaiba’s voice dripped sarcasm as he crossed his legs and stretched his arm out along the top of the couch. “I’m sure she would never irritate others on purpose, right, y/n?”

“Of course not! I don’t annoy people for fun.” You planted a hand on your hip, “But you’re a special exception.”

“How so?”

You tilted your head, “I’m still not convinced you’re human.” 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. “I’ll expect a full report about your time together.”

“From me?” you asked.

“From both of you.” After a moment, Mokuba jumped to his feet, ready to go. “I’ll have the hotel call me a cab, so you can have Roland for the afternoon.”

You and Kaiba said nothing. “Right, I’m off. Follow the deal. Y/n, try to treat Seto like a normal person, okay?”

Nodding, you agreed, already realizing that treating Kaiba the same way you treated everyone else would irritate him to no end.

“Have fun!” Mokuba waved, and then he was gone, leaving a sea of awkwardness in his absence.

After an abysmally long silence, Kaiba sighed. “I’ll get dressed, and we’ll head out.”

“What do you mean, ‘get dressed?’ Can’t you dress like someone normal for once?”

“We both know I’m not normal.”

“Whatever. But no duel disk.”

“Fine.” 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 didn’t belong here. Touching anything felt like overstepping your boundaries. “Don’t celebrities have to hide their identity when they go out?” You raised your voice and hoped Kaiba would hear.

“I’m not a celebrity; I’m a businessman.” Kaiba’s 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. “I don’t hide.”

At least he wasn’t wearing any LEDs, or those ridiculous blue straps on his arms and legs. Kaiba stared at you for a moment, then headed back into the bedroom. Hesitantly, you stepped closer, catching a glimpse of a pair of slept-in beds and a window with a beautiful view overlooking Osaka. Kaiba opened the drawer to one of the nightstands and pulled out a box. Unexpectedly tossing you a small round disk from inside it, he ordered, “Keep that on your person as long as you’re my responsibility.” You picked the silvery disk up from the floor where you had batted it when it was thrown at you. As your fingers brushed up against the carpet, you wished your own bedroom floor was this soft. Turning the quarter-sized object over in your hand, you saw one side bore the Kaiba Corp logo, and the other was crossed by thin, jagged lines which faintly glowed blue. “What is this?” “It’s a tracking tile.” Kaiba opened another, larger metal case on his nightstand, and pulled out what looked like two dark silver halfpipes side by side. As he closed it over his left forearm, the sleek device made a faint hissing noise. You recognized it as one of his usual, gauntlet type thingymajigs. Sliding his fingers along the surface, a hologram screen sprang to life above the device. With a flurry of finger movements, Kaiba navigated through a few screens, then shut off the hologram.

You thought about protesting. You didn’t love the idea of letting Kaiba pull up your precise location at any time, but also knew well enough why he might want to—Mokuba may have reached a point of being blasé about getting kidnapped, but you hadn’t. But where to put the tracker? Your purse seemed inadequate. You didn't want it to scratch your phone screen. Stepping back into the living room, you slipped the slender device into your bra, feeling the cool metal against your skin and hoping this was all overkill.

Kaiba strode out into the room after you, now wearing both of his gauntlets. “Let’s get this over with.” He headed out the front door without looking back. You followed, hoping you wouldn’t regret agreeing to spend the afternoon with him. Oh well, at least you could get some great stories out of this.

[kurokctei]

𝘜𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘌𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴.

     On this particular night, the moon glowed brightly, casting its pale light on equally pale skin through an open window. Lime-green hues watched the crowd of people passing by him, him mostly minding his own business as he leaned against the wall. Another night out for work. A pale hands pulls out an ink black phone, the screen lighting up brightly. 

     ❝I wonder what sort of guy my client is....❞ He murmurs to himself out loud, thumb carefully scrolling on his phone. Supposedly, the guy he was meeting was a business man; for a huge company the male did not quite recall the name for....which, given he was meant to act as the ‘date’ for this man’s business’s party, he supposed that was important.

              Oh well. He’d recall when the male showed up. Or when they got there.

     As if on cue, a tall figure approaches him and he smiles, hand reaching out to him. They exchange greetings, a few other pleasantries, and soon enough they were off to the aforementioned party. Soon enough, they reach the grand hotel the party was being held at, and the white haired male’s eyes widen slightly. This hotel--St. Regis--was a five star hotel in Osaka, Japan. Regardless of what package you went for, you were looking at well over ¥ 42,000 ( roughly $381.28 per night at minimum, for those curious && want to scream in prices with me. ). He knew this man was well off, but this? This was...well. It was something. Granted, he himself was in a decent place too--he could afford staying here himself if he wished it, but often did not, purely because he had no reason to other than to experience pleasantries. 

     They finally find a place to park and move to head inside, music being heard a few steps from the door. The door is opened for him, the white haired male smiling flirtatiously at his ‘partner’ before he steps inside.

          The hotel honestly deserved it’s five star rating, from interior alone.

     ❝Ne ne, quite the hotel experience, my dear...~❞ The white haired male teases, chuckling a bit as he and his client move to the main lobby, where the party was mostly taking place. The lights were dimmed low to set the mood, music blaring, a few people here and there were at the bar, chatting away. 

     The pair moved further into the room, lime-greens dancing around the area as feet trekked across carpet, before hitting marble. He stops in the middle of the floor, spotting a lone male leaning against the wall, a drink in hand. He was tall, but not that tall--the white haired male guessed they were equal in height, in fact. He was sporting a strong jawline, a toned frame, and raven colored hair that, in certain lighting, revealed hints of a rich, deep purple. The thing that caught him most, however, was the beautiful, vibrant amethyst that had opened--meeting peridots.

      He held eye contact with him for far too long. Longer than he himself was comfortable with.

     ❝Try to be careful about who you approach, Shun dear. That one there-Mutsuki-me. He’s dangerous.❞ Oh? it seemed his partner didn’t want him getting close with the other for some reason...or another. Shun wondered if there was a bit of business rivarly between the two co-workers--or was his partner just jealous? Maybe Mutsuki was jealous? Truthfully, the latter didn’t seem the jealous type, however. And, on top of that, he had just used the honorific ‘me’-which....was a rather rare honorific to use, but it was known as a derogatory honorific.

     ❝Of course, darling~❞ None the less, Shun moves himself to greet others, explaining he’s here with Sato-san to celebrate the company’s latest achievement and growth and what have you. His partner has a few drinks here and there, getting a bit handsy with Shun--and while Shun normally didn’t mind, tonight’s client was a bit...rough. And to be honest, they were supposed to be a ‘couple’ for the night--but Sato-san spent most of his time flirting with a few ladies and gentlemen. 

     But Shun didn’t really care. Not too much, anyway. Gave him an excuse. So thus, the white haired male trekked out of the many bodies dancing out on the floor or flirting about, making his way over to the lone, handsome stranger he saw a bit ago.

          ❝Ne ne, hope you don’t mind a second wallflower joining you tonight.❞

@shirokctei || Here we go again-