#kaiba sisters

[l1ghtfromthecloset]

Genderbent the kaiba brothers!

Welcome Sera and Mikuba :)

[starscream-is-my-wife]

Is Starscream the best big brother? No. Is he trying his best? Uhh, sometimes?

[dragonpyre]

For the deranged girlies, what was your whump awakening? I'll go first, mine was Yu-Gi-Oh

[sugarglider-s]

The more that I think about it the more I love trans girl Kaiba where she just. Doesn’t change anything except her pronouns. Like shes still got the same haircut the same clothes but if the board of directors calls her a man she slams her briefcase in their face

Like one day she gets in her blimp thingy and broadcasts to domino city “I’m a woman now and you will refer to me as such. If you don’t I have drones that will immediately vaporize you.” And everyone knows she’ll make good on that threat.

[specialsummon]

"We'll soon have the Three Sisters together."

"'When shall we three meet again?'"

"'When the hurly-burly's done.'"

"'When the battle's lost and won.'"

"'That will be -"

"In that case, 'That will be ere the set of sun.'"

"What?!"

"Lines from the Three Witches of Macbeth, huh? Truly a good fit for you three, Kageyama triplets."

[princessofgames]

Hello Yugioh community

[mercurysketches]

what a decade this year has been 😵‍💫

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[sesshy380]

The past two days at Youma were a blast! Saw a few other YGO cosplays (there was a DMG, another Yami Yugi, and a Jaden that I saw but couldn't catch to get pics). A Yuya from ARC-V found me and got a pic of us 'Dueling' a few minutes into day 2 (I hadn't even finished my Starbucks so brain didn't think to have someone get a pic with my phone lol).

Running into Kaiba was funny bc my sister had texted me and said there was a Yugi waiting for me so I rushed to meet up with her, and Kaiba came chasing after me going "Bakura! Bakura! Wait!". When I told them I was on my way to a Yugi they were super stoked so we hurried up and rushed over. The background was awesome because it was kinda like the Tablet. Kaiba's Blue-Eyes kept falling whenever they posed for a pic (but they got really good at catching it).

Had a lot of people stop and want pics of my little group (I guess there was an objective game going on and one of the side-quests was get a pic of a multi-fandom group). Also had a lot of people stop me and ask if I made the Ring myself (and they all laughed when I told them I had dubbed it The Cursed Bitch).

Got pics of quite a few Inuyasha fandom...especially the Sesshomaru's and quite a few Inu no Taisho (Sesshomaru and Inuyasha's father) One Inuyasha and Kagome group met up and saw Inu no Taisho and went "You're child-support is overdue Old Man!" It was hilarious. They were just as bummed about David Kaye's flight situation making it where he wasn't able to come to Youma, but these things happen and we can't do much about it.

My boys are already planning for next year. They said it's like Pokemon and you gotta get pics of them all lol

I got so many more pics, including a Harambe being followed around by a pair of Hulks for protection (Harambe actually 'fell' in front of some paramedics and they stopped to check on him. He got back up and finished crossing the road).

[rosalind-hawkins]

Big thanks to @roselynblonger for her great work in bringing to life the Noah Kaiba from my Rock Bottom AU!

He's powerful, he's cruel, and he's just a bit crazy. (And whatever you do, don't mention Gozaburo to him! 🤐)

You can find the Rock Bottom series, a full canon rewrite project of mine, here on AO3. Currently writing the first half of Season Three.

"Do you really think you can stand against my God Cards, Seto?"

Commission for @rosalind-hawkins 🤩 This is a picture for her fanfic, the villain Noah with the Millenium Eye! 😱 I enjoyed drawing this too much and I hope you like it too! 😊

[kujakumai]

On the subject of being good with children, which characters do you think WOULD be good babysitters?

YUGIOH CHARACTERS AS BABYSITTERS, RANKED

TOP PICKS:

Seto Kaiba runs an entire company dedicated exclusively to safely entertaining children, and unless his parks are getting continually sued I believe he knows how. Your kindergartner is not only safe with him but will probably leave knowing how to play chess and write in C++. He may allow them to play with knives, but only if they're 9 or over, plus he has all the emergency numbers on speed-dial.

Hiroto Honda babysits his niblings on the regular. Can warm a bottle and change a diaper. A level-headed and practical guy. He’ll be fine as long as his friends don't drag him into a horrible game-themed deathtrap. Don't ask why that caveat exists.

Rishid Ishtar is safe, experienced, has dad energy, however he will crumple like wet paper at the first sign of conflict re: ice cream for dinner / no bedtime / blood-soaked cross-country quest for revenge / an extra episode of cartoons over the screentime limit.

Ishizu Ishtar would make a great babysitter. I don't really have a quirky joke here she just would.

"MAYBE"S

Jonouchi used to watch his little sister and I think he'll do about as well as any other teenager you're paying minimum wage, and with a lot of earnest enthusiasm. Your child will be fine at the end of the night, though they will probably have eaten some junk food and played a T rated videogame.

I do not think Atem would know what to do with a baby, and may panic about it, though if you have an older child he will be happy to offer a rousing speech and some deep-voiced mentorlike advice while teaching them to play board games. Not a bad choice, just try not to leave him with anyone under seven.

Yugi knows zilch about kids and often appears a little annoyed by them. Same general rules as Atem--do not leave him with a baby, but he'll probably just teach an older kid to play shogi or something.

Mai Kujaku will put the kid in front of the television and order pizza while she paints her nails. Honestly, though, what more are you paying her for?

Listen, I love Anzu. I do. She’s smart, driven, and big-hearted, but she is also sort of short-tempered and impatient, and patience is like 90% of child-rearing. Please do not ask Anzu Mazaki to watch your children. She WILL say yes because she needs the money, and she WILL go into it with optimism and gumption, and yes, both she and your child will both be in one piece at the end of the night, but it will be clear from both of their frazzled expressions that she lost most of her sanity an hour in after the fifth "Why?"

DEFINITELY NOT

Ryou Bakura would in theory be a perfectly good, if kind of spacey, babysitter, but you cannot trust him to remain Ryou Bakura, and the other guy is definitely not someone you want anywhere near your children.

I don't think Marik Ishtar has ever interacted with a child for very long and the number of people he talks to that are even his own age is in the single digits. And he is definitely not getting spat on or dealing with any bathroom stuff. I'm not saying he can't figure it out but the learning curve is going to be steep.

I have to put Yami Bakura here in principle and yet for some reason I think it wouldn't go that bad? I mean he definitely doesn't care about the safety of your child. And he may enlist them to the armies of darkness. And he's not cleaning anything up. But he's like, a weird socially awkward over-the-top guy? And children love those? Honestly I think they would both have fun. For at least an hour until everything goes horribly wrong.

Please do not summon Zork Necrophades to babysit your child.

[skeletonwithakeyboard]

Ya know what's something not explored enough in puppeyshipping? How they would react to each others families, especially if they're in an established relationship.

Like Joey's dad is gambling alcoholic thats implied to be physically abusive, and your telling me that Seto Kaiba; a man who had someone fired for making a "weak" water bottle. First instinct isn't to be the first openly gay married CEO so he can make sure him and Joey are covered legally??? (Idk how marriage/next of kin laws work in Japan)

Ask for Joey's mom, I think Kaiba would definitely be the "I'm only being nice cuz he's being nice" boyfriend when it comes to her. He doesn't hate her on the same level as his dad, but he doesn't like her all that much either, but he's respectful for Joey's sake.

He loves serenity tho, she's the sister he never had.

And meanwhile Joey is pissed off by kaiba's family on kaiba's behalf. While kaiba has grown to feel indifferent to his bio family there is a part of him that feels happy and validated of having someone outside of himself and mokuba being upset at his bio family. And if they were together (or had feelings for each other) during the digital arc I KNOW Joey would be an onsite hater everytime he sees gorgonzola(ifykyk) especially during him and kaiba's dual. Also the big five getting hate too, you know that whenever they bring up kaiba backstabbing them the first thing out of Joey's mouth is "y'all got played by a middle schooler.. I think that's more of a you problem then a him(kaiba) problem, yknow??"

Tho I think Joey would feel bad for Noah, at least a little, being in the digital world gotta be lonely

[bestygogirl]

BEST YGO GIRL: SEMI FINALS

Match 2

please use this as an opportunity to say why you like a character, not why you don't.

Propaganda under the cut!

Isis Ishtar

gorgeous, very caring sister, strong duelist, and the only woman to ever make Seto Kaiba squirm

anyways. not only as mentioned above is she the first woman to make kaiba squirm, but she was by all means going to beat him if not for the millennium rod's millennium interference. yami marik admits that she's a strong duelist with a strategy that's been working for literal years-- and given that she's not like, a professional duelist, thats pretty impressive

she also recently got some really cool meta bumps and let me point out that an "ishizu deck" now includes obelisk the tormentor-- which we knew she had prior to giving it to kaiba, but i think it only solidifies my opinion that she very much could wield an Egyptian God Card, an exclusive little club for top tier duelists

as a character she presents herself with an amazing amount of poise and grace, shes compassionate and kind and stays with mai and serenity even though she only just met them. shes struggling through living the past 5 years of her life drowning in guilt for her family's tragedy just because she wanted to make her little brother happy and shadi is a fucking liar. shes foretold her own death and marches towards it grimly but with so much love in her heart. and even then shes 20 years old and holds an important position in the egyptian government that typically requires a doctorate degree AND has been dealing with mariks off-and-on bullshit entirely by her lonesome. she also likes to flex her fortunetelling a little which is awesome i think she should do that more that scene where she tells the guy exactly how the stele is being transported was so everything

speaking of shes got such an attitude. "is it your destiny to waste my time?" iconic. never seen before will never be seen again. watch the duel between her va and joeys its so fucking funny

shes excult. shes doesnt flinch in the face of god nor death. seto kaiba and yami marik respect her. shes so sad and so sweet and battle city couldnt have happened without her.

also her parallels with kaiba are what motivate kaiba to give yugi the card he needed to beat marik.

kaiba, in duelist kingdom, was ready to jump off a ledge if yugi didnt let him through to face pegasus while trying to save mokuba out of sheer desperation to save his little brother. he KNOWS what that dedication feels like and the iron kind of will you need to have to make that kind of gamble. isis is being so fucking legit with what shes saying and he respects that and her judgement enough to change his mind and not only watch the duel, but give yugi a card that eventually helps him win, even if he has no real confidence in the odds. but theres a CHANCE, which is the same thing he taught her when he beat her in a duel. the layers its her faith that moves him to act. which is so crazy

anyway vote isis shes my best friend forever and a real rep for all the 20 year olds who honest to god did not sign up for this bullshit

Aki Izayoi

An abuse victim who isn't the perfect passive figure but gets to work through her complicated feelings about power, agency, and family. Even with Yusei's help, she is the star of the show when she learns to control her powers and reconciles with her father, it is so fun that a ygo heroine gets to take such an antagonistic role bu not be shamed for her anger

please vote for my main girl, aki izayoi. aki was led to believe she was a monster from a young age by her father, who treated her powers like it made her unworthy of love. as a result, divine was able to swoop in and take advantage of aki's low self esteem. for years, aki believed herself unworthy of love and was molded into a living weapon at the hands of authority figures in her life. she was taken advantage of, and thus when she finally comes face to face with yusei, she refuses to believe he could provide her with unconditional friendship. who would want to be around a monster, after all?

aki also nearly beats yusei TWICE in a duel, bringing it down to a single turn difference. she comes toe to toe with him, and it truly is the result of who dueled better. she remains a fierce duelist, btw. the second season, aki gets her duel runner license, and immediately nearly beats the ass of a tournament winning turbo duelist - to the point where once again, a single card is the deciding factor. that's right: she nearly won. if not for a single trap card, aki izayoi would've won.

a fierce duelist who was shaped into a loving, caring woman despite years of being beaten down by the world: aki izayoi. vote for her now on your phones.

[gx-gameon]

So I have yugioh duel monsters on as I’m working on a project and I just watched the episode where Yugi’s millennium puzzle is stolen and the warehouse fire occurs.

And you know I love an au….

Say Yugi inhaled too much smoke. He finishes the puzzle and then passes out like in cannon. Joey and Tristian come and save him from the fire, but Yugi doesn’t wake up.

He’s not dead but he is in a coma.

The gang tries everything to wake him up. Even putting the puzzle around his neck to see if the spirit can reach out to him. But he’s so far in his own head that even Yami can’t reach him.

The group is devastated.

Teá is heartbroken over the loss of her friend. She visits him often in the hospital and tries to talk to him. But she doesn’t know what to do.

Tristan’s angry. He’s angry at Bandit Keith and wants him brought to justice. He’s angry at the puzzle spirit for starting this whole mess in the first place. He’s angry at himself for not getting there sooner. He’s trying to cope by getting the authorities to look for Keith.

Joey is a mixture of both. Yugi believed in him. A no good street punk. Because of Yugi’s friendship he’s gone from a directionless kid to one of the world’s best Duel Monsters players. His sister’s surfer was paid for by Yugi (his prize money but same thing) he can’t let Yugi go.

He’s at the hospital every day, talking to Yugi. Telling him about the new games coming out, new duel monsters cards and news, how Dungeon Dice is selling. Anything he thinks Yugi would be interested in. He tell him about their friends and how they are struggling. He always ends by begging his friend to wake up. He’s even started talking to the puzzle begging the spirit to wake Yugi up.

Then the Egyptian exhibit comes to town. Ishizu seeks them out. She knows something horrible has happened to Yugi. She arrives at the hospital and tells them about the rare hunters, how they were the ones controlling Keith. How they are after the Millennium Puzzle.

Tristian’s about ready to throw it at them so that no one else in the group gets hurt. Joey disagrees as Yugi wouldn’t let go of the puzzle in a burning building he’d never want them to give it to a crazy cult. Teá’s with Joey.

Ishizu then reveals that the leader of the Rare hunters, Marik, has the Millenium Rod. It has the power to control and warp minds and might be able to find Yugi’s consciousness and bring it back into control of his body.

That’s all the group needs to hear. They are beating these rare hunters. And wouldn’t you know it, the hunters are coming to them thanks to Kaiba’s tournament.

Now questions that need answered.

The millennium puzzle can’t stay at the hospital, it’s way too easy to steal. Does Yami

1) possess Yugi’s body and help that way.

I don’t think so because he’s cripple with guilt that Yugi is so badly hurt. He can’t find Yugi’s soul any more. He knows Yugi isn’t dead but the damage has locked Yugi away. He’s spent all this time desperately looking for Yugi’s soul.

I don’t think he would take over the body. His own guilt would prevent him from putting Yugi (who’s still in there some where) in any more danger. Yugi’s body is also reviving from the fire still.

2) on of the other members of the group takes up the Puzzle.

My money is on Joey. He’s the other duelist in the group and has the best shot of winning.

I don’t think Yami will take control the same way he does with Yugi. He and Joey aren’t that close. But he eventually can talk to Joey.

This leads to a battle city with Joey as the leading man.

Maybe he wins the first duel on his own.

But the second is against a rare hunter (he misses the alley way encounter because he was already at the hospital for Yugi.) during this duel he’s full of rage. These are the people who hurt Yugi. He’s losing because he’s making basic mistakes in his anger. This is the first time Yami makes contact with Joey.

Together they defeat the rare hunter. Their team work isn’t as good as Yugi and Yami but it will do. They are both completely committed to getting reel fence for Yugi as well as finding a way to wake him. The pharaohs memories are a secondary goal. Nothing matters more than Yugi.

As the tournament goes on they still pick up Slifer. This infuriates Marik because Joey has no connection to Egypt. He’s just some dude who’s wear a Millenium object that doesn’t belong to him. Even if Marik beats Joey he can’t claim the puzzle. He has to beat Yugi.

Now the question is how far does this go. I have two ways this could end.

1) Joey goes all the way to the finals. In his first battle with Ra and Odion he gets struck by lighting. Yami tries to shield him and it works a bit but Joey still has a moment of unconsciousness. Instead of seeing all his friends, he sees Yugi. The real Yugi. Yugi thanks him for all that he’s done. Yugi explains that he almost died in the fire the puzzle took his soul and locked it away. The door didn’t unlock until it was flooded with Ra’s power.

Yugi’s soul will return to his body when the puzzle does. Meaning that for the rest of battle city Yugi and Yami are standing with Joey as the three face Marik together.

Or

2) Marik takes over Yugi’s body for the pier duel.

After Joey gets Slifer he gets a call that Yugi is missing from the hospital. Mario’s puppet mocks him asking why the guard dog wasn’t guarding his friend.

When Joey arrives at the pier he’s faced with a brainwashed Yugi. After all “it’s so easy to control a body that doesn’t have a soul”

Joey and Yami work together to try and snap Yugi out of it. It works and Yugi is back. Allowing Yugi and Joey to head to the battle city finals together.

[sennenpharaoh]

@game-weaver X

Oh. Oh he was MORE than happy to talk about all the friends that Yugi made. MORE than happy!

"Where do I even start? Okay... one moment." He pulled out his phone, looking at his contact list. Thankfully, he attached a picture to each name so it would be easy to recognize if he quickly looked at his phone.

"Well, let's start with your close group of friends. This one, Joey Wheeler, the most loyal friend you could ever ask for. He's... quite enthusiastic, but he is there when you need him. Just call for him and..." A snap of his fingers. "There he is."

"Okay, next one... ah! Tristan Taylor! Joey's 'partner in crime' if you wish to call it. He and Joey make a great team that... like to get themselves in trouble, make no mistake. If Joey's by your side, you can guarantee Tristan is right there as well."

"And, of course... there's Tea Gardner, the most kind-hearted person I... you have ever met. Strong, down-to-earth, compassionate... Think of her as... a protective sister of sorts."

"And that's just our little group. I haven't even mentioned Ryou, Kaiba, Mai, the Ishtars... never mind the duel Spirits that are loyal to you. Oh, oh! And of course others that you've met recently like... ah! Colonel Roy Mustang, I can tell you about him. And... ah!" A gasp, as if a little lightbulb popped in his head.

"I completely forgot about Aki~ Your best friend Aki~"

[zelandiangelo]

happy birthday kaiba beloved

I had to give up on my pipe dream of finishing this absolute monster of a fic in time for his birthday LOL new scenes keep popping up when I think I've finished a big chunk... like a hydra...

but I can't let his birthday pass without posting anything so >_< here is the opening of the fic, subject to change a bit LOL. most biggest of giant shoutouts to @moonogre for reading my draft despite it being filled with holes and for loving it and cheering me on you are the realest one <3

(kaiba i'm sorry that you are just annoyed about everything happening to you here I promise it gets better later when you have some Character Development TT_TT)

Seto doesn’t have nightmares often anymore. But when he does, they’re always about the same thing: Mokuba. More specifically, Mokuba missing, in peril, in pain.

He hasn’t seen his younger sibling yet in this dream, but a dreadful certainty grips him, one that tells him if he doesn’t find Mokuba fast, something terrible will happen to them. Frantic, he runs through unfamiliar terrain that shifts and warps about him, calling Mokuba’s name over and over to no avail.

Until without warning, Mokuba appears within view, and with them the scene before Seto becomes very familiar; it’s not the first time he’s witnessed it, nor is it the second.

The five-headed dragon looms, poised to strike Mokuba, whose eyes are wide with surprise and terror. Seto knows what will happen next. The dragon’s jaws will stretch wide, then let loose a beam of energy that will streak towards his defenseless younger sibling. Both Seto and Mokuba will watch, rooted to the spot, until at the last second Joey Wheeler will throw his body into the path of the strike and disappear on impact. Seto had never felt more grateful to anyone than he had at that moment, and it had only made him hate Joey Wheeler all the more.

Wheeler is the very picture of an older brother, all warmth and selfless instinct, and it isn’t limited to his sister. He looks out for her, for Yugi and his other friends, even for people who have actively tried to kill him. And, yes, he looks out for Mokuba. Seto hates him for it, naturally. But he also trusts Wheeler more than he would ever admit to his face.

So he knows Mokuba will be safe from this attack. The dragon opens each of its five maws, a synchronized growl building in its throats, until, with a roar that reverberates deep in Seto’s core, it unleashes a blindingly powerful blast. And sure enough, Wheeler appears, blazing like a sunrise as it bleeds over the horizon. He and Mokuba both flinch as the blow lands, but while Wheeler’s body dissolves, Mokuba remains unscathed.

Mokuba turns to face Seto, their eyes filled with tears and distress, but there’s something else buried beneath it: betrayal. That Seto had allowed Wheeler’s sacrifice. That he hadn’t done so first. The image fractures, and dozens of copies of Mokuba accuse him with their existences. Mokuba on their knees on the floor after being struck. Mokuba sulking after Seto snaps at them in a fit of stress or anger. Mokuba confronting Seto after his victory, reminding him how twisted and broken he is.

They - the original, he thinks - turn away from Seto to stare at the spot where Wheeler had last stood. He reaches out for them; whether he could have made it, he doesn’t know, because his phone’s grating ringtone jolts him awake.

Still half-asleep, Seto fumbles for his phone and accepts the call. Leftover emotions from the fading dream fester in his chest, and the bitterness overflows, dripping from his mouth when he answers. “Do you have any idea what time it is,” he snaps flatly, not caring who’s on the receiving end of his ire.

“It’s 5:30 in the morning, Mr. Kaiba,” comes his secretary’s smooth response. No sooner are the words out of her mouth than Kaiba’s alarm goes off, proving her right. He curses under his breath as he shuts the alarm off.

“And just what could be important enough for you to call me at 5:30 in the morning?” he asks. Though his tone is hostile, he’s sure she’ll have a satisfactory answer. His secretary is very good at what she does, as evidenced by how put together she sounds at this time of the morning. Seto, meanwhile, doesn’t have enough of his wits about him to even begin to guess what could be so important.

“Damon Graves wants to have dinner with you this evening.”

Seto inhales sharply. He’s been trying to facilitate a meeting with the CEO of Graves Entertainment for months on end, and finally the fruits of his labor have paid off - on the worst possible day they could have.

“What time?” he tries, hoping that this man’s definition of “evening” is some ridiculously early or late time.

“Around six o’clock, sir.”

Seto grits his teeth. “I’m afraid that won’t be possible. You’ll have to reschedule it for me.”

“No can do, sir,” she responds immediately. “Mr. Graves informed me that he’ll be between flights at this time. You either meet with him today, or wait another two months for an opening in his schedule.”

“I’ll wait, then.”

His secretary pauses. “Are you sure that’s wise, Mr. Kaiba?”

He narrows his eyes. “What do you mean?”

“This man is very… particular. Trust me when I say that when he offered the choice of ‘now’ or ‘later’, it really wasn’t much of a choice at all.”

Seto blows out a slow, frustrated breath, pinching the bridge of his nose between his fingers. He absolutely does trust her in this matter, but the ‘choice’ in question isn’t as simple as she thinks it is.

It’s not a choice between doing business with this man or not. It’s a choice between this man or Mokuba.

Mokuba has been looking forward to this release event for weeks - and, ever since he had cleared his schedule and promised Mokuba they would go together, so has Seto. Despite the difficulties, Seto enjoys being the CEO of KaibaCorp; he enjoys the power and respect that come with the position, enjoys knowing that it’s his own hard work that earned him those things, and that he doesn’t have to rely on anyone else for them. But right now, all he wants is to be able to shed that responsibility like dead snakeskin, to pass it off to someone else and spend time with his younger sibling.

But he can’t, and he knows it. KaibaCorp’s success is what keeps himself and Mokuba powerful. Provided for. Safe.

Like his secretary said, it’s not much of a choice, at the end of the day. But Seto wonders if he shouldn’t have agonized over this decision more.

“Fine,” he says dully. “I’ll meet with him tonight. Let me know the details as soon as you’ve worked them out.”

“Understood, sir.”

Seto hangs up without fanfare and leans back against the pillows. A sour feeling permeates him as he tries to figure out how he’ll break the news to Mokuba. He can already picture it; their eyes, which will surely be shining with anticipation for the promised evening, dimming with disappointment when Seto tells them why, exactly, he won’t be able to make it.

That image - Mokuba’s distraught expression - tugs on the fading strands of the dream. Bitterness returns to him in a rush, amplified tenfold from what it had been before the call.

There’s only one thing he can think to do to make his failure up to Mokuba, but he’d almost rather give his company over to Pegasus. Almost.

Seto doesn't have Wheeler’s number saved in his contacts (why would he need it?), so he opens up the group chat that Yugi had invited him to. Though Seto rarely speaks up in it, and only ever to respond directly to Yugi, he meticulously keeps up with every message sent. Wheeler’s messages aren’t labeled with his name, only his number, but it’s obvious enough which ones are from him.

The first two calls Seto makes are rejected almost instantly. Wheeler finally picks up on the third attempt.

“I swear,” he snaps without so much as a greeting, “if this is some kinda scam or prank or what have ya, I’m gonna-”

“Wheeler.”

The line falls silent.

“Kaiba?” he finally asks, sounding in as much disbelief as Seto himself that this call has been placed. “The fuck d’you want at-” he pauses, groans, and continues - “quarter to six in the goddamn morning?”

“Are you free this evening?”

Wheeler splutters. “Am I fr- what? What for? Since when d’you call me up about my Saturday plans?”

“Since mine were derailed by a last-minute work meeting that can’t be rescheduled.”

“Oh, boo hoo,” Wheeler taunts. “Poor Mr. CEO’s gotta put a little work into running that big company of his. What a cryin’ shame. Look, whatever favor it is that you’re about to ask, count me out.”

Seto grits his teeth and resists the urge to hang up on Wheeler. “I was supposed to take Mokuba to the release event this evening.”

There’s another pause. When Wheeler next speaks, some of the hostility is gone from his voice. “The tag duelin’ one?”

“So you have been keeping up.”

Wheeler ignores the jab. “So, what, ya want me to take him instead?”

Seto swallows the urge to correct the pronoun and says simply, “I’ll pay you.”

“Woah, hang on, I didn’t say anything about…” Wheeler trails off, probably weighing his financial situation against Seto’s, and drops the subject. “Why me?” he asks instead. “Don’t you guys have servants for this kinda thing? A butler or whatever?”

Because our parents died so long ago that Mokuba doesn’t even remember them. Because I can’t even take one day off to spend time with Mokuba. Because there’s no one else who really cares about them.

All of these potential answers are painful, but the three word response he offers Wheeler hurts him just as much to admit aloud: “Mokuba likes you.”

Seto holds his breath as he waits out the longest pause yet. Finally, the line crackles as Wheeler lets out a gusty sigh. “What time?”

-----

Seto opens the door himself when Wheeler knocks on it. The two don’t bother to exchange pleasantries. Wheeler regards him with… not open hostility - they’ve maybe shared one too many traumatic experiences for that - but wariness, like a dog being introduced to a stranger for the first time. In a way, maybe he is; it’s been a long time since the two of them have actually spoken to one another in-person, and they’ve never done so at Seto’s home.

Wheeler finally breaks the silence. “There anything important I need to know?”

Seto frowns. “Important how?”

“Rules. Allergies. Bedtime. That kinda thing.”

“You’re not a babysitter, Wheeler. Mokuba’s old enough to take care of… himself.” He hesitates over the pronoun; misgendering Mokuba rankles him, but he doesn’t want to out them, either. As far as Seto knows, he’s the only person Mokuba has told.

“Isn’t the kid, like, thirteen? I know I coulda used some adult supervision at that age.”

“Mokuba’s seventeen, you moron.”

“Seriously?” Wheeler’s brow furrows. “He’s even shorter’n Yugi.”

“And that is precisely why you should know better than to judge a child’s age by their height.”

Wheeler raises an eyebrow. “So, if he’s practically an adult anyway, what exactly are you payin’ me for here?”

Oh, right. He had promised to pay this moron, hadn’t he? “It’s a tag duel. I’m paying you to be Mokuba’s teammate.”

“Right.” Wheeler rolls his eyes. “At least answer the allergies question. If I’m gonna be feedin’ the kid, I don’t wanna accidentally kill him and have you on my ass about it for the rest of my life.”

Seto scowls. “Mokuba’s not allergic to anything.”

“There, see? Wasn’t so hard now, was it?”

Before Seto can retort, Mokuba enters the room, and their face lights up. “Joey!”

Wheeler’s whole demeanor changes. “Hey, Mokuba!” he calls. The two cross the room to meet each other. As Seto glowers on, Wheeler gets his younger sibling into a gentle headlock; Mokuba laughs as Wheeler gives them an affectionate noogie before letting go. “You ever done one ‘a these things before?”

“I’ve done a few small local tournaments,” Mokuba says. “Never a tag duel before, though.”

“How ‘bout a draft duel?”

“What’s a draft duel?”

Wheeler laughs. “It’s what we’re goin’ to right now.”

“It is?” Mokuba’s eyes widen. “I, uh. Didn’t read the info too closely.”

“Don’t you worry, kid,” Wheeler says, throwing an arm around Mokuba’s shoulders. “Your old pal Joey Wheeler is a seasoned card shop veteran. C’mon, I’ll explain how it works on the way over. We gotta get goin’ if we don’t wanna miss it.”

Mokuba pauses briefly on their way out to wrap their arms tightly around Seto. “Bye, Seto,” they whisper. “Good luck at your business dinner thing.”

“Good luck to you too,” Seto murmurs, squeezing gently back. “Don’t listen to Wheeler if he tells you to do anything stupid.”

“I heard that.”

“Hey,” Mokuba says, releasing Seto, “he said ‘if’, not ‘when’. I think that’s an improvement.”

“Merely a slip of the tongue on my part.”

“So he admits he makes mistakes!” Wheeler raises his eyebrows. “I think your brother’s gettin’ soft in his old age, Mokuba.”

Seto scowls. “I’m twenty-one years old.”

“So, older’n me.” Wheeler grins lopsidedly, and it needles Seto that Mokuba laughs so easily alongside him. “Just leave the duellin’ to us youngsters, Gramps. We’ll bring home a trophy to remind ya of your glory days.”

The remark hits a little too close. It’s been over a year since Seto last participated in any kind of official duel - which isn’t all that much time, but at the speed Duel Monsters moves, it’s practically ancient history. Seto thinks at first that it was a calculated jab on Wheeler’s part; but he’s missing that expression he usually wears when he goes toe-to-toe with Seto, the one where his eyes burn like lasers, white-hot and focused unwaveringly on Seto, drawing a retaliation out of him without fail every time. Instead, his attention is focused on amusing Mokuba with his antics.

And so, for Mokuba’s sake, Seto swallows the remark rising in his throat. At least I have glory days to revisit, Wheeler.

“Whatever,” he says instead, stiffly. “Roland’s ready for you two with the car.”

Seto hides his envy behind a mask of indifference as he watches them go.

[specialsummon]

"Kaiba!"

"Yuugi, these triplets are famous in the world of Duel Monsters. They will use any method to get the cards they want."

"Kaiba!"

"What do you say? How about letting me take over this duel for you?"

"You?"

"If you win, I'll give you all my cards. And, I will give you an advantage. The Violet Hecate card, it will be added to your hand."