Seto (Part 2)

DIMENSION: MANGA (The One That Saves the Day)

Shizuka followed behind him. Relentlessly loyal. Good. They walked a small distance away so no one could hear them. "There is no way I am protecting your dead boyfriend's soul over Mokuba's. I don't care if the world is at stake."

"I get that," she answer back. "I know it must feel unfair that he was substituted in. Yuugi's baby though. I get it, but we have to do what we can."

"No." Kaiba wouldn't let this go. "If someone tries to shoot for Mokuba, I will protect him. Honda won't have protection, and that's that."

"If you don't follow the rules, something terrible could happen!" She tried to convince him. "I know you love your brother very much. I know that you don't want anything to happen to him. I know how much a brother can mean to someone," she reminded him. "I get it. It's not fair. This is the world we are talking about though. We will win, you have to believe that. Mokuba will be okay."

"So I should just fight anyway? They sacrificed my little brother into this situation, because I do better under the pressure?" He remembered Bakura's words. "Mokuba has done nothing to nobody! He never should have been involved in this game."

"There must be something?" Shizuka tried. "You have to fight. It's been decided. If you don't, it might mean everyone forfeits. Same for your actions against the team even if you do fight."

Something? "There's nothing."

"Something? Anything?" Shizuka pleaded. "This is the entire world. Mokuba will be lost forever if you don't play too."

"I hate losing." This felt like losing. They conned Mokuba to somehow get in the game, and he was supposed to help them win.

"F-forget it."

He looked back toward her. "Forget what?"

"The promise. The promise to keep quiet about what happened to Jounouchi," she said quietly. She lowered her head, growing red in the face. "Say it. Gloat if you want and I won't leave your side. Just, please play?"

"You are way too good for your own good," Kaiba warned her. "If I do this? You owe me, but it won't be that."

She looked back up toward him, her face still in full blush. "Anything, Seto."

As much as Kaiba loved to rub things in Jounouchi's face, it felt like a betrayal against a partner in a company. He didn't want to corrupt the alliance with Shizuka. Besides?

"Keep calling me Seto and just follow my lead." If he had no real choice in this matter? Then he'd be sure that his revenge was so just, that Jounouchi would run into traffic if it meant keeping Mokuba from being a bargaining chip again!

Forget telling Jounouchi they had some one-night stand. That was only limited anger with quick-time annoyance. He'd make him slowly believe that he was falling for his sister. The 'is' or 'is not' of it all.

That would land the moron in the psycho ward. All he'd need is a little help.

"Thank you, Seto," Shizuka said from behind him. "Really. Thank you and I'm sorry. About all this, about everything."

"You had nothing to do with what happened to Mokuba," he said. "What do you have to be sorry about?"

"Last night. I guess."

"I told you. Alcohol and saving the world don't mix. That's all."

"It feels like I used you though."

Her words sometimes.

"Whenever I meet someone tougher than me, I tend to gravitate toward them. That's what happened with Hirito Honda. I may have done that last night."

"I already told you. I'm used to quick one-off nights. The only difference is that I didn't plan it. That's all. Don't apologize." He still felt like he should say something else, but he didn't know what. "Let's go."

"I'll handle Mokuba for you too."

Huh? Kaiba stopped and looked back.

"All the players have someone to manage, but I don't," she reminded him. "Five battleships. More than five players. If someone aims for Mokuba, I'll use the dragon to help stop it."

"As long as you are aware, that if you do that and I have to save Honda-"

"Then my life points probably won't survive if the hit is too strong against the Blue Eyes White Dragon? Everyone risks something. I'll protect your brother the same way you would protect him. With everything I have."

Kaiba stared at her for about a minute. " . . . we should go." Those still weren't the words he needed to use. He wanted to say something different, but he didn't understand what. Maybe? "Thanks."

---

///Yuugi: I am glad we got a decent deck./// Yuugi looked toward Atem. ///Yuugi: Even with Earth on the line, there's no guarantee Seto Kaiba will help now that Bakura opened his mouth like that.///

///Atem: Agreed. If we could have said Zorc just took him, it would have gone better. He would have been focused on the fight.

///Yuugi: I couldn't do it. Little Hikaru, he couldn't even have a chance to run. He can't run. He can't do much, he's just a baby. He wanted one of them though, and Mokuba was Heba.///

///Atem: I know, Yuugi. We will let Kaiba know the truth if he has a problem continuing. Otherwise, it should be something we talk about with Masika and Anzu.///

"We're back." Seto Kaiba came closer. "I wanted to quit this game and let the world end. Shizuka reminded me though, that if the world ends, so does Mokuba." He brought out the millennium rod. "I won't let anything happen to him. You should thank her for saving you all."

"Thanks." Yuugi didn't waste time. "Shizuka and Kaiba. I know it's tough, but we'll get through it all."

"It's still aggravating," Kaiba continued. "Not only am I having to ignore Mokuba's need, but I have to protect her ex-boyfriend. I really hate that."

"Honda's still a good guy," Jounouchi said.

"I don't care." Kaiba glared . . . at Shizuka?

Shizuka looked away oddly. "Thank you for helping," Shizuka said toward Kaiba quietly.

"Whatever. As long as he knows his place," Kaiba said strangely.

///Yuugi: As long as who knows his place?///

"As long as who knows his place?" Jounouchi went ahead and asked what Yuugi was thinking. "What's that mean?"

"I am so tired of this from you." Kaiba shoved and pointed a finger at him. "Knock it off with your staring. If I hadn't promised Shizuka? Hm." Kaiba went over by her and whispered something in her ear. It seemed to really shock her. "Don't worry. I'll keep my promise, Shizuka."

///Yuugi: What do you think Kaiba promised Shizuka, Atem?///

///Atem: I have no idea./// "Can we get going now, Kaiba? Yuugi. Do you want to duel in the back with me?"

"I haven't dueled in years." ///Yuugi: I am probably rusty.///

///Atem: We should duel as much as possible./// "Jounouchi. You should duel with Kaiba. Shizuka can drive if she sees well so you can play a match. The winner of that match can play Bakura."

"Are you fine with that, Kaiba?" Jounouchi asked him. Watching him carefully. "My sister is gonna drive your wheels, is that okay?"

"Of course." Kaiba had no problem with it. "I have more of a problem wasting my skill on you for practice."

"I've been winning lots of competitions for years." Jounouchi went toward Kaiba's car. "Kind of a surprise you picked this model."

"It's not my style, but I knew eventually I would run into the lot of you, so I bought it." Kaiba went over toward Shizuka. She looked confused and whispered something back. "Sure. Fine. One game. Here, Hon-Shizuka." Kaiba tossed her the keys. Shizuka grabbed them. "If your vision gets blurry, pull over. You know the signs. Don't put yourself in danger."

"What was that?" Jounouchi noticed the words.

"I was going to say something about Honda, but decided to forget it," Kaiba replied.

"Nah, the whole 'don't put yourself in danger' part?" Jounouchi questioned. "You never care about anyone else."

"If she puts herself in danger, we are all in danger. It's a van, Moron." She leaned back over to whisper to him. "Sorry. Let's go, Jounouchi. We'll get this over with."

"So?" Jounouchi was the last one to come over toward the vehicle with Mana. "You are letting Shizuka drive, and you are going to battle me?"

"Will you stop making a big deal of it?" Kaiba insisted as he got into the second set of back seats. "I agreed to one round, so hurry it up."