Love and Rivalry

Chapter 20

Kaiba-boy? Aria couldn't think of anyone who would be so bold as to call Kaiba by that name. She would have to remember to ask the gang about it later.

"You still haven't told me why you demanded this call," Riku said gruffly.

"Oh yes, how rude of me," the man answered, flipping back his long hair. "I wanted to send over the data on our latest development. My technicians have finished the preliminaries and now we just await your software."

Riku grunted in response.

"If you insert the USB I gave you, I'll transmit the files," continued the sing-song voice.

Riku's hand ruffled in his suit pocket for a second, pulled out the USB and plugged it into the computer.

"The files are quite extensive so it may take awhile," the man continued. He added in a low tone, "I'm taking a big risk on you Ito, don't make me regret it." Then the screen suddenly went blank.

Aria quietly closed the closet door, she only hoped that her stepfather wasn't going to wait around for those files to download. If she could get her hands on that USB drive, then she would definitely have some hard evidence to take to Kaiba. Curiosity gripped Aria at what could possibly be on those files. What development could Riku and this man be working on together? She knew it had to do with something with Duel Monsters Online.

Aria listened intently for any signs of movement in the room. Maybe if Riku left to go back to his club, she could wait for the files to finish downloading and then take the USB drive. She grimaced at the thought of Riku discovering the files missing. Would he suspect her? She'd need to act fast lest he come looking for her. Her body stilled as she heard muffled movements move about in the room. She could feel perspiration begin to form on her forehead and the back of her neck from being stuck in such close quarters. Then she heard footsteps become gradually louder. Her stomach leapt up into her throat as she saw a shadow fall underneath the door.

Seconds passed. Aria waited for the door to be flung open. Just as she was bracing herself to get ready to run out the door, a sharp ring pierced the air.

"What?" Riku growled.

Aria held her breath. Who would be calling him at this time of night?

"What do you mean our main server is down!" he yelled. "I just got the files tonight! We were supposed to start programming first thing in the morning!"

Silence ensued, which Aria guessed was the person on the other end trying to offer up reasons for the setback.

"You're all useless. I'll be in immediately. You know how much is riding on this, so you better start working on a solution!"

The shadow fell away from the door as loud footsteps thudded away, followed by the slamming of a door. Aria didn't move, making sure first that Riku wasn't coming back. After a few minutes, Aria slowly opened the door, pausing halfway to listen for any sounds in the house. When she found nothing but silence she walked fully back into the study.

Heading over to the computer, Aria leaned over to read the pop-up on the screen.

Downloading...5% Estimated Time: 1 hour

Aria frowned at the amount of time until the download was complete, but knew it could've been much worse. It could've been all night. She reached for her cell phone and immediately called Téa. She picked up on the first ring.

"Thank heavens!" Téa exclaimed, causing Aria to pull her ear a little away from the phone. "What happened? We were freaking out when we saw Riku suddenly pull up the street. And then you didn't you come out or answer our text-"