Rock Bottom: Season Zero

Reminisce

"You shoulda seen 'im!" Joey exclaimed that afternoon as they took turns narrating the events of Death-T to Ryou, Marik, Mokuba, and Amane. "His brain is like a computer!"

"I like to think that the human mind is actually more advanced and complex than any computer could ever be," Seto commented quietly to no one in particular.

"I may be good at puzzles, but Seto was faster than me this time around," Yugi conceded with a smile. Then he turned to Seto and said, "I look forward to our next real duel, Champion."

"I do as well," Seto answered with a smile.

"Does this mean that you're famous?" Mokuba asked, his eyes round.

"I sure hope not," Seto said, looking uncertain. "I guess we'll find out, though."

"You seemed to know Kaiba pretty well," Joey commented, looking suspicious as he remembered the way the two had interacted.

"I've run into him a few times in the past," Seto answered evasively. Mrs. Bakura glanced over at the teens from where she was preparing dinner in the kitchen. She was listening to the whole conversation, whether they realized it or not.

"But how?" Anzu asked. "He's not the kind of person you just see on the streets."

"Yeah, how did you challenge him to that chess game a few months back?" Yugi asked. Seto felt trapped, but he tried not to show it, so he started to reset the chess board that had been left on the coffee table, focusing on it to keep him calm.

"I was at KaibaCorp to ask about their hiring policies and see if they needed any computer nerds for their IT department," he said calmly, slowly, hoping that he sounded convincing. "I ran into him there, and he was incredibly rude, so I retaliated. One insult led to another, and we decided to settle the matter with our wits instead of our fists. I happened to have heard rumors that he was one of the owners of the Blue-Eyes, so when he acted so confident that he would win, I challenged him to put it up as a bet. If I won, I got the card, and if he won, then I could never be employed at KaibaCorp. Those were the terms we agreed upon." It was partly true, and he felt bad for lying, but the alternative was unbearable.

"That's kinda risky, don't ya' think?" Joey observed.

"I won, didn't I?" Seto pointed out with a smile.

"True," Yugi murmured thoughtfully. Seto rotated the chess board another 180' so that the white pieces were on his side. He moved his pawn to D3. He look up at the others and smiled a little, saying, "Anyone up for chess?"

"Sure, I'll play you, Seto," Ryou said, speaking up for the first time in a while. He settled himself across the board from Seto with a smile. "Let's see if I can't give you a run for your money."

As they played chess, the others talked about more mundane things. Since it was summer and they didn't see each other as often as during the school year, they had some catching up to do. Anzu asked Marik if he planned on attending Domino High in the fall, and he answered that if he could make more progress with learning to read Japanese, he would be. Ryou asked Anzu if she'd found a dance studio where she could take lessons yet, which she answered with a regretful negative.

"Dance lessons are just too expensive," she sighed. "And now I suppose I ought to find a new job, since working at KaibaLand turned out to be a nightmare." She made a face as she recalled the repulsive location.

"I'm sure there are other things you could do there that don't involve a sadistic attraction that could potentially kill its participants," Seto said cheekily, glancing up at her as she threw him an annoyed look.

"No thanks. I think I'm done with KaibaCorp, at least as soon as I find another place to work," she retorted. "I don't understand how you can still work there after all of this."