An original characterisation including themes of: the attempt (and sometimes failure) of personal evolution, power as a performance, childhood trauma, fear of vulnerability, deciding your own destiny, a dragon in human form, sharp suits with a sharper tongue, the smartest and most tired person in the room, chess master with a fractured board, the prodigy who never got the chance to be a child, holographic legacy, count your blessings on one hand and your curses on the other, he ain't heavy; he's my brother, the one thing in life he can control, inimitable and original, you are your own worst enemy
About | Rules | Verses | Headcanons | Music
Memes and Starters - always accepting even if it's from 6 years ago or yesterday
Inside and out, he's better than I am: @littlestkaiba
The rarest cards (relations / associates / the people who see Seto as Seto): @droplct , @heartoftheyugi , @hobomagician , @lightxdcrk , @stardstschlar , more tba
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
✓ Live Streaming✓ Interactive Chat✓ Private Shows✓ HD Quality✓ Free Actions
Free to watch • No registration required • HD streaming
"Ah, Mr Kaiba, you finally made it."
Hearing the elevator door open, two guards littered the penthouse of Kaiba Corp, while the teal haired gent sat very comfortably in the top position. "It certainly has been a while, you should really upgrade your security." Removing his feet from the desk before leaning on it "Let us talk business."
Kaiba was regretting this the second he entered the penthouse. Sapphire eyes scanned the items discarded onto the floor like it was nothing. "My security is upgraded, thank you very much. The oversight is that they don't guard me away from snakes in the grass."
He approached the desk, jaw set and the glare etched upon his face. "If we are talking business, get the hell out of my chair and off my desk. You have exactly three and a half minutes to explain yourself or I will personally make sure I never see a hair on your head again."
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
✓ Live Streaming✓ Interactive Chat✓ Private Shows✓ HD Quality✓ Free Actions
Free to watch • No registration required • HD streaming
Sapphire eyes met the teals. They weren’t as hardened as they were in the beginning of this conversation. Not quite as soft either but just present and there and focused on the Joestar. Just only on him.
“I am aware,” Kaiba spoke softly. “I will let you know if anything you have said set me off. I expect the same form of respect as well if I say anything that sets you off.”
His eyes flicker to the squeeze of his hand as his grip eased against Jotaro’s arm as he slowly withdrew his hand, their fingers brushed slightly as he pulled and set the hand back at his side again. “I am not…the easiest person to talk to. I am well aware that I cannot open up as easy as people expect of me. I give you my word that if you want to ask questions about the whole ordeal, I will give you my honest perspective and answers.”
While the relationship with his ex-wife hadn't gone as he'd wanted it to, this - whatever it was, he wanted to ensure that this would go differently. Seto had seen things, understood that life could be incredibly dangerous, and perhaps Jotaro wasn't exactly ready to divulge anything related to stands or DIO just yet. Sure, there were little things he's spoken upon but, if asked then he would.
Teals remain on sapphires, the tension between them was slowly fading. Things hadn't been so ramped up as they were before hand, thankfully, it was all coming down. Seto not being the easiest person to talk to, that would have made him laugh at one point, but deep down; Jotaro understood that more than most would. Because he was the same way.
As Kaiba slowly withdrew his hand, Jotaro also had slowly began to lower his hand to his side. He's never expected anyone to do much of anything. He's never wanted to expect anything out of anyone. Emotions were his weakest suit, showing them; dealing with them in general. But this man was making him feel things that the scientist had long thought he'd buried.
In the long run; they'd both make things difficult. Especially with how similar they were. Taking a breath, the Joestar simply nods, not trusting words at the moment.
Kaiba wasn’t supposed to have emotions or feelings for anyone. He was content with the concept of being alone for the rest of his life. He was fine if the most of his emotions and feelings only extended to and around Mokuba. There of course would be something to his intellect and inventions, to Roland, to his deck and his dragons.
But to anyone else? It wasn’t supposed to happen. And yet, in quiet moments or intensity, the man standing across from him was taking space. Kaiba believed Jotaro. He was beginning to trust him to open up about…everything that happened in the last few years.
“Hm.” He hummed with a nod of his head. He found himself still close enough even once they no longer touched. Kaiba was still coming down from this but he wasn’t going to cross a line or snap at Jotaro.
As the brunette speaks, Jotaro gazes upon the card in silence. There were too cards that contradicted, sounded exactly the same - or just was a complete replacement. That was what caused a lot of confusion in his mind, and really sort of frustrated him. Wanting to find the creator and just give him a busted nose for being so....irritating, even if that wasn't what was meant when the guy created the game. Facial features scrunch slightly as he places the card down, internally deciding that he would most definitely not have this stupid thing in his deck. Regardless if it's the lesser known twin and could potentially help you, he just didn't think it was worth having.
Not like Pot of Greed was. Tilting his head he reaches for another card, Monster Rebirth. At this, the scientist's brows furrow. What the ever loving hell? "And with this, you're going to say this is also a lesser known twin to Monster Reborn?" He assumes - knowing fully well he could make an ass of himself with this, holding the card up to show the other.
"Now you're getting it," Kaiba said with the smirk on his face as he went through the catalogue to pull out Monster Reborn for the comparison. "The same rule applies that Monster Reborn and Monster Rebirth have the same end game to it: reviving a monster from your graveyard. However, as you can tell, Rebirth is a trap card while Reborn is your spell or magic card. Also with Rebirth, you have to do the extra steps of that you can only play it once a monster is destroyed and you must discard your Monster Reborn from either your hand or deck to then summon a monster from your graveyard. As with Jar of Greed, Monster Rebirth falls under the category of you can have the maximum of three copies of the card in your deck. Pot of Greed and Monster Reborn are categorised as Limited. You can only have one copy of each within your deck."
He holds out the Monster Reborn for Jotaro to take. "I advise to you, the rookie, to have a copy of Monster Reborn and Pot of Greed within your deck."
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
✓ Live Streaming✓ Interactive Chat✓ Private Shows✓ HD Quality✓ Free Actions
Free to watch • No registration required • HD streaming
If it weren't for the fact that he has a daughter who would be completely into this game, he wouldn't have tried to learn it. If it weren't for the fact that the one man he so wants in his life plays this stupid game like a blasted religion, he wouldn't have tried to learn it. But here he was; willing to learn, willing to understand.
Which was why as he sat here, he questioned the maker's sanity when he looks at the names of some of these cards. "....What the hell is this?" He questions, holding up one particular card: Jar of Greed.
He's already heard of Pot of Greed. But Jar of Greed? He's definitely questioning as to why this one was created. | @stardstschlar
They were in the R&D lab by the dueling simulator. Kaiba had unlocked the vault of the cards he had gathered over the years and was seeing about if Jotaro could build a deck for himself. Of course as the years passed with the game, there were some new rules and regulations. Different forms of summoning now with an extra deck or two attached. And while the CEO did know about it, to teach someone who never picked up a card in his life he was going to start from the ground level and work his way up.
"That's Jar of Greed," Kaiba's lips quirk in the standardise smirk on his face, not wanting to completely laugh at the Joestar for the card he chose. "It is a trap card and the lesser known twin to Pot of Greed. It lets you draw one card from your deck."
Because he found little value and entertainment in socializing himself, it was easy for his attention to linger elsewhere. Of course he stood away from the crowds. As far as possible, nearby the door in case he decided to make his eventual exit. Even the party snacks were lacking by his standards. With arms folded over his chest, he wondered why he was even here in the first place. In the grand scheme of things and compared to who he was now talking to, those things hardly mattered. Funny how one single person's worth outweighed the majority of the students attending the event. Anyone among the bunch that he was biased towards was nowhere in sight.
Unintentionally, the way he carried himself in the moment mirrored Kaiba's stance. Once he glanced over, he refused to look away. "Of course. Off to more important matters, I'd assume." Did he blame him? Not in the slightest. Manjome found himself looking towards the crowd as if trying to determine if there was any reason for the other to stick around. "Now I'm curious. What is your assessment?"
"Actually, if you'd like to know, I was on my way home. I was finished with my reports and other administrative tasks for the day of my visit here. I only realised there was something going on this afternoon when a reminder came through my agenda."
Kaiba gave the young man a once over, noticing the way his arms was also folded across his chest and how he stood tall. He wasn't as tall as the CEO but held himself with that respect. He could understand that in some way.
"The assessment is that things are running as well as they can be," He spoke with a shrug. "From what I can tell, there hasn't been any form of blatant issues nor is there brawls or drink fights being thrown at other duelists and students. I say it's successful in my book." His eyes scanned the room again before landing on him. "What about you? Do you have an assessment of the event?"
In longing, you feel fear. You're uncertain and wary of what your feelings may betray you to. You don't enjoy the feeling of not being in control of your own self, you ask, "why can't I just stop?" There's a cold feeling in your chest, your hands become clammy, you know you behold this desire too strongly, but the feeling goes nowhere. Rationally you think, "this desire is foolish and I don't need it," but that doesn't work for long. Secretly you yearn for that you seek, trying to hide it even from your own self, fearing that if you even let yourself know what you crave, nothing will be the same. Sometimes it's lonely. Sometimes you wish you could tell someone.... anything. You reference it vaguely in conversations, a joke that only makes sense to you, but is actually the longing veiled in fear. Your desire is forbidden, unattainable, by your own standards or someone else's, but it lurks in the back of your mind, persistent, deafening in the way that silence often is. Fear not my love, take a deep breath. You will find your peace.
tagged by: @droplct
tagging: @stardstschlar , @gildinbainas (for atem, loki, or thranduil), @buriedvow , @omorrow , @luckbased , and you! if you see this on the dash, steal from / tag me in it!
● — || 𝐒𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐈𝐌𝐏𝐋𝐘 𝐒𝐇𝐎𝐎𝐊 𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐃 𝐀𝐓 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐆𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐋𝐄 𝐓𝐎𝐍 𝐎𝐅 protest and frustration . The dynamic between Roland and Kaiba had been one of the first few things Katara noticed when she was getting to know the man across the table . The seemed . . . Close . Not just close because Roland worked for Kaiba , but close because it would seem that Roland understood him the best behind Mokuba . It wasn't something that Katara ever brought up , but it [ [ was ] ] something that she paid close attention to . In fact , if anyone asked , they would learn that Katara paid close attention to [ [ everyone ] ] who was important to Seto's life .
❝ I think he's good at it because he's spent so long knowing you . ❞ She assured him , gently . ❝ He's been working with you for so long that he's learned to navigate your world with him in it . He's memorized you in a lot of ways . In fact , sometimes , I think he knows you better than you know yourself . ❞ Her gaze lifted [ [ just ] ] enough to catch the way his eyes narrowed at her most recent statement . There was a part of her that
[ [ visibly ] ] flinched at the way his tone had an edge to it . In a way , it took her back to the moments when they first met . . . and his tone was as cold as his eyes were blue .
❝ I know you have . ❞ Katara whispered in response , raising her most recently stabbed vegetable to her lips as she took a bite . Silence lingered between them with weight , and while her thoughts continued to wander , externally , Katara [ [ just ] ] continued to eat . However , the way he [ [ almost ] ] seemed to accept her help wasn't lost on her . It made Katara's smile subtly return to her feature . A few sips of water later , and her hands laced together and rested back in her lap .
❝ How long do we have before you have to go back ? ❞ There was an underlying question to this question , one laced [ [ beneath ] ] the words she spoke . Katara wasn't asking when it was time for him to return back to work , she was asking if he [ [ had ] ] to .
"Roland and Fuguta were initially hired under my adoptive father to look after myself and Mokuba. Not only as to have another pair of eyes in the manor but to also be protected in the public eye if we were to do anything outside of his eye. And under that, Roland was assigned to me and Fuguta to Mokuba." There's the faintest change within his eyes as he speaks about that. Within the manor and the trainings and the back and forth to the original KaibaCorp offices, Roland gave Kaiba (and Mokuba) the spare moments to be...children. He would cover for them when Mokuba would want to go to the park, when he saw that Kaiba got his Duel Monsters cards back and made sure to hide the specific book from Gozaburo. "If I didn't have Roland as my right hand, I don't think I would have had one at all. Or if I did, not even remotely as close or I would have gone through eight of them with everything that has happened."
He let the silence linger between them as he began to eat a bit more of his salad and have more of his drink. The cafe was becoming a bit busier as the lunch hour rolled in. Yet in his, in their, personal bubble Kaiba didn't seem to mind it even if he wasn't as engaging as he can be or if he was still coming down from this morning.
He pulled out his phone from his blazer to check the time. "I have a half hour." He said as he slipped the phone back into his pocket. "I know you're so eager for me to go back to work." A smirk graced his features with the tone of sarcasm as he took another bite of his chicken.
Indisputably THE most iconic Magic & Wizards card. This is the original version of what is likely the most well-known card in the entire overall Yu-Gi-Oh! series.
Nonetheless, I still struggled with whether or not to include it in my project. After all, every copy we know of belongs to either Grandpa Sugoroku Mutou or Seto Kaiba, not Yugi.
By the way- the left card in the second image shows what the layout of the original chapter 9 ("The Cards with Teeth, Part 1") version of this card looks like. You can think of it as Grandpa's card, if you'd like.
Neither of them represent Kaiba's cards. The three below are his:
These cards have the very first, original colorscheme for 'ol Blue-Eyes (no not Frank Sinatra) as it was seen throughout the entire Weekly Shonen Jump run of Yu-Gi-Oh!. The other, bluer colorscheme is taken from the 2016 color bunkobon edition, where the illustration was recolored to match the first art given to it by Konami. I'll give you an in-depth visual history regarding that under the cut.
So why add Blue-Eyes to my project? Well, Dark Yugi used this card at least 2 times:
-In chapter 10, "The Cards with Teeth, Part 2", Dark Yugi takes control of Kaiba's stolen Blue-Eyes with "Resurrection of the Dead", uses it to defeat Kaiba, and holds onto it until he's able to give the stolen card back to Yugi's Grandpa the next day.
-In chapter 74, "Messenger from Hell", Seto Kaiba's deck has been stolen by Industrial Illusion goons and given to a player killer called the Ventriloquist of the Dead. The Ventriloquist is subsequently sent to duel Yugi and knock him out of the Duelist Kingdom tournament.
At the climax of that duel in chapter 76, "The Legendary Dragon!!", Dark Yugi once again brings a dead Blue-Eyes back via "Resurrection of the Dead", bolsters its attack with "Holy Elf"'s special ability, and uses it to defeat the Ventriloquist.
Yugi then goes on to hold on to Kaiba's stolen deck (including all of his Blue-Eyes cards) until later that night, when Kaiba shows up; pretty much the first thing Yugi does is give Kaiba his deck back.
So Yugi does take possession of all four different copies of this card, although not for more than roughly 8-12 hours each time it happens.
Ultimately, I decided that given this card's iconic status, it was worth including in my project. Though it's never directly part of any of Yugi's decks, Blue-Eyes is such a vital part of the series' identity that I felt I'd be remiss not to include it.
There's a lot more to say about Yu-Gi-Oh!'s most famous card. Check out this card's color artwork history, ancient past, and possible original Magic: the Gathering inspiration under the cut!
Among manga fans, it's pretty well-known that Kaiba got his own three "Blue-Eyes White Dragons" by downright criminal means.
Panel sequence from chapter 27, "Project Start!!".
This reflects Kaiba's villainous characterization at the time of this arc. A big step up from his original appearance as a mere greedy and underhanded student!
(By the way, this aspect of the cards is still actively referred to during the Duelist Kingdom arc, where one of Kaiba's Blue-Eyes cards is shown bearing English text in the Japanese version: )
From chapter 103, "Hang in There!!".
From chapter 103, "Hang in There!!".
From Chapter 75, "The Cards Bare Their Teeth".
In contrast, Grandpa got his copy because of his close bonds with an unnamed American friend. Really puts Kaiba's actions into perspective, doesn't it.
In an interview at the end of "Yu-Gi-Oh! Character Guidebook: The Gospel of Truth", author Kazkui Takahashi heavily implies that Grandpa's American friend got his copy of Blue-Eyes thanks to his connection with Magic & Wizards creator Pegasus J. Crawford! An absolutely wild lore nugget I wish he'd been able to sneak into the series proper.
Like all other Magic & Wizards cards, "Blue-Eyes White Dragon" is secretly descended from ancient stone tablets imbued with Ka (soul power) extracted from magically-capable humans. The original version of Blue-Eyes, specifically, is Kisara's Ka/Ba. In this series, Ka is thought of as a spiritual representation of a person's soul essence and Ba is their life force. (This a very fictionalized and very fanciful take on real ancient Egyptian beliefs about the concept of a 'soul'.)
Two-page spread from chapter 310, "Awakening of the White Dragon!!".
Kisara was notable because her Ka and Ba were intertwined in a very unusual way. The result of this was that her Ka was the most powerful of them all; but the cost was that her Ka could only be unleashed when Kisara was unconscious.
Kisara's latent powers were desired by the dark god Zorc Necrophades and his disciple Akhenaden. Only Akhenaden's son, High Priest Set, stood in their way, as he'd fallen in love with the mortal Kisasa.
Unfortunately, a Zorc-possessed Akenaden murdered Kisara in an attempt to steal her power.
With her dying breath, Kisara dedicated her spirit power to protect Set for all of time.
Panel sequence from chapter 334, "The Survivors!!".
In fact, there are many moments in the series that suggest that Kisara's spirit, through the "Blue-Eyes White Dragon" card, still acts as a sort of guide and guardian for Set's descendant Kaiba. This is true even in the Takahashi-authored post-manga two-parter Transcend Game.
But let's shift our attention back to the card now.
Time to show off visuals of this card's original color scheme. During the manga's weekly run, this card showed up in color an amazing six times- that's three more times than the next most seen color card!- and it stayed pretty consistent throughout.
Promotional image for Yu-Gi-Oh!, date unknown. Scan taken from the back of "Yu-Gi-Oh! 3-in-1 Volumes 1-2-3".
This promo image has been associated with the series for quite some time. I couldn't track down an exact debut date on this one, but the oldest usage of it I can find has it appearing in the 24 June 1997 issue of Weekly Shonen Jump, #30. And its appearance there seems to indicate that it might predate that issue- meaning that "Blue-Eyes White Dragon" likely had an official card colorscheme established before the debut of "Black Magician"!
Scan of the cover of "Yu-Gi-Oh! Duelist", volume 3; originally seen on "Yu-Gi-Oh!" volume 10, released 2 October 1998. Image sourced from Yugipedia; click here to see it in its original context.
As of the Duelist Kingdom arc, we see that the card is pretty close to its first color appearance.
Image from chapter 104, "Crisis!!", originally released 2 November 1998 in Weekly Shonen Jump #49.
The above image is a low-resolution placeholder. I'll replace it with a better quality image once my personal copy of this issue arrives. My apologies!
That said, while this image isn't great you can still tell that things haven't changed.
Scan from "Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters Official Card Game: Official Card Catalog: The Valuable Book 4", released 25 January 2002. Original version of this image was released on 18 October 1999 in Weeky Shonen Jump, #47.
This was the first color page seen for the Battle City arc, and you'll notice that the "Blue-Eyes White Dragon" card's gotten a slight update here. Its illustration border is now yellowish-orange instead of an uncolored white!
Scan from the back of "Yu-Gi-Oh! Duelist", volume 19. Originally appeared on the cover of Weekly Shonen Jump #41, released 11 September 2000.
Sadly, Viz's touchup of this version of the art made it fairly washed out. So note that in the original Weekly Shonen Jump version of this image, the Blue-Eyes illustration has blue-toned shading just like all other depictions of this card.
Scan from the cover of "Yu-Gi-Oh! Duelist", volume 14; originally seen in "Yu-Gi-Oh!" volume 21, released 2 November 2000. Image sourced from Yugipedia; click here to see it in its original context.
A bigger view of the card (or rather the hologram form thereof). The Blue-Eyes card illustration is pretty much settled by this point.
As you can see, Takahashi stuck to his vision of what he wanted the "Blue-Eyes White Dragon" card to look like throughout the entire run. The only small changes made between its first appearance and its last appearance are the color and size of its illustration's frame!
About this card's inspiration.
For a long time, despite being one of the first few Magic & Wizards cards to show up in the manga, I wasn't sure if this card had an original Magic: the Gathering card inspiration.
In fact, I was almost content to believe that the card was wholly original. Then I found out about the card below thanks to a random Reddit comment, believe it or not! Check it out:
Chromium, from Magic: the Gathering Legends, released on 1 June 1994. Image sourced from scrycall.com.
Now you know the secret origins of this absolute titan of the series!
Come back tomorrow for the start of my coverage of the cards introduced in the Pharaoh's Memories arc! 'Til then!
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
✓ Live Streaming✓ Interactive Chat✓ Private Shows✓ HD Quality✓ Free Actions
Free to watch • No registration required • HD streaming
"Oh no. No, you are not playing the card of saying forget about it. I am not going to stand here, try and communicate with you to your advise, and have you say 'forget it' when I am not giving you the answers you are expecting me to."
What did they do? Be the bane of his existence? Wanting to win fairly for once with either or both men? Preach about working together and being 'friends' and that it's stronger when there's more brains at work or some bullshit like that?
It dawned on him after a moment when he sees Jotaro's struggle for the words and the way his face shifted. Oh. Oh. Something in his chest crumbled when he saw the other man beginning to walk away from him. No...no...no he's not going to lose him. Not after this. Not after finally talking about the shit he has been through.
He takes a step as he grabs Jotaro's lower arm. Kaiba takes in a sharp breath in and out before he speaks. "Do not walk away from me." His voice catches on the me as he looks at the back of the other's head. "Jotaro..." His name did not taste like the bitterness or the ash or the sand or the loss and grief or the heat. "Stay. If you think that there was anything...anything between myself and either of them." His hand tightens slightly on the arm. "I would not have--I would not have wanted this to happen."
Jotaro hadn't expected for the hand to grasp his arm. It made him tense for a moment before he relaxed, hearing the sharp breath intake. He'd expected the other to stop him, hearing the words moments ago which had gotten him to stop first. And then it was the grip on his lower arm that had him pausing entirely.
Just as he was getting used to the touch, it's the next thing that Kaiba says that catches him completely off guard. He doesn't turn around, but he listens, and he lets the words sink in for a moment before he finally does turn around to face the brunette. Teals swimming with unsaid things - things that he wanted to say and yet not say. Things that would make him vulnerable, and perhaps he needed to be just as vulnerable as the other had been.
Whatever this was, Jotaro wasn't certain. All he knew was that he wanted to be in this man's life - that he wanted something that couldn't quite be named just yet. Was he afraid? Sure as hell he was afraid to open up.
Silently he reached up to grasp the CEO's hand, his grip firm but gentle. "Whatever your relationship is to them...it doesn't matter." The Joestar responded, voice gruff, low even. "Words will never come easily for me, they never have." His gaze shifts focus to the other man's features, "Sometimes, I say things before I think. So it might piss you off a bit. But..." He pauses glancing down at their hands, "if something I say does end up setting you off, tell me."
That wasn't all he wanted to say, but it was what he was going to end that with, giving the hand a gentle squeeze. He wouldn't push for anymore than what was given to him today. "I won't ask for anything more, not when you've already told me so much."
Sapphire eyes met the teals. They weren’t as hardened as they were in the beginning of this conversation. Not quite as soft either but just present and there and focused on the Joestar. Just only on him.
“I am aware,” Kaiba spoke softly. “I will let you know if anything you have said set me off. I expect the same form of respect as well if I say anything that sets you off.”
His eyes flicker to the squeeze of his hand as his grip eased against Jotaro’s arm as he slowly withdrew his hand, their fingers brushed slightly as he pulled and set the hand back at his side again. “I am not…the easiest person to talk to. I am well aware that I cannot open up as easy as people expect of me. I give you my word that if you want to ask questions about the whole ordeal, I will give you my honest perspective and answers.”
He was only just now aware of how ridiculous his question sounded. Shit. Okay. Now he's only going to be frustrated with himself. "Forget I asked." The frustration was there, though, it wasn't quite as heavy as he'd expected it to come across. And that was okay. Jotaro remains still for the moment while he works his mind to reword how he wanted to question this, how to not come across as pushy. Shaking his head, the Joestar's expression shifted into a scowl then he shoved his hands into his pockets.
Why the fuck were emotions so damn complicated? It would have just been better if he'd said 'fuck it's and walked away. It would have been better if he hadn't cared at all, but he did. He cared about this man more than he would ever outright admit, cared more about his well being to the point he was feeling...protective? Pissed off, maybe? He didn't know.
"Just--" He stopped himself after the upteenth time. Releasing a breath, he shakes his head again, "I meant, what did they do - other than beat you in a game, for you to have this reaction?" It wasn't just about card games at this point, he figured. It was something deeper, something that was buried. When that question had come out, Jotaro immediately scowled once more and then he mumbles 'forget it.' and begins to wake away from the other man.
"Oh no. No, you are not playing the card of saying forget about it. I am not going to stand here, try and communicate with you to your advise, and have you say 'forget it' when I am not giving you the answers you are expecting me to."
What did they do? Be the bane of his existence? Wanting to win fairly for once with either or both men? Preach about working together and being 'friends' and that it's stronger when there's more brains at work or some bullshit like that?
It dawned on him after a moment when he sees Jotaro's struggle for the words and the way his face shifted. Oh. Oh. Something in his chest crumbled when he saw the other man beginning to walk away from him. No...no...no he's not going to lose him. Not after this. Not after finally talking about the shit he has been through.
He takes a step as he grabs Jotaro's lower arm. Kaiba takes in a sharp breath in and out before he speaks. "Do not walk away from me." His voice catches on the me as he looks at the back of the other's head. "Jotaro..." His name did not taste like the bitterness or the ash or the sand or the loss and grief or the heat. "Stay. If you think that there was anything...anything between myself and either of them." His hand tightens slightly on the arm. "I would not have--I would not have wanted this to happen."
