Chapter Text
The morning was full of cold misty rain and reluctant excitement. It was about 5 in the morning and a 10 on the shit scale, but Seto Kaiba was used to that at this point. You don’t become a CEO of a company by sleeping in until noon, after all.
Half the senior class stood outside the doors of school. They would have been inside the lobby if the doors weren’t locked, but the teacher was running late, most likely a result of the shockingly long line at her favorite chain café.
Kaiba resisted a shudder despite his jacket. He had thought his coat might have been too flashy for a school field trip, and he was regretting his decision to leave it at home. He was considering an impromptu removal of a door with a brick when a lime green van pulled into the lot.
“Alright, kiddos,” Mrs. Cowell began, steaming coffee in hand. “When the bus gets here, get to your seat. I have the list up here if you need a reminder.”
Kaiba didn’t need to look at it, choosing to stand still. There were less than 20 students here, among which Kaiba recognized the geek squad. As long as none of them tried to interact with him, he’d be fine.
“Oh hey Kaiba.” Crap.
“Mutou.” Kaiba nodded.
“Are you looking forward to this trip?” Yugi yawned. “I wish it weren’t so early, but I think we’ll all enjoy it anyway.”
“There’s no point to this. Teamwork training? Please.”
“Well, I think it’s important-”
Kaiba rolled his eyes. “Mutou, spare me your friendship speech. We’re not friends.”
Yugi shrugged. “Well at least I’m not Anzu. She’d lecture you for saying that.”
The bus pulled up, giving Kaiba an excuse not to answer. He needed at least two more coffees for that.
Kaiba secured himself a window seat in his designated row. Teenagers running down the aisle and crashing into his arm did not appeal to him. He took out his laptop to begin an email draft. Something about a bug in the latest duel disk design. The project was going slower than expected, and he intended to speed it up.
“Working already, moneybags?” the blond said as he slumped into the seat beside him.
Kaiba resisted the urge to glare at him. “Go sit in your seat like a good dog and stop bugging me.”
“Alright.” Jounouchi slid further down into the seat. “And I ain’t a dog, Kaibs.”
Kaiba glared at him. “What, are you as stupid as you look? I said sit in your seat.”
Jou sighed. “Unfortunately for us,” he yawned, “this is my seat. End of J, beginning of K.”
Kaiba cursed inwardly. Of course he had to make a fool out of himself. Not that Jounouchi would care; the mutt hardly noticed anything out of the ordinary. No, Kaiba just wanted to keep up his reputation as a teenage genius, especially to a dweeb like Jounouchi. “Fine, just don’t get your fleas on me.”
Jou glared at him, but got distracted as Yugi sat behind them. Returning to his work, Kaiba propped his knees on the seat in front of him. This was going to be a long four hours.
***
Two hours into the trip, Kaiba could feel his headache pulsing from behind his eyes. His seat-mate was alternating between turning around to talk to his spiky haired friend, trying to sleep, and playing on his phone. Kaiba closed his laptop to preserve its battery. The bus was much quieter than it was when they left. Most students were either listening to music, drifting to sleep, or, in Jounouchi’s case, both. In front of him, a student was seeing how many pens she could fit into Bakura’s hair while he slept. There had to be at least 10 so far.
Jounouchi looked like he was about to drift off again too. Kaiba debated trying. His head was violently demanding caffeine with sharp stabbing pains with little hope of relief. But the other side of him insisted that he kept productive, whether that be writing emails on his phone or drawing up new designs for duel monster cards. He was thinking of another dragon card, “Purple-Eyes Dragon” perhaps, although it didn’t have quite the ring it needed for sales.
He checked his phone. The trip was only halfway done, and Kaiba assumed they’d be stopping at a rest stop to stretch their legs.
As if on cue, Mrs. Cowell stood unsteadily in the aisle. “We’ll be stopping at the mall as a rest stop. We’ll stay there for half an hour before heading out again.” She glared pointedly at a few select students. “Make sure you are back here by 8.”
Kaiba poked the man sitting next to him. “Wake up, lowlife.”
Jounouchi blinked at him groggily. “Wha’ time ‘s it?”
“Time for you to get a watch.” It was a dumb joke, but it had to be said.
Jounouchi sighed. “Hilarious, moneybags. Why’d you wake me up?”
“We’re taking a rest break, and I’d prefer not to climb over you.”
The duo exited the bus, and Kaiba made a beeline towards the nearest cafe. Most places were just opening, which was a recipe for fresh coffee. He wouldn’t have even cared if it was microwaved instant coffee, just as long as it was something with at least 80mg of caffeine. Twice that if he was lucky. She handed him a cup of coffee and a complimentary donut for being the first customer of the day.
He thanked the barista, who looked too tired to notice the child prodigy she was serving or just didn’t care. Kaiba didn’t blame her; he didn’t have the energy to recognize half the people he talked to. The tip he left was generous (he was Seto Fucking Kaiba), and returned outside to enjoy his coffee in peace.
His plans were foiled when the geek brigade invaded the outdoor table he was sitting at, carrying their assorted breakfasts.
Honda strolled up next to him. “Scooch over, wouldn’t you?”
Kaiba glared back at him, unable to think of a fitting insult before complying. “Only because I don’t want to get whatever contagious disease you all have,” he finally said.
The rest of the squadron ignored him as they chose their seats around him. Jounouchi ended up sitting on his other side. They continued to chatter about whatever game was going on these days. Other than duel monsters of course.
“The thing about No-Brainer Monsters™ is that it’s more about the puzzles in the game instead of the monsters,” Yugi started, “I played it with my grandpa a few times. It’s gaining a lot of popularity in America.”
“Nyeh, so it’s kinda like Duel Monsters?” Jounouchi asked.
“It’s nothing like Duel Monsters!” Yugi replied indignantly, “It’s got puzzles.”
“Why don’t we play it sometime, Mouto?” Kaiba challenged, “I’d be honored to crush you.”
“Oh you’re on, big-shot.” Yugi smirked, taking a bite from his scone. “It’ll only take a few minutes for me to beat you.”
“You tell’em, Yug.” Jou planted a hearty slap on the shorter man’s back. “You’ve never lost to him before, and I betcha ain’t gonna start soon.”
“Yugi, keep your dog on his leash.”
“I ain’t a dog, Kaiba!” Jounouchi barked.
“Settle down, girls,” Anzu interjected, “can’t we just get along for one meal.”
This was met with a few grumbles, but the group complied, dissolving back into idle conversation.
Kaiba discreetly placed his free donut in front of Jounouchi, noticing that he wasn’t eating. The blond cocked an eyebrow in question.
“It’s yours.”
“I don’t take charity, moneybags.”
“It’s not charity, it’s a donut.”
“What, you’re too good for donuts?” Jounouchi said, already biting into the frosted monstrosity.
“Hm, I’d just rather not have my arteries chocked with the fats and sugars.”
Jounouchi shrugged. “Your loss.”
He turned back to his friends to argue back about something Ootogi had said. Kaiba didn’t pay attention and instead pulled out his phone to deal with some emails. Most were updates about software, but one was from a condescending businessmen who thought an 19 year old couldn’t run a company. He gave up, electing to read the texts Mokuba had sent him.
~Mokie
Hey big bro! Hope your trip goes well :)
Sorry I didn’t see you off.
Kaiba inwardly smiled. Some people never change.
~Seto
I’ll try to make the most of it. I have to sit next to the idiot.
~Mokie
?
~Seto
The mutt. Jounouchi
~Mokie
Ugh keep me out of your unresolved sexual tension or whatever
~Seto
Mokuba, that wasn’t funny.
~Mokie
Yeah yeah, whatever. I just know that’s not a problem for you ;)
Kaiba didn’t satisfy him with an answer.
The students flooded back onto the bus, resuming the same spots as before. Kaiba put in some earbuds, debating whether to listen to music, a podcast, or an audiobook. He chose a true crime podcast. Interesting enough to keep him occupied, but not necessary to remember specific details.
The bus started up again, shifting the students around in their seats. And then they were off.