Work Text:
The tropical sun was bright above the Pacific island owned by the Kaiba brothers. They were well into the first afternoon of their two-day vacation when the group decided they’d had enough swimming and card games for now, and it was time to look for a different kind of fun. When Mokuba informed them that there was a beach volleyball court just a little further up the shore, the choice was obvious.
“I’ll pass,” Kaiba dismissed the idea immediately. He had just settled back onto his sun lounger under the shade of a parasol and was about to reach for his laptop to finally get some work done.
“Come on, Nii-sama!” Mokuba begged. Right beside him, Nyra, Kaiba’s white dragon in human form, had her pleading, icy blue eyes fixed on him, while Yugi, Anzu, and Bakura lined up behind them.
Jounouchi remained in the background, tossing the ball from one hand to the other.
“Y’all just wastin’ time on beggin’ Moneybags if he ain’t wanna play. Besides, it’s better for everybody if he don’t kill the vibe on the court,” he said, but his expression betrayed just how much he wanted to face Kaiba in a volleyball match.
“How about we do three-on-four rotating teams?” Marik suggested as he returned, sipping on a Sex on the Beach and handing another glass to Bakura.
"Well, if we really can't convince Kaiba-kun..." Yugi turned back to his friends with disappointment. The others hummed and nodded in agreement. Nyra, however, kept her eyes on her rider, tucking a saltwater-dampened strand of wavy hair behind her ear.
At that moment, the ball popped out of Jounouchi's hand, and his attempt to catch it only made things worse: he accidentally smacked it, sending it even further away. The volleyball drew a graceful arc in the air, before landing on the top of Seto Kaiba’s head, then rolling across the laptop in his lap and down into the sand.
Most of the crew instinctively looked away, not wanting to see what was about to come. Anzu covered her mouth with her hand.
But much to everyone’s surprise, Kaiba didn’t yell, nor did he leap to his feet to lecture Jounouchi, who stared at him in shock with the faintest trace of guilt in his eyes. Instead, the CEO slowly closed his laptop, set it aside, then stood up with measured movements. He exhaled sharply, the sound loud in the tense silence.
“Should I take that as a challenge, Amateur?” he asked, his voice dangerously calm as his piercing gaze locked on the blond.
Jounouchi blinked in surprise, but a sly grin quickly spread across his face.
“Y-yeah, of course! In case you didn't know, I hit you on purpose, Kaiba! I knew you’d take the bait.”
The brunet chuckled softly with eyes closed, before bending down to pick up the ball.
“As clumsy as you are, I highly doubt that. But you know what? For your sake, Jounouchi, I’ll join in for a round, so I can prove that no matter the game or sport, I’m still leagues above you.”
“Do you mean…?” Yugi’s eyes lit up, while Mokuba and Nyra gave a high-five.
“Exactly.” Kaiba’s eyes burned with the same obsessive fire that they did every time he faced a worthy opponent in a duel. Only this time, it wasn’t about quick thinking, choosing the best strategy or having luck. Now they were going to play volleyball.
Without breaking eye contact with the blond, he issued his orders:
“Yugi, take the Amateur and two others; Mokuba, Nyra, and one more, you’re with me. Jounouchi begged for this, and now he’ll get it: I’ll crush him into the sand, once and for all!”
Soon, the teams took their places on the court: Yugi, Jounouchi, Anzu, and Bakura lined up against Kaiba, Mokuba, Nyra, and Marik.
“Is it really okay if I’m playing against you, Marik-kun?” the white-haired boy asked a little sadly, glancing at his boyfriend standing on the other side of the net, clearly eager to start the match at any moment.
“It’s just a game, Ryou,” the Egyptian waved it off, then did a few shoulder circles as a warmup. “But don't worry, I'll make it up to you after we beat you!” he winked at him.
“You wish!” Anzu shot back. “In case you didn't know, I'm pretty good at any sport.”
“You are a good dancer, I’ll give you that. But you’re no match for Nii-sama when it comes to volleyball!” Mokuba called over, his smug tone eerily similar to his brother’s.
“Not like he's got a choice. He gotta show off his talent, since he’s at a serious disadvantage with two midgets on his team. Especially with her.” Jounouchi jabbed a finger at Nyra, who pouted in response.
“We’ll see about that! Besides, you’ve got a midget in your team too!”
“Hey…!” Yugi began to protest, but Kaiba cut him off.
“Are you going to serve today, or what?” he asked dryly, rolling up the sleeves of his unbuttoned shirt.
With that, the first set began. Anzu delivered a flawless serve, the ball aimed to land right in the gap between the four opponents, had the CEO not jumped two steps forwards to return it. Yugi managed to save it from hitting the ground, though the ball lost momentum halfway, leaving it to Jounouchi to pass it back instead.
It should have been Nyra’s turn to return it next, but when Marik noticed the girl was nowhere near the ball, he acted quickly and helped her out. Bakura passed the ball back with some difficulty, and it successfully landed in the sand barely half a meter from Mokuba's feet.
“One point here!” Jounouchi whooped.
“Sorry, Nii-sama!” Mokuba turned back, but his brother only let out a low, displeased growl. It was obvious to the entire gang that if anyone else had made a similar mistake, they would’ve already gotten an earful.
Anzu served again. This time, Nyra was the first to reach the ball on the other side, and with Mokuba and Marik’s help, they sent it back over. Jounouchi received it with ease, but Kaiba slammed it down hard with a powerful jump, and the ball crashed into the sand right between Yugi and Bakura. He then claimed the right to serve with a smug, triumphant grin.
The back-and-forth went on for quite some time, during which it became clear that Seto Kaiba wasn't just talking big, he actually had some talent for the game. Perhaps less surprising was that Yugi Mutou proved to be a real threat to him only in Duel Monsters: this time, Jounouchi, or even the perpetual cheerleader, Anzu, presented a much greater challenge for him. Kaiba wasn't exactly happy that it was the Amateur whose moves he had to watch out for the most, yet it didn’t hold him back from spreading his sarcastic remarks.
“Well, well, I'm impressed! Looks like there is something you're not completely hopeless at,” he scoffed.
"I'd hold my tongue if I were you, Kaiba," Jounouchi snarled. “In case you didn’t notice, we're just one point away from victory."
By the end of the first set, Mokuba finally started to get into it, and among the pair of Marik and Bakura, clearly the Egyptian was the more skilled one. Even so, the white-haired boy kept trying, occasionally scoring points, other times the ball ended up caught in the net.
The clumsiest by far, however, was undoubtedly Nyra, but no one, not even Kaiba held it against her. Except for Anzu, everyone present had already seen the dragon in her true form, and not for a moment did they question that her talent lay elsewhere, not in ball games. Which is why, whenever the volleyball came her way, she either let it land in the sand, screamed, or lunged in a desperate attempt to send it over to the opponent’s side, usually ending in an awkward fall.
The first set was ultimately won by Yugi’s team, while Kaiba’s took the second. Everything came down to the third, which had been intense from the very beginning.
At one point, when Yugi’s team was in the lead, the spiky-haired boy and Anzu — both in the front row — jumped for the ball at the same time: the result was a huge collision, and the ball landed on the ground behind them. Anzu tried to get up, rubbing her achy head, but the weight pressing down on her kept her pinned.
“Yugi…”
When she looked up, she was surprised and increasingly flustered to find Yugi sprawled across her, his bare torso pressing against her tummy. Everyone around them laughed, while her friend sprang to his feet as quickly as he could, his tomato-red face likely visible even from the neighboring island. Nevertheless, to satisfy the already impatient Mokuba, he helped Anzu to her feet and tossed the ball to the boy so he could finally serve.
Bakura passed, Marik returned it, and Jounouchi’s well-aimed shot was barely blocked by Kaiba. Neither team could be certain of victory.
But somehow, Yugi’s side pulled ahead again, and much to the CEO’s dread — who just couldn’t allow Yugi and the Amateur to beat him — the ball soared straight towards Nyra.
He watched with bated breath as his dragon prepared herself to receive it, her hands positioned correctly for once. Regardless, he was ready to jump in at any moment to intervene, even considering pushing her aside if he must. But there was no need for that: Nyra managed to send the ball cleanly over the net, and Bakura failed to catch it.
The dragon girl was so proud of having scored a point that she hardly cared that she staggered from the force of the hit, then promptly tripped over her own feet. Just as she braced for a hard landing on her bum, two strong arms reached under her shoulders, and her back collided with a firm chest. A shiver ran down Nyra’s spine. She didn’t even need to turn around to know who her savior was.
“Clumsy little dragon,” her rider murmured into her ear. Nyra spun around and, without a word, stood on her tiptoes, clutching at his shoulders as she planted a grateful kiss on his cheek.
“Kaiba-kun, did you just…?” Yugi exclaimed in shock, astonished to witness his old rival react just as awkwardly to Nyra’s closeness as he had to Anzu's. Marik laughed heartily at both of them before waving his arm.
“Hey, pass the ball already! Let me serve the winning shot!”
And he did. But dinner was still a long way off; there was plenty of time for a rematch. Or two.