Chapter Text
Mokuba blinked at the letter in his hand. Nestled among official-sounding phrases like “emergency plumbing maintenance” and “temporary housing reassignment,” there was a name. A familiar one.
What was Jounouchi Katsuya doing here?
He got the chance to ask the next day, as they were sitting on his bed and chatting up a storm. It was almost like they had never lost contact.
“I can’t believe you got into this program!”
“Honestly, neither can I. Me, college...” Jounouchi flopped back and looked at the ceiling. “But Anzu was always talking about how great it was to study abroad. I guess she got me interested." Almost defensively, he added, "Not that dueling wasn’t great."
“That’s right. You got pretty good, didn’t you?” It was hard not to notice Jounouchi's name appearing in the big tournament rosters with increasing frequency.
Jounouchi laughed, thumping his chest. “Yeah, I did. But you know how it is.”
Mokuba nodded. He’d seen the rise and fall of many a celebrity duelist. You could never tell when the next big thing would crop up, the next child prodigy, the next international heartthrob. Unless you had serious staying power, the minute someone swept in and smashed you with the latest gimmicks, you were old news. Jounouchi, despite his hard work and his proximity to the King of Games, wasn’t exactly A-list. Probably never would be. He knew this.
He didn’t say it, though. Not exactly. He just smiled and shrugged. “So I buckled down, studied really hard… Anzu helped me with the applications and the financial aid.” He sighed. “Still sunk a lot of my winnings, though.”
Mokuba smiled back. “You know how to study?”
Jounouchi slapped Mokuba’s shoulder with the back of his hand. “Give me a little more credit.”
“Yeah, yeah.” Mokuba giggled. “So what was it like when it all went down?”
“When the pipes went? You should’ve seen it!” Jounouchi waved an arm. “Water everywhere. They said there were some serious structural problems, too. It’s gonna be a while.”
Mokuba ducked a little, wary of Jounouchi’s flailing. “Sucks to be administration right now, but… I can’t say I’m too disappointed. We might never have come across each other.”
“Yeah! What are the odds?” Rubbing his chin, Jounouchi mused, “Maybe they put us together because we’re both from Japan.”
Mokuba shrugged. “Maybe. I don’t think whoever did it was paying a lot of attention, though. I was supposed to be by myself.”
“I guess that’s a rich kid’s prerogative. Having this big old room all to yourself...” Not only was it big, this was the best dormitory on campus, naturally. They had a full suite, sharing only a bathroom and a spacious common room. Jounouchi would never have gotten into this building if not for the embarrassed school flailing to house its displaced students immediately.
Mokuba shook his head. “Big brother’s prerogative, actually. I kind of wanted a roommate. It wasn’t worth arguing about, though. He hardly wanted me to stay on campus at all.”
Cold spread over Jounouchi. “… your big brother, huh. Now he’s gonna be extra pissed.”
“Doesn’t matter. I’m totally safe with you. Even he can’t deny that.” Mokuba clasped his hands together, beaming. “Just the advantage I needed.”
Jounouchi stared at Mokuba, eyes wide. He had the distinct sense that he had just become a pawn in a high stakes chess match. “You’re... not gonna let me get caught in the crossfire, are you?”
Mokuba couldn't suppress a grin. "I'm not making any promises."