YuGiOh Big Bang 2017: The Rules of Rich [Part 1/2]

[themangosity]

This banner was made for me by Admin T, one of the admins for this Big Bang. I love it so much! It's very cute! :D

Title: The Rules of Rich

Series: YuGiOh DM

Word Count: 3936

Rating: G

Summary: Yugi wins the lottery and Kaiba teaches him the ways of being rich. Who knew being rich could be so difficult?

Author's Note: This is set after the end of the series. When I came up with this idea, I couldn't not write it! I'm positive this is how Kaiba would react! Enjoy!

The Rules of Rich
Part 1: The Rich Club

Yugi isn’t normally one to gloat. Really, he isn’t, but sometimes it’s just so easy when Kaiba is involved.

“It says here I’m richer than you.”

“Does it really?” Kaiba says without taking his eyes off his computer monitor.

Yugi keeps his eyes on the magazine, turning the page casually like he isn’t intently focused on messing with Kaiba. “Yeah. Is it true?”

“I don’t know. Look it up yourself. KaibaCorp publishes all of its earnings online.”

“But that’s KaibaCorp. I’m talking about you.”

Now Kaiba looks up, annoyed and angry with just a hint of reaching the end of his rope. “Need I remind you that peace and quiet doesn’t involve yapping at me every ten seconds?”

“Right. Of course. I’ll be quiet now. Duelist’s honor.” Yugi flashes his best innocent grin.

Kaiba stares back at him with the usual scowl. “I’ll be finished in twenty minutes. You think you can manage to keep quiet for that long?”

“Okay. I’ll try.” Yugi thinks he hears Kaiba mumble something like “You’d better do more than try,” but decides not to comment. He goes back to reading the latest issue of Duelist Monthly. He and Kaiba have both made it onto the cover more than once, but never for something unrelated to Duel Monsters.

“How the King of Games became the King of Gains. Exclusive interview!” the cover proclaims.

There really isn’t much to it. He bought a lotto ticket and he just so happened to win. That’s all there is to it. Granted, some have said that isn’t all there is to it. He’s heard talk that his win isn’t fair, that he only won because he’s the King of Games. He can’t deny that he’s thought the same thing once or twice. Maybe being the King of Games has its perks outside of Duel Monsters. It’s almost enough to make him want to buy another ticket just to test it out, but he’s afraid of actually winning again. Then people would really be on his case.

For the most part though, people have been really supportive. His grandpa almost had a heart attack when he found out, his friends were ecstatic and his Duel Monsters fans have been sending him fan mail like never before. Then there’s Kaiba, who called to congratulate him a couple of nights after they announced his victory, who told him he would help him figure out what to do with the money if he wanted. Did winning the lottery get him into the rich club and that made him worth talking to? Or maybe Kaiba was just trying to make up for all the grief he caused a few months ago when he dug up the pharaoh’s grave. If this is as close as he can get to saying he’s sorry, then that’s all right with Yugi.

It’s still a little weird to be sitting in Kaiba’s office waiting for him to be done with...whatever it is he’s working on. Some corporate something or other that Yugi doesn’t understand. Once Kaiba is finished, they’re supposed to talk about Yugi’s options for investing. Yugi has an economic advisor, but apparently Kaiba has his own perfect scheme for how Yugi should invest his money.

Please be legal, Yugi thinks. Kaiba doesn’t seem like the type to cheat the system for success. His pride wouldn’t allow it. On the other hand, he’s also the kind of guy who doesn’t always play by the rules. Yugi has no idea which side of Kaiba comes out when he’s dealing with money. He’ll just have to see and pray this doesn’t land them both in jail.

“Yugi.”

Yugi jumps and whips his head up to find Kaiba staring at him. From the look on his face, Yugi can tell he must have called his name more than once.

“Uh...has it been twenty minutes yet?”

“No. I’m just amazing,” Kaiba says. “Now let’s get to work.”

Kaiba opens his desk drawer and pulls out a surprisingly thin folder. “I came up with some companies you might be interested in.”

To Yugi’s surprise, Kaiba doesn’t really spend much time explaining his suggestions. He sort of just tells Yugi to invest and moves on to the next thing on the list, like he has somewhere to be or something, which is weird since Kaiba’s the one who called Yugi here in the first place. At least his suggestions are things Yugi’s economic advisor never would have thought to recommend. It’s mostly no-name gaming companies Kaiba thought Yugi might like. He even mentions Industrial Illusions, which puzzles Yugi to no end.

“I thought you hated Pegasus.”

Kaiba narrows his eyes. “I do, but I’ll be the first to admit he’s a mad genius. Always thinking eight steps ahead. As much as it pains me to say it, Industrial Illusions is usually a good bet. Anyway, that’s that. Now that that’s out of the way we can get to the important stuff.”

“Investments aren’t the important stuff?”

“Sure, but I’m talking long game.” Yugi always thought investments were all about the long game, but Kaiba’s the expert here. Kaiba folds his hands on his desk and leans forward. “I’m going to be blunt, Yugi. You’re rich now. If you want people to respect you, you’re going to have to step it up.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“I mean you’re going to have to start looking the part and acting the part.”

“Oh. Are you trying to tell me I have to start buying more expensive clothes?”

“Among other things. Let’s just say there are certain rules to being rich. You have to buy the right brands. Own the right number of helicopters.”

Yugi blinks. “Are you serious?”

“Am I ever not serious?”

“No. I guess not.”

“Trust me, Yugi. With that much money, you’re going to need help figuring out how to spend it. Who better to teach you than the richest man in all of Domino City?”

Yugi laughs a little. “Really. You’re going to teach me how to spend my money.”

“Did I stutter?”

“No, but you did just tell me I need to buy a bunch of helicopters.”

“So?”

“Are helicopters really necessary for being rich?”

“You never know when you’ll need one.”

Yugi laughs again, but he can tell Kaiba is being completely serious. Since when did Kaiba care about helping other people? More importantly, since when did Kaiba care about helping him? Yugi wants to ask Kaiba why he’s being so nice, but that would just be rude. Maybe he’s just lonely up at the top.

“Okay,” Yugi says. “Other than helicopters, what else do you need to be rich?”

“Lots of things,” Kaiba says. “But first things first.” Kaiba gestures dramatically. And here Yugi thought Kaiba only did that during Duels. “Rule number 1, Yugi: look sharp no matter what. Image is everything.”

“Hey. Are you saying I don’t look sharp?”

“Sorry, Yugi, but your school uniform isn’t going to cut it anymore.”

“But I like my school uniform.”

“How long have you been out of high school again?”

“It’s only been a few months!”

“That’s a few months too many.”

Yugi crosses his arms. He can feel himself pouting. Okay, so Kaiba’s not the first person to mention this, but he’s been trying to wear other things lately. He just so happens to like his school uniform the best. That’s not a crime.

“So are you in or what?” Kaiba asks, and that patience is wearing thin again. “Because it’s all the same to me.”

But it’s not all the same to him. Yugi can tell. Kaiba wants him to let him help him. For some reason. Does he feel guilty or something for all the years of ignoring him and not wanting to be his friend? Kaiba always has been a hard read.

“I guess so,” Yugi finally says. “Grandpa has been telling me I need to expand my wardrobe.”

“Good. I’ll send Roland to pick you up tomorrow at 8AM.”

“W-Wait, what? Why?”

“You’re getting your measurements taken at Duelist Mode. I already had Roland make the appointment.”

“What? Already? You didn’t even know if I would agree to this!”

“It was a gamble, and it paid off.” Kaiba pauses. “By the way, the answer to your question is no.”

“Huh?”

“You asked if you’re richer than me. The answer is no.”

“Oh,” Yugi says, smiling. “How much until I catch up?”

Kaiba doesn’t answer right away, but eventually he gives Yugi a very exact number, and Yugi laughs.

“Then I guess I need to find a job.”
__________

An hour later Yugi finds himself at Burger World, Joey’s treat. He feels a little weird letting Joey pay for him, considering his newfound wealth and everything, but he doesn’t have any cash on him, and he’s really hungry.

“Don’t you think it’s weird Kaiba’s being so nice to you?” Joey asks, leaning back in his chair. His plate is empty and they barely just got here.

“A little,” Yugi says. “But I think he actually wants to help me.”

“But...why?”

“I’m not sure,” Yugi admits. “Maybe he remembers what it’s like to suddenly have a bunch of money.”

“Eew. Are you trying to say Kaiba has a heart?”

Yugi laughs. “Maybe. You never know.”

“Well, whatever he’s after, you be careful. I don’t want Kaiba robbing you blind.”

“Kaiba doesn’t have any reason to steal my money.”

“You can never be too careful.”

“He’s not actually doing anything with my money. Just telling me what to do with it.”

“Really? So what’d he say?”

Yugi frowns, remembering Kaiba’s cruel comments about his school uniform. “He hates the way I dress. He’s making me go buy a whole new wardrobe.”

Joey pauses for a long while. “Huh. For once me and Kaiba agree on something.”

“Hey!” Yugi thought that Joey would at least have some sympathy. “Is my fashion sense really that terrible?”

Joey snorts. “No offense, Yuge, but you’ve been wearing your school uniform every day since I first met you.”

“I didn’t wear it yesterday.”

“Fine. Ninety percent of the time. The point is Kaiba’s got the right idea.” He visibly shivers. “I can’t believe I just said that.”

Yugi tries to make taking a bite out of a hamburger look indignant, but it probably just makes him look really hungry.

“Look on the bright side, Yugi. He’ll probably show you where he gets all those fancy suits of his. Just...uh...don’t let him convince you to start dressing like him. That would be a nightmare.”

Now it’s Yugi’s turn to shiver. “Don’t worry. I won’t.”

---

Author's Note: I always imagined that Yugi's friends would eventually encourage him to wear something other than his school uniform :D Part 2 is linked below.

Part 2