Chao- Fame and popularity are two interesting subjects that everyone wants to be… but sometimes you don't have to be popular to be well-known or liked by everyone.

Disclaimer: DarkChao1663 does not own Yu-Gi-Oh!

Summary: Yugi has a problem. He decides to go speak with Kaiba but instead has an interesting conversation with Mokuba. One shot!

Warnings: None

Pairings: None

"Talking."

"Thinking."

/Yami and Yugi's mind link./

Like a Rock Star

A young teen with tri-color hair had missed a whole day of school. He lied on his back in bed with a small fever. As the day was drawing to a close, he had a wonderful visit with his close friends from school. He also had a nice conversation with his friend who lived in the Millennium Puzzle that rested on his cluttered desk.

He slept on his mattress. The moon was out shining and its glow cast down on his cherubic face. His features soon turned from peaceful to worry.

Yugi's Dream

Yugi stood in an area completely surrounded by darkness. With a Duel Disk strapped on his left arm, he had the Dark Magician in play with no other cards on the field. He panicked seeing a white dragon with blue eyes and three heads.

"The Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon!" he gasped as the monster registered in his mind. He then heard a familiar, arrogant laugh. He looked across the field and saw his toughest, greatest rival.

"Kaiba," Yugi said.

The tall CEO smirked, "This time the outcome will be different."

Yugi grunted with fury.

The young adult with brown hair lifted one arm into the air and commanded, "Blue Eyes, take out his Dark Magician!"

Yugi gasped once more; his magician did not have power of its own to stand its ground against the vast beast. He knew he needed help. He tried to contact the spirit of the Puzzle for advice. Gazing down, he saw the pendant was not around his neck. He gasped shocked once more. He looked around in attempt to see if anyone could assist him. His body trembled with fear. He felt alone. He then heard voices that sounded warm and encouraging.

Across from where he stood, Yugi saw dark figures, but they appeared to not cause harm. He then looked over towards Kaiba and saw a small figure by him. He looked around to find his friends but darkness grew all around him. The voices he heard were comforting to him. He decided to use his new found hope to accept the dangers of facing his opponent.

"Take him on Dark Magician!" Yugi yelled with courage.

The two monsters fought. The vast dragon had white beams coming from its mouth while the purple wizard used a blast of dark energy from its green staff. Yugi shield his eyes as a bright light engulfed everyone.

He then heard someone call his name. The voice sounded as though it belonged to his other half.

"Yami?" Yugi called out.

End Dream

Yugi awoke in the middle of the night. His head was spinning, and his nose was a bit stuffy.

/Yugi, are you all right?/ a familiar voice asked.

The teen blinked a few times to clear his vision. He turned gently to his side and saw his friend glowing against the pale moon light. The older boy held a look of concern on his face.

Yugi smiled as he answered, "Yeah, I'm ok."

The spirit sighed and replied, "That's good… You were tossing a bit in your sleep, and you appeared frightened. Did you have a nightmare?"

The teen looked towards his ceiling. He tried to remember the vision he had while his body was resting.

He was afraid of the giant white dragon. Out of all the duels, opponents, and monsters, none appeared as terrifying as facing Kaiba's Ultimate Dragon. Even at the very beginning, facing one dragon was tough enough; its power was unbelievable with only four in existence but was later brought down to three. What was also difficult was when the two rivals dueled over on Pegasus' island where only one person was allowed admission into the castle, even though both opponents had to save someone they cared about. Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon also carried some powers that rivaled the Egyptian God cards.

Yugi felt his heart beat quickly against his chest with worry.

"Yugi?" Yami called out concerned, wanting to make sure his partner was fine.

"Well, I'm not really sure if it was a nightmare…" Yugi replied honestly as he calmed down.

"Do you want to talk about it?" the spirit calmly offered.

"Well… I was dueling Kaiba, and I couldn't really see anything in front of me…except for our monsters and darkness."

"Was it a Shadow Game?"

"I don't think so… I was facing his Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon. All I had on my field was Dark Magician… I wasn't sure what to do. For some reason, the Puzzle wasn't around my neck. I was at first scared, but then I started to hear people encouraging me... like my friends… I also heard someone rooting for Kaiba. I looked around and I couldn't see anyone… but I didn't feel so afraid."

"That must have been some duel," Yami remarked abashed.

His eyes had widen a bit with curiosity upon the mentioning of the dragons. He, too, bore trouble taking down the nearly ultimate beast. His trust with his partner was nearly destroyed as he desired victory over his opponent's life. There was something a bit frightening in facing the white dragon with blue eyes. Yami held empathy with his light. To him, finding the strength to battle the unknown and powerful was impressive.

"It sounds you have the ability to stand strong in your own duels," he complimented with a smile.

The teen started to cough a little.

"You should continue on with your rest if you wish to go to school tomorrow." the spirit advised softly.

Yugi stayed awake for a bit. Although he had found the strength to fight against Kaiba, a part of him was still shaken. Facing a powerful creature with a dynamic opponent was frightening. Whenever the two adversaries dueled, the game felt tough but unfriendly despite knowing each other for a while. The only terrifying duels the two had were when they first played against each other, and when they faced each other once more in front of the castle.

Yugi was afraid of Kaiba, but he later gained respect for the adolescent. He wanted to be friends with someone who shared a common interest. Regardless of how many times he expanded his friendship, the tall CEO always rejected the offer. He wondered if Kaiba's dueling strategy were to change if the two became pals; the style changing from greedy and revenge to playful and friendly, like his own duels with Joey.

/Do you want me to stay with you until you fall asleep?/ Yami offered sincerely, breaking through to his light.

Yugi nodded, and the spirit took a seat on the mattress. A few moments passed, and the smaller boy closed his eyes and drift back into sleep.

The next morning, he awoke a tad earlier than normal. He sat up and rubbed his eyes. Fortunately for him, he had obtained a good night's rest. His nose was no longer filled with snot, and his headache had disappeared. He stepped out of bed to take a quick shower. He changed into a clean pair of his uniform, and then walked back towards his room. He placed over his neck the Puzzle from his desk.

/Feeling better?/ Yami asked candidly. /Are you sure you don't need another day of rest?/

/Yeah, I'll be ok,/ Yugi answered a bit tired but fine.

He walked towards his front door and was greeted by his childhood friend. The two of them walked to school together and later were welcomed by the rest of their group in their classroom.

The day went by smoothly, but Yugi couldn't help but feel distracted. To him, the odd part about coming back to school was being greeted by nearly everyone. He noticed he became popular after Duelist Kingdom, and almost every student knew his name after Battle City.

Yugi always welcomed everyone with his usual, cheerful smile. He recalled when he was a first year student, hardly anyone would talk with him. Some of the male students would even shove him aside, push him towards the wall, or drop his books while he was holding them. His only friend was Tea, but she sometimes had other clubs to run and the boy was left alone to play games by himself.

Now, he was well liked by his classmates, as though he was a completely different student. He wasn't sure if he should be grateful so many people were talking to him. A part of him knew his peers only noticed him because of his title as King of Games. He remembered many of his classmates only knew about him prior to the tournaments was because he was shorter than most other students and was often seen by himself. He couldn't help but feel a bit hollow inside.

"Yugi?" Tea called out after the bell rang.

"Hmm?" Yugi answered as he returned back to reality. He was sitting at his desk and Tea was standing in front of him.

"I asked if you wanted to do something after school today," she repeated. "Are you feeling well enough?"

"Oh," he replied freely, glancing at the floor.

He wanted to spend time with his friends, but he couldn't help but feel a bit empty. He wanted to be alone for a while, but he didn't want to be lonely. He knew he needed to talk with someone, but he wasn't sure who. He grew unsure of who else could relate to his situation. He stood up and glared behind his shoulder. From the corner of his eye stood an empty desk. The seat belong to Seto Kaiba back to when he attended school. But now the young CEO was busy running his company elsewhere and stopped attending his classes. At that moment, Yugi thought of someone he could speak with.

"Actually Tea," he began cheerfully. "I have some other things to take care of… But we can hang out later, is that ok?"

The female teen smiled, "Sure."

The small teen gathered his stuff and headed out the door.

"I'll see you later," he called as he waved goodbye. He departed from everyone he knew and headed towards a different route then what he normally took.

"Man, why does our teacher have to yell at us everyday!" yelled a cranky student with messy, blonde hair.

"Because you don't do your homework," another teen with clean, brown hair answered dully.

The two of them were barely leaving school after receiving a harsh lecture from one of their instructors.

"You don't either!" Joey argued.

"Hey, there's Yugi," Tristan observed while changing the subject. "Was he waiting for someone?"

"Hey! Yug!" Joey called out, nearly causing the other adolescent to lose his hearing.

The young student with tri-color hair kept walking; he didn't hear his friends calling out to him.

"That isn't the usual route that he takes home, is it?" Tristan asked confused.

"Let's go see what he's up to!" Joey answered a bit curious as to what his small friend was doing.

The petite teen hopped onto a bus and headed down a different path.

Yami appeared in his transparent state, curious to know what his partner was planning.

/Where are we heading for?/ he asked interested.

/I just need to… take care of something./ the smaller boy answered. He stared out the window as trees, skyscrapers, buildings, and telephone poles quickly passed by.

"This sure is a long drive," Yugi noted.

As the bus continued on, he remembered his dream he had.

He wondered if Seto Kaiba just took his limo to school then quickly left when classes were over. The teen tried to remember the times they saw each other before the two found out about their destiny. Before, they were only classmates. Now, they were rivals with some sort of connection with the pharaoh and Duel Monsters. Yugi recalled during their breaks he and his group of friends would play Duel Monsters with each other. They would also talk and take part in what normal adolescents do. He vaguely remembered Kaiba would sit alone at his desk and read books.

"I wonder if Kaiba ever felt lonely," Yugi pondered with empathy. "I know I did when I didn't have anybody."

He grasped his Puzzle tightly between his two hands. He was grateful for all his times with the people he treasured most. He wouldn't trade it for power or money; friends were all he needed. He figured his darker half may want to know what he was thinking, but Yugi decided he would explain everything when he was done with his mission.

When the bus stopped, the young adolescent stepped off and anxiously made his way towards his destination. He paused in front of a huge mansion with wide, iron gates. Many strong people were walking around carrying furniture, such as couches and dressers, out of the building and into large moving vans. As Yugi walked in, various stone statues and animals cut from plants stood out in the front yard for display. He kept his eyes focused and made his way towards the main entrance to the mansion. After climbing a few small steps made from concrete, Yugi made it in front of a pair of vast wooden doors. On the handles were in abbreviations of K.C.

/Why are we at Kaiba's place?/ Yami wondered as he reappeared with his arms crossed over his chest.

He couldn't help but narrow his eyes with cautiousness. He understood his partner had great trust within everyone, but he wanted to ensure the smaller boy wasn't being threaten into another duel.

"Relax," Yugi said, understanding his darker half's emotions. "I'm only here to talk with him."

Yami changed his view from the closed doors to his lighter half. He had wanted to ask his partner what they were doing but noticed Yugi was distracted during the day. He first assumed the boy hadn't fully recovered, but he appeared fine physically. He also felt some distressing thoughts emit from the boy's mind throughout his classes. He decided to allow Yugi to take care of his tasks alone until he was ready to speak with him.

/Ok then,/ he agreed as he closed his eyes relaxed. /But I'm here for you, too./

He retreated back to his upside down pyramid.

Yugi pulled one hand up and debated if this was a good idea. Talking to the tall CEO was always difficult, but Yugi knew he wanted to only speak with him and nothing more. He knocked on the door and waited patiently. He expected a maid or a butler to open the door, but instead he was face to face with a small boy with long, raven hair.

"Yugi?" the boy asked confused and a bit stunned. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, hi Mokuba," Yugi greeted. "Um… I was hoping to see if I could speak with your brother."

"He's not in right now," Mokuba informed somberly. "But you can come on in anyway."

He opened the door and allowed his guest to enter.

"Thanks," the boy with the tri-color hair smiled. "What's going on?"

"We're just gathering the rest of our stuff we need before moving," Mokuba explained. "Everything else is going to charity."

"You're moving?" Yugi questioned surprised.

"Yep," the small boy grinned. "Closer to our new company and away from this horrid place."

"Oh…"

The two took a seat on a couch across from each other. A mahogany table was set in between the two. Around them, people were shuffling around while gathering up the other furniture.

"What is it that you need to speak with Seto about?" Mokuba asked. "Maybe I can leave him a message."

"Well," Yugi began, feeling a bit embarrassed. "I'm not sure if this is something that actually needs to be taken to him… Err…"

The adolescent felt his tongue becoming tied up. He forgot the idea of Kaiba being busy and could not just lounge around doing nothing like Yugi had done on boring weekends. He hadn't even considered calling ahead to see if the CEO would even be at his own house since the working teen had so many appointments to keep.

"Is this about dueling my brother one last time?" Mokuba guessed lightly. "Because I doubt this will be the last time. You know that he'll keep trying until he wins, right?"

"Well, not really." Yugi answered as he referred to the former statement. "I was actually hoping to speak with him about another issue."

"Another issue?" the child repeated intrusive. "I don't mean to sound rude, but I don't think Seto would be interested in anything other than dueling you, especially if it involves Egyptian magic."

"Err… I know." Yugi glanced around and saw nearly everything had been removed.

The entire mansion that appeared huge felt even bigger and lonelier with everything gone.

"No wonder Kaiba did what he did…" Yugi mumbled. He understood how rich people would spend their money with objects to fill large rooms in order to keep themselves from feeling empty.

"What was that, Yugi?" Mokuba asked.

"Oh…um," the adolescent stuttered as he tried to figure out what he could say. He wondered if anyone else had stopped by to say their goodbyes to the Kaiba brothers.

"Mokuba, hasn't anyone else came by?" Yugi finally asked. The teen spotted depression within the young boy's eyes. He rued his question, but curiosity had taken over him.

"There really isn't anyone to say goodbye to," the boy with black hair answered.

Yugi wanted to say something comforting but didn't know how to reply.

Mokuba continued somberly, "We plan to move and start over. We're taking all of our stuff that belongs to us. Everything else is going to be donated… Earlier when we were trying to figure out what we should do to the stuff that belong to Gozoburo Kaiba, I could see in Seto's eyes that he wanted to burn it all down."

"Like Alcatraz?" Yugi brought up. He remembered his horrid adventure within the virtual world run by the Kaiba brother's other sibling and was later overrun by Gozoburo Kaiba.

"But he later decided to just give this stuff away to people who really need it," Mokuba defended.

"I see," the teen understood. "Then are you changing schools as well?"

The boy shook his head, "I'm going to be home schooled. I don't mind, though. I just hope I can meet people who will like me for me when we move, you know?"

Yugi's eyes widened a bit. He knew Kaiba must have felt alone, but he never considered Mokuba felt the same way.

"Did your classmates also treat you differently after Kaiba became so good at Duel Monsters?" Yugi asked.

Mokuba laughed a bit.

"Seto was always the best at Duel Monsters. I was the best at Capsule Monsters. Everyone had respect for us," he said as though he was remembering his memories rather than talking to someone.

"But I suppose that feeling gets hollow after awhile, doesn't it?" Yugi empathized with the child.

"Yeah, it kinda did," the boy sighed. "Some people only wanted to know us for our titles or what we had. Seto had to make sure that anyone I brought home wasn't interested in using me. I guess he didn't want me to get hurt."

The older boy grew unsure of what else he could say. He finally understood why the young CEO would push everyone away. He comprehended the reason why Kaiba would say that friendships would fail since everyone only cared about themselves.

"Maybe Kaiba has been hurt too many times in the past," Yugi assumed. "But who did Mokuba have?"

"I was always glad Seto was there for me," Mokuba smiled. "And I was happy to always be there to greet him after his duels and long business trips. Sometimes, we would go together and go to an amusement park or to the movies afterward. I only had to promise not to fall behind on my studies."

Yugi couldn't help but smile back. He always had his friends by his side prior to becoming involved with any tournaments. His buddies cheered him on during duels, or played pranks on him like normal adolescents do. He proudly stood up, ecstatic to have someone he could talk with and understand. He said with a smile, "Well Mokuba, I hope you and your brother move safely."

He held out his hand to shake.

Mokuba stood up as well and accepted the gesture. He grinned, "You know you haven't seen the last of us, right?"

Yugi laughed, "Well, if you're ever here by yourself or with Kaiba, feel free to stop by and say hello."

"Sure thing," the young boy agreed gleefully.

Just as the atmosphere became right, two tall teens busted through the room with two guards after them.

"Stop them!" ordered one guard.

"Hey! We didn't do anything!" yelled a blonde student wearing a blue uniform.

"You were sneaking around the mansion, how is that not suspicious?" argued the other guard.

"I told you we should have just knocked on the door," the other teen with brown hair said innocently.

"You did not!" spat his friend.

"Hey, what's going on!" Mokuba demanded to know.

"We found these two punks around the mansion! They looked like criminals who wanted to cause trouble," explain the first guard.

"And I say we weren't!" the slow witted student boldly defended himself. "We just came over to see what our bud was up to!"

"Joey?" Yugi called out surprised. "Tristan?"

Mokuba sighed and ordered the two guards to leave since he knew who the other two adolescents were. The two strong men left.

"What are guys doing here?" Yugi asked his two friends puzzled.

"Well, we were just in the neighborhood when-" Tristan was explaining but was interrupted when Joey said, "We wanted to see what you were up to!"

"You shouldn't be over at Kaiba's place by yourself." Tristan said only wanting to protect his friend from the CEO.

"It's ok," Yugi insisted as he closed his eyes. "I was only talking with Mokuba."

He felt touched his friends came over and followed him to make sure everything was fine. Just like Yami, the two boys only wanted what was best for their small buddy.

"We should get going," Yugi finally announced, ready to leave after talking with someone about his situation.

"Ok, then," Mokuba nodded.

The four boys walked out of the mansion.

"Bye guys," the boy with black hair waved.

"Bye, Mokuba," everyone said in union.

The group walked together back towards the Turtle Game store.

"So Rich Boy wasn't there?" Joey asked making conversation.

"No," Yugi answered. "Guess he was busy with all of his appointments."

"Maybe that was for the better since Joey stopped by," Tristan grinned.

"Hey!" Joey protested. "I said I was just looking out for Yug here!"

The small teen only laughed.

When the group had arrived, at the door stood a girl with short brown hair still in uniform.

"Tea?" Yugi questioned.

"Oh, hi guys," the girl greeted with a smile.

"What are you doing here?" Tristan asked.

"I just came by to see how everyone was," she answered.

"Let's go inside!" Joey suggested as he stretched.

Walking inside after a long day, the group made themselves comfortable. Joey and Yugi took out their decks and began to talk about Duel Monsters once more. There were a few rounds, a few stories told, and some snacks were eaten until the night came.

xxx

"Mokuba, I'm home," announced a teen with brown hair. He had returned from running errands and signing papers. He was tired but wanted to see his brother before heading to bed.

"Over here, Seto," called the boy.

The tall adolescent walked into his brother's room and saw nearly everything was taken away. His brother was sitting on his mattress flipping through a magazine while holding a silly grin on his face.

"What are you smiling about?" Kaiba asked, feeling suspicious.

"Oh, nothing," Mokuba answered lightly.

He glanced at the floor as he remembered his conversation with his brother's rival but his own friend. He couldn't help but feel relieved he had talked about his own issue with someone who understood. He was also grateful to have a reason to return to Domino and see someone who was seen as a friend.

"Will you be ready to leave tomorrow?" Kaiba questioned as he wanted to vacate the haunting premises as soon as possible.

"Yes," the boy answered. His smile faded and he became quiet.

Kaiba became concerned, "Are you all right?"

Mokuba looked back towards his role model. Although he understood his brother's emotion towards everything in Domino City, he wanted to return to see the place and see his friends.

His real friends.

"Do you think that… after we move… we can come back to Domino City for a visit?" he finally asked.

Kaiba turned surprised about the request. He smiled and answered, "If that is what you want."

xxx

Yugi looked around his group of friends with admiration. Even though he was popular around school, he was glad to have a group of friends who liked him for who he was.

The group soon departed and agreed they would all see each other at school the next day.

The teen walked over towards his room and changed into his pajamas. He placed his Puzzle on his desk and sat in his bed, stretching his arms. He then lied on his back with his eyes glued to the ceiling deep in thought.

/Everything all right?/ a spirit asked caringly as he took a seat on the boy's chair.

Yugi smiled as he replied, "Yeah."

Yami shuffled a bit in his seat. He was glad to see his partner was feeling better, but he didn't understand why the teen couldn't just explain his situation. Even now, the pharaoh was unclear about what issue ate away at his partner.

"I'm here, too." Yami whispered as he closed his eyes. He couldn't help but feel a bit hurt.

Yugi turned his attention towards his darker half and believed Yami felt left out. He remembered he promised himself to at least explain his situation to his partner.

"I know." he replied with a smile. "And I'm glad you are."

Yami opened his eyes and smiled back, "I'm glad you're here as well."

"It's just that… I guess the nice thing about having so many friends is interacting with so many people with different personalities… I like how in our group everyone contributes something to everyone."

"Is that why you wish to be friends with the Kaiba brothers?"

"I guess Kaiba must have had some of his fans leave after his loss with us. Maybe he feels like he needs to be number one so people may come to his company and dream job."

"People can be very shallow, especially for something that is popular."

"Maybe Kaiba was hurt in the past and doesn't want the same thing to happen to Mokuba."

"They do have each other."

"And we have everyone. I hope one day, even when we're all apart doing our own thing, we can meet up again. Fans for Duel Monsters will come and go, but Tea, Tristan, Joey, and you, mean everything. I want to spread our joy to someone who needs it."

Yugi yawned after a long day.

Yami continued to smile as he said, "Go ahead and sleep. I'll see you in the morning."

Yugi nodded his head and went to sleep.

There were times when the champion of Duel Monsters felt like a rock star. But unlike most celebrities, the teen figured as long as he had his friends he would not fall into an endless pit of despair. His friends would be there for him after the wins and loses for the popular trading card game.

The End

Chao- The second half was just an interesting idea, but the first half was inspired while reading Yu-Gi-Oh! R. Man, that Blue Eyes sure is something… Anyway, all reviews are welcomed