Chapter Text
The colossal digital screens of Gurandosutorito(Grand Street), usually a kaleidoscope of vibrant advertisements for the latest Duel Monsters cards, cutting-edge corporate tech, or holographic concert events, suddenly shifted. The cacophony of Domino City, a symphony of hurried footsteps, distant train whistles, and the ever-present hum of advanced technology, seemed to falter, then quiet. It was just after the midday rush, the pedestrian crossing a river of humanity flowing between towering skyscrapers, when the change rippled through the populace.
A single, stark image replaced the glittering ads: the sleek, iconic logo of Kaiba Corporation, now overlaid with a solemn, almost funereal black banner. Below it, in bold, white kanji: 速報 (Breaking News).
A collective gasp, soft at first, then growing into a widespread murmur, swept through the throngs. People, mid-stride, froze. Heads craned upwards, eyes, once fixed on their phones or the path ahead, now glued to the colossal screens that wrapped around the cityscape like illuminated ribbons. The vibrant energy of Gurandosutorito, Domino City’s pulsating heart, began to slow, then settle into an uneasy stillness.
On screen, a grave-faced news anchor, her usual polished smile absent, began to speak. Her voice, amplified and echoing through the city’s public address system, cut through the remaining urban hum. "We interrupt your regularly scheduled programming with an urgent announcement regarding one of Domino City's most prominent corporations, Kaiba Corporation."
The words hung in the air, heavy with unspoken implication. Below the anchor, a ticker began to scroll: KAIBA CORPORATION FILES FOR CHAPTER 11 BANKRUPTCY.
Disbelief washed over the crowd. Kaiba Corporation? The titan that had reshaped Domino City, arguably the driving force behind its technological marvels and its global prominence in the dueling world? The company that seemed invincible, unshakeable, an eternal monument to the genius and ambition of its CEO, Seto Kaiba? Bankruptcy? It was unthinkable.
Before the initial shock could fully register, the anchor’s voice deepened, her expression growing even more severe. "And in a development that has sent shockwaves through the corporate and legal worlds, sources within the Domino City Police Department confirm that Kaiba Corporation CEO, Seto Kaiba, was taken into custody earlier this morning."
Another, more pronounced ripple of gasps. The crowd thickened at the edge of the crossing, a dam of humanity holding back the flow of traffic that now seemed insignificant. More reporters appeared on screen, live from outside the Domino City Police headquarters, their microphones thrust towards the building, their faces grim.
"Mr. Kaiba is reportedly being held on a series of grave charges," the anchor continued, her voice gaining a sharp edge, "including multiple counts of tax evasion, financial illegal schemes charges related to manslaughter, and a substantial number of complaints citing egregious sexual harassment and possible assault."
The words hit the city like a physical blow. Seto Kaiba. Not merely a business failure, but accusations of criminal acts that painted a far darker, more sinister picture. Manslaughter? Sexual harassment? The murmurs in Gurandosutorito transformed into an agitated hum, a buzzing hive of speculation and disbelief.
A young man, perhaps in his early twenties, stood rooted to the spot, his mouth agape. He wore a crisp, white Kaiba Corp jacket, emblazoned with the company’s distinctive logo. Beside him, a woman in a Kaiba Corp t-shirt clutched her purse, her eyes wide with a mixture of horror and betrayal. As the full weight of the accusations settled, a flicker of disgust crossed their faces. With a sudden, decisive motion, the young man tugged at his jacket, ripping it off. He crumpled it into a ball and, with a grimace, tossed it into a nearby public trash receptacle. The woman, after a moment’s hesitation, followed suit, her t-shirt joining the discarded fabric. Elsewhere, others—employees, fans, those who simply admired the empire—began to do the same, their discarded Kaiba Corp apparel forming small, symbolic piles of renunciation on the pristine sidewalks.
Seto Kaiba. The name, the face, was synonymous with Domino City itself. He was the city’s most recognizable icon, a figure of both awe and, often, exasperation. His genius was undeniable, his ambition boundless, his arrogance legendary. But now, this.
As the news anchors detailed the pending legal proceedings, the chatter in Gurandosutorito grew louder, more personal. "Tax evasion? I always knew he was shady," a man with a construction helmet muttered to his colleague, who nodded grimly. "But manslaughter? And… sexual assault? That’s… that’s just monstrous."
Someone else, a middle-aged woman carrying a shopping bag, scoffed. "Monstrous, indeed. Remember when he tried to take over the whole city? Declared himself mayor, dictator, whatever he called it." Her voice was laced with a bitter familiarity, recalling events that had once been whispered gossip, now resurfacing as unsettling premonitions of deeper depravity.
The memory of that infamous period, just three weeks, was vivid in the collective consciousness of Domino City. The audacious, almost comical, power grab where Seto Kaiba, fueled by an almost pathological need for control, had leveraged Kaiba Corp’s vast influence to effectively seize command of the city. He had declared himself its supreme authority, a self-appointed dictator whose pronouncements had been broadcast on those very same screens, met then with a mix of bewildered amusement and genuine civic outrage. His initial justification had been to ‘streamline’ Domino City, to accelerate its technological progress, but beneath the rhetoric was an undeniable, almost childish, desire to simply rule.
The city had rioted, protested, but Kaiba, with the full might of his corporate security and technologically advanced resources, had held his ground for a bewildering week before a combination of public pressure, legal challenges, and perhaps even the direct intervention of certain individuals forced him to relent. It had been a chaotic, almost surreal chapter in Domino City’s history, dismissed afterward by many as mere eccentric brilliance, a billionaire’s elaborate, if misguided, prank. But now, in the shadow of these new, far more serious charges, that reckless behavior took on a chilling new light. It wasn’t just arrogance; it was a symptom of a profound disregard for legality, for human dignity, for the very fabric of society.
For years, Domino City had lived under the shadow and in the beneficence of Kaiba Corporation. It provided employment for generations, from the lowliest administrative assistant to the most brilliant R&D engineers. Kaiba Corp facilities dotted the cityscape, its technology integrated into every aspect of daily life, from advanced public transport systems to the holograph projectors that illuminated street corners with stunning visual displays. The bankruptcy wasn't just a corporate failure; it was an earthquake that threatened to crumble the foundations of the entire city. Thousands of jobs were now at risk, futures were uncertain, and investments evaporated.
A former Kaiba Corp employee, a man named Kenji who had worked in the IT department for fifteen years, felt a knot tighten in his stomach. He’d seen the signs, the increased pressure, the sudden firings, the whispered rumors of financial troubles. But bankruptcy? And these charges against Kaiba? Kenji thought of his mortgage, his daughter’s schooling, his retirement fund, all suddenly hanging by a thread. He felt a wave of icy panic wash over him, followed by a surge of pure, unadulterated anger. How many lives had this man, for all his genius, casually wrecked?
Elsewhere, a young woman named Akari, a student at Domino High, felt a strange mix of emotions. She had always admired the cool, detached genius of Seto Kaiba, the way he seemed to bend the world to his will. He was a figure of power, of ambition, an icon. But the accusations of sexual harassment curdled her admiration into revulsion. The stories she’d heard, the subtle rumors that had always circulated about his private life, now seemed less like malicious gossip and more like disturbing truths. The mighty, untouchable Kaiba, reduced to this.
The screens continued to flash, showing images of Kaiba Corp’s pristine headquarters, then a grainy photo of Seto Kaiba himself, his usual sneer replaced by a more guarded, almost defiant expression. Legal experts and financial analysts, their faces grim, appeared to dissect the implications. The Chapter 11 filing, they explained, meant a reorganization, a desperate attempt to salvage what remained, but for a company of Kaiba Corp's magnitude, the implications were catastrophic. The charges against Kaiba, they agreed, were far more damaging, potentially leading to decades in prison if proven.
The sun began its slow descent, painting the sky in hues of orange and purple, but the crowds at Gurandosutorito showed no signs of dispersing. The city, usually so vibrant and forward-looking, seemed stuck, caught in a collective moment of reckoning. The fall of Seto Kaiba was more than just the collapse of a business empire; it was the shattering of an image, the unraveling of a carefully constructed myth. He had embodied the relentless, ambitious spirit of Domino City, its drive for innovation, its embrace of the future. Now, he also embodied its potential for corruption, its capacity for dark secrets.
As the evening lights began to twinkle across the cityscape, casting long shadows across Gurandosutorito, the conversations continued, weaving through shock, anger, resentment, and a strange sense of morbid fascination. The era of Seto Kaiba, the undisputed monarch of Domino City's corporate landscape, was not merely ending; it was crashing down in a spectacular, unforgiving blaze of scandal and ruin. And for the residents of Domino City, the future, once so clearly defined by the soaring towers and ambitious projects of Kaiba Corporation, now stretched before them, vast, uncertain, and irrevocably changed.