It was nearly midnight now, and usually all the lights at the Kaiba Manor would be off, except for maybe one small one if its owner decided to work late that night - which was more often than not.
Instead however, not only were the lights on in the house, but Kaiba had come home to his medical team checking out one of his most trusted and longest employees and his frantically apologizing little brother. Kaiba's hand remained near his head, his fingers pinching the bridge of his nose. He could really use a drink right about now.
"Is he going to be okay?" Mokuba asked. The head doctor of the Kaiba medical team smiled and nodded.
"Yes, Roland will be fine," he replied, gathering up his equipment, "But he'll have to rest for at least a day, and he may have headaches for a while."
Mokuba frowned, his eyes filled with guilt. "Master Mokuba, I'm fine," Roland quickly said, smiling at the boy as well, "really." As much as he heard those words that night, they didn't exactly make Mokuba feel any better, but he forced a small smile just so this part of the night could end soon.
"My chauffer is waiting outside, Roland," Kaiba said suddenly, his tone stern and getting the attention of everyone in the room, "You have tomorrow off, as well as Sunday if you need it."
"Thank you, Master Kaiba," Roland bowed, "but you can expect me in on Sunday." With that, the man walked towards the door, though he stumbled a couple times and kept his hand on his head.
"I suppose I should be going too," the Doctor said, not minding too much since his home wasn't too far away. He bid the two brothers goodnight, and left, the room now in total silence.
"So, you wanna tell me what happened?" Kaiba asked, but Mokuba knew he didn't have a choice in the matter.
"I guess," he replied, not looking up at his brother as he started to tell his story...
()()()()()()()
"...*Sigh*." Mokuba turned over again, adjusting his pillow. What was wrong with him tonight? Why couldn't he get to sleep?
'Maybe it's because I have that big test tomorrow,' he thought to himself, 'but I know the material backwards and forwards. Is it because Seto isn't home? Nah, I'm not worried about that." He had seen his brother eat breakfast before he left, and he had managed to get several hours of sleep - a miracle in its own right - so he didn't feel worried about his brother. Plus, he was used to being home without him.
Looking down by his legs, Mokuba could see Kuma sleeping peacefully without so much as a purr. 'Great, everyone can sleep but me,' he thought. Turning back over on his back, he looked up at the ceiling. He heard somewhere that counting could help you get to sleep. Math class always made him tired.
"One, two, three, four, five..." The raven-haired boy had managed to make it to sixty-seven before he couldn't keep his eyes open any longer. His body relaxed and his mind at peace, he was finally ready to go to sleep.
*Creak* His violet eyes shot open. Kuma woke up as well, his ears pointed upwards upon hearing the noise.
'Maybe it was nothing,' he thought. There was suddenly another sound, a thud almost. 'Okay, definitely not nothing.'
He pulled the blankets off his body and sat up. "Stay here, Kuma," he told the Siamese as he walked out his bedroom.
'I know it isn't Seto,' he thought, 'He's as quiet as a mouse, and everyone else has gone home.' So, what could be making that noise? A scary yet familiar thought entered his mind, and Mokuba realized that no matter what it was, he needed to be prepared.
But with what? He knew his older brother and the house security guards had several weapons, but he had no idea where they were, much less what the code was to unlock them.
That's when another idea hit him. 'I just hope I can get to it in time.'
Mokuba carefully moved down the long, dark halls of the manor. He knew a little about stelth, and to any criminal that might have been peering around the corner, he was nothing more than a small shadow. His brother would've been proud.
'I know it's in one of these rooms...' Mokuba slowly opened a bedroom door, and grinned at what was inside. 'Yes!' The room was nothing more than a lounge, a second meeting place if Kaiba didn't want people in his home office that day. There were a couple couches and chairs, a window with dark curtains to keep any spies out, a coffee table that was cleared of any dishes or newspapers put on it earlier, and - standing near the far side of the wall - the exact thing Mokuba was looking for.
A couple years ago, back when the KaibaCorp Dueldisk System was still in developement, there had been a prototype given to selected people as a test. It actually wasn't too different from the current model, it had the same features and relatively the same look. The only noticable difference was that this model was much thicker, and heavier. That was the one comment they recieved after the testing period was over, so they quickly made a thinner and lighter model that could also fold up when not in use.
'I'm just glad he kept one of the first prototypes,' Mokuba thought as he opened the glass case and lifted out the metal device. This would definitely knock out any criminal, or at least stun him.
Just as he was about to leave, Mokuba heard the sound of glass breaking. He gasped slightly, trying to keep himself from being too loud. Gripping the dueldisk tightly, Mokuba walked back into the shadowy hallway. 'Alright,' he thought, feeling determination rise through his fear, 'I'm ready!'
He could hear footsteps getting louder, the person was getting close. Holding his breath, Mokuba pressed his back against the wall, only taking small steps now.
Peering around a corner, he could see the sillhouette of a man who had just opened one of their closets. 'Maybe he's searching for something specific, like future plans or a secret safe,' he thought, glaring at the man as he moved closer. Since he was bending down while he searched, the criminal didn't even notice him - that is, until he heard a small creak under Mokuba's foot.
The boy froze, and the man looked up. Mokuba was holding onto the dueldisk so tightly now, his knuckles were white. He had to do something now!
Letting out a cry, Mokuba swung the dueldisk down over the man's head before he had the chance to stand up. He heard a small crack, probably the touchscreens on the disk. He could also hear his own heavy breaths, as well as a low moan from the man.
Wait. That voice. 'It, almost sounds like...' Feeling more afraid than he was before, Mokuba quickly ran over to another wall where a lightswitch was and turned it on.
Bright light filled the room, and Mokuba could now see the man lying on the floor, and recognized me almost immediately. "Roland!"
"Master Mokuba," Roland replied, lifting his head up a little and adjusting his now broken sunglasses, "Is there, anything I can do for you?" If it wasn't for the situation at hand, Mokuba would chuckled at Roland's loyalty, even while hurt. But for right now, he just wanted to help the poor guy up.
()()()()()()()()
"After I helped up him up, I called the Med team, and I guess since I didn't give them much details, they called you in case it was an emergency."
Kaiba had said nothing as he sat and listened to the story from start to finish, and once it was finished, Kaiba filled in some missing details.
"I was working on a form, and I left one of my papers on my desk at home," Kaiba had said, "There wasn't any point in stopping my work just to get one paper and then drive all the way back to the office, so I had Roland get it. I figured you were already asleep. I also told him that he was welcome to any refreshments he needed."
Earlier that night, Roland had explained that before heading to his boss' office, he helped himself to a glass of water but accidentally dropped it since there was very little light, and he didn't want to turn any of the switches on because he didn't want to wake the younger Kaiba. Of course he couldn't just leave broken glass on the floor, even if the maids would clean it in the morning, so he went to find a supplies closet to get a broom and dust pan.
Kaiba hadn't asked any questions during the story, but he only had one by the time it was over. "Tell me, why did you think it was a good idea to confront the 'criminal' yourself instead of waiting in your room and contacting security or me?"
Mokuba lowered his head again. Now that he thought about it, it was kind of stupid. The security guards stayed in their own separate house not too far from the manor, and he had his brother's personal cell phone number, one that he would answer no matter what, even if it rang during a meeting.
"I guess it wasn't a good idea," Mokuba finally answered.
Kaiba gave him a look, as if to say 'Duh, of course it wasn't'. "I guess, I was so caught up in the idea, I wanted to try and stop it myself. And, I guess..." His voice faded away.
"You guess what?" Kaiba asked. His voice was still stern, but Mokuba could still hear the tiny bit of concern mixed in. That, and when Kaiba asked him a question, there wasn't really a way to get out of it without answering.
"I guess, I guess I was worried about getting kidnapped again." Kaiba's eyes widened slightly. He wasn't expecting that, although he probably should have.
"Mokuba..." He scowled, but not at his younger sibling, "I'm sorry."
Mokuba finally looked back up, this time with a curious expression. "Why are you apologizing, I'm the one who attacked Roland."
"In case you haven't noticed, it's usually my fault you're kidnapped because of my position," Kaiba reminded him, "so it's also my fault that you're afraid of it happening again."
"Well, that's not the only reason why I don't want it to happen again." This time, Kaiba was the confused one.
"I mean, yeah, getting kidnapped isn't the funnest thing in the world," Mokuba start to explain, "In fact, it still scares me even though I know you'll always come to try and save me, but that's just it. The other part, is that you always have to come save me. You get behind on your work, and you also put your life in danger when you try to save me. I guess, what I really wanted to do tonight, is to show that I could take care of myself without having to rely on you or put you in danger too, Seto."
Kaiba was speechless, so, he instead walked over to the couch where Mokuba was sitting, sat down, and gave him a one-armed hug. Mokuba didn't understand why, but happily accepted it.
"I'd put my life in danger as many times as it takes to protect you, Mokuba," Kaiba said finally, "If you have any doubts about that, then I'm obviously not doing my job as well as I should be. I promised you I would keep you safe, and I don't plan on breaking that promise anytime soon."
Mokuba smiled, and snuggled closer to his brother. As much as Kaiba felt like a parent sometimes, they were brothers first and foremost. Out of all their bonds, that was the strongest. Each of them would give anything for the other, and they would never turn their back on one another.
"I still kinda want to know how to defend myself," Mokuba stated after the hug ended, "I mean, it couldn't hurt, right?"
"No, it's a good idea," Kaiba agreed. His younger brother was getting older, he should at least have some training. Kaiba knew better than anyone else how dark the world could be.
The two siblings stayed up for another fifteen minutes discussing the issue. Kaiba of course knew plenty of martial arts moves, but he didn't have time to teach Mokuba himself, and his own teacher had retired a long time ago. Eventually, Kaiba promised to look into classes and would try to enroll Mokuba into one, once he did a background check on it and its teachers of course. There was also talk of a personal weapon. Of course a gun was out of the question, but Kaiba did finally - and reluctantly - agreed to let Mokuba start carrying around a pocket knife, once he turned sixteen. But for now, a fully charged cellphone and some beginner self defense skills as well as one or two bodyguards following him would suffice.
"Maybe you can teach me to do that card thing too," Mokuba suggested, "You know, when a guy's holding a gun or something, and you hit them with a card to make them drop it?"
"You have to actually carry around cards for that," Kaiba replied, amused, "but it's actually pretty easy to learn. Maybe sometime, but now I think it's time you go back to bed."
"Alright." Kaiba silently escorted his brother back to his bedroom. As Mokuba crawled under the blankets, he said, "Hey Seto? Are you gonna grab that paper and go back to work?"
"Hmm, nah," Kaiba said as he petted Kuma, who didn't bother going to check out all the commotion, "I think I'll just go to bed, the work will still be there tomorrow."
Mokuba smiled. "Okay, love you, big brother."
"Love you too, kid." Kaiba replied as he walked out the bedroom door, closing it as he did, and within minutes, Mokuba was fast asleep.
Another Kaiba brothers oneshot done! Please review, and I hope you enjoyed!