It all started early one evening in the beginning of December. Mokuba had been battling a case of pneumonia, which (along with lots of cough medicine) had knocked him out for the majority of the week. One of the maids kept bringing him medicine, fluids, and food, but Seto hadn't been in once for the whole week. Mokuba knew he was busy working, and for all he knew, had maybe stopped in while the little Kaiba was already asleep.
Mokuba sighed, stretched, and kicked back his covers, then stumbled out of bed and down the hall to his brother's office. He yawned and put his hand on the knob, but jumped back when he realized it was locked, the surprise shocking him like electricity. Frowning, he knocked, then listened. The only sound was that of muted continuous typing and the occasional shuffling of papers.
"Seto?" he called weakly; his voice still wasn't working the greatest quite yet. There was no response. He swallowed, and dragged himself up another flight of stairs to the small secret door behind a painting of a bowl of fruit, where an assortment of spare keys were hidden. Mokuba remembered how he had once joked that they should definitely do that, and after his big brother had humored him and installed the key safe like that, the younger brother had laughed so hard that Seto had genuinely smiled. Mokuba retrieved the key to his brother's office and went back and unlocked it, gaping in disbelief at what he saw.
Papers littered the entire area, as if Seto had decided he'd like a paper carpet over the dark hardwood floor, and a significant amount of coffee mugs filled a substantial portion of his desk. Mokuba blanched when he realized his brother was wearing a rumpled pair of his navy blue flannel pajamas, with the top three buttons undone; he was pretty sure one of the buttons was actually missing. Seto's face was almost completely void of color, and shadows darkened the space beneath his already angry cold blue eyes. His hair stuck out wildly at certain angles that let Mokuba know he probably hadn't showered for a while, let alone slept, or ate, or any other sort of human function. Mokuba frowned and walked over to the desk.
"Big Brother?"
Seto scowled and glared over at the child momentarily. "I don't have time to chat, Mokuba, I'm in the middle of dealing with something important."
Mokuba blinked, taken aback. His brother was rarely ever short with him. He swallowed and suppressed a cough, leaning on the desk for support. Seto growled and slammed his hand over a pile of papers a few inches away from Mokuba's arm.
"Move away; I don't need anything messed with," he snarled. Mokuba shuddered and drew away as if he'd touched fire.
"Seto, when was the last time you ate something?" he asked quietly after a hesitation. Seto made no show that he had heard the little Kaiba, so Mokuba pressed on. "When did you last sleep?"
Seto pounded his fists on the desk and glared at the sick child. "Damn it, Mokuba, I don't have time for any of this crap right now. I'm trying to get all the paperwork done and the bugs smoothed out of the new virtual reality simulators before they're revealed on Christmas Eve. Now go back to bed. The doctor said you weren't well enough to work, so I don't understand why you're in here."
All the tension, restraint, and hesitance the child practiced dissipated, and in their place was an explosion of raw emotion. "Because I missed you," Mokuba shouted back. "I haven't seen you all week, and I've been feeling like crap. Is it really so bad that I came just to see you?"
"Yes, it is," Seto retorted hotly. "Because I'm busy. I don't have time to argue, Mokuba, so see yourself out."
"Of course, whatever you say, Gozaburo," Mokuba seethed, and he began to storm out, taking care to knock over a lamp and kick the papers strewn over the floor on his way. He slammed the door behind him, and thundered off to his room.
Mokuba threw himself onto his bed and began to cry. Logically, he knew there must be something else bothering his brother, since he was never so pointedly short with or so mean to the younger Kaiba. But physically, he was still unwell, which in turn made him a little more reactive. So he curled up there and cried, until he started to hear thuds and crashes from down the hall. He took a few shaky breaths before venturing out into the hallway, listening to his brother scream curses at their late adoptive father, punctuated by the distinct sound of something breaking, and then repeating. Mokuba cringed, feeling guilty for calling his brother by that monster's name-that was too far. No matter how cold and bad Seto Kaiba seemed to the world, Mokuba knew that was just his defense, and that his brother's heart was gold, just broken. An indeterminate amount of concealed pain was now bursting through the badly stitched seams of his mask. Mokuba would have liked to believe that this was due more to him not having slept or anything for who knew how long, but ultimately, he knew that his words were the cause of this reaction regardless of any pre-existing circumstances.
He stood there, frozen, until there had been a safe amount of silence, and then he crept down the office, silently and slowly opening the door. Lamps and windows were shattered, and books had been evicted from their home on the shelf and forcefully relocated to random points in the room. Papers had been crumpled and trashed, and Seto leaned against his desk, trembling, and Mokuba could see vivid crimson blood running down his hands and arms from where his skin had lost the battle with shards of glass during his raging. He stepped into the office and drew in a quick breath.
"Seto, I'm sorry..." he started, but didn't get a chance to finish his apology, because Seto immediately lunged at Mokuba and grabbed him, slamming him into the wall and pinning him there.
"I am not Gozaburo Kaiba!" the elder brother thundered furiously. Mokuba wriggled against his brother's grasp to no avail, until Kaiba threw him forcefully to the floor. Mokuba failed to hold back his tears as he tried climbing to his feet once again.
"I know that, Seto, I'm so sorry, I was just-"
"No!" Seto yelled, sending Mokuba across the room once again. "How dare you..." He started the approach the little Kaiba, with an expression so demonic that for the first time in his life, Mokuba was afraid of his brother, especially since he knew exactly what the young man was capable of. He scrambled to his feet and tried to keep as much distance between them as possible, trying to figure out how to escape; unfortunately, Seto was unwillingly to let this happen, so Mokuba saw only one option.
"Roland!" the younger brother screamed at the top of his lungs, knowing that the live-in bodyguard had to be somewhere in the vicinity. A few moments later, Roland barreled into the room, and gaped at the unprecedented situation.
"Mr. Kaiba, what's-"
"He's lost it," Mokuba cried as Seto made another grab for his brother. Roland managed to catch and restrain the elder brother just in time, and Mokuba ran over to the phone. "I'm calling the doctor, because-yeah." His last sentence was cut off abruptly as Seto attempted to break out of his restraint, almost succeeding until Roland forced him to the ground. Mokuba dialed the family doctor's number, and the man answered rather quickly, as unscheduled calls from the Kaiba household were very rare.
"This is Dr. Kurata."
"It's Mokuba!" the child gasped frantically. "Seto's having some kind of mental breakdown, I don't know what to do!"
"Is he trying to hurt himself or anyone else?" the doctor asked sharply.
"Yeah," Mokuba winced as the bodyguard struggled with his employer.
"Call for emergency. They'll send out police and an ambulance. I will meet you at the hospital," Dr. Kurata directed, and hung up before Mokuba could protest about law enforcement showing up at the mansion. But it was no time to fight about public appearances, since what was already happening right before his eyes was wrong enough. He dialed for help, and it wasn't long at all before cops and emergency medical people had infiltrated the office. It took Roland and two other cops to restrain Seto enough for the paramedics to give him a shot to sedate him, and within moments, the raging storm had evanesced, and Seto had fallen completely limp in their arms. Mokuba watched, horrified, as his brother was strapped into a stretcher and immediately pushed out.
Roland took a few breaths before turning to the trembling kid. He squatted down and clapped both hands on his shoulders, immediately noting the heat emanating from the child's feverish body. "Mokuba, I know this is difficult, but you are still ill. You need to go back to bed." Mokuba bristled at this, despite knowing full well that Roland was listed as Seto's backup should anything happen to him.
"No, Dr. Kurata wants to meet me at the hospital. I won't be able to sleep without knowing what's happening with Seto anyhow," the kid said firmly. Roland exhaled slowly, then nodded reluctantly.
"Understandable. Let's go."
On the way to the hospital, Mokuba made a phone call to Yugi Muto, knowing that his brother didn't particularly like the other duelist, but respected him nonetheless. In all honesty, Mokuba just needed someone to lean on, and Yugi was one of the only few people in the world Mokuba trusted to stand by him. And as reliable as Mokuba remembered, the spiky haired boy immediately promised Mokuba he'd meet him at the hospital.
Roland sat beside him in the lobby, keeping an almost annoyingly close eye on the child, reaching out every time Mokuba coughed or shivered. As time passed, the little Kaiba felt his eyelids growing heavy and his head started drooping forward, startling him back into alertness each time it did. Finally, Yugi and Joey rushed into the lobby, with frantic and concerned looks on their faces.
"Mokuba!" Joey exclaimed, squatting down in front of the child. "What happened, little man? Last I heard you were sick in bed getting over a bug or something."
Yugi's heart twisted when he watched Mokuba look at Joey; his expression was so...lost. Those large, spunky gray eyes were now stormy and sad, while his face was flushed, which let Yugi know that he was still indeed under the weather. Yugi sat on Mokuba's other side and put a hand on his back in reassurance. Mokuba unwittingly leaned into Yugi before speaking.
"Seto and I got into a big fight. I've been out of it for the past week or so, and during that time I guess my brother kind of went into full-on work mode, which is a lot less productive than it sounds," Mokuba said, shaking his head. "I went to go talk to him, and when I saw him I knew that he hadn't even been taking care of himself."
"So who's been taking care of you?" Joey demanded. "I thought Rich Boy would be the kind who wouldn't leave you alone for a second if you were sick! What's his deal?"
"The doctor stopped by a couple times, and one of the maids brings me medicine and stuff. I've mostly just been really tired...I didn't even notice that Seto was getting so obsessive again. But today he got kind of mad at me, and I..."
At this point, Roland excused himself after receiving a phone call, leaving Mokuba alone with Joey and Yugi. Mokuba was admittedly glad, because he wasn't sure how much Roland knew. He turned back to the other two and shook his head.
"I said something really bad. I hurt Seto."
Joey furrowed his eyebrows, and Yugi tightened his arm around Mokuba's shoulders.
"What'd you say?" Joey asked, unsure of where this was going.
"I called him Gozaburo," Mokuba told them in a voice barely above a whisper. Neither Yugi nor Joey responded right away to this; they were both aware that Gozaburo Kaiba was a very sore spot for Seto Kaiba, and for good reason, but they'd never really known the extent of it. But by the way Mokuba was talking, it was almost like what he'd done was unforgivable, and he was sure he lost his brother forever.
"So how exactly did we all end up here?" Joey blurted out. "So, yeah, you two had an argument. Even Serenity and I disagree on things sometimes and we don't even live together, but-"
"Joey," Yugi cut in softly, noticing the tears gathering in Mokuba's eyes. He carefully brushed one away as it escaped down his cheek, and Mokuba gave Yugi a look of subtle gratitude before speaking.
"I said the worst possible thing to Seto when he was probably in the worst state of mind...he's been stressed and exhausted, and I pushed him too far just because I've been a little more irritable than I should be. He just...snapped."
Joey and Yugi nodded in unison, and Joey glanced at a nearby clock.
"Well, it's going on ten at night...Mokuba, why don't you go and spend the night at Yugi's? Get some sleep and take some more medicine. You look like you could use both. I'll stay here with your brother and try talking to him."
Mokuba gaped up at Joey in disbelief. "Look, I appreciate you coming down here, but you're not exactly who my brother would want to see when he wakes up."
"They have him heavily sedated, Mokuba, he won't be awake anytime soon, and when he does, I doubt he'll be up for much arguing."
The three boys looked over to where Roland had just walked back into the room.
"I was going to ask Yugi to take you tonight anyhow, as there is a matter at Kaiba Corp I need to attend to. I don't think you should spend the night by yourself in your current condition. And if you are still willing to wait for Mr. Kaiba to come to...?" Roland looked at Joey expectantly, and the blonde nodded.
"Yeah, we got this," Joey assured him. Roland thanked both of them and bowed out. Yugi turned and took Mokuba's hand.
"Tristan will come and pick us up," he told Mokuba. "We can stop and get some more medicine, if you'd like." Yugi waved over at Joey, who threw the two a sloppy salute as they left.
A little while later, a nurse poked her head into the lobby.
"Joey Wheeler?" The blonde nodded. "You can come with me back to the room."
Joey suddenly felt a little nervous as he followed the petite woman to a room on the far side of the hospital. She paused outside before opening the door.
"He's still out, but I'm just going to let you know that he's currently unrestrained. When he wakes up, he'll still be pretty out of it, so there shouldn't be any issues, but if he tries to hurt himself or gets too upset, just press the blue button on the wall by his bed and some doctors will come assist." She smiled at him and opened the door, and Joey entered.
Seto was deeply asleep, and Joey could hear his heavy, even breathing clearly when he went to sit in the chair beside the bed. Both of Seto's hands were bound in a thick layer of bandages, along with a few bandages scattered around his right arm. He noticed that he was only covered by a thin cream-colored sheet, which seemed stupid in the absurdly chilly room, and he got up from the chair and made his way to the table on the other side of the hospital bed, where someone had left a couple of quilts. Joey spread them both out over Seto's sleeping form before returning to the chair, keeping a careful eye over him.
It was a little unnerving to see this guy who was usually so alert and reserved asleep and completely stationary. Joey couldn't stop himself from pulling back the quilts several times to make sure that his chest was still moving; despite being able to hear him breathe, it just didn't seem logical that a living person would be that still. Especially when that quiet, still person was usually serving up endless sarcasm and criticism. He looked at the clock on the wall, which told him it was nearly three in the morning at this point. Joey sighed and closed his eyes, attempting to relax a little bit. Initially, he'd been worried about falling asleep himself, but there was just something about the whole situation that was making him anxious to the point of making him feel as though he was going to vomit all over the white room.
'Well, at least that would add some color,' he thought, suddenly distracted by how incredibly blank the whole room was. He glanced around, and noticed that there happened to be a black marker on the ledge of the whiteboard in the room. He sneaked a look out at the nurses' station, where one lone nurse sat typing on a computer, paying no attention to anything else. Joey grinned, retrieved the black marker, flopped back onto his chair, and fished the yellow highlighter from his pocket. He'd snatched it from Téa earlier as a joke, but had forgotten to give it back. Well, at least it came in handy now.
Sort of.
He ever-so-discreetly turned his chair towards the wall, and drew a yellow circle on it, then filled it in. Then he switched to the black marker and drew a set of five circles around the yellow one, creating a crude flower. Proud of his daisy graffiti, he smiled again. Then, belatedly realizing that his masterpiece might actually get him in some trouble, he maneuvered the chair around so it blocked the flower from the sight of anyone entering through the door or passing by.
There. Perfect.