Hello everyone! This is the first write of any vast quantity I've done in a LONG while. Hopefully, this will become a common occurance. This story is dedicated to three of the KC in my life. The first is my lovely friend Katie whom told me to take this story and run with it. She had to read it paragraph by paragraph for awhile. (I love you Melvin!) The second is Kaiba Corp, an excellent setting for any fanfiction, haha. And the third (and the least) is my ex-boyfriend who broke my heart and gave me a reason to fangirl. You'll probably never see this, but know you're a jerk! And everyone is going to enjoy what you forced me to do, so it's ok!
If you happen to catch any grammatical errors, let me know. My bff who normally serves as beta reader is away for the holidays.
*clears thought* Now that that's over... Enjoy the story! And need I say it? I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh. Haha.
The tapping of the keyboard was the only sound that could be heard echoing in the office of the world's youngest business tycoon. His lean fingers almost made a musical rhythm as they slid from key to key. He let out a slight cough as his right arm came up to block it. Stupid cold. There was no way he was going to let it stop him from working though. He had to get everything precise before his plan could proceed. This time, he wasn't going to fail.
"Seto, you really shouldn't be working if you're sick. It'll only keep you from getting better," his younger brother said, looking up at him over a textbook he was holding on his lap. He was only pretending to study the massive Economics book, however, as he watched the news on his older brother's office television.
"I'm fine Mokuba. Besides, you should really be studying instead of watching television. Your grades have all been going downhill recently," Seto Kaiba said, stopping what he was doing to stare at his younger brother. Almost every one of Mokuba's teachers had talked to him with some sort of concern about his younger sibling. All of Mokuba's grades had dropped substantially and some of his teachers were even complaining about Mokuba skipping class.
"It's fine Seto! Promise!" Mokuba said, looking down from the television to notice he had a new text message. He reached for his phone and flipped it open, excited to see its contents. He was greeted by a photo of him and a brown haired girl along with the flashing words 'New message!' Mokuba had to admit he looked a lot different now than he had those many years ago when he and Seto had first came here to Domino. Instead of his long hair, he now had a shorter hair cut that resembled almost a messy black version of his brother's.
'Hey darling. Meet you at the clock tower in an hour, k? : )', the message read, causing a smile to reach across the teenaged boy's face. He quickly typed a reply of 'Not soon enough', before looking back at his brother. He knew Seto wasn't happy with him, but Mokuba didn't see how to make it better. Studying his Economics certainly wasn't going to help very much.
"No, it's not fine. I have other things I need to be worrying about besides you passing high school. What's gotten into you?" Seto asked, staring at his brother. He had watched as his younger sibling had excited reached for the phone and answered a message. It had probably been his girlfriend, the cause of this whole mess in the first place. Mokuba had been doing phenomenal before her induction into his life.
"Nothing big brother. Everything's perfectly fine," Mokuba replied, going back to watching the television. Everything was perfectly fine in his opinion, anyway. He thought things had changed for the better for him. He had gone out and made some friends. He now had people he could relate to other than his brother. That was why he had cut his hair, a symbol of the boyhood he was now trying to escape. Sure, his grades had gone done, but that couldn't be helped.
"In other news, Anna Clarence, an American duel monsters champion, arrived in Japan today. She will be making a guest appearance at the Japanese Duel Monster Championships before dueling in a few exhibition games in various cities around the country before returning home," a male newscaster droned from behind a news desk as shots of a older teenaged American girl flashed across the screen. The news channel showed the teenager waving at some crowds and signing some autographs before showing some video footages of her dueling in the American Championships.
Seto Kaiba looked up at the television at the mention of duel monsters, but quickly went back to work. He hadn't played in a year or more and didn't intend on starting back anytime soon. He had given up card games indefinitely and decided to concentrate solely on his company and his current project at hand.
"Of course there are a few things I'd like to do before returning to America!" the girl answered a newscaster on the television. "I like to meet a few dueling heroes of mine. I'd absolutely love to meet Seto Kaiba. I've always enjoyed watching videos of his duels. I regret not getting into the game early enough to get a chance to face him myself,," she said, smiling at the camera.
"Sounds like you're a regular Kaiba fangirl," a female newscaster said with a giggle.
"Not really. I've just always admired his dueling style like anyone should really," she replied, a sincere look on her face.
"Hey Seto. Looks like somebody's got himself a fan! And she's cute to top it all off! You should totally invite her to the mansion!" Mokuba said, smiling devilishly at his brother as a light bulb went off in his head. This would work wonderfully towards the plans he had already been trying to set into motion. Seto would thank him in the long run…. He hoped.
"Shut up Mokuba. I don't have time for such trivial things," Seto said, going back to typing intently on his computer. If a girl had had such drastic effects on his brother, he certainly didn't want one around him.
"If you say so Big Brother," Mokuba said, going back to watching the television. He had a plan all right, and he knew exactly how to put it into motion. Seto needed something to think about right now. He was completing stressing over his current project, and his health was suffering for it. Mokuba couldn't recall ever seeing his brother look this weak, even as a kid. Yes, Seto's project was important, but Mokuba didn't want to loose one brother to get another back.
"I'm going outside. I'll be back home tonight," Mokuba said, getting up off the couch and heading out the door. It wasn't quite time to meet up with his girlfriend, but he needed some time to his self to think anyway.
Seto watched as his brother left his office, typing while he looked on. He had no idea what had gotten into Mokuba, but he planned to find out. It probably had everything in the world to do with his younger brother's girlfriend, a venture Seto hadn't supported from the beginning. There again though, he had bigger things to worry about than some stupid girl his brother had decided to date.
"Don't be too rough on him Seto," a green-haired boy said, appearing on a large computer screen opposite Seto's desk. He looked to be no older than thirteen or fourteen, but he had an air of a much older boy about him. His face still had a boy-like innocence, but even so, it was apparent he had been through a lot.
"Can you blame me, Noa?" Seto said, glancing up at the talking computer screen before going back to the work in front of him. He saw no reason not to be tough on Mokuba right now. Mokuba had begun to neglect all of his duties; even his here at the Corporation, something Seto certainly wasn't going to stand for.
"Yes and no. He has his own reasons for doing these things, you know," Noa replied. He, of course, knew some of those reasons, but he wasn't about to tell his adopted brother that. Mokuba trusted him as someone to talk to, and he wasn't about to ruin that.
"If you say so," Seto said, let out a muffled cough from behind a suit sleeve.
"How are things coming along? Not to pressure you or anything…" Noa asked, quickly regretting it. He really didn't want to seem pushy, honest. Noa was just happy that his stepbrother would go through such lengths for him, especially after what he had put him through.
"Fine. I think I have all the preliminary work done. I should be able to begin constructing your new body soon," Seto said, not taking his eyes off the computer in front of him.
He wasn't going to lie; he had put much more research into his current project than he thought he was going to have to. Basically, he was building his stepbrother a robotic body in which he could function like a normal person. This concept may have seemed somewhat simple at first, but it was much more complex than any of the Kaibas could have guessed. Not only did he have to find a material that would hold up to an everyday life style, he also had to work out all sorts of technological kinks. Seto had to make sure Noa's new computer body wasn't susceptible to computer viruses or likely to crash without warning. He also had to make sure this robotic form would also have a long battery life. Unlike most people attempting to build a cybertronic entity, Seto had more to loose than hours worth of work and a few computer programs.
"Thanks for everything Seto. You and Mokuba are really too kind to me," Noa said earnestly. He was really extremely thankful to his adopted brothers. He didn't know what more he could do for them in his current state though. He was presently solving all of Seto's computer problems at Kaiba Corp and also running their computerized house from the inside. He and Mokuba had been joking for weeks that he was their "Jarvis" just like Tony Stark.
Seto didn't respond. He wasn't one for thanking. It wasn't like he knew how to reply anyway.
"I'll let you go back to work now. I need to go make sure that computer file was put where it was supposed to be anyway," Noa said. He knew Seto wasn't much for being thanked, but he felt he had to do. He had to let him now how he felt and now he needed to give his brother space. He quietly left the screen in Seto's office and went about his business.
As soon as Seto was sure Noa was no longer watching, he spun his chair around to face the giant glass window behind his desk. He incoherently stared at his reflection in the sparkling clean glass, not quite aware of what he was looking at. He saw the tailored white suit, the light blue shirt, and the dark blue tie. He saw his sleek and neat brown hair and his medium blue eyes.
There was more there that he didn't see, however. Seto didn't see how his face had thinned and his eyes had gotten darker. He didn't notice how he looked thinner than he had in years. He didn't know how all his work had finally caught up with him in the past few months. Seto didn't perceive any of this. He just discerned that he was there, and that was all.
As he watched the people below going about their everyday business, he thought nothing of it. He was too mentally taxed to process anything that was really going on. Seto had caught himself just going through the motions and not really caring. The sad thing was, he had no idea what to do about it. He felt he was loosing Mokuba, but he had no clue what to do about that either.
Then the thought crossed his mind that maybe he needed a break. Seto Kaiba? A break? Seto Kaiba, the smartest and youngest business tycoon in history, need a break? What was he saying? He had never taken a break once since he had taken control of the company years ago. Even when he had been participating in duel monster tournaments, he had still been working. The only time he had really taken any sort of vacation was the forced one he had taken after Yugi had defeated him the first time and it wasn't like that had been of his free will.
Seto Kaiba wasn't making any promises, but he would consider giving himself some sort of vacation.
And there's chapter one! All set up, I know, but it's coming. Promise! Please reveiw!