"Go play with your toys, Mokuba." That's what most of Gozaburo's servants always told him. His big brother was busy studying, and that he should just go play.
When he used to argue with them, he would always tell them, "But Seto and I always played together." But they didn't care, and neither did Gozaburo. To them, Mokuba was just the useless extra while Seto was the one who would maybe have the company when he got older.
'What do I mean maybe?' Mokuba scolded himself, 'Seto will get the company! He works harder than anyone else, he deserves it!' The younger Kaiba smiled to himself. "and today, he gonna be rewarded for it."
Moving his well-played with toys and crayons that had gotten so flat from all the drawing he did, he looked up at the small calender in his room. He had gotten better at time and dates, and he knew this date well. He circled the number so he wouldn't forget.
"Little Mokuba, are you coming down to breakfast?" a maid asked from outside his room.
"Yeah, I'm coming!" Mokuba replied. He was already dressed, so he quickly ran out the door and downstairs. When he arrived in the dining room, he noticed that both his step-father and his brother were missing. 'He can't make Seto start studying already, can he?' Mokuba thought, 'It's only breakfast!' But as he started eating, he could hear voices from the hallway.
"You make sure to watch Seto and make sure he studies, and keep the little one out of the way, yes?"
"Yes, Sir."
"Good. Now Seto, just because I'm going to be on a business trip today doesn't give you the right to slack off! I expect all the work I assigned you to be done by the time I get home."
"Yes Father."
"Excellent. I'll be leaving now. Seto, you may go eat." A few moments later, Seto walked into the room.
"Good morning, big brother," Mokuba greeted. Seto mumbled a reply. He looked so tired, and unhappy. 'Does he even remember what day it is?' he thought sadly. The two brothers ate their breakfast in silence, and the second he was finished, Seto was rushed to the library to get started on his homework.
'Just you wait, Seto,' Mokuba thought, 'Today's going to be the birthday you deserve. Just please hold on a bit longer...'
"Are you finished with your plate, Little Mokuba?" asked the maid who always tried to be nice to him, "Why don't you go play with some of your toys?"
"Okay, sounds like fun!" Mokuba replied, putting on a fake smile. The maid believed it and took his empty plate while Mokuba ran upstairs. Instead of going to his room however, he found a tiny little hiding place. It was behind a potted plant, and because the plant was so thick, Mokuba blended right in.
He stayed there for what seemed like forever, watching the servants and the guards walk passed him, and kept watching until he could figure out who would walk by when or if there was a pattern. It was hard, staying awake and having nothing to do, but Mokuba would've stayed behind that plant the whole day if he had to.
It was around lunchtime when he finally decided he knew the pattern. So, Mokuba came out from behind the plant and went to his room. Before the maid called him down for lunch, Mokuba grabbed all the money that Gozaburo gave him for an allowance (it wasn't much, but it would hopefully be enough) that he kept in his piggy bank, and put it in his pocket. His plan was slowly coming together.
When he entered the dining room once again, it seemed like deja vu. "Where's Seto?" Mokuba asked.
"Seto requested that his lunch be sent to the library," the man stated. Mokuba recognized him as the man who always stood by his stepfather at business meetings. What was his name again? Leichter? Whoever he was, he gave the younger brother a look. "Your brother has a lot of work to do if he even wants to think about becoming the head of KaibaCorp. So I suggest you don't become a pest to him."
"I won't," Mokuba replied softly, looking down at his food. Most of his stepfather's employees thought of him as just a pest or a burden, and there were times Mokuba thought he was one. The only reason they only took him was because he was part of the deal Seto set up when he played that chess game with Gozaburo. 'But today, I'm going to do something that's actually helpful,' he thought, determined.
He had to wait two more hours, and in that time he was just going to play in his room. Make all the servants in the giant house forget he was even there. Once the clock in his room read 2:00, Mokuba knew it was time to put his plan into action. He quietly walked out of his room, and headed towards the library.
He knew where most of the servants and guards on the third floor were, and knew just when to hide to avoid getting caught. Mokuba made it to the library in no time, and just as he thought, only Seto was in the room. No teachers or tutors, just his big brother.
When he heard the door opened, Seto glanced up. "Mokuba? What are you doing here? There's nothing fun to do in here."
"I know," Mokuba replied, "That's why I'm getting you out of here, big brother."
Seto looked at the seven year old. "What are you talking about?"
"Seto, today's your birthday," Mokuba told him. There wasn't any surprise on his face, so Seto didn't forget. Maybe he just didn't care. Mokuba continued anyway. "I just wanted it to be a good one. You shouldn't spend it doing stuff you don't like."
"Mokuba, I don't have a choice," Seto told him, "I have to stay here."
"But Gozaburo won't even know!" Mokuba told him, "I have a plan! We can sneak out and go do something fun, then come back before anyone notices! I know it will work, please Seto!"
"You really want me to go with you that badly?" Seto asked. He frowned. "I haven't been playing with you as much as I used to."
"It's not just that, Seto," Mokuba said. Seto noticed his little brother was starting to get teary-eyed. Mokuba closed his eyes, trying to stop his crying as he continued talking. "You never get to have fun anymore, Gozaburo just makes you work. It's not fair! And today's your birthday, and I want to you enjoy it!" A tear rolled down his cheek, but a hand wiped it away. Opening his eyes, he saw that it was Seto. While he wasn't smiling, his eyes were a bit softer.
"Are you sure your plan won't get you in trouble?" Seto asked. Mokuba noticed how he only said 'you' and not 'us'.
"Neither of us will get in trouble," Mokuba assured him, a small smile forming on his face.
Seto smiled back. "Alright then, let's go."
The plan was set in motion. Seto made sure to lock the library doors before leaving, that way no one could come in and see that he was missing. They would just assume he didn't want to be bothered. There weren't any tutoring sessions that day, but it was better to be safe than sorry.
Following his little brother, Seto and Mokuba quickly and quietly ran down the hall and down the stairs. They made it to the first floor, but were stepped dead in their tracks when they saw who had just turned a corner and was standing in the hall right by the front door.
"Oh no!" Mokuba whispered, "Hobson! But he should be upstairs!"
Thinking quickly, Seto grabbed his brother's arm and pulled them both down a different hallways before Hobson even noticed. "Maybe we can go out the backdoor." Mokuba said.
"No, there's probably someone there too," Seto replied. He looked into an open room, where Gozaburo kept a small study. He also noticed that the window was open. "But I think I have an idea."
Both brothers went into the room, and over to the window. Seto climbed out first, making sure it was safe and that there wasn't a trip wire or an alarm. After helping Mokuba out the window, the two young boys scurried across the side yard of the manor, and through the small gate.
"We did it, Seto!" Mokuba happily told him. Seto just nodded, smiling. Since he didn't know what Mokuba had in mind for what they were going to do once they escaped, Seto just let him lead the way.
As Mokuba walked beside his brother, he noticed a small change in him. Like an animal that had been in a cage for so long and was only now being allowed outside again, Seto slowly became more relaxed, the autumn wind refreshing his mood and cooling him off. He placed his hands behind his head and walked in a way that as more certain for a thirteen year old, and not a young business man. He was also smiling a bit more, which was so rare for him ever since Gozaburo adopted them, and he was slowly becoming more talkative. After all, when you only see your brother a couple times a day, you miss out on a lot of good conversations.
'He's starting to look happy again,' Mokuba thought with a grin.
It took about twenty minutes for the two to walk downtown. There were plenty of small shops and things to do like a small arcade and a soccer field. But there was one place Mokuba had in mind.
"Let's go there!" Mokuba said, pointing at a small pink building across the street.
"A bakery?" Seto asked.
"You can't have a birthday without cake!" Mokuba replied. Seto didn't really care for sweets, but he was in too good of a mood to argue. So he just said, "Alright, Mokie," and followed his brother to the streetlight. Once it turned green and signaled for them to cross, they raced across the street, not really caring who won. It was just something that added to the fun of what they were doing.
Once they were inside the bakery, Mokuba eyes widened. "Wowww," he said in awe, looking at all the different cakes with fancy decorations and delicious looking frosting. The smell of the small shop was enough to make his mouth water.
"Hello you two," said the young lady at the cash register, "are you and your parents here to buy a cake?"
"Just us," Seto corrected, his tone a bit blunt.
"It's my brother's birthday!" Mokuba added.
The cashier smiled. "Well then, pick out any cake you'd like." She didn't have to tell them twice, both boys started looking at all the cakes in the display cases around the shop.
One cake that caught Mokuba's eye was a two layer chocolate cake with chocolate icing and chocolate syrup on the side, making a pretty (and delicious) design. "Wow! This one looks delicious!" He turned to look at his brother. "We should get this one, Seto!"
"I thought I was the one picking out the cake," Seto replied jokingly.
"Oh, right! Sorry!" Mokuba smiled at him. "Pick out whatever you want, everything in here looks yummy."
Seto nodded and walked over to a small cake on the far side of the display case. It was a small cake, enough for two people to split but still get enough to eat. The index card next to the dessert said that it was a yellow cake, and it was covered in white icing with blue frosting on the edges. "This one looks good." Not only that, but it wasn't too expensive. He looked up at the cashier. "We'll take this one please."
"Okay, no problem!" She took the cake out of the case and placed it in a small box. "For an extra dollar, you can get a special birthday candle," she told them, "we've got new Duel Monsters ones."
"Duel monsters?" Seto repeated, suddenly interested. Mokuba knew his big brother loved the game, and vowed to have the best deck out of all the duelists.
"What monsters do you have?" Mokuba asked.
The cashier went into the back room and came back with five small plastic figurines with candle wicks in them. She placed them on the counter one at a time. "We have a Kuriboh, a Dark Magician, a Mystical Elf, and our newest one, the Blue Eyes White Dragon."
"Blue eyes!" the two brothers said in unison, surprised and amazed.
"Wow, you two must really love the Blue Eyes White Dragon," the cashier commented, picking up the candle, "Would you like to buy it?"
"Yes please!" Mokuba said before Seto could reply. He quickly dug the money out of his pocket and counted it. He had just enough. Relieved, Mokuba tried to hand her the money, but couldn't quite reach the top of the counter. Smiling, the cashier reached over and took the money. "Thank you, sweetie," she told him.
She then closed the box and handed the cake to Seto. The siblings thanked her, and walked out of the store, making sure to ask for a couple plastic forks before they left. "Mokie, you should have told me you were buying something," Seto told him, "I would've brought some of my money to help you."
"Who makes someone buy their own birthday cake?" Mokuba asked him. Seto smiled. "I guess you're right." He still made a mental note to put some of his own money into Mokuba's piggy bank sometime. "So, where should we eat this?"
"The park!" "Okay." The park was only a block away, and they quickly found a nice tree to sit under. They were the only ones at the park, other than an old man who was sitting on a bench and some kid playing on the jungle gym.
Sitting down, Mokuba noticed all the leaves on the ground. He picked them up and threw them up in the air. "Confetti!" Seto chuckled, and threw a few leaves of his own before opening the box. He was just about to take a bite of the cake when his little brother stopped him. "Wait! You have to blow out the candle first, Seto!"
"But we don't have anything to light it with," Seto told him, "I thought we just got it for a decoration."
"Oh." Mokuba was slightly disappointed. That meant his brother couldn't make a birthday wish.
"Do you boys need something to light that with?" They looked behind them and saw the old man who was sitting on the bench. He looked pretty friendly, with grey hair that stuck up in places, making it look almost pointy. He had a small lighter in his hand.
"Thank you, sir!" Mokuba said happily, holding up the cake. The old man lit the candle, and Mokuba set the cake back down. "So, who's birthday is it?" the old man asked.
"It's mine," Seto replied, "I'm turning thirteen."
"Well, congratulations, young man," the old man told him, giving Seto a friendly smile. Seto simply nodded, silently thanking him.
"Hey Grandpa!" called a voice from the playground, waving at them. It was the boy who was on the jungle gym, and he had pointy hair like his grandfather, but his was black with blonde bangs. He looked older than Mokuba, but a bit younger than Seto.
"I suppose I should be going, my grandson's calling me," the old man told them. He looked at Seto. "Happy birthday." With that, he started walking to the playground. "I'm coming!"
Mokuba waved goodbye and then turned his attention back to the candle. "Okay Seto, make your wish."
Seto smiled warmly at his brother and then closed his eyes. He paused a moment and then blew out the flame. Satisfied, Mokuba picked his fork as Seto picked up his and they both took a bite of the cake.
"This is really good," Seto commented.
"Yummy!" Mokuba agreed. Not worried about spoiling their appetite for supper, they ate the entire cake, with each sibling getting half. Once they were finished, it was only a little after three. They played a little on the playground before heading back to the manor. "It's not even supper time yet," Mokuba told him, "So no one knows we left."
Seto stopped and Mokuba, confused, looked at him. "What's wrong?"
"I'm not so sure about that." It was then that Mokuba noticed what Seto was looking at. Their step-father's limo was sitting in the driveway. Gozaburo was home early.
Not bothering to try and sneak in, the two brothers reluctantly walked through the front door. Gozaburo was already standing in the foyer, waiting for them and not looking to happy. "So, you finally decide to come show your sorry faces," he said, "I give you the opportunity to succeed, and you turn around to sneak out and go play games."
"It's not his fault!" Mokuba shouted. As soon as his step-father looked over at him, all his strength seemed to leave him. "What do you mean by that, Mokuba?" Gozaburo asked him.
"I - er..." That was all Mokuba could say before Seto stepped in front of him.
"He's just trying to keep me from trouble," Seto explained, "this was my idea." Mokuba's eyes widened. 'Seto, no,' he thought.
"I wanted to do something for my birthday, and I took Mokuba with me and told him I had permission," Seto lied, "It was all my idea."
"Hmm," Gozaburo said, a horrible smile on his face, "Well then, Seto, you will come with me." He turned to one of his servants. "You, take Mokuba to his room. I don't have anything planned for him."
"Yes Sir," the maid replied, her usually cheery voice gone. Mokuba wanted to run, to take his brother's punishment, anything to help. But before he could try, Seto gave him a hard look. A look that said, 'Just go, I'll be fine.' Mokuba didn't like it, but he nodded and followed the maid upstairs. As he climbed the staircase, he looked at his brother one last time. Seto knew what was coming, but he didn't look scared at all.
"Come along, Mokuba," the maid said, pulling Mokuba away just like his step-father was pulling Seto into a different room.
Mokuba didn't see his big brother again until bedtime. He managed to sneak out of his room and went to Seto's bedroom. "S-Seto?" He opened the door and saw Seto sitting on his bed with a new bruise on his face, and there were probably more he couldn't see. That was all it took to make Mokuba start crying.
"I'm sorry!" he cried, hiding his face in his hands, "this is all my fault. I'm so dumb! Seto, I'm so sor-" His hands were removed from his face, and two strong arms wrapped around him, making him stop talking.
"Mokie, it's okay," Seto said quietly. He let his little brother go and looked at him. "Listen to me, that jerk can beat me all he wants, but there's one thing he can never do: make me forget about how fun today was."
Mokuba blinked, causing a couple more tears to fall, and Seto continued. "I really enjoyed spending the day with you, and it was the best birthday I've had since... I've had in a while. And that's all because of you." He smiled slightly. "So stop crying, okay?"
Unable to talk, Mokuba just nodded and hugged his brother again. When the hug ended, Seto took something out of his pocket. "Here," he said. It was the plastic Blue Eyes White Dragon with the candle wick burnt to the end. "I want you to keep this. I know we can't use it again, but I still want you to keep it, and so Gozaburo doesn't throw it away."
Mokuba took the candle and smiled. "Okay, I promise."
()()()()()()()
The hot July sunlight poured into his bedroom. Mokuba rubbed his eyes, he was still a bit sleepy but happy nonetheless. Today he was turning thirteen, he was officially a teenager. 'Maybe I'll get a bit of growth spurt or something,' he thought as he combed his hair, looking at his short body in the mirror.
Walking downstairs, he went into the dining room expecting a small breakfast already waiting for him. What he didn't expect was a birthday cake and a small collection of presents, which was a bit strange since he usually bought his own birthday presents. But the thing that made him smile was his big brother sitting at the table, definitely a rare surprise.
"Is this all for me?" Mokuba asked, a hopeful smile on his face. Seto nodded, and Mokuba walked over to the table to get a closer look at everything. The presents looked cool, but the cake stood out to him. It was two layer, and all chocolate. It took a moment, but Mokuba recognized it as the type of cake he saw in the bakery six years ago, same decorations and everything.
Sitting on top of the delicious cake, was a Blue Eyes White Dragon candle. It looked almost exactly like the one in his desk drawer, only this one had an unburnt candle wick. "Wow," Mokuba said, not really sure what else to say. He walked over to his brother and didn't hesitate to give him a hug.
"Happy birthday, little brother," Seto told him, hugging back.
As soon as the hug ended, Mokuba looked back at the cake. "So wait, you're letting me have cake for breakfast?"
"You're not getting the whole thing now if that's what you're wondering," Seto told him, sounding a bit like a parent, "but I thought a small piece now couldn't hurt. I was also thinking perhaps we could go to the park or KaibaLand after breakfast."
Mokuba looked at him, surprised. "You mean you took the day off?" Seto nodded, and Mokuba grinned. "Awesome!"
Slightly amused, Seto stood up and took a small matchbook out of his coat pocket. He lit a match and lit the candle, and Mokuba took a moment to make his wish before blowing it out. Once that was done, Seto neatly cut two small slivers of cake, and placed one on the two small plates he had brought out.
As he ate his cake (which was even more delicious than he thought), Mokuba laughed a little. "Just like before, huh Seto?"
Seto swallowed his bite before replying. "Actually, I'd have to say this is better."
Mokuba grinned. "Yeah." They were spending the day together, with no step-father or work to ruin their day, and eating delicious chocolate cake. What more could a little brother - or a big brother for that matter - ask for?
"Definitely better."
Hope this wasn't too cheesy, but I just wanted to write a cute Kaiba Brothers story that took place when they were little, just because Little Mokie and Little Kaiba are just too freaking cute. Anyway, please review and have a nice day!