Superman
…
"We ride the line between twist and crime
From the angels I seem a distant cry
But this is how I am and you are
And it's real life."
…
The house was quiet, even more so than usual. The manor was never a party zone, ever, but usually upon return, Mokuba would find either housekeepers or cooks or somebody bustling about. Then again, he would usually be home again around three in the afternoon, not nearly ten at night. With a weary sigh, he dropped his brown jacket right in the middle of the foyer, too tired to worry about the fact that it really belonged on the hook, and that hanging it up took the same amount of effort as just dumping it on the floor; however, the latter left him feeling much more satisfied as he trudged up two flights of stairs.
After reaching the third floor, he immediately noticed that to the left, a soft yellowish glow emanated through an open door from the first bedroom, the one that was not Mokuba's, but the elder Kaiba brother's. It was a little odd for him to be in his room already; it was only a quarter past ten, which was decidedly early for Seto to be turning in for the night. Mokuba decided to check in with him before heading to bed himself. He approached the door, and found Seto already dressed in his dark green pajamas, leaning back against his dresser as he either scribbled something into or checked off something in his black leather planner. He looked almost as exhausted as Mokuba felt, which meant that whatever the younger brother felt was actually magnified about ten times to accurately make what Seto feeling.
Mokuba gave the door a couple soft knocks to announce his presence, and Seto glanced over at the doorway, his expression softening a bit more when he noticed his little brother.
"Mokuba…how were things at the office?" he asked, dropped the planner on the dresser and walking over to sit on his bed. Mokuba headed over to sit beside him, shrugging a bit.
"Pretty normal…until one of the engineers blew a system while attempting to upgrade it. Roland told me he sent you a message to let you know I'd be later tonight."
"He did," Seto confirmed, rubbing his forehead and sliding his hand through his hair. "And I'll deal with the employee tomorrow. I'm sorry you had to deal with it tonight. I should have come in myself, but…"
Mokuba frowned when he trailed off. Not because he was angry that his brother wasn't around during that stressful time, but because he wasn't sure what had happened to make Seto blow off a work emergency and look so worn out. "But what?"
Seto shook his head. "It's nothing, I just haven't been feeling very well today. I'm sure I'll be all right tomorrow."
The younger Kaiba nodded in agreement; it was actually quite common for his brother to get headaches and almost get ill after working ridiculously hard…but then he'd take some medication accordingly and get a full night's sleep, and be raring to go once again in the morning.
"I'll let you get some rest then," Mokuba said, standing up. "See you tomorrow." He leaned in to give his brother a quick hug, during which Seto assured him that he'd canceled his tutor the next morning, and that the afternoon one wouldn't be arriving until after lunch. After thanking him with another tight squeeze, Mokuba stepped back and headed to his own room, where he quickly changed into his bedclothes before collapsing onto his stomach on his bed, and instantly fell into a deep, peaceful sleep.
…
The next morning, Mokuba woke up to find he was still sprawled out on his belly. That, along with his dry mouth and slightly achy neck, confirmed that he had slept hard all through the night. After stretching a bit, a casual glance to the clock showed that it was just before a quarter to eight. He yawned contentedly at the fact that he'd gotten more than an extra hour of rest, and slid off his bed before padding back into the hallway to get some breakfast, until he stopped outside his brother's room when he heard heavy -almost labored- breathing. Frowning, he approached the slightly open door and pushed it all the way open, only to find his brother passed out on the large, overstuffed chair by his bookshelf, the very spot Mokuba (without Seto's knowledge) spent many nights in after the whole Duelist Kingdom façade.
But was Seto really sick? The younger brother went over to his side and placed the back of his hand against Seto's forehead, which seemed to be cool enough. Was he just tired and taking the day off? Mokuba reached over and gently rubbed his shoulder to wake him up, but to no avail. Seto didn't even flinch.
Panic immediately began bubbling up in his chest, and he urgently shook Seto's shoulder; however, just as he'd anticipated, Seto remained asleep. Or just unconscious. Mokuba had no idea what was happening, and he picked up the cordless telephone on the nightstand to call an ambulance.
Song segment at the beginning is from Shadow by The Southland.