Seto Kaiba liked to think of himself as someone who did not get upset easily. He was very calm, calculated, and focused in everything he did. When he did get upset, he had a reason. So when his calm and controlled world was disturbed by him being upset without a good reason- well, he didn't take it very well.
There were bad days and then there were Bad Days. Seto Kaiba was most definitely having a Bad Day. He had woken up late that day because a power surge the night before had reset his alarm clock and it hadn't woken him for work, he hadn't eaten breakfast in his hurry out the door that morning, his coffee machine at work had decided to give him a cold cup because the heater in it wasn't working, and he had missed a meeting with his board of directors. At this point, he was filled with black musings of what could come. What would be next, him losing a duel to Wheeler? He nixed that thought immediately, because though this day was terrible, something like that happening would have taken a miracle.
He was in his office now, typing an expense report for the company while simultaneously looking through a contract proposed by another company in Germany. He would type a few sentences, and then look at another page of the contract. His mind could usually switch seamlessly between the two, but today it seemed so complex that his head was beginning to throb in what he was sure would end up being a migraine. So he sighed, put the paper he had been attempting to read and massaged his temples.
What is wrong with today?
Were there a God that he believed in, He might have prayed for an answer, but he knew that would be of no use. What good did prayer do when nobody ever answered you? So he took a deep breath, let it out, and tried to work again. The small break he took, however, would prove to be a mistake because when he looked back at the contract and the report, all the letters seemed jumbled and nothing seemed to make sense. He hadn't felt this out of sorts since Yugi handed him his first defeat. If he were any less of a man, he might have flung a hand across his desk and sent papers flying to the floor and his laptop careening to the ground in a crash. But he was better than throwing a tantrum, so instead he just saved the report, closed his laptop, picked up his briefcase and left work early. Maybe he could get something done at home.
The limo ride home was enough to calm his nerves enough to where his frustration abated some, but when he got into his home office and tried just the expense reports, but the frustration came back in double the numbers when he realized that he still couldn't concentrate. This served to add fuel to the fire for his burgeoning headache, which was now worsening at an alarming rate. He scooted his laptop back several inches and then put his head on the cool wood of his desk, trying to make the world stop spinning for just a minute so he could rest.
Rest would be nice. A nap, something he hadn't had in quite some time, would be heavenly. But with the mood he was in, it would be useless because all he would be thinking of was this terrible day. He could compartmentalize and move on better than most people because of his past, but when his headaches of this magnitude came and gripped him, all bets were off. He let out a growl of frustration as he sat there with his head on his desk. Though he did not believe in a God or in prayer in general, he did send a fleeting wish that the day would be over quickly. Then, he got his head up from the desk and shut his laptop again. Clearly the universe did not want him to get any work done. He thought through this rationally. Okay, so he couldn't focus on work. Maybe he could focus on dueling instead? Come up with some new strategies or perhaps integrate more cards in his deck? It was a long shot but it was worth a try.
He went and got his dueling deck, along with his briefcase of cards. He began to look through them, seeing if there were any cards he wanted to exchange, any new strategies that came to mind that someone would not expect. It was not working. Even this, his tried and true method of relaxation, was not helping, and he ended up letting the cards in his hand fall to the floor as he gripped his head in frustration. He attempted to calm down, trying to think of things he enjoyed- The feeling of winning a duel, his Blue Eyes White Dragons, his triumph over his Stepfather- but all of it was tainted by this terrible day. What his mind's eye saw was his losing to Yugi, his Blue Eyes being destroyed, his Stepfather's near success in trapping him in that virtual world. Grunting in his aggravation, he picked up the cards in his hand, put them away, slammed the lid of the briefcase down, and just left.
He wandered the halls of the house aimlessly. The servants, maids, and security who worked there all seemed to know to leave him alone because the part of his home where his office was located was deserted- the entire wing emptied of occupants besides himself. So he wandered, just walking without a purpose, as he tried to calmly think through everything that had occurred that day. The power surge could not be controlled, and he knew that. But someone awake in the house should have seen it and came to get him! Then again, though, they likely thought it best not to disturb him- not to poke a sleeping bear and all of that. So he moved onto skipping breakfast. Okay, that one was more his own fault because he could have grabbed a muffin or a roll or croissant from the basket on the table before leaving, but he was already so late that he hadn't thought about it. Then came the missed meeting. It wasn't a particularly important one- no new business to cover or anything of the like, but he did not like feeling that irresponsible, even though it wasn't his fault that his alarm did not wake him. Finally, there was the coffee machine. That… He wasn't really sure what to make of that. It had a small problem that was completely fixable, but he did not have the tools necessary to do so. It wasn't exactly a fault thing, but it might have been nice if it were because then he might have some outlet for this mounting frustration.
The walk ended at his bedroom, and he opened the mahogany doors to see his bed, made by one of the maids after his harried exit this morning. It looked inviting, but he knew very well he would not be able to sleep. So he ended up going to the en suite bathroom and taking some medicine for his headache. Hopefully that would help. He decided, while he was at it, to take a shower, since he had not been able to this morning. He had taken one last night before bed, so mercifully that had worked out in his favor, but he preferred to take one daily. The warm water cascading down his back soothed him, as did the scent of the shampoo and conditioner and body wash. He stayed in longer than necessary, a serious deviance from his normal routine, just to try and make the slim feeling of calm stay with him just a little longer before it would inevitably elude him again. Soon though, he decided enough was enough, and he got out, dried his hair, dressed, and was done.
The second he exited the steamy bathroom, his frustration returned because he didn't know what to do now. He liked staying busy, because it kept the mind agile, so being at a point where he felt he couldn't do anything made him feel vulnerable- a feeling he avoided like the plague. He decided to give work another try, and for maybe ten minutes it worked before his headache gave an almighty roar, incensed at having been given medication to stop it. Apparently it did not like being unable to work too. His frustration had peaked, and for a moment, he damn well near flipped his desk over because he felt like he was going to explode. It seemed the black cloud over his head was there to stay.
"Seto!"
He looked up, and with that one word, the cloud began to dissipate.
Mokuba Kaiba rushed into his brother's office and hopped into his lap, a bright grin on his face.
"I did it, Seto! I aced my math test! You were right, it wasn't as hard as I thought. If it wasn't for you tutoring me, I wouldn't have kept up my streak of all A's! You're the best!" He said, and gave his brother the biggest hug.
Suddenly, the frustration washed away from him, the dark cloud was gone, and the headache lessened dramatically until it was only a small throb that bothered him on occasion. He wrapped his arms around his little brother, a true grin on his face for the first time on that dark day. In all the gloom of that day, he had forgotten the one most important to him- his little brother, who made any day better. Mokuba reminded him of why he went through days like this, why he had gone through the dark days with their Stepfather, and it was for moments like this, where everything seemed to be worth it.
Mokuba was, and always would be, His ray of sun.