Seto Kaiba.

The name draws power, from reputation and seemingly from the very air itself. The power associated with the name seems almost tangible, and so many people have tried and failed to get that power. Seto Kaiba is imagined as a shrewd business man, a champion duelist, a powerful CEO, and often times a cold and calculating man. But there is a part of him that everyone forgets.

He is a brother- my brother.

My brother is most of what people say he is. He is shrewd and cold and calculating- absolutely. But it is what they do not see that matters the most. They do not see him comfort me after a nightmare. They do not see him take care of me when I am sick. They don't see him teach me Duel Monsters strategies and answer my questions about it. They don't see him help me with my homework. They don't see him hug me. They just don't see.

Those moments with my brother, at least the physically affectionate ones, have become rarer over the years. A product of his personality becoming more jaded over the years thanks to Gozaburo's abuse. These days, it takes a lot to get physical affection from him unless it's a dire circumstance. But today, I hope to change that.

I knock on the door to the home office where he works, and I wait. I hear him say "Come in", so I do. Seto is typing away on his laptop, but he glances up and sees me.

"Mokuba?" It's a question and a statement at the same time, but more of the first.

"Seto, can we talk for a few minutes?" I ask, aware of the hesitation in my voice. I'm almost positive that he'll say no, but to my surprise, he closes his laptop.

"What is it?" He asks.

I go over to him. "Seto… Do you remember what you told me the first day at the orphanage?"

Seto scowled, and raised an eyebrow. "I told you a lot of things that day. Which one are you referring to?"

"That emotions would only get in the way of our survival."

"Yes. Why?"

I take a deep breath. "I think you were right, because back then, it would have made things a lot harder, and I know why you kept it up, because of everything that happened with Pegasus and Battle City, and Noah but… We aren't there anymore, Seto. I don't expect you to change for everyone, but would you try for me when we're alone? I get it if you don't want to talk about feelings or anything like that, but more hugs would be nice. Sometimes I just need that reminder."

"Reminder of what?"

"That you can show emotion, with me. That you have emotions at all, because everybody thinks you don't. I just need to know that even though you've been through so much, you're still the same brother I grew up with."

Seto is quiet for a long time. Looking at his face, I can see he's wearing his thinking face, and that he is processing my words, which is good because I was afraid he would brush them off. Dismiss them immediately. So, I wait. I wait for a long time, to the point where it gets uncomfortable, but I dare not break the quiet and interrupt his thoughts.

After what seems to be forever, he speaks.

"I… I didn't want you to feel like I wasn't…" He trails off. "I never wanted you to think that I didn't care."

"I know you care, Seto. I never worried about that. Sometimes I just need to see it, you know?"

"I know. It's just very hard for me to do that without severe circumstances."

"It would get easier after a while. You do realize that, right?"

"I…"

I had never heard him so unsure in such a long time. Not since after his duel with Yugi. So I acted. I went over to him, and gave him a hug. "You don't have to be that anymore, Seto. All you ever have to be here is my brother. Okay?" I told him.

He hesitated for a moment, then, he hugged me back. "Okay."

I nuzzled into his chest, and for a moment, maybe less, it was like we were before our parents died. But it was perfect.