Through The Eyes Of A Child
Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh, nor do I claim rights to any of the affiliated characters. READ THE NOTES UNDER THIS PLEASE!
Warnings/Notes: This is my first Yugioh fanfiction and it is NOT an AU. In this story Kaiba's parents did not die, they disappeared, I also made up their names, this is important to know before you read on. This is set with the characters living in Japan. Please do not flame. The plot will be explained IN THIS CHAPTER, so please read before you review.
"Aw man this sucks!" Joey exclaimed to no one in particular as he trudged home through the rain. Though he wore his blue jacket, part of his uniform, it didn't do much to keep him dry. Locks of his blonde hair were plastered to his face, and small puddles formed at his feet from his saturated sneakers.
A clap of thunder sounded and he released a sigh, normally he and the rest of the gang would laugh the weather off as they walked home together, but today he'd gotten detention for disrupting his literature class, and told them all to go home without him. When he insisted that it was all right and waved them off he realized the full extent of the hell he'd be put through. Two extra hours with Mr. Takenshi, his least favorite teacher, and to top it off, walking the equivalent of four blocks in the pouring rain.
Pulling the collar of his jacket tighter around his neck he quickened his pace, he could see the bridge over the creek ahead, that meant home was only ten minutes away. His feet connected with the concrete hard, a rhythmic sloshing resounding as he sprinted over it. Smirking he turned his head to the right and gazed down over the water to see how far it'd risen, normally when it rained this hard it came up over the bank and ran into the children's park nearby, flooding it completely.
His eyes scanned it for a fraction of a second before he stopped dead. Brown pools of annoyance dissolved into complete and utter shock as they came to rest on an infant in the creek, being carried roughly by the current. It's small body bobbing above and then back under the water with each violent lurch of the waves rising over the rocks and slamming down to the surface.
"Hang on!" Joey yelled as he tore across the bridge and slid down through the muddy grass to reach the bank of the creek. "I'm coming!" He knew it was foolish to shout to a baby who probably couldn't hear or understand him, but he didn't care. His legs pumped faster, carrying him on through the landslide of wet, slippery sod as he gained on the small body. As he neared the bank's edge the little one was carried under the water and he cursed furiously. "C'mon, C'mon!" He exclaimed as he moved forward with the motion of the water and frantically searched for the baby. "There!" He exclaimed reaching for the child and wrapping his arms around its body as it came up from the water, nearly diving into the creek in the process. "Take it easy buddy." He whispered softly as the child in only a cloth diaper struggled to cough and get his breath.
Joey held him close and ran as fast as his legs would carry him to Domino Hospital where the baby could be properly cared for, What kind of a parent lets their kid fall into the creek! And then deserts it! The slime balls! He fumed inwardly to himself as after a few minutes of running he came to the emergency room he'd been striving to reach.
"Help!" He wheezed out panting heavily, others in the waiting room stopped to stare at him for only a moment before a receptionist caught sight of and snatched up the child Joey was holding.
"What were you thinking!" She scolded as she carefully handed the child to a nurse to be rushed to an intensive care unit. "Letting your child out in the rain like that withou-!"
"You've got some nerve!" Joey furiously interrupted, "That baby's not mine, I found it in the creek and saved it's life!" He stopped to try and catch his breath a bit more before straightening up.
The receptionist in front of him, now wet herself from taking hold of the child, narrowed her eyes, "I'm sorry, I just assumed-"
"Well no one brings a patient here for you to assume what happened!" Joey snapped, he then sighed after a moment when others in the waiting room began to talk quietly amongst themselves, "Look I'm sorry." He apologized as he moved to the front desk, "Let me tell you where I found it." He then offered, and nodding the receptionist moved to her desk and sat down.
"Before you tell me anything else, did you see anyone around who could've been one of his parents?"
"It's a boy!" He exclaimed.
"Please try to stay focused." She released a small sigh.
"Oh right, sorry." He once again apologized feeling sheepish, "No, it looked like someone had just abandoned the poor thi-I mean guy." He replied. The receptionist nodded.
"A DNA test will tell us who his parents are so you won't have to worry about paying for his treatment. If we can't find a match the county will pay for it and we'll have him sent to a local orphanage when he gets well. But for security purposes would you please fill out these forms?" She handed Joey a clipboard with quite a few papers attached.
"An orphanage!" He exclaimed, "Why! I'll take care of him! Don't just pawn him off somewhere!" She briefly looked up at him.
"That's only if we can't find his real parents." She reminded him, then gesturing to his attire she added, "Besides you're still a student and the responsibility of having a baby is not something to be taken lightly."
"Ahh, I know that!" He vented in frustration, "Look I know I'm young but I'm not stupid, if you thought you were gonna find his parents any time soon you wouldn't have given me these forms! After all I'm not exactly the person that should be fillin' 'em out, ya with me this fa'?"
"Look, the doctors will take some of his blood for DNA testing along with that taken for whatever other tests need to be run, we'll deal with these matters after we've gotten the results. And as I said before, the forms are for security purposes only." She once again stressed. And so, with a grunt of annoyance Joey sat down in a nearby chair, not wanting to look like anymore of an idiot than she'd made him out to, and began to fill out the forms. After scribbling down the information required, more than two hours passing slowly as he did so, he handed them back to her. "Very good." She replied as she hung up the phone. "You're free to go." She added.
"What?" Joey inquired somewhat outraged, "What about the kid?"
"The DNA of each person born a citizen of Japan is taken at their first visit to the doctor, the parents of the boy were found using such samples."
"Well who are they?" Joey demanded to know. The secretary tossed the forms in the trash before responding.
"That information cannot be disclosed."
"WHAT'D YA MEAN CAN'T BE DISCLOSED!" He spat at her, slamming his fist down on the desk, "NOW LISTEN LADY-"
"Move Wheeler!" Before Joey could finish his rant none other than Kaiba shoved him carelessly and effortlessly out of the way.
"What's all this business about a baby, I can assure you there is no possibility that I have a child!" He exclaimed furiously, "And I don't appreciate you interrupting me based on false information!" His tones were menacingly low and the secretary merely cleared her throat quietly in response.
"Mr. Kaiba I'm sorry I didn't explain this over the phone but perhaps we should go somewhere more…private….to discuss these things."
"Save it!" Kaiba snapped, "By this time tomorrow everyone in their right mind will know about all of this anyway, if there's something you have to say, say it now and stop wasting my time!"
She swallowed nervously before stammering out her explanation, "Well you see Mr. Kaiba, sir, the baby is your parents a-"
"LIES!" Seto immediately exclaimed, his eyes widening as he swept his hand out in front of himself, "THAT'S NOT POSSIBLE! My parents have been missing for years!"
"Mr. Kaiba I have no explanation for you but a DNA test has proved that the baby boy is to your mother and father Mrs. Amaya Christine and Mr. Yasou Mason Aizawa. Your mother and father were both killed in a car accident on their way back from the hospital…and…you are his only living relative aside from your brother."
"How the hell am I gonna explain this to Mokuba…this is absurd! You're lying!" He exclaimed as he paced back and fourth in front of the desk, the waiting room had since cleared of all people excluding him and Joey.
"If you don't want him Kaiba just give him to me! I'll take good care of him!" Joey cut in without thinking.
"You stay out of this Wheeler, it's family business and doesn't concern you!"
"Listen here moneybags I found him so it concerns me too! I'm sorry this whole thing's hard for you to swallow but I'm not just gonna sit here and listen to you act like he's not even your brother! If you're not gonna treat him right lemme take care of him!"
"I am not deserting my brother! If I see this DNA test and it proves to be accurate he's coming home with me and that's final!" He snapped back as he stopped to look Joey dead in the eye, "Which hospital was the child born in and how did he end up in Domino?" He asked.
"He was delivered in St. John's Mercy Hospital." She replied, "As for how he ended up here, well I couldn't tell you anything about that." She informed him.
"I can't believe this is happening!" Kaiba slammed a hand down on the back of the chair he'd stopped pacing to stand next to.
"Mr. Kaiba there's a few more things you should know."
"Well spit it out!" Joey swallowed hard but stayed quiet while the redhead explained.
"Your mother and father had been diagnosed with a terminal cancer at the age of 40. After that was when they disappeared."
"That can't be true, then how did they manage to live all these years, how were they able to have a child!" Kaiba demanded to know, "None of this makes sense!"
"I'm sorry Mr. Kaiba but none of these questions can be explained, now I can take you back to see the boy if you'd like but you should decide whether he-" She paused here to gesture to Joey, "Should be allowed back with you or not beforehand." She continued.
"What!" Both Kaiba and Joey burst in unison.
"He's not even related to the boy, it doesn't make sense for you to propose such a thing!" Kaiba spat while Joey moved to stand at the front desk again.
"Now both of you listen up!" He roared, "I don't care what relation the kid has to Kaiba, I saved his life and I should at least have the satisfaction of seeing whether or not he's okay!"
The secretary swallowed, obviously understanding that Kaiba didn't want Joey to see the child. "Sir." She said, turning to face Joey, "I'm afraid you'll have to leave." She informed him, the words tugged at her heartstrings for a moment, after seeing the concern in the teen's eyes, but Mr. Kaiba was not one to be taken lightly, and the blonde, she decided, was surely not fit to raise a child.
Joey's eyes came alive with anger as he fought back the tears forming in them, "God damn it!" He exclaimed, "I know that's not how the laws work here alright! I already told you I'm young not stupid! You can't deny me the right to see him since Kaiba and I are both minors and he doesn't qualify as a legal guardian! A brother can't make the decision of who sees the boy and who doesn't-"
"Wheeler you're not coming back!" Kaiba yelled, his blue eyes as fierce as his voice.
"Who are you to tell me that Kaiba!" He snapped, "I may not be his family but I was more of a brother to him than you were when I pulled him out of the water earlier, if it weren't for me he would've drown! You don't understand Kaiba and I don't have to explain myself to you, but I'm close to him alright, just let me see that he's okay!"
"I already told you Wheeler, you have to right to demand something like that!"
"That's quite enough!" A stern voice cut in before the arguing could escalate further, "I will not have this kind of a façade taking place in my place of business no matter who is involved!" Both Kaiba and Joey turned to face a doctor who'd come into the waiting room. "The child in question will not be discussed further in public and due to laws the boy stated earlier both of you are allowed to come back to see him!" Kaiba's moth fell open in anger and protest but he quickly clamped it shut. He'd have enough explaining to do come tomorrow; there was no need to add to it for Wheeler's sake.
"The child is in critical condition, but he should come around in due time." The doctor explained once Joey and Kaiba were properly dressed and ready to enter the intensive care unit. Pushing open the door with freshly sterilized hands the doctor led them to the incubator which held the youngest Kaiba. "Furthermore." He added as Joey continued to fight away his tears and Kaiba stood fighting away memories that came flooding back to him with one look at the boy, who was the spitting image of their mother. "If either of you wish to have any hope of seeing the child again, caring for him must be a joint effort."
"WHAT!" The two teens barked coming back to reality.
The doctor only nodded in response. "The laws of Japan regarding adoption into a pre-existing family of minors clearly state that it must be a joint effort between two capable minors or the child will be put into foster care-"
"Here's two things you should know before continuing!" Kaiba snarled. "First and foremost sending the child to a foster family is not an option, and on a different note entirely I'll have you know that Wheeler here is not at all capable of caring for a baby!"
Staying calm the man in white uniform sighed, "Mr. Kaiba a hospital official must approve your partner and taking into consideration the situation at hand many of our staff have agreed that Joseph is the best candidate for such a role. Before you protest." He added while holding up a hand to stop the CEO in his tracks, "You must know that aside from going to the store to gather supplies, your own staff may not help you in caring for the child. In order for government officials to get a feel for the kind of environment you yourself will be able to provide for the little one, you and Joseph-"
"Joey." The blonde interrupted as he went back to staring at the infant.
The doctor grimaced in annoyance, "You and Joey." He corrected, "Will have to take on the task at hand mostly on your own."
Seto didn't have the time to brood over this less than satisfying announcement, he was, instead, too concerned with how he was going to break this to Mokuba. Until, that is, Joey took his turn to speak again, "So we'll switch every week then?" He asked, still not completely comprehending what all of this meant.
The doctor shook his head, "No." he replied. "You will have to move in with Mr. Kaiba or vise versa in order to take care of the boy. You should also know that he hasn't been given a name, when your parents attempted to get him home from the hospital they still hadn't chosen one and were going to be given three days to decide." He explained. "Before the two of you leave tonight you'll have to decide on one, and Joseph." He added turning now to Joey who looked up from the baby briefly. "As you can imagine you won't be able to attend school if you accept the challenge of helping take care of the baby, so your work will also be sent to you at the end of every school week. This also means we'll have to know tonight where the two of you will be staying."
"Kaiba Corp. of course!" Seto hurriedly put in, to this, Joey did not protest.
"I just have one question." Joey put in once the doctor had covered everything/
"What's that?" The doctor asked.
"Well now I have two." Kaiba sighed in annoyance and Joey shot him a glare, "First off, if Kaiba's parents died taking the baby home from the hospital, why wasn't it given to a foster family then?" He asked.
"He was, and they're being held liable for the boy's current condition and are being forced to pay the medical bills he's accumulated. I can't tell you why they left him in the park instead of just giving him to a more capable family, we got no straight answer out of them."
"Why the hell didn't you look into who his relatives were before pawning him off to some worthless piece of shit morons!" Kaiba fumed.
Biting his lip the tallest of the three spoke again. "It was unanimously decided amongst government officials that it was better not to complicate your life any further until you were old enough to take care of the boy on your own. As you can imagine, no one expected any of this to take place."
"That's despicable! That decision was mine to make!"
"Mr. Kaiba please, yelling isn't good for the condition of the child." Though such a claim sounded absurd Seto calmed himself.
"There's a few more things I still want to ask. One, how long will I be able to be in the kid's life?" Joey once again cut in.
This answer came immediately, "Until Mr. Kaiba turns eighteen, after that, as long as he sees fit." Joey wasn't happy with the answer, but after hearing that yelling wasn't good for the baby he moved on.
"Why didn't someone make the foster care family name the baby, I mean do you people think you can just call him kid for the rest of his life?" How old is he anyway?" He asked.
"He was born April 11th, which would make him a month old tomorrow. As for choosing a name for the child, we'll just say that the one the family decided on was inappropriate and they refused to pick another."
Both Kaiba and Joey nodded, then, simultaneously, the blonde took out his cell phone and traced over it with cold fingers, "Man do I have a lot of explaining to do." He mumbled to himself, and inwardly Kaiba laughed bitterly, Wheeler had no comprehension of what explaining even was. He thought once again of Mokuba.
"Well then." The tallest of the bunch spoke up, breaking the silence that'd since ensued between the trio, "A name." He replied.
Joey and Kaiba glanced at one another for a long moment before the blonde brought up something important, "Is he a Kaiba or an Aizawa?" He asked, and clenching his right hand into a fist Kaiba swallowed hard. He wanted more than anything to have the boy be an Aizawa out of respect for his parents, but he was nothing if not for his pride, and he, as well as everything he'd worked for was in the name of Kaiba. However, he bitterly glared into Joey's eyes as he reflected on what that meant, and upon thinking of his stepfather declared, "Aizawa."
Joey nodded, "Well, start picking names." He instructed.
"Why me?" Kaiba snapped back.
"Because moneybags, as much as I don't like you or the idea since you're his blood relative its only fair you pick the first name and I pick the middle name." He replied.
Kaiba nodded in agreement, figuring it was too late for even Wheeler to be disagreeable, "But we have to agree on them, you can't just pick something hideous." Joey growled under his breath,
"Yeah well the same goes for you Kaiba!" Slapping a hand to his forehead the middle-aged doctor let a laugh slip and grabbed a tablet of paper from his pocket.
"Decide on a name and spelling, I'll write it down here and check with you before putting it on his birth certificate." He explained when both Kaiba and Joey turned to look at him questioningly.
Kaiba cleared his throat and began to think, "How the hell am I supposed to pull a decent name out of my ass?" He grumbled under his breath.
"Who said you had to do it like that?" Joey replied, "Do somethin' that makes sense, if you're keepin' your mom and dad's last name, why not go with your dad's middle name?"
Kaiba stood still for a moment, not showing his sheer amazement, had he been dreaming or did Wheeler just pitch a decent idea? "Mason…" He muttered.
"Mason?" Joey asked, "Your dad's middle name wasn't Japanese?" He questioned. Kaiba shook his head.
"The tradition in our family goes that only first names are Japanese, my parents passed it on to Mokuba and I." He replied.
"Well then maybe you should do the same for him?" Joey's tones revealed he was unsure of whether or not proposing such a thing was a good idea, however, Kaiba nodded in agreement.
"The only Japanese name I know the meaning of his Haru." He mumbled. Joey sighed, at least, he noted, they were getting somewhere.
"Well what's it mean?" He asked.
Kaiba, who was still annoyed beyond belief that he would have to work with and cooperate with Joey took his time answering, "Born in the spring."
Joey nodded, "Then it suits him." He added, so there, we've got a first name." He added.
As Joey babbled about middle names Kaiba kept reminding himself that this kid was his brother and if he didn't go through with this he'd never forgive himself, and neither would Mokuba when he found out. And being cruel as fate's sense of irony often is, he knew for a fact that eventually, even if he hadn't agreed to this, the boy would've figured out everything.
"Kaiba! Are you listening to me?" Joey exclaimed in annoyance, and quickly Kaiba forced himself to focus on the task at hand.
"What!" He snapped, and sighing, Joey repeated himself while the doctor mused to himself about how much the two already seemed like an old married couple.
"I asked if you still wanted to keep your dad's middle name." Kaiba said the name aloud a few times, and nodding, he decided that it had a nice amount of fluidity.
"It's settled." He finally announced, "His name is Haru Mason Aizawa."
The doctor nodded and scribbled the name down, "Now Mr. Kaiba if you'd call for an escort we can have the child escorted to Kaiba Corp. to be placed in the care of your own medical staff." He said, and liking this idea, while also realizing that it meant Joey moving in and explaining everything to Mokuba tonight, he nodded.
"My limo's still waiting for me out front, I'll send for a chopper with medical staff on board." With that the CEO took his own cell phone out of his trench coat pocket and did so.
Joey stood with his hand in Haru's, staring down at the baby more fondly than anything else on earth. He had a lot of packing to do in a short amount of time. So he decided as Kaiba snapped at him to get moving so that the two of them could take off their medical gowns and such and meet the chopper out front, that he'd explain all of this to his friends tomorrow.
Abandoning the child with great internal struggle he turned to face Kaiba, along with the door to the outside world, and to his new life, changed now and forever more.
TBC…
AN: I made up the tradition as far as the Japanese first name only simply for fun. Just in care you're wondering:
Amaya is Japanese and means night rain, while Christine is English, French, and German, and means faithful.
Yasou is Japanese and means peaceful one while Mason is French and means both ingenious and reliable.
I was thinking of having Seto's name be: Seto Nathan; Seto being Japanese and meaning turmoil and Nathan being of two origins, Hebrew in which it means, a gift from god, and Polish in which it means bright future.
I picked out James as Mokuba's middle name, Mokuba is Japanese and means wooden horse while James is English and means dependable.
Please suggest middle names for Mokuba and Seto if you don't like the ones I've chosen as they will show up later on in the story. Please go for names that flow well with one another. Thanks.
Oh, and once again Haru's name is:
Haru Mason, Haru meaning born in the spring and Mason meaning ingenious and reliable.