Hello! Wow, been a while huh? Sorry, summer's making me lazy. I've actually had this idea for a while, and I hope you guys like it. Enjoy!
Toy stores were the kind of thing that could draw anyone's attention, young and old. Even if one had given up their toys a long time ago, the displays and inviting atmosphere would draw them in, curious about what was the latest thing or if a certain toy was still selling.
Young multi-millionares were no different.
School had gotten out early that day, and since his brother was still at his company building, Mokuba Kaiba thought it would be fun to just walk around downtown. Despite having to be accompanied by bodyguards (he definitely didn't want to get kidnapped again), Mokuba was allowed to walk by himself as long as the two suited men a couple stores behind could still see him. The feeling of being watched never stayed very long, and a smile never left his face as he looked at all the people and stores.
Most of the clothes stores he passed without a second thought. The video games and electronics stores caught his attention for a few minutes, usually because of a new movie or game (that wasn't made by KaibaCorp) was playing on a tv. Really, the longest thing he looked at was the fresh plate of cookies sitting in the display case of the bakery in the mall - and happily bought himself one.
Despite nothing particularly interesting, Mokuba was enjoying himself, and when he saw a toy store a few feet ahead of him, he decided to take a look.
One side of the window was clearly dedicated towards girls, with pink curtains, cute plush animals, dolls of female Duel Monsters, and other various things. The second window had basically the same combination of things, but more geared towards boys. There was one thing in the window that made Mokuba stop and stare.
Sitting on a high petestal, as if it had once been made out of stone but was now back to life, was a smaller version of the Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon. It looked like it was made out of strong plastic, and the toy moved, currently set to 'Demo mode'.
The heads moved up and down, with their eyes and mouths glowing bright blue, ready to strike down any opponent in its way. The arms and wings also moved, and Mokuba assumed the legs probably would too. A small remote control sat beside it along with several projectiles to act as Neutron Blasts.
Mokuba grinned. 'Pretty cool,' he thought, 'I bet Seto would like it too.' The toy was so well crafted and animated, definitely not just some cheap knock-off.
"Are you going to buy that, Master Mokuba?" one of his bodyguards standing behind him, arriving just a few moments ago.
Mokuba looked back up at the toy. Even if he was still at the appropriate age, Mokuba never really played with toys. For one thing, like any modern day child, technology and video games held his attention more than plastic. Besides, when Gozaburo was still around and he was told not to bother his older brother, Mokuba had spent enough time in his room playing with toys he didn't even really want to last a lifetime.
Still, the toy was just so cool! Even if it's motions were a bit limited and slowed down, it still reminded Mokuba of the real Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon, and the amazement of whenever his brother summoned it or one of the three Blue Eyes that helped form it.
The boy grinned again. "I think I will."
The crowd in the small store wasn't too big, and Mokuba was able to walk out with the toy after only a few minutes. The two bodyguards didn't even have to ask Mokuba if he was ready to go home, they could easily see that he was more than ready. He probably would've opened the box right then and there if he could!
But instead, he decided to just keep it on his lap as he sat in the limo heading back to Kaiba Manor. 'By the time I get home, Seto should be home,' he thought, a smile still on his face, 'I bet he'll think it's pretty cool. I just hope I have a place in my room to put this thing.' He didn't want to just leave it in his rarely opened toy box or on his desk along with his school books and supplies.
When the car pulled up in front of the house, Mokuba eagerly jumped out of the car, thanking the driver as he ran up the steps. With a spring in his step, he headed upstairs to his brother's home office.
*Knock knock* "Hey, Seto? Can I come in?"
"Hm," was the reply. Opening the door, Mokuba smiled at his brother as he stuffed the box under his arm, making sure to hide the label.
Kaiba looked up from his laptop enough to give his brother a small smile, and then went back to typing. "Any problems at the mall?"
"Nope, not today," Mokuba replied, "But I did get something. It's pretty cool, and I know you'll like it too-"
Suddenly, the phone rang. Kaiba scowled before picking it up. "What?" he asked, obviously annoyed at the interruption. He listened for a few seconds before mumbling the word 'Idiots' under his breath. "I don't see how your mistakes are my problem. I gave you all specific instructions, I assumed you could follow them-"
By the tone of his older brother's voice, Mokuba could tell this was going to be a long conversation, most likely ending with someone getting fired. "I'll come back later," Mokuba said quietly.
Kaiba looked at him and nodded before continuing with his phone call. To anyone else, that gesture would of said, "Yes, good, go away." But to someone like Mokuba who knew how to read Kaiba's gestures, it said, "Alright, I'll try to talk to you again after I deal with these idiots."
Even so, Mokuba couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed. 'Oh well,' Mokuba thought to himself as he walked into his room, 'At least when he does see it, it'll be out of the box and working.'
Kuma, who was currently sleeping on Mokuba's bed, looked up, curious. "Well, at least I can show you," Mokuba told him as he sat down next to the saimese cat. Opening the box, it looked like there wasn't a lot of packaging or annoying twist ties. All you had to do was take it out of the box, open the mini baggie with projectiles, and put the batteries in - which Mokuba could do with no problem.
"It says it works best on a flat surface," Mokuba stated, reading the instructions. Deciding that he didn't want his new toy to accidentally walk off the bed and break, Mokuba sat it on the floor.
He looked at the remote control. "Hmm, let's try a roar." Mokuba pressed a button, and the miniature dragon came to life. It's three heads moved back before shooting forward and letting out a mighty (though slightly muffled) recorded roar. The sudden noise startled Kuma, who quickly jumped out of the bed and darted across the room.
"Whoops, sorry boy," Mokuba said before turning his attention back to the toy. It was just as cool as Mokuba thought it would be, with every function working perfectly with no mistakes. "Guess the people who made it knew Seto would be mad if they didn't make it the best toy ever." Though, he had to admit, it was pretty hard to make the Blue Eyes White Dragon look lame - unless they turned it into a dumb toon. Mokuba grimaced at the thought of a toy version of its toon counterpart. "No one would probably buy it."
Satisfied, Mokuba picked the toy up and set it on his bed. He knew it would still be a while before his brother finished working, or at least decided to take a break. Glancing at the far corner of the room, Mokuba spotted the small, dark blue toy box. 'What toys do I still have anyway?' he thought. Deciding to find out for himself, Mokuba walked over to the box, and peaked inside.
After Kaiba had defeated Gozaburo and became in charge of all his assets, Mokuba was happy to get rid of anything that his step-father had wanted just for the sake of being there in case the paparazzi stopped by. That meant most of the 'gifts' he recieved went right to the nearest charity store. But that didn't mean he didn't keep a few toys that he himself had picked out, nor didn't it mean he didn't buy anymore toys.
Sitting on the dusty box, Mokuba could see several action figures, as well as a plushie Kuriboh that he had gotten in an attempt to win a plushie Blue Eyes.
"Hey, a Lord of Dragons!" he exclaimed, picking up the toy, "I forgot I had this!" The toy was pretty well made - though a bit dirty - and it even had the Flute of Summoning Dragons with it.
The next three figures he found were warriors. "Swordstalker, Vorce Raider, Blade Knight... hey! I even have a couple Capsule-Mon toys in here!" He picked up two figures - a Wattkid and a Cobrada - that were much smaller than the duel monsters toys. He could also see a couple dragon and dinosaur toys that were about half the size of his newest dragon.
About several toys later, the toy box had been emptied, and Mokuba was sitting on the floor, looking at all his toys. A small, nostalgic smile was on his face. "I guess these things were pretty fun," he said to himself. Looking at one of the older toys - A Furious Sea King like the one his brother had in his first deck - memories started to take shape.
'Even when we were little, before the orphanage and Gozaburo, Seto never really liked playing pretend...'
Whenever he asked his brother to play with him, Kaiba would almost always say yes, but wouldn't actually 'play'. He would simply join Mokuba on the floor, watching him play and always smiling, occasionally doing the voice of a character.
When they played in the sandbox, Mokuba would build castles while Kaiba drew pictures with a stick of more probable things like amusement parks. As he got older, Mokuba asked his brother to play games like chess and checkers with him instead of pretend, figuring that Seto didn't really play pretend. Despite this, the two boys always had fun together.
Coming back to the present, Mokuba picked up the Blade Knight figure. He could've just put the toys back in their proper place and continue finding a place for his newest collectable, but a part of him wanted to go back to silly games of pretend, of made-up adventures and journeys.
'Well, I do have them all out,' he though, grinning to himself.
It was a bit awkward for the twelve year old at first, talking to himself and pretending to see things that weren't really there. He was relieved most of the house staff was downstairs so no one could see him. After a while however, the awkwardness and embarrassment slowly faded away, and it was almost second nature to him as more ideas began to form...
()()()()()()()
A relieved sigh escaped as he shut his laptop. Of course Kaiba was able to fix his employee's mistakes, but that didn't mean it was easy. In fact, it was a few minutes past five thirty. Looking at the clock, a thought came to him.
Mokuba had came in two hours ago, and Kaiba had barely talked to him.
The young CEO scolded himself for keeping his younger brother waiting. 'What did he want to show me anyway?' he thought, trying to remember what Mokuba had. 'Well, he's probably still in his room.' At that point, Kaiba was more than happy to have extra work in the morning if it meant taking the rest of the night off, both for Mokuba's sake and his own. It felt like if he recieved one more bit of bad news, he would personally shut down the whole project - which was absolutely out of the question since this was going to be the biggest thing since their duel disks. So, a night off was the only solution.
Walking out of his room, Kaiba caught his brother's voice. Raising an eyebrow, he walked towards it. The closer he got, the clearer Mokuba's voice became. One statement made Kaiba's eyes go wide in shock.
"I don't care what you say, you'll never get away with this, Pegasus!"
His blood started to boil. That snake was in his house, trying to kidnap his brother again? Rushing towards the bedroom door, he would've pushed it open if it weren't for the next piece of dialogue.
"Ooh, I highly doubt that, Knight Mokuba. You'll never get past my guards!"
The voice was meant to sound like Pegasus, but not in a flattering way. If not for his confusion, Kaiba probably chuckled at how it made Pegasus sound ridiculous and hardly a threat.
Since Kuma tended to switch off between Mokuba's bed and Kaiba's lap, the bedroom door was opened just wide enough for the feline to get in or out - or for a curious sibling to see just what was going on.
Mokuba was sitting in the middle of his room, with a Blade Knight figure in his hand. The toybox - along with a few books and an extra blanket - had been made to look like a castle, with a Spellcaster-type Duel Monster sitting on top of it, and a chibi Mystical Elf set on top of a 'tower'. Looking closer, Kaiba could see the figure was a Dark Paladin figure.
Remaining quiet, Kaiba watched as Mokuba continued.
"I'll battle any guard you have," he said, his voice strong and unwavering, "I won't let you hurt the queen, and I won't let you use your magic powers to hurt anymore people."
Switching back to the more goofy sounding voice, Mokuba picked up the wizard and had him slowly float down from the castle. "Ha, I'd like to see you try. Minions, attack!"
Abandoning the wizard figure, Mokuba gathered up the other warrior toys as well the Kuriboh plushie (who had fangs taped on). Adding in his own sound effects, Mokuba and the Blade Knight battled all his foes, defeating each one of them. Of course, in his mind, it was more than just a few quick hits with a plastic sword.
Mokuba stood his ground against the Battle Ox, eventually getting the upperhand and defeating the creature. But before he could even catch his breath, Vorce Raider ran up and tried to strike him down.
Ducking, Mokuba managed to sweep his leg and the warrior came crashing down. A few quick strikes with his blade, and the creature was down for the count.
With all his opponents gone, Mokuba pointed his sword straight at the wizard, who didn't even flinch. "Now are you going to surrender, Pegasus?"
Pegasus laughed. "Do you really think I would surrender to you?"
"Well, it would be the smart choice," Mokuba retorted, "so I guess you wouldn't pick it."
"Your sword might be able to defeat my warriors, but I have a creature that no knight can defeat!" He raised his hands into the dark sky. "Behold! My dragon!"
Flying over the top of the castle, Mokuba had to take a couple steps back when he saw a mighty Curse of Dragon fly right towards him. But Mokuba showed no fear.
"Maybe I can't defeat it by myself," he said, "But I know someone who can help me?"
"Are you talking about Lord Seto?" Pegasus asked, amused, "Please, I've already taken care of him, there's no one coming to help you!"
"Guess again!"
Turning around, Mokuba grinned. Standing behind him was his brother, wearing armor resembling the skeleton of a dragon and a long, dark blue cape. Seto smiled at his sibling before glaring at the wizard.
"Did you really think your little traps could stop me, Pegasus?" Mokuba asked, attempting to make his voice sound like his brother's. Kaiba made a face, but at least the voice didn't sound as ridiculous as the one his brother gave the Pegasus character.
"I'll keep the dragon busy," Mokuba said, moving the Blade Knight's arm so that his sword was out, "You know what to do, Seto!" Leaving the knight in it's place, Mokuba then picked up the Lord of Dragons figure, switching back to 'Kaiba's' voice. "Right!" He then moved the spellcaster's arm, and made a sound that was supposed to be the Flute of Summoning Dragons.
Mokuba blocked a burst of flame from the Curse of Dragon. His blade protected him, but was badly damaged in the process. "My sword won't be able to take that much more damage!"
Pegasus smirked. "I knew you two couldn't defeat me! No matter what dragon you try to summon, it won't defeat mine! My magic powers can make it twice as strong, making it the most powerful creature here!"
"I don't think so," Lord Seto retorted, "It looks like it's time we give you a surprise of our own."
"What are you talking about, I don't see any-!" Suddenly, the ground start to shake, a loud roar could be heard from the distance. Pegasus' eyes widened. "It couldn't be!"
"It is," Mokuba said as he and his brother smiled, knowing victory would soon be theirs. Coming out from behind a tall mountain, it's form was unmistakable.
Mokuba took the toy out from behind his bed, and pressed the roar button again on the remote control. 'When did he get that?' Kaiba thought, although he had an idea. A plastic Photon Blast shot out of the middle head, making Mokuba drop the Curse of Dragon toy flat on its back.
"My dragon!" Pegasus cried out! "No! Grr, whatever, I can easily revive it."
"But who's going to revive you?" Mokuba asked. He held up his sword, not caring that it would no longer do a lot of damage. Seto would take care of that.
"Blue Eyes!" shouted Seto, "Focus your energy and blast my brother's blade!" The three-headed dragon obeyed its master, and hit its target directly. A bright light made the wizard look away, and when he looked back, he couldn't believe it!
Mokuba's blade looked better than brand new! It shone brightly with a bright blue glow around it, looking sharp and powerful. "Now I have the power of the Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon and my own strength, and you have no where to go!"
"This isn't the end of me!" Pegasus shouted, before throwing a small object. "Smoke bomb!" Mokuba shouted before covering his eyes.
Even with the thick smoke, Seto didn't want to lose this chance. "Quick! Attack!" he commanded. The Blue Eyes unleashed another Photon Blast, but this time, it missed completely.
"We're not letting him get away!" Mokuba shouted. With that, he put away his sword and ran towards their mighty beast. Seto was already sitting on its back. "He couldn't have gone far!" His older brother said as Mokuba quickly climbed up. Both brothers were more than ready to finish this fight.
Mokuba pressed the button that made the wings flap a couple times before continuing. "Alright! Let's go get-!" Suddenly, there was a small gurgling sound. Mokuba put a hand on his stomach. "I guess we can get him after dinner."
"Actually, I kinda wanted to see how it ended." Mokuba looked up as Kaiba opened his bedroom door, an amused smile on his face. The boy's face turned red.
"Um, how much did you hear?"
"Everything from the battle with the warriors to the cliffhanger," Kaiba answered nonchalantly as he walked inside and sat on Mokuba's bed, "By the way, you don't have to be embarrassed. It was a pretty entertaining story." Mokuba smiled.
Kaiba picked up the Lord of D. figure. "Although, I don't really see the resemblance."
Mokuba laughed. "Yeah, I guess I had to kinda use my imagination for that one, but it worked with the story. Besides," he picked up Blade Knight, "I don't think I would fit in this guy's armor until I got a little taller."
"You'll get there eventually," Kaiba told him, knowing how his brother felt about his height. Setting his action figure back on the floor, he instead picked up the Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon. "I take it this is what you wanted to show me earlier?"
"Yeah, I saw it at the mall, and it looked so cool I just had to get it," Mokuba said, "and it does a lot of cool things, though the aim's sometimes a bit off." He picked up the remote control, as well as a mini projectile. "Wanna give it a try?"
Kaiba shrugged his shoulders, and Mokuba took it as a yes, quickly standing up and setting the Dark Paladin figure on top of the homemade tower. Kaiba placed the projectile in the middle head's mouth, turned it slightly, took aim, and fired.
Soaring towards the castle, it hit the wizard in the head, knocking it down. Kaiba smirked. 'Bullseye,' he thought.
"Great shot!" Mokuba commented. Kaiba nodded, placing the dragon back where it was.
"So, any ideas on how to defeat the wizard?" he asked.
"A couple," Mokuba admitted, "plus we still have to rescue the queen." He stopped talking, but just by looking at him, Kaiba could tell what he was thinking.
"Well, I don't have anything else to do," Kaiba stated. The boy grinned, giving Kaiba a big hug.
The two opted for just getting a pizza rather than eating a full course meal in the dining room. Together, they sat in the middle of the bedroom, eating and playing while Kuma happily watched and occasionally interracting (Mokuba decided to make him a 'friendly yet lazy giant wild beast').
Like for Mokuba, Kaiba felt a bit awkward at first, only making his character speak in simple replies. But as the game continued, the two fell into the familiar roles of long ago. Mokuba crafted the adventure and led the way while Kaiba followed, eventually making his character less silent and stiff. Neither of them wanted to end the game, even when the heroes started to do more yawning than fighting, but eventually the toys were put away and Blue Eyes was set on top of the toy chest - though Kaiba promised to order a nice shelf for it to be placed on. In the end, both brothers would look back on that night with smiles and pleasant memories.
Mokuba still didn't play with the old action figures too much, and the times when he did were few and far between. But even so, when the action figures were dragged out and the three-headed dragon came down from its shelf, it was almost certain that at some point his older brother would join in for a little while if there wasn't too much work to do, and they would be off on another exciting adventure.
After all, everyone - no matter how old, or how rich - enjoys a little playtime now and then.
So, how was it?
Part of this is based on my own little brother and I. We both still have our old toys, and most of the time they just sit on the shelves. But every once in a while, we'll play with them, with me being like Kaiba and my brother being like Mokuba, making up the story while I just go along with it. It's actually a lot of fun, and it seemed like something these two would do. After all, they are still kids (well, kid might not be the best word for Kaiba, but he is still in high school).
Anyway, please review. Have a nice day!