The old grandfather clock in the hallway began to chime 8 times. This was a signal in the Kaiba household. Well, at least for Mokuba Kaiba it was. For at exactly 8PM he was to take his daily bath. Now, it wasn't like he was told to take a bath at that time. No, it just became a habit for the young Kaiba. Ever since he was 5 he was taking baths at 8PM, right before bed time. Thus, he continued to do so.
Raven locks swayed back and forth as Mokuba made his way down the hall, past the grandfather clock, and into the bathroom. As he got into the bathroom, he scanned the area, making sure he had everything he needed.
"Bath towel..." he muttered as he glanced at a hanger on the wall that had a baby blue bath towel hanging from it. "Check."
His gaze suddenly shifted to the bathtub which happened to already be filled with water. One of the maids must have prepared it for him.
Coming to the conclusion he had everything he needed, he began to strip down and go into the lukewarm water. A content filled sigh escaped the boy as he closed his eyes and relaxed in the liquid, allowing it to engulf most of his body.
A moment or so went by before the younger opened up his eyes. He knew just soaking in the water wasn't going to clean him, so he sat up, and glanced over to the soap holder.
The boy gasped at what he saw. Instead of soap, there was a bright yellow rubber duckie there.
"Wh-what..?" he shouted, as he grabbed the rubber toy.
He examined it for a second, it seemed familiar some how...
And that's when he remembered...
"Seto..." the youth spoke softly as he embraced the duck. "I remember this..."
~*Flashback*~
A younger Mokuba was standing outside his brother's office, holding two towels.
"Niisama! It's bath time!" he beamed as he looked towards his brother, who was tapping away at his computer.
Seto smiled only faintly as he stopped typing on the computer, and walked over to the young boy.
"Sorry, Kiddo." he said as he crouched down to Mokuba's level and ruffled the youth's hair. He knew Mokuba was going to be upset at what he was going to say, but he had to do this.
"You're going to have to take a bath without me tonight."
Mokuba's eyes widened as he quickly hugged his brother.
"Why, Niisama? We always take baths together..." he whined.
The brunet shook his head, sighing. "I'm busy tonight, and besides..." he lightly stroked the back of Mokuba's head. "We're both getting too old for this."
The raven-haired youth pulled away, as his eyes filled up with tears. "But, it's scary in there alone, Seto..."
"Hm..." Seto mused as he looked over to his computer desk. "Stay right here." he told his brother as he walked over to his desk. He opened up one of the drawers and pulled out a small object, then walked back to his brother.
"Put your hand out."
The younger did as he was told, and blinked a few times, a bit confused.
Seto smiled softly as he placed a rubber duckie in the boy's hand. "Here."
Mokuba seemed extremely fascinated with the duck, he quickly hugged it. "Cute..." he said in between a few giggles.
The brunet nodded. "See, now you have a new friend to play with in the bath. So, if you feel scared, just remember that Mr. Duck is there to protect you. And if he can't do it, Mr. Duck will call me."
The boy stared in amazement at Seto. "How can Mr. Duck call you?"
"Squeeze him."
Mokuba squeezed the duckie, and it squeaked. "That's how?"
"Yes, now go take your bath."
~*End Flashback*~
"I never had to squeeze this duckie ever. Because I always felt safe with it..." he thought out loud to himself.
"I really wonder if Seto would remember this, and come if I squeeze it..."
The boy squeezed the duck, and the duck in response squeaked.
A minute or so passed, and nothing happened. "I guess he doesn't remem-" the boy was cut off as a knocking was heard on the door.
"Are you okay, Mokuba?" a familiar voice asked.
The boy smiled softly at this.
"I'm fine, Seto."
End.