Chapter 6

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Seto shuffled his cards in front of him. Just when life was beginning to normalize for him, his world was thrown out of whack again. No. She tried to throw it out of whack. He would never let that happen. He finished shuffling and put them away, turning to look over the city. What could he possibly do to outdo all other tournaments? There have been cruise tournaments, island tournaments, mountains... picnics... The sky. That's what he would do. He would take it to the sky. With the new god card, he couldn't lose.

That night he ordered his maids to hold off on dinner until he got home. Usually Mokuba and Mina would eat without him, but tonight he had a few things he needed to go over. Once back home he could smell the meal waiting for him and hurriedly put his things away before moving to the dining room.

Now inside, he paused. Mokuba and Mina were already seated, the food untouched.

"We heard you step in." Mokuba explained and Seto moved to his spot next to him. Mokuba liked to sit at the head of the table, between 'his two favorite people' and Kaiba didn't care to correct him. "So, what's this about?" Mokuba asked, picking up his fork for the first time and poking at his salad.

"I've decided to throw a tournament." Mokuba brightened up and Mina glanced down at her plate. She had played duel monsters when she was little, the game created by her uncle, but no longer held love for it. The boys on the other hand, loved it. It was like Seto and Mokuba thrived on it. Mokuba would be thrilled to play with his brother and Seto... It looked like he was... his age. A normal eighteen year old just playing games. He was still arrogant, but it was normal to talk smack when competing, wasn't it? She didn't remember.

"Cool! What's the hitch?" Mokuba was always fast to pick up on how he worked.

"Not only are we going to be sporting the new duel disks, the first section will happen all over Domino, as the Battle City tournament starts. I've already met with the city officials. We have a go."

"Oohh, Urban, not many tournaments like that!" Mokuba said, though it sounded like most of his excitement was forced. No matter, he would love the next part.

"Then the finalists take to the skies. We battle atop a blimp as we travel to where the final duel takes place, atop Battle Tower. The old manufacturing plant." Mokuba's eyes widened. Now it was genuine excitement. Seto smirked, stabbing some lettuce and bringing it to his mouth. He paused, about to take a bite as he looked over Mina. She was glancing down at Mokuba, amused by his excitement, but she seemed almost sad. "You will be joining us right?"

Mina looked to him, caught a little off guard with his request. She glanced back to Mokuba who smirked up at her and waited for her reply.

"Well... I don't really duel." She said shyly. Seto waved the fork full of lettuce dismissively.

"That doesn't matter. You can watch and enjoy the time up there. I only offer because I don't feel right leaving you here alone for the few days the finals would take." She thought about it again, agreeing with him. She was more comfortable in the mansion on her own now, but she hadn't been left there alone for more than a few hours. She wasn't ready to leave Mokuba's side.

"Yes... you're right. Thank you." She nodded her head politely, then looked back at him to catch the last moments of a smirk as he finally bit off the lettuce his fork barely maintained. They chatted briefly over dinner and afterwards Kaiba had some business work he had to do in his private office and Mokuba grabbed her hand and dragged her to his bedroom, closing the door behind him.

"Mina..." He started, shifting as he approached her, she had sat on the edge of his bed, as she usually did when they hung out in his room.

"What's the matter Mokuba?" She asked with concern. He glanced up at her before his eyes returned to his feet.

"Will... Will you go out with Seto?" The color in her face drained as the thought of being with someone entered her mind. She knew Seto was not like Max. That he wouldn't hurt her... but still, the thought of being intimate with anyone...

"Mokuba, I don't think I'm ready for that sort of thing."

"Please!" The boy finally met her eyes and moved before her, dropping to his knees dramatically. "He wont hurt you, I know he wont, and you... you wouldn't hurt him. You'd be great together. Seto's so boring and miserable all the time. You're fun and exciting and you could make him happy. You already do! He smiled at you. I saw it. It was a real smile. You make him happy. I always want him to be happy. Always. Please."

"Mokuba, I cant." Her fingers trembled as she clenched the fabric of the pants she wore. "I don't... I know I cant. Not yet. I'm just not ready for that. Please Mokuba." She ushered her own request and the boy looked away sadly.

"Fine... but if he does ask, which he probably wont do for a while, please... don't hurt him. Say yes. He'll be the best for you. He'll do anything for you. Anything and everything. Don't let him go. He needs you." the boy fixed her with a pleading stare before stepping out of his room.

Needs her? How could a man that has everything need her? She sat perplexed through the rest of the night, trying to figure out what made her so special.

A knock on his door brought his eyes off his computer screen for the first time in hours. He grunted, granting whoever it was approval to enter and his little brother slipped in, cautiously closing the door behind him. He glanced at the clock then gave the boy a disapproving look.

"It's eleven thirty. You should be in bed."

"You really like her don't you?" Seto paused. Mokuba skipped right over his question and fatherly tone and went straight into his issue. Mina.

"What? Mokub-"

"No, I know it. You really like her. Do something about it." Mokuba was acting oddly. He didn't have the same glimmer in his eye that he usually did. He was serious.

"Did she put you up to this?" Seto didn't have accusation in his voice. He just seemed tired, as he should be after all the hours he spent working that day.

"N-no." Mokuba responded.

"Then no." Mokuba looked at him in shock. Was he saying that if she put him up to it, he would have said yes? " Mokuba, she's not ready for that kind of thing yet." He was. He was saying he...

"Then you do like her!" Seto's eyes narrowed. "Why not just go out already?"

"Because she cant deal with that right now. I'm not going to pressure her into anything she cant handle. I'm not even going to make her think about that sort of thing until she can handle it better."

"Just thinking about it is..." Mokuba shifted again, feeling he had made a terrible mistake. His brother nodded, making him feel worse. "Why?" Seto sighed.

"Because, Mokuba, when someone goes through something so... invasive, it's difficult to even think about opening up to someone. It hurts. I'm not going to do that to her." Mokuba remained quiet for another fifteen minutes while his brother began to type again. When he closed the lid to his laptop and rose from the desk, a thought popped back into Mokuba's mind.

"So... you really like her huh?" Seto paused, glaring down at his nosy brother. "You care about her. I know you the best. You love her. Well, maybe not love, but the way you look at her-"

"Yes." Seto glanced away and felt his brother's gaze lingering on him. "I do."

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See? Kaiba can be considerate. at least in this fic. Something tells me he's had a lot of time just thinking about it. It just strikes me as something Kaiba would do. Gather as much information and perspective before making a decision and take every point into account before making a move. Of course, it also could be the fact that I'm the author and I planned this... but we'll go with the first one.

Read, Review, Enjoy~Love Ya!