Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh
Chapter 7 Webs of Deceit
Mokuba was feeling very much like his old self the next morning. That last night was the first night since his and Seto's troubles began that he had a sound and healthy sleep. He felt a little flutter of excitement and anticipation in his chest as he got dressed. Today was a new day. Mokuba was sure that he would find out what all the mystery had been about as their mission appeared to be over. The doctor had told him that he was safe. Surely that had meant Seto was able to complete whatever it was they needed to do while he was sick. What else could Dr. Hutchinson been suggesting? A wave of relief washed over him at the thought of everything going back to normal and he and his big brother going home.
As Mokuba opened the door to his bedroom, it dawned on him that he had no idea where he was going. All he knew was that he wanted to find Seto and get of there. But which way should he go? How would he go about finding anyone for that matter? Mokuba looked one way down the hallway and then up the other way. Figuring it didn't matter too much he decided to go right. He eventually found himself at the top of a large staircase where he luckily met a female servant.
"Ah Mr. Mokuba," she greeted in pleasantly professional manner. "You are up. I was just sent to fetch you. Breakfast is in the dining room." Seeing his confused expression she added, "Don't worry. I'll take you there."
The dining room was empty save for a lone person sitting at the end of a long table completely enveloped in the day's newspaper. Seto's here! He must have gotten in late last night, thought Mokuba happily. He laughed inwardly at the familiar sight. How like his niisama to be reading during breakfast. Things were already getting back to normal.
"Good morning!" Mokuba sang cheerfully as he made his way to the end of the table. At the sound of his voice, the newspaper lowered - and his heart sank with it. He stopped in his tracks. The solitary figure turned out not to be his big brother but the woman he met the day before. Mokuba realized a little late he shouldn't have assumed it would have been his brother in the dining room; it wasn't their home after all. He had just built up the expectation in his mind that he would find Seto right away. An "oh" filled with disappointment escaped his lips followed by a rather subdued "excuse me."
"No need, silly," Madeline said readily. "Good morning to you too. I see you are feeling much better. Come sit down." She gestured to a seat next to her. Not wanting to offend his hostess, Mokuba obediently sat in the indicated chair. Madeline smiled at him then wordlessly continued on with her morning routine of reading the paper.
Mokuba fiddled with his silverware while she finished her article. The silence was making him feel little uncomfortable. She seemed nice enough, but she was still practically a stranger. Where is Seto? he wondered. At length, Madeline finally folded up her newspaper and took a sip of coffee.
"Ms. Ohhira," began Mokuba after a moment's hesitation. "Have you seen my brother?"
"No. No dear. Not today. Here, have some breakfast," she said genially as she passed him a dainty plate laden sliced fruit.
"Er. Thanks." He gently placed the plate in front of him. "Do you know when he will be coming here?"
"Hmmm?" Madeline didn't look up from the piece of toast she was buttering. Mokuba felt sure she was avoiding eye contact on purpose.
"My brother. Seto. When will he be here?"
"He's not dear. Eat up. Eat up. I'm sure you are hungry." Madeline held out the toast to him. Mokuba couldn't help but frown at this response. Her indifference was unsettling.
"No thanks. I'm really not," he answered as politely as he could as he waved away the proffered toast. Mokuba was getting frustrated and worried. " Wha..What do you mean he's not coming? Where is he?" Madeline didn't seem to notice his agitation.
"There are sweet rolls in the basket over there, if you prefer." That last statement was enough for Mokuba.
"I'm not hungry!" he exclaimed more forcefully than he intended. "Where is Seto? Why won't you tell me? Is something wrong?" All of his questions came flooding out at once. Madeline's initial expression of surprise dissolved into one that was troubled and sad. She turned her face away from the boy. "There is." His voice came out as a hoarsewhisper. "There is something wrong!" His eyes widened in fright. Mokuba's worry was quickly turning into an all out panic. It was a long minute before his hostess responded.
"Let's go for a walk, Mokuba," Madeline suggested in a soft voice. Mokuba, however, was struggling to find the will to move out of apprehension for what he was about to hear. He felt as though his own legs dangling from the edge of the chair had been transformed into two lifelessly hanging lead weights. Consumed in his own thoughts, all he could manage was to watch with detached interest as his hostess rose from her chair and placed her napkin on the table. Madeline noticed he wasn't moving and held a hand out to him. "Come on," she gently urged. At her insistence, Mokuba fumbled to his feet and allowed her to lead him out of the French doors of the dining room into a sunny courtyard garden. As beautiful as it was, Mokuba couldn't regain his previous light spirits.
"Has something…happened to Seto?" he asked cautiously as they began walking through the garden.
"He is as fine as he can be." Again it seemed as though she couldn't look at him. Her eyes remained fixed on the path before them.
"I don't understand," responded Mokuba. " What does that mean?" His voice was pleading. Madeline turned to face him and put a hand on his shoulder.
"Oh, Mokuba. This is very difficult. I'm not sure how to broach this subject with you. Forgive me if I blunder a little." Here she paused as if she was trying to formulate what to say next though it was really more for dramatic effect. Madeline soon broke the tense silence by speaking again. "Mokuba, have you noticed anything different about Seto lately?" she asked. "Has he been acting strangely? Perhaps a little paranoid?"
Mokuba didn't respond. Seto had always been an extremely guarded person. He trusted very few people and kept his affairs to himself. Mokuba didn't think that that could be construed as paranoid. But he has been very secretive lately…
"I'll take your silence as a yes." Madeline continued before Mokuba could object. "Erm. Do you know why you were at that middle-of-nowhere airport where I found you?"
"You found me?" That doesn't seem right…but I'm not sure.
"Answer my question first then I will answer yours. Believe it or not, they actually tie together." Mokuba gave her a curious look.
"We had mechanical problems," he began with a shrug. "There was a bad storm too so…." Madeline cut him off with a wave of her hand.
"No, no. I mean, were you and your brother taking a vacation?"
"Seto said we had to leave. We had to do something about someone taking over our company."
"Ah." Madeline's tone suggested that she didn't believe his explanation and was humoring him.
"Its true!" protested Mokuba.
"Do you know who it was? Was it Industrial Illusions perhaps?" He slowly shook his head before responding.
"I…I don't know. I don't think so." Madeline looked a little shocked.
"You mean your brother didn't tell you?"
"No. He said he didn't want to tell me. You know, to protect me." That explanation had been good enough for him, therefore it should be good enough for her according to Mokuba's reasoning.
"That's interesting. Mokuba, I run my own large corporation so I do know a thing or two about matters like takeovers. You are the vice president of Kaiba Corp are you not?" Mokuba nodded. "As such you should have been actively involved in the decision making regarding the takeover. You should have known whom you were dealing with at the very least. Do you follow me?"
"Seto had his reasons." There was an agitated edge to Mokuba's voice.
"I'm sure he did; however, as a CEO I can't help but question what those reasons may have been. To be frank, I can't find the logic in leaving KC at a time when the company most needed its president. It is an unusual strategy to be sure. By the look on your face, I can tell you feel the same way."
"No!" Mokuba was getting defensive. There was no way he was going to admit that those thoughts had crossed his mind in the beginning. Besides, she had no right to question his brother's motives!
"You didn't find it a little unusual?" Mokuba paused ever so slightly.
"But Seto has always known what he was doing!" he shot back. There was not a doubt in his mind that business strategy was one thing that Seto was even better at than gaming strategy.
Madeline decided to change the subject. She was sure if she pressed the issue any further she would start an argument. "Well, you answered my question. It is now time for me to hold up my end of the bargain. You wanted to know how I found you." Mokuba nodded.
"I thought that Seto brought me here."
"Not quite dear. As luck might have it, I was on my way home and needed fuel for my plane. The nearest airport, for me, was the one where you and your brother were. When I arrived, it was very quiet there – seemingly deserted. I looked around the airport and didn't see anyone until I came to your room. There I found you sound asleep. It seemed odd that you were all alone so I tried to wake you up, but I couldn't rouse you. That scared me. Then I saw the bottle. It was for a sleeping drug, and it was nearly empty. No one else was around to help or ask what had happened. You looked to be in terrible shape, and I knew I had to get you to medical treatment. As my pilot and I were bringing you to my airplane, your brother appeared out of nowhere. He was stumbling and yelling like a maniac. I had to get you away! I had to protect you. Mokuba, I don't understand why, but I believe your brother drugged you."
Mokuba's face was slowing turning from a light shade of pink to a deep red as Madeline recounted her story. Finally, he exploded. "That's crazy! I don't believe it!" He pulled away from her.
"I really hope it is crazy, Mokuba. I hope I am wrong. If you remember anything, tell me now," implored Madeline. Try as he might, he couldn't recall much of anything that happened at the airport. Everything that happenedthere seemed like a hazy blur.
"I…I don't. I can't remember. Still, it can't be true!"
Madeline reached out to the boy, but he hung back. "Mokuba," she began. "The truth is, your brother is not in the right place to be able to take care of you; however, I can. I want to take you in and look after you, if you'll let me."
"You're wrong. He's my brother. He has always taken care of me." Mokuba was trying to fight the feelings of desperation and confusion that were threatening to overwhelm him. "Seto will try to find me. You'll see. He'll come for me soon, and when he does, everything will get straightened out."
"Sweetie, he knows I have you," Madeline's voice cracked with emotion. "I'm one of KC's stockholders; I shouldn't be hard to find. But…he hasn't tried to contact me or you since I brought you here."
Mokuba's face twisted up in anguish as he looked at the woman before him. Tears stung his eyes. "No," he whispered.
"Oh, Mokuba," said Madeline sympathetically. Again, she tried to reach out to him – to give him a comforting hug. He recoiled from her touch and shook his head.
"No." he repeated with more conviction. "Leave me alone!" and with those words he turned and fled back into the mansion.
"Wait! Mokuba, come back!" called out Mrs. Ohhira, but he didn't turn back. She didn't bother to run after him either.
Instead, Madeline smiled deviously as she admired the blossoms on a nearby rose bush. She was confident that with a little cultivation on her part, the seeds of doubt newly planted in the young Kaiba's mind would soon take root. Madeline picked one of the roses, and humming casually, made her way back into the dining room to finish her breakfast.
Right on schedule, Dr. Hutchinson arrived at the Ohhira household later that afternoon. The doctor found Madeline in her office massaging her temples. On her desk was an open bottle of aspirin.
"I'm guessing you told him, and he didn't take it well." Madeline lifted her head and gave him a plaintive look.
"That would be a bit of an understatement," she replied wryly. "I'm not sure if I know what I am doing."
"Don't worry," said Dr. Hutchinson consolingly. "Things will be rough in the beginning. You have to realize how difficult it is for the boy to process all that information. His whole world, everything that he believes in, has been turned upside down."
"How do I get him to trust me?"
"Give him space. Give him time. And let me speak with him. I will go check on him now." Madeline offered him a grateful smile.
"Thank you."
Dr. Hutchinson knocked on Mokuba's door. Somewhere from inside the room came a muffled shout.
"Go away!"
"Mokuba? This is Dr. Hutchinson. I'm here to give you your check-up." He heard some shuffling noises and then a dull click telling him the door had been unlocked. When he opened the door, he found his young patient sitting on the bed and looking a little disheveled.
"I heard you had a difficult morning." Mokuba gave him an annoyed look, but didn't say anything. His eyes were rimmed with red. "How are you feeling otherwise? Did you sleep well?" There was a silent nod in reply.
"It can't be true can it?" Mokuba asked quietly as the doctor checked his blood pressure.
"What can't be true?"
"Seto couldn't have drugged me. Why would he? He wouldn't do something like that; I know it." The doctor looked grave and sat on the edge of the bed.
"Unfortunately, those are questions I cannot answer. I can only speculate. What I do know is that there were no other people at the airport than the two of you, and that you had been given far too much of a sleeping drug."
"But I don't believe Seto would ever try to hurt me."
"I don't believe that either. He is your brother, and I am sure he loves you. I don't think that to hurt you was ever his intention, but that doesn't override the effect of his actions." Dr. Hutchinson paused as he put away his notepad. " Mokuba, has you brother put you in tough or dangerous situations before?" The boy looked torn, but remained tight-lipped. " It is all right," encouraged the doctor, "You can tell me."
"Never…never on purpose!" stammered Mokuba. His mind wandered back to the time when he thought Seto believed him to be a traitor and tossed him out only to find out it had been part of a larger plan to take over Kaiba Corp from Gozaburo. "And even if things got bad," Mokuba added, "he has always done what he thought was best for us."
"And did things get better?"
Did things get better? Mokuba often wondered that. It was an all too frequent wish of his that Seto had never beaten Gozaburo at chess forcing him to adopt them. But they were able to get out of the orphanage. Did taking over Kaiba Corp really make things better? Relatively, yes. They were rid of their cruel stepfather, but Seto worked very long hours and wasn't always the brother Mokuba wished him to be. "I suppose so," he finally answered.
"One thing that you should know, Mokuba," said the doctor, " is that sometimes our best intentions are not good enough. Even though he loves you, it doesn't seem like he is the best person to take care of you." Mokuba shook his head violently in silent protest. "But that is for the court to decide. Mrs. Ohhira is a good person and she is more than able to take care of you until your brother can figure some things out. Now get some rest. Everything will turn out just fine."
After he left, Mokuba buried his face in his pillow unable to bear all the troubling news he received. "It cant' be true," he muttered softly. "It just can't be."
