Title: Super Rich Kids
Pairings: Current Trustshipping (Seto/Ishizu), Eventual Puppyshipping (Seto/Joey), Revolutionshipping (Atem/Téa), others will be determined as I write
Rating: T
Words (Chapter 10): 1,417
Author's Notes: (POTENTIAL TRIGGER WARNINGS: This chapter mentions car accidents and a character in critical condition in a coma. I know that could make some people uncomfortable and trigger others, so I figured I'd give you all a warning.) So, I knew this was going to be a flashback I wanted (and let's be honest, needed) to write eventually, but I wasn't sure where I was going to put it. However, AO3 user Acts_of_Tekla (hi!) asked about it in the last chapter after I told you guys to tell me what you'd like to see, so I moved it up to here! I'll talk more in the end notes, but for now, I hope you all enjoy seeing this: Mokuba and Seto's introduction to the Kaiba family!
"I said, don't ask questions," Gozaburo hissed through his teeth. The dark haired five-year-old by his side whimpered and clung onto the hand of his older brother, who was studying the interaction between his new parents.
Minori had her eyebrows raised. She'd just shot off a good amount of questions – who are they, why are they here, what do you mean you adopted them, why did you adopt them, Gozaburo answer my damn questions!
But Gozaburo kept silent, growing aggravated. It wasn't as though he could just tell his wife that the little brat had challenged him to a chess game and won. He was supposed to be the best, and the best does not lose and have to pay the price of adopting two orphans.
She sighed, shaking her head. She knew better than to push her husband. His temper with her was very rarely controlled, and she didn't need to frighten these two boys more than they already probably were. She knelt slightly, to be at eye level with the elder boy.
"Hi there, I'm Gozaburo's wife, Minori. I guess I'm going to be your mom now, but it's okay if you're not comfortable calling me that yet –"
"They will refer to us as Mother and Father. I will not be taking these kids into our home and letting them disrespect us," Gozaburo barked.
Minori bit back a sigh. "What are your names?"
"I'm Seto, and this is Mokuba," the elder answered. Mokuba had begun easing up on his grip of his hand, looking up at Minori, who smiled softly.
"It's very nice to meet you two. Would you like to come inside? I'll show you to your rooms and you can meet our other children, your new brother and sister."
Seto looked at Mokuba, who looked confused. His little brother hadn't known much about the man Seto had gotten to adopt them. Seto himself knew that he'd had kids, but knew nothing about them. Noticing his brother wasn't speaking or moving, Seto looked back at Minori and nodded.
She held out her hand to him and with the one not held by Mokuba, Seto took it. Gozaburo huffed, not bothering to wait for them as he started walking ahead of them towards the towering doors of the mansion.
They had a lot to get used to.
"Naomi. Get in here!" Gozaburo called as soon as the door opened, his voice booming. Not even a half a minute later, a little girl came running into the foyer from the room adjacent, followed by a tired looking nanny.
Seto took in the girl before him. She was younger than him, he could tell, but not as young as his brother. Her deep blue hair matched her mother's and her curious blue eyes watched the two strangers. She didn't speak at all, glancing up at her parents as if for permission.
"Naomi, I'd like you to meet Seto and Mokuba," Minori started gently. "They're going to be living here now."
"Like Jackie?" the little girl asked, looking up at their nanny, a woman in her sixties at least.
"No, not like Jackie," she answered. "Seto's going to be your big brother now, and Mokuba's your new little brother."
Naomi looked at the two newcomers for a minute, taking in her mother's words. When they finally settled, her eyes went wide and her lip quivered. Before anyone else could react, she ran off sobbing.
Gozaburo grunted. "I don't have time for this. Go straighten out your little brat before I have to do it myself." He walked off in the opposite direction.
Seto looked up at his new stepmother, who had her bottom lip between her teeth, playing with it nervously. She swallowed and looked at them. "Um, you could follow me, I guess." Her voice was lower, softer than before, and her anxiety seemed to radiate with her words.
She began climbing the stairs and the two followed, until she realized where her daughter had run. "On second thought, it's probably best if you wait out here." They nodded, watching her enter the room to their right.
Minori sighed gently as she took in the sight of her daughter, kneeling with her face buried into the bed and sobbing. Her hand was grasping that of her brother, the unconscious little boy hooked up to an IV and monitors. She'd told her husband that Noah staying in the house in this condition would be hard on their daughter, but he'd shrugged her off.
"Mimi," she started softly. "I think we need to talk. Why'd you run out of there?"
The little girl looked up, tears tracked down her face. "I don't want new brothers! I want Noah to get better! Don't replace him!"
Minori sighed to herself. She hadn't thought that would be where Naomi's mind went. She should have taken more consideration into her wording, given the state of Noah right now, but that would have been a lot easier if she hadn't been ambushed by this rash decision as well.
"Naomi, we're not replacing Noah."
"But you said I had new brothers. I don't want new brothers! I want the old one back!"
She thought for a minute before nodding. "Come outside with me for a minute and I can explain. To both you and the boys. Okay?"
Naomi looked like she was about to argue but nodded instead. She gave Noah's hand a kiss before letting go, wiping her eyes as she walked around the bed to her mom. Minori knelt down, wiping the remnants of her tears from her face before giving her a kiss on the forehead. She took her daughter's hand and led her outside.
Neither had noticed Seto peeking his head in to watch the scene, scrambling away when they were heading back out.
"What did you see, Seto?" Mokuba asked, but he just shushed his little brother before the two females came out.
"Okay, I think we need to try this again. Boys, this is my daughter, Naomi. She's one of my two children who already live here. In this room, which you are not allowed to enter without permission from me or your father, is our son, Noah. Right now, Noah's not feeling good, and she was wrongly under the impression that bringing you two in meant we were getting rid of Noah – which we are not."
Seto could tell that Noah was a lot more than not feeling good, but since they weren't allowed in the room, he figured his stepmother was trying not to scare them by letting them know how bad it was.
"Now, Naomi. Seto and Mokuba are your brothers now, just like Noah is, okay?"
"But we're sending them back when Noah's better, right?"
"What? No, no we're not."
Naomi looked at them. "Then just him?" she asked, motioning to Mokuba.
"Naomi. You're not getting this. We're not sending anyone away, all four of you are going to be siblings and live here together." Minori was a patient woman, but her eight-year-old was certainly trying her.
"But that's too many boys! I don't need two little brothers," she huffed. "Can we make him into a sister instead?"
"Hey!" Mokuba finally spoke up, as Seto was about to step in to defend his little brother, but Minori spoke over them.
"Enough. No. You'll grow to love your new brothers just as they are. No more talk of sending anyone back, okay?"
Naomi pouted. "Okay."
"Good. Now, let me show you boys to your rooms and then you can play with Naomi."
"No." A stern voice spoke from behind them. They turned to look up at the patriarch of the house, towering over all of them. "Seto must begin lessons immediately to catch up to where he should be. He's the oldest now, and that means responsibility. Show them to their rooms and then send him to the library. Mokuba can keep Naomi entertained."
He walked away and Minori sighed. "Well, you all heard your father. We have the plan." She began to walk away, showing the two newcomers their rooms before turning to Naomi. "I'm going to show Seto to the library so he doesn't get lost. Be nice to Mokuba. I'll have Jackie come watch you to make sure."
Naomi nodded, watching her mom walk away. She then grabbed Mokuba's arm, pulling him towards her room down the hall. "Come on! We can play dress up! You'll be my new doll!"
"Wait, what?"
Author's Notes: I really wanted to make references to Noah's accident in this fic and I think this is a good establishment. Thank you for reading! Please be sure to let me know what you think. It gives me a happy little pitter patter in my chest. Again, any questions you guys have about the canon in this fic, feel free to ask and either I'll reply or establish it within a flashback. I'm going to try and relate the flashbacks to the current day chapters, if that makes sense. In the meantime, the next chapter will be up by July 17!