o-O-o
Chapter 10: Five Cents
o-O-o
December 1, 2007
KaibaCorp, 08:55
"Seto, as KaibaCorp's board of directors, we're curious why you called us here..." Johnson spoke up.
Yes... The day finally arrived. Seto had called the Big Five to meet. He had a final plan, and nothing would stop him from what he was going to do. KaibaCorp would finally be his.
"Let me get straight to the point." Seto had no time to waste on idiots. "You're all very talented men yet my father treats you like dirt. That's why I've come to you today with a proposition you be a fool to refuse."
The Big Five eyed him warily, all the while Seto smirked. "Sign on to my plan, and we'll rule the KaibaCorp corporation as a team."
"What exactly is your plan?" Nezbitt asked him.
"All you need to do is keep buying pieces of KaibaCorp. I can take care of the rest."
He had his plan finalized. He'd buy out pieces of KaibaCorp and keep gaining pieces until he reached 49%. At that point, Mokuba was needed. Seto would leak information to Gozaburo, but blame it on Mokuba. Unfortunately, he'd have to let Mokuba run to Gozaburo's side, letting Gozaburo think he's winning, while in reality, Mokuba would stay on his side and give him the two percent he needed in the end to reach 51%.
That was the one thing Seto was scared of though. He didn't want to use Mokuba for this plan, especially if that meant betraying his trust in the process. But... He's the one he's doing this for. Not for the Big Five and not for himself. Everything he's done in the last 6 years has been for Mokuba.
"Do we have a deal?" Seto asked.
The Big Five eyed each other before Crump nodded. "You have a deal, Seto. Don't let us down."
He nodded and waved his hand for them for to leave.
Ahh... Everything was falling right into place. The tables were turning. Seto was the king on the chessboard while Gozaburo was one of his pawns.
It was perfect.
o-O-o
December 3, 2007
Kaiba Mansion, 15:09
Just like that, KaibaCorp was becoming his. Piece by piece the Big Five and him were buying out KaibaCorp. Heck, just in the two days they've been working the Big Five and him had already managed to obtain 9%. It seemed so little, but thinking about the fact that this was KaibaCorp, eased his worries a little. He had all month to finalize his plan...
He turned the last of the nine cards upwards. Seto had set down 100 Duel Monsters cards neatly in his office, and everytime a piece of the company was bought by them, he'd flip a card over.
Seto was well aware of the body beside him, peering curiously at the cards and his brother. "Seto, what are you going to do if you get 51 percent of KaibaCorp?"
Seto answered Mokuba straight away. "Not if, when I obtain 51 percent I'll switch this company over for the better."
Mokuba blinked, obviously confused. "How are you going to do that?
Seto thought about it. "I want to open a chain of theme parks, for the unprivileged kids like we had been."
Mokuba smiled as he remembered. "Like the one we made in that sandbox back at the park at the orphanage. What did you call it? KaibaLand?"
"Yes," Seto said still concentrating on the cards in front of him. "I also made a promise years ago that needs to be fulfilled."
"What promise is that, Seto?"
"I had promised to you and myself that one day, I'd have all three Blue Eyes-White Dragon's in my deck. That I will have the most powerful deck in the world."
Mokuba giggled, "That's great Seto!"
"Thanks, Mokuba." Seto appreciated how highly his brother thought of him. "Mokuba, could you please exit the room for a little bit? I need to speak with Roland privately."
Mokuba looked suddenly down but nodded nonetheless. "Of course, Seto. I'll get him for you."
Seto was alone with his thoughts for a few minutes after that, before Roland came in. "Mokuba said that you would like to see me privately, sir?" Roland asked bowing slightly in his presence.
Seto nodded, finally looking up from the cards that lay on the carpeted floor. "Yes, I did. I gather you have no idea about what I am planning, right?"
"No, sir." Roland replied, and if Seto wasn't seeing things, Roland almost seemed... excited.
"Okay, then let me go over the basics of it. The Big Five and I are taking over KaibaCorp by obtaining pieces of the company. Our goal, 49%."
"Sir, forgive me for asking but isn't that less than half of the company? Gozbauro would still have more."
"That's where you come in." Seto smiled wickedly. "I need you, Gozaburo's most trusted bodygaurd, to leak my plan to him, slowly though." Roland looked confused, so he continued to explain. "We both know well enough that Gozaburo loves winning, correct?"
Roland nodded and responded with full sincerity. "Of course, sir."
"Then the trick is to let him think he's winning. Gozaburo puts his guard down and tends to underestimate his opponent if he gets too cocky. That's where he would fail. By leaking the plan to him, he'll think he's having an advantage over me by knowing my strategy."
Roland pursed his lips, looking still in mid-thought. "I still see a fault in that, sir. Gozaburo knows I'm working with you right now. He'd know that if I came to him with information that it could be a trap."
"That's why I'll blame it on Mokuba." Roland gasped and looked shocked, and Seto continued, a slight bit more hesitant, "Mokuba trusts me, a lot. By blaming him on it, he'll run to Gozaburo for comfort. That will be showing Gozaburo that I look like I don't know who's spilling the information and will think that you're betraying me and not him. In the end, Gozaburo will get over confident and think that with the 49% that he'll also obtain as well as us, he thinks that with Mokuba owning two percent of KaibaCorp, my brother will hand it over to him, making him own 51%, while in reality, my brother will give it to me. But he'll never know a thing."
Roland bit his lip still looking mildly stunned. "Sir, this is a brilliant plan, but... are you sure you're willing to hurt your brother like that. He might not forgive you after..."
Seto's eyes softened with a bit of hesitation and regret. "I... am aware of that... But I hope in the end he knows I'm doing this not for me, but for him. I'll definitely apologize after because he's my brother and I care about him... I just really hope he can forgive me..."
Roland almost smiled at the gentleness in Seto's voice. "Sir, what exactly are you planning on doing to him?"
Seto looked back down at the cards with an intense stare. "I'm not sure yet."
"Alright," Roland agreed to the plan and nodded his hand. "I'm in. What is my first job?"
"Nothing right now, Roland. Thank you for helping." Seto really did appreciate the help of Roland. Without him he wouldn't have anybody trustworthy enough to do Roland's job.
Roland bowed and left the room.
o-O-o
December 6, 2007
Kaiba Mansion, 11:49
14% more of KaibaCorp was in his hands now, and Seto couldn't be happier. Everything was falling into place perfectly as if he were playing a really good game of Tetris. The Big Five were clueless as usual, Roland was doing an excellent job in betraying Gozaburo, and Mokuba was playing along just like he wanted... which wasn't necessarily a good thing.
Mokuba was a large part of his plan but he couldn't help but feel reluctant to send his brother into the chaos and misery of being betrayed by the one person he trusted throughout the orphanage and the Kaiba household in the last 6 years. He now knew what exactly he was going to do to make his brother run to Gozaburo, but it didn't make doing it any easier.
Mokuba was his brother, the only person he trusted and cared for in the entire world. Seto was going to have a hard time doing this, but in the end, he hoped his brother knew this was for his benefit, not Seto's.
Seto to was doing everything right now for Mokuba, and god forbid it doesn't work then Seto knows he and Mokuba will be sent to the orphanage, once again to live the sadness and loneliness over. He couldn't let that happen to Mokuba; the young boy's suffered enough for a lifetime.
Seto finished flipping the 23rd card lying on the ground. He noted bitterly that he still didn't have any of the Blue Eyes-White Dragons.
With all that's been going on with Gozaburo and taking control of KaibaCorp, there was no time for searching. He still had no leads on where they could be anyways. He figured at least one was with Pegasus, the creator of Duel Monsters. He needed a minimum of three, because that's the amount of copies he could have in his deck. But obtaining the fourth would also be necessary so that no other Duelist could challenge him with it.
He was aiming for a power deck, filled with some of the strongest monsters and strategized combos of magic and trap cards. His deck would be the most powerful in the world and absolutely no one would be able to beat him at Duel Monsters. He already has some important cards like Monster Reborn, Lord of Dragons, Kaiser Sea Horse, Kaiser Glider, Flute of Summoning Dragon
Someone knocked on the door and Seto called aloud, "Enter."
Roland stepped into the room and bowed. "Hello, sir. I have done what you asked of me."
"And the result?" Seto asked him.
"Gozaburo looks to be genuinely non-concerned and seems to have no knowledge of our plan." Roland smiled slyly. "I believe that we are gaining the upper hand, sir."
Seto looked up at Roland who stood with defiance and happiness.
A lot of people were happy once word got around that Seto was taking over KaibaCorp. Gozaburo was cruel to all his employees and staff at the mansion, and nearly everyone was rooting for Seto and hoping for a kinder employer. Sure, Seto was sarcastic and rude, but when it came to rudeness and arrogance, Gozaburo took a big lead.
Seto nodded to Roland who quickly bowed and left the room in silence. The task Seto had got him to do was tell Gozaburo privately that Seto was buying KaibaCorp.
That's it so far.
He couldn't give Roland a much harder task than that right now, because then Gozaburo would know too much. He cannot, by any means, let Gozaburo know his strategy. Then the whole plan would be ruined.
o-O-o
December 16, 2007
Kaiba Mansion, 12:47
Seto had gained 23% more, although it had been a slower process than Seto would've liked. Roland kept spouting off info to Gozaburo, who from what Seto has observed and heard was not suspecting anything out of the ordinary. The only thing Gozaburo was thinking right now was that he had the upper hand.
Gozaburo was getting sloppy with his work and screwing up too many times for it to be normal. Seto, The Big Five, and Roland all noticed how cocky Gozbauro was getting and all the while he never suspected a thing. Seto's plan was working to perfection.
Now came the hardest part. Mokuba was needed right now so by the time he gained 49%, Gozaburo would have let his full guard down. He was now going to betray Mokuba's trust towards him, hopefully just enough that it will make the ebony haired boy run to Gozaburo for comfort.
Seto took a deep breath and walked up to Mokuba, who was crouching and innocently humming a tune while sorting through the Duel Monsters cards that were set out to represent pieces of the company that Seto bought out from under Gozaburo's nose.
"How could you betray me?" Seto pushed an unsuspecting Mokuba into the wall.
"Seto?!" Mokuba was horribly terrorized. What? Why was Seto doing this? No matter how much stress or sadness was forcefully pushed on to his brothers shoulders, he always kept a restraint on his emotions, never letting them run wild like this. His brother's face reminded him of the devil himself right at the moment.
"Tell me?! How could you rat me out like that?!" Seto demanded while getting up close to his little brother's face. Mokuba looked desperately at the Big Five who were watching close by, but each one was ethier laughing or glaring at him. Mokuba turned back to Seto, hoping he'd wake up from this nightmare.
"I didn't tell Gozaburo, Seto! I swear!" Mokuba held his hands up and watched in terror as his brother advanced upon him.
"You liar!" Seto spat and pushed him harshly to the ground. "Get out of my sight!"
Mokuba sobbed and ran away stumbling as he went. He retreated to his room and hid himself under the safety and warmth of his bed sheets and comforter. Why... did Seto do that? Mokuba would never tell a single thing to Gozaburo, ever. He hated Gozbauro as much as Seto did.
No... Seto couldn't have meant to do what he did. His brother would never hurt him like that. They were a team, one that worked in perfect harmony. Nothing could separate them, not the orphanage, not Gozaburo, and definitely not this! Mokuba knew there had to be some excuse for Seto's behaviour...
...right?
Mokuba was beyond sad. His mind wasn't functioning properly. Why would Seto do this? He cried even harder while he shook in fear and sadness violently.
Seto hit him, and pushed him, and... Oh god... He couldn't even think about it. Seto... He had to have an reason! He needed to find Seto.
Mokuba quickly ran from his room and down the hallways. He climbed up the stairs to the third floor where Seto's office was, but before he could get there, he ran flat into someone.
Tears bilnded his his eyes and he furiously wiped his eyes to rid himself of the tears and see exactly who he ran into.
"I'm sorry... I didn't see you there..." Mokuba mumbled and sniffed, picking himself off the ground.
"Watch where you're going, Mokuba."
Mokuba heard art an all too familiar voice echo out and he gasped in surprise, his tears vanishing instantly. He looked up and was greeted with the sight of Gozbauro.
"I will... I'm so sorry..." He trembled again and wiped another fresh set of tears out of his violet eyes.
Gozaburo snorted. "Why are you crying?"
Mokuba bit his lip harshly and flung himself into Gozaburo. The older man was desperately trying to get Mokuba off of him, but the boy held on like glue. "SETO HURT ME! SETO! WHY?!" Mokuba yelled and furiously cried into Gozaburo's expensive coat.
Gozbauro at that moment stopped and froze. He led on the conversation, faking concern. "What did he do?"
Mokuba sniffed. "He thought I told you! I wouldn't tell you! Seto doesn't trust me!"
Gozaburo was then hit with a happy realization. Seto thought Mokuba was telling him about his plans?! This was perfect! Seto not only had betrayed Mokuba's trust, but he also had no idea that it was Roland, his most trusted bodyguard who'd been sharing Seto's plans with him. This was great! If Gozaburo could get 49% of KaibaCorp, then the day when Seto approaches him thinking he's won, Gozbauro could use Mokuba to get 2% more that he needed to get 51%!
Gozbauro almost laughed at Seto's stupidity. Maybe Seto wasn't as intelligent as he'd thought when it came to this little plan of his. He led the only thing that could save himself right into Gozaburo's hand.
"Come with me, Mokuba." Gozaburo suggested and Mokuba's eyes widened. "We'll talk over tea."
Mokuba gulped and his eyes showed a little hesitance. Seto had hurt him, and now Gozaburo was being nice? Pigs were truly flying...
Mokuba nodded after a moment of silence. "Why not...?"
o-O-o
December 25, 2007
Kaiba Mansion, 13:56
Seto was horribly saddened. He had hurt Mokuba and the kid didn't even want to see him. Seto hasn't seen his brother since that day, and even though everything was going according to his plan, it hurt so much knowing the only person that cared about you was at the comfort of your worst enemy.
Seto miserably flipped another Duel Monsters card over representing one of the new pieces of the 21% of KaibaCorp he gained. He pushed back the urge to cry and curl up in a corner.
It really wasn't the same without Mokuba being here by his side. Mokuba would usually be beside him right now, counting cards and telling Seto how happy he was and how he wanted to grow up just to be like his older brother...
But Mokuba wasn't here. He was with Gozaburo.
Roland stepped into the room and cleared his throat. "Sir, the last piece of info has been delivered to Gozbauro."
Seto nodded solemnly. "And I trust it was not in the presence of Mokuba?"
"Of course, sir." Roland watched the brunet with sad eyes. "Seto, he won't be mad forever."
Seto straightened up at the mention of Mokuba. He turned around to meet Roland's sympathetic gaze and flinched. "How can you be sure..."
"Because he loves you." Roland smiled and put a comforting hand on the boy's shoulders. "That little boy loves you, he idolizes you. To him, you've become his best friend, his father, his big brother, and nothing can change that. Mokuba's smarter than he looks." Seto smiled at the thought of his baby brother and how much people underestimated him. "He's probably caught on to your plan already. If not, he will easily forgive you."
"How can you be so calm...? I pushed him and hit him. The one person who actually cared about him, physically attaked him." Seto sniffed but kept a strong dam up to keep the tears in. "He'll probably never forgive me."
Roland sighed and pulled the brunet in for an embrace. "Yes, he will. He's your little brother. As I said, he thinks of you like a god. Mokuba will forgive you." Roland pulled back to see the young boy with tear streak on his right cheek. "Besides your plan won't work if he doesn't. And your plan is guarenteed to work, which means he's guarenteed to forgive you."
Seto was confused. "What do you mean?"
Roland grinned and explained further, "Your plan was fool proof from the start. Get me to tell Gozbauro about you and The Big Five's buying out of KaibaCorp's pieces, and place the blame on Mokuba so Gozbauro would think Mokuba would give him the two percent he needs to gain back control. But, Mokuba will stay by your side throughout it, which means he'll have to forgive you before he does so. As I said earlier, your plan is fool proof from the start, which means he'll have to forgive and hopefully forget. "
Seto smiled with a spark of hope filling his beautiful blue eyes. "I guess, when you put it that way..."
Roland patted him on the back. "KaibaCorp will be yours in a few days, with your brother's help."
o-O-o
December 30, 2007
KaibaCorp, 20:41
The day finally came... Seto was taking over KaibaCorp. He had gained 49% and along with The Big Five, he was aproaching Gozbauro with the news of his company, that would soon be Seto's.
"I have something to tell you. The Big Five and I have decided to take control of KaibaCorp!"
Gozaburo gave a thunderous laugh. "Wrong! But nice try!" No, Seto wasn't out of the game yet... "See I knew about your plan all along, your plan to buy out KaibaCorp, but you only bought out 49 percent! And I'm afraid that leaves me with 51 percent!"
Okay, where's Mokuba? He's needed now! Seto was panicking... Maybe he'd been to rough?
"You lose Seto, because this company is still mine!" Gozaburo smirked triumphantly. "And as for you five, as punishment for betraying me you're all fired and I'll make sure you never live in this town again!" Seto heard gasps behind him. "Now pack up your things from your desks and get out of my sight!"
Okay where the hell is Mokuba?!
"And don't think you're off the hook Seto, your headed off to the orphanage where ungrateful brats like you belong!"
A sharp stabbing pain shot through his chest. He... Lost... He wasn't able to obtain 51% of KaibaCorp. He and his brother would be taken back to the orphanage... All the late nights studying, all the rulers and switchblades, the dog collar... It'd been for nothing. Seto felt like crying. Mokuba would be mad at him forever too now...
He screwed up big time.
"Not quite!" Seto heard a shrill voice yell. "He's staying!"
Looking to the side, Seto saw Mokuba walk through the door. "What?! How?!"
"Easy!" Mokuba smiled up at his brother. "Because I'm giving my two percent of KaibaCorp straight to you!"
Gozaburo looked furious. "You're making a mistake, Mokuba! Remember how bad he treated you!"
"Seto and I are a team!" Mokuba proclaimed glaring at Gozaburo. "I'd never turn my back on him!"
"You fool!" Gozaburo spat venomously at Mokuba.
"I have made up my mind!"
"You heard my brother! Now I'm the new president of KaibaCorp!"
Seto took pleasure in hearing Gozaburo's cry of defeat.
"NO!"
And he did something Seto never thought he'd see in his entire life.
Screams echoed off the wall and a horrifying crash was heard.
He ran up to the shattered window and looked down. It was mangled, like a marionette doll, and red seeped out of the lifeless body below him...
Gozaburo Kaiba's body...
Someone muttered behind him, "Time of death, 8:51pm..."
o-O-o
December 31, 2007
Kaiba Mansion, 23:55
It was finally here.
Seto Kaiba was now the proud owner of KaibaCorp. Everything he worked so hard to obtain was finally his.
Gozaburo's suicide had been the sweep in the nation. Everyone who was anyone knew about the CEO's suicide, and Seto was still trying to get the memories out of his head.
It felt odd. Being out of Gozaburo's shadow... Everything was his, and Gozaburo wasn't here to ruin it. Everything he planned out, way back from the orphanage, had worked to his advantage. He won the games fate threw at him and gained every prize. Every single day, the nights, the early mornings while he was studying, paid off. The abuse paid off. Gozaburo's teaching even paid off in the end.
Seto was soon going to convert the company to a gaming company, once everybody was over the fact the the previous CEO was dead. Yes, games were pure... War was not...
Maybe that's why he liked games so much. He wasn't as pure and whole as games. No, half his mind was taken over by Gozaburo from his forced studying and abuse...
Along with the games he would definitely find the Blue Eyes-White Dragon cards. He made a promise so long ago, it was hard to remember, but still a whisper in his head every now and then reminded him of it. He also remembered what Mokuba said a long time ago. About how he wished that he and Seto would ride on a Blue Eyes and go as far away from the mansion and Gozaburo as they could.
Maybe they didn't have to do that anymore. Gozaburo was gone, for good. Seto finally knocked him down on the podium and he raised to the gold.
He heard a tap on his bedroom door, and a little head peeked in. "Seto?" Mokuba asked coming into the slightly cold room. "What are you doing?"
"Nothing.. Just some paperwork..." He continued with some hesitance, "You realize that I'll be at the office a lot more now that I'm the CEO, right?"
Mokuba nodded sadly, "Yeah, but it's not much of a change from when you were studying. Besides, you'll probably enroll me into school."
"Damn right I will! You will be educated and you will have friends!" Seto joked.
Mokuba looked at the balcony wistfully, then back to his brother. "Seto, it's New Year's Eve. Why don't we go outside and enjoy the fireworks from a distance?"
Seto considered this. The last time he's spent more than five minutes with his brother was when he betrayed Mokuba's trust... Which had not been fun by any means. "All right, get some blankets and pillows."
Mokuba squealed in excitement and ran to a closet in the corner. He grabbed blankets as quick as lightning and grabbed fluffy white pillows from Seto's bed. Seto opened the balcony door so that Mokuba could get through to the balcony part. Once outside, Mokuba set the blankets and pillows down and both of them sat on them.
"Happy New Years, Mokuba." Seto said to his brother after a while of silence.
Mokuba looked up innocently, with a smile adorning his childish face. "Happy New Years to you too, Seto!"
Seto sighed and looked down towards his brother. "Mokuba... I'm so sorry for what I did. You realize know why I did it right...?"
Mokuba knew exactly what he was referring to. "Seto... That was honestly the worst day of my entire life... But because of you and your smart planning, my future life won't be as bad. You have KaibaCorp now, Gozaburo's gone and you're free to do whatever you want. I forgive you Seto, I'll always forgive you."
Seto embraced his little brother and took in the sight of twinkling stars, the bright moon, and the fireworks from a distance. New Years world be better, for the both of them...
10...
9...
8...
Seto could think for the first time in a long time...
7...
6...
5...
Maybe, he could finally leave his parents, his childhood, the orphanage, Gozaburo, his studies... he could finally leave them in the past.
4...
3...
And look towards a better future, for him, and for Mokuba.
2...
1...
Instead of New Years starting in silence like almost every year was, it was filled with Mokuba's happy cheers, the sound of fireworks in the distance... and Seto seeing this couldn't help but stretch his mouth into an unfamiliar position; one he hadn't done in a long time.
Seto smiled.
"It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men."
-Frederick Douglass