Disclaimer: It's not mine. I'm depressed enough as it is right now, what with my internet connection being down (only, it's obviously fixed now if you're reading this, yay!) and the whole idea for this drabble… Don't rub it in. (scowl)

A/N: Warning: This is… depressing. And mildly disturbing. But it wouldn't leave me alone. I promise to get something happier out soon!

Oh, btw, it's talking about Death T. I have not, repeat, have not read the manga, and the only way I know about this is through scattered bits and pieces I've picked up on the net. So there may be mistakes here; if there are, let me know and I'll fix them (and credit you!).

For anyone who had not read the manga and has no idea what I'm talking about: Death T was a game that Kaiba cooked up to get revenge on Yugi for defeating him. The dangers were very, very real, from penalty games meant to drive a grown man insane to a murderer loose in the building. Not going into much detail (as I don't know much detail), Mokuba, in an attempt to impress Seto (who was still evil from Gozaburo) challenged Yugi to a game. The loser had to go through the aforementioned penalty game. Moki lost… and Seto personally pushed the button that started the penalty. If Yami hadn't rescued him, he would likely be a slobbering lump in a chair now. Later, Yami crushed Seto's heart, leaving him to put it back together – without the evil part.

My (scary) question? Well… Read.

Title: Penalty Game
Teaser: What would have happened if Yami hadn't stopped the penalty game?
Rating: K+
Length: 353 words
Seto Kaiba looked sadly down at the little boy in the chair in front of him. A lump formed in his throat as he crouched down to the child's level, staring into the unseeing eyes.

"Hey, little guy," he murmured. "How are you doing today?"

There was no answer, of course. There was never any answer. There would never be any answer ever again.

He reached forward, taking the small, pale hand in his own large, only slightly darker one. He rubbed his thumb back and forth across the child's fingers, trying to get some kind of response, even though he knew how hopeless the gesture was. There was never a response, any more than there was an answer.

He sighed, reaching his other hand forward to stroke the dark bangs out of the boy's eyes. He needed a haircut. Seto gave a small, humorless smile. He always needed a haircut.

How had he allowed this to happen? Gozaburo really had succeeded in turning him into a monster, hadn't he? Why had he let a child participate in that damn tournament? Why had he held the tournament in the first place? Why had it taken Yugi to finally make him see?

And why, oh why, had his brother been the one to suffer like this?

He gently laid the hand he held back in the boy's lap. He embraced the still figure, as usual receiving no reply.

"Mokuba…" he whispered. "I'm sorry…"

Slowly, he stood, turning away from the sad form that had once held so much life. He would return. He would always return.

He didn't look back as he shut the door softly behind him. If he had, he would have seen a single tear trickle down the child's face. Though no one would ever know it, deep inside the shell that was now Mokuba Kaiba, a small glimmer of light remained. It would never reach the surface. It always tried, and it never could. But that tiny glimmer, among all the darkness that Death T had created, heard his beloved brother's words.

Seto... I forgive you.

And he always would.