A/N: Hi everyone! Sorry for the delay in this installment compared to the continuous updates of the previous chapters. I took a pause from this fic to work on my other incomplete story for a little while. Updates for this story will probably be every couple of weeks, depending on my schedule and free time.

Chapter 10: A Day too Painful

"You did the right thing, Mr. Mokuba." Roland said. "You can't expect to bottle up your feelings forever and expect no one to notice; to expect no one to worry. You need at least one person to be able to fall back on when you need to talk."

"But…that's why I have you!" Mokuba said.

"Someone other than me."

"Why?" Mokuba asked, tucking his feet up and under him while sitting on the couch at home. "You're 'acting-Seto'! You're like my father…my step-step father." He blinked and thought it over. Yeah, step-step father totally made sense. Sort of. Whatever.

"I'm also your employee, Sir. Surely you want to be able to talk to someone not affiliated with your brother? Someone more equal terms?"

Mokuba let out a huff.

"You did tell Mr. Muto, after all." Roland finally said.

"I didn't really…" Mokuba said. "He already knew I was lying."

"And don't you feel better now that he knows the truth?" Roland asked, crossing his arms.

"I dunno." Mokuba shrugged.

"Mr. Mokuba, if I may," Roland began, taking a seat beside his charge on the sofa. "It will do you good to have a confidant that you may express your opinions to freely. Vent to me all you like about predicaments, school, even your own brother. However, being that Mr. Seto Kaiba is my employer, as are you to an extent, there are certain topics I cannot freely talk about…even with his absence." His voice softened. "I believe Yugi Muto is just the friend you need right now."

Mokuba lay in bed staring at the ceiling as he thought back to that conversation he had with Roland once they had gotten home that one day. The day Mokuba revealed the truth to Yugi. He had to admit to himself, the last two weeks did seem to go a tad easier for him, now that he and Yugi were on the same page. At least when he was alone with Yugi, he didn't have to keep his guard up in conversation. No more lies, no more excuses. But, only with Yugi. Mokuba wasn't sure if Yugi had even told his grandfather. Joey and Tristan were still left in the dark. Mokuba swallowed. It would have to be that way for a little longer. They were the most judgmental of Yugi's friends, and he still couldn't bear to deal with the backlash of his brother's reckless decisions. It was bad enough for the occasional unpleasant mood-swings he felt towards his brother. He loved Seto. That would never change.

However, his current predicament has certainly done a number on his emotional state. He didn't know whether to feel angry at Seto for 'abandoning' him. Was it really abandonment? Seto didn't do it on purpose. He was only supposed to be gone a day or two. This was all an accident. One terribly painful twist of fate. Mokuba didn't know if he should also feel a tad hopeful for Seto. His departure was, after all, for the sole purpose of fulfilling a promise made years ago. To duel the Pharaoh, to have his rematch, and come out victorious. It was the very act, that promise, that helped fuel the creation of the Battle City tournament; to the constant upgrades to the KaibaCorp mainframes, computer simulations, and the eventual construction of the KC space station: to find away to defeat the Pharaoh; and the final spur, the recovery and reconstruction of the millennium puzzle. Mokuba couldn't deny it. Seto needed this. Whether he won or lost against the Pharaoh, he needed to face him one more time, and get this fury out of his system. But…couldn't there have been another, less risky way of going about it all?

This was all so confusing, and the longer Seto was gone, the harder it became for Mokuba to keep his feelings in check.

With a huff, he turned over and glanced at the alarm clock on his nightstand.

12:47am.

Thursday October 25

Mokuba froze his sight at the display.

No…no no no! It can't be….not today. Not now… Mokuba sat upright in bed as he felt a wave of tears start to form. The days had passed by quicker than he anticipated, and left him unprepared for the emotional onslaught that was to come. He grasped hold of his bedsheet and brought the edge to his face to wipe the falling drops away. With the throw of his arm, he pushed back the blankets and stood up and grabbed the kuriboh plush from his dresser. He didn't want to stay in his own room anymore.

Quietly, Mokuba made his way down the hall to his brother's room and pushed the door open. It was cruel how the emptiness became too familiar for him. Without another thought, he dove onto the bed and buried himself under the blankets.

It was so unfair. He could remember back months before, when everything seemed calm. Before duel exhibitions gone-awry, before graduation ceremonies and obsessions over ancient Egyptian artifacts, he had started to plan out what he wanted to do today. One of the three most important days of the year. Finding activities that Seto enjoyed that didn't have anything to do with Duel Monsters was difficult. Not that any of his planning mattered anymore. Seto was gone, possibly not coming back, and he was left here, alone, to pick up the pieces.

As Mokuba dug his face deeper into his pillow, he remembered something Gozaburo told him years ago, in a rare moment that his stepfather showed any attention towards him. He had tripped over his own feet and taken a tumble down several steps, and he landed just outside his stepfather's study door. 'You are a Kaiba now, young Mokuba. And no member of this respected family ever sheds tears. To do so is to show weakness, to show that you are not in control. Mokuba sniffled at the memory, and snorted at the advice. Gozaburo was never an affectionate man, so his words were pretty on point considering his 'shining' personality.

Still, Mokuba was never one to take much stock in what Gozaburo said. And with an aching sigh, he closed his eyes tight against the pillow and let out a good cry. He cried for Seto, the brother he desperately missed, more than anything in this world. He cried for the life he used to have, the life that was torn away from him by his brother's desperation to revive a dead pharaoh. Most of all, he cried for himself, for the sake of his sanity and the ability to pull himself through this; for faith that not all would be lost, and everything would somehow turn out right in the end; that Seto would return eventually, and he could go back to being the little brother, the seventh grader, and honorary VP of Kaiba Corp.

After Mokuba cried for all of that, he finally fell asleep.

Roland finished packing up Mokuba's lunch for the day and glanced at the clock hanging in the kitchen. Mokuba only had about thirty minutes before it was time to leave for school. It wasn't like the boy to be late.

The chief of security moved up the stairs at a quickened pace and froze at Mokuba's open door. He took a step inside. The room was empty, and the bed unmade. He felt the bedsheets. They were cold. Mokuba hadn't been in for quite some time. So where was he?

"Mr. Mokuba?" Roland asked, looking around and then returning to the corridor. As he looked both ways, he noticed the door to Seto Kaiba's room open ajar. That wasn't how it was left the last time someone went in or out. Quietly, he moved to the door and pushed it open. There, he found Mokuba, sound asleep buried under blankets.

Roland sighed and moved over to the side of the bed where his charge was passed out asleep. Gently, he nudged Mokuba's shoulder. "Sir?"

"….mmph."

"Mr. Mokuba. Wake up."

Mokuba peeked an eye open and saw his temporary guardian. With a yawn, he mumbled, "Whaaaaaat?"

"Sir, you have to get up? We leave for your school in under thirty minutes."

Mokuba let out an exhausted huff and shoved his face back in the pillow. "I'm not goin'."

Roland cocked an eyebrow. "Come again?"

"I said…I'm not going." Mokuba's voice said muffled.

"I beg to differ." The man replied. He had no time for this. With a tug, he yanked the blankets back, causing Mokuba to roll over and sit up.

"HEY!"

Roland opened his mouth to protest but then caught sight of Mokuba's face. His eyes were bloodshot. "Are…are you alright? Are you sick?"

"No…" Mokuba whined, and tugged his knees up and hugging his legs.

"Then what –oh…" His voice trailed off as he made the mental connection. A sniffle from Mokuba confirmed it.

"I miss my brother…" Mokuba forced out, his voice quiet. "It hurts…"

Roland sat down on the edge of the bed beside Mokuba and sighed to himself. He knew all week that getting Mokuba through today would be the biggest challenge. Being a loner for so many years, it was difficult to relate to the pain the youth was feeling, the loss of a loved one. Of the two brothers, Mokuba was always the one who openly expressed his emotions, even if he did try to suppress them inside like his older brother. Despite his employer's icy persona towards pretty much everyone, sometimes including Mokuba, the two brothers shared a very close relationship. They were all each other truly had. Sadly, that only makes the separation even more painful for Mokuba.

All Roland could do was open his arms out. Almost instantly, Mokuba dove into them, clinging to the front of Roland's suit and crying into his chest.

"I can't do this, Roland…I can't. I'm not Seto…I'm not strong or smart…I can't juggle school and headquarters. I can't run our company all by myself. I'm only twelve…." He sighed. "What was Seto thinking?" There was another pause, and only his sobs broke the silence in the bedroom. "Why…Roland? Why did he have to go?" Mokuba sniffled, his voice muffled. He felt Roland's hands rub his back gently. "Why did he leave me alone?"

Roland hugged the boy closer as his own heart broke, wishing he could provide Mokuba with the answers he so desperately sought.

Mokuba didn't go to school that day. Even after his meltdown in Seto's bedroom, it still took some convincing for Roland to relent, and let him stay home. He understood his guardian's reasoning; 'that education as important, and his education was important to Seto.

Seto….

Mokuba flopped back down on Seto's bed. He barely left the room all day. Roland was downstairs in Seto's study working remotely. That was fine. Mokuba wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone. He wasn't even in the mood for anything period. He hugged his Kuriboh plush closer to his chest and sighed. If not for Seto's obsession over dead-not-dead-dead-again Pharaoh, he would still be here. Or, he'd be in his office working. Regardless, Mokuba would have gone in with attempts at surprising his big brother, and made lame jokes just to hear Seto laugh. And smile, if he was lucky.

But not today. Today, he was alone in the bedroom. Seto was gone to who-knows where. A very unnerving thought kept creeping into his mind. What will happen if Seto truly doesn't return? Unfortunately, trying not to think of it only made him consider the notion even more, and it scared him.

No. He wouldn't' think of such things today. This was supposed to be a stress free day of merriment…..even if he had to celebrate it solo.

He heard the grandfather clock downstairs chime 4:30. By now, Mokuba would have been picked up from school and he'd be at Kaiba Corp, no doubt in Seto's executive office waiting for him to finish up work for the day. He tried to imagine the scene in his mind: pushing the double doors open wildly, running across the room to engulf his elder brother in a tight hug and never letting go. Mokuba grabbed hold of the closest pillow and squeezed it against his chest to try and mimic his imagination.

With a sigh, he rolled onto his back, the pillow still clutched in his arms as he stared off at the ceiling.

"Seto…wherever you are…if you can hear me…" he paused to wipe a stray tear forming. His voice wavered. "…Happy Birthday."