*really starting to get a move on things... the story starts to get interesting here...just to let you know, i'm going off the storyline of the mangas, where kaiba is in a coma after getting his ass whooped...*

Chapter 11—If You Read This, I Might Have To Kill You

"It's a real shame you couldn't stay the night," Becca sighed into the receiver of her phone.

"I know," I said, and then sneezed violently. "Jeez. I never get sick. This is so weird..."

"Maybe Kaiba is affecting you, Celeste," she teased.

I groaned. "Don't start on that, please. He was okay last night. But I expect worse if I see him again. His little brother won't be around to protect me from the all-out wrath of Seto Kaiba."

"Okay, if you say so. Look, I have to go. Me and Marnie are gonna prank call Hannah's place and see if we can set you up on a hot date with Hank. You get some rest, all right?"

"Kay. Bye."

I hung up the phone and settled deeper into the couch, shivering. I clutched a hot mug of chicken broth in my hands, and was wrapped tightly in a down comforter, yet I was still cold. Between chills and uncontrollable sneezing fits, there was only one possible explanation.

I was sick.

That was just perfect. I rarely caught the bug that was going around, which was a great thing, but when I did come down with something, it was awful. I'd started feeling a bit off just after dinner, and decided to play it safe and go home. As shown in my symptoms the following morning, I was right to skip the sleepover.

Mom and Dad would be at work until late that night, so I was alone, sitting on the couch with Louie, watching TV. I kept flipping channels, never settling on one program. Truthfully, my mind wasn't on the screen. It was on the events of the previous night, at the Kaiba mansion.

Mokuba seemed really excited to have me. On the other hand, the older Kaiba, Seto, probably just wanted the night to be over. That one didn't surprise me in the least. What did surprise me were the things Mokuba told me about him, things I never expected to hear...

He was showing me into his room when he looked over at me sympathetically. "Seto's overworked," he said. "I'm sorry he seems like such a jerk tonight."

"It's okay, I don't blame him. I kinda gave him a hard time during our interview." I smiled at the poster of a menacing-looking Blue-Eyes White Dragon on the wall. "I know that's your brother's favorite monster. Is it yours, too?"

"Nah. I don't really have a favorite. I'm still learning some tricks and tips from Seto. My strategy needs work." Embarrassed, he stared helplessly at his feet.

"I'm sure you'll get the hang of it."

"Thanks." He smiled and gently scratched his nose. His voice dropped low as he asked me, "Do you wanna see Seto's room?"

"Won't he be angry about that?" I said blankly, surprise taking away my rational thought process.

"He doesn't have to know," Mokuba reminded me.

"Umm...okay. I guess."

"Great! Let's go!" He took my hand and led me down the hallway, to what I assumed was the master bedroom.

"Here we go." He grinned and turned the knob.

I found myself agape once I was fully in the room. It was huge, stunning, done in almost a medieval style. The bed was king-sized, made with dark red sheets. Large glass doors led onto a balcony overlooking the enormous back courtyard.

"Wow, what a view," I murmured.

"Yeah. Seto always liked it." Mokuba came up beside me. "He has a good heart, Celeste. He's so nice to me... he just won't show that to anyone else. He must think it's a sign of weakness. 'Sensitive' guys aren't tough, right?" He smirked.

"You're sensitive," I pointed out. "And you have to be tough to get through all that you have. Seto must see that."

He nodded. "Yeah. It's not like him to just let people in. They've gotta, y'know, figure him out before that. Yugi was one of the first to actually get inside his head. I don't know what came over him... He was different, kinda better, after Yugi beat him. Of course he was in a coma for weeks..."

My eyes widened. "He what?!"

Mokuba nodded sadly. "Seto was just a vegetable for the longest time. The doctors thought he was that way for good. I'm not even sure how he woke up. I wasn't there because Peg—" He blinked. "I've said way too much."

"I won't tell anyone. I promise." I was hungry for this new information.

"You'll want to," he warned.

"I won't. I swear." I crossed an 'x' over my chest.

"Okay... Well, after Yugi beat Seto and put him in that coma, a group of suits with a lot of KaibaCorp stocks, the 'Big Five,' was trying to take over the entire company while Seto was out of it. Maximillion Pegasus was helping them. Also, Pegasus had to beat Yugi to show that Seto wasn't fit to be the symbol of the company anymore. Eventually they figured out that only a Kaiba could be at the reigns—something Seto came up with as a safeguard. They needed a key from me, so they kidnapped me. I kept it hidden, though, so they couldn't get it.

"I escaped from Pegasus' castle, and found Yugi. I had to duel him so that Pegasus couldn't, and to get revenge for what he did to my brother. He convinced me that it wouldn't be what Seto wanted, though, and agreed to help me stop Pegasus and the Big Five from taking over KaibaCorp."

He paused and smiled. "Don't even get me started on Battle City. Seto came up with it as a way to get all the Egyptian God Cards. Yugi got Slifer the Sky Dragon after that duel with the creepy mime, and then the Winged Dragon of Ra from Marik—thankfully he was de-freak-ified after that. And a part no one knows about was the virtual world..."

I tilted my head. "Virtual world?"

"Yeah. As it turns out, Gozaburo adopted another son before Seto and me. His name was Noah... He planned to use Seto as motivation for Noah, but when Noah was in an accident, he put his full attention on Seto. Noah's mind was uploaded onto this computer, and Gozaburo did the same of his own when he committed suicide. They tormented us... In the end, Noah came back to the good side. He realized how wrong he was, and how evil Gozaburo was. He helped us escape before the entire island blew up, which should've killed us all.

"We got to finish up the Finals. Seto couldn't take it when he lost—again. It's been haunting him ever since. And now, it's only been a little while since all those 'real monster sightings' all over the world. It's been hard on him. He's fired, like, three PR guys in the past few weeks. Nobody can fix the scarred image of KaibaCorp."

I stared absentmindedly out the window, at the setting sun, until Mokuba tugged on my hand. His eyes were pleading.

"Seto needs help."

Now, that was stuck in my head. He needs help? What kind of help...?

Louie nuzzled my hand, shoving it towards me with the top of his soft head.

"What?" I cooed, scratching behind his ear. "What is it, my fluffy cat? Huh? What's up?"

He meowed, leapt from the couch, and padded into the kitchen.

"Food again?" I sighed. "You are gonna get so fat, I swear..." And then I sneezed once more.

He wasn't waiting by his bowl, though. Instead, he was on the window ledge, peering into the late morning with absolute focus.

"What are you up to?" I asked, coming to the window. Then I found the source of his captivation.

There was a black limousine in neutral on the curb, right in front of the house. I could make out the driver, but the back windows were tinted, so there was no chance of seeing the passenger, if there was one.

"Who in the world could that be?" I whispered.

A second later, the doorbell rang.

"Crap," I muttered, and walked to the foyer, debating whether or not I should grab a robe to go over my pajama pants and tight tank top. I decided against it—I shouldn't leave my visitor waiting—and unlocked the door, opened it.

Grinning widely from the stoop, in jeans and a sweatshirt, was Mokuba. "Hey, Celeste, wassup?"

This thing with the Kaibas was never going to end.