Chapter 25

Kaiba's Past – Part I

Seto woke up one morning to what appeared to be a normal day, with a glass of juice was waiting for him on his nightstand. He sat up and groaned at his stiffness. Taking his juice, he looked out his window and saw that the sky was gray and the window was covered with rain. Being eight years old, he groaned at the rain because it meant that he could not play outside. Hearing his mother call him, he quickly finished his juice, dressed in his school uniform, and headed downstairs.

As he headed to the kitchen, he could smell his breakfast cooking and hear his parents talking to each other. Seto grinned and started to tiptoe the rest of the way. At the doorway, he almost immediately made eye contact with his mother, who smiled at him. Trying to not giggle, Seto walked up to his father and covered the adult's eyes. The older man smiled. "Who would that be?"

His wife chuckled. "The prince has arrived."

Seto smiled and sat down at his seat. His father ruffled his hair. "You like doing that to me, don't you?"

Seto nodded. "It's fun! Besides, you haven't told me to stop."

Her mother smiled as she put a plate of pancakes in front of Seto. "That's because your father enjoys it as much as you do."

Seto began to eat as his father cleared his throat. "So, Seto…about our outing today…"

Seto looked up with a look of slight concern. "We're still going, right?"

The elder looked up at the window and the rain. "I don't know, son…the rain doesn't look inviting."

Seto stood up in his anger. "But you promised to take me and Mom!"

His mother sat down in her chair. "Seto, your father is thinking of our safety."

Seto shook his head. "He promised me! It's not fair!"

The older man gave a stern look. "Seto, don't raise your voice at your mother."

Seto sat back down and pouted. "It's not fair…I keep my promises."

His father sighed as his mother reached over and petted his son's head. "We will still go…just on a different day, okay?"

Seto looked up with a glimmer of hope as the school bus pulled up. He and his mother rushed to get his stuff together as his father remained, thinking.

Throughout the rest of the school day, Seto pretended to pay attention to the class. In truth, he was hoping that his dad would change his mind and would take the family on their outing. The rain was getting very heavy and thick but the boy was not concerned, for he knew his father was a good driver.

In the middle of the afternoon, Seto's name was called over the intercom, asking him to come to the office. The young boy grinned, thinking his parents had arrived. He quickly put his papers and folder in his backpack and raced to the office. To his surprise, his parents were not there; instead, there was a middle-aged police man waiting for him. Seto took a step back as the officer looked at him. "Son, I'm going to need you to come with me."

Seto quickly shook his head. "No! I don't go with strangers!"

The police officer man nodded. "That is true…but you need to come with me."

Before Seto could protest again, the secretary spoke up. "Seto, you can trust this man. Something happened to your parents."

Seto felt his heart skip a beat. He slowly looked at the officer and asked softly, "What happened?"

The officer sighed. "Your parents…were in an accident. They didn't suffer; it was over in an instant."

Seto's young heart skipped another beat. He could not breathe for a minute for his whole world shattered in matter of seconds. Tears began to fall from his eyes as he felt weak and moved to sit in a nearby chair. The officer went to try to comfort the child but Seto swatted his hand away. "Don't touch me! Where are my parents? You're lying to me!" The secretary came around and gave him a small hug. Seto finally broken down in tears and screams, which made the officer hang his head in sadness.

Less than a week later, Seto slowly woke up in the orphanage that he had been taken to after he heard the terrible news about his parents. He was extremely upset that he was alone in the world and his face showed his depression. He refused to let himself smile as he believed that he had no reason to be happy anymore. Because of his sully attitude, none of the other children wanted to play with him and gave him more than enough space. Seto did not mind because all he wanted to do was read horror stories and feel sorry for himself.

As he made his way to the mess hall, he was stopped by the head of the orphanage, Lily. She was an average looking woman who looked more like a librarian with her pant suit and half-moon glasses over her green eyes and hooked into her blond hair. She approached the young boy. "Seto, can I talk to you for a moment?"

Seto gave her a blank look. "Can it wait?"

Lily smiled softly. "I may have a family who would like to adopt you."

The boy quickly shook his head. "No! I don't want a new mom and dad! I want mine!"

Lily kneeled down and touched his shoulders. "I know, sweetie. I've seen how hurt you are and I know you blame yourself…"

"It IS my fault!"

Lily hugged him and Seto leaned limply against her, eyes brimming with angry tears. Lily patted his back. "I know. But I believe that you are not to blame."

Seto sighed and lowered his head. Lily smiled sadly and pulled back to look at his face. "Now…will you at least meet the couple who might want to take you home?"

Believing that he had no other choice, Seto slowly nodded and followed the woman into her office where a middle-aged couple was waiting. The woman was as tall as Lily with black hair and brown eyes. Dressed in a brown skirt and white shirt, she smiled brightly at Seto. "Hello there, young one. What is your name?"

Seto did not answer as he stared at the man. He was very tall with graying hair and a brownish-gray mustache. His gray eyes were cold and menacing. Seto stared back, showing that he was not afraid. Lily took a deep breath, as if to calm her own nerves, and smiled to the woman. "His name is Seto, Mrs. Kawasaki."

Mrs. Kawasaki looked down at Seto. "It's nice to meet you, Seto."

Seto nodded slowly. "Nice to meet you too, Mrs. Kawasaki."

She smiled warmly. No need for formalities. If things go well, you can call me Mom."

If Seto had heard the last word, he would have attacked her. Thankfully, Lily had correctly guessed the word she was going to say and covered the boy's ears. "Ma'am, I would strongly suggest that you and your husband not ask Seto to call you those titles. That is a very touchy subject with him." She then removed her hands. "Seto, what do you think of them?"

Seto was very nervous about the older man's stare but pretended to be numb. "What are their names?"

Lily put her hand on his shoulder. "Rei and Gozaburo."

Catching Seto's gaze, Rei hugged her husband's arm. "Don't worry, sweetie. My husband was born with a permanent frown."

Gozaburo scoffed and finally spoke up in a demanding voice. "He will do."

Seto tilted his head as Lily squeezed his shoulder. "Seto, may I speak to you outside?"

Biting his lower lip, Seto nodded and followed Lily outside her office. "Yes, Miss Lily?"

Lily did not waste any time. "Do you want to go home with them?" Seto tilted his head and Lily explained, "The Kawasakis have been very generous donors for many years. Mrs. Kawasaki has filled out all the applications for a child but her husband has never shown interest in any child…until you."

Seto crossed his arms. "He's scary-looking."

"I know, darling. But I checked out the family. Mr. Kawasaki works all day and his wife will be the one taking care of you."

Seto perked up, for he thought that Rei was friendly. "If I say yes, when do I go with them?"

Lily smiled. "In one hour."

For a brief second, Seto's lips showed the tiniest smile. However, it quickly disappeared. "Sign me up."

An hour later, Seto was sitting in a limo, across the way from his new parents. Rei was still smiling and friendly towards the young boy. Gozaburo, on the other hand, was extremely sour-looking with his arms crossed and his right leg over his left. Seto fidgeted with his hands as he tried to answer Rei's questions about himself. The stares by Gozaburo made the child feel very uncomfortable. Rei noticed Seto's fidgets and came to a different conclusion. "Seto dear, are you hungry?"

Seto blushed a little and nodded, remembering that he did not have breakfast. Gozaburo sighed in disgust. "You are old enough to feed yourself."

Seto looked down as Rei looked at her husband. "Oh, come now, hun. This is his first day in our family. We should make him feel welcome."

Gozaburo scowled as the limo came to a stop. He got out first and Rei gestured Seto to get out first. "Welcome home, my son."

Seto winced at her calling him her son; nevertheless, he got out and drank in the sights. A huge mansion stood in front of him. It had two floors with four windows on each floor. Six pillars held the roof up. The mansion was painted white and had a cold, numb feeling about it. Rei looked out of the limo. "Seto, go to Gozaburo. He'll lead you to the kitchen."

Seto looked back at her. "You're not coming?"

Rei smiled and shook her head. "I have to go shopping for you. You need to have bed sheets and bathroom supplies."

Seto reluctantly nodded as Rei closed the door and rolled down the window. "Be good to my husband. I'll be back away."

As the limo pulled away, Seto took a deep breath and started to walk up the path to the mansion. Gozaburo was waiting for him. "Will you hurry up?"

Seto nodded and walked a little faster. Once he got next to his stepfather, Gozaburo viciously pushed the boy into the mansion. Slamming the door behind him, the middle-aged man gave a sneer. "Now that we're alone…let's get better acquainted."

Seto looked up at him and crawled backwards. "No…please."

Gozaburo stomped on the child's stomach. Seto immediately curled in a fetal position, coughing and gasping. The abusive man crossed his arms. "You are not allowed to talk back to me! You do not speak unless spoken to! Do you understand?"

Scared, Seto nodded and covered himself as Gozaburo continued to kick him. For the next hour, the young child was kicked and stomped by his new stepfather. When the sound of the limo pulled up, Gozaburo stopped the abuse and roughly pulled the boy to his feet. "Get to your room, boy."

Coughing and bruised, Seto went to his room that had a sign on the door that said "Welcome, New Child." He quickly closed the door behind him and sat against the door. Looking at his bruises, he winced in pain and tears started to fall. He wiped his eyes and held his knees close to his chest. His smell body began to tremble as he started to recall the beating. Suddenly there was a soft knock at the door. "Seto, dear. I have your sheets."

Taking in a shaky breath, the young boy got up and opened the door. Rei was standing there, bags in hand and a worried look on her face. "Seto, are you all right? Gozaburo told me that the servants beat you when you asked for food."

Stunned, Seto stood still with his eyes wide and his breathing uneven. Rei came in and put the bags on the bed. "I'll give them the proper punishment when we're done here."

Seto finally found his voice. "The servants didn't do this! Your husband did this!"

Rei looked at the boy, shocked. "How can you say that? Gozaburo would never hurt a child."

Fresh tears brimmed in his eyes as Seto shook his head. "That's not true! He did beat me!"

Rei went over and hugged Seto. "Gozaburo, is this true?"

The young child froze as Gozaburo cleared his throat. "It is certainly not true. The servants made him promise to frame me."

Seto shook in anger but Rei misinterpreted his trembles for fear. "It's all right, sweetie. They won't hurt you again."

Seto looked behind him at Gozaburo. Gozaburo smirked with an evil glint in his eyes. The young boy fainted from fright and hunger. Rei quickly caught him and laid him out on the bed. "Poor thing. We need to do all we can to take care of him." She then went to find a blanket. Her husband looked at the sleeping boy. "Yes…we will take good care of him." He finished his sentence with an evil looking smirk.

The next morning, Seto woke up to dull pain from his bruises. He shuddered as the memories of the beating came flooding back. Thankfully, Rei was with him from when he woke up from his fainting episode until he went to bed for the night. Gozaburo desired to continue the abuse but decided against showing his wife his true nature. Seto was very grateful for that but he had a sinking feeling that more abuse was on the way.

Seeing a school uniform perched on a nearby chair, he slowly got up and put on his new clothes. He hoped that the school he would be heading to was kinder than the man who society called his Father. Heading for the door, he noticed a framed picture of a young girl with brown hair, wearing a similar uniform and studying with a mountain of books. Seto tilted his head as Rei came in. "Seto, time to—oh, you're already up. How are your bruises?"

Seto nodded, keeping his eyes on the picture. "They're fine. Who is she?"

Rei looked at the picture and smiled sadly. She reached forward and rubbed the top of the picture. "My daughter, Kira. Died of cancer eight years ago when she was your age."

Seto looked at his adoptive mother and gave her a comforting hug. Rei returned the hug. "Thank you."

Seto just nodded. Even at eight, he knew what it was like to lose a loved one. They remained there for a few minutes, lost in their own world, until Gozaburo joined them and slammed the picture down on the table making both his wife and Seto jump. "I thought I told you to get rid of that picture."

Rei straightened up and cleared her throat. "I tried. I cannot get rid of the only thing that we have left of her."

Gozaburo decided not to fight his wife. Instead, he turned his attention to Seto. "You are late. From now on, you will wake at dawn."

Rei left to check on breakfast as Seto glared at the tyrant. "Why do I have to?"

Once Rei was down the stairs, Gozaburo roughly pushed the boy to the ground. "I thought I told you to not until spoken to!"

Seto scooted back as the adult towered over him. "Now, as I was saying, you will wake at dawn and study with the team of teachers that I have hired. You will go through an advanced education program."

Afraid of speaking up, Seto raised his hand. Gozaburo's face scrunched in annoyance but nodded. Gathering his courage, Seto asked, "Will I get any sort of punishment?"

Gozaburo smirked evilly. "Of course. For every minute you're late, I give you a kick. For question you answer incorrectly, the teacher is to hit your knuckles with the sharp side of the ruler." He then reached into his pocket and pulled out a thick, leather dog collar. Seeing that collar, Seto paled. He quickly got up and tried to run for the door. Unfortunately, Gozaburo grabbed the child's shirt collar, stopping him, and tightened the collar around the child's neck. Seto struggled but the collar was hooked. His neck immediately reddened from the collar's edges. "From now on, you will wear this collar…as my pet."

Seto looked up at the terrifying adult. His world and life was becoming a nightmare. Gozaburo opened the door and pushed the child to the ground on the hall. "Now get to your lessons!"

Seto scrambled to his feet and ran to the nearest open door, which was a large library with hundreds of thousands of books. On the center table were five stacks of seven thick textbooks. Five stern teachers stood between the table and a large chalkboard. Even more nervous, Seto sat at the table and took the pencil that was waiting for him. He felt trapped but decided that going through the program was better than being beaten.

Close to midnight, Seto collapsed onto his bed. He had been studying nonstop on subjects that would be considered challenging to a college freshman. There were lessons about history, physical, earth, and biological science, branches of psychology, Spanish, German, and Russian, and every branch or mathematics that existed. Seto tried his hardest to take notes of the lessons and to give correct answers. However, his young brain was unable to come up with the proper answers and his hands received the punishments. He looked at his raw, bloody knuckles. He twitched a finger and whimpered in pain. He unconsciously clawed at his collar, which seemed to have tightened in his mind. However, no matter how much pain he was in, he still had to wake up early so he pulled back the covers and settled into his bed.

His eyes were starting to close when the door slammed open and Gozaburo stood in the doorway, hands clenched into fists. Fearing the worst, Seto covered his face with his pillow. His stepfather stomped over to the child and started to punch his small chest and stomach through the blankets. Seto tried to escape and then fight back, in the process kicking away the blankets, but the older male was much too fast and strong. After a half hour of beatings, Gozaburo stopped, leaving Seto crying and gasping for air. The adult straightened his coat, seemingly pleased with himself, and lifted the child's head by his hair. "When I come home every night, this will be upon bedtime story."

Seto could only squeak in his terror as Gozaburo violently pushed his head back on the pillow and left for the night. Seto covered his injured body with the blankets and trembled in fear and pain. He could tell that the next part of his life would be frightening and painful…assuming that he would survive.

Two years have come and gone for young Seto. Now at the age of ten, he had grown accustomed to his daily schedule. He would wake at dawn and go straight to his lessons. Rei would have breakfast waiting for him and the teachers allowed him to eat while listening to the lesson. After the first few months of kicks for sleeping in and whacks for answering incorrectly, the young boy was able to will himself to get out of bed and work even harder to remember every fact that was taught. He would still occasionally make a mistake and get whacked; however, his knuckles had been filled with scar tissue that he no longer felt the hits.

As soon as his lessons were over, which was usually around midnight, Gozaburo would come into his bedroom and proceed to beat Seto. The arms and legs were bruised from time to time but the abdomen was beaten the most because the bruises could be covered by Seto's shirt and they also made breathing harder for the young boy. Nevertheless, Seto thought that his life could not turn any worse. He learned the harsh truth one cold winter night.

The blizzard outside Seto's window howled harshly, covering the world with snow. The sky was black and starless. Curled up in his bed, Seto tried to block out the cold and the noise. His head was covered with his pillow and his figure was curled up and intertwined with his sheets and blankets. Despite the thick blankets, Seto laid trembling from the cold. He was a little mad at his teachers for cutting his lessons short to head home; he wanted to be in the library since it was the warmest room in the mansion. However, he understood the rules that he was not allowed to leave the bed until dawn.

His eyelids were slowly starting to droop when his door opened slowly. Seto's eyes immediately flew open as he automatically rolled onto his back. The door closed and Gozaburo's familiar footsteps got closer towards the bed. "Cold night."

The small blue eyes shifted to the right, staying as still as possible. "Yes, sir."

His blankets were suddenly removed from the bed. Seto sat up to get his blankets but Gozaburo's hand strongly pressed down, pushing him back onto the bed. "Are you cold?"

Seto knew better than to fight back since such actions would result in vicious hits. "Uh…yes, sir."

Seto heard a zipper unzip and felt the adult's hand slide down to his pajama bottoms. He then heard Gozaburo say in a calm, seductive voice, "How about I…warm you up?"

Forty-five minutes later, Gozaburo got up from the bed and put his pants back on. He looked at the small figure on the bed. "Now…that wasn't so bad, was it?"

Seto was in a lot of pain. Laying on his stomach, he whimpered as hot tears flowed down his cheeks. He was stinging, throbbing, and he thought he smelled blood. Gozaburo gripped the boy's hair and yanked his face into view. "I said…that wasn't so bed, was it?"

Frightened by what could happen if he told the truth, Seto pinched his eyes shut and quickly nodded his head. Gozaburo then pushed Seto's head back down on the pillow. "Good…for this will be a regular thing for you."

After letting the message sink in, Gozaburo left. Seto wanted to lay on his back but the throbbing pain kept him from moving. Defeated, he cried his heart out until he fell asleep. He knew right then and there that his childhood was over.

At the age of thirteen, Seto had become a walking zombie. His nightly assaults had robbed him of his childhood. All his emotions but anger had been destroyed. He obeyed the orders that were given to him numbly. When Gozaburo would beat or assault him, the small boy would not react and take the punishments. He wanted to tell Rei but Gozaburo threatened to kill his wife if she was told. Fearing for her safety, he decided to obey the tyrant. Even so, he kept a knife under his pillow, waiting for the right moment. Yet, he did not realize that the particular moment would be extremely horrible.

That particular night, Seto was laying on his stomach with his hand on the knife handle. He was currently being assaulted by Gozaburo, who appeared to be enjoying himself. Seto was waiting for the right moment to strike when they heard a soft knocking on the door. Rei's voice sounded on the other side. "Seto? Are you asleep?"

Seto lifted his head in hope of being rescued. "Rei! Help me!"

Gozaburo covered the child's mouth but it was too late; Rei opened the door and froze at the sight in front of her. "Oh, my god…"

Seto reached for her but Gozaburo kept the child down. "You shouldn't be so shocked by this."

Rei swallowed hard and shook her head. "But…this is different. He is not our child by birth."

Seto was confused by what his stepparents were saying. Rei took a step back. "You need to stop this…this isn't right."

Gozaburo lifted Seto's head up. 'You are staying here and participating."

Seto's face showed pure shock and so did Rei's face as she shook her head again. "I can't…we shouldn't do this."

Gozaburo growled and tightened his hold on Seto's hair. "Either join me or I'm leaving you."

Seto winced in pain and closed his eyes to endure the throbs. He heard, to his surprise, clothes dropping, Rei whisper, "If you insist…" and felt his stepfather lift him. He felt Rei's hand brush across his head and he realized what she was doing. He still kept his eyes closed so that he would see the nightmare before him.

Forty-five minutes later, Seto laid on his right side on the left side of his bed. His soul itself seemed to have shattered after the double assault. His face was numb but silent tears were falling. His right arm was under his pillow, clutching the knife. He now wanted to kill both of them but a part of him hoped that Rei felt guilty about what she did and would redeem herself.

In his daze, he overheard the conversation between Rei, who was laying on the bed and covered with the blankets, and Gozaburo, who was putting his clothes back on. Rei spoke up. "How long have you done this?"

"Since he was ten."

Rei sighed and ran her hand through her hair. "You should have told me."

Gozaburo sneered. "It was obvious, woman. Besides, you might have stopped my fun."

"That's not true. You've known about my fantasies of having a threesome with our daughter. But it's better with Seto."

New tears spilled over as Seto's shattered heart was shattered once again. He could not believe that the woman he was starting to see as a second mother enjoyed assaulting him. But the next sentence out of her mouth hurt him the most. "I'm in from now on."

Seto rolled over, wincing at the pain, and showed Rei his hurt. "Why…?"

Rei stroked his hair, showing that she was not sorry. "It feels good."

Seto froze in shock. Then his face slowly scrunched into pure anger. Before she could react, he pulled out the knife and slashed Rei's throat. Blood spurted out onto his body as she struggled to breathe. Seeing his wife dying, Gozaburo grabbed Seto and started to strangle the young boy. Seto dropped the knife and tried to loosen the monster's grip on his throat. Rei's final gurgle threw her husband into a rage. He threw the young boy at the wall, knocking the wind out of the small lungs. The tyrant was then at Seto and started to beat him mercilessly. Seto's chest and face was soon red and swollen. Seto cried out in pain and tried to shield himself with his arms but the blows kept coming.

After a few minutes of beating, Seto glanced at the bed and saw the knife. Realizing what he had to do, he ducked under his stepfather and ran to the bed. Gozaburo grabbed the boy but Seto already had the knife in his hand. With a swift move, the young boy turned around and buried the knife into his stepfather's throat.

Seto closed his eyes tight to avoid getting blood in his eyes. The adult fell to the ground with the knife stuck in his neck. Seto wanted to do more to give his stepfather a taste of the torture he inflected on the child. But he knew that any more wounds would make the act murder, not self defense. After Gozaburo breathed his last, Seto breathed a sigh of relief. He was free from future torture…but the damage was still present. Putting on a numb face, he put on an oversized shirt, took off his collar, and went to find a police officer.