"Kaiba!" Atem scolded from the doorway of his bedroom just before Seto could ease into his desk chair as he longed to. "That was exactly the kind of action I was talking about!"
"Just stop," he barked, hands flat on the desk and eyes boring intently into the others'. "You're so concerned that I'm going to hurt this kid that you can't see what's really happening. Did you see his face when those reporters revealed what they were? He was smiling. Do you realize what that means?"
"I did not see his face."
"Leon did. So don't claim that I'm imagining things to suit my own agenda. Ask him."
"I didn't say—" Atem stopped. "Fine, Kaiba. So he was smiling. What does that mean?"
"It means he was baiting me. And I fell into his trap. He wanted me to blow up on camera, or at least on a recording. My Mokuba, my brother, never would have done that. We used to be a team. Now, because he overreacted to my touching his shoulder with witnesses, they've got a false story on me that's going to be on air any day, or even within the hour. And he's pleased about that."
"I don't see how he could be."
"What else could that smug little smirk mean?"
"Perhaps you misinterpreted it. Perhaps the setting sun was in his eyes."
"He was standing in my shadow. For all of your concern on my endangering a youth, can you prove without a doubt that the personality inside his body is even a child?"
"I don't know! But will you just stop and listen to yourself for a moment? Do you realize how you sound?"
Seto did stop. He stared at Atem in silence. Then he leaned back and dropped into his chair.
"I sound like a fucking lunatic," he said quietly. "You think I don't realize that? How badly do you think I want to believe that none of this is happening? That my brother is fine and I'm just being paranoid and cruel?"
"But we've been over this already. You can't be convinced of that."
"Believe me. Please. There is not one thing on this planet I wouldn't give up—not one—" he waved a finger dramatically, "if it meant that I could wake up from this nightmare and have my normal life back." Seto almost laughed at his own use of the word 'normal', but couldn't bring himself to. When had his life ever been normal? "If all I had to do was change my own behavior to make everything seem right again, that would be nothing."
Seto pushed his chair back, closed his eyes and rubbed them.
"I'm sorry, Kaiba. I realize you feel strongly about this. But I still can't condone your behavior earlier."
Seto scoffed. "That. You know, I wasn't rough with him."
"That was an act, too, then?"
"You don't believe me on that, either, I see."
"I can imagine it might be easy for someone of your stature to not realize the strength of your grip."
"I can promise, there are no marks on his skin. Part of why I wanted Leon to be with him right now is so that he's not left alone to make any on his shoulder himself. But whatever. If you're just going to believe what you want anyway, why are you even here?"
Atem leaned against the side of Seto's desk and crossed his ankles.
"Because you asked me to be here."
"And as far as the reason I asked you here, you've fulfilled your purpose."
"Are you telling me to leave?"
Seto rubbed his eyes harder, then rested the back of his hand over his forehead. Without opening his eyes, he pulled open a drawer with his other hand and rummaged through until he brushed a rattling bottle. He flipped the lid with two fingers and pulled out a few pills.
"What are those?" Atem asked.
Seto swallowed three and downed half his bottle of water, then put the container back in the drawer and rubbed at his temples.
"Pain reliever. I rarely take them, but I've got a headache that won't quit."
Seto let the room soak in silence a moment. He doubted the medicine would help much—a prime reason why he rarely used it.
"No. I'm not telling you to leave," Seto finally said.
"Then…?"
Seto opened his eyes, blinking at the lights over his head. He didn't remember turning them on, though he guessed that he must have done so idly. He wished they weren't so bright. He sat forward, his elbows on his desk, and met Atem's gaze.
"You're the reigning expert on magic, so far as I know. I'm asking you to help me figure this damn thing out."
A quiet, timid knock sounded at the door, which stood halfway open. Both men looked up.
"Leon," Seto said. "Have you spoken to him?"
"Kaiba… I don't know what to say."
"What do you mean?"
Leon closed the door behind him and stood in the middle of the room, looking lost.
"Leon. What did Mokuba say?"
The boy glanced at Atem.
"Don't worry about him. Here," Seto said, standing and pulling his chair around to the other side of the desk, which he leaned against. "Sit down and tell me everything."
"He's…" Leon fumbled around for words, but couldn't seem to finish his thoughts. "You're right. He's not the same."
Seto noticed that Leon's eyes were red and glassy.
"Did you hear what he said to me?" Leon whispered.
"I did. He always had a sharp tongue when talking to adversaries. But I've never heard anything like that come out of Mokuba's mouth when speaking to a friend."
"If you don't mind my asking," Atem interjected, "what did he say to you?"
Leon glanced at Atem again, then at Seto.
"He alluded that Leon was defending my actions all because his brother Siegfried doesn't care about him. He insinuated that Leon was only trying to intervene on my behalf out of jealousy of our family relationship as opposed to his own."
"Mokuba knows that my family's situation has always bothered me," Leon added. "It's why he and I connected so well. It's why we became such good friends. Because he understands how important family is, and was always sympathetic that mine was… broken. But he's never thrown it in my face like that before."
Seto allowed Leon his moment to collect himself before moving on.
"What else have you observed?" he asked.
Leon was quiet, his brows furrowed.
"There's really something off about him. I can see now why you had me come out. I'm happy to see him and everything…"
"Are you?" Seto asked, crossing his arms.
"…Yes. But I don't know what it is. He just seems too different. And it's only been a couple weeks since I last spoke with him."
"Can you cite any specific examples?"
He took a breath. "Aside from his attitude? He's messy. Messier than I remember. Did your cleaning staff always have to pick up after him?"
"On occasion. But he knows better than to leave his snacks out on the counter, half-eaten."
"And the refrigerator open?" Leon put his palm to his forehead and forced a chuckle. "I nearly lost it when I saw that."
"I could have had a few choice words for him myself over that."
"But… maybe with all that, he's just being lazy. You're on vacation, after all."
"This isn't a vacation, and I've made that clear to him several times. We're here until the city cools off and the reporters stop hounding the front door of our main house."
"But he's been through a lot, escaping a crash like that with his life. I mean, so many other passengers—people he'd been sitting right next to—lost theirs. Have you talked to him about it at all?"
Seto was silent. He hadn't wanted to talk to the imposter. As far as Seto was concerned, talking through the emotional aspects of survivor's guilt was akin to playing into the hands of whomever was possessing Mokuba's body. Doing so was an admission that nothing was wrong but the aftermath of the crash—that Mokuba was Mokuba, and that he was fine.
But Seto grappled with the reality in front of him, and he had no choice but to deny it. This was the only way Seto could allow himself to think anymore.
"I haven't," he replied.
"Well, I tried."
"How did that work?"
"It didn't. He… well, first he brushed off what happened outside. But he wasn't apologetic about what he said to me."
"That's not like him. He knows what he said would sting."
Leon glanced at the floor. "He just ignored it. Then I tried to ask him about the accident. He wouldn't tell me much. He didn't speak like he was afraid or traumatized, though."
Seto caught Atem's eye.
"No?"
"Not at all. He's really—I don't know the word, giddy?—about being a survivor."
"As if it's a personal achievement?" Seto asked.
"Exactly like that."
"So what does that mean?" Atem asked.
"It means he has brain damage," Leon muttered.
Seto was thoughtful. "That can't be ruled out as a reason for his behavior, but it doesn't explain every piece of the puzzle," he said.
"What do you mean?"
"I'll explain that later. What else did he say?"
"He was very descriptive about the woman with the long hair. He seems to feel… very irritated with her. But he wouldn't say why. He just wouldn't stop talking about her, and using this awful tone, even though it didn't match his words."
"What did he say about her?" Atem asked.
"He told me all about her story. About how they met on the plane, and she ended up living, too. It made me think that there was something about that part of the plane, and the impact on the mountain. Why were the two people sitting next to each other the only survivors?"
"There might have been something regarding the plane or its impact, and I won't discount that. But Mokuba told me something much more astounding about the moments before the crash that has me thinking that more than mere physics were involved."
"And you believe him?"
"I don't want go so far as to say that I've seen evidence, but I'm not just taking his word for it. Was there anything else you wanted to tell me?"
Leon thought for a moment, then shook his head.
"Fine. How long do you plan on staying?"
"As long as you need me to."
"Then are you up for a little more undercover work?"
"I can try."
"Get him to relax. Forget about the messy details, and whatever happened outside. Just get him to relax, the way that Mokuba usually would, and see what he does. Play some games, watch a movie. Whatever he wants to do."
"Okay," Leon agreed. He returned Seto's chair, gave a slight bow and left the room.
"Do you believe me now, that something's not right about him?"
"I believe your persuasive personality could be spreading your paranoia."
"But my personality's not so persuasive that it works on you."
"Apparently. So, you plan to distract Mokuba from what's going on, so he'll reveal something to you?"
Seto shrugged. "What else can I do for now but watch him and wait?"
"How long will you be here, now that the media has found you?"
"Not as long as I first thought. Even if my home is still surrounded, there's no more point in staying here if they can get to us just as easily. In fact, we'll probably leave in the morning, though I'm not looking forward to the venture."
"Just try not to do anything else so outwardly… unadvised in the vicinity of the media, if you're trying so hard to save your reputation."
"You don't have to tell me."