Chapter 33: How Seto Feels About His Family
Everything that had just happened was beyond crazy.
Noah knew about Gozaburo being in the computer for who knows how long.
He never told us.
Mokuba just got kidnapped for what seemed like the thirtieth time.
Now he was back and Gozaburo was gone.
I glared at Noah as he got out of his capsule. Noah walked over to us and smiled. But when he noticed me, his smile faded. Everyone was now staring at us, the air growing tense.
"Seto, what is it?" Noah asked.
"Why didn't you tell me about this before, Noah, and what took you so long to come out of the Virtual World?" I demanded, still glaring at him.
Noah looked down, squirming. He was avoiding my gaze. He must have been thinking of a good answer for my question. It better be a good answer.
"For the second question, the reason I stayed in there longer than you guys did was just to check on the Virtual World some more and to make sure that my Father wasn't in there and that he was gone for good. I also wanted to stay in there for a little while longer because that was the first time I was in there and I'll never be in there again. As for the first question, I kept it a secret because I knew you'd get very angry if you found out." He said, looking at me now.
I crossed my arms. No wonder why he was squirming earlier! People who hide secrets or tell lies often seem to do that.
"You're such a fool, Noah. I guess it seems like something you would do. Keeping the secret from us about Gozaburo being in the computer, though...feh! Sleazeball."
"Even if it would take a longer amount of time, I could've taken care of Gozaburo myself." I thought, my words echoing around in my head.
"I only did that because I care about you guys. Besides, it happened a few days later after you took over KaibaCorporation." Noah said.
I looked away at that moment. No one's ever said that they care about me before. No one except my deceased mother and Mokuba, that is. My Dad?
Well, even though I hardly remember him, I still remember that dream I had where he and my Mother appeared. They used to appear more than once to me after that. I don't see them so much anymore, but he does care about me.
Or maybe I should say he did.
But then I remembered Brandon. I think he cared about Mokuba and I, or at least he acted like he did.
"Save it! I know that "caring about me and Mokuba" part is a lie." I said.
"But it's true!" Noah said.
At that moment, Mokuba walked up to me, and he was frowning. This should be good.
"Leave him alone, Seto! I liked you better when we were younger and when you smiled! If he says he cares about us, then he does! Why would he lie?! We're family, aren't we?!" Mokuba shouted up at me.
I looked down at Mokuba.
"Be quiet, Mokuba. You don't know anything!" I said. I immediately wanted to take back what I said.
Mokuba looked hurt and looked down at the ground.
"But...Seto..." I heard him mutter.
"Why did I say that to a thirteen year old? And this person I said that to HAD to be my little brother! Shoot." I suddenly remembered what I said to Mokuba when we were little. It was about how I said I'd always be there for him.
Oh no.
I think I might have just gone back on that promise of mine. Mokuba looked back up at me with a sad look on his face. He slowly walked back over to Noah, his head down as he stared at the ground.
"Stop yelling at them, Kaiba." Yugi said, frowning. He looked at me in the eyes.
"Is this a magic trick? Why is Yugi's voice still deeper and why is he still taller after I saw him in that room with Gozaburo?" I thought.
"And you call yerself a brother? Nah! You're a psycho!" Joey said to me. My eyes trailed from Yugi and I found myself looking at Joey.
"Zip it, Wheeler." I shot back at him.
Joey sighed angrily while shaking his head. He stepped closer to me.
"What happened to ya, Kaiba?" Joey asked me.
"Nothing. I'm fine."
"Fine?! No way! You're not fine!" Téa said to me.
"Stay out of this." I said.
Yugi turned to her and nodded.
"We'll handle this, Téa." Yugi said.
Téa nodded and stepped back into the shadows with Tristan.
"Ya call yerself a brother? Nah, you should be an inspiration to them! But yer not. Ya treat them as if they're nothin'." Joey said. Mokuba stepped forward.
"Joey, what are you talkin' about? Seto's an inspiration to me!" Mokuba said.
Joey looked down at him.
"I can't believe what yer sayin'! And after what he said to ya?"
Mokuba looked hurt again and looked down.
"Oh, right...I must've forgotten for a minute...I'm not used to him saying those things to me. He's never done that before."
Joey's expression saddened as he looked down at Mokuba. He bent down and smiled.
"Sorry 'bout dat, pal. But what Kaiba's doin'...it just ain't right!" Joey said as he stood back up.
Joey turned from Mokuba and looked back at me.
"Face it, Kaiba. Yer mind's corrupted." He said.
I started laughing. Joey must've had it all wrong!
"Corrupted? Me? My mind?! No, Wheeler! YOUR mind is corrupted!" I said to him. Joey clenched his fists and angrily looked at me. I stopped laughing.
"WHAT'RE YA TALKIN' ABOUT?! How am I corrupted, huh!? At least I try t' do good deeds, unlike YOU!"
Joey had a point there, I'll admit. But it hasn't convinced me.
In the end, all he and his geek friends see is a mean boss of a well known company with a soft side. None of them know or understand what I've done to achieve who I am today.
Well, that corrupted part made him angry.
Joey ran at me with his hands balled into fists. He tried throwing punches at me. I dodged them all.
He aimed for my face. Instead of dodging it, I caught it with my right hand. I managed to lower his hand.
"Are you done yet?" I asked coldly after I lowered his fist down a little. He seemed like he was out of breath. Joey was panting. He unballed his fist and walked a few steps away from me, back to where he was before. Was he done talking?
No. I was wrong about that.
"I normally win in fist fights! How'd ya manage t' dodge all my fists, huh, Kaiba!?"
"Guess I'm just better when it comes to fighting skills than you are, Wheeler."
Joey gave me an angry look. He was about to say something, but instead, he ran his hands all throughout the back of his hair, making it look messier than usual for a few seconds. He took his hands off his head.
"Do ya remember why I entered dat tournament in Duelist Kingdom?!" Joey asked me, changing the subject after he caught his breath.
"I wasn't there to hear about why you entered, and I don't care about why you entered." I said.
"Well, it was for my little sister! Do you remember her? Her name's Serenity!"
"Your little sister? What kind of a plaintive excuse is that? Try harder, Wheeler!" I said. I looked over into the shadows where Téa, Tristan, Noah, and Mokuba were. Mokuba looked sad. Noah had an arm around his shoulders and he was glaring at me.
"Let him finish, Kaiba. You don't understand." Yugi said.
"Oh, I understand clearly, Yugi. I don't need someone like you telling me what to do."
I turned back to Joey, who was glaring at me.
"Face it, Wheeler. You'll always be an amateur duelist. I'll always be better than you, and we all know it."
Joey laughed once again.
"If that's what ya think, then ya don't know me, Kaiba! I'll keep comin' back 'till I beat ya! Besides, sometimes we've had long duels, now haven't we?"
I smirked.
"So what if we have long duels sometimes? I'm always the victor in the end. I'd like to see you try and actually beat me someday, Wheeler." I said as I laughed and crossed my arms once again.
"Hey, you guys were talking about Serenity!" Tristan called from the corner of the room. Noah, Téa, and Mokuba, who were still in the corner with him, nodded in agreement.
Joey looked at them with a muddled look on his face.
"I was talkin' about my sister?"
They nodded.
"YES!" They all shouted.
"OH YEAH! I remember now!"
Joey turned from his friends and focused his attention back onto me.
"I tried my best t' duel Yugi, but I failed. Yugi took on Pegasus and almost died in the process. But when Yugi won, Yugi gave me dah money for my sister's eye operation, because he cared. And he was only in dat tournament for his grandpa!"
I looked at Joey. Yes, yeah, I was paying attention to what he was saying.
"I couldn't get it t' her-dah money-right away, of course. Some Rare Hunter thieves dueled me an' took away my Red Eyes Black Dragon. But I rushed to the hospital anyway. Y'know why, Kaiba? 'Cause I wanted t' see my sister, an' I wanted her to not feel scared, an' I wanted her to see! 'Cause I love her!" Joey said.
"He's beginning t' sound like a peacekeeper. That just doesn't fit Wheeler." I thought.
Joey continued to stare at me.
"An' when I was possessed by Marik an' when I was almost drowning in the water when I broke through dat possession, Serenity still had those bandages on her eyes. She wasn't supposed to take 'em off until dat night. But she did anyway. An' when she saw me in dah water, she dived in t' save me. An' her eyes were just getting adjusted to dah sun again! Do ya know why Serenity did dat, Kaiba?"
I glared at Wheeler. I knew where this was going.
"To save you?" I thought.
He pretty much answered that thought with what he said next.
"It was because she loves me! What about you, eh, Kaiba?! Do ya love yer brothers too like how Serenity an' me love each other!?"
I looked away from Joey and I looked down at the ground.
"YA DON'T!? WHAT?! Joey shouted at me.
"I never said that." I said harshly.
"I do love them, but I just don't tend to show it. I've been through hard times that you and your friends would never even begin to understand, Wheeler. The only time you'd understand would be if you got it through your thick skull."
I swear, Joey's an idiot.
Joey raised his left arm up.
"Dat's it, rich boy! We're duelin'!"
I glared at him.
"This isn't the Virtual World, Wheeler. The-"
Joey cut me off.
"So what?!"
I restrained myself from facepalming and instead I crossed my arms.
"The Duel Disks can't appear on our arms like they did in there."
Joey looked surprised as he put his arm down. He slumped over a little.
"Oh. Right."
I continued to look at him, my arms still crossed.
"You really are an amateur."
"WHAT'D YOU SAY T' ME!?"
Before I could respond, Yugi walked up to Joey from behind and put a hand on Joey's shoulder. Joey looked at him.
"You've said enough for now, Joey. I think I should talk to Kaiba for a while."
Joey nodded and walked away.
Well, he didn't actually walk out of the room. He just walked into the corner of the room with Téa, Mokuba, Noah, and Tristan.
"Kaiba, Joey's right."
"Are you kidding me, Yugi?! You're agreeing with a no one like Wheeler!?"
Yugi nodded.
"Unlike you, I stick by my friends. They aren't "no ones" like what you said about Joey." He said.
Yugi walked closer to me.
"Kaiba, haven't you noticed? Your mind truly IS corrupted."
I glared at Yugi.
"Be quiet!" I thought.
"Oh yeah, Yugi? What makes you say that? You sure that you're not the corrupted one?"
Yugi looked at me.
"Yes, I'm sure that it's you and not me. I noticed your actions in the Virtual World. Your own hate, anger, and desire is what is being fueled inside of you. Darkness is surrounding your heart. You must show people that you truly do care, Kaiba. Don't let hate get in the way of your loved ones or anyone else. I know you may have had a hard life, but think about others for a change."
Joey and Yugi's speeches about family and stuff was right. I do care about my family, and I shouldn't hide it. I guess it also wouldn't hurt to try and be nice to people who weren't my family.
I uncrossed my arms and held them to my sides.
And if I decided to try and be nice to everyone, I knew the people to start with, even though this entire nice thing wouldn't be too easy.
Yugi's gang.
Maybe I could even create Kaiba Land like I wanted to and invite them over there someday.
After this, I knew that I would most likely still be cold to everyone except for my family. You can change, but it could take a while.
"Yugi..."
Yugi looked at me.
"Yes, Kaiba?"
"Get out. I understand what you mean now."
"You do, Kaiba?"
"I do. Now really-get out before I change my mind." I pointed to the door.
Yugi looked at me. Then he walked to the corner of the room and waved at Téa, Tristan, Joey, Noah, and Mokuba, getting their attention.
"Let's go. Kaiba says he understands."
Yugi, now looking normal again, noticed his grandpa's card on the floor. He smiled, picked it up, and put it into his pants pocket.
Even if there's one now, we don't really know. Who knows? I might get my own Blue Eyes Alternative White Dragon in the future someday.
"Right! How could I forget about this?" He asked himself, and started to walk out of the room.
That got me thinking if magic truly was real or not. Maybe it was. You know what? Now that I think about all the events that happened last year, maybe it is real.
Yugi's friends followed him and walked out. I looked down at the ground. I looked up and saw Noah and Mokuba staring at me.
And then Noah and Mokuba walked over to me.
"Do you really love us, Seto?" Noah asked me, frowning and with his arms crossed.
Even though I do love my family, I can't imagine myself ever saying it out loud, but I still nodded. Mokuba smiled.
"Really, big bro?!"
I nodded.
"Yes, Mokuba. Really. And I'm sorry for what I said about you two. I guess it's fair for family members to keep certain secrets from their family at times, especially if it was as big as this one was."
Noah and Mokuba smiled at me.
"Forgiven! And yeah, I think that's true too, Seto!" Mokuba said happily.
I nodded and smiled. I guess I just couldn't help it.
"Seto?! Y-Your face-!" Noah stuttered, and pointed to me as his voice trailed off.
"What about it?" I asked.
Mokuba smiled.
"Seto?! You're SMILING!" Mokuba said.
I knew my lips had been pulled up into some kind of small curve. I really WAS smiling. I smiled again, an even wider smile crossing my face than last time.
"Seto, that's the first time I've seen you smile in a long time." Noah said.
"It really is. I don't even remember the last time I smiled." I replied.
"How about when we were kids?" Noah said.
Noah and Mokuba laughed after Noah said that. They both hugged me. I hugged back.
"We love you, Seto!"
"I love you too!" I said. The words just slipped out of my mouth.
I really did mean what I said.
I put my arms around my brother's shoulders, still smiling, and walked out of the Virtual World room.
After all, love is an essential part of life, right?
Mokuba stepped in front of me and Noah with a grin on his face.
"Hey Seto, how about we duel?"
"Sure, Mokuba."
"Race ya to the dueling room!" Mokuba said as he took off running.
I don't care what people think. I meant what I said.
"Hey!" I said. Noah and I began running after him.
I'll always try to take care of my family, no matter how busy I am. From here on out, I'll try to hang out with them if I have time.
I caught up to Mokuba in the dueling room. He stood on the right side of the room while I stood on the left side.
"I won't go easy on you, Mokuba." I said.
"Let's give it our all, Seto!" Mokuba said with a nod and a grin. I nodded as we began to take some cards out of our deck.
"Now to restart where we left off..." Mokuba said as he took a card out of his hand.
"I summon Man Eating Plant in attack mode!"
I looked through my hand. Did I have Battle Ox?
Yes, I did.
"Just like how I started my first move, I summon Battle Ox and attack your Man Eating Plant!" I said.
Mokuba was down to 3200 life points now.
"Guess what, Seto?! Now I summon Krokodilus in defense mode!" Mokuba said, placing the card on the field.
"Now I place a card face-down and end my turn." Mokuba said, a face-down card spawning on the field.
I looked through my hand. I had my X-Head Cannon in my hand.
"I summon X-Head Cannon in defense mode. Next, I'll have Battle Ox attack your Krokodilus!" I said.
Battle Ox charged at Krokodilus.
"Ha! Take this, Seto! I reveal my face-down card!" Mokuba said, raising his hand and revealing his face-down card.
"Mirror force!?"
"Yup! I bought some new cards, Seto! This reflects your attack!"
Battle Ox tried to slice through the force field, but it didn't work. Krokodilus was still on the field. The card disappeared, as it was no longer in effect.
"And now I sacrifice Krokodilus to summon Rude Kaiser!" Mokuba said.
Krokodilus disappeared off the field and Rude Kaiser was in its place.
"Now attack Battle Ox, Rude Kaiser!"
Rude Kaiser attacked Battle Ox. Battle Ox took the attack, leaving me with 3900 life points.
"Not bad, Mokuba." I said, drawing a card from my deck.
The card I drew was Obelisk the Tormentor.
My eyes widened.
"Obelisk?! Wait! Don't use it yet. Wait for a while."
I tucked Obelisk into my hand and summoned another monster that was already in my hand, which was a Megalosmasher X.
"I summon Megalosmasher X in attack mode!" I said.
"Megalosmasher X?! Is that a new monster you bought, Seto?" Mokuba asked. I nodded.
"That's right, Mokuba! My Megalosmasher X is a level four type monster and pretty powerful since it has 2000 attack points!" I said.
Need a little more information on it? It's a dinosaur monster which looks like a Mosasaur but cooler.
"Megalosmasher X, attack his Rude Kaiser!"
Megalosmasher X went towards Rude Kaiser, snapping its jaws as it swam towards it. Megalosmasher X caught Rude Kaiser in its jaws and snapped, making Rude Kaiser disappear.
Mokuba was left with 3000 life points.
"Okay! I summon Breaker the Magical Warrior in defense mode!" Mokuba said.
A Magician-like monster appeared on the field.
"I don't think I've seen that monster before. It looks powerful."
"I end my turn."
"My turn!" I said, drawing a card. I drew The Mystical Elf trap card.
"I place two cards face-down and summon Enraged Battle Ox!" I said.
"I end my turn."
"I summon Gene-Warped Warwolf in attack mode, switch Breaker the Magical Warrior to attack mode, and I'll have Gene-Warped Warwolf attack your Battle Ox!"
"Not so fast! I reveal my two face down cards, the Mystical Elf and Crush Card Virus! I gain 300 life points for every monster on the field, and my Crush Card Virus eliminates every high leveled monster in your deck, Mokuba!"
"No you don't!" Mokuba said.
"What?! What just happened, Mokuba!?" My two trap cards disappeared off the field.
"My Breaker the Magical Warrior gains 300 attack points for every trap that was on the field! Now it has 2200 life points! Now attack his Enraged Battle ox, Gene-Warped Warwolf!"
My Enraged Battle Ox was attacked and defeated.
"I'm not done, big bro! Breaker the Magical Warrior, attack his X-Head Cannon! After that, I end my turn."
I was left with 3200 life points.
"You're better than I thought, Mokuba. This isn't over yet. I place down Banner of Courage! It's a Spell card that allows my monsters to gain 200 life points in their battle phase only. After that, I summon Luster Dragon in attack mode and I attack your Gene-Warped Warwolf! After that, I'll have Megalosmasher X attack your Breaker the Magical Warrior!"
Both monsters attacked my brother's monsters. Since they had the same attack points, Megalosmasher X and Gene-Warped Warwolf just disappeared after my attack.
But now Mokuba was left with 2900 life points.
"I end my turn."
"My turn! I summon Des Feral Imp in defense mode and end my turn."
"He must've bought that one."
"I summon Blizzard Dragon and I attack your Des Feral Imp!"
"Just two more monsters to be put on the field. I'll use three as a sacrifice and I'll use two to power up Obelisk!"
"I end my turn."
"I summon Peten the Dark Clown in defense mode and end my turn!"
"I summon Lord of Dragons and I attack your Peten the Dark Clown!"
Peten was attacked and disappeared off the field. But then he came back.
"That's his special effect, Mokuba. Every time Peten is attacked, he comes back. Your move, Mokuba."
"Not bad, Seto! I summon Armed Ninja in defense mode and end my turn."
"I summon Luster Dragon and attack your Armed Ninja!" I said.
Luster Dragon attacked the Armed Ninja. Armed ninja disappeared.
"Now I'll send Peten to the graveyard and I'll end my turn." I said.
"Huh?! Why?" Mokuba asked.
"Oh, you'll see, Mokuba."
Mokuba looked down at the cards in his hand.
"Okay, now I'll summon Crimson Ninja in defense mode and end my turn!"
"He's either stalling or he's really struggling with the monsters he's getting." I thought. I pulled a card out of my deck. It was Monster Reborn.
I placed it on my Duel Disk.
"Now I'll activate Monster Reborn and I'll use it to bring back Megalosmasher X! Now, Blizzard Dragon, attack his Crimson Ninja!"
Megalosmasher X was back on the field. Blizzard Dragon attacked Mokuba's Crimson Ninja.
"I end my turn."
Mokuba summoned another low leveled monster.
"What happened to those high leveled monsters he was summoning? I guess he didn't have a lot. Oh well. I'll use this chance to summon Obelisk the Tormentor!"
"I sacrifice Lord of Dragons, Blizzard Dragon, and Luster Dragon to summon Obelisk the Tormentor!"
"S-SETO?!"
"I told you I wouldn't go easy on you, didn't I, Mokuba? But don't worry. I won't attack right now. I end my turn."
"Thanks, Seto. I'll summon Amazoness Sage in defense mode and end my turn."
"Finally, a higher leveled monster! Well, it won't save him from losing." I thought.
"Obelisk, attack his monsters!"
Obelisk attacked his monsters. Being in defense mode, though, Mokuba didn't lose any life points.
"I summon Ehren, the Lightsworn Monk in attack mode!" Mokuba placed his card onto the field and grabbed four cards from the top of his deck. He sent those cards to the graveyard.
"I end my turn."
"My turn! I summon Z-Metal Tank in attack mode! But that's not all. I'll use both my monsters to double Obelisk's attack!"
Obelisk the Tormentor grabbed my Z-Metal Tank and Megalosmasher X and held them to its chest. Next, Obelisk squeezed both monsters.
The monsters turned into a yellow light and went into Obelisk, signifying that his attack power had doubled and was even greater than before.
"NOW, OBELISK! FIST OF FURY!"
Obelisk raised its right fist back and aimed it at Ehren, Lightsworn Monk before thrusting it at her. Ehren immediately disappeared. The impact of the fist was so strong that a strong wind enveloped the room.
Mokuba's hair flew behind him. A look of astonishment was on his face. Obelisk disappeared from the field.
Mokuba organized his deck and put it away. I did the same. He walked towards me.
"That was a great duel, Seto!"
"Thanks, Mokuba. You were pretty good too."
We both walked towards Noah, who had been watching the whole thing.
"That was a good duel. I'm hungry. Why don't we eat?" He said. Mokuba nodded.
"Sure, Noah. I could eat." He said.
Noah smiled and walked out of the room. We walked out with him. I closed the door behind me. I followed them.
I know I don't show it all the time, but I really do love my family, and nothing or no one's gonna change that.
End book