Chapter 18- Transitions
Seto's always known there was something off about his new-found family. Don't ask him how he knows, he just… does. He's always prided himself on his sharp mind, and he knows they're well aware of it.
He's just never been quite sure if they were even aware of the weird things happening in the Kame Gameshop. The shadows always move a little differently - a little too sharply, sometimes… stuttering… like a glitch in the matrix or a flickering flame. And other times… things follow him and Mokuba. Lurking in the corners, like the classical "monster in the closet" or something out of the scary movies his Kaa-san didn't want him to watch, but he snuck a peek at, one night, when he was 4… only it didn't feel frightening or threatening. It felt…. protective. Like a constant bodyguard (much like Roland, bless his soul) that couldn't be seen, or a grand beast just constantly waiting at the edge of his vision.
But for all of his theories and ideas, absolutely nothing could ever have prepared him for what he is told once everything is done and over, after Gozaburo had flung himself from his helicopter and disappeared into the cold depths of Domino Bay, and Seto's life is finally his again.
(He hadn't been difficult to find, in the end, but Roland told him it hadn't been something a child like him should ever see.)
(The tabloids write of a shattered body and a haunted look in his eyes, but Seto can't get himself to read much more than a few words of the one paper he gets his hands on, and Grandpa, Roland, and what Youko calls the Parent Squad make sure to keep them away from anyone under 30 in their households).
He prides himself on his genius. He prides himself on his abilities in invention and science and technology. He prides himself on being a man - or, well, boy - of logic.
Which is why when he's presented with tales of magic of all things - not only that, actual, concrete proof of it, he kind of just… breaks.
It's… just too much for his young mind to comprehend, and he finds himself falling into a pool of static noise and an inability to form words or even move.
In Youko's defence, it's not her fault that it happens. She, Hinata, those spirits and even Grandpa do their best to explain everything, in the best possible manner, in a language even the little ones can understand.
He just… it's been such a stressing time. Youko was knocked out for a week, the issue with his adopted father being solved by default because he killed himself (and there's something off about that, because it doesn't match up with anything he's ever known about Gozaburo Kaiba, and a bunch of other factors don't fit either), the sudden change to his living situation - from an opulent prison to the cramped warmth of the Mutou home - and his newfound freedom…
He can't handle it. At least not at first.
Unfortunately for his dignity, once the static passes and Youko's explanation has been halted to give way to concerns for him, his way of "handling it" is by bursting into uncontrollable laughter that sends him falling out of his chair.
Which doesn't, you know, make his family any less concerned. Quite opposite, in fact.
"Seto!"
"Nii-san!"
"Good job, Ko, you broke our resident genius".
"This isn't funny, Hinata!"
"Ac-act-actually, I think- I think this is hilarious," he finally manages to gasp out, before another fit rushes over him.
Seto's pretty much breathed mathematics and physics for as long as he can remember. Moving into Gozaburo's house and being pushed past his limits - for as much as he hated it - didn't change a thing. In fact, being introduced to coding only fostered that love.
Magic and monsters and foes to beat… those were things he experienced through games, and storybooks when his mother was still alive. They were things he partook in to relax, but also to connect to numbers and patterns and strategy outside of school books.
To hear that those monsters are very much real, to find out that he's been surrounded by them ever since meeting his new family, to discover that they've been protecting him…
It makes no sense. None whatsoever. From a logical standpoint.
And yet…. it's also one of the only things in his life to ever have made any sense at all.
He sprawls out on the floor in a mess of limbs that feel too long and mussed up clothes that don't fit as well as they should anymore. For a minute or so he just… breathes, all while the rest of his extended family (and the spirits he figures are also a part of it) just look at him.
"I'm a child of logic," he finally says, staring up at the ceiling. "I've always preferred facts and numbers to pretty much anything else - magic and all that used to be reserved for games and bedtime stories, simple recreation… but Gozaburo wanted to squash whatever tiny belief I still had in "illogical" things like that, once Mokuba and I landed in his… care."
He turns his head, meeting Youko's eyes where she peeks at him over the side of the couch. "Youko - everyone. Please understand that what I've just been told goes against my very nature. Magic doesn't exist outside of fiction - it's what I've believed since as long as I can remember. It's never been anything but an abstract concept, more like something I felt when my mother read me a story or I played a game. To have definitive proof that magic is very much real and has been keeping me safe from that man for months… it's a complete contradiction of everything I thought I knew. So excuse me for breaking down and still having my doubts, but… at some point, you just have to either just laugh or start crying."
Youko keeps looking at him. An outsider might not see much of a change in her expression, but he sees the glint in her eyes subtly changing. From something light and lively to hard and determined.
Not a word spoken between them, at yet there's an entire conversation in just that tiny change.
Youko telling him she understands, that she doesn't judge him for having reservations, that he doesn't have to just… accept everything.
He takes a deep breath through his nose and closes his eyes, feels the steady ground against his back.
He'll be okay.
He just needs to change his world-view a little, first. But he's done it before - too many times for someone at his age, maybe, but he's done it.
Once that's done, he'll be able to apply logic to the changed world again.
For awhile after Gozaburo's death, it's as if the world is spinning at double speed while Youko herself is stuck trudging through tar, trying desperately to keep up with everything.
The media circus started by the death of Gozaburo Kaiba had been pure purgatory. They'd all been stuck inside for days, only speaking to the media through Fujioka-san and a small team of Kaiba Corp. Lawyers who hadn't immediately jumped ship had worked almost 24/7 to keep the company afloat on behalf of Seto and Mokuba.
Meanwhile there had been the police and court to deal with. With Gozaburo dead, the brothers were without a legal guardian, and while Grandpa was the only one with any sort of claim on them through relation, child protective services still stalled.
Eight children, all under 20 and half under 10, in the tiny house that was the Kame Game Shop, with only one elderly adult as the only guardian? No, that was out of the question to them. Even with the added support of the Gardner and Taylor families, there just wasn't enough enough room for all those children to live comfortably and safely.
She'd wanted to argue, to tell them that they'd done fine during visits, that they'd manage. But deep in her heart, she knew that it was true. Sooner or later they wouldn't be able to share rooms anymore - they'd want to have their own space to just be.
The thing was, Youko didn't want to give up her cousins. They'd fought so hard to free them, to get them back from that horrible place, and suddenly their efforts weren't good enough?
It tortured her.
And then relief came in the form of Isono.
"Let me make up for my inability to protect them from him," he'd said to them. "Just until you can find a solution to the housing issue, the boys can stay with me. My fiancée and I have a spare room, we don't mind all - you have my word".
The court accepted the offer.
That's how Seto and Mokuba ended up moving in with Isono and and his wife-to-be Kotone in a little apartment in an area called Hanafuda Village - which isn't really a village, it's actually a pretty big area that both is and isn't a part of Tokyo's suburbs (there are a lot of technicalities on the area that she can't be bothered to understand), but that didn't matter at the time. What mattered to Youko was that it was where her cousins would live.
It has the added perk of being about 30 minutes away from Domino City Centre (and thus the KC offices), but since it is a new area, it's a far cry from anything that might remind her cousins of their years without freedom.
Not too long after, Grandpa put the game shop up for sale and started looking for available real estate. Literally a day later, the same was done with the Kaiba Estate.
"I don't want to set foot in the damn thing again if I don't have to," Seto tells them, when things have settled a bit more, and he and Mokuba have gotten used to their (temporary, they're all very keen on stressing that it's only temporary) new living situation with Isono and Kotone. "It could burn to the ground and I wouldn't care."
"Uhm…. that's a little harsh, isn't it Seto?"
"I honestly don't think I have the capacity to care about such things anymore, Haruhi. It's all being blocked by the relief-high I've been on the for past four weeks and counting."
They're all gathered on the floor of Isono's living room, having invaded the space and covered it in futons, pillows, blankets and sleeping bags. They can faintly hear Kotone and Isono chat with Ryoji and Anzu in the kitchen, where they've resigned themselves to being banished to for the night while supervising the sleepover. It's around 9 in the evening. Ryou, Yugi, Serenity, and Mokuba have already passed out, Joey and Tristan are engaged in a fierce pokemon battle, and Youko and the other girls (sans Haruhi) are occupied with doing each others' hair, a book with step-by-step guides and reference photos spread out on the floor between them.
"I'm not judging - I live in Ouran, remember? That place is so full of rich people, you wouldn't believe the stuff you see walking down the street. I'm just saying, that's a lot of resources going to waste if you're just going to burn it," she shrugs.
"Eat the rich!" Youko chimes in, snickering when Hinata gives her a look.
"In any case," Seto says, ignoring her antics, "you're right that a lot of good resources would go to waste. Which is why I'm going to donate the artworks and antiques he's been hoarding to museums or the rightful owners, and I guess I'll sell or give away some of the furniture to people who need it."
"Well, he might never admit to it, but I think dad would appreciate getting a new couch for his office, if you're just giving furniture away," Tea butts in, speaking around a mouthful of bobby pins. "Haru-chan, you sure you don't want to join in? Your hair'd be so pretty!"
Haruhi shakes her head. "I'll pass… but I think the loser of that deathmatch over there should get a makeover as a consolation."
"That is a brilliant idea, Haruhi!"
""NO IT'S NOT!""
They laugh. It's a happy evening. Youko thinks this is good, she can live with this, just until they get a new house.
And they do.
They're just a few days from summer break when it's offered to them.
It's another corner building, three and a half storeys tall if the attic is counted, towards the end of a nice shopping district called Shogi Street, and much bigger than their old home, even if they have their similarities. The ground floor is already authorised for shop-space, though the realtor tells them that the owner of the neighbouring building is contemplating selling, so that they might have the option to expand even further.
It's a bit of a fixer-upper, truthfully. The building has been for sale for a very long time and is a little outdated, but… when Grandpa, accompanied by Adam, takes them to look at things…
The windows are big - not just in the shop, but in the living area. Even without expanding, there's plenty of space for all of them to have a room. Sure, they might end up a little small, but they don't need much else. And if push comes to shove, Youko wouldn't mind sharing a room with Hinata. It's what they've done so far, anyways.
Anything to get Seto and Mokuba home.
It doesn't come to that, however. Because Seto (and Isono) steps in.
Before they can even really think things through, a large sum of money is spent on the building, as well as all the necessary inspections and teams that are needed to repair and update everything. All generously paid for by the New Kaiba Corporation.
And because her cousin has never really learned how to Chill, the same is done with the neighbor's building.
By the middle of the two weeks that is their summer vacation (which Youko still thinks is unfairly short), they have a new house. Youko's room is on the top floor at the south-eastern corner and looks out over the backyard (a nice, sunny area with a pretty stone terrace and enough room for an apple tree and a nice playset with swings, a slide, and a little tower), as well as a decent chunk of Shogi Street. Right next to it, in the south-western corner, is Hinata's room - she could lean out of her window and wave at her, if she wanted to.
She knows that Seto's room is going to be a bit further down the hall from her's, and that Mokuba, Ryou, and Yugi will be in a room right next to that, which also puts it close to Grandpa's room, not to mention that Joey's room will be on the opposite side of that. Serenity is right across from her and Hinata, and they've set up little string-lights along the floor as a guide, should anyone have nightmares and want to seek out a specific person.
All of her extended family is going to be within 10 steps at most from her.
It's great. She's so happy - that, in turn, makes the spirit sharing her mind happy, even when he's mostly unconscious. She can feel it.
The Kame Gameshop has its grand opening in Hanafuda Village on the last day of the summer holidays. The gathering is modest, but that's not what matters. Not to Youko.
Her family is completed. Gozaburo is gone, and her cousins - her brothers - are safe, are home.
And that, she thinks, is all that matters.
A/N:
Hey all, long time no see...post….whatever. Anyways. Sorry it's been so long. A lot has happened for both Nordic and I since our last post. For me I've had a lot of family drama happen, several people I've known for years have passed away. My emotional and mental health have been a mess honestly. Work has been draining. Motivation and energy for anything has been hard to come by. Plus new fandoms and lives have stolen me away with no hope of freedom, and scrounging up anything for CitG or JoOS has been very hard. But I'm determined to finish both.
Not a whole lot happening this chapter. Nordic and I both just reached the point of needing/wanting to post something, anything for you all. We figure something short is better than nothing.
Shoutout to all of the people who viewed and all of our current followers and faves and our new followers and favorites (The-Living-Shadow, .com, The 27th Noah, trollypop, cb104205, ShiroShiki27, Zenith Elf, Topaz Leaves, 97NerdyRoses, Skittertale, Sparkler of chaos, FallenwaterTheFallen, RunFromTheMedic, kyukons, Heitor, Rescue9911, ilovepie123, QueenAella, DragonClanMaster, RedWolf Lover, TehBdog, HollowGoku90's, sorcerousfang, aeds, iniziodellastella, asunashesetsuna, Yami no Mitsuru, Luna Lillyth, Ophelia Elric, MysteryOfOrigin, Eric Smith1, Ashers537, DiCuore Alissa, and BarleyRice) And thanks to everyone who left Kudos!
And EXTRA thank yous and love to for the reviews/comments! Comments and reviews give us life and motivation. Please leave us some!
Thanks again to the amazingly talented and lovely Moirei for Beta-ing for us, as always :)
Anyways, that's all for this chapter. Stay safe and have a good rest of your day, week, or month(s). Until next time!
C. S. Stars
A/N:
Hey there, everyone. Like Stars said, things have been crazy for both of us, and this chapter has been like pulling out teeth to write. I won't go into detail, but long story short: my beloved godmother - a person was like an aunt to me, and a sister to my mom - very sadly was diagnosed with a very aggressive cancer relapse in early June, and subsequently passed away just a week before she would've turned 57 in July. This went and killed all my will to write for a very long time, and on top of that, there was also a very nasty mishap with a lost 18-page final essay 12 hours before deadline just took everything out of me.
Things are better now, though. I'm back on my feet and has moved on to my Master's degree, which has also taken a lot of my time, but I'm proud to finally be able to get something out to you guys. It's been a long road to get to this point, but like my partner in writing said, a short chapter is better than no chapter, and with this out of the way, we can finally move on to more exciting topics. Be prepared for time-skips, though - it's high time we reach "Season 0", and we can't wait to show you all of our ideas!
Thanks to Moirei for the beta-read, and extra special thanks to all of you guys who comment, follow, leave kudos, and just generally stick around while it takes us over half a year to finish a chapter ^^;
You guys keep being awesome, we'll try to be back a little sooner next time!
NordicTwin
Edited/Beta by Moirei
Finished February 14, 2019
Published February 15, 2019