The blaze finally tired, and the firemen left the scene. All that
was left of the once grand Kaiba Corporation was rubble. Kaiba Land, a
place where regular people could use virtual fields to duel, was shut down.
It was a dependent place and could not run without Kaiba Corp.
* * *
Kaiba weakly opened his eyes and saw his brother, Mokuba, in his blurry eyesight. "M-Mokuba," he said.
"Seto!" Mokuba hugged his brother.
"Let's go home, Mokuba," Kaiba said as he struggled to sit up in his bed.
"Whatever you say, Seto," Mokuba said. He stepped outside and told a passing doctor that he thought it was time for them to go home. The doctor went into the room to check up on Kaiba.
After several minutes of checks, the doctor turned to Mokuba. "He appears to be fine. His lungs are functioning normally, and he's seemed to gain most of his strength back. However, the smoke inhilation had quite an impact on his neural cells."
"Huh?" Mokuba said.
"Neural - h-his brain cells," the doctor explained. "Some of them may have damaged. It's common with smoke inhilation."
Mokuba shook his head. "My big brother has so many brain cells that a few missing ones won't make a difference. So can we go home now?"
The doctor looked at Kaiba's clipboard for a moment and then agreed. He helped Kaiba into a wheelchair (so he had no chance of falling and suing the hospital) and went with him and Mokuba to the main desk. One of the clerks handed Mokuba the bill.
His eyes widened. "Wow! It's not cheap to go to the hospital!" He put it in his pocket.
The doctor chuckled. "Well, Seto Kaiba of all people shouldn't have a problem with that," he said.
"Yeah, you're right," said Mokuba, pushing his brother out of the hospital. He took his older brother's cell phone from his pocket and called for a limo. "What?!" he yelled, when the man on the other line said that the service was no longer available to Seto Kaiba. "What do you MEAN we are unable to provide payment? Fine! I'll call for a chopper, then!" But that wasn't available to them, either. He looked at Kaiba strangely. "Why can't we get some service here?" he asked his brother.
* * *
"What's going to happen to Kaiba now?" Yugi wondered that night as he finished his homework and got ready for bed. "That building was the basis of everything he's owned." He had watched the news long enough to learn that Kaiba's thousands of employees had to be laid off, and each would still need to be paid for the two weeks they worked prior to the fire. Economists that were interviewed said that unless Kaiba was able to pull off something big, he would go into bankruptcy.
"But Kaiba always thinks of a way out," Yugi said. "Even in my duel with him at Duelist Kingdom." He shuddered at the memory.
And with that, Yugi went to bed.
* * *
It was quite late when Mokuba and Kaiba arrived at the Kaiba mansion. They had had to ride in a stinky, regular old cab. Kaiba, now out of the wheelchair, didn't seem to mind, though, but Mokuba did.
There was a pair of suited men at the front door with clipboards. Mokuba recognized them as Kaiba's financial advisers. They shook their heads sadly.
"What?!" Mokuba cried. "We need a place to sleep!"
"I'm sorry, but there are thousands of workers who need their paychecks, including us," one of the advisers said. This mansion is one of Kaiba's few reminaing assets. And tomorrow morning, it'll be Kaiba Land next." He and the other advisers turned to leave.
"But -" Mokuba said. "Say something, Seto!"
Kaiba spoke for the first time in a long while. "Have you got a blanket for us?"
The advisers laughed. In pity, one of them went to the limo that they had come in and produced two blankets and a small bag of packaged foor for Kaiba and Mokuba. "We'll see you in the morning," they said. They got into the vehicle and drove away.
Mokuba and Kaiba slept on the mansion lawn that night, snuggling. Luckily, it wasn't a very cold night. Although he was comfortable, wrapped around a part of his brother's trechcoat, Mokuba felt insecure about sleeping outdoors. Kaiba didn't seem to mind at all.
Morning came, and the advisers came back. Everything was taken away, much to Mokuba's dismay. He cried, kicked, and whined, but Kaiba didn't have much to say on the matter. He kept telling his little brother not to worry - that he would soon find a job and fix things. That made Mokuba feel better. Their job hunt began early that afternoon.
* * *
The topic of the Kaiba Corporation fire was the main thing at school. During lunch, Yugi, Téa, Tristan, Bakura, and Joey were sitting around Yugi's desk, wondering what Kaiba was going to do. They all agreed that Kaiba would get back up and go back to his "greedy old self" in no time.
Walking alone on his way home from school that day, Yugi looked through his backpack and noticed that his mother had put the letter from Industrial Illusions in there. "That letter again!" he said, this time preparing to open it. "As long as I am alone, I don't risk whatever is inside hurting anyone." He carefully tore the envelope open.
(To be continued.)
* * *
Kaiba weakly opened his eyes and saw his brother, Mokuba, in his blurry eyesight. "M-Mokuba," he said.
"Seto!" Mokuba hugged his brother.
"Let's go home, Mokuba," Kaiba said as he struggled to sit up in his bed.
"Whatever you say, Seto," Mokuba said. He stepped outside and told a passing doctor that he thought it was time for them to go home. The doctor went into the room to check up on Kaiba.
After several minutes of checks, the doctor turned to Mokuba. "He appears to be fine. His lungs are functioning normally, and he's seemed to gain most of his strength back. However, the smoke inhilation had quite an impact on his neural cells."
"Huh?" Mokuba said.
"Neural - h-his brain cells," the doctor explained. "Some of them may have damaged. It's common with smoke inhilation."
Mokuba shook his head. "My big brother has so many brain cells that a few missing ones won't make a difference. So can we go home now?"
The doctor looked at Kaiba's clipboard for a moment and then agreed. He helped Kaiba into a wheelchair (so he had no chance of falling and suing the hospital) and went with him and Mokuba to the main desk. One of the clerks handed Mokuba the bill.
His eyes widened. "Wow! It's not cheap to go to the hospital!" He put it in his pocket.
The doctor chuckled. "Well, Seto Kaiba of all people shouldn't have a problem with that," he said.
"Yeah, you're right," said Mokuba, pushing his brother out of the hospital. He took his older brother's cell phone from his pocket and called for a limo. "What?!" he yelled, when the man on the other line said that the service was no longer available to Seto Kaiba. "What do you MEAN we are unable to provide payment? Fine! I'll call for a chopper, then!" But that wasn't available to them, either. He looked at Kaiba strangely. "Why can't we get some service here?" he asked his brother.
* * *
"What's going to happen to Kaiba now?" Yugi wondered that night as he finished his homework and got ready for bed. "That building was the basis of everything he's owned." He had watched the news long enough to learn that Kaiba's thousands of employees had to be laid off, and each would still need to be paid for the two weeks they worked prior to the fire. Economists that were interviewed said that unless Kaiba was able to pull off something big, he would go into bankruptcy.
"But Kaiba always thinks of a way out," Yugi said. "Even in my duel with him at Duelist Kingdom." He shuddered at the memory.
And with that, Yugi went to bed.
* * *
It was quite late when Mokuba and Kaiba arrived at the Kaiba mansion. They had had to ride in a stinky, regular old cab. Kaiba, now out of the wheelchair, didn't seem to mind, though, but Mokuba did.
There was a pair of suited men at the front door with clipboards. Mokuba recognized them as Kaiba's financial advisers. They shook their heads sadly.
"What?!" Mokuba cried. "We need a place to sleep!"
"I'm sorry, but there are thousands of workers who need their paychecks, including us," one of the advisers said. This mansion is one of Kaiba's few reminaing assets. And tomorrow morning, it'll be Kaiba Land next." He and the other advisers turned to leave.
"But -" Mokuba said. "Say something, Seto!"
Kaiba spoke for the first time in a long while. "Have you got a blanket for us?"
The advisers laughed. In pity, one of them went to the limo that they had come in and produced two blankets and a small bag of packaged foor for Kaiba and Mokuba. "We'll see you in the morning," they said. They got into the vehicle and drove away.
Mokuba and Kaiba slept on the mansion lawn that night, snuggling. Luckily, it wasn't a very cold night. Although he was comfortable, wrapped around a part of his brother's trechcoat, Mokuba felt insecure about sleeping outdoors. Kaiba didn't seem to mind at all.
Morning came, and the advisers came back. Everything was taken away, much to Mokuba's dismay. He cried, kicked, and whined, but Kaiba didn't have much to say on the matter. He kept telling his little brother not to worry - that he would soon find a job and fix things. That made Mokuba feel better. Their job hunt began early that afternoon.
* * *
The topic of the Kaiba Corporation fire was the main thing at school. During lunch, Yugi, Téa, Tristan, Bakura, and Joey were sitting around Yugi's desk, wondering what Kaiba was going to do. They all agreed that Kaiba would get back up and go back to his "greedy old self" in no time.
Walking alone on his way home from school that day, Yugi looked through his backpack and noticed that his mother had put the letter from Industrial Illusions in there. "That letter again!" he said, this time preparing to open it. "As long as I am alone, I don't risk whatever is inside hurting anyone." He carefully tore the envelope open.
(To be continued.)