11 All Right
//I used to say I couldn't do it//
//But I did it//
//After telling everybody that I wasn't with it//
//Though it brings tears to my eyes//
//I can feel it//
//And I know inside I'm gonna be all right//
//I used to say I couldn't do it//
//But I did it//
//After telling everybody that I wasn't with it//
//Though it brings tears to my eyes//
//I can feel it//
//And that voice inside says I'm gonna be all right//
Jennifer Lopez—"All Right"
It was Jounouchi's fault.
The eavesdropper.
He had come upon Midian and Seto and heard them talking about Kaiba Corp's repossession by some Kaiba Noah. Naturally, he couldn't keep his mouth closed.
The whole school knew about it before the first bell.
"Thanks a lot, big mouth," Campbell sneered at him as she passed his locker.
Jounouchi reddened, "Gomen," he muttered.
"We're going to need a lot more than 'sorry' to make the school forget this." *Way...way more.*
****
"Oniisan, you heard what happened with you and Seto—and your big mouth!—right?"
"Seto's fault," Midian replied glibly.
Campbell smirked. "Always ready to pass the blame, aren't you?"
The black-haired teenager shrugged. "Hey, he didn't have to start talking about it!"
His twin sister sighed. Half of her wanted to pound her brother over his head for letting Jou hear the conversation; the other half was happy to see Midian returning to his usual teasing self. Campbell found it reassuring, of all things.
****
"Seto, when are we gonna start kicking some serious butt?!"
The brown-haired teenager fully expected Midian to ask the question, but it still caught him off-guard.
"I'm tired of just sitting around, and I think..."
"Have patience, niisan," Campbell interrupted. "Seto and I checked Kaiba Corp's virtual systems, and Noah's set up a almost impenetrable smokescreen. Even I wasn't trained to hack that."
"Trained?" Midian raised a dark eyebrow.
"N-never mind."
"Hmph." The teenager crossed his arms, his gray eyes almost black with impatience. He turned to Seto, who still hadn't spoken. "You haven't said anything, Seto. When do we...get cracking?"
Seto glanced out the darkening window of the mansion. "As soon as possible. Now, if we can."
Midian's smirk had never been wider. "Then let's get movin'!"
"Seto!"
The three teens froze simultaneously. The brown-haired teenager turned. "You're supposed to be in bed, little brother."
"I know..." The boy spread his arms. "But...where are you going?"
Seto hesitated. "To Kaiba Corporation to...complete some unfinished business."
Mokuba's dark eyes widened. "But Noah's there, Seto! What if he—"
He shook his head. "That won't happen, little brother." He added, before the boy could reply, "And you are going to stay here. You just got released from the hospital."
"But Seto...!" Mokuba was truly scared. He usually never questioned his brother's plans. Instinctively, rather than by choice, he stepped forward, gripping his brother's arm. "If you go...what if he...he separates us? Like Gozaburo almost did?"
Seto grimaced, remembering. It had only been five short years ago...
~Flashback~
"Leave my brother alone!" Seto shouted, pulling Mokuba against him, keeping him from Gozaburo. "What were you doing to him?" the brown-haired boy demanded. "Why were you hurting my brother?!"
"He deserves what he's going to get," Gozaburo sneered. "Move out of my way, boy. Before I hurt him worse than he already is!"
"Iie!" Seto's eyes narrowed. Disentangling himself from his brother, he stepped forward. "If you're going to hurt someone, hurt me."
"You asked for it...!"
"Seto!!" His brother's cries echoed in his ears. He hurt all over...but that wasn't anything new. Getting beat up was something he'd experienced enough to know how to react. He was doing it for his little brother; taking the beating that Mokuba deserved. Nothing else mattered as long as his brother wasn't hurt.
Gozaburo finally stepped back, breathing hard. "I will see that you troublemakers are put in separate homes!" he snapped. "And as far away as is humanly possible!" With that, he left the room, slamming the door behind him.
Mokuba almost couldn't speak. "Seto..."
The boy turned as his brother called his name, wincing slightly. He didn't look badly hurt—there were only a few bruises on his arms—but there was a painful look in his cerulean eyes, half-hidden by his unkempt brown hair.
"Come...come here, Mokuba," he whispered, an anguished tone in his voice.
The black-haired boy ran and embraced his older sibling tightly. Tears streamed down his face as he gasped, "Seto...big brother...he...he hurt you..."
"I'm—it's all right, Mokuba," Seto replied gently, fighting to keep his own tears back.
"Big—big brother..." Mokuba sobbed, burying his head in his brother's chest. "Why does he want to hurt us? Why—why does he hate us? Why does he want to separate us? Why, Seto...?"
Feeling his brother's strong arms around him, Mokuba was silenced as he sank into the comfort of Seto's presence. His brother gently massaged his small back, rocking him back and forth. "Seto?" Mokuba's eyes closed, and his sobbing quieted.
The brown-haired boy didn't reply. He couldn't. The tears stopped him. Without thinking, he let them flow, disregarding all that Gozaburo had said about crying being a weakness. "Mokuba..." Seto lowered his forehead to his brother's head resting on his chest. "No one...no one will ever separate us. It's-it's going to be all right, Mokuba-kun..." he repeated softy. His voice faded as sobs overpowered him.
*It's all right...*
But he knew it wasn't.
~End Flashback~
Seto looked down at the boy clutching him tightly. The teenager hadn't cried after that. Neither had Gozaburo managed to separate them.
*But he did give one hell of a try.*
Seto was well aware that Mokuba still held the fear that one day, his brother wouldn't come home.
"No one's going to tear us apart, Mokuba," Seto reminded him, pulling the boy close. *Especially not another Kaiba,* he added mentally. "Now we have to go, little brother. We'll be back soon. Got it, Mokuba?"
The black-haired boy nodded, blinking to keep back his tears. "Y-yeah..." he sniffed. "Whatever you say, big brother." A smile tilted the corners of his mouth. "Just remember...tomorrow's my birthday. If you come back, that'll be my present." He paused. "What did you get me, anyway?
"You think I'd actually tell you?" Seto smiled briefly, gently disengaging the boy's grip. "Don't worry, little brother. I'll be back. You can could on that."
With that the teenagers were gone, and Mokuba was left standing alone in the mansion.
Alone.