"Do you think it's true, Seto?"
"What, Mokuba?" Seto replied, not bothering to look up from his computer.
"That Joey's sister Serenity is our sister too," Mokuba said, studying the picture of his parents that sat on his older brother's desk.
"I can't believe that you're falling for Wheeler's crazy story, Mokuba," Seto replied, disgusted. "I thought you were smarter than that."
"I dunno," Mokuba said, settling back on the couch across from the massive desk that dominated Seto's office. "I think it'd be kind of nice to have a sister."
"Dream on, Mokuba," Seto replied. "You and I are the only family we have now."
"Still…I think I'd like to have a sister," Mokuba continued. "I wonder what she's like?"
Seto ignored his younger brother and turned his attention back to the spreadsheet on his computer screen.
"Serenity. That's a pretty name," thought Mokuba out loud.
Seto looked up from his computer with an exasperated grunt. "Mokuba, if you're going to keep on with this nonsense, then leave me alone. I've got work to do," the older boy said harshly.
"Oh…well, all right, Seto." A dejected Mokuba slowly made his way out of the office and down the hallway to the elevator. But as he pressed the down button, inspiration struck and a smile returned to the boy's face.
"I'm sure Seto won't mind," he said to himself as he darted excitedly into the elevator.
---
"How's Serenity doing?" asked Yugi as he, Téa, and Tristan stepped out of the hospital elevator.
"Well, the doctor said that everything looks good, but he doesn't want to take the bandages off of her eyes just yet," replied Joey. "Ma went to get her a burger and some fries. Serenity says that the food here stinks."
"Can we see her?" said Tristan eagerly. He had recently developed a crush on Serenity.
"Nahh, the doc says that she needs to rest right now. Only family are allowed in her room," said Joey.
"Besides, Tristan," Téa smiled mischievously. "I'm not sure your heart could take being so close to Serenity."
"Wha…?" Everyone laughed as Tristan's face grew bright red.
"Joey?"
Everyone turned to see a small boy with long black hair emerge from the elevator.
"Hey, Mokuba. Whaddya doin' here?" said Joey, somewhat surprised by the boy's appearance.
"I…uh…" The boy fidgeted uncomfortably. "I wanted to see Serenity, if that's okay."
"I don't know, Mokuba. Only family are allowed to visit," Tristan told him.
"But Mokbua is Serenity's family," Téa reminded him.
Joey thought about it for a moment then smiled slightly. "Yeah, I guess you're right, Téa." Joey knelt down until he was eye level with the younger boy. "All right, Mokuba. You can go see Serenity, but ya' gotta promise me one thing."
"What is it, Joey?"
"Ya' see, Mokuba, Serenity doesn't know the truth about your dad being her dad. My mom didn't think it'd be a good idea to break the news to her while she was havin' all those problems with her eyes. So she doesn't know that you're her brother. And until Ma does tell her the truth, you can't say anything about it to her. Okay?"
The boy nodded. "Okay, Joey. I promise."
He then carefully opened the door to Serenity's room, not knowing exactly what to expect.
"Hello? Joey, is that you?" A pretty, brown-haired girl with bandaged eyes who appeared to be a couple of years older than Mokuba was lying in bed in the middle of the room. "Did you bring me my burger? I'm so sick of lime gelatin."
"Uh, no…" Mokuba replied hesitantly.
Serenity bolted upright in bed, not recognizing the unfamiliar voice. "You're not Joey! Who are you?"
"My name is Mokuba," the boy replied, drawing a little closer to the girl's bed.
The girl smiled and relaxed visibly. "Oh, yes. Joey told me all about how he helped save you and your brother from Pegasus."
"Yeah." The boy looked curiously at Serenity. "Are your eyes okay now? Joey said you had surgery on them."
"Well, they hurt a bit and are pretty itchy, but the doctor gave me some medicine for them. I can't wait to get these bandages off so I can see my big brother again," Serenity said excitedly.
"Yeah, big brothers are important," Mokuba agreed, seating himself on the edge of the girl's bed.
"It was nice of you to come visit me," Serenity smiled in Mokuba's direction. "Did your big brother come too?"
Mokuba shook his head. "No. Seto and Joey don't get along too well."
"Yeah, Joey's told me all about it. My brother's always telling me about Duel Monsters and all the tournaments he's been in."
"My big brother Seto is the best duelist out there," Mokuba said proudly. "He even runs his own corporation. Do you like Duel Monsters too?"
"I've always wanted to play, but I had a hard time because of these." She pointed to her bandaged eyes. "I never could see the cards."
"If you like, when you get better I could teach you," Mokuba offered.
"That's awfully nice of you, Mokuba. Thanks," Serenity smiled sweetly. "And it was nice of you to visit."
"No problem."
The pair fell silent for several moments, not knowing exactly what to say next.
"Joey said that you and your brother got adopted a few years ago," Serenity finally blurted out.
"Yeah," replied Mokuba. "Even though a lot of people wanted to adopt Seto, he wouldn't go with anyone unless they adopted me."
"Sounds like your brother isn't as bad as Joey says," Serenity smiled. "I wish Joey and I could've stayed together when our parents split up."
"Yeah, Joey talks about you a lot."
"Brothers are important, aren't they, Mokuba?"
"Yeah, Serenity, they are."
Mokuba studied the girl in silence for a few moments.
So this is what it feels like to have a sister. It's pretty cool.
"Well, I guess I'd better be going," Mokuba said, hopping off of the bed.
"Come back and visit anytime," Serenity said. "And be sure to bring your Duel Monsters deck next time because by then I'll be able to see what all the cards in your deck look like."
"Sure thing." Mokuba hesitated for a moment, then slowly reached into his jeans pocket. He pulled forth his Duel Monsters deck and flipped through the cards until he found the one he was searching for.
"Here," he said, handing Serenity a card. "You can keep this if you want."
Serenity ran her fingers along the card curiously. "What is it?"
"It's Elf's Light," the boy explained. "She helps light up the field and gives strength to light monsters."
"Thank you, Mokuba," Serenity smiled. "I can't wait to see what it looks like."
"Well, guess I'll be seeing ya' later," Mokuba said, heading for the door.
"And once I get these bandages off, I'll be seeing you later, Mokuba," Serenity replied.
"Didja tell her anything, Mokuba?" asked Joey anxiously as the boy emerged from the room.
"No. I didn't say anything, Joey," said Mokuba. "Serenity's really nice."
"She's the best," Joey smiled. "The best sister a guy could ever have."
Mokuba smiled back in agreement. "Yeah. You said it."
---
Back at the headquarters of KaibaCorp, Seto was sitting at his desk studying the picture of his parents. The memory of an awful day many years ago had suddenly resurfaced.
"Kimi, please…"
The pretty, dark haired woman slapped her husband's arm away. "Don't 'Kimi, please' me! My God, Hiro! I don't know what's worse -- you cheating on me or you not telling me about it. Were you ever going to tell me about it, Hiro?"
In the doorway of the bedroom where his parents were arguing, a small, frightened boy stood watching.
Don't fight, Mommy and Daddy. Please don't fight, the boy pleaded silently. I hate it when you fight.
"Kimi, it was a mistake. We never meant for it to happen."
"You're a lying sonofabitch, Hiro. And I…aaugh!" Kimi clutched her swollen abdomen and moaned in pain.
"Kimi, what is it? What's wrong? Is it the baby?" Hiro ran to his wife's side and helped her sit down on the bed.
Kimi roughly pushed her husband away. "Leave me alone, you cheating bastard!"
"Mommy! Stop hurting Mommy!" cried the boy, dashing out from his hiding place and racing to his mother's side. "Please stop fighting," pleaded the boy, his eyes red with tears. "I don't want you and Mommy to fight. I hate it when you fight." With a loud whimper, Seto buried his face in his mother's neck.
"See what you've done, Hiro?" Kimi said, stroking her terrified son's untidy brown hair. "You've frightened poor Seto. There, there, darling. It's all right."
"Please stop yelling at each other," hiccuped the crying boy. "Please stop fighting."
"I think you'd better leave us alone, Hiro," Kimi told her husband.
Hiro turned and silently left the room.
And the events of the month following his parents' huge argument was something that Seto wished he could block out of his mind forever.
After their blow-up, Seto's mother and father kept talking about something called "divorce". Seto was too young to understand what a "divorce" was, but he figured that it must be something bad to make his mommy and daddy fight so much.
And then…
An "amniotic fluid embolism" was what the doctors called it. They said it was extremely rare, and that there was nothing they could've done to prevent it.
But all Seto knew was that one minute his mother was smiling and telling him about how she thought he was going to be a good big brother to the new baby, and a short time later his father was crying and telling him that Mommy had died.
But miraculously, the doctors had been able to save the baby that his mother had been giving birth to when she had died.
"Don't worry, baby Mokuba," a crying Seto reassured his new brother when his father placed him in his arms. "I'll take care of you now."
If what Joey says is true, Seto thought, studying the placid smile on his mother's face, then his mother was the one who ruined my parents' marriage.
All those sleepless nights crying in my pillow, listening to my parents fighting, worrying about whether or not they were going to stay together…it's all her fault.
But if what Joey says is true, said a small voice inside Seto's head, then you also have a sister.
"Bullshit. It's all bullshit," Seto said angrily, placing the picture back on his desk with a loud thump. "I don't have time for this." He turned his attention back to the report on his computer.
"Hey, Seto," said Mokuba, peering around the door to his brother's office.
Seto looked up from his work. "Hello, Mokuba. I'm sorry that I got angry with you earlier."
"That's okay, Big Brother." Mokuba seated himself on the couch.
"Where have you been?" asked Seto.
"I…uh…" Mokuba replied hesitantly, unsure if his older brother would like that he had been to see Serenity at the hospital.
Seto noticed his brother's reticence and immediately figured out where Mokuba had been.
"You went to see Wheeler's sister, didn't you?" Seto said, his voice cool.
Mokuba nodded slowly. "Don't get mad, Big Brother. I just wanted to see her. If what Joey says is true, and that Serenity is our sister, then I'd like to get to know her better."
"Mokuba, for your sake, stay away from Serenity and the entire Wheeler family," Seto warned. "They're nothing but trouble."
"But why, Seto? Serenity seems like she's really nice. And Joey helped rescue us from Pegasus when…"
"Damn it, Mokuba, I'm tired of hearing about Joey and his sister and how wonderful they all are!" Seto shouted, bringing his fist down on his desk with such fury that all the items atop it rattled.
The younger boy cowered and shrank down into the cushions of the couch. "What's wrong, Seto?" asked Mokuba, his eyes wide with fright.
At the sight of his younger brother's terrified expression, Seto immediately felt guilty. "Oh, Mokuba, I'm sorry." Seto rubbed his aching temples. "I'm not feeling well. I shouldn't have shouted at you like that."
"That's okay, Seto." Mobuka got up and gave his older brother a hug. "I'm sorry that you don't feel well. Maybe you'd better stop and get some rest."
"That sounds like a good idea, Mokuba."
"You shouldn't work so hard, Seto. I worry about you," said Mokuba, burying his face in his brother's neck. "And I don't want anything to happen to you. You're the only person I've got left in this world."
As he clutched his brother close to him, a single tear slid out of Seto's eye. But he quickly wiped it away, recalling his adoptive father's words:
Tears are a sign of weakness. A real man doesn't cry, and I never want to see any son of mine crying like a spineless sissy.
That remark had also been accompanied by a beating to "toughen" Seto up – one of many to help "prepare" him for the ruthless world of business.
One day you'll thank me for this, son, Gozaburou had said while delivering another blow to his ten-year old son's head. You'll thank me for making you a man.
"Seto? Why are you shaking? Are you sick?"
"No, Mokuba. I'm fine." Seto released himself from his brother's embrace and shut off his computer. "Let's go."
To be continued…
