Daddy Dearest

"Do it." ordered a cruel voice, abusing the power of authority.

Shaking his head rapidly, the brown-haired adolescent squeezed his eyes shut. His small jaws snapped closed, ramming the teeth he had together so hard that he felt as if they would shatter on impact. Cold beads of sweat dotted the young child's face, a flawless representation of pure and unbridled fear. Seto couldn't follow through with the actions that were demanded of him. He just wouldn't bring himself to do it. No longer caring how much physical, emotional, or spiritual terror was going to be exercised over him for being disobedient, he remained frozen in place. Father could carry out any depraved little fantasy he wished—stabbings with pins and needles, burnings with pokers from fireplaces, even bondage in the dead of winter—the blue-eyed boy would tolerate any kind of beating imaginable. But not this. Not this kind of trauma that involved an innocent person. Never would he be forced to do something so vile, so completely repulsive that involved his own brother…

"Do it now," the heartless tone repeated, containing a steely edge to it. "or you're going to regret the day you were conceived on."

"I already do." confessed the blue-eyed boy shamefully, his head bowed between his shoulders. "Most of the time, I wish Mother never had me."

Wicked laughter reverberated throughout the large bedroom, chilling the shorter individual to the bone. "I know what you mean, little one. I often fell asleep dreaming for the same thing."

Lifting his eyes to the ceiling, Daddy actually appeared to be sane at the moment. His dark green orbs started to shimmer, appearing to be absorbed in a fantasy that only his warped mind dared to concoct. Amazed that his dad could accomplish a serene, starry-eyed expression, Seto stared at him with big cobalt orbs. Father looked so passionate, so completely friendly, that the small child wanted nothing more than to run to his relative with open arms and bask in the radiant sensation of love he so desperately longed for. If only his parent's statements didn't sound like terrible death threats aimed at destroying his body and self-esteem…

"When your mother was still with us, I'd hold her in my arms and drift away into blissful slumber nightly. I was so content to be in the same room with her, on the same mattress, cradling the woman of my love. We were like high school sweethearts all over again, kissing and cuddling each other, our hearts filled with so much joy just because we were able to lie together." Seeming to be lost in the pleasure of reminiscing, the corners of the lovesick adult's lips began to rise.

Startled at such a display of tenderness from someone who was generally violent, Kaiba found that he couldn't keep his emotions from overriding his common sense. Against his better judgment, he rushed up to his tormented father's side and flung his arms around the older male's waist. Maybe this wasn't such a monster of an individual to be with after all. Maybe this man, who had never ceased to delight in sadistically torturing his own children, was ready to evolve into a full-fledged parent. Thrilled with the prospect that they could finally become a prosperous household, the sapphire-eyed adolescent felt his own mouth tilt upwards. This was the first genuine look of happiness the small child was able to muster in years. All he wanted to do was share in this grown-up's elated state of mind, his hopes, and even his worst nightmares. More specifically, he craved adoration, someone patting him on the head and telling him how good he was, how beautiful and smart he was, how he could go anywhere in the world and be anything he wished to be because there was always someone right behind him, offering him so much devotion and support that it would be impossible for him to fail in life. Mommy was right. After infinite hours of sitting in the moonlight, praying to the celestial spirits for divine intervention, God had sprung into action at last. He had sent one of his archangels down to guard both brothers' hearts, protecting them from the evils that endangered their immortal souls. They weren't such bad children after all. Sunlight would shine in their lives again, allowing them to experience new memories with someone that had the potential to become extremely attached to them, just like Mother had when she was alive.

Still hugging his father with every bit of energy he possessed, Seto cried, "We'll love you, Daddy! Me and Mokuba can make you as happy as you were when Mommy--"

Out of the blue, the dreamy expression disappeared from the adult's visage, and his eyes turned cold and steely at the childish claim. Grabbing on to Kaiba's limbs, he ripped the slender boy's arms from his body and jammed a knee in his shocked son's mid-section. Disgusted by the child's attempt to replace his lover, the older male pressed both of his palms on the shoulders of his target. Bearing the cruel intention to hurt the harmless heir in his grasp, he shoved Seto backwards. Crashing to the hardwood floor, the brown-haired individual hit his head against the relentless surface he faced. Scrunching his frame into a tight, painful little ball, his watery vision was tainted by the sight of his father looming over him, eyeing him frigidly.

"You stupid, spoiled brats will never make me as happy as your mother did." spat the abusive male, inwardly enjoying the horrible look of anxiety on his child's face. Stalking over to the crumpled structure, he positioned a newly polished dress shoe over the boy's hands. "Never." he repeated venomously, lowering his foot onto the adolescent's fingers. "Neither of you are even worth my time, much less love and attention."

Kaiba had just started to mold his mouth into a wince when an atrocious amount of agony attacked his brain signals. Indicators of severe hurt were running haywire in his mind, prompting animalistic screams to be discharged from his throat. Excruciating pain gripped his body, trapping him in a distorted dimension where only the mists of shadows scurried rampantly across his skin and violated his vision. Listening to his own deplorable shouts wasn't even the worst of the entire encounter. Somewhere in the background, he could hear the terrified shrieks of another child, someone who sounded like they were undergoing more misery than he was. The other individual's yelling was high-pitched, uncontrolled echoes of hysteria that had to have belonged to none other than--

"Stop it!" bawled Mokuba, his voice mirroring the noise a banshee made at Halloween. "Please, don't hurt him anymore! Stop hurting my niisan!"

Turning his attention to the younger child loudly proclaiming his despair, Daddy Dearest set his weapon of a limb on the ground. Wearing a crazed expression, the demented adult plastered a sick smile across his lips. Keeping his eyes fixed on the traumatized adolescent by the bed, their father jerked his foot into Kaiba's ribs. Clearly disturbed by the demonstration of rough treatment his brother was receiving, Mokuba buried his face in his lap. It wasn't long before the indigo-eyed male was reduced to a trembling mass of bones. Smirking in corrupt achievement, the man gave his trampled son one final thrash of his leg before he backed off. Scanning Seto's body, the grown-up noticed that some of the child's flesh had commenced to breaking out in patches of unattractive colors. Angry shades of onyx and amethyst distorted the exhausted adolescent's skin, tints that were so sinisterly formed that they resembled the work of an enraged abstract artist. Obviously pleased with the finished product his canvas board produced, the parent showed the boy his back, leaving the little male to twitch sporadically. Tapping the wooden boards with his heels, Daddy sauntered over the floor with light, purposeful steps. One brother down, another yet to go.

Watching the mad man through half-closed lids, Seto realized where their parent would strike next. Working his mouth up and down, he attempted to speak, but no words came out. Phrases of his were stuck in his esophagus, hanging in suspended animation, circling throughout his mind in wild panic. He had to get the statements in his head out. He just had to. If he didn't, then his younger sibling would be--

"Mo-ku-ba…"croaked the injured blue-eyed boy, hoping he was speaking loud enough for his loved one to hear, "get up. You've got to do it."

By the grace of the good spirits, the longhaired adolescent responded in a shaky tone.

"I-I can't, Seto. I don't wanna see you get hurt anymore."

"I'm fine, though."

"Daddy kicked you so bad, though--"

"But I'm okay." lied the elder brother, masking all the hurt he felt inside and out. "It's not that bad."

"No one could be after all that!"

"I am."

"But--"

"Listen to me!" hissed the brown-haired boy, arriving at the dreadful realization that his voice might give out soon. "I'm alright now! Get up and leave me here!"

Petrified of the thought of being stripped of his one reason for living in this lifetime, Mokuba swung his head side to side. "No way! You know I can't ever do that!"

"Just do it!" commanded Seto, trying to be patient with his sibling's fears. "Go! Get out of here!"

"No, don't make me--"

"Now, before Daddy comes and--"

Before Mokuba's mind could register the weight of Kaiba's statements, the impending doom known as their father swooped in for the kill. Without even bothering to cover the child's mouth, the man tackled his other son, slamming the smaller boy onto his back. Panicking underneath the colossal weight of his parent, the youngster fought back as vehemently as he could. His miniature fists beat ferociously against his dad's barrel chest, desperately seeking a way to break free from his captor's grip. Wordlessly, the older male caught his kid's balled up hands in the flats of his palms. Seizing the longhaired boy's wrists, the adult slapped the fragile limbs he held against the ground. Transferring the quivering arms to one set of fingers, Daddy Dearest applied his other limb to stripping the indigo-eyed adolescent of the bottom half of his attire. Too terrified to utter a sound, Mokuba stared wide-eyed at the vulnerable flesh--his own skin--that was being exposed.

"Not now!" wailed the little child, on the verge of a nervous breakdown. "Not here! Nooo!"

A well-placed slap had the small youngster literally seeing starts. Groaning awkwardly, the petite male had to contend with blurry vision for the remainder of the ghastly experience. As he let his lids droop closed, he caught a glimpse of his older relative, cringing in what had to be a mixture of terrible aches coupled with watching helplessly as someone he loved so much became an object of nasty aggression. Succumbing to the fact that he would be a stigma to his father for the rest of his existence, the petite adolescent stopped struggling. Knowing that it was either now or never, the small child reserved the last of his strength to calm his brother into blissful surrender.

"Niisan…"uttered Mokuba, exchanging a heartbroken smile with his sibling, "give yourself up already. Just stop tryin' to get away and give it all up. It'll mean a lot less pain for us--"

Abruptly, the living quarters erupted into tragic howls, devastating commotion that tore apart whatever was left of Kaiba's heart. Covering his sapphire orbs as fast as he possibly could, he trembled violently as he rocked himself back and forth. Streams of water trickled through his fingers, the flood of anguish forcing the physical world around him to go numb. Cold, so cold…his body felt like an arctic wasteland, devoid of any real meaning or purpose in life. He imagined his very soul turning into thin ice, where he saw himself recklessly walking across the river of his soul just to fall in. That's what it seemed like he was doing…falling. Plummeting into oceans that were below zero in temperature. Plunging into torrents of frosty thunderstorms. Drowning in chilling temperatures that no other creatures dared to venture into. Frozen to a solid glacier of flesh. Drifting…he was wandering from one state of mind to another, discovering the boundaries of insanity and points beyond that. Reality was scary, Mokuba had practically handed his innocence to their demented father, and as for Kaiba himself…he did the direct opposite of what his brother suggested for him to try. As always, he found himself on the run, distancing himself from the plane of materialism to arrive at his own private escape from it all. As long as he kept on running, he'd never have to look back…unless something was frantically clinging to him, making him slow down…

"Father, why?" sobbed Seto uncontrollably, losing himself to the untamed nature of his heavenly hell, "Mommy went to God, but we're still here! Why can't be a family together? We love you! Why can't you understand that? Don't hurt us anymore, 'cause we love you, Daddy Dearest!"