As promised, Yugi and the others came to visit Mokuba at Kaiba's mansion the next day. Seto stood in a corner of the room watching Mokuba talk excitedly with the group while Yugi told Kaiba of their plans for that day.
"We wanted to take him to the park for a picnic later too," Yugi informed him. "You can come with us of course."
"I have work to do. I don't have time to go frolicking with you and your fan club," Kaiba said coldly as he turned away from him.
"Okay," the smaller boy replied quietly. "We'll have Mokuba back before dark."
The group was about to leave when a bright glow caught their attention, and everyone turned to the center of the room. It was the same woman who had appeared on the day Kaiba first came to the Game Shop, but this time she brought her youngest child with her. Mokuba immediately distinguished Seto from his brother's counterpart and ran over to him happily.
The woman followed at a slower pace. "It is time for the others to meet him as well so that they may understand how important you are to each other," she said. She kneeled down to ruffle the younger boy's long hair. "Besides, I know you missed him, and he was worried about you too. Even though you were only gone for few minutes in his time." The woman smiled warmly at them and then disappeared again.
The others watched the two brothers interact from across the room, completely captivated with the sight. Standing side by side, it was obvious how much the siblings cared for each other. Without words, without actions, the group was able to sense something between them.
Kaiba and his own brother could not take their eyes off of them.
Joey bent his head down next to Mokuba. "And I thought one of you was already more than enough trouble," he joked before Tristan elbowed him in the ribs.
Yugi watched Seto and Mokuba with a look of sadness in his eyes. Tea placed a hand on his shoulder to comfort him as they saw how happy the two brothers were to be together.
Kaiba was the first to speak, "We'll need to fix up another bedroom for him too," he said as he walked in between the two groups. He turned to look at his own little brother. "Why don't you and the others go ahead as planned? I'll take care of things here."
~`~`~`~`~`~
When everyone was finished eating, Yugi and Mokuba sat together at one of the park benches. "I've really missed you this past week big brother," the young boy started.
"I've missed you too, Mokuba. It's been so quiet without you around."
The child said suddenly, "Why don't we just forget about the rest of the month and take me home now?"
Yugi was a little stunned to hear this since he thought his brother was getting used to staying at the mansion.
Mokuba continued, "Kaiba could never be like you. He's always in a bad mood, always working with his machines or at his company, barely ever says anything…" He went on, becoming more hyper.
"Mokuba…" Yugi said trying to get his attention.
But the child wasn't listening. "He probably hates me! I bet he can't wait for me to go home either. This was all just to get back at you for defeating him! I know it!"
Yugi's millennium puzzle began to glow. "Mokuba!" Yami spoke loud enough to silence the child and make him listen. "I'm disappointed in you Mokuba. I expected you to be stronger and make the most of this situation. Whether you like it or not, Kaiba is your brother. Things may be different, but you need to try to make this work. He's your only surviving blood relative. You owe it to yourself to work on this relationship. You don't understand how important this is."
Tears came to Mokuba's eyes, and Yugi immediately regained control.
"I'm sorry," Mokuba choked out. He began to cry. Hearing his brother say he was disappointed in him hurt. "I didn't mean it."
Yugi quickly went to the other side of the table to hug him. "Shhh. It's okay. Yami didn't mean to come off that harsh." He held his brother until he calmed down again. "I thought it was getting better for you at Kaiba's. But if this is really that hard for you, I can tell Grandpa. He'll get Kaiba to let you come home."
Mokuba wiped his tears away. "No," he said. "I didn't mean it. Really. It has gotten better, and I do want to get to know him again. It's just that I've missed having you around too. It's so different there. And then when that other me came…" he trailed off.
"I was surprised too," Yugi told him.
"Kaiba and I could never be like that, could we? I'll probably just end up disappointing him. I'm kinda scared. I felt something when they were standing there together. Do you think Kaiba could ever love me that way?"
"Maybe he already does or is at least starting to. He has trouble showing his emotions, but that doesn't mean that they aren't there. He may not be as open as the rest of us Mokuba, but that doesn't mean that he doesn't care about you in his own way." Mokuba smiled, and Yugi went on, "You still have a few weeks left at the mansion. I'm sure you'll come to understand his actions and see that he still loves you."
"Thank you," Mokuba whispered. "You're the best."
Yugi patted his shoulder. "Hey, there's still some time before we have to take you back. Let's find the others and go to the lake."
The two brothers set off, enjoying each other's company until it was time to leave.
~`~`~`~`~`~
When Yugi dropped Mokuba off at the mansion, the younger boy went inside while he talked to Kaiba at the door.
"It sounds like he had a good time," Kaiba told him. "That kid really has you wrapped around his little finger, doesn't he?"
"I guess. Sometimes."
"Hmph. Sometimes," Kaiba replied sarcastically.
"You don't think that could ever happen to you?"
"Never."
"If you say so." Yugi did not sound quite convinced.
"Mokuba is obviously very important to you, Yugi. But I've seen that your friends are too. Tell me, if you had to choose between him and them in any given situation, which would it be?"
"There is no difference, Kaiba. My brother is my friend. My best friend."
With these words, the two soon parted.
~`~`~`~`~`~
Later that night"I still think you were too hard on Mokuba, Yami," Yugi said as he starred out of his bedroom window.
"Maybe," the spirit of the puzzle replied. "But I sense that it is important that Kaiba and Mokuba get to know each other again. When that woman brought Seto's brother to the mansion, I sensed a bond between them. It was one of the strongest connections between two people I have ever felt."
"We all felt it. Whether it was because of the puzzle, that woman, or something else I don't know, but somehow we could all feel it. But they're from a different world," Yugi replied. "Just because…"
"I know, but I believe that our brother must also get to know his birth family. I can't explain exactly why, but I believe that this is for Mokuba's own good. Just like you were destined to complete the puzzle and find me or become friends with Joey, Kaiba and Mokuba are meant to come together again. It is as if their very souls are connected." He paused for a moment. "You know that I love him too, Yugi. He is my family as well."
"I know. And I know that I'll still be able to see him when I want to, but it just won't be the same without him here." Yugi went to his desk and picked up a picture of him and Mokuba. "I remember when he was first adopted. I was so excited. I'd always wanted a little brother or sister, but I didn't know what I was in for. Even then, he had so much energy. It was hard to keep up with him."
Yami smiled as he went behind Yugi to look at the picture as well. "I wish I could have been there then to watch you try."
Yugi grinned back. "And after I became friends with Joey and Tristan, they wanted to use him as a 'babe magnet' once. I was so angry at first. And I thought he was too old for that anyway. I thought you could only do that with babies, but he was the youngest sibling any of us had. It apparently worked too. The girls loved Mokuba."
Yami chuckled. "But they'd always protect him from bullies as well," he said. "Mokuba seemed to have an even bigger problem with them than you ever did."
"Yeah, and I couldn't really do much to help him. We'd both just end up running away. Sometimes with a lot of cuts and bruises. I wish he could have made some smaller people mad instead," Yugi winced involuntarily, but then another memory came to the front of his mind. "I remember when he had that crush on Tea. It started right around when he was first adopted, I think at age five. Mokuba tried to deny it, but you could tell. He always loved spending time with her when she came by, and one time he picked her a bouquet of flowers. Too bad they came from her neighbor's garden, and he never asked for permission to take them." Yugi starred at the picture for a few more seconds before closing his eyes and putting it back on his desk.
"You know that he loves you too," Yami tried to comfort him. "You are his brother, and nothing can break the bond you have either. You won't lose him no matter how this situation with Kaiba turns out. He still needs you. I think today made that obvious."
"I know. I'll always be there for him, no matter what happens. I know that he'll eventually choose Kaiba. Like you said, it seems like it's meant to be. I don't like it yet, but I'll get used to it. I'll learn to accept it." He turned to look at the spirit. "How do you think Kaiba feels about all this?"
Yami thought about the question. "I believe that he does love Mokuba. He is discovering that he does at least." He paused and sat down on a nearby chair. "Kaiba will not challenge you in Duel Monsters for a while now that he knows you have Exodia in your deck, but I believe it pains him to know that you are his rival in more ways than one."
To Be Continued