Yep, two chapter has arrived. Yay!
Not much to say. Contains a power walking Seto. Oh, and 'tearing' doesn't mean ripping, it means he looks like he's about to cry. X3
Also note the one change of narrative that lasts until the end.
Unseen Angels
Overture
(Mokuba's Narrative)
Nisama has a doctor's appointment this morning.
Mihoko, his new receptionist looked very nervous when she told my brother, but he didn't seem to notice anything. He just nodded, and told her to call him an hour before he was expected.
He was typing some new program on his computer, and didn't even look at her when she came in to read his schedule for the day. I was sitting on the couch, as usual, humming to myself, and watching Mihoko.
A look of victory that my brother didn't notice passed over her face when he dismissed her, she bowed, and walked out.
I think my Nisama was tricked. I giggled, and swung my legs back and forth.
"Would you like to share with the class what's so amusing?" The slightly softer than usual voice of my brother came in. I grinned, and shook my head.
"No, Nisama." He grunted, and continued to type, his fingers racing along the keyboard. It made me dizzy just watching him.
Half an hour later, the phone rang. He grunted again, which meant I was to answer it.
My brother speaks in a language all his own, which consists mostly of glares, grunts and one word answers.
"Hello, Seto Kaiba's office." I responded automatically, cradling the phone against my ear and swing my legs back and forth. "Oh, hi Mihoko! Yup, I'll tell my brother. Bye."
"Nisama, your appointment is in an hour. Mihoko says so." I added, with a teasing, sarcastic voice, as if Mihoko was our mother, and I was threatening him.
"Oh, yes, because, as we all know Mihoko's word is law." He pushes back his chair, and stretches his arms above him. I giggled, and he gives me one of his rare, brief smiles. I beam back.
Nisama likes it when I laugh at one of his jokes, as sarcastic and as dark as they may be.
"Nisama, can I come with you? Please?" I beg, tearing my eyes up, so it looks like I'm about to cry.
"Don't do that." He warns, standing up and putting his computer into hibernation.
He snatches a tissue from his desk, and starts to cough. It's low, and comes from his chest. He clutches it with one hand, his eyes closed and wincing. I hover around him nervously, and when he stops, he swats me away.
"But Nisama-!" I follow him as he puts on his trench coat, holding on to it, getting a free ride down the stairs. He's taking the long way on purpose, to try and shake me off.
"No, Mokuba! Besides, I don't want you catching anything there."
He's at the reception, Mihoko watching, amused. She knows the outcome of this duel of willpower. I shall be the victor! Bwahahah.
Heh, I'm starting to sound like Nisama.
He almost makes it to the door, and he makes a huge mistake.
He looks back. I mean, how many times have I pulled this on him? He falls for it every single time. Heh.
I sniff, and walk, rejected, back to the elevator.
My Nisama sighs, and grunts. The sigh and grunt roughly translates into 'Oh, alright.' I can tell by the tone and the context in which it has been used.
Turning around and grinning, I launch myself at him, and he catches me.
"You are so strange." He mutters, and puts me down. A grinning Mihoko opens the front gate for him, and we walk to the doctor's office. No need to take the limo, or any of his cars, for such a short trip.
Yeah, right.
The doctor's office is a good forty-five minute walk away.
So, during the last thirty minutes, I force Nisama to give me a piggyback the rest of the way.
Hey, I walked for fifteen minutes I, even as a child, only have so much energy. Running, especially after a good amount of sugar, I can do.
My Nisama is a mean power walker, though. He power walks as fast as some grown men can run. He tears up the sidewalk. It's tiring, having to physically run after him while he looks like he's strolling along.
I, Mokuba Kaiba, did not inherit such a thing. Must be some weird CEO-I-am-all-powerful thing. Businessmen power walk everywhere, they always seem like they're late or in a hurry.
My extra weight didn't slow down my Nisama, which was slightly disturbing. I rested my head against the back of his, the pace and rhythm of his walking lulling me to sleep.
He quickly drops me, and starts coughing again. It's the same cough, but he doesn't get the tissue in time, so some blood drops to the ground and marks the pavement.
"Nisama, are you alright?" I hop from one foot to the other, and he nods, still coughing. He winces, his chest heaving up and down. He bends over, still coughing.
"Ah, shit." He whispers, wiping the blood off of his mouth. Picking me up again, he makes it to the doctor's office without coughing, but I think he was choking some back.
----
"Seto Kaiba?" The nurse appeared in the doorway. He stood up, and told me to stay here.
Sadly, he never looked back.
----
(Change of Narrative - Dr. Housou)
I had been talking to Dr. Umeki, who was worried about the famous CEO of Kaiba Corporation, Seto Kaiba. He had an appointment now, but she wasn't sure if he would come.
She said he had a deep, worsening cough, and had coughed up blood. His little brother had told her that he fell asleep much to early. His adoptive father had been a cigarette addict.
"I don't know, Satoshi, it could be anything. Pneumonia, bronchitis, God, it could be anything."
I nodded, and she asked me to take him for her. Perhaps he'd talk about it more to me.
"It's a male thing." She insisted, and I just smiled.
Luckily, Seto Kaiba did appear. The nurse brought him in, a bit frightened by the threatening young man. He sat down on the table, and eyed the room carefully, as if he was evaluating it.
"So, Kaiba-kun, Kazuza tells me you've had a bad cough?" I looked up at the man, who stared back evenly.
"Yes, it's gotten worse over the course of a few months. I've…well, I've been coughing up blood as well." He looks out the window, and I write a few things down, before walking over to the sink.
"Alright. I'll just do a basic check-up to start with, we'll go from there." I wrap the stethoscope around my neck. "If you don't mind, just take off your shirt." I'm washing my hands, but I can feel him stare at me for a second, before the sound of clothing on the floor is heard.
Drying my hands, I walk over to him, and check his breathing.
He flinches at the cold metal, but quickly relaxes, and breathes.
His breathing is long and labored, sounding heavy and his lungs are clogged.
It's specifically very bad in his upper right lung.
As if to prove my theory, he starts the cough that Kazuza described to me. Deep and hacking, and blood appears on his hands and lips.
"Kaiba-kun, do you mind if I do an X-Ray of your lungs?"
A fleeting panic appears across his face, and I step back from the young man.
"No. No, not at all." I pass him a wet paper towel, and he wipes the blood off of his hands and mouth.
"Come with me, Kaiba-kun." I open the door, as he throws his shirt back on.
----
"As you can see…" I wandered off, and Seto Kaiba studied the X-Rays carefully.
I had called him back a few days after, telling him that I needed to see him very soon. Immediately, if possible.
"There's a shadow in your upper right lung." He stares at me, as if this isn't really happening to him. I circle the area in red pen.
"Are you saying I have cancer?" He's so blunt about it, it's almost scary. I can't give him a straight yes or no.
"You see, you could have lung cancer. If this is true, you most likely got it from your adoptive father."
He gives me such a venomous glare, I nearly took a step back. This quickly disappears, though, and I continue.
"There are two types of lung cancer. SCLC, or small-cell lung cancer. This is a rarer form. SCLC grows much more rapidly than NSCLC, or non-small-cell lung cancer. There's also a much higher risk of it spreading."
"To where?" His voice never changes, it's like this barely means anything to him.
"The rest of your lung, your left lung, other parts of your body." He nods.
"What parts, specifically?" I sigh. He really just wants all of the bad facts, doesn't he?
"Your bones, brain, liver or near your kidneys. But, please, Kaiba-kun, you must understand, it's possible it's not lung cancer. I could simply be calcium nodules, which are harmless."
"Is there anyway you can give me a straight answer?" He looks at me, then back to the X-Rays.
"Yes. If you come back for a CT scan, it will make it much clearer on what exactly is in your lung. Then, we can go for a diagnosis." He nods, and stands up, taking out his checkbook.
After paying, I watched him leave, his little brother running besides him.
Of all the people, in all of the world…
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End of Chapter Notes: All very medical, ne? Anyway, a CT scan is like a three-dimensional X-Ray. I've been doing my research on lung cancer. ^__^
I hope to get the next chapter up soon. Until then, you'll have to wait to see if Seto really does have cancer. Eheheh. *pats Seto*