Chapter 1
" Chapter 1"
" When I was born of course I didn't remember anything. But from what my father told me before his death, my birth was lined with misfortune. That day was part of the Dragon Year when a devastating earthquake nearly shattered all of Japan. My father told me that I was the only one, the only child, to survive in that hospital, because my mother, sick and weak as she was, carried me out in her arms just as the hospital lighted on fire and collapsed."
" I don't remember my mother that well. But my father said that she was a beautiful woman. He often said that I had her eyes and her smile, and that if I didn't have my father's pale skin, I would look exactly like her. From my own memories I only remember that she once cradled me when there was a riot outside our house in our neighborhood, and a single sentence that she said to me."
" ' You are my Blue Eyes'"
" Of my father I remember as clearly as if it were yesterday. He was a tall man, straight with broad shoulders. He use to stay quiet and simply meditate all day. His friends tell me my father wasn't always this way. That he use to be cheerful and laughing, always having a witty joke or two up his sleeve. But ever since my mother died giving birth to my brother, Mokuba, he had been quiet and silent, sometimes going out at night and never coming home till morning."
" I was young then. I didn't know what he was doing. Mokuba was just a baby, so I would stand by his crib and watch him. Mokuba looked like my father. He had that dark hair and dark eyes. His hands were my father's. His eyebrows were my father's. There was even a birthmark on his face in the same place my father's birthmark would have been."
" ' What are you laughing at?' I would say to Mokuba. What does a baby find so delightful? What do they dream that makes them smile so? But of course, Mokuba never answered, because he neither understood my question nor was capable of answering."
" ' Son, I'm home!' Otou-san said one day. He was smiling and carrying a bag of groceries. I was five years old that time, and Mokuba was two. I rushed to help him anyway, even though the packages were too heavy for me."
" ' Look, kiddo, I got you your favorite snacks.' Otou-san laughed. I blinked at him. Otou-san never laughed. How did Otou-san know what my favorite snack is? But I look in the packages and I saw it. Sour cream and onion! My favorite! And then I stopped doubting and starting jumping all over him. Mokuba stared at me from his crib."
" ' Arigatou Otou-san! Why did you buy so many chips?' I asked."
" ' Because today is your birthday!' Otou-san laughed, and then I blinked. He never celebrated my
birthday this way. Later I learned that other people never celebrated their birthdays by just eating
chips and laughing for five minutes with their father, but that time I didn't know. Otou-san rubbed
my head and went upstairs. I ate the chips, and fed Mokuba some too. Then I realized Mokuba had
only two teeth, and the chips were too hard for him to chew."
" ' Ha ha, you can't eat this!' I teased, and gobbled up the entire bag of chips. It was by no means small, and of course, I got sick later that afternoon."
*~*
" The next morning I went out with my father to the park. There were some friends sitting on the
swings and I ran to join them. I said, ' I turned five years old yesterday!'"
" ' Really?' My friend Yoku blinked. ' How come you didn't invite me?'"
" ' Invite you to what?' I asked, completely confused."
" ' Your party.' My other friend, Shigeru, answered."
" ' What's a party?' I asked. I didn't know."
" ' You mean you don't know what a party is?' Yoku cried, shocked. ' It's when you have cake and
you play games. And then in the end, you get gifts, and people sing and dance and all that stuff.'"
" ' Oh. I don't think that I had a party.' I was beginning to feel bad. ' It sounds so fun. Maybe next
year, I'll have a big party, and everyone I know will be invited. We'll have a big big chocolate cake!'"
" ' Yeah!' My friends cried, and we started playing again. After a few hours my father came."
" ' Son!' He called. ' It's time to go home!'"
" ' Already?' I asked, unhappy. ' But we just got here!'
" ' You've been here for an hour already.' My father said. ' And besides, Mokuba needs to be taken
care of. Get off the swings.'"
" I obeyed. I felt really bad, and as I waved back to my friends it suddenly occurred to me that they didn't have to leave after playing for one hour. In fact, they're still there on the slides, the swings, the monkey bars, and they were there before me, while I had to go home already."
" Later that night while we were eating I asked my dad if we could have a birthday party."
" ' A birthday party?' My dad blinked. ' Maybe. But what gave you that idea?'"
" ' Shigeru says that a party is when you have cake and play games, and have people come and give
gifts.' I said. ' I thought it sounded like fun. Onegai? Pretty please?'"
" My dad sighed. ' Alright. You can have your birthday party, but next year.'"
" I suddenly realized that I had mentioned party, but my dad had added the word ' birthday' before the word ' party'. He must have known what a birthday party was all along, and suddenly I felt bad because he never gave me one the day before."
Noa jumped.
Kami-sama. That was loud.
" It's raining already?" Noa shrugged. " I thought the guy said that it wasn't going to rain until midnight..." He stared at the clock. Twelve fifteen.
Never mind.
" Say, Jou, where are you up to in the book?" Yugi asked the next morning. He was careful not to
let Seto hear.
" I read the first chapter." Jou shrugged. " Didn't seem much of a big deal, really. How 'bout you?"
" Only read up to the birthday party part." Yugi answered. " I read it pretty late and fell asleep by
accident. Can you imagine a five year old Seto Kaiba wanting a birthday party?"
" Hey, they say nothin's impossible." Jou shrugged. " But personally I think this 's borderin on it."
Yugi looked over to where Seto sat in the library. Taking a deep breath he walked over to the table.
Was it just him, or is Seto Kaiba sleeping?
" Uh...Kaiba?" Yugi inquired. Seto's eyes snapped open and he looked up.
" You okay?" Yugi asked. " Gomen, I didn't mean to wake you, but..."
" Yeah, I know." Seto didn't move. " Is there something I can do for you, Motou?"
He's being awfully polite. Yugi thought. " Iie. Just...wondering if you're okay."
" I'm alright." Seto nodded, then turned around and ignored him. Yugi backed away uncomfortably.
This guy wrote a sentimental book?
Seto gave a mental sigh of relief and resisted the urge to close his eyes and sleep again. He felt so
tired and dizzy. Why did Motou inquire about him? Couldn't he sleep if he want?
But if he tried sleeping again, they'll get suspicious. And Mokuba had stated that he looked unhealthy. Appearance, plus the sleeping act...equals?
But I don't think I can stop falling asleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee...
" Shigeru and Yoku went to school the same time I did, because we were the same age. I was
excited. I wanted to meet new people. Make new friends. The teachers were nice, they sang with us
and I was happy in school. So much that I dreaded coming home to that empty and desolate
house."
" Mokuba had turned three that year and was more conscious of his surroundings, and I found a new partner. Each day I brought a cookie home for him. He would always complain."
" ' Oni-chan! I want two cookies!'"
" ' Oni-chan! This one's broken!'"
" ' Oni-chan! I hate raisin cookies! You know that!'"
" ' Come on Mokuba. If people see that I am taking so many cookies they're going to yell at me.' I
said one day to Mokuba. ' Be glad I gave you any cookie at all.'"
" Mokuba pouted and started crying. Otou-san came running and asked what was going on."
" ' He yelled at me!' Mokuba sobbed, and my father glared at me with one of those icy glares."
" ' Seto, remember you're supposed to take care of your brother. As an older brother, you have
responsibilities.' He said sternly. ' Now apologize to him, right now.'"
" I felt unhappy. I didn't yell at him. And besides, it was Mokuba who was complaining too much. I
didn't do anything wrong. Why didn't Otou-san yell at him?"
" ' Seto!' My dad warned. I felt indignant, but I apologized to Mokuba anyway. My dad smiled in
approval and went up the stairs. Mokuba smiled in triumph and I went on feeling indignant, but as a
child that emotion passed and soon we were playing together again."
" Later that night Otou-san went away again. Mokuba and I were use to it by now and we didn't question where he was going. We weren't really interested either. He might be going to work. He might be going to a movie, like he usually said he was. But that night I suddenly asked him if we could go with him to see the movie."
" He started yelling at me, calling me names, telling me that I wasn't worth his time. I stood there
stunned."
" ' Otou-san, what did I do?' I asked, scared."
" ' Don't you dare question me!' My father roared, and he grabbed his coat and slammed the door
shut. I stood there for a long time looking after him."
" ' Oni-chan, why is Otou-san mad?' Mokuba asked by my side."
" ' I don't know.' I said softly."
" Otou-san came home in the morning and we didn't talk about it. But I never asked him whether I could see any movies with him ever again. That time I understood that it was something about my request that angered him and I didn't want to get him mad again. He's scary when he's mad."
" The next morning was a school day and I went to my school. We were playing with building
blocks during class when Shigeru asked me if I saw a movie."
" ' What movie?' I asked. ' I never saw any movie.'"
" ' You mean you've never seen a movie in your entire life?' Cried one of my friends."
" I blinked, then remembered what happened two nights before. ' Otou-san doesn't like to take me to
see movies.' I answered quietly."
" ' What a wimp.' Said a kid. I blinked."
" ' My parents take me to see movies every week.' Said Shigeru. ' What's wrong with your daddy
anyway?'"
" I started to cry and I didn't feel like playing anymore. Briefly I thought, what was wrong with my daddy?"
" So that night I told my otou-san that other kids see movies. I didn't exactly say that I wanted to, but he got the message."
" Otou-san didn't say a word. Instead, he grabbed his coat and left the house again."
" ' Yay! Chocolate chip! My favorite! You're the best, Oni-san!'"
" I laughed. ' Happy birthday Mokuba!'"
" Mokuba kissed me on the cheek and went dancing around the living room. I followed him and
suddenly a pillow was thrown at me. We started a pillow fight, and then chased each other around,
running on the sofa and jumping onto the tables."
" Then Otou-san came home."
" ' What in the world! What's happened here?' Otou-san cried. Mokuba ran laughing to him."
" ' Otou-san!" He laughed, perhaps expecting a happy birthday from him too, but then stopped dead
in his tracks. I looked up to see what was going on. Daddy's face was red with rage."
" ' You made a huge mess!' Otou-san roared. ' Clean this up, right now!'"
" Mokuba's birthday night was spent cleaning up the living room. Otou-san went out again."
" Several months later my birthday came up. I was turning seven. Just like when I was six years old, or five years old, there were no birthday parties as Otou-san had promised. I was playing with Mokuba, careful not to mess anything or damage anything, when suddenly everything became dark."
" Otou-san was not home. The whole neighborhood was pitch black, not even the streetlamps were on. Mokuba was terrified.
" ' Oni-chan! What happened? Where are you?' He cried, grabbing for me. I held on tightly to
him."
" ' I don't know.' I answered. ' The lights just went out.'"
" ' Where's Daddy?" Mokuba whimpered. ' Did he come home yet?'"
" ' Iie.' I answered. ' But I'm sure he'll come home really soon.'"
" There was a loud banging outside and I was too scared to answer the door. The banging went on for a few minutes, before there was a sound of barking dogs. Outside the wind blew against the trees, making them rustle, and the branches hit against the roof. Owls hooted outside and Mokuba and I huddled in the bedroom, trying in vain to turn on the lights."
" ' Why are the lights all out Oni-chan?' Mokuba kept asking me."
" ' I don't know.' I hated to get my brother scared, but I honestly didn't know. ' Maybe...maybe...'
but for all my imagination I couldn't come up with an answer."
" There was a sound of a door slamming. It was my father's bedroom door."
" ' What was that?!' Mokuba sobbed. ' Is that Otou-san?'"
" I crept silently towards the closed door and opened it quietly. Otou-san wasn't there. Having an idea in mind, I went over to the desk and opened a drawer. It contained a flashlight, but when I tried to turn it on it didn't."
" No batteries? I thought. Perhaps. But I couldn't find the batteries. It was too dark, and they looked like any other round object. I went back to Mokuba and closed the door quietly, silently praying that we will make through this night alive. Where's Otou-san? Why didn't he come back?"
" I fell asleep soon after Mokuba did. We were curled up in his bed. The following morning the sun was shining and things no longer looked so scary. Someone rang the doorbell. I peered through the window and saw a police woman and a man. I opened the door reluctantly."
" ' Are you Seto Yagami?' The woman asked. I nodded mutely."
" ' Is your brother there?' The man asked. I nodded again."
" ' Well...Seto...' The woman began uncomfortably. ' We have some...bad news about your
father...'"
" ' What happened to him?' I asked, suddenly feeling a strange and unknown fear. ' Is he okay?'"
" ' Your father was driving while drunk...' the police woman began. I didn't know what ' drunk'
means."
" ' What is drunk?' I asked."
" ' Well, he's not in his senses.' The policewoman answered. ' And your father...he got caught in a
car accident. He died this morning. We tried to contact you two after we figured out he had
children, but...because of the blackout, we didn't know where you are.'"
" I didn't know what a blackout was, but I knew the other night was probably one of them. Then I
blinked."
" ' Otou-san's...dead?'" Mokuba looked at me. I looked at Mokuba. Then I looked at the police
officers.
" ' We're really sorry...' The man said uncomfortably. ' We're here to take you to the orphanage.
You have an hour to prepare and pack. Do you want us to help you?'"
" I didn't know why I refused, but I shook my head. ' It's okay...we'll do our own packing...'"
" While I was packing I suddenly realized that we will never see our Daddy again. Daddy will never come home from work or from whatever movie he was watching. And I looked at Mokuba, four years old, crying and sobbing and afraid, and I promised myself I will let nothing happen to him."
" An hour later Mokuba and I came out and we waited for the police car. Mokuba suddenly began
to cry again."
" ' Oni-chan...he's gone. Oni-chan, don't leave me too!'"
" ' I won't, Mokuba.' I said to him, although I was just as scared. ' I will never leave you.'"
" I planned on keeping that promise. I had no idea how much that would cost."
" Finished the first chapter." Yugi blinked. " Finally. But that was scary. I can imagine if I were
seven and there was a blackout how scared I would be! And it was Seto's birthday too!"
" Do you think this is all real?" Jou asked. " I mean, it seemed too..."
" Oh shut up. Why would Kaiba lie about this?" Anzu asked.
" Yeah, the guy has a life, you know. Unlike you." Honda laughed.
" Gee," Yugi looked up. " It's still raining pretty hard."
" Hai." Honda frowned. " With thunder and lightning to add to it."
" White Lightning!" Jou laughed. The others laughed as well, but they suddenly hushed up as Noa
came by.
" Oh, Noa, what are you doing here?" Yami asked, materializing before Yugi. He tried to make it sound as casual as possible.
Noa blinked at the books. Then he turned around.
" Must be at work." He said. The group looked at each other in confusion. Noa didn't look at them. Instead, he walked away.
Seto sat down rather heavily at a random chair. The secretary smiled sadly at him.
" Rough day, eh?" She said sympathetically.
Seto noted that the secretaries never spoke to him. Must be that book. He groaned and decided to
answer here.
" It was just a book." Seto rubbed his temples. " I would think they would go crazy over something
more dramatic."
" The book is dramatic." The secretary answered. " There are plenty of stories about orphans, but
none from someone as powerful as you."
" Now that you pointed that out, I wish I wasn't that powerful. Why made me write it on the
computer anyway?" Seto muttered. " I could have found something else to ease the pressure. Like
drugs, and alcohol, but I figured it would be a bad impression on Mokuba. Everything's for
Mokuba."
" Well, at least doing everything for Mokuba made you do the right thing for yourself." The
secretary looked solemn. " But personally, Mr. Kaiba, I'm glad you wrote the book. It makes people
understand you better, and judging from how you look these days I'd say you need that
understanding. Have you been eating well?"
" I think I'm sick." Seto answered quite plainly and abruptly, surprising even himself. " I think I'm
really really sick, as in systems sick and illness sick, and no matter how well I eat, it's not going to
change that."
" Mr. Kaiba," The secretary got a good look at him. " You-your lips are white!"
Seto looked at her and there was darkness before his vision again. But he got up with all of his waning strength and left as quickly as he could. Even so, the secretary noticed the hunched back and the three white hairs that stood out on Seto's head.