Chapter 9 …to a Dismal Abyss

Hobson's person was ready in the hospital. It only took a few minutes for her to get the message to move. What Hobson loved most was order and preparation. Therefore, they had been expecting something like this for some time. The goons outside the door did not stop the familiar nurse from entering the room, though Roland mentioned waiting until Mokuba had left the room.

"I'm sorry, but it is my routine to check Mr. Kaiba about now. I won't interrupt whatever is happening for long." She gave a charming smile and entered with a knock, so as not to startle the boy.

"Hello, dear," she said amiably, smiling again. "I'm just going to check how your brother is doing."

Bustling about the room, the nurse took no more notice of Mokuba. However, Mokuba took notice of her and held back, worried that he might do something that the nurse wouldn't approve of.

His brother did not look right, lying so pale on the bed, not moving. His wrists were still bandaged, but not as heavily as before. It was mainly the depression that kept him unconscious. Seto Kaiba did not want to wake up.

The nurse finished what she was doing and turned to the boy. She walked over to him and whispered, "I'm sure talking to him would help, don't you think? Oh! I almost forgot. There was something we found on him. I haven't read it, but I think you should. Here." The nurse handed a folded piece of paper to the boy, adding one last thing, "This I know is for you to do something with. It had your last name written on it in Mr. Kaiba's room. Have a good night!"

Mokuba took the second envelope, feeling the thickness at one spot. Puzzled and not anxious to begin speaking anymore, Mokuba took the two items and sat down in a chair. Gazing from one to another, he did not know which one to start with. Then, he decided the one that the nurse did not even know what it was would be a good place to start. Carefully, he unfolded the paper quietly, as if his brother were merely sleeping and Mokuba did not want to wake him.

The paper unfolded into a long letter, one that looked like it was Seto's handwriting. It was not addressed to anyone.

In regards of my death, I have prepared the company as best I could. With my new experiments and products, I would appreciate if they were marketed out of Domino and across the globe.

Mokuba could hardly believe his eyes. The entire sheet was filled with everything about Kaiba Corporation. Who should take charge of what product. Who inherited Kaiba's shares. Mokuba's name was not even there. He did not get the company from his brother on his death, and his brother did not even seem to remember he existed.

"Seto…"

Mokuba glanced back to the letter once more, seeing a line he had missed at the bottom. He was not forgotten after all.

I thought that with Mokuba gone I could finally work as much as I desired, but it seems the trial has hurt the company too much. I cannot stand losing sales like this; I must not go out like my step-father. But then, he did have one last way to make the papers…

Kaiba had not even committed suicide for any true purpose. He had done it for one last big event to get some glory. Mokuba no longer wanted to be here. He wanted to attack his brother in his sleep-like state, making him hurt physically for all the pain Kaiba had put the boy through. Then, Mokuba wanted to ruin the company forever and make his big brother live, force him to accept blight on what he loved most in his life.

He would not have even gone to the second envelope but for curiosity on how thick it was. Mokuba tore apart the second and final envelope. Inside making the bulge were Kaiba's three Blue-Eyes White Dragon cards. These also had a note.

Give these away when I'm gone. I don't need them anymore. But they did help give me power when I was here.

That was all. Kaiba had used the dragons for his power, had tried to commit suicide because the company had been failing, and Mokuba had been completely forgotten but for one line on how he had been a bother to his brother.

The boy jumped up. It wasn't fair! Now, even his new name was meaningless. His brother had not even seen any worth to his Blue-Eyes White Dragons. And like the Blue-Eyes White Dragons, Mokuba would never be loved no matter where he went or what he did. Worthless, undesired, a nuisance…

The sparkle of tears flittered down Mokuba's face as he gave one last look to his brother.

"Why did I come here?" he asked bitterly. "Now I'll just get into more trouble when I get dragged back."

Slowly, his mind began to make sense of things. He did not have to ever go back. He could leave now and be on his own. Or maybe one of the gang would harbor him. No, he did not want that. He wanted to prove that he would survive on his own, unloved, unwanted, and unneeded.

"I guess you got what you wanted, Seto. Now that I was out of the picture, I couldn't inherit your stupid company or be a problem for it anymore. You did everything right, big brother. Everything but one thing. Why are you still alive?"

With that, Mokuba turned around, dropping the papers onto the floor as he walked out of the door.

The goons were startled by his abrupt reappearance again, but when he said he was going to the bathroom, they pointed the direction and let him leave.

Quickly, Mokuba strode down the hallway on his little legs, wishing to leave everything behind him as soon as possible. It was not too hard to find the exit from the hospital—there were numerous signs pointing every now and then—so, before long, Mokuba was walking back into the pitch-filled area, shivering slightly from the cold and stumbling away on his own.

For a moment, it seemed someone was calling him. There was an opening in his gummed pitch-tar of a mind. Pain was at the surface, but so was someone very important. After working so hard to remain hidden and alone, struggling through the layers was difficult. There were still voices shoving him down, saying he deserved to remain where he was. But Kaiba had heard his name from up there!

Trying to regain consciousness was like struggling to unbury oneself from snow or sand. The weight bore down on him; the suction were clawed hands ripping him back down to the depths where knowledge was minimal and comforting.

No! he wanted to snap. My brother's up there!

But the ragged edges of unconsciousness did not care who was above. Even on hearing his name again, the struggle to rise was immensely difficult. Somehow, he knew he had to be faster. But as hard as Kaiba strained to awake, it was not fast enough.

His long-closed eyes had to blink multiple times to remove the film from them. Even then, it took awhile for the room to come into focus. An assortment of machines whirred and beeped. Only parts of their screens or buttons had light glowing in his room. Kaiba was at a hospital.

While a disconnected feeling came with it, Kaiba sat up in his bed, looking at his bandaged wrists.

"What—oh, yes. I thought I heard Mokuba."

Looking around his room, Kaiba's glance strayed to the floor. A couple pieces of paper were on the floor, one with something darker than the glowing whiteness under it.

In one arm was an IV, but Kaiba did not care what it was there for. He ripped it out, not flinching at the sudden pain. Then, hating the fact that his body was still sluggish and seeming not a part of himself, he put his legs to the floor.

"Nurses don't leave things on the floor."

Reaching down, he grabbed the papers and sat back up, gritting his teeth in anger with the slight dizziness that accompanied his movements. He should be stronger than this.

The thicker, darker miscellanea that had been on the floor slipped into the center of his hand. Their thickness and sleekness were utterly familiar.

"My Blue-Eyes White Dragons…" He took some time to just look at them, wondering how they had gotten there. Then he turned back to the rest of the papers. Unlike the Duel Monsters cards, nothing about these papers was familiar. In the lack of light, it took awhile for the handwriting to come into focus. What angered him was how similar to his own the writing was—especially when he saw what was written. They were written as if he himself had done it.

"Someone's in trouble," Kaiba commented softly to himself. "But, I wonder, did I ever truly hear Mokuba? How could I?" The surge of being awake had not altered his memory. His little brother belonged with the Janukas now.

Now was the time to see whether he wished to remain conscious. If he had tried to commit suicide before, yet had failed, why would he not try again? Nothing had changed since then, had it?

That was what Kaiba had to discover. After all, he was dead certain he had heard his brother's voice saying his name.

Giving a small growl of frustration, the CEO tried to talk himself out of it: I don't believe in that mumbo jumbo. When a person's unconscious, they dream or see blackness. If I heard voices, it was all in my mind. I just wanted Mokuba to be here, that is all. There's no way he would have been here. One, it is against the ruling of the judge. Two, he would never forgive me for that nasty letter I sent him.

Thinking that should satisfy him, Kaiba thought his mind would rest. But it did not. Something was still bothering him, and as much as he tried to persuade himself of the truth, there was one thing he was sure of: Mokuba had been here.

Mostly to calm his annoying mind, Seto Kaiba got to his feet and tread toward the door, more satisfied with himself now that no vertigo accompanied him. If his brother had been here, someone should have seen him.

There was a small draft of air accompanying the opening of the light door. Then, his eyes flicking casually to the left and right, he stepped free of his room, feet bare and in his own pajamas. No one had been able to convince Fintan that Mr. Kaiba should wear a hospital gown.

"Sir!"

"Sir!"

To his right, Fuguta and Roland snapped to attention, hurrying over. Jaques and Sung stared for a moment, and then also went closer to their former employer. Everything was as Kaiba could expect—he knew his goon squad had loyal members. But one thing was out of place. Even after being unconscious for a few days, Kaiba realized what the problem was in a matter of moments.

"Fuguta."

"Sir?"

"What are you doing here?"

The question spurred the goons to look at each other a moment before glancing around to see if Mokuba was returning yet. Now that they thought about it, Mokuba had been gone for awhile…

"Well, I came with Mokuba, sir." Fuguta hoped that was what he meant. If Kaiba was referring to something else, such as why was Fuguta still here after Mokuba had gone, the goon sensed trouble.

"Weren't you up when he was in there, sir?" Roland asked.

Kaiba stared at him in reply. Then he looked down at the papers in his hands once more. "Where did he go?"

"He said he went to the bathroom, but I think he was lying. I am very good at telling these things."

"Then why didn't you say something sooner, Sung?" Fuguta ran down the hall in the direction Mokuba had gone.

By now, the time was past two in the morning. A few nurses were starting their shift, and they did not like what they saw in the hallway. There was a patient who should be resting and a bunch of adults who should know better than to talk so loudly in the dead of night!

One strode angrily toward them, a retort on her tongue. But as she grew closer, she recognized the patient for one of her own, and she gasped.

"You're awake!"

"Thank you for stating the obvious. Now that that's taken care of, I think I will get to more important matters." Kaiba turned his back to the nurse completely. It was time to know the truth. This was the real question he had wanted to ask ever since he had awakened and known for certain Mokuba had been there. "Why was my brother here in the first place?"

Roland licked his lips. "Well, sir, we know it was not completely the best idea. But I think you would have agreed that young Mr. Kaiba needed it! He was withering away at the Janukas. Fuguta can attest to that. He wanted to see you, sir. And we were not the only ones to guess that about him. Yugi Moto and his friends helped bring him here." Roland feared what that sentence would do to Mr. Kaiba.

The young man, however, was focusing completely on a different line Roland had said.

Mokuba wanted to see me! he thought. Does that mean he knows the real reason I wrote the letter and does not hold it against me? Kaiba suddenly shook his head. This was all nonsense. His brother still would not be able to remain with him. It would be best if Mokuba thought Kaiba meant what he put in the letter, even if it tore Kaiba apart. He had thought everything within him had died the day of the trial. Now, however, he was aware of just how much remained alive to shred again.

Mostly to rip himself away from such thoughts, Kaiba turned to the next part of the speech Roland had been afraid of. "Yugi Moto and his friends? How did they have anything to do with this? How did they even know where Mokuba was?"

Roland was saved from answering by Fuguta coming back. Though he had been running, the nurse could not bring herself to speak up again. Things were happening here that seemed more important than simple hospital rules.

"Sir! Mokuba is gone!"

Kaiba glanced down at what he still held. "I could guess…"

Jaques and Sung left immediately to begin searching for him. Roland and Fuguta remained with Mr. Kaiba to explain a few more things to him. The nurse finally left to go back to her real duties, though she tried without avail to make Seto Kaiba get back into bed to rest.

"All right, sir. Before anything else, I want to tell you that YO and the goon squad have continued working on the appeal without you. We have true evidence that the tapes the prosecution used for the trial were gotten illegally. There is no way the former verdict can hold. True; there may be another trial to see if you're guilty. But without the tapes, there cannot be most of the evidence they used. Once the truth is let out and the social workers see how you two truly get along, the jury will have to let Mokuba stay with you."

Again, Kaiba stared at them. The goons were not certain it was a good thing or a bad thing from the intensity of it. Therefore, they remained quiet.

"Appeal? But why did you keep working?"

Roland gave a nervous chuckle. "Well, sir, YO had told us about your initial reaction to the tapes during the trial. We thought it would be foolish to give up without pursuing the lead you first noticed."

Fuguta took over. "And I am convinced the appeal is necessary, sir. Mokuba has been depressed for days now. I fear what will happen if he has to stay any longer with the Janukas. They sent him to a counselor, but even with time, I don't think Mokuba will adapt. He's too attached to you, sir."

Kaiba could guess the real reason for Mokuba's depression. Bringing him here probably had the opposite reaction than the goons thought. It was probably the sight of Kaiba that made Mokuba run just now.

Along with these papers, he thought bitterly. Whoever had done this was going to have to pay. Saying he loved his company more than his younger brother…that was too far. Maybe it was easy for Mokuba to believe it. Kaiba knew he worked quite a bit. But it still wasn't true. And now, he had to find his brother before Mokuba was gone forever.

When they learned he was going out, the goons tried to persuade him to stay here. He had just awakened. He had been low on blood. He had only recently walked. It did not matter what they said. Kaiba would not listen.

"Do you or do you not still take orders from me?" he finally asked.

They bowed their heads in acquiescence. "Sorry, sir," they replied in unison.

"Roland and Fuguta, I think you could use some sleep. Inform the others of what is happening and then take some rest."

The goons looked at each other as Kaiba walked back into his room to change clothes. They could order him to sleep as much as they wanted, but he never listened. Yet, when the tables turned, they had to obey. Both goons sighed and left.

Early in the morning, Hobson was still awake as well. He did not like sleep very much, and he was far too excited to rest. Soon, the Kaiba nuisances would be gone for good!

Another knock sounded on his door. It had been an hour or so since the first one, but it was still too soon for the obese man.

"What is it?" he asked rudely.

"I'm sorry, Master Hobson. I thought you would like to know. The young Kaiba has run off, and the elder has awakened."

Awakened? That put a new twist to things. Hobson might still get to have fun with some real torture. But, he suspected they were experiencing plenty right now. After all, Hobson knew what those notes said.

"And there's no way to prove they aren't young Seto's handwriting!" he said with a cackle. He knew his plan had been ingenious. But it was even more so for the way he used Kaiba's own inventions against him.

True, this was an old invention that Gozaburo had also used to his leisure, but Hobson thought the machine was still plenty useful. It was attached to a computer that downloaded images of handwriting. Each one of the words on the sheet were ones Kaiba had written at some time in his life. Then, the computer was connected to the writing machine that used a robotic arm ad wrote with a pen or pencil, depending on how it was set up. The machines worked in unison like a computer and printer, only a person could choose a real person's font and print it out in real ink. Truly ingenious.

The spy obviously did not follow Hobson's train of thought, but it was simple enough to discover where the man had ended up.

"Does that mean I still can't take them out? What about this appeal that is tomorrow?"

Hobson waved a bloated hand. "They think they can prove those tapes are from the Kaiba mansion. So they can. It is simply the fact that I have perfect authority to use them as I want. Mr. Gozaburo Kaiba wrote that I was allowed to tape rooms and use them as I saw fit. Younger Kaiba never rewrote that rule. Since I was still working for the Kaibas at that time, I am perfectly legal in regards to the law."

Unable to stop gloating, Hobson added, "And if they don't believe that, I can prove that younger Kaiba did indeed give me permission. After all, I have this piece of paper with his signature on it proving that!"

The spy/assassin said nothing. It was that silence that Hobson reveled in, believing the man to be in awe of his own superior mind games. Just because Kaiba had the title of genius did not mean someone could not outsmart him.

Another boring school day. Joey groaned and rolled over, going back to sleep. In another house, Tristan did the same thing. In fact, Yugi and Téa were even close to falling back to sleep. But the latter actually cared somewhat about her grades, and Yugi's grandpa harassed him enough that he finally tumbled out of bed, thudding to the floor.

In spirit form, the other Yugi chuckled.

"You think that's funny?" the small boy cried, rubbing his side. "It's a good thing I don't wear the puzzle at night or I probably would have fallen right on top of it! Then you wouldn't be laughing, Mr. Pharaoh."

Yami was quiet, but he was still amused. Finally, he replied, "You think by falling on the puzzle you would have broken it into the original pieces again? Then you would just put it together again."

"Maybe I wouldn't. You don't seem worth it." Yugi needed a few more hours of sleep and one less annoying grandpa and Yami. Then, he might have been able to behave better.

Yami, at least, could sense his aibou's mind and commented no further. Solomon, on the other hand, had no idea what his grandson had been through. All the old man knew was that Yugi was late coming home. If Yugi wanted to be late, that was fine. He would just have to pay the price in school that day.

Granpa handed Yugi his bag and sent him out the door, shouting, "And I don't want any bad reports from your teachers, mister!"

Muttering darkly, Yugi walked off alone. Soon, however, his thoughts turned back to the events of the previous night and made him cheerful. He began thinking of the Kaiba brothers reunited and even started skipping.

I sure hope Kaiba wakes up for Mokuba. And I hope the appeal goes well, Yugi was thinking to himself, but he felt Yami's nod from within. Even if the pharaoh was not completely for Kaiba, at least he did not hate him utterly.

Yugi had to admit, later, that it was really the thought of his friends who did not know what was going on who made him want to go to school. They knew the four went over to the Januka house the previous night, but they deserved to know what happened there. All of them would worry needlessly if the four were absent from school the next day.

At lunch, then, he explained what happened.

Bakura's eyes went wide. "I can't believe you actually did that! Think of what sorts of trouble you could have gotten into! What you still can get into!"

"Speaking of trouble…" Téa said, yawning. At least she had managed to make it to school that day. "Where are those other two? I hope they haven't found any new trouble to get themselves muddled in."

"Knowing Joey and Tristan, they'll be in trouble." Duke shook his head. "At least, they will be when I see them next. It's not fair of them to skip when the rest of us go to school!"

"Well, I was thinking, Joey's uncle is Kaiba's lawyer. Maybe he went along to the appeal today." Yugi stopped putting his peanut butter and jelly sandwich in his mouth. "What?"

Téa gazed down sadly at her soup. Then she sighed. "Nothing," she said. "I just forgot how important this day was to certain people. I wonder if Kai—" Téa began before stopping herself and turning pink. And she thought Joey had a big mouth! These people did not know a thing about Kaiba's attempt at suicide.

"What were you going to say, Téa?" Bakura asked, eyes wide.

"Uh, nothing. Forget it. Let's start looking at our biology homework."

It had been four hours at least since Mokuba had run off on his own. Spending the chilly night out in the open air had not been one of his best ideas, but stubbornness ran in the family. The boy was proud he had done it.

"No one can ever tell me I can't take care of myself."

All right, Mokuba admitted that he was rather hungry and cold, and he knew spending one night on his own did not amount to "taking care of oneself." But he thought it was a start.

Bits of leaves and grass poked through Mokuba's black hair, and a few dirt stains rested on his elbows and knees. Overall, he thought he did well, though. His body was moving slowly and was a little stiff from sleeping on the cold ground, but he was managing. The only problem Mokuba had now was deciding where to go.

"Well, grown-ups have jobs to support themselves. I guess I need a job," he thought aloud. With a small pain, he remembered being the vice president of Kaiba Corporation, but that remembrance faded with the anger at his brother.

"Who'd hire me?" Then he sighed with gusto. Kicking a stone with his foot, he found his way up to the road.

Glancing both directions, he decided both looked equally distasteful. But there was nothing else for him to do. He was not going back to the Janukas.

Yet, the Janukas dearly wished he would come back to them. In the morning, when it was obvious both Mokuba and Fuguta were gone, they called the police. Already, the police were checking areas around the Januka mansion. At the same time, they also were searching diligently around the Kaiba mansion.

The counselor Mokuba had seen last reported everything he knew. However, the man was not optimistic.

"He was depressed. I fear what he will look like if we find him."

Mr. Januka glared at the man while holding his wife. "Keep your comments to yourself."

Amidst sobs, his wife asked softly, "Will we ever see him alive again?"

Her husband did not know what to say.

Kaiba was wondering along the same lines. His brother was depressed, he knew. Look what he himself had tried when he was depressed. Actually, Kaiba was not certain his brother was depressed. Mokuba may well have been angry. After reading that letter in his handwriting, Kaiba had been incensed…

But he knew as well that he deserved Mokuba's anger.

His phone rang. Somewhat disjointedly, Kaiba stared at his pocket, then dug out his cell phone.

"Yes?"

"Glad to hear you're awake, sir. This is YO, reporting about the appeal."

Kaiba was silent. Yo said nothing, though he was worried that he should not have called so soon. After at least a minute of silence passed, Kaiba said, "I think we should postpone it for another day."

"But…how late, sir?"

"Until I find my brother."

Kaiba hung up, looking over Domino City from his helicopter, knowing a search on foot could be more productive, but it would take such a long time as well.

"Oh, Mokuba. Where would you have gone?"

He sighed. Though it had passed through his mind,—it had to simply because he had done it once—Kaiba had not touched the bandages on his wrists. He had to find his brother now, and after the appeal which decided everything, Kaiba also had to make certain his brother was not so depressed if they lost. He could guess that his first way to detach his brother was the worst way he could have done it. Now, Kaiba owed it to Mokuba to do things in a better way—if he even had to worry about it.

The appeal information he had heard so far seemed hopeful. But Kaiba also did not want to hope any more than was necessary. He had thought there was no way to lose the trial. Then, by promising what was out of his grasp, Kaiba thought he had hurt his little brother more than if he had never been so optimistic.

Don't worry, Mokuba, Kaiba now said to his brother, not caring if this was another promise. This was something he would do no matter what. He continued thinking, I'll never just give up again. I'm coming to find you in order to prove that.

Of course, the boy heard none of it, and it probably would not have made much difference if he had. But it made Kaiba feel slightly better.

There was still one thing Kaiba had to check. As much as he despised the thought of it, the dweebs had helped bring his brother from the Janukas, so it followed that Mokuba was with them now. Yet, they would be in school wasting their sad time with attempts to grow smarter by listening to ignorant teachers drone on about topics that meant little today. So even if he did stoop so low to find his brother, and he had every intention of doing it, Kaiba had to wait.

Taking a turn with the copter, the CEO continued peering out the windows for any tell-tale black hair. However, very few people were on the streets at this time in the morning. And none of them was small enough to be his brother.

Mokuba sat down on a curb. "What do I do now?"

He had already tried to find employment at a few stores that claimed they were hiring. However, the people just laughed at him.

"Don't you know you have to be at least sixteen to work?"

Mokuba was silent, thinking, I should have known that. I bet everyone else my age knew that but me.

But, in reality, there was no real reason he should have known. Growing up as the vice president of Kaiba Corporation, it seemed there was no age limit on working (that is because there is not one when one is working with family). Besides, working somewhere else had never been on his mind, and he had never needed to know such things as when he could begin helping make money. Being privileged could do that to a person.

Now, three stores later, he was bummed at not succeeding in the next step in his plan. How could he survive on his own without work?

"I'm not going back to the Janukas. Or anyone else, for that matter. Seto had taken control of his life when he was this age, so I can do the same. No one can tell me I'm not as smart as he is." Mokuba glared around as if an accuser were staring right at him, but he was alone. The boy's face fell, and his head fell into his hands. Sighing as if it were his last breath, he stared dully at the ground.

Very quietly, Mokuba replied to himself, "But it's true. I'm not as smart as he is. I'll probably die out here, all alone, forgotten."

There was a low chuckle. Apparently, someone was closer than he thought. The boy whipped his head up and whirled it around, seeing a smirking man nearby, leaning on a building.

"Not entirely forgotten, Mokuba Kaiba. Don't worry about that. I have a place for you."

The man came forward, gloved hands holding something that looked like fluid. Mokuba jumped to his feet, but he was not fast enough. The man's hand snaked out and grabbed his, yanking him closer.

"You're not going anywhere."

Opening his mouth to scream or shout—even forgotten people have voices—as the man sprayed the contents of the bottle into his face, a vile smell mushroomed up his nose, making the boy want to sneeze. Then, he began to waver as his body fell into a deep sleep.

The man easily hefted Mokuba's body onto his back and put him into the car that was nearby. No one was around. There was no one to know what happened on this abandoned section of the city. The only sound as the car drove off was a low rumbling from the sky as a chopper flew overhead.