Disclaimer: I do not own any copyrights, trademarks or registry in Yu-Gi-Oh. Wish I did!
3
/How can anything be wrong on a day like today/ The sun was shining brightly, warm against Mokuba's face. He leaned up against the fence lining the entrance to the mall/office complex. He couldn't believe it. This was the spot where KaibaLand was supposed to be. There should be a Blue Eyes White Dragon majestically displayed. Tears threatened to overwhelm him.
He kept forgetting that KaibaCorp was still a war technology supplier, not a gaming empire; that Seto had lost the chess match with Gozaburo and so lost his confidence; that instead of making new gaming technologies and strategies, Seto was lost in making newer, better and deadlier weapons and supporting technology. /No wonder Seto was running out of ideas, it wasn't the way his mind worked. He wasn't a killer, he was a gamer./ A thought was stirring in his mind and Mokuba grabbed for it – Duel Monsters! Get Seto involved in Duel Monsters. Mokuba laughed, how easy had that been?
Now, he had to go find some Duel Monster cards. Where to go – where to go? Mokuba hit himself in the forehead - Yugi's Grandpa owns a gaming store. /Let's hope that it is still around/ he thought desperately.
It was, but had a "For Sale – Sold" sign in the window. Mokuba walked in and suddenly stopped. "Oh, hi, Yugi."
Yugi was behind the counter, packing things away. Yugi's sly smile slowly appeared on his face. "Well, if it isn't little Kaiba. Where's your big brother, looking into a better science project?"
"His project is just fine and thank you for asking." Mokuba remarked snidely.
"What brings you here, little Kaiba?" Yugi watched him behind half closed eyes.
"I am interested in some Duel Monster cards." Yugi rolled his eyes and pointed to a couple of cartons in the corner.
"That is all we have left and I was going to try to sell them on Ebay. They just aren't selling here in Japan. I never understood why my Grandpa bought them in the first place. Maybe Grandpa was blinded by his own love for the game. He couldn't see that it had run its course and it was time for it to die. He even tried to get me interested before he passed away."
Mokuba tried not to react to Yugi's nonchalant mention of his Grandpa's death. "How much for what you have left?"
"Let's see …" Yugi looked up at the ceiling as he thought, then mumbled, "there's … to a box, … boxes to a carton … plus the special single cards Grandpa had put away and two starter packs … how about $1,500 for it all. That's probably less than half what it is all worth."
That wouldn't leave him much money; but, if it helped jump start Seto's brain, it would be worth it. "Okay. I'll take them all," he said as he pulled out his cash.
As he took the money, Yugi snorted, "Just like a Kaiba."
"What's that supposed to mean, Yugi?" Mokuba had an idea, but was hurt by the way Yugi was acting. He had to remind himself that this was not the world he remembered.
"The name Kaiba equals money. Here you are barely a teenager flashing around several thousand dollars, while the rest of the world has to sell everything just to make ends meet." Yugi's bitterness was evident.
Mokuba got angry. "You think just because our adoptive father has money that he freely gives it to us? Think again! I have been saving that money for a long time, Yugi!" He thought that this was the case, but, of course, didn't know for sure. "I need the cards not to just play a game, but to help my brother get out from under our father's control.
"You know, Yugi, you should walk a mile in someone else's shoes before you try to judge them!"
Yugi looked a little embarrassed, but only a little. While Yugi tied the cartons together and made a makeshift handle for easier carrying, he confided in Mokuba. "Listen, I really have nothing against you or Seto. Seto has been my major competition in the field of science and technology for years. I respect his mind – he keeps me on my toes. But every time, even though teachers and professionals say that mine was the better project, Seto wins. He takes the scholarship money that I desperately need for college.
"I am quite sure, though I don't have any evidence, that your father has influenced the outcome for at least the past 3 years." Yugi leaned on the counter.
The memory of Seto's beating flashed into Mokuba's mind. Mokuba shook his head. "You are wrong, Yugi. Believe what you will, but I know that Gozaburo Kaiba would never help Seto in any way, even if it helped himself."
--
"Seto?" Mokuba peeked into his brother's room. He was surprised and concerned when he saw Seto on his bed, staring at the ceiling. "Are you okay?"
"My brain is fried, Moki. I lost my train of thought … where my research was going … went back to read my notes, and didn't understand a word of it." Seto's voice was hollow and distant.
"Then let's have a little fun together." Mokuba entered the room and shut the door behind him.
There was silence for a few minutes. "I guess I'm dead either way, so I might as well." Seto sat up and made room on the bed for Mokuba.
"Stop being so fatalistic. I think having a little fun would do you some good." Mokuba put out the two decks, fields and rules. "Okay, let's start with reading the rules and go slowly. I'll read since your brain is fried." Mokuba grinned at his brother, who gave him "the look". A lump formed in Mokuba throat, that "look" just did not have its usual power behind glasses and the hopeless expression in Seto's dull eyes. /Just have some fun, don't think about it./
A few hours later, Seto heard Gozaburo return home and they hurriedly hid the cards. Progress had been made. They had read the rules, looked at the cards and played some duels, only the first of which Mokuba won, the last of which Seto beat him without taking any damage at all to his Life Points. The idea had been a success – Seto's mind had started working again. A couple of times during the duels Seto had stopped with some thought about his project and jotted it down on his notes, but always came right back to the game.
By the time they were called for dinner, Seto was back at his research, retraced his thought process and figured out the application of a different power source to the project and Mokuba was sitting in an overstuffed chair next to Seto's desk doing his homework.
Roland led them to the dinning room where they were served. All during dinner, Gozaburo's eyes never left Seto's face. "So, have you figured out the problem yet?" he said finally.
Seto kept his eyes on the plate in front of him. "Yes sir. I think so." He then proceeded to explain his decisions. Their conversation made Mokuba's eyes glaze over. While he was no idiot, they left him totally in the dark.
"So …" Gozaburo started, "you think your beating yesterday helped?" His eyes gleamed as he remembered watching his faithful men administer Seto's punishment.
"No sir. I kept being distracted by pain all day. Hard to keep focus that way." Seto's face had hardened into a mask.
His father's countenance was amused but dangerous. "Is that a complaint? Seems to me my plan worked … you got beaten yesterday … you fixed the problem today. Cause and effect, Seto, … cause and effect."
"Believe what you wish. I know what inspired me and it wasn't your punishment."
"Defiance, Seto … from you?" A malicious turn of Gozaburo's upper lip made his face look even more dangerous. "Interesting. Maybe a different punishment is in order next time …" He trailed off as his eyes moved from Seto to Mokuba, whose face drained of color.
Seto looked from Gozaburo to Mokuba to Roland who was approaching Mokuba from behind and quickly said, "No! I'm sorry. It won't happen again."
Roland had Mokuba pulled from his chair and pinned on his back in a blink of an eye. Roland looked from Seto to Gozaburo, who lifted a finger.
"NO! Please, don't hurt him. Please. I swear I won't defy you again." Seto was begging his father.
"I hope not … for Mokuba's sake." Gozaburo nodded to Roland, who moved off of Mokuba, but not before planting his knee in the boy's stomach. "Just a warning, Seto. I suggest you don't forget it." Gozaburo stood then left the room with Roland following behind.
With tears streaming down his face, Seto ran to Mokuba, who had curled up in a ball. He picked him up and carried him up to his room. "I'm so sorry, Mokuba. I shouldn't have defied him. I never thought he would go after you."
"We must get out from under him, Seto." Mokuba gasped in pain, then whispered, "I have a plan, but it will not be easy for you. You are already stretched so thin, and it will take some time."
"I will not let him hurt you again. Whatever you need me to do, I'll do it." It was what Mokuba had wanted to hear, but the pitiful way in which Seto said it broke his heart.