Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh… sob
Chapter Five – Child Play
"It is really pitiful. I thought Desolated Tales would be more challenging than the other on-line RPG, with more players and flexibilities. But everyone are so weak in the game, it is so hard to find a worthy opponent," Mokuba said with a mile smirk. It was one of the good days and he was sitting at one end of the long crystal dining table with dishes of half eaten food in front of him.
His brother was sitting at the opposite end, listening quietly to his rant on his latest video game with a subtle proud smile.
"Of course there are some people worthy for my time, but they are pitiful too," Mokuba continued to whine. "I still haven't die even once in this month! I thought after two hundred hours of gaming I would die more than six times! But no! I hardly ever die because everyone else are so pathetically weak!"
Amused, Seto replied sarcastically, "If you want to die so badly you can always let someone kill you on purpose."
"But that would be meaningless. Beside, I would not give anyone the sweet satisfaction of defeating me unless they deserve it," Mokuba replied smoothly with a smirk.
His brother could not help but laugh. "Of course."
"Which brings me to another point, there's this player killer in the game. The BBS has it that he is undefeated. Do you think I should challenge him?"
For a moment Seto's eyes flared, alarmed, but they quickly gave into indifference. "I don't think you should waste your time on him," Seto said with a slight smile.
"You are right. I should not drop to his level. I may be a high level player, but I never sneak up on people and hurt them at the back, just to gain experience points. I don't hurt weak players to get cheap experience points either," Mokuba critiqued. He paused, and then he added quietly, "Though I understand why they do it. Small sacrifices are acceptable as long as they contribute to the big picture."
"That's right, small sacrifices are acceptable as long as they contribute to the big picture," Seto repeated softly, his voice biting, "That's what Gozaburo used to say isn't it?" He looked at Mokuba who recoiled at the question. He chuckled caustically, "Funny, isn't it? We both hate that man yet we both remember everything he said. The thing is… We both find most of what he said true."
Silence.
Mokuba said nothing and began to concentrate on his food. Seto said nothing and concentrated on staring at his food. The meal was over without another word. Finally dessert was served. Chocolate Sunday. It was one of Mokuba's favourites, something that despite the awkward silence put a smile appear on Mokuba's face. He began to eat.
As for Seto, who was never too fond of sweets, he left his bowl alone. So instead he found amusement in watching his brother eat so carelessly. "You have chocolate on your nose."
"Do I?" Mokuba asked between large gulps of ice cream. He shrugged innocently. "I can always clean up later."
Ah what innocence. Seto laughed silently.
Gozaburo Kaiba was a lonely man. It was not because he could not find a drinking companion when he wanted one, nor was it because no body liked him. No, it was quite the opposite, everyone loved him – for his money, that is. He did not want to be too attached with anyone in any cause because human nature allowed best friend to backstab each other for money.
He wasn't always that lonely, however. There was a time when he had a wife and a son he loved but they both died ten year ago. He had never been a very sociable man, but ever since their death he was even less sociable than before. Everyone still respect him however, because he was still a very successful businessman.
His father died two years ago at a respectable age of eighty-nine. The death led Gozaburo to think of his own inevitable death. With that came the thoughts about Kaiba Corp successor. Legally, the next of kin would inherit the company upon the death of the owner. With his brothers, sisters, wife and son all dead the next of kin would be his rich cousin, someone who Gozaburo despised.
He needed an heir.
There were two ways he could get one. The first way involved remarrying some pretty woman. He might be getting old but his bank accounts could certainly attract a lot of vain and superficial women. That idea was abandoned almost immediately, however, he knew those woman would drain up his fortune in record time. Further more he felt a considerable amount of guilt toward his deceased wife and son.
With that idea eliminated, the only solution left was adoption. When a man like Gozaburo Kaiba wanted to adopt a kid there is a huge selection and many options.
"You just told me to find any orphanage with a smart child. That boy did have high IQ you know. He fitted your requirement," said Gozaburo's secretary, a middle aged man named Saitou.
"Yes, but I am a business man, Saitou, I cannot stand imperfection. I don't want to adopt someone with a disability no matter how smart that person is," Gozaburo scolded mercilessly. He paused then added, "I hope the next one will be better."
Saitou replied smoothly, "Don't worry Mr. Gozaburo, the next one is perfectly healthy."
Gozaburo snorted.
"Seto Takashi, sir. From what I gathered he is a smart boy," Katashi reported.
Gozaburo snorted again. "We will see about that. We have already been to at least ten orphanage and you said that about every single one of those kids."
Katashi quickly defended, "But the tests result indicated – "
"But the test result doesn't matter. I don't want some fidgeting kid who gets so nervous when speaking to me that he can't even utter three intelligent words. If the kid cannot speak intelligently in any situation, quick thinking, well mannered, and above all actually respectfully look into my eyes when speaking to me, I am not even going to consider adopting that kid," Gozaburo exclaimed. He grunted and took a cigar. Saitou lighted it for him. "I cannot adopt some kid who cannot even demonstrate to me that he is smart he does not deserve the honour to be my son."
"Of course not," Saitou agreedpleasingly, "Who ever can become your son is the luckiest young man in the whole world."
Gozaburo sneered.
"Follow me this way gentlemen. I will show you where the children play…" the woman said, walking out of the room toward a close door.
Gozaburo and Saitou silently followed her.
"This is the game room sir, but be warn, it may be a bit loud," the woman said with a warm smile. She opened the door. Instantly laughter, shouts, songs, and sobs – all kinds of noises filled the air. Gozaburo looked into the busy room. Board games, crayons, cards, books, dolls, and toy cars, all scattered chaotically all over the tables within. Around the tables were children of all ages, all much too occupied with their games to notice the adults at the doorway.
Gozaburo shook his head disapprovingly.
"Are all of the children here in this room?" he asked the caretaker.
The caretaker scanned the room and answered with a warm smile, "All but one, sir."
"Can we have a few moment alone, Ms. Maaya?" Saitou asked with a smooth smile. The woman nodded, she walked inside the noisy room and closed the door behind her.
Instantly. Blissful silence.
"What do you think Mr. Gozaburo?" Saitou asked with a slanted smile.
"Those children inside are insane," Gozaburo replied bluntly.
Saitou chuckled. "They are children, Mr. Gozaburo, you cannot expect all of them as mature as a grown up."
"Is that kid you were talking about inside?" Gozaburo asked coldly.
"Most likely, Mr. Gozaburo, after all, the caretaker did say…"
From the side of his eyes Gozaburo caught a shadow behind his secretary. He turned his head abruptly toward it. From the shadow immerged a boy. The boy looked extremely familiar. He could still vaguely hear Saitou speaking to him, but the voice seemed far away. Gozaburo gasped softly. There behind his secretary stood his son.
Dumbfounded, scared, surprised, overjoyed, Gozaburo found himself unable to move or speak. He could only stare back as the boy stared at him. For a long time the two stared at each other as if they were in a staring contest, finally the boy gave in. He spoke, "Excuse me can you please let me pass?"
The voice woke Gozaburo from the trance. He blinked. Suddenly everything became clear. The illusions disappeared. The boy standing in front of him did not have dark eyes but a pair of blue ones, instead of aqua coloured hair, he had brown hair, style curiously like his deceased son. His eyes Gozaburo shook his head in dismay.
"May I please pass?" the boy asked again, this time a bit louder.
"Mr. Gozaburo, are you okay?" Saitou asked, worried. He never saw his boss so white before. It was as if he saw a ghost. Gozaburo nodded and slowly walk away from the door, still looking at the boy.
Without another look at the adults, the boy rushed passed the two men. He pushed open the door behind them and joined the other orphans in the chaos.
Ms. Maaya clapped her hands to get the attention of the orphans. Slowly the room quieted down. She smiled, turned her head toward her guests, and announced, "This is Mr. Gozaburo. You may have heard of his name before, but whether or not you did does not matter, Today this good man is here to adopt one of you. He will talk to you in the next hour to decide. Just act normal."
"Normal," Seto laughed silently. The room was eerily silent after the speech. Everyone played with their toy half heartedly, taking nervous glances at the strangers. Seto observed the visitors movement silently.
"I don't like that man. He looks scary," Mokuba muttered in Seto's ear.
"Do you know who he is?" Seto asked gently without turning to his brother.
"A scary looking man," Mokuba replied moodily.
Seto snickered softly. "He is also one of the riches man in the world," Seto said, taking a glance at the large man at the other end of the room.
"I don't care. He has scary eyes. Why is he always staring at us anyway?" Mokuba asked. Frightened, he hid behind his brother's back.
"Because he is interested in me," Seto replied knowingly.
"But you are just going deny him right like you did with the other parents? Right?" Mokuba asked, clutching Seto's shirt tight, his looked at his brother with pleading eyes.
Seto turned away. "You know Mokuba, we cannot say in the orphanage forever… One day they will make us go," Seto began, his voice low and wistful.
"I know but I don't want to live with scary looking man!" Mokuba cried.
Seto shushed the child."What if he is the only one who will adopt us both? Normal people don't have enough money to adopt two kids at once Mokuba. One day I will have to agree to someone who can only adopt me. If I can convince him to adopt us both…" Seto broke off and turned around to look at his brother.
Mokuba looked at his brother, then at the floor then at his brother again. "I guess being together is better than nothing. But you won't agree if he refuses to adopt me too right? You won't leave me alone right?" Mokuba asked, his voice hopeful.
Seto shook his head and squeeze his little brother's shoulder reassuringly. "Of course not." He stole a quick glanced at Gozaburo again. "Do you want to play chess, Mokuba?"
Seto shook his head. "No, don't move your queen," Seto said patiently, "If you do that my rock can take her. You want to move something else to defend your king."
Mokuba pulled his hand back from the chess piece. He silently looked at the chessboard. His eyebrows moved together and he thought hard. Nothing. His mind remained blank. He couldn't think of any other possible moves. Not that he was good at the game in any case, his brother always win. The only difference was that he began to make crucial mistakes sooner than usual. He could not help it, his attention kept going back to the scary looking man who would always be watching them from a distance. He looked up to his brother. "I don't want to play anymore."
Taking a long, hard look at his brother, Seto nodded. "You are not concentrating anyway."
Mokuba looked down at his feet and nodded. Mokuba took another quick peek at the man and quickly retreated back behind his brother. He shuttered and buried his head in his brother's back. "I don't like him…" he said, his voice muffled by his brother's shirt.
Seto said nothing.
"What is your name boy?" a voice demanded.
Mokuba jumped. He looked up. Standing in front of his brother was the scary looking man. Mokuba peeked behind his brother's back. Seto replied politely, "It's Seto, Mr. Gozaburo,"
Gozaburo was pleased. The boy looked at him straight in his eyes when he spoke. "I see…"
"That's the boy I was talking about Mr. Gozaburo," Saitou whispered, "tests indicate he has…"
Gozaburo ignored his secretary and continued talking to the boy, "Do you know what I do for a living?"
"You are the owner of a advance technology company," Seto replied calmly.
A crooked smile appeared on Gozaburo's face. For the first time in years he approved of a child. He looked at the chessboard beside the boy.
Seto saw and smirked. He was almost there, just one more step and he could secure his adoption. "Mr. Gozaburo do you like chess?"
Gozaburo laughed. He replied proudly, "I am one of the world champions you know boy. Of course I like chess."
"I know. I saw you on the internet," Seto replied evenly. He smiled. "Do you want to play?" He turned to his brother. "You see, my brother is not that good in chess, and I really want to play someone good."
Mokuba blinked. He was too scared to speak.
"Okay, I will play with you," Gozaburo said. The boy was proving to be more interesting than he had ever imagined. "But I will not go easy on you."
"I did not expect you to," Seto paused. He turned toward his brother once again and asked solemnly, "But if I win would you promise to adopt us?"
Gozaburo laughed.
"Everyone, from today one they will be your new young masters Seto and Mokuba," Gozaburo announced. His servants obediently bowed to the young boy. "Sho!"
The housekeeper walked forward. "Yes Mr. Gozaburo?"
"Bring Mokuba to his new bedroom," Gozaburo said. Mokuba reluctantly left his brother side and follow Sho after his brother shot him a commanding glance. Gozaburo turned to his newly adopted son as he began to walk up the stairs, "Seto, you follow me up to my study."
Seto nodded and followed.
"You will have to go to school soon," Gozaburo said when he sat down in his study. "School should start next week after we meet the principle. You will have to do an entrance test, Seto. I don't like buying you into a school. It's bad for business if anyone finds out. But you should not have any problems with that. We will go first thing Monday."
"Yes Mr. Gozaburo - "
"Say father, next time Seto, you are my son now," Gozaburo interrupted with a side way smile.
"Yes father," Seto said steadily.
Gozaburo smiled. "I will get your brother to the kindergarten, he is five after all, of course. After we meet the school principle on Monday I will bring you to a tour of Kaiba Corporation. Your brother cannot come though."
Seto nodded.
"Any question?"
Seto thought for a moment. "I have been wondering one thing for a long time…" Seto began slowly. He walked toward the window overlooking the city and the ocean. "About that chess game…" He looked out from the window. "The queen… You moved your knight. But you must have seen what I was planning to do with your queen. I saw your hand pausing on top of the queen. Why didn't you move it? Why did you let me win?"
Gozaburo's lips twisted into a smirk. "You noticed," he added in a raspy voice, "I was hoping you would notice… Yes, I let you win. I could have just easily moved that queen, and the game would continue. You were putting up a good fight, but I would probably win at the end. But I didn't… Do you know why?"
"You want me to win because you have already decided to adopt me…" Seto said with a mild smile.
Gozaburo laughed coldly. "Know this, boy. This will be your lesson for today. As easily as I have bring you out of the orphanage, as easily as I can bring you back in there. I do not take mistakes lightly, I hope you will not be a disappointment."
Seto nodded. "I understand… father."
The dark room was filled with computer, and with so many computers, so many screens, the room looked claustrophobic and suffocating. Yet, a teenager was sitting comfortable in a leather chair in front of the machines, content, at ease. The light from the monitors gave an eerily glow to his face.
"Various players challenged you in Desolated Tale. You are getting quite famous. Your ID number is everywhere on the BBS. The administrators are building up firewalls just to block your access to the servers due to your rampage," said a mechanical voice.
A smile slowly stretched along his face. "If they think firewalls will stop me from logging in to a server I wish to access," He laughed dryly. "Log on to Desolated Tales, to Dungeons of Illusions server. Those paper works put me in a rather violent mood tonight…"
Not the end
Did you guys like Mokuba in this story? What do you think about Seto playing video games? What do you think about Gozaburo in my story? Review andtell me what you think.