By MixedxUp
Chapter 1: Birthday Blues
He wonders whether his brother has forgotten. But maybe he hasn't, and he's going to jump out and yell at his younger brother for forgetting. Mokuba hasn't forgotten. Mokuba hasn't forgotten that it is his brother's birthday. Seto Kaiba is sitting there, oblivious to his sibling's distorted and worried thinking. He goes about his business that morning as usual. Like clockwork, Kaiba has the same schedule everyday. It is a special today, it is. Perhaps he has forgotten, and he just needs a simple reminder. The younger Kaiba desperately searches his mind bank for what could be a subtle enough reminder. Nothing comes up.
Kaiba eats his cereal, the way he does every morning. If any of the press had found out what brand of cereal he ate, they would release it to the public and the cereal would get massive fan service at his expense. Shoving the dark brown locks out of his eyes, he spoons up milk and Cheerios and eats slowly. Unlike his younger brother, he eats in a civilized manner. Mokuba tilts the cereal bowl slightly and drinks up the milk. Then, he downs an entire glass of juice in one gulp. Kaiba's eyes don't even twitch. His brother is acting strange today.
Mokuba props his head up with his hands. It's a Saturday morning, and thus, he will have to stay at home while Kaiba goes to work to 'check on things' even though he technically doesn't have to go to work today because nobody else does. The dark-haired boy asks his brother why he has to go when others don't, and he simply replies that it is the duty of the CEO. He groans a little at the overused excuse.
But today there is little conversation. Seto Kaiba is not a morning person; he was born at 3:17 PM. The younger Kaiba knows this and has set it into his watch so he knows when to wish his brother a happy birthday. But the atmosphere doesn't feel right. At least last year, when he threw him a surprise party, Kaiba got angry and locked himself in his room for the rest of the evening. A decent show of usual theatrics, but at least he acknowledged his birthday. Mokuba sighs, letting his head fall onto the kitchen table.
"Lock the doors while I'm out. Make sure Roland is with you at all times, and if anything should happen, don't hesitate to call me." Seto Kaiba runs through the daily list of things he has to tell his younger brother while he's home 'alone'. Mokuba half-listens because he's heard the same thing every morning before his brother goes to work. Kaiba never forgets. His entire body and mind is like a clock.
And like clockwork, there are no mistakes. Nodding his head, he playfully throws his arms around his brother's waist. It is a simple moment like this that Kaiba remembers that he is young. A teenager. And every birthday means one more year closer to being more like an adult. But he hasn't had a childhood, and he wants Mokuba to have as much of one that he didn't have.
The younger Kaiba likes the warm feel of his brother's body, and the way Seto always threads his fingers through his hair before leaving. The moment is cut short because Kaiba is like clockwork. Everything has a set time limit, and everything must be done. Seto prepares his schedule the night before, making sure he completes every task before the day ends. There isn't time for frivolous or extraneous matters. Except today, perhaps, the CEO will forget his schedule. Mokuba hopes.
The older Kaiba walks out the door and proceeds into the black limo parked outside of the mansion. Arriving at the Kaiba Corps. Building, he checks in as usual at the main desk. His secretary offhandedly says that there was a note left by somebody who came earlier. Kaiba dismisses it as either a prank or a telemarketing scam as usual and proceeds upstairs. It's a busy life and he doesn't have time for extraneous letters or notes.
After checking out with the secretary, she pleads with him, saying that the note was of extreme importance to the woman who gave it. Kaiba dismisses it as a fan's letter. He doesn't bother reading those; he gives them to Mokuba and lets his younger brother write back to all the annoying people who feel the need to thank him for his great inventions. He is briefly stoic and cold that morning, and thus, the first hitch in Seto Kaiba's schedule is in motion.
The CEO decides to walk home instead of taking the limo, which is a very strange occurrence. He has only done it once before, several years ago. The limo drivers asks whether he is sure, and Kaiba yells at him for being incompetent. The driver speeds off, perhaps more in fear rather than because his boss asked him to. There are collections of autumn leaves on the ground, and he picks one up. The second hitch in his schedule.
He walks past the schoolyard of his former high school. He dropped out and was privately tutored, even though he likes to claim that he is smarter than any of his teachers. The high school was his sanctuary, even if it was full of annoying and incompetent people. He didn't have to talk, and he didn't have to befriend people. All he had to do was raise his hand and answer questions every time nobody else could. It was easy, and at least then, he had more time to spend with his sibling.
The boys are out playing now, as they do on a regular basis every Friday afternoon. He pauses in front of the metal fence, his dark black coat billowing slightly in the wind. He takes off his gloves, one finger at a time, and places them in his pockets. Fourth hitch. He leans on the metal fence, and watches the boys play an improvised game of basketball. There are some girls lining the fences on the other end, watching the boys and cheering them on. He notices that one of them is the friendship girl.
Kaiba watches the puppy make a slam-dunk, and then gloat about it for the next five minutes. Yuugi is there, the shortest of them all, trying desperately to get the ball from Jounouchi. The blonde finally gives the ball to Yuugi, who holds the ball to his chest firmly, and then turns around and looks Kaiba square in the eye. His body stiffens. He's been found out. Now his troupe will be making fun of him for weeks. Not that he cares. The short boy now smiles, one of those sincere ones. He rushes over to the fence. Kaiba feels himself stepping away from the fence. He wants to break into a run.
"Hi, Kaiba! You know, I was hoping I could see you sometime soon. I wanted to wish you a happy birthday," Yuugi says, genuinely. He clasps the orange ball in his hands and looks up at the CEO. Kaiba feels uncomfortable that the shorter boy has decided to confront him. The puppy now follows close behind, his white shirt being pulled up at one end to wipe the sweat on his forehead. Now Kaiba really does feel like getting away.
"Hey, Jounouchi? Did you know? It's Kaiba's birthday!" Yuugi turned towards his friend, the ball still being hugged to his chest. Jounouchi looks at Kaiba the way he would eye a rock. Then, his eyes soften considerably and he too, wishes him a happy birthday. Kaiba looks stoically at the both of them, as if they are both pathetic excuses for human beings. Yuugi's smile does not falter.
"I don't celebrate my birthday," he says, breaking the silence. Yuugi looks slightly disappointed, and the puppy has wandered off towards Anzu, probably telling her that it is Seto's birthday. Except he doesn't want anyone to know. He doesn't even know how Yuugi knows. But it's probably been published in Duel Monsters magazines dozens of times. And since Yuugi is fond of Duel Monsters, it is completely probable that he's read one of those magazines.
Anzu gives a small wave to Kaiba and yells out one of her one 'Happy Birthday!' greetings. Honda is seen going at it one on one with the puppy now, who's restless and can't stay on one task for very long. Yuugi just stands there, the metal link fence that separates them a demonstration of the emotional barriers that Kaiba has walled himself up in.
"Kaiba, maybe we can duel sometime. I think that's the only birthday present I can give," Yuugi smiles sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. Kaiba stores the offer away in his mind. He probably doesn't mind receiving that kind of gift. "So how are you?" And Kaiba's look falters, almost as if nobody's asked him that question before. Shaking his head, he answers.
"Why do you care?" Yuugi looks crushed. His small hands drop the ball. It is unusual for him to see Kaiba, because often he passes by in his limo. He doesn't even stop. His dropout was an extreme disgrace to the high school. It was because the teachers felt that Kaiba thought he was better than them, and finished their sentences or filled in the blanks in class when the teachers would falter. He really had been too smart for them. Jounouchi pauses his game with Honda, and looks at Yuugi, who is still talking to Kaiba.
"Because I do," Yuugi says, and even Kaiba can't miss the glaze apparent in his eyes. The school bell rings. "I have to go. Have a good birthday, Kaiba." Then, he watches Yuugi walk slowly back to the school. He is afraid that he is allowed himself to feel more than the quota he has set aside for himself. The fifth hitch. A breeze starts quite awkwardly around him, and thus he decides to walk back home, given the time he has. He's almost halfway there when he feels someone come behind him.
"I suppose you didn't receive my note?" The voice is calm and polite. He allows himself to look back to just see who it is. Ishizu Ishtar, the woman at the museum, is standing there, her hands buried in the pockets of her chocolate coat. There's a slight twitch at the end of his mouth, as if he wasn't expecting her, of all people, to meet him on this day. Not that this day has any more significance than other days. Kaiba has resigned himself to believing that this is an ordinary day, and because ordinary days are dreary, so is this one.
"No. It probably wasn't important. I don't want to listen to you preach. I'm going home." He says a little more than he usually does. A big, white wisp of a cloud has begun to overshadow the sun. Kaiba decides that he quite likes it. His skin is pale and stark white, and he prefers it that way. A few cars pass by, and Kaiba is still glued to his usual spot on the sidewalk. It is unusual that he even waits for her response. She brings a gloved hand to her mouth to cover a soft laugh, and then clasps her hands at her front.
"I was wondering whether you could perhaps join me this evening for dinner." She doesn't even ask him. Her mass of dark brown hair is loose and farther down than her shoulders. He notices that she is completely devoid of any jewelry, except a bangle on her right wrist and two silver hoops for earrings. This isn't any weather to be standing on the sidewalk to be talking. He realizes that the cold wind bites at her cheeks, leaving them pink and flushed. He has no answer for her, and yet he does. Today will be a lonesome day.
"I don't have time to waste." He says. Her smile falters slightly; the corners of her lips being pulled down and then up again as she forces a diplomatic approach. Kaiba was taught the diplomatic approach to things, and he readily discarded it. Looking good to others was of no concern to him. He supposed it mattered not to her, but since she desired a favorable response from him, she should employ it just as well. She laughs again, placing her hands in her coat pockets.
"All right. I understand," She answers, looking to the side as if she doesn't want to meet his eyes. He just waits there. What a complete waste of time. She pulls her hand out again, and pulls the glove off, finger by finger, and discards it in her right pocket. Kaiba notices that she has been playing with her hands the entire time. Perhaps she too, like him, is afraid of being idle. That time will pass by unused and wasted.
"I hope you enjoy a happy birthday." She places her hand on his cheek, and he feels his body freezing up. He wants to push her away, but the ache inside of him is too apparent, too raw and open, like a wound that has not healed. Pulling his face down by his collar, she places a tender kiss on his mouth. It's almost like a whisper of a kiss; light, feathery, quiet and brief. His lips feel cold and clammy and he doesn't want her to know that and doesn't react, even if she is a crazy woman. He might as well be half-insane by now as it is.
"Goodbye." And then she walks past, crossing the street and disappearing into a cloud of fog. Seto places his fingers on his mouth and feels disgusted. How could he have let her get away with violating his personal space? He ceases to think about her for the rest of the way, his eyes concentrated on the cracks on the sidewalk. He always passes by the Kame Game shop on his way home, and thus, he always passes by Otogi's shop as well. He doesn't admire him, but he, might as well be the least annoying of all of Yuugi's friends.
Strangely enough Otogi comes out at that very moment, with a smug look on his face and his hands on his hips. The man is too flamboyant for Kaiba's taste. Him and his flock of fangirls are enough to make him sick. He wants to walk pass without thinking or talking to him, but of course fate hates Kaiba and thus he hears Otogi shout to him from across the street.
"Hey Kaiba! Come over here." Seto, of course, freezes. It's not enough that he asked him to go over there. He's already late getting home, anyway. And that encounter with Ischizu was enough to make his headspin. If he just walked past, Otogi would continue to shout and embarrass him. If he went to him, he'd waste more time. He chose the lesser of the two evils and decided to walk across the street, rather annoyed and ashamed that he gave in. The sixth hitch.
"I want to give you your present. Hold on." Was there a secret memo that was passed around to everyone that announced his birthday in grand letters? Kaiba feels helpless and rather annoyed by the time Otogi finally comes out with a rectangular box. It's wrapped neatly in plain shimmering red wrapping paper, with a white bow on top. Otogi feels rather proud of his present.
"I don't want it." Kaiba says, shoving the box back to Otogi. His face falls, and then he gives a look that means business. Kaiba can see the inside of the shop; he's closing early for today because it is a Saturday, but it is still too early – Kaiba is puzzled. Leaning towards him, Otogi places a hand into his hair and smoothes it out. That is another thing he dislikes about Otogi; he's too vain and concerned of his public image. Kaiba could care less if the public could see him cursing and angrily yelling at his employees. As long as business was perfect, Kaiba didn't care.
"Well, that's too bad. I spent too much time looking for it. I don't care if you don't want it, you still have to take it." Otogi forces the box back into Kaiba's hands. Throwing a 'whatever' behind his shoulder, Seto decides that it is time he headed home without any more delays. He'd wasted enough time with Yuugi's troupe and the others. Mokuba would be worried sick. The cellphone decided to ring conveniently just then.
"Hey, Seto! Look at your watch." He listens to his brother's tiny voice on the other end, as if he's far away. He's less than two or three blocks from home; couldn't this wait? Kaiba shoves his coat's sleeve up and looks at his watch. It is 3:17 PM. "It's the time you were born. Remember? Happy birthday, Seto. Come home soon!" And there's a faint click on the other end. Seto wipes away at something at his eyes, as it seems that it has begun to rain.