It's a clear morning the day after. He breathes in a sigh of relief. No more 'happy birthday' greetings, no more anything. He glad he had taken most of the day off. Sunday was a day that most of the company decided to take off, but Kaiba still went to check on how things were going. Even his secretary would not be in. Mokuba, as the vice president, would drop in very early in the morning, and then come back as if he hadn't ever left at all. He can hear crickets chirping outside his window. The quiet is broken rather rudely by his younger brother.
"Seto, Seto! Look, you've got birthday presents. Somebody left them at the door!" Seto inwardly groans. He doesn't want any more presents or cards or wishes for a happy birthday. He wants to wish that his birthday never happened, that the day would cease to exist and he would cease to age, because honestly, he has been more of an adult his short life than most people have at old ages. He gets up out of bed, and realizes it is 6 in the morning. He wipes away the sleep from his eyes, although he is usually alert and a morning person.
Downstairs, only the maid is tending to the living room, dusting off the shelves of the his extensive book collection. The corner of his mouth twitches as he realizes that it is most likely Yuugi and his friends that have nailed these presents to his door, much like Luther had nailed his complaints to the Roman Catholic Church. Unwanted and undesired. He sighs, crouching down to see the small pile. Mokuba has already dived into the pile of presents, and pokes his head out of the small wrapped boxes and lifts up a rectangular white box.
"This is from Yuugi!" Mokuba proceeds to hand it to his brother. There's a neatly tied cerulean ribbon, and with a smooth tug at one end of the ribbon, the rest slips away. Kaiba lifts the top of the box, and holds up the card-box. It seems as if he has dozens of these, but it is a tin, metal box with a Blue-Eyes White Dragon performing its White Lightning Attack.
It's an engraved image, and his initials are on the bottom. On the back of the tin is a small post-it note, stuck on almost at last minute, it seems. 'Next week, at the Kame Game Shop. Be there!' It reads. Kaiba remembers that Yuugi has promised him a duel. He tucks the mental note in a shelf in the back of his mind and places the tin back in the box.
"You didn't even open the present Otogi gave you yesterday. Why not now?" He's dived into the pile of presents again and retrieves the large, rectangular box. Otogi doesn't have taste. He must've gotten him a shirt or something. The ribbons are neatly discarded at his legs on the right, and he realizes he's sitting on the living room floor, opening presents. With a defeated sigh he lifts the top of the box open.
"Wow!" Mokuba gasps at the new edition of the Dungeon Dice Monsters game. It's not even released yet! But there it is, in Kaiba's lap. He notices there's a game booklet, a jar of dice, a thick strategy guide, two posters that have every Duel Monster on them, and it seems there's a card as well. Mokuba revels in the new game. He's been wanting the new version since forever! Kaiba hands his brother the box, and he goes to throw out the card when Mokuba yells at him for being inconsiderate. Kaiba realizes he can never win. He opens the card.
'I got you the newest version of Dungeon Dice Monsters. I had to rush the box packaging and some of the other stuff as well so I could get it to you on time. Oh, and you're the first person to own the newest edition, so you're lucky! Happy birthday! Sincerely, Otogi.' Kaiba hands over the card to Mokuba, who is antsy and wants to know how the heck Otogi got them the newest version especially since it doesn't come out until next year.
Kaiba pauses and realizes a small, creamy envelope that hasn't been opened. He notices the friendship girl's present, apparently hers because it is pink with baby blue ribbons. Mokuba tears the wrapping paper in an unorthodox manner, unlike Kaiba, who has neatly folded all the wrapping paper to one side. Crouching over his younger brother, he studies what the girl has given him.
It's a silver belt buckle, slightly smaller than the one that he wears now with the 'KC' logo on it. It's got the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon on it, brandishing its signature attack. He bets two million dollars that she and Yuugi had gone shopping together. Mokuba lets out a sound of awe as he places it on his waist, identifying its significant largeness.
The bell rings suddenly and he gets up to press the intercom on. Mokuba, intrigued at the moment, decides to skip over to the door. Kaiba, taking a second look at the security cameras, realizes it is Jounouchi. No matter how much he wants to leave Jounouchi standing there, Mokuba is right behind him, so the effort would be futile.
"Yes?" It's Kaiba's voice on the intercom. Jounouchi leaps back a few feet, and then when realizing that the voice came from the intercom, sheepishly rubs the back of his blonde head and finally leans in towards the intercom to speak.
"Hey, Kaiba, it's me, Jounouchi." It seems that he has been hiding it behind his back all along. Kaiba bets three million dollars that Yuugi forced Jounouchi to give Kaiba a present. Yuugi's claims that Kaiba was just as good of a friend as any of his other friends would be destroyed if they didn't even bother to remember his birthday. Mokuba shoves his brother's hand off the intercom button and presses it and speaks into the transmitter.
"Hi, Jounouchi! Come in!" Mokuba buzzes him in. Kaiba stands there as if he's been betrayed, but shakes the look off his face and proceeds to open the door. He hears the bell ring five billion times when he finally opens the door. Jounouchi presses the bell one more time just to get him angry. Stoic glare from Kaiba to Jounouchi. The blonde rubs the back of his head with one hand, keeping the present hidden.
"Hey. Um..here. It's your birthday present." Jounouchi shyly presses a square box into his hands. Kaiba looks at him oddly; as if he's surprised that the puppy went out and took the time to buy him a present. Not that he needs one from him. Mokuba smiles a little, coming out from behind Seto's legs.
"You want anything to eat? We were going to eat breakfast. It's kinda early, but since you're here, I guess it's okay." Mokuba pulls Jounouchi by the hand into the mansion. Kaiba doesn't want Jounouchi in his house, but since Mokuba wants him there, he can't disagree. Inducing a yawn, he takes the present into the kitchen and places it on the kitchen counter. Jounouchi sits at the table with Mokuba, looking slightly agape.
"Aren't you going to open it?" Jounouchi raises a hand that's sleeved with white cloth to his cheek, propping his head up on the table. Mokuba is busily making something on the kitchen counter, using a spoon, a bowl of sugar, and a large box. Hopefully his brother won't try and imitate the chefs on T.V., like making soufflé.
"Here, Jounouchi! It's my personal recipe." Hidden behind his hands, Jounouchi watches amused as Mokuba bursts out with a bowl of cereal. Seto wants to laugh, but doesn't. He hasn't laughed in a long time. He's nineteen and needs to start taking things seriously from now on. He manages to open the box as Jounouchi laughs and says that it'll be the best breakfast he's had in a long time.
Jounouchi watches as Kaiba fingers his present. He shoves spoonfuls of cereal in his mouth, at an amazingly fast rate; he wants to finish fast and see what Kaiba thinks. Mokuba turns towards his brother, trying to get a peek at what it is. Hoisting himself onto the counter, he lets out a few sounds of awe. It's a couple of Jounouchi's favorite books, Catcher in the Rye, A Separate Peace, and The Perfect Storm are the English ones, a Japanese novel, two comics, and a doujinshi by a popular circle.
The pages are fresh and crisp, newly bought. Kaiba's afraid to open any one of them because he might bend the pages or mar the books. They are quite classic books, and the novel in Japanese is very popular. He almost scoffs at the comics, because almost everyone knows that he doesn't read comics. Mokuba's flipped open the comic, and points out things at random intervals because he finds them interesting. Jounouchi looks as if he wants Kaiba's approval on what he got him. Well, he wouldn't get it, because Kaiba would reply that 'The presents are fine.'
Jounouchi gets up and places the bowl in the sink, but before he leaves, like most improper children would, he turns the faucet on and washes it. Mokuba looks at him strangely, because neither of the brothers has really washed their dishes since they hired the maid. She had been working here for a while now. Noticing the strange stares, he decides to rub his head sheepishly.
"It's just a habit," he says. Mokuba tells him that the maid always washes them, and that they pay her really well, and for that she actually enjoys her job. Jounouchi nods, saying that he's in a rush to get home because he has to go somewhere with Honda today. Kaiba walks him to the door, with Mokuba tagging along. The younger Kaiba waves goodbye to Jounouchi as he leaves. Closing the door, Kaiba feels that it is the end of his birthday remnants. It is time to get back to work and-
The creamy envelope is still in its place on the floor of the living room. Mokuba must have missed it because he was too busy tending to the boxes of presents. He wants to shred it, because he's had enough of these meaningless celebrations. His younger brother has tucked away his presents in his room, shouting loudly that Kaiba has such nice friends. But because Kaiba is human, unfortunately, he feels curiosity. Thus, he tears open the envelope and a sheaf of paper falls to the floor. Kaiba picks it up, straightening out the crease on one corner.
'My offer is still available until tonight. Meet me at the museum at seven. Sincerely, Ischizu Ishtar." He lets himself go up the stairs with the letter, which isn't normal. He would usually throw it out or have it shredded by his paper shredder by now. Mokuba passes him on the way in the hall and notices the drooping letter in his hands.
"Hey! Who's that from?" And almost too mechanically Kaiba answers that it is from no one. Mokuba doesn't buy it, and tries to pressure his brother into telling him. Saying that it's 'none' of his business, Seto clasps the letter too closely; Mokuba yells out 'fine!' and they both are slightly angry at each other, going their separate ways.
He sits back down on the bed, and reads the letter over a dozen times, tracing the accurate, elegant nature at which the letters are placed across the page. It's three lines of text, and it's a beautiful handwriting that Kaiba does not yet have. It's as if she took a brush and drew the letters as simple strokes down the page, without meaning to actually convey a message. Mokuba bursts in and he tries desperately to hide the letter.
"Seto, I'm sorry. It's your letter and – hey! Are you reading that!" Mokuba leaps on top of his brother to gain hold of the letter, and rolls away from him in the nick of time so that he won't be caught. Sprinting into the corner of the room, Mokuba unfolds the letter and reads it. Kaiba freezes as he's about to grab the letter from his younger brother's hands. The younger Kaiba looks up suspiciously at his older brother.
"What offer?" And with that simple statement, Kaiba is relieved. He does not know that Ischizu has invited him to dine with her. Of course, he outright refused to have dinner with her. It was just that clear, that he would not, under any circumstances, spend an evening with her. Mokuba looks at the letter, at his brother, then at the letter back again.
"What? Did she ask you out on a date?" Kaiba pales considerably. How could he take such a wild guess? His brother was quite the genius. Or maybe he was just intuitive. Oh, what did it matter? Now that he knew, he would endlessly bother him about it. Perhaps Seto Kaiba would be unable to live this moment down. Fate really did hate him.
"She did? Wow. Can't believe she'd want to go out on a date with you." Kaiba looks at Mokuba as if he's just been insulted. His younger brother smiles, as if he's teasing him. "I'm just kidding. You know, it's your decision, but I would say yes. You're not even doing anything tonight, so don't say no just because you can." Seto snatches the letter back from his brother.
"I already refused." Mokuba looks at him in shock. "I have work to do, tonight." The shocked look doesn't disappear. "She'd just waste my time." His younger brother looks worried, a little too worried. Kaiba tosses the letter on his dresser. He can probably shred it when his brother isn't around.
"That's not nice, Seto," The dark-haired boy begins, looking at his brother as if he's scolding him. "You should be grateful she even asked you." Kaiba performs a well-executed double take on that statement? Grateful? Since when was he ever grateful for anything? Flopping down on his bed, Mokuba breathes in a sigh. "What's the harm in it, anyway? Even if you don't like her, or don't like your evening, it's only one night." Seto notices that his brother is using his own logic against him. He's taught him to argue, how to debate, how to deduce and analyze things from all different angles.
"It's a night that'll be wasted," Seto says. He's checking his face in the mirror at the moment. He wonders whether lines are growing underneath his eyes, but in a panicky inspection, he realizes they aren't. Mokuba argues some more as Kaiba runs a finger down his profile. His eyes seem more sunken in than usual, on a second glance. Brushing his cheek off with the palm of his hand, he notices its relative smoothness. Stepping away from the mirror, he decides he doesn't want to look at himself anymore. Oh, and he needs to cut his hair. It's grown shaggy and it's literally in front of his eyes right now.
"Seto, please. Do you remember? She's the one that convinced you to help Yuugi at the Battle-City Tournament." Seto grimaces. The tournament that Yuugi, unfortunately, won. He grinds his lip underneath his teeth. It was because of her that amateur won. Perhaps if he hadn't, they'd still be on relatively the same level. And to think, he was being compared to Jounouchi on terms of level of skill.
"Ischizu is really nice to me. My class went to the museum on a field trip once and she knew who I was. She said, 'Aren't you Seto's brother?' She wouldn't have asked that if she didn't remember you." Kaiba's was getting decently irritated. It's seven in the morning and he's tired. He traces the area underneath his eyes with his fingers. They really are sunken in. He must not be getting enough sleep.
"I think it's about time you started acting your own age," Mokuba says, rather boldly. Kaiba decides to flop on the bed and bury his head into his younger brother's lap. There's a definitive silence. "You're nineteen but you act as if you're sixty. You don't have to worry about me all the time." His loving younger brother caresses his hair. Kaiba lets his eyes close; he can feel his brother's pajamas underneath his cheek.
"Being successful doesn't mean being miserable. Remember? I told you that at Battle-City. I just want you to be happy." Mokuba sneaks a hand down the back of Kaiba's neck. His brother's hand feels warm and soft. Flipping over on his back, Kaiba pulls his brother's hand out from underneath him and brings it to his chest. Even now Mokuba notices his brother's sunken eyes. "I'm just another burden," The younger Kaiba begins.
"You aren't. Don't you dare say that again." Kaiba tilts his head back to the small space between his brother's legs. The ceiling is a perfect, wedding-cake white, and there's a small breeze coming in. His bed feels so soft and inviting. He wants to lay down to sleep and never wake up. But it would be a waste of time. He has so much work to do. Today is the day he has to go through the entire list of employees and see whether they are living up to expectations, carefully weeding out incompetent workers. It is a difficult job.
"So," his brother smiles unexpectedly, "are you going on that date or not?" Kaiba gives him a look, the official, business-like one. Mokuba plops a kiss on his forehead. "I love you," and for now, that's all Kaiba needs. His brother leaves, says that he has some 'business' to attend to. Kaiba lies down on his bed, very alone for the first time this morning. There's a strange disquiet aura emanating from his room. Great, now he sounds like Ishtar. He reaches for the letter again. And perhaps, when no one is looking, Kaiba reads it two dozen times more.