Disclaimer:
What is obvious is that I don't own anything officially related to Yu-Gi-Oh. What isn't obvious is that I also don't own the title "Lost Innocence". I was attempting to be cute. The title belongs to the Eric Stuart Band, or Eric Stuart himself as the man who wrote the song to begin with. It's important to note that the song and this story started out in no way connected to each other.
Author's Notes:
I don't really know what story I wanted to tell when I started this story. I do know that as I read the first two chapters to the kids they were all staring at me in utter disbelief. This story is darker, full of more angst than Ceremony of Dolls. Regardless, they were all very intrigued and wanted to see where I was going to take this idea. Truth be told, so was I. This was definitely one of those cases where the pencil was moving of its own free will.
It took me forever to figure out the age difference between Seto and Mokuba Kaiba. Even now, I'm still not sure that I'm right. I'm going off an average of a bunch of people's guesses. I realize the easy solution would be to pull out the original Yu-Gi-Oh manga, find out how old Mokuba is when the Geek Squad meets him, and consider the question resolved. Apparently, today I am too lazy to go engage in my beloved past time of research.
Chapter Two
Seto sat curled up on his bed, resting his chin on his knees. The position was almost comforting to him, one of the few things he took any comfort in these days. Three weeks had passed since he last saw Mokuba. Two weeks had passed since he'd started his silent protest.
He heard tapping at his window. "Who's there?" The boy pushed his brown hair out of his eyes and pulled his knees even closer. He was slowly becoming aware of the side effects of sleep deprivation after jumping at shadows all week. His own tutors were afraid to enter his room after he'd yelled at one in fear when rapped too loudly on his door.
There was no answer, but a moment later, a small dark-haired boy tumbled into his room. "Moki!" Seto hopped off his bed and ran to help his brother to his feet.
Mokuba merely rolled over, stood, and dusted himself off. When he saw his brother, he smiled brightly, very proud of himself. "Hi, Seto! I did it! I finally figured out how to reach you!"
Seto couldn't remeber the last time he had been so happy to see his little brother. "I'm glad you're here, Moki. I'm sorry I haven't been able to keep my promise to you."
Mokuba grinned, in much higher spirits than Seto had hoped to find him, "That's all right." He looked around and whispered conspiratorially, "I brought something." He produced a sack from behind his back. The past couple of weeks really didn't appear to have affected the five year old as he ran over and dumped the contents of the sack on Seto's bed. The older boy's eyes widened as he realized what Mokuba had brought. His empty stomach growled as he looked at the feast before him.
"I've been saving bits of my meals ever since I realized I could get to your window!" Mokuba climbed onto the bed. "No one suspected. They just thought I was finally eating." He held out an apple to his older brother, who was still standing by the window resisting the urge to pinch himself. A cool breeze from the still-open window fanned the bottom edges of the ten year old's pajama shirt, convincing him that he wasn't suffering from any delusion.
Seto made his way to the bed and took the offered apple. The first bite tasted better than anything he'd ever eaten in his life. While Mokuba sifted through the treats to pick out a cookie, his brother ate every bite of the apple. The brothers talked while they ate, catching up on the other's activities. After a while, Mokuba rested his head on Seto's knee. As comforting as it was, he knew he couldn't keep his brother with him. There was no telling what Gozaburo would do if he found the younger boy in Seto's room. He let his brother sleep for a bit, occasionally ruffling his hair. Eventually, he woke Mokuba and sent him back to his room.
As expected, Gozaburo arrived bright and early to wake up his young protege. If he knew about Mokuba's escapade the night before, he didn't show it. Filled with renewed hope, Seto attacked his day with a bit more energy, choosing to frustrate his tutors by doing random bits of schoolwork. He still refused to eat.
Later that afternoon, Gozaburo called Seto into his office. "I've decided that we should start having dinners together as a family."
"Meaning?" the boy asked cautiously.
"Meaning you, Mokuba, and I will be having dinner together in the evenings. I've decided that I don't get enough time with my boys." His tone was almost fatherly. So much so that Seto had to fight to keep the disbelief off his face. Gozaburo had never shown an interest in being a father over the past month, so Seto was suspicious of his stepfather's motives. He thanked Gozaburo and returned to his room, hopeful that the man would keep his word but resolving to not be surprised if he didn't.
That night after he finished his lessons, Seto found himself being escorted to the formal dining hall. To his great surprise, Mokuba was already sitting at the table, resting his pouting cheek on his fist. He quickly took his place across from his younger brother. Neither said a word to the other. Gozaburo came in shortly after the first course was served. To his great dismay, sitting at the same table did nothing for Seto's appetite. Mokuba was poking at his salad, shifting layers around. Any attempt at conversation resulted in curt one-word responses from both boys, before he finally managed to get some brief sentences from his older stepson. The boy was still angry with him. Gozaburo recognized the defiance in Seto's voice as he ended every sentence with "Father" in a biting tone. He wouldn't give his stepson the pleasure of a response. Instead, he sat silently and ate his dinner, deciding it was preferable to the older boy's tone.
Mokuba continued to play with his food out of boredom, occasionally glancing at his brother with amusement. Seto sat still in his chair, watching his brother create masterpieces with his food. He only spoke when Gozaburo spoke to him, wishing that this travesty would end soon so he could go back to his room to wait for a chance to be with his brother unobserved. Thankfully, Mokuba seemed just as disinterested in both him and dinner. Gozaburo finally tired of the boys' silence. The evening had not gone as planned. He had the brothers escorted back to their rooms and placed back under guard.
Seto sat at his desk working on his homework, hoping to hear scratching at the window again. He wasn't waiting long. Mokuba cheerfully climbed through the window and sat himself on Seto's bed. The lanky older boy smiled and left his desk to join his brother on the bed.
The boys ate together again, neither talking about that evening's dinner. Seto quickly finished his portion and returned to his work. Mokuba watched him sadly.
"Why are you working on that stuff?"
"Because I have to make it look like I'm starting to play along, or Gozaburo will take you away again."
Mokuba smiled, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "He can't take me away, Big Brother! Not while I have my secret passage!"
Not wanting his brother to see his reaction, Seto took a deep breath, "I don't want to take that chance, Mokuba!"
The little boy froze. His brother rarely addressed him so formally. Something was wrong. He continued to watch Seto as he worked. When Seto's head started to droop, he pulled him away form his desk and tucked him into bed. He watched his brother fall asleep and then made his way back to his own room.