Chapter 5 - Rejection
Seto Kaiba drove towards the airport drumming his fingers on the steering wheel and humming contentedly to himself. He had succeeded in his mission. True, it had taken longer for that little runt Yugi to find out how to bring back that pharaoh guy but now he had his prizes. All but the puzzle but he didn't really need that item they could keep it. Nothing could stop him becoming what he wanted now and that was the world's top duellist. These six items were going to ensure that for him and no one could stand in his way not even Yugi and his pathetic friend. 'A Pharaoh eh? Ha! That's a laugh' Kaiba thought, 'he couldn't even walk, so much for an all-powerful pharaoh who locked the games away blah blah. And as for the little runt' his mind growled 'I hope I killed him! Medical attention bah, I bet it was only a scratch.'
Kaiba had no idea how Yugi had brought Yami back in his mind Yugi had been scared of losing the duel so he faked passing out.
Kaiba shrugged and continued tapping his fingers and humming cheerfully. Soon he would return home to see his little brother who would be so happy to see him he felt sure he would be forgiven for being away so long. He had had to, he reasoned to himself, no one could know he was even alive lest anyone discover what he was up to.
Mokuba was wondering aimlessly along the halls of the huge mansion where he lived. Until ten years ago, he had shared this place with his brother who was missing presumed dead. No trace of him had ever been found and Mokuba had missed him terribly and surrounded himself with his brother's things. He remembered Yugi coming to visit him and although he was grateful for that he couldn't bring himself to talk to anyone. He had felt guilty, as he liked Yugi even though his brother hated him but that was only because his brother was pig-headed and acted like a jerk over the rivalry a lot of the time to the extent that he had nearly caused Yugi's death at one point but he was his big brother and he had loved him. Yugi had looked hurt by Mokuba's rejection and Mokuba knew he was hurting too having lost someone close to him.
Now today was the first time he had been able to put the remnants of his brother's presence in the house to rest and had packed away the last of his pictures. His mourning was over and now he was going to get on with his life and maybe even find a partner to share it with.
A door somewhere in the mansion banged and Mokuba froze. The staff had the day off today and there should be no one about. Was it the wind? Today was a still day so he knew it wasn't that. Was it someone breaking in? Silently he padded to his room and unlocked his gun cabinet. Pulling out a shotgun he loaded it and left the room to find the person who dared to infiltrate his house!
Kaiba had let himself into the front door using his old key, which he had never thrown away. The door banged behind him and he dumped one of his bags on the floor but keeping hold of the one with the millennium items in it. The house was too quiet he thought and began to walk through the rooms looking for someone. The house was clean so it was still looked after well and Kaiba knew his brother still lived here as he had been keeping distant tabs on him and knew he missed him. What he didn't know what that today Mokuba had laid his brother to rest in his mind at last and had given him up for dead.
Kaiba continued to walk through the rooms oblivious to the fact his brother was stalking the 'intruder' with a shotgun.
Mokuba heard the sounds the intruder was making and made his way towards them. 'Funny' he thought 'Who ever it is, is making an awful lot of noise.' He carried on through the rooms following the strange intruder who he could see in the distance heading for the kitchen. 'Strange he should head to the kitchen first, I'd have thought if he was planning on stealing stuff, he would have started gathering it all together.'
Mokuba walked carefully and silently towards the figure who had his head buried in the refridgerator. He walked right up behind him before poking the gun into the intruder's back.
"Stand up and turn around very slowly." He said and the man dropped what he was holding and put his hands into the air.
"You would shoot me little brother?"
"I don't have a brother he's dead, I said TURN AROUND!" he shouted. How dare this intruder pretend to be Seto? Seto was gone, but the voice….
Slowly Kaiba turned round and Mokuba saw that it was indeed his brother returned from the dead. The gun fell from his hands thankfully not going off as it clattered to the ground.
Mokuba backed away slowly.
"No…..I don't have a brother, he died ten years ago, you can't be him!" Shock and fear made his voice shake. Was it his brother's ghost? No he had been solid when Mokuba poked him with the gun.
"But I am him." Seto said, "I have been in hiding for the last ten years so I could track Yugi and get my hands on these." Proudly he laid the six items out on the table in the middle of the kitchen but Mokuba wasn't impressed.
"You let me think you were dead…"
"I'm sorry about that, but now with these items I shall be the top duellist once again and my memory will never fade!" He threw his head back and laughed maniacally but Mokuba shied away from him.
"Ten years and nothing and now you show your face? I thought you were dead and yet here you are. I should have accepted Yugi's offer of friendship when he gave it but I believed you weren't dead right up till today. Today I laid you to rest in my mind Seto, today you died for me." Mokuba stood defiant, eyes flashing as his brother's face clouded and grew angry.
"You would have been friends with Yugi? You would have betrayed me in such a way? How dare you even consider it after all I did for you, all the times I saved your sorry hide you ungrateful little wretch!"
Mokuba bristled in anger he was seeing his brother's true colours for the first time, truly seeing them and he hated what he saw. This man, this monster in front of him was not his brother anymore. He stood his ground and snarled at his brother.
"I would have been friends with Yugi because he cares about me big brother." He spat, "Yugi sees something you could never hope to see because you let your ego and desires blind you to what's really important. Friendship, love and trust. All you care about is being top in a dumb card game! What's going to happen when you've pushed away everyone who has ever cared about you? You will grow old and you will be all alone. I could have forgiven you for anything but not for this. You know? I think I'll take Yugi up on his offer of friendship dearest big brother, because unlike you, he cares about other people. You care for no-one but yourself!"
Kaiba reeled in shock from his little brother's outburst. He truly had never expected anything but his brother throwing himself at him. Glad to have him home. This was unexpected and he was sorry.
"I'm really sorry Mokuba, I guess I thought you would be glad to see me."
But Mokuba was past caring, He felt hurt, angry and betrayed and from now on as far as he was concerned, he didn't have a brother.
"Forget it Kaiba." He growled and Kaiba stumbled back in shock. His brother had never called him 'Kaiba' before. Shock then turned to anger. He would betray him by running to that little runt would he?
"Fine go to him but don't be surprised if you find him dead along with his pathetic little pharaoh friend. We met in Egypt and duelled but he couldn't handle it. He collapsed like some pathetic little worm so I broke his ribs and probably killed him."
Mokuba sank to the floor in utter disbelief. Killed him? Killed Yugi? He couldn't believe it, wouldn't believe it.
"He's not dead." He said quietly. At that moment he hated his brother, really hated him. Slowly he stood up again and retrieved the shotgun. He pointed it at Kaiba's head.
"I am going now." He said still quietly, "if you try to stop me I will blow your brains out."
Kaiba stood there dumbstruck at his little brother's words. He sounded flat, emotionless and it hit Kaiba like a punch in the stomach.
"Mokuba…" But Mokuba was already gone.
Something died inside Kaiba and when he looked up his face had hardened. He didn't need him, ungrateful little worm, he didn't need anybody! He was going to the top and he would do it on his own! Let the little idiot go running off to Yugi. No one would be able to stop him.
He stood and began to adorn himself with the millennium items and finally he picked up the eye. It was cold in his hand and be braced himself for the pain and plunged the eye into his socket.
He screamed as pain exploded in his head and he stumbled round the kitchen clutching his head as the remains of his real eye oozed out from behind the hardness of the millennium eye.
Mokuba heard his screams as he drove away from the mansion. He drove about a mile down the road before stopping and leaning his head on the steering wheel. He would have cried but he had already cried a river of tears for his brother over the last ten years and he had none left to shed.
Why? Couldn't his brother see that he was being insane? This question he kind of knew the answer to but his admission of Yugi dying at his hand he couldn't comprehend. He had to find out if he was still alive and if he was, he was going to see him and ask Yugi if he would forgive him for the rebuff all those years ago. He knew now that he should have taken him up on the offer. Still what was done was done and now he had to know.
He pressed a button on the dashboard and one of his associates answered.
"Yes sir!"
"Garton, I want you to check every hospital in Egypt for 'Yugi Motou' and report to me as soon as you know anything."
"Yes sir I'm on it!."
Mokuba waited in his car for news of Yugi. Drops of sweat ran down his face and he wiped them away impatiently. Then the dashboard beeped.
"I have him sir."
"Excellent."
Mokuba jotted down the details and thanked his associate informing him he would be out of the country for a few days.
He started the car and drove off heading in the direction of the airport.
In the hospital Yami and Yugi were recovering well though Yami still couldn't move his legs and this was worrying him though he tried not to let his concern show lest he should worry Yugi and hinder his recovery. But Yugi knew him too well.
"What's bothering you Yami?" Large eyes looked at him questioningly and Yami knew he couldn't lie.
"It's my legs, they still won't move. It's been a week and nothing. I cannot feel them they are useless." Had he been restored to his Yugi merely to be a burden to him as an invalid? He didn't want that, he didn't want Yugi to go through that.
"Yami…" Yugi faltered, he didn't know what to say. It didn't bother him in the slightest but it was definately bothering his dark. He tried again.
"Yami, maybe you should talk to one of the doctors? There must be something that can be done. Try not to worry too much about it, Maybe your body still needs time to 'come alive' as it were."
Yami considered this and then relaxed a bit.
"You're right of course, I'll talk to the doctor tomorrow."
Yugi nodded and was about to say something when there was a knock on the door and Ishizu entered.
"Hello you two," she smiled. "It seems we have a visitor."
They both stared in shock as Mokuba entered the room. Yami's expression darkened a little and Mokuba saw the look and shuffled his feet a little.
"Uh hi." He said. Yami's frown deepened.
"Come to spy for your big brother to see if he succeeded in killing Yugi off?" There was a steely edge to his voice and Mokuba shrank under his piercing gaze.
"I have no brother." He said flatly and Yugi asked him,
"What happened?"
Mokuba explained what had transpired and that he wanted to ask Yugi to forgive him for shutting out his offer of friendship and was the offer still there?
During the time Mokuba was telling his story Yami's expression changed from one of anger and mistrust to one of sympathy and understanding. Poor Mokuba!
Yugi smiled warmly.
"Of course it's still there."
"When my brother bragged he'd killed you, I knew then that he was insane, I want to help you stop him."
Yami looked at Yugi and they both smiled and nodded.
"Yes of course," Yami said "We're going to need all the help we can get."
"Yes and I'll add Kaiba Corp's resources to help. The people who work for me will only follow my orders especially when I tell them Kaiba is an imposter!"
Both Yami and Yugi heard Mokuba call his brother by his surname and that was all the conformation they needed.