Disclaimer: (cackle) All right, I admit it! I own Yu Gi Oh!. And you. And the ENTIRE WORLD! Or… maybe I don't. Maybe it's all just a figment of my imagination. Maybe you should read the story instead of worrying about who owns what on a fanfiction website.
The entire room went deathly still, frozen in time. All eyes were focused on Seto, wondering how he would take this news.
He was staring, unseeing, in front of him. Very slowly, his hand crept up to grasp the card locket that hung around his neck. "Little brother…" he murmured, the sound so quiet it was almost inaudible.
After a long moment, he drew his attention back to the nurse. "What happened?" he asked, his voice hard. "All I was told was that there had been an accident."
The nurse replied in a voice that lacked sympathy. Apparently, she was still insulted from his earlier attitude. "He was hit by a car, walking home from school."
"'Walking home from school.'" Seto repeated. He looked at Carlson. "Carlson. Why was my little brother walking home from school?"
Carlson looked puzzled. "I sent someone to pick him up, sir. I would have gone myself, but something came up…" He glanced at Joan and the nurse, indicating that they shouldn't talk about company business in front of strangers.
Seto nodded. He turned his attention back to the nurse. "Do you think he'll make it?"
She frowned. "He's unconscious. If he doesn't wake up… he doesn't have a chance."
"…I see. May I see him?"
She pursed her lips. "I don't see the harm in it. Third door on the right."
Seto nodded again. With a gesture at Carlson to follow him, he stalked out the door that she had come in through.
The nurse stepped in front of Carlson as he tried to pass. "Only family allowed, sir."
Carlson looked helplessly at the teenager that he was supposed to guard. Seto turned back, glaring at the nurse. "He's with me."
"But the rule is–"
Carlson frowned, Seto glared, and she bit off the complaint. She didn't want trouble with Seto Kaiba. "Or… I could make an exception." Carlson gave her a curt nod and followed Seto out the door, neither of them looking back.
As the door swung shut behind him, Joan stood up with every intention to follow. She, too, was stopped by the now rather frazzled looking nurse.
"Only family allowed," she was told in a firm voice, the nurse obviously not intending to allow the rules to be broken again.
Joan stared at her for a long minute, wondering exactly how much to tell this stranger. She settled on the truth – anything to gain entrance.
"I'm his mother." Her voice was soft, willing the other woman to understand.
Apparently, she did. After only a moment, during which she was probably remembering the brief argument Joan had had with Seto earlier (and connecting it with this new piece of information), she gave a small smile, nodded her head, and stepped out of the way.
Carlson stared in dismay at the scene laid out before his eyes. In the corner of the small, completely white room was a bed that was far too large for the frail, still figure huddled under its sheets. If it weren't for the heart monitor beeping loudly next to the bed, he wouldn't have believed the boy to be alive. Oh, Master Mokuba… he thought in anguish.
He shot a glance at his boss, standing rigidly next to him. He blinked at the expression on the boy's face. Mr. Kaiba looked… lost. He couldn't remember ever seeing Mr. Kaiba look lost before.
"Sir?" he asked hesitantly.
Mr. Kaiba drew in a breath, tearing his gaze away from the sorry form of his younger brother. The lost look didn't leave his face, and for the first time, Carlson remembered that he was only seventeen years old. Seeing the dying form of the only family he had known for most of his life had driven the cold-hearted CEO away, leaving a mind too numb from shock to do much of anything without help.
Well, Carlson could provide that help. It was, after all, his job.
"Go see him, sir," he prompted.
Mr. Kaiba shuddered, nodded once, and the CEO was back. He walked over to his brother's bedside, pulled over a stool, and sat down, gently taking the younger boy's hand. Carlson could hear him murmuring to him, trying to call him out of the darkness of unconsciousness.
He folded his arms behind his back, prepared to wait as long as he had to, when the door behind him opened again. He spun around, wondering who dared to come in and disturb his charges. He was surprised to see the woman who had come with them to the hospital, accompanied by the nurse from earlier.
He looked over to see if Mr. Kaiba had noticed. If he had, he was ignoring them.
He turned back to the newcomers. The nurse, he supposed, he couldn't stop. She was personnel here – even if she had upset his boss so much.
As for the stranger…
"Excuse me," he said quietly, not wanting to disturb the Kaiba brothers. "Can I help you?"
"No," she replied. "Thank you." She took a seat near the door, seeming content to observe the young businessman tend to his brother.
The nurse brushed by him, coming to stand next to Mr. Kaiba. "He won't wake." Her voice was sympathetic, which surprised Carlson. He had gotten the impression that she hadn't liked his boss very much.
Mr. Kaiba ignored her, if he had even registered her presence. He seemed to have gone into a trance, Carlson noted. What was it the nurse had said? 'If he doesn't wake up…' Was it possible that Mr. Kaiba could really call the boy back?
The nurse sighed impatiently. Carlson's jaw twitched in annoyance. So he hadn't been mistaken. As if she could ever understand Mr. Kaiba, he thought, annoyed.
"Look, sir…" the nurse began, before gaping in astonishment. Carlson immediately focused his attention on the bed, and he sensed the stranger do so, as well. Had Master Mokuba… just stirred?
Mr. Kaiba's urgings became more determined, desperately pleading with his brother. "Come on, kid," Carlson heard him say. "You can do it…"
With a small, pitiful groan, Master Mokuba's eyes opened.
"But how… That's impossible!" The nurse was shocked.
Mr. Kaiba squeezed the boy's hand, smiling gently. "Hey kid. How're you feeling?"
Master Mokuba's eyes were wide, his voice almost to soft to hear. "Seto…"
Carlson gave a small, pleased smile. He walked over to the nurse, pulling her away from the brothers. He headed for the door, indicating for the two women to follow him. They did so, leaving the Kaiba brothers alone as the door shut behind them.
It was dark. Dark, and cold. Mokuba had been in a place like this once before, and the experience had been terrifying.. He cried out, but no sound came. "Seto! Seto, where are you?" He dropped to his knees, sobbing. He couldn't remember what had happened. All he knew was that it was dark, and he was cold.
Then he heard it.
"Little brother?"
A voice – a very familiar voice – was calling to him.
"Big brother?" he called out hopefully. He stood, straining his ears. There it was again!
"Mokuba." The call was faint, as if he was hearing it from very far away, but it was there.
He began to run, hope catching hold of him. Seto was calling him! Showing him the way!
"Come on, kid," the voice urged. "You can do it…"
There was a blinding white light in front of him, but he kept on running, towards the light, towards his brother…
He opened his eyes.
Seto's face swam above his head before his eyes focused.
There was a brief pressure on his hand. "Hey kid. How're you feeling?"
"Seto…" He was dimly aware of people leaving the room, and thought he identified one as Carlson. He closed his eyes tiredly.
"Mokuba? Mokuba! Hey, stay with me, kid." Seto sounded urgent.
"Seto…?"
"Mokuba, don't go back to sleep. Please, don't go back to sleep."
Unused to hearing his brother plead, Mokuba forced his eyes back open. He tried to speak, but only succeeded in making a dry, croaking sound. He cleared his throat, licked his lips, and tried again, managing to rasp, "Thirsty."
"Here." A cup was held to his lips, and he drank greedily. Cold water soothed his dry throat.
"Where am I?"
"You're in the hospital, Mokuba. There… was an accident."
"Accident…" He frowned, trying to remember.
"You were hit by a car, kid," Seto supplied the answer, filling the gap in his memory. He shivered, remembering.
"…Walked home from school… No one… came to get me…. Car… Car!" He struggled to sit up, panicking as he remembered the car that had shot around the corner and slammed into him, throwing him into oblivion.
Seto hurriedly placed his hands on his shoulders, gently forcing him to lie back down. "It's all right, Mokuba, calm down. There's no car here, it's gone, just lie back down."
Confused and upset, Mokuba shivered, starting to cry. Seto embraced him, trying to soothe him.
When he had calmed down enough to speak, he looked at Seto with big gray eyes. "Seto… Am I going to die?"
He saw his brother hesitate, and fear gripped him. "I don't want to die, Seto."
Seto sat back in the chair, taking his brother's hand again. "You're not going to die, little brother. I won't let you."
Mokuba smiled, some of his fear leaving him. "Thanks, Seto."
Seto smiled back. "No problem, kid."
Joan looked up as the door to the room opened. A doctor, who had been in to examine Mokuba after being alerted that he had awakened, stood in the doorway.
"Well?" Carlson, standing erect on the other side of the door, asked.
The doctor looked at him, sighing. "He has a chance. That's really all I'm in a position to say."
The black-suited man nodded, his expression hidden by the dark shades that he refused to take off, even inside.
"Can we… go back in?" Joan asked.
"Well… I suppose that's up to Mr. Kaiba… But I don't see why not."
Carlson walked over to the door. The doctor stood aside to let him in. "Mr. Kaiba?"
"Come in, Carlson." Seto sounded tired.
The man obeyed. Joan hesitated, then followed him.
"He fell asleep a little while ago, while the doctor was examining him," Seto was saying as she entered.
"It's been a stressful day for him, sir."
Seto nodded.
Carlson paused, before saying, "It's been a stressful day for you, too, sir, hasn't it?"
"…"
"Mr. Kaiba, perhaps–"
"I'm not going home, Carlson, if that's what you're getting at."
"Sir?"
"I'm staying with Mokuba. He needs his brother here."
"But, sir… The company…"
"Is not as important as my brother's life. Kaiba Corp. can wait for me."
"Sir, you know that's not true. The company will fall apart without you there."
"I'm not leaving, Carlson."
There was a moment of tense silence as the young CEO glared down the worried bodyguard. Joan fidgeted, wondering if she should say anything.
Seto closed his eyes, deep in thought. "Carlson, go back to Kaiba Corp. and bring my laptop, briefcase,and anything else that looks like it might be needed. Ask my secretary if you want to be sure of what's important." He opened his eyes. "I won't leave my brother. But there's no reason to desert the company. I'll work from here."
"Yes sir." Carlson sounded relieved. "Sir… What about…" Joan tensed as he gestured at her.
Seto looked at her, his eyes hardening. "You're still here?" Not waiting for her answer, he said, "Take her home, Carlson."
"Home, sir?"
"Her home. I don't want her here."
She opened her mouth to protest, having had just about enough of his attitude, but Carlson spoke first.
"Yes sir."
He walked over to her, taking her arm and gently pulling her toward the door. She thought of resisting, but decided against it. Now was not the time to force herself on either of her sons.
"Before you go," came a voice just outside the room, "there's something I have to tell you." All three of them looked up to see the doctor who had let Joan and Carlson into the room earlier, still standing in the doorway.
He stepped further into the room, glancing at Mokuba, then at Seto. "He's still sleeping, isn't he?"
Seto nodded.
"Good. He should hear this from one of you, not from a doctor he barely knows. You… may want to sit down," he said, looking at Joan and Carlson. Joan did so; Carlson remained standing.
"What's going on?" Seto asked.
The doctor rubbed his face tiredly; he hated giving this kind of information. "We didn't want to tell you before… not when we weren't even sure he would make it. We didn't want to worry you unnecessarily. But I'm pretty sure he'll pull through, as long as he makes it through the night." He sighed, looking at Seto. "When the car hit your brother, it damaged his spinal cord. There is a very real possibility that he will never walk again."
Joan gasped; even Carlson, trained to show no emotion, looked shocked. Seto was staring into space, not paying attention to them.
"…Mr. Kaiba?" the doctor asked. He stepped cautiously over to him and laid a hand on his shoulder. The sudden contact broughtthe teenout of his reverie; he jerked, shoving the hand away.
"But he was awake earlier," he said, voice hard, not wanting to believe. "Wouldn't he have noticed not being able to move half of his body?"
"Not necessarily. He was very weak then, and confused from the shock of everything that's been happening to him. He wasn't paying attention to his legs; his brain was struggling to understand everything else." The man sighed again, seeing the stubborn look on the businessman's face. It was obvious that he would not believe it until his brother had reawakened and confirmed it.
"Just keep it in mind, Mr. Kaiba." The doctor began to shuffle out of the room; he paused before he left. "I'm sorry."
Seto stared absently out the window, not really thinking about anything in particular. Carlson had left, taking Joan with him, and returned with Seto's laptop and briefcase. That had been several hours ago.The goonwas now standing guard just outside the door. The last time Seto had checked the clock, it read 1:33 am. He didn't care. He was waiting for Mokuba to wake up.
He sat without moving, without thinking. Another hour passed, and still he waited. He would wait 'til the end of time, if he had to. Time was of no concern to him.
A faint noise from the bed caused him to sit up straight, focusing his attention on his no longer sleeping brother. Gray eyes greeted him sleepily.
"Hey, kid," he said, brushing the dark bangs away from the boy's forehead. They fell stubbornly back into place.
"Hey, Seto."
"How do you feel?"
Mokuba grinned ruefully. "I hurt."
"Understandable."
Seto watched him closely, the doctor's words coming back to haunt him. '…never walk again,' that was what he had said. But surely Mokuba would have noticed…
Mokuba stretched as well as he could in the hospital bed. Suddenly he froze, eyes confused. Seto's blood ran cold.
After a long pause, during which Mokuba's eyes grew wider and wider in alarm, he turned to his older brother. "Seto… Seto, I can't… I can't feel my legs. Or move them…"
Seto closed his eyes, as if in pain. He reached out, embracing the little boy. "I know, Mokuba," he said. "I know."
A/N: (rubs hands gleefully) Aren't I evil? I've been working with this idea for a long time. Actually, it came about when I read two separate pieces about Seto becoming blind in the same week. They were both very good stories, mind; I enjoyed reading them. But it didn't seem fair to me to always pick on Seto. Then I started to wonder how he would react if something happened not to him, but to his brother. I'd also been toying with the idea of what would happen if one of their parents came back, and on a whim I combined the two. I'm looking forward to this!
Oh, by the way, Mokuba's new handicap isn't going to be the main focus of everything. It's very important, and plays into the plot perfectly – but I'm taking this story to different places. Oh, we're going places… (evil cackle)
Oh, and before I get bombarded with rotten vegetables thrown by hoards of angry Mokuba fans out for my blood… (bow) I'm sorry. I love Mokuba, too, but I had to do it.