Chapter Eight: Stirrings of Unease

For weeks, I have had no reason to write in this. But now, another action has happened. Or, at least, it must have happened.

My mind seems to be leaving me. Something has happened here. I know it. I just can't understand what it is…a visitor came by, I remember that. But now, things between my brother and I are tense, and I can't figure out why.

My hand hurts a little, just a dull throb, but it's really annoying me for no plausible reason. When I look at it, it seems foreign to me.

Something happened this night, but I have no clue what it is…

A party! His brother had allowed him to have a party!

"I'll get to show Yugi just what I found at the shop he told me about," Mokuba whispered to himself, gazing at the pendant around his neck. The flickering of the eyes caught his attention and he stared at their changing colors for an unlimited amount of time. Then, shaking his head, Mokuba came out of his trance-like state and smirked at himself. "I'm being silly. Seto would laugh."

Sending a roving eye over his room, he took in the piles of collected debris with nary a flinch and finally settled on the one he wanted. "Aha! It ought to be in here somewhere."

As his brother rarely came into this room, mostly because the sight of it would horrify him, Mokuba felt no pressure to keep up a tidy room and lunged to a pile of books, old games, one stuffed bear, and mounds of old school drawings.

"I thought this was good?" He made a face and moved aside one picture of a rainbow that couldn't even have twisted itself into the right arc shape it was so deformed.

There, hiding at the bottom of the pile as if in wait for this very moment, Mokuba pulled free a yellowing book filled with childish ghost stories. Remembering how frightened they had made him—explaining why it was at the bottom of such an old stack—Mokuba knew they'd be perfect for the party. After all, what was a slumber party, one in a mansion at that, without a few creepy horror tales?

Flipping through the pages that smelled dusty though in truth, the book had been buried so well the book was not filigreed with it, Mokuba made a face.

"I thought these were good? They wouldn't make Seto sniff in disdain they're so pathetic! Joey wouldn't even squirm hearing these pathetic stories."

Tossing the book to the top of the stack probably so that the book could grow as dusty as it reeked, Mokuba sat on the edge of his bed, resisting the temptation to swing his legs. They were too long, for one thing, and it was too childish for another. After all, he was twelve now.

"But you wouldn't know it from what I've seen written about me." He heaved a great sigh, falling back on his bed to see if the ceiling could offer any enlightenment to his predicament. As could be expected, the smooth white plaster sent him off into a daze and so did indeed shove his mind spiraling off into new directions where great ideas dwelled in wait for very moments such as these.

"Maybe I could just make some ghosts…kind of like before." Death-T was never something the boy wanted to remember, but it had happened, and the truth was that the boy's older brother had used his brain and come up with plenty of brilliant ideas for it. Maybe their own haunted mansion would be a good attraction for the party. Of course, this time it would completely safe.

Or so he believed as the dragon's eyes sparkled a distant orange.

Giving in to his brother's every whim wasn't a good habit to be in, but how could Kaiba resist giving his brother a treat on those uncommon days he asked for one? Mokuba deserved a bit of compensation for being able to have the guts to debate with Kaiba and actually make sense during it, at least. Not to mention looking at him eye to eye during the entire thing.

Of course, this was one of the worst favors Mokuba had ever asked for, or according to Kaiba anyway, and as he returned to his office to sit heavily in his swiveling chair, the lanky CEO stared intently at his screen saver, not truly seeing the fish swimming by it or the bubbles going upward.

Various horrors crossed his mind involving what could happen with the ragtag group of teens in his house. Obviously, they wouldn't be used to luxury; Kaiba would count on them all to be staring and gaping.

Heh…maybe he'd have some fun toying with Wheeler. A person could always count on that mutt to make some amusement for another. After all, he was so easy to toy with, so blessedly simple to aggravate.

Still, now was not the time to contemplate nightmares or interesting diversions; Kaiba had to get ahead in his Kaiba Corporation work if he were going to cater to some kids on the weekend after next.

"How odd," Bakura said as he set down the phone. "I never would have expected that."

"Huh? What's going on, Bakura?"

Four pairs of highly different eyes focused on the accented youth and he turned a faint shade of pink.

"Oh…Kaiba asked all of us to his house for a sleepover."

"Eh? What? Kaiba! I don't believe it!"

"Well, actually, it was Mokuba, not Kaiba. And he even said we'd work on the project at that time."

"That's great, Bakura! I'm glad you got Kaiba to see reason!"

"See reason? He ain't actin' at all like himself, Yuge. Lettin' de kid invite us ova? He musta been whacked over de head or somedin' 'cause Kaiba'd never do someding like dat in his right mind!"

"Joey has a point. I won't go over willingly."

"Maybe you just misheard, Bakura. Did he sound at all sarcastic, the arrogant jerk that he is? Or maybe he'd just sound like a machine considering how much time he spends with them, even now that his brother is free from Pegasus."

"…No. He sounded quite natural. I heard Mokuba talking with him before the invitation. It sounded completely serious to me. And I think the brothers are closer than you believe, Téa."

"Why are you all so shocked, guys? This is Kaiba we're talking about. He's our friend!"

"Only yours, Yuge. And I can't undastand how dat happened, eeda." Joey scratched his head, as if contemplating how he had ever let Yugi out of his protection long enough to make his best bud suffer such a horrible experience as befriending Seto Kaiba.

"Remember Death-T? I was left in a room to be buried under rocks, but for Mokuba. Now, I may not trust Kaiba, but I'd at least ask Mokuba if his brother seriously gave him permission before scorning them both." He looked around at Joey and Téa staring at him; Bakura, having been filled in on the experiences of Death-T long before, still looked worried. "I owe him that much, all right?"

Going over to his room to shut the door now that all voices had become calm and normal-toned for inside, Yugi sat down on his bed looking like a stuffed doll for how short he was and how strange his hair. His punk outfit didn't fit in with the safe, cuddly, cute toys that parents normally gave children, however.

Glancing down at the glinting Puzzle that shone gold in the false light, Yugi said brightly, "I think Tristan's right. Mokuba's our friend, and I'd think you could all see reason for going just for that point even if you don't feel like Kaiba's friend. Of course, you're going to work on that project there, Bakura," he added hastily.

"Awright, fine, we owe de kid at least. And as much as I'd love ta go wreak havoc in de Kaiba mansion, I'd radda not anga Kaiba. Anymore den I do by breathin'," he added somewhat in consternation.

Yugi just shook his head in disbelief at how little his other friends trusted Kaiba. After all, Yugi had been through the events of Death-T as well, and even that didn't make Kaiba the evilest person to walk on the earth. At least, not to him.

To certain others, forgiveness was impossible, even if their voices didn't speak it aloud right then.