Disclaimer: Just own the words, not the folks.
Where I Belong I'm Right
Mokuba didn't come home last night. He's never done that before, not come home. He's never left me in that empty house by myself. I guess I should expect it. After all, soon he'll be in college and then he'll be gone for good.
I need to get used to the emptiness, as it will be all I have in a short while.
Shaking off my moment of self-pity, I turn back to the boring meeting behind me. These idiots. How can it be that no matter how many times I hire new blood they're all just as stupid as the last bunch?
"How many times do I have to say it, Takahashi," I bellow, "We are not teaming up with that American company! They want to make the duel disks into little plastic toys! I will not have my creation diminished in that manner!"
"But sir," that idiot persisted, obviously not understanding that I could fire him between one word and the next, "it's a very lucrative market. Think of how much money Kaiba Corp. would make."
"Money isn't everything, Takahashi," I grumble. Wait, did I just say that out loud? Hmm. Judging by the shocked faces of the rest of the board, I must have. Better clean that up quick.
"What good is money if you produce an inferior product that any fly-by-night company could produce? It would make Kaiba Corp. look just like any other company and we are most certainly not just any other company. The duel disks are one of our signature products. If we decide that they are worthless, our patrons will think they are worthless as well. Honestly, if you were given a choice to pay 5,000 yen for the plastic disk and 10, 000 yen for the real one, which would you choose?"
"The real one of course," he answers a little too enthusiastically. Hmm, Maybe he does realize I can fire him between words.
"Honestly?" I prod.
"N-no, Mr. Kaiba. But, it's still not a problem because they'd only be available in America!"
I laugh heartily, scaring these idiots even more.
"Do you really believe that none of the devices would find their way here?"
Dawning reality hits his features. Anything can be purchased online. And if those fakes start flooding the market, Kaiba Corp. stocks would take a direct hit.
"N-no, sir," he responds sadly.
"Then this discussion is ended, Takahashi," I glare at him. "And I don't expect it to come up again, am I clear?"
"Y-yes, Mr. Kaiba," he stutters.
I lean back in my chair, raking the rest of these fools with my gaze.
"And that goes for any other ideas that suggests a 'dumbing-down' of any Kaiba Corp. products," I sneer. "I will not tolerate any attempts to lessen this company's status as the top gaming company in the world! Is that understood?"
"Yes, Mr. Kaiba!" They all chorus.
"Good! This meeting is adjourned."
I whirl my chair around. I'm sick of these fools now. We'd already been here for two hours. In two more minutes I'd be firing them all.
And where the hell is Mokuba?
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"Oh, shit," I exclaim, clinging to Mokuba as we careen down the road at an ungodly speed, Mokuba laughing insanely all the way. 'Sinus-clearing ride' was right.
Why had I agreed to this again? Oh, yes. It was the only way to get him to stay over and get some sleep.
Quickly gobbling up Mai's fantastic breakfast, Mokuba and I spent the rest of the morning riding around town and out in the country. After a number of hairpin turns, abrupt stops and frantic starts, we pull up to a small coffee shop near the outskirts of town. That bike really is quite the machine, but I'm happy to place my butt on a nice stable chair, nonetheless.
I watch Mokuba sipping his coffee ecstatically and smile.
"I see you have the same addiction as your brother," I tease. He grins.
"I couldn't help it. We very rarely had tea around and I needed to stay awake to study."
I smile and sip my own coffee. I tease Mokuba, but I developed a bit of an addiction myself while at college with Yugi. Though this stuff is criminally weak compared to the stuff I drank in Egypt, it does take the edge off.
"How is your brother," I inquire, casually, though my desire to know is anything but.
A pause. Not a long one, but a pause.
"He's okay. Working hard. You know Seto," he smirks.
Hmm. Let's see. In Mokuba speak that's 'He's miserable. He hides from everything by burying himself in work. Maybe if he saw you he might act like a human again.'
I willingly take the bait.
"It's been a long time since I saw him," I reply just as casually as before. "Do you think he'd mind if we came by today?"
"I guess not. Let's go," he exclaims, downing the last of his coffee.
I follow suit and we hop back on that silver bullet and head to Kaiba Corp.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Crossing the lobby quickly, we step into the same elevator I remember from five years ago. Though I really want to do this, I'm more nervous than I've lead Mokuba to believe. After all, the last time I saw Kaiba, I was turning away from him. Shunning him. Can I smooth over that memory for him by showing up now? I don't know.
It would be nice to know if he got my letters. Once I accepted that I couldn't reach him via electronic or modern means, I tried something old fashioned; hand written letters. I started writing him early in Yugi's first semester and kept writing, off and on, until last summer. I'd decided to send them to his office in the hopes that maybe he'd read them and not throw them directly into the fireplace. Since he never responded, I don't know if he just didn't want to or if he never actually read them. I don't know why I kept writing when he never responded, but I did. I guess at some point the letters became therapeutic in a way. I could say things in them that I couldn't say to anyone else, not even Yugi.
On second thought, I hope he did burn them.
The elevator opens and the time for doubt passes. Mokuba waves to the secretary who seems to stare at me. I smile politely.
"Nii-sama," Mokuba calls knocking on Kaiba's office door.
The door swings open and an angry CEO steps out.
"Where the hell have you been, Mokuba?" he yells.
Mokuba narrows his eyes and sweeps past him into the office. I follow discretely behind an obviously enraged Kaiba.
As their argument grows more heated, I decide that it might be better if I left, quietly closing the door behind me.
I wave to the staring secretary and head out. I'll just catch a cab back to Jou's place.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The brothers random yelling continues for a few more minutes after Yami leaves until Mokuba asks the defining question.
"What the hell are you so mad about, Seto!"
"What am I mad about! You leave the house for 'dinner with a friend', which friend you didn't mention, so it was probably that mutt…"
"Seto…"
"And then you don't come home! At all! I stayed awake half the night waiting for you!"
"You stay awake half the night anyway!"
"You could have called, Mokuba!"
"I know that!"
"Then why didn't you?"
"I…I…"
He didn't know why. He'd just been so happy it slipped his mind. And then he was too tired to care. And then Yami coaxed him into staying the night.
Oh, shit! Yami!
Flinging the office door open frantically, he looks around the sitting area for him.
"If you're looking for the gentleman who came with you, he left," the secretary pipes up.
"How long ago?"
"About 10 minutes."
Mokuba whips out his cell and speed dials Yami.
'Please don't be far away,' he pleads in his head.
"What gentleman," Kaiba hisses at both the secretary and Mokuba.
'I know he didn't bring that mutt here,' he grumbles to himself.
Just then, Yami answers his phone.
"Hey!" Mokuba calls on his end. "Sorry about earlier. It's resolved now. Where are you?"
Pause.
"Okay, stay there. Actually, come back to the lobby and I'll come get you. See you in a few minutes."
He flips his phone closed and heads back to the elevator.
"Back in a few, Nii-sama," he calls over his shoulder.
"Mokuba! Where are you going? Who were you talking to?"
"It's a secret!" he calls, jumping into the elevator.
Infuriated, Kaiba turns to his secretary.
"What gentleman?" he hisses again.
"Umm, I think it was Mr. Mutou, sir."
Kaiba's eyes flash dangerously. Mokuba wouldn't dare…
He storms back into his office, slamming the door behind him.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Once outside the Kaiba building, I decided that I didn't want to go back to Jou's just yet. It's a beautiful day, if a bit chilly, and I haven't gotten a chance to see any of the city since I got back. So, randomly picking a direction, I walk slowly, intending to absorb familiar and newer sites and sounds for a few hours.
I've walked about three blocks when my cell rings.
"Hello?"
Pause.
"I'm just a few blocks down the street."
Pause.
"Okay, Mokuba. See you in a few minutes."
He sounds so enthusiastic, but I still down know if this is a good idea. Kaiba was really angry. I don't remember ever seeing him argue with Mokuba like that. Then again, it's been five years; maybe they do that all the time.
No. I don't believe that.
I look up to the Kaiba Corp. building looming at me. Hmm. Maybe I wasn't as far away as I thought.
Stepping into the lobby, I see Mokuba waving at me from the elevator. Taking a calming breath, I head his way, hoping that Kaiba's rage has diminished enough that I won't have to dodge any punches.
What's that phrase again? Hope springs eternal?
Stepping from the elevator again, I smile politely at the secretary, who's now grinning at me instead of staring.
Foregoing a knock, Mokuba throws open Kaiba's office door, dragging me with him, an insanely gleeful smile lighting his face.
"Nii-sama! Look who's back!"
The dark scowl covering Kaiba's face when he looks up is frightening enough for me to take a few steps back toward the door.
"You!" He growls, menacingly. Slowly, he stands, his rage obviously growing as he continues to glare at me. "Get out," he spits.
"Seto…" Mokuba tries weakly. I can see in his face that this outcome isn't what he expected. He must have put a lot more faith in our meeting than I thought.
"Why would you bring him here, Mokuba? You know how I feel about Yugi and his cohorts."
There's that word again.
"I…I thought…I thought you'd be happy to see him, Seto. I know you've missed him," Mokuba replies, suddenly looking every bit like the 12 year old I remember. Not that Kaiba notices. If anything, I think it makes him madder, if that's possible.
"Missed him! Missed him! Why would I miss a spineless traitor like Yugi!" Pause. "Is that where you were last night," he rants. "Is that why you couldn't call? You were with this loser and his loser cohorts!"
Mokuba stands trembling with an emotion I can't place. I think maybe it's time I spoke up.
"I'm not Yugi," I state calmly.