Please Read and Review… mainly because I'd like to hear what you think of the story…
IMPORTANT STYLE NOTE: ITALICS are used to indicate a flashback. In this chapter, Mokuba is telling Yami about an incident in the past..
NINJA NOTE: The Samurai were the warrior class in pre-modern Japan. Ninjas, in contrast, were sort of your all purpose spy/assassin/whatever-it takes-to-get-the-job-done kind of guys.
NOTE ON NAMES: In the manga and the subtitled anime, Mokuba invariably refers to Kaiba as Nisama. However, that could get confusing, with two of them. So although, when speaking to them, he continues to call them both Nisama, in his thoughts he uses the following names:
Nisama: refers to the 18 year-old Seto Kaiba
Oniichan: refers to the 13 year old Seto Kaiba. Oniichan is a more affectionate, less forma way of saying Big Brother. I thought it was more in character than having him use Seto, even in his thoughts.
MARTIAL ARTS VOCABULARY:
KATA: A series of choreographed moves designed to show different techniques.
BO or BO STAFF: This is basically a long stick, about the height of the person using it. The type of Bo I picture Kaiba using is a modern one – it would be six feet long, about the diameter of a broom stick, with tapered ends. Using mostly two-handed (with some one-handed and release moves) the person makes sweeping, slashing and thrusting moves very quickly.
HAMBO: This is a three foot stick that is used for various striking and chopping moves. Typically used for kata, not sparring – and only a single Hambo is used as opposed to the one in each hand method I described here. But I really could picture the guys getting into whacking at each other with it.
DAI KATANA: Samurai swords are generically, Katanas. The Dai Katana is the longest sword, over 30 inches in length. Given Kaiba's height, I thought it would be the most appropriate.
SHINOBIGATANA: Short, straight sword, according to legend, used by the Ninja.
CHAPTER 24: THE GHOST ROAD
MOKUBA'S POV
It's a common misconception that my brother is some sort of recluse, who only comes out to duel. It makes for great gossip, but how did they think he ran an international gaming empire if he never talked to anyone? Programmers would stop by all the time, and we'd stay up half the night chewing over some problem. The hardware stuff bored me, but I loved the software. And as everyone at Kaiba Corporation admitted – when it came to hacking, I was almost as good as my brother – and better than everyone else.
And although my brother had never joined a dojo – he was welcome at all of them – and not for his name or his money, either. And martial artists sometimes stopped by… weapons masters, mostly. My brother's collection was both admired and envied – and he knew how to use them all. But I admit, hanging out had never been his thing.
But Nisama and Oniichan had finally decided how to deal with the crowd at the mansion. They spent most of their time practicing martial arts by themselves in the back of the house. It worked out pretty well. Kouma and I hung out with the gang, in the game room, or watching a movie. The only time my brothers would join us was if Jackie Chan or Jet Li was on the program – and then they would usually end up trying to imitate the moves. (I'd banned "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" after the time I'd caught them chasing each other across the roof.) Then as Kouma started to get tired, he would get restless to see his brothers. To my surprise, I would get restless for them to see him. I mean, I still thought he was a useless little worm, but he was doing his best, considering he was just a kid…. and he gave them so much pleasure. I've always known just how much I cost Nisama. But I'd never quite realized how happy I made him. Until I saw him smile at Kouma. Until I heard him laugh as he swung my younger self over his head.
I loved seeing the way Nisama's face would light up each night when we joined them. Especially if Yami was there as well. He usually came for a visit at about the same time as we did. Sometimes Sugoroku or Yugi would drop by for a few minutes, after the others had left, before heading up to bed… but it was mostly Yami and us.
I was always a little more nervous when Yami was there. My brother loved showing off. He loved playing with swords. It made for an unsettling combination. But it was nice to have company. To sit on the couch together, watch my brothers, and talk.
Kouma grinned at Yami. The little guy had really taken to him. "He's cool, isn't he?" Kouma asked, nodding to Nisama and Oniichan.
"Cool, indeed," Yami replied.
"I like it here. And I like having two Nisamas."
A shadow passed over Yami's face at the reminder. I answered for him, ignoring the first part of Kouma's remark.
"Yeah, so do I. It sure makes life interesting."
"I can't believe I'm going to be as tall as Nisama!" Kouma said, literally bouncing up and down in my lap. I shook my head. After all that had happened, he was still smiling; still looking forward to the next adventure. Maybe he reminded Nisama to do the same… well, the looking forward to the future part, anyway. Yugi and the others kept telling me that giving Nisama someone to love was enough. But it wasn't. Not to me. That's why it was such a relief to discover that I'd been helping Nisama, all along, just like he always said… at least a little. It was nice to know that I'd been more than a silent partner in our joint venture.
"Do you think I'm going to be taller than him when I'm all grown up? That would be the coolest thing ever!" Kouma added.
Yami laughed out loud at that. "I wouldn't be surprised," he smirked. "And I can't wait to see Kaiba having to look up to you. Just promise me you'll call him a shrimp."
I laughed and shook my head. Kouma surprised me though. He looked Yami in the eye and said, seriously, "If I have to do that, then I don't want to be taller than Nisama." I hugged him. He really was a loyal little guy. I guess I could have done a lot worse.
When Kouma was awake, my brothers would practice kata or play Judo on the padded side of the room, counting on that sport's rigorous rules and tradition of cooperation and discipline to keep them in line. Now, all martial arts are a sport. But once they had all been used for combat, once they had all been a matter of life and death… all except one. Over 100 years ago, Jigoro Kano had taken a form of warfare and turned it into a game, the game of Judo. And his quest had become my brother's.
Nisama had grown up with Jujitsu; he loved weapons practice. He had been born 300 years too late. He was a samurai from the Tokugawa era – and I had been his unwilling Shogun. More than anyone I knew, he embodied the bushido; the way of the warrior. But after Alcatraz, he had begun to study Judo; the way of gentleness, in earnest, as though its lessons had become his own.
Now my brothers were working on separate katas, with different weapons. Nisama had the Dai-Katana, the samurai sword; Oniichan, the shorter, Shinobigatana, the Ninja's knife. I smiled. "I'm glad my brother moved on to the long sword."
Yami nodded. "It suits his austere beauty."
I rolled my eyes. Yami was the only person who could get away with saying something like that, and still sound cool. But for once, he had missed the point. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised. Yami might have been the "King of Games", but so few of the things my brothers played were games.
"That's not it." I said. "Look at their weapons. Nisama has the samurai sword, Oniichan: a ninja's dagger. Nisama has chosen a warrior's weapon – Oniichan, an assassin's."
"And the Bo Staff?" he asked, referring to the favorite weapon of both versions.
"That will always be their favorite. It's a peasant's weapon – used for defense against the ruling class. All their games come back to Gozaburo."
Kouma had fallen asleep. Nisama and Oniichan put away the swords and started sparring, swinging their Hambos in earnest. They had forgotten (again) that Hambos were only supposed to be used for kata. And I guess they considered me old enough to watch them try to kill each other.
"How long has he been doing this?" Yami asked.
"Fighting or Martial Arts?" I replied with a grin. "All his life, I guess. They taught Judo at the orphanage. But Nisama usually lost his privileges – for brawling. He only fought when someone picked on me. But by the time an adult got there, all they'd see was him beating the shit out of someone. So they'd make him miss Judo, and the bullies would get to go. It was so unfair!" I burst out, before I could stop myself.
"Yes." Yami agreed quietly.
It felt a little disloyal – but it was so good to be able to say that something was unfair, without hearing my brother point out that life wasn't fair – as if that made the injustice acceptable.
"Did he ever try to explain?" Yami asked curiously.
"No. Sometimes I'd try, but nobody listened. They'd pat my head and say how nice it was that I was trying to protect my brother from the consequences of his actions. Then later, I'd hear them talking about how Nisama didn't deserve me." I sighed. "That's the story of our lives, isn't it? Nisama gets pounded for trying to protect me. Then everyone blames him, and says what a swell kid I am. It sucks."
"But he never asked you to stop, did he?" Yami said unexpectedly.
"No."
I'd wager that it meant more to him that you cared enough to defend him, than he minded missing class."
"Yeah. Nisama would say that since we were a team, it was just as well we weren't both in trouble at the same time. But the orphanage was one thing… Gozaburo was another."
"Dinner had been hell," I told Yami. " Nisama had been caught in my room when he should have been working. Gozaburo kept picking on my brother for disobeying him. Nisama never had much of an appetite anyway, but that night he was just pushing the food around his plate, as if that would make it disappear. In another minute Gozaburo would be all over him for wasting food. Suddenly, I couldn't take it any more.
"Stop picking on him!" I yelled. "It's my fault – not his! I asked him to help me with my homework."
"So, the mouse squeaks." Gozaburo said, his eyes glazed as a cat's. But before he could say or do anything else, Nisama's blow knocked me from the chair.
"Never speak again without my permission. Do you understand, dog?" he hissed at me.
It wasn't the words, or even the blow that shut me up. It was the look of terror in his eyes. I think I knew what Nisama was going to do before he did.
"As for you… father, did you forget that Mokuba is mine to do with as I will?" He kicked me for emphasis. "Or are you looking for easier prey? After all, you've never beaten me yet – you pathetic fool. We both know your brain is no match for mine. Are you afraid of me as well, old man? Isn't that why you need these guards? As you're so fond of saying, it's time to test a theory."
He was grinning as he grabbed Gozaburo's wine bottle. He broke it with one swift motion and leapt for him. He never made it, of course. Faster than I could react, he was lying face down on the table; Gozaburo was holding the broken bottle to his throat.
"So you're fond of playing with sharp objects? And your sensei tells me that you've made progress," he smirked. "Let's see how good a fighter you really are."
"When I saw him that night, he had that cut," I explained to Yami, pointing to the three inch scar that lay parallel to his right collarbone, the tip barely peeking out from his shirt. Unlike Oniichan who wore a traditional Gi top, Nisama always wore a modern V-Neck tunic over his Gi pants, cut high enough that the tips of his collarbone barely showed. I saw Yami's gaze sharpen as he looked at Oniichan and realized that although most of the burns were already in place, he had none of the cuts that marred my brother's skin; that made the high-collared, long-sleeved shirts necessary.
"Gods," he said to himself, "It's like looking at a work in progress."
That was another thing I liked about talking to Yami. He wasn't from Domino. If I had told this to anyone… even Yugi… even Anzu… they would have thought of my brother as even more of a freak show than they already did. But maybe people carved each other up a lot more wherever Yami was from, because he didn't turn a hair. All he said was: "What happened next?"
I waited in his bedroom 'till he got back. The first thing he said was, "What are you doing in my room? Never come here again." He was bleeding, but he kept apologizing for hitting me.
"Never mind about that," I cried, "Look at you! You're cut up!"
"It's okay. I'll just have to block faster next time."
"Who did that? Was it… Sensei?" I hoped not.
"No. He just watched. This was a stranger. He was good though... better than anyone I've ever fought," he smiled. "It took him a while. I made him sweat first."
"Did you get a shot in?" I was surprised. I knew how well my brother fought.
"Yeah. One. It didn't matter. My sword had a blunt edge," he laughed. "You didn't think Gozaburo was going to let me get my hands on a real sword, did you?
"I should have kept my big mouth shut. I'm sorry."
"It's okay, Kouma. We're a team, right? We're just like two pieces on the same side of a chessboard. You're the King, and I'm your Knight. And you don't have to worry about me – not ever." He flashed me his confident grin. "I'm too valuable to kill, or even injure. Gozaburo still doesn't have anyone to be his heir, but me. The old fool just doesn't get it. I never promised to be his puppet… I never promised that. And I'm not going to play his games a second longer than I have to. I don't care what it costs – my life is going to be lived on my terms – not his. After all, I'm the one who won that chess match."
He looked at my tear-streaked face. "I know how hard it must have been for you to just sit there and watch," he said quietly. " Just remember – it's only a game, and you know I always win, right? I'm going to win this time, too. I swear it. I'm sorry I didn't manage things better. I'll do better, I promise. No mistakes next time – right?"
I hugged him, smearing his blood across my face. "You're the best brother anyone could have. And I'm fine. I'm happy, really… I swear it. And I'll never do anything to attract his attention again. I promise."
Yami looked at me.
I shook my head. "I wasn't as good as Nisama at keeping my promises."
No wonder Yami was so good with my brother. He always knew when to change the subject.
"I always wondered how he got so good at all of this," he said, gesturing around the room.
"Well, he had his own private Sensei. I never knew his name. He died pretty soon after Gozaburo. Just before you met my brother. Sensei must have kind of liked Nisama. He left him his belt. Or maybe Sensei just felt guilty."
I shook my head. "Gozaburo never made any sense. There was no way Nisama was ever going to design weapons for him, but he was prepared to respect and obey the man who had adopted the both of us. But Gozaburo didn't want my brother's respect or even his obedience. He wanted Nisama's hatred and fear, instead. Well, he got one, but he was never getting the other. And Gozaburo was never going to stop trying. He played a lot of head games on my brother, but he never overlooked the most obvious method of trying to inspire fear, either. He used to knock Nisama around pretty bad. After my brother got too big, he'd have his guards work him over. But he also hired a Sensei to teach him to fight back. And he never minded when Nisama won. I never understood Gozaburo… I don't know if anyone did except my brother."
"I hated Sensei because I kept expecting him to do something, to tell somebody what was going on. So I got mad when he didn't. Maybe my brother liked him better, because he never expected anyone to help him, so he wasn't disappointed. Sensei was supposed to teach self defense and jujitsu. Just the moves. Gozaburo wanted to make my brother fiercer, more intimidating, more competitive – like my brother needed to learn that. But maybe Sensei did care for Nisama, at least a little. Because he taught him the philosophy, too. Sort of like your "Heart of the Cards" stuff. And he taught him some history about the end of the Shogunate, and the end of the samurai…" My voice trailed off when I saw Yami's face. "They taught it at Domino High. You know… the Meiji era… when Japan sort of came together and became a whole country, instead of this feudal state thing…"
I sighed at Yami's look of total non-comprehension. I mean, I know he had been in a puzzle, but still… he'd gone to school with Yugi every day. Hadn't any of it sunk in? I almost laughed. My brother had spent years being forced to study 20 hours a day... no food... no sleep... and he had wound up with a guy who had managed to miss out on every important event of the past 3,000 years.
But Yami was always a quick study, and it wasn't like he was going to major in Japanese history anytime soon. He just wanted something that would give him more of a handle on my brother. And I was the only one who knew which story had been Nisama's favorite.
"It was a long time ago… well, okay, not long for you, but long for the rest of us… like over 100 years. There was this military government – the Shogunate. But it was a mess. To tell you the truth, I always thought it sounded like the final days of Gozaburo's reign at Kaiba Corporation." I grinned to myself. Maybe that's why I always aced history. I knew all about revolutions… after all, my brother had staged one.
There was this big civil was between the Shogunate and these revolutionaries, who wanted an emperor instead." I scrunched my nose. I've never been sure why that made them to looking-to-the-future-side. I mean, an emperor sounded pretty old-fashioned to me… but I knew better than to bring up any side issues. "Anyway, they kept fighting. It was real bloody, because most battles were fought with katanas – you know, like Nisama's. And people would rather die than surrender."
"I can see why the story kept Kaiba's interest," Yami commented.
"We haven't gotten up to Nisama's favorite part, yet," I said. "Most of the fighting was done by the samurai, but the Sekiho Army was different. It was a peasant's army." I shrugged. "They backed the winning side, but they lost, anyway. When the Imperialists knew they were going to win, they realized that they couldn't afford to keep their promises to the farmers who had helped to give them their victory. So they sold the Sekiho Army out, and executed its commanders. Nisama said that their leader, Sagara Sozo, deserved to wind up with his head on a pike for believing in the Imperialists' promises.
My brother liked hearing about them the most, although he'd never admit that to Sensei. But at night, Nisama would talk to me about them. He said that most armies fight for money or land or power. They carry the banner of a king or a general. But the Sekiho Army was fighting to change their world, and they were carrying their future on their shoulders. My brother would say that was the only cause worth dying for."
I shrugged again. "Nisama might have liked hearing Sensei's stories, but he never really trusted Sensei, and Sensei never asked for Nisama's trust either. I mean, they both knew who was paying his salary."
SETO'S POVConsidering how much I liked imagining Yami naked, you'd think I'd be pleased to know that I was going to find out what he looked like for real. But I wasn't. All seeing Kaiba and Yami together did was remind me that five years is a fucking long time. I'd been with Gozaburo for three. Five years was 1.667 times as long; it was 38.462 percent of my life.
It also seemed to have been long enough to turn me into the kind of person who would actually have a lover… and I didn't know how I felt about that.
I wanted to fuck Yami, pure and simple. I didn't want him in my head, listening for my thoughts. I didn't want to know him, and I sure as hell didn't want him knowing what was up with me. I wanted Yami for a toy when I felt like getting my rocks off. (Although if that was the case, I wasn't sure why it was Yami's body and no one else's I wanted.) It didn't matter, because deep down, I knew Yami was never going to play the role I had assigned him, anyway. He was nobody's toy.
So if Kaiba was with Yami, it meant Kaiba had decided that he wanted more than a plaything, he wanted a person. My first rule has always been: Never let anyone close enough to scent out your weaknesses. It was a rule that pre-dated Gozaburo; that pre-dated the orphanage. It was a rule I had clung to ever since the day I had looked into my aunt's eyes and seen her weighing how quickly she could take our inheritance and discard us; since I had seen her weighing whether it might be better to keep me, for the prestige value of owning a genius child, while throwing out my less promising sibling. It was a rule that had never failed me. And if Kaiba was with Yami, it meant he had thrown the rulebook away.
Even if I wasn't sure I wanted Yami on those terms; even if I thought Kaiba was paying a fool's price… one fact remained: Kaiba had Yami. I didn't. And Kaiba might have been me – but he was also a rival. And I hate losing… even to myself.
Thinking about Yami always left me frustrated and annoyed, so, I was looking forward to my meeting with Akunadin. It was familiar. And it was good to be facing a formidable opponent once again. I had missed it. As much as I hated Gozaburo, I loved meeting every sick, twisted challenge he set me.
Leading Akunadin on had become a game. That might have been enough to keep me coming back, especially since, although the old fool didn't realize it, I held all the cards. But of course, I had an ulterior motive. I was getting all kinds of great details about Ancient Egypt that I was recycling into my video game. I would never have bothered asking all those questions, if it didn't have a practical purpose, but surprisingly, I loved hearing his stories. I had never known anything about Egypt before, and it was like stepping into a whole new world. It was wonderful. I could listen to him for hours.
Gozaburo would have laughed at me for caring about a dead civilization; for wasting my time on stories. Kaiba could barely stand the mention of the word 'Egypt', although he was painstakingly recreating a world he professed to hate. But considering how real Kaiba's virtual worlds were, and how seductive; considering how easy it was to escape into them… I was willing to bet, he understood my impulse to lose myself in the far past, very well, indeed. And given how popular his designs were, he was clearly tapping into a desire more universal than I could ever have imagined.
I was surprised that Akunadin never asked me why I was interested in all this stuff, since it had little to do with our potential business, but he seemed to like to talk. Maybe he missed his home. Idly, I wondered what it would be like to have a home you cared enough about to miss. Had Kaiba managed to make one for himself and Mokuba? It was hard to tell.
I pointed to the golden eye that had been half hidden by his hair. I was willing to bet that the Rod was somewhere around.
"So tell me old man, if you have the Eye and the Rod, why do you need duplicates from me?"
He hesitated. He would talk about anything to do with his past life – except the Sennen Items.
"All you need to know is that I want them. You don't need to know why."
"Yeah, but I have a thing about secrets. I don't like them… unless they're mine."
I could see him chew that over; and decide to humor me by answering. "Somehow, 3,000 years ago, the power of the items became halved, possibly because Seto and myself were both legitimate holders, and were at odds with each other – an error I'm trying to correct. I kept one version of both items with me. The other was buried and continued into this timeline. Neither item will have its full power until they are united – by me."
"Don't you mean by us?" I smiled. I knew screwing around with potential futures had to be more risky than he made it sound – and Mokuba seemed happy in this one. So Akunadin hadn't really offered me anything I wanted, or could believe in. Yet I was willing to listen, willing to learn whatever he wanted to teach me. I wasn't about to join him, but he didn't have to know that. I wasn't going to reject him either, at least not right now. Knowledge is power, and I intended to keep mine to myself for as long as possible.
"If you went to all the trouble to find me," I continued, "Something must have happened to the original Seto. The one from way back when. It sounds like he wasn't on your side, even then. So what's up – why wasn't he your willing tool?"
My question had surprised him – but not as much as he surprised me – by giving me an honest response. "I loved him too much. I raised him as my son, with my code of loyalty to our beliefs – which he chose to honor, rather than join me. It was another mistake."
I froze. I know a lie when I hear one, and what I was hearing was the truth… or at least one version of it. Akunadin might have been lying to himself, but he wasn't lying to me… at least not deliberately. He believed every word. And anyway, it's not like anyone had ever bothered even pretending they had cared, before. It might have been just another story, but I suddenly wanted to hear it told in full. I replayed his words in my head. All I could think was: had there ever been a time, even 3,000 years ago, when someone had loved me?
For once, I couldn't hold on to my stone face. Akunadin knew he had captured my interest, and he knew that I wouldn't concede anything further, any time soon. Besides, he was probably ecstatic just to have finally established a base of operations for further forays into my non-existent soul. For the first time I was seriously considering whether Akunadin might have something to offer Mokuba and myself. Something that would be worth the risk of rearranging time.
The damage, if damage it was, was done. I had tipped my hand. At least that meant there was no point in lying; no point in pretending indifference.
"So tell me about your son, old man," I said. "Tell me a story…"
THANKS TO CLARITY for proofreading and helping me to correct what could be considered my eccentric grammar (if you're being charitable) or my substandard grammar (if you're being honest.) I know this is a weak spot, and I really appreciate the help. Any compliments on increased readability are due to her efforts. Of course since, at times, I decided to keep the grammatical errors intact, so I guess any complaints should go to me…
AUTHOR'S NOTES: While writing this chapter I was whining (electronically) on the difficulty of throwing in things like the history of Judo and the Sekiho Army – and trying to have it all come up naturally. My friend (understandably) asked: why are you throwing in all that stuff? It took me a couple of days to come up with an answer. But I think with a character who is as inexpressive as Seto Kaiba (much less two Seto Kaibas) things like what martial arts he plays (and why) or what stories he likes to hear becomes more important. Anyway, both martial arts and the Sekiho Army become sort of running motifs.
Sekiho Army Note: Rurouni Kenshin (I can't believe I finally remembered how to spell that) fans will hopefully recognize the stuff on the Sekiho Army. It's funny, while I was writing this chapter I did a bit of research to find out if they existed, or if they were a figment of Nobuhiro Watsuki's imagination. (I have no idea why it was important to me to find out if they existed, but it was.) Anyway, when I googled them, a ton of sites were listed. Unfortunately the top choices were in Japanese – so I had no idea if they were historical sites or Rurouni Kenshin shrines. Then I tried researching Japanese history of the Bakumatsu. Finally I went back to the Sekiho Army, and found the historical notes for a (Japanese) movie called Red Lion – about the Sekiho Army! Anyway it had all these historical notes, because the producers were trying to impress people with their historical accuracy.
At the end of the Tokugawa Shogunate, there was a certain amount of chaos in Japan, partly because this once fairly isolated nation had a sudden infusion of foreign (i.e. Western) contact, and partly because after over 200 years the government was starting to break down and there was a certain amount of social unrest. Anyway, the revolutionaries or the Imperialist side) wanted to turn Japan from a feudal society to a modern nation state, unified under an emperor. At this time, there was a peasant revolt, mostly over land and tax issues in many provinces. The pro-Imperialist side encouraged this, as a way of further weakening the Shogunate, and sent Sagara Sozo, among others, to organize the farmers, creating the Sekiho-tai. However, when the Imperialist side realized they were going to win, they also realized that they couldn't afford to keep the tax relief promises Sagara had made in their name. They declared the Sekiho-tai to be imposters, and arrested and executed Sagara and other top commanders. In 1928, the government offered an official apology, clearing their name, and honoring the troop.
Anyway, with its themes of future vs. past, and trust and betrayal, it seemed like the perfect story for Seto Kaiba.
RESPONSES TO REVIEWS:
Mokuba: (AmunRa, Ceribi Motou, Desidera, Katie Torango, MotherCHOWGoddess, Nachzes-Black Rider, Wintersslayer) I agree that Mokuba is the person who sees Seto Kaiba the most clearly. And I like the point that the Yugi-tachi think they have him figured out, but that's different from really understanding him. But I also think that Mokuba recognizes that there are limits to what he can do for his brother. I think, as he gets older, he might come to feel that there are some things he has to wait and hope that Kaiba can learn on his own. But that's a good point that it's amazing that someone who has grown up in such an anti-social environment as Mokuba can be so insightful. On the other hand being loved as deeply as Mokuba is by Kaiba would probably have to help.
Yami and Kaiba: (AmunRa, Desidera, EcoGoth, Kanoi1, Psyche, QueenOFGames2, Sarcastic Bastet) I see Yami's patience as being strategic in nature. He's very patient when he duels, setting things up carefully, and willing to retreat, or take losses if he has to, to get the ultimate victory. So I sort of seeing his Game King persona being front and center here. And I think Kaiba would recognize that, even if he realizes that he doesn't get Yami's motives, which was why I had them both describe their relationship in dueling terms.
And it occurred to me how surprised in the anime Yami often is by Kaiba -- not just his strategies, but often his decisions, motivations and actions. And I think Yami is used to being the one who has the answers -- so this would push his boundaries as well as Kaiba's I'm trying to show a relationship where both sides have something to offer and to learn.
It is interesting that both Bottom and Kaiba have mystical lovers though…
Kaiba's past life/jealousy: (AnimeFan-Artemis, Clarity, Desidera) Between Kaiba being jealous of his past life version, and Seto being jealous of Kaiba, there's certainly enough jealousy floating around…
More Kaiba: (Clarity, QueenOfGames2, Sarcastic Bastet, StainofCurare) I see Kaiba as being an interesting mix. He's utterly confident while executing a plan, as well as coldly logical and efficient. But he also treats himself and his own life and happiness with such flagrant disregard. In that way I also see him as very mature when it comes to practical things – after all he's raising Mokuba and running a business, but very young when it comes to dealing with his emotions. That's why I have Yami sometimes call him Ryuujin (Dragon King) and sometimes Koryuu (Little Dragon). That was also what was behind Yami's observation that he was very young. Since there's a lot he missed out on as a child, I think there's a part of him that has remained child-like. There's a scene in the Grand Prix episodes where he's watching one of the duels on a monitor – and all I can think is that Kaiba should be out there, just playing for the fun of it – instead of having any of these responsibilities – much less all of them!
One thing interesting about writing Kaiba is that you always have to check your assumptions. Like when I imagined Yami giving him a card -- I sort of had to stop myself and wonder -- oh yeah -- has anyone but Mokuba ever given him a present?
Transition chapter: (Kurosaisei) Explanatory is a good way to describe it. I was trying to show where everyone was emotionally before moving on to the next stage of the story.
Motorcycle race: (S.Ravid) I imagine that Kaiba won it. He's stronger, has quicker reflexes and more experience racing.
Gozaburo (Demon fritillary) As you can see from this chapter, through flashbacks, I eventually go into the continuing struggle between Gozaburo and Seto that led to Gozaburo's suicide.
DOOM/DOMA: (Dark Illusionist) Thanks. I thought DOMA was a bad translation of DOOM! I've corrected it in future chapters
To Amarin Rose: Thanks for the title suggestions. One of them was irresistible!
To Ceribi Motou: Thanks, that was probably my favorite part, so I'm glad you noticed.
To Kanoi1: Long reviews are always appreciated
Thanks to dimonyo-anghel, Mistal: The Poisoned One, and Yume no Zencho. It's encouraging to know that you're looking forward to updates.