Chapter Five

A Lesson

There were three of them.

Short, fat, greasy junior high kids. Two of them were holding Mokuba's arms, while he kicked and shouted. The biggest and ugliest, the one with a thick, sneering lip, searched Mokuba's pockets and emptied his backpack, taking whatever was valuable. Papers scattered; cap monsters—that ridiculous game Mokuba played—fell to the ground and rolled.

"Let me go!" Mokuba screamed. "Dammit! When my brother comes, you'll be sorry! Let me go!"

Kaiba's hand was clenched around the door handle of his limousine.

Only three runts. He could take them without thinking. Wrench them off Mokuba. Throw them to the ground. Maybe pummel them a bit. Threaten to run them over with the limo as they ran off crying. It would be so easy to go out and rescue his little brother.

But something cold held him back.

It wasn't enough for Kaiba to beat them up. They would come back, or other bullies would appear. After all, Mokuba took the limo every morning to school; and even if he didn't, his family name alone would attract attention. Bullies were like jackals: persistent creatures bent on gobbling up whatever scraps of money or power they could lay hold of. They avoided people like Kaiba, knowing strength when they saw it, but relentlessly hunted the weak.

And Mokuba was weak.

The biggest bully punched Mokuba in the stomach. Mokuba groaned and fell forward. Kaiba calmly stepped out of the limo.

The two lesser bullies holding his arms—one with a shaved head and the other with a scrawny, crooked neck—started and dropped Mokuba's arms. They whispered at the biggest one, who didn't seem to care—he kept counting the money.

Mokuba looked up. "Niisama!" he yelped in delight. His blue eyes—like those of a puppy dog—seemed so sure his brother would rescue him.

Kaiba stared coolly back and didn't move.

"Five dollars! Is that it!" yelled the big bully. His face was like that of a pig's with a stub nose and greedy, little black eyes. He gave Mokuba an extra kick,

For one stinging moment, Kaiba could see the horrified, hurt look on his brother's face—but he walked past him. Swinging his steel suitcase, he stood in front of the largest bully.

The bully glared sullenly back at him. It made him look even stupider than before, like a wild boar that thought its tusks could protect him from hunters. Kaiba smiled.

"Mokuba," he said, not looking at him, "get in the limo."

He heard the scraping sound of Mokuba gathering his things; the limo door opened and shut.

"You've been picking on my brother," Kaiba said.

"Yeah, what of it?" said the bully. He was sizing Kaiba up, staring him up and down with his beady eyes. Arrogant and stupid.

"You're going to stop."

The pig smiled with his broad lips. "You wanna start something?"

"No," said Kaiba. "I want to pay you."

If possible his lips grew wider and his chest puffed. He apparently thought he won without even having to fight. That was his first mistake.

The bully with the vulture neck decided to speak up. "How much?"

Kaiba gave him a glare. "Don't waste my time, pipsqueak," he said. "I only negotiate with the leader."

This got the other two snarling, but it made the big bully's chest swell wider. He whispered something to the others, and they nodded begrudgingly. The big bully stepped forward.

"Whaddya have in mind?"

Kaiba turned briskly. "Get in my limo," he said, opening the door. "We'll negotiate the terms at my mansion."

The bully sauntered in. That was his second mistake.

Idiot, Kaiba thought, barely restraining a sneer of contempt. Didn't your mother ever teach you not to get in strangers' cars?

Mokuba was curled up in the seat opposite the driver, clutching his backpack. He looked bruised and angry. The bully sat directly across from him, sticking his feet up on the chair.

"Good thing you're brother came to save you," the bully jeered. "Or we'd have made you into ground beef."

Mokuba glared through his straggled black hair and shoved the bully's feet off the chair. "Get out your fat feet out of my face," he growled.

"You wanna say that again," said the bully, curling up his fist.

Mokuba looked out the window. He didn't say anything.

"This is a nice limo, you have," said the fat bully, turning to Kaiba. "Looks like your parents are loaded. You can buy your brother's safety, but it's going to cost you. It's going to cost you big." He laughed.

Kaiba took out his laptop and ignored him. Moron! What a stupid waste of time.

Once they arrived, Kaiba showed him in into one of the business offices he had. One without video cameras. "Sit down. What would you like to drink?"

"Whiskey," the bully replied.

This would be the type to drink. Kaiba rolled his eyes. He ordered the butler to prepare the alcohol. Kaiba himself had no use for drugs that made the brain slow and stupid, but he did keep alcohol, just for these occasions.

The bully drank from the glass the butler handed him. That was his third and finally mistake. Kaiba was so disgusted with how easily this fool had fallen into his trap, he wondered if finishing him off would be any fun at all.

"You're pretty rich," the bully was saying now, leaning back. "I think, I'll stop bothering you're brother, for, say, five thousand dollars. A month." He grinned, showing a gap in his teeth.

"I don't think so," said Kaiba quietly.

"Well, then it's a shame about your brother. Getting beat up every day's no fun, you kno—"

Kaiba swung his briefcase around and hit the bully solidly in the head. The bully fell backwards over the chair. He snarled and got to his feet.

Or tried to. The bully's face strangled into a look of horror as he realized he couldn't make his muscles move.

A brief smile flickered over Kaiba's lips. "You stupid, greedy pig. Gulping down whatever I feed you. The whiskey is laced with a toxin that will paralyze your muscles in about ten seconds after being consumed. You won't be able to do a thing. But you'll feel every blow I give you."

He swung his briefcase again. The bully howled.

"You are now under my control," said Kaiba, stepping on his hand so that the vein's cracked. He let the bully scream a bit. "Consider this a mild warning."

He lowered himself to the bully's level and looked him dead in the eye. The bully sweated. His mouth gaped and his beady eyes looked around frantically.

"If you ever hurt my brother again," Kaiba said softly, "I won't just make you suffer. I will kill you."

0 0 0

"Niisama, why did you drug him?" asked Mokuba softly. "You could have beaten him up without it." He was sitting in the armchair, pawing a chess piece. The king. It tipped back and forth.

"It's not enough to beat them up," Kaiba replied. "You have to destroy your enemies. Or they'll destroy you."

He set down his steel suitcase. There was a thin, red mark along the edge. The kid's blood. He took out a handkerchief and smoothly wiped it off.

"Mokuba," he said, "your performance out there was not admirable. How many times did you let them beat you up?" He looked at his brother for an explanation.

Mokuba's eyes sparked. "That's not fair," he protested, standing up. "I tried to fight back."

"And lost. You flailed about like a fish out of water," said Kaiba sarcastically.

"They're bigger than me!"

"So what? They have half a brain between them and that's if you round up. Did you see how easy it was to lure the big one here? Do you think you can't put some toxin in the other ones' drinks?"

"Oh," said Mokuba. He sat back down. He tipped the king and it tipped over; it lay on its side, like a wounded animal.

"I did not acquire these riches so that they could be used against us," Kaiba continued. "We have the money to do things. The next time people try to hurt you, think, strategize, then use the resources I have to defend yourself against them. I'm very busy, and I can't solve your every problem." He took out his computer.

He heard his brother sigh as his laptop lit up.

"I know, Niisama, I know."