Epilogue
Seto's Frustration
At the Death-T Tournament, just before the Fifth Level….
Mokuba lost.
I could tell he had lost before the game even ended. I had expected him to lose and so was not surprised in the least by Yuugi's victory, but Mokuba was clearly shocked. Even after I'd given Yuugi his instructions, my brother was still frozen in his seat, staring at his cards and gaping like a goldfish on dry land.
At last he looked up at me. "Niisama, I…."
"Long time ago," I said calmly, "I had the feeling that at my back, a useless dog like you, was staring at me."
Mokuba flinched, as though I'd slapped him. That irritated me, and his wounded expression, like that of kicked puppy, irritated me further. Did he expect me to be sympathetic? Did he expect praise, comfort for losing a game I'd told him not to play?
"I told you before that people who play with fire burn themselves at the end!" I said, nearly yelling at him.
But those wide, wavering blue eyes continued to mock me. They made something inside my chest turn and twist; they challenged my strength.
I had always been weak around my brother. But that would change.
"You should understand," I continued, "only the winner can step out of that box! The loser will be punished! That is the rule of the game!"
Then, because that same heavy turning in my chest was making me slightly nauseous, I quickly typed in the command to activate the Death Stimulator.
Leaning back in my chair, I turned away from the screen.
My brother had chose this fight, a fight he couldn't win, and he would face the consequences. It was as simple as that. Although why he had decided to face Yuugi still puzzled me. What the hell was he fighting for anyway?
I knew what I was fighting for. Yuugi had humiliated me; his grandfather had refused to yield to me the fourth Blue-Eyed White Dragon. I smiled. That had changed. I had the fourth now. I had torn it up. What was the fourth to me, but a useless piece of paper? All the dragons I loved were in my deck. As for Yuugi, very shortly, I would duel him, and he would lose. As Yuugi faced the Death Stimulator, all my pain and humiliation would swept away with Yuugi's utter defeat, washed away with his last, desperate howl….
"NIISAMA HELP!"
My brother's voice came ripping through my thoughts. Out of reflex, I glanced at the screen.
And there was Mokuba looking small and frightened against the snarling, slavering, yellow-eyed beast. Mokuba shook; the dragon, showing its teeth, grinned hideously. Suddenly, the broad, ugly snout jutted out; the sharp, teeth snapped forward.
Toward my little brother.
I turned off the monitor.
But that same feeling, the nauseous twisting, pressed against me, harder this time. It gnawed in my chest. I gritted my teeth, clamped my hand over the armrest. Tightening and tightening my fingers, until my whole fist throbbed.
My little brother. Damn. What a distraction.
Slowly I unwound my grip. This tournament had never been about Mokuba; it was about beating Yuugi, finally and absolutely. I folded my hands; in my chest, the aching lessened and became cool.
Now that the monitor was off, the room was dim and quiet. Just the way I liked it.
Yuugi had challenged me, and I would crush him. I would derive great satisfaction from running the Death Stimulator on him. But revenge was only secondary in my calculations.
Someone was after Kaiba Corp.
I didn't know whom exactly. But I knew a bid had been made. I also knew members of the Big Five were plotting with this scum. They had helped me take Kaiba Corporation from my foster father. Now they thought they could take it from me.
That was my primary reason for holding this tournament. To show them that anyone who stood in my way would be crushed. Killed. Now, of all time, I couldn't afford to show weakness. I would execute my strategy perfectly. Yuugi would be my scapegoat. The rest would soon fall.
Beneath my jacket, the locket with Mokuba's picture burned against my skin. I took it out, yanked until the chain broke. I left it on the counter near the computer console.
I picked up my deck. Three Blue Eyed White Dragons.
I smiled as I left the room. It was time to face Yuugi.
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All right, I couldn't end the story on that depressing note.
We all know Kaiba loses. He plays all three Blue-Eyed White Dragons, but Yuugi pulls an Exodia out of his deck, and Kaiba is crushed.
In the manga (to the best of my knowledge), Yuugi does something called "heartbreak," which literally breaks Kaiba's heart, like a puzzle. It renders Kaiba comatose. But Yuugi's not out of the water yet. Many of Kaiba's hired thugs are lurking around, ready to hurt Yuugi and his friends, regardless of Yuugi's victory. But just as everyone is prepared for a big, messy fight, Mokuba appears and calls the thugs off.
Mokuba decides to trust Yuugi with their story: how he and Seto became orphaned, how Kaiba Gozaburo adopted them, how Kaiba usurped his father and took his company, and how Kaiba's obsession with death began.
Yuugi tells Mokuba that his brother is still in there, trying to put the pieces of his heart back together. Mokuba is encouraged, believing for the first time, his brother can come back. Yuugi leaves; his work here is done.
Shortly after, Pegasus begins the Duelist Kingdom Tournament and makes his move against Kaiba Corporation. Since Seto is still comatose, Mokuba, by himself, fiercely tries to save his brother's company. Pegasus kidnaps him and takes him to Duelist Kingdom.
Seto, for reasons unknown to me, wakes from his coma and finds his brother missing. He flies to Duelist Kingdom to rescue him. This is where some of Seto's noblest acts take place, as he risks both his life and his soul to get his brother back.
(I haven't read this part of the manga, but I assume its similar to the anime series: Seto fights his way through Pegasus' goons to get to Mokuba, Pegasus sucks Mokuba's soul from his body, Seto duels Yuugi and wins in a controversial manner, Seto duels Pegasus and loses, Pegasus sucks Seto's soul from his body, Yuugi duels Pegasus and—of course—wins. Everyone's souls are restored.)
Mokuba wakes first and he and Yuugi's gang search the castle for Seto. Seto wakes from a dungeon and sees his younger standing there. His younger self leads him straight to Mokuba. The brothers are united. They embrace.
Chibi Seto happily puts the last piece of his heart together, and disappears. Yuugi comments, "To Kaiba, Mokuba is the last piece of the puzzle. The puzzle of his heart is finally complete."
Aww, isn't that sweet? See, despite the dark nature of my story, I'm really a sucker for happy endings.