Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh.

Caregiver

It's all very logical when you think about it. When Mother and Father is taken away. When Stepfather is father in name only and a monster in reality, who else is there to love but the person left who takes care of you?

You never loved yourself, because first, Mother died giving birth to you. Second, Father could not bare the sight of you. And third, you were a burden to Older Brother.

You knew what you had to do.

One night, lying deep in your new bed, soft like a water-logged sponge, you waited for the door to creak. In the orphanage, you had always slept in the same bed, so you don't understand why Seto walks through the door so stiffly, why your brother bites his lower lip as if to keep a cry from being uttered. It's forbidden in Gozaburo's mansion for Older Brother to stay with you, so you wonder why Seto moves so strangely, scrabbling like a mouse in bare feet across the wooden floor. It's not much noise, but you've looked into Gozaburo's eyes the day you and Older Brother were adopted and knew. He. Would. Hear.

So you slide out of bed with socked feet and clamp a hand over Older Brother's mouth and whisper for the first time, what he had always said.

"Shhh...we have to be quiet, brother."

You ease Seto into your bed although you barely reach his hip and snuggle next to the limp form. You frown, wondering what is wrong, why Seto stares up into the ceiling with eyes that mirror its same perfect blankness. You think to yourself, you will have to care for your brother even though the arm curled around you is already a little wet.

In the dark, the stains aren't so red. They're brown, cuts almost healed already.

One morning, you saw that Seto was not eating and that he looked pale. You yelled at the Chef who smiled good-naturedly and nodded with whatever you said.

You forced the man to make omelets, pancakes covered with whip cream, fresh orange juice mixed with pineapple and cupcakes full of chocolate bits.

You wolf down half of everything and watch Seto with bewildered eyes because he hasn't even taken a nibble in all at that time. You yell at Older Brother for not eating enough and for doing work too late in the evening. You yell and scream like Father did once when he caught Seto sneaking you into the big kid's play yard without the foam floor. It's not right, you say. Seto, you have to take care of yourself, you say. I can't keep doing it forever.

Seto winces as he takes a mouthful of pancake.

Satisfied, you take a bite of cupcake, chew, and suddenly stop. You look down at your breakfast and suddenly you are ashamed.

You forgot, sweets aren't healthy for a growing boy.

More importantly, you forgot Seto doesn't like overly-sweet things.

In the afternoon, Seto has his lessons. He gets a fifteen minute break at precisely 3:15. You march into his room and sit down, begin to quiz him on the chapters he's read. Seto, you have to do well in school, you say. When you grow up, you'll get a good job and be able to take care of yourself, you say.

You read the textbook upside-down, but Seto never says a word.

When you turn seven, Gozaburo tells Seto to give him tangible results or he will send you away. You scream and say that you'll take Seto with you.

Seto only bows and accepts what Gozaburo wants him to do.

It's the third night you wait for Seto to come into your bed, but he doesn't. So you slip out, down the hall to Seto's room instead and you move silently like a wraith, praying that daddy dearest won't hear. You make it to Seto without incident. Seto's still wide-awake with bags under his eyes, fiddling with a strange mechanical device that spouts light and suddenly a holographic, blurry bee that buzzes around the room like it's a dream made flesh. Seto smiles.

Seto, you say.

You rush into his arms, and he tells you never to worry. He can do anything Gozaburo can think up, even make visions become solid. He runs his fingers through your thick black hair, promising to care for you forever, and you sob and call him Nisama for the first time and every time after.

You never loved yourself because you were only a burden, but when Seto reaches down to kiss your cheek, you learn that sometimes, a person takes care of someone not because that someone is a burden, but because they love him back.

You snuggle into Seto's arms and think, just maybe, that makes you worthy of loving yourself, too.