-Peers out from under her pile of work- Anybody still there? I know I haven't updated in a bit, but writing important papers takes some priority…
I haven't been thanking my reviewers lately, so lots and lots of appreciation goes to loner lover girl and Koi-Bara. And a plate of cookies each goes to Mein Engel, hashiba42, and Maridel for correctly answering 'Shaadi'. (Shaddi, Shadi, Shadii…sheesh, how do you spell this guy's name?) I know Christmas Future isn't supposed to talk, but things need to be explained.
For a better effect, turn down the lights and put on some dramatic music with wind effects in the background. Enjoy the Future.
Chapter 5 – What the Cold Future Brings
Kaiba followed the spirit in the turban through the darkness.
"Let me guess. You aren't who you appear to be. You've just taken on the form of someone I know to be able to talk to me."
"That is correct." The spirit didn't turn to look at him.
"But here's the thing: I don't know anyone who looks like that."
"You have. You simply do not remember them."
Kaiba was about the protest when the blackness surrounding them shimmered and dissolved into a desolate landscape. Aside from the thick layer of snow that blanketed everything, the world around them seemed to be colored only with various shades of gray and dull brown, like some depressed artist's nightmare.
They stood in a cemetery.
Standing in front of a lonely tombstone was…
"Mokuba!" Kaiba started.
Mokuba didn't seem to hear him. He simply stared at the grave with a look that could have frozen a desert. "You said you would always be there. You broke your promise." His voice was low, thick with a menace that had never been there before.
Kaiba's eyes widened. This wasn't like Mokuba at all. What had happened to his little brother?
Mokuba's eyes were cold and hard, empty of the light and laughter that were usually so prominent in them. He seemed harsh and calculating, much older than he was or in fact should be.
The younger Kaiba narrowed his eyes at the grave, then turned on his heel and stormed back to a waiting limousine. "Get going," he growled to the chauffer. The driver turned and said something to him. "Do you think I care?!" Mokuba snapped in an amazing likeness of Seto Kaiba himself. "I said now!" He slammed the limousine door and the vehicle drove off.
Kaiba stared after it for several minutes, trying to take in what he had seen. Suddenly he snapped out of his trance and turned on the spirit, grabbing him by the collar and shaking him hard.
"What have you done to my brother?!" he hissed. "What could you possibly have done to him to make him so cold, so– so–"
"So like you?" the spirit asked calmly.
Kaiba froze. Like…me?
"Mokuba is merely living the way he was taught. The way you taught him."
Kaiba felt a jolt go through his heart. I…taught him…
"No. Mokuba – Mokuba would never become like that…never like that…" He trailed off, then shook his head. "What on earth could force him to become that?"
The spirit slowly raised an arm and pointed to the headstone that the younger boy had been looking at. "Your answer lies there."
Kaiba turned and began to walk towards it. The inscribed name was covered in snow. A sudden feeling of dread settled in the pit of his stomach. There was something about this grave that he didn't like at all. It scared him. Nothing scared him. But somehow, this…
He knelt hesitantly down in front of it, glancing back at the now-shadowy figure. The spirit merely pointed. Kaiba turned back to the tombstone and swallowed hard. Slowly, he reached out a hand and began to brush the snow away. The name that appeared froze his blood in his veins.
Seto Kaiba.
He stared in horror at it, his body and mind paralyzed with utter shock. I'm…I'm dead? But Mokuba...he looks barely a year older…what…?
"It was your own foolish obsession that was your downfall, Seto Kaiba." The spirit was suddenly standing over him, his voice strong and harsh. "Your heart like ice pushed everyone away from you: even your brother. You were so preoccupied with your machines and your work that you had time for nothing else. Not even enough time to look before stepping out into the road…"
Kaiba was silent, staring into nothing while his mind reeled.
"Your brother, naturally, followed in the footsteps of the only family he had. He's become quite the businessman. As ruthless and as calculating as you were…"
Kaiba shook his head slowly. "This…this isn't…No, I…" He swallowed hard and fought to force out words. "This can't happen…I – I can change it."
The spirit was silent.
"I can change it!" Kaiba repeated forcefully, as if trying to make the words come true by sheer will power. "There's no set future! I've changed it before and I'll do it again!"
The spirit still said nothing. Kaiba turned and grabbed the spirit's robe. "Say something, blast it! It's not too late for me to change it!"
Nothing.
Kaiba felt the ground start to give way beneath him and his grip loosened on the robe. "Tell me it can change!" he pleaded, desperately. "Please!"
The spirit stood unspeaking but stared down at him as he lost his grip and began to fall.
"Mokubaaa!"
"Mokuba!"
Kaiba shot bolt upright in his bed, covered in a cold sweat. He looked around wildly.
He was back in his room. His own room. No spirits, no hallway, no graveyard. Just his bedroom. The spirits…had they been real?
He opened his hand. In his palm was a small piece of sand-colored fabric, exactly matching the robe of the turbaned man.
Kaiba stared at it. They had been real. He was holding proof. But if they had been real what about…
"Mokuba!" He shot to his feet and darted for the door, racing down the hall as fast as his legs could take him. The only thing he could see was his brother's face, standing alone in that graveyard, angry and cold…
He threw open the door, almost afraid of what he would find. A small figure was huddled on the sill of the bay window, silhouetted against the dim outside light.
Kaiba approached the window slowly and sat down beside the little form. Mokuba was asleep against the glass, just as he had seen him before. The thin trail of a single tear traced its way down his cheek. The CEO's heart clenched slightly and he reached out to brush the tear stain away. I'm sorry Mokuba.
Carefully, Kaiba picked his little brother up in his arms and carried him back to bed. He tucked the boy in and stared down at his sleeping face.
I don't know if I can make it up to you. But I'm sure as hell going to try.
