Ruinshipping (Mokuba Kaiba x Ishizu Ishtar)

. . .

She was the first person that he had ever seen his brother listen to—and then actually heedthe advice. That was shocking in itself. The fact that she could get through to him—that she could touch his emotions and understand them in a way that no one else ever had, the way that his big brother's eyes actually flinched a little at the unwinding of his emotions at her hands—was something that not even Mokuba had been able to do, and he thought...he thought that maybe it was a good thing.

But it was her devotion that really drew his attention to her. The hurt in the back of her eyes when she looked across at the madness that was Marik Ishtar. The light, soft way that she would sigh, pain held back in her throat as she sat at the side of the fallen Rishid Ishtar. That moment when his big brother had asked her what she had planned to do if Marik was not saved, and the sudden cast of stone that fell over her eyes at the question, the sudden veil she dropped over herself to try and conceal the feeling.

The feeling that if her brother could not be saved, she would die with him.

Mokuba hesitated before he ran into the Duel Tower after his brother. Yugi and Marik were about to duel, the final battle of the Battle City tournament. His brother had already stalked into the building, but Mokuba knew he would wait for him to get into the elevator with him.

Ishizu hung back, for now, her eyes raised to the faraway spire of the tower. Her hand moved reflexively to her neck, but upon finding no cold, golden item there, it dropped slowly to her side.

"I-Ishizu-san," Mokuba called out.

She blinked, looking down from her reverie. A softness entered her eyes, the way that her lips tuned upwards very quietly. Unlike many other duelists, Mokuba didn't feel a sense of dominance from her—an overwhelming need to make the other person look small. Instead, her calm expression felt like...motherly. As though just her smile alone would wrap him up and keep him safe.

"Yes?" she asked.

Mokuba swallowed, suddenly at a loss for words. She was quite beautiful, her face built with soft curves, and gentle hues, eyes glittering in the light, the careful application of kohl making the sapphire irises stand out against her sun-kissed skin. It was the way she held herself, a quiet strength that almost made Mokuba feel like he could just run up to her and give her a hug.

Mokuba glanced back into the building. Seto was probably getting annoyed with the wait, although he would never say anything. Mokuba turned back to Ishizu.

"Are...are you going to ride up with us?" he asked.

Ishizu hesitated. Then she nodded.

"If you'll have me," she said, that quiet voice of hers that might have been nothing more than a breeze.

Mokuba nodded, and started to step backwards. But then he hesitated again.

"Um...Ishizu-san..." he said. "T-thank you."

Ishizu blinked, cocking her head slightly.

"For what?"

"For getting through to my brother. He's—he can be really stubborn, you know? I'm glad you could convince him not to blow everything up."

He tried to make his voice sound light, as though he were making a joke about his brother's near attempt to kill everyone on the island. But there was nothing joking about his words—he was sincerely glad that Ishizu's quiet firmness had managed to touch his brother so well.

Ishizu smiled. It was the biggest smile he had seen from her since they had first met. She walked over and laid a hand on his head for a moment.

"You're welcome," she said. "Take care of him...he needs you."

"I-I know."

She smiled again. They stood there for a moment. Her presence really was incredibly soothing. Mokuba hadn't felt so safe around someone besides his big brother. But despite the difference in their presences—his brother's, harsh, abrasive, determined, radiating with power, and Ishizu's, soft, calm, understanding, almost muted—there was the same level of security.

This was definitely someone that he could trust.

"Let's not keep him waiting," Ishizu said softly, smiling again.

He nodded, not sure what else to say. Then he followed her inside towards the elevator at a trot.

It was only after they entered the elevator, and headed up to the top of the Duel Tower, that he realized. She hadn't just been talking about Seto in the elevator.

She had been talking about her own brother.

Mokuba glanced up at the woman beside him. Her eyes were trained at the wall, slightly out of focus.

Her hands were trembling.

Mokuba reached out and touched the back of her palm. Her mouth opened slightly with surprise, as she looked down at the hand on top of hers. Her eyes came up to meet Mokuba's, and Mokuba gave her a reassuring smile.

"He'll come back to you," he said. "Brothers always do. It just takes a while."

She smiled. There was so much gratitude in that smile, as though all of her uncertainty, all of the calm mask she had woven, had melted right in front of him. When she didn't move her hand away, he curled his into hers, the way he would grab Seto's hand when he was worried. Her hands were much softer than Seto's, her fingers a bit longer and more tapered. She quietly squeezed his hand back, a grateful expression.

"Thank you," she breathed.

He nodded.

There was nothing more to say.

. . .

A/N: She would be the best big sister to Mokuba okay; this is part of the reason why I Trustship because like whoever gets with Seto is also getting Mokuba in the equation and thus they have to all get along (and I don't mean that in a polyamoric/incestual way I hope you didn't think that's what I meant). Okay, that's fixed, and you're back to Ruffleshipping (Pegasus x Otogi x Mokuba) next chapter.