((✦✧✦✧))
"Children!"
Miss Rui calls, trying to get the attention of the rowdy class. She's one of the orphanage workers, a separate job from the teachers who are mostly volunteers, so it was unusual that she came into the classroom today.
I roll a pencil between my fingers, wondering if I should try and shade in my bad sketch of Masaoka Shiki. We were learning haikus today...well, we had been learning about haikus.
It takes a brief second for everyone to settle down, but eventually they give her their attention.
Rui clears her throat before continuing, "Today, Mr. Kaiba will be paying us a visit-'' Kaiba? I briefly tuned her out as deja-vu hits me.
Kaiba...It was familiar for some reason. Why couldn't I remember….
"-So be sure to behave!" She finished up with a smile and chatter erupted around us. As Rui left, the teacher closed off class and let us out early due to the circumstances.
I quickly closed my cute strawberry-print notebook and took it with me as I followed the trail of kids out the door. It only took a minute to get to Mokuba's class, where Seto was already waiting.
"Hey Seto!" I greet as I slide up next to him, leaning against the wall on his other side as we watch Mokuba finish packing up his things.
Seto just gives me a tilt of his head, chin tilted down and eyes focused out the window. He's in one of his thinking moods again, so I let him ruminate on whatever goes on in that big brained head and give a quick side-hug to Mokuba as he runs out of his class.
"Risa-nee! Seto-nii!" He calls, and briefly gives Seto a hug on the leg as well.
Mokuba's so sweet… I squeal in my head. I really got blessed with the best brothers. Well, if only one would stop brooding.
"Did you hear about Mr. Kaiba?" Mokuba asks as we start walking to our rooms. I nod my head, already anticipating his question.
Mokuba looks around before turning back to me and whispering, "Who is he?"
I try to remember what Miss Rui had said to our class, along with what the gossip was in the halls, drawing out my words as the memories return, "I'm not sure...I think he's some sort of billionaire that donates to this orphanage."
"What's a billionaire?" Mokuba asks, still at the age of constantly questioning everything.
"A really, really rich person." I answer.
Mokuba makes a small noise of revelation. "Like you and Seto!"
I hold back a laugh while Mokie stares at us with glittering eyes."I wish, but it's even more than that. For example…" I take a quick glance around for ideas, "Mr. Kaiba could buy this entire place. That kind of rich."
Mokuba's eyes widen, and he falls quiet, looking around in deep thought. I look at Seto, but he's still quiet, staring a hole into the ground. He almost misses the entrance of our room, and I have to grab his arm as he walks right by.
"Geez, what has you in such deep thought?" I question as we enter the room. Mokuba's already running over to our lunch stash, usually filled with random things bought from the store or, in the case of today, tuna onigiri that I made the night before.
Japan, surprisingly, didn't have a lot(if any) peanut butter in their stores, so I've had to resort to mainly Japanese dishes. Which is why we mainly bought prepackaged meals from the store.
Food from the orphanage's dining hall wasn't bad, but it was typically just the same thing every day-a bowl of rice and whatever leftover vegetables they had from the day before. Meat usually only came once a week, but it wasn't exactly cooked the best either.
Besides, we just got along with each other better than with the other children. The last time we went to 'attend' dinner, some kid tried to pick on Mokuba and it ended up with a giant food fight that had cabbage sticking on the ceiling, nine cups of spilled apple juice, and a screaming matron.
I obviously had nothing to do with it, but we still were put to bedtime extra early that night.
Yup. Nothing to do with me at all….
"Mr. Kaiba," I snap out of my thoughts as Seto finally speaks, "He's going to come here today for an event."
I nod slowly, "Yes?" The orphanage was invested in by quite a few random individuals, although few and far between ever visited. It was definitely a rare event, but orphanages were one of the best, if not overdone, publicity stunts sure to win the people's hearts. Although if they really had hearts, they would come here and adopt one of us themselves.
Seto watches me patiently. "He's a renowned chess player, and claims that no one can beat him."
I pause in the middle of sitting down on my bed, let that statement run through my mind again, and stare at him. "How do you know that?"
"He was on television one of the nights that you were away," Seto explained, following to sit next to me, "The money he gave to the orphanage came from his chess championship."
I tilt my head.
"Was this when you wanted to buy those playbooks?" I ask, trying to piece together disjointed events that suddenly weren't so random. Earlier this year, Seto started getting adamant on buying playbooks, and we would frequently go to the local bookstore to get them on discount. Seto would tear through them in a week, and the cycle repeated a few times.
Seto nods, and I raise an eyebrow. "So you're going to play a chess game against him? And what, make him adopt us?"
But my brother is serious. "He came here for publicity," Seto explains, "but it wouldn't be strange if he did walk out with some children as well. At the least, it could help his reputation."
Mokuba comes over with some onigiri and squeezes himself in between us. I scoot over to make room before looking back at Seto, exasperated.
It was true, objectively. I was sure Seto wasn't the only one with this idea. On my way out of the hall, all that the children could talk about was how anyone that landed with Kaiba would get a first-class ticket out of here to live the good life. That of a young master or mistress, like the movies on tv.
I doubted it, but I also knew that if anyone would be able to accomplish it, it would be Seto.
I sighed.
"Do whatever you want," I said, unwrapping my cold lunch, "I believe in you."
I hesitate for a second, but the words spill out quieter than usual. "I just wish you would tell me these things a little earlier."
It's true that I wasn't entitled to any of Seto's thoughts, but it hurt slightly that he didn't think to tell me about this earlier, especially since he had been planning it for so long. We grew up together, we raised Mokuba together, we went through hell and back together, but it seemed like Seto still didn't trust me enough to tell me this.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Seto freeze, like a child caught with his hand in the cookie jar. I take a bite of the onigiri, trying to suppress the growing lump in my chest. He looks at me, and I can read the subtle panic behind his blank face.
"Risa...I didn't mean…" He floundered for a second, his eyes wide and gestures wild. Despite my own mood, the out of character scene makes me crack a smile-although I hide it by taking another bite of my food.
Seto sees it anyway and huffs. "Don't laugh at me, I'm being serious."
"I'm not." I say, although my tone wobbles dangerously. I quickly shove more onigiri into my mouth to shut myself up.
"I...I just didn't know if it would happen. Next time, I'll tell you. Sorry." He finishes weakly, but it's more than enough for me.
Seto had always been the more quiet, serious one, a trait which had only been exacerbated by our circumstances. I didn't hold it against him to take longer to open up, and I think throughout these two years he's made really good progress in that aspect. I'm glad that he cared enough to apologize.
I raise up my pinky finger, all things forgiven. "Promise?"
Without another word, he loops his pinky with mine. "Promise." He says, and from his tone I knew that he meant it.
We finished our lunch quietly after that. Then one o'clock came and everyone was in the front room, their faces pressed to the windows trying to see Mr Kaiba, trying to catch his attention, trying to be the most appealing choice.
I stood on my tippy toes and tried to see past the other kids from the back. There was no way I was going anywhere near that stampede. I was unsuccessful, but managed to catch a glimpse of an impressive looking white limo pulling up to our street and crowds of reporters crowding the lawn before another body blocked my sight.
Soon, I heard the snapping of various cameras going off and a few minutes later, the door opened to reveal a stern looking man with graying black hair, sideburns, big eyebrows, and a mustache.
Seto, Mokuba, and I watch from the side as he has his workers bring in toys for the children, which distracts them enough to prevent their crowding. He doesn't glance at them at all. It's obvious that the visit is simply for exposure.
Seto and I exchange a look, and I whisper a quick 'good luck' to him before turning around and diving in to fight the kid holding the toy Mokuba keeps eyeing. By the time I finish wrestling the other child, Seto is gone and Mokuba is hugging a small plush raccoon with a mix of joy at getting what he wanted and concern for the grumbling kid I sent slinking off into the crowd.
After another ten minutes of diddle-dallying in the parlor, Mokuba and I got bored. The kids here weren't really fun anyway, they all had been smashed in different ways and you could see the jagged edges where they tried to heal it back up. As sad as it was, I had my own family to worry about first.
"Let's go look for Seto, Mokie." I exclaimed, standing up. Mokuba grabbed my hand, and we both slinked out of the room, easily disguised by the ruckus of the other children.
"Going to find Se-to, going to find Se-to~." I hum, swinging our linked hands as we look into different rooms, trying to catch sight of our target. "I wonder-where-he is!"
Maybe watching all those kids shows with Mokuba was rubbing off on me too much…
Well, the only viable option for a chess game was really either the reception area, the dining hall, or the classrooms. We check through these places one by one before we finally run into Seto walking down one of the outside paths to the classrooms. And Mr. Kaiba was next to him.
Mokie immediately grasped my skirt(because the matrons insisted we dress in our most proper clothes) to hide behind me, his timidness resurfacing at the tall and intimidating presence of Mr. Kaiba. He peeks out from behind my legs as I try to cover up my surprise with a smile.
Due to the smugness radiating off Seto, it seemed like he was successful. His victorious smirk softened slightly when he caught sight of us.
"Risana. Mokuba." He calls, "Meet the man who has adopted us."
"Nice to meet you, Mr. Kaiba. I'm Risana." I say politely, ducking my head in greeting. Mokie also gives a quick dip of his head in greeting.
"Well, at least one of you brats has manners." The businessman grunts out, an unreadable expression on his face.
Strange, I thought he would've been more upset at losing to a 10 year old, but there was something hiding beneath the annoyance in his face.
Mr. Kaiba pulls away to talk with the orphanage's owner about finalizing papers, and I grab Seto's hand. It's cold and trembling, the byproduct of leftover adrenaline or something else. I tighten my grip, and give him a reassuring smile that he tentatively returns.
With the weight of Mokuba on one side and me on the other, his shaking eases. After all, it's us. It has always been us.
And just like that, our lives fracture once again.
(✦✧✦✧)
(apologies for incoming shift change but I didn't have the energy to fix it)
"Ugggghh." I groaned as the bright sun's rays of doom pierced through my eyelids. I turned my face into the pillow, snuggling deeper inside of the warm covers. With a small mental smile at beating mother nature, I started to sink back into the comfortable abyss of sleep.
Five seconds later, the blanket was violently dragged off of me.
Instantly, my hand shot out and grasped it before my other appendage imitated the action. I sent a sleepy glare towards the offender, Seto, who just returned it with an innocent smirk. As if smirks could be innocent, bastard...
"Seto…" I hissed, putting as much venom as I could into my voice while Mokuba shivered and curled up closer to me. God knows this place doesn't have heaters in any of the rooms, and it was currently early fall, which meant that it was colder than usual.
He dropped the blanket and I pulled it back over our cooling bodies as Seto rolled his eyes, seeming unaffected by the morning chill. Like some kind of demon. Which he was.
"Don't you remember what day it is?"
No...I don't-oh.
Right. We got adopted.
But it's still….I looked at the clock. Six thirty in the morning. Which meant that we still had almost two more hours. More than enough time to pack our meager belongings.
Giving Seto a bright smile, I rolled back into bed.
"Risa." He deadpanned.
"Thirty more minutes." I replied, muffled from under the sheets. Mokuba makes a small noise of agreement into my shoulder. He wasn't really supposed to be in my bed anyway, but exceptions are always made for cuties.
Seto sighed, but he knew there was no point in trying to drag us into doing something when we were both protesting. "Fine. But only thirty more minutes."
True to his word, the moment the clock read seven in bright red numbers, Seto yanked us all out of bed. It only took a few minutes for us to brush our teeth and get dressed, and then we started to pack.
Seto had already packed most of his belongings, which mainly consisted of worn down books and his clothing, in the duffle bag that the matrons gave us the night before. He put Mokuba's clothes in there too, so I only added most of our money stash, along with Mokuba's two stuffed animals and both of their dueling cards.
The rest of the money and my clothes went into the bag from when we first entered the orphanage, which only left Mokuba's bouncy ball and the sheets that we were going to have to ditch.
We had a quick mish-match breakfast of all the random snacks we didn't finish the days before, threw out the rest of our trash, and finally went to sit in the front room to wait for Mr. Kaiba to arrive. Seto had told me that his first name was Gozaburo, which matched well with his brutal appearance.
A couple of early-birds gave us glares as they passed by, but didn't say anything.
Mokuba sat between us on the couch, swinging his legs and occasionally playing with his ball. I looked out the window, waiting for the sleek nose of a limousine to pull up.
It was strange to think of us finally leaving this place in this way. I had never really considered adoption as a real factor into our futures, but here we were. The change scared me a little.
I looked back at Mokuba and Seto, who also seem lost in their own thoughts. I wrap an arm around Mokuba and give my youngest brother a little side hug. He smiles and snuggles into it, and I smile back.
Well, even if we were technically part of a different family now, it was still our family. Risana Kaiba, Mokuba Kaiba, and Seto Kaiba.
Seto...Kaiba?
I…I know that name.
Yu...gioh?
All of the sudden, memories rushed to me. Seto Kaiba, Mokuba, a short main character with spiky hair, the pharaoh, golden items, trading cards-its been nearly twelve years since the last time I watched it and I could barely remember the plot-but this. This.
I…I was reborn into Yugioh. An anime. A show.
"Risa-nee?" The sound of Mokie's soft voice temporarily snapped me out of my thoughts and I turned to stare at him, looking at his fluffy black hair and pale skin a whole different way. Did this mean that none of this...of him...of us, was real?
Wait...
Is this all...
A dream?
I felt panic tighten in my chest, and my breaths got short. The walls felt as if they were closing in on me.
No, they can't be a dream! They had to be real! I can't...I can't do this, not if they didn't exist-
"R-Risa-nee?" Mokuba's voice stuttered a bit as he asked me with more concern.
"Risa? What's wrong?" Seto asked, noticing my mental breakdown.
Tearing my gaze from Mokuba, I faced Seto. This would be the famous Seto Kaiba. I could distinctly remember his exaggerated white outfit, but it didn't bring me any joy. Instead I felt like crying.
Please let this be reality.
Please.
"Risa!" Seto snapped at me, grabbing my shoulder.
I squeezed my eyes shut and opened them again.
"Seto. Pinch me please"
He blinked in confusion, but shrugged. Grabbing the skin of my arm, he dug his nails in until I yelped.
"OW, did you really have to do it that hard?! I think I'm bleeding." I screeched, grabbing my arm to cradle the bright red mark.
"You told me to pinch you." He said bluntly, but his eyes betrayed his concern.
No, it helped snap out my spiral. I didn't spend nine years of my life living a dream, that was impossible. All the years of experiences I've been through were too vivid to be made up.
They might have been characters from a show once upon a time, but now they were real. Real, talking, breathing humans with feelings. Not just drawings and animations made by artists and editors anymore.
Most importantly, they were my brothers-and this didn't change that fact.
"What was that? Are you alright?" Seto calmly questioned me.
I took a deep breath. "Sorry." I said, trying to give them a reassuring smile. "Just...going through some...nerves."
Both of them give me skeptical looks, but there was no way I could admit the truth. They know there's no point in pushing if I don't want to talk, so we settle back into silence.
A few minutes pass by before we hear the faint crackling sound of gravel being crushed under heavy tires. I helped Mokuba up as we gathered our stuff.
The doorknob turns and the brown wooden door is pushed in with a soft creak to reveal a sharply dressed, brown-haired butler who stepped aside before Mr. Kaiba strolled in.
I scrutinized Gozaburo with a new perspective. From what I remember, he was not a good man. I couldn't recall any specifics, but I knew that Seto had hated him. And if my pragmatic brother ever had a reason to dislike someone, it was likely for good reason.
Gozaburo looked us over, his thick brows pulled irately over his eyes, before ordering in a booming voice, "Ray, collect the children's things and put them in the back". The other man nodded and walked towards us as Gozaburo motioned for us to follow him.
Another butler opened the door to the limo for us and I slid in after Mokuba, looking around.
Comfy yet professional looking black leather seats lined the sides. The windows were shuttered off with black blinds, but lighting from the ceiling and sides made up for it.
We were loaded in and I gingerly sat down on the soft leather while everyone else piled in and the door shut behind us. The car started up smoothly with a soft purr, and a moment later we were on our way.
Gozaburo doesn't make any indication of wanting to know us better, so instead we keep quiet, huddled together as the atmosphere becomes an awkward sort of tense.
When we arrive at our destination and cast our eyes upon the house for the first time, I have to hold back a gasp.
It was a mansion. A big, white mansion with many windows behind a tall, beautiful, intricate, black iron-wrought gate. The front courtyard had a giant fountain, surrounded by neatly trimmed hedges.
We're quickly ushered inside, no time to truly admire the landscape before we're faced with the sight of a tall ivory-colored door carved with ornate, symmetrical designs on either side. The moment we step onto the stairs, it opens to reveal a line of maids on the left and right. Behind them was a large hall with a big, brilliant sparkling crystal chandelier hanging over it, and down the middle of the shiny marble floor laid a thick red velvet carpet lined in gold.
"Welcome back, Master Kaiba." The maids bowed as we entered. Gozaburo barely spares them a glance as we walk in, but Mokuba presses himself into my side nervously.
As we reach the end of the hall, Gozaburo splits from the group.
"Master Kaiba has business he must attend to," Ray says as we watch the man disappear into one of the many halls. "I will show you around."
Ray leads us up an extravagant set of carpeted stairs that opens into a hallway interspaced with doors. We go down the right side, and Ray gestures down the hall, which was lined with six doors, three on each side.
"These shall be your rooms," He says, "You may choose whichever ones you wish. The maids will be by soon with a new change of clothing."
"Lunch is in two hours, Master Kaiba will be expecting you." He adds, before turning on his heel and leaving.
Once his footsteps faded away, we stood in silence for a moment before, hesitantly, Seto reached out and opened the first door. We all looked in with amazement.
The room would have been able to fit at least three of the dining rooms in the orphanage side by side. Against the walls, there were tall windows that reached up to the ceiling, framed by velvet curtains. On the right, there was a large king-sized bed pressed against the wall, half-hidden by a canopy, and perpendicular to it was a large desk near the windows. The room was big enough that it even had a seating area of plush chairs encircling a glass coffee table near the entry.
As we walked in and looked around, we found a large walk-in closet and bathroom.
We exchanged excited glances before hurrying and opening all the doors, looking into all the rooms.
They all had pretty much the same design, although some items were rearranged in different positions to fit the direction the room faced. In the end, Seto decided on the second room on the right, I got the room facing his on the left, and Mokuba had the room next to mine.
Just like Ray had said, maids came by a few minutes after we've put away all our things.
We all split up to take a bath per the maid's orders before getting into our outfits.
I admired the bathroom as I turned on the faucet for the giant ivory bath tub. The entire floor was marble, wide and clear mirrors with sinks facing the bathtub and shower on the other side. The ceiling had two small sparkling chandeliers that illuminated the room, along with scones by the mirrors.
It was certainly the most luxurious bathroom that I had ever been in.
Grabbing one of the different body washes sitting on a tray at the edge of the bathtub, I popped open the cap and smelled the top.
Mm...the scent was faintly floral, but had a sweetness in it that was cognisant of the expensive way only high-quality products smelled. I picked my favorite of the six choices, one that was subtly rose-scented, and dumped a good amount into the running water.
Once the bath filled up, I checked the water temperature before getting ready and climbing in.
The water rose to my chin, and I hummed happily as the pleasant smell engulfed my senses. After relaxing for a few minutes, I chose a matching shampoo and scrubbed it into my hair, making sure every strand was clean.
Then, I regrettably had to drain the bath and finish conditioning my hair in the shower, leaving me squeaky clean.
Grabbing a fluffy pre-warmed towel from the stand nearby, I wrapped it around myself and dried off before going back into my bedroom. On my bed was a folded set of clothes.
Picking through it, I wrinkled my nose. It was a light pink dress with frills at the bottom, paired with tan tights and a small long-sleeved beige cardigan. Not really my first choice of an outfit, but I put it on without a complaint.
I brushed out my hair and blow dried it before taking in my full appearance in one of the floor length closet mirrors. It was definitely more formal than what I was used to wearing, which mostly consisted of the orphanage's set uniform of a long-sleeved shirt and skirt.
Fixing the slight curl of my bangs, I leave the room. Seto and Mokuba were already waiting, the former dressed in a light blue button up shirt with a tan vest and matching slacks while the latter mirrored him, except with a green shirt. We all had on formal shoes, black flats for me, and loafers for them.
Our outfits matched pretty well, and we let the maids lead us to the dining room. As we stood before the entrance, I checked over our appearances one more time, nervously, tucking an especially wild strand of Mokuba's hair down before the maids opened the door.
Gozaburo was already there, sitting at one end of a dinner table as he gestured for us to sit on the other. Maids pulled out the chair and we did as we were told.
As if on cue, servants came in rolling trolleys, stopping them by the table and setting out platters of food that they slowly uncovered. My mouth started watering at the sight of food and other thoughts were pushed to the back of my head.
It wasn't exactly a feast, but it was pretty close. There was a variety of things including steak, lobster, salad, ham, corn, and rolls-just to name a few. The scent wafted over to me and I almost sighed in happiness. Any meals we had at the orphanage were fine, but I only knew about five proper recipes and there were only so many times you could cycle through that and the store's preset meal options. This, however, was high quality, delicious, and new.
I tried my best to contain myself as we filled our plates, resisting the urge to shovel it all into my mouth as fast as possible.
After a while, Gozaburo broke the silence. "Tomorrow all of you will start your classes. A schedule will be sent to each of you in the morning."
He looked up, and we all nodded our heads, although I had to admit I was more than distracted with the taste of the buttered filet mignon in my mouth.
"I expect you all to work hard and meet my expectations." He stated, ending it curtly in a way that left an unsaid threat at the end.
I swallowed my food, and all three of us picked up on the more serious atmosphere.
The silence lingered for a moment, the clinks of our silverware softer than before. Gozaburo wiped his mouth, and got up. With one last searing glance, he left the table without another word.
Seto and I exchanged looks.
I had no idea what to expect until I got my schedule, but I had a feeling it wasn't going to be anything nice.
The rest of dinner was finished fairly slowly, and when we finished, a maid escorted us back to our rooms before leaving.
I hesitated before entering my room, turning towards Seto and Mokuba who each stood at their own doors. "Good...night." I said, awkwardly.
This would be the first time we slept apart in, what, three years? It was just a little strange.
Seto and Mokuba echoed it back, and we all gave each other one last pause before quietly going into our own rooms.
Closing the door behind me, I flicked on the lights. Walking over to my bed, I saw that a cream nightgown had already been laid out for me. Taking off my clothes and folding them, I placed them on the desk before slipping on the sleeping wear. It settled on me comfortably, loose yet fitted to my stature.
I turned off the lights and climbed into bed, relishing in the softness and warmth that engulfed me. It was the right decision to leave our sheets at the orphanage. It wouldn't have even fit on this bed.
The mattress was extremely soft, and my body sunk into it with pleasure. I pulled up my blankets until it rested just beneath my chin and felt the wariness of the day settle in.
That would be the last good sleep I got for a while yet.
((✦✧✦✧))