Author's Note: I was not planning on a second chapter but lo and behold, a second chapter happened. So LET'S DO THIS THING. Enjoy!
A few months later, Yugi, Joey, Tristan, and Tea were walking away from school at the end of the day. Today was different than most other days after school. Usually they might end up dueling by the docks or hanging around the Kame Game Shop. Today though, they were headed to Kaiba Corp. Mokuba had asked them over to help test out a new virtual reality simulation, not unlike the one they encountered with the big five, but this time was different because those five were no longer in the picture. They walked to the skyscraper, and asked the receptionist where to go. She replied that both of the Kaiba brothers' offices were on the top floor. They thanked her, and took the elevator up.
There were plenty of doors on the top floor, some single, some double, but all the same black color. So it took them a bit to find the office. What they noticed though, was that that floor and only that floor, seemed to be devoid of life. They assumed that everyone might be at a meeting, or that they were busy with something else, so they kept up their search, and came to a pair of double doors. Thinking that perhaps they found it, they looked inside and saw someone inside.
"Mokuba?" Called Joey, who had his head in the furthest. The sunlight through the glass windows made it difficult to discern the figure sitting at the desk. Joey and Yugi both stepped inside a bit more, hoping to get a better look, with Tristan and Tea flanking them. When they caught sight of the figure, it was not Mokuba. It was Seto Kaiba.
Only… this didn't look like the Seto Kaiba they knew.
This Seto Kaiba was hunched over in his seat, staring blankly into the distance. This Seto Kaiba was shaking terribly, so hard that the parts of him that were in contact with the desk were making the lighter objects atop it rattle. This Seto Kaiba had not even turned his head when he heard Joey Wheeler's voice, and that definitely wasn't like him. Yugi himself was concerned of this, and Atem was too.
"Kaiba isn't looking good." Yugi said to him.
"Something is very wrong here. I have a feeling that we won't be getting any answers from him anytime soon. We need to find Mokuba. He may know what to do." Atem said.
"Right." Yugi nodded, then turned to his friends. "Come on, guys! We need to find Mokuba."
The three of them were so surprised by Kaiba's deteriorated condition that they didn't say anything immediately and just followed him out. But when they reached the outside of the doorway, Tristan spoke up.
"What was that?" He asked what they were all thinking.
"Isn't it obvious? Rich Boy's finally learned that he's not number one, and he can't deal with that." Said Joey.
Tea shot him a glare. "Now is really not the time for that, Joey. This is serious!"
"I am serious! Don't ya think that could be what made him crack?" Just then, the Millennium Puzzle glowed and Atem appeared.
"Joey, I think this is far more serious than that. Do you remember the last time that Kaiba had that kind of look on his face?"
"Eh… Maybe?"
"It was during our duel on Pegasus' castle when Mokuba's soul was on the line and he was about to lose. That is the only time I have ever seen him look that way." Said Atem.
"So what, you think Mokuba might be in danger or somethin'?"
"I don't think so, because if he were, he would have taken action by now. I think this is much deeper, but I think Mokuba holds the answers we need."
After two more failed attempts to find Mokuba, they succeeded when they hit a matching pair of double doors down a separate hallway. The Vice President of Kaiba Corp was on his computer when he saw them and smiled brightly. "Hey guys! Did you get lost on the way here?"
"Mokuba, somethin's up with your brother." Said Joey.
Mokuba felt a flash of fear go through him. "What?"
They explained what they had seen. "He was shaking like an earthquake!" Said Tristan.
"He had a blank look on his face, like he was spacing out." Tea added.
"He was hunched over in his chair." Said Yugi.
"And when I talked, he didn't even look at me!" Joey complained.
"That part's not surprising." Tristan commented.
Joey glared at him. "Watch it, Tristan!"
Mokuba was up and out of his seat, quickly making his way to his brother's office and he saw exactly what they had seen. He heard them following him and sighed. He looked at all of them. "Wait in my office, guys. I'll be there in a bit, okay?"
"But Mokuba-" Tea began.
"Don't worry. I'll handle this. Just wait there, okay?"
Tea nodded, and so did Atem. Mokuba decided that he best go in now rather than waiting for the rest of them to do the same, or risk Seto being away longer. So he went inside and closed the door, however, it didn't shut all the way. A small crack remained. But because he heard the lock click, he thought it had. He didn't realize it had popped out again afterward. So naturally, Joey and Tristan, being the curious and somewhat revenge motivated teens they were, decided to sneak a peek at the action, despite Atem and Tea repeatedly telling them that they should go to Mokuba's office. But, they did not listen, protesting that this may make great blackmail someday. Reluctantly, Atem and Tea stayed, trying to remain the voices of reason and make sure they didn't get into any more trouble.
They all watched as Mokuba climbed into his brother's lap, then took his shaking arms, lowered them, and wrapped his brother in a hug, murmuring things to him that they couldn't make out through the heavy door. Joey and Tristan were surprised for a moment, before they burst into laughter that Atem and Tea really hoped that they couldn't hear. It wasn't until Tea and Atem respectively elbowed them in the ribs to shut them up.
"That is rich! Just rich! All of that for a hug?!" Joey wiped his eyes.
"It's not that simple, Joey." Tea said.
"What do you mean?" Tristan asked, trying to catch his breath.
"She means that all things are not as they appear." Said Atem. "Look at Kaiba's expression. It hasn't changed. If that's what this was about, he wouldn't still look that way."
"And just how do you know that, Yug?" Joey asked.
"Just watch. I have a feeling about this."
And so they watched. For a long while, there was no change. But then, the shaking stopped. And after a short while, Seto's hand twitched, and then his arm slowly moved and started stroking Mokuba's hair. His expression was still blank, though. But then, a little at a time, the life in his eyes started to come back, enough that they could recognize that he seemed to hear his brother. And then, his head moved, and he looked down at his brother.
"Mokuba?" It was just loud enough to hear through the door, and to everyone listening outside of the door, it sounded very confused. Mokuba, though, wasn't surprised from what they heard in his tone.
"It's me, Seto. You're okay. You're safe. I promise. I'm here." Mokuba did not relent in his hug. Seto was still tense, and he wouldn't let go until his brother relaxed. Seto wrapped his arms around his brother, and rested his Chin on his head. He took a few moments to reorient himself to the present. Finally though, his body sagged and he relaxed. And Mokuba understood that he was okay now. He let go and Seto moved his chin so Mokuba could look up. "You need me to grab you some juice and something to eat?" He asked.
Seto shook his head. "I can get something."
Mokuba rolled his eyes. "That's not what I asked."
"I'm not sure."
"I'm doing it anyways then." Mokuba said, and crossed into the door in the office that led to a small kitchenette, where the tiny fridge was filled with water, and juice for these such occasions, and a cupboard that had mostly health food did contain some cookies for this. Mokuba came back with the tiny carton and a cookie. Mokuba handed his brother both the cookie and the juice. Seto knew the drill by then. Mokuba wouldn't leave until he drank and ate some. Low Blood Sugar made everything worse. So Seto just complied immediately, sparing himself Mokuba's stony look and imperious tone. Mokuba nodded, and then climbed into Seto's lap. At that point, he shouldn't have had to ask, but since this was a pretty bad one, Mokuba decided to anyways.
"What did you see?" Seto went rigid, and Mokuba instinctively started hugging him again, fearing that his brother was slipping away from him. "Come on, Seto. Don't leave me again. Talk to me. If you don't it will be worse, and you know that. You said it was time to let me help with this, and it's time to prove it." Mokuba coaxed.
Seto loosened again, and took in a shaky breath and let it out. "It was more than one." He began. "You were so young that I don't think…" he trailed off, and Mokuba gripped his face and forced him to look at him again when he turned away. Mokuba's eyes kept saying one thing over and over again: Talk to me. So Seto did. "It was the night before they dropped us off at the orphanage. I overheard our aunt talking that night. She didn't know I was there. She called us dispensable, said that it was our fault Mom was dead, that we were nothing more than a burden. Now that part didn't bother me. I knew what they thought, and it didn't matter. But she went after you directly. And I got angry and came out and she slapped me. She was already planning to dump us at the orphanage, but I guess I sped up the process… And then, it changed to what I saw when I was dueling Yugi on top of the castle. You screamed for me, and I couldn't get to you in time. And that voice in my mind kept going, saying that it was my job to protect you. All that time I spent trying to protect you from the bullies at the orphanage, from Gozaburo, it meant nothing." His voice was dark, bleak at the end, and Seto put his head down.
"Seto…" Mokuba said, and then looked at him.
"I can't do that again. I can't fail you like that… Or think I did. And this… These things don't help."
"You never failed me. Never. You were the only one who ever noticed me at the orphanage the first day. You were the one who tried so hard to make a better life for us, and you did. You were the one who helped save me whenever I got taken. You spent your whole life taking care of me, and you did a good job. And I won't leave. Ever. I promise." He said, giving his brother a big hug.
Kaiba sagged completely, like a deflated balloon, and kissed his brother's head. And then, Mokuba knew he had accepted his words.
"Thank you." Seto whispered. Mokuba nodded into his chest.
"Always." Mokuba promised. "Are you okay now? Do you need me to make a call?"
"To…?"
"Your doctor, or Roland to take you home? I can finish things up here. You need to rest."
"I'll be fine, really." Seto said.
"Are you sure?"
"I'm sure. Go finish whatever you were doing. Don't worry about me."
Mokuba gave him a look. "You know that's impossible, right? I always worry about you, and you do the same for me."
Seto gave him a half-smile, and it filled Mokuba with relief that he would be okay. "Yeah, okay. But just go do whatever you were doing before. I'll be okay."
"What happened to make that happen anyways?"
"An email from pegasus came up on my computer."
"What did he want?"
"Designed some new cards and wanted to give me a preview."
"Oh. Cool." Mokuba said, before hopping off his brother's lap. "I'll be back later."
"Okay." Seto nodded, and he turned back to his stack of papers.
Mokuba smiled and started off toward the door.
Joey and Tristan immediately backed away, and Atem and Tea didn't bother trying to hide, and just looked at them with exasperation.
When Mokuba came out, he saw them, shut the door completely, and gave Joey and Tristan a look that could have only been learned from his older brother. He knew Yugi and Tea weren't purposefully defying him. They were likely just making sure the other two didn't kill themselves. Mokuba just rolled his eyes. "Didn't anyone ever teach you that eavesdropping and not listening to the instructions of someone who has you as a guest is rude?"
They had the nerve, at least, to look sheepish. "Maybe."
Mokuba just sighed and smacked his forehead. They would never learn.
"Sorry, Mokuba. We tried to stop them but you know those two. Too thick headed to listen to anyone else. We just stayed to make sure they didn't do something more idiotic." Tea said.
"At least you have the decency to apologize." He said. "Come on, Let's talk in my office."
They followed him as he walked, Tea and Yugi curious, and Joey and Tristan murmuring to each other. Mokuba closed the doors to his office when they were all inside. Then, he made his way back to his desk and sat down in his comforting chair. "How much of that did you see?" He asked.
"All of it, pretty much." Said Joey. "So, what was all of that?"
Mokuba paused, debating how much he should tell them, since he knew Seto wouldn't approve of them knowing too much. However, since they had already seen too much, it wouldn't matter anyways. He sighed, then spoke. "My brother has flashbacks sometimes, and I'm the only one who can break him out of it." It was the truth, and it gave out a bare minimum of information.
"Flashbacks, huh?" Said Tristan.
Mokuba nodded. "And if any of you say a word to him about this you are going to be in serious trouble from me." He said incredibly serious.
Joey and Tristan both found themselves discomforted by the intensity in his eyes. But Tea and Yugi just nodded.
"You can count on us." Said Yugi.
"It's not you and Tea I'm worried about. It's those two." Mokuba said, pointing to Tristan and Joey.
"Fair enough." Said Tea.
"So now what do we do?" Asked Tristan.
"You do what you came here to do. Test the virtual technology. And you don't speak of this again." Said Mokuba crisply.
"Alright." Joey shrugged.
And so they went on their way.
That should have been the end of it, but it wasn't. Consciously or Unconsciously, Yugi and Tea began looking out for Kaiba's episodes. There were a few instances where they came in handy. Once just after a duel, another time during a visit to Kaibaland, and one other time just after school. While they never directly mentioned the incident again, they did let Mokuba know when something was up. Mokuba never mentioned anything either, but he did nod his thanks to them. Seto never caught on on his own, but Mokuba eventually told him. Seto, naturally, was incensed, and raved for quite some time about why they were the wrong people to know, especially Wheeler. But Mokuba had eventually calmed him down, and assured him that it was fine, and how they had helped him. And even though he hated it, and utterly despised it, there were a few times where they had come in handy, when they got Mokuba to him before things got too bad.
He was getting better, and he was getting help, even when some of it was unwelcome.