AmePiper: Awww, thank you Ame. You give me a lot of hope, I'm sure you'll enjoy this chapter. Or at least I hope you do, you've been so kind to me these days so I'm hoping my writing brings you as much joy as your reviews bring me. Enjoy.

Afiong Bassey: I know, I feel kinda bad too. But I guess you'll just have to read on to find out what happens. Thanks for the review!

Mystical Sand: Thanks for the review, I really hope you like the chapter. Sorry I've been so late on y updates lately.

Chapter 16

Hoping for one's Happiness

Seto sat patiently in the waiting room. He watched his father pace back and forth in front of him. He kept his head down and his eyes straight, his face looked so serious and concerned. To Seto, he didn't see what all the fuss and worry was about. But back then he didn't know his mother's condition and the state she was in. No one had told him his mother wasn't going to make it through this birth if she could even handle one; it was either going to be her that was going to die by the end of this or the baby. Time was not one to tell at this point in time. That was when the doctor opened the door.

"You better come quickly, we're losing her." Seto looked up as his father sprinted into action and scooped him into his arms as he made his way to his mother's hospital room. He looked around frantically, and then rested his eyes on his wife. The doctor looked down in sympathy.

"She's not going to make it." Seto was placed beside his mother's bedside as his father hovered over him. Seto's mother looked up, her face was completely drained. She looked paler than Seto had ever since her, as if all the life had just been sucked out of her just like that in the last hour. Even at that moment, Seto couldn't figure out what was going to happen. All he knew was that something was terribly wrong.

"S-Seto…" his mother whispered, moving her hand slowly over to Seto's. Her voice pierced Seto's heart. He gently grabbed her hand and held it.

"Yes Mommy?"

"I… I want you to meet… your new brother…" She moved her head and looked down kindly onto the small baby in her arms. He was wrapped up tightly in a blanket and slept quickly against her. "His name is… Mokuba." Her last bit of life was already beginning to drain away. Seto held onto her hand tighter.

"Mommy… please… don't leave."

"It's not… in my power… but I know… you'll be able to survive… on your own…" Seto looked deeply into his mother's eyes, digging deep into her soul to try and see what she truly wanted. As he looked on, he felt as though his mother knew. That his mother knew she was going to die… that she had to die. That his father wouldn't be able to survive without her when she did die. That him and Mokuba were going to fight for their survival for the rest of their lives, all on their own. Tears started to trickle down the boys face.

"Mommy… don't go like this… we need you."

"You can survive, my dear child… I know you can…" his mother coughed violently, her whole body shook when she did. The site pained Seto even more. "I just want… one last thing… before I go." Seto stood beside her, his full attention on her and only her.

"What is it?"

"Promise… to take care of your brother… Mokuba. Promise you'll always… look out for him." More and more tears fell as Seto felt his mother's last bit of life slip away from him.

"I promise Mommy, I promise I'll protect Mokuba at all costs. I hope that… that you'll finally be happy." His mother gave him one last smile before slowly closing her eyes and completely leaving the mortal world. The small baby boy that was Seto's new brother began to cry right after his mother had passed, knowing his mother was no longer there to hold him. The doctor picked up the child and held him, trying to calm him down. Seto's father started to cry violently, pushing Seto to the side and weeping into his wife's chest in agony.

Seto walked over to the doctor and held out his arms. Without a word, the doctor placed Mokuba in Seto's arms and walked away. Seto looked down at the tiny baby, rocking him back and forth trying to calm his screams. "It's going to be okay Mokuba… you're going to be just fine…" Seto spoke softly to him, and sure enough, his screams started to fade away. Seto kissed him on the head and whispered, "I will always protect you."

"Kaiba!" Seto's head jerked back up, "Kaiba, this is not a time to be daydreaming. I told you to pay attention, this is very important stuff." Duke advised, frowning. "If Pegasus saw you like this, he'd have you fired in an instance."

"Then let him."

"Kaiba, I thought you needed this job." Seto looked over at the clock. It was almost three. This made Seto jump to his feet.

"Look, I have to go…"

"Go? But you can't leave yet, there's still so much more training you need." Seto gathered his things and threw his trench coat back on over his shoulders.

"Well, I need to pick up my brother. I'd like to stay and finish, but it'll just have to wait till tomorrow." Seto always starting making his way to the exit and down the elevator. He had a made a promise that day to always protect Mokuba, and nothing would ever stand in that way. Not even a stupid job. He always needed to be there for his brother, most people just wouldn't be able to understand that.

It was that time again. Children were rushing through the hallways in every direction. The hallways were especially busy considering it was a Friday. Mokuba felt lost in these school walls. He simply let his body flow in whatever direction the crowd took him. His head felt light headed and his body felt empty. Jimmy walked swiftly beside him, "So you want me to give you some roller blading lessons this weekend? I'm free Saturday if I get all my chores done on time."

"Oh… I don't know. I don't know if Seto will let me go out this weekend, he's always worried I'm going to get hurt in some way or another," Mokuba lied. Although the story did sound like something that could be truthful, but in this instance he was lying. Jimmy stared at him as they walked out of the building.

"Are you sure you're okay? You've been kind of… dead, ever since you came back from staying after with Ms. Morgan. Has she been ripping on you for something? I would totally believe you if she has, it might explain why she's so incredibly nice to you during class." The images of what Ms. Morgan did to him flashed back in his mind and he shut his eyes violently to keep back the tears.

"No… nothing like that. She just told me that…" Mokuba had to think for a moment, "That I got a bad grade on a test. She wanted me to try and do some test corrections to raise my score."

"Lucky! Every time I try to get her to do that for me she simply tells me that I should stop skating and do some more studying. She's a total bitch!" In that moment, Elizabeth, Marie, and Chris appeared from behind them.

"Hey guys, ready to go catch a movie?" Marie asked. Jimmy looked over at Mokuba.

"Do you wanna come with us Mokuba? Or will your brother not let you do that either?"

"Yeah… he won't let me, I'm almost positive," Mokuba lied once more. Elizabeth and Marie frowned.

"That's too bad, I would've loved to have you join us!"

"Yeah, me too. But I guess we'll see you Monday, eh?"

"Heh… yeah… Monday." Mokuba dreaded the thought of going to school again, having only two days without the nightmare beginning once again. If only there were a way to stop this all from happening…

"Well, we'll see you around." The three of them said their goodbyes and walked off and soon Mokuba was alone. Mokuba sat down on the front steps of the school, feeling utterly depressed. The school was now deserted; Mokuba knew they were already on their buses or in their cars, looking forward to a fun filled and exciting weekend. They all had places to be and people to see. While here he sat, alone, with nothing to look forward to except a weekend filled with anxiety about the next week.

A car pulled up in front of him and he slowly got up, took a deep breath, and made his way into the car. He threw his backpack on the side and got in without a word. Seto turned around, smiling. "Hey Mokuba, how was school?"

"Nothing happened." Seto's smile began to fade.

"Nothing at all?"

"Let's just go home, okay?" Seto stared at him.

"Did something bad happen today?"

"Nothing bad happened, I just want to go home," Mokuba stated in an annoyed tone. Steven looked over at Seto.

"Maybe we should just drop it."

"Don't tell me what to do! You don't make the rules here."

"I wasn't telling you what to do, I was simply making a suggestion."

"I don't need YOUR suggestions, I'm not paying you to tell me how to live my life."

"I assure you Sir, I was doing nothing of the sort." Mokuba sighed and leaned against the window. He just wanted to go home and hide up in his room wishing Monday would never come. Seto and Steven continued to argue until at some point in time they finally drove home. Mokuba made his way silently to his room where he remained for the rest of the night without being disturbed. And there he would remain, wrapping himself in denial and pretending nothing ever happened.

Three Months Later…

It was late… very late. This might not have been the first time, but it most certainly was the latest he had ever been. Steven looked down at his watch anxiously for possibly the hundredth time that night. There had been no calls made, no signs of whereabouts, nothing to calm Steven's nerves. He tried to sit still, but he couldn't. Steven got up once more and began pacing again. His heart was racing in his chest and he wasn't quite sure if it would ever stop. Then there was a knock on the door, and everything stopped.

Steven slowly walked over to the door and opened it. It was none other than Seto Kaiba himself as he collapsed onto the floor after Steven had opened the door. He stared down angrily at the drunken man that lay before him. "You told me you would be back at ten o'clock." Seto mumbled something that couldn't be heard since his face was plastered to the floor. Steven grabbed Seto by the back of his collar and forcefully pulled him up and to his feet. He straightened him so that he was looking him in the eye. "Do you have any idea what time it is?"

"Whatever time I want it ta be…" Seto grumbled, spitting on Steven's shirt. Steven dragged him into the living room and dropped him on the ground. He glared down at him with unforgiving eyes.

"Mokuba stayed up way past his bed time waiting for you. You were getting drunk again, weren't you?" Seto slowly made his way back up to his feet so that he could face Steven eye to eye.

"You have no idea what I have to go through… you wouldn't understand!"

"Oh, it doesn't take a lot of understanding to know what's going on. Mr. Kaiba, scratch that, Seto, how can this possibly be a solution to your stress problem? Your brother needs you, you're gone every night and we were wondering if you would even come home this time."

"Don't talk to me that way… you are my SLAVE, you got that? I am your MASTER so I will be addressed as Mister Kaiba, always."

"I will never pay respect to such a low down drunk such as yourself. Unlike you, I have some dignity left to hang onto." Seto jumped forward and grabbed him by the collar.

"What did you say to me, kid? You lookin for a fight?"

"Nii-sama!" Mokuba stood in the doorway, staring at him with frightful eyes. Seto turned and looked over at him.

"What are you going to do now Seto? I shouldn't even ask that… you're so drunk right now you probably don't even know that's your brother who's seeing you in this condition." Seto raised his hand and smacked Steven right across the face.

"Nii-sama! Stop!" Mokuba ran forward and grabbed his brother by the arm in hopes of holding him back from hurting Steven anymore. Seto twisted around and punched Mokuba in the face in response, sending his brother to the ground. Steven tackled Seto to the ground and pinned him down. Mokuba stared at his brother. "Who are you…?"

"Mokuba, get out of here. He might hurt you again." Mokuba stared at his brother in complete shock.

"You're not my brother… You're not my Nii-sama!" Mokuba yelled before running out of the room in tears. Seto's eyes widened as the alcohol slowly began to slip away and his mind was beginning to see reality again. Steven got up looking down upon him with such disappointment.

"I hope you're happy Seto Kaiba… I hope you're happy."

A/N: Hey guys, sorry for late update and a seemingly short chapter. I will admit I was sorta rushing to get this finished on account of my trip coming up real soon. I hope you guys weren't annoyed or anything with the flashback at the beginning of the chapter. I figured I would bore you with the whole "training" process and I figured I had flashbacks of his father and his step father's death, I might as well thrown in his mother's too. So, yeah, you might not hear from me for about a week or so because of my whole trip, but I'm hoping that I'll bounce right back up and start writing again once I get over jet lag. I'll miss you guys and you're reviews, and I'm hoping this chapter didn't disappoint you!