Here's chapter 2. Review please! I don't own anything.

Chapter 2

Kaiba spent the drive back to his mansion glaring out the window at Christmas carolers. He hated this time of year, with people acting insufferable simply because a "holiday" was coming. He didn't celebrate Christmas; he saw no reason why he should. It was just another day.

The limo came to a sudden stop. Startled, Kaiba threw open his door and leaped out, hoping that the driver had hit one of those carolers.

"Whoa, sorry! Didn't see you coming," said a brown-haired boy. He grinned stupidly at Kaiba, rubbing the back of his head. Kaiba wished that the driver had hit this man.

"Watch where you're going," Kaiba growled at him. The boy stared at him, dumbfounded.

"Sorry! Like I said, I didn't see you. It's not my fault." Kaiba heard him mumble something about a real-life Grinch.

Throwing a glare at the boy, Kaiba said, "If you get in my way again, I'll have my driver run you over! Is that clear?"

The boy put his hands up in surrender and answered, "Crystal, your grouchiness. Trust me, you won't see me again." With that, he ran off.

Kaiba glared after him, debating having his driver go after him and run him over regardless. He shook his head, deeming it unworthy of the lawsuit that idiot's family would likely file—even if they would end up agreeing to summon out of court because of his superior lawyers.

As Kaiba got back into the limo, he thought about how idiotic some people were around this time of the year. It was as if they thought that they were invincible just because it was Christmas—more proof, in Kaiba's eyes, that Christmas was bad for your health.

Finally, Kaiba arrived at home. He entered his home to be greeted by all his servants. "Master Kaiba, is there anything I can do for you?" his butler asked.

"Just do yourself a favor and don't bother me unless there's a fire," Kaiba answered. "That goes for all of you!" he said, looking around. His servants all bowed in response as he headed up to his room to wait out this miserable excuse for a holiday.

He was just about to open the door to his room when he noticed something strange: The doorknob looked strangely like his stepfather, Gozaburo Kaiba! And as if that wasn't bad enough, it spoke to him!

"Seto..." The voice of his stepfather echoed down the hallway. "Seto..."

As his heart settled back into a steady rhythm, Kaiba grabbed the doorknob and threw open the door, ignoring the image he had just seen. "Just a hallucination. All I need is some rest," he told himself.

He quickly got ready for bed, then, as he crawled into bed, he promised himself that he wasn't going to go to Noah's stupid dinner tomorrow. After all, he hated Noah, Noah's girlfriend, and pretty much everyone else who would be there except Mokuba.

"Mokuba will get over it," he muttered. "It's not like it's that big of a deal. Who cares about Christmas, anyway?"

He was just dozing off when he heard a voice.

"Seto..."

Kaiba's eyes flew open. He sat up quickly. "Who's there?" he called.

Something came through the wall—something humanoid. But that was impossible! Humans couldn't move through walls! And to make matters worse, that thing looked like his stepfather. That wasn't possible! He had been dead for over a year!

Yet there he was, Gozaburo Kaiba. But he was wrapped in heavy chains. This amused Kaiba, who had never liked his stepfather.

"Seto, stop staring at me like a fool! I really am here," the hallucination said.

"It must be something I ate. That's why I'm having these hallucinations," Kaiba said.

"That's where you're wrong, Seto. Like it or not, here I am."

"No. This is just a figment of my imagination. You can't be real!"

"Seto, I'm here to help you."

Kaiba laughed. "Now I know I'm imagining things. My stepfather never helped me."

The image of Gozaburo cried out in anger, causing the windows to rattle. Seto jumped, certain that he couldn't be imagining all of this. "Think what you want, brat! But these chains are what you have to look forward to when you die if you don't change your ways!"

Kaiba shrugged this off. "Well, I will say that the chains suit you, old man," he said with a sneer. "Fitting that a man who chained down everyone around him and tormented them beyond belief, including his own flesh and blood son, should be dragging chains in the afterlife." Changing his tune, Kaiba said, "I do have to admit that you were a good businessman, but—"

"Shut up and listen, Seto!" Gozaburo bellowed. "I ran that company like the military we made weapons for! I treated my employees like dirt, and the rest of the world even worse, if that's possible."

"I know." Kaiba smiled. "And you taught me how to be a cold-hearted businessman, too. That's probably about the only thing I owe you for."

"You idiot! That was my mistake! I turned you into a younger version of me, and now you're doomed to the same fate!"

Kaiba raised an eyebrow. Gozaburo only read his expression halfway.

"These chains are what I forged in life. Carrying them is my punishment for how I treated people. And if you don't watch your step, you will end up in the same situation as me. Except your chain is going to be much longer and heavier. I'm warning you, Seto! Change your ways."

"Are you telling me that I could end up like you?" Kaiba was appalled by the very thought of it. Then something else hit him. "Wait, why do you care what happens to me all of a sudden? You never did before."

"Don't get the wrong idea, Seto. This is just my only shot at redemption, and I'm taking it. And, yes, you will end up exactly like me."

Thinking about the answer, Kaiba decided that the reason for doing this was significantly selfish enough to be his stepfather. He asked, "What do I need to do? How can I avoid this?"

"Tonight, you will be visited by three spirits." The malevolent gleam in his eye made Kaiba nervous. What were these spirits going to do?

Having delivered his message, Gozaburo drifted toward the window. "Wait a minute! What if I don't want these spirits visiting me?" Kaiba asked.

Gozaburo laughed. "Tough luck! They'll be coming anyway. Expect the first at midnight."

He drifted through the window. Kaiba ran over and looked out.

He regretted that decision in an instant.

Right outside of his mansion, drifting by, were hundreds of spirits in the same state as Gozaburo. Among them, he saw his stepfather. The spirits moaned eerily, drifting along.

Kaiba rubbed his eyes, certain that he had to be imagining this. When he looked again, the spirits were gone.

"What's wrong with me?" he muttered. "This is one crazy dream." He went back to bed, certain that this was exactly that, a dream.