Ch. 6 of Appearances, by Melzart. This one was luckily rather short, my life is staying busy, so I got it done rather fast. So if it seems kind of weird, ignore that. Yeah.

Appearances is property of Melzart. Yugioh is property of Kazuki Takahashi.

Appearances

by Melzart

. . .

Chapter 6

Interlude

. . .

I hope that you'll find some common sense as fast as possible. For your own sake…

Does he treat me like garbage or what? He thinks I haven't had enough? Besides, what did he mean? Was he threatening me?... ugh, he can be such a horrible person when he puts his mind to it.

She was awoken by a light shaking of her arm; she had to have been sleeping like a rock to not notice the inopportune presence.

When she opened her eyes, she discovered Mokuba bent over her, observant.

"Hi!" he exclaimed, quite happy that he had helped her awaken. "I knocked but I didn't get an answer, so… sorry for waking you up."

"Oh, that's alright, Mokuba. Hi to you too," she responded, still sleepy. "Besides, you did well. I have to leave now anyway."

Quitely, she sat up to a sitting position, still under the young man's contemplative eye.

"But… what are you doing here?" she demanded, her face betraying a hint of worry. "Was it your brother who - ?"

Mokuba instantly corrected her.

"No. In fact, he doesn't even know I'm here."

"Oh," she said reproachfully. "You didn't come alone, I hope?"

Mokuba felt his heart melt, enchanted to be prey to her worries.

Aww, she's worried about me, he thought, smiling.

"Don't worry, I have guards with me," he admitted, which was intending to be reassuring to her, but only ended up embarrassing him. "Seto won't let me go anywhere without them."

She grinned in relief.

"Listen to your brother. He's only protecting you," she told him.

Curiously, Mokuba heard a certain admiration in her voice.

He reassured her again.

"Yes, I know," he began. "Seto's always been there for me. He's… even more than a brother."

It was obvious that these two brothers loved each other equally as strongly, judging from the enthusiasm on Mokuba's face.

"Tell me. You're not in school today?" she continued.

"Yeah… but since I absolutely had to see you, I came before I go there."

Without warning, Mokuba bent down closer, cheeks reddening at the sole thought of what he was thinking of doing. He put his arms around her, and kissed her lightly on the cheek.

"I…. I had to thank you for what you did for me the other day."

"Oh… it was nothing, Mokuba," she responded, trying in vain to hide her own embarrassment.

"You're kidding!" he yelled, incredulous. "Really, you did a lot. And I recognize that, from the bottom of my heart, as much as my brother does."

Naomi gave no response to his enthusiasm; she merely nodded slowly.

But Mokuba didn't stop expressing his gratitude. A boy filled with mischief and wonder, he continued:

"Hey, can you break wooden boards?"

Naomi didn't know how to stop an amused chuckle from spreading forth from her.

He was jubilant, and very excited to learn more of what she could do.

"I bet your brother can," she said, masking the fact that her comment was to be taken as ironic.

Just with his head.

Naomi held back this nonetheless hilarious thought, never letting it show.

"Seto?" he asked.

"Yes," she confirmed. "Your brother is… strong."

Hesitant? Normally… you appreciated him? No, not as a foe. Master? Hah! Never in your life. Besides, he lied to you, remember?

Mokuba seemed to take these words with great joy and pride. But then he grew serious.

"Seto really appreciates what you did… I think he likes you."

Weird way to show it, definitely… what would have happened if he did?

She looked back up at him warmly.

"It's him who - "

But the adolescent immediately cut her off.

"No. He didn't say anything. But I know my brother. I know."

That's impossible, Mokuba. Come back to reality.

He seemed to be awaiting a comment, a returning gesture. He grew uncomfortable at Naomi's silence.

"And you… you…"

"Mokuba," she sighed. "Your brother's charming. Arrogant, but charming."

I could slap him every now and then, but…

A ray of sunlight couldn't light up his heart as completely.

"So…. you like him too?"
I admit, he's quite a man… er… what did I just say?

Softly, she bowed her head.

"Things aren't that simple, Mokuba," she breathed, almost regretfully. "I can't explain it to you, but… it's not like that."

This time, Mokuba saw that there were limits that were not to be passed, and he preferred to let the quietude simmer between them for several seconds.

"Seto was upset when he got back to the mansion yesterday."

Do you know why? she heard herself say, although she could never have her mouth form the words.

Naomi was suddenly overwhelmed by the weight of remorse, grasping her heart with an invisible claw. They had fought. She couldn't deny that she had purposefully angered him. Maybe. Maybe it definitely wasn't entirely her fault.

Strangely, she almost forgave herself.

"We had a…. we fought… and…"

He lied to me! Lied!

Against his customary actions, he decided to not ask any more questions, seeing as there was more seriousness to this affair than there had seemed, and realizing he was the current representative of his elder sibling's reputation.

"My brother's not mean. We've always been there for each other, ever since the death of our parents when we were younger. He's always looked out for me like a dad."

Naomi kept her eyes fixed on the sheets tossed together at the foot of the bed, not daring to break the solemn moment. Though she seemed distant, not one of his words had escaped her.

"He's all I have," he continued. "And all I love."

His voice was filled with tenderness, as if he were re-evoking his memories.

"And I thought… you should know that," he finished.

Silence dug itself between the two once more.

Suddenly, Mokuba leapt up, raising his eyes towards the clock. 8:10.

"Oh! Gotta go!" he shouted as he raced for the door. "Thanks again for everything!"

She watched him leave, practically daydreaming. He was almost out of sight when she decided to hold him back.

"Mokuba!"

He returned to glance back at her.

Not even an angel could light up a person with such happiness.

"Your brother is very lucky to have you, too."

He shook his head resolutely, then left.

. . .

She took several minutes to mull over the curious visitation. Destabilized… yes, she was still drawn in by the heated, bubbly affection of the young man.

In a graceful movement she drew her fingers to her temples, and began to energetically massage them, murmuring:

Get away from Kaiba. Get away from Kaiba. I have to get away from –

"Would you like your lunch, ma'am?"

She brusquely stopped mumbling to look up at the nurse who had entered her room, irritated upon realizing that she couldn't have possibly missed the snippets of dialogue that had just taken place.

. . .

"You did what?" Kaiba hissed, furious.

Grr… she'll think I sent him.

"Relax, big bro," he defended. "I told you, I went there with my bodyguards."

But Seto would not hear him out. Calming himself with some difficulty, and cradling his head in his hands, he stood up quickly from his seat to join his brother.

"Mokuba!"

He took him by the shoulders without hurting him, but began to roughly chastise him.

"You remember my instructions, don't you? I don't want you taking any useless risks. Not now. Understand?"

Filled with sorrow, Mokuba sadly let his head hang down slightly more.

"Yes, big brother."

Kaiba returned to sit behind his computer.

"But I wanted to thank her," Mokuba objected again, as if he wanted to completely free himself from any blame in Kaiba's eyes.

"I already did that, Mokuba," he responded dryly. "She knows that perfectly well."

And then she swept me aside. Lied… I lied to her. I deserve it. Grr… stop it!

Kaiba placed his fingers on the keyboard, the conversation over.

Mokuba seemed indiscreet for a few moments as he finished the remaining food on his plate.

"You really like her, don't you?"

No sound.

Kaiba froze for a fraction of a second, not knowing what to say. His eyes then re-focused on his screen.

I can't tell anybody about that. Especially not her. She would be all too happy to roast me alive if she ever knew… besides, what's there about her, anyway? She's just a woman.

"I think she loves you too, Seto," whispered Mokuba, anxiously scanning his brother's slightest face.

And like he had predicted, Mokuba saw him react to the statement. His eyes had left the screen to stare directly at his smaller brother, and there was a weak redness in the cheeks – for just a fleeting moment – that encouraged Mokuba to keep on being amused.

But persuaded that he had already shown too much interest – Kaiba being certain that Mokuba had noticed it – he returned back to his computer screen.

I doubt it. Especially now. I really deserve it.

"It's she who - " he babbled. Mokuba would never cease trying.

"No. She didn't tell me anything. But…." he said, dreaming.

But what? What did he hear or see that I can't?

He was incapable of continuing, and he would have been even if there wasn't someone staring at him fixedly, attentively watching.

Instants went by where the only noise was the sound of Kaiba's fingers drumming on the keys.

She's complicated… she doesn't need anybody. Like me.

"It's not that simple, Mokuba," he confessed suddenly, breaking the silence.

This time, Mokuba sneered slightly.

"That's what she said," he said, amused by the remark.*

Kaiba shifted his eyes towards him, and though he wanted to give off his normal feeling of constant coldness, he couldn't quite pull it off.

"You guys have at least one thing in common," Mokuba said again loudly as he remembered asking himself how the two could possibly communicate the night before.

Donning his face of ice and sighing briefly, Kaiba went back to work.

We have more in common than you can possibly understand, Mokuba. But she wouldn't admit that… and neither will I.

"She also told me," Mokuba began again, "that you guys got into a fight yesterday."

Stop talking to me about her. I'm busy, can't you see that?

Anger darkened in his face so rapidly that it could have short-circuited every PC for miles around.

I lied to her

But with much strength of will, he started to calm himself, although his eyebrows were still wrinkled with discontent.

No. Tell me, Mokuba. What else did she say? Tell me!

Mokuba would not have given his place so emotionally close to the terrifying man for anything in the world; he thanked the heavens that he would never have to be his foe or the object of his irritation.

With one movement, he rose, ready to leave the room.

"I'm going to do homework," he muttered.

"Fine," breathed Kaiba, who continued to work despite the fact the screen was hidden behind the raging tempest storming in his head.

As soon as he was alone, he gradually decompressed, losing himself with an empty gaze into nothing in particular.

Maybe after a good night's sleep, she would have thought back a bit…? And what if she doesn't really hate me?

*This isn't funny because it's the annoying American meme 'that's what she said', but because what Kaiba said really is what Naomi said. And maybe when Mokuba says it he finds himself saying the meme, and the irony that it's still applicable makes him want to laugh.