Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh. Kazuki Takahashi does. I'm making no money from this. Also, the two quotes in italics are from the show. They are not original.

Notes: Kaiba's thoughts before dueling Yugi.

"Those pathetic, clingy eyes…like a dog's…I've felt them on my back for years….I've always told you…play with fire and you'll get burned…"

Mokuba was always too clingy for his own good. When he had first been brought home from the hospital, he had begun to cry when he was put down. The second the warm arms left his tiny frame, he would begin to scream for all he was worth. When their father died and they were sent to their relatives, Mokuba refused to go anywhere without his big brother. He would follow the blue-eyed brunette everywhere and the simple idea of begin left without his brother caused tears to fill the young black haired boy's eyes. When Kaiba had still been weak, still had been under the presumption that caring was a good thing, he never turned his brother down. He had let Mokuba stay with him.

Shaking his head in disgust, the teen CEO of Kaiba Corporation stood from his seat in the control room. Shutting off the monitor and blocking out the screams of the child he called 'brother', he began to walk towards T-5, the final stage of Death-T. He had been waiting for his revenge for a long time. Finally, he would be able to reclaim his rightful title as champion of Duel Monsters, away from that no one who beat him.

Stepping into the elevator, he glanced back to see the penalty game. He saw Mokuba screaming in horror and for one brief moment, he almost ran to turn off the penalty game. Maybe it was too harsh of a punishment. He knew Mokuba was nowhere near the skill level of Muoto and he – His view was cut off when the elevator doors closed and his gaze hardened. Now was not a time for being weak. Mokuba knew the rules of Death – T. he knew what would happen if he lost. A smirk rose on his face. It was so obvious Mokuba was going to lose. But, his younger brother's naivety prevented him from seeing the obvious outcome that any simpleton could have foretold. His smirk grew into a sneer. Mokuba had always been misguided. The child thought that love would solve problems. He was not dense. He knew Mokuba participated in Death –T to prove to him that he was not the loser as Kaiba believed him to be. What the boy didn't know, or rather, didn't comprehend, was that as long as he cared about Kaiba he would never win. He didn't know how he could make his message clearer.

"Mokuba! Until you trash these stupid feelings of brotherly love, you'll always be a loser!"

His years had shown him the truth and he had tried to show his brother as well. The gray eyed kid was simply too adamant on his view of the world. It was probably some of his fault as well. Eyes narrowing, he remembered all the times he let his brother show emotions, protected him and reciprocated the feelings of love…Growling at the memory of such pathetic thoughts, Kaiba shook his head, harder this time, as if moving it would dispel the thoughts from his mind. The past was the past. It was time to move on.

Yet, he couldn't seem to let them go. He had learned the hard way what a cruel place the world was. His mother…She was the only one who truly cared. She took care of him, helped him and loved him. A small feeling of guilt worked its way into the pit of his stomach, but he pushed it away. What he was doing was justified. He deserved to get his revenge! Besides, his mother was dead. She had left him, like all the others. His father died in an accident, though he had his suspicions that it was more than that. His father had wanted to die after his mother was gone, making him incapable of caring for Mokuba. It forced the job onto Kaiba. After, his relatives pretended to care, but once they got their money both he and Mokuba were disposed of at the orphanage. He remembered the night before, they were dropped off. It was clear in his memory and no one but he and his dead uncle knew what occurred between them. And he would prefer to keep it that way. Never before had been so weak, so – so vulnerable. That night, he found his uncle and heard him mention that their plans to drop them off at the orphanage. More than distaste for the place and concern for the area, Kaiba had been scared. His mother was gone and his father too. Even though he despised his relatives, they were all Mokuba and he had left.

Shutting his eyes tightly in attempt to block out the next image, but with no avail, Kaiba was forced to relive that night and the shame that came with it. He had begged his uncle. Gotten down on his knees, held both hands clamped together and begged to the man to keep them for a while longer. There was still money left in their inheritance, he would work for them, he would do all of the housework without a single complaint – not as if he already complained – for the rest of his life. He just didn't want to be sent away. He had been like a dog, pleading before his master, too weak to be an equal.

And his uncle had laughed.

He had never heard someone laugh so hard before, never so much. Mokuba had even asked him later on what was so amusing, but Kaiba refused to tell. He had gone to bed silently and went to the orphanage without a word.

Looking back, he knew he deserved it. Animals beg. The weak beg.

He was dog. A pathetic one.

Gozaburo had been right. All those times he placed a collar on his neck, all those times he was subjected to swallow his dignity and act as a subservient creature that he was led to believe he was…

His hands instinctively went up to his neck, gently wrapping around them and expecting to find cool metal. Instead, he felt nothing but light scars, left from the prolonged period of wearing that horrible device. It was something he would never tell anyone, not even Mokuba. He even refused to admit it to himself at times. He had been so weak…

His eyes snapped open and his hands went down. He didn't have time to dwell on previous events. He wasn't weak any longer and would prove that through his duel with Yugi. The first win had been a fluke and nothing more. He was tired of waiting for the others to be finished off by some others he had hired to work in his tournament. It was time for him to get back his title, which was the reason Death – T was created in the first place. Yugi was probably coming up as well, preparing to fight him out of anger for what he had put him and his friends through. A smirk grew on his face. It figured, someone like Yugi would obviously depend on others. People are unreliable. They only betray you in the end. Well, the fool would pay for his mistake.

All people he had met before were the same. They all wanted money. Some would come straight up and attempt to take it from him, forcefully. Others opted to pretend to befriend him and then backstab him. Personally, if he had a preference, he would choose the people who came up to him straight up.

Kaiba ignored the voice at the back of his head that told him that his reason was so he wouldn't get hurt. Because he would always start those friendships off with genuine hopes and expectations, no matter how many times Gozaburo warned him, no matter how many times he was deceived. And that behavior stemmed from the prospect of childish excitement. Knowing someone wanted to include him. While he was younger, and his parents still alive, he would excluded at school due the fact that he was smart. No one liked being showed up and though he had tried not to make anyone feel that way. Naturally then, when friendship reared its manipulating head, he would willingly fall for the bait, telling himself that a little pain in the end would be worth having a friend for a while.

The voice knew nothing. Kaiba favored those who were direct because it saved time. He didn't have all day to waste with someone who was trying to squeeze his wealth out of him. However, for some intangible reason – logic told him it was definitely not loneliness, since he was a Kaiba and Kaibas didn't need friends – he would fall for the same scams repeatedly. His step father would glare at him disapprovingly while Mokuba looked at him, confused as to how someone tricked his brother the same way, again. Kaiba would claim that he was too tired to pay attention, or the person was unworthy of his attention and by giving them none, he hadn't bothered to notice their trickery.

He didn't miss the doubt that overshadowed both Gozaburo's and Mokuba's faces. But, neither of them mattered right now. His duel was important, not others complementing his actions and reasons behind them.

Before the elevator doors opened, he mentally emptied his mind of all thoughts that were irrelevant to present match that was about to occur. He couldn't afford a distracted mind, not now.

The past was the past. And he intended to keep it that way.

And so, Kaiba stepped out of the elevator, ever present smirk plastered on his face. His green hair was perfectly I place, as it always was and his eyes were blank and emotionless.

It was time for the death match to begin.

Thanks for reading!

Please review. There's a couple things I would like to know:

First off, was the story all over the place? Like, was it random or did it work together?

Second, the second wuote that I put in "Mokuba! Until you let go of these..." was it out of place? Did I introduce it too soon?

And the ending, was it okay? Did I seem to go on and on and on...? I was having difficulty deciding wheter or not I should have stopped at "The past was the past." or "And he intended to keep it that way." or "It was time for the death match to begin." Which do you think would be an effective ending?

Okay, thanks again for reading and even more so if you reviewed. And if you answered the questions, THANK YOU SO VERY, VERY MUCH! 8D YOUR AWESOMENESS CANNOT BE DESCRIBED IN WORDS!

~Denvana~