KatrinaKaiba: That would've sucked if Mokuba had just died like that. I think I might've killed myself too. Hahaha, well, this chapter has a lot more going on, so I feel a bit happier about it. Thanks for your review! Enjoy!
MythCreatorWriter: Oh I'm sure the dread will return, it always does around dinner time. I'm not sure what kind of twist or direction I was going with the dream, but it sure was something… wasn't it? Hahaha, no confidence… but don't worry! I've finally found out where I want to go with this story, and I feel as though this is a very concrete and well balanced chapter right here! Dude, if I was talking to Gozaburo and I had a gun… actually, we probably shouldn't go into that. Hahaha, thanks for the review!
Lace Kyoko: Eyes are my favorite part of human beings! You really get a general knowledge of a person by just looking at their eyes, just really looking at them. It's awesome! The last line… don't worry, not many were supposed to catch it. It was a summary to an OLD story I wrote back in the day(back in the day being five years ago, hahaha) Awesome, I'm so glad I convinced you! Anyways, thanks for the review and enjoy the chapter!
WhiteAsukalover: Hahaha, your review made me laugh. Thanks for that! Oh, and the nightmare comment. I've never believed I was good at nightmares, and the fact that he ended up dying over spilled orange juice seemed silly… but I'm glad you liked it! Enjoy the new chapter!:D
SereneShadows: It's fine, sometimes I go fast and sometimes I go slow(like right now! Can you believe it's almost been a week since I've updated? D: No wonder I've been homicidal!) Nice! Keeping the attention of the reader during a movie? Gosh, I feel like a goddess or something! It's what I love to write most of all; Seto and Mokuba generally being cute. It's what I live for. And thank you, thank you, thank you for all your wonderful compliments! I feel I do not deserve them, but you write them so genuinely that I cannot resist! You know my friend, you write some very wonderful reviews. I've always felt that only true writers can write a true and honest review, so I thank you for sharing your gifts to convey a kind and noble message. It motivates me every day! Enjoy the chapter!
AmePiper: Amey, Amey, Amey… what SHALL I do with you? No, I'm kidding… although I DO know what I would do with you if I could ;) No, I should stop trying to be a creep in my review replies. Some people still think I'm normal… OR DO THEY?! Hahaha, but that's me being random. Like I said in the other review reply, KEEP BEING AWESOME. The world likes it like that! I hope you enjoy my chapter, darling!
Seven
It would be another week more before Mokuba would return home. Everyone was aware that he was coming home, but in what condition, no one knew. It was a topic that was kept on the down low amongst most inhabitants of the Kaiba Mansion. To everyone's surprise, Seto was the most quiet about the issue. He never said anything, he never showed anticipation, nothing. His behavior had even begun to confuse and baffle Gozaburo, to a certain extent.
But when Seto had found time in between classes to be alone, he would worry about how he would avoid his younger brother's return. He had been under Gozaburo's watchful eye long enough to figure out what his intentions were and what actions he used against Seto. It had become clear that Gozaburo used Mokuba's pain and suffering against Seto; therefore, the boy had come to the conclusion that he would have to avoid Mokuba and show no interest in order to protect him.
It was going to be a hard task, and under no circumstance would he be able to tell Mokuba what was going on. Mokuba was a smart kid, but he wouldn't be able to catch on. Seto knew telling him would put him at more risk than he already was. The plan itself made Seto sick to the stomach, but there was nothing more he could do about it.
In the mean time, Seto tried to distract himself in his studies and work. He thought that maybe he could 'accidentally' forget about his brother's arrival and therefore be able to avoid seeing him altogether. It seemed like a full proof plan.
"Master Seto," Hobson said, calling Seto's attention in the middle of class. The Physics teacher fell silent and looked on towards the man.
"Um… yes, Hobson?" Seto asked, gripping his pencil tightly between his two fingers.
"Your brother has arrived. If you wish to see him, you must go now." Seto took a deep breath, keeping the pencil tightly gripped in his hand.
"I… understand. But, I'm sure Gozaburo wouldn't want me to miss out on my-"
"Gozaburo has already granted permission for you to spend ten minutes with Mokuba before he is sent to his room to unpack. Seto let go of the pencil and dropped it onto the page. He couldn't avoid it now. If he refused at this point, Gozaburo would be able to figure out what Seto was doing, and find another way around it.
"I understand. I'll come." Seto got up from his seat and walked towards Hobson. His head suddenly felt dizzy, and he could no longer feel his feet. Every step he felt like he might lose his balance and fall over. His body reverted to that of a robot, functioning in a way that helped him to walk properly without any effort. All the while, Seto was trying to keep his mentality stable.
"Ah, there you are Master Mokuba," Hobson said. Seto froze and looked up. He hadn't even noticed that they had walked into the living room. "Come now, you can visit with your brother for a few minutes before he had to finish his lesson." Mokuba slowly looked up at his brother. Seto was about to gasp, but managed to hold back.
On the outside, Mokuba appeared to be fine. But when you took a closer look into his face, especially his eyes… their condition resembled that of his eyes in the nightmare he had not too long ago, after Gozaburo had killed him. Mokuba's eyes no longer shined with love and admiration. In fact, they didn't shine at all. Without saying anything, Seto could tell that his brother's spirit had been completely broken in only a matter of two weeks.
"Nii… sama…" Mokuba said in a very hushed voice. All other people in the room seemed to vanish when the brothers' eyes locked. The room went black, and it was only them. Mokuba Seto didn't know what to do; he didn't know what to say. Mokuba put a step forward, towards Seto, holding out his arms. Seto remained frozen in time; frozen in his own thoughts and fears.
Mokuba was now standing right in front of Seto; his strength had already diminished just from the walk over to him. Mokuba's eyes closed softly and he fell forward. Seto's instincts thankfully kicked in before his brain could snap back into reality. Seto's arms stretched out and caught his brother's small frame. Just by merely holding him, Seto could feel his brother had been hurt mercilessly. Someone had hurt him badly. He didn't want to leave his brother's side; he didn't want anyone else to be near him…
"Hobson, please escort Mokuba here back to his room. I'd like to have a word with Seto, alone." Hobson picked the boy up and out of Seto's arms, carrying him out of the room. Seto would've held on tighter, but he knew he had to let go. If it hadn't been for him, Seto would've taken anyone down to keep his brother by his side. Anyone. But now that… he, was in the room; that was no longer possible. "Did you boys have a nice reunion?"
Seto twisted around to face his enemy.
"What did you do to him?" Seto barked back without control. Gozaburo smirked.
"Oh, nothing you would approve of…"
"You broke him. You broke him in almost every sense. Why? Why would you do that?" Gozaburo's smirk disappeared and now turned into a stern frown.
"Seto, I don't like to being talked to with such a tone." Seto tried to contain himself and held back.
"Why?" Seto asked in a calmer manner, even though a monster such as Gozaburo didn't even deserve such respect after what he had done.
"It was just a little bit of motivation to get you going." Seto opened his mouth to argue with him one more, but Gozaburo interrupted him before anything could get heated. "Calm yourself, Seto, there's a reason that I'm here."
"What is it?" Seto asked.
"Well… you've been living here for about a month or so, taking your formal education and getting fair grades, but that's not all that is involved with being a CEO… a lot of the times my job has nothing to do with books, a lot of it is life experiences, and dealing with people." Seto wanted to respond with, 'And your point is?' but he knew Gozaburo didn't see the value in sarcasm, so he remained quiet. "So I'm going to have you do a little job for me, just so you can get a feel for the issues that may come up in 'the real world.'"
"What do you mean, Sir?" Gozaburo patted him on the shoulder, indicating that he wanted Seto to follow him down the hall. Seto did so, following his step father for a couple minutes until they reached the door into Gozaburo's office. There Gozaburo stopped and held out a portfolio to Seto, one that Seto did not notice he had during the time he was following him.
"Seto, there is an employee in there that I have told that, based on an interview you will construct, he will either be fired or kept. This portfolio contains the man's track records over the past couple months he's been working at Kaiba Corp., and the first couple pages are the most recent incidents that have led me to believe he is not fit to work here any longer." Seto stared at the portfolio oddly and then looked back up at Gozaburo. Was he really going to force Seto to do this?
Seto had never interviewed anyone before in his life. He had never been interviewed himself! Although he supposed him and Gozaburo's first encounter was a bit like an interview, but not a formal one. Not like the one he was expected to give.
"So… do you basically want me to fire him?" Seto asked, picking up on Gozaburo's current attitude which led him to believe that was what he wanted.
"Yes, but I am not assigning this to you just to do my dirty work. I want you to interview him, review his files, and come to your own decision about what should be done with him." Gozaburo pushed the portfolio more towards Seto, giving the boy a sense that this was his responsibility. Seto kept looking from the portfolio back to his step father. He couldn't do this, what was Gozaburo thinking?
"I'm only twelve though. I don't think I'm capable of making a decision like this." Gozaburo shook his head, holding the knob of the door in his hand and twisting it, forcing open the door. He used his other hand to push Seto more towards the opening, and give him a little nudge to push him in.
"Don't give me that excuse, Seto. After all, you are a prodigy," Once Gozaburo had Seto completely in the room, he closed the door. Just before he closed the door completely, Seto heard him whisper, "I'm counting on you to make the right decision, for the company." Click. The door was closed, and Seto was alone. The man sitting in the chair in the middle of the room turned around and hopped out of his seat. The man looked nervous, almost like he were about to explode from anticipation.
"HI!" The man practically shouted. He stopped when he got a look at Seto and how young he was, but the smile came back to his face all the same. "You're here instead of Gozaburo, aren't you? That must be a good sign! So do I get to keep my job?!" Seto wanted to turn around and run away immediately, he was not ready to handle this person. But he couldn't runaway, he knew that much. This was another step to becoming a CEO and Seto couldn't pass up the chance.
"Um… well… let's just see," Seto said, walking past the man and to the front desk in the room. He sat down and opened up the portfolio. He looked at the pages in front of him, but he couldn't seem to really READ what was in front of him. Seto was so nervous; he could feel his heart beating in his chest. Seto had the page open but was finding it hard to comprehend what any of the words meant on the page. When he looked up, the man was still standing.
"Why don't you sit down, Mr…" Seto glanced back down at the page and was able to find his name, "Tomuko." The man sat down immediately in the chair in front of him. Mr. Tomuko crossed his legs and forced a smile as he waited for Seto's next response. Seto looked back down at the report to see what issues he was being laid off for. Judging from the information at hand, it appeared as though Mr. Tomuko had given away confidential information about one of Kaiba Corp. top clients to a new client. The information was apparently very vital to one of Kaiba Corp.'s most funded competitor right now, and the information could result in Kaiba Corp.'s biggest client pulling away from using their services.
Seto looked up at the man's face.
"You told another client of ours some confidential information… this can only hurt the company in the long run."
"Yes Sir, I did, but I promise you that-"
"Mr. Tomuko… how was it that you were not aware that confidential information is not to be discussed with others? You've been working at Kaiba Corp. for nearly five years now, you should've known better than to do something like this."
"It was a misunderstanding, that's all! I wasn't aware of who I was talking to on the phone. And I hadn't known the information was confidential! Please Sir, I promise it'll never happen again, I'm begging you!" Mr. Tomuko continued to roll out the excuses for his actions, but Seto couldn't help but continue to glance at the sheet. Seto knew as well as any business man should know that if the biggest client pulled away from the company, it wouldn't be long before the other clients ceased to do so as well. Kaiba Corp. would lose it's creditability as a military weapons and machinery producer.
Seto had no other choice. He had to let him go. There was no other logical way of getting around it. He would have to fire him and hope for the best for Kaiba Corp. in the future.
Mr. Tomuko, I hate to interrupt you," Seto said, Mr. Tomuko fell silent immediately, "But… we have to let you go." Mr. Tomuko's mouth dropped.
"No… please Sir! Just give me another chance!" Seto looked away and closed the portfolio.
"I'm… sorry, but-" Mr. Tomuko rose from his seat and walked over to Seto's desk. He slammed his hands on the ground, causing Seto's head to jerk up and look him in the eye.
"Sir, forgive me, but I can't lose this job! I just can't! I have kids! I have a wife at home that needs me! Don't do this to me-" Seto couldn't hear this any longer. He just wanted to fire the guy and get out of here. Even the hours among hours of homework seemed like a happier situation than this. The guy was one the verge of tears, which didn't make the situation any better.
"Your work is unacceptable. Therefore you must be eliminated now." Mr. Tomuko stopped talking and stared at him.
"You don't mean that… do you?" Seto couldn't take this anymore. He rose from his own seat and threw the portfolio across the room. It was time to take action. It was time to show him who was in charge.
"Get OUT! You're fired, you're done, you're not needed any longer; GO!" Mr. Tomuko took a step back and stared at him like he was the devil on earth. Anyone could tell that the grown man was trying to hold back tears, and he did it rather well, considering the hateful look that replaced his depressed face. Mr. Tomuko said nothing and turned away. He sighed and began walking towards the door.
"Well, I hope you're happy… Good day to you." Mr. Tomuko left the room and slammed the door behind him. Seto jumped from the bang it made from being shut. He stood there, motionless… yet his body was shaking uncontrollably. Never in his life had he upset anyone like he had upset that man… Seto was beginning to re-think his decision. Maybe he should've let the man stay. After all… he did have children. Seto shook his head.
What did he care? Seto was never able to enjoy a family; at least Mr. Tomuko would always have that. It was just one job. Mr. Tomuko could find another. In fact, he still had a home to go to, a wife that loved him… what did Seto have? A little brother that he never got to see, and a dream of being able to run his own life one day, without anyone's help or guidance. Seto stopped thinking when he heard the door open again.
"Well done, Seto. You did well," Gozaburo said, clapping his hands for a brief moment as he walked in, "I was almost afraid you wouldn't have the guts to do it." Seto looked away.
"Yeah… well… there was no other way of getting around it. It needed to be done." Gozaburo wrapped his arms around Seto's neck and pulled the boy close.
"I'm glad you're starting to see things my way…" Seto ignored the comment and continued to stare at the ground. But he couldn't help but wonder what 'confidential information' Mr. Tomuko had foolishly told another Kaiba Corp. client, and how it had become so important he had to lose his job as a result. Seto turned back towards his step father.
"So… what was it that Mr. Tomuko had told another client of Kaiba Corp.'s?"
"Ah yes… well, I'm sure you've heard about the civil war in Mirukand, haven't you?" Seto nodded. He had heard of the terrors and many deaths that had resulted from the rebel take over. It was the typical war torn country story; the country had been split between the government and the rebel forces, and civilians were always the ones that got caught in the middle of the conflict. It was a sad case indeed. One that Seto didn't wish to think about. "Well, we have been supplying the government in Mirukand for quite some time now, supplying them with weapons and machinery."
"I understand that… but what did Mr. Tomuko tell our other client? And who were they?"
"Our other client was the rebel forced, in Mirukand. We also supply them with machinery and weapons, but just better. We develop bigger and better weapons and sell them at high prices. The rebels are willing to pay any money to over throw the government. And because the government never has the most technology, they always come crawling back to Kaiba Corp. looking for more. Mr. Tomuko almost revealed this plan to the rebel forces, trying to be a 'good Samaritan' no doubt, which would've caused them to stop buying it from us. That would've been a sad case, considering how much money we make off of them and their little 'conflict.'"
Seto pulled his step father's arm off of him and moved away. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. This man was pure evil… he was the cause behind the entire war in Mirukand. There had been many points, Seto had heard from multiple radio broadcasts; that the conflict always seemed like it was over, until the rebel forces would roll in with better materials. They always seemed to have an edge. And here was the cause of all this mess. Here was the reason so many people were dying.
It was all because of Gozaburo. Seto stopped breathing for a moment, thinking back to only a few moments ago when he had yelled at Mr. Tomuko to leave, when he had fired him for what he had done.
"I'm glad you're starting to see things my way…" Seto buried his face in his hands. Suddenly he felt like he was experiencing the one crystallizing moment, where everything became clear in his head, and he began to see that these were the first signs of him transforming into an evil he couldn't run away from. Seto was turning into the very man he despised.
He was starting to become Gozaburo.
A/N: Hey guys! Kari in the house! So, I've been mulling over that last scene in my head for practically the whole week! It feels SO good to finally get it out. Although I'm not so sure I conveyed it as greatly as I could have, but it's all good. So… you know how at the beginning of this story, I was lost? Well baby, I have been FOUND! I mean, I've literally gotten so many ideas in the last story that I can barely wait to get them all on paper! Thanks everyone for reading and supporting me! It feels great to get back on track!
P.S: Did anyone catch the Amelda/Alister reference?? Oh MAN, am I good :)