Lace Kyoko: Yay! That's usually my reasoning too, that Mokuba is just kind of an intelligent guy. I mean, you look at his brother and the fact that he's a prodigy and well… yeah. It all makes sense in the end. Here is the moment of truth, Gozaburo's story! Thanks so much for your review and enjoy the chapter!

Princess7Strawberry: Thank you so much! The Kaiba brothers did have to grow up fast. And adapting can only lead to maturation. I'm so honored to have helped you rediscover your love for this fandom! You have no idea how happy that makes me. This series has really helped me through a lot of dark times and it's just plain enjoyable! Overall, thank you so much for a wonderfully written, heart felt review! It really made my day. Enjoy the chapter!

Patriot16: Thanks for the review! I know; Gozaburo is such a jerk when it comes down to it. Just wait until you hear his story! Enjoy the chapter!

WhiteAsukalover: Noah will be referenced, but not technically in the story. I'm trying to stick to the facts of their childhood, really, and since they technically didn't learn about Noah's existence till Season 3, it would be going off track to say that they found out about him. But I do slightly reference him. You'll see what I mean soon. Thanks again for the review!

KatrinaKaiba: I think you'll enjoy Gozaburo's story(in a weird way) I'm sorry for not updating quickly. I leave an apology in my author's note for that one. Hopefully the wait didn't kill you though(although it did kill me to some extent) Thanks for your review! Enjoy the chapter!

MythCreatorWriter: Oh my! I didn't notice how many reviews I had for the last chapter till now. That's crazy! Yeah, Mokuba being mature due to his circumstances in the past is what I've always thought myself, but you know how the logical people are. Gozaburo ruins everything. Gozaburo killed my dog! His name was Guy. Gozaburo's story is quite interesting, I think you'll like it! I liked it. But then again it's my story… now I just sound like a cocky jerk. I love relaxing in the sun! And you should get that CD I was talking about earlier. It's fantastic, and it got me through middle school. Thanks for the review! Enjoy the chapter!

Kukki Boo: You don't like the MUSIC TO DUEL BY CD?! Why? I love that CD! That CD made middle school livable for me! I think you should at least give it a try before ignoring it. It really is a fantastic piece of work, I think. But anyhow, your suggestion kind of confused me, but I'm sort of slow when it comes to… well, a lot of things, so sometime I'll get my friend to try and explain it to me. Hopefully I didn't do too much of what I did last time in this chapter! I was thinking about it and trying not to, but its hard when you're not sure what it is. Anyways, thanks for the review! Sorry for the wait! Enjoy the chapter!

Nine

Mokuba fiddled with the pawn on the chess board with his finger. The boy was staring very intently at the board itself, trying desperately to avoid his step father's piercing and condescending eyes. Seto sat motionless across from his younger brother, his hands tucked underneath his legs, but his eyes also looking away from the old man in front of him.

Gozaburo made his way to the other side of the room and sat down in the chair at Mokuba's desk. He turned his body so that he was still directed towards the two. He crossed his legs in a professional way, as if he were in some sort of business meeting. He cleared his throat and sighed.

"I had a mother once… she was beautiful, and elegant. She was the perfect woman in many senses judging by her good looks, her fantastic cooking skills, and her top notch mothering techniques. But there was one thing my mother wasn't… one thing that seemed to take away from her many brilliant qualities…" Seto looked up and stared at Gozaburo. He didn't like where Gozaburo was getting at, but at the same time, he wasn't exactly sure what he was getting at.

"My mother had a problem with my father's workaholic ways. She didn't understand the type of work that was required for a man with his kind of power. She would always demand that he be home at a certain time and give him hell if he didn't obey her. I could tell my father grew tire of her every night the minute he stepped through the door and heard her calling his name.

"But no matter how annoying she became, he didn't divorce her. I supposed it was because the Kaibas never believed in divorce, that when they pick their mate, they feel the need to stick with them till the very end, even if it means gritting the teeth and bearing with the most annoying woman in the world.

"Because of this, I began to see less and less of my father. I had always figured it was because he wanted to get away from my mother, and I could no longer stand around. Something had to be done about it." Seto looked up at Gozaburo, curious to know what kind of plan he had in mind as a child. Seto began to ponder the idea of Gozaburo actually being a child, being innocent. Had there ever been such a time? With Gozaburo, it was hard to believe.

"One day my father had come home early, mainly because Mother had phoned him and said she would be out for a walk. If my father wasn't at work, he was in his office. He would only emerge at times where he was certain my mother wasn't around. He had tossed me the keys to the car that day and asked me to lock the car for him. I had done as he asked and went outside.

"Cars use to fascinate me as a child, so whatever opportunity I could get, I would sit in the driver's seat of the car and just imagine myself driving it. From observing my parents and how they drove, I had all the knowledge I would have needed to drive the car anywhere I wanted, but I simply wasn't old enough. After a couple minutes went by, I heard my mother power walking towards the driveway. A special idea came to mind, and suddenly I put in the keys to the ignition and turned the car on.

"I kept my head down low, in order to make sure my mother didn't spot me while I spied on her through the rear-view mirror. I saw my once in a lifetime opportunity; she had bent over to pick up the newspaper that was lying in the middle of the driveway. Without really thinking, I put the car into reverse and slammed my foot on the pedal." Seto heard his brother gasp and turned his head. Mokuba's eyes stared blankly at Gozaburo, the pawn he had been fiddling with fell on its side. Mokuba was frozen.

Gozaburo continued, "I had hit her at just the right angle. With the quick, but fast speed I went at, the bumper of the car had collided with her just as she had been bending back up with the newspaper in hand. The impact had sent her flying to the ground and caused her to snap her neck. She died instantly.

"The situation went just as smoothly as my plan had. I had pleaded I 'didn't know what I was doing,' therefore her death had been classified as confidential. My father had looked shocked and torn with pain, but I knew him better than that. A few months later he re-married a woman half his age, but more obedient and quiet than my mother ever was-"

"What is the purpose of this story?" Seto asked in a loud, but controlled voice. Gozaburo looked at him. "Why are you telling this to us? What's the point?" Seto asked, again with a loud and commanding voice. Gozaburo shrugged.

"I felt the story was appropriate," Gozaburo said, turning to Mokuba, "After all, I feel it is one of the few things Mokuba and I have in common." Seto gritted his teeth. Mokuba was staring at the ground in shock. He didn't know what to think.

"How do you figure that?" Seto questioned.

"Mokuba and I were both involved with our mothers' deaths." That was the last straw. Seto jumped to his feet and glared at Gozaburo.

"Mokuba's involvement with our mother's death isn't even close to resembling what you did to your mother! Our mother died in child birth, Mokuba didn't do anything! You killed your mother!" Seto full-fledged yelled now. He wasn't going to take this from Gozaburo, and he wasn't going to have his step father poison Mokuba's mind with such evil thoughts. Seto just couldn't allow it.

"Are they really all that different? After all, what happened to my mother was just an 'accident.'"

"You murdered her! You knew she was there and you were fully aware of what you were doing! Our mother's death is the only thing that should be considered an accident; Mokuba had nothing to do with what happened!" Gozaburo got up from his seat and walked over to Seto. He placed a firm hand on Seto's shoulder and clenched his fingers tightly. Seto winced a little, but showed no sign of weakness as Gozaburo bent forward to look the boy in the face.

"Let this be the next lesson you must learn; there are no accidents." Gozaburo turned away and walked out of the room. He didn't bother to see what condition the boys were in, and he hadn't even snuck a peek to see Mokuba's terrified face. He already had a picture in his mind, and the image in his head made him chuckle as he walked out the door. Gozaburo left the Kaiba Brothers as he always seemed to; ashamed and mortified.

Seto looked back over at his brother immediately.

"Mokuba, its not-" Tears were already streaming down the boy's face. There were barely any words that could truly describe the look on the boy's face. Seto had seen his brother cry so many times before in the past. None of those times could compare to the way he looked from across the room, standing there, in his own pit of shame and regret. Gozaburo was taking down Mokuba's last line of defense; breaking the wall that preserved his will to live, to exist.

Seto gulped, feeling his own urge to tear up and cry beside him. No matter how hard he tried, though, Seto would never be able to cry with his brother. Since the day his father died, he had lost the ability to cry. Seto felt guilty because of this inability to produce tears of his own, because when his brother would cry and Seto wouldn't, it really seemed to disconnect the two. It gave Seto the impression that Mokuba was facing all these emotions all by himself, while Seto could only watch helplessly from the sidelines. Although Seto felt useless in many senses, he always felt the need to try and help his brother through the pain, in whatever what he could.

Even with just a simple hug.

"Mokuba…" Seto said again, moving towards him, stretching out his arms towards him. Mokuba backed away as Seto approached him, shaking his head back and forth. Seto insisted that Mokuba come towards him. "Don't believe what he says to you… he's lying…" Mokuba's head continued to shake, back and forth.

"Just… leave me alone."

"Mokuba…" Still Seto attempted to come near the boy and pull him into a hug. Just as he inched close enough, Mokuba dove under his arms and darted out of the room. "Mokuba! Wait! Where are you going?" Mokuba was gone, and running as fast as he could. He tried to keep his balance, even with tears blurring his vision, and his sobbing making it hard to run efficiently. Mokuba could hear his brother's foot steps following him, which only made Mokuba run faster.

Mokuba took a different route than usual. Instead of taking the largest of the many stairways in the Kaiba Mansion that was the most frequently used, he took another turn down a side hallway. He didn't slow down his pace as he did. He found another hallway, and a door at the end of it. It was to the left, in the dark corner of the dead end. Mokuba rushed towards it, gripping the handle and slipping into without another thought. Mokuba heard his brother's footsteps become loud then slip away just as quickly. Mokuba let out a sigh of relief. He needed to be alone.

Mokuba sat down in silence on the steps, letting the tears flow freely now that he was not in motion or forced to move quickly. It was strange, because even though he had managed to get out of sight and free to cry in peace, the tears stopped flowing and ceased to be released. Mokuba looked down at the ground angrily. He hated himself for being so weak. He hated being so vulnerable.

Mokuba wiped the last of the tears that was on his face. He got up from the top step he had been sitting on and searched for a light switch along the wall. His hand eventually felt the switch of the light and flicked it on. The light came on and revealed the staircase that went into a deep, dark room below. Mokuba stared at it with curiosity. He had never seen this staircase before, and had been completely unaware that the Kaiba Mansion even had a basement. Mokuba had to see more.

Mokuba slipped down the silent steps down to the basement that lay below. Although the stairs themselves seemed to be decrepit in their own way, when Mokuba finally made it into the room, the room looked re-done and brand new. The floor looked as though it had just been newly tiled, not to mention all the technology that filled the room itself. Now that Mokuba really observed it, it didn't seem like much of a basement at all, but more like a laboratory.

Mokuba's eyes wandered all across the room. Everywhere he looked, there were wires, computers, monitors, and in the very middle was one giant computer screen, in front of a large computer sphere. The sphere seemed to be some sort of massive computer network, connected to all of the wires that could be found spread out across the room. Mokuba's sadness had been soon forgotten when his eyes lay upon this.

Mokuba bent down and picked up one of the chords. It was clear that one end of the chord went into the super computer sphere at the end of the lab, but where did it hook up to? Mokuba turned all the way around to the other corner and found some sort of tank connected to it. It was clear that something was floating inside. Mokuba's eyes widened. He didn't know what that was, but his innocent six year old mind was already starting to flood with crazy and exciting ideas.

Mokuba began walking towards it, his jaw half open, with the chord still in hand. As he walked closer, he let the chord lead most of the way. His feet stepped through wires carelessly and without catching his attention, his leg got entangled in one. He continued to walk forward, until he made his next step, and all went dark. The power went completely out. Mokuba snapped back to reality and was immediately frightened by the circumstance. He screamed.

Mokuba stood completely still, wishing the darkness would go away. Mokuba had always been afraid of the dark, especially when he was in a place he that was unfamiliar. Mokuba looked all around for a sign, a signal… he wanted to get out of there, but he didn't know how. He was so scared. He just wanted to…

The lights came back on after what seemed like hours of total darkness. Mokuba felt so relieved. That was until he looked up and saw what was standing in front of the mysterious tank he had been walking towards earlier. Mokuba instantly dropped the cord he had been holding to the ground. He would've traded his current predicament for being in the dark, as of that very instant. His heart had stopped beating altogether. He was scared beyond comprehension.

It was Gozaburo, in all his glory, standing over him like a hawk, furious.

"WHAT do you think you're doing?" Mokuba said nothing, he was too afraid. "WHAT were you doing, snooping around here?" Mokuba was quiet. Mokuba was so scared, he already felt dead inside. "Do you know what could've happened had I not been able to turn on the back up generator? DO YOU??" Mokuba was shaking. He wanted to run. His fight or flight was kicking in. He would've flown out of there in seconds if he could feel his legs.

"It was… just… an accident…" Mokuba choked out. Then something snapped. Mokuba could see it on Gozaburo's face. It was the word 'accident' that had done it, Mokuba was sure.

"You expect me to believe that?" Gozaburo cracked his knuckles, "It's about time I give you what you deserve." Mokuba's body came back online. His legs became unglued to the floor, but it wasn't enough. Gozaburo caught him before he could get very far. And Mokuba screamed. He screamed louder than he ever had in his life.

A floor or two above, Seto stopped what he was doing. He had heard the scream. His brother was in trouble. He had to do something.

Seto took off down the stairs.

A/N: Hey guys! So I'm sure you're all wondering what on earth took me so long! Well, some reviewers of mine requested that I stop being such a crack head and take a break from writing, just to give them time to review and catch up, while hopefully I would take that time to do some of my homework. Well, turned out neither happened, but THAT'S okay, because at least it gave me time to THINK about doing my homework;) Anyways, I know, it's been forever, but hopefully the cliff hanger of the century has you on the edge of your seats, wondering what will happen next rather than how you plan to gut me the next time you see me! Or at least review hahaha. At some parts of this chapter, I felt REALLY confident about, but others I didn't feel so swell. But hopefully you guys saw some good in it overall! You guys are great! And thanks for being so patient and understanding, and I hope you enjoyed the chapter!