MythCreatorWriter: It does hurt:'[ I mean, I definitely know it's the quality that counts, and I do appreciate that awesome quality I get from everyone, I just really needed reviews this past week to get me through cause I had been having a hard time. But now I'm over it, so it's all hunky dory over here! I don't know what Mokuba was about to ask, I think he was going to ask Seto if he did anything with his hair recently or something-hahaha, just kidding. That would be odd and out of character:] But seriously, I couldn't tell you, I'm not really sure myself(No one would've ever been able to guess I was the one writing this story) Sorry about the depressing author's note last chapter, this one is much better, I promise. Thanks for the review!

WhiteAsukalover: I wonder why your reviews keep getting cut-off, it doesn't make sense and it makes me cry!:[ I don't have an MSN, I have an AIM, but I really don't do instant messaging all that much anymore, I'm sorry. I've got too much stuff going on these days. But hey, maybe over the summer, okay? It'll be a date!(or a duel, whichever you prefer XP) Thanks for the review!

Patriot16: Thanks for the review!

KnotofRibbon: Orgasmic sigh, lol! That's so random and awesome!XD And thanks, I'm trying and planning to be as original as possible! I have always sort of had this picture in my head of what really happened and what life was like for them growing up in the Kaiba Household besides what they show us in the show, so it's pretty exciting to get it all out there now! Yeah, this story definitely takes cute and makes it creepy/darko.o I know Gozaburo is their step father, but they refer to him as their step father in the series so that's what I'm going off of. Although in the Japanese they refer to him as father… AHHHH, damn having two versions!. And it's okay, my memory is a bitch too. It probably is a bad joke, I would know, I tell them all the time *awkward drum beat… thing* Yeah, I'm CLEVER AS SHIT. Hahahaha, I think we're going to get along just fine, my friend ;] I'm glad to have kept your attention, and I like your username, it's very cool! Thanks again for the epic review, enjoy the chapter!

AmePiper: AME! Girl! Sorry I didn't write you a review response in the latest Consequences chapter! I didn't know what came over to me. Still planning on letting you know I love you and hope you're doing swell!:D You rock my socks and shoes, keep rocking and rolling!

Fifteen

It was taking everything in Mokuba to try and sit still as he watched the slide show in front of him. Mokuba couldn't help it, though. Seto owned a company, his very first company! Most kids were lucky if their parents saw them as responsible enough to get a cell phone, and yet here was Seto, managing a company. Mokuba found it very hard to listen to Lector as he went through the slides and explained the aspects of the company.

"…The best part is, as you had requested, this company is most known for treating the employees there like family," Lector finished.

"Well done, Lector. I'm very satisfied with this." Mokuba bounced up and down on the couch with excitement.

"This is so cool, Seto! Your very own company! Does that mean that it'll make you the money you need in a year?" Seto's eyes were focused on the slides and nowhere else. He didn't seem excited at all about ownership of this company, but he did have something else on his mind that made him content.

"Not exactly, Mokuba. This company doesn't make nearly enough money to do that. But there is one way I could use this company to get the money I need and that is by forcing the president to run the company my way." A hint of evil could be traced in his voice. Mokuba's mouth gaped a little, staring his brother's rather devious face. This didn't seem be like Seto at all, but at the same time, it did.

After all, it was by this tactic that Seto had been able to force Gozaburo into adopting them from the very beginning. The situation could almost be seen as identical when comparing both situations that Seto was in. When Mokuba made this connection in his head, his fear was instantly put out of mind.

Seto stood up from the couch.

"Lector, what time does the company close on a weekend day?" Lector had to think for a moment before answering.

"I believe it closes at nine, Sir."

"Good." Seto started to walk out of the room. Mokuba jumped up from his seat and went after him.

"Hey wait, Nii-sama! Where are you going?"

"I'm going to pay a little visit to the president of that company; we're going to have a quick chat, that's all. Lector, I'll need you to drive me there."

"Straight away, Sir." Lector replied, running ahead of Seto with the intent of preparing the car. Seto began walking once more and Mokuba followed. Seto eyed his brother out of the corner of his eye.

"Are you intending to come along, Mokuba?" Mokuba looked up.

"Well, of course. I want to be there just in case you need any help." Seto smiled. It was the first genuine smile Mokuba had seen in a long time that didn't even closely resemble a smirk or grin of some sort. It was reassuring, in a way, for Mokuba to see that and know that his brother was still his brother, even if he seemed different somehow.

"Alright then, welcome aboard." Seto said, before opening the door for Mokuba into the garage. They both got into the limo and were off to drive out to the company. Mokuba sat patiently beside his brother, swinging his legs back and forth as Lector drove. Mokuba would occasionally glance at his brother, seeking an opportunity to have a conversation with him, but always coming up with nothing.

Seto had his eyes fixated on the window next him, his expression of total seriousness and concentration. It was the same expression he had on his face when they were playing chess together. Mokuba found himself making a correlation from chess to this meeting with the president of the company similar to the statement that Seto had made earlier; business was like a game, so he must've been seeing this meeting as just another part of the game as well.

Mokuba pondered whether Seto was going to win this round of the game as fast as he had beaten Mokuba at chess. Mokuba couldn't doubt his brother's abilities, considering the prodigy he was, so Mokuba decided to wait and see what would happen. Just then the limo came to a stop as they parked in front of the company building. Lector held open the door for Seto as he exited the vehicle.

"So this is it?" Seto asked.

"Yes Sir, this is the company you have just purchased." Seto gave an under whelmed sigh.

"Well, this will make for an interesting meeting, won't it Mokuba?" Seto asked, briefly looking towards his brother.

"Uh… yes!" Mokuba replied awkwardly. He hadn't actually understood what Seto meant, but he agreed to it anyway. Seto began walking towards the building and the other two followed.

It was a plain and simple company, not really anything out of the ordinary or unexpected could be found here. Mokuba became bored quickly as they walked through the corridors of the average sized building. Mokuba didn't know what Seto could really do with this company anyway; it didn't even look promising as far as money was concerned.

The building itself was pretty run-down. The walls were scratched up, the floors were scuffed; the place could even be considered less than average. But Seto continued walking; not seeming to notice his surroundings of what it looked like. He remained silent up until he had gained entry into the president's office. The man behind the desk stood up upon Seto's entry.

"Ah, and you must be Mr. Kaiba, the man whom just bought our company. I must say, it is an utter delight to meet you!" The man walked up to Lector and began shaking his hand, "I didn't know you were going to be taking a visit here so soon, though! If I had known, I would've tidied up the place." The man gave a loud laugh. Lector stood awkwardly in front of him and pulled away.

"Actually, Mr. Kobuso, I'm just the assistant. This is the Mr. Kaiba you were referring to," Lector stepped back and presented Seto in plain view. Seto looked completely unprovoked by Kobuso's mistake. The man took a moment to stare at Seto before laughing again and shaking his hand instead.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Mr. Kaiba! Ha ha ha, I didn't know the big 'Mr. Kaiba' was going to be so young." Seto ignored his comment completely.

"How bout you stop with the small talk and start talking about business." Kobuso took back his hand and nodded slowly.

"Um… alright! That's fine with me. What is it that you would like to propose?" Kobuso asked as he walked back towards his desk and sat down. Seto grinned again, that evil grin that made Mokuba nervous.

"I'm not going to be proposing anything; I'm demanding that you buy back this company from me for ten times the price." Kobuso's eyes went wide, but didn't show a completely shocked face.

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me correctly."

"You're joking." Seto's eyes narrowed. Seto didn't joke around and he was becoming impatient.

"I'm not much of a joker. Now I command that you buy it back from me." Kobuso got up from his seat and slammed both his hands on the desk.

"What?! You can't be serious. Why should I have to buy the company back from you for ten times the price?"

"Because if you don't, I'll shut this company down and leave your employees jobless." Kobuso narrowed his eyes as well. The once friendly and excited face had completely changed to anger and hatred. Seto had pushed him into a corner and there was nowhere he could run. Kobuso still felt the need to fight back, though, or at least make a stance. "Well?"

"But Sir, you must understand! We're are a small and modest company, such a spending from us would surely end in declaring bankruptcy. You must understand, even if I were to give you the money, this company would have to shut down anyway without the ability to pay back such a hefty fee. Don't you see? Our employees would lose their jobs anyway if you forced us to go along with such a deal." Seto gritted his teeth and sighed.

"Do you honestly think I care? I'm just here to make the deal and collect my cash, that's it. Now you can either sign off the deal now, or have me shut down the company tonight." Kobuso was shocked and offended. Seto was talking about his company and his fellow employees like they meant nothing to him. Kobuso realized there was nothing more he could do, either way, he was going to lose.

"You are… horrible, but you leave me with no choice. I'll do it." Seto grinned once more.

"That's what I thought," Seto turned away and made his way out of the room, "Lector, make sure to collect my money tonight. I don't want to receive it at a later time." Lector nodded.

"Yes Sir." Mokuba stood there, frozen, in complete shock. He just stared at Seto, he did nothing else. Mokuba didn't even notice that was what he was doing; he was in such a state of confusion and uncertainty. Seto stopped at the doorway when he realized Mokuba was walking behind him. He turned around.

"Well, come on, Mokuba. Let's go." Mokuba tried to shake off his feelings and ran across the room, but he couldn't. His heart felt heavy, and his head felt light. What was wrong with his brother? Why would Seto ever do such a thing to another person? Seto had never done such a dastardly thing before in the past. Mokuba felt he had to ask these questions sooner rather than later to get the straight answers he wanted.

When they exited the building that was when Mokuba decided to bring it up.

"Nii-sama, what was that?"

"What was what?"

"Why would you make such a move like that? Why would you leave him with no other options?" Seto couldn't understand why Mokuba didn't get it. It was simple psychology and statistics after all. Maybe Mokuba was too young yet to grasp what was going on.

"Because I wanted to win. And I did. I cornered my opponent and forced him to comply. Now I've made all the money I needed and therefore have passed Gozaburo's final test." Seto began walking once more, but was stopped by a pull on his shirt. Seto twisted around. Mokuba's face had twisted into an angry frown. "What is your deal?"

"Nii-sama, those people are all going to lose their jobs!" Seto stared at him.

"So? They shouldn't have been working at this dump in the first place. It's called 'research.' If they had spent a second reviewing this company's history they would've been able to figure out that this company was incapable of holding it's own for much longer. It's all there on file. So it's really not my fault, it's theirs."

"Nii-sama, how on earth could you blame them for something you caused? You were the one that pushed him into getting what you want! You're the one that's getting the money you needed, while the rest of them are all going to lose their jobs. How could you possibly be okay with that?" Seto sighed. Mokuba obviously didn't know the way a business worked, and he couldn't blame the kid. He was only ten years old.

Seto placed both his hands on Mokuba and looked down at him. "Mokuba, you should really take it from me and learn this lesson properly. The sooner you do, the more successful you'll be. And that lesson is that life is a game and if you're not in it to win it, then you might as well pack up and go home." And there it was, the phrase that Mokuba had come to despise most of all, Gozaburo's trademark saying, coming out of Seto's mouth for a second time. Seto now appeared to be chuckling to himself for some reason.

"Although in this case, I suppose the Kaiba Mansion would officially be our home now that I've passed Gozaburo's test." Seto said, jokingly. Mokuba couldn't believe what he had just heard. No, he could believe it, but he didn't want to. He was so furious now that he simply couldn't hold himself back.

"No." Seto stop chuckling and eyed him.

"What?" Mokuba pushed Seto's arms away and shoved him.

"No!" Seto furrowed his eyebrows, unsure by what Mokuba meant.

"What's your problem now?"

"NO!" Mokuba shoved Seto again, causing Seto to bring his arms up in defense. Mokuba continued to try and shove his brother to the ground, but Seto was still more than half his size and stronger. Seto was able to catch Mokuba's throws easily, but he was more confused by why Mokuba was throwing them in the first place.

"What's wrong with you?" Mokuba took a couple steps back before head-first tackling his brother. Seto had been completely hit off guard and fell to the ground with his brother on top of him. Mokuba quickly got up just as Seto began to recover from the sudden knock down. Mokuba stood hovering over Seto looking down, his eyes brimming with tears.

"Take it back." Seto sat up.

"Take what back? What are you talking about?"

"Just take it back!" Mokuba attempted to shove his brother again, but Seto caught his hands and stopped him from doing so. Seto kept a good hold on him to keep Mokuba from running off, as he was now attempting to do as he struggle to break free of his brother's grasp.

"Mokuba! What has gotten into you? What is going on?" Now Mokuba had started to let the tears flow freely down his face. Grappled in his brother's grip, he could make no escape. The reality was real, and he had to face it. Mokuba felt his body growing weak, but he wouldn't let it best him. He continued to struggle, to get away from his brother, to run away from the truth. "Mokuba! Look at me!"

Seto moved his hands from Mokuba's wrists to the sides of his face, forcing his younger brother to look him in the eyes. "Tell me." Mokuba was hyperventilating now as the boy began to sob. Mokuba didn't want to say it, and yet, even with the large lump in his throat, he managed to state it out loud.

"You're just like him." Mokuba made his final push and got out of Seto's hold finally. Mokuba fell to the ground as a result, but shakily was able to get crawl back up and started running down the sidewalk in the opposite direction of the limo. Mokuba would continue to run without stopping and without looking back, making his way home alone.

Seto remained on the ground, in shock and confusion.

Still, Seto did not understand what Mokuba's problem was. When Mokuba said he was just like 'him,' had he been referring to Gozaburo? And if so…

Was that really a bad thing? Seto was left pondering that question for the rest of the ride home up until they arrived back at the mansion. When they did, Seto had come to the conclusion that Mokuba was obviously having some issues of his own that had nothing to really do with him. Mokuba was probably upset about something else and that was why he exploded.

After all, Gozaburo had taught him the ways to becoming a successful business man and even better, a way to getting exactly what he wanted. And how could that possibly be a bad thing?

A/N: Hola chicos y chicas, soy guardián de HiKari Mokuba here with another grammar concept. :](if any of you guys have ever taken Spanish, I'm sure you found that funny!) Actually it's not that funny, but for some reason I felt like putting it in there. Which is ODD because I'm totally EXCITED LIKE WOAH about this chapter since it was so good! Seriously, it turned out way better than I had planned it too, and it took way less time than it usually takes for me to write a chapter! You know, as I was writing this, I was planning to go very by-the-book and episode, but suddenly I was inspired and that last scene happened!(and that part about bankruptcy!) It was the greatest thing ever, I'm so excited! I hope you guys liked it as well, because there's a lot more where that came from! Thanks for all your wonderful reviews!