I'm trying to cover a separate theme with each of these, but admittedly this one kind of ties into the second chapter, as well as the third. Not too obviously, but it's a concept that's been rolling around in my mind for a while now, and it's influenced the way I've looked at each of these scenarios.
In this case, I ask it flat-out. Or, someone else does it for me.
"Why you figure they never fight?"
The question was sudden, and for a moment Yugi Mutou didn't even realize that it had been addressed to him. He glanced over, saw that Tristan Taylor was watching him, and blinked. "Huh?" he asked stupidly.
Tristan ran a hand over his short-cropped brown hair, scratching behind his left ear, and said, "Kaiba. And Mokuba. They're brothers. I mean...I used to fight all the time with Stacie. Coupl'a times we just about disowned each other. An' Joe. Him 'n Serenity get into it every so often. Usually about their mom. So...why's it feel like Kaiba 'n Mokuba just...don't do it? Ever."
Yugi mulled this over. He was no stranger to the eternal mysteries of the Kaiba brothers' relationship, and he'd probably put more thought into the subject than anyone in Domino City, except perhaps McKat, head moderator for the Blue Eyes, Violet Eyes message boards. Yugi had perused the Kaibas' fan-club a few times over the past few weeks, and couldn't help but marvel. So used to meeting with people who hated Kaiba with a fervent passion, he'd largely given up on the idea that there were people—aside from Mokuba and himself and, maybe, Joey—who rather admired him.
Not so much.
Yugi thought back on a similar discussion he had seen on one of the website's forums, and murmured, "I think it's...a product of their pasts, really." He looked at Tristan, who perked up with surprised interest, and expanded on this: "Normal siblings fight. It's the natural order of things. I bet Bakura and his sister had their share of arguments. But that's because they're normal. They have families. Parents to handle the big stuff so that they can let the little stuff take over their lives. You, and Joey, and Bakura, had time to devote to arguing with your sisters. Kaiba doesn't have that with his brother."
"What?" Tristan asked. "Yug, I know Kaiba's busy and all, but...come on."
"That's not what I mean," Yugi replied. "I mean...think about what they've been through. Mokuba's been kidnapped enough times that it's probably a world record. They've almost been killed three or four times, and that's just counting normal situations. Never mind magic."
Tristan raised an eyebrow. He adjusted his jacket, wiped a hand over his blue undershirt and picked a loose thread off of it. "...So you figure...what? They don't fight because...?"
"Because for them, it's a very real possibility that every time they talk to each other is the last chance they'll ever have," Yugi said. "And besides...when was the last time you heard of an eleven-year-old boy getting into a fight with his dad? Like, a real fight?"
Tristan frowned. "I guess...but...they're still brothers. I mean, no matter what living situation they're in, no matter what role Kaiba fills, they're still brothers first and foremost."
Yugi looked unconvinced. "Maybe. I have a hard time believing that, though. I think, first and foremost, they're partners. Then they're father and son. Then they're friends. I'm not sure 'brother,' the way we think of the word, ever comes into it." He turned to the counter of the Turtle Game Shop and watched the wall phone for a while. "In any case, I think it's even simpler than that, really, when you get right down to it." He glanced at his friend.
"'Cuz dey wuv each-udder?" the brunette asked with a half-sneer, clearly not finding this to be a convincing argument. "I love my sister. Joey loves his. I'm sure Bakura loved Amane. We fight. In a twisted sorta way, it's what proves it. When we fight over something, it's proof that it matters to us. Without that, it turns into apathy."
Yugi shook his head, stone-set serious. "They were taught by their adopted father that no fight is ever less than a struggle for survival. And every fight those two have ever been involved in has been life-or-death. Gozaburo Kaiba, Pegasus, Malik, even Yami. Kaiba doesn't believe in fighting and arguing for anything less than that. If the matter isn't important, he concedes to whatever Mokuba wants. If it is important, he puts his foot down and Mokuba relents, because Niisama knows best. That's…pretty much it. It's not apathy, it's just that they don't really run into situations where a difference of opinion ends in an explosion." He sighed as if he thought this was unfair. "They think of fighting as a sacrilege, because in the end of a fight, there's a winner and a loser. The victor and the shamed. They weren't taught how arguments can be constructive. I think if you've been to war, getting into a fistfight over pocket change isn't worth it anymore. And I think the same thing goes for them."
"Kaiba don't fight with Mokuba about stupid shit 'cuz it ain't worth it? And Mokuba don't fight with Kaiba over anything 'cuz he knows Kaiba wouldn't make a big deal out of it if it wasn't important?"
Yugi nodded. "Yeah, basically."
"You seriously think that's the answer."
"I do," Yugi said. "I think they don't fight because they just plain can't."
People fight. As Yugi says, it's the natural order of things. However, a couple of factors drive my running theory that full-on arguments don't happen with these two.
One, Mokuba is at that "calm before the storm" age right at the precipice of puberty. Once it does, the process starts all over again and Seto will have a self-centered, impulsive, "jump first, check for the parachute later" toddler—I mean, teenager on his hands. Not that Mokuba's teenage rebellion stage will reach that level, and that leads to the second part.
Mokuba is wholly devoted to making his brother happy, and proud of him. He says in one episode of the second anime, during the Noa storyline: "I don't care how much I suffer. I want to help my brother." In another episode, the virtual game filler arc right after Duelist Kingdom, he says: "Without Niisama, I'd have no reason to live."
Part of that is straight hero worship; his brother is the center of the world. The coolest, the smartest, the king. But it also stems from this: during his formative years, he didn't have Mom, or Dad, or Grandma, or Gozaburo to teach him and help him grow. He had his brother. Seto was his first fundamental human connection during infancy, and it's through that constant that he's learned how to bond.
Thus, if Niisama puts his foot down…that's the end of it.
And on the flip-side, Mokuba' s been through so much crap in his life (for which I believe Seto feels fundamentally responsible) that if it isn't worth making a point, Seto lets him have it. I'm not saying Mokuba is spoiled. The precise opposite, in fact. But I also think that the standard paradigm doesn't apply here. I think Tristan is wrong; they aren't brothers. They weren't given the chance. But through that, they understand what so many of us try: "It's no use crying over spilled milk." So for those who think their relationship is broken, or unhealthy, or will never lead to anything good because they cling too much to each other (and I know you're out there)…I'm not so sure.
Let me know what you think about that, and I'll see you Thursday.
