The previous chapter, for lack of a better term, was a bit of a parody/homage. I've been reading the Harry Potter series for the second time, and that chapter afforded me the chance to explore one of the more interesting paradigms that I noticed. That is to say, if you want to know why one of my favorite characters in the series is Sirius Black, now you know. He's the Seto of that universe.

Seto has more than a little Tom Riddle in him, as well (Tom, not Voldemort; I mark a distinct difference), but as far as choosing a counterpart, it's good old Padfoot. So, with that said, this scene here is a return to form, as it were.

This time is a bit different, though; this time, we're taking a turn down memory lane.

A disclaimer before we begin; I mean no offense to any religion or religious individual; this is simply an observation on my part, and I hold to it. So, let us begin.


Hannah Lamont looked altogether scandalized when she heard the question. Personally, Kristine Hathaway thought it was not only expected, but perfectly acceptable.

How was a four-year-old boy supposed to know what religion was?

"I'm...sorry, little one. What did you say?"

Little Mokuba Yagami looked perplexed at this question, and stared at Hannah like he thought she might be sick. He toyed with the hem of his t-shirt and repeated: "...Who's God Bless? You keep saying all'a time. God Bless, God Bless. Who's that?"

"I...I..."

"I almost feel bad for her," Kristine said as Daniel Elliot approached, looking amused. She looked at the man with a strange expression on her face. "They never had time to learn about religion, did they?"

Daniel shook his head. "I talked to one of their mother's friends once. She told me that Missus Yagami didn't believe in taking her children to church until they understood what it meant to go there. And their father was agnostic, so he really didn't have a stake in the argument, anyway."

Somehow, it didn't surprise Kristine that Seto and Mokuba hadn't been exposed to church, or religion, or God. She was sure that Seto understood it all—as Seto seemed to understand everything—but she was also sure that the older boy hadn't bothered to teach his brother about it. She didn't like to think that Atheism—no more than any other belief system—had specific defining traits, but she did think that if she were going to find them, nearly all of them would be in thin, withdrawn, cynical little Seto Yagami.

"Well...um...a blessing isn't a name, sweetie," Hannah said, trying a smile but still obviously flustered. "It's something that happens. It means good things will happen for you. And...and the one who does that, the one who blesses people...is God." Mokuba looked at her with a blissful expression on his face, eyes upturned and smile wide. "Do you understand?" she asked.

Looking rapturous, Mokuba said, "No."

Kristine had to cover her mouth as she sputtered with laughter. Daniel was smiling. It was no secret that they were fond of the Yagami children, and as far as they were concerned, they had good reason to be. It was true that Seto was rather stern—often to the point of arrogance, if he thought he was being held back from something—and that Mokuba had a tendency to run about the place as though he answered to no one—barring, of course, his Nii'tama—but all told, they honestly caused far less trouble than most of the other boys.

Seto's attitude, while grating and abrasive for the workers and potential adopters, did wonders to keep his young sibling in line.

Most of the time.

Hannah knelt down in front of the excitable toddler. Daniel crossed his arms, and his stance turned easy. He seemed to want to watch this. Truthfully, Kristine did as well. Hannah glanced at them reproachfully, but they couldn't help but grin at her. She'd walked right into it. She said, "...God is...God is everywhere, little one. He takes care of us. He watches over us. He makes sure that we live happy lives, and...and He protects us. And all He asks us to do in return is love Him, and honor Him."

Hm, Kristine thought idly, not bad.

Daniel was grinning like a fiend, and Kristine wondered for a moment why he would be. Then she looked back at Mokuba Yagami, and saw dawning comprehension on his little face. "Oh..." he said, and he was nodding enthusiastically.

"You know who God is, don't you, little one?" Hannah asked, smiling sweetly.

"Uh-huh! Uh-huh!" Mokuba declared decisively. He threw up his arms like he was a magician doing a particularly impressive trick, or like he was a contestant on a game show with the answer to the prize-winning question, and cried: "Nii'tama!"

Daniel doubled over, laughing. He'd been waiting for that.

Kristine's grin reached her ears.

Hannah looked thoroughly appalled.

Kristine was sure that she would find the humor in it eventually, once she was convinced that he'd honestly meant nothing by it. Mokuba's scope of the world, like that of any boy his age, was only a touch wider than that of a goldfish. Caretaker? Guide? Protector? It could only mean one person.

That one person was standing nearby, and Kristine was sure that Seto had heard the exchange. She expected him to be rather proud or delighted at the notion that his little brother thought of him as God. It really was cute, in its own way. But the one thing she would have never expected to see was exactly what she saw, written on his face like hieroglyphs:

Stark horror.


The title for this chapter is from the chorus of "God is for the Dead," from Ill Niño's 2010 album, "Dead New World."

Kristine Hathaway was a social worker for the Domino Children's Home while Seto and Mokuba were living there. Now that Seto and Mokuba have risen through the ranks of society and have become influential enough to inspire change in the city, she's been promoted. She's now in charge of said Children's Home, and is known far and wide as "Big Kristine."

I know that Seto's time at the orphanage was apparently supposed to be a bad time for him; a time of restlessness and anger. Else why would he be so hell-bent to leave that he would stay with Gozaburo? However, I contend that it wasn't all bad. Not at all. Some of the flashbacks we see in the Noa storyline of the second series anime were downright pleasant.

Hence, this. Granted, it wasn't a particularly pleasant experience for Seto at the time, apparently, but I think he might look back on it now with some amount of satisfaction. His brother had seriously high expectations of him, still has them, and so far he's lived up to them.

That, in my book, is a victory.