Firstly, let me apologize both for the lateness of this chapter, and for missing Saturday. A family emergency had taken over the house for a solid week, and I can only say that I hope I may be forgiven. This piece is actually quite a bit longer than the others so far, and I also hope that that helps to make up for the missed update.
This is set in the past, not long after Mokuba first met the gang. Typically in my work, Seto and the others get along halfway reasonably well (that is to say, they don't attempt to murder each other anymore), and this chapter attempts to shed some light on how they used to deal with each other, back when Seto was still in his mid-teens.
Keep an eye out for another Kaiba brothers piece that I wrote over the weekend, which I've called "Fall from Grace, Rise to Glory." It's different from most of what I've written about them, but the major themes of this piece are also present there.
As always, enjoy.
"Wheeler. Taylor."
They stopped dead in their tracks, looking like a gunshot had just gone off. Joey Wheeler turned first, swiping his blond hair away from his face as if to clear his vision and make sure he was seeing correctly. Tristan Taylor glanced over his shoulder.
"Kaiba," Joey replied scathingly, crossing his arms.
"Stupid move," Seto replied blandly. "If I were looking for a fight, as you seem to think, you both would be pathetically easy targets right now. One with his arms crossed, the other with his back turned. If you're going to be antagonistic, at least do it properly. Don't expect me to give you weapons, though. You'll have to find those yourselves."
Joey lowered his arms and clenched them into fists. "You're such a dick, you know that?"
"So I've been told. I've also been called a 'prick' on occasion, which I believe has a similar meaning."
Tristan turned to face him. "...It's so clear you give a shit, too."
"I've been trying sohard to impress you," Seto replied.
"What the fuck do you want?" Joey demanded.
Seto sighed again, long-suffering, as if he were about to do something he wanted nothing less in the world to do. He ran a hand through his thick brown hair and glanced up at the sky for a moment, perhaps praying to a god in which he didn't believe for patience, or looking around for a helicopter to come evacuate him out of this entire situation. Finding neither deus nor machina, he turned his eyes back to the pair in front of him.
"I have a request to make of you both."
Joey barked a laugh. "Oh, really? Well, ya sure's hell got off to a damn good start!"
"I was never under the impression that you would be willing to perform, nor even listen to, this request voluntarily," Seto snapped. "I am prepared to compensate you. This is not a favor; it's a job. Now, will you listen?"
"Shut up, Joe," Tristan hissed as Joey made to reply again. "I need as much money as I can get my damn hands on right now. What's this job, Kaiba? And why're you asking us?"
"I have a convention to attend this coming weekend," Seto said. "I am expected to make a presentation, as well as present a trophy to the winner of a Magic & Wizards tournament being planned for the event. Under normal circumstances, Mokuba would come with me. However, the event was postponed. Mokuba's two-week spring vacation has ended already, and he cannot afford to miss this coming Monday."
Joey sneered. "That's pretty fucked, Kaiba. Not lettin' the kid go to a convention 'cuz it's a school day."
"Unlike certain individuals I could name offhand," Seto replied waspishly, "Mokuba takes his education seriously, and thus it was his decision to stay home in order not to miss a quiz, not mine. I respect his decision, and intend to honor it."
"But…?" Tristan said, gesturing for him to continue.
"Mokuba has made plans to stay with Mutou for the time being," Seto couldn't quite hide the twitch of displeasure-bordering-on-hatred that crossed his face, "and while I do not deny that he means well, I also do not intend to leave my brother undefended while I attend to this…business. I did it once, and it earned him a stay in a dungeon cell. Because evidently the proper answer to child abduction is a challenge to duel."
Joey scowled. "Yeah, and where the hell were you? Least Yugi did somethin'. Yugi frickin' tried—"
"If trying were good enough, we wouldn't be having this discussion!" Seto snarled. "Don't speak to me about trying. What do you want to hear from me? What apology do I owe to you? What is it, precisely, that I have done to you? Nothing you did not turn right back upon me. Did your mother not teach you the rule about what two wrongs do not make?"
"You just don't know when to shut your fuckin' mouth, do you?"
"A fascinating question coming from you!"
"Oh, for the love of God, would you two get a room?" Tristan interjected. "Jesus H. Christ on a goddamn tricycle, you can't go fifteen seconds without biting each other's heads off. Here's an idea, Joey, how 'bout you shut your mouth before the goddamn billionaire decides he doesn't wanna pay us?"
"I don't want his fucking—"
"Yeah, well, I do. I gotta pay rent, y'know, and last I heard, you had a problem with your cell phone bill. Now, you wanna work for it, or ask your mom? How many millions of people don't like their boss? We don't have to convert to fuckin' Kaiba-ism, here, so get the damn stick outta your ass for a minute."
He turned to Seto. "Word to the wise, Kaiba? I get that we screwed up with Mokuba out at Duelist Kingdom, a'right? And I'm not gonna tell you that you're not right to be pissed for it. Just a little kid, right? Oughtta look out for 'im. But, uh…if you want Joey to do somethin' for ya, might be a good idea not to insult him first. Just a thought."
Seto opened his mouth to speak, then forcibly stopped himself. He let out a slow, haggard breath as his right hand inched toward the necklace they knew he wore under his shirt; the necklace with the picture of Mokuba in it. Joey visibly calmed, and on a glance at Tristan he lowered his head.
"…A'right," the blond said, sounding defeated. "What's this job you want us in on?"
"While I am gone, and Mokuba is staying with…Yugi," Kaiba replied, looking as if it were physically painful to speak, "…I would ask that you two…look out for him. As I've said, Yugi means well, I'm sure, and I know that he considers Mokuba a friend. For that, I am grateful. But he does not have proper training in…actual defense. I have reason to believe that you do. Am I wrong in this?"
Joey looked honestly surprised. "I…uh…no, I guess. We, uh…y'know, been around the block."
"Not, like, professionally trained or anything," Tristan said, "but we know how to handle things. So…you're asking…us…to watch out for your li'l brother. Make sure he's okay while you're off giving speeches or whatever."
Seto nodded. "Yes."
Tristan actually smiled. "I can swing that."
Joey watched the brunette for a moment, gauging him. "…Yeah. Sure. Count me in."
Seto nodded. "Thank you."
He turned and walked away without another word.
"Okay, um...so the forest is pretty dark, it's getting close to nighttime, and, uh...you're pretty sure there's nobody following you."
Mokuba hadn't known what to think when Yugi brought up the idea of tabletop roleplaying, but he had to admit that it was going pretty well. Yugi had clearly thought through his adventure; he had everything in order, and he was a pretty good storyteller when you got right down to it. Nonetheless, he was nervous, and it showed.
"I'm going to roll perception to make sure," Mokuba said.
"Okay," said Yugi.
He tossed the die onto the table. "Sixteen, plus four. Twenty."
"Okay." Yugi glanced down at a sheet of paper. "You don't notice anything out of place at first. Just some animals going about their business. You do see a fox after a while, and it makes eye contact with you. It's pretty bold, and you think there's something a little off."
"Arcana," Tristan said. "I'm gonna see if it's been enchanted by somebody."
"Go for it."
"...Four."
Yugi grinned. "Okay, uh...yeah, you're pretty sure that's a fox, all right."
"I'm gonna eat it."
Mokuba smiled. He could tell that Joey, Tristan, and Téa were all new to the game. They didn't quite understand the way things worked, they were constantly checking and re-checking their character sheets and reference books, but he could also tell that the guys, at least, were getting into the spirit of things. Téa, on the other hand, was doing her level best to hide the fact that she was bored out of her mind, and failing rather spectacularly.
Mokuba didn't know Téa Gardner very well, but he knew bored. It was a universal expression, and it was one he had seen way too many times to miss now. Whenever Yugi looked over at her, she smiled just a bit too enthusiastically. There was a touch of embarrassment on Yugi's face whenever he saw one of those smiles, and the black-haired boy had to resist the urge to roll his eyes. Something was amiss, they both knew it, and they were both pretending like they didn't.
He could already picture Seto sending one of his, "Are you serious?" looks at Téa, until she finally grew uncomfortable enough that she demanded to know what his problem was. And he could see Seto leaning back in his chair, raising an incredulous eyebrow, and saying, "If you're not interested, leave the table. Don't insult the rest of the group by staying if you don't want to play."
Mokuba took in a deep breath and remained silent. He loved his brother, admired and respected him, even agreed with him on this particular point, but he knew better than anyone else that Seto took no stock in social niceties, and he knew that Seto's tactic wouldn't do him any good here. Maybe they were idiots, like Seto said, but Mokuba found that he liked them. He liked them just fine. He didn't really want to piss them off on his first night alone with them..
"Everybody roll initiative," Yugi was saying, "but don't tell me your numbers yet. I'm just going to...set this up, here..." He took a pen and started scratching on a grid. Mokuba picked up a die and rolled, and wondered what his brother was doing right now. "This is going to take a bit, so...take it easy for just a...minute, here..."
Mokuba checked the digital watch on his left wrist. It was almost eight-thirty. Seto was probably just getting to his hotel room for a night of...whatever it was that Seto did at night. Mokuba had never been sure what his insomniac sibling did until two in the morning every night, considering that the majority of his day had already been spent working. He felt a twinge of guilt for sitting here playing a game. He should have gone with Seto. He should be in that hotel room, convincing his brother to actually get some sleep for once and not pull the same 82-hour marathon stunt as last year; Seto had been so tired by the end of it that he'd actually forgotten how to drive, and was half-convinced that the proper solution was to walk home. Mokuba had asked him how long that would take, considering the twelve hours it had taken them to get there with a car.
Seto had stopped, looked up at the sky for a moment, and told his brother that if he kept up a brisk enough pace, he estimated that he could be back at the Kaiba Estate in about four days. When Mokuba told his brother that he didn't think he'd be able to walk that long (he didn't mention that Seto wouldn't be able to walk that long; he knew better), Seto had simply shrugged and said, "I'll carry you," in such a slurred, incoherent voice that it sounded like another language.
"Mokuba," Yugi said, and the black-haired boy flinched.
"Huh?"
"Initiative. What did you roll?"
Mokuba found that he didn't remember. He picked up the die again and rolled it onto the table. "Um...nineteen."
"All right. Anybody beat a nineteen?" Everyone shook their heads. "Okay," Yugi said, clapping his hands together again. "Let's get started. Top of the round. Mokuba, you're up."
Mokuba regained enough focus to realize that Yugi had set up a combat encounter. He scanned the grid on the table, and forced his memory to cooperate. After a few seconds that he attempted to mask as simple strategy, he said, "I'll use Divine Challenge on this guy right here, then Enfeebling Strike."
"Cool. Go for it."
Mokuba rolled, inwardly smiling; Yugi hadn't noticed his lack of attention. He picked up a die and rolled. "Uh...that's a...twenty-two."
"Versus AC?"
"Yeah."
"That hits. Roll damage."
"...Twelve."
Yugi nodded. "Okay. So you hold out your hand, and it kind of glows for a second, and a flash of light explodes in the first direwolf's face. You lift your hammer, and it's almost...sparkling in the aftermath, and boom! Down it goes on the wolf's flank. But it doesn't yelp. It just stands up again. Doesn't shake off the attack, or growl, or howl, or show its teeth. It's just staring at you."
"Oh, that's good news," Tristan said.
"As you look at the wolf, you notice out of the corner of your eye that the others aren't moving. They're all staring at you now. And while you adjust your grip on your hammer, they...smile at you. And you don't mistake it for a growl, either. None of them are making a sound. They're actually smiling."
Mokuba frowned. "Creepy."
"The one you hit takes a step or two forward. Slow, stiff, not like it's going to attack. The smile is still there. It keeps looking you straight in the eye, and you suddenly hear this voice. Like, echoing in your head. At first you don't know what it means, you can't understand anything. It's just gibberish. But after a few seconds or so, you recognize one word: 'dragonbrother.'"
Joey half-snorted, half-coughed.
Yugi sent an exasperated look the blond's way. "Before you say anything, I'd remind you that he's a follower of Bahamut. You know, the dragon god of justice?"
"I didn't say nothin'."
"Uh-huh. I'm watching you."
"Dragonbrother," Mokuba repeated, unable to completely hide the smile coming to his face as he tested the new title. He cleared his throat and put himself into Paladin Mode, which Tristan had described as, "Kaiba with a cross ("up his ass," Joey had added under his breath)." Mokuba said, in as deep a voice as he could manage: "Who addresses me so?"
"We do," Yugi replied. "We who stand free beneath the leaves, we who stand strong against the wind of storms."
"These aren't natural wolves," Mokuba said. "These are agents. Why do you block our path? Who do you serve, that would keep us from moving forward?"
"Uh...who you talking to?" Tristan asked.
"Why aren't they attacking us?" Joey added.
"Maybe we should find another way?" Téa put in, trying desperately to be a part of the game. She still didn't sound very enthusiastic. "I'm not sure we should be fighting these wolves."
"We test you, dragonbrother," Yugi said. "Come forward with your followers, and we who stand strong will know your heart and your blood. If you are as we who are wise like the earth believe, then we who speak as the godsmouth shall answer your questions."
"Where'd you come up with this?" Joey wondered.
Yugi shrugged. "Kind of just...made it up. I don't know."
"Just to be clear," Tristan put in, "we don't hear this, right? This is all in Mokuba's head, right?"
"Yes. Only Althor can hear the voices. All right, so...this one here will take a bite at Tirivan—om, nom, nom—with a...twenty-seven versus AC."
"I dodge," Tristan said.
"Uh-huh. Take...five points of damage."
"Ow."
Mokuba jumped in his seat and quickly retrieved his phone from his pocket, which had begun to vibrate. Yugi raised an eyebrow. "Your brother?" he asked, but the black-haired boy sighed and shook his head, disappointed.
"Some 800 number," he said. He answered the call anyway, just in case, but it didn't take six seconds before he hung up and put the device back into his pocket. "No, I do not want a free security system," he muttered.
"Of course not," Yugi said. "You have no need for such things, dragonbrother. You are your own security system."
Mokuba grinned. "Yeah. That's it."
"All right, so...Joey. You next. What does Ulogg do?"
"Uh...let's go with blunt force trauma."
"You can't. You don't even know what that means."
"Hey! Ulogg ain't stupid! He's just alternately intellectual."
"Mm-hm. That's why his name is Ulogg, right? You're an ogre, Joey. Embrace it."
"Ugh."
Mokuba smiled. "That's the spirit!"
"Oh-ho, rich boy thinks he's funny now. All right, dragonbrother. Pay attention. This is how we roll in the mountains. I'm gonna Reaping Strike this mother in the face."
"Go."
Joey rolled. "...Goddamn it. Six on AC."
"Yeah, no."
"No, wait. Forgot my strength. Eleven."
"Yeah, no."
The blond leaned back and pouted. "Flag on the field. Damn wolves're cheating. Can I use my action point 'n try again?"
"...Yeah, no."
"Oh, come on! Okay, seventeen on AC!"
"Miss."
"Motherfucker!"
Mokuba smiled. "Maybe you shouldn't mock my god," he offered.
"Your god's a dick. I bet these guys're workin' for Bahamut, and they got super-anti-ogre armor or somethin'. Oi! Wolves! You got somethin' against ogres?"
Yugi raised an eyebrow. "Yes."
"Racists."
"They have their reasons."
"Yeah, I just bet they do. All right, I got nothin'. Who's up next?"
"That'd be this wolf here. He's going to bite your face. Ooh. Not good. Nat twenty. Ulogg takes a maximum of...fifteen points of damage."
"Dod-gam futher-mucking bun of a sitch."
"...What?"
"Hey, Ulogg ain't too bright, right? Sometimes he lixes up his metters."
Mokuba laughed. Tristan put his head in his hands, and even Téa looked amused. Yugi scratched something onto a sheet of paper, muttering something that sounded suspiciously like, "...murder the ogre..." and gestured for Téa to take her turn.
"Um...Althor?" she asked, glancing at Mokuba. "After you hit the first one, you looked...like you were listening to something. What did you hear?"
"As I said, these wolves are agents. They speak to me. They are...testing us."
"Why?"
Mokuba frowned. "I do not know. They say that we must defeat them before they will speak further."
"Crack 'em heads, crel...uh...cler...um...priest girl!" Joey offered.
"Cleric. And I do not...crack heads. That's your job, you...unsavory brute."
"Yes," Mokuba said. "If only he happened to be better at it."
Téa grinned, and it seemed like she was finally starting to enjoy herself.
Yugi caught Mokuba's eye again, and winked.
Mokuba winked back.
Joey continued to grumble about cheating wolves.
And the real game began.
The game being played is the 4th Edition of Dungeons & Dragonspublished by Wizards of the Coast, a tabletop RPG of which I am reasonably familiar, as my friends and I have played for six months or so.
I hope that you had fun with this, and I'll see you guys later this week. As my graduation ceremony is on Thursday evening, the new chapter may come on Friday. We'll see what happens.
See you then, everyone.
Take care.
