I must profusely apologize for the delay in getting this out. I had trouble keeping up with my summer class, and my grade was beginning to suffer for it. I don't know if I managed to fully repair the damage, but now the class is over. Thankfully, I have some time before orientation at my new school, with which I hope to get back on track.

That said, I welcome you to the 22nd snapshot into the Kaibas' lives. Co-starring the Brinkley family.


It was after midnight.

Enid and Leonard Brinkley weren't particularly light sleepers, but they didn't wake up until their son came bursting into the room, knocking on the wall. "Mom! Dad! Wake up!" They weren't fully awake yet, and Enid hadn't quite managed to coax her eyes to focus before she heard Connor picking the telephone off the end-table and punching in a number. They both shot upright when they finally heard the fear in the boy's voice as he said: "Mister Kaiba! I'm sorry to disturb you, but…but…it's Mokuba. Wha—I think he's having a nightmare. I don't know! I…I…!"

Enid didn't bother asking Connor what was wrong; she rushed into the front room where Connor and Mokuba had set up a makeshift campsite out of a feather comforter and what looked like every pillow in the house; the television was still blaring with the colors and sounds of the videogame they'd been playing when Enid had bade them goodnight two hours previous.

Mokuba Kaiba was, as far as Enid was concerned, a marvel. She didn't know every detail of the young celebrity's life, but she knew that he had seen more and dealt with more in his ten years than most people ever would, and he did it with a smile on his face and laughter in his heart. She couldn't recall a single time when the heir to the Kaiba name had ever looked even nervous, much less scared.

But it wasn't fair to call whatever horror that had its claws in him right now a nightmare; Mokuba was thrashing in his sleep, eyes shut tight and teeth bared; terrified, strangled yelps escaped his bulging throat, and he was tangled so tightly in a sheet that Enid thought he might strangle himself before long.

They tried to approach him, she and Leonard both, but he wouldn't let them. For as small and thin as he looked, the young Kaiba was surprisingly strong, and it seemed like no words would penetrate the black-haired boy's tortured imaginings.

When Mokuba's brother arrived, he didn't bother to knock, didn't announce his arrival, and if Leonard had been in anything resembling his right mind, he would have reached for a weapon. It was perhaps, in the end, a good thing that he was so distracted because one look at the elder Kaiba's face was enough to tell Enid that he would have taken any provocation as an excuse to attack.

Enid had seen the Kaibas together; she knew that whatever appearances he put up, Seto Kaiba was a devoted, dedicated guardian who'd staved off the pitfalls of young parenthood better than anyone she could think of. It was no surprise to her when, faced with his little brother's torment, the man's entire essence shifted one-hundred-and-eighty degrees.

Leonard, however, was—for lack of a more appropriate term—fascinated.

"He's not a bad person," he had said once, "but for the life of me I can't find a single, solitary pleasant thing to say about him."

Mokuba had calmed down, sort of.

"Sorry about this," Leonard said as Seto slipped to his knees beside his brother. "Connor was calling your number as he was waking us up."

Seto gave a fleeting glance at Connor, who looked thoroughly shaken. The man gave a short nod, then turned his attention back to Mokuba, pointedly ignoring Leonard entirely. He put a thin hand on the black-haired boy's shoulder. "Mokuba. Mokuba, wake up." His voice wasn't harsh, nor particularly loud, but it was firm. Direct. Mokuba tried to throw his brother off of him, but only managed to claw at Seto's shirt for a while before his eyes flew open with a short, sharp cry that was half-terror, half-pain.

Mokuba saw his brother and threw himself forward, clinging to Seto's neck as if magnetized. "Niisama!" he sobbed. "Niisama! It was…I saw…! It…he…!"

"Shhh…" Seto whispered, stroking back his brother's sweat-drenched hair, holding him as tenderly as any mother. "It's okay…everything's okay…"

Even though they were in the Brinkleys' home, the Brinkleys no longer existed to them. For Mokuba, Seto was the only other human being in the world. For Seto, Mokuba. Any and all tension in the room had evaporated.

Mokuba was sobbing into his brother's shoulder, clutching at his shirt.

"What happened…?" Seto asked Connor.

"I…I don't know!" the blond boy wailed. "We were just…we were playing Fire Emblem, and Mokuba said it was my turn, so he was just watching, and…and I went to ask him something, and he was asleep. A…a few minutes later, he started talking. I thought maybe he woke up, but he was dreaming, and…and…"

Seto nodded, apparently satisfied, and turned his attention back to Mokuba. "Shhh…it's all right, baby, it's all right…Niisama's here. I'm right here, Mokuba. You're safe. That's all over now. You're at your friend's house, and you're safe. C'mon…shhh-sh-sh-sh…" He was rocking the boy gently back and forth, and Enid couldn't help but smile a little.

Leonard, arms crossed, looked studious.

Though it would have been entirely natural for Seto to gather up Mokuba's things and carry him home, he didn't. Rather, once the boy had stopped trembling, and his breathing was under control, Seto lay him down and settled him into the comforter. "There, now," he murmured. "Get some sleep, Mokuba. When you wake up, it'll be morning. You and Connor can play a game, watch some TV. Don't worry about the development meeting. I'll bring you up to speed later. You just sleep, and have fun tomorrow. That's an order. Understood?"

Mokuba barely had the cohesion to nod before succumbing to sleep.

Seto stood up, nodded to Connor again, and approached Enid and Leonard. He said, "See if it isn't possible to make French toast for breakfast in the morning."

Enid smiled. "His favorite?" she guessed.

Seto nodded, looking distracted. The problem was quelled, his brother was safe and asleep, and his mind seemed to be going straight back into hyper-drive. He adjusted the cuffs of his shirt, smoothed out the front, and looked toward the front door.

"I'm sorry about this," Leonard said again, scratching his chin. "I know this must be embarrassing for you, but…"

Seto looked over at the man, acknowledging his existence for the first time since his arrival. He looked legitimately puzzled, an expression Enid had never seen on his sharp face before. "…Why would this embarrass me?" he asked in a flat, neutral, "I-don't-understand-you" tone of voice.

A beat of silence, and Leonard beamed. "…No reason. None at all."

Seto quirked an eyebrow at the man.

He opened the front door and strode out into the night without another word.


I can't help but think that I've written this scene before, and it's likely been in this particular project. Something about Seto waking his brother from a nightmare resonates rather strongly with me, to the point that I felt the need to explore it from another perspective.

I feel like I haven't really managed to flesh out the Brinkleys in writing nearly as much as I have in my head, and this was an attempt to fix that particular issue. I'm not sure how well I did, but I do hope that you enjoyed this installment, in spite of its similar tone to another chapter.

See you next time, later on in the week.

I'm getting back onboard with this one; I promise.