I remember days when summer vacation meant I had more time on my hands. It really doesn't seem like that's true this year, and it's making it hard to focus on the things I want to do.

What I want to do, is figure out my characters. I've given plenty of time in this project to Seto and Mokuba and the gang, and I've given some time to the Brinkleys. But the McKinley family has been a staple in my stories since "Back from the Dead," and with this chapter I wanted to look a little deeper into how they work.

Thus, we have this.

Seto makes an appearance, but it's secondary. Something I never thought I'd say.


They were happy.

For Detective McKinley, this wasn't particularly out of character. But for Seto Kaiba it was an astronomical event. When he said something that caused the both of them to laugh, it wouldn't have been entirely out of the question for the earth itself to do a double-take. It was frightening enough for the young executive to take a day off; for him to enjoy it was a sign of the Apocalypse.

"Tea?" Katie McKinley asked, setting a steaming mug in front of Seto on the living room table.

"Thank you," Seto said, offering a ghost of a smile and nodding to her.

Were there words to their conversation? None that anyone knew. Katie stayed out of the room, leaving her father and his friend to their own devices. A year ago, she would have accosted Seto Kaiba with questions and platitudes, falling all over herself to impress him. Now, she understood. She had matured.

"What's going on in there?" Renie Eubank asked as Katie stepped back into the hall. "War council? Lawsuit? They plotting an assassination?"

"Looks like they're just having a good time."

Renie fell into step beside Katie as they started to talk. Through the hall, through the back door, across the yard, along the street. "Does it ever strike you as surreal that your dad's friends with the biggest celebrity in the city?" Renie asked.

"Sometimes," Katie said, "but I think I've acclimated. It's not as glamorous as I might've thought. We're not suddenly getting invited to swanky parties and riding limousines everywhere. Daddy had the wondrous fortune of befriending the least showy billionaire on the planet."

"Have you seen that man's car?"

Katie laughed. "You know what I mean. We don't go to parties because he doesn't throw any. Figures my dad would relate to a workaholic. Mom says they've got the strangest, most authentic relationship she's ever seen."

Renie nodded. "Sounds about right."

They continued walking in silence. It was a longstanding tradition for them. Katie thought there weren't many people who knew this neighborhood better than she and Renie did. They'd spent their entire childhood exploring Domino City—at least, as much of it as their parents would allow.

They passed a comic shop, and a sudden memory shot up into Katie's mind. Fourteen, dressed in brand new clothes and sporting the most expensive shoes she'd ever owned. The barest of imperfections in every inch of her clothing had been purged, and her hair had been styled just so. She'd been at the door, hand reaching out to turn the knob, when her mother had stopped her.

"Katie, hold on. Zac's babysitter can't make it tonight. She's got food poisoning. We're going to need you to watch him."

"…Mom. Are you serious? Do you know how long I've been waiting for today? Do you know how long I've been saving my money for this? He's going to be at this shop today only! It's the first time he's ever shown up at a local tournament!"

Grace Jennifer McKinley had simply crossed her arms and looked stern. "Katie, you know we can't cancel, and you know we can't leave your brother here by himself. We'll pay you double, okay? Just keep an eye on him. You can see Seto Kaiba next time."

"And if there isn't a next time?"

"Katie, please don't do this."

"Oh, sure, you get to look long-suffering like you're the one making a sacrifice here! You get to go out to dinner and see a play! I get to flake out on something I've been waiting for, something you gave me permission to go to, since August! Where the hell do you get off looking like I'm the bad guy?"

"Hey. Kate? You okay?"

Katie flinched violently, turned around and saw Renie looking at her, concerned. She ran a hand across her face and shook her head. "I'm just…reminiscing, I think. It's nothing. Hey…do you remember the time he was a judge at a Magic & Wizards tournament at The Vine?" Katie didn't have to tell Renie who "he" was. She was already nodding. "What was it like?"

Renie raised an eyebrow. "Interesting enough, I guess. Never did get into the game, so I didn't pay much attention. But he gave a speech at the end of it, when he presented the prize to the winner. Talked about how this game was the forefront of recreational competition, and how it was more than flashy artwork and numbers. He said we had to remember the spirit of what this meant. How it's about pitting yourself against another person, pushing yourself to be better than you are, pushing yourself to live up to the game's expectations."

Katie smiled wistfully. "That sounds like him."

"…You didn't get to go to that, did you?" Renie asked, remembering. "We'd had it all planned. We were gonna tell him about the website and ask if he wanted to be involved in it. We had rehearsals and everything. Then your parents had to go and ask you to…babysit…"

She stopped, looking stricken.

The smile stayed on Katie's face, but it felt like it was burning. She wiped her dry eyes with the back of her hand as though expecting them to be wet. Taking a deep breath, she turned back to the street and kept walking.

"Hey…you a'right?"

"I'm fine."

"Isn't today—"

"I'm fine."

By the time they made it back to the house, Seto was leaving. He still looked happy—perhaps as happy as he ever had—at the door as he was bidding her parents goodbye, but Katie saw the pleasant expression slough from his face as soon as he turned away, and it was hard to tell if his expression now was conflicted and bitter or homicidally angry. Either way, she gave the man a wide berth as he stalked down the sidewalk toward his car.

Darren and Jen told the girls that they were headed to bed not long after that. "Sorry 'bout this, girl, but I got an appointment at 7 tomorrow morning. I gotta get home and get everything together." Renie searched Katie's face. "You sure you're okay?"

Katie nodded, heading into the living room. "I'm good. Don't worry about me. Go, get things ready. I'll see you later."

She heard the door open, close, and Renie's car start up and pull away.

Katie stopped at the liquor cabinet behind the couch, and stared at it for a while. She was more heavily tempted to open it and drown out the noise in her head than she'd ever been before, legal drinking age be damned, but stopped short when she saw the bottle of her father's favorite Scotch. The day before, when she'd been dusting, Katie had seen that bottle nearly full.

It was almost empty.

Understanding shot through her like a lightning bolt.

She turned away, found the mantle, and her eyes scrambled across it like a drowning person for a lifejacket until she found it. A little 5" by 7" frame housing a picture of a little boy—blond and beaming—dressed so proudly in a school soccer uniform, standing in this very room with his chest out like he owned the world.

In a trance, Katie pulled a pocketknife from her jeans and stepped up to that picture. She found a tiny notch cut into the frame and cut a second one just underneath it, teeth clenched so tightly she thought they might crack, as the tears began to flow.

"…Happy birthday, Ikey."


The introduction of Darren was an ill-fated revision of "Twist of Fate," but he became a person, and we learned of his family, in "Back from the Dead." Since then the McKinleys have made appearances in "Paved with Good Intentions" and "Cult of the Dragon King," and I'm sure they'll be in other projects as well.

Something I did in "Back from the Dead" of which I'm not particularly proud, was to give Darren a son just to kill him off. Some of you may recall that Seto met Darren (mild spoiler if you haven't read BftD; I'm not sure I can recommend it in good conscience anymore, though, so it may not matter) right after Mokuba goes missing, and Seto makes the comment that Darren doesn't understand what it's like to have a child missing. A mistake for someone of Seto's genius, but I blame myself more than I blame him; Darren comes back by saying that his son, Isaac, was murdered.

This was a cheap ploy for Seto's sympathy, and I dislike it immensely.

But instead of pretending it never happened, I decided to roll with it. Embrace it, and explore the dynamic of a family tragedy. Yes, a child's death would affect Darren, but what about the other members of his family? What of the boy's mother? Grandparents, aunts, uncles?

Sister?

So I wrote this to explore.