I was unaware, when I woke up this morning, that it was Siblings Day. Because, you know, that's not exactly a thing. It's not recognized by my government, it's not an established cultural tradition, and suffice it to say that I had no fracking clue that such a thing existed.
I felt it necessary to publish something on such an occasion, and I decided to go in a different direction than I would have initially thought.
Some time ago, I published a chapter containing Joey's rather passionate, personal thoughts on the Kaibas. I figured, hey. Why not give someone else a chance to wax poetic?
I don't think I was really expecting this.
And I'm not sure if it's appropriate to the occasion.
But . . . all in all . . . I think it's worth thinking about.
.
Would I call it love?
I'm . . . not sure. That's kind of the whole point of bringing it up, I guess. I've thought about this for a long time, see. Probably ever since the first time I saw them together. And I'm no closer to an answer now than I was then.
My gut reaction hasn't changed, though, and it's only when I really start mulling things over that I start getting confused and doubting my impression.
Oh. I guess I should start from the beginning. Okay. So, if someone walked up to me, like for an interview or whatever. Say they just came up to me and said, "Pardon me, Mister Mutou, but quick question for a sound bite. Would you say that Seto Kaiba loves his brother?"
I . . . think I'd say no.
It's not that I want to say no, because that gives the entirely wrong impression on what I think, to be honest. It's just as clear as I can make it. I'd like to say it's obvious Kaiba loves his brother, but . . . it's really not. At least, that's my take on it. The first answer that comes to your mind, upon being asked a question, is usually the right one.
Or, if it isn't, then it's the answer that you really, honestly think is right.
Whether or not the feelings that Kaiba has toward his brother could be called "love" is . . . complicated. Like—okay, take my friends, Joey and Serenity Wheeler. You know about them, right? Sure you do. They're famous. Internet-famous, at least.
I bring them up because they're siblings, and . . . really? Joey and Kaiba are basically the same person. And, come to think of it, Serenity and Mokuba are pretty close, too. So, you've got the fact that they're family. They're close family. Joey would do anything, absolutely anything, for Serenity. And she'd do the same for him.
That's the definition of love, isn't it?
But somehow . . . and trust me when I say I've tried to figure this out, it's just not that cut-and-dry with Kaiba and Mokuba.
The weird part is, I know without anything even close to resembling doubt that Kaiba would do Anything™ for Mokuba, if he needed it, and Mostly Anything™ even if he didn't. So would Mokuba, for Kaiba. And since that's how I'm defining love for the Wheelers, you'd sure as shi—crap, Joey's rubbing off on me. You'd definitely think that I'd define love the same way for the Kaibas.
But I don't. I can't. Because it's not that simple.
With Joey, there's this conscious, consistent, overt desire and conviction to make his sister happy because she's important to him. But with Kaiba, you can't use words like "desire" or even "conviction" to describe his obligation to Mokuba. With Kaiba, it's a need. Kaiba doesn't think that he should do anything for Mokuba, because Mokuba's his kid brother and he wants his kid brother to be happy.
It's just plain, cold, calculated fact.
Kaiba will, and Kaiba must, do whatever Mokuba needs him to do. It's almost mechanical, just like the rest of him, and I think that's what bothers me about the whole thing.
Love isn't supposed to be cold. It's not supposed to follow a logical trajectory. It's not supposed to feel obligatory. Love implies passion, doesn't it? Passion, and good intentions, and good feelings, and contentment. It should. Shouldn't it?
Kaiba just doesn't have any of that.
I know what you're thinking. "Are we talking about the same billionaire douchebag? Say what you want about that guy, but c'mon. He bleeds passion."
I don't think so. I think the over-the-top, in-your-face charisma that Kaiba shows off to the world is a calculation, just like everything else in his life. I've had plenty of time within close proximity to that man, and let me tell you that he can turn that switch on and off as quick as you or I could flip a light. You can't do that with real passion.
Taking care of Mokuba is part of Kaiba's job. Mokuba isn't his brother. Mokuba's his charge. His ward. His son. When their parents died, when their family abandoned them, when their adoptive father turned them into blazing, crippled legends . . . Kaiba was the one who picked up the slack.
It wasn't out of good intentions. It wasn't out of desire, or honor.
It just was.
If I stub my toe, I'm going to feel pain. If Joey pulls an all-nighter to study for a test—even though he's probably going to fail it—then he's going to be tired in the morning.
If Mokuba's in trouble, Kaiba will get him out of it.
It. Just. Is.
I can't call that love.
Now, don't get me wrong. I respect it. None of my friends want to see the good in Kaiba, but I can, and this is definitely in that camp. Kaiba is devoted, body and heart and soul, to his brother's welfare. He's one of the best fathers I've ever met. Sure, he's made his mistakes. And sure, some of his mistakes have been massive. But that's what happens when you live the kind of life that he does. Big ambitions mean big fallouts. The important part of all of this is that Kaiba knows he's made mistakes, and he's working them out. He's changed, even if nobody wants to admit that.
And besides . . . when you really sit and think about it, how can you hold a sixteen-year-old orphan with a nineteen-hour workday (if he's lucky) to the same standards as—well, just about freaking anybody? We're talking about a boy—not a man, damn it, he's a boy—who never had a chance to be a kid. He never got the chance to play, to have fun, to make friends, to let go.
Kaiba's life is one of the saddest stories I've ever heard, and sometimes I feel like I'm the only person outside of Mokuba to acknowledge that.
Speaking of . . . if you asked Mokuba whether Kaiba loved him or not, the answer would be immediate. He'd say yes, in half a heartbeat. No thought. No contemplation. Just immediate, fervent affirmation. But think about it. Kaiba's the only role model that Mokuba's ever had. He doesn't know what love is supposed to be.
. . . Neither does Kaiba.
So all in all, I guess it's not all that mean to say that Kaiba doesn't love his brother. Not really. It's just the truth. I mean, do you hold it against someone who's been blind since birth if they don't know what a rainbow is?
Does Seto Kaiba love Mokuba Kaiba? I'm pretty sure he doesn't.
But he does the absolute best that he can.
And that's more than I can say for most of us.
