This installment is shorter than the previous two, and for that I apologize. I will be correspondingly brief in my notes. I've only used this method of updating with one other project, and while it makes for more regular updates, sometimes it makes for short chapters.
Still, I think that those of you who have enjoyed the "Good Intentions" series so far will enjoy a couple of familiar faces. One, in particular, hasn't shown up in a while. And, as we will see, it's probably a good thing he showed up.
"You okay?"
In some things, Mokuba Kaiba felt like the opposite of his older brother. Where Seto broadcasted every last hint of anger and disgust he'd ever felt, right out there for all the world to see, and hid every smile, Mokuba liked to hide anger and disgust and sadness and insecurity behind a smile. He'd gotten pretty good at it...or at least he thought he had.
Either he'd vastly underestimated his own ability to put on masks, or he'd vastly underestimated Connor Brinkley's ability to see through them.
"...Not really," Mokuba said, figuring it best not to lie about it. He thought that it must be painfully obvious that he wasn't okay, if the clenched fists and the constant sighing were any indication. He finally stopped walking and just sat down on the curb, staring down at the street as if it might hold some answers. Connor sat down next to him and looked over. "Do you...know about my brother?" Mokuba asked the blond boy eventually. Connor looked surprised and kind of confused. "I mean...like...what he does? Who he is? What...what people think of him?"
Connor mulled on this for a moment. "Well...I know he's famous. Like, super famous. I've seen his picture on magazines and stuff. He's on TV a lot. Most of the people I've seen who talk about him don't seem to like him too much. Is that what you're talking about?"
Mokuba nodded sulkily. "Yeah."
"Isn't that what happens with famous people, though? I mean, like...don't people usually get all critical and stuff? Oh, man, you have so much money, you should give us some. We pay your salary! That kind of thing?"
Mokuba found a half-smile that didn't feel the slightest bit sincere. He said, "...When you say it like that, it feels like it should be normal. But...but it's not. I mean, I know what you're talking about. Niisama would say you're right. He'd say it's human nature. They want to drag him down to their level, instead of looking up to his example. Well...he wouldn't say it that way, but that's what he'd mean."
Connor looked like he wasn't entirely sure what Mokuba was talking about. He said, "What happened? Somebody badmouth the Niisama again?" He gave a slight, nervous, almost-grin, and Mokuba found that the smile he was wearing didn't feel quite so fake anymore.
"...Kinda. She's just...she's one of Yugi's friends. She's been around since...ever. When I first met them, she was there with the others. When Niisama...when he sent Yugi's grandpa to the hospital...you know, when he had the heart attack. Téa was the one who kind of...led the crusade, I guess. She hasn't changed. It's been three years, and she's still the same judgmental...bitch she always was."
Connor flinched and looked around, as if sure that his mother would have heard the black-haired boy curse and come running to reprimand them. He frowned. "This is about...about that Schroeder guy, isn't it? The guy that's been on the news and...and...stuff. The guy who tried to kill you."
"He didn't just try," Mokuba said, haunted. "Pegasus Crawford tried to kill me. Malik Ishtar tried to kill me. Siegfried von Schroeder...he did kill me. That's...that's what it felt like. It was different from all the other times. It was...it was...cold. I still...I don't know how he did it. I don't know how he...how he saved me."
Connor's grin came full force. "Sure you do," he said happily. "Your big brother's a superhero."
Mokuba laughed. It was a good laugh, light and honest. Warm.
Friendly.
"...Thanks."
