There was a general expression of dismay that I cut the last chapter off where I did, without having any sort of altercation between Seto and…ahem…Miss Kerns. The primary reason for that was a logistical one: to wit, the following. It's written from Connor's general point of view, and required a change in scene, or a complete rewrite, to work.
It would be safe to call this chapter and the previous one a two-shot, I think. Nonetheless, my chosen format required that this chapter go up the following week (today). I apologize for this; I know it wasn't exactly satisfying, the way I had the last one pan out.
I hope that this one makes up for that.
Enjoy.
Oh, one last thing. I got a review a little while ago, a guest review, asking about the order in which this series of stories should be read. Since I was unable to respond directly (guest review; i.e. anonymous), I thought I would mention it here, just in case anyone else wondered about that.
Newcomers to the "Good Intentions" series should start—if they are so inclined—with the titular project. The one without a subtitle. "Paved with Good Intentions" was first, and contains the basis of this version of the YGO world.
Next up, I would personally recommend "Blue Eyes, Violet Eyes," the one-shot collection that has become…well, I'd say the definitive version of the project I originally set out to do. As mentioned before, chapter 35, "Be My Glory Ever," is the prologue leading into this project (the crossover spin-off event, if you like).
This one is third. It assumes knowledge of the previous two projects, and makes various callbacks to both. However, I think it's safe to read this one second, if BEVE doesn't strike your fancy.
But all things considered, I'd say the original project, at the least, is essential.
When Connor got to the living room, Mokuba was already standing next to his brother. His aunt Nadine was glaring at the younger Kaiba like he was some kind of fungus while the elder looked like coiled springs. Seto was ready to attack; his eyes were skittering around the room—not like he was panicked, but like his eyes were a security scanner—checking anything and everything. His fists were lying easy at his sides.
Uncle Gareth looked sheepish and nervous.
"Proud of yourself?" Aunt Nadine snapped at Mokuba. "Proud of your attack dog, there?" She gestured spasmodically at Seto. Aunt Nadine always looked like she was on some kind of hyper drug. Mokuba raised a slow eyebrow at her, ignoring the sharp tone of Nadine's voice and looking like she'd just asked him the most innocent question ever.
He said, chipper and light, "Sure! Hi. My name's Mokuba. What's yours?" He held out a hand as if expecting Nadine to shake it. She stared blankly for a long moment, and Connor barely held back laughter.
Seto flashed his signature smirk before his face slipped back into a mask.
"I know who you are," Nadine said, crossing her arms haughtily over her chest.
"Are you guys family?" Mokuba asked innocently.
"Not yours," Nadine snapped. "What's your game, anyway? What, exactly, are you playing at?"
"Well, right now I'm trying to learn Magic & Wizards," the black-haired boy said, blissfully oblivious, "like Niisama. It's hard. Sometimes I play videogames, too. And I know you're not my family. That's silly. Niisama's my family." Mokuba took hold of his brother's hand and swung it back and forth. "I meant, are you Connor's family?"
"…I'm Matthew's mother. You remember Matthew, don't you?"
Mokuba gave a dazzling little grin. "Oh! You're Matt's mom! Hi! Yeah, sure, I know Matt. He's really nice. You know, last week? He was over, and we were playing checkers, Connor and me? Matt showed us a new way to play. What you do is, you knock the board on the floor and kick at the pieces. It was pretty fun. I'm not sure what the rules are, though."
Connor had to bite his lip to keep from bursting into a giggling fit.
Seto's face was stone now, but it was clear enough that he was pleased with his brother's performance. His eyes were practically glowing. Connor looked at his mother and found her fighting a smile. Mokuba was so blatantly polite, so syrupy, sickeningly sweet, that it was actually hard to tell if he was being sincere or not. Uncle Gareth wasn't even bothering to fight it; a grin split his face. Aunt Nadine looked ready to explode.
"Now, you listen here, you little…!"
"But I am listening," Mokuba insisted, all wide-eyed and earnest. "Niisama always tells me I should listen to my elders. They know all kinds of stuff I don't. He says I can learn a lot from adults. I hope when I'm older, and I have a kid someday, his mom is like you. You know, you're really pretty."
This was such a lie that Connor nearly threw up. Nadine Kerns looked twenty years older than she was, the product of a "hard past," with matted hair and dark circles around her eyes, and a mouth so used to frowning that it made her face look like a canyon. Uncle Gareth let out a snicker.
"Do you think I'm stupid?"
"Why, no."
"I've had just about enough of you, you sniveling little brat!" Aunt Nadine snapped, and lifted her hand like she was going to smack Mokuba across the face. To "teach him respect," probably.
Mokuba didn't flinch, but Connor did.
Nadine's open hand didn't get even halfway up before Seto's arm snatched out like a coiled snake and his hand clamped around her wrist like a vice. All traces of mirth had vanished from his face; he looked ready to kill.
Seto said, "...For the record, I do not make a habit of 'assaulting' people," with a voice like the devil, "and the fact that I have made this mistake twice in the same house, frankly, embarrasses me." Aunt Nadine struggled to take her hand back, snapping and snarling at him to let her go, but Seto looked like he was embedded in concrete for how much he was moving.
"You can't do this to me!"
"Is that so?" Seto whispered. "…Someone should stop me, then."
"Let me go! Gareth! DO SOMETHING!"
"Understand something, Nadine Kerns," Seto said, and his tone was so icy that it stopped her dead mid-rant. Uncle Gareth went stiff. "I may…or may not…have overreacted in regard to your son. If that is true, then clearly we have something to discuss. And if you believe that my brother has also mistreated your son, then I most assuredly want to hear about it."
Aunt Nadine stared, and her hand—still clutched in Seto's iron grip—went limp.
"However," the elder Kaiba brother continued, "I require that any concern that an adult has with my brother's behavior comes to me. I refuse to allow you, or any other parent—" he said the word "parent" with a slathering of condescension "—to bring their complaints to Mokuba directly. Too many times, this has led to disaster."
He finally let go of Aunt Nadine's wrist, and all but threw her backward.
"One more thing," Seto said as he turned to leave. Mokuba turned with him, still holding fast to his brother's hand. Aunt Nadine was massaging her injury—Connor wondered if it would bruise—and Uncle Gareth was shuddering. He dared to say, in a squeaky little voice:
"…Yes…s-sir?"
Seto's glare was harsher than summer sunlight on gunmetal.
"Do. Not. Ever. Touch him."
He opened the front door, and stalked out.
