You know, it's odd. We all seem to know that Mokuba can convince his brother to do just about anything. In fact, it was mentioned last chapter that the discussion that convinced Seto to help the Yagamis would be interesting. But we very rarely see Mokuba actively "convincing" Seto of, well, anything. Honestly.
Well, this time we get to see it. As it turns out, the way to deal with Seto is disarmingly simple:
Play him.
I invite you to find out what I mean. Let's begin.
Akiko wasn't used to seeing her charge nervous. Not for a long time, anyway. If Mokuba Kaiba was anything at all, he was confident. He had good reason to be, she thought. One of the benefits of hero-worship was that when your hero approved of you, you felt like the world itself was your playground.
It didn't really hurt that pretty much anyone who'd ever met the young Kaiba fell in love almost instantly. His charisma was mystifying, and it seemed like the only people who didn't fall under his spell were (male) teenagers and the bitterest of adults. As she was neither, Akiko had fallen under that spell rather quickly, and so to see him in this state was worrying, to say the least of it.
"Is something the matter, Bocchan?" Akiko asked as she approached. Mokuba was staring at his brother's office door, deep in thought. He didn't look over immediately, but bit his lip and furrowed his brow.
When he finally did acknowledge Akiko's presence, she saw that he was more than a little conflicted about something. She figured he wanted to ask Seto for something. That seemed the likeliest thing. "Not…really," he said uncertainly. "Not yet, anyway. I think. Hope. I don't know."
"Anything I can do to help?" Akiko wondered.
Mokuba shook his head. "I don't think so. Niisama's not in a good mood."
Ah. So that was the problem. Mokuba was never all that good at handling the more irate side of Seto's personality. He always seemed at a loss for words when the elder Kaiba was angry. Which, Akiko mused, wasn't as often as anyone might have guessed, but certainly often enough to be a somewhat common obstacle.
"Perhaps it would be best to leave him alone for a while?" Akiko said, raising an eyebrow.
"I don't…think this can wait."
"Well, then." Akiko's face broke into what she hoped was a reassuring smile. "I'm sure he'll understand. You have the golden touch, after all. You know how to approach Seto-sama better than any of us."
Mokuba smiled weakly. "I guess."
"No guessing, Mister. If it can't wait, then go on. You know how he feels about keeping quiet when something's on your mind. Better to speak up and sound like an idiot than shut up and make a mistake. Right?"
Mokuba sighed heavily, but nodded. "Right."
He gave a light knock on the door in front of him.
"Come in," came Seto's voice, more sharply than usual.
"Good luck," Akiko said, and Mokuba entered.
She listened to the two of them exchange pleasantries for a little while, then Mokuba cleared his throat and tried to ask a question: "Niisama, um…about—about them. Wouldn't it…be a good idea? Niisama? I mean…"
It was never a good idea to come to Seto Kaiba with a half-cocked idea. Mokuba knew that. Very little set the man on edge more than a sentence that trailed off mid-thought. This held true even for Mokuba.
"Finish your thought, then begin to voice it," the elder Kaiba said, and the edge to his voice was somewhat out of place. Akiko wondered if he already knew what it was that his brother wanted. It wouldn't have been the first time. Seto had made a living of predicting human behavior, and he wasn't so lax as to fall behind on someone he cared about; on the contrary, Akiko thought he was more studious and attentive to Mokuba's beliefs and actions than he was for anyone else.
There was silence in the room for a while as Mokuba composed himself. Seto remained silent, and Akiko knew he was looking straight at the boy like a judge behind a podium. She could see it herself in her mind's eye, and it made her nervous.
Eventually, Mokuba spoke again. This time, his voice was calmer, though still slightly shaky. He said, "Wouldn't it be a good idea…to have them stay here? Instead of having security over at Yugi's, wouldn't it be easier to protect them if they were…somewhere more familiar? For the team, I mean."
Another bout of silence as Seto considered this. Akiko wondered who Mokuba was talking about, but figured it must be important if it was causing this much of a stir. Usually, when Mokuba wanted something (which was rare), he asked outright, and Seto answered immediately. More often than not—likely due to the fact that it was so rare—that answer was yes.
This time, though…
"No. It wouldn't. I think it's the exact opposite of a good idea."
"…How come?"
"They're nervous enough. My presence makes it worse. The boy fears me. The woman is unnerved by me. The man can't stand me." A beat. "What?"
"You shouldn't talk about them like that. They're…you know, family."
Seto didn't respond to that. He said instead, "They would not be safer here, because taut nerves lead to mistakes. They need to be kept relatively calm and comfortable for this…endeavor,"he sounded bitter now, "to be in any way successful. Mutou and his cronies are better suited to that than I."
"But—but—what if I…?" Mokuba stammered to a stop again, sounding more and more dejected. Akiko's heart went out to her young companion; she knew how important family was to him—to both Kaibas, now that she thought about it. She wondered what these people must have done in the past to make Seto so rigid.
Then she thought of the story she'd heard about their godparents, and hung her head; they'd drained dry the boys' inheritance, meager as it had been, and then dumped them on the state. Of course Mokuba, young as he was, would forgive that; he didn't remember it. And of course, Seto would not; because he did.
But hadn't there been word a while back that the Kaibas' godparents had died?
Who could this be?
Then she heard Seto speak again, something in his voice resembling amusement: "…You saw that the boy's shirt was too big for him. You saw his mother's sweater was starting to fray. The father, in his faded jeans. You know full well that they're poor, and you feel responsible for that. Don't you, Mokuba? You think they've been through enough, and you want to let them live in the lap of luxury for a while. Isn't that the real reason you want them here?"
Akiko blinked.
Then Mokuba replied, "…That might be part of it."
"And the other part?"
"Like you said, Niisama. Even if they're lying about who they say they are," Mokuba sounded like he didn't believe that, "they're being targeted by someone connected to us. That part is our responsibility. We should be doing everything in our power to help them, not shoveling them on the Mutous. They have to eat, and sleep, and take showers. Are you really going to let Yugi's family foot the bill for that?"
A creeping grin spread on Akiko's face.
She waited.
The chuckle that announced Seto's defeat sounded a few seconds later. "Eventually, you're going to be sorry you've started using my own logic against me, kid. Fine, then. Invite them to stay here. Yes, you. Go on, Kaiba-fukushachou. This is your stunt, and your responsibility."
Mokuba seemed about to say something. Then he thought better of whatever it was. "Yes, Niisama," he said instead. "Thank you."
"Mm-hm. Out with you. If this is how things are going to go, then I have to make extra arrangements."
Mokuba came bounding out of the room a moment later, grinning from ear to ear. Akiko smiled down at him. "Mission accomplished, Bocchan?" she asked.
He didn't answer with words.
He hugged her.
I don't know if I've mentioned it before; I will, just in case. "-fukushachou" is a Japanese honorific that means "vice president."
