I don't often give Mokuba a chance to act like a Kaiba, because Seto is my focus most of the time. And the thing is, I don't think Mokuba really bares his fangs, so to speak, unless Seto isn't around. I always had an idea that he would show his true colors as a leader during this section.
I just didn't think this was how it would unfold.
.
"You gave up easier than I thought you would."
The other Mokuba shrugged, but it looked more like a nervous twitch. "I've spent time around people with guns. You get to know what ones are serious about using them, and what ones aren't." He broke eye contact with his counterpart. "You were serious."
Mokuba stole a glance at Roland, who was standing near the door. He made a quick chopping motion with one hand. Roland nodded, tilted his head, and the other members of his security team filed out of the rom. Once the three of them were alone, Mokuba cleared his throat.
"So," he said, "this next part is up to you. Are you going to cooperate with me? If you do, we can keep this all private, and nobody has to know what you almost did."
"You already threatened to kill me. I think your people know I almost did something."
"As far as anyone outside this room knows, the worst you did was sneak into my brother's room. We can leave it at that, but only if you make it worth my time. I'm not obligated to help you. I'm only doing this because it's what my brother would expect from me."
The younger boy's face screwed up in obvious confusion. "Your brother would expect you to help me?"
There was no way to describe the other Mokuba's tone of voice, or what it meant, other than to say that he was struck dumb by this idea. He was fully flummoxed at the idea of Seto . . . not advocating for his murder, apparently. Mokuba wasn't sure what to make of that.
"He would." Mokuba nodded. "You're a kid. You're in our city. You're obviously desperate. Nobody risks getting turned into a crime scene without a reason. Now, I'm going to guess that you have a brother, same as I do. And I'm guessing that your brother is in trouble right now, same as mine is, and that man offered to help you."
"That man," the other Mokuba repeated.
"Gozaburo Kaiba," said Roland.
"What did he offer you?" Mokuba prompted.
The other Mokuba was turning his attention from his double, to Roland, back to his double, back to Roland. He clearly didn't understand the exchange that had just happened. He eventually said: "I'm not going to make it out of this room without answering you, am I?"
"No," said Mokuba. "You are not."
The other Mokuba looked at Roland. "You'd kill me if he told you to, wouldn't you?"
"Right now?" Roland asked, almost casually. "Yes. I would."
The other Mokuba searched Roland's face for a while, then turned his gaze back to his counterpart. "Fine," he said, sighing. "Fine, fine, fine. I didn't sign up to die today. And even if I did, I wouldn't do it for him."
Mokuba raised an eyebrow and waited.
Roland stood still as a statue, but his hands were loose and easy at his sides.
The other Mokuba said: "Otousama was supposed to be dead. Niisama told me. He said. He said Otousama jumped out a window. Way too high to survive. He fell at least thirty floors. But a little while ago, maybe a week ago now? I'm not sure. But anyway, I go to answer the front door, and who's standing there? Standing on the front landing like he belonged there? Otousama. His hair was black again. No grey anywhere, not even in his mustache. He said . . . he said he knew something was wrong with Niisama, and he said he could help. But only if I did a job for him."
"What's wrong with your brother?" Mokuba asked. "Is he sick? Is he hurt?"
The other Mokuba winced. Grimaced. "He's not there. He just sits in a wheelchair, staring at nothing. They dress him in pajamas. He only eats if you force something into the back of his throat. Better, quicker, to just . . . use an IV drip or something. But I didn't want to do that. It felt like I was keeping a robot plugged in."
"He's in a coma," Roland said.
The other Mokuba nodded. "Yeah. Yugi said he'd wake up. Eventually. But he has to put his heart together first. He called it Mind Crush. Some magic spell or whatever. I don't know. It's supposed to break down all the barriers in your head. Smash them into pieces like a stained-glass window, so you have to pick them up and put them back. Like a puzzle. It'll make you examine them. Decide what's really important. That's what he said. But . . . but Niisama's been gone for four months."
"Mind Crush," Mokuba repeated. "Damn it. Goddamn it."
"Is that what happened to your brother?"
Mokuba shook his head. "No. I mean, yeah, Niisama's in a coma. But his is medical. It's for his health. The doctors don't want him to wake up until they're sure he's on the mend."
"He got hurt."
"Yeah." Mokuba grunted. "Okay. So. Yugi Mutou cursed your brother, and ever since then he's been in a magical coma. That man, despite being dead, shows up and makes you an offer. He says he'll heal your brother, wake him up for you. But only if you do something in return. He has work for you. And that work is why you're here." He looked his double in the eye. "What was your job? What, specifically, were you supposed to do?"
The other Mokuba examined his lap for a time, then he slipped a hand into a pocket of his shorts and retrieved a vial. "This," he said. "Otousama said all I'd have to do is . . . inject this somewhere. In between his toes. Somewhere that would take too long to notice."
Roland took hold of the vial; the other Mokuba didn't try to stop him.
"He sent you here to kill my brother."
Nod.
"Did he tell you why?"
Blink. Stare. The other Mokuba looked confused. "What?"
"Did he tell you why he wanted you to do this? Anything else?"
"No." The other Mokuba shook his head emphatically. "No, he didn't say anything about why. He talked about a lot of things, and I guess I was supposed to understand something important, but none of it meant anything. He was just flapping his gums to hear himself talk. All he said that actually mattered was: go to his hospital room, inject the poison—I'm pretty sure it's poison—and get out. Meet one of his goons."
"Where?" Mokuba crossed his arms. "Where was your rendezvous point?"
"A coffee shop, three blocks down that way." The other Mokuba gestured to the east. "You might be able to catch the guy I was s'posed to meet. I don't know. I should have been there a half-hour ago."
At a glance from Mokuba, Roland pulled out a phone from inside his coat and started typing on it. "What else did he say?" Mokuba asked. "The unimportant stuff. The shit that didn't matter. What did he say? Do you remember?"
The other Mokuba gestured randomly. "He kept going on about how important it was to be loyal. How it was my duty as a child to help my guardian. I don't know if he meant Niisama or himself. I don't think I care much, either way. I don't think it matters. It's all bullshit. He didn't mean a word of it."
"Did you honestly expect to get away with this?" Mokuba's eyes narrowed. "You thought it would be this simple? To just walk into a public place and kill a Kaiba?"
"I don't know." The other Mokuba looked miserable. "I wasn't thinking much at all, really. It's just. I mean. Niisama won't wake up. Yugi said he would, but he won't, it's been months, and I'm sick of everybody lying to me and thinking I'm too stupid to notice!"
Mokuba's expression softened. He drew in a breath, then let it out. "I don't think he wanted you to succeed." The other Mokuba looked up at him, stared at him. "I don't think he expected you to finish the job. I bet, when Roland's people get to that coffee shop, there won't be anybody waiting for you. I don't think there ever was anybody waiting for you. I think he expected you to get caught. I think he wanted you to get caught."
The other Mokuba was frowning. He didn't look disbelieving. If anything, he looked all too ready to accept this framing of events. "So what?" he asked. "He sent me to this world to get rid of me? Why? What's so important about me? Am I a distraction? Are you supposed to be so shocked to see me here that you'll focus on me and give the real threat an opening?"
"I don't know," said Mokuba. "Maybe. What do you think? Is he the type of person to do that?"
The other Mokuba's frown twisted into a scowl. "Yeah," he said. "Yeah, he is."
Mokuba sighed again. "Okay. That's enough for now." He turned to Roland. "It's getting late, and I don't like leaving Niisama alone for this long." He gestured to his double. "Get him a room at Harker's. Two prongs. Get him anything and everything he might need. I don't want him leaving that hotel until we find out what's going on."
Roland nodded. "Sir," he said.
The other Mokuba held up a hand. "Wait. That's . . . that's it?"
"That's it," Mokuba said.
"You're not gonna blow my head off."
"No. I'm not."
"I could just be telling you what you want to hear. What if I'm lying?"
Mokuba eyed his counterpart for a quiet moment. "You don't know me well enough to know what I want to hear," he said. "Even if you are lying, that's not important right now. You're still a kid in our city. That means it's my job to make sure you're looked after, just like it would be if Niisama was awake. That's what it means to be a Kaiba in Domino."
Roland stepped over, put a heavy hand on the other Mokuba's left shoulder, and waited for him to stand up.
"What should I call you?" Mokuba asked.
". . . Masahiko."
"Okay." Mokuba nodded. "Masahiko. Follow Roland to your room. Relax. Have some food. Get some rest. Watch cartoons, play videogames, whatever. Think about who you want to work for: an absentee father who sent you here to get killed, or me. It'd be a pretty easy choice for me to make, and I think it's probably going to be easy for you, too. You already said you believe me, when I say I'm capable of killing you. You're right. I am. Ask yourself if that man has earned that kind of loyalty from you. I don't think he has."
Masahiko quietly shuffled behind Roland toward the door.
"He hasn't."
