I think this is the first Major Divergence, so to speak, from canon on the subject of Gozaburo Kaiba. The man we meet in canon is a warmonger, a tyrant, but I tend to think that this Gozaburo is a diplomat. No more virtuous, at his core, but a lot more cunning.

In short, he knows when, and how, to lie.

A vitally important skill, wouldn't you say?

.

Seto couldn't pretend that he didn't feel the urge to explain himself, that he didn't want to plead his case to Gozaburo as soon as the man announced into the principal's office in his double-breasted suit, but he managed to keep quiet. Seto resolved to follow Noa's lead, and only do what he did. The fact that his latest conquest's father seemed to work with—or for—the Kaiba Corporation was a windfall he hadn't expected, and he had no intention of wasting it.

"This is a grave situation," Gozaburo said slowly, in his rumbling voice, "and one which I take very seriously." He turned to the boy's parents and inclined his head. "Permit me to apologize for my failure. I have not impressed upon my sons the necessity for diplomatic engagement. This is a mistake which I will not make in the future."

There was something about how he said it, the sheer power of the man's conviction, that made it impossible not to believe him. Seto looked to his brother again, for a cue on how to act; Noa's own flabbergasted surprise was enough to send fear shivering down his own spine. The eldest of the Kaiba children—by about three weeks—clearly hadn't expected his father to fall on a sword like this.

When Gozaburo turned his attention to Seto, it felt like linear time might collapse.

"Seto," he said, and his voice cut through Seto's soul, "is there aught you feel the need to say?"

Seto closed his eyes, drew in a breath, let it out. He stood up quickly, turned, and bowed. "I apologize for allowing myself to lose control. It was shameful to take things so far." He turned to regard the boy he'd thrashed. Testily, he added: "I do not apologize for protecting my brother. I will answer for my lapse in judgment . . . but my brother's blood still stains a floor on this campus, and someone needed to answer for that, too."

Gozaburo regarded the boy who would one day inherit his name, and Seto could swear he saw a miniscule, indeed microscopic, little nod. The rest of the meeting went by without further input from Seto, Noa, or the older boy—whose name, Seto learned, was Aoi—as he spoke, quietly and authoritatively, with the faculty and Aoi's parents about how things would proceed.

Eventually, Seto and Noa were permitted to leave and finish the day.

That was all they would be permitted to know; for the moment, anyway.

.

Seto and Noa sat together on a couch in the drawing room, hands in their laps, as prim and proper as little matching dolls. They'd both had certain ideas for how the day would go and, so far, none of it had gone that way. Noa was still irate that he hadn't been able to eat his lunch, and Seto was wondering if he might be sent back to the Domino Children's Home; neither had any idea when Gozaburo would be home to mete out his own justice.

They'd only been told to wait.

". . . Thanks," Noa said eventually. "No matter what happens, no matter what anybody says about it, I know you got in trouble for me. I . . . appreciate it." He put a hand on Seto's shoulder. "I'm sorry about all this."

"S'okay," said Seto. "Hahaue told me that part of being a Kaiba was helping you while you recover from your accident. Whatever that meant. To me, this is what it means."

Noa smiled. "You do know I'm older than you, right? Isn't it my job to protect you?"

Seto shrugged. "Maybe you'll get a chance to do that now."

Noa's smile widened as something lit in his eyes. "Yeah," he said, with conviction. "Yeah, I think you're right. Let me do the talking, all right? I'll make sure they see reason. Nobody's gonna get my little brother in trouble."

Seto felt his face go hot, his stomach fluttered, and he averted his gaze.

Before the conversation could move from that moment, the door opened. In strode Master and Mistress Kaiba, both wearing inscrutable masks. It was impossible to know what either could be thinking, to intuit what either might say, and any comfort Seto felt at the idea of Noa sticking up for him struggled to find purchase. He was, suddenly, terrified; he was quite sure, in that moment, that he was about to be thrown out.

He could only hope Mokuba would still have a place here.

"Seto," said Amaya, and her voice was cold. "Do you remember what I said to you, when I first brought you to Noa?"

Noa leaned forward and opened his mouth to speak, but Amaya held up a hand.

"I do," said Seto, brushing the fingers of one hand against Noa's arm. "You said if I wanted to be a Kaiba, then I had to devote myself. You asked if you could count on me to help Noa as he gets better."

"What did you tell me?"

"I told you that you could."

"Do you believe that your behavior today is an example of helping Noa?"

Seto forced himself to maintain eye contact. "Yes," he said. "I do."

Amaya watched Seto for a long, long moment, scrutinizing. Then her face split in a wide grin. "That's my boy," she said; she strode forward, leaned down in front of them, and swept both boys into a hug. "Well done, darlings. You did everything right."

Seto licked his lips, flummoxed into speechlessness for the second time that day.

Noa let out a little squeak.

Amaya pulled back, eyeing each of her sons in turn. To Seto, she said: "You defended your brother, in full view of your peers and the faculty, and you accepted that there would be consequences for what you had to do. You stood tall and you didn't back down."

Seto felt the backs of his eyes burn; he blinked several times.

To Noa, Amaya said: "You knew treating your brother like a scoundrel for what he did would be wrong, and you refused to allow anyone to do it. That is precisely what your part in this ought to be. If your brother is called on to break rules in order to defend you, it's your job to protect him from the repercussions as best you can." She ruffled Noa's hair. "You had a whole speech prepared for us, didn't you?"

Noa nodded numbly. "U-Um . . . yes."

Amaya beamed. "That's right. That's just right."

Noa's face flushed with pleasure, but he couldn't stop himself from looking over at his father, who was haunting the threshold leading back into the hallway. "What was all that about teaching us diplomacy, then?" he demanded, looking in that moment like he'd never met his father before. He looked more betrayed in this moment than he had while face-down on the cafeteria floor.

Gozaburo chuckled. A smile, much more reserved than his wife's but no less genuine, crossed his face. His eyes glittered. "There are times," he said, "when even we must pretend to follow ridiculous rules, my son. You will learn when best to stand firm and when best to bend. It is a skill, like any other, and one I fully anticipate the both of you will learn before long." He gestured dismissively. "Let the Yoshinoris take up no more space in your mind. Either of you. They know the depth of their son's mistake, and they will surely . . . educate him. The boy will know better than to make a target out of either of you."

Amaya nodded. "That's right," she said. "They know the only reason they aren't staring down the barrel of their son's stupidity is due to your charity."

"In any case," Gozaburo said, "I believe it best if I make you boys a promise today, in light of what you've seen: whatever I say in public, if it contradicts what you have heard in this house, understand that this is the truth." He pointed to the floor. "All the rest is part of the game. Here, there will be no frivolous white lying or any other such nonsense."

Amaya, for her part, rolled her eyes. "You're always so dramatic about your proclamations, dearest." She turned back to her boys. "What he means is this: we promise to tell you the truth in this house, regardless of anything we might be pressed to say in public."

Seto and Noa both nodded.

"So," Gozaburo went on, "the truth: you have both been Kaibas today. You did everything you ought to have done. You did not allow an elder to make mockery of you. You made a statement, the both of you, that your fellows will not soon forget."

It was as close to I'm proud of you as Gozaburo Kaiba was ever going to say.

Noa knew this by experience, Seto by intuition. As deft as the man was at handling his peers, he was awkward and closed-off with children. Even his own; perhaps especially his own. People accused him of being old-fashioned, of leaving the rearing of the next generation to his wife.

The truth was much simpler than that.

Gozaburo was a gifted liar. He was a masterful liar, so much so that telling the truth was difficult for him; in much the same way, Amaya was so honest that she struggled with falsehoods. This, perhaps, was the chief reason why they made such an effective, devastating, team. It was also why it had been Gozaburo who met with Phoenix Gate's faculty today, even though he'd had to leave a conference early to make time for it.

If Amaya had been the one to walk into that office, there was no telling how much more trauma Aoi Yoshinori would have been left with; to say nothing of the dressing down she would have given his parents.

"Now," said Amaya, "I'm sure you two have schoolwork to finish. Get to it."

"Yes, Hahaue," Seto and Noa both said in one voice.

She beamed at them, dipped down into another hug, and left the room with her husband.