Author's Note: so, this idea came into fruition a while ago but due to my busy schedule, I've been putting a lot of stuff on hold. After much thought, I decided to publish this and see how it goes. I have a lot of unfinished one-shots on the shelf waiting for me to finish but life happens. I will do my best to update this frequently so bear with me. A bit of an fyi, I will base Domino City in America. So for instance, it will be located in New York. I will use the American names of the characters to keep it simple. My apologies to those who love the Japanese names. This story centers around Seto Kaiba's mental and emotional health and how it starts declining day by day. He keeps it to himself and acts as nothing. Until one day he breaks… and others realize that he really is also human. I was contemplating of making it either Blueshipping or Silentshipping but the latter works for this I think. Also, since this is kinda like an AU story Serenity does not know much of Kaiba other than the Battle City blimp situation and her brother rants about him if that makes any sense. Anyway, feel free to leave your reviews. Thank you.

Trigger warning: negative/depressive thoughts, anxiety, stress or suicide may be mentioned on this story.

Disclaimer: I own nothing. The series and characters of Yu-Gi-Oh! are all owned by the late Kazuki Takahashi.

November 19, 2008 [five years prior]

Dark clouds filled the sky as if it was foreshadowing the end of the world. In reality, it was a sign of bad weather and to make it worse class was still ongoing. The annoying voice of Mrs. Rhodes kept going as she was teaching the next topic. The lady had a temper and expected the best from her students, including perfect attendance and in-class participation. In his opinion, this class was a waste of time. He learned everything under Gozaburo's strenuous and strict tutelage so it fell like he was in elementary school learning the ABC's. Maybe he was exaggerating a bit but he did not feel challenged in this class due to former knowledge. Unfortunately, he needed this class to complete his high school graduation requirements.

However, his mind wondered somewhere else. It felt as if he was not even present in his current surroundings. Detached and lost from the world. His mind kept nagging him about his purpose. Seto Kaiba is a successful businessman, the proud CEO of the biggest gaming company in the world, KaibaCorp. He has Mokuba, his youngest brother who continues to give him motivation to keep his company on top. What else did he need? There shouldn't be doubts of his life decisions. He is a complete man. He has everything. Or is there something else? No, that was not it. But why is he feeling empty, hopeless and sad?

"Huh?" he snapped out of his thoughts as he heard his name being called out.

The entire class was staring at him as if they were waiting on something. He noticed a pair of brown eyes were looking straight at him. "I'm waiting, Mr. Kaiba. What is the derivative of 15?" she asked, not taking her eyes off the brunet.

Seto usually never hesitated to answer but his focus was not on the lesson. He knew the answer to her question, it was a beginner type of question for Calculus. To not make her wait, he responded her question. "Since it's a constant with respect to x, the derivative will be zero."

Mrs. Rhodes was aware of her student's intelligence so she was not surprised he had the answer. However, she disliked her students not paying attention to her lesson. "Correct, Mr. Kaiba. See, it wasn't so difficult to answer my question the first time I asked. Class, I expect everyone to pay attention. You can leave daydreaming at home."

Kaiba wanted to roll his eyes but only went back to writing on his notebook and then stopped. There was no point in writing notes for this class. He should be focusing on getting paperwork done for work. A lot of his employees have been slacking lately which required him to review everything they've done. Not to forget all the new hires needed extra supervision. Luckily, Roland was taking care of that. He trusted him to make them feel welcomed. Other than that, he felt the company was doing well financially and professionally. After hosting the last Dueling tournament, KaibaCorp skyrocketed worldwide. So, he was not worried about his company lacking success.

Seto, you will continue to be worthless. Look at you, what else do you have? You have that company. Yet it is not sufficient. You will never be happy. Pathetic fool.

Once again, his mind wondered around his successes and failures. It was getting exhausting and irksome. He only wanted to go on with his day normally but all these unwanted thoughts did not leave him alone.

You can't escape reality, little Seto. Remember what Gozaburo taught you. Emotions are for the weak and you are proving his point. You are weak and have always been weak. Your shield was only a ploy… a façade to make you look stronger but you are only a fraud. Remember that.

Why couldn't he focus? At this point, he felt as if he wanted to run and escape. No, that was so unlike him. He couldn't let his thoughts affect his behavior. He had to be strong not only for himself, but for Mokuba. "Probably, I need to sleep more…" he thought just before the final bell rang.

He had to head to KaibaCorp to get some work finalized. Due to his body giving up on him lately, he's awaken on his office the last couple of weeks. He couldn't let that happen today. Or he would get behind on all the paperwork. First, he had to get out of this dump before he could get his objectives of the day completed.

Seto grabbed his belongings, ignoring every person in class. Unaware of the short young man watching his every move, he was able to exit the class with no problems until a blond ran into him. "Oh great, the Geek Squad is here," he murmured, giving a death glare to the blond who ran into him.

"Watch where you are going, Wheeler," he said, annoyed that he may have to deal with the band of geeks in any instant.

"Oh hey Kaiba, I didn't notice you! How's life going for ya?" Joey asked, laughing afterwards.

Of course, no one notices. How sad, Seto…

Those thoughts again. Kaiba was in a small trance before he responded to the annoying blond. "Pretty funny, Wheeler. But since you are incapable of watching your surroundings, I think it's time for your yearly vet visit."

Joey immediately growled at Kaiba's comment. "Watch it, rich boy!"

"Oh please, I have other important things to tend to than waste my time with a dork."

Once again Joey was letting Kaiba get the best of him. "Yeah yeah, keep telling yourself that, Kaiba. Maybe that's why you are lonely with no friends because you have an ugly personality."

Kaiba usually never paid mind to anyone's comments but for some reason, Joey's comment was having an effect internally. He remained silent until someone else interrupted the banter.

"Joey, that's enough! Taunting Kaiba is not going to make you the better person. And besides, that was not very nice."

Joey sighed, knowing deep down his friend was right. "Yuge, but you see how nasty Kaiba can be. I was just defending myself. That's all."

"I get it, Joey. But no need to go further. Let's forget this and grab a bite with the rest of the gang."

"Now, that's what I call a great idea Yuge!"

Kaiba listened to the short male, ignoring the blond's glare. He had enough of this group so it was best if he departed. The farther away from Yugi's band of freaks, the better for him. He never responded to Joey's former statement, it only increased the amount of unwanted thoughts in his mind. He exited the classroom with nothing else to say to them.

On the other hand, Yugi noticed the way Kaiba has been acting lately. It's as if he is not there. Téa and him had some classes with him, including Calculus and he could tell something was bothering him. He did not know what. Or maybe he was imagining things. Possible stress from KaibaCorp. That seemed the most logical reason. Unbeknownst to him, Seto Kaiba was breaking day by day.

The day at the office was slow, so there was no need for him to stay any longer. Although there was no class the following day, he could get stuff done at his place. Easier for him. That meant less people to pester him. He put all the leftover paperwork on his briefcase along with his work laptop and headed home.

Once again slacking, Seto… you see, there's nothing worth in this world… you are a nuisance…

As his driver took him home, Seto looked out the window bored and contemplating what he would do at home. The limousine passed the gates, and parked in front of the house. Seto got out of the vehicle, letting his driver leave for the day. The driver James has worked for the Kaibas for a decade and is fond of the young CEO. He sensed that his boss was not doing well. As a father of two, he could be good at reading people's mannerisms and behavior. Seto Kaiba was far from okay. But he knew of his boss's temper, so he would let it slide. It wouldn't be ideal to ask about a sensitive topic.

Mokuba has finished his homework so he hopped on his gaming console to play some games before his older brother got home. Before he could advance any further, he heard the door to the entrance open. He looked up and it was his brother. "Seto! You are early tonight! It's barely 7pm!"

Seto walked towards the living room, noticing the amount of snacks on the couch. "Yes, there was not much at the office so I decided to bring the leftover work home. Have you ate dinner, Mokuba?" he asked, wanting to make sure his little brother was taken care of.

"Oh yeah, I did. I ordered some pizza. I hope you don't mind." he replied, thinking it was the right time to bring something up. "By the way Seto, can I go to Yugi's place tomorrow? Yugi and his friends are throwing Mai a birthday party and they invited us."

Seto did not think much of it. Usually he would avoid having his little brother hang out with Yugi and company but it seemed that this meant something to Mokuba. "You can go, Mokuba."

And that's all he said. He left his brother call Yugi to let him know of his attendance. Only thing that Mokuba needed was a present for the harpy duelist. That shouldn't be hard. Most importantly, he was going to have a chance to see Rebecca. He has developed a small crush on her. Good thing her infatuation for Yugi disappeared so he could talk to her freely. After calling Yugi, Mokuba went back to his games. He decided not to bother his brother that night so he could get things done.

The office was empty since it's usual occupant decided to take a detour. Seto lied, he headed to his bed. He was not feeling like looking at his computer at all. He changed from his work clothes into his sleeping attire. Maybe some sleep will help him soothe his mind.

How will the world be without Seto Kaiba?

Ridiculous question. They needed him. Or did they really? Seto was exhausted and wanted to sleep but he couldn't help feel miserable. For the first time since his biological parents' passing, Seto Kaiba let tears flow down his face.

xoxoxo

Thank you for reading. Second chapter I will try to upload soon. I hope you readers enjoy!