Just a one-shot in which Mokuba discusses his thoughts and feelings of Mother's Day. This is probably the shortest one-shot I've written so far.

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or any other characters or products you might recognize in this fic. I'm making no profit off this story and am only doing it for entertainment purposes and because I was inspired to write about Mother's Day.

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It's Mother's Day…

"All right, class, today we're going to make Mother's Day cards for you to give to your mother's over the weekend. I'll pass out the construction paper and the glue sticks and scissors are in the back of the room. The crayons and markers are…"

I sighed to myself, allowing Takei-Sensei's words to go right through one ear and out the other. Once again, we were forced to celebrate some other ridiculous holiday invented by the evil Hallmark companies. It's just another commercialistic holiday that made people believe that the only way they could show their affection for another is by showering them with gifts.

I've never really seen much of a point in Mother's Day. Valentine's Day is an excuse for couples to have sex; Christmas is a holiday where parents reward their children with toys that they've had their eyes on; Halloween gives children the opportunity to pretend to be someone they aren't and be rewarded for their trickery and deceiving; so what's the point of Mother's Day? To honor the woman that's always been there for you, the woman that willingly made sacrifices for you, tucked you in at night, kissed away your boo-boos, and chased away your nightmares.

But what if you don't have a mother?

I can barely even remember my mother; she had died soon after I was born and Father died in a car crash when I was only three-years-old. I don't remember what she looked like, the way her voice sounded, what she used to do for fun, what kind of person she was, nothing. I can't even remember what it's like to be held securely in someone's arms, to feel as if you're safe from the world and all the evils it may hold. No… If I ever did know that feeling, I forgot it long ago; probably when I was five and Seto and I were abandoned by our other relatives at the orphanage.

I hated that place, absolutely hated it. The nights were brutally cold and all we were given to fend off the frost was a dirty, paper-thin blanket. The people, though, were even colder than the nights. Everyone looked down upon me, shunned me, bullied me for no reason other than the fact that they could. No one was friendly to each other; everyone was considered a rival, an enemy, because you had to fight against them to get out of that horrible place and into a warm, loving home.

Oh, what I wouldn't have done for the warm, loving embrace of a mother at that point in time. The only one that ever cared about me was Seto. He watched over me and made sure the other kids were nice to me. If he ever caught another kid picking on me he would get in a fight with them. He protected me then and he still does to this day.

Seto always used to tell me that I looked just like Mother. Being five years older than me, he was able to remember what our parents were like. He told me that Mother was short and frail for her age, her hair was long and wild and the loveliest raven black, her eyes were large and grey and full of emotion. He told me she was a very beautiful woman. I wish that I could remember for myself.

I looked down at my blank sheet of construction paper, unsure of what to write. How could I wish a happy Mother's Day to someone I didn't even know? How could I tell some stranger how much she meant to me and how much I loved her? How could I show my thanks to a woman that I wasn't thankful to? After all, how could I ever be thankful to the woman that selfishly died and left Seto and I afraid and alone in the cold, cold world?

Ever since she and Father died, Seto and I have been alone, forced to fend for ourselves.

Eventually, Seto even found a way to get us out of that horrible orphanage. Gozaburo Kaiba came to the orphanage searching for an heir and Seto made a bet with him. If Seto was able to beat him at chess, than Gozaburo had to adopt us both and take us away from that horrible orphanage. Gozaburo accepted. …And Seto won… by cheating.

My brother cheated, sacrificed his honor as a gamer in order to find us a home where we would be safe from this hell. Little did we know, we were only giving up one hell for another.

The life we began that day was the opposite of what we hoped for. That man, Gozaburo Kaiba, was a monster. He put my brother into a special accelerated school program. Day in and day out; Foreign Languages, Social Studies, Economics, Game Strategy, and everything else that a ten-year-old boy shouldn't even dream of having to understand. For Seto, it was like an endless psychological torture. But what Gozaburo didn't realize was that he wasn't creating an heir… Instead, he was creating a powerful enemy; an enemy that would one day bring him down and end his reign as the head of Kaiba Corp.

Seto gained control of Kaiba Corp… And Gozaburo committed suicide. Gozaburo lost his game to Seto and, in their world, to lose means to die.

Since that day, my brother changed. I'll never know if it was for better or for worse. Seto lost his childhood and his ability to smile all because he was looking out for us. All because he was watching over me. All for me…

Where was our mother when we needed her most? Where was she when our father died in a car accident? Where was she when we were freezing to death in that awful orphanage? Where was she when that horrible man destroyed Seto's childhood and his innocence? Where was she then… and where is she now?

As the school bell rang, signaling the end of the last class of the day, I gathered together my materials and started my trek for home. Never once did the wheels in my head stop turning. I couldn't help but wonder… What would it be like if Mother never died? Would Father still be alive? Would we all live a normal life as a normal family? Would Seto… would Seto still remember how to smile?

I arrived home soon enough and immediately ran up to the sanctuary of my room, hoping that the haunting thoughts of my mother would stay at the threshold of my bedroom door. Sadly, it didn't.

I tried to distract myself by working on my homework assignments, but as soon as I opened my backpack I was met face to face with that sheet of construction paper, the would-be Mother's Day card if I had a mother to give it to. Its blank surface taunted me, reminding me of all the memories of her that I didn't have and could never get. The one thing I could never buy, not even for all the money in the world.

I couldn't help but feel a bit melancholic at the thought. I would never know the feeling of a mother's love. Sure, I could always pay someone to pose as my mother, to act as the mother I never knew, but that wouldn't be true love. She would only be in it for the money and I would be nothing more than a paycheck to her. That's not how a mother is. That's not how a mother should be.

I stared back down at that blank piece of paper. The overwhelming need to fill it with words, drawings, something encompassed my entire being and I could do nothing more but give in to that feeling. But…

Who would I give it to?

I had no mother, a fact that has been established a long time ago. I have no mother-figure in my life. The only women to have ever stepped inside this house are only the maids and chefs and other hired help that my brother pays to keep the home tidy and welcoming. I didn't feel particularly close to any of those women; the greatest impact any of them ever made on my life was just killing the cockroaches that once infested my closet. As brave an act as it was, it was nothing compared to the selfless acts a mother does for her child every day.

Was there anyone else in my life? Was there anyone else that had always been there for me? Was there anyone else that willingly made sacrifices for me, tucked me in at night, kissed away my boo-boos, and chased away my nightmare? Was there anyone else… that actually cared about me?

My eyes widened somewhat in realization; of course there was someone that cared about me. There was always someone that cared for me, even if sometimes they didn't know how to show it. There was someone that watched over me, that looked out for me, that took care of me… Someone that loved me like the mother I never knew…

I gracelessly snatched a felt-tip marker off my desk and instantly got to work on my Mother's Day card, being careful as to make sure my handwriting would be neat and legible. After all, it was the least I could do for the only person that loved me.

After I finished writing, I looked the card over, checking it for any imperfections. When I found none, I set it back down on my desk, satisfied. I'd wait and give it away on Mother's Day. After all, f I gave it away any sooner then it wouldn't be special.

I smiled lightly to myself as I looked over the card one last time, reading the words inside my mind;

To the one person that was always there for me, that took a place in my heart as the mother I never knew. Happy Mother's Day, Seto.