Author's Note: Alright! First YGO fanfic! :) As far as this story goes, I like it and I don't like it. I like the picture I had in my mind but I'm not entirely sure if I got it across the way I wanted to... Guess I'll have to rely on the feedback from you guys! If there's something that's not quite clear to you, I clarify a couple things in the AN at the end. Happy reading!
Disclaimer: Yu-Gi-Oh! is so not mine. :P
The turn of a single knob and the pressing of a few buttons was all it took to bring the very white room to life. Along with the lights, rose a beautiful creature; one that represented ultimate power and was as much a symbol for Kaiba Corp as the corporation's own logo. Grinning, a little boy ran down the stairs and opened the card-key door that led into the bright room, to meet the majestic creature.
"Hey Blue-Eyes!"
A small cry from the famous dragon responded to the little boy's greeting. Innocent laughter filled the room, "I know! I'm sorry I haven't seen you the past couple weeks; major stuff's been going on lately…"
The little boy lowered his gaze at the thought. Major stuff had been going on recently – with everything.
Kaiba Corp's latest project was creating a virtual-interactive Duel Monsters Zoo. Seto had been working on improving the holographic technology for quite some time now and was making incredible progress. Unfortunately for Mokuba, Seto had gotten very excited and threw himself at his work every spare minute of his days and nights – and that wasn't including the work that needed to be done to open a Kaiba Land amusement park in France. All work considered, Mokuba had seen very little of his brother in the last four months. Of course, Seto had also seen very little of Mokuba, who was just as busy.
At school, final exams were creeping up and the prospect of summer was close at hand. This only meant that all the teachers were trying to cram in last-minute knowledge that the kids needed to know to pass their tests. Mokuba was stuck in his room for most of his time, completing work booklets and teaching himself various concepts and formulas. Mokuba's back was starting to knot up from the weight of carrying his homework-filled backpack to and from school everyday.
And if that weren't enough to make the young Kaiba's life a little bit miserable, there was also the girl. And not just any girl. In fact, the girl wasn't even for him. She was for Seto.
Mokuba still couldn't think about the issue without scrunching up his nose. The thought of Seto with a girl was just… absurd. The thought of a girl liking Seto was absurd! Of course, they weren't technically together yet. Hell, they hadn't gone on a date or even humored the idea!
She specialized in designing holographics – apparently, she was new in the field but extremely talented – and had been hired by Kaiba Corp to work exclusively on the Blue-Eyes White Dragon that would be the star of the zoo. Her name was Kisara and, from what Mokuba had judged, she lived right up to her prestigious reputation. The care and detail that she put into the magnificent dragon… well, call him a fool but Mokuba would swear she treated the Blue-Eyes just as preciously as his brother did. The two shared that in common. So much so, that Seto almost always wanted to see how she was progressing with her part of the project and Kisara was always willing to show him. More often than not, Kisara took her laptop and worked right in Seto's office.
It was an odd development for Mokuba. His brother's office was always a place that only he was allowed special, extended residence. Mokuba didn't exactly have a thing against Kisara – she was nice, pretty, honest, sensible, and she made the best hot chocolate in the world – but it was still weird to share that haven with someone else…
Startled by a questioning growl and a nudge to his head, the younger Kaiba returned his attention to the dragon in front of him. It was amazing really, that holographic technology had come so far. To think that the dragon could feel real to him – could interact with him like any other existing creature…
Rubbing the nose of the great beast, Mokuba put on a smile, and said words that he had used on his brother many times, "Aw, you don't have to worry about me. I'm fine!"
The dragon blinked at him slowly, as if weighing the truth of his words. It seemed to let the matter drop. Settling its hind legs on the room's floor (flying wasn't necessary in such a small room) and seeming to pose for the little boy, the Blue-Eyes raised its head, spread open its wings, and bared its claws. Grey eyes of awe inspected the dragon's lustrous frame.
Mokuba nodded his head in approval, "Lookin' good, Blue-Eyes! Kisara's really put in a lot of effort with you, hasn't she?"
A pleased roar rang out of the dragon's mouth and it dropped its pose to lie down on all fours. It looked to the boy, listening, as it had grown accustomed to do.
"You know, I used to do this with Seto all the time," Mokuba said as he made himself comfortable against the wall closest to his brother's favorite monster. "It was years ago now – back at the orphanage actually – but I remember he'd sneak me outside late at night to look at the stars and we'd sit like this and just talk. Or not talk at all. Sometimes we'd just sit there and count how many stars we could see."
The dragon's fierce eyes bore into Mokuba's gentle ones. The boy wasn't surprised to discover that they matched the exact hue of Seto's eyes. Mokuba wondered if that had been Kisara's intention in the design or if it had been pure accident…
Sudden tears blurred the boy's vision – four months was a long time to spend without his brother's company.
Rubbing away his tears on a sleeve, the boy spoke through his sorrow, "I-I d-don't miss it, y'know-w; the orph-anage. Not re-really." Taking time to regain control of his blubbering, Mokuba breathed deep and continued his confession.
"I don't miss the sandbox or the swing set or the lumpy beds. What I miss is Seto; just the way he was back then. When he didn't have the pressure of a company on his back and wasn't so afraid of smiling when he felt like it. I know no one thinks so, but my brother feels like smiling a lot more often than he appears to. Like when he hears news about another tournament where Yugi completely dominated – he wants to smile then. Or when he's about to give me a gift that he knows I'm gonna love. Or when he reads progress reports from the Duel Academy and remembers that the Academy was our biggest dream after Kaiba Land. He might even smile when he hears how much Joey's game has improved or when he takes out his Blue-Eyes cards – just to look at them. He always wants to smile then. But he doesn't. I think it's because he's forgotten how."
A smooth nose pushed against Mokuba's forehead at the end of his speech. He looked up at the great beast that was his brother's signature. Its eyes shone like Seto's used to, whenever he was happiest – eyes filled with gentleness and kindness, perhaps even understanding (although, Mokuba would have been very surprised if the dragon truly did understand anything about its surroundings; no matter how interactive Kisara and his brother programmed it, it was, after all, just a hologram).
Maneuvering its large head, the dragon coaxed the young Kaiba away from the wall and instead, tucked him to its side as a mother would tuck in defenseless younglings. As strange a sight as it was, Mokuba wasn't entirely surprised by the dragon's most-friendly interaction – Kaiba Land had been built for children, why should this upcoming zoo be any different? Or maybe his big brother's heart had extended beyond the cards in his deck. Maybe a part of Seto was infused in this dragon, through Seto's own kind of magic.
Mokuba couldn't help but smile and snuggle closer.
Stroking the hard scales, Mokuba absently began to muse, "It's really too bad you don't have fur. I wonder if you could keep me warm then. But I guess, as a dragon, you're cold-blooded anyway. I mean, if you were real and actually had a circulatory system." A large yawn interrupted him from speaking further. It was very late after all – later than Seto would have wanted him up and around. He should probably shut down Blue-Eyes and scurry back to his bed. But… he was feeling so comfortable…
Sighing quietly, Mokuba mumbled, "Maybe sleep wouldn't be so bad an idea. I should… probably get going, huh Blue-Eyes?"
A soft, rhythmic growl – almost like a lullaby – from his favorite dragon only enticed Mokuba further down the layers of sleep, until his vision closed to black and his memory skipped the next half hour.
At first, Mokuba wasn't exactly sure what had awoken him from his rest. He hadn't even really awoken yet; he was as comfortable by his magical confidante as he would be in his own bed. Or his brother's arms.
Through his daze, Mokuba was able to tell that the dragon was embracing him a little tighter than before; as if it were tucking him in, close to itself. Gripping the white scales, Mokuba let out a small yawn before snuggling in closer to the dragon himself – it had suddenly grown very warm.
Perhaps dragons weren't cold-blooded after all.
Soft-spoken words floated near his ears but the boy registered very little of it, musing that it might again be the lullaby the Blue-Eyes had sung to lull him asleep. But that was ridiculous, Mokuba reasoned. Blue-Eyes White Dragons shouldn't know how to coo or sing – who would they sing to?
The young Kaiba's sleepy mind was surprised, but not frightened, to notice that he was moving. Trying to open his eyes, and still in that hazy state between fully awake and fully asleep, Mokuba mumbled, "S'okay Blue-Eyes, you don't have to fly me to my room… I can get there myself…"
A chuckle that wasn't his, rumbled through Mokuba's body. Was the Blue-Eyes laughing at him?
A strong voice quietly ordered, "Just rest, Mokuba."
Humming curiously, Mokuba strained more than ever to open his tired eyes. What he saw was a far-away glimpse of a mighty dragon, casting him a look goodbye, just before the room's many lights lost their buzz of energy and left the room darker than before. Confused as to what was happening, Mokuba looked upwards and met a pair of brilliant blue eyes.
He wasn't even able to open his mouth before he spotted a flash of bright white approach him. Turning to look, Mokuba realized that the other new creature also had unbelievably blue eyes and long, white wings spread behind it. They looked soft – almost as if they were made of fur, or maybe just hair.
"You had us worried for a moment," the second one said.
"Worried?" Mokuba whispered.
It – appearing to be a 'she' – nodded at him, "When we got the alert that the Blue-Eyes program had been initiated by someone other than us, we thought someone had hacked into the system. We waited to see if any reprogramming would be done but nothing happened and we came over here ourselves. And then we saw you, but you were just lying there and not moving." She smiled and affectionately rubbed Mokuba's head. "We thought you had fallen and hit your head or something."
It felt like he was nodding his head, but Mokuba was too sleepy to work out most of what she had said. He was tired; not from rigorous activity throughout the day, but from simple loneliness. The Blue-Eyes White Dragon was his best companion after his brother, and being taken away from it, without even a goodbye, stung. It was the same feeling he felt when, back in the orphanage, he had thought about what he would do if Seto got adopted and left him behind…
The arms that encircled him nudged him gently, and Mokuba looked toward the first pair of blue eyes, who asked, "What were you doing in there?"
That was when Mokuba understood. These creatures were the other two Blue-Eyes White Dragons. The first dragon in the bright room must have called out to them when he fell asleep and they had come for him; to protect him; to make sure he was alright.
Suddenly, the lonely sting inside him went away and Mokuba felt like laughing. It was the same feeling he felt when, back in the orphanage, Seto rejected potential families and reassured Mokuba that he would never leave him, ever.
Mokuba gave the Blue-Eyes a loving smile, and said, "Waiting for you."
For a moment, Mokuba thought that the Blue-Eyes looked sad. It seemed to have frowned. But then it pressed its head to his, and gave him a small smile.
"Did you have to wait long?"
Mokuba shook his head. "I knew you'd come." Yawning, and suddenly feeling very sleepy, Mokuba closed his eyes, knowing that he was safe in the hold of the Blue-Eyes and would see all three of them tomorrow.
Author's Note: So, if you couldn't make sense of the "bright room", I pictured it as the same room Kaiba tests out Obelisk in Episode 54. Also, yes, the pair of "Blue-Eyes" that find Mokuba in the test room are meant to be Seto and Kisara. The wings Mokuba described was Kisara's hair, trailing behind her as she made her way over to the Kaiba brothers.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the story, fellow Kaiba brothers fans! I know it wasn't much, but I'd love to hear your thoughts; and since I don't possess a Millenium Item, you're gonna have to let me know what they are via review! ;)
Thanks for reading!