Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Definition Of Family ❯ A Bitter Past and A Surprising Request ( Chapter 2 )

      &nb sp;    Well, this quite possibly a first! Me, posting up more than one chapter in one day? Who'd have thought?!

          ;  BTW: Thank's to my sister, Aura Black Chan; with her endless suggestions and idea's for this fic. :::gives Aura a HUGE hug::: Thank you SO much! ^_^!

          &nb sp;Aura: ^^!

          &nbs p;Okay, for those of you who can't wait, here's the next chapter! Enjoy!

          & nbsp;Remember: I do NOT own 'Yu-Gi-Oh!'

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   & nbsp;       Definition Of Family

         &n bsp; By:

            Red Phoenix Star

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   &nb sp;       Chapter 2: A Bitter Past and a Surprising Request

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    &nbs p;      Flashback....

            Nine years ago…

"Now, you boys wait right here while I talk to that nice man over there, okay?"

Seto said nothing as he stared at his Uncle Daisuke, who looked as if he were trying to be sorry. But the seven year old knew better. He wasn't sorry, he realized as he held his baby brother's hand tight; if anything, he was happy. Happy and relieved to be rid of his two nephews. Now that all of their inheritance was gone, they had no use for them.

He should have known something was up as soon as he and Mokie set foot in their house. At first everything seemed fine. For a while, they were treated like part of the family. They were well-fed, had a bed to sleep in. Everything was quite pleasant.

Then, all of a sudden, it changed. About a month after he and Mokuba came to live there, Uncle Daisuke came in one day saying he'd bought a new television set. Everyone was thrilled, but for some reason, it bothered Seto. He knew Uncle Daisuke made a decent living, but… they shouldn't have been able to afford a brand-name, large screen T.V.

It wasn't long before his cousins received brand-new toys and clothes. ThenAunt Yoko bought herself a diamond necklace and matching earrings. A new, expensive dinnerware set soon came, followed by a new, off the showroom floor car. Then the family took a three day trip to a top-notch resort. All during this time, Seto's suspicions and fears grew and grew.

Soon, people came knocking on the door and were calling non stop on the phone. They were demanding payments for the T.V., the car; anything and everything that his aunt and uncle had bought. Then his uncle's parents came over one Saturday evening and there was a fight. Uncle Dai's father was yelling at his son, saying that he and his wife, "... didn't raise you this way!" and "...that money was for their care and future!" It was only then that Seto realized where the money was coming from. But by then, it was far too late.

Later that night, Seto confronted his aunt and uncle. He yelled at them, saying that his father left that money for him and his brother. They told Seto that he was over-reacting to the situation and being selfish. Wouldn't his father have wanted him and his little brother to have a comfortable lifestyle? Shouldn't they be allowed to get new things for the family? But Seto shouted that their father would have wanted to have seen the money used for his and Mokuba's future, like school and things like that. He then told them that he'd tell his late father's lawyer and they'd really be in trouble.

Monday morning, he and Mokuba were pulled out of bed, washed up, dressed, given breakfast and with their three cousins, were loaded into the car. When he saw Uncle Daisuke loading up a pair of suit cases into the back, Seto felt a twinge of dread. Half an hour later, here they were... the local orphanage.

The seven year old boy could hardly believe this was happening. First Mom dies, then Dad... now his own relatives were ditching him and Mokie. Within several months, his and Mokuba's entire inheritance was gone. The money that their father had left for them… all wasted by the people who were supposed to take care of them. Now, here they were, being dumped at an orphanage... they had outlived their usefulness.

"We're going to miss you both very much!" Seto turned to face his aunt. He stared at her, hardly able to believe that this was his kind, loving mother's own sister. She wasn't anywhere nearly as beautiful as his own mother, whose long, black hair flowed down her back like a curtain of silk. Her smile, so warm and bright that it could light up a dark room… and her eyes, so gentle and kind. Mokuba bore a striking resemblance to their mother, who died shortly after he was born. His aunt, however; had short black hair cut just above her shoulders and dark, flashing eyes. There was no warmth or sincerity in her face; just greed and vanity. Right now, she pretended to be fussing over them. Mokuba was staring at his aunt with tears in his large, gray-violet eyes.

"Why us stay here?" He asked remorsefully, his sad face turning to his aunt. Mokuba was only two years old. He didn't understand that they had been used and now they were being tossed aside by their own relatives. All he knew was that he and Nii-sama were going to stay here now; at a place where kids go when they don't have homes or families. But... weren't his aunt, uncle and cousins family? Yoko gave Mokuba a pat on the head. "I'm sorry, Mokuba" She said in a feigned, remorseful voice. "But it can't be helped. We don't have enough room and some unexpected... expenses came up." Seto inwardly scoffed, knowing exactly what those 'expenses' were. "We can't keep you and your brother anymore." Tears rolled down Mokuba's face. He turned to his big brother, believing he had the answer.

But for once, Seto didn't have answer. What was he supposed to tell his brother? That their own relatives had used them to get their money and now that it was gone they were being abandoned here?

"Can we go now?" A waspish voice made Seto look up and glare darkly at the speaker. Sakuya, who was eight; was standing off to the side, arms crossed and a scowl on her face. She was wearing a dress that was so disgustingly frilly that it made his stomach turn. Like her mother, her dark hair was to her shoulders and she had a very unpleasant demeanor. Her dark eyes were sparking in annoyance. "Let's just leave 'em and go." Seto's face darkened even more. He never did like Sakuya. Always screeching and complaining and throwing temper tantrums. Mokuba was two and he's hardly ever thrown a tantrum in his short life!

"Yeah, I'm getting hungry!" This was Masashi, the middle child. He was six years old, had a bottomless pit for a stomach and a black hole for a brain. He brought idiocy to new heights. He had a wide waist and Seto had a feeling it was going to expand as he got older. He was also a bully and picked on Mokie every chance he got. He and Seto would end up fighting with Seto emerging the victor and Masashi ending up on his tail end. They were almost always punished, with Seto usually getting the brunt of it, argument being that he was older and should therefore know better (As if Masashi didn't know better than to not pick on Mokie). But he didn't care; he'd protect his little brother from anyone or anything that tried to hurt him. It was then a third voice broke in.

"Mama, I wanna go home and play!" whined Sho, the youngest. Only five years old and he was showing all the traits of being a follower. Whatever his big brother and sister did, he would follow suit. He was always playing with something dangerous like knives or such. His latest fascination was with fire. Only last week did he burn a hole in the living room rug and two weeks previous did he set his uncle's expensive new toupe ablaze. He felt a swell of vindication in his chest at that thought.

Aunt Yoko turned and said in a sickening voice. "We'll be leaving in a few minutes, darlings." God, Seto wanted to gag. "Now come say good-bye to your cousins."

Sakuya gave a "humph!" before coming up to the two brothers and after glancing between them, settled her unfriendly glare on Seto. "Bye." she said grudgingly before turning on heel and stalking off to the side again. Masashi simply mumbled a "...later..." as he stared at his shoes and scratched his nose. Sho simply said bye before turning to his mother and saying, "Can we go home now?"

Seto could have punched them; all of them. How dare they treat him and Mokie like this! How dare they spend their inheritance funds on things like that stupid, ugly doll Sakuya threw a fit over, or that toy tank Sho wanted and ended up breaking two days later then whining so incessantly that they bought another to replace it. How dare his aunt buy that gaudy necklace just so she could show off to all those dumb people at that big dinner party they threw. How dare his uncle go out and buy that hideous, obnoxiously loud reddish-orange mini-van that looked like an giant carrot. How dare they give him and Mokuba false hope about a second chance at a real family, then turn around and use them like this and dump them when they were done. How dare they be happy about throwing them away as if they were yesterdays garbage. He never thought it was possible to despise people so much... and right now, he despised them more than anything else in the world.

Out of the corner of his eye, Seto could see Uncle Daisuke talking to a man at the gate to the orphanage. He looked like he was explaining something to him as he gestured towards him and Mokie. He didn't have to strain too hard to listen to listen in on the conversation. He could hear him saying that his older nephew, "... has a habit of making up stories. After his poor mother died, he started making up all these tall tales. But I'm afraid it's caused quite a problem, you see."

"It's all right, I understand. A lot of children who first come here make up stories. They claim that they have a parent or relative who's out there looking for them and will come get them. It's nothing new and we know how to deal with it." The man, an older gentleman with a receding hairline and greying hair said as he cast the two boys a sympathetic look.

Any hope Seto had for telling someone what his relatives did to him and Mokie died. Just when he thought their situation could not possibly get any bleaker...

Seto didn't pay any more attention to the conversation; all he did was stare at Mokuba, who was looking more scared than Seto had ever seen him. He could feel his little brother's tiny hand fit snugly in his as he held it tightly, as if he were afraid they were going to be torn away from each other next. Seto squeezed his baby brother's hand tighter in return. 'I won't let that happen, Mokie.' He silently swore as he gazed at those sad, grey-violet eyes. He could feel a flood of steely resolve and determination fill his very being. Death may have taken his parents, and his rotten relatives may have stolen their money... but he'd be damned if he let anyone or anything else take his little brother from him.

After a moment, Uncle Daisuke came striding over, wiping his bald head with a large, white handkerchief and grinning slightly. Seto wanted to knock it off his face. "Well, we're all set!" He said, though not too loudly; he didn't want the man he just spoke with to hear him and start wondering why he seemed happy to be leaving his dead brother and sister-in-law's children here. He then turned to Seto and Mokuba briefly and gave them what was supposed to be kind smile. Aunt Yoko was doing the same, though their eyes were filled with relief and satisfaction. "Now, you boys take care of yourselves," he said with false kindness.

Within moments, both brothers watched as their aunt, uncle and cousins made their way back to that ugly mini-van, the three children all talking and yelling at once as they piled in and the doors closed. He could faintly hear Aunt Yoko promise them ice cream and all the children cheer. Seto could feel his body burn with loathing.

As the van with the Oomura's drove away, Seto turned slightly to Mokuba, who was staring at the ground, but the older boy could see drops falling from his little brother's face and make small, dark circles on the pavement. But Seto did not shed a single tear. He couldn't cry; he wouldn't. He needed to be strong for his brother. After all, all they had left was each other.

All they could count on was each other... anyone else was not to be trusted. Everyone else was his enemy.

The man then came up and, after a few kind words, lead the boys through the gates and towards the orphanage... and the beginning of what promised to be the most unmerciful and painful time in the two brother's lives....

Flashback ends...

Kaiba felt himself burning with hatred. Just like he did that day... the day he was betrayed by people who were supposed to take care of him; to love him. Instead, they turn around and steal from him and Mokuba, then drop them in that dump of an orphanage. Since then, he'd sworn to never trust another soul for as long as he lived, and so far, he's done exactly that. The only person he could ever trust like that was Mokuba. Anyone else would just use him.

First they use him and his brother, then discard them like a pair of old shoes... and now they want him to get them out of some financial mess, no doubt. Of all the nerve.

As Kaiba continued to fume like a volcano on the verge of eruption, Mr. Akamatsu remained seated on the couch and waited patiently for the young CEO to calm down. He had expected this reaction. He'd been given the general story of what had happened and was warned that Kaiba would undoubtedly be angry. He'd also been told that his initial reaction would most certainly be to refuse. Still, he reasoned as he watched the young man seethe and rant, he surely would be at least somewhat sympathetic after he heard the whole story.

After a moment or two, the lawyer began to speak again. He was determined to carry this through. "Mr. Kaiba, if you will please allow me to finish..." He was cut off once again by the CEO's infuriated glare.

"I've heard enough! If they think I'm going help them out of some financial hole they dug themselves into, then they can just forget it!" Kaiba was giving Akamatsu a very dangerous look that would have sent anyone else running. But Mr. Akamatsu had dealt with angry clients before, and Mr. Kaiba was no different. He adjusted his glasses before continuing. "They are not asking for money, Mr. Kaiba."

Kaiba forced himself to stop yelling and stared at the man before managing, "What?" Mr. Akamatsu cleared his throat. "You did hear me say I was here on behalf of the estate of the late Oomura's, correct?"

It took a moment before it worked through Kaiba's angry mind. "They're dead." The attorney nodded. "A little more than two weeks ago, in a car accident. I'm actually here at the request of Daisuke Oomura's parents, Taro and Sora Oomura." Kaiba didn't even act like he was sorry. Instead he just scoffed. "Humph. I'll send them flowers and that's the extent of my generosity. If they think I'm going to take care of their dead beat son's last finances then they're sorely mistaken." He remembered the old couple and knew that they were decent people. But he refused to be saddled with his late uncle's debt's.

Mr. Akamatsu sighed. "Actually, I'm not here to ask for money, Mr. Kaiba." He took off his glasses and cleaned them with a handkerchief before replacing them. It was time to drop the axe and he had to be prepared. "I'm here to discuss child custody."

Any calm that Kaiba felt with the news that he wouldn't be paying off any debts left by his deceased relatives went flying out the window. Now full-blown enraged, Kaiba banged his fist on his desk while Mokuba braced himself. 'Oh, boy. Here it comes...'

 "Absolutely not! I refuse to take in those spoiled brats!!!" He raged. He couldn't believe this was happening. Were they serious? Did that old couple honestly think that he was going to take in those three rotten-to-the-core, obnoxious, unholy terrors? He snarled viciously. First they drop him, then when they die they have the gaul to try to pawn off their worthless offspring on him? He focused his ire on the lawyer, ashen faced. "You can dump them at the orphanage, for all I care! If it was good enough for my brother and I, then it's good enough for them!"

"Seto, calm down!" Mokuba said worriedly as he gazed at his big brother. He could see a thin line of sweat on his brow and the vein in his neck was pulsing. "You're gonna give yourself a stroke!" Kaiba turned to his little brother, almost forgetting he was there. Mokuba was giving him a look that told him he'd better relax. "I know it sounds bad, but please stop yelling; it won't change anything." He watched as Seto's tense body relaxed, albeit slightly, but it was something. "Now just sit down and let Mr. Akamatsu finish." Kaiba stared at his brother for a long moment before giving a 'humph' and sat back in his leather chair. His face, however, had not lost that intense, furious look, and he was huffing from rage.

"In truth, Mr. Kaiba," Mr. Akamatsu said after the young CEO finished his verbal tirade. "I wasn't suggesting you take in all three of them." He waited for a moment before he continued. "I came on the request if you would take in the youngest of the Oomura children."

Kaiba glared. Although it had been nine years, he could still clearly remember his cousins and their varying, yet frighteningly similar personalities. Sakuya, the oldest, was a selfish, spoiled girl who would howl and scream if she didn't get what she wanted. Masashi was an overweight bully who had picked on Mokuba on a regular basis and called him names. This guy was asking him to take in Sho, the youngest. He was a whining, pampered little terror who, when he last saw him, liked to set things on fire. One of the last things he remembered Sho burning was his uncle's rug... and he was not thinking of the one in the living room.

Kaiba's scowl deepened. He could just imagine what havoc these three would raise if he took them all in. Sakuya would most likely run up his credit card bill to three times it current rate and throw wild parties whenever he was absent. Masashi would eat everything edible in sight, run up the food bill and make life miserable for Mokuba... and to top it all off, Sho would most likely burn down the mansion. Just thinking about all the endless possibilities made him inwardly shudder.

"Mr. Kaiba?" The CEO looked up at the voice. Mr. Akamatsu was waiting for him to speak. He didn't have to wait long.

"The last I saw of Sho, he was well on his way to becoming a pyromaniac, and he was five years old at the time! Just what makes you think I'm going to take 'him' in?" He watched as the lawyer blinked. "I... wasn't speaking of Sho Oomura." He said slowly.

Now Kaiba was confused. He sat up slightly straighter, looking at the older man in confusion. "What?" Mr. Akamatsu's face suddenly lit up in understanding. "Oh, yes! Of course, you wouldn't know."

"Know what?" Kaiba was almost shouting again; he'd had enough. Who was this guy talking about?

"I was speaking of their fourth child, Mr. Kaiba."

Kaiba blinked, thrown off. Mokuba bore a similar look of surprise. "What?" Mr. Akamatsu went on.

"I'm talking about their youngest daughter... Chihiro."

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Ahh, the plot thickens! Kaiba and Mokuba have another cousin whom they haven't met yet! So what's the story on Chihiro, and why do her grandparents want Kaiba to take in just her and not her brother's and sister? You'll find out in the next chapter: 'Kaiba Brother's, meet Chihiro!'

Review please!!!!