To Make a Shrink Snap

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Seto Kaiba is probably one of the most powerful and successful people on the planet. But when his stressful daily routine and overwork finally get him, he's forced by Mokuba to see a psychological therapist. But what happens when he suddenly sees pink hearts flying and white angels playing violins? Can his disease ever be cured? Or will he finally snap?

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Dedicated to ICQ and long chats resulting in hopefully good ideas.

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Warning: OOC-ness! But who is to know how Kaiba will ever behave when falling in love? Who is to know what Shizuka will do with her life? OOC? You decide.

A/N: They're much older in the story than in the anime/manga. If you don't like the pairing, don't read! Btw, I went with the Japanese names simply because I like Doctor Shizuka Kawai better than Doctor Serenity Wheeler—too obvious relation to Joey/Jounouchi.

Thank you Tawnykit for your wonderful beta-job!

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"It is a melancholy truth that even great men have their poor relations."
Charles Dickens

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Chapter One

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"Medical Advice for Mr. Kaiba"

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It was an inner urge Kaiba felt, something that kept him going but also made him feel good. There was no need to have a social life, to satisfy primary needs. All that mattered was running Kaiba Corporation, including KaibaLand and the Duel Academy as part of the whole. The latter, not being lead by Kaiba but being provided by KC, left paperwork, lawyers, accountants and statistics for the CEO to cope with.

KaibaLand was easily run by Mokuba Kaiba. The young man was in his mid-twenties and almost effortlessly took care of tournaments and the amusement park. These parts he had liked since the day his older brother had overtaken Kaiba Corporation, and now that he lead KaibaLand there was enough spare time for him to have fun.

Kaiba Corporation itself still developed games—virtual games, video games, consoles, duel disks, card generators, virtual arenas and many more. The only problem was that the man, the head, the brain behind all these fantastic things had to cope with bloody paperwork, incompetent employees, random fools, and wannabe duelists instead of creating wonderful games for his company! And he cursed for that fact!

"I said I wanted this done yesterday!" Kaiba yelled and threw the blueprint at a man's head. His eyes glared daggers at the poor, average family guy in his late 50s. "Not half-finished with dozens of mistakes!"

"I'm sorry, Mr. Kaiba…" the man stammered and ducked, afraid of another paper-attack from the CEO. "…but my son…he…"

"Do I look like I care about you stupid family?" Kaiba nearly shrieked. He had enough of this! Not half of his own work was done thanks to people like that man. "You're fired. Do you hear me? FIRED!"

"But…Mr. Kaiba…my wife's sick…"

"Get the hell out of here!" the CEO screamed, pounding his flat palms on the massive, silver colored desk. "Your wife my ass! You're fired!"

Scared out of his wits, the man quickly gathered the blueprints and left the office with tears in his eyes. What was he supposed to tell his poor family?

Kaiba's body sank down in the chair, leaning back into the soft black leather and taking a deep breath. He counted to three—ten would take to much time and time was money—and in a swift movement rolled closer to his desk. His fingertips were ready to pump the jam out of his keyboard and a small smirk tucked upon the CEO's lips. He would do it himself! Like he did everything himself! So damn often!

Just as he was about to start typing the monitor shut down and he stared at a black, empty screen. Then he shifted his eyes to the digital clock showing empty space. A nearby television display showed no signs. Power cut. His muscles clenched and he forced his hand to take the receiver of his phone. Stay calm, he told himself repeatedly while he was listening to the sound indicating his call.

"Mr. Kaiba?"

"What the hell is going on with the electricity?" he yelled down the phone, annoyed to the maximum.

"Well, it's switched off…"

"Who allowed anyone to switch off MY damn electricity?" Kaiba shouted, very angry now.

"You did, sir. Last Friday you agreed that an electricity team worked on the main server."

"WHAT? I've agreed working there, not cutting off MY electricity!" He raged, trying to gather some hold by clutching the desk tightly.

"But---"

"No buts! Throw them out! I want MY bloody electricity back!" He slammed the phone down and rubbed the bridge of his nose, growling. He felt slightly dizzy today…

"Mr. Kaiba?" The wings of the double door opened and a head peeked inside.

"Who are you?" He growled his response, trying to focus on the man.

The man frowned. "I am Peter Caulfield, executive designer and management assistant of Microsoft Corporation."

"And?" Kaiba scoffed visibly. "Do you want a job or what?"

"Mr. Kaiba!" The man suddenly seemed offended. "You should know why I'm here. You've quit the contract with our company and in Mr. Gates' name I tell you that we won't accept it."

Kaiba stared at the man for a minute before he regained his senses. "And where's Gates?"

"Mr. Gates unfortunately couldn't afford the time to visit you personally."

"Then tell him I won't work with his company anymore, under any circumstances. Now, please leave." His voice formed the words that his mouth emitted emotionlessly.

"What? Mr. Kaiba…" The man took a deep breath. "Microsoft has delivered software for the first version of KC's duel disk in the year of 1998. We won't give up our contracts that easily. As long as these duel disk's are still available on the market you're due to pay us…"

"Are you threatening me?" Kaiba cut in nonchalantly. "I dare you. Tell Mr. Gates I won't cooperate with him anymore, nor work with Windows or any other Microsoft product. He should be lucky I haven't created a system myself so far. Now, get out of here or I'll make sure off it."

The man rang for air as he stared at Kaiba. "You won't…"

The CEO picked up the receiver of his phone. "Security."

"Mr. Kaiba, you're going to hear from our lawyers!" The man slammed the door shut and left.

Sinking into the chair Kaiba clutched his forehead. A headache was coming, an awful one for that matter. He needed coffee! Walking over to the espresso machine he wobbled slightly, then shook his head. Today something was really wrong. He just couldn't put his finger on it exactly.

Sipping the black liquid he didn't even realize when Mokuba entered the office.

"Seto? There's a problem with the---" He stopped in mid-sentence as he saw his older brother within his black suit, clutching the counter on which the espresso machine gurgled lowly. "Seto?"

Kaiba could make out a voice and turned. The dizziness became stronger and he wiped across his eyes. Why did he see a dozen Mokuba faces? And all of them frowned…

"Seto, are you alright?" Wondering Mokuba asked. His brother was rarely sick, and never seriously. His eyes looked empty and his face was paler than usual.

"Mokuba, I…"

Seto had the feeling that his legs were giving away and he was falling but he never reached the ground. The espresso cup did though—with a thumping sound. The dizziness had stopped but Kaiba's mind was full with green and lilac stars and birds in bright yellow and orange. Something was definitely wrong!

Then a man with long, silver hair appeared, dressed in a white robe with a golden rod in his hands.

"Pegasus! Oh no, not you. What kind of freak show is this? Will you ever stop trying to get my company? You fool!" Kaiba heard his own voice spitting the words haughtily.

"Shut up human! I'm not a fool, nor am I Pegasus! I AM GOD!" The man explained with the same voice as Pegasus J. Crawford! Who did he fool?

"God? I knew the wine would go to your head sooner or later." He shouldn't have said that as God suddenly directed his rod at Kaiba and a golden lighting appeared, shooting Kaiba in his left foot. "ARG! Damn it Pegasus! Are you trying to kill me?"

"I tell you again, human, I am not called Pegasus—which had been a horse by the way. My name is God, you thickhead!" God growled.

"Am I dead?"

"No, son. But soon."

"Oh no! I've got to make sure of Mokuba's inheritance is safe first! My company! Someone will try to take it away from him! God, I demand that you let me go to set this straight before you take me away from earth."

"Idiot!" God shouted and sipped from an iron cup filled with nectar. "That's just the point. If you won't stop stressing yourself so much, you're going to DIE soon, Kaiba-boy."

Hearing Pegasus' old pet name for Kaiba from out of God's mouth made the CEO clench his fists into tight balls, his knuckles turned white. What was this about with the hallucinating? No way was this God! No way Pegasus was here, either! Where was this 'here'?

"Keep cool, rich boy! If ya die, then you're gonna be a guardian angel like me!" Kaiba's head snapped around to see Jounouchi with angel's wings and a bow, grinning stupidly as he sat there on a fluffy, white cloud.

Within an instant Kaiba fell unconscious.

Blue eyes focused bright light as his eyelids blinked suddenly. A constant beeping sound filled the room and Kaiba's arm itched. He groaned, his eyes adjusting to the light as he tried to clutch his forehead. What a weird dream! Hold on…

He wasn't at home. And his arm won't move without itching like hell. Gazing down he realized that there was an IV tube attached to his right arm. He cursed under his breath and lifted the bed covers with his left hand. Great! He was clad in an hospital gown!

Whoever fault this was would have to pay! Repeatedly he pressed the red button to call for someone, a nurse or preferably a doctor, for Kaiba to speak to. He wanted out of here and quickly!

"Seto? You're awake!" Mokuba sprung up from his chair at the window and stood beside the bed of his brother, wiping his face.

Obviously Kaiba hadn't seen him sleeping in the chair and now looked at him with narrowed eyes. "Get me out of here, Mokuba! Quick!"

Mokuba put a hand on Seto's shoulder as he was about to get out of bed. "No, Seto. You'll stay here. You broke down in your office and I won't allow you to get out of here until the doc says you're fine!"

"You…what? I am fine, Mokuba." He insisted stubbornly.

"Then why did you break down, Seto?" Mokuba countered with a knowing glance.

"…" No reply from the CEO.

The door to the hospital room opened and a man clad in a white robe entered. Gladly he hadn't silver hair, but short brown. "Mr. Kaiba, it's good to see you awake. I'm Doctor Yakisoba."

"What's going on here? Tell me immediately!" Kaiba ordered the doctor with the very unusual name.

"As you might know, you had a breakdown during work earlier today. You've been unconscious for the past five hours. After the medics had brought you in we examined you closely and after all the test results we can assure you of the best health." The doctor scribbled something on a tag board.

"I told you I'm fine. Now, can I go?" Kaiba spoke like a stubborn child, resulting in Mokuba rolling his eyes at his brother's antics.

"We do worry about you though, Mr. Kaiba." The doctor continued without intending to answer the question. "There must have been something causing your breakdown, and if you're physically healthy hundred percent, it can only be psychosocial."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Seto quirked an angered eyebrow.

"Stress resulted in your breakdown." One short sentence described perfectly well the CEO's condition lately.

Kaiba scoffed at this but Mokuba cut in. "What are you suggesting, Doctor Yakisoba?"

"I recommend visiting a psychological therapist."

Boom! Kaiba nearly freaked and his voice sounded high-pitched. "You're sending me to a shrink?"

"Not a shrink, Mr. Kaiba, a psychological therapist. It'll help you cope with stress and overwork."

"I don't need a psychological therapist whatsoever." Kaiba glared at the doctor but to no avail.

"With your condition as the main factor of your breakdown I suggest strongly to see the doctor in order to be capable of working again, Mr. Kaiba. Otherwise another breakdown will be occur sooner or later and I won't guarantee your health."

"Does that mean he might gain further damage with another breakdown?" Mokuba asked, worried for his brother.

"Yes. Mr. Kaiba should take regular breaks and gain sleep of at least six hours a night. He should eat properly and see the therapist. She's one of the best, Mr. Kaiba. Talking with her in regular terms will ensure you less strain." With a hopeful glance the doctor looked at Kaiba who sat there stiffly, glaring, then at Mokuba, who nodded.

"Would you leave me alone with my brother for a moment?" The younger Kaiba asked and the doctor nodded understandingly before leaving the room.

As soon as he had gone Seto pulled on the needle attached to his arm for his IV tube. "Let's get out of here, Mokuba."

"No!" He said in an authorizing voice not known to Seto so far. He blinked at his younger brother dumbfounded. "You'll stay here until you've agreed to attend the therapy."

"Mokuba." A threatening tone emitted from out of the CEO's mouth but he was interrupted once again.

"No, Seto, that's enough. For years I've only seen you doing nothing else but working! How many hours do you sleep at night? Four? You've never been on a holiday, not even a simple break. You're stressing yourself with work to an extent I won't ignore any longer. I want my brother for more than just another few years! How long do you think you'll make it living your life that way? I've never criticized you in any way and I won't start now. But at least attend this therapy. That's all I'm asking of you." Mokuba took a deep breath after his speech and stared at his brother.

Kaiba just gazed at the younger man wide-eyed. Mokuba had never talked to him that way. Never ever. The concerned look on his face showed him that he was serious nevertheless. He would not back down now. Whenever Mokuba really wanted something so badly, he could be a pain in the ass until Seto agreed. It had just never concerned something as serious as this before.

"Well?" Mokuba pushed, raising his brows like a teacher.

"Fine." The blue-eyed man grumbled and crossed his arms, finally free from the IV tube.

"Good. I'm going to tell the doctor." With a pleased smile Mokuba left the room, leaving Seto only to glare into space afterwards.

Good. He would see the damn therapist. How bad could it be? It was time-robbing, yes, but if he made him see that there was no reason for him to visit him regularly, Seto would soon be within his normal daily routine. That was the plan.

Minutes passed by until Mokuba finally entered the room again. "The doctor's given me the therapist's card. I'm gonna make the call for you to arrange a first meeting. Okay?"

Seto shrugged. "Whatever."

"I dare you, Seto. Take this seriously." Mokuba scolded and grabbed the jeans jacket he had thrown across a chair earlier on. "By the way, you can go home. And I mean home."

Shaking his head Mokuba left the therapist's card on the nearby table and went out of the room. Growling to himself Seto swung his legs out of the bed and started to get dressed. He hated hospitals! And he hated doctors! They were good-for-nothings!

And he was about to see one of them soon! Damn you, Mokuba! Damn you, Doctor Yakisoba! Damn you, God Pegasus! ARRRG! Damn you, life! Seto Kaiba was not insane! Therefore, he did not need a shrink! Grabbing the card from the table he frowned, reading the label.

Dr. Shizuka Kawai
Psychological Therapist

A woman! Another nail to his coffin! Why, life, why? And why did he get a strange feeling inside of his stomach reading the name? He should have better stayed in bed today… now, finally, after all, he did feel sick—very sick. Damn!

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End of chapter one.

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A/N: One of these blog-quizzes told me that one day I'll be writing one of these 'How To Help Yourself' books—might be true... ?

I don't own Microsoft, nor any software product of Bill Gates' company. I don't even own Bill Gates. But, I demand for Kaiba to work with Linux!

Please review and tell me if it's worth continuing!