Hello! If you've visited my profile, you know that this is the Culminating Project fic that I'm using to pass as a senior in high school, so thank you for supporting me, even if you didn't necessarily intend to. I have just a few announcements before we get on with the actual story:

One: If you don't like the fics that have Noah as never having been in his "accident," then, you are in the wrong fic. However, feel free to give it a chance. You might find you enjoy this genre of Yugioh! fanfiction.

Two: As part of the Culminating Project, I'm going to be submitting some of the reviews I get as well as my responses to them. If you don't want your review to be part of this, please tell me so in the review. This, of course, does not mean don't give negative reviews, but, if you do, please at least tell me why you don't like it so that I might be able to improve it.

Three: Timelines. I admit I have an occasion problem when it comes to updates, especially with The One Friend of Seto Kaiba, but, for the purposes of this fic, there will be definite dates for the publishing of chapters, posted at the bottom of the previous chapter and on my profile.

I renounce all claims to the characters, settings, etc. of Yugioh!.

I'm so glad to have finally gotten out this first chapter, so please enjoy:

Chapter One: This is My Home

Noah, face pinched and eyes shadowed from lack of sleep, watched out the window as his new "brothers" were driven to the front door. He did not want to believe this was actually happening. "Seto" and "Mokuba" were going to ruin everything Noah had going for him.

The two stepped from the car, and Noah got his first look at the interlopers.

The younger of them was clinging to his brother's side, a shell-shocked look on his features and a scraggly purple backpack on. He was holding tightly to his older brother's vest, clutching him as if he would slip away at any second.

Pathetic, Noah thought. But, Noah barely spared the smaller child a thought. It was the older brother that concerned him.

He was standing tall, shoulders set back in self-confidence and eyes singularly focused upon the front door. He was the one to watch out for, the one his father had been so excited about.

Noah didn't know what this boy had done to insinuate himself in this family, but, no matter how many arguments Noah presented to his father, Gozaburo refused to change his mind in regards to taking the boys in. Noah couldn't believe his father could do something like this to him. Noah was now experiencing feelings he'd never before had reason to feel in his life: anger, abandonment, jealousy.

He was going to have to share his father with a couple of street rats all because his father thought that he, Noah Kaiba, wasn't exceeding where he should be. Was he not getting perfect scores in his education? Was he not constantly being praised by his instructors for his mental prowess? Was he not playing the part of the adoring son to perfection?

…If so, why was he now watching two dirty, stupid orphans walk into his house like they owned the place?

Pausing before entering the house, the younger orphan brother looked up and saw the teal-haired boy in the window above, watching them. The child blinked, and Noah quickly and disdainfully turned way to avoid acknowledging the little brat.

Noah would not forgive his father for this He would never—

"Noah," said a gruff voice from the direction of the shadowed doorway. Noah jumped and quickly spun to face the darkened figure standing just inside the room.

"Yes, Father?"

Gozaburo stepped further into the room and into the light of the window, squinting his beady yellow eyes as he did so. Noah took a step back, allowing his father more room. Noah definitely loved his father… but, even he feared the domineering and cruel man Gozaburo could be.

One glance at the window with his squinting eyes, and Gozaburo knew what his son had been up to.

"What do you think of them?" he questioned, taking another step towards the window, an unexpected glittering gleam in his gaze as he looked down on Noah from the corner of his eye. It was instances like these that Noah feared the most. You could be sure that, no matter what you did, you'd be walking into a trap.

"I-I think…" he stammered. Taking a breath, he gathered his courage and, attempting to hold his father's mustard stare, he spouted, "I think they're worthless, and it was a mistake to bring them here."

"A mistake?" Gozaburo barked, the false calm shattering in the face of Gozaburo's displeasure with his son. "The very fact that you think they're useless and don't see the opportunities they represent proves to me that this was anything but a mistake!"

Quaking, Noah started, "But, Father—"

"No 'but's' in my house. I'm sick of your whining, Noah!" Gozaburo turned on his heel and began to stalk away. "Learn to take things like a man, Noah, or learn to accept people, like those two orphans, as being superior to you."

"Father!" Noah exclaimed, shocked and hurt to his very core by his father's rejection.

Gozaburo stopped at the doorway and turned his head to the side to give his son a sinister glare.

"Seto would never be so rash and thoughtless as to continue in this vein."

The mention of the other boy's name had the desired effect, Noah clamming up immediately, wanting to show that he was better than Seto.

The gleam that had previously been there came back to Gozaburo's eyes as his suppositions as to the benefits of adopting Seto and his brother were shown to be correct.

"Let's go, Noah. It's time to go down and greet your brothers." A sneer evident in Gozaburo's voice did not appear on his face.

Noah, head ducked, moved to his father's side, but didn't dare to attempt to precede him. Gozaburo stepped forward, Noah closely trailing him.

Dark thoughts began swarming in Noah's mind as they made their way down the hallway. He would be better than this Seto. He was his father's only son, and only he would be loved by him.

Seto hadn't noticed Noah peering at them from the upper window when they'd walked up to the house. Even if he had, he would have dismissed him as quickly as he'd seen him. There was no time to be worrying about the son of a servant, or whatever the kid may have been. So, it was a minor surprise when Mokuba began tugging at his vest as they were walking at the front and asked him, "Seto, did you see that boy up here?"

"No, Mokuba," he answered distantly. There were more important things to be thinking about.

Any moment, Seto felt that his heart was going to explode. Every sound brought him another step closer to jumping right out of his skin. Trepidation filled him as to what awaited him inside this house. But, a certainty also lingered that, from the moment their parents had left them alone, every move that had been made by either himself or others had all been to get him to this point, to these doors. He'd won his way here, and to hell if he was going anywhere.

"Let's go, Mokuba." He took the first steps into their new life, Mokuba doing his best to cling and follow as closely to his brother as he could without tripping him up.

As they reached the door, the man who had driven them from the orphanage opened the door for them before standing aside, allowing them to enter first. Mokuba thought it was classy; Seto noticed the dull, robotic look in the man's eyes and thought that had more to do with it than any sense of courtesy. He spared the man a mistrustful gaze before redirecting his sight ahead. They walked through, the man following them and taking up a guard position by the door.

Mokuba gasped from behind his brother, who felt his own eyes and lips drifting open at the grandeur suddenly before them. The foyer, if such a word could describe the expansive, two-story area, had an open balcony looking over it at the far end, two staircases on either side sweeping down to the lower level. Beneath the balcony were several Doric pillars and, beyond those, a wall of windows showing an unexpected inner stone courtyard. The light reflected off the beige stones shown through the windows, illuminating the room in aloof but warm tones. It mirrored itself particularly well off the white marble tiles that, paired with black ones, created a checkerboard pattern on the floor where it wasn't covered with an extensive crimson runner that, in turn, made paths up the staircases and through doors that lead off the foyer.

Along the walls of the room were filled bookshelves and glass-fronted cabinets holding various artifacts, figurines, and the occasional photograph to be shown off to any visiting public. Several loveseats and straight backed chairs were also scattered about to offer a place for people to admire the pieces on display more closely and intently. Everything had a gold, cream, or crimson color to it, with the exception of mahogany wood accents.

"It's supposed to impress, it's supposed to impress…" Seto reminded himself again and again under his breath. Don't give into it.

"Seto, are we really going to live here?" Mokuba asked, pressing up against his brother's side, awe evident in his voice.

Before Seto could respond a high-pitched, condescending 'ha' sounded from the balcony opposite them. They looked up to see the teal-haired boy Mokuba had seen before was standing there, an odd look that combined laughter and affront on his face. The boy was suddenly in movement, somewhat hurrying down the right side staircase and across the space to the two out-of-place boys just inside the door. "Did you really just ask that question?" he asked upon reaching them, a snidely curl to his lips.

Mokuba slunk even further behind Seto, trying to get as much between himself and the intimidating, nasty boy as he could. Looking up, Mokuba noticed that Noah's eyes were the exact color as Seto's, which was not in the least bit comforting considering the disgusted look he had as he looked upon Mokuba.

Seto, on the other hand, wasn't being so much intimidated by the teal-haired boy as put-off and annoyed. He'd dealt with people like this at the orphanage: stuck-up, selfish, and hostile, with a generous side-dish of insecure. It was the basic make-up of a bully.

And, Seto hated bullies.

"Don't even bother to think of calling this your home," Noah continued. Mokuba lowered his eyes again, trying to hide his disappointment while Seto's eyes were filled with anger and confusion. "You two are going to be back in that orphanage before you can—"

"Now, now, Noah," Gozaburo lightly admonished from the balcony. Letting Noah go first had given him the first glimpse as to what the future was going to hold within the Kaiba house, and it was quite interesting. He began making his own way down the left-hand stairs. "We'll have to wait and see how things turn out before anything like that needs saying." He made it to the bottom and walked to the center of the room.

'Wait and see how things turn out?' Seto thought, scoffing in his mind. He and Gozaburo had a deal, and it would be Gozaburo who would pay if he didn't honor it.

"Hey, Pops," Seto greeted viciously, unable to keep his emotions wholly leashed. He walked past the unknown boy to take his own stand in the center of the room, right before Gozaburo Kaiba.

"Seto," Gozaburo greeted, his amusement confusing Seto and putting him on guard. Gozaburo turned his unpleasant gaze to the little one that had followed Seto unwillingly to stand near their now adoptive father. "And, hello to you too…"

"It's 'Mokuba'," the little one supplied quietly, blushing, realizing the man didn't even have a clue as to what to call him.

"Mm, yes, right," Gozaburo dismissed. "Noah, come here," he suddenly called. Noah came over and stood close beside Gozaburo, glaring at the orphans.

"Noah, meet Seto and Mokuba, my new adoptive sons," Gozaburo introduced. Seto didn't like the way Gozaburo's eyes seemed to laugh at his own actions. It felt as if he was the one actually being laughed at. But, why?

"Hello," Mokuba politely greeted. Noah lifted his nose and turned his face away. The kid was really getting on Seto's nerves. If he kept treating Mokuba like this, the green-haired punk was going to end up with a bloody nose.

"Seto, Mokuba, meet Noah… my son," Gozaburo let drop. He watched as his words took effect on the two who had thought they were so smart and knew everything when they'd twisted Gozaburo's arm. That will teach them.

"Son?" Mokuba's voice wavered dangerously. Had Seto known about this? He looked up to see a look combining anger and shock on Seto's face, but it was gone in an instant… on the outside.

No. This wasn't part of the plan, Seto growled in his mind. It had been going perfectly. Everything he'd done had been to bring them to this point had been pulled off flawlessly, only to now find that everything had been thrown on its head.

He caught a look of smug satisfaction on Gozaburo's face.

Don't think you've won because of this, old man, Seto snarled in his mind.

Gathering himself, he stepped up to Noah, offering his hand. "Hello, Noah," he was able to get out without choking on the words.

Noah turned his hatred-burning eyes to Seto and then to his proffered hand, then back.

"I hope you die." And, with that, Noah ran from the foyer, up the stairs and away down the hallways to his room.

"You'll have to excuse Noah," Gozaburo said stiffly once Noah was gone. His son would definitely be talked with that night for showing himself to be even more uncivilized than the orphan brats. "He hasn't had much time to get used to the idea of being a brother."

"Maybe if we'd had more time, we'd have been able to react in the same fashion," Seto commented coolly, pointedly looking up at Gozaburo.

Gozaburo looked down in turn, and Mokuba stepped away from them both. The same quality that had been in the air during the fateful chess match at the orphanage was back; an atmosphere that excluded everyone and everything but Seto and Gozaburo.

For a long time they just stared…

…Then, Gozaburo smirked, and Seto stiffened.

"No worries, Seto. I'm sure you're quite capable of the same degree of vulgarity, probably without any effort at all." Gozaburo smirked again before calling out loudly, "Anna!"

A maid in traditional black and white uniform appeared almost immediately through one of the doors off the foyer.

"Take Seto and Mokuba to their rooms and give them their instructions," Gozaburo ordered.

"Yes, sir." Anna curtseyed and waited for Gozaburo stride back up the stairs and follow Noah's path before making her way over to the newcomers. "If you will follow me." She turned and began to take the left-hand stairs to the second floor.

Seto grabbed their suitcase from the floor and followed her, Mokuba following him.

"Seto…?"

"Not now, Mokuba. Later," he commanded gently. They needed to wait to talk to be sure that no one would overhear them.

"'Kay," Mokuba mumbled. Seto didn't like putting his brother down, but it was important that they learn to keep their silence in a place like this.

Reaching the landing, Anna waited for them to catch up before turning left. There were more windows overlooking the courtyard up here and, in the brief moment they passed by Seto and Mokuba saw movement below.

"Are you allowed to answer questions, Anna?" Seto asked suddenly.

"If it is in my ability to do so," she answered, showing no emotion in her voice, but a tenseness in her shoulders.

"Who decides whether a question is in your ability?" Seto prodded testily.

"I'm unable to answer that question, sir."

"I thought so," Seto muttered darkly, glaring at the back of the maid for a moment before continuing. "Does something live in the courtyard, Anna?"

"Yes. Mr. Kaiba owns two Chow Chows. They were gifts from the ambassador from China, though I believe the ambassador referred to them as 'Songshi Quan'."

"He has dogs?" Mokuba asked, amazed. He hadn't seen the man who'd adopted them as the animal-loving type. He didn't seem like the type to love anything.

"As I said, they were gifts. I'd advise you to stay away from Fu Xi and Nu Wa, though, sirs."

"Oh?" Mokuba questioned. His eyes widened as Seto's eyes narrowed.

"Chow Chows are pointedly not known for their liking of strangers, sirs. They only like Mr. Kaiba," with that last bit if information Anna shut up, running a hand back through her shoulder-length brown hair.

They turned right and went along a corridor that had windows all along one side showing the courtyard. Looking down, Seto and Mokuba saw the two dogs lounging in the sun, the light imbedding itself in their red coats.

Mokuba giggled quietly. "They're just giant balls of fuzz," he commented.

Seto gave his little brother a little smile. "Yeah. But, make sure to stay away from them, okay? You heard what she said," Seto reinforced Anna's warning. Either one of those "giant balls of fuzz" was twice the size of Mokuba, and could easily do serious harm to the eight-year-old.

Mokuba sighed. "Okay." It was going to be a true trial for Mokuba, too. He loved animals.

They made another turn and left the courtyard behind as they headed deeper into the house. Eventually, they came to the back of the house, what they would later know as the Westward Wing of the Kaiba mansion, and stopped in front of a door made from ebony wood.

"This will be… Seto's room," Anna announced, getting used to the new name.

She opened the door and stepped aside, indicating Seto should go first. But, he didn't.

"I want to see Mokuba's room," he said, not even looking at the room, instead fixing his cobalt gaze on Anna.

"Oh, um, I believe Mr. Kaiba wished for you to remain in your room, as part of his instructions."

"I would like to see Mokuba's room," Seto said more slowly, getting impatient.

Anna was flustered. For Mr. Kaiba to bring such a forceful creature into his house was much unexpected.

"I'm afraid—"

"We both have stuff in this suitcase," Seto said, lifting his little burden, finding a plausible excuse to see his where his brother would be staying. "We need to get his things out first, and then I can come back to my room and do my own unpacking," he finished explaining dispassionately.

"Ah, well, I suppose…"

"There we are, then." Seto reached out and closed the door. "…Shall we?" he asked her, waiting for her to show the way.

"Er, yes. Follow me, please."

She took them back the way they had come for several hallways, each turn making Seto more suspicious and Mokuba more nervous. When they went down a flight of stairs, Mokuba reached out and snagged his brother's hand. Even at the orphanage, Seto had never been more than three doors away. How was he supposed to deal with his big brother being so far from him?

"This will be your little brother's room," Anna addressed Seto, reaching an oak door at the end of a corridor.

"Hm. I can find my way back. You can go now." Again, Seto looked right into her eyes, shocking her at his straightforward superiority.

"Er, alright. Uh, yes. Good day, sir." She gave a tiny curtsy out of habit, then turned and hurried away, completely forgetting the other instruction she was supposed to give them. Instead, thinking, It's like there are two Mr. Kaiba's in the house.

Seto stood, watching and making sure she was actually leaving before he opened the door and went inside the room.

"Wow. It's huge," Mokuba said, an uncertain tremor in his voice as Seto closed the door behind them. It was true: the vaulting ceiling and massive area made the room twice the size of one of the orphanage's classrooms. But, it wasn't the sort of thing an eight-year-old could appreciate; all it did was make Mokuba feel even smaller.

Seto tugged on Mokuba's hand, leading him to the bed where he put down the suitcase.

"Don't worry, Mokuba," he said, helping Mokuba get his backpack off. "It won't seem so bad after a few days."

"Yeah, okay… Seto?" Mokuba began.

"Yes?" Seto was rifling through the suitcase, sorting his own clothes from his brother's, though, there being so little it wouldn't take long.

"Did you know he had a son?" Seto froze.

It was a moment before he answered. He sighed, his shoulders drooping for the first time seemingly since their first meeting with Gozaburo Kaiba.

"No, Mokuba. I didn't have a clue. If I'd known he had, I might have planned things differently." He began sorting again, moving everything he found of Mokuba's off to the edge of the bed, trying not to notice how many holes and tears were in almost every piece.

The orphanage had tried their best, but it was still difficult keeping a group of growing kids up to date with their apparel. "Hand-me-down" was a well-used piece of vocabulary at that place. The clothes Seto was wearing right now probably had had at least a few owners before him, and Mokuba's many more. With the donation Gozaburo had made the day he had come to visit, the orphanage would be able to afford more frequent and more suitable clothing for their tenants. But, as Seto and Mokuba were leaving soon, it had not been seen as so necessary to outfit them with clothes that they'd be taking with them anyway to the person who'd made the given the money in the first place. It was viewed that it would be somewhat like giving his money back to him.

"So you never meant to…" Mokuba trailed off, feeling bad for wanting to ask the question, catching his brother's full attention.

"Never meant to what, Mokuba?"

Mokuba sighed and crawled up onto the pale green comforter covering the bed. He sat, legs hanging over the side of the bed, not meeting his brother's concerned eyes.

"He just didn't seem to like us, you know? I mean, I think I'd feel the same way if… Mom and Dad… had…" Tears were brimming in Mokuba's eyes. Seto watched, letting Mokuba brush away his own tears as they fell down his cheeks, rather than catch them for him.

"H-had they lived, and brought home another kid… I think I would feel…"

"Betrayed," Seto supplemented.

Mokuba sniffled. "Yeah."

"… Mokuba," Seto said, completely serious.

Mokuba looked at him, amethyst eyes still wet and wobbly with unshed tears.

"To avoid being betrayed ourselves, we need to watch our backs here." Mokuba's eyes widened.

"But—"

"I know it seems like things might be over. But, this is not a place that we can relax in. They're watching us, Mokuba. Gozaburo does not want us here, and, now, neither does his real son. If we're not careful, we just might have to leave again, or worse."

"Worse?" Mokuba stared in fright at Seto, who knew he was scaring his baby brother, but needed to make sure that he realized their true situation: they were in the enemy's camp.

"This isn't a place we can call home, Mokuba," Seto intoned.

"Then, why are we even here if we can't be happy?" Mokuba asked, loudly, almost accusatory. Mokuba hadn't even known of Seto's plan that day at the orphanage. Who in their right mind would risk something as huge as finally getting a family on a chess game? …But, then again, both Seto and Gozaburo had done just that, and everyone thought of them as geniuses. Mokuba thought he might do well to start identifying 'genius' with being 'out-of their-ever-loving-mind.'

"…The opportunities, Mokuba. Can't you see them? They're everywhere here." There was an almost fevered look in Seto's eyes. If Mokuba had been more mature, he would have seen it as the altered contortion of what, in an earlier time, had been the light of stimulation and excitement.

"If we play this place and these people right, we can have everything we want, Mokuba. We have the resources and we have the ability." Seto crouched down in front of his brother, taking the child's hands in his own. "Come on, Mokie. There are two of them, and there are two of us. We can make this work."

It was the use of his baby-name that finally pushed Mokuba into nodding his agreement. Seto hadn't used it since the chess match, and it was nice to hear that his older brother wasn't entirely gone through the use of the nickname.

"Thank you, Mokie." Seto squeezed his little brother's hands, and he squeezed back.

Seto stood up. "I have to go now, but I'll be back soon, okay?" He went over and made sure that the little that was left in the suitcase was his before snapping the luggage closed.

"How am I supposed to find you if I need to?" Mokuba asked, panicked, unable to remember the various twists and turns that had led them from Seto's room to his.

Seto, however, called up a precise layout in his mind that accounted for, not only the bends in their path, but also the distance between them all. He suddenly set down the suitcase again and made his way over to the windows, which weren't all entirely windows. One of the windows was actually a door opening to an outside walkway that travelled all around the inner lower Westward Wing of the house.

"Come here, Mokuba," Seto beckoned. Mokuba followed him out onto the terrace. Seto pointed up and to the left. "You see that middle window there, with the white curtains?"

Mokuba nodded. "Uh huh."

"That's my window."

"Really?" Mokuba asked, amazed at how sure his brother was in his answer.

"Yes. I'm going to head back there now, and when I get there, I'll open the window and wave to you, okay? To prove to you that it's mine."

"But, it seems like it would be so easy to get from your room to mine. Why didn't she take us that way if there is an easier one?" Mokuba asked, confused.

"I think she may have purposely been trying to confuse us."

"But, why?" Innocence poured from Mokuba in great waves that Seto would eventually learn not to take for granted.

He shook his head, but he knew the answer. He just didn't want to frighten his brother anymore than he had already today. But, Divide and Conquer was one of the names of the many games in this household. Luckily, for Seto, it seemed like Gozaburo and Noah were already pretty well divided as it was.

Still, Seto thought, Gozaburo's going to be tough enough to take down without another player trying to mess everything up. Had Gozaburo been alone, Seto might have given him a shot, seen if they could make this father-son thing work out. But, this new development with Noah had put a stop to anything like that ever occurring.

And, besides, Seto understood Gozaburo. He wasn't tough to figure out. He had money, so he looked down on people who didn't, he had power, so he believed himself even further elevated above the masses, but, most importantly, he had worked for his money and his power, so, while his ego swelled to absolute massive proportions, he still had certain values. Seto had already found two of them when he'd challenged Gozaburo to the chess game.

He'd been entertained and fascinated by Seto's seemingly impetuous challenge, as well as by the sheer absurdity of Seto thinking he could win against the world champion of chess. And, even with the blackmail Seto would have if the man had refused to play him, Gozaburo had wanted to play, to reward the boy for taking such a grand chance, if also to punish him for his insolence. Gozaburo approved of gutsy moves. And, when he had lost, Gozaburo had honored his word, something Seto had not actually been expecting.

The man had, amazingly enough, a sort of sense of honor and a respect for those who he saw to be like himself. Seto was fully planning to use both of those facts to his full advantage.

He turned back to Mokuba. "I'm going to look around a bit after I go back to my room. So—"

"But, Anna said to stay in our rooms." Now that he knew that things could get "worse," Mokuba didn't want his brother doing something that could bring that about.

Seto smiled a little. "Don't worry, Mokie. I won't get caught; I never am." He ruffled his brother's hair lovingly before going back into the room, grabbing the suitcase, and leaving his brother by himself.

For a few minutes, Mokuba just stood where he'd been left, staring intently at the window across the way that Seto had pointed out. When he finally saw movement behind the curtains there, Mokuba brightened a bit. And, when the curtains were drawn back and the actual window opened to reveal his brother there, waving at him, Mokuba actually smiled and waved whole-heartedly back.

Not too long after, Seto left the window to do the exploring he said he was going to do, and Mokuba was alone again.

Glumly, he went back into the room he'd been given. With Seto gone, it seemed even more daunting than before. He was exposed on all sides.

He spotted a chair in the far corner of the room, near a door that turned out to lead to the bathroom. He curled up in the chair, hugging his knees to his chest, looking around the rest of the room form his little corner.

He knew that this was what Seto had wanted. What he had said about all the opportunities that being a member of the Kaiba family would provide helped explain a lot to Mokuba.

Admittedly, the orphanage hadn't been the most inspiring of places. They hadn't believed Seto when he'd said he'd already skipped two grades, and even when he'd left all the other kids in what they'd forced to be his class in the dust, they still wouldn't let him more up. So, the academic boost now that they were out of there would most likely be very great. Plus, at the orphanage there wasn't much else to do for someone like Seto when he wasn't in class. Playing with other children had always been tedious to him, even before they'd lost their parents, and it wasn't like the orphanage could afford more interesting toys or anything for someone as bright as Seto. The closest they were ever able to get was the old chessboard some kid had left behind after they'd been adopted. Now that they were in a place like this, Seto might actually be able to find stuff that would amuse him.

But… Mokuba hadn't actually minded being at the orphanage that much. Yeah, the schoolwork had been a tad bit easy, and the selection of toys and stuff to do had been limited. And, there were always at least a few bullies that you'd have to watch out for. Even with all of that, though, Mokuba had made some friends at the orphanage, like with Sister Mary Therese, one of the nuns who'd help run the orphanage. She'd always reminded Mokuba of a mom and had made everything a lot more bearable for him, especially since the worst part of the orphanage had been the thought that, because he was there, that meant no one loved him.

He knew Seto loved him, of course, and Sister Mary Therese had always done her best to make sure all the orphans knew that it wasn't their fault they were there, that they weren't unlovable. Yet, Mokuba had hoped that, when Seto had confessed just days prior to Gozaburo's visit that he had a plan that would get them out of there, it was a plan that would get them into an actually family again, not whatever this was.

Then, there was also that Noah guy. He may have acted like a jerk, but, Mokuba guessed, having in his home two other boys that would now also be considered his father's sons would, in a way, also be a lot like losing his family.

Not much I can do about it, Mokuba thought, wrapping himself up even tighter.

But, with Seto off doing whatever and the fear of what might happen if he tried to do the same, what was Mokuba to do?

It had been about an hour since Seto had left Mokuba behind.

He'd decided to first explore the area of the house they'd been sequestered in, to see if there was any point in placing them in the back of the house. Maybe it was an insult, and they were actually in the servant's quarters. Or, possibly, they'd been placed very near Gozaburo's own rooms so that he could keep an eye on them.

Seto doubted the last one, but he figured that there must have been some reason to their being where they were. However, all he found were abandoned rooms and hallways at every turn. So, he decided to move his search forward.

All he was doing was a little simple reconnaissance to get familiar with the area; he didn't have enough experience with the house or the people yet to do anything more specific than that.

As he moved along, some odd memories kept popping up from his time at the orphanage, almost all of them having to do with Sister Mary Therese telling him time after time to get down, or asking where had he been, or even reprimanding him for being somewhere he shouldn't have. He bore the nun no ill will, but she was definitely one of those who'd decided to prevent his skipping grades again, and her constant concern for his whereabouts and what he was doing was grating on the nerves for someone like Seto who wished to be as independent as possible.

He pushed the thoughts to the back of his mind, seeing no use for the sentiments.

He reached the hallway with the windows facing into the courtyard. Rather than sleeping the dogs were restlessly moving about, pacing, occasionally circling the perimeter in the space they were confined within.

The tension reached up from the yard, breaking through the windows and catching Seto's attention, causing him to pause in his steps.

Suddenly, one of the dogs leaped at the other, and a terrifying fight ensued. Or, at least, it appeared to be so as Seto watched, unable to look away as the accompanying wretched sounds made their way up and through the glass panes. It ended when one of the dogs wrestled the other to the ground by its grip on the other's throat, pinning it there, the threat of death hanging over it.

…Then, the dominant dog pulled away, letting the other up, the whole of it having been a mock-fight.

Seto let go a breath he hadn't even realized he'd been holding, seeing that both animals were okay, not even a scratch between them.

I think I hate dogs. He moved on quickly after that.

When he reached the balcony in the foyer he tried to decide where to go next. He could either go down and do some more exploring down there, or continue across the way into the Eastward Wing of the house.

While he contemplated the factors involved in each of the choices, he heard voices from downstairs. Three maids, one of them being Anna, were coming into the foyer from the door she had entered through before.

"Just leave a note in his room, Anna," a redhead hissed to the girl. In her arms she was holding a bundle of white clothes. "It won't get back to MR. Kaiba that you forgot. It's not a big deal anyway."

"You can only say it's not a big deal because you weren't the one who forgot," Anna spat back.

It was interesting seeing the true natures of the people who would no doubt be on their best behavior once he showed himself. Carefully, he hid himself behind the railings of the balcony, hoping they were too consumed by their conversation to notice him.

"What are they like, anyway?" the redhead continued. "Do you think they'll make friends with Noah?"

Anna sighed. "I doubt it. The younger's nothing but a wimpy little mouse, and the other's too stubborn for his own good. Besides, you know how advanced Noah is. They'll probably bore him to tears."

Seto was riled immediately at the dismissal of himself. He was the one who was going to be bored to death, not Noah. How dare they make such assumptions.

He glaringly watched them make their way to the bottom of the Westward staircase.

"That's enough from both of you," the third maid said, stepping in front of each of them. Taking the garments from the redhead, she handed them to Anna with the instructions, "Now, take these to the newest young master Kaiba's room, and let him know what to expect, alright?"

"But, what if he's not there?" Anna asked, taking the burden.

"You were supposed to tell them to stay in their rooms," the redhead admonished.

"I did! He said something about needing to help his brother unpack, and how was I supposed to say 'no'? He is a Kaiba," Anna defended herself.

"There's only one Kaiba that really matters in this house and that's Gozaburo. Now, get going," the third commanded again.

As Anna made her way up the stairs and the other two disappeared under the balcony, Seto moved stealthily into the Eastward Wing.

Things were getting interesting. The maids actually seemed to like the spoiled brat, but that comment about Gozaburo being the only Kaiba that mattered show they didn't respect him.

They probably just fear Gozaburo, Seto thought. And, now he had something to hold over Anna's head should he need to. In this house, even something as minor as being forgetful could get you punished, it would seem.

A good thing to keep in mind for later.

Seto continued his way down this new hallway, keeping his eyes and ears open to any sign of servants, turning to the left when he thought he heard something going on in front of him.

"Why are they even here, Father?" The whining question came from around the next corner on the left.

Noah.

Seto sidled up along the wall. When he came to the corner, he barely peeked around it to find the hall itself empty, but an open door at the end of it not. Through it, he could see Noah leaning over a giant desk, pleading with his father, who himself was turned away, facing a set of windows. Quickly, he made his way silently down the hall and concealed himself behind the door, ready to glean any information that he could from the two Kaibas.

"Noah," Gozaburo growled dangerously. Seeing the other boys had brought out of Noah a sudden viciousness that took even his father by surprise, but Gozaburo was not one to be unsettled in the least by anything, much less his own pathetic son.

"There was no reason to, Father. We were doing so well on our own. You could have just asked me to work harder and I would have." Noah truly believed what he was saying. He'd have done anything to please his father.

"Every second you are here shows me you lack discipline, Noah. That is something you can learn all the quicker by being around Seto," Gozaburo started.

I'm here to set an example? Seto didn't understand. He was here because he earned it, not because he was wanted, right?

"You may be doing well in your studies, but it's your character that's lacking. Your competing with Seto will help to build you up from what you are now into an actual man."

"I'm only twelve, Father," Noah tried to excuse himself.

"Seto's only twelve, and he is already so far beyond you that it sickens me."

"I will do better, Father," Noah vowed.

"You'd better, Noah. And, to ensure that you do, I'm keeping Seto. When you can prove you don't need him to be an adult, then I will consider getting rid of him."

"B-but—"

"No 'but's'. Get out, Noah. This is the end of this conversation."

There was a long, quiet minute before Seto heard the shuffling footsteps signaling Noah's departure.

Seto watched Noah's departing back intently as it retreated down the hall.

"I will not be the one who is used," Seto said to himself.

Thinking he heard something, Noah turned back to look at his father's study door.

But, there was nothing there. He must have imagined it.

Hearing a sound behind him, Gozaburo turned around, saying, "I thought I told you to leave, Noah."

But it wasn't Noah whom he found there.

Seto stood just inside the doorway, off to one side so as not to be framed by it. Through the door, Noah could be seen turning the corner to go back to his room at the front of the house.

"And, exactly where were you hiding?" Gozaburo was being unhappily reminded of when he'd thought he'd finally gotten a chance to leave that wretched orphanage place, only to have this boy and his little brother step into his way.

Seto, eyes the same color as Noah's, just stared at Gozaburo.

"Don't think you can try to unnerve me, kiddo. You won't succeed," Gozaburo warned him as he took his seat behind his desk.

The boy continued staring. And, while it wasn't enough to actually upset or alarm Gozaburo, it had a better chance of doing so than any of Noah's tantrums over the years combined.

"Have a seat, Seto." He gestured to a chair before the desk.

Slowly, Seto accepted the offer, and then he began. "First, I don't get to know you have a son. Second, it turns out I'm suddenly a plaything for this son to cut his teeth on, as it were… What next, Gozaburo?"

"And, what makes you think you were entitled to any of that knowledge in the first place?"

Gozaburo watched as Seto's feathers became ruffled and as he searched in vain for any reason as to why he should have been informed.

The man chuckled and stood up. "I like you, Seto. You're not afraid to get your hands dirty and you're willing to go all in on a bet. But, there's something you don't seem to quite grasp about the art of gambling." Gozaburo walked around the desk to stand in front of Seto, where he leaned down, and brought them faced to face. "You have to be sure that what you're asking for is something worth winning. And, by that I mean that it's something the other person doesn't want to give up.

"I need you here to teach my son the value of being in competition with someone, I need you here to better with him. And, if you cannot provide that, it's back to the orphanage you go." The smirk on Gozaburo's face made Seto's skin feel dirty.

"If you send me back, I'll tell everyone that you lost to a kid," Seto threatened him, reminding him of their deal.

Gozaburo threw his head back and laughed. The laugh was rather forced and his posture very stiff, but the fact that he was laughing at all had Seto on high alert.

Wiping a nonexistent tear from his eye, Gozaburo said, "Oh, Seto. You do make me laugh." He added in one final chortle. "Do you really believe that it will be so easy to convince people that the world champion lost to an unknown kid, practically living off the streets?"

"Yes," Seto defiantly snapped.

"Then, you're more a fool than I thought you were." Things were serious again. Gozaburo moved back to sit behind the desk.

"You will stay for as long as I permit, which is as long as you challenge Noah to become superior to yourself. The moment he surpasses you, you're gone."

"Even you don't quite realize what you're doing, do you?" Seto asked, seeing before him certain implications that he wasn't sure the old man had seen.

"I'm playing the game a bit by ere, I suppose you could say. But, since it's my game, I don't see anything to worry about." Gozaburo leaned back in his seat, completely sure that nothing could go wrong with his plans.

"What if Noah doesn't "surpass" me? What if, along the way, I break him?" Seto wondered through gritted teeth, trying to keep himself from flying off the handle. How could he have been in control the entire time, only to now find out that it was all a lie?

"Hm. The thing I don't think you realize yet, Seto, is that you are now a Kaiba only by name. Noah is a Kaiba by blood, and that means he will always surpass the competition."

"We'll see." Seto stood up and immediately left the room after he said that.

He was seething. A Kaiba by name? He'd earned that name thank you very much, and to hell if he wasn't going to be making it his own.

He was Seto Kaiba, and no one was going to tell him otherwise.

Rounding the corner, he came face to face with a waiting Noah.

The teal-haired boy smile-snarled. "I knew it. You were listening in, you stupid orphan."

"Isn't it funny how your father doesn't consider the orphan to be the stupid one?" Seto retorted, trying to move around the brat, not having the patience for this first encounter with his new brother.

"Hey!" Noah caught his arm as Seto walked by, not realizing how close Seto was to smashing something, possibly Noah's nose. "You have no idea what's going on in this house. But, I do, because it's my house. Do you understand?"

"Do you?" Seto suddenly asked, staring the other boy in the eye.

"Uh… Of course! It's my house! With my family."

"Give me a break." Seto tried to walk past again, but Noah wouldn't let him go.

"You don't belong here. Even my father believes that. You're just here for a limited time. On rent. The moment we're done with you, you, and that pathetic little brother of yours, are gone. So, don't get used to it here. It's only a matter of time before you're back in that orphanage."

Having finished, Noah hurried off, going as fast as he could to avoid any comeback Seto might throw after at him. But, he needn't have worried.

Seto stood in the hall for several minutes after Noah left. When he began walking again, it was like he was in a trance. He went all the way back to his room like this, past the balcony, past the dogs, not even thinking to check in on Mokuba. He'd panic him with the mood he was in, especially if he had to explain why he was in the mood in the first place.

He got to his room and walked in for the first time, not noticing a damn thing about it. Well, he noticed the marvelous cracking sound the door made when he'd slam it with all the strength an enraged twelve-year-old could manage. He looked back once to make sure he hadn't actually fractured the wood, but then just stood in the room for a minute, trying to calm the screaming inside his mind.

He would not be used. And, yet, that's exactly what they were doing with him. He was an instruction tool for that brat to learn from, and, once, he'd learned, he'd be cast off.

And, Mokuba would be cast off too.

No!

Seto wasn't about to let Mokuba go through that again, the atmosphere of abandonment that had pervaded the orphanage. He knew his little brother had struggled with the idea of being unwanted, unloved. And, maybe, if he were a better older brother, he would have let Mokuba be adopted into one of those families who had seen his cuteness, his purity, and let him have the family he'd wanted. But, Seto wasn't ready to give up his little brother, even though he'd known that the only way they'd ever get out together was if some rich person ever came to the orphanage.

And, he had, and Seto had taken full advantage of the opportunity. He was the one using Gozaburo back then, not the other… way… around…

Revenge.

That was really what it was all about Seto realized suddenly. Gozaburo and he were, and Seto hated admitting this, a lot alike. Neither appreciated being someone else's pawn, and when they caught the person using them, they made sure to punish them to the greatest extent they could.

Some might consider that what Gozaburo was doing to be fair-play, that he and Gozaburo would be even once it was over. But, they were wrong. Seto had plans for Gozaburo now, and the hell if the old man would get a chance to get vengeance for those when Seto was done with him.

And, as for Noah…

Seto finally noticed something that was somewhat odd about his room. There was a bundle of white clothes stacked neatly on a dresser on the other side of the room.

Seto walked over to find a note atop the bundle. Anna must have decided to repair the damage she hadn't really even done, exactly like Seto had overheard.

It was a dainty little card, like the place cards used at fancy dinner parties with delicate, raised scrollwork around the edge. Inside the border it was addressed to "Young Master Kaiba."

Smirking at the over-doneness of the card, Seto flipped it open and read the contents.

'Young Master Kaiba, I forgot to mention before that Mr. Gozaburo Kaiba wishes for you and your brother to be outfitted with a full wardrobe of clothes each. In two days' time, I will take you both to the family tailor in order to complete this directive. Please be prepared on that day to leave an hour after lunch. Until then, I have left some little used clothes of Noah's that might fit you for you to wear. Anna.'

Seto raised a brow at the formality of the note, especially after he'd seen her true self earlier, and it was nothing like the card suggested. "Young Master Kaiba," he muttered to himself. He'd expected things to be more proper in the house of a man who could afford manners, but this was ridiculous.

She must be trying to suck up to avoid my mentioning receiving the information late.

Tossing the card over his shoulder, Seto grabbed the top article of clothing to find a white, long-sleeved shirt with gold embroidery around the collar and cuffs.

It ticked him off to have to resort to using another person's clothing, but, as it would tick Noah off more, he decided he'd bear it. For now.

In two days, he would have his own "full wardrobe," and if that didn't say a lot, he wasn't sure what did.

"Looks like everyone else thinks I'm going to be around for a while, Noah."

Thank you for reading!

I came in about a thousand words short than what I wanted, but, seeing as I was just barely able to get this out the day I said I would, I think I won't let it bug me too much. Ten thousand words was just an approximate goal, anyway. Nine thousand is just as good.

The next chapter will hopefully be posted on November 27th, 2010. I hope to see you then!