モクバの宝箱

...Huh?!

What the hell kind of conversation were they having before he got here? Sure, he took a while to clean the blood off his jeans, but he didn't think he was gone so long that they'll be talking about...

Whatever the hell they were talking about!

Jounouchi gives Kaiba a bewildered look. The flush on his face seemingly mirrors Kaiba's, only Kaiba is smirking like the all-knowing bastard that he is. Well, screw him. It only just proves that Kaiba and Mokuba were discussing about things he should have a say in.

Of course, it looks like Kaiba made a full recovery from Mokuba's teasing— staring at him like he's fresh meat.

"Close your mouth, Jounouchi. You'll catch flies," Kaiba teases, before snaking his arm around Jounouchi's waist, forcing them to walk together behind Mokuba.

He nearly jumps out of his skin from the unprovoked contact. Jeez, and Kaiba calls him clingy.

Jounouchi elbows him back, sulking. "Shut it, rich boy. I'm still pissed at you for the crap you pulled earlier. You really couldn't just give me a heads up? Your little stunt nearly broke your brother. Plus, the paparazzi's onto us."

A scoff leaves Kaiba's lips. "I'm aware. It won't be a problem."

He honestly doubts that. Kaiba looks too unfazed about this. But he's done his due diligence, right? Warning Kaiba and all.

They eventually make it to the entertainment room, which as expected, is fancy as hell. There's even a snack bar. Heck, they could even watch movies! Obviously Kaiba had this planned from the start.

Jounouchi sighs. It's hard to stay mad at him, especially when there's free games and free food at stake here.

Oooof course Jou doesn't even know about Capsule Monsters. Mokuba rolls his eyes at him, sitting back in his chair, looking very much like his older brother as he waves a hand in the air to explain.

"It's pretty much like chess, yeah," he explains. "But there's more pieces, and they look awesome. And the pieces have like, special skills, unlike chess. It's chess if it was a little cooler."

He nods his head in Kaiba's direction, as if to say, no offense, nii-sama. Capsule Monster was always Mokuba's game anyway, with Duel Monsters being Seto's specialty. If Seto noticed it, he certainly never commented on the fact it was a chess-like game that Mokuba had gotten so good at.

"This first game's gonna take a while cuz I gotta tell you two what all your monsters do, but once you get it, it'll go a bit faster."

The next half-hour is dedicated to Mokuba initiating both Jounouchi and Kaiba to the world of Capsule Monsters, with its intricacies, arbitrary rules and complex patterns. He even does a mock game against both Jou and Kaiba to make sure they got the basics down.

Turns out Mokuba's not such a bad coach. He clearly is worthy of that title.

He's still a kid, though, because he does not even hesitate before crushing Jounouchi at his very first CapMon game. He smirks mischievously, very proud of himself, when he takes down Jou's last monster.

"Alright, got it? Now, you two play against each other!"

A quiet look of surprise overtakes him. Doubt. Uncertainty. Fear. All of these uncomfortable feelings flicker across his face; the mask cracking ever so slightly. They claw at his chest like an old wound.

Mokuba makes it sound so easy.

Kaiba glances at their joined hands. He curls their fingers together, letting a hint of a smile tug at his lips.

"Since when have you grown so wise, hm? That won't do. Perhaps I'll have Jounouchi knock you off your pedestal, after all— claim your title as Capsule Monsters King..." He chuckles darkly, teasingly.

The thought of himself cheerleading Jounouchi against his brother makes him laugh. It's an absurd notion, but life has been quite unpredictable with Jounouchi hanging off his arm like a nuisance. Always needing him. Wanting him. Yearning for his approval.

Everything Jounouchi does demanded his attention.

Jounouchi is like a black hole, and he's trapped at the event horizon, where he has been, inescapably, falling for him.

It's a high like no other.

All too suddenly, Jounouchi slips back inside the dining room with surprising stealthiness.

"Yo! What's this about me being king?" There's that obnoxious grin on Jounouchi's face again, as if he didn't just interrupt an important moment with Mokuba.

Exasperated, Kaiba wants to throttle him. How much of the conversation did Jounouchi exactly hear?

"Hey, Jou," Mokuba says, jumping from his chair to shove his hands in his pockets, smiling mischieviously. "We were talking about what color your wedding suit should be."

They were most definitely not discussing that, but anything to get the conversation started. Mokuba sticks his tongue out as he walks past Jou, raising a hand to flick at a strand of his hair.

"See, nii-sama? With that hair color, it's gotta be white."

Mokuba doesn't wait for either of their reactions before making his way out of the dining room, calling out once he's past the doors,

The Dragoness couldn't help but give a chuckle at the younger Kaiba's giddy reaction.

"I suppose I am! A Red-Eyes Black Dragon, to be precise with you. My name is Belladonna Ridai. My brother and I hail from the Spirit Realm, and we take human form to enjoy our lives to the fullest here in the Mortal Realm. I must say, I am quite enjoying this place- must be a reason why my brother wants to defend it so."

However, her wings would soon fold up, her glamor once again concealing them and her tail, a look of concern on her face.

"Y-You can just do that?! Turn into a human?!"

What if the Blue Eyes White Dragons could do that as well? Seto would completely lose it, for sure!! Oh, he needs to ask her! He has so much to ask her!

But first things first, it's especially important that he agrees to keep it a secret. Mokuba's great at keeping secrets!

(From anyone that isn't Seto, that is.)

"I promise I'll keep it a secret!!! B-But..." He looks a little sheepish when he asks, "Could I just tell Seto? He's also great at keeping secrets! It's on the 137th slide of my presentation..."

"W-Wha?!" Is that... Dark Magician Girl?! The younger Kaiba runs to hide before she notices him. His messy hair sticking out in every direction does not help him stay hidden for very long.

"..." Mokuba seems incredibly intimidated, hiding behind a wall as he gazes longingly at the Dark Magician Girl-- the real deal, unlike the costumed actors he usually sees at Kaiba Land! Looks like he wants a picture with her...

The magician probably shouldn't be here to begin with, but there is something about lingering on Kaiba's property (his home, his office, his theme parks...) that entertains her. She tries to stay out of trouble, of course. But every so often the need to pull a plug on something or flick a light switch while the elder Kaiba is working just... heh.

She catches sight of the younger Kaiba in her peripheral just as he vanishes into his hiding place, putting a finger to her lips to hide her smile as she pulled herself up into the air with a small twirl.

She lazily floated over, akin to an otter swimming on its back, until she was on the other side of the wall, humming softly. She wondered a little at his expression - surely he's seen plenty of Duel Monsters given... well, everything.

But it was sweet, and flattering, and so she rolls, peeping around the wall with a smile.

"Well, hello, there~!"

Mokuba, startled out of his mind, stumbles to the side with a yelp. He thankfully manages to catch himself before he goes down.

When he recovers from the surprise, his eyes begin sparkling with curiosity once more. He's holding back, still, even with her right in front of him. It's probably because of Seto, and his Yuugi-related distaste for magician Duel Monsters cards.

Only issue is, Mokuba loves them.

It's not like Seto would chastise him for being friendly to her. Seto would forgive him anything solely because he's Mokuba. Still, the thought of his brother keeps him from fully indulging in his fanboy-isms.

"H-Hello," he answers meekly. "You're the Dark Magician Girl, right? How'd you get here?"

The emotional outburst has him drawing back, shocked at the tears in Mokuba's eyes.

Noa could feel his own eyes water, touched by the softness of Mokuba's heart. He approaches with caution, wearing a sad smile as he rests his hand over Mokuba's shoulder.

"There's no need to thank me. I did it for you as much as I did it for myself."

Killing his father, as horrible as it made him feel, was the right thing to do. Although fearfully, he has to wonder if remnants of his father's consciousness still exists when he is proven to be alive.

"!!!"

Mokuba gasps at the feeling of Noa's hand on his shoulder, eyes wide with wonder. It's not exactly warm, but the Solid Vision projections allowed its holograms to touch other beings through an application of pressure where skin would meet skin.

Mokuba's overcome with the memory of Noa's hugs back in the virtual world, and he can't help but keep sniffling to himself, trying his best to keep his voice down so one of the maids outside doesn't get alerted by the sounds.

"I-It was when I woke up inside the pod, after you gave me back my body," Mokuba explains. "After we successfully managed to escape, I sat down in the helicopter and felt something in my pocket."

Mokuba nods his head in the direction of the Duel Disk. On it, allowing Noa to be projected in the room, sits the Shinato, King of a Higher Plane card.

"It was just a hunch," Mokuba says quietly, looking down at his hands. "But it felt like I had that card for a reason, y'know? Like you somehow transferred your consciousness to it and materialized that card in my pocket... because you didn't really want to disappear."

His lower lip begins trembling again. Before Noa can stop him, he's full-on crying.

"I-I can't believe it actually worked. I can't believe it. You must've wanted to survive so badly."

Before he could wholeheartedly agree with Mokuba's assessment on Jounouchi's propensity for bullshit, he freezes.

Marriage?

It would be a lie to say he did not thought that far ahead. Yet the notion of legalizing what he and Jounouchi have may taint it, mark their relationship as merely transactional when it's the furthest from the truth. Would a free spirit like Jounouchi be amendable to such an arrangement? Knowing Jounouchi's family history, he couldn't say for certain.

On the other hand, officiating it could guarantee Jounouchi's safety. He could offer him real protection. Security. Boundless resources. The promise of true commitment.

Kaiba finds himself at an impasse.

Expression growing distant, his eyes flick to his plate. He sets the tableware aside before drawing his hand to his face, covering his mouth with uncertainty, deeply lost in thought.

"That remains to be seen," he admits after a time. Meaning, he hasn't discussed it with Jounouchi yet.

The non-answer doesn't really satisfy, though. Kaiba looks at Mokuba in the eye— giving a look of resolve. "Hmph. Marriage or not, I am no less serious about him."

In truth, Mokuba couldn't care less whether they got married or not. The younger Kaiba practically clears his plate while Seto is busy overthinking the details of his brother's question.

He's already sitting back on his chair, gazing at his brother, by the time Seto finally offers him a response. It's Mokuba's turn to wonder...

I just don't get it. Why he likes me. Wants me around.

Jounouchi had confided in him earlier, and Mokuba has not forgotten about it. He takes a napkin to wipe at his mouth, smiling at his older brother.

"If you're that serious about him, maybe you should just tell him." he grins. "No offense, nii-sama, but your feelings aren't exactly transparent! I bet he's staring at the bathroom mirror right now, beating himself up, thinking stupid stuff like 'does he even like me??'."

An amused smirk plays on his lips. "Naturally. Play nice, but not too nice. Consider this a hazing ritual. How else are we to initiate Jounouchi into family without a bit of trial and tribulation?" Kaiba scoffs dryly, casting Mokuba a thoughtful glance.

Jounouchi knew what was he signing up for when he decided to beat him in a duel. The sheer audacity. The very notion of him, Kaiba Seto, losing to someone as mediocre as Jounouchi? It was practically a dare to not have him try to claim Jounouchi for himself.

Perhaps it's a bold statement— to presume Jounouchi would want to be a Kaiba. But as far as he is concerned, Jounouchi chases what he wants with reckless abandon.

So does he.

His eyes soften into one of immeasurable fondness.

Does Kaiba even hear himself? Does he realize what he's saying? He has never even begun to consider welcoming a single person into the family since Gozaburo died, and yet, now, Jounouchi was to be initiated into the family.

Mokuba realizes, startled, that Seto may be planning for far more regarding his relationship with Jounouchi than he thought he was.

"Are you kidding? Jou doesn't even know the rules to chess. He couldn't even move a piece without messing up."

He pouts a little.

"But with his luck, you can't really be too sure..."

He takes another bite of his food, gazing up at his brother's fond face from behind his lashes. He steels himself, and looks down at his food, pretending to be casual as he asks,

Opening his eyes, Noa stares down at hands and feet, stumbling backwards, phasing through a chair in his holographic form. He takes in his surroundings with wide-eyed wonder. From a quick glance, it looks like he's inside a bedroom.

He's alive? How is this possible?

"Mokuba?" Noa gasps, eyes burning with emotion. Elated to find someone he recognizes and quite frankly, cherishes. Someone he considers his only friend in the world.

Wherever this world may be.

Surely it's the real world, because the last thing he remembers is embracing his father before everything went black. His soul scattering into nothingness. Apparently, fate has other plans.

Noa takes a glance at the Duel Disk sitting on top of Mokuba's desk, noticing the invisible cord between it and his body. Interesting. He turns back to smile softly at Mokuba.

It really was Noa who was standing before him, fully modelized thanks to KaibaCorp's latest Duel Disk's technology. The hologram is unbelievably realistic. When it's monsters that are projected, it's easy to guess they're not real— but Noa looks every bit as human as a regular person would, was he not being projected from the device.

Mokuba can already feel tears welling up in his eyes at the mere sight of his friend. His brother.

"Noa!"

He calls out in response, desperately wishing he could reach out and touch him, but knowing better than to try.

"W-We survived thanks to you. I always wanted to thank you for helping us out of there, Noa!"

"All right, cool."

Rising from his seat, Jounouchi flashes that irritating (yet endearing) happy-go-lucky grin. "I'm gonna go wash up real quick." Before he gives either Kaiba or Mokuba a chance to speak up, he disappears into the hallway.

Kaiba expects Jounouchi to get lost. Thankfully, he has servants posted everywhere to redirect Jounouchi back to where he needs to be.

He continues to eat with impeccable table manners before finally deciding now it's time to share what he has planned for the night. He was almost afraid his foolproof plan was going to fail due to his own hubris.

Hmph. It's not so bad, he supposes, leaving matters like this to the third-rate duelist with a fourth-rate deck.

It seems he will have to thank Jounouchi later, in private.

"The entertainment room has been set up," Kaiba begins, already deciding for all of them that they're going to spend time together as a family. "Mokuba, I expect you to play nice."

He hates losing, and he would loathe to lose Jounouchi over something as inconvenient as excessive boundary pushing. Despite the idiotic amounts of swagger Jounouchi tends to display, he knows for a fact Jounouchi is sensitive.

That's what makes Jounouchi so intriguing; he is the embodiment of man. A living contradiction. A puzzle he couldn't quite solve.

"..."

Mokuba stares at his brother with wide eyes, caught off-guard when he suddenly brings up the game night they're about to have. All three of them. He can't help but think about how unusual it was that Seto had gotten home before the two of them in the first place.

Was he planning for this? Oh, Seto.

The thought of his brother anxiously awaiting his boyfriend and little brother's return to play a game with them makes Mokuba soft with affection. He gets distracted by the thought of it, until Seto makes him jump with a stern reminder that he's still sitting at the dinner table.

Mokuba digs into his food with a bright smile on his face, already looking forward to the evening to come.

"Can we shtart with Capshule Monshters, Seto?"

The younger Kaiba proposes, his cheeks full. His table manners still left something to be desired, but it's not like Gozaburo Kaiba was around for it to matter anymore. He swallows before elaborating,

"It's the only game I know for a fact Jou can't beat me at." Mokuba makes no mention of the fact it's unlikely Kaiba himself could beat him, even with Mokuba having a champion title, because he believes from the bottom of his heart that it's untrue. Seto could even beat him at CapMon if he so desired. That's what makes him the most awesome brother in the world.

Oh crap, Jounouchi has completely forgotten about that. The scary rides. To Kaiba's credit, he and Kaiba had avoided them like the plague during their date for obvious reasons: he's a total wuss when it comes to that sort of crap. But it's unavoidable now that Mokuba's going to be joining them.

Why the hell did he have to open his big stupid mouth?

"Hm. Very well. It's settled then," Kaiba hums, leaning against his seat, appearing relaxed. "I'll clear out my schedule."

Kaiba smirks, shooting a sadistic look Jounouchi's way, obviously taking delight in Jounouchi's inevitable suffering. But there's relief in that smile, too, and maybe gratefulness for having Jounouchi assist in smoothing things over with Mokuba. Not that he'd ever admit it, the jerk.

Jounouchi sinks in his seat, left to question his life choices. It gives Kaiba the opportunity to trade plates with him, as his own food is virtually untouched.

"Perhaps a sleepover is in order," Kaiba muses out loud, suddenly feeling indulgent. "Any excuse to get you out that dingy death trap of an apartment."

Jounouchi rolls his eyes. They've been over this. "Dude, just because it's a one bedroom it doesn't mean it's dingy. But sure, whatever. I'm game."

He can't help but feel a power rush coming on. If he says no, Seto will be reluctant to throw Jou out but will somehow get it done, and Jou wouldn't overstay his welcome anyway if Mokuba didn't want him there anymore.

"Hmmm..."

He makes a show of thinking about it, crossing his arms over his chest the way his brother usually does when he's deep in thought.

"I dunno..."

Mokuba's gaze catches Seto's, and it's clear then by the narrowing of his eyes that Seto's onto him. So much for trying to act like he might refuse just to fuck with Jounouchi a little.

"...fine, I guess it's alright! There's like, a billion guest rooms that go unused in our mansion anyway!"

"Really? You were saying it so loud and proud that everyone outside the building could hear.

All I'm saying, is that family shouldn't be held on a pedestal- rather, close to your heart. The true value of family is not its pride, arrogance, or profit; rather the true love that family members share."

Upon being asked if her brother was a dragon, she simply smiled, letting her glamor fade to reveal large, leathery wings and a long, black, segmented tail.

And that allows him to gape in awe at the sight of her wings and tail, eyes wide and bright with admiration.

"...y..."

"You're a dragon??!!"

The younger Kaiba can't seem to contain his excitement, jumping in place with his eyes glued to the dark wings.

The smile freezes on his face. Oh no. This time it's meat murder. Jounouchi immediately cuts in, sweating bullets.

"Hey, let's not have a repeat of last time—"

Only for Kaiba to raise his hand from the table, interrupting him. "It's fine, Jounouchi." Brows furrowed together as if he's deeply frustrated with all of this, but most of all, with himself.

His penetrative gaze searches for Mokuba's again, this time pleading.

"Mokuba... I'm sorry."

He folds his arms across his chest, reflexively. A nervous twitch that exposes this uncomfortable side of him; vulnerable and uncertain.

It makes Jounouchi want to reach out for him, but he doesn't.

Kaiba continues pensively, "I wasn't certain how to bring Jounouchi into the fold, though perhaps the way I went about it was unwise. As you know, anyone who gets close to us is... dangerous. For us and for them."

He leans forward on steepled hands, slipping his eyes shut.

"Yet I made a calculated risk, ascertained the variables, all possible permutations, considered the infinitely many outcomes, and concluded to disregard of all that."

The pinched look returns on Kaiba's face when he opens his eyes. Silently pleading Mokuba to understand what he's trying to convey.

Jounouchi couldn't keep his mouth shut anymore.

"So what you're saying is that what you did back there was the best way to tell me and Mokuba that you trust me or something?"

Kaiba goes quiet, then nods stiffly.

Cue a huff of laughter on his part. "You're an idiot, you know that, right?" He cards his fingers through his hair, shaking his head in disbelief. "Come on man, it's okay to admit you were, like, freaking scared. No one's gonna judge."

His anger melts like butter and he settles down on his chair, watching Jounouchi and Seto as they talk to each other. It's a brief, fleeting feeling, but in that moment, he feels like he could sit here and watch Jou playfully poke fun at Kaiba...

...forever?

"..."

Seto eventually turns his head to look at Mokuba, and it's written all over his face (although it would look pretty much the same as usual to anyone who doesn't know Seto as well as they do): he's anxious. He's worried Mokuba will double down on his anger, won't approve of his relationship, will refuse to understand.

But the thing is, Kaiba didn't even need to apologize. That look of uncertainty alone makes Mokuba forgive him instantly.

His gaze moves to Jou, who's unsurprisingly still stuffing his face with Kaiba's food, and he smiles. Man, of all the people his brother could have fallen for, Jou was both the most unlikely, and the best contender.

"...actually, I'd like to go to Kaiba Land," Mokuba eventually says with an earnest smile. "Plus, they're closing the Halloween rides soon, and I really really really wanted to ride the Haunted Mansion one!!!"

"Mokuba..." A flash of hurt crosses Kaiba's face. Out of all of the micro expressions, Jounouchi recognizes that one the most.

So he throws Kaiba a sheepish look, mouthing the words, 'don't worry about it, I got this.' While Mokuba leads him by the hand, towards the ungodly huge dining room with an equally large table. What is this, a meal for a gala? Why are they so far apart? The servants made themselves scarce the moment the three entered the room, after directing them to their respective seats.

Nah. This is some dumb shit.

"See, this is why I hate rich people bullshit," Jounouchi scoffs. "You guys don't know how to have a Japanese style meal?"

Western styled dining is so cold, he feels. Especially on a table like this.

Kaiba's gaze is on him in an instant, sharp and cutting. "Jounouchi. Language." But he watches on with mild intrigue as Jounouchi drags both his own plate and Mokuba's to the head of the table, where Kaiba is supposed to be seated.

Proud of his handiwork, Jounouchi grins. Now everyone is closer together. His grin twisting into a smirk when Kaiba has no choice but to accept the little dose of chaos thrown into Kaiba's usual orderly routine.

As soon as Kaiba sits, Jounouchi steals a kiss on Kaiba's cheek. He nearly laughs at the red creeping up Kaiba's neck, the look of shock on his face.

Well, that's his revenge for the day.

Stealing food off of Kaiba's plate, he smiles innocently. "Was thinking we could plan a trip to Kaiba Land this weekend. You know, with you, me, Mokuba."

Yuuuuck. Could they be any more embarrassing? Mokuba's not against his brother dating anyone, but he seriously doesn't want to be subjected to this sort of thing. Ew, ew, ew!!!

...even if the look on Kaiba's face is pretty funny.

Jou enthusiastically brings up what they've spoken about earlier, but the only sound that follows the question is the awkward, unpleasant noise of silver cutlery dragging against a plate.

"...I dunno, I've got something planned this weekend. And next weekend, too."

Lord, could Mokuba make this any harder on them? Can't Kaibas just have a normal fight, like any other siblings, or are they doomed to be stubborn with each other until the situation resolves itself?!

Regardless, Mokuba isn't relenting. He's not even eating his food, just glaring down at it and playing with it with his fork.

"And also, I don't wanna hang out with Seto if he's going to keep secrets from me, cuz that makes him a liar."

He stabs into the meat with his fork, finally raising his head to glare at Seto.