Rivalry Chapter Four
Series: Yugioh
Title: Rivalry
Author: Fictatious
Character(s): Kaiba Noa, Kaiba Seto, Kaiba Mokuba, Kaiba Gozaburo
Rating: 13
Warnings: not really
Summary: Noa begins to become concerned about how his father thinks of him.
Previous: 1 & 2, 3
Mokuba had no idea what was happening. A single second hardly ever seemed to pass before one of his brothers slapped the clock, signaling the other’s turn. The chess pieces scurried around the board and disappeared so quickly, Mokuba couldn’t even keep track of which ones were present.
“Checkmate,” Seto said.
“Right,” Noa agreed, stopping the clock.
They handed each other the pieces they’d taken and reset the board. Seto started, moving out a pawn as Noa turned the clock back on. Three moves in, Mokuba was lost again. Their matches never seemed to last a full five minutes. They must have played at least twenty rounds and it hadn’t been an hour. Mokuba was getting kind of tired of watching the nearly silent games and not being able to follow them, but he liked seeing Seto seeming to truly enjoy himself. Noa could keep up with him, unlike Mokuba, and Seto seemed to like the whirlwind pace of their play.
The door opened, though nobody had knocked, and as Mokuba twisted around, he was unsurprised to see that the intruder was Gozaburo. Mokuba sat up straight and proper in his chair and watched the man drift across the room. Noa and Seto didn’t even seem to notice he was there.
“Checkmate,” Noa said suddenly and Mokuba jumped a little.
“Mm.” Seto nodded. They stopped the clock and began resetting the board again.
“Well, it seems that you two are getting along quite well today,” Gozaburo noted in an amused voice.
“Hello, Father,” Noa and Seto said in unison, not taking their eyes off the board. Seto slapped the clock back on and Noa moved a pawn.
For the next four minutes the only sounds punctuating the silence of the room were the tiny thumps as Seto or Noa put down a piece with particular force and the slaps of the game clock. “Checkmate,” Seto announced, breaking the cycle. Mokuba couldn’t even see the checkmate, but apparently Noa could, because he nodded and turned off the clock.
“Well done, Seto,” Gozaburo praised, patting Seto on the head.
Seto didn’t even look up as he said “Thank you, Father,” and handed Noa back his captured pieces while retrieved his own.
“What’s wrong, Mokuba?” Gozaburo asked as another match started. “You don’t have anyone to play with?”
Mokuba shook his head slowly. “I can’t play as fast as them,” he said quietly. “They’re really amazing.”
Gozaburo smiled. “Yes, one of them is the future of the Kaiba Corporation,” he agreed. Mokuba saw both Seto and Noa pause for a moment, but only a moment and then their attention was back on the game.
“Did you need something, Father?” Noa asked, watching Seto’s move and then making his own after the slap; it was almost more like tennis than chess, slap slap slap slap return return return return.
“Not really, I just wanted to see how my boys were spending their day off,” Gozaburo said. “It seems you’re both making constructive use of your time. You know chess is truly a battle, much the same as business.”
“Yes sir, we’ve both read the Book of Five Rings,” Seto answered, his tone neutral, although the statement still could have been taken as somewhat insolent.
But Gozaburo only smiled and nodded and then put a hand on top of each of their heads. “Well then you boys keep playing and exercising your strategizing and problem-solving skills,” he said, giving them both a light pat.
“Yes, sir,” they answered, still not looking up, as Gozaburo turned and walked back out of the room.
“Check--”
Seto’s announcement of victory cut off as Noa’s arm suddenly swung out and viciously slapped the chessboard and game clock onto the floor. Mokuba stared and Seto was silent for a little while before asking, “You’re upset that you lost a match in front of him?”
“No,” Noa said in a quiet, closed voice, his fingers gripping the edge of the table. “I- I don’t know. I was just... angry all of a sudden. I don’t know why...”
“‘One of them is the future of the Kaiba Corporation,’” Seto quoted. “I’m sure you heard the emphasis. Maybe it was because you lost that match, and he was trying to goad you.”
“What’s ‘goad,’ Nii-sama?” Mokuba asked.
“It’s like a threat. He was telling Noa that if I get ahead of him, he’ll lose his inheritance,” Seto explained.
Mokuba frowned. Inheritance. That was what their uncle had taken from them when their parents died. “Aren’t all of the children supposed to have inheritance?” Mokuba asked. “When mom and dad died, you had some inheritance and I had some inheritance. But then uncle took it away...”
“Not with something like a family business,” Seto said, getting out of his chair and starting to pick up the chess pieces. “Usually the eldest son inherits the company. In the old days, if a man didn’t have a son, or if his son was incompetent, sometimes the company would go to his daughter’s husband or he would adopt a successor who was competent.”
“But... he already had Noa before he adopted us...” Mokuba frowned deeply.
“Right. He’s treating Noa like an incompetent,” Seto said too directly.
“Shut up!” Noa shouted, jumping out of his chair. “I’m as competent as you are!”
“I didn’t say you weren’t competent,” Seto replied, putting a handful of pieces on the table and collecting more. “I said that’s how your father was treating you.”
Noa stared at him. “N-no. You’re wrong. It’s because I didn’t have any siblings. I needed to have a rival to make me grow strong,” Noa protested. “Th-this- it’s normal for children to have to work for their parent’s approval.”
“Where did you hear that?” Seto asked in a faintly sarcastic tone as he finished collecting all the pieces. “Some people say that you’re supposed to treat your employees like family. Nobody says that you’re supposed to treat your family like employees.”
Noa was quiet, a strange, worried look creasing his brow. Mokuba watched him for a moment before turning back to Seto to ask another question. “But what happens to the runner-up?” he asked. “If you win, or if Noa wins, what happens to the other one? Do they become the vice-president?”
“I very much doubt it,” Seto snorted. “Gozaburo is a strict man with a cold heart. To him, second-best is the same as a loser, and he doesn’t have time for losers.”
“But, then... what happens?” Mokuba asked again.
Seto shrugged. “He’ll probably send the loser packing. He’s set up this game to pick the best son, and after the game’s over, he only needs to have one left.”
Noa turned suddenly and started walking to the door. “Noa-Nii-sama!” Mokuba cried. “Where are you going?”
“I don’t feel like playing anymore,” Noa called back, and his voice sounded angry. He pulled the door shut behind him with more force than was necessary and it made a loud sound as he disappeared.
“Nii-sama... You were too harsh. You hurt Noa-Nii-sama’s feelings,” Mokuba said softly.
“It’s the truth,” Seto snorted. “And it’s only fair. He should know what kind of a game he’s playing.”
...
Noa knocked on the door to his father’s study and a few moments later was bade enter. “Father,” he called stepping into the room, “please excuse the intrusion.”
“What is it, Noa?” his father asked, waving Noa forward. “You got tired of playing chess with your brother?”
Noa bit his lip. Standing in front of his father’s large desk (like an employee) made him suddenly nervous. “Father, I- I wanted to know...” he stammered.
“Speak up, son, what is it?” his father urged.
“I- I wanted to know what- what happens if I am unable to best Seto?” Noa asked carefully and forced his face up to meet his father’s eyes. “If- if I lose...?”
Gozaburo gazed at him for a while with serious, thoughtful face. Finally he said, “My son will be the winner.” He folded his hands on the desk in front of him and he seemed very large and frightening somehow. “And the winner will be my son.”
...
...
A/N: I went back and ret-conned about two paragraphs of the previous chapter after poking through season 3 on Veoh a bit today and noticing that the dialogue in the scene where Seto’s talking to Gozaburo about the duel-disk system isn’t quite what I had interpreted previously. It’s not a big change, just something to better fit continuity, but I thought I’d mention it.
Title: Rivalry
Author: Fictatious
Character(s): Kaiba Noa, Kaiba Seto, Kaiba Mokuba, Kaiba Gozaburo
Rating: 13
Warnings: not really
Summary: Noa begins to become concerned about how his father thinks of him.
Previous: 1 & 2, 3
Mokuba had no idea what was happening. A single second hardly ever seemed to pass before one of his brothers slapped the clock, signaling the other’s turn. The chess pieces scurried around the board and disappeared so quickly, Mokuba couldn’t even keep track of which ones were present.
“Checkmate,” Seto said.
“Right,” Noa agreed, stopping the clock.
They handed each other the pieces they’d taken and reset the board. Seto started, moving out a pawn as Noa turned the clock back on. Three moves in, Mokuba was lost again. Their matches never seemed to last a full five minutes. They must have played at least twenty rounds and it hadn’t been an hour. Mokuba was getting kind of tired of watching the nearly silent games and not being able to follow them, but he liked seeing Seto seeming to truly enjoy himself. Noa could keep up with him, unlike Mokuba, and Seto seemed to like the whirlwind pace of their play.
The door opened, though nobody had knocked, and as Mokuba twisted around, he was unsurprised to see that the intruder was Gozaburo. Mokuba sat up straight and proper in his chair and watched the man drift across the room. Noa and Seto didn’t even seem to notice he was there.
“Checkmate,” Noa said suddenly and Mokuba jumped a little.
“Mm.” Seto nodded. They stopped the clock and began resetting the board again.
“Well, it seems that you two are getting along quite well today,” Gozaburo noted in an amused voice.
“Hello, Father,” Noa and Seto said in unison, not taking their eyes off the board. Seto slapped the clock back on and Noa moved a pawn.
For the next four minutes the only sounds punctuating the silence of the room were the tiny thumps as Seto or Noa put down a piece with particular force and the slaps of the game clock. “Checkmate,” Seto announced, breaking the cycle. Mokuba couldn’t even see the checkmate, but apparently Noa could, because he nodded and turned off the clock.
“Well done, Seto,” Gozaburo praised, patting Seto on the head.
Seto didn’t even look up as he said “Thank you, Father,” and handed Noa back his captured pieces while retrieved his own.
“What’s wrong, Mokuba?” Gozaburo asked as another match started. “You don’t have anyone to play with?”
Mokuba shook his head slowly. “I can’t play as fast as them,” he said quietly. “They’re really amazing.”
Gozaburo smiled. “Yes, one of them is the future of the Kaiba Corporation,” he agreed. Mokuba saw both Seto and Noa pause for a moment, but only a moment and then their attention was back on the game.
“Did you need something, Father?” Noa asked, watching Seto’s move and then making his own after the slap; it was almost more like tennis than chess, slap slap slap slap return return return return.
“Not really, I just wanted to see how my boys were spending their day off,” Gozaburo said. “It seems you’re both making constructive use of your time. You know chess is truly a battle, much the same as business.”
“Yes sir, we’ve both read the Book of Five Rings,” Seto answered, his tone neutral, although the statement still could have been taken as somewhat insolent.
But Gozaburo only smiled and nodded and then put a hand on top of each of their heads. “Well then you boys keep playing and exercising your strategizing and problem-solving skills,” he said, giving them both a light pat.
“Yes, sir,” they answered, still not looking up, as Gozaburo turned and walked back out of the room.
“Check--”
Seto’s announcement of victory cut off as Noa’s arm suddenly swung out and viciously slapped the chessboard and game clock onto the floor. Mokuba stared and Seto was silent for a little while before asking, “You’re upset that you lost a match in front of him?”
“No,” Noa said in a quiet, closed voice, his fingers gripping the edge of the table. “I- I don’t know. I was just... angry all of a sudden. I don’t know why...”
“‘One of them is the future of the Kaiba Corporation,’” Seto quoted. “I’m sure you heard the emphasis. Maybe it was because you lost that match, and he was trying to goad you.”
“What’s ‘goad,’ Nii-sama?” Mokuba asked.
“It’s like a threat. He was telling Noa that if I get ahead of him, he’ll lose his inheritance,” Seto explained.
Mokuba frowned. Inheritance. That was what their uncle had taken from them when their parents died. “Aren’t all of the children supposed to have inheritance?” Mokuba asked. “When mom and dad died, you had some inheritance and I had some inheritance. But then uncle took it away...”
“Not with something like a family business,” Seto said, getting out of his chair and starting to pick up the chess pieces. “Usually the eldest son inherits the company. In the old days, if a man didn’t have a son, or if his son was incompetent, sometimes the company would go to his daughter’s husband or he would adopt a successor who was competent.”
“But... he already had Noa before he adopted us...” Mokuba frowned deeply.
“Right. He’s treating Noa like an incompetent,” Seto said too directly.
“Shut up!” Noa shouted, jumping out of his chair. “I’m as competent as you are!”
“I didn’t say you weren’t competent,” Seto replied, putting a handful of pieces on the table and collecting more. “I said that’s how your father was treating you.”
Noa stared at him. “N-no. You’re wrong. It’s because I didn’t have any siblings. I needed to have a rival to make me grow strong,” Noa protested. “Th-this- it’s normal for children to have to work for their parent’s approval.”
“Where did you hear that?” Seto asked in a faintly sarcastic tone as he finished collecting all the pieces. “Some people say that you’re supposed to treat your employees like family. Nobody says that you’re supposed to treat your family like employees.”
Noa was quiet, a strange, worried look creasing his brow. Mokuba watched him for a moment before turning back to Seto to ask another question. “But what happens to the runner-up?” he asked. “If you win, or if Noa wins, what happens to the other one? Do they become the vice-president?”
“I very much doubt it,” Seto snorted. “Gozaburo is a strict man with a cold heart. To him, second-best is the same as a loser, and he doesn’t have time for losers.”
“But, then... what happens?” Mokuba asked again.
Seto shrugged. “He’ll probably send the loser packing. He’s set up this game to pick the best son, and after the game’s over, he only needs to have one left.”
Noa turned suddenly and started walking to the door. “Noa-Nii-sama!” Mokuba cried. “Where are you going?”
“I don’t feel like playing anymore,” Noa called back, and his voice sounded angry. He pulled the door shut behind him with more force than was necessary and it made a loud sound as he disappeared.
“Nii-sama... You were too harsh. You hurt Noa-Nii-sama’s feelings,” Mokuba said softly.
“It’s the truth,” Seto snorted. “And it’s only fair. He should know what kind of a game he’s playing.”
...
Noa knocked on the door to his father’s study and a few moments later was bade enter. “Father,” he called stepping into the room, “please excuse the intrusion.”
“What is it, Noa?” his father asked, waving Noa forward. “You got tired of playing chess with your brother?”
Noa bit his lip. Standing in front of his father’s large desk (like an employee) made him suddenly nervous. “Father, I- I wanted to know...” he stammered.
“Speak up, son, what is it?” his father urged.
“I- I wanted to know what- what happens if I am unable to best Seto?” Noa asked carefully and forced his face up to meet his father’s eyes. “If- if I lose...?”
Gozaburo gazed at him for a while with serious, thoughtful face. Finally he said, “My son will be the winner.” He folded his hands on the desk in front of him and he seemed very large and frightening somehow. “And the winner will be my son.”
...
...
A/N: I went back and ret-conned about two paragraphs of the previous chapter after poking through season 3 on Veoh a bit today and noticing that the dialogue in the scene where Seto’s talking to Gozaburo about the duel-disk system isn’t quite what I had interpreted previously. It’s not a big change, just something to better fit continuity, but I thought I’d mention it.