Fixation

Chapter 25

Routine. Seto always fell back on routine, especially when things went wrong. Things had definitely one wrong, but Seto know that the sun would still rise the next day, the stock market would still open, and Kaiba Corp would still generate more work than he could ever hope to keep up with.

With Mokuba conscious, and under Nakamura’s care, Seto had his new driver take him home where he did the same thing he’d done every night since he took over Kaiba Corp. He drank a protein shake, checked his email, changed into a pair of pajama pants and went to bed. He thought about taking a shower, since he hadn’t had a proper shower in over four days, but since a shower was only part of his evening routine if he had sex, he didn’t.

As he lay in bed, he thought about Mokuba, still fighting for his life in the hospital. He wondered how his brother had become so stupid. How could Mokuba have gambled so much on Roland and Jou both giving in to the circumstances he’d thrown them into? How could he not have known that Jou wouldn’t ever back down? Through eight hundred and fourteen arguments, one hundred and sixty-two fights, and five duels, Jou had never, ever backed down. Mokuba had pushed Roland’s guilt and sense of duty to so many different extremes that Mokuba should have predicted Roland’s behavior.

Seto wasn’t sure what he felt about the whole situation, himself. Roland was dead. Roland was the closest thing he had to a father, but the closest he seemed to have come to grief was annoyance. Everything he had depended on Roland for Seto now had to figure out for himself. It meant a new driver, new bodyguard, new director of security, and no one seemed to be answering the front door of the mansion after six, when the maid clocked out for the night. It was going to seriously fuck with his routine.

Then there was Jou. Despite everything Mokuba had done, Jou stayed just like he promised he would. Of course, the Mutt wasn’t bright enough to see the only logical way out alive. In chess, there were only so many ways for a game to end—victory, defeat, or neither. So many people forgot that you didn’t have to keep playing. You certainly didn’t have to keep playing when your opponent was willing to smash the board with your head in order to win. Seto had long ago learned that the only way to avoid losing a chess match against Mokuba was not to play in the first place.

Therefore, Seto had to remove Jou from Mokuba’s game. Unfortunately, that meant Seto had to remove Jou from his life and his bed. That was a shame, since Jou being in his bed at the moment would mean that he’d get both sex and a shower, rather than just a shower in the morning.

In addition, he wouldn’t be alone again.

Seto ran his hands over the sweat and sex stained sheets, wondering for a moment why the sheets hadn’t been changed yet. He wasn’t going to complain, though. It meant that his bed would feel and smell like Jou for a few more nights. Maybe that would be long enough for him to clear his head and get over the urge to flay his little brother alive.

Seto was still awake when his alarm went off. He moved slowly, the fatigue of the previous week bearing down on him like the whole world crushing Atlas’ shoulders. However weary, Seto took comfort in getting back to his normal routine. Workout, protein shake, shower, shave, clean suit, coffee, newspaper, and finally back to work.

A new guard had taken over as his driver and it took Seto longer than he would have liked to recall the man’s name. People stared at him as he strode through the lobby. His executives dropped files and scattered as he approached. The only one who wasn’t shocked to see him back at work was Nakamura Sakura.

He found her sitting at an open cubicle, making hand written notes on a draft of a contract. She smiled at him, but kept working rather than get up. “Good morning, Kaiba-sama.”

“Good morning Nakamura-san. I expected to find you in my office.”

Writing between the typed lines of the contract, she shook her head elegantly. “Kaiba-sama, I must admit that I’ve always found your office to be so dismal that it’s distracting. Plus, no one can get into your office.”

“Excuse me?”

“Someone ripped the lock apart, and Security has informed me that, even if they had someone on staff who could fix the lock itself, they wouldn’t be able to bypass the security override and actually unlock it.”

“No one who can fix it?” Seto laughed, remembering how easily Jou had unlocked the door.

Nakamura-san motioned to a chair beside her. “I took the liberty of informing Human Resources that they are to make sure everything in Security is made aware of the company’s tuition reimbursement benefits.”

“Nicer than I would have been about it.”

“Different leadership styles all have their risks and benefits, Kaiba-sama.”

“Indeed.” Seto took the chair beside and her and tried to decipher the contract upside down. “What have I missed?”

“Roland-san’s memorial, the response deadline for that real estate venture you’re so keen on, and Bring Your Daughter to Work Day.”

“For the duel academy?”

“Yes,” she said simply. “I am quite sure they will be willing to pick up negotiations where they left off, given the circumstances. Everything else is proceeding on schedule. How is your brother?”

Seto smirked. “I assumed you would know more than I do about that.”

“And I do,” she agreed. She put down her pen and sat back, staring at him with a soft smile. “That was my way of opening up the floor for you, in case you wanted to talk about it.”

“I see,” said Seto. That was all he said. He didn’t want to talk about Mokuba. He didn’t particularly want to deal with Mokuba if he should recover. Mokuba’s interference with his love life had gone from simply annoying him to ruining lives. Albeit, most of the lives he had ruined were despicable lives, but Mokuba didn’t seem to care that there was a difference between assholes and useful people. “I think I’ll draft an apology to the seller’s agent in the duel academy deal. After I get into my office, that is.”

Nakamura-san pulled out a small notepad and wrote down the name and number of the manufacturer of the door’s lock. “They are sending someone by to fix the lock by the end of the week,” she explained. “I didn’t expect you back before then.”

“There’s no need,” Seto said simply. “There’s nothing wrong with the lock, just the sheetrock around it. I just need to disable the security override. Or find an ohm meter,” Seto chuckled. “I employ over a thousand people with degrees in electronics engineering and computer science, and no one in Security thought to consult them about getting that door open… Even an auto-mechanic could have figured it out!”

“Well, in all fairness, you only employ two auto-mechanics. The security company was actually quite unhelpful. They flatly refused to discuss the locking mechanism with anyone in Security and insisted their own technician had to service their equipment.”

“Ha! I bet they did! I’m bringing in a contractor to get a regular deadbolt installed. It’ll be less of a headache. Thank you for all of your hard work this week, Nakamura-san.”

“I’m here when you need me, Kaiba-sama.”

Seto was about the head to his office when he found himself hesitating. “You… You haven’t heard from Jou, by any chance?”

Nakamura-san’s smile melted into a sympathetic grimace. “I have never been Katsuya-kun’s keeper, only his friend.”

“Oh,” Seto felt as if he’d done something wrong but he was too lost to analyze what it was. “I’m sorry, I just thought…”

“No, I don’t think you did. If you had thought, you would have deduced several discrete methods of finding out if Katsuya is back in the United States already. The simplest would be to call Ally Solutions and ask if he is available to take on new clients, or something of that nature.”

“That’s a good idea,” Seto admitted.

And it was. Seto resolved to call Jou’s office as soon as he was caught up on work. He never did, though. The day wore on, and soon Seto found himself typing in his office as the sun set behind him. After he finished, he went to visit Mokuba and check on his recovery, then went home. Try and he might, he couldn’t force himself to break from his evening routine to pick up the phone.

Days passed the same way. To work in the morning, to Mokuba’s hospital room in the evening, and then home. Days turned into weeks and then into months, and the only thing that changed was Mokuba’s gradual recovery. It took two surgeries before the ventilator could be removed, and another surgery before the feeding tube could come out. The first thing Mokuba did when his throat was unobstructed was to shout at Seto. Seto had ruined his game, and no matter how much Mokuba argued that he was just trying to keep Seto and Jou together, Seto knew better. Mokuba was mad because Seto had taken away his victory.

Seto was not surprised when he walked in on Mokuba fucking a cute young nurse. He was also un-surprised when he walked in on Mokuba fucking a slender male intern. He managed a smile when Yugi’s only comment was a dreamy-eyed agreement that the intern was definitely drool-worthy. He was a bit surprised when Mokuba came home and seemed to fall into an easygoing pattern that defied every routine the boy had ever had. Mokuba casually got back in shape, spent whole days playing chess with Yugi, and even talked on the phone a lot. Mokuba’s social circle had always consisted of Seto, Yugi, and people he had sex with. The people he had sex with never warranted conversations, much more the courtesy of remembering their names, so this new, social Mokuba made Seto nervous.

The only thing that really surprised Seto was the smirk on Mokuba’s face as Seto became dizzy and felt himself tumble to the floor when Mokuba brought him a cup of coffee one morning. All he managed to say, before his vision went dark, was “You are so grounded.” It just seemed to make Mokuba’s smile brighter.

When Seto regained consciousness, he was gagged, handcuffed, and on a helicopter. Mokuba and Yugi shared a seat across from him, each engulfed in a PSP. Seto couldn’t scream or shout, but he did manage a passable growl.

“Good morning, Ni-sama,” said Mokuba cheerfully.

Seto’s tried the fiercest glare he could manage, but Mokuba just smiled. When that target failed, he turned his glare on Yugi instead.

“I didn’t know what he was planning until he said he needed help getting an old trunk to the airport,” Yugi said casually, not looking up from his game. “I didn’t know you were in the trunk, I swear it.”

Seto narrowed his eyes.

“Oh, here, it’s not like it’ll make any difference now.” Yugi put down the game and slid across to Seto’s side where he unlatched the leather strap gagging Seto.

“You drugged me,” Seto hissed at his brother.

“Yeah,” Mokuba confirmed, not looking at him but still smiling.

“What the hell is going on, Mokie?”

“Ah,” Mokuba pushed a complicated series of buttons, “It’s complicated. Hang on a second.”

“And you played along with him kidnapping me?” Seto returned his glare to Yugi.

“Actually, I’ve pretty much just played Ratchet and Clank,” the short man admitted. “But I didn’t say anything since because, well, it seemed like a good idea.”

“Kidnapping me seemed like a good idea?”

Mokuba groaned as a dismal strain of music came from the PSP. He shut the game off and set it down. “I will make that jump,” he insisted.

“Real world, Mokuba! You drugged me! Explain yourself immediately!”

“I couldn’t think of anything else to try. Jou is so far in the middle of nowhere at the moment that I couldn’t hire anybody who could find him, much more bring him back, and I knew there was no way I would be able to convince you to come with me.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You just don’t get it, Seto. I wasn’t trying to hurt Jou, or you, or anybody else.”

“Mokie…”

“Well, no one important, anyway. Things got a bit out of hand, I admit. I didn’t know how much Jou would resist staying in Japan. I kind of should have maybe realized what would happen, I suppose… If he had just not meddled in anything than you and him could have lived happily ever after. I don’t know if you sent him away because you were mad at him or because you thought I’d really hurt him, but either way, you fucked up. And, either way, it was because of me. So, I figured I’d step out of the picture until you two sort things out for yourselves, that’s all.”

“And how did that involve drugging me?”

“Mario has kept us posted on how Jou’s doing, and he’s not doing good. He’s miserable. He’s left work, let his partner buy him out, and he’s pretty much dropped off the map. He grabbed a backpack, three months worth of food, and bought a plane ticket to the most remote spot he could imagine, and no one has heard from him since. He called Mario about a month ago and said he’s running out of food. He asked him to arrange to drop off some supplies, and well, Mario asked him if he wanted company and apparently, he said he wouldn’t mind. They’ve been out there ever since and now they need more supplies. It turns out that Mario doesn’t know anyone else who knows how to charter a helicopter, so he called me and asked me to help, can you believe that?”

“No.”

“Well, we’re bringing Jou supplies, picking Mario up, and bringing Jou some company.”

Seto leaned over and stared out the window. Not far below was one of the most desolate shorelines he had ever seen. From horizon to horizon, there was nothing but ocean, rocks, and weeds. There wasn’t a single tree or town in sight.

“Where the hell are we?”

“Iceland. We should be just about over the northern fjords,” Mokuba explained.

“Iceland?”

“Yeah.”

“What is Jou doing in Iceland?”

“Backpacking, from what Mario says. Apparently likes it, though I can’t imagine why.”

Seto shut his eyes and hit his head against the window of the helicopter. “I am going to kill you!” he shouted. “Why can’t you just get it through your head that it’s time to give up! You can’t make my life perfect, Mokuba! You cannot meddle in my love life! It is not your business! I am done trying to convince you! You are finished at Kaiba Corp and, damn it, you can find your own place to live! I’ve had trust funds set up for you since your were twelve, you can damn well live off of that! You are fired and you are no longer welcome at the mansion, is that clear?”

Mokuba rolled his eyes.

“I am being serious, Mokie!”

“I know,” Mokuba said flatly. “But it’s not like you can enforce those decisions… As far as I know, Jou plans to rendezvous with a ferry on the southern coast in two and half months. So if you’re still mad at me, we can discuss it then.”

“No, I can kill you then.”

“I think you need a holiday anyway,” Mokuba said cheerfully. “So I took away your phone, your pager, you computer, your GPS transmitter, and everything else. I bought all the supplies Mario said you would need, so you should be fine. I added a few extras that I thought you and Jou might enjoy, too…”

Seto felt the helicopter shudder as it descended.

“I am going to kill you.”

“Not until you make it to that ferry,” said Mokuba with a bright smile.

With a shake, the helicopter touched down beside a bright red smoking flare. Yugi pulled the door open and Mokuba efficiently tossed Seto out the door. A heavy, fully packed backpack landed beside him. Seto rolled over just in time to see a smiling Hispanic face nod in greeting, drop a pair of handcuff keys beside him, and climb on to the helicopter. He saw Jou, with what looked like a month of stubble on his chin, shouting something, but he couldn’t hear a word over the roar of the helicopter.

Something short, silver, and oval shaped landed beside Seto in the dirt. Seto rolled over onto his back and looked up into his brother’s smiling eyes. He saw Mokuba stare at Jou and saw him mouth the word “Check mate.” and then the helicopter quickly flew away. It was out of sight before Seto managed to sit up.

“What the fuck?” Jou shouted. “Was that Mokuba?”

“Yes,” Seto growled. He stopped glaring at the spot in the sky where the helicopter had disappeared from sight and finally looked at Jou. He looked thin and sleep deprived, but his blond hair still glowed and his amber eyes still made Seto’s entire body feel like it was melting.

“He handcuffed you?”

“He drugged me, handcuffed me, and gagged me,” Seto explained. “Could you unlock these already?”

Jou seemed to be trying not to laugh, but he found the slim cuff keys and released Seto. Seto felt calloused fingers tracing the area of his wrists where the cuffs had been. “They had you locked up for a long time,” Jou said conversationally. “The skin under the cuffs is raw.”

“Wonderful. I’ll add that to the list of things I’ll pay attention to after I disembowel that little shithead.”

Jou sat down beside him and laughed. “I can’t believe he would do something like this,” he said with a smile. “And that Mario and Yugi would help him… He really can’t let something go, can he?”

Seto felt some of the rage inside of him simmer. That sounded very much like something Nakamura-sensei would say when explaining that Mokuba’s behavior was only rarely within his own control. Everything else in the world might be within Mokuba’s control, but the ability to let go of a fixation was beyond him. “No, he really can’t,” Seto admitted.

“Well, you’re here, and the next scheduled supply drop is a month away, so you might as well get comfortable,” Jou explained. “They seem to have brought supplies for you, so you might to dig through there for a set of suitable clothes and some boots.”

“How can you be so calm about this! We’re stuck in the middle of nowhere! Are there even any people on this shithole of an island?”

“Yeah,” Jou said simply. Jou causally bent down and picked up something near Seto’s pack. Whatever it was, it fell to pieces in his hand. He stared at each pieces curiously, a smile slowly forming on his face. “They’re all on the other side, though.”

“The northern fjords of Iceland! What the hell prompted you to come here! There’s nothing around!” Seto shouted, throwing his hands up in more than frustration.

They were indeed isolated. Ocean cliffs and sea birds were the only distinguishing features of the landscape. “That’s kinda the point, Seto. There are some ghost towns along the shore, old fishing villages that couldn’t survive. There are also a hot springs everywhere. It’s great.”

“You think this is great! Are you insane?”

“Was there audio and video surveillance in your office?” Jou asked softly.

“Of course, why wouldn’t there be?”

Jou held up the pieces of the tiny device. “Mokuba tossed the vibrator out with that pack,” Jou explained. “You should take a look at it.”

“Why?” Seto took the pieces of the vibrator out of Jou’s hands. “There are no batteries,” he said simply.

“Take a closer look,” Jou smirked.

“There is also a stripped gear on the motor right there,” Seto noted, “And the switch and transmitter look like they’ve been fried.”

“He went to a lot of trouble when he could have just kept the damn thing. What’s the deal?” Jou asked. “He must have found out about that time in your office, but this doesn’t make any sense….”

“Of course it does,” Seto felt like smacking Jou. “If we’re stuck out here without this vibrator working and no way to fix it then you can’t keep your promise. If…” Seto felt himself blush. “If we were to do anything, it wouldn’t be able to count as our last time since…”

“Since we can’t possibly use that vibrator…” Jou nodded. “He really hates to lose, doesn’t he?”

“I’m sorry,” Seto said honestly. “I thought that if I just ended things, just forced you out of the picture, he would get the hint that the game was over.”

“To play the game is to lose the game,” Jou said in a contemplative tone. “You were trying to stop him. It’s not like there’s any other way,” Jou agreed. “What the hell do you do with an opponent who is willing to kill or die to win?”

“You have to walk away,” Seto agreed. “I don’t think he’s going to give up unless he gets what he wants. You look like shit, by the way.”

“Aren’t you romantic,” Jou scoffed.

Seto shrugged. “It’s just a statement of fact. You look horrible.”

“Well, it’s been a weird few months. Work is… I can’t go back to work… I think I need to find another job… I can’t…” Jou sighed. “It’s complicated.”

“You’re not sure if you actually do any good in law enforcement and security,” Seto said simply. “And you can’t stand not to be sure of yourself.”

“I’m damn sure of myself, thank you very much! It’s the rest of the world that turned out to be fucked up! Making an idol out of a serial killer because they can’t imagine another solution to their own damn problems!”

Seto sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. He took a deep breath and tried to calm down. The air smelled like salt, but nothing else. It felt strangely clean.

“Why did you become a cop, anyway?”

“You wouldn’t believe me,” Jou said quickly.

“Don’t make stupid assumptions, Mutt. Why did you become a cop?”

“I felt like the Guardian aspect of my soul was dominant, if you must know.”

Seto could only imagine how blank his face must have looked. “I need more of an explanation than that.”

“You remember back in high school,” Jou rubbed the back of his head, laughing nervously, “When we read Plato’s Republic? Well, it got me thinking, you know… I can do just about any manual job, but I like to feel like I’m doing something important. Like I contribute something worthwhile. I sure ain’t cut out to be in politics or law or something like that. I wouldn’t know what to do with myself if I had to put up with people like you all day every day. And that left the silver cast… guardians… protectors…”

Seto was trying very hard not to laugh. It was a difficult task and he could feel the evidence of his failure in the way his shoulders kept shaking of their own accord.

“Stop laughing, it is not funny!”

“You’ve based your entire life off of Plato’s Republic?” Seto laughed.

“Shut up! There are worse reasons to pick a job, asshole!”

“I always thought people became cops after seeing Die Hard and stuff like that! With all the stupid action movies you zoned out on as a teen, you let one of the driest books in history dictate your career! How many cops peruse the philosophy section before they apply for the job?” Seto nearly fell down laughing. “Did you say that in your interview? I bet whoever hired you thought you meant Play Dough!”

“It is not funny!” Jou shouted.

“Whatever, Mutt, whatever.”

“Yeah, well, people would be happier if they took self-actualization into account when they pick a job,” Jou argued. “Would you be happy designing missiles for a living?”

“I suppose not, but still… Hey, who would have guessed it, the Mutt’s developed a poly-syllabic vocabulary. Maybe you should teach!”

Seto knew it was coming. He didn’t move, he didn’t raise his arms to block Jou’s tackle, and he didn’t try to push the other man away. He let Jou’s body collide with his and carry them both to the ground. He didn’t even try to push Jou off or to fight to be on top. He was so relieved to finally feel Jou’s skin again, to feel the weight of Jou’s chest pressing into him, that he didn’t even struggle. Instead, he leaned up and kissed the Mutt silly. Jou, for his part, responded immediately, as though he had been planning to jump Seto all along.

Afterwards, lying naked on the grass under the cool sun, Seto curled up into Jou’s shoulder and tried to dose off. As soon as he felt himself slipping off to sleep, Jou shook him lightly. “You really might want to see if they packed you some decent clothes. It’s summer, but it gets really nasty here at night.”

“I thought you just said that to get my pants off,” Seto admitted.

Jou chuckled and stroked Seto’s chest.

“And I actually meant what I said,” Seto insisted, “About you teaching. You’ve already got a BA, so it wouldn’t be that hard to go back for a doctorate.”

“Yeah, right,” Jou laughed.

“I’m being serious.”

Jou laughter died as a contemplative look crossed his features.

“So what are we going to do about Mokuba?”

“Fire his ass and kick him out of the house,” Seto said immediately. ‘He was willing to sacrifice anything over this fixation with taking care of me, so as far as I’m concerned he’s sacrificed his corner office and rent-free room.”

“That’s not quite what I meant…”

“I know. But anything except an ordinary punishment is just going to come across as a continuation of this nonsense.”

“Hes a grown man. You can’t just punish him.”

“Oh yes I can. He works for my company and lives under my roof. He will stick to socially appropriate conduct or I’ll cut him off completely. I would spank his ass if I weren’t terrified of what might come of that.”

“But I thought taking care of Mokuba was one of your fixations…”

Seto stared at him, wondering if he should feel offended or amused. “Ask anyone who’s ever raised a child, Mutt, and they’ll tell you discipline is just as much a part of taking care of a kid as putting food on the table.”

“But you don’t eat,” Jou pointed out.

Seto felt his stomach tighten in an uncomfortable knot. He climbed to his feet and rushed over to the backpack that Mokuba had thrown out of the helicopter. A sealed wooden crate was next to it, but Seto didn’t remember seeing that thrown out with the pack. He pulled everything out of the pack, from clothing to a sleeping bag, extra socks and light weight toiletries, and even a first aid kit. Mokuba had also included a fairly generous supply of lube, an adult card game, and a camera. He seemed to have covered everything, as far as Seto could tell, except the most basic thing in the world. There wasn’t a single protein shake anywhere in the pack.

Absolutely desperate, he kicked open the wooden crate. Inside, he found lots of rice, oatmeal, dries fruit, nuts, and freeze dried pre-packaged meals, but no protein shakes. No energy bars. None of the things he was used to. There wasn’t even any coffee. Seto felt like screaming and crying at the same time. He stared at the metallic packages of freeze-dried food—advertising everything from scrambled egg breakfasts to ice cream. Seto’s mind hit a brick wall as he tried to imagine what taste and texture freeze-dried ice cream might taste like. He looked at his watch and took a deep breath. He did not have any connection to the outside world. He didn’t have anything he could eat. He didn’t have anything.

“Guess you’re going to have to try normal food now,” said Jou, examining the scattered contents of the crate.

“If you remind me of that again, I’m going to kill you,” Seto wore.

“Come on,” Jou laughed. “There’s a hot spring not far from here. I know you usually shower afterwards, but you’re going to have to learn to make due with baths while we’re stuck out here.”

Seto stared at the barren landscape, still terrified at the sheer emptiness of it. “Are we really stuck out here?”

“Yup.”

“But you’ve got a satellite phone or something, right?”

“Ah…” Jou offered Seto a hand getting up, “Actually, everything’s been scheduled in advance. I had a satellite phone, but the battery hasn’t held its charge.”

Seto let Jou pull him to his feet and stared out at the rocks and grass again. His brain charted out every possible option, bringing up maps he hadn’t seen for years and trying to fill in details that he had never actually paid attention to. He didn’t know where he was. He didn’t know how to get back to civilization. As every option his mind conjured led to a dead end, Seto felt his world collapsing in around him. “Well, fuck.”

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure that’s what Mokuba had in mind,” Jou muttered.