#hey forwarning I have absolutely no idea how Seto's economics project actually worked

[queeriboh]

too little too late

(aka Kaiba Bros Bad End AU tw for abuse and suicide mentions )

okay SO Mokuba bursts into the office and makes his announcement about giving his shares to Seto, and the whole room just goes. completely silent. and everyone is staring at him except Seto, who just keeps his head down and expression tense. and Gouzaburo is like, "Seto, explain to this simple minded brat why he just fucked up."

and Seto's like, "These are the reports and figures at closing bell last night. It's too little too late, Mokuba. You shouldn't have interrupted."

and Gouzaburo is PISSED. both that Mokuba interrupted their meeting and embarrassed him in front of the board and investors, and that Mokuba betrayed him instead of his brother. orders Saruwatori to remove him and he's like "I'll deal with YOU when I get home, right now the adults are conducting business."

and then he gets home with Seto and makes Mokuba watch, held back by Hobbson and Saruwatori, as he beats the everloving fuck out of Seto, like if he wasn't 16 and 6 feet tall already he'd probably be left within an inch of his life by the end. and the whole time saying shit to both of them like. Telling Mokuba "I can't take you back to the orphanage covered in bruises, so your brother has to take YOUR punishment for you. Don't ever forget that this is YOUR fault. I might have taken pity on you and kept you BOTH if you'd just behaved." and telling Seto "This is your brother's fault, if you're going to hate anyone for this, hate him." really drive them apart and sow this seed of resentment in both of them.

then once Seto's too broken to fight back Gouzaburo turns to Mokuba and grabs him by the hair and he's like "If I take you back to the orphanage looking like a fucking urchin, it'll make me look bad." orders Hobson to get some scissors and just. cuts off Mokuba's long hair. takes his identity from him before he takes away the family name he gave him too.

stations Saruwatori outside Mokuba's door bc he knows Mokuba's a little gremlin who likes to sneak to the other side of the mansion to see Seto (the anime shows them living in separate wings, I've always liked to think that Mokuba was kept in the servants' quarters and became familiar with the maintenance corridors they use to remain unseen during their duties), but that little rogue finds a way to get to Seto's room anyway.

except Seto is quiet and distant and kind of empty. and at first he's like. "Why did you do that?? he was impressed with what I accomplished. he might not have handed me the company but he wasn't going to get rid of us. and if he did, it would have been both of us. you should have told me. we could have transferred the shares in time."

they have a little bit of an argument, but ultimately Seto is just like. "Look. I can't do anything else to protect you now. he's going to send you away tomorrow. I can't stop him. Don't forget that you can't ever trust ANYONE." and the emphasis and the way he pauses and the hurt in his eyes makes Mokuba flinch bc he knows he's part of that "anyone" to his brother now.

"But you have to do whatever it takes to get adopted. by a real family that will take care of you. you have to get out of that orphanage. just give me two years. I'll be 18 then, and I'll be able to leave this place and find you. I'll figure out another way to make our dreams happen, but you have to give me two years."

and sure enough Gouzaburo really does it. takes Mokuba back to the orphanage and abandons him. and Mokuba does try to get adopted, even tries to sabotage other kids' meetings with potential parents to make himself look better. but he quickly grows cold, viewing every other kid there as an enemy in his way of a better life. he's mean and distant and it just makes him feel worse and worse and keeps him from getting adopted.

Seto's soul is broken. he becomes very withdrawn and subservient. his suicide ideation gets really, really bad. but he keeps telling himself if he's just obedient and keeps living and suffering until he's 18, then he can run away and Gouzaburo can't do anything to drag him back. he considers killing him. many times. Mokuba told him about the poison he had obtained and had planned to use to kill Gouzaburo, a plan Seto had talked him out of. but he's too terrified of being caught, arrested, and unable to rescue Mokuba to enact it.

between his never ending studies, Gouzaburo pushing him to design weapons and virtual systems for KC, planning a new way to take over the company, his dreams of building theme parks and games goes forgotten. and with his passion gone and his spirit broken, his productivity starts to dip.

I reallyyyyy wanted to include Noah, but since I'm splicing anime lore into the manga and also it's all AU anyway baby !!!!!! I wanted to do it a little differently than canon.

so Noah is another kid at the orphanage. and at first his resemblance to Seto makes Mokuba hate him more than any of the other kids. but for some reason he's always nice to Mokuba despite the bullying and abuse Mokuba hurls at him, and eventually they start to get close. and Mokuba starts to forget what Seto told him about trust.

and then Gouzaburo shows up at the orphanage again. and Mokuba thinks, Seto did it! he negotiated with Gouzaburo, or finally beat him at his own game, whatever, he's here to take me back!! back to Seto!!!!!

but in reality. Gouzaburo had noticed Seto's waning passion and was worried he'd never be a good heir, goes looking for someone to act as either a backup plan or scare him into working harder again. he ends up adopting Noah, leaving Mokuba alone again. and Noah is happy to go with him, doesn't even look back at Mokuba when he leaves

Seto is. absolutely enraged at Gouzaburo for this little stunt. but he does work harder. he produces plans for a revolutionary new weapon. he becomes Gouzaburo's perfect protégé once more. but in the back of his mind, he's making a new plan to take over. he ends up murdering Gouzaburo using Mokuba's poison, and frames Noah. even poisons himself, not enough to kill himself, to make it look like Noah tried to get rid of him too.

once they're both out of the way, he takes over Kaiba Corp right around the time he turns 18. except, he never changes the mission statement. he continues to design weapons, military tech, and vehicles. the handover takes some time, but he does finally go to the orphanage to save Mokuba.

except Mokuba isn't there anymore. he was adopted just a few months before, and despite all of his power, money, and influence, they can't tell Seto who adopted him or where they took him. it's too little, too late.