#smoFTTT

[kaibacxrps]

Memories of the rod

Discord thread with @kaibacorpbros !

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Entering Set’s soul room could be compared to a russian roulette of sorts. No one knows what is behind that door, and anyone could only come up with assumptions about it.

From the outside, faint cries of a baby could be heard coming from the partially open door.

The room had undergone drastic transformations. The indoors seemed to have become some sort of a patio, with a small fountain in it’s center - another part of the royal palace that Kaiba had seen a few times in the past. The faint cry of an infant could still be heard, and soon enough the sounds of footsteps down the corridoor joined it.

“Ah, there you are Seto.”

A familiar voice rang through the corridoor as Set slowly walked up to his vessel, with a little surprise- bundle in his arms. The cry had ceased, by the time the priest made it over to Kaiba. There is a smile on his gentle face, while he showed up wearing the same pajamas has him.

He just couldn't sleep. So what to do about that? Barge into Set's soul room to kill some time.

But he didn't expect to find himself here or for the spirit to come walking around carrying what was most definitely a child. It certainly produced an odd mirror image for Seto, he hadn't dealt with any babies for a very long time.

"You... why do you have a baby in your soul room?"

It had stopped crying at the very least, and Seto peered at it. Was it really there in a way, or could it fade at any moment? 

Seto's surprise was written all over his face, it was obvious how something like this was probably the last thing he would expect to come across in this place. Somehow this made the priest's smile widen, as his gaze shifted from his vessel to the child in his arms.

"This is another one of my memories." Set responded faintly, in order to not disturb the sleeping baby. A light yawn came from the bundle, followed by a few slight movements.

The spirit appeared to be beaming- so happy to be holding the infant like that. With one hand, he proceeded to gingerly tug aside the cloth that the boy was wrapped up in so Kaiba ��could see him. "This was my very first child." He commented with a prideful smile on his face. The baby had his father's distinct, deep blue eyes, the skin was dark and had some black hair on him.

Seto didn't bother questiong how the memory stystem of Set's soul room operated, nor did he really care.

But, he did move closer to look at the kid, quiet curiosity on his face.

"The one that grows up to be king, right?" he asks softly.

Looking at it was like looking at a mini version of the spirit. And the tiny form brought back memories of when Mokuba was a baby.

"Hello there..." Seto extends a hand to lightly brush a finger against the child's hand to let it know someone else was there. He didn't want to startle it.

"How old is he right now?"

A soft cooing noise came from the baby, when he got into contact with Kaiba's finger. Another yawn followed it, as his tiny hands moved slightly.

"I'd say a few months old... Yes, around this age." Set responded as he proceeded to gingerly stroke the baby's cheek, with a finger.

"He turned out to be just like me, when he grew older." The spirit added while he still tended to his bundle. The baby had his eyes widely open the entire time, his gaze seemed to shift between his father and the other who looked just like him.

"Isn't he adorable? Heh he stole mine and his mother's hearts since the day he was born..." 

"He looks healthy."

With the comment Seto nudged his index finger into the baby's hand to see if he'd grab it in that little baby not-quite-death-grip-grip, but boy did kids act like it was one.

"You said he succeeded you in his teens, right?"

There was a small rufffle to the child's hair, much like Seto used to do to Mokuba. Which made him wonder... could it be held by him as well?

Though he didn't know how to go about asking. "Do you mind...?" He settled on holding out his arms slightly.

"Teens... I told you Seto. He was a full grown man by then." Set promptly responded with a chuckle, as he bounced the baby in his arms for a brief second in order to elicit a laughter out of him.

He got what he wanted out of him, but at the same time he caused the newborn to start whining and quickly evolved into crying.

"Oh no, no, no... Shhh... Oh it's okay, I'm sorry..." Set cooed to the crying baby, as his eyes averted from him upon hearing Seto's request.

That's right, as much as he loved his son Set didn't have the best of luck handling his kids so early in their lives. Given how Kaiba used to take care of Mokuba since very early in their lives, then maybe he would have an easier time soothing him down.

"Well, I suppose... There won't be any harm to it. You know how to hold it, right?" Set asked while carefully, handing over the crying baby to Kaiba- much to his dismay. 

The repeated culture clash prompted a brief exasperated scowl from Seto. Right, because making a teenager the prime minister of Japan or any country would work out sooo well.

Though he wouldn't have imagined that the kid would have changed its mood so quickly with its father there. Perhaps its mother primary spent time with him?

"Of course I do." And he did, indeed. He took the fussing child in careful arms, supporting the head and bottom, holding the bundle close to his chest.

"Oi, oi, there's no need to cry," he whispered. It'd been quite some time since he'd done anything like this, but he started gently rocking the child.

"Your dad's right there, shh, shh. If you calm down a bit, I'll tell you a story about dragons. Mokuba would vouch that they are worth it."

Well, if Mokuba remembered them, that was.

The fussy newborn's cries didn't cease, neither did squirming. His small arms and even legs, tried to wrestle- against his holder. Even more high pitched whines left the newborn, when Kaiba spoke to him.

Set had joined the other man in trying to calm down his son, to no effort. This didn't surprise him at all, it happened with all of his children. Eventually a defeated sigh left the priest, as he stepped away from Kaiba.

"I wonder if he's hungry... Or wants his toy. Can you stay here? I will have a look around this place." He said, while already facing away from Seto and heading deeper into the hallway.

In a matter of seconds Kaiba was left all by himself, with the crying newborn- future heir to the throne. 

"That could be it," Seto agreed, more focused on the squirming baby though. "Sure," he said absent-mindedly, but Set was already gone.

He continued to rock the wailing kid, never seeming to be bothered or annoyed by it in the slightest. "Fine, fine," he said with a soft sigh.

"Shh... listen. If you do carefully, you can hear wing beats- of what? Why, the most powerful dragon of all time!" While his expuression didn't change much, his voice had much more range, and many would question of this was really Seto Kaiba speaking.

"He's humongous, and black as night! But he had one flaw, a missing wing. He could never fly like the other dragons. But then he met a brave knight that was sent to kill him--but they teamed up instead, for the knight didn't need to fight in the sky..."

At first instance, it seemed like the baby's cries had gotten louder in volume and sharper in tone. As he kept squirming- the tiny legs tried to kick, as the squealing didn't end.

But eventually, the baby caught on to Kaiba's voice. It was a lot different from his father's, so soothing as well. It didn't take long for Kaiba's efforts to be paid off, as the baby's cries slowly diminished.

By the time Seto stopped talking, the baby was quiet and staring intently at the man's face. There was a bit of cooing, accompanied by the end of his squirming.

It is likely he didn't understand what the man was telling him, but that voice was entrancing and so soothing for the little bundle. 

"Heh... there. Thing's aren't so bad, once you calm down, now are they?"

With a smirk he stared back at the child for a brief moment. Something familiar niggling at the back of his mind. His purpose, his mission.

Take care of your brother.

Seto knew very well there was no chance the kid could have the foggiest idea of what he was saying. But he still continued on, back to his story. He believed he may have told Mokuba this one, but he had spun so many over the years and he likely retold quite a few to his brother with neither of them realizing.

No matter, there was no way for the baby to know.

It was impossible to tell how long Kaiba was left with the baby. Regardless of it, there was no more cries from the  newborn or even any kind of problem going forward from there.

By the time Set returned, his son was in a state of deep slumber in Kaiba's arms. The spirit came back empty-handed, thankfully by the looks of it whatever he had set out to look for wasn't necessary. He stood by a doorway for a moment, before he approached Kaiba.

"I hope he didn't give you too much trouble... I recall the servants that looked after him, mention how much of a troublemaker he could be." Set spoke in a low tone as he got closer to him, he is extremely careful in order to not wake up the infant. There was a momentary pause, while he stared at him- the way he held the bundle and looked at him... A thought crossed his mind.

"Mokuba. You and him..."

His eyes didn't leave the small sleeping form. And quite a few heartbeats passed with Seto not even seeming to acknowledge the spirit's presence, or if he even heard him.

"No, he was fine," he said with a nod at to-be pharaoh. "Just had to figure out what worked for him."

There was another pause. It seemed like Seto was simply going to ignore the latter comment.

"Many people assume that I would be useless with children. That I wouldn't have the patience for them or something. I can't figure out how they assume such a thing." He scoffs softly. He's still not looking at the spirit. All of his focus was on the bundle in his arms.

"Mokuba was a little yokai in his own right. Most of his early time was spent with me."

It was far from a straightforward explanation, but Seto would have to actively try to form one for memories so far supressed. Even before anything went too far downhill, Seto had loved taking care of his brother. And then when things got worse, he simply stepped up to the plate.

"You've got a good kid here. Didn't take me nearly as long to get him quiet." 

Set remained in silence the entire time Kaiba spoke, his gaze flickered between him and the bundle. At first he had a faint smile on his face, but it slowly diminished throughout the other's ramble.

Mokuba has only made very vague nods and mentions of their past, and prying these sorts of answers from Seto was nearly impossible most of the time. His explanation and answer made sense, and it shouldn't surprise or even come as a shock to him.

It might be better, if he didn't try to delve deeper into that. As such, he gave Kaiba a silent nod with his head before he spoke."That's good hear... I wasn't worried, it just..." Has been so long the last time I got to look at any of my children.

His voice trailed off, as his smile faintly returned to him while he dared to take a closer look at his son. "He was the very first good thing to happen to me, after that tragedy." Set added, his voice was incredibly soft- almost as if he were holding back tears. "For now, he doesn't have a name... We, me and his mother, only gave him one when he turned 5 years old." The priest moved away from them for a moment, as he took a deep breath. 

His instinct was to ask why, but a moment later he put it together. "Probably the right thing to do."

Right, survival rate wasn't exactly the best back then.

"I see. That's... good. Being a positive thing after it all--I mean."

Seto finally looks up from the infant now that the topic has been shifted off of him.

"Would you like him back? I'm sure he misses you," he offered. He could tell something was off, but he didn't want to ask what was wrong. Perhaps this would do some good. 

“It was common practice, my mother had done the same to me.” Set responded, trying to dismiss and maintain the lighthearted theme in their talk. However, before he could answer to Kaiba’s offer Set took a look around, as though something had crossed his mind.

Was that the big day’s memory? That one? This has to be it.

The priest at first was hesitant to take the infant back, after all he looked so peaceful in Seto’s arms... But alas. He proceeded to retrieve it from his vessel, and took one of his hands for so the other would follow him.

Set didn’t say a word, he simply took them through a doorway, another memory would be played for them.

The harsh sunlight immediately greeted them once they walked through the doorway, which led to a balcony. There stood Set, accompanied by servants- other members of the court, he wore a distinctly different set of garbs from what he had on himself just a second ago. The bundle- baby somehow, ended up in that Set’s hands. The pharaoh walked forward - just a bit more on the balcony, then raised the infant in order to show to his empire the his first son, the promising future of their kingdom.

“In this day, I showed him to the rest of the world... The Gods blessed us with him...” The spirit commented, as he stood by Kaiba’s side watching over the whole scene with him. “I look fondly back to this day... It’s one of my favorite moments, in my life...”

Seto gives a small nod at the explanation. It certainly made sense, even if a bit morbid. Ironic that in present day the issue was too many kids and not enough homes.

But Set takes the kid back, and Seto was thankful to stretch his arms out after that. And luckily, the child didn't spiral into another crying fit. What he didn't expect was to be led elsewhere. A new passage, a new memory.

It was odd, to watch the scene before him with the Set and the child next to himself as well. Nor did he quite know what to say to the priest's words. Seto was better with the children than the parents in all honesty.

"Congratulations." He speaks in a soft tone, without any sense of his usual dry wit or sarcasm. He doesn't know what else to say for a moment, he felt as if he was intruding in all honesty. But Set brought him to see this, so it must have wanted him to see it.

"I'm sure he made a good king."

[uglyshirtsinc]

I’m very glad I came from the fundy tag and decided to stay

I'm glad I picked the right night to finally loose my cap with Dream and Wilburs antics! It's been so much fun!! Happy you stayed <3

[haazeycoffee-archive]

Me, in tears: I love them so much I could jus-

dude when you drew that i literally just started giggling my ass off thats so cute I'm dying

uwu

[kaibacxrps]

@kaibacorpbros​ has sent: 💋 (@ Set, Mokis hair may be a mess but his head is very kissable)

First 5 people who send in a “💋” get a kiss from my muse. [SELECTIVELY, accepting, mutuals]

He is finally done brushing Mokuba’s hair, it became abudantly clear to him he wouldn’t be able to make any further progress like that.

Set proceeded to put the hairbrush aside, as he helped the little boy with the final details on his school uniform. He gave it a few light tugs here and there, doing just as instructed by Seto who loomed by his side in that moment (but invisible to his baby brother’s eyes). He was inspecting the spirit’s work, as they were all almost ready to head out for their respective schools.

“This should do it.”

He said with a smile on his face, before being pulled into a tight hug by the little boy. It prevented him from standing up at first, by the time the other started letting go of him Set gingerly moved his bangs aside in order to press a kiss on his forehead.

“Alright, I should hand over the control to your control by now Mokuba. I’ll see you later tonight.”

1/5

[mashirao-ojiro-rp-blog]

🥺🥺 hold my hand pwease?

Why do you feel like you don't deserve the people in your life?

i dunno... i feel like they’re too good for me, like they could do better.