Hi, （＾∀＾●）ﾉｼ
This was originally planned as a one-shot, but to make it easier to read, I divided it into two parts. Part 2 is coming in a few days.

Wish you all fun!

...maybe. This is really not a happy one. (°ー°〃)

It was a year after their adoption when Seto was taken to the Kaiba Corb research facility for the first time.

Gozaburo was a man who was known for showing no mercy. He learned that quickly. So it was no surprise that not everything was above board in this institution either.

The day began with rain and the drive took a long time, so that Seto could only see their exact route behind veiled glasses. The day he found the sun happened to be a rainy one.

The facility was outside of Dominocity, well-hidden between the mountains and closed off to the rest of the world.

Their limousine was led through several checkpoints until they finally stopped in front of a large cold white building. Seto already knew that Gozaburo's biggest corpses were probably hidden here, given how isolated the whole thing was.

Just before the car stopped, Gozaburo said to him: "You know how to behave."

Of course he knew that. This tyrant had drilled it into him often enough. A silent observer who was only allowed to answer certain questions. That was all he was allowed to be at the moment.

They were greeted right at the entrance by someone in a white coat:

"On time as always, Mr. Kaiba. How was your trip?"

"Let's save ourselves the squabbles and get straight to the point. My time is limited."

"Oh how I appreciate your sense of essential things."

The man had such a fake smile that Seto immediately recognized his mask. Dr. Hanako was written on his coat. He seemed to be the head of this facility. And thus probably just as cruel a man as Gozaburo himself.

Seto was nothing but air to both of them and showed no emotions. He would not reveal his thoughts to anyone, after all, it was the only thing that still belonged to him.

They entered the sterile rooms, which, in terms of their design, could have passed for a modern hospital.

But instead of his surroundings, Seto was much more interested in the conversation that was taking place in front of him:

"Is there any news from our research team in Egypt?"

"Oh yes! They have secured two more promising DNA sequences. We are already testing them on our mice."

"I hope for you that this is true. Because the last promising subject was a disappointment."

Egypt? DNA? What were they researching here?

"Oh, but we're only just getting started. Unfortunately, you'll have to wait a little longer for the first prototype."

"My patience is limited and so are our investors', so pick up the pace and deliver something presentable."

"As you wish. If you would follow me into the lab. One of our subjects is showing signs of acceptance and of course I don't want to keep that from you."

They stopped in front of a door whose frosted glass hid whatever lay behind it.

The doctor cleared his throat once, indicating to his stepfather that Seto should probably not go any further from here.

Did this fool really think he was dealing with a simple child? Seto was not like other children. He understood the connections in the adult world without any problems and often better than the adults themselves. Therefore, he was visibly surprised when his stepfather instructed him:

"From here on, I'll go alone. Wait for me. You know how to behave."

At first Seto wanted to protest, but he knew exactly what would happen to him if he did. He remained silent and expressionless as he nodded in agreement with the demand.

With that, they both disappeared behind the ominous door and left him standing alone in the hallway.

Annoyed, Seto simply sat down on the ground and leaned cross-legged against the white wall.

He already knew that it could take some time before this garbage of humanity would return.

So he might as well use the time to get some rest. Because the fact was...he was tired.

Every day he was driven through countless books and lessons until exhaustion overcame his body. But he was not allowed to show any weakness. He had to persevere for his brother and his dream.

Therefore, Seto took every opportunity to replenish his energy reserves.

He will never surrender to Gozaburo.

Time passed as Seto just sat there and rested his mind. He cherished these quiet moments that belonged only to him.

No lessons, no orders, no eyes.

Only him. He alone.

"Hey! Isn't it uncomfortable if you sleep here?"

Seto jumped up when a childish voice woke him from his slumber. A blond boy, about his age, was crouching in front of him and looked at him curiously with big brown eyes.

But what was worse, he hadn't even heard him coming because he was so engrossed in his sleep.

If it were Gozaburo, he would have been punished. How could he have been so careless?!

"I've never seen you here before. Are you new?" the boy asked him happily interested and Seto needed a moment to answer as he was still mentally reprimanding himself for his carelessness:

"Just a visitor."

"Really? Too bad. I thought you were new to our group. You look like you have a lot of interesting things to say."

The strange boy grinned happily at him and Seto was suspicious. What was a child doing here in such an institution? And what did he mean by group? They are hardly going to show school classes around.

The boy then innocently asked:

"Who are you visiting?"

And truthfully, Seto just answered coldly:

"Nobody. I'm waiting for someone here."

"And whom?"

"That's hardly of any concern to you."

"Huh? What kind of weirdo are you? Oh yes! I should introduce myself first. I'm Joseph. Joseph Katzuya Wheeler. But actually everyone just calls me Joey. What's your name?"

Seto remained silent, as he would not reveal anything about himself. Who knew whether this boy was a test. Gozaburo would be capable of it.

"Tell me, do you have trouble speaking or something? You don't even answer. Or are you just a total jerk? Where are you from? Are you just here today or are you coming more often now?"

"Don't you have anything better to do than annoy me?"

"No. Not at the moment, actually. And from the looks of it, neither do you. So tell me."

Seto decided to just ignore this idiot child. Children had a short attention span. He just had to be uninteresting enough and the idiot would be gone.

But to his dismay, this one was more difficult than he expected.

To make matters worse, the blond simply sat down next to him and continued to bombard him with questions:

"Do you know Miss Miko? If not, just watch out for her. She's a total dragon and always tries to prick you with her thick needles. We just call her the fat mosquito because she always wants our blood."

Seto furrowed his brows for a moment, a rare moment in which he showed a hint of emotion.

But a woman who often took blood from children? Even he was concerned. But what did you expect from a warmonger like Gozaburo? Who knew what research was being conducted here?

"You'd better stick with Takashi. He's always smuggling sweets in for us, even though it's actually forbidden. He's totally a nice guy."

This Joseph smiled broadly across his face. He didn't even seem to know where he actually was.

Pitiful fool.

Suddenly they heard footsteps approaching quickly. Seto immediately stood up to maintain the appearance of a perfect facade, while Joey just looked up at him in surprise.

A young woman, dressed in white sterile clothes, came running hastily out of one of the corridors and seemed to be desperately searching for something.

When the blonde saw her, he seemed happy to see her:

"Hey Mrs. Sora! Are you looking for something?"

When Joey's voice reached her, she seemed relieved by his presence. But then she ran towards her just as quickly, calling out:

"Here you are! You have to come with me right now, Joseph! You'll get everyone in trouble if you walk around alone."

The woman grabbed the blonde's skinny arm when he remarked:

"But I was not alone."

Beaming with joy, he pointed at Seto, who was just watching the events in front of him expressionlessly.

Only now did the lady seem to become aware of his presence and asked him in her ignorance:

"Well? Where are you coming from? Do you belong to someone who works here?"

Seto now considered it sensible to investigate:

"Seto Kaiba the name. It should be unnecessary to say who I am here with."

As soon as the woman heard this name, all the color left her face and in the deepest bow she pleaded:

"I-I beg your pardon, Mr. Kaiba. It is a disgrace on my part that I did not recognize you right away!"

"Hey!" Joey complained as she forced his head into a deep bow.

But Seto was not in the mood to punish her for her mistake today. Although he was still weighing this up internally with the child.

"Forgive this boy for disturbing you, Mr. Kaiba. He is impetuous and cheeky. I will return him to his group immediately."

"Just go and take that boy with you before he does something stupid."

She said no more and then dragged the protesting boy away with her.

But Joseph did not miss the opportunity to wave to him and call out:

"It was nice to meet you, Seto!"

For this informal language, the blonde immediately received a hearty slap on the back of his stupid head, followed by a tirade of abuse from his teacher.

What an idiot, Seto thought to himself before they both turned into the corridor from which the lady had come.

Only a short time later, the door to the laboratory opened and Gozaburo stepped out alone.

"Good, right where I left you. Nothing happened when I left?"

Seto answered briefly:

"Nothing."

It was of no use to him to bring the people here in trouble.

He simply followed his stepfather out.

About two months later he was there again.

Once more, Seto acted as Gozaburo's silent companion as they walked through the corridors of this building. The white walls really caught his eye.

He had made a mistake during a test two days ago, so Gozaburo forced him to study three times as much. The result was sleepless nights full of lessons.

He was tired and completely exhausted. But he couldn't let it show. The result would only be more punishment.

Like last time, the doctor had greeted her at the entrance and treated him like air.

But this time they didn't go back to that door. This time they entered a different area.

"Have you been able to make further progress?"

They were in an elevator when Gozaburo asked for the latest status.

"We were able to analyze the new DNA sequences. It turned out that it wasn't quite what they were looking for, but with each new one the analysis time is getting shorter. If we get enough material, we can probably go into mass production in a few years. That would bring the company a lot of money."

Production? What was being worked on here?

"I hope for your sake that this is true. You know I don't like waiting."

"Oh, you know me, Mr. Kaiba. Have I ever broken my promises to you?"

"There is a first time for everything"

The elevator stopped and they exited into a large room whose right wall was made entirely of glass and offered a view into a large hall.

It was a lounge and as they stepped closer to the glass, Seto saw what was below them. There were children, at least 20 of them, supervised by several adults, all playing in dreary white clothing.

"As you can see, the program is in full swing. We are currently making sure that the subjects that have been delivered to us are all in good health."

"And your sources? Have you checked multiple times to make sure that no one is missing and that all of them are falling through the system?"

"Of course. Most of them come from overwhelmed parents who were in financial difficulty. We have ensured that all evidence of their existence has been removed. Kaiba Corp cannot be pinned on anything. The evidence is virtually nonexistent."

"I hope so for you."

Seto definitely had a very bad feeling about what was going on here. Kaiba Corp was secretly buying unwanted children and keeping them here in this facility?

There was definitely something fishy going on.

Suddenly he spotted one of the children waving up at them. A very specific blond boy beaming in Seto's direction and showing his biggest grin.

That stupid Wheeler boy was going to get him into trouble!

Fortunately, it was not clear who he was waving to, so it was just seen as simple childish behavior.

"Okay, we'll discuss the rest of the things in your office. Seto, I want you to go down there and make sure that the goods are really in perfect condition. I won't pay for defects."

Goods. These children were simple goods. Gozaburo's cold-heartedness really knew no bounds.

"Understood," Seto confirmed without any emotion.

He hated that man so much.

Their paths parted as he stepped through a door right next to the large glass front and took the stairs down.

Seto discreetly checked whether Gozaburo and the doctor had already disappeared, since that fool Joseph would not stop grinning in his direction.

But luckily his adoptive father didn't notice. Still, he had to get rid of this stupid child somehow.

Seto had not even reached the last step when this fool escaped from the courageous grip of a nurse and ran towards him beaming with joy, like a dog that out of naivety, saw the world through rose-colored glasses.

In short, that damn brat was going to get him into a lot of trouble if he kept this up!

"Hey Seto! There you are again!" the blonde shouted as he rushed towards him.

Seto just ignored him and walked past him carelessly without a word of greeting.

But unfortunately this fool did not understand the clear message behind it and trotted happily along beside him. His cheeky mouth talked without limit:

"So you're back after all! Man, I thought the last time was the only time. Are you coming more often now? Why are you here? Who was that person that came in up there with you?"

Questions upon questions upon questions. Did he have nothing better to do than to stick to his heels?

He took a closer look at the clothes all these children were wearing. The number 05 was emblazoned on his right breast. Each of these children had their own number and Seto was becoming less and less fond of the whole thing.

One of the nurses finally managed to grab the whirlwind by the arm and the panic was clearly written on her face:

"Joey! I'm very sorry, Mr. Kaiba. This boy has only been with us for a few months and unfortunately he has never been taught manners before."

Seto looked at them for a moment and thought. He should find out about the children's condition, but the staff would probably cover up any deficiencies rather than admit that there were problems.

Although he was not happy, children were too stupid to think up complex lies. So he decided:

"It's okay. He can show me around and introduce me to the others."

The nurse was visibly confused, while Joey's eyes lit up with anticipation. He quickly wriggled out of her grasp.

"Cool! Come on, I'll introduce you to the others!"

To Seto's horror, this pest simply grabbed his hand and pulled him along behind him, completely taken by surprise. He didn't see how the sister behind them was already looking at the end of her life.

And no matter what the brunette said, Joey simply didn't listen to him, but just wanted to share his friends and little world with him.

He went with him to one child after another, excitedly introducing them. Seto didn't remember their names. He was here to assess their condition. And he noticed one thing very quickly.

Although they appeared to be healthy, none of the children had the same carefree attitude as the idiot next to him. They were reserved. They only said their names quietly and avoided his gaze, overwhelmed. All numbers from 1 to 17 were represented.

But number 05, Joey, was so different from the rest.

"Come on, I'll show you where we always eat. And the school! You have to see that too! There's a lot of strange stuff there."

Seto briefly told the adults that it was okay and that they should stay where they were. If he wanted to learn more about this facility, too many eyes were not an advantage. Especially not if they were on his stepfather's side.

Joey showed him everything. Every room, every oh-so-great object that represented an everyday thing. But none of it was unfamiliar to him. Seto had hoped to find some kind of laboratory or computer, but none of that crossed their path. Still, he didn't believe that these children were here for no reason. Neither that they were the children of employees, nor that Gozaburo suddenly became a supporter of orphan children.

No, there was definitely something wrong here.

"Hey Seto, are you hungry? I don't want to brag, but I have a secret hiding place where I've stored a whole bunch of stuff. Come on! I'll show you where it is."

Hmm, a secret hiding place? Maybe there were answers there for him.

They walked down a few corridors before both of them stood in front of some cabinets in a long hallway. Joey began to climb up the old cabinets until he reached the ventilation shaft just below the ceiling.

"This way!"

Seto sighed grimly. What had he gotten himself into?

Although the shaft was relatively spacious, the dust was annoying.

Joey dragged him another 10 meters through the ventilation until they reached a junction where there was more space. As well as a handful of different sweets and Joey immediately offered him some:

"See? I have a whole supply. Takashi smuggled them all in here for me, because we're not actually allowed to have sweets. I have chocolate, gums, candy... just pick something!"

Seto took a closer look at the sparse collection. Sweets...when was the last time he had eaten some? Probably not since the orphanage.

Without saying a word, he took the chocolate and looked at it thoughtfully.

"Good decision! The chocolate from that brand tastes really good! I'll take... Ah! The candies. I love the ones with raspberry!"

Joey also picked something out and immediately started removing the little treat from its packaging. Seto was still unsure whether he should really eat it. Who knew how long the stuff had been lying there.

But...he could hardly remember what it tasted like. And Seto loved chocolate so much when he still had a happy family. It was so long ago...

"You don't talk much, do you? Do you have problems with your speech?"

Seto, torn from his thoughts of the past, looked at the eyes in front of him, which were shining with curiosity. Joey waited eagerly to hear what he would say about his chocolate and encouraged him further:

"Come on. It tastes really good. You have no idea what a huge sacrifice it is for me to offer it to you. Turning it down would be very rude."

Rude? The idiot had no idea about etiquette.

Nevertheless, Seto unfolded the wrapper at one end to put a piece of the chocolate in his mouth.

And overwhelmed by the beloved taste that had left him for so long, Seto's blue eyes widened.

He felt the hard surface slowly melt on his tongue and the wonderfully sweet taste spread throughout his mouth.

He had completely forgotten how delicious chocolate tasted.

"It's good, right?" Joey asked him with a broad grin as his hard features lost all control.

And alarmed by his own carelessness, Seto quickly rebuilt his walls:

"It's quite passable."

But Joey knew better.

"Oh, don't exaggerate. It's clear to see that you like it. My little sister also always said that this kind of brand was really delicious. Whenever you gave her a bar, she would gobble it up like a starving chipmunk. Her whole face would always be so smeared with chocolate that you could hardly see her mouth."

Seto pricked up his ears. Maybe he would get some relevant information after all.

"You have a sister? Is she here too?"

Joey quickly shook his head:

"No, she lives with our mom in...what was it called again...Amorika?"

"American?"

"Yes, exactly! That's what it's called! She gets sick easily and in America they can probably help her get better. In any case, I hope that when she's better, we can see each other again and play together like we used to. She's such a crybaby that she can't live without her big brother. Hahaha!"

The thought of his sweet little sister made Joey's face beam even happier. And it reminded Seto of something.

When was the last time he had played with Mokuba? All of Gozaburo's lessons had taken such a hold on him that he had completely neglected Mokuba. But... he didn't know how he was going to find the time. Gozaburo didn't leave him any loopholes.

Seto didn't want to think about it any further and simply changed the subject:

"Joey, why are you here?"

And the blonde answered truthfully:

"Oh! Dad dropped me off here. He said he had to sort out some things at home and that I should do what the people here told me to do. So I won't be here long. He'll pick me up soon. But man! It's so lame here! We do the same thing every day and never go out. No sweets, no new things, we don't even celebrate our own birthdays! I hate it here! I can't wait to get out again. Do you know what I'll do first when I get out?"

His happy expression not spoiled, Joey continued to babble excitedly and the anticipation spoke from him:

"I'm going to the sea! I've never seen it, but the other kids said it's great. You can go swimming, build sandcastles and eat ice cream! It's supposed to be so big you can't even see the end!"

A simple wish and Seto found it hard to imagine not knowing what the sea was. A beach. A beautiful warm summer day where there was nothing bad. Spent with one's own family.

"It's beautiful...I haven't been there for a long time, but the times I have been were...beautiful."

How he and Mokuba had buried their chaotic father in the sand and he proudly praised the sandcastle they built on top of him afterwards. He threw Seto through the water, carefully taught Mokuba how to swim and played with them at every opportunity. Even though their mother had died when Mokuba was born, their father always did everything he could to give them the best life possible. There was never a moment when Seto had not seen him smile.

For him, his father was what made his life carefree.

"Hey Seto, are you okay? You're crying."

Startled, the brunette boy flinched as his friend pulled him back to the present. He didn't realize it right away, but his cheeks became wet.

As Seto carefully ran his fingers over it, he became aware of the weakness he was now showing and, overwhelmed, the boy wiped the tears from his reddened face.

Where did those tears come from? He wasn't crying. He had no reason to cry!

But at that moment, something inside him broke the locked chains and wouldn't let him go.

Joey reacted quickly and hugged him when everything he had kept bottled up inside for the past few years wanted to break out. And Seto didn't resist.

Seto never found the time to properly process the death of his beloved father and their grim fate. After he was gone, their relatives immediately went after the inheritance and put both of them in the orphanage. He was never allowed to show weakness. He had to protect Mokuba. He had no time for himself.

And now that he was free from the gaze of malicious adults who wanted to tear him apart at every opportunity, he had a moment for himself.

He couldn't fight it. The pain that was building up inside him was too great and Joey was there to absorb it.

The blond boy stroked his back soothingly again and again. He simply let him cry his frustration out and into the child's narrow shoulder.

Seto was so tired of it. He was so tired of keeping the walls up and making sacrifices. His father, his beloved games, his happy life. Everything was taken from him and all he had left was Mokuba and the desperation to at least lead his life to a better one. But how? How, how, how? His decision to use Gozaburo for this had only led them to pure hell so far.

He hated the adults!

Seto cried for several minutes and Joey was just there. The blond boy showed amazing maturity in the face of pain. He smiled at him and offered him his warmth until the brunette finally calmed down:

"T-that...that shouldn't have happened. I...forget it happened."

But Joey just waved him off understandingly and grinned broadly:

"It's all good. My dad had those moments too. Sometimes it can be a bit much and then it's always good to have a friend with whom you don't have to pretend."

His eyes still puffy, Seto looked at him questioningly and Joey held out his hand:

"Don't you want to be my friend, Seto? You seem like you could need one. And I like you. You're not as reserved as the other kids here."

Seto just looked at the offered hand, astonished.

A friend? He didn't know what that was. He had never really made friends with anyone before. And with this idiot, of all people?

But...

Maybe that wasn't such a bad thing. He didn't know what a friend was, but he felt so much better now. He could just leave everything behind.

His fingers hesitated at first and he wasn't sure if it would be a good idea to have this friendship behind Gozaburo's back.

But finally both hands met and Seto answered hesitantly:

"O-Okay."

What he then saw dispelled his doubts. For before him, with the steeliest smile he had ever seen, the sun rose between the rain clouds and left no room for anything dark.

"Haha! Nice to meet you Seto! I'm so excited to get to know you better!"

The years passed like thick tar.

The school Gozaburo sent Seto through became harder and harder as he grew older. But he became tougher too and learned to be a Kaiba.

His stepfather involved him more and more in his business and even let him take over the management of some sections himself.

Seto was no longer there. There was only the cold heir Kaiba.

It was a sunny day when stepfather and stepson entered the facility as they often did. It was almost every two weeks that the CEO of Kaiba Corp came to find out about the latest developments. And the brunette was almost always there.

It was the same process as every time. Gozaburo sent Kaiba to determine any defects on the "goods" and add the report to the system.

Armed with a tablet, the brunette descended the stairs to the subjects as he often did, while his stepfather and the doctor disappeared somewhere else.

Although Kaiba was now actively taking on tasks in this facility, he still didn't know what it was actually for and what they were researching in here. He only had to do what he was assigned and didn't have the right to ask any questions.

When he reached the bottom of the stairs, the laughter of happy children could be heard from afar. A young blond man let them hold onto his strong arms and spun like a carousel for the children's amusement. It was number 05. One of the first subjects and the one who had taken on something of a leading role within the group over the years. This made him an important tool for keeping these brats calm for his routine checks.

The blonde was so into in the game with the kids that he was slightly ssurprised when his name was called by the familiar cold voice:

"Number 05. To me."

The man addressed stopped everything he was doing to comply with the request. The smile disappeared and he bowed respectfully before his master:

"Number 05 at your service, Sir Kaiba. How may I assist you today?"

"Line up the others give me a short status report. Quick."

"Very well."

Number 05 had all the children line up according to number so they could be inspected more closely.

He could clearly see the fear in the subjects faces as his cold blue eyes examined each one of them. They ranged in age from 4 to 16, and the youngest tried as best he could to hide his fear from him.

Idiots. As if he couldn't see those tear-stained eyes and sniffling noses.

Although Kaiba did not notice any deficiencies when checking off his list, when he reached the elders he noticed something else:

"Where are number 02 and 03?"

Number 05 had followed him every step of the way to continue assisting. Without his usual smile, the blonde answered briefly:

"They left the group three days ago and returned to their families."

Kaiba made a note of this. Then he closed the cover of the tablet and moved on to the next point on the agenda:

"Number 05, follow me."

As always, the blonde did what was asked.

They walked a few corridors without either of them saying anything and finally arrived at a server room.

Kaiba connected the tablet to the system while Number 05 just stood silently behind him, waiting to receive new orders.

The brunette saved the data in the appropriate folder and added some more information.

Once that was done, he came to the last thing on his personal agenda.

Kaiba typed a few more commands into the computer before pressing a specific key.

The cameras in the room were manipulated, showing a video on a continuous loop in which he and number 05 could be seen as always and when he then turned to the blonde,...

...they were both already in each other's arms.

They kissed deeply, as if they hadn't seen each other for years. Finally, finally he was alone with him without eyes that wanted to tear him apart. Finally he could pull his sun towards him in the rain and forget what was waiting for him outside this room.

For the moment, there was no Kaiba, no Gozaburo, no pressure.

There was only Seto and Joey. His Joey.

The blonde put on his best smile just for him. In here they no longer had to pretend. Here they could be who they were.

They both broke away and Joey began to complain to him:

"You've kept me waiting quite a bit, you know that? You're late, Seto."

"Better to be late than not to show up at all. You know that Gozaburo is still in charge."

"Oh, the old asshole. Man, I'll be glad if you ever have the say here. Then maybe I can finally breathe fresh air again. Speaking of which..."

Teasingly, Joey pulled something out of Seto's coat pocket with skillful fingers and playfully held it in front of his face:

"Is this my gift?"

Seto just smiled warmly at him:

"Happy 17th birthday, Joey."

"Yay! Lucky me!"

The blonde quickly unpacked the small blue package, guided by curiosity as to what it could be.

A small green thing with buttons and a screen finally made him smile:

"Ha! Is this the game you've been working on? You finally finished programming it?"

The blue eyes flashed arrogantly and let out the drama:

"Did you doubt me? I'm outraged!"

"Hahaha, well, with your stinky stepfather, you never know if you'll even find the time."

"Urgh, don't get me started!"

Like a small child, Seto hugged his lover even tighter and buried his face in his shoulder. Barely audible through the dull fabric, he complained about his duties:

"Yesterday he sent me through all the stocks and quarterly figures again so that I could calculate the best possible price for him. And in the end I don't even get anything out of it. If only I could see Mokuba, but he's stuck in that stupid boarding school in Tokyo. I'm fed up."

In a good mood, Joey stroked his personal burr on the back:

"Hehe, there's someone else being a whiner today. If the rest knew that the oh-so-cold-hearted Seto Kaiba is actually a softie who is always ranting to me about his life, then even the children wouldn't be afraid of you anymore."

"Ugh, do they still wet their pants at night because of me?"

"Only the few days after you were back. Yoshua in particular is terrified of you. Hahaha, in his head you are an Oni who especially likes to eat small children. Isn't the imagination of the little ones something beautiful?"

"Easy for you to say. You're the great big brother in their eyes."

"You do what you can."

Seto and Joey had always met secretly when he and Gozaburo visited the facility. Joey helped him not to forget where he actually came from, and that he was still a human under the name Kaiba.

At first, their meetings were just friendly, so that they could tell each other everything. But as the years went by, they became more than that. Friends became best friends and mutual security became mutual love. For Seto, Joey was the sun that drove out his rainy world. And for Joey, Seto was the bright spot in his monotonous and sterile everyday life.

They dreamed together of the day when Kaiba would finally take over this company and they could finally be together. Together at the sea that Seto would show his beloved Joey.

But it wasn't time yet. And Joey in particular felt that time was running out.

Seto noticed the restlessness in his brown eyes:

"What is?"

"Takeru and Kenta were collected and Ari hasn't been seen for over half a year. They claim that their families want them back, but... who are we kidding? We both know that's not the case."

Kaiba's face also became depressed. They had found out some time ago that Joey's father had gambling debts and since he saw his son as more of a burden, he was sold to the Kaiba Corp. All evidence of Joey's existence was destroyed long ago. The corporation went to great lengths to keep a clean slate. No one would pick him up except the scientists from the labs.

And what Joey then revealed made Seto horrified:

"They...they've already started injecting me with something."

The brunette couldn't believe it. It was too early. It was still too early!

"Already?! But it took so much longer for the others!"

Joey lifted his sleeve a little and revealed the puncture wounds and the strangely discolored skin around them:

"I think that as the results progress, the processes itself will become shorter and shorter. I also have to keep it a secret from the other children so that they don't question anything. Otherwise, I'll just be locked up in their lab permanently."

The blonde covered the unsightly wound again before continuing:

"I'm 17 now, Seto. One of the other older ones once said that subjects who are too old lead to bad results and they then use them up in their experiments more often. Apart from Hiro, I'm the oldest here."

That couldn't happen. He couldn't lose what meant so much to him again.

Seto began to tremble and was frozen with fear at the possible fate of the person he had grown to love over so many years. The only person with whom he could be who he was.

He couldn't lose him!

"No. No, I won't accept that! Two months. I only need two more months to take over the company. I'll get you out of here before they pick you up and then I'll show you the sea."

Joey smiled sadly at him. All he wanted was to finally see his Seto happy. The thought of what would happen if they lost each other horrified him. What would happen to Seto horrified him. He had become so clingy and a large part of his heart belonged to him.

Joey didn't want Seto to suffer again. But for now he tried to calm him down:

"Okay. We'll go together. Together to the sea."

Two weeks had passed when they met again.

And Seto's fears threatened to come true.

As always, he walked down the stairs, had everyone line up, and assessed their condition.

Everything was fine, except for...Joey himself.

Although he didn't let it show, Seto could clearly see how exhausted the blonde seemed. His bright eyes were sunken. His skin was pale. His gaze was dull.

He was only a shadow of the beaming grin that had always greeted him and Seto would have loved to hug him right there and then.

His sun grew weaker.

When they were alone in the room again, Joey fell towards him, powerless, as soon as the cameras stopped showing what was happening.

„Joey!"

Seto immediately caught him and supported his position. The blonde's eyes were already closing as he murmured weakly:

"Just...give me a moment...to catch my breath. Then I should be fine again."

But the brunette knew that it was not so.

Concerned, Seto sank down with him to the ground so that Joey could lie on his leg and brushed the sweaty strands of hair from his face. His delicate fingers rested on his hot forehead to examine him.

His friend had a fever. But that wasn't all.

"Joey, what is that?"

The blonde noticed that the sleeve had ridden up and that Seto had probably seen all the redness and discoloration. Nervously, he tried to downplay it:

"Oh that? That...it's nothing. It's not important."

But Seto didn't believe a word of it.

He saw the rings under his eyes. Saw the bones that were sticking out more and more. Saw the tired look and how the shine in those otherwise joyful eyes was slowly fading.

Sick with worry, he took Joey's cheek in his hand and forced him to look into his face.

"What are they doing to you...?" he asked quietly.

And the blonde answered weakly, amused:

"Pff...I'd like to know that too. But it should go away soon. It was like that last time too."

However, this probably had the opposite effect. The brunette slowly stroked his disheveled golden hair as concern took over:

"It...isn't right. What if it doesn't go away?"

Joey grabbed his hand and snuggled closer to it. It was so pleasantly cool that it gave him a lot of relief. For a moment he enjoyed this closeness with his eyes closed.

Then he brought this situation back to reality:

"Seto, what can I do about it? I'm not stupid. You know better than anyone why I'm here. I'm a test subject and the property of Kaiba Corp. Nothing more. They can pump whatever they want into me."

Seto leaned over him until their lips touched and Joey could clearly see the desperation in those otherwise strong eyes. He could feel the fear. The fear of losing the only thing that kept Seto human. The only thing that gave him hope.

Seto resolutely assured him one thing:

"I promise, I'll get you out of here and then I'll show you the beach I told you about. I'll show you the many colors of a sunset and the fresh sea breeze will blow through your hair."

A sad smile crept over Joey's face at the thought of what could happen one day. But he didn't get his hopes up. He was an object that didn't belong to Seto, but to the Kaiba Corp and therefore to Gozaburo.

He replied dreamily:

"That would be nice. But...I can't leave."

Seto gently took his hand.

"I already have a plan to take over the Kaiba Corp and then I will finally have the power to end this madness. Just hold on a little longer. I only need a month. Then you'll be out of here. Put your trust in me."

And Joey only weakly returned his grip. The blonde was too worried to believe it 100%:

"Seto...please don't do anything that could harm you because of me. You have a brother who needs you and you know what you're in for if Gozaburo finds out about your plans. The risk is too high."

Joey had already come to terms with the fact that he might soon die from the experiments of these scientists. He was just afraid of what would happen to Seto. And the answer "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing" did not help to improve this.

But Joey didn't want to waste any more thoughts on something that was uncertain. It could be that this was their last meeting. He wanted to enjoy the moment instead.

"Instead of moaning now...can you tell me about the outside again? Maybe about what Domino looks like now, or the sea that you will to show me?"

Seto felt a stab every time. Joey had been in this facility for almost half his life and had never been allowed to leave the premises. His restless Heist longed for the freedom that was waiting for him just a few meters behind these walls.

Nevertheless, Seto told him as much detail as he could about the world outside.

And Joey listened to him with smiling lips. He dreamed himself out into the world.

Three weeks later and Seto was finally able to see him again.

He was worried sick the whole time about what those bastards might do to Joey. It only took a few more days until he could steal this company from Gozaburo. Just a few more days and they would be free.

But something was different that day. This time, his stepfather didn't send him to the group but took him to a new section of the building complex. He had never been there before and he felt uneasy.

Why was it different today? He couldn't meet Joey.

The doctor joined them and seemed very excited:

"Oh Mr. Kaiba! I can hardly wait to finally show you the result of our work. I am sure you will be extremely satisfied."

Cold as ever, Gozaburo had no interest in wasting time:

"Results, Dr. Hanako. That's all I want from you, so skip the greeting and let's get straight to the point."

"Haha! I like your attitude. If you would please follow me then."

So they had accomplished whatever they had been working on. That was bad. Very, very bad. He had to get Joey to safety from these madmen as quickly as possible.

At some point, Dr. Hanako led them to the door with the frosted glass that Seto recognized from his first visit and exchanged a meaningful look with Gozaburo.

He replied with a slightly amused grin:

"It's okay, he can be with us today."

What was that grinning about?

But before Seto could think about it any further, they passed through the strange door.

The doctor led them through corridors with windows on the left and right that looked out onto the surrounding laboratories. Many scientists were working and researching, but that wasn't what they wanted to look at.

It was the steel door that was waiting for them at the end.

And with every step, Kaiba felt as if a knife was being held closer and closer to his throat. Something was seriously wrong here.

"After you," said the doctor as he held the door open for his stepfather.

It was a lounge, similar to the one from which you could observe the group of children.

But instead of seeing a group, there was just an empty huge hall.

Was that an arena?

"Sit down, sit down! The show is about to begin."

They sat on a couch just behind the security window to have the best view of what was about to happen.

Seto's fear grew. Was Joey okay? Had they done something to him, or were they doing it now?

He would love to just storm out of here and finally visit him and make sure that everything is okay.

A few days, Joey just had to hold out a few more days and then...

Suddenly two gates opened inside the arena.

And Seto's thoughts were swept away when he saw what came out of them.

Two huge monsters entered the arena curiously. One resembled a hairless bear with a bony shell. The other resembled a spider with a scorpion tail and scales that could have come from a black dragon.

He recognized a human figure at its front end, but could not identify it due to the distance.

With sparkling anticipation in his eyes, Gozaburo whispered next to him:

"I see that you have finally managed to achieve a result. But are they any good?"

"Oh, of course. I bet our subjects will satisfy you. See for yourself and enjoy the show."

As soon as the monsters saw each other, their behavior became noticeably more aggressive. It was as if an instinct had taken over and made them attack each other.

They scratched the skin from their bodies. They bit and screamed in their frenzy of destruction and the force with which they did this was incomprehensible. The arena, built from solid material, could barely withstand it.

These...were weapons.

"Dr. you have really outdone yourself! The investors will be thrilled!"

"Oh, but that's not all. Our tests have shown that their armor is thick enough that hardly anything can penetrate it. Even a shot from a tank cannot harm them. This will certainly enable the company to establish a monopoly of power."

So that's what Gozaburo was working on all this time. He created these monsters to use them as weapons of war and to sell them.

Seto couldn't wait any longer. Joey had to get out of here.

He had to...

"I can't wait to see them on the battlefield. What subjects did you say they were again?"

"Subject 03 and 05."

Silence. Silence overcame his thoughts as the words swept everything away.

Subject 05. The number that had been most ingrained in his mind over the years.

It was his number after all.

Joey's Number...

And now he also recognized the darkened blonde hair and the changed facial features that had always beamed at him.

Why... why him?

Why Joey!

"I must say you really did not disappoint me, Dr. And that rarely happens to me. I think this extraordinary achievement will bring you a lot of research funding. Your number 05 in particular seems extremely capable to me."

This statement brought the doctor's already uncomfortable smile to new heights. Seto could hardly keep his composure at what the doc now revealed:

"Oh, he is something very special. A sting with his stinger injects a special poison into his victim, so that it is quickly decomposed from the inside and the pre-digested mass can simply be sucked out. The body is specially built in such a way that it does not let go of prey once it is in its clutches. This makes the absorption of energy extremely effective.

Oh look! It starts with the food intake."

As announced by his creator, 05 had paralyzed his opponent with the poison and was now holding the monster between his sickle-shaped arms.

His former friend's tongue split open and produced a grotesquely long needle with many barbs. Before Seto even realized what it was, the long sucking sting was rammed into his victim's body and the pincers on the jaw wedged themselves into the warm flesh.

With horror in his eyes, Seto could not help but stare as the monster that was once his friend sucked the enemy dry, liter by liter, and the fleshy shell increasingly resembled a sagging mass of skin in its merciless grip.

When he was finished, the remaining skin just slapped onto the hard concrete floor. That was Takeru. They had driven Joey to murder Takeru, once one of his closest friends in here, in the most brutal way possible.

It all became too much for Seto. He had to get away quickly before his mask fell.

"I excuse myself for a moment. Dr., is there a bathroom nearby?"

"Oh! Just outside, the second door on the right."

Seto nodded to him gratefully before leaving the room.

When he got to the toilet, Seto couldn't hold it back any longer and vomited in it. The reality that his only friend in this hell had become such a thing hit him like the strongest tsunami.

Joey, his Joey who was always in a good mood and a ray of hope for everyone in this facility... is now a mindless weapon of the Kaiba Corp who, with one command, killed everything in front of him.

The happy face had given way to torn rags and cold eyes. Eyes that no longer contained any thoughts of their own.

He had promised him. He had promised him he would get him out of here. Promised him to show him the sea.

He was a liar.

He was a liar, liar, LIAR!!!

And Joey...his Joey had to pay the price. His sun was smothered by the cold rain and he had let it happen!

In his onset of panic, Seto held his hand over his mouth so that no one would hear his pitiful sounds. Hysterically, he threatened to hyperventilate as his whole world collapsed before him.

His love, his hope, his future. He had been all of that to him. And he had let all of that be taken away from him.

If he had set everything in motion earlier, just a few weeks earlier, he would still be here now.

Then Seto wouldn't be trapped in this never-ending storm.

What now? What should he do now? What? What? What?

"Seto, what are you doing in there taking so long?"

Suddenly there was a knock on the door and his stepfather's voice could be heard on the other side. He was the root. It was his fault. All because of him...

"Finish already! We want to take a closer look at the subject now."

Seto wanted to kill him right then and there. But he didn't have the power to do that yet. A few days. It would only take a few more days and then he would show this real monster hell on earth.

First, he washed his reddened face and tried to recreate the usual cool mask as best he could.

And few moments later he was standing in front of his lover's cage. Now he clearly saw the face that had become so important to him over the years.

Mounted on a long dragon neck that connected him to this spider body via his torso.

A collar with a control chip prevented him from moving and breathing life into the empty look.

The sight made Seto die inside.

But Gozaburo beamed with anticipation:

"The beast is not exactly attractive, but as long as it can kill, I'm fine with it. What did you say again about the DNA you used?"

"The insect queen and the dragon whose remains we secured a year ago. They are probably among the most powerful we currently have. Subjects 01 and 02 unfortunately did not tolerate the components, and Subject 05 also showed no success at first. But he is a true fighter. I would have liked to have had more of his kind. Then we would be much further along in terms of research."

Seto felt empty inside. They talked about people as if they were objects. He felt sick. His head was racing with thoughts of what he would do to Gozaburo. The hatred and desire for revenge became more and more present the longer Seto looked at Joey. The motionless figure that stood there like a toy put away by the chip.

The two adults paid no attention to him as they went into the next room to do some paperwork.

Something that Seto welcomed, as he could be alone with him.

It was not long before his voice, hoarse from sobbing, began to speak weakly:

"J-Joey? It's me, Seto. God, what have they done to you?!"

Seto leaned his head against the bars to be closer to him. To punish himself even more with the sight. He couldn't understand it.

"P-please...show me that you're not gone. I'll find a way to turn this around. I'll make you human again, just please, please fight your way free and show me that you're still here with me."

Seto didn't react. The monster remained as still as his master had commanded and in despair the brunette slid down the bars to his knees.

He didn't want Joey to be gone. He wanted to show him the world. Show him what lay beyond this building and end his suffering.

Seto cried for him before those bars. How could someone do such a thing to such a happy soul? How could this all make sense? How could life make sense now?

He spent several minutes crying in front of his lover's claw-like feet. All alone again in the rain. The tears just flowed and Seto just stared dully at the red eyes that were staring straight ahead.

And it didn't matter how long he stared. Nothing happened.

Nevertheless, Seto did not want to give up on him:

"Joey I know you're still here. I will..."

"Nice try, but your little friend is no longer in there. He's just a guard dog who follows my orders."

Suddenly, Gozaburo's cold voice pulled him away from the bars and in the opposite direction.

The company boss stood there as if all the suffering didn't exist. As if this was all just a business.

And now that he saw Seto on the ground, he stopped pretending:

"Why...why do you allow this to happen?! He didn't do anything! Nobody deserves this!"

The brunette shouted at him angrily. His hatred made tears fly in all directions. But the cold-hearted man had no understanding for him:

"Nobody deserves anything in a war. And yet it is fought at the expense of others. If we don't do it, someone else will. I have tolerated your little secret romance with that street dog for far too long."

Startled, Seto paused:

"How...?"

"Do you really think I haven't noticed? You've become too soft, Seto. Too soft to be my heir and too foolish. Did you really think your efforts to get my company would go unnoticed by me? I know that you've gradually brought the Big 5 to your side to gain the upper hand. But I wouldn't be the owner of such a big company if a stupid boy could just steal everything from under my nose.

It's a pity, I actually had high hopes for you, but you're just a stupid boy who has feelings for a monster."

The whole house of cards that Seto had so carefully built up over the years collapsed in front of him. All that was left to him now was hatred:

"I'll kill you! I'LL KILL YOU!!! GOZABURO YOU DISGRACEFUL PIG!!!!"

But before he even had the idea of ​​attacking him, several men entered the room and pinned Seto in place.

He had to listen to every single word of this monster:

"What have I actually taught you all these years if you become so abusive? But I don't want to be so cold-hearted. After all, we were a family for so long. Since your little monster is so important to you, I'll allow you to be with him."

Gozaburo stepped close to Seto's grim figure to underline his next words with even more darkness:

"On the battlefield. I instruct Dr. to put you next on his list. Let's see what he can conjure up out of you, you cheeky brat. Definitely a devoted dog, like your friend there."

He resisted the men's firm grip because he did not want to accept such a fate.

As they were about to take him away, he promised that cruel bastard one more thing. A promise that he would definitely keep:

"I swear that your life will end in the cruelest way possible at my hands. Even if I have to climb out of hell itself to do it, GOZABURO!!!"

But he was not very interested:

"Who knows if you'll even have a hand once you've mutated. Unfortunately, I'll have to consider your brother as your heir. I hope he has all your good aspects. If he turns out to be useless, Dr. will be happy to have another test subject. Good luck in the war, Seto."

They dragged Seto out into another room where they carried out their experiments. A room full of strange instruments and liquids, in the middle of which a patient bed was already waiting for him.

They strapped his struggling body tightly to the bed and used a gag to ensure that he would not hurl any unnecessary curses at them.

But Seto paid close attention to what was happening. In his hatred, he remembered every single face he saw there. And most of all that of Doctor Hanako, who now appeared leaning over him.

"It's a shame that it didn't work out between you and your stepfather. But maybe you're promising as one of my subjects. I even already have a fitting number for you."

The doc went to a computer on the wall to create a new patient page.

Seto could see out of the corner of his eye how his picture was inserted and a big number appeared at the top. The number 00.

"I'm glad to see you so angry before your treatment, Seto. Or should I call you 00? Up until now, I've only had the pleasure of treating subjects who were afraid. The only thing that was different was your little friend. He didn't let it show and you saw what an extraordinary piece he's become. So we should find you something special to use that hate, don't you think?"

He's killing them. He's killing them all!

The Doc went through several combinations of DNA sequences to find one that would fit his latest work. When he got stuck on a particular one, an idea came to him. His grin was grotesque as he purred with delight:

"Hm, I wonder if this one could be something. It's the strongest one we currently have. With the anger you're feeling right now, there might be a small chance that you survive. Why not? The progress would be immense. But what else do we use to complete the rest?"

He continued searching through his database until he found what he was looking for.

"If this combination works, you will be an extremely powerful tool that can perhaps even change the whole world. ... Let's try it."

Seto didn't stop fighting, but the shackles remained like iron. While Doctor Hanako was putting together his deadly mix, the brunette tried again and again. His joints were already sore and the corners of his mouth, opened by the gag, were cracking.

Everyone, he will kill every single one of them!

When the doc was finished, he filled the shimmering blue liquid into a large syringe and stood ready next to Seto.

His hateful gaze lay bloodshot on the syringe that was now being guided to his immobilized arm.

Before it penetrated the delicate skin, the doc said:

"Don't be surprised. This is going to hurt you...a lot."

Then he sank the needle and courageously pushed every milliliter into the immaculate vein.

Although the injection site only tingled unpleasantly at first, as soon as the first drop reached Seto's heart, he felt it.

His pulse shot up as he burned inside. It was as if a bomb had been detonated inside him. The pressure was unbearable and shredded his organs into their individual parts. His brain was too big for his skull. The skin was too tight for his painfully growing muscles. His teeth broke on the gag because they bit so hard into it.

It pulled and tore unbearably at every point, so that no nerve was left untouched.

And even the redeeming unconscious did not come to him.

Was Joey also put through this hell? Did he have to suffer like that?

His poor Joey...

He couldn't keep his promise to him. But he will definitely keep his other one.

He's going to burn this whole place down.

He would show everyone in this facility what hell is!