A Christmas Carol with Kaiba

The Chains of Gozaburo

Ah, but don't you see?" His smile did reach his ears this time. "It has everything to do with you. The future brings with it regrets, lost potential, lost chances at happiness and fulfillment, and you, dear Priest, have a future full of it. And if you take a step forward, you'll get a taste of just how heavy your chains will be."

                                                                                 ***

Seto felt the blood drain so fast from his head, he thought he just might pass out. But this was ridiculous.

"You're dead." he said, as coldly and bored sounding as he could. "I saw your body, I was there when they put you in the grave."

"And you would know, you killed me." said his step father with a self-satisfied sneer.

"I did not kill you, you killed yourself jumping out of the window like an idiot just because you lost."

"And looky hear, Seto Kaiba is talking to the ghost of his dead father. Won't that make your enemies happy to hear?"

This snapped him awake and Seto once more reached for his cell phone. He speed-dialed his security, but just as his phone dialed, it died. When Seto looked up Gozaburo had moved to his bedside, and Seto got his first glimpse of the heavy chains manacled to his step-father's wrists and ankles. All of him, including his chains, looked as though it could have been powdered with chalk-like invisibility dust, and Seto found it oddly hard to focus on the man's face.

First the coat hanger, than this sad excuse for an apparition imitation, and now they somehow killed his phone?

"Joke's over, I admit you freaked me out for a minute there. Not many can say they have caught me off guard, so if you get out now I won't sue you for everything your worth."

"Boy, you're a moron."

Seto burst into instant, silent fuming. "You are not Gozaburo, and I am no boy!"

The man smirked, a horrible, cruel, twisted half-moon arc that made the hairs on the back of Seto's arms bristle. How could anyone pull off that smile so perfectly? It must be a recording, though how had they managed to get one of him and then use it to project this hologram? For it had to be a hologram or like unto it. Seto could still see his bedroom walls through him.

"Fine, don't believe that I am here. I don't care. I'm only here for myself. See these chains, boy?" Gozaburo lifted up his arm with a chink of chainlinks. For the first time Seto's full attention was drawn to the ghostly chains that trailed from his step-father's wrists and ankles and back into the shadows in the corner. Once he knew he had his attention, he peeled off the suit jacket he had always wore in life to show the drapes of chains running down his chest and looping around his waist.

Seto gave his best, uncaring grunt. "Look heavy."

"Hell, if only knew." Those dark eyes looked up past severe eyebrows. "This is what I've earned in my life: prison, torture, slavery. You don't know the definition of irony until you're a man who's over all dies and becomes a slave to the weakest of souls." A hand wrapped around one of the chains as he spoke and gave it an angry tug. The eyes stayed riveted on him. "My only comfort now is knowing that you too will be in chains when this life ends."

Seto surprised both himself and the apparition when he tipped his head back and laughed. "Oh, don't tell me. I'm going to be chained down in hell for all the naughty, greedy things I've done?"

Gozaburo smirked. "Has a nice ring to it. But this is but the state of our souls, and I can't wait to see you being weighed down by all that you're greed and hard work has brought about on you. Makes me laugh to think I was promised two less chains just to come tell my ungrateful brat of a child his fate. The spirit who came to me seemed to think your sorry hide could be saved. Can't think why'd anyone would care."

"Good question. Now, if you don't mind, I got work tomorrow and I'd like some sleep." And just to prove to both himself and the stupid hologram how much he didn't care, Seto switched off his lamp and slipped back into bed. He could hear a sarcastic snort from the darkness.

"I was also told to warn you about some visitors, but I'd rather not. Enjoy your evening, bastard brat."

And with a last clink of chains the room fell silent, and Seto finally felt alone. Even though he closed his eyes, though, sleep didn't come on him and he found his mind buzzing aimlessly for hours. The whoosh of the air running through the vents when the heater turned back on almost startled him, but he welcomed the white noise it provided. A maid's short heels tapped lightly past his door sometime later.

At one point he gave up on sleep and turned on to his other side to face his window, where a sliver of moonlight made it through his curtain and onto the floor. He had wanted to wait until morning to scour his bedroom for projectors, but wondered if it would be better to get up now and rat them out.

It was then he noticed something strange about the line of moonlight on the floor. It seemed to be growing, maybe even flickering a bit, as though heatwaves were passing by it.

Next to him on his stand, his digital alarm clock's green numbers displayed one a.m. sharp.

He heard a slight breeze, unrelated to the heating. He could even feel a cool breeze brush past his face. When the curtains began to rustle of their own accord, Seto shot up, alarm making his hackles raise.

"Who's there?"

As though to answer his question, the curtains pulled apart. Standing in the open window, back lighted by moonlight so bright he couldn't see the sky beyond him, was a super colored, short figure with familiar stare shaped hair. He wore billowing white robes that almost blended in with the light.

"Hey, Kaiba! I hope I made it here on time, I hate being late when some one is expecting me."

Seto's hands, which had flown up to protect his face from the blinding light, fell to his side. "Muto, what are you doing in my bedroom window? Do you have any idea what time it is?"

The light didn't dim, and Seto's eyes were watering, but he could make out his rival's disapproving frown. It didn't help his childish looks at all and came off as a pout. "Didn't he tell you I was coming?"

"Who? The hologram that some fool sneaked into my room?"

Yugi looked to the ceiling, expression both amused and exasperated. "And, of course, you think it's a hologram. I can't believe he thought this would work."

Seto's eyes narrowed. "He? Who's behind this? What's going on--and turn off that damn light already!"

 "Kaiba," Yugi held at his arms, looking more amused than annoyed now. "I'm standing in the place of the ghost of Christmas Past, the first of three visitors you will be seeing tonight. And I know I'm wasting my breath when I say this, but Gozaburo was no hologram, and neither am I."