Kaiba watches him and Chenzira for a moment, and...something heavy settles in his chest. He gently shifts Selene onto the pillow beside him, tucking the blanket over her so he can fully process his emotions without fear of waking her.
"It's...hm. Maybe it'll help if you know where I'm coming from."
He exhales sharply and closes his eyes. "I don't know how much you learned about me when you were...ah. Planning for Battle City, but. I wasn't always a Kaiba. I was born into a normal family and might've lived a normal life, but my mother died giving birth to Mokuba. The grief killed my father shortly after. We were bounced from relative to relative, and they spent everything our parents left us before dumping us at an orphanage."
His hand reaches up to touch the locket he wears, opening it for a moment. His brother's smiling face is enough encouragement to keep him talking.
"If you're an orphan, people think something's wrong with you. I tried to impress adults by being a good kid anyway, but I couldn't find anyone who was willing to adopt Mokuba too...until Gozaburo Kaiba came to the orphanage as a publicity stunt. I knew he wasn't going to win Father of the Year, but it was the only option to get us out of there together. I'd endure anything I had to to secure a good life for Mokuba."
He squeezes the locket in his hand, almost to the point it cuts him.
"I'd convinced him to train me as his heir. He kept us in separate wings of the mansion because seeing my little brother would distract me. He kept me in a choke collar, whipped me if I failed to ace any of my tests. Trained me to be brutal and ruthless...and when he dared me to take control of the company from him, when I played his game to perfection, he taught me his last lesson. To lose is to die. Turned out later he'd faked his death so he could attack me again later, but...seeing that was a turning point for me. I'd completely turned into his mirror image as a monster who'd stop at nothing, caring for no one. And that didn't change until the Pharaoh shattered my soul and forced me to rebuild it."
A deep exhale, and his head slumps forward, bowed over his knees. That...was a lot. "Our stories aren't the same, but...I have a long way to go too. I'm the last person who can judge."
cw: adding parental death to that...
"It's...hm. Maybe it'll help if you know where I'm coming from."
He exhales sharply and closes his eyes. "I don't know how much you learned about me when you were...ah. Planning for Battle City, but. I wasn't always a Kaiba. I was born into a normal family and might've lived a normal life, but my mother died giving birth to Mokuba. The grief killed my father shortly after. We were bounced from relative to relative, and they spent everything our parents left us before dumping us at an orphanage."
His hand reaches up to touch the locket he wears, opening it for a moment. His brother's smiling face is enough encouragement to keep him talking.
"If you're an orphan, people think something's wrong with you. I tried to impress adults by being a good kid anyway, but I couldn't find anyone who was willing to adopt Mokuba too...until Gozaburo Kaiba came to the orphanage as a publicity stunt. I knew he wasn't going to win Father of the Year, but it was the only option to get us out of there together. I'd endure anything I had to to secure a good life for Mokuba."
He squeezes the locket in his hand, almost to the point it cuts him.
"I'd convinced him to train me as his heir. He kept us in separate wings of the mansion because seeing my little brother would distract me. He kept me in a choke collar, whipped me if I failed to ace any of my tests. Trained me to be brutal and ruthless...and when he dared me to take control of the company from him, when I played his game to perfection, he taught me his last lesson. To lose is to die. Turned out later he'd faked his death so he could attack me again later, but...seeing that was a turning point for me. I'd completely turned into his mirror image as a monster who'd stop at nothing, caring for no one. And that didn't change until the Pharaoh shattered my soul and forced me to rebuild it."
A deep exhale, and his head slumps forward, bowed over his knees. That...was a lot. "Our stories aren't the same, but...I have a long way to go too. I'm the last person who can judge."