Trauma   von MrsJuliaNanba
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                            Kapitel 1: Preparation
                            ----------------------


"Wow, this church is beautiful!"
"Isn't it? It took me a while, but I think I did a great job."
"Yes, you did. And the temple was great, too."
"Well, of course. Hey, Seto, do you like it?"
"Hm?"
"If you like the church?"
"It's not me who will marry his girlfriend here, so what does it matter?"
"It's your brother who will marry here, so it should matter, Nii-san."
"All churches look the same to me, you know that."
"Leave him alone, Mokuba. You know that he actually just wants to leave here as
soon as possible to get back to work."
"Listen to what your girlfriend said and let me finally leave."
"Seto, it's OUR money that we will spend on this wedding, and you're my ONLY
brother, so it's important to me what you think, and you know that."

Seto sighed. He loved his little brother and was there for him whenever the
other needed help. But sometimes he was just too much and got on his nerves. But
well, he loved him, so he just had to play along.

"It's nice here, as well as at the temple."
"Thank you."

Actually, the Kaibas wanted just a little ceremony at a temple, but Shizuka's
family were Christians, so they decided on two ceremonies and both, a temple and
a church. And as time passed by, they had more and more people on the guest
list. Seto got a headache just thinking about the crowd.

"So are we finished?"
"We're just waiting for Shizuka's mum, she wanted to see the church, too. And
she said something about a surprise she had for the wedding."

Seto raised an eyebrow. He disliked surprises, most of the time surprises caused
trouble. He hated trouble. Fortunately he got a call from the office and went to
the other end of the church, so the other two wouldn't interfere. On his way he
found a door and when he entered the room, he realized that this was one of the
waiting rooms for weddings. This thought made him smile. In a few months Mokuba
or his bride would wait here for their moment to enter the church, totally
nervous he bet. Then he concentrated on the call again, solving whatever problem
his workers had. It didn't take him long, so he returned to the pair soon. Just
as he wanted to ask them if Shizuka's mother had finally arrived, the big doors
opened and a middle aged woman entered the building.

"Mom!"
"Sorry for the wait, but we were stuck in a traffic jam.", she hugged her
daughter and then Mokuba.
"We?"
"I promised a surprise, didn't I?"
"So this surprise is a person?", Mokuba asked confused.

And then it hit Seto, just as he turned to his future sister-in-law and saw her
eyes sparkle. This could only be one person, only this guy made her as happy as
his brother could.

"You mean-?"
"Yes, he made it and will stay for a while before leaving again."
"Where is he? Did he bring her along?"
"In the car, he has to take care of her. Just give him a few more minutes."
"And he will stay here? How long?"
"I don't know, he didn't tell me anything, just that he won't leave any time
soon. But something else: This church is beautiful!"
"Isn't it? I said the same. Mokuba did a great job."
"Yes, he did, thank you for the work."
"I have my ways, so~"

Seto was uncomfortable. He didn't know how to handle a happy family, he didn't
remember how it felt. His brother was an easy going type, so he went along well
with all types of people. But the brunet had a hard time to assimilate to this
whole situation. And knowing who would enter the church any time soon made this
even harder for him. They weren't on good terms, even back in school it was hard
to stay civilized for more than two minutes.
As the others continued to chatter, he heard the doors open again. His gaze went
to the person that entered the building and the sight surprised him. The blond
hair was shorter and tamed, covered by a dark blue hat with two gold lines, in
the middle a light blue one on the front. The jacket had the same dark blue,
underneath he wore a white shirt with a tie. On both sides of the jacket buttons
were decorations and the straight cut trousers had golden stripes on the
outside. Only now did Seto recognize this as the uniform of the US Army.
The blond's walk was straight and steady, only his face showed his feelings,
which was unusual. Back in school he would run towards his sister, ignoring all
the people around them. But he restrained himself and that surprised Seto.

"My baby sister will marry! And she will marry the cutest kid around.
Congratulations to both of you!", and so the blond hugged them both at the same
time. Then he turned to Seto.

"Long time not seen, Kaiba."
"Yes."

Then he turned back to the happy couple, checking out the ring and chatting
about random stuff. Uncomfortable again. Seto pretended to have gotten an
e-mail, then turned to the group and excused himself, saying his employees
needed his help and left. He hated to lie, but he couldn't take this any longer,
a headache already growing.
Katsuya really had changed, so much was clear. And just as he left the church,
he saw a car waiting in front of it. On the back seat laid a little girl. Her
hair was a shiny blond and she seemed to be asleep. And then it hit Seto: This
was that "her" the blond in the church had to take care of before.
But as his car arrived to pick him up, his thoughts started to revolve around
business again.



                                Kapitel 2: Yuri
                                ---------------


Seto hated being late. Unfortunately he couldn't influence the traffic and so he
used the time for looking through his work and appointments for the next day.
Somewhere between his office and the restaurant he got a call from his brother
and he told the other not to wait for him and already order drinks at least. So
he didn't waste any time when he arrived and went inside the restaurant as soon
as he arrived, a waiter showed him their table.
Just as he reached the table, he came to a temporary halt. It was neither Mokuba
nor Shizuka nor her mother that made him stop, not even Katsuya. It was the
little girl he saw in the car this afternoon, except that now she wasn't asleep.
Her big blue eyes looked at him curiously while sitting between Katsuya and his
mother.

"Please excuse me for being late."
"No problem, we just got our drinks, so you're not that late, nii-san."

Seto gave a little smile to his brother and then sat down on the last vacant
chair, opposite of the little girl, who was still staring at him. Somehow she
looked cowed by him, what was the normal reaction by kinds, because of his
heigh. So he tried another smile, this time in her direction. And as if watching
the whole scene from the beginning, the blond said: "Don't be afraid, Yuri, this
uncle looks scarier than he actually is. Right, Kaiba?"
Seto just nodded and smiled at the little girl again. He liked children, because
it was easier to talk to them then to adults, they were so innocent.

"Hello, my name is Kaiba Seto, I'm Mokuba's big brother."

And as if Katsuya had given her some of his self-confidence, she smiled and her
eyes began to sparkle.

"I'm Jonouchi Yuri, nice to meet you."
"And how old are, Yuri?"
"A hand full!"

As Seto looked at her confused, the others began to laugh.

"Come on, Yuri, say it properly!", Katsuya interfered again.
"I'm five.", and then she laughed, too. And Seto had to smile, she was a little
teaser and somehow that reminded him of the man sitting beside her.
"Well, and what are you doing here, Yuri, who is a handful of years old?"
"I came here with daddy to watch aunt Shizuka's wedding. And I'll be the
flower-girl!"
"That's nice! Do you know who I will be?"

Her answer was just shaking her head.

"I'll be the best man of this guy here.", and his thumb showed to Mokuba. "And I
pay for the whole wedding because I love him so much

The rest of the dinner went pretty well, at least in Seto's eyes. Yuri was
pretty talkative and so he found out a few things he didn't know before. She was
Katsuya's daughter – so much he had suspected – and her mother was dead, he
just didn't know the reason yet. But he also learned that they had lived in a
little town in the USA but now came to Japan and would stay here. And because
Mokuba didn't want them to live in a hotel until they've found an apartment, he
invited them to stay over in the Kaiba mansion. Seto wasn't against this, but he
had to point out that he would like to be informed about guests in their home.

After dinner they were picked up and brought to the mansion, the maids had
already prepared rooms for their guests and their luggage was there, too. On
their way home Yuri had fallen asleep, so her father had to carry her upstairs,
change her clothes and then put her to bed. And while everyone else went to
their rooms, too, Seto chose a wine, took two wine glasses, went to the terrace
and sat down there to enjoy the silence around him. He liked it when there were
no sounds. Being surrounded by people and machines the whole day, silence became
a gift for him. To his surprise, he didn't notice the other person until the
other sat down on a chair beside him. But that the other came was no surprise at
all.

"Thank you for letting us stay here."
"This mansion is big enough for all the guests at the wedding, so don't worry."
"Still thanks, I know that we didn't get along that well back then. Not everyone
would let me stay at their house with this past."
"But as you said , it's the past. We all change, I bet you are the best example.
And as we grow older, we realize how childish our acts were. But well, we WERE
children back then, so perhaps it was okay to be childish."

It was quite for some time, then the blond sighed. He took the glasses and
poured some wine in them, handing one to the brunet.

"Jeez, you sure changed, too! I mean, you already talked like an adult back
then, but now it's even more mature. And you seem more relaxed then ever. What
happened?"
"Well, I finished school and then college, after that I could concentrate on my
work. I don't have to think about my studies AND my company anymore, so it's
less stress and I can relax more."
"That's great."

Seto looked at the other, who just stared straight ahead.

"What have you been doing these past years?"
"I went to the US army."

Seto smiled.

"I figured so much, your uniform this afternoon."
"Don't be a smart ass!"
"Don't tell such obvious facts!"

And as they looked at each other, both had to laugh. Some things never changed
after all.

"I didn't know what to do after school. My grades weren't that bad, but they
weren't great, either, just average. And even if I had found a college that
would take me, I couldn't pay for it. My old man wasted all of our savings for
alcohol and I couldn't earn money for a living and the college at the same time,
while going to classes. So I searched for an opportunity to earn more money and
perhaps doing an apprenticeship at least. And then it hit me, I was only half
Japanese, the other half would help me to get into the US army. I don't regret
my choice at all! After the basic training I chose to go to the physicians. It
was pretty hard, but after some years I could call myself 'Doctor' and I think
that sounds pretty cool."
"Doctor Jonouchi Katsuya?"
"Hey, why so disbelieving?!"
"Is an answer necessary? You are the clumsiest person I know, I don't know if I
could entrust you my life."
"I'm pretty good at my job, you know!"

They stared at each other for some time, then Katsuya turned away and
continued.

"Sometime between my basic training and my doctor I met Addison. She was
breathtaking and after I talked to her I realized how smart and charming she
was, it was hard not to fall for her. She was younger than me, but she went to
the army two years before I did, so she was already ahead of me, only a few
years left until she was a doctor. Still, she had chosen me, the guy with
average grades and a criminal past. It was great and after some time we married.
It wasn't a big wedding, just her family and a few friends. Well, that didn't
stop our comrades to throw a big party for us.", the blond laughed.
"What happened to her?"
"A few months after she finished her doctor we decided that we wanted to have
children very soon. After another half year she was finally pregnant and I was
the happiest man on earth. Yuri is a great girl and I wouldn't want it any other
way. When she turned one, Addison wanted to work again, that's when we were told
that Iraq would be our destiny. But because both parents worked for the army, we
were called up alternately, each one of us for three moths with two weeks when
we both were home. I will never forget the things I saw there, but the worst
event was when my boss showed up at our door. Seeing him with this sad look on
his face I knew what happened and that I needed to tell Yuri that her mum
wouldn't come back. He told me that it was a car bomb, exploding when the truck
reached the camp, Addison was one of the passengers."
"You have my heartfelt sympathy, I know what it feels like to loose your
family."
"Thanks. But well, beside my post-traumatic stress disorder, I was a single
father, with my family thousands of kilometers away. Still I tried to make it, I
tried to find a job and a baby sitter and tried to manage everything on my own,
but I failed. PTSD and the mourning for my wife while taking care of a child was
too much of a burden. Even when her family tried to help me, I still failed.
Fortunately money was no problem, the army paid generously and after marrying we
insured our lifes. But right before I broke, Shizuka called and told me that she
would get married. I didn't need to think much about all this, I took her call
as a sign and decided to come back to Domino and to start anew. So, here I am. I
already have a job as trauma surgeon at one of the best hospitals in Domino and
perhaps I will switch to pediatric surgery. Mum and Shizuka will help me with
Yuri, but I've also found a kindergarten she can go to and she will go to school
next year."
"Not that I care, but you're pretty talkative."
"Thanks to you wine!", the blond laughed.
"But it sounds like I'm not the first one you tell this."
"Well, I had to see a therapist because of my PTSD and she really helped me with
my issues."
"Your life remembers me of a roller coaster."
"Yeah, many ups and downs. But I really hope that will stop now. Not that I'm
against some ups now and then, but I can really go without the downs for a
while."

They both had to laugh. They had really changed in the past few years, but Seto
had to admit that he liked this, talking to the other and learn about his life.
It had been years since he trusted someone and he asked himself if he should
have trusted the blond back in high school.

"What were you doing? I mean, beside college and work."
"Don't you read the tabloids?"
"Well, I was busy with myself. And of course, you're famous even in the US, but
they're not that interested in you. When they write about you, it's mostly
regarding your company."
"Huh, I wish it was the same in Japan."
"So, what were you doing?"
"Beside my Master in Business and Kaiba Corp. I've spent much time with Mokuba.
But I was engaged, too."
"Seriously?"
"Mhm, she was the daughter of a business partner. It might sound kitschy, but I
had really fallen for her. She was beautiful and charming and I had really
thought that I wanted to have a family with her. After dating for about a year I
proposed and she accepted."
"And then the turning point came?"
"Yes. I came home earlier then I planned from a business trip to China, that's
when I caught her with one of my business rivals, in our bed. She cried and
apologized but I couldn't forgive her. It's hard for me to trust other people,
it was this way since Mokuba and I were adopted. And I trusted her, I really
did. But she preferred money, it was her decision, no one forced her. She sold
him information about my plans and he stayed with her when I had to time."
"Geez, sounds hard."
"To tell the truth, I never spoke to someone about all this before, not even
Mokuba."
"And here you go and just tell me all this?"
"You trusted me, so I trusted you."
"Sounds fair..."
"And right before you asked what I had been up to, I thought that perhaps I can
trust you."
"Seriously?"
"Well, we're honest here, so yes."
"Again, thanks to your wine.", Katsuya giggled.

They both stayed quite for a while, just looked at the garden and drank their
wine.

"I'm gonna meet with the gang tomorrow and Yuri will be awake pretty early, I
guess I should call it a day."
"She's pretty lively."
"Yeah, she is."
"I wonder who she got that from."

Katsuya began to laugh while Seto just smirked at him.

"Point for you. But really, I'm pretty exhausted, so I'll leave you and the wine
alone."
"Not that much is left anyway..."
"Good night, Kaiba."
"Yeah, good night."

And when the blond left, Seto relaxed a little bit more in his chair. It went
pretty well, he didn't expect that. And while he finished his wine he thought
how pitiful Katsuya was compared to him.




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