Wings of Time

Grumpy Kaiba, per usual

            Seto Kaiba, CEO of Kaiba Corporation, billionaire entrepreneur and software genius extraordinaire, was having one of those days.

"What do you mean you don't know why the satellite system has crashed? I pay you to know all that goes in and out of the mainframe system and you're telling me that you don't know?"

The voice on the other side of his cell-phone came out reedy and pathetic against his ear. Mokuba huddled on the sofa in his office, fingers taping wildly on his own laptop as he tried to reboot the network and internet himself. Outside, rain came down in torrents and a great flash of lightening forked across the city. Thunder followed it like a giant moving barrels in the clouds. Whatever excuse the man gave him over the phone turned out to be insufficient and Seto growled into the mouthpiece.

"That better be true, because if you can't find the meaning to this in less than ten minutes you can say good-bye to your desk and say hello to unemployment."

His older brother clicked the slender phone off so hard, Mokuba briefly feared that he'd snap it in two. Muttering angrily to himself Seto threw himself into his chair. His fingers raked through his thick hair.

"Idiots. I'm surrounded by idiots!"

"Seto, it could just be a power outage."

"A power outage that only takes out networks and internet? I think not. This smells of sabotage and when I get my hands on them—" he left it at that, his anger beginning to reach the level of incoherency.

His younger brother tugged at his middle finger uncertainly. What if it was sabotage? Again? The thought made him wonder if his brother's rage was infectious as he felt heat rise up to his face. Why couldn't they just leave his brother alone? It was he who had worked hard to get Kaiba Corp as far as it was today, and if they were so butthurt about being losers it was only because they were stupider and lazier and they didn't deserve anything greater than his brother's shoelaces. He found himself repeating under his breath, "Idiots. They really are all idiots."

Although, five minutes later, the internet suddenly reappeared and Mokuba could hear the quite revving of the mainframe computers a floor below them. He breathed a sigh of relief.

Seto instantly snatched up the phone to call the manger.

"Well?"

He listened quietly, his rage held only in check by a thin barrier. Mokuba could practically feel the bubbling just beneath the surface of his brother's calm—or at least calm-ish-- face. Seto glowered at the wall.

"What do you mean you still don't know what happened? Did they just start up on their own?"

Mokuba frowned as well. Maybe it was just a freak power outage after all. Maybe a solar wave?

By the time Seto ended the call, four people had been fired, three had been promoted, and his mood had just gone from worse to hellish. He bared his teeth as he jumped to his feet and shoved his hands into his pockets to stop himself from breaking the nearest thing to him.

"Mokuba, let's go. Empty-headed morons."

This made Mokuba beam. Rarely did his brother get pushed to the edge of fleeing Kaiba Corp, but when it did happen it usually meant ice cream—or hot chocolate, considering the rainy weather outside-- and a day back home. He snapped his laptop shut and bounded off the sofa.

"Do you still think it was someone outside messing with the system?"

"Of course. What else could it be?"

The young boy didn't know.

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