His Father's Son

"You're too tense, sir. It's disrupting your aim." Roland looked down at his master, barely fourteen, as he reloaded his gun. Seto Kaiba scowled but said nothing. He forced his hand to relax, flexing the fingers in an attempt to loosen his muscles, before replacing the muffs on his ears and holding the gun up again, taking careful aim at the paper target. When the young master first expressed his interest in handling firearms, Roland had acquired a set of practice targets different from the ones that the security agents under his command used. The ones he got for the young master were simple targets, round bullseyes that his employer had immediately rejected. “I’ve done my research,” he’d said with narrowed eyes. “Training with those won’t help me.” “They will help you with your aim,” Roland had replied, not understanding. “They won’t help me with my aim when I need it most.” The teen had crossed his arms. “All of the world’s militaries used to train using those targets, and their overall accuracy rate was abysmal. Once they switched to human-shaped targets, that accuracy dramatically increased, both in practice and on the battlefield.” The child had stared at Roland with determined ferocity as the man began to understand. Seto wanted to be prepared for shooting another human being, not just a random target. “Forgive me, Master,” Roland had intoned with the minimum required amount of apology. “I was not trying to undermine you.” “Hmph.” The young master had uncrossed his arms. “Replace the targets. Then we’ll train.” So Roland had obeyed, and now Seto Kaiba was trying to reliably make any kind of critical hit on the target boards. For each round of bullets, he seemed to pick a different part of anatomy to practice his aim: the head, heart, the neck, the right shoulder. His most accurate round was when he aimed for the groin, and though Roland would never say aloud how disturbed he was, he did think that accuracy was due to his height more than anything else. Though his aim was fair, especially for his first session with a firearm, he still seemed quite frustrated with himself. After perforating his fifteenth human silhouette, Roland saw fit to intervene. “Master Kaiba.” “What is it, Roland?” Seto asked as he replaced the clip. “You need a break.” Seto’s mouth opened in protest, but Roland had anticipated this. He moved swiftly, taking the small gun out of the child’s hands before he could pull it out of his reach. “Handling a firearm is a different kind of mental strain than you’re used to. I don’t want you tiring yourself out and getting hurt.” An expression of overwhelming indignation flooded the boy’s features, but Roland was prepared for that too. “Now, I’m going to ask you what I ask all of the men I train.” In a blink, blue eyes shifted from hatred to curiosity. He was going to be asked what the adults were asked. He was being treated like an adult. “Okay.” “What happens when you shoot that target?” Bright blue eyes blinked, then narrowed. "I'm being serious." Roland's expression didn't change. "What happens when you shoot that target?" Seto stared at him a little longer, as if trying to decide if the question was with answering. "The bullet leaves the chamber," he answered finally. It goes through the air and through the paper, then it hits the back wall and falls to the floor." Roland nodded. "The paper is discarded, because it's been used, and more are ordered to replace it. Trees are cut and processed into paper in order to make more of those targets." "Are you trying to make me feel guilty for shooting a piece of paper?" "No. This isn't about guilt. It's about consequences. Every bullet you fire has consequences, and that's something you need to consider each time you pull the trigger. You might not always have the time to consider every consequence, but when you do have time, when it's not an emergency, I encourage you to think beyond the moment." The kid's expression turned thoughtful for a moment, then he held out his hand. "I want to try again." Roland was reluctant to comply. "Just one more shot." The security guard handed the gun back to his employer. Seto Kaiba took aim at the target one more time. Think beyond the moment. He pulled the trigger and Roland blinked at the hole in the paper. It was a perfect headshot. "Thanks for the advice." Seto returned the gun to his bodyguard, looking extremely pleased with himself. It wasn't supposed to be advice. It was supposed to be a warning. Roland put away the gun and followed his employer out of the shooting range, unable to shake the uneasy feeling that came with guessing at what his new master might have been imagining when he fired that shot. He had already changed so much about the company since he took power a month ago, but today had proved to Roland beyond a doubt that whatever experiment Gozaburo Kaiba had been attempting with this orphan had succeeded. Nobody who knew his father's legacy could meet this boy and think that he wasn't his father's son.