author's note~ I'm not one to make rhetorical questions but: Have you ever read The Great Gatsby? Wonderful book, wonderful characters. Here, you may see me trying to parallel Seto, after his loss of Mary, to Gatsby, after his loss of Daisy. At the same time, you may see me fail at doing so xD. But either way, I want to stress that Seto is different. I believe Mary changed him for the better. And so in this story, I want to tell what would happen if he could not reunite with her.
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The man wore the suit very well. Black garb, blue tie, even a certain tint in his eyes that said he needed to be somewhere five minutes ago. He carried a briefcase rather protectively to his chest but did so quite naturally. Perhaps then, Seto thought, it seemed a bit odd that the man was struggling to open the door, not realizing that he had to pull, not push, the door.
He sat watching the man for several seconds. He motioned to stand up to help him but suddenly the man figured it out and bust through. The man scanned the area before finding Seto and bustled to him through the scattered chairs and tables.
There were not many customers at the café they were at but still, the man's hurry was very much suspicious. When he reached the table, before Seto could speak, he quickly gave an angered whisper.
"He said meet at the xxx café downtown. He didn't mention that there were two of them."
Seto noticed the man was out of breath and steaming.
Anger was an emotion he was quite familiar with, something that always tormented him. But the misinformation was not his fault. He was not weak anymore. He was not going to submit. With a tone of neutrality, he replied: "And I was told we had to blend in."
The man glared at him but in reply, simply grunted. "Whatever. It's not like we're selling drugs." He took a seat. "We're quite busy people: I have a meeting after this where formality is expected."
"Fine. Now show me the evidence."
The man opened the briefcase and gave Seto several photos. Looking through them, Seto nodded his head silently. He glanced up when he was done.
"Can you tell me anything about where you found her?"
"No."
"Can you tell me anything about what the place looked like?"
"No."
Seto frowned.
"Are you the photographer's subordinate?"
"Yes, why?"
"I don't want you. The next time, I want to talk with him personally." Seto made the motion to leave.
"Ah, so does that mean you were satisfied with these and want to proceed with more appointments?" The man showed his first sign of enthusiasm.
Seto turned back to the man indifferently. "Just tell him I want to meet him. He has my number." With that he continued to the door.
"Ah, thank you!" The man scrambled to gather all his possessions as Seto walked outside towards the bus stop.
He got out his phone and called.
"Kido?"
"Ah, Seto? Was it any good?"
Seto burst out into a smile. "They're it. This guy has found her. I've scheduled another appointment to really see where she is."
Seto heard her chuckle over the phone. "Good. I always wanted to meet this girl you were always so enthusiastic about."
"I know! You will. She's wonderful. The pictures show it. And she has those beautiful red eyes just like I remember."
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"Seto?"
"Hmmm?" The young man was in front of the kitchen sink, his hands wet from washing the dishes. A disordered Kano had just come bursting through the door. Nevertheless, with mask* on, he looked as energetic as usual.
"Isn't it a bit late to be doing dishes?" he asked, his usual cheerful tone present. It was past midnight.
"Sorry." Seto smiled. "I just couldn't sleep again tonight."
Kano stood looking at him with his mask on. Then, just slightly, with emotion barely visible, he gave a concerned expression. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah…" his eyes trailed off towards space. "I was just dreaming of her again." A dim smile always seemed to be on his face, even then, late at night, as tired as he was. Slowly, his thoughts processed. He popped back into reality. "But how about you? Why were you out so late?"
"Oh…" Kano let his concern slide as his eyes wandered off to think of something. Then, suddenly, he perked up.
"Well, well… what would you say if I told you I found another pair of magic red eyes?" His cat eyes arched into an excited vigor, a wide grin painted on.
"Really?"
"Really really! And you may even know who she is."
For a second, Seto thought of the girl. He dismissed the thought. "'She?' It's not Kido is it…?"
"Of course not! She's not quite as delicate~" Kano said, with a bit of a chuckle. "I'm talking about a certain recent pop star that has just made her first album."
It seemed as if Kano tempted Seto into a game of Jeopardy. Still, he didn't really pay attention to pop stars and didn't know. "Uh…. Who?"
"Oh right, you may not actually know." Kano burst out into a small laugh. "Don't worry! My fault. I'll tell you both tomorrow morning. Gotta compile my data~" And with that, he stowed away to his room.
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"It will be exactly like the first time I met her. She, the timid one, I, the courageous one, together—well, we would be a true couple. Our hands will meet and she'd look down at her feet in a blush. I'll say to her 'You don't need to be afraid anymore.' She won't look up at me quite yet because she's embarrassed but there'll be a smile on her face when she does. Her beautiful white hair would shift and slowly our eyes would meet. She was afraid; she said I'd be turned to stone but, really, I wouldn't mind. What a pretty smile she had."
"Seto. Look at me."
Seto sat up from the reclining chair to see the therapist.
"I asked you: how long ago was it you met her?"
Seto fell silent. The smile refused to leave his face, instead he flicked his eyes away.
"Four years. … And it seems like just yesterday I saw her. I wonder if she completed that painting she was planning on making."
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*Kano's mask is purely figurative. Refer to "Yobanashi Deceive"