Made of Stone
Summary: If you asked almost anyone if Seto Kaiba was made of stone, they would probably say that he was.
Chapter 1: A Kitten and Kaiba
It was raining. Of course it was. Why not rain, too?
Ryou walked, cold and alone through the streets and alleys, making his way back home after, once again, waking up, late at night, somewhere he didn't remember going. He always felt scared in these moments, wondering what the spirit had done, but he tried to simply not think of it, and go back to life as normal once he found himself in control again.
He wrapped his arms around himself, trying to keep from shivering, and looked up to find something to stand under for a moment. He found a small awning in an alley, and quickly dipped under it, shivering hard, wondering if he could wait until the rain stopped. He sank to the ground, back against the building and pulled his knees into his chest, trying to find some kind of warmth. He was so tired... scared, and weak.
Maybe I could just rest my eyes for a moment...
...
Seto Kaiba looked down at his watch and sighed. He was in the office late, again, and though he knew Mokuba wouldn't approve, he had to finish the code he was working on before he could allow himself to sleep. A standard he had set for himself. Something Mokuba had a hard time understanding. Technically, his little brother was correct every time he'd told him: "You're the CEO. You can take it easy every once in a while." Yet, Seto simply didn't see it that way, and always responded with something like: "Maintaining discipline, maintains power." or by simply telling him not to worry and run along.
His sapphire eyes looked up quickly as a small knock came from the door to his office. "What is it?" He asked impatiently.
"Mr. Kaiba, you're car is ready."
He suddenly remembered having the car brought around before the unexpected coding issues had come up. "Send him home." He replied shortly. "I'm working. I will drive myself."
"Yes, sir!"
He listened as his assistant walked away from the door, and turned his attention back to his work, but before he could even get back into his rhythm, his phone rang out through the office and he had to clench his fists to relieve some frustration before quickly snatching it up and giving an angry: "What is it?!"
"Seto?" Mokuba's voice was low and cautious. "When are you coming home?"
"When I'm done working." Seto's tone instantly changed from anger to slightly annoyed.
"Oh, well... I hope it's soon. You said we would watch a movie together..."
His little brother's words went right into Seto's heart, causing it to deflate. He had completely forgotten that he had promised Mokuba merely a movie's worth of time and yet here he was at the office with easily 2 more hours left of work to do.
He sighed into the phone, but before he could say anything his brother spoke for him: "It's okay big brother, you have work to do. I understand."
"Some other time." He replied simply and hung up the phone.
Great, a long day at the office, coding issues, now guilt. Could this day get any worse? The CEO was nearly startled, as much as you could startle Seto Kaiba, as a loud clap of thunder came from the large window behind him.
Of course... why not rain, too?
...
Ryou felt rain. His eyes slowly fluttered open and he realized he was still in the alley, but now his shelter had become insufficient, and the wind started to pick up, causing the rain to fall diagonally into his side. He slowly stood, still bracing himself on the wall as he woke up fully. It was dark, very late from what he could tell. The wind was starting to howl and the rain was only increasing.
He rushed out of the alley and down the sidewalk, running now. He still wasn't quite sure how to get home from the part of the city he found himself in, but he knew if he could at least make it to the bus station, he could take shelter there until the storm passed. He could just barely see the sidewalk under the light of the street lamps and in one of the ovals of yellow light, Ryou noticed a small black shape.
He stopped just passed it, and turned around to see a small shivering kitten alone and soaking on the sidewalk. His heart broke for the little animal, and he walked back to it, but right before he touched it, the terrified kitten simply turned and ran into the street.
"No, wait!" Ryou called after the kitten and chased it without thinking.
...
Seto closed his laptop and took a deep breath, annoyed again. He was at last done with the code, which had turned out to only need a simple, quick fix, and an utter waste of time, but at least he was finished earlier than expected. He looked down at his watch. Yes, it was still early enough that Mokuba may be awake, and able to watch the movie. He stood, and pulled his car key from the top drawer of his desk.
As he stood in the elevator, briefcase and phone in hand, he considered calling his brother, but decided he would make it a bit of a surprise. He let a small smile slip... and everyone said he only thought of himself. He reached the garage, and his black, shining sports car, and quickly got in. The storm made no difference to Seto. He was actually a very talented driver, and low visibility was something he was trained to deal with.
The radio was turned on at a low volume, but Seto turned it up when a weather bulletin took over the song that was playing: "Flood warnings and wind advisories have been issued for Domino City. Please do not leave your homes unless it is absolutely necessary. Avoid driving if at all possible, but if you must please drive safe. The roads are considered to be in very poor condition. Weather isn't expected to let up until the morning..."
Seto scoffed and glanced down for just a split second to turn the radio off, but when he looked up, his headlights illuminated a blur of white, and blue, and he instantly knew it was a person. On instinct, he slammed on the brakes, but the water caught under the tires, and his car spun to the side, coming to a rough stop, horizontal on the road. Seto caught his breath and tried to think if he had felt his car hit anything, but he simply wasn't sure.
He opened the door to his car, got out, and slowly, and hesitantly, walked around to the passenger side of the car, which was now facing where the mystery person had been. There, almost touching the passenger door, was ... someone, curled down in the road. Seto stared in disbelief that he had stopped so close. As he stood, frozen, the person slowly lifted his head. The first thing Seto noticed, was a small kitten staring fearfully up at him from the lap of the person he'd nearly hit. Then, brown eyes looked up at him and Seto had to take a surprised inhale.
"Bakura?!"
Ryou's eyes grew as he recognized the tall figure in the rain. "Kaiba?"
"What the hell are you doing in the street?" Seto's concern switched to anger very quickly, "Are you crazy? I almost killed you!"
"But... you could have hit ... him." Ryou looked down at the tiny shivering kitten in his lap.
"You really ran out in the middle of the street to save a dumb cat? You've got to be kidding me!" As the words escaped his mouth, he suddenly realized that the cat, and Ryou, weren't the only people sitting in the middle of the road. He huffed, feeling somehow responsible for his new-found accompaniment. He walked over quickly, and without a word, grabbed the top of Ryou's arm firmly, but not rough, and easily pulled him to his feet. He opened the passenger door to his car, and sat the soaking wet teen, cat and all, in the seat, and slammed the door.
Ryou, wanted to leap out of the car, feeling the rain seeping into the, no doubt very expensive, car seat. Seto climbed in the car quickly, and silently started it, corrected his position on the road and pulled away. He was already moving before Ryou even had the chance to protest, but nonetheless, he couldn't help but speak: "Kaiba... your car..."
"Don't worry about it." The CEO said quickly. He'd simply have it cleaned. Besides, Ryou wasn't doing anymore damage than he was doing himself. He debated on what to do next. In the rush to clear the road, he had gone in the direction of home, but what was he going to do with his new charge, and a ... cat? He considered offering him a ride home, but a bright flash of lightening, and a particularly strong wind gust made him reconsider being on the road any longer than he had to. Finally, he decided he would have guest room prepared, they had plenty. Out of habit of always being in charge, he simply forgot to mention to his passenger that his choice had been made for him.
Ryou was silent as the reality of what was happening sank in, and he had to conclude, even with everything the spirit could get up to, ending up holding a kitten, soaking wet, riding in the front seat of Seto Kaiba's sports car had to be the most ludicrous situation he had ever found himself in. He had literally never said a word to the guy, and now he was going ... actually, where were they going?
He glanced over, and found himself very nervous to speak to the intimidating CEO. It took him over a minute to finally, sheepishly ask: "Where are we going?"
Seto didn't look at him. It was a fair question yet he couldn't help but find the answer kind of obvious. Where else would he be taking him without having ask first? "We're going to my home. Thanks to this ridiculous weather, I recommend you stay until morning."
Ryou was shocked Seto would actually be so ... generous. They didn't even know each other, really. Barely by name. Suddenly, the little kitten in his lap, meowed loudly, catching both of their attention, and it made Ryou feel even more imposing, and could feel his cheeks growing hot with embarrassment. Seto must think he was a complete fool.
The rest of the drive was awkwardly silent. A few times Ryou considered telling him that the gesture was too much and he could simply drop him off at the bus station, but the idea of sleeping in an actual bed was enough motivation to keep him quiet. Besides, the young CEO was being kind to him, and, besides Yugi and his friends, that had become a rare thing for the white haired teen.
Seto was not blind to the tension. He was just simply unfazed by it. He was not the type of person who got nervous, and let's face it, the kid wasn't exactly intimidating. He looked more pitiful than the kitten. He couldn't help but wonder, though, what he had been doing out in such weather. It had been raining for hours. Finally, they turned into a driveway where a huge metal gate stood tall against the back ground of dark clouds. He simply reached up and tapped a button above his rear view mirror, and with a small beep the large metallic gates started to swing open.
Ryou couldn't help but stare in bewilderment at the massive fence. As the pulled through, they started to travel down a slightly long paved drive with trees lined against either side. Then the tree parted ways, revealing the most magnificent home Ryou had ever seen.
It was made of red brick with a dark roof. There were many windows outlined in thick white. The doorway was elegant and broad with a balcony above it under which Seto parked his car. The large deep dark brown wooden door instantly open wide to reveal a man, who stood, waiting.
"Let's go." Seto said, without looking over. Ryou sat still, until the CEO opens his own door amd started to step out of the car. He followed suit, cradling the, now rather curious, kitten to his chest. The storm was still raging and he could feel misty rain even under the huge balcony above them, and its big white pillars around them.
He followed Seto up the white, smooth steps and looked up when the man spoke: " Welcome home, Mr. Kaiba. I was not informed that you would be having a guest this evening."
"It was unexpected." He replied simply.
"Seto!" Everyone looked over to the small, excited voice, and there stood a pajama-clad Mokuba with a bright smile on his face, but it instantly faded to confusion as he made eye contact with Ryou. "Bakura? What are you doing here?"
Ryou took a breath to say something, though he honestly wasn't sure what he was going to say other than the truth, but Seto spoke first: "He's staying the night because of the weather." He turned back to the man, "Make sure a room is prepared and he has everything he needs or requests." then, once again with no real acknowledgment to Ryou, he started walking away.
"Cool." Mokuba said simply, walking over to pet the kitten. "You should come have dinner with us." Ryou couldn't help but glance up toward Seto, not sure if an invitation from Mokuba was the same as an invitation from him. The youngest Kaiba looked up to the man, who was instructed some women to prepare a room, and have dry clothes brought to it: "Set another place for dinner, ok? I'll take Bakura to his room. The first one, right?"
"Yes, Master Mokuba." Then with a bow, he walked toward Seto, no doubt to confirm the dinner plans.
Mokuba started walking and beckoned Ryou to follow. "Who's your friend?"
Ryou looked down at the kitten and smiled. "Actually, we just met. I found him cold and alone on the sidewalk."
Seto, having just reached the doorway, had to pause, and scoffed, annoyed, but only slightly.
You're more like that cat than you think.