Challenge Name and Number: #94: Figure - YGO Drabble LJ Community Challenge
Drabble Title: Anomaly
Word Count: 548
Warnings (if applicable): N/A
Pairings (if applicable):None
Summary:He had lost; he was wrong. And that didn't leave him many options.
Making time to look at the thing was gut wrenching. Seto didn't like being reminded of his mistakes.
Art nor History had never been an interest of his, as it was a waste of potential and mental focus; but the silent pathways of the Domino Museum were something of an old haunt. When the cacophony of mewling employees became too much he knew that aside from home, this was the only place that offered him both a seat and quiet all at once. He was guaranteed not to be interrupted there. Everyone kept to themselves.
None of that mattered anymore. No matter how he long he stared at the tablet, at the characters foreign to his mind but familiar to some part inside that he couldn't touch, it wouldn't change the outcome. Seto Kaiba didn't believe in magic, but this fairytale had turned out to be true. Against all odds, he had been defeated by a man who had faith in - from his point of view - nothing of substance.
There was a part of him that wanted to chase that tale and prove it false. He could hire a translator easily; he could even verify the authenticity if he so desired. But he had been down those roads over the years. The red tape made it costly and proving once-classmates wrong wasn't worth the feeling it would inspire. Most things weren't.
Seto had seen the footage from Battle City. All of it. He'd avoided watching as long as he could. His security had assured him that anything questionable had been cleared from the records and would only be seen by him. Doubts entwined in his work wasn't something he permitted. In the end he could not say with certainty that everything he saw had been some sort of elaborate prank.
He should have listened to her when she contacted him the first time. The Ishtar woman. Nothing that she'd told him made any sense and now, when he needed to recall it most, the only parts he could remember were her lies. She had been overconfident in her success.
Though she lost her duel that did not discount the rest of it.
Of all of his regrets, Seto simply wished he knew more. Gaps in his knowledge usually did not last for long. But he wouldn't dare ask Yuugi, nor any of his incompetent companions. If he was in their shoes, he wouldn't have bothered telling him anyway. He had missed his chance. People who missed those chances were left behind.
He was left with a nagging feeling, one that encouraged him to find out more about his error. It was his job to eliminate the possibility of it happening again. But the entire situation had been an anomaly. It would never recur. Seto didn't know it for certain, but when he looked at the carving, there was a feeling. Trusting anything other than fact disturbed him, yet it knew it to be true.
Old stone didn't speak, and he would have to accept that. Did accept it, even. That didn't change much. He had lost; he was wrong. And that didn't leave him many options.
He wished his face, somehow set deep into the tablet, could give him an answer. This time, he would listen.
I can't explain why I did chose Seto Kaiba for this, but it just felt right, I suppose. He's not even close to my favorite character from the series, and to be honest, I find writing him to be so much work that I am not fond of him. I've always seen him as more of plot device than a character, and building him to be multidimensional would just be difficult.
But, this is progress, I think. The beginning of inching him closer to a headcanon that I can appreciate and use later. A baby step. And I have to say that I'm happy about that. I'd eventually like to feel comfortable writing any character from YGO.