Chapter 2

Kinship

Three months into the school year, Seto Kaiba learned the fine art of silence. He hasn't mastered it yet—far from it, actually—but he was getting there one day at a time. Or at least that's what he wanted to think. It wasn't all that difficult. Now, he wasn't abnormally talkative, or annoyingly chatty. He wasn't redundant, and he wasn't one to give motherhood statements, which he loathed himself. He was inquisitive, however, and brutally frank. He had opinions after all and people needed to hear them so they could do something about themselves. There didn't seem to be a problem with his scathing remarks and attitude, until Yami got into trouble for it.

It wasn't Yami's fault that the other students were behaving like a bunch of pea-brained thugs, bullying younger kids around and strutting like rejected ballerinas all over the playground. As if they owned it. Seto had huffed. And it wasn't Yami's fault that Seto decided to speak his mind and that he was hit then shoved for his efforts. Yami was only morally obliged to defend his friend. But Yami took the blame anyway. Told him to "shut up, Seto" before accepting detention. Seto, aside from the fact that he felt really horrible for it, eventually realizing while he was waiting for detention to end that he really had to stop being responsible for bad things happening to his best friend.

Hence, his unnatural vow of silence.

The 'vow of silence' was pretty simple, despite being casuistic and therefore not total silence-ish. The vow allowed him to talk to important people, like Yami and their respective parents-and-or-guardians. But it restricted him from talking to anybody else, even his school teachers. It had been a cause of great concern for their teachers, who went to class and found an uncharacteristically silent Seto Kaiba staring at them and impatiently waiting for them to start. Yami had eventually—maybe he got tired of watching their teachers squirm, Seto mused—explained to them the 'vow of silence' and made them realize it was one of those phases socially stunted geniuses like Seto get stuck with. So things dwindled down after that, and everything went back to normal. Including playground politics, unfortunately.

It was tiring to watch, Seto thought one day over lunch, and sighed.

"You shouldn't let them bother you so much. You already know they're idiots. The more they can rankle you, the likelier that they'll actually do that," Yami advised sagely over a bottle of orange juice and a half-eaten tuna sandwich. They had decided to stay away from the concrete jungle, staying behind the bleachers instead, hidden from everybody else. It was one of the best ideas they've came up with. Seto looked at him before nodding. Yami had a point. But—

"How can you not care?" Seto asked.

Yami shrugged, eyes fixed at the brick walls of the school building.

"I just don't think they matter... if they don't matter, then what they do also don't matter. So there's not much impact on me, I suppose," Yami explained. He wasn't talking about the bullies anymore. That faraway look and wistful tone that Seto easily recognized were symptoms that pointed to Yami's unspoken past. They didn't talk about it that much, the past. Yami blatantly refused to bring it up, and Seto wisely avoided it altogether. Sometimes he'd think Yami's past to be too painful for everyday conversation, if only to justify how it became a taboo topic that it has become. But he also knew Yami—and he knew that Yami kept even the most mundane things a secret. In truth, most of the time Seto didn't know why they didn't talk about the things that they didn't talk about. And he didn't push Yami while Yami kept his mouth shut. It was a mutually beneficial agreement and for so long, it seemed to be a convenient one. For their efforts, Yami had become more open to Seto and quite naturally Seto was pleased about it. But there were some ideas that they didn't easily agree with, and this was one of those.

"What if they do that to Yugi? When he finally goes to school, I mean, and we won't be there to protect him? What if everyone didn't care if he gets hurt?"

Yami didn't immediately answer and Seto had begun to think that it would be one of those taboo things again until Yami met his eyes and smiled.

"I can see that. The point you're trying to make, I mean. And I wouldn't like that to happen to Yugi at all. But at this moment, Yugi isn't going to school and I don't want either of us getting into unwanted trouble, getting hurt or getting detention," his crimson-eyed friend conceded. Tenderly, Yami touched the fading bruise on Seto's jaw line and winced, before he looked up at Seto. "You have to admit. Where the boy punched you, it had hurt. It still does, right?"

There wasn't anything uncommon in the closeness between them, Seto thought, and he nodded, whispering a quick 'yeah' to Yami's question.

"That's why we have to choose our battles. We can't fight them all the time."

Then the bell rang and suddenly lunch time was over. Seto felt marginally better at the compromise and stood up. Until his eyes widened and the jigsaw puzzles in his mind clicked into place. He eyed Yami crossly.

"Hey! You got that from the movie we were watching last week!"

"I know. I understood it, unlike you," Yami cheekily quipped, smiling ever so smugly that Seto wanted to douse him with cold water just for the heck of it. His friend must have caught on the idea because before Seto knew it, Yami had already made a run for the school building, his laughter clear and loud. Seto couldn't help but laugh as well before running after him. He had a grin on his face and a plan at the back of his mind.

"Yeah, you better run!"

-o-o-o-o-o-

At eleven years old, girls had cooties, the other boys were stupid and the place behind the bleachers was the best hideout in the world. Seto couldn't count the number of times he's stayed at Yami's house, or the number of times Yami was in his. They were partners-in-crime, he and Yami, and Seto felt very protective of his friend. (Sometimes to said friend's consternation, but it was a necessary risk, Seto felt.) Being the good friends that they were, they had spent almost every waking hour with each other. Thick as thieves, Grandpa Mutou had often said, and often alone. They hadn't made new friends, which worried the adults but they were nine and they had all the time in the world to enjoy it. Back then, being best friends was easy to pull off.

One year later, when he turned 12, though, Seto found the situation to be a bit more complicated.

Grandpa Mutou had decided to stay with Yami and his family after Yami's mother kicked her boyfriend out. And because Grandpa wanted to help, he opened a game shop, which meant Yami had to lend a hand a lot. Seto would have pitched in and things would have been back to the usual if his mother hadn't requested him to take extra lessons in piano after classes. This left him with barely enough time to hang out with his best friend and it made him utterly miserable.

"It's okay. Things'll get better one day," Yami had said in an attempt to comfort him as they ate their ice cream and watched over Yugi. Seto had stared at him then and thought if it was the truth. Yami would never lie to him, though, and he would never sugarcoat things, no matter how bad things were.

"Easy for you to say. I only see you in class," Seto had answered stubbornly. "I hate piano lessons."

"Well... think about it this way, once you finish you can gloat and boast to me your excellent piano-playing skill. I promise to be jealous. Or at least pretend to be," Yami responded, smiling. Seto felt the twitch in his mouth; knew that it would turn into a smile and he fought it. No, he wasn't going to be comforted about it. Yami had to prod. Just had to be annoyingly insistent about it. "You know I'm right. Just smile already, Seto."

Seto had stuck his tongue out instead and scowled. Which, if he remembered, amused Yami.

At the memory, Seto smiled and sighed heavily. He hasn't seen Yami outside school for several days now, and he was already taking piano lessons for a month. It irritated him. Apparently, it distracted him as well because someone snapped their fingers in front of him and he started.

"Seto, are you well?" his piano teacher asked. She must be frustrated with him. They haven't been improving lately, and he kept making mistakes. It was as if his fingers deliberately bound themselves into knots. And his brain wasn't particularly cooperative, too; shutting down when he needed it to read the notes before him. Seto shook his head. This was ridiculous.

"I'm sorry," he answered.

His teacher used to be a music teacher in the high school nearby. She married her boyfriend at thirty-five, though, and had stopped working. Things hadn't been good to her ever since she miscarried and she had resorted to teaching again as a form of therapy. Maybe to forget about what happened, Seto reasoned. Her gaze fell on him and he swallowed, wondering what she was seeing. Was she seeing how bored he was? How his mistakes and inability to play the notes he read on the music sheet well made him miserable?

"How about we take a break? Just for ten minutes, mind you. You can go outside if you want," she said pleasantly, indicating the slightly opened door. "I'll be here when you come back."

Seto stood up and nodded curtly, "Yes, sensei."

She was disappointed. Seto could see it clearly in her eyes. He was, as well, when he stole a glance at his neighbor's house and found it was closed. Yami wasn't home yet, and he forlornly sat on the pavement instead, watching cars pass by. A group of small kids ran towards his left, playing with their kites and hula hoops, enjoying the remnants of daylight before the sunset. He missed his friend. What was Yami doing? What did it feel like to be surrounded with games and cards? What time would they close the shop this time?

When Seto's vision blacked and stayed as such, his hands went up to his eyes and found them to be covered. His mouth curled into a smirk. Yami's hands were ice-cold. They were more slender than his, and had more calluses. He felt the scar left behind by Yami's accident with the kitchen knife weeks ago, and squeezed gently. Yami chuckled behind him as he grasped Yami's wrists.

"Honestly, Yami."

Seto's mood brightened drastically at Yami's barely restrained laughter. Yami didn't even see his eye roll! Yami removed his hands and sat beside him, grinning rakishly.

"If I didn't know better, I would have elbowed you in the gut and you'd be gasping in pain," Seto chided. He didn't want anyone to touch him without his knowledge. Well, anyone but Yami and the people that mattered. And he didn't want his best friend to fall victim to those impulses of his.

"Of course you would. But you do know better, and I can sleep at night because of that," Yami teased.

Seto laughed and pulled him into an embrace.

"I haven't seen you in a long time! What's been happening to you?"

His best friend shrugged nonchalantly.

"I miss you too, Seto."

"Prat."

"How are your lessons?"

The sight of subtle but disappointed eyes flashed in Seto's mind and just like that, his mood fell drastically. Seto sighed, knowing he had caught Yami's attention. There were questions forming in his friend's mind already, he knew, and he wasn't all that interested in answering them. Not yet, anyway. When he felt Yami's stare, he turned away.

"I don't want to talk about it," he pre-empted, glaring at Yami. It wasn't out of anger. It was a warning to not push it, though, and it seemed Yami wasn't one for threats because he maintained his proximity, touching his shoulder lightly.

"I'm sure you're just distracted," Yami said in an effort to placate him. It was no use. There was no response for that, so Seto decided to stay silent, his head bowed and his thoughts loud. He didn't know what to say, actually, and he couldn't help but frown at his predicament. "Seto?"

"Yeah?"

"You okay?"

"Oh sure. Peachy. I'm great," he muttered sarcastically.

Seto expected a sarcastic and equally-good comeback from the other boy. They were used to the endless banter and didn't just back down that when Yami merely shook his head, gazing at him with soft, understanding eyes, Seto was surprised. And quite annoyed, for some reason. It reminded him of his piano teacher. Of his mother who'd surely be disappointed in him as well. He didn't want that but playing the piano was hard and he kept making mistakes every time.

"Would you like me to watch?" Yami asked, his voice breaking through Seto's wall of depressing thoughts so quickly that the only response Seto came up with was a blank stare. Understanding the reason behind Yami's offer was a complex task. He had to understand Yami's mood first, for instance, or what he was doing before that before he could get the flow of thought. And Yami was fidgeting now, which confused him more.

"Do you want to?" Seto finally said.

"Do you want me to?" Yami threw back.

"If you promise not to laugh."

Seto's words were wary. His eyes cried of suspicion. But he – he was nervous. Caught between wanting Yami to watch him play and not wanting him to be there in case he did mess up. However, his friend had his mind up that instant and nodded.

"I promise I won't laugh," Yami vowed seriously.

"Okay."

It didn't look like a bad idea.

Seto Kaiba's hands were light and slightly shaking on top of the keys of the piano. The notes of Catch A Falling Star still didn't make all that much sense to him at first glance and he knew that Yami sat beside his teacher, waiting. Yami caught his eyes and smiled reassuringly, as if through it he said "You can do it". And Seto thought maybe he could as he closed his eyes. He remembered the song in his head, identified the tunes of piano keys in the song and felt them to be vaguely familiar. For the first time, as he opened his eyes and gazed at the music sheet, his mind was blank and he was calm.

So Seto played.

-o-o-o-o-o-

"How was it?"

Yami briefly looked scandalized – like asking him was a terrible offense. Seto instinctively backed away.

"I thought you said you were horrible!"

Seto flushed before he understood the words, and his eyes widened comically that had it been another time, Yami surely would've laughed.

"I wasn't?"

He made mistakes, he knew. Several of them, in fact, that he was wincing throughout his playing. But Yami was shaking his head and chuckling lightly.

"No, you weren't." Then Yami smirked, eyes glowing with mischief, "You're fishing for compliments, aren't you?"

If it were any possible, Seto reddened more and fidgeted before feeling defensive.

"No, I'm not! Really, though? I wasn't?"

Yami made a face before sighing theatrically. He had closed his eyes to add to the effect before opening one and peeking at Seto. Seto grinned.

"Yes, Seto. You weren't. Stop grinning! I knew it! You are fishing for compliments!"

Seto hugged him instead of answering. It wasn't true anyway. Yami didn't habitually compliment people and when he did, he normally felt uncomfortable about it. It had something to do with not knowing how the person he complimented would react. And it didn't take Yami telling him for him to figure that one out because he could relate.

"Thank you, Yami," he said earnestly.

It was a while before his friend whispered, "Anytime, Seto".

It didn't matter. Seto felt good already.

-o-o-o-o-o-

Friday that week, they were back at Seto's freshly-mowed lawn. Their tent was set up, Seto's mom baked them a fresh batch of cookies and there were no clouds in the sky. They initially feared bad weather upon hearing the day's forecast on TV but it didn't seem to be true so they went ahead with it. While Yami's mom and his dad were still at work, his mom and Grandpa Mutou were amenable to a sleepover in his house anyway. But at 9 o'clock in the evening, neither Seto nor Yami was even close to being sleepy.

"Those stars look a lot like a dragon, don't you think?" Yami pointed.

"No, more of a snake with wings. See? Those are the wings. I don't see any limb," Seto insisted.

"You have no imagination," his friend huffed.

"Hey!"

"It's the truth. I don't like lying, after all. It's bad," Yami explained. At Seto's unrelenting glare, he gave in. "Fine. But it's weird. A snake? With wings? Snakes don't have wings!"

Seto rolled his eyes. Who didn't have an imagination now?

"Don't you ever get tired of insulting me?"

Yami smirked and shook his head. "They aren't true and you know it. It's just your ego that's telling you you're being insulted by me."

"But I don't insult you."

Seto felt himself pouting and he grimaced. He didn't pout!

"Thanks for that," Yami replied and in a quieter voice added, "I'm afraid of you insulting me."

"What?"

"You heard me. Don't make me repeat it. Please."

"Why? You know I'll rarely mean it. Why would I intentionally hurt you?"

"Because other people do. I guess it just follows that you'll do, too. And what if you do eventually mean it? When you insult me, I mean."

They were lying on the grass, underneath a blanket of bright, twinkling stars and Seto rose, leaning on an elbow as he peered into the other boy's eyes. As far as he was concerned, the night sky held no appeal as of the moment, Yami's words running in his mind. Self-consciously, Yami glanced away and remained silent. Maybe regretting saying what he said, Seto thought. He refused to have that. Wasn't he Yami's friend? Last he checked, friends didn't do that to each other. It was ridiculous!

"I promise, I'll never mean it. You have to remember that, though. I'll never mean it. Ever. Besides, what use will that be if I hurt my best friend? That's like hurting myself, and that'll be the stupidest thing I've ever do."

"You don't know that. What if we fight?"

"Then we fight. We'll punch each other and wrestle around. Maybe get dirty and slip in the mud. I'll let you win and you'll think you won without my help, and then Mom will bake cookies. The end," Seto responded quickly, shrugging at Yami's incredulous stare. No matter if he wasn't exactly the 'fist and fight' kind, but Yami didn't need to know that.

"Seriously now, Seto!"

Seto sighed.

"Honestly, Yami. You've got to learn to trust me. I know I'm stupid sometimes but I'm not that stupid. I trust you. Isn't that worth something at least?"

"A penny."

"Now who's not being serious?"

"Okay, okay. It means a lot. Really," Yami declared. "It means a lot more than anything in the world."

"Good."

Feeling the discussion to be over, Seto went back to lying down and watched the sky before nudging Yami and pointing at a distance.

"Look Yami! The North Star!"

He knew that when he turned away for a minute, Yami smiled, and he secretly smiled back.

It was all about trust.

TBC