Seto noted with scowling disbelief the look of overwhelming pain and fear that crumpled the nutcase's proud, stern face, into a twisted mask of anguish. Seto, and a sense of compassion were as linked as oil and fire, Seto knew. But, something compelled him to bite back the scathing remark. As irritating as this situation was, and as intrusive on his life, Seto's legendary egotism was largely a myth, and he earnestly did not seek to willingly wound for the hell of it. It was petty, and beneath him, of course. But, from the raw brutality he had been subjected to by his cruel step-father, and recoiling at the memory of how much it had hurt to be crushed for no reason, other than it was permitted...was just wrong.
And it was that belief that kept him from chewing on Yami's tortured hesitation, but it was not enough to override his scowl, or the fingers latching on Yami's effort to haul him forward into the Gameshop. Seto was suprised to feel both the taunt muscles underneath the shaking wrist, and the fact that attempting to force Yami into moving forward was like attempting to haul a mountain from its roots. Granted, he was almost as much a runt as Yugi, but he had the same wiry, sinuwed muscles that made him much stronger than he appeared to be. Clearly, there would be no moving him forward. Seto dropped the deathgrip on his arm with a deepening frown of puzzlement.
"What is wrong with you? You wanted to see Yugi. We're here." Seto glared to see Yami's eyes and jaw fall open wide, the violet glazing over with an expression of absolute, transfixed terror, before he wrenched his eyes away, and stared up at Kaiba, rather stupidly.
"We shouldn't be here." The answer was soft, and anguished, as Yami's body convulsed in a bone-gripping tremor. "I apologize...I've made a horrific mistake in coming here."
Yami bowed his head, put his shaking palms to his tearing eyes, and bolted, only to collide violently with Seto. The billionaire was almost knocked on his rear, and staggered backwards to avoid an inelegant sprawl across the wilting grass. He gave Yami a look of sheer venom, before grinding out between his clenched teeth, "And you're going to make an even bigger one if you don't grow a spine and talk to the damned Motos! I didn't waste my time in driving you out here only to have you melt down on the front lawn like a sniveling, spoiled brat! I have no intention of having some weird ass-ghost floating around in my head any longer than I have to! Now, get a spine, be a man, and talk to Yugi!!"
Yami wrenched his limb out of Seto's punishing grip, twisted his whole body out of reach, as he spun on his heel, in another effort to bolt. Yami yelped in shock and blinding panic as he felt his collar being abruptly yanked at least two feet in the air, as Seto hauled him upward with a grunt, and proceeded to shake the hell out of him. Yami's stomache and wounded rib collided with the concrete, as Seto dropped him on the front step in one crushed heap, and a disgusted shake of his head.
Seto saw his face go alabaster as he raised trembling, sprawled arms out in a futile attempt to rise from the blinding pain of his now reinjured rib, and inwardly flinched at the sharp, undeniable whimper of pain that emerged unwillingly from Yami.
It was at that horrific moment that the front door flew open with a loud bang. Seto Kaiba suddenly found himself face to face with a very perturbed Solomon Moto, who took one look at Yami's wilted hurt, and Seto's raised arm. The old man growled like a bulldog, waddled forward, and Seto promptly found himself on the recieving end of a very efficicently wielded broom, as Solomon Moto squawked in outrage, and proceeded to nearly blind Seto with the strawed end to his eyes.
Seto snarled, lunged forward, and snatched the broom away, and broke the wooden handle over one knee, sending splinters showering down his freshly pressed trousers, before he flung the sticks down, and hissed out, "If you dare lay one more hand on me, old man, I'll beat you senseless!"
Soloman slank back with narrowed eyes, as he sent Yami a disbelieving, troubled glance, lanced with wonder. "My boy,...it is hard to believe that it is really you, Yami." He whispered softly, offering his arms wide in a welcoming embrace.
Yami started trembling again, staring at those outstretched arms as if Solomon were welding knives, before he shook his head, in tears. "Understand, please...please understand, sir. I can't stand that..not yet..."
Solomon dropped his arms, hurt and understanding glittering in his eyes, as he nodded in sad acceptance.
"I understand, my boy, why you would never want to be touched again."
There was a huff of dismissal that made Yami turn around, as Kaiba groused, "And where is your twin? Isn't Moto the whole reason why we're here?"
Solomon glared up at Kaiba, with a scowl just as dark as Kaiba's. "And what does any of this have to do with you, young man?"
Seto's eyes bulged, as he jabbed a finger at Yami. "That freakshow has been running around in my skull for the past few days, and claims that Yugi is his...host."
Solomon grunted, with a curt nod, before finally stepping aside his door. "Perhaps explanations would be easier if we were all seated inside where it's warm."
"Besides, Yami...I'd like a word with you before you see Yugi...There's a rather disturbing developement that you might need to be aware of."
Seto groused with irritation behind them, as he snapped, "And what sort of 'disturbing developement' could possibly be more bizzare than what I've experienced, old man?! Enough dancing around the bull. I want answers!"
Solomon only slid knowing, narrowed eyes up to Kaiba, and shook his head. "Oh, don't worry your big head too much, my boy. You'll see soon enough. And I'd advise you to keep your complaints down, please. Yugi is sleeping at the moment, and I don't want him disturbed until I have some answers. Is that clear?"
To his suprise, Kaiba found himself almost meekly nodding at the old man's wagging finger to his face, with another scowl. Yami had gone pale and trembling even more, and Solomon sincerely worried the poor boy was going to faint right there. With a warning glare to Kaiba, Solomon stepped aside, and allowed them admission to the humble living room.
To Seto, it was an inconvient necessity to hopefully be endured for a bit, but for Yami, it was torture. He nearly shrieked in panic when Solomon's gentle hand brushed the back of his neck, and he sank bonelessly into the familiar cushions of the couch..the same couch that Solomon had nursed him through his first panic, the same couch where he had perched less than 5 days ago, in the hope of recovering from his wounds, less than ten feet from the location where Yugi had tried to stomp his life out. So much suffering, and so much hope lost. Another safe haven torn from his trembling his fingers. Yami's searching eyes fell on Seto's frown, that was gathering force like a thundercloud, as he looked both confused, and condensendingly calculating.
His brow furrowed as Yami only stared up at him.
Truth be told, to see that brittle, haunted look in his eyes, and that slump of sheer despair made Seto extremely uncomfortable, and stirred what little empathy he had enough to attempt to offer some reassurance. With a sigh heaved out with extreme relunctance, Seto begrudgeingly bestowed the closest thing to comfort he could come up with.
"Quit looking like such a whipped puppy, runt! This situation is going to be over with shortly."
Yami only troubled himself to raise a non-plussed eyebrow, and comment apathetically, "Is that so, Kaiba? Since you seem to be so knowledgable about the odd peculiarities about our situation, perhaps you may demonstrate your brilliance more than your ego and tell me exactly how you plan on solving this problem.
Or, do you fully understand the ramifications of what is going on, yet?"
Seto only shook his head, bitterly. "I don't understand any of this. I don't get how the hell I wound up with a spirit running around in my head, I don't get how I got involved in any of this! The only thing I ever did was have a face that resembles the bastard who killed you, and give Yugi a ride home one day! How in the hell did it spiral to this level?!"
Yami only slumped miserably, and curled into himself even more. "I don't know, Kaiba. And for that, I'm sorry." His soft answer was waved away by Seto's hand, as he sat back in the chair.
"Spare me the dramatics. If your apologies fixed any of this, it would be fixed by now, don't you think?"
Yami just curled into himself further, with a sigh. "Then do me a favor, and desist in speaking of this subject. I know the damage that's been done to you. I know the damage that I've sustained, and seem to bring to everybody around me. And I have no idea how to stop it, so, kindly shut the hell up about it, to quote you, please."
He heard Seto's grunt, and then the remarkably kind answer, for Seto, anyway, "You didn't damage me that much. Don't flatter yourself. If you give up now...then I'll be stuck in this situation, and I really don't want that."
Solomon had watched their exchange with misplaced amusement, before he cleared his throat for their attention. Little did he know that Yugi had awoken from his uneasy slumber, and had forced himself to come down the stairs at the sound of Yami's voice.
It was not brutality of a fist that made Yugi's heart ache so much. He would have prefered Yami's unleashed rage in all its cleansing fire to burn him away completely, than stand there, in rooted swoon, and forced to stare at Yami's reaction to his sudden appearance.
Yami was stricken with blinding, choking fear, as the tidal wave of memories, and suffering all swirled in their cruel chaos, churning over every rational thought and drowning him in too much sensation on a level that was far deeper than mere pain.
Yami would have been grateful if he had fainted on the spot, or died in earnest, if it meant finally being out of the clutches of such terror and hopeless despair. Anything would be kinder than being ressurrected into this tormenting nightmare that not even death could free him from.
Seto's all-too perceptive ceralian eyes narrowed, as he saw the torment radiating from the two, Yugi stricken by guilt, and sorrow, and Yami paralyzed by the memories of pain he honestly did not know how to handle at the moment. The old man seemed to be equally transfixed, and caught in the collective stupor that his two freakshow grandkids had so readily allowed, and it sickened Seto, more than disgusted him.
With uncertain resolve, Seto straightened, and strode to the center of the pervervse circle, with a grunt.
"As much as I hate to intrude on this loving little reunion of the runt family, all of this pathetic reminiscing is detracting from the time we have to find a timely solution of getting this spirit out of my head, and ending my involvement in this sick little affair. And, Yami, if you are as old as you claim, then surely you should understand that sh-- happens, and you need to grow the hell up and move on!"