Seto strode through the hallway back into his room, biting back a surprised gasp as he saw Yami sitting on his bed once again, remote in hand, tapping excitedly through the channels on the TV.
Yami dropped the remote in shock when he saw his owner step into the room, staring right at him. Frozen with panic, Yami stared back at his owner with wide eyes.
He thought his owner was going to enjoy Mokuba's hole!
Were they done already?!
Seto waved the math sheets in front of him casually and walked towards his desk, noticing that Yami was once again on guard.
Yami blinked, staring at the sheets covered in his own numbers.
Seto sighed and sat down in his chair, pulling out the Arabic translation dictionary, the sounds of the TV ringing in his ears. He studied a few phrases, flipping back and forth between pages, memorizing the characters and sounds. Exhaustion was settling heavily on his shoulders.
Yami watched his owner flip through the dictionary; he was sitting very still for a very long time, looking worn out but determined. Was his owner studying the language?
"Do you want a teacher for this subject too?" Seto asked slowly, feeling his tongue twist oddly around the new sounds that were coming out of his mouth.
Yami kept his eyes on the TV and didn't move, shocked to the core. His owner could somehow speak his language perfectly, using only the dictionary!
"Yami, I'm talking to you. Fucking look at me," Seto said stiffly, slamming the dictionary shut and moving to stand.
Suddenly very afraid, Yami slid off of the bed and stood by the side, his knees trembling as he stared into his owner's handsome face, which was frowning at him.
"I-I am…looking at you," Yami managed, swallowing the thick lump that was choking him as he spoke. His owner was fluent in cursing too! How terrifying!
If I curse back at him, that means he'll understand me perfectly, Yami realized with a terrible jolt.
"Yes or no?" Seto asked, fully aware that Yami was very shaken. Good. That meant he was being understood.
The boy was staring with eyes so wide, he could see the whites all around his dark violet irises.
Yami tried to calm his pounding heart as he fully registered what his owner was asking.
Did he want a teacher for…what subject? The numbers and shapes?
It didn't matter.
The answer was yes.
Yes, to any teacher, for any other subjects!
If his owner wanted to educate him further, then he would willingly cooperate!
"Yes," Yami whispered fearfully, unaware that he was gripping the hem of his shirt so tightly his palms were sweating.
"Good. That's all I wanted to hear." Seto said arrogantly, reverting to Japanese and moving to sit back down at his desk. He slid his phone out and tapped around on the screen, searching for the contact number for one of his previous math tutors.
Yami bit his tongue painfully, feeling his eyes water. That was terrifying. He liked it better when his owner didn't speak at all.
He stared at the TV, the faces blurring mightily in his vision.
The newscaster was talking very quickly, but the screen suddenly changed and began playing the children's cartoon with the stitched puppets.
Astounded, Yami stared at the remote which lay at on the bed, untouched, watching his owner put his phone in his pocket and move towards the bed.
H-How?!
Had his owner changed the TV by using his phone?
Or with the power of his mind?!
Was there a second remote?
Yami's fear quickly evaporated as his mind spun with unanswered questions.
Seto slipped underneath the comforter and shivered. Fuck, the bed was cold. He slipped his phone out once more and adjusted the temperature of the room, watching Yami move quietly towards the connecting door, aiming to go back into the other room.
Seto grit his teeth and patted the spot beside him on the bed, calling out, "Yami."
Yami swallowed tensely and turned around, watching his owner pat the bed and point at the TV as if he was saying, "Sit here and watch this with me."
"Come on." Seto said quietly. He watched Yami hesitate for a long moment before approaching him cautiously, hovering by the edge of the bed before climbing in beside him.
Yami slid so deeply beneath the covers that only the tips of his spiky hair protruded from the edge of the comforter.
He felt his cheeks heating up so much that his eyes burned as his owner's sweet scent drifted up around him.
He hated himself.
Why did he have to do everything this man asked of him?
He wanted to be left alone for the night.
Why did he have to enjoy the way his owner smelled?
He wanted to cry himself to sleep, undisturbed.
Why couldn't his owner smell as foul as the words he used?
Yami cursed himself as he felt hot tears slide down his face, pooling wetly beneath his ears, staining the pillow.
Seto blinked, watching Yami cocoon oddly underneath the covers.
He gave the cocoon a light pat, trying to guess where Yami's shoulder might be. "Yami…"
Yami heard his owner speak his name gently and he shook his head furiously, feeling his entire body heat up with embarrassment and anger. He didn't want to show his owner he was crying. He was being stupid.
It was getting hot and stuffy underneath the covers.
The thickness made it hard to breathe.
"Yami…?" Seto repeated worriedly, giving the rolled up lump a gentle shake.
Yami didn't move.
Seto gripped the top edge of the comforter and gave the sheets a hard tug, watching Yami's face appear beneath him, his cheeks shining with tears.
Seto blinked and felt his chest tighten with panic.
This was bad. Why was he crying?
"Don't cry." Seto said stupidly, peeling the covers back even further, and watching Yami press a hand to his mouth to suppress a hiccupping sob.
Oh fuck.
Yami's shoulders shook violently and he found that he couldn't stop crying. He tried to hide his face in his hands, but they were pulled away gently. Somehow, that made him cry even harder.
He heard his owner speak kindly to him and a cold hand on his back helped him sit up.
Yami took deep gasping breaths, staring down at his own fists which were gripping the sheets, his tears dotting the surface as they streamed down his face uncontrollably.
Suddenly, his owner pulled him into a crushing embrace, and he felt strong arms wrap around his body, holding him steady.
Yami tried his best to hold his breath, to hold in the sob that was rising up from his chest, but he failed. It was like a stopper had been pulled, and he was crying all the tears he had been holding in since the very beginning.
They were tears of fear, happiness, despair, relief, and frustration.
Yami felt as if he was crying out every emotion he had ever felt in his entire life.
It suddenly hit him that going home was no longer an option.
His world had changed forever and he wasn't adapting fast enough.
He was going to live in this country forever, or die trying to leave.
His face was pressed into his owner's shoulder and Yami could feel himself exploding from the inside, no longer trying to stifle his own sobs.
This man was kind…! His owner, Seto.
He was trying to help, by giving him language lessons, and hiring all sorts of teachers for all kinds of subjects. That was probably why Mokuba studied hard too.
After a while, Yami finally managed to calm himself down. He could feel his lungs hurting as his owner leaned back slightly and he could see the dark stain of his tears sitting in a large, wet patch on his owner's shirt.
Yami trembled, thankful that he had managed to stop crying, feeling his eyelids swell as he blinked and his face stung from his tears.
Seto carefully slid out of the bed and walked into the bathroom. He grabbed a small washcloth and dipped it under a rush of steaming hot water before returning to the bed and handed it to Yami.
Yami gently lifted the hot washcloth from his owner's hands and pressed it against his face, feeling himself growing calmer and calmer.
The heat from the cloth was helping immensely.
Yami turned his face gingerly and rubbed at his swollen eyelids.
His owner's hand pressed into his face, holding the hot cloth firmly against his skin.
"Don't rub your eyes." Seto said stiffly, watching the boy take a deep breath and exhale slowly into the washcloth.
Yami felt his owner press the cloth tighter into his face and the heat seeped evenly into his swollen cheeks. After a while, the cloth left his face and the warm air in the room felt balmy against his skin.
Yami felt instantly refreshed and he sat up straighter, blinking slowly, and forcing himself to take deep, even breaths.
That was horrible. He hadn't cried like that in a long time.
In fact, he couldn't remember the last time he had cried like that.
Deeply embarrassed, Yami lowered his head and moved to lean into the pillows.
"Wait…" Seto said quickly, moving towards the door. "Let's get something to drink."
Yami blinked, only understanding the word, "wait."
Seto pointed at the door and gestured for Yami to follow. Yami slid out of the bed, feeling his legs shake as they hit the floor and he followed his owner out the door.
They made their way quietly down the large staircase and into the dining area, which was lit up with lowlights.
Yami appreciated the soft glow of the warm yellow lights coming from behind each of the white cabinets. Pretty….
He watched his owner swing the refrigerator open and pull out a square bottle of what looked like medicine.
Yami blinked. Were they going to be drinking this?
His owner grabbed a second dark colored bottle and set them on the counter.
What was happening?
Seto popped the cap off the soda and handed it to Yami, watching Yami's lower lip tremble as he blinked his large, violet eyes. Drink.
Yami shook his head tightly, feeling his anxiety rise. What was this strange dark colored drink?! Medicine?
Seto took a sip first and then handed it back to Yami, watching him nod and accept it with both hands.
Yami took a tentative sip, incredibly surprised to find that it was fizzy and sweet. Smiling slightly, he took another long sip, watching his owner unscrew the cap off the square bottle and grab a round glass from the cabinets.
Seto poured half a glass and capped the liquor quickly. It had been a while since he had behaved this destructively. He had vowed not to touch alcohol since Yami had arrived in the house...but he was breaking that personal rule quickly.
Yami stared at the amber liquid in the cup and his owner slid it towards him, nodding and pointing at both drinks. Drink both.
Seto watched Yami hesitate and shake his head. Biting back a frustrated sigh, he grabbed the glass off the counter and took one large gulp, feeling the liquid burn his throat. He handed the glass to Yami, watching him stare into the cup.
Drink….Seto growled internally, tapping the back of Yami's hand and pushing the glass up to his lips.
Yami felt his eyes water as he caught a whiff of the liquid. He trembled and gripped the glass tightly.
This was…hard liquor!
He had only tasted this one other time in his life, when he had stolen a bottle off of a merchant's cart, and he'd had to hide from marketplace security for a whole week afterwards!
Without wasting a second, Yami downed the entire glass in two gulps, appreciating the way his tongue and mouth burned as the liquid slid down his throat.
Seto watched, astounded, as Yami tipped the glass back with familiar ease.
Ohoho, Seto thought gleefully as he realized drinking was something Yami also enjoyed.
Yami let his breath out in a slow sigh, feeling the liquid pool warmly in his stomach. He glanced at the bottle sitting on the counter, wondering if he could have more. Would his owner give him more?
Just a little more…enough to let him feel…nothing, just for a moment.
That would be wonderful.
"…Please." Yami said, holding the glass out towards his owner. "Thank you."
He didn't know how to say "another", but his owner understood immediately, uncapping the bottle and pouring him another half-glass.
A bit too much, Yami thought faintly, but he wasn't complaining. He knew that he would vomit if he drank too much. He took one last gulp and set the glass down onto the counter with a clink, feeling the warmth spread throughout his being and cause his fingertips to tingle.
A deep appreciation for his owner was growing.
Seto watched Yami take a sip, leaving a bit of liquor at the bottom of his glass. He grabbed it and downed the rest quickly before shoving the liquor back into the fridge, aiming to get the bottle out of his sight.
Yami set the glass down and picked up the fizzy drink, sipping it, enjoying how the sweetness dulled out the bitterness at the back of his throat.
He watched his owner walk to the back of the room and pull aside the satin curtains, revealing a large glass door leading to the outside. Yami felt his heart leap up in his chest, and he rushed over to stand beside his owner, watching him unhook the latch and slide the door aside.
The cool night air rushed in and stung Yami's cheeks.
His owner took a step out onto the concrete, leaping down the stone steps and onto the grass.
Seto held out his hand, pointing at Yami's drink, indicating he should set it down. Yami placed the drink carefully on the stone step in front of him and then grabbed his owner's hand. He was pulled strongly forwards, the tips of his feet barely touched the stone before he landed softly on the grass beside his owner.
Yami felt the cold grass seep through his toes and he took a deep breath, gazing up at the black sky, where the silver stars blinking merrily down at him. Beautiful.
Seto raised his arms up and stretched lightly, suppressing a yawn. He hoped this was helping the boy calm down. He took a few long strides across the grass, stretching his legs, feeling stiff.
Yami copied his owner, bravely taking a few steps forward, shuffling his feet, enjoying the way the grass felt between his toes. He jutted up on his toes and rocked back and forth on his heels, feeling his spirits rise.
This was a beautiful garden, even though everything was dark, Yami could make out a white stone path and flower bushes.
Suddenly, Yami heard rustling in the darkness and he tensed.
Was it a wild animal?
He glanced around frantically, realizing his owner had disappeared.
The rustling stopped and Yami heard footsteps approaching him from behind.
He whirled around to find his owner standing before him in the semi-darkness, holding out a dark pink flower with large petals.
Yami blinked, his heart skipping a beat as he stared at the large flower.
Was his owner giving this to him? Like he was a girl?
His owner raised the flower up higher and Yami lifted it out of his owner's hands, feeling his heart pounding furiously in his chest as their fingers touched slightly.
"Let's go back inside." Seto said quietly, pointing at the glass door, feeling goosebumps rise up along his arms from the cold.
Yami nodded, cupping the flower in his palms. He saw his owner walk inside and pick his drink up from the top step, and he hurried after him and feeling instantly warmer as the door slid shut behind them.
He followed his owner up the stairs and back into the room, staring at the flower in his hands, realizing that the color was actually a light pink.
It was very pretty and the petals rounded out at pointed tips, flowing out past the edges of his hand. In fact, the flower looked like an elegantly spiked star.
Seto felt his chest grow warm as he watched Yami balance the large flower gently in his hands.
"Magnolia." He said quietly, pointing at the flower.
Yami lifted his gaze to meet his owner's deep blue eyes, "Magnolia." He repeated, feeling his tongue curl strangely. This was the name of the flower.
Seto felt himself smile and he walked into the bathroom, grabbing a fresh towel, he dipped it beneath running water again and approached Yami with it, pointing at his feet.
Yami blinked and nodded, setting the flower gently down on the edge of the bed and obediently lifted his foot.
Seto bent down and grabbed ahold of Yami's ankle, giving the bottom of his foot a firm wipe. He felt Yami lose his balance slightly and a strong hand came down on his shoulder.
Yami's face heated up as his owner diligently knelt to the ground and cleaned the bottoms of both his feet, using soft, gentle motions as the towel grazed along his heel. He could feel his throat closing up as he watched his owner clean his own feet and walk back into the bathroom quickly.
He glanced at the flower on the edge of the bed and back down at his slightly damp toes, feeling his eyes heat up dangerously again.
His owner climbed into bed and patted the spot beside him. This time, Yami didn't hesitate at all before climbing into the sheets, carefully setting the flower on the nightstand beside him. He stared at the open petals, his heart racing in his chest.
He felt his owner settle in beside him and he stared at the rolled-up lump on the far side of the bed. His toes were cold. Why was his owner sleeping so far away?
Yami inched up beside his owner and pressed his face warmly into his owner's back, inhaling deeply, feeling himself relax.
This was happiness. He was sure of it.
Suddenly, his owner shifted and turned over onto his side, staring deeply into his eyes.
Yami's breath hitched painfully in his throat as he gazed back at his owner, watching him blink softly.
His eyes were thin and angular.
Handsome.
His owner carefully extracted a hand out from beneath the sheets and placed it against his cheek.
Yami blinked rapidly, feeling his heart rate increase and his body heated up instantly.
Seto gently swept his thumb across the top of Yami's cheek, brushing back a strand of light blonde hair.
Yami inched his face closer, so close that their foreheads touched and Seto could smell the sweetness from Yami's breath. He smelled like sugar and liquor. Holy fuck….this boy was addicting.
Yami struggled to keep his eyes open, feeling impossibly hot as he pressed his forehead tightly against his owner's, breathing in his unique scent.
He wanted a kiss. Could they kiss?
Yami shut his eyes and relished in the feeling of his owner's hand brushing across his face. It felt good. His hand was cool against his heated skin.
Seto saw Yami's eyes flutter shut and he couldn't help himself. He pressed his lips tightly across the bridge of Yami's nose and felt Yami jerk his head up to meet his lips. Suddenly, they were kissing deeply, furiously, passionately, with tongue and teeth and roaming hands.
Yami could barely breathe as he was flooded with too many sensations at once. His owner's hand was cupping his face tightly as a hot tongue slid in and out of his mouth. Teeth nibbled gently across his lower lip and then moved back to suck gently across the tip of his tongue. This felt good! Heavenly!
Seto could feel himself melting as Yami parted his mouth and responded with equal enthusiasm, tasting like a bittersweet mint. He felt himself grow aroused almost instantly. Yami shivered pleasurably beside him as he bucked his hips forwards without thinking, feeling the tip of his dick press firmly into the mattress.
Shit. This was bad.
'No sex on the bed' was another personal rule he was trying to uphold!
Seto pulled away with an enormous effort, feeling his head spin and his lips swell. His dick throbbed and he cursed. Fuck. He was itching to jerk off.
Seto struggled to sit up, feeling Yami twist and shift beside him restlessly. He would take care of it in the bathroom…away from Yami.
Yami blinked and bit back a disappointed gasp, watching his owner make move, as if to leave. No! Why was he leaving?
Yami lunged forwards and threw his arms around his owner's waist, forcefully pulling him back down into the bed, hearing his owner hiss and try to wrench him off.
"Get off me!" Seto growled, feeling Yami's arms stiffen around his waist considerably.
Yami blinked, his heart thundering in his chest as he completely understood what his owner had just said. "Get off me!"
Yami released his owner slowly, a dark feeling swirling in his chest.
Why?
Why?
Why?
That was the only thought that echoed around in Yami's head as he stared down at his own knees, clenching his fists tightly.
Was it because his owner still preferred Mokuba?
Was it because his owner didn't actually like him? How hurtful! How disappointing.
Which was it? Was it all of those things, or none of those things?
Why was his owner treating him gently if he didn't want to do these things with him?
What did he have to do to make his owner like him more? Give him his hole?
But they had made a written agreement about never touching his hole!
Seto had his legs swung over the edge of the bed and was about to stand up, but he took one look at Yami's face and froze.
Yami was wearing the darkest expression he had ever seen.
Had Yami understood him? Seto realized he had no way of knowing.
Panicking, Seto eased back onto the bed, making sure to keep his legs above the comforter and patting the spot beside him carefully, "I didn't mean that. Let's sleep." He would sleep at his desk after he calmed Yami back down…again.
This situation was totally his fault. A slip of his judgement.
Yami raised his head up and glared at him, suddenly looking very angry and determined.
Seto felt his heart stop in his chest. "What?"
Suddenly, Yami was on top of him, grabbing him by the shoulders, his legs tightly straddling his waist.
Seto swallowed nervously and propped himself up on his elbows, trying not to enjoy the feeling of Yami's weight on top of him.
"Congrats, you're on top of me." Seto said dryly, feeling his heart skip several beats as he spoke. "What are you going to do now? You clearly don't know what you're doing."
Yami couldn't understand him, right?
Right?
Yami narrowed his eyes at his owner, feeling a swirl of resentment rise up in his chest. Was this man making fun of him? His tone of voice sounded mocking!
Suddenly, his owner sat up so quickly, Yami lost his balance and he fell onto his side with a soft oof!
Seto yanked the covers up and pressed them down around Yami's body, wrapping him firmly beneath the sheets, watching him flail and struggle to fight back.
Yami felt his owner leaning heavily down on top of him, keeping him trapped beneath the bed sheets, seemingly trying to wrestle with him. He kicked out and felt his owner press his ankles firmly down into the mattress, hissing, "Stop it!"
Yami stilled, his heart thundering in his chest as he popped his head out from under the sheets, staring at his owner who was looking back at him with a wild-eyed expression. His owner looked slightly afraid.
Yami sat up slowly and nodded. I'll stop.
Seto patted the pillows furiously, trying to calm his racing heartbeat, "Sleep."
He watched Yami nod and lay down obediently, blinking his large violet eyes at him in the semi-darkness.
Thank god.
Yami watched his owner lay down beside him and turn away pointedly, his sighs audible throughout the spacious room.
Irritated, Yami turned over on his side too, staring at the flower on the nightstand, and feeling his cheeks burn. His owner was good at giving mixed signals. Deciding not to think about it any further lest he lose his mind, Yami shut his eyes gently and felt himself drifting off.
Seto lay very still, listening to the sound of Yami's breathing evening out steadily.
He heard a soft knock at his door and he sat up slowly, feeling his head spin from exhaustion. What the fuck did Isono want at this hour?
He slid off the bed and shuffled to the door, surprised to see Mokuba yawning sleepily up at him while rubbing his eyes.
"Mokuba…?" Seto felt his chest tighten nervously and he wondered if he had woken his younger brother on accident.
"Seto…I wanna sleep with you tonight." Mokuba said groggily, staring at the rolled-up lump of covers on one side of the bed. His eyes widened immediately and his voice caught in his throat. Was that…Yami?!
He glanced up at his older brother, who looked extremely tired and slightly embarrassed.
Fine. Whatever. Seto could sleep in the middle.
Mokuba plodded over to the bed and climbed up, sitting on the very edge, watching Seto hover by the door uncertainly.
"C'mon." Mokuba whispered insistently, patting the mattress quietly. "I won't sleep next to him. You will."
Seto curled his fingers into his palms, feeling them grow damp, "What if I don't want to?"
"Then…make him go back into his room!" Mokuba hissed fervently, pointing at the adjoining door and sticking his feet solidly underneath the covers.
"He just fell asleep!" Seto hissed back, feeling his irritation rise. God, what the fuck did he do to deserve this?!
"Then sleep here!" Mokuba said, raising his whisper threateningly, pointing at the space next to him.
Seto could feel an exhaustion headache coming on. Fine. Fucking fine.
Whatever. Whatever!
He stormed over to the bed and gave Mokuba a firm nudge, "Move over."
Mokuba grinned triumphantly as he let his brother slide into the covers beside him, watching him carefully inch closer towards Yami, extremely glad that the bed was so large.
"Happy now?" Seto asked tiredly, not bothering to whisper anymore. He was half-hoping Yami would wake up, see them, and get up to leave.
"Yes." Mokuba said happily, snuggling down beside his older brother, enjoying the scent of coffee rising up from the pillows beneath his head. "'night Seto. Don't forget your promise."
Seto blinked, feeling his heart skip a beat. What promise?
Oh, the beach.
Right.
"I'll take you there, even if you don't do well on the test Mokuba." He said lightly, and he waited for a response. When there was none, he glanced down beside him and noticed that Mokuba had drifted off, snoring lightly with his mouth slightly open. Cute.
Sighing heavily, Seto inched down lower into the sheets, feeling unnaturally warm. Yami's heat coming from his left was almost stifling, and Mokuba's arm draped over his waist prevented him from making any sudden movements.
He closed his eyes and resigned himself to sleeping terribly for the night.
Yami shivered slightly in his sleep and he rolled over, his hand brushing across an arm that was draped over his leg. His eyes shot open and he realized he was nose-to-nose with his owner. What was even stranger, was the tiny foot that was sticking out from over the top of his owner's head.
Yami held his breath, his heart thudded loudly in his chest as he processed what was happening. He watched his owner shift in his sleep, leaning forwards so much that his head slipped past his shoulder and landed on his chest.
Yami blinked, suddenly wide awake as he felt his owner's arm wrap slowly around his waist.
The tiny foot probably belonged to Mokuba.
Mokuba had somehow snuck into the bed while they were sleeping, and his sleeping posture was horrendous.
Seto felt his cheek grow warm and he gently lifted his eyelids, feeling something very hard pressing into his back. He stiffened and realized it was Mokuba as he could hear his younger brother's snores echoing gently around in the room.
He lifted his head slightly and frowned down at his pillow, suddenly realizing it wasn't a pillow at all.
It was Yami's chest, and his arm was draped casually around Yami's waist. Worst of all, Yami was wide awake, staring at him unblinkingly.
Trying to contain his panic, Seto pushed himself off of Yami and felt Mokuba's leg ease off his back. His face burning and purposefully avoiding Yami's gaze, he backed up on his hands and knees and sat up carefully, feeling strangely lightheaded.
Yami sat up slowly too, staring at Mokuba splayed out on the bed beside him, his feet resting messily across the pillows where his owner's head had been just moments ago. He watched his owner palm his face sleepily and inch carefully off the bed, clearly trying not to wake Mokuba.
He watched his owner slide off the bed and make his way quietly into the bathroom. The sound of rushing water echoed lightly around the room and the door panned open quietly.
To Yami's immense displeasure, Isono bowed into the room carrying a silver tray with his owner's foul drink.
Isono set the coffee down on Master Kaiba's desk without making eye contact and hurried out of the room, pointedly ignoring the fact that both the foreign boy and Mokuba were in Kaiba's bed.
Yami watched with increasing interest as his owner stepped out of the bathroom in a cloud of hot steam and moved towards the closet.
Seto grit his teeth, cursing himself for forgetting to bring a change of clothes into the bathroom…again. He slid his closet doors aside and lifted out an outfit, trying his best to ignore the heat from Yami's gaze setting his back on fire as he buttoned his shirt and stepped into his trousers.
Throwing a tie carelessly around his neck, he slipped on his blazer and grabbed his briefcase, downing his coffee in one gulp, he moved towards the door, still feeling Yami's eyes on him as he did so.
Yami blinked, his breath hitching painfully in his throat as his owner made direct eye contact with him, standing in the doorway looking extremely handsome with the top two buttons on his shirt undone and a tie draped loosely around his neck.
"I'm heading out." Seto said automatically, moving to shut the door behind him, forgetting that Yami couldn't understand him.
"Take care." Yami replied automatically.
He gripped the sheets so tightly his knuckles hurt, wondering what possessed him to respond. Maybe it was from writing and repeating the phrases countless times during his studies.
Seto blinked, thoroughly shaken. He gripped the door handle so tightly that he felt his palm slip. What?
Yami held his breath nervously, watching his owner stare at him with a wide-eyed expression. Had he said it incorrectly?
His owner turned and shut the door with a soft clack!
Yami blinked and tried not to feel offended.
He slid out of bed with shaking legs and made sure to shove the covers all towards Mokuba's side of the bed.
Yami made his way over to his room and felt his stomach grumble. He glanced at the low table, wondering why the servant hadn't left food there like he usually did.
Annoyed, Yami strode to his door and pulled it open forcefully, stunned when he realized…his door was open!
The servant had stupidly forgotten to lock it!
Idiot. Yami thought happily, stepping out into the quiet hallway. He made sure to lock the door behind him.
Yami hurried down the stairs and dashed down one long hallway, reaching the very end, he leaned the door open and stepped into a dark room. The silence rang heavily in his ears as he allowed his eyes to adjust to the darkness. There was no light except for small slivers of sun coming from a row of very thin, rectangular windows, set high up along the opposite wall. Patting the wall frantically, Yami's fingers found the light switch and a warm glow flooded the room.
Yami gasped, staring at a row of the most beautiful cars he had ever seen. They were all different shapes and sizes, many were sharp and angular, and their door handles gleamed back at him under the bright lights.
Swallowing nervously, Yami inched towards a door he saw on the opposite side of the room. To his surprise, this door was unlocked too. Hastily leaning it open, Yami stepped outside, squinting as the harsh sunlight reflected off the white pavement.
Yami could feel his fear and anxiety rising as he gazed out across the expansive property, green grass stretching out in front of him as far as his eye could see.
There were no walls like in the garden out back.
Was this…the front or a side of the house? Where was the black gate?
Shaken, Yami closed the door and walked back into the house, quietly stepping into the dark hallway. He stared at the large paintings hanging from the walls, hearing his own heartbeat thundering in his ears as he dipped into another room.
His gaze landed on a large table with green felt, and large numbered balls were laid out neatly in a triangle in the center and the room was spacious. Tall windows and plush couches lined the crisp, white walls.
Yami ducked out of the room and moved further down the hallway. He stepped through yet another door, biting back a gasp when he saw a giant screen hanging on the opposite wall. Several reclining red chairs were lined neatly in front of the dark screen, and he realized with a jolt that this was a theater!
Blinking in amazement, Yami ducked out of the room, immediately panicking when he heard footsteps rustling past at the front of the hallway. Was it the head servant?
Terrified, Yami hid himself behind the door, peering through the crack, watching several maids methodically dusting the furniture in the room across the way.
Holding his breath, Yami eased his way past the door and dashed down the hallway, skidding to a complete stop when he saw Isono standing in the middle of the living room with his back turned as he was busy dusting the mantel above a large fireplace.
Gritting his teeth, Yami tiptoed cautiously past the head servant, his eyes nailed to the doorway leading into the dining area. He spied the refrigerator and he yanked the door open as quietly as he could, cursing when the glass bottles clinked along the inside. Yami heard footsteps rushing towards him and he swallowed nervously, grabbing the first thing he saw, which was a pair of neatly wrapped sandwiches.
He swung the door shut and to his horror, Isono was standing right beside him, looking at him sternly.
Yami tilted his head defiantly back at him, gripping the sandwich so tightly that the plastic wrinkled. He purposefully strode past the head servant and straight back up the stairs, feeling himself sweat.
He quickly unlocked the door and let himself into his room, throwing a frantic glance over his shoulder, seeing the manservant bounding up the stairs behind him at a surprising speed. Terrified, Yami slammed the door shut and leaned against it, his heart pounding painfully in his chest, listening for the servant's footsteps.
"Wh-what are you doing Yami?"
Yami dropped the wrapped sandwich onto the floor and whirled around, seeing Mokuba standing in the adjoining doorway, rubbing his eyes sleepily.
He swallowed nervously and felt his mouth go dry as he tried to respond normally.
"I-Isono." Was all he could think to say.
Mokuba's eyes widened, and suddenly, Yami heard the door to his owner's room click open. Isono strode through the conjoining door and hovered threateningly behind Mokuba, looking angry.
Yami froze, unsure of what to do, watching Mokuba turn and give Isono a sleepy yawn, speaking to him firmly. He perked his ears up, trying to catch any familiar sounds.
"He's scared of you, Isono." Mokuba said quietly, shoving his hands into the pockets of his pajamas and trudging towards the door.
"That is neither here nor there, young Mokuba." Isono said stiffly, staring at the wrapped sandwich laying on the floor, inches away from the foreigner's feet. Why was the boy putting food on the ground?! Food belonged on the table!
"Well, stop following him everywhere he goes. Look at him, he looks like he's gonna pee himself." Mokuba said dully, stepping out into the hallway, suddenly feeling wide awake as a trickling horror consumed his entire body.
Was that why the lab report on Yami's clothes showed so much urine and feces? How scared would you have to be to pee and shit yourself at the same time?!
Shoving the unpleasant thoughts out of his head, Mokuba rushed back into his own room and slammed the door, resolving to be nicer to Yami from now on.
Yami stood very still, watching the manservant bow stiffly and turn to leave.
"W-wait!" Yami cried out, his voice shaking slightly as he forced himself to remain composed. "Miss Ao?"
He needed the servant to tell him when the teacher would be coming!
Isono spoke without turning around to face the boy, "She will be coming in the afternoon." And he hurried out of the room, neglecting to mention that Kaiba had called another tutor, for mathematics, and that teacher was arriving soon.
Yami blinked and felt his head spin terribly. Everyone spoke too fast. He couldn't understand a single word!
Furious, Yami stalked over to his desk and sat down. He unwrapped the sandwich and took a bite, staring at his stacks of practice sheets. This was so frustrating!
He hated this.
Why was this language so hard to follow?
Why did everyone talk so fast?
Shoving his half-eaten sandwich aside, Yami remembered the math book he had thrown under the bed last night in his haste. He stood and quickly retrieved the textbook from the floor.
Sitting back down at his desk, Yami flipped to the chapter he had stopped at last night and stared intently at the numbered problems, feeling slightly better.
He noticed a light pencil mark circling one of the problems and he frowned, tilting the book slightly, catching several light marks across the page. What was this?
Yami rubbed his finger over the marks and lifted the book up, seeing the indents catching the light as he did so.
It was…handwriting! Thin, slanted handwriting indented across the page!
Excited, Yami flipped through the book, glancing over more problems, in search of more marks. Was this his owner's book? Had his owner studied out of this book too?
It was!
Yami saw more overt circles and underlines across several more problems in other chapters, his owner's tiny, thin handwriting hugging the bottom edge of the page. He continued flipping the pages, glad to see that the notes and underlines got more numerous as he went on.
Some of the pages were warped and Yami ran his finger over the waves in the paper, wondering what had caused the damage.
It looked like water.
Yami frowned and continued flipping, realizing the water damage was irregular.
Sometimes, the edges would be warped, and sometimes, the center of the book caught the damage, causing the ink to blur across the page.
Yami felt his breath hitch painfully in his throat as he realized…the warping wasn't caused by a spilled drink, or rain.
It was tears.
His heart began pounding fearfully in his chest as he studied the watermarks closely, hovering his head over the page, staring at one perfectly circular warped spot which blurred across the number 5.
It was definitely tears.
His owner's tears.
Yami leaned back in his chair, feeling the room spin violently.
His owner had so much trouble with these problems, he had …cried? Or maybe, these were Mokuba's tears? Why?
Yami felt his stomach churn uncertainly and he slammed the math book shut. He swept it under his arm and decided he would ask Mokuba directly. He grabbed his translation dictionary too and marched out of his room, not caring if the servant would order him back inside.
He needed to know whose tears these were.
He approached Mokuba's door and knocked loudly, the sound echoing down the long hallway. Yami felt his anxiety rise as Mokuba took an unusually long time to answer the door.
Finally, the door handle turned and Mokuba's face appeared, looking disgruntled, "What?"
Yami held up the book and pointed at his own face, drawing a slow tear down his cheek and frowning. Did this book make you cry?
He held his breath, watching Mokuba pull the door back and scratch his head, looking confused.
Yami hastily balanced the book in his palm and flipped towards the end where the underlines and handwriting were abundant. He pointed at the warped pages and held the book up to show Mokuba, watching Mokuba's eyes widen so much, they began to water at the corners.
Mokuba held his breath, staring at the page Yami was showing him in the book. It was covered with Seto's handwriting. Suddenly, he noticed the tear stains dotting irregularly across the problems, some sunk so deeply into the paper that the ink had blurred.
Mokuba felt his head spin and his knees grow weak. These were…Seto's tears!
He turned away from Yami and felt his eyes burn. He had often heard screaming and crying during Seto's study sessions with Gozaburo, but seeing the tear-stained pages right in front of him somehow …brought the bad memories back in a horrible, raw sort of way.
And Seto was keeping this book?!
Why?
As a reminder that he had bested the material?!
The book should be destroyed!
Yami's frown deepened as he carefully studied Mokuba's reaction, watching the child's face morph from shock, to anger, to sorrow, and then back to anger.
This confirmed it. These were not Mokuba's tears.
Suddenly, the child rushed at him and yanked the book out of his hands, violently tearing out the pages with his tiny fists, large tears streaming down his face as he did so.
Panicking, Yami frantically wrestled the book out of Mokuba's hands. The child fought back, falling to the floor and hugging the ruined pages to his chest, looking heartbroken, silent tears still dripping down his chubby face.
"Stop! Stop it!" Yami cried desperately, gathering the tattered pages up from the floor, thinking they would be shouted at for making a mess…mainly, for destroying one of their owner's books!
"Seto won't care! I hate it! He hates it! Burn the book!" Mokuba yelled, not caring that Isono would hear them and come running upstairs at any minute.
Yami blinked and froze, feeling a loose page slip from his arms and float to the floor.
He had understood some of what Mokuba had shouted.
"Seto…..I hate it….He hates it!..."
Yami heard frantic footsteps rushing up the stairs and he turned to glance behind him in terror, watching the manservant make direct eye contact with him and stride forwards furiously.
Yami shook his head and backed away, dropping the ruined pages of the book, trying to pull Mokuba to his feet, feeling Mokuba resist and slide weakly to the floor, sobbing.
Isono stood in the doorway of Mokuba's room and blinked, slowly taking in the scene before him.
Ruined pages of a math book were scattered messily throughout the entire room while Mokuba knelt by the foreign boy's feet, outwardly crying. Isono felt his skin crawl as he caught several tearstained pages covered in Kaiba's handwriting, laying in a crumpled mess by his toes, and he hastily scooped them up, depositing them into the trash bin beside Mokuba's desk.
"There, there, young Mokuba." Isono hushed frantically, kneeling onto the floor and making a huge show of picking up the ripped pages. He slipped them into the trash noisily, rustling the plastic liner on purpose. "There, we've thrown it all away! This book won't bother anyone anymore!"
Yami felt his amazement rise as he saw the manservant immediately drop to his knees and began throwing the pages away, desperately trying to appease the child. Yami also bent down and scooped up several wrinkled pages, waving them in front of Mokuba's face and crumpled them in his fist, watching the child take deep hiccupping breaths, trying to calm down.
Yami sat down on the floor beside Mokuba, his mind racing for a solution, deeply regretting showing the child the tear-stained pages.
He knew this child was very fond of their owner.
"Mokuba…I'm sorry." Yami said quietly, patting Mokuba's knee gently with a balled-up page of the book. He watched Mokuba grab the paper from him and toss it as far away as he possibly could.
"I'm sorry." Yami repeated, once again patting the child's knee with his hand gently, feeling relieved as he watched Mokuba gradually calm down.
Yami was also relieved that he had managed to remember how to say, "I'm sorry" in Japanese without consulting his dictionary.
Isono sat back on his heels and watched in amazement as the foreigner managed to calm Mokuba down with a simple apology while gently patting his knee. He slid his hand into his pocket, thinking he ought to text Kaiba about it, but decided against it.
Master Kaiba was better off not knowing this incident happened.
The doorbell chimed loudly and Yami jumped, hearing the cascading ring echo around the house. Isono leapt to his feet and hurried away to answer the door.
Mokuba rubbed his nose across his sleeve messily and Yami reached out to give Mokuba a reassuring pat on the back. Suddenly, Mokuba threw himself forwards and wrapped his tiny arms around Yami's neck and Yami hesitated briefly before returning the embrace with equal strength.
They stayed that way for several long moments until Yami heard footsteps echoing up the staircase. Mokuba pulled away and Yami could feel the wet patch of Mokuba's tears drying across his shoulder.
There was as soft knock at the door and Yami jerked his head up to stare.
Isono was standing in the doorway with a stranger. The man had jet black hair and was wearing a light pink shirt paired with white pants. He bowed stiffly and Yami hastily rose to his feet to bow in response, feeling Mokuba slowly stand and bob his head politely, mumbling, "Hello Mr. Okawa."
Yami swallowed dryly and committed the man's name to memory.
Okawa.
Mr. Okawa.
"Mokuba." The man said shortly before addressing Isono, "Will I be dealing with Mokuba's friend?"
Yami blinked rapidly, understanding the man had said "Mokuba's friend."
Is he referring to me? Yami wondered faintly, watching Mokuba sit down gloomily at his desk.
"Yes, in the other room, please." Isono responded, trying to keep his voice steady. He was extremely glad Mokuba seemed to have fully calmed down. He pointed into the other room and made eye contact with the foreigner, "Please go back into your room."
Yami blinked and nodded, walking forwards and watching the man with the pink shirt enter his room with familiar ease. Oh, was this another teacher? Where was Miss Ao?
His mind raced with uncertainty as he watched Mr. Okawa pull out a chair and tap the empty one beside him firmly, looking stern.
Yami sat down quickly and watched the man lay down a series of books across the desk. They were dark grey and had the now-familiar shapes from the book Mokuba had destroyed.
Instantly alert, Yami watched the man flip to the first page and tap on the problem, his deep voice echoing around in the room. Yami blinked and nodded, picking up his pen and sliding out a fresh sheet of paper from his desk, he copied the problem down exactly as it was shown in the book.
The man nodded, satisfied and sat back in his chair, folding his arms, as if waiting for something to happen.
Yami lowered his gaze, eyeing the top two buttons on the man's shirt, watching them shine back at him in the sunlight streaming in from his windows. This man was so neatly dressed….
He was snapped out of his thoughts when the man tapped the book and spoke in a commanding tone.
Right, I'll do the problem. Yami thought darkly, and he set his pen on the paper, solving the problem with ease, feeling the man's eyes watching every stroke of his pen.
He pushed the completed problem back at the teacher, watching him nod and flip through several pages, pointing at another problem which looked noticeably more difficult.
Yami felt his throat going dry and realized this man was challenging him.
He nodded stiffly and set his pen to the paper again, working the problem methodically, his heart pounding nervously in his chest as he circled his answer.
The pen was snatched out of his hand and the man drew two solid lines beneath his answer, tapping it firmly as if to say, "You don't circle your answers."
Fine, Yami fumed privately, thinking that the atmosphere in the room was very tense. This man was not as nice as Miss Ao.
If anything, he was cold and stern.
He wanted his pen back, but the tutor had it in his hand.
The man leafed through the book again and chose a problem at the very end, and Yami felt his impatience rising.
He wasn't learning anything.
This man was just picking problems out of the book!
He could do this on his own, without help!
Yami watched the man write down the problem neatly and add to the problem, including a triangle in the middle of the numbers, and several other odd symbols. He set the pen down and Yami held his breath, feeling his anxiety rise as the man flipped open a separate book and pointed at a key.
Several Japanese sentences were written after the symbols, describing what they meant, but Yami couldn't read them.
First, he would have to translate the key, and then he could do the problem.
Drawing in his breath with a slow hiss, Yami reached for his translation dictionary and he heard the man snap at him, "What are you doing?"
Yami blinked and he pointed at his dictionary, speaking slowly, using the phrases he had memorized, "I can't…understand Japanese."
The man's eyes widened and he crossed his arms stiffly, looking amazed.
Yami took this moment to snatch his dictionary and he copied the key on a separate sheet of paper with ease, occasionally glancing at his dictionary to fill in the words he didn't know how to read.
After a moment, he applied his knowledge of the symbols to the problem, and he leaned back in his chair, feeling satisfied as he glanced over his work.
His numbers and drawings had taken up the entire sheet of paper, and this problem had been very long, but Yami was certain he had done it correctly.
The man leaned forwards and tapped the paper with his finger, blinking rapidly. Yami studied the man's face, taking in his pale skin, rounded face, and dark eyelashes. The people in this country were pale. Black hair and dark eyes seemed common. Why did his owner look so different then? Even Mokuba looked more native….
It suddenly struck Yami that his owner may be a foreigner too! Was that why he valued Japanese education so much?!
He was snapped out of his thoughts when the man spoke, "Good. Next, we will…." And that was all he could understand.
The man tapped the third book he had brought over and Yami felt his anxiety rise yet again. This was an entirely new subject.
He leaned forwards and watched the man copy down a set of numbers and point at the book. Yami nodded and watched intently as the man showed him how to solve that problem. The pen was placed in front of him and Yami frowned in concentration as he applied the same concepts to a new question in the book.
They went on like this for several more pages.
The man would show him how to do a new problem and Yami would follow suit and complete several just like it, most of them contained different numbers, but the idea was the same, and Yami found that the man was quite understanding when he got stuck.
He would be given a different way to calculate it, and Yami learned easily just by copying the method he was shown.
Before he knew it, the lesson was over.
The man shut the book delicately and pointed at the page number and the cover, quickly jotting down something across the top of Yami's papers before standing up to leave. Yami had watched him write quickly, unable to read any of it.
The man tucked the books underneath his arm and bowed stiffly, unsmiling, "It was nice…."
Yami rose to his feet and bowed back quickly, "Thank you."
The man straightened up and gave him a strange look before exiting the room quietly.
Yami waited until he heard the man's footsteps fade before he rushed back to his desk and began furiously translating the sentences the teacher had written.
He felt his head rush with satisfaction as he read the sentences:
"Sea Horse Sky,
This boy is very intelligent and pleasant to work with.
He has a very deep understanding of mathematics, so much that I only need to show him the concept once or twice, and he immediately understands, which is impressive, given how we did not speak a word to each other throughout the entire lesson.
There is not much else I can teach him other than the remaining sections of Discrete and Differential Geometry and Calculus. If you wish for me to continue with this boy, please provide the following books:
"…."
Perhaps he could go on to learn applied mathematics when he becomes more fluent.
He had to translate several theories, but he seemed to understand with no problem after some examples.
Sincerely,
Okawa.
0413-276251"
Yami blinked and read the letter over again, feeling his excitement rising.
He had been praised by the teacher!
Yami frowned at the first sentence, wondering why his owner's name translated to "seahorse sky."
Yami muttered the name aloud, thinking it sounded accurate.
Kaiba-sama.
He had heard that bastard Rahim address his owner as such.
He needed to know what "Sama" meant, but his dictionary was only limited to definitions in Arabic; and there was nothing about colloquialisms.
Then, Yami stared at the row of numbers at the bottom of the page, trying to figure out what it meant.
He tried subtracting them, dividing them, and then he stopped, realizing the dash in the middle meant it was an address of sorts.
It was a contact number.
Sighing, Yami pushed the paper away and rubbed his temples, feeling unusually tired.
He walked over to his bed and fell face down onto the sheets, inhaling deeply.
The fresh laundered scent was calming, lulling him to sleep.
Author's note:
Seto is encouraging bad drinking habits in Yami? *gasp
Progress between Yami and Mokuba?
Yami is incredibly smart?
Seto will be sho00keth the haaaouuuss HuNNAYyyy
Leave A review! Hope ya'll liked this pl0t development with not as much SMoUuT & SMexxX
ANIMANIAC1017 YOU. ARE. THE. LEGIT. BEST! Thank you so much for your hard work and your edits…this week in particular. *cries and hugs you*
and thank you TransversalArtisan for stepping in to help :O
I feel so grateful to have such solid, supportive, and knowledgeable editors…i don't deserve you guys, seriously :P
hugs,
Ugli