Polarity...
"Rainbows, puppies, bunnies, and various other fluffy, cute animals merrily frolicking in a field of flowers while they sing and dance." Mokuba snorted, as he allowed a mildly amused smirk to emerge after hearing Seto's sarcastic suggestion for what direction he would like to see KaibaCorps go. It was a languid, peaceful day, with a sky that was piercingly bright, weather that was unseasonably refreshing and warm, and Seto himself was feeling remarkably well, and even up to working.
"Only if I get to wear feathers and heels at some point." Seto smoothly retorted, as Mokuba descentigrated into howls of laughter and succeeded in spewing his orange juice all over the table. With a raised eyebrow, Seto dabbed at the mess, distainfully, as he threw the towel to Mokuba with a deepening scowl.
"You don't believe that heels and feathers are an appropriate look on me, Mokuba?" Seto masterfully conveyed a comical look of utter dismay, and Mokuba only disolved into hysterics to the point that he was doubled over, belly aching.
Seto huffed sarcastically, before allowing a smile to break through, as he pat Mokuba's shaking arm, and waited for his brother to regain his self-control.
Mokuba finally rose from his rolling on the floor, as he wiped a tear from his eye, and giggled. "Seto, I never knew that you could be so damn kinky."
Seto only shook his head, tolerantly. "It relieves tension. What can I say?"
Mokuba snorted again. It was such a sweet, sweet relief to be able to jest and joke, to be free to laugh and enjoy his brother again, without that hard veil of veneer and guarded pain that he presented to the rest of the world.
"You know, Seto..." Mokuba ventured, uncertain of how to word his next comment, or even if he should continue, knowing how Seto loathed having his quirks pointed out...
Seto stared at Mokuba, his eyes suddenly wary and intently focused. He knew that searching, imploring tone all too well. Mokuba only bit back the words when he saw Seto tilt his head to the side, eyes narrowed. "There's something you want to say, Mokuba. Go ahead."
Mokuba sighed, and nodded, before peering up at Seto behind his dark bangs. For one moment, Seto was awed to see the shadow of his little sibling looking so young, and afraid, that it made his heart clench.
"It's nothing much, big brother...other than it's sort of a shame that you never let anybody else see you like this."
Seto stiffened, as he rose to peer at Mokuba, with a vague sadness in his eyes, before he softly asked, "Like what, Mokuba?"
Mokuba only shook his head, as he started gathering up the remains of the breakfast dishes with much unwarrented haste, and only pausing to give Seto a troubled glance. "Nothing, Seto. I'm sorry. Forget I said anything, alright?"
"You mean human, don't you?"
The cold barb from the words made Mokuba's back stiffen, as the dishes in his hands quivered, before he turned to Seto, with eyes that were just as icy as his brother's.
"That's not how I meant it, Seto, and you know that. I thought one of my redeeming points in being such a liability for so long was the fact that you never had to be so closed off and guarded, and watching everything you say and do as if the survival of the world depended on it."
The two brothers stared at each other, Mokuba's eyes brimming with the depths of the sea in undercurrents of turmoil, and Seto's eyes volital as the sky before a storm.
Seto sighed, lowered his head, shook it. "I'm sorry." It was a harsh, contrite whisper, as one pale, shaking hand slid up to Mokuba's steady, darker one, for absolution.
"You didn't deserve that, Mokuba. Forgive me." Mokuba gave him a soft smile of understanding suffering, as he nodded. "Consider it done, Seto."
It had been nearly two hours later that the leisurely good cheer had vanished, and Seto had, unfortunately, but predictably, drifted back into his moody silence. The darkness of his mood was only enhanced by Yami's equally, and painfully obvious uncertainty, and Yugi's completely flummoxed glances between the two of them, as if seeking some sort of direction. Mokuba had only folded his arms, glowered at Yugi, and stood at Seto's side, protectively as a guard dog, before Seto irritably poked his side, and gestured towards the chair. The situation was already volital enough without Mokuba's deliberate provocation. Mokuba gave Seto a hurt look, as Seto squeezed his arm apologetically.
With a relunctant nod, Mokuba sat in the chair beside Seto, but still maintained his hostile stare at Yugi, as if he wished to peel the very bones from his flesh underneith the power of that glare.
Yugi only looked at him with a raised eyebrow, opened his mouth, then shook his head, lowered it, and closed his mouth, while Yami only gripped his arm in reassurance and craned his neck to face Mokuba, with a warning shake of his head.
The silent standoff seemed to be unending, and Seto felt the unacknowledged humiliation at this utter travesty of a calm discussion bring fresh flame to his cheeks. Yami peered up at him, clearly sympathetic, while Mokuba only resumed his glower at Yugi, who seemed to wilt even further.
Suprisingly, it ended when Yugi suddenly removed Yami's arm from under his, and straightened to his full dimunitive height to peer at Kaiba, with no flinching, or looking away, or hesitation.
"May I speak with you alone, Seto?" Seto's eyebrows climbed a bit high, as he sat back, considering the request.
"I want this resolved as much as you do, Seto. Even if you don't accept my apology, or just use this as another chance to sneer at me, I want this resolved...so...please...may I speak with you alone?"
Yugi's question was uncertain, and wary, as Seto exchanged glances with Mokuba, who silently nodded.
"I think...that would be a very wise idea...Yugi. " Seto bit back the word 'runt,' and was almost ashamed at how alien addressing Yugi by his first name felt.
Mokuba rose, gave Yugi another warning glance, before shifting towards Yami, with a pathetic pretense. "Maybe you and I can review Duel Monsters, or something?"
Yami snorted in wry amusement. "That would be excellent, Mokuba."
Even with the several feet of height lost to his being in a wheelchair, Seto was still eyelevel with Yugi, who walked a respectful distance behind Seto's retreating back, though there was no trace of cowering. Indeed, Yugi seemed to glide forth as if he had suddenly been graced with Yami's self-assurance, and it was truly an odd change for Seto to observe. Was this a gift from Yami, or was this odd exchange of sweetness for pride some form of tribute that Yugi was forced to yield, like Seto's own independence?
Seto scowled at that thought. He knew the world respected and accepted power and egotism, so long as you could back it up. Innocence, faith, and kindness were the things that opened people to being consumed alive, and Yugi, from his own limited experience, once had all three in abundance.
Now, before him stood a straight-backed, resolute, dimunitive figure, who peered at Kaiba warily, with concern, but guarded, concealed pain.
Seto sighed, sadly. It was truly a sad thing when his own personality was enough to draw Yugi Moto into such vindictive cruelty. Seto passingly acknowledged his own faults by his own heartless goading, and smearing Yugi's sincere attempt to make things right into his face like one would rub a dog's nose in its own helpless filth after a mistake. And Seto knew, from his own tortured memories of Gozaburo, how much that simply goaded him further into angry bitterness.
Yugi watched Seto's struggle with the door, then with a respectful dip of his own head, reached forward, and pulled it open, stepping aside for Seto to wheel his way through.
The look on Seto's eyes could have rivaled hell itself, as he drew one lip back in an instinctive snarl. Yugi remained by the door, head bowed, but violet eyes watching him, as Seto attempted to detect any sort of mocking. There was nothing behind Yugi's polite gesture, apparently, other than the simple social manner that it was polite to hold the door open for somebody in a wheel chair. Indeed, from the guarded hunch of his back, to the twitching hand on the door knob, Seto could see that Yugi's gesture was not forced, but now, regretfully reconsidered, just as much as Seto was now forced to either snarl, or roll through with silent acceptance.
He heard Yugi's sigh, as the dimunitive figure finally raised his head, his brows drawn sharply downward in confused anguish. "I'm sorry if it was the wrong thing to do, Seto. I wasn't trying to rub anything in." Yugi's soft voice was met with Seto's eyes widening in shock at the perceptiveness. Seto only allowed a regal huff, and a curt nod, as he forced himself to glide forward, spinning the chair sharply to see Yugi's hands slowly slide away and his relunctant
slinking into the room. Seto raised an eyebrow to see Yugi stepping along as if he were navigating through a minefield, each step wary, and every glance towards Seto looking as if he were a rabid tiger ready to claw his throat out.
"I know that you weren't." Seto's rather subdued reply startled Yugi, as he jerked his head upward. "I'm sorry?"
Seto flung an irritated hand at the door. "I know you weren't trying to make it patently obvious that I am in a weakened position due to my inability to sustain extended mobility without the aid of this damn chair. The question, Yugi, is if your apparent, and may I admit, sudden kindness towards me stems from the fact that I'm dying, and you're feeling guilty, or if you feel obligated to Yami to smooth things over?"
Yugi stared at him, wide-eyed, looking as if he had swallowed his tongue, actually. Yugi hesitated a long, and necessary moment to sift through the strange and extremely loaded questions before he managed the most tactful answer possible.
"Seto...do you understand that I'm nothing like Yami in dealing with this, and with you? I am sorry that you're going through this. I don't think there's anything too weird about having sympathy about that, and if it offends you...I'm sorry for that, too, Seto. I'm not as smart, or as understanding as Yami is when it comes to ...this. I'm not clever at dancing around the issues, and I'm no good at deciphering whatever you're trying to tell me right now, Seto. I'm glad that you were generous enough to give me another chance to clear the air between us, but I don't think it will do any good unless you tell me why."
Seto's eyes bulged, before he forced them into familiar, narrowed coldness, as he tilted his head to the side, considering Yugi, and once again, stunned by the perception of his statement. For one moment, he was torturedly suspicious that maybe he and Yami were using their alledged mindlink, but dismissed as offhand bull
"For somebody who doesn't have Yami's alledged perception, you summerize the situation rather well, Yugi." Seto said, quietly.
"As to why I invited you here-again-I imagine that it stems from the same reason why you came. You want this over with."
Yugi's head jerked up sharply, alarmed, and misunderstanding. To hear a dying man say 'over with' was quite unnerving, until Seto only gave a bitter chuckle of harsh understanding.
"Don't piss yourself, Yugi. I was merely referring to your candid little rant, and my response to it, not my actual demise. Rest assured, I'm not going to just drop dead. Believe me, dying, unfortunately, is never that simple."
Yugi's eyes only widened, as he sucked in a sharp inhalation of breath. "Breath-taking, isn't it-how casually I can speak of my own demise? It's rendered you speechless, hasn't it?"
Seto smirked, but his voice hinted only of weary sadness, and not sneering sarcasm that Yugi had expected.
"I don't know if I'd call it breath-taking, Seto...but it seems that you've...accepted the situation remarkably well.." Yugi said softly, with a cautious shrug.
"As have you. My congratulations, to you, Yugi, for not being so bogged down in the nasty little details about me dying, or suffering to confront me with nothing less but rude, fierce and refreshing honesty. Not even Yami has accomplished that, but I thought your normally sunny disposition would keep you from doing that sort of thing. I owe you my thanks." Seto stated flatly.
Yugi's forehead crinkled in absolute confusion. Was Seto trying to provoke him again, insulting him, or thanking him?! Yugi shook his head.
"I don't know what to say to that." The honest admission made Seto's eyebrow quirk, as his lips curled into the smallest hint of a smile.
"Again, the honesty, where I'd expect cringing tact, especially from you. Rest assured, Yugi, I'm not attempting a head-game with you, nor am I insulting you."
"So...you're thanking me? I'm sorry, Seto, but you've completely lost me." Yugi admitted with a helpless shrug.
Seto allowed the bitter smirk to emerge, as he settled back in his chair. "I don't owe you an explanation, or acceptance of your apology, Yugi. And you don't owe me any contrite, fake speeches about how sorry you are, or how sorry you are for my dying. Sorry does not change the fact that I'm dying. Sorry
doesn't make any of this right."
Yugi bowed his head, and shook his head, before whispering, guiltily, "Then,what does, Seto? I have apologized, several times. I know that I have no control of you accepting it, but, that doesn't mean I'm apologizing because I feel guilty over what I said, Seto. I apologized because what I said was wrong, and that's the only thing I know to do to make it right. I've really done all I can do about this, Seto. And, I have enough respect for you to not humor you with lies, even if you don't believe anything that comes out of my mouth. And, no, that's not because I feel guilty, either. It's because it would be wrong of me."
Seto just shook his head, and stared at Yugi with nothing more than sad understanding, and weary resignation. "I know that you came here expecting to be flayed alive, or being led through a labyrith of headgames, Yugi. Suffice it to say that I've never gotten the satisfaction you seem to think I derive of grilling shrimp."
Yugi's eyes bulged at the absurity of Seto's comment, completely, and perhaps, mercifully missing Seto's insult.
Seto only sighed, and stared at Yugi. "At this point, Yugi, I have very little time to waste on petty insults, or deliberately pissing people off just because I happened to get some sort of power-tripping thrill from it, once upon a day. Suffice it to say that I have moved on, forgiven you, absolved you of your sin,
which ever terminology that you find easiest to accept. There's been a lot of...bad blood between us, and mayhaps this is my attonement for it, I don't know, and I don't really think it matters now."
Yugi's smile radiated in the same old inocence that both perturbed, and saddened Seto with a strange twinge of envy. To be able to let go of anger that quickly would have been gift he could have used a long time ago.
"Thank you, Seto. And, I know it's not much...but if there's anything I can do to ...help you through this, all you have to do is ask, alright?"
Seto's mouth pulled itself into a considering frown, as his eyes slowly slid back to Yugi's. The guarded expression was back, and Seto had to force himself to continue, so afraid of the wide, vulnerabilty he would soon expose by his next words...
"If you want to do anything for me, Yugi, be there for Mokuba when all this is over."
It was a simple, heart-breaking request, and suprisingly, Seto did not mock Yugi for the tears that suddenly rose from his eyes.
"Of course."
Seto gave him a curt nod of thanks.