Where the End Stops and the Start Begins

CHAPTER TWO

More Than Six Degrees Separated

Kaiba Mokuba admitted his defeat. He had been calling the attention of his older brother for the umpteenth time. The latter, however, opted to pour all of his energy and effort into his punches. He preferred the privacy of his own mind as a pair of wireless earbuds that sat firmly within his ears blocked off the outside world. The view had become a norm for Mokuba since the end of his brother's high school career. He thought it was for the better as well, the older Kaiba had been less angry – at least, to some extent.

It was the frequency, however, that concerned Mokuba. Originally, the routine was repeated on evenings of certain days: Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and rescheduled for the nearest day should there had been an event. At some point, though, it turned into a nightly affair with only Saturdays and Sundays as breaks. Anyone who assumed that all the afterhours the CEO spent in KaibaCorp. property was done for work had, by all means, been wrong on so many levels. While Mokuba was quite pleased that Seto developed a new interest outside of gaming, the shift in schedules left him to wonder whether it was the adrenaline rush getting into his head or something else – another reason that he had yet to uncover.

The younger also wondered how Seto could box so fervently while listening to what he assumed to be classical music (because what else could Seto be listening to).

Mokuba decided to try again as he found his brother's phone nestled on a stool not too far off from where Seto was boxing. He moved towards the device and in a quick but careful motion grabbed hold of the forgotten gadget. Mokuba's eyes widened slightly at the untimely discovery – it was not a classical music playlist.

"Eye of the Tiger, Rocky III OST?" He held back the laugh that threatened to escape his lips as he pressed next. He forgot what he really came for. "Gangsta's Paradise?!"

Seto, who noticed the sudden change in song, whipped his head back towards his brother's direction. He blinked twice before he took off his gloves and his earbuds. "Yes, Mokuba?" Seto frowned at the intrusion.

"Sorry," Mokuba smiled sheepishly. "But it's eleven o'clock and the guards were too scared to call you out. I have to say, bro, Rocky soundtrack? Coolio?"

The older of the two shrugged. "They're good workout music, and I needed a change of pace from Mozart. He wasn't fun enough."

"That, or Jou has been rubbing off on you." Mokuba absently remarked. "Where has Jou been, anyway? I haven't seen hanging around here."

"I pay him to be an endorser, so he should be out there endorsing." Seto scowled inwardly as he walked towards his younger brother, gloves and earbuds in one hand and the other free. "Wait for me at the lobby, tell the guards they can lock-up in twenty minutes." He grabbed his phone from the younger's hold and made his way to the lockers.

Mokuba could only watch his brother as he disappeared behind the locker room door.

Seto uncaringly took off his shirt and stuffed it in his gym bag in a fast and agitated motion, together with his other gears. His phone, he decided, that unlike his manner towards his workout items, should be gently settled down on the counter together with his earbuds, a bit far off from the sink's splash zones. Of course, he did still believe that money did not grow on trees and to render his phone irreparable would mean wasting time investing on a new one.

Seto washed his face and yet he was still uneasy. He was far too irritated with Mokuba – or, rather, at his brother's commentary. And while Seto really wanted to reprimand his sibling, he could not. Mokuba had no single clue. First, the younger Kaiba had not known of his relationship of almost two years. Second, and consequently, he also would not have known that they had broken up roughly around seven months ago, on what would have been their second year together. It would have been a three hundred meter hole, the one he would probably dig, if he began to open the topic to his brother.

It was honestly something he did not want to do.

Seto reached for a free paper napkin and wiped his wet face before looking at his reflection. He wondered to himself, briefly, what was the reason for keeping it to themselves – his and Katsuya's relationship. There was never an agreement nor did he even oppose. The CEO shook his head – it was too late for the thought. He reached for his earbuds as he decided he had already dwelled too long in the locker room. Seto then realized that music had still been playing, hearing tidbits of another song from his, or rather, Katsuya'splaylist.

Despite their break-up, Seto continued to listen to the songs his former partner shared forcefully with him. If he recalled properly, it was not even a month into their relationship – during one of their spars that Katsuya had commented on his sloppy throws. It's like you're punching to the beat of an old man – Seto smirked, at the memory. Katsuya had said the comment twice. That was the second time, Seto remembered. Katsuya asked to hear what he was listening to when they practiced. It was at that very moment as well that he had asked for Seto's stream username so he could share a playlist with him, with the assurance that the boxing experience would be more fun.

The first time was during one of his meetings with Industrial Illusions, in San Francisco. It was downtime and Seto had been looking for place to settle his nerves. It was also a horrible day. While everything with Industrial Illusions had gone well, the young CEO could only wish the same with KaibaCorp. American branch. Thankfully, he found a boxing gym a couple of blocks away from his hotel. He remembered Katsuya looking at him with widened eyes, just as much as Seto himself had looked back in equal surprise. Much to his chagrin. Katsuya had been the last person he wanted to see at the time. Seto turned his head away and claimed a locker to himself – he had hoped Katsuya noticed the warning. He thankfully did, at least until he saw him hit the punching bag… and then he commented.

Seto grabbed his phone and studied his screen as he continued to remember the argument they had back then. It was also the same day that he discovered Katsuya's stepfather had owned the place and that Katsuya was there to drop-off lunch for the man. He decided to take boxing seriously that very moment as well. After all, he had to best Katsuya at everything; especially when the latter had actual fighting experience from his days as a delinquent.

"Bro, you're taking more than twenty minutes. Let's go!" Mokuba peeked into the room, with a tired expression. "I've been waiting for you in the lobby for so long already. And the guards really need to lock-up. The gym will be here forever."

The older of the two rolled his eyes before he clicked the pause button on his phone, finally shutting the music up. Seto would sometimes forget how much his younger brother had grown and that, together with that growth, was the development of his teenage temperament. "Likewise, your little gaming following will be able to wait." Seto commented as he wore a clean shirt and gathered his things.

The younger crossed his arms. "What happened to having hobbies outside of work?"

"This is outside of work."

"But it's still in the building where you work." Mokuba retorted. "Go on dates or something."

"I'll think about it." Seto quipped as he walked past his brother.

"Come on, Seto, what happened to that actress from—what was that movie?" Mokuba asked as he ran behind the CEO. "Or that newscaster? Oh! How about that super model that you went out with in Hawaii?"

"I haven't been available for two years."

"Two years?! Why haven't you gone out with any one for two freakin' years?!"

"Stop talking like Jounouchi." Seto responded, careful to use Katsuya's family name.

"I have single friends—"

"Mokuba, please." Seto seethed, without stopping to look at his brother. He never understood why the younger Kaiba invested too much on his love life. He was worse than the tabloids on some days. "I don't need your services at the moment."

Seto could still remember how Mokuba had rushed into his office, while Katsuya had still been inside, and accused him of dating the newscaster from the morning show. Katsuya, as he recalled once more, had obviously held back from making any sound. After having reprimanded Mokuba, Katsuya burst out in a fit of laughter. Which had earned him the CEO's most steely glare. But he did enjoy the sound of it – Katsuya's obnoxious laugh.

"I'm just concerned. You're in your mid-twenties and you're still single, not one serious relationship." Mokuba softly responded as he nodded to guards, whom they passed-by. It was a signal that meant they would be able to continue on with their routine, finally. "You know, I think Ishizu is still single. Maybe you two can hit it off tomorrow at the event."

A heavy and tired sigh escaped Seto's lips right after the small twitch he had felt himself involuntarily do. "Whatever helps you sleep at night."

Seto exited his private bathroom with very little care of the cool air that hit his naked upper half. He ventured into sanctity of his connecting bedroom. His hair, damp as he continuously dried it using his towel, his bare feet ever so softly landed on the carpeted floor with every step he took towards the bookshelf on the other side of the room. In his free hand, the earbuds that he wanted to rest alongside his books. It was Saturday – given that they arrived home around twelve midnight already – he had no use for them.

Especially when he had a couple of official events to attend to. One, a special KaibaCorp.-funded exhibition on Ancient Egypt – something he had done on whim, when Mutou Yugi had brought it up a year prior. Now that he remembered, Katsuya was present at the time – perhaps already feeling uncomfortable.

Seto frowned at the thought, and it deepened even more at the two cards he found near the edge of shelf, right at the level where he decided to place his earbuds. One of which was Katsuya's VIP Access Card that had allowed him to every room at the building without having to knock – there were only three in existence: his, Mokuba's, and Katsuya's. A week after the break-up, Seto's secretary entered his office, of course upon permission, and delivered an envelope which she claimed to have come from Katsuya. Seto had opened it when the woman disappeared, only to discover the said card inside with a note – Sorry, I don't have the guts to see you right now, Seto clearly remembered, even the pang that he felt in his chest. The second card had been the keycard to Katsuya's apartment, something that Seto never found himself returning. It was his own version of, Sorry, I don't have the guts to see you right now. He was not particularly keen on giving it back without a proper conversation, anyway.

Although, true to Katsuya's words, the two of them did not remain strangers to each other. It was perhaps of the work they did together – something that Seto was quietly thankful for. Yet they were not friends nor were they even close to sharing the animosity that dissipated during their shared times in America. Seto and Katsuya merely co-existed in the same room. Between them was only a thin veil of acknowledgement, pleasantries, and a façade that everything was fine. The longest conversation since they separated consisted of short questions and even shorter answers. The distance was evident, not that anyone else ever took time to notice. The world continued to spin.

Just as it spun when Atem moved on to the afterlife. In all honesty, Seto still found it difficult to believe in what had happened to them during their more youthful years. Nevertheless, he never felt himself let go of Atem's existence in his life. Then again, he always found it difficult to move on from a lot of things in life. Reviewing their duels over and over again, designing mechanics that revolved around Atem's natural talent for Duel Monsters despite having been born in a different era, and studying Egyptology – these were things that, to Seto, kept the spirit alive in some ways. He was obsessed with Yugi's other self, Seto was aware of it as much as he must have been attracted to the pharaoh, at least where competition and power were concerned.

Seto found himself imbecilic. As self-aware as he was with his incapacity to move on with his life, his empathy with aspects outside of himself (or lack of thereof) failed him and, subsequently, failed Katsuya.

Seto felt a knot twist tightly in his stomach as he turned away and traversed to the foot of his bed. His towel, left careless on the rest of the chair he passed by along the way. He sat at the end of the furniture he aimed towards. With his arms rested on his pajama-clad legs, he brought his clasped hands to his face as though he prayed desperately for something good to happen.

What Atem was to him since Katsuya re-entered his life had become a shadow of a man he considered to be his best friend and equal. He only wished he found the words, at the time, to explain to his ex-partner. Seto remembered everything he wanted to tell Katsuya seven months ago, at the diner. He remembered how he wanted to reassure him of so many things and how he was beyond thankful to have the latter, despite never deserving him. He also remembered that none of those had manifested. In its place was a stunned silence that he could not fight off.

Seto loved Katsuya with every inch of his being. Where Atem was an equal to himself, Katsuya was his other half – Seto wished he had the chance to say that. The same way he wished he could tell Katsuya, I love you and thank you. After all, the latter brought him back to a world he had long shoved at the back of his memory bank.

Though it was not as if Seto did not try to make amends. He had his thoughts straightened and he had coherent words to speak. However, while there were multiple times and multiple chances to communicate with Katsuya, there was one factor that stopped Seto from doing so. It was Katsuya, himself.

Over the months, Katsuya looked happier – freer in the absence of their relationship. Social media itself had been a constant evidence of it. Seto remembered the wide smiles Katsuya wore in every rare and personal selfie that made it amidst the sponsored posts Katsuya would do for the newer brands he partnered with. The most recent one was the widest of all. It was Katsuya's coming out post. Most likely done in light of the San Francisco Pride March he had to miss – a photo of him with another man, someone Seto had not met, whose arm slung around Katsuya. One of Katsuya's hands held onto the aforementioned arm that rested around his shoulders, revealing a part of the small minimalistic tattoo of his favorite card on the under side of his forearm. It had been fresh at the time and it was also something the CEO would have disapproved of had they still been together. The post was captioned with three hearts – pink, purple, and blue – that came before an ampersand and the word proud. Katsuya was happiest in that picture.

In person, Katsuya was every bit of energy and liveliness his photos showed. It was as though being free of Seto had allowed the latter to live better-off. Katsuya wore the brightest smiles without him. For all the terrible things that Seto had been, he knew he had no right to take away what was best for the love of his life.

"Fuck." Seto cursed to himself.

The CEO often wondered when did he begin to let Katsuya take the lead when he was often so addicted to controlling everything, even when the latter never wanted to assume it.

Ishizu smiled at Seto in her most respectful manner. "We are very grateful for your support throughout this project." She said with a slight bow. "Now, please do enjoy the night. Let us speak again when the rest are here." Then the woman proceeded to walk away from the Kaiba siblings, without waiting for Seto's response.

"Would it kill you to wear a smile?" Mokuba snorted once the woman disappeared into the sea of museum guests. "How are you going to ask Ishizu out if you're like that? Or anyone, for that matter?"

"If you're so adamant to interfere with my affairs, I would believe the effort should be yours to exhaust." Seto answered with barely any energy before he took a sip of the champagne he held in his hand.

"Well, someone got up on the wrong side."

Seto did not sleep well – not that it was anything out of the ordinary. However, it did not help that he dreamt of, or rather, his dream consisted of fragmented memories of his more intimate nights with Katsuya in the past. The images, while in pieces that barely matched, felt real. The kisses, the touches – the connection between them brought on an overwhelming sensation of being home. That dream, likewise the other dreams, had long replaced the usual ones that had him standing in a duel against Atem, just as watching replays of their duels had been replaced by scrolling down Katsuya's social media feed.

Seto looked for Katsuya when woke up, only to be reminded of a couple of fundamental facts. One, they never shared his bed. Two, they were still broken-up.

"Would you look at that?" Anzu greeted as she appeared from the brothers' side. "It's been so long! How have you guys been?"

"Hey, Anzu!" The younger Kaiba grinned with a light wave. Seto, on the other hand, merely directed a silent nod towards the woman who had become Yugi's fiancée. "Aren't you on tour? When did you get back?"

"Just a few hours ago. Honda picked me up on behalf of Yugi." She replied with her thumb pointed towards Honda Hiroto, who was plenty busy speaking to a woman who may or may not have shown interest in him. "Speaking of, is he here yet?"

The younger Kaiba shook his head, sadly. "No, sorry."

"They'll be here in a few." Seto decided to add upon noticing the slight change in Anzu's expression. She was disappointed. In his short-lived experience, having to be greeted by the disappointment of a significant other was dreadful. While Seto thought it better to steer clear of participating in other people's relationships, he could not afford a distracted Mutou Yugi. "I asked him and Jounouchi to attend in my stead on short notice. I had a rather hard morning earlier. I do apologize."

"I see. Well, it can't be helped." Anzu sighed. "How have you been? Yugi said you were in the middle of developing some new… VR? Was it?"

"Augmented reality," Seto corrected. "Mokuba is actually developing it. Now if he could only finish it."

"Hey!" Mokuba's mouth went agape. "It's going to be out next month, isn't it?"

"It would've launched this month if you weren't so engrossed in other things." The older of the two casually mentioned with another sip of champagne.

A soft giggle escaped Anzu's lips.

"There you guys are!" Hiroto's voice rang loudly, capturing the attention of many towards his direction. "Your fiancée's been waiting for you, y'know?" He frowned as he led his friend to where the lady in question was.

"Yeah, sorry, traffic was so bad!" Yugi reasoned as he approached Anzu with his KaibaCorp.-branded uniform jacket hung onto his arm. "We didn't even have time to stop by the shop to change."

"It's fine," Anzu said before she gave Yugi a short peck on his cheek. "At least you're here now."

"Mutou." Seto greeted as Mokuba gave Yugi a wave. "How was it?" He continued, fighting the urge to look for Katsuya. They were supposed to be together.

"It was great, the kids were really happy." The other replied as he absently entwined his fingers with Anzu's. "We should visit them again."

"That's a great idea!" Mokuba beamed.

Seto kept quiet as the conversation somehow founds its way to continue. While he was pleased to have heard the outcome, he was mostly hoping for any mention of Katsuya – whom had yet to appear still. Finally, it was Hiroto that voiced what Seto's mind asked. "Hey, where's Jou?" had been spoken.

"Present!" As if on cue, a familiar voice rang from behind the group. "The driver didn't have change, so I had to break my cash at the front desk."

There he was, Jounouchi Katsuya, clad in a pair of ripped jeans and a KaibaCorp. jacket with sleeves rolled up to his elbow. He also wore his signature goofy grin, which completed his whole ensemble. Briefly Seto's world stopped.

TO BE CONTINUED