((I just want to say a thank you to Hushpuppy24 for some inspiration later
in this chapter. It has to do with Mokuba, and it's sort of ish in your
fic. You'll probably recognize it when you see it, but it's not Lucky
Charms =P Anyway, Laterz! Keep reviewing everyone!))
Kaiba sat in the tree close to the trunk. He'd been there for quite some time now, maybe an hour, maybe two. It didn't matter. Tea wasn't back yet. She still wasn't there. So far he hadn't seen any sign of her parents either. Some protection, did they really expect him to have given up that easily? Awe well, that didn't matter right now. He just needed to talk to Tea, tell her he was sorry, try and fix it. Maybe he did have a small issue with how he released his aggressions. He could change that. He would make sure he'd change that. Just as long as Tea forgave him.
Five more minutes has passed. Still no sign of her. Had it really been that bad? Was she really that mad at him just over this little thing? Very possible, very likely, but somewhat unreasonable he might add. Then again, who was he to say what was unreasonable? She probably had her reasons for being out this late. No need to worry. She'll be fine. She'll come home and then he'd try paging her again from out here.
Five more minutes. No Tea. No sign of her. She'd come, he knew she'd come eventually. He just hated having this feeling that she was upset at him continually clawing at his insides. So he'd messed up, everyone makes mistakes. Some are just a little worse than others. and he just made them a little worse, and a little more frequently. That was his fault. If he could've just managed to hold it in until he'd gotten home. But he had decided to stop and release it, instead of safely burying it in his work. Stupid work, stupid people. No, he couldn't start doing that again. He had to find a way to stop doing that. To stop blaming the world for everything and start blaming himself a little more.
Five minutes later. Still sitting there. Still no Tea. Still mentally abusing himself for being such a jerk. He'd been stupid. It was stupid for him to do that. Stupid for him to just go beat up somebody. Had it really accomplished anything? No, it hadn't. He was still upset, and now Tea was mad at him. Stupid. Just stupid, he had just been being stupid. Why did he have to be such a moron? Why couldn't he have just kept it until he got home? He knew that would work. He was just stupid.
A sound came. He made his eyes come back into focus and he saw Tea coming into her room with. Bakura. The smile that had come onto his face shattered at this. 'Bakura? Bakura?! What is she doing with Bakura?!' She gave him a hug and then said something, and then he left. 'Bakura?' Turning his head he stared at the ground. 'This is your fault. You shouldn't have ever done that. So she knew, she must have known. and now she must hate you.'
Slowly climbing down the street he jumped off the last branch. 'Idiot. Stupid. Moronic fool buffoon Kaiba. Why do you have to be such an asshole?' Walking down the sidewalk to his car he shook his head and slammed the door to the drivers seat. Tapping at his wrist lightly before starting the vehicle he sighed. 'Now it's just Kaiba to fix himself. Okay, I can do that. I shouldn't have thought I could depend on Tea forever.' Driving down the street he headed towards his mansion. 'I'll check on Mokuba, maybe that will help.' A long silence in his head as he drove. 'No, I can't depend on Mokuba forever too. I have to deal with this by myself, but I'll still check on the kid. Then I'll go.'
As he pulled into his driveway he got out and ran up to Mokuba's room. By this time the little one was already asleep, and so his older brother looked him over without touching him and then tucked the blankets in around him. 'He's fine. So I've established that. Everyone is fine.' Walking out of the room he stared at his wrist and tapped at it a couple of times. 'Everyone is just fine.'
Out the door. Out of the house. Out of the way. Out of town. A get away, that's the specific place he needed to go. Some random place in the middle of nowhere. A place to gather his thoughts with nothing to worry about. He got out of his car eventually. He'd pulled off to the side of the road and then he started walking out into the woods next to it. 'This works. No one will be in the forest at ten o'clock at night.'
Seto continued through the forest until he say the glint of moonlight on what was obviously a lake ahead. Breaking through the fringe he stood on the bank for a second before slumping down onto the ground, one leg extended before him, other raised against his chest as he played with a stick he'd pick up between his fingers. 'You are such and idiot Kaiba. First nobody likes you and you're happy. And then you have to go and try to be nice, and they still don't like you, and you get upset. After you try committing suicide a couple times then you and Tea start connecting a little. Next you get into a car crash after starting to slash your arms up, and she stays at your house for a month, and you really get close. Then she leaves, and you get mad at her. After all of this and back and forth getting mad and not then you finally get over it, make up with her friends, and then she has to go and get parents that decide she has to move because of me.'
He flung the stick into the water and watched it create a small number of ripples. 'Then you try and cut more, but you can't. Finally giving in you go over to where you found Tea moved and find that SHE was cutting, while you couldn't. After THAT then you go and attack her, everything gets screwed at that point, and then you loose your mind.' A small hint of the images flickered through his mind but he shrugged it off and clutched at his wrist. 'Now you're just some paranoid freak who goes around checking whether people are dead or not, and you go beat up random people when you're upset about things that you've done in the past. Great, just great. You're doing so well Kaiba.' The sarcastic thoughts of his remarks filtered through his head and then the daydream he'd had the other day came back to him. 'I never call myself Seto in my head do I? It's always Kaiba. I wonder why. Maybe it's just because I'm insane. That would make sense.'
He smirked slightly and picked up a larger branch which he started breaking into smaller ones as he stared out across the still surface of the lake. 'No. If you had really gone insane then you wouldn't be able to think like this. Your mind would not have the ability to be rational enough to know that you WERE insane.' He uncovered his wrist and stared at it for a brief moment and then closed his hand over it once more. 'So I'm paranoid. I think everyone could drop dead any moment. Then why if I know I'm paranoid can't I just stop it? . It's because you're stupid Kaiba.'
Stopping for a moment he smirked again and sighed. 'And there I go again: "Kaiba". Tea probably talks to herself as Tea, and Joey as Joey, and Yugi as Yugi. I bet they never talk to Gardner, or Wheeler, or Motou. So why do I talk to Kaiba?'
An image of his childhood self appeared next to him sitting there staring up at him. Turning his head Kaiba looked down at him. "Why don't I ever talk to you?"
The little one shrugged and started picking up rocks and throwing them into the water.
"Don't you ever get lonely?"
Seto stopped throwing rocks and then taking his fingers he made a picture of a heart in the dirt and then wrote the word "Tea" inside it.
"So you love Tea too.?"
Seto smiled at Kaiba and nodded.
"What about Mokuba?"
Another nod and smile came from the little one.
Kaiba stared back out at the water and sighed. "I bet you really wanted to go play with Yugi then. Didn't you?"
Seto blinked at him a couple times and then slowly nodded. Then getting up he took off his shoes and rolled up his pants legs. With another little smile at Kaiba he walked into the water and started scanning along the edge.
Looking over at Seto slightly puzzled Kaiba asked, "What are you doing?"
Stopping for a second the little one mouthed the word "Frogs." And then went back to looking the water.
Still confused Kaiba shook his head. "What is the point of that?"
This received a shrug.
"Then why are you doing it?"
There was another mouthed word of "Fun."
Kaiba still didn't understand exactly why his smaller self was trying to catch frogs. "Wouldn't it be more productive to go back and do work instead of wasting your time catching amphibians?"
Seto squinched his eyes and stuck out his tongue as he shook his head.
"So you really want to catch some slimy frog?"
Smiling again the small one nodded and then diving into the water he slid through the mud and struggled with something in his hands.
The splash reached Kaiba and he covered his head with his arm as the rest of him got splattered with Lake Water. Then he watched Seto coming back, covered in mud, holding a small green creature by the legs with a childish grin on his features.
"Now you've managed to get both of us filthy. All for no real purpose."
As if this hurt him slightly Seto pointed at the frog he was carefully holding as if that was the answer.
Kaiba just shook his head. "There's no reason to catch frogs. It's not like it achieves any real goal, it's just stupid."
Seto frowned at him and made Kaiba's hand go palm up. Then he dumped the frog into it and pointed at it.
The older just stared at the creature which shortly after being placed in his palm jumped out and back into the water where it swam down into the depths.
"There really was no point to that."
His younger self just continued frowning and crossed his small arms.
"What?"
Still the same childish glare met him.
Kaiba sighed and taking off his shoes, he rolled up his pants and waded into the water much like Seto had done earlier. "Fine. I'll get you another one." Staring at the dark pool he looked to see if he could find a small set of amphibian eyes breaking the surface. After wading for about two minutes with his childhood self still frowning at him on shore, he finally found one and snapped out his hand to grab it but it quickly dived under the water and got away. Sighing slightly Kaiba waded for a while longer and then finding another pair grabbed at it once more and managed to hold onto it as it squirmed. He cupped his other hand over it and traveled back to Seto on the shore.
"There, happy?" He placed put it into the small one's hands and then slumped back down onto the ground.
Seto smiled and then went and put the frog back in the water.
"I just caught that. and then you go let it go."
The child smiled and Kaiba shook his head.
"That's really stupid."
Seto glared at him again and smacked him on the head.
Blinking a couple of times Kaiba looked down at him. "Why did you do that?"
The word "meanie" was mouthed and the small one sat down on the ground as well and mimicked how Kaiba was sitting.
The older version rolled his eyes. "Look, I'm sorry." He noticed Seto copying him perfectly. "What are you doing that?" This was mimicked as well. "Look that's." He crossed his arms and tapped his finger. "Could you please stop that?"
Breaking the copying for a second Seto shook his head and smiled as he was enjoying his new game.
Kaiba looked away from him and pulled both legs into his chest and wrapped his arms around them. "If only."
The child got up and kneeled down in front of his older self. Still smiling he plopped his head down on Kaiba's knees.
"Just leave me alone."
Still sitting there, Seto took his little finger and poked Kaiba in the middle of his forehead. Seeing his older not reacting at all he poked again. There was still nothing. Frowning slightly the smaller got up and grabbed a glob of mud. Then walking back he simply dumped it on top of Kaiba's head.
Jumping backwards the executive tried to pull the mess from his hair. "What was that for?!"
Seto just sat there grinning.
Without really thinking about it Kaiba grabbed a chunk of dirt and chucked it across at his younger self. The little one just continued smiling as the dirt landed on him and then he grabbed another glob and threw it at Kaiba again. Sort of confused the older grabbed another chunk and tossed it, but it was just answered with another smile, and more dirt sailing back at him. "Why are you doing that?"
Seto smiled and went over to Kaiba. He grabbed his hand and made him get up and dragged him into the shallows of the water.
The older was confused. "What?" Then without warning he was shoved down into the slightly deeper water. Wiping the water out of his eyes he blinked a couple of times at the grinning form of his childhood self. "Why you little."
Seto continued grinning and then jumped down into the water next to his older self, sending up another splash.
They both sat there for a few moments, one smiling with pure joy, the other confused and slightly annoyed at becoming so wet and dirty for no reason at all.
Finally getting up Kaiba tried to shake the water off himself as best he could. Then walking back onto the shore he rolled his pants down again and put his shoes back on. "There's no point to this. I'm going."
Seto ran out of the lake with a spray of water behind him as he ran up and latched onto Kaiba's leg.
"What?"
The little one just continued grabbing onto his leg.
"What is it kid? I really don't know what you want."
Seto looked up at him with the biggest, wateriest, most pathetic eyes that were ever imaginable. Sticking his lip out he stared up at his older and hugged his leg again.
"Do you want another frog or something?"
He shook his head.
"What is it?"
Seto stared up at him again and Kaiba got the impression of I-want-you-to- play-with-me in his head.
Sighing the older walked back onto the bank and took a stick. Making a grid in the sand he put an X in the corner. "There, now you go."
Grinning again the young one jumped down next to him and made an O in the center.
Kaiba made another X and watched Seto make another O again. With a sigh he made another X. After a couple more turns it was a stalemate. The young one looked up at him again and he made another grid. "Now you go first."
This went on for about seven more grids. Each one ending in a deadlock between the two. After all, they were the same person.
Sighing the executive snapped his twig in half and threw it in the water. "There's no point to this."
That's-the-point Seto smiled at him.
"But then what is the purpose?"
To-have-no-point. The young one gave a little giggle and got up. Brushing the dirt off of his small pants he jumped back in the water and rolled around in the shallows sending up mud and water as he went.
Kaiba still sort of annoyed at getting filthy for no purpose grabbed the little one and dragged him out. "Stop that. It's stupid."
Seto glared at him again and crossed his arms.
Sighing the older looked at him. "What did I do now?"
Seto smiled again and stared at him in a don't-tell-me-you-don't-want-to-do- that-too way.
"But all it achieves is to get you muddy and wet."
So?
With that Seto pulled back inside his older self who got up. Brushing himself off as well he stared out at the moon glinting off the water. 'So? .So? Is that really the answer? But it has no logic to it. It has no point, no purpose, it's just "so".'
He finally turned and started making his way back through the forest. 'The purpose is to have no point? That doesn't make any sense. It's just gibberish. How does he expect to hold up his arguments with little bits that make no sense at all and have to support to them? But it did make sense. He was certainly enjoying himself.'
Sighing he opened his car door and started driving back home as the sun started rising off in the distance. 'He was doing things with absolutely no purpose to them, but he was happy anyway. What was the purpose of that?' He shook his head. 'I don't get it. They were just games. Childish games that don't achieve anything and have no point but are supposed to please people anyway. Those were fun, they used to be. But there's no point to them. How on earth can someone enjoy doing something that is just a waste of time?'
At this point he had reached his house and was walking up the stairs on the way to his room to change into some dry clothes. 'Why would anybody do something that is pointless, senseless, with absolutely no reason to? I mean, who would want to waste their time doing something that stupid?'
***************
Mokuba stretched as he sat up in his bed and looked at the clock beside his bed. 9:04. 'Saturdays rule!' With a happy sigh he fell back onto his bed with a sigh and stared at the ceiling for a few minutes before he jumped up and got dressed.
With a smile plastered on his face he ran downstairs and grabbed a bowl of cereal. Munching away cheerfully he looked down at it. 'Crunchatize me Cap'n!' With a little giggle he took the last couple of bites and put away the Captain Crunch. Running over he jumped over the back of the couch and clicked on the TV to watch that morning's cartoons.
After a couple of episodes of watching the characters running around in their various cartoony ways, he turned it off and looked at the clock again. 10:59. He ran upstairs again and was about to head into his room to grab something when he heard some cursing coming out of the office at the end of the hall.
Walking over he opened the door slightly and peered in to see Seto sitting at his computer hitting the keys as his eyes locked onto the screen.
Coming further into the room Mokuba walked up behind his brother and stared at the screen as well. 'Pinball? He's playing pinball?'
"Seto?"
Just then the executive jerked back from the keyboard and let the silver ball on the monitor fall between the flippers as he stared at his little brother. "What?"
Mokuba pointed at where the game used to be. "Were you just playing pinball?"
The older Kaiba turned back and opened up a screen of solitaire instead as he had a list of other sorts of activities minimized at the bottom. "Yeah. I thought I'd try it."
At this point Mokuba was confused. ".Why?"
"Because it's better than catching frogs."
He raised an eyebrow even more lost. "Huh?"
"Nevermind." Seto then closed that window too and went through the rest of them and closed them. 'I still don't get the purpose. They're just stupid games and they don't accomplish anything whatsoever.' Standing up he pulled the hat that Mokuba had insisted on wearing ever since his hair cut, over his brother's eyes. "I'm going to out. Later." With that he left.
Pulling the purple cotton hat back into place he stared after his older brother. "Um. okay." He was still confused. 'Since when did he decide to try computer games?'
Kaiba sat in the tree close to the trunk. He'd been there for quite some time now, maybe an hour, maybe two. It didn't matter. Tea wasn't back yet. She still wasn't there. So far he hadn't seen any sign of her parents either. Some protection, did they really expect him to have given up that easily? Awe well, that didn't matter right now. He just needed to talk to Tea, tell her he was sorry, try and fix it. Maybe he did have a small issue with how he released his aggressions. He could change that. He would make sure he'd change that. Just as long as Tea forgave him.
Five more minutes has passed. Still no sign of her. Had it really been that bad? Was she really that mad at him just over this little thing? Very possible, very likely, but somewhat unreasonable he might add. Then again, who was he to say what was unreasonable? She probably had her reasons for being out this late. No need to worry. She'll be fine. She'll come home and then he'd try paging her again from out here.
Five more minutes. No Tea. No sign of her. She'd come, he knew she'd come eventually. He just hated having this feeling that she was upset at him continually clawing at his insides. So he'd messed up, everyone makes mistakes. Some are just a little worse than others. and he just made them a little worse, and a little more frequently. That was his fault. If he could've just managed to hold it in until he'd gotten home. But he had decided to stop and release it, instead of safely burying it in his work. Stupid work, stupid people. No, he couldn't start doing that again. He had to find a way to stop doing that. To stop blaming the world for everything and start blaming himself a little more.
Five minutes later. Still sitting there. Still no Tea. Still mentally abusing himself for being such a jerk. He'd been stupid. It was stupid for him to do that. Stupid for him to just go beat up somebody. Had it really accomplished anything? No, it hadn't. He was still upset, and now Tea was mad at him. Stupid. Just stupid, he had just been being stupid. Why did he have to be such a moron? Why couldn't he have just kept it until he got home? He knew that would work. He was just stupid.
A sound came. He made his eyes come back into focus and he saw Tea coming into her room with. Bakura. The smile that had come onto his face shattered at this. 'Bakura? Bakura?! What is she doing with Bakura?!' She gave him a hug and then said something, and then he left. 'Bakura?' Turning his head he stared at the ground. 'This is your fault. You shouldn't have ever done that. So she knew, she must have known. and now she must hate you.'
Slowly climbing down the street he jumped off the last branch. 'Idiot. Stupid. Moronic fool buffoon Kaiba. Why do you have to be such an asshole?' Walking down the sidewalk to his car he shook his head and slammed the door to the drivers seat. Tapping at his wrist lightly before starting the vehicle he sighed. 'Now it's just Kaiba to fix himself. Okay, I can do that. I shouldn't have thought I could depend on Tea forever.' Driving down the street he headed towards his mansion. 'I'll check on Mokuba, maybe that will help.' A long silence in his head as he drove. 'No, I can't depend on Mokuba forever too. I have to deal with this by myself, but I'll still check on the kid. Then I'll go.'
As he pulled into his driveway he got out and ran up to Mokuba's room. By this time the little one was already asleep, and so his older brother looked him over without touching him and then tucked the blankets in around him. 'He's fine. So I've established that. Everyone is fine.' Walking out of the room he stared at his wrist and tapped at it a couple of times. 'Everyone is just fine.'
Out the door. Out of the house. Out of the way. Out of town. A get away, that's the specific place he needed to go. Some random place in the middle of nowhere. A place to gather his thoughts with nothing to worry about. He got out of his car eventually. He'd pulled off to the side of the road and then he started walking out into the woods next to it. 'This works. No one will be in the forest at ten o'clock at night.'
Seto continued through the forest until he say the glint of moonlight on what was obviously a lake ahead. Breaking through the fringe he stood on the bank for a second before slumping down onto the ground, one leg extended before him, other raised against his chest as he played with a stick he'd pick up between his fingers. 'You are such and idiot Kaiba. First nobody likes you and you're happy. And then you have to go and try to be nice, and they still don't like you, and you get upset. After you try committing suicide a couple times then you and Tea start connecting a little. Next you get into a car crash after starting to slash your arms up, and she stays at your house for a month, and you really get close. Then she leaves, and you get mad at her. After all of this and back and forth getting mad and not then you finally get over it, make up with her friends, and then she has to go and get parents that decide she has to move because of me.'
He flung the stick into the water and watched it create a small number of ripples. 'Then you try and cut more, but you can't. Finally giving in you go over to where you found Tea moved and find that SHE was cutting, while you couldn't. After THAT then you go and attack her, everything gets screwed at that point, and then you loose your mind.' A small hint of the images flickered through his mind but he shrugged it off and clutched at his wrist. 'Now you're just some paranoid freak who goes around checking whether people are dead or not, and you go beat up random people when you're upset about things that you've done in the past. Great, just great. You're doing so well Kaiba.' The sarcastic thoughts of his remarks filtered through his head and then the daydream he'd had the other day came back to him. 'I never call myself Seto in my head do I? It's always Kaiba. I wonder why. Maybe it's just because I'm insane. That would make sense.'
He smirked slightly and picked up a larger branch which he started breaking into smaller ones as he stared out across the still surface of the lake. 'No. If you had really gone insane then you wouldn't be able to think like this. Your mind would not have the ability to be rational enough to know that you WERE insane.' He uncovered his wrist and stared at it for a brief moment and then closed his hand over it once more. 'So I'm paranoid. I think everyone could drop dead any moment. Then why if I know I'm paranoid can't I just stop it? . It's because you're stupid Kaiba.'
Stopping for a moment he smirked again and sighed. 'And there I go again: "Kaiba". Tea probably talks to herself as Tea, and Joey as Joey, and Yugi as Yugi. I bet they never talk to Gardner, or Wheeler, or Motou. So why do I talk to Kaiba?'
An image of his childhood self appeared next to him sitting there staring up at him. Turning his head Kaiba looked down at him. "Why don't I ever talk to you?"
The little one shrugged and started picking up rocks and throwing them into the water.
"Don't you ever get lonely?"
Seto stopped throwing rocks and then taking his fingers he made a picture of a heart in the dirt and then wrote the word "Tea" inside it.
"So you love Tea too.?"
Seto smiled at Kaiba and nodded.
"What about Mokuba?"
Another nod and smile came from the little one.
Kaiba stared back out at the water and sighed. "I bet you really wanted to go play with Yugi then. Didn't you?"
Seto blinked at him a couple times and then slowly nodded. Then getting up he took off his shoes and rolled up his pants legs. With another little smile at Kaiba he walked into the water and started scanning along the edge.
Looking over at Seto slightly puzzled Kaiba asked, "What are you doing?"
Stopping for a second the little one mouthed the word "Frogs." And then went back to looking the water.
Still confused Kaiba shook his head. "What is the point of that?"
This received a shrug.
"Then why are you doing it?"
There was another mouthed word of "Fun."
Kaiba still didn't understand exactly why his smaller self was trying to catch frogs. "Wouldn't it be more productive to go back and do work instead of wasting your time catching amphibians?"
Seto squinched his eyes and stuck out his tongue as he shook his head.
"So you really want to catch some slimy frog?"
Smiling again the small one nodded and then diving into the water he slid through the mud and struggled with something in his hands.
The splash reached Kaiba and he covered his head with his arm as the rest of him got splattered with Lake Water. Then he watched Seto coming back, covered in mud, holding a small green creature by the legs with a childish grin on his features.
"Now you've managed to get both of us filthy. All for no real purpose."
As if this hurt him slightly Seto pointed at the frog he was carefully holding as if that was the answer.
Kaiba just shook his head. "There's no reason to catch frogs. It's not like it achieves any real goal, it's just stupid."
Seto frowned at him and made Kaiba's hand go palm up. Then he dumped the frog into it and pointed at it.
The older just stared at the creature which shortly after being placed in his palm jumped out and back into the water where it swam down into the depths.
"There really was no point to that."
His younger self just continued frowning and crossed his small arms.
"What?"
Still the same childish glare met him.
Kaiba sighed and taking off his shoes, he rolled up his pants and waded into the water much like Seto had done earlier. "Fine. I'll get you another one." Staring at the dark pool he looked to see if he could find a small set of amphibian eyes breaking the surface. After wading for about two minutes with his childhood self still frowning at him on shore, he finally found one and snapped out his hand to grab it but it quickly dived under the water and got away. Sighing slightly Kaiba waded for a while longer and then finding another pair grabbed at it once more and managed to hold onto it as it squirmed. He cupped his other hand over it and traveled back to Seto on the shore.
"There, happy?" He placed put it into the small one's hands and then slumped back down onto the ground.
Seto smiled and then went and put the frog back in the water.
"I just caught that. and then you go let it go."
The child smiled and Kaiba shook his head.
"That's really stupid."
Seto glared at him again and smacked him on the head.
Blinking a couple of times Kaiba looked down at him. "Why did you do that?"
The word "meanie" was mouthed and the small one sat down on the ground as well and mimicked how Kaiba was sitting.
The older version rolled his eyes. "Look, I'm sorry." He noticed Seto copying him perfectly. "What are you doing that?" This was mimicked as well. "Look that's." He crossed his arms and tapped his finger. "Could you please stop that?"
Breaking the copying for a second Seto shook his head and smiled as he was enjoying his new game.
Kaiba looked away from him and pulled both legs into his chest and wrapped his arms around them. "If only."
The child got up and kneeled down in front of his older self. Still smiling he plopped his head down on Kaiba's knees.
"Just leave me alone."
Still sitting there, Seto took his little finger and poked Kaiba in the middle of his forehead. Seeing his older not reacting at all he poked again. There was still nothing. Frowning slightly the smaller got up and grabbed a glob of mud. Then walking back he simply dumped it on top of Kaiba's head.
Jumping backwards the executive tried to pull the mess from his hair. "What was that for?!"
Seto just sat there grinning.
Without really thinking about it Kaiba grabbed a chunk of dirt and chucked it across at his younger self. The little one just continued smiling as the dirt landed on him and then he grabbed another glob and threw it at Kaiba again. Sort of confused the older grabbed another chunk and tossed it, but it was just answered with another smile, and more dirt sailing back at him. "Why are you doing that?"
Seto smiled and went over to Kaiba. He grabbed his hand and made him get up and dragged him into the shallows of the water.
The older was confused. "What?" Then without warning he was shoved down into the slightly deeper water. Wiping the water out of his eyes he blinked a couple of times at the grinning form of his childhood self. "Why you little."
Seto continued grinning and then jumped down into the water next to his older self, sending up another splash.
They both sat there for a few moments, one smiling with pure joy, the other confused and slightly annoyed at becoming so wet and dirty for no reason at all.
Finally getting up Kaiba tried to shake the water off himself as best he could. Then walking back onto the shore he rolled his pants down again and put his shoes back on. "There's no point to this. I'm going."
Seto ran out of the lake with a spray of water behind him as he ran up and latched onto Kaiba's leg.
"What?"
The little one just continued grabbing onto his leg.
"What is it kid? I really don't know what you want."
Seto looked up at him with the biggest, wateriest, most pathetic eyes that were ever imaginable. Sticking his lip out he stared up at his older and hugged his leg again.
"Do you want another frog or something?"
He shook his head.
"What is it?"
Seto stared up at him again and Kaiba got the impression of I-want-you-to- play-with-me in his head.
Sighing the older walked back onto the bank and took a stick. Making a grid in the sand he put an X in the corner. "There, now you go."
Grinning again the young one jumped down next to him and made an O in the center.
Kaiba made another X and watched Seto make another O again. With a sigh he made another X. After a couple more turns it was a stalemate. The young one looked up at him again and he made another grid. "Now you go first."
This went on for about seven more grids. Each one ending in a deadlock between the two. After all, they were the same person.
Sighing the executive snapped his twig in half and threw it in the water. "There's no point to this."
That's-the-point Seto smiled at him.
"But then what is the purpose?"
To-have-no-point. The young one gave a little giggle and got up. Brushing the dirt off of his small pants he jumped back in the water and rolled around in the shallows sending up mud and water as he went.
Kaiba still sort of annoyed at getting filthy for no purpose grabbed the little one and dragged him out. "Stop that. It's stupid."
Seto glared at him again and crossed his arms.
Sighing the older looked at him. "What did I do now?"
Seto smiled again and stared at him in a don't-tell-me-you-don't-want-to-do- that-too way.
"But all it achieves is to get you muddy and wet."
So?
With that Seto pulled back inside his older self who got up. Brushing himself off as well he stared out at the moon glinting off the water. 'So? .So? Is that really the answer? But it has no logic to it. It has no point, no purpose, it's just "so".'
He finally turned and started making his way back through the forest. 'The purpose is to have no point? That doesn't make any sense. It's just gibberish. How does he expect to hold up his arguments with little bits that make no sense at all and have to support to them? But it did make sense. He was certainly enjoying himself.'
Sighing he opened his car door and started driving back home as the sun started rising off in the distance. 'He was doing things with absolutely no purpose to them, but he was happy anyway. What was the purpose of that?' He shook his head. 'I don't get it. They were just games. Childish games that don't achieve anything and have no point but are supposed to please people anyway. Those were fun, they used to be. But there's no point to them. How on earth can someone enjoy doing something that is just a waste of time?'
At this point he had reached his house and was walking up the stairs on the way to his room to change into some dry clothes. 'Why would anybody do something that is pointless, senseless, with absolutely no reason to? I mean, who would want to waste their time doing something that stupid?'
***************
Mokuba stretched as he sat up in his bed and looked at the clock beside his bed. 9:04. 'Saturdays rule!' With a happy sigh he fell back onto his bed with a sigh and stared at the ceiling for a few minutes before he jumped up and got dressed.
With a smile plastered on his face he ran downstairs and grabbed a bowl of cereal. Munching away cheerfully he looked down at it. 'Crunchatize me Cap'n!' With a little giggle he took the last couple of bites and put away the Captain Crunch. Running over he jumped over the back of the couch and clicked on the TV to watch that morning's cartoons.
After a couple of episodes of watching the characters running around in their various cartoony ways, he turned it off and looked at the clock again. 10:59. He ran upstairs again and was about to head into his room to grab something when he heard some cursing coming out of the office at the end of the hall.
Walking over he opened the door slightly and peered in to see Seto sitting at his computer hitting the keys as his eyes locked onto the screen.
Coming further into the room Mokuba walked up behind his brother and stared at the screen as well. 'Pinball? He's playing pinball?'
"Seto?"
Just then the executive jerked back from the keyboard and let the silver ball on the monitor fall between the flippers as he stared at his little brother. "What?"
Mokuba pointed at where the game used to be. "Were you just playing pinball?"
The older Kaiba turned back and opened up a screen of solitaire instead as he had a list of other sorts of activities minimized at the bottom. "Yeah. I thought I'd try it."
At this point Mokuba was confused. ".Why?"
"Because it's better than catching frogs."
He raised an eyebrow even more lost. "Huh?"
"Nevermind." Seto then closed that window too and went through the rest of them and closed them. 'I still don't get the purpose. They're just stupid games and they don't accomplish anything whatsoever.' Standing up he pulled the hat that Mokuba had insisted on wearing ever since his hair cut, over his brother's eyes. "I'm going to out. Later." With that he left.
Pulling the purple cotton hat back into place he stared after his older brother. "Um. okay." He was still confused. 'Since when did he decide to try computer games?'