Child at Heart
Chapter 10
The day Seto first broke down was probably the most humiliating for him, as humiliating as it was creepy for Yami. I don't really blame him-a legend fainting because he's anemic? Never heard of it. But not withstanding, he admitted that he was very much " chagrined", was his word for it, and I remember Joey went up to him and patted him on the shoulder.
" That's okay pal." He had stated. " It happens to the best of us."
" Oh, I'm not unhappy about that." Seto answered. " It's just that it also happens to the worst of us."
This, for some reason, seemed to be extremely amusing to the Pegasuses and the doctors, who immediately started laughing hysterically as if the statement actually made sense. I know Pegasus might be a little insane, but his wife? The MD's?
Yami also found this awfully amusing, but he didn't laugh that much, being reticent by nature. After thinking over this interesting statement somewhat, I realized in a logical way it was both funny and sane.
Tea and Honda had somehow persuaded Yami and I to enter the tournament. I still didn't understand why. Of course, we had to ask Joey to be our partner since there are some people in the world who know I don't have a brother, twin or no.
In truth, I didn't really want to go. I've literally had enough of dueling, not because it was boring or I was psyched, but because I figured it was too dishonest. It's kind of like how many people don't want to go to court. Too many tricks. I've had enough of tricks to last me a lifetime.
But this time it was actually fun. Seto had privately made Pegasus promise not to use magic, for their benefit or for the defeat of their opponents, since they had placed a challenge with a reward of I forgot which. He also told Pegasus that it would be more interesting to find out what the player does after he lays the card down rather then to know beforehand, which in some cases makes sense, and in some cases,
Well, makes sense too, but doesn't fit...?
The duels lasted a whole week! Every morning and every afternoon, twice each day, with different duels going on. There were about eight duels each morning and afternoon, which was a lot. Then, the semi-finals, lasting about a week after that. It was fun. Joey and I had a great time, and when it came to dueling Pegasus and Seto we lost.
Seto, believe it or not, is actually much better when he doesn't use his shield, and he probably scared the guts out of people because he actually joked with me while we played. Did they expect Seto to hate me for his defeat? I don't know. I remember one of the good ones.
" Yugi!" He had called. " By the way, if you ever retire early, can you lend me some of your cards?"
" Like what?" I shouted back, incredulous, in front of the whole black audience. " You have all the cards possible!"
" I can use Exodia!" He laughed. " Even three of them! By the way, are you going to put that card down anytime soon?"
" Seto!" I yelled, indignant, realizing that I was holding that card in midair while yelling at him, and blushed bright red in the face. Seto and Pegasus just laughed at me.
I remember a time when I was dreaming. It was a while after the duelist tournament, with everyone going back amazed and content. I dreamed that Seto and I were in a park. Yami wasn't there. Joey wasn't there. No one was there except us.
Seto came over the same way Yami and I had come over to him before. He sat down without asking though. It was dark. The sky was clear, dotted with thousands of stars. The wind was blowing, a cold, fresh wind of night, and crickets clicking at their songs.
" Very beautiful, this place." He stated.
" Hm?" I blinked. " What do you mean?"
" This place." Seto answered. " I don't know how you came here. But this was the place I go when I need to think. I remember that first day Mom and Dad died. Mokuba was sleeping and I was staring at the ceiling. I was wondering if we would make it out alive, if either of us have a future."
" And you came here?"
" It was the first time. I came here often." Seto leaned forward, looking down.
" You're very lucky, you know."
" What? Living in a dump like Domino, trying to run a shop with my Grandpa in order to earn enough money for food?"
" You don't understand." Seto answered. " When you get older, money counts. Money is survival. When you are young, family is the chief thing. I know what you want though."
" Oh? What do I want?" I had dared him.
" Oh, if you're thinking I'm going to say that you want money and a good home, that's not what I meant. I know you don't care about it. Sure, if you could have it, you would be glad to. But everything comes with a price."
" Everything does." I answered.
" Everything." Seto nodded. " You want to be left in peace. You want to live without problems, without people like Pegasus or some crazy maniac to deal with, without kidnapping your grandfather or your friend's sister. Yugi, all of us want that. But it's too much to ask for now. Too much."
" What do you want, then?" I asked. " Do you want anything more?"
" No. I too, want to be left alone, in peace." Seto answered. " But now I just want someone to care for me."
" We care for you, Seto."
" You don't understand." Seto repeated. " You don't know what I'm asking for. I ask for much more. I ask for someone who would help me in times of need without a second thought. I ask for someone who will place me before all the rest of the world."
At first it sounded too much, crazy, insane, But then Seto added,
" I ask for parents."
" It's not that I'm worried about." Seto muttered. " It's that they saw me faint. This is going to be very bad for my ego."
" Who cares about egos?"
" Adults." And he was right.
" If my parents were alive," He glanced at me for that one, " I would be able to FAINT."
We were silent. Yami noticed Seto's look and turned to me. He asked a silent question.
I said nothing. I didn't understand.
Later that day I went to find Seto. Seto was out in the meadow feeding squirrels. It was actually very pleasant to watch him do something ordinary.
Sitting down beside him, we watched the squirrel nibble at the peanut shell.
" Was the dream real then?" I asked.
" Very much." Seto answered. " That power only reawakened recently. Before it never happened."
We were silent for a minute.
" Must be hard."
" It is."
" Living all this time without any support."
" I had Mokuba."
" Was he really enough?"
" No."
Silence.
" How long has it been now?"
" Six years."
" Six?"
" Yeah, well, I only lost it when I was twelve. Does that explain much?"
" I guess. Six years. Whoa."
" It won't be too long for you Yugi." Seto smiled. " For most people, six years is very short. Ten years, twenty years, that's long. Six years is nothing. It passes like a breeze."
I looked at him sadly.
" It's kind of why I created a shield in the first place Yugi." Seto answered. " Had to survive. Had to give myself a future, and for Mokuba too. It's the only way really. I was never a good boy to my parents, always wanting this, wanting that. They always relented. When Mom was diagnosed with leukemia, I didn't understand. I kept on wanting her to take me out into the beach. She relented. She fell unconscious. She never woke up again. My dad, well, I kept on asking him if I could have this, have that, if I can have this candy, that cereal. He relented. One day I asked the impossible. I asked if we can visit Mom's grave. He didn't want to go. He hit me. Hard. I cried. I ran out into the street. He chased after me. The truck came. He never went back home."
I felt tears well up in my eyes as I took his hand and gave it a squeeze. Seto smiled bitterly.
" I'm not a kid anymore Yugi." He ran his fingers through his hair with his free hand. " See that?" He held it out. A white hair stuck in between the brown. " That's proof. Six years, trying to survive. That's why many creatures don't live long. Dogs, they only live for seventeen years, more or less. Horses, twenty years. Humans, forty, until people started playing with fate. I'm sixteen years old. I have been for four months. The white hair appeared when I was fourteen. Can you believe that?"
I shook my head. No, I can't believe that.
" So many things you don't understand Yugi." Seto sighed. " I am not cold hearted. I believed in the Heart of the Cards. But sometimes, survival is more important. That time I had Mokuba. Mokuba. He's the only thing left of me, of my parents, of the life I once lived. Your grandfather's Blue Eyes was a threat. And when you live my life, you can't lose. You lose, only once, even once, and that is fatal. Then I can let go, Yugi. I can just let go and give up everything. Mokuba would not stand a chance. My place would end." Seto withdrew his hand.
" If my parents were alive, Yugi," He continued. " If my parents were alive, I would be able to lose. I would not care if you had a Blue Eyes White Dragon. I would not care if you had a millennium puzzle and defeated me. I would not care if Kaiba Corps failed. I'd have better support."
" But you're doing the supporting now."
" Yes."
" What about Pegasus?" I asked. Then I blinked. " Max, I mean?"
" Max?" Seto stared at me, then he suddenly looked angry. " Why do you mention Max?"
" Well, isn't it apparent that he cares deeply for you?" I was getting a little nervous. " I mean, Cecilia and Pegasus practically want to adopt you-"
" Adopt me!" Seto's voice grew slightly louder. " Max! Cecilia!" His eyes flashed in reserved rage. I paled.
" I was only wondering..."
" Wondering!" Seto blinked, and I realized I shouldn't have spoken. " You are too open Yugi! You are too innocent! Too ignorant!" He stood up and left me there.
I had no idea what was wrong.
The following day Seto went crazy again. He started working at the cards, putting them in some strange pattern. This time he tried spells, but only created fire and water.
Pegasus called us. We had to calm him down. Yami had to create a spell to put him to sleep.
The day after that Seto was normal again, but Pegasus and Cecilia kept an eye on him. We all did, actually. But Seto got something very interesting from the internet. Pegasus and Cecilia had heard the other version, but Seto decided we should hear it, since all of us were sophomores and not seniors.
" This is called Cow Economic Theories." Seto sat down with two pieces of paper in his hand, printed out directly from the computer. We all sat down.
" Traditional Capitalism: You have two cows. You sell one cow and buy a bull. Your herd multiplies, and the economy grows. You retire on the income."
" Okay?" Joey blinked.
"Enron Venture Capitalism. You have two cows. You sell three of them to your publicly listed company, using letters of credit opened by your brother-in-law at the bank, then execute a debt/equity swap with an associated general offer so that you get all four cows back, with a tax exemption for five cows. The milk rights of the six cows are transferred via an intermediary to a Cayman Island company secretly owned by the majority shareholder who sells the rights to all seven cows back to your listed company. The annual report says the company owns eight cows, with an option on one more. Sell one cow to buy a new president of the United States, leaving you with nine cows. No balance sheet provided with the release. The public buys your bull."
" I don't get it." Joey blinked.
" They lie. Have you ever heard of the collapse?" Pegasus began laughing at Joey, who smacked his forehead.
" An American Corporation. You have two cows. You sell one cow, and force the other cow to produce the milk of four cows. You are surprised when the cow drops dead."
At this we burst out laughing, even Cecilia and Pegasus, who never get tired of jokes like these.
" A French Corporation. You have two cows. You go on strike because you want three cows."
" Hey! That really insults the French!" Tristan chuckled. Tea whacked him on the head.
" A Japanese Corporation. You have two cows. You redesign them so they are one tenth the size of an ordinary cow and produce twenty times the milk. You then create clever cartoon cow images called Cowkimon and market them world-wide."
Joey snorted.
" Pegasus!"
" I didn't do anything." Pegasus started. " I only created Duel Monsters."
" Or rather, reawakened them." Seto laughed, as Tea sat back in her couch next to me.
" German Corporation. You have two cows. You re-engineer them so that they live for a hundred years, eat once a month, and milk themselves."
" That's good, actually." Yami stated.
" It is." Seto answered, with a mischievous glint in his eye. " Now if only I can do that."
We laughed.
" Oh, this is a good one. A British Corporation. You have two cows. Both are mad."
At this all of us started laughing hard.
" That's so cute!" Tea murmured. Seto just smiled. How does he not laugh at this?
" An Italian Corporation. You have two cows, but you don't know where they are. You break for lunch."
" What does that mean?"
" You lost the money? I don't know." Seto shrugged. " A Russian Corporation. You have two cows. You count them once and learn you have eight cows. You count them again and learn you have forty-two cows. You count them again and learn you have twelve cows. You stop counting cows and open another bottle of vodka."
" Drunken CEO!" Tea giggled.
" This is a good one. A Swiss Corporation. You have five hundred cows, none of which belong to you. You charge for storing them."
" That's true, actually." Pegasus blinked. " I haven't heard that one before.
" Sure." Seto nodded.
" A Hindu Corporation. You have two cows. You worship them."
" That's just mean!"
" I know, right?"
" This is an even better one! A Chinese Corporation. You have two cows. You have three hundred people milking them, and you claim full employment, high bovine productivity, and arrest the newsmen who reported the numbers."
" Chinese Communism." Was our response.
" An Israeli Corporation...um, I don't get it. It says...So, there are these two Jewish cows...right? They open a factory, an ice cream store, and sell movie rights. They send their calves to John Hopkins to become doctors. So, who needs people?"
" That's stupid."
" Yeah, tell me about it."
" You have two cows. You eat them."
" Which one is that?"
" Arkansas. Don't ask."
We laughed again. But when I looked at Pegasus I noticed something. He looked uneasy. His eyes were narrowed slightly. He was suspicious.
Seto had cut off their link.
Days later, one week before Seto was scheduled to go back home, I went to his room to get his deck so he could duel Pegasus again, and try to beat him. I noticed a photo album lying on the desk. It was opened, but a piece of paper was covering the first picture.
Curious, I brushed the paper aside.
The first picture was Seto when he was about four or five. He was holding a very tiny violin towards the camera, probably his first. His teeth were wide apart, as most children are, and he had a bright smile on his face. There was a cone hat on his head, suggesting it was a birthday party. There was a brown haired woman next to him, holding his shoulders.
God, she was beautiful...
The next one was when he was a little older. There was a toddler next to him and he was grimacing at him. I thought the toddler might have been Mokuba. Seto was frowning while several of his friends were laughing at his brother, a girl was holding Mokuba's hand.
The third one was when Seto was about nine. He was holding a violin with a group of boys and girls, also holding violins. There was a tall woman, different from his mother. He was much more mature now, and not as smiling.
" That was a concert." I heard. I whipped around and nearly dropped the album. Seto was looking over my shoulder. " See that boy with the freckles? He's Albert. He was about twelve years old at the time, and he was really good. The girl was Camille. She wasn't as good as Albert, she was a year younger then me. How old was I then? Nine. My dad took this picture. That woman over there? She's my teacher. She moved to New York and performed in Carnegie Hall a couple of times. I forgot her name."
I nodded. I was surprised that Seto sounded almost pleased.
The next picture was when Seto was a lot bigger. He was holding Mokuba by the shoulders and had a cold expression on his face. They were standing in front of a zoo.
" That was when I was twelve." Seto answered the unasked question. " We were adopted that same day."
" You didn't look like your twelve year old self." I remarked.
" No, I didn't." Seto answered. " By then I cried the last tears I had left. See this picture? That was Mokuba's birthday. He turned eight, I think, which means I was...fourteen, or thirteen. I'm not sure which. He had friends, very few, but friends. I invited several close relatives of my other father." He frowned. " they ruined the party. I never did it again. See that picture? That was the first duel. I was thirteen...right. I won the duel. It didn't matter to me really, but Mokuba insisted I take the trophy and a picture. He was the one who took it, so it was a little sloppy, but that's fine."
" You had a lot of sweet memories, Seto."
" I guess I did." Seto smiled. " But the pain is still there."
" You don't seem to be affected."
" Ah Yugi." He answered. " When one cried all the time, eventually all the tears dry up. And the next time you cry they are no longer your tears. That's how people die, Yugi. See that first picture? I cried when I saw that picture when I was ten. It was my mommy over there. Isn't she beautiful? But she's no longer my mommy. That's no longer me. I'm no longer Seti. I'm Seto Kaiba."
Chapter 10
The day Seto first broke down was probably the most humiliating for him, as humiliating as it was creepy for Yami. I don't really blame him-a legend fainting because he's anemic? Never heard of it. But not withstanding, he admitted that he was very much " chagrined", was his word for it, and I remember Joey went up to him and patted him on the shoulder.
" That's okay pal." He had stated. " It happens to the best of us."
" Oh, I'm not unhappy about that." Seto answered. " It's just that it also happens to the worst of us."
This, for some reason, seemed to be extremely amusing to the Pegasuses and the doctors, who immediately started laughing hysterically as if the statement actually made sense. I know Pegasus might be a little insane, but his wife? The MD's?
Yami also found this awfully amusing, but he didn't laugh that much, being reticent by nature. After thinking over this interesting statement somewhat, I realized in a logical way it was both funny and sane.
Tea and Honda had somehow persuaded Yami and I to enter the tournament. I still didn't understand why. Of course, we had to ask Joey to be our partner since there are some people in the world who know I don't have a brother, twin or no.
In truth, I didn't really want to go. I've literally had enough of dueling, not because it was boring or I was psyched, but because I figured it was too dishonest. It's kind of like how many people don't want to go to court. Too many tricks. I've had enough of tricks to last me a lifetime.
But this time it was actually fun. Seto had privately made Pegasus promise not to use magic, for their benefit or for the defeat of their opponents, since they had placed a challenge with a reward of I forgot which. He also told Pegasus that it would be more interesting to find out what the player does after he lays the card down rather then to know beforehand, which in some cases makes sense, and in some cases,
Well, makes sense too, but doesn't fit...?
The duels lasted a whole week! Every morning and every afternoon, twice each day, with different duels going on. There were about eight duels each morning and afternoon, which was a lot. Then, the semi-finals, lasting about a week after that. It was fun. Joey and I had a great time, and when it came to dueling Pegasus and Seto we lost.
Seto, believe it or not, is actually much better when he doesn't use his shield, and he probably scared the guts out of people because he actually joked with me while we played. Did they expect Seto to hate me for his defeat? I don't know. I remember one of the good ones.
" Yugi!" He had called. " By the way, if you ever retire early, can you lend me some of your cards?"
" Like what?" I shouted back, incredulous, in front of the whole black audience. " You have all the cards possible!"
" I can use Exodia!" He laughed. " Even three of them! By the way, are you going to put that card down anytime soon?"
" Seto!" I yelled, indignant, realizing that I was holding that card in midair while yelling at him, and blushed bright red in the face. Seto and Pegasus just laughed at me.
I remember a time when I was dreaming. It was a while after the duelist tournament, with everyone going back amazed and content. I dreamed that Seto and I were in a park. Yami wasn't there. Joey wasn't there. No one was there except us.
Seto came over the same way Yami and I had come over to him before. He sat down without asking though. It was dark. The sky was clear, dotted with thousands of stars. The wind was blowing, a cold, fresh wind of night, and crickets clicking at their songs.
" Very beautiful, this place." He stated.
" Hm?" I blinked. " What do you mean?"
" This place." Seto answered. " I don't know how you came here. But this was the place I go when I need to think. I remember that first day Mom and Dad died. Mokuba was sleeping and I was staring at the ceiling. I was wondering if we would make it out alive, if either of us have a future."
" And you came here?"
" It was the first time. I came here often." Seto leaned forward, looking down.
" You're very lucky, you know."
" What? Living in a dump like Domino, trying to run a shop with my Grandpa in order to earn enough money for food?"
" You don't understand." Seto answered. " When you get older, money counts. Money is survival. When you are young, family is the chief thing. I know what you want though."
" Oh? What do I want?" I had dared him.
" Oh, if you're thinking I'm going to say that you want money and a good home, that's not what I meant. I know you don't care about it. Sure, if you could have it, you would be glad to. But everything comes with a price."
" Everything does." I answered.
" Everything." Seto nodded. " You want to be left in peace. You want to live without problems, without people like Pegasus or some crazy maniac to deal with, without kidnapping your grandfather or your friend's sister. Yugi, all of us want that. But it's too much to ask for now. Too much."
" What do you want, then?" I asked. " Do you want anything more?"
" No. I too, want to be left alone, in peace." Seto answered. " But now I just want someone to care for me."
" We care for you, Seto."
" You don't understand." Seto repeated. " You don't know what I'm asking for. I ask for much more. I ask for someone who would help me in times of need without a second thought. I ask for someone who will place me before all the rest of the world."
At first it sounded too much, crazy, insane, But then Seto added,
" I ask for parents."
" It's not that I'm worried about." Seto muttered. " It's that they saw me faint. This is going to be very bad for my ego."
" Who cares about egos?"
" Adults." And he was right.
" If my parents were alive," He glanced at me for that one, " I would be able to FAINT."
We were silent. Yami noticed Seto's look and turned to me. He asked a silent question.
I said nothing. I didn't understand.
Later that day I went to find Seto. Seto was out in the meadow feeding squirrels. It was actually very pleasant to watch him do something ordinary.
Sitting down beside him, we watched the squirrel nibble at the peanut shell.
" Was the dream real then?" I asked.
" Very much." Seto answered. " That power only reawakened recently. Before it never happened."
We were silent for a minute.
" Must be hard."
" It is."
" Living all this time without any support."
" I had Mokuba."
" Was he really enough?"
" No."
Silence.
" How long has it been now?"
" Six years."
" Six?"
" Yeah, well, I only lost it when I was twelve. Does that explain much?"
" I guess. Six years. Whoa."
" It won't be too long for you Yugi." Seto smiled. " For most people, six years is very short. Ten years, twenty years, that's long. Six years is nothing. It passes like a breeze."
I looked at him sadly.
" It's kind of why I created a shield in the first place Yugi." Seto answered. " Had to survive. Had to give myself a future, and for Mokuba too. It's the only way really. I was never a good boy to my parents, always wanting this, wanting that. They always relented. When Mom was diagnosed with leukemia, I didn't understand. I kept on wanting her to take me out into the beach. She relented. She fell unconscious. She never woke up again. My dad, well, I kept on asking him if I could have this, have that, if I can have this candy, that cereal. He relented. One day I asked the impossible. I asked if we can visit Mom's grave. He didn't want to go. He hit me. Hard. I cried. I ran out into the street. He chased after me. The truck came. He never went back home."
I felt tears well up in my eyes as I took his hand and gave it a squeeze. Seto smiled bitterly.
" I'm not a kid anymore Yugi." He ran his fingers through his hair with his free hand. " See that?" He held it out. A white hair stuck in between the brown. " That's proof. Six years, trying to survive. That's why many creatures don't live long. Dogs, they only live for seventeen years, more or less. Horses, twenty years. Humans, forty, until people started playing with fate. I'm sixteen years old. I have been for four months. The white hair appeared when I was fourteen. Can you believe that?"
I shook my head. No, I can't believe that.
" So many things you don't understand Yugi." Seto sighed. " I am not cold hearted. I believed in the Heart of the Cards. But sometimes, survival is more important. That time I had Mokuba. Mokuba. He's the only thing left of me, of my parents, of the life I once lived. Your grandfather's Blue Eyes was a threat. And when you live my life, you can't lose. You lose, only once, even once, and that is fatal. Then I can let go, Yugi. I can just let go and give up everything. Mokuba would not stand a chance. My place would end." Seto withdrew his hand.
" If my parents were alive, Yugi," He continued. " If my parents were alive, I would be able to lose. I would not care if you had a Blue Eyes White Dragon. I would not care if you had a millennium puzzle and defeated me. I would not care if Kaiba Corps failed. I'd have better support."
" But you're doing the supporting now."
" Yes."
" What about Pegasus?" I asked. Then I blinked. " Max, I mean?"
" Max?" Seto stared at me, then he suddenly looked angry. " Why do you mention Max?"
" Well, isn't it apparent that he cares deeply for you?" I was getting a little nervous. " I mean, Cecilia and Pegasus practically want to adopt you-"
" Adopt me!" Seto's voice grew slightly louder. " Max! Cecilia!" His eyes flashed in reserved rage. I paled.
" I was only wondering..."
" Wondering!" Seto blinked, and I realized I shouldn't have spoken. " You are too open Yugi! You are too innocent! Too ignorant!" He stood up and left me there.
I had no idea what was wrong.
The following day Seto went crazy again. He started working at the cards, putting them in some strange pattern. This time he tried spells, but only created fire and water.
Pegasus called us. We had to calm him down. Yami had to create a spell to put him to sleep.
The day after that Seto was normal again, but Pegasus and Cecilia kept an eye on him. We all did, actually. But Seto got something very interesting from the internet. Pegasus and Cecilia had heard the other version, but Seto decided we should hear it, since all of us were sophomores and not seniors.
" This is called Cow Economic Theories." Seto sat down with two pieces of paper in his hand, printed out directly from the computer. We all sat down.
" Traditional Capitalism: You have two cows. You sell one cow and buy a bull. Your herd multiplies, and the economy grows. You retire on the income."
" Okay?" Joey blinked.
"Enron Venture Capitalism. You have two cows. You sell three of them to your publicly listed company, using letters of credit opened by your brother-in-law at the bank, then execute a debt/equity swap with an associated general offer so that you get all four cows back, with a tax exemption for five cows. The milk rights of the six cows are transferred via an intermediary to a Cayman Island company secretly owned by the majority shareholder who sells the rights to all seven cows back to your listed company. The annual report says the company owns eight cows, with an option on one more. Sell one cow to buy a new president of the United States, leaving you with nine cows. No balance sheet provided with the release. The public buys your bull."
" I don't get it." Joey blinked.
" They lie. Have you ever heard of the collapse?" Pegasus began laughing at Joey, who smacked his forehead.
" An American Corporation. You have two cows. You sell one cow, and force the other cow to produce the milk of four cows. You are surprised when the cow drops dead."
At this we burst out laughing, even Cecilia and Pegasus, who never get tired of jokes like these.
" A French Corporation. You have two cows. You go on strike because you want three cows."
" Hey! That really insults the French!" Tristan chuckled. Tea whacked him on the head.
" A Japanese Corporation. You have two cows. You redesign them so they are one tenth the size of an ordinary cow and produce twenty times the milk. You then create clever cartoon cow images called Cowkimon and market them world-wide."
Joey snorted.
" Pegasus!"
" I didn't do anything." Pegasus started. " I only created Duel Monsters."
" Or rather, reawakened them." Seto laughed, as Tea sat back in her couch next to me.
" German Corporation. You have two cows. You re-engineer them so that they live for a hundred years, eat once a month, and milk themselves."
" That's good, actually." Yami stated.
" It is." Seto answered, with a mischievous glint in his eye. " Now if only I can do that."
We laughed.
" Oh, this is a good one. A British Corporation. You have two cows. Both are mad."
At this all of us started laughing hard.
" That's so cute!" Tea murmured. Seto just smiled. How does he not laugh at this?
" An Italian Corporation. You have two cows, but you don't know where they are. You break for lunch."
" What does that mean?"
" You lost the money? I don't know." Seto shrugged. " A Russian Corporation. You have two cows. You count them once and learn you have eight cows. You count them again and learn you have forty-two cows. You count them again and learn you have twelve cows. You stop counting cows and open another bottle of vodka."
" Drunken CEO!" Tea giggled.
" This is a good one. A Swiss Corporation. You have five hundred cows, none of which belong to you. You charge for storing them."
" That's true, actually." Pegasus blinked. " I haven't heard that one before.
" Sure." Seto nodded.
" A Hindu Corporation. You have two cows. You worship them."
" That's just mean!"
" I know, right?"
" This is an even better one! A Chinese Corporation. You have two cows. You have three hundred people milking them, and you claim full employment, high bovine productivity, and arrest the newsmen who reported the numbers."
" Chinese Communism." Was our response.
" An Israeli Corporation...um, I don't get it. It says...So, there are these two Jewish cows...right? They open a factory, an ice cream store, and sell movie rights. They send their calves to John Hopkins to become doctors. So, who needs people?"
" That's stupid."
" Yeah, tell me about it."
" You have two cows. You eat them."
" Which one is that?"
" Arkansas. Don't ask."
We laughed again. But when I looked at Pegasus I noticed something. He looked uneasy. His eyes were narrowed slightly. He was suspicious.
Seto had cut off their link.
Days later, one week before Seto was scheduled to go back home, I went to his room to get his deck so he could duel Pegasus again, and try to beat him. I noticed a photo album lying on the desk. It was opened, but a piece of paper was covering the first picture.
Curious, I brushed the paper aside.
The first picture was Seto when he was about four or five. He was holding a very tiny violin towards the camera, probably his first. His teeth were wide apart, as most children are, and he had a bright smile on his face. There was a cone hat on his head, suggesting it was a birthday party. There was a brown haired woman next to him, holding his shoulders.
God, she was beautiful...
The next one was when he was a little older. There was a toddler next to him and he was grimacing at him. I thought the toddler might have been Mokuba. Seto was frowning while several of his friends were laughing at his brother, a girl was holding Mokuba's hand.
The third one was when Seto was about nine. He was holding a violin with a group of boys and girls, also holding violins. There was a tall woman, different from his mother. He was much more mature now, and not as smiling.
" That was a concert." I heard. I whipped around and nearly dropped the album. Seto was looking over my shoulder. " See that boy with the freckles? He's Albert. He was about twelve years old at the time, and he was really good. The girl was Camille. She wasn't as good as Albert, she was a year younger then me. How old was I then? Nine. My dad took this picture. That woman over there? She's my teacher. She moved to New York and performed in Carnegie Hall a couple of times. I forgot her name."
I nodded. I was surprised that Seto sounded almost pleased.
The next picture was when Seto was a lot bigger. He was holding Mokuba by the shoulders and had a cold expression on his face. They were standing in front of a zoo.
" That was when I was twelve." Seto answered the unasked question. " We were adopted that same day."
" You didn't look like your twelve year old self." I remarked.
" No, I didn't." Seto answered. " By then I cried the last tears I had left. See this picture? That was Mokuba's birthday. He turned eight, I think, which means I was...fourteen, or thirteen. I'm not sure which. He had friends, very few, but friends. I invited several close relatives of my other father." He frowned. " they ruined the party. I never did it again. See that picture? That was the first duel. I was thirteen...right. I won the duel. It didn't matter to me really, but Mokuba insisted I take the trophy and a picture. He was the one who took it, so it was a little sloppy, but that's fine."
" You had a lot of sweet memories, Seto."
" I guess I did." Seto smiled. " But the pain is still there."
" You don't seem to be affected."
" Ah Yugi." He answered. " When one cried all the time, eventually all the tears dry up. And the next time you cry they are no longer your tears. That's how people die, Yugi. See that first picture? I cried when I saw that picture when I was ten. It was my mommy over there. Isn't she beautiful? But she's no longer my mommy. That's no longer me. I'm no longer Seti. I'm Seto Kaiba."