Child at Heart
Chapter 11
He couldn't lose. That was the whole point. He has to be perfect, in order to survive. And yet that is too much for him. Too much. No one can be perfect-that is insanity. Somehow though, it seems to be the only thing the world can accept.
Just when things were getting better we received the most powerful blow.
Pegasus knew, he didn't tell until too late. We were eating. The doorbell rang.
Actually, this particular story began much earlier that day, in the morning, when all of us, Yugi, Bakura, Tristan and I all noticed that both Cecilia and Pegasus seem strangely uneasy. We suddenly began to keep a close eye on them. Seto probably did as well.
The day dragged on and they became even more uncomfortable. We looked at each other and muttered what was going on. But there was no answer.
The uneasiness broke momentarily when Pegasus and Seto played a duet for fun. Strangely they played nothing technical. They were making fun of Tea, actually. It was some kind of song from an opera by Tchaikovsky, the first tableau, and they were playing the singing part, with Pegasus fingering at his viola which we only discovered that day and Seto playing the soprano part. They were laughing and saying the words as they played. It was a beautiful song.
" And did you hear, him singing all night long,
Within the grove, as if his heart were aching?"
" And in the hush, that fell as day was breaking,
And then the shepherd piped his plaintive song"
" And did you hear, the voice of love, and did you hear?
He sang his love! And then the shepherd piped his plaintive simple song,
And did you hear? And did you hear? And did you hear,
The voice of love."
" And did you sigh, at songs of love's distress,
Were not his voice, and face and form entrancing?
And slowly through, the woods he came advancing,
With longing looks of love and wistfulness."
" And did you sigh, and did you sigh, and did you sigh?
And did you sigh! To meet his eye with longing looks of love's distress
And did you sigh? And did you sigh? And did you sigh,
And did you sigh?"
Then Pegasus muttered something about Russian, and they had to retune his viola. Seto muttered something about pegs and broken forks.
" Once the kid that also studies with me-he melted his tuning fork over a fire by accident."
" How can you melt something like that?"
" Don't know. And by accident too!"
" You're joking."
" I'm not."
" You are. That's impossible. Fires in houses are not that hot."
" Tell that to the tuning fork. He even brought it. The thing looked like some kind of squished metal. Luckily, tuning forks aren't that expensive." Seto chuckled.
Yugi and I went outside for the afternoon. Cecilia took us to one of the more pleasant caves. There were no skeletons or rocks falling from ceilings. Just a nice, cozy place where you simply lie down and sleep if you want to and won't wake up with a backache.
" Maximillian use to paint all the time. And since painting and music intertwine so well, he also played violin most of the time too. The viola he doesn't touch much since he doesn't need to; they have the same technique. Before we were married he use to write poems and send me paintings, or give me a quiet piece that's both romantic and beautiful. He used to be sweet then."
" That's so kind." I answered. " But it seems that he's much better now."
" Thanks to Seto actually." Cecilia answered thoughtfully. " We were planning on having a child, that's when it happened."
" What happened?"
" A drunken driver drove into the sidwalk lane at a red light." Cecilia answered. Yugi and I felt a pang of fear. " Funny, wasn't that what happened to Mokuba? I don't really remember."
Yugi and I stared at each other. We said nothing.
For a long time that day Seto chatted merrily, but we all knew he was suspicious like we were. Cecilia was a good actress, much better at it then Pegasus, at least, who remained quiet most of the time. Seto and Pegasus played another game, to which they tied, much to the distress of both. Pegasus was not a bad player.
Then Yugi and Seto dueled. Seto defeated him, but it was a close match. I played him, we tied.
Basically we were bored out of our minds that particular day. None of us felt like going out after that cave, and none of us wanted to watch television either.
It happened at dinner. We were of course, eating, as most people do during dinners. Croquet appeared at the entrance to the dining room.
" Master Pegasus, there is a visitor, and I think you may find him interesting."
At this, Pegasus and Cecilia looked at each other and there was a brief but uneasy silence.
" Tell him to wait in the living room." Pegasus answered. " I'll meet him shortly."
Croquet nodded and left. Seto placed his elbows on the table and looked at Pegasus strangely.
" Max, you feel like you're going to have a nervous breakdown."
That might not make sense to most, but Pegasus and Seto had long ago revealed how they had a mental connection. Pegasus is the one that reads minds. Seto is the one that tells emotions.
" Well?" Seto tilted his head. " Is there something going on that I don't know?"
For a long moment Seto and Pegasus looked at each other in the eye as if trying to stare each other down. Then Pegasus shifted.
" I'll tell you later." He answered, a little too quickly, and stood up. Seto, however, didn't seem to be too willing to let him off that easily.
" Max, you've been acting strange the whole day. That game we had you seemed to focus too much, and then you've been awfully quiet. What's going on? Why aren't you telling me?"
" Seto, leave him alone. We promise to tell you when the time is right." Cecilia pleaded.
Seto blinked, and sat down slowly. Pegasus, as if freed, walked out of the room. There was an uneasy silence again.
" Gee. That's some weird conversation." Joey commented. " So, when are you gonna leave? This is some kind of paradise. I don't think you should anyway, not until you get cured."
" How do you know I'm not cured?" Seto asked.
" Well, for one thing." I answered. " You still look awfully pale and awfully thin. Fine. That's natural. But still, you ought to stay a little while longer, just in case."
Seto raised his eyebrows. " Alright? But I still have a company to run, you know. Alright! Now I've had it. What the heck is Max doing over there?"
" Seto-"
" He is annoyed at something." Seto raised his eyebrows again. " Come on Cecilia, just tell me."
" It's for your own good Seto."
" How? I'm sixteen for heaven's sake!"
" You're only sixteen."
" And what is that supposed to mean?"
" There are some things you're not ready for."
" Like?"
" Mokuba's death, death of your parents, Mokuba's soul being erased." Cecilia looked angry, but she was calm. " Seto."
" Cecilia, is this all about me all of the sudden?" Seto looked confused. " I really have no connection with anyone other then Kaiba Corps, and those men have no reason to search for me all the way here."
" You still have one connection left."
" What-"
Cecilia paled and her anger was flushed away.
" So you're trying to protect me."
" That's what we have always been doing."
" From what? I don't need any protection. I'm perfectly capable of handling anything."
" Are you? Because this is a blast from the past. You're not ready-" Cecilia fell quiet.
" From the past?" Seto looked at us. " What? I..."
He whirled around and went. Cecilia stood up abruptly and held him back with his wrist. He turned around.
" You can't go."
" Let go!" Seto flung her hand off.
" Seto, wait!" Cecilia followed him. We ran after her. When Seto reached the living room, he suddenly stopped and stood stiff and erect, his hands flung to the sides in a frozen position. We caught up with him.
Pegasus turned around slowly. The man he was talking to looked up with him.
We gasped at who the man was.
It was Seto!
Chapter 11
He couldn't lose. That was the whole point. He has to be perfect, in order to survive. And yet that is too much for him. Too much. No one can be perfect-that is insanity. Somehow though, it seems to be the only thing the world can accept.
Just when things were getting better we received the most powerful blow.
Pegasus knew, he didn't tell until too late. We were eating. The doorbell rang.
Actually, this particular story began much earlier that day, in the morning, when all of us, Yugi, Bakura, Tristan and I all noticed that both Cecilia and Pegasus seem strangely uneasy. We suddenly began to keep a close eye on them. Seto probably did as well.
The day dragged on and they became even more uncomfortable. We looked at each other and muttered what was going on. But there was no answer.
The uneasiness broke momentarily when Pegasus and Seto played a duet for fun. Strangely they played nothing technical. They were making fun of Tea, actually. It was some kind of song from an opera by Tchaikovsky, the first tableau, and they were playing the singing part, with Pegasus fingering at his viola which we only discovered that day and Seto playing the soprano part. They were laughing and saying the words as they played. It was a beautiful song.
" And did you hear, him singing all night long,
Within the grove, as if his heart were aching?"
" And in the hush, that fell as day was breaking,
And then the shepherd piped his plaintive song"
" And did you hear, the voice of love, and did you hear?
He sang his love! And then the shepherd piped his plaintive simple song,
And did you hear? And did you hear? And did you hear,
The voice of love."
" And did you sigh, at songs of love's distress,
Were not his voice, and face and form entrancing?
And slowly through, the woods he came advancing,
With longing looks of love and wistfulness."
" And did you sigh, and did you sigh, and did you sigh?
And did you sigh! To meet his eye with longing looks of love's distress
And did you sigh? And did you sigh? And did you sigh,
And did you sigh?"
Then Pegasus muttered something about Russian, and they had to retune his viola. Seto muttered something about pegs and broken forks.
" Once the kid that also studies with me-he melted his tuning fork over a fire by accident."
" How can you melt something like that?"
" Don't know. And by accident too!"
" You're joking."
" I'm not."
" You are. That's impossible. Fires in houses are not that hot."
" Tell that to the tuning fork. He even brought it. The thing looked like some kind of squished metal. Luckily, tuning forks aren't that expensive." Seto chuckled.
Yugi and I went outside for the afternoon. Cecilia took us to one of the more pleasant caves. There were no skeletons or rocks falling from ceilings. Just a nice, cozy place where you simply lie down and sleep if you want to and won't wake up with a backache.
" Maximillian use to paint all the time. And since painting and music intertwine so well, he also played violin most of the time too. The viola he doesn't touch much since he doesn't need to; they have the same technique. Before we were married he use to write poems and send me paintings, or give me a quiet piece that's both romantic and beautiful. He used to be sweet then."
" That's so kind." I answered. " But it seems that he's much better now."
" Thanks to Seto actually." Cecilia answered thoughtfully. " We were planning on having a child, that's when it happened."
" What happened?"
" A drunken driver drove into the sidwalk lane at a red light." Cecilia answered. Yugi and I felt a pang of fear. " Funny, wasn't that what happened to Mokuba? I don't really remember."
Yugi and I stared at each other. We said nothing.
For a long time that day Seto chatted merrily, but we all knew he was suspicious like we were. Cecilia was a good actress, much better at it then Pegasus, at least, who remained quiet most of the time. Seto and Pegasus played another game, to which they tied, much to the distress of both. Pegasus was not a bad player.
Then Yugi and Seto dueled. Seto defeated him, but it was a close match. I played him, we tied.
Basically we were bored out of our minds that particular day. None of us felt like going out after that cave, and none of us wanted to watch television either.
It happened at dinner. We were of course, eating, as most people do during dinners. Croquet appeared at the entrance to the dining room.
" Master Pegasus, there is a visitor, and I think you may find him interesting."
At this, Pegasus and Cecilia looked at each other and there was a brief but uneasy silence.
" Tell him to wait in the living room." Pegasus answered. " I'll meet him shortly."
Croquet nodded and left. Seto placed his elbows on the table and looked at Pegasus strangely.
" Max, you feel like you're going to have a nervous breakdown."
That might not make sense to most, but Pegasus and Seto had long ago revealed how they had a mental connection. Pegasus is the one that reads minds. Seto is the one that tells emotions.
" Well?" Seto tilted his head. " Is there something going on that I don't know?"
For a long moment Seto and Pegasus looked at each other in the eye as if trying to stare each other down. Then Pegasus shifted.
" I'll tell you later." He answered, a little too quickly, and stood up. Seto, however, didn't seem to be too willing to let him off that easily.
" Max, you've been acting strange the whole day. That game we had you seemed to focus too much, and then you've been awfully quiet. What's going on? Why aren't you telling me?"
" Seto, leave him alone. We promise to tell you when the time is right." Cecilia pleaded.
Seto blinked, and sat down slowly. Pegasus, as if freed, walked out of the room. There was an uneasy silence again.
" Gee. That's some weird conversation." Joey commented. " So, when are you gonna leave? This is some kind of paradise. I don't think you should anyway, not until you get cured."
" How do you know I'm not cured?" Seto asked.
" Well, for one thing." I answered. " You still look awfully pale and awfully thin. Fine. That's natural. But still, you ought to stay a little while longer, just in case."
Seto raised his eyebrows. " Alright? But I still have a company to run, you know. Alright! Now I've had it. What the heck is Max doing over there?"
" Seto-"
" He is annoyed at something." Seto raised his eyebrows again. " Come on Cecilia, just tell me."
" It's for your own good Seto."
" How? I'm sixteen for heaven's sake!"
" You're only sixteen."
" And what is that supposed to mean?"
" There are some things you're not ready for."
" Like?"
" Mokuba's death, death of your parents, Mokuba's soul being erased." Cecilia looked angry, but she was calm. " Seto."
" Cecilia, is this all about me all of the sudden?" Seto looked confused. " I really have no connection with anyone other then Kaiba Corps, and those men have no reason to search for me all the way here."
" You still have one connection left."
" What-"
Cecilia paled and her anger was flushed away.
" So you're trying to protect me."
" That's what we have always been doing."
" From what? I don't need any protection. I'm perfectly capable of handling anything."
" Are you? Because this is a blast from the past. You're not ready-" Cecilia fell quiet.
" From the past?" Seto looked at us. " What? I..."
He whirled around and went. Cecilia stood up abruptly and held him back with his wrist. He turned around.
" You can't go."
" Let go!" Seto flung her hand off.
" Seto, wait!" Cecilia followed him. We ran after her. When Seto reached the living room, he suddenly stopped and stood stiff and erect, his hands flung to the sides in a frozen position. We caught up with him.
Pegasus turned around slowly. The man he was talking to looked up with him.
We gasped at who the man was.
It was Seto!