1170
Bura-sama
12.21.02
12.21.02
Disclaimer: Yu-Gi-Oh is not mine. I don't claim it to be so. The characters I'm using don't even resemble the official ones, so... yeah. Not mine, no infringement is intended.
Warnings: Shounen-ai. Seto/Jounouchi. Death. OOCness. Enough sugary sappiness to choke a hummingbird.
Notes: A Christmas present for my big sister.
I'm not
terribly fond of the couple, but she likes them.
Chilled
Ch2: Empty Pack
The nurse was standing at the door, looking at her watch and scribbling down the time of death. 12:00. Midnight. December 25. Merry Christmas.
She waited a moment, but Seto still did not move. He was just standing there, unable to form words. He was shaking with every breath. His eyes were tightly closed, but tears still managed to get away.
The nurse walked up slowly to stand next to him and glanced at him warily. "I'm so sorry for your loss, sir." Seto's eyes snapped open and a furious gaze -- straight from the depths of Hell -- bored into the woman. She took a step backwards in intimidation.
Seto's eyes lost the rage, and he looked longingly back to his lover. You're not really gone... You're just... not here...
He turned around hastily and wiped the tears away from his eyes with his shirt sleeve. He practically ran from the room.
The nurse waited a moment more before pulling the white sheet over the boy's eyes and quickly leaving the room.
Jounouchi was all alone.
Seto couldn't maintain his speed, and slipped into a somber walk. The people in the hospital waiting room were staring at him. He didn't care, but he still couldn't ignore their whispers.
"Isn't that the practically undefeated champion, Kaiba?" One whispered.
"Yeah... Have you ever seen his house? I'll bet he has enough money..."
Seto tuned them out. He had money. He should have been able to save Jounouchi. He should have been able to use that money and... and... And what? What could he have done that hadn't been tried already?
He found the nearest chair and carelessly threw himself onto it. It was hard plastic that had been worn down by innumerable people sitting on it. Dark blue plastic, almost as cold as metal.
"Always hard, isn't it?" The words came from an elderly man sitting next to him. His skin was wrinkled, his hair a mess of graying blond. "Wife of almost forty years... gone in almost two seconds."
Seto couldn't bring himself to respond.
"Shopping in a store... One second she's picking up a toy for the grandkids. The next... a bullet in her head from some criminal."
Seto couldn't bring himself to look at the old man. They were nothing alike, but yet...
The man pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and pulled one out. He held it between the dark stain on his fingers. He fished his lighter from the inside of his coat. Before he could bring the cigarette to his lips, a smiling nurse appeared.
"Sir, you can't smoke on the premises." She smiled and seemed to just float away.
The man laughed -- a cold, harsh sound. "Well, ain't that a bitch?" The man started to pocket the smokes with a tired look on his face.
Acting on impulse, Seto thrust his wallet forward. "I'll give you all the cash in here if you give me the rest of your pack and that lighter."
The man leaned forward, and placed the cigarettes and lighter on Seto's outstretched hand. He left the uncounted money as it was. "Here, take 'em. I was going to quit anyway."
Seto didn't spare another look at the man as he clutched the cigarettes tightly and headed for the stairs.
He hadn't smoked in years. It had been a bad habit he had quickly broken after catching Mokuba trying to imitate him. He knew that it was bad for him, but he couldn't stop himself from pulling the cigarette from the pack and holding it between his lips. He had never really enjoyed them when he smoked, but Seto could think of nothing more that he wanted at that moment.
He walked down the stairs with a stiff step. He couldn't take the elevator -- couldn't take being so close to so many people. The stairs were empty.
He made it to the bottom and pushed open the emergency door. Taking a seat on the chilling concrete steps, he flipped back the lid to his lighter and brought it to the cigarette. He inhaled sharply and willed the cigarette to light. The flame caught, and the bright orange burned like a beacon in the night.
His beacon had been extinguished at midnight.
Gone forever.
Merry Christmas, Seto.
Oh yes, it's going to be a merry Christmas, all right. Do you have any idea how many tests still need to be done to the prototype players? I have reports to review, paperwork to sign, I still need to find a gift for Mokuba--
Lighten up, Seto. It's gonna be Christmas tomorrow. If you don't behave, I won't give you your present...
Go call Yugi or something, Jounouchi. I have work to do.
Merry Christmas, Seto.
...
Merry Christmas, Seto...
... Hn.
The cigarette burned, sending a thin trail of smoke into the night sky. The last words he'd ever spoken to his lover, "I have work to do."
Merry Christmas, Seto.
I have work to do.
Merry Christmas, Seto.
I have work to do.
Merry Christmas, Seto.
I have work to do.
Merry Christmas, Seto.
Merry Christmas, Seto.
Merry Christmas, Seto.
So many opportunities to say something else. So many chances to respond in kind.
I love you, Seto.
He should have replied, should have let Jounouchi know how much he loved him. He should have told him "Merry Christmas," or "I love you." Hell, anything would have been better than "I have work to do."
I love you, Seto.
The cigarette was burning away, almost touching his fingers.
How could I have been so stupid? How could I have just let him die? How could I have left him alone for even a second longer than necessary? I hesitated... and missed all that time...
Seto lit another cigarette, inhaling deeply.
The air was biting against him, but Seto didn't care. The wind was blowing -- howling -- and Seto didn't care.
He sat on the step, watching the smoke rise into the sky.
The door opened behind him, and a young, blonde nurse stepped outside. She gave him an odd look, but continued on. He watched her cross the parking lot and start the ignition in her car. Her blonde head seemed to stare at him as she drove away.
Seto pulled the second used cigarette from his lips, and whispered to himself. "When did this city become so infected with blonds?"
He reached for the last cigarette and started flipping the lid to the lighter... back and forth... back and forth... back and forth...
He wondered briefly how long he had been sitting in the cold winter night and then numbly rose to his feet. He snubbed the partially burning cigarette into the sidewalk, then opened the door. He climbed the stairs slowly, but each step contained a certain amount of anxiety.
His heart knew what he had to do, even if his head did not.
He had to see Jounouchi again, for just one last time.
=======================================
end part two of three. One more stop, then we'll be in Eden... ====