Chapter 8: Ask the Blind Man Who Saw It Too
"See? And with the forensic and autopsy evidence, this tape is authentic." Marik shrugged as he snapped off the tape. "Seto and his brother were there. Seto's hair and blood was found near the window and glass shards were found in the victim's hand. This simply proves that it was a case of abuse. Honestly, no jury would convict. It's pretty much a cut and dried self-defense case."
"And the lying?"
"Technically he wasn't under oath."
"You're looking at this from the wrong perspective, Marik."
"Can I help it if I side with the killers? I can't support the bastard's actions. It was abuse, plain and simple!"
"I… understand, and I would probably have done as Kaiba did. However…" Yami said, slowly, thinking about every word.
"Look, Yami. Just sign the damn paper work for self-defense." Marik snapped.
"Fine. We wouldn't win anyway. Even with the technicalities." Yami shrugged, as he lazily spun around in his chair. Picking up a pile of papers, Marik slid them across the table to Yami. "What's this?"
"Paper work. Just sign on the four X's." Marik sighed as he pulled on his coat and walked out of the conference room. Walking down the hall to the exit, Marik looked over to see Malik coming out of the changing room
"Where are you going?" Malik asked as caught up with Marik.
"To spread some holiday cheer."
"Need a ride?"
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"Yea?" Joey asked as he buzzed down to the front door.
"Joey? It's Seto. Do you want to… Can I come up?"
"I… Sure." Joey agreed as he scrambled to buzz Seto up. There was a second wait as Seto came up to the second floor and Joey hurried over to let him in. Seto nodded and walked inside, but didn't say anything. "So… Seto. I haven't seen you in a couple of days."
"No. No, you haven't." Seto agreed.
"I… I'm glad you came by." Joey laughed nervously. "I was afraid you had… never mind."
"Do you remember what happened the last time we saw each other?"
"Look, if you want to forget what happened, sure. Just tell me."
"It's not that."
"Then what is it? Upset I wouldn't have sex with you? Just put it on the table, Seto. I can take it. Think you're too good for me, is that it? Do you think a Kaiba shouldn't consort with a lowly… faggot, like me?"
"Don't…"
"Ashamed to be a queer? A pansy?"
"Shut up! JUST SHUT UP!" Seto snapped, as he grabbed Joey by his arm and pulled the other boy closer to him. Glaring at Joey fiercely, Seto reached up with his left hand and slapped it over Joey's mouth. "Didn't you hear me? Don't say shit like that! I won't hear dirty words like 'faggot' or 'queer' come from anyone's mouth! Do you understand me? Well?"
Joey's eyes widened and he nodded quickly, afraid of Seto's anger. Taking his hand away from Joey's mouth, Seto looked down at Joey in confusion, but didn't pull away.
"What did you call me?" Seto asked Joey after a moment.
"I… I… What?"
"Repeat what you said."
"Ashamed to be…"
"Before that."
"Think a Kaiba shouldn't…"
"Kaiba? What's that supposed to mean?"
"That's your last name, isn't? I looked it up on the net last night. You're Seto Kaiba, heir to the Kaiba Corporation fortune. Well, now that your father is dead, I guess you're one of the richest men in the world."
"How did you figure out it was me?"
"I… heard someone call Mokuba by his last name." Joey shrugged, deciding Seto might not know about Mokuba's late night excursion.
"Damn it. Are you mad?"
"About what?"
"I lied to you."
"Not really. If I was in your spot, I wouldn't have volunteered my name either." Joey shrugged, as he grabbed a cigarette of the table near the door and tried to ignore his shaking hands as he light it.
"This isn't going how I expected this to go." Seto admitted after a minute.
"What did you come here for anyway?" Joey asked after another pause and a drag on his cigarette.
"I wanted to explain to you… about my scars."
"You don't have…"
"Shut up, mutt." Seto glared. "I want to. Come with me. There's someone I want you to meet."
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"Uh, Seto?" Joey asked as he got out of Seto's car and looked up at the iron fencing that surrounded the old-fashioned cemetery.
"What?"
"I thought you said you wanted me to meet someone." Joey whispered, as Seto pulled open the gate and walked inside. Joey hurried after him and quietly closed the gate, not wanting to disturb the eerie silence that coated, and suffocated, the necropolis.
"Never said he was meeting you." Seto shrugged as he walked off to the children's section of the graveyard. Joey followed him closely, self-conscious at his own state of being. After a moment, Seto stopped at a medium-sized headstone and nodded towards it. "Joey, meet Noa Kaiba."
"Who was he? Younger brother?"
"Noa was… a coward. Among other things, I suppose I ought to add." Seto sighed. "Noa, my brother, was three years older than me."
"What happened to him?"
"He died." Seto shrugged, and Joey bit his tongue to keep the sarcastic response behind his lips.
"How old was he?"
"Seventeen. I was fourteen."
"I must have been hard for you."
"Yes. But not in the way you mean."
Joey frowned.
"What does Noa have to do with…"
"My scars? Nothing. Directly." Seto sighed as he turned so that his back was facing Noa's tombstone. Taking off his coat, Seto tossed it onto the grass and sat down. "My brother and I were never very close. He was always studying, you know. Noa was bright--we all were--but he had to work on it and study. He was always working, so Mokuba and I grew up the closest. Anyway, word got around about us, or at least, Noa"
Sitting down next to Seto, Joey nodded encouragingly and Seto continued.
"He, my adopted father, took Noa on as his heir. Noa wasn't very strong. He was pathetic really. Couldn't run down a hallway without have to rest. My father's abuse killed him. I'm not sure what happened. I don't know who or what made Noa tumble down those stairs, but I know one thing. Noa wasn't clumsy. There's no way he could have fallen by accident. Indirectly, or directly, my adopted father killed my older brother."
"I'm sorry."
"Yeah, everyone says that. It doesn't matter; he's still dead."
"So… what happened next?"
"I became the heir, and Gozaburo began to train me. He beat me often for small things. It only got worse when he found my stash of gay porn." Seto laughed. "He just went nuts. Put me in hospital for a week. I tried to get help, but no one believed me. They thought my claims of abuse and my accusations of murder were just a coping mechanism. So I ran away. Many times. I took Mokuba with me, but we were always forced, one way or another, to return. I couldn't leave Mokuba, you see. If I escaped, Gozaburo would just make Mokuba the heir. He's not as strong as I am. Not as weak as Noa was, but he would never have been able to take the beatings. I had to protect him."
Leaning over, Joey rested his head on Seto's shoulder and sighed.
"Why did you tell me this?" Joey asked, shivering as the wind blew against his back.
"You deserve to know. I want you to understand Joey. But I want you to know that I'm not going to be a coward like Noa, either."
"A coward?"
"Noa ran away. He took the easy route. He ran away."
"I don't think I understand Seto. What aren't you running from?"
"You'll find out soon. My time is almost up." Seto sighed as he looked up at the sky. Standing up, Seto stretched out his arms and turned his face upwards. Joey flopped onto his back and looked up at Seto. " It's snowing. Noa loved snow. He thought it could cover up everything and make even the most ugly and dirty and dying things look beautiful. He thought it was a purifying force."
"That's a nice theory." Joey smiled, as he watched the snowflakes float down onto Seto's arms and hair, where they melted. "I like it."
"Funny." Seto frowned, as he dropped his arms and looked over at the road that Malik and Marik were crossing as they walked towards Seto. "It doesn't seem to cover me."
AN: Not quite happy with the ending, but oh well. R & R!