Chapter Fourteen! Woohoo, I love all of you who have reviewed! But
anyway, I'm so bored, and now it's time to return to Egypt! I better get
unbored and fast! Plus, have any of you noticed developing relationships?
(NOT Seto and Rena, others.hmm?) Well, even if you haven't, it doesn't
matter because I really am not good at foreshadowing. Oh well! Criticize,
critique, and tell me what you want to see! Have some questions about
Egyptian mythology? I know it's confusing, please, please ask me!
____________________________
Konton no Millennia
Chapter Fourteen: Sekinin
By, Rena Campbelle
+~+~+~+~
Seto stirred from his sleep slowly, and sat up in Rena's bed. She was curled up tight in a ball underneath the blankets, near the foot of the bed. Not a peaceful sleeper, he thought with a grin, getting out of the bed. He lifted the covers up for a moment to look at her and his grin broadened. She was sleeping with a small bear crooked in her arm.
He headed downstairs and to the right, into the gym, where he looked at himself in one of the mirror panels. Tall, simple, solemn, angry, the only way he preferred to be, of course. He remembered the night the Rogue Doll had shown him his ba, his soul, and he would see it again before the morning was done. He looked out at the window; the suns first rays could just be seen over the horizon, though Ra's eye had not yet fully risen.
"Stop it, you idiot," he told himself, "You're starting to sound like Rena." He set himself down on the floor, and stared hard at his reflection on the mirror opposite of him. He closed his eyes and the color of his essence painted itself on his eyelids, and he felt a sudden shudder, like an electric pulse, flow through him rapidly. He knew his ba was coming to him. Still with his eyes closed, he held his hands before him. Concentrating, he saw in his mind the red-orange light come from his heart and flow into his hands. His hands grew warm and his palms itched. Slowly, he let the "power" recede back to his heart and flow to other part of his body. He could command it to wherever he chose it, when he at last opened his eyes, he saw what he had longed to see since his return from Egypt. His essence matched the color of the sunrise, scarlet and orange, flickering with the hunger of fire. This is what he wanted, this raw power, this strength of will and heart. It was something new and familiar, and to it, he was not afraid, nor ever would be.
He lay back, content for the moment, and for a while was unhindered by the burden that would be coming upon him soon. Sighing, he stood up, and smiled grimly at his resemblance in the mirror.
+~+~+~+~
She yawned softly, and pulling off the covers from over her head, sat up. Seto was gone, but his coat still lay in the floor by her bed. Yawning again, she got up out of bed and into her bathroom. She ran some cold water in the sink, splashing in onto her face, waking both Megami and herself up. She pooled a handful of water in her hands, and slapped it through her hair, grabbing a brush and pulling it through her now shorter hair.
Megami bubbled up slowly, It can't be morning all ready, can it?
Not a morning person? Rena joked.
Silence, Megami growled, BeSIDES! AKHTEN WHAT DID YOU DO???
What? Rena cried, I didn't do anything!
Akhten, what were you thinking? Look at yourself! Your hair! It's gone! I thought I told you not to pull any crazy stunts while I was asleep!
I didn't! Rena protested.
You don't call cutting all your hair off a crazy stunt? Megami shouted. She started to vie Rena for control as her disconcertion rose to a climax.
Back off, will you? Rena cried, as Megami whacked her in the face with their hand, Hey! Watch it!
Oh you big baby, she snapped, It was an accident.
I'm sure, Rena said, rubbing her forehead, as her legs wobbled.
Give me control, Akhten! Megami argued.
Why? You can't do anything about it!
You'd be surprised at some of the handy spells I know, she threatened.
"Then the answer is definitely no!" Rena said, forgetting to say it mentally, "Come on, why don't you like it?
It doesn't suit you! Megami persisted.
"But it suits me fine! I love it, it's easier to take care of, I look pretty," Rena cried.
You looked beautiful with it long too, Megami said.
"Why does it matter, huh? What's your problem? Why does having a new hairstyle just make you flip out like this? Megami, you may well have been a goddess once, and maybe something as trifle as long hair meant a lot, but I have one thing to say. Welcome to the flipping year two-thousand two," Rena snapped.
Megami stopped fighting for control, Akhten, Rena. . .
Rena stopped her, Don't say anything, Megami. It's a long flight to Egypt and we're both going to need our strength. You'd better rest. I'll need you when we get there.
I-
"Please don't," Rena whispered. She saw Megami's eyes staring out from behind her own in the mirror. They were exactly the same as hers, but they held a more alluring quality, and yet, they were so filled with sadness, sadness that both of them had kept down for a long time.
"But no longer," she said, "Will I live in this shadow."
"Umm, hi Rena. Don't mind me," Seto said curiously, "I just came to get my coat."
"Don't worry, Megami was just throwing a fit. It seems my new look doesn't sit well with her either," she smiled.
"So, you're good?" he asked.
"I'm good," she returned. They heard the doorbell ring downstairs, and Mokuba shout, "Everyone's here! Seto, get out of Rena's bedroom! Come on!"
Seto felt heat behind his face, but silently thanked whoever was listening that he didn't blush, as Jounochi said loudly enough for them to hear, "Oh really, hmm? What's he doing in there?"
"The usual," was Mokuba's reply.
"Oh God," Seto muttered, "If he weren't my brother, I'd kill him."
"Well, you go humiliate yourself, friend," Rena spun him out the door, "I'm getting dressed."
"So Kaiba," Jou smirked as he came down the stairway, "What have you been up to?"
"Engaging in regular conversation, and if you be kind enough to keep your mouth shut, I'll consider sparing your life you worthless dog," Seto smiled cynically, making his way out the door.
Jounochi started after him, but Mai grabbed his shoulder, and looked at him. Growling, he shoved his hands in his pockets and gave the floor a solid kick.
"Seto spread his effervescent cheeriness I see," Rena smiled. "I hope he didn't kill anyone?"
"No, but Jou's about ready to kill him," Yuugi smiled.
"Where's Yugiou?" Rena asked. Yuugi's darker half was nowhere to be found, "Is he outside?"
"Not at all," Yuugi said, holding up the Millennium Puzzle, "We decided to travel light."
"You can do that too?" she asked, "I thought just Megami could share bodies with another person."
Yuugi smiled at her and closed his eyes, and when he opened them, Yami's stared back.
"Yagh!" Rena cried, "Is that how I look when I do it?"
"Well, no," Yami said, "But it's similar."
"Weird," she whistled, "Anyways, I'm ready to go."
"Yeah, so am I," Mai said, running her hand through Rena's hair playfully.
"Agh," Rena muttered, "Leave my hair alone. I've gotten enough complaints about it."
"Who did?" Mai narrowed her eyes.
"Seto, Megami, about anyone that matters," Rena shrugged.
"Not true," Mai said, "I matter, and I think it looks great. Everyone does." She glared at the guys who shrugged and muttered positive responses.
"Well thanks Mai," Rena grinned.
+~+~+~+~
Once things were done and loaded, they all clambered into the back portion of Seto's limo. He vouched to stay in the front, and asked that Mokuba and Rena sit with him, but instead, the only one who did was Rena.
"The only reason I'm sitting with you is so I can discuss something with you," she winked, "It's not like your nice enough for me to want to actually sit by ya because I like you."
"This is going to be a fun ride then," he sighed, "What do you need to talk about?"
"About Egypt, Megami, life, you, death, the works," Rena said.
"All right, let's start from the beginning. Egypt," he said.
"Okay, my main concern is making sure everyone comes out okay, with Ryou-"
"Yourself included?" Seto asked warily.
"No, I'm not my main concern, but it would be very nice. Anyway, as I was saying, it's pretty much my thing to get everyone out. Even if I have to stay longer. It'll probably happen, so I'm just giving you the heads up."
"By yourself? Because Yami and I can stay, too," Seto started.
"No," Rena said gravely, "No, you guys have too much. You still have a brother in this world, and Yami has his friends."
"They're your friends too," he pointed out.
Rena glared at him, "You really are trying to make me doubt my decision aren't you? Well, it isn't working, you need to just stop and let me finish. Now, I have a feeling a bunch of bad crap is going to happen. Megami's been really tense, and she's kind of easy flip off recently. And the one night we were in the airport, when we were in Egypt the first time, Megami went crazy after just hearing some guy talk. And she nearly lost me in the process," Rena shuddered at the memory.
Seto smiled cynically, "I thought you didn't mind sacrificing yourself."
"Not myself, no. But if I'm gone, Megami doesn't stand a chance. She's all we've got, and that's the only reason we stand a chance. I have to stay alive until we can find a way to get her back to wherever she came from. Until then, I have to keep safe so I can protect Megami, so she can protect us. Otherwise we don't have a snowball's chance in hell."
Seto was at a loss for words. Rena was perfectly fine with killing herself, as long as another person could stay safe, and for what reason? So the ones she cared about could have a chance at making it through this thing. It bothered him immensely, that she could be so selfless. He knew if it came down to him and one of the others, with the exception of Mokuba and Rena, he didn't know if he'd be kind enough to risk his own life. Probably not...
"Helloooo?" Rena asked, knocking on Seto's head, "Anyone home?"
"Yes," he smiled grimly, grabbing Rena's hand, "And he doesn't like someone banging on his head."
"Sorry," she smiled, "You had me worried there."
"Right," he said, "But is that all about Egypt?" he asked.
"For the time being, yeah."
"All right, next item. Megami."
Rena sat back and sighed, "There's so much to say about her, and so much I don't even know yet."
"Start from the beginning. It's usually a good place to begin."
"You and your sarcasm," she sighed, "There will never be a dawn when you're without it. And now you're getting me off the subject! Agh!" she kicked her legs up and set them in the chair opposite them. "Now, I'll tell you what I know from my research, and from what she's told me. Megami's real name is unknown, she hides it from me, and Yami thought her name was Akhten He-Shesat, but instead, that might have been my name. I don't know for certain, but I'm positive I'm the reincarnate of Megami. Why else would she be in my head?"
"Go on," Seto said.
"Well, she was a goddess praised in Egypt, but from what I have gathered, it was not long. So historians have no knowledge of her name, most don't know she existed in the religion. But then, most don't believe the Shadow Games existed either. So, she was Pharaoh's patron goddess, and from what Yugiou has told me, she was very beloved to him. And then, that night at the airport when I went out, Megami had a memory."
"A memory?" he asked.
"Well, it seemed like one. I barely even remember it now. Some man asked another whether or not he loved his secret.something I don't remember, and the other guy said 'yes.' After that, Megami went insane. It really meant a lot to her, whatever it was. I guess she was the one that the guy was in love with. But I don't know," she rubbed her hands over her face.
"Well then, let's go on. I believe you said life next?" Seto asked.
"It's one of the items on my agenda," she said, "But there's nothing to say about it except that it's going to go on with or without us."
"Then maybe about your life?" Seto asked.
"I'll sort it out later," Rena smiled, "For right now, I'm too confused to even start explaining."
"Fair enough, what's next?" he said.
"You, death, and the works," Rena said.
"All right, let's start with me," Seto said, "This I really want to hear."
"Seto, first off, you are a good friend to me, whether you mean to be or not," Rena said, "And I do care about you. But if you don't mind, I don't want to talk about you."
"I want to hear what you have to say about me," he said, laying a hand on her shoulder, "It's only fair."
"What do you-?" she asked.
"Just what I say. You've started asking me more frequently who you are, and I've told you. But what I want to know is, how do you see me?"
She looked at him, unable to say anything for a moment. "Well," she began, "I'm shocked you just said that."
"Why? Why does it shock you?" he asked.
"Okay, you're getting philosophical, and that bugs me. Because you don't look for a higher meaning. The facts are the facts and you only go outside the box if you have to. And there's so much I don't know about you."
"Well, we're even there," Seto remarked.
"Then tell me about yourself. From what I have seen, you barely know yourself. You can't even tell your own emotions and it always looks like your battling with yourself," she paused to smile at him, "I remember when we went to America briefly, and you treated me to dinner in my own hometown." She paused again, warmed by the old memory, "I remember seeing your eyes as they were for the first time. I understood who you were somehow. What I saw was no great man or warrior, but that of a young boy. Tell me, Seto, how much of your childhood did you spend as a child?"
He thought about it for a moment, "I supposed it stopped when I was six, and my parents died."
"You lost your parents, too?" she asked.
"I didn't know yours were gone," Seto replied.
"Yeah, though I didn't lose them so young. If your willing to accept my condolence, I'm sorry," she whispered.
"Well, I'm not going to take them, I never have. But that's not your fault," he said quickly. "Ever since they've been gone, I've had to be strong, and it only worsened as I got older. Gozaburo, my adopted father, raised me to be a corporate just like him, since I was eight. And that's what I've been since I was fifteen."
She wanted to ask him about Gozaburo's death, as Mokuba had told it to her. But it didn't seem a good idea, especially when he was telling her more about himself than she had heard in her entire stay here.
He looked at her again, "How long has it been since I've actually been a normal guy?" He waved his hand, "Don't tell me, I don't want to know. And trust me, normal is not good for me."
She laughed, "I'm going to pretend that made sense."
"Good, I will too," Seto said, "But yeah, I don't know what happened then. One day I came down really sick, I mean really sick. I thought I was going to die. But a day later, I was fine. People called it a medical miracle. But I think I know what it was, or at least, Yami tends to know. He said I was the house for an evil spirit, and the thought of being controlled- especially considering who I am-did not settle well with me. So we've been rivals for about three years."
"Ever consider becoming friends with them?" Rena asked.
"No, and I don't really want to be."
"You don't think you need to be," Rena corrected him.
"No, I meant what I said. They're all just this close group, and I can't stand half of them. Anzu's always going on about how good of friends they are, Jounochi's only interest is in portraying me as a bad guy, and Honda, how know what the hell he's thinking. Yuugi's the only one I respect, let alone trust," he rolled his eyes.
"Forgive me for sounding like a psychologist, but it sounds like you're so used to being overly harsh and judgmental with them that you've formed all the wrong conclusions," she gave him a look.
"If I want to give them a chance, I will," he said, taking the defensive, "But don't tell me how to run my affairs."
Rena sighed and sat back, 'I was afraid this would happen,' she thought.
Seto stared out the window, "I have all that I need. Mokuba is all I need."
"Nice to know I rank with you," Rena laughed.
"No!" he cried, "You're my friend too!"
She laughed harder as he tried to cover up his mistake with apologies. She grabbed her side and fell back onto the seat, screaming with delight. Wiping the freshly sprung tears from her eyes, she sighed, "Now, that was funny. I'm not letting you forget that one."
"I didn't think you would," Seto grumbled.
"Let's go on, okay?" Rena smiled.
"Sounds fine. I believe death is next?" he asked.
"As a matter of fact, yes, but I already told you my opinion on that. And as for the works. . .well, I don't know," she looked out the window.
"Works for me," Seto shrugged, and sat back in his seat.
~Sekinin~
+~+~+~+~
I had a lot more planned for this chapter, but I didn't feel like writing it. So, I guess this is kind of like the first half of the chapter. God I need to start working on this.
Sayonara!
~Rena C.
____________________________
Konton no Millennia
Chapter Fourteen: Sekinin
By, Rena Campbelle
+~+~+~+~
Seto stirred from his sleep slowly, and sat up in Rena's bed. She was curled up tight in a ball underneath the blankets, near the foot of the bed. Not a peaceful sleeper, he thought with a grin, getting out of the bed. He lifted the covers up for a moment to look at her and his grin broadened. She was sleeping with a small bear crooked in her arm.
He headed downstairs and to the right, into the gym, where he looked at himself in one of the mirror panels. Tall, simple, solemn, angry, the only way he preferred to be, of course. He remembered the night the Rogue Doll had shown him his ba, his soul, and he would see it again before the morning was done. He looked out at the window; the suns first rays could just be seen over the horizon, though Ra's eye had not yet fully risen.
"Stop it, you idiot," he told himself, "You're starting to sound like Rena." He set himself down on the floor, and stared hard at his reflection on the mirror opposite of him. He closed his eyes and the color of his essence painted itself on his eyelids, and he felt a sudden shudder, like an electric pulse, flow through him rapidly. He knew his ba was coming to him. Still with his eyes closed, he held his hands before him. Concentrating, he saw in his mind the red-orange light come from his heart and flow into his hands. His hands grew warm and his palms itched. Slowly, he let the "power" recede back to his heart and flow to other part of his body. He could command it to wherever he chose it, when he at last opened his eyes, he saw what he had longed to see since his return from Egypt. His essence matched the color of the sunrise, scarlet and orange, flickering with the hunger of fire. This is what he wanted, this raw power, this strength of will and heart. It was something new and familiar, and to it, he was not afraid, nor ever would be.
He lay back, content for the moment, and for a while was unhindered by the burden that would be coming upon him soon. Sighing, he stood up, and smiled grimly at his resemblance in the mirror.
+~+~+~+~
She yawned softly, and pulling off the covers from over her head, sat up. Seto was gone, but his coat still lay in the floor by her bed. Yawning again, she got up out of bed and into her bathroom. She ran some cold water in the sink, splashing in onto her face, waking both Megami and herself up. She pooled a handful of water in her hands, and slapped it through her hair, grabbing a brush and pulling it through her now shorter hair.
Megami bubbled up slowly, It can't be morning all ready, can it?
Not a morning person? Rena joked.
Silence, Megami growled, BeSIDES! AKHTEN WHAT DID YOU DO???
What? Rena cried, I didn't do anything!
Akhten, what were you thinking? Look at yourself! Your hair! It's gone! I thought I told you not to pull any crazy stunts while I was asleep!
I didn't! Rena protested.
You don't call cutting all your hair off a crazy stunt? Megami shouted. She started to vie Rena for control as her disconcertion rose to a climax.
Back off, will you? Rena cried, as Megami whacked her in the face with their hand, Hey! Watch it!
Oh you big baby, she snapped, It was an accident.
I'm sure, Rena said, rubbing her forehead, as her legs wobbled.
Give me control, Akhten! Megami argued.
Why? You can't do anything about it!
You'd be surprised at some of the handy spells I know, she threatened.
"Then the answer is definitely no!" Rena said, forgetting to say it mentally, "Come on, why don't you like it?
It doesn't suit you! Megami persisted.
"But it suits me fine! I love it, it's easier to take care of, I look pretty," Rena cried.
You looked beautiful with it long too, Megami said.
"Why does it matter, huh? What's your problem? Why does having a new hairstyle just make you flip out like this? Megami, you may well have been a goddess once, and maybe something as trifle as long hair meant a lot, but I have one thing to say. Welcome to the flipping year two-thousand two," Rena snapped.
Megami stopped fighting for control, Akhten, Rena. . .
Rena stopped her, Don't say anything, Megami. It's a long flight to Egypt and we're both going to need our strength. You'd better rest. I'll need you when we get there.
I-
"Please don't," Rena whispered. She saw Megami's eyes staring out from behind her own in the mirror. They were exactly the same as hers, but they held a more alluring quality, and yet, they were so filled with sadness, sadness that both of them had kept down for a long time.
"But no longer," she said, "Will I live in this shadow."
"Umm, hi Rena. Don't mind me," Seto said curiously, "I just came to get my coat."
"Don't worry, Megami was just throwing a fit. It seems my new look doesn't sit well with her either," she smiled.
"So, you're good?" he asked.
"I'm good," she returned. They heard the doorbell ring downstairs, and Mokuba shout, "Everyone's here! Seto, get out of Rena's bedroom! Come on!"
Seto felt heat behind his face, but silently thanked whoever was listening that he didn't blush, as Jounochi said loudly enough for them to hear, "Oh really, hmm? What's he doing in there?"
"The usual," was Mokuba's reply.
"Oh God," Seto muttered, "If he weren't my brother, I'd kill him."
"Well, you go humiliate yourself, friend," Rena spun him out the door, "I'm getting dressed."
"So Kaiba," Jou smirked as he came down the stairway, "What have you been up to?"
"Engaging in regular conversation, and if you be kind enough to keep your mouth shut, I'll consider sparing your life you worthless dog," Seto smiled cynically, making his way out the door.
Jounochi started after him, but Mai grabbed his shoulder, and looked at him. Growling, he shoved his hands in his pockets and gave the floor a solid kick.
"Seto spread his effervescent cheeriness I see," Rena smiled. "I hope he didn't kill anyone?"
"No, but Jou's about ready to kill him," Yuugi smiled.
"Where's Yugiou?" Rena asked. Yuugi's darker half was nowhere to be found, "Is he outside?"
"Not at all," Yuugi said, holding up the Millennium Puzzle, "We decided to travel light."
"You can do that too?" she asked, "I thought just Megami could share bodies with another person."
Yuugi smiled at her and closed his eyes, and when he opened them, Yami's stared back.
"Yagh!" Rena cried, "Is that how I look when I do it?"
"Well, no," Yami said, "But it's similar."
"Weird," she whistled, "Anyways, I'm ready to go."
"Yeah, so am I," Mai said, running her hand through Rena's hair playfully.
"Agh," Rena muttered, "Leave my hair alone. I've gotten enough complaints about it."
"Who did?" Mai narrowed her eyes.
"Seto, Megami, about anyone that matters," Rena shrugged.
"Not true," Mai said, "I matter, and I think it looks great. Everyone does." She glared at the guys who shrugged and muttered positive responses.
"Well thanks Mai," Rena grinned.
+~+~+~+~
Once things were done and loaded, they all clambered into the back portion of Seto's limo. He vouched to stay in the front, and asked that Mokuba and Rena sit with him, but instead, the only one who did was Rena.
"The only reason I'm sitting with you is so I can discuss something with you," she winked, "It's not like your nice enough for me to want to actually sit by ya because I like you."
"This is going to be a fun ride then," he sighed, "What do you need to talk about?"
"About Egypt, Megami, life, you, death, the works," Rena said.
"All right, let's start from the beginning. Egypt," he said.
"Okay, my main concern is making sure everyone comes out okay, with Ryou-"
"Yourself included?" Seto asked warily.
"No, I'm not my main concern, but it would be very nice. Anyway, as I was saying, it's pretty much my thing to get everyone out. Even if I have to stay longer. It'll probably happen, so I'm just giving you the heads up."
"By yourself? Because Yami and I can stay, too," Seto started.
"No," Rena said gravely, "No, you guys have too much. You still have a brother in this world, and Yami has his friends."
"They're your friends too," he pointed out.
Rena glared at him, "You really are trying to make me doubt my decision aren't you? Well, it isn't working, you need to just stop and let me finish. Now, I have a feeling a bunch of bad crap is going to happen. Megami's been really tense, and she's kind of easy flip off recently. And the one night we were in the airport, when we were in Egypt the first time, Megami went crazy after just hearing some guy talk. And she nearly lost me in the process," Rena shuddered at the memory.
Seto smiled cynically, "I thought you didn't mind sacrificing yourself."
"Not myself, no. But if I'm gone, Megami doesn't stand a chance. She's all we've got, and that's the only reason we stand a chance. I have to stay alive until we can find a way to get her back to wherever she came from. Until then, I have to keep safe so I can protect Megami, so she can protect us. Otherwise we don't have a snowball's chance in hell."
Seto was at a loss for words. Rena was perfectly fine with killing herself, as long as another person could stay safe, and for what reason? So the ones she cared about could have a chance at making it through this thing. It bothered him immensely, that she could be so selfless. He knew if it came down to him and one of the others, with the exception of Mokuba and Rena, he didn't know if he'd be kind enough to risk his own life. Probably not...
"Helloooo?" Rena asked, knocking on Seto's head, "Anyone home?"
"Yes," he smiled grimly, grabbing Rena's hand, "And he doesn't like someone banging on his head."
"Sorry," she smiled, "You had me worried there."
"Right," he said, "But is that all about Egypt?" he asked.
"For the time being, yeah."
"All right, next item. Megami."
Rena sat back and sighed, "There's so much to say about her, and so much I don't even know yet."
"Start from the beginning. It's usually a good place to begin."
"You and your sarcasm," she sighed, "There will never be a dawn when you're without it. And now you're getting me off the subject! Agh!" she kicked her legs up and set them in the chair opposite them. "Now, I'll tell you what I know from my research, and from what she's told me. Megami's real name is unknown, she hides it from me, and Yami thought her name was Akhten He-Shesat, but instead, that might have been my name. I don't know for certain, but I'm positive I'm the reincarnate of Megami. Why else would she be in my head?"
"Go on," Seto said.
"Well, she was a goddess praised in Egypt, but from what I have gathered, it was not long. So historians have no knowledge of her name, most don't know she existed in the religion. But then, most don't believe the Shadow Games existed either. So, she was Pharaoh's patron goddess, and from what Yugiou has told me, she was very beloved to him. And then, that night at the airport when I went out, Megami had a memory."
"A memory?" he asked.
"Well, it seemed like one. I barely even remember it now. Some man asked another whether or not he loved his secret.something I don't remember, and the other guy said 'yes.' After that, Megami went insane. It really meant a lot to her, whatever it was. I guess she was the one that the guy was in love with. But I don't know," she rubbed her hands over her face.
"Well then, let's go on. I believe you said life next?" Seto asked.
"It's one of the items on my agenda," she said, "But there's nothing to say about it except that it's going to go on with or without us."
"Then maybe about your life?" Seto asked.
"I'll sort it out later," Rena smiled, "For right now, I'm too confused to even start explaining."
"Fair enough, what's next?" he said.
"You, death, and the works," Rena said.
"All right, let's start with me," Seto said, "This I really want to hear."
"Seto, first off, you are a good friend to me, whether you mean to be or not," Rena said, "And I do care about you. But if you don't mind, I don't want to talk about you."
"I want to hear what you have to say about me," he said, laying a hand on her shoulder, "It's only fair."
"What do you-?" she asked.
"Just what I say. You've started asking me more frequently who you are, and I've told you. But what I want to know is, how do you see me?"
She looked at him, unable to say anything for a moment. "Well," she began, "I'm shocked you just said that."
"Why? Why does it shock you?" he asked.
"Okay, you're getting philosophical, and that bugs me. Because you don't look for a higher meaning. The facts are the facts and you only go outside the box if you have to. And there's so much I don't know about you."
"Well, we're even there," Seto remarked.
"Then tell me about yourself. From what I have seen, you barely know yourself. You can't even tell your own emotions and it always looks like your battling with yourself," she paused to smile at him, "I remember when we went to America briefly, and you treated me to dinner in my own hometown." She paused again, warmed by the old memory, "I remember seeing your eyes as they were for the first time. I understood who you were somehow. What I saw was no great man or warrior, but that of a young boy. Tell me, Seto, how much of your childhood did you spend as a child?"
He thought about it for a moment, "I supposed it stopped when I was six, and my parents died."
"You lost your parents, too?" she asked.
"I didn't know yours were gone," Seto replied.
"Yeah, though I didn't lose them so young. If your willing to accept my condolence, I'm sorry," she whispered.
"Well, I'm not going to take them, I never have. But that's not your fault," he said quickly. "Ever since they've been gone, I've had to be strong, and it only worsened as I got older. Gozaburo, my adopted father, raised me to be a corporate just like him, since I was eight. And that's what I've been since I was fifteen."
She wanted to ask him about Gozaburo's death, as Mokuba had told it to her. But it didn't seem a good idea, especially when he was telling her more about himself than she had heard in her entire stay here.
He looked at her again, "How long has it been since I've actually been a normal guy?" He waved his hand, "Don't tell me, I don't want to know. And trust me, normal is not good for me."
She laughed, "I'm going to pretend that made sense."
"Good, I will too," Seto said, "But yeah, I don't know what happened then. One day I came down really sick, I mean really sick. I thought I was going to die. But a day later, I was fine. People called it a medical miracle. But I think I know what it was, or at least, Yami tends to know. He said I was the house for an evil spirit, and the thought of being controlled- especially considering who I am-did not settle well with me. So we've been rivals for about three years."
"Ever consider becoming friends with them?" Rena asked.
"No, and I don't really want to be."
"You don't think you need to be," Rena corrected him.
"No, I meant what I said. They're all just this close group, and I can't stand half of them. Anzu's always going on about how good of friends they are, Jounochi's only interest is in portraying me as a bad guy, and Honda, how know what the hell he's thinking. Yuugi's the only one I respect, let alone trust," he rolled his eyes.
"Forgive me for sounding like a psychologist, but it sounds like you're so used to being overly harsh and judgmental with them that you've formed all the wrong conclusions," she gave him a look.
"If I want to give them a chance, I will," he said, taking the defensive, "But don't tell me how to run my affairs."
Rena sighed and sat back, 'I was afraid this would happen,' she thought.
Seto stared out the window, "I have all that I need. Mokuba is all I need."
"Nice to know I rank with you," Rena laughed.
"No!" he cried, "You're my friend too!"
She laughed harder as he tried to cover up his mistake with apologies. She grabbed her side and fell back onto the seat, screaming with delight. Wiping the freshly sprung tears from her eyes, she sighed, "Now, that was funny. I'm not letting you forget that one."
"I didn't think you would," Seto grumbled.
"Let's go on, okay?" Rena smiled.
"Sounds fine. I believe death is next?" he asked.
"As a matter of fact, yes, but I already told you my opinion on that. And as for the works. . .well, I don't know," she looked out the window.
"Works for me," Seto shrugged, and sat back in his seat.
~Sekinin~
+~+~+~+~
I had a lot more planned for this chapter, but I didn't feel like writing it. So, I guess this is kind of like the first half of the chapter. God I need to start working on this.
Sayonara!
~Rena C.