This is the long awaited update. I hope the last chapter wasn't too sad. That just had to happen, you know? Just to tell you, I decided to write this chapter instead of do my long and lengthy homework assignments, (plural). So, congratulate me. REVIEWERS ARE THANKED TO THE FULLEST EXTENT IMAGINABLE!!!!!!!! Response:
Lady Moofin: YAY!! My story measured up...so happy! Please read this chapter and let me know what you think. I'll wait for your review! (I put you first again! Be happy!)
Xaio23: Here you go! Enjoy!
CaptainInuYasha777: Sure! I'd love to chat with you! You just have to tell me how to use the MSN Messenger thingy-thing. Thanks a bunch for reviewing! Yeah, I thought about killing off Serenity in a later chapter...but I hate all the sad romance and stuff. I just can't take that kind of thing, you know?
SetoSerenity Forever: Yeah, I know. I was kind of unsure about making it so happy in the beginning. But, hey, there had to be some transition between Chapter 11 and then Lock's death, right? Please read this chapter!
Setalina Muro: Sorry about the suddenness! I knew it was kind of off topic ad out of blue, but I suck at writing romance and build up to it, you know? Please don't hate my story because of the author's lack of skill!
Slipknotrulez: Thanks for your review, (cool penname, btw!). R&R this chapter too, please!
That Undomiel Chick: Aw.....don't cry.....if you start crying, I;m going to cry and then I'll just have to be mad at myself for writing something so sad......please accept my apologies....
Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh. Yeah, I was born like that, without a Yu-Gi-Oh share. Whatever, I just can't help it.
Chapter 13: The Funeral
I didn't cry. No, I was unable to cry, (I told you that, right?). Serenity and Mokuba did, though. Right there in the goddamn hospital. I was not embarrassed, just a little caught off guard. Serenity didn't know him like I did, so I knew she was not crying for him. She was crying for me. I hated that, I think.
"I'm sorry," the doctor said. "I wish...there was something I could do."
"You've done all you could. I thank you," I told her. She walked away. How hard must it be to be a doctor? Facing death every day....loved ones screaming for the loss of family members, friends. I felt bad for her. But, more so for Lock.
"Let's go," I said to Mokuba and Serenity. "We have a funeral to plan." I turned, guiding the two as I went.
"How can you be so cold, Seto?" Mokuba asked. "Lock was our friend!"
"Tears don't help, Mokuba. Nothing will." I think Serenity told Mokuba to hush as well, (she could read my true feelings better than I could), because he said nothing after that, (a very unlike-Mokuba thing to do).
We left the hospital and went back to my home. Walking, of course, in silence.
The next few days passed in a moment, it seemed. The three of us arranged for the funeral on a Tuesday, (I told them that it had to be a Tuesday because that was Lock's favorite day of the week. Somehow it just worked out that Tuesday was the only available day and the most convenient day as well. So I went by with it, unmatched), and of course we used the Kacko's funeral plan. (Strange to think how his employers were the ones who buried him.) There was to be no wake. No one would go to it, besides us. No one cared.
Serenity basically lived at my house in those days. I asked her only once if she needed to go to school. But she just said that that wasn't important. I didn't question her reasoning even though I doubted it.
In truth, I'm glad she was there. She called all her "friends" and told them what had happened to Lock—the true story of it. There were rumors flying around between everyone who had gone to the tournament. Yugi and the others were probably just caught up in the middle of it all.
I knew that Yugi and the others knew about my relationship with Serenity—there was absolutely no doubt in my mind that Wheeler had spilled the entire story to them not a second after he hung up the phone with Serenity that day. I had sort of an uncomfortable feeling about it. They probably didn't feel any better about the situation than Wheeler did, and he felt pretty raw.
Wheeler and his sister didn't make up when Lock died. I don't think she even called her brother to tell him about it all. Of course, he probably found out all the details from Tèa or somebody, but not from Serenity. He wasn't even at the funeral. It was kind of sad, (especially for me, the cause of all of it), to hear about the two silently arguing about me. They were so close....why couldn't he just accept it, the mangy mutt? Needless to say his behavior only increased my loathing of him, but I will delay all further attention to Serenity's jackass brother in this section of the story. This is, (and was, at the time), Lock's part. Not Wheeler's.
The morning of the funeral. I found it hard to bring myself out of bed. I hadn't slept since he died, but I always went to bed with Serenity—just to be near her for a little bit more time. The thought of going to the final farewell of my best friend was...well....depressing. But more than that. He meant so much to me.....just the thought of him resting forever where he once worked his heart out. It was just weird, not right.
"Come on, Seto," Serenity said. "We have to get ready for the...ceremony."
"I...I'm hesitant, Serenity." Why did I even bother telling her? She already knew.
"I know, my love, I know. But you have to do this. For Lock. He needs you today, now more than ever."
"What are you talking about?"
"You know that he would want you to go to his funeral. Just as you would want him there at yours. Please Seto. Do this for him."
For him. She was right. I needed to go.
We walked to the funeral home, the three of us once more gathered together in an unbreakable silence. We were prepared that time, I think. The days preceding the funeral had accustomed us to the death of our gravedigger.
As soon as we entered the funeral home, we were greeted by a most annoying man. "Are you Mr. Kaiba? Lock's friend?" he said, running up to me. The man had a voice that made me want to kill him—like that of a beetle's voice, but more high-pitched and scratchy.
"Yes, I am Mr. Kaiba. Who are you?" And why are you so annoying?
"I'm Mr. Kacko, your planner, Mr. Kaiba?" I am not sure why he added that question mark at the end—why he told me his name in a question. But it was still more down trotting for his representation.
"Alright."
"Yes." He stood still. When could we get to the funeral? Was there something before hand that I had to say to make him remember?
"Are.....you going to show me the way to the gravesite?"
"Oh, oh no, Mr. Kaiba! We have to wait until the other guests arrive."
"What other guests?"
"Sorry I didn't tell you, Seto," Serenity said. "But I invited Yugi, Tèa, Tristan, Mai, and Yugi's grandfather, Mr. Mouto. They all said they were coming."
"What?" I asked in a deep, shocked, angry voice that displayed only half of what I was truly feeling.
"The more people that come the better!" Mokuba pointed out.
"But I don't even know half those people!"
"Yes you do, Seto!"
"Who the hell is Mai?" Really, my mind had drawn a blank picture when she came up with that name.
"Mai Valentine. She went to your tournament, Seto...."
"Oh, right." Now I remembered her. "Why the hell is she coming?"
"Well, she was in Lock's tournament....but I think she's only coming because I asked her to."
"And Tèa and Tristan?"
"Well, Tristan's probably coming because I'm coming, (he has sort of a crush on me, you know)" I didn't like that at all "and Tèa's probably coming because Yugi is."
"And why are Yugi and his grandfather here?"
"Actually....I think they really wanted to go." I tried to get more out of her on the subject, but she refused to say any more. I left it alone after a while.
In about 10 or 15 minutes, I heard a car—only one—pull up to the funeral home. People were talking as they got out of it. They said things like, "I hope it's not going to be too sad...just so you guys know, I cry at funerals...."
"Don't worry, Tèa. So do I."
"Really, Tristan?"
"Yeah, really Tristan?" I knew that voice by its lack of reputation. Mai truly had come.
"Now, now, let's all try to be respectful, here. This day is important to Kaiba." Yugi's grandfather with his old, tired voice.
"But Mr. Mouto, we are respectful!"
"I know...but try to be a little more so here."
"We will."
Oh, how I wished they did not come into the building. I wished they could just stay outside forever and that I would not have to face them again. But no. They did walk in and not quietly either. You see, they never really did top talking, (ever).
"Quite cold out, isn't it?" Yugi said.
Mr. Kacko ran to him and said in that insect voice of his, "So! The guests have arrived! We may start the funeral! This way!" He dashed off.
"Hi guys," Tèa said to the three of us. Serenity and Mokuba exchanged greetings but I remained silent, only wishing to get the thing started.
But she persisted. "Hi, Kaiba."
"Hello." I said to the direction of her voice.
"Let's go!" Kacko reminded us. "I have other appointments for today!" He was lying, I knew, but I didn't care. Really, I didn't care much about anything that guy did.
The eight of us walked in his direction, Serenity never once leaving my side to guide me and I with my cane protruding naturally in front of me, (I had gotten totally used to the thing by that time).
On the way outside, Tristan came up beside Serenity. "Hi Serenity."
"Hi, Tristan."
"How have you been?" How dare he? Just how dare he?
"Fine." I was proud of Serenity, what she did next. She clasped my hand just to make sure that he and I knew where she stood. He walked away after that.
Outside, I realized Yugi was right. It was cold out. Somehow a shadow of what was about to happen.
There was a priest standing by the gravesite. He greeted us solemnly as we entered the area he was standing. I sensed the presence of two other gravediggers standing by in waiting. They came up to me and said, "We're sorry for ya loss, Mr. Kaiba. We knew Lock. He worked wit us. He was a good friend of ah's. We know how much of a good guy he was, and we wanna say thanks for comin' taday. He would appreciate ih." They were his friends. A little uneducated, but I know they were sincere.
I offered them both my hand. "Thank you," I said. I think they liked to shake the hand of an extremely famous billionaire. I'm glad I made them happy.
We continued on and came to the grave. I held my cane in my left hand for a moment and reached out to touch the coffin. Hard wood met my hand. It was cold and unsympathetic to the man who lay dead inside it. There were no flowers on top of the coffin; Lock always said he hated flowers because they made him confused when trying to walk. I knew what he meant—flowers made it harder to smell things and thus harder to walk.
We stood beside the coffin as the priest said his speech. I remember none of what that man said, only what I was thinking as he said it. I was thinking of Lock's life. He had told it to me once. I'll tell you now.
He was born somewhere down in Georgia. He didn't even know exactly where. He only remembered a few things about his home as a child, flowers, a wooden house, loving parents and a cat. He never really told me much about that life, only what happened after.
When he was four he lost his sight, his brother, and his father in a brutal car accident. He told me that it was hard on him—that's all, only hard—but I knew that that day had effected him more than he was able to say. The memory still haunted him, and he didn't even have to tell me that I knew so well.
After that, he lived with only his mother, who was hardened by the accident more than Lock was—think about it; she lost one of her sons and her husband in one moment and her only son left was now permanently blind. She only really showed much pity toward herself, however, and not too much toward Lock. I think this only helped Lock, though. It taught him pity was not the answer to all problems. It made him wiser.
Lock said that he was responsible for teaching himself how to live blind, he never went to school, (hence his grave digging profession), but he knew enough.
As a teenager of 18, his mother died of a heart attack—brought on herself from years of drinking, smoking, and a general sense of misconduct where her health was concerned. Lock lived on his own after that and soon picked up grave digging as his only job.
As for his love of duel monsters, Lock said that his father always loved it and that he just picked it up one day. He didn't go into much detail.
That was it. The whole life story of Lock....I didn't even know his last name. Sad, no?
As they lowered his coffin into the grave site, I heard them whisper, "G'bye Lock," and "We're gonna miss ya, buddy." It was very sad.
I was numb. I knew he was gone when they pounded the dirt on top of the coffin and called it a day. Serenity was crying, again, but I knew that this time it was for Lock and not me. Tèa, Mokuba and Yugi were also in tears. The others, including myself were silent.
After five minutes of standing there in the cold, everyone waiting for what I would next, another man came by and said, "Where is Mr. Kaiba?"
"I'm here," I replied, still not moving.
"Oh, well, you're invited to the reading of The Will. Come this way...er....if you...can...." He was the first one all day to notice my blindness.
"I can." I told Serenity to stay with the others and go into the house and wait for me while I was in there. She protested, but I made her in the end. Then I followed the direction of that man's voice and walked into another room, (all the time memorizing the twists and turns of the hallways and such so that I could find my way back to Serenity and the others).
The reading was short. Lock left everything—every little scrap of paper, his deck, his bottom layer of the boarding house, everything—to me. I was somehow not surprised. His entire was family was dead and he had few friends, (none besides me and the two gravediggers it seemed).
I headed back to Serenity. I heard them all talking inside as I neared. "How is everything, Serenity?" Mai asked.
"Well...I wish this never happened...."
"No, I mean how you are doing. You."
"Oh."
"We miss you," Tèa told her.
"I miss you guys, too. I would have liked to hang out with you guys more...but after this happened...I don't know...."
"Ah, Serenity come on! You know what we're talking about!" Trsitan. "Why are you with Kaiba all of a sudden?"
No one contradicted him. No one, except Serenity. (In case you were wondering, Mokuba was not in the room when they were all talking, he was crying in the bathroom with Yugi and his grandfather, as I was told later).
"Tristan...guys.....don't do this. Please."
"We're not angry, Serenity. We just want to know what happened."
"Well.....it's hard to explain, I..." but she never finished because then I walked into the room and everybody quieted down.
"Hiya, Kaiba." Mai said in an out-of-place sort of tone.
"Hi." I spoke to her voice. "Where's Mokuba?" They told me where. "Oh. I'll go get him. Please, continue your conversation."
"No. I'll go, too, Seto." Serenity followed me, (and this was a good thing because poor blind Seto had no idea where the goddamn bathroom was).
Inevitably, everyone else followed suit. We all went and got Mokuba out of the bathroom. I practically had to carry him out he was hugging me so tightly. "It's all my fault, Seto. I was the one who gave him all that greasy, bad food and..."
"No, Mokuba. Bad hearts run in his family." It didn't comfort the poor kid, nothing could.
"Where should we go now?" Serenity asked. It was a good question.
"Why don't we all go home," Yugi suggested. "and meet up at my house tomorrow for some talk."
As much as I didn't want to, that's what we did.