Author's Notes:
I'm terribly sorry about the long wait this time, but when I post a chapter, I try to always be one chapter ahead in writing (to avoid plot mistakes - and it saved me a few times already)
Anyway, chapter 5 took lots of time and research, and got very long indeed. That's why I didn't update for so long.
But this is chapter 4 for you and I hope you like it. Thanks for all the reviews!
Disclaimer and other information: See chapter 1
4. Clueless
Seto immediately recognised Yami. No one else could have eyes like that, such a unique shade of red. Neither his weird punk hair nor his small, secretive smirk had changed, although he had clearly been at least five years younger. Come to think of it, Seto didn't even know how old he was now. Probably twenty like him, even if he didn't look it sometimes.
Distracted, his eyes came to rest on the second boy, maybe two years younger, standing in the middle while Yami had discreetly drawn back to the right, still letting his hand linger protectively on the other's shoulder.
It wasn't difficult to guess the identity of the smaller boy with him looking exactly like his older brother except for the eyes that were a soft shade of purple. Yugi, for that was what Yami had called him, laughed openly with all his childish innocence, one hand clinging to Yami's shirt almost possessively.
The third person was an old man, his hair grey but sticking up the same way Yami's and Yugi's did. So that ran in the family, he conceded, while he was still convinced the hair style was just strange. But it looked almost natural on the boys and their grandfather. The lack of height seemed to run in the family too, as did the eyes that were the exact same colour as Yugi's.
All three of them were standing in front of a small shop, the Kame Game Shop as it said on the door, decorated in bright, friendly colours, Duel Monsters equipment among various other game articles and devices laid out in the shop window.
Sighing, Seto put the photograph away, absently taking a sip of his morning tea. On the one hand the picture made him feel slightly sick, but that was his usual happy-family-neurosis, conjured up in long, hard years under the strain of the so-called training by his adoptive father. On the other hand he saw a spark of what he felt for his younger brother rest in the eyes of Yami and his grandfather as they looked down onto the younger sibling, and a touch of his brother's bounding energy in Yugi's laughing face.
Seto firmly shook his head. Enough of that, he had other things to think about, like the question of why Yami would give him a picture of his family.
The more he thought about it, the more he felt confirmed in his first impression that it was Yami's way of giving him information on his life, letting him in. Seto was still a bit baffled about the amount of trust Yami put in him, knowing he could never return it in this way, but the punk didn't seem to be expecting it from him either.
The loud bang of a door being thrown open startled Seto abruptly out of his musings. Frowning slightly, he looked up to see Mokuba stumble into the kitchen, unkempt raven hair sticking up almost as much as Yami's as he yawned widely, throwing a slice of bread into the toaster before slumping down into the seat next to him.
"Morning, big brother", he yawned again. "Tea left?"
"Sure, help yourself", Seto offered, a bit miffed at the appearance of his younger sibling. "Do you have to bang the door like that?"
Mokuba raised his left eyebrow at him. "I have to wake up somehow, don't I? It's louder than my alarm clock."
Seto snorted. "I wouldn't have noticed. Don't you make that face at me and besides, you would be wide awake now if you refrained from watching TV at 00.30 am."
Mokuba sighed and went to retrieve his toast, buttering it and devouring it quickly. "Like you went to bed any earlier. Where have you been, by the way? And what is that envelope next to your plate? No business at breakfast, remember?"
Scowling Seto deliberately slowly picked up the envelope and hid it in his pocket. "Nothing of importance, and no, it's not business. As for yesterday, I was at a private meeting."
"Private meeting?", the younger boy echoed unbelievingly, "Are you sure that's what people call it these days? Come on, admit it, you were with your hot date!"
Pretending to read the newspaper, Seto attempted to hide his face that he suspected betrayed his calm façade. Damn, he had never really practised lying to his brother, which was the reason why he sucked at it.
Flashing him a last victorious grin Mokuba emptied his cup of tea and grabbed his schoolbag. "See you in the afternoon then, big brother. And don't let yourself get distracted by your little love letter"
Seto winced as the poor door was slammed shut by the energetic teenager who, in his opinion, knew far too well how to read him.
"Good morning"
Respectfully, his secretary bowed to him as he entered his personal office. In return he nodded, placing his silver briefcase onto a chair. A black-clad top security officer helped him out of his coat. He too received a nod of gratitude.
"Shall we begin?", the secretary asked, her face hiding the slight uncertainty in her voice.
Again a nod. "Well", the young woman cleared her throat, "Your schedule for today, Monday, 20th July. At 10.00 am you have a meeting with your board of design experts concerning the improvement of the new Duel Disk. It will last approximately until 12.00 am, you will have lunch with the men and women then. At 1.00 pm your head of security will introduce the recently installed security system for the Corporation building, at 3.00 pm you are expected to take part in the online conference with the CEO of that European game article company. It will not be long. There have been new problems with the software uploaded yesterday, the computer specialists suspect hackers having found a loophole. You have mail on your desk informing you further about the issue."
She looked up, and seeing her boss nod yet again, politely, she demanded, "Are you alright Sir?" Seto, feeling stupid, nodded a last time, grabbed a few files and his briefcase before he firmly shut the door to his private room.
He thought he could hear the security guy snicker softly and caught the worry in the blonde woman's eyes.
Dropping the briefcase onto the sofa and letting himself fall into his comfortable office chair, he gave a long sigh. Damn, this was difficult. And he wasn't even known to be a talkative person. Now how to go on with this? He couldn't very well converse in nods with his business partners, but he wanted to go through with this. He wanted to understand.
The online conference was the least of his problems, he could simply opt for having the conversation recorded and sending his answers in writing over the server connection. Actually he had done that a few times when he didn't feel like seeing certain conference partners in person. For the security system there wasn't much to talk about since he had previously discussed all the changes with his head of security. But how should he get through the business meeting without speaking?
First of all he needed a good reason not to speak. A note to his secretary informing her about his bad cold and temporary hoarseness was quickly scribbled, but the meeting was about to begin leaving no time for further thoughts and arrangements. Having only ten minutes left he decided it would have to be enough to use signs and a laptop connected to a projector that would allow him to write down the most important statements on his part.
Entering the conference room, he greeted the other men with a curt nod and sat down. Opening the laptop, he felt a wave of curiosity pass through the room, then his secretary stood up, informing the design experts of his faked cold.
The stocky man to his left began to introduce the matter, describing the current Duel Disk and the problems, like the new duellist gear having too much weight or lacking a waterproof protection material. When he was finished the man looked up at him and Seto gave him a nod. Only on his cue began another expert to speak about how to deal with those problems.
One after the other Seto let the men speak their opinions and the rest of his board listened. Finally, when everyone had spoken, the man to his left rose again from his seat, unbidden this time. Seto raised his eyebrow but didn't do anything about it.
"That's all fine, gentlemen", he stocky design expert stated, "but have you thought about how much money that would cost us? We can't possibly spend that much money on the extra-light material when another has the same waterproof effect. Those are only children we are dealing with, they won't notice the difference."
Seto narrowed his eyes, glaring at the man. How dare he talk like that about his customers? He had been an excellent duellist at the age of twelve and had constantly been annoyed with how heavy his equipment had been.
So he quickly typed down, "Money is not an issue. I want only the best material for my designs" and hit the enter button, making the words appear on the white screen. However, in the meantime a lanky man with huge glasses had contradicted the first man
"…can't expect such cheap material to have the same effects! We chose the best possible…"
"But the price of the new Duel Disk will rise dramatically if we…", another interrupted but wasn't even allowed to finish his sentence when yet another stepped in who had finally noticed Seto's writing.
"Let Mr Kaiba tell us what he thinks about this."
Several heads snapped around quickly, as if surprised, and there were sudden flashes of guilt in their eyes. Frowning, Seto typed,
"We will compensate the higher expenses by leaving out the expensive buckles originally designed for the straps holding the Disk on the duellist's arm. That should be enough."
Another man, whom Seto recognised to be the designer of said buckles, argued shamelessly, "But another contrivance won't be able to bear the immense weight…."
"I believe you were not listening properly", a young woman reminding Seto slightly of a mouse, interfered, "It's called extra-light materi…"
"But the other fixture might not be waterproof!", the former speaker interrupted making the woman glare viciously at him. "You cannot expect…"
"Mr Kaiba is right, the buckles are far too expensive. You could keep your design and go for a different material. I'm sure the…"
"I do not agree at all, the buckles have to be…"
"Why, have you even tested those buckles yet? Then how can you be sure they…"
"I didn't say I was…"
"Oh, so you didn't test them, Mr oh-so-perfect? Cost too much?"
"Why do I even have to listen to such a rude accusation! I demand…"
"Just admit that…"
Bang.
Seto had slammed his laptop shut and let his fist come down so hard onto the table that everyone jumped visibly. The fighting parties paled instantly only now noticing the whole page of previously ignored writing on the screen stating the exact information that would have prevented the fight.
He didn't pay any more attention to them as he stormed out of the conference room without a greeting. Inwardly he was boiling with fury. Never since that first day after taking over the Corporation from his adoptive father had he experienced such unbelievable behaviour from his carefully chosen employees!
It had been as if from one moment to the next all his authority had vanished, simply because he had not been able to voice his opinion, to intervene and silence them with a few sharp words. Locking himself in his office, he stared out of the window, deciding that for the moment he had enough of the experience. Unbidden, the memory of Yami's proud eyes, of his self-confidence and charm took possession of his mind and carried him away from the outcome of his little experiment. It had been quite the lesson after all.
Sinking into the expensive leather seats of his limousine, Seto took out the envelope with the photo again, ignoring the laughing faces this time. With a determined nod he pressed the intercom button.
"Isono? I want to be taken to the Kame Game Shop. The computer should find it easily."
A soft click and his employee's voice answered to his request, "Very well, Mr Kaiba, I will take care of that."
"Thank you." He leaned back comfortably, trying to disguise his slight nervousness. It wasn't something special for him to pay a visit to a game shop after all. Sighing he wondered what he was doing, looking out of the window at the clouds. Accepting a challenge, he reasoned. Yami wanted him to get information on his life and he was about to get his answers. Doubtfully he turned the idea around in his head but he couldn't think of any trap or scheme he could be playing into.
"We have arrived, Mr Kaiba." Isono informed him. Seto thanked him a second time and climbed out of the car, instructing his driver to wait. Then he slowly walked up to the small shop which he recognised immediately from the picture.
A small bell rang when he pushed open the door and stepped into the colourful room that was stuffed with game equipment. Privately he hoped that no one would be there so he would get the chance to simply look around the shelves a bit and let the fact that this was Yami's home sink in.
It was strange looking at this place and imagining Yami here. Not that he would have looked out of place in the middle of all those colours, but he was so far from being a child even on the photograph that he couldn't imagine him playing with all those things. And yet, he played Duel Monsters after all.
"Can I help you?" a slightly husky voice asked politely. Turning around he saw an old man with untamed grey hair, a grey beard and purple eyes stare up at him. Alright, so this was Yami's grandfather.
"Thank you", he answered trying to be as polite as possible. Why he felt he needed to make a good impression was beyond him. "I was just looking."
The small man smiled. "You have to forgive me for interrupting you then. But it is a bit unusual for the CEO of the biggest gaming company in the country to pay a visit to the smallest game shop in Domino."
Seto couldn't quite keep the surprise out of his voice. "You recognised me."
"Certainly", the other smiled, "I've been long enough in this business to watch the whole story of your success after you changed your father's weapon factories into a game company."
"Adoptive father", Seto corrected, frowning momentarily.
"I'm sorry, I get confused lately. But what are you really looking for, Mr Kaiba?"
Well, why should he lie about this? "I recently played a game of Duel Monsters against your grandson Yami. I wanted to see where he got his remarkable skills from."
"Ohh", the old man replied, then laughed, "I bet he beat you. My sincerest apologies, Mr Kaiba", he added when he saw him scowl, "but I've never seen anyone play like my oldest grandson. He has been lacking an opponent of matched skills for years. An exceptional boy, truly."
Seto turned towards the shelves. Somehow Yami's grandfather's words made him angry and if it was only for a second's foolish wish to have a father or at least father figure speak about him in this way.
"But", the other continued and Seto realised he was smiling that strange, kind but slightly infuriating smile again. Too much insight into another's thoughts, he suspected. "It seems Yami has finally found a worthy opponent. I am glad"
A little stiffly, Seto replied, "It was a game of highest skills, one of the best I have ever had."
"And now you wonder who taught my grandson to play like that?" For lack of a better explanation, Seto nodded, fully well knowing that this was only one of his true reasons.
The old man shrugged. "I honestly can't tell you. I guess he simply spent too much time alone with his deck. You know, he always was quite the loner." His softly wrinkled face fell slightly. "I wish I could have changed that, but our world is harsh and merciless on those who don't have the same abilities as the majority of people."
"You mean he was treated badly?" Seto demanded, trying to keep his voice indifferent.
"I don't know much about his life at school, he didn't want to let us know too much. The first two years I only knew he often came home with dirty clothes, but I didn't give it much thought, thinking that boys would be boys and I should just let him. But then Yugi went to that school too, and despite Yami trying to disguise it, Yugi found out more than his brother would have liked. And he told me all about it. The other kids were constantly teasing Yami about his inability to speak. 'Trying to get a sound out of him', Yugi said."
Seto felt an overwhelming wave of anger and disgust rise in his throat that made him want to shout at the old man for not realising what had been going on. The images his mind created were all too clear, mingling with his own memories of defending his brother against the big bullies in the orphanage.
Yami's grandfather looked away and took a deep breath, and when he continued his voice was a bit shaky. "I don't know if I should tell you about this, Yami wouldn't appreciate it…but I think you can understand him. And if he duelled against you he must consider you a good person, worth his time and attention."
His heart clenched at the thought and he swallowed. "Go on", he bade quietly, "I have to know"
"They kept bullying him, shoving him around and into the dirt, sometimes beating him up. Boys stole his things from him and girls laughed at him when he silently tried to defend himself." He took a deep breath. "One day Yugi came home confused and crying with Yami, who ran upstairs and locked himself into his room. His little brother told me they had tied him to a tree by his hands, and that one of the girls had made a bet with a boy about who was the better lover, which should be decided by who got the 'dumb boy' to make a sound first. A…a teacher interrupted them…when Yugi alarmed him. They had taken off his shirt…but I think nothing else happened. Fortunately. It's bad enough but I couldn't bear it if they…had done that to him. I really love him"
He looked up at Seto as if begging for forgiveness. Seto had to look away, still fighting anger, he wasn't good at forgiving, particularly not something he so plainly considered an unforgivable mistake.
The old man too averted his eyes, and spoke quietly. "I talked to him afterwards and we agreed that he would learn martial arts to defend himself and attend another school together with Yugi. He wouldn't accept any outside help, he was always too proud and stubborn. I think it got better then. He made friends with that Bakura guy, and Yugi too found very good friends. You know, Yugi was always popular and made friends easily, and some of them are now friends with Yami too, they even learned sign language. I'm very glad. We often disagree on things, we had terrible rows about his lifestyle but I love my eldest grandson. And he at least has forgiven me, even if I can never forgive myself."
He suddenly smiled again. "Ah, but it's time for me to close the shop. I'm sorry for bothering you with all those old tales, Mr Kaiba."
Closing his eyes briefly, Seto nodded. "It's alright. I asked for them after all. Thank you"
And with that he left the little shop, inwardly shaking.
When Yami opened the door of his tiny house, Seto kept his head bowed. The other boy seemed to immediately notice something was wrong and he pulled him into the house by his hand, closing the door. He took off Seto's trench coat and led him to one of the violet plush chairs. Then he went to get some water for them to drink and the blue conversation book, writing hastily in it.
What's wrong? Something troubles you, can I help you?
Seto, barely able to stand looking at him, laughed harshly and buried his face in his hands. "Help me", he whispered in a strangled voice. "How ironic is that?"
Carefully, Yami inched closer to him and pulled his hands away. When he still refused to look him in the eye, Yami cupped his face in his hands and tried to force him to look at him. For a moment, Seto was glued to that beautiful red gaze, then, his mind went blank. He leaned forward and took advantage of their position by pressing his lips to Yami's in a desperate kiss.
Unable to let go he fiercely wrapped his arms around the smaller boy, pulling him closer so that he half tumbled into Seto's lap. Yami's hands were on his face, holding him, fruitlessly trying to soothe and be gentle by stroking Seto's face. He would have none of it, pulled Yami right next to him into the chair instead, kissing him with bruising passion, and Yami finally gave in to his pace and wrapped his left leg around Seto's thighs.
Moaning softly, Seto pushed against Yami's beautiful body, lost in the sensation, passion born out of despair lacing the kiss he refused to interrupt except for quick gulps of air. Yami began to shiver as his hands traced the buttons on Seto's shirt before opening them one after the other. He wore a simple t-shirt which made it easy for Seto to undress him by pulling it over his head in one swift motion, quickly reuniting their lips, savouring the feeling of hot skin meeting its equal.
But it was not enough, he had to have more. While his hands travelled to Yami's fly and worked to pull his denim pants off, he began to speak against the other's kiss swollen lips.
"I am so sorry, Yami, about everything. You don't deserve what happened to you. You don't deserve any of this…"
Yami broke away, panting silently, his eyes wide. Confused, Seto raised his hand to touch his shoulder, but Yami shook his head, pulling back and running a shaky hand trough his hair. For a few seconds they simply sat in silence, Seto raking his mind for the mistake he knew he must have made. Then Yami again got the blue book.
You were at the Kame Game Shop. He told you, am I right?
Seto nodded, staring down at the floor. It was completely silent for an agonising minute then he heard the sound of a pen scribbling before he was again handed the book.
Seto. I really want you. But I don't want this to happen because you pity me. My past is long gone. Those terrible years before I transferred to the new school will always be part of me but they don't haunt me anymore. I am strong on my own and I have wonderful friends. And now I have you. I don't want your pity for my past self, I want you to like me for what I am now.
Blushing in shame, Seto again buried his face in his hands. "I am sorry, Yami", he whispered, "I realise my mistake, I wouldn't want pity either. I …like you for what you are. I hope you can forgive me."
The answer came quickly.
But of course, Seto. It's good you're here, I wanted to give you something anyway. Drink some water, relax a bit and then go home. I think you need to get some sleep, you look like you had a really terrible day.
"Absolutely", Seto mumbled and took a sip from the glass of water Yami had handed him. Then he sighed. "Ah, I really embarrassed myself just now. You're right I should go to bed."
Don't worry about it. Yami wrote. I can't complain about those kisses of yours. But do dress properly again before you leave.
Laughing, Seto buttoned up his shirt and followed Yami to the front door. "You wanted to give me something?" he asked curiously. Yami nodded and handed him a yellow envelope, winking. Then the smaller boy took his face in his hands once more and kissed him with all the softness they had foregone earlier.