
a beautiful oblivion
Chapter Three: The Life
Left Behind
BREAK
My stomach turns and I exhale
BREAK
Last night had not been restful at all. I’d tossed and turned, and despite how comfortable the bed was, I couldn’t get comfortable. Every little noise had resonated through me, keeping me awake and wary. The green glow from the digital clock mocked me by slowly changing the time from minute to minute in increments that felt more like hour to hour. To make matters worse, I could not get rid of an image of Seto Kaiba pounding on the front doors, demanding to be let in and to destroy the outsider that was trespassing so blatantly on his territory.
To put it simply, I couldn’t help feeling like an impostor.
Sunlight streaming through the three arched windows woke me. I squinted at the brightness and went to pull the blankets up over my face, when I saw the time on the digital clock. It was eleven-thirty.
I shot up in bed, sitting up ramrod straight, and panic â€" along with shooting stabs of pain from my bruises, wrist, and head â€" flared through me. What time was my MRI set for? I could swear it had been at nine today. Then again, it could be for next week…of course, for the time being my memory wasn’t all that hot. Calming quickly, I realized that panicking wasn’t the thing to do. Even if I was late, I knew it had to get done. They couldn’t deny me. Could they?
Sliding out from the bed, I noticed something on the nightstand. It looked like a necklace. A long leather cord was coiled on the left nightstand table. Attached to that was what looked like one of the duel cards Mokuba had showed me yesterday. The reddish brown backing had a strange design on it, something that almost looked like some sort of cosmic vortex. It almost seemed to spin and a tiny voice flashed through me.
So no matter what, we’ll always be together, even if we’re apart.
Just as suddenly as the voice rang through me, it vanished, leaving an echo of the last word. My head ached and I squeezed my eyes shut, unsure if I was trying to will the voice away or to bring it back. It had to have been a memory, but I didn’t know what of. I opened my eyes and looked at the necklace. It hadn’t been there last night. At least, I don’t think it was. Maybe Mokuba had snuck it in earlier this morning.
But shouldn’t he have woken me up if I had someplace to be? I shoved that thought away and walked quickly to the bathroom, ignoring the slight dizziness that had accompanied getting up so fast. The doctor had warned me that there would be off and on dizziness for the first few days.
More sunlight streamed into the bathroom windows, and it somehow looked bigger with all the natural light coming in through the windows. The bathroom was extremely bright from the sunlight reflecting off of the off-white hue of the stone tiles all around me. Luckily, my eyes adjusted quickly.
The floor was cool to my bare feet, and after using the toilet and washing my hands, I splashed some water on my face. I could ignore the throbbing ache from my wrist, but not the stinging at my left temple. I pushed away mahogany strands of hair to see a slight abrasion hiding under the hair. I could just barely see the cause of my aching head
Standing back, I realized that if it hadn’t been for the bandage wrapped around my head like a sweatband, I’d look perfectly normal. The wrist and its bandages weren't all that disturbing. Ducking my head to the side, I tried to see the bandage that covered what I’d come to think of as the impact zone. I could see that a little blood had seeped through, but all in all it looked alright.
After brushing my teeth, I took a painkiller and went to get dressed.
On entering the walk-in closet, I was surprised to find that an outfit had already been selected for me. Sitting on a leather chair that was positioned near a window was a pair of black pants (not leather, what a relief), a black t-shirt, and tall black leather boots to complete the outfit. I wasn’t sure what the fetish was with wearing all black, but I didn’t want to think about looking for anything else. Anyway, Mokuba would be the one to know what his brother would wear, especially if his brother couldn’t put a finger on a single thought.
After dressing, I looked through the closet, thinking I might find a hat, maybe even a baseball cap, to wear to hide the bandage that wrapped around my head. It promptly became evident that Seto Kaiba did not hide behind hats of any sort. Pausing by the window to look out for a moment, I found that the closet was situated on the side of the manor that looked out at the side lawn.
With a sigh, I sat on the leather chair to carefully pull on the boots. As I bent to pull them on, I felt the soreness from the bruises ache in sync with my wrist, but I wasn’t about to call Mokuba to help me. There were no zippers to mar the butter soft leather.
Instead, there were laces that snaked up the front and even a few decorative buckles to boot…no pun intended. I hadn’t seen any designer label, which meant they had to be custom made for me, and when I stood up I felt a degree of satisfaction at how good I felt wearing the boots. I’d thought I would feel like an idiot wearing boots that went almost to the knees, but instead I felt sure of myself…even a bit powerful. I wasn’t sure if I should tuck the pants in to the boots or let them cover them, and chose the latter.
After studying my reflection in a full-length mirror, I heard my stomach growling. The sound reminded me that not only had I missed breakfast, but that I would miss lunch if I didn’t get my ass downstairs. Before leaving the bedroom, I went and put on the strange necklace that was on my beside nightstand. The card pendant came to rest mid-chest and its placement felt very familiar. I left the bedroom, not bothering to close the bedroom doors behind me.
I descended the stairs almost soundlessly; my boots made a slight thudding sound as I walked down the stairs. I didn’t remember where the kitchen was, but there was a stream of scents, which hadn’t reached my bedroom, that easily led the way. It smelled like a mix of bacon and eggs and toast. I made it to the kitchen faster than I expected. It seemed that my innate sense of direction wasn’t harmed by amnesia. I was surprised to see Mokuba placing a platter of pancakes on a midsized table that already had about ten other platters of food.
I seriously hope he doesn’t think I’m going to eat this all on my own because I don’t think I can and…
I didn’t get time to finish that thought because Mokuba realized that I was there.
“Big brother!â€ﾝ He was suddenly hugging me, and I got the feeling that he was hugging me as if to make sure I was really there.
Oh, the pain… I hugged him back despite the slightly shooting pain from the hug. “Morning yourself, kid.â€ﾝ
He looked up at me, tilting his head to the side, “You found it.â€ﾝ
“Huh?â€ﾝ
“The locket,â€ﾝ he pointed to the necklace.
I held it, feeling surprised, “It’s a locket?â€ﾝ
“Yeah,â€ﾝ He grabbed it and pried it open. He showed it to me, and I was surprised to see a picture of two young boys. They both looked a little shabby, a little grubby, but the love was there.
“That’s…us?â€ﾝ
“Uh-huh, at the orphanage,â€ﾝ Mokuba let go of the locket and turned back to the table. I noticed the sleeves of his white shirt were rolled up and he had his long hair tied back. “It was the best picture they could take of us.â€ﾝ
I raised an eyebrow, “The best?â€ﾝ
Mokuba flushed a little, “I kept making faces. You told me to smile nicely or my face would freeze that way.â€ﾝ
“If that’s not the oldest trick in the book, then I don’t know what is,â€ﾝ I said dryly.
Maybe too dryly. Mokuba’s eyes widened and I felt ill. “What? I didn’t mean to be rude.â€ﾝ
“N…no, you weren’t,â€ﾝ Mokuba brightened, “It’s just that for a second, you sounded like you always do. Like you normally do.â€ﾝ
“I normally sound rude?â€ﾝ
“Not all the time!â€ﾝ he laughed, and pulled at my hand. “Come and eat. I’ll talk while you eat.â€ﾝ
“What about you?â€ﾝ
“Nah, I already ate,â€ﾝ Mokuba said, as he ushered me to a wooden chair. “Now it’s your turn.â€ﾝ
My vision was filled with platters, plates, and pitchers. Pancakes, bacon, hard boiled eggs, French toast, and bagels. Jelly, cream cheese, butter, and syrup. Orange juice, milk, water, and coffee.
“I’m not sure what I want to eat,â€ﾝ I ventured, “Do I normally eat enough to feed a small country?â€ﾝ
Mokuba laughed again, and the happy sound made me happy, “Just eat what you feel like eating. Nothing will go to waste. I’ll give the leftovers to Mariana’s family. She’s the head maid here and lives nearby. She’s got a couple of kids my age and I know she’ll be glad to have the leftovers.â€ﾝ
“Leftovers for the head maid?â€ﾝ The comment disturbed me. “Don’t we pay her enough?â€ﾝ
He waved my fears away, “Oh sure, but her two sons eat like it’s the end of the world. They’re always hungry.â€ﾝ His grey eyes glittered with humor, “And don’t worry about hurting my feelings if you don’t want to eat a lot. I just thawed food that was pre-cooked.â€ﾝ
Narrowing my eyes, I shook my head, “You could’ve tricked me into a guilt trip.â€ﾝ
“I know,â€ﾝ he said, and picked up a cranberry bagel, “But you’ve got enough to think about. I can guilt trip you later.â€ﾝ
“That’s reassuring,â€ﾝ I filled a plate with bacon, eggs, and pancakes. “I’ll make sure to remember that.â€ﾝ
“I’d like to see you try.â€ﾝ
“Hey!â€ﾝ
“I bet you couldn’t even remember your own pin number.â€ﾝ
“Which one?â€ﾝ Those two words and the joking tone came quickly, and I knew without needing to ask that the answer, as well as the prompting line, was a joke between the two of us.
Mokuba was staring at me with wide eyes. A knife smudged with jelly hovered over the bagel, “You remembered.â€ﾝ
A fork full of scrambled eggs paused mid-way to my mouth. “It just came to me." I ate the eggs; chewed and swallowed. They were good eggs. “Do we always joke about pin numbers?â€ﾝ
Disappointment clouded his eyes, “Yeah. You think I waste money on games.â€ﾝ
“I thought I liked games.â€ﾝ
“You like Duel Monsters,â€ﾝ he corrected me, “I like electronic games. Playstation, X-box…â€ﾝ
“I think you’d use your brain for either version of gaming,â€ﾝ I shrugged, enjoying some bacon.
“That’s what I keep trying to tell you,â€ﾝ Mokuba grumbled, paused, then looked over at me with a wicked look. “You think we could develop some video games?â€ﾝ
“We do video games?â€ﾝ
Mokuba sagged in his chair, “Argh! You’re impossible!â€ﾝ
BREAK
After helping Mokuba clean up the kitchen and prepare the food to be taken by Mariana, I followed the kid back up the stairs. It seemed he felt it was necessary for me to be reintroduced to my company. The old me seemed to live and breathe Kaiba Corp, and I figured that was a good thing or else Mokuba and I would more than likely be living out on the streets.
Then again, two brothers living alone with no parents? We’d be snatched up by child services in a heartbeat.
So, off to work we go.
Instead of going to a home office, Mokuba led the way into my bedroom, which was a bit of a surprise. I followed him to one of the rooms off of the interior of my bedroom and found a home office worthy of being in any corporate office. It was not a large room, but it was well appointed. More of the same wood paneling covered the walls, ceiling, and floor. A large mahogany desk was placed against the far wall, facing the doorway, and an arched window was behind the desk. It matched the ones all over my bedroom suite.
A thin silver monitor sat on the desktop. Wires from the monitor snaked down a half-covered access opening that no doubt led to an equally impressive computer. A black leather chair with mahogany armrests and legs was behind the desk. It was positioned in a way that suggested the last user left in a hurry.
Bookcases lined the wall to the left of the desk, while an aquarium sat against the wall to the right of the desk. There was a large plasma tv hanging on the wall ahead of the desk. More electronic equipment rested on a metal stand under the television.
“No one's been in here since you left it last Tuesday evening,â€ﾝ Mokuba said, and he walked behind the desk to touch the chair. He looked over at me and smiled slightly, “You’d been up just about all night to work on your latest dueling technology.â€ﾝ
I was baffled, “Why all night?â€ﾝ
He shrugged, “That’s what I always think.â€ﾝ He blinked wide eyes and bit at his lower lip, “I mean, uh, well…You spend too much time here. I think, anyway.â€ﾝ
“I’m beginning to think that, too,â€ﾝ I muttered and walked over behind the desk as well. Mokuba walked over to the window and looked outside. The sun wasn’t shining directly in, as it was nearing one in the afternoon, and he sighed.
“What’s wrong?â€ﾝ
“Promise you won't get mad?â€ﾝ
The honest and slightly nervous way he asked it tugged at me, “Sure, kid, I won’t get mad.â€ﾝ
“I used to have daydreams about what would happen if you weren’t so into running Kaiba Corp. That maybe we could just go out and be brothers.â€ﾝ
“Aren’t we brothers already?â€ﾝ
“You used to say that if there could be a way to do thirty-six hours of work into a twenty-four hour day that you would,â€ﾝ Mokuba admitted, “Sometimes I feel like you do anyway and that you forget about me.â€ﾝ
“And now I have,â€ﾝ I said with a sigh, “Look, I can’t pretend like I remember saying or doing any of that, but I want to make up for it.â€ﾝ
“Really?â€ﾝ
“Yeah,â€ﾝ I grinned, “Plus I need you to help me.â€ﾝ
He crossed his arms, “How?â€ﾝ
“You know about this stuff. I can't remember enugh of it to save my life.â€ﾝ I waved around at the computer, “I need you to help me make sure no one finds out about my amnesia. If we can get my memories back as soon as possible, then just maybe things will be okay.â€ﾝ
“Why wouldn’t they be okay?â€ﾝ
“If the media gets wind of me having amnesia, what do you think could be the worst that could happen?â€ﾝ
“I don’t know…â€ﾝ He trailed off, looking as if he knew the answer but was uncertain that he wanted to say it.
“I remember just about zip when it comes to business matters, but what I do remember is instinctive,â€ﾝ I said and quickly thought up of an analogy, “If one shark bleeds in the ocean, what will the other sharks do?â€ﾝ
His eyes widened with comprehension. “They’ll eat it up.â€ﾝ
“Exactly.â€ﾝ
“They could buy out Kaiba Corp.â€ﾝ
“And we’d be…â€ﾝ
“Up a creek without a paddle,â€ﾝ Mokuba looked at me with a soulful look. “We can’t let that happen.â€ﾝ
“I hate to make you shoulder this, Mokuba, but it’s the only way.â€ﾝ I looked over at him. “Until I get my memories back, you’re the head of Kaiba Corp.â€ﾝ
He laughed weakly, “Good thing you always nagged me to watch you. I know at least as much as you do.â€ﾝ
“Are you saying that I’m a nag?â€ﾝ
“No!â€ﾝ He rolled his eyes, “I’m saying you were a good teacher.â€ﾝ He sighed and looked serious and suddenly older than his years, “And now I have to teach the teacher.â€ﾝ
BREAK
 “Oh you can’t possibly be serious.â€ﾝ I groaned and slumped in the leather chair.
Beside me, Mokuba sighed patiently. “It’s not that hard, big brother.â€ﾝ
“It’s impossible!â€ﾝ I sat up and pointed at the charts and tables on the computer screen. “Stocks and graphs and trading information and who runs what…It could all be over for us if I have to go before the board.â€ﾝ
Mokuba frowned and looked through a pda he’d found in a briefcase that I'd taken with me that fateful day. “According to this, you have one next Wednesday with the board and…Uh oh…that was for last Wednesday.â€ﾝ
My eyes widened, “What!â€ﾝ
“You missed a meeting.â€ﾝ
“No one called about it?â€ﾝ My thoughts flew wildly, “This could be disastrous.â€ﾝ
“No, someone did call,â€ﾝ Mokuba said quickly and looked guilty, “Nina, the secretary at the board room, she did call and Roland gave me the message. I was just so worried about you that I ignored it.â€ﾝ
“What was the meeting about?â€ﾝ
Frantically, Mokuba looked at the pda, then sighed, “It was about a conference in Los Angeles. It wasn’t anything important, just stuff about a possible convention there next month. Whether you’d show up at it or just send a representative from the company.â€ﾝ
Mokuba had told me what Kaiba Corp had done under Gozaburo and what it had become under my rule. I was happier with the thought of gaming rather than warfare.
“That’s a relief,â€ﾝ I sighed, “Are there any more meetings?â€ﾝ
Mokuba penned through the handheld and shook his head. “No, none until…er…next Thursday. This one looks important. It’s about the lesser shareholders and our stock in the London area.â€ﾝ
With a sigh, I leaned back and looked at the clock on the computer. It was nearing six pm. “Should we break for dinner?â€ﾝ
“You want to get away from all this stuff?â€ﾝ
“You sound surprised.â€ﾝ
He shrugged, “Usually I have to pry you from this room.â€ﾝ He looked around, “We could go get something to eat and watch tv in the great…er…living room.â€ﾝ
“I’d like that,â€ﾝ I said, as I stood up and stretched. I sat down almost instantly. The action left me incredibly lightheaded.
“Seto!â€ﾝ
“I’m okay, kid,â€ﾝ I winced, “I just got a little lightheaded.â€ﾝ
It didn’t seem to reassure Mokuba, but he nodded. “Let’s go.â€ﾝ
I followed.
BREAK
It should go down in the annals of history that ramen is some of the greatest food known to mankind.
Mokuba had chosen our meal of choice and called Roland to drive out for it. The man had been a bit surprised about the request, but a stern word from Mokuba had changed his mind. I don’t think either of them took it seriously, as there was a joking tone to Mokuba’s voice, and that made me think that Roland was a second person I could trust. Maybe not as much as Mokuba, but perhaps someone I could trust.
He’d wanted to come in, but Mokuba had stopped him at the foyer area. He told the man that I was resting up in my room, when I was really watching from a side hallway that led to the living room. I’d wanted a glimpse at someone I knew, hoping that the sight might trigger some memory.
It had.
One glimpse of his steel grey hair had instantly dragged me into a memory. The wall behind Roland transformed into a night sky flashing with lightning. I heard a snarling, growling noise and turned around in my memory. I saw a huge red creature hovering in the sky. It looked like a huge snake with a dragon’s head, and its body was a mass of sinuous coils. Ruby red scales were as clearly defined as its double mouthed head.
Slifer…
Almost as quickly, the memory had fled from me, and Mokuba had been standing in front of me. Roland had been there by Mokuba’s side, and his eyes showed his concern for me. He’d asked if I was okay, and fear had coursed through me.
I’d snapped out that I was fine, and my tone had held the anger I felt at losing my memories. I’d stalked from the hallway as steadily as I could. Truth be told, it hadn’t been very steady for me, though it must’ve looked fine to the others. Dizziness had just about overwhelmed me, and all I’d wanted to do was sit down.
Showing weakness had seemed repulsive to me, and after sitting on a plush leather sofa, I relaxed. Mokuba had come in not long after that with the take-out bag in his hands. Roland had been shown out, and the security was in lockdown mode as soon as the man drove from the gates to the main road.
Looking back, I realized that the emotions I felt in the memory hadn’t been fear of the large snake-like creature. It had been exhilaration and anticipation. I’d wanted to see that creature.
The tv in the living room was a sixty-two inch high definition plasma tv. It hung on the wall and was as thin as a painting. When it wasn’t on, there was a screensaver of a painting on it that was so lifelike I’d wanted to touch it to see if it was textured. There was a movie on now, but I wasn’t paying too much attention to it.
“Mokuba?â€ﾝ
He slurped the last of his ramen, “Yeah.â€ﾝ
“…Who is Slifer?â€ﾝ
It was a good thing his ramen container was a) Styrofoam and b) empty, because he dropped it onto the Oriental rug that covered the hardwood floor.
He regarded me with wide, shocked grey eyes, “Slifer! You remember Slifer but not me!â€ﾝ
“What is it?â€ﾝ
“Slifer is one of the Egyptian God Cards!â€ﾝ He picked the container off of the rug, “Figures you’d remember that monster before your own brother.â€ﾝ
“Is this a guilt trip?â€ﾝ
Mokuba cracked a smile, “Yeah, you bet it is.â€ﾝ He sighed and picked up the remote, “I remember the duel you're talking about though. But I can’t just tell you who Slifer is. It’ll be easier to show you.â€ﾝ
To my amazement, the remote had accessed what Mokuba told me to be an entertainment storage system that I had designed and patented. The television, actually all of the tv’s in the manor, were wirelessly hooked up to a central computer that held movies, television shows, and every recorded duel hosted by Kaiba Corp.
“Uh…here we go,â€ﾝ Mokuba sat back, close to me, and turned up the volume. Sound flared around us, due to the surround sound speakers that were recessed in the woodwork. The air conditioning made the temperature in the room drop to match the conditions on the screen. There was a slight breeze, though it was obvious that it didn't match the whipping going on with that duel.
“This duel was fought at night on top of a blimp,â€ﾝ Mokuba explained. “It was part of the Battle City tournament that you hosted. It’s between Yugi and Bakura. Bakura has the long white hair and Yugi has the tri-colored hair. Don’t ask why it’s tri-colored, just watch the duel.â€ﾝ
Well that shut me up. I had been about to ask why anyone would have tri-colored hair.
BREAK
Shadow Realm, God Cards, Ancient Egypt…it was a lot to take in. The various camera angles had provided a lot of footage. The microphones were superb and picked up just about everything spoken. The thing that had disturbed me the most was how unemotional and cold Seto Kaiba looked. I couldn’t say how unemotional and cold I looked, because the way that guy looked was not how I felt now.
Every now and then, he would make a biting comment at Yugi. I doubt he was trying to be as encouraging as Yuig's friends on the other side of the raised platform, but there was something deep inside me that made me feel that he didn’t want Yugi to just give up.
He wanted to battle Yugi. More than that, he wanted to destroy Yugi.
My head had started to pound gently as I watched the duel, but I couldn’t stop watching. It lasted almost an hour before the final move was played. Yugi emerged the winner and Seto Kaiba watched him with cold, dead eyes.
When Mokuba turned off the television, I felt a coldness that went bone deep. “That…that’s how I look to people?â€ﾝ
Mokuba was silent for a moment and then nodded.
“Why?â€ﾝ
“I…I don’t know for sure,â€ﾝ he looked uncomfortable. “I think that’s something only you really know.â€ﾝ
“And now I don’t,â€ﾝ I rubbed at my right temple. Luckily my headache was leaving. “I hate this.â€ﾝ
“Me too.â€ﾝ
“Have I ever asked you for anything?â€ﾝ
Mokuba looked at me and the surprise in his eyes answered it for me. “Well…â€ﾝ
“I haven’t, have I?â€ﾝ I sighed, “I must be a real arrogant bastard.â€ﾝ
“NO!â€ﾝ The harshness in Mokuba’s voice was matched by the loyalty he obviously felt towards his brother. To me. “You’re not a bastard. You can be arrogant, and maybe a bit of a jerk, but that’s only so you can protect us!â€ﾝ
“So if I actually showed emotions that weren’t on the dark side then we’d be screwed?â€ﾝ
“Probably,â€ﾝ Mokuba smiled encouragingly, “But it’s also how we were brought up. Gozaburo was a monster to you. You protected me from him. I have to be honest, I don’t even know half of what went between you two.â€ﾝ
Frowning slightly, I shook my head, “I don’t think I want to know anything about him. If I remember about him, then I remember, but I have a feeling that’s a stone best left unturned.â€ﾝ
We brought our empty containers and silverware (and I do mean silver) to the kitchen. I washed the silverware while Mokuba put the containers in the trashcan and then sat at the table behind me.
“What did you want?â€ﾝ Mokuba asked, “You know, earlier.â€ﾝ
I rinsed the final spoon and turned to face him. I wiped the spoon dry and put it away. “Can you wash my hair for me?â€ﾝ
BREAK
Needless to say, it had to have been the oddest request that Seto Kaiba had ever made of his brother. Mokuba had also been recruited to change the bandage on the side of his brother’s head. That was because I couldn’t see the area affected, so I couldn’t put on any of the healing ointment or anything.
But the feel of clean hair…it was just about heavenly.
After recovering from my question, which had left him looking shocked and amused, Mokuba had carefully washed my hair in one of the sinks in my bathroom. After the final rinse, he’d blotted the moisture from the strands and then gotten the ointment from the care bag the hospital had sent home with us. Once my hair was dry, he took off the bandaging to inspect my injury, then he started to put on the healing ointment. Even as carefully as he applied it, it still stung.
“What’s it look like up there?â€ﾝ
Mokuba laughed, “Ah…well they had to shave some hair off, but there’s enough left to cover up the injury until the hair grows back.â€ﾝ
“That takes a lot off my mind,â€ﾝ I said the words jokingly, but deep down I felt like the words rang more truth than jest. “Are there stitches or anything? Or is there just a huge gaping wound?â€ﾝ
“Uh, there are stitches, but the cut itself is about an inch long,â€ﾝ he paused as he reapplied a fresh gauze pad, “There’s a little bleeding between the stitches, but not a lot. By the time you have to go back to school, you could probably go without any bandages at all.â€ﾝ
Only what if I don’t want to go back to high school? Why do I even have to, if I'm running my own company? I watched Mokuba wrap gauze around my head. He tied it in a headband fashion like the hospital staff had done. I stared at my reflection. Even to me I look lost. Forget about people at school, how am I supposed to deal with people I know at work? There's no way I’ll be able to keep this from people.
If I’m not careful, the whole world will know that Seto Kaiba has amnesia and if people find out, I have no doubt that Seto Kaiba’s world will come crashing down.
“Mokuba?â€ﾝ
“Mmhmm?â€ﾝ He had put the ointment away and was wrapping up the unused gauze.
“You think I can get through this?â€ﾝ
He froze for a second, then put the wrapped gauze into the care bag. “I know you can.
“You sound so sure.â€ﾝ
“And you don’t. That’s unacceptable.â€ﾝ His words surprised me and I looked over at him. His grey eyes shone with intensity. “You’ll be ready. It’s only Saturday and it’s not even one in the afternoon. You’ve got more than enough time to figure things out.â€ﾝ
“I don’t even know where to start.â€ﾝ
“I do,â€ﾝ he said and walked out of the bathroom, “Come on. I guess you’re gonna need a crash course in Seto Kaiba 101.â€ﾝ
Wincing a little, I followed him. “Can you please not use the word crash?â€ﾝ
BREAK
That was kind of a little long of a chapter, wasn’t it? It's at least eleven pages if you print it out, depending on your computer settings. By the way, what do you think of the story so far? Is it realistic enough or a little campy?
I must apologize in regards to the mentioned duel between Yugi and Bakura. I haven't seen it in a long time, so I hope the words were good in translating what I saw in my own mind for that memory scene of Seto's.
Also, I promise that I haven’t forgotten about Yugi and co. The duel mentioned in this chapter won't be the only appearance they're making! They will be making appearances, and the media will be making appearances, and so will some supernatural fuddy duddies. Heh, heh…awwwwwyeah...
Always yours,
Mira