Re-Conception Veritas
Test chapter 2
A/n: some of these scenes are just dialogue exchanges and some are fleshed out scenes.
"You knew my cat died and you didn't tell me? What the fuck is wrong with you?" she screamed as he walked in, the crate banging against his leg.
"Don't you start! I don't know how to handle these situations, this is exactly why I won't let my brother have a pet. I didn't know what to do so I went to a shelter and got a new one off death row. If you don't want them, fine, I'll go back, but they will be euthanized if I do," Seto shouted back. She wiped tears off her face and took a deep breath.
"Wait, don't take it back just give me the crate, why do you keep calling it they?" she answered, getting up from her chair. He put the crate on the floor.
"Because there's two 'its' in there. They had to go together, they wouldnt let me just take one. I figured you could find a home for the extra one," he said, watching as she opened the crate and slowly coached them out.
"They're not sweaters, asshole. You can't just break up siblings like that, especially if they have always been together. It really fucks them up," she told him. The grey cat poked his head out and cautiously took a step forward, sniffing Kisara before rubbing it's head against her knee.
"Well then, congratulations, you have 2 cats now," he offered sarcastically. She sighed, watching the second cat emerge from the crate
"I guess I do. Just don't bring anymore home," she said, picking up and cuddling the white and brown one that had finally exited the crate.
"What do I do if I find one on the street?" he asked sarcastically.
"Call a shelter," she answered, still absorbed by the new cats. "Why did you do this anyway?"
"I already told you that. It was the only idea I had, and it was logical, so I figured it's what you would do," he answered, walking over to his desk and turning on his computer.
"Well yeah, but usually people have a mourning period and wait before they attempt to replace a pet, they don't do it right away."
"No point in wasting time being sad. It's a good distraction, and these two would not have been there in a few weeks. They had two days left." he told her. She rolled her eyes before setting down the cat, and wiping the cat fur from her clothes.
"How many others were scheduled to be euthanized?"
"None, they were the only ones. Made the decision pretty easy, they're old, like 4 years or something, and no one wants an older cat, let alone two,"
"What are their names?" she asked.
"I don't remember, they were stupid anyway, give them new ones," he told her as he shuffled through paperwork.
Kisara: Of all the people to be stuck with in an epidemic and I'm stuck with you, the universe hates me!
Seto: You're no picnic either, Ms Payne, your surname is your best Adjective.
K: too bad it suits you better
S: you're insufferable
K: so are you!
S: why doI have to deal with all the shit no one else does
K: Because God hates you my dear
"So you just took it upon yourself to start paying for my mothers care? What the fuck?" she shouted at him once she got off the phone.
"Yes, because I thought the insurance covered it, when I found out otherwise I took care of it," he told her, refusing to take his eyes from the screen.
"Insurance covers very little," she told him.
"Fix that," he instructed.
"I can't. Insurance companies are the ones that make that decision. They won't pay for the care unless I put her in a state funded hospital, and those are nightmares. I won't do that to my mom again. It took me years to get her out of the shit hole she was in and into one where they actually take care of her instead of putting her in a corner for 18 hours a day," she spat out, irritated.
"I don't believe that," he scoffed.
"Okay then call the insurance company, and then I'll take you to a state funded hospital, and show you what it's like," she threatened.
"You're telling me insurance pays for your weed, but not for a healthcare facility? It makes no sense," he refutted.
"Welcome to America, Mr Kaiba, nothing here makes sense, and the insurance only covers half of my weed, not all, it covers about half the cost of medication, half the cost of dr visits, and no specialists, because that's apparently unnecessary," she ranted. "Now go call the insurance company,"
"All state hospitals are like this?" he shouted once they were back in the car.
"Yes, some are even worse," she confirmed, lighting a cigarette, and putting the key in the ignition. "But this is what insurance covers, understaffed, overrun facilities. They have funding, but not enough and a lot of it gets wasted on stupid shit. I told you it was bad."
"what the actual fuck," he boomed.
"And there it is, culture shock has finally hit," she purred, ashing out the window. He grit his teeth and looked back at her.
"Yeah, now I understand why you spend so much of your check on drugs and alcohol," he scoffed.
"Except I don't spend as much as you think. I tend to stockpile, because I don't use as much as I'm perscribed.
"How can we fix this?"
"We can't" she scoffed. "Not even you have that much money or influence, it's out of your reach,"
"That's a stupid defeatist answer," he spat back.
"Okay, hot shot. First you invest in the proper education for care takers, then you make sure all facilities has enough staff, and are paid enough to stay on in a shitty, horrible job of wiping ass and changing diapers, then you make sure each facility has the specialists and the funding for the specialists required, then you set a standard for care thats higher than the one now, and then hire someone to travel and check that all institutions are up to that standard. Unless you have 50 billion dollars to do this and maintain it, it can't be done. Trust me, I've looked into it. No one wants higher taxes, especially when most of our tax dollars are spent on military and weapon research instead of welfare, food stamps and elderly care. Hell money might not be able to fix it since these are government institutions, and you can't run for any political office because you're not a natural citizen, and the government does not care about the old, crippled, infirm, or kids." she rambled. He slammed his fist on the dashboard.
"This country is fucking stupid and so backwards, how can you tolerate living here?" he growled back. She chuckled.
"Because I don't have a fucking choice. I'm not leaving my mom," she punctuated, ashing out of the window again.
"Just take her with you," he suggested.
"Don't talk out of turn, it's not something that can easily be done. I need more money in savings before I can even try," she shot back. Seto turned and stared out the window, still angered by what he saw in the hospital. The radio caught his attention.
Moonlight in Osaka,
but I'm alone tonight the radio droned on in the car, he tried not to pay it any mind.
My fears take flight
The hole in my heart is yearning
Your soul in sight, your smile was my light
All I'm left with is the darkest night.
American music was weird and foreign to him, and he hadn't been exposed to much outside Kisara, and it all varied so much. Some of it was complex, some was simple. Some he liked, some he hated. The ones he liked, he looked up and made a list of, but he never let her know what he liked. He had many reasons for his secret list and logically, it made sense to him.
AN: So before anyone get in a tizzy about the lyrics, they're fake. I made them up. It's not a real song.
Experimental optional maybe scene
"By the way, I found where you hid the ice cream," Seto boasted when Kisara walked into the kitchen.
"Seto, I hid that for a reason!" she shouted back. That was the moment it dawned on him.
"There's weed in the ice cream isn't there?" he asked to confirm.
"You bet there is, and judging by how much you ate, you're going to be high for about two days," she told him.
"I don't feel anything," he bragged. She chuckled and took the ice cream away.
"Oh, you will, give it a few hours," she stated.
"Take me to the hospital, I want the antidote," he demanded. Kisara laughed at him, hiding the ice cream again.
"There's no antidote. The hospital staff will laugh at you and tell you to wait it out. So what did we learn today?" she mocked, he scowled back at her, daggers in his eyes. "We learned we don't touch my food, especially without asking, or reading the label so buckle up sweetheart, you're in for a ride. I'll try to make it easy on you,"
"How do you plan on doing that?" he scoffed, still scowling in his chair.
"Don't worry bout it. I've babysat many people on drugs, and so far no one has died or gotten hurt," she reassured him.
"Yet," he added.
"You're right, with your attitude I might be the one hurting you, intentionally and honestly, youd probably like that," she spat back. He laughed, she grinned.
"You're laughing. That's unusual. The ice cream is starting to hit you," she teased. He rolled his eyes.
"You said it would take a few hours," he retorted.
"For the full effects. It usually begins to creep up after 15-20 minutes, then it gets more intense until you're stoned. Right now you have a buzz, soon you'll be high, then you'll be stoned, and if you're going to be stoned then you'll be tripping since it's your first time. If you're going to be baked then so am I," she remarked, pulling a dragon vase out of the cupboard.
"You're supposed to be babysitting," he sneered. She laughed and pulled out a box from the end table and unlocked it.
"I can babysit you stoned. I'm used to it, you are not. I know what to expect, you don't," she dismissed.
"Tell me what to expect," he demanded again. She laughed and blew out a plume of smoke.
"Dry mouth, hunger, general feelings of calm and well being, relaxation, everything will be funny, some difficulties with co-ordination, or better co-ordination. Things will be more interesting, more solutions present themselves, typically. It's different for everyone, sometimes the brain gets sharper, sometimes it's the opposite. You just have to roll with it," she explained.
"This is stupid," he remarked.
"You have no one to blame but yourself, there was a pot leaf on the lid of the ice cream you ignorant moron," Kisara chimed back.
"I thought it was a ploy to keep me out of your ice cream," he reasoned.
"And how is that working out for you?" she inquired, lighting a cigarette. He ignored her comment and picked up his phone. "And what did we learn today? Stay out of my snacks, especially if they're hidden, because they're hidden for a reason."
AN: So here's so more practice scenes I guess. I'm not sure if all of them will be used, or what I will keep. I guess we'll find out. I've filled two notebook comprised almost entirely of dialogue. I'm going to plan the first actual chapter for around March, and i'll post it on it's own, and I'm not sure if I'll even follow through with it, it might end up going the way of Black Rain and remain forever unfinished. I don't know, we'll see I guess…. Kaiba is a bitch to write and keep in character and it's just as difficult to write another character that can talk back, and be just as rude and cynical and complex. You'd think after 20 years I'd have a better handle on this, but NOPE. Anyway, see you around March, maybe.
