Fogshipping (Kaiba Seto/Kajiki Ryota)
. . .
The mist was heavy this morning, heavy enough that Seto could hardly see the hand in front of his face. There was something peaceful about it...something that made him feel like he could breathe.
It swirled in front of him as he walked carefully down the harbor, moving out from him with each of his breaths. It was a quiet, empty sort of morning. That was the reason he was here. Mokuba had kicked him out of the office and told him to go take a walk until he was ready to go to sleep. Seto snorted. He didn't have time to sleep, the Christmas season was coming sooner than it looked on the calendar and there was work to be done.
But he couldn't deny that the quiet, mist-filled morning wasn't incredibly relaxing. No one could see him in the mist like this. He was all alone, and he didn't have to answer phones, or talk to anyone, or read any papers...it was just him and the mist.
At least, that's what he thought until he heard the humming.
In the quiet morning, the sound carried, and it almost seemed to echo against the curtains of mist around him until it echoed all around him and he couldn't figure out where it was coming from. It was a nice, deep voice, a tune that felt all at once like a lullaby and a sea shanty, calm and lapping like the ocean whispering at the docks.
Curiosity got the better of him; and he moved towards the water. He was careful about where his feet went, in case he fell into the water, but soon he found wood under his feet and he hesitated, peering through the mist.
At first, there was nothing but the fog. And then, after a beat, a shadowy shape appeared on the water, a low slung boat and a shape inside it.
The young boy looked up at him curiously as his boat reached the dock, the hum fading away into the mist. He squinted at Seto—Seto couldn't quite see him in the mist, but he got the barest glimpse of his tan skin and dark, messy hair.
"Was that you singing?" he asked.
"Yup," the boy said. "Didn't expect anyone else out in the morning so early. Hope I didn't bother ya."
Seto shrugged.
"It was...not too bad," he said.
The boy laughed slightly.
"Well, it seems to help the fish bite a little more, so who am I to judge the fish's music taste?" he laughed. "Anything I can help you with this morning, stranger?"
Seto glanced over him and his boat for a moment, a little shocked that he hadn't been recognized. But he wasn't wearing his normal, distinctive coats, and the mist obscured the boy from him, too, so he probably shouldn't be surprised.
He found that it was rather a nice feeling, not being noticed.
"No," he said. "I think I got what I needed out of this morning."
The boy flashed a glinting grin, and saluted.
"The ocean mist is good for that. Have a good day, stranger; I hope the ocean's blessings go with you."
Seto snorted softly—ocean's blessings. Sailors were a strange lot.
But he nodded, feeling more than a little strange—perhaps it was the quiet, or the mist, or the surreality of the early morning. Then he turned back, and walked away, letting himself disappear into the mist.
. . .
A/N: -cries- do I have to keep writing about Ryota? Please let me stop writing about Ryota. I don't know what to do with him. Next is Flowshipping (Priestess Isis x Kisara).
