III
At that point, only a few more details remained to be sorted to the general relief of all parties involved: the quick overview of the user interface that was interrupted by Seto's first inquiries into human male anatomy, a summarizing report of all tests conducted on his body and obligatory prescriptions for eye drops. Kaiba refused to look at Hanji throughout and acknowledged all new information and proposed measures with barely perceivable nods of the head; his patience had already been too far tried and he could not think of his clone's purely incidental mishap with anything but abhorrence. The idea that those genitals had been viewed, studied and even touched by the medical team in the course of examinations, though perhaps once registered, had clearly no longer crossed his mind.
Meanwhile, Seto continued to practice in the holding cell, minding his feet and posture. Isono lent his encouragement and proved easy to please; indeed he would have found it difficult not to indulge in Seto's attempts as small triumphs enabled by his own kindness and assistance. Hanji and the medical team may have made and prepared him, but Isono rightfully felt himself the more active parent in those moments. He observed Seto's every move with fond alertness, though there was something in his awed glances, the bite of his lip that pained him, and soon Isono found himself wishing fervently and against all rational hope that no harm would ever befall this Seto like the Original that had suffered so much.
Seto took another step and paused, shooting a glance at Isono.
"…Sir?"
"They told me I was named after Him," began Seto, shifting from one foot to the other. Isono quirked a brow, inclining his head. "Do I call him Seto, then?"
"…I suppose, Sir, that you might want to call him Kaiba. He would prefer it that way."
"Just Kaiba…? Shouldn't he be called Kaiba-sama?"
Isono flinched.
"No, Sir," he replied, his voice subdued and quiet. "His adoptive father was Kaiba-sama. His employees call him Seto-sama or refer to him as Kaiba Seto, but I believe you need not be as formal as we are, Sir. You will be more of a colleague to him."
"A colleague," echoed Seto. His eyes slipped to the floor again and the silence swelled until the words, "I wanted to impress him but I failed," burst out of him and dissolved into bitter gusts of air. "He wouldn't even look at me afterwards."
"He is impatient to take you home, Sir," said Isono, hoping he did not stray far from the truth. "I'm sure he will act differently once he is in the privacy of his own house."
He hoped to dispel the doubt that clouded Seto's features but speculation could not pierce it, and so he was obliged to add what he thought was an undeniable fact and say, "And I am absolutely certain that he is impressed by the fact that you are alive and healthy, and have made such progress in so little time. I do not think there is anyone alive who would not be impressed by you."
He realized too late that the last part was a gross exaggeration, but Seto humored him and forced his lips into the tense carving of a smile.
"My body is a miracle of science," he quoted Hanji, conscious of the certainty of this fact yet feeling none of the warmth that budding self-worth should have endowed him with. "And that's it."
Isono nodded. He did not know what to say.
A few minutes later, the door of the holding cell unlocked with a metallic click and slid open to reveal Kaiba and Hanji, the latter sporting a hefty briefcase. Kaiba placed one foot forward but did not enter, and when he lifted his eyes, he could not quite control his glare as the memory of the embarrassing incident rushed through his mind, sparking cold flares of anger. Seto was struck by the contrast between his former indifference and what he could only suppose was some form of hatred; he shrunk backwards, shoulders hunched and hands clenching aimlessly by his thighs. Kaiba's voice cut the air like a knife.
"Let's go," was all he said, immediately turning his back on them and marching off. Hanji had been starched up into seeming gravity, but as soon as Kaiba looked no more, their lips widened into a shameless grin, lifting the briefcase for Isono to take. They were promptly relieved of it a moment later and were now free to approach Seto, cupping his arms in a fond grasp of engineered muscle and artificially induced skin.
"You're all grown up," they said, beaming as they squeezed his arms. "Good luck."
As Hanji released him and stepped aside, Seto hesitated for a moment, wrestling with a fear he could not readily name from his lexicon, but between staying here and joining Isono, the latter won without contest. Seto bowed his head, hands rigidly held by his sides and then made an awkward dash after Isono, legs straining not to collapse.
"Don't be strangers now!" Hanji cried after him, chuckling to hide their disappointment at having lost their favorite object.
Seto found Isono in the hallway and nearly collided with him in an effort to catch up. Isono was fortunately more than prepared to lend his arm and support his charge on the final stretch to the elevator where Kaiba Seto stood with his arms folded across his chest.
They entered the elevator a moment later and Seto obediently shuffled into the corner farthest from the Other, but it was not to be. As soon as the doors closed on them, Kaiba pressed down and then stepped over. Seto glanced at his face but found no relief in his features. Kaiba slipped a hand into his pocket.
"Put these on and try to act natural," he said as he pulled out a pair of large dark sunglasses and held them up. Seto plucked them from his fingers, turning them about in confusion.
"Put them on."
It took Seto a moment to figure out just how he was to put them on, but when he did, his flinch was so violent that the sunglasses dropped to the floor.
Don't touch your eyes NEVER TOUCH YOUR EYES if you touch your eyes they will HURT so horribly YOU WILL WISH YOU DIDN'T EXIST and they will NOT STOP HURTING until I take a scalpel and CUT UP YOUR EYES to fix them TERRIBLE things will happen if you TOUCH your EYES DON'T TOUCH YOUR EYES NEveR toUCh YoUR eyES—
"Seto."
Seto jerked his head up, his face frozen in a grimace. His fingers clenched aimlessly as he watched Isono obediently reach for the sunglasses and pick them up. He held them out for Seto to take. Kaiba's glare was icy.
"Put them on."
"Don't touch your eyes, never touch your eyes," blurted Seto, instinctively shoving Isono's hands away, but the moment he did, Kaiba snatched the sunglasses out of his employee's hold and forced them roughly into Seto's shaking hands. His clone was crushed into the corner; his heart jolted visibly under the shirt.
"Put them on," snapped Kaiba.
"…They won't touch your eyes, Sir. They will protect them," spoke Isono, his voice low and soothing. He pinched up his own sunglasses by the hinge, pulled them down the ridge of his nose and then slowly back up to demonstrate. Kaiba rolled his eyes and stepped aside. Isono closed the distance.
"May I, Sir?"
He needed to pry Seto's fingers off first, curled around the glasses like claws, but managed to secure the sunglasses with little difficulty (much surprised that they were still intact), and gingerly guided the tips towards Seto's ears. The clone jerked his head backwards, bashing the back of his head against the wall, and that was where all resistance ended. He merely screwed his eyes shut, hands trembling helplessly by his chest as the sunglasses slipped on.
"You can open your eyes, Sir," came Isono's voice, but it took a while longer before Seto's eyelids grew tired and fluttered open of their own accord. Isono had taken care to place the glasses as far from his eyes as he was able; those long lashes swept up and down but did not brush against the lens. Seto's mouth opened in a small O. It was as though someone had poured ink on his world.
"Finally," growled Kaiba, reaching up to open the elevator at last. "Isono. Keep him close to you and don't let him turn around."
"Yes, Sir."
