8. Flying Blind

Seto arrived at the restaurant a little later than he'd planned. He'd wanted to pick this woman up, but she'd apparently wanted to meet him there. Whatever. She was a few years older than he was, so perhaps she was one of those girls who knew what she wanted. If they didn't hit it off, there would be no charade of taking her home—which was fine with him.

She was already seated at his reserved table when he arrived. So she was punctual at least. And good-looking, too, it turned out. She had a hourglass figure, golden skin, black hair, and large blue eyes. Plus she was expensively if conservatively dressed; perhaps not a gold-digger? That would be a relief. He sat down across from her. "Ishizu Ishtar?" he said. "I'm Kaiba Seto. I was delayed—"

"Not to worry," she said, consulting her watch, "you're exactly on time. I'll be blunt, Mr Kaiba: I wouldn't ordinarily agree to this sort of arrangement."

"And what induced you to agree to it this time?" Seto found her manner a bit aggressive, but he couldn't help admiring it a little. After all, he was no less direct than she, and he hated the way most women tended to beat around the bush.

She shrugged, one delicate shoulder barely hitching upward. "You are the chief figure of an important company. You could be an important contact for my family, if nothing else."

Seto was partially successful in suppressing a smile. "So dating me isn't a goal?"

"I'm sorry if that disappoints you."

Seto was slightly surprised to find that he didn't find the admission the least bit insulting. However, this woman had no personal knowledge of him, and this only validated his public image—the idea that she would go to these lengths to add him as a business contact. "Not at all," he said.

To Seto's relief, Ishizu's admission dispelled the awkwardness of the meeting and thereafter they were able to talk comfortably about business. The Ishtars were an Egyptian family of considerable wealth and had many business interests, some of which were compatible with those of KaibaCorp.

And eventually many more things they had in common began to come out. They had both lost their fathers and been forced to take leadership positions in their family businesses; both had younger brothers that they felt responsible for; both had fathers who had been harsh and demanding.

"Do you mind my asking why you had Mai set this date up?" Ishizu asked.

Seto did mind a little, but it he wasn't going to let Ishizu know that; besides, it was an obvious enough question. "It's all right," he said. "With everything on my plate, I had originally planned putting off dating until after high school."

"Very prudent."

"But someone at my high school did something recently that's forced me to think about revising that plan."

"Ah," Ishizu said. She looked Seto over carefully. "But not someone that you'd consider asking out?"

"Given the circumstances, I'd prefer not to."

Ishizu paused thoughtfully, then said, "You seem such a decisive person. I find it interesting that you'd ask Mai to set something up for you."

Seto eyed her, uncomfortable with the sensation that he was being cross-examined. "I thought about asking someone myself, but, frankly, once I started looking at the possibilities, I decided it would be more efficient to have someone more experienced handle the selection process."

Ishizu's expression became amused as she said, "So she's handling HR while you take the interviews."

Annoying, but perhaps accurate. "I suppose you could put it that way," he agreed.

"Don't worry, I'm not offended." Ishizu took a moment to toy with her after dinner coffee, then said, "So, this person who inspired this plan in the first place; you say circumstances prevent you from dating that person? Otherwise you would?"

Seto hated to admit it, but begrudgingly he said, "Maybe. Probably."

"Circumstances. Does that mean this person is involved with someone?"

Seto thought of Anzu, but he couldn't be sure, and if Atem and Anzu were an item, it was recent. "I suppose it's possible," he said, "but it doesn't seem likely."

"Then it's something else." She frowned. "You didn't get turned down?" she asked, a hint of surprise in her voice.

"Quite the opposite."

"Hm." She looked somewhat baffled for a moment, then seemed to get an idea. "Then perhaps she offended you?"

She. Seto almost snorted at the assumption, but said, "Actually, yes. There are certain things that I can't just let go."

"I know that I don't know you very well, so please forgive me if I'm getting too personal. Obviously, I don't know what happened between you and this person, but it looks like she got you thinking about rearranging your life. So there must be something between the two of you, one way or the other. If she made some sort of mistake, maybe you should give her another chance. Everyone makes mistakes. You don't fire everyone who makes a mistake at your company, do you?"

"It depends on the mistake."

That didn't seem to be exactly the answer that Ishizu was expecting, but she replied, "You do believe in giving people second chances, though, under the right circumstances?"

"Yes," he allowed. "You seem awfully interested in this person you never met," he said.

She smiled, a renewed warmth entering her expression. "Maybe I'm thinking of my brother. He made a lot of mistakes, got in a lot of trouble before he straightened out. If he hadn't been given a few extra chances … I guess we give extra chances to people we care about, don't we? If your little brother screwed up, for example—"

Seto silenced her with a sharp look. But Mokuba wasn't so perfect that he never made mistakes. Seto could never cut him off, she was right about that. Was it a female thing to use these unfair arguments? He didn't want to discuss it any further, so he changed the subject. "Do you have a ride home?" he asked. "I can drop you."

Ishizu said that it would be no trouble to take a taxi, but Seto insisted. It turned out that she was staying with her brothers on their yacht, which allowed them a leisurely drive along the harbor.

"I'm sorry that this wasn't much of a date," Ishizu said. "It's probably my fault."

"Hardly. I've already admitted that I have no experience with this sort of thing." He glanced out the window, considering. "In fact, that's why—fuck it." He gently grasped her chin and kissed her. Asking her permission was just too embarrassing to think about.

"What was that for?" Ishizu asked.

"I need the frame of reference, frankly."

To his surprise, Ishizu gave him another warm smile. "Then you should have a decent frame of reference," she said, and returned the kiss. It was gentle, warm and lingering, more like a romantic kiss, but it didn't feel the same as Atem's kisses at all.

"Hn," Seto grunted, pulling away.

"Like kissing your sister, right?"


The next day, Seto had Isono drop him off at the boardwalk, where Mai had set up the second meeting. Mai hadn't said much about this prospect except his name and that Seto could recognize him by his red carnation. When he got to the set of outdoor tables, he spotted the man right away, and wondered why Mai hadn't just described him. After all, there was no mistaking him for someone else. He was a huge, burly blond in a biker jacket. Seto couldn't imagine anyone less his "type." Still, he was curious as to why Mai would even consider setting them up, so he sat down opposite the man and said, "I take it you're Rafael?"

The man skewered him with a blue eye and nodded. "Kaiba?"

As the two dined, Seto let the man talk. It turned out that they had more in common than Seto could have imagined. They were both wealthy, both orphans, and they were both very self-reliant. However, there were some differences in the details, and Seto saw some potential conflicts in the similarities. In fact, the more Rafael talked, the more he disliked him.

"So, what about you?" Rafael said as they finished their meals. "I know a little about you from the news, but only the basics."

"Look," Seto said, "I don't think this is going to work out, so it's pointless to continue talking—"

Seto had glanced at the bill and was in the process of pulling out a few bills from his wallet so that they wouldn't have to linger, when Rafael interrupted. "Oh, come on," he said, "this is a date! Have some fun. This is about getting to know each other, so let's give it a chance. Let's walk along the boardwalk. Even if you hate the conversation, you'll at least get some exercise."

"I suppose I could," Seto said. He disliked being so accommodating, but he needed dating experience; even a frustrating experience would be helpful. The fact that he didn't care about this guy made this so much free practice. So as they slowly strolled along the shoreline, he roughly sketched out the well-known particulars of his past. He really didn't want to share anything too private. To his amazement, Rafael seemed interested, if not fascinated.

When Seto finished, they walked on for a little while in silence. At last, Rafael sat down on a bench facing the ocean and motioned to Seto to join him. Seto thought about it, then shrugged and sat next to Rafael. "OK," Rafael said, "all that was interesting enough and tells me where you come from, but I'm missing something. I know why I'm here. Why don't you tell me why you're here? You don't strike me as the sort of person who'd ordinarily let Mai set something up for you."

"I suppose not." Seto sighed. "Frankly, I don't have time—"

"And yet you had time to meet with a perfect stranger."

"Not entirely," Seto pointed out. "Why do you think I consulted with Mai in the first place?"

"Because she's such an expert," he replied sarcastically.

"You accepted," Seto pointed out.

"I've always wanted to meet you. This seemed like a perfect opportunity. And if you weren't quite so, er, rigid, I could really go for you."

Seto wasn't sure how much he liked the sound of that. "Hn," he said.

"Look, Kaiba," Rafael said, forcing Seto's gaze up to meet his. "I get it; for whatever reason, I'm rubbing you the wrong way. But don't let that keep you from listening to my story."

Seto thought that he'd heard all about Rafael's tragic past over lunch, but he waited, watching the surf roll in.

"You seem like the kind of guy who likes to have it all under control—I know that because when I was a kid, I was that way too. I always knew—knew—that I was the smartest person in the room, never mind that I wasn't even ten yet. I could out-think just about any adult I met. But a tsunami has a way of putting things like that in perspective.

"I know you have a brother, so I know you don't know—not like I do. Like I said, I was on an island for several years, all by myself. I'm not looking for sympathy, and I'm not trying to brag. It's not like you're likely to give me pity or admire me anyway. I like that about you, actually, and I wish you liked me better. But, whatever. What I want to say is this: I know what it is to be alone—really alone—and, let me tell you, there's no pain like it."

"If you have a point, could you get to it?" Seto griped. He would have broken in sooner, but he kept reminding himself that this was supposed to be a date, and you were supposed to be somewhat respectful of your partner and listen to what they have to say.

"Sorry," Rafael said. "I'm getting there, I promise. Where was I? Ah yes. When I was alone on that island, I had a lot of time to think. Too much. I spent a lot of time thinking about how I could have possibly saved my brother and sister. They were right there when the ship went down. It would have been really hard, but it might have been possible if I'd been really lucky and tried hard enough. But if I really looked at the facts, I had to admit there was nothing I could have done. Besides, there was no going back, so it was useless to beat myself up about it endlessly and torture myself thinking about what I could have done."

"That's true," he allowed, "there was nothing you could have done, but if you felt your siblings' deaths were your fault, didn't you feel a need to pay the penalty for them?"

"Are you saying I didn't? I still pay a penalty every day. If you're saying I should have killed myself for failing to save them, think about this. Is it more difficult to die to pay for their loss or live a life worthy of them? I now know that my brother and sister would not approve of my giving up; they would be glad I survived. I'll tell you this: it's far more difficult to carry on than to give up."

"This is all well and good, but has nothing to do with me."

"Perhaps. All I'm saying is that people of high intellect and ability tend to have trouble letting go of their own mistakes. It's hard for them to forgive, themselves most of all. And if someone gets close enough, there's a greater chance they might see us slip … so it's hard to let people in." When Seto's gaze sharpened on him, Rafael shrugged. "It's always been hardest for me to forgive myself," he said. "Pride is stubborn and unforgiving." He reached out for Seto's hand, which Seto snatched away. Shrugging again, Rafael said, "Pride makes for a lonely life. Defending it is a hard and unending task. Losing my family and living on that island taught me that relaxing my pride wasn't the worst thing that could happen."

Seto just looked at him. Why is he confessing all this? Is this normal for a date? "You realize that I don't like you," he said finally, giving him a frank, intense stare.

"Yeah, I know." Rafael smiled, returning Seto's gaze unflinchingly. "But I kind of like you anyway. You're bright, blunt, and assertive. Challenging. I like that. Guys who are nice and just let me say and do anything I want? Boring. If only you were just a little more … flexible, maybe. It would be great if you could let me in. If you could let anyone in."

Seto couldn't think of a way to respond to this, so he said, "I suppose I should thank you for an interesting afternoon." He stood. "Good-bye."

"Hey, wait," Rafael said, getting up and grabbing Seto's wrist. "You initiated this. You're not going to leave without at least a farewell kiss, are you?" And before Seto could respond, Rafael leaned forward and, taking his shoulders into his powerful grasp, kissed him soundly on the lips. Seto immediately pushed back, revolted. The kiss with Isis had been sisterly, but this was unwanted, disgusting.

"Yeah," Rafael said, laughing, "you really don't like me. Too bad, I could work with this. But don't worry, I won't try to see you again." He admired the view as Seto turned and began striding away toward the roadway, pulling his cell from a pocket. "I hope you'll think about what I said," he called.

As his limousine rolled up, Seto sighed with relief that his so-called dates were over with. He'd gotten far more advice in the past several days than he could stand. Who were these people to tell him what to do, anyway? Still, there was something about the experience that nagged at him.


Honda was pulling his basketball and sneakers out of his closet when he heard a pounding at his door followed by his mother calling up to him. He pounded down the stairs, surprised. He wasn't expecting Jounouchi this soon. When he got to the landing, he was even more surprised because it was Atem waiting for him at the front door.

"What the—?" Honda said. "Jounouchi and I were going out to play some hoops."

"Don't worry, I don't mean to stay long, it's just that … hell, I don't have anyone else to talk to. No one else has really caught on yet, and …"

"Kaiba."

"He went on a date. I'm worried. I can't stop thinking about it. What if he finds someone?"

Honda trotted down the remaining stairs. "Atem, if it goes that way, you're just going to have to accept it. That's the horrible thing about loving someone, right? If they decide to love someone else, you have to try to be happy for them and move on. If you care about them, you want them to be happy, right? It sucks, but that's life."

"I know all that!" he said, a little more stridently than he wanted to. "It's just … you're right, it sucks. Life sucks. Big time." It was all he could do to keep tears from coming.

Honda seemed to sense that and pulled him into what he hoped was a manly hug. "Come on, Atem, it's not that bad! It's not like Kaiba's such a big prize! You know you're much too good for—"

Honda stopped when the front door was flung open and Jounouchi strode through. "Hey, Hon … da …" Jounouchi stopped dead, his eyes popping at the scene before him.

"Hey, Jou, wai—!" Honda yelled, but it was too late. Jounouchi was already out the door. "Do you think he got the wrong idea?" he asked.

"It sure didn't look like he got the right one!" Atem exploded. Now he was too mortified to cry.

Things were officially worse than ever.


Author's notes ...

I keep thinking that I'm going to get things out more quickly, but they just keep crawling out. I'm sorry about that! I really must buckle down ...

Meanwhile, what is it with the changes to the doc manager? Are we now fixing bugs by removing the features that have them? Hey, I can't add a new story! Maybe we should remove that feature!? Sorry about the sarcasm, but ... frustrated.

Meh, sorry about that, on with actual comments! :D

Again, a challenging chapter, not sure how well it came out, but I think I got it to do what it needed to.

Seto's dates: Do you think Mai might actually select these blind dates? I hope so! I tried. ;) It did turn out to be a little of an advice-fest for Seto, huh? ... poor guy. And he's usually telling the other guy where to get off ... I tried to make it realistic that he'd listen, even for Rafael's part. He really does need the practice! xD

Rafael: My impression of the anime has some antipathy for Rafael on the part of Seto, but this doesn't seem to be reciprocated - and why should it? Rafael's attention is on the pharaoh. So I decided that Raf might actually like Seto because of his similarities to the pharaoh. Anyway, here he thinks Seto has potential. ;)

Next time: Fallout from this, natch.