…+…+…
Chapter 9 - The Weight of Regret Carried Away
An excited boy sits in his temporary refuge with his companion. "One day I'll be your champion! I'll save you! I'll protect you! I'll free us both!" The boy and his friend shake with excitement and celebrate in whispers. "You and me. Just you and me."
"What about-?" The younger boy asked.
"Oh yes, of course, him too! The three of us! I'll be a real good hero and we'll all go free!"
"And then what?" The silver haired boy giggles and claps his hands over his mouth to muffle the sounds of joy.
"When we are free we will go anywhere! We will do anything! Best of all, we won't have to ask for permission!
+…+
A blue eyed boy sits on the edge of a bed, his legs still not long enough to touch the floor. "Why are you so nice? Why aren't you like them?"
"Because I love you too much!" The caretaker continues to brush the boy's hair, smiling.
The boy laughs, "But you are always nice!"
The man thinks for a moment, "I have not always been nice. Though, I think I have been nice for longer than I was bad."
The boy smiles and sits up straighter, "I'm going to free us! I'm going to get stronger and then we are all going to go free! Me, you, and Max!"
+…+
A blue eyed youth lays beaten, bruised, and bleeding in a small bed. "Please…kill…me…" His hoarse voice pleads.
Tears fill the guardian's eyes, red tracks streak his face, "I'm sorry my little Darkling."
The boy turns his head slowly to look at his guardian who is still holding his hand. "You didn't come…I called…and called…"
"I'm sorry, my Darkling! I couldn't come to help you. I-"
"Did… you know…?" The guardian's silence weighs heavily on the boy. With all of the strength he can muster, he pulls his hand free. "I hate you."
The words pierce the man's heart.
+…+
"You are free! You are no longer Bound! Yami has freed you!" A white haired man says happily to his former charge.
The younger does not look at him. He continues to pack his things. There is no sign that he has even heard.
"Aren't you happy?"
Blue eyes turn to regard the former guardian with disgust. "Get out. I'm busy."
Hurt the former caretaker, retreats a few steps, "Oh… I just wanted to say…goodbye and maybe see you off."
"Get out of my sight."
+…+
"You lied!"
A blue eyed man stands, stunned.
"You never came back for me! You never saved me! You never protected me! You broke EVERY ONE of your promises!" The young man with silver hair stares at the great Seto Kaiba who was once his friend. "You got your freedom, packed your bags and LEFT!"
A promise from the beast's youth bubbles to the surface. Oft repeated words play in his mind 'When we are free we will go anywhere. We will do anything. Best of all, we won't have to ask for permission.' "I'm sorry, Max, I-"
"You left me to suffer and rot with Malik! You didn't even TRY! You walked away and never looked back!" A young man, pain and anger filling his right eye, hisses, "I had to finally KILL HIM! I had to do it because I finally woke up and realized that you were NEVER COMING BACK!"
+…+
The end was somehow much more peaceful than Seto had imagined.
'I'm sorry. I said those things. I made all of those promises. For all of the wrongs I have done. I am so sorry. I wish I could fix it all. I wish I had done the right thing. I never wanted to hurt either of you.'
"Hush now, you have fulfilled more promises than you have broken."
Seto smiled bitterly. Even if these ghosts gave him gentle words, he knew very well that he had ruined lives and broken oaths.
'I should have been the one to kill Malik. I should have freed us all. I was going to lead us all into the real world. We were going to be happy. Instead, I was so blinded by my own selfish concerns. I fled my own problems and forgot other's. I was a bad friend- no! Max was a brother to me! I was an awful brother and an even worse son. I'm sorry for all of deeds and now… I'm sorry for never saying these words when they might have made a difference.'
"We love you. We understand. You didn't let us down. You were little more than a child when you made those promises. How could you have known what would be required of you to fulfill them? When Max found you, you were there for him. When you were asked to rescue two children you didn't even know, you fought a monster and saved them. You have not let anyone down."
The weight on Seto's spirit eased a measure more. 'I just wish I could have told them…'
"We're listening. We hear you. You have not yet reached the end of your road, Seto."
"Yes, my Darkling, you have not yet joined the end."
Seto's brow wrinkled. Slowly he tried to open his eyes. Light leaked in through one but the other stayed firmly shut. He tried to look around. He found two shadows beside him. He squinted, trying to make sense of the blurry shapes he saw. "Ba…kura? Max?" his hoarse voice whispered.
"Yes."
"We're here, Seto."
A wave of relief washed over the battered champion. "I love you both."