Future Lover

Chapter Four: Human

‘Yuugi, please let me be out here a little bit longer,’ said Yami as he walked away from Seto who was still under the tree. “I’m going home,”

'Why? You still have English, Japanese Literature, PE and Physics! You’d be…no, I’d be cutting classes!'

Yami made his way back to the classroom and took his bag. ‘English and Japanese teachers are with a few students in a declamation contest outside the city, PE Teacher’s in a sportsfest with the varsities in another school, I don’t know what the name and your physics teacher is in the hospital, his wife is giving birth,’

'Oh. Well, ok.'

‘Ra, Yuugi,’ Yami grabbed Yuugi’s things and ran out the classroom.

'Whoa. Whoa. Are you crying? What just happened?'

‘You know that I’d choose the afterlife over this anytime right?’

'Yeah, why?'

‘I don’t want to die anymore, Yuugi,’ Yami wiped his tears with his blue uniform sleeve as he walked out the school. ‘I don’t want to go anymore.’

'What? Why? Come on, mou hitori no boku, you’ve been waiting for this for such a long time! It’s not that I’m telling you to go or anything, but this is what you’ve-'

‘I know, I know.’ Yami cut him off. ‘But what if I tell you that there’s a reason? That there’s a reason for my desire to stay? And you know that one of those reasons is you,’

Yuugi was silent for a moment, letting Yami walk a few more yards before he spoke again. 'It’s Kaiba isn’t it?'

‘I don’t know why, Yuugi, I really don’t know why…’ Yami calmed himself down as he crossed the street. ‘I don’t remember who he is at all…but he’s so…so…’

'Familiar?'

‘Yes!’

'Let’s go home, mou hitori no boku, and talk about this.'

Yami didn’t answer and kept walking.
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“Mr Kaiba, where are you going?” the principal saw Seto walking out to the school parking lot as she went after him, headed for the red and black Bugatti Veyron. “I will have to get your adviser sign you an infraction report,” she threatened him as she watched him get in the car.

Seto let the engine roar to life and rolled down the window. “You are, are you? Well, you can have that damn teacher sign as many infraction reports as you want. Suspend me, give me an F for conduct or failure due to absences or hell even expel me, I don’t care. I can sue you anytime.” He rolled up the window again, and floored it, screeching the car out of the school grounds.

As he drove to Akatsuki International Schools and Colleges, Mokuba’s school, he grabbed his phone and called the boy.

‘Big brother? What’s wrong?’

“Get your things. I’m fetching you from school. I’m on my way,”

‘What? Why?’

“Just do what I say, Mokuba. We’re going to the Cove,”

‘We are?’

“Yes, we are. I’m going to talk to your adviser so you can come with me. But don’t tell them we’re only leaving school for a walk on the beach, am I understood?”

‘Yes.’

“Get your things, Mokuba. I’ll be there in less than five minutes.”

‘Ok,’ Seto hung up.

He hit the brakes and parked the car in front of the school. “Good morning, Mr Kaiba,” said the school guard as he opened the gates for him.

Seto ignored his greeting. “Where is the elementary building?”

“That one,” he pointed to the building on the left part of the school grounds.

Seto walked to its direction, and headed for the faculty lounge. He knocked on the door. “Komori-sensei?” he called out to the numerous teachers inside the room, and a female teacher approached him. “You Mokuba’s adviser?”

“Yes, Mr Kaiba,” she said, pushing him gently out the room, and closing the door behind her. “Is there anything I can do for you?”

“I’m here to fetch my brother. Where is he?”

“He’s in the playground in the back. I see. I’m going to ask you for a valid reason for the fetching of your brother so early in the day-”

“I am aware that I am here five hours early, don’t you think I know that?” Seto cut her off angrily. “Don’t you also think that I’d waste my time coming here, talking to you, when I can let my driver give you excuses on why I want my brother out of school? You want the reason? Fine. I’ll be taking him to Europe for the rest of the week with me. Is that a valid reason enough? Or do you want me to recite every single thing that we are to do in west?”

She stared at him, not being able to speak.

“Good. You have enough common sense to fear me.” He walked away from her and went downstairs to the playground, just as the teacher had said. Mokuba saw him before he came out the building, and ran to him with his backpack hanging loosely on one shoulder. “Let’s go,” he grabbed Mokuba’s hand and led him out the school. “Get in the car,” he said, letting him go. Once Mokuba had closed the door, Seto hit the gas and headed for the express way, and turned to a small street.

“So, can you explain to me why we are going to the Cove on a weekday?”

Seto took a turn to an asphalted forest path. “I just need to think.”

“You can think better without me.” Mokuba tried to reason.

“I can take care of you better than the maids and butlers at home even when I’m thinking,” he kept his eyes on the road, careful not to hit any animals if even one crossed. “I need you near me. I might do something stupid.”

Mokuba stared at him. “Do something stupid? Since when have you been doing stupid things, Seto?” he asked

“Since I went to the Mutous and told Yami I know some things about him,”

“Whoa.” Mokuba stayed silent for a few moments. “When do I get a car like this?”

Seto chuckled. That made him a little relieved. “When you turn eighteen,”

“Hey, no fair! You’re seventeen and you get all your cars!”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“What if this isn’t just something Seto wants to happen when because he wants to beat me or anything,”

Yuugi looked at Yami in his transparent form, sitting on his bed, watching Yami pace back in forth in his room. 'Wait a sec, hold up. What did you just call Kaiba?'

Yami stopped in his steps. “Seto?”

'Are you even allowed to call him that? One thing I know, he hates being called by his first name. The only one allowed to do that is Mokuba.'

“But he told me that I can,”

'Can what?'

“Call him by his first name.”

'He told you that you can, or he told you that you are to call him that?'

“I am to call him that,” Yami slowly answered.

'Ra, Yami, what have you gotten yourself into?'

“I don’t even know myself,” he sat down beside him. “What if I do find a way to get myself into this time? What if it doesn’t work? What if this isn’t just something the both of us want? What if something goes wrong or-”

Yami felt his soul slapped by Yuugi. 'You two are the ones who wanted this to happen, and now you doubt what you can do? I thought you also wanted to stay? Not just for me, for Kaiba, for everybody and everything that is the 21st century. If you want this, do it! There will be risks, of course, but Yami…' Yuugi lifted Yami’s chin. 'You do know…what you’re feeling right now is, right?'

“No. I’m frustrated. I feel disappointed with myself that I can’t do what he and I want. I feel like to want to avoid him even though I want to be with him. I feel nervous when he’s around at the same time I’m relieved. I want him to wait for me and let me think about this at the same time I want to do it right now so that we’d both be happy. I don’t know…there are all these things that I’m feeling…I don’t know why they’re happening…”

Yuugi smiled at him, then pulled him into a hug.' You died young; of course you wouldn’t be able to feel them. Ra, I’m so proud of you, Yami, you’re starting to become human again.'

Yami brushed Yuugi away gently. “How is this becoming human? These feelings are irrational! I can’t think straight; I can’t make decisions; I’m always confused-”

'That’s what being human is, mou hitori no boku. Being human is being irrational, being confused. Humans don’t make the right decisions all the time. We make stupid decisions, do stupid things, talk about stupid stuff…humans aren’t perfect. Humans strive for excellence, not perfection.'

“And why? Is there some explanation for all this?”

'Yes. Love.'

“Love? Why?”

'Love can make you do the stupidest things, mou hitori no boku. If you love someone, you’ll do anything for them. Does that explain everything? Everything you’ve been feeling? Why you’re so confused and frustrated? Why do you think Kaiba wants this so much?'

Yami smiled in relief. “Yes…yes it does…”

'Good. I’m glad I could help. Now. If you’re going to stay out here, I’m fine with it. I think I’m going to sleep again. Invite me to your wedding.' Yuugi disappeared.