Ch-chick. Two dice hit the end of the table, and the croupier neatly put them to order for all the table to see, calling the numbers as he did so.
Seto turned his attention away, only having been caught for a brief moment by a flash of blonde hair, spilling out from under a tiny, impractical top hat, the strange urge to check whether it was Mai Kujaku making him pause.
Blind betting like that held no interest for him. He was headed towards the tables where more than mere chance guided a game, where he had more than a decent chance of coming out triumphant in a game.
He wasn’t an idiot, and knew when to throw a game, or bet high to make people underestimate him. It wasn’t all about winning a single game for him. But as long as he came out with more than he’d gone in with, he considered it a win.
Mokuba had made him promise to socialise. Seto considered this an effective way to keep that promise.
Paint. He didn’t know how, but he had a talent for it. Lines on a page, ink seeping into thick, creamy paper, curving around, down and along, a flick of his wrist for the delicate stamen of flowers, tiny, imperceptible curves for the hint of sakura petals falling out of a tree…
Nobody disturbed him while he was painting.
Strong lines of black, sweeping across the paper, the shape, the outline of what was to come, and then later, with a tiny, delicate brush, filling in those all-important details.
He never knew what he was going to paint before he came to the empty canvas, but somehow, he always knew what it would look like when he’d finished. Sometimes he used every colour he had, sometimes just a few, or half and focus intently on the play of colours-
but then he’d step back, look at the canvas, and want to tear it to shreds.
Sometimes he remembered. His past, his parents, himself, a little spoilt, a little clingy - but they were gone and a barely-there film reel was all that was left, abandoned memories he no longer visited except in his dreams (nightmares).
All he wanted was to belong to someone, and he thought he’d found that someone in Ritsu-sensei. He was harsh, but that would teach him, and he had to be good, had to be better, had to be best, because wasn’t he the perfect fighter? Wasn’t he going to be better than everyone else?
So when pain came, when blood dripped down his back (and later, his thighs) he would not make a sound. He’d be good. Perfect. And Ritsu-sensei would-
-wouldn’t.
Didn’t want him.
Wouldn’t write his name, even though he’d hoped (stupid boy, why?) -oh, how he’d hoped.
…Seimei did. He’d chosen him. Asked for him.
But he still hurt and he didn’t want him, it was Ritsu“I don’t care. Make me hurt as much as you like
( ... )
A moment of blind panic overtook him before he shook himself mentally and began methodically searching his desk, then his drawers.
Then his bag. And his bedclothes, just in case.
“Oi, Spe-arse.”
Twitch. Don’t look up from straightening your bedcovers, don’t let him know he’s got to you, don’t react.
Stay calm, and emotionless.
“Yes?”
Bland, emotionless voice.
“Found this.”
Look up, just in time for his sharpener - his sharpener - to hit him square in the forehead.
“What’re you trying to do, sharpen your toothbrush?”
…So it had been in his bathroom after all. How odd.
William picked the sharpener off of the floor, ignoring the heat in his cheeks and the dull roar in his ears. Just ignore them. Don’t let it get to you. And follow the rules.
Sometimes his brother would manage to persuade him away from his computer, away from lines of code and business emails, all his company’s problems coming to him to be sorted out with the golden Kaiba touch (honestly, hadn’t these people grasped the concept of delegation yet?). Sometime she wondered if he shouldn’t cull the lot of them, and then sensibility would win out and he’d send them on an interminably boring training course
( ... )
Comments 11
Watanuki - Reading
Seto - Gambling
Yuuko - Forever
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Seto turned his attention away, only having been caught for a brief moment by a flash of blonde hair, spilling out from under a tiny, impractical top hat, the strange urge to check whether it was Mai Kujaku making him pause.
Blind betting like that held no interest for him. He was headed towards the tables where more than mere chance guided a game, where he had more than a decent chance of coming out triumphant in a game.
He wasn’t an idiot, and knew when to throw a game, or bet high to make people underestimate him. It wasn’t all about winning a single game for him. But as long as he came out with more than he’d gone in with, he considered it a win.
Mokuba had made him promise to socialise. Seto considered this an effective way to keep that promise.
Reply
But it was sad that she had to leave this way, this time, now.
All she could say was goodbye, and wish him the best - leave him one last gift to remember her by. And tell him that they'd meet again, someday.
Forever was a promise that could only hurt in the end, and Yuuko wasn't about to give him that.
Reply
2. Soubi
1. race
2. Shi
Reply
Paint. He didn’t know how, but he had a talent for it. Lines on a page, ink seeping into thick, creamy paper, curving around, down and along, a flick of his wrist for the delicate stamen of flowers, tiny, imperceptible curves for the hint of sakura petals falling out of a tree…
Nobody disturbed him while he was painting.
Strong lines of black, sweeping across the paper, the shape, the outline of what was to come, and then later, with a tiny, delicate brush, filling in those all-important details.
He never knew what he was going to paint before he came to the empty canvas, but somehow, he always knew what it would look like when he’d finished. Sometimes he used every colour he had, sometimes just a few, or half and focus intently on the play of colours-
but then he’d step back, look at the canvas, and want to tear it to shreds.
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(The comment has been removed)
All he wanted was to belong to someone, and he thought he’d found that someone in Ritsu-sensei. He was harsh, but that would teach him, and he had to be good, had to be better, had to be best, because wasn’t he the perfect fighter? Wasn’t he going to be better than everyone else?
So when pain came, when blood dripped down his back (and later, his thighs) he would not make a sound. He’d be good. Perfect. And Ritsu-sensei would-
-wouldn’t.
Didn’t want him.
Wouldn’t write his name, even though he’d hoped (stupid boy, why?) -oh, how he’d hoped.
…Seimei did. He’d chosen him. Asked for him.
But he still hurt and he didn’t want him, it was Ritsu“I don’t care. Make me hurt as much as you like ( ... )
Reply
Vanguard - Soubi
Fireworm - Richard
Sharpener - William
exhibitionist - Seto
Reply
He couldn’t find his sharpener.
A moment of blind panic overtook him before he shook himself mentally and began methodically searching his desk, then his drawers.
Then his bag. And his bedclothes, just in case.
“Oi, Spe-arse.”
Twitch. Don’t look up from straightening your bedcovers, don’t let him know he’s got to you, don’t react.
Stay calm, and emotionless.
“Yes?”
Bland, emotionless voice.
“Found this.”
Look up, just in time for his sharpener - his sharpener - to hit him square in the forehead.
“What’re you trying to do, sharpen your toothbrush?”
…So it had been in his bathroom after all. How odd.
William picked the sharpener off of the floor, ignoring the heat in his cheeks and the dull roar in his ears. Just ignore them. Don’t let it get to you. And follow the rules.
Reply
Shilo - bird
Richard - tavern
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