Kaiba's expression darkens, caught between anger and something else, something uncharacteristic. All the work he'd done, to try and make sure that his brother was secure, and this is how he reacted?! Ungrateful. He didn't understand, he couldn't!
No one could understand the bond that he had with the Pharaoh, the bond which had been torn asunder before Kaiba could even reach his hand out to stop it.
It had infected him, festered below the surface and manifested in a roiling fever that had seized Seto's soul, wounding it. Sickening it. He was so alone...alone as the man he considered an equal and a friend left him behind to--to do what?! To go ahead and die, leaving their business unfinished?!
"I didn't want to die! I thought that--that I'd be back, much sooner, but I miscalculated!"
He's trying so hard not to let his voice peak over its limits, but the more riled up he gets, the more his raised voice cuts to a whisper, as if he himself is trying to mute his excuses.
"He left! He left it unfinished, and then he came, when I was gone, and left again! I wouldn't allow it. I'd never allow him to do this to me again! But Mokuba...I didn't want to leave forever. Not you. Never you."
Never. Never again!
But he'd hurt Mokuba anyway, hadn't he? Just like in Death-T, when he'd thrown him away like so much rubbish, subjected him to the nightmares that he himself suffered, just because that was his reality.
"I'll never clear my debts to you, brother. I don't have the capacity for it."
Those are the pasts that he can't let go, the ones that hurt their bond. Those are the hurts that Seto can't take back, and which soften his face, his temperament, his voice, everything about him.
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No one could understand the bond that he had with the Pharaoh, the bond which had been torn asunder before Kaiba could even reach his hand out to stop it.
It had infected him, festered below the surface and manifested in a roiling fever that had seized Seto's soul, wounding it. Sickening it. He was so alone...alone as the man he considered an equal and a friend left him behind to--to do what?! To go ahead and die, leaving their business unfinished?!
"I didn't want to die! I thought that--that I'd be back, much sooner, but I miscalculated!"
He's trying so hard not to let his voice peak over its limits, but the more riled up he gets, the more his raised voice cuts to a whisper, as if he himself is trying to mute his excuses.
"He left! He left it unfinished, and then he came, when I was gone, and left again! I wouldn't allow it. I'd never allow him to do this to me again! But Mokuba...I didn't want to leave forever. Not you. Never you."
Never. Never again!
But he'd hurt Mokuba anyway, hadn't he? Just like in Death-T, when he'd thrown him away like so much rubbish, subjected him to the nightmares that he himself suffered, just because that was his reality.
"I'll never clear my debts to you, brother. I don't have the capacity for it."
Those are the pasts that he can't let go, the ones that hurt their bond. Those are the hurts that Seto can't take back, and which soften his face, his temperament, his voice, everything about him.
"I'm so sorry."