Training at the Syndicate (Fujiwara Twins)

*TIME SKIP*

The celebrations had ended, and it was now very late into the night. Seth had complimented the twins on a job well done, and had sent them down the hall to seperate rooms set-up for them. Pierre was overjoyed that these newcomers had better sleeping arrangements than he did, but he wouldn't dare say that around Seth.

A fire crackled into the fireplace, setting off an orange glow, the only light in the room. Sitting in front of it was seth, leaning back in a black leather chair, his right ankle crossed on his left knee. He rested his head on his hand, his eyes lowering to something in his opposite hand, the deck he had used earlier.

This deck, though he never admitted it, had more meaning, both good and bad to him than even his own, but the loss earlier today only proved his point, it was weak, and weakness was not to be tolerated. His grip tightened on the deck, his eyes tensing.

"Today was really fun, wasn't it?"

"Yeah, I can't believe we actually won. You did a great job."

"Don't sell yourself short! You did just as much as I did!"

"I'm not sell-"

"You are! I've been your sister all my life. I know you. You were amazing."

".....Haha, yeah. Thanks."

The twins had opted out on having two separate rooms, Ne sneaking into Ko's room shortly after they were shown where they were going to sleep. Neither of them ever felt comfortable without the other, and often couldn't sleep; as a result, they often slept together.

Well, rather than often, always.

"I wanna duel again soon!" Shouted Ne as she jumped on the bed. "Even if we don't win, I think it'll be a lot of fun!"

Ko blinked. "That reminds me, we forgot to return those cards, didn't we..."

"Aw, can't we keep them?"

"No. That would be stealing."

"Alright..."

A deep sigh left the lips of Drakemore before looking back into the crackling flames, then back at the deck, and repeating the process multiple times. Memories nagged him, relentlessly begging him to acknowledge what he realy wanted to admit, but he refused.

He just kept starring at the deck, unable to act.

"C'mon, we'd better go find him and give them back now." Said Ko as he put his jacket over his pajamas, then threw Ne her own. She nodded and then did then same. "Knowing us, we'll forget about this when we get up tomorrow."

"Will we be able to find him?" His sister asked. "This place is huge."

Ko shrugged. "I'm not sure, but if we don't we'll at least run into someone who works here, and maybe they'll know."

"Oh, maybe we'll run into Pierre!" Said Ne.

Ko hoped for said man's sake that they wouldn't.

They went out into the hallway to look for Seth.

It wasn't too far off, as easily heading a few steps down the hall from their room brought the sounds of burning wood to their ears, as well as anyone else who would walk by.

Seth lifted the deck up before his eyes,s tudying it intensely, before tossing it into the fire before him, the flames licking aroun the edges, gaining a slightly green glow before returning to the orange hue.

The twins came into the room just in time to see Seth throwing into the fire.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?!" The two yelled as they raced to the fireplace. The twins immediately grabbed all the cards that they could, burning their hands as they did. Unfortunately they couldn't save them all, most of them dying at the hands of the flames.

"IDIOT!" The twins shouted, as they tried to put out the fire on those cards that were saved. "DIDN'T YOU SAY THAT THESE WERE THE CARDS OF SOMEONE GONE!?! TREASURE THEM!"

Angry was a word far beyond how they were feeling.

Seth said nothing at first, simply glared into the flames as the deck was eaten away. The enraged words from the twins simply bounced off his hardened exterior.

"I cherish no memories of a man who wasn't fully alive to begin with."

He seemed emotionless, unmoving, though one could tell he was masking true emotions among company.

"Pain, regret, and this...."

He held his hands out, displaying the massive room.

"This is all I have to remember, nothing more. I wish I could say more."

He placed his hand on his wrist, rubbing it as if nursing a wound.

"I live with his spirit, his intent every day of my life, don't dare tell me I don't try to respect the dead, I live my every waking moment to satisfy his damn memory!"

Ko stayed silent, trying in vain to calm down and come to his senses. Ne, on the other hand, flared up even more. "No happy memories? Liar, I don't believe you! If you truly were like that, you would have done this a long time ago!"

She clenched the her burnt fists, still taking card not to crush the cards. "If it was fear, you would have run! If it was regret, you would have done nothing! Even if you didn't like this person, you say you live for them! How you live for a person you only have bad memories of!?! You can't! No matter what you say, you can't! Somewhere in the heart you're denying, you care for this person more than words can ever convey!"

Ne glared at Seth. "SO CHERISH YOUR MEMORIES MORE!!!"

"Child........"

Seth shook his head, rising to his feet, his eyes closed. He then turned to her, his eyes reopening but now to a whole new level of intensity. the steel gray had been replaced by a slightly glowing sapphire, the same color that flashed fromt eh ring on his right hand.

"I was programmed, nothing more. He......he lived through me. As long as I breathe he's still alive and my mission will never end."

He turned, about to leave the room in anger, they just wouldn't understand.........they wouldn't understand his stories, his experiences seemed too far off even for the twins. It was none of their business anyway. He looked over his shoulder, his one eye locking onto Ne.

"I hate my Father. I live for him because I had no other option. I know no other way to live."

Both twins looked stunned at that. "He was...your father?" Ne said, before looking even angrier than she first had. "HE WAS YOUR FATHER!?!"

"I can't believe you!" The girl screamed. "I can't believe you! He's your FATHER, and you're speaking of him like this!?! Programming!?! That's crap! And he's not alive through you if act like that! You're simply too big a coward to do anything else!"

"I'm sure he scolded you, but I'm sure he praised you too! I'm sure he punished you when you were wrong, but I'm sure he smiled at you when you did something right! Maybe he yelled a lot, maybe he hit you even, but I'm sure he did this as a father because he cared!"

She looked closer and closer to tears as this continued.

"Don't say that you hate him and use it as an excuse to run away! Remember the times that you spent with him! Remember the bad times! Remember the sad times! Remember the happy times! I know that you had them! Remember them all!"

Her tears finally spilled. "AT LEAST YOU-"

"Ne."

Her brother put a hand on her shoulder, and that was more than enough. She turned to him and put her head on his shoulder and sobbed. Ko comforted his sister with soft words and a one-armed hug, at the same time telling Seth to leave if he so desired with sharp eyes and his other burnt hand.

He hand nothing to say to the man.

"I really wish you were right."

Seth said, bowing his head.

"I really do."

He turned back once more, watching the two twins, a slight bit of compassion entering his eyes.

"I wish I was still like you."

He turned back.

"Your training begins in the morning. Keep the decks."

He shook his head, placing his hands in his pockets and walking down the hall, fading into the shadows the further he walked until disappearing at the end of the hall into a large room, the door slamming shut behind him, a click of the lock echoing out.

The two stood there for awhile, and eventually Ne calmed down. "I'd ask if you wanted to leave, but I already know the answer to that." Ko said to his sniffling sister.

"Yeah." She said. "I won't leave. There's still a lot we can learn from him. And now I'm even more curious than before." The girl giggled a little before sighing. "...Sorry. I know it's harder for you then me..."

Ko kissed his sister's forehead. "No, I'm fine. Don't worry about me."

Ne sighed again. "You're always doing that.

Ko laughed. "And I always will."

The two went to their room after that, burnt cards and burnt hands in their pockets.

Hours ticked away, the night giving way tot he golden rays of the sun, and morning was upon them all. After the events of the night, the one thing needed was relaxation and concentration, and there were the goals of Seth Drakemore.

A small, babbling stream creeped down a lazy, man-made stone waterfall, bamboo and bonsai trees growing up from the floor in sand pits. Outside of the calming spring, it was completely silent. The rays of the sun brightened the exposed meditation garden upon the roof of the Drakemore Syndicate Neo Domino branch.

Seth sat in the center of the space, his legs folded, his hands resting on them, his eyes closed. While his lower body was clothed in the usual black pants he was seen in, he was bare foot, as well as shirtless, his body telling his life story to those who knew him. His wrists, though very slightly, were discolored, as well as a small area on his neck. He remained unmoving, not breaking his concentration.

No one would understand, so he would play the bad guy. That was his usual role anyway. He knew his time was running short, the twins would awaken soon and one would meet him on the roof. He didn't know which one, and they had no clue they would be seperated, but it was for the better. Training was about to begin.