Here he was again. Again. This wasn't what he expected to do after, you know, all that nearly dying stuff. But a few interesting comments on his journal compelled him to, once again, find himself ringing the doorbell of Siegfried's place. Wonderful. He couldn't make sense, really, of why the guy could possibly be happy that he lived. After saying something about how funny it was to see him screaming and writhing on the ground. Hopefully he'd get a few answers. And a few opportunities to turn the tables and embarrass him instead of the one being embarrassed.

Siegfried, now knowing just who it was at the door because his Siegfried-sense told him so, was perhaps even less inclined to let him in this time. Oh damn oh damn oh damn. Why the hell had he thought this could ever be a worthwhile thing? Damn.
He checked his watch. Definitely. Oh, damn.
And so, with very little to do anyways, Siegfried descended down the stairs and to the door, with so much regret he didn't find it at all funny, and with the air of one ready to just give up and die already, opened the door.

Of course he opened the door. Seto knew he would. He didn't have anything better to do. How come it still felt awkward?
"Siegfried," he said while trying to fight back a smirk, "hi there. You're not busy, are you? Didn't think so. Mind if I come in?"
Of course he did. Which only amused Seto all the more. "At least I didn't drop by unexpected like last time, eh?"

"Indeed. How...nice to see you again." Siegfried backed away from the doorway, fighting back the myriad of snarky replies he wanted to respond with. He'd save the snarkle for later, when he'd need it.
"Please, come in," he said tonelessly, though it was easy to guess he wanted to say "please piss off".

He rolled his eyes and sauntered in. "It must take quite a lot of self control to pretend to act so kind to me." The place hadn't changed from the previous time he had come. "Well...I think you know why I came." Down to business...so to speak. "Because, really, hearing that you of all people are glad about my safety just boggles the mind. What happened to the whole being so amused at stuffing me in a closet and whatnot?"

"Are the two things mutually exclusive?" Siegfried said, folding his arms. "See, I think I am allowed to find it funny that you are in immense pain, and yet feel relieved that the pain didn't kill you. Aren't I?" Not wanting to hear a "no" response, he continued hastily. "It's not as though I want you dead, though it would doubtless be a great help to me -- I'm allowed to want you alive, aren't I?"

"Yes...but then, if me being dead would help you, I'm still unsure as to why you would want me alive." He quirked an eyebrow. "If it was merely for the reason of amusement, then you would have gladly said so. And yet...you didn't. So my question remains unanswered."
Perhaps he was just avoiding the topic. Or maybe he really was embarrassed at whatever the reason was. Whatever it was, it couldn't be nearly as surprising as him admitting who was better.
"Are you going to tell me, or are you merely going to waste our time?"

"To tell the truth, I have thousands of reasons to want you alive. I could write an essay. I have written an essay. I'm not going to read it out." Siegfried twitched visibly. "But the reasons I want you to be alive far outweigh the reasons I want you dead, and it really is that simple." Oh, and now he was going to be expected to go into these reasons. Joy. "To start with the business reasons, I really don't want to see anyone else as an archenemy; I'm far too accustomed to you. Throw in someone who does the job worse, it's just not worth it."

Seto rolled his eyes. "How flattering. You'd rather be knocked down and fail miserably than have an easy shot at the top? Hn." This was getting nowhere. "Let me see, there's also the fact that you find me a decent person, intelligent, better to talk to than any of the other fools around here, but oh, that just barely scratches the surface, correct? Come now, Siegfried. There must be one reason out of all the others why you're glad I didn't die right then and there during the ceremony."

"Yes, but that's really not important. I consider all reasons to be sufficient, so honestly, I don't see why I must get into it." Siegfried sneered slightly, obviously not wanting to get into it, and also clearly uncomfortable with needing to defend himself as always. "Aren't you satisfied with the other reasons? Or are you that desperate for me to say things? 'cos I'm not sure I want to get into that type of thing; you sound like you're just fishing for more compliments."

"If I wanted compliments, I could just read my fanmail. I wanted the reason; it's why I came. All of those other reasons, they work, sure, but that's just everyday stuff. They're the reasons why you hope I'm still alive when you wake up in the morning. This was...different, was it not?"
That whole whittling away at someone until they crack trick probably wasn't going to work on his fellow businessman, but it was worth a shot anyway. He was growing more annoyed than amused, and yet more and more intrigued. Mysteries always did that to him, it seemed.

"Yes, and your point is...? I still don't see why I have to explain my reasons to you. Are all the others, which combined are more the point than any one reason, not worth it to you?" He frowned. "They're my reasons, and you ought to consider yourself lucky I'm sharing any of them with you. I could just banish you from the house, but I try to give you some reasons, and look what you do. It's just sad."

"So why don't you do just that? I'll leave if you want me to; I'll never come back if you want that, too." He folded his hands over his chest and looked unconvinced. "Quite frankly, I find this sad. What's so wrong with telling me that one little reason? I'm not asking you to read out your long list. I've wasted my time coming here, haven't I?"

"What's wrong is that not only would the reason give you exactly the right wrong ideas, and then I'd be devoured by certain people...I just don't want to give it." He shot a particularly venemous look at his nemesis. "But maybe you can just guess at it, if you want to leave. I am unconvinced that you are thick; don't make me question my own opinions. You'd probably get it right. You probably already have."

He had a few ideas. A few of which made him as uncomfortable as Siegfried seemed to be. He just hoped those particular ideas weren't right.
"Perhaps. But then, with you, I'm never sure. I'd much rather hear it from you, especially on the offchance that I've gotten it wrong. If it's something you don't want getting out to the general public, I'll make sure nothing's said..." This wasn't working. He should just leave. But something compelled him to stay and keep interrogating Siegfried until he got the answer he wanted.

"Yes, I'm sure you would." Siegfried's gaze darted to the ceiling, then back. "That doesn't really make me inclined to tell you, though. In fact, I sort of doubt that anything you're going to use on me is going to compel me, short of death threats, and even then I'd probably lie." He was now VERY obviously not comfortable with the situation. "Which I might as well do now, as you'd be satisfied and I wouldn't have any qualms." He thought about it for a moment, then shrugged. "Though that wouldn't be ethical, would it?"

"Since when have you ever cared about what was ethical?" His eyes narrowed, clearly no longer finding this game amusing. "I suppose this was just a bad idea in the first place. I'm never going to get a straight (as a rainbow) answer out of you." He sighed and unfolded his arms. "Not that I'll give up trying to know, of course. If you're so unwilling, there's no point in me staying."

"I suppose not." Siegfried closed his eyes, sighing, then opened them again. "I don't think there's much chance you will get it out of me. Sorry for wasting your time...and mine." He cocked his head. "I don't know, about the ethics thing; seems kind of pointless to get you to come here so I can lie to you when I do it perfectly fine online."

"There'd be little chance of me knowing when you were lying and when you weren't either way," Seto pointed out. "And you just said I most likely will never get you to tell me anyway, so I'm not sure what the point is of dragging the truth out of you if you won't give it up."

"You seemed to want to know. You have your own reasons, it seems, as do I. ...but if you don't want to know, after all, you could stop pressing me for it." You don't have to leave. "Leave if you want to." ...I'd prefer it if you didn't, really. "I don't care." Siegfried internally punched himself for his thoughts, irritated. Therapy was not working after all...

"But will pressing you more work? How am I to tell whether you're lying to me or just making something up?" He ran a hand through his hair and sighed again. "I don't know if I should trust anything you say now, even if you did tell me. I never could understand you sometimes, whatever goes on in that head of yours..."

"Whatever goes on in that fucked-up head of mine, eh?" Siegfried flashed a quick smirk, then reverted his expression to one slightly more serious. "The fact that I am consciously choosing not to lie to you right now is some indication, isn't it? I could lie to you. I've thought about it. I'm instead merely opting to say nothing right now. ...though really, you are probably better served not trusting my words."

"...Well, that doesn't really tell me much, now, does it? Perhaps it's not a matter of trust at the moment," he pondered. "I can't trust nor distrust you if you say nothing. I suppose it's a matter of getting you to say something, and then worry about the truth. Nobody ever tells the whole truth nowadays anyway."

"Most people don't tell the truth at all in some areas. But you see, I have no reason to speak my mind when it makes me uncomfortable, because chances are you wouldn't believe me anyways." He shook his head. "So even though you're insistent upon learning the 'main reason', it seems kind of strange to me you think I ought to say it."

"...Okay, so...this really isn't going anywhere. At all. In the slightest. Because apparently this all makes you uncomfortable, which apparently means you're not going to tell me, so..."
Must...resist...banging my head against a nice, solid wall...repeatedly...
"I guess I'll just leave then. And keep pestering you, of course, but...for now, just leave you alone. Unless you're going to change your mind in the next five minutes, which, of course, isn't going to happen."
...And must resist rambling on about obvious crap like that...

Siegfried lowered his head. "I..." There was an obvious pause, then he continued determinedly, "...I doubt that'll happen. So I suppose you...ought to...leave." How pointless was that? ...how pathetic am I? "Again, sorry for wasting your time. Suppose I should've kept my fingers still and said absolutely nothing, even if it WAS the truth." Very.

"I'm glad you said something, at least." He watched Siegfried's face with interest. A pause, that pause said something, it meant something. Siegfried always knew just what to say at just the right time in just a certain way, but that...
"Do you want me to go? Am I wasting your time? Or am I merely making you uncomfortable?" He shrugged. "If you want me to stay for whatever reason, I could, as I've got very little to do today..." What a stupid suggestion. What a pointless suggestion. Where was he going with this? Was he even going anywhere at all with it? Probably not, he reasoned, but...
There was a pause. And it meant something.

"...what you do is your own business, and to tell the truth, I don't know if I can believe that you have nothing to do, but that's just me. If you considered it worthwhile to stay, I would not, hard though it may be to believe, rip your throat out, or anything of the type. After all," he said dryly, "You are my guest..." There was no need to elaborate, he felt, lest he let something slip and betray his thoughts, which were his and which he didn't particularly want someone else knowing.
...after all, what would they talk about?

"...All right, then." What exactly Seto meaned by that, even he wasn't sure. The only point in staying was to coax Siegfried into explaining this mysterious one reason, and he highly doubted that was going to happen.
...Today, at least.
"See, the only thing I was planning on doing today was talking to you and just getting more rest. I think I'll go do the latter."
It's not like Seto had anything more to say. Except 'tell me tell me tellmetellmetellme' and geting nothing in response. It was like two kids with secrets and trying to force it out of the other, except with bigger words and more maturity.
"So...perhaps I shall see you some other time, then?"

"...perhaps," Siegfried muttered. "Perhaps. And will the meeting, do you think, be hateful or apathetic, do you think? Just wondering aboout that, you know..." He looked away, snickering. "...if I should be ready with the insults, or what."
Internally, he was angrily debating with himself on the subject. Hateful is better, hateful is ALWAYS better. It's more comfortable. ...except apathy is closer to the truth really. No, hate is, actually. Apathy. Hate. Apathy. ...I sound like an idiot, arguing with myself.
"...because I'm fine with either, and just would like to know ahead of time." Fine. Sort of.

"How the hell should I know? I'm fine with it being apathetic so we can just talk again or at least not get into a duel of insults." Seto shrugged, thinking about how silly the question actually sounded and if Siegfried really was taking it seriously. "It'll be...whatever it'll be. I guess it just depends on our moods? I don't know. You don't seriously come up with insults ahead of time, do you?"

"No, but I like knowing if I should be," Siegfried said, shrugging. "And knowing if I ought to be insulting you in the first place, which generally is my instinctive response to setting eyes on you. Strange, isn't it?" He smirked again. "I wonder why on earth I feel that way. Perhaps I shouldn't, but I really don't care about that."

"Hn. So I noticed. Although I also noticed that your insults are coming less frequently than they usually do." Seto leaned against the door and was silently contemplating for a few moments. "I might just be reading too much into that, but you seem content on compliments as of late."

"...what's your point? That I'm in a strange mood as of late, or that I feel like complimenting you once in a while when it is entirely possible you will be dead before the week's done? I thought the compliments were justified and removed from the norm, as a result of the circumstances. Is it that horrible? I wasn't aware..."

"Now, I didn't say it was a bad thing," he insisted. "I was merely pointing it out. So the compliment thing's going to stop now that I'm no longer in a possibly deadly situation?"

"Maybe, maybe not. Depends on how I'm feeling, as always. It will probably die down almost completely, but I may very well continue, just once in a while, because over-inflated egos ARE the best type to destroy, aren't they?"

"Fair point. But then, I'm the very definition of an over-inflated ego...or so I've been told. But I don't think I'll compliment you just to do that. I highly doubt you'd ever believe what I'd say anyway." He glanced to the side before settling back on Siegfried. He stood straighter and grabbed the doorknob. "Well, I suppose I'll go, then. No real reason to be here now except this bit of banter here."

"Very well, then. I suppose it is rather pointless." I'll take care of this later. Really. ...not that there's much to take care of here. Eliminate a few people, or at any rate their foolish opinions, and everything'll be all right. "Then...good-bye? And I suppose I'll..." He snickered. "See you online, perhaps?" It seemed inevitable anyways, and pointless to say that in the first place, but oh well.

Seto rolled his eyes. "Of course, that's a given. But I'm sure we'll meet again in real life. I do, afterall, still want to know that reason. And I don't give up easily."
Here he was again, walking the path leading away from Siegfried's place. This would have to stop happening, lest it turn into a habit.

"Well, maybe next time..." Siegfried muttered, then laughed again. The chances were dubious at best, just as always...
At the very least, he'd be able to procrastinate it away forever with not a qualm.
Sometimes he almost wished he HAD qualms.
This wasn't one of those times.