"Hello," said the doctor.

"Hello, Dr. Thompson," said the boy. He was tall, brunette, skinny and blue-eyed. He shifted uncomfortably, winding his hands together, transferring weight from foot to foot, his eyes darting about the room.

"Please, call me Elise," said the doctor. "I want us to be on friendly terms and comfortable with each other, especially on the first session. Come, take a seat."

The boy nodded, and the doctor could see nervous sweat starting to wet the roots of his hair. He licked his lips and lowered himself slowly and shakily into a plush blue armchair. He glanced at the blue painted walls, the sporadic landscape pictures, the ficus plant in the corner. The doctor was sitting in an identical chair, and instead of facing him directly, the chairs were cheating out a little, as if on a set for a play. There was a dark-stained wooden table between them, and a window on the back wall showed trees blowing in the wind.

The boy rubbed his pants with his palms. "Um… I– I'm not usually like this…"

The doctor smiled knowingly. "It's okay. You've been through a hard time. Anyone would be like this, not just you."

The boy looked everywhere but at her, suddenly shy. "You don't– I'm usually confident, strong-willed… I never stutter…"

"I understand. That man is still there, I can see that. Do you want to talk about it? You don't have to if you don't think you're ready."

The boy shook his head and bit his lower lip. "No, I want to do this." The doctor nodded and turned on the voice recorder on the wooden table. He stared straight at a painting of the ocean. "Uh… I… I don't know where to start."

"How about the beginning?"

End Prologue

It is hardest to start stories.

Seto Kaiba slumped in his seat, staring blankly at the computer screen. He felt as though his life was crashing all around him. He felt as though he was left alone to hold up the sky. How many times now had he almost lost Mokuba? How many times now had villains tried to kill him to take his company? He used to be able to handle all of this, but he knew when he was coming to his limit. He was like an old rubber band stretched too much, ready to snap.

His blackberry beeped at him, reminding him of his appointment with two other hotshot CEOs. Life goes on, even if he's not ready for it. He sighed, but none of the tension left his bones. Life goes on, and he'd have to deal with it.

He stood up, tightened his blue tie, and picked up his briefcase, already heading for the door. He paused, brushing his white suit jacket and pants, flicking off imaginary particles of dust. His limo waited. He took the elevator, and it rode smoothly down. The doors slid open with a ding, announcing that he was now on the first floor. He strode dutifully out across the glossy linoleum, his shoes' heels clicking against it. He exited his Kaiba Corp. building, his face as stoic as always and not revealing his stress whatsoever. The limousine accepted him as he entered the belly of the beast, and the chauffeur floored it.

He wasn't actually sure where he was going. It was a restaurant he had never heard of, but the other two CEOs had assured him it was a good, old place. What had they called it… Ice Castle? He had tried looking for that restaurant on Google, but he didn't find anything. And yet, these two CEOs even knew the manager's name.

The limo took him deep into the city, finally dropping him off at a clean but shoddy-looking building. Its bricks were dark, its roof slate. There was a light blue neon sign that said "Ice Castle" hanging above the door. The door itself was heavy and pale, and Kaiba had to tug it with more strength than he would have to use for any other door. Inside, however, was completely different. The lighting was dim, but it was intentionally so. Round tables of varying sizes were draped with a silky pastel-blue tablecloth – which was covered with paper for protection. The waiters and waitresses were dressed professionally and all alike in black and blue.

Kaiba squinted through the dim lighting to see the two CEOs wave at him from the back. He strode over to join them.

One was of medium height, with black hair and a bushy mustache. His stomach protruded a little over his belt, his suave red suit tailored big. This was Craig Meyers. He grinned readily at Kaiba, waving a portly hand. The other was taller, maybe about the same height as Kaiba, and thinner, with short brown hair and slim arms. His skin was porous, and his face was unwelcoming. This was Warren Buckner, and he nodded at Kaiba as the young CEO sat down. Buckner's black suit shimmered from the candlelight on the table.

"So good of you to join us, Mr. Kaiba!" Craig Meyers greeted joyfully, clapping Kaiba's hand and shaking it. "We were worried you might not find the place."

"It certainly is… unusual," Kaiba noted. "Not where one usually eats."

Meyers chuckled. "Yes, but I assure you the food is good. Tell 'im, Warren." Warren Buckner merely nodded.

"But we didn't come here to eat," Buckner added in a low voice."

Kaiba stiffened. What now? Another attempt to take his company? He should have known, entering such a shoddy-looking place. And he thought these two were reliable. Pah! How pathetic could he get? He surely was losing his footing.

"Relax, Mr. Kaiba," Meyers assured him. "We only have your best interests at heart." Craig Meyers took out a small white object that looked to be rolled paper tapered at the ends. He stuck one end in his mouth, withdrew a gold-colored Zippo lighter from a pocket on the inside of his jacket, and lit the other end.

Kaiba willed himself to relax – he mustn't show that he's getting nervous – but his tense muscles wouldn't listen to him. Meyers… he was smoking a marijuana cigarette!

"Mr. Kaiba," Buckner said smoothly. "We've noticed that Life hasn't been treating you kindly. We… could help you get more focused, less fatigued… and happier."

Kaiba could only stare. What… what were these guys offering? He should leave right now and report them. He was about to do just that when a waitress arrived. Her dark blond hair was back in a low ponytail, and her brown eyes glanced curiously over them. She didn't say anything about Meyers smoking. Instead she just did her spiel.

"Hello, I am Eva, your waitress for the evening. Our Soup du Jour is cream of mushroom soup, and we are all out of artichokes, so any dinner with artichokes is unavailable. Would you like some drinks to start off with?"

"No, no, my dear," Craig Meyers said, waving a hand carelessly. "We'd just like to see the manager." He fixed her with his beady gaze. Kaiba watched the waitress gulp and chew her lip.

"O-of course. Right this way."

Meyers and Buckner stood up, pushing their chairs back. The set table in front of them was untouched, the napkins still folded into neat triangles. Like they had never planned to eat at all. Kaiba stayed seated until the two older CEOs came around and hoisted him up.

"You'll thank us later," Meyers said cheerfully. The joint was still dangling out of the corner of his mouth.

"Yup," agreed Buckner. They released his arms and pushed him in front of them, so he didn't even have a chance to struggle.

"Where are you taking me," Kaiba hissed, glaring over his shoulder.

Meyers put up his hands in defense. "Just be glad we're not shoving guns into your back. We do like you, Mr. Kaiba. We want the best for you."

Kaiba scowled and faced forward again. The waitress – he forgot her name already – led the trio back down a hallway, through the kitchen, down another, shorter hallway, to a door. It was dark brown, blank but for a doorknob, a peephole, and a nameplate that read "Barbara Stevens". The waitress knocked on the door, and it echoed hollowly. He noticed her hand was shaking.

The door lurched open a little bit, a chain holding it back so that it opened just a little. "Yes?" said a hoarse voice grumpily.

"Um… Ms. Stevens, you've got… customers."

A dark eye peered at the three CEOs. "Okay. Go back to your job, Eva." The door closed, and Eva quickly left, all too happy to leave. Once she had rounded the corner, the door opened again, this time wider, the chain gone. "Ah, Craig, Warren. You've brought a guest." It was a short portly woman, with brown curly hair cropped short and dark green eyes. Her nose was a tad bit too long, but other than that, she was remotely pretty. She eyed Kaiba greedily, rubbing her palms together. "Please, come in. We shouldn't talk in the hallway."

Kaiba was herded inside. It was a small room, with a small wooden desk and two stools. A filing cabinet stood on either side of the desk, pushed back against the brick wall into the corner. The woman carried a folding chair from… somewhere, and set it down between the stools. Meyers and Buckner pushed him down into this folding chair.

"So, Barb, whaddya got today?" Meyers asked the woman as she sat down behind her desk. "Our buddy here is looking for a stimulant, something to ease his fatigue and boost mental alertness."

"What!?" Kaiba exclaimed, glancing horridly at the two CEOs, now seated on the stools.

The woman called Barb nodded knowingly. "Ah, yes, yes. Now, I would suggest ice, but a lot of people come back with scratched and mauled faces, and I'd hate to ruin a pretty face such as yours…" She hummed a little to herself, going to one of her filing cabinets and rummaging around one of the drawers. Meanwhile, Kaiba was started to feel cold sweat dampen the roots of his hair. What was he doing here? He needed to get out. He noticed another door, this one a reddish brown so that it camouflaged with the bricks. He guessed it led to an alley, and kept it in mind.

"Alright, hun," Barb said, turning back to him. "I've got Mary-Jane, smack, crack, coke…"

"Whoa whoa whoa, wait," Kaiba demanded, standing up. "What the heck are you talking about?"

Barb said nothing, just tilted her head and studied him. "Hmm… would you prefer injection, inhaling, or snorting?"

Kaiba stared at her incredulously. It was a long heavy pause in which the two of them stared. Meyers and Buckner sat on their stools and waited. Finally, Kaiba said, "I don't smoke. I don't do drugs. I don't like them. I want out."

Barb smiled toothily at him. Her teeth were obviously yellow. "How do you know you don't like them if you haven't tried? So you don't smoke. That crosses off poor Mary-Jane. You don't seem like an injection person, either. Wouldn't want to give you moose tracks on your lovely skin. Ah, I think I know." Kaiba could only stand in stunned silence as Barb turned back to the open filing cabinet, pulled out a plastic bag of white powder, a mirror, a straw, a small blade-like object, and a portable scale. She poured a little bit of the white powder onto the surface of the mirror, took the blade, and chopped at it. She used the blade to sort the fine powder, breaking up any chucks. Then she used it to form it into a three inch line across the reflective surface.

"The mirror is so that nothing gets absorbed," she explained, glancing up. "Here, try it. I'll let you have this line for free." She held out the plastic straw, which had been cut to three or four inches long. "You use this. You put it in your nostril, plug your other one, and close your mouth so you don't blow it everywhere."

Kaiba felt his knees turn to jelly. She was asking him to… what? He glanced at Meyers and Buckner, who both nodded encouragingly. He turned back to Barb, and she grinned at him expectantly.

"Once can't hurt," he murmured. He took a few steps so that he was standing over the mirror and took the straw from Barb. He looked at his reflection for a moment, broken by the white line traversing it. And then he bent over and sniffed.

This is my guilty pleasure. I hope it is yours too.

Please review. :)

A minor edit: I added a straw at the end. Because I looked up how to snort stuff (no, I myself do not do drugs. It's stupid.)