Okay, I planned along to get three one-shots done before mid-December. Finishing off with one that my crazy friend wanted me to do.
Conflict
Summary: No matter how many times he refused her help, she insisted on her own will. His body was destroyed; he felt weak in his eyes, but to her...he was a soul that she wanted to protect with all her heart.
There was barely anywhere they have to go since their only tunnel connecting them to their loved ones was cut off; his angry, yet painful grunts flowing through the air of an underground forest found within the depths of the canyons that they were camping at. It took convincing from both parties in his life to finally go to this group trip that everyone was planning in advance for two months. At first, he thought that it was going to flow faster in hopes of getting back to his company and work in the solitude that he solely desired.
But then...the unthinkable happens.
It happened on a Sunday morning, two days before they departed back to the city. He had paid attention to the weather to make sure everything was in perfect conditions for his little brother to ensure that no harm was to come upon him. As he was working on his latest project, taking out every little bug in the programs that needed attention, he felt a small shake in his body. Glancing at his mug filled with coffee, he noticed the small ripples that formed in the black liquid, thinking that something was wrong. Shutting down his computer, he started heading outside and the shaking he felt before became a bit stronger. Everyone else started feeling the vibrations as they became more frequent and violent, then a few undersized rocks started falling down the canyon.
Everyone scattered to return to the camper, but the rocks became bigger as an unpredicted earthquake entered into the area, sending boulders downwards in their direction.
"Big brother! Help!"
That voice was all too familiar to him, as he violently jerked around to see his brother frozen in his spot, with the incoming landslide heading his way. He ran as fast as he could, but in his mind he knew he wouldn't make in time. As his worst nightmare was about to come true, the auburn-haired girl grabbed his hand and tossed him aside, far enough to save him but not enough time to save herself. His first instinct was to make sure that his brother was alright, but he had to save her as well. Grabbing her with both arms, they dived right into one of the many connective tunnels, with the landslide covering their only way out.
Eyes opened to darkness, a feeling that he didn't want to experience once more. He felt blood escaping from the wounds that were cut open from sharp earth that fell onto him, but the most pain came from his left leg that was buried deep into the pile, crushed and sending waves of excruciating pain throughout his body. But the weight of the rocks was being lifted off his leg as he tried to stand up to see the girl he saved lifting every boulder covering his leg.
Weakness. A trait that he never wanted to experience once more. He went through it so many times in his childhood that he made a vow to never show such a characteristic ever again.
"Hold on, I'll get your leg out soon!" the girl said determinedly.
"...Leave me." he said in a monotone voice.
The girl was at a loss of words. He wanted her to leave him after saving her life?
"W-w-what?" she stammered. "N-no way! I have to repay you for saving my life! I-I just can't leave you here with all t-the injuries you have!"
"And what makes you think that a bitch like yourself can carry me all the way to safety?" he spat. "You'll have a better chance of getting help than me, seeing that I'm in no condition to go anywhere!"
"There's no way that I'm leaving you!" she shouted. "You saved my life; there's no way would I desert someone in need!"
"I don't need your sympathy!" he shouted.
"I'm helping you even if you don't want it!" she insisted. "I own you my life; now I need to repay it by helping you, Kaiba."
"...Whatever, Wheelerette." Seto grunted.
And it led both Serenity Wheeler and Seto Kaiba to tread through several tunnels, with the petite girl holding his weight against her back, trying to support the injured man. But, he was quite heavy for someone so tall! When they saw light coming from the end of one tunnel, walking towards it only to find their safe haven for now. It was already nightfall and somehow to their luck, they found an abandoned campsite with a tent to hold both of them. In the condition that he was in, Seto couldn't be able to keep watch for the whole night. So, in order to keep their hopes up, Serenity had to step up and deal with everything to their survival until the others find them.
Serenity couldn't understand the stubborn CEO at all. Months ago, during Battle City, he tried to bury everything that was left of the life that once took all the things that he clung onto from his previous life. But, he also spared those who were injured their lives and made sure all was better. Seto never insulted her; it wasn't for him to be this rude and still keep his demeanor the same towards the others. She realized that Amy, his childhood friend, kept him at bay with the choice of words when she was around. Now that they are separate, he returns to being the jerk that everyone knows of. If only she could open him to the reality of those around him; it was like he was pushing all who wasn't in his trusting circle out to isolate himself from showing the emotions he bottled up inside of him.
She wasn't usually the leader type at all, but for both of them to survive until their friends and family find them, Serenity had to take charge for the first time in her life. She was always used to having people take care of her considering that her health wasn't too good when she was admitted into the hospital. Now, she had to take care of someone who was injured following saving her life. Serenity always repays her debts to those that helped her; it was in her nature and personality.
As she finished gathering the last of the fruits scattered around where she can reach with her arms, Serenity jumped onto the ground and carried the heavy basket made of small branches and straw grass onto her back and walked back to the campsite where the ill-tempered CEO was waiting to ridicule her once more. Hopefully, she thought, that he'll be a bit grateful about gathering enough supplies to survive until their friends find them.
'I don't understand him at all. I mean, our friends and family won't be able to find us in a short time, and yet...he wants me to leave him back there and save myself.' Serenity thought sullenly. 'I'm doing everything that I can to help us survive; Seto should at least be grateful that I know some survival training when I was a kid. I just wish that he would appreciate the things that I'm doing for him.'
At the campsite, it was clearly set up for an expedition that was to last for days, but the occupants mysteriously disappeared, leaving behind all of their stuff along with first-aid kits and necessary materials to survive down in the tunnels. The already assembled tent held the agitated CEO of Kaiba Corp. waiting for Serenity to return with whatever she stepped out to get. Sustaining quite the injuries with an unusable right leg made him feel absolutely useless; it was a position that he never wanted to be in at all. He knew this situation all too well, being that he couldn't protect his own brother when his competitors or any of Yugi's enemies took him for their own purposes.
He couldn't understand anything at all; he took the necessary precautions to never enter this position once more, but all the options have failed him. Was this truly the path fate had in stored for him: to fail in the life that he endlessly worked for his entire life? Seto done everything he could to preserve the future he wanted for his brother, sacrificing almost all of his childhood to bring the ideas that he had to life. Yet, he continued to disappoint himself into failing to protect his own family from his competitors. How could the most powerful man on the planet become so vulnerable when dealing with personal issues in his life?
The rustling sound of leaves perched above the entrance to the campsite alerted Seto that Serenity had returned with whatever she left to gather for any chance of survival. Why did he have to save her, a Wheeler that wasn't any of his concern? Well, the fact that she saved Mokuba from his own demise made him think that she was trying to use that debt to do something that he wouldn't allow himself to do. Well, that was not going to happen.
"Hey, are you feeling alright?" Serenity asked.
"If this is some type of tactic to soften me up so you can take advantage of me when you try to repay your debt, it's not going to work." Seto hissed.
"Excuse me?" Serenity said.
"Don't play stupid; the mere reality that you saved my brother is only to gain something out of me when you get the chance to pay off your debt to him." Seto snarled.
"I saved Mokuba out of a sibling's royalty!" Serenity said. "It has nothing to do with collecting debt!"
"Sure it does; you're only denying this because you know that I'm not one to keep debts around." Seto said.
"...I'm changing the subject because it's not going anywhere the way things are heading to." Serenity stated. "Do your bandages need changing? It's been almost three hours since I applied them onto the wounds."
"I can change the damn bandages myself!" Seto shouted. "Like I need some low-life girl to take care of me so that she can collect more debt and rob me from under my skin!"
"Fine, be that way!" Serenity said. "I'm going to set up the campfire for the night. Sit in here without my presence if it bothers you so much!"
Closing the entrance into the tent, Serenity stomped off in frustration and outside the campsite to calm herself down over the argument she just had with Seto. It wasn't fair, she thought. How could the most single guy in the entire world treat her like garbage shortly after separating from his family and closest friend? He even accused her of using the debt that she owed Mokuba to take advantage of him in the condition that he was in! Thinking that he was cranky from the lack of sleep, Serenity went back into the campsite and gathered some wood from the pile that she set up herself; clicking two rocks to spark the fire for the night that was rounded around with medium-sized rocks to contain the fiery blaze itself. She then grabbed the small grass basket and traveled to the huge watering hole in the center of the underground forest to see if any fish was caught in the net that was placed in earlier after settling in.
'I can't believe that he would accuse me of swindling him out of everything he owns! I don't want any money; I just want to repay him for saving my life.' Serenity thought adamantly. 'Was he this rude before Amy came into his life? Just how many women had been degraded by his words because of the way they look or where their family was coming from? Seto was never this way towards me back in Battle City; what has changed since then? Well, best to get two of these fish back to the campsite for dinner tonight; hopefully his royal highness can handle eating the way these fish are being cooked.'
Looking up into the nightly sky from the huge central hole atop of the cavern, Serenity wished that something good might happen over the next few days that she was to spend with the grumpy brunette, in hopes that he would return the hospitality that she offered him someday. Putting tonight's dinner in the basket, she left the pond to cook and set up the traps for her third night staying guard outside the comforts of the tent. This was not healthy for her looks, as she was starting to become deprived of sleep and it was starting to show around her whole face.
Hopefully by tomorrow, something good can offer her the chance to get the rest she desperately needed.
The sounds of the transport copter were spinning rapidly, landing atop the valley of where the last spotting signal was situated before disappearing off the radar. Many of them were hoping that the two that separated from the group wasn't seriously injured. Another was trying to use the coordinator system that was built within the radar to pinpoint the exact location of where the two could be. It was bright early in the morning as the large group was trying to find both Serenity and Seto since the two were separated during the earthquake that spontaneously erupted several days ago. Though, some of them were trying to calm down the overprotective brother of Serenity, Joey Wheeler.
"We'll find her soon, Joey!" Yugi said. "Calm down!"
"I don't trust Richboy with my baby sister at all!" Joey shouted. "If he dares lay one finger on her, I'm gonna..."
"You're gonna do what to Seto-kun?" Amy growled, adding a dark motherly glare on her face.
"Nothing!" Joey squeaked. If he knew one thing, never make a CEO's best friend angry. Especially one that can kick you into a coma.
"Now, according to the radar, the last communication from the Kaiba Corp. Duel Disk satellite system indicated that Seto-kun was about forty-seven degrees northwest, sixteen point seven degrees east." Amy explained. "The signal was lost over this valley of canyon trees; which means that we'll have to split up to cover up more ground."
"Do we really have to?" Tristan asked.
"You questioning my motives, boy?" Amy shouted.
"No, ma'am!" Tristan yelped.
Morning has arisen for Serenity as she struggled to get up with all the morning pain that was placed in her body upon the results of last night's lookout. She herself wasn't in a good mood after another argument with the stubborn CEO late into her shift last night; this was truly one of those moments that she wished that the stubborn man appreciated her efforts to keep them alive. Cracking her neck to relieve some of the stress, she got her basket and headed out of the campsite to retrieve some herbs that she sought out for a few days back. Serenity was at the tip of her patience, since Seto continued degrading her family and survival tactics that it almost escalated into a wavering conflict between the two.
'I can't believe the guy! Three hours into my shift and he comes right at me for nothing! I'm not his servant or anything, and the only thing I want to do is to repay my debt to him. Why is he treating me this way after what I've done for him these past several days?' Serenity thought. 'I'll dwell on that later; right now, I need to look for those herbs that can truly help his wounds recover much quicker. Oh, I just hope they weren't eaten by the wildlife. Then I'll have to improvise with the medicine we have left.'
Agitated about being stuck within the tent, Seto opened the entrance and grabbed the nearest wooden staff to help himself walk towards the campfire site, throwing a couple logs of wood into the weltering fire. Several days without any new information about his rivals, company and family since being separated has driven him to the brink of insanity. So what if Serenity was helping him recover from his injuries? Seto thought she was after something further than what she wanted to do to repay the debt that she owed him! How could he assist himself of doing anything around him when he still was incapable of even walking?
'I know Wheelerette is after something much more personal from me; if only I could actually discover what her purpose for really helping me is, then I wouldn't have to deal with this. How could I fail in protecting my own flesh and blood with letting her take that debt and use it against me?' Seto thought. 'I'm in no condition to even protect myself with the wounds I sustained from that landslide; this is adding insult to injury since she's taking care of me, but she refuses to do what I commanded her to do to ensure our survival! Wanting to do things her way...Preposterous! Her methods will lead us into oblivion!'
The sound of twigs breaking alerted Seto to grab the nearest branch he could reach and grasped it firmly in his hands. What he saw next was completely out of his element and unprepared to deal with the conditions that he had. It looks like the trees weren't the only things enlarged under the canyons; a massive beetle made its' way into the campsite, and it looks like it was hungry. Knowing that he was at a huge disadvantage, Seto started to slowly slide away in hopes of not attracting the beetle's attention, but his hand apparently snapped a lone tree branch in half, alerting the beetle of what potentially be its' lunch for the day. He mentally panicked; Seto was in no shape to defend himself and backed himself into a rocky wall with no alternate openings as the huge insect drew closer to him. Was this truly the end for the brunette CEO who was about to become nothing more than food for nature?
Before the beetle could even reach him, an arrow plunged itself into the back of the large bug and redirecting it whatever attacked it from behind. Seto looked from the corner of his right eye and saw Serenity standing right at the entrance holding what appeared to be a makeshift bow. When she heard the alarms go off, Serenity knew that something entered into the campsite and could have endangered the injured CEO while he was still recovering from the injuries of the landslide several days ago. She rushed back to the campgrounds with the improvised bow and arrows that she made and shot the beetle to readdress the bug's attention away from Seto.
"Get your crazy buggy self away from him!" Serenity shouted. "Eat somebody your own size and get out of here!"
The beetle charged full throttle at Serenity, making her run outside and positioning herself right at the next trap set near the huge pond at the center of the underground forest. Once the bug got into location, she sprung the trap and sent the beetle soaring high into the air, with a massive fish jumping right out of the water and catching the bug into its' own mouth and splashing back into the pond. The waves pushed back onto the mainland and soaked Serenity head to toe, now knowing the threat was gone for good. She ran back to the campsite to see if Seto was actually hurt.
Seto on the other hand, was not too pleased with what just went down. Serenity just saved his life; HIS life! The very debt that he owned her was now repaid, but the debt that she owns Mokuba was still on the playing table! He was weak once more; he could barely contain his frustrations anymore. He needed to set the record straight, right now. As he was done with his mental checklist, Serenity came back into the campsite and ran straight towards him to see if any damage was sustained during the close-call clash with the large bug.
"Are you okay? Are there any new wounds on your body?" Serenity asked.
"Is this some way to mask your true intentions?" Seto hissed.
"What true intentions? Rather than knowing that you're okay, what kind of menacing plot do I have against you?" Serenity argued.
"You know damn well that you're waiting for that chance to rob me of everything that I've worked for my entire life to obtain!" Seto said. "This little charade that you're putting on isn't going to work on me!"
"Charade?" Serenity said, flabbergasted. "You think that all the things that I've done for you is all just a charade to you?"
"Seems you're actually getting the point, Wheelerette." Seto said.
SLAP!
The contact of her hand went flying towards his face, angry tears flowing down from her face. Serenity still couldn't believe that he thinks that she was after something that he owns! This was the last straw; having to take care of him was one thing, but for him to continue ridiculing her very lifestyle was too much for the passive girl. Seto was completely thrown off guard by Serenity's actions; did his words really snapped her into a rage that he rarely saw within the girl herself?
"What have I ever done to you that made you think that I was ever after anything that you have? I've never met such a dense, uncaring man like yourself. I did everything that I can to ensure our safety; our own survival, and yet...you, Seto Kaiba, continued to ridicule my family and myself like I was worthless!" Serenity shouted. "You have no idea what I have to endure after being separated from my brother! Everyone around me told me that I wasn't worth being a leader; being nothing more than unwanted cargo dragged around the group. It tore me apart, and I was thinking that I couldn't do anything useful to help those in need.
"There are people that can help you, yet I don't understand why you isolate yourself away from those who wanted to lend a hand. I wanted to prove myself that I can be a leader without feeling weak to myself; to demonstrate my abilities as somebody who wanted an identity in the world. I feel so helpless whenever somebody helps me, that I cannot be able to assist them when they were in trouble themselves. And now, I still feel useless because a person like you ridicules me like I'm worth nothing!
"Since we been trapped here, I followed everything that I've learned on my own and yet...it still wasn't enough to satisfy your needs! What will it take to fulfill those demands that you sought out for? You never complimented me for my actions, rather you argued with me about every mistake that I did! Well, Seto? What will it take for you to finally see the damage that you created for me on an emotional basis? Tell me!"
He was taken back by the sudden outburst from the small girl; to think that his words actually affected her to a point that she was on the verge of collapsing mentally made him feel guilty about what he said over the past several days. Seto didn't realize that Serenity already had other people telling her that she wasn't leadership quality, and it made her think that she was completely worthless on those that she wanted to repay their kindness after helping her. He thought back to when they arrived the first day that they were trapped underground; him staying inside the tent while she was outside, watching her from the inside of the tent as she sat near the bonfire with the nightly guard duty, sacrificing everything she had just for the sake of his well-being. Serenity was rushing down tears, shaking uncontrollably trying to hold herself from releasing any more, but what can she do? The guy hasn't said anything since her outburst, and it made her think that all of her efforts were in fact useless after all. Her face felt something under her chin, lifting her up to make eye contact with the man that she took care of since they first arrived.
"Look at me, Serenity..." Seto ordered.
Her eyes widen. No name-calling? No insults? No backtalk? What was going on? He was using her real name and not a single negative word came out of his mouth.
"What is it, Seto?" Serenity asked, but then turned red at the sudden blurting of his first name.
"Don't tell me you're embarrassed from saying my name." Seto said.
"N-no!" Serenity stuttered.
"You know that you're a terrible liar..." Seto said, before crashing his lips upon hers.
Her body jumped from surprise; Serenity did not expect this from the CEO himself, becoming lost in the kiss so much that she literally collapsed onto his chest with his hands gripping her arms.
"You're exhausted; your body can't handle another day of overnight lookout duty." Seto said.
"Guess I can't hide it forever, huh?" Serenity whispered.
"C'mon, you need your rest. Head inside the tent to get some sleep; I'll handle the night shift for you." Seto said.
"No way! You need your rest too; you're not capable of handling anything with your leg the way it is now." Serenity objected.
"Judging how silent this forest is now, I don't think we'll be seeing any troubles until later on in the week." Seto said. "Besides, Amy will have my head if she sees me like this and I'm overexerting my limits."
"Oh no! The herbs! They're still in the basket, and I need to make new medicine soon!" Serenity shouted.
"Forget about them; the only medicine that I need is you, my precious nurse." Seto whispered.
Serenity turned darkly red at the comment, trying to hide her face using her hair to cover the emotions that she was showing right now. Who knew he had such charisma to charm his way into her heart? She heard chuckling as her eyes averted to seeing a portion of her hair being held back by the CEO's hand and his eyes looking straight at her face.
"Did my words offended you, my dearest angel?" Seto smirked.
"S-S-Shut up!" Serenity stuttered.
~Two days later...~
"Where can those two be?" Amy asked. "I still can't believe that this forest was here under all that stone! I just hope my poor little Seto-kun is alright!"
"Wish he wasn't..." Joey muttered.
WHAM!
"Ow!" Joey yelped.
"Say one more comment, I dare you!" Amy threatened, with her fist shaking right in front of Joey.
"Mommy! There's a campsite under this tree!" Mokuba called.
"Is there a tent?" Amy asked.
"Yeah!" Mokuba shouted.
"Are there people in there?" Amy asked again.
"Uhh, let me check...Mommy, we found them!" Mokuba shouted.
"Move!" Joey and Amy said, rushing to the tent, only to find that their perspective of the sight they were seeing now were completely different.
"Aww! That's so sweet!" Amy cooed.
"Oh hell no!" Joey said. "He better get off my sister!"
"Oh hell no! You ain't tearing up this lovely sight!" Amy shouted.
And with the racket going amok, the sleepy duo had to wake up to the ruckus constantly growing with the rest of the group coming into the campsite.
"Must they always be this noisy?" Seto mumbled.
"I think the days were much more peaceful when there was no arguing in the air." Serenity whispered.
"I don't know; we pretty much argued ourselves." Seto chuckled.
"I want to go back to sleep." Serenity groaned.
"Then wear those earmuffs; they actually cancel out noise pretty well." Seto murmured.
"Thank the heavens that there was two of them at this campsite." Serenity said.
"Oh and that slap you gave me a couple nights back...that actually hurt!" Seto flinched. "And what were you going to do with the debt that you own to Mokuba?"
"What else? Get his brother to go on a date with me when he's well enough to take me out." Serenity giggled.
"I knew you were going to use that debt against me...Just not the way that I thought it would turn out to be." Seto pondered.
"You assume things too early. Just go back to sleep." Serenity ordered.
"Don't order me around; I might have to use my words again on you." Seto smirked.
"J-Just go to sleep already, Seto!" Serenity stuttered.
"As you wish, my angel." Seto whispered.
Finally done after so many weeks of torturing myself and trying to find the lines that I wanted! Next chance of updating will be with the ninth chapter of Temptation to Madness, following up with the eight chapter of Synchro Beast, Crimson Rose. Also, I'll try to see if I can get up and running on other fics that I somehow abandoned to deal with personal issues and work schedules.
R&R, people!
(...I really need a new writing schedule, again...)