AN: Here is a new Yugioh story. I am afraid I will be writing them for quite a while to come. Yugioh rocks! Anyway, this is the Seto/Isis story I have been talking about in my bio, and finally it's here! Hope you enjoy it.
This is my first attempt at serious romance, so be kind. Also, this story borrows a lot of ideas and plot twists from the movie The Day After Tomorrow. But no worry, you should be fine as long as you have the faintest idea of what the movie is about. If you don't, it will get clear a few chapters in.
And remember, I own neither Yugioh nor The Day After Tomorrow. No more rants from me. Have fun! And don't forget to review too.
Seto Kaiba was in a very vile mood indeed. He got out of the now immobile taxi, briefcase in hand, and slammed the door shut forcefully. It was still raining. Water was pouring down from the lead grey sky vigorously, drenching him completely wet in matters of mere seconds. He shivered slightly. It was uncommonly cold for a spring day.
He looked before him with impassive eyes, but inside he was growing thoroughly irked. The entire city of New York seemed to be paralysed by the sudden shift of weather, and he couldn't get anywhere, not to his business meeting only a few blocks away, nor home thousands of miles eastward. So there he was, standing in a back alley corner in Manhattan, stranded, for the lack of a better term. There was not a living soul in sight. Even the taxi driver had scrambled away without his payment, running for his life down the street and disappearing around a corner. There was something ominous in the air, and no one missed it.
For the first time in his life, Seto Kaiba was absolutely clueless about what he should do next. Supposedly he should run, but where to? Or find a way to get out of this wretched city? Hardly. All flights, trains and long distance buses were cancelled when the endless storms started. Shaking his head with vexation, he began to trudge through the knee-deep water, hoping to get out of the rain at least.
He had taken only a few steps, when a faint rumbling sound came from behind him, like distant thunder rolling. He stopped, and turned, and the sight that greeted him was so overwhelming that his breath stopped short for a moment. From behind the line of skyscrapers, a wall of water at least ten stories high came thundering like steeds of the Apocalypse, obliterating everything in its path.
Like an arrow suddenly released from the bow, he leaped and raced down the street. He saw a multi-storied building some hundred feet from him, and knew that was his only chance. The murky water splashed about him, and they were so cold that they chilled him to the bones. He was only a short distance from the building now, though the wall water was not far behind him either.
With a final leap he came before the door. With a push the door yielded, and he went in. The interior was a cold and empty reception hall, with the elevators on one end and the stairs on another. Without hesitation he turned and raced up stairs. The wall of water was directly outside of the building now, and a single pane of glass was the only thing between him and hungry tide. And then the last defence gave way. With a crashing sound the glass shattered into a million pieces, and water hurled into the building with a malicious glee.
Don't let me die like this! His mind screamed silently, panicked at last. Mokuba! That was his last burning thought before the bitter water swallowed him. The cold wrapped about him with a murderous embrace, and would have dragged him to another world had not a slender hand suddenly grasped his wrist and pulled him to safety. Yet he was not aware of it, for his consciousness had already fled to the merciful black oblivion.
Kaiba woke up with a persistent pounding in his head. His throat felt raw, and he was drained. Taking a few deep breaths to calm the nausea that threatened to send him back to oblivion, he slowly opened his eyes. He was lying in bed in a small, richly furnished room, covered with many layers of blankets, kept warm and comfortable. But his relaxation was cut short suddenly, for he was aware of another presence by his side, a woman to be precise. She seemed fast asleep. Her long black hair spilt about her, a few silky strands resting just beside his face, and a slender arm was wrapped about his bare chest, sending a slow flow of warmth into him.
Kaiba almost growled out loud. There was definitely something he missed. He could feel his headache return with full force, and his skull felt like it was going to burst due to the vehement pounding. He turned his head slightly, and saw a familiar face. And this time he did growl our loud.
"Isis?" He crocked, and his voice came out a dry rasp of mingled surprise and loss.
There was no reply. Gently he put a hand on her arm, and still Isis remained asleep. Kaiba furrowed his brow irately, yet despite his irritation he did nothing else. Supposedly he could simply push her away and get out of bed, but somehow he remained motionless. He was weary, and the warmth and sweet fragrance coming from the woman beside him was strangely comforting. Slowly his tension was fading, and he was about to drift back to sleep once more, when the form beside him stirred.
"I see that you are awake." Isis said, looking at him tiredly.
Was it the shock? Or some other factor? But Kaiba was speechless that moment. Isis slowly moved herself into a sitting position, careful not to disturb the blankets. "Are you feeling well?" She asked again, and there was concern in her voice.
"Oh I am perfectly well," Kaiba growled, and that perfect snarl was in his voice. After all, he did have years of practice, "Beside the fact that I am in the same bed with you."
Isis regarded him quietly, and there was a mild amusement in her cerulean eyes. She got up quickly, draped a woollen cloak about herself, and took a seat in the armchair beside the flickering fireplace. "You must be well now, seeing that you have the strength to speak thus." She said airily, turning a kettle by the fire.
Kaiba tried to push himself off the bed, only to be rewarded by a wave of dizziness, and fell back with a frustrated grimace. Isis glanced at him, and smiled lightly. Kaiba sent her a glare cold enough to freeze an ocean, yet still she seemed unperturbed and smiled still.
"Well? Care to explain yourself?" Finally Kaiba said non-too-kindly with ire.
She sighed, and answered patiently, "You were almost drowned, do you not remember? Fortunately I was in the building—I live here at the moment—and I pulled you to safety just in time."
Silence, and more glare from an irate Kaiba. "That still does not explain why you..." He stopped there abruptly, looking the slightest flushed.
"I had to warm you up somehow," Isis replied softly, now looking at the kettle beside the fire intently, "You were losing too much heat."
"There is a fireplace in this room." Kaiba said, and his voice at a strange point between annoyed and reluctant.
"Have some common sense, Seto. You would die of a sure heart failure if I simply baked you beside the fire." She said with a faint trace of impatience, now lifting the kettle and pouring its content into a cup.
She walked near him with the cup in hand and sat at the edge of the bed. "Have a drink." She said simply, and passed the cup to him.
Kaiba took the cup and looked at the swirling liquid doubtfully. "What is it?" He asked.
"Warm dates wine." Isis answered.
He took a tentative sip first, then finding the brew quite tasteful he downed it in one gulp, and set the empty cup on the bedside table rather heavily. The drink seemed to numb the pain in his head somewhat. They sat together in silence for a while, neither moving nor speaking. Suddenly he seized her slender hand and held it tightly, saying, "Don't breathe a word of this, you hear me? Humour me and I won't pretend I didn't enjoy this."
Isis looked at him with bemused blue eyes and asked, "Have you a clue what you are saying, Seto?"
"No, none at all." Kaiba ran a hand through his hair with vexation, quite oblivious his other hand was still holding Isis's wrist forcefully. "Don't ever give me drinks that will make me say things I don't intend again." He finished darkly.
"Indeed," Isis said with a smile and gently drew her hand back. "I think it's the lack of sleep. You should rest."
With a muffled "humph" Kaiba fell back and spoke no more. He should indeed sleep, and maybe when he wakes up again, he would make sense of everything.