Losing Grip
Authoress: Aisling Kaiba
(Aisling): *Sings* Guess who's back? Back again? Aisling's back! Tell a friend!!!
(Iris): Okay, hikari. No more sugar for you. What are you doing up, anyway? You should be resting and trying to get rid of your cold, not making it worse.
(Aisling): NOOOOOO!!!! Wait. What about caffeine? Besides, yami, it's boring downstairs.
(Seto): NO! No sugar or caffeine!
(Aisling): You're such a spoilsport, big brother. *Sticks tongue out at him* Well, anyway, I'm back with another fic! Yeah, I know, I still haven't finished any of my other ones, and I'm posting a new one. Bad hikari. *Cat grin*
(Malik): *Playing with my hair again* Do we get to be in this one?
(Aisling): One, Malik-kun, you are. Marik is mentioned, but other than that, no. And would you please stop messing with my hair?
(Malik): No, besides, can I help it if you remind me of a cat?
(Aisling): Ummm, okay. Still, you might want to quit before Ryou gets angry. Remember last time?
*Just then Ryou comes over and sees this*
(Ryou): MALIK ISHTAR!!!!!!!!!!
(Aisling): See? I warned you.
*Ryou comes over and glomps Aisling*
(Ryou): Back off, Malik. She's my angel-cat, not yours.
(Aisling): Okay, possessive Ryou=scary Ryou. But hey, I'm not complaining. Anyway, on with the fic whilst I try to keep my bishies from killing each other. But first, someone say the disclaimer for me.
(Duke): Aisling does not own YGO, but any original characters and the M.Star are hers. And the song in ch. 3 does not belong to her either. It belongs to Trisha Yearwood.
(Aisling): ACK! I didn't mean you, Dice-boy. Oh, well. Like the moron said, I no own, so piss off. And now, on with the fic, for real this time!
Slight spoilers, a few choice words, the usual. *Grin*
Pairings: Ryou/Aisling
*******************************
*Chapter one*
("We're Kaibas. We were destined to suffer." ~Aisling Kaiba)
The Battle City tournament had finally come to an end.
But that meant absolutely nothing to Aisling Kaiba. The moment that the airship had landed on solid ground again, and Ryou had been taken to the hospital for his injuries, she had practically run back to the mansion. And that's where she was now, having locked herself in her bedroom, crying her heart out and refusing to come out or speak to anyone.
Her little brother Mokuba sat on the floor in the hallway, occasionally tapping lightly on the door in the hopes of drawing her out, and listening to her heartbroken cries. He wished desperately that he could help her, but there was nothing that he could do as long as he was being kept out.
"Why are you sitting on the floor, Mokuba?" a soft voice came from behind the boy.
He jumped slightly, then glanced back over his shoulder at his older brother. He stood up and ran to Seto, practically flying into the CEO's arms, almost knocking them both over in the process. He buried his face in Seto's shirt, trying not to cry himself. Seto held him, wondering what was wrong. He glanced over at Aisling's door, having heard her devastated crying, then looked back down at his little brother.
"Mokuba?" Seto said quietly.
The younger boy looked up at Seto, but not before brushing away a few stray, tell-tale tears of his own. Seto noticed it, though, and knelt down so that he was at eye-level with Mokuba, moving his hand in a circular pattern on his back, trying to comfort him. (A/N: Get your minds out of the gutters, ppl!)
"What's wrong with Aisling, big brother? She's been in there for a long time, crying, and she won't come out or talk to me," Mokuba said.
"Ryou was hurt earlier and is in the hospital. We don't know if he's going to make it," Seto replied sadly.
Mokuba stared at Seto, his big, gray eyes having gone very wide with shock. His eyes searched his older brother's face, hoping that he was not serious.
"I'm going down to the hospital in a few minutes, as soon as I talk to Aisling. I'm sure she'll want to be there too," Seto said quietly.
"Big brother? Can I go with you, too?" Mokuba asked.
Seto nodded and stood up. He let go of his hold on Mokuba and knocked lightly on Aisling's door. He got no response.
"Aisling?" he called quietly, knocking on the door again.
This time he got a response, but it was not the one that he had been hoping for. Her voice was muffled through the door, but he could still detect the pain and bitterness in her tone. He cringed inwardly, though he didn't let Mokuba see it.
"Go away, Seto! I really don't want to see you right now!" Aisling shouted back.
"Aisling, please. Open the door, I need to talk to you," Seto replied.
"I don't care! Just leave me alone!" she retorted. "There's nothing to talk about!"
She waited for Seto to ask her to open the door again, but all she heard was silence. Her ears perked up, and she lifted her head from her arms, wondering if Seto had finally decided to take a hint. She sighed and stared out the window at the stars that sparkled brilliantly in the sky overheard like rare diamonds woven into a beautiful, never-ending tapestry of the finest black velvet.
She found herself wishing with all of her heart that Ryou was there next to her rather than lying in a hospital bed, possibly dying for all anyone knew. She admitted to herself that she probably shouldn't have run out of the hospital like she had, but it was tearing her apart to see him hooked up to those machines. It had just been to much for her to bear.
They had both been through so much shit together in the last few months that it wasn't even funny. Didn't they deserve even just a little bit of happiness? She started to cry harder, cursing fate for all of this. She didn't even bother to wipe away her tears, though, because more would just take their place, so it was pretty pointless, really.
She lay down on her window ledge and buried her face in her pale arms. Her small shoulders trembled with her sobs, causing her long brown hair to fall down around her face like a dark veil. She didn't care, though.
Suddenly she heard the door to her bedroom creak open. She didn't even bother to look up, though, because she knew perfectly well who would be there. She cursed mentally and closed her eyes, hoping that Seto would think that she had cried herself to sleep and leave her alone with her misery. She wasn't that lucky.
"Aisling? I know you're awake. Please, look at me, we need to talk," Seto said softly.
Aisling didn't bother to dignify his statement with an answer. She didn't even move from her current position, hoping that he would just take the hint and go away. Of course, this did not exactly work, considering the fact that Seto could be just as stubborn as Aisling herself could be when he wanted to.
"Aisling, look at me. You're starting to worry me now," Seto spoke again, his tone firm but not unkind.
With an exasperated sigh, she turned to face him. She knew if she continued to ignore him, he would just stay there until she acknowledged his presence, so she just gave up, not even bothering to try to hide her tears from him.
Distractedly, she noticed that Mokuba hadn't come in with Seto. It was probably better that he wasn't in the room, though. Their litte brother didn't need to find out about what had transpired on the airship earlier that night.
"I should have known you wouldn't listen to me, Seto. You never do. I told you I fucking wanted to be left alone, damn it!" she snapped angrily.
"Aisling, listen..." Seto started, before she cut him off midsentence.
"No! *You* listen to me, Seto Kaiba! You thihk that just because you've been here longer than I have, that you can just walk all over me! Well, I can't take it anymore! I've been through enough fucking shit already without you trying to make me feel like I'm not wanted around here! I never even got to know our dad, Seto! I was stuck with mom, and she hated me, Seto! She fucking hated me! You don't know half the shit that she put me through, or that I had to deal with when Marik kidnapped me!" she screamed at him.
Her tears were flowing uncontrollably now, and her sapphire eyes were haunted and filled with an intense pain that hit Seto like a ton of bricks. Aisling sat up, drawing her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around her legs. She rested her head against the window, never once averting her gaze from her brother's.
"She used to beat the crap out of me, Seto. Especially if she had a bad day. I was the one that she took everything out on. She blamed me for the divorce, and made it quite clear that I was nothing more than a burden to her. I was eight when she died. I couldn't even bring myself to cry for her. When I found you and Mokuba and met the others, I thought that, just maybe, I could finally have a chance to be happy," she continued, her voice quieter now.
"Aisling..." Seto started, but again, she interrupted him.
"Please, don't speak yet. Just let me finish, I need to get this out."
Seto nodded, and as he watched her, he couldn't help but think that she looked like a child almost, a frail ghost of the insecure little girl that he had known before they were torn apart so long ago. He vividly remembered all the nights that they had hidden together in the shadows as their parents had fought, loudly and viciously.
Objects and insults had been flung almost non-stop, and by the time that the Hell-storms had ended, all that was left was a nearly destroyed room, and two lonely, frightened spirits weeping in the darkness, completely unnoticed as they clung to each other. And almost every time it had started, the two would slip out of their room and hide in the shadows together to watch as their world was slowly torn apart, helpless to do anything to stop it from happening.
Aisling would start to cry, and Seto would hug her close, as if he was trying to shield her from everything that had gone on just below their darkened vantage point. Seto would try to calm her, telling her that it would all be over soon, and that everything would be all right again. Both of them had known even then that things would never be 'all right', but it was an illusion that they had more than welcomed.
To Be Continued. Okay, please nobody flame me for this, and to clear up any confusion in this chappie, or the next one, a few months before this, Aisling is captured by Marik, and let's just say it's not pretty what he does to her. I know in the anime that Seto and Mokuba ended up in an orphanage, but I'm changing things here. The next chapter is just a flashback to a memory of when he and Aisling were little, before Mokuba was born. Any constructive criticism/suggestions are welcome, but mindless flames will be either ignored or ridiculed at whoever's expense. So if you have nothing more than "this sucks!" or something like that to say, get lost. But if anyone wants to offer suggestions or compliments, then ignore my rant here. I'm just very touchy about my writing. Well, R&R onegai? *Sad puppy eyes* Ja ne, all!
~*Aisling Kaiba*~
Authoress: Aisling Kaiba
(Aisling): *Sings* Guess who's back? Back again? Aisling's back! Tell a friend!!!
(Iris): Okay, hikari. No more sugar for you. What are you doing up, anyway? You should be resting and trying to get rid of your cold, not making it worse.
(Aisling): NOOOOOO!!!! Wait. What about caffeine? Besides, yami, it's boring downstairs.
(Seto): NO! No sugar or caffeine!
(Aisling): You're such a spoilsport, big brother. *Sticks tongue out at him* Well, anyway, I'm back with another fic! Yeah, I know, I still haven't finished any of my other ones, and I'm posting a new one. Bad hikari. *Cat grin*
(Malik): *Playing with my hair again* Do we get to be in this one?
(Aisling): One, Malik-kun, you are. Marik is mentioned, but other than that, no. And would you please stop messing with my hair?
(Malik): No, besides, can I help it if you remind me of a cat?
(Aisling): Ummm, okay. Still, you might want to quit before Ryou gets angry. Remember last time?
*Just then Ryou comes over and sees this*
(Ryou): MALIK ISHTAR!!!!!!!!!!
(Aisling): See? I warned you.
*Ryou comes over and glomps Aisling*
(Ryou): Back off, Malik. She's my angel-cat, not yours.
(Aisling): Okay, possessive Ryou=scary Ryou. But hey, I'm not complaining. Anyway, on with the fic whilst I try to keep my bishies from killing each other. But first, someone say the disclaimer for me.
(Duke): Aisling does not own YGO, but any original characters and the M.Star are hers. And the song in ch. 3 does not belong to her either. It belongs to Trisha Yearwood.
(Aisling): ACK! I didn't mean you, Dice-boy. Oh, well. Like the moron said, I no own, so piss off. And now, on with the fic, for real this time!
Slight spoilers, a few choice words, the usual. *Grin*
Pairings: Ryou/Aisling
*******************************
*Chapter one*
("We're Kaibas. We were destined to suffer." ~Aisling Kaiba)
The Battle City tournament had finally come to an end.
But that meant absolutely nothing to Aisling Kaiba. The moment that the airship had landed on solid ground again, and Ryou had been taken to the hospital for his injuries, she had practically run back to the mansion. And that's where she was now, having locked herself in her bedroom, crying her heart out and refusing to come out or speak to anyone.
Her little brother Mokuba sat on the floor in the hallway, occasionally tapping lightly on the door in the hopes of drawing her out, and listening to her heartbroken cries. He wished desperately that he could help her, but there was nothing that he could do as long as he was being kept out.
"Why are you sitting on the floor, Mokuba?" a soft voice came from behind the boy.
He jumped slightly, then glanced back over his shoulder at his older brother. He stood up and ran to Seto, practically flying into the CEO's arms, almost knocking them both over in the process. He buried his face in Seto's shirt, trying not to cry himself. Seto held him, wondering what was wrong. He glanced over at Aisling's door, having heard her devastated crying, then looked back down at his little brother.
"Mokuba?" Seto said quietly.
The younger boy looked up at Seto, but not before brushing away a few stray, tell-tale tears of his own. Seto noticed it, though, and knelt down so that he was at eye-level with Mokuba, moving his hand in a circular pattern on his back, trying to comfort him. (A/N: Get your minds out of the gutters, ppl!)
"What's wrong with Aisling, big brother? She's been in there for a long time, crying, and she won't come out or talk to me," Mokuba said.
"Ryou was hurt earlier and is in the hospital. We don't know if he's going to make it," Seto replied sadly.
Mokuba stared at Seto, his big, gray eyes having gone very wide with shock. His eyes searched his older brother's face, hoping that he was not serious.
"I'm going down to the hospital in a few minutes, as soon as I talk to Aisling. I'm sure she'll want to be there too," Seto said quietly.
"Big brother? Can I go with you, too?" Mokuba asked.
Seto nodded and stood up. He let go of his hold on Mokuba and knocked lightly on Aisling's door. He got no response.
"Aisling?" he called quietly, knocking on the door again.
This time he got a response, but it was not the one that he had been hoping for. Her voice was muffled through the door, but he could still detect the pain and bitterness in her tone. He cringed inwardly, though he didn't let Mokuba see it.
"Go away, Seto! I really don't want to see you right now!" Aisling shouted back.
"Aisling, please. Open the door, I need to talk to you," Seto replied.
"I don't care! Just leave me alone!" she retorted. "There's nothing to talk about!"
She waited for Seto to ask her to open the door again, but all she heard was silence. Her ears perked up, and she lifted her head from her arms, wondering if Seto had finally decided to take a hint. She sighed and stared out the window at the stars that sparkled brilliantly in the sky overheard like rare diamonds woven into a beautiful, never-ending tapestry of the finest black velvet.
She found herself wishing with all of her heart that Ryou was there next to her rather than lying in a hospital bed, possibly dying for all anyone knew. She admitted to herself that she probably shouldn't have run out of the hospital like she had, but it was tearing her apart to see him hooked up to those machines. It had just been to much for her to bear.
They had both been through so much shit together in the last few months that it wasn't even funny. Didn't they deserve even just a little bit of happiness? She started to cry harder, cursing fate for all of this. She didn't even bother to wipe away her tears, though, because more would just take their place, so it was pretty pointless, really.
She lay down on her window ledge and buried her face in her pale arms. Her small shoulders trembled with her sobs, causing her long brown hair to fall down around her face like a dark veil. She didn't care, though.
Suddenly she heard the door to her bedroom creak open. She didn't even bother to look up, though, because she knew perfectly well who would be there. She cursed mentally and closed her eyes, hoping that Seto would think that she had cried herself to sleep and leave her alone with her misery. She wasn't that lucky.
"Aisling? I know you're awake. Please, look at me, we need to talk," Seto said softly.
Aisling didn't bother to dignify his statement with an answer. She didn't even move from her current position, hoping that he would just take the hint and go away. Of course, this did not exactly work, considering the fact that Seto could be just as stubborn as Aisling herself could be when he wanted to.
"Aisling, look at me. You're starting to worry me now," Seto spoke again, his tone firm but not unkind.
With an exasperated sigh, she turned to face him. She knew if she continued to ignore him, he would just stay there until she acknowledged his presence, so she just gave up, not even bothering to try to hide her tears from him.
Distractedly, she noticed that Mokuba hadn't come in with Seto. It was probably better that he wasn't in the room, though. Their litte brother didn't need to find out about what had transpired on the airship earlier that night.
"I should have known you wouldn't listen to me, Seto. You never do. I told you I fucking wanted to be left alone, damn it!" she snapped angrily.
"Aisling, listen..." Seto started, before she cut him off midsentence.
"No! *You* listen to me, Seto Kaiba! You thihk that just because you've been here longer than I have, that you can just walk all over me! Well, I can't take it anymore! I've been through enough fucking shit already without you trying to make me feel like I'm not wanted around here! I never even got to know our dad, Seto! I was stuck with mom, and she hated me, Seto! She fucking hated me! You don't know half the shit that she put me through, or that I had to deal with when Marik kidnapped me!" she screamed at him.
Her tears were flowing uncontrollably now, and her sapphire eyes were haunted and filled with an intense pain that hit Seto like a ton of bricks. Aisling sat up, drawing her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around her legs. She rested her head against the window, never once averting her gaze from her brother's.
"She used to beat the crap out of me, Seto. Especially if she had a bad day. I was the one that she took everything out on. She blamed me for the divorce, and made it quite clear that I was nothing more than a burden to her. I was eight when she died. I couldn't even bring myself to cry for her. When I found you and Mokuba and met the others, I thought that, just maybe, I could finally have a chance to be happy," she continued, her voice quieter now.
"Aisling..." Seto started, but again, she interrupted him.
"Please, don't speak yet. Just let me finish, I need to get this out."
Seto nodded, and as he watched her, he couldn't help but think that she looked like a child almost, a frail ghost of the insecure little girl that he had known before they were torn apart so long ago. He vividly remembered all the nights that they had hidden together in the shadows as their parents had fought, loudly and viciously.
Objects and insults had been flung almost non-stop, and by the time that the Hell-storms had ended, all that was left was a nearly destroyed room, and two lonely, frightened spirits weeping in the darkness, completely unnoticed as they clung to each other. And almost every time it had started, the two would slip out of their room and hide in the shadows together to watch as their world was slowly torn apart, helpless to do anything to stop it from happening.
Aisling would start to cry, and Seto would hug her close, as if he was trying to shield her from everything that had gone on just below their darkened vantage point. Seto would try to calm her, telling her that it would all be over soon, and that everything would be all right again. Both of them had known even then that things would never be 'all right', but it was an illusion that they had more than welcomed.
To Be Continued. Okay, please nobody flame me for this, and to clear up any confusion in this chappie, or the next one, a few months before this, Aisling is captured by Marik, and let's just say it's not pretty what he does to her. I know in the anime that Seto and Mokuba ended up in an orphanage, but I'm changing things here. The next chapter is just a flashback to a memory of when he and Aisling were little, before Mokuba was born. Any constructive criticism/suggestions are welcome, but mindless flames will be either ignored or ridiculed at whoever's expense. So if you have nothing more than "this sucks!" or something like that to say, get lost. But if anyone wants to offer suggestions or compliments, then ignore my rant here. I'm just very touchy about my writing. Well, R&R onegai? *Sad puppy eyes* Ja ne, all!
~*Aisling Kaiba*~