Disclaimer: Yu-Gi-Oh is not mine. Unfortunately. But its only a matter of time...

Warnings: Hmm….. American names (with the exception of extras, if any), and the usual spelling and grammar errors. By the way, I've edited the first two chapters for the errors. There shouldn't be much, if any now.

Side note: Words part of the flashback (its italicized)

So anyway, as promised, here's chapter three!

-FLASH-

I could experience everything in my body but I couldn't control it. That's how I knew it was a flashback; you can't change the past.

I was at school, the local high school of the city of Domino. Class hadn't started yet, and everyone in the room was waiting for the bell to ring. It was the class before lunch, College-course Pre-cal. This was the class that brought out the most rivalry in me; to be better than Seto Kaiba. Our GPAs were close in ranks and were both favored to be the valedictorian, a title we both wanted. I was sitting at my assigned desk and Kaiba was in his next to mine. I was impatiently tapping my pencil on the side of the desk; Kaiba seemed better in control of his emotions and stared icily into space. I was sure no one had the courage to return his gaze.

I wasn't really paying attention to anyone, just mentally preparing myself for the test that would count as a quarter for the semester grade.

However, my thoughts were interrupted by a casual, nonchalant question.

"So, are you ready for the test?" The voice and question belonged to Kaiba, I glanced up at him and saw he wasn't looking my direction.

"Sure," I said in a bored tone. He didn't seem to be satisfied with my equally boring answer.

"So…did you fin-" I cut him off, anticipating the question with ease.

"Did I finish the Latin essay? Yes, it wasn't particularly difficult." Kaiba turned his head to smile at me wryly.

Seto Kaiba wasn't one who was usually up to casual and trivial conversation. But lately, I've noticed he's taken a special interest in my life. An interest that started ever since we were paired up in Psychology class; we had to fill out long surveys about our partners. The assignment was to allow us to understand better how the other person thinks.

Apparently, Seto Kaiba had found my utterly meaningless life somewhat entertaining.

Because, lately, he had been asking me question on various subjects to see what awareness I looked through and why I did what I did. He wasn't very successful; I was particularly a difficult character to read.

Kaiba contemplated me for a moment, his thin mouth turning upside-down in a slight frown.

Of course, I don't think he would ever understand the fact the only reason I even minutely put up with him was that I had crush on him. Seto Kaiba was never one to fully comprehend the concepts of infatuation; he seemed totally oblivious to the fact he was the star in the majority of the daydreams of the female student body.

In my mental and distant train of thought, I was interrupted again by a more direct and unusual question by Seto Kaiba.

"So why don't you have any friends?" His question was point-blank but wasn't meant to be an insult. At least, I didn't think so. I shrugged.

He probably noticed how I had no friends outside of Yugi's own circle of pals. (Which I didn't really consider them as my own friends) It wasn't a secret that I showed distaste for most people at school. The fact I sat by myself at lunch was enough to prove that.

"Why don't you?" His eyebrow twitched, which I had come to learn meant he was either angry or irritated. Or annoyed.

"I don't need friends." His voice was rough, a sign of impatience.

"Neither do I," I said, remaining calm. Another difference between us was though even though I showed slightly more emotion than Kaiba, I was better a controlling my anger. For the most part. Kaiba frowned which made me think my answer wasn't acceptable enough to him.

"So, you're not even friends with the dork squad?" I knew his reference to the 'dork squad' was my brother and his friends. However, I was used to his dislike toward them so it barely phased me that he insulted my brother.

"Not really," I said, shrugging again. "I guess I'm just not friend material." He contemplated that for a moment, examining me with a thoughtful expression.

"I'll be your friend," he said with a smirk, as if that was a large and difficult task on his part.

"You're so kind," I said sarcastically, rolling my eyes. It only made his smirk grow bigger.

Before I had time to process what this memory meant or even catch my breath, the black hole threw another one at me.

For some reason, I subconsciously knew, the previous memory was older than this one.

I was in a dark forest or, more so, in a thick forest at night- making it appear dark.

Seto Kaiba was standing a few feet in front of me, pale skin glistening in the moonlight. To me at least. We were alone and he was staring at me the way you would solve a complicated yet entertaining puzzle.

"I'm sorry Seto," my body said in an anguished voice. Seto frowned, confused.

"For what?" he asked.

"I'm sorry I couldn't help Mokuba. Pegasus took him away again." The broken whisper that issued from my mouth seemed to trouble him as he took a step closer to me.

"It's okay, it wasn't your fault." His tone suggested he was unsure of how to comfort me.

"But I didn't help him, Seto," I said, voice choked up with tears. "I failed him. He means as much to me as Yugi does and I failed him!" There was a weak sob from my heaving chest, the guilt and grief weighing down on me with tremendous force and as a result, I fell to my knees in a state of despair. Trying, in almost a vain attempt, to hide the stinging tears that pricked my eyes and threatened to spill over. Seto rushed over and kneeled over me. He lifted my face with two of his fingers, forcing me to look at him straight in the eye.

"It's not your fault," he repeated, more severely. "The fault is Pegasus'. He's the reason we're in this mess, not you." I blinked, causing two tears to roll down my cheeks. Seto sighed, slighty impatient, and wiped them away with his thumbs. I stared at him, amazed he was comforting me.

"Why are you doing this Seto?" I asked. "Why are you trying to cheer me up?" He blinked, stunned, as if the answer was obvious.

"I told you I would be your friend," he said.

That was true. Though, at the time, I didn't think he was being serious. It was before his duel with Yugi, when he was the rich snobby jerk everyone knew him as. Now, he was still a rich snobby jerk. His duel with Jounouchi a few minutes ago proved that. But somehow, he was different. Maybe Yugi was right and did banish his dark side to the Shadow Realm.

"Aurora," Seto growled furiously. "I promised I would be your friend and I am going to stick to that promise, no matter what." I looked at his sincere blue eyes and believed him. Seto Kaiba was my friend, even if it was hard to concept. Even if I did happen to love him when he did not love me.

My face flushed red at the last thought. Curiosity touched Kaiba's eyes but, to my relief, he said nothing about it.

Seto let go of my face and got to his feet. I did the same with help from a steady hand of his.

"You need to stay with Yugi and his friends and not wander off like you usually do. Pegasus will not hesitate at any chance to gain more incentive over him…and me." The last two words were spoken so softly that it was possible that I just imagined them. Seto's eyes, which had just flickered out of focus, flashed to me again. "Do you understand what I'm telling you?"

I nodded.

"Good. Now I want you to promise me you'll be careful until this is all over." I didn't reply at first, trying to gauge the meaning behind Kaiba's concern. Anger flashed through his eyes at my unresponsiveness. "Aurora, promise me, now!" I calculated his features and concluded he was completely serious, no trace of humor whatsoever.

"I promise," I whispered to him.

-END FLASHBACK-

My eyes were squeezed shut and I was crouched over my knees, gasping for air.

The memories…they seemed so…real…yet they happened so…fast.

The stimuli of the flashbacks proved to be very fatiguing. My head was pounding painfully against my skull and I was clutching my churning stomach, trying to control the rolling nausea. Sweat beaded my forehead and I was gritting my teeth, fighting back a sickening and metallic taste off my tongue.

"Aurora? Aurora, are you all right?" asked a stressed voice from above me. It took me a moment to identify the owner of the voice as Yugi.

"I'm…fine," I panted through my tight lips. I took a moment to calm myself, wondering idly how I got into this fetal position, before I straightened out and turned to Yugi. He didn't seem convinced and I really couldn't blame him. I took a slow, steady breath.

"What happened?" I asked. My obliviousness only seemed to worry him as a frown deepened in his forehead.

"You mean you don't remember?" I frowned, wondering if I should.

"Remember what?" Yugi's gazed shifted from me to Kaiba, looking worried. Kaiba, himself, met Yugi's gaze with a troubled expression. I looked at them both uneasily; obviously I had missed something.

"Yugi? ...Kaiba?..." I said uncertainly, trying unsuccessfully to break the tension in their silence. Kaiba turned to me, with cold penetrating eyes that had my whole frame trembling silently.

"You asked how long you had been in the hospital and I told you that you had been in here for three months. Then you gave me a blank stare and started screaming."

Screaming? I had been screaming? I didn't remember screaming through the flashbacks. Maybe I was going crazy and hallucinating.

But I seriously doubted that I was hallucinating. I had just lost my memory and, in my opinion, my subconscious was trying to help me remember.

So I was already remembering things?

I sat there, dumbstruck, and stared at my hands with an awed fascination. I tried remembering the flashbacks.

Small, unnecessary details already started slipping through the cracks of my unsteady memory but I could hold onto the major details, the basics, the most important parts. The first flashback was when Kaiba promised to be my friend and then the second one was a memory of him trying to prove that to me.

They were both about Kaiba. But why? Why was he so important to me unconsciously than Yugi, my own brother?

"Aurora? Aurora? Are you okay? Are you in pain?" I lifted my face to look at Yugi and seemed sincerely worried. Was my reaction to the flashbacks that bad?

"No, I'm fine." He didn't seem convinced.

"Maybe we should ask the doctor for more pain meds…" he said, voice trailing off and looking up to Kaiba for confirmation.

"I don't need anything, I said I'm fine." They both ignored my protest.

"Maybe we should get some morphine for her," Kaiba said with a slight nod of his. I glared at him.

"I don't need anything. I'm fine!" Even though I was angry, and that I didn't want any medication, I knew I was lying. It wasn't really the pain, just the exhaustion. But that seemed silly to me, I just been asleep for three months. Surely a few more hours of alertness wouldn't kill me. I didn't want to go to sleep and miss anything. Kaiba shot me a glare with pursed lips.

"Look at yourself, Aurora," he said impetuously. "You're extremely pale, shaking, and you look like you're about to pass out at any minute." I looked down at my hands at his statement. They weren't shaking….as bad. Still trembling. I looked up Kaiba's stern expression to see if any defiance would get me anywhere.

I immediately saw it was a lost battle before it had begun. To my reluctance, I heaved a defeated sigh and gave in.

"Fine, I'll take the meds." The black hole didn't seem to like that.

As Kaiba left to ask the doctor for some medication, I was fighting an internal battle within myself. I knew I would go back to sleep after I took the morphine or whatever it was they were going to give me. I didn't want to but I knew I needed to. Accepting the idea of sleeping made it slightly easier for me.

Only slightly, however.

The black hole became impatient, almost urgent to send across a message to me before I fell to unconsciousness. But I couldn't seem to be able to make it out. It threw a bunch of intelligible pictures at me, images I didn't understand. Like the glint of a green gem, or soft pink petals of a rose that instantly turned black. They didn't make any sense to me. Yugi watched my frustrated expression as I tried deciphering these messages. He looked worried but didn't say anything.

Dr. Tutsagi and Seto Kaiba entered and walked- almost marched, with the air of an important mission- to the machinery and more specifically to my IV. I barely paid any attention, concentrating now on the monochromes of an image that took the shape of a room of some sort. I didn't understand it. It had the feel a bedroom but it was too large, too spacious, and too cold.

The morphine started dripping into my system and I felt the instant drowsiness. The black hole, fed up with my incompetence, quickly took over my senses. As an automatic reaction to doing what it wanted me to do, I snapped my head up and gazed at Kaiba's confused expression straight in the eye and said four words that meant nothing to me whatsoever.

"It wasn't your fault."

I caught it as his confused expression turned bewildered then tortured before I finally succumbed to the power of morphine.

And I realized something, I will be using Japanese names. Ha, ha! My bad!

Again, please excuse grammatical and spelling errors!

Read and review! And I promise to update soon!

-Nuit Songeur