Me: *grins a mile wide* Hullo, hullo!!!

Seto: Someone's in a good mood... *mumbles* for once

Me: I would normally be very pissed off at that comment *even though its true* but I'm in a good mood right now, and you're not gonna spoil it!

Seto: *drat*

Me: *grin returns* Anyway, I really wanted to update this story, so I decided to try! Anyway, I probably shouldn't have started on it, as it will probably dampen my mood, but oh well, I'm stupid like that!

Seto: God, you are just going off on SO many tangents today, aren't cha?

Me: *gringringrin*

Seto: Not like you really mind, huh?

Me: *huggles the air out of him*

Seto: *gack!* *manages to get enough air to say* What about Yami...

Me: Oh yeah... Well, I guess we'll be seeing him around.

Seto: *glares* Why can't I just be your muse?

Me: *smiles* I like to watch the two of you butt heads... plus, he's got the tie! ^^

Seto: *materialistic*

Me: Fascist!

Seto: O.O

Me: Heh... *glomp* Enjoy the show!
Nobody Home
I closed my eyes and ran my fingers through my tawny hair. What was it that she had called it? Foxy...cinnamon. Hell, I didn't know. But I wished I did. For a few minutes, I wanted nothing more than to ask her what she liked to call the color of my hair again. To see her smile and run her long fingers through it, and whisper it in my ear. But I couldn't have that anymore. I'd given it up.

I stood and walked across the bedroom that we used to share. Now, it was mine alone again. C'est la vie. I sat on the bed and looked down at something that was jabbing me in the leg. It was a small, black book. I guessed that she had forgotten something and picked it up. The pages were blank but her name was written inside. I thought of taking it to the library, thought of sitting down and writing how I felt, thought of trying to tell her by writing it in her little book, like in a poem or something. And then I laughed. No, I was Seto Kaiba. That wasn't going to happen.

//I got a little black book with my poems in//

I remembered how I had watched her go. She had spoken so clearly gone upstairs, packed her things, and left. She had been in such a hurry, she had left some things. The bathroom had a few of her things in it as well. I left them there, couldn't bring myself to throw them out, or even touch them.

//Got a bag, got a toothbrush and a comb in//

Mostly, I just stood downstairs, drowning in a tidal wave of confusion. When she descended the stairs, I just stared.

She shrugged, "I guess this is goodbye."

"Yeah," I said quietly, my muscles tensing.

"Then, goodbye, Seto." I wished she hadn't said my name the way she did. It was such a sad way for her to speak to me. It gave me the impression that she wished she had never met me. She stood on her toes, and kissed me on the cheek, but obviously not feeling it. I didn't have the courage to turn and catch her lips anyway. But the kiss was my last consolation.

//When I'm a good dog they sometimes throw me a bone in//

She walked away, then, her ebony hair swishing softly behind her. That was last time I had seen her in three weeks.
Mostly I had just stayed in the mansion, only leaving to go to work. But I took a lot of sick days. And I deserved them. Something wasn't right with me. And every time I thought about her, it made me sick. Sometimes, I felt like I was only holding on by a thread. And the pills I had started taking weren't helping either. They could only give me a momentary high. Even I knew that I was pretty screwed up.

//I got elastic bands keeping my shoes on Got those swollen hand blues//

I couldn't watch T.V. either. I had put my foot through it a few days before. There was only a small one in the kitchen but it didn't have cable, so I didn't bother with it.

//Got thirteen channels of shit on the TV to choose from//

I felt so primitive because I did nothing for three weeks except sleep, go to work, and play the piano. I didn't even eat much. But every time I was at a quiet point, a time when I was alone (which was mostly all the time), I thought about the things she had said to me.

I should have known what was going to happen. I mean, whenever I looked back on it, it was just so obvious. I wasn't making her happy. She needed more from me. And I denied her this one, little thing. I wish I had known what was going to happen. Had known like I know now.

//I got electric light, And I got second sight//

We had been in my room, she stretched over the bed, reading a book, and I standing in the doorway, watching her. How many days had it been since she had moved in with me? I mused. Well, I guessed that it didn't really matter, but I knew it had been long. I walked toward her, and slid my hand up her back to her shoulders. Her spine arched with my touch, as if she had expected me to do it. She looked over her shoulder and her eyes fell upon me. She smiled, knowing that I realized she expected me to touch her.

"You have been here quite some time," I shook my head, "You know me too well."

"I've been here a week and two days, Seto." She closed her eyes, looking almost sad.

"What?" I teased, "Is it time for our week-and-two-days-anniversary?" She opened her eyes and flipped over onto her back. I braced myself with my knees on the bed so that I was leaning over her.

"No... I just... I've been here for quite some time..." She took careful thought to every word, making sure it came out exactly the way she wanted it to, "I wanted to... ask you something..."

"Sure," I said and placed a kiss on her neck. I rolled over so that I was lying next to her, but she immediately sat up. I watched this intently, knowing that she wanted to be more in control of what was going on and couldn't be unless she was sitting up. I placed my hands behind my head, and waited.

//Got amazing powers of observation//

"Seto, I have to say that all the time I've spent here has been very magical... like a fairy tale... And I wouldn't trade this for anything... But it's always been really hard for me to believe in fairy tales," she laughed a beautiful yet cynical laugh, "I was a bit of a pessimistic child... and I guess I grew into a pessimistic adult... What mean to say is, if you could just answer one question for me... then I might be able to believe in fairy tales..."

"Of course," I said, sitting up as well, "Anything..." I leaned slightly forward and kissed her on the cheek.

"Good," she whispered. I didn't know if she meant for the whisper to be sensual or not... but it was. I ran my eyes up and down her features, and kissed her again. She closed her eyes and I moved from her face to her neck and shoulders. Her nails gripped my arm as I pulled her closer. I was sitting over her, kissing the tips of her fingers when she spoke.

"Seto, do you love me?"

I stopped. Dead in my tracks. Neither of us moved nor spoke for what seemed like years. And she said it again.

"Seto, do you love me?"

I looked at the bed and took in a deep breath, swallowing. Her eyes were still on me but I didn't let mine lock with them. She sat up and shook her head. We sat next to each other, but I faced the wall and she faced the door.

"Alright, Seto... I understand. I'm... just going to go now... I'll see you around..."
And so I sat for three weeks, listening to the last, true conversation we had. When I was at work, when I was at home, even in my dreams, it haunted me. And, every time, clear as if it were being whispered in my ear, I could hear her say,

"Seto, do you love me?"

Of course I wanted to call her; of course I wished that I could only hear her voice. But I knew what would happen if I did.

//And that is how I know, When I try to get through, On the telephone to you, There'll be nobody home//

I was tired, as I dreamed often and never got much sleep. One particular night, I had the dream about the woman made of fire again. She beckoned, pulling me away from everything that had happened. So warm, against the rain. But this dream ended differently than the previous one. She kissed me, and I opened my eyes. That was when she began to disappear, under my fingertips. She blew into smoke under the cold, hard rain. She smiled at me before she disappeared. And she spoke.

"Alright, Seto... I understand..."

And that was when I froze under the rain, alone, and cold. I woke and left my room quickly.

//I got the obligatory Hendrix perm//

I didn't sleep after that. As a matter of fact, I stopped going to work as well. I dismissed most of my servants until further notice. They all seemed pleased enough. Mostly, I kept to myself, shut up in my room, or alone in the piano room, chain smoking, taking those damn pills, and thinking.

//And the inevitable pinhole burns, All down the front of my favorite satin shirt//

I ran my fingers through my hair again, and listened to her voice in my mind. Telling me the color of it. Then she reached over and began to play with it, running her fingers through it, teasing me by pushing it over my eyes so I couldn't see her. She was kissing me. She was laughing. She was whispering. And then she was gone.

//I got nicotine stains on my fingers. I got a silver spoon on a chain//

I lost my footing and fell to the piano bench, leaning my weight on the keys. It didn't seem to mind. In fact, it failed to notice. So, I stayed where I was and listened to the soft vibration of the keys under my arm.

//Got a grand piano to prop up my mortal remains//

Once silence had been restored I heard rain splatter hard against the window pane, sloshing across it harshly. Lighting struck not to long after, and then I could hear the faint echo of thunder. The lighting hit close and I watched it crack through the sky, splitting it in half. The whole black heavens lit with the crack of lightning, and I watched from inside, wishing I was out there.

// I've got wild, staring eyes. And I got a strong urge to fly//

Was I really seeing the lightning or was it because of the pills? Who knew. When I looked at it, it seemed much different then real lightning. But I just continued to watch. I knew that it was all I was ever meant to do. Watch from afar at something I couldn't have. And every time, it was my own damn fault.

//But I got nowhere to fly to//

Lightning echoed through my brain and I closed my eyes harshly. Everything was getting dark.

//To fly to, To fly to, To fly to, To fly to...//

My head started to get to heavy for me to support it. I meant to lean toward the piano, but instead I fell backwards, and hit my head on the hard wood floor. Smiling, my senses got sharper as my eyes began to close. Overdose hung heavy in the air, and I was cold. I could hear Ishuzu whispering in my ear, only it wasn't a whisper that made me feel guilty. I almost felt... well...

// Ooooo Babe, When I pick up the phone, There's still nobody home//

She was gone, I knew. I closed my eyes as they filled with tears. The room filled with fog and the haze from my tears blinded me. I felt a hard sob fall from my lips as everything else hit me hard. I had loved her. And I still did. I only wished I had answered her, when she had looked at me. I wouldn't have even minded if she had said my name that way she does when she wished she hadn't met me. I just wanted to hear her voice.

// I got a pair of Gohill boots, And I got fading roots.//
Me: Hope you enjoyed it. Please review. Special thanks to K.J.M. for giving me a lot of the ideas that will pop up in chapters to come...