A/N: Thank you all for your lovely comments as usual :) I'm always super grateful that you guys are reading my work!

Chapter 13: Warmth

"Go Kisara go! You'll have to continue the journey alone from here. You'll be able to get back to your own country!"

"What about you Seto?"

"I'll be fine, just hurry!"

"Thank you, Seto! I won't forget this! I'll pay you back someday!"

"Go!"

Kira's eyelids fluttered open with a start. Groaning, she pushed herself up on her elbows. Every muscle in her body ached. Come to think of it, where was she? She blinked furiously, her eyes trying to adjust themselves to the bright light streaming in from the corridor.

Her dream had been strange. The last she remembered from it was a burst of terrifying white lightning raining down upon the sky. It was just a dream, yet it felt so vivid and real. Kira shuddered, holding her palms out.

Huh, she was shocked to see so many wires taped to her limbs. She must have been back in the medical bay then. What was going on? The last thing she remembered was dueling Weevil and then a flash of white light…

Weevil, she thought with a pang. The shadows took him.

"Oh you're awake," a clipped voice interrupted her from her thoughts.

They had replaced the nurse. Gone was the bubbly girl who had wished her well before discharging her from the ward. This new nurse had a face that was as sour as a lemon and her voice seemed totally devoid of compassion.

"I'll let Mr. Kaiba know you are awake. He would like to have a word with you. Goodness knows what that man wants. Fancy him exhausting the duelists in the tournament like that…you've been in here twice already missy! And that Underwood boy is still not awake. It's only a matter of time before someone files a lawsuit against him!" the nurse ranted as she fussed about Kira.

"It's not Kaiba's fault," Kira mumbled, biting her lip. She felt an overwhelming sense of guilt rise up in her chest. "How is Weevil?"

"The doctors can't figure out what is wrong with him, they're unsure if he will ever get up," the nurse's voice was hard. Kira bit her lip even harder. This was all her fault.

"Now stay here," the nurse admonished. "I'll bring you something to eat. We need to get some meat on those bones."

Once the nurse was a safe distance away, Kira slipped on her slippers and quietly padded over to the next room. Through the glass window, she was able to make out Weevil lying unconscious on a hospital bed, his small frame hooked up to many wires and machines.

"That's not gonna help…" she thought bitterly. His soul was lost to the shadows when she delivered that last blow against him. Even the latest medical technology wouldn't be able to bring him back.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean for this," the tears streamed down her cheek. Was winning really worth it if it costed someone else their soul? She shook her head in dismay.

The memories were coming back to her now. She had played her Blue Eyes White Dragon in front of an audience of thousands. Worse, the match was broadcasted on television to god knows how many people. There were only supposed to be three of those cards in the world and those three belong to Seto Kaiba. By tomorrow, everyone would know her real identity. Her stomach lurched, she had to get out of here.

She spied a staircase in the corner and with all her strength, tore up the flight of stairs, blinking the hot tears away with each step. Her heart swirled with so many conflicting emotions.

"You're the worst Kira," the voice inside her head sneered. "The shadow games revealed your true nature. You're the darkness, not the light. Look at how many people you've hurt already."

"That's not true!" Kira wanted to shout but she felt a sinking feeling in her heart. She had done things she wasn't proud of, maybe she really was an evil person after all.

The flight of steps ended in front of a metal door. She pushed it open with all her might and was met with a gust of cold air. She was on the roof.

Inhaling deeply, she took in her surroundings. It was a clear night and stars, bright and brilliant, glittered all around her.

As a young girl, her mother had used to take her stargazing. It had been her favorite activity to do with her mother. Kira felt a deep emptiness in her heart now that her mother wasn't with her anymore.

"Mum, I'm so lost…I don't know what to do…Everything I do is wrong…" Kira mumbled, sinking to the ground. The stars winked cruelly back at her, reminding her of a time when things had been simpler and happier.

She felt overcome with a profound sense of loss she watched the slow dance of the stars. She had tried her best to be a good person, to deliver justice when she thought it was deserved but in the end, she had just ended up hurting people. To make matters worse, she was a fraud – lying about who she really was. And did she even really stand a chance in this competition? She had already lost everything, she couldn't possibly lose Alini too. She sobbed, feeling as though her chest could barely contain her emotions.

"Kira," came a kindly voice.

She gazed up to find herself looking into a pair of innocent amethyst eyes.

"Yugi?" she dabbed furiously at her eyes. "I…I…"

"What's wrong?" he said gently, lowering himself beside her.

"What are you doing here?" Kira sniffed.

"I like to look at the stars sometimes…but that's not important. Why are you crying?" Yugi's voice was so compassionate that it made Kira feel like crying all over again.

"I'm a bad person!" she burst out, feeling the hot tears stream down her cheek. "Every time I do something, it seems as though someone ends up getting hurt. Why can't I do anything right?!"

"There there," Yugi placed an arm over the poor girl's shoulder. His heart went out to her. No one came back from a Shadow Game completely intact – they had a way of messing with your mind and distorting reality.

Her ragged breathing gradually returned to normal.

"You're not a bad person Kira," he began. He remembered how she had dueled Weevil and Rex when they had stolen his and Joey's decks. Her heart was in the right place.

"I've done things I'm not proud of Yugi…I mean I sent Weevil to the Shadow Realm."

"Well, we all have done things we are not proud of. And it's not your fault that Weevil is in the Shadow Realm…I promise you we'll get his soul back and put a stop to Scorpios' evil plan."

"Even so, there is darkness within my heart Yugi. When Weevil played the Feather of Ma'at, it showed me who I really am." Kira muttered glumly. "I saw the darkness within me."

"Within each and every one of us is the darkness and light. We have to choose each ay which we want to be. A friend once said the past is gone and we cannot change it, but the future is based on the decisions we make! Maybe you've made some mistakes, but that's in the past now. You can decide what kind of person you want to be tomorrow."

That caused Kira to sit upright. Good, Yugi thought. His words were finally breaking through to her.

"I believe you have a good heart, Kira. You just need to let your light shine through."

"My light?" Kira blinked. The light that shines through the darkness is love, the words came to mind but she couldn't remember where she had come across them before.

"That's right!" Yugi beamed. "You just have to become more of the light! It's already within you!"

"Thank you for your kind words Yugi," Kira felt her heart swell with gratitude. "You're very wise."

"Hardly!" Yugi flushed. "I had a friend who was very wise, he shared a lot of his wisdom with me."

"I would have liked to meet this friend of yours Yugi," Kira smiled.

"I'm sure he would have liked to meet you too," Yugi said knowingly.

Thank you Yugi, he saw a flash of the white dragon out of the corner of his eyes, causing him to smile.

"You've cheered me up Yugi," Kira grinned, wiping away the last of her tears and embracing her friend in a hug. "I won't forget your words. I'm going to find my light."

"Kira? Yugi?" came a familiar flinty voice.

"Kaiba?" Yugi asked, surprised to see the CEO. "What are you doing here?"

"I was looking for Kira, the nurse told me she was awake. I couldn't find you in your room, but it appears you are here with Yugi," Kaiba narrowed his eyes at the two. He didn't like the fact that he saw Kira hugging Yugi. It made him feel almost angry somehow. He felt his heartbeat quicken but quickly shrugged it off. What was the matter with him?

"Oh…hey Kaiba," Kira dropped her head and prepared herself for a difficult conversation. No doubt the cranky CEO wanted more answers from her.

"If you don't mind Yugi, I would like a private word with Kira."

"Out here?" Yugi's eyes widened. He eyed Kira hesitantly, he didn't think it was the best time for her to have a talk with Kaiba.

"Yes, I'm sure Kira doesn't mind since she is already talking to you," the look in Kaiba's eyes was enough to melt ice.

"It's fine Yugi," Kira smiled, picking herself up. "I'll see you around. Thank you again, Yugi."

"Yeah ok then, see you guys around!" Yugi turned to give one nervous glance at the two but was met with Kaiba's death glare. He shrugged and headed down the stairs. He hoped Kaiba wouldn't be too harsh on Kira, the CEO could be temperamental like that.

"Why were you talking to Yugi on the roof?" Kaiba glowered at the silver-haired girl once Yugi was out of sight.

"He's my friend…I was feeling down and he was trying to cheer me up," Kira mumbled. She could sense Kaiba wasn't exactly in the best of moods.

"Friend?" Kaiba snorted incredulously. "You can't possibly think Yugi is your friend. If you want to win this competition, you might have to face off against him soon. Thinking he is your friend just makes you weak."

"Winning isn't everything Kaiba," Kira retorted, feeling the sharp sting of his words. To think she was about to thank him for encouraging her out during the duel with Weevil.

"You're right, winning is the only thing. If you don't value victory enough, then you shouldn't be in this competition. In fact, I'm almost certain you don't have the drive to win, after all, you had the Blue Eyes White Dragon in your deck and you almost refused to use it! You don't deserve to wield such a card!" Kaiba was taken aback at the vehemence of the words that he had just uttered. That had come out a lot harsher then he intended to…

"What's wrong with you Kaiba?" Kira all but shouted, feeling the corners of her eyes prickling up with tears again. "Every time I think you have a heart deep down inside you just end up proving me wrong! Why do you have to be so mean all the time? You're such a bully!"

The CEO was quiet for a long moment.

"Kaiba…" Kira said finally. Had she struck a nerve?

"I apologize Kira, I should have been more careful with my words. It's just…the Blue Eyes White Dragon means a lot to me…"

"Kaiba…" Kira's eyes widened, this was new – she was certain Seto Kaiba never apologized to anyone.

"I don't want you to think I'm a bully," he said flatly. "My father was a bully, he was a cruel man. I…I am nothing like him."

"Of course not…I didn't mean…" Kira stammered. She felt awful – she hadn't meant to compare him to Gozaburo Kaiba. That man was a tyrant. Kaiba must have suffered greatly under his iron fist. She felt a touch of sympathy for him.

Kaiba said nothing, though his deep blue eyes locked intensely with hers. He had surprised himself again by revealing that fact to her. What was it about this girl that caused him to act so strangely? He barely knew her but yet he felt as though he could bare his soul to her. He wanted to tell her about all the pain he had endured, about how Gozaburo had nearly driven him to his breaking point, about how he had nearly ended it all until Mokuba brought him that drawing of the Blue Eyes White Dragon. That had given him the strength to persevere. That was why the Blue Eyes White Dragon meant the world to him.

But pride won in the end, so he said nothing.

"And thank you Kaiba…you gave me the motivation to win my duel against Weevil, I am grateful for that," Kira ventured. "You didn't have to help me, but you did. A bully wouldn't do that. You're nothing like your father."

"Thank you, Kira," Kaiba's expression softened. "That means a lot."

She smiled kindly at him, and he thought all the stars around them paled in comparison to her shining blue eyes.

They stood in silence for what seemed to be an eternity and all the while his heart pounded against his chest, as though it had grown in size and his chest could no longer contain it.

"Look there's Orion's Belt," Kira finally said to break the silence as she pointed to the line of three stars in the sky. "My mum told me that the points of the Pyramids of Giza line up with Orion's Belt. Pretty cool huh?"

"What do you know of Egypt?" Kaiba asked accusingly, taken aback by her comment. His earlier exchange with Yugi's friends came to mind. Ishizu had spoken of Kira's connection to his supposed ancient Egyptian past. Surely that was that was something that Ishizu had invented in an elaborate ploy to get him to buy into their fairy tales?

"Huh, nothing! It was just a comment. Geez, Kaiba…" Kira shook her head. "Although I have dreams of Egypt sometimes…"

"What dreams?" he ventured warily.

"Well…it's gonna sound really silly but I always dreamt about a Pharaoh with a snake on his crown. In my dreams, I always felt the urge to protect him, kind of like I was his protector you know?"

"Hmph, you have a vivid imagination," he snorted. A Pharaoh with a snake on his crown. That matched up with the carvings Ishizu had shown him in Domino Museum when she was trying to convince him to host the Battle City tournament. He shrugged it off but the nagging feeling remained.

"By the way, everyone knows who you are by already," he said. "The tabloids are all over it. I tried to stop them but you know how they are…I would be prepared if I were you."

"That's alright…" Kira sighed. "About time I face up to who I really am. Can't pretend to be Kira Steiber forever…I'm Kira Weiss, and I'm going to own it. Just that…I wonder if they will go after my sister too…I…"

"I've taken care of it. I've tracked your sister your sister down to the hospital she is in, I've sent my personal security team to make sure she's safe." He felt a sense of admiration for her, it was not always easy to own up to your past. Even up to this day, he felt as though he had to try and escape the person Gozaburo had set him up to be.

"Thank you Kaiba…so you know then," Kira hung her head.

"I understand why you want to win this competition. I'm sure your sister is cheering you on."

"I would do anything for my little sister, I would die to protect her." Kira clenched her fists tightly. Alini was all she had left.

"I would do anything for Mokuba too…" he replied. It felt nice to talk to her like that. She was perhaps the one person in the world other than Mokuba that he could open up to. He wished this night wouldn't end.

"Then we are a lot alike then," Kira grinned.

"Oh please…" he had a snarky remark in mind but cut himself off.

"You're an alright person Seto Kaiba, never thought I would say that," Kira smiled. "I used to hate your guts." She pulled a face.

He laughed but felt a warmth surging up his chest.

"You're alright too Kira Weiss."

End of Chapter 13

A/N: Let me know what you guys think, I love reading your reviews :) It's been pretty fun to write Kaiba and Kira's interactions now that they are warming up to each other. Kira's fake surname is Steiber which means to escape, I thought it tied in nicely with how she was trying to run away from her past. Until next update!