Disclaimer: "I do not own yugioh."
"Talk"
'Thoughts'
Dreams/ Flashback
"Let go of me!" Seto ordered as he struggled to free himself of the guards holding him by the arms, their large hands burning a mark onto his skin. He was completely ignored as they half dragged him through the palace halls, allowing anyone who wished to see his face, stop and stare, as he was taken to be imprisoned. Seto's eyes met quickly and briefly with servants, guards, and attendants. No one spoke to him and for that he was glad, for soon everyone would know some version of what happened. Soon they were at a doorway that he recognized but had rarely used. Growing angrier, he fought to turn himself around and run. But their grip was far too strong.
"Take your hands off me!" He commanded them. As the door was opened he felt a coldness rise up the staircase that seemed to lead only to darkness. Again he struggled and fought as he felt them descending towards his prison.
"Be silent!" One of the men answered to him as they struggled to get him down the stairs. The fear they had of him had evaporated. To them, he was nothing more than a lowly criminal.
"Release me!" The high priest continued to insist as he entered the dimly lit stone corridor. Already he could make out the thick metal bars that would hold him prisoner for who knew how long.
"I do not belong here!" He managed to say before he received a powerful hit to his stomach, causing him to groan and bend over in pain.
"Now, for the last time, be quiet!" The other guard said with annoyance as they tossed him to the ground inside a cell and slammed the door shut.
"I... do not... belong here." Seto managed to let out, for it had become difficult to breathe.
Forcing himself to calm down, he pushed himself on his knees and looked to the nearest wall. Sitting uncomfortably up against it, since his hands were still clasped behind him, he could still feel the cold dampness of the stone through the thin fabric of his shirt. The stones that made the dungeons were rough and hard, some sharper points digging into his already bruised arms. But he only closed his eyes and let his head hang low.
'Damn it all.' He thought miserably. 'How could I have gotten so carried away?'
He thought back to everything he had sacrificed just to be with Tea, ever since he had met her in Greece. Setting everything else aside he had gladly risked it all just to steal small moments for them to be together. And what had it brought him? Bringing his knees close to his chest, he rested his forehead on them.
Happiness, hope, and more than anything, love.
Those were the things that it had brought him, and her as well. He knew it. But now he couldn't be with her and all because he couldn't keep himself controlled enough to be cautious. He had thought only of himself and now, as Yami had told him, he had to marry them or watch Mokuba suffer his disobedience.
'Damn it all.' He thought again. 'But more than anything, damn him. Damn Yami.'
"What shall we do with the child?" The guard asked Yami as he held the boy with little effort. Eying his young cousin with no interest, the pharaoh shrugged carelessly. He turned as if it didn't matter and climbed back up to his seat on the throne and sat upon it quite comfortably.
"Lock him up as well." He finally decided.
"No! Please, don't!" Tea's voice cried as she grabbed his arm. He watched her tears flow down her cheeks, and heard her try to catch her breath as she tried to stop crying.
"Please don't punish Mokuba." She begged him. He looked down at the boy again, then placed a smile on his lips as he looked back at the princess.
"I suppose that would be harsh. So why don't you and I settle on a condition?" He offered. Tea raised her head and looked at him, slowly releasing his hand in fear of what he could do.
"If you agree to our marriage I will order that Seto's imprisonment not be so painful for him." He said.
Tea wiped at her tears and tried not to start crying again as she supposed she had no choice. She didn't want Seto to suffer more than he already had, and so she quickly nodded.
"And Mokuba will serve the same purpose for you as his brother." Yami finished. Now the princess was confused.
"His safety," he said, pointing to the child, "for your obedience." He explained simply, now pointing at her. Filled with dread at what obeying him would mean, she looked down at Mokuba. He had grown still and quiet, like her, and was obviously confused, not understanding what was happening.
"Tea?" Yami's voice was sounding slightly irritated, and not wanting to anger him to cause anyone more harm, she looked back at him and hung her head in defeat.
"Yes," she said simply, then softly added, "my pharaoh."
Seeming to be quite satisfied with himself, Yami ordered Mokuba be taken back to his room. Without looking her way, his hand snaked down to hers and took hold of it with a firm grasp. It caught her by surprise and she looked up at him as he stared ahead, his eyes as cold as ever. Swallowing nervously, she slowly forced her fingers to bend and take hold of his hand gently.
"With time, even you will learn to love me." He said simply. And she obediently nodded. Yami turned to a servant standing near the door and motioned him to come forward.
"Bring Priestess Ishizu." The servant obeyed and soon, Ishizu was summoned.
"You called for me my pharoah?" Yami watched her carefully before speaking.
"Yes. I need you to take my future bride and purify her of Seto's filth. I do not want any remenants of his touch on her." His voice was full of jealousy and hate. Ishizu bowed her head in obedience and motioned for Tea to come. Tea hesitated, but Yami grabbed her hand and pushed her towards Ishizu, who quickly held her hand and led her out of the throne room.
Carefully descending the stone steps, Serenity stepped into the dungeon corridor to see what was making the commotion that she had been hearing since opening the door. Inside the cell, which undoubtedly belonged to Seto, several guards were amusing themselves with kicking and punching him. His hands seemed to be bound behind him and he only went back and forth between their blows like a toy.
"Stop that." She said, stepping forward and folding her arms over her chest.
"Always defending your high priest, aren't you Serenity?" one of the men teased her when they saw it was her and it made the others laugh. She did not care, for she lived being laughed at for her obvious feelings. Seto pushed himself upright and rested against a wall.
"Get out of there. The pharaoh ordered him not to be harmed." She said.
Rolling their eyes, the men filed out of the cell, one unbinding Seto's hands, before the last one kicked the cell door shut behind him just as Serenity was going to step inside.
"Sorry Serenity, but no visitors are allowed inside." He said as they all laughed their way up the stairs. Turning her attention back to Seto, she held a hand over her heart and knelt near him.
"I'm sorry, Seto, I would have come sooner but the pharaoh just now gave the order to keep you safe." She said to him with a sweet smile. He didn't say anything or look at her as her eyes traveled all over his now injured body. There was one clearly visible cut on his cheek under his eye and a few more on his arms and legs. But bruises of different sizes and colors covered the majority of the rest of him.
"This wasn't supposed to happen." She said immediately in her own defense. "I simply wanted you to realize that you could never be with her. It's not meant to be, Seto. You knew that before she bewitched you, and for that she was the one to be punished," she spat, thinking hatefully about the princess. When Seto said nothing, she sighed.
"But I suppose it's only expected." She said, running a slender finger up and down one metal bar. She eyes the high priest as she spoke. "Her mother was a whore, ordered to bed the king when he wished. Then he developed some sort of attachment to her and made her a queen, his wife, and the mother of his child." Tossing her long hair over her shoulder she laughed. "And who would have guessed that their daughter would follow in her mother's path so perfectly."
"Leave."
Serenity's laughter died in her throat as Seto spoke that one word, then was quiet again.
"Why are you still defending her ? Do you know she agreed to marry the pharoah minutes after you were thrown here?" Seto's eyes widened slightly, but covered in the darkness of the dungeon, they went unnoticed.
"That's how much she loved you." Serenity continued in a mocking tone. "She was using you Seto. You were just a toy for her, and when you became unavailable, she found herself another one to play with." Seto didn't reply. Serenity's spiteful expresion turned soft and she extended her hand inside the bars.
" I care for you Seto." She said in a soft voice. "I don't care for your position or your status. I love you. And I can help you." She expected him to reply, but still nothing came from him.
"iI can help you escape." She whispered. "I will risk my life for you to help you escape this hell hole. We can run away from this palace and live in a far away village. We can start a new life and forget this. We can start over Seto, just you and me. We can--."
"Leave." Seto spoke again. His words stopped her tirade and she stared at his dark outlined figure in shock.
"What are you saying? I can help you. I want to help you. Why are you refusing?"
"I don't need your help." He spat. "Get out of my sight." Anger bubbled inside her. Even now, he continued to degrade her and insult her feelings.
"Fine." She said with a huff and stood up. "Rot in this hell and wait for your princess to come and save you. At least now you'll have something realistic to think about while you're down here." Turning, she held her head high and made her way back up the stone steps.
"Goodbye." She called down before closing the door behind her.
Tea stood in the middle of the small fountain, bare naked and soaking. Surrounding the fountain were 4 women, each holding different shaped jars with different symbols. Ishizu stood a few feet away reciting prayers. The women arround Tea filled the jars with sacred water from the fountain and poured it slowly over her head, pruifying her of Seto's filth as Yami had said. Maybe she was being paranoid but she could feel Seto's touch disappearing from her mind. She could feel his scent leaving her senses and she felt afraid. She had only been away from Seto for a few hours and she felt like she was forgetting him. Tears fell from her eyes. She clenched her fists to keep part of her skin covered, but the women were insistent on cleaning her every inch of skin. They pried her fists open, pulled her fingers apart and washed her completely.
Finally, Ishizu was finished. The women stopped their bathnig of her and moved away from the fountain. Ishizu moved forward and held Tea's hand, helping her step out of the fountain. With no water to conceal her tears, they cascaded down her cheeks, but Ishizu ignorde them.
"Take the princess and dress her." She ordered the women who came forward quickly to take Tea away. She didn't protest. She was too tired and sad to struggle. The women first cleaned her body with fluffy white towels and then began dresing her in a beautiful white silk dress.
"Don't cry princess. You're safe now." One of the women said, noticing her tears.
"The priest can't touch you now or ever again." This only caused her to cry more.
"Who would have thought he was such a man?" One woman said with wonderment.
"Yes. He was always so devoted to his work, and the country." The other agreed.
"And everyone thought he was loyal to the pharoah after the incident with his father."
"But we all knew of his hatred for the pharoah. And we all knew how angry he was with the Great pharoah's decision to make prince Yami the new king." One slighlty older one replied.
"Yes, but we never thought he would stoop so low as to attack the honor of the future queen." The first one said.
"If he really was that starved, why didn't he just take in a concubine?" Another spoke.
"I heard the pharoah even gifted him Serenity as a concubine, but he sent her away. Now we know why."
"He truly deserves to be killed, commiting such blasphemy against the pharoah. I hope he rots to death."
"Stop it." Tea yelled, not being able to take it any more. More tears fell from her eyes.
"I am sure it hurts princess but he is locked away now, never to see the light of the day again. You are safe now." One woman assured her.
"Just leave me." Tea whispered as her body shook with sobs. "Please just leave me alone. I don't want to hear any thing."
"What is going on here?" Ishizu said in a commanding voice and came towards them. She immediately understood the situation with one look at Tea'shurt expression. She turned to glare at the women.
"Leave. Go back to your normal duties." The women nodded and left with a respectful bow.
"Don't pay attention to their words princess."
"How can I not?" Tea said. "Everyone is saying the same thing." Ishizu sighed and looked away.
"Give it some time. It will pass." Ishizu said. Tea didn't reply. Ishizu held her arm and began drawing familiar symbols, though Tea had no idea what they meant.
"Ishizu." Tea spoke after a few moments of silence. Ishizu looked up in response. "Can you tell me about Seto's father?" Tea's question caught Ishizu off guard and the older woman failed to mask her surprise immediately.
"Why are you interested?" Ishizu asked back.
"Lately, I have heard a lot of references been made to him regarding Seto, and not nice ones. So I am curious."
"I guess Seto never told you about him." Ishizu said and Tea shook her head.
"He only told me he was an orphan. I didn't pry further then, and he never told me anything more." Ishizu closed her eyes and took a deep breath before speaking.
"I'm sure you already know that Seto and Yami are cousins." Tea nodded her head and Ishizu continued. "Seto's father was Yami's uncle, younger brother to his father. The two brothers' arrival in the world was spearated by a few minutes, yet those few minutes sealed their destiny and the destiny of their children to come. Yami's father, the Great pharoah of Egypt, king Aknamkanon was born first and so secured the title of pharoah for himself and for his children. It was no secret that his younger brother and Seto's father, priest Aknadin was jealous of his older brother's good fortune. But he devoted himself to the country and to his pharoah's service. The two often shared opposite views on many issues regarding the state, but always managed to reach some sort of agreement. Over time, Aknadin's bitterness towards his older brother seemed to dissipate and the two seemed to begetting closer. It was during that time that Seto and Yami were born." Ishizu took a deep breath again before continuing.
"Both were born under the influence of brilliant stars. The priests predicted great things for the two, but as time passed, Seto seemed to be the only one verifying those predictions. He was ahead of Yami in everything, from general knowledge, to state affairs, to sports, to swordsmanship. Everyone praised Seto and commended Aknadin for producing such a great son. They often said Seto would make a better pharoah then Yami. The stage was being set for darkness to spread it's wings over the castle, and not long after, Egypt faced its worst tragedy." Ishizu's face turned sad, her voice growing faint.
"What happened?" Tea asked, almost fearing the answer.
"People's words brewed new ideas in priest Aknadin's mind. He believed that Seto indeed deserved to be the pharoah in place of Yami. His old feelings of jealousy resurfaced. He couldn't be the pharoah but he refused to let his son subject to the same fate. He began planning in secret to overthrow pharoah Aknamkanon. And then one day, he foolishly acted on his desires."
Flashback
The imposing faces of the gods watched in misery as the two brothers bathed in their blood, each trying to deliver the fatal blow to the other. Their swords, covered in blood, clinked as they strugled to strike the other, producing the only sound in the deadly quiet room, besides their strained grunts. Arround them, various priests and servants stood, watching the scene unfold in horror. Among them, a young Yami thrashed and screamed for his father and uncle to stop, but encased in the protective prison of Mahado's arms, he was unable to near the fighting duo.
Then in a swift motion, Aknadin peirced his sword through his brother's lung, rendering him breathless. He watched in victory as Aknamkanon gasped for air, but failed to move out of the way as the falling pharoah swung his sword to hit him in the side, delievring a deep and fatal cut. Both fell to the ground, gasping for breath. Finally, Aknadin managed to speak, but what he said shocked all occupants of the room .
"Come forth Seto." He said with a gasp. "I know you are there. Come and help your father." Then to everyone shock and horror, Seto emerged from the shadows, looking horrified. Aknamkanon also looked up at his nephew.
"Seto..." He struggled to speak. "You must not fall to the darkness like your father. Please Seto..." Violent coughs overtook him and he was unable to finish his sentence. Behind him, Yami screamed at his father to get up.
"Seto." Aknadin spoke again. "You deserve to be the king. I... I did it all for you. But I need your help." He beckoned Seto forward. "Come my son, come and finish the job . Come and claim what is righfully yours." With shaking feet, Seto moved closer to the two fallen men, his eyes locked with his fathers encouraging ones.
"No Seto, don't listen to him." Pharoah Aknamkanon said. "He is leading you to a wrong path. Don't fall for it. You are smart. You are strong. Don't be a fool like your father." But despite Aknamkanon's words, Seto continued to move forward utnil his feet collided with a dagger. To ever yone's horror, he bent down and picked it up before continuing to move forward.
"Yes Seto, good boy." Aknadin encouraged. "Come and help me and then you'll be the pharoah, just like I promised you." Seto stood right before the two men, his dagger held in a shaking hand.
"No Seto, you're making a mistake." Aknamkanon begged.
"You're doing the right thing Seto." Aknadin said. "The power belongs to you." Seto raised the dagger over his head, ready to strike. Aknamkanon's eyes widened in fear.
"Do it Seto. Kill him." Aknadin screamed in victory but his eyes went wide in pain as the dagger pierced his heart. He turned his head to stare at his son who had killed him.
"Set..." He spat blood in his attempts to speak. "I... Se..." his eyes rolled back and his body fell limp on the ground, the last breath leaving his blood soaked lips. Seto's shaking legs gave up and he too fell on the ground besides his father's corpse. Tears fell down his boyish face.
"I'm sorry father. I'm so sorry." His body shook with sobs and he wailed loudly. "I'm sorry. Please forgive me. I'm sorry."
Footsteps echoed arround him as people ran to help the king, but no one paid any attention to the broken boy who had orphaned himself.
"I'm sorry father." Seto continued crying . "I never meant to... and now... I have no one. Mokuba and I are orphans."
"Don't say that Seto." He heard the strained voice of pharoah Aknamkanon. "You're not alone." With wet eyes, Seto looked up at his uncle. "You have saved my life. You have shown ultimate loyalty to me, your pharoah, and to your country. I am proud of you." Seto sniffed as the pharoah continued.
"You and Mokuba are not orphans." He motioned for Seto to come to him. Seto followed and Aknamkanon placed an affectionate hand on Seto's head.
"Let this be heard and followed from this day on. Seto is not an orphan and never to be called one. He is my son, just like Yami." Then he turned to Seto and spoke.
"You're my son Seto. Keep that in mind."
End flashback
Tea stared at Ishizu in horror. Ishizu shot her a small sad smile and contiued speaking.
"From that day on, Aknamkanon treated Seto as his son, sometimes even better. Now Yami and Seto had to compete among themselves for attention from the pharoah among other things. This lead to feelings of jealousy and contempt brewing among them, just like thier fathers. People feared history would repeat itself, with Seto and Yami fighting a bloody battle for the throne. Many believed pharoah Aknamkanon would chose his own seed, Yami to be the pharoah since Seto was not to be trusted with power based on the history of his descent. However, many others believed that Seto had as much a chance of being the pharoah as Yami since the pharoah treated them the same. Some thought Seto had an even better chance since he was better suited according to his abilities, and he had proved that his loyalty lay with his pharoah and country and nothing else." Ishizu's smile turned sadder.
"Near the Great pharoah Aknamkanon's end of rule, when he was deciding who the new pharoah would be, these ideas were voiced loudly and freely. These ideas caused the rift betwen the two cousins to lenghten. Though Seto never showed it, I knew he had the hope that he may be chosen the pharoah. However, the Great pharoah made his decision and chose Yami as the pharoah and Seto as the high priest." Ishizu let out a deep breath before speaking again.
"His decision shocked many but it shocked and hurt Seto the most. After that day, Seto changed completely. He turned bitter, towards Yami, towards the pharoah, towards the gods, towards the other priests, and towards Egypt. But he never let his feelings come between his duties. He always performed his tasks with immacualte perfection and devotion. The great pharoah's decision led many to believe that maybe pharoah Aknamkanon didn't trust Seto as much as evryone else believed and so didn't put much faith in Seto either. It took Seto years to get every one's respect and trust. And now, he is back to square one. He is lost, alone, and distrusted, with no hope for future."
"Oh my god." Tea whispered, tears freely cascading down her cheeks. "I did that to him. I caused all this."
"No." Ishizu said immediately and imposingly. "That is not what I meant. It is not your fault."
"Yes it is." Tea countered. "It is becuase of me that he is in a dungeon right now and everyone else is mocking him and disrespecting him. It is all my fault."
"It could not have been avoided, even if we all tried. It was written in the stars. Destiny willed it to happen and what fate wills cannot be altered or undone by man." Ishizu assured her. Silence took over before Tea spoke again.
"I want to help him. Is there any way I can help him?" Her eyes begged Ishizu for an answer. Ishizu stared Tea hard in the eye as she spoke.
"There's only one way you can help him."
"Please tell me." Tea said urgently. "I'll do it. Anything, just tell me."
"You must forget him." Ishizu said and Tea stepped back in shock.
"Wh... what?"
"You must forget him." Ishizu repeated in a firm voice. "You must completely erase Seto from your mind. You must forget the time you spent with him, the moments you shared with him, the emotions you felt for him, everything. You must erase him from your mind completely. Only then you will be able to help him."
"How can you say that?" Tea yelled loudly. "How can that help him?"
"At this moment, Yami hates Seto for his relationship with you. Yami will bring more pain to Seto if he knows you still harbor feelings for him. He will drive Seto to insanity with torture and pain everytime he finds you thinking of him." Tea mouth fell open in horror at Ishizu's words.
"If you truly love Seto, then you must make his last days easy on him. Forget him and grant him peace. That is the only way." Tea lowered her eyes in defeat. Ishizu moved closer to the broken girl and wrapped an arm arround her shoulders to comfort her.
"I'm sorry for all this. But it must be done."
"I want to see him."
"What?" Ishizu couldn't believe what she heard. After all she had said, Tea still wanted to see Seto?
"I want to see Seto. I want to meet him, for the last time. I want to see him and say good bye. Please help me." Tea clasped her hands before her in a begging manner.
"Please help me. I know you can. If you do this, I promise I would try my best to forget him. But I want to see him one last time, please." Her body broke down in sobs. Ishizu sighed in defeat.
"OK princess. I will allow you to see him tonight." Tea face lit up with hope and joy, but Ishizu contined in a warning voice. "But after tonight, you will never speak his name nor think of him. Also, you will never speak of tonight to anyone ever, not even to your most trusted person." Tea nodded her head vigorously.
"If Yami ever finds out about tonight, there will be hell to pay for me and for you. And Seto's life would pretty much be forfeit. Even your begging won't save him from Yami. Do you understand?" She nodded her head.
"Good. I'll see you at night. I'll come to your room." After giving her instructions, Ishizu parted ways with the princess.
Silently in the darkness, two slim figures moved stealthily. Tea closely followed Ishizu, not wanting to get lost in the deep dungeons of the palace. Ahead of them, voices of two guard conversing could be heard. Ishizu turned to Tea and whispered.
"Stay here and don't move." She said in a strict voice. Tea nodded her head, not wanting to make any sound that may give their presence away. Ishizu moved forward as Tea watched. Very slowly, Ishizu raised her hands to her necklace. A dim gold light emitted from it and then right before Tea's eyes, a beautiful women literraly took form. Her body slowly revealed from the shadows. Ishizu stared hard at the woman and spoke.
"Mystic Siren, go and cast your spell on the two men ahead. Lull them to sleep, I command you." The summoned woman nodded her head and floated in air towards the guards. Soon after, they heard two distinct thuds. Ishizu let out a deep breath she was holding and motioned Tea to follow her again. She did as told and stepped over the limp bodies of the two fallen men, besides whose heads, the Mystic Siren stood guard.
"What did you do to them?" Tea asked in fear and curiosity. Ishizu smiled kindly.
"I see you are familiar with Shadow monsters." Tea nodded her head and Ishizu spoke again. "My summoned monster is a spellcaster. She has put them in a deep slumber. When they wake up, they'll feel like they have only blinked." Tea's eyes snapped open wide. She was amazed at the abilities of these creatures. Before she could ask another question, Ishizu stopped and motioned towards a cell with metal bars.
"That's where Seto is being held. You can go ahead and speak with him, but please, try to be quiet." Tea nodded her head and quickly strode towards the cell. It seemed to get darker as she neared it, but even through the blinding dark, she was able to make out the slumped outline of a slim male.
"Seto." She whispered. "Seto, it's me, Tea." His head snapped in her direction so fast she feared he may snap it.
"T... Tea?" His voice was so small, so broken that it elicited tears from her eyes.
"Yes, it's me. Seto, I came." His body slid towards the bars and she was finally able to see his face. She gasped in horror as it appeared visible in the dim light. It was bruised and purple. There was a nasty cut on the side of his face, across the cheek, with the blood stain still visible, though dry and crusty.
"Seto, what happened to you?" She said in shock. Soon, tears began falling from her eyes. "You're hurt." Her hand reached forward to caress his skin and more tears fell from her eyes. "Seto, oh Seto--."
"How did you come here?" he asked. Tea stared at him in surprise at his question.
"Ishizu... she brought me." She answered. Seto's head moved away from her towards the exit.
"Ishizu, why the hell did you bring her here?" His voice was full of anger, causing ripples of hurt to run through Tea's mind. Why was he so angry to see her? Ishizu stepped forward and replied.
"I had no choice. She wanted to see you and she promised to behave if she saw you one last time." Seto glared.
"Do you know what would happen if Yami finds out, if anyone finds out? Have you no sense?" Before Ishizu could reply, Tea spoke.
"Didn't you want to see me? I thought..." Seto sighed and turned towards her.
"Tea, I don't want to see you because I don't want you to be in any trouble. I don't want you to be hurt." More tears fell from Tea's eyes at his concern.
"Seto, after all I have done to you, you still care. I'm so sorry for doing this to you." Seto's hand reached out to caress her cheek and wipe the tears away.
"It's not your fault Tea."
"Yes it is. Because of me, you're here and Mokuba is all alone. I'm a horrible person. You warned me about this, but I was too selfish. I didn't care. I deserve to be here."
"No, I don't want you to be here." Seto said. "I am willing to face hell if it means you'd be safe and comforted." A sob escaped Tea's lips and she wrapped her arms arround Seto, trying to get as close to him as the bars allowed.
"I love you so much Seto. I love you so much." Seto stroked her head gently and whispered same words back to her. Behind them, Ishizu watched thw two lovers with sad tears in her eyes.
"Seto, I'm marrying Yami." Tea said against his chest. He stiffened but didn't say anything.
"Please don't hate me for this. I have no choice." Tea said in a desperate tone. "Yami has promised that no harm would come to you or Mokuba if I do what he says." Seto gently pushed her body away from his to look her in the eye.
"You don't have to do this Tea."
"Yes I do." She insisted. "I have already caused you too much pain. I don't want to cause you or Mokuba any more trouble. I'm going to try whatever I can to help you, even if it means being with someone else." If it was only him who was concerned, he would tell her to not do it, but the presence of his little brother in the equation complicated things for him. He almost felt selfish and felt like he was taking advantage of her position to keep Mokuba safe.
"Thank you Tea." He finally said.
"I love you Seto. I love only you and I will always love you." She said between sobs. Seto only rubbed her back soothingly.
"I won't ever forger you Seto, never."
"No Tea." Seto said in a strict voice. She pulled her head away from his chest to stare at him in hurt.
"Listen to me Tea, you must forget me." He said, looking her right in the eyes. "You have to forget me."
"But, I don't want to. I love you. Your memory--."
"My memory will always bring you pain and nothing else." He cut her off. "I'd rather be a forgotten fragment of your past then be a painful memory." Tears welled up in her eyes again and she threw herself at the bars, trying to hug him again.
"But I can't. I love you so much Seto. I can't forget you."
"You must." He insisted. "I want you to be happy Tea. If you forget me, you can start fresh with Yami and be happy. I know he loves you. He'll keep you happy." Her soft sobs turned into pained cries. Seto struggled to shush her. He lifted his head, eyes meeting with Ishizu. She nodded in understanding.
"Come princess, we need to leave now." Her voice caused Tea to tighten her hold on Seto.
"I don't want to leave you Seto." She whispered in a desperate voice. "I want to be with you and only you."
"I know." Seto assured her. They pulled apart and gazed into each other's eyes. Tea's were full of tears. Even his carried a hint of moisture. Leaning forward, Seto tried to kiss her as best as he could with the metal bars between them. Their lips managed to touch and both let tears fall from their eyes. This was perhaps the last time they would see each other, would be able to kiss each other, and to hold each other.
"Tea, we must leave." Ishizu said in a soft tone, not wanting to interrupt their special moment, but wanting it to end at the same time, for their betterment.
"I love you Seto." Tea said, getting up. "I promise to take care of Mokuba. Don't worry about him." Seto shot her a wry smile and watched the light of his life leave him in eternal darkness. As her outline receeded, his heart beat slowed, until he felt it completely stop beating.
She was gone.
Tears wouldn't stop falling from Tea's eyes. She has said her good bye to the one person she never wanted to leave. Just as she was to exit, she felt his voice whisper.
"Tea, I will love you even after my heart stops beating. Be happy in your new life."
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