Summary: The only trouble for the young CEO of Kaiba Corp. was his unwanted thoughts for a certain blond mutt. Little does Kaiba know his troubles are just beginning, for on his way home from work something will happen that will change his life forever. Eventual Seto/Jou.

Warnings/Notes: AU, Yaoi/Shounen Ai, Possible Angst, Crossover fic, Vampire fic, Blood and Gore, Strong Language.

Main Pairing: Seto Kaiba + Katsuya Jounouchi

Crossover Pairings:

Gundam Wing

Duo + Heero

Quatre + Trowa

Yuu Yuu Hakusho

Hiei + Kurama

Naruto

Sasuke + Naruto

The Light in the Darkness

Chapter 21

I awoke from my dreams of Jounouchi to a pair of hazel eyes intently staring at me. I groaned as I tried to stretch, my back sore from leaning against the metal bars of the cell all night… or day? I held back a snort. I had no clue what time or day it was.

The woman was still huddled in the corner and visibly flinched when I stood up to stretch my legs. I ignored her before sitting with my back to her on the cement bed. I rubbed my face and ran my fingers through my hair. The burning in my throat was excruciating. As if on queue Quatre practically appeared outside the cell. Wordlessly he pulled out a small paper cup from his pockets and held it out to me through the bars. I walked over to him and grabbed it eagerly before gulping it down without complaint.

"Thanks…" I said as I handed the cup back to him.

He nodded, glancing at the women in the corner of my cell.

"I will bring you as much as I can… You'll have to hang in there a couple of days. Ace doesn't have the patience to wait things out for too long. He will tire of waiting eventually… Though I'm afraid of what else he has planned."

I nodded and paused a moment before asking one of the many questions I had for the blond vampire. "Why are you helping me?"

Quatre sighed, looking at me almost sympathetically. "That's a long story… but what it boils down to is that I care about Jounouchi. He is the reason I am helping you."

"Your looking out for him too right?" I asked, already knowing the answer. It was an obvious question, but it would quell my nerves knowing that Jounouchi wasn't completely alone in this place.

"I am doing all I can." He replied.

I nodded once again as Quatre turned to leave. "I have to go, Ill be back when I can."

And with that he was gone.

I sighed heavily as I looked the empty hallway, fighting to keep the feeling of extreme hopelessness from boiling up inside.

"So… You're a prisoner here too?"

I felt myself jump slightly, startled by the blond woman's cautious words. I turned to face her and crossed my arms. "No," I said sarcastically, "I'm on vacation. I like being stuck in tiny cramped dark cells with tiny blond women who are terrified of me."

The woman frowned at me, her caution turning into anger. "You don't have to be such an ass."

I uncrossed my arms and ran my fingers through my hair. "I'm sorry…" I said, the foreign words still new to my tongue. "I don't mean to be rude. Yes, I am a prisoner here."

"But your one of them…Why are they imprisoning you?"

I fought down the venom in my voice before I spoke.

"I am not one of them. Yes I am a vampire, but I am not apart of them. I do not feed on humans."

She looked at me quizzically as I let out a heavy sigh and returned to the cement bed to sit down.

She watched me, waiting patiently for me to elaborate. Begrudgingly, I continued. "I mainly eat deer or other wild animals."

"I see…" She said, frowning. "So they are the bad vampires then, and you are the good? Are there more like you?"

I snorted. "No matter how you look at it, I still take lives. There is no good in that… But compared to the vampires here, I guess you could say that I am good."

She nodded, obviously interested in what I was saying. "And? There are more like you?"

I resisted the urge to scowl at her persistent questions. "Yes there are." I said simply. She placed her head on her knees, her face full of contemplation. I let my mind wander in the silence, not surprised to find it immediately going back to Jounouchi. I went back through our last meeting, remembering his smell, the way his body felt against mine. Despite everything, my fears and doubts and my hopeless situation, my heart and soul yearned for his closeness. I just wanted him to be near me, safe and sound.

I laughed inwardly and shook my head. Such an impossible dream.

"You are missing someone important to you." The blond woman stated. I turned to look at her, frowning. "I can tell" she said, "no one looks that sad unless they are separated from someone they love."

I turned away from her, not bothering to respond.

"So…" She prompted. I sighed again. "You ask too many questions."

"Fine." She said, I could hear her sweater move as she crossed her arms irritably. A few moments of silence passed before she got up off the ground and walked over to the cement bed. She sat down next to me, completely oblivious to my burning throat reacting to her nearness.

"So you really don't eat people huh?" She asked. "I guess if vampires actually exist then anything is possible."

"No." I said as I stood up and walked across the room. I turned to face her and leaned my back against the cold metal bars. "I don't eat people, but don't forget they put you in here with me for a reason." I slid down the bars onto the cement floor.

She looked at me quizzically, her expression slightly hurt from me moving away.

"They are trying to break me" I continued. "They are keeping me in this cell with out any food… Except for you that is." The woman gulped slightly trying not to show her fear. I looked her straight in the eye, my face serious. "I wont break, but that doesn't mean I am not dangerous."

She averted her gaze for only a moment before returning It to me. "I believe you" she said "I can tell your not like the others."

"My name is Clara." She said. "Thank you for the sweater… and you know, not eating me."

I nodded slightly as she looked at me expectantly. When I didn't respond she huffed slightly in annoyance. "And you are?"

I groaned inwardly. There are very few people who haven't heard of me and the last thing I wanted was for her to start spreading the word that Seto Kaiba was a blood sucking vampire… If she made it out of here anyway. The thought of giving her a false name crossed my mind briefly, but the idea of keeping up another charade sounded awfully tiresome… I sighed for what felt like the 100th time that day. Might as well just tell the truth.

"Kaiba" I said, wincing as she immediately gasped.

"As in Seto Kaiba? The CEO of Kaiba Corp.?!"

I frowned deeply as I responded. "One in the same."

"I guess now I understand why you really didn't want to tell me… I can not believe Seto Kaiba is a vampire!"

The frown did not leave my face as she continued.

"… I mean, have you always been a vampire!? What about sunlight? Do you turn into a bat? Does garlic hurt you? Does your brother know?"

She paused for only a moment to look at my face and immediately stopped speaking and averted her gaze. "Sorry…" she said "too many questions."

"It goes without saying…" I began "you can't go around telling people I'm a vampire."

She nodded. "Of course… I won't say anything."

Yea… sure you wont. I thought as I ran my fingers through my hair.

I could practically feel Clara's intense interest in continuing our conversation as she let a few short moments of silence pass.

She began again, throwing intrusiveness to the wind.

"So why are you here Kaiba?"

I looked at her, my face clearly un-amused. She did not give up.

"Come on… Its not like we have anything else to do in here but talk. I wont go telling anyone… Besides" she said, her voice wavering, "we both know I'm probably going to die in here."

I wanted to tell her that she wouldn't, but chances are she was right. I could barely see myself getting out of here, let alone her.

I groaned inwardly as she waited with as much patience as she could muster. I really didn't trust her and on the off chance that she did make it out of here alive I was certain she would go blabbing to whoever would listen. Sure we were stuck in a cell together, but that didn't mean we had to share our life stories.

She must of saw my decision not to answer her question on my face since she started speaking before I could answer. "I told you why I was here! And I am not a blabber mouth, I wont say anything… Really!"

I scowled. "Why do you want to know so bad?" I asked. "I don't even know you and I sure as hell don't trust you. If you go blabbing about any of this I could lose my company. Telling you anything is not a smart move."

She mirrored my scowl. "Can you at least give me the cliff notes version? You seem like a nice guy but for all I know you could be a mass murder and these people could be keeping you locked up for the safety of the rest of the world."

I snorted, amused. "After all they've put you through you'd be a fool to believe that."

Clara shrugged, putting on her most innocent face. "For all I know you could have been in charge of this entire thing." I resisted the urge to laugh. "You just don't give up do you?"

She smiled. "Nope, not really."

I sighed once again, trying my best not to look amused by this whole conversation.

"Fine" I said. "Cliff notes version: They took something that is very important to me, so I came here to get it… and got caught."

I'm not sure why I told her. It came blurting out of my mouth before I could even really think about it. Way to go Kaiba… I thought. Way to let this tiny girl break down your walls.

Clara looked thoughtful for a moment before a flash of realization appeared on her face.

I winced as she looked at me with certainty. "They took the person you love! The one you were thinking about earlier. I'm so sorry… I hope she is okay…"

I frowned deeply, not bothering to deny it. I tried in vain to wheel my mind away from Jounouchi and not knowing how he was.

"Me too." I said simply.

"Tell me about her!" Clara stated. "Is she a vampire too? How did you meet?"

I let out a small laugh. "Not a chance."

Clara pouted but did not push the subject. I could tell her mind was reeling though, unwilling to fully let the subject go. Here eyes widened slightly as another thought crossed her mind.

"That blond vampire brought you food this morning… Is he your friend?"

I shrugged. "I hope so."

She looked at me, obviously surprised. "You don't know?"

I shook my head. "I've been putting my trust in him, but I had never met him prior to coming here."

Before she could ask another question, the sound of a gate opening echoed down the dark hallway. Clara gasped in alarm before moving from the cement bench to once gain huddle in the corner. As soon as they entered the hallway I could tell it was Ace and two others by their smell. I stood up and faced the metal bars, frowning deeply… One of the men with Ace was Quatre.

After a few moments they came into view with Ace smiling ear to ear. Quatre and one other were following close behind him. I glanced briefly at Quatre, who did not even acknowledge me. His gaze was steady and calm, just as it had been the day I had been caught. The other man was also there that day, however, unlike the previous time, his one green eye looked at me intensely. I met his gaze steadily.

A load ahem brought my attention over to Ace, who was still smiling brightly.

"I see you and your new room mate are getting along nicely…" Ace started. I glared at him and crossed my arms, not satisfying him with a response. Ace didn't falter, continuing on as if having a pleasant everyday conversation. "I mean… with a new room mate one would expect a little bit of strife. Maybe an argument, a disagreement… Something! But no, you two have seemed to hit it off without a hitch." Ace shrugged. "I guess I am just a good matchmaker!"

He leaned forward and grabbed the metal bars. His face was full of exquisite glee. "I don't know about you Kaiba… But I think having a perfect match as a room mate boring beyond belief! What kind of host would I be if I let you sit here and be bored all day hmm?"

If I could frown any deeper I would have. I did not like where this conversation was going. I glanced back at Clara, who seemed equally concerned, before redirecting my gaze to Ace. He watched me carefully, delighted beyond words. He was obviously bursting with anticipation for whatever it was he had planned. I glared at him silently as he waited for a response. When I didn't answer he once again continued on, apparently not letting anything upset his elated mood.

"You see, as the gracious host that I am I couldn't fathom the thought of you being bored down here so I thought… " Ace paused, building anticipation before shouting "Lets mix things up!" Then, as quick as lightning, Ace pulled out a small pistol, aimed it at Clara, and fired. I stood for a moment, stunned, before turning to look at my cell mate. I covered my nose and practically snarled as Clara looked at her bleeding thigh. She stared at the bullet wound, stunned, as Ace let out a howl of jovial laughter.

"That should do it!" Ace exclaimed.

I turned back to him, my eyes red with rage. Until this moment I had never even realized the extent to which I could hate a person. There was nothing that Ace would not do to hurt me. I directed my heated gaze toward him in a silent threat. I would kill him. I would make sure no one else had to suffer at his hands. That was a promise.

Ace met my gaze with glee, laughing as he turned to leave. "Enjoy!"

With that he walked back down the hall the way he had come from with Quatre and the other vampire in tow. As he was leaving Quatre sent an apologetic glance at me before he followed Ace down the hall.

Clara's fresh blood swirled in my nose and set my throat into a spiral of flame. I turned to look back at her, cursing inwardly, as she shook and trembled at the sight of her own blood.

"Fuck…" I said through my plugged nose. She was losing lots of blood. I had to stop the bleeding and get the bullet out of her leg or she would surely die. My mind struggled with what to do, the smell of her strawberry scented blood invading my every thought. Never had I been this hungry before.

I snarled loudly an shook my head. I would not let Ace win. I removed the belt from my pants and rushed over to Clara. "Clara…" I said as I kneeled down beside her. She didn't acknowledge me, her body still in sock from being shot. "Clara!" I said loudly. She jerked her head up to look at me, her face full of fear.

"Listen to me Clara… I need to remove the bullet. This is going to hurt, do you understand?" She nodded, trembling, tears streaming down her face.

As carefully as I could I reached my index finger into the bullet hole as Clara screamed in pain. I found the bullet quickly and worked to pull it out. I felt my vision get fuzzy as the intoxicating scent of her blood continued to invaded my senses. My fangs appeared and I snarled loudly as Clara screamed, the pain of me pulling out the bullet to much for her to bear. I worked at it a few more seconds before the shiny gold of the bullet revealed itself from within her thigh. I dropped the bullet, a small tinkling sound echoing through the cell as it hit the ground.

I breathed heavily as I looked at Clara, who had a look of utter terror on her face. Her tear streaked eyes were focused on my fangs as she trembled.

I fought to keep my thoughts straight as I looked down at her bloodied leg. I was so hungry… My throat burned… I wanted nothing more than to sink my fangs into her soft flesh and eat until my stomach exploded. It would be so easy to do and I knew it would be unbelievably satiating. I had never felt so hungry in my entire life… It would only take one quick move and I could stop all the pain I was in.

But I wouldn't give in.

I took the belt and wrapped it around her thigh above the bullet wound. I tightened it up before grabbing the bottom of my pant leg and ripping a long strip all the way up to my thigh. I then wrapped it around her bleeding leg and tied it tight.

"That should stop the bleeding…" I breathed before moving to the opposite corner of the cell, the cold metal bars a relief to my burning skin.

Clara looked at me, stunned, as more tears ran down her cheeks. I plugged my nose and closed my eyes, willing my fangs to recede. It took a few minutes of concentration for them to disappear, and when they did I breathed a small sigh of relief. I leaned my head back against the bars and concentrated on my breathing. The burning in my throat was immense and I needed to get it under control.

I willed my mind to think if something calm and immediately returned to the day I found Jounouchi under the cherry blossom tree, with the sun shining in his golden hair. I breathed in and out, remembering how serene he looked and felt my body relax.

I would gain control, not just for me, but for him too. I had promised myself that I would protect Jounouchi no matter what. A promise, even though I had never spoken it to him, was my word. And I always keep my word. I would get us both out… And Clara too. But most of all I would make Ace pay for all that he has done.

That too, was a promise.