"Oh, mirror in the sky, what is love?

Can the child within my heart rise above?

Can I sail through the changing ocean tides?

Can I handle the seasons of my life?"

Landslide by Fleetwood Mac

XXXV

There were things that Mokuba Kaiba felt he knew for sure. One was that his brother loved Kisara, another was that Kisara loved him back. Mokuba believed nothing else could ever come into either of their lives to change that. Although he never found out what caused Seto to randomly go on a walk, that strange Saturday was nearly a month ago and the boy had long since forgotten its occurrence. Instead, he was more focused on today; Kisara's birthday. Just as Mokuba was the one who brought the two of them together, he also was the one who suggested that Seto drive down to pay Kisara a surprise visit.

"Kisara's going to be so excited when she sees you!" Mokuba exclaimed, bouncing around Seto while he was reluctantly trying to pack.

"You keep saying that but I think she's going to be too tired to celebrate. She has her communications final today and I think she was up the whole night before practicing for it." Seto stopped and turned to Mokuba, "Who would want to celebrate their birthday after an all-nighter?"

"Oh, Nii-sama, you think about these things too much! Girls love surprises, no matter how tired they are." Mokuba motioned for his brother to keep packing. Seto shrugged but then picked it up once more. Seto's resistance came from a fear that his appearance at her dorm would make Kisara feel imposed upon and after taking a final, and that was the last thing he wanted her to feel. Mokuba was persistent, nonetheless, that Seto go see her. The boy felt he knew best when it came to his older brother's relationship and who was Seto to say otherwise? Between the two brothers, Seto didn't feel he was much more knowledgeable than his younger counterpart. Thus, he usually followed through with Mokuba's suggestions.

"I guess. And this is her last final too so maybe she will be happy to see me."

"Of course she'll be happy to see you! That one is obvious," Mokuba said, sitting on a nearby computer chair and then proceeding to spin himself around for his own amusement. "What isn't obvious is why you won't let me come with you. After all, your gift was my idea. I should be able to see her reaction."

"Now, now. Don't go telling me you think I should see Kisara only to turn around and say it's not fair that you can't come. You're the one who thinks I should go and you're the one who should also know I won't be back until late if I do. It's a school night after all." Mokuba frowned but didn't say anything else. He did know better: Seto was easily swayed, but never when it came to matters of Mokuba's upbringing. That much Seto was sure about and there wasn't anything Mokuba could say otherwise.

It was quiet for a while. The only noise in the room was the sound of Seto's packing. Each item that went into the bag made Mokuba wonder what Kisara was doing right in that moment, three hours away. He wondered if she was too busy worrying about her last final to care that she was nineteen. Or perhaps she was wondering herself about what Seto was doing, suspecting that he might pay her a visit soon.

"I'm all set. Don't wait up for me, okay? If it's too late, I may just end up sleeping there and drive back tomorrow morning. Isono will remain here until my return." Mokuba ran into his brother's arms with a more affectionate hug than Seto was expecting. He looked down, "You all right, Mokuba? Do you not want me to go?" Mokuba shook his head.

"No… I just want you to have a good time," Mokuba looked up and met Seto's gaze, "Tell Kisara I said 'hi,' okay? And happy birthday."

"Of course," Seto smiled. "I'll let her know."

And there he was—on the other side of a very familiar door. The door to Kisara's dorm was closed, as it typically was every time he had come to visit. The halls were quieter than usual, probably because it was finals week. No one was around despite it only being 9pm. Seto was completely alone—only himself and the door remained in that moment.

That was until he knocked.

"Surprise!" Seto said when Kisara opened the door.

Kisara certainly was surprised when she saw him, but it was a different kind of surprised. As if the sight of him didn't bring joy or anything close to joy at all. Instead, she felt like she could collapse at any moment. She tried desperately to hide the fact that her entire body was shaking by crossing both her legs and her arms while standing in the doorway. It wasn't quite terror in her eyes, but somewhere between shocked and scared.

"Seto?" Kisara asked, the name sounded strangely unfamiliar in her mouth. "What are you doing here?"

"I thought it would be nice to surprise you for your birthday. Well, I really can't take all the credit since it was Mokuba's idea to surprise you. But let it be known that the desire to see you was all my own. I just wasn't sure how tired you'd be after finishing your final." There was an uncomfortable silence that followed, as if Seto's words were the only thing filling the miles that seemed to be between them. Kisara uncrossed her arms so she could take hold of the doorknob, as if holding onto it kept her from fleeing the very conversation they were having. Seto didn't understand what was wrong or why she was so afraid. He ignored the unnatural energy between them and leaned in for a kiss.

Seto's eyes opened when his lips were met with Kisara's hands.

"Seto, wait. We need to talk." He took a step back.

"About what?" The decision to be completely honest came in a matter of five seconds for Kisara.

"I'm breaking up with you." The words consumed him like an avalanche that had just collapse, but he didn't let it show. The only visible reaction that could be seen was his face turning pale.

"What?"

"Come on, you and I both know we weren't meant to be." Kisara's lips trembled as she spoke, but she didn't know why. She knew the words needed to be said and yet each word that surfaced tied another knot in her throat. The hand holding onto the doorknob was turning white, her body felt heavy, and she didn't know why it was suddenly so hard to breathe.

"Would you mind elaborating that thought?" Seto asked with his emotions turned off. He was aware that maintaining his cool was the only control he had left in the predicament he was in.

"I don't deserve you," Kisara said as she turned away, tears forming on the edges of her eyes. "I never did." A folded up piece of paper appeared from out of her back pocket but Seto couldn't turn away from watching Kisara's face as her gaze refused to meet his. He didn't know what to do except ask why.

"I'm still not sure I understand. Why do things have to end between us?"

"You broke up with me once before. You must've known we weren't meant for each other."

"Yes, we did break up, and it was a mistake I apologized for already." Seto reached for the hand holding onto the door, but she instantly pulled away along with the rest of her body. As if the mere touch of Seto had made her feel as though she were in excruciating pain. With her other hand, she held up the crumbled note to his face, creating a barrier between them. All that was printed on it was his name, and yet something about it seemed familiar.

"What is that?" Seto felt the need to ask, considering Kisara was practically shoving the note in his face, her eyes still refusing to look at his.

"Just read it," Kisara said, pushing the note into Seto's hand. He looked away from Kisara to stare down at it. Upon closer inspection, he realized what about the note seemed to be so familiar to him. Seto unfolded it, if only out of pure curiosity, and read the first couple lines on the page. Every word he read suddenly began to make more and more sense. Not because of what the text actually read, but rather the implications of what was being said. Seto didn't even finish reading the first paragraph when he looked up from the page.

"Kisara, you don't have to do this."

"Seto… it's the way things have to be. I'm sorry," Kisara stated firmly, although her words seemed strained. Seto could tell part of her didn't want to do this but on an even deeper level, he could also tell she couldn't escape. What was happening in that moment had to happen, at least that was how Kisara saw it.

"That night Mahad showed up at your dorm… you were thinking about breaking up with me, weren't you? This is the same note from that night, isn't it?" The answer to his question of 'Why?' was all being answered. It had been there the whole time and Seto just didn't realize it until then.

"Just read the note. Please. This is hard for me to do."

"It doesn't have to be. We can fix this. We can save us." Suddenly a rage awakened from within Kisara. One that had been lingering under the surface, waiting only for the right moment to emerge.

"Don't say that. You know as well as I do that there never was an 'us.'"

"What are you talking about?"

"The questions. You asked me so many questions about my relationship. You must've known that I wasn't over it. I thought I was but it was clear I wasn't. You've never known whether I truly loved you. Don't turn around and say that was really a sure thing in your mind." "What about the night you told me that you loved me? Are you telling me that was a lie?"

"I'm telling you that both of us knew better than what was said that night." Seto couldn't help but find himself getting angry—angry at Kisara for lying, angry at himself for not knowing better, angry at everything. He had never felt this amount of rage before and he didn't know what to do with himself because of it.

"I wanted to make myself a man worthy enough of your love. Are you saying that I'm not because I treat you like a decent human being? Is that what this is about? You could never love me because I didn't abuse you like he did?"

"That's not what I'm saying… that's not what this is even about! Besides, that's not what he's like. He's different now."

"A man like that never changes. I could see it in his eyes the night he showed up here. A part of you still loves him because of how he treated you. You're a coward, Kisara. You're afraid of being with someone who truly makes you happy."

"You're just mad that it wasn't you. You're used to getting everything you want. Everyone in the world falls to your feet and begs for your approval, but I'm the only person who didn't give you that. I never needed approval from someone like you," Kisara said. "I don't need anyone's approval."

"Good for you. Neither do I," Seto said, letting Kisara's letter fall to the ground. "You can keep your resignation letter. And you can keep this too. Mokuba says, 'Happy birthday.'" Seto took out a folded up envelope from his back pocket and dropped it onto the ground as well before walking away. Kisara picked up both items and brought them back into her dorm before closing the door. Both chapters were closed.

The conversation was over.

When Kisara fell asleep on the train that night, there were only two things she knew for sure. One was that everything she owned could thankfully fit into two suitcases. Another was that she had a boyfriend. It hadn't been the same boyfriend she had when Seto showed up at her dorm, but it was the same one that she had always suspected she could never get over. The phone conversation she shared with him a month prior to that moment of Seto's departure solidified that fact. Four hours earlier, Kisara had hopped on a train with him with little to no idea where they would end up next, considering she no longer had a home in Japan. So instead, out of both physical and emotional exhaustion, she slept.

"Babe, wake up. We're here." Kisara's eyes fluttered open and were met with Mahad's smiling face. She sat up and saw that she was in the backseat of a taxi which was strange, considering the last place she remembered being was a train. Mahad picked up on her confusion immediately when he responded with, "You were half asleep when we got off of the train so I doubt you remember us getting off. We've been riding this taxi for the past half hour or so."

Mahad got out of the taxi and went around back to help the driver take out the suitcases, leaving Kisara to regroup and take in her surroundings. The sky was pitch black but the streetlights illuminated enough of the city to tell where she was. Upon getting out of the car, it was clear she was in Domino City, though a different part of town than she had previously lived in. The slamming of the trunk shook Kisara and caused her to turn around just as the taxi sped off, leaving only Mahad and two suitcases behind.

"Follow me," Mahad instructed, carrying the suitcases to the entrance of an apartment complex. With no knowledge of any other place she should be, Kisara followed him without hesitation. What followed was climbing several flights of stairs before they ended up in front of an apartment door, number 584. Mahad placed the suitcases by his side and reached into his pocket. A set of keys appeared from his hand and was used to open the door. When the door opened, Mahad carried Kisara's things in, and Kisara followed once more.

The apartment looked about as empty as it did the day Kisara moved to business school. The only difference was there were more boxes than she had previously remembered packing. There was no doubt many of the boxes that filled the room were hers, however, since handwriting could be seen scribbled on the side. She silently walked around the apartment, taking in what she could from what little light a single lamp in the corner could provide. When she walked into the bedroom, she found a mattress laid out in the corner, just like the one she had before.

When Kisara was done touring the apartment, she turned to find Mahad standing behind her with his arms wide open, inviting her in for a hug. Another smile was on his face, but this one was smug—like he had won something, though Kisara didn't know what. Despite her confusion, she walked over and let him wrap his arms around her.

After kissing the top of her head, Mahad whispered, "Welcome home."

A/N: Hi everyone! Happy to see me? So am I! First off, I wanna apologize for not having finished/posted the next chapter on the 14th as I had planned to do so last month. A lot of things developed in the month of June that ended up making July a very busy month. I'm not going to lie, August is going to be super busy too, so I'm not entirely sure I can promise to have the next chapter posted by whatever new deadline I set myself. I will say this—I'll try and have the next chapter posted at least before the month of August is over. This was the new goal I set for myself this month after I missed the deadline. Again, sorry for the delay, but thank you for your patience and understanding. My overall goal is to have this story finished by the end of the year so we'll just have to see if I can make that happen. Either way, thank you all—readers and reviewers—for your continued support and thanks, of course, to my lovely beta reader, Caroline. She always helps me out with the most difficult of chapters. Have a wonderful rest of your day!