A/N: So sorry for the delay in posting! My tablet stopped working and I tried to send all my fan fiction files to my laptop, but I sent the wrong files... :L

I have forgotten how far I've gotten with this story, and I keep brainstorming new ideas. I also plan on drawing some concept art for my stories and posting them on DeviantArt. Links will be included on the relevant stories!

Thank you all so much for your support!

Read, enjoy and review! Much love! ❤

Chapter 34: Nerves

Kaiba began to panic about actually finding Alyssa, knowing the longer they had her the more damage they could do. His mind drifted as he thought of her and how far she had come; how she knew very little about the world around her as she took her first steps out of her small room and into the real world; she thought he was a soldier and commented on how beautiful his eyes were.

"She's too innocent..." He mumbled, rubbing his hands over his face with stress. Mokuba looked up from his phone and frowned at his older brother's distress.

"Seto, we're going to find her." He tried his best to sound reassuring, but Mokuba's voice faltered and he sounded almost as nervous as Kaiba did. The older of the two brothers looked up and at the younger, suddenly aware of how he must seem to him.

"I know we will Mokuba. I'm just worried that we'll be too late..." Kaiba's reply with thick with remorse. He could only imagine if Gozaburo brainwashed her again. How would she react to him? To Mokuba? To the war-free (for the moment) world? He shook his head. He had to find her.

Alyssa lay on the bed in the room, staring at the door. She didn't even look at the food that they brought to her, let alone eat any of it. How long had she been here now? And why were they just holding her here? She suddenly sensed someone coming and sat up straight, wanting answers. The door opened and in came Victoria, with someone she easily recognised in tow.

"We meet again Alyssa. How are you today?" Doctor Wasaki greeted normally. He sat in the chair next to the wooden table, placing his bag of instruments on the floor beside him. Victoria tutted at the untouched food and sighed, picking up the plate and waving it in front of her face.

"Has Seto taught you to waste food, Thirteen?" Her dry joke made Alyssa nauseous and she glared at her.

"I'm not eating anything you bring for me." Alyssa's snarl was apparently amusing, as both the doctor and Victoria laughed at her expense. The next comment to slip from the doctor's mouth made her insides freeze.

"It's almost as though she were three years old again, and refusing to eat because she misses the other orphans."

Alyssa opened her mouth to rebuke him, only to leave her mouth ajar as she remembered the first time they met. It wasn't when Kaiba wanted her to see him, oh no, that was not the first visit. He checked on her regularly at the institution for about five years or so, before disappearing and not ever returning.

He was the one to perform the 'experiments' on her, bringing large syringes full of different coloured liquids and injecting them into her thin arms. He was the one to record how she reacted, and he was the one who suggested to Gozaburo that her 'immunity' be checked. She shuddered at that last memory, not wanting to relive that painful hour of her life.

But why was he back? He left, seemingly for good, years ago. And why was he with Victoria?

"Thirteen, we need to check a few things..." Victoria's voice pulled her from her thoughts and Alyssa shook her head.

"No."

"I promise they won't hurt." Alyssa glared at the doctor, knowing all too well that his promise was a lie.

"I said no! Let me go!" She jumped from the bed and ran to the door, yanking it open and attempting to throw herself outside. Victoria cursed under her breath and grabbed onto her hair, pulling her backwards into the room. Alyssa screamed and held her head, trying to pry Victoria's hand from her locks.

Throwing her onto the floor just inside the room, Victoria bent down to snarl into her ear. "Try that again and I'll make you sorry."

Alyssa began to cry and cradle her aching scalp, as Victoria closed the door and Wasaki opened his bag to take out a notebook and a pen.

"I just want to ask you some questions Thirteen. Firstly, how long has it been since Kaiba took you from the institution?" Wasaki was apparently ignorant to the cries of the young girl, as she lay on the floor and sobbed into the carpet. Victoria grabbed the back of her shirt and yanked her upright, forcing her to sit on the bed.

"Answer the question."

"I'm no... Not sure. A few weeee... Weeks?" Between sobbing and hiccuping, Alyssa finally answered and Wasaki wrote down her answer.

"And have you gotten sick at all?" She shook her head. Wait, did a nosebleed count as being sick? She didn't think so, and decided against saying it. "Have you started menstruating?"

"No..." Alyssa quietened and whispered in response, hoping that they would simply ask her questions and leave her alone. Wasaki made a few more notes in his notepad and bowed to Victoria, before leaving the room.

"What are you going to do to me?" Her voice was barely above a whisper, and Victoria sighed.

"Whatever Gozaburo wants us to do." Alyssa shivered and thought of Kaiba, accidentally showing Victoria her feelings for him in the process. She shook her head. "Foolish child. Do you really think he's kept you this long because he likes you?"

"What do you mean?" She frowned at Victoria's cruel words. Victoria, on the other hand, simply smirked and chuckled.

"He didn't know what else to do with a freak like you. That's why you're a secret, hidden away in his mansion. Figures, doesn't it?" Alyssa stared at her, her words cutting her deeper than any knife could. "I doubt he's even looking for you, he's probably relieved that I took you. One less burden for him to carry."

And with that, Victoria left the room and locked the door. Alyssa stared at the door after her departure and thought about what she said. Didn't Kaiba like her at all? And he was going to find her... Wasn't he?

She suddenly felt sick to her stomach and lay down on the thin mattress, thinking about the two brothers. Perhaps they weren't looking for her? Victoria just confirmed that she hadn't shot Kaiba, so he was still alive. But maybe he and Mokuba are just fine? Kaiba would probably be working on his newest project and Mokuba would be focused on his video games.

Victoria pointed out that Alyssa was a burden, so maybe they were both relieved to be rid of her. She watched as the sunlight faded and eventually she was consumed by darkness, but she was unable to sleep.

"Roland, you need to be more insistant than this!" Mokuba was all but yelling into the phone at him. "Demand to know if people had seen a limousine with the letters 'GK' on the side! Someone must have seen something!" More incoherent mumbling. "Look, just... I know, we all are Roland... Okay, fine."

He hung up the phone and pressed the palms of his hands to his eyes. Roland was asking pedestrians in Domino if they had seen Gozaburo's limousine with no luck, and Kaiba was trying to find Mike. He had sent someone to his house to find it empty, and he wasn't reported to have boarded the flight to China. Finding Victoria would be even more impossible, but Kaiba was certain that if he found Mike, he could find her.

"Seto, we need to try something else... This isn't working..." Mokuba concluded. Kaiba grunted but continued typing on his laptop. "Seto, this isn't working!" Mokuba repeated with emphasis.

"I know Mokuba, let me think!" He snapped, looking down at his lap in frustration. There was nothing else that he could do. He looked back up at his laptop and resumed typing.