Chapter 24

Aria ran through the hotel hallway with no idea of where she was running to. She didn't care, all that mattered at that moment was getting herself as far away from Kaiba as possible. Air, she needed air. Through blurry eyes, Aria barely made out the red haze of an exit sign. Taking the turn, she found herself busting through a door and into the warm night.

Aria inhaled deeply and then blew the air out slowly. The action helped with clearing her head a bit and at least the tears were starting to dry up. Looking up at the sky, Aria could just make out a few of the stars that weren't masked by the light of Domino City. Things looked so much simpler up there. The summer had been so insane, Aria didn't know what normal looked like anymore. Could life be normal with Seto in it?

For one moment, back in the ballroom, Aria had wanted to kiss him so badly. Kiss him without any thoughts about blackmail or Kaiba Corp. Kiss him just as any girl would kiss a boy. But the second his lips touched hers, it all came rushing back. She knew there could never be a normal for them, not with everything that had gone on between them.

Leaning against the side of the building, Aria finally took stock of her surroundings. She didn't appear to be in the main parking lot of the hotel, but maybe in the employee parking lot? It wasn't nearly as well-lit and there didn't seem to be any people milling about.

Aria leaned against the side of the building, enjoying its coolness against her skin. Her tears were dried up but she feared the destruction they left behind with her mascara. She knew she ought to head back to the dance soon or her friends would start to worry about where she had gone. Hopefully Kaiba got the message that there could be no second chances and had chosen to leave. Then maybe she could at least try and enjoy the rest of the evening.

Sighing despondently, Aria pushed herself off the wall, readying herself to head back inside. As she started to clean up what was left of her mascara, a rustle of movement sounded off in the darkness.

"Hello?" Aria called tentatively. She peered out into the night, trying to discern any moving shapes in the shadows. When nothing emerged and all sounded quiet, Aria moved to head back inside the door she came out of. The night suddenly didn't feel so warm anymore.

"Leaving so soon?"

Aria whipped back around. As her eyes darted around looking for the source, a lone figure stepped out into the light. Even before he had revealed himself, Aria knew who had spoken.

Riku Ito walked into the light, or staggered may have been a more apt description. Aria noticed that his suit which was usually pressed and immaculate now looked unwashed and rumpled. His hair clung to his forehead in wet clumps. Everything about his appearance felt wrong to Aria. Never before had she seen her stepfather in such a state. And it scared her.

Before Riku could get any closer, Aria immediately ran back to the door. But when she tried to yank it open, she was met with resistance. Locked! Aria whirled back around to see that Riku was getting much closer. Should she scream? Or should she try and run? Her eyes darted into the darkness, trying to gauge how far she'd have to run before she found someone.

"I wouldn't think about running yet if I were you, not if you want to see Kaiba again." Riku said menacingly.

His threat gave Aria pause. "What do you mean?" she asked. "What have you done with him?"

"Nothing as of yet." Riku took a few more steps closer. "What I want to know is where are the files you stole from me?"

"I don't know what you are talking about," Aria said, trying to buy herself some time. She was still trying to figure out if he was bluffing about Kaiba. Riku didn't look like he was in any frame of mind to be carrying out threats.

"Oh I think you do," Riku said sneering. "And if I don't get them back, it will be my head on a platter."

As Riku edged closer Aria pressed herself into the wall. If she was going to run she was going to need to do it soon. "You shouldn't have bit off more than you can chew Riku."

Riku growled in response. "I knew I was wrong to have let your mother back in my life. Especially when she brought a runt in tow with her."

"You've said that before," Aria said. "Care to elaborate?"

"Let's just say we already had a past history when she came to me with you."

Aria froze. Did he mean that he knew Aria's mother before they were married? Before a time when her mother and father were together?

While Aria tried to process this new information, Riku continued to edge closer. When she finally noticed how close he was getting, her flight instinct kicked in. Pushing off the wall, Aria chose a direction and tried to run. But before she got two steps, Riku grabbed her by the arm and flung her back against the wall. Her head slammed with a sickening thud against the concrete, causing her vision to blur.

Riku wrapped his hands around her neck and began to squeeze her windpipe. Aria gasped for air but could only wheeze as Riku's hold tightened.

"Maybe your boyfriend will be more cooperative when he learns that your life is endangered," Riku slurred, his eyes taken with a crazed look.

All Aria could think was how Kaiba had given her a second chance, and like a coward, she threw it away. And now there would be no more second chances.

"Seto…" Was all Aria was able to rasp before blackness completely enveloped her.

000

Kaiba watched as Aria fled from the room. How badly he had wanted to chase after her. But isn't that what he kept doing? Chasing after her to only see her continue to run away? Maybe it was time to admit defeat and throw in the towel. It made Kaiba's chest ache to think of not having Aria in his life, but she obviously thought that he didn't belong in hers.

With a sigh Kaiba rubbed a hand over his face, feeling suddenly tired. With Aria gone, there was no reason for him to stay any longer. The least he could do was make sure she was okay before he left. Spotting Wheeler at the edge of the dance floor, Kaiba walked over in his direction.

"I take it didn't go too well," Joey said, his tone sincere.

Kaiba didn't have it in him to reject his pity. "I need you to go check on her. I just...need to know that she's alright."

Joey nodded then headed out the doors that Aria had ran through.

Kaiba leaned against the wall while he waited for Joey to return. When ten minutes had passed and still no sign of him, Kaiba began to worry. He began walking over to the doors himself when Joey came rushing back into the room. At his panicked look, Kaiba quickened his pace.

By the time Kaiba reached him, Yugi and the rest of the gang were there too.

"I can't find her," Joey panted. "I looked outside the front doors and all over the main floor, but there's no sign of her."

"She wouldn't have gone home would she?" Téa asked.

Joey shook his head. "I don't think so, not without telling one of us first."

"We need to split up and find her," Kaiba ordered. Everyone gave a determined nod and then ran off in different directions. Kaiba went to check the front doors again, to see if anyone had seen her leave. In hindsight, he should have put someone on to watch her. She did steal some highly valuable files. He didn't know if her stepfather was capable of anything drastic, but Pegasus might be.

As Kaiba exited out the sliding doors into the night, he frantically looked around for any sign of Aria. He asked a few people loitering around if they had seen a black-haired girl in a green dress leave the hotel. When nobody said to have seen her, Kaiba tried to think of where else she could have gone. He could definitely see her running outside to get fresh air, but if not out the front doors, then where? Maybe she took a back door?

A new idea in mind, Kaiba began running along the perimeter of the building. He could at least rule out her being outside, but if she wasn't inside either…Kaiba would deal with that when they came to it.

Kaiba ran in the darkness with the odd light illuminating various emergency exits. He stopped to check each one, but they were all locked. When he rounded a corner he could see the outline of someone at the opposite end. Hope flared in his chest as he started to jog towards them. As he got closer he saw that there were actually two people standing apart. One was much larger and he could tell that the other was wearing green.

Kaiba picked up his pace until he saw the larger figure suddenly dash at the other. Fear gripping him, Kaiba ran in an all-out sprint to reach them faster. When they finally came into focus, he saw Aria pushed up against the wall, a large man gripping her by the throat. Panic began to swell up in Kaiba but he tampered it down, making sure he was in full control of his actions. Impulsively he wanted to tackle the man to the ground while he had the element of surprise but he worried it would send Aria sprawling to the ground as well. He decided on a more subtle approach.

Staying to the shadows, Kaiba quickly edged around the light till he was behind the man and Aria. Stealthily, Kaiba crept up till he was directly behind them. Before he even knew he was there Kaiba put one hand between the man's shoulder and neck and then squeezed. The man's knees buckled as his pressure points were crushed but his grip didn't release Aria.

"Let her go. Now." Kaiba said fiercely, applying more pressure causing the man to cry out in pain. Letting out a short growl, the swine of a man finally let go of Aria, stumbling away as he clutched his injured shoulder.

Aria slid to the ground, coughing while trying to breathe in gulps of air.

Kaiba knelt beside her, cupping her face in his hands. "Ari, are you okay? Look at me." She looked up at him. Tears were streaming down her face and he could already see some bruising starting to appear around her neck, but otherwise she seemed unharmed.

"Mr. Kaiba, we finally get to meet."

Kaiba stood up, fists clenched at his sides, he reigned in his temper before turning to the man who had made Aria's life a living hell. "Riku Ito," Kaiba said with derision, not bothering to hide the disgust in his voice. "I didn't think you would go as low as attacking a young girl, and your own stepdaughter no less."

Riku's eyes narrowed. "She's no stepdaughter of mine," he spat. "She betrayed me and for what? For some pompous school boy who would toss her away the moment she was no longer useful?"

Kaiba took a menacing step forward. "You're the one Ito who has taken advantage of Aria and her abilities. No matter how 'useful' she is to me, there will always be a place for her by my side."

Riku snorted. "How sentimental of you."

Kaiba glared at him. "Do yourself a favour Ito and leave. Preferably from Domino City. We both know that your company is done here."

He could see Riku seething with anger, but he was done wasting any more time on the sorry excuse of a man. He turned back to Aria, he needed to get her home and away from here. She was looking behind him when Aria's eyes suddenly went wide. Screaming "look out!" she leapt to her feet shoving Kaiba to the side while a shot rang out.

Quickly regaining his balance Kaiba immediately sprung onto Riku, who he now saw held a pistol in his hand. Before he could get another shot off, Kaiba tackled him to the ground. He heard Riku's head slam into the pavement and then his body went still.

Kaiba stood up, making sure that Riku really was no longer a threat. Although he was still breathing, it didn't look like he was getting back up anytime soon. Kaiba kicked the gun away from his hands just in case.

The gun. The shot. Kaiba instantly turned only to find Aria lying on the ground. His heart leapt up into his throat as he rushed over to her. "Ari! Aria! Sweetheart, talk to me!" He began searching for any signs of bleeding, praying that the bullet had missed her too.

"Seto…?" a voice croaked.

Kaiba sagged in relief. He helped Aria sit up. "Are you hurt?" he asked with concern, still looking her over for any wounds.

Aria shook her head but by then the tears had started to fall. Kaiba clutched her to his chest, gently rocking her. "It's over now, your safe." Aria responded by burrowing herself deeper into Kaiba's embrace while sobs shook her body. Kaiba simply held her, thankful that he got to hold her at least one more time.

000

Aria sat at the back of an ambulance while a medic treated her injuries. When the gang couldn't find her or Kaiba they had decided to call the police, making them arrive just shortly after Kaiba had incapacitated her stepfather. Now they all stood in the front parking lot surrounded by ambulances and police cars alike.

Aria looked across the parking lot where Kaiba was also standing behind an ambulance while a medic tried to check him for injuries but kept brushing her off. It brought a smile to Aria's lips just watching them.

"You have quite a bit of bruising around the neck and a nasty bump on the back of your head, but other than that you check out fine," the medic said. "Take some pain medication and get lots of rest. You should feel better in a couple of days."

Aria thanked the medic silently with a nod and a smile, her throat still too sore to speak. After the medic had left, Yugi, Joey, Tristan and Téa came rushing over.

Téa threw her arms around Aria causing her to cringe in pain at the contact. "Oh, sorry," Téa said, taking a step back.

Yugi chuckled. "I think Téa is trying to communicate that she's happy that you're okay."

"I'll say!" Joey interjected. "What were you thinkin' Ari? Running off into the night like that? And then not running when you saw your stepfather!"

Aria looked sheepishly down at her shoes at Joey's rebuke. It was foolish of her to run out into a dark back alley, but she had been too upset to have been thinking clearly.

"For your information Wheeler, Aria probably would have gotten herself shot if she had tried to run away."

Aria looked up to see that Kaiba had joined them. His arms were crossed and his gaze icy. The customary Kaiba stance.

"What I want to know is," Kaiba continued. "Is what did he say to make you stay? For he didn't pull out the gun till after I arrived."

"There was a gun?" Téa asked incredulously.

Aria opened her mouth to speak but immediately grasped her throat when pain shot up her neck. Apparently screaming out when Riku had been about to shoot Kaiba had done more damage than she thought.

"Wait a moment," Kaiba said then walked over to where one of the police officers were standing. After speaking for a few moments, Kaiba came back with a pad of paper and a pen. "Here," he said thrusting the utensils at her.

Aria held his gaze for a moment while she accepted the paper and pen. There was so much to say between them and yet she couldn't say any of it. Literally. She began writing down everything Riku had said about her mother and the threats he made to Kaiba. She hesitated about sharing the last part, as she wasn't sure where she and Kaiba stood right then. But then again, she had never knew where they stood with one another.

As the gang and Kaiba read over what she had written, she watched as understanding dawned on each of their faces. Well, except Kaiba's but he was never one to show much emotion. Except maybe when she was lying on the ground when he thought she had been shot.

Aria took back the notepad and scribbled a single question down on the page.

What happened to Riku?

"He regained consciousness and was taken away in a police cruiser," Tristan explained. "I don't think we'll be worrying about him for a while."

Aria nodded, grateful that she didn't have to deal with her stepfather anymore. Though his words about her mother still echoed in her mind. Was there any truth in his words? Guess she'll never find out.

"Excuse me, Miss Ito."

A police officer walked over. "If you're ready, we would like to take your statement now. Then you're free to go home."

"We'll wait for ya over here Ari," Joey said, his thumb pointed over his shoulder. "We'll make sure you get home safe."

Aria smiled in thanks. She looked over to see what Kaiba planned to do, but when her eyes came to where he had been standing, he was gone.

000

Aria was once again back at the apartment sitting on the couch with her laptop. It had been a few days since the incident and although her throat was still a little hoarse, it no longer caused her pain to speak.

Everyone was out for the moment, allowing Aria some quiet time to herself. She surfed the web as she looked at programming jobs in the Domino City area. With Riku behind bars, she no longer felt like she had to leave the country. And since Kaiba now knew of her innocence, she figured she should be able to find a low-level entry position at a software company and start saving up for college. She would still be able to pursue her dream, it was just going to take a little longer.

But Seto was another matter entirely. Over the last couple of days, Aria kept replaying the words he said to Riku over and over.

...there will always be a place for her by my side.

Even after running away from Kaiba, again, he said he still wanted her. Aria was worried that it was Kaiba who was going to hurt her again, but it seemed she was the one who kept causing him pain by repeatedly rejecting his overtures. At the prom, Kaiba had come to her with his heart on his sleeve. Never had she seen make himself more vulnerable. How hard it must have been for him to do that. And like the coward she was, she fled.

Her laptop dinged, pulling her from her thoughts. A pop-up appeared showing that she had just received an email. That's weird Aria thought. It looked like it was from the foundation that was in charge of the scholarship she applied for. She clicked open the email.

Miss Ito it read. We are pleased to inform you that you are this year's chosen participant to receive the Computer Science scholarship for Domino University. With your outstanding reference from Kaiba Corp, your application…

Aria didn't finish the email. Her outstanding reference? Would Kaiba really do this? Aria's blood pressure began to rise. Did he not understand her at all? How dare he put forth a reference on her behalf given their history and relationship. It was completely inappropriate! Not to mention it was probably prohibited.

Aria shot off the couch, grabbed her purse and stomped out the door. If he thought she was going to let him get away with this, he was sorely mistaken.