Chapter Two: My One and Only…

I'm going to enjoy watching you die, Mr. Anderson…

Simultaneously, the gatekeepers fired their weapons, unloading entire clips into the hazy mists. A multitude of bullets rained through the air, racing straight towards their blue-eyed target. Captivated by the sight of such heavy artillery, the dark-haired male stood frozen in place. His arm, still stretched out in front of him, seemed to welcome the hasty shooting spree. Surprisingly enough, the fact that he could be blown to bits in a matter of seconds didn't even faze him. Not one bit. His gaze shifted from one suited program to another, examining his attacker's faces, their stances, and the awkwardly serene fashion in which they all appeared to move together as a single unit of destruction.

/It--It's like they're a mass of identical twins--/ the blue-eyed male observed, noting the extreme similarities between one revolver-wielding attacker and another. /What, do these guys all shop at the same store or something? What's with the tidy uniforms, slicked back hair, those little wires going from their necks to their ears--/

Abruptly, a wild vision flashed inside his head, blacking out his vision in temporary blindness. A man, just like the ones firing at him now, was smiling at him--no, he was grinning at him--in a deranged fashion. Seto was staring into the barrel of his attacker's automatic weapon, almost as if he were casually waiting for the bullet to come flying from the metallic mouth and hit him--

/I wanted to die then. / recalled Kaiba, becoming absorbed in the disturbing recollection. /Death. Nothing sounded more alluring to me then, especially after watching someone I cared about being gunned down in the street--/

All at once, he was overwhelmed with a multitude of feelings and mental images, nerve-wrecking degrees of sensory perception that made every muscle in his body tense. Staggering a pace backwards, he attempted to pull oxygen into his lungs, but found the task to be entirely too tremendous to achieve. Instead, he stared off into the oblivion of glittering emerald columns, recalling more than he ever desired to in a matter of seconds.

/They killed him! / his memory flared wildly, overriding his senses with gruesome details that he could have done without. /Goddamn them, they murdered my partner! /

Trembling hands grasped his silky tresses, digging their blunt nails into his head. This was too much; all to damned much to take…

/Blood, oh, gods, there's so much blood! Help him, someone! Don't let him turn into fresh road kill! /

Dropping to his knees, the brown-haired boy felt as if the bottom of his sanity just gave out. He saw it, he saw it all…and he couldn't do a thing to save his fallen comrade. Not one damned thing.

/Don't shoot him! It's not his fault that he's here! He shouldn't have to pay for my illiterate mistake! /

Almost as if it were happening all over again, he envisioned his cohort reaching out to him, desperately yearning for the chance to lock limbs with his. Ruby eyes, sparkling with unmentionable sorrow, gazed at the CEO in such a terrible way that he felt as if the barrage of artillery had struck his heart instead of his colleague's. Instantaneously, the sapphire-eyed teen let the ringing receiver he held in his hand fall, jeopardizing his own life just to catch his dying ally.

/I had a chance to save myself, but I didn't. I had to stay. I had to stay to be with him. /

Wrapping his arms around the newly deceased teammate, Seto embraced the elegant body in his grip. He became the shelter for the noble creature in his arms, the beautiful individual that had forfeited their existence for him. Deep crimson washed the streets in the sickening fluid, draping the asphalt in its dark red splendor. Completely surrounded by a cluster of programmed suits, the tall teen dismissed the circle of threats closing in on him as he stroked the contours of his friend's face.

/No, it's not fair; it's just not fair! /

Twirling a lock of the dead individual's bangs, Kaiba didn't even notice as the walls of his demise caved in. All he gave a damn about was the person he had up against his chest, his assistant, the graceful male who lay before him like a perfect porcelain doll.

"You were supposed to fly with me!" the executive finally choked, watching as a splotch of water puddled on his friend's visage. "You told me we were in this together! You promised me that we'd grow wings together!"

/I was alone then. He left me there…my own soul mate left me there to fight by myself--/

His eyes jerked open to literally twice their normal size when they realized what they had discovered.

/Ryou--he--he's not my lover. I don't know why I'm with him in this lifetime, but he's not the one for me. The other one is--the one who sacrificed himself for me so long ago. That is my lover, my best friend, my largest joy, and the bringer of my deepest levels of pain. But it just doesn't make sense to me! / he told himself over and over again, losing control of his mind. /How can my greatest rival, someone who I've loathed and hated for years, be my one and only? /