A/N: Howdy! How is everyone? ^^ This chapter seems to revolve around the
relationship between Hanako and Kaiba. Which is a nice vacation from the
Pharaoh and his Princess. This chapter will hopefully answer most of your
questions about the whole Hanako/Kaiba thing... If you have any questions,
feel free to ask me!
Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! or the Duel Monsters card game. I do own the characters Giyu and Miya, and the character Hanako is owned by her creator Rue no Hime. You've probably read through this crap in previous chapters so I'll stop while I'm ahead.
Back From Beyond
A Yu-Gi-Oh! Story
Chapter Five: Unrequited Love
"So... the fabled Kaiba finally ventures out into the wilderness..."
Kaiba's head whipped around, searching for the owner of the female voice. His keen eyes quickly spotted Giyu among the shadows, then narrowed.
"I suppose you are wondering whose presence you are sharing," Giyu said, stepping out of the shadows. "Konbanwa. ((A/N: translation- "Good evening")) I am Giyu, the Millennium Princess."
Kaiba sensed immense power from the small girl. Impossible... he thought. How can she hold so much power? His eyes slid over to her Staff, which she was gripping firmly, over the upside-down pyramid on top, over the all-too- familiar Eye. His gaze returned to rest on Giyu as he spoke.
"Millennium Princess...?"
"Yes, Seto Kaiba," she responded. "I am the Millennium Princess, princess of all the Millennium Items. I know the whereabouts of each one, their owners, and their pasts. I am not unlike a Millennium Item myself, Kaiba."
"How could that be possible?" Kaiba scoffed. "A human girl a Millennium Item?"
Giyu's eyes narrowed slightly.
"It's surprising how little you know, Seto Kaiba." Giyu raised her Staff high and switched over to Miya's form. As Miya, she lowered the Staff to its normal position. She gave Kaiba a smirk.
"Long time, no see, Seto."
***
"Yugi! Save me from the Psycho Chick!" Jonouchi pleaded. "Don't let her kill me!"
Yugi had found Jonouchi in the halls, and he was acting just like a scared lapdog. Yugi sweat-dropped.
"She won't kill you," he said. "What'd you do?"
"I only ate food."
"How much food?"
"All of it."
Yugi face-faulted.
"Jonouchi!"
"What?" Jonouchi cried. "I didn't do anything! It's not my fault she went psycho on me!"
"You ate all the food," Yugi pointed out. "What're we supposed to eat now?"
"Shoes?" Jonouchi suggested.
"Shoes?" Yugi repeated skeptically.
"What d'ya expect me to do?" Jonouchi whined.
"Save some food for us..."
"Sorry..."
"It's okay..."
"Let's go see it she's got more food!"
"Eh, Jonouchi, wait!" Yugi grabbed his wrist before he could run off.
"Why?" Jonouchi pouted.
"No more food. Did you not hear me?"
"No."
"Just... no more food," Yugi instructed. "You need to save some for us."
"Fine."
"Speaking of 'us'... where're Anzu and Honda?" Yugi asked.
"I just saw Honda, but... I don't know where they went."
The two friends shrugged.
***
Kaiba's eyes widened in shock. He took a step backwards.
"Who - who are you?"
Miya bit her tongue, trying to keep from saying, "Your worst nightmare." Instead, she said: "You don't recognize me?"
"Should I?" Kaiba asked, thinking, What's with these people and 'recognition?'
"Little Giyu is like Little Yugi," Miya explained. "Both are hosts for spirits that rest inside their Millennium Items." She glanced over at her Staff, then back at Kaiba. "The spirits of which are myself and Yami, the Pharaoh of Ancient Egypt, holder of the sacred power." All the while Kaiba listened, intensely interested without seeming so. "As for myself," Miya continued, "I suppose I should tell you about myself. I held almost as much if not equal power as Yami. I was the Pharaoh's Princess... but someone ruined our happiness."
Kaiba was totally absorbed now. Forgetting to uphold his reputation, he asked, "Who's 'someone'?"
Miya looked back at her Staff, which she raised.
"I'm sorry, Seto Kaiba, but his may surprise you."
Miya touched the tip to Seto's forehead, and a bright light surrounded the two...
( FLASHBACK MODE:
"Pharaoh!!"
Miya was running through the halls of a familiar palace, clad in an ancient Egyptian princess outfit of tan, with a golden tiara placed in her dark hair, the Millennium Eye symbol on it. She came upon the throne room, complete with the large pit for dueling. The Pharaoh was seated at the throne.
"Yami-sama!" she called. ((A/N: -sama is an ending that one gives someone whom they care greatly for, and they greatly respect them... and yeah...))
Yami stood up and grabbed Miya's hands when she ran up to him.
"What is it?" he asked urgently. "What's wrong?"
Miya took a minute to catch her breath, then said, "It's him... he's here!"
"He...?" Yami repeated as his expression hardened.
"It's over, it's all over!"
Yami pulled his princess into a hug.
"It's not over!" Yami told her. "I'll have Hanako duel him... she's the only one who can take him!"
"But Yami, Hanako, she's - are you sure?"
"If she has wit enough to disobey her Pharaoh, then I will have to beat him myself."
"But what if-"
"Everything will be all right, Miya-san," Yami broke in. "I'll make you a promise-we'll always be together, no matter what happens. Okay?"
Miya nodded.
"Okay..."
(END FLASHBACK:
"Wha-What are you doing?" Kaiba demanded. "Why are you showing me this?!"
"Keep watching, Seto," Miya instructed. "Keep watching and you'll see..."
(FLASHBACK MODE: (later:
"What?" Yami's eyes widened.
"Hanako refuses to duel him!" Miya exclaimed.
"So... I'll have to duel him myself..." Yami frowned. "I should've known she wouldn't pull through for her Pharaoh..."
"She's in love with him, Yami..."
"And if I know my enemy, he'll betray her..."
One of Yami's servants entered the room where Yami and Miya had been talking.
"Excuse me," he said. "Challenger awaits in the dueling hall."
With a look at Miya, Yami took a step toward the door.
"Tell him that I will be with him shortly," Yami instructed.
"Right away." The servant left.
Miya watched the servant leave, then gave Yami a desperate look.
"Yami-sama, you mustn't!" she protested. "Losing this duel means losing your right to the throne, and to life! He will banish you to the Realm of Shadows!"
"Then I won't lose." Yami turned to face his princess, who rushed over to him.
"Yami-sama, please-"
Yami held up a hand to hush her.
"I know what I am doing," he assured her. "Fate - destiny - will take it from here."
"Yami-sama..." Miya trailed off, looking down at her feet.
"I made you a promise, Miya," Yami reminded her, lifting her head with his index finger. "A promise that we'd always be together. A promise-" He pulled her close to himself. "-that I intend to keep." Yami then kissed her and left, heading for the dueling hall.
(END FLASHBACK:
"I...I still don't get it!" Kaiba exclaimed. "It doesn't make sense!"
"This is where I unlock your memories, Seto Kaiba."
Kaiba let out a shout as Miya's Millennium Staff unlocked the memories of his past life...
(KAIBA'S MEMORY BANK:
Yami entered the dueling hall and spotted his challenger on the far side of the vast dueling pit. Yami took his place nearest to the throne.
"Kaiba," he said in a kind of grunt.
Kaiba was standing still, his eyes fixed on the Pharaoh.
"My Pharaoh..." he drawled. "I've come to challenge you to a duel! I demand the right to the throne and the Pharaoh's sacred power!"
"And the loser of this duel shall be sent to the Shadow Realm, I take it?" Yami said skeptically. "Very well. But keep in mind that you goal is a hopeless one."
A smirk lit Kaiba's face
"Ha! We'll see..." Kaiba laughed.
"Let's duel!!"
(END KAIBA'S MEMORY BANK:
Kaiba was staring at the floor, eyes wide, remembering the duel, remembering events during the duel, but not the outcome. No, that part was fogged and unclear.
"So you see, Seto Kaiba," Miya said, "it was you who threatened our happiness. But, if it hadn't been you, who would it have been?" She lowered her Staff and watched Kaiba, waiting for a reaction.
"...Who won that duel...?" Kaiba asked rather timidly for a man his size.
"I do not know," Miya admitted. "That part of our past is foggy indeed for all of us. But there is more... Let me show you something before your duel with Yami." She again touched her Staff to his forehead.
(KAIBA'S MEMORY BANK:
Hanako wandered outside, finding Kaiba standing outside of the pyramid "castle". He was staring off into the distance as the sun began to sink below the horizon, running strategies in his head, out of it yet again. Hanako approached him quietly, as if she was approaching a wild animal, and gently touched his shoulder.
Kaiba flinched slightly, then looked out of the corner of his eye at Hanako. A smirk lit his face and he clenched his fists tight.
"I can taste it..." he said confidently. "Victory..."
Hanako grinned slightly. "I don't know whether to think of that as a good thing of a bad thing," she said.
"It's a good thing," Kaiba assured her. "Just think... I'll send that lame excuse for a Pharaoh to the Shadow Realm, and I will be Pharaoh - with you as my princess!"
Hanako strode to stand beside him. "As great as that sounds, I already feel bad for betraying my Pharaoh," she admitted.
"Think of it this way," Kaiba offered. "He won't be you're Pharaoh for much longer." He found her hand and laced his fingers between hers. "Right?"
"Yeah, you do have a good chance of winning," Hanako agreed, "since you're not dueling me."
"Hey, I could beat you, too." He straightened. "It's time."
"Just," Hanako sighed, "be careful."
"With these skills?" he scoffed. "I won't have to." However, Kaiba gave her a quick kiss to assure her that he'd be okay, then left.
(END KAIBA'S MEMORY BANK:
Miya again lowered her Staff and had a sad but stern look on her face.
"Now you see..." she said to Kaiba, who was again staring wide-eyed at the floor. "Though, I never thought that you would love..."
"...Wh-what happened next?" Kaiba ventured.
"You have seen parts of what has happened," Miya answered. "But no one knows what happened at the end of the duel and how we were separated..." she trailed off, watching Kaiba straighten as if he'd remembered his reputation.
"I'll find out..." Kaiba said determinedly. "This past of mine... I'll find out if I am the true Pharaoh!" He turned on his heel to leave.
"Seto..."
Seto froze.
"Yami is the true Pharaoh. If you were meant to be so, then why has Yugi obtained the Millennium Puzzle?" Miya dared. "If you are the true Pharaoh, then why does Yami have the sacred power?"
Kaiba's fists were clenched tighter and her stormed out of the room. He bumped into Hanako on the way. Literally.
"Sorry..." Hanako said quietly. Kaiba was staring at her, eyes wide. Hanako blinked. "Is something wrong?"
Kaiba stiffened and started to walk off. "Nothing! Nothing's wrong!" he exclaimed, all the while, thinking, Shit!
"Are you sure you're okay...?"
"Yes!" Kaiba kept walking.
"He's not okay." Miya's voice came from behind the two. Kaiba froze, and Hanako looked back and forth between them.
"What happened...?" she asked timidly.
"I gave him a look into his past," Miya said with a grin.
Kaiba bit his tongue as Hanako's eyes rested on him.
"What did you see?" Hanako asked him. Kaiba was silent, so Miya walked up to him and elbowed his side, then walked off with a huge grin on her face, leaving the two alone. Kaiba coughed.
"Everything..."
Hanako blushed.
"Then... what do you think?"
Kaiba's personality seemed to return to him: "I think that the Pharaoh's power belongs to me."
"That's it?" she sighed.
"What else is there?"
"...Well, there's me..."
Kaiba's heart stopped, but he didn't show it outwardly.
"So?" he said. "Why should you matter to me?"
"Because," Hanako replied coolly, "we were once in love... In love enough to not risk sending each other to the Shadow Realm."
"Feh," Kaiba spat. "In love. I don't fall in love."
"You did once," Hanako responded, looking Kaiba straight in the eyes. "And you know it."
"Yes, I'll admit it," Kaiba sneered. "But that was in the past. I will not make the same mistake."
"Mistake?" Hanako repeated, as though she was trying not to show any emotion. "I wouldn't call what we had a mistake."
"The whole prospect of love is a mistake," Kaiba threw back. "Falling in love is a sign of weakness."
Hanako walked right up to Kaiba and glared up at him.
"Is your brother a weakness?" she asked coolly.
Kaiba narrowed his eyes.
"Yes."
"This is not the Kaiba I remember," Hanako stated. "What happened to the man I love?"
"He died a long time ago."
Kaiba began to walk away.
"No," Hanako said, shaking her head. "He lives in you. I felt it when you kissed me."
"Feh," Kaiba spat, then kept walking.
Hanako ran in front of him and stopped him.
"I know you felt it too," she said.
Kaiba's gaze was ice.
"Stay out of my way, bitch."
Hanako clenched her fists tight, then slapped Kaiba across the face.
"You have no right to call me that," she said, trying to keep calm. "If you truly feel that way, then go."
Kaiba, recovered from the slap, straightened. With a glare down at Hanako, he turned and started to leave.
"Fine!" Hanako shouted, enraged. "Walk out on me, Seto Kaiba, but this time I will duel you, and you will lose."
Kaiba froze, then turned on his heel to face Hanako.
"Is that a challenge?"
"Yes."
"Feh," Kaiba repeated, then left.
When he was out of sight, Hanako sank to the floor.
"What am I gonna do...?"
*
*
*
*
*
A/N: ^^ Heehee... Hoped you liked, I know it was kinda straightforward, but it had to be, or else you wouldn't have gotten it... Anyways, please tell me your thoughts towards the Hanako/Kaiba coupling, k? ((No, Rue no Hime, I don't need your thoughts, lol)) Please R&R!!
Look for the next chapter:
An Immense Collection
Coming Soon!
Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! or the Duel Monsters card game. I do own the characters Giyu and Miya, and the character Hanako is owned by her creator Rue no Hime. You've probably read through this crap in previous chapters so I'll stop while I'm ahead.
Back From Beyond
A Yu-Gi-Oh! Story
Chapter Five: Unrequited Love
"So... the fabled Kaiba finally ventures out into the wilderness..."
Kaiba's head whipped around, searching for the owner of the female voice. His keen eyes quickly spotted Giyu among the shadows, then narrowed.
"I suppose you are wondering whose presence you are sharing," Giyu said, stepping out of the shadows. "Konbanwa. ((A/N: translation- "Good evening")) I am Giyu, the Millennium Princess."
Kaiba sensed immense power from the small girl. Impossible... he thought. How can she hold so much power? His eyes slid over to her Staff, which she was gripping firmly, over the upside-down pyramid on top, over the all-too- familiar Eye. His gaze returned to rest on Giyu as he spoke.
"Millennium Princess...?"
"Yes, Seto Kaiba," she responded. "I am the Millennium Princess, princess of all the Millennium Items. I know the whereabouts of each one, their owners, and their pasts. I am not unlike a Millennium Item myself, Kaiba."
"How could that be possible?" Kaiba scoffed. "A human girl a Millennium Item?"
Giyu's eyes narrowed slightly.
"It's surprising how little you know, Seto Kaiba." Giyu raised her Staff high and switched over to Miya's form. As Miya, she lowered the Staff to its normal position. She gave Kaiba a smirk.
"Long time, no see, Seto."
***
"Yugi! Save me from the Psycho Chick!" Jonouchi pleaded. "Don't let her kill me!"
Yugi had found Jonouchi in the halls, and he was acting just like a scared lapdog. Yugi sweat-dropped.
"She won't kill you," he said. "What'd you do?"
"I only ate food."
"How much food?"
"All of it."
Yugi face-faulted.
"Jonouchi!"
"What?" Jonouchi cried. "I didn't do anything! It's not my fault she went psycho on me!"
"You ate all the food," Yugi pointed out. "What're we supposed to eat now?"
"Shoes?" Jonouchi suggested.
"Shoes?" Yugi repeated skeptically.
"What d'ya expect me to do?" Jonouchi whined.
"Save some food for us..."
"Sorry..."
"It's okay..."
"Let's go see it she's got more food!"
"Eh, Jonouchi, wait!" Yugi grabbed his wrist before he could run off.
"Why?" Jonouchi pouted.
"No more food. Did you not hear me?"
"No."
"Just... no more food," Yugi instructed. "You need to save some for us."
"Fine."
"Speaking of 'us'... where're Anzu and Honda?" Yugi asked.
"I just saw Honda, but... I don't know where they went."
The two friends shrugged.
***
Kaiba's eyes widened in shock. He took a step backwards.
"Who - who are you?"
Miya bit her tongue, trying to keep from saying, "Your worst nightmare." Instead, she said: "You don't recognize me?"
"Should I?" Kaiba asked, thinking, What's with these people and 'recognition?'
"Little Giyu is like Little Yugi," Miya explained. "Both are hosts for spirits that rest inside their Millennium Items." She glanced over at her Staff, then back at Kaiba. "The spirits of which are myself and Yami, the Pharaoh of Ancient Egypt, holder of the sacred power." All the while Kaiba listened, intensely interested without seeming so. "As for myself," Miya continued, "I suppose I should tell you about myself. I held almost as much if not equal power as Yami. I was the Pharaoh's Princess... but someone ruined our happiness."
Kaiba was totally absorbed now. Forgetting to uphold his reputation, he asked, "Who's 'someone'?"
Miya looked back at her Staff, which she raised.
"I'm sorry, Seto Kaiba, but his may surprise you."
Miya touched the tip to Seto's forehead, and a bright light surrounded the two...
( FLASHBACK MODE:
"Pharaoh!!"
Miya was running through the halls of a familiar palace, clad in an ancient Egyptian princess outfit of tan, with a golden tiara placed in her dark hair, the Millennium Eye symbol on it. She came upon the throne room, complete with the large pit for dueling. The Pharaoh was seated at the throne.
"Yami-sama!" she called. ((A/N: -sama is an ending that one gives someone whom they care greatly for, and they greatly respect them... and yeah...))
Yami stood up and grabbed Miya's hands when she ran up to him.
"What is it?" he asked urgently. "What's wrong?"
Miya took a minute to catch her breath, then said, "It's him... he's here!"
"He...?" Yami repeated as his expression hardened.
"It's over, it's all over!"
Yami pulled his princess into a hug.
"It's not over!" Yami told her. "I'll have Hanako duel him... she's the only one who can take him!"
"But Yami, Hanako, she's - are you sure?"
"If she has wit enough to disobey her Pharaoh, then I will have to beat him myself."
"But what if-"
"Everything will be all right, Miya-san," Yami broke in. "I'll make you a promise-we'll always be together, no matter what happens. Okay?"
Miya nodded.
"Okay..."
(END FLASHBACK:
"Wha-What are you doing?" Kaiba demanded. "Why are you showing me this?!"
"Keep watching, Seto," Miya instructed. "Keep watching and you'll see..."
(FLASHBACK MODE: (later:
"What?" Yami's eyes widened.
"Hanako refuses to duel him!" Miya exclaimed.
"So... I'll have to duel him myself..." Yami frowned. "I should've known she wouldn't pull through for her Pharaoh..."
"She's in love with him, Yami..."
"And if I know my enemy, he'll betray her..."
One of Yami's servants entered the room where Yami and Miya had been talking.
"Excuse me," he said. "Challenger awaits in the dueling hall."
With a look at Miya, Yami took a step toward the door.
"Tell him that I will be with him shortly," Yami instructed.
"Right away." The servant left.
Miya watched the servant leave, then gave Yami a desperate look.
"Yami-sama, you mustn't!" she protested. "Losing this duel means losing your right to the throne, and to life! He will banish you to the Realm of Shadows!"
"Then I won't lose." Yami turned to face his princess, who rushed over to him.
"Yami-sama, please-"
Yami held up a hand to hush her.
"I know what I am doing," he assured her. "Fate - destiny - will take it from here."
"Yami-sama..." Miya trailed off, looking down at her feet.
"I made you a promise, Miya," Yami reminded her, lifting her head with his index finger. "A promise that we'd always be together. A promise-" He pulled her close to himself. "-that I intend to keep." Yami then kissed her and left, heading for the dueling hall.
(END FLASHBACK:
"I...I still don't get it!" Kaiba exclaimed. "It doesn't make sense!"
"This is where I unlock your memories, Seto Kaiba."
Kaiba let out a shout as Miya's Millennium Staff unlocked the memories of his past life...
(KAIBA'S MEMORY BANK:
Yami entered the dueling hall and spotted his challenger on the far side of the vast dueling pit. Yami took his place nearest to the throne.
"Kaiba," he said in a kind of grunt.
Kaiba was standing still, his eyes fixed on the Pharaoh.
"My Pharaoh..." he drawled. "I've come to challenge you to a duel! I demand the right to the throne and the Pharaoh's sacred power!"
"And the loser of this duel shall be sent to the Shadow Realm, I take it?" Yami said skeptically. "Very well. But keep in mind that you goal is a hopeless one."
A smirk lit Kaiba's face
"Ha! We'll see..." Kaiba laughed.
"Let's duel!!"
(END KAIBA'S MEMORY BANK:
Kaiba was staring at the floor, eyes wide, remembering the duel, remembering events during the duel, but not the outcome. No, that part was fogged and unclear.
"So you see, Seto Kaiba," Miya said, "it was you who threatened our happiness. But, if it hadn't been you, who would it have been?" She lowered her Staff and watched Kaiba, waiting for a reaction.
"...Who won that duel...?" Kaiba asked rather timidly for a man his size.
"I do not know," Miya admitted. "That part of our past is foggy indeed for all of us. But there is more... Let me show you something before your duel with Yami." She again touched her Staff to his forehead.
(KAIBA'S MEMORY BANK:
Hanako wandered outside, finding Kaiba standing outside of the pyramid "castle". He was staring off into the distance as the sun began to sink below the horizon, running strategies in his head, out of it yet again. Hanako approached him quietly, as if she was approaching a wild animal, and gently touched his shoulder.
Kaiba flinched slightly, then looked out of the corner of his eye at Hanako. A smirk lit his face and he clenched his fists tight.
"I can taste it..." he said confidently. "Victory..."
Hanako grinned slightly. "I don't know whether to think of that as a good thing of a bad thing," she said.
"It's a good thing," Kaiba assured her. "Just think... I'll send that lame excuse for a Pharaoh to the Shadow Realm, and I will be Pharaoh - with you as my princess!"
Hanako strode to stand beside him. "As great as that sounds, I already feel bad for betraying my Pharaoh," she admitted.
"Think of it this way," Kaiba offered. "He won't be you're Pharaoh for much longer." He found her hand and laced his fingers between hers. "Right?"
"Yeah, you do have a good chance of winning," Hanako agreed, "since you're not dueling me."
"Hey, I could beat you, too." He straightened. "It's time."
"Just," Hanako sighed, "be careful."
"With these skills?" he scoffed. "I won't have to." However, Kaiba gave her a quick kiss to assure her that he'd be okay, then left.
(END KAIBA'S MEMORY BANK:
Miya again lowered her Staff and had a sad but stern look on her face.
"Now you see..." she said to Kaiba, who was again staring wide-eyed at the floor. "Though, I never thought that you would love..."
"...Wh-what happened next?" Kaiba ventured.
"You have seen parts of what has happened," Miya answered. "But no one knows what happened at the end of the duel and how we were separated..." she trailed off, watching Kaiba straighten as if he'd remembered his reputation.
"I'll find out..." Kaiba said determinedly. "This past of mine... I'll find out if I am the true Pharaoh!" He turned on his heel to leave.
"Seto..."
Seto froze.
"Yami is the true Pharaoh. If you were meant to be so, then why has Yugi obtained the Millennium Puzzle?" Miya dared. "If you are the true Pharaoh, then why does Yami have the sacred power?"
Kaiba's fists were clenched tighter and her stormed out of the room. He bumped into Hanako on the way. Literally.
"Sorry..." Hanako said quietly. Kaiba was staring at her, eyes wide. Hanako blinked. "Is something wrong?"
Kaiba stiffened and started to walk off. "Nothing! Nothing's wrong!" he exclaimed, all the while, thinking, Shit!
"Are you sure you're okay...?"
"Yes!" Kaiba kept walking.
"He's not okay." Miya's voice came from behind the two. Kaiba froze, and Hanako looked back and forth between them.
"What happened...?" she asked timidly.
"I gave him a look into his past," Miya said with a grin.
Kaiba bit his tongue as Hanako's eyes rested on him.
"What did you see?" Hanako asked him. Kaiba was silent, so Miya walked up to him and elbowed his side, then walked off with a huge grin on her face, leaving the two alone. Kaiba coughed.
"Everything..."
Hanako blushed.
"Then... what do you think?"
Kaiba's personality seemed to return to him: "I think that the Pharaoh's power belongs to me."
"That's it?" she sighed.
"What else is there?"
"...Well, there's me..."
Kaiba's heart stopped, but he didn't show it outwardly.
"So?" he said. "Why should you matter to me?"
"Because," Hanako replied coolly, "we were once in love... In love enough to not risk sending each other to the Shadow Realm."
"Feh," Kaiba spat. "In love. I don't fall in love."
"You did once," Hanako responded, looking Kaiba straight in the eyes. "And you know it."
"Yes, I'll admit it," Kaiba sneered. "But that was in the past. I will not make the same mistake."
"Mistake?" Hanako repeated, as though she was trying not to show any emotion. "I wouldn't call what we had a mistake."
"The whole prospect of love is a mistake," Kaiba threw back. "Falling in love is a sign of weakness."
Hanako walked right up to Kaiba and glared up at him.
"Is your brother a weakness?" she asked coolly.
Kaiba narrowed his eyes.
"Yes."
"This is not the Kaiba I remember," Hanako stated. "What happened to the man I love?"
"He died a long time ago."
Kaiba began to walk away.
"No," Hanako said, shaking her head. "He lives in you. I felt it when you kissed me."
"Feh," Kaiba spat, then kept walking.
Hanako ran in front of him and stopped him.
"I know you felt it too," she said.
Kaiba's gaze was ice.
"Stay out of my way, bitch."
Hanako clenched her fists tight, then slapped Kaiba across the face.
"You have no right to call me that," she said, trying to keep calm. "If you truly feel that way, then go."
Kaiba, recovered from the slap, straightened. With a glare down at Hanako, he turned and started to leave.
"Fine!" Hanako shouted, enraged. "Walk out on me, Seto Kaiba, but this time I will duel you, and you will lose."
Kaiba froze, then turned on his heel to face Hanako.
"Is that a challenge?"
"Yes."
"Feh," Kaiba repeated, then left.
When he was out of sight, Hanako sank to the floor.
"What am I gonna do...?"
*
*
*
*
*
A/N: ^^ Heehee... Hoped you liked, I know it was kinda straightforward, but it had to be, or else you wouldn't have gotten it... Anyways, please tell me your thoughts towards the Hanako/Kaiba coupling, k? ((No, Rue no Hime, I don't need your thoughts, lol)) Please R&R!!
Look for the next chapter:
An Immense Collection
Coming Soon!