Mokuba sighed as he looked out the window. The city of Domino was cold and rainy. The sky was gray and small sprinkles of rain floated down to the pavement. Nadina was still in the hospital and soon, Seto and Marik is going to visit the hospital again. It has been almost three weeks and Nadina still hasn't had any changes yet. Seto and Marik visit her everyday and there still hasn't been any changes. Everyone seemed so sad. Domino wasn't helping by having rain pour down the gray sky. Mokuba decided to cheer himself up by singing a little tone. The little tune that his brother use to sing all the time when they were small to cheer him up on a raining day.

"Raining is boring…" Mokuba began singing softly. Then he took a deep breath and his voice came out a little stronger. "And the old man's snoring…"

"…It's her heart, Marik," he could hear his brother telling Marik in the other room as they put on their jackets. "Didn't you hear what the doctor said? Nadina's heart broken, she no longer wants to live. No matter what they had fed her before they put her on the IV, she revolts it. There is absolutely no control, whether she had done it on purpose or not. She's given up life. Don't you understand?"

Mokuba shut his eyes tightly to keep from seeing pretty Nadina's face all pale and unhealthy. It makes him sad. "…got up bed, bumps his head…"

"Mokuba, we're leaving now." Kaiba appeared at the lobby of Kaiba Mansion. He stopped for a moment and looked at Mokuba in front of the window. "You're welcome to come along if you want, but it isn't going to be fun."

"I'll stay here." His little brother said softly, looking down without meeting his brother's eyes. Kaiba sighed and crossed over the living room. He put a hand on Mokuba's shoulder.

"What's bothering you, kid?"

"Big brother, is Nadina ever going to get better again?" Mokuba looked up, his big eyes seems to be pleading for the truth from Kaiba. Kaiba opened his mouth to say something, only to find out that he couldn't.

"If God so wishes." He turned away. But driving on the way to the hospital, Kaiba only found himself questioning his faith.

"Do you want to go in first?" Marik crossed his arms and looked away. Even though the pair seems to get along okay without killing each other, each one still wouldn't allow the other to be in the room when he is with Nadina. They always go in one at a time.

"You go ahead, but don't take too long." Kaiba seated himself outside of Nadina's ICU and closed his eyes. He needs sleep, God knows he needs it. When was the last time he had gotten a full, good night of sleep ever since he returned from England?

But as soon as Kaiba's eyes closed, the face of Nadina appears before it. It was always a picture of her smiling, the coquettish smile he imagined she would smile if she was happy. However, Kaiba had never seen Nadina truly happy. All he remembered—ever since the first time he saw her at Marik's mansion—was her tears. Those crystal droplets that would just appear from the deep violet orbs and fall like diamonds from underneath those long, dark lashes.

He opened his tired eyes once again and sighed. He can't sleep like this. He can't even close his eyes in fear of seeing the face he was so afraid that he would loose.

Sadly, even with his eyes open, the name echoed through his mind, as if it wasn't willing to leave Kaiba so easily.

Nadina, Nadina, Nadina, Nadina…

"Stop it." He mumbled to himself. "Stop thinking about her…"

Nadina…pretty Nadina Ishtar… His brain taunted, as if just discovering his weakness. Golden curls and violet-blue eyes with tinted pink lips…

"I said, stop it!" He jumped to his feet, expecting to find whomever that's disobeying his orders somewhere nearby, before realizing that he was taking this way to literally. He slumped back down. "I'm getting paranoid. I really need that sleep."

"Kaiba," Marik walked out from the cubicle. Kaiba looked up.

"Hmm?"

"Aren't you going to go in?"

"Perhaps later." Kaiba was surprised at the words that emerged from his lips. "Has there been any change?"

Marik shook his head and flopped down beside him, letting out a long sigh.

"No." He said slowly. "You know, Kaiba, it's about time we really have the man-to-man talk."

"What? Man-to-man talk?" Kaiba looked over and drawled out sarcastically. "We did you think we've been having? Girl-to-girl talks?"

"Will you be serious?!" Marik snapped before forcing himself to calm down. "I suppose you and Nadina are close." Marik shook his head, as if he disapproves of the action.

"I suppose you can say that." Kaiba agreed.

"So you've heard about the engagement, I'm guessing?"

"There are no engagements from what I heard." Kaiba's voice was low. "I heard that Nadina rejected Mr. Blake Malone."

"True." His companion agreed grudgingly. "But that doesn't mean Nadina's never going to marry."

"Give it a break, Marik!" Kaiba hadn't meant to sound so sharp. "Nadina's only fifteen."

"You've got to plan this kind of things early." The Ishtar heir said stubbornly. "You won't understand, you only have a little brother."

"You don't see me trying to marry myself off everyday."

"We're different. We're guys, we can take care of ourselves."

"Same with Nadina."

"She's different!" Marik insisted.

"Why? Because she's a girl?"

"No…"

"Then why?" Kaiba demanded, an indignant scowl plastered on his face as he faced Marik.

"The way things are done, Kaiba, accept it!" Marik jumped up from his seat again. "Communicating with you is like communicating with Lawrence Sr. I'm going back inside."

"Be my honored guest." Kaiba didn't drop the scowl as Marik walked back into Nadina's room.

Maybe now he'd get some peace.

But his dream of peace was shattered the moment he heard the loud, unmistakable beep that came from the heart monitor in Nadina's room.

The room erupted into a violent whirlwind of activity. Marik shrank against the wall as doctors and nurses rushed through the doorway. No one was sterile. They assumed it didn't matter.

A group of technicians surrounded Nadina's bed. Bedcovers hit the floor.

"No pulse!" A voice yelled just as Kaiba came tearing madly into the room.

"I can't get a blood pressure!" Another shouted.

"The EKG's dropping and so is the patient's body temperature!"

Kaiba watched, trembling as the room seethed with medical urgency. Beside her bed, Marik heard the steady beep of the heart monitor turn into a loud whine. Kaiba stared at the screen where the sharp peaking line had gone flat.

"Get the cart!" The machine next to Kaiba was yanked into motion and shoved over to Nadina's bed. Doctors attached electrodes to her bare skin. Marik clenched his fists, held his breath, and pressed tighter to the wall. He's not scared of anything—but this, he could not take. The sound of his blood pounded in his ears, merging with the mechanical screech of the monitor until he thought his eardrums would explode.

Someone called, "Clear!" Doctors and nurses stepped away from the bed and the cart. The air snapped with tension. The body on the bed twitched as the electricity surged through it.

The Italian doctor barked. "No response. Let's hit her again!" Kaiba had lost all feeling in his finger. He was cold. Why was he so cold? The machine zapped and crackled, and the body heaved on the bed one more time. The monitor sent out a weak, wavering blip. Marik caught his breath.

"It's not working!" A doctor yelled. "Does anyone have a plan B? We need one quick, or we're going to loose her."

"Doctor, we're loosing her!!" A nurse screamed. "She's leaving us!"

"Oh Lord…what are we going to do…" Dr. Grey whispered painfully, his faced deadly white and his brow furrowed, sudden spotted Kaiba by the doorway and Marik huddling behind the equipment. His eyes widened as he yelled,

"You two!" He pointed, jumping across the room to grab Kaiba's elbow. "Go over there and call her name!"

"What?" Kaiba looked horrified as Marik looked just as shaky.

"Call her name! Just call her!!" The doctor shoved them over to the bed, not caring that Marik stumbled over Kaiba's foot and Kaiba fell onto the bed. "It's her last hope."

A nurse had pressed her mouth to Nadina's ear and was shouting, "Nadina! Can you hear me?" She clapped her hands sharply, but the teen on the bed didn't respond. The nurse turned to Marik and commanded, "Call her. Keep calling her name! Talk to her!"

"Nadina!" Marik repeated his sister's name over and over by her ear. Soon, all the things he wished to say came tumbling out of his lips. "Listen to me! Wake up! Please wake up, Nadina!" The words poured out. Where was she? Can she hear him? "You can't leave, Nadina. Do you hear me? You cannot leave!"

A nurse shouted, "We've got a heart beat!" The green line staggered on the monitor, rising and falling in uneven peaks.

"Nadina?" Kaiba whispered, his mouth dry. "Please, you can't leave. There are too many people that needs you and wants you back here. Y-your brother is here and he wants you to go home with him. You have to come back and make up with your brother."

"I've got a pulse and her blood pressure is returning!" Sighs could be heard all over the room.

"Nadina," Marik and Kaiba alone were oblivious to the danger that had passed. "Nadina…" Marik was saying softly. "…it's your brother. Please, please open your eyes."

"The EKG is normal." Another doctor reported. "That was close." Dr. Grey nodded and all of a sudden noticed the two young men, still absorbed with Nadina. A breath was slowly let out as he eyed them, then a light of understanding came into his eyes and his ordered quietly,

"I want everyone out of this room, immediately. As quietly as possible. Now." He ordered in a low voice.

Everyone filed out of the room quietly and moved to the window that viewed inside of the ICU, where Kaiba and Marik were still in.

"I want her set up in the ICU, 24 hour supervising. Stat!" He said once he was outside. The whole medical group watched with amazement as for the first time ever since she arrived here, Nadina Ishtar's situation became stabilized and even almost back to normal. They watched with disbelief as Nadina's eyelashes flattered inside the room and the first sign of consciousness registered.

"Unbelievable." One specialist doctor whispered.

"How did you know that would work, Doctor?" A nurse asked with admiration in her eyes. But Dr. Grey only smiled.

"Nadina Ishtar," he said simply. "She has found her hope. Not in one, but in two. Together."

Perspiration poured off Kaiba's face as he walked out of the room half an hour later. His knuckles were white from gripping the sides of the bed. He heard her moan and he sagged, feeling his knees give way. An arm went around his shoulders. Dr. Grey said, "We got her back. She heard you guys and she came back."

His brain was still paralyzed from the fright and refused to comprehend the doctor's message. "From where?"

"From death," he whispered.

Nadina's eyelashes fluttered and she gave a little moan. Seto Kaiba, who had been dozing from his seat on the right side of the bed, gave a little stir. His long legs were crossed at the ankle and he looked peaceful. But his eyes opened tiredly when he heard the stirrings coming from the bed. He yawned and stretched, before haggardly walked over to the left side, where Marik was sitting with his eyes closed and his arms crossed.

"Marik…" He mumbled, and when Marik didn't move, he pushed him more urgently. "Marik!"

The Ishtar woke up with a start. "What?! What's wrong?" He jumped up and looked about his surroundings madly.

"Nadina's waking up, you'd better hide if you don't want her to see you." At Marik's scowl, Kaiba reminded. "Remember? You told me last night that you didn't want Nadina to see you here so if she wakes up, you wanted me to warn you."

Marik yawned and ran a hand through his hand. "Oh, yeah…"

"She's waking up." Kaiba hissed. "GO!" With a shove, the tall businessman sent Marik into the closet in the corner of the room.

"What the—" Marik started to say.

"Keep quiet, it won't take long." Marik's eyes were red as Kaiba slammed the door shut

And on the bed, Nadina felt as if she had been fighting against the ocean's undertow. The sensation was one of struggling valiantly toward the shoreline only to be sucked backward by a strong ocean current she was too weak to fight. Just when she was certain she would drown, she heard two voices like an echo in a canyon. And all of a sudden, a wave of mammoth size lifted her and spit her onto the beach. Her eyelids fluttered again, and she expected to see sand and seaweed and to taste salt. Instead, all she saw was Seto Kaiba's familiar, cold, midnight blue eyes staring down at her, except today, the eyes were smiling and filled with relief.

"Welcome back," he said, a relieved smile spilling over his face.

Nadina gave a little moan as she tried to focus her eyes on the CEO leaning over her. "Kaiba?" She finally made out the form and croaked out weakly.

"The one and only." Then, his eyes softened at the girl whose cloud of hair fanned out on the pillow like a new kind of gold. "I'm glad you're back with us, Nadina."

Nadina tried to speak, but the only sound that came out of her throat was a scratchy, hoarse croak. As soon as the first word popped out of her mouth, Kaiba saw her face paralyze with horror and couldn't help but crack a smile.

"Take it easy," he said gently. "The doctor just pulled your trach tube, so your throat will be sore for a few days. But you won't sound like that forever."

"What…happened?" Nadina begin coughing, causing Kaiba to panic. "I'm okay…my throat…it's quite sore…"

"Then, don't talk. Just listen to me. You've been in a coma for the last past sixteen days, Nadina." Her violet-blue eyes widened. "You're in the ICU right now. You gave us a scare, Nadina, we thought you would…" He trailed off, overcome with emotion. Nadina smiled her charming smile that she hadn't lost her touch for, and lay her hand over Kaiba's.

"I'm tired, Kaiba." She said softly.

"I know, go to sleep." Kaiba immediately smacked himself for being so senseless. The girl had just woken from a coma and here he was, filling her head with all sort of nonsense that she doesn't need to know about at the moment.

But after a minute, Nadina said again, this time, painfully and slowly, "Marik…did he…come?" It was almost as if she was afraid to hear Kaiba's answer. Marik, who was still in the stuffy closet, took a sharp intake of breath. There was a long silence before Kaiba said,

"No."

Nadina turned away and closed her eyes. "I know…I should have expected that. I didn't expect him to leave the estate. He's probably on a business trip and didn't know what happened. It's fine."

There was another long silence. "Maybe."

"It's okay, Kaiba," Nadina squeezed his hand. "Marik doesn't mean half of the thing he does. Don't feel bad for me."

"Okay."

"But don't tell Marik, now that I'm alright, there's no point in making him worried. You see, Marik is really sweet and protective of me. If he hears that there are unauthorized doctors poking me around, he wouldn't be happy. He might do something that he'd regret later."

"I doubt that he would worry." Kaiba muttered to himself.

"And Kaiba…?" Nadina's was almost asleep now, though she was still clutching onto Kaiba's hand and her honey sweet voice had yet died down. "…If, and I mean if Marik happens to visit, be nice. Don't be mean, he can't help who he is."

"Fine."

But when Nadina was finally asleep and Kaiba let Marik out of the closet, the first thing Kaiba hissed was, "Now, do you understand?" Marik shoved him.

"Do you think I'm doing this on purpose?" He snapped, obviously in a bad mood. Kaiba held back his anger until he dragged Marik out of the hospital.

"Your sister will live." He said harshly once they were outside of the hospital. "You can go home to your precious mansion now and leave us both."

"She's my sister!"

"And I'm doing your duty—your duty as a brother!"

"I love her!"

"I love her too, dammit, and I'm not afraid to show it!" Kaiba snarled, his very patience finally worn out.

"You…!"

"You're not the only one out there with love for Nadina anymore!" Kaiba spat. "There are people everywhere that loves Nadina. I love Nadina, Mokuba loves Nadina, and so does Yugi and all of his friends. And to go even further back, there are many students at school that gets along very well with Nadina. And even further than that, many people whom had met Nadina when I brought her to the office found her an irresistibly charming girl."

"Peasants and paupers!"

"But people better than you any day, anytime, in any way. So you see, she doesn't really need you anymore."

"You're lying." Marik hissed between his teeth. "Nadina still needs me, she still loves me, she still wants me."

Kaiba shook his head sadly. "Not for long, Marik. From the way you've been acting, Nadina wouldn't need you in her life much longer. I'll make sure she does well without you."

"Who do you think you are that you could just take over my sister as if she was a livestock?" Marik, by this time, being defeated by Seto Kaiba in every way, was getting pretty furious himself. "What makes you think you have the right or position?!"

"A selfish coward for a brother and I pity Nadina." Kaiba's reply was cool.

Marik was seeing red by now, and without any hesitation, he drew back his fist and slammed it against Kaiba's jaws.

"You're one to talk!" Marik spat at the tall CEO who was now lying on his back on the ground. "Since when have you wanted the best for Nadina?!" He didn't receive an answer as a fist was sank into his stomach. He doubled over and gasped for air.

The fight began.

"Doctor!" A nurse exclaimed to a doctor as they crossed the reception room. "There's two man fighting outside of the hospital!"

Soon, nurses, visitors, and specialists from every floor were down at the main entrance, trying to stop a very heated and frightful fist fight.

"Whoa, boys, calm down." A surgeon was trying to calm them down. "I'm sure everything could be sorted out without the violence." The result of him actually trying to be helpful was Marik falling on top of him from a blow delivered by Kaiba. The doctor stumbled back holding Marik's body up with both arms.

"What the hell!" The Ishtar snapped at the doctor as he jumped back to his feet. "If you doctors know what's good for you, then you'd stay away!" Before he lunged at Kaiba once again with an insane look in his eyes.

"C'mon, guys," a specialist from the psychology department demanded crossly. "You're giving our hospital a bad image. Domino Hospital is for helping people, and they don't need to see you two fighting a—" He shut up fast as Kaiba's body slammed into him, making them both fall from the result.

"Marik!" Kaiba bellowed. "Don't think you can get away with this!?" He looked down. "What the hell are you doing down there?! I thought Marik told you guys to get lost!!"

"You heard us." Marik walked up to Kaiba and glared at all the onlookers. "GET LOST!!" The both roared simultaneously.

Pow! Marik's head flew back as the CEO of KaibaCorp delivered a blow. Bang! Marik didn't waste anytime shoving Kaiba into the wall behind them. Kaiba retaliated by conveniently elbowing Marik back. They both rolled on the ground, hitting, punching, anything to make the other back down.

"That's it, boys!" A baritone suddenly bellowed as the CEO and his opponent felt themselves being ripped apart from each other by the back collar of their shirts. Marik still had his fist locked on Kaiba's collar and Kaiba threw his hands off. They turned to face a red-faced Dr. Grey.

"I'm truly ashamed of the both of you." He told calmly. The boys grew silent. "You two put up with one another for Nadina for so long. And now, you're out here acting like two spoiled little children." The whole scene grew quiet as the excess audience began drifting away silently.

The two "little boys" subconsciously shuffled their foot with their heads hung.

"You two," the doctor pointed his finger at the both of them, his voice dead serious. "You two have tried to understand each other for Nadina's sake, and tried to tolerate one another, and even at one point, come to each others' defenses. But now?" He shook his head. "You let a little impatience and lack of lenity knock down all you've built up."

Kaiba grumbled under his breath.

"Nadina lived because of you two." Dr. Grey put a hand on each of their shoulders. "Now, you two has got to live together for her."