Chapter 7

A/N: How'd you like that last bit? I know this story/the last two chaps. have been rather angsty, but I thought they were a nice break from the fluff. And may I add – no reviews, no chapter 8, so get those fingers GOING!

The next few weeks passed agonizingly slow. The wounds began to heal – the medics said the rib was going along satisfactorily, the cuts wouldn't prove lasting damage – but the scar on her back would never fade away. Gouged deep into her lower back, where only Kaiba might ever see it, was the dark rut of Clay's broken vodka bottle. Even now, when the blood had been mopped up and the stitches painstakingly removed, it stung Toria's back...whenever the nightmares came.

At night, when she heard Kaiba's still breathing, slow and deep, she curled in his arms, avoiding her mending rib, and tried to sleep, tried to align her breathing with Kaiba's, heavy and calm.

She closed her eyes...and darkness set in.

"Obedient daughter...Show Daddy some of that ass..." ...the smell of blood...the hard, heavy slap of his stiff hand across her face. Screaming in pain... "I like that sound! Make it again!" Screaming, feeling his heavy juices spraying across her stomach...her face...blood, fire, seeping from her hair...the four dark faces that never really faded away...

She awoke with a shuddering gasp; sweat pouring from her brow...A nightmare. Another nightmare. The scar in her back twinged fitfully, and she sucked in air past her teeth.

Kaiba pulled himself from sleep quickly – he was always on guard. He felt her quivering in his arms, and he carefully tightened his grip, his warm hands feeling the cold clam of her skin. Kissed her cheek, stroked her hair, whispering over and over again into the dark of his bedroom, trying to make the nightmares fade away:

"I love you. I love you. I love you."

Until she managed to sleep, dark fitful dreams, always searching for the warmth of Kaiba's chest, to make sure he wasn't just a dream and the nightmares weren't real.

Every night...Shivering, gasping nightmares...and then:

"I love you. I love you. I love you."

After two weeks, when the worst of the cuts had healed, Kaiba begrudgingly called Yugi.

"Is Yugi there?"

"Yeah, who's this?" said Yugi with a yawn.

"It's Kaiba, you..." He bit off the word he was about the throw at Yugi. This was for Toria. He took another deep breath. "Toria's over the worst of it, if you and the...rest...want to see her." He paused for a moment. Then, with a stiff, hurried coldness, he added: "I'll tell my guards to leave the back gates open." With that, he slammed the phone down.

On the other end, Yugi paused, listening to the buzzing dial tone.

From his soul room, Yami said, "He must really love her if he invited us to his mansion."

"Too right he must," said Yugi, still looking at the phone in disbelief. "We've got to go, though, see if Toria is any better. She's our friend."

"Should send those perverts to the Shadow Realm," muttered Yami, before disappearing completely, withdrawing to the depths of his pyramid-shaped maze, leaving only a faint echo: "If I were Kaiba, that's what I would do."

Yugi picked up the phone to dial up Tea, Tristan, Joey, Mai, Bakura, Duke, and Serenity. He was sure they would all want to go see Toria.

Tea watched Toria as she led the boys through the back door near the patio. She looked like she hadn't been sleeping well, and was paler than usual – but seemed to be healing. She ran forward with a big hug for her girlfriend.

"Hey, Toria," she said. "How are you doing?"

Toria gave her a small smile – if only Tea knew what a triumph that was for her, a smile. "As well as can be expected."

A series of strained grunts came from behind Tea. She turned with an "Oh!" of sudden remembrance. She waved a hand behind her, like a girl presenting a prize on a TV show. She revealed five tall boys, each staggering under the weight of huge piles of shining black leather luggage.

"Your luggage," she said with a smile. "Your dad's back in America trying to get in touch with his parents, so we got your things."

"Are your dresses made out of bricks?" gasped Joey from underneath a formidable stack of suitcases.

"No," grunted Tristan. "Just cement."

"All the rage," commented Duke, trying to keep his knees from shaking.

Toria gave a delighted gasp and glided toward Joey, opening the latch on the first suitcase. His eyes bulged with the weight, and the mountain seemed in danger of falling as his arms shook.

"No, you've got the shoes, Joey," she said with a hint of laughter – like she hadn't in a month since she the suits had shown up at her door. "The platforms, and flip flops, the sandals, pumps, casuals, and slippers."

"Great," said Joey sarcastically. "Want me to display them for you?"

Mai appeared from behind the row of staggering boys.

"Be nice, Joey," she commanded with mock haughtiness. Serenity followed, patting Joey on the head. "You heard her, big brother."

Joey sweatdropped, barely managing to keep the stack under control. One by one, Toria examined the contents of the luggage as Kaiba smirked, trying to keep from smiling broadly. Tristan had the dresses. Duke had the tops, sweaters, and pants. Poor Bakura had his suitcases stuffed with her makeup – he was barely standing upright.

Yami got the best of it, to Kaiba's dismay. He was carrying a large cat carrier, along with a little bag of brushes and pills and cat food. With a cry of happiness, Toria leapt on the cat carrier and opened the door, ushering a very mournful looking Marley into her arms. However, at the sight of her mistress, she perked up at once.

"I've been going over to feed her and give her the allergy pills," said Serenity, "But she missed you." This was evident, as Marley had curled up on her shoulders, purring joyfully. Kaiba's face was unchanged, but Toria caught his thoughts.

"I know, you don't like cats," she said with a mock sigh of frustration. She rolled her eyes and then scooped the cat up, thrusting it into Kaiba's arms.

"Here. Get to know one another." Kaiba looked at the squirming striped cat in his arms with a look of distaste. The thought that came to mind: Cat hair. On the sheets. On the chairs. In the breakfast. In the coffee percolator. Wafting past the computer screen. Cat hair would invade his life.

He was saved from an untimely meeting with this new foe, this cat hair, by the ringing of a nearby cell phone. He passed the wiggling cat to Toria.

"I've got to take this. It could be an update on the case." He paused, as though wondering whether he would regret these next words: "Make yourselves at home."

He picked up the cell phone and went into the next room.

"Strange bloke," said Bakura thoughtfully, setting down the set of makeup cases with a heavy thump that shook the chandelier above.

"He's..." Toria paused, thinking of a way to explain this. "He's...not used to people," she finished, rather lamely, as though leaving details unexplained.

In the next room, Kaiba listened carefully to the lawyer's voice squeaking from the other end.

"What do you mean the case had been stalled?! I demand you un-stall it!"

Pause.

"I could be charged with kidnapping, could I? Did I rape her and try to kill her?"

Pause.

"Your system needs reworking."

Pause.

"For your sake, you better get right on it."

Pause.

"Give me a loophole. You're a lawyer, twisting the truth is your profession, correct? So do it!" He closed the phone with a harsh snap, a feeling of dread building in his stomach. Just when he thought she might have begun to heal. Now he had to shred her world to pieces all over again.

He sighed heavily, then steeled himself.

He found them in the parlor, laughing as Joey tripped over a suitcase for what was surely the umpteenth time, and broke the shining bubble of normalcy with an arrow of pain.

"My lawyers say Shinatashi is pulling cash to get the case stalled. If he talks his way out of the next appeal, you'll have to live with him in San Fransciso next year. Until you're seventeen."

There was a moment's stunned silence. He waited for the bomb to drop, to explode.

A second later, it did.