Seto Kaiba looked up from his work as he heard his office door open.
"Alyssa!"
He hadn't seen her in a long time, since she had been visiting her brother, whom he had not yet met.
"Seto, I missed you so much!" The two lovers shared a passionate kiss.
When the kiss ended, Alyssa looked up into Seto's eyes and thought back to her first meeting with Seto. They'd been going steady for two years now, ever since that fateful encounter in the library.
"Seto, it's so good to be back!" She hugged him fiercely. Just then, Mokuba entered.
"Alyssa! You're back!" He ran to give her a hug. Mokuba had liked Alyssa from the first time he had ever laid eyes on her. She treated him differently than other adults did. While the other adults would pretend to listen and then not actually consider what he had said, Alyssa had always thought about Mokuba's ideas carefully before arriving at a decision. She respected him as no one ever had, except for his brother, of course.
Alyssa stepped back and smiled at them both. With one final sigh, she embraced both of them once again. Mokuba laughed. "We're like one big happy family!" He saw the way Seto's eyes would light up whenever he saw Alyssa.
Alyssa simply smiled. "Well, Mokuba, not quite. My brother and his friends are missing."
"Hey, that's right..."
"When are we going to meet this brother of yours, Alyssa?" Seto asked.
"As soon as I get back from my next trip..." She cringed in anticipation.
"Another one?" Seto and Mokuba cried in disbelief.
Alyssa winced at the volume. "Yes, yet another trip. I'm so sorry, I know I just got back, but this is really urgent."
"What is it?"
"My friend...she wanted me to, um, go to Egypt with her."
"Why?" Mokuba wanted to know.
"Well...she's having family problems..." Alyssa trailed off uneasily.
Seto could see something was making her uncomfortable. "Mokuba, would you excuse us?"
"Sure, Seto. But you'll tell me about it later, won't you? And you won't leave without saying goodbye!"
Seto gently shooed him out the door and closed it behind him. Turning around, he looked at Alyssa. She looked so sad and tired. "Please tell me what's wrong, Alyssa. You can't hide it from me."
Alyssa looked up into his face. She saw the pain he felt for her. "Seto, I'm so sorry. I really meant to stay for a while. You know I wouldn't leave unless it really was urgent."
"I know, Alyssa. It's not that. You seem...so...so...distressed."
"Do I, Seto?" She had thought she was hiding her confusion and unease relatively well. But then again, she had never really managed to fool Seto. Not once.
"Yes, Alyssa. What's wrong?" He gently brushed a strand of hair from her face, and she buried her face in his chest. All she wanted right then was to be held. Seto obligingly put his arms around her and waited patiently for a reply.
Alyssa pulled away just enough to look up at him. "Seto, the truth is...well, I can't tell you. I promised her. I'm so sorry."
She could barely stand the look in his eyes, the sadness. She knew all he wanted was to make her feel better. "I'll be okay, I promise, Seto."
After a while, he asked her, "How long will you be gone this time?"
She looked up thoughtfully. "You know, I really haven't thought about that at all. I was in such a hurry to get back, I forgot to ask her how long she wanted me to stay with her in Egypt. I'll call her right now and ask."
Seto listened as she spoke on the phone. "Hey, it's me. How long will it take?...A few months? Could you give me something more definite?...Oh okay. When are we leaving then?...Oh wow, okay. I'll see you then. Bye."
"What'd she say?"
"Something like six to nine months. And we're leaving on Friday."
"Friday? But today's already Tuesday!" Seto protested.
"I know. I'm so sorry!" Alyssa winced.
Seto pulled her close again. Well, we have tomorrow and Thursday. Oh, but you need time to pack too. Alyssa..." he moaned.
The next two days were not wasted. Seto, Alyssa, and Mokuba spent every waking moment together, and each night, after Mokuba had gone to bed, Seto and Alyssa would have some time to themselves. Neither of them grudged Mokuba's company, though, for they both loved him dearly.
Friday came all too soon. The flight was in the early afternoon, at 2:10. Seto and Mokuba went with Alyssa to the airport.
"I can't believe you're going to be gone for so long again, Alyssa."
"I know, Seto, neither can I. I'll miss both of you." She kissed Seto, then gave both of them a quick hug before she had to catch her flight.
When she reached the gate, she turned and waved before disappearing. "Come on, Mokuba," Seto said. "Let's go."
As Alyssa had waved at Seto and Mokuba, another girl dressed in long white robes had boarded. She wore a golden necklace with an eye engraved on it. Alyssa sought her out and they took their seats next to each other.
"Hi Alyssa."
"Hi Ishizu. What exactly are we going to be doing in Egypt?"
"Well—"
"Ladies and gentlemen, please fasten your seatbelts," the pilot said over the P.A. "We will be taking off shortly. Do not remove your seatbelts until the seatbelt light is off. Even then, we recommend that you keep your seatbelt on, in case we encounter turbulence. Thank you for taking Tokyo Air, and enjoy your flight."
"Anyway," Ishizu continued, "that's why we had to get a head start, so I'd have the flight and the weekend to explain everything to you and have you adjust to it all." She then commenced speaking in an ancient language to make sure no one around them could understand what they were saying. Since Alyssa had excelled in her studies of ancient Egyptian, she was able to understand Ishizu perfectly.
As the flight continued, Ishizu spoke of an ancient battle between a courageous pharaoh and a sorcerer. When that story ended, she dove into the details, speaking of the life of a young woman...
A/N: Wow, I'm so sorry for the long wait! Gomen minna! I wanted to watch the Duelist Kingdom episodes before I continued, but I couldn't access the files on the CD my friend burned for me. Then I decided that I should just continue and get to Duelist Kingdom later, and I said to myself, "I'll get to it soon..." but I guess my homework and tests and competitions just got to me. Once again, gomen! And also, once again, please review! I don't plan on continuing to put this story into words unless I get five reviews this chappie. Thx everyone!