Author's note: Hi, everyone! I'm still here to torment your reading pleasure!
Bakura: I thought that was my job.
Shelly: No, your job is to torment Schala.
Bakura: *evil grin*
Shelly: Just be warned...she might like it.
Bakura: O_o
Shelly: ^__^ Anyway, thanks for all the reviews! I must warn you that in this chapter Seto gets into a little bit of...um...trouble.
Seto: *sarcastically* Oh, I can't wait.
Shelly: Cheer up, Kaiba. It's not that bad. Hope you all enjoy!
The Heart of Eternity by Shelly
CHAPTER TWELVE
Shari sat across from Kaiba in the limo that was taking them back to his mansion, the light from the passing street lights casting them both into darkness one minute then light the next. They both seemed to be engaged in a sort of staring contest as both hadn't averted their gazes since she joined him, but she was soon tiring of it as well as the silence between them. It angered her at how he had spoken to Joey, and she wondered why he treated the blond boy that way.
"Why do you treat Joey that way?" she finally asked. "He's done nothing to you."
Kaiba smiled as he remembered. "Back at Duelist Kingdom, he challenged me to a duel, even though he knew he couldn't win. He kept barking like the dog he is, and he wouldn't shut up until I beat him into the ground. Then he realized who his master was."
Her jaw flexed as she gritted her teeth. "Still, that's nothing to be proud of," she hissed. "Not everyone has the money to put into a deck like you do, you know. I'm sure he is just as experienced as you are--"
"Don't you dare compare him to me!" he raged suddenly. "He's a nobody, a fifth rate duelist--"
"Then how come he finished second at Duelist Kingdom?" she taunted. "You couldn't even do that, could you? Is that why you always put him down? Because deep down you're jealous of him," she continued.
"You go too far, Shari," he warned.
"Good, I hope I am," she replied. "You're jealous of him because you realize that you'll never have what he has, no matter how much money you may have."
"And what might that be?" he asked, his voice tight with anger.
"He has friends, Kaiba...friends who care about him and love him for who he is," she said. "Can you truly say that about yourself?"
"That's it," he growled, surging out of his seat and throwing her down onto her seat to straddle her waist. Her words had cut deep, as she had meant them to, and now he sought to make her hurt in return. He would make her pay for the moisture hiding behind his eyes. She tried to fight him, and he caught her hands to pin them above her head with an iron grip. "Let's make one thing clear," he said quietly, his anger smoldering. "I don't need his little cheerleading squad of friends. All I care about is being the top duelist in the world, a title I plan to get back in any way I can."
She had become quiet in the face of his anger and now looked deeply into his blue eyes. Were those tears she saw? "Then what happiness is there in your life, Seto?" she asked, daring to use his first name. "When was the last time you truly smiled?"
The last thing he wanted was to have this happen to him. That was why he had never let himself care about anything...until he had first seen her. All of a sudden it was as if he was rethinking his life all over again, questioning all his decisions, and it was all because of her. There were times when he almost hated her for doing that to him...and there were others when all he wanted to do was lose himself in her.
And now was shaping up to be one of those times.
He fought to remain in control of himself. But it was hard to when she was lying beneath him and his chest was so close to touching her...
He suddenly let go of her hands and sat up, his own breathing ragged. She saw this and wondered what had happened, but when the light illuminated his face she saw the war he fought within himself and knew then what it was. Simply because she was fighting the same war within herself. She sat up as well and dared to reach up and touch his face, fearing that he might refuse the contact. He didn't.
"Seto?" she asked, her voice quiet as she let her fingertips drift up along his brow and into his hair, feeling it brush across them, as soft and silky as she imagined it to be. This time he grasped her wrist, but with a gentler hold than before as he moved it down to touch the left side of his chest where his heart thundered underneath her palm. Then she felt him bury his other hand into the hair at the base of her neck as he drew her close, his breath soft against her ear.
"Do you see what kind of effect you have on me, Shari?" he whispered as his lips caressed her cheek.
She was past all reason now as she inhaled his scent, her hand clutching a fistful of his shirt. This was what she wanted, what she had dreamed of for so long, and now it was really happening. Unable to stand it any longer, she turned her head so that she caught his mouth in a quick, heated kiss, both of them breathing heavily as she buried her fingers inside his hair to hold him close. His arms came around her to hold her tight against him before they both fell back down onto the seat.
He had never thought he would know what heaven could be like until this very moment, to know that being with someone could be like this. And what was even more confusing was that it felt so incredibly right for them to be together, like he had found a piece of himself that he had never realized was missing until now. It was scary as well.
Suddenly he drew away from her to try and gain control over his raging emotions, but upon seeing her lying there looking so desirable, he couldn't help but kiss her once again. She didn't mind as she made small sounds of pleasure that threatened to undo what little restraint was left to them.
But in the end it was the feeling of the car stopping that jolted them back to their senses, simply because they were thrown into the floor of the limo. She ended up landing on top of him and quickly scrambled up into her seat, straightening her hair and clothing as best she could. He did the same, neither of them looking at one another for fear of having it all happen again.
She was the first to leave as she almost ran inside the mansion, and by the time he came inside she was already in her room with her door shut tightly. He stood outside for a moment, trying to summon enough courage to apologize to her, but in the end left her to her own thoughts.
So caught up in her own thoughts, she didn't hear him pause outside her door. Even if she had, she doubted that she would've let him in for fear of what else might happen. It seemed that whenever she was around him she lost all control of her good sense. What did she think she was doing kissing him? Where did all these feelings for him come from anyway? And why did it absolutely drive her insane whenever she thought about the look in his eyes when they had kissed?
Sitting on the bed, she closed her eyes and drew her knees up to her chest, trying to block out the images she still saw in her mind.
"What's wrong with admitting to yourself that you're attracted to him?" a female voice asked.
Looking up in surprise, she was shocked to see what appeared to be an older version of herself seemingly sitting in front of her on the bed. She was dressed in the same clothes she wore and even had the same hair. But her eyes were what set her apart as they were wiser and very beautiful with the way they were painted in an ancient Egyptian style. She had to swallow a few times to wet her suddenly dry throat.
"Who are you?" Shari asked, feeling a little strange talking to a spirit.
The spirit smiled patiently. "I am Makare," she replied in a soft voice. "And if what Yami said was true, I live inside that necklace you're wearing. I've never known him to be wrong about anything so I guess he's telling the truth," she added with a smile.
"Makare," she breathed as she touched her necklace absently. Then she remembered what happened earlier this evening...or what almost happened...between her and Yami and blushed furiously.
Makare's smile widened. "It's all right, Shari. It's just that I haven't seen him in such a long time, and I got a little carried away. I will try and be a little more discreet in the future," she said with a chuckle.
Shari had to smile at that. "I must admit that this is all still strange to me," she began.
"And you must have a thousand questions by now," the spirit finished. Shari nodded, earning a sigh from her. "I wish I could tell you more about myself, but like Yami I know very little. I wish I knew how I came to be trapped inside a necklace for so long, but what concerns me most is that I have no idea of who I am other than the fact that I am his wife, and that I love him so much."
She seemed to turn melancholy then, but just as quickly brightened again as she met Shari's eyes. "Which brings me to what's been bothering you so much. There's nothing wrong with falling in love, Shari."
"I'm not in love with him!" she exclaimed a little too defensively.
Makare gifted her with a look that said she knew better. "If you're not, then you are well on your way already."
"But I can't be in love with him," she argued a little more calmly.
"And why not?"
Shari thought a moment. "I don't know. He's so cruel to Joey for no reason, and no one else really seems to like him. He does act kinda like he's better than everybody."
"That's just his way of hiding his true feelings, you know that," Makare reminded her. "He wasn't born that way so something had to happen to have made him act like he does." Then she looked towards the door. "I think you're about to have a visitor that might be able to shed some light on him for you," she said then disappeared.
Shari's breath caught in her throat. Was it Kaiba himself coming to see her?
She heard a knock on the door and asked who it was, her eyebrows raising in surprise when she heard the voice of the younger Kaiba in reply. Sliding off the bed, she walked over to open the door, her heart softening when she saw his soulful eyes gazing up at her. "How can I help you?" she asked a little awkwardly.
He stood there rocking on his feet for a moment, perhaps digging up the courage to speak to her. "I was walking by your room and I thought I heard voices," he began a little shyly. "Is everything all right?"
She wasn't sure how to reply, and what could she possibly say? That she had been talking to a five thousand year old spirit trapped inside her necklace? Kaiba would have her sent straight to the mental institution for that one. "I'm fine, Mokuba. Why do you ask?" she replied instead.
"I--I just saw my brother and he wasn't himself," he said, his unease apparent in his voice. "I wondered if maybe you could explain why he's acting so funny."
She sighed heavily. Why was it that kids always managed to ask the most difficult questions to answer? "Why don't you come in, and I'll do the best I can? How about that?" He nodded and she led him inside where she sat on the bed and he hopped up to sit cross-legged beside her. "I'm afraid that on our way here we got into a...um...discussion about things and I went a little too far."
"What kinds of things?" he asked in his child-like voice.
"Well, like, why he always treats Joey like he does," she began. "And why he never seems to smile or makes any effort to have friends."
Mokuba gazed at her with sad eyes. "For as long as I can remember it's been just us two together," he explained. "From what he told me, our parents died in a car crash and we were both sent to an orphanage until a foster home could be found for us."
Her eyes widened. Both of them had once lived in an orphanage?
"Our foster father wasn't very nice to Seto," he continued. "He treated him bad, but he taught him how to run Kaiba Corp. My brother is very smart and has never needed anyone else...except for me. He made a promise to me that he would always take care of me, and he's done that and so much more. When Pegasus took me prisoner in Duelist Kingdom, he was there to save me. But even he couldn't defeat Pegasus." His eyes hardened to reflect a sudden steel resolve. "All I know is that I love my brother, and if his life was in danger, I would do all I could to save him."
Shari wasn't quite sure what to make of Mokuba's words as she tried to put what she knew of Kaiba and what she didn't know together. Who could've guessed that beneath his tough exterior lie such a complex person? And why was it that no one else knew who he truly was except his brother? Question was, did she really want to find out?
*****************
Seto: O_O
Shelly: See, it wasn't all that bad, was it?
Seto: *passes out* x_x
Shelly: I love doing that to him. Thanks for reading!
Bakura: I thought that was my job.
Shelly: No, your job is to torment Schala.
Bakura: *evil grin*
Shelly: Just be warned...she might like it.
Bakura: O_o
Shelly: ^__^ Anyway, thanks for all the reviews! I must warn you that in this chapter Seto gets into a little bit of...um...trouble.
Seto: *sarcastically* Oh, I can't wait.
Shelly: Cheer up, Kaiba. It's not that bad. Hope you all enjoy!
The Heart of Eternity by Shelly
CHAPTER TWELVE
Shari sat across from Kaiba in the limo that was taking them back to his mansion, the light from the passing street lights casting them both into darkness one minute then light the next. They both seemed to be engaged in a sort of staring contest as both hadn't averted their gazes since she joined him, but she was soon tiring of it as well as the silence between them. It angered her at how he had spoken to Joey, and she wondered why he treated the blond boy that way.
"Why do you treat Joey that way?" she finally asked. "He's done nothing to you."
Kaiba smiled as he remembered. "Back at Duelist Kingdom, he challenged me to a duel, even though he knew he couldn't win. He kept barking like the dog he is, and he wouldn't shut up until I beat him into the ground. Then he realized who his master was."
Her jaw flexed as she gritted her teeth. "Still, that's nothing to be proud of," she hissed. "Not everyone has the money to put into a deck like you do, you know. I'm sure he is just as experienced as you are--"
"Don't you dare compare him to me!" he raged suddenly. "He's a nobody, a fifth rate duelist--"
"Then how come he finished second at Duelist Kingdom?" she taunted. "You couldn't even do that, could you? Is that why you always put him down? Because deep down you're jealous of him," she continued.
"You go too far, Shari," he warned.
"Good, I hope I am," she replied. "You're jealous of him because you realize that you'll never have what he has, no matter how much money you may have."
"And what might that be?" he asked, his voice tight with anger.
"He has friends, Kaiba...friends who care about him and love him for who he is," she said. "Can you truly say that about yourself?"
"That's it," he growled, surging out of his seat and throwing her down onto her seat to straddle her waist. Her words had cut deep, as she had meant them to, and now he sought to make her hurt in return. He would make her pay for the moisture hiding behind his eyes. She tried to fight him, and he caught her hands to pin them above her head with an iron grip. "Let's make one thing clear," he said quietly, his anger smoldering. "I don't need his little cheerleading squad of friends. All I care about is being the top duelist in the world, a title I plan to get back in any way I can."
She had become quiet in the face of his anger and now looked deeply into his blue eyes. Were those tears she saw? "Then what happiness is there in your life, Seto?" she asked, daring to use his first name. "When was the last time you truly smiled?"
The last thing he wanted was to have this happen to him. That was why he had never let himself care about anything...until he had first seen her. All of a sudden it was as if he was rethinking his life all over again, questioning all his decisions, and it was all because of her. There were times when he almost hated her for doing that to him...and there were others when all he wanted to do was lose himself in her.
And now was shaping up to be one of those times.
He fought to remain in control of himself. But it was hard to when she was lying beneath him and his chest was so close to touching her...
He suddenly let go of her hands and sat up, his own breathing ragged. She saw this and wondered what had happened, but when the light illuminated his face she saw the war he fought within himself and knew then what it was. Simply because she was fighting the same war within herself. She sat up as well and dared to reach up and touch his face, fearing that he might refuse the contact. He didn't.
"Seto?" she asked, her voice quiet as she let her fingertips drift up along his brow and into his hair, feeling it brush across them, as soft and silky as she imagined it to be. This time he grasped her wrist, but with a gentler hold than before as he moved it down to touch the left side of his chest where his heart thundered underneath her palm. Then she felt him bury his other hand into the hair at the base of her neck as he drew her close, his breath soft against her ear.
"Do you see what kind of effect you have on me, Shari?" he whispered as his lips caressed her cheek.
She was past all reason now as she inhaled his scent, her hand clutching a fistful of his shirt. This was what she wanted, what she had dreamed of for so long, and now it was really happening. Unable to stand it any longer, she turned her head so that she caught his mouth in a quick, heated kiss, both of them breathing heavily as she buried her fingers inside his hair to hold him close. His arms came around her to hold her tight against him before they both fell back down onto the seat.
He had never thought he would know what heaven could be like until this very moment, to know that being with someone could be like this. And what was even more confusing was that it felt so incredibly right for them to be together, like he had found a piece of himself that he had never realized was missing until now. It was scary as well.
Suddenly he drew away from her to try and gain control over his raging emotions, but upon seeing her lying there looking so desirable, he couldn't help but kiss her once again. She didn't mind as she made small sounds of pleasure that threatened to undo what little restraint was left to them.
But in the end it was the feeling of the car stopping that jolted them back to their senses, simply because they were thrown into the floor of the limo. She ended up landing on top of him and quickly scrambled up into her seat, straightening her hair and clothing as best she could. He did the same, neither of them looking at one another for fear of having it all happen again.
She was the first to leave as she almost ran inside the mansion, and by the time he came inside she was already in her room with her door shut tightly. He stood outside for a moment, trying to summon enough courage to apologize to her, but in the end left her to her own thoughts.
So caught up in her own thoughts, she didn't hear him pause outside her door. Even if she had, she doubted that she would've let him in for fear of what else might happen. It seemed that whenever she was around him she lost all control of her good sense. What did she think she was doing kissing him? Where did all these feelings for him come from anyway? And why did it absolutely drive her insane whenever she thought about the look in his eyes when they had kissed?
Sitting on the bed, she closed her eyes and drew her knees up to her chest, trying to block out the images she still saw in her mind.
"What's wrong with admitting to yourself that you're attracted to him?" a female voice asked.
Looking up in surprise, she was shocked to see what appeared to be an older version of herself seemingly sitting in front of her on the bed. She was dressed in the same clothes she wore and even had the same hair. But her eyes were what set her apart as they were wiser and very beautiful with the way they were painted in an ancient Egyptian style. She had to swallow a few times to wet her suddenly dry throat.
"Who are you?" Shari asked, feeling a little strange talking to a spirit.
The spirit smiled patiently. "I am Makare," she replied in a soft voice. "And if what Yami said was true, I live inside that necklace you're wearing. I've never known him to be wrong about anything so I guess he's telling the truth," she added with a smile.
"Makare," she breathed as she touched her necklace absently. Then she remembered what happened earlier this evening...or what almost happened...between her and Yami and blushed furiously.
Makare's smile widened. "It's all right, Shari. It's just that I haven't seen him in such a long time, and I got a little carried away. I will try and be a little more discreet in the future," she said with a chuckle.
Shari had to smile at that. "I must admit that this is all still strange to me," she began.
"And you must have a thousand questions by now," the spirit finished. Shari nodded, earning a sigh from her. "I wish I could tell you more about myself, but like Yami I know very little. I wish I knew how I came to be trapped inside a necklace for so long, but what concerns me most is that I have no idea of who I am other than the fact that I am his wife, and that I love him so much."
She seemed to turn melancholy then, but just as quickly brightened again as she met Shari's eyes. "Which brings me to what's been bothering you so much. There's nothing wrong with falling in love, Shari."
"I'm not in love with him!" she exclaimed a little too defensively.
Makare gifted her with a look that said she knew better. "If you're not, then you are well on your way already."
"But I can't be in love with him," she argued a little more calmly.
"And why not?"
Shari thought a moment. "I don't know. He's so cruel to Joey for no reason, and no one else really seems to like him. He does act kinda like he's better than everybody."
"That's just his way of hiding his true feelings, you know that," Makare reminded her. "He wasn't born that way so something had to happen to have made him act like he does." Then she looked towards the door. "I think you're about to have a visitor that might be able to shed some light on him for you," she said then disappeared.
Shari's breath caught in her throat. Was it Kaiba himself coming to see her?
She heard a knock on the door and asked who it was, her eyebrows raising in surprise when she heard the voice of the younger Kaiba in reply. Sliding off the bed, she walked over to open the door, her heart softening when she saw his soulful eyes gazing up at her. "How can I help you?" she asked a little awkwardly.
He stood there rocking on his feet for a moment, perhaps digging up the courage to speak to her. "I was walking by your room and I thought I heard voices," he began a little shyly. "Is everything all right?"
She wasn't sure how to reply, and what could she possibly say? That she had been talking to a five thousand year old spirit trapped inside her necklace? Kaiba would have her sent straight to the mental institution for that one. "I'm fine, Mokuba. Why do you ask?" she replied instead.
"I--I just saw my brother and he wasn't himself," he said, his unease apparent in his voice. "I wondered if maybe you could explain why he's acting so funny."
She sighed heavily. Why was it that kids always managed to ask the most difficult questions to answer? "Why don't you come in, and I'll do the best I can? How about that?" He nodded and she led him inside where she sat on the bed and he hopped up to sit cross-legged beside her. "I'm afraid that on our way here we got into a...um...discussion about things and I went a little too far."
"What kinds of things?" he asked in his child-like voice.
"Well, like, why he always treats Joey like he does," she began. "And why he never seems to smile or makes any effort to have friends."
Mokuba gazed at her with sad eyes. "For as long as I can remember it's been just us two together," he explained. "From what he told me, our parents died in a car crash and we were both sent to an orphanage until a foster home could be found for us."
Her eyes widened. Both of them had once lived in an orphanage?
"Our foster father wasn't very nice to Seto," he continued. "He treated him bad, but he taught him how to run Kaiba Corp. My brother is very smart and has never needed anyone else...except for me. He made a promise to me that he would always take care of me, and he's done that and so much more. When Pegasus took me prisoner in Duelist Kingdom, he was there to save me. But even he couldn't defeat Pegasus." His eyes hardened to reflect a sudden steel resolve. "All I know is that I love my brother, and if his life was in danger, I would do all I could to save him."
Shari wasn't quite sure what to make of Mokuba's words as she tried to put what she knew of Kaiba and what she didn't know together. Who could've guessed that beneath his tough exterior lie such a complex person? And why was it that no one else knew who he truly was except his brother? Question was, did she really want to find out?
*****************
Seto: O_O
Shelly: See, it wasn't all that bad, was it?
Seto: *passes out* x_x
Shelly: I love doing that to him. Thanks for reading!