My deepest apologies for the screwiness of the formatting in this chapter before. I didn't realize. It's fixed now.

And while I'm at it, I don't own YGO.

Chapter Twelve

"I didn't learn anything!"

For the past two days, that had been Seto's response when Isis asked if he'd like to share what he'd learned. He had been about to leave, two days ago, but it seemed he had received a vision that told him he had to come back and finish researching. Yet now he couldn't find anything. Isis knew he was angry, and she didn't blame him at all. It had to be frustrating.

But maybe he had found something today. Isis shot a hesitant glance into the library. "Seto…?"

He didn't even seem to notice that she'd spoken. He was staring down at something in his hand—Isis couldn't tell what—and trembling so much that Isis could see him shaking from the doorway. "Seto?" she repeated. "Is something wrong?"

Seto hadn't heard her. He was holding one of his Blue-Eyes cards to his face, bowing over it. Kisara… Kisara, I'm so sorry… He felt a tear fall down his face.

Now Isis was alarmed. "Seto…?" She walked up to him and, after a small hesitation, put a hand on his shoulder. He was still shaking; Isis could feel it.

Seto lowered the Blue-Eyes—so that's what it is, realized Isis—and slowly looked up at her. As their eyes met, Isis saw that he was stunned. Stunned and hurt. Swallowing, she asked, "Would you like to share what you've learned?"

Seto didn't answer right away. He knew what he wanted to say: He killed her. That !#$ Akunadin killed her! But somehow, the words seemed inappropriate, too harsh or too dramatic. And he could think of nothing else. So he looked away and pushed Isis's hand off his shoulder. "No!" he answered loudly, his voice hoarse from his tears.

Isis nodded quickly, slightly startled by his tone of voice, and turned away. But then Seto spoke again.

"I'm sorry," he said, his voice catching. "I just… can't share yet…"

Isis looked back. Was it that bad?

Still shaking, Seto gripped the Blue-Eyes card tightly. Akunadin probably even told Kisara I wanted her to die, so she'd do it willingly…! he realized angrily. Then he noticed that Isis was still waiting, looking at him with that deep concern again. Not allowing himself to be affected by her worry, he said matter-of-factly, "I found out everything I needed to."

Isis lowered her eyes. "Will you be leaving, then?" she asked quietly. This time she was able to control herself, able to accept that Seto would leave. Able to accept that she would never see the one she loved again. But—

"I'm not sure."

Isis looked up, surprised. "Not sure?"

Seto shrugged, studying the table. "Maybe there's something about her in another text, or something," he explained. For some reason, he wanted to keep learning about Kisara. He wanted to find her. To… to thank her, to tell her… how much he loved her. Suddenly, the fact that his love came from Set's didn't matter. Seto loved her, and she'd given her life for him. Or for Set. It didn't matter which.

Isis was confused; before, Seto had been eager to get away, yet now he wanted to stay. "But just two days ago, you couldn't wait to leave."

"I know. But what I discovered today… makes me want to know more about her." Now it seemed disrespectful, to just leave after finding out about Kisara's sacrifice.

Isis's brows met in worry. "Seto…" she said slowly. "This isn't like you, to care so much about… about your past. Only a few days ago, you hated the fact that you were being forced to care." She wished Seto would meet her eyes. "Seto, what's changed?"

He had no answer to that. So he just said, "Give me two days to decide what to do. I may leave, I may not. I'm not sure yet."

Isis nodded reluctantly. She was about to leave Seto to his thoughts, but a sudden quiet courage welled up in her heart. Now is the time to tell him. "Seto…" she said clearly. This time there was no stuttering, not even when Seto looked up and met her eyes. She held his gaze serenely, standing straight and still as she said, "Whether you choose to leave or to stay longer, I want you to know that I love you."

I love you. Seto repeated the words in his head, trying to grasp their magnitude. His mind acknowledged them, but they stopped short of reaching his heart. There was too much going on for him to feel anything else right now. "Isis…" It was so hard to explain the protective numbness he was feeling. Seto swallowed and said, "I think I love you too. But… there's just so much in my mind right now." He closed his eyes. "Just give me a while to work everything out."

"Yes," Isis heard herself say, quite calmly. "I understand." Still perfectly composed, she left the library and walked to her room. Inside, though, she was filled with joy.

He might love me… He said he might love me!

Seto sat in the library the next morning, deep in thought. He'd fallen asleep in there that night, after searching new scrolls for hours. He hadn't been able to read the new scrolls, anyway—if he were to use them, it would be back to the old routine of copy, proofread, and scan.

But now Seto was wondering if he did indeed still want to research. It didn't seem as important as it had last night. His feelings for Kisara seemed to be… changing. No longer was he filled with longing whenever he thought of her. Knowing that she had sacrificed herself to be the Blue-Eyes had increased Seto's respect for her, and he had a deeper respect of the monster now, too. But for some reason, it just wasn't burningly important that he find Kisara anymore.

Isis was glad she had extra time before she left for work that morning—she wanted to see how Seto was doing. To see if he'd made his decision yet.

She stood at the door of the library, watching as Seto stared down at the several scrolls spread across the table. He didn't seem to be reading them at all; his stare was glassy and Isis suspected that he was thinking instead of reading.

Nevertheless, she asked, "Are you learning anything, Seto?"

Seto almost jumped at Isis's voice. Not looking at her, he shook his head. "I can't read these," he said flatly.

"Oh. Are you going to copy them again?" Isis bit her lip. Maybe he would accept help now…? "Or… if you like, I could search for—"

"I'm not sure I want to research anymore," Seto interrupted.

"Oh," said Isis again, her heart sinking. "Will… will you be leaving today, then?" She spoke with difficulty around the sudden lump that had formed in her throat. What's wrong with me? she wondered. I knew this was coming. But I let myself get my hopes up, after he said… after he said he might love me…

Seto hesitated before answering. As much as further research seemed unnecessary now, there was something that made him want to stay at the Ishtars'…

Isis watched Seto's pause anxiously, the tiniest glimmer of hope starting in her heart. Maybe he didn't want to leave?

Slowly, Seto said, "Isis… I told you yesterday that I l… that there was too much going on in my mind. And I told you before that I was in love with Kisara." He had been about to remind her of when he'd said he might love her. But that didn't seem like the best thing to say, not right now. Or maybe he was just afraid of what he would say after such a statement…?

"Yes, you did say that," Isis agreed nervously, the lump in her throat seeming to grow. His mention of his love for Kisara was upsetting.

But she needn't have worried. Seto stared at the table, looking at the hieroglyphs that were so unclear to him. "I think my… I think Set is… retreating." Seto didn't feel that made a lot of sense, so he explained, "For a long time, there was a battle going on in my mind, Set barraging me with memories and feelings."

Isis nodded, wondering why Seto was telling her this. Was it a cry for pity? No, not from Seto, she decided.

But then what?

"It's stopped now," Seto continued. "Set's… Set's feelings aren't in control anymore. And I can ignore his memories if I want. He's… he isn't gone, but he isn't… isn't really there either."

"I'm glad for you," said Isis quietly. Then, tentatively, she asked, "And your… love… for Kisara…?"

"Gone." Seto hadn't realized, until he said that, just how true it was. He respected the blue-eyed girl, but he no longer loved her. He was free of that overpowering emotion… which was a relief, of course, but it also made him a little sad. "Love" was an interesting feeling. Maybe he would even miss it.

But then he realized……

Finally, Seto raised his eyes from the table to look at Isis. As their eyes met, Isis could feel Seto searching her, and she wondered what he was looking for. She gazed back calmly, curiously… lovingly. Lovingly most of all. And in his eyes, she saw the same feeling reflected back.

"I said yesterday that I might love you," Seto said in a low, uncertain voice. "I said there was too much in my mind to feel anything extra. But that's gone now. And I…" He paused for a moment to collect his thoughts. Isis's eyes widened and her face settled into an elated smile as she realized what Seto was saying.

"Isis, I do love you."