Chapter Thirteen

Thinking back to the day Seto had said he loved her, Isis noticed something strange: surprise had been a large part of her emotions that day. Not obvious surprise, nothing that would be noticeable in her expression or manner, but enough for Isis to figure out that she hadn't really been expecting Seto to fall for her. She had hoped he would, obviously, and she had been hurt when it seemed like he didn't care about her, but she'd never really believed there was a chance he would love her. It had seemed unattainable, impossible. Even two days after Seto had told Isis of his love for her, the idea seemed incomprehensible.

But he did love her…

She relived the moment that he'd told her over and over again. After he'd said those beautiful words—"Isis, I do love you,"—he had stood and walked over to her. He'd gently touched her cheek, as if wondering what it felt like, and they'd shared a moment's kiss. Nothing more was needed.

Little had changed about their relationship. There were small things, though. The night before, for example, instead of eating with Malik and Rishid in the dining room, Isis had eaten with Seto in his room. The two had talked, but for no longer than usual. Yet Isis had enjoyed it more than any conversation she'd had before—because she was with him, and she knew he cared about her.

When she spent time with Seto like that, it was almost possible for Isis to forget how soon he had to leave. But when she did remember, the idea was more terrifying than ever. She had once or twice considered asking Malik if Seto could stay longer, beyond the end of his allotted month. She doubted Malik would allow it, though, so she just enjoyed what time she had with Seto now.

That meant that the time she couldn't be with him—the hours that she spent at work—were torturous. From the time Isis left the tomb in the morning, the day seemed to drag by until she returned. Even the distance between the city and Isis's home seemed far greater than usual as she departed from work that afternoon.

Finally she reached the tomb. She pulled open the trapdoor eagerly and called, "I'm home!"

Before she could start off to Seto's room, however, Malik stopped her. "A word, Isis?"

"Sure," Isis answered, a little reluctantly. Malik walked into his own room, and Isis followed.

Malik paused for a moment, and then said, "Today and yesterday, Kaiba seemed to have a lot more free time than he has the rest of this month. Since you've been with him the most, maybe you know: is he finished researching?"

Isis was suddenly nervous, although she couldn't really figure out why. "Y-yes," she replied uncertainly. "He finished two days ago."

"He needs to leave, then."

Isis's stomach dropped and she suddenly felt hollow. "Leave… now?" she asked slowly. Malik nodded once. "But… but can't he stay a little longer? The month is almost over, isn't it? We said he could stay an entire month…"

"We said he could stay for a month to research," Malik reminded her firmly. "If he isn't researching, then he should go."

"But… there are only a few more days!" Isis said, realizing distantly that she sounded desperate. "Can't he just finish his month? Why is it so important that he goes now?"

"He is an outsider," said Malik, his voice now taking on an edge of hardness. "He doesn't belong here."

"But…" Isis started. But I don't want him to leave yet! She felt tears in her eyes, tears of desperation, and frustration too, because she knew Malik was right. Seto was an outsider. It had been stupid for her to even fall in love with him, knowing the whole time he would have to leave so soon.

Isis looked away to hide her tears. "Can't he stay longer?" she asked again. Her voice broke and she held back a sob.

Malik noticed. "Isis?" he asked, startled. The hardness was suddenly gone from his voice, now replaced with worry. "Isis, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, nothing," she tried to assure her brother as she quelled her tears. "I'm fine. I'll… I'll go tell Seto."

But Malik grabbed her arm before she could leave. "Isis…" She turned to look at him. He seemed very confused as he continued, "You… you really don't want Kaiba to leave, do you?"

Wordlessly, Isis shook her head.

"Why not?" Malik pressed.

Isis paused, but there was no point in hiding it. "I love him," she said simply.

Malik let go of her arm, at a loss for words. He stared down at the floor for a long moment, sighed, and slowly said, "Isis… Since there's less than a week left… he can stay until the end of the month."

Isis's eyes widened in surprise. "R-really?"

Malik nodded firmly and added, "But only until then. Do you understand?"

Isis nodded as well. "I understand," she said. "It's fine." She smiled gratefully at her brother. "Thank you, Malik."

The boy shrugged. "Yeah," he said. "No problem."

Now Isis went to Seto's room. But as she looked in, she hesitated. Seto was sitting on his bed, staring at one of his Blue-Eyes cards with an unreadable, almost hypnotized expression.

Isis waited at the doorway. It was not the first time she had come upon Seto when he was like this. She was never sure if he was receiving a vision, "remembering" something from his past life, or just thinking. But whatever it was, Isis thought it probably had to do with Kisara—most likely with the information Seto had found two days ago. He still hadn't been able to tell Isis what it was that had affected him so much; she didn't press him.

After Isis had been standing outside of his room for about a minute, Seto looked at her and seemed to come out of his trance. He smiled slightly at Isis and gave her a nod that obviously meant, come in. She did, sitting down next to him on his bed, not too close, not too far away. She put her hand down on the bed and Seto put his next to it so that they were just touching.

He didn't say anything about what he'd been doing. Isis didn't ask.

She was, however, the first one to speak. "Malik has noticed that you're finished," she said. "He wanted you to leave. But since there are only five days left, he decided to let you stay."

Seto nodded, then asked, "Are there really only five days left?"

"Yes."

"You've been keeping track that closely?" A sarcastic smile appeared on Seto's face. "Were you that eager for me to leave?"

"Hardly," Isis protested with a shake of her head. "Quite the opposite, really."

"Oh?" Seto seemed interested in that. "How long, then?"

"How long what?"

"How long have you known you wanted me to stay? How long have you known you cared about me?"

Isis thought back. "Since the end of the first week, I believe."

"A while, then."

Shrugging, Isis said, "I suppose so. And what about you?"

"Around the middle of the second week, I guess. After we had breakfast together."

"Oh yes," Isis said thoughtfully. "I remember that…" She paused for a moment. "You said that day that you didn't want to be trapped by your destiny, didn't you?"

"Yes."

"And yet…" Isis spoke slowly, uncertain of what she was saying. "Within the last two weeks… your destiny has tried to trap you."

"Tried," Seto emphasized, scowling slightly.

"It almost succeeded."

For a moment, Seto was silent. Isis wondered briefly if he was annoyed with her. But then Seto said, "While I've been here, my sense of my 'past' has been… incredibly strong. Everything I could remember… all of Set's emotions… They were all that was in my mind. Before, I didn't understand why they were so clear, and I didn't like them at all. But now…"

Isis watched Seto as he considered what to say. He looked troubled, as if trying to put into words something he barely understood himself.

"Now…" he continued, "I know why those feelings were so strong. I know why I needed to research. There was… there was something I needed to remember. I needed to know about… Kisara's sacrifice."

Curious as she was, Isis resisted the urge to ask what Kisara's "sacrifice" had been. It was probably the information Seto had found two days ago, the information that he seemed to think about so much now. Seto would tell her if he wanted to.

Instead, Isis said, "You don't regret coming to research, then?"

"No, not at all," Seto answered, hardly pausing. "I resented it at first, but… what I learned was important. I'm glad I can remember that now… And…" He put his hand over Isis's now and gave her a small smile.

She smiled back. Seto didn't need to finish his sentence. "I don't regret it either," she told him softly.