Part Three
"What is that?" Delaney asked in a hushed voice. She softly walked towards the entrance to the cave. The rumblings had grown louder, and now both Kaiba and Delaney could feel the ground trembling. Delaney peeked out the cavern entrance to see what in the world was making that sound. As it grew much louder and more intense, Kaiba realized what it was.
Landslide!!! He ran up to Delaney and grabbed her waist, pulling her back into the cave seconds before a massive boulder crashed to the ground where she had been standing.
Delaney shrieked in surprise as she and Kaiba fell backwards from the force of the tumbling rocks. Within seconds, the cave entrance was sealed shut.
Delaney wriggled to get out of Kaiba's grasp. "Let go of me!" she yelled.
Kaiba released her and could feel her skin brush against his as she crawled away from him.
The cavern was completely darkened now. He couldn't see where Delaney was, but her voice penetrated through the shadows.
"What the hell did you think you were doing?!" she cried angrily.
"I thought I was saving your life!" Kaiba shot back. "But now I think it would have been wiser to leave you there!"
"At least then I wouldn't have to be stuck in here with YOU!" Delaney retorted.
Kaiba growled. How in heaven's name did she get in this thing!?!? He had never met a more annoying person in his whole life. His thoughts were once again interrupted by Delaney's voice.
"OW!" she howled. "I can't see a frickin' thing in here!"
"Good," Kaiba snapped. "Then we won't have to look at each other."
"I'm afraid I'm a step ahead of you," Delaney responded. "Elf's Light!"
The light from Delaney's card pierced the darkness, and then the entire little grotto was illuminated by her magic card- a tiny sprite who radiated beams of weak light. It situated itself in the middle of the cave, equidistant between Delaney and Kaiba. She was sitting against the wall, knees pulled up to her chin and arms wrapped around her legs. He was still lounging on the ground, resting back on his elbows. He looked at the immense pile of boulders that blocked their only way out.
Well this has just been the PERFECT day... he thought cynically. Met the world's most irritating woman, got beat up by her in my own game, and am now trapped inside a cave with her with no way out, no way to call for help, no food, no water, and no heat. Who could ask for more?
He was sure night had fallen outside the cave, but there was no way to tell except for the severe need he felt to yawn. He didn't, but he heard Delaney do so softly. Kaiba looked over at her. She had tightened the ball she had curled herself into and closed her eyes. He listened to her breathing and could tell by the way it shook that she was getting cold. They were on the side of a mountain at night; it was only going to get colder. He also noticed that the cut on her arm was still bleeding a little.
If she falls asleep now, she might not be able to wake up, he thought.
Good! another side of his brain argued. Maybe that'll shut her up!
Kaiba also heard another voice inside his mind. You can't leave someone like this. It's not you. He was tempted to think that yes, it actually was very like him, but the mental voice was an echo of his sister, Raia. He knew she was right; he couldn't just let Delaney suffer, even if he would enjoy watching.
He got up and walked over to her. Delaney's eyes flew open and she stared straight at him with a distrustful look on her face.
"What do you think you're doing?" she asked accusingly.
"Well, I was going to help bandage your arm, but if you don't want my help..."
"You're right, I don't," she snapped.
Kaiba's brow furrowed in indignance. He went back to where he had been sitting and lay down against the cold, hard, stone floor.
Just lovely, he thought sarcastically.
For the next twenty minutes, Delaney struggled to tie a strip of cloth around her shoulder, but to no avail. The wound still had not closed fully, and the only thing really sealing it was the caked blood that stained her shoulder and half the length of her whole arm. She tried once more to tie the cloth, but her hand slipped and smacked her shoulder.
"OW!" she cried. Her face winced in pain. She looked over at Kaiba. He could tell that she didn't want to, but she was being forced to ask his help.
"Could...you...?" she couldn't bring herself to say it.
"What, help you?" he asked in mock indignation. "Well maybe I don't want to help you now."
Her rage flared again. "Well, you know what, I never thought you did, but I was hoping that there might be some semblance of a conscience inside that thick skull of yours!" she retorted angrily. "It seems I was wrong and that if you had one, it has long since been squished by your over-inflated ego."
He rose and walked up to her, seething anger burning in his eyes. She met and held his gaze, matching him fury for fury. Then he did something neither of them had really expected.
He snatched the cloth from her hand, knelt down next to her, and tied it around her shoulder. Delaney watched him, a blank look of confusion evident on her face.
"Do you have any aqua-types?" he asked.
"Huh?"
"Monsters," Kaiba replied. "Do you have any aqua-type monsters in your deck?"
Delaney, even more confused now, pulled her deck out of her pocket (with her other arm) and began flipping through it.
"Does this work?" she asked as she handed him Water Omotics.
"Perfect," he answered.
She took the card from him and held it face-up in front of her. In a flicker of light the creature appeared. Kaiba looked at his shirt, then reluctantly bit at the seam that connected the sleeve to the rest of it. After a moment, he had ripped part of the seam and was able to rip the sleeve off his arm. He dipped it into the jar of water that Delaney's monster held and touched it gingerly to her shoulder.
"What are you doing?" she asked before she winced in pain.
"Cleaning the wound," Kaiba answered. "What does it look like?"
"Don't talk to me like I'm an idiot," she snapped. "I meant why are you even bothering?"
"I'm bored," he retorted icily. He carefully wiped the bloodstains off her shoulder. When he finished, he couldn't seem to help himself from running his fingers down her arm.
"Thanks," she muttered quietly, putting her hand on her arm and giving him a very clear "Your job is done, now go away" look. She curled herself up again and pushed herself up against the wall. She held out the card she had used before and the Water Omotics returned to its cardboard home.
Kaiba returned to his spot on the opposite side of the cave and lay back down on the ground, trying to get some sleep. Delaney curled up again, trying to keep herself from shivering and failing miserably. She could see goose bumps bristle on Kaiba's bare arm when he hit the cold stone floor. She sighed and resigned herself to the fact that if they wanted to say alive, they would have to work together, at least for the night. Kaiba was far too proud and arrogant to admit that even he needed help, so Delaney waited until he was asleep. Then she crawled over to him and waved her hand in front of his closed eyes, just to make sure. When he provided no response, she laid down on the opposite side of him, putting her back against his. It was meager payback for his help.
Kaiba opened his eyes. He had been awake the whole time, but figured that Delaney would be better off if she didn't know that. How could he sleep? He had already made his impression on her as the conceited, cold-hearted businessman that everyone else saw in him. The part that worried him was why he cared what kind of impression he had made. What was so great about her that he felt himself regretting who he was? He felt the heat radiating from her back and traveling down his spine. It had been soo long...
So long since he had felt the warmth of another person against his own skin. So long since anyone had dared to tell him off like Delaney had earlier. Granted, he did enjoy surrounding himself with "yes" people who cowered at him. He liked having people around who would bow to his every whim. But there was something to be said about someone who could put you in your place once in a while.
Put me in my place?!? he thought in indignation. What am I talking about?? No one puts Seto Kaiba "in his place"! I must be losing it. Maybe it's a horrible side effect of the game. After all, it was she who had been following him. She taunted him into the fight. She had run into the cave where the two were now trapped. By all accounts, she was at fault, and all the logic in his brain insisted that he should hate her for everything that she'd done to him. On the other hand, he knew that the feeling in the pit of his stomach was definitely not hatred. Kaiba continued to let his thoughts drift as the night wore on, and eventually his mind slipped and surrendered him to the deep darkness of sleep.