Okay, sorry for all the angst last chapter. Things will start looking up now; though we're not completely out of the woods yet... Anyhow, thanks for reviewing, everyone, and I hope you all enjoy the new chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh.

Chapter 5

The leaves were all gone now. Dead gray trunks stretched toward the cold sky, spreading out empty branches, devoid of even the last clinging brown husks, to tap mockingly on my window. I rested my forehead against the chilled glass with a sigh. Since my confession to Yugi a week before, my life had sunk back into the dull rut it had been before I saw Seto on the pier that day; and once again I sat bleakly in my room, staring out the window while Jiichan swept the sidewalk just below me.

Only now, of course, there were a few slight differences. I avoided Yugi-tachi- since I was unable to face Yugi's sympathetic, worried glances and Bakura's rude smirks –and instead of sitting at the window longing for a change, I sat trying to force away the memories of Seto – past and present – that flooded constantly through my mind.

But, despite my best efforts, Seto's handsome face lingered just behind my field of vision, and I kept remembering how my fingers slid through his baby-fine hair…and feeling the soft touch of phantom lips against my neck…

I buried my face in my hands as a hesitant knock sounded on the door. "Come in, Yugi," I muttered through my fingers.

As the door creaked open I straightened but trained my eyes on the window. I really didn't want to listen to anything else Yugi had to say. That day in the bathroom - after I managed to convince Yugi my feelings for Kaiba weren't some sick joke – Yugi had tried everything possible to change my mind, though nothing had worked, since by this time I was apparently completely obsessed with Seto.

"But Yami," Yugi had said, "where would you get the idea that you loved Kaiba? You two have always been rivals- he hates all of us!"

I had merely shrugged in reply. It was impossible for me to articulate my feelings, and I didn't even really understand them myself, anyway. All I knew was that there was some strange electricity around Kaiba – something happened when I was near him that drew me irresistibly, and I couldn't control myself. Even then, after he had deserted me, all I wanted was to be near him again…to look into his eyes…

Yugi had frowned deeply at my prolonged silence and tried coaxing me, lecturing me, anything he could think of- but nothing could make me take back my words, though a part of me truly wanted to. So Yugi had sighed and hugged me. "Alright, Yami. I'll support you," he whispered.

And he had. He had spent all of his free time the rest of the week talking to me, trying to convince me to go out with Yugi-tachi – and sitting with me by the window when I refused to go.

I knew I was wallowing in my depression, but for the first time in my life (what parts of it I could remember, anyway) I was truly lost; I had no idea what to do. I couldn't express how grateful I was that Yugi would be this understanding, but a part of me felt guilty for dragging him through my self-pity with me.

Which was why I faced the window now.

The person at the door cleared his throat and my eyes widened in surprise at the deep, husky sound, at least an octave below Yugi's gentle tenor. "Yami," the person greeted.

It sounded like…Kaiba's voice.

I turned slowly, hardly daring to believe my ears. But it really was him – my striking, beautiful brunet, standing in the doorway. He wore a crisp blue shirt with a high collar that almost matched his eyes under a short black jacket (for once, no trench coat), and he stared at me with an almost-neutral expression, though the corners of his lips showed the slightest painful quirk. My stomach churned but I met his gaze coolly.

"What do you want, Kaiba?" I asked hoarsely. "And how did you even get in here?"

"The old man told me where you were. I said I needed to talk to you," he answered indifferently, just continuing to stare at me until I finally looked away. I glanced out the window again, noticing the black Ferrari parked on the curb. How had I missed it before? And where was Yugi?

"Yugi's probably at school right now, since it's 1:30 on a Thursday," Kaiba supplied dryly, and I realized I had voiced the last question aloud. I glanced in his direction once more – and a jolt of shock ran through me when I noticed he was sitting on the bed beside me.

I blinked. This thing with Kaiba was getting to me more than I'd known.

Seto stared at me again, and I wondered if he'd ever even stopped when I looked away. He moved in closer, resting his palms on the mattress on either side of my waist, still staring at me with that baffling, unreadable expression, and I froze in complete shock as Kaiba leaned forward and pressed his lips to mine. My eyes widened at the warm contact which seemed to spread from my lips all the way through my body until my ears buzzed and all my joints went limp and watery.

His skin smelled faintly of aftershave… I closed my eyes in bliss and let Seto lower me onto the bed, deepening the kiss as his palms stopped pressing against the mattress to fumble at my belt instead.

My eyes shot open. This was not happening again.

"Stop it Kaiba!" I gasped, breaking away from his kiss and shoving him back – though I only managed to hold him an arm's length away, my hands pushing against his chest. He still stared at me.

"Why are you doing this?" I demanded. "You were the one that ran out last time! What in the world is your problem, Kaiba?" My eyes filled with angry tears and he backed away slightly, a flicker of uncertainty passing over his face. Seto regarded me silently for a long moment as I sat up on the bed beside him, fighting to keep from crying. I still wanted him – I wanted him so badly that my chest ached with longing – but I couldn't just let this happen; I couldn't let him hurt me again.

One hot tear finally slipped down my cheek and Kaiba caught it before I could brush it away. He smoothed my cheek gently with the pad of his thumb, and in spite of myself I leaned into the touch, letting him cup my cheek in his warm palm as my eyes slid shut; and we stayed like that for a long moment, Kaiba slowly rubbing my cheek long after the tears were gone, until I sighed and started to move away.

"I'm sorry," Kaiba said abruptly.

"What?" I blinked slowly a few times and glanced at him.

"I'm sorry for leaving like that," he repeated. He didn't offer any other explanation, didn't say why he'd come back today, didn't say anything else at all – just left it at that and stared at me expectantly, waiting for my response.

I opened my mouth; then shut it again stupidly when I couldn't think of a reply. I wanted to scream at him, to tell him how much he'd hurt me; scared me; and demand that he give a good reason for running out right after we'd made love (if there was any good reason, that is), but all words had left me. My ears buzzed again as Seto's sentence played over and over again in my head.

At least he had apologized… Maybe this was what I had been hoping for; after all, what more could I really expect from Kaiba? Maybe…maybe it would be all right…maybe I could…

I leaned forward hesitantly and kissed him, savoring the slightly bitter tang of his lips; and this time, when Seto wrapped his arms around me and lowered me to the bed, I didn't try to argue.

A slight sound behind me drew my attention and I turned, still trying to compose myself- and gasped in shock at what I saw. Half-hidden by the leafy shadows in the garden, a slim male a few inches taller than me leaned casually against the palace wall. Long white hair glinting faintly in the moonlight framed his tanned face, and a thin pink scar stretched under his right eye. He wore a plain robe the color of desert sand- perfect for concealment.

"Who are you?" I demanded, straightening to my full height and giving the intruder my most frightening regal glare.

He smirked wickedly and stepped closer, his narrow eyes glinting in amusement, but made no response. Then, just as I opened my mouth to shout for the guards, a sudden blackness fell over the garden, starting from where the intruder stood and spreading outward in a swift dark circle until I stood alone in a patch of moonlight, shrouded on all sides by thick shadows.

A jolt of fear shot through my spine, but I fought to keep my face neutral as the shadows whirled around me and strange twisting shapes in the blackness loomed nearby, all of them inching closer as I scanned the darkness for the white-haired fiend. "Who are you? What do you want?" I shouted, gripping the Sennen Puzzle around my neck. I remembered Shimon saying that the Puzzle had some sort of power over shadows, but I couldn't remember what he had said…

More often than not I ignored Shimon.

Mocking laughter was the only response that came from the shadows, until suddenly they converged around me and the world went black. Then, as I still frantically gripped the Puzzle and slowly backed toward what I thought was the entrance to the palace gardens, a sudden blinding pain ripped from my collarbone in a long gash all the way to the ligaments under my left arm. I screamed, as much from pent-up fear and horror as from the pain, and mocking laughter sounded once more in my ears as blood gushed down my chest.

Cold fingers scrabbled at my neck, and I couldn't tell if they were after my Puzzle or merely trying to choke me to death. The morbid thought made me give a snort of dry laughter. Merely trying to choke me to death?

At the sound, my attacker paused in surprise and I used the opportunity to shove him backward and scramble away; but by now I'd lost too much blood, so I had barely escaped his grasp before I tripped and fell back on the rocky ground. I tried to get up, but dizziness swept over my limbs and I sank back to the ground.

As I lay there, panting in the dirt, I heard my attacker stumble toward me; but then, slowly, the shadows lifted until they were merely a thick gray haze and I could see the outline of the intruder – and, in the distance, another form, one with bright blue eyes, visible even in the haze... But then the world went dark once more, and all I was aware of was the hot trail of blood trickling down my stomach.

So I surrendered to the blackness.

"Yugi will be home soon," I murmured, watching Seto trace lazy patterns along my throat with his kiss-swollen lips.

"So?" he mumbled against my neck, not even glancing up. I smiled and relaxed against the pillows, stroking the thick brown head of hair as it moved down my throat to my collarbone. Seto was probably right. What harm would it do for Yugi to see us, anyway? He already knew how I felt about Kaiba.

I closed my eyes, soaking in the sensation of Seto's warm mouth on my skin and the feel of his strong, slim body pressed along my own as we lay tangled together on the bed. He had been here for over an hour now (though I wasn't really keeping careful track of the time), and he had actually gotten ready to leave a few minutes before, until he decided that he wasn't finished ravishing me.

Not that I minded.

I supposed I should still be angry with Kaiba – I don't think I've ever been as upset as I was when he left me like that, and ignored me for a week on top of everything; and he still hadn't offered any explanation. But yet…his mouth felt so good against my skin…and his body fit so perfectly along my side…

Seto slipped one hand under my shirt; teasingly tracing my stomach with the tips of his fingers and making goosebumps pop up under his touch, until he finally reached my nipples and tweaked one playfully. My breath hitched audibly and he laughed.

"Kaiba, stop teasing me!" I grumbled, though a stupid grin spread across my face anyway at the sight of him.

He kissed me quickly once more and tugged my shirt over my head with a wink. "Alright, then," he drawled in a tone that made my skin crawl. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him flush against my chest; then kissed him as passionately as I knew how, slowly exploring every inch of his mouth with my tongue, while my hands wandered lower down his sides to splay about his hips as he straddled me.

Seto moaned softly into my mouth and I caught an expression in his eyes that made my pulse quicken and the room's temperature rise several degrees. My hands slipped from his hips to his belt buckle… and I heard a sound at the door.

"Yami, I'm – Kaiba!" Yugi's voice rose into a shrill shriek as he bustled into the room and saw us on the bed.

Seto broke our kiss roughly and rolled off me so that we lay side-by-side on the bed, staring guiltily up at Yugi. "Yugi…er…" I began, unsure of what to say as I watched his face darken. "Kaiba came by…well, obviously…. But, um, well he and I…we…"

By this time, Yugi's wide violet eyes had narrowed into angry slits and he gazed at Seto with an expression of absolute fury on his sweet young face. He walked slowly to the foot of the bed, where Seto's jacket lay, and picked up the garment distastefully between his thumb and index finger. "What are you doing here, Kaiba?" Yugi asked quietly, staring at the jacket.

Seto glanced at me briefly and rose to his feet. "I think that's rather obvious," he drawled snidely, reaching for his jacket.

I winced.

Yugi jerked the coat from Kaiba's grasp and swung it roughly so that it smacked Kaiba hard in the side. "You jerk!" Yugi shouted, swinging the jacket again and hitting Kaiba in the head. "What in the world is your problem! How could you treat Yami that way! What do you think you're doing to him?"

Kaiba raised his arms against Yugi's repeated assault with the jacket and looked down at me for help. I merely shrugged, watching Kaiba with a bemused expression as Yugi continued hitting him and shouting at the top of his lungs.

Seto finally jerked the jacket from Yugi's hands and glared fiercely at the shorter boy. I could tell Seto desperately wanted to snap at him, but he restrained himself after one more quick glance at me out of the corner of his eye. My heart swelled.

"Goodbye, Yami," he muttered instead, bending down and kissing me softly on the lips before he stalked out of the room with Yugi following at his heels, still shouting.

I rushed to the window and watched until Seto walked up to the black Ferrari parked on the curb. As he opened the driver's side door he paused, glancing up, and noticed me standing in the window. I waved hesitantly and he immediately looked away – but as he climbed into his car I caught sight of his tiny, wistful smile.