Disclaimer: YuGiOh is not mine.

Onto Plan B

Chapter 16

"How did you feel?" Kim Saruka asked curiously.

"Alone," Ari replied. "It did feel familiar, but the whole apartment just had an empty feel to it, like I didn't belong there anymore."

"I see. Go on."

"Well, we didn't stay very long," Ari murmured.

"Why not?"

"Kaiba had some work to do," she shrugged.

"I see. You're really starting to feel comfortable with him, aren't you?"

"I guess I've gotten used to him," she said vaguely.

Kim smiled. "Seto Kaiba isn't exactly the kind of man one 'gets used to', Ari. I can understand if you are still afraid of him. He is very intimidating."

"I'm not afraid of him," Ari returned with slight irritation.

"It is best to admit to our fears, Ari."

"I'm aware of that," Ari replied curtly. "I don't want to talk about Kaiba."

Kim leaned forward in her chair. "Why is that, Ari? You always seem so determined to avoid discussing your benefactor."

Ari bit her lip and stared at her silently.

"Did something happen between you?"

Ari cocked her head. "Why do you ask? Are you expecting something to happen between us?"

Kim sat back and studied her patient carefully. "Where is all this hostility coming from, Ari? It isn't like you."

"How do you know what is like me? You only know the blank slate, Doctor. I'm not one that you can write on."

"And what does that mean?" she asked with an arched brow.

Ari stood and walked to the door. Pulling it open, she turned to face Kim. "It means we're done, Doctor."

The blazing eyes, the confident stance, did not belong to a woman missing her entire memory. This was not the same Ari Nieche she had talked to just days before. Something had happened.

"Very well," Kim said as she gathered her attaché case. Far from it, she thought as she walked down the hall to Kaiba's office. She knew things were going to get out of hand the minute Ari stopped taking those sedatives.

Kaiba glanced up when she stepped in. Apparently she didn't hide her irritation as well as she thought she did.

"What happened?" he asked.

Kim dropped her case and crossed her arms. "I should be asking you that. I've never seen her so hostile before."

Seto frowned. "Hostile? What did she do?"

"She's exhibiting classic avoidance tactics and has suddenly taken to asking me questions. I'm beginning to wonder if she has forgotten who the psychologist really is!"

"It can't be that bad."

"She threw me out, Mr. Kaiba, and I am pretty certain she doesn't want me to come back. I would like to know what provoked this change in her."

So she didn't tell her after all. Was she ashamed of the kiss we shared? Is she afraid of what Dr. Saruka might say?

"I believe it is your job to uncover the mystery surrounding her, Doctor. She really threw you out?"

Kim frowned. "That amuses you, doesn't it."

"Perhaps you have done your job better than you planned, Doctor. Give her a few days to calm down. I'm certain she will be needing to talk by then."

"Since when are you telling me how to do my job?"

"Since I hired you. Good day, Dr. Saruka."

She glared at him for a moment before grabbing her case and stalking out of the office, muttering something under her breath he couldn't hear. He smirked for a moment and then frowned. Hostile? That isn't like Ari. She's only aggressive when the people she cares about are threatened. It never even occurred to her to defend herself against Matzu Omaka until he tried to kill me. Why would she react like that to Dr. Saruka?

When it came to Ari's behavior, he could not help being curious, especially when she managed to irritate Dr. Saruka so effectively. This change no doubt provoked by the events of the previous day was intriguing, if not a little confusing. Ari was becoming unpredictable.

He had spent the entire night tossing and turning, mourning the absence of her body beside him. Instead of bringing them closer together, the truth had only widened the gulf. She would never be able to look at him, be near him, without remembering the passion that burned beneath the surface. If ever Ari had a reason to be afraid of him before, she certainly did now and she would be certain to keep her distance.

I'm such an idiot. I've only made things worse by letting my feelings get in the way. He scowled at the papers on his desk. Idiot.

"Seto?"

"What is it, Mokuba," he grumbled without looking up.

Mokuba hesitated in the doorway. It seemed liked everyone was in a foul mood today. Ari had locked herself in her room, the doctor had stormed out in a huff, and his brother was burning a hole into the desk with his glare.

Kaiba glanced up when Mokuba didn't reply. "Mokuba?"

"So…where did you and Ari go yesterday?" he ventured to ask.

"I took her to her apartment."

"So why are you in such a bad mood?"

Kaiba scowled again and muttered something unintelligible under his breath.

"Something bad happened, didn't it."

"Let's just say we'll be keeping our distance for awhile."

Mokuba's blue-violet eyes narrowed suspiciously. "What did you do?"

Seto rotated his chair to stare out the second floor window. Mokuba waited in silence until Seto sighed. "You know something, Mokuba?"

"What?" The softness of his big brother's voice was unnerving.

"I have no idea why that woman loves me, or at least used too."

"You think she doesn't anymore?"

"She isn't the Ari we used to know, Mokuba. Her memories are faint and she doesn't understand what she feels. She's different now. We have to accept that."

Mokuba stared at him thoughtfully. "Well, you can always make her fall in love with you again."

Seto's eyes widened and he turned to look at his little brother. "What?"

"Make her fall in love with you again."

"But I don't even know how I did it the first time!" Seto protested. What a ridiculous idea, making an amnesiac fall in love with him. He didn't know the first thing about wooing a woman.

"I'm sure we can figure out something," Mokuba said as he leaned against Seto's desk. "You can start with giving her flowers maybe, like roses."

"Ari doesn't like roses," Seto said absently.

"What does she like?"

"Jasmine."

Mokuba grinned. "See, you know her so well!"

Seto's eyes narrowed thoughtfully. Maybe there was something to this. "I don't know, Mokuba. It doesn't seem right."

"So it's better for her to live in the dark? The sooner she remembers the sooner things can go back to the way they were." Mokuba's eyes were wide and honest. "I want to see you smile again, Seto."

Is it possible? Is it really possible to make Ari fall in love with me again? Does lightening ever strike twice? If it will get her back in my arms, I'll make it happen.

"What else do you have in mind, Mokuba?"


Ari crumpled up the paper into a ball and tossed it over her shoulder. It tumbled off the already overflowing trashcan to rest with the others. With a frustrated sigh, she stared at the blank piece of paper before her. It's on the tip of my brain. Why can I not remember it?

Her pen scratched over the paper as she tried to pull the image from her mind. Lines and curves, measurements and equations equaling something of substantial power and yet just…out… of reach. The night spent in solitude had deluged her with nightmares of intolerable magnitude and confusion and she had latched onto what could only be a memory and tried to drive it out of her head and onto the paper to no avail. Again she crumpled up the paper and tossed it over her shoulder in irritation.

This is useless. Bad enough I didn't get a lick of sleep and now I can't even focus on one little detail. But she was determined to regain every last bit of memory no matter the pain. If only she could remember what she was suppose to feel for the man with sorrowful eyes… no, of that there was no confusion. There was no mistaking the feelings he aroused in her, feelings she should not have for a man she barely knew.

She wanted to remember how they met, how she fell in love with him, their first date, their first kiss. She needed to remember because, because…

Ari pushed away from the desk and walked over to the window. Winter was moving along ignorant of her misery. It didn't care that she was missing so many pieces of herself. It didn't matter to anyone outside of the Kaiba mansion.

Glancing down, she began to thoughtfully trace over the scars on her hands as if the pattern might give the answers she sought. It was a habit she had taken up because more than all else those scars intrigued her. For a reason she could not explain, she feared asking about them. She was afraid that it might be a piece of the puzzle she was better off not knowing about. But can I ever be a whole person again if even one memory remains absent? If I ask him, will he tell me?

That was an answer she might never know. She was afraid to meet those brilliant blue eyes after the ardent kiss they had shared. They might beg something of her that she could not give, no matter how much she wanted to. Stepping away from the window, she flopped onto her bed and stared up at the canopy wearily. She was so tired, but afraid to sleep. Even though she was given to searching her dreams now for hints to her past, she still feared the confrontation.

She missed the comfort of sleeping in his bed, knowing that she would be safe from the monsters for just a little while. Only once had he been there when she woke and it hadn't been as awkward as she expected. It had been nice, really. I wonder what it would be like to wake up in his arms… She blushed and rolled onto her side to stare out the balcony doors. Foolish girl, wanting what isn't yours. You will only hurt him more when you don't feel as he does. He at least remembers the reality.

Ari sighed and closed her eyes. Reality. It could be such a twisted thing.


The tall man scowled at the coffee shop window. "This isn't working. It's time to take things to the next level."

Ito Nozaki frowned thoughtfully. "What is the next level?"

"I'm not sure. We'll have to ask the boss what he wants to do. Ari Nieche seems to be recovering her memories and I get the feeling things are just peachy keen between her and Kaiba. She still has some of her phobic issues, but she's getting stronger and more in control with each passing day and she trusts him."

"It should have happened differently."

"There was no telling what would have happened. That fiber-optic cable had never been tested before so we couldn't be certain how powerful or weak the energy surge would be." The man reached for his coffee. "If anything is certain, there's been a whole lot of suffering going on in that house."

Nozaki reached for the pot and filled his own cup with hot steaming Java. "I'll contact the boss immediately. I imagine things are about to get interesting."

The man grinned. "I can use a little excitement in my life."