Disclaimer: I fear I would not be able to properly handle the responsibility of owning YuGiOh if it were mine anyway, so be glad that it isn't.
Jasmine Bouquet
Chapter 20
"Ari is showing classic signs of information overload," Dr. Kim Saruka explained to the rather weary looking Seto Kaiba. "I was afraid this would happen."
"You mean she has learned too much?"
"In a way. This is why I discourage telling an amnesiac who they are. They are given so much information that they become uncertain as to what is real and what is not. They don't know who they can trust and in some cases suffer severe mental repercussions from the confusion."
"What do you suggest then, Doctor," Kaiba asked.
Kim frowned thoughtfully as she flipped through her notes. "The last time I gave you a suggestion it was thrown back in my face, Mr. Kaiba," she replied.
Kaiba's expression remained cold and without emotion. "Will you permit a minor obstacle to prevent you from accomplishing your work?"
She blinked at him for a moment and her lips quirked slightly. "You will not be a fan of this treatment, Mr. Kaiba. However, I believe considering the circumstances Ari has fallen into it would be for the best."
"This treatment being?"
"I am working with a local institution right here in Domino City. I would like Ari to spend a few days with me there."
Kaiba frowned deeply. "You want me to institutionalize her?"
"There is too much stimulus here. Ari needs to be somewhere that has no place in her memories and will not cause any emotional triggers."
Kaiba stared at her silently for a moment. There was logic within Dr. Saruka's suggestion that he simply had to agree with, but to let Ari go… he might have to. She did not trust him any more and if she ran away once, she would do it again. He could not take that risk again.
"I will give your suggestion serious thought, Dr. Saruka," he said finally, "and inform you of my decision within twenty-four hours."
Kim nodded acceptance as she stood from her chair. "While you consider, Mr. Kaiba, please keep in mind that Ari's state of mind is very fragile right now. Do not allow your personal feelings to affect your decision."
Seto scowled at his desk long after she had gone. He hated it when other people were right. His personal feelings were at the heart of this mess. Never should he have permitted her to test the hardware in the first place. But he had given in to her large beseeching eyes and now…and now…
Everything he that had done for her sake, to protect her from painful memories he was certain she was not ready to confront, seemed to have the completely opposite effect. Could it be he had been wrong from the very start? Ari would never be his again.
Clenching his fists in frustration, he stood up abruptly from his desk and glowered heatedly at the door. Too many times he had failed her. Not again. Never again.
Ari looked up from her perch on the window seat when she heard a soft knock on the door. A person could count on one hand the number of people who would come seeking her, and most of them she did not want to see. After a moment, the handle turned and the door cracked open, a pair of wary blue-violet eyes peeking through.
When she said nothing, Mokuba ventured to push the door open a little wider. "Hi," he said warily.
"Hi," she returned.
"Can I come in?"
"Sure," she agreed as she closed the book in her lap.
A hesitant smile spread across his face as he stepped in, leaving the door ajar as he crossed the room towards her. "I heard what happened. You really had everyone worried, Ari."
"I didn't mean to make everyone worry," she said softly.
Mokuba climbed up onto the seat beside her. "What's that?" he asked when he saw the book she held.
"An album I found in my apartment yesterday."
"Can I see?" he asked eagerly.
What could it hurt? "Sure," she decided and tilted the book towards him. He let the cover fall back on its binding and stared at the newspaper clipping on the first page.
"Oh," he said softly and then reached to turn the page. "Have you read any of these articles yet?"
"Just a few." Ari stared at him thoughtfully as he turned the pages. "Do you know anything about this, Mokuba?"
He tensed slightly and then his shoulders slackened. "Yeah, but I think Seto should explain it to you, not me."
Ari snorted softly and pushed herself off the seat. "I'm sick of this," she snapped. "I'm sick of everyone telling me to 'ask Seto' and when I do he clams up tighter than a dead man." She folded her arms across her chest, fixing the boy with a frustrated glare. "Your brother doesn't want me to remember my past."
"That's not true," Mokuba leaped to his feet, his eyes flashing with passion someone his age shouldn't possess. "Seto is only trying to protect you from the past."
"I've heard that before too, Mokuba," she returned, her voice raising slightly. "I've heard plenty of stories but that is all they are, stories!"
"He loves you!" Mokuba shouted, his small hands fisting at his side.
Ari's pale eyes widened at the words spoken so forcefully out loud for the first time. Sinking to the ground, she wiped at the wet blurring in her eyes. "I don't know what to believe anymore," she whispered softly.
Mokuba wrapped his arms around her shoulders and leaned his head against her back. "It's okay, Ari. It's going to be okay, I promise. You're not going through this alone."
Ari clutched his arm wrapped around her and tilted her head back against his. Mokuba was right. She wasn't the only one in pain. No matter what other people told her and no matter what happened from that moment on, she knew Seto Kaiba suffered too. There was so much longing, so much loss hidden in the icy eyes of the CEO, a man too strong to break before the eyes of others. But he had let her see it, the tears in his heart and the shattering he suffered every time he looked at her and stood beside her.
"I'm sorry," she whispered and Mokuba hugged her tighter.
"There's nothing to be sorry about, Ari," he told her, ever forgiving. "Your memory is going to come back sooner than you think. Isn't that right, Seto?"
Ari stiffened beneath Mokuba's hold. I didn't hear him come in.
"Yes, Mokuba," came the even reply.
Ari quickly dried her eyes as Mokuba pulled away from her.
"See!" he smiled down at her. "Seto believes it too."
No he doesn't, she thought silently.
"Mokuba, I need to talk to Ari alone," Seto spoke and Mokuba nodded.
"Sure, Seto. I'll see you later, Ari," he patted her on the shoulder and then scurried out of the room.
"What do you want," Ari asked as she pushed herself up and walked back to the window seat to reclaim her album.
"Dr. Saruka is worried about you," he spoke as he watched her. She did not turn to look at him. "She wants me to send you to an institution."
Ari turned suddenly, her eyes wide with fear and shock. "You're going to commit me?"
"I didn't say that," he told her firmly.
"Then, what are you saying?"
"Dr. Saruka believes there is too much stimulus here, too much information that you are unable to process."
"I'm not a computer," she spoke darkly.
"And that's the problem," he said. "I'm running out of ideas, Ari. I don't know what to do anymore and Dr. Saruka is an expert in her field."
"I don't trust her," Ari said.
"You don't trust anyone, Ari," he snapped and then caught himself, taking a deep calming breath. "If there is another way, I would not hesitate to try it. But Ari," he took an urgent step forward and she would have stepped back had she the room. "You have to understand that there are many dark things in your past, painful memories that I do not think you are ready to know. I only wanted to protect you but in doing that I seem to have only made things worse."
"I don't care," she spoke softly but firmly. "I just want to know the truth."
His cerulean eyes narrowed slightly. "Telling you the truth is the opposite of what Dr. Saruka has recommended, but," he held up his hand when she opened her mouth to protest, "but I know you better than anyone. I want your word that you will not run from me again."
"You want me to trust you," she murmured.
"Yes."
She stared at him warily for a moment. "Prove it," she said finally as she held up her open album. "Tell me who this man is."
Seto looked at the newspaper clipping. "Get your coat. I'll show you."
I don't know about this. How will I know that what he tells me is the truth? He could make up any number of stories to satisfy my questions. Ari glanced sideways at Kaiba, confused by this change in him. The day before he had been stern and demanding, an earthquake could not have shaken him. She suspected he had even been amused by her gumption. Now the wall was up again, that icy wall that protected and prevented him from feeling. It meant something substantial was about to happen. It meant he was going to tell her the truth.
Her gaze fell to the bouquet on the seat between them. She never saw him collect the jasmine from her room and didn't dare ask what they were for when she finally noticed them. How did I ever end up with the world's most complicated man?
The limo slowed to a stop and Kaiba picked up the bouquet as he reached for the door.
Please tell me it's going to get less confusing now, she prayed as she climbed out the door he held open for her.
It was snowing again, softly but steadily. It softened the appearance of the graveyard before her eyes. "Why are we here?" she asked hesitantly.
"You're going to want these," he said quietly as he handed her the bouquet of jasmine. Ari stared warily at the honey-sweet flowers in her hands.
"Come," he said.
The sound of their footsteps crunching on the snow was all that broke the silence of the massive cemetery. Taking a deep breath of the chilly air, Seto sighed softly. So it had come to this. He only hoped that she was strong enough, that her heart was strong enough.
Ari hesitated when he stopped. Finally she stepped up beside him and stared down at the two sculpted stones. This is what he brought me to see…
Kaska Ashine. Elizabeth Ashine. They were…they were… Ari sunk to her knees in the snow. But, my name is Ari Nieche.
"When your mother died, you were sent to live with your father," Seto spoke above her, his voice as soft as the gently falling flakes. "To protect your identity, he legally changed your name to your mother's maiden name, Nieche."
Ari hesitantly touched the cold hard stone. "These are my parents."
"Yes."
Her eyes fell to the dates engraved and she frowned. "Kaska died almost two years ago."
"Yes."
"He owned Nihm Fiber-optics. What happened to the company after he died?"
"He left it to you including the fiber-optic prototype that you two created together," Seto explained.
"So how did I end up at Kaiba Corp?"
Kaiba took a deep breath. "Nihm went bankrupt under your control. You were sabotaged," he said quickly when her shoulders slumped. No need for her to be thinking she was a failure to add to everything else. "You were marked and no one in Domino would hire you."
Ari let her hand fall away from the unforgiving stone. "Does anything in my life remain?"
A strong hand settled on her shoulder and squeezed gently. Without thinking, Ari covered the hand with her own, accepting the comfort offered.
"How did she die?" she asked.
"Car accident. He died from—"
"Cancer," she said suddenly.
Seto glanced down at her surprised. "Yes. You remember?"
"It seems right," she murmured.
They remained there in sullen, uncertain silence. Is she living this for the first time or is the pain familiar, having been felt before, Seto wondered.
"You must trust me, Ari," he said softly. "So that I can trust you."
"And you will tell me everything?"
"Everything."
Ari opened her hands to stare down at the scars crisscrossing her palms. Suddenly Kaiba dropped to his knees beside her, his hands clasping over hers.
"But not that," he spoke quickly, "not yet."
Ari looked up into his wide beseeching eyes, startled by the intensity of his plea.
"This is one of the dark things you speak of," she whispered.
"I will protect you in my own way, Ari," he told her sincerely. "But you must let me. You must trust me."
Her pale eyes fell to his hands clasping hers in warmth and strength. "I do not know of trust but as you say, I will do."
Seto softly kissed her temple. "That is enough."
Ari closed her eyes at the feathery touch of his lips, knowing that trust must come if she was to hold her promise. For her past may be buried forever before her, but the man beside her promised a future, and not one in solitude. A future with him and Mokuba.
"Just tell me one thing more," she said quietly.
Seto released her hands. "Yes?"
Ari leaned forward and arranged the jasmine bouquet in the snow between her parent's stones. "Are any of my memories good ones?"
When he did not answer right away, she felt her heart sink. "It's all right," she assured him. "I still want them back, all of them."
"I used to be able to give you everything and you never asked for anything. Now you ask for what I cannot give," Seto sighed as he pushed himself up out of the snow. "You are the most mystifying woman I have ever known. Come. You are shivering from the cold."
"I do not feel it," she murmured but she accepted the hand he offered her. Whatever the others might say, there was one truth she did not need memories to assure her of. Seto Kaiba would always protect her. Whether it be out of love or matter of possession, the motive did not matter at that moment. Ari just knew that she was safe with him and he would give her the answers she longed for. But would they be answers she could trust?
She stared at the firm set of his broad shoulders as she followed him through the field of stone. What am I so afraid of?
