Confession

AN/ Contains Pharaoh Memory saga spoilers.

"Seto, Seto," called Mokuba, gently shaking his brother who was now laid out in the hospital wing.

"What was that all about?" asked Duke.

"I have absolutely no idea," answered Tristan.

"Ha! I saw we fly around a few days and give moneybags a taste of his own medicine," said Joe.

"Huh?" asked Bakura.

"Well, Kaiba wouldn't land to let anyone who had been hurt get to a real hospital, so I think it's only fair to leave him here a while," replied Joe.

"You're not helping things," said Lara, pointing to Mokuba.

"It still serves him right," muttered Kevin.

"Regardless, it doesn't explain what those two were yelling about," stated Drake.

The door swung up, and Mai and Téa entered, carrying Shayla, who was still out cold, between them.

"What happened to Shayla!" exclaimed Yu-Gi, jumping to his feet.

"Don't look at me," answered Mai. "She was talking nonsense, then just collapsed." She helped Téa lay her on the bed next to the door.

"Oh my!" exclaimed Serenity.

"They probably got stressed over the tournament," suggested Duke.

"That doesn't explain why Shayla was screaming that Kaiba killed her," Mai pointed out.

"I have an idea…but I still find it hard to believe…" stammered Téa.

"What's there to find out? Kaiba's finally gone totally nuts," said Joe.

"It's more than that, Joe," said Yu-Gi.

"Huh? What do you mean, Yug?"

"Excuse us, but you're all going to have to clear out," said one of the doctors.

"But…why?" asked Mai.

"We need space to work," he answered.

"But we want to be with our friends," protested Téa.

"Do I have to leave Seto?" asked Mokuba.

"It will only be for an hour."

"Well, we did leave halfway through dinner," said Kevin with a sheepish smile.

"How can you be thinking about food now?" groaned Drake.

"I'm hungry."

"Sounds like a plan to me," smiled Joe.

"Watch it Wheeler," glared Drake. "You're still on my bad side."

"Guys, let's not fight," soothed Bakura.

"Come on, visiting hours are over," said the doctor, escorting them to the exit.

"You have one hour," said Mokuba, before walking away behind the group.

"Push-y…" muttered Lara.

"I just hope it's nothing too serious," said Téa.

Their voices faded as they walked down the corridor and turned out of sight.

"Now, for the patients," said the doctor, turning around.

THUD! He hit the ground, completely unconscious.

Seto Kaiba stood over him, lowering a fist to his side. Now, everyone beside him who was in the room was knocked out. Without a word he walked over to Shayla's bedside and shook her gently.

"Shaylana, Shaylana, wake up," he called, softly.

"Ugh…" she stirred slightly.

"Shaylana?"

WHACK! The palm of her right hand connected with his left cheekbone.

"Stay away from me!" she snapped.

"Shaylana…" he said again, gently, touching the spot where she had struck him.

"Don't try to play games with me!" she snapped, jumping to her feet. "I hate your guts!"

"Don't be this way, Shaylana. You're not the same, sweet girl I remember. That Shaylana was unable to hate anyone.

Her chocolate-colored eyes narrowed. "You know I can't lie."

Seto's eyes momentarily lowered. "I know…but I also know you're trying to hide your true heart." She turned away from him, but he moved to meet her eyes. "You need to know the truth. What happened is not what you think happened."

Fury danced in her eyes. "I know what happened that night, you traitor! You—!" She suddenly choked up, her hand flying to her throat as if to protect it from the memory of her death.

"I didn't kill you Shaylana," he said. "I couldn't…"

"Spare me!" she snapped, viciously.

He again met her eyes. "We both know you can't lie, the Millennial Scales won't allow it. But we also both know that you'll always know when someone else is lying. You know I'm not lying now. I'm telling the truth; I could never have killed you because…"

Her glare narrowed, and for a moment she looked like she was going to tear into him again, but she said nothing. Seto keep his gaze locked on her, waiting a long moment for her to say something, but silence was all he received.

"Shaylana…I could never hurt you," he started again. "Because…I love you."

Her eyes widened and started wavering, her emotions dancing unreadably. Once again, she turned her back to him, making sure she was standing in front of an end table so he could get in front of her again.

"Shaylana…please…listen," Seto insisted.

Shaylana said nothing, instead, she reached into Shayla's backpack, pulling out the Millennial Scales. She set them on the end table, slightly off to her right, so Seto could see them. But he was focused on her, trying to read her emotions and failing. He had waited so long to tell her how he felt…and now, to have her respond like this, it was painful.

"Shaylana?"

"You want me to listen, so talk," she glowered. "And the Millennial Scales will tear through your lies."

"You'd be willing to summon Ammit on me?"

"It's no less than you deserve!"

"I tell you, you don't understand what happened that night!"

"Then talk, and meet justice! The scales are weighed perfectly. One falsehood, and they'll tip until Ammit destroys you."

"Do not worry about me, the truth will not bring my judgment. But I worry about you, I don't want you to lose your heart to bitterness."

Her back was still to him. "You wanted to explain, so explain. I'm not staying her to be lectured. If that's your purpose, I'm leaving."

"Fine, I will tell you the truth," Seto said. "I know I made a lot of mistakes. I might have made some bad choices, but I always had good intentions. And I never, ever, would have wished for you to be harmed in the slightest."

Flashback

Seto had thought he was doing the right thing. One night he and some of his guards and returned to Kuruelna and stolen the tablet where the Millennial Items were created. He had brought to a secret chamber within the palace. The chamber could only be open by a descendant of the Dark Cult, which he had only recently learned he was the only survivor, since he only recently discovered the identity of his father. He sealed the tablet down there, hoping it would never be opened again.

But somehow it had been unsealed, mere hours after the seal had been placed. He had sensed it though the Millennial Rod, and the pharaoh had sensed it through his puzzle. They had hurried over, just the two of them and Lance, the pharaoh's most trusted and highest ranked guard and fighter. None of the other Millennial Item bearers could be located. But they knew it might be too dangerous even for Lance, so they had told Lance to wait outside of the chamber.

"In here, pharaoh," Seto said. "This is where I hid the tablet from Kuruelna, the tablet with the power to summon the darkest magic if the Millennial Items are present. I'm sorry I never told you…"

They reached the middle of the stairs. His words died. Seto knew instantly that something was wrong the moment he saw the entire chamber. The Hebrew girl was tied to the sarcophagus, her face a mass of blood. She seemed simply terrified. Seto gaped in horror. This was not supposed to happen. Hadn't he silently promised himself to make sure she was happy and safe? He looked around, a number of his guards were already in the chamber, which he did not understand.

"Greetings, pharaoh," said Heishin as he stepped out of the shadows. "And welcome to your tomb." He was looking rather smug. Seto was about to order his guards on them, when he noticed their evil smile. They were no longer working for him, the Millennial Rod in his hand let him know. They had sold out to Heishin.

"Heishin!" snapped the pharaoh.

"What is going on here?" demanded Seto, glancing again at Shaylana, swamped by guilt. He was still confused by how the chamber could be opened in the first place.

"Just a slight change to your plans," replied Heishin. He pointed and the guards charged.

Seto was ready with his Millennial Rod. He held off about six of them, but that left six others to deal with. The pharaoh was helping with the Millennial Puzzle. But, they were still outnumbered.

In the pandemonium that followed, the pharaoh was backed into a corner, trapped by three spears. Heishin had attacked Seto from behind and snatched the Millennial Rod out of his hand.

Now, Heishin held Seto prisoner, pointing the Millennial Rod at his neck. He turned to the pharaoh. Seto squirmed, trying to break free of the death grip. But then he looked into Heishin's eyes. It wasn't Heishin looking back.

"Akunadin!" gasped Seto. His own father had taken control of Heishin. Seto had thought he was dead, and now that underestimation cost him.

"Now, pharaoh, hand over the remaining Millennial Items, or this brat gets it," snapped Akunadin through Heishin. He tightened his grip on Seto, making it hard for him to breathe.

"Don't….." Seto managed to gasp. He knew that Akunadin was planning on summoning the Dark Night.

The pharaoh looked around the room, sizing up the situation. It was doubtful that he knew all the dangers, but he knew enough.

"Don't push me, I will act," growled Akunadin.

"Have it your way," said the pharaoh. Seto's eyes went big. He tried to fight free, but that only caused more pressure on his neck.

"Put them in their place," ordered Akunadin, gesturing to the coffin. The pharaoh reached under his robes and took out the Millennial Ring, Key, and Eye. They already had the Rod. The Scales had been taken, resting just behind Shaylana's head. Ishizu had already been murdered and her Necklace taken.

The pharaoh walked over stolidly. He put the items he had in their places, finishing with the Puzzle. He placed a hand on Shaylana as he passed. The guards cackled and jeered the entire time.

When he had finished Akunadin removed the Millennial Rod from his son's throat. Seto gasped for a breath. But Akunadin hit him on the side of the head, stunning him. Seto hit the floor with an ominous thud.

"With the Millennial Items gathered and a blood sacrifice offered, an invincible creature who'll only obey me will be summoned," said Akunadin, in a low, eager voice.

He walked across the chamber and grabbed Shaylana's hair in his free hand. She whimpered a bit. He tilted her head up, putting her face in clearer light. It had to hurt. Seto stirred, struggling to stand and speak. The pharaoh took a step forward to try to stop him, but the three guards put their spears in his face again.

Akunadin raised the Millennial Rod and shoved it through Shaylana's exposed neck. Her blood flowed onto the Millennial Items.

"No," gasped Seto. His breath got caught in his lungs. It felt like he was in Akunadin's choke-hold again. How could he have let this happen? He cared about her so much, and never told her. He had tried to do the right thing, and it had all crumbled. And now darkness was filling the room because the ritual had been completed.

End Flashback

The Millennial Scales had not moved at all.

"Do you understand now, Shaylana?" asked Seto, stopping his story. "I made a big mistake, and it cost you. I'm sorry, I never wanted you to get hurt so badly, I cared about you so much…"

He stopped talking when he saw Shaylana's shoulders vibrating. She was shaking.

"Shaylana!" exclaimed Seto, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close. He turned her around so he could see her face. That turned out to be too much for the Israelite girl. She broke down completely and started sobbing. "I'm sorry…" He started running his fingers through her hair, trying to comfort him.

"I…never….fault…" she sobbed, not making any sense at all.

"Shh, don't say anything," Seto said. "Why does she always have to be crying when she ends up in my arms?"

He held her while her sobs slowed enough for her to speak. "Seto…I'm sorry…"

"Shaylana, you did nothing wrong. It was my mistakes that cost us—and you most."

"I wasn't always right," she sniffed. "When I died…I was so scared, so confused… And when I thought it had been you…it was too much to bear." She lowered her head and rested it against his chest, enjoying the feeling of him slowly rocking her. "I had…I thought I had to convince myself to hate you…because my heart was so confused…and I was weak…I couldn't handle it."

"You're not weak," said Seto. "You were very strong, we could all see it. You also managed to be compassionate. That's why the scales choose you."

"Seto…"

"You know I speak the truth."

"I know something now, why I was so confused…"

"What is it?"

Shaylana sniffed, looking up at him with deep, wet eyes. "I…had come…to love you, too."

Seto looked down at her, offering a small smile. He raised a hand and brushed the tears off of her cheeks.

Shaylana glanced down again. "Then what about Kisara? You were always with her…"

Seto chuckled. "You were jealous of Kisara?"

"What's so funny?"

"Yes, I loved both of you," he answered, but continued before Shaylana could push away. "But Kisara was like a sister to me. I never knew my real family, and by taking in Kisara, she became like my little sister. I wanted to protect her too…" His eyes grew distant. "But that's not the same way I loved you." Shaylana started sobbing softly again. "Shaylana?"

"I'm sorry…" she murmured. "Kisara was one of my closest friends…"

"But we're not alone now, at least we have each other," he said, again holding her close.

Shaylana once more lifted her eyes up to him. She had calmed down, and was now feeling secure within his embrace. Seto was also feeling at easy since he had finally told her the truth, and she had admitted she loved him too.

Her eyes closed. He leaned forward, closing his eyes too. Their faces were only an inch apart.

The door opened and Mokuba walked in. He took one look and his faced flushed bright red. He instantly started staring at his sneakers.

"Er…s-s-sorry Seto," he stammered. "I s-should have k-knocked." With that he backed out of the hospital wing and shut the door.

Kaiba and Shayla awoke, put rubbing their heads.

"H-huh?" grumbled Kaiba, trying to come to his senses. He glanced down at Shayla, noticing how close they were. He then realized where they were at. He went for the first escape he could think of. "Mokuba! Wait!" He hurried out of the door.

"What…just happened?" asked Shayla, her head still spinning slightly. She could tell by the smell that she was in the hospital wing. But the last she remembered was Kaiba saying that he liked her. "Wait…we were so close a moment ago…We weren't…were we? I have to know what happened."

She hurried out to the hallway, stopping in the doorway and listening for his footfalls.

"Kaiba! Wait!" Shayla called down the left hand side of the hall. The moment he stopped, she realized she had no idea what to say to him.

Kaiba had yet to turn around when he spoke. "Just forget about it, it's nothing."

"You s-said that you l-like me….and you weren't lying."

"It's not important now."

"Now, you're lying."

"So why did you stop me?"

Shayla stammered, not sure of that answer herself. She began searching her own heart, and her own motives. When she found the reason, her face started turning scarlet.

Kaiba noted the silence, and turned around to see what had happened. He saw Shayla, with her left hand on the wall, head tilted slightly forward so her face was half hidden by her brown ringlets. Her face was slightly pink beneath her hair, and he could see it all since her sunglasses weren't in the way. He got a general idea of her thoughts at that moment.

Kaiba walked back to her, taking her right hand. "Come on, I know a place where we can talk uninterrupted."

"O-okay," Shayla agreed, following beside him.

Kaiba opened a larger door toward the front of the airship. The room itself was large, with several couches shaped in several circles. A squat table was in the middle of each circle. Large cushions were stacked in the corners.

"This is the lounge," he explained, leading her to one of the couches. "No one ever comes here."

"Do the others even know it exists?"

Kaiba smirked. "Probably not."

They both sat down and a short amount of awkward silence followed. Kaiba was the one who finally broke it.

"You would have done well in the finals," he said. "Why didn't you try to finish this tournament?"

"Because of all the bad feelings…I mean, just look what happened."

"Everything turned out okay…Can I see your deck?"

"My deck?"

"Yes, I'd like to see how it flows. You can tell a lot about a person by the deck they make."

"Okay," Shayla agreed, reaching into her backpack and pulling out her deck. It was still in her duel disk, which had been buried at the bottom. "This is my deck now, but…" She unzipped another pouch of her pack. "I also trade these cards in and out of it." She set three small stacks of cards, all bound in a rubber band, beside her main deck on the table between them.

"As I thought, you do know your cards. Not many duelists use field magic cards any more, but you've got them placed to your advantage."

"Thank you. I spent a lot of time reading Duel Monster magazines to figure out what cards other duelists were using the most, and to learn about different combinations I might not have thought of."

"That's what makes you a good duelist…you don't have a single dragon-type monster card here."

"They haven't made a female monster that's also a dragon type," commented Shayla.

"How do you even tell which cards are female or not?"

"Instinct, actually. Every card I've put in my deck has turned out to be female. It just worked out that way."

Before Kaiba could comment, a small rumble happened in the silence. Shayla suddenly sweat-dropped.

"When was the last time you ate anything?" he asked her.

"Er…hmm…" Shayla paused, thinking back. "Er…last night."

"It's been a full day since you last had anything to eat? You must be starving."

"I was just too anxious to be hungry before…"

"Let me order something from the kitchen."

"You don't have to go through the trouble."

"Don't worry, it is my airship after all." He spoke into the intercom on his collar for a moment, before turning back to her.

"Thank you, I just don't want to be an imposition."

"You're not, no need to be modest," he replied.

Shayla lowered her head slightly, once more causing her curls to fall over her face. Some got tangled in her sunglasses, which she had put on during the walk to the lounge.

Seto Kaiba leaned over the table, brushing her hair behind her ears, then touching her sunglasses. "Why do you wear these? It's not like they change a thing."

"Oh…" she stammered, pink coloring sliding up her neck. "It's m-most for everyone else. People seem to be disturbed when they see how my eyes really look…"

Kaiba gently lifted the glasses off her nose, then pulled the rest of the ringlets behind her ears. He rested a hand on her cheek, taking in her face, which was now unobstructed. "You look better with them off." He looked at her eyes for a long time, not at all flinching from the milky-white film that covered them. Something was nagging him at the back of his mind, something that was remembering how deep brown her eyes had been when they first met.

Shayla was now blushing badly. She lowered her head again. "T-thanks."

"How come you're blind in the first place?" Kaiba asked.

Shayla's head bobbed up, surprised. "You're only the second one to ask me that…ever."

"I understand if you don't want to tell me."

"No, I'm just surprised… It's several things that make it so I can't see," she explained. "The doctors said that the lens of my eyes are corrupt or something like that, I'm not sure of the medical terms. That's why it looks like my eyes are white—or so I'm told. They said they'd be able to replace those. But it would be pointless to, because my optical nerve is, for lack of a better word, dead. And they can't do anything about that."

"I…understand. But then why, back when we first met, could you see?"

"Magic. It had something to do with my Millennial Scales. But I don't understand it at all."

Kaiba groaned. "Can we not talk about magic for one day?"

"You asked," Shayla shrugged.

Just then, the door opened and one of the kitchen staff entered, carrying a tray of cold sandwiches.

"Your order, sir?" the staff member said.

"Just set it down on the table," said Kaiba.

He did as he was told, bowed briefly, and left.

"Thanks again," said Shayla.

"Don't mention it. You need to take care of yourself."

Shayla reached forward to feel for a sandwich. But as she did so her long sleeve accidentally caught her walking stick, which was leaning against the side of the table. It started to slide forward. Kaiba caught it easily. He looked it over, noticing the joint held together by duct tape.

He chuckled. "I remember when this came in contact with Pegasus's skull. It was one of the funniest things I've ever seen. Next to Deblin's Dungeon Dice Monsters premier."

"Did he just laugh?" wondered Shayla. "Hehehe, it was the only thing I could think of at the time."

Kaiba peeled back the tape. "I could fix this easy enough."

"You'd fix it for me?" Shayla said, hopefully, swallowing a bite of sandwich.

"Of course, this won't take too long," he replied, already pulling out his pocket tool kit.

"Thank you," said Shayla. "It's a bit of a pain carrying it around. It was easier before when I could collapse it into a rod and put it in my backpack when I wasn't using it."

Kaiba worked on it a few moments, giving her time to eat, before he spoke again. "Shayla…would you like to spend some time with me after school when we get back?"

"D-do you mean…like a date?"

"…yes."

"I w-would," she again tried to hide faint blushing. "But…can you answer one question for me?"

"What is it?"

"Who are you?"

Kaiba was so surprised by her question he stopped working for a moment. His blue eyes scanned her, trying to figure out what she meant. She could sense his confusion, so she explained.

"I mean…you always seem to be acting like two different people," she said, shakily. "Sometimes you're really nice, and other times you can be so mean to everyone its unreal. But…I want to get to know the nice you…" Her cheeks had flushed pink again.

"I'll admit it…I have a hard time trusting people," said Kaiba. "But I know I can trust you." He placed her now fixed walking stick in her hand. "I don't want to hurt you, ever." His fingertips brushed the back of her hand.

The wadjet eye flashed on both of their foreheads.

Shaylana looked up at Seto and smiled. "They like each other! This is perfect!"

Seto took her hand in his. "It means we can be together."

"I'm so happy," Shaylana said. "I had been so confused and so angry for so long, and now I'm free of that. And we've been given a second chance."

"Yes, that is a true blessing."

"There's just one thing…" said Shaylana, slowly.

"What is it? What's bothering you?"

"You know we're going to have to tell our other sides about us."

Seto slowly exhaled. "Yes, eventually we'll have to tell them."

"Soon, tonight," said Shaylana. "They have a right to know."

"Yes, that's true," Seto agreed. "But it's not going to be easy…"

13