Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh.

Author's note: It took me so many days to finish this chapter… I just couldn't sit down and type like I used to… maybe it's the hw and tests… or could it be writer's block? Oh well, hope you enjoy this chapter!

The Spirit of the Sword

Chapter 17

A Lonely Place To Be In

It was late at night. The sun would be rising in a couple of hours. The sky was dark, and the stars were dim. The doctors had just left the large room that belonged to the king. The busy scene of doctors moving around the room with bandages, medicines, and water was gone, and the room returned to a very quiet state. Almost no sound could be heard, except the calm and rhythmic breathing sound coming from the large bed in the middle of the room.

The owner of a pair of sapphire eyes was staring at the young girl with porcelain-like skin and long auburn hair. She was lying on the soft bed, covered by warm sheets. The color of her lips had returned a bit more reddish, as compared to the ghastly colorless lips when he rushed in the room with her earlier tonight. Her cheeks also appeared healthier and rosier. She looked just like a princess, sleeping peacefully and having a sweet dream.

The young man with sapphire eyes was indeed Seto Kaiba, the King of Domino Castle. He was partly responsible for aggravating the wound on her back, which was also pierced by his very own hand with a sword, but that was an accident. Seto was now trying to sort out his muddled thoughts; so much had happened, which he had never predicted when he planned out his scheme just several weeks ago.

Seto was perplexed by the situation he was in right now, and his own emotions. He was sitting next to the bed, watching Serenity with complicated gaze. There were so many different emotions in his eyes and that some emotions contradicted his principles and plans. Upset, he combed his somewhat messy brown hair, which usually was combed perfectly neat, with his hand.

Seto put his hand on Serenity's cheek and lightly caressed her smooth cheek. His hand wondered towards her forehead on its own, smoothing out her frowned eye brows. Unconsciously, he didn't want to see Serenity frown, because frowning usually mean worry, sad, or physical pain. Guilt couldn't stop tormenting his heart.

Is it my fault again she's lying on the bed lifelessly? It is my fault. If only I notice her wound isn't completely healed yet, this might not have happened. Seto rarely admits that he was wrong, but this time, he couldn't attribute his own fault to other people. But if the mutt didn't try to take her away, then she wouldn't get hurt again. I was wrong, but it was all thanks to that mutt. Seto gritted his teeth at the thought of Joey Wheeler. As always, he still blamed Joey for whatever bad things that happened.

Seto was now feeling guilty for aggravating Serenity's wound. He was angry at himself for losing control when Serenity tried to leave him with her brother. He was even angrier about Joey trying to butt in to take Serenity away. But the thing that pissed him off the most was why was he so concern about Serenity, and why he lost control of himself when Serenity tried to leave.

Why did I behave like an uneducated idiot and fought in front of so many people with the mutt when she tried to leave? I can't believe I even rolled on the ground during the fought with the mutt! That's so barbaric and apish! Why do I even care what she wants to do? I don't even remember why I brought her here in the first place… … Seto frowned. His hand was rested on Serenity's hands right now, trying to give her some support unconsciously.

Suddenly, Seto's sapphire eyes widened after he remembered something. Then, he narrowed his eyes and took his hands away from Serenity's hands. His eyes were no longer showing any emotions. All there was left in his eyes, which seemed like a deep ocean unable to see through, was coldness and his own culpability for forgetting such an important mission. Hmph… How could I have forgotten about the most important thing I must do? How could I? I only sought after her so that I could use her knowledge to wield a powerful sword in order to save my little brother Mokuba. Nothing more. Just to save Mokuba…

Seto's mood suddenly became depressed at the thought of his sweet little brother Mokuba. The boy with long, ebony hair and violet eyes. The boy that was always so cheerful. The only person who could bring happiness to him, and the only person who could chase away all the tiredness in him. That little boy was no longer with him…


(Flashback)

Mokuba ran into the room, with his cheerful smile. He ran towards Seto, with a Chess game in his hands. He stopped near the desk, and observed what's on top of the desk with his big violet eyes.

Seto was sitting at the desk reading and studying something that looked so complicated even a normal adult probably wouldn't understand. Piles of textbooks and papers were accumulated on the desk. Those were all the information Seto must learn by this weekend.

"Come on Seto, stop reading those boring textbooks!" Mokuba said as he pulled Seto's arm, trying to get Seto out of the study room.

"I can't… I have to finish reading all these books by the end of this week…" Seto mumbled, didn't look at up Mokuba.

"Come on! You need to relax, Seto!" Mokuba said cheerfully. He understood how much pressure Seto must be in. "Let's just play one Chess game, please, big brother!" Mokuba pleaded.

Seto raised his eyes from the book and looked at Mokuba. He loved his little brother dearly, and didn't want to see a disappointed face on Mokuba. Besides, he really needs to relax before his mind tangled up because of reading and trying to understand all those history, mathematics, and sciences in the books Gozaburo forced him to read.

"All right, Mokuba. I'll play one chess game with you. But remember, just one." Seto said with a true smile.

"Great! But if I win, you have to play another game with me, okay, Seto?" Mokuba said innocently, with an innocent smile.

"… Mokuba!" Seto finally realized Mokuba tried to trick him to play more than one game with him. Seto didn't have a chance to say anything, because Mokuba pulled his arm and ran out the study room into their bedroom.

That night, they played Chess games, again and again. Not that Mokuba won, but Seto also kind of wanted to forget about all those burdensome studying. Of course, Seto would let Mokuba win sometimes, just to see him smile more. Seto forgot all about the studying that night. It was Mokuba who always brought happiness to Seto. That was one of the happiest moments in his life ever since Gozaburo threw all those textbooks in his face, which according to Gozaburo, was necessary to prepare Seto to become the next king.

That night, before they fall asleep, Mokuba asked him one unforgettable question. Seto gave Mokuba a promise as an answer.

"Big brother?" Mokuba asked before falling asleep.

"Yes, Mokuba?" Seto asked, he was almost asleep already.

"If I'm in danger, you'll protect me, right?" Mokuba asked.

"Of course I will! You're my only brother! No matter what happened, I'll always protect you, I promised." Seto promised firmly, with a smile on his face. "But why did you ask?"

"Oh, nothing… I was just wondering…" Mokuba mumbled. Then, they both fall asleep. The chess board and the game pieces were still scattered on the floor. That year, Seto was only thirteen years old, and Mokuba was five. It was so many years ago…

(End of flashback)

Traces of tears could slightly be seen in Seto's eyes. He wasn't able to keep his promise to Mokuba. Mokuba's soul was now imprisoned by Pegasus. He tried everything he could to save his little brother, but he failed again and again. The guilt of not keeping the promise to his little brother was tormenting him everyday. I can't wait anymore! I need that sword! I need to save Mokuba right now! I haven't seen him for two years… I missed him so much… Sorry, Mokuba, I couldn't keep my promise to you… … …

Seto gathered up his strength, and forced the tears in his eyes back. He stood up, glanced one more time at Serenity, then he walked out of the room without turning his head back, not even once. Seto told himself that he shouldn't feel anything for her. He shouldn't be so close to her. It would only ended up hurting her and myself, Seto thought as he walked out of the room…

A dark figure hid in one of the room in the hallway, and observed the king walking down the hallway. A smirk on his impious face…

The sun had risen. The warm sunlight penetrated through the window, elucidated the room. The room was really quiet. The sound of birds chirping drifted into the room, adding to the peaceful feelings. The sunlight shone gently on Serenity's face. Her eye lashes began to move slightly. Slowly, she opened up her eyes. The sunlight was in her eyes, blurring her vision. Serenity frowned, and raised her hand to block out the sunlight.

"Where… am I? … … What… happened?" Serenity mumbled, a bit confused. Her head felt like muddle. Serenity closed her eyes, and immediately, images of Mai lying on the bed with a pale face, Joey's hollow eyes, Seto's angry expression, and lastly, Joey and Seto pulling her arms in opposite directions flashed in her mind. Serenity remembered what happened last night.

"Joey and Seto had a fight again…" Serenity mumbled disappointedly and sighed lightly. She tried to get up, but instantly pulled her muscle around the wound on her back. She squinted and bit her bottom lips as a bit of pain stroke her back. She stopped moving, and lay quietly on the bed. I think I re-injured my back last night… when Seto and Joey were pulling me in opposite directions… aww! That's awful… Serenity thought, and sighed again.

Serenity lay on the bed, waiting for someone to come into the room. A maid would be nice, to help her get up and prepare breakfast for her. Not that she's that dependent, but her back kind of hurt right now if she tries to move around. Seto would be… not that good… his expression was daunting last night when she tried to leave with Joey… No, she wouldn't want to see Seto right now… what would she say to him after she tried to leave?

"If Joey is still here… did he leave already? Probably… he needs to help Mai…" Serenity mumbled, hoping that Joey would still be here to protect her. She sighed the third time in the morning. She closed her eyes for some rest, not that she needed it right now, but she was bored. Couldn't move around, stuck on the bed, was definitely not a pleasure experience…

"Tsk, tsk…" A voice echoed suddenly in the quiet room. Serenity jumped, and quickly looked toward the source of the voice. She stared into a pair of unpredictable, cunning brown eyes. "What's with all the sighing?" The voice continued teasing Serenity.

"Bakura! … What are you doing here? … How... How long have you been there?" Serenity gasped. Her heart almost stops because of the shock. She didn't notice there was someone else in the room! How'd he… where did he come from? Serenity thought surprisingly. Even though she was no longer afraid of Bakura like she used to when she first arrived at Domino Castle, but she still felt a bit uncomfortable, especially when he appeared out of no where suddenly.

"I was here all along… What? You mean to tell me you didn't notice me, huh?" Bakura teased with a smirk on his face. His brown eyes concealed his wicked thoughts and evil plans, unable for others to detect. He was standing by the door, leaning on his back on the wall behind him.

"I… I… I didn't see you…" Serenity stuttered. She inhaled slowly and than exhaled, trying to calm down from the shock. She turned her head back and stared at the white ceiling above her, eluded from the intense stares Bakura was giving her. "Why are you here?" Serenity asked again.

"I came because…" Bakura paused purposely. "… because I thought you might want to know something about Kaiba…" He wanted to observe Serenity's expression, so he purposely elongated Seto's name.

Serenity turned to face Bakura immediately when she heard Seto's name. "What about Seto?" She blurted out, eager to find out what happened to her king. Serenity covered her mouths with her hands, her eyes widened, and light pink tint appeared on her face when she realized she blurted out Seto's name. Why am I so concern about what happened to Seto? He's the one fighting with Joey. He's a possible suspect of poisoning Mai… … … No, he wouldn't do something like that… he's not that evil… … What am I saying? I don't even know him that well… Why am I defending him? Unless I love-… it can't be… Serenity became confused. She wasn't too willing to admit that she had feelings for Seto, even though in her heart, she knew what the answer was.

Meanwhile, Bakura's eyes turned darker and darker. He saw how concern she was about Kaiba. He saw how she blurted out his name eagerly. He saw traces of struggling in Serenity's mind. She's probably confused about her own feelings for Kaiba. His conclusion was, she probably already started to fall for Kaiba. I'll get what I want. I'll do anything to get her. Hmph. An evil smirk appeared on his face when he thought of how to break Serenity and Kaiba apart. A small and cunning plan formed in his mind.

"Kaiba seemed really pissed off about something when he came out of the room. I passed by, and heard him murmured something about 'that damned mutt' and 'detested Wheeler family'…" Bakura said, of course he made all those words up. The only truth in what he just declared was that Seto looked pissed when he walked out of the room. "I thought you should know, he seemed to despise your family, probably including you, I'm afraid." Bakura put on a sorry face, pretending to pity her.

"Detested… Wheeler… family…" Serenity mumbled. Her heart started to ache severely. It became a bit hard for her to breathe. "Seto… despises… me…?" Serenity mumbled, her mind had gone blank already. The pain in her hear wasn't going away. She clutched tightly to the bed sheets, winkling the soft sheets.

"Well, I have other things to attend to. I must go now. Hope you'll feel better." Bakura said. He turned around and walked out of the room with a large wicked smirk. It seemed like Serenity believed him, and she seemed so shocked and hurt. Hmph… trusting others so easily. Such an innocent and naïve girl. Hahaha…

After Bakura left the room, everything returned to the serene state, except her heart. Violent waves were beating at her heart, causing more pains. Why would Seto despises me? Just because I'm Joey's little sister? Just because I am a member of the Wheeler family?… … … It's not… fair… I am a person too… Why do I have to be classified based on my family? That's wrong… How could he be so cruel? Tears started swelling up in her hazel eyes. One tear drop from eye eyes slid down her cheeks. The agonizing pain numbed her feelings for a while.

I… can't bear… the… pain… Serenity rolled to her side and shrunk her body into an infant position. She grabbed the extra pillow on the bed and hugged it tightly. Streams of tears started sliding down to the pillow, wetting the pillow. I… feel pain… because… I do… I do love him… Serenity admitted her feelings at that moment. She realized she felt so hurt because she cares about what Seto think of her, and that she loves him. There was no option of denial anymore…

I hope, Seto will come visit me… I hope Bakura heard it wrong… Seto wouldn't be that mean… that heartless… No… If he comes, then Bakura is wrong… Seto doesn't loathe me, he doesn't… Serenity refused to believe what Bakura told her. She must have hope, she repeated again and again. Serenity slowly closed her eyes, and soon fell asleep. Traces of tears still remained on her face…

In the hall, outside of the golden door, all the maids were anxiously looking. They were all frowning, and some even seemed like they were on the verge of crying. Whatever that happened definitely wasn't good.

Bakura walked towards the location where the maids had gathered. He saw the trays those maids carried with them were left untouched. The king had demanded that the queen should eat, otherwise, he'll punish all the maids who failed to convince her to eat. Hmph. Looks like they all failed. Serenity is still not eating… Perhaps I said it too harshly to her the other day… Bakura had an emotionless face, he never lets anyone know what he really was planning in his mind.

The maids bowed at him when he approached the tightly shut door. Some maids started to tremble, afraid that Bakura was here to punish them for failing to get the queen to eat. Bakura stared at the maids, one by one. Then, he walked up to one of the maids and took the tray from her. The tray contained a healthy salad made more tomatoes, cabbages, onions, green peppers, red peppers, apples, kiwis, and some source.

"The Queen is still not eating, huh?" Bakura stated as a question, but said it in a-matter-of-fact way. He didn't wait for the maids' reply and knocked the door. There was no reply from the room, absolutely silence. He didn't bother knocking the second time, opened the door, and went in.

He scanned the room. The white curtains were all shut. There was no trace of Serenity. The bed sheets were perfectly folded, as if no one had slept there last night. There was no sound in the room, except his footsteps and the chirping of the birds coming from outside. Bakura put the tray down, walked towards to bed, and found Serenity sitting on the floor on the opposite side of the bed.

Serenity bent her knees, put her hands on top of her knees, and rested her head on her hands. Her hazel eyes were half closed, as if she's looking down at the floor. There was no expression on her pale face. There were no traces of tears on her cheeks. Her auburn hair was loosely dangled behind her back. She looked like a beautiful, but lifeless doll. She had been like this for days, not moving, not eating, not drinking, not talking, and stopped crying.

She seemed like she didn't realize that someone entered the room. Her mind was blank like a piece of white paper. Her heart was numb from the pain she had felt all these nights. Her hope that Seto did care about her died off. He didn't come. He knew she was wounded, since he was partly responsible for worsening her wound, but he didn't come to see her. If he's not heartless, he would have come by and at least see if she's recovering. So… Seto does indeed… despise… me… because… I'm a Wheeler too… Serenity thought. No more tears remain for her to shed. She had waited everyday since Bakura last came by and told her that Seto abhorred all the Wheelers, including her.

"What are you doing?" Bakura asked Serenity, frowning. He disliked the way she looked. She looked so lifeless, like every bits of energy had been drained out of her body. There was no reply from her. Her eyes didn't even move. She either didn't hear him, or she was ignoring him.

"It's been four days. Stop acting stupidly." Bakura said coldly. "Get up and eat, now." But Serenity didn't move at all. She was still sitting on the floor.

"The King ordered those maids outside to convince you to eat. Otherwise, they'll all be punished." Bakura continued saying. This statement made Serenity frowned a little bit, she didn't want others to be punished because of her. But she still didn't look at Bakura.

"Hey… I'm here to help you…" Bakura softened his tone a bit. He wouldn't like her to die, not just yet. He didn't even get her yet, how could he let her die so soon? No way! "I brought you some healthy salad. At least eat something. Your brother will be worried if he sees you like this."

Serenity opened her eyes fully. She didn't want to let Joey worry about her. Bakura reached out his hand, offering to help Serenity up from the floor. But Serenity didn't move. Just when Bakura was about to say something else—

Bang! The door was kicked open. Seto Kaiba walked in angrily. All the maids could be seen shivering outside the door. Seto's eyes were a dark blue color, indicating that he was fuming, and he was gritting his teeth. He scanned the room, and only saw Bakura standing near the bed. He glared at Bakura, as if questioning why he was in the room. "Close the damn door!" He yelled. One of the maids quickly closed the door, afraid of the king's bad temper.

Seto walked over to Bakura, and finally saw that Serenity was sitting on the floor on the other side of the bed. Seto's eyes widened, shocked at what he saw. Serenity looked so frail, as if even the wind could blow her away from him. She's not looking up, as if she didn't know another person had entered the room. The rage started to accumulate in Seto's heart.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, sitting on the floor? Why don't you eat?" Seto questioned Serenity like he was interrogating a criminal. She didn't budge, but her eyes seemed to be focusing. The excruciating pain returned to her heart. She finally realized that both Seto and Bakura were in the room.

"Get up!" Seto ordered, and started grabbing her arms to pull her up. He forced her to sit back onto the bed, and saw the salad from the corner of his keen eyes. Seto walked over to the table and grabbed the tray. He went back to the bed, and handed her the salad, but she didn't take it. Seto gritted his teeth again. He felt a tiny bit of guilt when he saw how frail she looked. The guilt arose from his own choices of not checking to see how she's doing these four days. He had been pretty much ignoring her for four days, because he couldn't face his own feelings. He was running away, in his heart he knew it, but he would never admit it.

"Do you… despise me… because I'm a Wheeler?" Serenity managed to speak. She wasn't looking at Seto, afraid to see how heartless and cruel he might be. Seto gasped at that question. He didn't expect Serenity to ask him that. In fact, he despised every member of the Wheeler family, only because he disliked Joey Wheeler. He even thought he would look down at Serenity, but he didn't. For some reason, she was kind of special. But Seto refused to answer that question.

"Remember, I'm your king. You should never question me." Seto said coldly. He disliked others questioning him, including her.

"Then… do you… love me?" Serenity asked meekly. She closed her eyes and clutched the sheets she was sitting on.

"Hmph. Love? I have no need for love." Seto said it like the mere thought of love disgusted him. "Love would only weaken you. To be strong, one needs no love."

Serenity frowned, the pain had struck her once more. "Then… why… made me the Queen of Domino Kingdom?" Serenity asked with a shivering voice. This time, she looked Seto in the eyes, hoping to find a trace of warmth in his eyes. But, nothing. His eyes were beautiful, they were the color of sapphire, but it was icy, temperatureless.

"Because, you have something I want." Seto said, still trying to be cold. But his heart started to shake. Her stares scared him. Her hazel eyes seemed full of sadness and loneliness. Did I… did I cause the pain, the sadness, and the loneliness in… her? Seto thought a bit afraid that he had hurt her somehow.

"I… see…" Serenity said, lowering her eyes to the floor. So he wanted something from me… Our marriage has no love… She was very disappointed.

"You have to eat. That is, if you don't want me to punish those maids outside for failing to get you to eat. You are not that cruel, are you, me dear Serenity?" Seto asked softly, but it sent shiver down Serenity's spine. Seto sure knew how to make Serenity listen to his order. "Do not ever defy my orders, my dear."

Seto handed Serenity the tray, and left without looking back at her, not even once. Again, Seto denied what he really felt about her. He ignored the apprehension in his heart—the fear of losing her. He tried not to admit any concern for anyone, because only this way, he wouldn't get hurt. He loved his brother dearly, and he lost his brother for two years already, the pain in his heart was unbearable. He wouldn't want to experience that pain again, ever. So, the only way was not to love or care for anyone else besides himself.

Tears dripped off Serenity's face. She always thought the castle was a beautiful place. She always thought being a princess would be happy. But the perfect image of a beautiful castle was shattered. The castle she was now in was such a lonely place, so different from Yami's castle, where her brother and friends would always be there for her. Domino Castle was such a lonesome place…

Hee hee… Kaiba returned to his old self, cold and heartless… Sorry about that… I just have to make him turn cold again to let the rest of the story unravel. You'll soon find out what I mean by the "Spirit" of the sword, since spirit has several meanings…

Remember, please review, thanks!