Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh…

Author's note: Oops… sorry that I didn't update for months… I was busy, scratch that, I was extremely busy! But I'm back now… Thanks for the reviews!

Okay, here's the new chapter. Enjoy!

The Spirit of the Sword

Chapter 18

Convinced

Bang! The door was shut closed. Seto Kaiba left without turning back. The room was quiet, too quiet.

…Then… do you… love me?

… … Hmph. Love? I have no need for love.

… … … Then… why… made me the Queen of Domino Kingdom?

… … … … Because, you have something I want.

… … … … … I… see…

The conversation between Seto and Serenity still seemed to be echoing in the air. Serenity was still sitting on the floor, with her eyes tightly closed. Her hand was clutching securely onto the bed sheet, even until her knuckles turned white. Seto's answers were like a sharp blade, piercing her heart into pieces. The air seemed to be thinning too, making her hard to breath. The pain in her chest was… unbearable…

When did she start to like Seto Kaiba? Could it be when he saved her from falling off the swing in the garden? Could it be when he actually seemed to care for her when he tried to calm her down after making her cry? Or could it be when he promised to protect her in the hallway after she was chased by some ghost-like monster? Even though he was usually pretty cruel and mean to her, even wounded her, she still couldn't help falling in love with him. He hardly shows her his real feelings, but she could sense he actually has a heart. He rarely acts gently, but she had seen it. But why? Why did he have to admit that he doesn't love her? Why couldn't he lie to her? She would believe anything he tells her! Anything!

Is it too much to ask for his love? Is it my fault too that I was born into the Wheeler family? No it wasn't my fault! And I'm proud to be a Wheeler, proud to be Joey's little sister! Serenity yelled in her heart painfully. Her heart was bleeding. What else could she do now?

Bakura had been observing her after Seto left. He could see that she was hurt by Kaiba's words badly. A smirk started to spread out on his face. It seemed like Kaiba just gave him a chance to take Serenity away.

He walked toward Serenity, but stopped in front of her. She didn't raise her eyes to look at him. After several minutes of silence, Bakura kneeled down in front of her. The evil smirk was no longer on his face.

"What are you planning to do now?" Bakura asked, with devious looks in his eyes. "See, I didn't lie to you."

"What can I do?" Serenity mumbled. Her eyes wondered to the plate of salad Seto handed her.

"You should eat." Bakura reminded her. If he were to convince her to leave with him, then she needed to eat so she would have some strength.

"But… I don't have appetite…" She stared at the salad blankly. She didn't feel like eating. She just wanted to sit there and do nothing, think nothing. Suddenly, Seto's voice started to echo in her mind again… "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?"

Serenity gasped. She didn't want the innocent maids to be punished because she refused to eat. Slowly, she picked up the plate, and started to eat. She chewed for a long time, then swallowed it. The salad seemed so bitter… Was it her, or was the salad really bitter, like her mood?

Bakura was now sitting on the bed, waiting for her to finish eating. Then, he would convince her to run away from the castle, with him. The wicked smirk appeared on his face again. Perhaps he should start persuading her to leave Domino Kingdom now, he couldn't wait to get his plan in action.

"Serenity, what are you planning to do now?" He repeated his question earlier. "Do you still want to stay here? There's nothing here for you. Kaiba is only using you, don't you see? He hates your last name, Wheeler."

"Stop it! I don't want to hear!" Serenity suddenly cried out. She dropped the plate of salad and covered her ears with her hands, while shaking her head. Those words, they hurt.

"Fine. I won't say anymore." Bakura was surprised by her. She was always so gentle and quiet, he had never seen her like this. He just stared at her with a bizarre look on his face.

The room was quiet once again. After a couple of minutes, Serenity seemed to have calmed down. She stood up and walked towards the balcony. She looked towards the West, where Yami Kingdom was located. That's where her brother and her friends were.

Bakura followed her out. His mind was turning again, searching for ideas of what to say to her in order to convince her to run away. It seemed like she couldn't bear to listen to more bad things about Kaiba. Perhaps he could use her brother and friends to persuade her.

"You miss your brother, don't you?" Bakura asked, his keen eyes observing every expression on her face.

"Of course…" She whispered.

"Don't you want to go see them?" Bakura continued. "Remember before your wounds were worsened, you tried to leave with your brother."

"I…" Serenity remembered. Seto tried to stop her from leaving, that was how her wounds got worsened. Why did he try to stop her? Oh right, because I have something he wanted. Serenity smiled bitterly at the thought.

"Remember Mai was poisoned? Joey and the others left to find a cure. I wonder… how they are doing now?" An evil smirk appeared again, but Bakura hid it within seconds.

Serenity's eyes widened. That's right, Mai was poisoned! Joey… did you find the cure…? Serenity frowned, she was so worried about Mai and Joey! Where are they now? She wondered.

"Isn't going to help Joey and Mai out much more important than staying here being despised by Kaiba?" Bakura asked again, seeing that Serenity seemed moved by what he said.

"Being despised by Seto…" Serenity mumbled. Her heart just ached when Bakura reminded her what she didn't want to remember.

"If you want to go find your brother, I can help you." Bakura walked in front of her and looked seriously into her hazel eyes.

"Go find Joey… and Mai…" Serenity repeated. Her heart started to stir. Yes, she should go find them. Seto didn't love her, so what? It's not the end of the world, she still has Joey and her friends to support her. But still… why did her heart still hurt at the realization that Seto despised her?

"So, do you or do you not want to leave Domino Kingdom and help your brother out?" Bakura asked, a bit impatient.

"I…" Serenity couldn't decide yet. She closed her eyes and thought for a while. Bakura was tapping his feet impatiently, waiting for Serenity to make a decision.

Finally, she opened her eyes, determination shone brightly in her hazel eyes. She nodded lightly. "Sure… I want to go find Joey. You're right, Bakura… There's nothing here I want anymore… nothing…" She said, her voice dying down at the end of her sentence. … Nothing except Seto… but… he's someone I could never reach… He doesn't need me… in fact… he doesn't need anyone… Serenity thought hopelessly. Instead of being hurt here, she decided to run away.

"Great!" Bakura exclaimed, but Serenity was lost in her own thoughts, and didn't see his evil face. Seems like my plan is working, muhahaha… Bakura thought happily. "Here's the plan. Listen carefully. Are you listening?" Annoyed that she wasn't listening to him.

"Oh… yea I'm listening…" Serenity blushed. It was so embarrassing being caught not paying attention but instead wasting time daydreaming…

"At twelve o'clock tonight, I will be waiting for you in the front gate. The guards will be drugged, no one will notice you're leaving. Still remember how to get to the front gate?" Bakura asked.

"Yea…" Serenity replied. She still remembered what Bakura told her about the construction of this castle. She shouldn't walk straight, instead she had to make turns to get out of this weird castle.

"Good. Remember, twelve o'clock. Kaiba should probably be sleeping by then. And don't let anyone see you." Bakura ordered.

"… Why can't you… bring me to the front gate? Why do I have to go alone?" Serenity was a bit afraid that someone might catch her sneaking out of the castle. If Bakura pick her up, no one would see them, since he seemed to be a lot more incisive than her. She would feel safer if he's with her… She just disliked sneaking around, especially alone, that's all.

"Of course I can't go with you! What if I-" Bakura almost blurted out what he had in mind. He stopped himself quickly. What if I get caught? I'm not stupid! If I get caught, who knows what Kaiba would do to me? Hmph. But if he catches you, that's too bad, he will only punish you. I can always come up with another plan to make you mine, muhahaha… Another evil thought. "-uh… what I mean is, what if I'm clumsy and get you in trouble? Besides, I need to prepare and watch over the carriage in the front gate." Bakura explained.

"… Right…" Serenity was suspicious of him. He was so angry, and then he seemed to try to cover up his real thought… But no time to ponder on that. She needed to be prepared to escape from here.

"Remember, twelve o'clock. Don't get caught." Bakura repeated. Then, after Serenity nodded her head, he left her alone on the balcony. He really shouldn't stay too long in the room. Kaiba seemed angry that he was here when Kaiba entered the room. He wouldn't want Kaiba to be suspicious of him at this moment.

Serenity was alone again in the room. She went into the bathroom and washed her face. She seemed so pale… The sky was still bright, she still had hours before her time to depart. Serenity went back to the bed, she needed some sleep to replenish her energy. Hopefully, she would be able to leave in one piece… without making any troubles…

Seto had locked himself up in the library. His thoughts were all muddled, all thanks to Serenity Wheeler. Her questions just reminded him why she was even here, in his castle. His answers, might be a little too cruel, but they were true. He only wanted her here so she could help him save Mokuba. Nothing more. Her knowledge, that's what he wanted from her.

How long had it been since he last saw Mokuba? Two years and several months, he even lost count of how many months it was. He had no more patience left… He must go talk to Serenity tonight. He would ask for her help, perhaps intimidate her a bit might work. He knew she had a soft heart, she would agree to help him out after hearing his heart-wrenching story about Mokuba.

Knock! Knock! Someone interrupted Seto's thoughts.

"Come in!" Seto growled, obviously in a bad mood. He sat himself down behind the desk, where he looks through all the paperwork about his kingdom.

A guard came in with a piece of paper on his hand. Seto raised an eye-brow up. Who would send a what seemed like a letter to him? The last he checked, he didn't have any close friends that would write a cozy letter to him.

"What is it?" Seto asked with a decorous voice.

"My lord, this letter was left in the front gate. It is addressed to you, my lord." The young guard answered.

"Leave it on my desk." Seto replied, not even looking up. His blue eyes were glued to a document about possible spies in the castle.

"Yes, my lord." The young guard left the letter on the desk and left.

Seto finally finished reading that document. According to it, there was at least one spy in the castle, otherwise who could possibly poison his 'guest'—Mai Valentine? He had one person in mind… the white hair priest of his… he doesn't seem so loyal to me, in fact, not loyal at all. He would have to keep an eye on Bakura.

Seto picked up the letter. He had no idea who sent this letter to him… He slowly opened up the letter, blue eyes scanning through it…

Dear Kaiba-boy,

How have you been lately? Haven't heard from you for weeks. Have you given up?
 Miss your little brother Mokuba, don't you?
 Couldn't find a better sword than mine, now could you? Perhaps you should consider joining with your brother, in the shadow realm!
 Now, now, don't get angry with me, Kaiba-boy. It's your father's fault! You should be angry with him!
 Oh well… come visit me soon. Remember to bring a better sword next time!

From,
 Pegasus

Seto gripped the letter really hard. He then crumpled the letter into a ball and threw it into the garbage can. What was the meaning of this letter? He was extremely angry right now. Did Pegasus write that just to tease him? And why did Pegasus said it was Gozaburo's fault? What did that old man had to do with Mokuba's soul being taken by that snake? Seto could still see Pegasus's wicked smirk when he wrote that letter.

Veins were showing on Seto's forehead, he was fuming and about to erupt. That stupid letter just ruined his mood for the day. He was already in a bad mood, confused and all, before that letter arrived. Now, he just felt like killing someone… Well, he wouldn't actually kill innocent people, he wasn't that cruel and unreasonable.

What exactly was he thinking before he saw that letter? Something about talking to Serenity tonight… Whatever it was, he had no mood of actually doing it now after he saw that letter. He could do that some other time, like tomorrow…

Seto walked over to the corner, opened up a glass closet, and picked out a bottle of wine. He always put a closet of good wine in the library. He would need them when he gets a headache from reading all those lengthy documents and making arduous decisions concerning his kingdom and his people.

He started drinking the tasty wine. Alcohol always helps ease his bad mood and make him forget all the problems… The only bad thing would be the headache he would get the next morning, but who cares? At least alcohol can help alleviate his pain and annoyance for now…

Meanwhile, a carriage had arrived at the front gate of Duelist Kingdom. The guards on the high defensive wall surrounding the Kingdom wouldn't open the gate to let the carriage in. Only people with permission from King Pegasus could go into the Kingdom.

In the carriage, Mai was lying on the soft sheets that covered the floor of the carriage. Her face was still pretty pale. Joey was sitting beside Mai, holding tightly onto her cold hand.

"Hang in there, Mai…" Joey said gently to Mai, as if she was just sleeping, not unconscious. "We're at the front gate of Duelist Kingdom. Remember, the evil Pegasus's Kingdom in the North. But don't worry, I'll protect you from him."

"Joey…" Tea said worriedly. Hopefully, Joey wouldn't lose his mind before they find the cure for Mai. That white flower up in the cold mountains, only found in Duelist Kingdom… Why did it have to be Duelist Kingdom? It would be much easier to save Mai if that flower grows at some other places, like their own Kingdom…

"We are going to get to the mountains and find that white flower for you, Mai. I promise you, I'll save you, no matter how hard it might be." Joey continued talking to Mai with determination. He would never let Mai die of poison! He would suffer forever if he fail to save Mai…

"Joey, the guards wouldn't open the gate. We need a plan to get into Duelist Kingdom." Yami got into the carriage from the driver's seat in front of the carriage.

"That snake Pegasus." Tea said. Why couldn't they just go in? Why did it have to be so hard to get into Duelist Kingdom?

"Couldn't ya do something? You are the king of Yami Kingdom… Ya should be able to get us in there." Joey asked.

"Joey's right, Yami… Pegasus might let us in if he knows you wanted to visit him…" Tea suggested.

"But I don't want to visit him, Tea." Yami frowned. Pegasus was always so deceitful and cunning, he didn't like him at all. Pegasus's smirks might be even eviler than Kaiba's infamous smirk.

"Well… just pretend you do. That way we can get into the Kingdom much faster. Mai can't wait, Yami!" Tea convinced. Of course none of them wanted to actually see Pegasus. But that might be the only way to get in, otherwise why would Pegasus allow them to go in?

"Please…" Joey pleaded. He couldn't bear seeing Mai's pale face any longer. He wanted to get in and get to the mountain right now!

"All right. I'll go tell the guards." Yami exited the carriage and got off the carriage. He walked towards the tightly shut front gate.

The guards on the wall took out their arrows and aimed at Yami and the carriage. They were told to shoot whoever that tried to force themselves into the Kingdom, actually there was no way for people to force themselves into the castle since the huge gate was so high and so strong.

After seeing Yami didn't try to force his way into the castle, one guard was sent down to see why a carriage was in front of the gate. "What do you want?" The guard asked, annoyed that he had to get down in front of the gate instead of resting up on the wall.

"I'm King Yami, from Yami Kingdom. I'm here to see King Pegasus." Yami said concisely.

"Uh… I see… I'll go report it to the King…" The guard was stunned that he actually could talk to King Yami. He quickly got back into the gate and on his way to report King Yami's visit to Pegasus.

After another half an hour of waiting, the front gate was opened. The carriage was allowed to go in without any hindrance. However, there were ten guards sent to escort the carriage into Duelist Castle. One of the guards was ordered to drive the carriage, so Yami get to go into the carriage. There was no way they could go to the mountains in Duelist Kingdom without first visiting Pegasus.

"I thought we coulda just said we wanted to see Pegasus, then turn to the mountains on the way instead of actually visiting him!" Joey complaint.

"You wish, Joey. Pegasus is heavily paranoid. I don't think he would let anyone claimed he or she wanted to see him as an excuse to enter his kingdom. Of course he would send people to escort us." Yami pointed out.

"His right, Joey… a couple of hours won't hurt… I hope…" Tea said. She looked at Mai worriedly. Hopefully the visit wouldn't take too long. But would Pegasus actually agree to let us go and find that rare flower on the mountain? Would he hinder us for some evil reason? Tea thought worriedly.

"Tea, don't worry. We'll think of something." Yami patted Tea's hand, giving her some support. He understood what she was worried about. Hopefully, Pegasus wouldn't try to stop them from getting the white flower, the only cure to save Mai.

Tea smiled slightly to Yami. She patted Joey's shoulder too, giving him her support. She would always be there for them, after all, they were her friends.

"Thanks, guys." Joey said. He was glad that his friends could be with him. Together, they would be able to save Mai. He knew they would! "Just hang in there, Mai. You can count on us!"

Author's note: Chapter 18 finished. How is it? It might be a little boring, but hopefully not… All the things that happened in the chapter will lead up to things that will happen in the next and future chapters… so it is necessary…

A little hint… there will be a lot more conversation + incidents happening between Kaiba and Serenity! Isn't that exciting? But I don't know when I will be able to update again, hopefully soon…