Guardians

Note: All of you lovely reviewers deserve applause and thanks. We're now approaching 200 reviews, a number I never thought I'd see! YAY! Now then, enough of my stalling, let's get to the chapter, shall we?

Disclaimer: (makes sour face) I don't own Yu-gi-oh, and thought this was obvious, due to the lack of kissing… I also don't own Hear Me, although I wish I did.

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Let the Rain Fall

As they finally departed the Ferris wheel, Karmina gave a little start, as though she had just now realized what she'd done up there. She'd leaned her head on Joey Wheeler's shoulder! But why? She didn't love him… she barely knew him! I think… I think… I don't even know what to think… What's wrong with me lately?

She absently followed Joey out of the park and onto the dark, foreboding street, her mind not with him, and barely with her.

I don't get it… I know I still care about Seto… so why did I do it? Is it silly to obsess over something silly like that? What's wrong with me? And why on earth do I feel satisfied with myself for thinking that this would make Seto jealous? This isn't me… it can't be me…

"Are ya hungry, 'Mina?"

She gave a little start at earning a pet name and then shook it off. This wasn't the time to worry about that… she was too busy with the current 'What's wrong with me' line of thought. "No, Joey, I… I'm n-not." He's always hungry, unlike Seto. He seemed to feel that eating was just taking up valuable time.

"Okay."

She noted bitterly that he still walked her into a restaurant, ordered himself something, and then asked her again if she was hungry. She shook her head sharply and wished she was back in the Realm of Monsters, in the garden. Things were simpler then. It was just me, Seto, and the feeling that time had left us behind. Now, time seems to be moving all too fast. And I miss him. I hate him for leaving me, but I miss him.

After finishing a large meal that was more than Karmina had eaten in the past week, he walked her the rest of the way back to his house, where she promptly locked herself in the spare room with the radio. Her eyes were glazed with tears as she heard song after song about love, life, and more love. Lightning flashed and thunder clapped, and her hand flew instantly to the bag of dry clothes, her body heading instinctively to the door. She offered no explanation of where she was going.

She took the usual route, through the park and down the walkway, to her favorite spot for feeling sorry for herself, outside the tall, refreshingly real, Kaiba Corp. building. The words that seemed burned into her heart called out softly from her lips.

"You've gotta be out there, you've gotta be somewhere… Wherever you are, I'm waiting…. Cause there are these nights when, I sing myself to sleep… and I'm hoping my dreams, bring you close to me… Are you listening? Hear me, I'm crying out, I'm ready now! Turn my world upside down, find me! I'm lost inside the crowd, it's getting loud. I need you to see, I'm screaming for you to please… Hear me!"

Her eyes flicked upward, and she saw in the window none other than Seto Kaiba. Today, her tears were for a different reason entirely, and he knew this. It was written on his face that he knew he was the reason for her sadness. His face disappeared from the window, and she started to walk away, tears invisible due to the rain streaking down her face along with them.

Something took hold of her arm. A familiar something. She turned to the CEO with a sad smile on her face. He was holding an umbrella out like a peace offering. She took it cautiously and gasped when he wrapped his arms around her.

"Wait… what are you doing?" she asked him.

"What I should've done a long time ago, Karmina."

She broke away, feeling much less relieved than she should have. "I'm just supposed to forget that you put your image above me, then? Pretend it never happened?"

"You're right." His face fell just a little before his emotions vanished beneath the surface. "I was…"

"Selfish? Stupid?" she suggested.

"I was going to say a total idiot, but those work too." He didn't smile.

They were both drenched now, the umbrella still limp in Karmina's arms, crossed over her chest.

"All I thought about… was you. Even when I was thrown out of the orphanage and freezing cold in the frost bitten air, there was nothing else on my mind. And now… you're back… and I don't seem to have gotten anywhere with all that thinking. But Seto, I can't forget that you chose this," she gestured up at the steel and concrete structure towering above them.

"And it was never what I wanted, only what I thought I had to do. But I've just realized that some things are more important than Kaiba Corp."

Karmina gave a skeptical snort. "It took you long enough."

He shrugged.

"But I do know that it takes a lot for you to admit you're wrong. I'm just not ready to take you back, Seto. I thought I was… and I thought that it would make everything perfect… but now that I see you, I realize there's more… I'm angry with you, Seto. Really, really, angry. And I've never had a chance to really forgive someone before, so I think I'm going to stay angry just a little bit longer."

Lightning flashed again, and the resounding thunder made her flinch just a little. Kaiba's face was still emotionless.

"But maybe… maybe we could still be friends… because of all the people in this world, I think… you're the only who knows the real me."

"Somehow I always thought that sort of speech was reserved for the movies."

It was Karmina's turn to offer nothing but a shrug. Neither of them said anything for a minute, and then she handed back the umbrella. "Wouldn't want your trechcoat to get wet. It might mess up your image." And she walked into the rain, not completely satisfied, but pacified for the moment.

End note: Well, I hope you like it! Review and tell me what you think.