Chapter Twenty-Five

"Seto! Seto, wake up!"

Seto's eyes snapped open. For one wild moment, he thought that man was above him. Seto shoved away, fell off the bed. His back hit the dresser and pain lanced through him. Knees to his chest, Seto buried his hands in his hair and put his face to his knees. The bed creaked. Seto tried to back away, but there was nowhere to go.

"Seto, it's me."

Gentle fingers pulled his hands down, cupped his face, and eased it up. Kisa filled his vision, still clad in just the underwear she'd worn to bed. There was a wide fearful look in her eyes. She looked close to tears.

"It's okay," she said. "It was just a nightmare."

Seto shook his head. "I was there. I had the gun in my hands. I-" His voice choked.

Kisa nudged his legs apart, settled herself between them, and embraced him. "It was just a dream. You're safe. No one can hurt you anymore."

He screamed against her skin. "I killed Mokuba!"

"Shh…" Kisa threaded her fingers through his hair, rubbed, caressed. "Shh… It was just a dream. Mokuba's fine. He's home. He's safe."

She whispered assurances into his ear for what seemed like hours until the tension in his body seeped out of him and his tremors passed and his breath came slow and easy again. Seto leaned his head back against her dresser, let his eyes slip closed, and heaved one long breath.

His voice was hoarse. "Thank you."

Kisa rested her hands on his knees. "Do you get nightmares a lot?"

"It was worse when I was younger. Nightly. Their frequency has been lessening over the years, but I still have issues sleeping through the night. Dr. Angevin had given me medication to help me sleep, but-"

"They're at your place." Kisa brushed her fingers along his temple. "I'm sorry. If I'd known I wouldn't have insisted you stay."

Seto shook his head, took her hand, and kissed her fingertips. "You shouldn't have had to see that."

"It was kinda scary." She looked over at her bedside table and rose on her knees. "I'll go make coffee."

"What time is it?"

"Five." She kissed his forehead. "You go get in the shower. I'll throw your shirt in the dryer."

Seto watched her get up, arms falling from holding her to lay across his knees. Kisa grabbed her shirt from where she'd left it and was pulling it over her head as she walked out of the room. Seto dragged a hand across his face.

Perhaps, in the future, they would plan their sleepovers ahead of time. At least then he took less of a chance of scaring the shit out of her.

It felt odd to walk around shirtless, especially after spending so much time trying to hide his scars. He headed down the stairs after a long hot shower, hair damp and loose, slacks hanging from his hips. Kisa was standing in her kitchen when Seto came down, leaning against the counter and flipping through the Sunday paper. A coffee pot bubbled at her elbow, filling the room with a rich and bitter smell. In the corner, behind a pair of accordion doors, came the rumbling of a dryer.

Seto came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Anything important?"

"Not really." Kisa pushed the business section towards him. "Looks like someone did a piece on the Hoffmann thing. They're calling you one of the most successful businessmen under thirty."

Seto took up the article while Kisa retrieved each of them a mug from a cabinet overhead. He couldn't hide his satisfied smirk. "As they should."

"Careful." Kisa winked. "Don't want your ego getting any bigger than it already is."

Seto chuckled. There was something domestic about the interaction he found relaxing.

He was leaning back against the counter, prepared to open the paper and start reading it, when a chime sounded from the couch.

"That's the second time your phone's gone off since I came down." Kisa pulled the pot off the machine and started pouring them each a cup. "You've got the news set up on it or something?"

Seto put down the paper and rounded the counter into the living space. "No."

No one ever contacted him over the weekends, not unless it was an interaction he demanded. To have his phone go off unprovoked on a Sunday was unusual. Impossible. Seto picked it up and pressed his thumb to the home button to unlock it. There was a line of missed calls, all from the same number. There was a sinking dread in the pit of his stomach. He opened his voicemails, set the latest one to play, and put the speaker to his ear.

He was still standing there when Kisa came over with their coffees. Her smile fell when she saw the shock and confusion on his face.

"What is it?" she asked.

Seto took the phone from his ear and set the message to play on speaker.

"Mr. Kaiba," a male voice said, "this is officer Nao Kanda calling from the Domino County Police Department again. We need you to contact us as soon as possible regarding the arrest of your brother last night."