Kaiba watched his former butler and game teacher being wheeled out of the room. Once he was gone, he turned around, his eyes focusing on Yugi Muto. " I see, " he didn't bother trying to hide his anger. " So the one who ran in front of my car, and caused the accident that almost killed my former butler, and my Kisara… was you?! "

Yugi felt a wave of shame wash over him as he gazed up at Kaiba, almost shrinking at the fury in those ice blue eyes. " I'm sorry… "

Kaiba reigned his temper in, and moved past the duo before stopping in front of Kisara who had quietly been watching them. For a moment, his eyes took in her injuries before moving back to her face, and her beautiful blue green eyes which he knew could change color at a moment's notice depending on her mood. " Are you alright? "

Kisara nodded. " It's nothing serious, " she answered softly.

Kaiba didn't say a word, but put his arm around her shoulders, careful of her injured side, and steered her towards the door. Kisara didn't balk, or try to shrink from his touch; it felt so natural to her, and she lay her hand over his.

" Kaiba-kun? "

He turned at the sound of Yugi's voice. " What? "

Yugi swallowed. " How do you know that old man..? " He also wanted to ask how the young CEO knew Kisara, but refrained from doing so, considering the atmosphere, and the former's fury at the injuries sustained by the young girl, and the old man.

" He was my teacher, " Kaiba answered. " The one who taught me everything I know about games. Be honored to have been his opponent…. You should also be grateful that neither he nor my Kisara were killed as a result of your recklessness, because their deaths would be a good reason for me to come after you… and I wouldn't stop until you're completely ruined. " With those words, he continued on his way to the door, his arm around Kisara. As she passed by Yugi, he caught the faint scent of lavender and vanilla, and he found that it was quite familiar.

If Kisara had looked in the mirror above the sink beside the door as she was leaving with Seto Kaiba, she would have seen the darker side of Yugi watching her intently with his red eyes, although he hadn't appeared beside Anzu.

It was only when both teenagers turned to look out the window, and watch Seto leading Kisara to his limo that Dark Yugi emerged, startling Anzu when he suddenly revealed himself to her.

So, he thought as he watched them drive away in Kaiba's limo. It was you….

It was no surprise to Seto that Kisara was quiet while they were in the limo; she had been a quiet girl even back then, never really speaking unless she had something to say. He'd asked her if she had to be home early, and when she answered truthfully that she didn't, he told her as they exited the hospital that he would be taking her with him as he and his bodyguards accompanied Daimon to the Kaiba Medical Castle to make sure that no more mishaps would take place, and once everything was fixed, he would take her to see Mokuba. She agreed, thrilled at the idea of spending some quality time with the two brothers, especially the one who was with her now, despite the obvious change in him. He had put his arm around her shoulders again after they had boarded the vehicle, comforted by how she didn't seem to mind and leaned her head on his shoulder.

" Seto? "

He looked at her, and found himself drowning in her beautiful eyes. " Yes? "

" How have you and Mokuba been? " she asked.

He was grateful for the dividing glass that prevented any sound from the back seat reaching those in front, and vice versa. The memory of the night he'd been forced to leave her because Gozaburo Kaiba had threatened Mokuba came back to him, and he found himself almost lost for words, not knowing how to answer.

He sighed. " He is alive, " answered carefully, tearing his eyes away from hers. " Alive and well. I am sure that he will be pleased to see you. "

There's that feeling again, she thought sadly. The feeling of him shutting you down, and isolating himself…

Earlier, when she had seen him in Daimon's hospital room, it felt like he had a wall between himself and the rest of the world, which only added to the tension and hostility between him and the two teenagers present. It was a bit of a pleasant surprise, though, that he'd still paid attention to her, and decided to take her with him when he'd left, those actions proving to her that he was still the boy who had stolen her heart two years ago, albeit different.

Just now, however, she'd felt like she had said something she shouldn't have, causing him to put up that same wall between himself and her after answering her question.

The boy known as Yugi referring to Seto as " Kaiba " did more than reveal his identity as the son of the late Gozaburo Kaiba, the ruthless businessman and arms dealer who was also rumored to have dealings with the criminal underworld; it explained why Seto had never revealed his last name to her before, and why he always seemed tense whenever it was time for him to leave. He and Mokuba had always looked as if they were about to enter the gates of Hell when they stepped out the door, and it had caused Kisara to suspect that their father, or whoever was their guardian, to be someone cruel.

Her heart often ached at the thought.

They arrived at the Medical Castle, and Kisara saw the medical staff waiting at the entrance. The ambulance in front of their vehicle stopped and opened its doors, revealing Daimon on a stretcher. He was wheeled to the entrance, and the staff took over from there. Once he had been attended to, Seto helped Kisara out of the limo, and they entered the said facility, escorted by one of the men from earlier.

They walked close together, although they didn't hold hands, and Kisara had to hold her breath when they entered the elevator that took them down a few floors before the doors opened and stepped out. She exhaled slowly, staring straight ahead, glad that she was out of that boxed space. They then entered what looked like a darkened laboratory, with loads of medical apparatus, and machines that she had never seen before. What seemed to be the center of the entire setting was the man-sized glass capsule, and multiple tubes attached to it. They stood to one side, and when Daimon passed them, he stopped and took Kisara's hand between both of his, squeezing it gently.

" Goodnight, Little Miss, " he smiled at her. " Until the next time. "

She smiled back at him, squeezing his hand in return. " Goodnight, Daimon-ojeesan, " she answered. " Sweet dreams. "

Once Daimon was loaded into his capsule, and the tubes were attached, he closed his eyes, and returned to the world of his memories.

This time, however, he opened the door to the memories where two young boys and a young girl were with him, the grandchildren he never had…

" You're claustrophobic, aren't you? " Seto asked as they stepped out of the elevator. " I noticed that you were holding your breath both times we were in the elevator. "

Kisara felt her face turn pale before she flushed with embarrassment. " Y-Yes, " she confirmed, feeling like she just wanted to hide. " I'm sorry… "

" You don't need to apologize, " Seto pointed out as they walked through the corridors. " We all have our own fears. "

She wanted to ask him what his fear was, but decided not to, suspecting that he might shut her out if she did. " How long has Daimon-ojeesan been here? " she asked, wanting to change the subject.

Seto glanced at her. " Two years, " he answered. " He left right after Mokuba and I last saw you. "

She had a lot of questions, Seto knew; they were written all over her face, but she was refraining from asking them. He almost smiled at how transparent she could be sometimes despite being so quiet, but stopped himself.

" The doctor at the previous hospital said that it's only the technology from a high end facility that was keeping him alive, " Kisara mused. " She said that he should have died a long time ago… "

She heard his sharp intake of breath, and almost panicked. " I-I'm sorry, Seto! " she apologized. " I shouldn't have-! "

He stopped and turned to her, placing his fingertips on her mouth to silence her. " Stop apologizing, Kisara " he corrected before removing his fingers. " It's true. I will tell you more, but not here. "

Her expression told him that she understood what he meant, and she nodded.

Once again, he put his arm around her shoulders, and she lay her hand over his, comforted by his warmth before they continued walking until they exited the facility.

Once they were back inside the limousine, Seto gave instructions to drive back to his mansion, and settled back in his seat. They were both quiet as the city lights flew by, lost in their own thoughts, but never forgetting that they were together.

Kisara watched him leaning back with his eyes closed. Up close, she was struck once again by how much he had changed; the entire time she had been with him, not once had he cracked so much as a smile. His expression wasn't as harsh whenever he looked at her and spoke with her, and she was glad that he still valued her enough not to treat her like trash, or disregard her; still, she couldn't help but wonder how much of his heart still remained behind his hardened façade.

Ever since she had encountered Daimon at the hospital, Kisara began to understand why he, Seto, and Mokuba had never revealed their connection to Gozaburo Kaiba during the time they had been part of her world while she was at the hospital: they had been trying to protect her, and the time they had together.

Kisara suspected that if Gozaburo had learned about her connection with Seto and Mokuba while she was at the hospital, he might have found a way of disposing of her, or using her against them.

Especially if he found out that she was the niece of a woman who was notorious for bringing down some of the country's most notorious criminals, several businessmen among them…

Gozaburo Kaiba was a man who had a reputation for being the very embodiment of evil in the corporate world. From what she had heard of the man, the weapons manufactured by his company were distributed not only to the country's military and police, but worldwide to anyone who would buy it; there were even rumors that his company sold guns and other dangerous weapons to mafias, gangs, and anyone else who was willing to pay a lot of money for them, not caring about the destruction they would help cause, or the lives that would be ruined by them.

Despite what she had heard about the man, she had never learned that he'd had two sons, and she wasn't surprised that Seto had become the way he was now; he'd had to become a monster to defeat another, protect his younger brother, and come out on top in the cutthroat corporate world.

She was about to look away until her eyes caught sight of a black cord around Seto's neck. Kisara had noticed it when he had entered Daimon's room at the hospital, but hadn't had time to ask him what it was, or why he was wearing it; whatever it was holding was hidden under his shirt, and she found herself wondering what it was, but knew better than to ask.

Seto, she gazed at his sleeping face, resisting the urge to run her fingers though his hair. We've both changed. There are many things I want to ask you, so many things I want to tell you...

I don't know what's happened in the time I didn't see you, but I promise that I'll stay by your side now that I've found you again…

Mokuba looked up from his book when he heard the servants greeting his brother as he entered the foyer. He set his book down, and left the study, rushing down the stairs towards the sound of his brother's voice.

" Nii-sama! " he greeted happily, as he bounded down the stairs.

Seto was standing at the bottom of the stairs when his little brother met him. " Mokuba, " he greeted simply before ruffling the little boy's hair, which kind of surprised him since his older brother hadn't done that in a long time. Mokuba was about to ask his brother what was going on when his eyes fell on the petite girl standing beside him, and he felt his jaw drop to the ground.

" Kisara onee-san! " he exclaimed, before rushing into her arms, and hugging her tightly. She gave a soft laugh, and returned the hug, albeit more gently.

" Long time no see, Mokuba, " she greeted.

He was passing by the nurse's station after seeing to Daimon's admission into the hospital when he heard two of the staff talking in hushed tones, attempting to keep their voices low so that they wouldn't be heard.

" That child in room 703 is so pitiful, " one of them said. " Not only was she abandoned by her older sister after their mother and younger sister were killed and she was paralyzed from the waist down, but her aunt isn't even coming to visit her; it seems that the only redeeming quality the latter has is that she's paying for her expenses, hospital bills included. "

" Yes, " the other nurse agreed. " She's so pitiful. And such a pretty little thing, too. I've never seen anyone with her kind of appearance; she must have some foreign blood in her, possibly Scandinavian. I mean, since when did you see a Japanese girl with hair white as starlight, and deep blue green eyes like the sea? I'd kill for those looks, especially the eyes! "

He was hiding around the corner as he listened to the conversation, and something about it struck a chord within him. He didn't know what it was; maybe it was what he'd heard about the girl being abandoned by her older sister after being orphaned of her mother and being left unable to walk, or the nurses' description of her appearance.

Maybe all of the above.

Curious about the girl he'd heard the nurses discussing, he found himself searching for her room, but made sure to stay hidden. It took a while, but when he finally found it, he stopped outside the door, wondering if he'd lost his mind.

It wouldn't hurt to sneak a peek, he told himself, and reached for the handle.

The first thing he saw when he pushed the door open was her pale, graceful hands holding a book in her lap. His eyes then moved upward, towards her face, and he saw that she had turned to look at him.

Dear God in Heaven, he thought as their eyes met. BEAUTIFUL doesn't even BEGIN to describe her…

The girl in front of him was…

ETHEREAL….

The nurses hadn't been joking when they described her eye color, for, just like them, he had never seen eyes like hers: they were a deep blue green, wide set, and gazing at him wide with surprise. Her small, puffy lips were a soft, natural pink without the need for lipstick, and were parted slightly in an expression mirroring that of her eyes. Her small, young face was oval shaped, and made him think about how not even a French porcelain doll could be this lovely. She was small and thin, dressed in a long sleeved, white nightgown with blue, pink, and purple flowers printed on it, her legs covered by her blanket, and even from where he stood, her skin was pale, but not in an unhealthy way.

" Excuse me? " she spoke softly. " But… who are you? "

He realized how ridiculous he looked, standing in the doorway of her room, a total stranger, and for a moment, he was tongue tied. " I… "

Where have I seen this girl before?

Before he could say another word, he felt a hand on his arm, and turned to face the intruder, only to find himself looking into the worried, frightened eyes of his younger brother.

" Nii-sama! " the little boy breathed, looking even more terrified by the moment. " Father is looking for you, and seems very angry! "

The girl clearly understood the urgency of the younger boy's words. " Come inside and close the door! " she decided.

He knew that there was no time to lose, for if his adoptive father and his men found him and his brother in a place they were not supposed to be, the lightest punishment they could be given would be that they were locked in their rooms and given only one meal a day for a month; the worst being that they would be separated, and never allowed to see each other again, with his little brother being shipped off to God-knows where, and he wouldn't be able to find him.

Grabbing his brother's hand, they entered the girl's room, and closed the door, their hearts racing when their ears soon caught the sounds of footsteps approaching.

" I think you two should hide in the bathroom, " the girl told them, her voice still soft, and surprisingly calm. She pointed them in the direction of the bathroom that was included with the private room she was given, and they quickly made their way there, wondering what the outcome would be.

They had just closed the bathroom door softly behind them when two men wearing black suits opened the door to her room, stopping when they saw her in her bed.

Good thing I decided to hide them, she thought, feeling her heart drop. Just looking at these men filled her with a fear that she hadn't felt in a long time, but she forced herself to meet their eyes with a calmness she was far from feeling. I don't like these men; they're EVIL.

" Uh… " she prayed that she sounded surprised instead of scared. " Good afternoon? "

She wanted to hide under the sheets when they smiled at her greeting. " Good afternoon, little lady, " they returned. " But have you seen two boys around here? One with dark brown hair and blue eyes, the other a shorter boy with bushy black hair? One of the nurses saw them coming in this direction. "

Oh, shoot.

" Uh, yes, I did, " she confirmed. " I saw them passing by a couple of minutes ago; they went down the hall. "

Please don't find them… she prayed.

The men stared at her for a long moment in a way that could have made her toes curl if she could feel her legs under the sheets.

She almost turned into ice when the other man spoke up. " Is it alright if we search your room, Miss? "

" Excuse me? " she snapped. " I just told you where they went. If you don't believe me, fine, search my room; you can even search the bathroom, but you had better be ready to explain to the hospital staff, the police, and the District Attorney your reasons for turning my room into a crime scene because you didn't believe me when I told you the truth! "

A tense silence following her outburst filled the air, so thick that it almost felt physical. Blue green eyes glared at two pairs covered by sunglasses, none of them wavering.

She reached for the buzzer to alert the nurse's station while keeping her eyes on the intruders, only for the man who had asked to search her room to put both his hands up to placate her, his partner following suit when they realized that she was serious.

" Whoa, " he tried to calm her down. " Easy, Miss. We're only trying to do our jobs, which includes searching for those two boys we were asking you about. "

" I'm sure you are, " she retorted, more angry than nervous. " Does that include turning a patient's room upside down even if she answered your questions?! Am I the only one you asked?! Did you mess up the other patients' rooms during your search?! "

Both men exchanged a glance before nodding to each other. " Thank you, Miss, " they turned and left.

She didn't realize that she had been holding her breath until the sound of their footsteps had faded down the hall, leaving her in silence.

" Oh, my God, " she finally breathed.

She hid her hands under the sheets as they started to shake. She didn't know how many minutes passed before her trembling ceased, and she could no longer hear the footfalls in the corridor outside.

" You can come out now, " she told them when she finally trusted herself to speak.

The bathroom door opened, and the two brothers emerged, the younger one holding onto his brother's arm.

The sight reminded her of a time long ago in another life when she had done the same with her mother and sister, and a little girl had done the same with her.

But that time, and that life were both gone, as were her mother, her baby sister, and older sister, the latter having revealed her true colors by walking out on her.

She realized that she must have been staring when the older brother spoke up. " That was a close call, " he told her, his voice low. His younger brother nodded in agreement, unable to take his eyes off the girl who saved them.

She nodded. " Yes, " she agreed. " It was. "

They were all silent for a moment. " Do you want to sit down? " she finally asked them, motioning to the seats against the wall.

The older brother looked like he was going to take her up on her offer, but then, his face fell, and he shook his head. " Thank you for the offer, " he declined, sounding regretful. " But we have to go. If we're able to take a detour, they'll find us where we were supposed to be. "

They turned to leave.

" What are your names? " she asked, wishing that they didn't have to leave so soon.

Despite not knowing the two boys, and being startled when the older one had opened the door to her room, she found that she liked them both; if she didn't see them again after today, she would at least know their names.

She also felt like she knew the older brother from somewhere, even if she had only just met him a few minutes ago….

They turned to her. " I'm Seto, " the boy with the brown hair answered. " This is my younger brother, Mokuba. "

" Hello, " Mokuba spoke shyly.

She smiled at them. " Both of you be careful. "

" We will, " Mokuba answered, deciding that he liked the girl. He didn't know what his brother was thinking though; he was becoming a lot colder as time went by, and harder to read.

Although it wasn't a surprise that he couldn't take his eyes off the girl since she was a beauty.

" What's YOUR name? " Seto asked, stepping closer to the bed.

She had to tilt her head back to meet his eyes when he came to stand beside her. " Kisara, " she answered. " Kisara Shirahoshi. "

Seto nodded, smiling faintly. He bent down and kissed Kisara on the cheek. " Thank you, Kisara. "

She still felt the warmth on her cheek where he had kissed her, even after they had left….