A/N: Just a quick rant. I'm actually quite upset with the reception of this piece since I brought it back to life. I pulled out a LOT of stops in the last chapter, and am trying very hard to write these new parts well and keep everything entertaining for you all, my readers. But when both new chapters get only 2 reviews each, it seems rather pointless. I've had over 1000 hits for this story since I posted chapter 10, and it's actually quite depressing. I need to know if it's even worthwhile to continue this, or devote my time to my other SxS pieces. I'm sorry for the rant, but I feel it needs to be said. I hope everyone enjoys this chapter!

Fire and Ice

By Sakura Takanouchi

Chapter 12

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I was shocked. Surprised, stunned, dazed. The list could go on for quite awhile. If this was his way of saying you're welcome, I don't know how he would even begin to say thank you. I had to remind myself of who I was talking about. Seto Kaiba doesn't say thank you. But beyond that, something was nagging at the back of my brain. And after our repartee earlier, I began to notice it: that we were more alike than I ever cared to let on.

"Let's get you home," Seto called, easily opening the doors and heading outside. I followed, almost forgetting (for real this time) to take my bag with me. The weather was lovely; the sun was high overhead and a slight breeze ruffled my hair. I sighed contentedly, swinging my arms and glancing at the sky as I walked towards the car that Seto was already starting.

"You can't leave without me," I sang, noticing for the first time that this was a two-seater sports car. I froze for a moment. What happened to the limo? Okay, Serenity. You can handle this.

Sliding into the seat next to him, I noticed he took off as soon as I had closed the door. Somebody was in a hurry. "You know, I'm placing my life in your hands. So you better not get in a wreck." I sneaked a look at him. Didn't even crack a smile. Eyes never left the windshield. This would be harder than I thought.

So, let's try a different tack. "So, the culture festival is coming up,"

I heard a grunt. At least, I think it was a grunt.

"Talkative are we? We only have two weeks until then, so we've got to get busy. We have to finish the booths, somehow transport the games into the gym, and coordinate with the volleyball team how they're going to be selling food. All in two weeks!"



"I don't see why you're worrying," He replied, a confident edge to the monotone. "Of course we'll get it all done. There really isn't any other option."

"Oh." My voice felt small and insignificant besides his. I was just coming to realize that he had to deal with worse things than some silly culture festival, every day. Of course he was so used to this that he wouldn't even break a sweat. At my old school, I was never one to be given a leadership position like this. I always worked patiently on the sidelines. Well, this was my shot, and I wasn't going to let anything stop me from making the culture festival a success. And that was including the person currently sitting next to me.

Our conversation faded into silence as I only spoke to give him directions as to get to my apartment, forgetting that he had been there once before, but never inside. Should I invite him in? It would be rude not to… but compared to where he lived, mine was probably smaller than his closet. I was so preoccupied with my thoughts that I barely noticed that the car had stopped.

"You want to stay that badly?" I looked up, confused. Seto had already turned off the engine and was leaving the car, while I had yet to even unbuckle my seatbelt.

"You want me to stay that badly?" I smiled sweetly; opening my door, laughing at myself for even thinking that he would try and open it for me. I did notice, however, that he locked the car as we ascended the steps to my apartment. I was satisfied; he didn't plan on leaving anytime soon then.

As we both stood on the landing, I proudly retrieved my key and stuck it into the door. The room was dark, as no lights were on and the blinds were all closed, allowing little to no light in the room. I flipped the switch to the 'on' position and the central ceiling light flickered on. What I saw froze my feet to the floor as an audible gasp escaped my lips.

My living room was completely trashed.

I had left it messy, hoping to get some cleaning done over the weekend, but this… this was… …

This was the work of something else entirely.

"Wheeler, what is—" I heard Seto speak, but I was effectively tuning everything out. Thoughts and scenarios kept running through my head, refusing to leave. 'How could this happen…?' I could barely believe it, yet the evidence was here right in front of me.

I didn't want to enter the room, but I made myself cross the threshold. I was visibly shaking…was he still here? Did he take anything of mine, or leave anything of his? Would he have come here if I had been here? …What if he had come when I was there? The thought made me want to retch; this is impossible. This can't be happening. This can't be happening. This can't be happening.

A rush of air, the sound of footsteps, and Seto Kaiba was behind me, holding me to him, his chin over my shoulder. I couldn't stop shaking… my chest was heaving, and everything seemed to be moving too fast. This was my place, my sanctuary. And it was violated by that disgusting—



"Serenity, I want you to look at me." Seto's voice was deathly serious. I turned around, slowly. His eyes frightened me… I didn't know when I'd seen him angrier. "This… your apartment… he was here, wasn't he?"

I nodded mutely. Seto swore, his whole countenance blazing with fury. "That bastard!" he roared. Glancing quickly around the room, he returned his gaze to me. "Serenity… your safety is the most important thing possible here. This apartment is no longer safe. I am going to check to make sure no one else is in here, and then you are going to pack. You can't stay here any longer." He motioned for me to stay close to him, and then he made his way slowly through my small apartment. Every room had been rifled through, and as embarrassed as I would have been normally to have Seto Kaiba see my bedroom, it was even more humiliating to have him see it with the sheets ripped off of the bed, the drawers opened and contents spilling out, and everything in such disarray. I started to shake again; noticing immediately that my favorite picture frame, a silver scrolled decoration which usually stood on my desk was empty. It had previously held last year's yearbook picture, and it was gone… that cemented any doubts that I might have had.

What was worse than anything was the feeling of hopelessness, of insecurity that permeated through me. I wanted to be strong; I tried to be strong, yet everything seemed so out of my control. Every time I looked at Seto, I hated seeing that expression. So…angry and concerned and supportive and protective… I hated that he was seeing me like this. But what was worse, was the feeling that I needed to have someone there. If Seto wasn't there, in the room, with me then I wouldn't know what I would do.

We thoroughly searched every room, and ended up back in the living room. Seto turned to me, making eye contact again, causing me to shiver despite the recent control I was slowly gaining over myself. "I am going to send the best security officers and investigators here to comb this place through, to make sure he hasn't wiretapped this place… or put hidden cameras anywhere." His voice was laced with disgust, and I felt sick again. "In the meantime, you are going to pack. Take as much as you need for an extended amount of time." He turned to survey the room, finality in his gaze. "Please do this as fast as possible, and then I'm taking you to your brother's. He of all people I know will not let you out of his sight."

I managed a weak smile at his words. Then realization cut through me like a knife. "No! I can't… … I never told him anything, anything about this… I don't want to put anyone in danger, especially him, and you… oh, this is all my fault—"

"Don't ever say that!" Seto rounded on me, squeezing my arms until it hurt, towering over me, his eyes shining dangerously. "Don't ever even think that. This never was, never is, and never could be your fault. Do you understand me?"

"Yes." It sounded weak, even to my ears. "Yes, I should stay with Joey." I gathered so much strength from him, and wondered how he did it, how he could stand so strong after being there for not only his brother, but now for me. The thought made me feel happier instantly. Seto Kaiba was there for me. But then why hadn't he offered his own place? Were his words only that?



I packed quickly, not wanting to be in my room for any longer than absolutely necessary. As much as I wanted to leave this place, I dreaded going to Joey's apartment. What would I tell him? I knew that I should tell him, but what if he got hurt because of me? I wouldn't be able to deal with it, and then Mai would blame me for what would happen…

I heard footsteps and the door opening. "Are you ready to go?" Seto asked. He took the suitcase from me and easily carried it from the apartment. I turned off the lights and locked the door behind us securely. I turned my back on the place and we left. I only looked back once, only when we were too far away to see anything.

"Seto?" I asked, my voice quivering.

"Yes?"

Wow, his voice was so gentle, it was astonishing. I appreciated how hard he was trying to calm me down, and just hearing his voice combined with that most positive word was a tonic for my soul.

"There's no way your car could be bugged, is there?"

"I doubt it, but it's always safe to check." Seto pushed several buttons on the console in the middle of the dashboard, and what I had thought was a GPS device came to life, showing a 3-D grid of the car. Red pulses were coming up on the screen, and I noticed one was the engine, and another was in my pocket. I reached in and pulled out my cell phone. Smirking a little at my expression, he explained the use of KaibaCorp technology added to enhance the car. I could see that every red pulse on the screen was accounted for. I felt a lot easier about going to Joey's apartment now.

"You know, it's understandable that you want to protect your brother, but we all want to protect you," Seto said, swiftly changing lanes. "He deserves to know."

"…I … … I want to tell him, but… I can't. Not yet." I looked desperately for some sign of approval from the man in the driver's seat, but got nothing, other than a determinedly set frown. "I will though, I promise. You know my brother. I don't want him to get out of control."

I saw him visibly relax at my promise. Soon we had arrived at Joey's apartment, and Seto carried up the heavy suitcase to the door. "I'm obviously less than welcome here, so I will leave you now," Seto said; his hand still on the suitcase handle. "Remember our promise…you are going to tell him."

"Of course," I smiled reassuringly up at him, and hesitatingly wrapped my arms around him. "Thank you, for everything," I breathed, putting meaning into every word.

He didn't respond, simply a touch on the shoulder, a meaningful look, and he was gone, his car waiting patiently in the shadows for me to go inside. I fished my key out of my pocket and used it to open the door. "Joey!" I called.

"Serenity? It's great to see you, but… what's with the suitcase?"



"I kind of forgot to tell you, but… …my apartment is getting fumigated! They're cutting the utilities for several weeks, and I completely forgot. I'm so sorry!" I rolled my suitcase across the threshold of the apartment and into my room. The hand jammed into my pocket had two fingers crossed. "You don't mind, do you?" I called, my voice echoing around the space.

"Not at all, it will be great to have you around. In fact, I'll call up everybody and we'll have a big dinner and…" Joey sounded so excited to have me around, but I couldn't let even more people get close to me now.

My suitcase slid open with a zip. "Joey, can't we have a special family dinner tonight? I promise that we'll all eat lunch tomorrow together, ok?" That was good enough for him, for he began to talk then about how much fun that would be and how I've been neglecting him ever since I started making my own friends at school.

"You've probably been spending more time with Yugi than me, right, sis?" He leaned good-naturedly in the door frame, watching as I unpacked. I slammed the bureau drawer closed with a start.

"Oh… well, I've been so busy with the culture festival, it's just…"

"It's okay, sis, I understand," Joey said, my cheeks reddening because he was so far from the truth. "It's great that you're so involved with that project. Our class is combining with Tea's; we're raffling off several things. It doesn't take any effort at all!"

"Oh, so you came up with it then, right?" I teased, laughing as he pushed all recognition to Tea. Later that night, as we sat at the tiny kitchenette table, eating the food that I had prepared (I had told Joey we were going grocery shopping the next day), I could almost believe that things were normal. I felt horrible lying to Joey, but not only was I afraid of his reaction, I was afraid of what he would do to me. I didn't want to be locked in my room like a bird in a cage, and I knew exactly what that felt like from experience.

When I had first begun to lose my eyesight, my mother had freaked out, insisting that I never be unaccompanied so that I wouldn't hurt myself. I had hated the incessant presence of friends and family, always assuming that I was unable to do anything for myself. Once I was alone in my room, I practiced walking around and finding things just to prove them wrong. But who would give me the chance? I was never allowed to do anything I wanted to do because of my eyes. And once the surgery was complete, it was bliss. Freedom to no longer have those bandages as chains. And I embraced every second of it.

After such an eventful day, I sought refuge in sleep for the first time in a long time. I wished desperately that when I woke up, it would be from this nightmare of reality; that everything would be over. I couldn't help but wishing, 'Why me?' Why did any of this have to happen to me? I didn't want to hurt anyone, but at the same time I don't want to get hurt. I felt like I was walking on a tightrope and at any moment I could lose my balance and fall, with nothing there to catch me. Careful to not wake my brother, I softly and silently let the tears run down my cheeks, the sound of my breathing my own strange lullaby.



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A/N: You people probably hate me. Plot twist, anyone? Things are converging at last; and I've finally decided on a way to end this story. It will take plenty more chapters, though. Don't forget what I mentioned earlier, and if you'd rather read something more lighthearted than this chapter, check out my newest one-shot about a realistically drunk Seto Kaiba! I hope everyone liked this chapter, however short it was…school's a killer…

Love, Sakura Takanouchi