Chapter 12

Ringing Thoughts

A/N: I had actually given up on this story. I haven't watch Yu Gi Oh in forever. Not since the series with Yugi in it ended. But, surprisingly people are still reading this. SO, I figured let's just continue and hope they forgive me for a lesser reference to the actual yugioh cards.

'Oh gods. She's so amazing. I can't believe it but I am in love with Yugi's little sister. Ok. Maybe love is too strong a word but I really, really like her. I hate this stupid feeling. It's such a weakness. I'm not supposed to feel like this. The Seto Kaiba that I used to know never feels like this. The girls are supposed to feel like this about me. Argh! I don't even know what I'm feeling! I've never felt this feeling before. Great… that sounded like a corny love story line.'

Thoughts flashed through Seto Kaiba's mind as he watched Minako dance in the firelight. The pair had been invited to a moonlight ceremony with the tribe. It was a traditional ceremony they had every year to honour the Dark Star A.K.A Mina's Fallen Angel. This year, now that Fallen Angel was actually there to join them, the ceremony and feast was the best it had ever been. The traditional part of the ceremony had finished and now came the celebrating. All the people of the tribe came up around the fire and danced. Mina had been dragged up by one of her friends in the tribe and was now dancing happily oblivious of the stares she was getting from most of the males in the vicinity which of course included Seto Kaiba.

The celebrations continued into the depths of night until all that were left were Mina and her group of friends, dancing by the fire, Kaiba and of course the Angel herself. Kaiba had refused to join in with the revelry and had sat the entire night musing.

"It can hurt you know."

Kaiba looked up and nodded a greeting to Fallen Angel who dropped down beside him. "What can hurt?"

"Thinking so hard."

"Maybe for you or Wheeler. Definitely not for me."

Fallen Angel laughed. "So may I ask what you were thinking so hard about?"

"You may." He answered and fell silent.

Fallen Angel raised an eyebrow and sighed. "Right. Will you tell me what you were thinking so hard about? Or maybe who is a much more apt word."

"What the hell do you mean?"

"Oh come on. You've been staring at Mina all night and if your eyes weren't mentally undressing her, they were shooting bullets into the other men around her staring at her."

"I have not been mentally undressing her." Liar, liar.

Fallen Angel snorted. "Ok sure but you didn't deny that you have been staring at her."

Seto Kaiba was silent.

"You also cannot deny that you've been love sick over her for almost as long as we've been here. You don't show it cause you're so bloody repressed, but you are aren't you?"

Kaiba winced. She's right. Can't deny a thing.

"Bloody Hell!" Kaiba started, jerking as Fallen Angel exploded. Her voice softened but still held the same amount of force. "If you don't kiss her sometime soon and make me continue to suffer through this I will have to kill you."

"No. I won't. I can't. No" He shook his head vehemently, blue eyes darting back to the dancing girl throwing seductive shadows on the ground. I want to.

"Look. You never know what's going to happen if you don't try. Just once. It may end good, it may end bad. I don't pretend to know her mind. But you have to try." Fallen Angel looked at him sympathetically.

"Or I'll drop dead with frustration." She added with a wry smile as she flew up into the dark sky, black wings blending into the night.

Kaiba stared at Mina for a second before slipping off back to the hut.

8888888888888888888888

Mina sat thinking, hands busy, sliding a cloth rhythmically across the prongs of her Sais. They had been gone for too long. A week and a half was much too long to be away from her brother and her friends. Seto must be worried about Mokuba, although he hides it away from her. She leaned a head back on the wall behind the bed. Her lids closed over the chocolate irises. They had arrived by a black hole so why wouldn't a black hole send them back again.

She rose excitedly, striding towards the door before stopping in her tracks. There have been no black hole sightings at all. Seto would have probably already thought of that. However, no one's looked in the Northern Forest. Not really anyway. If we managed to get deep enough I'm positive we'd find a black hole.

She smiled as she heard Kaiba arrive back from his flight with Blue Eyes. She couldn't wait to tell him her plan. He might not agree at first but he'll see the sense in all of this. He must want to go back and see Mokuba. He might have already thought of this. I mean he did spend a whole week and a half looking for something to get us home.

Kaiba walked into the room and was met with his Mina waiting by the door, her glorious smile pasted on her face. He groaned and pushed past her. He hated internal struggles and had little to do with them until he met this infuriating wench. Now all he had were internal struggles. He hated arguing with himself. He never won.

"Ok I thought of something. Maybe you've already thought of it but - you ok?"

Kaiba grunted. Great… now he was developing into a pig. What happened to the old Seto Kaiba? Witty comeback and death glare was long gone now. He strode around the room hands wringing through his hair. Gone was the calm and collected man. Gone was the god of silence and glares. In his place stood a man who was threatened by a mere girl. Granted, this girl had the power to make him drop where he stood…

"Mina, I – You, I should - "

Mina laughed, the sound wringing in his ears. "Going to finish your sentence any time soon?"

"Yeah…"

"What's wrong?"

"I don't know if I should be doing this." Kaiba growled, a low guttural sound coming from deep in his chest."

"What? Hey, seriously what is it?" Mina looked at him, concerned etched on her face.

"I – Fallen Angel told me to do it and I - "

Mina laughed softly, her nose wrinkling slightly. He'd never noticed these things about her before.

"I don't know whether to be relieved or afraid. You know her. I'll kill her if she'd said anything. It must have been bad to rile you up so much."

Kaiba slumped against the wall, staring at the ceiling. Why was this so hard? He'd kissed girls before. Many many girls in fact.

Yeah but they weren't her.

He agreed with his inside voice. The others wanted that kiss. They reciprocated it. They threw themselves on him. With Mina, he didn't even know if she liked him in that way. Heck, sometimes he wondered if she liked him in any way.

Mina walked up close to the tall figure leaning against the wall. "What did Fallen Angel ask you to do?" she asked softly.

Just do it. How bad can it be? No, it wouldn't be bad. It would be glorious just to feel her lips pressing against mine. After that, whatever happens, I'll deal. I just need this. Do it. Do it. Now.

Kaiba shot of the wall and pressed in close towards Mina. She jumped back startled but his large warm hands snaked around her waist and pulled her back towards him, pressing her warm body against his chest. He dropped his face so close to hers he could count each individual eyelash framing those pools of brown. He leant over, skimming his lips across her jaw-line, trailing up towards her ear.

"This." His warm breath tickled her ear as he whispered.

Drawing his lips down, he peppered soft kisses back down her jaw line until his lips pressed the side of hers. He paused for a second, heady and drunk on the feeling. He breathed in her delicious smell of lavender and something else, so alluring, so sweet. He watched as her eyes opened wide, startled. But he couldn't wait, he was so close. Slowly he pressed his lips onto hers and closed his eyes.

Euphoria and the taste of her filled his head, driving every other coherent thought out of his head. All that he wanted to do was to taste more of her, have more of her in him. His tongue snaked out and gently flicked across her lips. Mina gasped and Kaiba dove. He grabbed the opportunity and his tongue snaked into her mouth, tasting her. A low moan escaped as her taste filled his mouth. He felt her hands, so small and delicate creep up around his neck, burying her fingers in his hair. He deepened the kiss, pulling her closer though she was already pressed up to him hard.

Mina fell closer into him, hands gripping his soft brown hair. Her tongue danced with his, playing the game of sensuality and desire. She listened to his groan and echoed with one of her own.

This feels so good. This feels right. This feels –

No!

I can't!

Kaiba felt her stiffen beneath his arm, her arms dropping from his hair. She pulled away from him, hands pushing against his chest. She looked at him, the two of the breathless.

"I- I'm sorry. I can't. I just can't. It won't happen. I'm sorry."

Mina squeezed her eyes shut, breathing hard before dashing out of the hut.

I can't. There is no way Joey, Tristan or my brother would forgive me. I'm not going to risk their friendship for Kaiba. I won't.

She dashed her eyes and pulled herself through the village, ignoring the stares of the brown skinned friends she had learnt to like.

I can't.

I won't.

I'm sorry.

"Mina? Mina! What's wrong?"

Fallen Angel gripped Mina's arm and sent her stumbling back and into her embrace.

"What wrong my friend? What is it?"

Mina drew in a deep breath. I have to be strong. I am NOT going to cry over this. NOT over Seto Kaiba. NOT over a kiss. I fought tooth and nail to get stronger and I will not break it all down now.

"Nothing. Nothing. No, I- Seto Kaiba kissed me."

Fallen Angel drew in a sharp breath, the hiss whistling around their ears. "I take it you didn't reciprocate it then."

"No. I - "

"You did reciprocate it?"

"Yes I did but… I can't. I can't do this with him. I wont." Mina said the last word, strongly, forcefully. The opposite of what she felt inside. "Do you mind coming with me into the Northern Forest? I need to- I need to be alone for a while and you can help protect me."

Fallen Angel smiled sadly and placed Mina on her back. Rising, the Angel and the girl fled into the dark forest.

"Do not blame him for it."

"Hmm?"

"Seto Kaiba. Do not blame him for what he did. I told him to do it. I told him to act on his impulses. He had to try."

"I know."

"Do you like him my friend? His feelings, do you return them?"

"I – No. No I don't."

"I see." But she did not see. They had spent the last week staring at each other, laughing and at least for Kaiba, yearning. It mustn't have been the same for Mina.

The two flew deeper and deeper, avoiding the ground and low branches, easy spots for Arillarachs to attack from.

88888888888888888888888

"Well, NEVER expect me to save you AGAIN!"

Seto Kaiba reached up and pulled his hair back away from his eyes.

Great… Now I'm reduced to yelling threats into thin air.

A fake threat. No matter what he told himself, no matter how much he wished to hate that girl, he couldn't. Every time she fell, he wanted to be the one to pick her up and hold her. Every time she got upset with him, he wanted to go down on his knees and apologise. But he couldn't. Not now. Not when she pushed him away so readily. Seto Kaiba had his pride.

Yes, and that was what made her dislike you in the first place. Your god damn pride.

Kaiba slid down onto the floor and squeezed his eyes shut. He really should hate her. He should push her away and act even more aloof than usual. No one rejects Seto Kaiba. What was going to happen to them now? They were – as much as he hated to say it, or would have hated saying previously – friends. And now he had brought this incredible large wall in between them, it may go back to the way it was.

Good. That'd be better than how awkward it's really going to be. The two of us, alone, with this immeasurable awkwardness in between us. I'd rather sarcasm and hate. That way I can still talk to her.

"Seto! Seto!"

Kaiba vaulted up away from the wall and outside of the hut. He looked around, panicked, reaching for his deck of cards, all the while celebrating that fact that she still called him by his first name.

"Mina! What is it?"

She came dashing towards him, out of breath and clearly excited. Fallen Angel came slower behind her, smiling slightly. That was what made Kaiba place the deck back in his pocket.

"We found a black hole! I've got a theory that since a black hole brought us here, it'll bring us back!"

"Or it'll send us further back into time or get us lost in the future."

Mina wrinkled her nose up, something that she did when she was thinking that drove him wild. He could almost reach down and kiss the little scrunch out of that petite nose.

Enough

"We've got to try yeah? Come on! You go get the bags, I'll tell the villagers"

888888888888888888888888

The forest teamed with green. Green branches, green leaves, green moss, green everything. Leaves flaked the ground, creating a pathway of green and brown, trailing through the trees. It was dark, so very dark. Mina couldn't see further than a few metres in front of her. Relying on Fallen Angel, Mina instead concentrated on the black hole whirling down at her feet. It swirled, creating a not-so-perfect circle, jagged at the edges. She shivered. Forests should make noise. She should have been able to hear animals or the creaking of trees or at least the clacking of Arillarachs. There was no noise. Silence all around, deep and heavy. That was what first alerted Fallen Angel to the black hole. The forest was teaming with life and suddenly everything stopped. It was like putting a program on pause.

Mina was glad for Kaiba's presence by her side. She could hear his calm, steady breathing in contrast to her own deep breaths. He was so calm, so composed. There was no one else around. Fallen Angel didn't really breathe. Or if she did, Mina couldn't hear it. They had convinced the villagers to say their goodbyes to their 'goddess', Mina and Kaiba outside the forest. Despite their fear of Arillarachs and their mistrust of the black hole, they were willing to come and ensure their goddess was safe.

"Ready?" Kaiba looked at the woman by his side and nodded.

"Ready." He started as she grabbed his hand.

And jumped.

A/N: would be wonderful if you guys commented and reviewed. Don't worry no pressure. I understand your pissyness at my lack of concentration on this story =p my bad.