:3 Hi. Vampires. Bye.

When Seto next came to, he came to slowly. At first he kept his eyes closed, feeling his neck throb slightly and his body ache with fatigue. It didn't help that it seemed he was lying on cold, stone ground. He blinked his eyes open, his pupils dilating so that he could see better in the dim light offered by flickering torches. At first he thought he was in a cave, but as his eyes adjusted he saw that he was in what looked like a dungeon. He was in the corner of a cell, with two stone walls and two walls made of vertical bars.

Through the bars he could see a hallway with stairs at the end, and a row of three cells across the hallway. Two cells were next to his, and, squinting, he could see the outline of what looked like a man sitting against the wall.

Seto struggled to sit up, pushing against the ground and leaning heavily against the wall. His arms trembled with the effort, and eventually, he let himself slump back onto the ground, exhausted and incredibly frustrated.

"Oh, you're awake," came a deep voice that could have only come from the man in the other sell. Seto ignored him. He wanted to figure a way out, and he had no time to converse with a stranger. But the man spoke again. "You must be Lalage's new snack."

That caught Seto's attention. He blinked, confused. "Excuse me? Snack?"

"Oh yes. I thought you would have known by know. Lalage, the woman who kidnapped you, is a vampire."

Seto couldn't resist laughing. How ridiculous this man was! Vampires… ha! What a fairy tale. "Sorry old man, I find this hard to believe."

The man shook his head slowly. "But don't you feel the throbbing at your neck? Touch it, and you'll feel healing puncture wounds. Your whole body aches with fatigue, from blood loss. You have a hard time sitting up." Almost self-consciously, Seto touched his neck. Indeed, he felt two puncture wounds. He narrowed his eyes at the man.

"I still don't believe you. Vampires don't exist."

"You will believe me in time," said the man with conviction. "You will."

Seto didn't realize he fell asleep again until he was waking up. This time, the scent of freshly baked bread wafted up his nose, and he discovered a plate of bread and a cup of lukewarm water waiting for him near the entrance to his cell.

As tempting as the food was – indeed, his stomach growled at the smell – he turned his nose away. He was Seto Kaiba! He did not lower himself to petty prisoner food. He stayed in his corner.

The man started talking again. "You should eat, young man. Keep up your strength." Kaiba, once more, ignored him. The man, after an awkward moment, resumed his speaking. "I guess you'll find out the hard way. I'll have you know, your life from here on out… it'll be very draining." He paused. "No pun intended."

"Hmph," Seto grunted in disbelief.

"… What is your name, young man?"

"And why should I give it to you?"

"Well, it's going to be a long while. I don't want to have to keep calling you 'young man.'"

"It's not going to be a long time. Not for me. I'm going to find a way out."

The man sighed. "I wish I had your determination. Anyway, my name is Mamoru. At one point in my life… I changed it, but I don't remember that name any more." Seto glanced at him in the dim light. "You see, Lalage has the ability to see your true name – the name you were given at birth. I've been called Mamoru so long…"

"I didn't ask for your life story," Seto interrupted sharply. The man grew silent and did not try to strike up a conversation again.

Lots of talking, but then again...