Title: Repay

Pairing: SethxKisara/Mizushipping

Season Eight. Round Two.

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!

I could feel something dripping on my face, and I turned to get away from the sensation with a soft groan.

The dripping continued, and I squirmed a little, for whatever reason not wanting to open my eyes. The wetness falling on my face stopped after a while, being replaced with hands on my shoulders.

"Are you all right?" a familiar boy's voice asked me in a whisper, and I forfeited to my own will, revealing my eyes.

It was the boy who saved me last night from those marauders! Sapphire blue eyes stared intently on my face, making me blush; his long brown locks framed his tan face to about the ends of his ears, a concerned expression spread over his face.

"Seth!" I gasped, pulling myself up with jerky movements, scuttling away, feeling the sand underneath me shift against my moves.

But he caught my hand in silence, stopping my panicky motions. My heart pounded in my chest with exhilaration and trepidation, as I wondered how he had found me.

All I could recall was that when he let me out of that barred wagon and breathed out his name, he set me upon a horse and shouted for me to get away. The men around the fire had taken notice, and I could only stare in wonder at the boy as he slapped the horse, forcing it into a speedy gallop away from the camp.

I could remember just barely shouting that I'd repay him someday as the men closed in on him, but, I saw no more as the darkness consumed the camp, the only source of light for me were the stars above. I supposed that I would never see this brave Seth again, but apparently I was wrong.

"Here, you've been cut," he said quietly, holding out a damp cloth for me to take. Everything hit me at once then. My cheek stung from where I fell of the horse last night onto the warm ground with sharp sand, sputtering the tiny substance out of my mouth before total darkness consumed me.

But now we were in a small oasis, under a couple of palm trees, a small pool of water just a foot away. I was filthy like usual, sweating from the unbearable Egyptian heat overhead, staring dumbfounded at the boy who saved me.

As I took him in, I realized he must've put up some kind of fight. He had had a shirt on last night, but was only dressed in a dirtied kilt now. His skin that stretched over a well-built torso was grimy with sweat and dirt. A few cuts and bruises were visible.

I timidly took the cloth to wipe the small amount of dried blood off my face.

"Thank you," I muttered a little awkwardly, watching out of the corner of my eye as he sat down fully, sighing softly as the heat heavily pressed against him. I placed the cloth back into the small pool, letting it soak back up. "How did you find me?"

He remained silent for a while, keeping his eyelids drooped, making me think that he would drift off any second. I was sure he hadn't slept at all last night. But he did finally look up with an alertness that surprised me, answering, "I don't know."

I said nothing, silently swallowing against my unbearably dry throat. Pulling my knees up against my chest, I wondered what exactly was going on.

"How did that group of filth capture you anyhow?" he questioned suddenly, catching me off guard.

Instead of answering, I asked my own question. "You're not too hurt, are you? I can't even imagine how you made it out of their grasp alive." I stared at him with pure concern, looking over his injuries with a little more concentration. I nearly gasped when I discovered what looked like burn marks.

I couldn't help myself; I was always one to worry about others before myself, even if I was in a much worse shape than them. I pulled myself up and half pulled half crawled my way through the short distance until I was right next to him, earning myself a look of utter surprise.

"What are you-"

"They didn't do this to you, did they?" I ran my hands delicately over his now confirmed burns, my stomach dropping at the horrible thoughts of what those men could have done to them. I was about to grab the cloth again, but Seth stopped me.

"I did this to myself," he replied sternly but softly, looking my square in the eye for all but a second. He shrugged out of my feather-like embrace, and I let him.

"I don't understand," I pleaded in a sorry-like manner. I wanted to know what had happened, but if he didn't want to tell me, I would not push the matter.

He sighed again in a dejected way, making me wonder what had him so sad. He didn't meet my eyes, just stared out ahead as he rested his elbows on his pulled up knees. Seth didn't speak for the longest time, and just when I was about to scoot away from him, he spoke in a low voice,

"I lost my mother last night."

Even though I barely knew him, I couldn't help but feel sympathy for him. My hand went to my mouth to stifle a gasp. I didn't think that he'd say anymore, but yet again, I was wrong.

"Before I found you, I was on my way to my mother's village. It had been a couple months since I had last seen her, being absorbed in all my studies and all. But I found you along the way, and got you away from those scum. I got away in the same way you rode off in for a while, thinking that they'd give up and just remain at their camp."

He stopped, and I half expected to hear some kind of sniffle, but I heard none of the sort.

"But they didn't. They somehow managed to get to where they originally were going, and they lit it all up in flame. I couldn't find her – too many screams to tell, too much laughter. It wasn't until the screams had all stopped did I run away."

I didn't ask, but I guessed that he had stumbled across me, unconscious and all. I had to wonder if he dragged me to this small oasis, or if it had been close and convenient. Again, I was sure he had gotten no sleep.

"I'm sorry," I offered quietly, letting my eyes drop to the ground.

Silence took up the space in an oddly comfortable way, and I felt bad for a while. He could have saved his mother if he hadn't taken the time to free me. Fortunately, I didn't dwell on this self-wallowing too long for his hand closed over mine.

I looked up sharply in alarm, fear flooding my system for a brief moment when I took in his stony face. There wasn't an emotion anywhere on the tan skin, and it scared me. Something had happened to him because of last night, and I had no idea what I could do to help.

"I have a feeling you will repay me someday, like you promised," he said suddenly, confusing me yet again, but I didn't voice it. I merely stared into those passion-filled blue eyes, trying to read the emotions that he was hiding very well. "You will repay me in such a way that I'll be able to crush such lowly lives for the sins they have committed."

The way he said it scared me again, making my mind burst into a frenzy. Again, I didn't understand what he was saying, but then again, who knew if he did either. I later realized that I had unconsciously leaned forward, letting my free hand cradle the side of his face in a fruitless attempt to calm him down.

He broke free of my touch, his face not changing in the slightest as he seemed to come back to reality. I didn't really know where he was during that short time, but I had a minor feeling in the back of my mind that what he said would somehow come true. Again, I didn't think too much of it.

Again, silence reigned for the longest time, but I don't think either of us minded it. We sat under the trees in the merciful shade for an unknown time, occasionally wringing some of the water from the cloth into our mouths to keep us alive for the time being.

I want to say that he drifted off to sleep a couple times, but upon further inspection, I really don't think he did. He'd close his eyes for a couple minutes, and then reopen them, like he was watching out for any strangers. As the sun started to set, letting the air around us become cooler was when Seth stood up, offering his hand to me.

I took it, pulling myself up to stand by him. He said something about it being easier to travel at night, which I already knew from experience, but nodded anyway as if I didn't know. It didn't surprise me that we reached a small village north from where we were about two hours later; I had a feeling that he had a perfect understanding of the landscape.

He easily made his way through the surprisingly busy streets of the village, leading us to a small inn where he produced two coins that I'm guessing he had found when we were passing through and by the markets. The man who graciously took the coins pointed out a room for us, and I followed Seth deeper into the small building, stopping short when he pressed some more coins into my hands.

"I must leave you here," he said, almost whispering in my ear. "I doubt we'll ever see each other again," he added, and I nodded stiffly, suddenly feeling unbearably tired.

As he pulled back, silently saying that he would say no more, the longest moment passed. Like I had, he let a hand trace the side of my face, his fingers gently weaving through my long locks of hair. There was an odd emotion on his face, but I could not read it. Though, the next thing I knew, he was gone.

I wearily looked down at the coins cradled in my hand, somehow knowing at that instant that he had actually stolen them when I wasn't paying enough attention. I clutched them in my newly formed fist, walking into the room he had gotten for me for the night.

It was a hard guess to make, but I ended up concluding that we wouldn't see each other ever again.