The rain pounded heavily against the ground soaking everything in its wake. The city seemed to have been dimmed and the lights didn't shine quite as bright as the thick storm clouds had rolled in. They seemed to have settled themselves comfortably and weren't going to be leaving any time soon. It was obvious that the rain wasn't going to let up either.
Lightning flashed across the sky with thunder roaring closely behind. No one wanted brave the torrent and so the streets were empty and deserted. Only cars rolled by, splashing through the growing puddles, their headlights flickering against the heavy droplets.
However, there was a lone figure running down the sidewalk, the rain having succeed in drenching her completely through. Her clothes clung tightly to her body and served to slow her down as they were heavy from retaining so much water. There were several strands of her dark hair sticking to the sides of her face which she quickly pushed aside so they didn't cloud her vision.
There was an ache and burn in her legs as she continued to pump them. Her emotions were running rampant and it seemed the only solution was to run. She had always run when things got difficult. It was the only way she could clear her head.
Her legs eventually brought her to a small and abandoned park. She shivered from the cold, but also from the absence of life. A flash of light split the sky and illuminated just how dismal the part truly was. She came to a stop, panting, and bent over to rest her hands on her knees. She stared down at the soft earth noticing that the worms had surfaced from their earthen hiding place.
"Are you crazy?!" That voice was unmistakable and caused her to whip around. She hadn't expected to see him. "You're going to get yourself killed out here!" the anger was evident in his tone and there was the ever present underlay of annoyance.
She turned around to face the man for which she was running. He was stepping out of his expensive town car and approaching her. She took a few steps back with wide eyes that reflected how unsure she was in that moment.
"Why are you out here?" he demanded which suddenly fueled the anger within her once more.
"What do you care Kaiba?" she responded back hotly.
"I don't," he shot back with just as much anger, though he seemed to falter slightly. "I wasn't done arguing with you." He tried to reason so he could recover himself.
"Well I was done arguing with you!" she shook her head, her fists clenched, and turned away from him. Her chest was heaving from being out of breath, but the sudden sensation on her arm caused what little breath she had recovered to suddenly leave her.
"Didn't you hear me, I wasn't done." His words came out cold.
"I can't take it anymore Kaiba. I'm done. I don't want to see you anymore. I don't want you around me anymore." She turned back to him, but only so he would release her.
"What are you talking about?" the ice in his tone had melted a little as it was replaced with confusion.
"You don't get it, do you?" her words caused him to falter even further and the frigid mask he wore began to crack.
"Get what?"
"Do I need to spell it out for you, you numbskull?" her irritation flared and her eyes flashed dangerously.
"Stop beating around the bush and just say it." Seto's own eyes flashed with anger as she wasn't giving him a straight answer.
Silence fell between them, the only sound was the rain splattering against the cold cement. They stared each other down. Seto felt his irritation rise and he clenched his fist as he was quickly growing impatient.
"What is it?" he demanded angrily.
"I love you!" she shouted at him. "Damn it, I love you and you're too much of an idiot to see it!" her words were hot like a fire and engulfed him.
Instinctively he took a step back and stared at her in complete shock. For the first time, Seto Kaiba was speechless as the blue-eyed girl before him stood there seething in white anger. No one had ever said those words to him before. Well, Mokuba had, but he was his baby brother. Mokuba had a tender soul that was easily receptive to the full spectrum of human emotions.
Not Seto.
Seto had learned at a young age that he had to be cold, distant, and hard hearted if he was going to keep Mokuba shielded from the ugliness of the world. He had locked his heart away a long time ago and had focused on becoming the best so that Mokuba wouldn't ever have to feel the way that Seto did.
The only emotions Seto could feel were those that reflected his cold heart. He had never had sympathy or compassion for another person. It had benefited him in the business world and had only further pushed his deeper emotions to the depths of the darkest parts inside of him.
That is, he hadn't felt those emotions until she had come along.
At first they were faint wisps and stirrings that he hadn't understood. They were so faint he had done a good job of ignoring them. Though the part of him that had felt love, the part that fought so hard for Mokuba, and the part of him that had entered the orphanage was slowly being revived by those faint inclinations of emotion. The emotions that only she could bring out in him even though he would never admit it, not even to himself.
"You-" he paused and shook his head. "Y-you what?"
"Get it through your thick skull Seto Kaiba, I fell in love with you, and your too stupid to realize that. You're so blind!" she was shaking from how aggravated she felt towards him.
"Blind? Why am I blind?"
"Because you can't even see that you've started falling for me too." At this point her eyes were burning with tears as she stared back at him defiantly and challenging him to deny it.
"W-what?" his eyes nearly bugged out of his sockets. "You're going mental." He suddenly began to laugh at her.
"Laugh all you want Kaiba, but deep down you know it's true." The words fell like an anvil from her mouth and Seto stopped laughing only to narrow his eyes into a glare at her.
"What do you know? You don't know me, and loving you is the last thing I'd ever do." As the words flew from his mouth he felt a stab in his heart. He saw the heartbreak cross her face, but it was fleeting and suddenly her eyes turned to steel. In that moment he wished he could take the words back. He wished he hadn't said them.
"You're a coward." These words came out calm and it sent a spike of fear down Seto's spine. It was far worse than if she had yelled the words at him. Of course this also stoked the fire of anger in his heart as he couldn't stand to be called a coward, even if it was from her.
"How dare you call me a coward!" he took a few steps towards her, his hands shaking at his side.
"Then let me say it again!" she was not going to retreat this time and instead took a step forward as she was challenging him on. "Seto Kaiba is a coward, and I pity you."
"HA!" he raised his head and let out a cruel laugh. "Pity? You pity me?" he closed the distance and grabbed both of her arms and held tight. "I'm Seto Kaiba you insignificant girl!" he growled as he glared fiercely down at her. "I'm one of the most influential people on this planet. I'm the CEO of KaibaCorp and there's nothing that stands in my way." He tightened his hold on her but she didn't even flinch.
"So what?" she threw the words back at him in a nonchalant way that caused the blood to boil right underneath the surface. "What's the point of your success and fame if at the end of the day you're left standing alone at the top?"
Seto hadn't expected this question. He felt her words circulate through his very core but he shook his head.
"Love makes you weak. Love makes you irrational." Even though they were his words, they felt like a lie. "Love tears you down, it does nothing but leave you hollow and empty." His mind flashed back to the day he and Mokuba were left at the orphanage.
A great sadness suddenly filled her eyes as she saw deeper inside of Seto the man, and not Seto the CEO. She saw passed his cracked mask, passed the insults, the arrogance, and the money to a young child deep down who had been cast aside. That boy had needed love so desperately but all he got in return was indifference and disdain.
"Seto…" she whispered, his name cracking upon the air.
Something shattered inside of Seto and it scared him. He felt his walls tumbling down. They were crashing and the rubble was being scattered to the far recesses of his soul as the ice vault around his heart was melting. He felt the emotions tumbling around inside. They were struggling for life. It had been a very long time since he had given breath to them that he felt as though he were being choked on the inside as each old emotion was struggling to come back to life.
"I don't need love!" he shouted to the air. "I don't need you!" he spat as he looked down to her.
Each second that passed was another that caused his emotions to build. He felt as if he were falling. His grip tightened on her once more as he realized that holding onto her was what was keeping him grounded. The fear began to encase him as he thought if he let go of her, then he would shatter and be spread upon the wind as dust.
"Seto…" she whispered his name once more and reached her hand up to touch his face.
The horror and distress upon his face was too much for her to bear. She ached to help him. She felt that burning desire to bring him peace.
As her hand touched his face it was like she had set a caged animal free. He suddenly cried out, a mixture of anger, frustration, and desperation flooded the air as it rode upon his cry. He looked back down at her, his eyes shimmering with the first traces of tears he had had since he was a young child.
Her breath was stuck in her throat as she saw the raw man standing before her. He had been stripped down and she felt transfixed as he stared at her.
Without a word he released her arms only so he could grasp the sides of her face. He pulled her in and pressed his lips against hers.
Everything seem to click into place. His emotions overtook him and he felt the tears leak from the corners of his eyes and glide down his face mixing with the rain. The taste of the cold upon her lips sent his senses into overdrive.
The two of them stood that way, locked together, for what seemed like eternity. Another flash of light and a crackle of thunder began to pull them back into reality. They broke apart and he rested his forehead against hers.
"I need you." He whispered.