"What's the deal with my brain?

Why am I so obviously insane?

In a perfect situation,

I let love down the drain."

Perfect Situation by Weezer

XXII

Love. Love was a pesky word. Seto knew it and Kisara knew it. Seto had never been in love so he hardly knew what the word meant. In turn, Seto also knew Kisara had only been in love once before and she had learned it was a terrible thing. The two of them had discussed love once in the five months they had been together and they spoke of it from an objective perspective, nothing else. Love was never mentioned again after that. As time moved on, however, Seto began to feel something he had never felt before and he wasn't sure he wanted to admit what it could be. It had been a month since Kisara had asked him to take her to the Graduation Dance and his evolved feelings couldn't stay hidden any longer. Naturally, upon discovering the development of such strange feelings, he went to the one person he knew he could trust with such convoluted information.

"…I just don't understand what's happening to me, Mokuba!" Seto exclaimed after having just finished giving his explanation of how he felt towards Kisara over dinner. The two brothers were now busy clearing away the table as they discussed Seto's relationship status with Kisara. Seto stopped what he was doing and then turned to his younger brother, yearning for answers, "Why do I feel this way?" He had to know. He couldn't understand what these feelings meant.

"Because you've fallen in love?" Seto eyes widened.

"You're kidding me." Mokuba raised an eyebrow at his brother. Seto could be so… thick-headed, even for a CEO of a multi-billion dollar company. When Mokuba said nothing else, Seto added, "You really think I've fallen in love? But that's not possible… no one told me I was going to fall in love with her!" Now even Mokuba looked confused as he stared back his brother's concerned eyes.

"What did you think was going to happen? How could you not know you were going to fall in love?"

"I don't know. I never thought past actually being with someone I cared for… or finding someone I cared for. I feel so unprepared for these feelings of… of…" Seto couldn't quite find the word he was looking for. Luckily, Mokuba had a good idea as to where the conversation was going next.

"Vulnerability?" Seto snapped his fingers.

"Yes! That's it. That's the word I was looking for."

"Well, I would suggest you get used to them because now comes the hard part… telling her you love her and seeing if she loves you back." Seto nearly dropped the glass he had picked up from the table and sent it plummeting to the ground. Thankfully he had caught the glass in time before shattering on the floor. Carefully, he placed it back onto the counter before switching his attention back to his brother.

"I… can't do that," Seto said, shaking his head, "I won't do that."

"Oh Nii-sama, don't be scared of the first positive feelings you've ever felt for another person! This is a good thing and I'm sure she feels the same way." Perhaps this was the area in which the two Kaiba brothers differed the most; Mokuba and his optimism would always astonish him but could never deter him from living in reality.

"No, she doesn't. I know it." Seto's voice suddenly lowered and as his face grew dark. Mokuba stopped placing the last of the dishes into the sink and stared at him. The conversation had made a sudden 180 that Mokuba hadn't been expecting. Seto was completely quiet, staring deeply down at the floor. Mokuba walked over to his older brother and tugged on his shirt.

"Nii-sama, are you okay?"

"I am but Kisara's not," Seto responded, "She hasn't told me much about him—him being her ex-boyfriend—but from what little she has told me, he's really messed her up."

"Whoa, did she tell you what he did?" Seto shook his head.

"Not really. She's only lightly hinted at a couple things here and there. From what I can gather, he basically hurt her in such a way that has basically made her see love as pain and nothing else. I can only assume this has made her terrified of falling in love with me."

"But shouldn't that be reason enough to tell her you love her? I mean, you can tell her you love her and then keep being this awesome guy who proves to her that love isn't terrible! I mean, right? Isn't that how it works?" As logical as Mokuba's comment sounded, Seto knew it probably wouldn't work. He felt that his declaration of love would only be interpreted as a threat to Kisara; that she would think their entire relationship would turn sour as a result. She may even break up with him for it, though he couldn't be sure. She just seemed so… afraid. Afraid of not only his feelings but her own, thinking that if their relationship developed any further, it would hurt her. These were all things Kisara never said but Seto felt he was assuming correctly. Perhaps this was the very reason why Kisara was so walled off from him in many ways.

Mokuba took Seto's silence as a disagreement with his statement. "Well, even if I am wrong, what are you going to do? Are you never going to tell her?" Seto walked back over to the table and sat down, feeling defeated by his own feelings. He never thought feelings could make him feel so imprisoned.

"That's all I can hope to do, I guess." Mokuba finished clearing off the rest of the table before looking at his watch.

"Didn't you say you're supposed to be somewhere in a half hour?" Seto looked down at his own watch and jumped to his feet.

"Shoot, you're right! I'm supposed to be picking up Kisara at the restaurant downtown to go to the dance! I need to get ready." Seto dashed out of the room without saying another word, almost tripping as he ran up the stairs and stumbled into his room. How could he have forgotten that the dance was tonight? He had agreed to pick Kisara up after dinner so that she could celebrate her graduation alone with her family before going to the dance. Remembering this fact only reminded that this was going to be the first time he would be meeting Kisara's family.

Seto wanted to punch himself for being so stupid. He tossed the most dashing suit he had onto his bed and stripped down. It was the suit Mokuba typically referred to as the "James Bond" tuxedo… partly because it was the most expensive one he owned and rarely wore and partly because it did make him resemble James Bond. He debated for a moment whether or not to take a shower but determined he simply didn't have the time. He put on his clothes as quickly as he could while also trying to make sure he dressed himself properly and without wrinkling his suit. After twenty minutes, he was ready to go.

"I'm heading out, Mokuba! I won't be back until late!" Seto called out. He heard the faint sound of his brother wishing him good luck right after he closed the door and headed over to the car. Luck… that was something he was going to need in order to make up for how late he was going to be getting Kisara. He couldn't imagine how this would impact his first impression to Kisara's family either.

"I'm sure he'll be here soon," Kisara promised, worried that her parents were already silently judging him due to his lateness, especially after she had told them that he was an extremely punctual person.

"No need to worry, honey. We have all the time in the world," Kisara's mother happily replied. Although it was clear that her mother and grandfather were content with just sitting and talking with one another, the same couldn't be said for her father and grandmother who were certainly unhappy with Seto's tardiness.

"We don't, actually. Doesn't this dance start soon? The fact that this boy supposedly is the CEO of a multi-billion dollar company and is running late is a little disconcerting," Kisara's father stated, impatiently tapping his feet on the floor from under the table, "What is taking him so long?"

"Dear, you're tapping your foot again. Why don't you take a second to calm down?" Kisara's mother asked, worried that the annoyed tapping was going to draw attention from everyone else in the restaurant. Kisara's grandmother said nothing, keeping to herself and looking out of a nearby window. Kisara was about to get up and call Seto when she saw the most handsome man she had ever laid eyes on walk into the restaurant, a white corsage in hand. She rose immediately from her seat.

"Seto, you're here." Upon hearing the name, the rest of her family got up as well. Seto rushed to her table and gave her a kiss on the cheek. It was then that he turned to the rest of her family, staring at him with curious eyes.

"Please excuse me and my tardiness. It's a pleasure to meet you," Seto began shaking hands with each member of Kisara's family, treating them as though they were potential business clients of his. Kisara quickly introduced each one as he went down the line.

"This is my mother, Kaori Safiya… my father, Seth Safiya… my grandfather, whom I call Jiddo… and this is Granny King." Granny King was the only person who remained seated, shakily rising to her feet only as Seto reached out to shake her hand. The minute his hand grabbed Granny King's, the energy in the room suddenly changed. Granny King's tightly gripped hand pulled Seto forward, completely throwing him off. Granny King scanned Seto's arm, looking as though she were about to dissect it with her eyes.

"You've got tiny arms and no strength. How are you supposed to protect my granddaughter from harm being so weak?" Granny King's eyes glared up at him, expecting a good answer out of Seto.

"Granny!" Kisara yelped, turning towards Jiddo for some sort of sign that she would stop her before things got any more awkward. Seto, however, wasn't threatened whatsoever. In fact, he rather liked facing someone who dared to challenge him and his abilities.

"I'm the most important man in Japan. No one would dare attack me," Seto said with absolute confidence. Granny King's eyes narrowed as he inched closer.

"Oh yeah? And what will you do if they put a gun to her head? Throw money at them?" Before Seto could respond, Jiddo stepped forward.

"Calm down, both of you. No need to start a riot the minute we land in this country." Granny King let go of Seto's hand without speaking and returned to her seat. Her gaze became entranced once more on the nearby window in the restaurant. Kisara was beyond petrified by what had just occurred.

"Alright, well, now you've met him. We've gotta go now, we're running late," Kisara exclaimed, not having the slightest clue of what time it was or when the dance was even happening. All she knew was that she wanted to try and move on from what had just happened as smoothly as possible.

"Oh no, Kisara! You don't have to leave just yet, do you? What about pictures?" Kisara grabbed Seto's hand and slowly started to tug him in the direction of the door.

"We'll get some professional pictures done when we get there. I'm pretty sure they have something like that set up. Love you guys! Bye!" Seto gave a quick wave before being pulled out of the restaurant. "Where are you parked?" Kisara asked, clearly wanting to waste no time getting to the dance. Seto pointed to the limo waiting a couple feet down the street. Kisara gasped with shock.

"You rented a limo?" Seto laughed.

"I own one. This is what people do when they go to dances, right? Rent a limo?" Kisara laughed too, despite not knowing whether it was because the statement was actually funny or because the last ten minutes of their time together had been so awkward she couldn't think of anything else to do except laugh. Soon the two of them were on their way, feeling unsure of what to say next. Kisara felt she needed to break the silence.

"I apologize about my family… well, mostly for my grandmother. Granny doesn't know any better, it's the Irish in her, I swear."

"Oh! That makes more sense. I was going to ask you about that."

"Wait, ask me about what?"

"Kaori isn't an Egyptian name, it's Japanese. And Granny doesn't sound like an Egyptian term for grandmother either, right?"

"Oh, well, yeah. That's because my grandmother is Irish and my mother is Japanese. Only Jiddo and my father are Egyptian… it's why I have an aunt who lives in Japan. You do realize that people from Egypt aren't generally as pale as I am, don't you?" Kisara laughed again, this time a genuine laugh. Seto didn't laugh… he was more amazed at the discovery of Kisara's background than anything else. How could he have not wondered why it was that Kisara was so pale? Or that she was unique probably because of her background? Then again, how could Seto know what Egyptians were like? Kisara was the first one he had met… well, except for the Ishtars.

"Oh yeah, and I almost forgot. I have your boutineer." Kisara pulled out a small boutineer from out of her purse and leaned over to pin it on Seto's jacket. Seto's body completely froze. He would've thought that after five months of dating he would be used to a woman's touch but he was still so unfamiliar. Being the cold and distant person that he was, rarely did he make physical contact with anyone outside of a handshake. The smell of Kisara's hair, however, eased his nerves. She smelled absolutely lovely.

"There you go, all done." Kisara shifted back to look at the boutineer in relation to his suit and smiled, "It looks great!"

"Oh, that reminds me. I also have your corsage." Seto pulled out the corsage. Kisara gracefully held out her hand towards Seto and let him place it on her wrist. Again, he was faced with another unfamiliar moment, holding Kisara's soft hand in his as he slipped the delicate band over her hand and onto her wrist. When he looked up, he realized it was the first time he noticed Kisara's hair was completely different than it usually was. It had been pulled and tied back into a classy bun. She had even gotten bangs that accentuated her blue eyes against her soft, white hair.

"Your hair…" Kisara sat back a little.

"Oh yeah, do you like it? My parents thought it would be a nice change… something different," Kisara paused for a moment, "Hopefully not a bad difference, right?" Seto shook his head. In fact, it was a whole new experience, being able to see Kisara's whole face only inches away from his. It sent him to a state of euphoria and bliss just being able to stare into her eyes without her long, white hair to distract him.

"Not at all. In fact, you look quite exquisite. You might possibly be the most beautiful woman I have ever seen in my entire life." Kisara blushed and looked away.

"Oh please, don't say that," Kisara turned back toward him after composing herself, "Besides, you have yet to see how everyone else is dressed at the dance tonight." She chuckled and gave him a playful poke. Seto gave a small smile.

"I don't need to see anyone else at the dance. I already know you're the most beautiful woman that will ever set foot there." Just then, the limo came to a halt. Kisara looked past Seto and noticed that they had arrived.

"Well, we're here. We better get a move on then." Kisara clicked open her door and moved over to get out, but Seto placed his hand on hers. She stopped immediately and twisted her head towards his. Within seconds, they had locked lips. Kisara was shocked but immediately gave in the warmth of Seto's mouth against hers. Rarely did Seto initiate a kiss between them but boy, did she find his assertiveness attractive.

For Seto, however, it wasn't out of assertion but rather requirement. At that one moment, he had needed to kiss her and know. All his life, he had assumed he could never fall in love or that—even if there was the possibility of him being capable of falling in love—he would avoid it like the plague. And yet here he was, kissing someone of the opposite sex, giving in the idea that he had totally and utterly fallen in love with her. It was horrifying, it was beautiful, it was exhilarating…

And Seto promised himself in that exact moment that he would never tell her, due to his own knee-jerk response of wanting to hide vulnerability and for fear that she would run away the minute he told her the truth. It was miserable, it was exciting, it was complex… and it was love. All the movies and novels now made sense: this was what it felt like to be in love.

A/N: Here it is! FINALLY! I know, I know, I promised a quick update last time I updated but I didn't expect to be as busy as I became the minute the holidays ended. I've been doing a lot of work tutoring people and helping other people write papers so much so that when I came home, writing was the last thing I wanted to do. Believe me, I WANTED TO GET THIS ONE DONE SO BAD. I've been trying to write this for what seems like forever so it's AWESOME that I finally got it out onto the page. I think there was also a bit of over-ambition (I wanted to fit a lot more stuff in here than I have right now) but yeah. Here it is! Finally! Enjoy and I hope to get a new one out SUPER SOON! Seriously soon… we'll see. I start school in a week though… sadface.