"You look in her eyes; the music begins to play.
Hopeless romantics, here we go again.
But after awhile, you're lookin' the other way.
It's those restless hearts that never mend.
New Kid in Town by The Eagles
XXIX
"It is absolutely sweltering in this room," Kisara proclaimed upon entering the small dorm she called home. Seto followed after her, closing the door behind them while Kisara attempted to pry open the tiny window at the other end of the room. He did notice the rise in temperature after closing the door and agreed that sweltering was the perfect word to describe her dorm.
"It is really hot in here. Why is that?" Seto asked, as he scanned the room, attempting to locate the source of the stifling heat. Kisara merely grunted in response, as she continued to struggle with the window. "Here, let me get that for you," Seto offered, striding quickly to her side as he latched his hands to the worn window frame.
"Thanks," Kisara sighed in relief, surrendering the task to Seto's stronger, masculine arms, "It's been awful ever since they turned on the heat in our building. Despite the fact that it's the middle of September, some genius in the housing department thought turning on the heating would be a great idea so it's actually cooler outside than it is in here." As old as the single window in Kisara's dorm was, Seto was able to force it open after a few attempts. He sighed and sat down on Kisara's bed. He watched her sit, picturesque, opposite to him on her roommate's bed.
"That's terrible. I could run out and buy a fan for you, if you'd like." Seto made to get up but Kisara quickly replied, "No." She playfully pushed him back down on the bed, "We only have a day more, and I want to spend every second of it with you."
"Fine, but I'm bringing you a fan when I come next weekend—no protests." Kisara smiled. It really was true that it was the small things that mattered most and little gestures that let her know that Seto cared. Sitting across from him, she couldn't help but beam with happiness. They developed a system that every weekend, Seto would come down to visit and it was an occasion Kisara always looked forward to.
The pair had reconciled only a month earlier, but after Seto revealed his love for Kisara, their relationship was stronger than it had ever been before. He made every attempt to lessen the distance between them by talking to her several times each day. He did everything to show that every day he went without seeing her was a day he wished would end because that meant he was one day closer to seeing her again.
"I'd really appreciate that, Seto. Thank you," Kisara said, tilting her head to the side, "You know, you're really something else. I hope you know that."
"Really now? Because I could say the same thing about you," Seto replied, smiling back at her. Kisara couldn't take it any longer; before she knew what happened, she was in his arms, their bodies and mouths entwined in a sensual embrace. They would share many such kisses throughout the weekend. The first kiss they would share with each other after being reunited always tasted sweeter than the ones they shared when they would say goodbye. A hello kiss held promises for the weekend—a great time, a good laugh, and of course, fond moments to hold onto when the weekend finally ended. The goodbye kiss was tragic—it was an conclusion, one that meant loneliness would follow for the next five days, until they saw each other again.
Experiencing this kind of affection from Seto always made Kisara wonder what their relationship had even been like the prior six months they were together. He had never been so open with her before and it made the relationship more real than it ever was. What did they even talk about before they had broken up? If admitting he was in love was what had been blocking Seto, how long had he been in love with her? What other feelings had he hidden from her? Even amongst all the questions she came up with during their time apart, all of them disappeared almost instantly the moment she was in his arms, his lips pressed against hers.
Suddenly Seto pulled away.
"Where is that racket coming from?" Kisara didn't even notice the loud noise emanating from the main student plaza that was only a couple feet from her window. Her head tilted, walking to the window to get a better listen.
"Oh, it's just some frat kids dancing in the street to music. They must've hooked up the intercom system to someone's iPod. The students here can be obnoxiously loud on the weekend." Kisara looked back at Seto and saw that he was becoming incredibly uncomfortable. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, it's just that I can't stand the music people listen to these days. Do you think you could close the window for a bit?" Kisara nodded and was about to close the window when suddenly, she froze.
"Wait, I know this song." Kisara said, her face brightening as she stood rapt, listening for a few more moments. At first, the music was low, almost like there wasn't any music playing at all. She became focused, inching closer to the opened window until the mixture of guitar and drums blasted from outside. She leapt into the air and began to sway to the beat. "Oh my gosh, I love this song!"
"What are you doing?" Seto asked, not sure how he should be reacting to what he was watching Kisara do as she rocked out to the music playing outside.
"I'm dancing! This is 'Sleeping with the Television On' by Billy Joel and he's my favorite artist! I love singing to this song," Kisara exclaimed, and then held out a hand to Seto, "Come dance with me!" Seto quickly shook his head.
"If you recall our Graduation Dance, I'm not much of a dancer and even less of a singer. I think I'll just sit this one out." Kisara didn't seem like she heard Seto respond at all. The minute Billy Joel began singing, she became all-consumed in the music. She held an imaginary microphone to her mouth as she spun all around the tiny dorm room.
"I've been watching you waltz all night, Diane. Nobody found a way behind your defenses. They never noticed the zap gun in your hand until you're pointing it and stunning their senses," Kisara jumped up on her roommate's bed and closed her eyes as she belted on, "All night long, all night long… you'll shoot 'em down because you're waiting for somebody good to come on… but you'll be sleeping with the television on." Her body grooved to every beat of the drums the song had to offer, totally mesmerized. No part of her seemed to notice that she was singing and dancing in Seto's presence. She was transported to another world.
As she continued with her performance, Seto couldn't help but observe her as she was absorbed by the music. He had seen her become this way once before when they had attended the dance together, but this time was different. This time he was experiencing it from up close and he could tell how happy singing and dancing made her. Nothing of this world existed while she moved with the music and in a way, he was jealous of her ability to completely detach from everything around her. Although Seto knew he was never and could never be the dancing or singing type, watching Kisara dance made him wish he could, if only to share the joy that resonated from her body.
"This isn't easy for me to say, Diane. I know you don't need anybody's protection. I really wish I was less of a thinking man and more a fool who's not afraid of rejection," Kisara continued, "All night long, all night long… I'll just be standing here 'cause I know I don't have the guts to come on… and I'll be sleeping with the television on." Most music disturbed and annoyed Seto, but somehow experiencing this erased all of the irritation music typically brought out of him.
His eyes watched methodically as her body twisted and turned. Her hair swayed in the air and he felt enraptured by the movement. It was in that moment that he realized he had never met anyone with the type of hair Kisara had. The off-beat white that went down way past her shoulders, the kind of color that couldn't be found on the heads of anyone else. His eyes trailed the thick strands of hair back up to her face where his eyes met with her. She had the deepest blue eyes, similar to that of an ocean he could see himself drowning in. As the waves beat against him, he wouldn't care. He knew he was home. He was home in those familiar eyes that reminded him that there was a life outside of business, outside of his office, outside of everything he had ever known to be reality. Not once had he ever thought to sit down and admire the beauty in dancing and singing but Kisara was someone entirely different to him. She made him appreciate things he never thought he would.
As the song came to an end, Kisara's exhaustion finally caught up with her. As the closing bridge began playing, she opened her eyes and wandered over to the window. "I think that's enough dancing for one day," Kisara said between exhausted breaths, closing the window to get a break from the music. Seto got up and grabbed a towel that was folded on her desk and handed it to her. "Oh, thanks. Yeah, sometimes I just get really caught up in the music that I don't realize how tiring dancing can be." Kisara gently padded the beads of sweat on her forehead, trying to keep from wiping away the make-up on her face.
"You've really got a great voice," Seto added, "And even though I'm no expert, I'd be willing to wager that your dancing is above average as well… better than mine at any rate."
"Thanks, I'm not sure I agree, but I do enjoy singing and dancing. I find them to be very therapeutic."
"I can tell. I only wish I could enjoy them the way you do."
"I bet you could if you tried." Seto immediately shook his head.
"No, no, no… that's never going to happen. I would never do either of those things."
"Oh, come on! You never know until you try. Besides, you owe me for leaving me out on the floor alone. You have to dance with me," Kisara held out her hand to Seto a second time, "I've got another one in me. Let's do it together." Seto chuckled.
"Not a chance, Safiya. Not even Mokuba could get me to do that." Kisara retracted her arm. She opened her mouth to respond, when suddenly there was a knock at the door. She playfully threw the towel Seto had given her and got up to open the door without bothering to inquire the person on the outside. Kisara assumed it was her roommate who, in addition to having a tendency to sleep out all weekend, also had a tendency to forget her key card in her dorm.
"Did you forget your key card again?" Kisara asked as the door swung open. When she saw the face on the other side of the door, her smile fell.
"I didn't forget my key card, but finding your dorm room was a bit of a challenge." A smug male voice resonated through the room. Seto's hair raised on the back of his neck, as he got up to get a better look at the stranger standing outside of the door. It was a man, about the same age as Seto, staring at Kisara with a wide, Cheshire cat grin. The individual had long, dark brown hair and even darker brown eyes, eyes that were so focused on Kisara that he didn't seem to notice there was another person in the room. The way he was staring at Kisara, however, caused Seto to step forward and intervene.
Kisara's face, on the other hand, was completely void of any emotion. She stared, wide-eyed, at the man standing before her. Her mouth was slightly ajar, still open from the question hanging in the air. She felt paralyzed, her hand still cemented to the doorknob. It was as if she was frozen in time, staring at the man who seemed to cast a powerful spell over her with his mere presence. It wasn't until she felt Seto's arm wrap around her waist that she broke free of her trance.
"And who might you be?" Seto growled, holding Kisara tightly by his side and attempting to stare so deeply into the man's eyes that he would instill the fear of God into him. Seto had that ability, he knew that. It was something he had picked up from his step father and one he most typically used when conducting business with competitors. It was a tactic that almost always gave him results. For this particular advisory, however, it seemed to have no effect.
"Mahad…" Kisara quietly spoke, her voice trailing off as if she was not sure of anything she was witnessing at the moment, "How did you find me?" Mahad didn't acknowledge Seto's presence, his eyes were still fixed on Kisara, a grin still plastered to his face.
"Your parents told me you were going to school here and I decided to pay you a visit. I've been trying to reach you for a while but with no success. It wasn't until I showed up at your house last week that your parents told me where you had gone," Mahad reached out to grab Kisara's hand, "I can't believe you left without telling me." Kisara instinctively pulled away before Mahad could even touch her. Her eyes were wide, the expression on her face changed from shock to absolute terror. Seto could feel Kisara's body begin to shake.
"I told you I never wanted to see you again," Kisara stated, her voice trembling with every word she said. Seto wasn't entirely sure what was happening, turning his attention from Kisara to Mahad. He was too shocked to react; he had never seen Kisara this way before. She thrust her hands forward and shoved Mahad away. Mahad caught himself from Kisara's feeble attempt to push him over and countered by snatching Kisara's hand with his.
"And I've left you countless messages and e-mails saying how sorry I am for the way things ended but I'm here now because I still love you and I want to be with you." It was then that it all clicked for Seto who Mahad was and why Kisara was reacting so strongly. He was the reason she had left Egypt. He was the person who broke her heart. He was the source of all of her pain. All the running she had ever done in the last year was to get away from him.
When Seto realized this, pure rage dictated the actions that followed.
"Get away from her," Seto shouted with such intensity that his anger filled the room and fueled the motion of his fist as it collided with Mahad's face, sending him to the floor. Seto hovered over him, waiting for Mahad to get back on his feet before throwing him down with another punch.
"Seto, please stop!" Seto was only vaguely aware of Kisara's screams. It was unimportant, periphery to his intense hatred toward the man sprawled out across the floor before him. "Get up, Mahad. Get up and fight me before I send your bruised up face back to Egypt where you belong."
Mahad slowly rose to his feet, but continued to disregard Seto's presence. His eyes followed Kisara, tears flowing down her face, her screams only just now becoming audible to Seto as he saw Mahad slowly get up and inch towards her.
"Kisara, please don't cry," Mahad reassuringly cooed to her. Kisara whirled away from Mahad, Seto, and the scene they had just made in the middle of the hallway. She went inside her room and shut the door. The slamming of the door and Kisara's sobs on the other side of it brought Seto back to reality. He no longer saw red, but he knew that if Mahad did not leave, he would see it again.
"You need to leave. Right. Now." Seto didn't leave any room for questions or concerns. It was the first moment Mahad and Seto's eyes met. When they did, Seto was surprised to find that his eyes were a shade of dark brown that almost appeared to be black. There was no warmth in his eyes. They appeared so unfeeling, Seto could hardly believe he was looking at a living, breathing person. Mahad's eyes narrowed before turning away.
"I'll be back," Mahad concluded, taking his first steps down the hall.
"No, you won't. If you ever show up again at Kisara's dorm or anywhere near her again, I'll make damn sure you're never allowed back into Japan." Mahad stopped halfway down the hall.
"And who do you think you are?"
"I'm Seto Kaiba, one of the most powerful men in Japan," Seto stated assertively, "I'm the one she needs now. Not you."
There was a pause between them. A long pause.
"Do you love her?"
"More than anything in the world."
Again, another pause.
"Good luck with that."
A/N: Hi everybody! First things first, who thought I was dead?! I know I did! For those of you wondering where I disappeared off to for the last three months, the answer is… a couple places. I actually went on a last minute, two week trip to Italy to go to my uncle's wedding in July and it was awesome! Then I spent the rest of the summer basically freaking out about my life because three weeks ago, I started my last semester of college. Crazy, right? I also happen to be writing a book as part of an independent study this year in addition to taking honors classes because apparently I want to graduate with honors? I don't know, I'm just an overachiever and it's such a stressful existence sometimes. I'm sure you guys are all wondering what that means for this story. Part of my hiatus was due to the fact that I was just filled to the brim with stress about my last semester but now that I've started (quitting many of jobs in order to perform well in my courses), I think my updates will return to being posted on a once a month basis. My goal to finish this story was December but because of my three month hiatus, I'm not sure that's possible. I'm not sure how many chapters are still left, but I know there's still a bunch more stuff left to be written so stay tuned! Thanks for reading and of course, thanks for all of your lovely reviews! See you in a month (hopefully)!