"Don't close your eyes,

Don't close your eyes.

This is your life and today is all you've got now.

Yeah, and today is all you'll ever have."

This Is Your Life by Switchfoot

XXXIV

Tick tock. The clock ticked away with little to no regard to the meeting going on in the Kaiba Corp. conference room. In a way, Seto was jealous of the clock that hung on the wall opposite to where he was seated. The clock was expected to do only one job and that was to keep track of time, nothing else. Seto, on the other hand, was the CEO of the very company that was holding the meeting. While that was only one job, it had many expectations. One of which included sitting in mandatory business meetings that he had little interest in.

"…Does that seem right to you, Mister Kaiba?" Seto's eyebrows were raised when he realized everyone in the room was staring at him.

"Come again?" He responded in a very collected manner.

"Do these numbers seem correct, Sir?" Another man asked, the one who was standing in front of the room, just below the clock, with a bar chart illuminated on the wall behind him. Seto nodded.

"Sure." The room remained frozen, several pairs of eyes watching his every move. They looked as if they almost didn't believe him. "Carry on," Seto stated with a hint of annoyance. The meeting then picked up where it left off, and his mind got carried away once again… his eyes always watching the clock. Why did time only seem to move slow when he wanted it to go fast?

There had been a time not too long ago when he didn't mind the occasional Saturday corporate meeting. Seto had tried to schedule this particular meeting earlier in the week, but Saturday ended up being the only day all of the department heads could get together to discuss the status of the company. His company. The only problem with the Saturday meeting this time around was that it inhibited him from seeing Kisara.

Maintaining a long-distance relationship had been tricky. The only time Seto and Kisara could see each other was on the weekends, when she didn't have classes and could take a break from doing homework. Missing one Saturday meant that he would have to go two weeks without seeing Kisara instead of one. As troubling as that was, Seto took comfort in knowing their relationship wouldn't be long-distance for much longer. November was quickly coming to a close, which meant that Kisara would be finishing her first, and possibly only, semester of business school soon.

Kisara had mentioned a couple weeks back that she lacked the funds she needed to attend another semester. There had been a hint of sadness in her voice when she mentioned it one Friday evening while the two of them were walking across the quad, holding hands. Seto closed his eyes for a moment, remembering the way Kisara's hair swished in the wind as she walked beside him and the softness of her silk-like skin in his hand. He remembered the way she turned to him and how captivated he was with her wide and bright blue eyes that were trying desperately to hide the sadness within.

"…I know I haven't been going to this school for very long and that most of the people I've met so far have only ever been interested in getting drunk or doing drugs, but… I really do feel like Yokohama is home to me. In some ways, at least."

"Yeah?" Seto gave Kisara's hand a little squeeze, "And what about Domino City? Is that no longer home to you?"

"Of course it is," Kisara replied, "It's a different home, though. It's like… Domino City is home whenever I think of you and Mokuba. Yokohama is my home when I think of my education or future."

"Are Mokuba and I not part of your future?" Kisara slipped her hand out of Seto's and stopped walking. Seto stopped and turned around. Her face distorted with a look of worry.

"No, it's not like that. It's like… the future I always envisioned for myself, you know? I feel like there are two kinds of futures. The one you plan for yourself and then the one that life has planned for you. The one that life plans for you is the kind of future that you accept you can't know about until it happens."

"Sometimes those two kinds of futures can intertwine. When I promised a new life for myself and my brother, I didn't know what kind of life it would be except that I knew I wanted to be able to give Mokuba everything. The day I saw Gozaburo on the news was when I knew I could execute my plan by intertwining myself with Kaiba Corp."

"You hadn't always planned on running a gaming company?"

"Kaiba Corp. wasn't even a gaming company at that point, but I knew that I could make it exactly what I needed it to be when the time came," Seto said. "I just hope you can envision us in your future too." Kisara opened her mouth to answer but all that came out was, "Mr. Kaiba? Mr. Kaiba, are you okay?"

Seto's eyes shot open and that was when he noticed that everyone in the room was staring at him. He didn't know how long everyone had been staring nor did he know how long he had been daydreaming about Kisara. Seto was about to say something when someone else stepped in and spoke for him.

"Let's take a break. I'm sure Master Kaiba is very exhausted, as he always is, from keeping this company in check. Is everyone okay with regrouping in fifteen minutes?" It was Isono whom was stepping in and redirecting everyone's attention. No one objected to the proposal of a break and soon all of the executives exited the conference room, leaving Seto and Isono to be the ones who remained.

"Thanks for covering for me," Seto said, getting up from his seat to do a bit of stretching.

"Not a problem," Isono responded. "I had a feeling I would need to step in at some point. You've been out of it since the meeting began. Have you been feeling alright?"

"I feel fine. I think I'm just tired, that's all. I didn't get a lot of sleep last night." Seto walked over to the window and did some more stretches, facing away from Isono. He didn't want to have to explain what was going on. Seto was sure Isono wouldn't understand. Or perhaps he just didn't want Isono to understand.

"Master Kaiba, I don't wish to appear adversarial, but you never get enough sleep. However, that's never interfered with your ability to properly run a meeting." Seto sighed. As cold and convoluted as Seto made himself appear, working with Isono for so many years made him incredibly knowledgeable. Isono knew Seto like the sun knew the moon. Both celestial bodies kept their distances from one another and in a lot of ways considered opposites, yet they know—almost inherently—when one was to rise and the other fall. It was a fact that neither Seto nor Isono would ever admit. It was also a fact that would only make itself known in situations like these.

"Yes, I suppose you're right," Seto said, "There are other things on my mind today that have been keeping me from being able to focus."

"When you say 'other things,' do you mean Miss Safiya?"

"What makes you say that?"

"I would know if it had something to do with Master Mokuba. He has a tendency to call me whenever you and him are having… issues." Seto felt a tinge of annoyance and the urge to be appalled that Mokuba would ever communicate with anyone about their familial problems. As soon as the urge came, however, it just as quickly disappeared. Seto knew he couldn't be mad at his brother for feeling the desire to talk to Isono about their issues from time to time—Isono was the closest thing either of the Kaiba brothers had to a true friend.

"What does it matter what's on my mind? Are you suggesting I'm not fit to run today's meeting?" Seto asked, twisting around and eying Isono, almost inviting him to instigate a fight with him. Isono showed no reaction to Seto raising his voice. No part of him was scared of Seto, and he wasn't sure he ever would feel scared. Instead, he put his hands together and bowed to show his obedience.

"If that's how you feel, Master Kaiba, I can retrieve the department heads for you and we can begin the meeting again." Isono turned and walked out of the conference room. Seto shrugged and returned to his seat at the other end of the table. He laid back in his chair as his eyes wandered back onto the wall, finding the time once more. It was only midday but the meeting still had a couple more hours before it would end.

Seto paid no attention to the employees that walked back into the room nor the presentation as it continued where it left off. All he could think about was Kisara and the conversation they had last time they were together; about the two types of futures. He never did get a sense of how she felt about their relationship. Was their relationship one she saw continuing in the future? Did the future she planned and the one they would make together intertwine at all? These were all questions he sought to answer, and mulled them over and over again in his head until…

"…Nii-sama? Nii-sama, are you even listening to me?" Seto heard the words, but the noise didn't register in his mind. It took a good shaking of his shoulders to wake him up from his daze and remember where he was. The person that stood opposite to him was his brother, and the setting he appeared to be sitting in was his home office. Seto didn't remember driving home from Kaiba Corp., much less what Mokuba had just asked him.

"What?" was all Seto could think to say. Mokuba took a couple steps back and stared at him.

"I asked if you were listening to me. I was telling you about my day but it looked like you were somewhere else. Not to mention that you've been acting really weird ever since you got back from the office. Did something happen at the meeting?" It took Seto a couple moments to even recall what meeting Mokuba was referring to before he spoke.

"The meeting was fine. Nothing happened. The only thing that did happen was the fact that it happened." Mokuba walked over and shut the laptop in front of Seto before sitting on his desk.

"Well, can you tell me what's really going on or do I have to guess? There's really no point in pretending. I know when there's something wrong," Mokuba smirked. He was the only person besides Isono that really knew Seto. Unlike Isono, his desire to get Seto to talk wasn't held back by the boundaries of a work relationship. No, he was Seto's younger brother, and he took pleasure in being the one person Seto couldn't lie to.

"I better go," Seto replied, rising from his seat and walking out of the room. A surprised Mokuba jumped off of the desk and quickly followed.

"Wait, what? Where are you going?" Mokuba followed Seto down the steps over to the front door. Seto paused to slip on his shoes before opening the door. Mokuba placed his hand on Seto's as it was about to turn the knob. Seto turned to meet Mokuba's gaze. Seto saw that the smirk had disappeared. Instead, a look of fear locked eyes with him before the boy said, "You're starting to freak me out. Why won't you talk to me?"

Seto took his hands and reassured him that there was nothing wrong. Despite Mokuba knowing Seto extremely well, Seto would always be the oldest. It was his job to know when it was appropriate to tell his younger brother what was really going on. Sometimes being the youngest brother meant that there were certain things Seto needed to figure out on his own. He hoped Mokuba understood that when he told his brother he was going on a walk and that he'd be back in an hour. Mokuba said nothing in return, perhaps accepting there was nothing that could make Seto speak.

Wandering along the edge of the Kaiba estate, Seto found himself with too many thoughts to comprehend and all of them pertained to Kisara. As he walked along the pathway that led to the garden trying to make sense of his thoughts, he felt his arm lightly brush against some roses that lined the walkway. The pedals of the roses were soft against his skin, but the sensation disappeared when he took his next step, never lasting more than a few seconds. Seto felt Kisara treated him the same way—she was only close to him for a few moments until they took the next step in their relationship and then it was gone. The closer he got, the farther Kisara seemed to be from him.

Although Seto was not without his own reservations. Kisara hadn't said that she loved him since the night of Mahad's appearance at her dorm nor had the topic of love ever been talked about since. He knew that loving Kisara was risky business and that there was a chance she may never love him the way he loved her. But what choice did he have? He was far too involved now to be able to pull back and protect himself. The walls had been broken and his heart exposed. Was running really an option anymore?

There was a fear of losing Kisara that made Seto want to keep his distance. Over the course of his life, he had managed to lose his family, his home, and his childhood. How he could he be sure that Kisara wasn't just another thing waiting for him to lose? Seto sat down on a small bench overlooking the garden and saw that the sun was beginning its journey towards the horizon. The sky had begun to turn a whole range of colors and there were no clouds in the sky to distort the image.

Staring at the scenery, Seto realized that maybe there was no way of knowing what was to come in the future and that maybe that was okay. What kind of life would he be living if he couldn't be happy without being certain of that happiness? Maybe his love for Kisara should be the one thing in his life that he shouldn't fear. Maybe everything in his life had gone wrong only to lead him to the one thing that was right—Kisara. His love for her was real.

Perhaps that meant her love for him could be real too.

A typical Saturday night at Yokohama University usually lifted the spirits of any student on campus. Kisara noticed that this was not the case for most students as she passed them on her way back from the library. No person she passed seemed happy… nor well-rested. Although it was only November 22nd, finals were slowly creeping up and everyone felt the pressure, especially Kisara. She felt particularly stressed considering most of her classmates were talking about what classes they were going to take next semester, while she was more concerned with not knowing where she was going to live when school ended.

Upon returning to her dorm, Kisara slipped her phone out of her pocket to look at the time. It was 9pm, which meant that it was 2pm in Egypt. Today was Granny King's birthday so a call back home was in order. The only reason she hadn't called earlier was because she was afraid of what she would say if anyone were to ask her what her plans were for school. Kisara didn't want to worry her parents, much less her grandparents, about her financial issues. Considering they didn't have much ability to help out anyway, telling them about what was going on would only make them feel worse. Nevertheless, it was still Granny King's birthday and she had to call regardless.

Kisara dropped her backpack onto the floor before rolling onto her bed and calling home. Kisara waited as each ring passed, imagining that no one was home so perhaps she would be able to get out of talking to her family that day. Seconds after she considering hanging up before it went to voicemail, she heard her mother's voice on the other end of the phone.

"Hi sweetie!" Kisara's mother squealed.

"Hey Mom," Kisara said, smiling at the sound of her mother's chipper voice, "How are you?"

"I'm doing well. I know you're probably hoping to talk to Granny but unfortunately she just left to go on a walk."

"Oh, alright then. I guess I'll have to call back tomorrow or something. I actually have a lot of homework I have to do right now so I'll talk to you later…"

"Hold on, now. There is one person here who'd like to talk to you."

"Who? Dad?"

Her mother paused.

"Well, it's actually Mahad. He's been stopping by every once and a while to check up on us," Kisara's mother was rushing to finish her thoughts before being interrupted, "I know you probably don't want to talk to him, but he's been trying to contact you for a while now. Will you please just have one conversation with him since he's done so much for us?"

Kisara gaped. She didn't know what to say. Or rather, she did know what to say, but since her primary emotion was anger, she didn't want her mother to think it was directed towards her. The truth was talking to Mahad was the last thing she wanted to do, but because her mother insisted, she wasn't sure she could say no. Not to mention this was the first Kisara was hearing of Mahad's occasional act of kindness towards her family… it would look bad if she refused the request of a simple phone call.

"…Alright, put him on," Kisara grumbled after a long pause. She rose to her feet and started pacing back and forth as she heard the phone being shuffled between hands. Suddenly she felt completely sick to her stomach. The last time she and Mahad had spoken, it had ended with a fight. Not so much on her part, though if she hadn't been so shocked, she probably would've tried to sock him in the face herself. Still, how was she supposed to talk to someone who was helping her family who also happened to be the person that broke her heart? All she had to do was keep her cool…

"Hi." The minute Kisara heard Mahad's voice, 'cool' went right out the window.

"What are you doing at my house?"

"I needed a way to talk to you. I knew today was your grandmother's birthday and that you would call."

"So what you're telling me is that you've been stalking my house, for who knows how long, hoping to be there when I called?"

"You wouldn't talk to me otherwise. You've blocked my number and you won't answer any e-mails or messages I send you."

"Yeah, and most people would take a hint and get out of my life at that point."

"Well, I'm not most people." Kisara sighed. Was there no way of getting through to this guy? It had only been a minute and already she wanted to throw her phone against the wall.

"Just tell me what you want. I'm only doing this because my mother asked me to and, by the way, stop helping out my family. It's messed up that you would rope me in like that."

"I'm not roping you in. I care about you and your family. I don't see any harm in helping them out. It's not like they don't need the help either."

"You're only doing this so that you'll continue to be entangled in my life."

"I'm doing this because I love you."

"Don't say that," Kisara spat back.

"Why? Because you know it's true?"

"Because I don't love you anymore."

"Now you and I both know that isn't true."

"Yes, it is. You broke my heart, Mahad, and now I'm with someone else. Someone who treats me better than you ever did."

"Oh, please. Seto Kaiba is nothing more than a placeholder for me."

Kisara rolled her eyes. In the year and a half since they had broken up, it was clear Mahad hadn't changed a bit. Unfortunately for him, the case didn't remain the same for Kisara.

"It's good to know you're still an arrogant prick. Look, I don't want to continue having this conversation with you so it would be best if we just end it. Don't contact me again." Kisara lowered her phone to hang up.

"Wait, Kisara." She brought the phone back up to the side of her face.

"What?"

"Say it to me."

"Say what?"

"Say that you don't love me anymore. Say it to me right now."

"I don't have to say anything to you other than goodbye."

"Why can't you say it?"

"I don't need to. What's done is done. What we had doesn't exist anymore and what did exist shouldn't have in the first place. You weren't right for me."

"If you can't tell me you don't love me, can you at least tell me if you love him?"

"Excuse me?"

"Tell me you're in love with Seto and I promise never to bother you again. No phone calls, no texts, no e-mails… nothing. Just tell me the truth: are you in love with him?"

A pause.

"Kisara?"

Kisara hung up the phone and placed it in the drawer of her desk, where it would remain stowed away for the remainder of the night, along with the answers to Mahad's questions that she refused to answer. Finals were coming up and passing them was her only concern. Everything else was secondary.

A/N: Finally DONE! Ugh, this chapter was such a pain in my rear. Even now, I'm not sure certain scenes were written to their full potential but I just had to commit myself to finishing it. It's been two months since my last update and I know I had hoped to update sometime in May, but like I said, this chapter was difficult. The difficulty of that, on top of all the life happenings that have been going on, made me fall behind in my schedule. However, now I'm hoping to get back to my regular once a month posting as promised at the beginning of the year. Aside from that, I want to thank all of you who have reviewed, favorite'd, and followed this story in my time of absence! Every time I received an e-mail concerning one of those three things, it gave me a boost of confidence to continue writing this story. Sometimes it gets hard to stick with a story you've been working on for so long but you guys remind me that this is a story worth writing and that I must see it through to the end! So thank you guys for that and of course, a thank you to my awesome beta reader, Caroline, as well. She's a great writer and an equally great friend. Until next time, have a great day!