"And all the roads we have to walk are winding,

And all the lights that lead us there are blinding.

There are many things that I would like to say to you…

But I don't know how."

Wonderwall by Oasis

XXXVI

It was 7AM when Kisara finally awoke. It wasn't the first time she had woken up that night, but it was the first time that she spotted the sun peaking through the blinds. Noting the bright orange glow against the farthest wall of the bedroom made her decide it was time to get up. Upon further inspection of her surroundings, she found a single arm draped across her chest belonging to the man she had been sharing her life with for a total of three months. It took her only a few moments to slide out from under his arms without disturbing him. It was Kisara, after all, who was the light sleeper, not Mahad.

The first stop in Kisara's morning routine was the bathroom. After flipping on the light, she walked over to the sink and grabbed the pink toothbrush from within the mirror cabinet. What caught Kisara's eye when she closed the cabinet was her own reflection. Her once bright blue eyes had been dulled by the insomnia of the past couple months. There were dark purple circles under them that made her feel as though she looked older than she actually was. However, her face wasn't the only thing that had changed in the last three months.

Her once long, silky hair that ran down the side of her back was now several inches above her shoulder. Stringy, short pieces of hair stuck out everywhere—the result of a restless night—but on a good day, she could manage to comb it into something that resembled a pixie cut. While the color of her hair remained the exact same, the shape and length of the hair was different. At one point in time, her hair had represented the changes in her life. Now, however, it seemed that brushing her hair into submission every morning was the only sense of control she had left over the changes that controlled her life.

Once she was finished in the bathroom, she wandered over to the living room where she flipped on the TV and flipped open her phone. A new message from her parents was waiting for her when the phone turned on. It had become routine that once a day she heard from them after they had become aware of the situation; the situation being that she and Seto simply weren't working out around the same time Mahad started to her talking again. It was then that they realized they never should've broken up in the first place… and that was all there was to it. At least, that's all her parents knew.

Part of it was true, Kisara had to at least admit to herself. Seto and Kisara couldn't have continued carrying on the way they were, because a lot of their relationship was based on feelings that weren't equally shared. She couldn't help but feel bad though, knowing she had broken Seto's heart the way she did. She hadn't spoken to either of the Kaiba brothers since the break up and yet she thought of them at least once each day that passed. There had been plenty of times she thought about contacting them—to apologize for what happened in hopes there could be a way of making things better—but she went against that thought every time. She knew there wasn't anything she could do.

Kisara didn't think too long about the Kaiba brothers, though, before being distracted by the mess she faced upon entering the kitchen. The state of the kitchen was only a fraction of the filth that she had been living in since moving in with Mahad. As much as she tried to clean up after him, the apartment could never stay clean for long. She felt it wasn't her place to complain about the mess considering Mahad was the one paying all the bills. The two of them were living off money Mahad had saved up previously to moving to Japan. The hope was that the money would last just long enough until they both found jobs, but so far, neither of them had any luck.

Kisara hoped coffee would cure her of the absolute exhaustion she was feeling as she walked back into the living room and sat down in front of her computer. The job searching never stopped for Kisara, but she was finding it difficult to land one having only a high school degree and a semester of business school. Nevertheless, most people were always impressed with her year of experience working at Kaiba Corp., but that was about the only thing that gave her résumé precedence over everyone else's.

"…Breaking news in the gaming industry this morning. Schroeder Corp., a company that specializes producing gaming technology related to duel monsters, has reportedly been forced to stop production as a result of recent findings from the trial against Albert Bruder. Bruder was a former employee at Kaiba Corp., Schroeder Corp.'s top competitor, and was found guilty for fraud and company espionage after evidence was found in the months leading up to the Tokyo Game Show that took place last July." Kisara looked up from her computer to find a picture of Seto and Zigfried being displayed on television.

"Although the Bruder case went to trial nearly a month ago, related stories and evidence continue to be leaked to the public, despite very little information being provided prior to the trial. While little is known about the source of the leaked stories, they have resulted in a tarnished reputation and a drastic drop in stocks for Schroeder Corp. investors. However, the Schroeder Corp. investors aren't the only ones losing confidence, as it appears Kaiba Corp. stocks have been dropping as well due to other recent events.

"Seto Kaiba, CEO of Kaiba Corp., has not been seen in public for the past three months. There have also been reports that suggest Kaiba hasn't appeared at headquarters during this time as well, which has been leading to speculation of Kaiba's involvement with the stories being leaked. In his absence, fourteen-year-old brother and vice president of Kaiba Corp., Mokuba Kaiba, has been stepping in and making public appearances in his place. The vice president was seen at a press conference earlier today that commented on Schroeder Corp.'s recent action to halt production." Kisara turned up the volume as Mokuba appeared on the screen, dressed in a suit and tie with his hair pulled back in attempt to make him look older than he actually was. Kisara felt a piece of her heart drop to her stomach, not knowing whether it was out of joy or sadness, watching the boy stand in front of hundreds of reporters shouting questions at him.

"What are your thoughts on Schroeder Corp. halting production as a result of the recent court case?" one reporter asked.

"We feel it is the right move, as it is a sign of respect and ownership of the actions taken against Kaiba Corp. many months ago. We applaud Zigfried von Schroeder for this act of good sportsmanship."

"Vice President, is this halt in production a result of an agreement you and von Schroeder came to privately?" another reporter asked.

"No agreement was made. I only acknowledge that it was the right move on his part."

"Is the plan to try and bankrupt them so that competition no longer exists between the two companies?" a third reporter asked.

"Of course not. Competition is what makes the economy strong. Our only hope is that Schroeder Corp. will now focus their time on developing their own material, rather than trying to steal from ours." It was clear, even from the other side of the television screen, that the crowd was getting more and more rambunctious. Mokuba appeared calm, though even Kisara could see the way he was holding onto the podium as if it were a shield that could protect him from the hungry reporters below.

"Vice President, how long do you plan on stepping in for Seto Kaiba? Will your brother be returning to the public eye soon? What has he been doing all this time?" There was a surge in energy amongst the crowd. More and more questions began being shouted at him as Mokuba raised his hands in the air, asking them to simmer down.

"I'm in no place to comment on my brother's whereabouts nor his plans to resume control over Kaiba Corp. Those facts will present themselves in due time. I have no further comments to give." The last that was seen of Mokuba was him walking away from the podium just as the TV switched back to the announcer from before. The picture of Seto was still present on-screen.

"It seems Seto Kaiba plans to continue his hiatus from the public for a while longer, although the reasons behind this remain to be unknown—" Suddenly the screen clicked off. Kisara twisted her head around and saw Mahad standing adjacent to her with the remote in hand. When he went to place it down on a nearby coffee table, he was met with Kisara's glaring eyes.

"I was watching that," Kisara stated with a tone of seriousness.

"Yeah, I saw. Why were you watching that crap?"

"It's a news channel, and obviously I was watching it because I care about what's going on in the world."

"You don't even want to work in the gaming industry anymore, so why do you care?"

"Just because I don't have a job doesn't mean I have to sit around and be ignorant."

"Wow, someone's in a bad mood. Did you wake up on the wrong side of the bed this morning?"

"If the side of the bed mattered, maybe then I could actually get some sleep," Kisara snapped back. Mahad was confused when he saw Kisara get up and begin gathering some of her things, throwing them into a backpack.

"Is this really about me turning off the TV or is there something else going on?" Mahad asked, eying Kisara as she closed her laptop shut and shoved it in the backpack along with the power cable for it.

"There's nothing going on; I'm just tired," Kisara said, "I'm going to the library. I can't concentrate in this place." When she was done packing, she made for the door. Before she grabbed the knob, she felt a pair of arms wrap around her waist from behind.

"Come on, baby. You don't have to leave. I didn't know turning off the TV would upset you this much… I'm sorry." Mahad twisted her around and tried to pull her in for a kiss. Kisara shifted her head at the last minute and dodged Mahad's oncoming face. "Don't be like that. Kiss me." Mahad was about to try for a second time, but Kisara managed to slip out from his arms and open the door.

"I gotta go. I'll be back later." Kisara didn't look back at the disgruntled Mahad standing in the doorway as she shut the door. She just didn't care that he was angry. In that moment, all she wanted to do was be free of the walls within that apartment.

Mokuba didn't want to go into Seto's office when he finally escaped the mob of reporters and returned home because he knew exactly what he'd find. Every day for the past three months had been the same; Seto locked in his room, not doing much sleeping or eating in between working. What he was working on? Mokuba only knew bits and pieces. All the boy knew was that it was his job to step in for Seto until he was over whatever kind of breakdown he was in the middle of.

As much as it pained Mokuba to see Seto this way, he forced himself into his older brother's home office, if only to check to make sure Seto was still alive. What he found was a very familiar scene; Seto passed out. Mokuba was thankful that he was at least on the couch this time instead of at his computer—the television was turned on one of the news channels, but the sound was muted. Mokuba walked over and placed a blanket over the sleeping CEO. Unfortunately, the sensation of the blanket startled Seto enough to awaken him. It hurt Mokuba to see the dulled, blue eyes staring back up at him.

It took Seto a couple moments to fully wake up before he responded with, "Mokuba, it's you."

Mokuba sighed. "I can't keep finding you like this."

Seto chose not to say anything, instead he motioned for Mokuba to give him a hand. Mokuba took hold of Seto's hand and helped him sit up. Seto's hands were frail and Mokuba could feel how many pounds had dropped off just by how light he was to pull up.

"I wanted to let you know that the story broke today."

Seto looked up.

"It did? They finally ran it?"

Mokuba dropped a newspaper into Seto's lap.

"Came out this morning. There were TV cameras at the press conference as well, so I'm guessing it probably made cable news too." Seto turned back to the muted television but not without rubbing his eyes first and smacking his face. The images on the very large screen in front of him were hard to make out and Seto knew it was because his body still needed a couple moments to wake up and function again.

"Good, good," Seto mumbled under his breath to himself. Mokuba caught his attention once more when he heard the television being clicked off.

"I'm hoping this means you'll find another way of dealing with your break-up. What you're doing has to stop."

"I won't stop until Schroeder Corp. has no reputation left. Now turn the TV back on." Mokuba crossed his arms and looked Seto right in the eye.

"No." Mokuba's answer stunned Seto for a brief moment.

"Excuse me?"

"I can't do this anymore. I refuse to sit here and watch you destroy yourself. You need to go back to Kaiba Corp. and resume control as CEO. The press keeps asking about you and some of the employees are assuming you're dead."

"Just tell them I'm not dead. It's as simple as that. And it's not like I care what the press thinks either," Seto said. "Besides, it's not time for me to go back yet. I still have more work I need to do."

"I don't think you understand; there's nothing left of Schroeder Corp. to destroy! They halted production, they're going bankrupt, what more is there left to take from them?" Mokuba asked, his voice beginning to rise. "I've tried to be supportive and sympathetic, but eventually you have to accept that it's over with Zigfried… and Kisara." The mentioning of Kisara's name seemed to send shockwaves through-out Seto's body.

"I thought I told you never to speak her name again." Seto walked right up to Mokuba, only a few inches between the two. Seto hovered over the small boy, establishing his dominance in the situation and his eyes glaring down like laser beams. Mokuba didn't flinch or recoil when Seto bent down, meeting his younger brother's eye level. "Apologize to me."

Mokuba considered responding to Seto's demand in a number of ways, but ended up with only one response.

"There's nothing more to say to you," Mokuba concluded, clenching his fists by his sides so tightly that they began to shake. He knew there was nothing that could be said to Seto to make him understand, but knowing this didn't change the hurt he felt from the situation. Instead, he made the decision to walk away.

Before exiting the room completely, Mokuba turned around one last time and said, "I know you're upset, Nii-sama… I am too. But I can't sit here and watch while you self-destruct. I just can't do that. All we have is each other and the only direction we have is forward." Mokuba didn't wait for a response. He needed to get away as quickly as possible. He didn't know where he was going when he walked out of the Kaiba Mansion.

Mokuba continued to follow his feet until he was nowhere near his home but rather the heart of Domino City. Upon recognizing his surroundings, Mokuba's pace slowed down a bit. He could feel the urge to cry coming up but tears refused to come out. His body was drenched in sweat and his feet hurt from having worn his dress shoes from the press conference that morning which didn't suit for walking long distances. Mokuba thought about sitting down and taking a rest at a nearby bus stop, but the moment he looked across the street, his eyes spotted Kisara standing opposite to him on the other side.

Mokuba almost didn't recognize her with her short hair, instead, the way she was looking at him helped identify who she was. For a few moments, the two individuals just stared at each other out of pure disbelief. Images of Seto's state flashed in Mokuba's mind after a while and it was around then that he decided to turn down the nearest alleyway behind him to run away from the strange situation he was in. Between his feelings about Seto and his feelings about seeing Kisara again after what happened, Mokuba wasn't sure he could sort out everything that was going on inside his head.

Within seconds of deciding to leave, something told Mokuba to turn back and confront Kisara. Right as he twisted around, however, a pair of hands took hold of his arms. Mokuba looked up at two burly men standing in front of him—one restraining him, and the other sending a fist into his face. The men grabbed Mokuba before he fell to the ground, and his vision was blurry as he was dragged out of the alleyway to a black car parked on the street. Before he lost consciousness completely, he saw Kisara standing in the same place, only now with her hands covering her mouth… motionless.

Then the door slammed closed and everything went black.

A/N: Can anyone say EARLY UPDATE?! I know I can! Okay, okay, so it's only early by ten days but I still think it's exciting. I know you guys are probably excited! I left you guys on a bit of a cliffhanger, though I can't say this one is any less suspenseful. :P Either way, I thank you for your continued support and readership! August has already been such a crazy month and it shall only get crazier as the month progresses. I'm currently on a beach vacation but I was SO dedicated to bringing you this chapter, that I banged out an hour and a half of editing in my bikini. Hahaha, anyway, thanks for the reviews, everyone! I enjoyed them all. And, of course, a thank you to my lovely beta reader for her continued love, support, and fantastic writing background that helps sculpted these chapters into magic. When will the next chapter be up? Hopefully sooner than you think but at the latest, it will be in a month's time. Have a great rest of your day, month, and summer vacation!