"And I may just take your breath away,

I don't mind if there's not much to say.

Sometimes the silence guides our minds.

So move to a place so far away."

Sweater Weather by The Neighbourhood

XXXVIII

Break-ups were weird. The idea behind 'breaking up' insinuated that one or both people that participated in the ended relationship were unhappy or even disliked one another. The idea that followed breaking up was usually the hope that neither person would ever have to see the other again—save for those awkward moments people could never really avoid if they continued to live in the same town. It was for this reason that Kisara felt awkward sitting in a car five inches away from Seto who was driving and not speaking a word to her.

Despite the call with Zigfried lasting only a minute or two, Seto had been able to remotely trace the phone number and track the location to a vacant warehouse on the other side of town. Shortly after discovering Zigfried and Mokuba's location, Seto handed Kisara cab money and she politely refused. An argument ensued between the two of them over the authority either had over the other as to why Kisara could or couldn't come.

Kisara wanted to come because Mokuba was her friend, Seto didn't want her to come because her presence was not needed. Both agreed to disagree when Kisara threatened to alert the authorities if Seto refused to let her tag along. That was the reason why they were driving in a car, alone and in silence, across Domino City. There were plenty of times Kisara felt the urge to speak to Seto but no words seemed to make sense or seem intelligible.

Thus, the two of them sat only inches apart from one another after having gone three months without any form of communication. Kisara passed the time mostly sneaking glances at Seto due to the fact that he looked a lot different from the last time she had seen him. His body seemed much more frail with his clothes hanging from his arms as he drove the car. He looked more pale, too. Kisara wasn't the tannest person either but compared to how Seto looked, she appeared as though she had been living on a beach for the past five years. It was in noticing this that involuntarily prompted her to speak.

"Are you okay?" Kisara asked. Seto didn't even look her way—his eyes were focused on the road.

"Excluding the fact that my brother's been kidnapped by a maniac, I'd say so."

"That's not what I meant."

Seto didn't respond. Within a couple moments, he turned the car into an empty parking lot and it was like the conversation had never even happened. "I'm going to ask you one last time: stay in the car," he stated after parking and turning off the engine.

"That wasn't a question," Kisara replied, unbuckling her seatbelt just as Seto did before exiting the car at the same time. Seto didn't turn to look at Kisara as he spoke; his eyes were only fixated on the warehouse in front of him.

"You're right; it wasn't. It was an attempt to see if you could listen to commands as well as you used to." Seto stood still for a moment, his eyes scanning the building to get a feel for what it might contain. Kisara walked over and stood beside him. She crossed her arms, mirroring Seto's stance.

"I don't take commands from you. I'm not your assistant anymore, remember?"

Seto ignored Kisara's comment entirely and began walking toward the building's entrance. Kisara followed shortly after him and soon the two were standing in front of the building together, with Seto loudly banging on the door. Kisara took to covering her ears until the door finally opened, revealing a burly man that Kisara recognized immediately as one of the men she had seen take Mokuba. The bodyguard loomed over them, his shadow cloaking both Kisara and Seto as he flexed. His arms looked like they were being strangled in his sleek, black get-up.

"Seto Kaiba," the guard said with a thick German accent, similar to Zigfried's, "Meister von Schroeder has been waiting for your arrival for quite some time now."

"I'm sorry to hear that, but it's not like I got a formal invitation," Seto snapped back. "Take me to him or step aside. I'm not interested in wasting time." As Seto pushed past him, the guard took hold of Kisara's arm. It was the disruption in Kisara's footsteps from behind that alerted Seto that something was wrong. Upon turning around and seeing Kisara being held against her will, Seto's hands went around the guard's throat and slammed his body against the wall in retaliation.

"I would advise you to let her go before you piss me off more than I already am." The grip on Kisara's arm remained firmly in-tact as the bodyguard stared Seto down. As weak as Seto was, Kisara was surprised he was able to overpower a man twice his size. Perhaps it wasn't the hold that was overpowering but rather the look that threatened death in Seto's eyes.

"Meister von Schroeder did not give you permission to bring a guest."

"I don't give a shit what Zigfried permits. You let her go or I break your neck and do it for you. What's it going to be?" The bodyguard's eyes narrowed, as if he was unsure about how honest Seto was being. Nevertheless, a couple moments later, he released his hold on Kisara which caused Seto to release his hold in return. The bodyguard rubbed his neck before speaking again.

"Please follow me. I'll bring you to Meister von Schroeder now." The bodyguard turned and began leading them through the warehouse and remained silent as Seto and Kisara followed. Kisara rubbed her arm before looking back up at Seto.

"Thanks for that," Kisara whispered, afraid to draw the bodyguard's attention back to her as they walked.

"I'm in no mood for your gratitude," Seto said, clearly without fear of whether the guard heard him or not.

"All you had to say was 'you're welcome.' You don't have to be such a jerk," Kisara shot back.

"I'm not trying to be a jerk. I just don't think protecting you requires gratitude."

Kisara didn't know how to respond to that so instead she let the conversation die. All that was left to be heard were their footsteps as they continued to follow the bodyguard through the empty warehouse. After a couple minutes of walking, all three of them came to a stop when they reached a door at the end of the hall. The bodyguard took hold of the doorknob.

"Meister von Schroeder will now meet with you," the bodyguard said before opening the door.

"Stand behind me," Seto commanded as he walked towards the door. Kisara obeyed and walked closely behind him. When Seto reached the doorway, Mokuba was the first being he saw. His forehead was wrapped up in bandages, and the mere indication that Mokuba had been hurt caused Seto to lunge forward at Zigfried, who was standing beside his captive. Kisara quickly took hold of Seto's arm and kept him from attacking when she saw Zigfried pull something silver and gleaming out of his pocket.

"Seto, stop. He has a gun," Kisara whispered, keeping Seto from taking another step forward. Her heart was beating so rapidly, she felt like her whole body was shaking from the reverberation. She knew that Mokuba was in danger before coming, but she didn't realize how much. Her eyes watched the gun in Zigfried's hand as he casually held it in the air like a stage prop.

"It's been a while since I've seen you, Seto. How have you been?" Zigfried asked, leaning on the chair Mokuba was currently restrained to.

"Mokuba, are you hurt? What happened?!" Seto asked. The majority of Mokuba's face looked red and swollen from underneath the bandages across his forehead. There were also a couple bruises on his face that could be seen which indicated that someone had used his brother's face as a punching bag. Noticing this only made Seto's blood boil even more.

"Nii-sama, I'm fine. I got a little scrapped up when Zigfried's goons kidnapped me but that's it. Calm down," Mokuba said, talking in a neutral tone that was unexpected. The boy didn't appear to be anxious about the situation at all. If there was any sort of fear that could be seen on his face, it wasn't fear of the gun but fear of what his brother might do without a second thought.

"Seto, I didn't bring you here so you could chat with your brother. I brought you here for a negotiation which you've already broken the terms of by bringing little miss whoever that is behind you," Zigfried said, waving the gun at Kisara, who was speechless with fear for Mokuba's life. She turned to Seto who didn't seem to be afraid at all—instead, he seemed livid.

"I didn't come here to negotiate! I came here to get my brother back, and I don't negotiate with people who've harmed him. You've already broken the terms of negotiation in my book so I wouldn't expect—" Seto stopped midsentence when Zigfried brought up the gun and placed the barrel against Mokuba's temple. Mokuba shrank in the chair and shut his eyes as he felt the metal pressed against his skull.

"Let's get one thing straight—I'm the one with the gun so I'm the one that makes the rules of conduct. Got it?" Seto shut his mouth reluctantly. Then Zigfried moved his gun away from Mokuba's head. Seto's eyes remained on Mokuba, even as Zigfried walked over to the desk directly behind Mokuba and sat down. Zigfried motioned for Seto to take a seat in the chair placed in front of him and Mokuba but Seto refused.

"I'd prefer to stand. In any other business negotiation, I would, but with my brother tied up in front of me, I can't. Now if you're ready to talk, get on with it." Kisara was surprised by Seto's tone of voice. It seemed so composed even in the face of what she could only imagine was his worst nightmare. He sounded no different than he would in any other business meeting.

Although it was Mokuba's face, more than anything else, that disturbed Kisara. The way he was sitting there like some sort of display in a museum, being the basis for a discussion he wasn't even participating in. Kisara's heart twisted when she tried to imagine how Mokuba must feel being used as a means to an end and nothing more. The more Kisara thought about it, the more she became upset and the more she couldn't remain silent.

"Please let me take Mokuba. You guys can have your negotiation or whatever this psychotic exchange is supposed to be, but let me get him out of here. That's the only reason I came," Kisara pleaded, stepping out from behind Seto's shadow and making her presence known. She took a step toward Mokuba's direction but stopped once Zigfried's gun was raised once more.

"Oh yes, I suppose I have been rude by not addressing the lady in the room. Forgive me, but who are you? Am I to believe you're some love interest of Seto's?"

"No, I'm not. I mean, I was. Or, well… it doesn't matter. I'm only here because Mokuba is my friend and I needed to make sure he's safe," Kisara replied, not wanting to go into much more detail or even bring up the fact that she and Zigfried had previously met. All she wanted to do was get Mokuba out of there, but her eyes remained focused on the gun in Zigfried's hand.

"Can you hurry up and tell me your demands?" Seto interjected before Zigfried could inquire further.

"I agree with Seto. So… is it cool if I just take Mokuba and go in the meantime?" Kisara asked, pointing at Mokuba with an awkward smile. Zigfried's gun remained pointed towards her.

"If I were you, I'd go back to standing behind Seto and shutting your mouth. Mokuba doesn't leave until we make a deal."

"Would you mind hurrying up and telling me what it is you want in my lifetime?" Seto pressed.

"As you wish, Seto," Zigfried stated. "Here are my demands: I want you to give me all of your Kaiba Corp. shares." A laugh immediately followed. A cold, empty laugh that echoed through-out the room. Both Kisara and Zigfried were caught off guard by this response.

"Any other demand would've been more creative than that." Seto laughed again, "I can't say I'm surprised, though. It makes sense that you would want to take my company considering you couldn't make yours more successful." Zigfried smirked.

"I have no desire to own your company. My plan is to sell your shares to the highest bidder and use that money to save my company." Then Seto became the one to smirk and Zigfried's seemed to disappear. Kisara didn't understand what Seto's motive was for mocking the man who was currently holding a gun in the direction of his brother's head. Zigfried was becoming agitated by Seto's lack of concern.

"Why even bother? Your company's reputation is ruined. You could burn my company to the ground and it would still hold more credibility than the rebirth of yours," Seto said. "Consider what I've done a favor. If I were you, I'd take this opportunity to find a new occupation and save yourself the embarrassment."

"Stop patronizing me!" Zigfried screamed, standing up in rage and slamming his fists down on the desk as he did. The gun went off when it collided with the desk and Mokuba's head suddenly went limp. For a couple moments, there was only silence.

Zigfried and Kisara's heads turned in shock but all Seto could see was red.

A/N: Happy post-Thanksgiving everybody! I had hoped to get this up by Thanksgiving but then life happened and things got busy. Nevertheless, I'm proud I was at least able to post this chapter in a somewhat timely manner. As far as this chapter goes… it's not in the best shape it could've possibly been in but I did try my best and I think that's what counts. It's hard writing a story for as long as I've been writing this one. And I'm getting so close to the end now, I can practically taste it! It's been an exciting journey writing this story but I'm definitely ready to see it come to an end. Don't worry! This chapter isn't the last chapter. Believe me, you'll know it's the last chapter when EVERYONE dies. Hahaha, just kidding! Anyway, thanks for the reviews and support, everyone! Always brings a smile to my face. See you in a month and happy holidays!