"And you can't fight the tears that ain't coming,

Or the moment of truth in your lies.

When everything feels like the movies,

Yeah, you bleed just to know you're alive."

Iris by Goo Goo Dolls

XXXIX

The floor felt hard against her shoulder and for a moment, she was paralyzed by pain. Kisara didn't remember falling to the ground when Zigfried's gun went off and yet, there she was, contemplating whether the fall had dislocated her shoulder. She rolled onto her side, coming to enough to become enveloped by Zigfried's incoherent shouts. Proximity to the gunshot had set off a constant ringing in her ears muffling all noises in the room. Her eyes glanced over at where Seto stood, bent over Zigfried's body, showering him with fists primarily to the face. She called for him to stop but nothing stopped. Seto continued with his onslaught—his face remained blank and his fists became bloodied.

Kisara turned away, unable to watch Seto anymore. Her eyes then fell on Mokuba, his head lying limp against his chest with blood trickling down his once yellow vest. Kisara's tears burned her face as she stumbled over to Mokuba's body and fell to her knees, calling out to him. The ringing in her ears drowned out the sound of her own voice and still, Mokuba was motionless in front of her. Kisara's hands shook as they reached out to touch Mokuba's face but retracted before they made contact. The tears began to flow more steadily as she cupped her face in her hands and wept.

Kisara couldn't help but feel this was all her fault. The same memory kept replaying over and over again in her mind; she saw Mokuba standing across the street from her hours earlier. More specifically, she kept seeing the expression on his face when he saw her: the way his mouth and eyes twisted at first with surprise to see her, then confusion—as if unsure it was her he was looking at—and finally, there was anger. That look—that rage—told her everything that had happened in the last three months had been all her fault. Seto locking himself away from the public eye, Mokuba stepping in to take Seto's place during his disappearance… a part of Kisara had always known these pieces of the puzzle could be traced back to the way she had broken Seto's heart and now those pieces instigated Mokuba's death.

"Kisara!… Can you hear me?!… KISARA!" Kisara's eyes snapped open when she realized someone was saying—no, yelling—her name. Kisara lifted her head and saw Mokuba looking back at her, blood streaming down from the space between where his neck and shoulder connected. It relieved her to see that the bullet avoided both his neck and his heart, though the wound was bleeding at a frightening speed. The outpour of blood caused Kisara to fall backwards with shock.

"Mo-Mokuba? You're… alive? But… I… you…" Kisara didn't know what to say. Only moments earlier she had assumed him dead. To see him staring back at her now caused her to get her words confused. Mokuba didn't appear to share Kisara's reaction. The boy did look panicked, but not as a result of his wound. His eyes overlooked his discolored clothes and instead focused on Seto, still funneling his aggression through his fists in the background. His body leaned forward, pulling against the ropes that restricted him.

"Kisara, you have to hurry and untie me. I need to get to Seto before he kills Zigfried," Mokuba's voice was pained but absolutely serious. He was right. She didn't dare turn to see what Seto was doing, she could still hear the cracking of knuckles and bones from behind her. She got herself together enough to undo the ropes around Mokuba's wrists and ankles.

Mokuba fell back when he attempted to get up from the chair when he was released—the shot of pain from his wound immobilized his left arm. Kisara got up and lifted Mokuba to his feet by taking hold of his right hand. Mokuba fought against the urge to collapse with each step he took towards Seto, even with Kisara's assistance, as they made their way towards Seto and the bloody mess that was Zigfried.

"Seto, Mokuba's alive! You don't have to do this! Stop!" Kisara yelled, picking up the pace toward Seto. Seto's body continued throwing fists left and right like clockwork—his face devoid of any emotion. His eyes appeared as though they were staring into another universe and not at Zigfried's broken body beneath him. She couldn't tell if Zigfried was conscious or unconscious due to his eyes being buried in bruises. His skin was a mixture of black, blue, and red. There was so much red—blood streaming down primarily from Zigfried's mouth where a few teeth had been knocked out. The sight of such gore caused Kisara to pause before looking down at Mokuba and saying, "Stay here. I need to pull Seto off of Zigfried or else he's going to die."

"No, you can't," Mokuba commanded. "I have to do this." He pushed himself away and out of Kisara's arms as he moved towards Seto. He tried not to think about the throbbing pain in his body and not look at the blood pooling out of Zigfried; all he needed to do was to reach Seto and let him know it was okay. He was okay. Everything was going to be okay.

When Mokuba was finally standing only inches away from Seto, he hesitated out of fear that it was too late to stop what had been done. Regardless of the fear, he closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around Seto's waist—hugging him as tightly as possible, no matter the pain in his arm. Seto's fists instantly stopped upon Mokuba's touch, as if a switch had been clicked in his mind. Seto's bloodied hands dropped to his sides as he turned around, the blankness on his face slipping away when he saw Mokuba standing behind him.

"Nii-sama… I'm here," Mokuba said, pain and exhaustion weighing on his voice. Seto fell to his knees, looking at the boy staring back at him. Mokuba watched the life return to Seto's eyes as tears began streaming down his face. Mokuba's mouth fell open but no sound could be heard… he had never seen his older brother cry and the sight made him speechless.

Seto slowly pulled Mokuba into his arms and held him with no intention of ever letting go. Mokuba was okay… he was alive. Seto closed his eyes as part of his face became buried in Mokuba's messy, black hair. For the first time ever, he let himself feel every emotion that coursed through his interior. Mokuba was alive and in his arms… he needed to know that relief. He needed to know he was home… even as Seto began to slip into darkness.

When the world was no longer red, it became black.

Heaviness is what Seto felt but he didn't know why. He felt as if he were sinking into the surface beneath him, becoming one with the soft fabric that encompassed him. He tried to move his limbs but felt as though they were too heavy to lift. It was this unfamiliar feeling that caused Seto to finally open his eyes. At first, his vision was blinded by brightness. His eyes shut immediately, returning to the darkness that had once left him unnerved but now seemed much more comforting.

"Nii-sama… are you awake?" Seto recognized that small, soft-spoken voice. He opened his eyes again, better prepared for the brightness of the room, and focused on finding the figure in the room that spoke to him. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Mokuba standing by his bedside, although Seto became wrought with worry when he saw the boy's arm held up by a sling.

"Mokuba, are you alright?" Seto lifted his arm out to Mokuba but then felt the tug of an IV in his arm. When he looked down at the IV, Seto also discovered that his hands were wrapped in bandages as well. As if seeing Mokuba in the state that he was in wasn't enough, not knowing why he was hooked up to an IV or what was wrong with his hands freaked Seto out even more. The look of unsettlement on Seto's face caused Mokuba to put his right hand on Seto's arm in reassurance.

"I'm fine and you will be too. My collarbone broke but a couple weeks in a sling will fix me right up," Mokuba said with a tired smile, dropping his free arm to his side. "You passed out while you were hugging me so the doctors admitted you after we got to the hospital. The doctors say that you passed out because of a combination of shock, exhaustion, dehydration, and malnourishment. The IV is to hydrate you. The bandages are for your broken knuckles." It took a second for Seto to remember why his hands were in such bad shape. Before he could ask, Mokuba answered, "Zigfried is in pretty rough shape but he isn't dead." Seto shook his head in shame.

"I wish that wasn't the case. Zigfried deserves everything that I did to him. I thought he killed you!" The beeping of the heart rate monitor started to rapidly speed up as Seto pushed himself forward, motioning to get out of bed. Mokuba quickly put his hand on Seto's chest and stopped him from getting up. Seto didn't have the strength to resist his restraint.

"Calm down, Nii-sama. It's over, alright? He's in the ICU right now and when he fully recovers, he'll be going to jail for a long time. Recovering from what you did to him will be punishment enough, let alone the time he'll serve in jail." Seto lay back down as per Mokuba's request and his heart rate started to normalize as a result. Seto still had an agitated look on his face but he did, for the most part, feel calmer than before.

"I guess you're right…" Seto sighed. "Speaking of you being right, I owe you an apology. That fight we had and everything that's happened in the last three months is all my fault. I was so wrapped up in my own stuff that I couldn't see how it was affecting you. None of this would've happened if I had just listened to you." Mokuba patted Seto's shoulder with his free hand and grinned.

"As nice as it is to hear you admit that I was right… the fact of the matter is that you were going through some tough times with that whole Kisara thing. Tough times I've never experienced before so I'm not in a position judge," Mokuba said before asking, "While we're on the subject of Kisara, what's up with you two showing up to save me together? Has something changed between you guys?" Mokuba's grin grew even wider and Seto became embarrassed.

"What? Of course not! She just, I don't know, showed up! She said she saw what happened to you and then demanded to come with me to save you. There was nothing I could say to make Kisara do anything else."

"Make me do what else?" Seto and Mokuba's conversation was interrupted when they turned around and saw Kisara standing in the room. Neither of them had even heard the door open or close when she came in. Seto crossed his arms and stared down at his feet, avoiding Kisara's gaze and huffing with frustration at himself for having been caught talking about her.

"To not come and save me," Mokuba said flat out. "You really did that just for me?"

"Of course, Mokuba. You're my friend," Kisara said coolly, walking over to Seto's side and placing some items on his bedside table. Most of the items were candy bars and Mokuba took more interest in them than Seto did. "Sorry. I wanted to get you real food, but there's a mob of reporters waiting outside of the hospital. I was worried if I left, I wouldn't be able to get back in so I shopped around different vending machines instead."

"I don't mind! These are great," Mokuba said while shamelessly unwrapping a candy bar and taking a bite.

"I didn't realize you were still here," Seto said in a quiet voice, almost sounding as if he were talking to himself rather than Kisara. He turned his head away from her, feeling uncomfortable with her being in the same room. Without Mokuba's life in danger, Seto no longer knew what to say to Kisara.

"I wasn't going to leave until I knew you were okay. To be honest, I flipped out when you became unconscious." Mokuba walked up beside Kisara and nodded his head.

"It's true. She was the one that called for an ambulance. The police showed up too, but since you and Zigfried were passed out, they decided to take us all to the hospital first and question everyone later," Mokuba added. Seto's head remained turned away. He was still processing everything that had happened and the possible implications as to why Kisara was still here. It was, after all, his issues with her that had caused this landslide of an ordeal.

"When the doctors first brought you in, I was the only one around because Mokuba was taken by other medics to be checked out," Kisara said, nervously crossing her arms. "They asked me if I was your girlfriend and I said we were friends."

Seto turned his head and for the first time since she entered the room and made eye contact with her.

"Are we friends?" Seto asked.

"I don't know."

Mokuba could tell he needed to leave by the way Seto and Kisara were looking at each other. Neither of them were speaking, but their eyes were saying otherwise, longing for the other to say the words that needed to be said to make up for three months of silence. "I'll leave you guys alone so you can talk," Mokuba proclaimed before walking towards the door.

As he was about to open the door, the knob twisted itself and opened.

"Mahad?" Mokuba heard Kisara say as he moved away from the door. Mokuba recognized the name, though he had never encountered Mahad before. Nonetheless, Mokuba knew enough to know that having him and Seto in the same room was going to be a problem. He turned to see what Seto's reaction was but Seto's face, as per usual, was emotion-less.

"Where the hell have you been?" Kisara left Seto's side to keep Mahad from coming any closer. Mokuba was frozen in place, standing only a couple feet away from Mahad and Kisara, feeling both ashamed and intrigued by the argument between the two.

"Mahad, calm down. We're in a hospital," Kisara said, holding up her hands defensively.

"No, I won't calm down. It's ridiculous that you've been gone all day, ignoring all of my calls, and it takes me turning on the news to find out you're in a hospital involved with some sort of kidnapping case!" Mahad yelled, his voice amplified by the small space between him and Kisara.

"I was too busy with other things to pick up your calls, not to mention that we were in a fight so it's not like I wanted to talk to you," Kisara stated, maintaining a calm demeanor.

"Busy with other things? You mean him?" Mahad asked before pointing at Seto. "You can't be serious right now."

Kisara turned away in frustration. "I don't need to explain myself to you so why don't you leave? We'll talk about this later at home." She attempted to walk back to Seto's side but instead, Mahad seized her arm.

"No, we're leaving right now," Mahad commanded, jerking Kisara back towards him. Kisara's calmness disappeared as she tried to pry her arm out of Mahad's grasp. Mahad's grip became tighter the more she resisted.

"You don't own me. I'll leave when I want to leave," Kisara spat.

"Hey! Let her go!" Mokuba shouted, feeling it was time to step in as he ran over to them. Mahad twisted around as Mokuba approached. He held up his free hand and ushered Mokuba to stop.

"Stay out of this, kid. You have no say in the matter."

"Mahad, quit it! You're hurting me!" Kisara said, wrestling to get herself away from Mahad while Mahad wrestled to drag her towards the door. Kisara's feet planted themselves firmly on the floor but Mahad was able to inch her to the doorway regardless of her attempts.

"I said leave her alone!" Mokuba shouted, sending his uninjured arm flying into Mahad's side as hard as he could. Mahad lost his balance for a moment from the impact, though the blow wasn't hard enough to hurt, it was enough to surprise him and agitate him. Mahad immediately took hold of Mokuba's wrist with his free hand and pulled him over.

"Listen, you little twerp—"

A nurse walked into the room.

Upon seeing the nurse, Mahad instantly let Mokuba and Kisara go.

"What's going on here?" Everyone turned from looking at the nurse back to Seto, who was holding the help button in his hand.

"I need this man thrown out. He was uninvited and is causing a disturbance," Seto declared, pointing in Mahad's direction. The nurse turned to Mahad.

"I'm not leaving without Kisara," Mahad asserted.

"Sir, you need to leave right now or I'm calling security." Mahad took a moment to glare at Seto and then at Kisara. He didn't say anything before he left the room. It was when he was gone that Kisara turned back to Seto, looking more distraught than she did before.

"I'm sorry Seto but… I should probably go. I hope one day we can talk everything out but I just can't right now." Mokuba titled his head down as Kisara walked past him towards the door. He didn't want Kisara to leave—neither of the brothers did—but it was the look of sheer worry on her face that prompted Mokuba to remain quiet. She wanted to leave and he couldn't stop her from doing so.

"Thank you for helping me save my brother," Seto said before Kisara opened the door. She froze, holding the doorknob in her hand.

"I would do it again in a heartbeat," Kisara said without looking back at Seto. There was a pause before she spoke again, "We made a great team."

"We still do."

Kisara felt her heart leap upon hearing Seto's response. It was the part of her heart that couldn't help but wonder what was and what could've been and everything in between. The rest of her heart, however, was responsible for her not turning around. The rest of her heart was responsible for her not responding. The rest of her heart was the reason she walked out of the door and left Seto in the hospital room, never to look back again.

A/N: Merry almost Christmas, everyone! Originally planned on posting this tomorrow but I have a feeling I'm probably going to be too busy. Also, being sick doesn't help which is why some of this chapter may not be in the best shape it could possibly be in. I apologize for that, not only for the fact that the chapter isn't the best that it can be, but also because I feel like I say that a lot. My hope is that someday when this story is over and I can get some rest, I can go back and do some hardcore editing with all the chapters. Not sure when, but someday. Speaking of someday and writing, tomorrow marks eleven years I've been on ! Wee! Crazy to think how long that is, how far I've come as a writer, and how far there is still left to go. Of course, my never ending support from you guys keeps me hopeful that each day and each chapter brings me closer and closer to the writer I aspire to be. I can't thank you enough for all of the reviews and positive feedback! The joy it brings me now is the same as it has always brought me over the course of the past eleven years so I'm thankful for that.

Before I sign off completely, I wanted to bring your guys' attention to a fantastic fanfiction I've been reading. I'm not usually one to promote, but I would strongly recommend people check out the Fanfiction user "Ugh That Guy." The user is actually a friend of mine and my beta reader! You can find her story in my "Favorite Stories" section. She's writing a humor story about Batman and it's just too good and too funny to not recommend to you guys. Not to mention that she updates far quicker than I do! Give a look through, leave a review—whatever you feel fits because she's an incredible writer. Thanks and as always, have a great day and see you in a month!