Sorry for the short chapter! I'm having a bad case of writer's block.
I've rewritten this chapter at least twice now. I didn't know what else to add, so I just left it short so I wouldn't have to keep you all waiting.
Thanks for being patient and sticking with me this long!
Let me know what you all think and what else you want more of in my story!
But most importantly: Enjoy!
(I tried going through and fixing all my grammar errors and what not. Please let me know if I missed any!)
"Seto..." I stared to him as he walked up to me.
"Hm?" He rose a brow as he stood tall before. "What's wrong?"
The tears hadn't started falling. They were merely building. I thought that the cold would be a good excuse for why my cheeks were flushed, but he could read me so easily. He had a knack for that. I just shook my head and smiled up at him.
"Nothing is wrong." I closed my eyes as I smiled, trying to push back the tears again.
And suddenly I felt warmth over my mouth. I opened my eyes to discover Seto wrapping his scarf around me. It was very long, causing it to needed wrapped around more than my scarf had. I closed my eyes as I thought back. My scarf... I had forgotten that it had flown off when I ran away from Joey, Mai, and Mokuba. Mokuba... would he be okay confronting them alone?
"You're a terrible liar..." Seto said, as I opened my eyes again looking up at him. "Just so you know."
"What makes you think I'm lying?" I rubbed the scarf with my face to feel the fabric.
"Because I saw you crying... What did he do?" Seto sounded rather serious.
My eyes widened. How long had Seto been standing there? He saw me crying... But for how long? And... who is he talking about? How could he possibly know what's going on?
"W—who?" I stuttered.
"Mokuba..." He looked in the direction that Mokuba had walked off in. "You ran after him and started crying... What did he do?"
He... Saw all of that? Does that mean... He heard me say aloud that I wanted to see him? And... I'm just now realizing that I did say that aloud... Why are you the one I'm calling out for when I'm scared and full of sorrow...
"He didn't do anything..." I stared down to the ground, looking at my shoes.
"Then why were you crying...?" I suddenly felt his gentle grip on my chin, as he pulled my head back up to look at him. "If he didn't make you cry... then why did he walk away while you were in tears?"
I felt myself blushing. I could try to blame it on the cold again, but I couldn't make the excuse. I stared up at Seto, looking him in the eyes. Why was he trying so hard? Why did he care so much about someone like me?
"I..." I couldn't bring myself to say it.
"Kisara!" I suddenly heard another voice.
This was becoming an even more difficult day, as I turned to see Joey. If only the events had been good ones... Seto let his hands fall to his side before slamming them into his jacket pockets. Joey stood, trying to catch his breath. Had he run all the way here? I swallowed away the nervousness that built the moment he caught my attention.
"What do you want Wheeler?" Seto questioned, looking now at the blonde.
"Stay out of this Kaiba! I'm in no mood to deal with you!" Joey was furious.
I felt more scared than anything now. He walked up to me, now closer to me than even Seto was. As fear settled in my stomach, I rose my hand to my chest over my heart and took a step back. But as I did, he just came closer.
"Tell me the truth Kisara!" He was nearly shouting, turning the heads of the strangers passing us by.
"Back off..." Seto said, holding his hand out in front of me as if to shield me.
"I need to know Kisara!" He shouted passed Seto to me. "Please tell me that what Mokuba said is a lie!"
Seto looked back at me, without saying a word. I looked back and forth between the two. The anger within Joey was becoming worse by the second. He clenched a fist before pushing Seto slightly to the side and walking up to me again. He placed his hands on my shoulders and jerked me forward, his face now inches away from mine.
"Kisara! Tell me what happened!" He yelled at me again.
In a panic, I pushed Joey off of me. In doing so, I took another step back, but tripped over myself and fell back. Seto looked pissed as this happened, and grabbed Joey by the collar of his shirt, swinging him around and away from me. I stared at the two, as Seto had pulled Joey up so that his feet were now off the ground. His grip getting tighter.
"Don't you EVER touch her like that again!" Seto threw him back.
Joey landed on his feet and ignored Seto's threat. "Kisara!"
"It's true!" I finally shouted. "Every word of it is true!"
The two stared down at me as I shut my eyes tightly and held my hands over my ears, grabbing onto my head to try to calm myself down. I began breathing deeply so I wouldn't hyperventilate. I tried to collect my thoughts before I spoke again.
But everything just came pouring out through rage, panic, and desperation, "I saw her with Koji! My Koji! In my bed! I saw them fucking right there!"
Joey's anger changed in him, immediately switching over to shock. "Mai..."
"Your lying, cheating, whore of a girlfriend slept with my fiance!" I stood up, tearing the engagement ring off of my finger. "And it's not the first time Kojiro's done this! So you may have more luck with Mai then I could ever hope with that bastard! So if you want to fix things, do it now!"
I threw my ring at him, hitting him in the forehead. For a second, he flinched, but then stared down to the ring.
"Keep it. I'm done. You can try all you want to keep her in your life, and pray that things will get better, but chances are she'll just do it again and again. She and Kojiro have that in common, where you and I will always be used and thrown aside like nothing more than rag dolls. It's all we are good for!"
And I turned, walking away again. But for a moment I stopped. This whole time, I hadn't even looked at Seto. Yet, here I stood, holding onto his scarf that was keeping my neck and face warm. I felt the tears that had spilled from my eyes as I was yelling. I unwrapped the scarf and turned back around, walking it back over to Seto. As he had done for me, I wrapped the scarf back around his neck. At least... as best I could since he towered over me.
"I'm sorry Kisara..." Joey said to me, tears now escaping his eyes as well.
He fell down onto his knees, trembling just as I had done. How could I have exploded like that? I knew exactly what he was going through, and all I could do was drag him down. Just because I was hurting gave me no reason to take it out on him. He wasn't the cheater. He was the victim... Just like me.
I walked over to Joey, and knelt to his level, whispering the words that I desperately had to say. "I'm sorry..."
Small sobs escaped him, as he threw himself forward, hugging tightly my frail body. "I'm sorry she hurt you..."
I didn't hug him back. I didn't know him well enough to do something like that. I just let him hold me as we both cried. My teeth ground each other as I felt angry for how I had been. All I could think to say was that I'm sorry. But... Sorry is never enough.
"I'm sorry Kisara..." Joey said again, before finally letting me go and standing back up. I followed in suit and stood as well. "I'm... going to talk to her..."
"I think that would be best..." I stared to the ground, where the ring had landed by our feet.
And Joey walked away, leaving me with the awkward silence as Seto could only stand and watch. He shouldn't have been there for that. He didn't need to see that... He didn't have to know that I was in pain... He should have only seen me for the shy and naïve, always smiling Kisara that I had always tried to be.
But... the mask is off now. There's no where left for me to hide. I knelt and picked up the ring before standing back up. I slid the ring back on my finger and turned back around to face Seto, knowing I could no longer hide nor stop the tears.
"I'm sorry..." Was all I could manage to say.
I wanted to walk away, but I felt like I he had some how trapped in place. I'm sure that he wouldn't want me to come into work now... But do I really want to go home where there's a chance that Kojiro is skipping work to sleep around with the maids at the mansion? Do I want to go back to a house that's not a home for me? The was the entire reason that I was out today anyway...
Had I known that this would happen, I wouldn't have met up with Mokuba at all.
"So Mokuba knew..." Seto looked away from, staring out into the distance. "Why didn't you tell me...?"
"It's not like I wanted anyone to know..." I wiped away some of my tears. "Mokuba found me sobbing when I couldn't hold in the pain anymore..."
"I could have..." Seto stopped himself and turned away from me. "Come on..."
I couldn't tell if he was talking to me, or to himself. "Seto...?"
"Kisara." He said firmly and looked back at me over his shoulder. "I will always be there when you need me. All you have to do is tell me."
I didn't know what to say. I know that I should have confided in him... But I only pushed him away. This back and forth emotion that I was having kept me away from him. This emotion. This feeling that was always building in my chest... I pushed him away because I knew exactly what it was, but I was letting the fact of me being engaged hold me back. I couldn't admit it, because I have Kojiro.
"I..." What was I doing? "I was afraid..."
He didn't respond to me. He just stared back at me. Only for a minute though. He then looked forward, his back still turned to me. I could see the cold air flow as he exhaled a long sigh. I wonder if he was at a loss of words just as much as I was.
"I'm... sorry..." I said again. It's like that was all I knew how to say at this point.
Seto turned back to me, and walked up to me. He walked by my side and turned the direction that I was facing. With his hands in his pockets, he pushed his elbow onto my arm. I stared up at him, slightly confused about what he was getting at. He looked down to me and tapped my arm with his elbow two more times. As I still didn't understand, he sighed, but smiled.
"Grab your bag. I'm driving you to work..." He averted his eyes.
"My bag?" I had completely forgotten it on the bench.
Flustered, I ran over to the bench where I had sat before. I grabbed the bag and returned to Seto's side as I threw the bag strap over my shoulder. I sighed, wiping away any tears that had been left on my face. They may have dried up, but I could still feel the streaks where they had drizzled.
And suddenly, without realizing it, Seto was once again wrapping his scarf around me again. I was a bit startled, since I hadn't been paying attention, so I jumped slightly. I looked up at him as he did, and he smiled.
"Next time, you don't give it back. Got it?" He finished wrapping it around me.
I blushed heavily and nodded my head. "Got it."
"Now then, let's get going." He said, holding out his arm to me.
"Ah... That's what you wanted." I said as I grabbed hold of his arm as he slid his hands back into his pockets.
"I thought you just didn't want to." He chuckled, starting to walk.
"W—wait.." I pulled back on him for a moment. "Shouldn't we wait for Mokuba...?"
"Ah... I had forgotten." He scratched the back of his head, messing up his beanie a bit.
After fixing it, he pulled out his phone and started dialing in a number. Surely, he was just calling Mokuba. I couldn't help but smile as he did. Even though he was looking away, I couldn't take my eyes from him.
I guess it's time to admit defeat. The thing I've been so afraid of admitting to myself. It was finally time to get it off my chest. I didn't have to say it out loud. Just as long as I could say it to myself I'd be happy. I can feel it. This beautiful emotion inside of me.
I've fallen in love with Seto.
The fact is that I fell in love with Seto a long time ago. Perhaps even the first time I met him. Maybe even the first time that I saw him on TV. Probably the first time I even heard his name. I don't know why, but I was always drawn to him. Always. No matter the case, I remembered everything I had ever heard of "Seto Kaiba." I knew everything like he were a virus corrupting me.
But... Now that I'm actually admitting my feelings to myself... What do I do?
As I walked away, I thought back to that day. A few days ago—
"She's yours." I closed the door behind me as he finally looked up from his laptop and stared at me.
"What are you talking about?" Seto sighed, shutting the laptop to see what I had to enlighten him with today.
"Kisara... She's yours." My eyes stared away from him as he scratched the back of his head.
"You mean Kisara is Fujiyama's. Did you forget already that she's engaged? I warned you many times Mokuba." He reached over for a glass of water that he had sitting on his desk.
I couldn't bare look him in the eyes as the words came out, "Kisara's leaving him."
The words stopped him. He didn't grab the drink once they left my lips. I looked back to my older brother. I'm sure that he could tell that I was serious. But of course, he'd have to pry. I had to tell him. He had to know. Especially since... I almost slept with his fated love.
"Why would she be leaving him?" He inquired as I walked forward, taking a seat at one of the chairs set in front of his desk.
"Fujiyama... He's been having an affair." I was expecting him to be surprised. "Kisara saw him fucking someone in her bed."
"Tsk..." He ground his teeth together. "Figures that would be the case..."
"But... I'm not going to chase after her..." My words were sincere.
"I thought that's what your intentions were from the start?" He seemed concerned.
"Originally, yes... But.." I took a minute before speaking again. "I've come to terms with the fact that I can't have her... In fact... I have a something to confess..."
"You didn't..." he clenched a fist.
"Nothing that you're thinking..." I crossed my arms and leaned back in the chair. "Close to what you're thinking though..."
"Go on." He was getting angry.
"I found her... Collapsed on the ground weeping... She wanted me to comfort her... And I almost took advantage of the situation, but something stopped me... I admit to taking her to my bedroom. I admit that I had full intentions of sleeping with her... But I couldn't."
"So you're here to tell me that you almost screwed her?" His eyes narrowed. "Why are you telling me this?"
"Because... After stopping her, I told her that I wasn't the man she loved. That's when she told me about the affair. And as we talked... she always found a way to bring you up." My smile became a smirk.
"I doubt it." Seto finally grabbed his glass of water and took a large drink of it.
"She does it subconsciously. No matter what situation it may be, she brings you up." I stood again. "So believe it or not, she's only has eyes for you. If there's ever a time for you to win her over, it's now."
"I'm not trying to win her over." He set down the glass. "Was that all you had to say?"
"For the most part... Just know, I'm taking her out in a few days to look for apartments. She doesn't have a lot of money saved since her and Fujiyama joined accounts. She opened a new one and is starting over from scratch. I'm going to find out what kind of place she wants to live in... And I know that you care about her somewhere in the black hole of a heart you have." I turned my back to him. " So... I'm sure I can count on you to help her get back what is rightfully hers?"
Seto scoffed. "She's nothing more than my maid."
"Try and hide it all you want big brother." A smile lit up on my face. "But fate will bring you two together one way or another. I just don't want you to finally get her and suddenly lose her again... The sooner you act, the happier you're bound to be. Plus, I won't have to listen to your drunken stories anymore."
And with that, I took my leave. I shut the door to his office behind me and continued walking down the long hallway away from that room. Leaving Seto to sit and think is all I can do at this point. If he doesn't chase after her, the light between them will surely disappear like it had all those millenniums ago.
As I walked down the hall, I passed a window. I stopped my stride for a moment, taking in the silence. I then walked a few steps backwards so that I was at that window again, looking out to the courtyard in the back of the mansion. The snow was making its way to the ground, creating a white blanket over the wilted gardens that hid in the back of the mansion. The pale snow only made me think of her frail skin... Her white hair.
The dragon of my brother's deck had shown herself to him in the form of a woman, in a land that I was never meant to see. Had Seto not seen those hallucinations, I'm sure that she never would have meant a thing to him. But the fact is, they still would have met, and the chances that they would have fallen in love again were more than the chances of them just staying strangers.
All I can do now is once again admit to the defeat of my older brother. No matter what, he would always win. I used to look up to that part of him... But now I'm only finding myself jealous.
"You better act fast... Seto." I smirked, placing my hand to the glass of the window.
That's when my phone buzzed into my pocket. I pulled out my phone and stared at the screen. A smile lit up on my face as I read the name of the person who was calling me. I accepted the call and place the phone to my ear.
"Serenity! How are you?" I cheerfully greeted her voice. "I'm glad you called... Listen, there's something I want to ask you... Something I've been too afraid to ask in the past..."
—Anger filled inside of me. Why wasn't he here? I told him so that he could chase after her. Seto should be the one doing this... not me... The closer I get to Kisara, the more that I'll regret letting him win. Kisara was brought into this world to be with Seto though. So why won't he let himself be with her? Why didn't he just go after her from the start.
That night, at the banquet... The moment I saw them talking while I was giving his speech for him... I knew from that moment that this was the girl he saw in that past life. This was the Kisara that had shown him love and smothered him in light to save his life.
I've seen it before—him talking to her ghost on the security cameras during his drunken spells. Yelling at her nonexistent form to let him live his life and to stop haunting his dreams. He's even shattered a few bottles throwing them at the nothingness he spoke to. Yet, it always ended the same way—always in tears. He would always say sorry. He would always blame himself for her not being there. He would tell her never to forgive him for allowing her to slip away and meet her end.
Every moment between now and then, he's always had his eyes on her. His heart was always beating for her. He gave up his dueling because he didn't want to use the cards that resembled her soul. If only he could see that himself. He put his heart into those cards, but really he was giving his heart to her.
So where are you Seto? Why aren't you admitting defeat for yourself? Why can't you see that there's really only one person that you can lose to? Why can't you give in to her, just this one time?
Getting lost in thought, I clenched a fist as I continued walking back to that picnic table. Seto should be the one standing up to Joey... Not me... He should be the one that she cries to... Not me.