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Description
I Can't Believe I Love You
Main pairing: Seto x OC
Background pairings: Yami x Yugi, Bakura x Ryou, Marik x Malik, Joey x Duke
Warnings: Swearing
Rated M for later chapters

Chapter 13:

A horrific bloodcurdling scream echoed around the room, the agonised gales piercing my eardrums. Squeezing my eyes tightly shut and biting my lip to stop myself joining in with the screaming, I kept my face hidden by the cushion in my hands, not daring to look up just in case I decided to projectile vomit all over the
place.

Meanwhile, Mokuba was sat there beside me, eyes fixed forwards, blinking steadily, his quiet chuckling barely audible over the woman’s banshee screams. When the screaming had stopped, Mokuba shoved several pieces of popcorn into his mouth and then turned to me to offer me some. And that’s when he noticed
that I had a cushion instead of a head.

“What’s the matter Renami? Are you scared?” He asked innocently. I moved the cushion away so I could see him and he gazed up at me with those beautiful, beautiful deep indigo bambi eyes, his head tilted to one side. Sharp kid. Doesn’t miss a trick. Definitely a Kaiba. No doubt about it.

“Me? Scared? Nah!” I scoffed with mock bravado, and then another loud scream erupted from the plasma screen, causing me to “Eep!” in shock and dive straight back behind the cushion. Mokuba laughed loudly, clutching at his sides, the bowl of popcorn perched precariously on his lap, dangerously close to falling off. I scowled at him from behind the cushion.

“Not funny.” I said sulkily, pressing the cushion tighter against my face in a bid to block out all sights and sounds. Mokuba laughed again, but this wasn’t the adorable high pitched laugh from moments ago, oh no, this was a true evil Kaiba laugh, like the one that his older brother used frequently, (usually when in my company), and the smaller Kaiba leaned over and touched the volume button on the remote, turning it up so much louder that it was just damn impossible to block out. Jesus Christ, what had I got myself into here? This was certainly not what I’d expected to be doing, nu uh, no way! And yet, here I was.

Well, I guess it was my own stupid fault, but what was I supposed to do when the most sweetest angel of a kid in history comes pelting towards me the moment I step through the front door and he glomps me so hard that it almost sends us both crashing to the floor, and then lifts his head from where he’d lovingly buried it into my stomach, (because that’s the highest place he can reach since he’s a little on the short side, bless him, but no doubt he’ll be hit with the Kaiba growth spurt when he reaches his teens), and says in his sweet angelic voice: “Wanna come watch a movie with me, Pretty Renami?”

So you see I had no choice but to say yes and follow him into the lounge, leaving Seto in the hall with a knowing smirk on his face, but I ignored the elder Kaiba, content on spending as much time as possible with the younger Kaiba who was dragging me along by the hand towards the couch and rather large plasma TV screen. Holy Hell! I didn’t know they even made TVs that big!!! I really need to get out more, don’t I?

Y’know, when Mokuba had asked me if I wanted to watch something with him, I’d got myself all psyched up for something random but cool like Spongebob Squarepants, or whatever, but that was so not what happened. Let’s just say that ten minutes into the movie of Mokuba’s choice, and I was shitting fucking minivans, and he was laughing. Seriously. Laughing. I swear, this kid may look cute, but he’s completely tapped in the head. You wanna know why? The film that sweet innocent little Mokuba Kaiba had chosen was none other than Saw 4. No joke. Saw 4. Saw fucking 4! How old was this kid again? And he was fucking laughing at it!! All I could think about was ‘What the Hell is this kid on, and who’s his dealer?’ because I sure want a handful of whatever drugs he was so obviously high on! There was no way a little kid like him could laugh at the horrific death sequences like those on Saw 4, not unless they were off their heads or related to someone like Marik or Bakura. Or, better yet, if they actually were Marik or Bakura. Those two are so twisted upstairs it’s a bloody wonder how Ryou and Malik cope with them. According to Ryou, Bakura likes his meat raw. What sort of sane person would like that?! I mean, it practically moos at him when he bites into it! How the Hell does Ryou manage with him? I know I wouldn’t be able to. I barely keep my grip of sanity with just being friends with Bakura and Marik, never mind actually being in a relationship with them as their lovers were. The sex must be pretty damn good, that’s all I have to say.

“Mokuba, you’re killing me here!” I groaned, still not surfacing from my cushionified sanctuary. I could barely hear my own voice over the screaming, ripping, tearing, gushing, splattering and every other horrific murderous disgusting sound in the world all crammed into about twenty seconds of this one scene.

“Oh, come on Renami! This is so funny! Look, look, watch! This is a good bit!” Mokuba urged me, tugging at my cushion which I instantly doubled my hold of with a growl.

“No way! This is sick!”

“No, it’s not! It’s funny how fake it is. I mean, look at all the blood there. Do you really think it’d gush out in that way if that happened in real life? It so wouldn’t! That’s what makes it so funny!” Mokuba giggled, and he somehow managed to tear the cushion out of my grip. I gave another yelp and instantly slapped my hands over my eyes, wishing with every fibre of my being that I had four arms so I could cover up my ears too.

“You are way too young to be watching this, Mokie!” I cried, trying to turn up the music in my head to block out the demonic sounds echoing through the surround sound, “Hell, I’m too young to be watching this!”

“I’m not too young! I’ll be twelve in a few months. And anyway, my big brother says I can watch it.” Mokuba protested indignantly, pushing more popcorn into his mouth as he spoke. Forgetting my fear, I turned to face him, hands dropping from eyes wide with shock.

“Wait. Kaiba actually lets you watch this?”

“Yup. He says I can watch whatever I want. He nearly never comes in here, so the lounge is my room. Seto doesn’t mind. He’s always upstairs in his office, working. He works all the time.” Mokuba’s shoulders dropped slightly and he looked down at the bowl of popcorn in his hands sadly. “I wish he didn’t. I know this sounds weird because he’s always around, and we live in the same house, but I don’t see my brother as much as I want to.”

Ignoring the TV, I reached over and laid one of my hands over his comfortingly, my other hand brushing away a few stray locks of his long hair so I could see his face.

“It doesn’t sound weird, Mokie. Have you spoken to Seto about this?” I asked. He looked up at me in panic.

“No! I don’t want to say anything in case he doesn’t like it. He never used to be like this. When we were a lot younger, before Gozuburo took us in, things were so much better. Me and Seto were like this,” He crossed his index and middle finger together to demonstrate. “No one could keep us apart and we spent so much time together, playing games, hanging out and stuff like that. But then Gozuburo came along and changed everything. He changed Seto. And even now Gozuburo’s gone, Seto’s still different. I don’t want him to be different! I want my old brother back!”

Tears had sprung up in his eyes and, without a second thought, I wrapped my arms around him and pulled him close, holding him to me and stroking his hair soothingly, softly humming a calming tune, the one that my mom used to sing to comfort me and my sister Zahra when we were sad. Y’know, even though I was totally used to having people crying on me, little Mokuba really took me by surprise. I mean, I hardly know the kid, and he’s already in my arms, crying his heart out and spilling his secrets to me. Secrets he’d obviously kept locked up inside for a very long time.

After a few minutes, he’d stopped crying and wiped his eyes with the sleeve of his jumper, sniffling slightly. Then he gazed up at me almost pleadingly.

“Can you help him, Renami? Can you bring my brother back? Please help me. I want the real Seto back. Please.”

I looked down at him, feeling my heart pang with sympathy as I stared into his tear-streaked face. I’ve never felt so much pity for one person in my entire life, despite me and him barely knowing each other for very long. I mean, we only met a few nights ago, and I could already tell that he trusts me completely. And the one thing he’s trusting me to do is borderline impossible for me. Sure, I’d love to help him out and bring him back the brother he once knew, the brother that was so obviously like a father to him, but there were just two tiny problems with this: One, his brother just so happens to be Seto Kaiba, and two, me and Seto Kaiba hate each other’s guts so much that it’s practically religion for us to be at each other’s throats. We can’t even stay in a room together for ten seconds without starting an argument with each other. I’d love to help, but… I couldn’t see how.

“Mokuba, I…” I started to tell him that it was just physically impossible that I could do anything to help bring the real Seto Kaiba back, but then I got caught up in the full intensity of those wide indigo bambi eyes. “I… I’ll do what I can.”

Mokuba’s face split into a relieved smile and he hugged me tighter, surprising me by planting a small kiss on my cheek in thanks.

“Thank you, Renami. I knew I could count on you to help me!” he said happily.

“Hey, hey, no promises, mind. I can’t guarantee that I’ll be able to do it, because I don’t think there’s a single person in the world that Kaiba hates more than me. But I’ll try. For you.” I said, standing up from the sofa and stretching widely, making sure to keep my back to the TV screen. Mokuba blinked up at me.

“What’re you doing?” He asked.

“You wanted me to help talk some sense into Kaiba, so I’m gonna do it. Even though I probably won’t make much difference. That guy’s so far up his own ass…” I said, scratching the side of my neck absently. Mokuba blinked again.

“What? You’re going to talk to him now?”

“No time like the present.”

“Aren’t you gonna stay and wait until the film’s finished?”

“No chance! I’m not even gonna stay to watch another five minutes of that gory crap! And besides, I have my own, um, issues I need to sort out with Kaiba as soon as I can. See you in a bit, Mokie.” I said, ruffling his shock of long blue-tinted ebony tresses and skirting around the sofa as quick as possible, but with as much nonchalance as I could muster so I didn’t run for it as yet another scream erupted from the speakers. Saw 4. I still couldn’t believe a kid like Mokuba would actually even consider watching something like that. I know I wouldn’t have had the guts at his age. Hell, I still didn’t have the guts to watch it now and I’m seventeen years old, for Christ’s sake!

I left the lounge, stepping out into the large entrance hall I’d first arrived into and I looked around at the many doors surrounding me, wondering where the Hell I was supposed to be going. I suppose I could’ve asked for directions from Mokie, but I’d feel like a right idiot, so I decided to look for Kaiba’s office myself. God help me. In fact, no. Not God help me. God help him when I get my hands on him! Oh, he better get ready for the bollocking of his lifetime, because I was so fired up to clash heads with him, as usual. And now I had Mokuba’s promise to fulfil as well as wanting my own questions answered, I can just say I would really hate to be Seto Kaiba right now…

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“Kaiba! Open this door! I know you’re in there! Don’t you dare ignore me, you asshole! Open this damn door!” I bellowed, hammering my fist against the sturdy oak door of his office, my temper raising it’s ugly head more and more as the minutes passed by. Oh for the love of God! After all the time I’d spent actually trying to find this damn office, the least he could do is actually let me in, instead of ignoring me as he was doing.

I hadn’t been able to find this place at first, and somehow ended up in one of the many spare bedrooms up on the second floor, only to be mercifully saved by a small, shy redhead maid named Ana, who pointed me in the right direction when she came into the room and found me sprawled on the floor when I’d tripped over the rug and ended up with a faceful of beige carpet moments before she entered. She looked a little surprised to see me, and even more shocked still when I dragged myself back to my feet, muttering some of the worst swearwords ever invented, but was more than happy to help me out. She was a real sweet girl, bless her. I think she was only about fifteen or sixteen. In fact, I’m sure I’ve seen her around Domino High once or twice before. Hey, at least she’s got a job. Unlike me.

“Don’t make me force my way in, Kaiba, because I swear I’m seconds away from breaking this fucker down and coming in there to shove my foot so far up your ass you won’t be sitting down in any business meetings for the next week!” I hollered, pounding on the door with both fists now, furious at being ignored. “Open this fucking door!!”

“Why don’t you try the handle?” a voice said from behind me, and I just about jumped a mile up into the air with shock before whirling around to confront the smartass newcomer. And then I noticed familiar hazel eyes.

“What are you trying to do? Give me a heart attack?” I gasped, my hand clasped to my chest in an effort to slow down my furiously thumping heart. Rehema chuckled, tossing her head so her beautiful curls flew over her shoulder in a shimmering cascade of chocolate brown. Very L'Oréal, I’m sure.

“No. I just heard a lot of shouting coming from up here so I came to investigate.” She said, giggling at me, “And I gotta admit, I’m not at all surprised to find you up here, Renami.”

I blinked at her owlishly.

“And why’s that?”

“Not many other people in this mansion would have the balls to be shouting at Mister Kaiba. And I heard about Mokuba asking Seto if you could come over.” She said offhandedly, absently examining her nails from where they rested on top of her huge swollen stomach. She looked up at me. “But I am surprised that he actually agreed to it.”

I sighed and leant back against the door, crossing my arms over my chest.

“You and me both.” I replied. We stood together in comfortable silence for a moment and then Rehema focused back on the door I was leaning against.

“What are you doing, anyway?” she asked, head tilted on one side quizzically.

“I want to talk to Kaiba, but he’s not letting me in.” I responded, flinging my foot back and ‘accidentally’ kicking the door behind me, rattling the oak against its frame, “And yes, before you ask, I have already tried the handle.”

Rehema grinned and then grasped the handle to check, jiggling it from left to right.

“It’s locked.” She said. I rolled my eyes at her.

“Really? I hadn’t noticed.” I said sarcastically, and Rehema’s grin widened. I straightened up from the door and started banging on it again, my voice getting louder as my temper rose.

“KAIBA!! OPEN THIS DOOR RIGHT NOW!!” I roared, wishing I was strong enough to just break the door down by running at it and attacking it with my shoulder, y’know, like they do in the movies, but obviously if I raged war against the solid oak in front of me, I would be the one curled up on the floor in severe pain when the dust cleared. It was hurting me enough by just pounding on it with my fists! But maybe a well-placed kick might just do the trick…

Rehema watched me back away from the door to prepare to kick the shit out of it, an amused smile on her face.

“Mister Kaiba isn’t going to like you vandalising his property.” She said casually. I glanced at her.

“Yeah, well, Kaiba’s got more important things to worry about, like how he’s gonna survive a firm kick in the nuts from my trusty Converse sneakers!” I growled and backed off a little more, choosing the point of impact on the door where my foot would shortly be meeting. Y’know, this approach wasn’t really one of my best ideas, as I soon figured out when I ran at it and kicked with all my might and strength and then hopped away, howling in sheer bloody agony as I clutched at my poor abused foot, and my leg had seemed to have gone numb from the knee down. Sweet Mary, mother of Jesus! You have no idea how much that bloody HURT!! I could even feel tears of pain welling up in my eyes, and I blinked furiously to get rid of them. Stupid fucking door! Stupid fucking Kaiba and his stupid fucking solid oak door! The stupid fucking solid oak door that was still standing, with not even a scratch in the fucking paintwork! I swear, there is no God. Or if there is, I must’ve really pissed him off sometime in a past life or something, because I think I’m the most cursed human being on the whole damn planet!

“Ow, ow, ow, ow, fucking ow!”

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Rehema laughing at me. She was completely in stitches, bent over double she was laughing that hard. It would’ve been quite amusing to watch her huge stomach bounce up and down as she laughed, but I wasn’t really in the mood for laughing, thanks to a rather large pain spreading from my big toe and all the way up my leg.

“Oh my god! That was hilarious! You actually thought you’d be able to kick your way through? You crack me up, Renami, you really do!” She giggled, wiping tears of mirth from her eyes as she spoke. I said nothing in reply, except pausing in my agonised hopping to give her a death glare which was so eerily similar to the one Kaiba always gives me whenever we happen to see each other.

“You could’ve bloody told me that it wouldn’t work before I actually did it!” I snarled, feeling pretty hostile. Rehema straightened up, still chuckling softly, her hands smoothing out her dress as she looked at me, laughter-lines slightly creasing the skin around her eyes.

“And ruin all the fun?” she inquired innocently and then burst into fresh peals of giggles. I rolled my eyes again and turned around, letting my head fall forwards with a thump against the door.

“I’m glad you’re finding this so funny.” I mutter, folding my arms sulkily.

“Oh yes, I really am!” Rehema chortled, shaking her head as she laughed at me. Bloody Hell, this woman sure can laugh! It wasn’t an unpleasant laugh though. It was all sweet and sunny, so carefree and cheerful, and it made me want to join in with her, but the throbbing pain at the end of my leg kinda changed my mind about that.

“Have you actually wondered…” Rehema said when her laughter had finally faded away, leaving her practically wheezing for breath as she once again straightened up, brushing her long curls back from her pretty face, “…that maybe Mister Kaiba isn’t answering you because maybe he’s not actually in there?”

I lift my head up from the door and peered at her, blinking in confusion.

“What? Kaiba… isn’t… in there? But… he’s got to be! Even Mokuba said he’d be in his…” My mouth dropped open in realisation and I glared at Rehema again. “You knew he wasn’t in there. You already knew! And you let me stand out here and scream bloody murder at his door for nothing?!”

Rehema nodded, grinning at me, a familiar mischievous glint in her hazel eyes.

“Yep.” She said, smiling.

“I hate you.”

“I know.”

I growled in frustration and kicked the door again. And then howled with fresh pain as I once again killed my already abused foot. What a genius. What a bloody genius.

Rehema’s grin widened as she watched me start my frenzied hopping routine again, and she leant back against the wall, absently scratching her brown curls.

“Yes, I knew that Mister Kaiba wasn’t in there, and I also know where he is now, in case you’re still interested in, ahem, giving him a firm kick in the nuts with your trusty Converse sneakers.” She said casually, examining the nails on her left hand as I stopped hopping and gingerly put my foot back down on the floor, wincing with the pain. Hell yeah, I was still interested! I really needed something to relieve my anger on. As soon as possible. And guess who I’d most prefer to vent it out on. You don’t need to phone a friend to work that one out, that’s for sure…

“Where is he, then?” I asked her, flicking my own lavender locks back out of my eyes with one hand. She smiled at me and stood up from the wall.

“Follow me.” She grinned.

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“You have got to be kidding me!”

“Afraid not.”

“If you think I’m going down there, you’ve got another thing coming!”

“Why? What’s wrong with it?”

“What’s wrong with it? What’s bloody right with it?! It looks like a fucking crypt, for
God’s sake!”

“Oh, stop your whining! You wanted to go talk to him, so go talk to him!”

“I am not going down there!”

“Why not?”

“Open your eyes and you’ll see why not!”

“My eyes are open! There’s nothing wrong with it!”

“Where the Hell are you looking?!”

“Oh for crying out loud…”

I swear, Rehema was only mere few seconds away from banging her head against the brick wall beside her. Either that, or she was seconds away from banging my head against the brick wall beside her, and I’m sure she was closer to doing that than she was to doing the first. I, on the other hand, was seconds away from turning tail and running like the wind out of Kaiba’s mansion, screaming like a banshee. Why? Well, it seemed that Kaiba has a fucking tomb built in his Goddamn basement!! No joke! Me and Rehema were stood in the far corner of the kitchen, at the top of a very long staircase that led down into the complete and utter darkness below, no light whatsoever except a few lit torches mounted in brackets on the walls. Seriously. Torch brackets. I mean, who the Hell has torch brackets nowadays? What’s the matter? Weren’t light bulbs good enough for the all-powerful CEO of KaibaCorp? Obviously not.

“Go on.” Rehema said, “Get going.”

I looked at her like she was insane.

“Are you out of your mind?”

“No, I’m not! Now get down there! It’s fine!”

“If you like it so much, why don’t you go down there?!”

“Because I don’t need to!”

“Neither do I!”

“You wanted to talk to Mister Kaiba, didn’t you?”

“‘Talk’ as in ‘kick him into next week’, then yeah, I did, but I’d rather not go down
there!”

“Why not? Are you scared of the dark, or something?”

“No, I’m just sure I’ve seen something like this in a horror film. Y’know, where the young heroine goes down into a dark, spooky basement and ends up getting ambushed by hordes of bloodthirsty zombies or whatever!”

It was Rehema’s turn to look at me like I was insane. Well, yeah, maybe the zombie bit was pressing it a little, but I was so against going down there that I would’ve said just about anything to get me out of it. Rehema had no hope, bless her, because I am as stubborn as a mule when I want to be. Like now, for example.

“Trust me, Rehema, there’s nothing on this entire planet that could make me go down those stairs! Nothing!” I vowed, backing away from the doorway to the dark abyss. Dark Abyss. Very poetic, if I do say so myself.

Rehema opened her mouth to retaliate, but then she stopped. I looked at her quizzically as her eyes suddenly lit up with a glint of something and then she gave me a smirk that could’ve rivalled Kaiba’s own.

“Nothing on this entire planet, eh?”

“Absolutely.”

“So you wouldn’t do it for anything, would you?”

“Never.”

“Not even for a cookie?” she said with a crafty smile. I closed my eyes in
stubbornness and folded my arms across my chest.

“Not even for a… Wait.” I opened my eyes, realisation striking me like a lightning
bolt, “Did you just say cookie?”

Rehema nodded, her smile widening.

“Yep.”

I squinted at her suspiciously, wondering if I should cave or not. The promise of a cookie was just so horribly tempting. I hadn’t had a decent cookie for ages…

Christ, this is torture! Pure bloody torture! Spooky basement, or no spooky basement. Cookie, or no cookie. It was a no-brainer really.

“It better be a big cookie.” I muttered as she shifted out of the way to let me past with a triumphant grin on her face. I rolled my eyes at her (it was almost force of habit by now) and took my first tentative step into the darkness, placing my foot on the topmost cold stone step, wishing I was anywhere but here. Anywhere! I’d rather be in the lounge watching more of that bloody gruesome Saw 4 crap with Mokuba than here! Ok, maybe I wouldn’t, but still.

“What are you waiting for?” Rehema pressed, “An invitation?”

“I’d like one, yes!” I retorted, talking another step downwards. She shook her head at me, her curls flying from left to right.

“Well, get a move on! We haven’t got all day!”

“Alright, alright! I’m going, I’m going!” I growled, and took yet another hesitant step. And then I jumped when I heard slight creaking from behind me and I spun around to see Rehema closing the door.

“What do you think you’re doing?!” I hissed up at her. She shrugged from the doorway.

“Shutting the door.”

“I can see that, but why?”

She shrugged again.

“Because this part of the house if off-limits to anyone other than the Kaiba brothers.”

I nearly completely lost it there and then, disbelief and a familiar feeling of anger rising in my stomach like a cobra.

“Then what the Hell am I doing down here?!” I screeched, the echoes of my voice bouncing off the walls around me, making it sound like a chorus of about fifty of me was in here with me, and we’d all just spoken at the same time.

“Because you can’t lose your job for being down there.” Rehema said, and then fully shut the door, cutting off my furious retort and plunging me into semi-
darkness.

“Why you-!” I began, thinking about marching back up there and start pounding at that door, as I had done with the other, but I just could not be bothered. After all, why take it all out on a door, when there was a certain person down here with me who I could take it out on instead? And I mean ‘person’ in the vaguest sense of the word. In fact, ‘robot’ would be more accurate, wherever Seto Kaiba was concerned…

Growling curses under my breath at Rehema, Kaiba and the world in general, I continued my descent down the long dark staircase, squinting hard through the half-darkness, just in case I happened to miss my footing and go flying down the endless stone steps on my ass, which wouldn’t be the most graceful sight in the world, I must admit. It made me wince just thinking about it!

After what seemed like an age, (but was probably only about five minutes), I came to the bottom of the long staircase and found myself in an equally long corridor that seemed to stretch on for miles, more lit torch brackets dotted around the walls, flickering in the distance. I stared down at the end, hoping that I would be able to see the very end, but I couldn’t, no matter how much I tried. Damn. This corridor could snake along underground Domino itself, and I wouldn’t know. It probably did, knowing my luck. Great. Good old lady luck smiling down on me. Smiling? Nah. More like she’s spat at me, kicked me to death and then set my remains alight with a blowtorch. Yes, that’s how much she loves me. With every fibre of her being. And didn’t I just know it?

“Christ, Kaiba! Would it kill you to build an escalator down here, or what?” I muttered to myself as I set of walking, heading for whatever laid at the opposite end. And Kaiba, hopefully. It was about time someone knocked him down off his high horse, and I would be happy to oblige. More than happy. Overjoyed, even.

It all looked the same down here. Every portion of wall I passed looked exactly similar to every other part of the damn wall I’d already walked past, and it made me wonder if I was actually walking around in circles or whatever. Lost to wander for eternity in Kaiba’s personal labyrinth whilst he sat back in his big cushy armchair, glass of Scotch in hand as he smirked at my confusion on the big screen.

I growled at that thought and immediately scanned the walls and ceiling with my gaze, looking for cameras, just in case, but I couldn’t see any. That didn’t mean they weren’t there, though. Hidden cameras, maybe. Hey, paranoia is a blessing.

The minutes crawled by so damn slow, that if they went any slower they’d be going backwards. I’d been walking for ages, and I was already fed up. To be honest, I’d been fed up ever since I came to the end of the stairs and found myself in this corridor. So, with nothing else to entertain myself with, I set my mind to the task of how to get Yami and Yugi together as subtly as possible. Or any way, really. I’m not fussed. If I have to stampede a herd of elephants just to get them to get together, then by God, I bloody will! I’m so determined to give sweet Yugi his happy ending. I want to give him what he’s craved from the very first time he set eyes on Yami Atemu. Yugi just deserves happiness more than most, I think. I mean, I know all about how he used to be bullied practically everyday at school until we stepped on the scene and stuck up for him. He’s had no problems with bullies ever since, but he’s still vulnerable and pretty easy to get the better of, as that bitch Tea Gardner proved earlier today, and I just think that by him having a more constant means of support he’d be even better off. Just think about it: how many people are likely to come after Yugi when they’ve gotta get through Yami to get to him? Not bloody many, that’s for sure. And I really want to be there when Yugi finally gets what he deserves. One hot, leather-clad sex God wrapped up in a nice neat little package. Delivered first class mail, straight to one Mister Yugi Mutou’s front door…

I stopped suddenly, both physically and mentally as my ears practically perked up beneath my long lavender locks at the new noise I’d just picked up. I couldn’t tell exactly what it was, because it was so soft and quiet, but as faint as it was, it sounded so… I don’t know how to describe it, but all I knew that it was coming from directly in front of me, and it felt like it was actually drawing me in towards it in someway…

Cautiously, I kept walking down the corridor, following the alluring sounds. I could see I was close to the end because through the darkness, I could vaguely make out the shape of yet another door in front of me, a fair few metres away, the light from inside trying to sneak out through the edges. As I got closer, the sweet, soft sounds got slightly louder, and I could make it out a bit better now. It wasn’t just any old sounds… it was music…

I was at the door now, one hand rested on the door handle and my ear pressed against the wood, trying to hear the music better. It sounded like it was coming from… a piano, maybe? Could Kaiba be…? Nah. I shook my head. He couldn’t be.

Could he?

I waited a few more seconds, and then I twisted the handle, pushing the door open as quietly as I could. Through the door was a smallish room, decorated more like the mansion décor upstairs, except the floor was still the original stone like in the corridor/tunnel I’d just come down. But this wasn’t the main thing that caught my eye. The main thing was… Kaiba… Playing the piano… And pretty damn good, at that…

I froze in the doorway, standing there as still as a statue as I watched him, eyes wide and mouth hanging open, until he looked up and saw me, his eyebrows furrowing together into an all too familiar frown.

“What are you doing down here?” He asked coldly, removing his hands from the piano keys as he regarded me with his usual belittling glare, but for once in my life, I didn’t care. I just wanted him to play again.

“Don’t stop.” I said, moving into the room, heading towards him and the piano, walking as though in a dream. His frown deepened the closer I got.

“What?”

“Please.” I responded, my voice barely louder than a whisper, “Don’t stop playing.”

I stopped beside him, my hands resting on the smooth wood of the piano, my amethyst eyes trained on his icy cobalt orbs, almost pleading with him. Something seemed to flicker across Kaiba’s eyes for a moment as he glared up at me, and then he tore his gaze from mine and lowered his fingers back down onto the ivory keys again. And he began to play.

I got the song in the first few notes he played, and every part of me screamed for me to join in with him, to sing along with his beautiful music, but I couldn’t. I don’t know why… I just couldn’t…

Until he glanced up at me from the keys, that is. He didn’t say a single word, and neither did I, but somehow I understood him perfectly. So I opened my mouth and started to sing.

“Waking up I see that everything is ok,
The first time in my life and now it’s so great,
Slowing down, I look around and I am so amazed,
I think about the little things that make life great,
I wouldn’t change a thing about it,
This is the best feeling.

This innocence is brilliant,
I hope that it will stay,
This moment, is perfect, please don’t go away,
I need you now,
And I’ll hold on to it, don’t you let it pass you by.”

Ok, I’m no Leona Lewis or anything, but I am pretty good at singing. I’m usually the one who gets chosen to sing the solo parts in Music, and I got offered the lead role in our school production last year, but I turned that down almost as soon as it was offered. No way was I going to make a complete ass of myself in front of the whole student body. No freaking way! Life on the stage was so not for me, never had been, never will be.

I looked at Kaiba again, watching as his slim pale fingers glided over the keys with delicate ease, producing the most amazing melody I’ve ever heard. The only thing missing from this being like the original song was the guitar and drums in the background, but with just the piano on it’s own was breathtaking enough. It was really weird to think that the Seto Kaiba, arrogant, self-centred pain in the ass, could make such beautiful music. I guess there is more to him than meets the eye. Like me, I suppose.

“I found a place, so safe, not a single tear,
The first time in my life and now it’s so clear,
Feel calm, I belong, I’m so happy here,
It’s so strong and now I let myself be sincere,
I wouldn’t change a thing about it,
This is the best feeling.

This innocence is brilliant,
I hope that it will stay,
This moment, is perfect, please don’t go away,
I need you now,
And I’ll hold on to it, don’t you let it pass you by.

It’s the state of bliss you think you’re dreaming,
It’s the happiness inside that you’re feeling,
It’s so beautiful it makes you wanna cry.

It’s the state of bliss you think you’re dreaming,
It’s the happiness inside that you’re feeling,
It’s so beautiful it makes you wanna cry.

It’s so beautiful it makes you wanna cry!

This innocence is brilliant,
It makes you wanna cry,
This innocence is brilliant, please don’t go away,
Cause I need you now,
And I’ll hold on to it, don’t you let it pass you by.

This innocence is brilliant,
I hope that it will stay,
This moment, is perfect, please don’t go away,
I need you now,
And I’ll hold on to it, don’t you let it pass you by.”

The song ended with Kaiba finishing off beautifully on the piano, and I stared at him once more, wishing that the song didn’t have to come to an end so soon. We both sat in silence, (or stood, in my case), until I felt the need to break the peace with the question I’d been dying to ask the moment I stepped into the room.

“Where did you learn to play like that?” I asked him, slightly out of breath. I felt like I’d just run a marathon or something. Kaiba didn’t look at me, not even to glare at me, and he tipped one of the keys gently with the finger that still rested on top of them. I looked away from him after a few moments, thinking he wasn’t going to answer me.

“My mother taught me.” He said suddenly, surprising me, but not only by the fact that he was speaking to me, but also because he was actually talking about his family. A subject I’ve never heard him touch on before. “Before she died.”

“I’m sorry.” I said, overwhelmed by the urge to lay my hand comfortingly on his shoulder, as he had done to me in the hospital when we saw the mess Joey had been reduced to.

“My mother was the one who taught me how to sing. Until she died, too.” I said sympathetically, reaching one hand out towards him. And then I stopped myself, fingers inches from his shoulder, remembering why I’d come down here in the first place. I wanted questions answered. Mokuba wanted the brother back he used to know. But something else was niggling in my brain too. Mokuba said spoke of someone named Gozuburo… Was he Kaiba’s father…?

“What about your father? Gozuburo? Did he teach you anything?” I asked him, keeping my hands to myself for the time being. As soon as the words had left my mouth, I knew this was the completely wrong thing to say. Kaiba’s head whipped up and he fixed me with a glare of such ferocity that I actually stepped back from him as though burned. Sure, he’s glared at me before, but never with so much… hatred.

“How do you know about him?” Kaiba snarled, rising from his seat. I took another step back, fear clawing at my insides.

“M-Mokuba mentioned him earlier,” I half-stammered, still backing away from him, “He didn’t say who he was, but I just assumed that he was your fa-”

“That he was my father? Well, you assumed wrong!” Kaiba cut across me, almost shouting as he advanced closer, and I backed away further, “That bastard was nothing to do with me or my brother! Don’t you dare befoul my family by suggesting I am the son of that demon!”

“K-Kaiba, I’m sorry… I didn’t know…” I began, but I didn’t manage to finish as he grabbed hold of my wrist in a vice-like grip, and I cried out in pain as his cold fingers pressed painfully against my fading bruises.

“Never say that name in front of me ever again.” Kaiba growled, his voice low and dangerous. I stared fearfully into his icy cerulean eyes, trying to pull my wrist out of his grasp.

“Seto… Please let go… You’re hurting me…” I pleaded desperately. The moment I’d used his first name, his eyes seemed to clear and he released me. I fell away from him in mid-pull and he turned away from me, walked back to his seat and sat down heavily, his face in his hands, elbows resting on the surface of the piano. I stared at him from where I was standing, massaging my sore wrist, glancing at the door, wondering if I should make a run for it, just in case he went all psycho on me again. But for some reason, I didn’t run. In fact, I moved closer to him, ignoring the sensible part of my brain that urged me this was a bad idea.

“I’m sorry.” I whispered, “I didn’t mean to upset you. I shouldn’t have said anything…”

“No.” He replied, not raising his head from his hands, “Don’t apologise. I’m the one who should be sorry. I shouldn’t have reacted that way. It wasn’t your fault. You didn’t know.”

Ignoring my protesting conscience, I sat myself on the seat beside him, staring steadily at him, blinking freely. He wasn’t crying, I don’t think. I think maybe he was just ashamed at what he’d done. Or maybe, my mentioning Gozuburo to him might’ve brought up some painful past memories. Heh. I knew that feeling. All you had to do was mention the name ‘Alex’ and I’d turn into a shivering nervous wreck. I reached out towards Kaiba again with one hand and this time I let my fingers gently grasp his shoulder closest to me. He looked up then, first at my reassuring hand on his shoulder and then actually at me.

“No worries.” I said softly, giving him a small smile. I don’t know what the Hell had come over me. Singing with Kaiba. Comforting Kaiba. Smiling at Kaiba. Where was the usual sarcastic banter battle that eternally raged between the two of us? Where were the insults and smirks and cold glares? Where was my insufferably short temper and my bitchiness? Where the fuck had it all gone? Out the fucking window, that’s where.

What sat in silence for what must have been about five minutes, staring steadily at each other, neither of us moving or saying anything until I broke my gaze, once again remembering my original intent for coming down here.

“Mokuba misses you.” I said quietly, avoiding his gaze. I didn’t even have to look at him to know his eyebrows had furrowed together into yet another frown.

“What are you talking about? He sees me every day. We live in the same house. How could he miss me?”

I looked up at him again.

“You know what I mean, Kaiba. He misses you. The old you. The Seto Kaiba you were as a child, not the icy prick bastard you are now. Don’t you see that?”

I half expected him to glare at me, y’know, for calling him an icy prick bastard, and all, or even strike back with an unflattering insult of his own, but he did neither.

Instead, he continued to stare at me, as though trying to read something from my face, and I though I felt a little uncomfortable under his scrutinising gaze, I didn’t break eye contact with him. And then he looked away, still silent as the grave.

I almost sighed in exasperation until I was suddenly struck by an idea that, even though it wouldn’t bring a smile to my face, it would certainly to Mokuba. I stood up.

“Come with me.” I said, and as expected, Kaiba turned back to look at me, his expression slightly quizzical through his stony emotionless mask.

“What?”

“Come with me.” I repeated, “Mokuba’s upstairs, watching a movie. It would mean the world to him if you went up there now and joined him. I bet he’d be the happiest he’s been for a long time. Come on. Be his big brother again. That’s all he wants.” I stretched out my hand to the elder Kaiba, waiting. He glanced at my outstretched hand, and then his cobalt blues locked with my amethyst orbs.

“Come with me.” I said, one last time. This was it. His final chance.

He took my hand.

And took the first step towards humanity.

Description
I Can't Believe I Love You
Main pairing: Seto x OC
Background pairings: Yami x Yugi, Bakura x Ryou, Marik x Malik, Joey x Duke
Warnings: Swearing
Rated M for later chapters

Chapter 13:

A horrific bloodcurdling scream echoed around the room, the agonised gales piercing my eardrums. Squeezing my eyes tightly shut and biting my lip to stop myself joining in with the screaming, I kept my face hidden by the cushion in my hands, not daring to look up just in case I decided to projectile vomit all over the
place.

Meanwhile, Mokuba was sat there beside me, eyes fixed forwards, blinking steadily, his quiet chuckling barely audible over the woman’s banshee screams. When the screaming had stopped, Mokuba shoved several pieces of popcorn into his mouth and then turned to me to offer me some. And that’s when he noticed
that I had a cushion instead of a head.

“What’s the matter Renami? Are you scared?” He asked innocently. I moved the cushion away so I could see him and he gazed up at me with those beautiful, beautiful deep indigo bambi eyes, his head tilted to one side. Sharp kid. Doesn’t miss a trick. Definitely a Kaiba. No doubt about it.

“Me? Scared? Nah!” I scoffed with mock bravado, and then another loud scream erupted from the plasma screen, causing me to “Eep!” in shock and dive straight back behind the cushion. Mokuba laughed loudly, clutching at his sides, the bowl of popcorn perched precariously on his lap, dangerously close to falling off. I scowled at him from behind the cushion.

“Not funny.” I said sulkily, pressing the cushion tighter against my face in a bid to block out all sights and sounds. Mokuba laughed again, but this wasn’t the adorable high pitched laugh from moments ago, oh no, this was a true evil Kaiba laugh, like the one that his older brother used frequently, (usually when in my company), and the smaller Kaiba leaned over and touched the volume button on the remote, turning it up so much louder that it was just damn impossible to block out. Jesus Christ, what had I got myself into here? This was certainly not what I’d expected to be doing, nu uh, no way! And yet, here I was.

Well, I guess it was my own stupid fault, but what was I supposed to do when the most sweetest angel of a kid in history comes pelting towards me the moment I step through the front door and he glomps me so hard that it almost sends us both crashing to the floor, and then lifts his head from where he’d lovingly buried it into my stomach, (because that’s the highest place he can reach since he’s a little on the short side, bless him, but no doubt he’ll be hit with the Kaiba growth spurt when he reaches his teens), and says in his sweet angelic voice: “Wanna come watch a movie with me, Pretty Renami?”

So you see I had no choice but to say yes and follow him into the lounge, leaving Seto in the hall with a knowing smirk on his face, but I ignored the elder Kaiba, content on spending as much time as possible with the younger Kaiba who was dragging me along by the hand towards the couch and rather large plasma TV screen. Holy Hell! I didn’t know they even made TVs that big!!! I really need to get out more, don’t I?

Y’know, when Mokuba had asked me if I wanted to watch something with him, I’d got myself all psyched up for something random but cool like Spongebob Squarepants, or whatever, but that was so not what happened. Let’s just say that ten minutes into the movie of Mokuba’s choice, and I was shitting fucking minivans, and he was laughing. Seriously. Laughing. I swear, this kid may look cute, but he’s completely tapped in the head. You wanna know why? The film that sweet innocent little Mokuba Kaiba had chosen was none other than Saw 4. No joke. Saw 4. Saw fucking 4! How old was this kid again? And he was fucking laughing at it!! All I could think about was ‘What the Hell is this kid on, and who’s his dealer?’ because I sure want a handful of whatever drugs he was so obviously high on! There was no way a little kid like him could laugh at the horrific death sequences like those on Saw 4, not unless they were off their heads or related to someone like Marik or Bakura. Or, better yet, if they actually were Marik or Bakura. Those two are so twisted upstairs it’s a bloody wonder how Ryou and Malik cope with them. According to Ryou, Bakura likes his meat raw. What sort of sane person would like that?! I mean, it practically moos at him when he bites into it! How the Hell does Ryou manage with him? I know I wouldn’t be able to. I barely keep my grip of sanity with just being friends with Bakura and Marik, never mind actually being in a relationship with them as their lovers were. The sex must be pretty damn good, that’s all I have to say.

“Mokuba, you’re killing me here!” I groaned, still not surfacing from my cushionified sanctuary. I could barely hear my own voice over the screaming, ripping, tearing, gushing, splattering and every other horrific murderous disgusting sound in the world all crammed into about twenty seconds of this one scene.

“Oh, come on Renami! This is so funny! Look, look, watch! This is a good bit!” Mokuba urged me, tugging at my cushion which I instantly doubled my hold of with a growl.

“No way! This is sick!”

“No, it’s not! It’s funny how fake it is. I mean, look at all the blood there. Do you really think it’d gush out in that way if that happened in real life? It so wouldn’t! That’s what makes it so funny!” Mokuba giggled, and he somehow managed to tear the cushion out of my grip. I gave another yelp and instantly slapped my hands over my eyes, wishing with every fibre of my being that I had four arms so I could cover up my ears too.

“You are way too young to be watching this, Mokie!” I cried, trying to turn up the music in my head to block out the demonic sounds echoing through the surround sound, “Hell, I’m too young to be watching this!”

“I’m not too young! I’ll be twelve in a few months. And anyway, my big brother says I can watch it.” Mokuba protested indignantly, pushing more popcorn into his mouth as he spoke. Forgetting my fear, I turned to face him, hands dropping from eyes wide with shock.

“Wait. Kaiba actually lets you watch this?”

“Yup. He says I can watch whatever I want. He nearly never comes in here, so the lounge is my room. Seto doesn’t mind. He’s always upstairs in his office, working. He works all the time.” Mokuba’s shoulders dropped slightly and he looked down at the bowl of popcorn in his hands sadly. “I wish he didn’t. I know this sounds weird because he’s always around, and we live in the same house, but I don’t see my brother as much as I want to.”

Ignoring the TV, I reached over and laid one of my hands over his comfortingly, my other hand brushing away a few stray locks of his long hair so I could see his face.

“It doesn’t sound weird, Mokie. Have you spoken to Seto about this?” I asked. He looked up at me in panic.

“No! I don’t want to say anything in case he doesn’t like it. He never used to be like this. When we were a lot younger, before Gozuburo took us in, things were so much better. Me and Seto were like this,” He crossed his index and middle finger together to demonstrate. “No one could keep us apart and we spent so much time together, playing games, hanging out and stuff like that. But then Gozuburo came along and changed everything. He changed Seto. And even now Gozuburo’s gone, Seto’s still different. I don’t want him to be different! I want my old brother back!”

Tears had sprung up in his eyes and, without a second thought, I wrapped my arms around him and pulled him close, holding him to me and stroking his hair soothingly, softly humming a calming tune, the one that my mom used to sing to comfort me and my sister Zahra when we were sad. Y’know, even though I was totally used to having people crying on me, little Mokuba really took me by surprise. I mean, I hardly know the kid, and he’s already in my arms, crying his heart out and spilling his secrets to me. Secrets he’d obviously kept locked up inside for a very long time.

After a few minutes, he’d stopped crying and wiped his eyes with the sleeve of his jumper, sniffling slightly. Then he gazed up at me almost pleadingly.

“Can you help him, Renami? Can you bring my brother back? Please help me. I want the real Seto back. Please.”

I looked down at him, feeling my heart pang with sympathy as I stared into his tear-streaked face. I’ve never felt so much pity for one person in my entire life, despite me and him barely knowing each other for very long. I mean, we only met a few nights ago, and I could already tell that he trusts me completely. And the one thing he’s trusting me to do is borderline impossible for me. Sure, I’d love to help him out and bring him back the brother he once knew, the brother that was so obviously like a father to him, but there were just two tiny problems with this: One, his brother just so happens to be Seto Kaiba, and two, me and Seto Kaiba hate each other’s guts so much that it’s practically religion for us to be at each other’s throats. We can’t even stay in a room together for ten seconds without starting an argument with each other. I’d love to help, but… I couldn’t see how.

“Mokuba, I…” I started to tell him that it was just physically impossible that I could do anything to help bring the real Seto Kaiba back, but then I got caught up in the full intensity of those wide indigo bambi eyes. “I… I’ll do what I can.”

Mokuba’s face split into a relieved smile and he hugged me tighter, surprising me by planting a small kiss on my cheek in thanks.

“Thank you, Renami. I knew I could count on you to help me!” he said happily.

“Hey, hey, no promises, mind. I can’t guarantee that I’ll be able to do it, because I don’t think there’s a single person in the world that Kaiba hates more than me. But I’ll try. For you.” I said, standing up from the sofa and stretching widely, making sure to keep my back to the TV screen. Mokuba blinked up at me.

“What’re you doing?” He asked.

“You wanted me to help talk some sense into Kaiba, so I’m gonna do it. Even though I probably won’t make much difference. That guy’s so far up his own ass…” I said, scratching the side of my neck absently. Mokuba blinked again.

“What? You’re going to talk to him now?”

“No time like the present.”

“Aren’t you gonna stay and wait until the film’s finished?”

“No chance! I’m not even gonna stay to watch another five minutes of that gory crap! And besides, I have my own, um, issues I need to sort out with Kaiba as soon as I can. See you in a bit, Mokie.” I said, ruffling his shock of long blue-tinted ebony tresses and skirting around the sofa as quick as possible, but with as much nonchalance as I could muster so I didn’t run for it as yet another scream erupted from the speakers. Saw 4. I still couldn’t believe a kid like Mokuba would actually even consider watching something like that. I know I wouldn’t have had the guts at his age. Hell, I still didn’t have the guts to watch it now and I’m seventeen years old, for Christ’s sake!

I left the lounge, stepping out into the large entrance hall I’d first arrived into and I looked around at the many doors surrounding me, wondering where the Hell I was supposed to be going. I suppose I could’ve asked for directions from Mokie, but I’d feel like a right idiot, so I decided to look for Kaiba’s office myself. God help me. In fact, no. Not God help me. God help him when I get my hands on him! Oh, he better get ready for the bollocking of his lifetime, because I was so fired up to clash heads with him, as usual. And now I had Mokuba’s promise to fulfil as well as wanting my own questions answered, I can just say I would really hate to be Seto Kaiba right now…

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Kaiba! Open this door! I know you’re in there! Don’t you dare ignore me, you asshole! Open this damn door!” I bellowed, hammering my fist against the sturdy oak door of his office, my temper raising it’s ugly head more and more as the minutes passed by. Oh for the love of God! After all the time I’d spent actually trying to find this damn office, the least he could do is actually let me in, instead of ignoring me as he was doing.

I hadn’t been able to find this place at first, and somehow ended up in one of the many spare bedrooms up on the second floor, only to be mercifully saved by a small, shy redhead maid named Ana, who pointed me in the right direction when she came into the room and found me sprawled on the floor when I’d tripped over the rug and ended up with a faceful of beige carpet moments before she entered. She looked a little surprised to see me, and even more shocked still when I dragged myself back to my feet, muttering some of the worst swearwords ever invented, but was more than happy to help me out. She was a real sweet girl, bless her. I think she was only about fifteen or sixteen. In fact, I’m sure I’ve seen her around Domino High once or twice before. Hey, at least she’s got a job. Unlike me.

“Don’t make me force my way in, Kaiba, because I swear I’m seconds away from breaking this fucker down and coming in there to shove my foot so far up your ass you won’t be sitting down in any business meetings for the next week!” I hollered, pounding on the door with both fists now, furious at being ignored. “Open this fucking door!!”

“Why don’t you try the handle?” a voice said from behind me, and I just about jumped a mile up into the air with shock before whirling around to confront the smartass newcomer. And then I noticed familiar hazel eyes.

“What are you trying to do? Give me a heart attack?” I gasped, my hand clasped to my chest in an effort to slow down my furiously thumping heart. Rehema chuckled, tossing her head so her beautiful curls flew over her shoulder in a shimmering cascade of chocolate brown. Very L'Oréal, I’m sure.

“No. I just heard a lot of shouting coming from up here so I came to investigate.” She said, giggling at me, “And I gotta admit, I’m not at all surprised to find you up here, Renami.”

I blinked at her owlishly.

“And why’s that?”

“Not many other people in this mansion would have the balls to be shouting at Mister Kaiba. And I heard about Mokuba asking Seto if you could come over.” She said offhandedly, absently examining her nails from where they rested on top of her huge swollen stomach. She looked up at me. “But I am surprised that he actually agreed to it.”

I sighed and leant back against the door, crossing my arms over my chest.

“You and me both.” I replied. We stood together in comfortable silence for a moment and then Rehema focused back on the door I was leaning against.

“What are you doing, anyway?” she asked, head tilted on one side quizzically.

“I want to talk to Kaiba, but he’s not letting me in.” I responded, flinging my foot back and ‘accidentally’ kicking the door behind me, rattling the oak against its frame, “And yes, before you ask, I have already tried the handle.”

Rehema grinned and then grasped the handle to check, jiggling it from left to right.

“It’s locked.” She said. I rolled my eyes at her.

“Really? I hadn’t noticed.” I said sarcastically, and Rehema’s grin widened. I straightened up from the door and started banging on it again, my voice getting louder as my temper rose.

“KAIBA!! OPEN THIS DOOR RIGHT NOW!!” I roared, wishing I was strong enough to just break the door down by running at it and attacking it with my shoulder, y’know, like they do in the movies, but obviously if I raged war against the solid oak in front of me, I would be the one curled up on the floor in severe pain when the dust cleared. It was hurting me enough by just pounding on it with my fists! But maybe a well-placed kick might just do the trick…

Rehema watched me back away from the door to prepare to kick the shit out of it, an amused smile on her face.

“Mister Kaiba isn’t going to like you vandalising his property.” She said casually. I glanced at her.

“Yeah, well, Kaiba’s got more important things to worry about, like how he’s gonna survive a firm kick in the nuts from my trusty Converse sneakers!” I growled and backed off a little more, choosing the point of impact on the door where my foot would shortly be meeting. Y’know, this approach wasn’t really one of my best ideas, as I soon figured out when I ran at it and kicked with all my might and strength and then hopped away, howling in sheer bloody agony as I clutched at my poor abused foot, and my leg had seemed to have gone numb from the knee down. Sweet Mary, mother of Jesus! You have no idea how much that bloody HURT!! I could even feel tears of pain welling up in my eyes, and I blinked furiously to get rid of them. Stupid fucking door! Stupid fucking Kaiba and his stupid fucking solid oak door! The stupid fucking solid oak door that was still standing, with not even a scratch in the fucking paintwork! I swear, there is no God. Or if there is, I must’ve really pissed him off sometime in a past life or something, because I think I’m the most cursed human being on the whole damn planet!

“Ow, ow, ow, ow, fucking ow!”

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Rehema laughing at me. She was completely in stitches, bent over double she was laughing that hard. It would’ve been quite amusing to watch her huge stomach bounce up and down as she laughed, but I wasn’t really in the mood for laughing, thanks to a rather large pain spreading from my big toe and all the way up my leg.

“Oh my god! That was hilarious! You actually thought you’d be able to kick your way through? You crack me up, Renami, you really do!” She giggled, wiping tears of mirth from her eyes as she spoke. I said nothing in reply, except pausing in my agonised hopping to give her a death glare which was so eerily similar to the one Kaiba always gives me whenever we happen to see each other.

“You could’ve bloody told me that it wouldn’t work before I actually did it!” I snarled, feeling pretty hostile. Rehema straightened up, still chuckling softly, her hands smoothing out her dress as she looked at me, laughter-lines slightly creasing the skin around her eyes.

“And ruin all the fun?” she inquired innocently and then burst into fresh peals of giggles. I rolled my eyes again and turned around, letting my head fall forwards with a thump against the door.

“I’m glad you’re finding this so funny.” I mutter, folding my arms sulkily.

“Oh yes, I really am!” Rehema chortled, shaking her head as she laughed at me. Bloody Hell, this woman sure can laugh! It wasn’t an unpleasant laugh though. It was all sweet and sunny, so carefree and cheerful, and it made me want to join in with her, but the throbbing pain at the end of my leg kinda changed my mind about that.

“Have you actually wondered…” Rehema said when her laughter had finally faded away, leaving her practically wheezing for breath as she once again straightened up, brushing her long curls back from her pretty face, “…that maybe Mister Kaiba isn’t answering you because maybe he’s not actually in there?”

I lift my head up from the door and peered at her, blinking in confusion.

“What? Kaiba… isn’t… in there? But… he’s got to be! Even Mokuba said he’d be in his…” My mouth dropped open in realisation and I glared at Rehema again. “You knew he wasn’t in there. You already knew! And you let me stand out here and scream bloody murder at his door for nothing?!”

Rehema nodded, grinning at me, a familiar mischievous glint in her hazel eyes.

“Yep.” She said, smiling.

“I hate you.”

“I know.”

I growled in frustration and kicked the door again. And then howled with fresh pain as I once again killed my already abused foot. What a genius. What a bloody genius.

Rehema’s grin widened as she watched me start my frenzied hopping routine again, and she leant back against the wall, absently scratching her brown curls.

“Yes, I knew that Mister Kaiba wasn’t in there, and I also know where he is now, in case you’re still interested in, ahem, giving him a firm kick in the nuts with your trusty Converse sneakers.” She said casually, examining the nails on her left hand as I stopped hopping and gingerly put my foot back down on the floor, wincing with the pain. Hell yeah, I was still interested! I really needed something to relieve my anger on. As soon as possible. And guess who I’d most prefer to vent it out on. You don’t need to phone a friend to work that one out, that’s for sure…

“Where is he, then?” I asked her, flicking my own lavender locks back out of my eyes with one hand. She smiled at me and stood up from the wall.

“Follow me.” She grinned.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“You have got to be kidding me!”

“Afraid not.”

“If you think I’m going down there, you’ve got another thing coming!”

“Why? What’s wrong with it?”

“What’s wrong with it? What’s bloody right with it?! It looks like a fucking crypt, for
God’s sake!”

“Oh, stop your whining! You wanted to go talk to him, so go talk to him!”

“I am not going down there!”

“Why not?”

“Open your eyes and you’ll see why not!”

“My eyes are open! There’s nothing wrong with it!”

“Where the Hell are you looking?!”

“Oh for crying out loud…”

I swear, Rehema was only mere few seconds away from banging her head against the brick wall beside her. Either that, or she was seconds away from banging my head against the brick wall beside her, and I’m sure she was closer to doing that than she was to doing the first. I, on the other hand, was seconds away from turning tail and running like the wind out of Kaiba’s mansion, screaming like a banshee. Why? Well, it seemed that Kaiba has a fucking tomb built in his Goddamn basement!! No joke! Me and Rehema were stood in the far corner of the kitchen, at the top of a very long staircase that led down into the complete and utter darkness below, no light whatsoever except a few lit torches mounted in brackets on the walls. Seriously. Torch brackets. I mean, who the Hell has torch brackets nowadays? What’s the matter? Weren’t light bulbs good enough for the all-powerful CEO of KaibaCorp? Obviously not.

“Go on.” Rehema said, “Get going.”

I looked at her like she was insane.

“Are you out of your mind?”

“No, I’m not! Now get down there! It’s fine!”

“If you like it so much, why don’t you go down there?!”

“Because I don’t need to!”

“Neither do I!”

“You wanted to talk to Mister Kaiba, didn’t you?”

“‘Talk’ as in ‘kick him into next week’, then yeah, I did, but I’d rather not go down
there!”

“Why not? Are you scared of the dark, or something?”

“No, I’m just sure I’ve seen something like this in a horror film. Y’know, where the young heroine goes down into a dark, spooky basement and ends up getting ambushed by hordes of bloodthirsty zombies or whatever!”

It was Rehema’s turn to look at me like I was insane. Well, yeah, maybe the zombie bit was pressing it a little, but I was so against going down there that I would’ve said just about anything to get me out of it. Rehema had no hope, bless her, because I am as stubborn as a mule when I want to be. Like now, for example.

“Trust me, Rehema, there’s nothing on this entire planet that could make me go down those stairs! Nothing!” I vowed, backing away from the doorway to the dark abyss. Dark Abyss. Very poetic, if I do say so myself.

Rehema opened her mouth to retaliate, but then she stopped. I looked at her quizzically as her eyes suddenly lit up with a glint of something and then she gave me a smirk that could’ve rivalled Kaiba’s own.

“Nothing on this entire planet, eh?”

“Absolutely.”

“So you wouldn’t do it for anything, would you?”

“Never.”

“Not even for a cookie?” she said with a crafty smile. I closed my eyes in
stubbornness and folded my arms across my chest.

“Not even for a… Wait.” I opened my eyes, realisation striking me like a lightning
bolt, “Did you just say cookie?”

Rehema nodded, her smile widening.

“Yep.”

I squinted at her suspiciously, wondering if I should cave or not. The promise of a cookie was just so horribly tempting. I hadn’t had a decent cookie for ages…

Christ, this is torture! Pure bloody torture! Spooky basement, or no spooky basement. Cookie, or no cookie. It was a no-brainer really.

“It better be a big cookie.” I muttered as she shifted out of the way to let me past with a triumphant grin on her face. I rolled my eyes at her (it was almost force of habit by now) and took my first tentative step into the darkness, placing my foot on the topmost cold stone step, wishing I was anywhere but here. Anywhere! I’d rather be in the lounge watching more of that bloody gruesome Saw 4 crap with Mokuba than here! Ok, maybe I wouldn’t, but still.

“What are you waiting for?” Rehema pressed, “An invitation?”

“I’d like one, yes!” I retorted, talking another step downwards. She shook her head at me, her curls flying from left to right.

“Well, get a move on! We haven’t got all day!”

“Alright, alright! I’m going, I’m going!” I growled, and took yet another hesitant step. And then I jumped when I heard slight creaking from behind me and I spun around to see Rehema closing the door.

“What do you think you’re doing?!” I hissed up at her. She shrugged from the doorway.

“Shutting the door.”

“I can see that, but why?”

She shrugged again.

“Because this part of the house if off-limits to anyone other than the Kaiba brothers.”

I nearly completely lost it there and then, disbelief and a familiar feeling of anger rising in my stomach like a cobra.

“Then what the Hell am I doing down here?!” I screeched, the echoes of my voice bouncing off the walls around me, making it sound like a chorus of about fifty of me was in here with me, and we’d all just spoken at the same time.

“Because you can’t lose your job for being down there.” Rehema said, and then fully shut the door, cutting off my furious retort and plunging me into semi-
darkness.

“Why you-!” I began, thinking about marching back up there and start pounding at that door, as I had done with the other, but I just could not be bothered. After all, why take it all out on a door, when there was a certain person down here with me who I could take it out on instead? And I mean ‘person’ in the vaguest sense of the word. In fact, ‘robot’ would be more accurate, wherever Seto Kaiba was concerned…

Growling curses under my breath at Rehema, Kaiba and the world in general, I continued my descent down the long dark staircase, squinting hard through the half-darkness, just in case I happened to miss my footing and go flying down the endless stone steps on my ass, which wouldn’t be the most graceful sight in the world, I must admit. It made me wince just thinking about it!

After what seemed like an age, (but was probably only about five minutes), I came to the bottom of the long staircase and found myself in an equally long corridor that seemed to stretch on for miles, more lit torch brackets dotted around the walls, flickering in the distance. I stared down at the end, hoping that I would be able to see the very end, but I couldn’t, no matter how much I tried. Damn. This corridor could snake along underground Domino itself, and I wouldn’t know. It probably did, knowing my luck. Great. Good old lady luck smiling down on me. Smiling? Nah. More like she’s spat at me, kicked me to death and then set my remains alight with a blowtorch. Yes, that’s how much she loves me. With every fibre of her being. And didn’t I just know it?

“Christ, Kaiba! Would it kill you to build an escalator down here, or what?” I muttered to myself as I set of walking, heading for whatever laid at the opposite end. And Kaiba, hopefully. It was about time someone knocked him down off his high horse, and I would be happy to oblige. More than happy. Overjoyed, even.

It all looked the same down here. Every portion of wall I passed looked exactly similar to every other part of the damn wall I’d already walked past, and it made me wonder if I was actually walking around in circles or whatever. Lost to wander for eternity in Kaiba’s personal labyrinth whilst he sat back in his big cushy armchair, glass of Scotch in hand as he smirked at my confusion on the big screen.

I growled at that thought and immediately scanned the walls and ceiling with my gaze, looking for cameras, just in case, but I couldn’t see any. That didn’t mean they weren’t there, though. Hidden cameras, maybe. Hey, paranoia is a blessing.

The minutes crawled by so damn slow, that if they went any slower they’d be going backwards. I’d been walking for ages, and I was already fed up. To be honest, I’d been fed up ever since I came to the end of the stairs and found myself in this corridor. So, with nothing else to entertain myself with, I set my mind to the task of how to get Yami and Yugi together as subtly as possible. Or any way, really. I’m not fussed. If I have to stampede a herd of elephants just to get them to get together, then by God, I bloody will! I’m so determined to give sweet Yugi his happy ending. I want to give him what he’s craved from the very first time he set eyes on Yami Atemu. Yugi just deserves happiness more than most, I think. I mean, I know all about how he used to be bullied practically everyday at school until we stepped on the scene and stuck up for him. He’s had no problems with bullies ever since, but he’s still vulnerable and pretty easy to get the better of, as that bitch Tea Gardner proved earlier today, and I just think that by him having a more constant means of support he’d be even better off. Just think about it: how many people are likely to come after Yugi when they’ve gotta get through Yami to get to him? Not bloody many, that’s for sure. And I really want to be there when Yugi finally gets what he deserves. One hot, leather-clad sex God wrapped up in a nice neat little package. Delivered first class mail, straight to one Mister Yugi Mutou’s front door…

I stopped suddenly, both physically and mentally as my ears practically perked up beneath my long lavender locks at the new noise I’d just picked up. I couldn’t tell exactly what it was, because it was so soft and quiet, but as faint as it was, it sounded so… I don’t know how to describe it, but all I knew that it was coming from directly in front of me, and it felt like it was actually drawing me in towards it in someway…

Cautiously, I kept walking down the corridor, following the alluring sounds. I could see I was close to the end because through the darkness, I could vaguely make out the shape of yet another door in front of me, a fair few metres away, the light from inside trying to sneak out through the edges. As I got closer, the sweet, soft sounds got slightly louder, and I could make it out a bit better now. It wasn’t just any old sounds… it was music…

I was at the door now, one hand rested on the door handle and my ear pressed against the wood, trying to hear the music better. It sounded like it was coming from… a piano, maybe? Could Kaiba be…? Nah. I shook my head. He couldn’t be.

Could he?

I waited a few more seconds, and then I twisted the handle, pushing the door open as quietly as I could. Through the door was a smallish room, decorated more like the mansion décor upstairs, except the floor was still the original stone like in the corridor/tunnel I’d just come down. But this wasn’t the main thing that caught my eye. The main thing was… Kaiba… Playing the piano… And pretty damn good, at that…

I froze in the doorway, standing there as still as a statue as I watched him, eyes wide and mouth hanging open, until he looked up and saw me, his eyebrows furrowing together into an all too familiar frown.

“What are you doing down here?” He asked coldly, removing his hands from the piano keys as he regarded me with his usual belittling glare, but for once in my life, I didn’t care. I just wanted him to play again.

“Don’t stop.” I said, moving into the room, heading towards him and the piano, walking as though in a dream. His frown deepened the closer I got.

“What?”

“Please.” I responded, my voice barely louder than a whisper, “Don’t stop playing.”

I stopped beside him, my hands resting on the smooth wood of the piano, my amethyst eyes trained on his icy cobalt orbs, almost pleading with him. Something seemed to flicker across Kaiba’s eyes for a moment as he glared up at me, and then he tore his gaze from mine and lowered his fingers back down onto the ivory keys again. And he began to play.

I got the song in the first few notes he played, and every part of me screamed for me to join in with him, to sing along with his beautiful music, but I couldn’t. I don’t know why… I just couldn’t…

Until he glanced up at me from the keys, that is. He didn’t say a single word, and neither did I, but somehow I understood him perfectly. So I opened my mouth and started to sing.

“Waking up I see that everything is ok,
The first time in my life and now it’s so great,
Slowing down, I look around and I am so amazed,
I think about the little things that make life great,
I wouldn’t change a thing about it,
This is the best feeling.

This innocence is brilliant,
I hope that it will stay,
This moment, is perfect, please don’t go away,
I need you now,
And I’ll hold on to it, don’t you let it pass you by.”

Ok, I’m no Leona Lewis or anything, but I am pretty good at singing. I’m usually the one who gets chosen to sing the solo parts in Music, and I got offered the lead role in our school production last year, but I turned that down almost as soon as it was offered. No way was I going to make a complete ass of myself in front of the whole student body. No freaking way! Life on the stage was so not for me, never had been, never will be.

I looked at Kaiba again, watching as his slim pale fingers glided over the keys with delicate ease, producing the most amazing melody I’ve ever heard. The only thing missing from this being like the original song was the guitar and drums in the background, but with just the piano on it’s own was breathtaking enough. It was really weird to think that the Seto Kaiba, arrogant, self-centred pain in the ass, could make such beautiful music. I guess there is more to him than meets the eye. Like me, I suppose.

“I found a place, so safe, not a single tear,
The first time in my life and now it’s so clear,
Feel calm, I belong, I’m so happy here,
It’s so strong and now I let myself be sincere,
I wouldn’t change a thing about it,
This is the best feeling.

This innocence is brilliant,
I hope that it will stay,
This moment, is perfect, please don’t go away,
I need you now,
And I’ll hold on to it, don’t you let it pass you by.

It’s the state of bliss you think you’re dreaming,
It’s the happiness inside that you’re feeling,
It’s so beautiful it makes you wanna cry.

It’s the state of bliss you think you’re dreaming,
It’s the happiness inside that you’re feeling,
It’s so beautiful it makes you wanna cry.

It’s so beautiful it makes you wanna cry!

This innocence is brilliant,
It makes you wanna cry,
This innocence is brilliant, please don’t go away,
Cause I need you now,
And I’ll hold on to it, don’t you let it pass you by.

This innocence is brilliant,
I hope that it will stay,
This moment, is perfect, please don’t go away,
I need you now,
And I’ll hold on to it, don’t you let it pass you by.”

The song ended with Kaiba finishing off beautifully on the piano, and I stared at him once more, wishing that the song didn’t have to come to an end so soon. We both sat in silence, (or stood, in my case), until I felt the need to break the peace with the question I’d been dying to ask the moment I stepped into the room.

“Where did you learn to play like that?” I asked him, slightly out of breath. I felt like I’d just run a marathon or something. Kaiba didn’t look at me, not even to glare at me, and he tipped one of the keys gently with the finger that still rested on top of them. I looked away from him after a few moments, thinking he wasn’t going to answer me.

“My mother taught me.” He said suddenly, surprising me, but not only by the fact that he was speaking to me, but also because he was actually talking about his family. A subject I’ve never heard him touch on before. “Before she died.”

“I’m sorry.” I said, overwhelmed by the urge to lay my hand comfortingly on his shoulder, as he had done to me in the hospital when we saw the mess Joey had been reduced to.

“My mother was the one who taught me how to sing. Until she died, too.” I said sympathetically, reaching one hand out towards him. And then I stopped myself, fingers inches from his shoulder, remembering why I’d come down here in the first place. I wanted questions answered. Mokuba wanted the brother back he used to know. But something else was niggling in my brain too. Mokuba said spoke of someone named Gozuburo… Was he Kaiba’s father…?

“What about your father? Gozuburo? Did he teach you anything?” I asked him, keeping my hands to myself for the time being. As soon as the words had left my mouth, I knew this was the completely wrong thing to say. Kaiba’s head whipped up and he fixed me with a glare of such ferocity that I actually stepped back from him as though burned. Sure, he’s glared at me before, but never with so much… hatred.

“How do you know about him?” Kaiba snarled, rising from his seat. I took another step back, fear clawing at my insides.

“M-Mokuba mentioned him earlier,” I half-stammered, still backing away from him, “He didn’t say who he was, but I just assumed that he was your fa-”

“That he was my father? Well, you assumed wrong!” Kaiba cut across me, almost shouting as he advanced closer, and I backed away further, “That bastard was nothing to do with me or my brother! Don’t you dare befoul my family by suggesting I am the son of that demon!”

“K-Kaiba, I’m sorry… I didn’t know…” I began, but I didn’t manage to finish as he grabbed hold of my wrist in a vice-like grip, and I cried out in pain as his cold fingers pressed painfully against my fading bruises.

“Never say that name in front of me ever again.” Kaiba growled, his voice low and dangerous. I stared fearfully into his icy cerulean eyes, trying to pull my wrist out of his grasp.

“Seto… Please let go… You’re hurting me…” I pleaded desperately. The moment I’d used his first name, his eyes seemed to clear and he released me. I fell away from him in mid-pull and he turned away from me, walked back to his seat and sat down heavily, his face in his hands, elbows resting on the surface of the piano. I stared at him from where I was standing, massaging my sore wrist, glancing at the door, wondering if I should make a run for it, just in case he went all psycho on me again. But for some reason, I didn’t run. In fact, I moved closer to him, ignoring the sensible part of my brain that urged me this was a bad idea.

“I’m sorry.” I whispered, “I didn’t mean to upset you. I shouldn’t have said anything…”

“No.” He replied, not raising his head from his hands, “Don’t apologise. I’m the one who should be sorry. I shouldn’t have reacted that way. It wasn’t your fault. You didn’t know.”

Ignoring my protesting conscience, I sat myself on the seat beside him, staring steadily at him, blinking freely. He wasn’t crying, I don’t think. I think maybe he was just ashamed at what he’d done. Or maybe, my mentioning Gozuburo to him might’ve brought up some painful past memories. Heh. I knew that feeling. All you had to do was mention the name ‘Alex’ and I’d turn into a shivering nervous wreck. I reached out towards Kaiba again with one hand and this time I let my fingers gently grasp his shoulder closest to me. He looked up then, first at my reassuring hand on his shoulder and then actually at me.

“No worries.” I said softly, giving him a small smile. I don’t know what the Hell had come over me. Singing with Kaiba. Comforting Kaiba. Smiling at Kaiba. Where was the usual sarcastic banter battle that eternally raged between the two of us? Where were the insults and smirks and cold glares? Where was my insufferably short temper and my bitchiness? Where the fuck had it all gone? Out the fucking window, that’s where.

What sat in silence for what must have been about five minutes, staring steadily at each other, neither of us moving or saying anything until I broke my gaze, once again remembering my original intent for coming down here.

“Mokuba misses you.” I said quietly, avoiding his gaze. I didn’t even have to look at him to know his eyebrows had furrowed together into yet another frown.

“What are you talking about? He sees me every day. We live in the same house. How could he miss me?”

I looked up at him again.

“You know what I mean, Kaiba. He misses you. The old you. The Seto Kaiba you were as a child, not the icy prick bastard you are now. Don’t you see that?”

I half expected him to glare at me, y’know, for calling him an icy prick bastard, and all, or even strike back with an unflattering insult of his own, but he did neither.

Instead, he continued to stare at me, as though trying to read something from my face, and I though I felt a little uncomfortable under his scrutinising gaze, I didn’t break eye contact with him. And then he looked away, still silent as the grave.

I almost sighed in exasperation until I was suddenly struck by an idea that, even though it wouldn’t bring a smile to my face, it would certainly to Mokuba. I stood up.

“Come with me.” I said, and as expected, Kaiba turned back to look at me, his expression slightly quizzical through his stony emotionless mask.

“What?”

“Come with me.” I repeated, “Mokuba’s upstairs, watching a movie. It would mean the world to him if you went up there now and joined him. I bet he’d be the happiest he’s been for a long time. Come on. Be his big brother again. That’s all he wants.” I stretched out my hand to the elder Kaiba, waiting. He glanced at my outstretched hand, and then his cobalt blues locked with my amethyst orbs.

“Come with me.” I said, one last time. This was it. His final chance.

He took my hand.

And took the first step towards humanity.