Fall to Pieces

Seto Kaiba securely closed the latch on his briefcase and leaned back as the car rolled through the front gates of Kaiba manor and toward the entrance. He had seen her drifting past like a ghost in the school corridor, hair like brushed silver and striking sapphire eyes against a porcelain demeanor. She had caught his eye for just a second before quickly averting her gaze elsewhere.

The door to his side opened and he stepped out onto the pavement. Droplets fell from the sky and tapped against the nape of his neck as he ambled up the steps and entered through the warm glow of the foyer.

Something irked him about her. He would not have noticed she was looking at him had she been less obvious.

Steps sunk beneath his feet as he ascended to the second floor and in the direction of his study. What choice did he have but to suggest she find a permanent residence elsewhere? They had no need for an extra maid, especially one that encouraged such nonsense from that pretentious museum curator and Yugi's band of lunatics.

A door shut to his left. He could imagine the scowl his little sister was sporting as she heard him approaching her wing. She was still resentful about his one-month-ago decision against her stranger-friend.

He veered away from his intended destination and instead strode for his room. His head was aching and, doubtless, it was the consequence of all this idiotic mental rambling. He had enough on his plate with the company, his schoolwork, his insomnia, and now his siblings, without needing to add to it.

He stormed into his room and shut the door too forcefully behind him. Mumbling incoherently, he resisted the urge to chuck his briefcase and instead planted it carefully on the floor near his dresser.

Sleep, he told himself. The coolness of the satin sheets against his body helped alleviate some of his tension as he stared unblinkingly at the midnight blue draping issuing from the top of the canopy.

When he fell asleep and how long he was out, he did not know. When he awoke, his room was pitch black with only the lamps from the terrace for light. He touched a finger under his left eye and, feeling its moistness, briskly wiped his face with his sleeve. A steady pattering flew against the double doors and windows.

A knock at the door alerted him that it must be nearly dinner-time. Surely enough it was, as his butler so kindly informed him from the other side of the door. He touched the lamp on his bed-side table and began to change.

Pulling a crisp dress shirt from the armoire, his eyes fell on the dresser and at the torn pieces of the his Blue Eyes White Dragon cards. He suppressed a groan. What was he thinking?

Scenes from the last month played through his mind. He had returned to his room to fetch a tie and found that…girl standing over his collection. Her duster lay far away by the window sill as she studied his cards with the most incredulous expression.

He shook his head as though to shake the thoughts away. They were irreparable. Why did he behave so recklessly to prove a point? There was absolutely no reason. None.

He exited into the hallway and briskly down the steps. A jingling flurry of red flew past him. Snatching her closest arm, he detained Mitsuki. "Where do you think you're going?"

For the first time this month, she did not give him an evil eye. "Seto!" she gasped. "Oh my goodness, you've got to help me." She latched onto both his forearms and peered at him with pleading eyes. "Kisara just got kicked out by her landlord."

He knew where this was headed. "No, she can't stay here," he said flatly. She persisted and shook him. "Please," she whined. "Please, please, please. Can we get her?" He gritted his teeth and looked away. What did it matter if she was kicked out? It wasn't his problem. Why doesn't her other friends take her in? "She's a girl and it's already dark," his sister continued on. "She's stranded in the bad section of town with nowhere to go. You won't even let me visit her because you say that area's dangerous. We've got to hurry! Come o—"

The dining room doors flew open and Mokuba poked his head out. "You're still here, Mitsuki? I thought you were going to get Kisara."

She shot Seto an expectant look while Mokuba glanced confusingly between them. "Fine," Seto snapped, snatching the keys from Mitsuki's grasp and moving for the garage.

"Can I come?" his brother's voice called. "No," he responded. "I want you to eat and do your homework."

Mitsuki caught up beside him and asked if she was coming. "Just text me the address," he responded gruffly and left without another word. She didn't challenge him this time, so they were even.

-o-

Twenty minutes out of the district, he received a message that Mitsuki could not get in touch with their charity case. He called back to say that he was turning around and going home, only to receive a myriad of threats of an unforgiving nature. "She said she was calling from a phone booth before the connection cut off. She's gotta be pretty close to the apartment complex. How many phone booths can there be?"

Yes, he thought, after passing the fourth phone-booth-turned-aquarium in sight, how many could there be? He muttered under his breath about how stupid he was, getting roped into this. The GPS wasn't helping and he had never driven in this part of town before…

After turning at the same detour a couple of times and cursing his GPS and the girl, he stopped the car in front of a vacant bus stop. The closest phone booth to the apartment was empty. He must have circled the whole perimeter of the blasted complex a million times and there was no sign of the silver-haired girl. Doesn't she know to stay in the same place if someone's coming for her?

He groaned and pulled out his phone to text his siblings that their effort was futile, only to catch a glimmer some yards off to his right and under the awning of a shabby-looking cafe. The brick columns of the railing must have hidden her from sight this whole time. But why did she not manifest herself when he first arrived?

With some irritation, he shut off the engine and pulled an umbrella from the passenger seat. She could stay for a few days, he thought vehemently, sloshing outside and onto the curb, but he had some new ground-rules.

As he drew nearer, he noticed the silvery strands emanating from under her hoodie. She shrunk against the columns and drew the drawstrings around her face as the wind blew through.

He stopped walking and paused a moment. She was still in her school uniform and at her back lay a damp box of her few possessions. The frustration dissolved away and was replaced by a sunken feeling in his gut.

Now, she blinked and stared at him with a nervous expression. Instead of approaching him, she jolted up and looked ready to take flight. He moved closer as her eyes darted from left to right, trying to ascertain the best escape route.

"It's okay," he said, surprised at the softer tone he had adopted. She gawked at him and stepped forward. "Seto?" she whispered. "I didn't know you were coming. I-I thought Mitsuki…" She cut off and looked at her feet. "I saw you driving past but I thought it was the guys that I was hiding from. If I had known—"

He handed her the umbrella and reached for the box. "Come," he said, jerking his head in the direction of the car. There was no point in standing in the rain and getting drenched. She held the umbrella above their heads and they stealthily navigated back to the car. After setting the box in the trunk, Seto reclaimed the umbrella and walked her to the passenger side.

They drove back to the manor in silence. He found his dislike of her was lessening by the minute. Perhaps it was due to the pitifulness of the situation that he witnessed back there, in front of the cafe. She sat motionless like a statue, uttering neither a word nor a sigh. He could grasp the missing parts of her tale and how she came to divert from her original location.

The gates pulled back as he drove up to the driveway. After parking in the garage, they entered the home through the interior door. Mitsuki and Mokuba nearly tackled the both of them on first sight. A fuss was made and Kisara was led up the stairs. She looked back and thanked him in a small voice.

Seto withdrew to the drawing room and sat by the fire as hot tea was brought in and prepared. He did not want to face her again right away, especially now when they had lost the cover of darkness. Something about her eyes made him feel ashamed of his previous temperament.

He stared into the fire, thinking back to the scene from a month ago. At the same time, the words of the maiden from the memory world echoed in his mind, "I have to go now, but I believe one day we can meet again…"

Thirty minutes past, he decided that it was enough time for her to settle in and that the other two had quieted down by now. It was nearly ten o'clock, not too late for work to be done, but did he even have the energy after such a trying day?

No, he didn't. He just wanted to forget about the whole affair. He rose from the armchair and strode over to the door. Pulling the doorknob toward him, he met her once more. Her hand was a closed fist suspended in midair. She asked if she could have a minute. He nodded and stepped back so she could come in.

"If you're here to thank me, you've already done so," he said, closing the door behind her. Keeping her eyes downcast, she folded her hands together and twisted her fingers as she spoke. "I don't want to overstay my welcome," she finished, glancing up at him.

He felt a wash of shame and looked away. "You can stay as long as you need," he replied quietly. The sound of sniffling drew his attention back to her. She was crying. This was becoming a very uncomfortable night.

There was a tug on his sleeve and, before he knew it, she had grabbed ahold of his hands and was attempting to hold back her sobs. They stayed in this position, unmoving, for a few minutes before she gently relinquished him and clapped her hands on her thighs. "You should get some rest," he said, for lack of knowing what to do. She nodded and ducked out of the room, shutting the door gently.

Seto released a long-wavering breath and fell back against the nearest chair, stabilizing himself against its arm. His heart was racing in his chest.

A/N: I've always wanted to revisit Seto Kaiba because I never felt like we answered the question of Kisara. That one line from the anime memory world gives me hope that Kisara would've eventually made an appearance, had Takahashi not been rushed by his deadline (see wiki about Kisara). They make such a strong and symbolic pairing and the subtitled Japanese anime shows it (unlike the 4kids American dub anime). Their relationship was a tragedy so I had to give them a chance. I haven't decided whether this will be ongoing or a oneshot. The icon I used is found from Google. It was the motivation behind this piece, so props to the original and "anonymous" artist. This is a more serious side-story to the "Oh My Ra!" comedy fan fiction I wrote more than ten years prior, which is why you've encountered my OC, Mitsuki. To cut it short, she was Gozaburo's illegitimate child and Seto and Mokuba's adopted sister.