Middle of the Summer

Chapter: Epilogue

Fiction Rated: R for language, mature themes, adult humour and just stuff that tiny little people should not be reading about.

Disclaimer: I own only the characters that I create, and have no desire to kidnap those which I do not. I haven't the time (or the money) to organize such an event. Yu-Gi-Oh! Is credited to its respective owner— Takahashi Kazuki, I am simply borrowing his creations to carry out my biddings. Any songs that are mentioned in the duration of this story belong to (unless otherwise stated) the original composers. So ch'yeah! Keep your lawsuits in your pocket!

Summary: The two of them were nothing alike, and would probably have never become involved in each other's lives by choice. However, Mokuba's aspirations forced them to put up with each other, and much to their dismay- even enjoy it from time-to-time.

NOTE: I'd like to say a huge thank-you to everyone who has been reading this story, and everyone who has favourite/alerted you guys are the reason I kept going with this, and it was fun!

Special thanks goes to: Arana Is, LightningRougeWolf, girl, someone, Chicken, Stephan Cardin, Shawnita, Shadowess 88, follow-the-light-review, scoli727, Ganondorf, FurryBunny, crayonZOMBIE, iCraft, WhiteDragonWarrior, Chickanooka, attackedbyangrysocks, crystal, Kitty243, Sandra-Lovegood, Jade, HeeHeeHee01, Walks In The Shadows, Angel Diary, valery01, Otaku4lyphe, Hunnybee, fang101, littlelethe, Kawaii Kookie, LOPE, Deathbecomes667, Tayler, Zoelle, WalkingDisasters, AceSpades, Snowii, Doesn't Matter, SoundzofSilence, sans, and jjbb0x.

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Seto stared blankly at the computer screen, it was pushing midnight and he was still at the office, still finishing tedious work that could wait. Mokuba and he hadn't been on the best terms the past few months. They were still close, but the child didn't skip down the stairs and hug Seto when he came home, like he used to.

But the kid couldn't really be blamed, even Roswell and the maids didn't try to chat him up as often, and Shardi had noticed that he never cooked for three anymore. Footage of Ali and Seto kissing the last night they'd been together had circulated the news stations and gossip magazines until it inevitably died out when the public realized that the blonde wasn't to be seen anywhere.

It had been six months since he'd last seen the Russian, and since then she'd made no contact whatsoever. Even Mokuba was hurt when she didn't call—if only to speak to him. Mai had dropped by to pick up the things from her apartment, but she hadn't given a word of news to the CEO. She only looked sadly at him and left. From what Seto knew, Mai hadn't been back to visit at all, either.

Occasionally Joey would show up at the office and Seto if he'd heard anything from either girl. After a few months of no information, the boy gave up and now the only time Seto saw any of Ali's friends were when he was picking Mokuba from Yugi's house.

Although he would have liked to say that everything returned to normal after she was gone, Ali's fingerprints had covered his whole world half a year ago, and once washed away everything seemed too different. He was sure it would all become normal one day, but that day seemed far off.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out the small tape he'd been carrying with him all week. The tape Ali had given him for Christmas, still unheard. Sighing softly, the brunette placed it into the small cassette player he'd placed on his desk for the day when this moment would happen.

He hit play, with no idea what to expect, and Ali's laugh filtered through the air. She was laughing, with Mokuba following suit in the background. It was a sound he would never admit that he'd almost missed.

"Okay, Seto if you're listening to this, it's probably because I'm dead or something.

Ali! Don't say that!

Face it, kid, the only reason your brother would think to play this is if I died or something."

She laughed again, and Mokuba groaned.

"So anyway, I know this is totally dorky. But your actual present is back at that lame store where we bought Mokuba's birthday present. You probably don't remember that day, so here's the address…"

Seto stared at the tape player, he wanted to say 'how could I forget with all the trouble you caused that day', what with her diabetes melt down, and her attempt to buy Mokuba soft-core pornographic images. But Ali wasn't around to hear the sarcastic remark, so he kept quiet, jotting down the address.

"I told the lady to hold it until you came to get it. Because I have a feeling it will be a while. Hey Mokuba, maybe by the time Seto listens to this you'll be like… really old.

He'll listen to it before I'm old.

Whatever. Anyway, Mokuba has sworn to me that under no circumstance will he tell you about this until you figure it out for yourself. So hopefully you do. Merry Christmas, Sunshine. Or not, depending on when you actually listen to this."

Seto was out of his chair the moment the tape ended, car keys in hand and his coat fluttering behind him as he left his office.

The chances that the little knick-knack store would be open so late were almost non-existent, but Seto couldn't help it when he pulled up to the mall. The front doors were locked, so he tried to find the back doors, luckily there was a light still on and when he knocked there was an answer.

"I'm sorry we're… are you Seto Kaiba?" the janitor gaped.

"Yes. Is the owner of that antique… knick-knack store still here, by any chance?" he tried not to think about how Ali would have laughed to hear him say 'knick-knack' but couldn't help it. Such things were always bouncing through his mind.

"Actually… yes, she is. Here…"

Seto swept past the man before he could say anything else. He was walking so quickly that anyone who saw him could have thought him to be running from something. He saw a dim light on in the shop and when he stepped in, the lady who owned it was at the front counter counting her money.

"Seto Kaiba." She said when she spotted him, obviously remembering who he was this time, "I assume you're hear to pick up the painting?"

Seto nodded, so it was a painting, then. The woman disappeared into the back for a few moments before returning, holding a large frame in her hands.

"I was beginning to wonder if you were ever going to come in and pick this up. That girl sure spent a dime to get her design interpreted by the artist; it would be a shame to waste." She turned it around so that Seto could see the painting in the dim light.

Seto's eyes widened as he took in the colours of the artwork. A Blue-Eyes White Dragon was sleeping on a sheet of ice, in the center of what looked like a lake. But from the corner a summer landscape had begun to fade in over the wintery blandness. The sun and light appeared to be pulled from the tail of a small cardinal flying toward the dragon.

Seto tried not to react as he took the artwork and thanked the woman, but what appeared to be an unusual painting was something that only he and Ali would understand. In all truth, he had been sleeping on an icy plane before she brought light into his life.

Seto stepped back outside into the night; the warm summer air caressed his hair against his face. He looked again at the picture, a small bird vibrant in colour, free to soar as it pleased, carrying joy along with it. That was Ali.

He spotted a large dumpster against one of the walls and immediately tossed the painting into. Ali already flown away and he didn't need a daily reminder that he was the reason for it.

Stay tuned.
Check my blog for an update soon about what is coming next, and how long you'll have to wait. Thanks again for all the support.