I Give My Heart To You

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Yugioh or the characters therein.

WARNINGS*** This story contains Yaoi (men having sex with men) as well as shouenen-ai (male/ male relationships). It also contains male/ female sex and relationships with references to female/ female sex and relationships, (a little something for everyone) swearing, violence, references to rape, guns and all sorts of other facts of life people find offensive. If you are offended by any of these things or simply do not like to read about it then leave now; you have been warned and read at your own risk.

CHAPTER WARNING**THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS A MURDER ATTEMPT AND AN ARSON FIRE**


MY HEART I GIVE TO YOU
By Terra
Chapter 5


Ryou and Bakura stood in the doorway of the Kaiba kitchen, staring at each other. They didn’t know what to expect when they had came over, considering the emotional turmoil from the previous day, but it wasn’t this.

“For the tenth time Seto, I do not want or need a bodyguard. What part of NO don’t you understand? The N or the O?” Amara was yelling at him in English, pacing the floor.

“You would prefer Kira be abducted again? Or perhaps you?” Seto sat calmly in the breakfast nook, drinking his morning coffee.

Exasperated, Amara threw her hands in the air, “We will not be kidnapped.” That sentence was half English, half Japanese.

Bakura leaned closer to his light, “What’s going on?”

“I think Kaiba wants to assign guards to Amara and Kira.”

“We don’t know if this was a planned attack or not Amara, and the best way to ensure your safety is with bodyguards.” Seto was unfolding the morning’s newspaper, the conversation finished as far as he was concerned.

“It wasn’t planned. And body guards can be bought off, you know.” Amara stood with arms crossed, looking very self satisfied with her comment.

“I can arrange for you to be under lock and key 24/7 if you’d rather.” He turned a page.

If looks could kill, Seto would have been incinerated on the spot. Amara began to quietly curse stubborn men.

“What did she say?” Bakura was getting into this.

Ryou gave his dark a look, “She’s cursing at him.”

“That doesn’t sound like any swear words I’ve ever heard.”

“It’s German.”

“Think Kaiba knows German?”

From the hard look he gave the angry red haired woman, he did.

“It was a random grab, Seto. If it hadn’t been me it would have been another woman. Honestly less than fifteen people know we’re even here. Do you actually believe one of them would do something like that?” Seto looked at her over the top of his paper. “Oh my gods! It was Gramps! Call the cops!”

Seto realized he wouldn’t be allowed to read until this disagreement was over, which in his opinion should have been ten minutes ago. He carefully folded the paper, setting it on the table, “You are being ridiculous.”

Seto’s calm was getting on Amara’s nerves, in a bad way. “So are you,” her voice as even as his. “Don’t you have to get to work or something?”

“I’m the boss; I can not go in and not get fired,” he smirked.

“That’s Spanish she’s swearing in now.” Ryou answered his dark’s unspoken question.

“You think Kaiba knows Spanish?”

He did.

“I think Kaiba has finally met his match.”

“Yeah,” Bakura had to agree with his light on that one. “I’m betting on little sister to win.”

Ryou shook his outstretched hand, “Why?”

“I doubt women have changed much in 5000 years. They can piss a man off, fuck his brains out, leave him wondering what the hell he did wrong, and feeling so damn good he wants her to do it all over again, and all in less than ten minutes.”

Ryou looked at Bakura as if he had confessed to being a virgin. “How do you know about women? You’re gay.”

Bakura shrugged, “Desperate men can’t be choosey.”

“I think the term is ‘beggars’.”

“Tomb robbers don’t beg. They steal.”

“You don’t say?”

Bakura chose to ignore the sarcasm. “Shhh... They’re starting again.”

“Look, I’m so tired of arguing.” Amara sat down at the table, running a hand through her hair. “Just give me one good reason why you want to strap a muscle bound, gun packing, thyroid dysfunctional, Neanderthal throw back to me and my baby, and I’ll honestly listen.”

Seto paused, coffee cup halfway to his mouth, “Thyroid dysfunctional?” With a small shake of his head, Seto took a sip, “That would explain some things.” He set the cup on the table, “One of my ‘enemies’ may have seen you in my presence, or leaving the mansion, and decided to abduct Kira for leverage, or revenge against me.”

Amara frowned, “Just how wealthy are you?”

“That wealthy.” She stared at him wide eyed as the realization sunk in.

“I honestly believe that they were just out to grab a baby, and I just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time.” Amara decided to try a different tactic. “If and when, you find out this is a deliberate plot against us, I will gladly accept a body guard, but until then, how about I take someone with me when I go out?”

“As in a... bodyguard?”

Amara was at a loss. Seto smirked, thinking he had won.

Bakura wasn’t one to lose a bet. “As in me or my light,” he said.

Amara grinned at the white haired thief. “See? Not a guard, a friend.”

Bakura took the liberty of pouring himself a cup of coffee before he and Ryou joined them at the table, “Besides, I took care of the problem.”

Seto narrowed his eyes at the smug thief; he was not a happy man. “How?”

He gave the billionaire a knowing look, “Permanently.”

Ryou shuddered. Amara seriously hoped he didn’t mean what she thought he meant.

Kira’s cry was heard over the monitor. Ryou stopped Amara before she could get up. “Can I get her?”

“Sure. She’s in her crib in my room, across the hall from Seto’s.”

“I brought her a dress. May I?”

“If the child is dressed why redo it?” Bakura complained.

Amara frowned at the thief. “If you want to Ryou, go ahead. Her mom doesn’t mind.”

“So why are you two here?” Seto asked, interrupting the glare-off between mother and thief.

“Ryou wanted to see how the child was. And the pharaoh called, wanting to meet me about the scrolls. The lights decided we’d all come here. We came early so he could hog the kid.”

“Jealous?” Amara teased.

Bakura rolled his eyes. “Hardly.”

Seto returned to reading the paper. Amara was still in the mood for a bit of revenge on the self assured CEO. “Why are you really staying home today?”

He sighed deeply, neatly folded the paper then chucked it is the trash. “I’ll watch the news channel later.”

“Hmmmmmmmm?” Amara looked at him innocently, spreading jam on half a muffin.

“I am trying to determine if I should boil my soon to be former secretary in oil for her incompetence before or after I fire her.”

Amara had a change in perception. Seto stood in purple robes and headdress, a woman groveling at his feet. He was yelling, pointing to several armed men standing near, and making cutting motions. The woman was drug away, screaming. The scene left Amara with a deep sense of foreboding.

“Before. Doing it after is against your laws.” Bakura watched Amara smear jam over her hair that had fallen on the muffin. “You going to eat that?”

Bakura’s question pulled Amara from her thoughts. She looked down. “Damn.” She got up and threw the bread away then cleaned the sticky mess from her hair. She rummaged around in a drawer, “Ah-ha.” She pulled out a pair of bamboo chop sticks. Both men watched her twist her hair up on her head and jam the wooden sticks into the mass. “I should cut this mess off; its more trouble than it’s worth.” She grumbled, sitting back down.

“Seto I need a recommendation from you.” Amara began to butter the second half of the muffin, paying attention to her hands this time.

“For?”

“I need to take Kira to a doctor.”

Ryou walked in with said child, “Was she hurt?” The concern in his voice was mirrored on the faces of CEO and thief.

“No,” Amara was quick to reassure them. “She was born premature and needs to have more checkups than a full term baby would. That’s all.”

“Does she need a specialized pediatrician or a family doctor?”

Amara shrugged, “Either I guess.”

“I’ll set up an appointment with Mokuba’s doctor. How soon do you need her to be seen?”

“Whenever it can be arranged will be fine.”

Seto nodded and left the room.

Amara admired Ryou and Bakura playing with Kira. They were good with her. Who would have thought the rough thief could be so gentle.

She noticed a small cut over Ryou’s eye that she knew wasn’t there yesterday. She also noticed he was keeping more space between himself and Bakura than he had before.

The door bell rang, breaking into Amara’s musings. Andrew soon led Yami and Yugi into the kitchen. Yugi immediately going to Kira, Yami sitting in Seto’s vacated seat.

“How was your night, Amara?” the spirit asked.

“Fine. Thanks.” She smiled as he leaned over to better see Kira. “I didn’t say thank you to you and Yugi yesterday for your help.”

“You were preoccupied, besides none was needed. We were happy to assist.” Yami reached over Yugi, tickling Kira’s cheek. “She tends to grow on people.”

The other three heartily agreed.

After a few moments of fun, Yami decided it was time to get down to business. “We need to speak with Kaiba, tomb robber. I have found some unusual things in these spells.”

Bakura nodded, “So have I, pharaoh.” They both looked expectantly at Amara.

“I think he’d be in his office, but I don’t remember where it is.” She stood, “I can call Andrew for you.”

“I know where it is,” Yugi piped up. “I’ll show them. I need to give Mokuba the chess set he ordered anyway,” He motioned to the wrapped package he had under his arm.

Amara watched the trio leave, now was her chance to talk to Ryou about her suspicions. “Ryou, I noticed you have a cut over your eye.” The white haired teen self consciously rubbed a fingertip over the spot. “How did you get it?”

He looked down, fingering the ruffles on Kira’s dress.

“Ryou,” Amara touched his hand. He looked up, a sad and troubled expression, “Bakura gave it to you, didn’t he?” she asked gently.

He nodded. “But it’s not what you think,” he quickly added.

“Would you explain it please?” Amara kept her voice calm. She didn’t want to frighten him into claming up.

Ryou took a deep sigh. “Bakura was very abusive when he first emerged from the ring. He took over whenever he wanted and got into trouble, leaving me to get out of it. He always said things to hurt me. He was very angry.” A tear rolled down Ryou’s pale cheek at the remembered pain. “When he got his body he became physically abusive as well.”

Amara placed her hand on his, “What made him stop hitting you?”

“Yami threatened him with... something that really scared him, and Tristan and Joey beat him pretty badly. They caught him by surprise and he couldn’t call his shadow powers up to defend himself.” Ryou sighed, “After that he stopped hitting me, ignoring me instead.”

“He seems to care for you now.”

“He looks out for me because it’s his job as my yami. If something were to happen to me, it would happen to him as well.”

“Aren’t you two lovers?”

Ryou sniffed, “No. It’s just sex, no emotion, not on his part anyway.”

Amara brushed aside the snowy locks, “What caused this?”

“He was mad. He was grumbling about something with a can opener in his hand. He threw it and the edge cut me.” Ryou looked at her, his eyes pleading. “He didn’t mean to.”

“You love him. Don’t you?” she asked gently.

Ryou looked like a deer caught in a spotlight. He blushed and nodded, “Yes,” he whispered.

“But he still hurts you.”

He nodded again.

“Would you like me to talk to him?”

“Oh...no...you shouldn’t,” Ryou had a look of panic. “He would get mad at you and me both. He’d think I put you up to it.”

She chuckled, “Hey, I’m the best bet. He can get as mad at me as he wants tsendsend me away,” Amara smiled warmly at the white haired boy. “I’ll make sure he knows you had nothing to do with it.”

Ryou’s shy, grateful smile was all the thanks she needed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The two spirits waited patiently for Seto to finish his call. The completed translations of Bakura’s chant were spread out of Seto’s desk.

“Here is where the merged one begins to change. The words here are different from the original as well,” Yami pointed out the differences on each copy.

“I changed these words here to a more exact meaning, but this is not anywhere close to what I wrote.” Bakura tapped a section of the merged chant.

“The one Bakura wrote says, the ‘heart’s desire’ only. But here it says, ‘the means for the hearts of all present to obtain their deepest desire.” Seto read the copies.

“Yes,” Yami nodded. “The onal nal states, ‘to find a way to release the darkest heart desired by all present’.” He looked at Bakura, stunned. “Bakura could this spell be from the tomb of the Heart of Darkness?”

Bakura shrugged, “Maybe, I don’t recall robbing that tomb. But there are many I robbed never knowing who was entombed in them, especially in the beginning.”

“Seto, we may need help to decipher this,” Yami carefully rolled up the various copies spread across Seto’s desk. “If this is from where I think, the danger is beyond belief. The translations must be exact.”

Seto narrowed his eyes, “Help from where?” his tone hard.

“I think you know who I refer to, Kaiba.”

“The psychopath.”

“This evil will make Marik’s darkness look like Kira in comparison.” Bakura looked surprisingly somber.

“I do not want to attempt to return Amara and Kira if there is any uncertainty,” Yami laid the tubes carefully on the desk.

He missed the dark looks given him by Bakura as well as Seto.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tristan showed up with Joey after work, and everyone enjoyed a relaxing afternoon around the pool. Currently, they were sitting around the food laden patio tableto eto and Tristan at the grill, cooking steaks and burgers.

They brought the platters of meat over and everyone began filling a plate. Everyone except Amara. Taking an apple from a bowl of fresh fruit, she sat down beside Yami with a glass of lemonade.

Scowling, Bakura set his steak aside. He put together a burger, piling it with every vegetable he had seen his hikari put on his burgers and added a few of his own then set the plate in front of Amara. He plucked the apple from her hands, throwing it as hard as he could across the wide expanse of Seto’s lawn.

“Hey, I was going to eat that.” She said indignantly.

“Well, little sister, you can, as soon as you eat this,” he motioned to the burger in front of her, arms crossed. “You do not eat enough for a nursing mother.”

“I eat when I’m hungry.” She pushed the plate away, reaching for another apple. She yelped in surprise when Bakura smacked her hand.

“You do not eat enough to nourish yourself and your child.” He pushed the plate back. “What have you ate today?”

Amara was silent, thinking, when Seto spoke up. “She had half a muffin this morning with a glass of juice. Around noon, she had a banana and a glass of milk.”

Joey looked at her in disbelief. “That’s not eating, that’s snacking between snacks.” He shoved his plate of fries at her.

Amara frowned at them, blushing slightly.

“I have to agree with Bakura, Amara. That’s not enough food especially if you’re nursing.” Yugi looked concerned.

“It’s not been a problem before,” she grumbled.

“Now it is. You can, and will eat more, little sister.” Bakura gave her a hard look.

Amara looked down at the table. Suddenly there were plates with potato salad, fresh vegetables, sweet and sour chicken and rice, and meatballs in front of her. Glasses of milk and juice sitting among them. Seto slid his bowl of salad at her as well.

“I couldn’t eat all this in a week.”

“You don’t have to eat it all, “Seto handed her a clean plate. “Just a balanced selection.”

With a sigh, she took a bit of this and that from the offered plates and began the chore of getting it all down. Bakura shoved the remainder of the burger to Ryou, “You could use more too, hikari. You’re too damn skinny.” Ryou blushed, taking the food.

Halfway through the meal, Amara found herself staring at Bakura. “Why have you been calling me little sister today?”

The white haired thief sighed, “It’s a long story.” He rested his elbows on the table, propping his chin on his folded hands. “I was the youngest son of my father, but I was not his youngest child. I had a younger sister. She was beautiful, shining bright like the noon day sun.” His face took on a far away look. “She was the family favorite. She often stopped my father from beating me. I loved her dearly. She begged to go everywhere with me.” His expression began to darken. “One day we were near an old, nearly collapsed hut. She ran in on a dare, disturbing the largest asp I’ve even seen. If it had struck her, she would have certainly died. I climbed onto what was left of the roof, but she couldn’t get high enough to reach me. As the snake struck, I swung down from a beam and grabbed her. She was unharmed. I took her home and told our father. He beat me for not watching her better. I snuck out that night to watch the moon rise, she snuck out behind me. She told me something that night similar to what you said. I remembered her for the first time in 5000 years last night.” He looked at Amara; his eyes soft and longing. “You remind me of her. She was kind and loving as well.”

“I am honored you consider me that way.” Amara blinked as a series of memory flashes raced across her vision. “Can I see your dagger?”

Bakura handed it over, cautioning her of its sharpness. It was a deadly work of art; she admired the etched blade and smooth bone handle.

Bakura watched the girl test the blade’s balance. “Do you know how to use a dagger?”

“No, I just know to give a healthy respect to deserving weapons.”

There was a very audible gasp; Amara had taken the dagger in her right hand, drawing the razor sharp point along her left palm from index finger to wrist. Tristan snatched a towel to staunch the blood flow.

She waved him off, laying the blade of the dagger along the cut, handle on her fingers and extended her hand to Bakura. With a flash of recognition, he took the dagger and made a similar cut on his right hand. He laid the dagger on the table between them and clasped her blood covered hand with his, pressing the cuts together.

As one they began to recite:

~My blood to yours, I freely give.
My life to yours, I freely give.
My family to yours, I freely give.
What was two, now becomes one.
One family.
We share ouror tor together.
Our food together.
Our water together.
We live as one.~

“I am your brother, you are my sister. I will guide you, protect you, and provide for you until you are my family no more.” Bakura held Amara’s eyes as he spoke, his voice held more conviction than anyone had heard from him before.

“I am your sister, you are my brother. I will help you, heal you, and give of my efforts to you until you are my family no more. My child I trust you to guide and protect until there is one other to accept us.” Her eyes shone with an unearthly brilliance.

Together they finished, “I love you and honor you with all that I have.”

Yami had moved closer to them as they recited, when the last line was finished, he laid his hands over theirs, “Pharaoh blesses this family, and all honors shall be shared equally by every member old and new.”

Bakura looked to his fellow yami with thanks and for the first time ever, respect.

The new siblings released each other’s hand and licked at the blood on their palms. When they were done, Seto clapped his hands twice, “It is done. Let the gods stand witness.”

A shaky Bakura took the towel from Tristan and pressed it to Amara’s hand. “How did you know that ceremony?”

“I don’t know.” She was a bit stunned herself. “It just came to me after you told us your story.”

“Um... guys, what just happened?” Joey asked.

“You have just witnessed the ancient Egyptian ceremony for taking a stranger into your family.” Yami informed them. “Blessed by Pharaoh and his High Priest.”

Seto watched Amara, a small smile on his face, as if he were remembering a fond memory.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Why are you here?”

“Sir, we have had unexpected information come to us.”

“Report.”

“One of our known operatives was approached by a street junkie, sir”

“And.”

“Sir, he described, perfectly operatives two and three. He said they were murdered, sir.”

“Who?”

“A white haired man with a knife who moved like a hunting cat, sir.”

His employer growled, “The spirit of the ring.”

“It is believed so, sir.”

“Is he to be believed?”

“His story never changed under ‘questioning’, sir.”

“Where is he now?”

“Detention, sir.”

“Give him what he wants and set him free. He can be of future use to me.”

“Yes, sir.”

“I want no further interference from the spirit of the ring.”

“Understood, sir.”

“Dismissed.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
For the first time during the course of the day, the mansion was quiet. Kira was tucked into bed. Seto was in his office, working. Tessa and Andrew had turned in for the night. Amara and Mokuba were watching a movie, one without car chases, gun fights or explosions.

Mokuba grabbed the remote, pausing the movie. “I’m getting hungry,” stomach growling, making his point.

Amara chuckled, “You go get some food, bottomless pit, and I’ll go check on Kira.”

“Can I?” Mokuba was enjoying his role as big brother.

“Sure. What do you want to eat?” Amara called as he thundered up the stairs.

“Anything!”

“Well that tells me a lot and nothing at the same time.”

Seto came out of his office to see what had set his little brother off, again, in time to hear Amara’s comment. “Mokuba must be hungry.”

She nodded, turning to go into the kitchen. “You have any idea what he’ll want?”

“Sugar... and a spoon.”

Amara looked at him over the top of the refrigerator door, “Joking right?” He smirked. “Ooookaaaayy.” She set a couple of cups of pudding on the counter.

Mokuba ran into the kitchen out of breath. “Guys, there’s a fire a few blocks over and up!”

Curious, Seto lead the way to the front door. The smell of smoke was thick on the summer breeze and the flickering light of flames could be seen in the distance.

Mokuba looked at Seto, “Isn’t that...?”

“Ryou’s house.” The older finished.

“Gods,” Amara’s eyes widened in horror. “Get Tessa to watch Kira!” She was running full tilt down the driveway.

After a few orders to his brother, Seto followed.

Amara didn’t slow down until she reached Ryou’s house. She was thanking every track coach she ever had by the time her foot hit the lawn.

She raced to the door, pounding on it, trying to get in. It was locked. Seto came up behind her; he kicked the door, shattering the jamb. Thick, acrid smoke boiled out the open door, nearly overwhelming them.

The kitchen was engulfed in flame. “Shut off the gas outside,” She yelled to Seto over the roar of the flames. “I’ll find Ryou.” He nodded running back outside.

“Ryou! Ryou!” Amara prayed he wasn’t in the inferno that used to be the kitchen. She ran upstairs, screaming his name.

She saw a security bar braced against one of the bedroom doors. She beat on the door. “Ryou!” She kicked the bar away, yanking the door open. Ryou literally fell into her arms. He was barely conscious.

“Let’s get you out of here,” Amara draped his arm over her shoulders, taking most of his weight.

“No.” Ryou tried to pull away, only to weakly fall back against her. “Ring.”

Seto ran up the stairs and scooped Ryou up in his arms. “GO!” He pushed Amara in front him towards the stairs.

“He wants his ring. Get him out. I’ll grab it and be right behind you.”

“The stairs are catching...” Amara pushed past Seto into the smoky room praying he would get the white haired boy out. She found the ring on the dresser next to Ryou’s dueling deck and a jewelry box. Slipping the leather strap around her neck, she grabbed the deck and box and ran.

Seto was checking Ryou’s breathing on the lawn. Amara slipped the ring from her neck, placing it around Ryou’s. Emergency vehicles pulled up in front of the burning house. “About time.” Seto snarled, furious. “Incompetents.”

Firemen rushed to contain the flames. An ambulance attendant ran over with an oxygen tank, placing the mask over the semi conscious teen’s nose and mouth. He quickly checked Amara and Seto before turning back to the coughing boy.

Bakura roared up on his motorcycle, stopping beside the three teens on the lawn. He tore his helmet off, throwing it in his anxiety. “Little sister, how is he?”

Amara laid a calming hand on his arm, “He took in some smoke but seems fine otherwise.”

Fury replaced worry in the fiend’s eyes. “What the Ra damned hell happ her here?”

“Mokuba saw the flames. We guessed it was your house.” Seto explained. “Amara and I ran here and found this.” He waved his hand in the general direction of the fire.

“Bakura, I found a security bar holding a bedroom door closed with Ryou inside.” Bakura’s face ran a gamut of emotions as Amara spoke. “And Ryou has really been out of it, more than just smoke inhalation can explain.”

After a quick check, the spirit vanished. Moments later, Ryou’s eyes opened, but frigid stone had replaced their normal gentle warmth.

Seto glanced up, “It’s safe,” he said.

Bakura reappeared, gingerly feeling the back of his light’s head. “He said someone came into the kitchen and hit him. After that he only remembers Amara catching him.” He pulled his hand back, blood on his fingers.

“This was a murder attempt,” Amara whispered. Who would want to kill Ryou?

“With arson to cover it up.” Seto watched the ambulance attendant talking to a police officer. “We better figure something out fast.” The officer was coming their way.

“Kaiba, you handle this, you’re the expert. We’ll go along with whatever you say.” Seto nodded rising to intercept the officer. “I have more important things to consider.”

“’Kura?” Ryou’s weak voice caught their attention.

“I am here hikari.”

“What...?” Bakura gently pushed him back down as he tried to sit up. Ryou turned his head and saw the house a smoldering ruin. “Gods.”

Amara took his cold hand in hers. “It’ll be okay Ryou. You can stay with us until we get all this sorted out.”

“No,” Seto had returned from talking to the police officer. “You both can stay at the mansion until your home is repaireHe kHe knelt beside Ryou. “The police will come out tomorrow morning to speak with you. I will stay to help, if you would like.”

Ryou nodded, placing a grateful hand on Seto’s wrist. The CEO was surprised by the boy’s gesture to say the least.

The ambulance attendant returned, taking Ryou vital signs again and removing the oxygen mask. “Sir, you can come to the hospital if you’d like. We actually recommend that since you did inhale some smoke. But you seem well enough that you can go to a friend’s tonight if there will be someone around trained in medical care.”

“He will be staying with me,” Seto said. “I am trained to the point of medical triage.” Satisfied, the attendant left.

Seto turned to see three very surprised faces staring at him. “You are a very amazing man Seto Kaiba.” Amara smiled at him.

Ryou was helped to his feet, and final information given to the police. The danger area was roped off, and the four exhausted teens began their trek back to the mansion.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Report.”

“Sir, the attempt failed.”

“Who was in charge?” The anger was almost tangible.

“Panik, sir.”

“Kill him.” The voice was as cold as glacier ice.

“Yes, sir.”

“Leave.”

As the man left, the sound of countless snakes hissing in rage filled the room. This time he couldn’t control the fear rising inside him. He ran down the hall.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Amara sat on her bed, combing her now clean hair. The stink of the fire lingered in her nose but at least she felt clean. She twisted her hair up, sticking the chop sticks back into it. She rearranging the blanket around her sleeping daughter then turned to see Seto standing in the door.

She smiled at him.

He walked over and gentle stroked Kira’s curly head. “To be so innocent,” he murmured.

They sat beside each other on the bed. Seto took her hand in his, running his thumb over her knuckles.

“Why did you run into that fire?” he asked breaking the silence.

Amara swallowed, “Ryou and Bakura are my friends. I...care very much for them.” She looked into deep ocean blue eyes. “I would have done the same had it been Joey, Mokuba or any of the others,” she dropped her gaze. “Or you,” she whispered, tightening her fingers on his.

“You could have...”

“Everything turned out fine.” Amara suddenly felt warm. “How is Ryou doing?”

Seto knew she had deliberately changed the subject. “He is on the phone with his father now. I thought it best to give them some privacy.”

Amara nodded, her eyes on their joined hands. She watched as Seto took his hand from hers then felt him pull the small pieces of bamboo from her hair, causing it to tumble down around her face. “I like it... this way,” slender fingers ran through the long waves. “It’s... you’re... beautiful,” he whispered, leaning in to capture her lips.

The kiss was soft and tender. Seto tangled his fingers in the long red tresses, pressing her closer, yet taking great care to keep the kiss gentle.

He leisurely traced her full red lips, amazed how soft they felt. He wasn’t really surprised when he felt her lips part, but he was when her tongue slipped out, tapping the tip of his. He immediately accepted the invitation.

They didn’t fight for dominance, Amara didn’t want it. She merely wanted to caress his tongue with hers. Seto’s senses were reeling. He deepened the kiss with a small moan of pleasure.

With a gasp, they parted. Amara laid her forehead against his neck, her quickened breath ghosting along his collarbone, sending tiny shivers of delight through his body. Seto rubbed his cheek against her hair, inhaling deeply the scent of her shampoo.

“I should go,” he whispered. He felt her hands tighten on his shirt. He held her tighter in response.

Hesitantly, she began to pull away, her eyes questioning and pleading.

“I don’t want to go,” he murmured.

“I don’t want you to go.”

Seto kissed her again, tenderly on her eyelid and rose, leaving the room, closing the door behind him.

In the safety of his office, Seto sat staring blankly at the black computer monitor. Mind and body both reeling from what had happened a few moments ago.

A kiss. A simple kiss. A kiss that made him feel more than he had in the past five years.

For over a year, he had been sleeping with the various members of Yugi’s group in a desperate attempt to feel again. His adoptive father had tried to beat all emotion out of him and would have succeeded if not for Mokuba. Seto’s love for his little brother had kept him from turning into the ruthless, emotionless, mirror image Gozuboro had wanted.

The bastard had only succeeded in making Seto’s heart cold, not dead.

After the traumas of Duelist Kingdom and Battle City, Seto wanted to feel again if only for his little brother. Mokuba had suffered because of Seto’s pride and arrogance. The older brother vowed to make amends to the only person he could honestly say loved him.

He had asked Yugi’s group, individually, of course, to help. He trusted them, as much as he trusted anyone, Mokuba excluded. He had offered to pay them handsomely for their services but was flatly ref.
.

He had been surprised to discover they were each attracted to him to some degree, and after further explanations, they had agreed to help. But to no avail.

He still couldn’t lower his barriers enough to feel. Even when having sex with them, he fought against everything they made him feel, the pleasure, the desire.

Amara. She made him feel...human, alive, asking nothing of him in return, even telling him he was doing too much for her and her daughter.

He wd hed her in his life, both of them.

But would she want him, once she knew who and what he truly was? He honestly doubted it. But he allowed himself to cling to the tiny ray of hope her words had given him.

“I don’t want you to go.”


TBC

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