Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Seto Kaiba's Perfect Match ❯ Bewildered And Suddenly Alone ( Chapter 12 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

"Well," I said, stretching a little, "do you want to head on to bed, or pick up where we left off?" I playfully traced teasing swirls over his thigh and he smiled at me.
"I thought you were tired?"
"Horny and tired go very well together sometimes," I said seductively, making my voice a little huskier.
"Huh. Mokuba was right, I did pick a crazy girl," he said jokingly, clasping my hand in his.
"Aw---well, I hope I'm the kind of crazy you like, Sexy Man."
"Oh, that's a given." He kissed me lightly on the lips. "Well, as---tempting as your offer is," he said, winking at me and rising slowly from the couch, "I think I'm going to go on to bed. These last few days have been rather eventful."
"Just what sort of events are we talking about?" I asked teasingly.
"Everything," he said, and he paused slightly, then spoke again. "Thank you for rescuing me. And I don't mean just the other nightI mean thanks for rescuing me from myself."
"No problem," I said cheerfully. He smiled slightly, turned and walked out of the room. I followed soon after, heading to the guest bedroom as I had done the previous night, when I heard Seto's voice calling from the stairs.
"Robin?"
"Yeah?" I asked, running to the foot of the stairs and looking up at him.
"You can come up here if you'd like."
"OK," I responded cheerfully, and bounced up the stairs (I was having a mental squealing fit, so I was unusually hyper). He and I joined hands and walked into what was apparently his bedroom. At seeing the room, I smiled.
"Sweet." The room was done in all blue, sort of like the guest bedroom, but more of the darker shades of blue than the lighter shades. A small, silver Blue-Eyes White Dragon figurine stood on the middle of three shelves on the far wall, and a king-size bed pretty much filled the near side of the room. A desk with a laptop sat in the far corner, to the left of the shelves, and a little lamp table stood near the far side of the bed.
"Wow, you must like the color blue as much as me," I joked, looking around. "This room kicks ass. How do you keep it so neat?"
"Well, the maids usually do a good job of that, but I don't usually throw stuff around----I'm not a messy person."
"Shit, I am!" I said with a laugh. "Just watch----in a few days this place is gonna look like a fuckin' tornado hit it."
"I hope not," he said, but he winked at me and I smiled.
"Nah, I'll rein in my messy habits. Anything for my Sexy Man, ya know?" I smiled warmly and wrapped my arm around him. "You sure it's all right for me to stay up here with you?" I asked, looking slightly up to gaze into his eyes.
"It's all right," he said gently. "After all, you are my girlfriend now, so why not?"
"Awww," I said, a big grin spreading over my face. I left his side briefly and looked around a bit. "So is this where you come up with your wonderful, brilliant ideas?" I asked, gesturing to the desk where his laptop sat.
"Sometimes," he replied, coming over to the desk and sitting in front of the screen. "A lot of times I wake up in the middle of the night and can't sleep, and so I work on stuff involving KaibaCorp, or, if I'm in the mood and inspired, I develop new inventions for playing Duel Monsters."
"I remember you saying that," I said, walking over to stand behind him and watch as he expertly manipulated the touch pad of his laptop.
"Man, I never could get the hang of those things," I kidded, gesturing to the touch pad. "My big ol' clumsy fingers always manage to screw it up somehow. Your fingers are long and thin and more dexterous than my ownand I know that from experience," I added with a seductive tone in my voice. "Like I said, those fingers are magic." I started to massage his shoulders gently, but he shook off my touch.
"Don't do that."
"Huh?"
"I said, don't do that----I'm working right now." His voice had become suddenly cool.
"Why not?" I asked. My voice tone sounded like that of a disappointed child.
"Because----I don't like to be bothered while I'm working on something." A part of me----probably the possessive, idiot girlfriend part----could have easily taken offense and gotten mad, but I thought about it and realized that I was very much the same way when composing music----I hated to be bothered or interrupted while coming up with my pieces. Plus, I didn't want to screw up anything he was trying to concentrate on by jabbering at him uselessly.
"Oh. All right," I said, turning away slightly. "Just give me similar space when I'm composing at 4:00 in the morning, all right?" I added, joking with him. But when I studied his face, I surprisingly got no reaction, only a chilly silence.
"Seto? Sweetheart, is something wrong?" I craned my head a little, to study his face more easily. The gentle smile he had had before had vanished completely, and his eyes stared coldly at the screen; this made me quite worried, to say the least.
"Nothing's wrong," he said calmly, after a long silence. "Just don't worry about it." Unfortunately, it was intrinsic to my nature to worry about those I loved. Seeing how cold and unresponsive Seto had become, however, I shrugged it off, left him to his business and instead got sufficiently undressed to go to bed.
"I'll see you in the morning," I said as warmly as I could. I expected no answer, and got none.

A dull thud awoke me----I had no idea what time it was, but it appeared to be getting light outside, judging from the windows, which were covered with blinds. My eyes fluttered a bit as I looked around, and my gaze directed itself toward the desk, where Seto was evidently still working, except I noticed he was shaking and his fist was planted firmly on the desk. As I kept still and watched, he hit the desk again and cursed quietly.
"Goddamn it. Goddamn them. Fuck!" He stood up angrily and began to pace back and forth, clasping his hands behind him. I stayed quiet and silent, and shut my eyes halfway so that I could observe him without being detected----I had become quite good at "playing possum" when I was younger, and I didn't want to piss him off further by letting him know I was watching him.
"Damn it, why did they pick now to threaten me?" he muttered, his voice edged and dripping with fury. "Why would they---oh, fuck them, fuck that." He was obviously pondering over something in his mind. "I know what it is. They want the company again. Well, damn it, they'll fail, just like last time!" Even in the semi-darkness of the bedroom, only lit by the faint glow of the laptop screen and the dim light coming from the window, I could still see Seto's beautiful blue eyes turn cold as ice and flash with barely-controlled rage. As much as I cared about him, I began to feel a bit afraid of him. What would I do if that rage was ever turned loose on me?
"I can't believe this!" I heard him mutter suddenly, shaking me out of my own mental monologue. "Why do they insist this is the perfect time to take over? Why are they calling me a weaker version of myself? What could possibly----"
Seto fell silent for a long time, and I felt the level of tension in the room suddenly rise. When he spoke, he said the four words I had hoped never to hear:
"It's because of her."

He walked over to the bed and shook me. "Get up. Now."
"All right, all right," I said, making my voice sound as if I had been asleep, waving my hand. "I'm a-gittin' up, don't you worry." I raised myself to a seated position and rubbed at my eyes. When I got them clear enough to actually see, my first sight was of Seto----which would have been nice if he were smiling and looked happy to see me. Unfortunately, that was not the case.
"Robin, I need to ask you something," he said in a controlled tone, sitting on the edge of the bed.
"All right," I said gently, not wishing to anger him. "What is it?"
"I want to know who sent you," he said, biting his lip as soon as he said it.
"Who---who sent me? What do you mean, Seto?" I asked in confusion, my brows furrowing.
"First of all," he said, holding up one finger, "don't call me by my first name anymore. Second," he added, holding up another, "don't play innocent. I know you have something to do with this mess, and you're going to tell me exactly what part you played in it." His tone was full of icy anger and suspicion.
"What mess?" I persisted, my voice rising a little in frustration. "I have no idea to what you refer----I was not 'sent' by anyone."
"Then how do you explain this?" he asked, shoving a piece of paper into my hands. I looked down at it and was astonished at what I read.

"Mr. Kaiba:
As you know, the Battle City Tournament is nearing its end, as more and more contestants are weeded out, leaving only the strongest. What we intend is to weed out weakness as well----and that means we must be rid of you.
"We have observed you, and have seen that you have become a weaker version of the person you once were----your personal relationships show that plainly. You are not the type of person fit to lead anymore, and so we have taken the liberty of finding replacements for you; this is the perfect time to take over and make this company what it should be again."

My breath quickened and I know I paled. "What is this?" I asked, my hands shaking in horror, rattling the paper. "This is---terrible!"
"I said, don't play innocent with me," Seto said, his teeth clenched. "I know you have something to do with this. This is another plan to take over my company----somehow, they think I'm weak and need to be taken out of power. They make some reference to my 'personal relationships'----and that's where you come in, Robin," he added with a mirthless laugh. "The fawning over me, the loving attention----that was just part of their plan, wasn't it?"
"Part of whose plan?"
"You know full well. My treacherous associates. I thought I'd gotten rid of them before, but I suppose not. They didn't sign the e-mail, but I know it's them again." He clenched his fist. "What a clever plan they had this time. Instead of trapping me in a game of my own design, this time they trap me in the game of love. Just when I thought it was safe to trust and fall in love, and be a kinder, gentler human being, this happens."
"You----were falling in love with me?" I asked. I shouldn't have been surprised, but knowing Seto, I figured it was something he didn't say lightly.
"Yes, I was----but certainly not now," he said with total distrust in his voice. "I can't believe you fooled me so well." His eyes were focused directly on me, but there was no love within those dark blue depths, only a simmering hatred that was not expressed, but definitely tangible.
"I didn't do anything!" I said, my voice rising further. "I do love you, S---oh, I mean Kaiba." I remembered just in time that he didn't want me calling him by his first name anymore.
"Oh, don't give me that sentimental crap. I couldn't care less if I ever saw you again." His indifferent voice, devoid of all emotion and life, struck me to the core of my soul, and tears began to fill my eyes silently.
"I didn't do anything to harm you, Kaiba," I said, my voice plaintive and shuddering with emotion. "My God, I have treated you like a king because you are worth it----worth every bit of my time and effort I put into being a caring, loving girlfriend. Heck, we've only gotten to know each other for a few days, but I honestly feel like I've known you and loved you all my life!" One single tear escaped my right eye and I wiped it away hurriedly. "I shared my pain with you just as you shared yours with me. I let you say things to me that I would never let any other man say to me. I let you dominate me when really I can't stand people dominating me." I let out a frustrated sigh and tried to calm myself down, with limited success.
"You know why I changed myself and let myself be controlled? You're worth it, Seto," I blurted suddenly, "and I'm sorry I disobeyed your rule and used your first name, but I messed up because my heart is talking for me." My voice shook uncontrollably, and I sobbed aloud. "I love you, and I tried my damnedest to be what you need in a woman. I tried to be the kindest, gentlest, most loving woman in the world, and I tried to be someone whom you would respect for her mental acuity as well as her generous nature. But I guess----I guess I'm----not----not fit for anything---b-but---" My voice died away in my throat, and my shoulders shook with sobs.
"I suppose I should give you credit for your acting ability," Seto said dryly.
"This isn't acting," I responded tearfully. "Do you know how much this hurts, to be distrusted by the man you love?"
"You don't love me," Seto said, still without emotion. "Not really. You're just lying to me again." He folded his arms and looked away, and I dared not reach out for him when he was so furious with me and I felt completely frustrated and sad. Instead, I rose from the bed on the opposite side and silently dressed, then gathered my duel disc and cards and prepared to leave. He still sat motionless on the bed, staring off into nothing.
"I'm sorry you think I did this to you," I said finally, heading toward the door as I said it. "I didn't do it. I'm going to find a way to prove it to you, and maybe then we can go back to trusting each other. No matter what you think of me, I still love you." I hesitated slightly, waiting for a response. Cold, tense silence met my ears, and my shoulders sagged. "I'm sorry," I murmured again, and dejectedly left the room.