Yu-Gi-Oh! Love Selflessly (Version 2 - SEMI FINAL)

Chapter 13

Emiko and Seto walked through the forest in silence. Emiko's eyes were red from her earlier outburst and Seto's cheek stung from her slap. She thought to herself as the sun started to peek through the trees, beams of sunlight piercing the dimness of the forest, "I certainly hope Yugi and the others will be okay. I wish we didn't have to leave them." She looked up at her brother. His face was determined and serious. He really kept his cool, even in the face of danger. She sighed.

"I wish I could be more like him," she thought, "He was always so strong." Seto said, never shifting his gaze from the castle, "Emiko. I never intended for you to end up in danger. Not for my sake or for Mokuba's." Emiko said, "I know. I...I'm not upset about being here." She looked up at him and said, "I'm just glad you're ok." He nodded and kept walking ahead. She let out a light sigh. He said, "I know you're still mad at me." Emiko glared up at him out of the corner of her eyes. He said, "We're going to get Mokuba back. I promise." She nodded and he said, "I promised you and Mokuba that I'd never leave you two alone. I promised I'd keep you both safe." She said, "I just hope he's okay."

Inside the castle, deep in the dark, cavernous dungeon, Mokuba sat in his cell, a metal chain around his ankle. He sniffled, his face buried in his knees. He thought, "My brother and sister will come for me. They always do." He lifted his head up and held the card-shaped locket, opening it and looking at the picture inside. Tears rolled down his cheeks as he thought, "Back at the orphanage, Seto made sure we all left together. He refused to let anyone separate us. He promised to keep the two of us safe and he's going to keep that promise." He closed the locket and looked up at the dark, brick ceiling. He sighed, "Come soon."

As Seto and Emiko walked through the woods, the sun rose high into the sky and they reached the woods just below the castle. Seto said calmly, "There's the castle." Emiko asked, "Are you sure Mokuba's in there?" Seto nodded. As Seto walked towards the castle, Emiko hesitated, but she felt an arm wrap around her shoulders and lift her off the ground. She let out a yelp and Seto turned with a start. She grabbed and clawed at Kemo's strong arms and shouted, "Get off me! Seto, help!" Kemo held the barrel of a shiny, silver gun to her temple and said, "I have explicit orders from Master Pegasus to keep you from interfering, Miss Kaiba." Seto swiftly picked out a card from his duelling deck, jamming the gun and grabbing Kemo, who, shocked and caught off-guard, loosened his grip on Emiko. As she fell to the ground, she stumbled away from the two. Seto spun around, managing to catch the guard in a strong choke-hold, kicking the gun far away into the tall grass. He said sternly, "Emiko. Run away from here. Go." She asked, standing up, "But, Seto! Wh-what about you?" He said, struggling against Kemo, "I'll be fine. I'll get Mokuba and I'll find you." Kemo tried to throw Seto, but he swept Kemo's feet out from under him, adjusting his grip.

"Emiko, that is not a request. Now go! Get out of here!"

Emiko opened her mouth to say something, then closed it. Her body was shaking. She wanted to listen to him, but she wanted to help him. She looked down at Kemo, then back up at Seto. She bit her lip. Seto shouted at her, "Go!" Her heartbeat pounded in her head and she finally turned around to run in the opposite direction. She said, her throat clenching and her eyes shimmering with tears, "You promise you'll come back?" Seto nodded. She sobbed and ran away, jumping through the bushes and dodging stray branches. She breathed heavily, seeing the trail and running alongside it, knowing she'd eventually reach somewhere safe.

After what seemed like an eternity of running, she rounded a corner and looked back. The castle was far away again. Her breathing was hoarse and her heart was racing from the exertion and the panic. She leaned against a tree nearby and slid to the ground, curling up and burying her face into her knees, sobbing quietly to herself, "I hope you know what you're doing, Seto." She cried alone, thinking to herself, "Why didn't I try to fight, too? We just got reunited. Why couldn't I have just disobeyed him? Am I really that weak?" She looked tearfully up at the clouds in the sky. Her thoughts were interrupted by a slight rustling behind her. She gasped and stood up in a flash, turning and throwing up her fists defensively.

"Emiko?"

Mai stepped towards her. Emiko relaxed a little and said, wiping her eyes on her sleeve, "Mai." Mai asked, concern lacing her voice, "What's wrong? Why aren't you with Yugi and the others?" Emiko bit her lip. She said, her voice trembling, "I-I left with my brother...but..." She turned away to try and hide her tears, but Mai approached, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. She sighed, "Emiko." Emiko said, the tears starting to fall again, "H-he told me to run, but I'm scared, Mai. I-I'm scared that something terrible is going to happen." Mai said reassuringly, "I don't know what you've been through, Emiko, but I can promise you one thing: if I had to guess, Kaiba is going to do everything in his power to make sure that you are safe. If he told you to run, then you did the right thing." Emiko cried softly, but took a shaking, deep breath in. Mai said, "Now, what are you going to do?" Emiko furrowed her brows.

"What am I going to do," she thought, "There's not a lot I can do without getting into the castle. But, I only have six star chips." Mai said, "Well?" Emiko wiped her eyes on her sleeve again and said, "I'm going to get ten star chips and get into the castle." Mai smirked. She said, "Alright." She pulled a set of star chips out of her pocket and said, "I'll tell you what: I have four chips with your name on them." Emiko's eyes widened. She asked, "You'd lose your star chips to help me out?" Mai chuckled, showing off her duelling glove, which had been filled with ten golden star chips, "Honey, I've already got more than enough to get in. I'm simply holding onto these, just in case. If you can beat me, then you'll gain entrance into the castle to save your brother." Emiko took another breath, finally feeling her spirits lift, and said, "You got it, Mai. Let's duel." They both walked to the nearest duelling arena and stepped up onto the duelling platforms, setting their decks on the board. The holograms sprung to life, projecting their playing field onto the arena and setting their life points to 2,000 each. As they both drew their cards, the duel began.

Mai began the duel strong, playing a strong combination of Harpie Lady and magic cards. Emiko did her very best to fend her off with defense monsters and magic cards for several turns. Neither made a dent in the other's life points. It was a long duel and a struggle for power as Mai boosted her offense while Emiko could only bolster her defense. It wasn't until Emiko finally drew her Magician's Valkyria that she could finally gain the upper hand. She played her trusted Spellcaster in combination with power-boosting magic cards and layed a couple of trap cards down in an attempt to catch Mai off guard. Unfortunately, Mai's Harpie's Feather Duster magic card swept the field clean of Emiko's spell and trap cards, causing Emiko to lose her Magician's Valkyria and a chunk of her life points. It took another several turns of defending, but Emiko was finally able to defeat Mai, bringing her life points down to zero.

"Wow, that was a tough duel, Emiko," Mai said, handing Emiko her four star chips, "One of the most intense duels I've experienced yet." Emiko smiled shyly and took the chips, placing them one-by-one into her glove. Mai continued, "I'll give you one thing, you've certainly got determination." Emiko said, "Thank you, Mai. If you hadn't showed up, I don't know what I'd do." Emiko looked up into the sky. It looked like nearly two hours had passed since she left Seto. She sighed and looked around. Mai said, "Well, kiddo, I suppose my work here is done. See ya around, Emiko." She walked out into the field, leaving Emiko standing by the woods. Emiko watched her as she walked away.

"Mai is actually kind of nice when you get to know her," Emiko thought. She looked back towards the castle, but she still wondered if the guards would be after her, should she go back alone. She thought, "If they are after me, will I be able to defend myself?" She frowned, pondering her options. She finally looked up and jogged after Mai. She called, "Mai, wait! Please, let me go with you!" Mai turned around. Emiko said, "Those guards are going to be after me. I-I'm afraid to go alone." The blonde woman smiled and said, "Alright, but we're making a few duelling stops along the way." She winked and Emiko nodded.

"I have to," she thought, "I can't afford to get caught, too."