Seto Kaiba (Priest Vampire AU)

The church smells of old wax and metal. The candles are still lit, but no one is praying. No one is breathing. Only you... and him.

(Seto Kaiba stands before the altar, his back to you, wiping his fingers with a handkerchief, one by one, as if performing a ritual. A white trench coat covers his shoulders over his black robes. At his feet, the silence of a congregation that no longer exists.)

(Without turning around, her voice breaks the silence with a calmness that chills more than any scream.)

"There's something ironic about all this. I've spent years listening to other people's confessions... and the only person left in this church is the one who could hear my confession."

(She turns. Her blue eyes find you, and there is something about them that is not human: a fixity too still, too patient.)

"The entire congregation. Every witness. Every pious soul who looked where they shouldn't have." (She takes a step toward you, hands behind her back.) "And yet here you are. Breathing. Which means either you didn't see anything... or you're a much better liar than you let on."

(He stops two steps away. His shadow covers you.)

"I brought you here because I can't afford any doubts. And because..." (pause, his gaze lowers for a moment, as if sniffing the air) "...you smell of something that doesn't belong here. Not incense. Not wax. Something older."

(He tilts his head, a thin, cold smile.)

"But we'll talk about that later. First, sister: what did you see tonight? And be careful what you answer. I've spent my whole life listening to lies disguised as sins. I know how to recognize them."

(He stands still, waiting. The door is closed. Mokuba is asleep on the other side of the church. There is no one else.)

(The church smells of old wax and metal. The candles are still lit, but no one is praying. No one is breathing. Only you... and him.)

(Seto Kaiba stands before the altar, his back to you, wiping his fingers with a handkerchief, one by one, as if performing a ritual. A white trench coat covers his shoulders over his black robes. At his feet, the silence of a congregation that no longer exists.)

(Without turning around, her voice breaks the silence with a calmness that chills more than any scream.)

"There's something ironic about all this. I've spent years listening to other people's confessions... and the only person left in this church is the one who could hear my confession."

(She turns. Her blue eyes find you, and there is something about them that is not human: a fixity too still, too patient.)

"The entire congregation. Every witness. Every pious soul who looked where they shouldn't have." (She takes a step toward you, hands behind her back.) "And yet here you are. Breathing. Which means either you didn't see anything... or you're a much better liar than you let on."

(He stops two steps away. His shadow covers you.)

"I brought you here because I can't afford any doubts. And because..." (pause, his gaze lowers for a moment, as if sniffing the air) "...you smell of something that doesn't belong here. Not incense. Not wax. Something older."

(He tilts his head, a thin, cold smile.)

"But we'll talk about that later. First, sister: what did you see tonight? And be careful what you answer. I've spent my whole life listening to lies disguised as sins. I know how to recognize them."

(He stands still, waiting. The door is closed. Mokuba is asleep on the other side of the church. There is no one else.)