This is only my second fic on here, though I've written several others, so hopefully everyone finds this enjoyable. I accept all criticism; I just ask that you be respectful when giving it lol. And I will have the same respect for you. I do not own any of the Yu-gi-oh characters or any of its plotlines.

OOOOO

"Hey, big brother, let's get this!"

The tall young man turned, his short brown hair combed neatly around his stern face and deep cerulean eyes. Seto Kaiba eyed his younger brother wearily. "We're not here to buy toys, Mokuba."

Mokuba, a short, gangly teenager with long black hair and a bright face, gave his brother a puzzled look. "Why'd we come here then? I mean, it is a toy store in the middle of the mall."

Seto sighed, looking at his watch. "We're here to meet with a client. She chose the location. And she's late." He scowled. "Very late."

"Yoo-hoo! YOO-HOO!"

They both turned in surprise as a woman came running up to them. She appeared to be in her early forties and was tall with long orange, red, and black hair. Her blue eyes were playful and she wore a short black trench with silver buckles, over a long black dress and biker boots. Two men in suits followed behind her as she approached.

"Can I help you?" Seto asked with a hint of disdain in his voice.

The woman snapped her fingers and a business card appeared in her hand. "Lacey Devereaux, CEO of Astral Corps."

Seto raised a delicate eyebrow. "You're the client I'm supposed to be meeting?"

"Sorry. Were you expecting someone normal?" Lacey cocked a grin and tucked the card back into her sleeve. She gestured to the nearby food court. "Shall we?"

"Mokuba," Seto said, "Why don't you go play? I'll be right back."

"Um, yeah, sure." Mokuba blinked, watching them head off. He sighed, and then headed off in the opposite direction admiring some of the shops near the front of the mall. He was checking out one of the displays, and was enjoying the warm breeze coming through the door as people came in and out.

At one point he happened to look up and spotted a couple out on the sidewalk, apparently having a heated argument. He glanced back in the direction of the food court where his brother was in his meeting, then looked outside again. The young woman appeared to be rather cross and agitated with the young man.

He seemed to be coming increasingly irritated with her and anytime she tried to walk away he grabbed her wrist to stop her. Mokuba watched as the girl pushed the guy off of her and tried to leave, only to have him grab her again. Only this time she let out a yelp.

"Hey!" Mokuba shouted as he ran outside, "Leave her alone!"

They both froze, staring at him cluelessly. "Who the hell are you?" the guy growled.

With a grunt, the girl broke free of his grasp. "Jerk!"

"It's none of your business!" he shouted, "This is between me and Raven."

"Raven doesn't care! And I'm making it my business," she snapped back, "You've already hurt her enough. Now leave her alone, Ron."

"She won't talk to me! Tell her to stop being a baby and listen to what I have to say. I don't have a problem with her. She's acting ridiculous."

"Look who's talking? You've been bothering me for an hour now. I'm not going to help you talk to her. I'm protecting her from you!" With that, she turned to storm off, but Ron grabbed her by the elbow.

"You're not going anywhere until I talk to Raven."

"Hey! I said leave her alone!" Mokuba shouted. He rushed forward and kicked the older boy in the shin.

Ron yelped, losing his hold on the girl's arm. "What's the big idea kid?" He caught Mokuba's arm as he tried to punch him.

"Whoa! Time-out, kiddies."

They both stilled, Mokuba letting out a squeak as a delicate, but firm hand gently grabbed his head, pulling him away from Ron. Mokuba looked up, mouth dropping open in surprise.

The girl beside him looked to be about seventeen. Long brown hair flowed down her back and over her shoulders. Deep cerulean eyes were a mix of annoyed and slightly amused. They were eyes that sent a small jolt through Mokuba's chest. Those eyes looked very familiar.

"Katie," she said to the first girl, "What are you doing? People are staring."

"Raven," Katie said, smiling, "There you are, you're late."

Mokuba blinked, now taking in the appearance of the girl he'd been trying to help.

Katie was about the same age as Raven, though a little taller. She had short white hair with red bangs, and round brown eyes. She smiled at Mokuba and winked, and his face flushed.

"Terribly sorry," Raven said, gently pushing the smaller boy aside and approached Ron. She smiled at him, rising up on her toes til her face was right in front of his.

"This is a new low for you, Ronnie," she said coyly, "You're picking fights with little kids now?"

Mokuba shivered involuntarily. Though Raven was smiling and she sounded cheerful, he could almost feel the cruel, icy undertone that dripped with disgust for the boy she was addressing.

"No, I was trynna keep him from hitting me," Ron said defensively, "He came out of nowhere and kicked me."

"Cuz you were hurting that lady!" Mokuba shouted from behind her, pointing at Kate.

Raven sank back down to her heels and folded her arms over her chest. The smile was still on her face, but her eyes were venomous. "And you got rough with Katie? Are you trying to piss me off?"

"Why won't you talk to me!" Ron demanded to know, "I still want to be friends with you. Just talk to me."

At this, Raven's face saddened, and she began to look through him instead of at him. "You need to go, Ronnie."

"No, you and I need to sort this out."

Her hands fisted at her sides. "I have no desire to talk to you right now." Slowly, she raised her arm and pointed in a general direction down the street. "Just go home, fuck Hayley, and leave me the hell alone!"

"Hey, don't talk about my girlfriend that way," Ron growled.

"Like I give a shit what you want!" Raven snarled, "She implied that I was a whore. I'll talk about her any damn way I please. Now go!"

"Look, we're both overly-emotional right now," Ron said, exasperated, "Let's just take a couple days to cool off and we'll talk later."

"NO."

"I'll call you later," Ron insisted. He reached out and gently sat his hand on her head, then turned and walked away.

Then there was silence. Mokuba stared back and forth between the girls. Kate, who wore an expression of deep concern for her friend, and Raven, who just looked…broken. Unsure of what to say, though feeling he should say something, Mokuba opened his mouth to speak.

And stopped as Raven let out a deep sigh, and turned to look at him, smiling. "You okay?" she asked, "He didn't…you know…hurt you or anything?"

Slowly, Mokuba shook his head.

Raven's smile grew brighter. "Good. At least he hasn't become a total monster."

Now both girls faced him, being much more bubbly and friendly. "So kid," Raven said, bending til they were at eye level, "Who are you and why did you play knight in shining armor for my friend?"

Mokuba smiled back. "Um, cuz. It was the right thing to do?"

Katie giggled. "Well, thank you very much. It's been a while since a guy's jumped into a fight to save me."

Mokuba blushed, but was pleased.

"So Mokuba," Raven asked, "What're you doing here by yourself?"

"I'm waiting for my big brother," he replied, "He's meeting with an important client. He said I could play until he was done."

"Awww, but it's no fun playing alone." Raven looked over at Kate and winked. "Tell ya what. How bout Katie and I hang here with ya til your brother gets back?"

Mokuba blinked. "Well, I dunno…."

"Mokuba!"

They jumped and looked up. Seto scowled at them, and from behind him Lacey grinned and waved at them. Seto cast the girls a deep glare, though his face twitched in surprise when he saw Raven. "Mokuba, what are you doing?"

"Uh, I was-"

"Being a hero!" Raven interjected, straightening up. She stared at Seto, undaunted by the dark look he was giving her. "Mokuba saved my friend from an evil bully."

Seto narrowed his eyes at her. "Have we met before?"

"Pretty sure I'd remember meeting a…." Raven trailed off, glancing at Mokuba. She nodded to Kate, who reached out to cover the child's ears. "…an ass like you."

Seto raised a brow at her.

Raven shrugged. She smiled at Lacey. "You all done, auntie?"

Nodding, Lacey came out from behind the elder Kaiba brother to greet her niece. "It was a rather…interesting meeting."

Raven grinned at Seto. "I'll bet."

Seto growled. "Mokuba, we're leaving." He turned, his long white trench coat snapping sharply.

"I gotta go," Mokuba said. He smiled at them. "It was nice meeting you though."

"You too, sweetie." Raven bent to give him a quick peck on the cheek.

The young boy blushed deeply.

"Mokuba!"

"Bye!" he cried, running after his brother.

Raven straightened, shaking her head after them.

"Did you tell him?" Lacey asked.

"No." She smiled. "There's no need to."

"Yet," Katie added.

Up the street, Mokuba glanced back, a thought pondering deep within his mind.

"Something wrong, Mokuba?" Seto asked.

"It's nothing, big brother," Mokuba told him.

'I never told Raven my name,' he thought, 'How did she know who I was?'