Here is the second installment of Her Daddy, Seto Kaiba. School's started again, but I shouldn't stop updating completely. I just have to concentrate on my school work first. I've got a few rather strict teachers this year I'm SO doomed. You know how it is --;;; (you: it's evil). Anywho, enjoy!

Are there any readers of Inkheart and Inkspell, by Cornelia Funke? Get ready for shameless advertising... If you haven't already read them, don't walk RUN to your nearest book store and buy them. Hopefully hardcover, because Mo, and especially Elinor, will be disappointed if you don't buy a book properly!

Chapter Two – First Day

Shiori had already been impressed enough that day by riding in a limousine for the first time in her life. She had read a few articles in the daily press about Seto Kaiba: his achievements in the worlds of business, technology, dueling and occasionally rumours. She never could have dreamed to actually be adopted by him. She slowly believed she would ever be adopted at all. Orphans are like animals. You always want the puppies.

When they pulled up to her new home, Shiori's face lit up with awe; she hardly left her place besides the window the whole ride up the driveway. Kaiba seemed unfazed with it. It was just his home, nothing special.

She was even surprised to have the car door opened for her. The white-gloved man who opened the door for her smiled warmly at her when she stepped out. She moved forward so that Kaiba could exit the car as well. But she didn't move besides that; she stood in front of the mansion and stared at it with her mouth open. She'd done this many times before - looking, but never touching. That was a rule enforced by the workers at the orphanage she had come to call home.

Kaiba looked at her. This must look like paradise compared to the orphanage she lived at for most of her known life. He didn't blame her for reacting this way.

"Follow me inside, Shiori," he said.

"…'kay…" she murmured, as she took hold of his hand. Her face still didn't change from complete astonishment. She was still taking in the view. The sweet, expensive view.

Kaiba stiffened when she took his hand, but reluctantly held it back (lightly) as he lead her into the house.

Servants stopped from their duties and stared at the sight before them. The Seto Kaiba, was holding hands with a child? Had they eaten something bad, making them have hallucinations, or was this really real? One could faintly hear small exclamations of pain from the house, the results of servants either being asked to be pinched, or just pinching themselves to see if this was actually happening in front of them.

"Seto!"

Both their attentions were averted to a person approaching them from one of the rooms leading off from the foyer. A teenager in all respects, now only a few inches shorter than Kaiba, with wild long hair stretching to just beyond his shoulders. Large amethyst eyes looked onto the newcomer, with hopes and dreams for both her and her new family's succes; aswell as the sadness he had kept behind his mask for so many years.

"Is this my new little niece?" he laughed, kneeling down to Shiori's level.

Shiori studied his face carefully, memorizing it, before flashing a serene smile and sticking out her hand.

"I'm Shiori Kaiba," she said proudly for the first time. The servants surrounding them smiled, and then continued on what they were doing. They learned what they wanted to know.

"I'm Mokuba Kaiba, Seto's younger brother. And your new uncle, too!" he said, ruffling her hair up. Shiori laughed a childish laugh at the attention, but that was soon consumed by a yawn. After Seto's announcement that he was adopting her, there were hours of paperwork to go through - custody papers, official adoption certificates... the legal papers took longer than expected, being as that his lawyer claimed to get stuck in traffic. It had been a long day for her, requiring much sleep. When Mokuba stood upright and reached for her hand, she let go of Seto's. His hand did not clench as it might have - it lingered in the position where it held a child's hand.

"I'm going to take Shiori to her room, alright Seto?" Mokuba said. Seto nodded, and turned to head off towards his home workroom. He raised his arm, putting out two fingers to wave them goodnight. Mokuba was used to that signal. It meant that he wished them pleasant dreams, and that they would always be safe. Seto wasn't a man of many words, and this was his signal to them that he cared.

As they were taking the route to Shiori's room, Mokuba noticed that she was slowing down behind him. Sleep was taking her with every second. With a small amused smile, he picked her up in his arms and carried her the rest of the way. She snuggled in his arms. She was begining to remember what love felt like.

It wasn't much of a longer walk to her room. There was a wing in the inner loop of the house, facing the inner courtyard, that was reserved for the Kaiba family to live in. Seto insisted it was on the inner half of their home, to ensure that no one could get in from the outside. The inner courtyard was well guarded. He knew very well what the ransom of a Kaiba member could be, and he did not want to have Mokuba taken away from him again.

The ward had about eight rooms in it, all substantially large. Shiori's room was two rooms down from his and three doors down and across from Seto's. The room wasn't very girly or personalized, but he would he see to it that it would fit her liking very shortly.

Until then, her room had the general basics (at least for the Kaiba family): a perfect king-sized bed with white beddings, a desk with state of the art computer techonology, a working fireplace, empty book shelves, a en-suite bathroom with a shower and large tub, and a large walk in closet.

Mokuba, having a room very similar to this, he thought nothing of it, and went straight towards the bed.

He let Shiori down softly onto her bed. She sunk heavily into the sheets, already asleep. He had hoped that he wouldn't wake her up when he moved her into a proper position to sleep in for the night, but apparently she was a rather heavy sleeper from the get-go, since she didn't awaken once.

Before leaving the room, he wrote a note to be left on her bed-side table, explaining where his and her father's rooms were, in case she needed anything during the night. And to ensure that she wouldn't get lost in the house. He knew that was a feat easily done, having experianced it many times before in his youth.

With a kiss goodnight on her forehead, Mokuba left the room.

I know everything's going to change now! Mokuba thought.

"I know it!"

---

At close to 8:30 the next morning, Shiori woke up. She hadn't gotten up yet. She was still savouring the feeling of such a large and soft bed. She had figured that maybe she should get out of bed and start exploring the house, though there was one obsticle in her way: she had no clue where she was. Or where to start, for that matter.

And so, as luck would have it, one of the maids working in the house came into her room, carrying a breakfast tray full of food.

"Good morning, Miss Shiori!" she beamed, placing the tray of food on her nightstand. Shiori sat up in her bed and stared at her, with a confused expression.

"Don't I normally have to go downstairs for breakfast?" she asked. The girl nodded, but continued serving out her breakfast, signalling for her to sit at the end of her bed to reach the collapsible table she had set up.

"Normally, yes. But Mokuba had asked us earlier this morning if you could eat here for today, and I could show you around the property. He didn't want you to get lost and never be found!" she laughed. Shiori nodded, and began eating her breakfast. They spent a few moments in silence, as the maid began cleaning the room and organizing Shiori's clothing in her closet.

"What's your name?" Shiori asked. The girl looked at her, as if it were asked in a foreign language. That question wasn't normally asked to her at this home.

"It's Yume," she said quietly. Shiori smiled sweetly, and continued on eathing her breakfast.

---

Shiori could have never imagined living in a home such as the one she would now live in. It was larger than three of her orphanages put together! She was trying to hard to remember where everything Yume showed her was. There was alot to remember, though.

She had lead Shiori through much of the home. They had stopped several times to speak to many of the other workers in the house. Shiori's smile seemed to be infectious to everyone who saw it, leaving them smiling after meeting her. Yume had taken her to some of the main places inside the house, including the main foyer, study, the den. Granted, there were many rooms in this estate, but every single one had a use, even if they were not used very often.

As they neared one of the final places of her tour, Yume stopped to explain a very important matter to Shiori about her father.

"Shiori, you do know what Mr. Kai – your father, does, do you not?"

"Yes. I follow some of the articles in the newspaper when I get the chance."

"Where I'm about to show you is his laboratory and work shop. He's very picky about the people that head in there. Only he and Mokuba are allowed in. Not even cleaning personnel are allowed inside. I'm just going to show you it, so you know where it is," Yume explained.

"If I'm not allowed in, then why do you need to show it to me?"

"In case of emergencies, I guess would be the best answer. It has to be a very good emergency, though. He's not fond of people running into his lab when they can solve the problem themselves."

Shiori nodded in compliance. She would have to ask Mokuba about that later.

---

As Yume explained the situation about his workshop, Seto was inside working. He had been testing the limits of his latest development. He had been there since the crack of dawn, which was rather normal on most days. He only took a break to have something for breakfast, though it certainly was not much. Only a black coffee and half of a bagel. He had alot of work left to do with this idiotic machine, and he could not spare a minute of his time.

He was rather unsatisfied with the results of his design. As hard as he tried, it never worked as he expected it to. He had come so far in the process of completion, and he refused to give up like a pathetic loser might. He was Kaiba, he could not afford a flawed system. Yet he could not see the mistake in his design, and this irritated him to no end.

---

With their tour being completed, Yume and Shiori went back to the kitchens to have lunch. Yume was surprised to see that she was actually following the girl, instead of leading her. She was interested to see just how smart she would be when she entered elementary school in the fall.

Thankfully, Mokuba was also in the kitchen at the time of their arrival, eating his own lunch. Shiori rushed over to him and took the stool next to him.

Of the day that he had known her, the two of them got along incredibly quickly. Only formally would he introduce Shiori as his neice. In his heart, she seemed to stay as his younger sister. He was elated to find that he would be an uncle, and couldn't have asked for anyone other than Shiori. He knew that her just being there would change things. He had always been protected by his older brother, and he appreciated it, knowing it was his way of showing him that he loved him, and would do anything for him. Would Seto Kaiba treat Shiori the same way?

While the two of them ate their dessert, Shiori approached Mokuba about the rules of Seto's workshop. She knew the obvious reasons to why it was off bounds to the servants in the house like Yume - since they could leak his secret projects to rival companies, but she wouldn't ever betray her fathers trust like that.

Mokuba heaved a sigh. He figured this would come after her tour.

"Seto has problems in trusting people. Once gaining control over Kaiba Corp, Seto seemed to have lost all faith in the concept of trust. The only person he did trust was me, and that's because he knew I would never betray him. He's had his trust broken before, and he won't ever make that mistake again. He doesn't let anyone in there not only for business reasons, but personal ones as well," Mokuba explained.

"Doesn't he trust me?"

"I'm sure he will eventually. And I doubt an 8 year old girl would go out in the middle of the night to tell people secrets when she should be in bed," he joked.

"Could I come into the lab just a little? I'll stand perfectly still, I won't make a sound!" she begged. Mokuba looked a little sceptical. He didn't want to decide on his own, since Seto would get very cross with him. And even though he was his brother, it was not wise to get on his bad side.

"I'll ask Seto if you can. No promises though, alright?" he said, pointing his finger for emphasis. Shiori was overjoyed, and quickly agreed to the deal.

---

After lunch, Mokuba entered the workshop, like he normally did. He promised Shiori he would at least ask Seto if she was allowed to come in. She was his daughter, after all. He would have to trust her eventually. It was not like she was a toy; she couldn't be returned if he didn't like her. He would have to learn to trust her if she were to inherit Kaiba Corp when she was older. This was Mokuba's main trump card. If that didn't work… he'd have to think of a backup plan very quickly.

Like every time Mokuba had entered the workshop over the past few weeks, he found his older brother hovering over the keyboards of his computer, writing in commands and making changes to the design of his latest system. He seemed more aggravated than normal. Seto mustn't have found a solution to his problem yet, Mokuba had thought..

Mokuba approached the subject carefully. His brother was in one of those "ignore the rest of the world" moods right now. Mokuba, however, managed to fit just inside the world he was concentrated on. Hopefully, Shiori would too. Hopefully being the operative word.

"Seto, can I ask you something?"

"If you make it quck," he replied non-coherently. Mokuba sighed quietly. 'The moment of truth '…

"Would it be alright if I brought Shiori into the lab? She has the right to see it sometime. It's not like she woul –" Seto raised his hand up from the keyboard, silencing Mokuba. This could either be a good thing, or a bad thing, Mokuba thought. Seto opened his mouth to speak. Mokuba prepared himself for the worst…

---

Half an hour later, Mokuba emerged from the lab with an answer to Shiori's question.

He found Shiori exactly where he left her; sitting in the kitchen. She was seemingly reading an article about Seto, and seemed very interested in it. It was only natural that now she would want to read everything she could about her father. In front of her sat a plate of fresh cookies, which apparently both she and the chef in the kitchen had made together. She had flour on her arms.

Mokuba took the seat next to her and stole one of her cookies, which instantly got her attention. She looked up to face him.

"What did he say?" Mokuba did not reply at first, and he took another cookie to stall telling her. Shiori's face fell into a frown. She figured he would say…

"You're allowed in," he laughed. Her face completely changed after hearing his response.

"Really!"

"So long as you come in with me the first few times. He said you could come in this afternoon, if you like."

And that was exactly what they did.

Shiori didn't do much while in the lab. All she really wanted to do was just watch. Mokuba helped Seto out when he could, and although asked Shiori if she wanted to do anything else, she shook her head. She was content with just watching them work. Seto didn't mind. She wasn't in the way at all. She wasn't touching anything, ruining anything, asking questions that were too suspicious (though he doubted she worked for a rival company). Quite obediant for an eight year old. He was rather pleased with her behavior.

An hour passed of more concentrated work. Re-adjust this, re-write that. Seto was getting quite fed up with the failed outcomes of the tests. No matter how much he changed things, he could not get the damn thing to work like he intended it to!

Kaiba, in sheer annoyance and exhaustion, slumped into his seat, and stared blankly at the screen above him.

85 effective.

No machine he had created had ever been below 97. And even then he improved it to perfection. What could possibly be so wrong?

While he "cooled off" in his seat, running all reasons why it might not work through his mind, he did not notice Shiori slip from the stool she sat on and approach his machine with the stool in tow, kneeling on the seat to lean over and stareat all the wiring and machinery. She then examined the blueprints on the table, to further understand what was going on with the system.

"Can I make a suggestion about this thing?" she asked from across the room. Kaiba broke from his reverie, sat up in his seat and stared at her. Why – better yet how – could Shiori make a suggestion? When he didn't answer, she took it as a sign to continue.

"You're using a bunch of parts that you don't need, and it's slowing it down. If you moved this exhaust tube –"she pointed to a small tube, then to another location nearby," – here, it would take away this whole part (which she indicated by waving her hand madly over it). It'll work faster, and you'll save lots of money from supplies too," she said.

Kaiba and Mokuba continued to stare at her in general disbelief.

"Do you want me to do it? Or I can show you, too."

Kaiba stood up and walked over to Shiori, looking into the machine. She knelt over and explained again to what she was talking about, and a few minutes later, the change was made. Shiori had a bit of oil on her shirt, and Kaiba's hands got a little covered since he had made the change. Kaiba took a seat at his computer once again, and tested the machine. Shiori pulled up her stool and sat next to him. Mokuba, curiosity picking at him, came to stand behind Kaiba and Shiori.

100 effective.

Kaiba was completely amazed. It had taken him ages to figure out how to get that thing working right, yet it took Shiori only a glance to see his mistake. He was undoubtedly impressed. He turned his head to the left, and looked at Shiori, who was staring at the screen with amazement written all over her face.

"Where did you learn that?" he asked. She turned to look at him.

"There was an older boy who really liked mechanics, and I read alot of his books. And whenever Mrs. Kasai's brother would come to visit us, Koji and I would always get to work on his car with him," she said, as if it were that simple. Kaiba, who admittedly never really looked into a car engine before, was impressed.

Mokuba laughed. Even though Kaiba didn't show it, he could tell that he was proud of Shiori. He put his hand on Shiori's head, ruffling up her hair. She laughed, although she tried to get him to stop. It had become a habit of his to do that when she wasn't expecting it.

"It's almost time for dinner, kiddo. I think we should go. You've got to get changed anyways! Look," he said, pointing down to the stain on her shirt. When she turned her head down to see, he flicked her nose up.

"Heey! That's not fair!" she squealed, her hands retreating to her nose. Mokuba laughed, and held out his hand to help her down. She took it and shortly, the two of them exited the room together. Shiori called goodbye to him just as the door closed behind them. This left Kaiba alone to finish up his work.

He smirked. She was one remarkable child.

---

Later that evening, at around 10 pm, Kaiba decided that he was done for the day. He had a long day ahead of him tomorrow at the office about marketing what he had been working on, so he would head off to bed earlier. Normally, he would get to bed at at least midnight, maybe even later.

He passed Shiori's room on the way to his own, and slowed down his pace outside her door when he heard her and Yume talking; he assumed she would be telling her all about her day. He wanted to see what she thought of living here.

"… And I helped him work on his invention! Yume, it was so cool!" Shiori said excitedly. Yume laughed.

"He must be very proud of you, Shiori!" Yume said happily.

"I hope so, too…" her voice trailed off, and she yawned loudly. Yume chuckled.

Kaiba, who was basically eavesdropping on the conversation at this point, wondered about this. He wasn't all that great at expressing emotion or gratitude, but he was proud of Shiori. Did she not know that? She was a special child. He didn't know how to tell her, but he hoped that she understood.

"I think it's time that you get some sleep, Shiori," Yume said softly. Shiori nodded, and sunk down into her bed, snuggling into its warmth. Yume knelt over and tucked her in.

Kaiba walked the rest of the way down the hallway at a fast pace before Yume could notice that he was outside the door. He closed his door just as Yume was about to leave Shiori's room.

"Goodnight Shiori," Yume said from the door, flicking off the light switch.

"Goodnight Yume," she replied, in a lazy voice.

She whispered a quiet goodnight to her father into the night, before sleep took her for her second night at the Kaiba mansion. Her heart had found it's place at last. In the home, and hearts, of the Kaiba family.

With her Daddy, Seto Kaiba.

---

Yey! The end of Chapter two! Hooray for me, updating rather quickly! Remember, read and review! I'll need all the strength I can get, having to wake up at un-godly hours like quarter after six to get to school on time... how horrible. I might just die from a lack of sleep... and reviews. (-hint hint-)

-hugs and kisses- xLHx