A few days passed after the note incident which Seto never mentioned to Mokuba no matter how much the youth begged and pleaded. After about six days of this Mokuba gave up and decided not to speak of it anymore. Three days after that the counselors had decided to take them all to the pool since the number of kids who had been adopted had spiked in the last week. Many of the children were about to lose their friends and the staff thought it would be good to give them a day out. It only took a few hours before all the children had packed what little they had, broke into teams of three and piled into one of the four counselor cars. Minami had paired herself with the two brothers and sat in between them during the car ride. With her she carried a small yellow backpack which held an extra set of clothes and her red ribbon.

"I can't wait to go to the pool!" Mokuba exclaimed with a giant smile on his face. The young girl looked at the youth and patted his head which made his smile grow. "It's gonna be so much fun!" He said while bouncing up and down in his seat.

"Calm down Moki." Seto laughed as he watched his brothers' excitement. "You'll tire yourself out and then when we get there you'll be too tired to play." Mokuba pouted and folded his arms over his chest before looking out the widow. Minami patted his head and stared down at her lap, unsure of what to do. Seto looked over at her, his smile never fading from his lips and watched her chestnut hair fall into her face. He opened his mouth to say something but closed it and watched her silently as she played with the hem of her skirt.

Quite suddenly she dug into her bag, pulled out a notepad with a pencil and handed it to him without looking up. He looked down at the pad and stared at it for a few moments before taking it from her and scribbling something onto it. She took it back and scribbled sometimes else before giving it back to him. This went on for a few minutes before he stopped writing and just looked at her. Minami slowly looked up at him and was greeted with a strong mix of emotion in his deep blue eyes and it frightened her. She bit down on her lip and stared down at her legs as she tried to avoid his gaze. Maybe she had told him too much.

"Minami." He said quietly in a stern voiced laced with concern. The young girl pushed some hair out of her face and frowned when Seto said her name again. After a moment of silence she shook her head and scribbled something else on the paper before handing it back to him.

It was all I knew. He read the paper over and over again but the words never seemed change. His eyes flickered up to her and he felt her honey glazed eyes bore into his own.

"Hey...is everything okay?" Mokuba spoke from the corner with a concerned voice. Minami turned and patted him on the head while giving him a small nod. The young boy returned her smile and let out a yawn before proceeding to lay his head down in her lap. Minami placed a hand on his head and rubbed it in a slow soothing motion and it wasn't before long that she heard Mokuba's soft breathing.

"I told him he'd tire himself out." Seto shook his head and handed the notepad back to Minami. "It sounds like you've had a hard time." He said quietly. She nodded slightly never taking her eyes off the young boy that was lying in her lap. "Things will get better." Seto pushed some hair out of her face as he spoke. Minami felt her face heat up and let a smile tug at the corners of her lips. Seto noticed her face turning red and immediately dropped his hand and turned back to the window.

The car ride went on for another thirty minutes before they finally arrived at their destination. Minami shook Mokuba awake who gave her a sheepish smile while rubbing his eyes. She pointed towards the window and the young male nearly jumped out of his seat. He fumbled around with his seat belt for a few seconds before he was finally able to undo it and hopped out of the car. Minami gave what looked like a laugh and followed him. Seto lagged behind slightly and watched the two. He hadn't seen Mokuba be so friendly with someone so quickly. Watching his brother lie down on her lap and fall asleep topped with feeling the heat from Minami's blush had intrigued him. He climbed out of the car as well and followed them.

"Minami c'mon!" Mokuba grabbed her hand and pulled her along. She made a laughing motion and allowed herself to be dragged along. Seeing Mokuba smile made him incredibly happy but seeing her smile like that made his heart flutter. He folded his arms and frowned while he began to decipher his feelings. He didn't have long however as a loud clapping noise got his attention and he turned his head to hear the instructions the counselors were yelling. His eyes scanned for Mokuba who was saying goodbye to Minami and running over to him. Seto's eyes flickered over to her in time to see her smile and wave at them before disappearing into a building.

"Hey Seto, we're the only ones here! They said that they rented the pool just for us! C'mon!" He grabbed his brothers' wrist and half pulled half dragged his brother into the changing room.

After about twenty minutes all the kids gathered in front of one of the counselors as they began to give them rules about swimming and diving and running in the pool area. It took another ten minutes before they were set free to have fun. Seto found a chair to sit down in and pulled out his dueling book while Minami and Mokuba started to play on the stairs of the pool. His eyes would constantly flicker up to check on the two of them to make sure they were okay before returning back to his book.

"Okay, I'm gonna ask you yes or no questions. Is that okay?" Mokuba asked kicking the water with his feet. Minami nodded. "Okay sooo were you an only child?" She nodded.

"Oh..." He looked a bit sad. "I dunno what i'd do without my brother...were you lonely?" She nodded again. "Are you lonely now?" She shook her head. The smile that the young boy gave her made her stomach feel warm. It was the same feeling she'd get when she drank hot chocolate. Mokuba smiled and pushed off the steps into the pool Minami on the other hand pulled her legs up to her chin and watched the young boy. After a few moments she turned around and scanned for Seto. When she found him she noticed he was watching them. A smile spread across her face and she gave him a small wave. His eyes met hers and flickered to his brother but hers lingered on him. The feeling she got from him was something she couldn't quite place. Her stomach felt like it was doing flips but she didn't feel sick. A group of four girls walked up to her, stopping her from giving this feeling any more thought.

"Hey Minami why don't you come play with us?" She looked up at them and tilted her head slightly. These girls had been coming up to talk to her more often as of late. She got along with them well enough but they didn't click like she did with the boys. Even so she still indulged them whenever they came around and today was no different.

She nodded, stood up and dusted herself off. She cast a glance over at Mokuba (who had made it to the other side of the pool) as the girls led her to one of the tables to sit down at. They started talking about things like makeup and jewelry before being brought to the topic of the families they once had and the families they wish they had. One of the girls had been at the orphanage since birth and didn't know what her family was like which brought upon an awkward silence for them. Minami found the topic of a family to be unsettling and uncomfortable so the awkward silence was very welcomed for her.

"Well...what about..boys? Anyone here have a crush on them?" The girl laughed awkwardly. She had brown hair and green eyes. Minami recognized her because she had tried(and failed) to talk to her multiple times.

"No...they're all jerks! Yesterday I got pelted with water balloons!" A blond girl said with a scowl plastered on her face.

"Guys aren't that mean." The redhead laughed and flipped her hair. "Like those brothers. They're nice to you aren't they?" All eyes were on her waiting with baited breath for a response. She nodded ever so slightly and fidgeted a bit. "See, not all guys are mean." The redhead repeated before she began talking about something Minami had no knowledge of.


"Hey Seto, where did Minami go?" Mokuba asked wiping himself off with a towel.

"A group of girls came and took her away." He replied before immediately turning the page.

"Oh? Is it those same girls who keep bothering her?" Seto nodded once after folding the corner of the page and closing the book. "I wonder what they want from her..." He trailed off and plopped down on the lawn chair next to his brother. When he looked over at her he saw Minami fidgeting uncomfortable.

"I feel like we should do something Seto." Mokuba questioned looked up at his brother. The older one shrugged slightly and gave a slight frown.

"She'll come back Mokuba, no worries." Seto rubbed his little brother's head and gave him the biggest smile he could before turning his gaze back to the girl. He had an odd feeling in the pit of his stomach and hoped it was nothing serious.

Minami pushed some hair behind her ear and pulled on her bathing suit. She knew they weren't bad but she just didn't have anything in common with them. The brown haired girl tapped her fingers irritably on the table, waiting for the honey eyed girl to respond to her. She had called her name a number of times with no response and after a few minutes she stood and grabbed the young girls' arm. Minami's head jerked up and she noticed the others standing up as well.

"Why don't we go swimming huh?" She gave the other female a bright smile and pulled her towards the pool. Minami stood off to the side awkwardly as the other four girls jumped in. They resurfaced laughing and giggling but frowns quickly consumed their faces when they noticed her standing off to the side and staring blankly at the ground.

"Don't be such a party pooper!" The blond one said with a scowl as she climbed out of the pool with the other three in tow. She along grabbed Minami's right hand and the brunette grabbed her left then with their free hand, grabbed one of the other girls hands and took a few steps back.

The four girls looked at each other with giant grins on their faces while Minami had a horrified expression on her face. They counted down from three to one before running forward and jumping into the pool and after a few moments the four girls resurfaced and climbed out the pool. Three of the girls were laughing but the brunette looked around as panicked expression slowly consumed her features.

"Minami, wh-where is she?!"

His body moved before his brain had fully processed what was going on. Seto began running towards the pool. He dove in and saw her limp body floating near the bottom of the pool. He kicked his legs as hard as he could until he was able to reach out and grab her. Once he was close enough he pulled the young female to him and swam towards the surface hoping that he had made it in time.

Seto gasped for air after breaking through the water's surface and held Minami's head above the water as he kicked his feet in an attempt to keep them both afloat. One of the counselors rushed to where he was and took her from him, laying her on the warm pavement and pressing her ear to the young girls chest.

The woman heard a slow but steady heartbeat and breathed a slight sigh of relief before a giant smile over took her face as the young girl began to cough up water. She spat and sputtered but didn't open her eyes. Seto's deep blue eyes flicked from Minami to the counselor. He watched her eyes slowly open, the lady rubbing her back and Minami coughing up more salt water. The woman carried her back to the other counselors where they began to assess her condition.

The four girls began bickering loudly among each other. About three minutes after they started Minami came waddling over to the boys and sat down on the lawn chair. The adults had given her a shaky okay as long as she didn't go back into the pool. Luckily for them she had no intention of going near a pool for a long time.

Mokuba wasn't interested in their loud conversation to begin with so instead of trying to listen he grabbed a towel and draped it over Minami's body. She shuddered slightly before curling up into it. He stroked her hair and watched her eyes slowly shut while his brother took notice that all of the counselors were now around the edge of the pool. It was their job to watch them after all and there weren't very many children to begin with. They were absolutely terrible at their jobs. His eyes skittered around the pool for a few minutes before he sat back down with the other two.

"She told me that she didn't know how to swim." Mokuba said quietly.

"It's not your fault Mokuba." Seto rubbed his little brothers back in hopes of comforting him.

What if she had died Seto? What then?" Mokuba felt tears welling up in his eyes but he blinked them back.

Mistakes are made to be learned from. I'm just glad she's still here." His little brother nodded and kept his eyes on the young girl with concern etched in his features. Minami coughed up water once more before her eyes shot open and she quickly sat up. She furrowed her brow in confusion while her eyes darted between the the two brothers. Mokuba wrapped his arms around her waist and smiled. She looked down at him with confusion still written on her face. In response he proceeded to explain to her what had happened up until that point. She nodded rather slowly and he giggled to himself as he noticed the gears in her head beginning to spin and click.

"So...what do you wanna do now?" Mokuba asked awkwardly after he let go of Minami. The young female reached for her bag but the female adult counselor called out to her. With an inaudible sigh she stood and walked over to the older woman to see what she wanted. She was brought over to the rest of the adults to get one final look over. They were worried and had to be perfectly sure of her condition, all things considered. This took about ten to fifteen minutes and she felt like the whole ordeal was very unnecessary but she knew they wouldn't stop until they felt comfortable enough to let her go.

When they had finally finished, they announced that it was time for them to leave. Most of the kids released groans of displeasure as they changed back into their regular clothes and a few of the girls gave Minami a dirty look. This was the first time since she'd been here that she'd experienced them look at her and she didn't like. She changed as quickly as she could and walked out at a brisk pace.

Once she was safely outside she looked up at the orange painted sky and was mesmerized by the bright colors. A hand grabbed her and began pulling her forward but she still didn't take any notice to what was going on around her. There were yellow flecks dancing around the orange sky and they reminded her of small little bananas. A hard yank brought her down to earth and she noticed Mokuba trying to pull her into the car. With a sheepish smile she pulled herself into the car with Seto behind her and nestled between the two brothers. Seto gave her the bag she had brought with her and turned his attention to the window while his brother captured her attention. The excited young male eventually tired himself out and fell asleep with his head in her lap once more. She stroked his hair and looked down at him with a very affectionate gaze.

"He was worried about you." Seto kept his eyes on the window as he spoke. "He was afraid." Minami looked up at him and back down at Mokuba before swallowing really hard and taking a deep breath.

"Th...ank...sav...me..." Seto's attention was jerked from the window towards her. The girls face was a bright red with effort as she tried get the words out. It took a minute for the fragmented words to click with him. When they did, he couldn't stop the smile that was starting to pull at the corner of his lips. She had just thanked him.

"You're welcome." The warm smile overtook his features and he rubbed her head. Her eyes fluttered shut and she slumped against his shoulder struggling to stay awake. "You're very welcome." He repeated softly. That was the last thing she heard before she was pulled into the comforting embrace of slumber.