Hello to all readers! Sorry if this is late out, but my computer keeps crashing. I'm thankful I've been able to connect to the internet at all. Hopefully it will be fixed this week, and things will go back to normal Anyway, you know I don't own Yugioh or anything related to it apart from my OC's. Thanks to all who reviewed. I cannot believe the amount of support I've received. It's mind-blowing. Here is a note to all your reviews.

freakster: Glad you enjoyed the chapter, as I can tell you are enthusiastic from your hyperactive screaming. I hope you are satisfied with Seto and Luna kissing, as they will do so again in this chapter, so be glad. Also pleased that you liked the dress, as I though a while in order to make it perfect. I will try to write longer chapters, even though my fingers nearly break off when typing. This one is definitely longer, so I hope you are happy. Your long reviews are really encouraging. Sorry about distracting you from studying. Best of luck again in your exams, and hope those books don't kill you, as you won't find out what happens.

Pamster: So happy you like it so far. Your joyful reviews are greatly appreciated. I like adding all the twists, so thanks for clarifying they work in the story. Sorry about the typos, but thankful you don't mind so much you stop reading. All those compliments aren't necessary, as I didn't think it was that good, but thank you. Hope we can chat through email as soon as my blasted connection is sorted. Will try to send future chapters as long as you still review. Looking forward to your next chapter, as the last one was so sweet. You may have to put up the rating, but it's still great. I really hope there may be something to the emotion between Yami and Rita.

Elusia: I'm ecstatic you finally updated. Hope you keep it up. I'm pleased you enjoyed the ending, as I had to work on it a little. Happy you like my work and hope to hear from you again.

Blue Dragon99: Thank you for the support, along with the compliment on romantic timing. You don't suck at romance; you're really good at portraying it. Looking out for your next chapter, so update soon.

Minor Arcana: Thanks for the tips, as I will follow them to improve the story. Glad you thought it was funny. The comeback just came as something Kaiba would say, don't you think? Celeste may be similar to Scarlet, as I did try to show her as a slut. I hope it fits well. Will review as soon as I can, as long as my connection holds out.

MangaChick19418: I'm pleased you like the story, and I will continue. Thanks for your support.

Before I go, this chapter may become a little emotional, so please tell me in your reviews if I overdid it or it seemed stupid and sappy. Thank you, now on with the fic. Love SGCred xxx

Chapter 10: Emotional Comfort

The brisk breeze of daylight filled the Kaiba Manor, stirring a young witch lost in her dreams, one of which that was now a reality. Her starry eyes fluttered open to find herself in her own comfortable quarters. The only problem was questioning how she had come to be back in her room. Sitting up, she tried recalling the details of the previous night.

Everything in the world seemed perfect as the stars above seemed to smile upon the embracing couple in the garden. She truly didn't have a clue as to how the once stern businessman had softened to the sweet innocent soul she remembered from her childhood. His touch and kisses had the power to melt the icecaps from her point of view. This was a side he never showed anywhere else, at least not in front of other people. It seemed reserved for Mokuba and now possibly her. For Luna it looked very unlikely. He would probably deny everything. There is no way a strong person like him would show any interest in his clumsy housekeeper. Then again, his actions appeared truthful last night. She remembered they lost track of time sitting there, only parting for air when needed. It was to her knowledge that at some point she must have slipped into a gentle slumber, seeing as how she experienced a blackout after some time. Luna could not recall anything else except for when she was in a partially dazed state later on in the evening. Her only memory while being in a half-conscious condition was being carried up a blurred vision of stairs in a pair of strong arms. Only before feeling something or someone kiss her on the forehead did she finally drift to sleep.

Luckily she hadn't slept in, despite her late night. She tossed on an emerald top with sleeves only starting from below the shoulders along with a black tasselled skirt and ankle boots. Her hair was twisted into the back of her head with some small spikes and bangs hanging out. It was more comfortable, since she had woken up still in her dinner gown. At least whoever put her to bed wasn't a peeping tom.

Once down the stairs she prepared fresh cream for her pet Sabre, and bacon and eggs for the Kaiba brothers. Mokuba was down first as usual and greeted both of them warmly between shoving food into his mouth. Luna was amazed that such a small boy could eat so much.

"So how was the party? Anything 'interesting' happen?" he smirked. The small cub sitting on the countertop mimicked the grin.

"Oh, just your brother talking business. Nothing I understood. It was a first for me, but not as bad as I thought it would be."

"Tell me Luna, did you actually have any fun? I always hated it when Seto took me to those parties."

"It wasn't so bad, except for..." she let it slip.

"For what? Did someone say something to you Luna?"

"It's nothing. Just another guest..."

"Don't tell me, let me guess. Annoying bleach blonde bitch Celeste."

"Shh, don't use that language Mokuba, or I'll get in trouble. Anyway, how did you know about Celeste?"

"That cow is always chasing after Seto. She even tried to have me enrolled in a boarding school so she would have him to herself."

Luna was shocked. She guessed that pestering girl could be deceitful and backstabbing. From her aura it was clear she was a spoiled brat used to getting everything she wanted, including men. Despite this, it was hard to believe she would stoop so low as to that. Trying to dispose of the one person Kaiba cared about all to fulfil her own selfish intentions.

"I know she's a horrid person, that I could tell from our meeting last night. But keep that tongue of yours in check, okay Mokuba?"

"Sure, I don't want you in trouble. Don't listen to Celeste Luna, she was just jealous Seto would rather be with you than her."

"Hey, don't jump to conclusions."

"Funny, they seemed justified from the way he carried you upstairs last night."

She stopped instantly. Kaiba had been the one to take her home and put her to bed. The one who carried her so tenderly. The one who kissed her with such affection to put her to a peaceful sleep. Beforehand she was beginning to wonder if she had dreamed it all.

"You were supposed to be in bed by that time young man."

"I heard the limo pull into the driveway and woke up. I only peeped out to see my brother carrying you to the top of the stairs. He also kissed you on the forehead before taking you into your room." he added in a cheeky tone.

"Look, nothing big happened. For the last time, your brother does not like me that way. He's only begun to tolerate me at the moment."

Mokuba knew he wouldn't be able to pry anymore information from his sitter, but he guessed they must have done something. A kiss at least. Didn't matter, as everything was going well. He could watch Seto while his accomplice kept an eye on his mistress, both with a common goal. Both their targets needed someone.

Meanwhile up in his room, Kaiba was also contemplating the night before. It did puzzle him at what came over him to make him act so brash, but it felt right none the less. Maybe he had been wrong all these years to confine himself. She seemed to reveal emotions and joys he hadn't felt since he was a kid. The moment that connection in lips was made, it registered a familiar passion he had long forgotten. The only other moment that made him feel that way was the one he shared with...her. But it couldn't be her. It just wasn't possible. He would have to look into that memory, but for now would be content to see how his housekeeper felt about the events. Depending on that he would react appropriately. Perhaps the heavens had answered his prayers. The wish for someone to care.

Holding back a fit of giggles, Luna helped the squirming and struggling boy into his school blazer as he dashed out the door, waving goodbye. He ran out to the car. His long raven hair was now becoming matted as the rain poured down heavily. Black clouds engulfed the sky above as the vehicle left to take him to school with his sitter watching him leave from the open doorway. She would have to remember to promptly collect him in the afternoon while she closed the door, retreating inside. Suddenly her senses kicked in upon feeling a strange force was watching her. She tensed shivering from the cold and from fear. This presence was dark, looming like a deadly storm, extremely sinister, maybe evil...

"Are you okay? You seem tense," said a concerned voice.

Bringing herself out of her trance, Luna saw Kaiba walking down the staircase towards her, an unusually concerned expression on his face he rarely showed.

"Sorry, just a little zoned out. No big deal." she said, not very convincingly.

"Then explain why you're shaking." he remarked, gripping her arm gently.

There was nothing she could say. She would have been thought of as a nutcase in saying she sensed evil around. Funnily enough he seemed content and did not press for answers. Instead he embraced her in a comforting hug, soothing her until she stopped quivering. Finally seeing she had settled somewhat, he pulled away though still holding her at arms length. Brushing some strands of copper from her face, he bent his head down and captured her lips in a kiss. Still unsure why he seemingly yearned for her to be close, he couldn't help but react to his emotions, instead of being his usual controlled self. When he chose to separate from her, Kaiba knew there was a way to check the authenticity of these feelings and see if they were true. It meant a spiritual risk, but he had to find out.

"We need to talk." he stated leading her up the stairs by the hand.

"If it's about falling asleep on you last night I'm sorry..."

"Don't be foolish. I'm not mad, you couldn't help if you were tired. Personally I enjoyed watching you being so peaceful."

"So you're not angry about that?" she sniffed, blushing a little.

"No, just warn me next time. You drifted off and put all your weight on me. I was caught off guard and nearly fell backwards into the fountain." he chuckled lightly.

She held back a burst of laughter as they approached the large oak doors of Kaiba's room. Once inside he motioned her to sit down. She chose to rest on the plush velvet lounge couch next to the open fireplace, which was burning brightly due to the terrible weather raging outside. It reminded her of those nights back home, curled up on a rug reading a good book as the embers danced in the glowing flames. Almost brought her to tears thinking about it.

"Something on your mind?" Kaiba questioned as he sat down beside her. All she did was gaze into the abyss, her starry orbs showing a glimmer of sadness.

"You can tell me. I brought you up here so we could try and figure out what happened last night."

A pause.

"I don't know about you, but I'm somewhat confused, so we should try and put our feelings out in the open..."

Another pause.

"It'll make you fell better to say what you're thinking. I know you have some issues you're pondering at the moment. You always have that look of deep thought on your face when you are."

It seemed so peculiar to Luna he could read her so easily, even though she was the one with the magical abilities. It was indeed a truly heartfelt connection they shared. The bond they had as kids had not faded, but became stronger to supply both of them with hope when trouble and fear loomed in their lives. Now that they were together again, it was even more powerful than before. However, too many questions about her past may uncover the truth, so she had to make sure not to go into detail, yet those ocean blue eyes always seemed to overpower her common sense, making her feel vulnerable and safe at the same time.

"Do you want to talk about this?" Kaiba interrupted her thoughts.

"Just a little homesick, that's all..."

"Understandable." he paused, seeing she was still deeply troubled. "Why exactly did you leave home anyway?" he asked curiously. Light conversation would allow him to get to know her better, then they could tackle the romantic issue. Besides, the mention of her life beforehand appeared to surface grief.

"I just wanted to live my life my way, not the life someone chose for me."

"I don't think I understand. What do you mean?"

Biting her lip, Luna held back a waterfall of salty tears. She may have been curious about what mortals called emotions, but was still unprepared for what they would do to her mentally. Whimpering she turned to face him, hoping to explain without giving away too much.

"You see, it's difficult to put into words. I don't know if I can..."

"Please, I just want to straighten things out. I'm willing to share things with you too." he hushed. Still silent.

"Luna..." he said her name. A heartfelt gesture indeed. The courageous act warmed her heart, causing her to smile a little.

"Well, in my home village, my family had protected the entire landscape and all its population for many centuries. A while ago, I was found to be old enough to take the responsibility, but I ran away from it."

This was a shock for Kaiba. He couldn't believe she had been able to take such a huge step in life.

"Anyway, I couldn't do it, I just couldn't! I have my own ambitions and plans for the future. There was so much to see outside out sanctuary..."

Now she couldn't help but cry. Feeling sympathy for her, Kaiba allowed her to weep on his shoulder, dampening his studded white trench coat.

"I still love all the people I left behind, but I despised that place. There was no freedom, no choice. I couldn't pretend. How could they think I would be able to live out dreams that they made for me?! Sounds stupid, huh?"

He definitely related to that sort of burden. The turmoil they faced was one in the same. He now felt he needed to share his own plight, now that he knew there was someone who would care and be compassionate about his pain.

"It's not stupid at all. I know what it's like to be forced into trying to achieve something I had no interest in."

"Really, when were you exposed to that sort of pressure?" she questioned, drying her eyes. Kaiba gazed intently at her before spilling his supposed icy heart out to her.

"For starters, Mokuba and I were only adopted into the Kaiba family. Beforehand we were just orphans in care. The building we were outside the day I met you was the orphanage my brother and I grew up in." he explained. Luna already knew this, but of course remained silent, seeing the pain in his ocean orbs.

"My real parents are dead. When I was a kid my Mother died giving birth to Mokuba. I was only five so nothing was really clear at the time, so I couldn't question things when I went to live with my Father. Unfortunately he too passed away in a car wreck when I was eight. I was left alone with my brother, and since we had no other relatives we were dumped into care by social workers."

"What happened when you were adopted?" she asked, but noticed he filled to the brim with rage and hate at the remark.

"Did I say something wrong?" He sighed deeply. She didn't realise what he went through, so it wasn't her fault.

"No, it's just the man that adopted us was a monstrous child hating bastard, Gozaburo Kaiba! I despised and loathed him with venom, though I was only ten and Mokuba five. He only agreed to it because I bet him in as chess match. When we did go to live with him, he forced me to constantly study day and night so I would be ready to take over Kaiba Corp when I was older."

"So you inherited it from your stepfather?"

"Indeed, I was sixteen when I defeated him and forced him out so he wouldn't hurt Mokuba or me again. However I changed the company. Gozaburo had created it to produce weaponry and military equipment. When I bet him in taking over the company, I altered its production to gaming technology."

"Couldn't you have just ran away from it?"

"I thought about it, but if I disobeyed it wouldn't be me, but Mokuba to take the punishment of that mans wrath. I couldn't let him hurt the only family I had left."

"That's so terrible. Compared to that monstrosity, Mentor seems tame as a kitten."

"I beg you pardon, but who's Mentor?"

"Oh, she was a friend of my mothers who looked after me all my life, she also tutored me for my future duties. She may have been strict but she did care about me at least."

"Why did your mother leave you with her friend to take care of you?"

"Because when I was a baby my mother died of illness."

"Oh I'm sorry. What about your father?"

"He was never in my life, as he left before I was born. Come to think of it no one ever talked about him."

Both of them seemed to consider each other's tragedy. They were both tormented by burdens and loss of loved ones. Right now they desperately needed the security and bondage of love to help them through the trauma.

"Listen, I know exactly why you ran. It isn't right to try and force you to accomplish a fantasy you don't desire. There's no point, because if you don't have the passion in your heart in wanting to make the dream come true, your soul is in no position to achieve the goal." Kaiba confessed, feeling the exact way about running Kaiba Corp, though he was able to transform it so he felt ambition to strive in it.

"You have no idea how good it feels to have someone understand." Luna whispered, hoping her eyes wouldn't overflow again yet her lips curled into a small smile.

She relaxed herself now that the endless torment she had been keeping under lock and key was out in the open. It did feel soothing to relieve all the tensions. Glancing at Kaiba she still felt he was concealing something. Now that they had expressed all the past traumas, the ones in the present were next. Namely the events of the night before.

Kaiba could feel her starry eyes locked onto him. He had indeed made a gamble in opening to her like that. Barely anyone could understand or relate to his personal nightmares, but now he had found who had, he did not wish to lose her yet his emotions for her unnerved him. He just wasn't used to this sort of exposure, yet he still felt protected. He was always led to believe this sort of intimacy made you weak and broken, though truthfully, the warm sensations were melting hi heart of ice and even strengthening his proud character of hope and determination. Needing to express himself over what he had harboured in thought of the embrace at the banquet, Seto's arms went round her frame to pull her close until her head rested on his shoulder and her hands were placed on his chest. While supporting her easily, he feared she would drift to sleep before he could go over last night's actions.

"You're not going to fall asleep on me again are you?" he mocked lightly.

"Oh very humorous Mr Kaiba." she snapped a little irritated.

"Since we're on this level there is no need to be formal with me now."

"And what level is that?" she curiously teased. He sighed before speaking.

"Well, after what happened I doubt we're only employer and employee anymore. You see, I have proved why I don't care for intimate relationships. My colder attitude protects me from harm or being hurt by others."

'After living with Gozaburo it's no wonder he won't let others close.' Luna thought. 'But could I have affected him so strongly?'

"Funny, now you seem less icy to me..."

"That's because last night you rekindled feeling I kept concealed for a long time. I forgot how good it feels to have someone close. To be able to speak freely without fear of rejection or cruelty."

"Are you saying that..."

"I want you to be more involved in my life as well as Mokuba's. I can tell you care for him as much as I do."

"It shows that much?"

"Well, I also watched you put him to bed that night he came for the Blue Eyes card. I realised I had competition for my brothers affections." he smirked sarcastically.

"So how do we explain all this to him?"

"We'll both talk to him. I'm not sure how he'll handle it though..."

"Uh, probably better than you think..." Kaiba looked at her a little confused. "He saw us last night when you carried me up to bed." He held back a laugh.

"I should've guessed. He can never resist looking into my business. He always seems to know things before I tell him."

"At least he won't mind. Anyway, this relationship Kaiba..."

"What did I say about formalities? You can call me Seto now as I call you Luna. I'm trying to show you that in this house, our personal lives are private. Within these walls, my life is unaffected by business and reputation. That means you can feel free to be more...intimate." he purred, nuzzling her neck slightly.

"Fine Seto, but is there something between us officially or..."

She did not get a chance to finish, as Kaiba tilting her head up and bringing her into a passionate kiss cut her off. He playfully toyed with her bangs while she brought a hand up to caress his face using the other to press against his chest. Once they both needed to breathe they broke apart, inhaling intently.

"Does that answer your question?" he teased.

"I believe so." She smiled as they huddled together on the settee content in the glow of the flames, listening to the gentle beating of the rain outside unaware of the presence around them.

Far away, in the boarder of the realm, a young golden eyed girl was gazing out to the seashore, missing her friend, yet she realised there was another even more discontented than she was. Leaving her spot she quietly huge carved door's, the room of the elders. She peered around the door to see who was inside. Only one was there, standing out on the balcony above the hustling crowds in the market below. However, the wise woman seemed focused on the endless sky, lost in thought. The tall woman had aged somewhat unnaturally during the past two weeks. Her once bright emerald orbs had lost their sparkle, as well as her mahogany hair being streaked with grey. She did not have to turn around to know who her visitor was.

"Come in Trinity." The young witch closed the door and walked up to stand next to the woman.

"Any word at all? Any trace of her?"

"None, I don't know if we can find her this time. Even so I'm sure if we could manage to bring her back."

"That makes no difference. The authorities will drag her back then sentence her to an eternity of horrors in the Netherworld." she cried, missing the star-eyed girl so much. The fact was though that her Mentor was worse. The woman had not let the spot in the chamber since she heard the news. Now because of the stress, there was another reason for the woman's early retirement; illness consumed her and now not only had she lost her apprentice to her duties, but being so worried over the child she raised made her health even worse.

"Lady Raven, you really should rest, or eat something soon. I know it hurts..."

"I feel I failed in my responsibility. After I swore to her mother on her deathbed that I wouldn't let her be harmed. I broke the dying promise of my best friend." her voice cracking, and for the first time in years, Mentor cried. Trinity supported her while leading her to her room to rest.

Darkness toiled over the abyss in the region of no return. No joy or happiness could be found in the shadows, only pain and despair. This disturbing place was uninhabited, except for two twisted souls who watched the progress in two worlds.

"Soon that old fool will be out of the way so their precious society will crumble! There is no way she can carry on her duties in that state, and so sad she does not have anyone to take over as leader on the craft." the first figure sneered.

The other leaned over the other side of the pool, watching the events taking place in the mortal realm, where the couple embraced.

"As for you my dear, enjoy your precious moments with the man you love while you can. Because once we cease power, you will be needed for our conquest. Incidentally, if your little boyfriend decides to interfere you both shall suffer in seeing each other perish!" the second figure cackled evilly.

Both watched, wicked plots carved into their souls, ready to destroy everything to rule other the mortal and the mystic realm, and they schemed in the never ending blackness of the Netherworld.