Chapter Nine – Unintended Betrayal

The milk very nearly left her grasp as a panicked gasp pierced into the silence of the kitchen.

"Yami."

"What are you doing up so early?" He asked groggily, closing the door behind him. He hardly sounded impressed, but concerned nonetheless.

Having caught her breath back by then, Victoria could have given a vocal reply. But she had nothing on her mind that would leave him with no worries so instead she just shrugged and walked back to the counter with the milk carton.

"Do you usually awaken this early?" Yami asked, fetching a mug of his own and choosing a tea bag.

Victoria shrugged. "These days, yeah. It must be the cold or something." She lied, hoping that would be enough for him.

It wasn't.

"I doubt that the cold would cause you to wake earlier." Yami corrected. "It's more probable that you would sleep longer because it is cold."

Victoria simply shrugged again. "Then I don't know what it is then. I just wake up early. Leaves me tired as hell during the day and I get to bed at the proper time. It could just be a phase I'm going through."

"If that's the case then your body will balance itself out eventually." Yami assured her.

"Thank god for that." She whispered as the kettle clicked and she proceeded to pour the water into both of their mugs. "I hoped that I wouldn't be the first to wake up. At least. I hope I didn't wake you."

Yami shook his head, adding sugar to his tea. "I'm a light sleeper. The shower running woke me first."

"Sorry." She muttered, sipping her tea nervously before taking the milk back to the fridge – anything to distract herself.

But when she turned back to the counter to retrieve her mug Yami gave her a look, though it was hard to see it in the lack of light. "Don't worry about it."

Victoria sighed lightly, carrying her mug over to the table they'd eaten dinner at. Thankfully it had been somewhat cleared so all she had to do was push the stacked pizza boxes to the side as she sat down. Yami followed her lead and sat across from her at the small table, which looked larger now that there was only two sitting at it – rather than all seven of them at dinner.

"Tori…" Yami began, pausing for a moment as he seemed to hesitate – a rare novelty as he never seemed to hesitate about anything. "There was something that I wanted to ask, to quell a small seed of concern that you placed when you told us about…well…the way things were for you when you were younger."

She mentally tensed, preparing for whatever he wanted to ask. She would either be able to answer without a problem or she would have to find the right words to tell him to butt out.

She kept steady eye contact with him, allowing him to ask his question.

"Did you have a happy childhood? Despite all of the complications with the less pure of heart, were there still times when you were happy? When you felt joy and some form of love no matter how miniscule?"

She almost sighed with relief. "Yes. There were many times that I felt happy – though I was always forced to be cautious. The other girls and several of the pure of heart boys were like siblings and we all took care of one another. We were a family – but…there was always that part of my mind that told me not to completely trust anyone until given proper reason." She sighed a little. "I suppose that part of my mind has begun to lose its touch – I'm trusting people so much easier these days."

"Trust doesn't always have to be earned – I've trusted many people who most would not. I find that putting trust in a person stirs a little guilt within them and they feel the need to trust me in return." Yami explained. "Of course, this isn't the same for every person."

Victoria smiled, staring at her tea. "Yeah." She agreed. "Yami? Could I ask you something? I don't mind if you refuse to answer."

"You answered my question, so I will do my best to reply to yours." Yami replied.

"You regained the memories you once lost, the ones from when you were a Pharaoh?"

Yami nodded.

"I wonder…Do you miss any of it?" She asked. "I mean, many men wish they could be king and from what it seems you kind of turned the whole affair down."

Yami chuckled. "I suppose I did. I was born into royalty – it was a part of my life and a privilege for me to one day take over the throne from my Father. Many of those who wish to be king have a life where they are left by the wayside and have nowhere to go – they however do not do a thing to change their circumstances. To answer your question though: I miss parts of it. I miss the time period mostly. The respect that people had for any stranger and the simplicity of life. I can only compare it to the way many children are – trusting, friendly and compassionate. Laugh at anything and find joy in the smallest of things." Yami sighed, staring towards the kitchen window. "The respect I was given was much more exaggerated. No one called me by name and the way people literally worshipped me was a little startling at times. Never the less, the land was beautiful and though it was a desert there were lush greens and the Nile ran strong and true, even through most summers. Staring out of the balcony of my chambers, towards the city my Father helped to build and his Father before him and even further back – the city I would help addition to and protect myself. The brilliant blue sky with little to no clouds and the slight desert trees beside the sparkling Nile…I wish I could show it all to you." He looked over at Victoria, to see that her eyes were gently shut, a small smile across her lips. "Tori?"

"I'm imagining it. It's beautiful." Victoria agreed, opening her eyes. "You could be a writer; you're incredible at describing scenery. I need to draw whenever I want to describe something in such clarity."

Yami smiled warmly. "But you were right. I turned the crown down."

"What? But I thought you didn't have a choice?"

"Not quite…and…well I have kept this from the others. And you must promise not to tell them, but…they all believe that I couldn't return to my time like I'd planned, the truth is that I didn't want to anymore." Yami explained. "I had done what was necessary for that time and I no longer felt like I was required. However, there was something in this time that I knew I needed to be here for. So I asked my old friends, the guardians of the Millennium items, if they could give me a body of my own so that I could join my new friends in the future and begin a new life. Many would call me selfish and cowardly for turning down the responsibility that a crown entails, but I just…"

"That is an unbelievably brave act, Yami." Victoria interrupted. "There are few who have the courage to change their path to destiny – and to turn down the glory of a crown must have been just as hard."

Yami was surprised by her words. For three years he'd been contemplating if he'd made the right decision and had gone so far as to keep it from everyone – even Yugi. Yet he'd suddenly been told that he was brave for turning the crown down. It was contradictory to the doubt that had been swimming within his mind. "Thank you. You really do know what to say, don't you?"

Victoria shrugged lightly. "I guess."

As Yami appraised her, he remembered the other large question that had been prodding at his mind since much earlier that morning. But did he dare? Was it wise to just blurt out such a question that even he found to be ridiculous? But maybe another kind of question would be appropriate instead – just to keep the slight humour going in their small conversation filled with memories and guilt ridden confessions.

"Tori, did you know that you talk in your sleep?"

Victoria blanched. "What?"

"You talk in your sleep." Yami informed her and then waited for her answer.

Victoria blinked violently for at least a minute as she stared at her tea again. "No, I wasn't aware that I talked in my sleep." She admitted and then snapped her sight up to him. "What did I say?" She demanded quietly.

"Not a lot. But it's left me a little curious and well…a little confused."

"What did I say, Yami?" Victoria asked again, her lack of sleep causing her patience to become thin.

Yami linked his fingers together and with his elbows propped on the table he rested his chin on the small ledge he had made for himself before allowing the word to roll off his tongue. "Seto."

Victoria bit back the violent gasp. Of all the things she could have said, she had to say that? She decided to play ignorant. "Really?" She asked. She giggled a little. "That's really weird. I must have been having a warped dream about Seto Kaiba. He's the guy who made the Duel Disks and stuff, right?"

"Victoria." Yami warned. "That's a bold lie, even for you. That duel disk of yours is one of a kind. He made it for you, didn't he?"

She gulped a little. How was it that he could sound like a parent when he used her full name in that tone? "What?"

"I already knew."

Victoria was rather shocked. "What?"

"I'm not Joey, Tori. I worked out many of the riddles within the twists that you put into the truth." He informed her softly. "To your defence you never really lied. And I understand perfectly why you didn't tell any of us. But it does leave me feeling a little curious as to why he appeared in our dreams."

Victoria shifted her gaze. "I'm sorry, but I'm not going to answer that."

Yami nodded. "I understand. Can you explain to me why Seto Kaiba would decide to adopt a girl, when he claimed he only had one brother and that was the only family he would ever have?"

Victoria grinned a little. Yami was completely right. Seto wasn't the type to spontaneously adopt a girl. "Two years ago, Seto and Mokuba were going state to state, donating money to orphanages – with the hidden agenda to promote the development of other Kaiba Land amusement parks. But their intentions were still pure nonetheless.

"They came by our orphanage – I should also mention that it doubled as a boarding school – with the giant cheque and all to give it to the Headmaster. To be honest I wasn't in the least bit interested. We weren't allowed to watch TV so I didn't know who he was. All I knew was that Duel Disks were made by Kaiba Corp." She laughed a little to herself. "I was sitting in the art room as the Headmaster was giving a brief tour of the orphanage – explaining where the money was going to go and such." She paused sharply, the memory of that moment stronger than she thought. "The Headmaster was shocked to see me there – initially she told me to 'get lost' but Seto said that I could stay. I admit that I was instantly intimidated. He was so tall and the blue of his eyes was sharp, yet there was a softness there that I didn't realise could exist in a man."

Yami listened intently, but his mind was taking in each of the hints that he'd noticed were nearly identical to Rebecca when she spoke about Yugi – though Victoria's were much more subtle. Despite the many victories he held over Seto Kaiba, Yami instantly felt that he had been dealt a very painful defeat.

"Mokuba, still young in my eyes, but now that I think about it so much younger that day, bounded over to me where I was sketching and asked if he could take a look. I obliged and he called Seto over to look at the page. It hadn't been my intention but I had been drawing a Blue Eyes White Dragon. At that time I had a little trouble with dragons so I was practicing with pictures I had printed out of the libraries computer. He stared at the page and then at me. Upon instinct I recoiled – the gaze startled me and I thoroughly embarrassed myself." Victoria chuckled. "Seto just frowned towards me in a way that I couldn't quite pick and he asked if I was okay. I had nothing I could say so I just nodded. To go into detail would be a mistake. He then began to compliment the artwork and asked where I had learned to sketch like that and how long I had been drawing. What seemed like seconds later he was asking the Headmaster if I was allowed to leave the orphanage and she replied that I was only allowed to leave legally if I was adopted. Seto said 'so be it' and just like that." She clicked her fingers for emphasis. "I became a Kaiba."

"He adopted you because of your artistic talents?" Yami asked, still doubting the event.

"No…there are far more pressing reasons that became apparent the week after."

Yami waited silently.

Victoria sighed. "Seto told me that he also felt like there was a reason he had to take me out of the orphanage – other than the undesirable conditions. Exactly a week after I left a fire broke out in the orphanage. Most of the children and teachers escaped unharmed – except for four young girls. They perished in the fire." She held back the weak sob as her eyes welled up with tears. "They were the girls I shared a room with."

Yami's eyes noticeably widened. "So, if you had stayed…"

"I would have died as well. Our door was always temperamental and it was hard to open sometimes. They couldn't escape the flames and smoke in time…" Victoria explained, wiping her cheeks. And though I am glad to be alive, I feel horrible for not being there for them. But, both of my brothers are very caring and generous and I can't imagine my life without them. It's like we've always been together. But we were raised so differently. They were raised by a harsh man in near seclusion. And though I was in less than desirable circumstances I was raised among a community of people. They either don't need or want company like I seem to."

"Do either of them know who you have been visiting?"

"Mokuba does." Victoria replied. "I've left Seto in the dark for obvious reasons. He'd never let me out of the mansion again."

Yami nodded. "I can't help but agree with that."

"You won't tell the others, will you? I can't imagine how Joey would react."

"I can."

"I'd rather not know, okay? Please?"

"You won't tell of my secret?" Yami asked.

"I won't tell."

"Then your secret is safe with me." He confirmed.

Victoria allowed a sigh of relief. "Thank you."

"I do think though, that you should tell the others eventually." Yami suggested. "A secret like that could become hard to keep."

Victoria nodded slightly in agreement. "It's hard lying to Seto as well."

"How have the Kaiba brothers been recently?" Yami asked conversationally.

Victoria smiled. "They're doing pretty well. Mokuba's in a regular high school now, Domino High. And – "

"What a minute, Mokuba is attending Domino High? He's the same age as Serenity Wheeler, isn't he?"

Victoria grinned, unable to help it after hearing both of the teen's names in the same general sentence. "Yes. The same class as well."

"Huh…" Yami commented. "Serenity hasn't mentioned anything about Mokuba. At least whenever I've seen her."

"That's because she doesn't want Joey to get angry."

"Why would Joey get angry? Joey hasn't got a problem with Mokuba at all."

"Uum, well. It's a bit more complicated."

Yami was astonished. "Are you saying what I think?"

Victoria's grin continued to widen.

"You're kidding?"

"Not at all." Victoria replied. "But it's not my business to say it right out – though I will say that Moki is very happy right now. And I hope to meet Serenity very soon."

"Does Seto know about it?"

"Yes. But he doesn't want anything to do with it. Which worries me a little." Victoria admitted.

"Why is that?" Yami inquired.

"Well…Mokuba might need some brotherly advice in the area of a relationship. Though I have a feeling that Seto doesn't have any kind of experience in that field either."

"I wouldn't be surprised to be perfectly honest. Since I've known him he's only cared about three things. Duel Monsters, his company and Mokuba – and now you I assume." Yami said. "I don't think he'd ever had time for a girlfriend of any kind. Not that it's my business."

"No you're probably right." Victoria sighed, unthinkingly leaving her disappointed out in the open. "He wouldn't know how to even act around an eligible woman who happened to be attracted to that kind of stern personality. But I don't think he's been around any women who actually like him for who he actually is."

"I suppose he only gains attention from the shallow minded women – at least those are the ones who openly project their affections towards him." Yami assumed.

Victoria nodded. "Sadly."

"And he forgets to notice the affections of those who truly care for him. Am I right?"

Victoria froze. His eyes gazing deeply into hers, even in the dim light they seemed to shine like dark coloured wine. He'd worked it all out and she was such a fool to allow the conversation to lead in such a precarious direction.

"He's yet to notice, hasn't he?"

"I'm sorry, but that's not any of your business, Yami." Victoria informed him, standing from her chair and turning away from him.

"I apologise then. But you know, some men don't recognise the subtle hints. Some need to be told out right." Yami explained. "Victoria, if my past experiences have told me anything then it's to take the moment while it's there or you'll never get it again."

It hurt deeply to give her such advice, to practically pass her off to another while his heart and mind screamed at him to hold his damned tongue. But if she could be happy then that would be good enough for him.

"Oh my gosh. Look, it's snowing." Victoria gasped, stepping up to the window and staring out into the slowly increasing light of the dawn. She had thoroughly changed the subject by pure chance and she didn't even realise it.

Yami stood up and joined her by the window. It was in fact snowing. The light fluffy substance that fell when it was too cold to rain was floating down from the light clouds directly overhead.

Without a warning, Victoria ran to the kitchen door and after fiddling with the lock, opened it and stepped out into the frosty morning air. Puffs of breath dancing over the slight breeze as it left through the hot air of her lungs. Instantly her cheeks turned red from the bite of the frost, but Victoria didn't seem to care. Nor did she care that she was only wearing a pair of socks, her pyjamas and a jacket. She shivered, but standing out in the snow was far more worth it.

Yami clutched his arms around his bare arms and resigned to standing in the doorway.

She became like a child and forgot his presence as she gracefully began to lightly dance on the sidewalk and onto the empty street as the gold of the sun began to reflect upon the sky and rim the outline of the clouds, blanketing out the blacks and blues of the night sky in its wake. The pink and blonde tones of her hair shone brilliantly in the yellow light and accented the sparkle in her excited eyes as she kept her gaze skyward to watch the snowflakes fall around her. It was as though she had never seen such an occurrence, although she had many times before. It was warming to the heart to think that Victoria was of such an innocent spirit, though her past was filled with impure hearts and intentions, she had emerged still just as lively and just as beautiful nonetheless.

He couldn't help but smile.

. : . : . : .

Victoria carefully added the extra milk to the flour and eggs before continuing to stir.

Doubling the batch hadn't been the problem – it was the pestering of the 'starving hungry' young men who were whining like children at the kitchen table behind her.

It wasn't until ten in the morning that the logs began to wake up from their resting places on the floor and lounge – needing Yugi's nudging and the violent alarm tone on Victoria's iPhone to finally get them to even open their eyes.

"Look, I won't make them any faster if you whine. In fact I might work slower just to piss you off." Victoria warned them – thankfully this shut them up quite effectively.

After she and Yami had come in from the cold, Yami had fled for the shower – she hoped silently that her enthusiasm hasn't caused him to fall ill. But it turned out he'd just been too cold to avoid the chance of using the steaming water. Thankfully he'd dressed in a long sleeved shirt and jeans when he'd returned – much more appropriate for the winter.

She'd also gotten changed from her pyjamas between coming in from the snow and making the batter. She'd bought only her skinny jeans so she'd put those back on and added a cream coloured shirt with a low enough square neckline and short sleeves that only covered her shoulders.

"How long will it take?" Tristan asked softly. Not wanting to make her mad, but still wanted to know.

"The first should be ready in the next fifteen minutes, give or take." Victoria replied.

"Yum." Joey commented.

"I just hope that they are as good as you say they are, Tori." Yugi said with a playful smile.

"It's my brother's word you should be trusting." Victoria corrected him absently. She was concentrating on making sure to get all of the lumps out of the batter with the wooden spoon she was stirring within the large plastic bowl she was now holding to her front so she could rest her back against the countertop.

"Yuug, there will be choc chips in them. Choc chips." Joey emphasised. "They will be good."

"Better than good." Tristan added.

Victoria lightly rolled her eyes as the conversation became far too strange for her to pay attention to and turned back the kitchen counter, placing the large pan onto the gas cook top and turning the selected stove on. She turned her head to the right, checking that the satisfying blue and yellow flame was licking the bottom of the pan. Happy that the pan was being heated, she used her teeth to tear the packet of chocolate chips open before pouring a quarter of the packet in and stirring them in – once they were thoroughly distributed throughout the batch she added another quarter of the packet and stirred again until she was happy with the thickness of the batter.

Victoria had begun gently pouring batter onto the pan to cook when Rebecca emerged, fully dressed in a black pleated skirt and a pink long sleeved sweater along with white tights. As always, Rebecca aimed to show off to Yugi – but that was no longer a surprise to anyone else so no one bothered to point it out or draw much attention to her clothing at all.

She easily flipped the five pancakes over to the other side, carefully flipping them over again to check the cooking side before flipping them back so they could cook some more. She'd learned not to simply wait, rather to check regularly and hope that it was all okay. The five pancakes were finished and she placed them all onto a plate and carried them to the table and placed it in the middle – quickly extracting her hand as Tristan and Joey eagerly launched at the pancakes to begin eating. Victoria shook her head in exasperated amusement and turned back to the stove to cook another bunch of pancakes.

It wasn't long until Téa emerged; dressed in a dark blue, knee length pencil skirt and a pale yellow dress shirt and her hair tied back into a tight bun on her feet were a pair of sensible flats. "Sorry that I have to leave so early, guys."

"I can't believe that you have to work on a Sunday." Joey commented, chewing on a pancake, chocolate lining his mouth.

"I don't usually. But my boss needed me in today – he couldn't tell me what, but it must be important." Téa assumed with a shrug.

"Stupid Burger World." Joey mumbled.

"What? Burger World? I don't work there anymore." Téa began to laugh. "I haven't worked there in months, Joey. Look at my clothes, I'm a secretary now."

"Wow, that's a pretty good job." Victoria commented.

"Yeah. I still have to pay for my dance lessons so it's better than nothing. And because I've managed to stay there for so long there's a very small chance of me being let go. The other secretary is working her way down until she can resign – once that happens I'll be working full time."

"Why is she resigning?" Tristan asked.

"She had a baby a few months ago. That's why I was employed – and lucky because I happened to be applying for a job that day." Téa laughed a little. "For a division completely unrelated if you'll believe it."

"That is lucky." Victoria agreed, placing another plate of pancakes on the table. "Are you able to eat something before you go?"

"No, I'm afraid I slept in longer than I meant to and I need to leave right about now." Téa replied sadly. "A car is being sent for me."

"Maybe next time."

Téa smiled. "Yeah, absolutely. I wish I could have had one those pancakes, but I really can't chance it. Besides I've already brushed my teeth."

From outside came the beep of a car and Téa bid them all farewell, insisting that she would let herself out and in no time she was gone.

Joey grumbled to himself. "Still sucks that she's working on a Sunday."

"At least she has a job." Rebecca stated.

"I do have a job." Joey snapped. "They're just not giving me a lot of shifts right now. Bikes don't do so good in the snow, in case you didn't know, Rebecca."

"It's hardly been snowing, Joey." Yugi said.

"There will be. We'll probably have to cancel the paper run a few times this season. Just like last year." Joey explained. "Oh well, being a duellist pays well enough – I can afford a lack in shifts."

"You have to get into the finals of a tournament before you get paid for being a duellist, Joey." Yami reminded him.

"Yeah. I have a heap of money from my third ranked victories saved up and ready for an emergency." Joey explained. "I'm more prepared than you think."

"I find that hard to believe." Rebecca stated.

"Watch it!" Joey snapped.

Victoria watched the havoc unfold from the corner of her eye, keeping the rest of her gaze on the cooking pancakes. She couldn't help but notice though, that Yami had yet to sit down, even as all of the others had seated themselves around the kitchen table. He stood by the counter a little more than a metre away from her, his arms comfortably folded over his chest, his long fingers picking at a pancake he had managed to snag and was slowly eating it in pieces – he was also observing the bickering between Joey and Rebecca with the air of a watchful protector. He was ready to step in at any moment if needed. She assumed he felt it was his obligation as the eldest of the group and probably a hidden protective instinct that a Pharaoh would have towards his people.

She smiled – he may not be a monarch anymore, but the traits were still very much apparent.

. : . : . : .

The snow had slowly turned into a light falling rain and the small white clouds turned grey and larger as she was pushing her bike into the garage of the mansion. She shook her head to rid it of the stubborn droplets and kicked the stand down on the bike.

On her trip home she'd thought about what she and Yami had been talking about in their too early conversation – it hadn't taken much thought for her to decide. Yami had said that men need to be told outright or they would never know so that left only one very clear option.

She had to tell Seto.

Though it could potentially ruin everything she already had with him, it was either that or end up losing her opportunity. She had to take a step out of her comfort zone if she was ever going to get anywhere in life.

With no time to spare and her heart beating alarmingly hard and fast she carried her bag up to her room and quickly unpacked. Placing everything where it needed to go before she kicked off her boots and decided to fix her hair, walking into the bathroom to use the mirror. Unconsciously she wanted to look her best – though it was a ridiculous thought as she'd never really bothered before. Not for Seto at least.

She was a simple girl. She didn't believe in makeup and she favoured comfortable clothes over fashionable. She sighed, pulling her twin tails out to brush her hair and then tied them back the exact same way.

One last glance in the mirror and Victoria deemed herself ready.

No more hesitation and no more fear. She just had to take the plunge.

After all, the worst he could do is to turn her down.

She swiftly left her room and humming a tune to calm herself as she made her way towards his study. Sunday or not he would be working on something.

As she approached the study she saw that the door was slightly ajar, instantly signalling to her that she was free to enter without knocking – this had been learned over past experiences and hints from Mokuba as well. It was a rare occurrence as they were always expected to knock in case he was having a meeting or something along those lines.

Victoria walked right up to the door, her chest becoming tight as the nerves began to settle in. As a part of habit she placed her fingers within the gap in the door and slowly opened it a tiny bit more to look into his study.

All joy and nervousness in her chest instantly dissipated and complete horror replaced it as her mouth fell agape and eyes widened. Her fingers fell from the door as her body began to feel completely numb.

Against the right wall of his study, Seto was trailing harsh kisses down the neck of a young brunette, one of his hands up in her let down hair and the other pressing her body to his at the centre of her back. Victoria could not see her face, but her hands were desperately clinging to the back of Seto's white dress shirt and tangled in his short brown hair – a colour that matched her shoulder length locks. The young woman was standing up on her bare toes, flat shoes kicked to the side, trying to lessen the height difference. Seto was leaning down to reach her, but it didn't seem to bother him in the slightest.

Seto left her throat, tugged her chin up and sealed her already swollen lips with his own. They both harmonised with a deep moan as Seto pressed her harder against the wall – and Victoria suddenly recognised the young woman.

Silent tears of utter betrayal slid down Victoria's red cheeks. Two people whom she trusted so deeply had thoroughly broken her heart at the same time. Without thinking Victoria pushed the door open with such force that it slammed against the wall with a crash, startling the pair.

Téa's eyes widened and Seto's expression turned from angry to concern in a split second.

"Tori." Seto muttered, slowly letting his arms fall from Téa. "You're home early."

"No, I'm home on time." Victoria replied, her tone harsh and her words broken with sobs. "It seems that you've forgotten to keep your eye on the clock, brother." She stated glaring darkly at him. How dare he drop her so many hints and then turn to another woman. Instead of allowing him her attention she turned to Téa. "Work, huh?"

Téa, although already flushed, blushed deeply. "I was working. Until…"

"You know her?" Seto asked.

Though who he'd spoken to was unclear, Victoria and Téa looked over at him, but none of them replied. Téa looked apologetic, Victoria just looked furious. She didn't care if Seto knew anymore, she was too angry to care about much more. "You know what? Stuff this. I couldn't care less. Continue on, I never came in." She turned on her heel and made to run to the door.

Seto got a good grip on her arm, holding her back. "Tori, what's going on?"

"Let me go!" Victoria cried, feeling the ticking of his skin touching hers. "I'm leaving!"

"Where will you go?"

"The only other place I have. I'm going to Yami's. Now, let me go!"

Seto's slight shock at hearing that name allowed his grip to weaken and she slipped her arm free, bolting for the door. She clenched her eyes shut, trying to quell the continuous, steady stream of tears that flowed down her cheeks.

The echoes of anguished sobs were the last that Seto and Téa heard of Victoria.