And, as promised, ch11... ch12 to come up after the next bout of assignments/exams are completed... so a week, less if you're lucky.

Hope you enjoy... sorry if the beginning of this chapter seems a bit rushed, but I couldn't remember exactly how the duel went - I remembered Valon jumping in to save Mai and them all tearing off on bikes, but that's about the limit of my memory.

Disclaimer: Still don't own it, regrettably. Although it's probably for the best. It'd be 18+ if I did ^_^"

'No need to swear, Kaiba,' Valon said placidly. He yanked on Raven's chain, causing her to stumble to her knees. She choked on the gag in her mouth.

'You—you—' Joey was too angry to get any words out. 'You bastard!'

Valon laughed. 'That really all you got?'

'Give her back,' Yami demanded.

'Or what?' The man to the left of Valon spoke up. He was tall and muscle-bound with blond hair and grey eyes. 'You don't exactly have anything to bargain with.'

'We have the dragon cards.'

The other man, a thin youth with red hair, gave a short laugh. 'And you'll just give them to us? I bet that'll happen.'

'It could, if Tea gives enough friendship speeches,' the woman said. She moved into the light, revealing long blonde hair and red-tinged eyes.

Joey paled. 'God… Mai.'

'What do you know, the kid still recognises her,' the larger man said.

She flicked her hair over her shoulder. 'I'm surprised he still can, with a brain that small.'

Joey made to run up the stairs. 'Mai, I swear to god I'm gonna—'

Yami pulled him back, pointing to the green circle on her forehead. 'Joey, there's nothing we can do for her now. She's under the influence of the Orichalcos.' He looked up at the four angrily. 'Who are you?'

'Rafael,' the larger man said. 'Valon you know. Mai you know. This is Alister.' The red-haired man smirked and nodded his head. 'We are Master Dartz's most prized servants. We have been sent to take your souls.'

'As if you'd be here for anything else,' Joey muttered.

'If they're anything like the last two goons we met, they shouldn't be too hard,' Seto said.

Alister looked puzzled. 'The last two?'

'Jonno and Chaz,' Valon explained.

He nodded. 'Oh, yeah, them. How'd they go?'

'Defeated.'

'But didn't Chaz have—'

'She stabbed him,' he growled, nodding his head at Raven.

Rafael sighed. 'You did say she was trouble.'

'She'd be a lot less trouble if we could remove the damned sword.'

'For the last time, I already tried, Alister,' Valon snarled. 'It burns if you touch it. But these chains do fine, don't they?'

But she's strong enough to snap those things, Seto thought. He glanced at Yami, who was frowning at the chains. Ah. More Shadow magic.

Yami opened his mouth to speak. But before he could speak, Joey butted in.

'Mai, I challenge you to a duel!'

Raven's eyes widened and she frantically began to shake her head. Valon yanked the chain again, knocking her head against the railing. 'None of that, Raven.'

Mai smirked. 'Accepted. Hope you remember what it feels like to lose your soul.'

She made her way down the stairs gracefully. She still wore her purple tube top, her short purple skirt, but now she wore a black biker's jacket and a chaos duel disk. With a sharp snap, it opened.

Joey readied his disk. 'I won't be losing it this time. I'm gonna free you from that thing.'

'If you say so, hon.'

As the two began to duel, Seto watched Raven carefully. The hit to the railing had opened a cut on her head and blood was slowly dripping down her temple. Her eyes were locked on his.

A loud howl distracted him. Turning around, he found that Mai had activated her Orichalcos card, trapping her and Joey in a green hemisphere. Yami, Tea, Tristan and Ryou were pounding on the walls.

As the duel dragged on, Seto kept his eyes firmly trained on Raven's. Slowly, though, she was fading. Her gaze was becoming unfocussed, her breathing shallow. For the second time that day he was scared. This time, it wasn't because there was a possibility of him being hurt. It was because there was a possibility she was badly hurt.

Mai beat Joey down, down, taking his lifepoints away steadily. He in turn landed only a few hits, seeming reluctant to hurt her.

'I summon my Cyber Harpies,' he heard Mai say. 'This is the end of the line for you, kid.'

Suddenly a shout rang from the balcony. 'Oh, no you don't!'

All eyes turned to the railing, where Valon was frantically untying Raven. She'd stopped moving and her eyes were closed.

Seto felt his heart stop. Christ, no.

'Valon, what the hell are you doing?' Mai demanded.

'She stopped breathing,' Valon snarled. 'Just finish the mutt, I'll fix this.'

She shrugged and turned back to the duel. 'If you say so. Cyber Harpies—'

'NO!'

For the second time, all eyes turned to the balcony. Valon, Rafael and Alister were hanging over the railing, reaching for something high above them. Seto followed their eyes up and—

'With the power of the Millennium Sword, I break the seal!'

A blinding flash of light lit the room. Mai screamed, her cry heard clearly above the howls of the others as they were knocked off their feet.

As the light vanished, Seto scrambled back to his feet, scanning the ceiling desperately. He knew that voice; he knew Raven had been faking her breathing problem. But gods, what had she done?

His eyes locked onto a dark blur falling down from high above. 'Fuck!'

Raven had leapt over the balcony and used her Sword to break the Orichalcos. The shockwave had evidently knocked her back into the air, and now—now she lay motionless on the ground, arm skewed and eyes closed.

Abandoning all hope of appearing unconcerned, he sprinted towards the centre of the room, taking her into his arms and cradling her. 'Wake up, Raven,' he whispered.

Around him, he heard rather than saw Joey going to Mai. From the corner of his eye, he could see her disk had returned to normal and her eyes were back to their regular violet. Whatever Raven had done had worked.

Raven's eyes fluttered, and she swore under her breath. 'Jesus fucking Christ—'

He sighed in relief. She was alright.

Footsteps came up behind him, and a hand dropped on his shoulder. 'She alright, Kaiba?'

'She's fine, mutt,' he said.

'Speak for yourself,' she groaned. 'I can feel four bones in my arm and I know I'm only meant to have two.'

He helped her to stand, hooking an arm around her waist for support.

Mai came over and slid an arm around her on the other side. 'Thanks, hon,' she whispered.

'S'alright,' Raven grumbled.

'Raven, this is Mai,' Joey said. 'Mai, this is—'

'Ravana!' With a roar, two bikes cleared the balcony—Alister on his own, and Valon riding pillion with Rafael. Seto felt Raven tense, he felt her yearning to shout out, to lash out. But if she did, it would mean she couldn't deny her name.

They circled the companions for a moment. 'We'll see you soon,' Valon yelled. With a final screech, they tore off into the dark hallways.

'Pussies!' Raven yelled after them.

'Ravana?' Tea said.

'He said Raven. You heard wrong,' she snapped. 'What the hell kind of name is Ravana?'

Yugi took over. 'My sister's.'

'No offence, but it's ridiculous.'

'It's yours,' Joey said quietly.

Raven snapped her head up. 'My name is Raven.'

'No, your real name,' he said.

'What?' Yugi whispered.

Joey put a hand on his shoulder, face filled with pain. 'Yug, buddy, I'm real sorry to have to tell you this. You know how moneybags ordered background checks?'

Yugi nodded dumbly.

Raven snarled. 'He found my record. Nothing else.'

'Yeah, your record, with the three murders,' Tristan growled.

Mai dropped her arm from around Raven, and the companions backed away.

'Oh, for fuck's sake, it was two and a case of self-defence,' she snarled. 'They all deserved it, regardless. I'm not going to kill any of you.'

Ignoring her, Joey continued. 'Yug, you knew Ravana had a record?'

He shook his head, tears beginning to form. 'She didn't!'

'She did,' Seto said. He empathised with the young boy; for the first time, there was no malice behind his words. 'Ravana had a record, beginning at age eight. The same time Raven said hers started. But Raven's record only goes back to age sixteen.'

'No, it goes back to age eight,' Raven snarled. 'You're lying. I'm not Ravana. Stop making up shit to try and prove your lie.'

'I'm not, and you know it.'

'Yours started the same age Ravana's stopped,' Tristan said.

Yugi began shaking. 'No. Ravana's dead. She was murdered. She came over here because our parents were too busy for her.'

In his arms, Seto could feel Raven begin trembling. Whether in anger or in pain, he didn't know.

'She didn't,' Joey said. 'She was on the run from the law back in Egypt. When they caught up with her over here, she didn't want to shame you so—'

'So she invented a new name, with a new appearance to go with it,' Ryou murmured. 'To the law, Ravana had been killed.'

'And miss Raven Astarte confessed to it,' Seto added.

'Yeah, I killed the bitch. So what?' Raven snapped.

'You killed her, but only in a metaphorical sense,' he said. 'Physically she's still alive. She's you. You can't hide it.'

Yugi rounded on Raven, staring at her, looking over her head to toe. 'No. I would have known. Ravana had scars, remember? She had a big one on her left shin, and another on her neck—'

Hesitatingly, Tea moved to lift up Raven's pant leg. Raven made to move, but Seto held her still. He expected her to fight back, to throw him off easily. She didn't. Was it because she knew in her heart she'd lost the battle?

'I'm sorry,' Seto whispered in Raven's ear. 'I'm sorry.' And he meant it.

The companions gasped as her shin came into view. A huge, dark, looping scar ran from the base of her kneecap to about two inches above her ankle.

'You mean like that?' Mai asked.

Yugi's eyes filled with tears. 'No. She's not Ravana. Ravana died—I helped organise her funeral! She's a lying, slutty, immature and law-breaking bitch and—'

'Oh, fuck it all,' Raven exploded. 'I'm your fucking twin sister.' She threw off Seto, healing her arm in a flash of blinding light. 'You want the truth? Kaiba, the fucking meddling bastard he is, is right. I am Ravana.'

For the first time since he'd seen her, Seto thought he saw a glimpse of regret in her eyes.

'What they say is true. I ran from the detention centre and came here illegally. When they caught up with me, I couldn't let the image of Ravana be ruined… she was everything I wanted to be. So I lied. I became Raven Astarte. I told the cops I murdered Ravana, threw her body in the ocean so they couldn't find it. I told them her I killed her because she'd seen me steal something, killed her while she was on her way to a date.'

Seto looked away guiltily.

'With him?' Yugi asked.

'Yeah, with him,' Raven snarled. 'I watched you all through the trial. I watched all of you, crying for Ravana, crying for me.' Her fists clenched. 'And I respected you too much to reveal her for the lie she was. I didn't want to hurt you more than was necessary.'

'So you pretended to be dead instead?' Yugi spat. 'Oh, that's so much kinder!'

'To you it would have been.'

'Oh, really? Just why?'

'Because of the fucking family honour. You were the one who got sent to live over here with Solomon because you were a boy. Mum and Dad, may they rot in the underworld, decided you had more of a chance of making it big. I got left in Egypt in a shitty little public school while you got to attend the prestigious Domino Private in the USA!'

She took a deep breath in. 'All that ever mattered to you and Solomon was honour. Whether you got good grades, whether you kept face in public—all that crap. I knew that you'd disown me if you found out about my past. It was easier on you two if I died.'

'But not easier on you,' Seto whispered in her ear. 'Or me.' She shook him off.

'I wish you had died.'

'If it meant I'd never have to deal with your shit again, I wish I had too,' she snarled.

Breathing heavily, Yugi slowly walked over to her.

'What do you want to hear? Sorry?' She folded her arms. 'I'm not. I made my choices. I'll never take them back.'

Yugi punched her, hard, knocking her face to the side.

Seto drew his breath in; surely she'd kill him. But instead she merely brought her head up again to look him in the eye. 'I'm not sorry, brother.'

He drove his fist into her gut, bringing her to her knees. 'I'm not your brother.' Angrily, he slammed his fists and feet against her again and again, knocking her to the ground over and over. 'You are not my sister.'

Nobody made any effort to stop him.

For a full minute he beat her, tears welling in his eyes. 'You aren't Ravana. Ravana—'

Then, rage expended, he broke into sobs and ran from the building. Tea glared at Raven, spat at her, then sprinted after Yugi, followed closely by Ryou. Joey, Mai and Tristan quickly followed them out.

Seto knelt by Raven's panting body. She lay facedown on the ground, arms folded above her head; her hair was knotted and skewed, her legs akimbo. She hadn't resisted Yugi's attack at all.

As he put his hand on her shoulder, he realised she was silently crying.

'I'm sorry,' he said softly. 'I wasn't going to tell them. I really wasn't.'

'Was that why you were drinking too?' Her voice was cracking.

'Yeah.'

She took a shuddering breath in. 'Was that why you were so worried earlier?'

He put both his hands on her shoulders, rubbing them in small circles. 'Yes.' Gently, he rolled her onto her side. 'I'm sorry, Ravana.'

'It's Raven,' she said. 'Ravana's dead, Seto. She died the moment Yugi said I wasn't his sister.' Grudgingly, she wiped her face and brought herself to hands and knees.

Seto pulled her into a bone-crushing hug. He felt her stiffen, then slump.

'No,' she said, pushing away. 'I don't deserve that. Remember, Seto, I'm not Ravana.' She looked up yearningly. 'Ravana did like you. She positively adored you. But she's dead, and no amount of love can bring her back. Forget her. Forget she ever existed.' She rose to her feet, leaving him kneeling. 'It's for the best.'

And slowly she walked away into the corridors.

Seto remained kneeling on the ground for a few minutes, thinking hard. His phone buzzed; Raven had sent him a message, ordering him to take the others back to the house. She had a few things to take care of first. He read it, twice, replied to her and moved it to a folder. How she'd gotten his number he had no idea, but he didn't care.

When he made it out of the building, he found Yugi in tears surrounded by his friends. Most of them had tears in their own eyes. Raven was right; they really had liked Ravana.

Just as she was right in that he'd loved her.

He passed on the message and started up the limo. Silently they piled in. About a half-mile down the road they heard an explosion—behind them, all that remained of the Doma building was a mushroom-shaped cloud of black smoke. Seto watched it for a few seconds in the side mirror before continuing the rough journey.

Back at the house the companions remained mostly silent. Joey and Mai had a long talk in the living room while their friends commiserated over tea and coffee in the kitched; Seto chose to settle down in Raven's room. Despite the night's drinking, it only smelled of her.

Idly, he flicked through his phone, smiling sadly to himself. He still had every message he'd sent to and received from Ravana, and now he contented himself with reading through them.

Ravana: Hey, just Ravana here. Got your number and figured I'd test it.

The very first message.

Ravana: Hah, too true… he's a good brother and all, but a bloody annoyance in the duelling ring. Maybe you and I could tag-team him down :-P.

Seto: You couldn't handle tag-teaming with me ;-)

Ravana: Oh, I could, rich-boy. Face my dragons and die!

Seto: You duel with dragons?

Ravana: Yeah, course I do. Best creatures in the game. Seen you playing yours a few times… nice blue-eyes. Matches your own.

Seto: Really?

Ravana: Yeah :-)

The middle of a conversation that had gone for over two hours, all via text. What had started off as a platonic conversation about Yugi's duelling ended up as two-sided flirting.

Ravana: You know, you act like a cold bastard but you're really nice now that I know you :-)

Seto: You know me now?

Ravana: Yup. Seto Kaiba, multimillionaire genius, third-best duellist in the world.

Seto: Only third? Who else is there besides your brother?

Ravana: Me, of course. I outrank him!

Seto: Bet I could change that. Duel sometime?

Ravana: Sure thing. Park after school tomorrow, in the little pagoda thingo near the lake. Looking forwards to it :-)

Seto: Same here :-)

Their first duel… true to her word, she beat him. She did every time they duelled. Well, apart from that one time she was duelling with a tester deck. But as she'd been quick to point out, that didn't count; none of their duels ever 'counted'. They were just duels.

Ravana: Got your message. You said to text you?

Seto: Yeah. Meet me at the park, where we had our first duel. After school.

Ravana: Ok…

His not-so-smooth way of getting her on her own. He could still remember her look of confusion; she'd come expecting a duel, or a fight, but had got neither. It had been the first time in his life he'd been truly nervous about something.

'Hey, Seto.'

'Hey, Ravana.'

'So why'd you get me here? You know where I live. You got my number. I gotta help Grandpa in the shop this afternoon, you knew that. Why here, why now?'

He leant against the pagoda railing, suddenly nervous and unsure. 'Because.'

She took a step towards him. 'Because? If you want a duel or a fight, all you have to do is ask.'

'I don't want either.'

Her eyes creased. 'Then what do you want?'

'You know the dockside festival that's on next week?'

'Yeah.'

He took a deep breath. 'I was wondering if you'd like to go there with me.' And he turned to face the lake, eyes closed and breath still, waiting for the punch or the refusal that was certain to follow. Why had he done this?

'Sure.'

'What?'

He turned back, found her smiling. 'I said sure. Saturday alright with you?'

'It's perfect. Ten o'clock?'

'Ten it is.'

'Looking forwards to it.'

Just before she left for the game shop, she took his hand and planted a chaste kiss on his cheek. 'Same here.'

And as he watched her run off through the park, he found himself smiling.

God, how well he remembered that day. He could feel tears beginning to spring to his eyes.

Moto: Kaiba, when you get this, reply.

Seto: What do you want, Moto?

It was three in the afternoon on Saturday. Ravana hadn't shown up, but he'd waited; he'd waited all day. He'd made excuses for her: she'd had to work unexpectedly, she'd had trouble getting down there, Yugi had caused a stir. Then, about noon, he'd gotten angry. He should have known better. Furious, he'd turned off his phone. By the time he'd received Yugi's text he was steaming.

Moto: It's Ravana.

Seto: What about her?

Moto: She's dead.

Two words. Two words, and the growing warmth in his heart was sent back to the ice age.

Seto: You're lying.

Moto: I swear to god I'm not lying. They said she'd been walking down the pier and some psycho bitch killed her and threw her in the ocean. She didn't even care that she'd done it!

Seto: I don't believe you.

Moto: Ask the Domino City police, then. They've got the bitch in custody now. Ravana shouldn't even have been near her, she said she was going to see some movie with a friend… nowhere near the docks.

It had been his fault she'd been at the docks, his fault she'd been killed. Of course, he now knew she hadn't died, but at the time he'd been shattered.

Seto: That's impossible. I saw her at school yesterday.

The next message he received was from the police, expressing condolences for his loss and a report on the killer, Raven Astarte.

Ten minutes later, his phone had gone off again, with the last message he had in the folder. Thankfully, he'd made it back to his mansion, so nobody saw him dissolving into sobs.

Ravana: On my way now. Was thinking of you all night; couldn't sleep! Missed you. Can't wait to see you there. Xx

It had been the last message. Now… now there was one more, marked 'replied to' and from the contact delegated as Raven.

Raven: It's Raven. Take the others back to the house in the limo. I have a few things to take care of before I join you. If I come back. And I lied… I am sorry. But not for lying. Only for hurting you.

Hands shaking, he clicked on the link to his reply. He read it once before hurling his phone across the room, tears slowly leaking from his eyes.

Seto: Alright. I will. Please do come back. We need your help with this, and I need you here. I'm sorry, but I won't forget. I can't. Remember? "Missed you. Can't wait to see you there. Xx". Don't care if you're nobody's Raven or my Ravana. I miss you. Please come back.

He rolled onto her bed, burying his face in the pillow he'd used last night. He heard his phone buzz but left it where it was. So he didn't see the message.

Raven: It's hypocritical, I know. I can't forget either. But we must; things have changed. We have changed. I missed you then, and although I miss you now, I won't say it. See you when I get there… her Seto. ~nobody's Raven

Valon's a bastard, I know... poor Raven. Poor Seto. Poor Yugi! He may seem slightly OOC, but I think you'd be angry if you thought-to-be-dead twin sister was revealed as being a) alive and b) a lie, and the complete opposite of what you remembered her to be. I know I'd be angry with them... poor little Yugi. Oh, and sorry for the throwing-in of the Dragon Cards subplot... I only remembered about it writing this chapter... oops. It will be fleshed out, just as it was in the real thing, promise!

Reviews are loved! ^_^