Chapter Ten – Room to Heal

Yami threw the pizza boxes into the recycling bin out the back of the Game Shop and ran back into the kitchen door, the rain soaking through his shirt and hair in no time. It had been an hour since Rebecca had been picked up by Professor Hawkins and in doing so dropped Grandpa off as well – and it had already begun to pour in buckets. The weather completely contrasted the light snow that had been falling that morning. He shut the kitchen door behind him and turned to washing the dishes left over from the night before and that morning.

Thankfully there wasn't too much to clean, though it was a tempting idea to call Yugi in from where he was cleaning the living room, but they'd agreed to stay at their own stations so that was out of the question.

"Yami."

Yami looked up, seeing Yugi entering the kitchen, dumping a bulging and tied up rubbish bag by the kitchen door.

"I'm going to go upstairs and change the sheets on the beds and put them in the washing machine, okay?"

Yami nodded. "Sure."

"I'll take that bag out when the rain has died down a bit." Yugi added, leaving the kitchen and his footsteps were soon heard climbing the stairs.

Yami pushed his hands into the hot soapy water, reaching for a utensil or plate within to clean and place on the drying rack. He'd managed to find a bowl when there was an urgent knock on the front door.

He looked up in confusion. Who would be out in the rain like this? Nor were they expecting anyone.

Never the less, Yami dried his hands and briskly walked to the front door, opening it to find a rather familiar face. "Roland? What are you doing here?" He asked.

Roland didn't step into the house, but he was holding a small umbrella above his head, behind him was a sleek black car. "Miss Kaiba has returned hoping she would be able to make use of your hospitality once more." He explained.

"Tori?" Yami asked. "Certainly, of course." He replied, instantly concerned for the reason that would cause Victoria to come back so soon.

"Then I bring a message from Mokuba Kaiba requesting that you take care of her." Roland added.

Yami nodded. "I would without Mokuba's request."

Roland nodded, satisfied and turned towards the car to open the door and assist Victoria out of the car. She hadn't changed her clothes at all, but her cheeks were flushed and her eyes were pink with tears that were still trailing lines down her skin. Without any hesitation Yami stepped out into the rain and met her halfway, catching her as she practically collapsed into his embrace.

"I'll fetch her bags." Roland said, leaving Victoria to Yami as she walked to the back of the car.

Yami half carried Victoria into the entrance hall of the small house and allowed her to cling to him for dear life, heartbreaking sobs shaking her frame as her small fingers clutched onto his shirt.

Roland appeared at the doorway and placed the same bag she'd bought with her for the sleepover inside the door along with her backpack and a bag he hadn't seen before – it looked heavily waterproof.

"Thank you, Roland." Victoria managed through her tears. All she received was a nod before Roland was gone.

"Tori, what in the world happened?" Yami asked, tilting her chin up so he could gaze into her eyes. He brushed a thumb over her cheek to rid it of a tear.

"Could we not talk about it, please?" Victoria pleaded. "Not yet."

Yami nodded softly and tucked her head against his chest, still holding her upright as she continued to shake with small sobs. He heard Yugi coming down the stairs, no doubt hearing the small commotion and decided that it was best to get Victoria into a comfortable seat. He helped her out of her coat and she kicked off her boots before he led her to the living room.

"What's going on?" Yugi asked, setting his eyes on Victoria as Yami walked by him.

"Everything's going to be fine." Yami replied, sitting on the lounge closest to the gas heater and bringing Victoria onto the lounge beside him. "Yugi, don't change the sheets on my bed, Tori's going to sleep there again tonight."

"No, it's okay. I'll sleep on the lounge or something." Victoria stepped in, sitting upright.

"Tori, there's no point because those sheets will have to be changed anyway – you may as well sleep in them again." Yami insisted, wrapping his arm back around her in comfort. "And I'm sorry but I won't let a young woman sleep on a lounge while visiting this house."

Victoria just nodded, giving in with no true will to debate on such a menial topic.

"Okay, I'll just change my sheets then." Yugi said. "Did you want me to wash the dishes when I'm done?" He asked, noticing that Yami would be otherwise occupied with good reason.

"No, I'll just wash them later." Yami replied.

"I'll help." Victoria insisted, standing from the lounge and heading towards the kitchen.

"Tori." Yami said, following her. "You don't have to wash dishes."

"I'd rather keep myself busy." She explained, turning to him.

Yami smiled, realising the maturity in her. He reached up with both hands and brushed away the rest of her tears, cupping her cheeks gently as if he were holding the most breakable china. "Okay then. Which would you rather do, wash or dry?"

"Wash." Victoria replied, a small smile appearing on her lips.

She couldn't believe it. All it took him was less than five minutes. He'd made her smile – no one had been able to accomplish that when she was so deep in sorrow.

He truly was a special person.

Yami lowered his hands to his sides. "Then I will dry." He confirmed, walking around her and collected a dry tea-towel as she stood in front of the filled sink. "I've already placed all of the dishes in there – watch out for knives." He warned.

Victoria chuckled and then sniffled. "You shouldn't put the knives into the water."

Yami shrugged. "I like a challenge." He said.

"I take it that Bec finally went home?" She asked, scrubbing down a plate.

"Yes, her Grandfather took her when he dropped off Grandpa."

"Oh? He's home? Where is he?" She asked, handing over the cleaned plate.

"He's napping upstairs." Yami replied. "Apparently the two doctors didn't sleep much last night. Too much arguing and discussing."

"I can imagine that." Victoria agreed. "I'm sorry that we left you and Yugi with such a cleanup. If I'd known I would have hung around longer to help out." And miss out on the unexpected tongue fest she'd witnessed in Seto's study. She choked back the upcoming sob from the memory and continued to wash the dishes.

"Ordinarily I wouldn't have allowed you to help anyway."

"Ordinarily?"

"I know when a person is mature enough to avoid wallowing in their tears. I wouldn't assist you in going down that path." Yami explained.

Ten minutes passed with little conversation after that and the dishes were cleaned and dried and put away in their proper places. Once the job was done, Yami promptly put the kettle on and collected the items needed for two mugs of tea.

"Mint or strawberry?" Yami asked.

"Surprise me." Victoria replied sombrely. Now that her hands were doing nothing she was beginning to think about the reason she had fled home.

Victoria stared at the bubbles still lining the sink after she'd drained the water and couldn't help herself. She scooped some up in her fingers and flung it at Yami. He didn't react at first as the suds travelled down the side of his face, but he soon turned on her.

"Is that a challenge?" He asked.

Victoria only offered him an innocent smile in response.

Yami sighed, stepping up to her casually. Victoria didn't move, seeing no threat in his advance – until he reached into the sink like lightning and crushed a handful of bubbles into the top of her head. "There, we're fair now." He stated and went back to the counter to wait for the kettle.

"Yuck." She whispered, brushing suds out of her hair.

Footsteps began to make their way down the stairs, and both of them knew that it was Grandpa making his appearance, but Yugi's footsteps followed close behind. "Hello you two. Yugi and I are just going out, okay?"

Yami blinked in surprise. "Where to?" He inquired.

"Oh, nowhere." Grandpa replied as Yugi started to drag him away from the kitchen and out of the house.

Victoria smiled a little as Yami lightly slapped a hand to his face in embarrassment. "About as subtle as a flying mallet." She muttered.

"It's their way of providing privacy, but they could be a little smoother about it." Yami explained.

"What, do they think we're going to get up to no good or something?" Victoria teased and then instantly flushed bright red, realising what she had just aloud. Then realised that Yami's cheeks were a little pink as well. "Oh god, I just can't keep my mouth shut, can I?"

"They'd be imagining the 'or something', I'm afraid." Yami replied. "You're lucky that you're not around when they start teasing me."

"They tease you, about me?" Victoria asked. She was mystified by this new information. Why would they do that? She and Yami were practically best friends.

Yami nodded, pouring the water into the mugs and jiggling the tea bags. His cheeks continued to darken in shade. "The whole affair is really rather embarrassing."

"I hope it ends soon then." Victoria said. "I certainly wouldn't appreciate it if my brothers – " She stopped short as the thought of her older brother stabbed in her already cracked heart.

"Tori?"

Victoria snapped her eyes up and the moment they met with Yami's concerned orbs of pure liquid she broke down again, crouching to the tiled floor with her back to the cabinet under the countertop. She wrapped her arms around her legs and pressed her face into her knees as a new wave of sorrow set in.

Yami knelt beside her, placing a calm and sturdy hand upon her shaking shoulder. "Did he do something to you?" He asked.

She looked up in shock. "Huh?"

"Did Kaiba hurt you?" Yami demanded.

How was it that he worked out those things so quickly? She had barely said a word about the problem and he already knew it as Seto who had done her wrong.

Yet he didn't know it wasn't just Seto.

"No…yes? I don't know." Victoria cried, clutching her hands around her head. "I was just going to see him so I could tell him – " She sighed, she couldn't even say the words to Yami. He knew what she was talking about though. "And he was in his study…making out with another girl."

Yami was startled, his eyes widening. "What?"

"Surprised me too." Victoria muttered, wiping her wrist under her nose. "Maybe I overreacted." She considered, shifting her eye contact.

"That all depends on what you said and did."

"I practically screamed at them and then ran away. It all sounds so childish now in hindsight."

"Did you know her?" Yami asked, and something about his tone peaked her interest.

"You know, don't you?" Victoria asked.

Yami shut his eyes softly and looked away. "Téa came to me the day she was offered the job and asked if I was okay with it. Naturally I was a little concerned of her being in Kaiba's proximity and the fact that they had never gotten along before – but if she was keen on the job then I told her to take it while she had the chance."

"Take the moment while it's there." She quoted.

Yami nodded. "She decided not to tell Joey for just about the same reasons as you didn't tell him. I swear to you, I only knew that she worked as Kaiba's secretary – but I never imagined that anything would happen between them. That part is news to me." He explained. "If I had known…I wouldn't have given you such advice."

"Don't you start blaming yourself for this." Victoria ordered.

"I can't help but feel like I had a part in these tears." Yami said gently, brushing another stray tear away. "Is it because it was Téa that you are so upset?"

"I would have been upset either way…" Victoria replied. "But…I don't know. I trust Téa with my life and for two years Seto's been dropping hint after hint that's left me in confusion and then he goes and…" She scrunched her eyes shut and sobbed. "And he made it so that at times I can't remain coherent in his presence even when I know in my heart that it's wrong to feel that way!" Her bottom lip began to tremble as fresh tears trickled down her cheeks. "And now I don't know how to feel anymore."

Yami sighed in sympathy. "I can't imagine how confusing that would be. Why don't we put on some stupid horror movie and laugh at the stupid girls?"

Victoria rubbed at her eyes. "Okay."

Yami nodded, stood upright and then offered her both of his hands. She took them and allowed him to haul her to her feet. In recoil she fell into him, her nose touching against the tip of his. They stood for a long and awkward moment like that, startled and above all turning bright red.

"Sorry." Yami whispered, taking a step away, clearing his throat.

"It's okay." Victoria replied, also stepping back.

. : . : . : .

Seto sat back in the rear seat of the car, arms crossed and staring out the window as the torrential rain streaked down and against it without mercy.

Nothing about Victoria's reaction had made any sense to him.

By the time he'd gotten to her room and searched her studio, Victoria was gone. Téa hadn't given him anything when she had left the mansion and Mokuba had only sent him a disgruntled glare when Seto asked him if he knew what was bothering Victoria. He was doing the only thing he could think of – going where she said she would be, the Motou's.

He didn't like the thought of her being there – Wheeler was full of hatred for him and chances were the Pup had been filling her mind with stories and half truths of their past meetings. It was true that he used to be hard towards others and didn't tolerate the 'Geek Patrol' at the best of times, but Seto had grown more mature since he'd been forced to spend any time with the Motou 'twins' and Wheeler.

"Sir, we've arrived at the Kame Game Shop." His driver stated as they came to a halt.

"Stay in the car." Seto ordered as he opened his own door and stepped out into the rain. He stormed up to the door and violently knocked on it. He stood there in the rain until the door opened to reveal a rather surprised Yami.

"Kaiba?"

Seto walked right in and took a handful of Yami's shirt in his fist. "Where is she?"

"A simple 'may I come in?' would suffice."

Seto looked up to see that Victoria was leaning against the doorframe to the living room, her arms crossed and her eyes still a little pink from tears. Behind her came the screams of a female on the horror movie playing on the television. "Tori, what is going on?"

Victoria's eyes narrowed into a glare. "I don't have to answer your questions. I came here to get away from you."

"You will tell me why you're acting this way. You're my sister, aren't you glad that I'm in a relationship?"

Tears bubbled in the corners of her eyes as her pupils continued to narrow at him – she remained silent. "Yami and I were watching a movie and I was quite happy until you showed up uninvited."

"Tori, I just don't understand." Seto said. "Please, just tell me what I have done so that I can try to fix it."

"No, you can't just fix it, Seto." Victoria stated. "This isn't a game or a faulty device, it can't be fixed."

"Tori." Seto stated, placing a hand on her shoulder. "What is going on in your head? Why are you so upset?" He asked, gently wiping a tear from her cheek.

Victoria recoiled – the movement she made recalling when she'd first met him – slapping his hand away from her face. "Because you made me believe – " She stopped short. "Ugh it was things like that that have muddled and rearranged my mind, Seto! Don't you get it? How can you be so smart and yet so dumb at the same damn time?" She cried.

Seto frowned at her in confusion. She still wasn't making any sense. "Tori, you're gonna have to spell it out for me. Riddles don't tell me anything."

Victoria glanced at Yami – who was standing back and well out of the fight – looking for any kind of advice to tell her what was best. Yami nodded. "Just tell him, Tori."

"Stay out of this, Motou!" Seto roared and then turned on Victoria again, his patience wearing thin. "Tell me, Tori." He demanded.

"I thought you cared about me and I thought…" Victoria trailed off again, her courage diminishing under the harsh glare of his eyes. "I thought…that there was something else there…" She admitted, avoiding contact with his eyes.

"But…Tori, you're my sister, I'm supposed to care for you."

"Yeah, you think I don't know that – but it's not like we've been siblings for years and years. It's only been two years, Seto. To my heart you're just a guy and I'm just a girl." Victoria muttered, sighing deeply. "But apparently I just wasn't the one, huh?" She assumed, turning her back on him.

"Tori."

"Please…just go. I'll return home when I am ready." Victoria informed him, her temper slowly cooling down.

"Mokuba sends his love." Seto said.

"Thank you." She whispered, keeping her back to him.

Seto then turned on Yami, pointing a finger up into his face. "If you so much as lay a finger on her, so help me – "

"You can't place rules here, Seto." Victoria scolded, coming to Yami's defence.

Seto looked at her, astonished. "Okay. And Tori, I'm sorry." And with those parting words he turned on his heel and strode back out of the house and into the waiting car.

"Well, that was interesting." Victoria commented softly.

"On several levels." Yami agreed. "Did you expect him to show up?"

"Kind of. I mean. I didn't expect him to drop by today – I thought maybe tomorrow or something." Victoria explained, unconsciously brushing her hands up and down her arms. "Sorry. I didn't think he'd yell at you."

"He'd said worse things to me in the past. And I don't think I blame him." Yami said.

"What?"

Yami chuckled. "If you were my little sister I'd threaten any guy you hung around with as well."

"Though I imagine that you would show a little more restraint."

"Of course." Yami replied. "Hey Tori." He said, as she reached for the larger of the three bags that were still sitting in the entrance hall.

"Yeah?"

"He apologised. Does that give him some points?"

Victoria huffed as she lifted the bag up and looped the strap onto her shoulder. How was it possible for him to remain unbiased even when the other side was his rival? "I don't know yet. You don't mind if I work on some Christmas presents, do you?"

"Not in the slightest." Yami replied, following her into the living room. "You draw them all, don't you?"

"Yup. Buying a present is nice, but I find that sketching a person their present is so much more personal." Victoria explained, unzipping the bag to reveal a folded wooden easel and a large sketch pad. "You won't be getting a peak at yours though. I would never allow that."

"No, of course not. I hope you don't mind me watching though. It'll be hard not to. Watching an artwork come together is such a fascinating experience."

"It is?" Victoria asked, pausing from placing the pad on the easel she'd set up on the coffee table.

"I suppose that when you're the one putting the art together it is less exciting."

She smiled. "Yeah, I guess." She agreed, flipping the pad open, causing an envelope to slip out and fall to the floor. "Huh? What's this?" She asked, leaning down to pick it up and looked at the writing on the front. It was addressed to her and from the feel of it, she knew exactly what was in there. "Wow, that was pretty quick." She commented, tearing the top of the envelope open.

"What is it?" Yami asked.

Victoria answered by holding the envelope upside down above her hand until three cards fell out into her palm. "Duel Monsters cards." She replied, offering them to Yami to look at.

He carefully took them from her palm and looked over the designs. A monster, trap and spell card. "I've never seen these cards before."

Victoria nodded. "They're brand new. Those three, in fact, are the first printed."

"They are?" Yami asked, looked up at her in surprise. "But how did you get them?"

"I designed them…" Victoria replied hesitantly.

Yami was silent for a very long moment. "Who is your employer?" He asked.

"Come now, Yami. I think that's rather obvious."

"Pegasus?"

She nodded. "He used sketches that I drew to create those cards and he sent me the first ones printed – kind of like a Christmas present." She looked back at the sketch pad. "I guess Mokuba snuck it in there when I asked him to pack my pad and easel in a bag."

Yami's smile was a surprise to her. "This is fantastic, Tori. Congratulations."

"Thank you." She said softly, a light blush covering her cheeks.

"You should be very proud. It's not every day that a person has their artwork used for a Duel Monsters card." Yami said, handing them back to her.

Victoria shrugged, taking the cards. "I guess." She replied, staring blankly at the cards. She sighed. "Do you want them?" She asked.

Yami blinked. "What? Why?"

"I just…I think you'd find a better use for them than I would." Victoria replied. "And I can't imagine a better gift for everything that you have done for me since the day we met. Please, take them as a representation of my deepest gratitude."

Yami slowly took the cards back from her. "I'll add them to my deck." He replied, placing them onto the coffee table for the time being as Victoria opened her pad to a half finished sketch and continued to work.

. : . : . : .

Victoria settled into the Motou's lifestyle easily.

She gladly watched the minor league Duel Monster's tournament that was on, helped cook dinner and wash up afterwards and pack up as well. She then had a small tabletop duel with Yugi – losing miserably. She then watched while Yami duelled Yugi – sketching Christmas gifts as she did so.

Yami was already putting the cards she'd given him to good use and managed to beat Yugi, though it was still an intense challenge nonetheless.

It was effortless to be in their presence.

Whereas back at the Kaiba mansion where she'd lived for two years she felt out of place and usually lonely. Seto was always working and Mokuba was either at school or in his room working on his assignments. Here the house was small enough to be cosy and large enough for everyone to have a level of personal space.

True she had been visiting the Motou's for near over two months by this point, but there was something else about being the only guest and becoming a part of their small family. And she truly felt a part of it. When Grandpa wished them all a good night's sleep as he made his way to bed, he gently pet her shoulder as he passed her – something that she'd never really had before.

An elder truly respect her without another agenda.

When the three of them decided it was finally time for bed, Yami found a futon in the hallway closet and set it out on the floor where Téa had been sleeping the night before.

A slight nervousness settled on her when she realised that she was sleeping in a room with two guys – yet she didn't feel the need to sleep with one eye open like she would have in the past. Instead she felt oddly safer with them in the same room.

With a smile she allowed her eyes to close and she prepared for another terror filled slumber.

. : . : . : .

To her pleased amazement she woke with little nightmares through the night – Yami and Yugi's beds were empty and the light coming through the window was warm and golden.

The rain had stopped and she'd slept in. Two reasons for her to be smiling when she walked down the stairs showered and dressed for the new day. She felt immensely better after her long night sleep and the need to yawn was for once no longer nudging at her lungs. The guys weren't in the kitchen or the living room, though, which worried her for a long moment until she remembered them mentioning that they were rostered to work in the Game Shop that day.

She wandered through the entrance hall and the storage room, which had a door at the very end – she saw Yugi vanish through the entrance hall the night before saying he was going to the laundry, it must be back there. The house of the Motou's – though small – was still filled with random doors and hidden passages. She'd have to investigate them when she had the chance.

When she walked into the Game Shop she spotted the oddest occurrence she'd seen in a very long time.

"What the hell?"

Yami and Yugi both looked at her. Yugi was sitting on Yami's shoulders, reaching towards the ceiling with a star attached to a piece of looped string.

"What in the heck are you two doing?" She asked as Yami forced Yugi to stand down on the ground.

"We're trying to get a star hanging from that light there." Yugi explained, pointing to the inner peak of the ceiling where a light was indeed right in the centre.

She motioned to the perfectly good ladder standing by the counter. "And you can't use the ladder because?"

"It's too short." Yami explained. "We tried."

"Let me try." Victoria insisted, grabbing the ladder.

"Tori, you're shorter than I am, you won't reach it." Yami said, walking over and placing his hand on the ladder to keep her from picking it up.

"Then what should we do then?" Victoria asked, hands on her hips.

"Tori might reach it." Yugi suggested. "If she was on your shoulders, Yami."

Victoria and Yami shared a glance. Victoria shrugged. "It's worth a shot."

Yami sighed slightly and knelt to the ground, preparing for the unknown weight that Victoria might have upon his shoulders – she was light and he'd carried her before, but his arms and his shoulders were two different things. She carefully saddled his shoulders, avoiding his hair and accepted his hands to cling to as he stood up. She rocked lightly as he fixed the balance before Yugi handed her the star.

She was just able to touch the light with the tips of her fingers and hanging the star on it was a piece of cake. "There, I got it."

"Nice work, Tori." Yugi complimented.

Victoria smiled at him and patted Yami's head. "Good lifting, Yami. Now put me down."

"And if I don't want to?" Yami questioned, playfully.

"Yami." She warned.

Yami chuckled and slowly knelt down to the ground to allow her to slip off of his shoulders. "You were in too much of a compromising position. You could have hurt me."

"And I would have too." Victoria said with a playful glare.