Author's Note: Sorry it's taken so long, everybody! Life has had a lot of unexpected surprises! I was going to update last Friday, but I got invited to a movie by some friends (give you one guess which), and then Saturday had me running around, and then vacation started Monday, which meant driving. Plus there's the fact I debuted a new story, The Void Between Our Worlds, which happens to be Kingdom Hearts based. I hope to update that as well as Destinies of the Divine Descendants tomorrow (I know it's been a long time since I updated). Thanks for your patience, and thanks to all of you who read/messaged/etc., especially FreeXFallXPhoenix, Shiningheart of ThunderClan, ember-chan, Azura Soul Reaver, DaAmazingMeepers, and yamiyugi4eva. As before, look at the end for more specific comments.

The "what"s: Listening to Yu-Gi-Oh episodes with Kaiba in them as I update. You'd be amazed at how much this helps me. Thinking about how awesome my Thanksgiving was and how busy life has been/will be over the past/next few weeks. I may not be able to update again after this until a week from today. Thanks for the patience!

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh. I don't know how to juggle my time that effectively, and I've kinda been enjoying engaging in some intelligent debates, which have been lacking as of late. I do own Yumi, Tsuki, Shinji, and all other OCs, as well as the current plot. Enjoy!

Chapter Twenty-Five

"Thank you, Kaiba," Tsuki heard her sister say. "I know my request seems rather odd to you, especially since there's no reason in your mind for me to act as I have, but I'm sure you'll come to appreciate having me come and work for you. I know what Makoto probably told you, and I hope you aren't disappointed with the result."

"Yumi," she said somewhat menacingly, making her sister look over in surprise, "what is he doing here?" She was still angry with the way he had treated her sister, and seeing him in her own home, her private sanctuary, didn't make things any better. She noticed the cold way he regarded herm which only served to further her irritation.

"Kaiba and I were signing the contracts for my employment. I am now officially an employee of Kaiba Corp." Yumi's voice remained cool as she spoke despite her annoyance with her sister's rudeness. Just because they had not gotten into Kaiba's good graces did not mean they could behave inappropriately. Then she noticed Yugi enter behind her sister and smiled. "Yugi! I did not expect to see you here again today. Did you walk my sister home?" She smiled more when she saw him flush and nod shyly. "Thanks for ensuring my navigationally challenged little sister reached our humble abode safely."

"Ah, Tsuki's home," her father said, entering the room. Tsuki was one of the only people Yumi greeted with such sarcastic insults. When he saw Tsuki glaring at her, he chuckled. Some things wouldn't change, no matter what happened through the years, and this was one of them.
Welcome home, Tsuki. How was your day?" he asked kindly.

"It was great, until now," she said, glowering at her sister once again for allowing this intrusion to their sanity. "I was hanging out with friends after Yumi's duel. By the way, Dad, this is Yugi Mutou; he's a friend of mine, as well as Yumi. He walked me home, and we got to talking about ancient Egypt. He had a few questions, so I thought I'd invite him inside; that way he can ask you.

"Did you say Mutou?" Shinji asked. "Are you Solomon Mutou's grandson? I've heard a lot about you. He spoke quite fondly of you, and you have apparently become quite the duelist since I'd last spoken with him. Yumi has spoken of you; she watches the tournaments quite extensively. I often wonder why she hasn't made the jump to pro herself."

"I told you Father; I'm quite content with the circuits I'm currently involved with, and I certainly get enough dueling experience as it is. I don't need professionals taking up even more time in my already too-short day."

"I suppose you're right," he said, chuckling. "You're as busy as I am, and you're only a student! No matter, I'm sure you'll find a way to properly balance your time. As for you, Tsuki how was the duel in your opinion? I heard that Yumi has finally been defeated at her favorite game. That must have been quite the sight for you."

"Of course it was," she said cheekily, glancing at her sister as she did. She wasn't exactly sure why Yumi had lied to Dad, but she knew Yumi wouldn't lie without a good reason. "You should have seen the look on her face," she added with a smirk. "You would have thought the world had ended."

"It wasn't that bad," Yumi said, annoyed by that embellishment of hers. "Kaiba is a tough opponent, so I knew it was a possibility for me to lose. It's not like losing to Tsuki, where losing is a fluke; this was an honorable defeat."

"Glad to hear you're not sore about it. Now, I must admit I am rather hungry. Do any of you want anything to eat?" he asked, looking especially at the guests of his daughters. He had to admit he was rather amused. Yumi and Kaiba had taken similar facial expressions and body postures when the sisters had bantered. The same was true of Tsuki and Yugi. He wondered how it was those two had managed to find such similar counterparts in such a short amount of time. Perhaps it was the will of the gods, or perhaps it was chance. If it was the will of the gods, he wondered what they could possibly have in store for his daughters and hoped it would ultimately bring them what they most needed in their lives.

"Sorry, Dad, but Yumi, Yugi, and I already ate," Tsuki said apologetically. Although she hadn't added it out loud, she had a feeling Kaiba would be too stuck up to eat her father's food, even if it was some of the best food they had ever eaten. She felt incredibly guilty at her dad's dejected look; she loved him, and hated to make him feel bad.

"Father, why don't you make yourself dinner and I'll make my famous dessert?" Yumi suggested in an attempt to placate him. "That way, if Yugi and Kaiba wish, they can still join us for some food." She, too, felt incredibly guilty for bursting their father's mood. Her father, sister, and her had once rarely ever been home together, and they now made it a point to eat dinner together at least a couple times a week. Between her work, their father's late hours in the office, and Tsuki's social life, there wasn't much they could do together without intentionally planning it. It was the only way to ensure there was any chance of maintaining close family ties.

"What happened to working on the game room?" Tsuki teased, earning a glare from her sister. "You're never going to get it done if you keep rescheduling it for another time just so you can hang out or bake desserts."

"I will get it done, after I make the dessert," Yumi said, scowling heavily. "I have all night to work on that. Besides, we still have guests and I haven't made time for making a dessert in quite some time. Even if I have to postpone the room for tomorrow, I wouldn't consider this even the slightest waste of time."

"You really don't have to do anything on my account," Yugi said, feeling sheepish and embarrassed. He knew Yumi had been looking forward to working on the game room, and he didn't want to do anything to delay it. Even if she enjoyed baking, it wasn't her true passion, and she should be able to do what she considered most important.

"It's really not a problem at all, Yugi," she said, smiling reassuringly. "Besides, I'd actually been considering making it sometime soon. This just happened to be really good timing. Still, you don't have to stay and eat it with us if you don't want to. I'm sure Father or I can answer your questions first, especially if you need to get going."

"A-alright, I'll stay," Yugi said, convinced she really wasn't bothered by the prospect of making the dessert and postponing work on her game room. She also seemed rather willing to answer the questions he had for her about the Millennium Items and ancient Egypt, which was a relief.

"And what about you, Mr. Kaiba?" Shinji asked, turning to him. "Will you be joining us as well? Yumi is quite the cook, and this is one of her signature dishes." The truth was that he really wanted to find out more about this man who would soon become her boss. This seemed to be the best way to begin to get some insight into his personality. After all, not only was he apparently about to become her boss, but he was also her peer and her classmate. Her dynamic with him would be completely different from anything either of them was used to, and he was curious as to how it would all turn out. Yugi, he could see, was a good person, and he was sure she would prove a good influence on Tsuki, especially when Yumi wasn't around to look after her sister.

Kaiba wasn't pleased at being directly addressed by their father. He knew he could no longer just quietly slip away while they had their precious chat. He thought about his options for a moment. On the one hand, he could return to his work at his mansion and get that much father on his new duel disk technology. On the other hand, he could use this as a chance to find out more about Yumi and possibly learn new ways to get under her skin. He had to admit the second option seemed rather tempting; Mokuba was always telling him he needed to get out more; this would be his way of appeasing his brother as well.

"Father, I'm sure Kaiba has to get back to work—"

"I'll stay," Kaiba said suddenly, smirking when he saw her displeased expression. "After all, I am rather curious if her cooking and baking skills are as good as your say they are. I've been in rather desperate need of something sweet to eat, and my tastes are quite picky." He knew right then that he had made the right choice. His duel disk would still be there when he returned to the Kaiba mansion, but an opportunity such as this would be rare and he should make the most of them.

"Very well," Yumi said, sighing internally. "I guess I'd better go and start preparing it, shouldn't I? If you'll excuse me, I'll go and get started right away." She went into the kitchen and began getting the supplies she would need for the dessert. She sighed quietly and allowed her shoulders to slump slightly. She was quite aware of the reason Kaiba had chosen to stay and eat dessert with them. This certainly made things far more awkward and difficult for her, and there was nothing she could do about it.

Responses to my commentators:

FreeXFallXPhoenix: I'm glad you like the dynamics between Yugi and Tsuki. What did you think of Tsuki and Yumi's reactions to their invasion of sanctuary? Was it worth the suspense of seeing her reaction?

Shiningheart of ThunderClan: Haha, you really did have a good idea of where I was going with it. Hopefully it was amusing and not disappointing. There was some bickering there too, so I hope you found it as entertaining now as you had before.

ember-chan: Well, Yumi's back! Hope it was a good return, and don't worry about Yugi and Yumi talking. It'll happen eventually. :) Glad you like Tsuki and Yugi together!

Azura Soul Reaver: Glad you like the overall story! Do you have any character you're leaning toward?

DaAmazingMeepers: Haha, was the suspense worthwhile? Hope you enjoyed it!

yamiyugi4eva: Please don't die! Sometimes suspense helps me know where I can effectively divide up my chapters. They're not marked in my written text. Hope you liked it!