And another chapter. Short, but sweet, if you ask me. And OMG, 6(!) reviews on the last chapter! SIX! And such nice reviews, too! I'm so happy! Thank you so much!

Special thanks

BeautifulXinXBlood - Oh, I'm glad to hear that I've managed to put Seto/Kisara a bit more in the spotlights ^^ Yay, chocolate chip cookies are my favorite, thank you so much :D It made me very happy to read that you like my writing style. Thank you so much for your review, it made me insanely happy :D And also thanks a bunch for adding this story to your Story Alert List and Favorite Stories List. You made me very happy indeed!

Dragongal - A reunion is coming up (well, threee or so acutally... no, wait! Four!), so no need to worry about that. Oh, Fujiwaka will be furious! Fujiwaka+Losing control=Not good. But more of that in the next chapters. Thanks for reviewing, I'll try to keep you on the edge of your seat :D

Eragonfan - I was already wondering where you'd run off to, but I hope you had an awesome party :) Giving Emiko a horrible fiancé is something that I simply couldn't do to her. And besides, having Fujiwaka's evil plans backfire is always a lot of fun :3 I'm having this phenomenal speech planned for Hasako (at leaast, I think it'll be phenomenal), but now I have to shut up, otherwise you guys might be able to figure it out and I'm having so much fun with your confusion :D You know, you are the only one who mentioned Shinji. That surprised me. Yeah, I might bring the sleaze ball back to finish him off publicly once and for all, but I'm still working on that. Thanks for the review!

emily - Such an overwhelming plea was impossible for me to ignore. I hope to have satisfied you for the time being. Thanks for reviewing :D

HopelessRomantic183 - Hey, I was done with the first chapter early, so I thought: why not update twice? And it's only just past noon at the moment, so who knows for today? Anyway, how about the complete shock and the war path? Why pick one if you can have both? That's what I thought, both it is! I thought that squeezing both locations in one chapter would be either too overwhelming, or confusing, not only for you, but for me as well. And you called Hasako by her first name! I'm shocked x3 Hihihi... But yeah, she deserves it now, doesn't she? Thanks for reviewing :D

DragonHeart64 - You actually managed to review before HopelessRomantic183 did, I'm surprised :D Hahahaha xD Anyways, on to the review: I thought it would add to the suspense to have the broadcast take place before Seto finds out that Mokuba was shot but OK. Plus, it gives a good excuse for some dramatic scenes x3 As for Mokuba being a second son and thus an OK candidate, yes, you're right, but Fujiwaka started to hate Mokuba as soon as he found out that he was hanging out with Emiko. So it's a no-no. Hahahaha! I love that speculation about Hasako's motives! I like it a lot, and it would make perfect sense! But I hope you don't mind that I'll stick to my own plan for this one, since I have it all planned out already :) Anyway, thanks for reviewing :D

IN THIS CHAPTER
Las Vegas - The Trip Continues
Mika and Kisara are planning on hindering Fujiwaka.
Seto is a bit lost. But can you seriously blame him?

I've dedicated this story to HopelessRomantic183.

I've dedicated the pairing Mokuba/Emiko to Eragonfan.

I apologize for any errors in advance.

Disclaimer: I own the plot and the OC's, but nothing more.

Thank you all very much for reading!

ENJOY!

Las Vegas, Friday, May 20,10.07 AM

Original POV

Mika had eventually gone to sleep, not really knowing what else she could do, but Kisara had stayed with Seto all night.

After the news of Mokuba's death, Mika had immediately turned the TV off. Seto had been in shock, but he hadn't cried. He still hadn't cried. He didn't react to anything. He just lay on his bed and looked up at the ceiling with this empty look in his eyes.

Kisara didn't know what to do. She thought about her father's death, four years earlier, but that was totally different from this situation. Kisara's father had had cancer. It couldn't be cured, so Kisara had known that she was going to lose her father soon. But Mokuba had been murdered. There was no way to predict such a thing, his death was sudden.

Kisara thought about calling Risa, but it was only two in the morning in Domino City, so her cousin's advice would have to wait. But what to do then?

Kisara decided to try to get Seto to react. So she walked up to the bed and sat down. Nothing. She took his hand in hers. He pulled back instantly, but not before Kisara noticed how cold he was. Well, he had reacted, but he was obviously not in the mood for physical contact. So Kisara tried talking. But he didn't talk back. There was no sign that he even heard her. In the end, Kisara sighed and gave up for the moment.

"Just know that I love you, and that I'm here for you," she spoke softly, before standing up to go for a little walk to stretch her legs.

"I know," Seto said suddenly. Kisara slowly turned around. Seto had turned his head away from her, but she could still see the tears that he could no longer hold back. Knowing that he needed some privacy, even though she didn't want to leave him alone, Kisara left the room.

}:{

Seto had now officially given up on holding back his tears. As soon as he heard the door close behind Kisara, he let go. He cried, but he didn't make a sound.

At first, he hadn't been able to believe it. Hell, he still couldn't believe it! But then it had slowly sunk in that his baby brother was just… gone.

It was a weird and very sick realization that he was now alone in the world. Mokuba had been his only family for years, and now he was gone. It was only a very slightly comforting thought that Mokuba was now with their parents.

Most of all, Seto was feeling guilty. The little voice in the back of his head that had taken a habit of speaking its mind whenever it thought convenient was now constantly reminding seta that he was in no way to blame for his brother's death, but that didn't really help. Seto had sworn to protect his brother and he had failed miserably. And failure was something he despised!

Seto wondered whether or not Mokuba had suffered. He made himself believe that that was not the case. His brother hadn't suffered and had died instantly, without feeling any pain whatsoever. Yeah, considering the circumstances, that was probably the best. Would he blame Seto? Probably not. Knowing Mokuba, he'd feel guilty for making Seto feel so miserable.

Seto was still crying, but he found it odd that he didn't care much. If anything, it felt good to let it all out. It was wearing him out, maybe he could even get some sleep. Sleep sounded good at the moment. Never waking up sounded even better.

No! That, he wouldn't do! Not only would Mokuba never have wanted that, but it would make Kisara cry. It would hurt her. Seto couldn't allow that, he loved her.

A light knock on the door snapped him back into reality.

"Seto? It's Mika," the voice of his secretary said apologetically.

"What do you want?" Seto snapped. There was silence for a moment.

"I came to tell you that I've cancelled today's meeting. I said you aren't feeling well and that you've forbidden the rest of the crew to go without you," Mika answered. Seto groaned.

"Well, that'll give them a nice impression of me," he grumbled. He could hear Mika's chuckles even as she tried to muffle them."

"Well, actually, they thought it to be highly admirable," she said. Seto had the urge to shake his head. Americans…

"Thanks," he said sadly. Silence.

"Seto?" Mika said, "We're here for you, alright? Try to get some sleep for now."

She walked away, and Seto was alone once again. He sighed and took his cell phone out of his pocket. Mokuba would never pick up the phone again. Damn, he'd never hear his little brother's voice anymore! Seto felt the urge to start crying all over again.

He couldn't help it. His body was acting all on its own. He hesitantly pressed a button, and speed dialed Mokuba's cell phone number.

}:{

Mika and Kisara sat at the table in Mika's room, both with a big cup of coffee. Traces of dried tears were visible on Mika's cheeks.

"I just can't believe it," Mika said. "He was only seventeen, it's not fair for someone so young to die."

Kisara nodded, not knowing what to say.

"I can't stop wondering what he was doing in such a place," she murmured. Mika looked at her thoughtfully.

"That reminds me…" she said. "Didn't the broadcast say that the gunfight was near the Fujiwaka Company?"

Kisara nodded slowly.

"And Mokuba is in love with Fujiwaka's daughter, right?"

Another nod. Kisara had a feeling as to where this was going.

"Then what are the odds that Fujiwaka somehow managed to lure Mokuba to that place and murdered him?" Mika asked no one in particular. Kisara frowned.

"I admit that it's a possibility," she said. "Actually, it's probable. But how to prove such a thing?"

Mika shook her head.

"Proving it won't be the difficulty," she said. "But if it's true, then there are two things that could make it difficult to punish Fujiwaka for it."

"Like?"

"Well, one problem would be that Fujiwaka has the influence and more importantly the money to keep himself out of jail. Then the danger would continue to exist. But I'm more worried about the second problem."

"Which is?"

"Seto?"

Kisara raised her eyebrows.

"Excuse me?" she said. Mika chuckled.

"Well, as soon as he starts thinking about it, Seto will also come to the conclusion that Fujiwaka is in some way responsible for his brother's death. Knowing Seto and his endless love for Mokuba, we might end up with a dead suspect," she explained. Kisara bit her lip.

"But I can't believe that Seto would ever kill someone," she said. Mika shrugged.

"You'd be surprised at what he would do for his brother. Seto would find being sentenced to life in prison a small price to pay if it meant being able to avenge Mokuba."

Kisara still couldn't believe it, but then again, Mika had known Seto for a way longer time than she had.

"Yisuba-san seems to know Fujiwaka well," she said. "Do you think he'd be able to find evidence…"

"Yisuba-san is already investigating Fujiwaka. I'm not sure whether or not you knew this already, but Fujiwaka is the husband of Yisuba-san's daughter, and he's never treated her well. Yisuba-san got suspicious of the man at one point, although I don't know the story behind that, and decided to see if Fujiwaka was maybe a bad guy."

"Well, it looks like he is."

"Indeed."

They drank their coffee and stayed silent for a little while, until Kisara thought of something else.

"What's going to happen now?" she asked Mika. Mika looked out of the window. It was a sunny day, as was usual in Vegas, and the city was quiet.

"We'll make Seto go to the other meetings, one way or the other. I don't care if I have to talk for him, he will be there! Then we'll go back to Japan, and I guess that our top priority would then have to be keeping Seto away from Fujiwaka. I'm sure Yisuba-san would like to help. He's planning on getting his daughter and Emiko out of the Fujiwaka mansion, to keep them safe. I'm not sure how far he is with that plan, but I know that he wants to wait charging Fujiwaka until his daughter and Emiko are safe."

"What are those charges?"

"Yisuba-san's never told me. But he knew Mokuba well, and I'm sure he believes as well that Fujiwaka had him murdered. So Fujiwaka will be accused of murder in the very least."

"Could Fujiwaka be sentenced to life in prison?"

"That would depend on what Yisuba-san has found out."

"Then I hope he's found out a lot," Kisara said spitefully. Mika looked at her amused.

"Yes, I hope so, too."

Cliffie! Oh, do I love cliffhangers!

Poll status
Open, please vote.

Request
I'm looking for a wedding dress for Hasako. If you find a cool dress on the internet, do not hesitate to send me a link, okay? Make sure to put an * in the place of a dot. This website doesn't seem to like dots much. Thanks.

YET TO HAPPEN IN "STARCROSSED"
Seto vs. Fujiwaka.
Yisuba & co. vs. Fujiwaka.
? vs. Fujiwaka.
Will Mokuba pick up the phone?
Las Vegas - The Trip Continues. Again.
My first boy/girl lemon.
Hasako's true colors.
There's a wedding coming up.
Will Seto FINALLY win his own tournament?

As usual, reviews and overall feedback are most appreciated.

See you next chapter!

~Lenneko-chan