Author's Note: Hi guys! Sorry about the wait - I had the beginning of this chapter all written out lovely, but then I lost it. Anyways, I'm going away for a week later today and I didn't want to to have you all waiting yet another week for an update. I hope you guys enjoy!

"Let me hide it inside your heart, let tomorrow come and take it all away."

The little girl's eyes peeked out from beneath a heavy blonde fringe, her hair being tossed about by the wind. Seto knew the little blonde, but he also knew that her eyes appeared much brighter from beneath bangs of white and her smile wider too. An older brunette girl was beside the blonde in the next photograph, smiling beside her little cousin. He was only guessing that the girls were cousins; the dark-haired teenager had the same eyes as Kisara, clear dark blue ones that stared straight out of the picture at him. So that was what the poor girl had looked like.

"Nat was sixteen when she died … she was more of a big sister than a cousin."

Seto looked over his shoulder to see the same blue eyes looking at him. There was no anger in her gaze as she saw the picture in his hand, instead Kisara moved to the end of her bed and sat crossed-legged. Wiping sleep from her eyes, the young woman indicated the photograph and fought a yawn.

"It was Christmas day and we decided to waste some time before dinner, so we got our horses and went for a hack around the woods at the edge of our vineyard. My colt was acting up, so Natalie made us swap because her mare was much quieter."

The young man had been around enough rich businessmen to know what the equestrian terms meant and he already sensed the sad end to the story as Kisara ran her fingers through her tangled hair. She took her time on one knot and stared into space as he sat there in silence, not wanting to break her train of thought. The young woman blinked lightly and looked up to meet his gaze.

"Long story short, Nat was thrown from my horse."

Running a finger over the picture, Seto studied the dark-haired teenager. He had searched her name on the internet last night and had turned up multiple news articles from nine years ago, each one filling in a bit more of the tragic tale.

"And you found her? That's why you said those things to Vivian …"

Kisara flashed a sheepish smile at that and nodded as her cheeks coloured.

"I should have known you speak Mandarin."

Seto hid a small smile of his own, one that weighed with a measure of guilt. She had been what, eleven when Natalie Ashbrook had died? And the thought of her being the one to find her cousin after the fall was something he couldn't get out of his head. Seto would be the first to admit he hadn't had the most conventional upbringing, but the only dead body he'd ever seen was the one from his dreams; the one he placed at the foot of the stone tablet time after time. That death was one he had learned to banish from his mind as of late, reasoning that it had been a different time and place but Koji's was one he couldn't deal with quite so easily; grieving had never been a forte of his.

"What did you do? I mean, when …"

She faltered at his question for a second, as though not quite sure of her answer, before shrugging her shoulders and fidgeting with her engagement ring.

"I tried to wake her first, but that didn't work so I sat on the ground beside her, hoping she was just unconscious. I apologised maybe a hundred times over. And then I just cried … a lot."

Looking up, Kisara was surprised by the lump in her throat and how it hurt to swallow it. It had been years since she had talked about Natalie like that; her last confidante had been Viv and even at that Vivian only knew the bare story of what had happened and nothing of the interlude between the fall and one of the grooms finding them in the forest well after dark. She stopped twirling the ring around her finger and looked back up with a light smile.

Seto shook his head and heaved a sigh. He placed the photographs back in their box, eying the blond man and Japanese woman that smiled up at him from one of the images.

"I'm sorry, Kisara."

Standing, the young man ran a hand through his hair as he spoke; the past few days had been an utter blur and he really needed to get everything back on track He had to stop putting-off that meeting with Pegasus, follow up on the envelope Roland had left in his office and try to salvage the new tournament, though a certain someone had already ensured his months of preparation didn't go to waste. Standing from the chair, Seto spoke as his thoughts lined up obediently and formed into a mental list.

"I just have to sort things out one mess at a time."

Kisara nodded her head and smiled; they had gotten through the time-limit on their engagement and a near-showdown with Zigfried. She was sure there were a lot more problems looming on the horizon, but the young woman also knew only one dilemma could be dealt with at a time.

Téa sighed as she shut the door and turned the sign to the closed side. It was already getting dark outside and she had only just gotten rid of the last customer. Walking back from the door, she tied her hair up into a ponytail and started the familiar routine of cleaning the small premises.

Today had been a whirlwind in the city with only two more days until the new opening day for Kaiba's tournament. The extra week of waiting had really put Domino's dueling population on tenterhooks. Grabbing the broom, Téa turned up the volume of the small television behind the counter and started sweeping the floor. The Domino news station was abuzz with the same headline as earlier in the day; Seto Kaiba had reappeared back in the public's eye via a press conference at KaibaCorp. With apologies about the postponed tournament, the CEO had then made the one announcement everyone had been waiting for; he would be dueling after all. This new tournament looked set to be the most star-studded yet with not only the King of Games, but Seto Kaiba and Pegasus amongst its ranks as well.

That was when business at the Muto gaming shop had really gone up a notch. For one reason or another, KaibaCorp had sanctioned the little shop along with Duke's store official agents of KaibaCorp merchandise, including the new Duel Disk model. The dancer supposed it benefited KaibaCorp in the long run as it reduced the people queuing at their outlet in the high-street, but it was also a boost to the Muto's income as duelists rarely just bought a Duel Disk alone, but rather purchased a couple of booster packs too.

The news report flicked back to a picture of Kisara and started discussing the lack of her at the conference. Abandoning the broom for a grubby dustpan, Téa shook her head; she honestly couldn't imagine Kisara facing down the sea of journalists that had been at KaibaCorp today. She hadn't seen the European in a few days, not since the elderly owner of the Kawaii zoos had died … come to think of it, she hadn't seen much of any of her friends for the past week. Mai was working all hours at a local bar, Tristan was probably elbow-deep in a car bonnet and Joey had a lot of coursework to do along with preparing for the new tournament. Even her own boyfriend was on the missing-list these days, with all of his attention pinned on his Duel Monsters deck. In between the never-ending rehearsals for Swan Lake and helping out at the game shop, Téa was horrified to admit she had almost forgotten about tomorrow. She really was lucky to have Yugi for a boyfriend; what other guy would have reserved a dinner at the top restaurant in Domino when his other half had all but overlooked their two-year anniversary together?

The two years had sailed by and the transition from friends to something much more refreshingly easy. The extra rehearsals today would ensure tomorrow would be ballet-free and reserved for a nice dinner and a quiet night with her boyfriend before the dueling tournament absconded with him.

Hearing a knock on the shop door, Téa heaved an annoyed sigh; she had been in the middle of a lovely daydream about the pleasant day she would have tomorrow. And besides, the shop would be open for business tomorrow with Yugi's grandpa behind the counter. So why did duelists insist on turning up last minute?

"Sorry but we're-"

The face looking in at her was a duelist, but the teary blue eyes weren't about to start scanning the shelves for Duel Monster cards. Half-running to the door, Téa pulled it open with all sorts of scenarios flashing through her mind.

"Rebecca, what happened?"

The blonde blinked a few times, trying to stop the rebellious tears from overflowing.

"I needed someone to talk to and I couldn't think of anyone else."

Nodding her head, Téa made sure to lock the shop door as she steered the younger girl over to a stool. It took a few seconds of silence and an inner wrestling match between anger and sadness before Rebecca sniffed and started explaining the happenings of the past week and their sad result.

No one ever saw this side of the tournament, the pen and paper architecture behind it all. Behind the world's fastest super-car was an engine that based itself purely on combustion power. Simple energy in an enclosed space. Behind the largest gaming tournament of recent times was the frustrating simplicity of a pen and countless scrapped sheets of printer-paper.

"But you'll still be short a person over here though …"

Kisara kept her eyes on the sheet of paper as she spoke, knowing she would probably start blushing if she did look up. Midnight had passed a while ago and they were still in the kitchen trying to fit a square into a circle before the tournament kicked off in the morning. Yesterday had been consumed with last-minute details, contacting all the duelists and making sure there would be no unexpected problems cropping up.

Seto ran a hand through his hair and forced out a sigh of utter frustration; how had he let this go unnoticed until now? Tomorrow would finally see months of planning and preparation put into action. The preliminary twelve duels would be decided by random selection first thing at KaibaLand, and they needed four duels to take place afterwards followed by two each for the next three days and one each on the last two days of the first phase. Then the second round would begin with six duels over six days, followed by two semi-finals and the last duel afterwards.

The only problem was that three of his commissioners were tied up with other KaibaCorp business until the second day of the tournament, leaving only Mokuba, Roland and Isamu free to referee four duels. That was why the kitchen was a bit crowded at the moment with Roland and Isamu on one side of the table, Akari beside her boyfriend and Rin having been drafted in to try and free up one of the other commissioners.

"Are you sure the duels will overlap? Maybe we'll be lucky?"

Mokuba pocketed his phone as he spoke; he'd been so enthralled with the device for the past week that it was a wonder the teenager even knew what this late-night makeshift meeting was about. Isamu chose then to add his own thoughts to the dilemma.

"If they don't overlap, then someone could make it to the fourth duel through one of the shortcuts, sir."

Kisara had liked Isamu since his 'directing' of her to the ladies' restroom at the tournament launch and she found herself increasingly at ease around Roland's second-in-command; he was quiet and kept to himself, traits that were balanced out by Akari's hyperactivity. The maid had arrived with her boyfriend and had soon bored of all the planning in the kitchen. She had seen the pintsize wiping the countertop with a cloth once or twice, only to be sent a silent look by Isamu.

"I won't know if they'll overlap until the duelists are chosen tomorrow and even at that nothing's certain. If it's two amateurs we're screwed because they'll take all day to finish a duel and if it's two professionals then we're in the same boat."

Looking at the list of twenty-four names in front of her, Kisara could feel her own patience getting a little thin; they'd been here for over two hours at this rate, calling different people and still ending up at a dead-end. There were six amateurs entered in the tournament and the best bet for the duels not to overlap would be for the random-selector to pair one of those with a professional and pray the less-experienced duelist lost in haste.

"What about Rebecca, sir? Ms. Hawkins knows the rules of Duel Monsters inside-out, couldn't she act as an extra commissioner for one day?"

Roland rubbed at his eyes as he spoke and placed his shades on the table; with three small children at home, tiredness was creeping up on the man but he wouldn't be seen to yawn in front of his employer.

"Uh, I wouldn't ask her. She's got a lot on her plate right now."

Mokuba's rushed answer drew a look from his brother, but it was Kisara to put Roland's plan to one side.

"What if she's drawn in one of the duels tomorrow?"

The young woman felt a light blush colouring her cheeks as Seto stood behind her chair and looked over the list of duelists too, probably trying to work out the odds of Rebecca being selected. His hand rested on her shoulder as he leaned closer before giving up on the list.

"Shit … any luck Rin?"

The portly woman shook her head at her boss before stabbing another number into her phone and letting loose at whoever had the misfortune of answering. She had been trying to shift around a few things to free up someone, all to no avail so far though. Things at KaibaCorp were planned tightly over the next couple of days and the secretary was getting nowhere with her attempts.

Kisara felt sorry for Seto as she scanned the sheets of paper strewn across the kitchen table; this tournament seemed to be one problem after another and she had guilt nagging at her for noticing the newest hitch. She had asked Seto about the layout of the competition and how he would work four duels with three commissioners only to be met with a blank look. The young woman blinked as the list of duelists was balled up and thrown towards the rubbish bin. Seto rolled his eyes as the ball bounced off the rim of the bin; even that much refused to go right for him.

"Forget about it and go home, it's an early start tomorrow."

"But sir, what-"

"We'll wing it somehow, Roland. If this is all that goes wrong tomorrow then that's fine."

Roland nodded his head with a slight smile before grabbing his shades and offering a light bow. Akari and Isamu followed suit and made for the swinging door out into the foyer, but it was as Rin made her exit that Seto walked across the room and picked up the balled paper. He leaned back against the counter and waited for Mokuba to flash a smile and make for the door.

"I'm no idiot, what happened?"

The teen's confused look fooled Kisara as she placed the milk back in the fridge and rounded the mugs up into the sink behind Seto. The older Kaiba moved a few steps to one side to leave the sink free before looking back to Mokuba.

"You've been glued to that phone all week, I haven't seen Rebecca in days and suddenly she has a lot on her plate. What gives?"

It was only as Seto said it that Kisara noticed how little she had seen of Rebecca lately; normally the girl would be seen in the mansion every couple of days. The last she had seen of her had been her late entry to Koji's funeral service. A strained silence filled the room, the same one that had settled when Mokuba insisted his brother participate in the tournament. The young woman looked between the brothers, Seto toying with the balled-up paper as he returned Mokuba's stare. Coughing lightly, Kisara made for the door with a small smile; she wasn't quite sure whether this was a private matter purely for the males. The line between her business and theirs was one she was finding harder and harder to distinguish.

"I'll go-"

"No Kisara, you don't have to. Bec's your friend so this sorta concerns you too."

Mokuba's hand caught the kitchen door as it swung outwards, preventing her from exiting out into the foyer. Her mind flashed back to when she had learned of the time-limit and how Seto had barred her exit that day. She was finding out there were quite a few parallels between the brothers lately.

"Rebecca and I broke up."

Seto blinked the same time that Kisara turned away from the door; he'd been expecting the couple had had a fight or something along those lines, but definitely not for the youngsters to break up. He wasn't the only one shocked though as Kisara asked her question the same time that he spoke.

"What?"

"When?"

The teen looked between his brother and Kisara, shrugging before sighing.

"Officially last night but we haven't been on good terms since before Koji's funeral."

Mokuba watched his older brother as he spoke; he was no more of an idiot than Seto and knew how much he had been affected by the old man's death. Kisara recalled how late Rebecca had arrived at the funeral and how the American had chosen the seat beside her, not even greeting Mokuba at the time. She couldn't quite comprehend it; surely the two had just had a tiff or something simple like that? There was no way they couldn't be together.

"I wasn't going to say anything 'cause you have enough to deal with, bro."

"Can't you two just patch things up?"

Seto had stopped toying with the paper ball. His mind flitted over the prospect of Mokuba refereeing one of Rebecca's duels in the tournament; that wouldn't work out if the two were bickering. It seemed a bit illogical in his opinion - over eighteen months thrown away because of a fight? But Mokuba was shaking his head with guilt in his eyes. His explanation for the break-up was one nobody had seen coming, something that left both Seto and Kisara in a stunned silence and at a loss for words. Even after the teenager finally went to bed and they quietly retired to Seto's bedroom, neither of the couple approached the elephant in the room.

She knew it was late and that she had to be up in a mere couple of hours. There was to be an information meeting at KaibaLand before the official opening of the tournament and Seto had asked her to go with him; something about ID tags. But try as she might Kisara just couldn't switch off. Every time she turned over and tried to settle, her mind would flash back to Rebecca and the turmoil the girl must be in. She had been cheated on before and knew the hurt it caused; the wondering why he would look elsewhere, what the other girl could offer that she couldn't. The first boy to cheat on her had been her first long-term boyfriend; three months had felt like a lifetime when she was seventeen. She had been a virgin and the relationship had been too platonic for his liking. Thinking back now Kisara was glad she hadn't wasted too much time on him; her next boyfriend had been a lot more understanding and patient. But neither of them could compare to owner of the arm draped over her hip.

The young woman blinked into the darkness; but what if Seto had done the same as Mokuba? Putting herself in the blonde's shoes was a different matter. Cheating was bad enough, but to kiss her best friend was a different level of hurt … and then try to keep it a secret. No, Kisara definitely didn't blame Rebecca for calling time on the relationship and part of her wondered what had possessed Mokuba.

The hand on her hip moved lightly and she felt her stomach drop at the thought of being in Rebecca's position; she honestly couldn't see herself forgiving Seto if he cheated. Mokuba had kissed Suzu at their school's formal and had tried to keep Rebecca in the dark about it. It had been Rie's younger sister to tell Rebecca in the end. She tried to imagine what it would feel like to discover Seto had kissed Vivian, to be told about it by a girl she disliked, by Rie of all people. But she couldn't, her brain wouldn't let the episode play out. The betrayal would hurt too much. Kisara knew their scenario wasn't exactly ideal, being in an arranged marriage and whatnot, but she did like to think they had a trust between them.

"What's bothering you?"

His hand moved again, more meaningful this time and Kisara turned around to see Seto as awake as she was. She didn't know where it came from or why the lump formed in her throat just then, but the memory of her first boyfriend rushed back and her eyes stung with tears. The thought of him not finding her good enough was frightening.

"Hey …"

He didn't ask why she was upset or question her confusing emotions, he just drew closer and held her against him. And there was that intangible knack of his for making everything seem better. And somewhere between sniffing and swallowing the lump in her throat, Kisara found her voice.

"Promise you'll never cheat on me with Vivian?"

She was expecting him to chuckle and agree, to brush her silly enquiry under the proverbial carpet, but he didn't. Seto pulled away slightly and she looked up to meet his gaze. Fingers brushed her hair out of her eyes and framed her cheek as he spoke.

"Kisara, I'll never cheat on you with anyone. Promise."

She knew he'd never do such a thing but she felt all the more certain for hearing those words. His eyes searched hers for a few seconds, striving to get the message across and Kisara nodded with a small smile. The hand framing her cheek moved swiftly down to the small of her back and pulled her into a slow kiss, a kiss that would have heralded something more amorous had sleep not finally arrived.

Kisara kept her head low as the KaibaCorp security woman in font of her slowed down to speak into her earwig. People milled around in every direction, all trying to get a good vantage point for the fourth duel of the new tournament. Had it not been for the security woman, Kisara would have never found her way from the third duel to this one; KaibaLand really was huge.

"So, who's up next?"

Vivian caught her shoe on a stone and took a few hurried steps forward to regain her balance. Eying her friend, Kisara shook her head with a grin; maybe high-heels weren't the best choice of footwear for today, especially as they were walking from one duel to another. She took a breath to answer Viv's question, but the Chinese woman had already moved her attention onto something else.

"How come you get one of these and I don't?"

She was asking about the ID card around her neck. The laminated card fluttered in the breeze and spun on the end of its strap as Vivian tried to grab it. Getting to the badge before her, Kisara shook her head and tutted.

"Nu-uh, you'll see what it's for eventually."

"You were never this secretive before you joined the Kaiba-clique …"

"You're just sore because that kid called you old."

The European laughed as her friend nodded her head. Vivian had been drawn in the third duel of the day, facing off against one of the six amateurs that had qualified from the street-duels. The Domino-native had been a girl of about eighteen and had constantly referred to Vivian as an old lady, a trash-talk insult that Viv had taken to heart. And if there was one thing Vivian Wong despised, besides cheap taste, it was being called old. Her Dragon Lady had gotten the point across with a direct hit to the teenager's life points.

Glancing up at a large screen to the right of a towering rollercoaster, Kisara tried to keep a tab on the fast-moving competition. The first duel of the morning had been between a monkey-man of some sort and another of the amateurs. The newcomer had put up a good fight and ultimately knocked Abe out of the competition. Duel number two of the day had been between yet one more amateur and Dr. Richard Goat, with the amateur yet again making it through to round two of the tournament, if only by the skin of his teeth. The results of the third duel were just flashing up onto the screen, with Vivian's picture enlarging to show her win over the teenager.

Things seemed to be going well so far today; all of the duels had commenced without a hitch and they'd even been lucky enough to avoid any overlap and Roland was currently making his way to the sideline of the fourth duel to oversee it - the plan of winging it had worked out quite well after all.

Things this morning had started miles behind schedule; she had woken to the sound of Mokuba pounding on the door, shouting that they had slept it out. Everything after that had been accomplished at record speed. Between showering, getting dressed and wolfing down some class of breakfast, they had made it to KaibaLand just in time for the information meeting and had played catch-up for a while, getting filled-in by Roland and Rin. Afterwards it had been a straight run into the official opening of the tournament, which garnered lots of fireworks, holographs and a low-key speech by KaibaCorp's owner.

"Anyways, who's dueling next?"

Vivian was being extra-careful as she picked her way along the path and linked arms with her friend. All of the round one duels had been drawn this morning after the information meeting and, try as she might, Kisara couldn't recall who had been selected for the fourth and last duel of the day and shrugged her shoulders as they drew up to the edge of designated dueling area.

"I don't know actually … I know that there's no amateur in it though, so it could stretch a while."

"What about Kaiba-poo, who did he get drawn against?"

"An amateur from France."

Vivian let loose an amused giggle as Roland inspected the hologram sealers.

"You gonna be torn then? Cheer for one's country or prince charming?"

All it took was a sideways glance for Vivian to start giggling again; she was on a high from advancing in the tournament. A few more people filled in around them as the starting time for the last duel drew closer. Looking around the crowd showed numerous KaibaCorp security staff mingling among the crowd, some in suits and others only distinguishable by their earwigs. A wave from across the clear duel-field caught her attention and Kisara smiled in answer to Mai's gesture. Téa and Serenity stood beside the blonde with Yugi and Joey in the background; it was nice to see so many familiar faces.

"I'm gonna go annoy someone, see you in a while chick!"

And before Kisara could even protest, Viv was already half-way over to Mai and Téa. She shook her head with a laugh as Vivian didn't even bother to skirt around the dueling area and instead cheekily dashed across in front of Roland.

"Tell your friend to go around the field next time."

A smile immediately sprang at the sound of his voice and Kisara felt a flutter in her stomach as arms snaked around her waist; she hadn't seen him since before the first duel this morning.

"I'll tell her, but I can't guarantee she'll listen."

Seto smiled at her answer; Vivian Wong in a nutshell as far as he was concerned. He'd been kept busy in the control room all day, monitoring their databanks throughout the past three duels and setting up hidden safety nets amongst the main interface's base code. If anyone tried anything during this tournament then they would surely regret it and he would be the person to ensure such a thing. With the new protection systems up and running and his technical staff briefed to within an inch of their lives, Seto finally let himself think about the tournament; why had he agreed to duel?

"Have you seen Rebecca today?"

Kisara asked the question quietly, all too aware of how easy it was for someone to eavesdrop in a crowd of this magnitude. She had seen the teen fleetingly at the duelist roll-call earlier in the day, but that had been her one and only glimpse. Seto shook his head as Paul McGregor, a British professional duelist, took his place at the left end of the dueling field.

"No, she's not dueling until day four. The publicity team think some of the media will be leading with it tomorrow morning, if not then definitely the day after."

"So she'll have that to deal with on top of a duel?"

"I'm keeping things as quiet as I can, Kisara."

A couple of months ago Kisara wouldn't have had a notion what such a conversation pertained to, but her time living in Japan had been an eye-opener. She had no doubt the papers and glossy magazines would run with the story of Rebecca being jilted for her own friend and it didn't matter how quiet they tried to keep the happenings - someone would leak to the press whether that be a fellow student at school or even a teacher; the papers would pay big money for any kind of news relating to a Kaiba.

"I know, I just …"

She sighed heavily; she just felt so sorry for Rebecca. His arms tightened just a little around her and Kisara leaned back against Seto as they waited for the duel to commence; the other duelist appeared to be in no rush whatsoever as the Sherlock Holmes look-a-like shuffled his deck yet again.

"C'mon, you can run faster than that!"

Kisara barely heard the shout before something short barrelled into her right side at full speed. She would have fallen to the ground had it not been for Seto keeping her rooted to the spot. Unfortunately the same couldn't be said for the small child that had rammed into her as he landed heavily on his rear. Dark brown eyes looked up from beneath a shock of the same coloured hair.

"Ooops, sorry lady … I wasn't looking."

She smiled lightly, fighting back a small laugh at being called lady by such a young child; was this how Viv felt when the teenager had called her old? She held out a hand to the boy, only about seven or eight, and pulled him to his feet.

"It's fine, are you hurt?"

"Nah, I'm go-"

The boy trailed off as he took notice of who the adults were for the first time. He'd seen the man on television countless times and the woman had become a regular face around Domino lately. Instead of turning on the spot and disappearing back into the crowd, the reckless youngster took a step closer to inspect the tall man, smiling widely when the blue eyes looked down at him.

"Hey Mr. Kaiba, are you really gonna duel tomorrow?"

Kisara bit her tongue at the boy's brashness; most Japanese children would offer a stiff bow and run off in the other direction, but not this one. Even Seto seemed bemused by the human battering ram as he nodded his head.

"Tomorrow morning, against one of the amateurs."

"Well I hope you beat whoever it is, I can't wait to see you and Yugi in the final!"

Seto decided he liked the boy; he knew exactly who to put in the final without any interference from Wheeler or Pegasus. Laughing quietly, Kisara brushed a few fly-away strands behind her ear and bent down to the kid's level, seeing a deck holder strapped to his waist.

"What's your name?"

Jabbing a proud thumb towards his heart, the child puffed out his small chest and beamed a huge smile back at her.

"Jaden Yuki, and I'm gonna be the next King of Games!"

Seto let a chuckle escape at that and nodded his head; the little guy couldn't be any worse than who they were currently waiting for. Fishing around in his pocket, he found exactly what he was looking for and handed the small card to the boy.

"Here Jaden, give this to your parents and you'll have good seats for the final."

The brown eyes widened as Jaden's smile stretched all the more. Numerous rushed bows followed closely on one another as the child turned and started back through the crowd.

"Thanks so much! Hey guys, look!"

And he was off running again, shouting to his friends of what had just happened; seats for the final duel were like gold-dust without the right connections such as a fiancé who ran the tournament. Anyone outside of duelists' friends and family or the rich and high-flying would have to watch on large screens all around KaibaLand or on the television.

"Awww, that was nice of you."

Kisara straightened back up and smiled at Seto. Roland was reciting the rudimentary rules of Duel Monsters in the background, the second duelist having arrived more than fashionably late and instead bordering on forfeiting the duel altogether. Seto shrugged and turned back towards the duel.

"I like that kid; he knows exactly who'll be in the final."

Kisara laughed at Seto's smug smirk; for one who hadn't wanted to duel, he was awfully sure of making it through to the end of the tournament. Then again, he was the world's number two only to Yugi. Letting herself be steered closer to the dueling-field, Kisara thought about how much it must annoy him to be second-best. She wasn't overly competitive, but she would be first to admit her piano-skills were top class. And for someone to be declared technically better than her would trigger a spate of constant practice until she could out-play that person.

But what if every time she got better, they were still a couple of notes ahead of her?

"Stop being a worrywart."

A light kiss landed on her cheek and the arms were back around her. Roland lowered his hand and blew a whistle. Cards were drawn, monsters summoned and life points assaulted. Seto explained the things she didn't quite follow, a special-effect monster here and a new magic card there. The two duelists held even at a stagnant stalemate for a good fifteen minutes before a Monster Reborn brought back a particularly potent monster. With a few more magic cards up his sleeves than McGregor, it was the yellow-coated Totani Ialos to emerge the eventual victor of the duel.

She was the one to engage that night.

Sitting on his bed in little more than a camisole top, Kisara let her mind wander back over the past week; she had done the best she could and there had been a light at the end of the dark tunnel. It might have been tough-going early on but perseverance had put them back on the right track and she'd seen a new facet to the man she was going to marry. A side to him that wasn't open to the public like how the persona of the fearless billionaire was. He was that, and he was the world's second greatest duelist, he was the competitive guy who asked her to teach him piano just because it looked easy. He was also the man who threatened with a low voice and had a temper that nearly got him into a fist-fight in the middle of a hospital ward. But he could be hurt too; things got through the chink in his armour reserved for private life. That said, it took quite a lot for something to find that chink. But when it did get through to him it hurt a lot.

Tomorrow morning would see Seto Kaiba, Yugi's forever-rival, standing across from some little-known amateur duelist and he would flash his arrogant smile and let the amateur think he had a chance of advancing through the tournament. The same chance as a snowball in hell. But it wasn't morning just yet and Kisara pulled the elastic tie from her hair, letting the tresses tickle down her back as he watched her with a sideways glance; he probably thought she'd start tearing up again.

An unexpected kiss and her light hand trailing down over his torso did little to faze Seto. He breathed in and studied her for a heartbeat before leaning forward to return the kiss. Her hand wandered lower and his breath hitched; a week with little to no contact had been too long. Heavy breathing mixed with fervent kisses as they searched each other, trying to find that just-right spot where a light caress of the tongue could elicit a gasp or more. On her clavicle, the area becoming more exposed as she arched back. His neck, just beneath the left ear.

When he did finally enter her, after a series of her nails drawing across shoulders and his teeth nipping here and there, neither had to wait long before release hit them and kept the two in its grip for a long time. He stared down at the dark blue eyes and struggled for air, his heart yelling at him for pushing her aside so easily before. And she held the cobalt stare and leaned upwards for a long kiss, one that strained to convey what she felt in her racing chest. That she didn't care what the rest of the world saw so long as her Seto never changed. That he could never be her second-best.

A/n- I hope you guys liked this chapter! And for people not quite sure about the Mokuba-Rebecca thing, it will be further explained in the next chapter, promise! Oh, and just to say that all of the professional duelists mentioned in this chapter were featured in the KC Grand Pix arc of the anime! Thanks for reading! XxxxxxX