A/N Happy New Year all you wonderful people! Hope 2020 is happy and prosperous year for everyone :)

Kaiba had arranged for the smaller of the KC jets from their private fleet to fly Lara to America. She never approved of such wasteful expenditure but she had to concede that she had very little choice. Roland helped her with her luggage, ensuring it was safely stowed away.

"Have a safe flight Lara," he bid.

"Thanks Roland." She smiled but Roland could see that there was something off.

"Don't worry Lara, we'll help Mr Kaiba get to the bottom of this."

"I don't doubt that," she said eyes crinkling. "See you in two weeks." With great effort, she turned around and climbed the stairs. She had work to do, she knew this, but it felt like Domino was where she had to be. With a sigh, Lara entered the cabin and found a surprise awaiting her.

Both Kenji and Fuguta were seated, ready to leave with her.

"What are you guys doing here?"

"Mr Kaiba was reluctant have you leave without protection," Fuguta answered.

"And let me guess, Seto thought you could whip me into shape while we're away." She grinned at Kenji.

"Yeah. I'm assuming he didn't mention this to you," Kenji said somewhat uncomfortably.

"He did not, but I'm glad he did it." Her voice softened and she took her seat at the table. It always touched her when he made little gestures like these. It was as if he had a direct line to her thoughts before she even had them.

She pulled out her phone and sent him a quick text, then switched it into flight mode. Fuguta announced that he was going to have a word with the pilot and not long after, the plane began to taxi.

Kaiba was sitting behind his desk, his fingers knitted together in front of his face. The uneasiness he felt was hard to shake and Mokuba's report of what had happened outside the boardroom only fueled the feeling.

The harsh vibration of his phone against the desk startled him out of his reverie. Unlocking the device, he saw it was a message from Lara.

"Thank you"

He could not help the small, fleeting smile that crossed his features and it was in that moment that Mokuba entered his office. He saw his brother with his phone in hand and knew almost instantly what he was looking at.

"I take it Lara was fine with Fuguta and Kenji tagging along." He strode into the office like he owned it, comfortably seating himself opposite his brother. Kaiba no longer looked to see who it was opening his door. Mokuba had developed the habit years ago and it was unlikely to ever change; not that Kaiba ever wanted it to.

"She seems to be."

"What's bothering you?" Mokuba asked.

"Yamamoto said it wasn't about her," Kaiba said.

"Yeah he did."

"You realise that means it's about me."

"Or us. The Kaibas." Mokuba stated. "I know that look Seto, before you go blaming yourself, maybe you need to find out what's actually going on."

"I intend to Mokuba, but-"

"But nothing. Lara knew all along what she was in for. Why do you think she's been working so hard at getting everyone on your side. She knows the danger and she's trying to manage it with you." Mokuba was animated in his forcefulness. It was important to him that his brother understood that no one, apart from himself, ever blamed him.

"I can't shake this feeling that we know exactly who is behind all of this." Kaiba pinched the bridge of his nose. The frustration was getting to him.

"I know what you mean. Do we have any clues from Fukuhara's pc or Yamamoto's? Mokuba asked.

"Yes. I was able to glean some information off his phone too. Mostly planning with Yamamoto, but nothing we don't already know except this." Kaiba spun his laptop around so that Mokuba could read everything that was contained in the open file, and moved to stand by the window, gazing out over Domino but seeing none of it.

Mokuba's eyes scanned over the screen, reading line after line of messages and emails between the two directors.

"How did you get the stuff off his phone?" Mokuba asked, not lifting his gaze away from the laptop.

Kaiba turned around to face his brother, leaning against the large pane of glass. "Uploaded a virus to his computer that infected his phone when he connected it. I've been able to see everything since yesterday."

Mokuba nodded and the office returned to silence.

"Whoa, Lara was right!" he exclaimed after a while.

"Partly. Read the whole conversation," Kaiba instructed.

Mokuba slowly scrolled through, not wanting to misunderstand anything that he read.

"...I realise that Misaki is the key for your social standing, but let's not forget the real plan"

"I haven't forgotten, but you are not following through just because of loyalty. You stand to gain as much as I do."

"I don't deny that but I'm not the one throwing my daughter at Kaiba in the hopes that he takes a liking to her. Even if it works, you still won't be a Kaiba."

"But Misaki could carry one, and I would be interim president. If she is with him, I will be untouchable."

"Well those are just plans. Lara is still a risk. She and Kaiba hold too much power together and she doesn't appear to be going anywhere"

"For now. We'll get her off the board, it will be a matter of time. The hack is key. She brought in Schroeder, so it's only fitting that she should be the cause of it's vulnerability."

"Yes. Remember this hack isn't meant to be harmless."

"You don't have to remind me. I know what we have to do."

"Good. The meeting should be interesting. What do we do if it doesn't get rid of Lara?"

"Then we just have to find a more permanent solution. I'm sure he would approve."

"This is crazy, Seto. Well, at least we know why they're trying to play matchmaker." Mokuba placed the laptop back in its place after he went through everything.

"It's both our lives on the line here Mokuba. We need to get you safe."

"I am safe Seto. Let me help."

"Mokuba," Kaiba growled.

"Seto." Mokuba stood his ground. "You don't have a choice bro. Besides, what's important right now is to figure out who 'he' is. This is why you wanted Kenji to go with Fuguta."

"Lara likes him, it will be easier for her to trust him." Kaiba sat back down in his chair with a sigh.

"Have you told her?"

"Not everything. I'll call her when she lands."

Lara decided to use the hours to get as much work done as she could. She forced herself to keep her mind on the tasks at hand but still wondered what Kaiba and Mokuba were doing. Were they uncovering more information? She looked over to the cream coloured couch were Kenji was fast asleep. Fuguta had only just sat back down after doing yet another round on the plane.

She wondered what he was checking on since there were only a handful of people in it and they were thousands of feet in the air, but if it made him feel better, she would not stop him.

The fact that he was on board showed Lara just how worried Kaiba was. He trusted Roland and Fuguta above anyone else. The only exception she could think of was Mokuba.

She tried to push the thoughts away, part of her knew that if there was something to tell, Kaiba would let her know. With great difficulty, Lara managed to return to her work.

The sky was black when the plane finally approached the runway that was illuminated by gems of gold and red. When it finally came to a stop and the stairs were lowered, Fuguta rose first, ensuring that it was safe for Lara to disembark. Despite her protests, Kenji helped her with her luggage while the large bodyguard walked a step behind her, keenly aware of everything around them.

Lara went to the car hire counter to pick up the vehicle that she had instructed Natsumi to rent but was told that there had been a change of plan. Instead of the comfortable saloon she wanted, she received the keys to a black, armoured SUV. Lara supposed she could be thankful that it was still a discreet enough vehicle, and was happy for the blackened windows.

"Please allow me to drive, Lara," Fuguta said with an outstretched hand.

"It's really not necessary." She sighed.

"It's my job ma'am."

Lara laughed as she handed him the fob in her hand. "Is it ma'am again?"

Fuguta took the keys and wordlessly opened the door for her but she could see the redness creep up his neck.

Once Kenji and Fuguta were buckled in, they set off for the Kaiba Hotel, where they would be staying during their visit. Just as she promised she would, the first thing she did was call Mokuba to let him know that she had landed safely. The next call was to Kaiba who asked her to video call when she woke up. It was a curious request, but she did not think all that much about it. Obviously it was important.

For once, Lara was thankful for the massive time difference. It allowed her time to get a little rest before having to go to the office. As soon as they were checked in and her suite was swept by Fuguta and Kenji, Lara was in bed and without any effort at all, fell asleep.

It felt as if she had only blinked when her alarm rang. Her lids were heavy as she disentangled herself from the covers and made her way to the bathroom to get ready. It was while she was brushing her teeth that she remembered Kaiba's words. Feeling a lot more awake, she hurried through her shower and dressed even faster before calling. She knew it would be late in Domino but it was unlikely that Kaiba would be resting.

Lara stretched over the bed, grabbing her phone off the bedside table. She leaned against the pillows and called Kaiba who answered immediately.

"Hey," she greeted, smiling.

Lara really was a sight for sore eyes, Kaiba felt like he had let out a breath he had been holding in all day when he saw her.

"Missing me already?" she smirked.

"Of course." Lara could see that he was in bed, sitting against the headboard.

"So what's up?" she asked.

"It's about Yamamoto and Fukuhara." Kaiba immediately had Lara's attention.

"Oh? What did you find out?"

"There's more to what we talked about last night," Kaiba said. Lara could see the worry around his eyes.

"Tell me."

"So you know that you weren't far off the mark with the status assumption."

"Yeah."

"Yamamoto is hoping for Misaki to carry my heir-"

"WHAT?!" Lara burst out. "I'm sorry. That's just... continue."

Kaiba could not help the smile that broke through. "Just listen. He understands the bylaws of the company and is hoping to control the company as a stand in."

"But that means you and Mokuba..." she trailed off softly.

"Yes, but that isn't the part that worries me."

"It isn't?"

"No, what worries me is him saying that they would get rid of you," Kaiba said.

"That explains why Kenji and Fuguta are here."

"Yes."

"Seto you knew since the weekend and didn't say anything to me." Lara's voice was gentle but the accusation was clear.

"You had enough to worry about." He ran his hand through his hair.

"That doesn't matter. We're partners. I want to know everything even if it is an inconvenient time. Why am I eight thousand kilometers away from you right now? I should be there."

"No, I would rather have you away from here for a few days at least. Especially after the meeting. There's something else. They arranged the hack or at least whomever they are working for did."

"But didn't we know that already?" Lara asked confused.

"There was a purpose and I need to find out what," Kaiba said through gritted teeth.

"Well, we need to decide how we are going to handle this. Hacking is a pretty severe crime in Germany; that's if we are going that route."

"You want to walk through the shadows." He cocked his brow.

"I'm not above it. Especially not now," she replied.

"Good." There was pride in his voice. As much as Lara had been the light in his life, he loved the fact that she was capable of anything. She was his true partner.

"I should tell you, I called Misaki just before the meeting started. I messaged her to say that she should just listen in. Obviously she couldn't be privy to too much so I ended the call after I called Yamamoto out on the lie."

"You're hoping to make him lose his biggest piece." Kaiba was surprisingly calm, Lara thought he'd be a bit more upset at the risk of Misaki hearing something she should not have.

"Not just hoping. I will do it," she said determinedly.

Kaiba chuckled to himself. "We'll talk tonight."

"Okay. Be safe; both of you." It was an order.

Lara ended the call and tossed the phone aside. She ran her hand through her hair, clutching at it as she ran through their conversation in her head. Yamamoto's words ran on an endless loop "This wasn't about you but now, you're on borrowed time". It was about the brothers the whole time. Lara steeled herself for the battle that was coming. There was no way in hell that she would let anything happen to Kaiba or Mokuba.

"Kenji," she called as she walked out of the room.

"Lara?" he answered, coming into view.

"We're stepping it up from tonight."

"I've been waiting for you to say that."

Lara spent the two weeks she was away working herself ragged. If she was not busy with Kaiba Corp. business, she was training with Kenji, giving herself only the smallest amount of time for meals. She still found time to make sure that things were smoothed out with the Munich office.

Worried that she might burn herself out, Kenji spoke to her but she was adamant that she needed to keep busy. Her hands were tied while she was away and it was all she could do to keep from losing her mind.

Lara desperately wanted to do some digging but there was no way she could do so using the hotel connection. The information Kaiba had pried off Fukuhara's phone helped, but it was not anything they could use legally and Lara was certain that the law was not going to suffice this time.

She was so busy during this period that even when Leon called, she felt nothing. There was no joy or anger in hearing his voice, she spent the whole conversation preoccupied. The thought even crossed her mind of going to visit Pegasus but she knew Kaiba would blow a fuse if she did. A different idea occurred to her and called a person she had not spoken to in a long time.

"Tischendorf," drawled a german man.

"Vlad, it's Lara."

"What do you need?"

Kaiba had been busy in Lara's absence. He made a whirlwind trip to Munich under the guise of a surprise visit but he wanted to investigate the hack himself. There would be no one else he trusted, no one whose skill matched his own.

He made it back to Domino days before Lara returned. When she finally arrived back home, he could see the exhaustion in her even though she refused to acknowledge it. It was only when she fell asleep at the kitchen counter that she conceded she needed rest.

Roland ensured that Kenji was taken home and Fuguta gave Kaiba a full report of the two weeks.

Lara was already asleep when Kaiba went to bed. He sat on the edge looking down at her sleeping form. He saw that her phone was still in her hand so he gently pulled it away from her grip and saw that Yugi had responded to a message she had sent him.

Kaiba was still struggling to fully accept him as family but could not deny that he was happy that Lara found someone other than himself and Mokuba to grow close to.

He placed the phone on the nightstand and kissed Lara gently on the temple before getting ready for bed himself. With the room plunged into darkness, he slipped under the covers and pulled the woman he loved close, getting the first night of restful sleep in two weeks.

In the days that followed, Lara fought through the jet lag so she could do as much as possible. Pegasus was not far from everyone's thoughts as the month he had asked for drew ever closer. While Lara used the Game of the Year party at the end of the week as a distraction during the day, her evenings were spent with Kenji in the gym, and holed up with Kaiba in his study. Slowly the two of them began unravelling the yarn of their twisted situation.

Wednesday morning brought with it a pleasant surprise. Lara walked into her office to find a white box sitting benignly on her desk. She carelessly placed her bags on the table and opened the box to find chocolates, all with a white drizzle. Chuckling at the unexpectedness of the gesture, she picked up the box and went up to Kaiba's office.

Lara did not bother knocking, she walked straight in and kissed Kaiba on the cheek.

"I take it Mokuba arranged this," she said laughing and offered the open box to him. There was no way that Kaiba would remember something as insignificant as White Day.

"Maybe." He picked what looked to be the darkest of all the little chocolate balls.

"Thank you just the same," she said as she bit into a truffle.

Lara was back in her office soon after, with no time to lose, there was a lot that required her attention. She did not even notice when Natsumi arrived, but was glad to have her tag along to all the meetings, follow ups and dealing with Yugi.

It was much later that Mokuba stopped by. He opened the glass door and knocked when he realised that she had not seen him.

"Mokes, what are you doing here?" she asked.

"Came to check how things are going," he said vaguely.

"I don't mean to be rude, but I'm pretty snowed under right now." Leaning over her table, she moved the files that she was looking at moments before to the side of her desk, giving Mokuba only the barest amount of attention.

"That's okay, I'll be quick-"

"Before I forget, thank you for the chocolates from Seto." She grinned.

"You're most welcome. I actually came here to ask you about chocolates, specifically the kind that Misaki received earlier. You wouldn't know anything about that, would you?"

Lara smirked. "I would."

"Why?" Mokuba flopped down into the chair but Lara remained standing.

"Because, Yamamoto might not be here, but he still wants his plan to work. So, I had a box of white chocolates sent to her without a card. You know what Yamamoto will infer from that and he'll try to persuade others that Seto is falling for his daughter and in the meantime, I will continue getting the world to see how in love we are and he will lose face, not just with the people here, but whomever else he's working with."

"That's why you didn't want Seto to reject her so harshly anymore; so that her father thinks he's winning."

Lara tapped her nose with her index finger.

"You're devious," Mokuba said with a smile.

"Thank you." She grinned devilishly.

"Be careful."

"Always am Mokuba."

And she was, that was until the weekend came round and with it, the high publicity Game of the Year party at the Kame Game shop. The original store was far too small so they all agreed that it would be held at one of Yugi's newer, larger shops.

Lara was there early, making sure everything ran smoothly. The printed background was up with the Kame Game and KC logo latticed together. She was busy talking to Yugi's marketing team about the strategy devised for the game and how they could tie in with that, when he asked to speak to her alone.

"What is it?" she asked as they moved away to a quiet corner of the shop.

"I just wanted to say thank you," he said looking down at his shoes.

"Oh Yugi, don't mention it. This is good for both our businesses." She took a gander around the large store and was happy with how everything was turning out, and if she could help it, Yugi would have many more stores like this one.

"I'm very grateful to you and Kaiba."

"That's what family is for, right?"

"Right," Yugi agreed. "Are you okay?"

"Why do you ask?" Lara frowned.

"Something seems off."

Lara shook her head. Yugi was very observant. "Not the place to talk about it, but I'll tell you soon."

"Okay."

Yugi fully intended to make sure she did speak to him, not because he was inquisitive, but because he had come to care deeply about Lara and he was certain that his family was in danger again.

He let it go for the rest of the day and once the event began, no one had time to worry about anything other than the game.

The lights were darkened and the gang joined Lara and Rebecca at the back, watching a very nervous Yugi welcome everyone and introduce the Kaiba brothers.

Kaiba made a production of his speech as he always did, talking about all that Kaiba Corp. was, is and would be now that they had acquired Schroeder as well. Mokuba on the other hand, made a lively presentation of the game, talking through the gameplay and all the bonus features.

Afterwards, Yugi, Kaiba and Mokuba met with all the vendors present as well as all the excited gamers who had purchased tickets to meet the three and receive various perks that were arranged.

Lara tried to stay out of the limelight as much as possible, only coming to the fore when pictures of Kaiba were being taken. It did mean that she could not interact all that much with her friends but that was fine by her, it was after all, a work event. Rebecca took her cue from Lara who did the same with Mokuba.

It was already dark and all the other stores in the vicinity had closed when the last people left. The only ones that remained behind were the brothers, Lara, Rebecca and the group of friends.

"You guys should head off. The cleaning service will be here in a little bit. Get some rest." Yugi practically shooed Lara and Kaiba out the door.

"Okay, I'll call you tomorrow," Lara said as she picked up her bag.

"Sure," he replied. Mokuba and Rebecca walked behind the two of them but they separated from Lara at the entrance since she had driven herself much earlier.

"See you guys at home."

"Take Fuguta," Kaiba said.

"It's not necessary, we're still travelling together. I'll drive ahead of you guys." She kissed Kaiba and walked to her car while he watched protectively. She closed the door and started the black Audi with a grunt.

"Seto, what's that red dot?" Mokuba asked noticing the tiny spot on the tinted rear windshield that lined up with the spot on the leather headrest. Kaiba frowned but followed his brother's gaze, realizing in an instant what it was.

"LARA!" he bellowed running towards her but it was a moment too slow as something invisible shattered the glass and plunged into the leather. All he saw was shadow slump forward.