A/N: A big thank you to the guest who reviewed ch. 10 to release this chapter. I'm so excited for the release of this chapter. See what happens when y'all leave fresh reviews?

Okay, now about the chapter... y'all are about to find out a little more about Sophia's background, and how it will come more into play later.

I also did delve a little into the clinical and legal side for a couple parts (but I made it easy to understand). (My schooling kind of influenced those parts).

Enjoy!

Don't forget to leave a review (at least ONE) in order for me to release 12.

(12 is seriously sweet and spah-cy *a la Stefan from Saturday Night Live*)


At 11:00 a.m. the next day…

Misty was busy working with Seto and was teaching him how to paint in the sunlit room he had converted into a studio in which they could work. Misty had made sure that he was wearing clothes he didn't mind getting dirty, and a trashbag apron so he wouldn't get paint on his clothes. While she taught him how to paint, they sipped wine, just like at their class on their Valentine's date. In between sips and some paintings, he would steal a kiss every so often. Misty giggled.

"Easy, dragon," she told him with a chuckle.

"Oh a new term of endearment," Seto said amused. He did like this new nickname instead of tiger. Misty giggled.

"Oh you like that huh?" Misty teased.

"Yeah. I would also like White Lightning too," Seto replied.

"Alright, I can do that," Misty agreed. Seto smiled pleased and gave her another kiss and worked on their paintings again.

Upstairs…

Sophia had stayed over again, as she had for the past week, and she was watching Mokuba play his video games and was his own personal cheerleader. She would happily cheer as he beat level after level. When he got to the big boss level, he struggled a little. When he beat it, Sophia kissed him excitedly in a passionate kiss. Mokuba was surprised by the suddenness of the passionate kiss, but he kissed back just as passionately. Both of them started to get warm as they continued kissing passionately. Mokuba gently laid Sophia on the bed as they kissed, and started to feel hardness between his legs. Sophia was also feeling a bit aroused. The sensations scared them and they were forced to part. True, they had previous arousals, but nothing as intense as this; it seemed magnified. They were panting wildly and tried to calm down.

"I'm sorry," Sophia apologized in a squeak and was blushing a deep shade of red.

"It's alright," Mokuba reassured her quickly as he was panting and tried to calm down. Sophia covered her deep red face.

"I don't know what to do…" Sophia admitted embarrassed. She didn't really have much of a sexual education. Sure, there had been innuendo used around her, and her mother had discussed menstrual cycles when she hit puberty, but nothing really substantial aside from that.

"Me either…" Mokuba agreed embarrassed. Gozaburo never really educated Seto nor Mokuba; the only thing he really ingrained into them is how to be a corporate CEO and work around the clock. If it wasn't business-related, it didn't matter. Thankfully, there was someone else they could talk to who would probably be more educated about sex stuff… Misty. This was going to be so embarrassing. He took a breath and looked at Sophia. "I think we should ask Misty… I think she would be a lot more educated than any of us and can explain things better." Sophia looked at him a little terrified.

"That's so embarrassing…" she protested.

"What choice do we have?" Mokuba countered gently. Sophia sighed knowing he was right. "It's as embarrassing for me as it is for you," he reassured her. He also figured it would probably be embarrassing for Seto too, but they needed to know. Once the arousal was replaced with nervousness, Mokuba held her hand and they got up and went looking for Misty. They soon heard her and Seto's voices coming from the studio room, so they followed them. Their stomachs seemed to sink a little lower the closer they got. They saw Seto and Misty painting a colorful landscape of the Riverwalk that required two canvases, just like their date night "love trees at night" painting. He knew it was the Riverwalk because he had heard Misty and Seto talking about it as they were painting it. Sophia wanted to run away, but Mokuba was holding her hand firmly. He knocked on the open door to get their attention. Misty and Seto immediately turned around and smiled at them.

"Hey Mokuba and Sophia," Seto greeted.

"Hi…" they greeted shyly. Seto's eyebrow climbed a little puzzled; something was up to make them extra shy and embarrassed. Did they do something they weren't supposed to?

"What's up kiddos?" Misty asked curiously. She tried to make her tone sound as gentle and welcoming as possible.

"We would like to talk to you, please…" Sophia piped up. Misty and Seto were curious.

"Sure, what about?" Misty asked and waved them in to sit and get comfortable on the other chairs in the room.

"Um… we would like to speak with just you… if that's okay…" Sophia replied. She felt uneasy talking about sex in front of Seto.

"…Alright. Let me just clean up a little and we can go out in the hallway," Misty assured them and cleaned up the paints and dumped the water and went with them out into the hallway.

"Ok, go," Misty encouraged once she got settled in the hallway with them. This had to be something serious in order for them to want to talk to her and not Seto, and for them to be so anxious.

"Well… we wanted to know…about…sex," Mokuba got out and took a breath relieved to have said it.

"Oh, that explains their uneasiness. Sex is quite a hard topic to talk about. They must've felt you were the most educated between the four of y'all…" Misty's inner self said. Misty had to admit that was flattering that they came to her thinking that.

"Ok, sure. What specifically do y'all want to know about it?" Misty asked casually, so as to try and get them to relax a little.

"Is she experienced with it?" Sophia and Mokuba's inner selves asked a bit surprised by her casual, relaxed tone.

"Um… everything actually…" Mokuba admitted. Misty took a breath as she tried to gather her thoughts to explain this to them.

"Um… does it hurt?" Sophia piped up.

"Not if you do it right," Misty answered. Even though she was not actually experienced, she did research enough to know that sex shouldn't hurt if it was done right, even for the first time.

"…okay," Sophia and Mokuba replied. Sophia blushed a bit.

"What else do you want to ask me?" Misty asked. She knew there were questions bursting at the seams, but they didn't seem to know how to get them out, based on the silence she was getting. "What do y'all know about sex?" Misty asked. She wanted a gauge to which information they needed.

"I just know about periods and if you have unprotected sex, you get pregnant," Sophia answered.

"If it wasn't business, our stepfather Gozaburo didn't bother to teach Seto and me about it," Mokuba answered. "I do know that unprotected sex leads to pregnancy, but that's it."

"That is true and is definitely something to remember, but there is a LOT more to it than that… You know what, I can tell you what I know, but I think it's best you learn from doctors who can give you pure fact. I don't want to get any of the facts wrong. What do y'all think?" Misty asked. If they wanted to be educated about sex, by damn they were going to get thoroughly educated with the right information.

"That's smart," Sophia and Mokuba agreed. At least it took some of the awkwardness away.

"Alright," Misty agreed and called Edward to request he take them to a clinic with doctors who specialized in sexual health.

"Um…okay…" Edward replied, but agreed to get a limo ready for them.

"Thank you," Misty replied and poked her head back in the studio.

"Seto, take off your apron. You're coming with us," Misty commanded.

"Where are we going?" Seto asked puzzled.

"You, Sophia, Mokuba, and I are going to a clinic with doctors that specialize in sexual health. They want to be properly educated about sexuality and sexual health. Mokuba tells me you've never had any sexual education before either, so you're going to learn about it too," Misty informed him. Seto's cobalt eyes widened in surprise, and he blushed a bit in embarrassment.

"Oh God… how embarrassing… we have to learn about sex…" Seto thought.

"It's a good thing, especially if you want to get intimate with Misty at some point," his inner self pointed out.

"That's true… it would be more embarrassing if it came time to make love to her, and I had NO clue what to do…" Seto conceded.

"I know, it's embarrassing, but this is information y'all NEED to know," Misty empathized and took Seto's hand and led him out of the studio. Seto, Misty, Mokuba, and Sophia walked to the limo, and the tense silence was so thick, you could cut it with a serrated knife.

"Hey, y'all need to relax a bit," Misty told them as she tried to get them to calm down a bit.

"Easy for you to say…You know about it already…" Seto countered a little irritably.

"I'm still going to learn with y'all. I could pick up something I didn't know before," Misty replied. Seto sighed. Mokuba continued to hold Sophia's hand firmly.

Twenty minutes later, Edward pulled up at the clinic and let them out.

"Thank you Edward," Misty, Seto, Sophia, and Mokuba told Edward customarily as they got out.

"You're welcome," Edward customarily replied and got back in the limo and went to go park. The four of them stood at the doorways, but Seto, Mokuba, and Sophia looked at the doors a little anxiously. Misty took Seto's and Mokuba's hands, while Mokuba's other hand held Sophia's, and they walked in together.

"Hi, how can I help you?" the medical assistant behind the counter asked. Misty noticed her name was Joyce.

"Hi Joyce, I was wondering if I could get a male and female doctor to educate my family here about sexual health. Would that be possible?" Misty inquired. She figured it would be more awkward to say friends, so she went with family because they were practically family already now.

"Certainly, we'd be happy to assist you," Joyce replied cordially and had them sign the sign in sheet. "It may be a few minutes," she informed Misty.

"That's fine," Misty assured her as she signed in and gave the pen to Seto for him to sign in too. Once he was finished, Seto passed the pen to Mokuba, who then passed it to Sophia after signing. They sat in the cushioned chairs in the waiting room with the other patients. Some were staring at Seto and Mokuba a little surprised to see them there, but they were more concerned about their own ailments and appointments. Seto felt a bit more uncomfortable. About 15 minutes later, a male and a female doctor called them back to a conference room, and shut the door. They had diagrams, pamphlets, and models all laid out on the table. The doctors gave them friendly smiles and invited them to sit down.

"Hi, I'm Dr. Bloom," the female doctor introduced herself. She was in her mid-30s, had brown hair with a few silver strands here and there, glasses, and brown eyes.

"And I'm Dr. Rivera," the male doctor introduced himself. He had tan skin, brown eyes, was also in his 30s, black hair, and was handsome.

"Would you like something to drink?" Dr. Bloom offered.

"Maybe some water," Misty, Sophia, Seto, and Mokuba piped up.

"Sure," Dr. Bloom nodded and got them some bottled water.

"Thank you," they told her.

"Now, we understand that as a family, you would like some education on sexual health. Is that correct?" Dr. Rivera asked.

"Yes," Seto, Misty, Mokuba, and Sophia replied.

"Alright, excellent. I'm glad you all came in today to get factual information. I'm going to give you all some pamphlets to take home, but Dr. Bloom and I are going to discuss this in a clinical, informative way you all can understand. I want you all to first think of your bodies as more of a science project, okay?" Dr. Rivera began as he handed them the pamphlets. Seto, Misty, Mokuba, and Sophia nodded.

Dr. Rivera and Dr. Bloom then covered everything they needed to know about sex. They started with basic anatomy of the male and female reproductive systems; then covered diseases and cancer and how they're screened and treated; proper usage and applications of condoms and contraception; the female menstrual cycle; the process of pregnancy; and its effects on the females' bodies. Dr. Rivera instructed about the male portion, while Dr. Bloom instructed about the female portion. Drs. Rivera and Bloom also had them practice what they learned on the models on the table, and answered their questions.

About 4 hours later, Misty, Seto, Sophia, and Mokuba left the clinic with bags containing the pamphlets, some condoms, and lubricant sample packs. While they were waiting for Edward to pick them up at the curb, some paparazzi started to come up and take pictures of them and ask questions. Seto tried to shield them with wide, stunned and angry cobalt eyes.

"Why do they have to bother us now?!" Seto thought irritably as he tried to figure out how to handle them and protect Misty, Sophia and Mokuba at the same time. He could just see the headlines now: "The Kaibas Get Some Action!" or something of the like that would be derogatory and libelous.

"They're leeches…" Seto's inner self reasoned. There wasn't really any other reason he could think of as to why else they would be bothering them. Seto growled under his breath as he continued to shield his brother and the girls with his outstretched arms.

The paparazzi had been driving around looking for someone of interest, and they happened to see them coming out of the clinic with the bags, so they pulled up and came upon them.

"What's in the bag? Why are you here?" the paparazzi nosily asked as their cameras shuttered rapidly and noisily. Seto wanted to break the cameras, but there were so many of them, and he was trying to shield Mokuba, Misty, and Sophia. Misty got out from Seto's "shelter."

"Misty! What are you doing?!" Seto demanded.

"What do you think she's doing? She's about to go off on them!" Misty's inner self remarked towards Seto.

"Handling this," Misty assured him and gave him a confident look with her chocolate eyes. Seto was unsure, but decided to trust her. Misty then faced the paparazzi and stood in front of them.

"Hey, y'all need to lay off! It's none of your fucking business what's in the bags! You're also committing a serious crime right now in attempting to violate our patient privacy! If y'all don't back off NOW, I WILL get the government to charge you with patient privacy law violations and slap SERIOUS fines on your asses!" Misty snarled, with her chocolate eyes blazing viciously at them. Her face also took on demonic contortions as it tended to do when she was extremely angry.

"Stop worrying about what we're doing, stop trying to slander and libel us, and go spend time with your families. They're more important anyways," Misty added, and she started walking towards them with her demon face on. The paparazzi then backed away. They had heard about Misty's tenacity, and started to get a little scared of what she might do. Edward then pulled up and they got in the limo and thanked him.

"Wow…" Seto, Mokuba, and Sophia remarked.

"That was incredible how you shut them down!" Mokuba exclaimed.

"It was brilliant how she threw that patient privacy rights thing in their faces too!" Seto's inner self remarked impressed.

"Yeah. I'm glad she knew about that. I never would've thought of using that," Seto admitted.

"Yeah! Plus did you see how scary she looked when she got her demon face on? I'll definitely remind you not to get on her bad side!" his inner self added.

"I should hope so," Seto retorted in a half-serious, half amused tone.

"I'm just glad I was able to help and make sure y'all got the information y'all needed to make smart decisions." Misty replied.

"Yeah," Mokuba agreed.

"Thanks for stepping up," Seto thanked her and gave her a light kiss.

"Anytime, babe," Misty replied after they kissed.

Though, Sophia was worried about this getting back to her family, if the paparazzi ran this. Her father would likely demand an explanation, and that would be a terrible conversation. She would have to constantly reassure him that she was not having sex; she was just getting educated about it in order to make a smart decision for herself later. Sure enough, her father called her because they got a picture emailed to them from a family member, who saw an image of the four of them posted online. Sophia got nervous.

"What is it baby?" Mokuba asked gingerly.

"My dad is calling. He doesn't call unless it's something serious, or to wish me a happy birthday or holiday," Sophia answered. Mokuba squeezed her hand.


Meanwhile…

Mr. Yakamori was staring at the picture in front of him of the Kaiba brothers, a pear-shaped woman with extremely short brown hair and brown eyes, and his little girl coming out of a clinic known for having doctors who specialized in sexual health. Immediately, he assumed that she was sexually active. He was thoroughly annoyed as the phone was ringing, and his long, slender fingers drummed on the desk in a semi-loud staccato rhythm. His other hand ruffled his dark blond, spiky, hair, and then his blond, trimmed goatee on his strong, square jaw. It was more of a fidgeting move more than anything.

"Honey, I'm sure, there's a reasonable explanation," Mrs. Yakamori coaxed her husband. She was a lovely, average sized, woman with youthful features, had gentle brown eyes, and short dark brown hair. Mr. Yakamori held a finger up to his wife, and his green eyes gave her a hard look that said "I'm handling this!" Mrs. Yakamori sighed as she sat down in her chair.


"H-hello?" Sophia answered nervously.

"It's about time!" Mr. Yakamori's inner self snarled.

"Hello princess," Mr. Yakamori greeted his daughter calmly.

"Hi daddy…" Sophia greeted, but there was a bit of an awkward silence after that because she knew he was upset.

"So, your cousin sent me a picture of you, the Kaiba brothers, and some short-haired, brunette woman coming out of a clinic with doctors that specialize in sexual health. Would you care to explain what you were doing there with them?" Mr. Yakamori calmly asked.

"Dad… I don't want to talk about it…" Sophia replied awkwardly.

"I demand an explanation," Mr. Yakamori insisted. By damn, he was going to get the explanation!

"Daddy, please," Sophia begged. Mr. Yakamori was just getting angrier.

"I'm waiting!" Mr. Yakamori insisted impatiently.

Back in the limo…

Misty, Seto and Mokuba had been watching and listening and Misty was getting tired of how uncomfortable Sophia was. Her maternal instincts were kicking in, and she mouthed "Tell him you have patient privacy rights." Sophia nodded. That seemed to get the paparazzi to shut up; that, and the fact that Misty scared them off.

"…I have patient privacy rights," Sophia finally said.

"Don't give me that bullcrap! Tell me what you were doing there!" Mr. Yakamori demanded angrily. Misty could infer he was yelling by the way Sophia cringed her jade green eyes behind her glasses. Misty had enough of this, so she waved her hand at Sophia to indicate that she would like to talk to him. Immediately, Sophia handed over her phone feeling relieved but also anxious at Misty taking over. She knew her father was a powerful man, and Misty was pretty strong, but she didn't want Misty to be harmed for protecting her.

"Easy," Seto whispered in her ear knowing what she was about to do. Misty gave him a look that said "I've got this!"

"There's no arguing with that look," Seto's inner self remarked. Seto nodded inwardly in agreement. "This is going to be interesting," he added as he settled in to watch her unleash her fierce side.

"Hello, Mr. Yakamori?" Misty greeted. Mr. Yakamori was stunned.

"Who are you?" he demanded.

"Hi, I'm Misty Robinson. You probably saw me coming out of the clinic with Sophia and the Kaiba brothers. Anyways, Sophia asked you to stop demanding information about what went on at the clinic. She is an adult and has patient privacy rights. She does not have to disclose any health information if she chooses not to. Demanding health information she is not willing to disclose is illegal and will net huge fines and criminal charges. You can also be charged for harassment if you persist," Misty threatened.

"I'M HER FATHER!" Mr. Yakamori snarled.

"It doesn't matter. Unless she signed an authorization form to allow you access to her medical information, that information will NOT be disclosed, especially since she is 18. You have been warned. If you persist, we will be pressing charges," Misty declared with unwavering maternal confidence.


Mr. Yakamori's face was now red, and Mrs. Yakamori was concerned and tried to calm him down by putting her hand on his shoulder.

"HOW DARE YOU TALK TO ME THAT WAY?! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHO I AM?!" immediately Misty grinned. He walked right into the quip she was about to say next.

"I would suggest you get checked for Alzheimer's since you don't know who you are," Misty quipped. Seto, Mokuba, and Sophia gaped at her stunned with open mouths. Sophia was more horrified though; her father was a mafia boss.

"DID SHE SERIOUSLY JUST SAY THAT TO HIM?!" Sophia, Mokuba, and Seto thought aghast.

"WHAT?!" Mr. Yakamori yelled in stunned rage, his green eyes going wide. Never before had he been so disrespected.

"I said you should get checked for Alzheimer's because you obviously don't know who you are. She is not going to disclose her information. We will be pressing charges on you now for trying to violate patient privacy rights, and for harassment," Misty retorted sternly. Mr. Yakamori seethed more.

"YOU WILL REGRET THIS, MISTY!" Mr. Yakamori screamed in utter rage.

"No, you will. Have you forgotten about MY connections? Regardless, see you in court," Misty retorted coolly and hung up. Mr. Yakamori slammed the phone down in anger and sank into the chair. His veins throbbed against his head. Immediately, his wife tried to calm him down with some affection, but he was in no mood for affection right now; he was on a mission. He called up his nephew, Tao.

"Hey uncle, what's up?" Tao asked.

"I need you to go to the Kaibas sometime this week and present Mr. Kaiba with a deal that seems legit, but it's actually kind of like a Trojan horse thing that will allow me to hijack his company," Mr. Yakamori requested.

"Sure uncle, I can do that for you," Tao promised. Mr. Yakamori smiled.

"Thank you, Tao. I can hardly wait," Mr. Yakamori replied with a smile.

"It'll be fun," Tao declared with a smile and hung up. He started planning a technology deal that had all the angles covered. He knew Mr. Kaiba was likely to research it inside out before signing. He simply plagiarized someone else's product, a powerful processing chip, that he was sure Mr. Kaiba likely never heard of, and had a virus on the ready.

Meanwhile, back at the Yakamori mansion, the police had come, sent by Misty to arrest Mr. Yakamori. Mrs. Yakamori was freaking out as her husband was led away in handcuffs. The officer read him his rights and took him downtown to be booked and charged at the police station.

"I want my lawyer!" Mr. Yakamori demanded furiously. The police made the call to get his lawyer on the line and had the lawyer come in.

"Well played, Misty," Mr. Yakamori thought. At least he knew she was a woman of her word, but it still infuriated him that she was seriously pressing charges on him all because he demanded health information from his daughter. Who the hell was she to inhibit that? He figured he wouldn't be in jail too long.

"I really hope Tao is successful…" his inner self thought.

"Me too," Mr. Yakamori agreed.

His lawyer showed up a little while later, and conferred with him and the police.


Meanwhile, back in the Kaiba limo…

"Wow…" Sophia managed to squeak out as Misty handed her phone back to her. She was busy making a call to the police to tell them about how Mr. Yakamori was violating healthcare privacy laws and was harassing Sophia and she wanted to press charges. Sophia freaked out more; her father was going to be viciously livid.

"I didn't want to press charges…" Sophia told Misty.

"Sorry sweetie, but I had to make sure he knew I was serious, and the fact that healthcare privacy laws are that serious. I warned him to stop, and he didn't listen, so now he's going to pay for it," Misty reasoned. "What's wrong?" she asked as she saw Sophia's face go paper white in anxiety.

"…My father is an extremely powerful man… "Sophia replied with cryptic anxiety.

"Oh, and Mokuba and Seto aren't?" Misty countered. Seto and Mokuba smiled at how Misty said that.

"Honey, we deal with powerful men every day," Mokuba interjected gently as he squeezed her hand.

"We've got it covered, and we've got your back," Misty reassured her. Sophia nodded and gave a bit of a smile feeling a bit better, especially when Mokuba hugged her close. Seto sat there quietly as he watched and listened, and was proud of Misty for stepping up in a big way today. She was amazing.

They soon went back to the mansion, and Misty taught Rosa how to make one of her dishes from back home; steak and cheese enchiladas with rice and beans. To drink, Misty made some sweet iced tea. The smells wafting through the mansion smelled so tantalizing. Misty insisted on making a lot because she wanted all the staff to taste REAL (Tex-) Mexican food. Mokuba, Sophia, Seto, and the staff were so excited. After Seto, Misty, Mokuba and Sophia sat down with their food, the staff lined up and served themselves and took it to their break room to eat. Everyone could certainly taste the authentic, savory flavors doing a cumbia on their tongues. After everyone finished their food, they felt stuffed. Misty, Mokuba, and Sophia helped Rosa with the dishes and they relaxed watching a random movie together on the couch.


A few days later, on St. Patrick's Day…

Misty was wearing a green dress and noticed how festive everything was. She had to admit she was a bit surprised that Japan celebrated St. Patrick's Day, but it was nice. She had insisted that Seto and Mokuba at least wear something green, or she would pinch them. Mokuba wore a green arm band over his uniform. Seto didn't pay too much attention to everyone celebrating but he had to admit that Misty looked good in green. He wasn't sure about the emerald green tie and the mint green shirt under his suitcoat though. He just didn't want to get pinched, so he agreed.

A few hours later, he sent Misty on an errand to go to the post office pick up a particular part for a prototype he was working on. When Misty got to the post office, she was a little irritated about standing in a long line at the pickup window. The line seemed to take a while to move as the clerk seemed to take a while with each customer.

Tao wore his nice pinstripe suit with a sage green shirt and a shamrock pin, and shiny black loafers. His long, black hair was slicked back into a low ponytail, and his steel-grey eyes had a bit of smug expression hidden within them. He was a handsome man, in his 20s, and he had a tendency to get people to let their guard down around him. He hoped Mr. Kaiba was not an exception to that rule. He could imagine all the fun he and his uncle were about to have tearing this company apart. He had waited until Misty had left the building, and was safely away on an errand. He found her a little bit intimidating, especially with the remnants of the burns, and her size. There was also a protective vibe emanating off of her like a radiator; if she was around, she would foil the plan. He went up to Mary, the receptionist and told her he had an appointment with Mr. Kaiba. Mary checked the appointment book and confirmed it, had him sign the log, and then sent him up to Seto's office.

Seto was finishing up a report before his appointment with Mr. Tao. He was making pretty good progress on it, but then he heard a knock and Roland had answered the door. Tao smiled at Roland in a friendly manner to deflect any suspicion. Seto had saved his work and turned around in his chair. He rose and shook Tao's hand, as his azure eyes scanned him.

"Hello Mr. Tao. So, you tell me you have this product that will work wonders for me? You can imagine my skepticism. Please, do elaborate on how your technology would benefit me and my company," Seto told him curtly and invited him to sit down in the plush guest chair while he sat in his own luxe, plush, and supportive desk chair.

Seto listened with rapt attention as Tao presented the powerful processing chip he had plagiarized. Instinctively, he looked for holes in the presentation, but it was that good he couldn't find any.

"This is almost too good…" his inner self pointed out.

"Yeah, but maybe he's just really good at presenting?" Seto reasoned.

"That's true…" his inner self conceded. "But at least think it over and research it."

"Alright," Seto agreed.

"I think he's buying it! This is in the bag!" Tao gloated in his head.

"Easy, we haven't won him just yet. I think he's still suspicious," his inner self dragged him back to reason and logic.

"I got this," Tao crowed confidently and continued. Eventually, they started hammering out a deal. Seto inspected the deal carefully to ensure he wasn't being cheated, but found no evidence pointing that way. In fact, the more Tao talked to him, the more at ease he seemed.

"I love this gift of suckering people into letting their guard down with me!" Tao gloated inwardly.

"Well, I would like some time to think it over," Seto requested.

"Sure, whatever you need to do," Tao agreed but was actually quite annoyed at the delay.

"Patience… you'll have him soon enough… the delay is just standard procedure," Tao's inner self reasoned.

"Right…" Tao agreed impatiently and got kicked by his inner self.

"I said patience!" his inner self snapped.

"Alright, alright! Chill!" Tao snapped at his inner self.

"When can I expect to hear back from you on whether or not the deal is finalized?" Tao asked.

"Would a week be okay?" Seto asked, curious about what the rush was.

"Sure," Tao agreed and shook his hand. Just then, Misty walked in with the package, and a couple of iced mint mochas from their coffee shop; it took about 30 minutes to get the package, and about 15 to get the mint mochas, and 10 minutes to get back.

"Hey… Mr. Kaiba," Misty greeted, remembering to use the professional moniker, especially around his guest. "I brought you an iced mint mocha."

"Thank you Misty, this is Mr. Tao. Mr. Tao, this is my assistant, Misty Robinson," Seto introduced as he took one of the iced mint mochas from her hand.

"Charmed to meet you," Tao replied with a smile to her, but it was fake. Misty could immediately tell his smile was fake, and she sized him up, committing her memory to remember every detail about him. He was dangerous, like a rattlesnake that Misty would have to stop.

"Likewise," Misty lied and shook his hand and felt a strong, negative vibration course through her. He was an evil man! Not, only that, but she could see a cold, evil spirit in his eyes. He felt a bit uneasy.

"Shit…" he thought. He knew that she knew he was up to something. He could see it in the way her fierce chocolate eyes bored into his, like molten screws into steel.

"Hold on, he still might do the deal if he doesn't listen to her," his inner self told him to keep his confidence up. Tao was briefly comforted by that, but not much. He knew Misty was going to ruin it.

"Mr. Tao was just in here proposing a good deal about some powerful processing chips we could use," Seto told her oblivious to the negative energy sparking between Tao and Misty.

"I see," Misty replied.

"Well Mr. Kaiba, I will see you in a week, and I look forward to hearing your decision," Tao told him. "It was a pleasure to have met you, Mr. Kaiba, and Misty, but I have to be going now. Business never ends," he said and excused himself. Misty watched him leaving and get on the elevator, and then crossed the office to the window to watch him get into his car. She whipped out her phone and took a picture of him getting into the car with the license plate. Seto was puzzled by her actions.

"What is with you?" Seto demanded and tried to pull her close in an embrace.

"Taking a picture so I know who to report to the police," Misty replied deadpan. Seto dropped his arms and raised an eyebrow.

"For what?" he asked confused.

"Am I missing something here?" Seto thought.

"Maybe," his inner self agreed, but didn't know either.

"He's evil, and most likely a con man," Misty answered seriously.

"What?! What are you talking about? He was just in here making a deal about processing chips!" Seto yelled exasperated and annoyed. Misty gave him a hard stare. Seto glared back, his azure eyes hardening into ice.

"Where does she get off accusing him like that?!" Seto thought angrily.

"She probably noticed something you didn't," his inner self pointed out, but Seto was still incensed. Misty was angry that he was getting so frustrated.

"You don't trust my instincts?" Misty hissed.

"Misty, I looked this deal over through and through, it seems legit and like a good deal!" Seto protested.

"I felt EVIL vibes from him! He's a snake oil salesman who is going to do nothing but ruin your work!" Misty insisted. "When I shook that devil's hand, I felt sick because of all the negative, evil energy radiating through him! And when my gaze bore into his eyes, I got a view of how badly his soul was tainted! He was going to do whatever it took to get you to listen to whatever he said so he could ruin you!"

"Ridiculous!" Seto insisted and Misty pushed him away.

"SETO, HE'S OUT TO RUIN YOU!" Misty shot back, getting angry. "WHY CAN'T YOU SEE THAT?!"

"Do you have proof?" Seto demanded.

"You're treading on dangerous ground…" his inner self warned him.

"Why is he being so foolish?!" Misty's inner self demanded as equally as frustrated as she was.

"Not at the moment, but I WILL find it!" Misty vowed. "In the meantime, DON'T agree to the deal!"

"DON'T YOU DARE TELL ME WHAT TO DO!" Seto snarled. "I'VE BEEN IN BUSINESS WAY LONGER THAN YOU CAN IMAGINE AND I KNOW A GOOD DEAL WHEN I SEE ONE!"

"AND I KNOW AN EVIL PERSON WHEN I SEE AND FEEL ONE!" Misty shot back. "MY INSTINCTS SAVED YOUR LIFE ONCE, YOU DON'T THINK THEY'D BE TWO FOR TWO?!" Seto scoffed, and it infuriated Misty more. She was practically red as a cherry with rage, and there were tears of pure, liquid anger streaming from her eyes. Seto was stunned. He'd never seen her so angry that she was crying tears of rage. Sure, she was infuriated when Wheeler called her a whore, when Mokuba got in trouble for protecting Sophia, when Mokuba got suspended, when they were being bullied, and when they were harassed by paparazzi, but he'd never seen it on this level.

"FINE! LET HIM DESTROY YOUR COMPANY THEN!" Misty screamed at him and stomped off to go cool down in the bathroom.

"Wow…" Seto remarked and sat in his chair exasperated.

"Why did you have to do that to her?" his inner self demanded.

"I didn't like it when she insulted my prowess to know a good deal!"

"And she didn't like it when you insulted her instincts! She saved your life by following them! She knows something's wrong and tried to tell you, but you just insulted her for it!" his inner self shot back and punched him internally, making him wince with the oncoming headache. Seto sighed, but he was too proud to bend. "You're going to lose her trust if you don't listen to her!" his inner self yelled at him, but Seto tuned him out and pushed him away, making him growl in anger. In the meantime, Seto got back to work on his report, but found it a little hard to concentrate with the fight playing in his head. The iced mint mocha helped a little, but not much.

"Apologize to her and make up," his inner self told him. Seto pushed him away again. He didn't think he did anything wrong, and still thought it was a good deal. "You're an idiot," his inner self added. Seto ignored him and kept trying to work.

Misty got a paper towel and dabbed her face and eyes to cool down.

"Why does he have to be so oblivious and stubborn?!" Misty thought angrily.

"I guess he's always been that way, but I do agree that his stubbornness is stupid right now. You're trying to tell him something's wrong, and he won't listen to you. I wonder if he wasn't listening when people warned him to see the doctor when he had appendicitis," her inner self replied.

"I wouldn't doubt it," Misty agreed. "He trusts me with most everything else, enough to be his girlfriend, but he doesn't listen when I try to protect him from screwing up," Misty added exasperated. "Why do men do that?"

"I guess they're too proud to listen to advice," her inner self theorized and shrugged. Misty sighed and was a bit calmer, but was still mad.

"I need to get back to work and focus on that since he's not going to listen," she said to her inner self and got her iPod out and plugged the headphones in. She marched out and decided to lose herself in the music as she worked on her task, occasionally sipping on her iced mint mocha. Seto glanced at her and noticed she was ignoring him, listening to her music, and drinking her drink.

At lunch, she continued to ignore him as she enjoyed her leftovers from dinner the night before. Seto felt a little alienated with her ignoring him.

"Misty, please talk to me," Seto requested. Misty glared at him a little and resumed ignoring him and browsing Facebook and her emails on her phone. Seto sighed exasperated. "Are you still mad about the fight?" Seto asked. In return, he got silence.

"How's it feel to not be listened to?" Misty snapped at him and then resumed her cold silence. After lunch and until Mokuba came to the office alone (Sophia had to work), she continued to keep ignoring him, to his growing frustration. Mokuba immediately noticed the frigidity permeating the air. It was incredibly odd since Misty and Seto meshed together so well.

"What happened?" Mokuba asked his brother.

"I had a meeting with a Mr. Tao earlier, while I had sent Misty on an errand. He gave an impressive presentation about a processing chip that would be good, and was going to strike a deal with me. Then Misty came back, I introduced them, and she started acting weird. He seemed uncomfortable with her. Then when he left, she followed him to the window and watched him go. Then we had a fight. She told me he was evil and not to agree to anything, and I told her that I knew more about business deals than she could ever imagine, and she snapped that she knew an evil person when she saw and felt it. I'd never seen her so angry. She was red and had tears she was so angry. Ever since then, she has been giving me the silent treatment and ignored me," Seto explained.

"I see…" Mokuba replied. He went to Misty and tapped her shoulder. Misty looked and saw him and gave him a half smile.

"Hey kiddo. Have a good day?" Misty asked. "I take it Sophia is working tonight?"

"Yeah, she is, and it was alright. So, what's going on?" Mokuba asked.

"I walked in on Seto making a deal with an EVIL man. I was polite, but I knew he was uncomfortable around me. I tried to warn Seto not to agree to anything because he was evil and a con man, he asked for proof, I told him I would get it. He told me that he knew more about business than I could imagine, and I told him that I knew evil when I saw and felt it, and asked why he didn't trust my instincts when I followed them to save his life. He scoffed disrespectfully, and that angered me. I need your help to prove this Mr. Tao is evil and that there is something not right about this deal," Misty explained.

"I'll see what I can do. I'm not quite as good as Seto is though," Mokuba told her.

"Don't sell yourself short, kiddo. You're amazing at it, and definitely know more than I do," Misty countered gently. Mokuba smiled and hugged her.

"I'll do my best," Mokuba vowed.

"Thanks Mokuba. Please hurry, we only have a week," Misty begged.

"On it!" Mokuba vowed. He did his homework, while his brother and Misty worked, then worked on the information that Misty requested. It was quiet, except for Misty's music.

Even in the limo, Misty avoided sitting with Seto because she was still upset with him insulting her instincts, and not trusting her. Seto hated the silence, but he still insisted to himself that the deal was good.

Mokuba felt awkward with the tension. He was resolved to ensure he found everything he needed to make sure that they would make up. Even at home, she didn't speak to him.

"Is it worth it?" Seto's inner self asked.

"I don't know…" Seto admitted. He felt miserable that Misty wouldn't talk to him unless absolutely necessary. It shouldn't have bothered him, but it really did.

"All she was trying to do was protect you and your company, and you insulted her," his inner self reprimanded him. "I wouldn't blame her for not wanting to talk to you after that. What's really so bad about not agreeing to the deal if she feels that strongly about feeling an overwhelming sense of evil from him? I'm sure there are other processing chips that would be good," his inner self reasoned.

"I guess…" Seto replied.

"But you still don't believe you're wrong…" his inner self pointed out and sighed. "You're going to lose her if this doesn't stop," his inner self warned. Seto sighed and decided to think about it.


Meanwhile, Tao was anxious about the deal now. Damn Misty! Why did she have to come back and meet him? She knew what he was up to. He was kind of glad that his uncle couldn't call him to see what was happening, but he would be expecting a visit. Hopefully, he could visit after the week was up and he had the deal squared away… if things still went swimmingly.


March 23rd

Misty was still upset with Seto and knew Mr. Tao was coming, and was praying Mokuba made it on time to give her some good news confirming Mr. Tao was as corrupt as she thought. True, it wasn't exactly a full week, but whatever. She was anxious about Seto agreeing to a corrupt deal. What would she do if he did? The company would go under, and they'd be homeless. She prayed and prayed for a stroke of good fortune on their end. She saw him come in, and was feeling tense.

"Hello Mr. Tao," Seto greeted and shook his hand obliviously. He didn't feel the overwhelming sense of evil that Misty did, and invited him in the office. Misty was watching, and Tao noticed that she was watching, but he had a smug smirk on his face. Misty wanted to smack him, but when they weren't looking, she had locked the door and texted Roland to not let anyone let him leave if he got out of the office.

She was still, but in her head, she was practically pacing. She got a ding on her phone and she checked it as Seto sat down with him and started to go over the deal. Her phone indicated she had an email about Mokuba's findings. She grinned and hurried to the computer and started printing everything he sent after looking at it. Seto noticed she was hurriedly printing something and was curious.

"Mr. Kaiba, is everything alright? You seem a bit distracted," Mr. Tao pointed out as he noticed him watching Misty printing something quickly.

"It's fine, it's fine," Seto agreed and continued to talk with Mr. Tao. Misty finished printing and glided to Seto's desk, radiating with confidence and threw the packet down in front of him and smirked back at Tao with a triumphant smirk.

"Read it!" Misty commanded to Seto with authority. Seto was a bit surprised by the authoritative tone in her voice. Seto picked up the stack of papers in front of him and started reading them. His cobalt eyes widened in shock.

"DO YOU BELIEVE ME NOW?!" Misty snarled at Seto. Seto was horrified! Mr. Tao was a criminal, and he had the same last name as Sophia! Though...that could be a coincidence... The processing chip was also plagiarized from another company! Not only was it plagiarized, but the state-of-the-art virus program on the control computer in which the files were tested experimentally, showed that the files were corrupted and riddled with Trojan horses. Tao was anxious and felt like a cornered rat. He'd been caught.

"What is the meaning of this?!" Seto demanded to Tao. Tao was trying to think on his feet of a quick response, but nothing came to him. "Answer me!" Seto demanded angrily, his azure eyes turning glacial cold. Misty then called the police and Tao tried to attack them. Misty acted fast and put the heel of her palm into his nose and broke it, and then kicked him in the gut, and in the Achilles tendon. Tao groaned in agony as he was on the floor. Misty told the police to come to Mr. Kaiba's office and remove Tao and charge him with fraud, theft, malicious intent to destroy a corporation, aggravated assault, and any other crimes that befitted him based on his background report. She used the curtain tie and used it to tie his hands and feet together liked a roper tying a calf's legs in the rodeo. She printed out another copy of the documents she showed Seto for the police, and unlocked the door for the police. She let Roland know the police was coming to take Tao away and asked if he could lead them here. She then turned to Seto panting, and her chocolate eyes burned with rage, set in her demon-contorted face.

"DO YOU BELIEVE ME NOW?!" Misty repeated. Seto felt guilty, ashamed, and like an idiot. He was too proud to have listened to her, and she saved him a second time. If he had continued with this deal, he would have destroyed his company, his employees' lives, and been thrown in jail for using stolen property.

"Yes…" Seto admitted. "Misty, I'm so sorry…" Seto apologized and tried to pull her close in a hug. Misty pushed him away.

"A SORRY ISN'T GOING TO FIX IT RIGHT NOW! YOUR 'EXTENSIVE BUSINESS KNOWLEDGE TO KNOW A GOOD DEAL WHEN YOU SEE ONE' ALMOST COST YOU YOUR COMPANY, LIVELIHOOD, EMPLOYEE LOYALTY, HOME, AND FREEDOM! I KNEW THAT MAN WAS EVIL AND YOU INSULTED MY INSTINCTS THAT SAVED YOU TWICE NOW AND YOU THINK A SIMPLE SORRY IS GOING TO FIX THAT?! WHY ARE MY INSTINCTS NOT CREDIBLE ENOUGH FOR YOU TO HAVE LISTENED IN THE FIRST PLACE?! WHAT DOES IT HAVE TO TAKE FOR YOU TO LISTEN TO PEOPLE WHO GIVE A FUCKING DAMN ABOUT YOU?!" Misty raged. Seto felt worse.

"How can I make this up to you?" Seto asked, genuinely apologetic. Misty was a bit placated by his tone, but she was still angry.

"Right now, I don't know… I'm too angry with you to think straight right now," Misty retorted in a softer tone, which was welcome to Seto. "Don't expect me to want to talk to you unless necessary for a little while," Misty added.

"Again?" Seto asked. He didn't think he could handle more cold, radio silence. He'd really missed her.

"Yes, again. I need some time and space to cool down," Misty shot back.

"Sweetheart, I can't do that again, I hated it," Seto protested.

"Well, you screwed up, and you need to know that not listening has a price!" Misty shot back again and dealt with the police that showed up. She explained everything and showed them the papers as they took him away to the police car reading him his rights. Once they had left, it was time for lunch. Misty had sat away from Seto yet again as she ate her leftovers.

"You REALLY need to do something special to get back on her good side," Seto's inner self advised.

"I don't know what to do…" Seto admitted as he gazed at her, wishing he hadn't been so stupid. He missed how sweetly she would talk to him, and the affection.

"You really love her?" his inner self asked.

"What kind of question is that?!" Seto shot back irritably.

"Then show her what she means to you. Give her flowers, write down what she means to you, show her you listen and value her words. Her birthday is in 3 days. Do something grand you'll know she love," his inner self advised. Seto conceded that he had a point. She's done so much for him and Mokuba, and she deserved grand respect and love, but what could he do that was that grand? "Don't you have your mother's ring and locket?" his inner self asked, leading him into an idea; he just hoped he got the drift. Seto's cobalt eyes widened in inspiration as he realized that he did have them tucked away, and he could give them to her as a birthday gift.

"Getting warmer," his inner self coaxed. "What big event would you give her a ring for?"

"A proposal?" Seto asked.

"Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner! Ask her to marry you!" Seto smiled inwardly as he thought about that. That would DEFINITELY show her how much she meant to him, and with no ordinary ring too; she would have his mother's ring. There was a warm surge around him that felt like a familiar embrace.

"I approve," his mother's familiar voice told him in his head.

"Mom? Is that you?" Seto asked.

"Yes honey! I'm so proud of the way you and Mokuba had grown! You're both so handsome! And you found an amazing woman! Don't lose her! Listen to her! She'll love you and keep you safe!" his mother replied.

"Yes mom," Seto answered obediently. He felt his mother's joy emanating around him. "We miss you."

"Dad and I miss you both too, and we will meet again, but in the meantime, be happy! Marry her, and have a family! She's like your guardian angel. Oh, and the same goes for Mokuba and Sophia. I need to go now. I love you and Mokuba very much," his mother told him and lingered a moment, in a sense giving him a hug, before leaving. Seto felt peace and joy coursing through him. His mother just spoke to him, told him she and his dad missed him and loved him, and told him explicitly she wanted him to marry her and keep her, and for Mokuba to marry Sophia, when it was time of course. Now he just had to plan the right course of events for it, on her birthday. He didn't have a lot of time. Fortunately, he came up with an amazing idea she was SURE to love.


A/N: I hope you enjoyed 11! Don't forget to leave a review! Reviews= New chapters being released quicker, and it's getting sweeter and a lot more interesting with each upcoming chapter.

Reminder: 12 is going to be sweet and spah-cy!