"So as we were stating, gentlemen," Kaiba was saying. He had arrived to the
convention fifteen minutes late and now that he was at the meeting, he
found that he couldn't concentrate, no matter how hard he tries. "If we
increase the KaibaCorp product by 2%, then our yearly rate would be
uppermost about at least 20 million a year." His associates nodded and
murmured to themselves as they took the note.
"Not to mention, if we had added the holographic to the newest device
then that would uplift the value--" He was interrupted as his cell phone
rang in his metal case. "Excuse me, gentlemen." He excused himself as he
went out into the hallway. All of his associates stood up as he walked
pass.
"Hello?" He snapped in his who-ever-just-interrupted-me-in-my-meeting-
is-in-deep-trouble-possibly-fired voice.
"Big brother!" Mokuba's voice sounded scared and obviously in
distress.
"Mokuba?!" Kaiba demanded. "Are you okay? What's wrong?"
"I--I went into Arielle's room after you left because I wanted to see
what color of eyes she had and why she had so many cuts and bruises, but
she woke up." Mokuba sounded as if he had burst into tears. "I asked her
how she was feeling and offered to get her a snack, but she started crying.
Really hard!" Kaiba cringed and covered the phone as hysterical wailing was
sounding from the background. A crash followed after. 'Really hard' could
hardly describe the desperate howling heard in the background. Mokuba had
to raise his voice so Kaiba could understand what he was saying.
"She started saying something like it was too good to be true that
you've adopted her, she thought you have abandoned her...for good, with me!
She wouldn't listen to anything I've said, she kept saying she wants you!
And trust me, from the way she looks now, she looks like she really,
really, REALLY wants you, big brother. Can't you come home? She doesn't
listen to anybody but you!" Kaiba could hear his little brother's heavy
breathing, as if he was chasing Arielle around the house with the cordless
phone, which he was. "And some of the cut opened again while she was
running around, I can see blood!"
"Okay, Mokuba!" Kaiba interrupted. "I'll leave right away! Try to
calm her down and prevent her from hurting herself. I'll be right there!"
He clicked his cell phone off. "I knew it. I knew this would happen!" He
muttered to himself as he straightened his collar and walked back into the
conference room.
"Gentlemen," he began smoothly, though he was anything but peaceful.
"I'm afraid I have an emergency that I must attend to and since we have
already discussed the main points of this meeting, I'm afraid we'll have to
postpone this meeting to another day. Sorry for the inconvenience." He
hurried over to his seat and threw everything into his briefcase. "I'll see
you all tomorrow." He rushed out of the room before his associates even
knew what was happening.
"Hang on, Mokuba." Kaiba willed as he jumped into the car and the
driver stepped on the gas.
Kaiba's jaws dropped as he stepped into the living room. Flowers and water spilled on the Turkish carpet from expensive vases. The kitchen and dining room chairs were disorderly from the chase. The 100% crystal chandelier swung from the roof. Some priceless painting were crooked on the wall. Another loud wail echoed through the house. Kaiba dropped his suitcase as he ran upstairs. "Mokuba?!" He demanded as he bursted into his brother's game room. Arielle was sitting in the middle of the room, crying as if her heart was broken. Kaiba noticed Mokuba behind the couch, peeking over at Arielle. Toys, video games, and books were thrown all over the room. "Arielle, please..." He was saying. "Calm down. No...no, don't--don't throw--" His eyes widened and he ducked as another book was thrown his way.
"I want Set-o!" Arielle howled as she threw the remote control of the TV over at Mokuba's wild jet-black hair. "Stop!" Kaiba bellowed, enraged, before either of the two youngsters could do anymore damage to each other or the house. Oblivious to Kaiba's anger, Arielle's dark verdant eyes lit up as she saw Kaiba's tall, slender, figure standing at the door and she stopped crying almost at once. "Seto!" She cried, running over to the father-like figure. "Seto!" Mokuba weakly emerged from his position behind the couch. Kaiba noticed the cordless phone was still clutched in his hands. Mokuba must hadn't had time set the phone back before Arielle attacked him. "Arielle..." Kaiba growled. Arielle stopped in a few feet away from Kaiba and looked up at his furious expressions. Tears filled her eyes once again. Kaiba cursed himself as he felt himself soften against the girl. "What's wrong, kid?" He stooped down to Arielle's eye level. Arielle wasn't elegant like Mom. And she wasn't particularly beautiful. But what made Arielle strikingly pretty was her open face and clear-eyed honesty. She had distinctive dark sea green eyes that was filled with innocence and childhood pain. "I thought you abandoned me." Arielle choked. "Of course I didn't abandon you." Kaiba opened his arms and Arielle rushed into his embrace. She threw her arms around his neck and held on. Kaiba swallowed and held his arm out for Mokuba. His little brother silently hugged him back too. Don't turn into a big softie, Kaiba. He scolded himself. Remember, you don't love anyone else except Mokuba. You know the more you love, the more you get hurt. After all he had been through with his foster father, Kaiba was fully aware that a cold and hard change was taking place inside his heart. He did not care. He told himself that in order to survive, he had to become so hard so he would never allow anyone to hurt him again. All you had wanted to do was to nurse the kid back to her health then find her a permanent home, remember that. You do not have any affections toward her. All your love is for Mokuba. "But still," he said sternly, pulling back. "That was no excuse of wrecking the house." "I'm sorry." Arielle said in a small voice. "I didn't know you lived here. I thought I was alone..." "No, this is where I and my brother live." Kaiba tried to regard her sternly, but it was hard. Arielle obviously felt insecure and needed someone...bad. But why was she so attached to him? Seto Kaiba? The hardest, ruthless and most successful of all businessmen. The coldest and most unfriendly of all students. No matter what the reason is, Kaiba decided. Arielle was definitely attached to him. And that may be a big problem. "Now, Arielle." Kaiba said, softening his voice. "I'm going to take you downstairs and bandage your cuts and bruises, okay? Then, you're going to help Mokuba clean up his room and I'll take care of downstairs." Kaiba took the two kids down to the kitchen and after Mokuba's many help, he located the bandages and the disinfectant. Mokuba sat on the kitchen chair drinking juice while Kaiba knelt beside the chair that Arielle was sitting on, determined to clean and take care of the wounds by himself. "Now, this is going to hurt." Kaiba warned before he dabbed the cotton ball that had been dipped in the antibiotic on one of the largest cuts on her arm. Arielle howled so loudly that Kaiba was sure it reached all the way to KaibaCorp with no problem. He jumped, bumping into the table while backing up to the counter, tipping over the bottle of Antitoxin and spilling Mokuba's juice. Mokuba covered his ear. After about two seconds, Kaiba realized that Arielle was still alive and his heartbeat slowed a little. For the first thought that came to his mind when Arielle howled was that he had used the wrong kind of medicine and he'd killed her. He, then, remembered how much disinfectant stings on a raw cut, but he can't handle her screaming bloody-murder every time. Or else by the time all the cuts are bandaged, both he and Mokuba are going to be deaf. "Here, kid." He offered, an idea popped up in his mind. "Bite this instead of screaming." He handed her a roll of bandage. Arielle looked at him confusedly, but did it obediently. Kaiba saw her bite the bandage with a death grip as he dug his finger into the cut, brushing out bits of dirt and tiny twigs. "How did you get all of these bruises and cuts?" Kaiba said as he bandaged her last gash. Arielle shrugged. "The big kids. They like to beat up on me. Are you going to kiss this boo-boo?" She held out her index finger, where a thorn had embedded itself. "Mommy always does." Kaiba grimaced, but looking into Arielle's hopeful face, he plucked the thorn out with a swift, catlike move and gave the finger a small peck. What has gotten into you, Seto Kaiba? He asked himself. Are you turning in a big softie?! The Seto Kaiba that you use to be doesn't do any favor for anybody, much less a little orphan that you happen to have adopted when you went crazy. Remember what you promised yourself, that little girl doesn't belong to you. That's right, you don't want her. You're only finishing what you have started, patching her back up, then you're going to find her a home. A home that's not in Kaiba Mansion. "You've been a good girl." Kaiba said as he stood up and walked over to the refrigerator. "Can I have some water?" Arielle cocked her head. "Sure," Kaiba found the sparkling water in the refrigerator and poured her a glass. Unfortunately, he couldn't find any plastic cups or glasses matched for a six-year-old. All he had is expensive delicate glasses or crystal wine goblets. "Here." He finally poured the water in a tall, delicate glass. "Don't break it." Arielle took the glass eagerly and took a gulp. Kaiba watched as her face wrinkled with disgust. She had water inside both of her cheeks, making her look like a greedy squirrel with mouth stuffed with acorn. The pucker on her lip made Kaiba realize what Arielle was about to do. "No, Arielle, NO!!" Kaiba hollered. Too late. Sparkling water sprayed from Arielle's mouth over to Kaiba as she gagged. And like a slow motion movie, Arielle's grasp loosened on the glass. Like a prized diver, which he was, Kaiba dived for the glass, saving it just as it almost contacted with the floor. "Eww!!" Arielle hopped off her seat and stuck her tongue out of her mouth. "What kind of water was that?! Mommy never made me drink that kind of water!" "Listen, kid!" Kaiba snapped as he stood up, water dripping from his chestnut brown locks onto his indigo trenchcoat. "That wasn't just sparkling water you drank! It was imported mountain spring water made into sparkling water with minerals you've never even heard of. Do you know how expensive that stuff is?" "No." Arielle ignored Kaiba's anger, while Mokuba, who knew his brother's moods, cowered away. He knew better than to mess with Kaiba when he's in this mood. Arielle, meanwhile, hadn't learned that lesson yet. She wrinkled her nose in an adolescent way and piped, "It tastes yucky. You shouldn't get it anymore." Kaiba sighed. It's no use communicating with a six-year-old. Especially on how healthy this kind of water was for your body. "Okay, yeah, whatever." He tapped his shoes on the floor impatiently. "So what do you two want for dinner?" He usually eats out and the housekeeper usually prepares Mokuba's meal for him. So to tell the truth, he really doesn't know what they have to eat at their house. Though he doubt if he knows how to cook it even if they do find something. Mokuba seems to be thinking something over, but Arielle's face immediately lit up. "I know! Let's go to Burger Paluza!" She suggested. "Sometime Mrs. Fayne would get that for lunch and it smells really good." Kaiba's face immediately twisted with disgust. Not only because the reminding of Mrs. Fayne but that's the place where Yugi and his friends hang out the most, because Téa worked there. What is everybody going to think if they find the arrogantly rich Seto Kaiba dining there with two youngsters at his side? Kaiba jutted his chin out right after that thought. Who cares what everybody would think? He is Seto Kaiba. Nobody dares to confront or to challenge him in any way, or he'd make their lives miserable for them. Plus, watching Arielle's enthusiastic face made up Kaiba's mind. "Mokuba, call the limo while I get my stuff together."
Kaiba regretted his choice as soon as he stepped into Burger Paluza. The greasy smell and the loud music proved that this place was definitely NOT his place. He had spotted Yugi and his friend at the corner table almost immediately and as he led his little brother and Arielle through the tables, heads turned as they recognized the young multibillionaire. Kaiba ignored the whispers as he led them right to the last empty table--the table right next to Yugi's. He noticed that Ryou, Yami, Tristan, Joey, and Bakura was there also. Téa had just brought over their orders. Kaiba sat down and tried to get comfortable in this environment. Why does little kids like to eat at Burger Paluza? Mokuba and Arielle both looked happy. "Hey! Isn't that Kaiba?" He heard Joey's unusually loud, annoying voice say behind him. "It is Kaiba, but what is he doing here? Doesn't he have a huge, expensive company to run?" Tristan wondered. Kaiba smirked at the obviously limited little knowledge they have. "Hey, Kaiba." Kaiba looked up to see nobody else but Yugi standing next to his seat, Yami next to him. "I see you still can't go anywhere without your little fan club, Yugi." Kaiba ignored the greeting as he smirked arrogantly. "Hi, Yugi!" Mokuba chirped happily. "Hey, Mokuba!" Yugi was just as excited. "And who is this, Kaiba?" Yugi noticed the young six-year-old next to Kaiba. "I'm Arielle." Arielle spoke up before Kaiba could fill Yugi in. "I'm six and Seto's the best big brother in the whole world!" The whole table, including Kaiba and Mokuba, was shocked into silence, for different reasons of course. Kaiba felt a warm feeling in his heart as he heard Arielle announce him as her best big brother. Not to mention that Kaiba was not her big brother at all, but that she had said he was the best. And knowing the truth, Kaiba knew he hadn't been the best at all. All he had wanted to do was to finish what he had started. He never even cared for the little redhead. Right? The other, however, including Mokuba was shocked to hear that Arielle's Kaiba's little sister. "You have a little sister, Kaiba?" Yami's brow shot up as his deep, wise voice inquired. Kaiba smirked as he noticed that the whole gang was now surrounding their table. "Yes, as a matter of fact, I've just adopted her today from Domino Orphanage, not that it's any of your business, Yami." Kaiba sneered. "You? Adopted her?" Joey looked like he was about to laugh his brains out, but controlled himself. Instead, he nodded manly and said, "That's really nice of you, Kaiba." Kaiba could barely suppress a snort. "I didn't do it to be nice." He spat. "I did it because she was being abused in the orphanage and I know that the lady who's in charge of the orphanage never cares about this sort of stuff." "That's really thoughtful of you still, Kaiba." Ryou's distinctive soft British accent admired. Before Kaiba could retort to that, Arielle spoke up again. "I told you he's the best big brother in the whole world!" She piped. Everybody laughed, even Bakura, who has an evil gleam in his eyes. "Hey, Yugi, I'm off. What are you all doing?" A voice rang out behind Tristan. The group parted as Téa showed up. Immediately spotting Arielle, she exclaimed, "And who is this darling thing?" "Her name is Arielle." Yami filled her in. "Kaiba had just adopted her today." "Really?!" Téa reached over and patted the little girl's head. "She's so cute, Kaiba!" She looked delighted. Everybody watched as Arielle climbed over Kaiba's lap and over to Téa. Téa wasted no time cuddling and cooing over the little creature. Arielle, of course, loved all the motherly attention she's getting, not to mention that that is one thing she couldn't get from Kaiba. Seeing her so happy, Kaiba had to resist himself from snatching her from Téa's grasp. "She's really sweet," Téa said, as she watched Yami take the kids over to the play area. "Yeah," Kaiba replied quietly, a flicker of warmth in his eyes, agreeing with her for the first time. Then he turned back to his laptop, and it vanished, his face emotionless again. He cleared his throat. "You guy do serve lattés here, right?" He smirked. Téa looked up. "Yes, actually, we do. But I'm off right now. Would you like me to call over a waitress?" "How thoughtful of you." Kaiba said sarcastically. "Yes, I'd appreciate it." A waitress soon came over and Kaiba ordered his latté and two Kid's Happy Burgers meals for Mokuba and Arielle. At first, he was reluctant to have all that grease and oil in the youngster' body, but Téa convinced him that Burger Paluza uses a hundred percent pure olive oil. Kaiba worked on his laptop while Mokuba and Arielle enjoyed their meal. He was sure that this was the first time Mokuba had such a great time eating dinner--since he usually eats his healthy meals alone in the big house. Maybe having Arielle in Kaiba Mansion was going to do Mokuba some good after all.
Kaiba's jaws dropped as he stepped into the living room. Flowers and water spilled on the Turkish carpet from expensive vases. The kitchen and dining room chairs were disorderly from the chase. The 100% crystal chandelier swung from the roof. Some priceless painting were crooked on the wall. Another loud wail echoed through the house. Kaiba dropped his suitcase as he ran upstairs. "Mokuba?!" He demanded as he bursted into his brother's game room. Arielle was sitting in the middle of the room, crying as if her heart was broken. Kaiba noticed Mokuba behind the couch, peeking over at Arielle. Toys, video games, and books were thrown all over the room. "Arielle, please..." He was saying. "Calm down. No...no, don't--don't throw--" His eyes widened and he ducked as another book was thrown his way.
"I want Set-o!" Arielle howled as she threw the remote control of the TV over at Mokuba's wild jet-black hair. "Stop!" Kaiba bellowed, enraged, before either of the two youngsters could do anymore damage to each other or the house. Oblivious to Kaiba's anger, Arielle's dark verdant eyes lit up as she saw Kaiba's tall, slender, figure standing at the door and she stopped crying almost at once. "Seto!" She cried, running over to the father-like figure. "Seto!" Mokuba weakly emerged from his position behind the couch. Kaiba noticed the cordless phone was still clutched in his hands. Mokuba must hadn't had time set the phone back before Arielle attacked him. "Arielle..." Kaiba growled. Arielle stopped in a few feet away from Kaiba and looked up at his furious expressions. Tears filled her eyes once again. Kaiba cursed himself as he felt himself soften against the girl. "What's wrong, kid?" He stooped down to Arielle's eye level. Arielle wasn't elegant like Mom. And she wasn't particularly beautiful. But what made Arielle strikingly pretty was her open face and clear-eyed honesty. She had distinctive dark sea green eyes that was filled with innocence and childhood pain. "I thought you abandoned me." Arielle choked. "Of course I didn't abandon you." Kaiba opened his arms and Arielle rushed into his embrace. She threw her arms around his neck and held on. Kaiba swallowed and held his arm out for Mokuba. His little brother silently hugged him back too. Don't turn into a big softie, Kaiba. He scolded himself. Remember, you don't love anyone else except Mokuba. You know the more you love, the more you get hurt. After all he had been through with his foster father, Kaiba was fully aware that a cold and hard change was taking place inside his heart. He did not care. He told himself that in order to survive, he had to become so hard so he would never allow anyone to hurt him again. All you had wanted to do was to nurse the kid back to her health then find her a permanent home, remember that. You do not have any affections toward her. All your love is for Mokuba. "But still," he said sternly, pulling back. "That was no excuse of wrecking the house." "I'm sorry." Arielle said in a small voice. "I didn't know you lived here. I thought I was alone..." "No, this is where I and my brother live." Kaiba tried to regard her sternly, but it was hard. Arielle obviously felt insecure and needed someone...bad. But why was she so attached to him? Seto Kaiba? The hardest, ruthless and most successful of all businessmen. The coldest and most unfriendly of all students. No matter what the reason is, Kaiba decided. Arielle was definitely attached to him. And that may be a big problem. "Now, Arielle." Kaiba said, softening his voice. "I'm going to take you downstairs and bandage your cuts and bruises, okay? Then, you're going to help Mokuba clean up his room and I'll take care of downstairs." Kaiba took the two kids down to the kitchen and after Mokuba's many help, he located the bandages and the disinfectant. Mokuba sat on the kitchen chair drinking juice while Kaiba knelt beside the chair that Arielle was sitting on, determined to clean and take care of the wounds by himself. "Now, this is going to hurt." Kaiba warned before he dabbed the cotton ball that had been dipped in the antibiotic on one of the largest cuts on her arm. Arielle howled so loudly that Kaiba was sure it reached all the way to KaibaCorp with no problem. He jumped, bumping into the table while backing up to the counter, tipping over the bottle of Antitoxin and spilling Mokuba's juice. Mokuba covered his ear. After about two seconds, Kaiba realized that Arielle was still alive and his heartbeat slowed a little. For the first thought that came to his mind when Arielle howled was that he had used the wrong kind of medicine and he'd killed her. He, then, remembered how much disinfectant stings on a raw cut, but he can't handle her screaming bloody-murder every time. Or else by the time all the cuts are bandaged, both he and Mokuba are going to be deaf. "Here, kid." He offered, an idea popped up in his mind. "Bite this instead of screaming." He handed her a roll of bandage. Arielle looked at him confusedly, but did it obediently. Kaiba saw her bite the bandage with a death grip as he dug his finger into the cut, brushing out bits of dirt and tiny twigs. "How did you get all of these bruises and cuts?" Kaiba said as he bandaged her last gash. Arielle shrugged. "The big kids. They like to beat up on me. Are you going to kiss this boo-boo?" She held out her index finger, where a thorn had embedded itself. "Mommy always does." Kaiba grimaced, but looking into Arielle's hopeful face, he plucked the thorn out with a swift, catlike move and gave the finger a small peck. What has gotten into you, Seto Kaiba? He asked himself. Are you turning in a big softie?! The Seto Kaiba that you use to be doesn't do any favor for anybody, much less a little orphan that you happen to have adopted when you went crazy. Remember what you promised yourself, that little girl doesn't belong to you. That's right, you don't want her. You're only finishing what you have started, patching her back up, then you're going to find her a home. A home that's not in Kaiba Mansion. "You've been a good girl." Kaiba said as he stood up and walked over to the refrigerator. "Can I have some water?" Arielle cocked her head. "Sure," Kaiba found the sparkling water in the refrigerator and poured her a glass. Unfortunately, he couldn't find any plastic cups or glasses matched for a six-year-old. All he had is expensive delicate glasses or crystal wine goblets. "Here." He finally poured the water in a tall, delicate glass. "Don't break it." Arielle took the glass eagerly and took a gulp. Kaiba watched as her face wrinkled with disgust. She had water inside both of her cheeks, making her look like a greedy squirrel with mouth stuffed with acorn. The pucker on her lip made Kaiba realize what Arielle was about to do. "No, Arielle, NO!!" Kaiba hollered. Too late. Sparkling water sprayed from Arielle's mouth over to Kaiba as she gagged. And like a slow motion movie, Arielle's grasp loosened on the glass. Like a prized diver, which he was, Kaiba dived for the glass, saving it just as it almost contacted with the floor. "Eww!!" Arielle hopped off her seat and stuck her tongue out of her mouth. "What kind of water was that?! Mommy never made me drink that kind of water!" "Listen, kid!" Kaiba snapped as he stood up, water dripping from his chestnut brown locks onto his indigo trenchcoat. "That wasn't just sparkling water you drank! It was imported mountain spring water made into sparkling water with minerals you've never even heard of. Do you know how expensive that stuff is?" "No." Arielle ignored Kaiba's anger, while Mokuba, who knew his brother's moods, cowered away. He knew better than to mess with Kaiba when he's in this mood. Arielle, meanwhile, hadn't learned that lesson yet. She wrinkled her nose in an adolescent way and piped, "It tastes yucky. You shouldn't get it anymore." Kaiba sighed. It's no use communicating with a six-year-old. Especially on how healthy this kind of water was for your body. "Okay, yeah, whatever." He tapped his shoes on the floor impatiently. "So what do you two want for dinner?" He usually eats out and the housekeeper usually prepares Mokuba's meal for him. So to tell the truth, he really doesn't know what they have to eat at their house. Though he doubt if he knows how to cook it even if they do find something. Mokuba seems to be thinking something over, but Arielle's face immediately lit up. "I know! Let's go to Burger Paluza!" She suggested. "Sometime Mrs. Fayne would get that for lunch and it smells really good." Kaiba's face immediately twisted with disgust. Not only because the reminding of Mrs. Fayne but that's the place where Yugi and his friends hang out the most, because Téa worked there. What is everybody going to think if they find the arrogantly rich Seto Kaiba dining there with two youngsters at his side? Kaiba jutted his chin out right after that thought. Who cares what everybody would think? He is Seto Kaiba. Nobody dares to confront or to challenge him in any way, or he'd make their lives miserable for them. Plus, watching Arielle's enthusiastic face made up Kaiba's mind. "Mokuba, call the limo while I get my stuff together."
Kaiba regretted his choice as soon as he stepped into Burger Paluza. The greasy smell and the loud music proved that this place was definitely NOT his place. He had spotted Yugi and his friend at the corner table almost immediately and as he led his little brother and Arielle through the tables, heads turned as they recognized the young multibillionaire. Kaiba ignored the whispers as he led them right to the last empty table--the table right next to Yugi's. He noticed that Ryou, Yami, Tristan, Joey, and Bakura was there also. Téa had just brought over their orders. Kaiba sat down and tried to get comfortable in this environment. Why does little kids like to eat at Burger Paluza? Mokuba and Arielle both looked happy. "Hey! Isn't that Kaiba?" He heard Joey's unusually loud, annoying voice say behind him. "It is Kaiba, but what is he doing here? Doesn't he have a huge, expensive company to run?" Tristan wondered. Kaiba smirked at the obviously limited little knowledge they have. "Hey, Kaiba." Kaiba looked up to see nobody else but Yugi standing next to his seat, Yami next to him. "I see you still can't go anywhere without your little fan club, Yugi." Kaiba ignored the greeting as he smirked arrogantly. "Hi, Yugi!" Mokuba chirped happily. "Hey, Mokuba!" Yugi was just as excited. "And who is this, Kaiba?" Yugi noticed the young six-year-old next to Kaiba. "I'm Arielle." Arielle spoke up before Kaiba could fill Yugi in. "I'm six and Seto's the best big brother in the whole world!" The whole table, including Kaiba and Mokuba, was shocked into silence, for different reasons of course. Kaiba felt a warm feeling in his heart as he heard Arielle announce him as her best big brother. Not to mention that Kaiba was not her big brother at all, but that she had said he was the best. And knowing the truth, Kaiba knew he hadn't been the best at all. All he had wanted to do was to finish what he had started. He never even cared for the little redhead. Right? The other, however, including Mokuba was shocked to hear that Arielle's Kaiba's little sister. "You have a little sister, Kaiba?" Yami's brow shot up as his deep, wise voice inquired. Kaiba smirked as he noticed that the whole gang was now surrounding their table. "Yes, as a matter of fact, I've just adopted her today from Domino Orphanage, not that it's any of your business, Yami." Kaiba sneered. "You? Adopted her?" Joey looked like he was about to laugh his brains out, but controlled himself. Instead, he nodded manly and said, "That's really nice of you, Kaiba." Kaiba could barely suppress a snort. "I didn't do it to be nice." He spat. "I did it because she was being abused in the orphanage and I know that the lady who's in charge of the orphanage never cares about this sort of stuff." "That's really thoughtful of you still, Kaiba." Ryou's distinctive soft British accent admired. Before Kaiba could retort to that, Arielle spoke up again. "I told you he's the best big brother in the whole world!" She piped. Everybody laughed, even Bakura, who has an evil gleam in his eyes. "Hey, Yugi, I'm off. What are you all doing?" A voice rang out behind Tristan. The group parted as Téa showed up. Immediately spotting Arielle, she exclaimed, "And who is this darling thing?" "Her name is Arielle." Yami filled her in. "Kaiba had just adopted her today." "Really?!" Téa reached over and patted the little girl's head. "She's so cute, Kaiba!" She looked delighted. Everybody watched as Arielle climbed over Kaiba's lap and over to Téa. Téa wasted no time cuddling and cooing over the little creature. Arielle, of course, loved all the motherly attention she's getting, not to mention that that is one thing she couldn't get from Kaiba. Seeing her so happy, Kaiba had to resist himself from snatching her from Téa's grasp. "She's really sweet," Téa said, as she watched Yami take the kids over to the play area. "Yeah," Kaiba replied quietly, a flicker of warmth in his eyes, agreeing with her for the first time. Then he turned back to his laptop, and it vanished, his face emotionless again. He cleared his throat. "You guy do serve lattés here, right?" He smirked. Téa looked up. "Yes, actually, we do. But I'm off right now. Would you like me to call over a waitress?" "How thoughtful of you." Kaiba said sarcastically. "Yes, I'd appreciate it." A waitress soon came over and Kaiba ordered his latté and two Kid's Happy Burgers meals for Mokuba and Arielle. At first, he was reluctant to have all that grease and oil in the youngster' body, but Téa convinced him that Burger Paluza uses a hundred percent pure olive oil. Kaiba worked on his laptop while Mokuba and Arielle enjoyed their meal. He was sure that this was the first time Mokuba had such a great time eating dinner--since he usually eats his healthy meals alone in the big house. Maybe having Arielle in Kaiba Mansion was going to do Mokuba some good after all.