Kaiba concentrated as he selected an agreeable spot to land his helicopter on Marik's property. He had to admit, there was this certain satisfaction in landing on Marik's well-kept land and making marks on the beautifully trimmed lawn. He turned off the ignition and freed himself from the seatbelt.

The first thing he did was take a deep breath of the fresh air—before wrinkling his nose after remembering that it was Marik's air he's breathing in. He straightened the collar of his shirt and brushed off his trenchcoat before trudging up to the magnificent mansion that stood in the center of the estate—Nadina's world.

He saw something rustle from the corner of his eyes and kept on walking, calm and cool, toward his destination. Something flew past and within a second, Kaiba had dropped his briefcase, send his fist into the guy's stomach, flipped another guy—who was jumping on his from behind—over his shoulders, and sent the third guy flying into the pruned rosebushes.

"Marik should hire some professionals." He dusted his hands. "He should know that you morons couldn't get me without putting poison in my coffee first. Humph. Considering this as my revenge, you should be grateful I didn't beat the interest into you, too."

"Seto Kaiba?" A voice said behind him.

"Hmm?" Kaiba turned around, facing Clark. "Yes?"

"I am here on the orders of Master Marik to escort you to the mansion."

"Heh, you must be kidding." Kaiba smirked. "Marik wants you to escort me? What is he plotting? First, he sends men to attack me, then to escort me to the mansion?"

"The Master has an intricate mind." Clark said with as much patience as he could muster. Kaiba snorted, but followed Clark.

Sly is more like it…

"The Master said he'll see Kaiba in the study." Edward whispered to his brother as soon as Clark led Kaiba into the mansion.

"Master." Clark opened the door and delivered Kaiba to his master before leaving. Kaiba stared at the figure that had his back to him, facing the window.

"Well, Seto Kaiba." Marik turned around, his face dark and his voice grim.

"Geez, Marik, you look like hell." Was the first thing out of Kaiba's mouth. He was taken back by the way Marik looked. Marik's face was etched with fatigue and there were dark circles ringed around his eyes as he if hadn't slept well. His usual proud attitude was weighed down by defeat from the droop of his shoulders. In fact, Kaiba secretly thought that Marik looked like he's been through some sort of torture.

Marik glowered at Kaiba for his last remark. "Well, thank you, Kaiba. You don't look bad yourself." He finally said sarcastically, as if that's all he could muster up. It looked as though he had lost all the fight in him. Kaiba cleared his throat. His host waved a hand.

"Sit down, stand up, talk, don't talk, whatever you like." Then he turned around. "But answer this: Why have you come back?"

"Well," Kaiba began pleasantly, taking just a tad of pleasure in seeing Marik in such pain. But then, remembering the pain Nadina was also going through, he grew serious. He set his briefcase down cautiously beside him as he sat down across the desk, facing Marik. "Love is a fastidious thing, isn't it, Marik?"

"What are you trying to say?" Marik growled. Kaiba smirked.

"I see you haven't fared very well these past few weeks. Care to tell me what's bothering you?"

"If you're here for Family History 101, you're in the wrong place!" Marik stood up and was ready to yell at Clark to kick Kaiba out of his house. But the young businessman jumped up and pressed Marik back down into his seat, while saying lowly by his ear, "What if I can tell you something about it?"

Marik stopped struggling as his eyes shot over and glared at Kaiba. They were both quiet for a moment as the Ishtar's eyes narrowed into calculating slits, studying his opponent.

"Why have you come back, Kaiba?" He said slowly, watching his rival's every move. "After all you've been through here? What is your purpose? What do you want?" And what do you know? He silently added. What does Kaiba know that I don't?

"I want nothing from you and only have one purpose." Kaiba drew the briefcase to his lap and opened it, producing a few sheet of paper as he watched Marik through his eyelashes. Kaiba had made his move slow and deliberate, testing Marik, leading him to believe that he could have hidden weapon in the briefcase.

But Marik didn't flinch. He didn't yell for reinforcements. He didn't move. He never even blinked. It was as if without Nadina, he was missing a part of himself.

"—And your purpose is…?"

"That's an easy answer." Kaiba replied with an easy-going manner contrast to Marik's sullen look.

"Well?"

"Nadina."

Marik jumped up. His breath became ragged as his whole body began to shake with excitement. His eyes flashed as his hands by his sides clutched into fists.

"Where is she?! You know something about her!" He shouted, almost hysterically. Kaiba was taken back once again by the loss of control on Marik's part.

"Marik, calm down!" Kaiba tried to reason, looking around himself and his unfamiliar surroundings. "Listen to me—"

"Tell me how she is, Kaiba!" Marik's eyes were wild. "Tell me, or for God's sake I'm going to—"

"Marik!" Kaiba lifted a folder from his briefcase and brought it down on the out of control man in front of him. He didn't bring it down hard nor was the folder peculiarly heavy. However, it brought Marik back to his senses and he calm down just a bit.

"I meant what I said, Kaiba." He sat down and leaned close, his eyes narrowed and his hands still shaking. "Tell me how and where she is or help me God."

"You're so unpredictable, Marik." Kaiba also sat back down, exasperated. He cleared his throat. "Nadina is fine." He said lowly, staring Marik into the eye. Marik let out a shaky, long sigh as he slumped back into his chair, looking exhausted.

"Thank God—"

"But listen, Marik," Kaiba continued, seriousness attached to his voice. "Nadina is very homesick and wants to come home."

Marik arched a brow. As if hearing about Nadina being fine, he regained himself once again. "How do you know?" He finally demanded. "How do you know all of this?! I've been searching for her ever since she left, but neither me or my men found any information concerning her."

"Perhaps the reason you haven't found a trace of her is because she had been living with me for the past couple of weeks."

Marik blanched.

"You aren't serious!"

"I am quite serious." The CEO held up a hand before Marik could shower accusations down upon him. "She's been cared for by the very best and has continued getting education."

"From a public school?" Marik spat, glaring.

"Yes, a public school." Kaiba narrowed his eyes also.

"Anyway, now I don't see a problem." Marik sat back and crossed his arms. "If she wants to come back home, I never banned her from it."

"That's the problem." Kaiba pointed out. "She wants to come home but is scared to. She thought you hated her and never wanted her. From her reactions at Kaiba Mansion, you would have thought that she thinks you were throwing a party at her departure."

"Of all the despicable things for her to say—"

"Love is the fieriest battle, Marik."

"Yes, but all is fair in love and war."

"True, but one side has to loose."

"And that side to be me?!" Marik cried, loosing his cool composure.

"Be mature for once, Marik." Kaiba snapped, his eyes burning with flames. "Make the right decision. She is your sister! Are you two going to give up each other forever?! Are you just going to pretend you've always been the only child?! "

"But to beg her to come home?" Marik muttered, thinking about his wounded pride and honor. Being a creature of proud nature, it was almost an impossible thing for Marik to beg for something from someone, even though that someone was his sister. Heaven knows how much he wanted her to return, but how can he beg her to?

"I never said beg, I simply said act like you wanted her to return! Act like you need her to be in your life! Come on, Marik, loose the battle and win the war!"

"Well, if you put it that way. I never said I wouldn't welcome her!" Marik scowled. "If she is willing to come back home, I'm willing to welcome her with a pair of open arms and a kiss." He stopped when Kaiba stood up with an evil grin on his face.

"You said so. Don't go back on your word now."

"I don't mean literally!"

"Well," Kaiba was irked at how selfish Marik was. "As a fact, Nadina was never ashamed to admit that she needed you more than anything in her life. She's shed tears for you, she's almost died because of you, she's wrote about you, she's bleeding in her heart for you, and by God, that foolish creature even went and got drunk for you on her birthday! The whole world could see it but you, Marik!"

Marik's jaws dropped in awe as he whispered, "She got drunk on her birthday? She's never had so much as a full glass of wine, only a taste. She got drunk?"

"Yes." Kaiba rubbed his temple tiredly. "She doesn't want to live without you, Marik. Is that so hard for you to understand?"

Marik stood still in the middle of his room, watching his rival. And at the same time, he understood something else that Kaiba had failed to mention. Kaiba, whom he had tortured, insulted, abused, and almost killed, was here on Nadina's behalf, almost pleading for Marik to do what's best for his own sister…

Doesn't that say something?

"Aw, hell, Kaiba," he muttered, holding his own head. "You're in love with her, aren't you?"

Kaiba's head snapped up. "Wha—NO!"

"You wouldn't be here with me—a person you loathe more than anything in the world—if you didn't have feelings for her. It would be a lie for you to say that you aren't fond of her."

"I am fond of her, but—" Kaiba dug through his briefcase again. "—if you only know what she's going through, then you'd know why I'm here." He stopped. "You don't believe a word I've said, do you?"

"No." Marik replied quietly. "I just can't believe that Nadina wants to come home to me that much. Not after everything she's done against me. If there's anything I believe in anymore, it's that she's never had feelings for me since the beginning."

"For the love of—do you have holes for eyes, Marik!" Kaiba slammed a sheet of paper on Marik's desk and bellowed. "READ IT, DAMMIT, AND START ACTING LIKE A MAN FOR ONCE!"

It was a moment before Marik picked up the sheet of paper. Kaiba could tell that he recognized the writing to be his sister's as he quietly read Nadina's poem that Kaiba had stole from her drawer without her knowing. Tears fogged up Marik's eyes as his lips trembled, he jerked away from Kaiba's sharp gaze and rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand.

"Scented paper," he grumbled. "It always gets my eyes…"

Kaiba sighed. I'm exhausted…I hope Marik gets a clue, or else I'm going to break his spine with my own hand.

"Kaiba…?" Kaiba looked up. Marik was steadily looking at him. Then a soft request finally emerged from his lips, after much difficulty,

"Please bring my Nadina back to me…"