A Note from the Authors: Sam here... Okay everybody, I feel the need to defend myself for a plot-decision I made back in the Egyptian Tournament that I seemed to get sporadic complaints about: the whole Yugi/Tsuki issue. I've never understood why people think that Yugi & Tea are so 'destined' for each other, I mean, the whole thing seems so unnatural if you ask me. I've never sensed more than friendship between the two of them, and as for the one time when Yami was checking Tea out (when she was playing DDR, remember?), I put that into account when I designed Dedi. I gave Dedi just enough physical resemblance to Tea so that it can be seen as Yami's subconscious recognizing that he used to be attracted to someone who looked similar to Tea - not Tea herself.

Shaun: To add to this, I can honestly say that the very first time I encountered Yugioh, my first thought upon seeing Yugi and Tea hanging out together was not, 'Boy, those two look like they should get married because the height contrast would be good for their relationship!' It was more like, 'Those two must have been friends forever!' I mean, come on, would you marry your best friend?

Sam: Now taking a moment to look at the Tristan/Tea pairing, I don't see how so many people don't realize the potential. I mean, they've been friends since forever, and they're always together, getting stuck on the sidelines being cheerleaders. It makes more sense that they would turn to each other for support. And don't get me started on who annoyingly wrong Serenity is for Tristan! (I don't think you'll be seeing her in this story, BTW) I'm perfectly fine with her running off with Duke Devlin and being another one of his cheerleaders...lol.

Anyway, that's really all I have to say about this, so sorry to all you Yugi/Yami/Tea fans, it's just not gonna happen in this story. Sorry to start this chapter off on such a seemingly low note...don't let it spoil anything please! Enjoy the chapter!

Chapter 6

"Troubled times harm not youthful minds…"

That same morning, on the other side of town, Vitani was sitting Indian-style on the floor in front of her mirror, staring at her reflection dolefully. The Millennium Sword was lying on the carpet beside her, the gold glinting despite the lack of sunlight in the room. Vitani reached up and gently brushed her fingers over the burn on her forehead and shuddered. It was still raw, as were the burns on her fingers, and she could still faintly hear the strange pounding that drove her so far into the repression of her memories.

She wasn't free…she couldn't be… She should have known that the events of her past would never really be forgotten. Now she could only wonder how far down the mere memory of Jetsu was going to drag her…and if it was possible to escape.

She reached out and picked up the Sword, wishing she knew how to get rid of it permanently. For now, all she could do was put it away for safekeeping, and try not to think about it.

Suddenly, the Sword's gentle golden glow turned a violent shade of blood red, surprising Vitani. The pounding had begun in her head again, growing louder with every second she held the Item. Her hands did not respond to her pleas to drop the Sword as the aura crept up her arms, slowly making their way across her entire body. She let out a cry, the Sword let out a flash of light, shattering all of the windows in her room.

When the light died down again, Vitani was breathing heavily, her eyes now pupil less and deep green. Her mouth curled up in a wicked smile, "A human form… thank you, Vitani. I can't believe you actually thought the Pharaoh could destroy me that easily. Ha ha ha ha…"

At that moment, there was a pounding on the door to the room and Mokuba's voice came, muffled, through the wood, "Vitani?? What's going on??"

Jetsu glared at the door, feeling contempt for the younger of the two Kaiba brothers. To have his newfound freedom restricted so quickly… He sighed and closed his eyes. Vitani had planted the seeds of his new existence within her own mind, and there would be another time to attempt complete occupation. With a flash, the mind of Jetsu Maeda regressed within and Vitani's weaker mind was released.

Mokuba pounded on the door again and Vitani glanced around, confused. She was on her feet, still clutching the Sword and her head was stinging again. Numbly, she dropped the sword staggered to the door and unlocked it. Mokuba burst in and hit her head on. Still dizzy, she swayed on the spot and he had to grab her around the middle to steady her. "Are you okay?" he asked initially, then glancing around behind her added, "Whoa…what happened to your room?"

Vitani turned, seeing for the first time the broken shards of glass covering her carpet. "I…I don't know…" she said truthfully, putting her hands on Mokuba's shoulders for support. She wracked her brain, but everything since she'd picked up the sword was missing from her memory.

Mokuba raised an eyebrow at her, a sweat drop sliding quickly down the side of his face, "I think we need to take you to a doctor…"

"What the hell is going on here?" Seto was standing in the doorway, already dressed, arms folded across his chest.

"Someone must've messed up Vitani's room while she was sleeping Seto, look!" Mokuba told his older brother, pointing around the room, "And I think she's getting sick."

Kaiba gave the room a quick glance and then let his gaze settle on Vitani. The burn on her forehead looked worse and she did seem a little out of it. She met his gaze for a split-second and then quickly looked back down at the floor, face flushed. "Fine," he said, "Take her down to the medical ward. See if they can do something about that brand on her head."

"Okay, c'mon Vitani," the boy said kindly, taking her by the hand and starting to pull her out of the room, "Lucky thing Seto hates the local hospital. We have our own medical facilities right here in the house!"

"Great…" she said, nodding and letting herself be pulled along. She knew there would be nothing any doctors could do. This was between her…and the Sword.

Seto scowled as his aide was led away. Something was seriously wrong with her now, or that Sword was really starting to affect her brain. He looked around the trashed room and spotted the Millennium Sword lying on the floor. 'Best to stop the problem at its source,' Kaiba thought as he picked up the blade and fingered it for a moment. In a flash of movement, he had thrown the golden sword right out one of the broken windows, and watched as it soared away, the extra altitude giving the flight extra distance. Satisfied, Seto Kaiba stepped out of the room, his boots grinding the glass on the floor into tiny grains in the carpeting. Once he had left the room, the Millennium Sword appeared at the foot of Vitani's bed, glowing golden one more…

* * *

"This has been really fun, Joey," Mai said. The two of them were standing on a wooden bridge overlooking a stream in the city park. It wasn't usually where they wound up on their dates, but that particular morning it was where their walking had led them. "Freezing cold," she added, "but fun."

"You cold? Well, maybe I can do somethin' about that, hmm?" Joey suggested, hugging her from behind and kissing her cheek.

Mai smiled, "You spoil me, you know…" she murmured, reaching back and running one gloved hand through his hair.

"Yeah…" he agreed, "Guess I can't help it."

"As much as I'm enjoying this," she said after another moment, "If you keep it up, your lips are gonna freeze to my face. And how would that look for me at work tomorrow?"

"You're workin' again tomorrow??" Joey asked, pulling back from her slightly, looking disappointed.

Mai nodded sadly, "And it's gonna be an all-day shoot on location a few miles out of town. Apparently some companies are too good for indoor sets. I'm sorry, Joey – I know I'd promised to stop working Sundays, but I with the holidays coming up I really need the money." She looked at him pleadingly, "You understand, don't you?"

"Yeah," Joey sighed, leaning back against the bridge-railing, "I guess so…"

"I really am sorry," she said, reaching out and taking hold of his arm, "I promise I'll make it up to you."

"How…?" he asked gloomily.

Mai paused, "Um…well, I don't know if you'd like the sort of favors I used to give out…" she said slowly, blushing.

"Come again?" he asked, turning towards her, curiosity visible on his face.

Mai turned a deeper scarlet. "I really don't think I should be telling you this…"

"Tell me what, Mai?" Joey asked, leaning in at her with a big grin on his face.

"Um…well…" she leaned in close and whispered in his ear.

The teen went very red and his eyes bugged out a bit, before he recovered and promptly responded, "That doesn't sound so bad."

Mai buried her face in her hands, "I knew I shouldn't have told you," she groaned, "I can only imagine how low your opinion of me must've fallen."

"All I know is that the rent's gotta be paid," Joey told her firmly, pushing her hands down and looking right in her big purple eyes.

"You mean you…don't think I'm…" she began, and then stammered, "I mean, that stopped years ago and I –"

"No, I don't," Joey spoke up, cutting her off, "And I don't think that you ever were. It's all in the past Mai; it's all in the past."

Small tears welled in her eyes and she smiled, "Thank you."

"Forget it," Joey shrugged, putting and arm around her shoulders and steering her down off the bridge and back onto the main path, "Though if you did ever want to…you know, gimme some o' those favors…would I hafta pay??"

"For you…I might give ya a discount."

"A discount… thanks a lot, Mai."

"Only for you, Joey."

* * *

Tristan stared moodily at his own reflection in his bathroom mirror. Two black eyes and a broken nose…usually the signs of a great fight, now only a painful reminder of his recent degradation. Disgusted with himself, he trudged out into his bedroom, and flopped down on the bed, hands behind his head. Some man he was turning out to be. If he hadn't been such a coward, he would have told Tea what he was feeling six months ago. But he'd missed his chance, and now it seemed like he'd never get another one.

Tired of lying still, he got up again and took to pacing the room. Now Tea wasn't even speaking to him – and all because he'd acted like the punk he used to be and had decided it was easier to pick on another than deal with his own issues. Stopping at the window, he looked out over the afternoon sky. It was time to pay Bakura a visit.

* * *

"It's the brown-haired idiot. Shall I send him away?" Barak asked Bakura over his shoulder, while still looking through the peep-hole at the impatient face of Tristan Taylor.

"Huh?" Bakura looked up from his computer, "You mean Tristan? I suppose you should let him in. We should at least here what he has to say."

Barak sighed and made to pull the door open. From the outside (or anyone that couldn't see spirits) it would seem as if the door was moving on its own.

Tristan looked a little surprised at this, but then seemed to remember that there was another person in the room that he couldn't see, so he shook it off. "Hey…" he said quietly, nodding at Bakura.

"Hello…" Bakura said, "I'm guessing you're here for a reason? Did you have something do say?

"Um…did I…?" Tristan said, awkwardly.

"If not, you can just leave," Bakura told him.

"No, no – I've got somethin' to say…just gimme a minute, okay?" Tristan said quickly, "I'm not used to doin' this."

"Take your time," Bakura said.

Tristan gulped, took a deep breath, then began speaking as fast as he could, "I'm really sorry that I made fun of you and I was a jerk and I deserved to get hit and I hope you'll forgive me for putting you on the spot to avoid my problems!" Promptly after this, he began gasping for breath, ignoring how stupid he most likely looked.

Bakura blinked a few times. "Well…from what I could catch of that, I think it was an apology, so thank you," he said, laughing slightly, "And I'm sorry about your face, as well."

"Yeah, well…" the boy grumbled, "I'm sure at least one person in this room isn't…"

Bakura grinned guiltily, "I'm surprised you'd expect him to be sorry."

"I don't, but tell him that the next time he wants to fight, come from the front. It's cold to hit a guy when he isn't looking," he said gruffly, folding his arms.

The door promptly slammed itself in Tristan's face and the lock clicked shut. "Um…I guess I'll see ya later then…" came his muffled voice through it.

"Okay," Bakura said, shooting Barak a reprimanding look, "Bye."

* * *

Vitani was restless. She'd been lying on her back for hours with a bandage wrapped around her head, pressing strong-scented liniment against her burn. The orange glow from the sunset was pouring into the room, but rather than calm her, it only tormented her, reminding her of the red glow of the Millennium Sword, which she could still sense calling to her from the other side of the mansion. She closed her eyes, trying to clear her mind, but the symbol of the eye was burned in the blackness as strongly as it was in her skin.

Aggravated, she sat up and glanced around the room. No one else was in the ward and it would be a while before any of the faculty came to check on her. Pulling her knees up to her chest and resting her chin on them, she stared out at the skyline of Domino City – Kaiba's dominion. From the perspective of someone on the outside, the young man had the perfect life: money, brains, looks (even she had to admit he wasn't unattractive), and an empire that spanned the globe.

And yet he was so unhappy. She tilted her head slightly to one side, frowning. What did he have to be unhappy about anyway? But she knew from experience that money and power meant nothing to someone whose soul was empty. His face seemed to materialize in the window before her – the betrayed, humiliated way he had looked at her after she had felled him during their last match – and she tossed the sheets off of her.

She couldn't stay another minute, not while she continued to put the boys' lives at risk. She had to get control of what was happening to her – and maybe solve a few other problems at the same time. As she snuck out of the ward and off to her room, her mind was buzzing, trying to remember as much of the ancient scriptures as possible. There had been a long passage about a sorcerer who bore a striking resemblance to Kaiba – and he possessed the Millennium Rod.

As far as she knew, the Tomb Keepers still dwelled in Egypt, in the ruins of Giza, and, according to what she had last heard they still held a pair of the Millennium Items. If she could bring the magic to Kaiba…well, that was what he wanted, wasn't it? She hurriedly packed her things, and snuck away unnoticed as the last rays of sunlight faded into darkness.

Or at least, she thought she was unnoticed. From his bedroom window, Mokuba watched her scale the wall and disappear from sight.

* * *

"Seto… Seto…" Mokuba called out, still scouring the house for his older brother.

"What is it, Mokuba? I'm busy right now," Kaiba asked from the living room, where he sat with his laptop out, tapping away at the keyboard.

The younger of the two Kaiba brothers jumped slightly at Seto's voice, having just passed the living room without seeing anyone in it. He walked back slowly and leaned against the easy chair Seto was in, watching over his shoulder, "Whatcha doin'?"

"I'm plotting world domination, Mokuba."

"Really?"

"No," Kaiba told his optimistic little sibling, closing the laptop, "Been there, done that. Now, was there something you wanted to ask me? I'm assuming that's why you were looking for me."

Mokuba shuffled his feet nervously, "Well, I didn't really have to ask you something, more tell you something…"

"What'd you break this time Mokuba?"

"I didn't break anything," the younger boy said defensively, "I just wanted to tell you that you'll have to wake yourself up on Monday morning…"

"What?" Kaiba said, "You broke my alarm clock?"

"Your alarm clock hasn't worked in four years," Mokuba reminded him.

"Then what? I'm not following you…" Kaiba said.

Mokuba sighed, "I mean, the person who usually wakes you up isn't here anymore."

Vitani! Kaiba's mind seemed to shout at him. His eyes widened, "Where'd she go, Mokuba?"

"I don't know…she just climbed over the outer wall and disappeared," Mokuba shrugged, "She had all of her stuff with her too…are you gonna go after her, Seto…?"

"No," Kaiba told him, looking furious, "Go to bed, Mokuba."

"But it's only 6:00!"

"Then go play video games or something!"

Mokuba turned angrily and left the room, "Thanks a lot, Seto," he mumbled quietly, "No one ever stays, because of you… thanks a lot, big brother."

Kaiba had taken no notice. He slumped down in his chair, hand over his face. Damn it all… With that, he opened up his computer again and began to type up a new advertisement for personal assistant, but stopped himself half-way through. She couldn't have gone… she just couldn't have…

And why would she leave…? It didn't make sense. Confused, Seto got to his feet, crossing to the large windows and staring out at the darkening sky. What would drive her to just up and leave? It's not like she was underpaid… he thought, a hint of anger crossing his face, She's just ungrateful…

Or scared…another subconscious thought suddenly voiced itself. But scared of what?? What would a woman as capable as that have to be afraid of? Probably the same things you're scared of…he told himself, Attachments… commitments…

But did she really? He had no way on knowing, and it was too late to talk to her about. He pressed his forehead against the cold glass of the window, chiding himself, Even if she was still here, it's not like you'd have the nerve to actually ask her…

Shut up! I don't have time to listen to you; I'm running a business. Go away…

You know that running the business has gotten easier since she came.

So? It was easier with the other three idiots as well. Until they all left just like she did!

But at least she was competent…you liked her.

Kaiba promptly shook his head, trying to clear his conflicting thoughts. Where had he left those sleeping pills?

* * *

Vitani leaned back in the seat of the plane; not the least conspicuous way to travel, but she wasn't really expecting anyone to be looking for her. In fact, she didn't think either of the Kaiba brothers to notice she was missing until at least Monday morning, and by then she'd be half-way around the world. It was the last place she wanted to be heading, but she had no other choice. She had to start somewhere and the land of her birth was sure to hold some answers to the questions that were spinning around in her mind.

Desolately she turned to glance out the window. Nothing but black sky all around her. It was the kind of night you could really get lost in. It would be ending soon, though – she could sense it, even though they were too high up yet to see the dawn breaking.

The pilot announcing that they would be beginning their descent interrupted her thoughts and she snapped her seatbelt back in place.