Rowan: 64! Yay! ^_^ I'm happy!

Sakura: 15 reviews to respond to. You better get started.

Rowan: Right! Oh, and congrats to honey-musturd for being the 60th reviewer! She gets to be a part of this story!

Ranma Higurashi: Guess you like that part, eh?

Xiaolang's Ying Fa: Yes, we have gotten to know each other well! I'm glad about that! Sorry for no Jou*Seto fluff! I don't think there'll be much in upcoming chapters though.

ColeyCarissa: I hope I updated soon enough!

baby_blue_butterfly: Yes, Christmas, Valentine's, and Easter. Glad you like so far.

Kidie, Vanessa, Rei, and Kai: Glad all of you like it!

The Chaotic Ones: Are you calling me weirdo? Cuz if you are, I'm sure Sakura'd agree with you!

katy: Will do!

Kanedo-Shotaro and Yami Tetsuo: Okay!

Shadowy Fluffball: Glad you want me to continue, but could you please write something more than 'continue'? Like, if there's a part you like or something?

lil-skating-angel-1016: I like that part as well!

honey-musturd: Yes, very fluffy. And you're the 60th reviewer, so you get to have a part in the story! Hope you like Seto…

Kyrene (Once Blood Roses: True, they do prove that…and I think it is a saying. Could be wrong. Yes, an Americanized Japan is interesting, isn't it? I decided that I liked Japan better, but everything is so much like America (prob. B/c I live there!), so I made it that.

dOMITUPSYK: Really? I got their ages right? Yippee! Go me! And no, F&D does not stand for that. Fits though, don't it?

MyOwnShukuun: Thanks! How nice of you to be proud of me! I'm flattered! Of course, I'm proud that I actually have a story with 64 reviews! I never ever thought I could get that many reviews! So I'm really grateful to all who reviewed! Mai's plan will be revealed all in good time.

Rowan: One last thing before the chapter begins! Ahem! When pigs fly and cats eat moon cheese, you can bet that I'll be the proud owner of YGO!

Sakura: Your cats eat cheese.

Rowan: Moon cheese?

Sakura: Oh…

Life's Little Treasures

Mission: Emotions

---

"Merry Christmas Jou!" Seto said and reached over his hand to touch Jou's. "I have a present for you."

"What is it Seto?" Jou asked, curious.

"Oh dear, my shoe's untied!" Seto exclaimed, bending down on one knee to tie it, then looking up and pulling a small box from his coat. "Jou, will you ma-"

~*~*~&~*~*~

"Goooouuu! Seeeooooooo!" Kismet wailed, startling Jou and Seto into wakefulness.

"Kismet, what's the matter darling?" Seto cooed soothingly as he rocked the eleven month old. Jou watched Seto lovingly. 'He's so sweet and gentle around Kismet. His eyes look so soft and beautiful,' Jou thought dreamily.

"Here Jou, would you like to hold Kismet?" Seto asked.

"Umm, sure Seto." Jou reached over and lifted the girl, his hand brushing against Seto's, sending shivers up his spine.

"Cold?" Seto inquired.

"No, I'm fine," Jou answered.

"You sure?" Seto repeated, leaning towards the blonde. Jou trembled.

"No, really, I'm fine."

Seto hugged Jou from behind. "I saw you quiver," he informed him. He moved his hands up and down Jou's arms. "Warmer now?" he asked.

Jou nodded. "Thanks."

"No problem Jou."

About ten minutes later both Kismet and Seto were asleep. Jou watched Seto sleep, and whispered, "I wish I could tell you how I feel Seto. Oh, I wish I could tell you that I love you." Jou leaned over and placed a feather-light kiss on Seto's mouth, his lips like butterfly wings, barely noticeable. "Sweet dreams Seto."

~*~&~*~

"Jou, could you take me Christmas shopping today?" Mokuba asked over breakfast.

"Why me?" Jou inquired.

"Well, Seto's got work today, and Ryou, Anzu, and Yami are coming tomorrow, so I thought today would be perfect! Besides, I don't know what to get for you or your friends, so I'll need your help!"

Jou smiled. "Sure Mokuba! Kismet'll have to come with us, though. You won't mind, will you?"

"Not at all!"

"When should we leave?"

Mokuba screwed his face up in thought. "How about right after breakfast?"

"Okay!"

"Good! I'm done! Let's go!"

The limo was waiting for them outside. "To the mall," Mokuba instructed the driver.

"Yes Mister Kaiba."

Jou turned to Mokuba. "So, what's on your list so far?"

Mokuba pulled a slip of paper out of his pocket. "Well, I was thinking of getting Seto a painting of the Blue Eyes White dragon at the art gallery and Kismet a stuffed plushy. Um, I still need to know what Yami, Ryou, and Anzu would like."

"Well, Anzu is really into dance and music, Ryou wants to be a writer, so a book about anything might work, and Yami…well, I guess anything Egyptian would work."

"Well, I'll see if I see anything when we get to the mall."

"We're here."

~*~&~*~

"Where do you want to eat lunch Mokuba?" Jou asked around twelve.

"I don't care really."

"Okay then," Jou said and they walked into the closest restaurant. "Well, we've done pretty good so far today!" Jou remarked as they waited to be seated.

Mokuba nodded enthusiastically. "Do you think Anzu'll like the music box I got for her?"

"I think she'll adore it! And that book on Shakespeare is perfect for Ryou," Jou said as they sat down.

"I liked that figurine you got for Anzu, the one of the ballerina. Those earrings you got for Shizuka were pretty, too."

"I still have to get something for Ryou, Yami, and Seto though." Jou sighed.

"Yeah, I have to get Seto's painting and Kismet's plushy. And I have to find something for Yami as well."

Just then their waitress came and took their orders and ogled over how cute Kismet was. "Your baby's so cute! Where's her mother right now?" she asked, batting her eyes flirtatiously.

"Umm, she doesn't have one," Jou answered uncomfortably.

"Really? So, does that mean you're single?"

"Umm… er…," Jou stuttered.

"He's with me," a voice behind them answered. Seto pushed past the waitress and sat beside Jou, draping his arm possessively around his shoulders.

"Oh, I see," the girl said and hurried away.

Jou blushed. "Umm, thanks Seto."

Seto shrugged as he removed his arm. "Well, that girl was a slut," he answered. "You looked like you needed saving from her. I'm sure you'd do the same for me."

"So, what brings you here anyway? I thought you had some work to do," Jou said, changing the subject.

"I finished it early. I thought I might join you guys and get some of my shopping done as well. So, how did you do so far?"

Mokuba bounced up and down excitedly. "Well, I got a music box for Anzu, and a book of…"

Mokuba trailed on, but Jou barely heard. ' "He's with me,"' Jou thought dreamily. 'Oh, I wish it were true!'

"Jou? Jou? Earth to Jou!" Seto said impatiently.

"Eh? What?" Jou looked over at Seto. "Yes?"

"I said, how is your shopping so far? Find anything good?"

"Oh, um, I'm doing alright right now. I still need to find some things, though. We're going to the art gallery after lunch."

"Sounds good," Seto said. Just then, their lunch arrived and Mokuba, Jou, and Seto halted all talking in order to eat. Once their meal was over, Seto excused himself to go to the restroom. Mokuba turned to Jou, grinning innocently.

"Well, that was a nice surprise, wasn't it?" he asked.

"Yes, I suppose so," Jou responded.

"Anyway, I've been meaning to ask you…," Mokuba began, drawing out his sentence to build up the suspense, "do you like my brother?"

"He's nice enough, I guess," Jou answered, growing suspicious of the thirteen-year-old's smile.

"Do you like him as a friend? Or more?"

"More? Whatta mean Mokuba?"

"You know what I mean…"

"…"

"Look, don't try to deny it, I know you like him like that, so why don't you just admit it!" Mokuba exclaimed, growing impatient.

Jou blinked in shock. "How'd you…did Mai tell you? What did she say?"

"Mai didn't tell me, I saw you. Last night. You kissed Seto while he was sleeping!"

Jou paled. "You…saw? How?"

"Erm…I was sleeping walking! And woke up in Seto's doorway! Yeah, that's right!"

"Umm, okay then. Just, please don't tell Seto, Mokuba. Please don't."

"Why not?"

"Err…because I'm gonna tell him!"

Mokuba raised an eyebrow skeptically. "Really? When?"

"Umm…soon! So, don't tell Seto, please!"

"Don't tell me what?" a voice behind them asked.

"Err…uh…"

"What he got for Kismet! He wants it to be a surprise!" Mokuba replied.

Seto smiled and slid back into the seat next to Jou. "Fine with me Jou. Well, shall we finish our shopping?"

~*~&~*~

Jou dropped the bags carelessly on his bed. 'What an eventful day at the mall!' he thought. Jou reached his hand into one of the bags and pulled out a Blue Eyes White Dragon plushy. 'I hope Kismet likes it. Oh, but she's just a baby! She won't care right now!' He pulled something else out. It was a painting of the Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon, with Gia the Dragon Champion and Black Skull Dragon in the back. There was an ethereal light shining down on all three fused monsters, but it shone brightest on the most powerful of dragons. 'This picture will look wonderful in Seto's room.'

There was a ringing noise from downstairs and soon after, voices. Jou's eyes lit up when he recognized Yami's deep voice, Anzu's peppy one, and the quiet effeminate inflection of Ryou's. And there was another voice that Jou could not identify. It was a female vociferation, a melodious sound. Jou quickly descended the stairs to greet his friends and the stranger.

The first thing he noticed was Yami's spiky tri-colored hairdo. He was fondly greeting Mokuba, and glaring coldly at Seto. Next to him stood Ryou, who was standing quietly, looking unsure of himself. On his right stood the brunette girl who had cheered Yuugi and Jou on many times in the past. Beside her was a girl Jou did not know.

She had long black hair and brown eyes, though in that light they shone amber. She was slightly shorter than Ryou and rather slim waisted. She had pretty lips and a gorgeous smile and if Jou had been straight, he would have fallen deeply in love with her. As he was not, Jou was simply astounded by her beauty.

The girl had just turned and smiled shyly at Jou when he felt himself tackled to the ground by a big mass of fur. "Jono! No! Don't jump on people!" the girl said, lifting the golden retriever off of Jou. "Sorry about that, Jono's just excited. She really likes new people," she said, helping Jou up.

"That's okay, perfectly understandable. Is she a puppy?"

The girl shook her head. "Oh no. She's seven years old."

"Seven? Wow, she's really energetic!"

"She is. By the way, you must be Jounouchi! Anzu's told me so much about you! I'm Shihara Kutano, Anzu's friend from Kyoto. My parents are out of the country for the holidays, so Anzu invited me to come with her. I hope you don't mind?"

Jou smiled kindly. "Not at all! The more the merrier!"

Shihara grinned in relief. "Oh, good, because I brought Honey and Jono with me and the hotels don't allow pets."

"You have two dogs?"

"Yup! Sisters! The dogs won't be trouble, will they?" Shihara asked, concerned.

"No, not at all!" Jou felt a tug on his sleeve. "It was nice meeting you Shihara." Jou turned around and was engulfed by Anzu's arms.

'Oh dear! Now I'm gonna havta get Shihara something for Christmas! And I just finished my shopping today!'

~*~&~*~

At dinner that evening, Jou was conversing with Yami, Anzu, and Ryou, catching up on their latest news. "So, how is Kyoto so far?"

Anzu grinned. "The music program there is excellent! I'm learning so much about it that I never even knew! And we're working on creating our own piece of music! We start right after the holidays! I can hardly wait!"

Jou turned to his white haired friend. "What about you Ryou?"

"Well, I've been thinking about becoming a playwright. It's a lot of fun and I always liked the theater. But it's very hard."

"And how's things with you Yami?" Jou smiled at his friend's pouting face.

"Yuugi's too busy at Tokyo and his jii-san is too busy with his store. I've no one to hang out with!"

"He's been spending a lot of time at Otogi's shop. I think they might be, you know, involved," Anzu whispered to Jou.

Yami glared at her. "I heard that!"

"Well then? Are you two?"

"No! It's just, there's no one to duel with, so I've decided to learn Otogi's game. At least then I'll have someone to play with."

"Oh, I bet you two play alright," Anzu taunted.

Yami frowned. "We're not together Anzu. Honestly! I swear to Ra we're not!"

"I believe him. I just can't picture Yami and Otogi," Jou cut in on his best friend's behalf.

"Well, I certainly can picture those two together," Ryou said, nodding to Seto and Shihara, who were engaged in a very long discussion. A pang of jealousy tugged at Jou's heart as he caught some words.

"Say, Shihara, would you like to go out sometime?"

"Sure Seto! I'd love to!"

'B-But, how can this happen? Seto can't date Shihara!'

'Why not?'

'Because what if he marries her and she takes over my place as Kismet's mother? No, this can't be happening!' (As you can see, Jou's kinda gone ballistic here.)

~*~&~*~

Mai opened up her inbox and found one new message from pharaohofgames@hotmail.com. She read the message quickly, then took out a notebook and wrote: Mission: Emotions commenced.

~*~&~*~&~*~

Rowan: Well, hope you liked that chapter! And from now on, I'm going to title my chapters! Go me!

*Crickets chirp *

Rowan: Well, anyway, please review and tell me what you think so far! Also, whomever can tell me whose e-mail address that is gets the next chapter dedicated to them! I know, it's not that hard, but still!