Me: New chappy! YAY! Actually, I'm way ahead of this in the story, but it's all on paper, haven't gotten it to the computer and polished it up yet.

And to answer your questions Okami: Yes, I am planning pairings, and I have no clue how many chapters to go.

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Chapter Five – Escape
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Yugi paced nervously across the end of the living room, constantly looking up to glance at the old grandfather clock. Ten thirty-six. The second hand ticked with agonizing slowness, dragging itself across the clock face. Yami tried to comfort him but had to admit his outlook was pretty grim, also. Nanashi was his friend, too, and there were times when he felt he read deeper into her occasional glances and comments than he wanted to.

Solomon wasn't in much better shape than his grandson. One finger absently held down the UP button on the remote, causing TV channels to flicker by in rapid succession. He wasn't paying attention, though. His mind was caught up in thousands of ifs. If they had to run, where would they go? They couldn't go to the government; that would get too complicated, trying to explain Nanashi and all that. He didn't really know exactly who she was, but once she'd told him that she "technically didn't exist". Although, if she was, he mentally skipped over the word, then it might not matter anyways.

"Grandpa!" Yugi suddenly exclaimed, rushing up to the couch and nearly leaping over it. He stopped however, right behind it. "Go back to channel 3."

Solomon snapped out of his thoughts, and realized that the remote was in his hand. He turned back to channel 3. A red rectangle in the corner of the screen read LIVE. Underneath was Naomi Hiragashi, reporter for Domino Eyewitness News. Behind her rose the massive Kaiba Corp. skyscraper, glassy walls lit intermittently by red and blue police strobe lights.

"-ports of an armed individual breaking in with the intent of assassinating the young head of Kaiba Corp. Since then, the situation has been verified as a false alarm. Seto Kaiba, who is alive and well, will not be making any comments on the situation at this time. However, I will take you over to the head of security..."

She went on, but her words were disregarded by the two listeners. They stared at the screen, but really were turned inward into their own thoughts. Yugi's fingernails dug into the couch's cream colored upholstery. "No...she couldn't..." he whispered, struck by a horrible realization.

"It fits," his grandpa said and Yami concurred. "But let's not jump to conclusions." He was right, even if it did fit, so much more did not.

Yugi was about to resume his now doubly nervous pacing, when the clear chime of the back doorbell echoed through the house. Instead, he turned and dashed to the back door.

"Yugi, be careful!" He slowed, catching the meaning of his grandpa's words. What if that wasn't Nanashi? He fumbled for the keys and jammed one into the deadbolt. Tried to. Damn. He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. Then he carefully searched for the right key and unlocked the door. Twisting the knob, he slowly inched the door open. "Who's there?" he called out, trying to sound calm.

But there was no one out there.

He tentatively stepped outside onto the concrete steps. Who rang the doorbell? he thought wildly. Maybe it was just a prank, but then that was a really odd coinci-

Someone grabbed him, jerking his small frame backwards into nearby bushes. He started to cry out, but an hand quickly clamped down over his mouth.

"It's me," a familiar voice whispered in his ear. She slowly released him.

"Nana-"

"Shh!" she whispered forcefully.

"Nanashi," he began again, his voice now barely audible. "What's going on?"

"Later. Right now, we just gotta get outta here. Go in and get Solomon, and come back out. Leave the TV on, a few lights, and be as quiet as possible," she instructed. Yugi's eyes slowly adjusted to the dark, and as he did, he began to make out the shape of his friend. Her voice was calm, but she continually glanced around, alert to the slightest sound.

"One question. Does this have anything to do with Kaiba?"

She started to ask how he knew, then decided against it. That could wait, right now time was crucial. "Yes. Now go!"

As Yugi hurried back inside, she pondered how Mokuba had convinced her and Seto to help each other. Especially after Seto found out who her friends were. How he'd managed to convince her, well, he'd had a point. Escaping would be easier as she now shouldn't need to go steal anything. And rich people tended to get what they wanted.

Yugi and Solomon came quickly out the door, and Nanashi leaped up to catch it before it slammed. Letting the latch click softly, she motioned with her hand. "Follow me."

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"She failed." The voice carried no inflection; merely was stony fact.

His superior templed his fingers and contemplated that fact. So, the little experiment had failed once again. "How close did she get?"

"Nearly killed him. She couldn't pull the trigger, though."

Such a pity, her life would have to be ended now. The one that had finally lived, after all the others before had died, only to be cut down in what could have been her prime. Yet, he couldn't let that sway him. It was necessary. Killing was a part of her, and part that had been engrained deep into her mind. And killing and assassination didn't always total out to be the same thing. Killing was necessary to assassinate, but vice-versa did not apply. "And what does our dear Seto Kaiba plan to do about this?"

"They are going to run."

"They?" He briefly wondered if Seto knew who she truly was.

"Yes. She and Kaiba, along with his little brother and her friends."

Ah, yes, the price for her failure. "How?"

"By plane. She plans to go somewhere. Where, I do not know."

"Leave them be, for now. But, I want you to pilot that plane. And make sure that wherever they are going, they never get there."

"Yes, sir."

"And, I need not remind you, to die in battle is by far a better price to pay than the one you would pay to come home a failure," he added, his tone deadly.

"Yes, sir." He knew that fact all too well.

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