it's Seto's birthday today!!!
/throws huge party/ YAY!
/eats lots of cake and ice cream/
Yum!
/looks around for seto/ hey, wait a minute...i'm sure i invited him.../sets her hand in her pocket, and suddenly pulls out an invitation. face turns red/ uhh...guess i forgot to send the invitation...oh, well, now i can personally invite him!
/snaps fingers and appears in seto's office/
seto: what the hell are you doing here?
me: taking you to you're birthday party!
seto: my WHAT?!?!?
me: you know...cake, ice cream, presents, everyone says happy birthday. come on, let's go. /grabs his arm before he can protest, and snaps her fingers again. they appear back at party/
all: HAPPY BIRTHDAY SETO!
seto: /gives her an evil glare, then wrenches away from her/ i've got better things to do than associate with low-lifes like you. go play fetch with wheeler or something. /starts walking away/
me: /growls, feeling very youkai-ish/ hey! that's not nice. anyways, it's your birthday party, and you're staying. /grabs him again and drags him over to a chair, where she ties him up/ there we go.
seto: let me out of here!
me: no.
seto: if you don't i'll...
me: wait! i've got a better idea. how about we duel. if you win, you get to leave, but if you lose, you have to stay and promise to have some fun!
seto: fine. this'll be a piece of cake.
me: you're going down!
/5 min later/
me: /gets toasted by the blue eyes white dragon. life points drop to -2999/
seto: looks like i win. i'll be leaving now.
me: /pouts/ now what do i do. wait! before you leave, i need to give you your present.
seto: /pauses/ be quick about it /a present is a present after all/
me: /digs through box of random things, and pulls out a package/ here.
seto: /glares suspiciously at present, then opens it. pulls out picture of himself in boxers. looks ready to tear her apart/
me: O.o /grabs picture from him and stashes someplace else/ oh, yeah, now i remember what it was! /grabs seto and kisses him/
seto: is now going to tear her apart
me: /begins talking really fast/ byeya'll!havefunrea-ahh! /runs away from seto as fast as she can!/

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Chapter Six – Flight and Fight
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

Mokuba's face pressed against the small window as he stared outside. Little lights that lined the runway twinkled brightly, but for the most part were drowned out by the bigger lights surrounding Kaiba Corp. private runway. Beside him, Seto waited impatiently. "Where is she?" he asked.

"Right there!" Mokuba exclaimed, watching a van race onto the runway and screech to a halt. Three figures leaped out and ran up to the jet. The door swung open as Nanashi leaped agilely in, and helped the other.

"Your late," Seto commented.

She ignored him and slammed the door. Then she tapped on the door leading to the cockpit. "We're ready."

The plane leaped forward, knocking Yugi and Solomon off their feet. Nanashi stumbled back a step, but caught herself. "Sorry," she said, giving them an apologetic glance.

Outside, the runway lights rushed past in a white blur, then dropped away as the Kaiba Corp. jet smoothly lifted into the air. Soon they were merely a part of the bright city, then the city diminished also and completely disappeared as they flew into a cloud.

--- --- --- --- --- --- ---

"So, you're saying you were...created...as part of an experiment..." Yugi paused again.

"Yes," Nanashi answered, staring out the window like she had been for the past hour and a half. "To be the perfect assassin."

"And now, someone wanted you to...assassinate Kaiba. And they used us as an incentive." His large purple eyes were filled with sympathy for his friend. "I'm sorry," he added gently.

She turned and finally made eye contact. "No, I'm the one who's sorry. It's not your fault, it's mine." After a long pause, "It all seems so weird, doesn't it? Sometimes I feel like I've walked out of a sci-fi horror movie, only to find I'm still stuck in it." She dropped her gaze and stared at her fingertips, rubbing them against each other. Then she held out her hands, palms up. "Here, look at this."

Solomon leaned over to get a better look. "You don't have any fingerprints!" he exclaimed.

A sad smile spread across her face. "That's not all. I can't be identified by my DNA either. It's constantly changing. I have no identity. That's why my name is Nanashi."

"Without name," Yugi spoke the meaning quietly. He reached out and grasped her hand. "You'll always be my friend, you have that much."

Solomon clasped her other one. "And mine, too."

"Thanks," she said softly, "but I don't know if even that can protect me from myself."

Mokuba dozed next to Seto who listened disinterestedly, at the moment having nothing better to do. Most of it he knew, although not the personal side of the story. He also noticed she left out other things; details, especially those concerning Gozaburo.

Nanashi turned back to the window, staring out into a black abyss. She didn't enjoy reliving her past, but she owed them the truth, no matter how hard it was. But now, having nothing else to occupy her mind, a voice entered her head. For the second time in the past 24 hours, it taunted her. So, you did manage to keep your oath. But look at the trouble you got your friends in now. Make a mistake, and they're dead. Yet, they still call you their friend. Amazing, how such a creature as low as you, so strong but riddled with weaknesses, you think you can get them out of this, but you can't, you're too weak...

Yugi sank into his own thoughts, trying to sort it all out and make some sense. Sleep kept encroaching on him, and maybe it wasn't such a bad idea, as his grandpa had already dozed off. He figured out how to make the seat recline and did so. But he didn't fall asleep.

The plane banked slightly, turning to the left. Nanashi suddenly stood up. She felt like they were going in circles. Her naturally suspicious nature caused her to pad softly up to the front of the plane.

"Where are you going?" Seto asked, also suspicious by nature.

"Does it matter?" She slipped into the cockpit without giving him a chance to answer. The door clicked shut, latching behind her. There was a small corridor that opened up into the small cockpit; she knew enough to know that all planes were that way. Odd thing was, she didn't see the pilot.

She frowned, glancing around. Well, maybe he was in the bathroom, or where ever that door in the corridor led to. She studied the instrument panel in front of her, looking for some clue as to why she felt like they were going in circles.

Some might've referred to it as a "glass-cockpit", she simply thought of it as high-tech. Instead of gauges and dials there was LCD displays lining the panel. Buttons and switches still covered the ceiling though. She slowly waded her way through the mass of information presented her.

She heard a door open and shut behind her. The pilot. Perhaps he could help her. She waited for him to speak, part of her mind wondering what he'd say about her intrusion. Then a screen labeled autopilot caught her eye.

Two large, thick hands placed themselves around her neck and began cutting off her airway.

She attempted to struggle, but soon stopped. She could literally feel the massive strength oozing out of his arms; he was too strong. She needed a better tactic. Her lungs began to cry for air, but an even louder protest was that of her windpipe; it would be crushed before she suffocated.

"You can't run from us," a voice, dead and inflectionless, whispered in her ear. The grip tightened.

She wrapped her hands around the body behind her, barely reaching to entwine her fingers around each other. Using this to support her body, she lifted her legs into the air, and set her feet on the nearest solid object. The pain in her neck intensified. With little time to spare, she shoved.

It worked. The man stumbled back, relaxing his grip for a few precious seconds. That was all she needed. Wrenching her neck free, she gasped in great lungfuls of air. He wasn't down long though, quickly regaining his footing and lunging at her. She twisted away from him.

In the cramped confines of the cockpit, she didn't get far enough away from the lumbering body. He caught her shoulder and smashed it against the wall, dragging her with him. His weight carried them both down the small corridor and he slammed into the thin door separating the cockpit from the rest of the plane. The hinges groaned, and snapped.

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p.s. thank you okami666 for your glowing review! i try really hard to keep everyone in character; glad to know i'm succeeding!