Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh. Never did and never will.

Note: It's been three months since I last updated this story. I'm deeply sorry about that. Please accept my apology. I've been caught up in other things, such as shopping for all the necessities for dorm and reading some books. But no worries, I'm back now!

We meet two more characters in this chapter! It's Yugi! We learn something about Tea and the Pharaoh from Yugi too. Also, remember what happened to Joey? If not, you might want to take a quick glance at chapter 4. The other character is Rebecca!

Okay, so let's get on with this chapter. Enjoy!

The Pain of Letting Go

Chapter 6

Fate's Cruel Joke

Looking out the window, white clouds and blue sky reflected in his icy blue eyes. It had been hours since the plane took off from California, flying back to Japan. The plane was so quiet, almost peaceful. The annoying child's cries had died down a while ago, and he had left Serenity alone in the other room onboard. Despite the tranquility in the room, his head was severely hurting and his emotions all mixed up. He was not at ease!

Kaiba raised his right hand and massages his forehead, trying to alleviate the headache. His mind raced back to the accident he caused earlier. It was part of his plan to take Serenity away with him. But there was a problem now, he didn't expect to find a little girl along with Serenity! Even worse, that little girl was her daughter! What was he supposed to do with the girl? He didn't want to see the girl, for it would only sting his eyes and heart to realize that Serenity had a child, most likely with Pegasus!

The frown on Kaiba's face got deeper. He was also angry at himself. He 'kidnapped' Serenity because he wanted to torture her, to make her pay for humiliating him three years ago. But he just couldn't harden his heart from her! That fact frustrated him. He couldn't help but question himself, did he know what he really want with her? Did he really know exactly what he was doing?

Slightly shaking his head, Kaiba decided not to think too much. Thinking too deep and digging into his own heart to find an answer would only cause confusion for himself. The emotions he buried deep down threatened to re-surface if he continues to think. He refused to let that happen! He wanted to keep being cold, heartless, cruel… If he didn't care about others, he wouldn't get hurt also.

Kaiba turned on his laptop. He needed something to do, something to occupy his mind and keep him busy so he would stop thinking about her. He punched a key and one of the airplane pilots was connected to him.

"Yes sir?" The pilot asked politely.

"How long until we reach Domino?" Kaiba asked stoically. He had lost track of time on the plane, all thanks to Serenity! He was too busy pondering about her and his hate for her to the point he didn't keep track of time. That greatly upset him. He always liked to have a feeling that he was in control, including knowing the time and keeping up with his schedule.

"We should arrive in Domino Airport after nine hours, sir. We are still on the Pacific Ocean right now." The pilot answered.

"Good." Kaiba grunted and disconnected from the pilot room. They still had to be stuck on the plane for nine hours… He sighed.

Next, he started typing on the laptop. Several charts popped up on the screen. Mokuba had already sent him the data he wanted earlier from their conversation. He was happy he can always count on Mokuba. After carefully inspecting them, a smirk appeared on his face. Kaiba Corp had been doing great even without him directing in the headquarter.

"Looks like Mokuba is doing a great job at the headquarter. He has the talent of directing a whole large corporation at such a young age, just like me." Kaiba smirked. He didn't have to worry too much about his company then. Kaiba was so proud of his younger brother.

After closing those charts on the screen, Kaiba clicked on a button and got connected to Mokuba's computer back at their mansion. Mokuba's face appeared on the screen.

"Hey Seto." Mokuba said somewhat sullenly. His usually cheerfulness was no where to be seen. He was still a bit unhappy about his conversation with Seto last night, which ended up not so merrily. It was now morning in Domino and Mokuba had just awakened a moment ago.

"Hi Mokuba. Up so early?" Kaiba asked, a bit amused by Mokuba's sleepy looks. His little brother still looks adorable, especially when he just woke up.

"Yea… What makes you call again? Didn't I just talk to you last night?" Confusedly, Mokuba asked with a raised eye brow. He couldn't help but yawned indecorously in front of Kaiba.

"I'm on the airplane right now. I'll be back in Domino after nine hours approximately. Be at the airport on time." Kaiba told his brother.

"What?" Mokuba gasped. The sleepiness in him got chased away completely because of what Kaiba had said. He wasn't expecting his big brother to come back to Domino so soon, since Kaiba never informed him of his plans of coming back before.

"You heard me. I'll be arriving back in Domino in nine hours." Kaiba repeated, a bit annoyed that he had to repeat himself.

Mokuba glanced at the clock and calculated what time he would have to be at the airport. "Fine, I'll be at Domino Airport at five in the afternoon." Mokuba complied. "Can I ask why you decided to come back so suddenly? You're plans are successful?"

"I'll explain everything when I get back." Kaiba announced succinctly. He was in no mood of explaining things to Mokuba.

"Are you alone?" Mokuba asked suspiciously. Knowing his brother, he would think Seto probably got Serenity with him. Seto had spent so much time there in California, he doubt that his big brother would come back empty handed.

"No." Kaiba said while frowning. Mokuba always liked to pry into his thoughts and plans. "I'll see you later then. Bye." Kaiba disconnected without wasting anytime. If not, Mokuba would start 'interrogating' him, trying to get some answers from him.

Closing his eyes, Kaiba sat back into the chair. It had been a long day for him, and he was definitely tired. He almost drifted into dreamland when he suddenly thought of something. His eyes shot opened and he stood up. However, he hesitated before moving towards the door.

For some strange reason, he had the urge to go see that little girl. He didn't even bother looking at her before, why would he suddenly wanted to see her? Besides, he despised that little girl, very much! The only reason being she was Serenity's daughter. So what the hell was he doing?

However, Kaiba's feet moved on its own, taking him into the hallway and approaching his employees posting as guards at another door. The guards, dressed in serious black suits, were surprised to see him.

"Sir!" They saluted together. Giving each other a questioning look. They thought that Kaiba didn't want to see the girl at all from his actions earlier.

Kaiba ignored them and stood in front of the door. Reluctantly, he went into the room, still not happy about why and how he got here. The door closed behind him, and he was alone in the room with the child.

His cerulean eyes scanned the room and spotted the child on the bed, hugging onto a teddy bear. The child seemed to be asleep. No wonder the annoying cries died down a while ago. Kaiba started walking slowly and quietly towards the bed. His hands itched to choke on her little neck, that's how much he hated her existence. The mere thought of Serenity having a child with another man other than him almost drove him crazy.

Kaiba tightened his fists and suppressed his anger. He still couldn't hurt an innocent looking child, no matter how betrayed he felt just by looking at her small frame, let alone that child was Serenity's daughter. She would surely be incredibly sad if he hurts her daughter, even hate him, and that in turn would tear his heart up.

"Enough with all this crazy thoughts!" Kaiba growled at himself. He reminded himself that he no longer cares about Serenity, and that the more she suffers, the happier he would be.

When he got to the bed, he observed little Sapphie's face. Serenity told him the child's name was Sapphie and she was two years old, that much he remembered. Two years old? And she only left three years ago? Damn her! Did she sleep with Pegasus right after she left him? Anger started to boil in Kaiba's head once again.

However, his anger miraculously disappeared as she observed Sapphie's peaceful face in her sleep. Even though he had a quick glance of Sapphie after the accident he caused, he was too angry and too shock to really take a good look at her then. She was so cute! Her auburn hair was just like Serenity's, but only up to her shoulder. Even her features resembled Serenity's in a way. Sapphie looked just like a small copy of Serenity!

"Of course, what do you expect? She's her daughter after all." Kaiba teased at himself bitterly.

It was weird. He couldn't get angry at this little child once he set eyes on her. He could never hurt such a cute, innocent, sweet little girl. He couldn't help but liked Sapphie. It was like she was somehow connected and related to him. Realizing what he was thinking, Kaiba shook his head and turned around. What was he thinking? That was just ridiculous. There was no way this little brat could be related to him.

But then, he turned back and sat down on the bed, quietly observing the child, unable to take his eyes off her. Strange. Once again, Kaiba shook his head to get himself to function normally. He forced himself to look away from her, and then picked her up gently without waking her up. He remembered Serenity wanted to see Sapphie.

Kaiba walked out of the room, and heard his employees gasped once again, not expecting their employer to cradle the girl in his arms. Kaiba ignored them and walked down the passageway to the room Serenity had been in.

"Sir!" The two employees guarding Serenity's room saluted while secretly glancing Kaiba weirdly. One of them opened the door for Kaiba, and closed the door after Kaiba went in.

Softly walking over to Serenity, he saw that she had been asleep. She must have been tired. Kaiba tried to keep his face as stoic as possibly, while suppressing his real feelings he was aware must have existed deep down in his heart.

Kaiba sat down on the bed and put little Sapphie next to Serenity. Subconsciously, his hand found its way onto her face and swiped away some auburn locks from her face to get a clearly look at her. He frowned when he saw traces of tears still on her face. She had been crying. Was it because he had slapped her earlier? Did it hurt a lot? He wiped away her tears with his thumb.

Serenity looked a bit pale. Other than that, she was still as beautiful as he had remembered her to be. His hand found its way to her face and started caressing her face. If Kaiba looked at himself in a mirror, he would have discovered that there was no hate in his eyes, there was only affection and fondness at this moment. Serenity let out a comfortable moan but didn't stir. Her hand also wrapped around Sapphirina protectively once she found Sapphirina, even in her sleep.

Her moan woke him up from la-la land. He quickly took back his hand like he had been burned by fire. Kaiba jolted back up to his feet. He took one last glance at Serenity and Sapphie, and quickly strode towards the door, as if escaping from his biggest fear. He quickly retired back into the room he was in before he went to see Sapphie.

Kaiba mentally kicked himself for what he had been doing. What exactly was he thinking back there? Did his mind ceased to function or something? He should be disgusted at Serenity, not caressing her like she was still his precious treasure. He took a mental note not to go near her again before the plane lands safely in Domino Airport. He also noted that he must not go into la-la land again, ever. He mustn't forget that she had betrayed him and had pushed him into hell three years ago! His words still hold true about making her pay…

It was nine o'clock in the morning. A young man with weird tri-color hair was deep in thought. Yugi Motou sat in the counter in his grandfather's gameshop. He had been helping grandpa out ever since he graduated college last year. Their little gang had dispersed three years ago. Things just seemed so wrong at that time, everything was wrong. Everyone was in some kind of mental turmoil or other types of trouble. It was a depressing time. They still kept in contact every so often, but everyone was pretty much on his or her own.

The gameshop was empty; no one came here to buy stuff in the morning. Usually in the afternoon, the kids and teenagers would drop by after school to check out some of the duel monster's cards. Yugi stared out the window and sighed heavily. How was everyone doing these three years? He certainly wasn't living too happily. He missed Tea so much.

The thought of Tea just got Yugi into a rather depressing mood. The pharaoh left because his duty was completed in an era he doesn't belong. He no longer has to share a body with the pharaoh. But with the pharaoh's departure, Tea no longer smiles. It was apparent that Tea realized she liked the pharaoh much more than him. This knowledge got him depressed. He let Tea go, and hid in this little gameshop to lick his wound on his own. But time doesn't seem to be a good source of healing. His heart still ached when Tea left him. But, he had accepted it, and tried to deal with it.

Yugi's mind drifted back to the last conversation he had with Tea…

---

(flashback)

Tea was sitting at the front steps of the museum. She had liked to linger in the museum almost everyday, missing the pharaoh dearly. Yugi approached her with a sign of pain on his face, but he quickly masked his sadness into cheerfulness.

"Hey Tea!" Yugi pretended to be cheerful. He hated the way Tea was acting ever since the Pharaoh left.

Tea looked up at him, and then lowered her head.

"Cheer up, Tea. It's not that bad…" Yugi tried to bring back some sunlight into her gloomy life.

"It is that bad!" Tea mumbled.

"Tea…" Yugi fidgeted a little. He decided that he had to make Tea realize that the Pharaoh could never return again. He couldn't see Tea all gloomy for the rest of her life. "Listen to me, Tea. You have to accept the fact that the Pharaoh will never return." He said firmly.

"Please, Yugi, don't say that." It was a mere whisper. "I don't believe that. I refuse to believe that!" She shook her head.

"Tea! He doesn't belong in our time! He supposed to be dead for 5,000 years! He doesn't belong here!" Yugi yelled intensely. Jealousy made him loose control over his voice volume.

"Stop it, Yugi!" Tea covered her ears and finally looked at Yugi. He realized that tears had soaked her cheeks. "I don't want to hear that!"

"Let him go, Tea! You have to face the truth sooner or later! You still have me! I love you!" Yugi blurted out. He had a feeling Tea was already out of his grip, and he feared that feeling. He desperately needed to talk Tea out of her sulking.

Tea looked at Yugi with wide eyes. Then, she looked away sadly. "Yugi… I… I can't return your feelings… You're like my best friend, and only a best friend… I'm sorry…" She whispered softly.

Yugi's heart started aching. Was this some kind of joke? The spirit in his millennium puzzle shouldn't have existed, and now Tea gave her heart to that spirit? He knew the Pharaoh had feelings for Tea too, but in the end he still had to leave… Yes, he was jealous, he was angry, but he couldn't hate the Pharaoh or Tea. The Pharaoh had been a really good friend to him, and helped him out a lot of times too. He was angry at fate! How could fate be so cruel to them? Why made two people who weren't suppose to be together fall in love, and then took them apart?

"I understand. I've always known that… but I didn't want to acknowledge it, that's all." Yugi said sullenly.

"Sorry…" Tea apologized. Yugi just nodded and didn't say anything.

After a few minutes of silence, Tea turned to him and told him her decision. "I've decided to go find Professor Hawkins in America… I wanted to learn more about ancient Egypt and the Pharaoh… I hope… somehow… I can get him back…"

Yugi nodded once again. There was nothing else he could do. Even though he believed, reluctantly for Tea's sake, that the Pharaoh probably won't be able to return, but he couldn't tell Tea that. It would only make her more depressed.

"Thanks Yugi, for all your support… I don't know when I'll be back… but keep in touch." She said with a weak smile. Then, she stood up and left…

(end of flashback)

---

Thinking of the last time she saw Tea still throbbed his heart. Yugi slightly shook his head to get rid of his memory. He should focus on organizing some of the duel monster cards that was shipped here last night. Those kids and teenagers would rush in later on like a bunch of bees looking for honey eagerly. Kids these days were still so crazy about duel monsters. Yugi sighed. He started organizing those cards and put them neatly into the glass closets for display.

Other than the whole Tea stuff, Yugi was still himself. He was still kind, gentle, and understanding. However, he made a big mistake while he moped about Tea, the Pharaoh, and himself. He totally forgot about his best friend Joey Wheeler!

He wondered how Joey was doing. He was too busy licking his wounds when Tea left that he forgot all about Joey. And Tea, she was totally immersed in her own sorrow that she too forgot about Joey. Yugi vaguely remembered Joey was having some problems with Mai three years ago, and Serenity disappeared for some reason, fled away from her wedding with Kaiba. He hoped that Joey and Mai's problems were solved.

"I really should visit Joey sometimes." Yugi decided. Guilt started surfacing, accusing him of being such a terrible friend. How could he have left Joey all alone for three years? Why didn't he remember his best friend sooner? If Joey was in some kind of trouble, he should have been by his side!

"Strange… I really haven't seen Joey for three years! And Mai too…" Yugi pondered out loud. "Shit, I have a bad feeling about this…" Rarely, Yugi cursed. Now he was terribly worried about Joey. Joey was always supposed to be cheerful and usually visited him every other day in the past, but he never came for three whole years! Something must have happened. Something bad.

Grandpa Motou walked into the gameshop, interrupting Yugi's thoughts. "Morning Yugi!" Grandpa said happily. He was so glad that Yugi decided to help him run this little gameshop.

"Morning. Say, grandpa… Have you seen Joey recently? I mean for the past three years?" Yugi asked with a worried face.

"Huh? Joey? Joey Wheeler? That tall blonde boy?" Grandpa thought for a while, and then shook his head. "Well, now that you mentioned it… No! I haven't seen him in such a long time! Was it really three years? That long? Wow, time passes so incredibly fast…" Grandpa answered and murmured.

"I'm really worried about him… I should go check him out." Yugi said, about to leave, but Grandpa grabbed his arm.

"Wait, Yugi. These newly shipped cards have to be organized first. Those swarms of kids in the afternoon will crush me if you don't help me out!" Grandpa pleaded.

Yugi frowned. He really had this urge to go check up on Joey. The dreadful feelings that something bad happened to Joey was growing larger and larger in his heart. But grandpa was right. Those kids were crazy, and those cards needed to sort out first. He could visit Joey at night. It wouldn't make too much of a difference, it's only a couple of hours later, not like he had to wait for years. Nothing too bad will happen, Yugi assured himself.

"Okay, grandpa." Yugi complied. The first thing he'll do after those school kids leave would be to rush to Joey's apartment! Hopefully he would still be there...

On a passenger airplane, a young woman was typing on her laptop. She had long yellow hair, and beautiful blue eyes. She was wearing glasses, which made her look more intelligent. Rebecca Hawkins, no longer a little girl, had grown up into a beautiful young woman of eighteen years old. She skipped some years and got into college at an earlier age, and had now graduated from the top university in America.

Now that she's eighteen and graduated college, her grandfather allowed her to come back to Japan. She missed Yugi so much! Yugi was the nicest person she had ever seen. Even after the way she treated him the first time they met, he still forgave her and gave her a card as a sign of friendship. Ever since then, she knew she liked Yugi very, very much! She couldn't wait to see him!

She checked on the small tv screen on the back of the seat in front of her. The time they should arrive in Domino Airport was around four in the afternoon. That means, there were still seven hours of flying before she can rush to see her Yugi! Rebecca was so excited.

Rebecca turned off his laptop and closed it. She looked out the window, and all she saw was clear blue sky and white, cotton-like clouds. One of the clouds far away resembled Yugi's head, with his weird hair, in her mind. Clouds are always the shape of the thing that is on one's mind, and she was no exception. Rebecca let out a joyous sighed. She was still so thrilled about able to see Yugi within hours!

"Rebecca, tell me something about Domino. I've never been there before." The white hair girl next to her suddenly said. She had long, silky, white hair, up to her waist. Her eyes were light blue on the left and light green on the right, very unique. Her skin was extremely white, but not as white as her hair. Her complexion was fair. She gave a soft, gentle, yet unforgettable impression to others.

"Domino?" Rebecca turned from the window and looked at her friend. "Um… there are lots of high buildings, just like New York. The people there are also really busy, like New Yorkers. People are definitely as crazy as Americans about the duel monsters cards and games, if not more crazy!"

"Really?" She smiled, happy to be able to travel outside of America. This was actually her first time flying towards other country!

"Uh-huh. I don't know how to describe Domino… I've been there a long time ago and I didn't stay that long… But you'll see once we arrive there." Rebecca said cheerfully. The smile brightened up her face.

"Sure." The girl said. She picked up the glass of water in front of her and sipped a little of it.

"Claire, I'm so glad you're coming with me! Otherwise I will be alone on this boring plane ride! Too bad Tea can't come with us… She wanted to continue her study of ancient Egypt and hieroglyphics." Rebecca said disappointedly. Tea had been learning eagerly from her grandpa ever since she found them three years ago. Tea never really explained too much about her intentions, but Rebecca guessed it was about the Pharaoh.

"Tea is so hardworking…" Claire Watson murmured. Rebecca had told her about her prediction that Tea was motivated because of the Pharaoh, a spirit in this guy Yugi's millennium puzzle. Claire still doesn't quite get it, but she was interested in Rebecca's guess. The whole millennium items and evil trying to take over the world still sounded somewhat bizarre to her. She had never encountered weird events involving magic. "I want to take a nap, Rebecca." She said.

"Go ahead, Claire." Rebecca said with a smile. She then turned her head and watched the clouds again. She still couldn't believe she'll be in Domino soon… So excited…

Note: That's it for this chapter. It's longer than the previous chapters. How is it?

It's revealed a little the Yugi-Tea-Pharaoh relationship, and then Rebecca coming back to find Yugi. Claire Watson is an OC, I usually don't use OC, but there are more guys than girls in the Yu-Gi-Oh anime. So I decided to create one, if it goes well, who knows what will happen?

If you really don't like OC, I'll consider changing this part of the story. So, remember to review!