Natori hadn't taken two more steps before she suddenly halted.

Kasumi looked back at her. "Tori? What's wrong?"

Natori's eyes were gazing at the ground, but Kasumi knew that wasn't what she was focused on.

"Mokuba…"

Natori suddenly began to sprint down the forest path. Rage clouded her mind, and she could feel her skin heating as she charged through the forest. Kasumi and the others were running behind her, trying to catch up but it was futile. The enraged girl was not human, of course they wouldn't be able to catch up to her. Natori suddenly let out a blood curdling scream. She hit the ground, and gasped as her body began convulsing.

"Tori!" Both Kasumi and Yugi screamed as they ran faster. They reached Natori before anyone else did.

Kasumi knew full well what was taking place. Natori's family would be here soon. This wasn't something humans needed to witness. "Go! I'll stay here."

"I am not leaving her!" The deeper voice of Yami insisted.

Kasumi glared at him. "She was sprinting to stop whatever is happening to Mokuba! Get going!"

Natori's back arched as she let out another scream. Yami looked conflicted, but he, along with his group, did as Kasumi had said.

When they got there, Yami and the others gasped. One of Pegasus's guards was standing by a duel arena. He held Mokuba off of the ground by his neck. Yami understood Kasumi then. Natori could feel Mokuba's distress, and that's why she was sprinting.

"Get… Him… Off of me…!" Mokuba ground out.

"Put him down. Now." Yami growled.

The guard chuckled. "I might consider it… If you beat my friend here in a duel," the group looked over to the arena, and they noticed someone standing there. It was Kaiba! But something was off… "He met an unfortunate end earlier today, but he came back just for you."

"No!" Mokuba called out.

Yami's eyes narrowed. He would win this duel. He could hear Natori's screams from within the forest. His heart clenched at the thought of her being in pain. He didn't know what was going on, but he would finish this quickly, and then go to her.

Hours later and the duel was almost over. Yami wasn't surprised. This person might have Kaiba's likeness, but he didn't possess Kaiba's dueling skills. The duel was in Yami's favor. A powerful aura filled the area then. Yami had to focus on the duel, but he knew it was someone in Natori's family that was approaching them. Heat warmed his back as the person closed the distance.

"Whoa! Tori!? What's that all over your body!?" Joey asked.

"The markings of my family Joey. I've awakened."

Yami looked over at his friends, and his eyes widened at Natori. A black rose bloomed on her left cheek, and black henna raced up from her wrists to her shoulders. Green vines adorned her thighs, and black roses bloomed from each interception the vines made. Her arms were crossed, and her face was a mask of seriousness. Kasumi stood by her. She turned towards the guard holding Mokuba, and growled savagely. She went to walk over to them, but she stopped at the sound of Yami's voice.

"I'm dueling for his freedom now Tori."

Natori tilted her head. "I see… Ok."

"Tori! Sumi!" Mokuba called.

Both girls gazed at the boy, and Natori's angry growls increased in volume. Her eyes flashed a dangerous red. "I'll be sure to rip your limbs from your torso."

Kasumi turned to her. "Tori stop. I can't quell your aura anymore. If you go berserk, you might harm everyone here. Papa Kiko told you that."

Natori ran her hand over her face with a sigh. Kasumi was right, she knew. But in the end, nobody fucked with Mokuba. It was something everyone who knew her understood. "Fine." She said, smirking. "But when, and I do mean when, I catch you alone… I'm fucking you up."

Kasumi giggled. "As long as no one is around except for me."

"We can tag team him."

"I'm definitely down for that."

The clash on the arena had stopped their conversation, and both girls turned to see the Kaiba imposter sneering in rage.

Kasumi growled. "Pegasus has me so fucked up! Who the hell is this!? What the hell is this!?"

Natori crossed her arms. "A really bad imitation of Kaiba. I hope he puts hands on Pegasus."

Kasumi giggled. "Over Mokuba? He might."

Natori focused on the duel. "So… A direct attack to his life points right?"

"Yeah, he looks mad as hell."

As the duel went on, both girls focused on the duel. It wasn't too much longer before Yami was the victor. They turned to the guard holding Mokuba, only to find them gone. A low growl emitted from Natori's lips, and the entire area began to heat. Her eyes swirled a dangerous red, and she began stalking in the direction they had left in. Having awakened, she was able to track a person's scent trail.

"Tori! Tori no!" Kasumi called after her.

Natori stopped and turned to her. She cocked her head to the side with a bashful giggle. "No? Forgive me for not being familiar with the term…"

"Tori please don't lose your temper. You know what papa Kiko told you."

Natori's eyes narrowed. "No! I've given this path far too much of my time!"

With that, Natori took off in their direction. A feeling of dread went through both Yami and Yugi. Something wasn't right. Why would Pegasus risk his only bargaining piece for Kaiba? What was he trying to accomplish?

"I have a bad feeling about this." Yugi commented in his spirit form beside Yami.

"So do I," Yami mentally responded. "Something tells me that Mokuba being here was no spur of the moment decision."

'Be on guard. The bastard has it in for us now.'

Natori had said that during the entrance ceremony. Natori wasn't as rational as her other friends. She was fire personified, and had no problem shooting first and asking questions later. Everyone knew that Natori loved Mokuba like he was her own, and for him, she threw caution to the wind.

"Dammit!" Yami cursed as he suddenly took off in the direction Natori had gone. His sudden outburst was enough to have the others running after him.

Natori tore through the forest with a vicious rage. Nothing else mattered. She needed to get to Mokuba. Something pinched her neck, but she brushed it off as she continued sprinting. Once the forest path cleared, she found herself at the dock. The guard and Mokuba were standing there, and she raced forward with every intention of killing the guard and cradling Mokuba. She was just about to slash the guard before her body suddenly numbed. She collapsed to the ground for the second time that day. The guard's scared expression melted into a smirk, and Mokuba's eyes widened. Natori stared wide eyed at the guard's feet. She was still conscious, but her body was unresponsive. Tears brimmed her eyes, and spilled down her blank face. She felt multiple auras coming towards her, and someone lifted her into his arms.

"Tori!" A voice called.

The person holding her turned towards the disturbance. Yugi and the others had come running, but they stopped at the sight. Kasumi looked to Natori, and her own eyes watered at how defenseless she was. Natori's eyes alone told her not to move, but what happened earlier became all too clear.

The flames around Natori had just burned away, and her family gathered around to hug her happily. Kasumi clapped happily, and then looked to see Pyro rubbing his neck.

"Hm? Uncle Roro? What happened?"

Pyro pulled Kasumi into his arms and rested his chin on her head. "Something pinched me that's all. It felt like it was a mosquito or something."

It wasn't a mosquito. Pyro had been hit by an empty needle. It collected his DNA, and when brought back to Pegasus, he had his scientists prepare a serum that would incapacitate Natori.

The guard holding Natori laughed. "A little too late! Your friend is mine."

A scared hic left Natori's lips, and Kasumi rushed forward with an inhuman scream. Both Yugi and Joey grabbed her, pulling her back. Both boys knew that while Natori was panicking, she would be in an even worse predicament if Kasumi was taken too.

Kasumi struggled. "No! Let go!"

"Sumi listen to me!" Yami told her. "Tori would never want you to be in this situation! We need you if we're going to get her back!"

Kasumi's struggles stopped, and she watched as they took both her best friend and little brother away. Once they were gone, the river of emotion broke. Kasumi's scream tore Yami's heart to pieces. She sounded so broken hearted. The raw emotion in that one sound shook the group to their collective core. Kasumi fell to her knees, and her entire body shook with her sobs. Yami could hear Yugi's sniffles as well, and his heart went out to the both of them. He knew how much both Yugi and Kasumi cherished Natori. He cherished her as well! A gust of wind swirled around, and both Jeremiah and Akiko stood before them. Standing side by side, the group could see the contrast between father and son. However, they also saw the similarities between them. Although Akiko didn't have Jeremiah's hair and eye color, they could see the son possessed a lot of the father's features, save for Jeremiah's signature freckles. Their mannerisms were similar as well. Both men had their arms crossed, and the rage they felt was clearly evident by their faces. Jeremiah's eyes were burnt orange, and Akiko's eyes were black. Kasumi's forehead touched the ground before them. "Second heir Jeremiah and third prince Akiko… I a-apologize f-for letting our crown jewel slip from my grasp… Please, allow me to redeem myself by returning her into your arms…"

Jeremiah tilted his head. "This path you have chosen is beneath me. Allowing harm to befall the crown jewel is punishable by death…"

Kasumi's trembling worsened.

"Wait… They're gonna kill her!?" Teá exclaimed.

"Be quiet," Yami told her. "We have no say in this."

"But-"

"Teá." Yami interrupted. "You do not want to interfere. Trust me I know. This is not an affair that humans would understand. They have their own laws, and interrupting a trial is punishable by death. If you value your life, be quiet."

Teá went silent, and Yami turned back to the trio. Both men had been watching the exchange, and they nodded. Yami nodded back.

Akiko smiled. "However, we know that our crown jewel is sometimes too passionate for her own good. It is why her infinity is truly fire. We know how much you love her and we know it is hard to protect her. Even more so now that she has awakened. We love you as well Sumi, and we would never hurt you. But we cannot afford to let you continue on this path. After we retrieve Natori, you both will return home."

"But-!"

"No buts Kasumi. This has gone too far."

"If I may…" Yami spoke up, stepping forward.

Kasumi, who had sat up, turned to Yami in a panic. Akiko and Jeremiah looked to him, and their silence gave him the confirmation he needed.

"Both Natori and Kasumi have been major assets to this journey up to this point. Would it not be robbing the both of them of the honor of seeing this through to the end? Should not all warriors see the battle through its completion? Surely you agree, as you are both quite accomplished warriors."

Both Jeremiah and Akiko smirked. They looked at each other, and then faced Yami fully.

"Our crown jewel has only just awakened. She doesn't have any experience fighting wars." Jeremiah told him.

"Not conscious experience no. But my crown jewel has experience fighting in general, and she's very much formidable. How can my crown jewel regain the experience needed if her overprotective family doesn't allow her to experience such things as crisis? How will she relearn what to do if she gets into this situation again and no one can save her immediately?"

Akiko stepped forward. "Will you take responsibility then? If you are unable to retrieve her within the allotted time, we shall take over. After retrieving our crown jewel and dealing with the stain that dared to take her in the first place, we will deal with you. You do understand what that means correct?"

Yami nodded, and took a knee before them. "I understand. How long do we have?"

Akiko looked to Jeremiah, who lifted three fingers. He turned back to Yami. "You have 3 days. If she is not retrieved within three days, you die."

Yami nodded. He needed to act quickly. If he wanted to save both himself and Natori, he needed a plan, and he needed one soon.

Jeremiah suddenly closed the distance between himself and Yami. Kneeling, he placed both hands on Yami's shoulders. "Use your love for her as your strength. In times like this, love conquers all."