Disclaimer: Do people do these anymore? Or is this one of those things from the early 00's that us old folks used? How many times do you think I can pepper in that I'm old in this?

Hey what up peeps!

Though I was dead, didn't you.

So life has changed alot and thanks to a Tumblr friend of mine I got back into Yugioh and while I was going over stuff I was like "You know what girl, you shouldn't be a quitter and just properly finish this story"

So we are going to try.

I'm honestly not even sure if anyone but me cares anymore but this story is like my comfort food. It got me through so much. But looking at all my old notes and documents this cleanup is going to be a whole process -grabs her bucket, mop and gloves-.

Wish me luck!

I'm starting with Chapter 5 Because my notes were as follows:
Because of my lack of time and trying to focus on the novel (Which novel was that?) I am kind of cutting out a lot of stuff from this fic and just putting in the important stuff. So I apologies if some things seem to be a little rushed. Just think of it this way. There are long time gaps between parts… if that makes you feel better and I'll try to make a better time line so it doesn't seem like things are happening the next day and more realistically.

"Um, excuse me, that's our seat." Gwyn looked up from her lunch to see three girls towering over her, arms folded lightly and smiles on their faces. She recognized them. They were what Cam called the Mokuba fanclub. "Sweet as sugar on the outside but as gross as charcoal on the inside," that was Chiharu's saying, of course the charcoal could be substituted for anything she felt was gross at the time. Standing up, Gwyn tried to slink away, mumbling about how she didn't know and how sorry she was. The three girls just laughed and sat down, acting as if she didn't exist.

Gwyn stood there, her script in one hand and her half-eaten sandwich in the other. Looking around, she tried to find a place to sit. Suddenly, someone ran into her causing her to fall and drop her script on the ground.

"Watch it, squirt!" a large red—haired boy yelled, standing up. Gwyn recognized him; he was that same kid who had tortured her all throughout middle school. She couldn't quite remember his name; something like Jay or Jamie. Annoyed, the bully took a step to leave, but just as he did, Gwyn reached out for her script. Her outstretched arm caused the boy to fall again. This time when he stood up, he was livid. Gwyn slunk back, fear written all over her face.

"I said, watch it!" he yelled, sending a flying kick at Gwyn.

"Ow!" Gwyn squeaked as his foot collided with her shoulder. "I…I…"

"Look girly, I know you think you're better than all of us but that doesn't mean you can just go around acting like you can get away with whatever you want. And don't think because I'm a boy I won't hit you." At this last remark he held up his hand. Memories of her uncle flashed though Gwyn's mind as she winced covering her head.

"Leave her ALONE!" Gwyn peeked through her arms to see Mokuba tackle the boy .The girls that had made Gwyn move let out a loud squeal of shock from their bench. Mokuba wrestled the large red-haired boy to the ground. Even if the bully was bigger than Mokuba, Mokuba had many years of trained fighting under his belt. Gwyn wasn't sure what kind of fighting it was, but Mokuba had told her that Seto had made sure his younger brother was well trained. Just in case. The younger Kaiba had never thought it would come to much use, but it was proving to be very helpful right now.

"Get off me, dude."

"Apologize to Gwyn right now or I'm going to ground your face into the floor!" Mokuba hissed as he held the boy pinned to the ground. The boy struggled for a moment causing Mokuba to push his face harder into the linoleum just to prove he meant business.

"She's the one who tripped me, man!"

"That NEVER gives you the right to hit a woman. Apologies NOW!"

"Sorry…"

"Louder, she can't hear you. Oh, and in case you didn't know, her name is GWYN."

"I'm sorry, Gwyn."

"It… it's ok," Gwyn whispered. Her eyes met Mokuba's and the black—haired boy nodded, letting the bully up. The redhead jumped up as if he were a jack in the box. Wiping blood from his nose, he narrowed his eyes at Gwyn, a silent threat on his face that faded away when his eyes met Mokuba's hard ones. Turning, the bully walked quickly away.

Mokuba turned to Gwyn, his fierce expression melting. Gwyn opened her mouth to thank him when someone cut her off.

"WOW! Mokuba that was amazing!" one of the girls cooed, followed closely by her two friends. "Where did you learn to fight like that?"

"Wow, your arms are so strong! I never realized that about you," one of the other girls said as she reached out for his shoulder.

"Really? Let me feel!"

"Oh Mokuba! You are like a knight in shining armor!"

"Where did you learn to fight like that?"

"Are you like a black belt or something?"

Gwyn sighed, yet another perfect opportunity ruined. Oh well, she'd see him back at his house later. She could thank him then, even if it wouldn't be as… in the moment. Turning, she was about to leave when Mokuba spoke.

"Well I wouldn't have had to fight him if you guys would have stepped in."All three girls froze; Gwyn froze in total shock.

"What?" the leader asked, batting her large brown eyes, confusion written all over her face.

"You could have come over and told him to stop, or told him it was an accident. Or maybe if you had let her sit with you none of this would happen."

"We didn't tell her to move! She could have joined us!" one of the other girls said, her voice a few pitches higher than it normally would be.

"So she could be ignored by you like you're doing right now? You guys act like you're my friends but Gwyn is my best friend and you don't even act like she's alive."

"That's not true, we love Gwyn!" the leader pleaded. "She just doesn't hang out with us… we just have different friends. Right, Gwyn!" Everyone turned to Gwyn whose heart—which had been beating so fast it felt like it was going to beat out of her chest—froze over.

"Uhhh, yeah… I guess," she managed to choke out. Honestly, she didn't even know these girls names. She should but in that very moment all she could think of Chiharu's nicknames for them which weren't the most flattering.

"Well, I'm your friend and I'm their friend! Why don't we hang out?" Mokuba demanded, some of the previous fight still coursing through him. Gwyn took a step back in shock, almost felt frightened under his intense gaze. Suddenly she understood what Emi meant about the "Kaiba Stare."

"I didn't think you guys wanted to hang out with me," Gwyn whispered, looking down at her shoes. "You never talk to me."

"Well… uh…"

"Whatever, come on, Gwyn, let's get that arm checked out." Mokuba gently pushed Gwyn away from the flabbergasted girls. Gwyn sent the girls one more look trying to formulate thoughts but it was hard. Should she apologize? Why did she feel like she needed to apologize?

"You didn't have to do that" Gwyn whispered, glancing up at Mokuba, who was staring straight ahead. His look was so fierce, if she hadn't known him better she would have been scared. However, when he looked down at her, it slowly faded away.

"Yes, I did, you're one of my closest friends and I can't believe people treat you that way. It makes me so angry."

"It's really ok, I'm used to it."

"No! It's not ok! I used to get picked on in the orphanage all the time. My brother used to fight guys twice as big as him to protect me."

Images of Emi pushing Mir and herself away from their uncle flashed through Gwyn's mind. You don't forget it when an older sibling puts themselves in harm's way for you. It makes you feel safe, yet very vulnerable. Makes you want to repay them somehow. Let them know those feelings you are having.

That seemed to be a common theme with Gwyn at the moment.

Having a hard time expressing her feelings.

"Thank you."

Mokuba stood there staring at Gwyn, trying to read her. Gwyn felt herself growing hot at his intense gaze. "I will always protect you," he said, more to himself than her. "No matter what."

….

"Hey Ryou, wait up!" It had been at least a week since Mir had her operation, and while she had hung out with Ryou, their conversations had been awkward and short at best. But that was all about to change—if Mir had anything to do with it. As the brunette ran toward him, the boy in question turned, slowing his pace so she could catch up.

"Mir, how are you?"

"The same as I was this morning, how are you doing?"

"Very well."

"No you're not."

"Um, Excuse me?"

Mir took a deep breath; it was now or never. Don't back down girl! "Ryou, what's wrong. Ever since I got out of the hospital you have been… distant." This wasn't really true; he had been growing distant even before the hospital, but Mir decided to just go with whatever came out of her mouth. Never a great plan, but it was all she had at the moment.

Ryou stood there, unsure how to react to her accusations. While he knew she was a smart girl and would have picked up on his fears—if that was what he was calling them—he had hoped she wouldn't. But she had and there were two options he could take:

Tell her the truth and pray she understood.

Deny anything and probably destroy their relationship forever.

Ok, so that last part was a little morbid, but the way their relationship had been going lately, it looked like that would probably be the ending if they continued on this path. Yet both of his options seemed to have a bleak future. Even if she accepted his past, would she be able to live with it? Who would want to be close to someone who had been possessed? Who had been a killer? It just didn't seem fair to make her choose.

"Ryou." Mir's voice brought him out of his thoughts. His brown eyes met her purple ones; there was a determination there and something else, something he couldn't quite pinpoint. "Ryou, when I was young, my mother died giving birth to Gwyn. My father, unable to cope with losing mom, buried himself in his work. He shipped us to his brother's where I spent most of my life until Manon married him. My uncle wasn't equipped to take care of three girls, to say the least, and Manon wasn't much better. I spent most of my life scared of everyone I knew, not trusting anyone. When we moved here, I was used to only being with my sisters and didn't want anyone else in my life." She took a deep breath as if warding off all those past demons that still so obviously haunted her.

"Then I met this guy in one of my classes. At first he was just some guy to pass the dull class time with, but then he started forcing me to go out and meet people. This guy slowly started to become part of my life. Heck, Gwyn considers him her brother." Mir looked away for a moment, trying to gather up the right words. Boy, this was harder than she thought. "Ryou, we all have things we regret in the past. Dark secrets that haunt us. But you are really important to me, Ryou, so no matter what is bothering you, I want to help you with it. I don't care what it is. I just want to help."

She stood here, pleading; she wanted him to trust her. Wanted him to understand that no matter what, she would be at his side. Ryou couldn't breathe; he was hearing everything Mir was saying, but he didn't believe it. All those nightmares of Mir's body laying dead with that…that THING standing over her laughing all came rushing over him. Even the thought made him want to throw up.

Then she took his hand, pulling him back into reality.

"Please, let me in."

Ryou pulled her forward, hugging her, holding on to her for dear life. He wasn't going to lose her like so many others; she was here for good. She was the light he had been missing in his dark lonely world. If Yami had been his demon she was his…

"Angel, you are my Angel."

Mir looked up at him, slightly confused, but glad he was finally talking. She felt her heart beating fast, trying not to breathe lest he lose his nerve and not continue.

"When I have ever gotten close to someone, something horrible happened to them. And with your blindness and, well, everything, I was so worried. But I haven't been fair to you, you deserve to know what happened instead of me just running away."

….

"He said WHAT!"

"That's so cute!"

Gwyn felt her face heating up again at the onslaught of excitement from her two friends. Both girls had been in class during the time of the fight so they missed the action. However, they were dragging every little detail out of Gwyn right now to make up for it.

"GAAAHHH I could kill that Mikal and her bubble-headed minions for being such snotty little B-witches!" Cam suddenly exploded. Both her sister and Gwyn turned in startled surprise.

"Uhmm yes, me too, only not at that decibel," Chiharu said, rubbing her ear in mock pain.

However, Cam wasn't finished expressing herself in that decibel.

"I think we should go set their house on fire and dance around it singing Kumbaya."

"Chill your violent tendencies, sister!"

"Sorry, after all, Mokuba did it for us, basically. MAN, I wish I could have seen their faces when their idol called them out." Cam's whole exterior suddenly changed. She placed her head in her hands and her eyes grew wide. "So he defended you and pretty much professed his undying love!"

Gwyn was certain that her face had gone more shades of red than were humanly possible. "Ahahhh, who said love." Her voice cracked, hitting a pitch even dogs couldn't hear. "Besides, I think he has a girlfriend… or someone he likes."

"WAIT WHAT!" Their simultaneous question made Gwyn laugh. She could almost see a cartoon version of herself crushed by two enlarged heads of her friends.

"Well, a few days ago—when Mokbua was walking me back from practice—some reporter stopped us, asking about some duelist Rebecca and if they were still dating and stuff."

"Wait, you mean that blond girl with the teddy bear?"

Chiharu turned to her sister, completely surprised. "When did you start watching duelist competitions?"

Cam shrugged. "What? It's so popular you have to keep up with the times. 'Sides it makes for good small talk. Plus some of the fans are so crazy it's funny."

Chiharu laughed rolling her eyes. "Well, what does she look like? Blonde could be anything from the lunch lady and her burnt perm to Gwyn and flowing white-golden locks."

"Like a duelist, I'm pretty sure their getups are partly done all crazy like to make the nerds feel better." She proceeded to pull up a picture of the girl on her smart phone showing them as she continued without missing a beat. "So you think Mokuba really likes that crazy-looking little blonde?" A soft scoff came from Chiharu as she took her sister's phone to get a closer look at this girl. "Because there is no way. Do you see her around ever? Nope, so I don't think there is anything going on."

"And have her even seen what she looks like!" Chiharu held up the phone for Gwyn to see. "She's… well… not utterly stunningly beautiful like you." the picture she had chosen wasn't the move flattering of Rebecca.

Gwyn rolled her eyes as she studied the picture, and yes she had seen other images of the girl. After the reporter had asked Mokuba about the girl Gwyn had looked her up -for curiosity's sake no other reason- and she wasn't that bad. Chiharu was obviously exaggerating. Sure, she had that "duelist" look about her, but she wasn't ugly or anything. Besides, she was a famous duelist, basically a celebrity. "You're just saying that because you're my friend."

Chiharu shrugged. "Agree to disagree, but if you are really worried, why don't you just ask him?"

…..

"Are you sure you want me to do this?"

"You continuously asking me that isn't giving me a lot of confidence in the skills you so proudly professed a few hours ago."

Satra laughed as she poured the bleach into a bowl mixing it as Mir sat in a chair in her bathroom. The door was locked to keep out certain younger brothers and co who liked to get into everything. From down the hall Mir couldn't help but hear something that sounded like Lighsaber sounds and boys yelling.

"I wouldn't say continuously asked, I just suggested a few looks and how to maybe do them."

"Well my tips are in your hands."

"If it turns out bad we can just cut it off."

"Oh yes, my confidence is so boosted."

Satra giggled as she started to apply the beach using the foils over them just as the video she had been watching instrusted. "You're going to look hot and Ryou won't be able to his eyes off you, which will be impressive because he's already pretty captivated."

Mir couldn't help but smile at the reflection of her friend as she did her hair. She was glad they could have this girl time together alone and away from everyone else. For all of Satra's silliness she was a pretty good listener always adding her own funny comments to the stories Mir had to tell.

Not to mention if something was really bugging Mir the strawberry blonde seemed to just have a certain presence about her that made it really easy to talk to. Sound off those feelings she was having.

"Yeah speaking of that…"

"Spill to your hairdresser honey."

…..

"Hey, Mokuba…"

"Humm?" Mokuba looked up from his pizza, eyes wide. Gwyn had been unusually quiet today. Not to say she wasn't normally pretty quiet, but today it was an awkward silence unlike the normal peaceful silence that seemed to surround the young blonde girl. No, this was more of that silence that desperately needed to be filled yet no matter how much you tried to fill it seemed to just get worse. Strange how there were so many different kinds of silences.

"Never mind…"

"No! What! Teeeeell meeeee!" Gwyn giggled as Mokuba whined, trying to give her the puppy dog eyes that used to work so well on his brother. The young girl turned away for a moment, consumed by fits of giggles. It was obvious that she was embarrassed about whatever she was about to ask him.

"Don't laugh, ok…"

"Why would I EVER laugh at you?" Gwyn smiled gratefully, her light purple eyes sparking.

"Are you and that Rebecca girl… well…"

"What?"

"Ya know…"

Mokuba just looked at her with a blank stare.

"Going out." It came out barely as a whisper. Gwyen almost wished the couch would swallow her whole. Take her away from this. This was a bad idea. It was so awkward.

"Huh?"

"Well, she is really good at Duel Monsters," Gwyn whispered looking down at her shoes. "And she's smart and pretty and the reporter…"

Mokuba's laughing cut her off. "Oh that! No, see basically a while back I went to a dueling competition convention thingy . Rebecca was there along with some other duelists I knew from past competitions. Contrary to popular belief, the dueling community is pretty small so everyone kind of knows everyone else." He took a deep breath from his monologue to take a sip of his soda.

"Anyway, I had lunch with Rebecca, catching up with her, and some fans got it into their heads that we were an item." Gwyn sat silently, watching him as if he were telling some great epic. He had to admit that was one of the reasons he loved hanging out with Gwyn. Unlike many of the other kids he had met, she always wanted him to talk and show off. And being not only a boy, but a Kaiba, he was always glad to comply.

"It was a huge deal; tickets to see us duel were sold out in like an hour after they went on sale. Some of the spokespeople and other duelists even started to pump it up by giving their own speculations on the match. Everyone wanted to see who would win. Would Mokuba be a gentleman and let his love win or would he let his Kaiba ego get in the way?" Mokuba stood up like an announcer for the last line, using a bread stick as a microphone.

Gwyn watched him in awe as he acted out the scene. It was as if she were there, in the stands watching the great battle unfold before her very eyes.

"Did you win?"

"I almost did, but Rebecca had beaten Yugi Moto once and I was still new to dueling in a competition. I kind of lost my nerve at the end. But after that, everyone thought we were an item."

Gwyn nodded, her mind still taking in all the information. Even if he didn't like Rebecca now didn't mean… "You didn't ever like her back then?"

Mokuba ran his fingers through his hair, laughing. "Naw, she's not my type."

"You have a type?"

He smiled down at her. "Yeah, I guess." This seemed to send Gwyn into deep thought. It had never occurred to her. Having a type. Did she have a type?

"Oh."

"Do you?"

"Huh?"

"Have a type, ya know, like a type of guy you like."

If her type was Mokuba then yes. She had a type. For one person.

"Oh, uhhhhhhh." Gwyn was sure her face was bright red. "I don't think so."

…..

"I want Tamarey fired."

It wasn't out of the normal for the beginning of these head of department meetings with Kaiba demanding someone be fired. He demanded a certain level of perfection at his company .

"Why?" Jance, the head of public affairs, said, standing up. He had been the one who had suggested her being hired and always seemed to be the first to defend her. Something about getting a good public image and stock or something like that. Seto hadn't really cared at the time. After all, he had just planned on firing her once she didn't work out.

"Because she has never worked a day in her life and, frankly, I don't trust her."

There was a long pause as if the whole room was waiting for the punch line of a joke. Jance sighed. If anyone was going to have to answer to this, it was him. He had known that from the beginning of this whole plan -if you could call it that- but what choice did he have?

"Seto, Tamarey… well, you see. Our stock has been slowly going down for a while now."

"And it's your job to keep the image up and put confidence in our stockholders. And it's the job of our stockbrokers to keep things stable otherwise. It is in no way related to Tamarey. And while we're on the matter of stock, I don't see why it is falling. After all, we had never been more productive. With Kaibaland, three new games, and a system about to be launched, now is the time to be warding off stockholders, not trying to bait them!"

Jance rubbed his receding hairline. Here's where his quick talking was needed to save his job. "It's the press. Some female reporter has been going around saying you are just a cold hearted man, and self-absorbed. They are saying because of your one-track mind, you will soon run out of steam. Haven't you seen any of this?"

"You know I don't read any of those tabloids."

Seto stated blankly. No emotion on his face. Jance took this as a sign to go on. "The CEO of Johnson's Electronics just married that actress and it was such a hit their stocks doubled overnight. He was known for saying that 'now I'm married, I have a whole new look on life. I wouldn't trust anyone who wasn't.'"

"So, what you are saying is I should get married?" Seto deadpanned. The whole room held its breath. "Well, if that isn't the stup—"

His storm of insults was cut short by a soft knock and Emi opening the door. Everyone turned and she flushed as she stumbled into the room, clutching the manila envelope as if it would protect her. "Sorry I'm late," she whispered. "They had an emergency at sector 3. So, we are talking about Miss Tamarey?" handing the information Seto had asked her to pull.

It all hit Seto like a tidal wave. So that's why she was there. To marry him. Of course, Tamarey was rich, not very smart, but well-liked in the public eye, a perfect trophy wife. This is what Emi had been trying to ask him about last night. This is what everyone had been hinting about since she had gotten here. Well there was no way Seto Kaiba was going to let ANYONE pretend to make decisions in his life.

"Yes, we are, and I have decided to send her back to her dear old dad. After all, I made my future by taking what was mine, NOT others'."

Emi frowned, completely confused. She had known that Tamarey had been gunning for Seto's fortune, but she had been pretty sure Seto had been oblivious to it all. "Err… Yes, I'll set up the paperwork then. Is there anything else I can get anyone?"

Jance frowned, studying the small blonde that stood next to to his boss. Her blue eyes wide making her look like a deer that had been caught in the headlights. The media executive glanced over at his boss thoughtfully. Was it just him or did his boss seem more at ease when this young woman came in? Whatever the reason, he was sure that it had just saved his job.

For now anyway.

But he was going to have to investigate this.

I'm going to leave the reviews up for the chapters at the end because I love them.

kisaraxseto forever: WOW I inspire YOU to write! –it totally honored- Thank you so much that really means A LOT to me! Truthfully it's people like you that inspire me to keep going! I am so grateful for your support.

Mirai Reiko: I know! YAYA MIR! Of course I couldn't call her life normal but then who's is? I think it's funny you think Satra's remark almost seemed to break the fourth wall because I say that all the time to my roommate. I guess now that I think about it it kind of does… haha :D

It's funny because out of all the relationships Gwyn's is the one I relate to the most so I have the most fun doing it. I guess I was that awkward kid who never knew what to say around the guy I liked and just needed up laughing instead of talking. As for Mir's I think their relationship has pretty much come to it's complete… I don't really want to say end but they are pretty much "official" at this point.

And Emi and Seto… well he's just going to have to do things Seto style and make it more awkward in a nonawkward sort of way –laughs-

Sadly I'm not sure how much I will be able to put in of Satra and Duke, I want to write a fic in Satra's point of view but I might end up doing more of her whole story in the novel version. ANOTHER reason to read(for you)/write(for me) it I guess

greenluvr14: Is 11 pages extra long? I'm working on the outlines and organized the whole story. ALSO would posting the novel version of Red Rose help? I'm glad you enjoyed the last chapter! The pool part is one of my favs!

DaAmazingMeepers: Well let's hope you didn't agonize too much! I'll try not to make these updates a little closer together.

Oh wow! Thank you so much! And it's not that I gave up on it I just needed to finish college. And now that I'm done so YAY!

Mistrelia of the Ice: I totally understand you dropping off the face of the earth. Haha I think it would be sooo funny if I didn't graduate because I tried to finish this story XD

It's funny because I was so close to keeping her eyes like that, but then it's not close to the real story.

It really seemed like something Seto would do so I did it –duah-

I'm totally flattered that you stayed up so late for me! I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed your review.

Tofyuu: I'm SOOO excited for your fic you have no idea! When are you going to post it! I can't wait to see how you write "my girls" your reviews really meant a lot to me! Thank you so much!