A/N: I am so sorry for this late update and I really am thankful for the those who reviewed the last chapter. I have been busy with school and was attacked by writer's block. Here is the next chapter.

Feedbacks and critiques will be appreciated

Summary: Seto and Mokuba go through a harsh life after having lost their real parents and ended up in the orphanage. After winning a chess match, they were adopted. Unfortunately, their father was of the cruel type.

One day he meets a little girl in the gardens. He seemed to be calm and wanted to be with her. But then she left and he never got to know her name! Up until to this day, he wonders who she is. The only clue he has is her necklace and that her passion was dancing. Then one day, a man introduces her daughter to Seto. Could she be the girl from his past? Or will he move on?

Disclaimer: I do not own the show.

Chapter 4:

Preparation

"Finally! I'm done!" Rose exclaimed, literally dumping herself on her bed, sighing in exhaustion. She had just finished unpacking and organizing her things. After returning her like her brother had wanted her too, she found out it was only because he had volunteered to monitor the arrangements for tomorrow. Annoyed as she sat up, she mumbled, "You could have just called me…"

Another sigh, a heavy one escaped her lips, her shoulders curled as she took a few moments to catch her breath before proceeding to go over her clothes. Since she was already home, she just changed into a sweatshirt and pants of the same material. Then her things were already brought up and decided to unpack to kill some time.

"Alright then, just the closet then I'm done!"

With that, she rolled up her sleeves then walked over to the suitcases filled with the said possessions of hers, humming softly to herself as she does so.

Rose was very excited, especially since she was able to meet some very nice people earlier, but she did feel guilty for letting Joey treat her, especially since, considering the status of their family, she would have paid for herself. Unfortunately, she didn't have the heart to refuse and so let him be, but at the party she was going to return the favor.

"Oops…I hope they will keep in mind that formal attire required…" she paused at this sudden realization. To her dismay, she has no way of contacting them to check whether they were aware of it or not. But then, an idea struck her, causing her to snap her fingers. "Ah! Just in case, I better go over to Mr. Lee."

Abandoning her still packed clothes for now, she rushed out of her room to look for the head butler, peeking in the rooms to see if he was there, but so far hasn't spotted him. "I wonder where he is…"

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"What do you think of this one?" Tea asked, holding up rather girly figurine, too girly for the three males who were with her. Tilting her head a bit to the side, she asked, "Hello? Are you even paying attention?"

Tristan shifted uneasily, and then began to nervously scratch his chin. "Um…do you really have to ask us th-OW!" His best friend, Joey had just jabbed him in the side with his elbow then hissed the words, "Keep quiet!", as it would only anger the girl in front of them.

Besides them, Yugi only shook his head lightly, but it was really hopeless in them being the ones to give their opinions on what a girl would want for her birthday. Bravely, he said, "The thing is, we hardly know her, so it's kind of difficult to choose a gift for someone we just met."

This made Tea understand what they were trying to tell her. Although for women it was different as they were far more sensitive when it comes to deciphering the taste of another woman.

"Fine, I give up. You three can go off somewhere else and I'll take care of the gift." She finally said after pausing and returned the object to its place on the shelf. Then she took out the invitation from Rose, opening it and started to read the details. "But all of have something to wear for this formal party?"

All of them paused and stared at her, before starting to ponder on this question.

"Well, I think I do have something…" Joey thought aloud, folding his arms across his chest.

"Anyway Tea, just go and look for the gift while we worry about what to wear." Tristan said, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder before whirling around to his two companions. "Come on; let's see if we can get our hands on some fancy outfits."

Not bothering to wait for their replies, he took them by the arms and started to drag them towards the 'Men's Section'. Joey flailing and whining as he didn't need someone to walk and while Yugi just complied.

Watching them only made her groan. "They're going to be in trouble if they don't find something decent to wear."

Then returned to browsing and searching for the gift that Rose would love and she already has an idea on what would make her happy. Earlier, she had noticed her earrings, in the form of roses and her name seems to justify the fact that it really is her favorite flower. Problem is, it is quite possible she already has enough things that stick to that theme. Another thing she noticed was that the lady was into fashion, judging from her outfit earlier.

"Huh?"

Something had just caught her eye. Without much thought she walked over to it then began to inspect the object.

"It's perfect…"

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Seto just sat there, musing as he stared out the window, mind still wondering where this 'missing' childhood friend was. All these years, he has been searching for her, never wanting to forget about her as it was that little girl who encouraged him to go after his dream. He did, but they made a promise. To tell each other that it was fulfilled. Except, he has yet to find her, locate her and bring her the news that he has completely taken over his and his brother's father's company.

This concern of his, the fact that he was to attend an event arranged by one of his partners, the two were causing him a slight headache and so closed his eyes. Leaning back, he tried to clear his mind for a moment then instead went over to what he and Mokuba had done today.

After that clumsy girl almost running over him, both of them continued going over the stores until finally he grew tired of it all and instead decided to give something from the company itself as a present. Mokuba complied as he didn't want to argue with his precious sibling and so they returned.

Speaking of which, he wonders where the boy went off to as it's already been two hours since he left Seto to recollect his thoughts. "Must be preparing the gift…"

Shifting in his chair turned to the huge screen of the computer he uses for work. Hands folded her rested his chin on them as he scanned the results of his search attempt for the girl. Nothing came up again, just like his past attempts. It was as though she had never existed but there was the fact that the population is exceedingly large.

Even though many would say in a situation like this to just give up and move on. He cannot. As to him this promise he made is very important. Mokuba agrees as they too made one with each other and know the importance of it. For several nights, her face appears when he closes his eyes, her movements still captivating to him, the smile warming his heart.

If only, he had a picture, one of when she was young.

Unfortunately, the records of the clients his father was meeting with on that very day were lost. So, he doesn't know which name she goes by and which man fathered her. A few minutes passed before he finally made up his mind to just leave this until later. As tomorrow he was expected to arrive at the mansion of Mr. Tenshi a bit earlier as they needed to discuss a few matters related to their latest project.

Sitting straight, he began to type, but this time he wasn't going to work on his search but on the information needed for his little conference with Mr. Tenshi as he also needed some rest from all this work for he plans to retire early for the night.

Mokuba, who had been watching his big brother all this time from the slightly opened door, was rather worried. He wasn't sure how long Seto tends to keep up with this frantic hunt of his for one girl, but he knows that he won't stop unless he does pinpoint her whereabouts. Seeing as his brother had started working on something that involved their company, he left him alone to concentrate.

Ever since he was told of the mission in locating this person, he had sworn to himself that no matter what, he will always be by his brother's side and help him find her. Another promise made between them.

He pulled out the precious picture kept in the flat bronze case that was on the string tied around his neck. Opening it with a soft 'click', he stared at the picture of his brother, when he was still young then closed it and whispered to himself, "Don't worry, we'll find her…"

Unknown to him, the image of the girl just wouldn't stop invading Seto's thoughts, slowing him down as he went over the documents needed for tomorrow and finally stopped, pausing to regain his thoughts before continuing. Seems like she wants me to find her…

Why else would she keep on haunting his mind? Appearing in his dreams – although she hardly does now – and looking as though she was calling out to him, trying to tell him where she is. Once he has regained his concentration, setting her aside for the moment, he went on with his work, intent on finishing this project.

Patience…I'll find…you…

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"Why am I to be in-charge of Rose's party?" Kuro asked, standing in front of his father who was seated behind his desk, going over some files. Nobody knows that he had read them earlier, which is good as it would most likely anger the old man if he found out that his son had been trespassing.

When he stepped in the office, he was told right away to call Rose home and let her know that he will be the one to make sure that everything will be in order, only to be glared at as it seems that she was enjoying herself before he had interrupted. It occurred to him that his younger sister must have been in the middle of shopping like all girls love to do and so left it at that.

"Because you're her brother," Gaika, their father replied, not taking his eyes off the papers in his hands. "And of course, you would want her to be happy."

"She's only going to turn fifteen." Kuro pointed out.

This made Gaika look up from his work, understanding that to Kuro, her birthday wasn't that important to her as he had been with her most of these years – which is the point as it has been a long time since he had seen his own daughter – and so was confounded as to why he was assigned to this task of keeping an eye on things.

"Not only has it been years since I've seen her, but I'm a very busy man." He explained in a firm voice, and then started to sign a few papers. He heard Kuro groaned but ignored it.

He hasn't changed at all… Kuro thought to himself, and took a seat at the nearest armchair, watching as his father just reads and signs those documents. Eventually, he will be doing the same routine as well, repeating it day after day.

Bet Rose is having more fun than I am…

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After entering and exiting several rooms, she was getting rather perplexed as she is unable to find the kind butler. Odd, usually at this time he would be making his rounds, checking to see if there was anything to be done. Standing there in the hallway, scratching her head, she tried to think of a way to solve this problem.

Then a maid left one of the rooms, carrying some fresh towels in her arms. As she can't find the butler, she will have to turn to the other staff members.

Rose went over to her and said with a sweet smile on her face, "Maria! Are you busy?"

The uniformed lady stopped, greeting her mistress with smiled kindly as she did a curtsy, but Rose waved it off as she wasn't really comfortable whenever she was treated this way. Rose patted her shoulder and said, "You don't have to do that again."

"Dear me, you have grown Ms. Rose." Maria complimented, bringing a hand to her mouth as she took in the lady's appearance. Despite her home clothes, she indeed matured a lot since she was here. "And no, I'm not busy at the moment. Is there anything you need?"

"Actually I was looking for Mr. Lee but I can't seem to find him…"

"Oh, I believe he is out at the moment. I think he mentioned something about visiting the flower shops." Maria replied then started to go to the other rooms with Rose following her, like she used to when she was young.

"I see…" Rose replied softly then sat down as she watches the middle-aged woman start cleaning up the room.

The maid noticed that she looked a bit disappointed, meaning that she had been meaning to do something she was planning to do. As she smoothens the bedspreads, she said, "Don't worry, I can help you if you want."

"Can you really? I'm so relieved!" Rose exclaimed, perked up by Maria's offer, even though it was common that maids were to aid their masters and mistresses no matter what. "Because I was worried as I invited four people who I just met today, and I was concerned that they might not have anything to wear for to-"

"Oh? You made some new friends? That sounds wonderful!"

Rose nodded and continued, tucking some strands of hair behind her ears as she didn't tie it up this time, "Yes, all of them are nice and one of them even treated me to some food."

"Really? Then you'll have to thank this person then as it wasn't necessary for them to pay for you." Maria commented, now dusting the tables and the objects resting on its surfaces.

"That's why I feel a bit indicted as I could have used my own money…"

"Wait, how did this person end up buying food for you anyway?"

It was then Rose realized that she forgot to mention how she met these people. "Oh! Well, one of them bumped into me, and my sunglasses broke and he felt so ashamed that he wanted to do something to apologize."

Maria smiled warmly at Rose, holding one of the lamps in her hand as she wipes the table. "And knowing you Ms. Rose, you couldn't refuse his offer?"

She nodded, shifting on the chair, so that she was in an Indian sitting position and said, "So I was wondering how I can return the favor aside from allowing them to come here tomorrow night…"

"Hmmm…" Maria thought as she started on wiping the other wooden furniture, trying to think of something that would give Rose an idea on how to thank them. "Since they're coming here for the party, why not ask them yourself if there was anything they would like to have or do? Then again, isn't inviting them here enough? As it's not everyday for people like them to be invited to lavish parties like the one that's going to be held tomorrow."

"You're right…" Rose said softly, a finger on her chin as she started to think about this more carefully. Liking the idea that they would indeed be delighted to be given this chance to attend her rather large home, despite the fact that had only met, still to them it was kind of her to invite them right then and there. "Then I'll do that! By the way, how's your son?"

At the mention of her young child, Maria paused while puffing the pillows, her face softening at Rose's initiative to check up on her family. "Same as always and it seems that he's going to be in the engineer business like his father."

"How cute! So it means that he's looking up to his dad?" Rose asked, leaning forward but not enough to make her fall of the armchair, hands firmly pressed against her ankles. "And it also means that he plans to take over the shop?"

Soon, everything else was forgotten as Maria updated Rose on what has been happening in her personal life and some interesting events that had taken placed here in the mansion while she was overseas.

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"Thank you very much. Please deliver these bouquets to this address at the exact time." Mr. Lee said to the shopkeeper, handing him the small white card with the details written on it, who bowed to him and went off to record this information.

The aged butler stepped out of the shop, only to find that the driver seemed to have decided to walk a bit and so was left with the choice of having to wait.

"Fancy meeting you here." The voice came from his right, making him turn to find a familiar face.

"Good afternoon Mr. Takahashi." Mr. Lee nodded, and gave him a small bow.

A tall lean man, dressed in a white button-up shirt with a blazer thrown over his shoulders, with slacks on his legs stepped up to the butler. His hair of the same color as of the red glow one would see in burning coal, stopping just above his shoulders. Eyes of the same hue, such piercing eyes full of mystery. His name is Hiro Takahashi.

"Hm? You're alone today? Where is the young lady?" Hiro asked, smirking and his eyes twinkling in amusement as she buried his hands in the pockets of his pants. "I heard that she has returned."

"My, I guess word of her arrival has spread faster than I expected." Mr. Lee replied, genuinely surprised but calm at the same time. "No worries, you will meet her tomorrow night."

Hiro let out a heavy sigh at this, shoulder slumping as he said, "But I was planning to stop by right now."

This caught Lee's attention and saw looked at him, perplexed by this man's plans. Nobody has informed him of anybody with the intention of visiting the mansion today of all days. "I see, but I'm afraid to say that it would be best to let Ms. Rose and Mr. Kuro rest first as tomorrow will be a busy day for the both of them."

Hiro just shrugged, but was amused when her brother was mentioned, his lips curved into a smirk. "So, he has returned as well? Too bad, it will be harder for me to meet Rose then except he can't stop me from doing so."

"Of course, as I believe you are aware of all that is happened between your father and my master?" Lee questioned, peering closely at the man, but Hiro's eyes refused to give him hints of its owner's thoughts.

"You're asking me that question? I was told everything that they had planned but does she know?"

For a moment, the butler kept silent, as the truth is, Rose knows nothing of her father's plans, that the party is not just being celebrated in honor of her birthday, but there was more. After going over these thoughts, he spotted the driver hastily going back to his place behind the wheel and said, "My master shall reveal everything to her at the party. Now if you'll excuse me, I must be off. Good day to you Mr. Takahashi."

With that, he gave Hiro a curt nod and brushed past him, stepping into the vehicle and was off. Standing there, Hiro watched as the car drove down the road, the smile still plastered on his lips. Allowing his body to tilt in such a way that his hip was pointing to one side while his torso casually leans to the other, not at all surprised that the news has yet to be announced.

Interesting, I'm looking forward to the party…