"Oh, hello." A girl had entered the room, a maid with auburn hair pinned up and gentle green eyes. She was cradling folded clothes in her arms and smiled sweetly at you. "My name is Shizuka Kawai. You must be Ito Michi."

For the first time since you saw the yakuza at your apartment door, you felt relief in the presence of this woman. She had an aura about her that was like cool rain after a hot day.

Like serenity.

"I've brought some clothes for you. I hope we can get along. Let me know if you need anything. I need to get back to work but I'll be back soon. You can take a bath, there are fresh towels under the sink." Shizuka gave a final smile before leaving you alone.

The attached washroom was small and clean.

You found it funny that the amenities in your new life as a yakuza servant were considerably larger and newer than when you were a free woman in your tiny studio shared with your father.

Not that it was better, per se. Not at all.

You would rather be homeless than be in this situation. At least then, you would have the freedom to change things. But now, you had no choice but to be at Kaiba Seto's beck and call. A cloud hung over your head, filling you with thick tarred fury.

But a part of you clung to the silver linings.

There's a chance I can break free from this.

It helped.

Another silver lining was the hot water that seemed to never end. Pressurized hot water made a pleasurable sting wherever it contacted your skin. The room filled with steam.

You took a long bath, soaking and scrubbing the caked blood off your face and arms, closing your eyes as you began to drift into your memories. The gunshots. The screams. The death.

Finally, the tears began to form. You covered your face and cried.

(ETTY)

Seto Kaiba kept his face as passive as possible as he stared daggers at Pegasus J. Crawford, the foreigner that had begun opening card dens in White Dragon territory. It would be war. This, he swore.

"Now, Kaiba-boy," The man's thick foreigner accent and his deep voice grated on Kaiba's nerves. The man had a penchant for flamboyant suits and expensive red wine.

Tasteless, Kaiba thought.

"There must be a way for us to get along, Kaiba-boy."

They had shared a meal together, privately in the back of one of Crawford's newer restaurants.

"I don't like sharing, Crawford. Especially with gaijin who know little of our customs."

Despite his open rudeness, this only resulted in Pegasus laughing. He went to take a leisurely sip of his wine. "Ah, I know we will have a marvelous time, Kaiba-boy. For you see, you can hiss and growl all you want. But unlike you, I have legitimacy behind my business. My wealth far exceeds your little empire. You, on the other hand, will continue to scurry in the dark. Desperate to survive. So I offer an alliance." Pegasus snapped his fingers and his bodyguard, Bakura Ryou, appeared with a briefcase. The pale man wordlessly placed the briefcase and opened it, turning to reveal a significant amount of cash. "In exchange for allowing me to continue offering my own tournaments in Domino, I will pay tribute to your clan. Weekly."

Kaiba raised an eyebrow, begrudgingly impressed. He nodded, a new plan forming. For now, perhaps he'd let the foreigner believe they were friends. Collect payment for a period of time. Not only would it result in higher profit, but it would put Crawford into a sense of ease. It would make it easier to destroy him that way. "Perhaps we can mutually benefit."

"See? I knew you'd see the light!" Pegasus' already positive mood had significantly improved. "I'm sure you'll learn to trust me soon enough."

Doubtful.

"Big brother!" Mokuba's voice had him turn, concerned. Mokuba knew better than to disturb him unless absolutely necessary.

When he saw the red stain on his white shirt, he rose to his feet. "Excuse me, Mister Crawford, we will have to finish this discussion at a later date." Crawford nodded to Bakura, who secured the silver case and handed it to Kaiba respectfully.

Taking his funds, he turned to leave the restaurant.

The air was cool that early morning. The sun was just about to rise.

Clouds blocked the sun, threatening rain.

"Mokuba. What happened?"

He cupped his only blood relative's face, scanning every inch of him for harm. His little brother's lower lip was trembling but his eyes remained hard. Strong.

"Mutou's place was hit."

"By who?"

"...I shouldn't have killed him. I should have kept the bastard alive." There were tears forming in his eyes.

"Mokuba," Kaiba squatted to be eye level with the boy he had raised since their parents were murdered. "Look at me." Those purple irises had grown colder every time he looked into them. It broke his heart to watch him become a man so soon. "You know I will never let anything bad happen to you. I've kept my promise, all these years."

Mokuba sniffed and nodded. "Yeah. I know."

"So tell me. I'll take care of it. Who sent the hit?"

"Gozaburo."

That name.

That name cut through him so suddenly that it took several raindrops tapping his nose to break his trance. "Let's go home."

As they rode, the rain began to come down thick and hard. It was going to be a violent typhoon. "Start from the beginning."

"Went to get food. Roland and that new girl were with us. It was just a typical Friday night. Business looked good. Anzu had just served us food. And I guess that's how they got in."

"Where was entrance security?"

"Dead when I checked. It was just one guy but he took out both Tanaka and Ikeda."

Kaiba breathed out of his nose. They had been the newest initiates. Young. He checked his watch, noting it was four in the morning. "We'll visit their families first thing at sunset. We'll bring them money. And pay for the funeral fees. Then what happened?"

"The bastard must have waited until Anzu was with us. And then just opened fire. I think it was a message. There was no way he would take us all out. He's playing with us. This is totally what Gozaburo would have done."

He didn't want to believe it. The image of the old man, eyes glazed and staring up at the sky as blood puddled around his cracked skull was as fresh as though he was looking at the scene for the first time. He had seen the fucker's body.

He had seen Gozaburo Kaiba bleed out before they left him to rot.

He had been dead.

"We have no evidence," Kaiba stated, "It's probably some loyalists who are stirring trouble. We'll increase security. Be ready for any future problems. Mokuba, have two of our most trusted men with you at all times. Do you hear me?"

Mokuba nodded. "Yes. You too, Seto. I'll put word on the street. Anyone hears about Gozaburo, we'll know."

Kaiba nodded. "Good. For now, all we can do is wait. The next time one of Gozaburo's men dares cross our path, we'll keep him alive. We'll get our answers."

Lightning flashed, blinding and white. He thought of Ito. He had originally found the whole situation a nuisance. Jounouchi had lent her father an unreasonable amount of money, not expecting the layabout to simply run.

He would have to deal with the dog later.

He didn't particularly enjoy debt collecting, especially when relatives were obligated to repay. He normally left collections to lesser footmen. But that amount, he felt an obligation to personally retrieve.

Ito Michi had surprised him with her noticeable quick thinking under a tense situation. She recognized he valued money and used it. He recognized a survivor. A woman with a brain.

And with the skill to back it up.

He considered her capabilities.

He wanted to push her. To see the extent of what she could accomplish. Perhaps, she'd be a worthy weapon to keep on his payroll.