Wow…almost 5 years since I've updated this. I just want to apologize profusely first off. I am so sorry it's taken so long to come back to this. Life has truly gotten in the way. As a Social Work major who has had to write papers all the time, it takes a lot for me to be able to write for enjoyment. I'd really appreciate some forgiveness in this regard. I love all of you who follow this poor, neglected story. If you have any suggestions or comments, please leave them in a review or feel free to PM me. 3

"Elemental Heroes? Cyber Dragons? You want me to create these new card types for what again Kaiba-boy?"

"A Duelist Academy, Mr. Pegasus. A place where duelists from all over the world can come and learn about this thing that has become so important to so many people." A soft, mature female voice says matter-of-factly.

"Mmn, and your name is?" His smooth voice left no room for amusement as he eyed the blue-haired female sitting beside 'Kaiba-boy'.

"Kaida Yuki, sir. You can call me Yuki, though. It becomes confusing to people who call Seto by his last name when I use the name Kaida." She sighed softly as her head cocked to the side slightly in exasperation. She'd considered changing her name more than once after realizing how many people around Seto called him Kaiba.

"And what might your role be in all of this Miss... Yuki?" Pegasus shifted his position as he spoke, clearly interested in the topic at hand.

"I am the architect that will be designing and building the academy."

"It was originally Yuki's idea," Kaida watched as Seto crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair, continuing, "She brought the idea to me some time ago and, as opposed to it as I was at the time, insisted on you creating new cards as a metaphorical ribbon cutting during the announcement."

"Duel Monsters has become such an important thing here, to the point where being proficient in the game could very well earn you a lot of money. But the academy will be more than just simply teaching the game. It will offer classes in Duel Monsters technology, history, and much more. This will give the students that are not very good at the game another outlet to further their future." Yuki leaned forward excitedly placing her hands on the silver haired man's desk and standing slightly as she explained her vision, "it will be like university, or private school. They will live on campus, work when they can, and have a wide range of possibilities for after they graduate. This will give you and Seto the chance to pick top students to work for you, to further your companies!" She was unaware just how intense she had become while speaking until her attention fell to her ragged breathing. A blush crept to her cheeks as she dropped her head slightly in embarrassment while sitting back down.

"R-right. As Yuki said, this will give us a new, fresh work force so as to continue our companies, giving you new card ideas and myself new technological advancements." Pegasus crossed his arms as Kaiba spoke, seemingly taking the request seriously.

"I will continue to think this over and contact you at a later date. I request the information on the building schematics as well as a few card concepts within the next few days. I will provide a few concepts myself, if I accept your proposal." Pegasus stood and extended his hand in a professional manner, meeting Seto's eyes. The brunet stood and extended his hand in turn, grasping the other man's tightly. The silver haired man shifted his eyes toward the small, blue haired woman as he extended his hand toward her as well. Slightly surprised, Yuki met his hand and shook tightly, bringing a smile to his face.

"Mmmmmm!" Kaida stretched as she exited the large, ornate office building, followed closely by Seto. "Well, I think that went really good," she turned toward the brunet with a large smile on her face, "what did you think?"

Seto paused the smirked knowingly, "I knew he'd be for it"

"You're that confident he'll say yes?"

"He asked for concepts and blueprints ahead of time, there would be no point if he wasn't already leaning our direction." Brown eyes closed as Seto leaned back in the limo seat.

"I suppose that's true, but what if he attempts to steal our concept? Do you think he would? Maybe that's why he wanted that paperwork." Doubt glinted in purple eyes as Yuki began to worry. She had heard of Maximillion Pegasus while she was in America, but she had never met him. She's always had a hard time trusting people with her blueprints, especially when she doesn't know them. She's a hands-on individual largely due to incidents that happened after her father had passed away and she took over the business he had left behind.

"It's difficult for me to say, but I trust him. After everything that happened in the past, I am confident I know him well. Besides, stealing from us would be far more detrimental to him than going into business with us." Seto's eyes snapped open as he felt a hand slip softly into his. He looked toward the blue haired woman, meeting purple, pained eyes, "Yuki?"

She squeezed his hand softly and looked down "They almost took my father's business," she spoke in a soft whisper and paused, looking to the side, "it took so much to keep it away from them, how can I trust this man?" The usually strong, stoic Yuki looked scared, trembling as tears stung the corners of her eyes.

The car slowed to a stop as Seto cupped her pale cheek and gently kissed her forehead. "Yuki, it'll be okay. I promise that he won't do anything like that. Even if he did, Joey, Mokuba, and I are all here for you and we will help you fight back, or even rebuild." A soft smile made its way to Seto's face as she wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly, both unaware of the shocked, hazel eyes watching the scene unfold.

"Yuki! Did you finish those card concepts yet?" A gravely voice rang out from the office down the hall, the source being a tired, blue-eyed dragon.

"Yes, I'll email them now!" A loud, yet feminine voice answered back, making Joey flinch, remembering the scene he observed in the limo as Seto and Kaida pulled up in front of the mansion. He trusts Seto, but the scene was so painfully convincing. Sure, he only kissed her forehead, but they've been spending so much time together, maybe this was just the start of them growing closer than he and Seto are. Joey angrily tousled his hair, frustration, anger, and fear taking over is thoughts. He yelped softly as Kaida stepped out of her office suddenly, "Oh! Joey, how are you? I feel like I haven't seen you for a while!" She smiled warm and lovingly up at the blond.

"U-uh…yeah, I'm okay..." Joey looked away, finding it hard to look at her without imagining her kissing Seto, missing the look of concern in purple eyes. "I…I have to go…do something..." He walked away quickly leaving a confused and worried Kaida standing in the hallway.

"Okay, so maybe we do need to do something for Joey..." Blue hair swayed in my peripheral as Yuki walked in the room with a handful of papers. I looked up at her to see a concerned look on her face.

"What happened?" I swiveled my chair to face her, giving her my full attention. She never looks this concerned and is always convinced that everything will be fine when it comes to Joey.

"I just saw him in the hallway and he didn't look okay. It looked like I scared him or freaked him out. He couldn't even make eye contact with me. What do you think is wrong?" She moved her hair as she sat down in front of me, so as to not sit on it due to its length. "You should talk to him, take a day for yourselves and reassure him of your relationship. I hate to say it, but you were probably right to worry about not spending much time with him."

I looked down and sighed, "I knew it would come to this. He probably saw something, misinterpreted it, and got too scared to ask about it. What day do we have the least amount of work this week?" I looked up to see Yuki flipping through the paperwork, searching for our schedule.

"Rather than a day with the least amount of work," she pulled a paper out and flipped it over before slipping it back into the pile, "it would be better to clear a day where we have no meetings. That would be far easier, not only that but in the worst case, such as myself being unable to complete the work on my own, I can always call Ray to help. He's been with me so long he picked up some knowledge." I nod slightly in agreement and continue working.

"What do you think Joey and I should do?"

"Joey? What's up, do you know what time it is here?" A small, sleepy voice came through the phone followed by a long, soft yawn.

"Oh no! I'm sorry Yugi, I forgot there was a time difference…" That's right, even though it's eight in the morning here in Japan, Yugi is in Egypt with Atem. It's only one am there!

"No, it's okay, what's wrong Jou?" A smile could be heard in the small duelist's voice as he settled into a chair to listen to one of his best friends.

"I…I was wondering if I could come visit you guys for a little while…"

END

Yay! I've decided to write a couple of chapters in advance (or maybe even the rest of the story) so you guys don't have to wait for me to lazily finish another chapter 4 years from now. I'm gonna finish this story for all of you! Wish me luck and I hope you stick around!