Author's Note: This chapter is really, really long! Hopefully this will make up for the long wait between updates. I would like to take the time to introduce my new partner for this story Zeo-Chan, and thank her for her help with this and future chapters. The song that is used in second part of this chapter is called 'Fly Away' and written by me as well. Enjoy the read everyone!

The din of voices hummed though the air as the other CEOs in the room argued amongst themselves about Seto Kaiba's impending marriage, every once in a while glancing at him as they waited for him to start the meeting. Although the head of Kaiba Corp seemed to be off in his own thoughts, they all knew better than to think that he wasn't paying any attention to what was going on at the table.

In order to give himself time to think, Kaiba allowed his thoughts to wander, letting it be filled with the voices from the other CEOs. At the back of his mind he kept screaming it was horrible but he was wrong. He licked his dry lips and turned his attention back to everyone else. "All right, let's get started." he said, his voice gruff and commanding silence.

Instantly, the room became so quiet that you could hear a pin drop in the room as they all looked at him.

Kaiba liked the feeling that all eyes were on him and only him. He sucked in a deep breath and opened his mouth. "As many of you already know, I must marry soon." he started out, hoping someone would speak their mind and soon.

"So it's true that your step-father has really made arrangements for you to marry Drake Fear's crippled daughter?" One asked in surprise, as three others flinched.

"That is correct," Kaiba said, knowing his voice was cold and cruel sounding. "To my dismay, but it cannot be helped. And I must be wedded soon as well." Kaiba's fingers snaked out and gripped the coffee cup that was placed in front of him.

"Surely there is something you can do?" another one popped up, braver now that someone else spoke.

Another coughed. This was the same one who had given him the information about the twins that day before. "Tamara Alexandra Fear might be in a wheelchair, but there is nothing wrong with her mind. We are dealing with a very intelligent lady."

The guy, 'Was his name Ashen?' Kaiba thought privately, pulled his brows tight and leveled a look at Kaiba. Something someone rarely did. Kaiba leveled a glare of his own and that sent Ashen scrambling back into his seat. "Okay, does anyone else have any problems with Ms. Fear?" Kaiba asked his voice sounding extremely cold.

Now some of them were starting to look a little nervous. "With her disability, she would only be a dead weight to you Mr. Kaiba. Your best bet would be to marry her, send her off out of the way for a few months, and then quietly file for divorce. I'm sure that she wouldn't object to that, she might even be expecting that if she is as intelligent as Ashton seems to think."

"It's Ashen," The guy muttered but allowed his voice to be drowned out. Kaiba's eyes snapped up. "A divorce would be messier than getting an annulment." he pointed out, his tongue clicking on the roof of his mouth. The other guy shrugged his shoulders and replied, "Whatever floats your boat sir."

"One thing's for certain, the public would never believe that you married her willingly based off of her looks. If you really want to be rid of her, arrange an 'accident' of some kind after you marry her." Another hard-faced CEO, who was well known for hating all women, suggested.

"That won't be necessary," Kaiba hissed, pushing his chair back and standing up. "An 'accident' surely won't happen, and I will not tolerate it. I am only doing this for my company," Kaiba's deep voice hissed even louder. "If I find out anything is being arranged whether before or after our annulment, I'll have your head for sure." Kaiba's threat hung in the open air and everyone knew what that meant. "Yes sir," the hard-faced CEO responded, sinking into the back of his chair as best as he could.

"What if she refuses to separate?" The first one asked.

Annoyed, Kaiba looked to his side. "She's the one who came up with the idea in the first place. She's not too pleased about the idea and neither am I." This was a lie, as she had never said such a thing to him; he was merely stalling for time. His hands shook as he looked at the men around the room. Suddenly it felt like the walls where closing in and everyone was ganging up on him... Wait! The great Seto Kaiba never gives into pressure! He waited and swallowed the words and lump forming at the back of his throat. No way in hell was he falling for this female.

"When did she do this? The first one asked curiously. "Did the lady mention under what grounds the marriage would be annulled by?"

Kaiba shook his head and shrugged his shoulders. "No, she did not." he replied, his eyebrow raising. "I suppose you are going to tell me."

He shook his head. "No Sir!"

"Oh, why is that?" Kaiba asked, glaring at the man.

"I wouldn't spoil it, if you really want to know, ask the lady yourself." Came the sass filled answer as the man struggled not to smile.

Kaiba snorted and took a deep breath. "Ask her myself?" he said, incredulous that the man had the balls to tell him that. Not to mention the fact that the man's voice was sassy and challenging to him.

"Why not, you're the one marrying her. Though, just to warn you, she'll make sure to make it as hard as possible." He shrugged. "She's got to vent her temper somewhere, and it may as well be on you considering you are the root of her problems."

"I'm the root of her problems? Hmmm... That's a first," Kaiba mumbled out loud, stroking his chin. "But it might be possible." Ashen, the sullen CEO said, his eyebrow rose as well. Kaiba shrugged his shoulders, ignoring the statement.

"What else did you wish to discuss sir?" One of them asked, hoping that the meeting would be called to an end.

"Uh, I guess this'll be it. I'm a little tired today," Kaiba said, the truth slowly was making itself known behind his eyes. The other members nodded their heads, stood up then bowed politely to the multimillionaire. "Have a good day," they all politely said before stepping out of the room.

Kaiba waved them off then whirled around to slam the door shut. The noise echoed loudly in his ears but he didn't care. For once he wanted some peace and quiet, and damnit, he was going to get it! But, the peace was shattered only a minute later. His cell phone started buzzing in his pocket, vibrating against his chest. He pulled it out with his slender fingers and stared at the screen for a moment. MOKUBA flashed two more times, alerting him his brother left a text message.

You have someone waiting for you in your office. The message said. Before you ask, no, I'm not skipping class. It was a half day at school today.

Kaiba rolled his eyes; he had completely forgotten about the half day of school. But who was waiting in his office? Tamara? Or maybe Mokuba, he thought, shutting the phone and stuffing it back into his pocket. He stood on his long legs and stretched, his tired muscles voicing their complaints. He hadn't slept very well lately and his body was screaming at him to. Ignore it, his mind whispered as he moved slowly to the door.

Unaware that Mokuba had seen her, Tamara waited calmly for the person she had been sent here to see. The redhead was still wearing black, which wasn't a good color for her at all. As she waited, she stroked her neat braid that was now pulled over her shoulder with one black gloved hand while her blue eyes sightlessly stared into space.

"What the hell?" Kaiba said, turning the corner to his office. The door was open a crack and he could make out a figure inside, a female figure at that. His employees were shooting glances towards his office but when he stalked by they all hunkered down and went back about their work. "Tamara!" Kaiba said, pushing the door open then shut it in a fluid movement.

"Well, good morning to you too Mr. Kaiba." She replied calmly, not surprised at his rudeness.

He growled. "Yes, yes, good morning. Now, why are you here!" he exclaimed, hearing the thunk outside the door then the scurry of heels against the flooring. "Hang on," he held up one finger then spun around and flung the door open. "You all had better stay away from this door or else!" he shouted before shutting it again. Tamara's steady gaze came to rest on his eyes and he fought the urge to look away.

"My brother sent me to request a copy of the contract that your step-father owned." She replied, stroking her braid as she spoke.

"Ah," Kaiba said, and then cocked his head sideways. "I thought I gave you a copy?" he said, frowning.

She shook her head but kept her reply respectfully professional. "We have our father's copy, but not your step-father's."

"Oh, it's around here in one of the files. I'll have one of the girls go copy it for you." Kaiba waved his hand and crossed his room. She only nodded as he pressed the intercom button and told the young woman on the other end to make a copy of the contract.

Although she felt defenseless in the dragon's den, Tamara was doing her level best not to show it. Only the continued stroking of her braid gave her emotional state away.

Kaiba saw through her act instantly and settled himself into his plush leather chair. "Does your hand still hurt?" he asked in a quieter voice, concern coloring his tone.

Tamara raised her eyebrow in surprise, and flexed her gloved right hand awkwardly before she spoke. "It looks like I'll need a new brace for it." She answered, evading the question and trying to figure out his motives.

He shrugged, turning his gaze to the window. "I was just asking. It looks like you're uncomfortable in the brace. That's all really." he closed his eyes for a moment, licking his dry lips.

"I'm used to it, but I still don't like the idea of wearing a brace during the day as well as at night."

"Oh, how come?" he asked, his gaze back on her. He was curious now.

"Day braces get hot and uncomfortable from wearing them all day long, and the night brace immobilizes my hand and wrist in one position. The one you helped me put on yesterday was the one I use at night."

"Ah... I wish there was something that-" Kaiba couldn't finish the sentence. No, I will not fall for her! He told himself sharply in his mind.

"Like I said, I'm used to it." She replied calmly.

Kaiba's gaze swept over her clothes for a moment. "Wearing all black?" he questioned, glancing back into her eyes.

"Just like yesterday."

"Well, I know that! But why?" he said, rolling his eyes.

"Out of respect for my mother, it's only proper." She replied, thinking that would be damned before telling him the whole truth and kept eyes expressionless behind her glasses.

"Oh," he said, still confused on why she would do so. "You'd look better in color." he remarked.

She shrugged. "I really wouldn't notice." Turning her left wrist slightly, she glanced at her watch.

"I'll escort you outside and grab the contract for you." Kaiba said, standing up.

"Thank you. Did you get the e-mail I sent you? I tried to get it to you first thing this morning." She asked, turning her chair around sideways to look at him and still be ready to leave.

"Uh, email?" his eyes widened. "I haven't even looked at my e-mail today. I've been busy with the meeting."

"Oh." She said simply. "Never mind then, it was nothing really important."

"No, please tell me. I'd rather hear it from you now than reading it later." he prodded gently, smiling slightly.

"I was thinking that an annulment would be less stressful then being divorced. You won't get Fear Corp, but you'll be able to keep what is yours."

"The men at the meeting asked me to ask you, with more detail, what the annulment is. They said it'd be more of a hassle." He said, tapping a fingernail against the polished desktop.

Surprised, Tamara's eyes widened, but she answered him quickly enough, thinking that the e-mail she had sent this morning had actually gotten though. "An annulment legally makes a marriage null and void. Long story short, legally it will be as though we were never married at all. By the time we apply for the annulment, about three months minimum should do it I think, we should have been married for long enough as that point that the contracts devised by our fathers when we were younger should be void by then as well. So it won't really matter that there would be no record of our marriage in the legal system or elsewhere." It was clear as the young woman got her breath back that she had put a lot of thought into getting out of staying with him permanently given the detail of the explanation.

Kaiba narrowed his eyes. Something about her explanation was fishy and he didn't like it. "There's still one question," he said, raising his eyebrow questioningly at her "is there something that helps make the annulment more... Uh..." he couldn't find the words to express his thoughts.

Tamara raised a red-gold eyebrow, the movement somewhat encouraging as the woman waited for him to gather his wits. She wasn't about to put words in his mouth, so she kept her own shut.

He saw her arched eyebrow and he mentally sighed. He had a feeling he'd have to explain things more. "There's more to this than what you're telling me. Now what is the finer details of the annulment?" he demanded, slender fingers outstretched, wanting to hit something.

Seeing his fingers move, nearly thirteen years of instinct took over and she backed up fast, turning her chair back in order to face him and putting her back tires right up against the door. "I didn't think you'd be concerned about the grounds for the annulment. This 'marriage' will never be consummated, so the reasonable ground for annulment in this case would be to claim sexual inability to complete the marriage."

Completely stunned, Kaiba's eyes nearly rolled out of their sockets. Sexual inability! He swallowed and coughed. "I wasn't going to hurt you," he stated, hoping she'd understand. He saw that she was still nervous so he didn't push it. "All right, I'll go along with this annulment. But, to make things fair, we'll have to stay married for three months, as you said. And I'm assuming you'd like a big wedding as well?" he shifted in the chair, the leather warm against his legs.

The redhead didn't look at all relaxed and stayed exactly where she was. Her right hand had fisted up so tightly in reflex that it hurt. "Three months is the minimum, though we can apply for it after that at any time so long as I'm... untouched. No, I don't want a wedding at all. We both know that this will be a lie, so let's just go to the justice of the peace get it over with. I also don't want Mokuba to know we are married."

Kaiba sighed aloud, remembering his questioning little brother. But that left more questions and less answers for them. "No wedding?" Kaiba asked, looking up at her in surprise. He saw her nod and he frowned. "No big wedding, nothing at all? Just go in front of a judge?" he said, his voice incredulous.

"You have it exactly right." She agreed. "This isn't a marriage, just a business arrangement we were forced into. I see no reason to pretend otherwise."

Her coldness felt like a bucket of cold water and Kaiba made a face. He just wanted things to be easy but their fathers had to go off and make things difficult. As if they didn't have enough problems now. "All right, pick a date." Kaiba said, waving a hand 'round and glancing to the pile of paperwork awaiting him.

"Any time this week will do as long as it's not today. I have some errands to run before I leave next week for Duel Academy." Her face darkened unhappily at the last part. She did not add that they were also burying their mother today.

"Ah," he said, gazing at the work beside him. He had many things to do as well and he was about to add one more thing to the list. "I'll escort you around the area then. It's better than having Duke walking with you." Kaiba said; his eyebrow then rose as though expecting her to object to this.

Tamara shuddered. "Thank you. I was going to visit Duke's game shop later, but I was going to ask him to meet me somewhere else first so that he could should me how to get there. Maps and I don't get along..."

Against his will, Seto Kaiba had to laugh silently at that. He didn't get along with maps very much either, which was one thing that they had in common. "Well, I'll walk with you then. Personally, I dislike Duke but if you'd like to go to his shop, I'll be more than happy to take you there." he said, standing up and stretching his sore arms.

"I don't understand it, I suck at reading maps and street signs, but I can memorize the buildings that I pass along the way to get to where I need to be." She said, only now moving away from the door. "Would you happen to know where there is a public library by the apartment? I've already read both the books you gave me yesterday, and the rest of our stuff won't get here until after I've already left."

Kaiba thought for a moment. "I know where one is but I don't give very good directions... I would have to show you or you'd have to ask someone else." He slid closer to the door, his hand resting on the knob. Muttering to himself more than anything, he said, "I really hate maps. With all those curved lines and confusing colors..."

"Not to mention the small print that's hard to read." Tamara added. "If my brother gets it off Mapquest, I can muddle though it well enough, but he gets mad at me if I print too much." She shrugged. "Yugi and the others offered, but they are still in school right now..."

Amused now, Kaiba chuckled, shaking his head. "Yugi and the others are more likely to get you lost along the way. But you ought to ask my brother; he'll be more than happy to take you if you'd like."

"I don't want him around Duke. By the way, you might want to have a little chat with your brother about the birds and the bees as well as language use. He said some things about Duke that..." Her voice trailed off as she waited for him to open his door for her.

He pulled the door open and motioned for her to follow him. "I've talked to him about his language... As for the birds and the bees, I'd prefer not to go there myself." Kaiba shivered, rolled his eyes and almost chuckled remembering what Mokuba had said about Duke.

"Don't even think about dumping that task into my lap!" Tamara exclaimed as she drove though.

"Ha! As if! I'll get around to it." Kaiba snapped back, giving her one of his looks.

The redhead glared right back, hiding the fear that was making her little heart pound way too hard in her small frame. "Why don't I believe you? Don't forget about the contract."

"Ah, I can hear your heart pounding. Must mean you like me." Kaiba smirked, grinning and hoping it'd rub her the wrong way. "Doesn't matter if you believe me or not." he pointed out, shrugging his shoulders. He could really care less but he knew she knew that.

"I'm not that stupid, trust me. I trust you about as far as I can throw you, if not less, but you're help is better than nothing at all. I'm just thankful that mother will never meet you in this life or any other." She shot back, taking the stack of papers from one of the office girls and leafing though them, seemingly not caring in the least that the office girl was flirting with Kaiba as she put them in a bag hanging on the side for her chair.

Kaiba watched his redheaded bride intently. Did she even care that the girl was flirting with him? Oh well, time to see if it'd work on her too. "Oh, thank you… Uh, Mary, isn't it? " Kaiba said slyly, smirking before putting his arm around her shoulders. He was scoring points as she turned to look up at him, smile widely before giggling and whispering something. 'Score Kaiba 1, Tamara 0.' He thought and smirked again, dropping his voice before whispering, "Such a beauty," in her ear.

Tamara looked bored. "Better her than me." Shrugging, she headed towards the door, taking deep breaths to settle her nerves.

Kaiba's head jerked up and he watched her roll away. "Oh Kaiba!" the ditzy blonde said, tugging at his perfect tie, crumpling it. He pushed the blonde away before starting after Tamara. Did she really not care at all?

The redhead was muttering darkly to herself. "Thank the Goddess Jake's sending me to Dueling Academy, as much as I hate the idea... At least I won't have to watch him act like a pig while I have to remain faithful if only to be rid of him... Father may you burn in Tartarus for saddling me with the one male who seems to be the perfect mixture of you and your best friend. Mother... what can I do now?" She took a deep breath. "If I don't let him touch me physically or emotionally, I think I can manage what will be required of me… I'll bend, but I won't let him break me mother, I swear it!" She whispered as she exited the building as fast as she could.

Concerned, Kaiba had followed her out into the hallway quietly. He heard her muttering and cursing her father in his grave as he got closer and he had to smile at that. He did the same thing to his step-father. But, it was what she said. The promise she had given to her mother that she wouldn't break down and become a loving wife in truth. He, suddenly, wanted her to break down for him. To give in and love everything he was going to offer her.

Still growling quietly under her breath, Tamara reached into a side pocket and pulled out a small notebook and a map; nearsightedly narrowing her eyes as she tried to look at both of them as once. Her red-gold braid shining like woven fire in the sunlight. "I hope I can get Jake to take me to get my eyes checked before I leave for the Dueling school, I need new glasses again..." She muttered as she studied the map.

Kaiba raised his eyebrow. Maybe he could get her glasses and use them as a 'peace offering'. He was already going to be in deep crap if he got her the ring he wanted so he needed something to fall back on. He tapped his chin, thinking.

"Ah! There you are... okay, let's see..." She turned the map this way and that, frowning in concentration. "I might be able to do this..."

"Sure," Kaiba finally announced, the silence grating on his nerves for the first time. Tamara's head snapped up, and from here it looked like she was glaring at him. "Oh, sorry, were you having a moment with yourself?" sarcasm dripped from his every being. For some reason he was pissed off, again and he didn't like it.

"You can have some very interesting conversations that way." She answered tightly, glancing at the notebook and map one more time before putting them back in her side bag and drove down the sidewalk.

Kaiba glared. She had turned her back on him. He licked his lips. "I was talking to you." He growled out.

The redhead didn't even turn her head. "I know, I answered you. Now are you coming or not?"

'Urk!' Kaiba's hands shook with unspent energy. "Fine," he snapped out, glaring again.

Chuckling, Tamara continued on her way, slowing down her speed so he wouldn't have to eat her dust. "Uniforms first." she muttered as she kept an eye on the street signs.

"Whatever, could you go any faster?" he barked, shaking his head and looking away from the back of her chair.

Laughing, the redhead gunned her chair; quickly leaving him behind, although she did wait for him at the traffic light.

Kaiba's jaw dropped to the ground and he jogged to keep up with her. "Okay, okay. Let's go a bit slower. I may be fast but I haven't..." he stopped.

"Never argue with a wheelchair driver Mr. Kaiba." She said, for a moment, her humor was restored.

He rolled his eyes, stood by her side and they waited for the light to change. It felt strange, to be out and watched by everyone like this. But, it would be good for them in the long run.

They crossed the street, and Tamara remained silent until they got to the uniform shop. Sighing, her eyes darkened as she wrestled with the door.

"So we're back to Mr. Kaiba again, Tamara?" Kaiba commented, rolling his eyes, trying to pull her back out of her shell. He chuckled, smiling widely at her.

"I won't pretend that I am your friend, let alone your wife, in public unless the arrangement between us either gets out or we have to act like it for some reason." She said reasonably as she went up to the counter. "Ms. Tamara McFay." She gave the salesperson the name that she was using at the Academy. Jake had already arranged for the uniforms to be picked up, having already given his sister's measurements to the uniform place.

Kaiba nodded his head. He had to agree with her on that. "Wait," he said when he heard her give the salesperson something other than her real maiden name. "Why are you using-?"

"McFay was my mother's maiden name. By family custom, Jake uses father's name, and I use mother's. Though legally we both have our father's name, and Jake has to use it since he owns Fear Corp. However, I don't like my last name, so I use my mother's whenever I can get away with it. I haven't gotten around to having it legally changed yet now that we're back in Japan." She replied softly, watching as the salesperson disappeared in the back room.

"Ah," Kaiba said, glancing around, still a little irked about her using her mother's maiden name. 'Wait, we're not married yet and I'm already throwing a fuss?' he thought sourly, rolling his eyes at himself. He didn't like the fact that she wasn't willing to let him teach her, hadn't even asked him to help her with her dueling problems. 'Was it just her ego?' he asked himself, glancing down at her.

"Here you are!" The woman said happily. "I hope you have an interesting time at Duel Academy." As she spoke, she handed the neat pile of male Slifer Red uniforms to the redhead and accepted the money Tamara handed her.

"Woah! What's with the male uniforms?" Kaiba exclaimed, his eyes wide. He narrowed his eyes at her then the woman who scurried away from his fury.

"I sit in a wheelchair, so pants make more sense then skirts, more modest too." Tamara replied, not looking at him as she shifted the pile of clothing in her arms and put the change back in her purse.

"But… But… But!" Kaiba sounded like his younger brother in that moment and he glared at both Tamara and the thought of being compared to his younger brother. His eyes narrowed even farther… She was going to be going to Duel Academy, wearing pants from the male uniform. What else could go wrong!

"This has nothing to do with you." She snapped. "I will act as I see fit so long as my brother approves." Turning her head, she thanked the saleswoman and left the shop.

"Nothing. To. Do. With. Me?" Kaiba hissed, biting his lip. He couldn't figure out what to do first. He glared, hissing still. "And I am your husband, don't I get a say?"

Tamara looked around, grateful that the area wasn't too crowded and hoping that they wouldn't be overheard. "Only in name only will I be your wife. I'm eighteen years old; you are nineteen, until you turn twenty-one I will have time to find a way out of this. Even if we do get married, you will be my husband in name only. Even if we marry this week, no one will know of our marriage. You can do whatever you please while I'm at the Academy."

He chewed on his lower lip. He was so ready to strangle her smart ass right now that it wasn't funny. "I need this-" he stopped. He wanted to come out and say that he needed to marry her to keep his company, to be the top dog over everyone and maybe take over Fear Corp. "We may be married in name only, but we're still married." His excuse was lame, even he knew that, but he wasn't about to give up.

"And your point is?" Tamara said tightly. "I'm only marrying you for my brother's sake, though he swears to me that he'll sign Fear Corp over to you to set me free. No one at the Academy will know I am legally your wife; using mother's name will make sure of that. Don't worry about your reputation." She snapped bitterly.

"My reputation?" Kaiba repeated, confused for a moment. Was this more than simply signing their company over to him? Was it more? Even if it was (not that he would admit it), he wasn't about to let trivial things like love step in his way and knock him off his path. He wasn't this weak. "All right, fine then. I don't really care." he replied, waving his hand.

Carefully putting the uniforms in the plastic bag that had been provided, she tied it tightly and pulled out her map again. "Good." She looked over the map, struggling to remain calm and cold to him even though she would have loved to cry. "I wanted to make sure we understood each other before we began this game of mockery and ugly lies."

She was wrong; it wasn't about his reputation at all. He was slowly giving into his emotions and letting them rule. But, he wasn't about to let her know that. Did she really think that he cared for her so little? It was like she slapped him on the face and left a large, noticeable bruise (something he hated).

This wasn't a game of mockery and lies (or was it?). It was simply signing things over (man, it sounded cruel and cold even to his own ears). "All right, where to?" he replied, his voice icy. Could she really not see what she was doing to him? Was she ignoring it or was she blind? He reached over, plucked the bag from her lap and ignored her requests to give her uniforms back.

After a minute, Tamara gave in and let him carry the uniforms for her, but she kept an eye on him in distrust even as she replaced the map in her bag. "Duke's dice shop." She answered calmly. "Yugi told me on the phone last night that it's near his grandfather's card shop, so if we find one, the other should be near by." Smiling to herself, her dimples flashed slightly as she made to drive away from him.

Kaiba wanted to snicker at her. The look in her eyes was nothing more than pure disgust/distrust and it was making him laugh in his mind. "When did Yugi call last night?" He finally asked, the question annoying the hell out of him. "Ah, don't answer that. I know where his grandfather's game shop is so I'll lead you there. Duke's shop's near so after we're there, I'm not going in." Kaiba stated, looking down the street.

"Just don't lose my uniforms. At least nobody can get mad at me for visiting Duke's shop on my own. Yugi was even more firm about it than Mokuba or even my twin. He actually made me give him the address that Duke had given me to make sure that it was the right one." Tamara shrugged it off. "I don't mind the brother fussing they do, but I know how to defend myself if he tries anything."

"Okay..." Kaiba's voice trailed off. "I won't lose your precious uniforms; they're quite safe in my hands. Have some trust would you?" he finished, glancing across the street. He thought he heard her sigh but he ignored it.

"It's hard to trust somebody who has ignored you for eleven years then suddenly shows up and all but demands your hand in marriage." Tamara snapped quietly, but without heat.

Now Kaiba swallowed, she did have a point, a very serious point. But it wasn't like he liked the idea of asking for her hand in marriage. The only reason that he was going though with this boiled down to the simple fact that he needed her hand in marriage to save his ass and company. He may have enjoyed toying and using people but this was one young lady he didn't want to piss off (along with her brother). And secretly, he wanted to control Fear Corp. "I have my reasons for ignoring people," Kaiba finally settled on saying, glancing over his shoulder in a cold manner.

"And so do my brother and I Kaiba. The only reason I'm doing this as fast as I am is to keep your trap shut while I'm at the academy. We'll be married this week and won't see each other again until this damn thing is annulled." If anything, the redhead was even colder than the elder Kaiba brother.

Kaiba's mouth fell open. He felt insulted, disgusted and suddenly really pissed off for some reason. His blood was boiling as he kept his gaze level with hers.

Tamara shrugged, but kept her eyes on where she was going. "I don't want anything from you while we are married; I'm not a money-grabbing bitch. You can have whatever... relationships... you see fit unless for some reason word gets out about this and we need to act like we are lovebirds." She made a face. "I hope by all I hold holy that doesn't happen."

"All right then. I can live with that. Although the relationships thing, won't happen." he said, rolling his eyes and sticking a hand on his bony hip. "And I seriously doubt, unless you spill to someone, will find out about this." he said.

"Trust me." She said tightly. "I would have nothing to gain and everything to loose if they find out our connection at the Academy."

"Excuse me, nothing to gain? What would happen if they did find out that you are indeed married to me over at the Academy?" he practically shouted, whirling around and his large hand falling on her shoulder. He glared down at her, breathing heavy a bit.

"Among other things, they would put me in Obelisk Blue; not because I've earned that place, but because of my connection to you. I don't want that. If I move up, I want to earn that place using only my own skills and abilities, not because of you or my brother's money." Tamara replied truthfully, trying to back away from him to avoid a scene in public. "Therefore, I'm keeping my mouth shut about this whole fiasco."

"All right then," he forced through his teeth. He could prevent her from being moved up there unless she earned it but he didn't want her to know anything about that. He backed off, catching the eyes of innocent bystanders.

Tamara took a deep breath and turned away from him, color returning to her cheeks again. Without a word, she continued on her way, wanting to lose him in the crowd, uniforms or no. He had scared her, and she didn't think she could trust his temper.

Kaiba's hands were shaking as he watched her roll off into the crowd. He hated letting his temper get the best of him. He tightened his hand around the bag and turned his back on her. He needed to do something, other than being out here with her, in public, and letting everyone witness his display of misplaced temper. He took a deep breath and shook his head. He glanced down at his hands, disgusted with how they were still trembling.

She made her way to the dice shop without too much trouble, though she did get lost about three times. Duke greeted her with an oily smile and put his arm around her shoulders as he showed her around the shop.

Kaiba stopped a few feet ahead, remembering the uniforms he currently held. He cursed his luck and stumbled through the crowd, ignoring anyone he stepped on in the process. He was almost out of breath when he reached the dice shop.

Duke was bending down to show her something. Although Kaiba couldn't hear what was being said, Tamara was frowning slightly and appeared to be paying very close attention to Duke, pointing at different rows of dice and asking questions.

Fighting back a kind of jealous rage, Kaiba bit his lip when he saw Duke leaning over like that. He didn't like her asking him or talking to him like that. He kept watching outside, refusing to go inside (fearing he might start a fight maybe). He saw Duke raise his hand slightly and his eyes caught the curve where he was heading. Now his blood was really boiling. He pushed his way through the crowd again, flung the door open and growled out, "Get your hands off of her!"