Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the plot, everything else is owned by someone or another. Unlike before I'm going to wait one more before having a flash from the past so that I can finish up the scene with Shadi. Sry for the change and hope you enjoy this chap as well as the ones before it and after.

Strength of A Person

Blinking rapidly as she came back into herself Rika stared in front of her and into Shadi's eyes before he collapsed down in front of her, crumpling like a puppet to the floor with a thud. Feeling a blinding headache Rika watched in a daze as a young man, short with spiky hair and Tea got down on their knees to turn the man over and check his pulse. Hands grasping her shoulders Rika blinked again as she was turned around by her shoulders and was now looking into the concerned eyes of Seto Kaiba as his eyes searched hers frantically. "What happened?" Rika asked in a puzzled tone as she looked from him to Shadi and back again. The last thing she remembered was the man talking about darkness and her soul and then he'd just collapsed in front of her without any warning.

"Nothing, is he alive?" Seto demanded to know as he drew Rika against him, cradling her against his chest with an arm around her waist as he looked down at Shadi, vaguely aware of the sound of Mokuba calling for an ambulance on his cell phone.

"Yes but his pulse is thready." Tea said as she looked over at Yugi then up at Yami who stood over her watching Rika and Seto with an intensity that she didn't like at all. "Did this happen..the last time, Yami?"

"No, before it was as if nothing had happened at all. You're all right..Rika?" Yami said hesitantly, not even looking down at Tea when he answered her, his eyes glued to Rika. She could easily pass for the Ri from his dreams if her clothing were changed. There were only small, physical differences between the two that were barely noticeable. And Kaiba was holding her which brought a surge of anger and possessiveness that flared into his eyes before banking behind his usual cool look.

"Yes thank you." Rika said as she looked up to find her eyes captured by his, their eyes meeting dark purple to reddish purple with a flash of knowledge and recognition. Though neither moved shock was in both their eyes as well as questions. Feeling Kaiba's grip tighten Rika looked up at him in surprise, seeing that his cold glance was centered on Yami with hostility radiating from both of them which made her feel unbelievably sad for some reason. "What happened to him, a heart attack? He said something about my soul and he looked really upset, maybe the strain was too much on his heart?"

"The doctors will figure it out, they should be here anytime, especially since it was Seto Kaiba's brother doing the phoning." Isis said with a serene look as she observed the players in this new game. Would this girl lead to another reason for the pharaoh and Kaiba to be at war? Observing Tea's face Isis felt a stir of pity for the girl, it was always hard to be in love, she thought with a sad smile, thinking of her brother. "Seto, you should take Rika and Mokuba home, you look a little pale and shaken, Rika."

"Rika?" Kaiba inquired as he looked down at her to look her over himself and she did indeed seem paler. "Do you need to sit down?""

"I'll be fine." Rika said with a weak smile as she contented herself with leaning against him just a little more, her head pounding. But she felt better pressed against him, though the reason why was beyond her at that particular moment. Breathing in his scent she tried to block the pain then winced when the sound of the ambulance reached her ears, increasing the pain in her head.

An hour later, after answering questions from the police they were finally free to go. The police had wanted to know everything that they could about what had happened since it involved Seto Kaiba. Seto was putting money into the coming elections for mayor of the city and he was not donating to the present mayor. As a result the mayor had been putting officers to work trying to catch him up on one thing or another to discredit him and his money. Rika in between him and Mokuba Seto noticed that Mokuba seemed very concerned about Rika and he was pleased that his brother liked Rika. It would make things easier once he..what the hell was he thinking? It wasn't like that, like he intended to form a relationship with Rika. Sure they got along well and he found her..attractive but that didn't mean that anything should come from it.

"Hey, Seto." Mokuba spoke up as he cut into his brother's thoughts, Seto having completely forgotten that his younger brother was even in the vehicle. "Why don't you see Rika home and drop me off here." Mokuba said as he pointed to the mall coming into sight, the parking lots full of summer shoppers. "I still have to pick up a present for Yuki's birthday party next week and I can catch supper there since odds are I'll be eating alone anyway." Mokuba said with a smirk, referring to his brother's tendency to skip meals lately.

"If that's what you want." Seto said absently, not even full concentrating on what was going on which suited Mokuba just fine. Pulling into the mall they dropped Mokuba off at the mall then continued on their way to where Rika was staying. Noticing the way she seemed to be curling into herself, Seto wondered if the air conditioning was on too high and asked her so.

"No..my head just really hurts." Rika explained in a small voice, never remembering having a headache quite like this one before. It was worse then being trapped in a room with Calumon for months on end. "It feels like there's a herd of elephants in my head making as much noise as possible."

"That would do it." Kaiba said with a knowing look as he reached out and before he thought better of it placed hands on either side of her head and began to massage her temples in a circular motion as he'd seen his secretary do more then once while at her desk. Locking eyes with Rika as they stared at each other neither said a word as he continued to soothe or at least try to soothe. He had no idea if he was succeeding or not. "Helping?" Kaiba asked quietly when she closed her eyes, she seemed more relaxed to him now.

"Yeah, you're good at this." Rika said with a hint of a smile and smiling back slightly Seto continued to massage her temples until they came to a stop at the address Rika had given the driver. Getting out on his side Kaiba walked around the back of the limo and beat his driver to the door, motioning for his driver to return to the wheel. Opening the door Kaiba held out his hand and when Rika took it helped her out of the car and letting go of her hand decided to walk her up to the door just in case she was still unsteady. "You don't get along with Yami." Seeing his surprised look she smirked at him. "It was hard not to notice. Why is that?" Rika asked as they made their way to the door.

"We've never gotten along, it's been like that since the day we met." Seto said shortly, thinking of how Yami had looked at Rika. In his dreams he believed Ri to be Yami's sister but Rika wasn't Yami's sister now and he didn't trust the way the other man had looked at Rika. She was his and there was no way in hell he was losing her to Yami of all people. Not even stopping to think about the fact that he was acting very much like a jealous boyfriend Seto took her hand in his and held it tightly as they stepped onto the porch, waiting as Rika fished out her keys to unlock the door. "We duel each other occasionally, he's the only one worth the time in that group he hangs out with."

"Oh, so that's him, Mai's mentioned him to me in her e-mails. She says he's the greatest dueler she's ever seen and that there isn't anyone who can stand against him." Rika said with excitement, intrigued at the idea of playing against such a player. According to Mai there wasn't a game Yami couldn't master and win. "Maybe he'd let me play him sometime if I asked him. What do you think?" Rika asked as she looked over at Seto questioningly. Seeing the heat that had appeared in his eyes Rika realized her mistake. Mai had also mentioned that Kaiba and Yami had not now nor would likely ever get along because of Seto having yet to beat Yami in the game. Add that to the fact that she'd never asked Seto to play with her except when she was teaching him... Male pride and ego were dangerous things and needed to be considered at all times. "I'd love to play you sometime as well, Seto." Rika hurried to say as she opened the door to the house, everyone out for the moment. "I'm sure you could teach me a thing or two given what I've heard about your skills as well."

"There are many things I could teach you." Kaiba said hotly as he pulled her against him with the hand he'd held, switching his hold to wrap the arm around her waist to keep her from moving. Leaning down Kaiba captured her mouth with his, his arm like a band of steel keeping her plastered against him as he devoured her mouth. Then it was heat for heat as she kissed him back, her arms wrapping around his waist as she kissed him with everything she had. His head swimming with too many emotions and sensations to comprehend Seto couldn't remember ever feeling like this, so at peace and one with the person with him. He'd kissed women before but never like this, never like he could go on kissing her until the world fell around them. She was the only oblivion she sought. The taste of her mouth, the feel of her pressed against him was driving him crazy and he couldn't think, something entirely foreign to him. He was always in control of himself, always. But not here, not now. His free hand moving up to caress her back it continued to climb to reach her ponytail, pulling the band out so that he could run his fingers through her long hair, enjoying the feel of the silky strands sliding through his fingers. Her own hands moving Seto deepened the kiss further as she hands stroked his back through his shirt making him wish it was his bare back instead. Realizing where his thoughts were going Seto realized he had to put a halt to this before things got out of hand especially since he didn't even know how Rika felt about all this. Drawing away, using all the will he had left, Seto stared down at her as she slowly opened her eyes to stare at him drowsily, her lips red and swollen from his kisses, her chest heaving as she struggled to get air into her lungs. He'd practically manhandled her, Seto realized with a sense of horror, worried that he might have bruised her wrist when he'd yanked her against him.

Reading the startled and shocked look in his eyes Rika could sense he was as out to sea about all this as she was. There was just something about the two of them that whenever they were together it was like that was the way it was and always had been. Like they were meant to be together. This just seemed so right and natural.

"I didn't..hurt you did I?" Seto asked as he lifted her wrist to his face so that he could see for himself, frowning at the redness of the skin. " I apologize, I never meant to..." Seto was stopped by a finger placed against his lips as Rika pulled him down for a gentle and soothing kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck as she smiled against his lips. Smiling back Seto gently deepened the kiss and held her gently in the circle of his arms as they went from blinding heat to sweet feeling.

Meanwhile

At his summer estate in England billionaire Maxamillian Pegasus was enjoying some wine as he relaxed in one of his drawing rooms when the faint smell of smoke reached his nose. Wrinkling his nose at the stench he rose from his seat and setting his glass down on the table beside him headed towards the door to see what was going on. The cook again, Pegasus thought with a look of annoyance, mentally making a note to dismiss her before she did serious damage to his kitchen. Heading down the stairs towards the first floor Pegasus felt and sensed the man behind him and turning slightly was just in time to see a man bring what looked like a bat down on his head. Falling forward Pegasus rolled down the stairs and landed in a heap on the ground, blood pooling around his head as he lay still while the men sent to kill him went about torching the house with Pegasus in it.

Waking up minutes later to find himself surrounded by flames and his lungs filled with smoke Pegasus couldn't even find the strength to crawl, looking around him in a daze as the house burned around him, becoming his fiery tomb. So this was how it would end, Pegasus thought with a calm detachment, not even feeling the blinding pain in his head anymore. He would be reunited with his love and be gone from this hateful world. Feeling a sudden pain in his chest Pegasus instinctively rolled over on his back and blinked when a bright white line shone out from his chest and slowly began to take shape of a rectangle, a gold rectangle shaped like a card. The card started to back away from the light and struggling to sit up Pegasus watched the card burst into more light. Suddenly there was no card but a woman standing near him, watching him as he watched her. Not only was she garbed in Ancient Egyptian attire but she looked Egyptian as well with black hair caught up in two buns on either side of her head. There were two swaths of fabric making up her clothing, one wrapped around her chest to just cover her breasts and one around her waist to form a short skirt. The material was decorated with gold and the jewelry she wore had a definite Egyptian look to them. Her brown eyes locked on him Pegasus felt suddenly drawn to her as though he knew her.

"We have to get out of here or we'll be burned alive." The girl said as she held her hands out to him, asking without words for him to come with her. "It's not our time to go yet."

In a flash Pegasus knew exactly what it was about her that drew him. It was her eyes, full of innocence and faith in him. So much like his late wife's. She was looking at him for help, with trust as she waited for him to get her out of this place. He hadn't been able to save his wife though, he had lost her. But this time..this time there was something he could do. Forcing himself to his feet Pegasus weaved slightly as he got his balance, steadied when she moved forward to wrap her arms around his waist, supporting him with a rather surprisingly strong grip. Leaning on her Pegasus looked down at her to see her smiling up at him, not a hint of fear in her stunning eyes. She had complete faith in his ability to rescue her from this and he wouldn't let her down. Telling her what way they needed to go she helped him along, her grip never faltering no matter how much weight he put on her. As if by a miracle they managed to weave their way around the flames and into the kitchen, using the exit door that had been used for food deliveries in the past. Getting out into the fresh air they stumbled along until they were a safe distance away from the fiery inferno. Then Pegasus's world went blurry again as the fresh air hit his damaged lungs. Falling forward the girl fell with him, turning her body so that he fell on her so she could cushion his fall. Laying there against her chest, her heart beating under his ear he struggled to find the strength to move but he had none left. "Who..are..you?" Pegasus managed to get out, needing to know who his angel had been before the darkness claimed him.

"My name is Latoya, Master Pegasus." The girl, Latoya said with a serene smile as she stroke a hand gently through his hair. "I have come to save you and make you happy." When he said nothing she gently rolled him off her then kneeling in front of him looked him over. Her master had inhaled far too much smoke and he'd been beaten by those horrible men. Raising her hands straight in front of her with her palms down and over his chest Latoya's eyes darkened as they took on a look of extreme concentration. "Healer's Touch." Latoya called out softly and quickly her magic did its work, covering Pegasus with a golden light as all his wounds were healed. Once the light had faded Latoya got in front of her new master and drawing his head into her lap waited for help to come. Looking at his burning home Latoya was sorry it had been destroyed. She had seen her own beloved pyramids decay and broken into, returning to the sands of which they'd come from. Once Master was awake and better she would have to ask him to take her to Japan to where her Pharaoh was. The Gods had decreed that she was to stay and serve Master Pegasus but she wouldn't feel right about it until she'd gained her pharaoh's approval. She was, after all, the head healer of his family. It would be wrong of her not to let him know she had not perished in Ancient Egypt but had been put under a spell until it was time for her to return to the world of the living once more. She couldn't wait to see her pharaoh as well, she had missed him in her time of exile. She was worried that he hadn't been taking care of himself. After all, without Ri to take care of him who knew what he was eating and how much sleep her always busy Master and Pharaoh was getting.