A/N: Hi, it's been a while, hasn't it? I've just been so busy with school and everything, that I hadn't really had time to right. (Also, I've been obsessed with this other story I'm writing, so I guess I can't place all the blame on school). Anyway, Happy Halloween!!!

Enjoy!!!

Chapter Nine

Unbeknownst to her, Delia headed toward Duke's shop. He was the only one whom she trusted enough, the only one who wouldn't turn his back on her. Halfway there, she was almost run over as she was crossing the streets. It was as if the car came out of nowhere. She barely heard the loud screech of the brakes before the pain blossomed in her legs and she was sprawling on the ground.

"Oh, God, are you all right?" The voice was somewhat familiar, then she recognized that it Kirk's.

"Delia, is that you?"

"Jyn?"

She finally found the strength to look up. She must be hallucinating. If not, why were they here? Shouldn't they be back in Tokyo?

A pair of strong arms lifted her from the ground. "She's bleeding," Jyn shouted as she lay limply in his arms.

She looked down and sure enough, blood dripped from her right leg onto the pavement as Jyn carried her to the car.

"Jyn, you sit in the back with her. I'll take us to a hospital," Kirk said and gunned the engine.

"No." The word came out strangled. When they didn't seem to hear her, she said it louder.

"But Delia, you're bleeding."

"I'm fine! It's just a little blood."

"But we might've broken your bones or something."

"Nope. At least I don't think so." To illustrate, she ignored the pain and concentrated on moving her leg. It obeyed her command instantly.

Somewhat mollified, Jyn asked, "Then should we take you back home?"

"No! I want… take me to Duke's," she said and buried her face in Jyn's chest and started to cry. Do I even have a home now? She didn't want to admit it to anyone, or to herself, but in the past few minutes, she finally remembered why her parents never seemed to care about her as much as they cared for Hara. It wasn't because she wasn't as smart as her twin, but instead, she was the reason there were only two of them. If it hadn't been for her, then their brother would still be here.

"Delia, what's the matter?" Jyn asked while stroking her hair soothingly.

"Everything," she hiccupped against his shoulder. "Everything about me is wrong. I'm not good enough. My sister and my parents hate me. Everything is my fault."

She gazed up at Jyn wide-eyed and scared. Jyn and Kirk had never seen her like this, so they didn't quite know what to do. "Shh… Everything will be all right." Jyn held her tighter in comfort.

But Delia knew nothing will ever be all right. That was the first time she had cried herself to sleep.

Through the eyes of a young girl, Delia viewed the city with full of curiosity and amazement. Everything looked simply magnificent and gigantic compared to her small body.

"Come on, Delia. We're going to miss the fireworks if you don't hurry up." Her daddy lifted her up from the ground and swung her in the air. She laughed at the giddy feeling.

"Daddy, daddy…" Young Tony Yasune pulled on his father's pants, wanting to be held too.

Drake Yasune put down his daughter and did the same with Tony, the oldest of his children.

It's really sad Hara and Mommy aren't here, Delia thought while walking contently beside her daddy, holding his hand while he carried Tony with his other arm. Right now, Daddy paid her no attention as he talked with Tony, telling him all about the history of Athens and Greece.

It's not fair. I never get any attention. She pouted and tugged toward the right side of the road, where she had seen an ice cream stand, but Tony wanted pizza, so Daddy ignored her and continued walking to the left. To her young mind, it was extremely unfair, so she let go of Daddy's hand halfway across the busy road and ran toward the ice cream vendor.

"Delia!" her father shouted, but she didn't stop. She felt nothing but happiness at that thought that she'd finally gotten his attention. She continued toward the ice cream vendor, hoping that he'd buy her some ice cream if she could get there faster than he.

But that never happened, because several seconds later, her feet left the ground as her daddy lifted her up in his arms. She laughed at being caught, but at almost the same time, a tiny scream pierced the night air.

Both Delia and her father turned to look, her, because the scream scared her, but her father, because he recognized the voice.

"Tony!" he shouted, but Tony was nowhere in sight.

There was not another scream as her father searched everywhere frantically, asking everyone round, trying to find his two-and-half-year-old son.

"Tony, huh?" Delia whispered to herself as she stared out of the window into the night.

She had woken up about an hour ago from the dream and had been replaying the scenes in her head over and over again. She recalled that morning clearly, the worst morning of her life. She was neglected and alone as her parents contacted the police about Tony's kidnapping. She had stood outside watching the sky exploding into beautiful colors, her mind too young and innocent to understand what had really happened. All she knew was that she couldn't find her brother. To her, it had seemed like a hide-and-seek game.

"Delia, are you up?" Duke's voice brought her out of her memories.

"Yeah," she answered and opened the door for him. It wasn't only Duke, but Kirk and Jyn as well.

"Are you OK?" Jyn was the first to ask.

She shrugged carelessly. "I'm fine now."

When they had arrived at Duke's last night, the first thing they did was clean and bandage her leg. While it throbbed, the pain had dulled so that she had gotten used to it.

"What happened? Why were you out there by yourself last night?" Kirk asked the more pertinent question.

She winced just thinking about it. "I'd rather not talk about it," she replied and decided to change the subject. "By the way, why are you two here? Shouldn't you be back in Tokyo?"

"Oh, we just kind of wanted to spend some time with our old pals, you know?" Kirk grinned sheepishly.

She would've laughed if she hadn't felt so depressed. "Skipping school again, aren't you?"

The two brothers only looked at her sheepishly. "It's not like anyone's going to find out. Ma and Da went back to America after Saturday. Besides, what's the point of college if you can't skip a few days?"

"Hey, I'm not against it. It's just that I can't skip mine, so I'll see you guys tonight, ok?" she said, suddenly remember that she had "work" and "school" to go to as well. It may be stupid seeing Hara so soon, but she didn't want Seto to get on her case about missing work.

"OK, as long as you're fine. You can borrow Duke's car."

"Hey, why mine?"

"Because our car is so much cooler."

"Gee, thank you for letting me have the loser car," she said wryly.

"Hey!" Duke was totally offended. "What do you mean by loser car? My car is…"

Delia didn't bother waiting for Duke to finish. She left the three guys arguing and went downstairs.

Maybe it won't be so bad. She hadn't told anyone yet, but she'd decided not to return home, not when she knew why her parents cared so little or none about her.

Once downstairs, she found Duke's computer and logged in to her account. She opened up a word document and started typing. After maybe ten tries, she finally finished it and printed it out. She found the envelops and sealed the letter. Then she gathered all of her things, which wasn't many since she left home last night without taking anything with her, grabbed Duke's keys and left the house.

Once she was on the road, she turned on her phone (one of the things she always carried with her) and looked at the messages. There were several messages. Some were from Kaiba, who was demanding to know where the hell she was since she was almost two hours late. The others were from her parents and Hara. She snorted. As if they give a damn about me.

She returned Seto's call and waited while his secretary transferred her.

"Hello," a very grumpy voice came through. "Where are you?"

"You don't' sound very happy today, but then again, you never are. Why did you leave so many messages? Isn't one enough?" she asked, sounding annoyed to spite him on purpose.

"You're late," Seto stated as if she'd only said "hi."

"I know that! There's a good reason for it."

"What is it then? I don't have all day."

"I know that too! I'm coming right now. I'll be there in ten minutes."

She didn't wait for his answer before snapping her phone shut. He's not the only one who's got a temper, she thought and soon started wondering about the dig. While she may not want to go back to her parents anymore, she was still determined to go to Egypt for that dig.

True to her word, she knocked on Seto's office door ten minutes later. After a grumpy "come in", she turned the knob and went inside.

"About time you got here. Where were you last night? Hara called me and said you ran away."

She raised an eyebrow at the question. "That is none of your business. Certainly you didn't call me to discuss that." Her voice sounded like a stranger's. She hadn't known it would be so hard to sound cool and professional in front of him, especially when she kept on remember the kiss from Saturday.

Seto's eyes narrowed, but all he said was, "What's your reason for being late then?"

"This," she said and took out the letter she wrote and handed it to him.

Seto took out the letter and barely read a few lines before putting it down again. He was trying hard not to slam it on the desk. "What's the meaning of this?" His question was full of restrained fury.

"It's perfectly clear, isn't it? This is a resignation letter. I'm sure you've read others before. I'm sorry if it doesn't sound as it should be, but this is the best I could do, or have you never read one before?" She ended her tirade with a smirk.

"I know what this is, but I don't remember hiring you. On the contrary, it was your mother who hired me."

"Since I am working for you, I consider that you've hired me. As for my mother, I'll deal with her. I'm eighteen now, so I'm officially an adult. Some may say that since she's my mother she has control over me, but I can make my own decisions, and they don't include studying and working under the CEO of Kaiba Corp."

"What do you plan on doing?" Seto leaned back in the chair and asked.

"This and that," she answered with a shrug. "I'm staying at Duke's until I go to Egypt. After I get back, I'll get my own place. Then I'm going to find work and take some evening classes to finish my education. I think the money my grandparents left me will be enough for me until I figure out what I want to do with my life."

"What about your parents?"

"What about my parents?" Just the thought of them depressed her. "I…" she suddenly stopped talking and glared at Seto. "Since when did we start discussing my life? I'm leaving. I just came here to give you the letter. Goodbye, Mr. Kaiba."

She gave him one last triumphant smile and left.

Once back in the car, Delia sighed with relief. That went pretty well as far as she was concerned. She had been worried about meeting Hara, but obviously she wasn't there. If she was, Delia wasn't sure they could've made it through without another shouting match.

It's not time to relax yet. I still have a long way to go before I am totally independent.

The next stop for her was the Domino museum, where the Ishtars worked. She arrived thirty minutes later. The Domino Museum contained one of the best ancient Egyptian collections in the world. Now she knew why.

"Excuse me, is Ms. Ishtar available? I'd like to speak with her," she asked the receptionist once she'd found the offices behind the showrooms.

"Oh, I'm sorry, but Ms. Ishtar is in a meeting right now."

Damn it! "When will she be available?"

"Not until later in the afternoon, I believe, but she doesn't accept visitors if you don't have an appointment."

Geez, why didn't you just say so at the beginning? "Thank you."

Since it was obviously useless to wait there, Delia decided to leave. She had the feeling Isis will probably talk to her even without an appointment, but she didn't want to push her luck.

However, almost as soon as she walked out of the doors of the museum, she heard someone calling her name. She turned around and saw a guy with silver hair and olive skin chasing after her. She would've been startled, if he hadn't looked somewhat familiar. Then she remembered that he was Marik, Ishizu's brother.

"Hi, Ms. Yasune, right? I just saw you talking with the receptionist. Did you need anything?" Marik asked nicely once he caught up to her.

"Uh…" She hesitated before deciding to tell him. "Well, I needed to talk to your sister about the trip to Egypt."

"Oh, that. Sorry if we didn't give you enough information about it, but we're tied up here for about another month and a half. Then we'll leave. I can call you to tell you the date if you want."

"It's not that, but thanks anyway. I was just wondering if my father paid for the trip or not."

Marik looked confused for a moment. "Of course. Mr. Yasune is the one who provides the money for this entire expedition."

She shook her head. "Not that! I mean the plane fares and the hotel and things like that."

"Oh, I suppose he paid for your expenses, but I'd have to check on that. It wouldn't really matter to us if you go free. It's the least we can do after what Mr. Yasune has done for us."

"If my father already paid for me, then can you please return his money? I want to pay for myself."

"Pay for yourself?"

"Yes, everything. I can come back later and pay for it. Just make sure to return the money to my father. Can you do that?"

Marik had no idea what to make of her request, but he nodded. "No problem, but why?"

She gave him a sad smile. "It wouldn't be fair if my parents always pay for whatever I do, would it?" God knows they've paid enough. "Anyway, thanks for your help. See ya soon."

"See ya."

Irene Yasune sat behind her mahogany desk thinking about her youngest daughter, Delia, rather than reading through all the paperwork that needed her attention. She couldn't concentrate at all, not when she didn't know where Delia was. When Delia ran out the door last night, she was so scared that she'd lost Delia again, just like twelve years ago.

Why is this happening again? First Tony, then…

The knock on the door interrupted her thoughts. Her secretary opened the door and said, "Mrs. Yasune, Miss Delia is here to see you."

She stood up instantly. "Delia? Let her in."

"Yes, ma'am."

The secretary left and Delia walked in, closing the door behind her.

"Oh, Delia, I'm so sorry. Last night, I shouldn't have… You can't believe how worried we are." Irene hugged her daughter as relief washed over her, knowing that her little girl was perfectly fine.

"Mom, I'm fine." Delia's polite tone startled her. She pulled away. Delia's eyes were cool and leveled, which wasn't like her little girl at all.

"Delia, is there something wrong?" she asked.

"Actually, Mom, I'm thinking about moving out."

Irene's heart dropped. "Moving out? What do you mean?"

"I'm eighteen now. I should be able to live on my own. The money Grandpa and Grandma left me should be enough for me until I figure out what to do with my life."

Irene knew this was just an excuse for Delia to get away from the family. She probably had enough of living under Hara's shadows. "But Delia…"

"I know you're going to say I'm not ready for this." Anger flashed across her face. "But if I don't try, how can I ever be ready? Besides, you and Daddy are probably happy that I leave like this, before I do anything stupid again and hurt your precious Hara!"

"That's not true! Your Dad and I—"

"Stop lying to me! I remember what happened in Greece!" Irene felt the color drain out of her face. Delia just continued, "I'm sorry that you lost Tony! I know it was my fault! I should've been more considerate of others! But I was two, Mom! What do you think a two-year-old feels when she never gets any attention while always watching her parents with her siblings? Both of my siblings are geniuses! I'm the youngest with no talent whatsoever! All I wanted was a little attention! All I wanted was for you and Daddy to look at me and remember that I exist! But no! Both of you only saw your perfect Hara and Tony!"

Delia wiped away the tears that had blinded her and stepped back from Irene. "Well, now you're going to get your wish. You won't see me every day and be reminded of how you lost your precious son! I'll do my best to disappear from all of your lives!"

Before Irene could say anything, Delia walked out and slammed the door behind her. It was like losing her daughter for the third time. Somehow, despite everything Delia had said, Irene felt almost relieved.

She doesn't remember what happened twelve years ago, only what happened in Greece. she thought with a sigh. I guess it's better this way, or she'd just hate me more.

That night, Irene returned home feeling extremely drained. Delia's visit had left her broken inside. Only the long day of work had kept her mind from thinking about it too much, but now that she was back home with nothing to do, the full force of Delia's words hit her and reminded her of how wrongly she had treated her youngest daughter both before Tony and after Tony disappeared.

She curled on the sofa and sobbed just like when she had lost her son sixteen years ago. Even after losing one child, she hadn't known how to protect her other children. Oh, how she had despised Delia, even saying things like how she wished Delia was never born, things like why couldn't Delia be more like sister.

Why didn't she see that Delia was different and beautiful in her own way?

Now it was too late.

"Honey, is that you?" Her husband walked over. When he saw her crying, his face immediately softened. "What happened?" He sat down beside her and pulled her into his arms.

"Oh, Drake, why didn't we accept her? She tried so hard. Even after when we'd nearly lost her too, why didn't we see how hard she tried so that we would be proud of her? Why did it turn out like this?" she cried, wishing that she could change the past.

Drake understood whom she talked about immediately. "We were fools, Irene. We can make it up to her."

She shook her head furiously. "She hates us, you, Hara, and me. She'll never let us be her family again."

"Don't say that," he said softly, planting a kiss on her forehead. "We have to try. It is the least we can do after all these years."

He was right. She just wished that Delia would give them another chance, though she had no idea what to do to make up for all those years of negligence.

If only there was a way…

A/N: So, somewhat of a dark chapter. The past is finally starting to reveal itself. It's going to get more interesting. There're other surprises waiting for you lol

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