Author's Info: Thirty chapters, guys! Another milestone accomplished, and not without difficulty! Last week my computer containing all 29 other chapters, as well as all my other stories, broke. As a result, the only stories I can continue posting at the moment are Sando No Jigoku and The Void Between Our Worlds, since I write them before I put them into the computer. The worst part? I was actually getting ready to post an update to Destinies of the Divine Descendants. I will try to get those as soon as possible after Easter break, but that is all I can promise. Also, I could use everyone's help concerning Tsuki's deck. What type of monsters do you think most fit her personality? I'm leaning toward a fairy deck, but I'm not sure. Thanks to TsuKaza, DaAmazingMeepers, Azura Soul Reaver, Jade the Grey, and whiney smurf, as well as all the rest of you who read! Hope you like this one!

The "what"s: Listening to the Yu-Gi-Oh soundtrack, since it's one of the few bits of my music I retained (I have the CD). I'm thinking about how awesome it is to be off campus and about the fact spring break is in one week. I am so excited for it, but first I have three midterms to get through! The semester is now reaching the end phase, so let's hope I finish strongly! Let's also hope my new laptop and MP3 player like me more than the last ones!!!

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh, and never have. That's probably good, considering how much work I am left without for another good month or so. Still, I DO own Yumi, Tsuki, and the other original characters! Enjoy.

Chapter Thirty

"You're actually ready," Yumi said, surprise on her face. "I thought you would be sleeping late again. Maybe there is hope for you yet, little sister." She smirked at the irritation on Tsuki's face. The surprise on her face and her sister's initially smug expression were well worth her own revenge.

"One day, Yumi," Tsuki said, groaning. "Why can't you let me have just one day where you actually allow me to enjoy my victory against you? You always have an uncanny knack of finding some way to turn an outcome in your favor. For once I'd like for it to be my turn."

"We'll see if you're right in your assessment, I suppose," Yumi said as they went out the door. "This is going to be my first day at Kaiba Corp. after all, and I'm sure he's been thinking of ways to lord his power over me, hoping to win this battle between us."

"Little does he know how good you are at making his own tricks turn against him," Tsuki said, smirking at the glint that appeared in her sister's eyes. Her sister was not someone Kaiba would easily get to submit to him. In truth, if he did somehow manage to get her to submit to him willingly, it would be a miracle in itself. She had never seen anyone come even remotely close to taming her sister, even if they had earned her sister's respect and admiration. Still, there was something different about the CEO, and maybe that something was exactly what her sister needed all these years.

"Hurry up, Tsuki, or do you want to be late?" Yumi snapped when she saw her sister walking absentmindedly. She had no desire to delay this. She would not have Kaiba thinking she was intentionally avoiding him by arriving late to class. She turned, frowning, when she heard her sister giggle. "And just what, pray tell, is so funny?" she asked, eyebrow raising questioningly. Instead of receiving an answer, she merely saw a devilish and knowing gleam in her sister's eyes, one she did not like in the least.

"Hey Yumi! Hey Tsuki!" they heard Yugi call when they entered the classroom at last. They turned and looked at him. Yumi wore her usual bemused expression while Tsuki beamed and waved at him. Yumi gave him a small nod of acknowledgement before going to her seat; Tsuki walked right over to him and his group of friends. "Tsuki, is Yumi alright?" Yugi asked, concerned by the fact she hadn't even said hello.

"Oh don't worry about it; Yumi's just worried about her first day of work. She's really nervous because she wants to do well, even if all Kaiba does is antagonize her. My sister really cares about this job, and failure is not an option for her. She'll be fine by tomorrow, I promise," she said reassuringly. She looked over at her sister and noticed just how tense she really was. Sure, she might be able to hide it from people who didn't know her very well, but this was her sister. She knew all her little quirks.

Yumi noticed her sister glancing over at her and sighed internally. She hated to admit it, but she truly was nervous. She had wanted a job at Kaiba Corp. for years, yet all she had managed to get was a job as Kaiba's personal assistant. Who knew what Kaiba had in mind for her to do, or what kind of grief he would put her through before all this was over? She saw someone approaching out of the corner of her eye and tensed; the last thing she needed was someone bothering her at the moment.

Kaiba smirked when he saw her tense slightly, only to relax when he took his seat beside her. She had clearly thought it was someone attempting to approach her yet again. Much as he enjoyed the annoyance in her eyes when they crowded around her, he couldn't understand their attraction to her. So what if she was supposedly beautiful according to the vast majority of the male population? There were no redeeming qualities she possessed, and 'beauty' could only go so far. He would prove that today when she began working as his assistant.

Yumi hated the smug expression on his face. She knew it was because he thought he would be able to overpower her and make her bow down to his will, but she was not one to simply sit back and take whatever anyone threw at her. She had learned her lesson, and she would not make that mistake ever again. Kaiba would lose this war, make no mistake.

Kaiba smirked as she opened her book, something he had quickly learned was equivalent to a 'Do not disturb' sign and leaned over to take the book from her hands. When he pulled it away, she looked over at him in surprise and glared. Kaiba smirked, knowing he had irritated her profusely.

"Is there something I can help you with, Kaiba?" she asked, feigning politeness and doing what she could to keep her irritation out of her voice and her expression. She knew he had taken her book to annoy her, and she didn't want to give him any further satisfaction. She watched him examine her book and wondered if he was planning on returning it or responding to her question any time soon.

"Why did you choose this book? Don't tell me you're trying to come across all intelligent now," Kaiba scoffed, amused by the way her eyes flashed in anger and indignation. "You've already gotten the job; you don't need to impress me any further. You should instead be focused on what I'm going to have you do once you begin work today."

"Perhaps you've forgotten, but I don't start taking orders from you just yet. Let me then make one thing clear: I may take certain orders from you at work, but you do not own me. When I am not on the clock, you have no power over me at all, especially not over matters that concern my personal choices or actions. This includes what books I choose to devote time to reading. What do you have against The Three Musketeers anyway?"

"I didn't say I had anything against Dumas, although The Count of Monte Cristo is easily the best of his works. You do not think me as someone who would be interested in Western literature, nor as someone who was fluent in French." Kaiba had opened the book and noticed immediately the language was not Japanese. One quick glance had told him the language was French, which surprised him. He had no knowledge she knew any languages beyond Japanese. He was beginning to wonder what else she was capable of. He also realized he was gaining new information which he could use to his advantage; the more he learned about her, the more ways to annoy her would be unveiled, and the more he could use this to the advantage of his company.

She raised her eyebrow at his challenge and smirked. She figured for once she would take the bait and play along. "Well, I'll admit you do seem rather westernized, although I should admit the same has become true of me in recent years. Still, you must be blind if you think The Count of Monte Cristo is better than The Three Musketeers. Intrigue, revenge, murder, adventure—all the things you could possibly like about The Count of Monte Cristo are manifested tenfold in The Three Musketeers. Besides, what would you expect me to read in my spare time? Those horribly written, terribly dry dime store stories? I'm no romantic, at least not in that sense. My romantic notions concern themselves with adventure and the struggle of the soul between good and evil. My sister is the true romantic. All this aside, what better way to read about the adventures of D'Artagnan than in his own native tongue? Clearly, there is much about me you do not know, Kaiba. Not all of us 'little people' are as ignorant as you thought."

Kaiba scowled at the way she talked back to him. She looked at him with determination and challenged that no one had ever dared to show against him, at least none that truly knew of the sort of power he possessed. She was willing to stand up to him, even though he now had even greater power over her now that he was her boss. She had even openly challenged his opinion about the books, which he admittedly knew would happen, but he had still not expected such strong criticism.

She could see his aggravation at the way she had challenged him, but she had not admittedly wanted to fight him so early. She had merely wanted to enjoy her books in peace, yet he had shattered that easily in taking her book. She did not understand why he could not leave her a few meager hours of peace before beginning his onslaught, and it only made her even more anxious about what was to come. If she could only have her book back, maybe that would help her calm somewhat.

"What's going on here?" Yumi heard her sister ask. She looked over at her with an exasperated expression. She saw her sister look at her book in Kaiba's hand and her eyes narrowed. "Is there any particular reason you're holding my sister's book? I'm pretty sure my sister was wanted to read today, so why is it in your hands?" Yumi was grateful for her sister's intervention, admittedly. For once, she had not known how to get herself out of this awkward situation, and her sister had just provided her with a way out.

"You seem to enjoy entering into matters that do not concern you in the slightest. We were merely discussing Dumas' literary merits, and the benefits of reading such works in their native language." In truth, he was grateful she had broken in; this gave him a way to avoid responding to her arguments. Still, he despised the way she always seemed to intrude right as Yumi was about to reveal something in her irritation. No matter, he thought, smirking. She would tell him everything soon enough; he would find out everything he wanted to know when they were alone at work, and he could count on no interruptions from such nuisances.

Tsuki glared at Kaiba, completely unconvinced. "If all you were doing was discussing Dumas, then why haven't you given my sister her book back yet? I'm fairly certain such a dialogue is more than enough to hold my sister's attention for a few minutes."

"Alright, everyone, to your seats," the teacher announced as she entered the room. Tsuki glared at Kaiba one final time before returning to her seat. Yumi sighed and looked at her sister as though silently thanking her for her efforts. She knew Tsuki had only wanted her help her, but she also knew that against Seto Kaiba her sister would not be enough. He would never be intimidated by someone like her sister. That was her job.

Responses to my commentators:

TsuKaza: I'm glad you like Yumi's outlook. You're partially right about where her attitude comes from, but there is another event that will be explained later (I promise). Let me know what you think of the idea for Tsuki's deck!

DaAmazingMeepers: This is actually set shortly after Duelist Kingdom in the anime, so Yugi's knowledge right now is not very extensive. He'll learn more as we get into Battle City (there is a plot line I'm working on with that, and that's why). Hope that explains!

Azura Soul Reaver: Glad you liked it!

Jade the Grey: Hope you liked this one! Please give me insight on Tsuki's deck!! I hope you liked this exchange between Kaiba and Yumi!