The letter was gleaming white against the dark wood table top. Umi eyed it with suspicion, wondering if it was some kind of joke by her friends in America. While she had not been able to keep up with them as much as she had wanted in recent days, she did not think Christa or Terese would stoop so low as to pull a prank on her.

The letter sat there beckoning to be opened. Yugi looked from the crisp envelop with an embossed return address up to his sister. He was vibrating with excitement for her.

"Aren't you going to open it?" Their grandfather asked. Ms. Takanada smiled encouragingly at her as she gripped the old man's hand.

Umi took a deep breath. She hadn't remembered what applications she had managed to submit before everything fell to pieces. She knew a few had made it into the mail, mostly for the schools she had never expected to attend, schools on the east coast that her mom had pushed her into applying to. They were all good universities, well known in the fields she found interesting, but they were not her dream schools. She knew she had not completed the application for that one.

Now, sitting on the table was a letter from one of those universities, a second tier choice, but one that offered her opportunities she had thought lost.

"Want me to do it for you?" Yugi offered.

"N-no. I can do it." Umi took another deep breath and reached for the envelope. The paper was smooth beneath her fingers as she ran them over her name. It had been months since she had seen it written in English. She turned the envelope over and slipped her finger under the sealed edge. She winced as the paper lacerated her flesh but she kept moving until the flap was freed from the envelope base. A small line of blood shone red against her skin as she pulled the letter from the envelope.

She looked to each of her gathered family members in turn. Their faces were full of hope and excitement for her, but she did not know for certain what she wanted the letter to say. She had just started school with Yugi a month earlier and had resigned herself to finding some school in Japan, or even trying to find a job straight after graduation. She had grown content with the thought in recent days, especially as her grandfather seemed to warm to the idea of the relationship she was set on pursuing with Seto. The thought that now she might be able to fulfill her lifelong dream of continuing her education in America was both exciting and terrifying. So much had changed since her mother had died. So many new paths had opened before her in recent weeks. She had only begun to plan for a new future here, a future that was just as bright and full of promise. She no longer knew if she wanted to go back to the country that had been her home for ten years.

Part of her hoped for rejection, but part of her yearned for the adventure that acceptance would garner.

She folded open the letter and began reading. She swallowed hard and her eyes grew wide. She found it hard to breath as she read the words 'Congratulations on your acceptance' neatly typed on the page.

"I, I got in." Her voice was filled with disbelief and uncertainty. She continued reading as a whoop of joy from her family filled the room. "It says that I've qualified for a scholarship, but I have to take placement tests in a couple of weeks. They want me to start in September." She knew she should have felt excited, but she did not. She could not quite figure out what she felt.

She could feel her brother's mind press against hers, curious and concerned. She smiled and waved him off with a thought that she would tell him later. He seemed satisfied with her reassurance, but Umi was not sure what she would tell him when the time came.

Ms. Takanada insisted that they all have a celebratory dinner out, though Umi was convinced that the middle-aged woman simply did not want to cook. While the meal was as grand as they could afford, Umi only picked at her food as she tried to wrap her mind around the many roads before her.

The sparkle of the diamond and platinum ring on her finger caught her eye. Its hexagonal shapes always brought a smile to her face, but today they raised concern. Umi chewed on her bottom lip as she pushed her food around her plate.

"You're not hungry?" her grandfather pried. Umi shook her head, her medium length black and red hair brushing her shoulders lightly and the blond streaks that framed her face falling in front of her eyes like a curtain.

"I've got a lot on my mind, Grandpa." She pushed the light strands back behind her ears, wishing she could dye them blue or purple as she had before the school year started. "I know it's a school night, but would it be alright if I went to see Se-Kaiba after dinner? You know, to tell him the news?" Her grandfather watched her with displeasure for a moment. Umi knew she had to be careful. Her grandfather had not seen Seto in a good light since the youth had stolen his Blue Eyes White Dragon card right from under his nose. Umi's familiarity with the young business mogul had not helped matters any, nor has Seto's proposal to Umi after the twin's excursion to Egypt. Since their return, Umi had done what she could to smooth things over between the two, even if that meant watching her politeness levels to seem less familiar with Seto than she actually was.

She released a held breath as the old man nodded. Umi felt herself beaming more at the prospect of seeing her boyfriend-no, she corrected herself, her fiancee, than at the letter she received.

His light brown head was tilted over a project she could not identify through his back as she entered his personal lab. He scratched his head, lost in thought. Umi could picture him chewing on his lip and muttering to himself as he worked. She should not have been surprised to find him still working well past dinnertime. Half a bowl of noodles sat abandoned on the worktable beside him and insulated coffee cups littered the area. He did not seem to care, despite how meticulous he kept his office at the top of the building. Umi smiled as she watched him, knowing that he had not realized she was there to do so. He was in his own little world, seeing things that only he could see. She hated to intrude upon his work, but she loved watching him at it. When she visited his office, he always seemed to know when she was coming; that was not the case when he was in his lab.

He jumped in surprise as she pressed her hands and cheek into his back. As he turned, he pulled her into a deep kiss as he lifted her into his lap. She held on tightly to his neck, fearing that she would slip from her perch, but his embrace was firm and strong.

"What are you working on?" she asked, turning her head to the parts littering the workbench. She could feel him shrug.

"Nothing much. Just tinkering."

"You never just tinker."

He flashed her a rare grin that was reserved for her, and sometimes Mokuba.

"Just a new VR system I'm toying with. It's sort of a collective construct, where everyone who plugs in can work to build the world. I don't know. It's just an idea."

"Well, I can't wait to see it finished."

"You'll have to let me teach you Duel Monsters first." He kissed her lightly.

"You know I'm terrible at that game, right?"

"Yup. It's alright though. I like challenges."

She chuckled at his surprisingly optimistic assessment of the situation.

"Well, have I got one for you." She pulled out the letter and held it up for him to see. He looked curiously at her before taking the letter himself. She slipped from his lap and took a seat on the stool next to him. She watched as his mouth formed some of the words he was reading and his eyes grew wide at their meaning.

"Congratulations, Umi!" The look of pride and excitement in his eyes stunned her.

"Thank-Thank you."

"So when do you leave? It says you have to go to testing?"

"You're making it sound like I've already made my decision. I'm still not sure."

"What is there to decide? This is your dream. Of course, you're going." He reached out of her hands and held them tightly as his gaze bored through her.

"But I." she started. "I don't know if I want to go. Part of me wants to stay with you."

"You listen, alright? You never give up your dreams for me or anyone else." He said seriously, his eyes never wavering from hers. "Because I sure as hell won't give up mine for you."

His words shocked her to the core.

"Your dreams are what makes you who you are. And I love who you are. I would never ask or expect you to change that for me. I hope you would show me the same courtesy."

"Seto, I. I never expected this."

"Why? Did you think I would demand you change for me? Did your mother give up her dreams to be someone she wasn't?"

"No." she shook her head.

"I don't want you to change, Umi." he stroked her cheek. "Not in a way that makes you deny yourself."

"But the program is at least four years. And I might have to take remedial classes."

"Well, if what your brother said is true, and we are all some reincarnation of ancient Egyptians, then I've waited five millennia for you." He tilted her chin upward and inched his face toward her. "I think I can wait four or five more years."

She closed the distance and kissed him, grateful that he is allowing her to decide for herself what it is that she wants most. She slipped her arms around his narrow waist and laid her head against his chest.

"Thank you." she whispered.

"For what?"

"For supporting my dreams."

He kissed the top of her head.

"Of course." He held her until the sun began to set.

Umi looked around the familiar walls of the airport and hefted her bag further up on her shoulder. Yugi grinned at her as he passed the handle of her carry-on bag to her.

"You nervous?" he asked as the black plastic grip slipped from his fingers and hers tightened around it.

"A little." She tried to return his smile but it felt awkward on her lips. "At least my roommates seemed nice when we spoke on video chat, so that's a plus."

"It seems like you just got here, Umi, and now you're leaving again. And I didn't even get a chance to take you out." Joey said as he hugged her.

"And you are never going to get that chance, Joey." She gave him a playful punch to the shoulder. The tall blond laughed.

"True that. True that." he conceded.

"Good luck, Umi." Tea hugged her quickly. "I'm glad we got a chance to get to know each other again. And to, well, fix things."

"Me too, Tea. I'll miss you. But, hey, if you get into that dance program in New York, let me know. Boston isn't that far." Umi whispered to her. "And you better tell him soon!"

Tea nodded and wiped a tear from her eye.

"Right. I will."

Umi stepped back from the other girl and whipped around, as if pulled by a cord. Every fiber of her being seemed to vibrate. Standing a few meters away, she saw him, the source of the feeling. She started to walk to him, drawn in by his presence. Even from the distance, she could tell that he was smiling and picking his way through the crowd when the thread that seemed to attach them snapped.

"Umi! Don't go!" a child's voice greeted her as wide, dark indigo eyes filled with tears looked up at her.

"Mokuba?"

The boy on the cusp of teenhood threw his arms around her hugging her tightly.

"Please? I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too, Mokuba." She brushed his unruly hair down as she returned his fierce hug. "But I won't be gone long, and I'll come visit, alright?" She stepped back and crouched down to his height. "I promise." She held his hands a moment, squeezing them. "Alright?"

Mokuba nodded and wiped his face.

"You promise?"

"I promise."

Umi straightened only to be faced with her beloved's chest. Before she was able to look up, Seto had pulled her into him. His height curled around her and the vibration she had felt strumming through her soul grew deafening.

"Seto." She started to say before his lips captured hers, blowing away all thoughts except for him as if they were dandelion seeds caught in the wind. The kiss shook her resolve and the seed of doubt that he had earlier squashed bloomed anew. She met his clear blue eyes as she came out from the dizzying kiss.

"You're going to be late. You should get going." His voice rang in her ears and reverberated within her soul. She glanced at the clock and knew that he was right, but she could not bring herself to leave the comfort of his embrace.

"Seto."

"Go." He pulled away, sliding his hands over her arms and bringing her fingers to his lips one last time. He smiled as his finger brushed over the ring she wore, the one that he had given her. They looked at each other for a long moment. Umi wanted to tell him so much, but it was nothing that she had not told him before, nothing that he did not already know. The look in his eyes gave her all of the answers she sought, and she knew that he would be reluctant to put what they said into words in such a public place. He pulled his hands from hers and gestured with his chin. She stepped back from him and took the suitcase handle from her brother. She hugged Yugi again quickly, seeing a mix of emotions in his eyes as well. He reassured her with a bright smile before hugging her tightly one last time. Her grandfather and his girlfriend embraced the twins for a moment before insisting that Umi get on her way.

As she walked through the warm, honey colored tile running through the airport, Umi turned one last time to see her friends, her family wishing her well on her next adventure.

Yugi stood at the large glass window, watching the flow of aircraft in and out of the facility as he had always done. He stretched his senses and touched her mind. She was nervous, in turmoil, one might say as she tried to settle in for the flight. He pressed his palms against the glass. The sound of footsteps behind him startled him. Kaiba stood next to him, his attention focused also on the aircraft waiting for takeoff. When Yugi looked up at his face, he saw for the first time what Umi had always told him about the young man she had fallen so completely for. He could see beneath the facade that Kaiba had so carefully crafted for the world to the vulnerable, broken, normal young man so desperately in love that he did not know what to do with himself. Yugi watched Kaiba as he closed his eyes and tilted his head, like he was listening to something that only he could hear. The pair stood in silence, watching as Umi's plane leapt for the sky and adventures beyond.

A/N: And that's it. Or that's the end of this story anyway. I hope you liked it and will consider reading some of my other works. I am still working through edits on this and will likely be doing so for some time. I also have ideas for the events surrounding DSOD, so while this story is concluded, things are most certainly not over.

Anyway, thanks for reading! Please feel free to share your thoughts with me.