To Be the Strongest Chapter 17: Meet the Wolves, a Rurouni Kenshin + Yu-Gi-Oh Crossover fanfic

Disclaimer: I don't know why I bother…by now you guys know this is for free…

Note: When I saw the very first episode of Yu-Gi-Oh I thought it looked very choppy. It was as if large chunks of the episode were missing. I found out from a friend that not only was the first half of that episode missing but there was also a whole season missing. The reason being that Funimation – the company who bought it – kiddiefied the show to make it to the Y7 TV rating so Konami could sell the cards to the kids still buying Pokémon. Unlike Pokémon – it was more of a typical anime with a whole lot of violence, death, half naked females and pervy old guys until Funimation edited all that stuff out, eliminating several seasons' worth of episodes and only putting in the duel monsters related episodes. I decided I would modify it a little and make it more like the anime was supposed to be.

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Of Wolves and Dragons…

Honda and his girlfriend walked over to them. Yuffie had to go home and wanted to say goodbye. She was getting a ride home from Kazuma. Kazuma had to go pick up his wife and daughter. Kazuma was married to Hiei's sister and she was visiting her mother. Kazuma – like Yusuke and Hiei – could not stand Hiei's father but his wife was close to her mother and tried to visit regularly. Despite being a horrible father he was a fun grandpa according to his little girl so he was ok with the occasional visits.

"So are we gonna see you at school more often this year Kaiba?" asked Yuffie. Seto opened his mouth to say no but Victoria returned then and answered for him.

"Yes," she replied for him "you will find Seto that your training will require payment. I don't take checks but will occasionally require assignments," she began as Sano offered his seat to her.

"Awesome! It's gonna be a great senior year!" exclaimed Yuffie not letting him object and punched him in the arm lightly.

"See ya at school Kaiba!" she called out as she hurried away with Honda chattering about meeting tomorrow at the Kaiba Arcade. Seto frowned; he had forgotten that there would be a cost to his training. He wondered now what he had gotten himself into.

"Sensei always sent us on the best assignments! On our first one we went surfing with the Wolf! You're gonna have the time of your life!" Sano exclaimed enthusiastically.

"On the second one we met Tokio-dono! I agree Seto-kun; you are in for a treat!" Kenshin added equally cheerful.

"Don't worry Seto. Nothing she ever sends you to do will ever be a waste of time," Aoshi assured.

"Well, it's nice to know you feel that way! I do remember you grumbling and growling every time I sent you out to do something fun," Victoria teased.

"Not every time Sensei," Aoshi countered a bit embarrassed.

"No, of course not, you and Kenshin were always very eager to find excuses for a fun outing with Tokio," she teased. Kenshin blushed as bright as his hair.

"Yes sensei, Nii-sama constantly reminds us of that. Apparently he knows of all of our outings with her," Aoshi replied and it surprised Seto that he sound a bit embarrassed. He couldn't wait to hear more about this Tokio. Sano and Victoria chuckled teasingly.

"Oh before I forget, you don't need to go every day but you do need to go more often. I'd say once a week should be enough hopefully you can hire some more help soon. I understand you lost every VP when you put the big five in jail," she added.

"Yes, and it wouldn't be so bad if HR would stop sending me morons to be my executive assistant," Seto commented.

"Good help is hard to find," Victoria sympathized.

"Hey, maybe you should introduce him to that intern you had working in your office in last month," Sano commented.

"Tsukushi Makino, she was interesting that she was!" Kenshin pointed out. Aoshi nodded and explained she was hard-working and would be graduating soon.

"I might hire her for the Oniwaban office in Kyoto. She has talent, I'd hate for it to be wasted," Aoshi commented.

"That is a waste if you ask me. She should be doing more than just babysitting the rich and spoiled," Victoria commented.

"She does have plenty of experienced with that though, that she does!" Kenshin put in. Victoria and Sano laughed.

"That's true! Tsukushi can kick butt! She totally deserves better," Sano agreed. Seto frowned wondering if this was their not-so-subtle way of suggesting he hire this woman.

"Send me her resume. I'll talk to her," Seto suggested. Aoshi looked up surprised that it hadn't taken much to convince Seto to give Tsukushi a chance. He promised to send a copy of the young woman's file to him on Monday morning.

Kurama and his friends came over then to say goodbye. The Fab Five had other engagements to attend to but Mokuba got them to promise they would come visit him at the arcade at the Kaiba building and gave them some passes. In return he promised them a special VIP tour.

Hiei and Kazuma came to say goodbye too and Kazuma thanked Mokuba for the passes. He was certain his daughter would enjoy them the most. Yusuke and Keiko left with them as well promising to catch up with them tomorrow at the Kame Game Shop with Yugi's mom and his grandpa. With the departures done Kenshin brought the subject back to Seto and the story he was going to tell about Oume.

"Would you like to listen in Sensei?" Kenshin asked with a smile.

"Oh absolutely! Please continue with your story Seto," Victoria replied eager to hear the tale.

Seto wasn't sure for a moment where to begin but soon decided to begin by explaining what had happened after his first duel with Yugi. That duel had been a turning point for him. He had his 3 Blue Eyes White Dragons on the field and Yugi's last defense – his powerful Dark Magician – had been eliminated, he was so sure of his victory. But at the last second Yugi managed to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat by assembling Exodia – a nearly impossible feat in Duel Monsters! It left him in a state of shock forcing him to question everything he had been teaching himself since he and his brother ended up in Gozaburo's hands.

"Up until that point I believed what Gozaburo had said to me: "Victory is life! If you ever lose you will die! Remember that Seto!" That's what he said just before he jumped out the window and I lived by those words. But I lost and I didn't die. I couldn't wrap my head around it; I couldn't understand how I could've lost. The duel was mine!" he paused trying to reign in his anger, remembering that duel was always upsetting. No matter how much money he made or how many duels he won, he always felt humiliated by the memory of that loss. He took a deep breath and continued.

"So I locked myself away in my lab and tinkered with some new tech I'd been working on trying to figure out how I could've lost and why I was still alive if I was the loser," Seto began solemnly. He paused as Mai made an appearance.

"Ok, I just got the weirdest text from my mom," she told Aoshi in the most demanding tone.

"Amazing timing," Victoria commented amused.

"You remember how she totally lost it when I told her I'd been testing some new VR tech for some suits at Kaiba Corp right?" Mai began.

"Yes, I recall you were told to stay clear of Kaiba Corp, specifically the Big Five," Aoshi retorted annoyed by the interruption.

"Yea, ok whatever. Anyway, I just got a text from her telling me to be nice to Mr. Kaiba and to call her later and tell her how the party went. Now how the heck does my mom know where I am and how is it she's not freaking out," Mai demanded looking first at Aoshi and then to Seto then back again. But it was Sano who answered.

"Seto's got your mom on speed dial and he just texted her that the feud's over," Sano replied cheerfully. Mai's eyes went wide with shock.

"You should see the look on your face!" he teased her and laughed.

"To clarify Sano, I have her email address not her phone number," Seto countered solemnly.

"Tomato, Tomatow," Sano rejoined still chuckling at Mai's astonishment. Seto's phone trilled and he reached in his jacket pocket to check the messages. There was a message from Mrs. Oume. She said she was very pleased – and relieved – that Aoshi had seen things their way in the end. She also apologized for any uncouth outbursts her daughter might make and thanked him for letting her know personally. He texted her a short message relaying that her family wanted to know how they knew each other and asked her if it was ok if he explained the circumstances around the last time they saw each other.

"Ok, I figured you guys put that ridiculous feud crap to bed but back it up," she began staring at Seto incredulous "you have my mom's email? My mom never gives her contact info out! Not even my dad has her email!" she added looking shocked. Seto simply shrugged and was about to say something but Kenshin jumped in for him this time.

"Apparently, he and Mrs. Oume are friends and Seto-kun was just about to tell us how that happened!" he explained cheerfully

"You're kidding!" she laughed "You know what, I shouldn't be that surprised. You guys are alike! It's her and Tokio that I don't get," Mai commented as she perched herself daintily on the arm rest of Aoshi's armchair.

"Well, don't let me stop you! I wanna know how my mother - of all people - convinced a Kaiba not to hate us!" Mai added still very surprised. Seto shrugged and looked again at his phone. Mrs. Oume's reply was a very courteous invitation to go ahead and share whatever details he deemed pertinent. Seto looked at the Go board and continued his story.

"After the first duel with Yugi I went to my lab outside of the city. Gozaburo had a little hideout on the road to Maiden's Peak right on the ocean that he used for his secret meetings. It's tucked away in a little cove off a little private road at the base of the mountain so it's somewhat isolated. Since no one knew about it, I turned it into a lab and locked myself away for weeks building and testing my new invention. I ignored what was going on at Kaiba Corp which was a mistake," he began as he thought back to the year of Duelist Kingdom and all the life-altering events of that summer.

-0-

'It just doesn't add up! I ran every algorithm! The probability of him drawing all five cards is astronomical! How? How could he do that?' Seto thought angrily for the millionth time as he tinkered with his newest device. The duel disc was his latest creation. After the invention of the dueling platforms he realized that markets in other countries where not keen on the stationary platforms. In the US, the arcade form of gaming was almost dead and so it was in most other countries too. Besides, the high maintenance costs made them almost inaccessible in a lot of places. He wanted something consumers could use anywhere. The duel disc was portable and would be well within the means of the average gamer. It should attract a much wider audience.

'And it just might give me an edge against Yugi the next time we duel,' he thought. His confidence had been shaken but he was not going to give up! He would duel Yugi however many times was necessary until he beat him. The device was finished now so he put his tools down for a moment.

He turned on his computer for the first time in over a week figuring it was time he caught up with what was going on in his company. He felt a strange sense of foreboding. The five VPs of his company - or the Big Five as they liked to call themselves when Seto wasn't around - were a bunch of greedy snakes that hated Gozaburo and had been quick to side with him in his coup but Seto still didn't trust them. He banished the little trickle of doubt that crept up in his mind about Mokuba's safety. The Big Five didn't dare do anything to his little brother while he was away – they needed Seto to be around to retain their positions in Kaiba Corp. He knew they didn't have the courage or the means to move against him.

'Which means they must be nice to Mokuba,' he thought. He got up from his desk and stretched as he waited for the computer to come up. It was late morning and the sun was high in sky. The tide was low today and the rocks where the stilts of the house were anchored with were exposed. He thought about going to the kitchen to get some breakfast but shook off the thought. His work was finished and it was time to hunt down Yugi and take back his title. There was no time to waste. He needed to call and have his helicopter prepped so he could fly to Duelist Kingdom he would order his staff back at the main house to pack him a lunch…

-0-

"This happened the day after duelist kingdom started, right?" Yugi interrupted to Seto's annoyance. When Mai did not return right away Serenity came looking for her. Not long after followed Jou and of course with him came Yugi and the rest his pals. Before Seto knew it, the entire party had moved to the broody boy corner and Seto was forced to explain about Mrs. Oume and start the story all over again.

"At this point Pegasus had already taken me to his island, right big brother?" Mokuba asked. Seto nodded looking around at his guests. The maid came by and offered everyone refills on their drinks. He noticed that for some reason his staff seemed more cheerful than they usually were and more eager to do as they were told.

The maids had wanted to move chairs around but Yugi and his pals just casually plopped themselves on the floor. Anzu and Serenity were sharing the chair Kenshin had used and Yugi was sitting with his legs pulled up on the floor near Anzu. Kenshin sat on the armrest of his chair next to Anzu while Kaoru sat on the armrest next to Serenity. Victoria was sitting in Sano's chair with Sano perched on the right side armrest keeping an eye on Yugi who kept skooching closer and closer to Anzu's legs.

Misao and Mokuba were sharing Aoshi's large armchair with Aoshi sitting on the armrest next to Misao and Mai on the opposite side next to Mokuba. Jou was sitting at his sister's feet with Bakura next to him and Honda was sitting on the ground next to Mokuba with Duke sitting next to him on the ground. Shuura – to the shock of all present – was sitting in Seto's chair after he relinquished it and politely invited her to sit. Aoshi's father leaned on the back of Aoshi's seat while the uncles stood behind the chair at either side of Hannya.

'That incident on the blimp wasn't that big of a deal. I don't know why I was freaking out,' he thought as he accepted Shuura's slightly flirty invitation to sit on the armrest of her chair.

"Yea, it must've taken Pegasus a little while to find me because he didn't send his goons until the day after he took you," Seto added.

"That Pegasus was a real sicko! Did you guys know he has an actual dungeon in his freakin' castle?" Honda asked Aoshi and friends. He looked as angry as he had been the day he went searching the castle for Mokuba and Seto.

"And it was as dark and dank as you can imagine a dungeon to be," added Bakura solemnly.

"I did not know that," said Victoria in a very formal tone. A tone the boys knew she used only when she was very, very angry. She knew Max had taken him but because he was one of her "kids" she did not think he had mistreated Mokuba.

"That's where I found Mokuba. He was literally chained to the wall inside a freaking cell!" Honda added indignant. Jou nodded and put his two cents in.

"That diva got his eye ripped out to remind him not to kidnap little kids or hurt old people! But if ya ask me it wasn't enough punishment!" Jou put in equally indignant.

"I agree," said Victoria very calmly. She pulled out her cellphone and typed a quick message.

"Well, it seems Night will be paying Max a visit on his way back from Baharavia. I suppose I shall meet him there as well," she announced to the room in a very formal manner. The boys knew from experience that when she was formal she was extremely pissed!

"Please, continue your story Seto," she added very politely without taking her eyes off her phone and the messages she was exchanging with Nightraven. Seto smirked for a moment finding it amusing that the has-been Pegasus was headed for more humiliations.

'He deserves it,' thought Seto with satisfaction as he continued his tale…

-0-

'The Duelist Kingdom tournament should have started already,' he thought as he returned to his desk and looked at the date on the screen. He knew his spot in the tournament had been given to Yugi.

'I'll get my title back soon enough,' Seto determined as he opened his email program. His inbox was flooded with messages! The messages were all marked urgent and were coming from one sender that he recognized immediately. The address was a Hotmail account named Ghost1 and he knew that was the code for his information ally: The Shadow Broker. The Shadow Broker was an information dealer. He could procure intelligence on any subject in the world – for a price!

What the Shadow Broker looked like or what he sounded like Seto could not be sure because of the high-quality modulator he used to disguise his voice and the fact that they only communicated via phone or email. He couldn't even be sure it was a man. The Shadow Broker dealt in sensitive information and valued his anonymity. The broker's assistance had been invaluable in destroying Gozaburo. It had cost a pretty penny but it had been worth it. He clicked on the top message:

MR. KAIBA ANSWER YOUR PHONE!

Was all the short urgent message said. He pulled his cellphone from his desk drawer and turned it on. The Shadow Broker didn't send urgent messages idly. The phone didn't get past its first ring, Seto hit the "talk" button but didn't get to say hello.

"Mr. Kaiba, you have been betrayed," began the digitized voice of the Shadow Broker.

"Your brother has been taken and the so-called big five are conspiring with Max Pegasus to steal your company and your technology," the Broker continued urgently.

"Mokuba!" the word popped out of his mouth with a surge of guilt. He promised his mother he would always take care of his little brother. He had done everything but since Gozaburo took them in!

"You are in danger. Pegasus hired men to assassinate you and steal whatever technology you are developing. They are on their way to you right now! You must leave!" the Broker insisted urgently.

"I have to destroy all the research documents here first! Can you buy me some time?" Seto asked. He knew the Broker's help would cost him but Seto would pay anything at this point to save his brother and his company.

"I have an agent in the area. My agent can assist you," the Broker offered.

"Sounds good! How long do I have?" Seto asked as he moved to the fireplace and lit it. He threw papers into the flames as he listened to the Broker.

"The men hired by Pegasus will arrive in approximately five minutes. So will my agent," the Broker said.

"Alright, I'll meet him outside. Thank you," Seto added moving now to deal with clearing his work bench and getting rid of all the data on his computer.

"Good luck Mr. Kaiba," the Broker said before ending the call. Seto turned off his phone, smashed it on the table and tossed the phone out the window as far as he could out into the ocean to keep anyone from tracking him via the GPS card on the device. Next, he used an electro magnet and wiped his hard drive. He looked around satisfied by his quick work and sat back down to pack up his duel disks in a tight waterproof briefcase so he could head out but just then he heard a commotion below and gunshots. He looked up surprised.

'They're here!' he hurried to lock up his duel disks thinking he might just have time to reach the trap door in the garage that led to the rocky shore below. The door to his office was knocked down just then and two men in black suits walked in.

"End of the line Kaiba!" one of the men announced as they pulled out their guns and pointed them at him. He stood behind his chair and took a quick analysis of his situation. Seto realized that he had no chance of trying to fight his way past those two men. He could hear gunfire outside and realized that the Broker's agent must be the one stalling whatever backup these men had but he needed to get out.

"It'll take more than you two goons to take me out!" he declared as he kicked the chair. While they were distracted dodging it, he jumped out the window. He hit the water without injury and held his breath under the choppy surf for a moment. He saw the bullets that pierced the water but thankfully missed him. One of the men who burst into his office plunged into the water a scant few feet from him. He panicked at first thinking they would jump in after him, but soon he realized that the man was dead. Blood obscured the water very quickly from the bullet wound on his neck that killed him. He risked surfacing to look around and was shocked by what he saw.

"Hurry Mr. Kaiba! I'll cover you!" called out the last person he expected the Broker to send. Mrs. Oume Kujacu stood partially hidden among the trees. She had a high-powered rifle in her hands equipped with a very sophisticated sighting lens. He did as he was told and swam hard for the rocky shore where Mrs. Oume and her rifle had dispatched one after another of Pegasus' men with unerring accuracy.

"The keys are in the ignition!" She called out to him as he scrambled up the rocks towards the trees. He reached her quickly and she continued to fire her rifle at the window Seto had just jumped out of to keep the last merc still hiding in his office from shooting him. She walked backwards quickly towards the black mustang she had waiting with its doors open, her gun was still trained on the window Seto had jumped from. Seto jumped over the hood of the car, tossed his briefcase in the back seat and put himself in the driver's seat then waited for Mrs. Oume to get in the car and close the door. He gunned the engine and sped away with his foot all the way down on the gas pedal…

-0-

"I'm sorry Seto. I have to stop you here," began Hannya looking confused. "My sister got mud on her shoes and messed up her manicure to help you? Why didn't she send one of her goons? Why didn't she call me? I would've been there in a heartbeat!" he added firmly.

"Father, you and I were out of the country around the time the Duelist Kingdom tournament was going on. That's why Nii-sama sent Mai on that other rescue," Aoshi reminded him.

"Oh right, I forgot about that!" Hannya replied "but it still doesn't explain why she didn't just send someone else. It's just not like her," Hannya added perplexed with agreements from his brothers.

'Shows how little you actually know your sister,' thought Seto amused "I wouldn't have trusted anyone she sent, she knew that," he said out loud. "I met her about four years ago at a party Gozaburo threw shortly after he had arranged an assassination of her and tried to have Mai kidnapped. We bonded over our mutual dislike of Gozaburo," he explained and he chuckled as he remembered that night.

"She called Gozaburo a gorilla in an expensive suit," he added and laughed along with everyone else.

"Ok, now that sounds like my sister," Hannya put in still chuckling.

"That makes sense to me," began Anzu "if someone were trying to kill me, I'd want to see someone I know rescuing me and not a complete stranger that says they want to help me," she concluded.

"Yea, otherwise how can I be sure that they aren't trying to lure me into a trap," agreed Yugi.

"It's precisely why she came herself. We stayed in contact over the years passing each other useful information so when she hadn't heard from me and saw what was going on at Kaiba corp. she came looking for me herself," Seto added.

"I guess now I know why my aunt always seemed so well informed on the activities of Gozaburo Kaiba," Aoshi pointed out calmly.

"Well, all I know is that your mom's a badass Mai and I'm not really all that surprised," Honda put in. Seto just smirked, he was glad to have edited the part about the Shadow Broker. The Broker was a secret he fiercely guarded. He was gladder still for the ever-trusting natures of Yugi and his pals. They accepted his explanation about how he knew Mrs. Oume, and why she had come to his rescue without asking any questions. But he wondered if Aoshi and his friends were buying it. Victoria had said nothing at all about it so far.

"You're right, I'm not surprised either," Jou commented casually "when you consider how Mai laid out Marik on the blimp. It makes sense Mai's mom is a badass too," he added casually to agreements from his friends.

"I have a question?" began Kaoru confused "where did Oume learn to shoot a high powered rifle? And where did she even get one? Their illegal in Japan," she asked surprised.

"Seriously sis? Oume did a Sniper Elite-style rescue in her Prada shoes and Armani suit and all you can think about is the illegal gun?" Shuura mocked and laughed derisively. Seto found himself laughing as well. He wasn't sure why he was feeling so defensive about Mrs. Oume suddenly. Kaoru defended herself by citing that weapons of all kinds are highly regulated and even very rich people had to have special licenses and a profession that requires them to carry weapons in order to own weapons. She even went so far as quoting the actual articles of the law.

"Really Kaoru… This is my mom you're talking about here. What she wants she gets! Hanging around all those airheaded beauty queens is starting to affect your brain girl, it's a good thing your term is almost up!" she teased laughing in that annoying way that made her friends cringe. Seto tried not to laugh too hard, impressed that Kaoru had could quote from the Japanese constitution from memory so readily. Shuura laughed out loud some more and tapped his arm.

"You can go ahead and laugh, Hot Stuff. It's funny," she said to him as she laughed loudly. Sano chuckled while the rest looked uncomfortable about participating in all the teasing Mai and Shuura were throwing Kaoru. Seto just shook his head and chuckled a little but before Kaoru could explode in another righteous tirade Mai changed the subject.

"Hey Mokuba, can I use your computer? My sister-in-law wants me to face-time with her and my mom but I don't have my laptop," Mai asked as she scrolled through her messages on her phone.

"You can take her to my office, Mokuba," Seto answered for him right away.

"Cool, thanks! Hey, do you guys want to meet my mom?" Mai asked suddenly.

"YES!" Serenity exclaimed bursting out of her seat and knocking her brother, Bakura and Yugi over. Serenity had been fast becoming a big fan of Mai and Seto could easily see that fandom had grown by leaps and bounds since he last saw her fawn over Mai on the blimp. Mai laughed.

"Ok Serenity lets go," she laughed.

"I guess we're all going," Jou laughed as he got up being pulled urgently by Serenity. Yugi laughed as he got up too, Duke and Honda followed suit.

"I can't wait for you to meet Tokio! She's really cool," Misao said to Mokuba as they got up.

"I'll go too. I need to ask Tokio a question," Victoria added as she got up and followed Mokuba. Hannya and his brothers followed as well. Shuura was the last to get up and she gave Seto a wink then walked away. Seto smirked back at her as he stepped out of the way to let her pass, then retook his seat. Aoshi's uncles speculated as they walked away that it was Victoria's right hand man – Nightraven – who taught Oume how to shoot. Bessimi intended to ask her. Kenshin and Sano stayed behind as everyone else left.

"So what happened next, Seto-kun?" Kenshin asked after they were all gone.

"Yea, you seemed a little too eager to get rid of Yugi and his buddies," Sano added with a knowing smirk retaking his seat.

"You got to my Aunt via the Shadow Broker," Aoshi added calmly. He had retaken his seat across from Seto with the table holding the Go board between them. Seto said nothing as he studied the board again for his next move.

"It is dangerous to be involved with the Shadow Broker. I wish she did not feel she had to," Aoshi added. Again, Seto said nothing and wondered how he would proceed. In the end, he decided that his loyalty would lie with her as he continued his story modifying it enough to protect her and the confidence she bestowed on him that day…

-0-

Seto floored it as Mrs. Oume fired her rifle out the window a few times when they whooshed past the goons' cars blocking his driveway.

"I took out their tires. If there are any more of them in the house they'll have a hard time following us," she added calmly. Seto was soaked to the bone but tried not to shiver from the freezing cold water still dripping off him onto Mrs. Oume's leather upholstery. She reached over calmly and turned on the heater pointing all the fans towards him. He took a deep breath.

"Thank you Mrs. Kujacu…and not just for the heater," he began suppressing a slight shiver. He slowed the car down a smidge once he was certain that no one was following. He slowed down to the city traffic speed once they arrived at Domino City. He tried to distract himself from his cold and wet clothes by thinking of the things he knew about his rescuer.

"You're welcome Mr. Kaiba," she replied graciously. Seto watched from the corner of his eye as with deft, quick hands she disassembled her gun and packed it into her Gucci bag as they spoke. Seto knew she had been forced to marry Kamo Kujacu at the age of 17. Kamo Kujacu was charismatic enough to have a successful TV acting career but in all other things he is a complete moron. He learned on his own investigations that her father threatened to sell her to a whore house in another country if she did not marry one of the men he chose for her. A fate worse than the one her ridiculous father had already handed her brother a couple years before for some dumb outdated reason.

Among the choices presented to her had been Kanryu and Gozaburo and several others just as bad or worse than those two. Kamo was the lesser of all the evils. Yet despite this horrible condition, she was clever enough to get included in the deal a college education in the business administration field. She uses that education to run the studio and production company owned by Kamo's family. Without her, the studio would have folded years ago because Kamo spent too much time partying and engaging in every kind of sordid affair rather than paying attention to his responsibilities. His face was often in the tabloids and the sleazy entertainment shows.

"I'll be perfectly honest, you are the last person I expected would come and help me," he added breathlessly. The excitement and exertion was suddenly catching up to him.

'And she's an amazing shot!' thought Seto grateful for her timely arrival. 'Too timely…how did the Shadow Broker have enough time to contact her and send her all the way from Kyoto?' thought Seto as his brain began spinning theories about how she could've been so well prepared to rescue him in a secluded location. He ignored the hunger gnawing at his stomach as he continued trying to understand his rescuer. He wondered if she knew that the many attempts on her life went back all the way to the time when her family rejected Gozaburo's marriage proposal.

"The Shadow Broker understands my feelings," she replied in a neutral tone.

"I don't understand," Seto replied confused.

"The Shadow Broker is aware that I have been looking for a way to end the feud between our families since my daughter died. Thanks to Pegasus that opportunity has presented itself," she explained in a very calm manner. Seto wondered how not letting him die helped her cause.

"The only way for this feud to end is if our families can be allies not enemies," she added and for the first time since he saw her; her voice betrayed a tiny bit of emotion. He glanced quickly at her and there was a deep sadness in her eyes that affected Seto more than he thought it should. An image of his mother Adeena suddenly popped into his mind as he looked at her but he banished the image quickly. He had loved his mother dearly but thinking of her sweet smile made the hole in his heart ache more than he dared to acknowledge.

He looked back towards the road and concentrated on the present situation, banishing the pain the death of his parents – particularly his mother – still caused him. He nodded finally understanding, if he died and Mokuba became the big 5's puppet all chance for peace between their families would die. To control the company the big five required a Kaiba and Mokuba – being younger – would be easier to break.

"I don't want to be your enemy Mrs. Kujacu," he replied seriously. He heard a soft sigh of relief and turned for a second to look at her. He caught her sad smile before it disappeared. Again, he banished the image of his mom that sad smile brought to his mind. He couldn't understand why his brain kept trying to make comparisons between Mrs. Kujacu and his mom. His mom had been a very domestic, simple and sweet person. She had been sad the last few days of her life and he never knew why. But she was as opposite to Mrs. Kujacu as anyone could possibly be!

"But your nephew scares me. Does he feel as you do?" Seto asked cautiously.

"Honestly…I don't know for sure. He is very guarded with his thoughts. I believe that he will not move against you as long as you give him no cause to do so," she explained. She zipped up her very elegant and innocent looking bag containing her deadly weapon and put it down on the floor. In a very demure manner she wiped the mud from her shoes. Seto found it impressive that she had not ruffled a single hair from her head and didn't seem to have one smudge on her perfectly tailored dark green pants-suit.

"I'm not interested in starting any fights with him! I can assure you! I have enough enemies to deal with! I'd much rather strike him off the list of people wanting to kill me," Seto replied more than a bit relieved that - aside from Pegasus' goons - he wouldn't need to watch out for a deadly Shinomori or two coming after him.

"You'll have nothing to worry about on that account," Mrs. Oume assured him solemnly. They chatted for a little bit as they drove through Domino City towards Seto's neighbor. He lived in an upscale neighborhood on the west end of the city. Seto was curious how she ended up as an agent of the Shadow Broker.

"After I lost my daughter my husband turned to the bottle but I could not be idle. I needed to do something to protect Mai and to avenge my daughter," she began. Seto turned into his neighborhood.

"I apologize for asking, but didn't your daughter die in a car accident?" Seto asked carefully. Mrs. Oume's face tightened for a moment and Seto hoped he hadn't offended her but she relaxed and shook her head.

"An agent of Takeda's – who infiltrated my daughter's staff – had been supplying her with illegal drugs for some time," she began solemnly.

"I'm sorry to hear that," he replied very seriously seeing easily where this was going.

"I discovered in her room the last supply of drugs she received. I had them tested," she paused at this point as they got stopped by a red light. He turned to look at her and it was obvious she was struggling to continue.

"I'm sorry," he replied softly. Seto did not need her to continue. He could guess what Kanryu had done. Of all Gozaburo's associates – he hated Kanryu the most!

"My daughter was dead before her car went over the cliff. They took her life I could not allow them to smear her name too so I created the cover of an accident," she concluded with anger in her voice. Seto nodded but said nothing as he continued to drive towards his house. However, he knew that Mrs. Oume was a ruthless woman; revenge would be on her mind more than her daughter's reputation.

"Also, by letting them think they got away with it they would let their guard down and not see you coming," he said at the next red light. When he turned to look at her she smiled at him. There was a fierce pride in her face and it pleased him to see her smile at him like that.

"You are a correct Mr. Kaiba. Revenge is ever so much sweeter when they think themselves safe and don't see your knife coming," she replied with a cunning smirk on her face. Seto didn't wanna think about why her praise made him feel good because again he saw his mother in his mind. It restored some of his lost confidence though.

"I have a talent for gathering useful information which has served my brother and nephew well. Money isn't the only form of payment the Shadow Broker will accept," she continued in her normal elegant tone explaining that for information or a favor – like this rescue – she could gain the information she needed.

"Really!? That's good to know," thought Seto wondering to himself if he could trade intel on Pegasus' company once he was finished dealing with him to pay for the service he received from his agent today. But another thought suddenly sparked in his mind as he thought about his brief conversation with the broker on the phone and the noise he could hear in the background. She still hadn't actually said how she came to be an agent of the Shadow Broker and from what he knew of her she was too fierce and independent. She had spent most of her life trapped by the choices others made for her. It seemed unlikely she would willingly hand herself over to a dangerous and anonymous entity for revenge.

"Besides, I'm not a warrior like my brother and my nephew. The Shadow Broker seemed like a good route," she concluded in an off-handed way. Seto laughed then. But suddenly he felt his suspicions confirmed.

"I'm sorry but the goon you left cringing in my office and his dead mates would disagree! You are every bit the warrior they are!" he exclaimed and laughed some more. She was quiet for a moment then laughed too he figured he must've caught her by surprise with his compliment. He pulled the car into a parking space behind a closed flower shop as they finally arrived within a block of his house.

"I have to go on foot from here. Pegasus is likely to have goons around my house looking for me. I can't believe I have to sneak into my own house," he remarked annoyed. He got out of the car quickly and hurried to the passenger side. He opened the door for her and with a gracious nod she took the hand he offered as a gallant gesture to help her out of the car. She stepped quickly around the car and allowed Seto to open the driver side door; he pulled the seat back and took out his briefcase then held the door for her.

"I'm sorry. I seemed to have ruined your upholstery," he noted as she stood before him ready to get in her car. The salt water from his dip in the ocean was all over the driver's seat and the floor mat.

"A triviality…don't trouble yourself over it," she replied with dismissive wave of her hand. He decided he needed to test his theory before he left her.

"Does your nephew know you're the Shadow Broker?" Seto blurted out. She was so shocked by his question she stared speechless at him. It was enough to confirm his suspicion. She smiled at him after a few seconds.

"As my daughter would say: You are scary-smart Mr. Kaiba," she said with a smirk of amusement. She reached over to the glove compartment and pulled out a small towel to wipe off the water on the driver's seat. He spotted the voice changer that he was certain Mrs. Oume must've used to call him. She handed him a protein bar she had pulled out of the glove compartment smiling amused.

"You skipped breakfast. I could hear your stomach all the way here," she teased. Seto chuckled equal parts amused and embarrassed and put the bar in the pocket of his trench coat. Again, a memory popped up unbidden: his mom scolding him for being late for dinner. He pushed the memory aside.

"I can trust you to keep that information between us?" she asked solemnly. Seto nodded firmly, it was a major coup for him to be buddies with the Shadow Broker and he knew it would be that that would keep him and Mokuba safe from the rest of the Shinomoris and their allies. All he had to do now was get rid of the Big Five and Pegasus.

"Well then, it seems you now have some credit with the Shadow Broker," she said to him with an amused smirk. She quickly wiped down her seat and got into her car.

"I'll call if I need to cash it in," Seto replied grateful and closed the door for her.

"Good luck Mr. Kaiba," she said to him solemnly. He nodded and thanked her again then hurried away careful not to be seen…

-0-

"There isn't much to tell really. After we escaped my lab we drove back to my neighborhood. Mrs. Kujacu promised to let me know if she ever found out whether you agreed with us or not on ending the feud between our families. But the last few times I communicated with her afterwards, she said she couldn't tell what your position on the matter was," Seto explained deciding to keep his conversation with Mrs. Kujacu mostly to himself until he had a chance to speak with her again privately.

"She helped me again by loaning me a pilot and getting me a helicopter to get to Pegasus' island," he added. She also intervened to keep his loyal bodyguard Roland from being deported on a trumped up charge the Big Five created to send him back to Genovia. The Big Five fired him and had him arrested by immigration officers before they moved on Mokuba. They knew Roland would be loyal to Seto and his little brother so he would protect Mokuba.

"She also helped Roland sneak onto Duelist Kingdom. He found me in a hidden cell but by the time he arrived Pegasus had lost to Yugi and his guards were very distracted because Pegasus had apparently suffered a serious injury," Seto explained. Roland easily overpowered Pegasus' men and released Seto. After they escaped the castle Roland went to secure their ride home while Seto looked for Mokuba.

"I'm glad my aunt was able to help you. I'll have to visit her soon and thank her," Aoshi added solemnly. Sano and Kenshin offered to go with him.

"Mai said you dueled Yugi twice in the Duelist Kingdom tournament, Seto-kun. But you said you only dueled him once in Duelist Kingdom and didn't you win that time?" Kenshin asked.

"I didn't realize it until I was hacking into Industrial Illusions that I left my deck on my desk when I escaped from my lab. Pegasus used my deck and a doppelganger to impersonate me," Seto explained.

"Ok, that makes sense but what I don't understand is how Pegasus didn't get sent to prison for kidnapping. I mean he's still sippin' the good life on his private island," Sano wondered.

"In the eyes of the law, he didn't kidnap us. I was emancipated after Gozaburo died so I could control Kaiba Corp. Mokuba was under the shared guardianship of the head of Kaiba corp. – me – and the board of directors aka: The Big Five until I become of age to assume full guardianship or some other unusual circumstance forced the board to be removed from their roles early," Seto explained.

"I see, so with you gone the Big Five simply signed custody of your brother over to Max Pegasus and you went to the island out of your own free will," Aoshi concluded.

"Precisely, and I know you're thinking I had witnesses to Pegasus' awful treatment but Yugi and his friends weren't reliable witnesses. Yugi never saw the cells and he saw Croquet – Pegasus' head of security – gently pull me away in the direction of the mansion guest rooms. The only one who saw Mokuba in a cell was Honda and he was a trespasser along with Anzu and Bakura. Pegasus had a nice legal escape. His island tournament was advertised as a realistic fantasy adventure. There were mazes, creepy cemeteries and Indiana Jones-style tunnels and traps," Seto continued.

"Of course, he could get away with saying everything was part of a game and since he let you all go unharmed once the tournament was over, you had no legal recourse against him," Aoshi interjected and understood now why his Sensei was so angry.

"Yes, it was a game from a legal stand point and we all agreed to abide by its rules the moment we stepped on to the island," Seto concluded explaining it was all stated in the contract Pegasus had sent every player weeks in advance. The contract even specified it was a private event and attendance was by invitation only, gate crashers and trespassers would be prosecuted, which all Yugi's friends were. Technically, only Pegasus had legal recourse to prosecute anyone if he wanted to.

He added that it was all moot now, this year Mokuba would be old enough to be emancipated too. His little brother has decided to enroll in Ouran Academy for high school so he would be leaving Domino on the next school year. As for the Big Five, he put them in jail when they sabotaged his virtual reality pod and tried to kill him. But he had been forced to put himself up as bait to catch them in the act.

"I didn't tell Mokuba what I had planned and in retrospect I probably should have. He went straight to Yugi for help and that made for an awkward conversation with Detective Masaki later because of the danger Mokuba and Yugi and his friends were placed in," Seto added. He explained that Mrs. Oume put the detective up to date with what the Big Five had done and with her help Seto had come up with the plan to use the virtua-pods to bait them into trying to kill him.

"I'm sorry Seto. I wish I had known you were in contact with my aunt. I would have approached you sooner," Aoshi added regretfully.

"Which is exactly what sis asked us to do when Gozaburo took a swan dive off the top of Kaiba corp. tower…" Sano put in softly. Kenshin and Aoshi cringed.

"Tokio-dono campaigned to end the feud quite strongly, that she did," Kenshin added solemnly. Sano pointed out that Tokio had support from nearly everyone they knew and even Misao had expressed her desire to end the feud many times over the past few months and approach the Kaiba boys as friends. She had offered using her popularity to act as an ambassador.

"That actually would've worked. Mokuba's been a huge fan of Misao's for years. As no doubt, you've noticed, she would've been the perfect ambassador," Seto commented. Misao arrived then before Seto could ask more. He still wanted to hear what happened in Helmagistan too and wanted the story to get back on track.

"Hey guys, Tokio asked if you guys and Seto can join in on the face time. She wants to say hi to Seto," Misao let them know. All the guys agreed right away and got up.

"She wants to talk to you the most! She said she can't go to sleep until she says hi to you Seto," she added cheerfully to Seto. It was past midnight in Colorado Springs but Tokio was wide awake waiting for Hajime to come home and was super happy when she got Sano's first text.

"Tokio's been exchanging texts with Vicky-sensei and Sano since we got here!" Misao explained as they all walked to Seto's home office. Aoshi looked at Sano.

"I promised her that I would let her know the instant you got around to extending the olive branch," Sano said looking at his phone to send out another text.

"I don't want a repeat of the time she got mad at us about the Kaiba/Shinomori feud!" he added very solemnly. Aoshi and Kenshin cringed. Kenshin held his stomach for a moment.

"You are right, that you are," he agreed immediately. Misao just laughed.

"You make sure they tell you that story Seto! Although it's probably better if you let Mai or Shuura tell it! They were both there!" Misao explained and she laughed some more. Sano shivered a little and said he did not want to relive that one so he would gladly pass the baton to Mai.

"Ok, so is this after Helmagistan or before?" Seto asked as they reached the office.

"Definitely after," Aoshi replied dryly but he looked decidedly unhappy about that particular memory. Seto's conference monitor was directly across from his oak desk mounted on the wall to the right of the door. Yugi and his friends were standing in front of the monitor, at either side of Mokuba who leaned casually on the front edge of Seto's desk. Aoshi's uncles and his father were off to the side sitting on the couch under the window opposite from the door. Victoria was on the far corner opposite the desk in Seto's reading chair speaking very quietly on her phone in a language Seto could not recognize.

"Helmagistan happened several months after Colombia and Colombia happened a few weeks before Aoshi's 18th birthday," Sano added as they entered but Seto didn't get to ask anything else. Mokuba had set up the video conference and there was a very pretty lady talking to Mokuba in a very animated way on the right half of the screen. The left side was Mrs. Oume smiling calmly.

"We have to tell you that story Seto-kun before we tell you about Helmagistan," Kenshin whispered to him with a teasing smirk. Seto nodded and with a smirk he moved to stand on Mokuba's right side making sure he was in the field of vision of his camera. Misao stood on the left of Mokuba and put her arm around the boy who leaned happily against her.

"Good Evening Mrs. Davila and Mrs. Kujacu. It's a pleasure to meet you Mrs. Davila and it's very nice to see you again Mrs. Kujacu," Seto greeted very solemnly.

"Hello Mr. Kaiba. It is good to see you again," Oume greeted elegantly.

"Hi Seto! Just call me Tokio ok! I'm so excited to meet you!" Tokio greeted more cheerfully. Seto nodded solemnly as she insisted he call her by her first name and let him know Hajime wanted to say hi too but was busy with the baby. Their littlest child was only a couple of weeks old which meant he woke every two hours or so to eat. She looked off to the side as someone spoke to her off camera.

"Oh and Hajime says you can just call him Hajime too. He gets cranky when people call him Mr. Davila, says it makes him feel old!" she teased and laughed. Sano and Kenshin laughed and Tokio exchanged some very cheerful greetings with them and even Aoshi looked happy.

"My house is going to be the most popular house on the block tomorrow!" Tokio exclaimed super cheerfully.

"Why is that?" asked Anzu. Tokio looked surprised.

"Obviously because I'm talking to the Seto Kaiba whose only the King of the video gaming world! Duh!" Tokio replied and laughed.

"Sis, there's no Seto-mania here in Japan," Sano pointed out standing behind Seto's desk. Tokio looked horrified by that statement.

"And Yugi is the actual King of Games," Anzu quickly corrected proudly. Tokio frowned in confusion.

"Really? That's weird. Well, which games has he made then? I've never heard of any Yugi Moto games before," she replied confused. Seto laughed delighted by the fact that Tokio didn't think winning a few duels makes you a king. He realized that Sano and Kenshin were laughing. Mrs. Oume chuckled a little too.

"No sis. Here it's just a title they gave Yugi when he won the Duelist Kingdom and Battle City tournaments," Sano replied shooting his little sister a teasing smirk. Anzu looked a bit put out as Sano explained to her and her bewildered friends that in most parts of the world the title means almost nothing since Yugi doesn't make money from it and Duel Monsters isn't as popular as it is in Japan and certain parts of Asia. Yugi is virtually unknown in America and most parts of Europe. The only one who has capitalized from Yugi's victories is his grandpa, who currently enjoys a healthy boost in his business.

"When I take his title I'll be even more famous and make lots of money!" Mai added and laughed. Seto rolled his eyes but said nothing. Mai was popular in America but it was because she was still the Chess Grandmaster. She had held the title for four consecutive years now. Her beauty and youth made Chess popular among young people again in North America and Europe.

'Dream on Mai, no one's going to beat Yugi but me,' Seto thought smirking amused. He delighted in the fact that Tokio expressed her disappointment in Mai's aspirations.

"I don't know Mai…I still don't see how he can be the King of Games if all he did was play games and he only played one game how does that make him King of Games?" Tokio insisted and Seto laughed again. He was starting to like Tokio.

"I mean, Seto has worldwide bestselling video games in every category from turn-based rpgs to first person shooters." Tokio continued in a sort of classroom lecture tone "The KC Gamestation console has received critical acclaim around the globe and is the worldwide bestselling console especially since he made that deal with the Pokémon franchise, which by the way, still happens to be the number one bestselling card game and the TV show is in its ninth season and sixth feature length film going very strong on the ratings in over 200 countries. Incidentally, the new duel disk broke pre-order records for any electronic device which I believe is the result of the absolute genius idea to make the software interchangeable so you could play other collectible card games on it," continued Tokio. She added that she was considering getting a pair of duel disks only so she could make use of her extensive collection of Star Wars and Pokémon cards.

"I just can't see how playing one game makes you the King of Games but I could agree that he is the King of Duel Monsters. By itself still impressive since he had to beat its creator and remains undefeated in that game. Besides, it is still the number two bestselling collectible card game in the world though without the duel disk and the high adventure tournaments like Duelist Kingdom and Battle City – with Battle City being far more accessible with its city based location and internet live streams – it probably would have dropped way off the top ten list two years ago," she continued very seriously explaining that at the time of Duelist Kingdom the game was in serious decline and stock price on Industrial Illusions had plummeted. Seto stared at the woman astonished by how much she knew. He wondered how long she and Mrs. Oume had been watching him, because he was now certain they were both cooperating in keeping Aoshi from coming after him.

'I need to learn more about her,' he thought amazed and simultaneously amused by how annoyed Anzu looked.

"You know, she's right," Yugi put in thoughtfully to the surprise of all his friends "I mean anyone can play games and be good at them but it takes a lot more to make them and be good at them," he added solemnly pointing out that after his defeat in Duelist Kingdom, Pegasus retired from competition but an unofficial duel between him and Seto went viral on the internet recently and Seto pretty much crushed him. Anzu started to look angry now especially when Honda and Jou started agreeing with Yugi. Tokio continued her exposition then.

"Seto also invented 3D interactive light projection technology. That's a massive technological achievement. And did all of you know that Seto is the sixth smartest person in the world?" Tokio pointed out.

"He would've bumped me down too when he revealed the virtual reality pod. But since it was my research he used to create the neural integration circuits in the pod, I still hold my spot," she added. Seto's eyes went wide! The name of the author of the research he used was listed as Carmen Fuentes. He opened his mouth to ask the obvious but Tokio anticipated his question.

"I published that research you used Seto, under my mother's maiden name and my middle name. My full name used to be: Tokio Carmen Takagi Fuentes. I dropped all the extra names when I got married," she added casually. She continued explaining that Mai herself held the 9th spot on the list. She first came into the list at number 8 when she defeated the chess grandmaster at age fourteen. Tokio pointed out with a touch of scorn that she never climbed any higher because she just couldn't be bothered with academic pursuits.

"It's such waste of her incredible potential!" Tokio added with a touch frustration as she continued her lecture. Mai just shrugged and seemed not to care too much. Seto bumped half the list down a notch when he unveiled the duel platform and published his research on holographic technology at age fourteen.

"I knew all that! I know you've been number five on the list of top ten smartest people in the world since you were 12! You won a presidential award for science achievement around that time!" Yugi pipped up enthusiastically as he rattled off that Tokio had graduated high school when she was fourteen and got into med-school at age 17 after she had already earned a master's degree in Biochemistry. Seto turned to Yugi surprised.

"How did you know all of that?" Seto demanded "I mean, I know you should know what mine and Mai's spot on that list is but how do you know hers?" he corrected. Even he didn't know who the others were because he just didn't care. None of them were competitors in the market of video games and consoles so the list never mattered to him. Yugi's enthusiastic grin disappeared and his face turned bright red as he looked down at his shoes. He cast a glance at Honda who was trying to look at everything but the screen where Tokio was.

"What? What happened?" Jou asked not getting why Yugi was quiet suddenly. Mai, Shuura, Tokio and all Aoshi's friends and family laughed. Bakura, Jou and Seto exchanged a confused glance. Mokuba looked up at Seto to ask what was going on but Duke was the one who figured it out.

"It was in the Book of Angels!" Duke casually replied for him and Aoshi's people laughed harder. Duke explained that about six years ago Victoria's Secret published a photobook with many pictures and short biographies of all their models – past and present. Seto slapped his palm to his forehead.

"Idiots!" he growled, angry that they would embarrass themselves in front of someone so respectable in his house. Mokuba laughed now guessing why his brother was mad. Even Mokuba knew what the Book of Angels was and who had published it!

"I showed it to you guys a couple of months ago…oh," Duke stopped realizing too late why Yugi and Honda were too embarrassed to say anything. They both glared at Duke. Jou looked more confused than ever. He had not been with Duke and Honda when they showed the book to Yugi. He squinted at Tokio trying to picture the pleasant yet ordinary looking lady as a glamorous half naked woman and he couldn't see it.

"I'm sorry, you're a very pretty lady and all but I just don't see it…" Jou said peering hard at the screen "you just look… I don't know…" he paused trying hard to find the right word to describe what he saw in Tokio.

"Too much like someone's mom?" Sano suggested amused.

"That's it! That's exactly it!" Jou exclaimed and reached behind him to fist bump Sano for his help.

"Oh he's cute! Can we keep him?" Tokio said towards someone off screen. Seto laughed as the curt reply came instantly. "No!" a man moved in to share Tokio's side of the large screen then. His face was very tan and his hair was cropped very short in an obviously military style. He was wearing a white short-sleeve t-shirt, the powerful looking arms on the man held carefully a little wiggling bundle wrapped in a blanket covered with very baby friendly prints.

"Aw, why not?" Tokio protested as she took the little baby from her husband.

"Because he sounds just like the rooster head and I don't need two of them in my life," he growled annoyed. Seto laughed and noticed that only Tokio and Mrs. Oume laughed too. Mokuba only gave an all suffering sigh and shook his head. She turned and introduced her husband Hajime to the teenagers in the room.

"Damn wolf," Sano growled annoyed. Kenshin snickered teasingly. Seto looked at them and right away his theory was confirmed. Sano just smirked and shrugged it off. He liked Hajime and Hajime liked him so chances were that Hajime liked Jou already. He watched Jou and he chuckled too.

"Ms. Anzu! You haven't been sneaking off in the middle of the night to any islands with a bunch boys, have you?" he scolded. Anzu nervously replied that she had not and she did her punishment and was being a good girl and carrying her Oniwaban tracker phone always. Hajime just nodded solemnly and scolded her some more for not letting her parents know at least where she was. He pointed out how worried they had been.

"All that worry created a huge distraction for your father and your brother and in their line of work that could put them in serious danger, you know better than that!" Hajime scolded. Anzu's guilty face almost made Seto feel sorry for her. She agreed saying she made sure to check in regularly with her mom now.

"You're lucky my sister found you and was able to calm your dad down! Otherwise your father would've stormed that island with an army of off duty police officers and US Marines! And that would've been a real mess for him later and you would have single-handedly ruined the rescue operations your friends were trying to accomplish!" Hajime lectured sternly. He reminded her that Pegasus was only caught in all his scheming because he felt safe that no one was coming after him except a bunch of kids. Anzu apologized again but it was obvious she had heard this lecture before.

"He does sound like Kaiba," Jou whispered to Honda and the two chuckled, Yugi elbowed Honda hard and glared at both his friends. Yugi gave Anzu a commiserating look and she smiled at him but quickly turned to glare at the other two and pushed all the boys out of the way so Mokuba and Seto could have center stage, she glared at Jou and Honda annoyed at their teasing chuckles. Hajime solemnly greeted Mokuba and Seto but before they could say anything Mai pushed them all aside and put herself in front of the group. She squealed in a way that seemed out of character for her. He had to step to the side to find out why. Tokio had shifted her position and the little baby in her arms could be more clearly seen.

"Hi my little baby!" Mai cooed at the tiny bundle of joy on the screen. Seto stared at her surprised by the transformation. She cooed at the tiny person as his mother lifted his arm and cooed at the baby to say to his auntie Mai. The baby only yawned and blinked a couple of times. Mai disintegrated into squeals of extreme girly-ness.

'He didn't even do anything!' thought Seto confused and slightly annoyed by Mai's girly behavior. Shuura came up next to Seto and peeked in at the baby. She smiled back at her sister but said nothing. Seto noted relieved that the Kamiya sisters – and his new teacher – had not disintegrated into a silly mess like all the other females around him.

"He is so cute," cooed Serenity.

"Too adorable!" squealed Anzu.

"Don't you just want to hold him and not let go," sighed Misao.

"No way woman! Your old enough! You go make your own!" Mai snapped at Misao. "This one's mine!" she declared with pride as she towered over Misao daring her to challenge her. Misao looked surprised by Mai's sudden possessiveness.

"Mai, I'm sure you can share a little," Tokio suggested diplomatically.

"No! Rick and Soji are mine! She wants babies to hold forever she can go make her own," Mai declared unwilling to budge. Anzu and Serenity looked at her with a mix of surprise and awe. The Kamiya sisters exchanged a knowing look and Seto realized what was happening.

'They're helping with Sensei's match making schemes!' thought Seto amused. He exchanged a knowing smirk with Shuura who winked at him again.

"Mai, take it off screen. I want to talk to Seto and Mokuba and I don't want you people waking up my kid," Hajime ordered sternly, reminding them whose child the baby actually was. The girls looked back at the screen and saw that little Sojiro was now sound asleep completely unconcerned with the goings on around him. Again, Mai, Anzu and Serenity descended into extreme girly-ness and Mai finally said her goodbye promising to come and visit them soon.

He noticed that Misao stepped over behind the desk with Aoshi and took his hand. She had a thoughtful look on her face as she leaned into him and didn't seem as enthusiastic about Tokio and Hajime's baby as before. Mai, Serenity and Anzu huddled up on Mokuba's reading chair by the door and Mai showed them more pictures of Hajime and Tokio's children and Seto did his best to ignore their girly giggles and squeals.

'It's working,' Seto realized amazed by Victoria's power over these people. Tokio finally said her goodbye too.

"You definitely need some rest Tokio-chan," Oume suggested with a warm smile.

"You're right… it was really nice to meet you Seto and you too Mokuba. Yugi, I'm pleased I finally got a chance to meet you and your friends. Mai talks about you guys all the time," Tokio added tiredly. Seto genuinely felt glad to meet her and said so. Yugi and his friends were overly enthusiastic and expressed their hope that they might one day meet her in person. Seto hoped the same too.

"I must also add my gratitude to you and Mrs. Oume for your support," Seto added explaining that he felt certain it was their actions that made it possible for finally having peace between their families. Tokio and Oume smiled.

"I honestly can't take much credit. Tokio-chan did the heavy lifting there. My brother and my nephew never listen to me," Mrs. Oume added though she sounded amused. Tokio laughed.

"My pleasure Seto! Everyone needs a dose of humility now and again," Tokio replied with a teasing smirk on her face. Mai and Shuura laughed hard then. Tokio said goodnight and after promising to call Oume tomorrow she kissed her husband's cheek and moved away with her baby tucked carefully in her arms. Yugi and his friends moved over to where Mai was looking at the pictures on her phone and left Seto and Mokuba in front of the screen.

"I'm glad my moron of a brother finally got around to doing the right thing," Hajime began. He asked if Aoshi had gotten around to telling them about how Tokio convinced Aoshi to leave Seto alone.

"No, he just finished telling me about the incident in Colombia," Seto replied.

"So I suppose he told you already about Chris too," Hajime surmised with a touch of anger in his tone. Oume jumped in then with the recap.

"According to Sanosuke's text messages, Seto has been told about the robbery at the game shop, the kidnapping, the Olympic Games, meeting you, Tokio and Chris that same year and finally Colombia. I would assume if they are doing the storytelling chronologically that Aoshi's 18th birthday is next," Oume replied with a touch of amusement. Hajime laughed.

"Oh yeah that's a good one!" Hajime teased.

"But Saito-san we paused a couple of times. Seto told us what happened with Shuura on his blimp," Kenshin began with a teasing smirk on his face. But Hajime cut him off.

"Let me guess: you idiots were all shocked when you found out that instead of throwing her off the blimp he was making out with her but since Seto didn't profess undying love and disintegrate into a puddle of teenage hormones completely at her mercy – like she expected – she kept her mouth shut about it, am I right?" he deduced to the utter shock of everyone in the room. Seto mentally kicked himself for not being more thorough in his investigations about Aoshi and his family.

'He is surrounded by some very talented people!' Seto thought amazed at Hajime's powers of deduction and his mind still reeled with the revelation that he owed his virtua-pod to the research Tokio had done.

"Wow wolf…just…wow," Sano said astonished.

"Uh…thanks for not ratting me out wolf," Shuura called out embarrassed. Shuura knew exactly how Hajime had found out but – like the wolf he is reputed to be – he kept the info to himself until Shuura decided to tell the tale. Shuura was part of his pack and a wolf – after all – always looks out for his pack.

"You owe me Pirate," was all Hajime said in reply. Shuura cursed under her breath and went to sit on the couch with the old guys who were discussing quietly everything they had heard so far. Victoria had finished her phone call moments after Seto entered his office but she watched everything and everyone very quietly. Seto suddenly had the feeling that everything that was happening she had caused it somehow to happen. She spotted Seto staring at her; she smiled mischievously and winked at him.

"How did you know that Saito-san?" asked Kenshin surprised. Obviously Shuura hadn't even told their Sensei so everything coming out of his mouth must be pure power of observation.

"Just because you're a moron that doesn't mean I am," Hajime replied casually. Seto laughed, he was enjoying talking to Tokio and Hajime so much.

"Wow Mai…your brother and sister are really, really smart! It's kinda scary!" Jou added amazed to agreements from all his friends. Seto rolled his eyes.

"What else did you tell them Seto?" asked Hajime. He sat back on his chair lazily with a self-satisfied smirk on his face. Seto replied he had talked about the time Oume rescued him from some of Pegasus' henchmen.

"Ah, good. Hey, Oume you never told us how you liked that rifle?" asked Hajime and it was obvious that both Tokio and Hajime knew of that incident too. Seto wondered if Tokio and Hajime knew Oume was the Shadow Broker. He concluded that most likely they did.

"That model was an excellent suggestion," she replied and explained in detail what she had liked about the rifle and how quickly she could take it apart.

"As always Saito-san is well informed!" Kenshin commented amused.

"The wolf knows how to sniff out those clues!" Sano added equally amused.

"I'm sure having many informants helps," Aoshi commented he seemed a bit annoyed at how much Hajime knew that he had not shared. Seto got the idea that it was on purpose that they had kept Aoshi in the dark. There was some conspiracy going on and he wondered what it was about. Oume laughed and finally she said her goodbye. She had a studio to run and Kamo's family relied heavily on her.

"Aoshi, you would have known these things too if you bothered to ask. Tokio and Hajime asked," Oume teased. "It was nice speaking to you again Mr. Kaiba and Mr. Mokuba it was nice meeting you," she continued solemnly.

"It was very nice meeting you too! Thank you for helping my big brother. I hope we can meet each other in person soon!" Mokuba enthused. Oume smiled slightly.

"You're welcome dear. Yes, that would be very nice," Oume replied graciously and invited him to email her so they could agree on a time and place. Seto suggested her being his guest at the opening ceremony for their new park. Oume graciously accepted and asked him to email her the details to make sure she could clear her schedule for it.

"I will. Thank you again," he replied solemnly. Mai promised to call her later when she got to her uncle's house. And Yugi and his friends popped in front of the screen to say their goodbye too and she signed off. Now only Hajime was on the screen.

"I'm glad everything has worked out well for all of us," Hajime began with a satisfied smirk on his face. He and Tokio had looked forward to this day and they were glad now that it had become possible.

"As am I," Seto replied solemnly.

"It shouldn't have taken as long as it did though," Hajime replied and added that much grief could have been avoided.

"I suppose it doesn't matter now since it worked out in the end for us all," Seto replied with a shrug. Hajime smirked leaning back on his chair in a completely relaxed manner.

"Yea, you're right. Do you mind if I talk to my little brother and his dad real quick? Tokio's not gonna stop doing the rounds until I go to bed too but I need to talk to those two idiots before I sign off," Hajime explained. "But don't go far you guys. I wanna be able to talk to you and your brother again before I go," he added.

Mokuba and Seto agreed easily enough and moved aside. Hannya and Aoshi moved forward and stood in front of the screen. Hannya had an easy smile on his face and Aoshi looked as relaxed as when he had arrived. Mokuba moved to the corner where Mai and the others were looking at Mai's family photos. Seto stood on the corner behind the desk. Victoria signaled for him to stay and watch and as he did he saw as Hajime's entire attitude changed. Hannya's cheerful greeting went unanswered as Hajime's easy-going posture became hard and angry. He leaned forward towards the screen.

"Well so nice the two of you could make time from your busy schedules to call," Hajime growled angrily. Mai and her friends became suddenly quiet. Victoria signaled them to be quiet and listen. Mokuba got up and came over to stand next to Seto looking more and more unhappy as the conversation progress. Seto kept Mokuba at his side and asked him to keep quiet and listen. His faith in his brother was the only reason he did as he was told.

Victoria glared at Hannya's brothers and signaled them to stay put and keep quiet. They didn't seem too happy about that but stayed where they were on the couch listening intently. Seto listened too, and from his spot in the corner by the door he could see and hear everything. Hajime reached across the desk for something off camera. He pushed a button on the small rectangular device and put it up to the camera. The device was a digital clock and the display was set at 15:00 it looked like but he had just started the countdown. There was something strange about that clock, it didn't look like any chronometer Seto had ever seen. Hajime put it away from the screen too quickly for Seto to get a good look at it.

"Hannya Shinomori! You have 15 hours to get to Colorado Springs. If you're not here by the time the clock reaches zero don't bother to come back," Hajime growled at him. Hannya's smile disappeared looking surprised.

"Now listen here young man! I don't take orders from you first of all; and second I have a company and responsibilities here that I can't just drop on a whim," Hannya scolded.

"Aoshi has responsibilities too but apparently, your son has no problem dropping everything whenever his girlfriend yanks on his leash!" Hajime growled back.

"Nii-sama," Aoshi began in a reprimanding tone but didn't get far.

"Tick-tock Hannya! You're not here when the clock reaches zero you can stay the hell in Japan! You can forget we exist and continue to watch your son get played by your little princess right where you are! We don't need you!" Hajime growled and every word bristled with rage. Seto suddenly had the idea that something very bad must've happened to someone in Colorado and that someone was likely Hajime's mother – she had not participated in this call at all.

"Nii-sama what has happened to Mama?" Aoshi asked calmly. Obviously Aoshi came to the same conclusion as Seto.

"If your father gets here in time then he can tell you himself what's going on otherwise you'll never know!" he snapped at Aoshi. Suddenly, Misao was in front of them. Hannya ignored him as Misao argued with Hajime and dialed Emi's phone number but it went straight to voice mail.

"Damn you, willow-headed jerk! How dare you talk to them like that?" Misao growled at him indignant.

"How dare you talk like you care? You snap your fingers and that big idiot behind you comes running! When you're done with him you shove him aside and head out to your next party! He tells his friends you're his fiancée but that's a laugh you only want him around for the booty calls and to bully your worthless manager. So, butt out Makimachi!" Hajime accused angrily. He paused as Tokio returned momentarily. She said nothing as she put a stack of magazines and newspapers on the table in front of Hajime, she smiled sadly at him and kissed his cheek and left once more without a word. She made it obvious by this action that what Hajime was doing she fully supported.

"I am his fiancée!" she yelled back at him burning with embarrassment and anger.

"Wrong! A fiancée sends out invitations, goes shopping for dresses, puts deposits on reception halls, hires priests and wedding planners…now tell me how much of that have you done?" he growled at her but the guilt that now fought for dominance over the anger on her face made the answer obvious.

"You're still standing around Hannya. The clock is ticking! Oh, are you trying to call my mother's phone? I took out the battery," he growled holding up his mother's cellphone "She's asleep here in my house! You want to talk to my mother you will do it in person when she wakes up! Tick tock Hannya!" he concluded angrily slamming the phone down on the desk.

"Go father. I will handle things here," Aoshi said calmly. Misao turned to him and insisted that he go and teach the "damn wolf" some manners. Seto realized that Aoshi had already figured everything out though, not just that Hajime's mom was very sick but that his Sensei was up to something and he was going along with it to see what the end game was. Aoshi cast a glance at Victoria who motioned for Aoshi to keep quiet. Aoshi nodded and watched the screen, his face completely devoid of emotion.

"Fine! I am on my way and you and I will have some strong words when I get there," Hannya growled angrily. During this whole time, Shuura was standing next to Seto by the door. She spoke softly into her phone and from her side of the conversation he could tell she was making arrangements for a plane ride to Colorado Springs. She had not waited for Hannya to agree to Hajime's demands or Aoshi's go ahead. By the time Hannya agreed she had arranged for a plane to be ready for his departure.

"The only words you and your idiot brothers over there will have for me and my family is an apology Hannya. But only if you get here on time!" Hajime retorted with his fists clenched in rage. Hannya turned on his heel. He paused long enough to say goodbye to Seto and Mokuba and the rest of the kids but he was flustered and obviously trying to reign in his anger. His brothers followed him shooting a glare at the screen as they left. Hajime seemed utterly unaffected by their anger. Seto found all this intriguing. Using his knowledge of them Hajime – the guy who didn't have either the money or influence that Aoshi and Hannya wielded – was in complete control of them.

'And everyone else too,' thought Seto fascinated by Hajime's power. Shuura said goodbye to him and Mokuba.

"Listen, thanks for not ratting me out. I could get in real trouble for that little stunt on the blimp. I owe you one," she said solemnly to him as Hannya said goodbye to the other kids in the room. Seto realized then that she hadn't said anything because of the legal repercussions of her sexual advances on a minor. After all, Seto was sixteen at the time, he had turned seventeen just last week. He smirked.

"Just don't land helicopters on any of my duel platforms anymore and we can call it even," Seto teased. Shuura laughed.

"You're alright Kaiba," she said and reached up and kissed him in the cheek.

"But seriously, you still have a marker with me and I pay my debts so give me call if you ever need a really good pilot," she said very solemnly. Seto agreed. He was about to walk her out but she insisted he stick around and listen to the Wolf. No matter what Yusuke and Sano said it was always worth your time to watch and learn from the Wolf.

"It's always educational with the Wolf," she insisted as she and Seto held the door for Hannya then she hurried away with him. A maid loitering outside his office looking for him walked her little party out to the door. He left the door slightly open for when she returned. She wanted to know if his guests were staying for dinner. He told her he'd let her know after they were done with this call.

"He's always been good to you. You had no right to be that way with him," Misao growled reproachful.

"I have the only right! And with what right do you say that to me? Hannya Shinomori has been more good to you than anyone else in your life! And you repaid him by making his son the butt of everyone's jokes," Hajime continued. Without mercy Hajime started going through his stack of newspapers and magazines some trashy and some very respectable and reading excerpts of articles. Every article asked the question of why anyone had ever feared Aoshi Shinomori when pretty, little harmless Misao so easily controls him.

"But my absolute favorite is this one," he added sarcastically. He held up a trashy magazine. On the cover Misao walked in front of Aoshi. She turned to smile at the camera with Aoshi's hand in hers behind her. The editor had photo-shopped into the picture a white cord tied on one end to her hand and the other to Aoshi's neck. There was a collective gasp from everyone in the room. Aoshi made no reaction…obviously, it seemed to Seto that he had seen this picture and said nothing. Seto tightened his grip on his brother and shook his head. He noticed Mai was giving similar instructions to Yugi and his pals to keep them quiet.

"My wife spent years protecting Aoshi from crap like this. She put up with people calling her gold-digger behind her back to keep shit like this away from Aoshi," Hajime continued bitterly. Aoshi's neutral mask cracked as sadness settled on his face. Misao opened her mouth to say something but she knew better. The obvious question of "why" had an equally obvious answer. A tear slid down her face as she stared at the screen.

"When I met you Misao…I thought you were the toughest person I'd ever met. You were barely ten years old when you dragged yourself out of hell, with your tiny body in a million pieces and still managed to hold your head up high and find a way to be happy! I learned the meaning of courage seeing you struggle on those crutches," he began a little more subdued. Victoria looked as disappointed as Hajime did.

"But here you are…you're a full-grown woman with everything you could have ever wanted and more in the palm of your hands and you've spent almost a year boo-hooing because that jackass Setesh tricked you into cutting your hair and shining his boots for a couple of weeks. Give me a break," Hajime concluded, his disappointment was way too obvious. Seto put both arms around his brother. Mokuba was having a hard time keeping himself from jumping in to help Misao. Only his faith in his brother kept him put right now and kept him quiet. Conflict raged in her face for only a few seconds. She turned her back to the screen and there was only resolve in her features as she looked up at Aoshi.

"Misao…"

"Stop!" Misao cut Aoshi off. He looked sad and Seto hoped that Misao wasn't about to do anything stupid – like call the whole thing off! He was surprised by how much he actually cared about what happened to Aoshi. He'd only known the guy a couple of hours!

"Willow-headed jerk drives me crazy…but he's right!" Misao began determinedly "Out of all the things I've ever wanted in my life there is only one thing that I never stopped wanting and that's you!"

"Misao…"

"Let me finish!" she cut Aoshi off again "From the minute I met you I wanted only one thing: To be your princess," she paused and smiled up at Aoshi "I'm sorry I've been so insecure. I want my life with you to start now! It's all I've ever wanted…for us to be together! Now and forever…and I know that sounds corny and selfish but I want that more than anything and I want it now," she declared eagerly. Aoshi smiled at her in a soft, gentle manner and lifted his hand to touch her face.

"All I want is to give you whatever you want," Aoshi replied with a soft smile on his face. Seto smirked at his little brother who bounced up and down with excitement. He rolled his eyes as Anzu sniffled and said "that's so beautiful". Mokuba chuckled slightly as Aoshi bent down to kiss Misao and Seto rolled his eyes again.

"Ahem… little brother…" Hajime said but his attitude had changed. Hajime smirked slightly as the attention in Seto's office turned back to the screen, he leaned back on his chair. Tokio was sitting next to him now sipping a cup of something warm "You're welcome," he added with a smug smirk. Misao rounded back on him.

"Oh, don't you pat yourself on the back you damn wolf! It was Mokuba who helped me remember all of that! Not you and your damn wolfiness!" she shot back at him.

"My apologies little weasel-girl," Hajime teased.

"You still haven't answered Aoshi's question! What is wrong with mama!?" she demanded with her arms across her chest.

"And as I told that idiot Hannya: you will find out when he gets here, weasel girl," Hajime countered calmly. Tokio answered her question though.

"I can tell you that she is very sick and spent a couple of days in the hospital last week," she explained solemnly. "Thankfully she was here with me when it all happened and Sano hadn't left for Japan yet so he stayed and helped me. She's getting stronger now but needs a lot of rest," Tokio added that because of her delicate condition and the bad winter weather she had been staying with her helping her with the children while the guys were away. Sano had delayed his departure too to help her out. Aoshi moved aside, an alarmed look flitted past his face for a moment. He got on his phone and ordered Shuura and his father's staff to make sure his father was on that plane within the next couple of hours. Kenshin got on his phone and called his mother who was still Hannya's executive assistant to make sure he got on that plane without getting distracted.

"Why didn't you guys call sooner?!" Misao demanded horrified. Hajime looked angry again.

"Because my mother wanted Aoshi to stay focused on you, weasel girl! So she didn't want to say anything to Hannya that might send him running to her and pull Aoshi away from you!" he growled angrily at her. Aoshi wasn't paying attention any more by this point though, he was still busy ordering staff members to make sure his father was on a plane bound for Colorado Springs within the hour if possible. Sano and Kenshin hovered around Aoshi offering to help paying no mind to the wolf on the screen. Seto took in the scene quietly but focused on the fact that his new teacher sat with a satisfied smirk on her face saying absolutely nothing. Kaoru sat quietly next to her and said nothing. The two women noticed Seto watching them and they smiled at him. He looked over at Yugi who was also watching Victoria with a suspicious look in his eyes. Victoria winked at him.

"I love that my mother is so conscious of other people's happiness but enough is enough!" he retorted looking most unhappy.

"You only gave him 15 hours! That's not gonna be enough time for him to get there!" she demanded starting to panic. Hajime smirked again and pulled up the clock.

"These 15 hours," he said with a teasing chuckle. Seto laughed, the little clock's "minutes" markers were moving way too fast. The clock was for counting minutes not hours. Hajime had tricked them!

"This is just Tokio's egg timer. I was just trying to make a point! Scary-smart Seto figured it out and he's known you people for what – all of three hours maybe? Get your head out of the clouds weasel-girl! I expect more from you," he lectured but he confirmed what Seto suspected. Mrs. Oume had called him scary-smart so there was a good chance they knew Oume was the Shadow Broker and she had discussed the incident with Pegasus with both Hajime and Tokio in detail.

"As long as he gets here some time tomorrow it should be fine. My mom's not expecting him for another month so it'll be a nice surprise for her. It's about time you jerks thought about her and Hannya's happiness too you know," Hajime lectured. In Misao's guilty silence Jou tentatively raised his hand and stepped towards Misao.

"Excuse me…I had a question about that magazine you showed before," Jou began uncharacteristically shy. He stepped a little closer to Misao, he explained he had seen that magazine but that white line had not been in the photo. Hajime and Tokio laughed.

"Busted!" Tokio laughed looking at Hajime. Seto laughed again realizing it was another trick. Jou delivered magazines and newspaper subscriptions early in the morning before school so he was in a position to know. Jou noticed the magazine cover had been altered.

"Good eye mini-rooster head," Hajime replied with a teasing smirk. His face became solemn once more then.

"You know, it's a sad day when the dragon boy and the mini-rooster know more than you weasel-girl," he added annoyed. Jou looked at Seto and repeated "dragon boy?" and laughed. Yugi and his friends looked at Seto and chuckled too.

"Pay attention mini-rooster," Seto growled and rolled his eyes as Jou laughed and said cheerfully "it's better than lapdog" to chuckles from his friends. Misao looked angry again and launched into a string of creative name calling towards Hajime deeply offended by his ruse. Kaoru, Victoria and Mai laughed. Mokuba was torn between amused and horrified by the string of curses coming out of the mouth of his idol. Tokio and Hajime just laughed at Misao which only made her angrier. Victoria cleared her throat and all noise in the room and on the screen ceased.

"That'll be enough Misao," Victoria ordered solemnly "Aoshi, is your father on his way?" Aoshi put his hand over the speaker on his phone.

"Shuura reports that there might be a delay with their arrival in the Colorado Springs airport. A storm front moved in a couple of days ago and airport officials closed the runways until it clears. Shuura has checked with the weather agencies who seem to agree the storm is moving off now. She believes that the runways should be open by the time they arrive stateside," Aoshi reported solemnly.

"However, father is making excuses. He wants to delay until Monday which I find unacceptable. I was about to apply some pressure," Aoshi added obviously unhappy about his father's resistance. Victoria smiled proudly at Aoshi.

"Apply away then my boy! Apply away!" she replied cheerfully. Aoshi nodded and excused himself, he let Seto know on his way out of the office it would only take a minute or so. Kenshin and Sano followed each starting to dial numbers on their phones while letting everyone know they would be back soon. Seto noticed a conspiratorial smirk get exchanged by Victoria and Sano on his way out.

"Husband, I think our work here is done for tonight," said Tokio covering a yawn with the back of her hand. Hajime stretched and agreed.

"Let me talk to the kids, weasel-girl," Hajime began. Grumbling angrily Misao moved to the couch and sat down. Mai laughed as she got up and stood in front of Seto's desk. Seto and Mokuba moved in too. Tokio said goodbye one more time.

"I really hope to meet you guys in person soon. Maybe once the baby is old enough for the long voyage and the weather clears up a little more," Tokio added. Yugi and his friends added their enthusiastic agreement too but a little worry trickled into Seto's mind. If Misao and Aoshi were getting married now the announcement was gonna be a media explosion. His marketing efforts for the park might well be obliterated under the news storm her announcement will surely generate. His mind was working through some possible solutions as he listened. Caught in her romance, he was certain Misao hadn't realized it. He wondered if Aoshi had realized this yet.

"Oh before I go…hey Misao?" Tokio called out. Still unhappy, Misao got up and came to the screen.

"Yea," she said annoyed. Seto noticed that Tokio looked very serious now. It made her beauty stand out more to Seto.

"Whatever you and Aoshi decide to do remember that it will have an impact on the endeavors of our new friends. I hope you'll find a way to ensure it does not have a negative impact," Tokio admonished very solemnly. Seto relaxed a little, it was nice to have intelligent backup. Misao looked surprised and Seto knew he was right, she had not thought of the media yet.

"Well obviously, It's not like I don't know how to handle the media!" Misao retorted angrily.

"You don't weasel-girl! That's way she's reminding you not to start a media shit-storm and obliterate Seto's marketing efforts for the opening week of his park!" Hajime snapped. He reminded her that her manager did what she wanted only because Aoshi was around to kick his ass if he didn't.

"And you get carried away in your daydreams and that ass takes advantage if Aoshi's not around to police him! And he's not gonna be around because he has to run his family's company while his father's away! Make sure you keep your head out of the clouds and in the game weasel-girl!" Hajime lectured sternly. But Seto noted that Misao's anger had subsided quite a bit, she had been thoroughly humbled by the wolf. Seto firmly resolved that he would find a way to meet Hajime and Tokio Davila in person soon!

"Are you always this mean?" Mokuba blurted out unable to keep quiet anymore. Hajime sat back with an amused smirk as his wife laughed. But to everyone's surprise it was Kaoru who answered first.

"Mokuba, Hajime exists in our lives to keep us grounded. People like Misao and I live in a world of fantasy, surrounded by people that try to elevate us into godhood. Hajime is always there to remind us we put our pants on one leg at a time just like everyone else," Kaoru replied amused. Victoria smiled at Kaoru proudly.

"Listen to the racoon-girl…she's keeping her head in the game weasel-girl," Hajime added. Kaoru sighed and chuckled resignedly. Victoria chuckled amused as Tokio finally recovered from her laughing fit.

"No Mokuba, most times he's a total softie! You should see him doing the little spider dance for Ricky! Or how he's always putting on his Stormtrooper armor for the kids around her on Halloween. Besides, calling the gang moron or weasel or racoon is just his way of saying: I love you," Tokio pointed out sweetly and she giggled amused as Hajime gave her an annoyed look.

"Thanks hon, for keeping me real," Hajime countered sarcastically. Tokio giggled once more and kissed him lightly on the lips. Hajime smiled at her and leaned over to whisper something in her ear as he touched her face gently. Tokio smiled and laughed then kissed him again.

"Oh they are so cute!" blurted Anzu, ever the romantic. Mokuba looked confused and Misao put her arm around him.

"Don't try to figure them out Mokuba. They confuse me too! You love 'em but you wanna kill 'em too!" Misao commented with a smirk. Everyone laughed but Seto was so intent on processing the information coming towards him and looking for ways to take advantage of it, that the joke was lost on him. Hajime said his name and it jolted him out of his thoughts.

"I'm not gonna worry about Seto too much though. I know you're always up in a cloud weasel-girl but Dragon-boy's probably got this whole thing figured out by now," Hajime commented casually. Tokio nodded as Seto's phone vibrated, he took it out to look, it was a message from Mrs. Kujacu.

"Remember you still have some credit." Was all that the message said. But it's all Seto needed, he still had his greatest ally in the wings, now more than ever it would be easier to have access to her without raising suspicions. She had a good cover now too to keep in contact with him.

"Oh yeah! I bet he's already reviewed his accounts in his head and figured out what funds and credits he can tap to get ahead of the media frenzy you're gonna set off Misao," Tokio commented casually. It was all Seto could do to keep a neutral face. He had proof absolute now that they knew all about the Shadow Broker and his conversation with Oume Kujacu.

'I have to talk to these two people in person soon,' Seto resolved. The opening of the park was close upon him but afterwards he might be able to make a trip out to the states. Either way, he knew that Misao's flights of fancy would not affect the opening of his park. He was almost certain that he might even benefit from it.

"Of course, don't worry Misao I'll be able to get ahead of it. Kaiba Park will be fine," Seto reassured her.

"Oh I know that," she began but paused as a mischievous grin came on her face "in fact, I just got a great idea! My manager's gonna hate it but my fans are gonna love it!" Misao exclaimed suddenly. She quickly said goodbye again and sat on the couch intently typing texts into her phone which she had kept off until now. Kaoru looked over her shoulder and gave her some legal advice as she typed. Seto took his attention away from their scheming and concentrated on the two people on the screen. He had confirmation from their giggles that whatever they were planning, Kaiba Park was going to benefit.

"Can I ask another question before you go?" Anzu began with a confused frown on her face "Sano mentioned that there is Seto-mania in the US, what does he mean?" she asked. Hajime chuckled and Tokio laughed. Seto cringed, he had hoped no one would ask that!

"He's a teen idol around here! I know some girls who have posters of him in their bedrooms," Tokio began laughing. It was Anzu's turn to look horrified.

"Of Kaiba?" she asked shocked. Yugi and Bakura chuckled and cast a teasing look towards Seto knowing how uncomfortable their pal/rival was with that kind of attention. Duke looked slightly jealous while Jou and Honda just looked as shocked as Anzu.

"Oh yeah! He comes in to LA and you'd think it was 1967 and the Beatles just arrived!" added Hajime chuckling amused "girls mass at the airport screaming his name!" Hajime laughed as Tokio mocked the girls at airport revelries. She waved her hands in the air and pretended to scream like a starry-eyed teen. The two then laughed, Seto just rolled his eyes and noticed that Kaoru, Misao and his new teacher were trying hard not to laugh.

"Oh yeah! Dragon-boy's hot stuff around the teenagers in this country. All the boys wanna be him and the girls just want him!" Hajime added with a teasing smirk.

"Want him for what?" Anzu asked confused. Hajime shook his head annoyed as Tokio rummaged in a drawer of the desk they were sitting at looking for something.

"You know Chicken Little, if you spent more time paying attention to your surroundings and less time running off with boys to remote islands in the middle of the night you wouldn't be asking dumb questions," Hajime retorted annoyed. Seto laughed heartily at Hajime's nickname for Anzu. He didn't need explanation for it, it seemed obvious to Seto where the name came from. Her friends chuckled, trying hard not to laugh and managed to quiet down only when the Pharaoh – spirit that inhabited Yugi's Millennium Puzzle – switched places with Yugi and solemnly asked them to quit it.

"But to answer your question Anzu…" Tokio put in with a mischievous grin. Tokio put up a magazine cover and Seto groaned. Fortune 500 had interviewed him last year right before Battle City. The interview was part of the marketing efforts for the new duel disks and it was a very serious interview where the reporter had asked him very good questions about the duel disk and the financial success of his company. However, they outsourced the photo shoot to a marketing agency that did high fashion and teen advertising.

'Damn,' cursed Seto inwardly. The picture showed Seto leaning casually on a Blue Eyes White Dragon laying close behind him with its tail curled around Seto's feet. He wore a dark blue pair of dress pants and light blue button up shirt. The tie of the suit was undone and hung casually around his neck and the top two buttons of his dress shirt were open. His left arm held his suit jacket slung over his shoulder and the right was laid on the dragon's neck as though patting him. The dragon's head was turned towards Seto in a pose of deference. Seto looked at the camera with the kind of smirk on his face that sets teenage girls' imaginations aflame. Yugi and his friends stared in astonishment then turned slowly towards him.

The title on the cover read: Seto Kaiba: The Dragon Lord of Kaiba Corp!

"Wow…" said Yugi slowly. For a second Seto saw the spirit of the Pharaoh hover behind Yugi smirking teasingly at him and then it disappeared back into the Millennium Puzzle.

"That doesn't even look like you," Anzu added shocked with the rest of her friends too stunned to speak. Seto heaved an annoyed sigh, Mokuba giggled and he tried to ignore the teasing snickers coming from Misao, Mai and Kaoru.

"No issue of Fortune 500 ever sold like this issue. I was lucky to get my hands on one!" Tokio added. Hajime explained that the photographer was an old friend of Tokio's from her days as a model and had sent her a copy. Mokuba snickered at his brother who just gave him an annoyed look.

"The interview was so successful that we made the rounds on other popular magazines! The magazines sold like crazy and pre-orders for the duel disk went wild! We could hardly keep up with demand the first six months!" Mokuba explained cheerfully and added that leasing rights for some of Seto's photos to teen magazines had made them a lot of cash too. Hajime was typing now on his computer and a little slide show of the various covers that Seto had appeared in on American magazines started playing on the top right corner of the screen. Seto groaned again as Kaoru and Misao stopped their scheming to look at the photos and give their professional opinions on which poses and outfits worked best. The consensus however was the Fortune 500 cover as being the favorite.

"Well I think we've done enough work for one night," Hajime finally said and Tokio agreed with another yawn.

"We're gonna leave you guys to it. My pillow calls, I get to sleep a full 8 hours tonight! Woo hoo!" Tokio added tiredly. With both hands, she blew a kiss to all the kids on the screen and Mai promised to come see them and "her babies" soon. Hajime added his own goodbye admonishing Misao again to keep on her toes and not let her manager take advantage of her.

"Well the rest I leave to you Victoria," Hajime added.

"Yes, thank you Hajime. I appreciate your help," she added coming up from her chair to face the screen. Hajime smiled.

"Any time. Say hi to the old man for us. Tokio's wondering when he'll pop by," he added.

"After we visit with Max in San Francisco," she replied solemnly and Hajime's face tightened with restrained anger once more.

"Give him my regards will ya?" Hajime added his voice strained by anger and Victoria promised she would. He said goodbye to the rest of the room and amidst a chorus of cheerful goodbyes from Yugi and his friends he signed off. Seto moved behind his desk and shut down the program, he was sorry to see him sign off. Seto wanted to talk to Hajime some more. Shuura was right! He was an interesting person to speak with. As Aoshi, Kenshin and Sano returned to Seto's spacious home office he promised himself he would meet the Wolf in person one day soon…

-0-

At the same time in Kyoto…

Oume sat quietly in her secret Shadow Broker office. The screen on her computer was dark now that she had turned it off. She looked calmly about her daughter Hanna's bedroom. Her daughter had died in this room…and in this room the Shadow Broker had been born.

It had been Victoria's idea when Hanna died and had even helped her get started. No one bothered her when she was in here and Kamo avoided this section of the house. Her staff just assumed she came here to grieve in private and they were partially right. The Shadow Broker work was her form of grieving. She moved from the desk to Hanna's bed. She had kept the room much the way her daughter left it. She allowed no one to touch the room. Even the cleaning of the room she did herself.

She had sensitive equipment hidden under the floors and behind the walls, she couldn't risk it being discovered. Much she had installed herself and the few things she required expert help on, she had hired technicians from outside the country. She moved the night table and reached for a hidden latch on the floor to pull open one of the safes she had hidden in the room.

With a smile of satisfaction, she pulled out first Adeena's old journal from the safe and leafed through it. Tokio had returned it to her when little Rick was born. She had insisted Oume keep it. Becoming a mother had changed Tokio's perspective on the issue and she campaigned briefly for Oume to tell Seto the truth about his parents. Thankfully, Hajime could pull her away from that idea.

'He's right after all, Jamie and I had that affair because Kamo had dared him to seduce me and I did it at first out of spite. Not exactly the kind of image I want Seto to have of his father,' she thought. True, Jamie had fallen in love with her and she with him. He lied to Kamo and told him that he had failed to seduce her after all. He even paid Kamo the 100 dollars they bet if he lost, before he left for Egypt. Jamie had not been the first of Kamo's friends to be talked into that bet but he was the last. After she lost Seto and Jamie, she found a way to have Hannya find out about Kamo's nasty little hobby. Whatever Hannya did to Kamo it scared him sufficiently that he never did it again.

From Adeena's writing she could tell that whatever else Jamie may have been, he became a good father and a good husband. That was the only image she wanted Seto to have. She was certain Adeena never told Seto about her. The way she acted on the one and only time they met, told Oume she had approached in secrecy and understood that to be around Oume was to put herself and the children in danger.

'But the danger is past now…how I wish you were here to see it Adeena,' thought Oume. Feelings of gratitude and love swirled within her. Her feelings for Jamie had long since evaporated and were nothing more than pleasant memories now. But her feelings for Adeena she held on to. They had exchanged nothing more than a few hurried words but Oume felt as close to the woman as if they had been sisters. She closed the book and held it close for a moment then put it aside.

From the safe she pulled out a briefcase. It was a strong, water tight metal case with a combination lock. She unlocked it and opened it smiling at its contents. Within were two 12-inch diameter, 5-inch thickness disks, white with a red trim built by the hands of her son. These were the prototype duel disks Seto had risked his life to protect. They were difficult to use and awkward to carry, the new models were more advanced and much more portable, but these two meant so much more to her. She took them out now and again to ensure they were well maintained and in proper working order. He had sent them to her when the new model rolled out with a handwritten note that she opened and read often:

The new duel disks are shipping out this week. Thanks to you the future of my company and my family is safe again. Please accept these duel disks – the first of their kind – as a token of my gratitude and trust. You will always have an ally here at Kaiba Corp.

Thank you again for all your help.

Seto Kaiba

She smiled satisfied as she folded the little card carefully and held it to her heart. Everything she could have hoped for her remaining children had come to pass. Mai had found the place where she belonged and was free to live her life with whom she wanted and how she wanted it. All she wanted her one remaining daughter to have was the one thing she never had: choices! Mai had even found her way to her little brothers and with luck – and surely a little careful prodding from Tokio and Hajime – she might become good friends with them.

'And best of all Seto and Mokuba are safe,' she thought feeling a level of fulfillment that was foreign to her. She thought back on the day she had rescued Seto and smiled. Standing there in those woods with that rifle in her hands, being a physical shield for her son had been the most satisfying moment in her life! Pride and joy had surged recklessly within her and the little bruises and soreness on her arm from the rifle troubled her not at all! She was invincible that day!

She laughed as she recalled the surprised look on those goons just before she shot them. She had been so proud of Seto though. Fearlessly, he had leapt out of the window rather than make his way to the front door of the little cottage, like she had expected. Her heart was in her throat as she saw him fly out the window but she aimed her rifle at the goon that was coming after him and killed him before he had a chance to properly aim his gun.

But it was their quiet conversation in the car she cherished most about that encounter. She knew enough about her son that she was certain he would not share the details of their conversation in the car with Aoshi. At least not yet at any rate, Seto was slow to trust people. She had worked very hard to get him to trust her as the Shadow Broker and let her help him in his coup against Gozaburo.

She was so proud of how clever he is. That he had figured out she was the Shadow Broker was no small feat! She had to back track and double check all her connections to be sure she hadn't let anything slip and someone else might be able to figure it out. In the end, it was Hajime's simple explanation that provided the answer.

"That boy figured it out just by the sound of your car's engine Oume! Think! You were on speaker phone! The new doohickey we gave you masks your voice but not the sounds around you!" Hajime had said to her with an obnoxious teasing smirk on his face. But Hajime's pride in the boy's cleverness showed. Tokio and Hajime were the only people she could talk to about Seto.

'Or brag actually!' she thought with a chuckle. Tokio liked to tease her about it but Oume was never sorry she decided to trust Hajime and Tokio with her secret. She closed the box with the precious duel disk prototypes and carefully replaced it and Adeena's diary back in the safe. She moved back to her desk and sent Seto another quick message. Tokio emailed her that Hajime's humbling of Misao and Aoshi was complete and her poor son might be worried about the opening of his park being obliterated under Misao's announcement.

"Don't worry my boy, your mother will always have your back," she said to herself already thinking of ways to help him out as she signed back on to her computer. Tokio sent her a feed of the conversation as it continued after she signed off. She chuckled amused as her poor son looked uncomfortable now. Hajime was explaining how popular Seto was in the US with the teens there. Seto didn't like the attention too much obviously.

She watched as Hajime put up pictures of Seto for his young friends to see. She laughed as they looked on astonished and Seto cringed obviously embarrassed. Tokio had purchased a copy of every single magazine Seto appeared in and given it to her. She smiled remembering how excited the young woman had been when she presented the stack to Oume. They had spent hours the day she gave them to her discussing every picture. Hajime popped in and out of their conversation to tease them.

Tokio had wanted Oume to take the magazines with her but Oume thought it a bad idea. Having too many things at her house that led back to Seto increased her chances of her secret being discovered. Hajime had agreed with her so Tokio had kept all the magazines which she used to bait the girls in the neighborhood into giving her free babysitting.

Oume now replied to several of Misao's emails. Misao had correctly assumed Oume could help her control the media and come up with a plan to help Seto and Mokuba. Misao wanted to do a concert at the Park but wanted a long series of photo ops with both boys and an interview if possible.

"Of course it's possible you silly girl," Oume thought out loud. Seto finally signed off and Tokio was messaging her to answer now the private video chat. With a sigh of amused resignation Oume opened the chat.

"You should be in bed Tokio-chan!" she chastised lightly.

"I'm too excited to sleep! He is soooo adorable! I'm so happy!" the woman squealed girlishly.

"I'm fairly certain he would object to being called adorable!" Oume replied with a chuckle. Her husband sighed resigned.

"I object to him being called adorable! I'm taking this late night out of Hannya's hide when he gets here by the way," Hajime growled annoyed. Oume chuckled amused.

"You guys are such killjoys!" Tokio protested half-heartedly and laughed. Hajime laughed.

"You know, at least you have a cover now to start hanging out with them Oume. Especially now that Victoria's sniffing around for a new class to teach," Hajime commented.

"Yes, and I do look forward to the park," Oume agreed anticipating his next remark.

"I bet you already cleared your schedule," teased Tokio. Oume rolled her eyes.

"Of course I did! He openly invites me somewhere for the first time ever and I'm not gonna show? There's no force on earth would stop me," Oume teased back. Tokio and Hajime laughed.

"Ok now…seriously babe…you are relieved of duty! It's time for you to get some sleep," Hajime insisted. Tokio sighed in mock-annoyance.

"Ok you guys win! Bye Oume! Call me tomorrow and let me know how things go ok!" Tokio cheerfully replied and blew Oume a kiss before reaching over to her husband. She whispered something in his ear that made him raised an eyebrow in surprise and Oume didn't need to be an expert at reading people to know what Tokio wanted her husband to do now.

"Alright, I've gotta go too. We'll give you a blow by blow on Pegasus once the old man and Victoria are done with him," Hajime promised. Oume smirked and thanked him then said her goodbye. She laughed as Hajime seemed very eager to get off the line and follow Tokio.

"Pegasus…" she growled to the empty room a she shut down her computer again. How she hated the man! But attacking him directly - or at all - was impossible without sending a giant red flag out to Victoria. Pegasus had been horrible to Mokuba and Seto but he had always been generous with Mai. He still was and was currently trying to recruit Mai to be his new CEO, he was looking to retire from running the company so he could go back to card development. Through her network she also knew that Mai was going to inherit one third of Industrial Illusions along with Yugi Motou and Jounouchi Katsuya as the top three duelists from Duelist Kingdom.

As far as the people she knew were concerned, she had no motive to attack him. But remembering her boy shivering in her car and hearing his stomach growl as he ran for his life… it took everything in Oume not to jump on her helicopter, head to Pegasus' island and put a bullet in the guy's head! As satisfying as it had been to protect Seto, it had been equally hard to watch him sneak away cold, wet and hungry. She thought letting him go as a baby had been hard but she'd been wrong. Watching him walk away from her car towards all the danger she knew he was heading to and not be able to go with him and shield him, was pain beyond description.

"But that's over now," she told herself as she took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, letting that anger roll away from her. Anger and greed had been her undoing as a young woman. Granted, her father hadn't given her many options. He had sown deep the seeds of anger and hate inside her and Hannya had been oblivious to the inequalities in the way the old man treated his children until – ironically – Emi pointed them out to him. But in time she had slowly learned to control her anger and let go of hate, once she did she started seeing happy returns.

She smiled as she closed her eyes and recalled Seto's laughter. He had the same open, obnoxious loud laugh Jamie had. It made her laugh. His compliment towards her "warrior skills" had caught her by surprise but it pleased her immensely. She knew he was not one to give praise out so readily so it meant a great deal to her. Her phone trilled and she picked it up. Tokio had sent her a picture of Aoshi and Seto sitting across from each other playing a game of Go. It was a forward from one of Sano's texts. Seto was laughing at something and Sano managed to capture a tiny smirk from Aoshi too in his snapshot of them. She smiled as she forwarded the picture to her email and saved it to her phone.

A maid knocked on the door and let her know her husband was back. Oume sighed and let her know she'd be out soon. The girl scurried away at top speed and not for the first time did Oume miss young Lynn Hoshizaki. But she was happy the girl was finally putting to good use her education. Her potential was wasted sweeping floors and scrubbing toilets. She had gotten a job at Kaiba Corp – to Oume's endless amusement – a year ago. She sent her a card recently to tell her she'd been promoted and was now the receptionist at the presidential floor. She was aiming for the top spot of Seto's executive secretary and Oume hoped fervently that she would get it.

'Well, happy time is over and it is time to get back to work,' she ordered herself as Kamo started calling her name. He'd not been inside Hanna's room since she died but Oume didn't want to take chances that he might venture in now. She hid the computer she kept here and double checked quickly that she had locked everything away then left the room dialing Nightraven's phone. Mai had a big stake at Industrial Illusions and, no matter what Victoria and Night did to Pegasus, she had to make sure they didn't do harm to any of her choices…