Tale of Two Dragons

Mai watched quietly as Sano now took up the tale and explained how and why he had guessed what Tokio had done to their meal. She paid little attention to the story as Tokio had told her about it long ago. She let her thoughts drift to when she and her uncle passed each other in LA. Uncle Hannya didn't make it out of LA right away once Mai met up with him.

Mai managed to poison him too. Once back in Tokyo she was lucky to find Aoshi's uncles all having tea together. She happily poisoned them as well. By the time Sano called her and asked her to please find his sister whom had disappeared but he suspected was off to Duelist Kingdom with Yugi, Mai's vengeance was sated and she feeling pretty invincible!

'It was fun!' she thought, she had never felt as powerful as she had felt that week. Taking her long nursed frustrations out on her cousin and her uncle had been liberating!

Sano was now telling the others that Hajime had shown up later that evening to serenade Tokio in order to cheer her up. Mai smirked as the kids made jokes about Hajime's musical choice. Rick Astley really wasn't that romantic but the song "Together Forever" was the message he wanted to convey. Hajime had been unreasonably angry at his wife for not including him in her plans.

Mai knew he wasn't really angry at Tokio, he was just angry at feeling helpless and taking his anger out on the wrong person. Mai enjoyed teaching big brother a lesson too! He worked really hard to make it up to Tokio in the days that followed. He credited Mai for saving his marriage but she had a feeling that even without her intervention he would've made the smart choice and apologized to his wife.

Misao now talked about how Hajime's unconventional ways led to her being able to walk again. Mai smirked amused. She had heard this story from Kelly years ago. Hajime was always the big brother to all the lonely little kids around him. He and Misao argued and fought all the time but he never failed to stand by her side when she needed him. Mai watched Seto intently absorb the details of every story. This was not the first time she had hung out with Seto. The first time it had been at a tournament in San Francisco. That brought her to a question she had wanted to ask him for years but had not found a good opportunity.

"So Kaiba, quid pro quo, I told you a story, now I want a story in return," she began with an amused smirk. Seto frowned and asked the obvious question.

"I want to know how you got two of the Blue Eyes White Dragon cards in your deck. I know how you got the first one. I was there. But I'm curious how you got the other two," Mai began smirking amused at the uncomfortable look on Seto's face.

"Umm Mai…" Jou began solemnly "Kaiba strong-armed the owners into selling their cards to him," he continued very solemnly. He added Seto had explained how he did it when he and Yugi first dueled. To Jou and his friends' surprise Mai, Misao, Kenshin, Sano and Kaoru threw their heads back and laughed!

"No way in hell that happened!" Kaoru exclaimed as she laughed loudly. Sano and Kenshin were laughing so hard they couldn't respond. Sano pulled out his phone and started texting – Mai guessed he might be texting his teacher. But he was utterly unable to stop laughing. Mai's friends all turned to Aoshi – who was the only one not laughing uproariously. He did manage a little smirk of amusement.

"Kaoru is correct. To even attempt to strong-arm the previous owner of the two cards in question would have been a grave mistake," Aoshi began.

"However I am curious…he was very attached to those cards…" Aoshi added looking at Seto. Seto looked at his head of security. Roland was the only other person who knew the real story. Not even Mokuba knew! It was for his reputation as a ruthless badass and to scare Yugi that he had made up the story about strong-arming the previous owners. Roland shrugged and gave him an encouraging nod.

"Come on Kaiba… spill it!" Mai encouraged with a teasing smirk on her face. Everyone looked at him now. With a sigh of resignation he began.

"Ok, so you might all know that the first dragon I won at a tournament in San Francisco almost five years ago. It was offered as the prize for the tournament. I dueled against Mai in the final duel to win it," he explained. Yugi nodded, saying he had watched that duel on TV and it had been a very close thing. All of Kaiba's previous duels in the tournament had been quick victories but Mai made it difficult for him to win that dragon!

"But if you didn't strong-arm anyone to get the other two dragons…then how did you get them?" asked Yugi.

"I got them the day after Gozaburo's funeral," Seto continued solemnly…

-0-

Fourteen year old Seto Kaiba – the new CEO and owner of Kaiba Corp. – walked into the top floor of the Kaiba Corporation building just after lunch the day after Gozaburo's funeral. He had come straight from school; the caveat to him controlling the company required him to acquire a Japanese high school diploma. So a certain amount of attendance on his part would be required at least until he was a senior.

He had made arrangements with the principal of Domino High so he would only need to be at school when there was testing. He had made a substantial "donation" to the school and with his grades as high as they were anyway they could hardly deny him. He looked around at the cubicles arranged in the center of the top floor.

Each cubicle was occupied by a bodyguard who was supposed to be monitoring different floors and entrances of the company via the security cams. He passed through the glass doors and noticed that all of the Big Five's offices were closed. Their secretaries were busy telling the callers on the phone that the men that should be in those offices had to leave on urgent business and would not be back until the following day. He frowned concerned by how nervous everyone appeared to be. Kimo – Gozaburo's old head of security – was nowhere to be seen today.

He spotted his new head of security – Roland – standing straight and tall in front of Seto's new office. All the men around him looked nervous – on edge in fact! Except Roland, who glared at most of them and Sukoru - Roland's new guy - who clicked through his monitors with his usual solemn dedication. He nodded and greeted Seto in his usual calm professional manner and went back to his work.

Kimo had been demoted to oversee security for the Big five when Gozaburo died. He had been surprisingly compliant. But Roland had suggested that he let go of Gozaburo's men. He insisted they could not be trusted and that he should start fresh but Seto was still not sure he wanted to.

'They're just a bunch of air headed thugs! They'll do what I say as long as I pay them to do it!' he thought brimming with arrogance.

"There is someone here to see you sir. A representative of the Baharavian government," announced Roland very solemnly. Seto sighed in disgust. There had been a non-stop parade of law enforcement officers from various countries in his office since Gozaburo decided to jump out the window.

"Fine! Let's get this over with! I have nothing to hide!" Seto added irritated. But Roland didn't move right away from the door.

"Sir…the person waiting for you is Jonathan Nightraven – the First General of the Baharavian Royal Red Knights," Roland announced solemnly he frowned as he looked around. Seto knew the Red Knights were an elite force whose mission was to eliminate the oppressors of the Baharavian people and reported directly to King Johan. Roland quickly explained he had used his governmental credentials to get past security downstairs and his warrior reputation to scare the daylights out of Gozaburo's old guards and the Big Five but he was not here on an official capacity.

"He wishes to make you an offer. He has promised to leave peacefully if you are not interested," Roland added more solemn than usual.

"There is one more thing you should know," Roland paused glaring across the room at Gozaburo's nervous cadre of thugs. "I was a Red Knight. One of the Genovian volunteers back when the liberation war started," That surprised Seto! Now he understood why the Big Five and Gozaburo's thugs didn't like Roland. It should have disconcerted him but Seto remembered what Kanryu Takeda had said about the Red Knights.

"Damn those Red Knights! Once they swear their loyalty to their commander they don't break!"

Roland had already sworn his loyalty to him – Seto Kaiba – something told him that Roland was not here to betray him. He'd had plenty of other opportunities before now to do so if that were the case. He reasoned that if Roland wanted to betray him he would not have said anything about his past career. But at the same time he wondered why Roland had hired himself to a sworn enemy of the Knights? Money never controlled the motives of a Red Knight.

"Well let's see what he wants," Seto said steeling himself for the confrontation. The answers to his questions would be inside. He walked into his office expecting the worst…

-0-

"I was worried when I found out who was supposed to be in my office. I was ready for the absolute worse… But I walk in and there was this guy with long hair wearing blue jeans and sneakers looking at a painting that used to be in my office. He looked like a tourist instead of a General!" Seto continued with a chuckle. Mai laughed.

"He probably teased you about looking so serious!" Mai guessed chuckling.

"Yes…yes he did!" Seto laughed looking back on that day with new understanding as he continued…

-0-

"Seto Kaiba! You're frowning too much for a guy who just pulled off a major victory against a big crime boss!" Jonathan Nightraven teased as he turned to greet Seto. Seto paused to examine the guy as Nightraven finally took a seat. He casually plopped himself on the couch. He was very tall and obviously in very impressive physical fitness.

But he didn't look like what Seto thought a General should look like. Black sneakers, loose fitting jeans, a plain white t-shirt covered by a Kevlar vest and over that vest a simple dark blue jacket. The loose long hair was throwing Seto off the most. He looked like a tourist! But there was something in his eyes that made Seto think that there was nothing you could put past this guy!

"Hey Roland!" He greeted cheerfully. Roland nodded solemnly with a very solemn sounding "Good Morning sir," in response.

"Don't let the serious act fool ya! Roland's a real smiley guy! Just ask his daughters!" Seto's guest laughed. Seto frowned confused. This man was not what he expected considering how nervous everyone seemed. He thought he should be scared of him…but he wasn't!

"To what do we owe the honor of your visit General Nightraven," Seto began very solemnly as he put his briefcase down by his desk. He thought about sitting behind the desk but that seemed cowardly and pretentious. He had a feeling that his usual grandstanding would disappoint rather than impress this guy and Seto wanted to impress him. Instead he decided to move towards the chair in front of the couch, extended his hand to the man and shook it firmly then sat across from the strange man who smiled at him with an all knowing look in his eyes.

"You already know my name, excellent! But just call me Night ok?" the older man said putting his elbows on his knees casually. He laced his fingers and looked down at his hands. The affable smile disappeared as he looked up again and spoke more solemnly.

"I'll cut to the chase Seto. Gozaburo Kaiba took from this world three young people that meant a great deal to me," Night began solemnly. Roland moved forward from his spot in the corner. His mouth opened but Night chuckled and stopped him.

"Relax Rolie! I'm not gonna take it out on the kid! That's crazy! You know me! In fact, it's the opposite! I'm here to thank him!" he chuckled as he straightened. He went into his left jacket pocket. He pulled out a deck of cards. It looked like a duel monsters deck. He continued as he rifled through the deck.

"I was all set to come here and make Gozaburo pay for the three young lives he took from me but suddenly you rode in sword ablaze and chopped him down from his perch in spectacular fashion!" He laughed as he separated two cards from his deck and put the deck away. He set the cards face down next to him. Seto suddenly burned to know what those cards were and why he set them aside.

"You defeated him, humiliated him and left him with nothing…he had no choice but to jump out that window! He knew he was done! And by the last person in the world he expected to be knocked down by too!" Night laughed loudly. Roland relaxed and moved away again. Seto was confused but relieved. He knew Jonathan Nightraven by reputation only. Kanryu and Gozaburo were absolutely terrified of him! The mere mention of the man's name caused them to panic. Seto finally allowed himself to smile.

'But here I am sitting across from Jonathan Nightraven offering him some tea and having a pleasant conversation with him,' Seto thought as he offered Night a glass of iced tea. He accepted with a smirk on his face. They chatted about Seto's direction for his new company. Night was very excited and predicted that Seto would have great success in the field. He admitted to being a big fan of games in general as he sipped his iced tea. He felt video games were the next booming industry and had invested in some of the small independent video game developers in California.

"I hear you're a big fan of Duel Monsters! I personally am more of a Pokémon fan but I do like to play Duel Monsters with my friends from time to time," he paused as sadness settled on his features for a moment.

"Claudia was really good at it," he said sadly as he looked through a Pokémon deck now.

"I'm sorry for your loss," Seto said in the solemn silence that followed figuring whoever Claudia was; she was one of the people Gozaburo had assassinated. Night looked up from the deck and smiled at him then turned a teasing smirk on Roland.

"I like this kid!" he said with a chuckle. Seto never saw the smirk and nod of agreement that came from Roland. He was too busy trying to understand Night and the vast power he seemed to radiate.

"Anyway, the other reason I'm here is because of that painting behind me," Night began. Seto looked up at the painting. It was painting of a young woman in a plain white summer dress gazing from the top of a green hill at a beautiful city by the sea. Gozaburo had bragged that it was an extremely rare and priceless painting. That he had won it in a poker game against some half-wit, drunk general from somewhere that Seto had not cared to find out about. It was a very pretty and valuable painting though so he had no plans for removing it or selling it. He said so to Night and the old man laughed.

"Ok. See the young woman in the painting? She is actually King Johan's mother. The painting was made by his father around the time his parents became engaged," Night explained as he pulled out another Pokémon deck and placed it on the coffee table in between them. The painting had been given away by President Jofferey Baratheon – the usurper that sent Johan and his mother into exile – to one of his generals as a present for helping him execute the "tyrant" King Aegon – Johan's father.

"Which brings me to my current mission…" he began with a mischievous smirk.

"See I'd like to return that painting to King Johan. So I came with a fun proposition for you!" he added and there was something in the mischievous smirk that told Seto this man was leaving this room with that painting and there was nothing he could do to stop him!

"I heard in the gamer grapevine that you are looking for some very special duel monster cards," Night added he picked up the two cards and Seto's heart raced. It hit him now what those cards he took out earlier were before Night showed them to him!

"You are looking for these, aren't you?" Night announced smirking mischievously. Seto's eyes went wide. He clenched his hands into fists to keep them from shaking. In Night's hands were two of the Blue Eyes White Dragon cards! There were only four Blue Eyes White Dragon cards in the world! That's all there would ever be! He had been searching for those cards for so long! He wanted them more than anything.

"If you wish to trade you can take the painting! In exchange for the dragons," Seto replied a little too eagerly. Night laughed.

"Not so fast little dragon! Not a trade…a duel," Night added as he paused for effect. Seto licked his lips…yes a duel would suit him fine too! He was confident he could defeat any opponent!

"I win…I take the painting…you win…you keep the dragons…deal?" said Night leaning towards him, his elbows on his knees, lazily offering his right hand with that maddening smirk on his face. Seto's hand shot out towards him.

"Deal!" he replied eagerly, shaking Night's hand firmly. Night laughed and looked at Roland for a second. Seto got up to get his Duel Monsters deck but Night stopped him.

"Oh no mister Duel Monsters champion! We'll play Pokémon and we play with my decks…or no deal," Night added smirking that really grating, all-knowing mischievous smirk! Seto frowned, not liking this wrinkle but he really wanted the dragons so he sat back down and agreed. Night continued explaining the rules of their game.

Seto was free to look through both decks and choose the one he liked the most. Seto examined the decks carefully but they were extremely well balanced. Neither deck had any advantage over the other. Winning would need tactics and a little luck. The first player to knock out six Pokémon from his opponent would win their respective prize.

"A tie means I walk out of here with my dragons and without the painting. You in?" he concluded smirking at Seto as if he already knew Seto would not back down.

"Ok…I pick the lightning and ground deck," Seto agreed. Night smiled at him and their game began. Right away Seto realized why Jonathan Nightraven was considered an unbeatable opponent. He was an incredible strategist!

'…and he makes it seem so effortless!' thought Seto frustrated. The game was tied; it was the toughest game he'd ever played, it took every ounce of concentration. They had each knocked five Pokémon from each other and their current Pokémon on the field were in a stalemate! If either attacked they would knock each other out and the game would end in a tie. While they played Night chatted incessantly about the games he likes and the ones he doesn't. He talked about the video game companies he had invested in and why.

It seemed as if Night was barely paying attention to the game but Seto realized right away this was not true. It seemed impossible to gain an advantage over his opponent. Night drew a card, looked at it for a second and passed his turn without declaring any actions or playing any new cards. Seto was running low on cards; he examined his useless hand for a combination he might have missed!

'I don't just want those cards, I need them!' he thought desperately. Sweat beaded his forehead as he racked his brain looking for a solution to this stalemate. The dragons represented his freedom and his future.

The Blue Eyes White Dragon cards represented everything that had been unattainable to him. To have them would mean that nothing would ever be outside of his reach ever again! Winning that first Blue Eyes last year had given him the courage to go ahead with his plans against Gozaburo. He needed these two dragons!

"Your turn kid," Night said softly watching Seto intently, his constant stream of attempts at conversation ceased as he watched Seto quietly now. He looked up at Night as his hand reached for the deck to draw his next card and paused. There was a deep well of wisdom and understanding in the old man's eyes. It was as if Night could see inside his soul! He shook his head trying to convince himself he was imaging things.

'The old man's getting to me! I have to end this duel!' he thought as he reached for the next card. His eyes went wide with sheer joy! Against all odds he had pulled out the last trainer card left in the deck. It would boost the attack power of the Pikachu he had on the field and finally allow him to knock out Mr. Nightraven's Growlithe! He played the trainer, called out his attack and with a wild joyous look in his eyes declared his victory! Night laughed, confusing Seto for a moment.

"Well done Seto!" Night declared putting his cards down and clapping for a moment. Seto allowed himself to savor the victory in silence. He nodded graciously, his joy too great for words.

"And to the victor… go the spoils!" Night picked up the two dragons, looked at them for a moment and passed them to Seto. With a shaking hand, breathing heavily Seto reached for the cards. He stared at them not believing for a moment that they were finally in his hands. He closed his eyes for a second and opened them again and they were still there. So intently did he stare at those cards he never noticed Nightraven quickly gather his Pokémon decks and stick them back in his jacket pockets.

He looked up at Night, the mischievous smirk was gone. He smiled but there was pride in that smile. It made Seto feel like he was back in his old home, looking up into his father's eyes…his real father. He slammed the door shut on that thought and put the two dragon cards in his pocket as he got up and extended his hand.

"Thank you Mr. Nightraven for coming to visit me today," Seto announced solemnly. Night smirked at him again and nodded. He ruffled Seto's hair as he passed him on his way out the door. Seto stayed very still looking up the painting that would stay in the office and somehow it just felt wrong for it to be here. It didn't belong here. He had won…the proof of his victories were in his pocket. He didn't want Gozaburo's trophies hanging around.

"Mr. Night wait!" Seto called out to him. Seto hurried to the couch, climbed on to it and unhooked the painting. He hopped down from the couch and walked over to Nightraven.

"This painting was stolen, not gifted or won. I am no thief. Please return it to the rightful owner," Seto announced very solemnly as he handed the painting to Night. The old man looked at him pleasantly surprised and took the painting from Seto.

He smiled at him with that pride in his eyes that made Seto think of his father. The old man had a way of making him feel exposed. Night ruffled his hair once more and Seto suddenly remembered how his dad used to do that to Mokuba to make the little boy laugh. He slammed the door on that memory and stepped back from Night. Once more bowing solemnly and thanking him for stopping by. Night just smiled, returned Seto's bow then looked at Roland.

"I like this kid!" he said to Roland once more. Roland stood up tall, chest out looking proud and tough as he nodded solemnly to his old commander.

"There is honor in you Seto…remember that!" Night said very solemnly. Seto frowned confused by this parting statement. He never really understood the concept but again he thought of his dad.

"Our honor is defined by our actions Seto, not by the actions of our ancestors," his father had once said to him. He never did understand what his father meant or why he said that to him but he got the distinct impression that Jonathan Nightraven would be keeping an eye on Seto's career.

Night walked out of the office and Seto walk up to the door to watch him leave. Seto watched him look around at the bodyguards trying hard not to look scared – they failed miserably. Night took two steps out of the office; he looked at Seto and winked then turned to the guards watching.

"Boo!" he called out teasingly. Seto groaned as every last guard jumped and Nightraven laughed. Roland shook his head, the ghost of a smile disappeared quickly as Seto looked up at him. Only Sukoru didn't jump. He laughed mockingly at the other men. Night stopped to shake hands with Sukoru. He turned back to Seto still watching him, smirked and tossed him a jaunty salute. Chuckling amused he walked away to the elevators.

"Roland, dock the pay of the idiots that jumped! Kaiba corp. has no room for cowards…make it double for Kimo!" Seto ordered as he walked back into his office.

"Yes, sir!" Roland replied with extreme satisfaction…

-0-

"It was a really tough duel…worthy of the prize I got but Night was not what I expected. With everything I had heard about him from Kanryu and Gozaburo I expected a very scary person. But he was rather mischievous and surprisingly cheerful," Seto explained. He decided from the beginning to keep his thoughts about how Night reminded him of his dad and how he truly feels about the Blue Eyes White Dragons in his deck to himself. He shared only the most superficial of events.

"That was pretty cool of you to give him the painting Kaiba," said Jou with solemn agreements from his friends.

"The painting never really belonged to Gozaburo anymore than it belonged to the idiot he took it from or the moron that give it to that idiot! I vowed to never let Gozaburo's dirty deeds smear my company's reputation or my name ever again! I figured I'd start there," Seto replied

"It was honorable of you to return it Seto-kun. King Johan is very happy to have it. That painting means a great deal to him," Kenshin added to agreements from his friends.

Mai spared Seto any of the "friendship is magic" speeches Anzu looked ready to spew by announcing that it was time for her to go. She had a long drive back to Kyoto tonight. She was supposed to stay at her uncle's house but she really needed to talk to her mom. And she knew her mom would be alone tonight and had no meetings tomorrow morning, so tonight was the perfect night. She had some stories to share with her!

"And don't you guys have dinner guests tonight?" Mai added. Seto and Mokuba were being treated to dinner at Aoshi's. Aoshi needed to make arrangements for Seto's surfing lesson in the morning too so they needed to get going.

"We do, but before we go there is something important I must ask of all of you," Aoshi began very solemnly. He stood up and looked at each of the kids.

"You have heard many stories today and you are free to discuss any about me with anyone you wish. But I will ask you to exercise the greatest discretion regarding the tale of what occurred between Shuura and Seto on the blimp and about my Aunt's assistance in Seto's escape from Max's assassins. I'm sure I do not need to explain to you all why I need to protect my friend and my Aunt. And I'm sure I do not need to explain the lengths I will go to protect them," he paused for effect but when Aoshi gave Bakura a hard look Seto's suspicions were confirmed. Aoshi and his crew knew a great deal about the millennium items. They also knew that Bakura wore the darkest and most dangerous item: the Millennium Ring.

"Translation: keep our mouths shut or you'll kick our butts! Got it!" Jou piped up as he, his sister and his friends got up. Confused Serenity asked why they couldn't say anything about the blimp.

"I mean I understand about Mrs. Oume but what's wrong with Seto kissing Shuura?" Serenity asked as everyone began to file out.

"Shuura is an adult and Seto is still under the age of consent…Shuura could get in very serious trouble," Kaoru replied solemnly. Serenity looked embarrassed for not realizing sooner and immediately promised not to say a word. Seto was glad Yugi and his gang accepted this explanation without question. He would use this as a cover to explain why he had forced everyone who saw him kissing Shuura to be silent. As an added measure he would make sure that all recordings of the incident would be destroyed. He was no longer embarrased by the incident and he absolutley did not want Shuura to suffer any harm for it.

To Seto's relief Yugi and his gang were not joining them at Aoshi's since Anzu had to get home. Sano needed to go pack. The student exchange girl staying with the Mazaki family was taking his old room and Sano had to report to the base for duty on Monday so he might as well leave early. Yugi's gang were gonna hang out at Anzu's house.

"But only for a little while! You'll need to go home when I leave!" Sano announced. He turned looking pointedly at Yugi.

"Especially you! You get into way too much weird trouble!" Sano added glaring at Yugi. Seto chuckled.

"So did we if you remember Sano!" Kenshin countered with a teasing smirk.

"Don't you start with me Kenshin!" Sano growled back annoyed. Kenshin merely snickered and winked at Yugi who relaxed considerably. Mai rolled her eyes as she walked to her car scrolling through her phone's messages.

"Hey Mai, do you think we could meet your dad sometime?" Mokuba asked and to everyone's shock Mai laughed.

"Are you kidding? Here let me call him! He's gonna be so happy!" Mai laughed as she dialed the phone. Everyone gathered around Mai - Kamo Kujacu is a famous actor after all. She put her phone on speaker after she said hello.

"Mokuba wanted to ask you something daddy," Mai added as she put the phone closer to Mokuba.

"Hey Mokuba! What's going on?" Kamo greeted cheerfully. Mokuba smiled nervously and with an encouraging nod from Misao he greeted the Japanese movie star.

"Hello Mr. Kujacu," he began solemnly.

"Ugh! Mr. Kujacu is my father! Just call me Kamo ok!" he returned cheerfully. Mai rolled her eyes as everyone was already instantly charmed by her father. Mokuba smiled and he shyly asked if they could meet some time to thank him for his support. As Mai expected her father was gracious and charming and humble as he said it had been his pleasure to help in some small way to end this pointless feud.

He agreed instantly to meet Mokuba and to simply tell him when and where and he would be there. To Yugi and his gang's delight Kamo agreed to Mokuba's invitation to stop by the Kaiba Arcade tomorrow afternoon. Seto looked a little shocked by the speed that this happened and gave Roland a desperate look. Roland quickly moved away from the group and started making phone calls, giving instructions to Sukoru and the rest of his guys about extra security. A major movie star was about to show up tomorrow. Better spruce up the place!

Mai shook her head amused as her father was his usual charming self making life-long fans out of Yugi and his friends with a simple phone call. Mokuba excitedly said goodbye exclaiming how he was looking forward to meeting him tomorrow. Kamo agreed he was looking forward to meeting him and his big brother. He made Mokuba promise to give him a tour of their arcade and Mokuba eagerly agreed.

Mai finally hung up the phone and they all headed out of the house. As Yugi and his gang said goodbye to Aoshi and his friends Seto pulled Mai aside.

"I didn't get a chance to thank you Mai," he began solemnly as they walked towards Mai's car.

"For what? The virtual reality pod fiasco? You know I got paid up front for that right?" Mai replied with a teasing smirk. Mai had been on hand when the Big Five had tried to use Seto's virtual reality pod to kill him. She had joined the virtual reality adventure Yugi and his friends undertook on the rescue mission.

But she had been at the Kaiba R&D facility only because the Big Five had hired her to test the virtual reality pods. They hired her for two reasons: she was an expert gamer and she was from a family who were sworn enemies of the Kaiba family. They figured she wouldn't be inclined to help Seto if she noticed he was in trouble…they were wrong!

"No actually, I was talking about how you helped Roland at Duelist Kingdom," Seto countered solemnly.

"Oh that…" Mai began. Mai had been eliminated in the first round of the Duelist Kingdom finals. While Yugi and Jou dueled in the final rounds against Bandit Keith and Max Pegasus, Mai had snuck around Pegasus' mansion, knocked out a few guards and opened the door for Roland so he could rescue the Kaiba brothers. No one but Roland had seen her do it, she had made sure. While everyone was distracted after Yugi had defeated Max Pegasus in the final duel, she snuck out quietly.

"I'll be honest, that was self-serving. Mom didn't mind dodging the assassins that didn't dare go after Aoshi but I did mind being kidnapping bait! Old Kaiba loved to send goons to try to snatch me. I was just looking for a way to end the feud. I was tired of looking over my shoulder all the time," Mai replied with a tired shrug. Seto nodded solemnly.

"I can certainly sympathize with that but I thank you just the same," Seto replied solemnly as he held open the car door for her. Mai's ever present teasing smirk returned as she climbed in to her car and turned the engine.

"Any time! I say this year's off to a good start! I'll see you around Kaiba!" Mai added cheerfully. She turned and waved goodbye from the driver's side window to Yugi and his gang. They cheerfully called out their goodbyes and promises to stay in touch with her. Then Mai's car roared away. Seto watched her go grateful for her support, no matter what her motivations had been, it still meant a great deal to him. He was glad too that Yugi hadn't turned her into a friendship-speech spewing weirdo like he and his friends are.

He said goodbye to Yugi and his friends. With a promise to see Aoshi, Misao, Kaoru and Kenshin later at Aoshi's place he watched them leave too. He walked back into his house with his little brother.

"That was an epic afternoon, huh big brother?" said Mokuba. The big smile of pure joy on the youngest Kaiba warmed Seto's heart. He smiled at Mokuba.

"We sure got more than a burger and some shakes at Burger World today!" he replied and both brothers laughed. Mrs. Nagisa and her husband came by to say goodbye. They had finished cleaning up and were heading home for the night. Seto let them know Mokuba had made plans to have breakfast with Misao tomorrow. He would be gone early too as Sano had promised to pick him up early to go surfing. They would have breakfast later at Aoshi's place.

"That sounds like fun sir! Shall I bring your lunch to your office at the Arcade as usual sir?" Mrs. Nagisa added looking extra cheerful. Her husband eagerly wanted to know if he would need to be picked up at Mr. Shinomori's place and at what time to be there.

"No, I'll make other arrangements for lunch," Seto began as he gave them both their instructions and they eagerly promised to be at their assigned tasks. They politely excused themselves for the evening and left. Mokuba hurried away to get ready for dinner and Seto went to find Roland. He had struck upon a simple way to both thank Tokio for her assistance and begin a dialog with her. She had provided him the openings after all. He found his right hand guy and they both went into Seto's office.

"I need you to get a package ASAP out to Colorado," Seto began as he sat down at his desk. He pulled out a blank card and began to write…

Two days later in Colorado Springs…

A truck with the Kaiba Corp logo pulled up to Tokio and Hajime's house. The driver handed Hajime a large box addressed to Tokio. Hajime signed for it and the driver was off quickly to fight the cold winter roads to his next delivery.

"What is it?" Tokio asked as Hajime brought the large box to the living room where Tokio was finally disassembling the Christmas tree. His mother was already back at her own house since Hannya was home looking after her. So the little Davila family was enjoying some private time.

"I don't know but it's addressed to you babe. It's from little brother," Hajime replied with a teasing smirk. Tokio turned to look at him but the puzzlement on her face disappeared as she spotted the Kaiba corp. logo on the box.

"Open it! Open it!" she said excitedly pulling little Soji's baby swing close to the couch where Hajime was busy ripping open the box. Curious, little toddler Rick got up from where he was playing with mommy's Star Wars Christmas ornaments to look into the box daddy was bringing in. Hajime handed the card that was just inside the box to Tokio who eagerly opened it. She read it out loud:

Tokio,

It is not lost on me the sacrifice you made to protect a couple of boys who had done nothing to deserve such a valiant and honorable protector. But I deeply thank you for your courage and your daring. Please accept this small token of my everlasting gratitude for your support. My company will continue to produce my dreams and bring my gaming vision to the world thanks to your intellect and strength. Please know that at Kaiba corp. you will always have a friend and a colleague.

Gratefully,

Seto Kaiba

Tokio wiped the happy tear that made its way down her face. Hajime put his arms around his wife holding her tight as she cried and laughed at the same time. This was a moment of joyful closure for Tokio. Since Rick's birth she had wondered what she would do if faced with the choice her family's acquaintances had been given when she was betrayed by her grandmother. She knew the answer now. She knew she would always make the right choice regardless of how hard it was or what it might cost!

"Well…little brother's a fan…no surprise there," Hajime noted with a proud smirk. Tokio laughed some more.

"Keep opening!" she entreated cheerfully wiping happy tears from her face. Hajime released his wife and went back in the box. Hajime whistled appreciatively as he pulled away the thick bubble wrap. There were two beautiful metal cases inside the box. He pulled out first a black rectangular case with the Star Wars brand logo on the side of the case and a large Imperial symbol emblazoned on the top of the case. Then he pulled out a silver case with the Star Wars brand's logo on the side and a large Rebel Alliance symbol emblazoned on the top of the case.

Tokio moved aside so Hajime could place both cases side by side on the couch. He opened first the black case and his eyes went wide. Inside was a duel disk…but not just any duel disk! As he opened the second case and examined the contents of the light gray velvet lined boxes he realized they were the special edition disks that came out during the Christmas shopping season as part of Seto's new deal with Lucas Arts - the gaming branch of George Lucas' Star Wars franchise.

Seto released two new duel disk models. Each model had lighting on the edges and sound effects from the movie when you activated them. You could pick between the Imperial and the Rebel models. Hajime and Tokio had decided to wait until the after Christmas sales to try to purchase their own disks. The disks were hot items though and the price had not gone down too much after the holidays. The demand had made the devices scarce too.

"Oh Hajime, Seto went above and beyond! These aren't the regular disks these are from the special collector's run!" Tokio exclaimed as she lifted the Rebel side disk out of the box. The disk looked fully transparent when turned off and closed. It was made with some rather expensive and rare transparent circuitry. When she switched on the device she let out a squeal of delight as it made the signature snap-hiss of a lightsaber activating as the device opened and lit up.

She swung her arm and it made the sound of a lightsaber in motion. She laughed with sheer joy as Hajime pulled out and activated the Imperial disk. The disk glowed red and he relished the sound effects as he swung his arm around laughing with her. There were a few thousand made of the ones they were holding. They were part of a special contest will be held by Lucas Arts to promote the card game expansions. You would be able to win one if you found a special card in the expansion packs coming out in May.

"Small token my eye! The kid likes to go big doesn't he!" laughed Hajime. Tokio twirled around the living room joyfully. Her little toddler jumped and danced around her stomping on the bubble wrap, enjoying what seemed like Christmas part two to him. Their little revelry was interrupted as Tokio's open laptop on the coffee table began beeping incessantly. Tokio moved to it and opened her video chat program. She smiled.

"Hello Seto!" she began cheerfully. The young man smirked as he greeted Tokio and her family…