Well, things are starting to wind down with only four chapters (after this one) left in this story. Now that I think about it, with this story ending in about four weeks, I really should get off my lazy ass and get to work getting as far into White Radiance as I can. At the moment, I'm only halfway done with Chapter 7.

Anyway, thank you to DarkZorua100, Guest, Kamen Rider Dragon Knight, dragonrider90, Sorcerer of the Stories, weather741, KiritoKirigaya-SAO, a1993, EndlessNight025, decode9, iloveyugiohGX93, Sophhascoconuts and Lightclaw's Shadow for reviewing the last chapter. You guys are the greatest.

And, as usual, a huge thank you to EndlessNight025 for being an awesome beta-reader.

Well, I do hope that you enjoy this chapter and, as always, reviews are much appreciated.

15

A Sister's Secret

Kaage paced, muttering to himself, upset at the loss he had suffered at the hands of the little monster's older brother. He had been so sure that he could beat Raiden Yuki because he knew Raiden's deck, and had the help of someone who had seen Raiden Yuki in action before, but Raiden managed to beat him. He cursed his overconfidence in that situation and cursed Raiden Yuki for being able to outsmart him in the end.

'You sure are a sore loser,' Dark Shadow mused.

And you aren't? Kaage retorted as he paced.

'I don't go around stabbing people just because they beat me in a duel,' Dark Shadow said dryly.

Kaage barked out a laugh. Oh please. Yes, I killed that bastard but it wasn't because he beat me, well, not entirely anyway, he thought.

'You did it because you had the opportunity and decided not to let it go to waste,' Dark Shadow surmised. 'You did want to kill his father but decided to kill him instead, yes?'

You could look at it that way. Besides, hearing him scream like that... Kaage's lips twisted into a sadistic grin. That was delicious.

Kaage stopped pacing and turned his attention to the bare window in his hideout. Well, I suppose I should try to find that little girl while she is dealing with being a monster and a murderer just like her brother, he thought.

'Are you going to kill her, too?'

If she, somehow, manages to beat me, I will, though that's unlikely. Raiden Yuki beat me out of sheer luck after all, Kaage thought. And taking someone's soul is worse than kill them, though I do have fun doing either.

He chuckled to himself. "Now, where, oh where, would an emotionally distraught teenage girl hide out after running away like that?" he murmured to himself.

. . .

Rogue hovered anxiously over her partner's side as the ambulance, sirens wailing, moved rapidly toward the hospital in the distance. Raiden was still unconscious and the paramedics were still working hard to keep him stabilized until they could get him to the ER. From what the paramedics had said, Raiden had lost a lot of blood, but there wasn't much they could do, other than keep him stable, until they got to the hospital.

"He was lucky that woman was able to call for help, though I do wonder what happened to her," one paramedic had said to another when they first arrived soon after Raiden had fallen unconscious.

Rogue had simply hovered anxiously over them, watching as they worked quickly to try to save Raiden's life. She fervently hoped that they would be able to do so and she wished she could have done something to help. Of course, she hadn't known whether she could make herself solid or not yet or else she would have attacked that crazy bastard herself.

She knew Raiden had the ability simply because of his connection with Jaden and the fact that Rogue could feel the power within Raiden that he hadn't yet awakened. She also only knew what that power was because she had felt it when Jaden had called upon his own power; weakened though she was by the presence of the Sacred Beasts, Rogue was still able to feel Jaden's power and was able to notice that it felt similar to the power that lay dormant within Raiden.

She didn't know why that was, and there really wasn't much she could tell Raiden when he woke up, even though she said she would explain everything, but she would do her best to explain what happened and how she did what she did.

However, right now, Raiden's life was hanging by a thread, and so Rogue simply focused on clinging on to the hope that her partner would make it out of this alive.

She would focus on answering questions afterwards.

. . .

It was early the following morning and the sun had yet to begin its ascent into the sky. Kasumi woke up, not realizing she had fallen asleep, and gazed around, trying to remember where she was and how she got there. It came back to her and Kasumi sat up on the park bench she had fallen asleep on. It was still early and Kasumi figured no one would be out at that time of day, which was why no one had woken her up to tell her that she wasn't allowed to be there, or help her find her way back to the hotel.

Shire was the one who woke her up. Kasumi had told her to wake her up if there was an emergency or before the sun got up so that she could start moving. She was pretty sure she wasn't supposed to be in the park that late at night anyway.

Getting to her feet and rubbing her neck—Kasumi resolved never to sleep on a park bench again—she looked around, thankful to be back to somewhat more familiar surroundings. She recognized the park she had fallen asleep in as the one that she and the others had passed by on their way to Iolani Palace back when they had been exploring.

Back when they didn't have a psychopath hell-bent on vengeance on their tail.

Back when her friends didn't know about her powers, didn't know that she was a freak and a murderer.

'Kasumi...!' Shire snapped. 'You are not...'

Yeah, yeah, I know, Kasumi thought, pushing her own feelings away at the moment. Shire was a delight to have around; she acted like a child at times, always excited and eager and hyper. She could make Kasumi smile by doing the simplest of things and she reminded Kasumi a bit of how she was when she was younger.

She sighed. When she had been younger, things were so much simpler. It was just her, her parents and her younger twin sister, Hikari. She did love living with the Yukis and she did see them as her family, but she would always miss the parents who had raised her and the sister whom she loved. She didn't even know what happened to Hikari after she ran away and her parents...

Kasumi lowered her head, feeling tears appear in her eyes. Her parents... They had always been there for her, supported her, made her laugh and held her when she cried. And she had killed them.

Kaage was right. She was a murderer.

Kasumi wiped the tears from her eyes and gazed around. She couldn't help but wonder if her friends were worried about her, if her brothers were worried about her, if her adopted dad was worried about her. Were they looking for her? Or had they given up? Were the police searching for her, or were they too focused on finding Kaage Naka? Did her friends or family even care enough to try to find her?

'Of course they care, Kasumi,' Shire scolded. 'They do love you and I'm sure they're looking for you right now.'

But it's dangerous with Kaage around, Kasumi thought. That thought made her realize that she didn't want to take away from the search for Kaage. He was the bigger threat at the moment, so she resolved to find her own way back to the hotel. She recognized where she was; now all she had to do was remember how to get back to the hotel from where she was.

The sun appeared on the horizon, bathing the sleeping city in fire as Kasumi started walking, heading in what she hoped was the right direction. She hadn't really been paying attention when she and the rest of the gang had headed toward Iolani Palace, but she remembered which direction the palace was, so she just walked in the opposite direction.

She fervently hoped it was the right one.

. . .

"No news?" Kaede asked, glancing toward Matt and Emily, who had met him in the lobby of the hotel early in the morning. Everyone else was still asleep and Kaede resolved to let them sleep for the time being. He sighed. Two of his children were missing and Kaede was worried, very worried. He didn't know what to make of it since he had no idea where they could have gone.

He was still a bit upset that his children and the others had left the hotel despite a psychopath running around, but he was more worried because Kyle had ended up comatose, much like Alexis, and then Kasumi ended up going missing, and now Raiden was missing, too. It was getting too much to handle.

And it made Kaede regret, more than ever, not taking his wife's warning seriously. Perhaps none of this would have happened if he had taken his wife's warning seriously. Perhaps he could have told the police and they could have been on the lookout for Kaage before he struck.

Kaede shook his head. There was no point in dwelling on 'what ifs'. He had made a mistake, a costly one at that, and now he was going to have to deal with the consequences of his mistake.

"No," Matt said. "No news. No one's called or anything. Em and I are going to head back to the police station and let them know about Kasumi and Raiden so that they can keep a lookout for them as well."

Kaede nodded. "All right," he said. He sighed and added, "I better go call Izumi and let her know what's happened. She's not going to be happy." With me. The last part remained unsaid, but it did echo in the vaults of Kaede's mind, mingled with the guilt that he had been harboring for days now.

. . .

Jaden yawned and sat up on his bed, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes and then looking around. Guess I was more tired than I thought, he thought. He hadn't been expecting to fall asleep, but he had and, though he didn't feel at all rested, he didn't feel as tired as he had beforehand.

A knock sounded on the door and Jaden, getting to his feet, sleepily shuffled over to the door and opened it.

"Morning, Jaden," Arina greeted him. She was standing beside Chazz, who looked like he had just gotten out of bed, and Atticus, who was rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

"Morning," Jaden said with a yawn.

"You look like you didn't get any sleep last night," Arina said.

"I didn't get much," Jaden said, stepping aside to allow his friends into the room. "Raiden's missing now."

"What?" Atticus looked shocked. "What happened?"

Jaden shook his head, walking over to his bed and sitting down. "I don't know. He was here before I went to sleep and then my dad was waking me up a few hours later asking me where he was."

"You think Kaage..." Chazz began.

"I just don't know anymore," Jaden said with a sigh. "It would make sense, really, since this wouldn't be the first time Kaage's kidnapped someone, but I just don't understand why. He told me where I could find both Alexis and Kyle, and yet I haven't received a single message from him about my brother. If he had taken my brother, wouldn't he have told me where to find it since he seems determined to force me to watch them fall or something?"

"For one, he is crazy so there's no telling what he's actually thinking, Slacker," Chazz pointed out. "He could have changed his mind for some reason and decided not to have witnesses this time."

"Maybe, though why?"

No one seemed to have an answer to that, though Arina looked thoughtful. "Maybe he just doesn't want you to learn enough about his playing style to be able to counteract it when he finally does go after you," she suggested.

"Maybe." Jaden fell silent for a long moment. "I hope Raiden's all right."

"I'm sure he's fine," Atticus said. "Raiden's a strong duelist. If Kaage challenged him to a duel then he's going to have a fight on his hands, and I firmly believe Raiden can beat him."

Jaden gave Atticus a small smile. "Hopefully," he said before he stood up. "I think I could go for some breakfast right now."

The rest of the remnants of the gang nodded and then followed Jaden out of the room.

After eating breakfast, the gang found themselves in the lobby where Jaden decided to try to call Raiden. Kaede, Matt, and Emily were already gone and there were no other guests in the lobby. It was empty save for the gang and the two duel spirits who had decided to make an appearance; Yubel, who was hovering behind Jaden while he attempted to call Raiden, and Ojama Yellow, who was expressing his own concern over everything that was happening to Chazz, who was glowering at him in irritation.

There wasn't much to talk about. The gang had too much on their minds, what with everything that had happened, and Jaden's own worry for his siblings was making him quiet, especially since he couldn't get in touch with Raiden.

The door to the hotel opened at that moment and the gang glanced toward it, expecting to see another guest coming to check in. So they were surprised when a very familiar girl with blue-black hair and dirty clothing stepped into the room, green eyes gazing around.

"Kas!"

Jaden jumped to his feet and was at Kasumi's side in seconds, grabbing his sister into his arms and he cradled her close to him, tears of relief falling from his eyes. "Oh thank goodness you're all right," he whispered.

Kasumi seemed surprised by the sudden hug but, slowly, she wrapped her own arms around her brother, giving him a gentle hug back.

"Where've you been?" Arina asked, concerned, as she, Chazz, and Atticus walked over to join them.

Kasumi bit her lip as she pulled back from her brother and she looked down. "I...kinda...got lost," she said softly. "And my phone died on me."

"Doesn't matter. At least you're all right. You had us all worried," Jaden said softly. He was relieved beyond belief that his sister was all right.

Tears appeared in Kasumi's eyes. "Why?" she asked.

"Why what?"

"Why were you worried about a freak like me?" the blue-black haired girl whispered.

Jaden frowned. "Kas, you're not a freak," he said firmly. "Is this about what Kaage said to you? He was wrong!"

Kasumi started sobbing, startling Jaden, who gently rubbed her back. "Was it something I said?" he asked, confused.

"No, it's just...I'm sorry," Kasumi whispered.

"There's no need to be sorry, Kas," Jaden assured her.

"I shouldn't...shouldn't have run off like that," Kasumi said softly. "I just...I didn't...I couldn't..." She broke off and started sobbing again.

Jaden rubbed her back gently again. "Let's go up to my room and we can talk about this, okay?"

Kasumi nodded slowly and Jaden guided her toward the elevator, Chazz, Arina, and Atticus followed after them. Jaden didn't protest, though that was primarily because he was too focused on calming his sister down.

It didn't take them long to reach Jaden's room and, once they were there, they all sat down. Jaden and Kasumi on Jaden's bed and Arina, Chazz and Atticus on Raiden's.

"Why did you run off like that, Kas?" Jaden asked.

Kasumi bit her lip and then looked down.

"Was it about what Kaage said? Like I said before, he was wrong. He doesn't know you, Kas. You wouldn't hurt anyone, let alone kill anyone," Jaden said.

Kasumi's eyes filled with tears again and she looked away, biting her lip.

"If you don't want to talk about it, you don't have to," Jaden said.

"I just...I...don't know...if I'm...ready for everyone to know just yet," Kasumi said quietly.

"Can you give us some privacy?" Jaden asked, glancing at Chazz, Arina, and Atticus.

Atticus got to his feet and nodded. "All right, Jaden," he said and he, Chazz, and Arina left the room.

Jaden turned his attention back to his sister and waited as patiently as he could for Kasumi to start talking. She was silent for a long moment, biting her lip, unsure of where to begin, but then just decided to start from the beginning.

"This happened about eight or so months before your family adopted me," she began quietly. "You see, my parents started having a lot of problems with their marriage ever since my younger sister ran away. They would fight a lot, each blaming the other for her disappearance. It got to the point that I spent quite a bit of my time in my room, trying to ignore the yelling. It didn't help much. Then they decided that they were going to get a divorce. Normally, I wouldn't have minded that, if they had told me what they were going to do. Instead, Mom just came up to me one day and told me to pack my bags because we were leaving. Dad started yelling at her, telling her that I was to stay with him. They started shouting at each other, telling the other about whom I was going to stay with. I was just getting angry because they weren't even bothering on asking me whom I wanted to stay with. They were treating me like…like property! I was getting so angry. I loved them, I did, but I was just so angry that they didn't bother on asking me my opinion."

Kasumi closed her eyes, tears falling from her eyes. "My power acted up. It always acts up when I have no control over my emotions, especially if I'm really angry or upset, or both. In this case, it was both. My power lashed out and I accidentally set everything on fire. I panicked and ran out of there. I didn't understand what was happening, as that was the first time my power had actually acted up, and I was just scared. I wanted to get out of there. I should have stayed and made sure my parents were okay, but I was just so scared about what happened." She choked out a sob, her eyes still closed.

Jaden curled his arm around his sister's shoulders and held her as she sobbed. It was a couple of minutes before she was able to calm down enough to be able to continue talking.

"T…The firemen came then and put out the flames but it was too late for my parents, even before the house collapsed. The firemen had gone inside to get them but they were already dead by the time the firemen got to them. I don't know why they didn't leave when they saw that the house was on fire. Maybe they were in shock. It all happened so fast. But I…But I did kill them. It's my fault they're dead," Kasumi sobbed.

Jaden rubbed Kasumi's back gently and didn't stop until he could feel her start to relax against him. She was still crying softly but, at least, she was calming down at bit.

"It isn't your fault, Kas," Jaden said gently.

Kasumi lifted her head and stared at Jaden, who smiled at her.

"It isn't," he said. "Your power just got outta hand, but you had no idea what was happening. You didn't even know you had this power before this incident, did you?"

Kasumi shook her head. The accident that often left what friends she did have when she was growing up with burns hadn't been caused by her power. She didn't know why she knew that, but she knew that it was something else entirely. She just didn't know what.

"So how could you have known how to control it?"

"I…I guess you're right," Kasumi said slowly.

"You're not in this alone, Kas," Jaden said quietly. "Both of us have done things that we had no control over, but we just gotta remember that we couldn't control what happened. I still love ya, little sis, and I always will. Nothing you did will ever change that."

Kasumi gazed up at him and gave him a small smile before she leaned against him. "Thank you," she whispered.

Jaden patted his sister's back. "You're welcome," he said. "Now where have you been all night?"

"I got lost, like I said," Kasumi said quietly. "It was pretty late when I reached that park I remembered us passing when we went to Iolani Palace and I just...kinda fell asleep there. Shire kept lookout for me, though."

"Well, at least you're all right," Jaden murmured. "Though you are still gonna have to explain, at least in part, what happened in that warehouse to Chazz, Arina and Atticus. They all saw what ya did."

"I know. I just...I'm afraid of...how they'll react," Kasumi murmured.

"Personally, I think you're powers, though dangerous, are really sweet," Jaden said with a smile. "And I'm sure they won't think any less of you once they find out about your powers."

"True," Kasumi said, thinking back to when she had first told Alexis about her powers after her duel against Nightshroud. "Alexis didn't."

Jaden smiled sadly. "Yeah, that sounds like Alexis," he murmured, thinking to his beautiful girlfriend, who was still comatose in the hospital because of Kaage, the damn bastard.

"Want me to go get Chazz, Arina, and Atticus so you can tell them? Or do you want to wait?" Jaden asked, pushing thoughts of the psychopath out of his mind for the moment before his anger overcame him.

"Might...Might as well get it over with," Kasumi said quietly.

Jaden patted Kasumi's shoulder gently and got to his feet, leaving the room to track down his friends.

. . .

'So, planning on sticking with the kidnapping her and convincing/forcing her to duel you thing?' Dark Shadow asked.

Kaage snorted. Of course. It's probably my easiest way of getting my prey, he thought.

'And what's to stop her from burning you to a crisp?' Dark Shadow asked, sounding very amused.

Kaage scowled at the reminder of what that little bitch had done to him. I doubt she will use that power again. We both saw how she reacted when she used that power the first time. Her using it again to 'burn me to a crisp', as you call it, is unlikely. Besides, I doubt she'll even think about doing that. She is rather emotionally distraught at the moment.

'So then what do you plan on doing?'

The same thing that I did with Raiden Yuki. Offer a deal in exchange for a duel. Perhaps threaten her father like I did with Raiden Yuki, though I'm not sure if it will work or not. Hmm, Kaage trailed off silently as his mind began to turn cogs in his head.

. . .

"So, just to clarify, you can create fire out of thin air, block it, and control it?" Atticus asked.

Kasumi nodded slowly. Well, unless I'm upset or angry, then I can't control it at all, she thought.

"Sounds...interesting," Atticus mused.

"Pretty dangerous, too," Arina commented.

"Gotta admit, I was surprised when you did that to Kaage," Chazz said, "but it just makes you different and there's nothing the matter with that."

"You...You guys don't think I'm a freak?" Kasumi asked uncertainly.

"Of course not," Arina said with a smile. "You're our friend, Kasumi, and we like you, regardless of what you can do."

Atticus nodded in agreement.

"Well, at least you aren't crazy like the Slacker over there," Chazz said with a shrug and then winced when Arina elbowed him in the side. "Ow!"

Kasumi gave a small chuckle at that before she gazed around with a frown. "By the way, where's Raiden?" she asked.

Jaden sighed. "He's been missing since last night," he admitted.

"What happened?"

"No one knows," Atticus said.

"He was there when I went to sleep," Jaden said.

"Did you try calling him?"

"Once, but he didn't answer, but then you showed up so I haven't tried again yet," Jaden admitted.

Kasumi nodded slowly. "Well, try now," she suggested.

Jaden nodded and reached over to pick up his phone. Before he could dial his brother's number, the voice that everyone had grown to hate over the course of the past few days echoed around them.

"Hello again, little monster."

Jaden growled. "Kaage," he hissed.

A chuckle echoed around them. "I'm not here for you yet, little monster," Kaage said. "After taking out my third victim that was close to you, I decided that my last victim would be taken out with witnesses."

"Third victim?" Atticus repeated.

Jaden narrowed his eyes, a bad feeling going through him. "What third victim?" he demanded.

"Tsk, tsk, that's not important right now. Right now, it's time I took out my final victim in this little game of mine," Kaage said. "Little Kasumi."

"You better stay away from my sister," Jaden hissed furiously.

Kaage chuckled. "What makes you think I will do that? What's to stop me from kidnapping her just like I did your little girlfriend, little monster?" he said. "On that note..."

And the lights in the room went out, plunging the occupants into darkness.

. . .

A/n what do you think?

Blaze: well, I hope the explanation for Kasumi's powers, and what happened to her parents, was clear, though I altered the explanation just slightly because of something my beta-reader pointed out

Darth: I liked it

Blaze: you always like it

Yuya: hi

Yugo: hi

Yuto: hello

Kurosaki: why am I here?

Blaze: I was bored so I invited you all to my corner of insanity

Kurosaki: (raises eyebrow) corner...of...insanity?

Yugo: that's what I said

Yuto: no one wanted your two-cents, Pawn of Fusion

Yugo: (glares at Yuto) MY NAME IS YUGO!

Darth: (blinks) I don't get it

Blaze: inside joke that those who've watched the subbed version of ARC-V will get. It makes more sense when it's spoken out loud in Japanese. Basically speaking, yuugou, which is Japanese for Fusion, sounds like Yugo

Darth: oh

Bakura: (blows up KaibaCorp Headquarters)

Blaze: (facepalms) seriously, Bakura?

Bakura: what? I was bored and he has enough money to rebuild it. Plus, I'll just blame it on the Pharaoh

Yami: (glares)

Blaze: (sighs) well, anyway, I hope that you enjoyed this chapter (even if it was a bit shorter than I thought it would be). There are only four more chapters after this chapter and one more duel, since I (following some advice from my beta-reader) did a little something...different for the Kaage/Kasumi confrontation. I hope you guys like it but you'll have to wait until next week for it. As always, reviews are much appreciated.