Yami felt Isono set the basket down at their feet and step out from behind him, also holding his hands up shakily and saying loudly, "p-please! don't hurt us! We have no money!"

"Get away from here, you old fool!" Pegasus barked, raising his other hand to steady his gun which was shaking. Atem's eyes were narrowed at him so much, he only saw malice. Even when masked, he could see the ugly expression Atem was giving him.

"On your knees. Hands behind your head," Pegasus insisted, and to his annoyance, both Atem and the man with sunglasses beside him also knelt.

What is he doing? Yami thought with a laugh as he watched Isono put on a huge show of trembling and begging.

"Please, let us go! I'll call my bank! How much do you want?!" Isono nearly shouted, and he heard his voice echoing down the aisle, where he undoubtedly knew…maybe…the store owner was calling the local police.

Hissing in fury, Pegasus kicked the food basket aside and walked froward to grab Isono by the arm, yanking him to his feet while keeping the gun pointed to Atem as he hissed in the manservant's ear, "you think you're so fucking hilarious, don't you? You can't protect him! I knew it! I knew you were all working together! You're Seto Kaiba's family servant. I remember you. Get over there!"

The white-haired man shoved Isono into another aisle to get him out of the way.

Yami kept his hands on the back of his head, his confusion rising.

He was missing some information here. Hey, now. Did Seto keep this man a secret from him?!

This man was law enforcement and had been looking for him?

Why had no one told him?!

Not even Anzu or Joey?

Wait, maybe Anzu had told him and he merely forgot.

"Sir! Please put your gun down! Release your hostage!" Yami could hear shouting from the aisle behind him, so he merely stayed right where he was, staring at the prepped food station with the various sandwiches and bentos while he listened to the white-haired man shouting back.

"I'm INTERPOL you fools!"

Oh Interpol, Yami thought mildly, and he winced when he heard another shout drift through the aisle.

"This man is not my hostage!" Pegasus felt like exploding when he saw a group of local police armed in vests and shields inching towards him down the aisle, so he shoved Isono away to grab his badge, and fumed even more when the man kept play acting.

"H-HELP ME!" Isono cried, covering his face with his hands while he screamed at the top of his lungs. "He's insane! He thinks I'm a terrorist and he's reaching for another gun!"

Pegasus froze with his hand in his blazer, cursing under his breath while the local police inched closer and shouted at him to put his hands up.

"SIR! Get your hand away from your pocket! ….Sir! Please remain calm!"

Gritting his teeth so hard, his ears rang, Pegasus held his hands up defensively and even set his weapon on the ground, his blood boiling.

This manservant was Atem's accomplice! This was all the proof he needed that Atem and Seto Kaiba were linked.

He let the police cuff him and drag him out of the store, accepting that he would not be able to bring Atem in today, but he would…once he was cleared of this 'crime' and found Atem somewhere inside the Kaiba Tower…!

Yami was still kneeling idly with his hands on his head when he saw the store manager bow as he walked forward and reached down to help him to his feet. He accepted the help and dusted off his knees while Isono stood beside him, adjusting his blazer with a stiff nod, completely unfazed.

"Good screaming," Yami praised, and Isono cleared his throat in embarrassment and glanced off to the side, muttering, "thank you…"

"Saved us again, huh?!" The store manager was bowing so fast, he was a blur. "Please accept this voucher! You can show it at any of our stores and your cart, we'll pay for your cart!"

A small plastic card was pressed into Yami's hands while Isono picked up the basket and moved to set the yogurts back into the fridge. The manager dove forward to yank the basket away and another employee came forward to hand them another one, ready to go.

Trying not to smile, Yami accepted the basket in Isono's place and gave the store manager a smile through his mask, seeing the man rush away.

Keeping his tone even, Yami put a few more yogurts into the basket and asked, "you know that man?"

"Yes. He's a low-level threat," Isono replied with a calm smile, reaching into his blazer to text the master. "Please continue without me. I'll update Master Kaiba. Don't trouble yourself. Keep your peace, and I'll be in the car waiting when you're done."

Yami nodded and watched Isono stride out of the store acting completely normal, and he felt a rush of appreciation for the manservant. That was a giant sacrifice.

Isono had put himself in harm's way for him.

This is what it feels like to work as a team, Yami thought to himself as he moved down the aisle to pick up a few more desserts. If he left now, that meant the Interpol officer won. That man was trying to instill fear. Well, he would not win. This country was his home, and he wasn't about to be scared into running…the way he usually did.

He'd keep shopping like it was any normal Thursday.

Outside, Isono was on the phone with Master Kaiba, quickly relaying the details of what had happened, while people in the street were cautiously avoiding the doorway of the grocery store. A crowd of seven police cars lined the sidewalk, and Isono thought he saw a familiar face step out of the car.

Ah, the blond man, Joey.

He approached the door of the building with three officers in tow, so Isono politely lowered the phone but kept Master Kaiba on speaker.

"Alright I'm here ta' take statements. Who was the victim?" Joey asked as he walked right past Isono, and the officers stammered nervously and pointed at the manservant.

"That's him right there…!"

Isono bowed stiffly and wondered if they would pretend not to know each other. That would be preferable.

"Ah, okay…heyyyy I recognize you!" Joey said loudly, scratching his head. "You were in the other hold up, weren'tcha? How lucky, twice in a year, amirite?"

"Ha," Isono replied dryly and stood stiffly at attention again.

The other officers were gaping at him and Isono reminded himself that he was on police camera, at all times as Joey began to question him, holding the notepad up to take notes.

"Mkay, what were ya doin when it happened?"

And Isono opened his mouth to answer but was interrupted by three other officers rushing up to bow and hand out business cards, their ears dark red with rage and embarrassment as they apologized and introduced themselves, "we're very sorry for the confusion! Our deepest apologies!"

Isono bowed and accepted all the cards, watching two of the officers break away and run inside the grocery store, acting panicked. They were going to find Yami in there shopping casually. He needed to text him.

"We apologize for the gun pointed at you," the remaining officer said gruffly, bowing again. "His name is Maximillion Pegasus and he is an Interpol officer."

Joey scratched his head again and asked loudly, "Was he on duty?"

There was an awkward silence.

"N-No, he wasn't," the man wearing the dark armband bowed deeply to Isono. "We're very sorry he put you in danger!"

Isono chose to remain silent, waiting for Master Kaiba's cue.

He would not speak and he would not do anything other than act cordial…

"Then I still gotta report it, because a civilian was involved," Joey said with a shrug, turning back to Isono to ask. "So what were ya doin'?"

"Getting a yogurt," Isono replied, and he felt his phone buzz in his pocket and he bobbed his head. "My family is calling me. Please allow me to take this."

"'Kay. Go 'head," Joey said with a nod, and stepped back to give Isono space, letting out a sigh and starting to whistle.

Isono received his instructions from Seto and he hung up politely, turning back to Joey and the other interpol officer to nod, "Finished."

"Alright, what did he say to ya'? Just gimme the whole thing and I'll write it all down" Joey prompted, and Isono nodded, speaking carefully.

"A nice stranger handed me a bento that I was eyeing, and the moment he put it in my basket, the Interpol officer pointed his gun at me. I complied with his instructions to raise my hands up, but he made me kneel, treated me like a criminal, and called me a terrorist."

Joey nodded and nodded, not really writing anything, but doing it for appearances. "Uh huh. Right… Got it…"

"Then the local police entered while he was shoving me down the aisle, and I was released," Isono said shakily, pressing a fist to his mouth to act nauseated. "I-I…was faced with s-so many guns. It was terrifying. I thought I was g-going to die. It was a complete unnecessary use of force inside a…g-grocery store!"

Joey bit the tip of his tongue and nodded, "alrighty. Got it all. Well, go home 'n rest up. We'll call ya again if we need more from you, but don't worry. Yer not in trouble, right officer?" Joey eyed the man standing beside them, and the man bowed again, his ears dark red with embarrassment.

Sniffing arrogantly, Isono stepped past him and headed for the limo that was waiting for him.

Master Kaiba would be proud when he saw that performance.

He opened the door and got in, unsurprised to see Yami sitting amongst the bodyguards and Seto, sitting at the far end of the limo with a familiar lawyer.

A satellite phone was handed to Yami, along with a sticky note from the lawyer, and Seto instructed him to call the number and speak.

"Just read the paper. We're taunting him," Seto said with a gleam in his eye, and Yami gave the CEO an exasperated look but did as he was told.

The phone rang in his ear, and he heard a breathless man pick up, yelping into it, "who is it?!"

"It's me," Yami read the paper dutifully, hearing the man gasp on the other end, but he continued reading without a care in the world. "You messed up, Pegasus. This was a courtesy call to let you know you're losing your job. Goodbye."

"—TRACE THIS CALL! GET YOUR LAPTOP OUT, I SAID TR—" it cut off when Yami hung up, and he handed the heavy phone back to Seto, who grinned evilly and went back to conversing with the lawyer.

"Was that enough?" Yami asked curiously.

"Good enough. You want him angry beyond belief. It will make him look irrational."

Yami blinked in confusion and badly wanted to ask who Pegasus was.

The Interpol officer, right? Why were they taunting that man?

The car pulled to a stop by the curb, and Seto got out of the car with a smooth motion, saluting Yami with two fingers to his temple, "I'm going back to work. Go home and take a nap, yeah?"

"Yeah," Yami echoed, and he caught a glimpse of a gun tucked into the waistband of Seto's dark slacks, complete with the long barrel of a silencer. His silencer. His gun. WHOA NOW…

"SETO! Don't do anything rash!" Yami lunged forward to catch the door, but it closed on him, so he thumped on the window. The driver rolled it down, and he stuck his head out to yell, but then saw Seto get into the back of a police car…with Joey opening the door for him.

That…confused him to all hell.

"What is he doing? Tell me! …Isono?!" Yami turned to face the manservant, who merely shrugged and said coolly, "I was merely told to lie to their button cams and say you're a stranger. That's all."

Letting out a huff, Yami stared at the police car as the limo drove past it, and he saw the Interpol officer make eye contact with him through the tinted windows, but not seeing him through the tint. The man's eyes were wide with panic.

Ah, Seto was threatening him.

How sweet.

Yami leaned back into his seat and dared to relax.

Seto was really the best partner he could've ever asked for in the entire world.

Joey dismissed the officer who was driving the car and eased into the driver's seat beside Pegasus and started the car. He reached over to stick a USB into the side of the dash cam and leaned back to yawn loudly.

Pegasus's eyes darted to the police officer messing with the camera, and then to Seto Kaiba who had been put into the backseat with the security mesh blocking his face, and his blood ran cold.

H-Hold on…

The car was pulled off the curb, and Joey hummed as he joined traffic and stopped at a red light.

Something hard poked him into the middle of Pegasus's back, and he blinked.

This was extreme. Atem had a hold over the entire police department?! The other officer was supposed to drive him back to the station where he was due for a conference call with his superiors. Now this idiotic assistant of Anzu's had taken the wheel…. While an egomaniac with too much money sat in the seat behind him, undoubtedly pointing a gun at his spine.

The car idled quietly at the light, and Pegasus broke out into a cold sweat.

Why the silence?!

"Ever played a video game, Pegasus?" Seto asked calmly, enjoying the weight of the small gun in his hand, understanding why Yami got a kick out of threatening people with it. It was fun. He pressed it harder into the seat back, knowing Pegasus knew there was a gun on him.

"Answer the question, asswipe." He added carelessly, clicking the safety on and off, on and off, knowing the sound would torment the officer while Pegasus yelped and stammered, "no! Yes, I have. Of course I've played a video game—! Who hasn't?"

"You obviously haven't played an RPG," Seto sneered as he leaned closer to the mesh to hiss, "because you think you can just waltz into the boss dungeon to fight him…and win."

There was another tense silence, and Joey whistled cheerfully while he continued to drive laps around downtown, passing by the station completely and going for another lap.

"You're a low-ranking peasant with no special skills. Not even level 100," Seto said casually, enjoying taunting the old man with video game references because he got intel from Mokuba that this man didn't even know 'who Genshin' was.

Pegasus growled and palmed his phone in his pocket, ready to record, but Joey's hand shot out to rest intrusively on his knee, giving him a squeeze that hurt.

"Hands where I can see'em, bud," the cop said calmly, and Pegasus grit his teeth in fury, extracting his hand from his pocket. GOD…DAMMIT.

"You're going to see exactly what I mean when I say you rushed the dungeon as an unprepared, level 2 worm," Seto continued coldly, cocking the gun again loudly just for airs. "You can't skip levels or steps, just because you have a badge. I made the badges and the security systems that they unlock. I'm the game master, and this is my patience running out."

Pegasus swallowed furiously and remained silent. He could testify that he'd been threatened after receiving a taunting call from Atem.

"The funny thing is…" Seto glanced at his own distorted reflection in the shiny silencer with a smirk. "Everyone thinks they should be afraid of Atem, and I think they're right, but they're so caught up in being afraid of him at the top that they neglect every single one of his lieutenants. This man is someone you should fear," Seto nodded at Joey, who grinned widely at him in the rearview mirror. "So I'd fear the woman he works for by association—Mazaki Anzu, because she hunts down people like Atem, and for some reason, she's still alive."

The car turned a corner and parked in a quiet alleyway, and Pegasus felt the sweat from his palms seeping into his pants.

What was the point of this threatening meeting?

To let him know that Atem could kill him anytime with anyone close to him? Great!

"Consider this meeting to be a final warning," Kaiba said coolly, reaching up to take the silencer off the gun with a smooth motion. "Know that by hovering near me, my police department, my city, interrogating my younger brother and my manservant have put you on my radar for irritating people to erase."

Pegasus blinked and replied strongly, "you don't scare me. You can't kill me without incriminating yourself."

"No, I won't bother killing you," Seto said with a laugh. "I'll humiliate you. Strip you of your life accomplishments and watch you die emotionally. You'll be blocked at every turn. No agency will hire you. You fucked up. I'd let you live the pain out to a very ripe, old age and check in on you at your deathbed for a fun summary."

He knocked on the window, and Joey got out to open the door for him.

Pegasus sat there, shell shocked, thinking he could snatch the USB from the dashcam in a second when the department head, Anzu, sank into the driver's seat and didn't make eye contact.

Horrified, Pegasus stared at her while in the side mirror, he saw Seto Kaiba exit gracefully and walk down the sidewalk casually, where a black limo waited for him at the end of the block and drove him away when he got inside.

Joey sat in the back of the car, and Anzu pulled the vehicle out of the alleyway and circled back to the station.

She got out first to move her face away from the dash cam, and then reached down to yank the USB out of the camera and tucked it into her pocket, leaving Pegasus in the car.

Hurrying into the station, she saw Isono sitting by the bench inside by the security barriers and she reached forward to shake his hand, giving him the USB in her palm. He nodded, grasping her hand and thanking her with a formal bow.

Her ears burning with a hot fire, Anzu emptied her pockets at the security belt and walked in through the detectors with her arms up, feeling Joey follow from behind and do the same.

They entered the office together where a couple of other officers crowded around them, eager to hear the story.

Downstairs, Pegasus rushed out of the car, steaming from the ears.

That little stunt had made him late for his conference call.

But he had proof. All he had to do was ask the department to pull traffic camera feeds.

He got through the building's security and ignored every head that bowed to him when he strode into the conference room, pushing the frosted glass doors aside with a rough motion, shocked to see a row of familiar faces sitting before him.

Two of his own highest-ranking officers.

Seto Kaiba.

The irritating manservant.

The even more irritating criminal lawyer, Pardius Dartz.

Mazaki Anzu, and the stupid blond cop whose name kept eluding him. Katsuya.

Remembered it too late, which was probably why that man was a threat.

The lawyer stood first and bowed, passing a folder across the table and speaking first.

"We are formally pressing charges. Here is a detailed list of offenses everyone here has experienced at your hands.…"

Pegasus didn't hear the rest. He understood now why Seto Kaiba said he was unprepared.

In order to fight these charges, he would first have to prove his innocence at the grocery market, when he'd been the one to draw the gun first in a crowded store, and the manservant had played up the victim so wonderfully, with everyone listening, watching, even from a distance, would assume he was the attacker. Badge or no badge.

"Miss Mazaki here filed an internal report about how you interrogated her, without disclosing your full intent as a way to mislead her intoleaking information…" The lawyer was still talking, and Pegasus felt faint.

Someone knocked on the door behind him, and Pegasus had to step aside and instantly bow when he recognized his superior walking into the room, followed by the department lawyer and a secretary.

"General," the other two officers bowed, and Anzu lowered her head politely but didn't stand.

Pegasus gaped in shock as he was ignored. His superior stood at the head of the table and bowed to Seto Kaiba, and the lawyer did the same.

"Mr. Kaiba, we implore you not to press charges," the man said smoothly, straightening up to press his tie closer to his chest while he broke out into a cold sweat. "My officer here is one of the best. I assure you he meant no harm. We will gladly…fulfill any requests or favors you have or may need from us in the future. Nothing is off the table."

Oh reeeally, Seto raised his eyebrows and glanced at his lawyer, who shook his head tightly and gave him a look that said, 'press harder', so he opened his mouth to say, "I don't need any services or favors from your organization. I need you to admit fault and take responsibility."

There was a tense silence where everyone stared incredulously at him, and the general bent himself in half to grovel further.

"Please. I will even fire this man in front of you if it will make you reconsider pressing charges," the general spoke fast, and Pegasus's eyes widened as he caught an evil smirk from Seto Kaiba, and his stomach churned with nausea. M-MONSTER!

"Well, that would be up to the man your officer almost shot in a grocery store," Seto tilted his head at Isono, who bowed forward in his seat and said in his best, trembling voice, "I-I…am very traumatized. It will be hard for me to go back to d-daily life, and I might need counseling."

"We'll pay for it!" The general yelped, and Kaiba gave him a withering glare.

"Yeah, I need money. Keep insulting me," Seto taunted, addressing his lawyer without looking at him. "Add that to the list of offenses."

The lawyer raised his pad to type and Pegasus had enough. He decided to speak and address his superior first with a furious clearing of his throat, "sir. If I may defend myself, this man was playacting. He was protecting a known terrorist! It was Atem! Check the feeds. It was him!"

"I saw the feeds, Pegasus," the general gave him a grave nod. "You threatened two innocent people. The man you pointed the gun at was a stranger with spiky hair. His face did not scan or register in our database."

"HE WAS WEARING A MASK!" Pegasus barked, and the general held his hand out formally, a bead of sweat dripping down his brow as he hissed at his officer, "and Kaiba Technology has facial scans successful for even a partialeyebrow and cheekbone. That is how accurate his system is. We pay him millions for his latest upgrades. We have caught numerous traffickers with a mere forehead and eye scan. The system is sophisticated. You mistook a civilian for a threat."

Pegasus faltered and realized…he'd been cornered.

He understood the metaphor Kaiba was using. Game master.

I'll fight! Pegasus hissed as he balled his fists at his sides and tried one last time.

"They're speaking lies," Pegasus breathed, glaring venomously at the lawyer who was smirking too smugly at him. "Atem called me, minutes—no, seconds to taunt me, right before I got into a squad car where he—" Pegasus pointed furiously at Joey who shrugged at him, "tampered with the dashcam, and let Seto Kaiba into the back seat to threaten me! Andshe grabbed the USB! Search her! She has the evidence! Search them all!"

Kaiba's eyes widened gleefully.

This was perrrrfect. He needed to record this all for Yami to watch later. This might even be their new soundtrack to fuck to when he needed an ego boost.

His lawyer shook his head gravely, "those baseless accusations will not hold up in front of any judge. You are making unfounded, serious claims there, Mr. Pegasus."

Pegasus let out a stiff huff that sounded like a pained gasp, and Anzu spoke up steadily, "I want to press charges too, but mine will take a backseat to Mr. Kaiba's filing. I've never been so mistreated in the workplace before. I'm suing for power harassment, and I have plenty of proof, starting with our interrogation tapes."

Completely flabbergasted, Pegasus's knees weakened, and he had to claw his way to the table to sit down, losing his composure while he listened to his superior talk above him.

"If you'd like to all press charges, please give me a moment to process this man's paperwork so that his name is not directly tied to our organization," the general said, and he nodded to their lawyer, who muttered something to him, and the general turned to the secretary, who placed the electronic pad in front of Pegasus and bent down to quietly whisper for him to sign on the screen.

Pegasus's vision blurred heavily as he stared at the severance contract and realized…he'd really truly lost. He was being fired, right this second, in front of Atem's team.

This was humiliating to the highest degree. He had to think hard about what could top this.

Nothing could. Seto Kaiba might even be a bigger monster than the assassin.

He signed his name at the bottom of several documents, not even reading them, and the general stood over him, asking for his badge. Pegasus dug it out of his blazer pocket and pressed it into the man's hand, hanging his head in shame.

"And while we're here, I'd like to introduce his replacement, who you've personally recommended, isn't that right, Miss Mazaki?" The general said, and Pegasus snapped his head up.

W-WHAT?! They were firing him and replacing him in the span of 3 minutes?!

"Hear hear. Let's meet him and hope he isn't a total disaster," Kaiba goaded, and Pegasus felt a rise of hatred burning hot like a thousand suns coming up his throat to consume him painfully.

"Her." The general correctly gently, and he opened the door to let a beautiful woman strut in, wearing a crisp, white blazer and carrying a black, electronic pad with the department's insignia engraved on the back, and Pegasus's mouth dropped open in shock. A criminal was taking his place?!

"Takes one to know one, right?" The general said with a calm nod, bowing at the newly promoted officer who was wearing her colored badge proudly on her chest. "Meet Mai Kujaku, one of our most elusive targets. She's working with us under a deal that, I say, benefits her more than us, and we're completely fine with that if it means her success rate is higher than yours, Mr. Pegasus."

Pegasus couldn't even speak anymore. He wanted to melt into his chair and disappear.

The woman eyed him with an evil glint in her eyes and said, "you gotta know when to stop. Trying to arrest them all is a naive hope, Mr. Pegasus. What are you, a pokemon trainer? I tell you, honey…" She leaned in to give him a condescending pat on the head that made him shrivel up inside, "there are just some guys you can't get. Accept that. Atem is one of them and I have solid proof that gunman's in retirement. On some lush island, don't know which, but we'll cross paths the instant he pops up again. The guy has a signature."

Yes. The island of Japan. Pegasus thought venomously. With the people sitting directly in front of us!

"For now, let's focus away from old threats," the general said with a stiff nod. "Miss Kujaku, thank you for coming in to interview with us on such short notice…we take our internal recommendations seriously. Let's talk in another room and get you some paperwork."

Anzu stood up to give Mai a smile and a bow, seeing her wave flirtily back at her and toss a lock of her luscious blond hair over her shoulder, walking out of the meeting room first with the red-faced general following behind, closely accompanied by the lawyer and their secretary.

The door shut, and Anzu moved to close the blinds, feeling Pegasus vibrating in his seat with fury, but she paid it no mind.

They sat together in tepid silence.

Pegasus couldn't take it anymore and slammed his fist on the table, shaking from head to toe, his eyes burning as he glared Seto Kaiba across the way.

"You! Are all….evil!" He hissed, sweeping his gaze to include the manservant, the lawyer, Joey, and Anzu who was standing at the head of the table with her arms crossed confidently. "You are all harboring a wanted criminal! A mass murderer!"

Seto cracked another smile and stood up to button his blazer with an elegant twist of his fingers, ready to leave, but sparing Pegasus another verbal sparring opportunity, "ever played chess, Pegasus?"

"I've had it with your shitty game metaphors, Seto Kaiba!" Pegasus barked, and Anzu winced, pressing a finger to her ear with an eye roll.

"Spoken like a true pawn," Seto said as he walked past the back of Pegasus's chair to exit. "If you don't want me to press charges, apologize to me in a meaningful way. And apologize to her too," he jerked his thumb over his shoulder at Anzu, "but you might have to grovel harder for her forgiveness."

Isono opened the door for them, and the lawyer stepped out first, so Seto followed, feeling extremely smug. He couldn't wait to tell Yami about this.

Joey stayed in his seat, scratching the back of his head as he watched Anzu glare at Pegasus who was taking deep, even breaths, looking like he was hyperventilating.

It was entertaining.

Gripping his knee with one hand and keeping his palm flat on the surface of the table, Pegasus turned to face Anzu in his seat and bent forward in the lowest bow he could manage, his palms sweating profusely as he hissed through gritted teeth, "I am…truly sorry…for misleading you in a recorded interrogation. Please don't press charges. I will do anything to earn your forgiveness."

Aw, Anzu thought with a smug eyebrow raise and she noticed Joey grinning at her, giving her two thumbs up from behind Pegasus's bent back. Sweet.

Seto and the lawyer suggested leaving him hanging, just to torture him psychologically for a few sleepless nights before calling him to tell him she changed her mind about it. That sounded good.

"I have your card," she said carelessly with a toss of her hair over her shoulder, mimicking Mai's confidence as she strode to the door. "I'll call you. Hon." And she grinned at Joey, who let out a snicker, and Pegasus's ears turned dark red as he kept his gaze fixed on the table before him.

THESE…MONSTERS! He didn't use that term lightly and here, he would gladly assign that title to Mazaki Anzu and her commander in chief, Katsuya. They were all insane! For protecting someone like Atem?! Why, he couldn't fathom.

He listened to them leave, and he clenched his fists in fury.

There was nothing he could do.

Author's note:

and it feels like it could end here! i thought so too but i decided to continue this story with more chapters! thank you for following along so far!