A couple of hours later Mokuba woke up and went to look outside. It had quit raining but as he stepped outside, he could see lightning in the distance. He also thought he heard thunder and from the looks of things it was heading their way. He went back inside and woke up Ryo.

"W-wake up big brother."

Ryo woke up, stretched and rubbed his eyes. "What is it kid, what's wrong?"

"T-there's another storm coming in. I c-can see it."

"Great." Ryo said. He could clearly see the kid was shaking. Even with his coat, he was probably cold. "Go get your things put together. We're going back to the castle."

Mokuba misunderstood what he said. "I d-don't want to go back. I c-can't."

"Mokuba there's nothing to worry about; Seto and Yami won't be mad I promise. They'll be more happy to see you than angry."

"Oh, t-that castle."

"Mokuba, that's the only castle there is. We can't go back to Princess Tea's castle. That's another two days' ride from here."

"S-sorry."

"Come here."

Mokuba scooted closer and Ryo pulled the boy into his lap.

"Now why don't you want to go back to her castle?"

Mokuba sighed and rested his head on Ryo's chest. "I-it was my fault."

"What? What was?"

"Nosaka's d-dead because of m-me." Mokuba said crying.

"What, oh kiddo no, no it's alright calm down. That man was nothing more than a rapist who preyed on women. You were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. He probably didn't even know you were in the house till he got there."

Mokuba shook his head no. "H-he said he w-was there to kill m-me."

"What?! Oh kiddo, I'm sorry I guess he was afraid you would testify against him and ID him when no one else would."

Mokuba shook his head no.

"What do you mean no?"

"Nosaka asked h-him that and he laughed and s-said no. H-he s-said he was hired to kill me!"

"Who would have hired someone to kill you? You're just a little kid, you couldn't have done anything that bad."

"H-he didn't s-say. He said he didn't know or c-care. He only w-wanted to k-kill me."

"It's okay. It's still not your fault that she died."

"I-it is!"

"Why do you say that?"

"Nosaka t-told him she'd d-do what he wanted if he d-didn't hurt me. She t-told me she loved m-me and you very much and to n-never forget."

"We'll never forget kiddo. You never truly forget the ones you love."

"You p-promise." Mokuba asked, looking up at him.

"Promise." Ryo said, kissing his forehead. "What happened next?"

Mokuba looked down and leaned against Ryo's chest. "He tied m-me up outside the d-door. T-then I c-could hear m-moans and cries. After h-he said he was finished he s-said he w-was going to try m-me."

Ryo gasped. "He didn't hurt you did he?"

Mokuba shook his head. "Nosaka y-yelled at him c-cause h-he said he wouldn't h-hurt me if she agreed t-to do what he said. She also s-slapped him h-hard across the f-face for it."

"What happened?"

Mokuba sighed. "H-he threw her in the r-room and raped her again." Then he started really crying.

Ryo rocked him. "Then what happened? I need you to tell me."

"H-he said that she w-was out of the way and then cut my hair. Then said I w-was lucky he w-wasn't in the mood to try me anymore."

"I'm so sorry, kiddo. I should have never forced you to stay with her. I should have just waited the six months for the king to return and stayed with you or kept you close to me while I trained."

Mokuba hugged him and cuddled closer. "I d-don't b-blame you, big brother."

"Thank you, Mokuba. I am glad Tristan went when I told him too though."

Mokuba looked up in surprise. "W-why did you send him?"

"I don't know really. It's almost like I heard you calling for me. I was going to go but Tristan insisted I stay and he would go but not long after that I got an even worse feeling and I had to be with you."

"I d-did call for you."

"You did?"

Mokuba nodded.

"That must have been it then. Mokuba, I want you to know, you are not to blame for this! Never ever, think that you are. Nosaka did what she did in order to keep you safe! She wanted to make sure you were safe and sound, she knew there was a chance she could die but she took that chance to keep you out of harm's way. Do you understand?"

"I t-think so big brother."

"I love you Mokuba and if I had been in her place I'd have done the same thing to keep you safe. Look, why don't you go get your book? I'll read to you a bit to take our minds off of this?"

Mokuba nodded and went to go get his book. Before coming back and setting into Ryo's embrace while he started to read to him.

x-x-x-x-x-x-xx-x-x-x-x-x

Back at the castle, the big four had just heard of Marik's death.

"So what now Nezbit, we heard your little hit man was killed?" Gansley said.

"Not to worry." Nezbit said.

"How can we not worry, the man you hired to kill that kid not only failed to do so but also got himself killed!" Gansley said.

"He's right, you're awfully calm about this whole thing." Crump said.

"If I didn't know any better I'd say you hired a new one." Leichter said.

"No, not a new one. The one I hired I recently learned had a twin that works in the castle. He approached me and said that he will take care of the situation."

"What makes you think you can trust him any better than the last one?" Crump asked.

"He has assured me that he won't fail! He will kill that kid before it is over." Nezbit said.

"I've heard rumors that the brat was living in the next kingdom and that they're headed back this way!" Crump said.

"We can't allow that kid back in this castle. The king and Master Atemu will never let that brat out of their sights again if he returns. We have to strike before they get here! That guardian he's with is too attached to him. He could cause us trouble. He must be eliminated. He's the only other one who that brat trusts. If he opens his mouth and starts telling them all the things we've said to him the king will have our hides!" Leichter said.

"My contact says he might have to do it inside the castle due to all the rain." Nezbit said.

"Fine, do what needs to be done. I prefer it not in the castle but if that's the only way to get rid of that brat then so be it!" Gansley said.