Sometimes, it felt like she couldn't tell the Big Five anything without it turning into an ordeal. Case in point, the Big and Young Fives being gathered after an offhand comment Reika made to Lector about meeting Margareta Liebehenschel. It was the middle of the evening, but she really just wanted to go home - she'd driven to the Manor on her own for a reason.

"SchroderCorp is going into gaming too?" Lector asked, raising a brow at Reika later that night. "What an… interesting development. We already have quite the relationship with them, and here they are again, like an annoying mosquito that won't seem to quit."

"You'd know all about those wouldn't you, Alden? Given those mosquitos in Louisiana you always talk about," Crump snorted, a nauseating sound that made Reika question when the last time he'd blown his nose was. "Miss Liebehenschel is the daughter of SchroderCorp's CFO. I have spoken with him multiple times. He is a very serious man, but one who likes to talk, and it's rather difficult to get him to stop when alcohol is involved. I think I can get some good information out of him about this new turnover."

"See to it that you do, Crump," Gansley said. "We need to know if we need to remind SchroderCorp why it has always been second place, and why it will remain so even as the changeovers continue."

Johnson adjusted his glasses. "The good news, at least, is that both of the Kaibas have already made waves with other major companies. We won't be seeing Mister von Schroder making a deal with Pegasus for holographic gaming technology, for example. But yes… it is always so much fun to put them in their place."

There was danger in his tone, and it sent a shiver down Reika's spine, concealed by her turning away briefly to grab her alcoholic drink off the table next to her, sending a silent apology to Margareta in the process. She may have done the right thing for KaibaCorp as a whole, but what was the personal cost? Margareta hadn't done anything but talk to her - she hadn't threatened KaibaCorp, she hadn't forced Reika to spill any secrets… why did SchroderCorp need any sort of reminder of their place in the world?

To her right, she saw Hideo frown into his own drink. Was she not the only one who thought the Big Five went too far sometimes?

"Good work, Reika. You've given us something else to work on besides that stupid amusement park," Nezbit said, his face barely concealing rage before he took a long drink of his Manhattan.

"Yes, very well done. SchroderCorp won't know what hit it," Gansley agreed. "But we must be patient, and striking so quickly will backfire on us. Waiting until they manage to accomplish something is in our best interest."

They were patient men, which worried her. As she'd gotten older, and with Gozaburo's death, she had really been soured on the brutality of the business world, to the point where she wasn't sure if she wanted to stick around. Maybe she should look more seriously at Tokyo, instead of Kyoto. A little distance might be for the best…

"Hey guys! C'mon, let's go dance!" Noah said, peering into the room. "They finished the silent auction and now the orchestra's playing. No one seems to want to dance though, so I figured we should start it off, right?"

"A marvelous idea, Master Noah," Lector said, his lips curling into a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes and had another spike of worry streak down her spine. Had Seto weakening their power started to make them crack?

Still, she followed the others out of the room.

"Shall we?" Seto asked. "The others have already paired up, and Katsuo already found his girlfriend."

She smiled softly. "Well then, I suppose we shall."

His touch was featherlight as they moved through the crowd, just two people (not a couple) following the rules of ballroom dancing. He led, she followed, and after a few moments of KaibaCorp's next generation leading the way, the floor filled with other couples joining in on the fun.

But while Seto and Reika were fooling the adults and other guests in the room, there was one person that could see right through the charade:

Mokuba Kaiba.

"Have you been practicing Canon in D?" Reika asked a few weeks later, her school bag on her shoulders as she swept into Kaiba Manor's large music room. The room only seemed to get bigger as she got older - maybe it was a reminder that she was planning to make a career out of music?

Mokuba nodded and grinned. "Yeah, I sure have! Do you want to listen to it?"

"Well, as your teacher, I think that's rather important," she said with a grin, taking a seat on the bench next to him. "Whenever you're ready."

Mokuba might not have been as outwardly passionate as Seto and Noah when it came to science and computers, but he loved the lessons with her, which made her incredibly happy. The whole reason she'd asked Gozaburo for the chance to teach him piano was because she'd seen the way Gozaburo ignored him in favor of the elder Kaiba brothers. She hadn't been able to stand it.

Gozaburo had simply seen it as Reika paying a debt to him; one she hadn't realized she'd even had. He had paid for the music lessons the Young Five had received as children, but she hadn't anticipated being in debt to him. As much as she'd enjoyed teaching Mokuba, it had been nice to know the weight of Gozaburo Kaiba was off her shoulders. Now, she and Mokuba could simply enjoy themselves, which was what Reika always felt music should be.

"I think you're going to be a really good music teacher in the future, Reika," Mokuba said, which broke her out of her thoughts. "Do you know what you're going to play for your university auditions?"

"Something from Bach, I think, but I don't want to even think about that until I sit my exams and have my results back. Your brothers are lucky they don't have to worry about this sort of thing."

Mokuba laughed. "High school sucks, huh?"

"You can say that again. At least I can try and keep an eye on Yugi this year. Make sure no one bothers him."

"Oh yeah? How are you doing that?"

She pretended to be fascinated with dirt under her nails. "I just reminded a new classmate of his what happens when he messes with someone with ties to KaibaCorp, that's all."

"That's awesome! I bet he learned his lesson!"

Reika gave him a gentle smile as Canon in D began to fill the room. "I sure hope so. Elbows in, Mokuba."

Mokuba shifted, adjusting his posture. "I watched some videos of this song last night. It's used a lot in Western weddings."

Reika hummed. "So I've heard."

"Do you want to get married?"

Reika furrowed her brow and shrugged. What a strange conversation to be having with a thirteen year old boy. "I don't know. Maybe one day."

"To Seto?"

That got her attention, and her eyes widened. Mokuba didn't notice her surprise, and instead kept his eyes on the sheet music in front of him.

"What are you talking about, Mokuba?"

"I saw you and Seto in the garden the night of the silent auction. Don't worry - Noah and the Big Five didn't see. I made sure of it."

It was better knowing the Big Five hadn't seen them, but knowing Mokuba had, well, it still left her a little uneasy as she tried to think of what to say to him.

"Everything regarding our relationship is too new. I don't know if we even put a name on it yet," she said. "There is more to your brother than he lets on, but still, it's only been a couple of weeks. And besides, technically my school frowns upon relationships. Neither of us are ready for anything to be public."

Mokuba frowned. "That's a stupid rule."

She smiled weakly. "Very much so. Now come on, finish Canon in D and I'll let you read a new piece of music. This time it's from one of your favorite video games."

And that was all Mokuba needed to straighten his posture again, the conversation dropped, and hopefully, for good.

Yugi was scared.

One moment, he was writhing on the ground in pain, listening to Ushio start another round of violence against Joey and Honda, and the next, he was standing upright, clutching the completed Millennium Puzzle and watching Ushio play in a pile of leaves and dirt and seemingly completely oblivious to what he was doing. His body still ached, but he wasn't bleeding anymore which he supposed was a good thing.

"Wha - what happened?" he whispered, looking at Joey and Honda with wide eyes. He didn't trust his voice right now, didn't trust that the bile in his throat wouldn't swallow him whole.

"Dunno. There was a flash of gold light when you finished that puzzle, and then all of a sudden Ushio was like that. Maybe you were right about that puzzle being magical," Joey said with a shrug and a wince.

"We can talk about it later. Right now, we need to get out of here," Honda said, hissing in pain as he clutched at his shoulder. "Ah man, my parents aren't gonna like this."

Nor would his, Yugi realized. He didn't know how he was supposed to explain the scrapes and bruises on his body to his mom and grandpa…

Unless he called in backup.

Yugi staggered to his phone and quickly dialed Reika's number. Her parents were out of town this weekend - maybe the three of them could crash with her until Sunday, when their wounds were, hopefully, a little less noticeable?

"Hello?"

"R-Reika? It's Yugi. Can you come and get my friends and I from school?"

He heard a sigh on her end of the line. "It's seven o'clock, Yugi. What are you and your friends still doing at school?"

"I lost one of my textbooks and I need it for my homework. They came to help me look for it. Just… please can you come get us?"

"Okay, okay. I'm about five minutes away. Wait for me by the gates."

"My cousin is coming to pick us up," Yugi said, sliding his phone into his pocket and grabbing his bag. "She'll be here in five minutes."

Joey looked at Ushio for just a brief moment before following Yugi to the gates. "Hey Yuge, uh, it ain't Reika that's comin' to get us right? I don't wanna be put on KaibaCorp's shit list or something."

Yugi stared at him in confusion. "Why would Reika be upset with you? It wasn't you that beat me up. I would be more worried about Ushio."

Ordinarily, Yugi would be concerned with what the power of the Big Five might do to someone like Ushio, but given what had happened, how he'd completely and utterly disregarded what Yugi had said to him about Honda and Joey, well, Yugi was rather curious… providing anything could happen to Ushio after he suddenly decided he wanted to play in the leaves thinking it was money.

Reika's dark red sedan hurtled itself around a corner and came to a stop in front of them, the doors unlocking with a click.

"Hi Reika! Thanks for coming to get us!" Yugi said, trying to stop the scrape on his forehead from being too obvious.

"I'm surprised you called anyway, or is this more about your friends?" she asked, brown eyes sharpening as she noticed Joey get into the back seat. "Hello again, Mister Wheeler."

She was using her Young Five voice. Yugi didn't hear it often, usually not involved with KaibaCorp or the program, but he'd heard her use it before. A sharp, clipped tone, a look up and down whoever she was speaking to, and her posture perfectly straight. A warning for one to choose their words carefully.

It worked, and Yugi could see worry in Joey's eyes. "Uhh, hey, nice ta see ya again Reika."

Reika's sharp look turned to confusion when a trickle of blood slid down Joey's forehead "Whoa, okay, what happened here? I thought you guys were just picking up a book Yugi left?"

"Ushio. There was a misunderstanding that Joey and Honda were messing with me, so Ushio… took care of business after school. He demanded payment, twenty-thousand yen, to be brought to him. I didn't know what to do so I was working on the puzzle and… there was a piece missing so I went back to the school and Ushio ambushed me instead," Yugi explained.

Reika's eyes narrowed. "Uh-huh…"

"And… I finished the puzzle and made a wish! For friends! And that's when Joey and Honda jumped in to try and stop Ushio, but… he got the upper hand, and then… I don't really know what happened after that. All I know is he's running around the lot thinking the leaves on the ground is money. That's why we called you. I was… sort of hoping we could crash at your apartment this weekend? So that way some of the bruises and cuts will start looking better? Please?"

She sighed. "Alright, alright. But I'm going to need you to get permission from all your parents. Yes, Yugi, that includes you. I'll stop off at your places so each of you can grab an overnight bag."

"You'd do that? Why?" Joey asked.

Reika shrugged. "I'm gonna be super bored this weekend anyway. Might as well harbor some teens who are trying to avoid telling their parents they got their asses kicked."

"Hey that's not fair I got one hit on Ushio!" Joey protested.

Yugi laughed a little. "It was a good hit, from how it sounded."

Stopping at Honda's was easy, with both of his parents working late all he needed to do was go inside, feed his dog, pack a bag, and leave.

Joey's apartment, on the other hand, was a bit strange. He went in the front door, which was normal, but when he came back out, his knuckles were bleeding again, and he left down the fire escape instead of the front door.

"Ah man, Joey's dad was home," Honda said with a frown. "The only reason he even got a job was to be able to afford more booze. He's supposed to be a janitor at KaibaCorp but… I don't know if he actually does anything. Don't… tell Joey I said that."

Yugi saw Reika's eyes sharpen again, but he shook his head quickly to try and dissuade her from doing anything rash.

Reika relented and poked her head out her window as Joey moved to put his bag in the trunk. "Joey. Open the black box to the left. There's a first aid kit in there. You can clean up your hand on the way to the game shop."

"Oh - thanks Reika."

Looking down at his phone, he let out a small breath of relief. "Gramps is going to be the only one home when we get there. Mom's at dinner with some friends of hers." While it was difficult to sneak past Gramps, knowing he had Reika with him made Yugi feel a little more confident in him never finding out about what happened.

"So we go in, I distract him with a conversation, and we leave. Sounds simple enough to me," Reika said as the car turned onto his street and came to a stop in front of the shop.

"Why Reika! I didn't expect to see you today!" grandpa said in surprise when they entered the shop, Joey and Honda trailing in behind them. Gramps was closing up the shop as they walked in, the register was empty and most of the overhead shop lights were dark.

Yugi took that opportunity to sneak upstairs to get a bag packed, though he could still hear the conversation as he went.

"Hey gramps, uh, I ran into Yugi as I was driving home from Kaiba Manor. I was giving a lesson to Mokuba. He's gotten so good!"

Kaiba Manor had always given Yugi a sense of unease. Gozaburo's eyes had never seemed human, had been felt in every corner of the place, and Noah had only ever come across as a puppet to Yugi. It seemed to be changing now, with Gozaburo gone and Noah using his intellect for a better purpose, but Yugi didn't know how she managed to still be involved after everything that had come to light, and everything that had yet to. The Young FIve were certainly more brave than he was.

Zipping his overnight bag up, Yugi also grabbed his backpack and put it on his shoulders before going downstairs to join the others, laughter erupting from the quartet he'd left behind just as he entered the room.

"Alright, I'll see you Sunday night, gramps!"

"You be careful and make sure your homework is done!" Gramps replied, eying the backpack on Yugi's shoulders.

"I will, I will!" he laughed, following the others out of the shop, the door locking shut behind him.

"There, see? Easy," Reika said with a grin. "Now, who wants dinner? I can call Hashimoto's when we get to my place."

"Hashimoto's? I ain't never been there," Joey said.

"Oh it's great. They're mostly known for ramen, but they also sell bowls and soup. Mister Hashimoto has been a family friend since before we were born. He went to the same university as Reika's dad," Yugi explained. "And the restaurant isn't too far from Reika's apartment, so it shouldn't take too long for delivery."

"Sounds good to me! I could go for some ramen!" Honda said. "Don't worry Joey, we'll find something you like there."

"Sure, yeah, uh - alright."

He could see something change again in Reika's gaze, but no one said anything, and the trip back to the apartment was quiet, only the radio producing any noise.

After they settled into the apartment and dinner was ordered, Yugi took the puzzle out of his bag and stared at it. Was Honda right? Was the puzzle actually cursed with ancient Egyptian dark magic? Gramps had always said all the Millennium Items were, but Yugi had always written it off as a scary story told to children - Gramps had wasted no time in telling those stories to he and Reika when she'd spent the night at the game shop as a kid. It had been one of the reasons why she'd refused to wear the item gramps had brought back for her, a golden bracelet with the same symbol the puzzle had on it. Yugi couldn't blame her for not wanting to wear hers seeing that now he had a blank spot in his memory.

"Yugi," Reika said, sitting down next to him. "Do you remember that promise I made you when we were kids?"

Yugi nodded. "That you didn't want to wear your bracelet until I solved the puzzle, so we could show them off together."

She nodded in return and opened her folded hands, revealing the bracelet in her palm. "I'm making you a new promise now. Whatever happened with your puzzle, whatever might happen in the future, we are going to figure it out together. This is not something you have to do alone."

He smiled and nodded, taking a moment to look at Joey and Honda (and Anzu would be there too, he knew), and felt his heart swell with relief, knowing Reika was right, and he wasn't alone, not anymore.

Reika took a deep breath and secured the bracelet on her wrist.

Yugi looked at her with bated breath. "So…? Do you feel any different?"

"No… I don't think so," Reika replied, looking down at herself and flexing her hands like she'd suddenly start shooting out lasers. "Everything seems normal here."

He sighed in relief. "Thank goodness. Maybe your bracelet has something different from the puzzle then."

Reika shrugged. "Maybe."

"Osiris, it is time. A mortal has solved the puzzle and the bracelet is in place."

Osiris looked at Anubis and nodded solemnly. The Field of Reeds was missing a king, and now, it seemed, it was finally time to right that wrong.

"Fetch Azila then. She knows what must be done."

Anubis nodded and swept from the room.