YuGiOh: Souls of Shadow

Chapter 1.1

                I narrowed my eyes at the game board as my lips curled into a little smile. "I see what you're trying to do, but I'm afraid there's a loop hole in your plan."

"What do you mean?" Mokuba tilted his head.

"Well, you see, by lining your pieces up just so," I gestured to his scattered red tabs across the checker board. "You've enabled me to perform a triple jump!" I picked up my black tab to make it skip over two of his.

Mokuba bit the inside of his cheek as he took the chips off the board, then looked at me with a grin. "You fell right into my trap, Alice!"

"What do you mean?" I sat up a little.

He pointed at his one remaining piece. "Look! Yours are all lined up for a perfect kill."

My eyes widened when I saw it. There was a perfect space between every one of mine, and I had landed directly beside his. All it would take was one turn to take out all six. He took great joy in making his tab jump over each and every one of them, then cleared them off with a swipe of his hand.

"I win!"

"You're getting sneakier," I laughed, resetting the board. "I remember when I actually had to go easy on you."

"One day, I'm going to beat Seto, too," he told me proudly.

"Now that's going to be a challenge," I smirked. "I can't even beat him in anything if it meant my life. Your brother's absolutely insane when it comes to competitions."

"You beat him in shooting, remember?" he encouraged me.

"Yeah, well, that was different," I laughed. "I was teaching him. But he can still kick my butt in sparring." I sighed. "I believe... he's just one of those rare people who find a drive to be the best in everything they can possibly be, with an unfaltering will."

"Is that why you stayed with us when Gozaburo... left?" Mokuba asked cautiously.

"Please," I scoffed. "You two are the only reason I stuck around even when Gozaburo was here." I smiled as I recalled my first meeting with them. In my head, I saw the image of the two brothers as children. Seto stood tall and strong, looking at me with his hard, dark blue eyes. Even though he was small, he put off a sense that he could take over the world if he wanted to do so. His little brother was hiding behind him, shy and timid, looking at me as if I were going to hurt him. They were a strange pair, but noticeably strongly related, nonetheless.

Another thing that stood out about the children was that I recognized myself in them. Because of that, I put great effort into get to know them better. And even though I was ignored and pushed away in the beginning, in my heart, I knew that they felt they needed me, and perhaps I needed them, too. Being alone in the world, it felt nice to have people who meant something to me that I could fight for. Mokuba eventually took to me as if I were his aunt. Even though Seto would never admit it, I'm sure he felt some kind of fondness for me.

"I'm glad," Mokuba said quietly, looking down. "I... I was scared you stayed with us because..."

It's then that I realized what he was getting at. "You're afraid I'll leave now that Kaiba Corp is in a downfall."

Mokuba nodded slowly. "A lot of staff are leaving—secretaries, accountants, security..."

"I wouldn't care if Kaiba Corp couldn't pay me a dime," I smiled. "The difference between me and the ones who're leaving is I'm here for you guys—not the company. You know that, right?"

"Yeah, I do," Mokuba said quietly. "I guess I was just worried. Ever since that duel, everything's been... strange. Seto's not even himself. He just... left. I'm worried."

"Don't be," I smirked. "I bet he's going to work on a plan that'll put everything back in its place. You know how your brother is. Just when you think he's finally out, he miraculously pulls it together like he has everything on puppet strings."

Mokuba laughed when he sensed the bit of spite in my voice, knowing I was secretly referring to how I had never been able to beat him in a duel. "Yeah, I know what you mean. I suppose I shouldn't be worried. In the end, it will be alright," he smiled. "Thanks, Alice. I don't know what I would have done without you. Seto, too... But please don't tell him I said that!"

I smiled, drawing into myself slightly. "I'm not sure what I would have done without you two, either." I looked out the window with a sigh, my eyes trailing the thin, cloud-marked path of an airplane. "I suppose I should make my rounds again before we play another game."

"Okay, I'm going to go for a walk," Mokuba said with a bit of a nervous tone as he hopped to his feet and started towards the door.

"Mokuba?" I asked suspiciously, stopping him as I rose to my feet. "Wherever you're going couldn't have anything to do with the meeting that's taking place right now, could it?"

"No..."

"Well, alright," I shrugged, passing him out the door and making a point to turn away from him. "I suppose I'll trust you not to get into too much trouble."

"Thanks, Alice!" His footsteps pounded away behind me.

I shook my head as I carried on with my route. I knew Seto wouldn't approve of me letting him interfere in business like this, but I learned a long time ago that I couldn't control that kid. If Mokuba was going to do something, he would do anything to slip by and do it. I suppose that's why I feel they're so related, despite their emotional differences. They're both as stubborn as they come.

I was about half-way through with my route when I got a message on my company cell phone. It appeared to be from Seto. I flipped it open, expecting it to be a requested update for his little brother or to ask me to check on something.