On the other side of Domino City, through the white frosted glass of an office window, Seto Kaiba was watching the first snowfall of the year. He felt his ever present bitterness subside as he watched a thin veil of ice coat the city. He was still in sour spirits because of his loss in the Battle City Tournament. A championship he himself had devised and organized. There was a sharp knife of shrewdness in his gut. But he had found other things to take up his time since then.

The paparazzi had taken photos of him with the new up and coming singer and had started a rumor of their less than professional relationship together. In truth, there was something alluring about her devil may care attitude and crass manner of speaking. But their romance was non-existent. Bluntly, it was just a partnership. He invested his money where he saw promise. And she was talented.

He didn't have time for what he assumed she wanted: a relationship. He was married to his business and no amount of flirting would pull him away from his legacy. On more than one occasion she had playfully touched his face or slipped her arm around his waist intimately. He had not even bothered to rebuke her though. They were only business partners. And currently his partner was passed out in his office. She had stumbled in, mumbled a greeting and a 'hey baby,' then pushed two chairs together and curled up in the makeshift bed a few hours prior. He let her rest. Her life outside of their partnership was unknown to him. All he knew about was her concert schedule. He would book her gigs and take a percent cut for himself, make sure she wasn't drunk when she performed and that was it. There was a sudden buzz at his desk telephone and he snapped away from his thoughts at the window and pressed the speaker button.

"What is it?" he asked, in his normal stony manner.

"Mister Kaiba, there is a Miss Ishtar here to see you."

Ishizu? What could she possibly want? He no longer had the Egyptian god card she had lent to him before the tournament. He shrugged and pressed the button once again,

"Send her up. This better be important."

A whistling snore reminded him that his little guest was still napping. He covered her dozing form with his coat then pushed the two chairs against the wall with the backs facing out. There. Now unless someone was to look over the backs, no one would know she was there.

A light knocking at the door told him that Ishizu was waiting.

"Come in."

She gracefully entered the office and shut the door behind her. Her body was wrapped up in a dark cloak and she wore boots that tracked in ice onto his carpet, but what caught his attention was her face.

Her red rimmed eyes gave away that she had been crying. Her nose was red too, though it was from a combination of her grief and the bitter Domino cold.

"I am very sorry to bother you again, Seto. But I am in need of your services once more. This task is more important than the last. I'd like to know if I could count on you." Her teeth chattered and her breath still clouded in front of her face in a thin steam. Her shoulders convulsed in a constant shiver. She was more than just cold though, she was frightened.

"What do you need now?" He wasn't about to turn a crying woman away. It would look bad for him if any photographers were still lingering about from earlier when his partner showed up. That was the last thing he needed: rumors of a love triangle.

The dark skinned woman held out her hands. She was clutching a black box.

"Please, Seto. Take it." Her eyes were enormous, magnified by her tears. Her fingers were trembling.

"What-?" he began as he reached for it.

"I cannot entrust this with anyone else. It must be you."

"You're really getting annoying, Ishizu. There's always some task I have to do, or a fate I must prevent because it's my 'destiny.'" He spat out the last word in contempt. Miss Ishtar had been nothing but a bother ever since her exhibit had first come to Domino. Besides, she was a bit too preachy for his liking.

"This is not about your destiny, Kaiba," she replied. "This is for the safety of my family."

She pried the box open with a sudden snap. His curiosity got the better of him and he looked in.

There was a gold ring inside, sitting upon a blood-red velvet cloth. It glinted in the light.

Seto was about to make a joke about Ishizu proposing to him, but her flowing tears cut him off once more.

"This belonged to my mother. It has been in our family for generations. It has been rumored to have….certain properties."

"…What kind of 'properties?' You mean like magical powers?" Kaiba smirked and folded his arms impatiently.

"I know you do not believe fully in the existence of otherworldly beings and dark forces, but even you have seen what befalls those who have become possessed by evil spirits of the shadow realm." His smile faded immediately.

He remembered what had happened during his tournament. Duelists were collapsing after nearly every round. Comatose. It could have been a disaster had they not all woken up after the final round. Kaiba had not truly decided the cause of the illness aboard his blimp. To be honest, he was only too glad that he was able to avoid the bad publicity that could have followed him. Supposedly it had all been the work of the 'darker halves' of Ryou Bakura, one of the dweebs that followed Yugi around, and Marik, Ishizu's brother. He was not sure if he believed in spirits that could control a person's body, but something sinister did happen on board during the finals.

Ishizu once again offered the box to Seto, this time he took it. His fingers traced over the oval gem centered into the gold. A fiery orb of ruby, polished smooth. The ring was plain aside from the stone. A solid band. Ishizu bagan her story at last,

"When a king dies, his servants and belongings are buried with him, so that he may have them in his afterlife, you see. And this, Seto Kaiba, is a king's ring. It was given to him by a powerful priest who dedicated his entire life to serving and protecting that king. He blessed it with holy spells of purity that would drive away evil forces so that good may always triumph and justice would be ever present in their kingdom. No force of evil may stand against the wearer. However, the priest never told anyone how the ring had come to him. It is not Egyptian. In fact, no archaeologist has ever been certain of its true origin.

The ring was given to the family that guarded the tombs: the family Ishtar. It protected my family from the vengeful spirits residing in the pharaoh's tomb in which we dwelled for centuries. Living on the borderlands between this world and the next put my family at risk. There are many portals that allow for certain…beings to cross over. The millennium items control these portals. And I know you are familiar with their powers." She gave him a meaningful look, and he ground his teeth in silence.

"The ring was always given to a woman who married into the Ishtar clan. To ensure her protection in the tombs. When another marriage ceremony was planned, the ring would change owners. My mother—" her voice broke.

"My mother…was the last woman who married into the clan. But it must not stay with us any longer."

"Why not? That cute little bedtime story makes it seem like it's a real treasure to you."

"Kaiba, this ring has been tainted by the bitterness and despair of its owners. Its purity exists no more. Now, it only represents the anger of those condemned to a life among the dead. No woman wanted to marry into a clan that never saw the sun. The unions were all arranged by the brides' families. Sacrificing one of their own to serve as one of the Pharaoh's Tombkeepers would ensure the family's place in Paradise after they died."

"Being forced to live underground was their choice," Seto snorted. "If they wanted a better life they could have just as easily run away and started over somewhere else, right?"

"What makes you believe some didn't try running?" Ishizu's eyes hardened.

"Several of the newly wed women would try to escape after the marriage ceremony. They were tracked down and all found dead in the desert. There was nothing around them to suggest a fate other than they had simply dropped to the ground and passed. The fear of what had happened to them was what kept the Tombkeepers underground."

"Is that supposed to entice me to take this off of your hands?" Seto cracked a smile and plucked the ring from the box.

"Why would a story affect your decision, Kaiba? You do not believe it, do you?"

"Of course not. Just because your family lineage had some messed up belief that living underground would keep them out of hell, or that if they tried running away a mysterious force would kill them…" He paused to chuckle at the morbid image.

"I don't believe any of this. But if you're too superstitious to keep it, I suppose I could take it off your hands for a while." He slipped the ring on his middle finger. The fit was snug, but bearable. He wouldn't admit it, but having a ring that had brought pain and suffering to generations…it gave him a sick pleasure to own.

"There is only one precaution you must head." Ishizu took a deep breath before continuing.

"Please…do not let it fall into my brother's hands. The spirit that possessed Marik tried many times before to steal it from me. I cannot express to you how badly the evil spirit coveted it. I'm not sure why he wanted it. But it can only be assumed that this ring has a secret that even the Tombkeepers do not know of. It may be capable of opening a portal to the shadow realm and allowing the darker side of my brother to consume him once more. But that is only an assumption."

"Well, you know what they say about when you assume something," Seto mused. "But whatever. I'll look after your little heirloom. If anything else it makes me look even richer. Is there anything more you'd like to add? I do have some things planned for this evening."

"No, Seto Kaiba. That was all. And thank you." She bowed her head slightly and turned to leave, then paused.

"I thought I would feel relieved after giving the ring to you."

"Do you?"

"…No." The door closed behind her.