A/N: Last chapter! Enjoy!

Kaiba Corp was really nothing like that Jou had imagined. She'd never been inside before - although, that was to be expected considering that up until a few days ago the place had been the headquarters of a psychopath - but it was not the wide open office space that she would have pictured. Gozaburo seemed to favor high cubicles, a dull grey and white color scheme and fluorescent lighting that made her eyes ache the moment she stepped inside. It was no wonder that most of the employees looked utterly miserable as they hunched over their computers, not even looking up as Jou passed by on her way to the elevator. Downright depressing was the only way to describe it.

Mokuba had explained how to get up to the higher floors, where Seto's office was, and Jou used the keycard he'd given her to gain authorization since apparently no one could get up above level 15 without a card. The elevator glided up silently and opened up onto the second highest floor. She padded out, the thick carpeting muffling her footsteps, and noticed that the desk where Seto's secretary should have been was empty. That was fine. She didn't even bother to knock, just pushed the door opened and stuck her head in.

At first, Seto didn't even notice that she was there. His head was bent over a stack of documents. Jou smiled at the sight of him, cautiously prodding at their connection. The pen in his hand snapped and he sat back, staring at her and blinking like he wasn't sure she was real. She grinned wider. "Hey stranger. I thought I'd come and see if you still remembered who I was," she said lightly.

Seto closed his eyes and started to reach up to rub his forehead, only to remember at the last second that his fingers were covered with ink. He sighed then, fumbling around with one of the drawers until he found a piece of cloth to wipe the excess ink off on. "Of course I remember who you are," he said, making a face when his efforts only succeeded in smearing the ink even more. "I was going to come back to the mansion as soon as I was finished with this."

"And what time did you start that?"

"Six."

"Six this morning or six last night?" Jou asked wryly. "Because either way, it's two in the afternoon, genius." He hadn't demanded that she get out, so she felt a little more confident about actually entering the office. The door swung silently shut behind her.

He blinked again, then turned to look at his windows. But of course, they were covered by such a thick curtain that it could have been midnight and he wouldn't have known. "I suppose Mokuba's not very pleased," he said after a pause. Before Jou had the chance to respond, he shook his head and pushed his chair back. "I really hadn't intended on being here so late, but every time I turn around there's something else to do."

"And we all realize that, but you don't have to handle it all on your own," said Jou, folding her arms. She hadn't really intended on talking to Seto about this. Not this soon. Only now that she'd begun, the words came pouring out. "I'm worried about you, Seto. We all are, actually. I know that Kaiba Corp is important to you, but there's no reason you have to do this by yourself. Yami, Mokuba and I are all here and willing to help. Well," she amended when he glanced at her. "I know there's not much that I can do. But Yami and Mokuba are practically killing themselves worrying over you."

For a moment his expression flickered with annoyance, and she thought he might get angry enough to yell. He didn't, though, much to her surprise. Instead he sighed heavily. "I know. I just… Gozaburo made such a mess of everything. I don't think that people have ever doubted Kaiba Corp to the extent that they do right now. I need to make sure that they understand that I won't be like him."

There was a hint of fear there that drove deep, hitting Jou right in the heart. In a handful of long steps she'd moved past the desk and was standing right beside him, gazing down at him. "Seto, you are nothing like your stepfather."

"You don't even know me," he said, raising an eyebrow. "And what you do know you don't even like because the first time we met, you punched me in the face."

Jou did her absolute best not to blush, though she sensed it was a losing game judging from the warmth in her face. "I did hit you, because you deserved it," she admitted. "But everyone has their asshole moments. Even me. That doesn't mean you're going to be anything like Gozaburo. I may not know you very well yet, but I do know that." She paused. "I'd… like the chance. To get to know you, I mean."

"Really?" He sounded so unguarded in that instant; it was an opening she knew she'd never get again. So Jou did something impulsive. She leaned down and kissed him. Seto stiffened beneath her, but it was over before he could protest and she was straightening up again and putting her hands on her hips.

"Yes, really. You're my soul mate. That means something to me, even if it doesn't to you. Did you really think I was hanging around your house all this time because I wanted free food? I've been waiting for you to get your ass out of this office and come spend some time with us. Thank god Yami finally made me realize you were too stubborn for that, or you'd probably turn to stone from sitting here for so long."

His eyes were intent, scrutinizing, but there was a smile playing around the corners of his lips. "So what you're telling me is, you didn't like the free food."

"Well, let's not go crazy."

Seto laughed then, and Jou felt a flush of pride that she was capable of earning that sort of reaction of him. He stood up, which brought them so close together that it seemed to be natural for his hands to find a home on her waist. "I'm sorry," he said, quiet and sheepish and awkward. "I'm not… used to this sort of thing. It's easier for me to bury myself in work. I like having you around and Mokuba seems to like you, too. I'd like it if you would stay."

"I will," Jou said, and not just because she wanted to live in the same house as her friends. She wasn't lying when she said she wanted to get to know Seto. Knowing that he wanted her to stay was a rush that she'd be insane to walk away from. And Jou was a lot of things, but insane wasn't one of them. "As long as you promise that you'll actually let us help you out. I don't have the background in business that you and Yami and Mokuba do, but there must be something I can do to make this transition easier. I want to help."

Something in his face softened a little bit, but before he could say anything his desk phone rang. Seto looked away automatically, leaning over to see the number, and then picked it up. "It's Yami," he said by way of explanation, bringing the receiver to his ear. Jou let herself step a little bit closer, eliminating any sign of space between them entirely, so that she could listen too as Seto greeted his cousin.

"You need to come home immediately," Yami was saying, not bothering with any kind of a greeting.

"What's wrong?" Seto asked, going tense.

"Black Magician and Black Magician Girl have returned."

Jou gasped softly in relief and Seto squeezed her waist with the arm he still had wrapped around her. "What did they say?"

"Gozaburo is dead. They delivered him to the graveyard and made sure he would not rise again. Black Magician was injured in the fight; we're going to send him to the hospital and Black Magician Girl… well, Mana is probably going to go with him. Yuugi's grandfather will meet them there. They were also able to retrieve the Millennium Items that Gozaburo took with him."

It was hard to say whether or not Seto heard anything beyond the first three words. He wavered and Jou glanced at him, noting the pallor of his face, and then gently pushed him down into his chair and took the phone from his hand. "We're on our way," she said into the phone, barely waiting for Yami's confirmation before she hung up. She stood over Seto, worried.

"I'm okay," he said when he noticed her concern. "I just… I never thought I'd hear those words. I almost wish I could see his body, just to make sure they're true."

"I don't think Black Magician would lie about that," said Jou.

"No, you're right." He shook his head and stood up. Though he was still pale, there was a renewed energy in his eyes. A huge weight had come off his shoulders. "Come on, let's go. I've had enough of this place for the day."

"You won't hear any arguing from me," Jou said, pleased, and even let him take her hand on the way out.

AU

Yuugi was sitting on the couch playing a game with Mokuba when it happened. One moment Yami was sitting beside her, laughing, and the next he was jumping up because Black Magician and Black Magician Girl had appeared in the middle of the room. Mokuba hit the button to pause the game as Yuugi followed suit, throwing her controller to the floor as she raced over to them. Black Magician Girl was still standing, swaying heavily, but Black Magician had fallen to the floor.

"He is okay," Black Magician Girl said wearily when Yuugi dropped to her knees to check on him. "It was a difficult battle with Kaiba, and he was able to summon more help than we were expecting. In the end, though, we were victorious." Her smile was slow and strange, but no less triumphant. "Kaiba Gozaburo is dead, delivered to the graveyard by my hand. He will never harm another soul."

"Oh my god, you did it," Yuugi said, staring up at her mother with wide eyes. Black Magician Girl smiled back at her and started to kneel, but her legs gave out at the last moment so she ended up sitting down hard. Yami grabbed the phone and told Mokuba to call for an ambulance.

"I told you that we would. There has been so much that we missed, Yuugi, so little that we were able to do for you. This, we had to do." Black Magician Girl cupped Yuugi's cheek gently. "The pharaoh entrusted his most prized possession to us and requested that we keep it safe until he was able to return. That is why you are our child. Before you were born, I knew that you would be the hikari of the pharaoh. I used magic to hide you from the rest of the world. They were so blinded by prejudice and bias that they never even realized."

"What do you mean?" Yuugi asked, confused. "Magic?"

"I changed you and your friends from male to female," she confessed. "Even the priest's mate. Mahado does not know, but I… I knew her mother, the priest's mate. We were best friends when you two were born. When I told her of my plan, she begged me to change her child as well, knowing the danger that all of you would be in. It was wrong of me to go against nature, but I find I can't regret it. Not when I know exactly what Kaiba would have done to you if he had been able to find you." Her eyes were bright with tears.

Yuugi just stared at her, speechless, and after a tense moment Yami came over and put his hand on her shoulder. "The ambulance is coming, and so are Seto and the others," he said quietly. "You should change back to your normal selves so that they won't ask questions we can't answer."

"Of course."

The ambulance arrived only a couple of minutes later, and Mana and Mahado were bundled into the back of it. Right before she was hustled out, Mana turned her back and conjured up a white cloth which she laid in Yuugi's arms. When it was just her, Yami and Mokuba again, Yuugi opened the bundle and discovered the Millennium Items. Mana had given her the Ring, the Rod, the Eye and the Tawk, though there was no sign of the Key or the Scale.

"Ryou and Malik?" she asked, looking over at Yami.

"They should be here soon. I called them right after I hung up with Seto. Yuugi…"

She knew what he was about to ask and shook her head in response. It didn't really change anything, did it? Male or female, she was positive that the road would've led to exactly the same place. Not once had she ever felt out of place in her own body, and living as a boy for even a couple of days at Central Academy had felt downright bizarre. She would tell Ryou, Malik and Jou the truth later on, but she suspected that their response would be the same. It was too late, and there was just too much to worry about to dwell on something that had happened over seventeen years ago.

"We'll need to send the Tawk to Isis," she said instead. "And you'll need to find a safe place to keep the Eye."

"Seto has a safe. We can put it there," Yami replied. "Technically it belongs to Pegasus, but I don't dare return it to him. There's no telling what he would do with it now that Gozaburo is gone."

"Are those really the Millennium Items?" Mokuba asked. He'd sat down on the couch again, but rather than play his game he was watching the two of them with bright, interested eyes. "I've seen the Eye before, but not the other ones."

"Hard to believe they can cause so much damage, isn't it?" Yuugi said with a faint smile, hearing the sound of a door banging open somewhere in the distance. Less than ten seconds later Malik sprinted into the room, hair in disarray and eyes wild. She zeroed in on the Rod like a bloodhound and snatched it off the cloth, cradling it protectively against her body. Ryou ran in not a minute later and followed suit with the Ring, looping the strap around her neck and clutching it with both hands.

"I didn't think I'd ever get it back," Malik said with obvious relief, and then, "Oh, hey, you got the Tawk back too. I wonder if I put on, would it make me have dreams like Nee-san does?"

"You're not going to find out," Mariku said, walking in with Bakura, Seto and Jou right behind him. He gently caught Malik's arm and pulled her away from the other two Items. Malik pouted but allowed herself to be tucked under his arm. "To be honest, I doubt that it would work for you anyway. The Rod was meant for us, not the Tawk. All you would do is get Isis angry with you, and I would think there'll already be plenty of that going around when she and Rishid realize we're gone."

Malik winced. "Right, I forgot."

"What, you guys just up and left?" Bakura asked, cocking an amused eyebrow.

"Sometimes it's easier to beg forgiveness than ask permission," Mariku replied, entirely unrepentant. "Besides, how could I resist living in a billionaire's house?"

"I don't remember asking you to move in," Seto muttered.

"No, but your cousin did."

Yami did his best to pull an innocent expression when Seto glared at him. "Come on, cousin, you knew it was going to happen sooner or later. If Yuugi and Ryou and Jou were all living here, then it only makes sense for Malik and Mariku to be here, too."

Seto just rolled his eyes, but Mokuba was practically levitating with excitement that his big brother hadn't just gone ahead and kicked everyone out. Jou grinned, winked at the kid, and said, "I think that means okay, so long as you all understand you're going to be forcibly volunteered for clean up duty."

"Isn't that why we're here?" Ryou said.

"Yeah," Yuugi said softly as Yami lazily trailed his fingers up and down her arm, giving her the chills. "Yeah, it is."

Thank you so much for the wonderful reviews I received on this story. They really encouraged me to keep going, because there were a lot of times I wanted to just stop. I'm kind of over Yu-Gi-Oh at the moment, and it was only knowing that you guys were waiting for each update that kept me writing. This story was finished because of you.