“You look really tired today, Cat.” Ms. Yukino mentioned as she walked with Cat down the halls of the agency. Cat didn’t respond. She had a dazed look on her face. “Don’t tell me you stayed up all night working on your lyrics again?” Ms. Yukino said. Instead of an answer, Cat started to slant sideways. Ms. Yukino panicked and quickly stood Cat upright again. “Goodness, Cat! This isn’t the place to take a nap!” She exclaimed. “I’m…sorry…” Cat mummered. Ms. Yukino sighed. “I guess it can’t be helped. We have a lot of time until the meeting, so why don’t you go rest in the break room? Hopefully after that, you’ll be more awake.” She said and led Cat to the break room. “I’ll come pick you up when it’s time, okay?” Ms. Yukino shut the door behind her as she left. Cat didn’t move from her spot for a while until she finally decided to make her way to the small sofa that was there. She flopped down onto the sofa and heaved a big sigh. It wasn’t long until her eyes became heavy and they slowly closed themselves. She was half-asleep by the time she heard the door open and someone walk in. Cat had no idea how long her eyes were closed. But out of curiosity, she re-opened her eyes. She didn’t see the person within her view, until… “Taking a nap? Hmph, you really have it good, don’t you? If it were me who was napping right now, the others certainly wouldn’t let me live it down.” Cat knew that voice. Slowly, she sat up and looked over in the direction of the voice. “Akai…” Cat said softly. Akai stared at Cat coldly, her arms crossed over her chest. “M-Ms. Yukino said we had plenty of time before the next meeting, and…I didn’t get much sleep last night, so she told me to rest in here.” Cat explained. The cold look Akai was giving Cat didn’t leave. “Oh? Is that so? I don’t usually have any time for a break, because my schedule is so full.” Akai said smugly. “You slack off and you’re still a celebrity. Aren’t you lucky?” “I-it’s not my fault!” Cat protested. “Ms. Yukino takes decides on what goes on my schedule. I don’t usually get a say in it.” “I don’t get a say in what gets put in my schedule either. I guess that’s life.” Akai said. “But…my manager is being kind enough to give me a lot of time to prepare for our little competition, “Egyptian Moon”. And you will soon learn how tough life can be.” Cat stared at Akai in a serious way. “I’m getting prepared too.” Cat said. “I don’t doubt that.” Akai said, flipping some of her hair to the side. “But no matter how long you prepare for it, I’m afraid you can’t win. Especially with such a high risk for you, hanging in the balance. The pressure must be hard.” Cat bit her lip and looked down at the ring Atemu gave her. There was a short silence between the two and it wasn’t long until Akai noticed the ring on Cat’s finger. “What’s that?” Akai asked, gesturing to the ring. “I’ve never seen that before.” “This…? Um…Well…it’s…” Cat wasn’t sure what to say. She didn’t really want to tell Akai that it was an engagement ring from Atemu. But Akai didn’t know Atemu’s real name…she only knew him as “Yugi”. But then again, even if Akai mistook Atemu for being someone else other than the “King of Games” she knew, she would still probably find out in the end. Cat figured it might have been best to just tell her it was a gift. But before she could say anything, Akai cut in. “Let me guess. It’s an engagement ring, right?” Akai said with a smirk. Cat blinked in shock. Was it REALLY that obvious to everyone? “Hmph. I should really just take it from you right now.” Akai said. That was what Cat was afraid of. But even if she did take it, she could never take Cat’s silver cartouche. Akai didn’t know the meaning behind Cat’s cartouche. And even if she did, Cat would never let Akai take it from her. It was too precious. It was passed down from her ancestor, Luna, who was to be wedded to Atemu. But destiny changed and Cat became Atemu’s destined lover. Cat and Atemu both knew Luna wanted it this way. And they wanted it too. But in Luna’s example, destiny can change…and that’s the last thing Cat wanted. And right now, Akai was a threat. Cat frowned at Akai lightly and gripped the hand that had the ring on it. “But I’ll just let you give it to me later. It wouldn’t be any fun if I just “took” it from you right now.” Akai finished. “If he loves me like he says he does, he won’t just leave me for you after working with you on a silly commercial!” Cat blurted out, almost without her realizing it. Akai was slightly surprised at this sudden outburst. Cat was usually a frail, shy and quiet girl. Akai believed she had just found Cat’s hot button. “Well, we’ll just have to see, won’t we?” Akai said with an evil smirk on her lips. She turned to leave. “Are you sure what you say is true? You’re not with him ALL the time, right? There “could be” some things you don’t know about.” With those final words, and no time for Cat to respond, Akai left, closing the door behind her. Cat stared at the door and looked down at her lap, depressed. “No…don’t let her words get to you. She’s just trying to mess with your head.” Cat whispered to herself as tears welded up in her eyes. She was feeling insecure enough. Why did Akai have to push it? Cat held the ring against her chest as a few tears fell from her eyes. “No…I can’t trust her…besides…he promised…” Ms. Yukino, just then, opened the door and hurried inside. “Cat? I saw Akai just leave this room. She didn’t say anything to you, did she?” She asked before pausing, just noticing the tears in her eyes. “C-Cat! You’re crying! What’s wrong? What did she say to you?” “He…he made me a promise…” Cat whispered. “What?” Ms. Yukino asked. “He promised me…and…I trust him.” Cat whispered. *** “I betcha I could eat a hundred of these things!” “Well I bet that I could eat a thousand of these!” Joey looked Honda in the eye. “Well I betcha you CAN’T!” He retaliated. “I bet that I can!” Honda replied. “Will you guys knock it off?” Anzu snapped. “Yeah guys, you’ve been at it for an hour now.” Mokuba added in. Yugi laughed. “Even though it’s been a year, they haven’t changed at all. Is it surprising?” He asked. “Not really.” Atemu mummered. Kate, who was sitting next to Yugi, hugged Yugi’s arm. “They’ll probably be like this for the rest of their lives.” She giggled. “I wouldn’t doubt that.” Kaiba said under his breath. Kay, who was leaning against Kaiba, looked at him. “My, my…aren’t we ecstatic today?” She joked with a grin. “Too bad Cat had to work today.” Kanya said while playing with her straw. The ten friends were at a food place that day. Joey, Honda, Anzu, and Kanya were all sitting at the same table. Kate, Yugi, Kay, Kaiba, Atemu and Mokuba were all sitting at a separate table next to the one where their other friends were. “You know…it feels kinda awkward now.” Kate said. “What does?” Mokuba asked. “Well…Atemu and Cat are the only ones engaged right now…and at such a young age.” Kate finished. Kay shrugged. “Hey, I’ve heard of some people getting married younger than them.” She said. “Speaking of Cat, doesn’t she seem a little depressed this past week?” Yugi added in. “She kinda does.” Kay said and looked at Atemu. “Do you know anything about it?” “No, I don’t.” Atemu replied. “She’s your girlfriend and you don’t even know what’s bugging her? Figuring things out with her should be easy for you by now.” Kaiba muttered. “The problem is, is that she won’t tell me.” Atemu said. “I may be a Pharaoh, but I can’t read people’s minds.” Kay poked Kaiba. “He’s right ya know. Besides, you aren’t one to talk. Sometimes you can figure out what’s on my mind either.” She said. Kaiba sweatdropped and shifted his eyes in the opposite direction of Kay. “Well…I know MOST of the time.” He said. “But that’s not all the time.” Mokuba added in. “You’re not being any help right now.” Kaiba said to Mokuba. “I would think Cat would have been comfortable enough to talk to Atemu about anything by now.” Kate said. “Well, it’s not only because she’s been depressed…I’ve also noticed that during this past week, she’s been acting kind of insecure around me.” Atemu added in. “Maybe it’s because she’s not sure what to think about being engaged. Some girls are like that.” Yugi pointed out. “But it still doesn’t explain the depression.” Atemu said. ‘It HAS to be her job.” Kate said. “What do you mean?” Mokuba asked. “She’s been under a lot of pressure and stress since she found herself caught in a competition with another singer called, “Red Petal”.” Kay explained. “Is she taking it THAT seriously?” Mokuba asked. “It’s a long story.” Kate said. “I hope Red Petal hasn’t said anything to her that would cause this.” Atemu sighed. Kay frowned. “I wouldn’t be surprised if that wench did say something.” She said in an annoyed tone before taking a sip of her drink. “Atemu, you should try talking to her more about it. If she still doesn’t want to talk, then we’ll try.” “Alright.” Atemu said, looking down at his drink, in thought.